Southern Alumni Magazine Summer 2024

a publication for alumni and friends of Southern Connecticut State University

ALUMNI MAGAZINE | Summer | 24

Endless Pasta-bilities!

11 Alumnus Named Namibia’s Fourth President

PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA PHOTO

F E AT U R E S

From the classrooms of Southern to the halls of power in Namibia — the journey of Nangolo Mbumba, ’71, is nothing less than extraordinary.

16 Pasta Prodigy

Angelo Durante, ’06, draws on his Southern business degree to grow the family business.

20 A Cure for What Ails As the national nursing shortage continues, the School of Nursing tackles the crisis head-on with a commitment to promoting health equity.

Southern | MIKE ROSS PHOTO

ALUMNI MAGAZINE

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26 Green Warrior

Following a military career in national security, Lonnie Garris III, ’93, launches Cool Amps Energy Solutions, a green-technology startup.

32 View Finder

38 Defying Expectations Armed with resilience, determination, and familial support, Ian Cheung, ’23, navigates an extraordinary path to graduation.

D E PA RTM E N TS

Southern faculty share their research through an annual photo competition.

2 ■ From the President 3 ■ Campus News 12 ■ True Blue 15 ■ Social Southern 24 ■ Spaces & Places in New Haven

Interning at the New Haven Museum

30 ■ Supporting Southern A $250,000 grant from the Per and Astrid Heidenreich Family Foundation aims to increase the number of men graduating with a degree in social work.

40 ■ Alumni News Cover: Angelo Durante, ’06, grew up making pasta at the family’s namesake retail and wholesale business. Today he’s owner of Durante’s Pasta.

Do you know someone who’d be a great fit for Southern? Please share this issue with a prospective student. Thank you!

44 ■ Alumni Notes 48 ■ Seen on Campus

GREETINGS, SOUTHERN ALUMNI!

ecently, I had the

Members of our extended community

great pleasure to

earned accolades throughout the year,

accompany our

from Connecticut State Colleges and

University Choir

Universities system-wide teaching

during its first tour

awards to conference and national titles

abroad since the

for our athletes.

COVID years. The

Last month, I was honored to

50-strong choral

preside at our undergraduate and

group, which also

graduate commencement ceremonies

included alumni

in Bridgeport. Witnessing the

and community

celebrations of families and friends in

members, performed three wonderful

the stands and greeting graduates as

concerts at historic churches in England

they walked across the stage, clearly

and Scotland.

For many of the younger vocalists, who were also

full of joy, reinforced for me how much it means to earn a degree from Southern.

able to experience the old-world charm of London and

With this scene in mind, I thank you for your

Edinburgh, it was their first trip abroad — for some, their

generous support of our scholars, which gives them the

first time out of Connecticut. This would not have

capacity to achieve their goals and fully engage in all the

happened without the generosity of the Stutzman Family

wonderful experiences that Southern has to offer. For

Foundation, which has supported our music program and

many of these young adults, the need is great, and the

previous choral tours to the great cities of Europe and

opportunity to transform lives is clear.

Britain over many years.

Donor support makes a huge difference in the lives

During these coming weeks and months, I plan to spend time getting to know as many of you as possible as

of our student scholars. It is particularly meaningful at

I continue to familiarize myself with the “Owl Way.” I want

Southern, where more than half of our scholars are first-

to hear your side of the Southern story. And I look

generation college students and a similar number are Pell

forward to seeing many of you at Homecoming in

Grant eligible, meaning they have exceptional financial

October and at other major campus events.

need. As I begin my second year as interim president, I

I wish you an enjoyable and relaxing summer!

am thrilled to have the opportunity to advance this great university’s mission of access, equity, and transforming

Sincerely,

lives through higher education.

Dwayne Smith, Ph.D.

The past academic year at Southern was one of achievement in many ways. Our enrollment is on an upward trajectory, we established new regional partnerships in the arts and health care, and set records for grants from major institutions such as the National Science Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control.

2 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Interim President

Southern

ALUMNI MAGAZINE ■ VOL 20 • NO 2

Dr. Dwayne Smith, Interim President Michael K. Kingan, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Executive Director, SCSU Foundation, Inc. STAFF

Patrick Dilger, Director of Integrated Communications & Marketing Villia Struyk, Editor Mary Pat Caputo, Associate Editor Marylou Conley, ’83, Art Director Isabel Chenoweth, Photographer Jason Edwards, ’21, Malcolm Smiley, Contributing Photographers Mary Verner, ’14, MBA ’18, Alumni Notes OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS

Gregory Bernard, ’04, Director of Alumni Relations (203) 392-6500 EDITORIAL OFFICE

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Celebrating the Class of 2024

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HE CLASS OF 2024 WAS READY TO CELEBRATE. “This is our first graduation since

kindergarten,” said Britny Gildersleeve, class president, addressing the 1,200 students and 8,000 guests gathered for Southern’s undergraduate commencement exercises. The event was held May 17, at the Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.

Interim President Dwayne Smith also emphasized the graduates’ perseverance. “Class of 2024, you didn’t let anything hold you back,” said Smith, noting the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many members of the class did not have a traditional high school graduation ceremony; all had experienced social distancing and online education.

The keynote address was given by Corbin Bleu, (top left), an accomplished singer and actor perhaps best known for his starring role in High School Musical. “Each of you has had years of training and molding, but now is the time to realize how much agency you have over your own life. Break that mold, forge your path,” said Bleu.

Robin Bennett Kanarek, co-founder and president of the Kanarek Family Foundation, received an honorary doctorate. The foundation, created by Robin and Joseph Kanarek, is dedicated to improving the quality of life for those affected by cancer and life-threatening conditions through the promotion of palliative care into all aspects of health care. The catalyst for the foundation’s creation was the loss of their 15-year-old son David in 2000, following a five-year battle with cancer.

Southern also held graduate commencement exercises later that day in the same venue to recognize about 1,000 students who earned doctoral and master’s degrees, sixth-year professional diplomas, post-master certificates, and graduate certificates. Ted Yang, a member of the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education, the governing body for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system, addressed the class. Smith urged them “not to look away from the world’s challenges or those that are closer to home. Stay informed, be mindful, be intentionally kind, and work every day to embody the principles of dignity, respect, kindness, compassion, and civility. Go out and do good.”

More commencement news including the program, online yearbook, and congratulatory messages are at go.SouthernCT.edu/scsu2024/.

Southern Connecticut State University Office of Integrated Communications & Marketing/Southern Alumni Magazine 501 Crescent Street New Haven, CT 06515-1355 Telephone (203) 392-6591; fax (203) 392-5083 Email address: StruykV1@SouthernCT.edu University website: SouthernCT.edu Printed by The Lane Press, Inc.

Southern Alumni Magazine is published by the university in cooperation with the SCSU Alumni Association two times a year and distributed free of charge to alumni and friends of the university.

Opinions expressed in Southern Alumni Magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the university or the SCSU Alumni Association. Although the editors have made every reasonable effort to be factually accurate, no responsibility is assumed for errors.

Postage paid at Burlington, Vt. Southern Connecticut State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, age, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, marital status, ancestry, present or past history of mental disorder, learning disability or physical disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or criminal record. Inquiries related to nondiscrimination policies and Title IX may be forwarded to Paula Rice, Title IX Coordinator and Director of Diversity and Equity Programs, 501 Crescent Street, BU 240, New Haven, CT, 06515; (203) 392-5568; RiceP1@SouthernCT.edu.

Summer 2024 | 3

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CDC Awards $3.4 Million to Promote Health Equity

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Speakers at the CDC grant celebration (from left): Susan Harris, member of Witnesses to Hunger, New Haven Coordinated Food Assistance Network; Kathleen O’Connor Duffany, director, research and evaluation at CARE (Community Alliance for Research and Engagement), Yale School of Public Health; Justin Elicker, mayor of New Haven; Alycia Santilli, senior director of community initiatives at SCSU’s College of Health and Human Services; Dwayne Smith, interim president of SCSU; and Dionne Lowndes, maternal child health manager at ACES Early Head Start

T

HE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) HAS AWARDED A

$3.4 MILLION GRANT to the

university’s Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE) to further the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program. The grant will be awarded over a five-year period and is the second consecutive CDC grant for

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CARE, following an initial REACH grant for 2018-2023.

“Over the next five years, we remain just as dedicated to advancing health equity and reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in our community,” says Alycia Santilli, senior director of community initiatives at Southern’s College of Health and Human Services.

Since its inception in 2018,

Southern Recognized as a Military Friendly School

SOUTHERN HAS EARNED A SPOT ON VIQTORY MEDIA’S ESTEEMED LIST OF 2024-2025 “MILITARY FRIENDLY SCHOOLS.” The university achieved “Silver Status” in

the 2024-2025 rankings, making it the highest-ranking institution among Connecticut’s small universities included in the survey.

“Since 1975, SCSU has upheld a proud tradition of serving active-duty military members, veterans, and their families. . . . It is wonderful to see our university receive this well-deserved recognition. It has been long in the making,” says Southern’s Interim President Dwayne Smith.

Located in Engleman Hall, Southern’s 4 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Southern’s REACH program has fostered collaborations between CARE and the community with dramatic results. By teaming up with local food pantries and City Seed’s food business accelerator, CARE has significantly enhanced the accessibility of nutritious food options. Moreover, CARE has spearheaded campaigns advocating breastfeeding equity — amplifying awareness and establishing support systems for new mothers. In a strategic alliance with New Haven, CARE also supported the creation of a comprehensive blueprint for advancing pedestrian, cyclist, and transit infrastructure in the city.

“CARE has demonstrated exceptional dedication and effectiveness in addressing health disparities within our community.

Despite operating with limited resources, the impact of their initiatives has been profound,” says Sandra Bulmer, dean of the College of Health and Human Services. “However, the needs of our neighbors persist, and we recognize the urgency of continued support. With this funding, we can further strengthen our efforts and extend our reach, ensuring that our mission of improving lives remains at the forefront of Southern’s commitment to the community.”

Veteran and Military Resource Center serves as a onestop shop. Services include academic advisement, GI Bill® and Tuition Waiver Certifications, information on VA work study opportunities, and much more. The center also is a lively meeting place for studying and socializing, equipped with computers and comfortable furniture.

“Veterans bring a lot of experience and perspective to campus,” says Britt Conroy, ‘16, M.P.H. ‘20, coordinator of veteran, military, and adult learner services.

“Thinking of different creative ways to integrate and work that into the fabric of Southern is a top priority.”

225+

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• Southern offers academic programs.

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t Fas ts. c Fa

OD GO WS. NE

RABIA HOS JOINS SOUTHERN as

• Graduate students in the Department of Communication Disorders have a pass rate on the Praxis II Speech and Language Pathology National Exam. The exam is required for an individual to become a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist.

100%

• Southern’s Master of Science Degree in Nursing Education program is listed among the in the nation by AllNurses.com.

“Top 10”

• The university boasts

100,000+ alumni.

• Students participate in 150 clubs and organizations, such as

Active Minds with a focus on mental health, the Computer Science Club, and the Organization of Latin American Students.

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Graduate School Dean Named

dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies as of June 28. Previously, Hos served as the graduate program director for the School of Education at the University of Rhode Island and the chair of the Department of English Language Teaching at Zirve University in Turkey.

Hos is the vice president of the Multistate Association for Bilingual Education, the editor-in-chief of the European Journal of English Language Studies, co-editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Educational Research, and a

member of the editorial board of three other international journals.

Hos holds a doctorate in education, teaching, curriculum, and change; a master’s in education, teaching English Speakers of Other Languages; and an undergraduate degree in English and psychology, all from the University of Rochester.

$3.2 NSF Grant Promotes STEM Diversity

ON JAN. 25, SOUTHERN CELEBRATED THE ACQUISITION OF A $3.2 MILLION GRANT from the National Science

Foundation. The grant, to be awarded over a five-year period, is through the

renowned Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program, which supports the recruitment and graduation of students currently underrepresented in (STEM) science,

Speakers at the celebration (from left): LeRoy Jones II, program director in the Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM at the National Science Foundation; Manuel Gomez, chief executive officer of Housatonic Community College (HCC); Dwayne Smith, interim president of SCSU; Therese Bennett, professor of mathematics and grant principal investigator at SCSU; Kim Ward, professor and coordinator of the Math Foundations Program at Eastern Connecticut State University, representing CSCU; Klay Kruczek, assistant chair and professor of mathematics and grant principal investigator at SCSU; Robin Avant, campus dean of students and faculty at HCC; and Robert Prezant, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at SCSU

technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

Southern is the lead institution for the Nutmeg State LSAMP program, which unites the four regional, comprehensice public universities that make up the Connecticut State Universities (CSU). Each campus will use best practices from other LSAMP programs for initiatives that address: success in gateway mathematics and science courses, financial need, and the creation of a sense of belonging and self-identity as a STEM scholar. Benefits of the LSAMP program include a summer bridge program, first-year learning communities, internship opportunities, tutoring and peer mentoring, and seminar series.

SCSU Interim President Dwayne Smith expressed the significance of the award, stating, “This award is indeed a triumph for our system, as it is the largest LSAMP grant in the state, and the product of a wonderful collaboration between Southern and our sister CSU institutions.”

