bout two years ago, Patricia Fraticelli was driving to work in her little 1985 Honda Civic, and a big new Lincoln Navigator sailed by. "I want that!" she said to herself. "Hmmm, I work five more years and get a raise of, what, $50? No, no, no. I have to do something about this."

Soon the Dominican native, who immigrated to New York City nine years ago, was announcing to her husband and children in their Bronx apartment, "I'm going to college." And that she did, with spectacular results so far. Fraticelli enrolled in Bronx Community College in 1999 with a major in Human Services, and, though she has three small children-6-year-old Chanel, 5-year-old Destiny, and 9-month-old Freddie-she is carrying 19 hours of course work this term and maintaining a flawless 4.0 GPA.

Patricia Fraticelli

Fraticelli, an ebullient and eloquent speaker, told of her rush-hour epiphany when she addressed the audience at the third in a series of CUNY College Information Fairs. (CUNY also collaborated with union local 1199 on a Fair-see page 9.)

These Fairs are designed to radiate the University's recruitment energies out from the campuses and into local communities.The Bronx Fair was co-sponsored with Bronx City Councilman Adolfo Carrion, Jr. and held in that famed eatery, Jimmy's Bronx Café, on a Sunday afternoon in November. About 1,000 prospective CUNY students were in attendance.

Football was far from Fraticelli's mind, but her "give it the old college try" message was pure locker-room-at-halftime. "A college education helps us to have an open mind and see things more objectively. I was so judgmental when I came to BCC!"

And it also brings financial security: "Why did I come to the States? Well, to achieve the American dream. But you won't do that earning $5.25 an hour! You want more, and that is why you are seeking an education." And the 29-year-old also emphasized, "It is never too late." To her fellow immigrants she advised, "Don't be intimidated by the language, and be proud of where you are from. If you know where you are coming from, you know where you will be." Fraticelli's climactic advice was simple but heartfelt: "The CUNY door is open: take advantage of it."

City Councilman Adolfo Carrion, Jr

Following that tough act, Vice Chancellor Jay Hershenson called Fraticelli "a shining example of what is being done at the City University."

Fraticelli was not the only stirring speaker on hand. Councilman Carrion, under whose aegis the Fair was presented, expressed delight to see "family groups walking from table to table planning how to build their future." Carrion, who holds a Hunter College Master's in Urban Planning, also reminisced about his homemaker mother going back to school at BCC when it was at 184th Street (Carrion was later to teach junior high school on that site).

Carrion recalled his book-loving father, who became a preacher for 45 years, adding, "In my family, what was constant was the value of a higher education, the love of knowledge and the power that knowledge gives you." He went on to identify the City University, "with its long, long tradition of serving new immigrants" as another constant in his increasingly multicultural 14th District. He then told the prospective student body, "You are making a good investment of your time, thinking of CUNY as your stepping-stone."

Three college presidents were on hand to urge the CUNY career path. Lehman College President Ricardo Fernandez offered some irresistible figures to encourage higher education, explaining, for example, that the total annual income, nationally averaged, for a family headed by a high school graduate is $49,000; with an Associate's degree it rises to $63,000; and with a Bachelor's it climbs to $85,000. More intangibly, Fernandez said, "college helps you learn about yourself and the talents that lie hidden in you."

Bronx Community College President Carolyn Williams spoke vigorously of her campus as a "gateway to success," and Hostos Community College President Dolores Fernandez, having noticed several families and older adults in the audience, said, "You are looking at a college president who went back to school at the age of 26-with two children, little children! I would not have earned my degrees if a community college had not opened its doors to me."

Chancellor Matthew Goldstein

Vice Chancellor Hershenson declared every prospective student in the audience "already part of the CUNY family," and these new family members came from all walks of life. Okeith Stanberry, a Jamaican citizen, arrived last October and moved in with an aunt in the Bronx. He quickly applied to BMCC and has just begun his first term. Recalling his acceptance letter from Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, he says, "I was very excited when I opened the letter to see I got my first choice." At Jimmy's Stanberry met with immigration specialists who advised him on how to obtain a student visa.

Rick Barbot, a manager of a pest control company, brought his wife and two daughters, 3 and 14. They were doing research both forhis tenth-grader and for a niece who is a Yonkers high school senior interested in majoring in law and psychology.

Dennis Pinero, 34, has been raising a five-year-old while his wife works. With the youngster off to kindergarten, the Dewitt Clinton H.S. grad is thinking of course work in computers and accounting. "I'm here to find out which college offers what I'm looking for."

Doubtless listening sharply to the Fraticelli story was 21-year-old Rasheeda Pepper, now a courier service employee. Her mother was minding her two-year-old and eight-month-old while she hopped from booth to booth. "I thought if I had more information, I'd be quicker to go back to school. I want to find the right school."

A prospective student is greeted by QCC recruitment coordinator Lisa Michaelessi, center, councilwoman Helen Marshall, and QCC President Eduardo Marti at Queens Cuny Fair.

Fraticelli, it should be noted, boasts a perfect attendance record at the three CUNY Fairs. At the first one, enthusiastically co-sponsored by Washington Heights City Councilman Guillermo Linares at P.S. 48 on August 12, she raised a hand during Q&A to ask about problems she was having arranging to take two remedial courses at the same time.

Speaking from her Bronx artment by phone to a raucous soundtrack of children's voices, Fraticelli recalls, "They said they would get back to me, and I thought, oh sure! That was a Saturday, and I was amazed when I got this call on Monday."She was put in touch with counselor Jason Finkelstein at BCC, the problem was resolved, and the rest is, well, history-in-the-making. It may take a few years. Fraticelli exudes absolute certainty when she adds, "I am going to transfer to a CUNY senior college, and, whatever field I finally decide on, I am going to get a Ph.D." When the second CUNY Fair took place in Washington Heights, this one at George Washington H.S. on October 21, Fraticelli shared the podium with Chancellor Goldstein and Councilman Linares.

City Councilman Guillermo Linares points the way to a CUNY degree at a Washington Heights Information Fair.