Saint Michael's College Spring/Summer Magazine

Saint Michael’s SAINT MICHAEL’S COLLEGE MAGAZINE | SPRING/SUMMER 2020

Human Beings on the Learning Curve

“…technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing.”

— STEVE JOBS ON APPLE’S L AUNCH OF THE IPAD 2 IN SILICON VALLEY, 2011

KLEIN HAL L 2 A Letter from President Lorraine Sterritt NE W S H IG H L I G HT S 4 What’s New?

by Mark Tarnacki S TO RIE S

28 Ready for Anything: Maura Grogan ’14

by Ariel Wish ’20 29 A Legacy of Compassion: Dr. Richard Gamelli ’70

by Annie Rosello ’94 30 Saint Michael’s College Welcomes Women

by Lauren Read

3 People First: Jay Bellissimo ’87 31 Always Remember the End Goal: Katrina Meyers ’90

by Susan Salter Reynolds

by Ashley DeLeon ’23 8 Technology and the 32 Are We Forgetting How to Liberal Arts Talk to Each Other?

by Susan Salter Reynolds

by Susan Salter Reynolds 12 Thriving in the Digital World 36 The Global Eyes Photography

by Lauren Read Competition

by Mark Tarnacki 14 In Tandem: Julie Barrett ’97

by Danielle Joubert ’20 38 The Roundup

by Josh Kessler ’04 16 Technology and Anxiety

by Susan Salter Reynolds 39 Student-Athlete Alumni Respond to COVID-19 with 22 The Soul of Ben & Jerry’s Leadership and Compassion

by Annie Rosello ’94

by Josh Kessler ’04 and Kevin Donahue 24 A Test of Spirit: Technology in the Time of COVID 40 Liberal Arts: The Solid Path—

by Mark Tarnacki Matt Devost ’93

by Brenda Kelly Kim ’86

SAINT MICHAEL’S COLLEGE MAGAZINE Spring/Summer 2020 Volume 20, No. 1 smcvt.edu/magazine

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHER Jerald Swope

EDITOR Susan Salter Reynolds

DESIGN Harp and Company Graphic Design Jennifer Fisher Douglas G. Harp

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ashley DeLeon ’23 Kevin Donahue Carla Francis Josh Kessler Brenda Kelly Kim ’86 Danielle Joubert ’20 Lauren Read Annie Rosello ’94 Mark Tarnacki Ariel Wish ’20

MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD Angela Armour ’99 M’09 Alessandro Bertoni Jennifer R. Conetta ’09 Krystyna Davenport Brown Rev. Raymond Doherty ’51, SSE Michelle Jordan Josh Kessler ’04 Jerald Swope Mark Tarnacki

41 News Flash: The U.S. Is Not the Center of the Universe— Gregory Gorman ’82

by Susan Salter Reynolds 42 Letter from Aedhan Burke 44 Virtual Commencement 2020

by Mark Tarnacki 44 Faculty and Alumni Works 46 The Show Must Go On

by Susan Salter Reynolds 50 A Lifetime of Ministry, A Legacy of Service: William J. Chiasson, Ph.D. ’57

by Carla Francis CL AS S N OT E S 48 Letter from the Alumni Board President

by George Bowen ’92 49 Letters to the Editor 50 Class Notes 59 In Memoriam For additional Magazine content, go to www.smcvt.edu/magazine.

Saint Michael’s College Magazine (ISSN 0279-3016) is published by the Office of Marketing and Communications twice a year. The views expressed in the Saint Michael’s College Magazine do not necessarily represent the official policies and views of Saint Michael’s College.

EDITORIAL OFFICE Saint Michael’s College One Winooski Park, Box 6 Colchester, VT 05439 802.654.2556 SMCMagazine@smcvt.edu ©2020. All rights reserved.

Cover photo: Jerald Swope

Inside front cover: POSTMASTER Please send address changes to: C++ render by J. Scott Hepler Saint Michael’s College One Winooski Park, Box 6 Colchester, VT 05439 SMCMagazine@smcvt.edu

KLEIN HALL

Letter from the President 2

O

ur country and the world are continuing to respond to COVID-19 and manage its impact on every part of our society. As we reflect on the last several months, and as we prepare for the return of our students in August, we have seen how important technology has become to our core mission. The pandemic has forced everyone on campus to adapt.

Fortunately, this is exactly what the liberal arts prepare us to do: observe, listen, think critically, and learn. You will hear many voices in this issue address the role of technology in higher education. Scientists, philosophers, artists— all making decisions about how to use available technologies in their teaching and learning. What is lost in online learning?

What is gained? How can we use these tools to better

understand the world and not let them use us?

Professor Nat Lewis notices how much his students need a few minutes to catch up and chat before their zoom class begins. Professor Jen Purcell notes the importance of validation, so often a micro-signal given and received by professors and students alike in the physical classroom. Professors Fabian-Fine and VanderKaay Tomasulo, both neuroscientists, describe physical and emotional concerns with regard to increased screen time and social media. Professor Swope of the media, journalism, and digital arts program reminds us to be purposeful in how we use these tools and recognize that they can use us. Our students, including theatre major Katherine Ort ’20, reveal just how creative and comfortable they are using these new tools.

As we were finalizing this issue of the magazine and getting it ready for print, the horrific killing of George Floyd occurred.

Our world, already ravaged by disease, was plunged further into grief and pain.

As an Edmundite Catholic

college, we are appalled by racism and by all forms of violence.

We “stopped the press” so that I could acknowledge that tragedy here, and so that I could make a commitment to you. We will continue to work for justice and inclusion at Saint Michael’s College.

This past year we held diversity trainings and book discussions for our faculty and staff. We cancelled classes and came together as a community for a Day of Learning and Reflection. We brought speakers and scholars to campus to amplify diverse voices and engage our community in discussion.

There is much more work to be done, and we are committed to doing it.

Our thoughts go out to all of you in this time of crisis.

We have faith that better days lie ahead, and we look forward to the day when we can all be together in person again—continuing to prepare students to do well and do good in our troubled world.

D. E. Lorraine Sterritt President

People First Jay Bellissimo ’87

BY SUSAN SALTER REYNOLDS

H

ere’s how a man with 6,000 people working in his division at IBM begins an interview with someone he has never met: “How are you?” He asks about family, about children, about working remotely, and how it has been. He inquires politely into the general health of his interviewer and her family.

Clearly, a career spent largely in technology has not robbed Jay Bellissimo, Political Science major, of his interest in other humans or his empathy.

As general manager of IBM U.S. Public and Federal Markets, Bellissimo is responsible for a multibillion-dollar portfolio that, according to his bio, spans three industries—healthcare and life sciences; government and education; and defense and intelligence.

He has worked in the tech and energy industries for most of his professional life, and he is profoundly committed to making people’s lives better.

from my desk, from the screen every few hours.” When the family had to cancel their plans for a ski vacation, his son built a ski jump in the backyard.

“We’ve always been people first,” Bellissimo says of his colleagues at IBM, “and now we are really looking out for the health and safety of our people.” It’s hard not to hear the Edmundite humility when Bellissimo describes his life. The third of six brothers in a Catholic family, he grew up, as he says, comfortable in his skin. “I had little money when I graduated and had two student loans, but I wasn’t afraid to take risks, to try new things. I was a self-starter.” Bellissimo left Saint Michael’s College expecting to play hockey in England.

Instead, he did an internship for Joseph P. Kennedy II, took a job worked as a legislative writer, then as a consultant for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), where he was “immersed in technology.” After several management and leadership positions in aerospace and defense, he joined IBM in 2002.

“Change is constant.

“It’s a whole new world,” Since then, it seems as Bellissimo says, acknowlthough Bellissimo has You have to do what you love and edging the challenges been involved in every presented by COVID-19. aspect of IBM’s business, love what you do.”

“These days, at IBM, we are with a front-row seat to hyper-focused on caring some of the most massive for the people in the shifts in technology in the communities we serve and leveraging our innovative past 18 years and all the ethical debates surrounding solutions and global experiences to ensure we provide those shifts. He’s helped design and deliver innovations the needed support to businesses and our communities.” in artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data, internet of Whereas 65 percent of IBM’s 370,000 employees worked things, and analytics. “The liberal arts,” he believes, remotely pre-COVID, that number has risen to 95 percent. “inform every aspect of a career in technology.”

Bellissimo, who normally travels 200,000 miles a year, is now home with his wife and five children. “I get up, take “Change is constant,” he says. “You have to do what you calls from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., but I’m careful to step away love and love what you do.”

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WHAT’S NEW?

BY MARK TARNACKI

SHE COULDN’T STAY AWAY

Fire and Rescue volunteers during a recent drill on campus.

FIRE AND RESCUE CREWS ADJUST TO SERVING IN PANDEMIC

The student volunteers of Saint Michael’s Fire and Rescue (SMFR) have risen to the occasion during the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked about Fire and Rescue’s adjustment to the pandemic, Fire 1st Lieutenant Max Zwiener ’21, shared, “It was within a week’s time that ordinary life on Saint Michael’s campus ceased, and the new normal of uncertain days and online classes began. Our members have adapted in the most impressive manner. The dawn of online classes created anomalies in the schedule, and the need for crew consistency to reduce potential exposures affected how the department organized crews.” How did they do it? Community support and stellar professionalism—a winning combination. As if we needed more reasons to be proud of the SMFR!

Kendra Smith ’09 had returned to lead the Human Resources Department of Saint Michael’s College, after holding a position as a student worker in 2005 and and then an employee position in 2012. After a brief leave in 2019 for a project at the Howard Center in Burlington, she has returned to the College and is the new director of human resources as of March 30th. “In her role as director,” says Vice President Rob Robinson, “Kendra will have responsibility for the Saint Michael’s College Human Resources and Early Learning Center teams. Please join me in welcoming Kendra as she returns to Saint Michael’s.”

Kendra Smith ’09

COMMON TEXT CHOICE ENGAGES TIMELY SOCIAL ISSUES

Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship (2017), by Michelle Kuo, has been announced as the Common Text for incoming students in the Class of 2024. After graduating from Harvard University, Kuo taught in rural Arkansas as a Teach for America volunteer. In her book, the author cogitates on education, poverty, race, and criminal justice, according to Peter Vantine, director of the First Year Seminar program, professor of French, and chair of the College’s Department of Classical and Modern Languages & Literatures.

Further explaining the reasoning behind this selection, Vantine stated, “As Saint Michael’s College celebrates 50 years of having women at the school, and as the United States celebrates the centennial of women’s suffrage, we wished to mark these important anniversaries by selecting a book written by a female author.”

Kristin Dykstra, right, with Nancy Gates Masden during the PEN Awards ceremony in New York City.

FOUND IN TRANSLATION

Saint Michael’s College Distinguished Scholar in Residence Kristin Dykstra was awarded the 2020 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation for The Winter Garden Photograph, a collection by the Cuban writer Reina Maria Rodríguez. The judges wrote, “Almost impossibly, the translators negotiate the definitive peculiarities of Rodríguez’s unique phrasing with inspired English versions that neither normalize, dumb-down, nor exoticize the magic of the originals.” Dykstra collaborated on part of the book with Professor Nancy Gates Madsen of Luther College. They previously co-translated an anthology featuring Rodríguez, titled Violet Island and Other Poems (2004). Gates Madsen then honed her focus to scholarship, while Dykstra continued to translate more contemporary Latin American poetry from Cuba, completing the rest of The Winter Garden Photograph.

Declan McCabe presents about trail camera photography. strategies for selecting, using, and placing outdoor cameras. McCabe also incorporated many pockets of humor within his lecture, sharing amusing animal photos and highlighting the surveillance “benefits” of trail cameras. In deciding the right trail camera, McCabe advised attendees to consider “trigger time, recovery time, image resolution, security box, and price.” With a proper background in research, attendees can make informed decisions on selecting the best camera.

SAINT MICHAEL’S EARNS THE PEACE CORPS’ TOP RANKINGS

The Peace Corps announced this past February that Saint Michael’s College holds the rank of No. 16 among the top 25 volunteer-producing colleges and universities in 2020. For three out of five years, the College has appeared on the Peace

BIOLOGIST MCCABE’S TRAIL CAMERA TALK DRAWS A CROWD

On the evening of February 24, Saint Michael’s College professor Declan McCabe of the biology department hosted a lecture in conjunction with Protect Our Wildlife Vermont on wildlife photography.

Attendees acquired much knowledge on camera techniques and technical

Corps’ top rankings. Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen stated, “These schools are institutions that emphasize being global citizens and service-minded students. I am excited to know the graduates coming from Peace Corps’ Top Colleges are using their skills to make a positive impact on their communities at home and abroad.” Jeffrey Trumbower, vice president of Academic Affairs, noted the vast career opportunities available after their time in the Peace Corps, stating, “it is important for prospective students and their families to appreciate the long-term benefits of Saint Michael’s majors and opportunities that lead seamlessly to immediate post-graduate opportunities.”

Noah El-Naboulsi, a 2018 Saint Michael’s alumnus currently serving in Jamaica, seen with some friends.

Jonathan Sarna makes a point during his talk at Saint Michael’s.

CELEBRATED SCHOLAR-AUTHOR TO BE RABBI WALL LECTURER

Professor Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University, author of American Judaism: A History, spoke at Saint Michael’s College on February 19. Jeff Trumbower, vice president of Academic Affairs and professor of religious studies, stated, “In this era of increased anti-Semitism and other identity-based strife and violence, we’re most honored to have Professor Sarna come to Saint Michael’s to shed historical light on these issues plaguing our society.”

Sarna won the Jewish Book Council’s “Jewish Book of the Year Award” in

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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS 6

2004, for a work noted as “the single best description of American Judaism during its 350 years on American soil.”

POETRY SLAM ARTFULLY WRAPS UP MLK WEEK

Hosted by the MLK Jr. Society of Saint Michael’s College, the poetry slam occurred on the evening of January 24 and served as the closing for the society’s annual “MLK Week.”

Many emotions were elicited as students revealed personal truths and moving stories through the art of poetry. Among the winning poets

Mic-Andre Constable shares his poetry at the Slam in McCarthy. were Fabiola Mujomba, Julyanice Cruz, and Daneroy Lawrence. Guest performers Mic-Andre Constable and Reuben Jackson joined the campus community on Friday evening and recited works of their own alongside students. Constable is a poet and rap artist based in Queens, New York, and Jackson’s poems have been published in more than 40 anthologies. His first volume, fingering the keys, won the Columbia Book Award.

Group photo of the Saint Michael’s Senegal trip student cohort and their leaders at Yellitaare (Fulani for empowerment), an NGO that fights against forced marriages and excision in Senegal for Multicultural Affairs and Services.

After adjusting to life in Senegal and being introduced to the country’s official language, Wolof, the group ventured to many sites, including the Museum of Black Civilizations, the Monument to the African Renaissance, and Gorée Island and the House of Slaves. They also attended interactive lectures organized by Dr. Cheikh Thiam from SIT (School for International Training) in Dakar.

JIBFEST WOWS ONLOOKERS

As winter approached, the College community gathered on the night of December 6 to feature its best student skiers and snowboarders.

Hosted by ShredMC—the Saint Michael’s Ski and Snowboard Club —the group created a site of

SENEGAL TRIP CHANGES LIVES

From December 26, 2019, through January 10, 2020, 13 students from the College ventured to Senegal over winter break, led by Laurence Clerfeuille, a professor of French, and Moise St. Louis, former associate dean of students and director of the Center

A student snowboards from a ramp built on campus for Jib Fest.

scaffolding, rails, boxes, and piles of locally sourced snow. Skiers and snowboarders were challenged to travel down a ramp, then quickly transfer onto a railing without falling.

Kyle Kowalski of ShredMC stated after the successful event, “Our main event, Jibfest, helps get everyone stoked to go to the mountain and relieves a little stress before finals by watching some fellow students fling their bodies at our rail setup.”

A group of international students from Japan performs during the festival.

STUDENTS AT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

Appreciating the diversity of cultures that thrive in our College community, many gathered on November 16 to celebrate the annual International Festival, hosted by the Diversity Coalition (DC). Over 50 people volunteered to cook and bake different dishes from their respective cultures, and the array of food covered three-quarters of the Tarrant Gym. Energizing the crowd were performances of dancing, musical entertainment, and African drumming. As the night came to a close, Marlon Hyde ’21 and Connor Vezina ’22, co-presidents of DC, stated, “We are so happy and grateful to have you all present at our International Festival. We hope that you enjoyed the food and performances from various countries and cultures. A special thanks to all the volunteers who helped us bring together this amazing event.”

HALL NAMED FOR FR. CRONOGUE

In late July, the Society of Saint Edmund announced a $500,000 gift to Saint Michael’s College, challenging the College community to match the funds for a total of $1 million in order to secure a residence hall dedication to the late Rev. Michael P. Cronogue, SSE. President Lorraine Sterritt, along with the executive committee of the Board of Trustees, unanimously voted to approve the renaming of Residence Hall 4, the building in question. Sterritt said, “I wholeheartedly thank our dear Edmundite friends for this magnificent gift to the College in memory of such a beloved member of our community. I have been deeply moved by … the many people who have mentioned him to me in the most loving terms and with heartfelt appreciation for the numerous and selfless ways in which he touched the Saint Michael’s community.”

Marianna Nowacki ’16 of Champlain College, left, and Liam Elder Connors ’14 of Vermont Public Radio, right, present in St. Edmund’s Hall during the Symposium. gathered to connect with students and share their stories. In the opening panel, “Transitioning Away from Saint Michael’s,” Gina Pandolfo ’14, Shannon McQueen ’16, Anthony Lopez ’16, and Michael May ’18 discussed how they utilized the resources of the College to build successful lives after graduation.

CENTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

The official launch ceremony of the Center for the Environment foretold great success in its plan to engage student stewardship on campus. Kristyn Achilich, the director of the College’s new venture, spoke alongside President Lorraine Sterritt at the opening ceremony on April 8. “Engaging students in the stewardship of their campus in a manner so different from any other

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Cronogue Hall, formerly known as Residence Hall 4.

liberal arts institution” is Achilich’s long-term plan for the Center. The unified energy and resources among academic departments, the College community, and facility is the driving force for this new adventure, she explained. The Center is “a pivotal undertaking for the College,” said Sterritt, “a unifying effort and an exemplar of our College’s principle that our students do well and do good.”

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DRIVE-BY BIRTHDAY PARTY SHOWERS LOVE ON FR. RAY AT 90

On the evening of Monday, May 4, members of the community organized a drive-by procession near Nicolle Hall to provide a well-observed birthday to Rev. Ray Doherty ’51.

Nearly 50 vehicles passed the Edmundite campus residence as Fr. Ray stood by the window and eagerly greeted all attendees. “I felt a little like Pope Francis,” he says. He then met attendees outside his residence while maintaining a safe distance, and was greeted with signs, wellwishes, and “happy birthdays.” The drive-by was organized by many of Fr. Doherty’s past administrative colleagues and friends who have since retired or moved on.

LIFE AFTER ST. MIKE’S

On November 8, eager students across all grade levels networked with College alumni at the annual Career Symposium. “These alumni are showing the world what a Saint Michael’s education can do to enhance society. They are living the Saint Michael’s mission by doing well and doing good,” said President Lorraine Sterritt, as nearly 40 alumni located in different areas worldwide

Father Ray Doherty ’51 with his birthday cake in the Edmundite Dining Room.

President Sterritt, left, helps Kristyn Achilich with planting a tree during the ceremony.

Subscribe to This Week, the College’s weekly newsletter, at smcvt.edu/magazine

TECHNOLOGY and the

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LIBERAL ARTS

BY SUSAN SALTER REYNOLDS

’m a humanities professor,” says Nat Lewis. “Give me a book and a couple of students and I’m good.” Lewis may be skeptical of technology, even bored by it, but flexibility and imagination are by-products of a good liberal arts education, and he’s been pleasantly surprised by his Zoom classes.

“There’s a sense of collegiality, the sense that we are all having a collaborative experience online.”

Students have been happy to get back to work and to see their fellow classmates, even if it’s only on a screen.

Many professors admit that the online classes are distant yet strangely intimate. Students and professors see into each other’s lives, if only an unmade bed, a bookshelf, or a dog. What is real and what is virtual in this shared space? What is lost and what is gained?

What does it mean to be a human being in a virtual world?

Lewis shows his students Ansel Adams’s photo “Redwoods, Founders’ Grove.” “What do you see?” he asks them. “Trees, redwoods?”

Not quite. “A photograph of trees?”

Almost. “A reproduction of Ansel Adams’s photograph of trees?” Aha. These are exactly the kinds of questions the liberal arts prepare us to ask and answer. The posthumanists might say that once we let go of our preconceived ideas about what it means to be human, we open ourselves up to a world of interdependency with nature, animals, and other beings. But can the liberal arts flourish in a virtual world? How is learning online really different? What do students and professors miss most? And which of those things are necessary ingredients in a liberal arts education?

We miss the nonverbal cues.

We miss sitting in the same room together. We miss the sparks of collective energy when new ideas are forged collaboratively. Most professors over 40 admit that it is easier for the students because their lives have been shaped by technology.

For the rest of us, having social and professional lives depend on

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Professor Nat Lewis technologies we don’t fully understand can be troubling. Even horrifying.

Associate Professor of History Jennifer Purcell has a clear idea of how technology fits in the liberal arts: “Never the end, always the means to the end. Technology should never drive our content—it is how we teach and communicate.” Technology, in her experience, may change how we learn, but not the content or the

ideas. She has adjusted to the online format, but, like many other professors, misses the nonverbal feedback she gets in person. “You see the lights go on,” she says. “I respond to their responses —I sometimes change course.” Without these clues, the lectures she records on Echo360 can feel stilted,” she says.

Students who often did not show up to class are emboldened by the online format. Students who came to class and were really engaged, she has found, may drop off. Purcell says, emphatically, the liberal arts are interactive, community based, and physical. Part of that education includes “being recognized. Look at me. I am here. I have something to contribute.”

Purcell is a diarist—she has studied and written about the lives of

That said, online learning suits some students.

“Never the end, always the means to the end. Technology should never drive our content—it is how we teach and communicate.”