MORE AT:

SouthernCT.edu/lsamp Summer 2024 | 5

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Faculty Honors

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Benjamin A. Abugri

Jonathan Weinbaum

Kelly Mabry

Joyce Taylor

Radu Bogdan Zamfir

Stephen Monroe Tomczak

Croatia for the 2024-2025 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Mabry will research craniofacial disorders with her colleagues at the University of Zagreb, where she will also teach.

• Radu Bogdan Zamfir, director of the Center for Educational and Assistive Technology, was named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Romania for 2024-2025. Zamfir will investigate media literacy practices at Transylvania University of Brasov.

• Jonathan Weinbaum, associate professor of biology, traveled to Argentina in June 2024 to share his expertise in paleontology as a Fulbright Specialist. Weinbaum was hosted by the Museo de La Plata, a national history museum connected with the National University of La Plata.

• Joyce Taylor, an assistant professor of social work, has been named to the Fulbright Specialist Roster.

• Stephen Monroe Tomczak, ’89, professor of social work, was named Educator of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers Connecticut chapter.

Isabel Logan

Maria Krol

Amal Abd El-Raouf

* Benjamin A. Abugri, professor of finance and director of the MBA program in the School of Business, is one of only 19 faculty members from across the nation accepted into the Business-Higher Education Forum’s inaugural Faculty Innovation Fellowship program. The cohort will collaborate on projects ranging from curriculum development to careerreadiness initiatives.

• Kelly Mabry, professor of communication disorders, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to travel to

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An Evening with Gloria Estefan

LEGENDARY SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND CULTURAL ICON GLORIA ESTEFAN delivered the 23rd Mary and

Louise Fusco Distinguished Lecture on April 27 at Southern’s John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts.

The eight-time Grammy Award winner and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient shared stories from her life and career during a far-reaching conversation moderated

by Briceyda Landaverde, a reporter for NBC Connecticut.

Estefan also met with students prior to the event.

6 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

• Isabel Logan, associate professor of social work, was named Social Worker of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers Connecticut chapter.

• Maria Krol, chair of the School of Nursing, received the Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce’s Nurse Workforce Development Award for 2024.

• Amal Abd El-Raouf, professor of computer science, was awarded a Faculty STEM Education Programming Grant from the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium. The grant supports a regional Women in Bioinformatics Workshop with leading researchers in the field.

faculty spotlight

EDUCATION : Dodson earned a bachelor’s

degree in English and philosophy from Wheaton College and a Ph.D. in English Renaissance literature from the University of Notre Dame.

DODSON ’ S RESEARCH INTERESTS INCLUDE : English Reformation

literature, Tudor poetics, poverty and literature, politics and aesthetics, keyword studies and pedagogy.

Joel Dodson, associate professor of English

ONE OF MANY ADDITIONAL CALLINGS : Dodson and Michael

Skinner, associate professor of theatre, are co-coordinators of Southern’s minor in arts administration and cultural advocacy program.

FOSTERING STUDENT SUCCESS :

Sam Egan, ’24, an English major who minored in Spanish and arts administration, completed a two-

semester internship at Hilton C. Buley Library’s Special Collections and Archives. Working under Patrick Crowley who leads special collections, Egan cataloged and curated an exhibit of small and miniature children’s books from the 19th and early-20th centuries.

Egan and Dodson (above left and center) are pictured at the exhibit, which ran through June 30.

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Unlocking Peak Performance at CHAMP Center

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HE COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES continues to lead the pack when it comes to serving students and the community-at-large. The new Connecticut Health, Athletic, and Mental Performance Center (CHAMP) officially opened its doors on April 24 with a celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Designed for athletes as well as those looking to optimize their health, the CHAMP Center uses the latest technology and a team of experts to provide a range of services, including precision testing, health assessments, psychological consulting, and performance optimization.

“We have technology like a Dexa Scan, which is effective for [determining] bone mineral density. We have the Running Gait Analysis with “motion capture.” We do VO2 max tests and lactate threshold tests for athletes. So, it’s for everybody,” says (left) William Lunn, professor of health and movement sciences.

For more information, including pricing, or to make an appointment:

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Focusing on Indigenous Views

H

ow do Indigenous peoples navigate a colonialist system of law and governance? On April 17, an insightful panel discussed this topic and more during Voices at the Table: Indigeneity, Education Policy, and Federal Tribal Recognition. Southern hosted three speakers at the event: Sandy Grande, director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at the University of Connecticut; Clan Mother Shoran Piper, tribal head leader of the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe; and Ruth Garby Torres, Schaghticoke Tribal Community member-in-residence at Brown University.

Professor Carlos Torre moderated the talk.

The event is part of an annual series made possible by the Neil Thomas Proto Scholar and Civic Fund in Law and Social Justice. Proto, a member of the Class of 1967, served as Student Government Association president and received the Leadership Award. A highly successful lawyer, writer, and educator with a long-held commitment to social justice, he was invited to deliver Southern’s commencement address in 1976 and was honored with the Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1981.

8 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

• CTchampcenter.com • champ@SouthernCT.edu • (203) 392-6039

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Good Reads

Q A

UESTION: WHAT’S MORE HEARTWARMING THAN WORLD READ ALOUD DAY? NSWER: T he Southern community

joining the celebration by reading to children enrolled at the Barack H. Obama Magnet University School located on campus.

The elementary school, which welcomed its first class in February 2020, is a partnership between Southern and New Haven Public Schools — a national model that showcases the benefits of a collaboration between a public university and public school system. It’s a winwin scenario: PreK to grade 4 students at the Barack H. Obama School (affectionately known as Owlets) receive support from future educators enrolled in Southern’s College of Education while inspiring and developing the next generation of educators.

MORE AT:

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SouthernCT.edu/education

Top Honors to Recent Grads

FOUR MEMBERS OF SOUTHERN’S CLASS OF 2024 received the Henry

Barnard Distinguished Student Award, among the university’s most prestigious honors. The award, which recognizes academic achievement and a significant commitment to Southern and/or the community-atlarge, went to the following: Kyle Mashia-Thaxton, ’24 A member of the Honors College, Mashia-Thaxton majored in history and political science with minors in business administration and French. An extremely active student, he was a member of Southern’s Student Government Association, the Student Activism Committee, the College Democrats, the Pre-Law Society, and the Future Teachers Organization. He also was a legislative intern for the Connecticut General Assembly and, in summer 2023, was a congressional intern for U.S. Senator Chris Murphy.

Jen Ng A fellow member of Southern’s Honors College, Ng majored in philosophy and minored in psychology and women’s and gender studies. Ng earned the F.E. Lowe Endowed Scholarship for philosophy majors and received an award from the Bron & Noir Society in 2023. She also interned at the Research Center for Values Emerging in Science and Technology.

Emily Rowland, ‘24 Rowland majored in social work and minored in psychology while holding down several positions at Southern, including student ambassador for the College of Health and Human Services and student worker for the Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE) and the COMPASS Childcare Center. She also interned at Yale New Haven Health’s Children’s Day Hospital.

Nadesha Shakes, ‘24 Shakes was a public health intern on campus for the Student Health Services Department as well as a research assistant. She majored in nursing and public health and minored in wellness, forensic science, and racial and intersectional justice studies. Shakes also was active in the Zeta Delta Epsilon honorary service organization, Southern’s Veterans Association, and Eta Sigma Gamma, an honorary society for health education.

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$100,000 Grant Supports Businesses

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ITH AN EYE ON PROMOTING ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE

REGION , the School of Business officially

launched its business Xcelerator program in February. The initiative — made possible by a $100,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven — fosters partnerships with science and technology companies while providing support to local small businesses, particularly those owned by Black, Indigenous, people of color, and women. The Xcelerator connects entrepreneurs with experts, mentors, and financial assistance. ”We also have technology spaces like the Bloomberg Room, so small businesses can learn to use data and financial analysis,” says Jess Boronico, dean of the School of Business, referring to the business school’s new home.

“Many times these communities don’t have the resources to grow in this space. The Xcelerator will level the playing field,” says Joe Williams, managing director, the Community

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(from left) The School of Business’ Steve Shapiro, Tony Rescigno, and D. Bernard Webster; Arthur Thomas, director of mission investing and entrepreneurial ecosystems, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (CFGNH); Dwayne Smith, Southern interim president; Lindy Lee Gold, senior development specialist, Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development; Joseph Williams, director of equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems, CFGNH; Robert Prezant, Southern provost, vice president for academic affairs; and the School of Business’ Jess Boronico, dean, and Prabhakar Gantasala

Foundation Mission Investments Company, a subsidiary of the foundation focused on economic empowerment and mobility.

The Business Xcelerator program is led by D. Bernard Webster, a startup expert and author of Stop Forward: An Illustrated Guide for Advancing Your

Students Travel to Dubai for Climate Conference

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Entrepreneurial Mindset. Webster is the chief executive officer of Vanguarde Digital, a marketing expert at BlackEnterprise’s Small Business University, and a managing partner at the MVP Accelerator, a Small Business Administration Growth Accelerator serving the tristate area.

Explore Lifelong Learning at Southern

SOUTHERN’S OFFICE OF WORKFORCE AND LIFELONG LEARNING — affectionately known as

From left: Eleni Haskos; Rebecca Stanton, ‘24; Miriah Kelly, assistant professor of environmental science; and Raianna Grant, ‘23

A

Southern contingent including undergraduate student-researchers traveled to the United Arab Emirates to serve as official observers at the Conference of Parties (COP) global climate change conference. The annual meeting, organized by the United Nations, invites world leaders to discuss goals for tackling climate change. United States Vice President Kamala Harris, Britain’s King Charles III, French President Emmanuel Macron, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were among those at the event. “[COP28] has gotten more participants than ever before,” said Miriah Kelly, assistant professor of environmental science and the lead of Southern’s COP contingent. “One of the things I love about these events is being able to provide mentorship to our students at Southern.”

10 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

OWLL — offers educational programming in a wide variety of fields including STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), health and human services, business and leadership, education and humanities, the arts, and social and behavioral sciences. Options include credit-level undergraduate and graduate certificate programs, non-credit and workforce training, and free and low-cost professional development opportunities.

Explore all at a centralized, easyto-use website: SouthernCT.edu/owll.

“I want to create a one-stop shop at Southern for anyone in our community who wants to upskill and re-skill, obtaining workforce skills without necessarily pursuing a full degree,” says Amy Feest, senior director, OWLL. “We can become a workforce hub for Greater New Haven and beyond, with learning opportunities for anyone looking to attain a new profession or advance in a current career.”

PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA PHOTOS

(Clockwise from top) President Mbumba returns from a state visit to South Africa, meets with King Philippe of Belgium, addresses his people, and visits the Namibian Institute of Mining.

Alumnus Named Namibia’s Fourth President

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HE PHRASE, “WE KNEW HIM WHEN,” TAKES ON HEIGHTENED MEANING WHEN THE PERSON IN QUESTION IS A WORLD LEADER.

From the classrooms of Southern to the halls of power in Namibia, Nangolo Mbumba’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary.

So, it is for Southern classmates of Nangolo Mbumba, ’71, who was sworn in as the fourth president of the Republic of Namibia on Feb. 4, 2024. Mbumba assumed the post after the death of President Hage Geingob, whom he had served under as vice president since 2018. “Even in this time of loss, our nation remains calm and stable,” said Mbumba during his acceptance speech.

Mbumba is expected to complete the remainder of Geingob’s presidential term and is committed to guiding Namibia to its national elections in November.

“Let me make it crystal clear, I have no intention, desire, or ambition to stand for any office,” the newly named President Mbumba told the country’s Parliament on Feb. 7. Consequently, Mbumba announced that Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah would serve as vice president in his administration. She is expected to run for the presidency and, if elected, would be the country’s first female leader.

At Southern, Mbumba majored in biology. He continued his studies at the University of Connecticut, earning a master’s in biology in 1973 and embarking on a teaching career at Harlem Preparatory

School in New York. He eventually returned to Africa, where he was head of the Science Department at the Namibia Education Centre.

Namibia — which is named in honor of the Namib Desert — officially gained independence on March 21, 1990. Mbumba has played an ongoing role in the country’s successful evolution.

A longtime member of the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), the current ruling political party, Mbumba was its secretary general from 2012 to 2017. He brings vast experience to Namibia, a mineral-rich country with abundant diamonds, uranium, and lithium, used to manufacture rechargeable batteries.

During his political career, he served as minister of key national offices: agriculture; water and rural development; finance; information and broadcasting; and education. Additionally, he was chancellor of the University of Namibia.

“My aim was to be a school principal, which I achieved, and now I have to thank the Namibian people for the honor they have bestowed on me to be their president for a short period,” Mbumba, told Reuters News Service, after being sworn into office. “I take on this heavy mantle cognizant of the weight of responsibility.” ■ Summer 2024 | 11

From the pool to the playing field, a look at SOUTHERN ATHLETICS.

