SUNY Adirondack Community Roots: Alumni Collective Issue 18
COMMUNITY ROOTS
THE
ALUMNI
A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE A
COLLECTIVE
At SUNY Adirondack, we know education is more than an accumulation of credits: It’s a series of new beginnings — a student’s first class, a return to the classroom after years away, a decision to change direction or dream bigger — that marks a fresh start filled with hope and determination.
In this spirit of the transformative power of our work, I am honored to introduce Anastasia Urtz, J.D., as the eighth president of SUNY Adirondack.
President Urtz comes to us with a proven record of thoughtful leadership, student-centered innovation and deep commitment to the mission of public higher education. Throughout her distinguished career, she has championed access, equity and academic excellence, values shared by and deeply rooted in our college community.
Her arrival signals a new chapter in our institution’s history. We are proud of SUNY Adirondack’s legacy and rich past, and excited to advance toward the future. President Urtz brings a deep understanding of the challenges our students face and an appreciation for the exciting opportunities that lie ahead.
With her leadership, we will continue to strengthen pathways for students of all ages and backgrounds.
The theme of this issue of our alumni magazine, “New Beginnings,” is fitting. As you read our alumni stories, I hope you reflect on the opportunities SUNY Adirondack has provided our community. For many, it was here their goals took shape, their confidence
grew and their futures came into clearer focus. That potential for reformation continues to define SUNY Adirondack.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I invite you to join us in welcoming President Urtz to the SUNY Adirondack family. I am confident her leadership, passion and vision will guide our college forward, building on our proud foundation while forging new paths.
Thank you for being part of the SUNY Adirondack story. With President Urtz leading the way, we begin this next chapter with optimism, purpose and a shared commitment to what’s possible.
Here’s to new beginnings!
Amie Gonzales Chair, Board of Trustees
MUCH LIKE THE COLLEGE COMMUNITY, SUNY ADIRONDACK ALUMNI ARE A MICROCOSM OF OUR BROADER COMMUNITY.
They come in as students, searching, find themselves here, then bring their gifts out into the world as caring agents of change. In this quarterly magazine, we celebrate all the ways our alumni shape our world, close to home and afar, with their hearts always rooted right here at SUNY Adirondack.
SUNY Adirondack, a community college of the State University of New York, does not discriminate against any employee, applicant for employment, intern, whether paid or unpaid, contractor, student, or applicant for admission or other members of the college community (including but not limited to vendors, visitors, and guests) based on a individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, disability, sex, gender identification, gender expression, sexual orientation, self-identified or perceived sex, the status of being transgender, familial status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, veteran status, domestic violence victim state, criminal conviction or any other category protected by law. The College adheres to all federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination and sexual harassment in public institutions of higher education.
The college prohibits conduct by any employee or any student who disrupts or interferes with another’s work performance or education experience, or who creates an intimidating, offensive, or hostile work or educational environment due to discrimination based on protected status or sexual harassment. SUNY Adirondack is committed to educating employees in the recognition and prevention of workplace and education discrimination and sexual harassment, and to informing students, employees and others how to report a discrimination complaint.
Inquiries about and reports regarding this notice and procedure may be made to compliance@sunyacc.edu or to one of the following: Lottie Jameson, Director of Compliance and Risk Management and Deputy Title IX coordinator, Washington Hall, Room 132C, jamesonl@sunyacc.edu, 518-832-7741; Mindy Wilson, Chief Human Resources Officer, Washington Hall 105, wilsonm@sunyacc.edu, 518-743-2252; Diane Wildey, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs/Section 504 Coordinator, Scoville 324, wildeyd@sunyacc.edu, 518-743-2337. Inquiries may also be directed to the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, 32 Old Slip 26th Floor, New York, NY 10005-2500, ocr.newyork@ed.gov, 646-428-3800.
OUR ALUMNI BECOME
Brand Managers
Business Owners (an alumni update!)
Digital Media Managers
Entrepreneurs
Human Resources Directors
Human Resources Payroll and Benefits Specialists
Operations Managers
Pastry Chefs
Progressive Critical Care Nurses
Recreation Managers
Women’s Care Nurses and so much more!
NEW BEGINNINGS
SUNY Adirondack’s lovable wolf mascot has new fur!
Maydwell Mascots re-created our fierce canine friend, Eddy Rondack, with a built-in ventilation system, easy-to-wash removable hand and foot liners; and increased visibility through the mouth, making this guy paws-itively irresistible!
ANASTASIA URTZ, J.D., JOINED US IN JULY AS THE EIGHTH PRESIDENT OF SUNY ADIRONDACK
THREE NEW MAJORS
STARTING IN FALL 2025
Cybersecurity and Networking
Environmental Science and
Liberal Arts and Sciences: Health Sciences
SIX NEW MICROCREDENTIALS
OFFERED BEGINNING IN FALL 2025
Culinary and Baking Fundamentals I
Culinary and Baking Fundamentals II
Cybersecurity
Technician Fundamentals — HVAC
Industrial Technician II 30
Participants in AI Agility, a 30-day online humanskills. com course hosted by SUNY Adirondack: The program teaches practical skills to make AI collaboration instinctive, resulting in increased quality and productivity.
GREENWICH CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
Technician Fundamentals —
Industrial Maintenance and
Technician Fundamentals —
Joined forces with SUNY Adirondack to offer Continuing Education courses at the school’s facilities: The college entered a similar agreement with Saratoga Springs City School District in 2022, with incredible success.
“A lot about SUNY Adirondack comes up in my Taste NY life. A lot of these relationships were really born out of these personal connections that remain from the college.”
Jennifer Hill Kraft believes so strongly in the impact of small business on the economy, she built her career on it.
“I think the thread that has really connected all the moves in my career is a passion for steering the economic impact small business has on the local community,” said Kraft, a 2003 and 2006 alumna of SUNY Adirondack.
A graduate of Queensbury High School, Kraft studied fiber arts at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia for two years before moving back to this area. “I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do, so I enrolled in SUNY Adirondack’s Math and Science program,” she said. “I always tend to go for whatever is the most challenging and math and science is not an area I was
naturally drawn to, so I was like, ‘I’m going to do this.’”