— PROFESSOR JENNIFER PURCELL

Professor Jennifer Purcell

TECHNOLOGY AND THE LIBERAL ARTS 10

Professor Robert Brenneman housewives during WWII. “Women who were never validated for their work at home felt invisible. During the war, the nation said, ‘your work is important.’ They received validation.” Often, she finds, on screen her words fall into a virtual abyss. She feels that she is lecturing into a void. “Professors need validation, too,” she says.

Associate Professor of Sociology Robert Brenneman has always worked beyond the ivory tower, studying gangs and violence in Central America and around the world. “On the one hand, I am a fierce advocate of presence,” he says. “I can do my best work when I am physically there. When we do research, we are hoping to be surprised.” On the other hand, he says, “I have been surprised by the ways our technological tools can be put to use to approximate

presence and facilitate listening to people we might not otherwise come in contact with.”

One frustration many professors and students express is the lack of learning on the margins—the questions after class, the discussions in the hallways or while walking across campus. In a recent online class, Brenneman invited the Burlington police chief to speak. The class was a success, but Brenneman admits that his guest would have been able to read the “micro-signals” in an in-person class. Students might have come up after the talk

“I have been surprised by the ways our technological tools can be put to use to approximate presence and facilitate listening to people we might not otherwise come in contact with.”

— PROFESSOR ROBERT BRENNEMAN

to ask questions. Our responses to these micro-signals, he points out, are some of the ways that students know their professors care about them.

Anne Crowley, instructional technologist/designer

Instructional technology, says Anne Crowley, Saint Michael’s instructional technologist/designer, is still a relatively new field. We may feel that students are more comfortable with it, but often they face a learning curve. And learning something new can often cause anxiety. There are so many new tools, so many choices, that students and professors can both feel overwhelmed. These tools—such as smartboards and learning management systems (LMS) like Canvas, Zoom, and Echo360 (a lecture capture software)—have become more and more interactive. “There are many ways to build a community asynchronously,” Crowley says optimistically, “so that students don’t feel they are alone.”

Shane Coughlin ’20 is majoring in Political Science and Philosophy.

He’s grateful that the switch to online classes came mid-term, after a foundation had been created and students had a chance to get to know one another and their professors in person.

Looking back on his years at Saint Michael’s, Coughlin says he has learned to use the tools he needs and jettison the ones that get between him and his desired learning experience. “I know myself,” he says, explaining that he has stopped bringing his laptop to class. He takes notes by hand. With the laptop nearby, he explains, “I’m not in the present.” All the constant notifications and alarms create a sense of urgency that interrupts his

concentration. “I need to be able to manage my time and assess the urgency of my deadlines without the help of technology.”

On the plus side, he “loves annotating” and uses an annotation software rather than reading straight pdfs. He often listens to reading assignments using audio software that helps him “take in more information.”

Shane Coughlin ’20 When students in Lewis’s Environmental Humanities class started, the second half of the term online he noticed that before the Zoom class began students would spend a few minutes chatting about this and that.

He quickly realized just how important this time was.

“Now I open the class,” he says with a smile, “and go and fix myself a cup of tea while they talk.”

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THRI VIWorld NG in the Digital

BY L AUREN READ

T

hree years ago, a student came into the Help Desk with a question that set off warning signs for the members of the Information Technology staff.

While applying for a job, the student found a picture of himself drinking when he searched for his name on Google. This led, recalls Chris Lei, manager of Web Technologies, to a discussion about how online activity can affect your real life. The IT department realized that despite the younger generation’s exposure to technology, students still did not fully understand how to thrive in the digital world.

“There is a perception that young people innately understand technology,” says Chris Swanson, campus network engineer. “A lot of young people take technology for granted. They don’t understand the underlying principles behind it.” Lei, Swanson, and Erik Lightbody, the former associate director for Technical Services, created a one-credit, pop-up class called Thriving in a Digital World, designed to help Saint Michael’s students become more comfortable in a digital space. “The course is really geared to explain or answer questions that people have about technology,” Swanson says. “We are hoping that they develop a better understanding of the

digital realm and become more aware or cautious that the things you do or say online can have real world consequences.”

The course was split into three sections—understanding the basics of technology and how computers work, how to be a good digital citizen using best social media practices to develop your online presence, and cybersecurity and the best ways to protect yourself online. Designed to help set students up with the skills and tools needed to succeed in the digital world, the course could become even more important as technology quickly becomes more prevalent with the switch to online learning, working, and communicating in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We grew up in a period of not having technology always in front of us. These kids just grew up always having a phone, always having Wi-Fi, always expecting it,” Lei says.

“Technology is only advancing; the more that you have these foundations, the more you will be equipped going forward.”

As the IT department dealt with the intricacies of teaching students how to best function and thrive in a digital space, academic departments dealt with how to

“Technology is only advancing; the more that you have these foundations, the more you will be equipped going forward.”

— CHRIS LEI

best prepare their students in the face of increasing reliance on technology in the workplace. “Our department was at the forefront of that convergence,” says Professor Jerry Swope, chair of the Media Studies, Journalism & Digital Arts program. “For the last 15 years, we have been teaching convergence, realizing the students have to be effective storytellers in a variety of forms of media.”

The Media Studies, Journalism & Digital Arts Department (MJD) began adjusting to the changing landscape over ten years ago, when journalism and marketing began shifting more and more to online technology. “In this day and age, photographers can’t just be still photographers,” Swope, who has worked as a photojournalist for 20 years,

says. “They have to be comfortable gathering audio, being a good writer, being able to take pictures, being able to take video, and being able to put all that together into some kind of cohesive package.”

From changing equipment and ways to deliver content, students in the MJD program have been tasked with adjusting to fast-changing industries. “More and more people are posting images on social media,” Swope says. “As a result of that I want my students to think about creating storytelling images, not just little snapshots.

You have to connect with the people you are photographing and whose stories you are sharing.”

The lessons that the MJD program has imparted to its students have paid off. Alumni from the department are succeeding across the spectrum in the digital space— including Jonah Kessel, the director of cinematography at the New York Times, and other graduates who have done everything from producing newsletters for nonprofits to overseeing website content in marketing firms. “Students will take these skills in a variety of forms of media in any kind of job they go into,” Swope says. “First and foremost, students are going to come out of our department as media-literate, critical thinkers. They have to understand the media world...All of our courses involve production and analysis of media. Without the analysis, without understanding the impact of various forms of media and

technology on individuals and culture, you cannot be an effective documentary storyteller. That well-rounded approach is really important.”

With the ever-changing digital world becoming even more important through the COVID-19 pandemic, professors find themselves teaching students exclusively online—learning to adjust will become important for students in all industries. Balancing the day-to-day knowledge that a course like Thriving in the Digital World can provide with the critical thinking that a liberal arts education thrives on will be vital as the digital space becomes ubiquitous in students’ lives.

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In Tandem Julie Barrett ’97

BY DANIELLE JOUBERT ’20

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P

urple Knights are no strangers to innovation, but it seems that alumna Julie Barrett ’97 is firing on more cylinders than most.

Currently working as both an artist and the director of project management at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), Barrett has carved out a career for herself that blends the arts and sciences at every turn, defining the term “interdisciplinary” by example.

“Leukocytosis, Number 1,” from the Lafayette Series, is the product of a research study on history, politics, racism, Youth Homicide, and the City of Boston.

Barrett has a career-long history of making the humanities work under fire. After graduating from Saint Michael’s with a B.A. in Philosophy and a minor in Art, she went on to work at the Center for Cancer Research at MIT. While this might seem like a non sequitur, her background in design made her an essential part of the team.

“Most fields require some level of strong visual language,” Barrett says. “The visuals we use to convince executive leadership, prospective clients, or potential sponsors and investors have to be clear and compelling.” At MIT, knowing how to develop film and work with early versions of Photoshop allowed her to prepare those visuals for researchers at the apex of their field.

After MIT, Barrett worked briefly at the Museum Loan Network (MLN), an organization that facilitates the exchange of of exhibits between U.S. museums. A central part of the MLN’s mission was developing a digital database of images, a more accessible method of sharing art and artifacts with the public.

Building on her experience at MIT, Barrett gained skills in administrative software and digital asset management, yet again melding the arts and sciences into a single endeavor.

which was featured in the 2017 MassArt exhibit HABITAT/ion, found her collaborating with environmental scientists to study opportunity and disadvantage in the city of Boston. She used ArcGIS software to incorporate various data sources into a visual representation of the “health” of the city, based on the ability of citizens to survive or thrive. For her still life work, Barrett also prefers to modernize her methods. In addition to working from direct observation, she often uses digital photography to create reference images, capturing “the colors, the light, and details of the setup before it wilts or something changes.”

In 2000, Barrett landed an administrative role at MassArt, where she was eventually recruited by the IT department.

Since then, she’s held a variety For students of the liberal arts of positions, from systems who might be intimidated by the analyst and programmer to “Technology is just a tool increasingly complex technologies assistant director to her current at play in the workplace, Barrett position at the helm of the insists that learning shouldn’t like anything else.” project management office. Her be an obstacle. Instead, those of department oversees project and us looking to advance in a given portfolio management across the field or break into a new one institution, which currently involves training staff on should hit the ground running. “Technology is just a tool the software that makes virtual collaboration possible. like anything else,” she says. “Just like you learned This work is more essential than ever. how to tie a shoe or write with a pencil, you can learn to use whatever other tools you might need.”

Barrett believes that the kind of complex thinking involved in her tech career goes back to her time with the Philosophy Department at Saint Michael’s. She sees philosophy, or the study of how to think rather than what to think, as foundational in everything from programming entire systems to troubleshooting individual issues with users. “That’s Socrates,” according to Barrett. “Classical logic, finding the truth, agreeing on assumptions, testing a hypothesis, and building consensus through dialogue.” Rather than a formal degree in programming or information technology, Barrett holds an M.A. in Critical and Creative Thinking from the University of Massachusetts. She describes this as an interdisciplinary program involving philosophy, education, and psychology. The focus of her studies was the creative development of artists.

Barrett is a professional painter. While employed at MassArt, she enrolled as a student and earned a BFA in painting in 2012. Here, too, she uses various technologies to enhance her work. The Map Project,

Peaches, by Julie Barrett

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BY SUSAN SALTER RE YNOLDS

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DAW N E L L I N WO O D , V IC E P R E SI D E N T F O R S T U D ENT A F FA IRS , I S WO R R I E D .

Social media, made possible by technology, has played a large and largely recognized role in increased depression and anxiety, disturbing, in many cases, students’ sense of identity, their relationships, and their feelings of Dawn Ellinwood self-worth. And yet, many cannot seem to live without it. Ellinwood, like many others, uses the word “addiction” to describe the relationship people, young and old, have with their phones.

Even over Zoom, her cheerful, smiling eyes open wide as we talk about technology and education. “It’s hard not to be able to have face-to-face conversations,” she says.

“And even before coronavirus, we could see how technology can lead to an inability to make a human connection.

Over the last five years, I have seen how difficult it can be for students to even have phone conversations!” In an age of increasing anxiety among young people, many have noticed a direct correlation between the amount of their screen time—phone or laptop—and their stress.

Ellinwood is no stranger to student stress. But since the pandemic, many have told her how much they miss the community on campus. Some were unable to say goodbye to their friends. Many feel that the work has gotten harder; faculty expect more of them, and with the constant communication of online life, there is no downtime. Virtual life is devoid of ceremony, of rites of passage. Seniors, administrative staff, and faculty conducted an online ceremony to mark Commencement, and are planning for an in-person ceremony when the pandemic passes. But it’s not the same.

Each new technological tool, she points out, has its own effect on the faculty-student relationship. And on the relationships between students in the classroom.

“If higher education continues to be delivered in this way,”

“ IF H IG H E R E D U C AT I O N CONTI NUE S TO B E D ELI V ER ED IN T H IS WAY, W H AT W I L L HAPP EN TO ALL THE LE AR NI N G THAT GE T S DO N E OU T SI D E T H E C L AS S ROOM? ” — DAWN ELLINWOOD, VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS

Illustration: Sarah M. Smith

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Photo/Digital Art: Jon Hyde and Kimberly Sultze

TECHNOLOGY AND ANXIET Y 18

Professor Kimberly Sultze she says, “what will happen to all the learning that gets done outside the classroom?” She hopes that this experience will at least help us to appreciate the role that non-tech experiences play in higher ed.

Kimberly Sultze, professor of media studies, journalism, and digital arts, shares many of Ellinwood’s concerns.

It can seem as though social media companies are engineering their products to be addictive. And it often seems as though smartphones have already been “embedded” in our bodies—we take them for granted. In the early days of these technologies and platforms, you had to take more actions, she explains. “Before continuous scrolling there was introductory copy, you had to click, to take action to go to the next thing.”

It seems like a small change, but Sultze is right— we are making fewer decisions on our own when we use these technologies. It may seem more convenient, but what are we giving up for convenience? It can be harder for students and faculty alike to set priorities and manage their time. “We have been outsourcing organization and decision making,” she says. “And for young people, still learning how to organize their lives, this can be very destructive. They are living their lives on call, relying on something else to tell them what is due when and what to do next.” And then there’s the multitasking, which, as many of us have learned the hard way, humans were not made to do.

There’s no shortage of studies linking social media and depression—the pressure to “spin” your life and the constant comparison to others, the personal “branding,” are all antithetical to the ways we think about the self and community in literary, philosophical, and historical contexts.

Ellinwood sees the effects of technology on communication between students and between students and faculty, and Sultze sees it in her classes, even in the effect of open laptops around a seminar table. “Faces are blocked by monitors,” she says. “Or students work on computers in pods. But in order to communicate ethically, you have to be able to see your colleagues, peers, and classmates. You have to invoke a theory of mind, to envision them. If we don’t take the time to do that, it becomes too easy to mistreat people.”

According to Sultze, this means we’re losing many of the aspects that allow us to keep communication humane.

We miss the micro-signals, the nonverbal cues. Words come out of context. It is not lost on Sultze, who also teaches nature writing classes, that technology also affects our ability to connect and engage with nature. Students in her classes use technology to write, photograph, video, and even sketch what they see in nature. They engage in what she calls “soft fascination.” “It helps,” she says, “if you turn your phone off.”

Ruth Fabian-Fine, professor of biology and neuroscience, explains the many ways that technology can affect us physiologically. But she is just as concerned about the

TECHNOLOGY AND ANXIET Y

“ W E H AV E BE E N O U T S O U RC I N G ORGANIZ ATI ON AND D E C I S I ON M A KIN G. AN D F O R YO U N G P E O PLE, S TI LL LE AR NI N G HOW TO O RGAN IZ E T H E I R L I V E S , TH I S C AN B E V ERY D E S TRUC TI V E.” — PROFESSOR KIMBERLY SULTZE

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anxiety caused by social media.

Although technologies like the computer and the microscope make her work, and her students’ work, possible, “we are always outdated,” she says. There’s always the next new thing. We are never good enough.

Fabian-Fine helps her students master these learning curves.

Professor Ruth Fabian-Fine “I hand them the power. It’s not that difficult,” she says. This turns their anxiety into self-confidence. Professional technologies make life easier.

But social media is another thing altogether. Social media rewires us and fosters anxiety. “People feel the need to represent themselves as superheroes. This creates a desire to keep up and magnifies sociocultural divides. It is a real addiction, carefully designed to give the player a reward.

Social media activates a reward center in the brain,” she explains, “by increasing dopamine in the prefrontal cortex.”

Being tied to technology night and day, to screens, interferes with our sleep patterns, which also contributes to anxiety. The blue light of the screen, unlike the warmer red ambient daylight, exerts a physical effect on the eyes and actually prevents the release of sleep hormones. Rapid eye movements for prolonged periods mean constantly activated neurons. When we overstimulate neurons in the brain, it alters the way they function and can lead to mental disorders. Fatigue is a common result of too much screen time. When we process information, the brain is working all the time; neurons are active, and the sodium potassium pump changes the voltage in these neurons to generate action potential, an electrical stimulus. And sodium potassium pumps have to work constantly to keep the neurons excitable.

At some point, if the system is not balanced, protective mechanisms kick in and change the biochemical makeup of the involved neuronal pathways and can lead to altered behavior and mental disorders.

In both her seminar and lecture-style classes, and in her labs, Fabian-Fine works to make her students feel comfortable. But online, she says, she does not get their feedback; many students are too inhibited to ask questions, which causes anxiety. “They can feel alone, isolated, and this can also create anxiety,” she says.

Melissa VanderKaay Tomasulo, professor of psychology and neuroscience, believes that anxiety is rooted in fear of the unknown. Technology can help alleviate this fear and help students complete important tasks, but it can also create fear, disturb circadian rhythms, and delay

TECHNOLOGY AND ANXIET Y 20

sleep onset, encourage socioeconomic disparity, promote multitasking (which can decrease the productivity of higher-order cognitive tasks), and encourage distraction.

Technology, Tomasulo points out, also may interfere with learning modalities. The simple task of notetaking, once the predominant way to record information in the classroom, creates a physical connection to new material and can deepen the learning experience. Watching a lab simulation is not the same as participating in the lab. “The liberal arts are all about making connections,” she says. “Technology is used as a tool in this context, but humans have to program that tool.”

Like Ellinwood and Fabian-Fine, Tomasulo worries about addiction to technology. Her daughter, with the

Professor Melissa VanderKaay Tomasulo

onset of the pandemic, has lost valuable in-person time with friends. Technology helps her recover some of this. But Tomasulo worries about the effects of the dopamine generated in these encounters on her daughter’s developing brain. Will addiction to screens stand in for devotion to friends? On the other hand, when we are isolated, we also feel stress.

Studies on the effects of technology on developing brains have revealed, among other things, language and other developmental delays in children exposed to too much screen time. Hormones are released in levels that may be toxic. What can we do to control these deleterious effects? Perhaps, as Tomasulo recommends, we must stay in control of these technologies.

Lauren Dunn ’20 Lauren Dunn ’20 is a Biology major. She was a member of the Saint Michael’s ski team in her first two years at the College, then became a coach for the Smugglers’ Notch ski team. It has been thrilling for her to use the imaging suite and the photographic microscopes in her Developmental Biology class to see different parts of various organisms and to identify the development of proteins.

“For me,” she says, “biology is very visual.” Students in anatomy classes (Dunn has not taken any but reports on fellow students) still dissect animals—both are examples of hands-on learning.

Has Dunn experienced technology-related anxieties as a student? Of course. “But here’s the thing,” she says.

“When I finish a big paper, at the end of the day I email it to myself. Do I trust the technology I have used to write the paper? No.” She also recalls, “In our senior seminar, we discussed advanced medical technologies that would allow a computer to conduct a surgery and make all the necessary decisions. The consensus was—that’s great, but we still want the surgeon to do the surgery by hand.”

By hand. The phrase carries a whiff of centuries gone by. But we still use it. Why? Because doing things by hand mitigates the anxiety-producing fear of the unknown, and it gives the sense of being in control. As any professor or student on or off any campus around the world will tell you, we aren’t done with these bodies.

Yet.

“ T H E L IB E R A L AR T S A R E A LL AB OU T M AKI N G CONNE C TI ONS .

T E CH N O LO GY I S U SE D AS A TOOL I N TH I S CONT E X T, B U T HUM A NS H AV E TO P RO G R A M T H AT TOOL.” — PROFESSOR MELISSA VANDERK A AY TOMASULO

TECHNOLOGY AND ANXIET Y

To practice for ski races with the Saint Michael’s team, Dunn’s coach would often video a run so that the skiers could watch and discuss their performance. “Before,” Dunn explains, “I could feel the places where I lost time, but I couldn’t see them. The video helped me to analyze my performance.” She now uses video in her work with the Smugglers’ Notch team. It is like the photographic microscope and dissection in anatomy—one tool allows you to actually feel the organism, the other allows you to see and analyze the organism.

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The Soul of Ben

BY ANNIE ROSELLO ’94

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When you think of Vermont, no doubt certain images spring to mind: Camel’s Hump. Mansfield. Church Street. Ice cream. Three Saint Michael’s College graduates are responsible for keeping Ben & Jerry’s top of mind, not only marketing to ice cream connoisseurs worldwide, but appealing to all who appreciate the company’s long-held tenet of social justice activism*.

D

ave Stever, MSA ’00 has worked at Ben & Jerry’s for 32 years, and as chief marketing officer since 2011. “My marketing experience is a roll-up-your-sleeves journey,” he explains. “I was originally hired as a tour guide at our Waterbury factory; as a result, I always have cow jokes

of numerous campaigns, including Fair Trade ingredients and climate change, and I’ve worked with Stephen Colbert, Dave Matthews Band, Saturday Night Live, and others to create unique flavors and promotions to drive the business. All of this keeps my job dynamic and a constant learning experience.”

Global Head of Integrated Marketing Jay Curley ’02 says his days playing college lacrosse built a foundation for his current role. “It wasn’t taking a shot or scoring a goal that mattered most, it was being part of a team. At Ben & Jerry’s, our team has a common goal—we want to do good things in the world, which not everyone gets to say about their day-to-day work.”

Dave Stever, MSA ’00 at the ready. Now, I’m responsible for the marketing that nurtures and drives Ben & Jerry’s mission in the 42 countries where we operate.

I’ve had the opportunity to be part

When bringing in new hires, Curley values a liberal arts background.

“We’re looking for people who are flexible, well-rounded, and strong writers.

They want to learn and try new things, and don’t have big egos. In marketing and social mission, an appreciation of the interplay between poetry,

Jay Curley ’02 history, and data analysis is key.

My job entails making judgment calls about media performance and comparing today’s social movements with those of the past. It’s notable how advertising is attuned to poetry— similarly, we have to be succinct and connect with people.”

Mike Hayes ’08 was an ideal new hire when Curley brought him on board nine years ago. “At St. Mike’s, I ran the ski & snowboard and cycling clubs. A lot of what I was doing was marketing—putting on events like Rail

& Jerry’s Jam, ski movie premieres, trying to get people to attend. I realized I could get paid to do work like that,” he laughs.

Now global head of digital marketing, Hayes works hard to stay atop the constantly evolving field. “We’re never not learning,” he explains. “There’s no manual for global digital marketing and where we want to take it. That’s the exciting thing—we’re able to use new platforms and tactics to really drive business results and experimentation to see what works. It’s challenging but also very rewarding on both the product side and the social mission side.”

Curley agrees. “We get to use tools at the forefront of modern marketing to understand the different messages that are resonating with our fans and driving them toward action.

