Eastern Magazine Summer 2020

Issue 33

Summer 2020

Your Donation Increases Much Needed Student Scholarship Support Help the University defray the costs of publishing EASTERN Magazine by making a financial contribution. Your generosity will allow us to shift those savings directly toward expanding scholarship funds for Eastern students with unmet financial need.

Go to https://ecsufoundation.com/magazine/ and help our students achieve their dreams.

Staff and Contributors Executive Editor Kenneth DeLisa Editor Edward Osborn Associate Editor Michael Rouleau Designers Leigh Balducci | Kevin Paquin Contributors Dwight Bachman | Peter Dane | Joseph McGann Robert Molta | Ed Osborn | Michael Rouleau | Dean Roussel Michael Stenko Photographer Tom Hurlbut Editor’s Note We encourage alumni and other readers to share their stories with us. Send us a Class Note. Tell us what you like and want more of in EASTERN Magazine. Share stories of your time at Eastern, or what you are doing now by emailing us at editor@easternct.edu EASTERN Magazine is published by the Division of Institutional Advancement for the benefit of alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends of Eastern Connecticut State University.

EASTERN Magazine is printed on coated paper that is certified by three environmental groups and manufactured with 30 percent post-consumer recycled fiber.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT I write to our alumni and friends at a unique time in human history. While the immediate future is full of uncertainty, I can share with you how Eastern has been meeting the challenge of COVID-19. I could not be prouder of our students, faculty, staff, alumni and other members of our Eastern community during this pandemic.

When students left for Spring Break on March 13, we told them to prepare for two weeks of online instruction when they returned. Our employees left campus that day as well, and when the realities of the pandemic became clear, we joined Connecticut in working, teaching and studying from home for the balance of the semester.

With only a week to prepare, the faculty moved 1,500 classes online! We helped 2,200 students move safely home and packed and stored the belongings of those who could not manage to do so on their own. We conducted hundreds of advising, counseling and other support sessions online and stayed connected using a range of online tools.

Even as we vacated the campus in March and finished the semester online, Eastern was having an outstanding year. The Board of Regents approved two new majors in Data Science and Anthropology. A faculty committee finalized new learning outcomes for our liberal arts core, and other committees developed the next strategic plan and an employability model to enhance our graduates’ marketability in the workforce. We also worked on our accreditation Self-Study. On May 19, we held a virtual commencement and the YouTube video we created has had more than 8,000 views. Under the circumstances, it was an exceptional year.

As you read this issue of EASTERN Magazine, we are preparing for the fall semester, when we hope to feature a comprehensive mixture of “hybrid” on-ground courses and online instruction. With 6,500 signs posted across campus to remind the community of healthy hygiene habits and safety guidelines; 500 new hand sanitizers; plexiglass partitions; reduced room capacities; and a host of other safety protocols, we are committed to doing all we can to provide students, faculty and staff a safe campus environment. If health conditions change, we are also prepared to move to a fully online semester.

This issue of EASTERN Magazine tells of some of the efforts made since March to provide an outstanding liberal arts education to our students. It tells the stories of heroic alumni working in the healthcare industry to save lives. Another story tells of dozens of volunteers making face masks for local care facilities. Everyone is doing something to support the battle against COVID-19.

This is a seminal moment in our history and potentially the threshold of new beginnings.

Whether innovations in medicine or other new discoveries are in the making, the pandemic has brought a new appreciation for our frailty as individuals and our need as humans to stay connected. At Eastern, we remain together even as we are apart. Thank you for being part of what has made our University strong throughout our history. We will endure.

Elsa M. Núñez

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 1

Eastern Alumni: Unsung Heroes on the COVID-19 Front Lines

By Dwight Bachman, Bob Molta, Ed Osborn, Dean Roussel

As we watch people across America struggle with the tragic effects of COVID-19, the bravery of countless doctors, nurses, researchers and other people working on the front lines of this battle have offered us hope and inspiration as they work tirelessly and selflessly to save lives. Among these unsung heroes are many Eastern alumni, who, at great personal risk, are working to protect their communities.

Yuberki Delgadillo ’18 of Quaker Hill serves as a registered nurse in a COVID-19 renal respiratory unit at Lawrence and Memorial (L&M) Hospital in New London.

After graduating from Eastern, she took six months off before enrolling in the University of Connecticut’s accelerated nursing program, graduating in December 2019. A month later, she started working at the hospital.

Delgadillo said COVID-19 has presented monumental challenges she would never have imagined. “A lot of the things I learned in nursing school are out the window. However, I am pleased to be able to put a face to this deadly disease. My COVID patients are real human beings. The most heart-warming aspect is making sure my patients know they were not alone, isolated in their rooms.”

Delgadillo said Eastern’s liberal arts education was the best preparation for her career in nursing. “Nursing is all about blending art and science, and at Eastern I experienced wide-ranging groups of people. In nursing, I work with people of all ages and walks of life. Eastern has helped me better connect and interact with my patients in a more caring, sensitive and meaningful way.”

2

Dr. Rukevwe Ehwarieme ’08 works with a team of specialists as a locum hospitalist, traveling across the country — to Texas, New Hampshire and here in Connecticut — to serve areas in need of a hospitalist due to the pandemic. Ehwarieme and his fiancé postponed their wedding and honeymoon due to COVID-19! Both are serving as locums at hospitals across the nation. Prior to traveling to areas of need, Ehwarieme served in a similar capacity at W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. He is currently in Fellowship Training in Infectious Disease at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where he is furthering his education and research in infectious diseases.

“This particular coronavirus is new. None of us knows it all, so we have to collaborate with a wide range of specialists to ensure that protocols are in place to properly treat patients fighting for their lives. When you are trying to save someone’s life, teamwork takes on new meaning. It is wonderful and joyous to see someone recover from this deadly virus.”

Danielle Bourne ’13 works at Yale-New Haven Hospital as a registered nurse. Until recently, her floor was a COVID-positive floor, which means that every one of her patients had tested positive for COVID-19 and had a serious enough case to be hospitalized. She works twelveand-a-half-hour shifts, travelling to New Haven from her residence in Groton. When arriving home, she says it’s imperative to shower before doing anything, to eliminate any possibility of bringing the virus home with her.

Ehwarieme earned his B.S. in Biology at Eastern, an MBA in Health Care and Administration from Davenport University in Michigan, and his medical degree from the Saint James School of Medicine in Anguilla. He completed his residency at Michigan State University.

Until recently, full eye shields and N-95 masks had been a requirement of her job; since her floor shifted to a non-COVID floor, a surgical mask is still required on all hospital premises.

Despite all this, Bourne sets out to help her patients every day. Although the job is stressful, her passion for her profession has not wavered, even in the pandemic. She emphasizes that “I love being a nurse and I still love helping people and want to help people. Even if it’s hard, it’s what I want to do with my life.”

A softball and volleyball athlete at Eastern, Bourne still enjoys playing league beach volleyball with her fiancé Brett Egri, whom she married on July 26. In their free time, they also enjoy backpacking and hiking.

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 3

Molly Scherban ’17 of Wethersfield majored in Health Sciences at Eastern and serves as a registered nurse for Hartford Healthcare. After graduating from Eastern, she worked part time as a personal care assistant in home care for two years while going to nursing school.

Scherban’s life took on new meaning with the arrival of COVID-19. Her floor at Hartford Healthcare, usually a cardiac-telemetry floor, now takes only patients infected with COVID-19. “It has not been easy to face this challenge. COVID-19 hit us all as soon as I started working as a new nurse, so it was even more significant and required a much faster learning curve than it would have been if I were starting out under normal circumstances.”

Scherban said that though nursing is one of the most dangerous jobs one can have these days, she still loves what she does. “The most gratifying aspect of being a first responder during the COVID-19 pandemic has been being able to see how this virus affects people firsthand and doing my best to provide the care to help them combat it. Not all patients recover. But then there are those who survive and knowing that I had a part in that is rewarding.”

Ivan Walrath ’03 of Mystic earned his master’s degree in Organizational Management (MSOM) from Eastern. He serves as the head of audit and inspection quality at Pfizer.

“COVID-19 has presented an unprecedented challenge for all of us. The strongest motivation for me and my colleagues is making a difference in people’s lives. There will be no better example of that than developing a vaccine and treatments for COVID-19.”

For the past 25 years Walrath has worked at Pfizer on research and development projects related to clinical trials of experimental medicines. “Eastern’s MSOM program prepared me well for managing in a large organization. The combination of business skills and psychology and critical thinking was a perfect blend of education. To this day, I still refer to some of my coursework and texts for myself as

well as in the coaching I do as a leader.”

Walrath said he loves being involved with research that may help the entire world.

“When I personally look around and see the impact of the pandemic on my family, children, community, colleagues, neighbors who are healthcare professionals and first responders, I see no better contribution I can make than work as hard as I possibly can alongside my colleagues to deliver these breakthroughs as fast as possible.”

A Health Sciences major with an Exercise Science minor, Erin Sheehan ’19, also stayed busy on campus as a field hockey and lacrosse athlete. Her academic focus and self-discipline as a student-athlete helped prepare her for life as a first-year nursing student at New York’s College of Staten Island during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 12 — roughly six weeks into the second semester of her two-year nursing program — the college announced it was moving to online learning for the balance of the semester. Sheehan packed her bags that night and boarded the train the next day back to her home in North Branford.

Sheehan completed the spring semester online, logging onto Blackboard each day to take three-hour lectures, clinical training and a three-credit pharmacology class. Videos and demonstrations through video chat replaced hands-on learning, which made it “a difficult task. It’s a lot of self-teaching, which isn’t ideal,” she says.

Raised in a nursing family that included a grandmother, two aunts and two cousins, Sheehan was convinced of her destiny after taking a human anatomy class as an elective in high school. “This whole pandemic draws me even more into the nursing field and the medical field itself,” she says. “I wish that I had my license already and I was helping patients.”

4 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

Stephanie Durbin ’10 earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Eastern in Biopsychology, an individualized major she created. This year would have been her 10th reunion, and she was planning to return to campus for Reunion Weekend this past May. “The pandemic changed all that.”

Durbin is in Macon, GA, working as a critical care registered nurse for one of Georgia’s only Level 1 hospitals, serving 55 of Georgia’s 159 counties. “To say we’ve been busy is putting it mildly,” she says. “Early on in the pandemic, the hospital asked who would be willing to be on call for the COVID units in the event of a surge in patients. The number of intensive care unit nurses who stepped up was amazing.

“I am certified for critical care as well as neurology and trauma. My job is to work in whatever unit has the greatest need. When I’ve been asked to go to the COVID units, I go.

More often than not, I am asked to go to critical care units that have found themselves with an unexpected surge of high-acuity patients. Strokes still happen. Sepsis still happens. Trauma still happens. In this time, a lot of us are cross-training for various specialties to make sure patients have an adequate number of staff to take care of them.”

Two current Eastern Connecticut State University students are making special contributions to Connecticut’s fight against COVID-19 as members of the Armed Forces. Freshman Jacob Schumacher was deployed this spring in the Army Reserve to maintain and repair military vehicles and transporting medical supplies.

“My initial thought to being called up was, ‘Man, college is about to be a whole lot harder,’” said the Business Administration major. “When you’re deployed, you have to focus on the mission at hand over anything else, and that mission may take up most if not all of your day.”

STUDENTS DEPLOYED FOR LOCAL RELIEF

After completing his Eastern degree, Schumacher aspires to become a member of the Army Special Forces.

Sophomore Richard Hoyt served in the Army National Guard as a transportation coordinator at a commodities warehouse in New Britain, where he helped to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to medical facilities and first responders across the state. Corporate Hoyt, who has been deployed overseas in countries such as Poland, noted the distinction with his current deployment: “You’re helping people in your own community, (people and places) you’ve known your whole life.”

Hoyt works full time, in addition to being a full-time computer science major.

“It’s hard work, the hours are long, busy and crazy, but you’re helping your community directly,” he said. When his workday ends, Hoyt’s school day begins. He gets home between 5 and 6 p.m., walks his dog, has an evening coffee, then focuses on schoolwork. “I’m always in bed before midnight.”

Jacob Schumacher

Richard Hoyt

Hoyt’s aspirations mix computer science with transportation as he considers a career in civil engineering or cybersecurity.

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 5

By Michael Rouleau ’11 and Ed Osborn

TOGETHER WHILE A P A R T

EASTERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY RESPONDED TO THE LOOMING THREAT OF COVID-19 ON MARCH 17 BY ANNOUNCING STUDENTS WOULD BE LEARNING REMOTELY FOR THE BALANCE OF THE SEMESTER AND EMPLOYEES WOULD BE WORKING FROM HOME. AS A LIBERAL ARTS UNIVERSITY THAT THRIVES ON FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION BETWEEN FACULTY AND STUDENTS, EASTERN SUDDENLY FOUND ITSELF IN UNCHARTED TERRITORY.

Lessons meant for personal instruction had to be reconfigured for remote learning. Syllabi were reinvented in a matter of days. Students and faculty had to embrace new technologies. Patience and flexibility became the underlying themes in a time of isolation, anxiety and hardship. As the global pandemic abruptly changed daily life the world over, the ingenuity and resilience of Eastern students, faculty and staff carried the University through the end of the academic year.

English Professor Miriam Chirico and History Professor Anna Kirchmann used the semester of quarantining as an opportunity for their students to reflect on the personal and societal impacts of the pandemic. For their final projects in Chirico’s freshman honors course, first-year students wrote of their imaginings in a series of writings titled “Dispatches from the Pandemic.”

