class notes alumni
Elizabeth Berney ’95
Listening, Learning, and Imparting Knowledge: All Part of the Job Unity Alumni at February reception at Crosstrax Back Row: John Blais ’96, Joe “Salty” Saltalamachia ’94, Leigh Juskevice ’92, Hauns Bassett ’97. Middle Row: Ashley McCorkindale ’10, Stephenie MacLagan ’07, Annette Hanser ’83, Justin Preisendorfer ’00, Nicole Lazure-Collins ’00, Daniel Bowker ’00, Donna Bancroft ’85, Justin Merrill ’07, Melissa May ’99 and son. Seated: Dot Quimby, Unity College Head Librarian, retired, and Monica Murphy, ’87.
Above: Unity alumni chatting at Crosstrax. Right: Leigh Juskevice ’92, Hauns Bassett ’97 and Stephenie MacLagan ’07 chatting at Unity alumni party at Crosstrax.
Keith Tompkins is a territory manager for an aquaculture system design company in Florida. He and Kim have seven children between them. 1994
Brian Carolan is a licensed arborist with Almstead Tree and Shrub Care in Watertown, Conn. He and Sue have two children. Penny (Parker) Flood works at Viking Lumber in Belfast, and Gene ’90 works with his father. They have twin boys. They are remodeling their old farmhouse. Rob Gauthier is a veterinary tech at the Animal Clinic of Windermere, Fla. Jon Giracca has served 17 years as a victim witness advocate/domestic violence for the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office. He was appointed district chair for Appalachian Trail District of the Western Massachusetts Boy Scouts. He lives with Maria Martin Arenas and her son.
her husband. She has three children, 10 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Justin Snyder is a dispatcher for the Rockingham County, N.H. Sheriff ’s Office. He and Tiffany have two children. Robb Wistner is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Supply Chain Specialist working with C-TPAT (Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism). Laurie ’94 teaches Preschool in Woodlands, Texas and is working on certification in Spanish. They have two boys. Last year, Robb met up with Marc Goldberg ’93 at the Comicon convention. 1995
Connie Berube married Neil Berry in October. Their six-year old daughter was flower girl. Connie works with families through the Maine Home Visiting Program. Jenny DeFreites is a potter and a beekeeper. This summer, she was part of a queen bee rearing initiative, using a technique known as grafting.
By Debora Noone, Alumni and Parent Relations Coordinator The first thing Elizabeth Berney ’95 learned after leaving college is that jobs she vied for weren’t in the areas she trained for at Unity. She does credit Unity for giving her the skills. In her first job as an environmental educator she used fun facts from classes led by Dave Potter, Jerry Cinnamon, Chris Marshall, and Dave Knupp to develop her curriculum. Thinking outside the box led Berney to amazing opportunities, including her current position as a librarian at the Duke University Medical Center. “I may not be using my Unity land use planning degree, but I am using many skills I learned in that program,” says Berney. “Information gleaned from my environmental problems class have assisted a nursing student in writing a paper on chemical contamination.” Berney sites other examples of how she translates skills learned at Unity while assisting library patrons. “Helping a medical student with a literature search on a new HIV drug and its known side effects, I use what I learned in biology and chemistry classes.” Berney uses Unity-learned skills in her own job responsibilities. “Taking tree measurements in statistics class can be applied to the usage stats I compile monthly.” “Education is fluid,” states Berney. “Unity has provided me a foundation to my lifelong love of learning.” Technology has changed much since her days at Unity. Now Berney works with various technologies, including web and graphic design, inventory database software, internet/database research options, and management software such as Blackboard and Sakai. Tools like iPads allow her to do reference work via Skype and IM’s, reaching patrons who may be operating on a patient, or serving as global health fellows in Africa. “I love working in academia and in libraries. Rarely are days dull, and I learn something new every day.”
Mary (Flood) Poirier co-owns Jerry’s Gems on Route One in Saco, Maine, with UNITY SUMMER 2012 |
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