‘Savor life’s small and big moments’
May 20, 2023 | By Deidre Williams | buffalonews.com
David Simon, a native of New York City, is Cola Simon’s first child to graduate from college.
When David was deciding what colleges and universities to attend, he researched SUNY Buffalo State University and liked what he saw, Cola said.
When she dropped him off at Buffalo State four years ago, “It was a wonderful feeling,” she said.
At Saturday’s graduation, Cola said she was “full of pride.”
David, who will be returning home to work as a certified public accountant, was among approximately 1,300 undergraduate and 500 graduate students to graduate Saturday during the university’s 151st commencement ceremonies held in the Buffalo State Sports Arena.
Garrett D. Rosen, a Clarence resident, graduated with a degree in business marketing and will be moving to Tampa, Fla. to get his master’s degree, his grandmother Mary Ann Hassett said.
“He’s worked so hard,” Hassett said, adding that Rosen at one point wanted to be a forensic scientist, just like the fictional character Abby Sciuto in the “NCIS” television series.
But Rosen rethought his plans following a field trip in which he had the opportunity to examine a real dead body.
“After that, he said, ‘You know what, Grandma? I want to work with live people,’ ” Hassett laughed.
If only for a brief moment, Rosen made the same career choice as Deneen Hernandez (Seneca, Cattaraugus Territory) a recently retired forensic examiner with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The career path is not as glamorous as some may think, she said.
“Before we get started, I’d like to dispel some myths about forensic examiners,” Hernandez said during her commencement address during the 9 a.m. ceremony.
“First, we all don’t wear stilettos to a crime scene. Second, we are not all six foot and blond. And third, The Who has never provided me with a cool soundtrack in the background to any of my investigations,” Hernandez joked, referencing the popular “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” television series franchise.
“Looking back, I have fond memories of Buff State,” she continued. “When I attended, I was working for the Seneca Nation of Indians Police Department on the Cattaraugus Reservation on the midnight shift and attending classes in the evening.”
Hernandez, who has about 30 years of varied law enforcement experience, graduated with the class of 1988 from Buffalo State in the criminal justice program. She worked in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laboratory Division in the Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit in Quantico, Va.
In that role, Hernandez and her fellow examiners deciphered complex and unfamiliar messages, according to a 2019 profile published by the FBI. The codes they broke included gang graffiti, gang tattoos, gambling records and drug ledgers. In one case, Hernandez analyzed a spell that someone had cast.
Deciphering coded communication requires significant analysis, including identifying the language and determining if it uses any coded systems, according to the FBI. Cryptanalysts then restructure and translate the language for investigator use.
Hernandez, who is an enrolled member of the Seneca Nation of Indians from the Cattaraugus Reservation in Western New York, was first a tribal police officer. After earning a master’s degree, Hernandez worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration before moving to the New York State Gaming Commission. She later worked for the National Indian Gaming Commission, where she received FBI forensics training. In 2003, Hernandez transitioned to working for the FBI full time.
“You never know where your journey will take you, and it is up to you to navigate,” Hernandez told the graduates. “Education and experiences provide you with opportunities. Buff State provided me with opportunities … It reinforced the idea never to pass up an opportunity, no matter how small, how brief or how insignificant you think it is.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. Be proud of your accomplishments,” she concluded. “Savor life’s small and big moments. Reflect and regroup on the let downs and the bad moments, but, today, savor your accomplishment of graduating with your friends and your families.”