In her essay “How to Get Out of Bed,” Avan Sheridan wrote, “When I wake up, bright and confused at the soft hour of three in the morning . . . the longing hits for the first time, the wish for human contact, for my friends to be more than videos on a screen

6 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

once a week and text messages that pile up unanswered. A yearning to lie in the sun surrounded by the people I miss most, to huddle on a bed with a group watching a movie while rain pounds on the windows . . . It is the first time I cry in quarantine.”

In Kirchmann’s freshman course “Recent American History,” students provided eyewitness accounts of life during COVID-19. Their writings are preserved in the University’s library archives as primary historical sources. “My perception of society as a whole has changed,” wrote one student. “The world is so much grander than we take it to be on a daily level. We all have our own problems and events going on, but COVID has made me realize that we are all really the same.” Another student wrote: “Living through this experience is teaching me a lesson that every day is a gift and shouldn’t be wasted. After this pandemic, I believe people will show much more gratitude, especially for the little things.”

For the undergraduate musicians enrolled in “Individual Music Instruction,” the shift to online learning posed new challenges for final performances, which are traditionally performed live in front of a

Alumni joined the virtual classrooms of Kinesiology and Physical Education Professor Charlie Chatterton and Communication Professor Andrew Utterback, sharing their professional advice and encouragement with students during Zoom discussions and video meetings. “I always enjoy speaking with classes at Eastern, whether it’s in person or virtually,” said Casey McGarvey ’13 of his chat with Chatterton’s students. McGarvey is the director of athletic communications at Elizabethtown College. “The biggest thing I stressed to them is the importance of creating relationships. Take advantage of every opportunity to meet, talk and foster relationships with professionals and colleagues.”

In Utterback’s course “Studio Television Production,” Meg Saunders ’15 of WTNH-TV emphasized the value of participating in Eastern’s student-run newscast and the reality of news studios — with or without a pandemic. “As a producer, you need to be able to multitask, communicate well with your team, and work as fast as possible without compromising accuracy. The ultimate goal every day is to have a clean newscast on-air, no matter how hectic it may feel behind the scenes.” faculty jury. The new format called for students to record their performances at home and upload them to YouTube for a juried review. “The result was a spectacular success,” said Okon Hwang, professor and chair of the Music Program. “I am very proud of the fact that we were able to finish this tumultuous semester with such fine results by employing ingenuity, creativity and a great community spirit in the face of overwhelming obstacles.”

Top: Students in individual music instruction perform their final performances at home to allow for YouTube juried reviews Right: Eastern alumni — clockwise from top left — Anthony Rosati ’09, Pearson Davis ’14, Andrew Girard ’17 and Brian Clark ’10 met with students from Professor Charlie Chatterton’s Sport and Leisure Management class via Microsoft Teams.

Spring ‘virtual’ semester

1,500 ONLINE

CLASSES

850 2,200

resident students moved safely home

TELE-COUNSELING SESSIONS

9,500 VPN sessions a month EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 7

Students in Art Gallery Director Yulia Tikhonova’s “Graphic Design History” class created pandemicinspired artworks during the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. The art remains on display on the Art Gallery website. The students’ posters portrayed a range of concepts, from coronavirus particles raining down in an apocalyptic scene to a personification of “Mother Earth” wearing a face mask. During times of crisis, Tikhonova says it is the job of artists to be the emotional “first boots on the ground.”

“Through this online exhibit, Eastern joins the nation in its efforts to maintain our community ties and cultivate dialog.”

Artwork by Katlyn Tourigny ’22

Michele Bacholle’s “French Cinema” class met one spring day to discuss Emmanuel Carrere’s film “The Mustache,” where the simple premise of shaving one’s mustache opened up a realm of interpretations. Is the man having a mental breakdown given that his wife doesn’t notice the mustache is gone?

Is this part of a massive plot against him led by his wife? Professor Bacholle drew a mustache on her face, which her students failed to notice — making her feel like the character! She also shared a Kahoot game about famous mustaches and posted it on the “French at Eastern” Facebook pages. Voila!

Biology Professor Ross Koning found new technology to teach his lab. “I purchased a microscope adapter for my cell phone, so I could share what I was seeing in the microscope with the students. My voice went via the cell phone to the class participants as I described the treatments I was giving to the organisms in the microscope view. The students could directly observe the organism’s behavior or response to the treatments. They are interacting with each other, embracing

the ‘gotchas’ of the technology and being flexible with adversity.”

Near the end of the virtual semester, more than 100 students adapted to online technology to participate in the 20th anniversary of the CREATE Conference (Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern). Presentations ranged from artwork to oral presentations recorded on video and audio, the work of performing artists, and posters

Preparing for the fall 6,000

6,500

masks available for campus use WASH YOUR HANDS 20 SECONDS +

SIGNS PROMOTING HEALTH AND SAFETY

300 FACULTY TRAINING SESSIONS 8 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

Elementary Education and Sociology double major Elizabeth Simonds ’20 reads to her second-grade class from home

on research ranging from early childhood development to genetics, geological formations and Victorian literature. As President Núñez noted, “This CREATE website reminds us that technology can span time and distance to provide us with a rigorous intellectual experience, albeit in a virtual world.”

“The Bridge” by Art Major Alexandria O’Brien ’21 was one of 104 submissions to CREATE 2020

500 NEW HAND

SANITIZING STATIONS

130

classes fitted with webcams, podium microphones and document cameras

ON ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY MODES

More than 1,250 undergraduate and graduate students watched from home as Eastern Connecticut State University conducted its 130th annual Commencement Exercises via YouTube on May 19. In addition to 1,175 undergraduates, 85 graduate students received their degrees.

Amidst the turmoil of COVID-19, Commencement speaker Mark Boxer of Cigna encouraged the graduates to find ways to give back to society, turning to legendary children’s television personality Mr. Rogers for inspiration: “‘There are three ways to ultimate success — the first is to be kind, the second is to be kind, the third is to be kind.’”

Boxer joined Eastern President Elsa Núñez and other university officials on the same day the University had originally planned to hold its graduation ceremony at Hartford’s XL Center. The proceedings were delivered virtually over the University’s YouTube channel in keeping with State of Connecticut guidance banning large gatherings during the pandemic. Provost Bill Salka, University Senate President Andrew Utterback and Senior Class Vice President Emily Kerfoot also participated in the formal program.

Serving as Cigna’s executive vice president and chief information officer, Boxer said that his company’s mission to improve global health and wellness has never been more important than it is today in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. He extolled the value of higher education, recounting his own journey and telling the graduates, “The knowledge you gained here at Eastern is the fuel that will propel you to make a truly meaningful impact.”

Boxer urged the graduates to continue their quest for knowledge, noting that he had continued learning in some educational setting each year since he first graduated from college more than three decades ago. (Since our Commencement, Boxer retired from Cigna to become the chief operating officer at the University of Hartford.)

In her charge to the graduates, President Núñez said, “Since you arrived four years ago for summer orientation, Dr. Mark Boxer 10 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

the faculty and I have been telling you that the liberal arts skills you learn at Eastern will serve you well throughout your careers and your personal lives.”

She cited critical thinking, professional communications, ethics and collaboration as competencies highly sought by U.S. employers. “Those same skills are critically needed today as we seek to get beyond COVID-19. I know each of you has the skills and the courage to find your place in this new world, where you will keep your head on your shoulders, keep your chin up, and make a unique contribution to society . . . Go forth now with confidence, compassion and commitment. Come back and visit us when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, let us know if we can help you in any way. God Speed!”

Senior Class Vice President Emily Kerfoot gave President Núñez the class gift, a check to establish a scholarship in the name of the Class of 2020.

Kerfoot told her classmates, “As you sit with your family at home, watching this commencement, tell yourself you did it. You made it. Through all the challenges you have faced, you can be proud to be an Eastern alumnus. Be proud that you will go on in life knowing that you are going to accomplish such amazing things. As the famous physicist Albert Einstein once said, ‘It’s not that I’m so smart. It’s just that I stay with problems longer.’ Let’s stick to it, Class of 2020!”

More than 40 percent of the Class of 2020 are the first in their families to earn a bachelor’s degree. Approximately 90 percent of Eastern students are from 162 of the state’s 169 towns, with more than 80 percent of graduates staying in Connecticut to launch their careers, contribute to their communities and raise their families. The University also draws students from 34 other states and 19 countries.

This year’s event was videotaped in Eastern’s otherwise empty Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Instructional Center, with each speaker taping their remarks separately in keeping with safety guidelines. Even as a virtual event, the graduation ceremony maintained an atmosphere of grace and dignity,

President Elsa Núñez

with the stage a replica of the one used at the XL Center and “Pomp and Circumstance” and “America the Beautiful” played during the proceedings. At the end of the formal program, graduates watched as their names scrolled on the screen, sharing the celebration safely at home with their families.

Prior to Commencement, the university sent each graduate their diploma cover, two copies of the evening’s program, and their mortarboard and tassel to make their family’s festivities more complete.

To see the Commencement ceremony, graduate photographs and more, visit https://www. easternct.edu/commencement/commencement-2020.html.

Emily Kerfoot

Photo By: Shane Blackett

CLASS OF 2020

EASTERN GRADUATES FIRST CLASS OF THEDREAM.US STUDENTS

by Michael Rouleau ’11

F

our years ago, Eastern Connecticut State University was one of only two universities nationwide selected to pilot a groundbreaking scholarship program in support of undocumented college students. In partnership with TheDream.US, in fall 2016 Eastern enrolled its first cohort of DACA students, brought to the United States as children and facing barriers to accessing a college education in their home states.

my mindset changed; it motivated me. Instead of hiding my status, I spoke about it, wrote about it.

It was liberating.”

Of the 47 students who started in fall 2016, 43 graduated this past May, and three more are on track to graduate in the coming fall semester. This pioneering cohort leaves behind a legacy of inclusion, academic excellence and civic engagement on Eastern’s campus.

North Carolina-native Evelyn Lemus Silva ’20 majored in biology and was one of Eastern’s two 2020 Barnard Award recipients — the most prestigious undergraduate award bestowed by the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system. Lemus will soon begin a research assistantship at Stanford University where she will work in a lab focused on the gut microbiome — a research interest she developed while at Eastern. She aspires to attend medical school to become a medical doctor and research physician. “Today, I am who I am — academically, emotionally and socially — because of my experiences at Eastern.”

TheDream.US is a privately funded organization that awards scholarships to high-achieving undocumented youth from “locked out” states that either disqualify them from financial aid or in-state tuition, or prohibit them altogether from attending a public university or college in their home state. Eastern’s 2020 cohort of DACA graduates come from Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri, Wisconsin, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Louisiana.

“For any undocumented person, it’s hard not to be ashamed of your status,” said Vania Galicia ’20, an English major from Connecticut and a law school aspirant.

“Most of my high school career, I thought I was the only undocumented person. When I came here and saw a community so supportive, with people in the same shoes,

With an average overall GPA of 3.5 and a four-year graduation rate of 96 percent, the 2020 graduates — and more than 200 other DACA students actively enrolled at Eastern — are among the university’s most talented students.

“These students came to this campus in 2016 not realizing that they would be part of something so monumental and a change agent to the Eastern community,” said Maribel Sanchez, Eastern’s opportunity programs specialist.

Pablo De Dios Perez ’20 majored in digital art with a minor in computer science. The North Carolina native found his calling through multiple clubs and the Center for

Community Engagement (CCE). “I learned what it means to be a part of a community that accepts somebody different,” he said. “It doesn’t matter your status or your background; Eastern is an accepting place.”

Yineira Lopez ’20 double majored in political science and sociology. The Georgia native served as the president of the Student Government Association (SGA) and aspires for a career in law, working as a paralegal focused on workers’ compensation and human rights. “Eastern’s small campus allowed us to connect with other people and create a community of undocumented students,” she said. “Our needs and challenges were new to everyone, but the faculty, staff and administration were

very supportive, and the students were willing to help us create a community.”

Juan Matiz ’20 majored in computer science and participated in Eastern’s on-campus internship with Cigna. After two semesters working as a cybersecurity intern, the Georgia native recently landed a position with the company. He hopes to become a cybersecurity penetration tester. “My Eastern experience exceeded my expectations,” he said. “I never would have thought that I’d have the opportunity to be president of a club (College Democrats), form another club (Freedom at Eastern) and eventually end up working for a Fortune 500 company.”

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 13

clerks and senior living center staff, who faced a scarcity of face masks during the mounting crisis. CCE Director Kim Silcox picked up finished masks from quarantining volunteers and made regular deliveries to organizations including Windham Hospital and Yale New Haven Hospital, the Seabury retirement community, Windham No Freeze, Covenant Soup Kitchen, Access Agency and many more.

“We received an incredible act of goodwill and generosity from Eastern Connecticut State University,” wrote Seabury on its Facebook page in April. “As our own residents and staff have been creative in making their own homemade masks, this

CCE Volunteers Make

1,800 Masks in Pandemic

Relief Effort

boost from Eastern couldn’t have come at a better time!”

“For many of us, the difficulty of the ’stay at home’ orders was not being able to contribute in any way,” said Therese Hart, one of the effort’s top volunteers. “Our natural response to a crisis is wanting to help. I was grateful to have such a handson project during these past several months.”

“I’m definitely not an experienced seamstress,” said Trudy Hyatt from Eastern’s Information Technology department, who tried three patterns before settling on one that she could make well. “They became easier to make every time and sew up quickly so you feel like you’re getting something done that may help someone somewhere.”