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Owls Welcome Director of Athletics

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ERRANCE JONES BEGAN SERVING AS DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS AND RECREATION IN FEBRUARY , bringing a wealth of experience to the position. Prior to coming to Southern,

Jones was the assistant athletic director of external operations and stadium management at Jackson State University, a historically Black university in Jackson, Miss. There, he oversaw the day-to-day external operations of the Department of Athletics, including ticket sales, marketing, diversity efforts, fundraising, stadium operations, and community outreach. Previously, he also held key athletics leadership roles at Alabama State University and Delaware State University.

“One of my primary goals as the new director of athletics and recreation is to create a culture of excellence,” says Jones. “Our students at Southern are exceptional individuals who represent our university with pride and integrity, and I am committed to ensuring that they have the resources and support they need to excel.”

Jones holds an undergraduate degree in recreation and sports management and a master’s degree in public administration from North Carolina Central University. He is in the final stages of completing a doctorate in educational leadership at Delaware State University and is a graduate of the NCAA Dr. Charles Whitcombe Leadership Institute.

Three Championship Titles for Outdoor Track and Field ROB RASMUSSEN PHOTO

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Terrance Jones

IT WAS A STUNNING SEASON FOR BOTH THE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD TEAMS.

SHAWN BARKASY PHOTO

Jordan Davis set a national high mark in the javelin throw, winning the NCAA Division II championship title on May 25.

His 84.45-meter throw not only set an NCAA Division II record but also was the best among all college competitors across every NCAA division for the year.

12 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

(More of Davis’ story is in the sidebar.)

The men’s and women’s teams also dominated overall under head coach John Wallin and his staff, claiming a highly competitive regional title and two conference titles.

The men’s track and field team won the 2024 New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Outdoor Championship, which was held May 10 – 11 in Worchester, Mass. The Owls earned 103 points to finish ahead of the University of New Hampshire (second with 90 points), Tufts University (74 points), Holy Cross (56.5 points), and the University of Maine (55 points) in the top five.

Southern’s women’s team

had a strong third place finish at the NEICAAA championship.

At the conference level, Southern men’s and women’s teams both won their respective Northeast-10 (NE10) Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The events were held May 3-4 at Southern’s Jess Dow Field. It was the seventh-consecutive NE10 tournament title for the men.

Six student-athletes qualified to compete at the 2024 NCAA Division II National Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 23-25 at Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas. Hannah Caiola competed for the women’s program to earn All-American honors in the 400 meters with a ninth-place finish.

In addition to Davis who brought home the gold in javelin, Southern’s men’s program was represented at the NCAA

by Cameron Belton, Nevan Burke, Ramsley Exantus, and Bernardo Mbaya.

Meet the NCAA Division II National Champion Jordan Davis, ’24 NCAA Div. II Champion in the javelin throw in 2024 and 2022 Business administration major (concentration in management) HOTO

Hometown: Wallingford, Conn.

P USSEN

Competing at the NCAA Div. II Championship: Davis threw

SM ROB RA

84.45 meters in his fifth attempt — setting new NCAA Div. II and facility records. The event was held in Emporia, Kansas.

A big win: Davis is first in the U.S. in

the world rankings and the fourth best performer in collegiate history, as of June 24.

Honors: Davis finished sixth at the

2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. He is one of 10 semifinalists for the Bowerman Award, honoring the most outstanding NCAA track and field athletes — the first Div. II studentathlete selected since the award’s inception in 2009.

Getting his start: as a student at

Mark T. Sheehan High School in Wallingford, Davis was a star football player and track sprinter.

He also had played baseball since childhood. “Center field, so I had a good arm,” he says. He was a high school junior when his coach suggested he give the javelin a try.

Overcoming adversity: In 2018,

Davis was in a serious car accident, resulting in a broken femur and a rod with 13 screws in his leg. He reflected on the experience as a “blessing in disguise,” which helped him become more confident and mentally resilient.

A finer focus: Davis came to

Southern as a two-sport athlete: football and track and field. This year, he focused exclusively on the javelin with spectacular results.

Coaching prowess: Davis trains

extensively with assistant coach Dan Labbadia, ’22. Labbadia (above left) competed in the javelin throw as a Southern student and now works

primarily with the team’s throwers.

In addition to mentoring Davis, Labbadia guided Nevan Burke to the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championships.

Head coach commentary: “Whether it is in the weight room, or traveling to faraway track meets, Jordan has always impressed me not only with his tremendous work ethic and confidence but also his high level of integrity,” says head coach John Wallin. “As a mentor and guide for Jordan, I try to always keep him grounded, focused on his long-term goals, and always mindful of who he is representing.”

T

HE POWERHOUSE LEGACY CONTINUES for the men’s

and women’s swimming and diving teams. Both won their respective Northeast-10 (NE10) Conference Championships, which were held in February in Worchester, Mass.

The men’s team dominated the competition, closing the tournament with 901 points, finishing ahead of second-place Bentley College with 673. It was the third-straight NE10 tournament victory for the men and the 16th of all time dating back to 2003.

The women’s team also won the NE10 Swimming and Diving Championship, scoring a standout 1061.5 points.

Bentley University took second place with 756.5 points. It was the women’s 13th tournament win since 2003.

Congratulations to Justice Glasgow who was named NE10 Co-Swimmer of the Year for the second consecutive season. She is NE10 champion in the 100 butterfly and the 200 free relay as well as the 200 medley and 400 medley relays. Also honored, head coach Tim Quill was named the NE10 Conference Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year.

BRIAN FOLEY PHOTO

Two NE-10 Titles for Swimming and Diving

■

Summer 2024 | 13

From the pool to the playing field, a look at SOUTHERN ATHLETICS.

Owl Named NE10 Defensive Player of the Year

ROB RASMUSSEN PHOTO

■

M

en’s basketball standout Cherif Diarra was honored as the 2024 Northeast-10 (NE10) Conference

Defensive Player of the Year and named to the All-Defensive Team.

Diarra led the NE10 in blocks (53), blocks per game (1.8), rebounds per game (9.5), and offensive rebounds per game (3.52) as well as total rebounds (276) while ranking among the NCAA Division II leaders in all categories.

For the year, Diarra averaged 9.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks as well as 1.3 steals per game.

In related honors, Josh McGettigan was included on the NE10 Second Team while Marty Silvera was named to the NE10 Third Team.

■

Perfect 10.00 Heralds Gymnastics Victory

A New Space for Student-Athletes

■

ON

THE WAY TO A FIRST-PLACE

FINISH AT THE ALL-AMERICAN CHALLENGE on Feb. 19, the

S

TUDENT-ATHLETES HAVE A NEW SPACE AT SOUTHERN: the SCSU

Athletics and Recreation StudentAthlete Wellness Center powered by Connecticut Orthopaedics was unveiled at a celebratory ribbon-cutting on Feb. 21. Based in James Moore Field House, the center supports student-athletes in several specially designed spaces.

• The learning space provides an area to study and work with learning specialists. Technology also has been upgraded.

• A secondary space fosters community with couches, a highdefinition television, multiple gaming consoles, a foosball table, and a refreshments area.

• The center also includes “The Owls Nest,” an area designed to enhance student-athletes’ recovery. It’s

14 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

equipped with zero-gravity chairs, leg-compression machines, and a state-of-the-art massage chair.

Connecticut Orthopaedics, an official Owls sponsor for the 2023-24 academic year, provided support in a myriad of ways. Susan Bader, chief executive officer of the company, spoke at the ceremony: “I think one of the most exciting things happening is beyond the sidelines with a true academic partnership. We are working diligently to create a pathway to careers in health care for SCSU students on a campuswide scale. This will include internships and clinical training programs as well as flexible job opportunities throughout our organization.”

women’s gymnastics team reached a historical milestone.

Gigi Mastellone (above) scored a 10.00 on the uneven bars to win the event — the first perfect score earned by a women’s gymnastics competitor at Southern. Competing in the floor exercise, junior Libby Allen posted a career-best score of 9.900 to finish first as well. The event was held at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Connecticut.

Overall, the University of New Hampshire finished in second place, followed by Long Island University in third and Yale University in fourth.

WANT SPORTS? MORE AT SCSUowls.com

Look Whooooo’s Talking

Posts, ’Grams, and More

An Owl engagement generated lots of love: 112+ shares SHE SAID YES! Congratulations to Marquise Blagmon and his fiancée, Trinity Walker, on their postcommencement engagement. #SCSU24 Karen Ohlmann Congratulations! My husband and I are Southern grads ‘77.

We’ve been married 44 years! Sending you both love and good wishes.

Actor and singer Corbin Bleu channeled High School Musical to close his commencement speech. “We’re all in this together,” said Bleu, then starring on Broadway in Little Shop of Horrors, and the crowd went wild.

🌑 🌞

137.4K+

The science quad was a perfect spot for Owls to catch the 2024 solar eclipse.

The New York Times says Anthony Fantano, ’08, is “the only music critic who matters (if you’re under 25)” and his main YouTube channel — The Needle Drop — has well over a billion views. Fantano kicked off the year by sharing his old student ID from Southern, where he majored in liberal studies (now general studies) and worked at WSIN, the campus radio station.

FACEBOOK • SouthernCT • 31,000+ followers

Join the Conversation!

Follow Southern on:

X (FORMERLY KNOWN AS TWITTER) • @SCSU • 9,200+ followers INSTAGRAM • @southernscsu • 13,500+ followers LINKED IN • Southern Connecticut State University • 61,000+ followers TIKTOK • @SCSU • 3,900+ followers

Connect with Dr. Dwayne Smith, interim president: Facebook, X, and Instagram @DrDTopOwl Summer 2024 | 15

asta

RODIGY

Angelo Durante, ’06, draws on his Southern business degree to grow the family business.

The results are delicious.

By Beth Levine

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta.”

— FEDERICO FELLINI

NGELO DURANTE, 40, CHESHIRE, CONN., KNOWS FROM PASTA.

He started out helping in his family’s market at the advanced age of 4. “My brother Lorenzo and I helped pack, move, and label boxes when we weren’t making trouble. We literally used to sleep on the flour bags during the busy holidays. I loved getting on the truck with my father to make deliveries; everyone knew who we were and were so happy to see us,” he says.

The business is unquestionably a family affair, tracing its roots to 1967, when Angelo’s father, Amedeo, immigrated to the United States from the small Italian town of Ruviano. After working in different Italian-import stores, Amedeo opened Durante’s Market in Derby, Conn., in 1977. His wife, Carmelina, followed a year later to help run the business.

It started as an Italian imported-foods store. Then, the couple hit their sweet spot: handmaking artisan pasta using an old-country recipe they perfected with Amedeo’s mother. Demand for their pasta grew, so they opened Durante’s Pasta in West Haven in spring 1985, serving wholesale and retail customers.

The family business was a magical setting for Angelo’s childhood.

Holidays called for all-hands-on-deck staffing, and his grandmother and aunt would join in. “They would sing these old folk songs from the farm back in Italy. Being together, hearing those old songs, it was a happy time,” he says.

“There was such a wonderful atmosphere within our facility. The smell of sauce bubbling and being with my grandma, parents, brother, and aunt. We worked long hours, but it just flew by because I was enjoying every minute of it.”

Summer 2024 | 17

till, when it was time to go to college, Durante had no intention of staying in the family business. He started off as a soccer player, thinking the sport would be his life. But when an injury sidelined him, he had to rethink his future.

His Southern soccer coach (the recently retired) Thomas Lang proved to be a big help. Durante pursued a degree in business administration with a focus on management, but he still wasn’t thinking about the family business.

Those years at Southern prepared Durante for the business world in many ways. “Without a doubt, a lot of the business classes I took helped me with organizing, communicating, and multitasking,” he says. Durante also gives a nod to the communication course he took with Lawrence Fitzgerald, ’63, M.S. ’67, a sports commentator and professor emeritus of communication. “I learned so much in that class,” he says.

Angelo Durante, ’06, prepares fresh pasta for drying (previous page) and guides staff as they make manicotti (above and below) in the pristine, pasta-making facility located in the same building as the retail store. (above) Father and son show a few of Durante’s pasta specialties.

18 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

“There’s no comparison when something’s made either by hand or partially by hand from good ingredients.”

— ANGELO DURANTE

Durante’s education continued outside of the classroom.

Robert DeMezzo, ’99, M.B.A. ’07, then assistant director of residence life, (now senior director of conferences, events, and student affairs auxiliaries), took him under his wing and hired him as a resident adviser (RA). “He showed me what it’s like to be responsible,” Durante says. “Guiding students on our floor in the residence hall was a very quick way to learn how to work with people. I still use those skills today as I’m coaching my employees.”

His RA stint also taught him the importance of networking.

“Certainly, owning a successful business is all about networking. And when I was an RA, I had to create programs and get student residents to express who they were and what they did and didn’t like. Now that’s a huge part of my business.

Going out into the community to share our products is very important,” he says.

Upon graduation in 2006, Durante took a job in pharmaceutical sales, which was quite lucrative. “I thought that might be my road: putting on a suit and tie, the whole corporate life,” he says. But at his core, Durante was (and is) a big foodie. After he married Brienna in 2009, he realized the family passion was also his passion. He decided to rejoin his parents at Durante’s Pasta in 2010. His parents have since retired, and he has been running the show for the last 15 years.