She earned an associate degree, but still wasn’t sure of her next step, so she enrolled again, this time in Hospitality Management. She earned a second associate degree, then transferred to Skidmore College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Management and Business.
JENNIFER HILL KRAFT
HOMETOWN: QUEENSBURY, NEW YORK
2003 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES: MATH AND SCIENCE
2006 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
2007 GRADUATE OF SKIDMORE COLLEGE WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS
CURRENTLY: TASTE NY BRAND MANAGER, NYS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS
An event-planning internship at Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council proved invaluable to her career path. While working at the arts council’s gallery, she met Liz Wilcox, an arts advocate who stopped by to hang posters publicizing the then-new Third Thursday Glens Falls Art Walk event.
“We quickly teamed up,” said Kraft, describing how the pair went on to cofound Art in the Public Eye, a nonprofit arts organization that developed the art walk into a long-standing program and introduced several new public arts programs, including ChalkFest and Outdoor Cinema in City Park.
The two later acquired Samantha’s Cafe. “The part of the business I really connected with was the event side — catering, farm partnerships and relationships with our customers,” she said. “Our marketing efforts were focused around the concept of ‘Real Food Made Here’ — not just a tagline, but a promise.”
They signed a pledge with Taste NY early on, committing to increase the percentage of locally sourced ingredients on the restaurant’s menu.
“Much of what we sold was made from scratch in our kitchen — we
were known for fresh bread, housemade condiments, fluffy quiche and, most famously, mac and cheese,” she said. “We built strong relationships with local producers — maple syrup, cheese, locally roasted coffee, eggs — and were active in the local business community.”
During that time, Kraft was also a member of Glens Falls Collaborative and Glens Falls Farmers Market Association, and she returned to SUNY Adirondack, this time to study Culinary Arts. (She didn’t earn a degree, but said the experience further strengthened her ties to the community.)
“These connections I made, they really have followed me this whole time,” she said.
After selling Samantha’s, Kraft worked at Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she managed the Taste NY market at Adirondacks Welcome Center.
“Everything comes around full circle in this area,” Kraft marveled. “I had the opportunity to
work with many of those same producers.”
Kraft is now Taste NY brand manager in the Agricultural Development division at NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets. Launched more than a decade ago, Taste NY highlights the quality, diversity and economic impact of food and beverages grown, produced or processed in New York state. Taste NY aims to create new opportunities for producers through events, retail locations and partnerships.
She often travels throughout the state — the Finger Lakes, Grand Island, Long Island, Capital Region, Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier and beyond — to help operators of Taste NY Markets develop social media and marketing strategies.
“Now I have an opportunity to support small business on a larger scale and contribute to the economic impact independent food and beverage producers and agritourism have in New York,” she said. “That’s what our mission is, and that is what attracted me to Taste NY.”
SUNY ADIRONDACK HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH TASTE NY SINCE 2018, PLACING MARKETING INTERNS AT ADIRONDACKS WELCOME CENTER, HOSTING FOOD AND BEVERAGE PRODUCER EXPO EVENTS ON CAMPUS, AND COLLABORATING WITH THE CULINARY ARTS PROGRAM AND CHEF MATT BOLTON.
“SUNY
Adirondack gave me the foundation for what I would come to learn. The teachers I had there are all great people who steered my focus in the right areas and pointed me toward the right people.”
ZACH RABELER
HOMETOWN: ONEONTA, NEW YORK
2016 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN OUTDOOR EDUCATION
CURRENTLY: OWNER OF WPM TRAILS
Zach Rabeler started at WPM Trails as an intern. Now, he’s the owner.
“This is a transition,” Rabeler said. “For now, it means more work outside the actual work that takes place on the ground building trails.”
Rabeler was a student in SUNY Adirondack’s Outdoor Education program when he met WPM founder Steve Ovitt, who taught classes as an adjunct. Rabeler had an internship at WPM, then was hired as part of the team.
“I’m grateful to Steve for giving me that opportunity, and this incredible chance to take over the business,” Rabeler said.
In the years he worked at WPM, Rabeler had the opportunity to learn the ropes, er, trails. As owner, though, he’s learning another side of the business. “I had to find insurance, set up payroll, and getting all that organized — taking calls, answering emails, writing contracts — that’s all a
new experience for me,” he said.
Rabeler and his employee, SUNY Adirondack alum Jake Ganley, Class of 2019, are also hard at work on the trails, tackling new projects and maintaining past jobs.
“We’re lucky because after years and years of this business, a lot of clients are existing,” Rabeler said. “We built Gurney Lane and Rush Pond in Queensbury, so we are adding and maintaining that trail system, maintaining and resurfacing trails we built 10 years ago that have had thousands and thousands of riders.”
Zach Rabeler was featured in the Spring 2022 edition of Community Roots. Read his story by scanning this QR code or visit https://issuu.com/ suny_adk/docs/sunyadk_communityrootsspring2022/25
“I was familiar with SUNY
Adirondack. I grew up in the area and all my friends went there, so it was like home — there was a comfort level.”
RAY TENNANT
HOMETOWN: LAKE LUZERNE, NEW YORK
2022 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN MEDIA ARTS
2025 GRADUATE OF SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN GRAPHIC DESIGN AND MEDIA ARTS AND A MINOR IN MARKETING
CURRENTLY:
DIGITAL
MEDIA MANAGER AT FISH307
As Ray Tennant left the stage, diploma in hand, his eyes found his wife and toddler daughter in the audience and he knew all the late nights, sleep deprivation and hard work were worth the sacrifice.
“I never thought I would have a college degree, especially since I had zero intention of even going to college after high school,” admitted Tennant, a first-generation college graduate. “Neither of my parents graduated high school; my siblings and I graduated high school, but I’m the only one to graduate college, so my wife and I are setting a whole new standard for our family, and to have my daughter there when I accepted my diploma was really special.”
Tennant grew up in Lake Luzerne and started working at Grasshopper Gardens when he was in 10th grade. He loved the work, so after high school, he dove into the job full time.
