Mr. Wilfred L. Cotto is the University's Coordinator for Veteran Affairs. Prior to arriving at CUNY, Mr.Cotto served as Deputy Executive Director for Educators for Children, Youth and Families(ECYF); a community-based organization which manages in-school and after-school programs (DOE & DYCD contracts)in Bedford Stuyvesant and Brownsville communities in Brooklyn. Mr. Cotto also served as Director of the Learning to Work Program at Brownsville Academy High School (BAHS). During his tenure at BAHS, Mr.Cotto and his staff were recognized for " best practices" in Learning to Work Program implementation.
Mr. Cotto served on active duty in the U. S. Navy from July 1977 to September 2005. His last tour of duty was onboard the USS KITTY HAWK (CV 63), homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, were he served as a Senior Enlisted Advisor and Retention and Career Development Program Manger. During his career in the Navy he made several combat deployments to the Persian Gulf in support of Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He holds a Masters degree in Organizational Leadership from Chapman University in Orange, CA.
Mr. Cotto is a native New Yorker, born and raised. He and his wife Anna reside in StatenIsland, NY, and have three adult children and five grandchildren.
Mr. Cotto welcomes any calls and e-mails from both CUNY staff and students regarding any CUNY veterans-related issues. He can be reached at: Wilfred.cotto@mail.cuny.edu or 212-652-2002.
John Byrnes
Hunter College '06
U.S. Army C-CO.1-69th In.
On September 11, 2001, I was in the swimming pool of Hunter College when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. I was in a Hunter College classroom a half hour later when over the shrill sounds of sirens heading south along Lexington Avenue, a young woman in the back of the class called out, "A plane just hit the World Trade Center".
When I returned to school as an adult student, CUNY was a natural choice. After testing the waters at LaGuardia Community College, I transferred to Hunter College. As an active duty veteran and a serving member of the NY Army National Guard residing in New York City, the public education available at CUNY was a perfect fit for my interests and my budget. Hunter's political science professors are among the best in the city and the Thomas Hunter Honors Program allowed me to explore my intellectual curiosity by designing my own program.
It wasn't always an easy ride. On September 11th my guard unit was called to duty. I spent two weeks down at ground zero. I was called to duty several times after that. In October of 2003, just a few credits shy of a January graduation, I was mobilized for duty in Iraq. It was fifteen months before I was able to return to college. The interruptions of schooling caused by my deployments were frustrating, and at times it seemed like no one at school understood the situation. The system wasn't prepared for military students.
Through it all, in spite of the frustrations, Hunter College administrators worked with me. The President and the Dean of Students were always there for me, encouraging me, and intervening, when necessary, to ensure that deployment-related problems were resolved. When I graduated in June of 2005, Hunter College President Jennifer Raab made a point of telling my story to everyone in attendance. As an alumnus and a veteran, I'm now working with the University to help make CUNY an even friendlier place for veterans.
