Alumni Spotlights

Alumnus Follows Newspaper Path of Mentor and Friend

Some students can only dream of following in the footsteps of their professors. Jay Mullen went ahead and did it.

Mullen ’20 is beginning his professional career at Manchester Media in Granville, NY – just as Media & Communication Professor and Castleton alumnus Dave Blow ’86 did.

“It puts a good thought in my head that I’m heading in the right direction, knowing that he started there and [former Glens Falls, NY, Post-Star reporter] Don Lehman ’87 also started with Manchester Media. They ended up being pretty big names in local journalism. I’m hoping to move forward the way they did in the field,” Mullen said.

Graduating with a Media & Communication degree with a concentration in journalism, Mullen also served as sports editor for the Castleton Spartan, which was awarded second place for Best Newspaper at a four-year institution with less than 5,000 undergraduate students enrolled. In his new role at Manchester Media, he primarily reports for the Whitehall Times with his stories also appearing in the Granville Sentinel. The job provides a variety of valuable experiences as he will be able to cover events, write hard news stories and features, proofread, and design pages.

“When I worked for the Spartan, I was primarily the sports guy. Toward the end of my time at Castleton, I was trying to get into more hard news and feature stuff. I think that helped me get into this role more easily,” Mullen said.

Some people are hard-wired to be storytellers. It’s true for Mullen, and it’s also true for Blow, who stays active in the field as a journalist. The pair recently teamed up for a freelance assignment at The Post-Star.

“I think I was doing freelance work and finishing up an article when I got a text from Dave that said, ‘I think we should write a story together,’” Mullen said. “I was taken aback because Dave played such a large role in my wanting to do this. It was a surreal experience because we had done similar things at the school, like when he would come help us cover a meeting. It was oneon-one learning from a guy who I consider not only my mentor but a friend. It was an honor and a humbling experience.”

The article focused on parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a rewarding experience for both Mullen and Blow.

“I had never collaborated with a former student on a story before, but after Jay had already done some freelancing for The Post-Star, I got the idea to give it a try,” Blow said. “To see that co-byline on the front of the Sunday paper just felt so good. I hope it felt just as good for him.”

Castleton’s Media & Communication program is focused on producing storytellers, regardless of their choice of media, which creates a versatile degree that can be applied to many career fields.

“Castleton has its finger on the pulse of what the market and what the world looks like outside of the University, and they are preparing people who want to get into the communication realm. They all do a really great job at it,” Mullen said.

Mullen credits several Castleton professors with shaping him into the storyteller he has become, including Department Chair Michael Talbott, Assistant Professor Sam Boyd-Davis, and, of course, Dave Blow. Blow said Mullen will be insanely busy as a community journalist and can use that experience to climb the journalistic ladder to bigger daily papers.

“Jay has a passion for storytelling, like I did at his age and still do, and we need good journalists in this world, perhaps more than ever these days. When I learned he was hired at the Granville Sentinel as a reporter, it brought back a flood of memories for me from 30 years ago when I was a fresh Castleton State College graduate starting my career there,” Blow said. “As a professor, I try to ooze out the passion I have for journalistic storytelling into students, and when students like Jay are receptive and become great storytellers themselves, I’m not sure there’s any bigger professional reward.”

Cooking up a New Career: Chef Joe Lewi ’85

When Joe Lewi ‘85 told his parents he wanted to be a chef, they rolled their eyes at the idea.

“They told me I couldn’t be a cook, so I decided to go into the entertainment and public relations business like them,” explained Lewi, who utilized his time in the Castleton Media & Communication Department to master the trade.

Marketing and promotion came naturally to Lewi. The day after graduation, he headed to Madison Square Gardens in New York City and began working for Barnum and Baily Circus as an event promoter. He spent the next 20 years successfully building a career that specialized in event and entertainment marketing for clients ranging from Disney on Ice to Sesame Street Live and the Harlem Globetrotters, and eventually opened a firm of his own.

When the recession in 2008 hit the entertainment industry, The Lewi Company’s business felt the devastating effect, leaving Lewi questioning his next professional move. His wife, Melissa, a 1986 Castleton alumna, had the answer.

“She reminded me I always wanted to be a chef, so I stopped everything,” he said. “I quit my job and went to the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts and became a chef.”

Chef Lewi was ready for the chance to fulfill his original culinary dream and eager to learn.

“I had to work as hard as I could because it takes at least 10 years to become an Executive Chef,” said Lewi. “It was the greatest thing I’ve ever done.”

Since 2015, Lewi has served as the Executive Chef for National Amusements, Inc., a world leader in the motion picture exhibition industry, operating more than 900 movie screens in the United States, Great Britain, and Latin America. He travels to all of the showcase theaters, designs the restaurant concepts, and menu creations, is responsible for quality control, and works with staff on producing the optimal dine-in movie theater experience. He also manages his own weekly YouTube series, “Sunday Dinner with Chef Joe,” which he created during the recent pandemic shutdown.

The crossover between his former career in entertainment and his passion for cooking continues to amaze Chef Lewi. The blending of worlds has created his ideal outcome.

“I’ve come full circle if you think about it,” he muses. “I loved the entertainment business and I wanted to become a chef. Now I’m a chef who works for a movie theater company, but I’ve always seen food as entertainment.”

Chicken and Seafood Jambalaya FROM CHEF JOE LEWI

2 whole bay leaves 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper 1 tsp. dried oregano 1 tsp. white pepper 1 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves 3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil ½ cup chopped andouille smoked sausage 1 ½ cups chopped onions 1 cup chopped celery ¾ cup chopped green peppers 2 chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces 2 tsp. minced garlic 4 medium size tomatoes, peeled and chopped 1- 8 oz. canned tomato sauce 2 cup seafood stock ½ cup chopped green onions 2 cups uncooked rice (converted) 1 lb. peeled large shrimp 10 oz. oysters in their liquid

Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In a 4-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and sauté until crisp. About 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers: sauté until tender but firm. Add the chicken. Raise heat to high and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce heat back to medium. Add seasoning mix and minced garlic, cook about 3 minutes stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and cook until chicken is tender. Add the tomato sauce and cook 7 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Then stir in the green onions and cook about 2 minutes. Add rice, shrimp, and oysters; stir well and remove from heat. Transfer to an ungreased 8x8 inch baking dish. Cover pan snuggly with foil and bake at 350° until rice is tender; about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve immediately.

Your role in the Castleton University community does not end at Commencement! Castleton is committed to providing its nearly 20,000 alumni with meaningful, lifelong connections, both personal and professional, between alumni and the University, wherever they are in the world. These valued connections are maintained through dynamic events, career mentoring, online and social channels, philanthropic support, and alumni publications.

number of spartan alumni living in state 1-49 50-99 100-499 500-999 1,000+

?Did You Know? Leading Companies who have employed Castleton Alumni 17,773 living alumni 11,724 in new england 99 living abroad 8,805 in vermont 701 in florida 58 in canadaBY THE NUMBERS Update Us On Your Spartan Journey! Start a new job? Move to a new city? Get married? Continue your education? Castleton would love to hear from you about your post-graduation experiences and ensure we have your most up-to-date contact information on file. stay connected at: CASTLETON.EDU/ALUMNI-UPDATE Castleton University was ranked the top public college in Vermont and third in the nation for job placement, with 94.66 percent of alumni employed, according to the career resources website Zippia.