Seven years later — as Tennant fell in love and started to make plans for the future — he enrolled in the Media Arts program at SUNY Adirondack. “I’ve always loved drawing and art,” he said. “I went for graphic design and, in a marketing class, I realized I also like the challenge of trying to reach different audiences.”
He earned an associate degree while working — sometimes 50 hours a week or more — and planning his wedding. “It was really hard to balance everything,” he said. “There were a lot of late nights, a lot of stress and anxiety, and a lot of lost sleep throughout my college career, but I had a great support system and many sources of motivation, so I was able to push through it all.”
The professors at SUNY Adirondack were part of that network. “If there was a snowstorm and I had to work extra hours, they were all understanding if I had a late assignment,” he said. “They helped me balance my life a lot, and I’m appreciative of that.”
Tennant was a bit nervous moving on, but was driven to earn a bachelor’s degree. “Being a first-generation graduate was a driving factor,” he said. “I said, ‘I’m going to do this, I’m going to be the first one.’”
He enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University, where he took classes online while still working full time and welcoming a daughter. He graduated summa cum laude in May, with a GPA of 3.99.
While he planned to attend a virtual ceremony to mark commencement, his wife, Meagan, a senior account clerk at SUNY Adirondack, insisted otherwise. “She said, ‘No, you’re going to go, and your daughter and I will be there,’” he recalled. “As soon as I walked across the stage, I looked up and saw them, and it was worth it.”
As he finished college classes in December, Tennant was offered a digital media manager position at FISH307, a multimillion-dollar bait and tackle business. He oversees the company’s social media, website, print media and marketing plan. “It’s awesome,” he said. “Exactly what I wanted at this point in my career.”
His degrees are displayed on the wall over his desk, a reminder of what helped him get there. “Every time I see pictures from graduation, I can tell my daughter, ‘You were there when I graduated, and I’m going to be there when you graduate,’” he said. “I didn’t have much growing up as a kid, and we’re setting ourselves up already to give her the life we always wanted.”
“We were hosting meetups for marketing professionals in town. A lot of us were starved for human interactions, originally working by ourselves in separate spaces. We wanted to collaborate and needed space.”
CHUCK COPENSPIRE
HOMETOWN: CASHMERE, WASHINGTON
2011 GRADUATE OF EASTERN WASHINGTON
UNIVERSITY WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
2025 PARTICIPANT IN SUNY ADIRONDACK’S STARTUP ADK PROGRAM
CURRENTLY: OWNER
OF CHUCK COPENSPIRE CONSULTING AND HUB GLENS FALLS
“Professional problem solver” probably isn’t an actual job title, but if it were, that would best describe the many roles Chuck Copenspire fills.
“I build websites, I do graphic design, I’m a consultant and I manage a gallery and a co-working space,” said Copenspire, who in the spring unveiled HUB Glens Falls, a shared workspace with a relaxed vibe perfect for creatives, in the Shirt Factory. “It feels like they’re in Brooklyn; it’s a very different energy.”
Before opening the business, Copenspire attended StartUp ADK, an online course offered twice a year at SUNY Adirondack that focuses on the business planning process.
“I had been running businesses for 12 years with no formal training, so I thought it would maybe be good to get a baseline,” he said. “Forming an LLC, insurance, accounting — I’ve kind of figured that all out the hard way, so it was nice to have guidance on the stuff I missed figuring out on my own.”
Copenspire moved to Glens Falls about three years ago with his partner, who is originally from Queensbury.
He took jobs as a project manager at a nonprofit and a breakfast cook at a popular downtown coffee shop, which provided him opportunities to meet other professionals. In his push to network, he attended a talk at SUNY Adirondack by Drew Fitzgerald, co-founder of JUST Water. “I was moved by the energy in the room and wanted to connect with the people making big decisions in town,” Copenspire said.
That led him to StartUp ADK, where he was connected with SCORE, an organization with a mission to foster vibrant small-business communities through mentoring and education.
“Being supported is really nice, to understand how many local resources and organizations there are you can partner with, can use to get funding, to understand better the ecosystem of business in Warren and Washington counties,”
he said.
As he settled into life in this area and regained momentum in his consulting business, he discovered a need for a shared working space. HUB Glens Falls, he said, is an affordable, flexible option.
Flexibility is important for Copenspire, since he runs two businesses, is raising two young children, and is an artist and author.
His first book, “A Pocket Full of Seeds,” is a self-published memoir told through journal entries and sketches — sharing deeply personal stories about gender identity, transitioning, homelessness and more.
“Something I talk a lot about is creative instinct,” Copenspire said. “If I get a signal from my heart or my energy, or just, something, I sort of become obsessed with an idea until it’s complete; I don’t ask why, I just let myself get taken by it.”
For three months, Copenspire didn’t sleep, as he pored through his journals and sketchbooks. “I was inspired by other people who shared difficult stories of things they lived through,” he said.
As he and his partner began the journey toward parenthood, Copenspire saw another opportunity to write. “As a person who went through two pregnancies as a trans person, I began to hear in spaces with other trans guys, they would share misinformation, and people were making permanent life changes like getting hysterectomies based on bad information — and I couldn’t tolerate that happening, it’s so sad to me,” he said.
So his second book, which will be published in 2026 by Microcosm Press in Portland, “A Trans Guy’s Guide to Pregnancy,” addresses misinformation, tells of his own birthing experiences, and shares information about reliable resources. “I want people to see what pregnancy can look like for people who aren’t women,” he said. “This is really a call to action for providers and producers to think about non-women.”
That commitment to inclusivity also drives another of Copenspire’s passion projects, the Don’t Delete Yourself campaign, a nonprofit effort to let people know they’re not alone. “There are a lot of people hanging on by a thread right now,” he said. “This acknowledges that it is part of the process, but lets people know they’re not by themselves, they’re not the only one, they’re not hopeless and they’re not powerless.”
“That’s something I’m really passionate about,” he said.
“I
got to know professors on a personal level and have a more intimate connection. I wasn’t in a lecture with a hundred kids, I wasn’t just a number. The ability to build relationships with professors and have them so willing to meet with me and support me was a big piece of my success.”