We use similar strategies, tactics,

and tools to sell ice cream as we do to try to stop an oil pipeline. That part’s really interesting and innovative—there are a few others trying to do this work, but we’re still very much at the forefront of it.”

“Marketing communication needs to be rooted in what the company is doing and what it stands for,” says Stever. “As Ben Cohen has said, ‘The best way to connect with your fans is over shared values.’ If we get this

and incredibly hardworking. But ... they’re leaders because of their vision and passion for using business to create positive change in the world.”

With the good-natured spirit of Ben & Jerry’s, Stever channels the famous words of Jerry Greenfield: “If it’s not fun, why do it?” Hayes agrees wholeheartedly. “That sentiment sums up St. Mike’s quite nicely, too. You have a responsibility to give back to your community.

“We’re looking for people who are flexible, well-rounded, and strong writers. They want to learn and try new things, and don’t have big egos.

In marketing and social missions, an appreciation of the interplay between poetry, history, and data analytics is key.”

— JAY CURLE Y ’02

right, the digital tools and social platforms allow us to tell the stories and bring them to our fans.”

Mike Hayes ’08

Ben & Jerry’s CEO Matthew McCarthy has high words of praise for Saint Michael’s grads. “It’s not surprising that these three all have a similar educational foundation, built on social justice,” he says. “They are true professionals—creative, strategic,

You can define that how you want, but you should also have fun in your life. That’s what comes through at St. Mike’s for anyone who’s attended— having fun, but also giving back.

Those things don’t have to be exclusive. You can make them both a part of who you are.” * https://www.benjerry.com/ about-us/media-center

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24

A Test of S Technology in the Time of COVID

BY MARK TARNACKI

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

— MAT THEW 18:20

T

he Gospel writer’s profoundly simple formula for bringing God intimately into daily human affairs in the Catholic tradition of Saint Michael’s College entered interesting gray areas with the advent of the internet in the 1980s.

Now, an unexpected pandemic has cast the spiritual questions raised by advancing technology into more vivid and urgent relief: Would an Edmundite prerecorded YouTube Easter Mass watched by nearly 5,000 people, or “gatherings” online through Zoom to pray or talk about spirit, or a lively student retreat via computer through Campus Ministry—be fully dimensional by Matthew’s measure, or in the view and experience of participants? Likewise, for the many at Saint Michael’s who are from non-Catholic traditions or who are not religious, where and how does spirituality enter their lives in this jarringly abrupt COVID-19 reality of relative physical isolation? Where are students, faculty, and staff finding spiritual and emotional support from one another these days?

pirit:

Such questions are getting an experimental workout and deeper contemplation at Saint Michael’s and elsewhere after coronavirus forced most people away from campus in mid-March 2020, shifting their daily lives, including on the spirit plane, almost entirely into the virtual online world.

Mass Media In March, right after Edmundite Rev. Brian Cummings ’86 learned of Vermont Governor Phil Scott’s order to stay home/stay safe and Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne’s closing of Vermont churches because of COVID-19, the Campus Ministry director asked his tech-savvy brother Edmundite Rev. Lino Oropeza ’11 if he thought a virtual Mass for the wider community, recorded from the chapel via YouTube, was possible.

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A TEST OF SPIRIT 26

“It can definitely be done,” said Fr. Oropeza, who before entering the priesthood worked at a computer store in his native Venezuela. He follows tech news diligently and even did a YouTube “Edmundite Show” with a younger priest brother a few years ago. But the virtual Mass had immediate challenges too: “I’ve always been technology driven,” he said, “but I’ve never edited video in my life!”

Undeterred, Fr. Oropeza downloaded video editing software, found online tutorials, and learned the basics in a couple of days. Glitches and suboptimal video quality on that first week’s effort resulted in tweaks and improvements going forward. At the appropriate points in the Mass recording he edits in students or alumni who have recorded themselves doing readings remotely from their homes once they send him video; he does the readings himself as the actual Mass is taking place; similarly, music minister Jerome Monachino ’91 plays all the liturgical music from home with his musician children (including Olivia Monachino ’22). Campus Minister Anna Lester ’98 recruits and coordinates the readers each week. The team plans to continue until people can return to Mass in person.

The actual liturgically valid Mass is typically recorded on Friday, so it’s a rush job to create the now-polished product by late Saturday when it is sent out.

“I’m the cameraman, audio man, director, producer, and audience, and I’m also giving the Mass responses to Fr. Brian or Fr. Michael [Carter SSE ’12], all at once,” Fr. Oropeza said. The first recording was March 22, and the team has produced one each week since, with thousands

Depth and Breadth Heidi St. Peter ’96, director of academic support and a former campus minister who ran the MOVE service program, says her family gratefully (if sometimes distractedly) watches the online Mass. (One of her children will have to postpone his confirmation, since sacraments cannot validly be administered virtually.) “I think it’s all spiritual, honestly,” says St. Peter, “when you’re having a really good conversation with someone, it’s at a deeper level than just the overtly religious stuff…. I ask ‘how are you feeling, what are you grateful for, what’s helping you push through?’

And that’s always a spiritual question.”

Jerry Swope of the Media Studies, Journalism & Digital Arts faculty agrees. “I think these recent times have exposed the positives and negatives of this whole notion of whether the virtual can be spiritual,” he says. “People find a sense of connectedness by watching a Mass online or going to a yoga class, and I think that’s helpful, but our digital devices also are often taking a lot of our attention. That pulls us away from family, community, self; so people can neglect that spiritual well-being because they are so constantly distracted by networked devices. That’s why I think we have to be purposeful in how we use these tools and recognize that the tools can use us.” At home with his own children since the isolation, Swope says, “we created a little wallhanging chain—we call it ‘prayers, gratitudes, and intentions.’ The idea is to start each morning in a purposeful way, and this physical offline representation encourages me to be more purposeful.”

Aostre Johnson is an emerita Saint Michael’s education professor who has engaged the issue of the spiritual in the intellectual life and education through classes, campus activities, and research for decades.

In April she was “in the middle of an online spiritual retreat that is replacing a real-place one because of COVID-19, so I’m reflecting on the benefits and drawbacks of this.” The retreat made her think more “of the idea of two dimensions of spirituality—depth and breadth, or vertical and horizontal.” “Depth” speaks more to the intensity of the interior aspects of experience: our awareness, intuition, sense of meaning, and emotion, while “breadth” is more about exterior connectedness with other people and all of life. Both are critical aspects of spiritual

“We have to be purposeful in how we use these tools and recognize that the tools can use us.”

— JERRY SWOPE

of people logging on to watch, with a peak of nearly 5,000 at Easter, far exceeding best expectations.

Fr. Cummings shared scores of touching emails from alumni and student families across the U.S. who wrote to say how much it meant to see Mass from the chapel along with familiar faces and voices.

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experience, but the balance between them is key.

“Technology certainly has the capacity to expand the breadth of our spiritual experience, but we have to be careful that isn’t at the cost of depth of awareness and meaningfulness,” she says.

Privilege and Priorities Meanwhile, campus ministers and Bergeron Wellness Center counselors have been creative and diligent in engaging students online: Anna Lester has offered remote student retreats refocused to address current concerns.

She also leads weekly faith-sharing “Connections” and other formerly in-person programs, such as “Dessert and the Divine,” now remotely … “bring your own dessert.”

Lester also put together a virtual “Way of the Cross” for Good Friday, and did a traditional “Senior Reflection Night” online before Commencement.

Lara Scott, MOVE director, said “our driving philosophy now is to decrease social isolation, maintain relationships, and continue meeting community needs.” Thus, MOVE

mentoring programs with refugees continue through letter-writing and tech interfaces between students at home and their mentees; similarly in other outreaches, such as to senior citizens or Lund Center moms and babies, or COTS clients without permanent housing, interactions are adapted online as needed. Music Minister Monachino said his online scripture reflections called “Liturgy of the Word Lunches,” now by Zoom rather than in the cafeteria, are surprisingly popular with students, and alumni are joining too.

Kathy Butts ’89, director of counseling services at the Bergeron Wellness Center, says her team checks in with their regular student clients as much as possible by phone or email, and takes any other requests to address challenges that students raise from home.

“I was struck by how, no matter what level of privilege they have, they all say the same thing, which is that it could be worse,” Butts said. “We are all in this together in dealing with challenges because of this pandemic in some way.”

Ready for Anything Maura Grogan ’14

BY ARIEL WISH ’20

“F

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rom websites for a company to the actual software they use to operate their businesses, just about every industry today utilizes some form of technology. Getting a degree in computer science opens a world of employment opportunities,” says former Saint Michael’s computer Science Major and Mathematics minor Maura Grogan ’14. Grogan is currently employed as a software developer at Vermont Information Processing (VIP), a leading technology supplier for companies in the beverage industry. In her role, Grogan works on the back end of software design, implementing enhancements and fixing bugs found in the company’s existing programs.

Although Grogan has very little direct interaction with VIP customers, she is nevertheless attentive to public demands and usability when designing software programs. She learned this lesson in her previous role at Systems and Software, where she worked with front-end users to fix issues on the fly. “I attempt to put myself in the customer’s shoes as I’m working on an issue. This leads to better software in the long run because as you become knowledgeable in the field, you can better anticipate a customer’s needs and wants,” she says.

didn’t like. It helped me when looking at different industries to pursue, where I could see myself enjoying my day-to-day work,” she says, explaining also that the many classes she took at St. Mike’s made her a versatile employee. “Because of my lab reports (for my lab science) and my First Year Seminar (which was writing intensive), I’ve been able to produce clear and accurate documentation for enhancements I wrote.”

Adaptability, communication, determination, and focus are the key skills needed to succeed in such a fast-paced, ever-changing industry, Grogan reports. “In any job, staying in contact with coworkers and customers is essential. By sharing issues, [you learn that] someone else may have experience to help you move forward in your problem. By sharing solutions, you can spread knowledge and help someone look at their issue in a different light.”

Grogan advises students interested in pursuing technology in their future career to keep an open one morning and find you have to mind, embrace all opportunities that come their way, push everything on your and stay focused on their goals. “Life is going to to-do list aside. A pandemic might throw many curveballs your way. You might walk into hit and you find your work work one morning and find you have to push everything environment completely altered.” on your to-do list aside.

Grogan owes her adaptA pandemic might hit and ability, people skills, and you find your work environgeneral conscientiousness within the industry to her time ment completely altered. But if you are determined at St. Mike’s, and to the experimental nature of a liberal and can find focus in the chaos, then anything you put arts education. “By taking a variety of classes, I was able your mind to can be accomplished,” she says. to figure out what I liked, but more importantly what I

“You might walk into work

A Legacy of Dr. Richard Gamelli ’70 Compassion F

BY ANNIE ROSELLO ’94

ifty years have passed since Dr. Richard Gamelli graduated from Saint Michael’s in May 1970. A chemistry major, he went on to earn his Doctor of Medicine degree from UVM, which honored him in 2017 with the inaugural Catamount Surgeon Award. This year, he was named an Alumnus of the Year by Saint Michael’s. Many of his remarkable achievements took place at Loyola University Chicago, where he served for nearly 25 years as an internationally renowned researcher, educator, and surgeon. It was there that Dr. Gamelli served as chair of the Department of Surgery and founding director of the Burn Center.

The accolades that Dr. Gamelli has earned over his career and the admiration with which he is viewed by colleagues and patients are unmatched. But those who know him best take pride in his personification of the vision of Saint Michael’s College: Do Well and Do Good.

walked through the door. He ensured all his students and residents learned how to care for patients with the same compassion.” Liza Gamelli, a social worker at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Boston, has followed in her father’s footsteps. He taught her that to manage a crisis successfully, you have to break down the parts.

Her sister, Andrea Couture ’01, agrees. “I asked my dad once if being in an emergency ever scared him. He said no, as a leader your job is to direct the outcome.

Surround yourself with people who know what they’re doing, and let them do it well.”

“I truly believe he exemplifies what Saint Michael’s is known for— creating good people who are confident, successful, worldly, compassionate, and grounded.”

Richard and Mary Gamelli have been extremely committed supporters of Saint Michael’s over the years.

Recently, they made a very generous gift in support of the new Health Science Initiative, in honor of his 50th Reunion. As a result, future Saint Michael’s students will surely follow in his footsteps to a meaningful career in medicine.

— ANDREA COUTURE ’01

“Our mother told us “My dad’s goal was to Above right: Dr. Richard L. Gamelli and that Dad was always a help people,” says his proud member of the Mrs. Mary C. Gamelli daughter Amy. “He Class of 1970,” says embraced the mission of Couture. “The four years Saint Michael’s, and it played a role in how he pursued he spent at Saint Michael’s have lasted a lifetime in his his career. His moral compass was unwavering, and his character. I truly believe he exemplifies what Saint ethical care of patients was unparalleled. He spent much Michael’s is known for—creating good people who are of his career healing the underserved, and we learned confident, successful, worldly, compassionate, and so much by watching how he embraced everyone who grounded.”

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SAINT MICHAEL’S COLLEGE WELCOMES WOMEN

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BY L AUREN READ

Michael’s have been more significant than the acceptance of female students.”

F

Saint Michael’s first female students stepped onto campus in 1970—23 women were admitted as full-time students that semester.

The first female students graduated from the College in 1972 (these were transfer students) and the first four-year graduates finished their degrees in 1974.

Now, 54 percent of the College’s students are women, and women occupy many leadership roles across the campus—including Lorraine Sterritt, the College’s first female president. The College will kick off a celebration of 50 years of coeducation and celebrate 100 years of women’s suffrage—with online events (due to the circumstances surrounding COVID-19), speakers, and academic tie-ins. “We have some remarkable alumnae who are true pioneers in their respective fields,” Armour says, “and it’s my hope to connect many of these graduates with

ifty years ago this fall, Saint Michael’s College welcomed its first full-time female students to campus. The Michaelman announced that the “twenty-three coeds provide SMC Facelifting.” ThenPresident Bernard Boutin called the move “a major step toward the attainment of excellence.”

“Ou ’70s alumnae “Our 70’s alumnae truly paved truly paved Now, Saint Michael’s prepares to the way for the the way for the decades honor the women of that first decades of coeducational class and celebrate women,” Armour of women who came after them.” their legacy. “Women have truly says. “It’s importtransformed Saint Michael’s over the ant for us to know — ANGEL A ARMOUR ’99 past 50 years,” says Angela Armour, what it was like director of alumni and family for women here in relations and 1999 graduate of the the ’70s and some College. “Not only our female of the hardships— students, but the female faculty, staff, and triumphs—they endured. As our current female students through administrators have all helped to a group they deserve to be celebrated programs and events, both virtually shape the College as we know it. Few for their perseverance, their loyalty to and in-person, over the course of the moments in the history of Saint the College, and their outstanding next year.” accomplishments.”

AlwaysKatrina Remember Meyers ’90 the End Goal A

BY ASHLEY DELEON ’23

fter graduating in the midst of an economic downturn three decades ago, the current integrations project manager at QGenda and alumna of Saint Michael’s College sought opportunities at every avenue “by never saying no.”

software that allows for the delegation of shifts among different medical departments in hospitals. Collaborating with paging systems and software like Epic, the company is able to ensure quality scheduling on different levels of healthcare.

Katrina Meyers graduated Saint Michael’s College in 1990 when she earned a bachelor of arts degree in English. Grim opportunities in the job market compelled Meyers to accept any position offered to her.

She took a job as a secretary, which bored her, but Meyers used this as an opportunity to make a name for herself by sharing her technological niche with colleagues—her profound knowledge of WordPerfect and Lotus.

The liberal arts education at Saint Michael’s College helped Meyers become a better problem solver, creative thinker, and writer, along with gaining strong skills in teamwork and clear communication. There is an “increasing need for adaptability and flexibility,” Meyers says, and the skills she acquired during her time at the College have helped her prosper in technology development and project management. To succeed in this field, “it takes someone who can think of the end goal,” she adds.

Meyers created instructional guides for navigating these programs for coworkers unfamiliar with the software and later “I’ve dedicated my entire life to became a trainer. She climbed the technology. I’ve dedicated my ladder and held positions in career to making technology work instructional design, software better for people; to make implementation and management, computers do the work they’re and development until she good at so that humans can do reached her current position as an “I’ve dedicated my the work that computers can’t integrations project manager. In do,” Meyers says, after working this role, Meyers states, “My for a multitude of companies entire life to technology.” current job is about managing over the years and ascending in integrations projects that connect position. A proud alumna of information systems across a Saint Michael’s College and an health system organization to share data and information innovator in her field, Meyers owes her success to to increase visibility of data and reduce rework.” While “a series of lessons learned over the years” and “never advancing in her career, Meyers worked for six technolosaying no.” gy companies.

QGenda, her current place of employment, is an Atlanta-based company that acquired OpenTempo VT this year. The company develops physician scheduling

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BY SUSAN SALTER REYNOLDS

Mahmoud Arani, former chair of the Applied Linguistics Department and a professor of applied linguistics/TESOL, answers with an emphatic “yes.”

“This generation is constantly communicating through digital media,” he says. They just might not be talking face to face.

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ARE WE FORGETTING

Photo: Roya Mansoorani

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a foreign language best when we are engaged in face-to-face communication with speakers of that language in an authentic environment where the language is spoken.

If text and email are different genres of language, and part of learning a new language is getting familiar with the culture that gives it context, then what do we call this other culture? If we are not talking when we communicate using these new tools, what are we doing? How difficult is communicating in a second language?

Arani refers to the challenges of learning to communicate in English by non-native speakers.

He explains that when we learn a new language, we must master several competencies: To borrow terms used by two renowned linguists, Michael Canale and Merrill Swain, these

competencies include linguistic competence (using words and grammar correctly), sociolinguistic competence (using appropriate language in different social contexts), discourse competence (the ability to produce a stretch of continuous language cohesively and coherently) and strategic competence (knowing how to prevent conversational breakingdowns by using a variety of communicative strategies). Arani notes that these competencies are not learned overnight; he Illustration: Douglas and MacGregor Harp

Language use, says Arani, does not happen in a vacuum; rather, it happens in a complex sociocultural context where, according to some sociolinguists, the interlocutors are aware of each other’s social role, office, and status. In other words, people’s choice of language is informed and shaped by their conscious or subconscious awareness of these social relationship features. Many features of the social context could inadvertently be ignored (or changed) when we communicate via text or email.

Furthermore, in digital communication, we lose most if not all of the paralinguistic features that are an integral part of face-to-face oral communication; that is, features such as facial expressions, tone of voice, body language, gestures, and eye contact. These features, which sometimes carry more meaning than the words we use, but are absent in digital communication. This is why we learn

believes that “language acquisition is a cumulative process and it requires patience.”

Our dependence on social media, however, has made us less patient.

Texting and emailing are fast; the information transmitted is received faster than when we talk (with all those nonverbal cues). We also expect immediate answers. Face-to-face communication is slower and involves the demonstration of an appropriate level of emotional intelligence that texting and emailing do not. “In our digital communication, we use emojis to express our emotions instead of facial expressions, body language, or tone of voice.” Talking face-toface involves an awareness of social roles, status, age, office, and hierarchically distinct levels of formality— emailing and texting often flatten that curve, to use a popular phrase. “I have noticed,” says Arani, “that the younger generations, who are more used to communicating through social media, do not always follow the distinguishing boundaries among different levels of formality in language use.”

Talking face-to-face is usually allconsuming—when we communicate digitally with a device, we can focus on more than one thing at the same time.

Thus, consciously or unconsciously, we pay less attention to the individual we are communicating with, we may pay less attention to the language features required for the communicative event, and we often lose sight of the levels of formality and language appropriateness that a particular

communicative event calls for.

That is, we are less engaged with the requirements of the communication process and with the person we are communicating with. When we are less engaged, less focused, our communication is not as nuanced and deep. “In order to be engaged in any kind of meaningful social relationship, one must have the ability to fully engage in a meaningful and appropriate interaction by paying attention to all the features of communication,” Arani says. And this makes sense. We are often distracted when we use our digital devices and overlook

many of the requirements of appropriate, respectful communication. Talking face-to-face pins us down.

How does online teaching fit into all this? It’s a matter of trading depth for breadth. While nothing can replace the face-to face interaction between a

teacher and a student, online teaching has its own advantages, especially when that becomes the only mode of teaching because of certain circumstances, like the situation we live in these days.

Arani says that he prefers face-toface instruction for language classes.

In face-to-face teaching, one can better demonstrate and teach all the competencies that are required for developing communicative competence in a second language, which is the most fundamental goal of acquiring a second language. He

ends our discussion by paraphrasing what educational scholar Richard Clark wrote in 1983: Technologies themselves do not influence our students’ achievement; they are simply vehicles that help deliver instruction.

ARE WE FORGETTING

“In order to be engaged in any kind of meaningful social relationship, one must have the ability to fully engage in a meaningful and appropriate interaction by paying attention to all the features of communication.”

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T H E G LOBA L E Y E S P H OTO G R A P H Y COMP E TI TI ON

BY MARK TARNACKI

The annual Saint Michael’s College Global Eyes Study Abroad Photography Competition is an opportunity for study abroad returnees to share their international experiences and insights with the greater campus community. Peggy Imai, director of study abroad, and Jerry Swope, professional photographer and professor of media studies, journalism, and digital arts, posted work on a special website. This year’s winner of the Kroger-Krikstone Best of Show Award was Stephen Higgins for his image from Morocco in 2019: “Mohammed Aziz—The Bookseller” (image directly above). Winner of the “Society, Politics, Environment” subcategory was “The Road to Ph.D.: Exiled Tibetan Buddhist Nuns Study for Their Gender Equality” by Nettie Hoagland. Winning in the “Culture Most Distinct from SMC” category was “House of Blues” by Shelbie Osak, also from her time in Morocco, 2019. The photographs are chosen for their technical quality as well as the accompanying student-written narratives. These images are samples of submissions.

Photo: SMC Athletic Communications

ROUNDUP

THE

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Connor Hopkins ’20

BY JOSH KESSLER ’04

SW IMMIN G CONNOR HOPKINS ’20

left quite a lasting impression at the Northeast-10 Conference Championship in Worcester, Massachusetts, in early February during his final college competition. Seven events, seven school records. Three individual races, three top-three finishes, including repeating as the 50yard freestyle champion.