“Production making is an art,” said Mary Oliver, university assistant in the CCE. “Making different designs is a technical challenge and using fabrics I have on hand is a creative experience. I’m so glad that community folks jumped into this, as making something of real use is a

BY MICHAEL ROULEAU ’11 A team of seamstresses organized by the Center for Community Engagement (CCE) volunteered to make face masks for workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two dozen faculty, staff and friends of the university participated in the months-long effort, sewing and donating nearly 2,000 cloth masks to organizations facing shortages throughout the state of Connecticut.

small way to give back.”

Melody Wiley, another long-term volunteer, was motivated by her first-responder husband and son, who are volunteer firefighters. “There are times when I’m sewing that I have tremendous heartache,” she said.

“I think of the many people getting sick, the people risking their lives who need

The effort answered a call from healthcare providers

masks, people not able to be with loved

and essential employees, including grocery store

ones and the many people who have died.”

14 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

“My oldest daughter is a registered nurse in a Connecticut hospital,” said Nancy Deede, university assistant in the CCE. “I hear her horror stories and realize her need to have cloth masks on hand for her family at home, including my three grandsons. Helping them has helped me to deal somewhat with being unable to see any of them.”

(In addition to the CCE’s homemade mask-making project, Eastern’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety donated 1,200 surgical masks to the Windham Emergency Management office for distribution to agencies across town.)

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 15

The Faculty

of the Future Eastern is fortunate to have many junior faculty who bring passion and innovation to their classrooms. We asked six of them about their thoughts on working at Eastern.

Nashid Anjum

Computer Science

What is your teaching philosophy?

Brianna Halladay

Economics

Linking the academic world of the classroom with the professional world opens the window for students to share their views and ideas about contemporary cutting-edge technologies and research areas that are beyond the scope of textbooks. Students in a classroom have different academic maturities and interests. My philosophy is to teach in accordance with the students’ needs and their learning styles.

History

What is your teaching philosophy?

I strive to teach students the contours of American history, to think critically about the past, and to conceptualize history as a contested terrain that we still navigate today. I am especially passionate about teaching the stories of people who are not always included in the traditional narrative, including women, African Americans, Native Americans and LGBTQ people. Ultimately, I want students to explore their own passions, to educate them as future citizens, and to provide them with knowledge and skills that they will take with them for the rest of their lives.

What are your research interests?

What are your research interests?

My current research includes reliable connectivity and coverage analysis of flying ad-hoc networks, as well as autonomous UAV networks for disaster management and emergency services.

Tom Balcerski

What are your research interests?

My research uses laboratory experiments to test behavioral responses to competitive environments and learn how those behavioral responses differ between males and females, how emotions affect these behavioral responses, and how the competition task affects responses. I hope my research can speak to the larger question of why women continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields as well as in top positions within corporations.

My research focus has been on the political history of the United States, with special interest in how gender and sexuality intersect with American politics. My first book explored the personal and political relationship of 19th-century Democrats James Buchanan and William Rufus King. I also reach a broader audience by writing for and speaking to the general public, including on CNN, C-SPAN, the Washington Post, the Advocate Magazine and Smithsonian Magazine. Currently, I am working on a new book project about the long history of the Democratic Party, America’s oldest political institution.

What is your teaching philosophy?

Why do you enjoy teaching at Eastern?

Eastern is a great institute to practice quality teaching and research activities.

It is remarkable how the teachers of Eastern work as a team and dedicate themselves to their students’ success. Eastern also offers an impressive, accepting culture toward any positive ideas and activities, which encourages me to keep growing as an educator, researcher and academic.

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Students are people with different feelings, life situations and different circumstances. It is my goal to present the material in a variety of ways to reach as many students as possible. It is important to adapt to the dynamic nature of my students’ needs by learning new techniques and asking students how I can help.

Why do you enjoy teaching at Eastern?

When I first visited Eastern, I heard many staff, faculty, students and administrators speak about the sense of community on campus.

From my very first day, I can honestly say that I have felt that strong sense of community and have truly benefited from the support of my Eastern colleagues.

Why do you enjoy teaching at Eastern?

I truly enjoy engaging with students inside and outside of the classroom. Whenever possible, I bring students into the wider world around them, whether this means exploring the nearby Arboretum or attending a regional conference of the Phi Alpha Theta honor society at Salem State University.

Courtney Broscious

Political Science

DeRon Williams

Theatre

As a political science professor, I am particularly concerned with how my students can effect change in the political world and focus my courses on approaching reform to institutions that are often resistant to change. I employ three main strategies to help students master content, develop essential skills and build efficacy to enter the political world after leaving Eastern.

First, I focus on goal setting by examining the learning outcomes for my course and students’ goals. Second, I expose students to real-life applications of our course materials. Third, I encourage them to participate in original research.

What is your teaching philosophy?

As an artist and scholar, my teaching philosophy is anchored in being a lifelong learner, being a great listener, and facilitating investigation as I nurture students to become informed artists and critical thinkers. I am continuously adapting my teaching style to reflect how my students learn best. I merge this with diverse course content, as it is imperative to emulate the diversity of my students, the society around us, and the world.

I believe in fostering a positive, nurturing, yet challenging atmosphere in my classes. Both the instructor and the students contribute as thinkers and problem solvers that help and encourage each other to achieve course goals. Building a connection is important. I strive to broaden my professional experience and skillset that I can bring to the classroom. I want to make my students confident, resilient learners by praising them not just for mastery of skills, but also for effort, curiosity and creativity.

My research and creative interests are rooted in the intersections of race, gender and sexuality in performance, pedagogy and practice. I’m in the initial phase of developing two different book projects. The first examines the racial and patriarchal structures within American theatre and the ways in which they complicate the growth and development of Black and women directors. My second project focuses on the ways in which intersectional solidarities are reflected in/through performance, performance venues and performance theory in times of oppression.

Why do you enjoy teaching at Eastern?

Eastern is a teaching university with a strong focus on our students. This focus has allowed me to work with students in the classroom and through independent studies to explore interesting research topics and generate ideas for policy reform in the United States. Additionally, I work with wonderful colleagues who inspire me in and outside of the classroom.

Our faculty works tirelessly to improve our teaching, continue our research, and serve the university. It is an honor to be a faculty member at Eastern.

What are your creative pursuits?

My creative pursuits focus on graphic design, illustration and animation using digital tools. The industry of digital art and design is evolving rapidly, and professional practice is essential for me to deliver up-to-date and useful information to my students. Aside from teaching, I devote my time to training, working with clients and networking. Over the years, I have worked with advertising agencies, publishers, gaming companies, application platforms and small business owners.

Why do you enjoy teaching at Eastern?

Eastern is a close-knit community with a positive and fostering academic environment.

My life here has been rewarding at every level. Professionally, I feel confident about my teaching and professional development with the support from the administration and my department. I enjoy working with my talented, hard-working colleagues and students. I am proud everyone here is committed to the same goal — to better serve our students. I’m proud to call Eastern my academic home.

What are your research interests?

My scholarly research centers around two fundamental questions: what are the obstacles to criminal justice reform in the United States and how does implementation of policy affect criminal justice outcomes? Additionally, a large portion of my work is more practically focused and examines the effectiveness and functioning of alternative-to-incarceration programs.

Art

What is your teaching philosophy?

What are your research interests?

What is your teaching philosophy?

Boya Li

Why do you enjoy teaching at Eastern?

Eastern’s aligns with my pedagogical approach, which is to provide skills and knowledge so that our diverse population of students can live purposeful lives through practical experiences.

The administration genuinely cares about the arts and understands its value. This allows my colleagues and me to present courses and performances that challenge our faculty, staff, students and the local community. In addition, the Fine Arts Instructional Center is a theatre professor’s dream — to have a technologically advanced facility as our playground.

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 17

A PRICELESS CAREER: Alumni Put Their Values to Work in the Non-Profit Sector

BY MICHAEL ROULEAU ’11

Professionals with liberal arts degrees hold any number of roles and occupations, sometimes unexpected and unrelated to the pursuits of their college years. Whether they were called early on or found their way later in their careers, many Eastern graduates now fight for a range of causes by working in the non-profit sector.

Eric Mann ‘96

Jennifer Keatley ‘93

“I wasn’t really called to it as much as it called me,” said Eric Mann ’96, who is the executive director of the Utah Association for Justice (UAJ). A graduate of Eastern’s Business Administration program, his extensive non-profit career was preceded by his time as a banker. “I was absolutely burned out. It wasn’t my passion, it was a paycheck.”

Jennifer Keatley’s move up the non-profit ladder happened unexpectedly, too. A 1993 graduate of Eastern’s Communication program, she’s now the executive director of United Cerebral Palsy of Connecticut.

Taking the advice of a family friend, Mann applied for a job as a campaign manager at United Way and got it. One organization led to another, including an upward stint with the Clark County Bar Association in southern Nevada, before he landed the executive director position at UAJ in 2013.

“I have loved my two decades of working with attorney associations due to the causes they champion and the passion of our members to make an impact on the community as a whole,” said Mann, who works with legislative committees to fight for the rights of Utah citizens.

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“Many people are drawn to a cause because they are affected by the cause, or see a social injustice,” she said. “In my case, 13 years ago, I took a job as the human resources manager, and from that point, my passion grew.

“The more I learned, the more passionate I became,” she continued. “The more I learned about the needs and opportunities for people with disabilities, the more interested I was in being an advocate for their inclusion and working together to remove barriers to independence.”

The progression for Marilyn Lowney ’99, on the other hand, was different. A 1999 graduate of the master’s program in Elementary Education, she was seemingly nurtured into her position as executive director of the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF), a Norwich-based non-profit that runs a full-service health clinic in Jeremie, Haiti.

Marilyn Lowney '99 and her father, Jeremiah J. Lowney, in Haiti.

The organization was founded by her father, an orthodontist who started out doing service work — dentistry — in Haiti in the 1980s. “I was young when I first went down — 14 or 15 years old. The poverty really struck me. Haiti helped me grow up,” said Lowney, who recalls taking trips with her family — “all four kids” — to clean dental instruments and assist with other tasks.

at large faces unique challenges in comparison to the rest of the economy. In order to sustain, nonprofits are largely dependent on grants, donations and volunteers.

Engaging donors and leading fundraising campaigns is Kelli Byrd’s primary mission.

She’s a 2012 graduate of Eastern’s Sociology program and the partnership manager of the Connecticut State Employees Campaign for Charitable Giving.

“Raising money to keep your organization alive can be a challenge,” she said. “Even with a great cause and fundraising plan, it does not mean that people will give.”

“Money is always the main issue,” added Mann. “Are we earning enough revenue to sustain growth? Are we able to offer ‘bang for the buck’ for our donors and members?”

Speaking to the changing fundraising landscape brought on by the Internet and social media, Mann said, “The ongoing issue is whether the organization is appealing to its donor base. Thus, it’s even more important for each charity to present a compelling argument for giving to their respective cause.

Marilyn Lowney ’99

“My family was always into giving back,” she said. “It was a key aspect of our parents’ education… part of your purpose in life.” HHF now employees approximately 200 staff in Haiti who care for more than 250,000 people in the region.

With the honorable missions and important causes that nonprofits address, the sector

Kelly Byrd ‘12

nonverbal to ‘speak’; shepherding a piece of legislation that passes; or getting a grant that allows us to provide a vital program for a large number of people.”

“The internet has created many new opportunities for causes that may not have had a ‘place at the table’ in the past. At the same time, the older charities have to get with the times or die on the vine.”

Challenges aside, working in the non-profit sector is gratifying. “The rewards are both little and big,” said Keatley, “whether it’s connecting a person to a resource; helping someone with a disability get their first job; providing a piece of assistive technology that allows a person who is

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 19

“Seeing people overcome challenges pushes you to want and do more in life.” KELVIN HARRIS ’05

What does it mean to be non-profit

?

ERIC MANN “Just

because I work for a non-profit does not mean that I have taken a vow of poverty. Let’s get one thing straight: ‘Non-profit’ means that there are

Kelvin Harris ’05

One of the rewards for Byrd is skills development. “Non-profits frequently have fewer employees, so you consistently take on new challenges that ultimately expand your professional skills,” she said, citing authenticity and accountability as key qualities of effective leadership.

In addition to being true to herself and honest with the people she works with, she said, “We all make mistakes, but if we’re accountable it’s a matter of getting through the mistake and putting processes in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The best part of her job, however, and something with which many in the non-profit sector agree: “It’s such a rewarding feeling knowing that everyday I get to use my head and heart to make a positive change in the world, which gives my life new meaning and purpose.”

For Kelvin Harris ’05, a Sport and Leisure Management graduate, the rewards are personal. He’s the director of leadership development

20 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

and alumni relations for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program at the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).

“I see myself in the students,” he said of his program, which funds the college educations of 1,000 low-income students of color every year.

“Our stories are connected. I can relate to the struggle of being the first in your family to go to college, feeling isolated.”

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the scholarship program supports high-achieving students who face barriers accessing college. “I get to become a mentor, a guide, and see them fulfill their potential.”

Harris recalled a homeless student who lived at a baseball field in Cleveland. After receiving the scholarship, he enrolled at Harvard and now works at Microsoft. “Seeing people overcome challenges pushes you to want and do more in life.”

no shareholders in the organization; no board members or volunteers are making a profit. It does not mean that the organization cannot make money. More revenue gives the board more choices. Thus, my motto is ‘Run your non-profit like a for-profit company.’”