KYLIE SHUFELT
HOMETOWN: LAKE LUZERNE, NEW YORK
2017 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
2019 GRADUATE OF SUNY PLATTSBURGH QUEENSBURY WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
CURRENTLY: DIRECTOR OF HUMAN
RESOURCES AT SARATOGA REGIONAL YMCA
Kylie Shufelt started her first job after college with a plan to train for a few months before a colleague went on leave.
“She went out prematurely,” Shufelt said. “I didn’t get any training, so I really, truly hit the ground running.”
That meant Shufelt, a newly minted human resources coordinator at Saratoga Regional YMCA in June 2019, had to dive in. “I created my own processes, learned from the ground up and, while it was not the most ideal start, I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t had that crazy beginning,” she said
“Here” is serving as director of Human Resources at Saratoga Regional YMCA, which oversees six branches in Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties, including — as of last December — Glens Falls Family YMCA.
The road there from graduating high school was direct. Shufelt enrolled at SUNY Adirondack and, early in her studies, decided to major in Business Administration. “I just knew I liked working with people,” she said. “I wanted to be smart about the degree I chose, to not be the person who had a degree in something super specific and then not use it.”
Her first semester, she earned a 4.0 grade point average. “I’m a very Type A person, so then I said, ‘I can never get anything less than a 4.0,’” she said. She didn’t, and earned a perfect GPA every semester.
After graduating with an associate degree, Shufelt transferred to SUNY Plattsburgh Queensbury, on SUNY
Adirondack’s campus, from which she earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
“I was never really interested in the ‘traditional’ college experience of going away,” she said. “I didn’t want to graduate with a ton of debt, and my family had saved money for me for college. I knew I could essentially have zero debt.”
While a student at SUNY Plattsburgh Queensbury, she secured internships at BOCES and AIM Services. “I wanted to get real-world experience before going out looking for a big-girl job,” she said. “I thought HR was something I might be into.”
She was, so as she neared graduation, she applied for HR jobs, securing the entry-level role at Saratoga Regional YMCA.
Just as she said she figured her position out, the COVID-19 pandemic closed YMCA facilities in March of 2020.
“Looking back, it’s funny, but I didn’t realize how soon it was after I started with the Y,” she said. “It was a brand-new experience to everyone, but especially for a new professional in HR.”
What everyone thought would be a week or two shutdown dragged on for months.
“We furloughed 95 percent of the workforce,” Shufelt recalled. “That whole period of COVID, I would never want to do it again, but it was invaluable to go through that experience.”
The shutdown forced the YMCA’s leaders to be creative. “We got really inventive,” she marveled. “That’s one thing we are good at — shifting, how we worked within the COVID constraints and still supported our community. People need the Y.”
“That was quite an experience for me as a young professional,” she said. “What I went through helped me prepare for this position.”
Shufelt works to ensure that HR is a resource and not an intimidating presence. “I want people to see me and not think, ‘Oh no! It’s HR.’ I want to have relationships, to pop in and say ‘Hi,’ and I’ve worked hard to instill that culture around our department.”
Making that a bit easier than in a more corporate structure, Shufelt said, is the fact that a large number of YMCA employees are part time. “For a lot of people, the YMCA is their fun job, outside of their 9-to-5, and that leads to employee satisfaction, a culture that comes natural to us because of our mission, and who we are.”
The YMCA enjoys low staff turnover, she said. “At the end of the day, when you love where you work and get along with the people you work with, that makes a big difference in your quality of life.”
“I enjoy the tech side of how the processes are built, but I also love the people side, so in my role, you get the best of both worlds.”
BRITTANY REDMAN
HOMETOWN: GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK
Human Resources Payroll and Benefits Specialists
2012 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
2014 GRADUATE OF SUNY PLATTSBURGH QUEENSBURY WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
CURRENTLY: LEAD HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIALIST AT GE AEROSPACE
Most teenagers leave their part-time high school jobs with some job skills, a few entertaining stories and a firm idea of what they don’t want to be when they grow up. But Brittany Redman discovered a passion that set her on a successful career path.
Redman worked at Lowe’s Home Improvement after graduating from Glens Falls High School. When it came time to attend college, her job played a role in her decision to attend SUNY Adirondack.
“It was local, it was close, so I was still able to work,” said Redman, who enrolled as a Business Administration major and continued working at the local Lowe’s store. “I kept helping out local HR with recruiting, doing job fairs, and I loved the hiring side of it and didn’t know much about the rest.”
As she took on more responsibility at Lowe’s, she started asking questions. “I love working with people, but the backend business side sounds great, too,” she remembered thinking. “I decided I really wanted to focus in on that.”
At SUNY Adirondack, Redman was surprised by the extensive offering
of courses. “The
college offered classes in the degree I wanted, but also
gave me the opportunity to take other classes and explore things I was just interested in,” she said.
She graduated and transferred to SUNY Plattsburgh’s Queensbury branch on SUNY Adirondack’s campus. “I had my own apartment, was living on my own, working full time and taking classes full time, so I felt pretty established and wasn’t looking to leave the area,” Redman said of the decision.
As she worked on a bachelor’s degree, she was promoted at Lowe’s — eventually to human resources manager. “It was definitely interesting,” she said of finishing a degree while already working in a professional position. “I started as a part-time cashier, allowed to work more hours, then full time; a few years later, I was in a team lead position, then took a department manager role, and kept slowly working my way up.”
Redman focused her coursework on human resources. “My boss knew I was doing that and had a few stores getting ready to need HR managers, so she said, ‘I’ll promote you before you graduate,’” she said. “It was great to have that real-world experience while in my classes, because I was able to tie the two together.”
By the time she was in her mid-20s, Redman realized she had worked herself as high up in the regional Lowe’s as
possible. “I grew up with Lowe’s,” she said.
Ten years ago, she was hired in a customer care position at GE, supporting payroll and benefits. Then she took a job running a global employee stock purchase plan, for which she was able to travel throughout the U.S. and Canada.
