Metropolitan College of New York’s Purposed-Centered Student Spotlight, aims to showcase the variety of research that our graduate, and undergraduate students are participating in. This initiative celebrates our students, and the tremendous changes they are making in their education, and their communities.

We are proud to announce Lea Liwanag and Claudine Christophe as the selected students to be spotlighted for this honor. Read more about their constructive action, how they got involved in their research, and the impact on the community.

Lea Liwanag

Lea Liwanag

School for Business
Healthcare Systems Management
Creating a Business Plan for Innovation

My constructive action is about creating a business plan for a Geriatric Outpatient Clinic and Assisted Living. It is a healthcare facility that focuses on the health of our elderly community. The goal is to provide assistance, patient-centered, and holistic medical care to stabilize and improve the older adults functional status, independence, and quality of life.

I grew up with my grandmother back in the Philippines and it is important for me to help her as she gets older. In addition, the violence toward older adults, especially minorities, is increasing. I would like to help the older adults as much as I can and provide shelter, especially to the needy, and older adults who live alone. I do not want my grandmother to not be able to have anyone with her and assist her. It is also important for older adults to have the healthcare services they deserve, providers that will take the time to meet with them and evaluate them. Older adults need to feel accepted by the community and not be looked at as a burden. My planned facility can help them feel welcome, have daily activities that they can enjoy, have the healthcare services they need in one place, learn advanced technology, and help them be up-to-date with any changes in their surroundings.

My constructive action/research helps me put my passion into action. It helped me to think and to start creating a business plan to help the community. It will benefit me in the future as I get older as I know that I will have a place in the community still. In terms of the community, it will benefit the elder community not to feel alone and to have a place where they can improve and enjoy their lives.

Claudine Christophe

Claudine Christophe

Business for Business
Health Services & Risk Management
Project Leadership

My Constructive Action was motivated by the idea of owning a business providing therapeutic services to children with special needs or disabilities. Personal experiences would make me a great candidate to share my knowledge in healthcare, utilize my education from MCNY, and apply it on the personal aspect of my life with regards to my perspective as a parent with providing high quality healthcare and therapeutic services to children.

This CA was inspired by Professor Setareh Shariff in the Spring 2018 Constructive Action Course, which motivated the students to be creative. Well since “Art Imitates Life”, which my creative work was inspired by true events within my life as a proud parent of a child with special needs and abilities. I thought I could share my experiences, knowledge, research and bring my project into fruition.

Healthy Happy Kids Sensory Gym provides a high-level, patient-centered, therapeutic services, and quality care for all children, including those with special needs, as mentioned in my project. Providing parents and their children within communities an outlet. Parents will receive respite and their children will gain the opportunity to learn, grow, and meet their individualized care plan goals in a healthy, happy, and safe environment. My goal is to establish a pediatric facility within communities, in which caters to all children with various disabilities: Autism in all areas of the spectrum, Sensory disorders, Developmental Delays, and Speech & Language Impairments and more.