The College Of Westchester Is Helping Students Achieve Success

This Patch article is sponsored by The College of Westchester.

The College of Westchester is a contemporary, post-secondary educational institution with a futuristic outlook. It pays careful attention to the requirements and demands of selected career tracks and associated employment markets, offering both on-site and online programs.

The college caters to the career aspirations of its graduates by providing meaningful, career-relevant courses of study, and by assisting the graduates in job search and placement services.

Mary Beth Del Balzo, LCSW, president and CEO of The College Of Westchester, takes pride in seeing students who have worked so hard graduate and lead meaningful and successful careers. Learn more about the innovative college in this Patch one-on-one with Del Balzo:

Patch: How long have you been doing business in town?

Del Balzo: CW was founded in 1915 in New Rochelle, New York, and relocated to White Plains in 1959. It incorporated in 1973 when it became accredited and firmly established as a college, then known as The Westchester Business Institute.

Patch: What attracted you to this line of work, and how did you get started?

Del Balzo: The thing that attracted me was the opportunity to be of service. I was always really ambitious and wanted to marry that with doing something worthwhile in the world. Helping to facilitate other ambitious people through higher education was a no-brainer for me.

When I was a junior in high school, my dad sent me to secretarial school that summer, and I learned typing and shorthand. In the middle of my senior year, my dad offered me a job to work with him. I commuted every day after school to his office and learned how to work in a business environment.

In college, I had a number of jobs and internships, but every break and summer, I continued to work at The College of Westchester. By junior year of college, I was working as my dad’s assistant when he was the president of the college. My senior year, I was driving out to high schools to talk about CW to prospective students.

After graduating college, I worked in the music business and the glamour industry to try something different, but I came back to CW because I wanted to apply what I’d learned outside at a career-oriented college. The business skills I’d learned in high school had prepared me so well to work in so many other environments, and I realized that that level of preparation was what CW offers its students, and I believed in that vision so much, I decided to come back.

Patch: If you had to sum up your business mission to a stranger in five words or less, what would they be?

Del Balzo: The foundation for successful careers.

Patch: What’s the most difficult or most challenging moment you’ve faced on the job?

Del Balzo: This situation with COVID-19. It's difficult to not have answers while still trying to support faculty and students. However, we’ve been exceeding expectations even now. With the change in the middle of the semester to completely virtual courses, faculty and students alike really rose to the occasion.

Patch: What’s the most satisfying part of your job?

Del Balzo: The satisfying parts, for me, are commencement — seeing students who’ve worked so hard graduate — and when I later hear from them how well they’re doing in their careers.

Patch: How would you say your organization distinguishes itself from others?

Del Balzo: To paraphrase one of my business colleagues, Ted Miller, of DataKey Consulting, “CW grads come with batteries included.” They have the soft skills, the business skills and the desire to succeed. Hundreds of employers in Westchester and the surrounding areas agree because they hire our students.

Patch: What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given when it comes to success?

Del Balzo: Do it now. Don’t procrastinate. If you don’t know what to do, sleep on it. Ask other people, but don’t rely just on their opinions. Trust your intuition.

Patch: Are there any projects or endeavors you’re working on now that you’re really excited about?

Del Balzo: Even during a global pandemic, we are running a full complement of course work online, with a face-to-face component allowing students to be in an online classroom and interact with their instructors. We’re conducting virtual interviews — visit our website for more details.

Patch: Do you have any events coming up in the community?

Del Balzo: We have a number of virtual events coming up. You can visit our website for more information.

Patch: How can Patch readers learn more about your work and your business?

Website: www.cw.edu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collegeofwestchester
Twitter: @TheCofWOnline
Instagram: @collegeofwestchester
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/collegeofwestchester