That appealed to the avid runner and hiker, who centers her vacations around outdoor activities and races. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the 46er hiked the 115 highest peaks in the Northeast, traveling to Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Since, she has completed five marathons and one 50-mile ultramarathon. Last year, she and her fiancé traveled to Utah, living in a van for 10 days and visiting national parks. They’re planning a honeymoon in Hawaii.
Her sense of adventure was stoked in January, when GE reorganized and employees were asked to apply for jobs in specific businesses. Redman was selected as a human resources payroll and benefits specialist for GE Aerospace, working to build out employee savings account plans and benefits throughout the United States.
“I like that with GE, I’ve always been offered the flexibility to try new things,” she said. “If you want to learn something, there is a lot of opportunity to go out and learn it.”
“This is a company that has a lot of opportunities,” Redman said.
“I
took so many classes in the Liberal Arts, and having such a variety, exposure to different topics, really helped me. But my all-time favorite was art history. It was the hardest class I ever took.”
JENN BECKLER
HOMETOWN: MADISON, WISCONSIN
Operations Managers
2010 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES: HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
2012 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN ADVENTURE SPORTS (NOW CALLED OUTDOOR EDUCATION)
2014 GRADUATE OF SUNY PLATTSBURGH WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN EXPEDITIONARY STUDIES
CURRENTLY: OPERATIONS MANAGER AT NATURAL STONE BRIDGES & CAVES
Jenn Beckler’s memories of her childhood summers are idyllic: Grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, cousins, siblings and friends gathered for late-night dinners on the screened-in porch, playing board games and slipping off to swim in the cool, clear waters on the family’s property.
Beckler is part of the ninth generation of her family to run Natural Stone Bridges & Caves in Pottersville, an attraction that includes trails, cave formations, gift and gem shops, an ice cream stand and adventure activities. Until middle school, she lived in Wisconsin, but traveled to the Adirondacks to spend summers at the Caves.
“This has always been a family gathering place — grandkids, cousins, everyone would work at the Caves,” she remembered, describing how she would pick cigarette butts out of the parking lot (a penny a pop for a few years, then a nickel each) and deadhead flowers. “That started my gardening obsession.”
Her parents moved to the family property in 2001, when Beckler was almost 13, and took over the business. “It was awesome,” she gushed. “My entire high school career, I was working with my best friends, all the high school kids, my sister and brother, and their friends.”
The Caves serves as first jobs for multiple generations of some families in town. “Once you have a sibling who works here, their siblings will all end up here,” she said, explaining how the children of former employees now work at the business. “One family had six kids and every single one worked here, and now one of them is my brother-in-law!”
That small-town, familial feel is at the heart of the Caves, and why Beckler has known since she was a child that she wanted to run the business some day.
“I always knew,” she said, remembering how in her mid-20s a friend from Wisconsin sent her a time capsule they created in elementary school. “I forgot all about it, but she sent me a video of my 12-year-old self saying, ‘When I grow up, I want to run the Caves.’”
After graduating from North Warren Central School, Beckler joined AmeriCorps and served on its firefighting team for a year before enrolling at SUNY Adirondack. Unsure of a major, she studied Liberal Arts, all while working summers
at the Caves and taking a job with TRIO Upward Bound at SUNY Adirondack.
She earned a second degree in Adventure Sports (what today is Outdoor Education), then transferred to SUNY Plattsburgh, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Expeditionary Studies.
Then, she traveled for a few years, working in Georgia, North Carolina, Hawaii, Utah and Colorado, in jobs centered on therapy — wilderness, horticulture, play, horse — and at an interventional organization for at-risk youth.
“Having so much experience in different topics has helped me connect with our employees and customers,” Beckler said.
Connection to the community and nature are important to what Beckler sees as the future of the Natural Stone Bridges & Caves business. “We plan to expand to provide more full-time year-round jobs in the local community, which in turn makes our business more sustainable,” she said. “To provide quality jobs is a huge motivating factor for us.”
“It’s so important to have a job as a young person — for your sense of self, sense of self-worth, learning to have more independence — that growing sense of independence and how much having this summer job influences that,” she said. “We will keep this as a place for family and community.”
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FUN FACT
JENN BECKLER IS PART OF THE NINTH GENERATION OF HER FAMILY TO RUN NATURAL STONE BRIDGES & CAVES. THE LAND WAS FIRST GIVEN TO AN ANCESTOR FOR HIS SERVICE DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
THE PROPERTY WAS ESTABLISHED AS A HOMESTEAD WITH A SAWMILL. “THEY DAMMED OFF THE RIVER TO KEEP THE WATER HIGH ENOUGH TO FLOAT LOGS,”
BECKLER SAID. “IT WAS ALWAYS A LOCAL SWIMMING AND FISHING HOLE, BUT REALLY IT WAS MY GREATGRANDMOTHER’S AUNT WHO MADE IT A TOURIST ATTRACTION AFTER THE SAWMILL BURNED DOWN.”
BECKLER RECOUNTS FAMILY TALES OF HER FATHER’S GREAT-UNCLE, A MAN NAMED JIM, WHO SAT AT THE TOP OF THE HILL WITH A COFFEE CAN,
CHARGING TOURISTS A NICKEL TO EXPLORE THE CAVES.
“IT REALLY STARTED AROUND THE TIME PEOPLE WERE COMING UP ON THE RAILROAD, AS PEOPLE WERE LOOKING TO GET OUT OF THE POLLUTED CITY,” SHE SAID. “THERE ARE PICTURES OF PEOPLE IN VICTORIANLOOKING DRESSES HIKING, SWIMMING, FISHING AND PICNICKING.”
WHEN A GREAT-AUNT THOUGHT SHE MIGHT HAVE TO SELL THE PROPERTY, BECKLER’S GRANDPARENTS LEFT PENNSYLVANIA AND RETURNED TO POTTERSVILLE. “THEY MOVED BACK HOME TO TAKE OVER THE BUSINESS TO MAKE SURE IT STAYED IN THE FAMILY,” SHE SAID.
HER GRANDPARENTS MADE CHANGES TO
MAKE IT A MORE SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS. THEN, WHEN HER GRANDPARENTS FACED HEALTH ISSUES, BECKLER’S PARENTS RETURNED TO THE HOMESTEAD.