Stefanos Stravoravdis ’20 of Colchester, CT, and Evelyn Lemus Silva ’20 of Burnsville, NC, were Eastern’s recipients of the 2020 Henry Barnard Distinguished Student Award. The Barnard Award recognizes 12 outstanding undergraduates each year from Connecticut’s four state universities — Central, Eastern, Southern and Western. To be considered for a Barnard Award, a student must have at least a 3.7 GPA and a record of significant community service.

d r a n r a B y r n e nH i W s r o i n e S n

by Dwight Bachman s d r a Easter w A t n e d u t S d e h s i u Disting During his four years at Eastern, Stravoravdis earned a 4.0 GPA, double majoring in biology and mathematics. He interned at Eastern’s Summer Research Institute in network science and during a summer fellowship at Cornell University. He also collaborated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station on his honors research. This past year, Stravoravdis’ research was published in the Journal of Microbiology and in the proceedings of the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting.

“I am grateful to have worked with wonderful mentors, especially my thesis mentor Dr. Hulvey, who have given me so many opportunities to learn, to discover, to achieve, and to talk science from start to finish. ”

“I also want to acknowledge the efforts of Dr. Szczys, my first research mentor, who provided me my first real opportunities to participate in scientific research.”

Stravoravdis will enroll in the Ph.D. program in Microbiology this fall at UMASS-Amherst. “Microbes are responsible for helping sustain numerous processes vital to life’s existence on earth. I can try to broadcast the fascinating and important knowledge that we gain from these diverse creatures, emphasizing the pathogens that encompass a small facet of the microbial world in which we all reside.”

Lemus, a biology major, had a 3.88 GPA and is a member of Eastern’s first class of Dream.US Opportunity Scholars — undocumented students from other states with DACA status (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) attending Eastern on academic scholarships. This past year, she engaged in internships and cooperative education at the Stanford University School of Medicine; as a HOPE Medical Scholar at Harvard University’s Medical School; and participated in Harvard University’s Biomedical Science Careers Student Conference.

Lemus presented her research on Alzheimer’s Disease at Eastern’s CREATE Conference and at the NUERON Conference at Quinnipiac University. She also volunteered at Windham Hospital, where she helped staff at the operating room desk and sterile processing department and translated the needs and concerns of Spanish-speaking patients.

“I came to Eastern as a product of someone’s own generosity, which is why I am motivated to continue my academic achievement and also give back,” said Lemus. “As a research physician, I plan to apply my knowledge to prevent and treat diseases and injuries, and I want to be engaged with communities that resemble my own. Just as was given to me, I hope to give to others.”

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 21

Back in the Day

Bunny (Nowakowski) Lescoe ’64 A 1960 graduate of Maloney High School in Meriden, Bunny Nowakowski’s arrival at Willimantic State Teachers College got off to a rocky start that fall. “I got to Willimantic on a Wednesday but was back home two days later after breaking my foot in a soccer game!” She was back on campus a few days later with a walking heel.

One Saturday in October, she and a friend ventured down the hill for Bunny’s first visit to Main Street but lost track of the time.

“We had to be in Burr Hall by 6 p.m. to have dinner in the dining room, and we were required to wear skirts.” They realized they weren’t going to make it back up the hill, so they decided to drop by the Italian Gardens (now Hot Shots) to eat. A group of “townies” were hanging out and watching football on television, including Johnny Lescoe. Johnny and his friend joined the girls, and he asked Bunny to go dancing at the Bolton Lake House. “That was our first date.” Burr Hall had a nightly curfew (10 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends), and Johnny made her late that night. “I still have the slip that summoned me to explain to the Burr Hall Council why I missed curfew. As my punishment, I had to spend the next two weeks working at the front desk!”

Bunny dated Johnny throughout college, meeting him for morning coffee at the Campus Shoppe (now Blarney’s) on his way home from his third shift job at Pratt & Whitney before she went up the hill to class. Bunny graduated in 1964 and took a teaching position in Plantsville. After other teaching positions in Eastford and in Eastern’s Keelor Hall, she purchased a private day care center in 1980, and managed and taught there for 20 years.

“What I remember most about Eastern is that every single teacher cared about every single student. We could go to anyone with any type of problem, because everyone was nurturing.

Most importantly, we were expected to rise and grow with the challenges we were given.”

And what happened to Bunny and Johnny? They married in 1965. With her encouragement, Johnny quit his job to enroll at Eastern, graduating in 1970 and going on to a career as a teacher and Connecticut state representative. Bunny and Johnny were married for 50 years!

“What I remember most about Eastern is that every single teacher cared about every single student.”

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“The library was my ‘hang out spot’ and in the long run it paid off for me.”

Deborah (Delamater) McCrackan ’78 Deb (Delamater) McCrackan grew up in Jewett City, CT, and graduated from Griswold High School. When she was looking at colleges Eastern seemed like a perfect fit — a small campus close to home.

She lived in Crandall Hall her freshman year. “I was elated to be there as it was all brand new! The building was co-ed by floor which was novel at the time. I had one roommate and our room was located right next to the lounge. The location of our room turned out to be perfect because as an introvert, it was easier for me to make small talk and stop to chat with other students as we had to walk by the lounge to come and go.”

As a sophomore, Deb and her two best friends moved to High Rise, where they had to plan their own meals and take turns cooking. “My roommates didn’t complain, so I guess my cooking skills weren’t as bad as I thought. In hindsight, I think they were just being kind.”

Academics were important to Deb and she spent a lot of her time in the library (now Wood Support Services). “The library was my ‘hang out spot’ and in the long run it paid off for me.” Deb was inducted into Omicron Delta Epsilon, the Economics honor society, and graduated magna cum laude. She has especially fond memories of professors John Lombard and Ken Parzych. “Dr. Lombard inspired me to become an Economics major and Dr. Parzych inspired me to seek banking as my career. Both of them and my parents were my role models.”

“Upon graduation, I applied for banking positions. Little did I know that within the first year I would find my true passion, and as a result, enjoyed an amazing 42-year banking career; 29 of those years as a local branch manager.”

Looking back, Deb says her time at Eastern changed her life. “I started my academic life as an introvert, but my experiences at Eastern helped me to become more outgoing and comfortable with people, which made a huge impact on my career as a banker. I am ever so thankful to Eastern for that.”

When Deb enrolled at Eastern, her fiancé Roger was working on his two-year degree in electrical technology at Thames Valley State Technical College. After Deb’s graduation, she and Roger bought a house in Willimantic, and he returned to school for his Accounting degree at Eastern as a non-traditional student.

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 23

Eric ’08 and Sarah (Barber) ’08

Grundfast It all started in early January 2007 when Eric returned to campus a few weeks early to work at his on-campus job in the Athletics Department. Sarah had just returned from the swimming team’s annual trip to Florida, where they train, bond as a team and enjoy some nicer weather before the tough stretch of the season.

Eric chose to work in Sarah’s lane that day — he had had his eye on her since earlier in the year, when several requests for a date had been declined. As always, Sarah competed well and won several events. After the meet Eric approached Sarah to ask her on a date once again — she accepted!

Five years later Sarah and Eric tied the knot in North Kingstown, RI, on May 19, 2012, surrounded by family and friends from Eastern, including Brian Glamuzina (usher), Matt Savage, Kevin St. Pierre, Matt Ramsey, Sarah Dombrowski, Meredith Hoskins and Elizabeth Carlson (bridesmaid), Mandi Brooks (Levin), Amy Golas (swim coach), Maureen Fahey (swim coach) and Bill Hassell (swim coach). Eric and Sarah settled down in West Des Moines, IA, and have resided there for the past seven years. Eric is currently the vice president of sales for the Iowa Wild, an American Hockey league affiliate of the Minnesota Wild.

Sarah works at Principal Financial Group as a production specialist.

24 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

KEVIN ’10 and CASEY (MUGAVERO) ’10

HARRIS

Casey Mugavero spent her junior year at Eastern living in Niejadlik Hall. One fall day she was at a field hockey game when a mutual friend introduced her to Kevin Harris, who was a resident assistant on another floor in Niejadlik. Kevin began stopping by to check on Casey and her roommates when he was on duty. “I knew she had a boyfriend, but she seemed really nice, and there wasn’t any harm in stopping by every now and then to say hi.”

Casey thought Kevin liked her roommate! “My roommate was usually the one who answered the door when he’d come knocking, or he’d stop by when I wasn’t in the room, and I guess they tended to talk more.” One day Casey was sick, so she called Kevin and asked if he could come over to check on her. Kevin jumped at the chance. “Sure, I’ll be glad to skip class and hang out with you!”

“We started hanging out together more as friends,” said Casey.

“I had broken up with my boyfriend, and Kevin was always there to talk to or to lean on.”

Junior year ended and since their families lived just two towns apart (Clinton and Deep River, CT), Casey and Kevin continued to spend time together over the summer. By the start of senior year, they were dating. “None of our friends were surprised,” said Kevin.

“In fact, they wondered why it took us so long, since we were always together anyway!”

Kevin earned his B.S. in Business Administration and is now a financial advisor for Edward Jones. Casey earned a B.A. in Music and a B.S. in Elementary Education and became a special education teacher in Clinton after receiving her master’s degree.

They married in 2014 and visited nine countries on their honeymoon!

Casey gave birth to their daughter in 2018 and their son in March 2020 but that’s not going to slow them down. Their daughter has already been to Alaska, Hawaii and the top of Mount Washington, all before turning three! “Kevin is still the adventurous one. Even though I’m shyer, I trust him to know that whatever we’re going to do next, it’s going to be positive and it’s going to be fun!”

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 25

Eastern and the Colvins —

Larry Colvin ’64 and Carol Weber ’65 dated while undergraduates at Eastern and married in 1966 in Rockville, CT, Carol’s hometown. The connection their families have with Eastern started three decades prior and has continued for six decades following their college graduations. In fact, a “Colvin Family Tree” that is firmly rooted in Eastern really started in the late 1930s when Caroline Mirtl ’41, Carol’s aunt, enrolled at Willimantic State Teachers College. After graduation Caroline was hired in Willington at Hall Memorial School.

“Aunt Caroline had a good experience at Willimantic State and she went on to have an outstanding career in Willington as an educator,” said Carol. “Her sister Mildred, my mother, also attended Willimantic State while teaching in Willington. It was no surprise that I decided to attend Eastern as a commuter student upon graduating from Rockville High School in 1961.”

After graduating from Mt. St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket, RI, and serving in the Navy during the Korean War conflict, Donald Lema, Larry’s uncle from Canterbury, matriculated to

Eastern, eventually graduating in 1969. Donald was employed as an elementary school teacher for 30 years, including stints at St. James School, and Canterbury, Groton, West Stafford, Staffordville and Plainfield public schools.

It was Donald who convinced his nephew from Jamesburg, NJ, to visit Eastern during the spring of 1960. “I was undecided about where to continue my education and my Uncle Donald was pretty adamant about me visiting Eastern in the spring of my senior year at Jamesburg High School,” said Larry. “I liked what I saw and I enrolled for the fall 1960 semester.”

Larry and Carol met in C. Francis Willey’s history class in 1962.

Larry was living in Beckert Hall at the time and Carol was commuting. They dated off and on for the remainder of Larry’s college career. “Dr. Willey was a fine gentleman,” said Larry. “He didn’t own a car and I had an old Pontiac that I drove junior and senior year. Dr. Willey used to ask if I wanted to take a drive to the Dunkin Donuts on Main Street. This became a regular thing.

He would pay for a coffee and donut for each of us that cost

in ’64

Carol Weber ’65 and Larry Colv

Caroline ’41 (left) and Mildred Mirtl

26 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

— It’s a Family Affair! about 30 cents.” Following graduation, Larry landed a fifth-grade teaching job at Skinner Row School in Vernon. Two years later he moved to Vernon Center Middle School, where he stayed until his retirement in 1999.

Carol started her teaching career with 27 third graders in 1965 at Grange Hall. After one year she moved to Vernon Elementary School and taught there until 1967. She took six years off to start her family before returning in 1973 as a tutor and substitute teacher. In 1986 she accepted a full-time position as a thirdgrade teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary in Manchester, staying there until her retirement in 2001.

“Larry and I have wonderful memories of our days at Eastern,” said Carol. “We made friends for a lifetime. We made a point of making it back to campus to attend the reunions.”

In 1989 Larry and Carol’s daughter Christina married Timothy Finnegan ’87, another Eastern graduate who is the senior director of Product, Business Insurance at the Travelers.

Larry and Carol’s grandchildren Rachel and Ryan Carterud are the latest generation of Colvins at Eastern. Rachel graduated from Eastern this spring with an Elementary Education degree.

Ryan will be returning for his sophomore year in August. He is a Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE) major.

Rachel remembers Hall Director Scott Nolan ’12 giving her some good advice in her sophomore year after she had decided not to continue her swimming career at Eastern. “Scott encouraged me to get more involved on campus and that is when I joined the Outdoors Club and the Residence Hall Association,” said Rachel. She landed a paid CAB position as daytime commuter events coordinator that same year.

“The paid CAB position enabled me to organize 12 events per year, six each semester, that involved negotiating with outside vendors and eventually booking vendors. It was a great learning experience for me,” said Rachel. (written by Joe McGann)

Rachel Carterud ’20 (right) will teach fifth grade at Windermere School in Ellington this fall. Ryan Carterud ’23 (left) is a KPE major.

Uncle Donald Lema

Timothy ’87 and Christina (Colvin) Finnegan

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 27

EASTERN DOMINATES

Division III sports programs pride themselves on producing student-athletes — players who are also scholars in the classroom. On that measure, Eastern reigns supreme in the Little East Conference (LEC).