While the captain capped his own successful career along the way, he aided historic team achievements at the meet. Hopkins swam the opening leg for recordsetting 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay and 200and 400-yard medley relay quartets. Both freestyle foursomes placed fourth, and no Purple Knight relays had finished as high at an NE10 meet since 2010. The Saint Michael’s men’s swimming & diving squad placed fifth when the championship came to an

end, its best showing in 11 years.

Hopkins took second in the 100-yard backstroke and third during the 100-yard freestyle to round out his trio of solo efforts, joining Saint Michael’s Athletic Hall of Famer

EILEEN MULLOWNEY ’12

and All-American LINDSAY MCNALL ’17 as the only three-time allconference swimmers in College history.

HO CK E Y

After playing two years of club ice hockey at the University of Minnesota Duluth, VIKA SIMONS ’20 split time minding the Purple Knight nets as a junior in 2018–19. As a senior, the undisputed No. 1 goalie on the women’s ice hockey team also ascended to the position of No. 1 goalie in the league, as Simons was named New England Women’s Hockey Alliance (NEWHA)

Goaltender of the Year.

Along the way, she made a school-record 1,028 saves—good for third among all NCAA Division I, II, and III male and female goalies this season.

M E N ’ S BAS K E TBAL L

Good things happen to those who wait. Just ask KASAI BROWN ’23, who redshirted the men’s basketball team’s 2018–19 campaign before capping his debut winter by being named NE10 Rookie of the Year this season. The 6-foot-6 forward was second in the NE10 in blocks (1.4) while leading all first-years in scoring (16.0), with the third-best first-year scoring average in Saint Michael’s history.

M E N ’ S L ACRO S S E

Despite an abbreviated spring season, men’s lacrosse defender WILL MORIARTY ’20 proved himself enough during his career to land the ultimate

athletic honor, being named All-American by Inside Lacrosse in early April. Just the third AllAmerican pick in program history, he led all NCAA Division II players in caused turnovers (45) and per-game average (3.0) as a junior before tying for third in average (2.7) through three contests as a senior.

M E N ’ S T ENNIS

Men’s tennis was making a run at two historic achievements when the spring seasons were canceled in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At 7-3 with eight regular-season matches remaining, the Purple Knights had a shot at matching the 1980–81 team’s program-record 10 wins while marching toward their first postseason berth in a decade. Six newcomers—including five first-years—played a major role, going 70-33 between singles and doubles.

Student-Athlete Alumni Respond to COVID-19 with Leadership and Compassion

BY JOSH KESSLER ’04 AND KEVIN DONAHUE, ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

T

he world has changed in many ways since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but members of the Saint Michael’s College family are doing what they always do so well—giving back. Countless studentathlete alumni have played an integral role in making their communities a better place during this uncertain time.

KAYLA CARNELL ’13 finds herself on the front lines at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she is a physician assistant in the Emergency Department.

Carnell’s shifts range from nine to 11 hours, with additional coverage plans being developed in case of pandemic-related

emergency, and it’s no surprise that the 6-foot-2 former forward views the collaboration in the medical field during this crisis through an athlete’s lens.

“This is a team sport,” Carnell said. “We need to use the skills from so many fields to succeed. Not just physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, registered nurses, certified nurse assistants, respiratory therapists, EMTs, but also sanitation crews, lab personnel, security personnel, police officers, donors of personal protective equipment and funding, and so many more.”

Upon hearing about the shortage in personal

protective equipment, EMILY LOEBS ’16 sprang into action, crafting homemade masks for essential personnel. By early April, she had completed and shipped nearly 1,500 masks, with more than 2,000 additional orders in her queue.

It all started innocently enough, with Loebs responding to an open request for homemade masks around the beginning of the crisis. She started an Instagram account—@ejl_designs— to connect better with those seeking masks.

Leadership is nothing new to Loebs, a former twoyear Saint Michael’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) co-pres-

ident and captain of both the women’s ice hockey and lacrosse teams.

NIKI (PELLETIER) RAPKOWICZ ’04, an all-conference

soccer player at Saint Michael’s who still holds the program record for career assists (24), has found her own unique way to make a positive difference—not only as one of numerous Kingdom East School District employees delivering 1,000 meals per day to homebound students in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, but in what she wears for delivery: fullbody Care Bear, Eeyore, Little Red Riding Hood, or leprechaun costumes; zany outfits with funny wigs.

Anything she can do to lift spirits.

“This is temporary. Brighter times are ahead.”

— K AYL A CARNELL ’13

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LiberalMatt Arts: Devost ’93 The Solid Path I

BY BRENDA KELLY KIM ’86

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s it impossible for a solid liberal arts education to lead to a stellar career in information technology and cybersecurity? Aren’t liberal arts and STEM on opposite ends of the education spectrum? Not really, according to Saint Michael’s alumnus Matt Devost, a nationally known information security expert and entrepreneur.

Devost graduated with a B.A. in political science, and a minor in computer science, in 1993, when the field of cybersecurity did not yet exist. He is currently the CEO and co-founder of Observe, Orient, Decide, Act, LLC (OODA). Prior to OODA, Devost was the executive vice president for strategy and operations at Tulco Holdings. He also founded global consultancy FusionX, which was acquired by Accenture in 2015. Devost led the firm’s global cyber defense practice, including its cloud, mobile, infrastructure, network, endpoint, incident response, threat intelligence, threat hunting, vulnerability management, Internet of Things/ Industrial Internet of Things, and strategy offerings.

in any industry,” he said. “A multidisciplinary approach is vital to solving the complex issues that surround cybersecurity, and a liberal arts background gives you that.” Devost stated that a “hack-think” mentality is the best way to solve a problem. Taking a situation apart, and looking at it from a “red teaming” or opposition approach, will reveal better solutions, whether it’s an English literature assignment or a database coding project.

“Don’t focus too narrowly,

Devost is a regular attendee, participant, and speaker at hacker conferences, including Def Con, which has become a family affair as his children normally go with him, participating in activities for their age groups. It was while attending these events that Devost coined the term “Carpet Club” after spending hours in breakout groups with other cyber professionals. “Every year at Def Con I would see groups of people, sitting on the floor outside lecture halls, right on the carpet, discussing topics and sharing hacks and new ideas.”

you might miss something.”

But wait, there’s more. He earned an M.A. in political science from the University of Vermont and served as an adjunct professor of computer science at Georgetown University for 14 years teaching a flagship course called Information Warfare and Security, all while consulting with various government agencies on homeland security and information technology.

We spoke with Devost recently about the industry, cybersecurity, and how his liberal arts background has helped him. “By far, the best thing about a liberal arts education is that it teaches you to think critically and that is crucial

Devost advises anyone to “Expand your learning beyond the traditional college experience.

Go for external opportunities, build out your network across multiple sectors, seek to collaborate with those outside of your own major or focus, and find a common intersection of divergent interests.

Don’t focus too narrowly. You might miss something.”

Devost sees the fields of artificial intelligence, network security, privacy, data encryption, and quantum computing being especially relevant in the future, but although these fields are highly technical, a liberal arts background is a solid path to success in any field.

News Flash: The U.S. isGregory Not the Center Gorman ’82 of the Universe

BY SUSAN SALTER REYNOLDS

G

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regory Gorman ‘82 is co-founder and CEO of FansXP, a sports app startup with a global footprint, and he works long hours. His business background is in telecommunications, wireless, and mobile internet companies. Having spent the last 21 years in Silicon Valley, Gorman has lived through internet crashes, SARS, Iraq, a banking crisis and now, a global pandemic. The son of a U.S. diplomat and Austrian mother, he grew up all over the world, speaks five languages, and has always worked globally.

The future holds many challenges for American students, not least of which is the increasing automation of everything. His advice: Build a portfolio of skills, like critical thinking, that can’t be automated. Expect to work hard. “You think homework is hard,” he says, “try a 70-hour work week!”

All of which is to say: he doesn’t flinch.

Gorman is emphatic that today’s students must be global citizens. They cannot afford parochial perspectives or flag-waving, America-first style patriotism. “The U.S. is stuck in a time warp. It is no longer the wealthiest country in the world, nor does it have the best infrastructure. That America has been gone for 20 years. In world markets, America is underrepresented in the “Have some sciences and in engineering. To be employable, students must speak more than one language and understand how to live and work in other cultures.”

The world is accelerating quickly, Gorman says, but many things remain the same. Zoom is great, but nothing can replace human interactions and interpersonal skills, especially in business. In his experience, the U.S. is a country in which “the human element is [seen as] the least important. This is not the way business is done in Asia or other parts of the world.” A liberal arts education, at its best, can help prepare a student by providing him or her with strong cultural literacy.

fun

Gorman worries that our workforce is not properly educated or prepared for the coming challenges. His degree at Saint Michael’s was in History. He pursued a graduate degree in European Political Economics at College of Europe in Belgium and a law degree at Catholic University, Washington, D.C. “I’m a huge fan of the liberal arts,” he says. “I can talk to an engineer about a platform without having to build it myself!”

Supporting several important environmental causes in California (Save the Redwood League, Yosemite Fund) and along the way.” internationally (Save the Rhino) is important to Gorman.

After all, “What’s the point of having success if we don’t give back to save our wildlife and our environment on this beautiful planet?”

His advice to students: Work hard. Unplug now and then.

Be global citizens. Give back. Build your liberal arts skill sets. Be a critical thinker. Be self-starters. And Gorman wants to be sure that his message to future members of the workforce includes an additional imperative: Try new things and have some fun along the way.

Senior Aedhan Burke has been working as an intern in the Saint Michael’s College Archives this semester. His work involved processing the letters of a World War II soldier, Robert Ahern. In his almost daily correspondence, Ahern regularly talks about loneliness, waiting for news, and waiting to see how the events of the world are going to impact his day-to-day situation. In an effort to finish up his internship remotely, Burke has written his own letter to the Saint Michael’s College community, especially the senior class.

SOMEWHERE IN MASSACHUSETTS APRIL 20, 2020 42

Dear Saint Michael’s Community, I wanted to write this letter for all my fellow seniors, or any member of the Saint Michael’s community who may be needing this. When we got the news that we probably wouldn’t be coming back to campus for some time, a flood of emotions went through our minds. Knowing that this might be our last time ever living on campus was definitely shocking. This is definitely not the way we wanted things to go. Hugging our friends extra tight, we all hoped we would be back soon. We love our school and the great friends we have made here, making it very hard to leave. St. Mike’s holds a special place in our heart for many of us graduating.

This campus has been a home away from home and we have seen our campus grow and change throughout our four years. Heck, even Joyce, which many of us called home [during our first] year, is now housing the financial offices. Times have certainly changed, as we’ve grown from living in our doubles [that first] year to building new friendships and living in townhouses with some of the people we care about most. Many of my fellow seniors have big projects happening on campus to sum up their four years at St. Mike’s, whether it be writing a thesis, student teaching or even creating a book. Although many of us won’t be able to conclude these in the manner we want, we are still working hard to finish the projects we have started. I was approached to write this post because my on-campus internship provides me insight into what is happening now through studying the past. Since I can no longer present a physical display, I was looking for another way to share what I have found with my academic community.

As some may know, I have been working in the archives with a WWII artifact collection that hadn’t been previously studied. The collection is from Robert L.M. Ahern—a military clerk who served in the 601st Triple Gun Battalion, an anti-air battery. He was drafted in 1942 and completed his service several years later in late 1945. His letters relate to how many of us are feeling as a larger Saint Michael’s community. We have been forced, for the most part, to leave our homes at St. Mike’s without knowing when we would be back. Robert felt very similar about being stuck overseas even though the war was practically over and he hadn’t fired a shot since March 1945. During the end of WWII, eligibility to be shipped home depended on a point quota, which was based mainly on if you were considered “essential.” He talks about the point system on May 12, 1945, showing his discontent on

not knowing who fit into this category. “Points, points, points that is the talk. Everyone is chomping at the bit but there is very little anyone can do about it. In the first place as the program is set up none of us knows whether we are considered ‘essential’ as individuals or as units or whether we are to go into a pool of surplus troops.” Robert had no clue when he would go home. Later, he learned he was considered essential and had no possibility to leave under the point system. He talks about work in his military life on January 10, 1945. “It’s hard working when you never really leave work. Being part of the AA gun battalion meant staying in one place for a long time.”

Relating Robert’s experiences to today I know many of us are finding it very hard to get our work done. We don’t ever really leave our workplace environment unless it’s for a walk or a trip to the grocery store. We have limited contact with people much like Robert did with his loved ones back home. One thing that really helped Robert through his time in service was letter writing. He wrote every day even though he did not receive daily correspondence in return due to the wartime mailing system. He said this about his letters, even knowing that they would be delayed. “I know that all of you are writing regularly and as long as you are receiving my letters that is what counts.” (January 10, 1945) May we take a note from Robert and be in touch with our loved ones on campus, our friends, and faculty.

At the end of Robert’s journey, he did get his celebration, as did many returning troops of the time, receiving four bronze campaign stars in his theater. We too, as the senior class, will also have our day of celebration. We will have a chance to see this event through in June 2021, when we can reunite as a class. Although this is not the ideal ending to our senior year, I think it is generous of the College to give us the opportunity to have graduation the right way. To not only have just an online ceremony on May 10, but the real event as well, is very meaningful. We have worked hard to get where we are today, and we will continue to find ways to connect together, even when we have to be apart. I think reading Robert’s letters home has shown me how important and thoughtful a handwritten letter can be. It is very much a lost art for our generation, but in a time when we can’t connect as easily as before, it’s a good way to stay in touch. We will get through this together, and I can’t wait for the day when we can truly celebrate our graduation as the class of 2020.

Aedhan

Robert Ahern did not attend Saint Michael’s, but his nephew Richard Ahern and his wife Shirley are members of the worship community. Shirley received her M.Ed. from Saint Michael’s in 1987. They chose to donate the collection to Saint Michael’s because they wanted the letters to be in a small liberal arts college where they would be used. This past semester, Professor Jennifer Purcell incorporated the Ahern collection and other WWII materials into a section of her WWII in Europe class. The class, like Aedhan, had the opportunity to read some of his descriptive (and typewritten) letters that really brought the daily grind of war to life. You can see a sample of Ahern’s letters at https://smcarchives.omeka.net/exhibits/show/ robertaherncollection/robert-ahern-letters

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VIRT UAL COMMEN C E MEN T

2020

BY MARK TARNACKI

In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Saint Michael’s College and its 501 new graduates from the Class of 2020 figuratively marched out of, and into, uncharted territory during an hourlong prerecorded Virtual Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 10—energized by ebullient and uplifting live-chat and joined by several thousand graduates, families, faculty, and staff online. The midmorning YouTube event followed spirited anticipation as people signed on and offered congratulations, shout-outs, and happy emojis on the chat. The video included words of admiration, support, and celebration from President Lorraine Sterritt and other top administration leaders.

Nearly 3,000 people signed in to view the event at some point, with nearly 1,500 at one time at peak.

All told, 75 master’s degrees were conferred and 426 undergraduate degrees. Near the end of the hour, graduate names scrolled by as class-selected songs about memories and beginnings played in the background and favorite photos sent in by class members went by on the screen carousel. Information Technology and Marketing/Communications staff collaborated to put together the well-received virtual ceremony, which took place on Mother’s Day, as many noted in celebratory remarks and on the chat.

The student speaker chosen from among this year’s master’s degree graduates was Lucas Heath M’20, clinical psychology, who lives in Burlington, Vermont, while the Senior Address was from Maura C. Dodge ’20, a magna cum laude Biology graduate from Attleboro, Massachusetts.

President Sterritt spoke of the perseverance of students and their families in the past two months.

“You will never forget your last semester of college. It is the stuff of which stories for your grandchildren will be made. You will forever hold a special place in my heart—Class of 2020— for what we’ve been through together, apart, but no less together.”

Ariel Wish, Saint Michael’s Class of 2020, watches Commencement from her home in rural Waterville, VT, with her best friend on the phone propped against the screen. (photo by Chrissy Wade).

Jen Purcell, associate professor of history and chair of the History Department at Saint Michael’s College, in her biography of Mabel Constanduros, explores Constanduros’s career and influence on shaping popular British entertainment and the history of the BBC. Constanduros is best known for her impact on sitcoms and soap operas in Britain and is referred to as the Mother of the BBC.

The Oxford Handbook of Global LGBT and Sexual Diversity Politics

by Michael J Bosia (editor), Sandra M McEvoy (editor), Momin Rahman (editor) Oxford University Press Michael Bosia, assistant professor at Saint Michael’s College, edited The Oxford Handbook of Global LBGT and Sexual Diversity Politics. It introduces key concepts in LBGT political studies and queer theory while providing readers with current empirical material to help assess the analytical significance, commonalities, and differences within global LBGT politics.

Keep this to Yourself

by Kerrin McCadden ‘88 SCB Distributors Kerrin McCadden writes about dealing with the many layers of grief after the tragic loss of her brother. The book also delves into how family moves through and processes grief as it looms over them.

Our Brilliant Eternity

by Paul Baribault ‘70 Circle Books Paul Baribault ’70 has been writing for the last 40 years—plays, screenplays, poetry, and later children’s books.

His newest work, however, is his first nonfiction work. Our Brilliant Eternity is about “our soul’s climb toward enlightenment, and how the Earth is a schoolroom, not a courtroom, in this journey.”

F A C U LT Y A N D A L U M N I

Mother of the BBC

by Jen Purcell Bloomsbury Publishing

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THE W SHOW MUST GO ON

e caught up with Katherine Ort ’20, Theater major, on April 24, the day Letters to Sala, a Holocaust drama based on a true story of a Polish Jewish teenager who survived seven labor camps during World War II, premiered at Saint Michael’s.

It wasn’t your usual premiere. Rather than scrapping months of rehearsals, the cast and crew found a way around the pandemic: a Zoom version.

Ort was tired and nervous, but game.

“We are doing our best, using sound and projected slides, to capture what we would have conveyed on stage.”

As prop master, Ort spent a lot of time finding rifles and staining paper with tea to approximate age.

BY SUSAN SALTER REYNOLDS

Peter Harrigan and John Devlin were the faculty mentors for the show, which was directed by Beth Parsons ’20. Why did they choose to continue with the production? “Our students,” explains Devlin, “invested a lot of time and energy into this show. It was Beth’s senior seminar project.

Layer on top of that the fact that this is an important social justice piece with a message of hope: I think that’s something everyone needs more of right now.”

As with so many of the adjustments made during the pandemic, there were pros amid the cons: “This manner of presentation,” says Devlin, “actually offered an opportunity for even more family and friends to see the show than had it gone up on campus. There’s that saying about what to do when life gives you lemons—this was our lemonade.”

The post-play verdict? “A triumph,” said Jeffrey Trumbower, interim vice president of academic affairs. “I can only imagine the technical skill it took to pull that off, with the help of IT, and the entire Theater program.

‘Brava!’” Dean Tara Natarajan also expressed her admiration for cast and crew: “In all, strong testimony to the persevering spirit among Saint Michael’s students, determined that ‘the show must go on.’”

BY CARL A FR ANCIS, DEVELOPMENT AND GIF T PL ANNING OFFICER

B

ill Chiasson’s legacy of service and ministry didn’t end when he passed away. His legacy lives on through the students who benefit from his bequest to academic enrichment at the college.

Chiasson spoke often of Saint Michael’s and the quality of education he received here, according to his wife, Diane, and he gave back with the hope that future generations might benefit as he did. Though he graduated with a degree in chemistry, the global perspective of the liberal arts education he received instilled in him a love of the humanities.

His college career began at the

of Crown and Sword, and coordinator of Junior Weekend, he had a daily habit of attending chapel early in the morning and spending the day studying.

After graduation, Chiasson became a novice in the Society of Saint Edmund.

He spent his year as a novice at Saint Edmund’s on Enders Island in Mystic, Connecticut. Following his profession of vows, he spent four years studying theology at Saint Edmund’s Seminary in Burlington, Vermont. He was ordained a priest in 1963.

A few years later he obtained his doctorate in organic chemistry from Purdue University, and though eventually he left the priesthood, late in life he completed studies at Virginia Theological Seminary to become an Episcopal priest.

Channeling his passion for learning, cultivated at Saint Michael’s, Chiasson served others throughout his life.

His ministries included clergyman, Bill Chiasson ’57 with his wife, Diane, and their associate professor, daughter, Lesley. civil rights activist, chemist, manager University of Connecticut, but he soon and director ensuring the quality transferred to Saint Michael’s on the of pharmaceuticals for a global recommendation of high school company, prison spiritual director, friends who were enrolled, finding his and volunteer positions from hospice home in the tight-knit campus chaplain to chairmanships of comcommunity. A gifted student, member munity-oriented nonprofits. of the tennis team, founding member

William J. Chiasson, Ph.D. ’57

A Lifetime of Ministry, A Legacy of Service

Diane shared, “Throughout our marriage, I observed that Bill continued to learn in ever so many subjects of interest (art, music, sports, literature, nature, religion, cultures, etc.) by seeking out and engaging others who were most knowledgeable, and intentionally asking questions, including those to which he possessed the answers, in an effort to acquire additional and/or more accurate knowledge.”

The College’s influence trickled down to the next generation, according to Chiasson’s daughter, Lesley Marie, who explained that her father shared with her his love of learning and of continual improvement. She remembers fondly the trip she took with her dad to his alma mater, and how proud he was to show her the place he grew to love and where he loved to learn.

To honor Chiasson’s wish to give back to the College that gave so much to him, his family fulfilled his legacy by transfer of stock to support academic enrichment on campus. To commemorate this gift and its impact on academic life, a chemistry classroom in Cheray Hall will be named in Chiasson’s memory. Generations of students will learn the fundamentals of science in this classroom, while also benefiting from the well-rounded liberal arts education he so treasured.

To learn more about the ways you can support a Catholic liberal arts education at Saint Michael’s, contact Carla Francis (802.654.2618; cfrancis@smcvt.edu) or visit www.smcvt.edu/plannedgiving

47

Letter from the Alumni Board President

A

48

t the time of this writing we are in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic. It is truly an unprecedented event, with most of us under stay-at-home advisories. With the virus now in all 50 states, my thoughts go out to all of our alumni. From those of us who are newly graduated, all the way up to our

Golden Knights, we are all affected by this disease in some way. While some of us may have lost a job, others may be fighting the disease itself. Sadly, one of my classmates, Chris Loche ’92, succumbed to the virus back in March. I truly hope he will be the

last. Please join me in saying a prayer for all of our alumni and their families.