“MY DAD ALWAYS KNEW HE WANTED TO COME BACK,” SHE SAID. “IT HAS BEEN SO GREAT: MY GRANDPARENTS ARE IN THEIR 90S AND THEY’RE WELL; THEY STILL COME HIKE THE TRAILS AND THIS IS STILL VERY MUCH A FAMILY OPERATION.”
NOW BECKLER AND HER FAMILY HAVE EVEN MORE PLANS TO SEE THE CAVES INTO THE FUTURE. “WE PLAN TO EXPAND, WE’RE ADDRESSING INFRASTRUCTURE, LOOKING INTO A NEW VISITOR CENTER. WHEN PEOPLE COME HERE, IT’S NOT LIKE GOING TO A THEME PARK, IT’S A DIFFERENT KIND OF EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU’RE IN NATURE.”
JENN GUIDES A TOUR IN 2012.
“The SUNY Adirondack program was great. It led to a lot more job opportunities, and gave me stepping stones to set off to what I wanted to do.”
When a Food Network representative called Jennifer McNeill to ask her to apply to be on “Holiday Baking Championship,” she had a realization.
“‘Maybe I’m good at this,’” she remembered thinking. “That gave me quite the confidence boost.”
McNeill started working in restaurants as a teenager growing up in Warrensburg. When she graduated from high school, she enrolled at SUNY Adirondack to study Culinary Arts. “I was unsure of what direction to take, so I said, ‘Let’s see where this goes,’” she remembered. “I always had a passion to create and loved how that could be applied to food.”
But she never imagined that would be to Johnson & Wales, where she spent a semester at École Nationale Supérieure de Patisserie École Ducasse; working at Garden of the Gods Resort in Colorado Springs; partnering with chef Gabrielle Hamilton; or creating a birthday cake for Grammy-nominated musician Teddy Swims. (She never applied to the Food Network show, though; her son was
JENNIFER MCNEILL
HOMETOWN: WARRENSBURG, NEW YORK
2011 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN CULINARY ARTS
2014 GRADUATE OF JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY WITH AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN BAKING AND PASTRY ARTS
STUDIED AT ÉCOLE NATIONALE SUPÉRIEURE DE PATISSERIE, ALSO KNOWN AS ÉCOLE DUCASSE, IN YSSINGEAUX, FRANCE
CURRENTLY: PASTRY CHEF
young, and the timing wasn’t right.)
That journey started at SUNY Adirondack. “The program and professors were great,” McNeill said. “I always leaned toward pastry, but I wanted a culinary degree because what better way to learn everything you can vs. just one category.”
She went to work at The Sagamore Resort after graduation. “That was a great opportunity,” she gushed. “You really got to dip your toes into all different aspects of the food industry — banquets, weddings, room service, amenities, huge breakfasts, cooking demos, multiple restaurants — a good variety to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, there is so much I can do with this!’”
McNeill liked the experiences there so much, she stayed for a few years. “I liked the hustle and bustle, especially in summer; it was always moving, which is fitting for my personality,” she said. “I met a lot of different people, different chefs and learned a variety of perspectives and skills.”
She also fell in love with the artistry of wedding cake design and science of breads. While working weekends, she
enrolled in Johnson & Wales’ Baking and Pastry program which, because of the number of credits that transferred from SUNY Adirondack, she finished in nine months with a 4.0 grade point average.
Through a program there, she applied for a semester at École Nationale Supérieure de Patisserie in Yssingeaux, France, scheduling her trip to maximize travel time. “I was 22 and wanted to explore the world,” she said.
For three months, she studied, spending weekends on the road and rails, staying in hostels, riding rented bicycles and finding little things that made each small town unique. She traveled to London, Spain and all over France. “It was a self-discovery journey, learning French patisserie and all these fun things, getting to explore and learn about different cultures.”
That time on her own provided a new sense of adventure — and confidence. “I felt like I could accomplish anything,” she said.
So when she returned to the United States, she packed everything she owned, shipped it to Colorado, then got in her car and drove west. “I said, ‘I have to get out of here,’ I wanted to continue the adventure and keep experiencing new places,” she said.
She landed a job at and was named executive pastry chef at Garden of the Gods Club and Resort, which overlooked the National Natural Landmark. “I turned 25 and was able to achieve ‘the title,’ so
you’ve reached the top; being young and having that accomplishment, I thought, ‘I’ve made it.’”
As McNeill explored the western side of our country, she also got to indulge her creative side in her work. “I could take my time with things, and temper chocolate and make showpieces,” she gushed.
“I like that you have so many different ways to make something, to create,” she said. “There’s such a variety of niches you can go into — ice cream, laminated desserts, plated desserts, wedding cakes, cakes in general, sugars, showpieces — there’s a lot you can learn and it gives you opportunity always for growth and to learn something new.”
McNeill talks with great enthusiasm about the science behind baking, marveling at Colorado bakers successfully making doughnuts at 14,000 feet. “There’s so much depth. You’re a scientist,” she said. “You get a lot of research and development, and that has always kept me interested with a childlike fascination.”
After a few years, though, McNeill decided to see what opportunities were closer to home. She worked in Saratoga Springs, building a reputation and exploring various venues, including Yaddo, which she said was one of her favorite places.
“I worked in a castle, creating dishes for artists of all backgrounds from all over the world,” she said.
“SUNY Adirondack has an impeccable nursing program. They are the model of nursing schools. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be the nurse I am.”
When Nadège Louis applied to SUNY Adirondack’s Nursing program in the spring of 2020, she didn’t know the hardships she would face. She just knew it was time to change her life.
After earning a bachelor’s degree, Louis worked as a case manager until the COVID-19 pandemic forced cuts and her position was eliminated.
“When I got laid off, something clicked, and I said, ‘You’re just going to have to go to Nursing school now,’” she said.
The Barbara Wetzel Memorial Scholarship supports student scholarships. In its first two years, the scholarship has helped 40 Nursing students.