For the fourth year in a row, the Warriors captured the LEC Commissioner’s Cup for having the best overall record across the conference’s NCAA varsity sports. The award is especially significant as Eastern

does not field teams in two of the conference sports — men’s and women’s tennis.

Eastern also captured the Presidents’ Cup for a record fifth time. The Presidents’ Cup is given each year to the school whose studentathletes have the highest overall grade point average. Eastern students won the cup with a 3.2 GPA. “Despite losing our spring season to COVID-19, Eastern’s athletes have again brought honor and recognition to the Univer-

Rahman Oteng Receives All-America Honors Sophomore Rahman Oteng of Accra, Ghana, was named an All-American along with every individual who qualified for the NCAA Division III National Indoor Track & Field Championships scheduled for March 13-14 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellation of the event. Oteng was the eighth seed with a time of 6.86 in the 60 meters and was New England’s top seed.

As the No. 1 seed, Oteng had won the New England Division III 60-meter title Feb. 29 with a program-record time of 6.90 in the 28 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

final. The previous weekend, he had set a meet record at 55 meters at the Little East Conference Championships with a winning time of 6.38.

Oteng becomes the 17th All-American and eighth different individual in the history of the Eastern men’s and women’s track & field program.

sity while achieving greatness on the playing field,” said President Elsa Núñez. “I am especially pleased to see the excellence in the classroom displayed by our student-athletes.

These students are hard at work preparing for rewarding professional careers. They are applying teamwork skills, self-discipline and a commitment to excellence to their academics and demonstrate the same standards in athletic competition.”

Holly E. Zimmerman Memorial Award Volleyball athletes and student-athletic trainers Valencia McClendon of Meriden and Sierra Orr of Woodland, WA, have been named co-recipients of the Holly E. Zimmerman Memorial Award for 2019-20. A junior co-captain in fall 2019, McClendon is a three-year member of the program while Orr, a senior, lettered for the second season this past fall after transferring from Olympic College in Bremerton, WA. Both recipients are Sport & Leisure Management majors concentrating in sport science and human performance. The award has been presented annually since 1994 — one year following the death of Holly Zimmerman, who attended Eastern between 1989–93 as a basketball player and student athletic trainer.

Dee Stephan Named Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Diane “Dee” Stephan has been named the sixth permanent head coach in the 25-year history of the Eastern Connecticut State University women’s lacrosse program.

A native of Clinton, Stephan brings an abundance of coaching and administrative experience to Eastern. She is the founder and owner of the Avonbased Dodgers, Inc., an elite travel lacrosse program for girls that trains and teaches grade-school student-athletes.

Stephan’s appointment follows the department’s recent decision to split the field hockey and women’s lacrosse head coaching positions, both previously held by Christine Hutchison since 2007.

Hutchison will remain as the full-time head field hockey coach.

Stephan’s previous collegiate coaching experience came as head women’s lacrosse coach at the University of Saint Joseph for one year in 2011 and as a graduate assistant field hockey coach at Syracuse University in 1988.

While Stephan prides herself on an ability to maximize the available talent, she points to the University’s academic reputation as a selling point in her effort to attract potential recruits. “I really feel that the academics at Eastern are a lot stronger than I think some people in Connecticut realize. Eastern is positioned well to recruit students throughout the Northeast.”

From 2000–17, Stephan coached women’s varsity lacrosse at Avon, Canton and Lewis Mills high schools and field hockey at Windsor High School and also coached women’s lacrosse for five years at The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, where her teams won league titles every season.

Stephan holds a B.S. Degree in Physical Education from Southern Connecticut and an M.A. in Education from Syracuse University.

She lives in Avon with her husband Chris.

Francis E. Geissler Senior Male SportsPerson-of-the-Year Award Honors Senior soccer midfielder Justin Jensen of Wethersfield was selected as the 22nd recipient of the Francis E. Geissler Senior Male SportsPerson-of-the-Year Award for 2019-20.

A two-year team captain, Jensen’s career spanned 2015-19. He received a hardship waiver in 2017 after injuring himself in the season-opener.

Presented for the 20th straight year, the award is named in honor of Eastern’s former athletic director and baseball/basketball coach who served the University from 1948-77.

Chris Wojick ’11 Named Men’s Golf Head Coach Chris Wojick ‘11 has been named head men’s golf coach. The team will begin play this fall. In addition to his golf duties, Wojick serves as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the baseball team.

“Chris has proven himself to be an exceptional recruiter, and we are anticipating he will help us develop a competitive men’s golf program very quickly,” said Athletic Director Lori Runksmeier. “We are excited to have him as head men’s golf coach in 2020.”

A 2006 graduate of Montville High School, Wojick has been coaching college athletics for nine years in various roles. Both his parents — Anna and Bill — are also Eastern graduates.

Wojick transferred to Eastern in the spring of 2008, helping the baseball team to four straight NCAA tournament berths, two Little East Conference regular-season championships and one LEC tournament championship. He holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Eastern and is working toward his M.A. degree in Liberal Studies.

After a 38-year hiatus, intercollegiate men’s golf was reinstated in the summer of 2019. “I’m very excited about adding men’s golf to our complement of varsity sport offerings at Eastern,” said Runksmeier. “This commitment demonstrates the support that President Núñez and other members of the administration give our student-athletes and the Athletic Department.”

Bonnie J. Edmondson ’87 Senior Female SportsPerson-of-the-Year Award Senior cross country and track and field letter-winner Samantha McKosky of Deep River was selected as the 22nd recipient of the Bonnie J. Edmondson Senior Female SportsPersonof-the-Year Award for 2019-20.

McKosky closed out her indoor career this past winter by becoming the first woman to win the Little East Conference mile run for a record third straight season and being voted LEC female Track Athlete-of-the-Year. In cross country, she earned All-LEC honors three times and was named LEC Rookie-of-the-Year as a freshman.

Presented for the 20th straight year, the award is named in honor of the former two-time All-American in the discus who distinguished herself on the professional level in the discus and hammer. She is a member of the USATF women’s track & field executive committee and chairperson of the Women’s Commission.

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 29

CATCHING UP WITH

GREG DEVEAU Greg DeVeau ’87 graduated with a degree in Business Administration and quickly landed a job at The Hartford. A few years later the company promoted him and transferred him to a position in Kansas City, MO. He has been in Kansas City ever since and now works there as a senior vice president for Swiss Re, a reinsurance company.

On How His Eastern Education Worked For Him

“I would not be in the position I’m in now without my Eastern education. It taught me how to prioritize. It taught me how to set and achieve goals.”

What Is “Reinsurance?”

“Reinsurance is essentially insurance for insurance companies. Insurance companies must protect themselves against disproportionate losses due to extraordinary circumstances. We are living through that right now, but at a level nobody could have imagined. Worldwide, it’s widely thought that the COVID-19 disaster will be the largest loss in the 300 years of the insurance industry.”

With Lee Travino

30 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

Greg and his son (Greg!) at the Super Bowl

On Life In Eastern Kansas

“The Midwest, often referred to as ‘fly-over country,’ is a wonderful part of the country. It’s filled with friendly, caring, hardworking people. Kansas City has a population of 500,000 people but still has that small-town feel. The first week I was out here, someone walked by and said hello.

I said to myself, ‘Do I know that person?’ But I didn’t know anyone here. I figured out people are just nice.”

What He Enjoys About His Job

“As a senior vice president I am one of the underwriting leaders for Swiss Re’s property and casualty reinsurance business. I travel to where concentrations of clients are, and the travel is a part of the job I really enjoy. I like meeting with clients and getting to know them and their business needs. My work with Swiss Re has taken me to all the states except the Dakotas.”

On His Community Involvement

“I am the stewardship leader at my church and on the board of directors there. Our church has a preschool, before- and after-school care and a summer program. It is an important part of the community.”

A Message To The Eastern Community

“I would like to ask for other alumni to reflect on their time at Eastern and how it’s helped them. If they feel it has helped, consider supporting Eastern in some way, financial or otherwise. Those of us who benefitted from an Eastern education should pay it forward.”

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 31

CLASS NOTES 59 REISA (GOLDFARB) SWEET is chair of the Ocean County (NJ) Human Relations Commission. The commission works with the county prosecutor’s office to identify needs for programs designed to prevent bias crimes.

68 MARY ELLEN (DAVIES) GIARD and a fellow teacher led a three-year effort guiding young students to design and build a 9-11 memorial that culminated in the dedication of the memorial on Sept. 11, 2019.

During her 41-year teaching career, Mary Ellen was a fourth-grade teacher for many years but has been a reading interventionist recently.

74

82

CHRISTINE SACERDOTE retired from her position as coordinator of early childhood programs at Lander University in Greenwood, SC, but she continued to teach in Lander’s Montessori school this summer.

Chris came to Lander in 2012, after earning an Ed.D. at Argosy University in Minnesota and teaching at St. Catherine University in St. Paul.

JACK CASSADA retired from Travelers this year after 34 years working in IT systems design, 28 years with The Hartford. Jack and his wife Christine (Martin) ’82 share that their daughter, Kelly ’18, is starting her third year at Maria Sanchez school in Hartford as a third-grade teacher.

When COVID-19 arrived in March, TERRI WILSON asked friends and neighbors for fabric, elastic and other essentials, and started making masks on her new sewing machine. To date she has made more than 1,000 masks, donating them to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, healthcare workers, Foodshare, nursing homes and other grateful recipients.

79 JANET HECK-STRYCHARSKI forged an impressive career before retiring in 2018 and marrying Robert Strycharski. After graduating with a degree in English from Eastern, Janet earned a master’s degree in Linguistics at the University of Connecticut in 1981. She started her career as a proofreader, then joined a Wall Street firm and advanced to become its vice president of administration and a partner. She went back to school to earn a degree in nursing.

83 BRIAN MAGNA, owner and operator of Magna Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Center in Avon since 2005, opened a second clinic in February in the Collinsville section of Canton. The Collinsville office will be smaller than the Avon clinic, but will include physical therapists and other specialists.

84 Though he lost his election bid to become the representative for the 48th District in the Connecticut legislature, MARK DeCAPRIO continues his service to his hometown of Lebanon. He is on the town’s Board of Education, was previously on the Zoning Board of Appeals, and also served as the Lebanon Emergency Management Director for six years. Mark retired in 2018 after a 32-year career with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Mary Ellen (Davies) Giard ´68 (far left)

32 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

In Memoriam

85 An Environmental Earth Science major, RICK LARSON worked for eight years as a consultant in western Massachusetts and then spent a 21-year career with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection/Drinking Water Program. A year after his retirement the University of Massachusetts asked him to manage a program to test all the drinking water fixtures for lead in Massachusetts public schools and childcare facilities.

WILLIAM ANTHONY "ANDY" JONES 1958-2020

Longtime art professor William Anthony “Andy” Jones passed away on Jan. 25, 2020. Andy was born in Raleigh, NC, and went to St. Andrews College in Laurinburg, NC. He played basketball in high school and at St. Andrews before earning his MFA at Louisiana Tech University.

Although Andy was known primarily as an oil and watercolor landscape painter, he had an array of talents ranging from being a printmaker and illustrator to fixing cars and building his own home painting studio.

Andy’s art has been exhibited across the United States, and he was elected to membership in the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts and the Connecticut Plein Art Society. Of special note was the recognition Andy received in 1999 when his painting of the Charter Oak was chosen as the design for the Connecticut quarter in the U.S. Mint’s state quarter series.

Environmental Earth Science Professor Drew Hyatt taught a First-Year Program course with Andy and also joined his friend on several trips with students to Providence State Park in Georgia: “We spent time in the field in Georgia and places in Connecticut, and it was fascinating to watch him work. He was a truly gentle soul, and a gifted artist with the ability to engage students across the arts and sciences.”

Andy is survived by his wife Deborah, his daughter Lydia, sons Sam and Will Jones, his parents and numerous other relatives.

Rick Larson ´85

86 RON REGAN is a realtor at Beach Road Properties in Orleans, MA. PATRICIA SESTO became director of the Greenwich inland wetlands and watercourses agency in 2015, and was promoted to director of environmental affairs in 2018. Prior to coming to Greenwich, she was Wilton’s director of environmental affairs for 23 years.

JEANNINE MARTIN UPSON founded the Union Historical Society in 1974, became the town historian in 1990 and continues in that role today. A nontraditional student, she majored in History and

went on to earn a master’s degree in Education Administration at the University of Connecticut.

She retired in 2006 as director of advancement systems at UConn.

87 STEVE CULBERTSON became assistant director of education at Arch Bridge School in Bethlehem, CT, in January 2020. Arch Bridge teaches students in grades three to 12 while they are also in treatment or in a therapeutic environment for psychological or emotional issues to prepare them to reintegrate into their home schools successfully.

Steve has worked at psychological hospitals and regional education centers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

PATRICIA WODATCH has stepped down as head softball coach at Platt High School in Meriden after 22 seasons of guiding the team.

She will not be retiring altogether; she remains a physical education and health teacher. Trish forged an outstanding Hall of Fame career at Eastern on the 1985 and 1986 national championship teams. Her coaching career started with four years at Yale and she also had a stint as head coach at the University of Hartford. She is a member of the Connecticut Scholastic and Collegiate Hall of Fame as well as Eastern’s and Platt’s Hall of Fames.