It is during times like these that the strength of the Saint Michael’s community shines through. My family and I have personally taken comfort in watching Sunday Mass on the Society of St. Edmund YouTube channel. It is also wonderful to hear about the efforts of our Fire and Rescue students and our many alumni working on the front lines to battle this disease. On a brighter note, to enhance your virtual meetups, go to the Saint Michael’s web page for some great campus photos to use as your virtual background at your next Zoom meeting or gathering.

I only wish they had one from inside the Rathskeller!

Kudos go out to everyone at the College for being able to pivot to virtual instruction so quickly! And they are not the only ones adapting. The Alumni Office has created more online engagement opportunities for alumni of all ages. A few things to watch for: • With Reunion canceled for this year stay tuned for a “Mega-Reunion” June 3–6, 2021!

• Get connected on social media with the Alumni Office, Athletics, and Admissions. They are posting great content on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

(Link to Facebook) (Link to Instagram) (Link to LinkedIn) • For those of you dealing with a job loss, or just wanting to prepare for a job change, the Career Education team is there for YOU! Create a Handshake profile to set up an appointment with a career coach and register with SMC Connect to chat/call with other alumni. Visit the Career Education and Alumni Engagement web page for more information.

• Support the Class of 2020.

They have missed out on P-Day, Senior Week, and their Commencement.

They need our help. Post jobs and internships in Handshake and in SMC Connect communities.

• Faculty members are posting informative YouTube videos and webinars on timely topics.

Visit the Alumni team’s Events Calendar page for more info.

• Make your gift! If we all give what we can it’ll ensure Saint Michael’s remains the vibrant community we all know and love.

• Keep your eye out for more online events and ways you can support Saint Michael’s over the next several months.

If you’ve got an idea for an event or want to volunteer, send an email to events@smcvt.edu.

In my role as Alumni Association president I’ve had the good fortune of meeting alumni from many different years all over the country. It’s amazing to me how quickly the bonds of friendship form when we have the shared experience of Saint Michael’s (a few beers don’t hurt either!). I truly feel that I have received much more from the alumni community than I have given. I’d encourage you all to connect with not only your classmates, but to but alumni from other years. Let’s make sure we support each other during this challenging time.

In closing, I hope all of you are healthy and safe. Please reach out to me at the email below if there is anything at all I can do for you.

George Bowen ’92 smcalumnipres@smcvt.edu

L E T T E R S TO T H E EDITOR

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Hi! I’m not sure if this is appropriate or strange, but after reading this magazine issue I thought I would reach out. I was really interested in this issue’s focus on ethics—as a journalism student of Traci Griffith’s and Jon Hyde’s [I found it] particularly interesting to read about Jonah (a year behind me). So amazing what he’s doing!

I also loved the piece on Trev and had the thought that if you wanted to do a piece complementary to his I have a story that could tack on. I graduated in 2005 with a degree in journalism and minor in global studies.

I never talked about it when I was at Saint Michael’s because I was ashamed of my poorer upbringing, but I come from an old farm family in very southern Vermont. We’ve been farming here since 1868.

I never intended to farm, but after trying out a few office attempts with really wonderful organizations I decided the farm and its seasons were too ingrained and back I came.

As wonderful as St. Mike’s was I never felt like I could share that part of my upbringing very much. But I find myself in a place now [such] that like Trev, I think it is imperative that we think deeper about our connections and impacts within nature, and so much of how I think about these issues does tie into my education from Saint Michael’s.

So, just to throw it out there, if you want a story about a sixth-generation female organic dairy farmer trying to make her way in a male-dominated industry with ethical intent ... let me know! I’m on the NOFA-VT board, I’m an Act 250 commissioner, and I have served within Organic Valley in various capacities, which I add because this beautiful state in which Saint Michael’s operates is desperately in need of retaining the youth that we work so hard to educate. I see an enormous potential in the land base here and the idea of potentially sparking even one student to contemplate staying within this state and contemplating land stewardship was worth reaching out.

Thank you!

Abbie Corse ’05

of my old classmates are no longer with us …

The Corse Farm Dairy Instagram: @thecorsefarm www.thecorsefarmdairy. com

Rich Feeley ’67 Ocala, Florida and Malletts Bay, Vermont

I am sad to read that Founders Hall at St. Mike’s will be demolished in the near future. I lived on the fourth floor of Founders my first year at St. Mike’s (1962–62), and have some very strong memories of those days.

When arriving on campus in 1962 I found it difficult to adjust to the dramatic difference between my hometown of South Orange, New Jersey, and sleepy Vermont; but my classmates in Founders helped me through that.

Many on our floor were “Jersey Boys.”

St. Mike’s has done a great job growing the campus, but I find it disappointing that the College has decided to demolish such an iconic landmark on campus … so many memories there … many

Hello, I hope you are having a good day! I recently received the newest SMC Alumni Magazine and I was very impressed. Keep up the great work!

Thanks, Garrett Duffy ’07

C ALL F OR LE T T ERS TO T H E EDITOR Send us your thoughts, reactions to stories, memories, dreams, and reflections. We will include your letter in the next issue of the magazine, space permitting.

Email: SMCmagazine@smcvt.edu

1957 ART KIRWIN, Atlanta, GA,

50

said “I’m a Dominican priest, superior of a small community in Atlanta. My brother John and I both preach for UNBOUND, a great Catholic sponsorship organization founded and run by lay folks (unbound.org). Here in Atlanta, I’m on call at three downtown hospitals for out of town Catholics. I back up the Catholic chaplains of Emory University and a Catholic hospice for poor folks dying of cancer. It’s all good and my time at Saint Michael’s is in no small way part of what keeps me going.

Thanks, Saint Michael’s!”

(See photo)

1963 VINCENT ZICCOLELLA ,

Stuart, FL, was honored at a gala at Beacon College in Leesburg, FL. Dr. Ziccolella was on the college’s Board of Trustees for 23 years.

He is currently professor emeritus at the college.

1966 GEORGE BAFUNDO,

Hilton Head, SC, shared a photo of a reunion with classmates Tom Barber, Dick Keane, and Ed Moitoza in Nashville and Lynchburg, TN, which they

explored together as part of a five-day mini-reunion in May 2019. “On a tour of the famous RCA Studio B in Nashville, the guys sang along with the music of Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, and Roy Orbison.

They were the only ones in the crowd old enough to remember the words!”

George writes. (See photo)

E. JOSEPH LEE II, Mobile, AL, was missioned by the Spring Hill College Board of Trustees, along with students, staff, faculty, and friends as the 38th president of Spring Hill College.

Rev. Ron Mercier, SJ, Provincial of the Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus, led the Investiture ceremony at St. Joseph Chapel on campus. (See photo)

1967 ROBERT BABYOK, Zion Crossroad, VA, was recognized as part of the 14th graduating class of the Virginia Certified County Supervisors’ Program on November 12 during the Virginia Association of Counties’ 85th Annual Conference in Bath County.

RICH FEELEY, Ocala, FL, and Colchester, VT, reported that he and his wife Terri MA ’81 recently retired

from their business in Burlington, VT after 41 years. Rich and his late business partner, Tom Coburn, founded Coburn & Feeley, one of Vermont’s most active real estate and property management firms, in 1978. Rich noted that Stephanie Gilbert, a longtime employee at C&F, will now own and operate the property management division as Full Circle Property Management.

Rich and Terri live in Ocala, FL and Malletts Bay, VT, where they are active as real estate investors.

1970 PAUL BARIBAULT, Lewiston, ME, had his newest book, Our Brilliant Eternity, published on Amazon.

It is his first work of nonfiction, and joins four of his children’s books already available in that website’s Books section. At its center, Our Brilliant Eternity is about, as stated on the book’s cover, “our soul’s climb toward Enlightenment, and how the Earth is a schoolroom, not a courtroom, in this journey.”

It challenges notions like One & Done Theology, in which we have just one chance to save our mortal souls, and afterward comes consignment to Heaven or Hell — whose unending

torment the author challenges with this sentence from the Foreword: “In the light of Omniscience, what a hurtful tender would be the gift of free will from God’s heart, if in its giving eternal suffering for many souls was foreordained.” (See photo)

1973 JOHN BRENNAN, Monson, MA, celebrated 40 years of priesthood on September 9, 2018. Fr. Brennan is the pastor of two parishes in the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts: St. Patrick in Monson, MA, and St. Christopher in Brimfield, MA. After graduating from Saint Michael’s College in May of 1973, Fr. Brennan received his master’s degree in theology from the University of Louvain in Louvain, Belgium. He was ordained in Saint Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield, MA, by the late Bishop Joseph F. Maguire, D.D. on September 9, 1978.

1974 G. MICHAEL SANBORN,

Claremont, NH, published a book, A Cop in a Small City, Newman Springs Publishing. (See photo)

1976 KEITH INDECK, Orange, CT, formally and finally retired. He had been COO of Norwalk Radiology, according to the 2011 Alumni Directory.

1977 51

PATTY ZAJDEL GATES, Carlsbad, CA, wrote to share that a group of alumni friends from the mid-1970s had a mini-reunion in Scottsdale, AZ in October 2019. (See photo)

1978

Art Kirwin ’57 and his brother John Kirwin (St Anselm’s College, ’58) at UNBOUND, a great Catholic sponsorship organization founded where they preach.

Joseph Lee II was missioned by the Spring Hill College Board of Trustees, along with students, staff, faculty, and friends as the 38th president of Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL, earlier this year.

Rev. Ron Mercier, SJ, Provincial of the Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus, led the Investiture ceremony at St. Joseph Chapel on campus.

BILL BENNETT, Webster, NY, shared about a gathering early last fall in Avon, CT, that included Ed Page, Paul Scalzo, Johnny Good, Mike Massucco, Scott Kieper, Brian Keenan, Bill Rizzo, Danny Cormier, Dave Marchi, Carl Walsh, Mike Casey and Mike Dwyer. (See photo)

1979 ED JOHNSON, Durham,

NC, and his wife, Donna King-Johnson, Trinity ’80, have settled into the Durham, NC, area after moving last year from Alexandria, VA. Ed reports Durham is a lot like Burlington, albeit warmer, with colleges (Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, and others), lots of activities and restaurants, the state capital a short drive, a nearby large lake (Jordan), the ocean a few

Some members of the St. Mike’s Class of 1966 had a mini-reunion last May. George Bafundo, Hilton Head, SC, Tom Barber, Southbury, CT, Dick Keane, Cuttingsville, VT, and Ed Moitoza, St Augustine, FL, explored Nashville and Lynchburg, Tennessee as part of a fiveday mini-reunion in May 2019. “On a tour of the famous RCA Studio B in Nashville, the guys sang along with the music of Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison. They were the only ones in the crowd old enough to remember the words!” George writes. Left to right: Ed Moitoza, Dick Keane, George Bafundo, Tom Barber.

Alumnae friends from the Class of 1977 had a minireunion in Scottsdale, AZ in October 2019, writes Patty Zajdel Gates. Pictured in this photo she shared are Patty (Zajdel) Gates, Katie (Donan) Kelly, Sandy Klewicki, Michele (Galeski) Coburn, Angie Jacobs, Rosanne Kilty.

Paul Baribault ’70 had his newest book, Our Brilliant Eternity, published on Amazon.

G. Michael Sanborn ’74 published a book, A Cop in a Small City.

CL ASS NOTES

An early Fall gathering in Avon, CT, photo and information shared by Bill Bennett ’78: (left to right) standing Bill Bennett, Ed Page, Paul Scalzo, Johnny Good, Mike Massucco, Scott Kieper, Brian Keenan, Bill Rizzo, Danny Cormier, Dave Marchi, Carl Walsh — sitting Mike Casey and Mike Dwyer.

Barb Nagy ’80 and Mary Ellen Heppner ’80 along with their husbands/families met for lunch in West Hartford in December.

52

hours away, and mountains to enjoy farther west (vs. east). However, they have also “enjoyed” three hurricanes since their move.

In June 2019, Ed & Donna celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in Turks & Caicos at the Grace Bay Club, spent July 4th with dear friends, the Gadues, in Vermont, and also became grandparents for the first time to Cooper James Johnson of Atlanta!

Finally, Donna found a “Hope Lodge” substitute to volunteer/support in the Durham Caring House, Ed is now teaching a course for Duke University’s Osher Lifelong Living Institute, they both are enjoying running EHJ-Solutions (Consulting), LLC, and helping out in the neighborhood. “More adventures to come!” says Ed.

1981 ROBERT COCHRANE, Casselberry, FL, and Felix Rodriguez got married February 16, 2019, at St. Richard’s Episcopal Church in Winter Park, FL after 30 years of being together.

They were the first same-sex couple to marry in this diocese having an oversight bishop in Kentucky to allow this. Bob’s college roommate Rick Zacharkow was one of the readers and 120 joined the celebration. (See photo)

VINCE GONILLO¸ Essex Junction, VT, retired on New Year’s Eve from the Essex Westford School District. His brother said, “He was the Director of Technology for the old CCSU district and continued as Executive Director when the Essex and Essex Jct. School districts combined a few years ago. After graduating from St. Mike’s, he moved BARB NAGY, Groton, CT, back home to Waterbury, and Mary Ellen Heppner CT, to work in our family along with their husbands/ lumber store, then began his families met for lunch in trek in technology working West Hartford in December. for our father who ran the (See photo) Adult Education program.

He took an IT job at Essex

1980

Green Show,” part of its HS in ’94 and moved his yearlong series of all the family — wife Karen, a Rice colors of the rainbow. grad, and daughters Jenna and Stacey — to EJ. Like our She shared a snapshot of the painting, and explains dad he continued his “I used real shamrocks, movement in administrafour-leaf clovers that a tion by accepting a tech job friend’s dad would find for with VSAC. Years later he me. I’d saved them, so returned to the school I used them in the work. district and was named the It’s called “Vernon’s technology director. This Luck.” year he and his team culminated a nine-year process/vision providing 1:1 Chromebook computer access to all Essex High KERRIN MCCADDEN, School students. His New South Burlington, VT, said Year’s Eve retirement will “My poetry chapbook, Keep make the date extremely This to Yourself, a small special. He also was a collection of poems about Colonel in the Vermont losing a sibling to the opioid State Guard, volunteering epidemic, has won the 2018 during pre- and postButton Poetry Prize and is deployments for family now available for pre-order readiness and received the Vermont Medal of Commen- at bit.ly/keepthistoyourself.

Poems from the collection dation! So glad he is joining are forthcoming this winter me in the ‘Every Day is in Ploughshares and Saturday’ lifestyle.”

American Poetry Review.

The book comes out in March.”

1988

1986

BRENDA KELLY KIM, Marblehead, MA, recently had a painting in a local gallery show at Creative Spirit, in Marblehead MA, and it was called “The

DIANE (WHITE) BARNES, Boylston, MA, said “My third novel, and debut in women’s fiction, More Than, was recently published by Red Adept Publishing. The

Diane Barnes ’88’s novel, More Than, was recently published by Red Adept Publishing.

CL ASS NOTES

Bo Finnegan ’96, Dave Antonioli ’96, and Shayna Guild ’20 all coached Williston (VT) girls U-10 soccer last fall.

53

novel is about a woman who reshapes her life after her twin children leave for college by attending an exercise boot camp class.

Saint Michael’s College is mentioned throughout the book. The main character’s husband graduated from the school and her twins follow in his footsteps and attend the school. The book is receiving great early reviews.” www.amazon. com/More-Than-DianeBarnes/dp/1948051370/.

(See photo)

KIM BOLDUC, Middlesex, VT, was elected Chair of the Board following four years as Vice-Chair of Events at the Annual Meeting of the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce. The 20-person Board represents 300 members by supporting networking, economic, and tourism opportunities for growth by Central Vermont Businesses. Kim and her husband, Jamie, joined the Chamber in 2012 as owners of Bolduc Metal Recycling, and are extremely active in the community as volunteers and as a voice for small

business. Kim also serves on the Northfield Savings Bank Foundation, as a NSB Corporator, and as the Middlesex Representative on an Advisory Board linking 19 communities with the Vermont State Police Middlesex Barracks.

PAUL O’REILLY, Jamestown, RI, recently was featured in Boston Business Journal. Here’s the start of that piece titled “5 Minutes with Paul O’Reilly: A restaurant group heads into Boston”: “Paul O’Reilly is the fourth-generation CEO of what once was a family business consisting largely of retail, oil and lumber. Under his father, Tim O’Reilly, the Newport Restaurant Group began a major transition to an employee stock ownership plan. Over time, it sold the oil and lumber businesses and transitioned into what is primarily a restaurant group. Last month, the company opened Bar ’Cino in Brookline and has plans to continue its expansion into the Boston market and northward over the next few years.”

1993

1996

DOUG HEAVISIDES, White River Junction, VT, was recently named February’s Vermonter of the Month.

He is the Director of the Hartford Area Career and Technology Center (HACTC) located in White River Junction, where he is “changing the lives of Vermont youth, one student at a time,” as was written in the press release about this honor.

BO FINNEGAN AND DAVE ANTONIOLI, both of

1995 COLLEEN CONWAYNORBERT, Gorham, ME,

has been living in Maine with her husband, Francois, and daughter Caira. She has been working as a school-to-work teacher for a Lake Region Vocational Center since 2011. She was to receive her Master of Education Leadership degree from the University of Southern Maine on May 11, 2019.

Williston, and graduating senior Shayna Guild ’20 all coached Williston girls U-10 soccer this fall. (See photo)

1998 MARIANNE STRAYTON, New City, NY, received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for her work as a K-6 mathematics teacher in New City. She has been an educator for over 21 years. For five years, she has served as a kindergarten through fifth grade mathematics specialist at Woodglen Elementary after joining the team in 2010. She previously spent two years as a district mathematics and science coordinator, six years at Lakewood Elementary, and four years splitting her time between Lakewood and Woodglen. After earning her Saint Michael’s degree, summa cum laude, in psychology and elementary education, she earned a B.S., summa cum laude, in elementary education with a

CL ASS NOTES

Casey O’Connor ’04 and Meegan Morrow Athearn ’01 completed the Martha’s Vineyard 20 Miler on February 15! Year-round islanders and running buddies, they ran in honor of the late longtime Saint Michael’s trustee Barry Roy ’67.

Benjamin Bombard ’03 recently waxed poetic about his peripatetic wanderings through Utah—read his 2003 Class Note.

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focus on STEM education from Iona College; and an Ed.D. in curriculum and teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is certified in elementary education, school district administration, and gifted education.

CHRIS NOLIN, Conroe, TX,

recently earned his master’s in sacred music at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX.

2001 MEEGAN MORROW ATHEARN, Chilmark, MA,

completed the Martha’s Vineyard 20 Miler on February 15. (See 2004 note for details)

2003 BENJAMIN BOMBARD,

Salt Lake City, UT, enters a poetic reverie in updating his life in Utah: “When my wife and I are not ambling peripatetically through the bungalow-lined streets” of their hometown Salt Lake City; “when I am not stalking elk, bow in hand, through

the patchwork forests of the Uinta Mountains, or backpacking through redrock canyons that still echo with the voices and stories of people long ago; when the powdery snowpack turns to springtime mush and the skis are hung up in the garage; in the down time between producing a public radio interview program and a rotating series of independent podcasts; and when the sun ignites the sky and the soft bellies of clouds as it sets behind the Oquirrh Mountains, and the screech owls call from the sycamore trees and my shrill middle-aged worries fade to faint whispers, Benjamin Bombard ’03 has been known to stare into the flames dancing in his front yard fire pit and recall an inscription that he once saw on a moss-covered headstone in a graveyard in Central Massachusetts. It read, ‘Remember: You are going to die.’” (See photo)

2004 CASEY O’CONNOR,

Edgartown, MA, and

Meegan Morrow Athearn ’01 of Chilmark, MA, completed the Martha’s Vineyard 20 Miler on February 15! Yearround islanders and running buddies, they ran in honor of the late Saint Michael’s trustee Barry Roy ’67.

(See photo)

2005 SPENCER POWLISON,

Boulder, CO, writes, “After five years, I left VeloNews magazine at the beginning of May, to take a job as Content Marketing Manager at The Pro’s Closet. It is a career change, but not a drastic one. I’m still in the bike industry and still in Boulder. The Pro’s Closet is a fast-growing online retailer that buys and sells used bicycles.”

MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, West Simsbury, CT, and his wife, Arabella, welcomed their third daughter Lillian Astrid into the world on September 26, 2019. Big sisters Poeta and Allegra are also very excited to have a new baby sister. Board Certified Prosthodontist Dr. Michael

Christian is a partner at the Center for Dental Excellence, LLC with offices in Simsbury and West Hartford, CT. They have recently merged with the practice of Dr. Gregory Arnold, class of 1974, and opened their third location in Litchfield, CT. “This is a very exciting time and promising addition and expansion for our practice.

We are thrilled to have two generations of Saint Michael’s Alumni practicing dentistry together.” Both Gregory Arnold, DMD, and Michael Christian, DMD, graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, in 1979 and 2011, respectively.

CHRISTI (CHAMPAGNE) LANIER, Fairfax, VT, and

her husband welcomed their first son on June 27, 2019. (See photo)

2006 ERIN DENNEN, Simsbury, CT, married Andrew Stanton on October 5, 2019 at St. Margaret Mary Church in South Windsor, CT. (See photo)

CL ASS NOTES 55

Christi (Champagne) Lanier ’05 and her husband welcomed their first son on June 27, 2019.

Erin Dennen ’06 married Andrew Stanton on October 5, 2019 at St. Margaret Mary Church in South Windsor, CT. Alumni in attendance from left: Lauren Frazee ’06, Meghan Fitzgerald ’06, Katie Mann ’06, Erin Villaverde ’06, Lauren Kimball ’06, Liz Gray ’06, Johnny Holdsworth ’06, and Kristin Paquette ’06.

Elizabeth MacPhee ’10 married Perry Shoemaker this spring on April 13, 2019 in Topsfield, MA. Alumni in attendance included Zachary Pratt ’10, McKayla Kashner ’10, William Jeralds ’10, Kathryn Wuerker ’10, Catherine Robertson ’10, Nicholas Rizzo ’10, Michelle (Johnson) Carestia ’10, Mark Fuller ’14, and Ellen Parent ’10.

Andrew Gilbert ’11 and Will Briggs ’11 graduated from the Basic Lawyer Course at Naval Justice School in Newport, Rhode Island.