Scholarship support from area donors benefits students in all areas of study at SUNY Adirondack. To support student success, contact SUNY Adirondack Foundation at foundation@sunyacc.edu or 518-743-2243.
Louis asked a nurse she knew from work where she studied. “She told me SUNY Adirondack,” she said. “I didn’t know it was 62 miles away from my house — one way.”
She applied in April 2020, then went to work at a makeshift hospital for COVID patients in New York City. “I had the drive and determination to help, to work for the better good,” Louis said.
While working full time as a nurse assistant in a local hospital, Louis started taking online classes to fulfill prerequisites for the Nursing program, which she was accepted to for the Spring 2021 semester. “The balance between school and work was really tough, but I made it work,” she remembered.
Then, disaster hit. After months of working around COVID patients, Louis contracted the virus and, because of respiratory symptoms, had to take a leave of absence during the Spring 2022 semester.
What seemed bad only got worse. “While on my leave of absence, my father passed away unexpectedly, and that was a complete shock,” Louis said. “My father was my No. 1 fan, he told me I was going to make a great nurse and that he’d be at my graduation.”
But the man behind the woman was gone, leaving Louis reeling. “I let my professors know what happened, and they had just an overwhelming amount of support and patience with me,” she recalled.
NADÈGE LOUIS
HOMETOWN: BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
2010 GRADUATE OF COLLEGE OF NEW ROCHELLE WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN COMMUNICATIONS
2024 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN NURSING
CURRENTLY: NURSE IN ALBANY MEDICAL CENTER’S PROGRESSIVE CRITICAL CARE UNIT; PURSUING A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN NURSING FROM CAPELLA UNIVERSITY
She returned to the program in Fall 2022 and was on her way. “I was almost at the finish line,” she said, after completing her third semester. She worked per diem as an EKG/cardiac monitor technician at Albany Medical Center on weekends so she could focus on Nursing school.
Bad things are said to come in threes, and for Louis, it proved true. As classes wrapped up in May 2023, her mother fell ill and was hospitalized.
“I became her caregiver,” Louis explained. “I was determined to fight for my mother’s life. I already lost one parent, I was not going to lose another.”
She spent the summer at her mother’s side with her siblings. “I put my whole summer, my whole life, aside,” she said.
Her mother recovered, and Louis was grateful. But soon, something dark creeped into her mind. “Not having time to process my feelings of what happened, I started to get a sense of ‘This
FUN FACT
is what my life is going to be,’” she said. “‘It’s going to be days like this, the car is going to break down, this is going to happen to me.’”
So when she received an email that September telling her she was selected as recipient of a Barbara Wetzel Memorial Scholarship, intended for Nursing students in need, it was a much-needed pick-me-up.
“I was so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude,” Louis gushed. “It changed my outlook on life: No matter what situation we are being dealt, it’s not going to last forever.”
That shift of mind-set has made a major impact. “If I’m having a bad day, I remember all the beauty I have received as a nursing student, and what my professors, school, friends, neighbors, a stranger, have done for me,” she said.
Louis graduated in 2024 and started work in the trauma unit at Albany Medical
NADÈGE LOUIS WAS RECENTLY NOMINATED FOR A DAISY AWARD, A RECOGNITION OF NURSES BY A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, THE DAISY (DISEASES ATTACKING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM) FOUNDATION.
SHE WAS NOMINATED BY A PATIENT SHE TREATED AFTER SURGERY.
“I WAS UNWRAPPING THE GAUZE, SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY, TALKING TO THEM, TRYING TO GET TO KNOW THEM,” SHE SAID. “THEN I OFFERED TO MASSAGE THE LOWER EXTREMITY, TO OFFER RELIEF FROM THE PAIN.
“THE PATIENT FELT IT WAS INCREDIBLE I WOULD DO THAT, BUT
Center. She recently applied to and secured a position in the progressive critical care unit. “Working in trauma taught me so much,” she said.
“Families are going to be going through what my family went through, they’re going through that every day, and as a nurse, you have to center yourself and know it’s not about you, it’s about the patient and their family,” she said. “As painful as losing my dad and my mom being sick were, it helped me be a strong person and a stronger nurse.”
IN MY EYES, IT WAS REALLY NOTHING, JUST PART OF THE CARE,” LOUIS SAID. “THEY REALLY FELT THAT I CARED, AND MADE THE MOMENT ABOUT THEM AND THEIR NEEDS.”
DAISY WAS FOUNDED BY THE FAMILY OF PATRICK BARNES, WHO AT AGE 33 WAS DIAGNOSED WITH THE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE. AFTER PATRICK’S DEATH, HIS FAMILY FOUNDED DAISY TO HONOR PATRICK, AND USE THEIR GRIEF AS A WAY TO THANK NURSES FOR THE GIFTS THEY GIVE THEIR PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES EVERY DAY.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DAISY FOUNDATION AT WWW.DAISYFOUNDATION.ORG.
TOP PHOTO: NADÈGE AT THE MAY 2024 PINNING CEREMONY BOTTOM LEFT: WITH HER DAD IN 2010, RIGHT: WITH HER MOM IN 2024
“Being on SUNY Adirondack’s campus, you feel important, like you’re meant to be there. I got that community feeling, like I was doing the right thing and in the right place at the right time.”
JUSTIN CLEMENTS
HOMETOWN: SOUTH GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK
2008 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
2012 GRADUATE OF UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND CONCENTRATION IN MARKETING
CURRENTLY: RECREATION MANAGER AT THE SAGAMORE RESORT; LIVESTRONG COACH AT GLENS FALLS FAMILY YMCA
Not since the Village People first belted out the nowinfamous hit “Y.M.C.A.” in 1978 has anyone sung the praises of the nonprofit community organization as fervently as Justin Clements does.
“It’s such an amazing place,” Clements gushed about Glens Falls Family YMCA. “The energy is awesome and if there wasn’t a need to earn an income — if there were any way possible — I’d just volunteer there.”
Modern life being what it is — mortgages, utilities, groceries all costing money — that isn’t an option for Clements, but he still spends a substantial amount of time at the facility, where he works part time.