88 KELLY CECCHINI has taught in the English Department at Manchester High School for the past 20 years. She has served as an adjunct professor at Quinnebaug Valley Community College for 12 years and in the University of Connecticut’s First Year Writing Program for the past five years.

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 33

90

93

ELIZABETH DUPONT-DIEHL has a new job as grants and proposal manager for Connecticut Public Broadcasting. Liz has an extensive background in working for nonprofit organizations in Connecticut in leadership and communications roles. She graduated cum laude from Eastern with a degree in English.

DIANA “DEE” (DIFEDERICO) McCURRY, who works at the knitting supplies store Another Yarn in Burlington, MA, now owns a piece of an Academy Award for the 2019 movie “Little Women” for Best Costume Design. A part-time manager at the store, Dee was approached by a representative of the film to make several pieces, including a wraparound shawl worn by actress Emma Watson in the movie. Dee and other employees of the shop also spent hours knitting various items for the movie “1917” to portray what British World War I troops would have worn in cold weather.

TAMYRA WHITEHEAD is a magistrate serving in Virginia Beach, VA, where she continues to provide services such as criminal processes, emergency protective orders, emergency custody orders and temporary custody orders.

STACEY LAWTON became chief executive officer of the Southeastern Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SCADD) in October 2019. She was promoted from deputy director to take over the top position from Jack Malone ’83, who will remain at the rehabilitation organization as president until 2021. She has filled various roles at SCADD in more than 25 years there. She also has a Master of Social Work Administration degree from the University of Connecticut.

92 STEVE TRIMPER, a longtime college head baseball coach, has written the book “Walk Off Winning: A Game Plan for Leading Your Team and Organization to Success.” While his book draws on the lessons Steve learned coaching, it is also based on interactions with business leaders he has known and what he has learned from them. Now the coach at Stetson University in Deland, FL, Steve compiled 102 victories in his first three seasons there after winning more than 300 games in 11 seasons at the University of Maine.

34 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

94 After retiring as a teacher in 2015, DOROTHY DROBNEY MS ’02 expanded her interest in photography, and in 2019 opened a gallery in Stafford Springs where she represents more than 30 artisans.

The Sarasota (FL) County School Board appointed JODY DUMAS assistant superintendent and chief operating officer in December 2019.

He had been executive director of facilities, planning and construction since 2017, and interim COO since June 2019. Jody joined the district in 2003 after beginning his career as a third-grade teacher.

JODI (CHANT) LATINA left her position as chief of staff for New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart after four years to return to the world of television news, this time for a position as political correspondent for WTNH, Channel 8. Previously Jodi worked for five years as senior press secretary in the Senate Republican Office of the Connecticut State Legislature. Her previous work in TV news included time as a reporter and anchor at WTNH for nearly a decade and also at WFSB, Channel 3.

The Branford Board of Police (BPD) approved the promotion of GREGORY WATROUS from lieutenant to patrol captain. He is an 18-year veteran of the department

and was promoted in 2019 to the rank of lieutenant, where he was a patrol shift commander. Before joining the BPD, Greg worked for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Town of Westbrook.

95 JONATHAN ALPERT is a New York City-based psychotherapist, author and performance coach. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alpert authored two columns on how to cope and thrive during this unprecedented time. In addition to how to manage anxiety, he gave advice on establishing a routine in working from home. Read more at easternct.edu/alpert.

Jonathan Alpert ´95

WILLIAM (CHIP) BECKWITH became business development manager at Olink Proteomics in Dublin, CA, in October 2019. In his new position, Chip works with researchers at Stanford, the University of California at Davis and many Bay Area companies. Chip’s research involves implementing the latest techniques to measure protein biomarkers as early indicators of disease, response to therapeutics, as well as toxicity, inflammation and organ damage.

As an educational issues specialist for the Connecticut Education Association, MICHELLE (RIDOLFI) O’NEILL has been working on recommendations for reopening Connecticut schools. She is also a runner, and joined a group called the Run 169 Towns Society, which encourages members to run races in every town in Connecticut.

She had only Groton left when the pandemic hit.

00 KEVIN BOOKER JR. became a city councilor for the City of New London in December 2019. Kevin has operated his company Booker Empowerment, LLC since 2007, leading workshops in diversity, leadership and equity across the country and teaching public speaking. He received the Bridge Builder Award in 2019 from the Town of Windsor’s Human Relations Commission for his work on race relations.

sity and the Community College of Rhode Island.

02 DAWN SANDVOSS of Mystic recently joined Chelsea Groton Bank as assistant vice president and commercial loan officer. Dawn will work to develop commercial loan and commercial mortgage relationships with centers of influence across the bank’s market areas. Most recently, Dawn was an assistant vice president and commercial loan officer at Charter Oak Federal Credit Union in Waterford where she monitored and serviced existing loans and originated new loans.

04 Wonderland Tea Company

Kevin Booker Jr. ´00

JOHN RUBANO has a new position as area manager at Outset Medical, Inc. After graduating with a degree in Physical Education at Eastern, MICHAEL SORMRUDE went on to earn a master’s degree in Public Health Education and Promotion at Worcester State University and a doctorate in Health Science at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He is now an adjunct professor teaching biology courses at Southern Connecticut State University, Quinnipiac Univer

He had been director of assessment and educational programs in the Office of the Provost for Diversity and Inclusion at Purdue University in Indiana since 2014.

JOE LOBE was named vice president, associate general counsel at Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment. He is a part-time lecturer in Business Law at Eastern and serves on the ECSU Foundation Board.

Hubbard-Hall, a Waterbury chemical distribution company, promoted SHELLEY LUSAS to director of marketing in May. She had joined the company as marketing manager in May 2017.

During the pandemic TERENCE MCSWEENEY M’03 wrote a book based on his oil paintings and writings that was accepted into the Library of Congress. “Poems and Thoughts” includes original oil paintings and matching poetry.

JERRY PISCITELLI is director of eCommerce for Oatey, a company that markets plumbing repair and faucets. In his spare time, Jerry has recently launched the Wonderland Tea Company, an all-organic tea brand inspired by the Lewis Carroll classic “Alice in Wonderland.”

03 PAUL BLAHA was promoted from manager to senior manager, cyber security & risk management, at United Technologies in April 2019.

BONNIE BRYDEN was named Employee of the Year at WPRI-12 in Providence, RI. RYAN J. DAVIS became associate vice president for equity and diversity at Brown University in January.

JAMES FIDELI is senior manager, aerospace financial operations and reporting, at United Technologies.

DAVID E. JONES is the chief diversity officer and director of talent management at William Paterson University of New Jersey.

05 REBECCA (BISSONNETTE) ALDRED became principal of Windsor Locks High School on July 1, 2020. She had been co-assistant principal at Ellington High School.

Becca began her teaching career as a math teacher at Woodstock Academy in 2006 after graduating with a Mathematics degree in 2005.

She spent several years in Pinellas County, FL, as a high school math teacher. Becca returned to Connecticut to teach at Windham High School in 2015.

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 35

In Memoriam

ANDREW BESSETTE is senior disease awareness specialist in rheumatology at Novartis.

DWAYNE ROBERTSON is manager, cultural competency, at Carolina Complete Health Network, Inc.

07

JEAN-PIERRE GODBOUT 1952-2019

Jean-Pierre Godbout (above: far left, first row) served Eastern Connecticut State University as a key member of the facilities staff for more than 30 years. He was a talented carpenter, a well-respected supervisor, and known as a generous man who could make or fix just about anything.

Born in 1952 in Sherbooke, Quebec, Jean-Pierre moved with his family to Willimantic in 1968 and graduated from Windham High School in 1970. He was a hockey player as a youth and proud owner of the sailboat Recompense as an adult.

Jean-Pierre died on Nov. 12, 2019, after a short battle with ALS, five years after he retired. He is survived by his wife Deborah and children Jason and Nicole, as well as his brother and three sisters.

Niloufar Rezai of the Child and Family Resource Development called Jean-Pierre “a warm, compassionate and caring man and an extremely talented craftsman. I have missed him popping into the CFDRC since his retirement and now I will miss him even more. Repose en paix, mon ami!”

Emeritus Executive Vice President Mike Pernal remembers Jean-Pierre with similar sentiments: “Jean-Pierre and I worked together at Eastern for many years. During that time he stood out for his cheerfulness, terrific humor and an unmatched loyalty to Eastern and all who worked here.”

36 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

The Norwich school district named MEGHAN (FERACO) CAMPBELL its Teacher of the Year in June on the last school day.

Meghan is a fifth-grade reading and writing teacher at Uncas School and was called “a master teacher” by Superintendent Kristen Stringfellow. Meghan has spent her entire teaching career in Norwich, focusing on school budgeting issues, including serving on a committee in 2014 that ultimately brought Uncas School $1.3 million in state funding for added staff, capital improvements and other assistance.

GARRETT DUKETTE was named the 2020 Elementary Assistant Principal of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Schools.

He is the new principal of Baldwin Middle School in Canterbury after having served as assistant principal at Ashford School.

Leadership Greater Hartford promoted MAE RYAN MALONEY to senior director for programs in February. She had been overseeing the Quest leadership program to connect current and aspiring leaders in Greater Hartford to build a stronger community. Mae was chosen in the past two years as a “40 Under 40” honoree by the Hartford Business Journal and Connecticut Magazine.

She earned an MSW degree from Smith College after graduating from Eastern with a degree in Sociology.

JACQUELINE NATHMAN is a fifth-grade teacher in Irving School in Derby and was named Derby’s Teacher of the Year. “Helping set up my mother’s classroom each summer and participating in her school community forever shaped my life.”

Meghan (Feraco) Campbell ´07

08 In 2015, History major JASON DOUGLAS established his own private investigation company, JBD Investigations, in Hartford.

He believes the lessons learned in pursuing a history degree serve him is his chosen field. “I’m a stickler when it comes to ensuring that I have credible sources and cite them properly,” he said. “My research is included in court cases and many forms of legal documentation, so it must be accurate.”

Derby High School named physical education and health teacher ERIC O’TOOLE Teacher of the Year for 2020. The school recognized Eric for his creativity in teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eric majored in Physical Education and minored in Health at Eastern, where he also played baseball for four years. He earned his master’s degree in Educational Leadership at Central Connecticut State University in 2016.

09 NOVAGRAMI GEORGE is a researcher at IQVIA. Gogo Business Aviation promoted DANIEL HERNANDEZ to senior business analyst in March. He had joined the Broomfield, CO, firm in 2017 as a business systems analyst.

Daniel earned his Eastern degree cum laude with a major in Communication and minor in Sociology.

CECILIA HUGHES is chief of staff and director of sales operations, Pacific Northwest market, at Cigna.

She is responsible for overseeing the Pacific Northwest management process; owning the projection, expense and reporting functions; and developing the market’s community engagement strategy.

ANTHONY MENDES is an academic success specialist in the natural sciences division of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe. After earning his degree in History at Eastern, Anthony worked at Providence College for six years, and earned an M.A. in History and M.Ed. in Higher Education Counseling and Guidance there. His wife Skyler is a Ph.D. candidate at ASU. ANTHONY ROSATI is assistant athletic director for facilities at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He recently hosted faculty from Eastern’s KPE Department to learn about the setup, management and operations of the athletic facilities on the UMass campus.

10 In February 2020, ADNAN AKHAND became one of three new partners in BX3, a Manhattan business advisory and venture capital firm. Adnan is also vice president of accounting and a member of the firm’s six-person leadership team.

Although Adnan is a CPA who handles accounting functions, he is a versatile team player who also

works in roles similar to a consultant or outsourced chief financial officer.

Adnan graduated with a degree in Accounting from Eastern, and also holds a master’s degree in International Finance from Northeastern University.

COURTNEY BEDOCS, who works for Visa in Colorado structuring learning solutions for Visa’s Global Data Products, was one of the English alumni at the English@Work Alumni Panel on March 9.

United Technologies has promoted NIKOLE (KOLI) DOOLITTLE to lead coordinator to the chief operations officer of Pratt & Whitney.

JERRY MAILHIOT JR. is imaging producer for Golic and Wingo, an ESPN talk radio show that is simulcast on ESPN. The hosts are Mike Golic, a former NFL defensive lineman, and Trey Wingo, a sports broadcaster for more than 30 years.

A Communication major at Eastern, Jerry has worked in broadcast production since shortly after graduating.

MAX SACKERSON is a medical technologist at Danbury Hospital.

He has worked at the hospital for about seven and a half years, first in the patient access central processing lab, and then for four years as a phlebotomist. Max’s Eastern degree is in Biology.

AMANDA TOPPING is a technical writer for Electric Boat in Groton, where she writes technical manuals for Columbia Class Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines that are used to train submarine crew members.

Amanda was one of the English alumni at the English@Work Alumni Panel on March 9.

11 CURTIS DARRAGH IV has been a school counselor for five years at Westside Middle School Academy in Danbury. After graduating with a degree in Psychology, he earned a master’s degree in School Counseling at the University of Connecticut.

In addition to handling a caseload of 350 students, Curtis enjoys helping students produce the annual school musical, advises the national junior honor society, and guides eighth graders on a two-week research travel project to Europe each year.

TIM TALLEY’S non-profit group in Thailand offers free English programs, life skills programs, leadership training and Bible training to impoverished and at-risk children and families. In spring 2020, Talley and his associates were especially busy. They collected and gave food baskets to families who had lost employment due to COVID-19, donated 1,100 masks to four area hospitals, and distributed 4,000 bottles of water to volunteers fighting a forest fire on the outskirts of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Tim Talley ´11

12 MATT BANAS has been a teacher at St. Rita School, a middle school in Hamden, since 2015. He teaches history, social studies and geography to students in the sixth to eighth grades. Concurrently, he has been an assistant coach of the boys track team at St. Joseph High School in Trumbull. After graduating with a degree in History, he earned a master’s degree in Educational/Instructional Technology at the University of Connecticut in 2015.