Angelo has carried on his parents’ tradition, offering a wide assortment of homemade pasta. There are dry pastas (from capellini to tomato fettuccine); 16-plus varieties of frozen pasta (think lasagna sheets, porcini mushroom ravioli, potato gnocchi); and specialty pasta in countless shapes and sizes.

Specialty items include an assortment of Durante’s sauces (marinara, vodka cream, etc.) and more.

“There was such a wonderful atmosphere ... the smell of sauce bubbling and being with my grandma, parents, brother, and aunt.”

The storefront on 78 Fenwick Street remains a customer draw, but Durante’s Pasta also is sold at other retailers, including Big Y and Sorrento Importing, and is served at more than 20 local restaurants.

Additionally, you’ll find Durante’s products on the New Haven Direct Connect online shop; The company is featured alongside regional institutions Foxon Park, Hummel Bros., Liuzzi Cheese, Lucibello’s Italian Pastry Shop, Apicella’s Bakery, and more. If you know, you know.

Durante has jiggered the original recipe a bit, but at heart it remains the same. “I always doctor recipes to try to make them better or more user friendly. I do a lot of research and development,” he says.

“But there’s no doubt: the key products that we’ve had for many years sell the most. At the heart, we

— ANGELO DURANTE

remain traditionalists. We’re very passionate about what we do, and we put a lot of love in our products.”

Customers come from throughout the state for that special Durante je ne sais quoi. “It’s an experience when you come here. You get something that you really can’t find anywhere else,” he says. “There’s no comparison when something’s made either by hand or partially by hand from good ingredients.”

Durante often shares his love of all things pasta through cooking demonstrations and classes. (As the saying goes: in Italy, if you’re not eating, you’re probably talking about eating.)

continues on page 46

Summer 2024 | 19

A Cure for What Ails

As the national nursing shortage continues, the School of Nursing tackles the crisis head-on with a commitment to promoting health equity.

20 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

IF

YOU FIND YOURSELF RECEIVING MEDICAL TREATMENT AT YALE NEW HAVEN HOSPITAL, YOU’D BE FORTUNATE TO HAVE

1 CEPHAS AYELLAKAI, ’20, AS YOUR NURSE.

First drawn to the medical field while caring for his mother in

Ghana, he later graduated from Southern with top honors and is continuing his education through Yale’s prestigious School of Nurse Anesthesia doctoral program. (More on page 40.)

Ayellakai foresees a long nursing career. As such, he is a small, but mighty answer to a problem plaguing the U.S. medical field: the need for more nurses. Numerous factors are contributing to the situation, among them, an aging population with more complex medical demands; the need for more primary care providers; and a high percentage of experienced nurses nearing retirement age.

Forecasts vary, but the federal government projects a shortage of 63,720 full-time RNs (registered nurses) in 2030.* As telling, a 2023 survey of 2,000 nurses, showed 91 percent believe the nursing shortage is getting worse and 79 percent say their units are inadequately staffed.** “Today, there are a lot of people who realize there is a nursing shortage, but it’s nothing new,” says Maria Krol, associate professor and chairperson of Southern’s School of Nursing (SON). “There has been a shortage for the last 20 years. But we can work toward solutions.”

Founded in 1969, Southern’s School of Nursing has a long history of preparing a skilled workforce for the state and region — and new initiatives are enabling more students to enter the field.

Nursing is one of the top-selected majors on campus. A record number of students applied to the nursing program for fall 2024 — 300 more than the previous fall.

They were driven, in part, by the school’s stellar reputation. On the national level, Southern’s nursing program secured a prominent position in Becker’s Hospital Review listing of the country’s leading programs and was lauded by U.S. News & World Report.

Closer to home, Southern’s SON was recognized as the “Best RN Program in Connecticut” for 2024

by RegisteredNursing.org. Southern outperformed the 20 RN programs evaluated in the state, securing the top spot with an average pass rate of 96.86 percent on the National Council Licensure ExaminationRN (NCLEX) over five consecutive years — including three years with a perfect 100 percent pass rate.

(The NCLEX ensures recently graduated nursing students are adequately prepared to practice.)

Summer 2024 | 21

nurse before earning a nursing degree and eventually a doctorate in nurse practice, leadership, and education.

She’s a firm believer in the power of mentorship, one of the reasons she started the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses.

As chair of the SON, she’s brought in an expert to discuss inclusive curriculum and numerous other speakers to address students. “It’s important to invite speakers of different ethnicities, races, and experiences,” she says.

DIVE R S IT Y T O E NHANC E C A RE The program also is committed to welcoming a diverse student body — one that reflects the U.S. where nearly four of 10 Americans identify with a race or ethnic group other than white, according to the Brookings Institution.

The nursing field is decidedly less diverse, as revealed by a survey of nearly 50,000 nurses in 2022: 67 percent self-identify as white non-Hispanic, with the three next largest populations identifying as Black (11 percent); Asian (9 percent); and Hispanic (9 percent).* Leading medical organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, stress the importance of diversity among health care providers, with good reason. Research shows that a diverse health care workforce improves patients’ access to care, their perceptions of the care they received, and health outcomes.

Grants and partnerships with Yale New Haven Health and the State of Connecticut have helped the SON to not only prepare more future nurses, but also to attract less-represented groups to the profession. “It’s especially important in New Haven where the demographics of our population is very diverse,” says Chelsea Ortiz, associate director of nursing admissions, enrollment management, and communications.

Her commitment to diversity is grounded in science. It’s also personal.

“My mother put herself through nursing school later in life while raising three children, going to school full time and working full time as a nurse tech,” she 22 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

says. Ortiz remembers the hours her mother spent studying and the size of her textbooks. She also recalls her mom being one of only two women of color in the program. “I want to see more people like my mother in the nursing profession,” she says.

Krol 2 has a long-held interest in the nursing profession. “Under my high school photo, it says that I wanted to become a nurse,” says Krol, one of six children born to Peruvian immigrant parents. But without an understanding of the financial aid process, she didn’t think college was a possibility. Instead, she joined the U.S. Army before transitioning to nursing later. Krol took the exam to become a licensed practical

The SON also has adopted a holistic admissions process, a strategy of reviewing applicants based on their unique experiences and skills alongside traditional measures of academic achievement. Academic standards have remained as high. Staff will also consider if an applicant is a first-generation college student, a parent or caregiver, a veteran, a first responder, and/or a member of a group underrepresented in the nursing field.

The results are dramatic, as seen by those offered direct admittance for exceptionally promising students.

(Today, the SON offers two direct admittance pathways: nursing and STEM focused. Students in the latter are accepted into the major if they achieve an agreed upon level of success in STEM courses at Southern.)

Prior to adopting a holistic admission process, 12 to 28 percent of students offered direct admission each year were students of color. In contrast, about 50 percent of students offered

direct admission for the Class of 2024 are students of color.

More males also have been accepted through the holistic process. The percentage of males in the nursing program at Southern ranges from 18 to 23 percent in recent years — significantly higher than the national average of 12 percent.

Access is a high priority as well. The SON offers numerous paths to a nursing career, including but not limited to an accelerated career entry program for those with an undergraduate degree.

Graduate degrees and certificates as well as a doctorate in nursing education in collaboration with Western Connecticut State are available, too.

S C HOL AR S HI P S U P P ORT S DIV E R S E NU R S I N G W OR K F OR C E

BRITTNEY HERNANDEZ, ’24, RECEIVED A $12,000 SCHOLARSHIP FROM THE NEW ENGLAND MINORITY NURSE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE. The scholarship recognizes

academic achievement, leadership, and a commitment to serving diverse communities and promoting health equity.

“Coming from a family of Ecuadorian immigrants, I strive to advocate for and represent the Hispanic community,” says Hernandez, who graduated magna cum laude with a major in nursing and a minor in medical Spanish. Fewer than nine percent of registered nurses in the U.S. are Hispanic/Latino — a statistic she hopes to confront head-on by inspiring others to enter the field.

The NEMNLC is a collaboration between eight New England chapters of the National Black Nurses Association, the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses of North America.

Steps are also in place to promote student success. Read on for more on the new home of the SON, support initiatives for students, and practice-based learning opportunities, including service-learning based in Peru.

A S TAT E - OF - T HE - A RT BUILDING Housed in the new home of the College of Health and Human Services, the SON features several Health Care Simulation Centers, including a “hospital floor” with patient rooms. There, programmable, high-tech medical manikins (among them, pediatric

continues on page 47 Summer 2024 | 23

SPACES & PLACES IN NEW HAVEN ■

OWL TERRITORY

NEW HAVEN

The New Haven Museum’s Whitney Library is home base for Emma Norden, ’20, research librarian, and student intern Finley Chapman. The library’s collections include 30,000 printed works, architectural drawings, maps, newspapers, photographs, and more. “We’re here for everyone,” says Norden, “whether you’re conducting major research or have a vague interest in the city or a question that comes up on a whim.”

24 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

THE NEW HAVEN MUSEUM IS DEDICATED “TO EXPLORING THE PEOPLE, PLACES, EVENTS, AND IDEAS THAT SHAPE THE ELM CITY.” ITS WHITNEY LIBRARY SERVES MORE THAN 1,300 RESEARCHERS ANNUALLY — INCLUDING SOUTHERN STUDENT INTERNS IN SEARCH OF THEIR PROFESSIONAL CALLINGS.

E

MMA NORDEN, ’20, IS HAVING A FULL-CIRCLE MOMENT. In August

2023, she became the research librarian at the New Haven Museum’s Whitney Library, one of three places she interned as an undergraduate history major. Today, she’s supervising her first intern, Finley Chapman, who much like Norden five years earlier, hopes to gain all-important experience working at the library.

Each of their internships was secured with the help of Jason Smith, professor of history. Smith believes in the transformative nature of internships, despite not completing one of his own as an undergraduate. Instead, he recalls tentatively reaching out to an historic Revolutionary War battlefield site, not realizing that his professors could potentially help. “I don’t think I ever heard back,” Smith says, “or maybe I

heard that they didn’t have the need for an intern at that time. Either way I decided it was a dead end and stopped pursuing.”

In direct contrast, the Department of History is committed to smoothing the way for students seeking an internship — with good reason. Recent college graduates with internship or relevant work experience are more than twice as likely to acquire a good job immediately after graduation, according to Gallup, an international research consultancy.

At Southern, about two-thirds of history majors are enrolled in the Bachelor of Science program and plan to teach in grades seven through 12.

For them, real-world experience is provided through student teaching.

While history majors in the Bachelor of Arts program are not required to complete an internship, “we

formerly the Knights of Columbus Museum, in the archives.

“All were great experiences. I enjoyed both special collections and the archives, and then the New Haven Museum offered a perfect mix of the two,” says Norden. She later earned a graduate degree in library science from Indiana University, Indianapolis, working part time at the New Haven Museum and other libraries — positions she found through her internship experiences.

Through it all, research remained a draw. “A lot of my job consists of digging into the archives to answer questions,” she says. Potential topics range from a search for long-lost relatives to an author seeking information on New Haven in 1905 for their next book.

Museum visitors who are conducting their own research will find

highly encourage our students to do so,” says Smith. Looking back, Norden says her trio of internships brought clarity. As an undergraduate, she knew she eventually wanted to work in a library but was unsure what her ideal career would look like. Under Smith’s guidance, Norden also interned at Southern’s Hilton C. Buley Library in special collections and at the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center,

the experience easier thanks to Chapman. His internship included an overarching project: processing the library’s extensive New Haven newspaper collection, which dates to the 1760s — everything from culling duplicate issues for storage to creating a new research guide. Chapman’s favorites are the newspapers from the time of the U.S. Revolution.

Norden also assigned side projects,

including research, to provide a “true library experience.” On a particularly fruitful day, Chapman discovered a twovolume book of relevant genealogical data for someone seeking information on their family tree.

The internship provided personal insight as well. Chapman, who is slated to graduate in December, transferred to Southern and, like many, has changed majors.

Interviewed near the close of the spring semester, he’s extending his work at the New Haven Museum through the summer. In the fall, he’ll intern at the university’s Buley Library, working in archives. “My educational background has been kind of all over the place, so, it’s taken me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life,” says Chapman. “But, through this internship, I’ve discovered that I want to work at a library.” He’s looking into graduate school and sees a future in archival work or technical services. “I really like the background work,” says Chapman. “So much goes into making a library functional behind the scenes. Most people don’t have the opportunity to see it.” ■

The Whitney Library’s extensive collections include this New Haven newspaper from 1812. You’ll also find ship passenger lists, architectural drawings, journals, maps dating back to 1640, and more.

Summer 2024 | 25

Green

WARRIOR

26 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

MIKE ROSS PHOTO

Following a military career in national security, Lonnie Garris III, ’93, launches Cool Amps, a green-technology startup.

