Parents always want the best for their children. And every once in a while, an experience is so rewarding that a father or mother wants to share it with a son or daughter. Such is the case of Michael and Shoshanna Rikon, father and daughter alumni, whose paths to professional success began at NYIT. Michael: I had a part-time job with a public accounting firm when I first attended NYIT in 1963. At the time, there was only one NYIT campus, in an old Knights of Pythias building on W. 70th St. in Manhattan. Besides being near my job, the school’s proximity to Lincoln Center provided easy access to local theater, film, music and other performing arts. I attended class in the morning, went to work and headed back to NYIT for more classes at night.

I was one of the fortunate ones – a college student right smack in the middle of the greatest city in the world. I loved the school, I loved the location and I loved my teachers. I remember with fondest memories how my professors guided me on my career path.

Shoshanna: My father always shared memories of his college days at NYIT. So, it was natural that when I started looking at colleges across the Northeast, NYIT was on my short list. I was particularly attracted to the college’s advertising program, as well as its location, which was not far from home. Like my father, I loved the NYIT experience. I enjoyed the diversity of the student body, forged relationships with close friends, learned much about life, and developed valuable leadership skills. It was at NYIT that I learned how to mobilize a small group of people and use their talents to organize a variety of events. To this day, I am proud of the charitable causes we worked with, and believe that while we were at NYIT, we made a difference.
 
Learning to lead at NYIT gave me a great sense of confidence and equipped me with the people skills I use every day in my business. When I graduated in 1997, I was extremely proud to receive the Alumni Scholarship Award – the same award that my father received when he graduated some 30 years earlier.

Michael: After graduating from NYIT and later from law school, I passed the New York State Bar exam and believe I was the first NYIT graduate to become an attorney. I served in several legal positions in Manhattan until 1980, when I started my own practice. Fourteen years later, I merged my firm with Samuel Goldstein and Sons, a law firm founded in 1923. Our present law firm – Goldstein, Goldstein, Rikon & Gottlieb PC – specializes in condemnation cases. In addition, I serve as special condemnation counsel to the towns of East Hampton, Southold and others throughout Long Island.

Shoshanna: After graduation, I helped people find jobs until I decided to open my own recruiting firm, Rikon Associates LLC. In the process, I learned another skill – the ability to tell when two people were right for each other. From this came Shoshanna’s Matches, a Jewish matchmaking service based in midtown Manhattan. To date, my company has received press coverage in the New York Post, New York Sun and Jewish Forward. In addition, I appeared on the Dr. Phil Show, the Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, Metro Channel, Fox 5 News, and several radio shows.

Michael: NYIT taught me to be the best in all of my endeavors. I owe a lot to this school, and when it came time for my daughter to select a college, I had no problem recommending my alma mater as the place where she could receive an education that emphasized career training and professionalism. I also knew that the NYIT experience would provide her with lessons beyond the classroom, equipping her with the skills she would need for success. NYIT did not let us down.

Shoshanna: You know I will recommend NYIT to my children when they start thinking about college. And surely, a few words from grandpa couldn’t hurt.