Rita Farrell ’09 married Ben Brown on October 12, 2019 in Steamboat Springs, CO. Alumni in attendance: Kate Mooney ’09, Ian Guertin ’07, Will Naughton ’09, Billy Farrell ’17, Joe Farrell ’75 (father of the bride), Bridget Morse ’09, Katie Farrell ’19, Julie DeCoursey ’19, and Callie Reuss ’09.

CL ASS NOTES 56

Ashley Whittemore ’12 married Sam Freccia on August 17, 2019 at the Newagen Seaside Inn in Southport, ME. Attending from St. Mike’s and pictured from left to right: Jenny Boudrow ’12, Olivia (Belofsky) Dailey ’12, Ella Whittemore ’23, Mary Taylor ’15, Claire Eisenberg ’12, bride: Ashley (Whittemore) Freccia ’12, groom: Sam Freccia, Megan Hill ’12, Katie McNamara ’12 and Tyler O’Rourke ’12.

Maggie Whittemore ’17 was named the 2019 Miss World North Carolina on December 10, 2019

Alex Goff ’17 and Emma (Kalamarides) Goff ’16 welcomed their son Otis on October 29, 2019.

Olivia Belofsky ’12 married Joe Dailey on August 4, 2018, in Winchester, MA. Alumni in attendance (from left to right): Mike Robinson ’12, Pat Gill ’08, Haley Belofsky ’09, Jenny Boudrow ’12, Claire Eisenberg ’12, Katie McNamara ’12, Megan Hill ’12, Ashley (Whittemore) Freccia ’12.

Meghan O’Brien ’12 married Jesse Sullivan ’12 on July 20, 2019 in South Hamilton, MA. St. Mike’s alumni in attendance included: Sam Hooper ’12, Jason Moore ’13, Rachel Stone ’12, Bryan Geary ’12, Liza McDonough ’11, Mike McDonough ’11, Rich Vassallo ’79, Ben Yodzio ’11, Mike Robert ’10, Austin Ziskie ’12, Luke Manning ’12, Meg Flynn ’12, Brittany O’Brien ’12, John Bock ’12, Ashley Romagnoli ’12, Emily Rendine ’12, Chelsea Bush ’12, Kaytlyn McCormick ’12, Maura Yodzio ’11, Ethan Romagnoli ’12, Kevin O’Brien ’11, Emily Bonvechio ’11, Tony Bonvechio ’11, Jeff McLaughlin ’10, Jacob Begnoche ’13, Stephanie Begnoche ’13.

2007 GARRETT DUFFY, Narra-

TOM O’RIORDAN, Prides

Crossing, MA, coaches cross-country and track at Landmark School, a small private school on Boston’s North Shore, and he was named 2019 Eastern Independent League (EIL) 2019 Coach of the Year.

Tom’s teams have dominated the Eastern Independent League and reigned as the New England Preparatory Athletic Council champs three times in seven years.

The teams’ founder and head coach, Tom also won Coach of the Year several times for his boys and girls track teams. Running cross-country at St. Mike’s, Tom was captain, and won the Diane C. Foster award for Dedication to Athletics

2008 JIM BIRINGER, Dumont, NJ, recently shared this career update: “I currently work for Last Word on Hockey and Women’s Hockey Tribune covering hockey.

It is a dream come true getting to travel and cover the game I have loved since I was a kid. I do weekly radio spots on the Raw Mike Richards Show in Canada along with spots across the United States. In addition, I have a podcast talking with some of the best in the game.”

MALLORY WOOD WILLSEA, Los Angeles, CA, has career news. She writes: “I just accepted a position with Platform Q Education, an interactive engagement platform for admission offices. I’m joining their team as Vice President of Operations and Client Strategy on June 1. In this role, I’ll optimize partner onboarding and client event management while providing leadership to client strategic planning and influence over client marketing services.”

2009 RITA FARRELL , Steamboat

Springs, CO, married Ben Brown on October 12, 2019 in Steamboat Springs, CO. (See photo)

2010 CAROLINE (LACERENZA) WHITE, New York, NY, married THOMAS ZACHARY WHITE JR. ’10 on

September 22, 2018 in New Canaan, CT. The following Saint Michael’s alumni were in attendance: Cassie (Rosano) Malatesta ’10, Christiana (Bromberg) Whitcraft ’10, Lauren Menno ’10, Neomi White, Angelina Gamache ’10, Kaitlin Coakley ’10, Erin Jones ’10, John Homan ’10, Timothy White ’79, Caroline (Fischer) ’10 and Mike Ferrarone ’09, Matthew Cruise ’10, Greg Keefe ’10, Jonny Drummey ’10, David Brown ’10, Haley (Leet) Bergin ’10, Lindsay (Horne) and Matthew Reardon ’10, Justin Iacovino ’10, Sara and Christopher Bishop ’10 and Korinne (Baccali) and Ian Nevins ’10.

ELIZABETH (MACPHEE) SHOEMAKER, Groton, MA,

married Perry Shoemaker on April 13, 2019 in Topsfield, MA. (See photo)

2011 ANDREW GILBERT, Naples, Italy, and WILL BRIGGS recently graduated together from the Basic Lawyer Course at Naval Justice

School in Newport, RI. The 11-week Basic Lawyer Course trains new Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard lawyers on the fundamentals of the military justice system, relevant civil law, and basic operational law. (See photo)

2012 ASHLEY (WHITTEMORE) FRECCIA , Seattle, WA,

married Sam Freccia on August 17, 2019 at the Newagen Seaside Inn in Southport, Maine. (See photo)

OLIVIA (BELOFSKY) DAILEY, Boston, MA,

married Joe Dailey on August 4, 2018, in Winchester, MA. (See photo)

MEGHAN O’BRIEN and JESSE SULLIVAN, Boston,

MA, were married on July 20, 2019 in South Hamilton, MA. (See photo)

2013 THOMAS MANNING,

Guilford, CT, got married.

(See 2014 note)

2014 DEVIN EILEEN LATREMORE, Guilford, CT, and

Thomas Colby Manning ’13 married June 29, 2019 in the Chapel at Saint Michael’s College.

CL ASS NOTES

gansett, RI, writes, “My final year at Saint Michael’s was instrumental in my aftercollege success … I managed and performed (harmonica) in an independent band called “Barefoot Truth.” For seven years we traveled the country, put out seven original albums, and amassed over 40 million plays on Pandora. The lead singer/songwriter of the band is another ’07 Saint Michael’s graduate and close friend of mine (Will Evans); after the band decided to stop touring, I started a career in real estate. This career led me to my current job as a mortgage loan officer. In order to differentiate myself in a crowded field, I started using the alias ‘The Mortgage Musician.’”

and Community. Tom and his wife, Jennifer, live on the Landmark campus where they are houseparents of 18 residential students and raising two toddler sons. Tom is also a math teacher and the assistant athletic director at the school. He enjoys mountain biking.

57

CL ASS NOTES

Laura (Verville) Gordon ’17 and Michael Gordon ’16 were married on July 1, 2019 at Big Island Pond in Derry, NH. St. Mike’s alumni, left to right, include Steven Santovasi ’16, Brandon MacPherson ’16, groom — Michael Gordon ’16, and bride — Laura (Verville) Gordon ’17.

58

2015 CHRISTINE MARIE FITZGERALD and PAUL MATTHEW KNUDSEN, Branford, CT,

were married on October 5, 2019 in the Chapel at Saint Michael’s College.

2016 EMMA (KALAMARIDES) GOFF, Essex, VT, and Alex

Goff ’17 welcomed their son Otis on October 29, 2019.

(See photo)

MICHAEL GORDON, Hartland, VT, got married.

(See 2017 note)

2017 LAURA (VERVILLE) GORDON, Hartland, VT, and

Michael Gordon ’16 were married on July 1, 2019 at Big Island Pond in Derry, NH. (See photo)

MAGGIE WHITTEMORE, Raleigh, NC, was named the 2019 Miss World North

Carolina on December 10, 2019. She will represent North Carolina through appearances, speaking engagements, and volunteer projects all over the state. She will also be advocating for her Beauty With a Purpose Initiative “Authentic Instas,” which promotes online authenticity and self-empowerment through social media and presentations. (See photo)

ALEX GOFF, Essex, VT,

and his wife had a son (see 2016 notes).

2019 JENNIFER URIBE, Plymouth, MA, is currently living abroad in Malaysia, teaching English through the Fulbright Grant that she received last year through Saint Michael’s.

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In Memoriam 1949 RICHARD G. LAREAU, Fort Myers, FL, died February 22, 2020. He grew up on a dairy farm near Burlington, and after Saint Michael’s earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1952. He served in the Air Force from 1952 to 1956 (in San Francisco and Tokyo), and in 1956 he joined the Oppenheimer Law Firm in St. Paul/Minneapolis, becoming partner in 1960.

He served in many professional organizations and was on numerous law boards. He was secretary and board member at Control Data, where he led the antitrust lawsuit against IBM (settled in 1973). Other boards he served include Merrill, Ceridian Avecor, Nash Finch, Bio-Medicus, and Northern Technologies.

He was a trustee of Mesabi Trust until 2019 and was corporate secretary for several publicly traded companies. He retired from his law firm in 2014 and moved to Florida. Dick loved fishing and boating, world travel (China, Europe, Egypt, Mongolia, India, New Zealand), table tennis (1949 Vermont state champion), poker and other card games, and reading.

He is survived by his wife, Thelma; a sister; a son from his first marriage; a stepson,

two daughters, and extended family.

1950 EUGENE P. NEBIOLO, Southington, CT, died April 16, 2020. He served in the Marines during World War II and received a Purple Heart for wounds received in action during the battle for Okinawa. After Saint Michael’s he earned a master’s in chemistry from Brooklyn Polytech and he took post-graduate courses at Newark College, Seton Hall, Northeastern and Central Connecticut State.

A 1989 retiree from The Stanley Works Corporate Laboratory, he enrolled in the Archdiocese of Hartford Diaconate Program and was ordained in 1993, serving his home parish in Southington for over 25 years.

Prior to The Stanley Works he worked at Stanley Chemical, Baltimore Paint and Color, Interchemical Corp. and the Hercules Powder Co. He belonged to many technical societies related to chemistry. He served on the Southington Board of Education for 10 years, the last four as chairman. He love golf, the old Brooklyn Dodgers and UConn basketball. Eugene was a President’s Medallion supporter of the College.

He is survived by a son, a

daughter and extended family.

ROBERT O’BRIEN, South Burlington, VT, died April 1, 2020. After graduating from Saint Michael’s, he served in the Army in Germany (1951–52) and completed his MBA at the University of Massachusetts before settling in Vermont and a career at Union Carbide in St. Albans. He worked for many years as a school business manager in Chittenden County and ended his career at the Williston Central School. He loved music and enjoyed his years singing in the Saint Michael’s choir. He was active in politics, writing letters on issues where he saw injustice. Bob’s wife of 66 years, Mary, died in June 2019. He is survived by four sons, two daughters, and extended family.

JOHN REID, Gainesville, FL, died December 18, 2019.

John served in the Army Air Corps in B-24s in the Central Pacific Theater during World War II. Although both his father and grandfather retired as New York City police officers, John chose the FBI, and his assignments took him to Philadelphia; Newark, NJ; Paterson, PA; and Parsippany, NJ, where he retired from that career after 24 years to accept a

position with Lederle Labs, then the pharmaceutical division of the American Cyanamid Company. In 1976 the Thomas J. Lipton Company in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, invited John to manage a new corporate security department, which he led until retiring in 1988 to form a partnership in a psychological counseling business known as Partners in Change in Morristown, NJ. John was active with his wife in the Paterson Diocese of New Jersey, and he represented abused and neglected children as a court-appointed guardian ad litem for five years. He and his wife delivered Meals on Wheels for 15 years in Monmouth County, NJ. He was a President’s Medallion supporter of the College. He is survived by his wife, Josephine (Jo); a son; two daughters; and extended family, including grandson Colin Ebneth ’17.

ANDRE A. ROCHELEAU,

Naples, FL, died September 23, 2019, of heart failure.

Andy was drafted out of high school in Swanton, VT, to fight in World War II, and his fluency in French served him well as a translator for the Army in Paris. After his 1946 discharge, Andy attended Saint Michael’s on the GI Bill to earn his business degree before going on to work for International

59

IN MEMORIAM 60

Harvester in Connecticut and New York. In 1954 he moved to White River Junction, VT, where he co-owned Hartford Motors, a Chrysler, Plymouth, and International Harvester dealership, with Pete Flanagan. They retired from the car business in 1990 and invested in commercial real estate, forming Hartford Land Company in 1989.

Andy managed the company for many years before passing control on to the next generation. He was active in his church, teaching catechism and as a Eucharistic Minister; and active with the Knights of Columbus, Elks, American Legion, and Hartford Planning Commission. In 1994 he and his wife moved to St. Albans, where they had a home on Lake Champlain, and in 1996 they moved to Naples full-time.

In Vermont, Andy enjoyed hunting, fishing, golf, and tennis, and he volunteered at his retirement community thrift shop in Florida. He was a President’s Medallion supporter of the College. His wife of more than 60 years, Stella, died of melanoma in 2018. He is survived by two sons, a daughter, three sisters, and extended family.

1951 ROBERT L. MARTIN, Woburn, MA, died April 19, 2020. He was a World War II combat veteran of the Marine Corps. He enlisted in 1944 and as a member of the 1st Marine Division, he would see heavy action

during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. After the war, Bob continued his Marine service in China before returning home in 1946 and enrolling at St. Mike’s the next year. He was very active in alumni activities for more than 50 years. After briefly living in Philadelphia, Bob returned to his hometown of Woburn and began working for the insurance firm Improved Risk Mutuals (IRM) in 1953.

As a fire protection engineer he inspected the fire-safety systems of buildings insured by IRM throughout New England. He spent 40 years with the firm, retiring in 1993. He enjoyed vacations at the beach with his family, and started going to a second home on Cape Cod in the 1980s. He enjoyed ballroom dancing and supporting his children’s sports and activities.

He served Woburn on the city’s Board of Appeals, most of that time as chairman, and he was active in his parish for more than 50 years. He also coached Little League, and at the Boys and Girls Club in other youth sports. Bob was a President’s Medallion supporter of the College.

He is survived by three sons including Edward “Ted” Martin ’92, two daughters, two brothers, two sisters and extended family, including daughter-in-law Gina Martin ’92.

BERNARD A. SMITH, Salem, NH, died December 12, 2019. After Saint Michael’s he enlisted in the Air Force and served four

years as a navigator. He began his lifelong profession in education as a high school English teacher with the Stoneham (NH) School District. He later earned his MBA at Boston University.

He culminated his career as the Stoneham Middle School vice principal. For 30 years he spent eight months of each year in Arizona, where he enjoyed golf. He was active in his parish and was a fan of Boston professional sports teams. Bernie’s wife of 33 years, Florence, predeceased him. He married his second wife, Annmarie, in 1988, and she died in April 2019. Bernie is survived by two sons, two daughters, two stepsons, a stepdaughter, and extended family.

1952 ABRAHAM J. MADKOUR,

Manchester, VT, died February 18, 2020. As a young man he worked long hours at the family market started by his parents, who emigrated from Lebanon to Bennington, VT. Abe knew from an early age he wanted to practice dentistry. After Saint Michael’s he completed Loyola School of Dentistry in Chicago before serving as an officer in the Army, where he achieved the rank of a captain Army dentist stationed at the U.S. base in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1957. He then started his dental career working with another dentist before establishing his own practice, which he maintained for more than 50

years in Manchester. He was very active in the Manchester community, serving the school board including being chair for a year, and was a member and president of the Mt. Laurel School for the intellectually and physically disabled in Manchester for more than 35 years. He was elected a Manchester selectman and was on the board of directors for First Vermont Bank for 10 years.

He was active in his local Catholic parish, and enjoyed travel, cooking, tennis, bocce, and cheering for New England sports teams. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Brenda; five sons, including Mark Madkour ’82; two daughters, including Tina Companion ’81; and extended family.

1953 PAUL T. KENNEDY, Pensacola, FL, died December 18, 2019. Paul served in the Marines from 1953 to 1955 and in the Navy from 1960 to 1982. After Saint Michael’s he graduated from Loyola University School of Dentistry in 1959, and he served in the Department of the Navy for many more years, retiring as Navy captain in 1982. He opened and maintained (with his wife) a successful private dental practice in Pensacola for 18 years before retiring in 2000. Barbara, his wife of 30-plus years, predeceased him. He loved cooking and travel. He is survived by three daughters and extended family.

1954

THOMAS J. NICHOLS, East Granby, CT, died January 12, 2020. An Army veteran of the Korean War, Tom spent his entire work career at Connecticut General (insurance) and was manager of the UTC Claims Office prior to his retirement. His career took him to Los Angeles, CA; Palatine, IL; and Pittsburgh, PA. He found a lasting family home in East Granby, where he lived for 48 years.

He was active in his parishes, serving finance committee, parish council, and board member roles, and was president of the Metacomet Village Association and the East Granby Library Association. He loved sports and was a big fan of Notre Dame football and UConn women’s basketball. He loved reading, storytelling, and studying about military jets and aeronautical topics. His wife, Virginia, died in 2012.

He is survived by two sons, a daughter, a sister, and extended family.

1955 EDWARD J. HANNA , Holyoke, MA, died January 9, 2020. Ed enlisted in the Navy after high school before coming to Saint Michael’s. He worked for

the Massachusetts Parole Board for 44 years, and enjoyed volunteering with the Massachusetts Association for the Blind, the Gray House, and other organizations. He loved golf and the Red Sox. His wife of 55 years, Patricia, predeceased him in 2013. He is survived by a son, four daughters, and extended family.

1956 DAVID M. HOLMES, South Burlington, VT, died October 8, 2019, after a period living with Lewy body dementia. David served in the Army stationed in Germany after completing his chemistry degree at Saint Michael’s.

After more than 30 years with Champlain Cable, where he worked as an engineer designing wiring for space rockets used by NASA, David settled into retirement, working several jobs including delivery and courier services. He was an usher for his parish for many years. He loved closely following the stock market and watching golf (Tiger Woods particularly), baseball, football, basketball, and hockey on TV, and was a lifelong fan of the Red Sox and football Giants. He also enjoyed golfing and bowling.

He was a generous donor to the College for decades and active in alumni activities.

His wife, Rita, and a daughter predeceased him.

David is survived by two sons, a daughter, and extended family.

RAYMOND J. PACZKOWSKI, Tewksbury, MA, died

December 12, 2019. He was an Army veteran. After Saint Michael’s and some years at Boston College Law School he earned his law degree from the former Portia Law School, now the New England School of Law. Ray had a law practice in Tewksbury for many years and also worked as a real estate developer. He worked tirelessly for decades for Central Services of Alcoholics Anonymous and was a “Friend of Bill” for 36 years. He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Elizabeth; two sons; two daughters, including Annemarie Carlisle ’89; and extended family.

ROBERT H. PRINDLE, Gahanna, OH, died January 24, 2020. After Saint Michael’s he completed his dentistry degree at the University of Maryland, Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in 1960. He was in ROTC at Saint Michael’s and during dental school, and was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Army Dental Corps upon graduation. He served from 1960 to 1962 at Fort Benning, GA, and remained on reserve status until 1966. He established his dental practice in New City, NY, in 1962 and maintained it until 1998. He and his wife lived in Port St. Lucie, FL, and Bay Point Harbor, NJ, after retirement, and moved to Columbus, OH, in 2017 to be close to family. He was a member of many dentistry professional groups, and

IN MEMORIAM

JOHN C. DRUKE, Cazenovia, NY, died April 23, 2020.

After Saint Michael’s John entered the military service as an Aviation Cadet in the Air Force Pilot Training School in 1954. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1956 and flew T-33s and C-47s in the European Theater. He left active duty in 1959 and joined the Air Force Reserves, working as a Budget Officer for Air Force Logistics at Griffiss AFB. John joined the 174th Tactical Fighter Wing and New York Air National Guard in 1967. He retired as Deputy Commander for Resources, 174th Tactical Fighter Wing, Hancock Field AFB, Syracuse, NY, in 1987. In his community he was active in the Boy Scouts, Boosters, his parish, Toastmaster Club (where he was past president) and as a Fire Department volunteer.

After retirement he took courses in silviculture at SUNY Syracuse College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He became a master forest owner and was chairman of the Central New York Chapter of the New York Forest Owners Association and vice president for the statewide group. He received the 2001 Donald E. Stearns Memorial Forestry Award and 2006 Outstanding Service Award.

He enjoyed playing guitar and singing folk music, and time outdoors engaged in gardening, forestry, wildlife conservation, hiking or hunting. He was a Presi-

dent’s Medallion supporter of the College. He was brother to the late Charles Druke ’61. John is survived by his wife of 64 years, Martha, a son, four daughters, two brothers, a sister and extended family.

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IN MEMORIAM 62

was active in his parish and the Knights of Columbus.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Barbara; two sons; a daughter; a brother; and extended family.

1957 EDWARD M. MEYER, Chesterfield, NH, died November 24, 2019. After Saint Michael’s he earned his master’s degree in education administration at the University of Notre Dame. He was an Air Force veteran and retired as a captain in the Reserve.

Edward worked for companies SDC, Grumman, and Unisys over his career as a systems development analyst. He enjoyed golf, camping, skiing, reading, and investing. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Gail; two sons; two sisters; and extended family.

1958 JAMES P. ENGLISH, Villanova, PA, died December 13, 2016, the College learned recently. An Army veteran of the Korean War, he worked as a financial advisor, including with Brown Brothers Harriman, and was a past president of Philadelphia Securities Association. He volunteered with Main Line Hospice after retiring and enjoyed golf. James was active in his parish. He was survived by his wife, Victoria; a son; a daughter; and extended family.

DONALD J. LAMOTHE, SR.,

Seekonk, MA, died January 18, 2020. A Navy veteran of the Korean War, Donald served aboard USS O’Brien as a radioman. After earning his Saint Michael’s business degree, Don was an accountant for 35 years before retiring in 1993. He enjoyed playing the guitar, singing, dancing, and listening to music. He is survived by two sons, two daughters, two sisters, and extended family.

daughters; a sister; and extended family.

1960 DAVID A. CAREY, Homo-

sassa, FL, died February 22, 2020. He was proud of his “Edmundite roots,” as he once wrote, going back to time spent in the Edmundite Juniorate (1948) before earning his business degree.