By John Rosengren

L

ONNIE GARRIS III’S EDUCATION AT SOUTHERN started long before he

matriculated as a student. He frequented the campus as a child with his mother, the late Delores Garris. She was a librarian at the university in the ’70s and ’80s, and sometimes took him with her to work during his summer vacations. His father — Lonnie Garris Jr., 6th Yr. ’83 — held a doctorate in education and worked in the New Haven Public Schools system as a teacher and principal for 40 years. So, it’s not surprising that the family values education or that Garris ended up at Southern as an undergraduate.

He was also a “crosstown cadet,” enrolled in the ROTC program at the University of Connecticut, along with all ROTC students from around the state. His mentor there, an intelligence officer, helped him charter his course of study at Southern. He told Garris if he wanted to be an intelligence officer, he should major in political science, advice Garris followed that resulted in a bachelor’s degree and a 24-year career in the U.S. Air Force.

Now he’s working in the private sector as the co-founder and chief executive officer of Cool Amps Energy Solutions, a New Haven-based, hard-tech startup developing an environmentally friendly process for recycling lithium batteries.

Garris is also back at Southern, where he works on a part-time basis with students in the Industry Academic Fellows Program, which is funded by the Werth Family Foundation. In this case, the students’ real-world assignments include lab testing and experimentation for Cool Amps through the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Center for Nanotechnology, which is based at Southern.

Summer 2024 | 27

“Lonnie is an awesome resource given his technical and entrepreneurial expertise, innovative mindset, and willingness to generously share his time mentoring our students.”

— CHRISTINE CARAGIANIS BROADBRIDGE

“It’s a win-win situation,” says Garris. “The students are getting something out of it, and we are, too.”

The partnership is invaluable, notes Christine Caragianis Broadbridge, executive director of research and innovation at Southern. “Lonnie is an awesome resource given his technical and entrepreneurial expertise, innovative mindset, and willingness to generously share his time mentoring our students,” says Broadbridge, a professor of physics, who is also the director of the Center for Nanotechnology.

A CAR E ER IS L A U NC H ED After graduating from Southern, Garris spent nine years in the Air Force working in military intelligence. He left to work on Wall Street as a technical account manager for Merrill Lynch while remaining a member of the military Reserve. The morning of September 11, 2001, he stopped into a building in lower Manhattan to make a quick phone call on his way to a meeting. When he walked outside, it appeared to be snowing, with ash and bits of burning paper drifting through the sky.

Garris had passed through the World Trade Center complex seven minutes before the first plane hit the north tower.

The 9/11 attack prompted him to return to active duty.

Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida had been on his radar since they bombed the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998. At the time, having reached the highest level of security clearance, Garris had access to highly sensitive information on foreign terrorists. He had researched bin Laden and knew a great deal about him. Knowing he could serve more purposefully within the military than outside it, Garris was spurred to go back. “I had a valuable skill set, and the country could use it,” he says. “Intelligence officers were going to play a crucial role in finding and defeating who was behind the attack.”

He returned to the Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, which was responsible for the transfer of troops and equipment in Afghanistan. He then was promoted and sent to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, as a member of the intelligence unit.

There, he worked with drone pilots for the military’s premier intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance effort.

28 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Knowing he wanted to return eventually to the private sector, Garris also completed an MBA at Webster University and later the Global Executive Leadership Program at the Yale School of Management. His military career was marked by numerous high notes: Garris was elected the Air Force Intelligence Reserve (Field Grade) Officer of the Year in 2004 and rose to the rank of colonel before retiring from active duty in 2017. “Serving at

Cool Amps’ co-founders (left) Tom Madden, chief technology officer, and Garris at the company’s New Haven office. Madden, who has a doctorate in chemical engineering, holds more than 40 patents. Fellow co-founder and technical adviser for the company, Duwayno Robertson (not pictured) has expertise in energy-storage technology.

Another positive outcome from Garris’ time in the military was meeting the woman he married, Kimberly Garris, a civil service physician who specializes in family practice. They have a 12-year-old son who attends the military prep school that General Douglas MacArthur attended though their son has declared he does not want to serve in the military himself.

Garris lives with his family in San Antonio, though he frequently commutes to New Haven in his role as CEO of Cool Amps and as an adjunct faculty member at Southern. Looking back on his own education, from his early days at Southern through his graduate work, he says it has all led to where he is today. “It prepared me to go into the entrepreneurial space I’m in now,” he says. ■

MIKE ROSS PHOTO

that leadership level prepared me to transition to the private sector and go into business,” he says.

After a stint as chief information officer at Pluribus, a startup that developed a personal security app, Garris and two others founded Cool Amps in 2021, when they saw an opportunity to develop a sustainable process for recycling lithium batteries. The current industry practice uses high heat and harsh chemicals to extract the metals that can be reused.

Cool Amps’ proprietary process is 50 percent more sustainable, with two provisional patents for an extraction method that can recover batteries’ high-value metals while emitting fewer greenhouse gases.

SUPPORTING SOUTHERN ■

BAND

BROTHERS

A $250,000 grant from the Per and Astrid Heidenreich Family Foundation aims to increase the number of men graduating with a degree in social work — addressing a nationwide disparity to support the community.

By John Rosengren

HE TRUSTEES OF THE PER AND ASTRID HEIDENREICH FAMILY FOUNDATION UNDERSTOOD THE RESEARCH: when social workers were involved with at-risk children and their families, the children were more likely to succeed. So, it was a natural progression for the foundation — which supports organizations serving young adults ages 14-24 in the areas of education and entrepreneurship — to further this success by partnering with a college that prepares social workers. Mental health providers in the New Haven area pointed them toward Southern, with its highly regarded social work program, the only one in the region to offer degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels.

The result? A $250,000 gift from the Heidenreich Family Foundation to be distributed over three years to establish the “Building the Next Generation of Social Workers Program Fund.” The first installment was given in April 2024.

There was already a connection between Southern and the Heidenreich family. Per and Astrid Heidenreich’s son-in-law Michael Jedlicka — married to their daughter Cecilie, one of the foundation’s five trustees — graduated from the university in 1996 with a degree in 30 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

business administration with a concentration in marketing.

But there was much more to the gift than family ties. “The social work program itself was ultimately the reason we chose Southern,” says Michael Chambers, director of the foundation.

With 328 students total, the program has a very high retention rate. Once students start the undergraduate program, they are almost certain to finish it, with graduation rates in the upper-90th percentile.

Additionally, the program and its graduates have been repeatedly cited for excellence. For example, the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Social Workers honored faculty members and alumni with major awards at its most recent ceremony: Stephen Monroe Tomczak, ’89, professor of social work, was named Educator of the Year; Isabel Logan, associate professor of social work, was named Social Worker of the Year; and Stephen A. Wanczyk-Karp, ’77, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Now, with a continued commitment to excellence, the Department of Social Work has earmarked an area for improvement: recruiting and educating more male

students. At the national level, males are for male students majoring in social work at Southern, underrepresented among social workers, comprising who are eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, awarded to less than 20 percent of the social work population. those with exceptional need. But Reyes emphasizes that Southern’s student body reflects that reality. Only 17 the mentorships and professional development covered percent of the 75 students admitted as incoming by the grant will be provided to all male undergraduates. freshmen for the 2024-25 academic year are male.

“We’re hoping to include all students in those activities, Numerous barriers limit the number of men not only those who are getting scholarships,” Reyes says. entering the social work field. These include lack of Interaction with men already in the field will better awareness of careers and earning potential in the social prepare students in their careers as social workers. “Even work profession, minimal exposure to men as social work for male students, there’s a stigma that social work is for professionals, the high cost of college, and the intensive women,” Hoffler says. “We will be able to talk about internship requirements for Bachelor of Social Work those issues and offer support on how to navigate a field students during their senior year of college. traditionally dominated by women.”

To combat these factors, the Department of Social This support underscores the motivation behind the Work faculty will use the Heidenreich Family Foundation Heidenreich Family Foundation’s gift. “We hope to see grant to recruit male students and prostudents take advantage of the vide support in the form of scholarships, program being offered,” says Cecilie individual mentoring from male social Heidenreich Jedlicka, one of the work professionals, and professional foundation’s trustees. “Students development. sometimes connect better with “This funding will help us recruit someone who’s been through similar men, bringing them together like a situations.” brotherhood to talk about the possibilThe Per and Astrid Heidenreich ities of entering the field, so they can see Family Foundation was established in themselves in those positions,” says 2006 by Per Heidenreich, who had Loida Reyes, assistant professor and founded the shipping company chairperson of the Department of Social Heidmar Inc. in 1984. It controlled Work at Southern. “Once they know approximately 100 oil tankers, they’re being supported, more will including subsidiaries in the oil service come.” industry. He sold the company to Social work is among the fastest Morgan Stanley Capital Group for $200 growing occupations in the country, but million in 2006. Some of that money agencies are closing because they can’t Heidenreich invested in real estate and hire enough staff. One reason for the technology, holdings now controlled by shortage is that women, who have traHeidenreich Enterprises Limited ditionally filled that role, now have Partnership. That same year, he also set — LOIDA REYES options in other fields and are pursuing up the family foundation, which now careers elsewhere. Reyes believes men has assets approaching $50 million. can help fill in the vacancies. “We need The $250,000 gift that established to enlist everyone to help with this critical crisis we’re the “Building the Next Generation of Social Workers experiencing in the mental health world,” she says.

Program Fund” could be followed by additional Preparing more men as social workers addresses donations from the foundation, Chambers and Jedlicka another issue as well: men being less likely to receive say, based on the outcomes they observe. In the mental health support than women. “We [social workers] meantime, they see the initial pledge benefitting not are the primary providers for mental health issues, but only Southern students on the New Haven campus but men in particular don’t apply for those services,” says the countless clients those graduates will eventually work Steven Hoffler, associate professor of social work. “Having with throughout Connecticut. “We’re excited to start more male social workers will help overcome the taboo this program and look forward to seeing graduates of and address the unmet mental health needs of men.” the program be successful throughout the state,” The fund will cover four to five scholarships a year Chambers says. ■

“This funding will help us recruit men, bringing them together like a brotherhood to talk about the possibilities of entering the field, so they can see themselves in those positions.”

Summer 2024 | 31

View Finder

By Villia Struyk

Each year, Southern faculty members are invited to share their research through a campus photo competition, organized in 2024 by university photographer Isabel Chenoweth. It’s a challenging but powerful task for the researchers: to spotlight months, often years, of scholarship in a single image. The six winning photographs included in these pages have a wide focus. The professors’ research interests include the life of the 14th century Vietnamese Buddhist monk physician Tuệ Tĩnh, the impact of sand mining, the small clam Lyonsia floridana, archeology, and the blue economy. The images were shot in South Africa, Vietnam, and Tanzania and in the U.S. at Sanibel Island, Fl., and a ranch in the Southwest. Each destination is likely to host future visits by Southern’s intrepid faculty researchers. Today, armchair travelers are invited to tag along. Turn the pages to learn a bit about each professor’s research and catch a glimpse of amazing sites they’ve seen along the way.

32 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

R OBE RT PREZA NT, P R OV O ST A ND V IC E PRESID E N T FOR AC A DEMIC A FFA IRS

M

ore than 160,000 visitors annually explore Sanibel Island, Fl., and Robert Prezant is happy to be among them. The island — widely considered the “seashell capital of the U.S.” — is renowned for the millions of shells that wash ashore on its beaches. It’s a natural wonderland for conchologists, those who study mollusk shells, and a magnetic draw for Prezant, a malacologist. A malacologist studies mollusks (phylum Mollusca), which includes invertebrates such as clams, mussels, snails, octopuses, scallops, oysters, and chitons.

In this case, the small clam Lyonsia floridana brought Prezant to the Sunshine State. He’s long studied the bivalves, which have “unique peripherally lined glands that produce an adhesive allowing the clam, which is very thin shelled, to cement sand grains to the outside of their shell,” he explains. The benefits to the clams are multifold: protection, camouflage, and in-substratum stability. Prezant also has studied bivalves’ eyes. “Yes, many clams have eyes,” he notes. “These eyes are surprisingly complex and respond to shadows allowing the clam to retract in the presence of a predator.”

As for the photo? Prezant shot it while conducting research at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, part of the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem in the U.S. “It was during one of these field expeditions when a little blue heron hunting for dinner within 25 feet of me, latched onto a mangrove crab,” sums the scientist. “Fortuitously, I had camera in hand.”

Summer 2024 | 33

JONATHAN W EINB A U M, ASSOCIATE PRO F ESSO R OF BIOLOGY

34 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

IN

2009, paleontologist Jonathon Weinbaum was fossil hunting in Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park, when he received a question that would change his life. Colleague William Parker, now the park paleontologist, had been contacted by a local rancher: Did he know anyone interested in checking his property for fossils? Weinbaum happily signed on.

“I went out there and found fossils right away,” he says.

The ensuing years were marked by numerous discoveries, mostly fragments rather than complete fossils, but important, nonetheless. “Part of what we do as paleontologists is paleo-ecological surveys. We’re trying to understand what organisms lived in a specific area during a specific time,” says Weinbaum.

Southern students, both undergraduates and graduates, often join Weinbaum’s research team in Arizona during academic breaks in the summer.

In 2014, during the final days of that year’s expedition, one of those students located a promising site and asked Weinbaum to look at the bones on the surface and coming out of the ground.

