Success Suits C.W. Post's 2007 Salutatorian Dana DeBari

C.W. Post's 2007 Salutatorian Dana DeBari receives congratulations from Dr. Joseph Shenker,  provost of the C.W. Post Campus.

Dedication, drive, intelligence and a willingness to work hard are the attributes that have earned Dana DeBari the distinction of Salutatorian of the Class of 2007 at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville.

DeBari, who will receive her Bachelor of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at Commencement exercises on Sunday, May 13, boasts a GPA of 3.98. The Levittown resident chose speech pathology as a major because she's always known that she "wanted to work with children, either in a school, hospital or private practice setting." Presently, she's been fulfilling her clinical practice at the Association for the Help of Retarded Children (AHRC) in Brookville, NY, where she provides therapy for children with different disabilities. "It's been a rewarding and challenging experience," DeBari said. "My clinical practice has been the first opportunity I have had to put what I've learned into action. It's been wonderful to learn that I have been well prepared."

She has benefited tremendously from her involvement with the C.W. Post Honors Program, which she describes as rigorous and enriching. She's particularly pleased that she wrote a thesis as part of the course work. Her research focused on stuttering in the preschool child, a subject "I wanted to learn more about and am now considering specializing in," she said.

Like most students at C.W. Post, DeBari's best moments were not limited to the classroom. She traveled with the Honors Program to France where she explored caves, visited chateaus in Tours and experienced the magic of Paris. Perhaps more importantly, she got the chance to test out her French, and passed with flying colors. "It was an amazing experience," DeBari says of the trip. "I had always wanted to practice the language and the opportunity was perfect." Her wanderlust has also taken her to Italy and this summer, she's packing her bags for Ireland. In the fall, she will enroll in a master's degree program, although she has not yet decided which institution she will attend.

For the past year, DeBari has served as president of the C.W. Post chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, a position that allowed her to spend time with professors and offered the chance to get to know just about everyone in the undergraduate speech pathology program at the campus. "This opportunity has reinforced the notion that although I am in a leadership position, I am only as strong as my support system," wrote DeBari in a recent essay. "Only when working together with the other officers and members on the organization can success truly be achieved."

DeBari, who has always been thorough and driven, didn't have to delve too deeply into researching what C.W. Post had to offer. Her brother, Jeremy DeBari, graduated from C.W. Post in 2002 with a psychology degree. He was also part of the Honors Program.  Dana Debari is a 2003 graduate of Kellenberg Memorial High School.

The salutatorian is selected by a committee comprised of faculty and administrators.        

Posted: March 26, 2007