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 37

In Memoriam

JOSEPH NAROTSKY 1932-2019

Joseph Narotsky (above right) arrived at Willimantic State Teachers College in 1951 as a local lad from nearby Columbia. He was a solid student and a gifted athlete. He left after graduation to get his Ph.D. in Education at the University of Connecticut, before returning to WSTC in 1958. He would not leave again until he retired in 1992, and was elected to Eastern’s athletic Hall of Fame in his retirement year.

BRAD BEAUSOLEIL became director of third-party administrator services for ACG Wealth Management in Midlothian, VA, in January.

Brad earned his degree in Economics at Eastern and was on the cross country and track teams. He earned his M.B.A. in Business Analytics at Central Connecticut State University in 2018.

CARLINE CHARMELUS has been the project manager for the reaching home campaign at the Partnership for Strong Communities in Hartford since February 2015. She works to reduce homelessness, expand affordable housing and help build strong communities in Connecticut. She earned a Master in Public Administration degree in 2014 at the University of Connecticut with certificates in Nonprofit Management and Survey Research.

13

Joe was born in Brooklyn, NY, before moving with his family to Columbia at age three. A devoted husband and father, he coached his four sons in baseball and basketball and was a longstanding member of Temple B’Nai Israel in Willimantic.

He died Dec. 11, 2019, and is survived by his sons and four grandchildren.

One of the ECSU Foundation’s 20 endowed scholarships for education majors is the NRY Endowed Scholarship, named for Professor Narotsky and Professors David Rand and Ralph Yulo. Yulo and Narotsky were close colleagues, and Ralph remembers Joe as “a wonderful colleague and dedicated and caring teacher with a steadfast loyalty to and devotion for Eastern, his alma mater.”

Alumni who had Joe Narotsky as a teacher may remember this quote that he had on his office door: “In a completely rational society, the best of us would aspire to be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honor and the highest responsibility anyone could have.”

38 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

graduated magna cum laude with a double major in English and History and Social Science. Kyle’s wife Rochelle also works at Horizons as team director of education support services, and they are the parents of a one-year-old daughter Rona.

KEVIN HINES began a position as area sales manager for America’s Preferred Home Warranty in the Nashville, TN, area in March.

Kevin works with real estate agents and brokers to educate them about home warranties and assist them when a warranty purchase accompanies a home sale. Kevin and his wife Kimberleigh live in a nearby Nashville suburb.

HAMILTON LEVY is an account executive at Datawire.io.

SAMANTHA (PETRELLA) PAULL is a health and safety specialist at Yale New Haven Health.

Carline Charmelus ´12

LUISA CHMIELECKI became coordinator for advancement services at Erskine College in Due West, SC, in September 2019. She has been working in the school’s fundraising and alumni office since December 2017. Luisa worked for Hartford Health Care for 23 years, during which time she earned her Eastern degree, before she and her husband Rich moved to South Carolina.

KYLE ST. JEAN is director of staff services at Horizons, a South Windham nonprofit that provides services to children and adults with developmental disabilities. Kyle

DR. RUSLAN ABDUKALIKOV is resident physician, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, at Maine Medical Center in Portland. He earned his Doctor of Osteopathy degree at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Maine in 2018.

NICHOLAS BERTORA is a financial assistant in the bursar’s office at the University of Connecticut. His Eastern degree is in Accounting.

Kyle St. Jean ´12

TAYLOR HAMMOND is assistant director of undergraduate admissions at Eastern, where she also serves as the Admissions Office’s primary international recruiter. Taylor was one of the English alumni at the English@Work Alumni Panel on March 9.

ERICH LATINCSICS became a modernization sales representative for thyssenkrupp, an elevator company in Manhattan, NY, in November 2019. He had previously worked for two other elevator companies, Unitech for nearly two years starting in January 2014, and Otis Elevator Company for four years, prior to joining thyssenkrupp.

KOREY LEWIS is control account manager for Pratt & Whitney’s F135 program, with outcome responsibilities for multi-million dollar projects, including proposing and negotiating new contracts. Korey was one of the English alumni at the English@ Work Alumni Panel on March 9.

JESSICA ONDERDONK is a supervisor at Electric Boat.

14 AJ AUDET is the assistant athletic director of facilities and operations at American International College in Springfield, MA.

AJ Audet ´14

ANNELISE BLANCHETTE completed her second year as a Ph.D. student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University in New Orleans in the spring. She earned a master’s degree in Biology from John Carroll University in 2017.

ANA CAROLINA FERNANDES returned to her homeland of Brazil in 2015 after receiving her M.S. in Early Childhood Education. She works at an American School in Belo Horizonte-Minas Gerais teaching 3- and 4-year-olds. Ana credits Eastern’s focus on educational technology for preparing her for teaching the children online.

MATTHEW GONSALVES became a project scientist with BL Companies in Meriden in May 2019. He had previously worked for two other environmental engineering and consulting firms, AEI Consultants in Jersey City and Sage Environmental in Pawctucket, RI. ANTHONY PETERSON is starting a new position as market director at Kemper.

JENNIFER TAMINDZIJA recently began a new job as user experience researcher at Allied Solutions LLC.

15 NICK ACONFORA is program coordinator with ESPN Next. He works with a small team running one of the premier leadership development programs in the industry.

Nick supports the day-to-day and long- term strategy and operations of the program by creating content for website/social media platforms, recruiting top talent and handling the program’s marketing strategy.

JOE GARZONE completed service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia in August 2019. During his two years there as an English language and development agent, he taught English in a small rural high school, helping local teachers improve their English and computer skills.

Following his return to America, he began a new job in January as a building management specialist with

the General Services Administration in New York City.

GREGORY LANO is an account manager at State Farm.

GAVIN LAVALLEE was sworn in as one of three new Bethel police officers in June. His first assignment is six months of police academy training that will be followed by further training with the Bethel police department.

LAURA MARKLEY is a Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Syracuse University, where her research is focused on the effects of plastic pollution on humans and the environment. An Environmental Earth Science major at Eastern, Laura was an Honor Scholar all four years and graduated summa cum laude with a 3.99 GPA. ERIN MILLER became head softball coach for Mitchell College in November 2019. She was assistant softball coach and pitching coach at the Coast Guard Academy from 2015-17. She then served as a graduate assistant softball coach at Smith College from September 2017 to May 2019, when she earned her M.S. in Exercise and Sports Studies.

JORDAN THOMPSON works in Eastern’s Office of AccessAbility Services, in the testing center as well as on a project that will enhance the process on how students can become more employable. “We are focusing on different areas like interviewing, resume, cover letters and finding appropriate resources. We have great students, and we want to make sure they have successful lives after they graduate from Eastern.”

Joe Garzone ´15

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 39

In Memoriam

16 COOPER D’AMBROSIO has been promoted to account manager at Insight Global, a national staffing and services company that specializes in sourcing information technology, government, accounting, finance, and engineering professionals, and delivering service-based solutions to Fortune 1000 clients.

MATTHEW B. GORSKI is a member services representative at Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union.

CAMERON A. “RON” CARLYLE 1933-2020

Cameron “Ron” Carlyle passed away on March 6, 2020. He met his wife, Dorothy (Nye) Carlyle ’56 at a 1952 “exchange dance” for Willimantic State Teachers College and University of Connecticut students. Dorothy was a freshman and Ron was a UConn sophomore at the time. While Dorothy prepared for a career as a teacher, Ron was studying psychology, and enrolled in the ROTC program at the Storrs campus. The couple married in July 1956 after Dorothy graduated. After fulfilling his military duty, Ron joined a small delivery company called “United Parcel Service.”

The couple raised four children together and Dorothy went back to work as a part-time teacher; when the children were old enough, she became a full-time teacher.

Ron eventually retired from UPS, and following Dorothy’s 50th reunion in 2006, the couple established the Dorothy N. Carlyle Endowed Scholarship for students with unmet financial need. In 2008, the Carlyles made Eastern the beneficiary of a substantial six-figure Charitable Remainder Uni-trust. Sometime in the future the fund will effectively become a bequest to assist the ECSU Foundation in helping students.

40 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

DEVIN QUINN was elevated to senior associate, human resources, with AMG Funds in Greenwich in January. She came to the firm as human resources contractor in June 2016 and has been promoted three times since.

ANTHONY J. PICCIONE is the author of a new one-act drama, “Unaffordably Unhealthy” that made its world premiere at The Tank in New York City. Inspired by true stories, “Unaffordably Unhealthy” is an exploration of how to stay alive in America, through the eyes of 12 different people with different backgrounds and ailments across the United States. The common theme found in all their stories is how hard it is to obtain and afford proper health insurance and the obstacles they encountered to treat their varied injuries and illnesses. NATHAN CUSSON ’18 is directing “Unaffordably Unhealthy.”

Ryan Kelly ´16

The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents has named RYAN KELLY the 2020 PIA National Young Insurance Professional of the Year. He is a property and casualty insurance agent with Merit Insurance, a Gallagher Company, and has been with them since graduation. Ryan is vice president and a member of the board of the Connecticut Young Insurance Professionals, and also on the board of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce.

ASHLEY MARTIN has been a registered nurse at Smilow Cancer Hospital in New Haven since February 2019. She now works on a floor for surgical oncology patients only, created by the hospital to protect cancer patients from COVID-19 infections. After earning her degree in Health Sciences, Ashley earned her B.S. in Nursing at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston.

Nathan Cusson´18 and Anthony Piccione´16

ROBERTO ROSADO was selected as Meriden’s new police chief in June and took over leadership of the police department on July 1, 2020. A native of Meriden, Roberto is returning to his hometown after spending 22 years with the Willimantic Police Department, the last four as its chief. Roberto graduated from Eastern with a degree in General Studies with concentrations in Sociology and Criminology.

In Memoriam

MAX SILVIA became territory sales manager in the Boston office of Panda Security in January. Panda Security is an Internet antivirus company headquartered in Spain.

17

MARTIN SEYMOUR 1955-2020

Martin Seymour passed away on Jan. 30, 2020, and is survived by his mother Connie, his sister Kathleen and her husband David King, and two nephews.

Martin came to Eastern as a university assistant in 1997, but his real impact on Eastern students began in 1999 when he started teaching photography part time in the Communication Department.

Martin had already enjoyed a sterling career as a professional photographer before coming to Eastern. After graduating from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY, he launched a photography career specializing in fashion and portraiture photography in England and New York City. He worked with British Royal photographer Norman Parkinson and legendary American photographer Irving Penn, both prominent in fashion photography in the 1980s. He assisted Parkinson with lighting design for photographic sessions with royal luminaries including King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan.

He designed lighting for fashion shows and theatre and dance productions, and spent five years as lighting director and designer for opera productions at the New York Academy of Art. His work also appeared in magazines including Vanity Fair, Town & Country and Harper’s Bazaar. He carried that talent with him to Eastern, collaborating with the theatre program on lighting and photography for shows.

JONATHAN BLEJEWSKI was promoted this year to audit senior with the accounting firm Blum Shapiro. He has been with the firm since January 2018. Jonathan graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Business Information Systems, and recently became a CPA. DAVID CANNY JR. has been outreach representative for Trinity Solar in Cheshire since June 2019.

BRYAN FRANKOVITCH has been a registered nurse at Hartford Hospital since February 2019. He earned a B.S. in Nursing at the University of Connecticut in 2018 after earning his B.S. in Health Sciences with a concentration in Pre-Nursing.

ANDREW FITZGERALD became a national media associate at ICON International Inc. in February. He works with clients to help them maximize the effectiveness of their broadcast media buys. Andrew also works as a freelance assignment desk editor for News 12 Connecticut. His Eastern degree is in Communication.

JEAN HERMAN became an audit associate with CohnReznick in February 2020. She previously worked at BlumShapiro for two years.

Jean earned her Eastern degree in Accounting with Dean’s Distinction, and she is now a CPA. DAJOUN JONES is a sales trainee at Graybar.

PAMELA MARQUEZ became a laboratory technician at Mercy Health in Chesterfield, MO, in December 2019. Her Eastern degree is in Health Sciences.

MEGAN McCASKILL became an emergency medical technician with Access Ambulance Company of North Haven in May 2019.

She graduated with a degree in Health Sciences.

RYAN POMROY became an occupational therapist at Athena Healthcare in Southington in November 2019, the same time he started a weekend job as an occupational therapist at Aaron Manor in Chester. Ryan graduated magna cum laude from Eastern with a degree in Health Sciences, and in 2019 earned a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Sacred Heart University.

KAYLA TENORE earned her law degree in May from the Quinnipiac School of Law with a concentration in Tax Law. She also won an award for excellence in clinical legal education at the law school. Kayla is a state and local tax intern with KPMG US in Hartford, part of a global network of firms providing tax, audit and advisory services.

18 WILLIAM AHERN became a software engineer with Cigna in January. He had started at Cigna as a data engineer in 2017 while still an Eastern student. William graduated from Eastern cum laude with a degree in Computer Science.

RALPH ANTHONY is an insurance agent at Innovative Financial Group.

LINDSEY BERUBE became patient access coordinator with the Community Health & Wellness Center of Greater Torrington in January 2020. She had started with the organization a year earlier as clinical informatics analyst. Lindsey earned her Eastern degree summa cum laude with a major in Political Science.

