Class of 2017 graduate Ron Philippe recently spoke to the campus community as part of SUNY Old Westbury’s Black History Month programming. At the event, “Using Your Story to Tell Your Story,” the Industrial and Labor Relations graduate spoke about being an author, and shared how students can craft their personal stories in their own way.
His first book, “Combing Through Tangletown,” tells the story of the Stylez Twins as they "comb" their way through their first year at Tangletown Jr. High and deal with moving to a new place and school. Philippe wanted to share a story about issues from his own life, including natural hair and bullying.
After graduating from SUNY Old Westbury, Philippe worked as a substitute teacher and was inspired by students to work on his writing. He went on to pursue his master's degree in special education at Lehman College, and currently works as a special education teacher teaching kids with moderate to severe disabilities. Philippe uses his position to inspire his students to constantly think outside the box so that they can be successful.
His eBook, “Alopecia - What's That?” shows how he teaches his students how to handle dealing with hair loss and is available on his website. Philippe won a SUNY Old Westbury Student Leadership “Outstanding Program of the Year” award for his writing workshop “Write with Ron” that he conducted with his fraternity Iota Phi Theta in 2021.