“When we dug those out, we found they were associated with each other, which is really rare,” says Weinbaum. “In 2015, we came back and excavated a complete skeleton.”

A glance at his award-winning photo (below), shows the blue tarp that covers the site where the skeleton of Postosuchus kirkpatricki was found. An ancestor of the crocodile, it evolved in the Triassic Period and dominated landbased ecosystems. Postosuchus walked on two legs like a predatory dinosaur and was endothermic.

Postosuchus still captures Weinbaum’s imagination. In June 2024, he shared his expertise in paleontology in Argentina as a Fulbright Specialist.

(The prestigious program is run by the U.S. Department of State.) He conducted a series of short courses and lectures on topics such as fossil preparation. He and colleagues also conducted research related to the brain of Postosuchus kirkpatricki.

As for the ranch in Arizona? “It’s a quarry now,” Weinbaum says, using a paleontological term for a site where many fossils have been removed. He sees similar potential in other ranch locations where fragments have been found. “It is a treasure trove of fossils at this one-square mile locality in Arizona,” he says.

SCOTT GR AVES, PRO F ESSO R O F THE E NVIRO NMENT, GEO GRA PH Y, AND MAR INE S C IENC ES

S

and is the world’s second most consumed natural resource following water,* used to combat erosion and make bricks, concrete, glass, silicon chips, and more. Sand also is a limited resource, with overmining leading to a host of serious problems, including land erosion, flooding, and health issues among miners.

The topic is one of many examined in “Environmental Justice,” a study abroad course taught in South Africa by C. Patrick Heidkamp,

professor of the environment, geography, and marine sciences.

The course — offered at the undergraduate and graduate levels — provides students with an understanding of the social, economic, political, and environmental factors to consider when analyzing conflicts related to land use, water resources, and coastal development through the lens of environmental justice.

Fellow Southern Professor Scott Graves has volunteered on the trip many times, serving as driver, field assistant, and photographer.

His winning photo of Cape Town, South Africa, was taken from Table Mountain in January 2023.

Former students also have felt a longtime pull to the region.

Among them is Elizabeth Carlino, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Geography at Texas A&M University. Carlino earned two Southern degrees (an undergrad in anthropology in 2012 and a master’s in environmental education in 2020) and wrote her graduate thesis on the Cape Town water crisis. Today, she’s teaming up with Heidkamp and Graves on an expanded project on sand mining. “We are looking beyond the Cape Flats agriculture versus development issue to address the larger problem of sand mining and its impact on the environment, agriculture, water resources, and other issues,” sums Graves. * United Nations Environment Programme Summer 2024 | 35

C. M IC HE LE THO M PSO N, PRO FE SSOR OF H ISTO RY

36 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

H

er research interests are broad — the history of science, medicine, and the environment in Southeast Asia — but C. Michele Thompson’s quest for knowledge often leads to Vietnamese Buddhist temples, monasteries, and shrines. “The older and more out of the way, the better,” she says. Her winning photo, shot on May 28, 2023, is a perfect example, showing evening prayers at the Chùa Cổ Pháp Pagoda in the Bắc Ninh Province of northern Vietnam. The temple was established in the 10th century and rebuilt periodically. “The woman in gray, kneeling in front before the altar is a Buddhist nun. . . .

She is chanting Buddhist sutras, which occurs every evening in every Buddhist temple throughout Vietnam as well as in many Buddhist temples all over the world,” says Thompson.

These visits are somewhat of a treasure hunt. “You never know what you’ll learn,” says Thompson, who has visited Vietnam some 40 to 50 times (she’s lost count) and typically has several research projects in various stages of development. Recently, she co-edited Fighting for Health: Medicine in Cold War Southeast Asia, published in January and distributed for the National University of Singapore Press by the University of Chicago Press.

This summer, she’s working on a biography on the 14th century Vietnamese monk physician Tuệ Tĩnh. “Many of the elements of his legendary biography represent what Buddhist monks in the 14th century in general meant to the people of Vietnam in terms of providing health care and social services,” says Thompson. She’s looking at reported aspects of that legendary life to determine “what is possible, what is impossible, and what is possible if done by Vietnamese monks in general rather than a single person,” she says.

Kelly’s second winning photo was taken when she and a fellow researcher traveled to Prison Island, home to Aldabra giant tortoises. “We were looking at the ecology, the water quality, and suitability for different blue economy opportunities,” says Kelly, who speaks nationally and internationally on ecological issues.

In 2021, Kelly also was instrumental in helping the university gain observer status to the COP (Conference of the Parties) global climate change conference organized by the United Nations.

Southern students attended COP in Egypt in 2022 and the United Arab Emirates in 2023; plans are also in place for 2024 in Azerbaijan.

MI RI A H KE LLY, A S S IS TA NT PRO FE SSOR OF T H E EN VI R ONME NT, GEO GRA PH Y, AN D MAR INE SC IENC ES

W

hen it comes to research, Mariah M. Russo Kelly has impeccable timing. In May 2022, Zanzibar established its first-ever Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries. Soon after, Kelly was on the archipelago, her sights set on helping the Republic of Tanzania, which includes Zanzibar, successfully grow its blue economy — defined by the World Bank as sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health.

“I was looking at Zanzibar as a case study of a developing island nation that was doing two things at once: adapting to the impacts of climate change while also growing a sustainable blue economy,” says Kelly.

She’s seen numerous success stories. “One of the communities I am working with grows seaweed.

They have been incredibly resourceful at translating their seaweed raw products into value-added products, everything from food and beverages to aesthetic balms and salves,” she says.

In one of her award-winning photos, Kelly zoomed in on a homespun recycling display in Stone Town, Zanzibar. “This park comes alive,” says Kelly, explaining that hundreds of vendors gather at the site almost every evening to sell food and merchandise.

“The whole area becomes a community market. It is a great place to have recycling facilities,” she says.

Summer 2024 | 37

Defying Expectation

Armed with resilience, determination, and familial support, Ian Cheung, ’23, navigates an extraordinary path to graduation.

38 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

IN

AN INSPIRING

EXAMPLE OF TRIUMPH OVER

ADVERSITY , 25-year-old Ian

Cheung, ’23, has defied early expectations by not only attending college but excelling academically at Southern. Ian was born with autism and global developmental delay, a condition that impairs his walking, speaking, and fine-motor skills. Doctors initially were uncertain what his future would hold.

Today, that future is decidedly brighter. On May 17, Ian crossed the stage at Southern’s undergraduate commencement ceremony to accept his bachelor’s degree in computer science. The photo at left aptly tells the story: a gently smiling young man, surrounded by family, poses in an academic robe and mortarboard with a diploma jacket in hand. Several honorific cords circle his shoulders.

This is Ian Cheung — a young man who graduated summa cum laude (with highest honors) with a stellar 3.9 GPA. Several weeks earlier, he’d received a top departmental award for “Academic Excellence in Computer Science,” in the computer information systems concentration at the university’s Senior Honors Convocation

“When I look back at his college journey, I will always thank Southern because all the best things happened there.”

— CANDY CHEUNG

Graduate Ian Cheung poses with guests, including his parents — Candy Lam (to the right of Ian) and Kei-Hoi Cheung (far left). (above, right) Interim President Dwayne Smith shakes Ian’s hand at the ceremony.

— and he continues to excel. In the spring 2024 semester, Ian completed two courses in Southern’s graduate program in computer science.

Ian’s ongoing success is a testament to resilience, determination, and familial support. His parents, Kei-Hoi and Candy, both Southern alumni, refused to accept the limitations set by medical professionals and embarked on a mission to change the trajectory of their son’s life.

Candy, a certified public accountant who put her career on hold, played an integral role in Ian’s educational journey, attending classes with him, providing communication support, and recording sessions for later review.

“In the beginning, I didn’t know how I could get involved with [Ian] in the classroom, when I should step in or when I should lay back,” says Candy, who has attended hundreds of hours of classes with her son after one of his professors invited her to sit in. “When I look back at his college journey, I will always thank Southern because all the best things happened there.”

Candy’s unwavering commitment to addressing Ian’s physical delays began in his early years. She later commuted long hours for him to attend speech therapy. Ian, who now walks independently and speaks with impressive clarity, credits his mother for shepherding him through the challenges.

continues on page 46 Summer 2024 | 39

ALUMNI NEWS ■

■

A Call to Nursing Leads to Doctoral Program

By Villia Struyk

S

OMETIMES TIMING IS EVERYTHING. On March 11, 2020,

the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic, after more than 118,000 cases were reported in 114 countries. Three months later, Cephas Ayellakai, ’20, a recent graduate of Southern’s School of Nursing, was a newly hired critical care nurse at Yale New Haven Hospital’s Saint Raphael Campus — a front-line hero in the fight against COVID.

Nurse Anesthesia and Central Connecticut State University. He is slated to graduate in May 2026.

Nurse anesthetists administer medications to keep patients asleep and pain free during surgery, while monitoring every biological function of the patient’s body. They’ve been caring for patients in the United State for more than 150 years.

In fact, during World War I, nurse anesthetists were the main providers of anesthesia care to wounded soldiers on the front

“I was a tech in the hospital at the start of the pandemic, so I had an idea what was coming. But none of us could have predicted the magnitude,” says Ayellakai, who graduated magna cum laud and received the Immaculata M. Alba Excellence in Nursing Practice Award, one of the School of Nursing’s top honors. Asked if he was nervous about launching his nursing career during the pandemic, he answers matter-offactly. “This was what I signed up for,” he says. “I was going to do what I could to help.”

A commitment to caring continues to drive Ayellakai. In May 2023, he began the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Program offered jointly by Yale New Haven Hospital School of

lines. Today, there are 46,540 nurse anesthetists practicing in the U.S. with an average annual salary of $205,770, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

When he earns a doctorate and joins their ranks, Ayellakai, who is young (24), male, and Black, will be somewhat of an anomaly. The nurse anesthetist field, like the nursing profession overall, is marked by a lack of diversity. In 2021, about 85 percent of the nurse anesthetist workforce was white.

In comparison, 6 percent were Asian, 4 percent were two or more races, 3 percent were Black, and 2 percent identified as other races. During the same period, 58 percent were women with an average age of 45.*

40 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

“‘You can do this. Put in the time and the work.’ It’s all possible.”

— CEPHAS AYELLAKAI, ’20

RAISED IN GHANA IN WEST AFRICA , Ayellakai dreamed of joining

Cephas Ayellakai,’20

the medical profession since childhood. His father immigrated to the United States first; Ayellakai and two younger siblings temporarily stayed behind with their mother. “She fell ill for a while, and I was pretty much the one taking care of her,” says Ayellakai. ”Since then, I knew I would do something in medicine. I just wasn’t sure what that would look like.”

At age 16, Ayellakai immigrated to the U.S, along with the rest of his family. He’d spoken some English in Ghana. (It’s the national language, a relic of colonialism and a common bridge used along with about 80 other languages in the country.) Still, there were vast cultural differences between Ghana and the U.S. “Even accents are a barrier because they make it harder for people to understand each other,” he says, with a smile.

Still, Ayellakai excelled, attending Gateway Community College, then transferring to Southern. His adviser at Gateway recommended the program, and he had heard of the School of Nursing’s exceptional reputation. He recalls being extremely nervous at the start of his clinical experience. Kristen Borgognone, assistant professor of nursing, was the instructor. “I was very scared because I had never been to a hospital. But she was very patient and guided me through everything from talking to patients to thinking through clinical situations. I knew then I’d made the right decision to attend Southern,” he says.

Ayellakai’s future was further illuminated during a college internship at Yale’s Cardiothoracic Step-Down Unit. After transporting a patient to the Electrophysiology Lab, he talked briefly to a nurse anesthetist. The message he heard: “You could be me, one day.” As Ayellakai learned more about the career, it became increasingly appealing. “With a lot of advanced specialties, you tend to direct people instead of doing the work yourself. I love the handson involvement with anesthesia,” he says.

Looking forward, he hopes to inspire others to enter the field, including those from diverse backgrounds. It’s a goal echoed by the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association.

His advice to nursing students: start considering potential career paths as early as possible, ideally as an undergraduate.

“Working as a nurse, I would meet new grads on the med-surg floor. Most had never heard of a nurse anesthetist or thought about their long-term career goals. So, I’d talk to them about it. Let them know, ‘You can do this. Put in the time and the work.’ It’s all possible,” he says.

2023-2024 SCSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Stacey Fields, ’15, President Julia [Napolitano] Nelson, ’19, Vice President Laeticia Iboki, ’16, Secretary LaShanté James, ’04, M.S. ’14, Treasurer Adwoa Ansah-Rey, ’05 Madi Csejka, ’19 Binod Dahal, ’21 Rachael Davis, ’06 Shermaine Edmonds, ’04, MBA ’06 Eduardo Foster, ’02 Aba Hayford, ’10 Aaron Johnson, ’04 Leo Kivijarv, ’70 Sarah Lauture-Pullen, ’15 Joseph Linebarger, ’15 Patricia Miller ’69, M.S. ’75, 6th Yr. ’81 (Emeritus) Grace Mukupa, ’02 Morris Patton, ’97 Sarah Lauture Pullen, ’15 Daniel Shields, ’96 Anthony Tamburri, ’71 Carolyn Vanacore ’52, M.S. ’68, 6th Yr. ’73 (Emeritus) Brian West, ’ 80 Southern Connecticut State University Office of Alumni Relations 501 Crescent Street New Haven, CT 06515 Gregory Bernard, ’04, Director BernardG2@SouthernCT.edu Doreen Cammarata-Gilhuly, ’89, Associate Director GilhulyD1@SouthernCT.edu

* Data USA, Deloitte

Summer 2024 | 41

ALUMNI NEWS ■

■

It’s Never Too Late

By Beth Levine

P

ICTURE THIS: it’s 1988, and you

are supposed to graduate with a degree in business administration.