He took a keen active interest in the Catholic identity of the College.

RAYMOND P. NATON, David returned to campus Bonita Springs, FL, died three years after graduating January 12, 2020. He to work for two summers attended Saint Michael’s on and the academic year on a basketball scholarship, his biology teaching commanded the ROTC wing master’s degree. Alumni in his senior year, and records show his work received the Most Distinhistory included serving as guished Cadet Officer award. vice president of Northern After completing his Consultants, Inc., in Maine economics degree, Ray and Massachusetts. Classentered the Air Force and mate John Zurlo ’60 wrote served 13 years in Massathat David was a veteran, chusetts, California, and “affectionately known as the Nebraska as part of the Mayor of Miketown” in his Strategic Air Command. college days. No further After the service he moved information, including to Wilmington, DE, and about survivors, was worked in the paper available. industry for the next 30 JOHN P. COUGHLIN, West years, retiring in 1999 from Rutland, VT, died December International Paper as 7, 2019. After Saint Minational sales manager. He chael’s, Jack was general and his wife traveled the manager of International world to every continent.

Paper Company in New They bought a home in York, and he most recently Bonita Springs in 2005, retired from Vermont spending winters and Country Store. He was a playing golf there and Eucharistic Minister at his enjoying summers in parish and a member of the Wilmington. He enjoyed Rutland Curbstone Chorus. sharing stories of his He is survived by his wife, adventures and travels, and Agnes; a son; a daughter; loved all sports. Ray is two brothers; a sister; and survived by his wife of 44 extended family. years, Ruth; a son; two

CHARLES E. CUSTER, Howell, MI, died August 18, 2019. An Army veteran, after Saint Michael’s Chuck earned his MBA from Syracuse University. He was a financial analyst for Ford Motor Company for many years, retiring in 1991. In his spare time he enjoyed golf, horseshoes, pool, darts, boating, and waterskiing, and he coached Little League baseball. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Barbara; a son; three daughters; and extended family.

WILLIAM E. YOUNG,

Suffolk, VA, died April 3, 2020. After economics studies at Saint Michael’s, Bill entered the Air Force in 1960 and completed USAF pilot training at Laredo Air Force Base, Texas. He went on to become a flight instructor in the T-38, a squadron flight commander, an operations officer, 12th AF chief of safety, and finally the deputy director and division chief for joint services training exercises for the USAF’s Tactical Air Command. Throughout his 22 years of service, Bill served both stateside and overseas. During the Vietnam War he was a forward air controller with the Army’s 25th Infantry Division. Later he flew the F-111 as pilot-in-command on combat missions in Thailand. He received both the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Bronze Star Medal for conspicuous gallantry demonstrated during multiple missions against the North Vietnam-

1961 CHARLES J. DUCLOS, Agawam, MA, died September 17, 2019. He enlisted in the Navy out of high school and was a decorated veteran of the Korean War. After completing his tour he came to Saint Michael’s and completed his bachelor’s degree before earning an education master’s degree

at Westfield State. He spent 39 years as an educator teaching English—in the Holyoke Public School System, as the first director of the Holyoke Adult Learning Opportunities Center in Holyoke, and while spending summers as a youth counselor in Hampden County before retiring in 2000. He wrote for the Agawam Advertiser/ News and composed short stories and poems. He also loved singing and humor.

Charlie is survived by his wife of 57 years, Joanna; two sons; two daughters; and extended family.

EDGAR G. SABOURIN, Winooski, VT, died October 10, 2019. A lifelong Winooski resident, Ed served in the Vermont Army National Guard after his Saint Michael’s business studies, and went on to teach for 35 years at Burlington High School. In summers he was proprietor of Teachers Construction and Realty, building many homes throughout Vermont. He was active in the K of C and his Winooski parish and enjoyed fishing, especially for trout on fishing trips to Canada. A son and grandson predeceased him, as did his nine older brothers and four sisters. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Carole; three daughters; and extended family including granddaughter Kurstin Reuschel ’09 (whose mother and Edgar’s daughter Lisa Reuschel was a Saint Michael’s employee).

THOMAS A. WALSH, Adams, MA, died February 24, 2020. After Saint Michael’s he earned a master’s degree in English from the University of Notre Dame. He went on to a long career in education as a teacher and administrator starting in 1963 at Adams Memorial High School and, after a 2009 regionalization, Hoosac Valley Regional High School. He was known for his memorably dramatic teaching of Shakespeare and other literature. He was promoted to vice principal of Adams Memorial High School in 1967, then was longtime chair of English at Hoosac Valley. He also was advisor to the National Honor Society (NHS) for decades and organized the group’s annual trip to Washington, DC, and coordinated graduation with military precision. He left full-time teaching in 1997, but continued teaching AP English and advising the NHS until 2002. He loved classical music, and for years sang at weddings and in several choral groups as a tenor. He was deeply invested in staying politically aware and had a deep concern for democracy. He is survived by a sister and extended family.

1963 JOHN E. CONWAY SR., Halfmoon, NY, died April 7, 2019. An Army veteran, John spent most of his work career as general manager of Perillo BMW in Chicago, IL. He also worked for

Moore Fuel Company. He was an avid golfer and longtime member of the Schuyler Meadows Club.

John was a generous supporter of the College, both financially and through alumni activities.

He is survived by two sons, his former wife, many brothers and sisters (he was one of 12 children), and extended family members.

HENRY F. “RUSS” FRID, Chelsea, MA, died April 19, 2020. After Saint Michael’s, Russ served in the Navy during the Vietnam war and was an aviator in two tours with the VAW-13 ”Zappers,” flying in A-1 Skyraiders. He had worked at Boston Coach and also lived in Georgia for a time while working as a manager for Saunders Leasing. He was active with the American Legion (past commander), VFW, Elks and Nights of Pythias. A daughter predeceased him.

He is survived by two daughters, a brother, three sisters, his former wife and extended family.

MICHAEL C. KNEFLEY, Wellton, AZ, died February 22, 2019. He joined the Air Force in 1961 after starting Saint Michael’s with the Class of 1963 and was honorably discharged after four years of service.

Mike worked for Norand Corporation in Cedar Rapids, IA, as a materials manager. This job later took him to Southern California, where he spent several years before returning to Iowa. He worked continually toward finishing the college

IN MEMORIAM

ese and Viet Cong. While on active duty he earned his master’s degree in human resources management from Pepperdine University, and for a time, sold real estate. Upon “retirement” he returned to school for his bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Christopher Newport College. One of his proudest moments after his military career was completing the requirements to become a certified public accountant.

He did accounting work for Marva Maid Dairies, Flight International, and Bionetics Corporation, and served several years as the financial accounting manager and earned the distinction of certified fraud examiner while with the Virginia Department of Transportation, where he remained until his official retirement in 2007. He enjoyed travel, cruises, and golf, and was a deacon at his Presbyterian church in Hampton, VA. He loved yardwork, reading, and attending theater and symphony performances.

Bill is survived by his wife, Barbara; a son; a daughter; and extended family.

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IN MEMORIAM 64

education he had put on hold to join the Air Force, and he proudly graduated from Mount Mercy College in 1991. In 2006 he retired to Arizona. He loved all sports, especially golf. He also enjoyed playing Farkle (a dice game) and tending to his backyard “orchard.” He is survived by his wife of nearly 38 years, Nancy, two sons, three daughters, two sisters, and extended family.

MICHAEL J. MACDONALD, Whispering Pines, SC, died December 29, 2019. After Saint Michael’s, Mike was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Force.

In 1963 he was assigned to the Air Proving Ground Center, Eglin Air Force Base, FL, where he was assigned to the munitions test directorate, testing airdropped weapons. This involved overseeing test flights or running test equipment from the back seat of a chase plane. He logged time on more than 30 different aircraft including frontline fighters, bombers, and helicopters.

His following assignments included the University of Florida for a degree in aerospace engineering; a return to Eglin; the staff of U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica; Washington Navy Yard, DC; HQ Air Force Systems Command, Andrews Air Force Base (AFB), MD; Arizona State University for an MBA; the Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM; Air Force Leadership and Management Development Center, Maxwell AFB, AL;

and the Aerospace Medical Division, San Antonio, TX, from which he retired in 1983. He also was an assistant professor in the College of Business and Economics, Central Missouri State University; senior analyst, Economics and Management Sciences Department at Midwest Research Center, Kansas City, MO; visiting fellow in strategic planning and management and management consultant at the International Management Centre, Buckingham, England; and NASA High Performance Computing and Communications program coordinator at Universities Space Research Center, Washington, DC. In 1992 he retired with his wife to Savannah Lakes Village, McCormick, SC. Then he received a call that started 11 years of consulting work for the California Institute of Technology Center for Advanced Computing Research, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and NASA. They moved to Whispering Pines in 2001. He once brought a St. Mike’s banner to the South Pole, memorializing the moment with a photo that the College publicized.

Mike is survived by his wife, Betty; two sons; a sister; and extended family.

TIMOTHY J. MOYNIHAN JR., Cape Coral, FL, died

March 1, 2020. He was a former Saint Michael’s trustee, serving from 1989 to 1999. He spent most of his life in his hometown of East Hartford, CT. Tim was a residential and commer-

cial real estate agent at J. Watson Beach, where he became a company vice president. He also served in the Army Reserves. In 1965 he was elected to the East Hartford Board of Education, where he served for nine years and became its youngest chairman. He went on to serve in the Connecticut House of Representatives 10th District from 1975 to 1986 and was the deputy majority leader, confidant of Governor Bill O’Neill, and chairman of the state Democratic Party. He had many legislative accomplishments, particularly in the area of education, and he was proud of restoring the Democratic Party majority in the Connecticut Legislature. He was respected by members of both parties. In 1986 he left politics and became president of the Greater Hartford Chamber of Commerce, where he championed small business, led through a recession, and was instrumental in the Riverfront Recapture initiative that changed the face of Hartford. He retired from the Chamber in 2001.

He served on the boards of many charitable foundations. Tim spent 47 summers at the cottage at Latimer Point in Stonington, CT, where he served as association president. For 20 years he spent part of the winter in Florida. He and his wife traveled widely, to Europe, Asia, and the Holy Land. He was active in his parish and a gentleman farmer. He was a Presi-

dent’s Medallion supporter of the College. Tim is survived by his wife, Rosemary; two sons; a daughter; a sister; a brother; and extended family.

ROBERT F. WALSH, Boston, MA, died October 24, 2019.

Bob was a major real estate developer and former director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, with his firm overseeing such projects as a cancer care facility at Boston Medical Center and the Catholic Charities Laboure Center in South Boston. He was a President’s Gold Medallion supporter of the College, particularly through the Cleveland A. Williams Scholarship that he established, as well as a former Reunion chair for his class and frequent supporter of alumni activities in Boston and on campus. Bob is survived by his wife, Karylann; a son; two daughters; two brothers; and extended family.

1964 JIM KRAUT, Calabash, NC,

formerly of Berlin, CT, died January 24, 2020. Jim retired from the Hartford Insurance Group, where he spent 25 years as a corporate trainer. He was active in his community and belonged to the Lions, the Italian Political Club, and the Polish Political Club, where he served as permittee for many years. When he moved to North Carolina in 2010, Jim became active in the Calabash VFW and

1965 KEVIN R. LEDDY, Plainfield, CT, died January 27, 2020.

After Saint Michael’s he earned a master’s degree from the University of Connecticut and devoted his life to education, teaching at schools in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, including teaching from 1985 at the Sterling Memorial School in Oneco, CT. Kevin was a religious Brother of the Sacred Heart. He is survived by a brother and extended family.

1966 EUGENE F. HULT, Houston, TX, died March 25, 2020.

Gene had a long career in construction management at URS Consulting Engineers, where he oversaw projects including the transformation of a World War II aircraft carrier into the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in 1982. For more than 25 years he distinguished himself at Gilbane Building Company, where he rose to senior superintendent, managing sites including St. Elizabeth Hospital in Elizabeth, NJ, the Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for

Comparative Medicine in Houston, the MD Anderson Cancer Center research building in Houston, the Smeal College of Business at Penn State, and multiple Exxon Mobil and Shell Oil Company sites. He enjoyed gardening at NASA’s Longhorn Project. Some of his other hobbies were golf, guitar, ceramics, bridge, bonsai plant cultivation, reading, and collecting antiquarian books. Gene was a President’s Medallion supporter of the College.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Eileen; three sons; three sisters; and extended family. He was brother to the late Dr. John Hult ’64.

1968 MICHAEL D. HORAN, South Boston, MA, died March 28, 2020. An Army veteran, Michael earned his education master’s degree in 2005 (his Saint Michael’s major was English), according to an alumni survey, and in his work career was employed as a bilingual education teacher for the Boston Zoological Society, as owner/operator of Mermaid Café in Boston, as a Teamster with United Liquors Ltd. of Braintree, MA, and most recently as a horticultural technician and interior landscaper for CityScapes in Boston. He is survived by his wife, Sue Costello; two daughters; and two sisters.

JOHN M. MARTIN, Bradenton, FL, died April 20, 2020. After Saint

Michael’s he served in the Air Force as a navigator for over 25 years and had worked for a time as a Realtor. He was an avid reader and history enthusiast. He is survived by his wife, Laura, a son, three stepsons, three brothers and extended family.

1970 CHARLES H. DEMAREST,

Killington, VT, died March 30, 2020. Charlie studied business at Saint Michael’s and played both basketball and baseball as a first-year student. After college he worked for Factory Insurance Association before accepting a job with the risk management division of Marsh and McLennan. He worked his way up to division management in Boston, but tired of the corporate world and returned to Vermont in 1981. He and his wife ran a ski lodge for a season before starting Demarest’s Shops and Services in Pittsfield, VT. He became active in his home communities, including two selectman terms in Sherburne, VT; he also was a first responder and town planner and was proud of helping plan the Green Mountain Golf Course in Killington. Eventually he returned to school, earning an engineering bachelor’s degree at the University of Vermont, and he worked at IBM in Burlington for a few years before opening the Waterwheel Trading Company in Killington. He had become an avid skier

during college and continued that passion much of his life. He was a regular supporter of the College, financially and as a volunteer. He also loved golf, listening to “the oldies” and reminiscing on a website about cherished childhood days in Haskell, NJ. He enjoyed historical research.

Charlie is survived by two brothers and extended family.

DANIEL J. HARRINGTON III, Tucson, AZ, and a

former resident of Megansett, MA, died August 25, 2015, the College learned recently. “Corky” was a graduate of Assumption College after attending Saint Michael’s as a member of the Class of 1970. In Falmouth, MA, he was a former owner/manager of the Café, a restaurant on the main floor of the Flying Bridge complex. For 15 years prior to the Café he also was in the restaurant business as part-owner of an establishment in Arizona.

He owned a summer home in Falmouth and once lived in Worcester, MA. He is survived by his three sisters, a daughter, and extended family.

PHILIP D. SMITH, Mountain City, TN, died September 16, 2016, the College learned recently. After a short period in sales with Smith-Corona Marchant after graduation, he began his long banking career at Southold Savings Bank on Long Island where he was from originally. Philip’s career included periods

IN MEMORIAM

Elks. He loved the football Giants, NASCAR, and UConn women’s basketball.

He was a President’s Medallion supporter of the College. Jim is survived by his wife of 51 years, Judith; and a son.

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IN MEMORIAM 66

with First Savings & Loan in Little Falls, NJ, where he was senior vice president and manager of the Mortgage Department and, before that, VP and mortgage officer with Community Federal Savings & Loan in Mahwah, NJ, before he came back to Vermont to be VP and manager for residential real estate for Green Mountain Bank in Rutland; he also worked with First & Ocean National Bank in Newburyport, MA, and lived in Danville, NH, starting in the late 1990s, before eventually moving to Tennessee, where he was active in his parish. He is survived by his wife, Denise; two sons; a daughter; two sisters; and extended family.

1971 MICHAEL A. CARINGE, Virginia Beach, VA, died April 6, 2019. An English major in college, Mike had been active in alumni events in the Tidewater area for a time. His alumni file shows that in 1992 he was working as a chief field engineer for Pizzagalli Construction in South Burlington, VT after earlier working for the firm as a construction laborer, and that he lived for a time in Pennsylvania. Mike also worked in the Raleigh, NC area for Pizzagalli on the Wake Medical Center Project in Cary, NC, an 80-bed hospital that opened in 1991. In the mid-1970s he also tried his hand in the real estate business. Mike, captain of the Saint Michael’s ski racing team his

senior year, spent time along with his dad as an instructor on the Killington Ski School staff, and had lived part-time in Gloversville, NY, where his parents were in those years. He also spent a year commercial sword fishing in Gloucester, MA. Mike had been married, his records show. No information about survivors was available.

1972 JOSEPH A. BENAMATI JR.,

Stillwater, NY, died October 15, 2019. Shortly after graduating from Saint Michael’s, Joe was drafted into the Air Force, serving until 1975. In the service Joe worked with soldiers returning home from Vietnam suffering from war trauma. He attended SUNY Albany, earning his social worker’s degree, and later received his doctorate from Nova University. He dedicated his life’s work to helping others struggling with everyday life, recovering from past trauma or other mental health issues.

After interning at Catholic Family Services in Saratoga Springs, NY, he became director for Donovan House, then worked at Parsons Child and Family Center as clinical director of residential treatment; upon retiring there he went on to work at Sanctuary Center in Yonkers, NY. He was author of a program to assist in trauma recovery and was an affiliate member of the National Childhood Traumatic Stress Network.

He also impacted efforts at recovery centers in upstate New York and around the world. He had been president of Stillwater School District Board, and was the mental health officer for the town. He loved travel, particularly to Italy where he visited over 20 times, and to Maine. He was a pianist and entertainer and enjoyed walks. Joe was active in Albany-area alumni activities and fund-raising. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Teresa; four daughters, including Mikal Troyer ’02; a sister; and extended family, including nephew Matthew Giulianelli ’01.

RENE J. ROY, Whitefield, NH (formerly of St. Johnsbury, VT), died October 7, 2019. After high school he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, and after that service, worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

He applied for and attained his U.S. citizenship and moved to St. Johnsbury before enrolling at Saint Michael’s and completing a bachelor’s degree in French and English literature. He became a French teacher for a time, including at St. Albans City Elementary in the junior high grades.

He also studied French briefly at Middlebury College. Later in life he offered his contracting services for hire and enjoyed various projects. His biggest passion was skiing, and he became certified by Professional Ski Instructors of America. He spent countless seasons skiing and teaching

on the slopes of Cannon, Burke, and most recently, Stowe. Rene is survived by his wife, Cheryl; three sons; two daughters; a sister; a brother; and extended family.

1974 REJEAN Y. LESSARD,

Newport, VT, died July 19, 2019. After earning his business degree from Saint Michael’s, Rejean worked as a controller and a custom house broker for C.S. Emery & Co. Inc. in Newport. He was a former member and treasurer of the Newport Country Club and the Newport Eagles Club. He loved listening to music, especially the Beatles; playing guitar; collecting stamps; and playing cribbage and golf. He is survived by his wife, Janet; a son; a daughter; two sisters; and extended family.

1975 PETER M. CONETTA ,

Stamford, CT/Huntington, NY, died April 13, 2020. He loved the New York Yankees, skiing and a good meal. Peter is survived by his wife, Lynn ’80, two sons, a daughter and extended family.

JEFFREY J. MINKIEWICZ, Fayston, VT, died February 8, 2020 of brain cancer.

After college he moved to the central Vermont’s Mad River Valley where lived until his death. Jeff loved music, playing the guitar

1976 GREGORY J. MURRAY, JR.,

Durham, NC, died February 16, 2020. Greg moved in 1986 to Durham, where he managed construction projects, primarily at Duke University Hospital and across Duke University campuses. He retired from his position with Romeo Guest Associates in May 2019. He was an avid skier since his youth and enjoyed time outdoors in upstate New York and Vermont. He also enjoyed gardening, yard work, dogs, weather forecasting and driving rural back roads in his truck.

He is survived by his wife, Lillian, two daughters, two sisters and extended family.

1979 MICHAEL J. MOLLOY, Madison, CT, died January 2, 2020. After Saint Michael’s he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, and began his career as a meat cutter for the former

First National Stores, and later as a chef at the Harbor View in Stonington, the Café LaFayette in Madison, and Forte’s Gourmet Market and Catering in Guilford (all Connecticut). He loved reading, fishing, cooking, and conversation. He is survived by three brothers, three sisters, and extended family.

EDWARD R. WAITE, Manchester, VT, died December 7, 2019. After completing his Saint Michael’s history degree he went on to complete a master’s degree in educational leadership at the College, and began his teaching career in history at Christ the King School in Burlington in 1981. He moved to Stamford, CT, in 1984 to teach at Stamford Catholic High School and coached its softball and tennis teams. In 1988 he began teaching at Port Chester High School in New York, where he remained until his retirement on July 1, 2015. He was chair of social studies there from 1996 to 2015 and a peer leadership advisor from 1989 to 1996. He was a member of the union negotiating team attending the annual New York State Union of Teachers conferences. He spent many summers continuing his own educational enrichment to benefit his students, and in 1992 was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He studied economics at Georgetown Universi-

ty in 2003. In 2008 he studied the civil rights movement at Cambridge University in England, and he did further study in economics in 2010 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He completed an advanced certificate of study for educational leadership at the College of St. Rose in Albany, NY, in 2011.

The Westchester, NY, Holocaust Center awarded him a trip to Germany and Poland in July 2012 to study the Holocaust and attend conferences. He traveled to four continents, 40 countries, and 43 out of 50 states.

He loved visiting the homes and libraries of former U.S. presidents. After retiring from teaching, Edward went on to work part-time at the Hildene Estate in Manchester. He was an avid gardener and collector of art and antiques. Edward is survived by three brothers, two sisters, and extended family.

1981 KATHERINE A. BURKE, Merrimack, NH, died March 20, 2020 of cancer.

After Saint Michael’s where she majored in history, she had a 25-year career after raising her three children as a para-educator in the Special Education Department for Merrimack School District, including at Reeds Ferry Elementary School.

Katherine loved Greek cooking, gardening and exercise. She is survived by her husband of 37 year, Tim Burke ’79, two sons, a

daughter, a brother, her mother and extended family.