FREDDY CRUZ JR. has worked at the Travelers since July 2018 to develop software programs to sell auto insurance to individual drivers.

HELENA DELFINO graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Connecticut in December 2019 and became a registered nurse at Yale New Haven Hospital in January 2020. She graduated from Eastern cum laude with a degree in Health Sciences and a minor in Public Health Studies.

41

In Memoriam

C. ROBERT MILLER 1933–2020

C. Robert “Bob” Miller passed away on Feb. 4, 2020, in Aiken, SC. He is survived by his wife, Dr. Judith (Bourell) Miller, his daughter Mindy and his son Michael.

Coach Miller became a legend on the Eastern campus for bringing women’s basketball to the forefront. After coaching baseball and men’s basketball, Bob became the “interim” coach of women’s basketball in 1974. Nineteen seasons and 332 wins later he had become one of the most successful Division III women’s basketball coaches ever. His record includes winning 69 percent of the games he coached, 16 postseason tournaments, including six NCAA tournaments, and seven 20-win seasons. Coach Miller led his team to the AIAW national tournament in 1976-77 and 1979-80.

An ardent supporter of equality in women’s sports, he served as the first president of the New England Women’s Basketball Association in the late 1970s.

By the time of his passing, he had become the first male to be enshrined in the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and was inducted into the NEWBA, Little East Conference and Eastern Halls of Fame.

Bob was a graduate of Miami of Ohio, later earning his Ph.D. at Springfield College. He began his coaching career at Wilmington (Ohio) College and also served six years in the Air Force Reserve.

Coach Miller ended his coaching career after the 1992-93 season and retired in 1995 after 30 years at Eastern.

42 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

MERLYN HERRERA is an associate business analyst at Infosys.

KATIE O’ROURKE is pursuing a Master of Education in College Student Personnel Administration at James Madison University. She holds an assistantship in student activities and works with clubs and organizations. Her internship this summer is managing a team of other graduate students and leading the withdrawal process.

KATHERINE PLAYER has been a financial aid advisor at Lincoln Tech in East Windsor since January 2019. She graduated from Eastern cum laude with a degree in Health Sciences and a minor in Psychology.

DANIEL RIGGOTT JR. has been an accounting and finance recruiter in the Stamford office of Aston Carter, an international staffing and recruiting services firm, since March 2019.

KELLY SHEEHAN, who graduated with degrees in Spanish and Business Administration, teaches English at the C.E.C. Politécnica Nacional in Quito, Ecuador. She married Andrés Faria in March.

19 ANGEL BLEGGI joined the visitor services team of the Fairfield Museum and History Center last fall as weekend manager of visitor services.

After earning his Master of Science degree in Secondary Education at Eastern in December 2019, TYLER BURLESON became an advanced placement history teacher at Henderson Collegiate High School, a charter school in Henderson, NC, in January.

LEAJA JOHNSON is a social media intern at EACH Enterprise, LLC. TAN DUNG LUONG began working as a senior analyst/software developer for Cigna in the company’s technology early career development program in January.

He completed his Eastern degree in Computer Science in December, graduating summa cum laude.

AYANNA McDOUGALD is working for Americorps Vista at the Kohala Middle School in Kapaau, HI. Her job involves creating partnerships between the school and community and connecting students and families to community services.

She graduated cum laude from Eastern with a degree in Health Sciences and a concentration in Public Health.

NATALIIA ROMANENKO became an associate data scientist with The Hartford in January. She graduated with a degree in Computer Science with Dean’s Distinction.

MEKAILA STEFANO became a junior graphic designer in January at the Glastonbury office of Mission Control, Inc., a national political direct mail firm. She earned her B.A. in Art at Eastern with a concentration in Digital Art and Design.

ANNA TAYLOR is an account manager for Barton Associates, a Windsor firm she joined shortly after graduating from Eastern. Barton Associates specializes in placing doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners and other medical professionals in temporary positions. Anna graduated with a degree in Health Sciences and a concentration in Public Health.

20 RYAN COPPINGER is a senior associate at Hartford Yard Goats Baseball.

LAUREN LANDRY began working as a behavioral health specialist at Bradley Memorial Hospital. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and served as vice president of Love Your Melon and founder/president of WarriorTHON.

in memoriam Pauline (Hurteau) Magliocco ’49 Norwich, June 21, 2019

Robert G. Pakenham ’66 Willimantic, Jan. 7, 2020

Richard Emmerich ’87 Madison, May 26, 2020

Joan (McNally) Picano ’50 Crofton, MD, Feb. 1, 2020

Doris Marie (Rigby) Horton ’67 Bennington, VT, Feb. 28, 2020

Daniel J. Greenhalgh ’87 Fort Myers, FL, May 7, 2020

Raymond L. Plassman ’50 Moosup, November 2019

Anita (Dreesen) Bacon ’69 Mansfield Center, March 4, 2019

Alpheus W. Lewis ’90 West Union, OH, February 2019

Walter E. Gaipa, Sr. ’51 Hilton Head, SC, Sept. 8, 2019

Charles E. Funk III ’69 Coventry, Feb. 13, 2020

Marion E. Greene ’93 North Windham, Dec. 18, 2019

Dolores (Kelley) Gallon ’51 Naples, FL, Feb. 11, 2020

Jane King ’69, MS ’73 Claremore, OK, Oct. 16, 2019

Peter Vogt, ’95 Brooklyn, Jan. 23, 2020

Mary (Keenan) Plourde ’51 Meriden, April 2019

F. Robert Sandin ’69 Rabbit Lake Township, MN November 2019

Carol F. Ross ’96 League City, TX, March 2019

Eleanor (Christensen) Waring ’51 Dixon, IL, May 12, 2019 Marie Tedeschi Crane ’52 Norwich, Dec. 19, 2019 Edward H. Timbrell, Jr., ’53 Manchester, March 23, 2020 Roberta (Kittredge) Hemmann ’54 Deep River, May 1, 2020 Joseph R. Narotsky ’54 Columbia, Dec. 11, 2019 Nancy (Neher) Wilcox ’55 Madison, July 9, 2019 Beverly (Marsie) Keener ’57 Newtown, May 5, 2020 Alice (McAuliffe) McMahon ’58 Newington, June 23, 2019 Noeleen (Geno) Parker ’58 Mystic, April 9, 2020 Joan L. (Milek) Kastner ’59 Glastonbury, Jan. 22, 2020 Eugene E. Phaneuf ’59 West Hartford, Feb. 1, 2020 Roland L. Pier ’59 New London, July 15, 2019 Maxine (Rothe) Shortman ’63 Broad Brook, Jan. 12, 2020 Edward A. Wiezbicki ’63 Plainfield, Feb. 25, 2020 Diana (Graham) Hodgins ’66 MS ’91 Mansfield Center, April 18, 2020

Linda Dickson ’70 Waterford, Dec. 2, 2019 Michael P. Savo ’70 March 30, 2019 Donna (Holland) Songdahl ’70 Pawcatuck, Feb. 16, 2020 Carolyn H. Vacca ’70 Aug. 6, 2019

John W. Stephenson, Jr. ’13 New Britain, April 22, 2020 Lee Barrett, student Hamden, Jan. 23, 2020 Marco John Chirichella, student Niantic, March 2019 Chace John Wood, student Danielson, March 25, 2020

Jeffrey K. Moeckel ’73 Killingworth, Feb. 6, 2020

Jean-Pierre Godbout facilities staff member Willimantic, Nov. 12, 2019

Judith A. Doyle MS ’74 Willimantic, Dec. 26, 2019

William Anthony Jones, art professor Hampton, Jan. 25, 2020

Jerome F. Reed ’75 South Windsor, Feb. 7, 2020

Martin Seymour, photography lecturer, Columbia, Jan. 30, 2020

Paul D. Kerwin ’76 Waterbury, May 8, 2020

Robert J. Wolf, emeritus professor South Windsor, June 24, 2019

Ruth (Abramson) Heller ’77 Willimantic, March 16, 2019

C. Robert Miller, emeritus professor/ coach, Aiken, SC, Feb. 4, 2020

Gary A. Littlefield ’77 Columbia, July 3, 2019

Richard Nassiff, former ECSU Foundation Board member Willimantic, June 11, 2019

Anne Marie Ternullo ’77 Mansfield Center, May 10, 2020 Robert J. McKay ’79 South Windsor, March 10, 2020 Mary (Cadigan) Martin ’82 Avon, Nov. 26, 2019 Guy M. Rodgers ’82 East Hartford, Jan. 6, 2019

Cameron “Ron” Carlyle, friend East Woodstock, March 6, 2020 Kristine (Dyrland) Penny, friend Wappingers Falls, NY, May 11, 2019 Kannangath Narayan Kutty emeritus professor Mansfield Center, July 4, 2020

EASTERN • Summer 2020 • 43

FinalThoughts

The past few months have truly demonstrated the resilience and strength of the Eastern community. In March our faculty stepped up to adjust their teaching to an entirely online modality, readying classes for their students in one week. Our students moved home without complaint and took 1,500 courses from home for the balance of the spring semester. We held a safe yet moving commencement on May 19, with thousands of graduates and their families attending from the safety of their homes.

Even as we work on our plans for the fall semester, I want to remind our friends and donors that COVID-19 has created additional financial burdens for many of our students. Wage earners and other family members may be out of work. Some students may be dealing with personal or family health issues. The University is also incurring unanticipated expenses to implement additional safety measures on campus for the fall semester.

In this crossroads moment in the history of our nation and the global community, the support that Eastern alumni and other donors provide the University has never been more important.

I ask that each of you think of ways that you can make a financial donation or contribute in some other way to help Eastern support our students.

With your assistance, the University can continue to play a critical role in responding to the workforce needs of the State of Connecticut while preparing our students for productive professional careers and engaged lives as private citizens. With more than 40 percent of our students being first-generation college students, Eastern also can have a fundamental impact as a force for economic and social equality in our state, region and nation.

The thousands of young men and women who have studied on this campus since its earliest days as a normal school have shared more than common walls and walkways. Since its beginnings, Eastern has been intent on providing students with an exemplary education that can serve them throughout their lives. In 1998, Connecticut named Eastern as the state’s public liberal arts university. More than 40 years prior, Willimantic State Teachers College President J. Eugene Smith told graduates in the 1955 Sustinet yearbook to consider themselves “as ‘liberally educated persons’ . . . men and women who are prepared, and in some way morally obligated, to ‘make a difference’ . . . in the lives of the families you will build, in the children you will teach, in the teachers with whom you will work, in your churches and in your communities.”

That is the ground on which we all stand as members of the Eastern community — in times of plenty and in times of peace, as well as in times of uncertainty. Please take the opportunity to celebrate and support this very special University.

Kenneth J. DeLisa Vice President for Institutional Advancement Chief Human Resources Officer

44 • Summer 2020 • EASTERN

86

Years of Service to Eastern!

Three highly respected Eastern professors representing 86 years of service to the University are retiring this year. Without the opportunity to say farewell during on-campus receptions, we share their adieus with our extended campus community.

Art History Professor Gail Gelburd joined the Eastern faculty in August 2001 and teaches Non-Eurocentric and Contemporary Art History. Her deep appreciation of world cultures has added diversity and a global perspective to her courses thru the inclusion of Asian art and African American art, as well as the art of Japan and Cuba. She also has conducted extensive research in India, South Africa, China, Tibet and Nepal.

Gail has received numerous research grants while also serving as department chair. Committed to bringing the Windham community and the University together through the arts, she is highly respected by her colleagues who will miss her counsel, warm presence and good humor!

After 33 years at Eastern, Dr. Ross Koning is retiring.

Dr. Koning teaches plant physiology and plant biology.

He is very knowledgeable about plants and loves to share his expertise with students in the classroom, lab and in field courses. His work with the “titan arum” or corpse plant, known for its unforgettable odor, has received international attention. He also loves music and was active with several music groups at Eastern and in Willimantic, playing the euphonium and trombone and singing. Ross is admired by students, faculty colleagues and staff, and we are sad to see him go!

If you would like to make a gift in honor of Ross’s years of teaching excellence, earmark your gift for the Biology Fund, started in 1995 by Barry Wulff. https://www.easternct.edu/give/give-to-eastern.html

History Professor Barbara Tucker is retiring after 34 years of service to Eastern. In addition to teaching early American history, she has served as the director of the David M. Roth Center for Connecticut Studies since 1986. During her career at Eastern, Barbara has established a reputation for mentoring individual students, while continuing to publish books and articles in the field of New England business history.

She has generously supported student scholarships and continues to make contributions toward present and future history majors. Before coming to Eastern, Dr. Tucker taught at Sydney University (Australia) and Rutgers University. If you would like to make a gift in honor of Barbara for her many years of teaching, you can donate to her parents’ endowed fund — the Ann and Kenneth Tucker Scholarship. https://www.easternct.edu/give/give-to-eastern.html

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Willimantic, CT Permit No. 12

We’re adding new features and enhancements to the alumni pages of Eastern’s website, just for you!

• Create your own personal alumni profile for our brand-new Alumni Directory • Track donations to Eastern through the ECSU Foundation • Register for events more easily and quickly • Tell us the best way to communicate with you and other alumni • Search the Alumni Directory for old friends and new networks • Enjoy a new free monthly webinar series on careers, management and leadership and lifelong learning

Watch for the launch coming this fall at https://www.easternct.edu/alumni-and-friends/index.html

MO R E SERVICES JUST FOR YOU!