The Spring 2026 Colloquium series is a three-part event held by CUNY SPS’ Student Association leaders that created conversations on diverse topics bringing together students, professors, and subject matter experts. Covered over three months, their thoughtful discussions included the February panel Giving, Receiving, and Using Constructive Feedback at School and Work exploring constructive feedback, a second panel in March entitled Practical Selfcare and Support in an Education Community that focused on practicing selfcare, and a third panel in April called Actionable Hope, which was framed around environmental awareness.
The Kiosk took time to sit down with the Spring 2026 Colloquium hosts and speakers Chance Nalley, the co-president of the Student Association and a MA in Psychology student, and Tracey Pinelli, a Student Associate member and MS in Health Information Management student. We learned more about the two and why this series is important for the SPS community.
During the “Giving, Receiving, and Using Constructive Feedback” panel, the discussion felt refreshingly candid. Was that openness intentional? In what ways do you think modeling vulnerability in giving and receiving feedback helps students grow personally or professionally?
Tracey:
Yes, the openness was intentional. We wanted people to feel comfortable, and we wanted the panel to come across as genuine rather than disingenuous. Feedback often carries a negative connotation, but students should see that it can help them improve and also affirm what they are already doing well.
Chance:
Part of that candidness came from how the panel was built. We wanted all voices represented, so the panel included a faculty member, a graduate student, and an undergraduate student. That kind of diversity creates more open dialogue and makes it possible for students to respond to expectations instead of just being talked at. We also crowdsourced the panel questions from the community and then refined them, so the discussion came directly from community concerns.
The “Practical Self-Care and Support in an Education Community” session touches on maintaining balance in a demanding academic environment. Is there one practice or mindset that you’ve found especially effective for sustaining mental wellbeing in our community?
Tracey:
One thing I do is give myself a day off, and for me that’s usually Monday. I never do discussion board work on Monday, and I also try to go out and keep some balance between work life, school life, and home life. Sometimes I fail, but I do my best to maintain that balance.
Chance:
I also give myself a day off, usually Monday, but I prepare for it by doubling down on Sunday. I try to get everything organized ahead of time, and on Monday the only thing I do is make a checklist of assignments for the week. I also try not to be hard on myself if I get to a point where I just don’t want to work anymore that day, because then I can just reorganize my time instead of forcing it.
The third series, “Actionable Hope,” coincides with Earth Day and highlights environmental responsibility. As a largely digital community, we often view online engagement as eco-friendly but technology also has hidden costs, like e-waste and data energy use.
Tracey:
Honestly, I don’t think we really can fully reconcile it. AI and data centers use huge amounts of energy, and the convenience is built into work and daily life that most people are not going to give it up unless they are willing to live very differently. In my field, health information management, so much is already automated that people are often just checking what the systems do, which shows how deep technology is embedded.
Chance:
I think Tracy’s answer is the reality check. Data centers, streaming, and the larger digital world all consume energy, mostly from fossil fuels, and technology also uses physical resources through manufacturing and e-waste. Making computers requires extractive industries, and discarded technology often gets exported to places that bear the environmental burden. We can’t put the genie back in the bottle, so the real question is how to reduce or offset the impact and become more intentional stewards of the environment.
Organizing and leading these discussions must have been meaningful. How has participating in or hosting these events influenced you personally or professionally?
Tracey:
It was fun being on the panel because I had never really done anything like that before. I also brought my daughter, who is a freshman at Lehman [College], and it encouraged her to think more about being active on campus. For me, it reinforced that people should be more involved and connected, even in an online environment, and that if you live nearby, you should participate when you can.
Chance:
I love to learn, and it’s been meaningful to learn about things outside of class. When [the] Student Association decided to do these colloquiums, we wanted them to be meaningful for the community, and the topics came from what students were actually interested in. Hosting them has exposed me to subjects and perspectives that were not previously on my radar, so it has definitely been a growth opportunity.
Each event has a theme and reflects a different part of student life. If you could imagine a student persona that embodies each theme, what qualities or values would they represent?
Chance: When we thought about the colloquium series, we wanted events that represented the entire community. We wanted the programming to be relevant to faculty, staff, undergraduate students, and graduate students, so the “persona” is really a blend of everyone in one person. The core values there are inclusivity and relevance.
Tracey: I think that persona would represent collaboration and a healthy student life. Sometimes there is so much negativity in the news and around school life that it matters to create spaces where students can come together, be happy, and be supportive. I’d want that persona to reflect a welcoming environment for people who choose this school, or really any CUNY environment.
What do you hope students will carry forward into their academic and personal lives?
Tracey: I hope they carry forward a sense of community, because that can be hard to establish in an online school setting. When I was in the bachelor’s program here, I felt very separated and did not really understand that there was life beyond Blackboard or that there were things to do on campus. It wasn’t until I got involved with Student Association that I realized you really can get to know people and do things here, so I hope students take away that there is more than just schoolwork and academics.
Chance: I’d say ditto, and I’d expand that to faculty and staff too, because they can also feel siloed in an online environment. I hope people take what they need from the series, because there is something in it for everyone even if each person connects to a different part of it.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Tracey: Since this is our last year in [the] Student Association, I hope the students coming after us continue on the same path and keep doing more of this kind of work. I’d love to see it continue, and I’d love to come back and see it and maybe even take part again.
Chance: I was going to say the same thing. Anthony [Anthony Sweeney
Associate Director of Student Life] had said that faculty members had been interested in starting a colloquium series for years, and when [the] Student Association decided to take up the initiative, it actually happened. I really hope it keeps going.