It’s been a great ride — you’re a member of the gymnastics team, have made amazing friends, and adulthood is beckoning — when you realize you are several credits short of graduating. If you were Dawn Smith, now 57, Woodbridge, Conn., your 21-year-old self might think, “Eh, so I don’t get a diploma.”

Smith was allowed to walk at commencement, but she never made up those credits. Until now — thanks, in part, to her former gymnastics coach Patricia Panichas.

The two women had remained close. Panichas, who retired in 2022 as professor emeritus of exercise science, holds three Southern degrees — a bachelor’s in education (1974), a master’s in physical education (1978), and a sixth-year certificate in administration supervision (1984). One day, she asked Smith the million-dollar question: “How would you like to finally get that diploma?” More than 30 years later, Smith jumped at the chance.

Although Smith is a successful office manager, she never forgot that unfinished part of her life. It was a running joke between her and her husband Joel Mendez, ’91. They had met when he competed on Southern’s men’s gymnastics team. After he died two years ago, Smith decided she wanted to complete her degree for him and to show their two daughters that it’s never too late to finish something.

Dawn Smith, ’23

Panichas cheered her on: “Once she said she was interested in completing the degree, I had no doubt she would accomplish it. It would make no difference in her job or her relationship with her family, but the timing was right. She wanted the degree and was ready to go after it.”

Panichas reached out to Christine Barrett, associate director of academic advising, who found Smith’s academic records. Smith needed to complete a science course with an accompanying lab, so she signed up for Physical Geography, taught by Robert Malcolm in the Department of Environment, Geography, and Marine Sciences.

“I was so nervous about hitting the books again. But Dr. Malcolm was very helpful,” says Smith, noting how much

C OM PL ET ING T H E DEGREE Students who previously attended Southern may apply to return to the university to finish their studies.

“Come back and finish your degree for that promotion you keep getting passed over for, or to be able to apply for jobs you’ve always wanted but were not qualified for without a degree, or simply for personal satisfaction,” says Christine Barrett, associate director of academic advising.

MORE AT:

inside.SouthernCT.edu/onestop/readmission

or contact the Advising Center at advisement@SouthernCT.edu.

42 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

had changed since attending Southern in the late ’80s. “When I was last there, we didn’t have internet. We didn’t work online. I didn’t know how to use Blackboard, [an application for online education]. Dr. Malcolm was so patient in getting me up to speed. It was fun once I got started,” she says.

Smith wanted to surprise her daughters, Kaitlyn and Felicia, both in their 20s. But since she was taking the class remotely at home, they figured it out quickly. They were thrilled for her.

“My mom has always been my biggest inspiration throughout my life.

With her determination to finish her education, she further inspires me to put my all into everything I do and see it through to the end,” says Kaitlyn.

Felicia adds: “We are so insanely proud of her because she’s always doing things for others. I’m constantly amazed by her ambition and drive. I will continue looking up to her, hoping to become even half the person she is.”

But no one is more thrilled than her former coach, Pat Panichas, who got the proverbial ball rolling: “It is hard to put into words how proud I am of her. She is such a caring and loving person to her family and friends. When I think about wanting good things to happen to good people, I think of Dawn.”

THE SCSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION hosts events in locations around the country as well as

Get ed nect Con

online. There’s truly something for everyone. Recent events included an SCSU Zumba Dance Party in Moore Field House; a networking event for alumni and students in Washington, D.C.; SCSU Alumni Day at a New York Yankees game; reunion celebrations; Happy Hour in Boston; and virtual trivia and bingo. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Sign up for the SCSU Alumni Newsletter at SouthernCT.edu/alumni/newsletter.

Smith completed her bachelor’s degree in general studies in October 2023 and is included in the 2024 undergraduate commencement program. She decided not to walk in the ceremony. (Been there, walked that.)

Even so, Smith hopes her late mother is watching. “My mom always thought I graduated, and I was too embarrassed to tell her otherwise. So, now that she knows, she should rest in peace. I feel like she’s looking down now, and I can say to her, ‘well, I finally did it.’”

One can only imagine what thensenior Mary Ann Zielonko thought about the situation. About ten years prior, on March 13, 1964, her live-in partner, Kitty Genovese, had been raped and murdered outside of their apartment in Queens, N.Y. Sixty years have passed but the infamous murder remains part of the country’s moral self-reckoning.

Genovese fought for 35 minutes before she died, calling for help repeatedly.

Two weeks after the murder, The New York Times described the event in an article entitled, “37 Who Saw Murder ■ Alumna’s Death Didn’t Call the Police.” This was apathy at its worst, a stunningly uncaring Recounts Quest society unwilling to get involved. for Justice The Times report was later found outhern’s 1974 Laurel to be inaccurate. Few saw yearbook aptly depicts the attack. Most of the the joys of college: witnesses thought they smiling students in caps and were overhearing a couple gowns, the senior prom (it quarrel. But if the exact had an aloha theme), and a number of indifferent class picnic at Holiday Hill. bystanders has been But the 280-page overview debated, one thing is clear: of campus life also shows a more could have been dark side: reprints of done to help Genovese. newspaper articles about Reporting on the sexual assault. crime was further Mary Ann Zielonko, ‘74, Today, University Police M.S ‘77 complicated by the offer a 24-hours-a-day call relationship between the service to accompany students safely to two women. The media did not share all campus destinations. But during the that Genovese was living with her 1973-74 academic year, a similar, female lover. Instead, articles referred to student-manned program was canceled them as roommates. Yet, reportedly, when there weren’t enough volunteers. much of the police questioning revealed

S

a preoccupation with notions of a gay lifestyle; at one point, Zielonko was a suspect.

“Being a gay woman in that society was very hard, so we were in the closet,” said Zielonko in a National Public Radio (NPR) interview aired in 2004 on the anniversary of Genovese’s death.

The murder inspired countless articles, as well as a book, play, and documentary. Zielonko also continued to be interviewed through the decades.

She sometimes recounted the heaviness of grief and how she initially relied on alcohol to deal with the pain. Then, “I stopped drinking, got an apartment, and I went back to school,” she told NPR. That decision eventually led her to Southern. She earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies in 1974 and a master’s degree in research, statistics, and management in 1977.

Zielonko died on April 3, 2024, in Rutland Town, Vt., at the age of 85.

News of her death was shared throughout the country including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Seattle Times. She had worked for Electric Boat in Groton, Conn., building submarines until retiring following more than 18 years of service.

Her hobbies included drawing, needlepoint, wood carving, and camping. Zielonko was survived by her longtime domestic partner of 24 years Rebecca Jones of Rutland Town and her family.

Summer 2024 | 43

A L U M NI NO T ES ■

Reunion News

FOR INVITATIONS TO ALUMNI EVENTS AND RELATED NEWS, please update

your contact information at SouthernCT.edu/alumni/update-alumniinformation. The same form also may be used to submit Alumni Notes to Southern Alumni Magazine. Thank you!

1960s

ROBERT PANNOZZO, ’69, M.S. ’71, 6th

Yr. ’77, celebrated 50 years of teaching history and government classes in Connecticut and Vermont.

He now teaches dual-enrollment classes at the Wakefield School located in The Plains, Va.

1970s

LESLIE BURGER,

’73, was selected by the American Library Association (ALA) to serve as its interim executive director, beginning Nov. 15, 2023. A recognized leader in the field, she is a past president of the ALA and was the executive director of Princeton Public Library for more than 16 years. She is also a founding partner of Library Development Solutions, which has a long list of clients including public libraries, academic and special libraries, and library cooperatives.

She has received many honors and awards including New York Times Librarian of the Year in 2005.

JOHN PALMER, ’78, is a certified

recovery coach professional and trainer, and works as a group facilitator at Learn to Live Recovery in Hermann, Mo. He earned an undergraduate degree in social work at Southern.

1980s

SCOTT FRANCIS, ’80, is the senior

JILL ANDERSON PHOTO

manager of the Animal Resources Center at the Yale School of Medicine.

Francis has worked for Yale for 45 years.

on Jan. 1, 2024, is a national leader in the creation and support of school, family, and community partnerships.

She holds a doctorate and master’s degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a master’s in education from Southern, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Trinity College in Hartford.

DORINDA BORER, ’86, was elected

mayor of the city of West Haven, Conn. She is only the second woman to hold the post.

PAT MOTTOLA, ’87,

M.S. ’90, M.F.A. ’11, was named the inaugural poet laureate of the town of Cheshire, Conn. She will serve a two-year term through Dec. 31, 2025, acting as a “literary ambassador, representing the community through the art of poetry, promoting its cultural richness, and fostering a love of literature among residents.”

JODI HILL-LILLY,

’88, M.S.W. ’94, was unanimously confirmed commissioner of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) for the State of Connecticut in March, after being nominated for the post by Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont.

Hill-Lilly has worked at DCF since 1988, most recently as deputy commissioner of administration. She is the co-chair of the National Partnership on Child Safety and is a nationally recognized expert and consultant for national organizations, including the Center for States in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Administration for Children and Families, and the American Humane Association. Earlier in her career, HillLilly was named an Annie E. Casey Foundation Children and Family Fellow, participating in the prestigious leadership-development program.

ALAN MACHUGA, ’88, is the executive

KAREN MAPP, M.S. ’81, 6th Yr. ’82,

has been named professor of practice at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Mapp, who began the role 44 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

vice president of technology and the chief technology officer at Rheem Manufacturing. He is responsible for developing and implementing Rheem’s long-term technology strategy and leads the Global Technology Group, which includes

teams devoted to controls engineering, information technology, digital services, and cloud architecture.

1990s

MARY DOLAN COLLETTE, ’91, M.S.

’97, was appointed interim assistant principal at Riverside School by Greenwich Public Schools in Connecticut.

ROY ISTVAN, ’91,

was named the assistant offensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns.

Previously, Istvan spent five seasons (2019-23) as assistant offensive line coach with the Eagles, helping Philadelphia set numerous franchise records. Prior to the Eagles, Istvan coached at the college level.

BARBARA RZASA, ’91, and her

husband lead presentations on native spring wildflowers. Rzasa is a graphic designer who uses her artistic skills to create nature-based watercolor paintings.

JOY BUSH, M.S. ’98, was showcased at

City Gallery in New Haven throughout April. The photography exhibit, “Ruins of a Holy Land,” focuses on Waterbury’s Holy Land USA, which Bush began photographing in 1987.

She is represented in the permanent collections of the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Mattatuck Museum (Waterbury, Conn.), Montefiore Hospital (Bronx, N.Y.), the Baseball Hall of Fame (Cooperstown, N.Y.), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland, Ohio), Yale Medical Group Art Place, and many private collections.

KERRY CARON, ’98, an instructor with

Lanier Technical College’s Nurse Aide Program, has been named the 2024 Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year for the college. Lanier is based in Gainesville, Ga. The statewide award program showcases outstanding instructors among the Technical College System of Georgia’s 22 colleges.

CARRIE TYSZKA, M.L.S. ’98, was

named library director at Berlin-Peck Memorial Library in Berlin, Conn., effective Jan. 29, 2024. Tyszka joined

the library in 2000 as a reference librarian and most recently served as head of adult services.

AMY BELDOTTI, M.S. ’99, was named

to the board of directors of the Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County. Beldotti is the chief academic officer at Stamford Public Schools, where she is responsible for developing and overseeing the K-12 curriculum for the district and has a focus on early-childhood education.

2000s

GERALD BIRMINGHAM, M.P.H. ’00,

has joined the University of Connecticut’s School of Dental Medicine as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of General Dentistry. Birmingham is also serving as an assistant director with UConn Health’s Department of Health Career Opportunity Programs. Birmingham has owned a private practice in Milford, Conn., for 30 years. He received his Doctor of Dental Medicine from the UConn School of Dental Medicine in 1989.

RICHARD SPREYER, ’00, was named

chief of staff by Dorinda Borer, the mayor of West Haven, Conn. Spreyer previously was the city’s director of procurement.

PAUL LUCKE, 6th Yr. ’01, was named

the 2024 Assistant Principal of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS). He has served as the assistant principal at Seymour High School for more than 17 years.

Lucke will be honored by CAS in fall 2024.

STEVEN DELLINGER-PATE,

M.S. ’02, 6th Yr. ’06, is slated to become superintendent of the Washington Central Unified Union School District in Vermont as of July 1, 2024. The school district serves five rural towns that surround the state capital of Montpelier.

