Guttman Community College students work with Emerson College for the fourth year.
New York, N.Y. (August 26, 2025) – Three Guttman Community College students recently returned from the James Baldwin Writers’ Colony in the Netherlands as a part of an educational collaboration between Guttman and Emerson College, which has now entered its fourth year.
“Guttman is thrilled to connect our students with Emerson College, a leader in study abroad programming,” said Dr. Paul Reifenheiser, officer-in-charge, provost, and vice president of academic affairs. “College is about so much more than just the job students eventually want to obtain or the degree they pursue; it also involves learning about culture, people, and self-discovery. Our students who take part in Emerson’s program get to enhance their intercultural perspectives, hone their interpersonal skills, and enlarge their world through travel. Each trip and each class brings them one step closer to being the well-rounded citizens our world needs, seeks, and deserves.”
Guttman’s ability to connect with Emerson College offers students the chance to earn degree credits in an inspiring setting dedicated to critical and creative writing. The three Guttman Grizzlies who embarked on the journey to the Netherlands in 2025, Noriya Howard, Jordana Santos, and Teddy Townsend, left New York with open minds and returned with broadened horizons.
“Everyone in my class is so intelligent, creative, and inspired,” said Santos, who just completed her freshman year at Guttman. “With each piece of writing that was shared by my peers, I felt motivated to improve myself.” Townsend, a Liberal Arts major and aspiring memoirist, similarly described the experience abroad as profoundly shaping her writerly awareness. “I have learned more about writing in the past four days of class than I ever thought possible,” she reported after the first whirlwind week of the semester abroad.
“Their professional and personal networks have expanded and their dreams about where to transfer, work, and live have radically altered,” said Dr. Ria Banerjee, professor of English at Guttman who managed the program in its third cycle.
Howard, who would like to pursue writing studies after completing her coursework at Guttman, echoed Dr. Banerjee’s assessment. “By the end of our trip, we presented our final assignment in an art gallery, surrounded by creativity, great food, and conversations with established artists whose work and perspectives expanded our own.”
Emerson College, a nonprofit educational institution, draws independent minds from diverse backgrounds around the world through its highly regarded academic programs in communication, the arts, and the liberal arts.
Stella and Charles Guttman Community College is CUNY’s first new community college in more than forty years. Reimagining what community college could be, Guttman opened its doors in Manhattan in August 2012 to create a research-based, innovative model focused on moving students efficiently toward graduation. Offering associate degree programs in a nurturing environment, the College provides holistic support and advising to ensure timely degree completion, and most graduates transfer to senior colleges. Guttman is federally designated as a Hispanic-serving institution and minority-serving institution with more than 90% of the student population identifying as Latine, Black/African American or Asian. WalletHub ranked Guttman the #1 community college in New York State for 2025, and Niche.com named Guttman the best community college in America in 2020 and the top community college in New York State in 2021.