ANNETTE J. MORENO,

Bethel, CT, died April 1, 2020, of cancer after decades of living with and persevering through the disease. After Saint Michael’s she returned to her hometown of Bethel to work as a staff accountant at Duracell, where she rose fast through the ranks. Her career brought her around the world, and she loved travel. She immersed herself in the cultures of Central and South America and Asia and even lived in Hong Kong briefly as one of Duracell’s first employees to travel to China in 1995. In 1996 she left Duracell and transitioned into the family business, JM Products, where she worked with her brother, father, and longtime partner. She enjoyed her Portuguese heritage and was involved with the Portuguese Cultural Center in Danbury and the Sons of Portugal Band with many family members. She also helped start ballroom dancing night at the Portuguese Cultural Center and produced several plays and fundraisers. She loved photography and organizing events for her large family.

She is survived by her longtime partner, Ian Glen; Ian’s daughter and son; her father; three brothers; two sisters; three stepbrothers; and extended family.

IN MEMORIAM

and cooking, as well as sports starting with Pop Warner and playing high school football. In the Valley he skied and played softball and tennis. His career in hardwood flooring took a toll on his knees so he became a golf enthusiast.

He also had a lifelong passion for cards, particularly his weekly poker games. He is survived by his wife, Carol, his mother, a sister and extended family.

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IN MEMORIAM 68

1992

2007

CHRISTOPHER D. LOCHE, Amityville, NY, died March 25, 2020, from COVID-19.

Chris worked most recently as a sales executive for Underwriters Laboratories and was a volunteer firefighter and former captain of Truck Co. #1 for the Freeport Fire Department. Past employment included owner of Document Management Solutions, Inc., in Massapequa Park, NY, and major account rep for Standard Register Co. in New York City. He also was a member of the Dead End Kids Tournament Team, a former Fire Council warden and executive secretary for Fire Council for the Freeport Fire Department, and a passionate hockey player and coach who played on the Saint Michael’s hockey team during college and later tapped that passion in coaching his son’s team and others while still playing hockey himself. Friends of Chris have created a GoFundMe page to help ease the financial burdens of his children, Ryan and Kaitlyn, who survive him, as do his companion Meredith Meyka and two brothers.

JOHN J. ANTOGNONI III, Norwood, MA, died December 3, 2019. After Saint Michael’s John continued his studies at University of Lowell. He participated in ROTC though high school and college and was a researcher for many medical companies. He used his summer vacations to attend computer camp and went to NASA’s camp for young astronauts, and later in life he attained his pilot’s license. He was an avid wine and coin collector, and traveled extensively for work and pleasure. He loved home-cooked meals, and as a boy loved catching minnows at the beach. He is survived by his mother and stepfather, two brothers, his maternal grandparents, and extended family.

1994 LORI E. PURCELL , North Haven, CT, died February 9.

Lori loved the beach and all animals and visiting vineyards. She is survived by her husband, Kevin, a daughter, a son, a sister and extended family.

2008 CHRISTOPHER R. BELCHER,

Holden, MA, died March 10, 2020. A varsity football and baseball player who was active in Student Council, Best Buddies, and choral singing at his high school in Holden, he majored in political science at Saint Michael’s. Chris taught school in his home area for several years before deciding to work for Apex Entertainment in Marlborough, MA. He loved connecting with people from all walks of life in the entertainment industry.

Chris was active in his parish and an assistant

football coach at his old high school, as well as a middle school baseball coach. He was a New England sports fan, particularly the Patriots.

He is survived by a son, Camden Lombardo; his parents, John E. Belcher Jr. ’74 and Virginia; a brother; a sister; and extended family.

AMY S. PITCHERS, Ottawa,

Canada, died December 31, 2019. She attended Saint Michael’s on a full athletic scholarship to play basketball and in 2008 moved back to the Ottawa region where she had grown up.

She joined the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP, Leeds County) in 2015, eventually settling in Oxford Station in 2016.

Amy enjoyed baseball, basketball, video games, and cards. She is survived by her husband, Tim; her parents; two brothers; and extended family.

M AS T E R ’S D EGR E E GR ADUAT E S

M1967 MAJOR RAYMOND R. CHAPPELL, JR., Stuart, FL,

died February 19, 2020.

Raymond served in the Air Force for 24 years and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in Vietnam. He received his master’s degree in history from Saint Michael’s. He attended daily church and loved sports, reading, politics, raw oysters, Frappuccinos, and Ken-

tucky bourbon Manhattans.

He is survived by two sons, three daughters, a brother, two sisters, and extended family.

M1971 HOMER J. PLOUFF, Enosburg Falls, VT, died February 14, 2020, in Kentucky, where he was in assisted living. He contracted polio at age 16, spent four months in the hospital and was told he wouldn’t walk again, but he recovered before finishing high school and then earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Trinity College and his master’s degree from Saint Michael’s.

He was an office manager in Enosburg Falls before he started teaching business education at the local high school while coaching girls’ basketball. In 1966 he took on coaching boys’ basketball and golf, and he later taught business education at Bellows Free Academy in St. Albans in 1969. He became assistant principal at Missisquoi Valley Union High School in 1974 and took over the Business Education and Economics Department there until retiring from education in 1992 and moving to Florida, where he worked as an income-tax preparer. While in Vermont he also sold vacuum cleaners part-time for 28 years and had a real estate broker license. He was a Little League coach, charter member of Enosburg Falls Country Club, and director for Franklin Grand Isle

M1 9 8 2 SISTER ELIZABETH ANN STOCK, S.C., Greensburg,

PA, died January 6, 2020.

The Pittsburgh native entered the Sisters of Charity in 1950. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Seton Hill University, a master’s degree in secondary science education from Ohio State, and a master’s degree in theology from Saint Michael’s. She taught all grade levels in the dioceses of Altoona-Johnstown, Greensburg, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans. From 1985 to 1989 she was a consultant for Secondary School Catechesis in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. From 1989 to 2004 she was pastoral minister at a Greensburg parish before being named adjunct professor of religion at Seton Hill University (2005–06). She received the Paladin Grand Cross Award from her local bishop while teaching Catholic high school in 1966 and was honored for her work with the Catholic Students’ Mission Crusade. She is

survived by a sister and extended family.

M1992 HELEN S. BECKERHOFF, Melbourne, FL, died February 21, 2020. After World War II she completed her bachelor’s degree at Pratt Institute before moving to Stowe, VT, where she and her late husband operated the Lantern Ski Lodge from the late 1940s into the 1960s. After her husband died she transformed her handcrafted jewelry store into Beckerhoff Jewelers, Ltd., Stowe’s first large jewelry store. After selling that, she was a state-level organizer and representative for craftspeople on the board of Allied Craftsmen of Vermont in the early days of the modern handcraft movement. She was civic minded, serving the League of Women Voters and serving as a selectwoman and town planner in Stowe. Helen did some local theater and enjoyed frequent world travel. She went to China in the early 1980s and returned for a nine-month stint to teach English as a second language after getting her master’s degree from Saint Michael’s. Her husband, Werner, predeceased her. She is survived by a daughter and a son.

M1993 CHARLES R. AMEY, Essex, VT, died December 10, 2019.

He earned an associate’s

degree from the Culinary Institute of America in New Haven, CT, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Haven in the early 1970s before teaching at Essex High School and the New England Culinary Institute for a time. He then enrolled at Saint Michael’s to earn his business master’s degree, and for 24 years he was an associate professor of hospitality and business management at Champlain College in Burlington, where he initiated the International Hospitality program. He was active in his Essex parish with the folk group and Worldwide Marriage Encounter. He loved gardening, travel, cooking, and boating. Chuck is survived by his wife of 38 years, Lynn; a son; a daughter, Katherine Amey ’10; a brother; three sisters; and extended family.

M1994 RUTH PAINTER, Shelburne, VT, died April 11, 2020.

After college at the University of Massachusetts she worked in Connecticut as field director for the Girl Scouts. She moved with her family to Williston, VT, in 1954 and became deeply involved in civic life there as an activist for affordable housing, also designing a new public garden and organizing women’s running races. She joined a bus trip to Washington, DC, to witness for peace. She was involved with Williston Historical Society, Williston

Federated Church, the Bill Koch League, the Williston Whistle newspaper as one of its founders, UVM Extension Master Gardening program, Hunger Free Vermont, Habitat for Humanity, Dismas House, and Vermont Respite House. She enjoyed tennis, skiing, running, hiking, and English country dancing.

She served on the Williston Democratic Committee and once ran for state representative. She was a justice of the peace and performed many civil union ceremonies. In the 1960s she began a career as a reading tutor for dyslexic students, first at Pine Ridge School in Williston and then privately.

She completed her education master’s degree at Saint Michael’s and trained in and practiced the Orton-Gillingham method.

She moved to the Wake Robin retirement community in 2008. She was predeceased by her husband, Herb; a son; a granddaughter; and three sisters. She is survived by a son, three daughters, and extended family.

M1996 MARJORIE DONNELLY, Nashua, NH, died December 19, 2019. After earning two bachelor’s degrees from Rivier University in Nashua, she earned master’s degrees at Saint Michael’s and Salem State, focusing on theology and social work.

She was a licensed clinical social worker in the Palm Manor nursing home in

IN MEMORIAM

Mental Health. He played golf, umpired baseball and softball, and managed Legion baseball. Later he bought an organ and took lessons. He enjoyed storytelling with family and neighbors after moving to Kentucky to be closer to family his final year. Homer is survived by a son, two daughters, a stepdaughter, his former wife, a sister, and extended family.

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IN MEMORIAM 70

Chelmsford, MA, for many years. She was active in her parish as a Eucharistic Minister and lector, and for seven years was president of the Manchester Diocese World Apostolate of Fatima.

She enjoyed summers by the water in New Hampshire. Her husband, Howard, predeceased her.

Marjorie is survived by two brothers, two sisters, two daughters, and extended family.

WILLIAM C. LIPKE, Burl-

ington, VT, died March 1, 2020, of congestive heart disease. After undergraduate studies at Albion College in Michigan, he turned to art history when he did not get into medical school. He taught middle school English and humanities in Michigan, then completed a master’s degree in integrated humanities at Wayne State in 1963 and a doctorate in art history from the University of Wisconsin in 1966, having spent a year on a fellowship in London.

He completed his master’s degree in theology and pastoral counseling from Saint Michael’s in 1996. Bill taught at Cornell University (1966–69) and Reed College (1969–70), coming to the University of Vermont in 1970 as an art history professor. He also was director of UVM’s Fleming Museum of Art (1977–79) and interim chair of the Departments of Art and Art History (1989) there. His publications and teaching focused on British, American, and Canadian art

of the 19th and 20th centuries with special interest in New England and Vermont. He was a trustee of the Vermont Council on the Arts, which gave him an Award of Merit for Distinguished Service to the Arts in Vermont. He was a consultant to the National Endowment on the Humanities and other arts groups. An avid vocalist, Bill sang tenor with many local ensembles.

He loved sailing, running, and going to the gym, and volunteered with Meals on Wheels, served as a hospice volunteer for more than 25 years, and was supported by friends in and out of the fellowship of AA. He is survived by a daughter and a son, his former wife, and extended family, including sister-in-law Svetlana Elnitsky, Saint Michael’s faculty emerita.

M1999 GLADYS D. ZELMAN, Jericho, VT, died January 13, 2020, after several severe strokes. She had an R.N. degree from the Mary Fletcher School of Nursing, a B.A. from Trinity College, and an M.S. from Saint Michael’s, preparing her for a productive career in both nursing and healthcare administration in Vermont.

She served as a birthing trainer and nurse in emergency, psychiatric, and hospice settings and as a home care nurse. She was medical director at the Lund Family Center, a nurse supervisor at Fanny

Allen Outpatient Rehabilitation, the CEO of Maple Leaf Farm addiction treatment center, and site manager for CHP Burlington She also owned her own business, Baby Sense, helping to care for high-needs babies and their parents in the home. A son predeceased her. She is survived by her husband, Eric; a son; a daughter; a grandson who is her adopted son; a brother; a sister; two stepdaughters; and extended family.

M2002 PERRY NUNN, Burlington, VT, died August 29, 2019, of pulmonary fibrosis. He was known for playing his guitar and singing professionally around many Burlington bars and college parties. His musical explorations and aspirations began in childhood in Plattsburgh, NY, and he earned a bachelor’s degree in music from SUNY Plattsburgh. He spent two years traveling around the world after a semester in London, busking through Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia.

After earning his Saint Michael’s education master’s degree he began teaching sixth graders at Colchester Middle School in science and social studies, a fulfilling career for many years. Perry is survived by his wife, Beverly; four brothers; a sister; and extended family.

FACULT Y, S TAFF AN D FR IE N DS TONY ADAMS, South Burlington, VT, died March 31, 2020. For many years Tony was the play-by-play voice of the Saint Michael’s College men’s basketball team, and he was inducted into the College’s Sports Hall of Fame (as well as those of the University of Vermont and Norwich University). He was named Vermont Sports Broadcaster of the Year five times.

Tony’s life, outlook, and work ethic were deeply influenced by growing up poor during the Depression in Manchester, NH, in a Greek immigrant family named Adamis. He loved sports from an early age and sold newspapers to buy his family’s first radio, on which he listened to national baseball broadcasts. He was a voracious reader all his life and longtime trustee of Brownell Library in Essex Junction. Tony’s first broadcasting job was at a Manchester station as a technician, and he was asked one day to go on the air when an announcer didn’t show, but was told to call himself Tony Adams, and the name stuck professionally. After a short sports director stint at a Michigan station, Tony landed a sports announcing job at WCAX-AM radio (later WVMT) in Burlington in 1951, and when the company added TV in 1954 he gave the station’s first

HAROLD BLOOM, New Haven, CT, died October 14, 2019. The esteemed Yale University humanities professor was a prodigious literary critic—the revered “bad boy of literary criticism”—who controversially championed and defended the Western canon in an outpouring of influential books. Bloom had a close friendship with the late John Reiss, longtime English professor at Saint Michael’s College, and in 1978 and again in 1998 at the invitation of Reiss, Bloom spoke on campus, receiving an honorary

doctor of humanities degree from the College the second time. Bloom also was connected to Nat Lewis of the Saint Michael’s English faculty through Nat’s father, R.W.B. Lewis, Bloom’s colleague and close friend.

Bloom’s body of work in a long life of teaching, writing, and editing was prodigious and brilliant. He had a photographic memory and could recite “acres of poetry by heart,” in the words of a New York Times account when he died. One eminent reviewer called him “a singular breed of scholar-teacher-critic-prose-poet-pamphleteer.” Bloom grew up in East Bronx, son of Eastern European Jewish immigrants, and dazzled professors at Cornell on a scholarship before ending up shortly thereafter at Yale, where he spent most of his professional career. He lived in the same house in New Haven for 50 years with thousands of books (some of which, for a time, seemed possibly destined for Saint Michael’s based on his connection to John Reiss and respect for the Catholic intellectual tradition), along with paintings and sculptures.

Professor Bloom is survived by his wife, Jeanne, and two sons.

JOHN J. HANAGAN, Burlington, VT, died March 20, 2020, after a long cardiopulmonary illness. He taught philosophy at Saint Michael’s from 1967 through 1994 and attained the rank of tenured full professor and Philosophy

Department chair. His Saint Michael’s classes were popular, as he inspired generations to openly explore life’s hard questions, and to question assumptions. John was well known as an accomplished musician and jazz pianist, and he played for years in clubs. He was raised in Providence, RI, attending Providence College and joining the Roman Catholic Dominican Order while completing his bachelor’s degree. In the Dominicans he played the organ and loved daily Gregorian chant, advancing his love of music, which was a focal point and source of joy most of his life. In 1962 he left the Dominicans to join his parents and brother in Detroit, teaching philosophy at the University of Detroit for two years while completing his master’s degree on a teaching scholarship. In 1964 he began doctoral studies at the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto, majoring in Greek and medieval philosophy with a minor in Latin paleography.

John began teaching at Saint Michael’s in 1967, and earned his Ph.D. in 1973, followed by an NEH fellowship in contemporary ethical theory at the University of Michigan. He explored, practiced, and taught many forms of meditation and was ordained a minister by the Interfaith Center of New York City in 1998, officiating at several weddings. He returned to Burlington in his final years, teaching

courses at UVM and becoming an active hospice volunteer while continuing to play jazz. He brought his music to the hospice respite house as a volunteer, and the organization later cared for him in his final months.

John is survived by his wife, Carolyn Turner; sons Sean Hanagan ’91 and Matthew Hanagan, both of whom attended Saint Michael’s; a stepdaughter, Stacie (who also studied at Saint Michael’s); a brother; and extended family.

GIFFORD R. “GIFF” HART, JR., Essex, VT, died

December 17, 2019. He was a longtime journalism professor at Saint Michael’s after spending a short time in the College’s Public Relations/Sports Information Office starting in the early 1970s. In 1995 the College established the Giff Hart Journalism Scholarship, “recognizing the teaching professionalism of Emeritus Professor Giff Hart by his friends among the Saint Michael’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni.”

The scholarship provides support “for first-year students interested in a career in journalism who possess academic promise.”

Giff started teaching in the then-new Journalism Department as an adjunct in the mid-1970s and gradually rolled into the department as full-time faculty.

He was a decorated Army veteran of the Korean War. After meeting Bronislawa, aka “Rusty,” his wife of 67 years, at Princeton University while a student there,

IN MEMORIAM

sports report. He remained at WCAX for decades, doing many extended interviews of major celebrities. But he loved radio play-by-play most, doing four UVM sports along with St. Mike’s basketball, Dartmouth football, and high school games. He retired as WCAX sports director in 1989, but continued to host the Cooperative Extension program Across the Fence for many years. In semi-retirement he continued doing St. Mike’s radio play-by-play and volunteered at local hospitals. He ran daily, played tennis, served four consecutive terms as president of the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, and was an inaugural member of the Vermont Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Tony’s wife of 43 years, Mary, whom he met in first grade, died in 1990. He is survived by a daughter, a son, and extended family.

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IN MEMORIAM

W ILLI A M HE N RY M A RQ U E S S

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One of the most beloved souls of the Saint Michael’s College faculty, the gentle and brilliant longtime English instructor Will Marquess, died May 11, 2020, after a long illness. A gifted, witty, and joyful writer, Marquess wrote his own obituary with inimitable style to be shared with the College community. We include it below.

W

illiam Marquess never wanted to be the late Will Marquess. He was always early for class, eager to get started. Often, he began things with a poem, just for a jump-start. Language was the medium. Theodore Roethke said, “I wake to sleep and take my waking slow.”

Lewis Carroll wrote, “’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.”

Growing up in southwestern Ohio, he was determined to be shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds, grizzled captain on the wrong side of the American Civil War, or life partner of the actress Barbara Feldon. He

Giff spent a short stint in New York in public relations before moving to Shelburne as he began his Saint Michael’s career. He was a longtime secretary for the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association and worked on varied special projects for Burlington International Airport.

Giff was an avid sportsman, active in his community, and helped the National Guard with their readiness exercises and scoring at the local shooting club. He taught his sons to fish, build model airplanes, and fix

meant shortstop, not doorstop. So much for career ambitions.

When his sister requested help with her French vocabulary flash cards, he discovered a world of words: chien, pénombre, perdu.

He had no idea what to do in college, and his parents let him do it anyway. Duke University let him live off-campus, double major in English and French, and spend a year in Paris, where he was befriended by Pascale Molho and her family. What could be bad? Well, lots of things, but la joie venait toujours après la peine. He even studied some—enough to get into graduate school.

cars, and supported them in youth hockey. Besides his wife, Rusty, he is survived by three sons and extended family.

FREDERICK MAHER JR.,

South Burlington, VT, died October 13, 2019. From 1966 until his retirement in 1996 he was a member of the Saint Michael’s Sociology Department. After graduating from Yale in 1952, he volunteered and served two years in the Army during the Korean War. He then used the G.I. Bill to earn his sociology

At Harvard, he made the most lasting friends of his life.

Joel Dando, Emily Skoler, Missy Holland, Hank Moses.

And he started to find the work of his life—being an RA (“proctor” in Harvard-speak), which taught him to be patient and present, to learn by going where he had to go.

Otherwise, he had no idea what he was doing in graduate school, and they let him do it. He spent a summer in Britain, and found another friend for life, Elaine Petrie. He fell for an Italian woman, and another world opened.

Will never married. His friends, classes, and colleagues became his family. He is survived by his mother, Jane Newton Marquess; his sister Anne Marquess Camp and her family; his brother Jack Marquess and his family; and the family of his late brother, David Reese Marquess. He adored them all. He leaves no progeny but a line of students who, he hopes, will love language as he ever did. And the mome raths outgrabe.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the general fund of Saint Michael’s College.

— Will Marquess

doctorate at Columbia University, teaching sociology at the University of New Hampshire for a year and the University of Vermont for eight years before coming to Saint Michael’s. He served on the South Burlington School Board in the mid-1960s and on that city’s Charter Committee from 1968 until 1994. He was a skilled and engaging storyteller with encyclopedic recall, deeply interested in politics at all levels. Frederick is survived by his wife, Mary-Barbara; three sons, including James

Maher ’91 and Michael Maher ’83; a daughter; two brothers; and extended family.

PATRICIA SLATTERY,

South Burlington, VT, died December 20, 2019.

She was the College’s first director of human resources starting in 1971 and served in that position until her retirement in 2001. Pat is survived by a daughter, a sister, and extended family.

“

And so, these are my five ideas about technological change. First, that we always pay a price for technology; the greater the technology, the greater the price. Second, that there are always winners and losers, and that the winners always try to persuade the losers that they are really winners. Third, that there is embedded in every great technology an epistemological, political, or social prejudice. Sometimes that bias is greatly to our advantage. Sometimes it is not. The printing press annihilated the oral tradition; telegraphy annihilated space; television has humiliated the word; the computer, perhaps, will degrade community life. And so on. Fourth, technological change is not additive; it is ecological, which means, it changes everything and is, therefore, too important to be left entirely in the hands of Bill Gates.

And fifth, technology tends to become mythic; that is, perceived as part of the natural order of things, and therefore tends to control more of our lives than is good for us.

— NEIL POSTMAN

”

Neil Postman was a writer and cultural critic who predicted many of the current issues with technology. He died in 2003, and is perhaps best known for his book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death.”

No n-Pro f i t O rg.

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