Dellinger-Pate is a 27-year veteran educator who went to Washington Central in 2014 from Connecticut, where he had served as a teacher and administrator. For the past decade, he was principal of the district’s middle and high school.

education and world languages and literatures departments.

■

In Print and On Screen

JAMES ADMANS, ’14, is a minister and

JAMES FOLEY, ’74, has published his first book, The Bully

Pen, which brings to light the catastrophic damage that can be caused by bullying.

SANDRA “SANDI” SHELTON, ’81, shares news of the

publication of her latest novel, Let’s Pretend This Will Work, written under the pen name Maddie Dawson. Shelton specializes in humorous literary fiction and is a Washington Post best-selling author.

LISA ROGERS, M.L.S. ’06, is the author of numerous

children’s books, including Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage, which received starred reviews from Booklist, The Horn Book Magazine, and Publishers Weekly. Beautiful Noise also was named a Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award finalist. The picture book celebrates the genius of a nonconforming musician who stayed true to his artistic vision. Published by Penguin Random House.

entrepreneur, who was recently profiled in the Hartford Courant.

Admans’ drag alter ego, Marge Erin Johnson, is the founder and leader of Drag Church, “a celebration of the diversity of God’s creation.” Admans attended Union Theological Seminary, earning a graduate degree in interdisciplinary biblical studies, social ethics, and queer theology.

Admans is the editor of Beyond Worship, Mediations on Queer Worship, Liturgy, and Theology.

JEREMY FARRELL, ’18, spoke at the

Ledyard Public Library in Connecticut about ways for adults with autism to be successful in their workplaces. Farrell is an autism spectrum disorder advocate and is on the autism spectrum.

2020s

NATALY MAGANA, ’20, is a certified

ALANA SEJDIC, ’04, M.S. ’10,

successfully defended her dissertation to earn a doctorate.

Sejdic also has passed the intermediate administration/ supervision test to earn certification.

She is now the dean of student services at a special education school in Connecticut.

ROCCO VALLETTA, ’04, has been

promoted to the position of area retail leader of KeyBank. Valletta will lead 17 branches in northern Connecticut and western Massachusetts.

KATHLEEN LUCEY, ’05, M.A. ’14, is the

founder and owner of K&A Travel Experts, a boutique travel company offering authentic experiences in Italy. Lucey lives in southern Italy with her husband Alberto.

MARSHELL MEDLEY, M.S. ’05, was

named assistant director of special education and related services for Stamford Public Schools.

ADAM RAFFONE, ’06, was named the

tennis coach of the men’s and women’s teams at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven in January 2024. Previously, Raffone was the head coach of the Hamden High School boys tennis team.

MICHAEL T. CONNER, 6th Yr. ’07, has

launched the “Welcome Back to School Series” as part of his “Voices of Excellence” podcast programming.

Conner is the chief executive officer of Agile Evolutionary Group. He earned an Ed.D. from Cambridge College and holds a graduate diploma in business analytics from Harvard

University and an advanced certificate in management, innovation, and technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

JOSEPH MACARY, 6th Yr. ’07, was

honored as Superintendent of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.

Macary is superintendent of Vernon Public Schools, which serves 3,500 students across seven schools, including a regional adult education program.

2010s

child-life specialist at Yale New Haven Hospital. She recently shared her career trajectory with students at New Haven Academy during a panel discussion called “Jobs You’ve probably Never Heard of.” Magana majored in recreation and leisure studies at Southern.

Alumni Notes are compiled from submissions as well as announcements made in the media.

KATHLEEN WAGNER,

M.S. ’12, 6th Yr. ’20, was promoted to the position of secondary curriculum coordinator for Branford Public Schools.

She came to the position with nine years of experience working for the district, most recently, serving as the interim curriculum coordinator for grades 5-12. Additionally, Wagner worked in Connecticut school districts as a middle and high school teacher. She also is an adjunct instructor at Southern, teaching courses in the

MICHAEL F. SCACCO, ’68, M.S. ’75,

Nov. 11, 2023 JANE MARIE WEISSMANN, ’68, Dec.

10, 2023 CHARLES “CHUCK” DRURY, ’69, Feb.

20, 2024 ROMIE L. CANTLEY JR., ’70, April 4,

2024 BARBARA D. HARRIS, M.S. ’71, Nov.

22, 2023 GUY KILPATRICK, ’71, Feb. 24, 2024 EDWARD DOOLING, M.S. ’73, Nov. 16,

2023 EDWARD J. SBARDELLATI JR., M.S.

’73, April 17, 2024 MARY ANN ZIELONKO, ’74, M.S. ’77,

April 3, 2024 ROSALIND HOGAN LOUDON, ’75,

Nov. 22, 2023 RUTH NEWQUIST, M.S. ’75, Jan. 13,

2024 CHARLOTTE [D’AGOSTINO] KINNEY,

’77, July 5, 2023 DEBRA ANN MIAKOS KINSMAN, ’77,

Nov. 22, 2023 GRETTA SASSO WISE, ’78, Nov. 28,

2023 THERESA GROVES, ’80, Dec. 30, 2023 JOAN (MCKIERNAN) JARMIE, ’80,

Feb. 23, 2024 CAROL ANN PLICHTA, ’80, Dec. 25,

2023

IN MEMORIAM CLELIA D’ATTELO TENEROWICZ, ’56, JUDITH BODNER, ’59, Nov. 21, 2023

American Assisted Living as the executive director.

2024

SHIRLEY (MATIJOSAITIS) SABO, ’80,

M.S. ’69, 6th Yr. ’80, Jan. 9, 2024

VALERIE ROMANO, ’10, has joined All

ANNETTE JEAN DIANA, ’68, Feb. 28,

ROSALEA DONAHUE, ’60, Feb. 20,

2024 MARGARET TRANZILLO, ’62, M.S. ’66,

Dec. 6, 2023 VERA OVERCHUK, ’66, Nov. 30, 2023 AIDA “SONIA” BEAULIEU, ’67, M.S.

’69, Nov. 6, 2023 WAYNE CANDELA, ’67, Oct. 6, 2023

March 7, 2024 JANE GEREGHTY, ’87, M.S. ’93, Oct. 21,

2023 TERRI LOUISE FRANCQ HALE, ’88,

M.S. ’08, Nov. 21, 2023 ELLEN M. PAPCIAK, ’89, Dec. 27, 2023 EMALIE MAYO, ’97, March 2024 MARGARET “PEGGY” (JACKSON) STRICH, ’14, Oct. 29, 2023 HENRY “BUB” RODRIGUEZ JR., ’16,

Dec. 9, 2023 JOSEPH SOLODOW, ’76, professor

emeritus of world languages and literatures, Oct. 4, 2023

Summer 2024 | 45

Pasta Prodigy continued from page 19

Share your good news

“I think when people meet me and see our products, they understand why I’m so passionate about Durante’s. I believe in familyowned, small local businesses. They are the building blocks of our community,” he says.

Speaking of which, Durante has held tight to his Southern roots, even catering campus events. “There is a family there. It is great to cook my type of food for the students as well as faculty and staff.”

And sometimes, Southern comes to him. Ellen Durnin, dean emeritus of the School of Business, has visited. Durante was proud to show how he has put his education to use.

Life has come full circle for Durante. His children, Marco, 10, and Avianna, 8, are growing up in the business much like he and his brother: running errands and helping at the store. And sometimes, they even break into song. What’s not to love? ■

WITH SOUTHERN FRIENDS AND CLASSMATES. • MAIL this completed form to Southern Alumni News: SCSU Alumni Relations Office, Office Building 1 501 Crescent St., New Haven, CT 06515-1355 • OR FAX: (203) 392-8726 • OR EMAIL: AlumniINFO@SouthernCT.edu Name ____________________________________________________________ Street Address ____________________________________________________ City

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Defying Expectation continued from page 39 Kei-Hoi, a professor at Yale University, expresses wonder at witnessing Ian earn the same degree he completed in 1987. More than three decades after Kei-Hoi attended Southern, Ian even studied with his father’s former computer science professor, Winnie Yu. Kei-Hoi credits his son’s triumphs to steady progress. Taking life “one day at a time. One [letter of the] alphabet, one word, one task at a time,” he says.

Faculty members at Southern are in awe of Ian’s remarkable determination and strong grasp of coursework in the classroom. He even helps his classmates with their lessons and assignments.

When asked what has kept him motivated, Ian says simply: “I like how [computers] can be used to help many people. I feel grateful to have helped people.”

Professor Yu, in turn, is inspired by Ian’s success: “He is an organized and clear thinker. Although his speech is affected by his disabilities, with time and patience, Ian’s response and feedback are always coherent and thoughtful. Working with Ian is inspiring and has opened my eyes in terms of his great learning potential.” ■

SCSU Degree/Year __________________ Major ________________________ Name under which I attended college ________________________________ News Item ________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Signature ______________________________________________Date______ Spouse’s Name ____________________________________________________ SPOUSE'S SCSU DEGREE/YR.

Children’s Names/Ages ____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 46 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Ian Cheung, ‘23, flanked by his devoted parents Kei-Hoi Cheung and Candy Lam.

A Cure for What Ails continued from page 23 and geriatric models and one that “gives birth”) will present with various health conditions to educate students in a lowpressure environment. There are adjacent areas for observation/programming of the manikins, and sessions will be recorded for review to further education. Nearby, a “home suite” with appliances, a standard-size bathroom, etc. echoes a home health care setting. And on the same floor, there are four large laboratory classrooms, each equipped with six hospital beds and six examination tables.

SUMMER NURSING S Y M P OS I UM AN D M OR E In collaboration with Yale New Haven Hospital, the SON offers a Summer Nursing Symposium for rising high school juniors and seniors throughout the state. Launched in 2021, the program is offered free of charge. Participants spend a week on campus, learning about nursing and the college admission process. They also travel to Yale New Haven Hospital to learn more about the nursing profession.

STUDE NT SUP P ORT Students are required to attend a four-day Pre-Immersion Program the summer before they begin nursing courses. “The first semester of nursing courses can be very challenging,” says Ortiz. The program covers a wealth of information: study methods; testing format; time management; implicit bias; diversity, equity, inclusion in health care; and more. The program also focuses on collaboration and wellness — vital topics at a time when 56 percent of nurses recently surveyed by the American Nurses Foundation are experiencing burnout.

“The more we can incorporate a sense of community during their academics the better. We’re hoping that also will continue to the nursing workforce when they are on the unit with the other nurses,” says Ortiz.

“We were fortunate in our partnership with Yale New Haven Health Network to hire a grant-supported student support specialist,” says Krol. “Whether students need supplemental course guidance, support navigating work/life commitments, or someone to track their progress with, we have seen remarkable success with this position.”

Thanks to Cristalyn Vargas’ intervention in this role, significantly fewer students are having to repeat a course. “It is so rewarding,” says Vargas. “Some of the students I met with constantly during their first semester are now excelling. I kind of miss them,” she says with a laugh. “But it makes me so proud to see how well they are doing in the program now.”

S T U D Y A B R OA D Krol led two service-learning trips to Peru 3 during the 2023-24 academic year for nursing students, who learned firsthand about the country’s health care system. The students spent three days at an under-resourced clinic in the city of Cusco. Next, they traveled to a remote area to provide health assessments and health care information, accompanied by a Peruvian doctor who performed the examinations. The program also paid for a Peruvian dentist to travel with the group.

During the 2023-24 academic year, the SON also launched an exchange program to Chile. Southern students traveled to Chile in the spring and their South American counterparts are expected to visit New Haven in the coming fall.

* Health Workforce Analysis, Health Resource & Services Administration, November 2022 ** State of Nursing 2023, Nurse.org Summer 2024 | 47

S E E N O N C A M PU S ■

A DRONE VIEW SHOWS (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP) WEST ROCK, BULEY LIBRARY, ADANTI STUDENT CENTER, AND SCHOOL OF BUSINESS.

THANK YOU FOR A RECORD-BREAKING DAY! Thank you to the entire Southern community, who raised a record-breaking $911,037 from 1,899 donors during Southern’s Day of Caring on April 3, 2024! Gifts will ensure students receive vital scholarship funding, programmatic support, and access to an exceptional education. On behalf of Southern scholars, thank you for creating life-changing opportunities that make it possible for the leaders of tomorrow to achieve their goals. When the Southern community comes together everything is possible.

THANK YOU TO OUR DEDICATED AND GENEROUS DONORS! GOLD SPONSORS

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To continue to impact students financially, log onto SouthernCT.edu/giving or take a picture of the QR code.

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TWO-TIME NCAA DIVISION II NATIONAL CHAMPION AND OLYMPIC TRIALIST JORDAN DAVIS, ’24, IS IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN WHEN IT COMES TO THROWING THE JAVELIN. WITH A CHAMPIONSHIP THROW MEASURING A MIGHTY 84.45 METERS, DAVIS IS THE TOP AMERICAN IN THE WORLD RANKINGS.* HE’S ALSO THE FOURTH BEST PERFORMER IN COLLEGIATE HISTORY. LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS HIGHFLYING OWL ON PAGE 13. *JUNE 24, 2024

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