The feeling of belonging he found at the Y is something that has always been important to Clements. After graduating from South Glens Falls High School, he took a year to explore, and moved away with a friend briefly before returning to town and enrolling at SUNY Adirondack.
“I was looking for somewhere to start college that wasn’t a huge, intimidating campus, and didn’t cost an arm and a leg,” he
said.
He earned a degree in Business Administration, then transferred his credits toward a bachelor’s degree at University at Albany. “I wanted a chance to experience some of the big-school stuff,” he said, “while staying somewhat close to home, have my family and friends support me, and working full time.”
Clements worked in cellphone sales and repair. “I was pretty good at customer service and interacting with people,” he said.
As soon as he completed a bachelor’s degree, he took a promotion as regional manager for the company. After a few years of working long hours, he left for a job with better pay and fewer hours. That role, though, was business-tobusiness sales, and he found it less fulfilling. The same was true for the next few jobs he took.
“In the end, it just felt like I was constantly making profits for other people and was making pennies on the dollar of what I was making for them,” he admitted. “I felt like there must be more to life than selling and selling and feeling miserable.”
He returned to retail sales until his son was born, when he became a stay-athome dad, working just part-time jobs to bring in extra income for the family. One of those was at the YMCA in Glens Falls, working at the front desk, answering phones and giving tours.
“I started watching other leaders there — most have physical training
certificates and worked in multiple departments — and I convinced myself that’s the person I needed to be,” he said.
His mom bought him a physical trainer certification course for Christmas. “It all took off from there,” said Clements, who lost 70 pounds and is, he said, in the best shape of his life. “I shifted to whatever the YMCA needed: They lost a director, so I shifted to a role in that department to help out; I realized they needed help with lifeguards, so I became a lifeguard.”
Soon, Clements had several certifications and YMCA trainings, and was offering advice about health-related topics, including coaching LiveSTRONG, an exercise program for cancer survivors. “I feel like I belong at the Y,” he said. “I know everyone’s name and everyone recognizes me.”
As his son grew and their family situation changed, Clements had to find a full-time job, so he applied and was hired as recreation manager at The Sagamore Resort.
“I am probably more qualified and a better fit for this position than anyone I can imagine,” he laughed, explaining how he manages the lifeguards, the fitness center and activities — and reflecting how being a lifeguard at the Y, working in the Y’s Fitness Center and coaching youth sports prepared him for the job. “It’s unusual for me to feel like I fit so well into a position, but I do here.”
“SUNY Adirondack has a great nursing curriculum. The clinical experience is amazing. I felt really prepared to take the NCLEX.”
LOGAN HAYES
HOMETOWN: BRANT LAKE, NEW YORK
2025 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH
CURRENTLY: NURSE ON HUDSON
A DEGREE IN NURSING
HEADWATERS HEALTH NETWORK’S WOMEN’S HEALTH TEAM
Logan Hayes was determined to build a good life for her daughters, so she enrolled at SUNY Adirondack.
“My childhood had some family struggles and difficulties, so I knew I had to do something different, that I had to put in the work and make something of myself,” said Hayes, who had her first child when she was a teenager.
The Johnsburg mother worked waiting tables and tending bar. But the care she received from nurses during her pregnancies intrigued her, and led to an interest in gynecological and obstetrical care that didn’t fade.
“I had two children, was expecting my third, had just bought my home and decided it was time to dive in, start my schooling and a career,” Hayes said. She started online classes at SUNY Adirondack to complete prerequisites in preparation to apply to the Nursing program. (While SUNY Adirondack offers open enrollment and accepts anyone with a high school diploma or GED, the college’s Nursing program is selective, with a separate application process.)
“It was really beneficial to be able to do those classes on my own time and at home,” Hayes said.
When her third baby was about 8 months old, Hayes started in-person Nursing classes. “I put her in the day care program right there on campus and it was phenomenal,” she said. “I was apprehensive at first because I had never put my older kids in day care, but the people were amazing, so I knew she was in good hands.”
Coursework was heavy. “A lot of times,
I thought, ‘What the heck did I get myself into? How am I going to do this?’,” she remembered. “But you develop a routine, buckle down and push through.”
As Hayes went to clinicals, studied and raised her daughters, her family stepped up to help. “My dad and stepmom have been a huge support,” she said.
Hayes was approaching the end of her third semester when she received an email about a new scholarship, the Chelsea Coutant Memorial Nursing Pipeline Scholarship, sponsored by Nemer Motor Group. She applied and was selected as the first recipient.
The scholarship, created in honor of a SUNY Adirondack nursing student who died in a 2017 car crash, provided Hayes $16,000 in financial support and — perhaps even more valuable — a twoyear nursing position with Hudson Headwaters Health Network (HHHN).
Just eight days after the birth of her fourth daughter, Hayes started her final semester in the Nursing program, boosted by the scholarship. “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity this scholarship provides and to have a job right out of school,” Hayes said.
When she crossed the stage in May, with her diploma in hand, she knew she was stepping toward a brighter future — for her and her daughters. “My children are my biggest motivators: I want to be somebody my kids will be proud of.”
In June, she passed the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) — a standardized exam that assesses the competency of a nursing school graduate — and began work at Hudson Headwaters Health Network’s women’s health team in Warrensburg.
“I hope I can continue to be an example for my daughters and serve the community that helped shape me,” Hayes said.
LOGAN HAYES WITH ROBERT AND FRANCINE NEMER
The Chelsea Coutant Memorial Nursing Pipeline Scholarship, sponsored by Nemer Motor Group, provides a deserving Nursing student at SUNY Adirondack with $16,000 in financial support and opportunity for a two-year nursing position with Hudson Headwaters Health Network (HHHN).
Created by Robert Nemer, a member of the boards of both SUNY Adirondack Foundation and Hudson Headwaters, and his wife, Francine, the scholarship is offered to a second-year nursing student, who receives $4,000 in the fall semester and $4,000 in the spring. An additional $8,000 is awarded by Hudson Headwaters once the recipient successfully completes the hiring process.
To learn more about donating to this opportunity and other scholarships, contact SUNY Adirondack Foundation at foundation@sunyacc.edu or 518-743-2243.
