SUNY Adirondack Community Roots: Alumni Collective Issue 13

COMMUNITY ROOTS

A THE ALUMNI COLLECTIVE A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE

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HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

START HERE Nate Burdett wanted a career that would make a positive impact on the well-being of his community, but he wasn’t interested in becoming a nurse or doctor.

“I thought helping with population health, disease prevention, was where I wanted to go,” the Warrensburg native said.

After earning a degree in Outdoor Education from SUNY Adirondack, he transferred to SUNY Potsdam and earned a bachelor’s degree in Community Health. Today, he is a senior financial analyst in Glens Falls Hospital’s Revenue and Reimbursement division.

While he isn’t administering medication or scrubbing in to surgery, his role is critical.

“I’m not just computing numbers; I’m doing things

that can positively impact patient care,” Burdett said.

Health care is one of our region’s biggest employment sectors. SUNY Adirondack is proud to support our economy and, as importantly, to contribute to our community’s well-being, individually and collectively.

With Data USA reporting that 17 percent of the greater Glens Falls region’s jobs are centered in health care, these careers are critical to the health of our economy as much as they are to our physical and emotional wellness.

Every position in health care is important and, at SUNY Adirondack, we educate them all.

We offer traditional paths to working in health care — degrees in Math & Science fields for students to transfer to specialized medical

degree programs, and our highly respected Nursing program. But we also prepare students for countless fields that support our health care providers.

SUNY Adirondack graduates go on to become doctors and nurses, of course, but also human resources administrators, billing coders, veterinary technicians, substance abuse counselors, programmers, engineers, dental hygienists, dietitians, pharmacists, IT support techs and more.

In these pages, we celebrate just a few of our graduates who use the passion they found, the knowledge they acquired, the skills they honed and the love of community they discovered right here at SUNY Adirondack to make the world a better place.

ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2023-24

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 Civil Rights Compliance Coordinators/Officers: Cornelius Gilbert, Chief Diversity Officer/Title IX Coordinator, Scoville 326, gilbertc@sunyacc.edu, 518-743-2313; Mindy Wilson, Associate Vice President of Human Resources/Payroll & Affirmative Action 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.

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OUR ALUMNI BECOME …

Cardiac Nurses Chief Nursing Officers Deputy Coroners Directors of Nursing Executive Directors Firefighters & Paramedics Mental Health Nurses Psychiatric Nurses Recovery Intake Specialists Senior Financial Analysts Speech Language Pathologists Veterinarians and so much more!

20.17 PERCENT OF JOBS IN THE GREATER CAPITAL DISTRICT REGION ARE IN HEALTH SERVICES AND EDUCATION, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

100 PERCENT PASSING RATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK NURSING STUDENTS who took the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) in the second quarter of 2023

(That compares with a state passing rate of 92.77 percent and 93.94 percent nationally.)

$81,220

MEDIAN ANNUAL PAY FOR NURSES IN THE U.S. IN 2022,

according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

143 205

$91,120

MEAN ANNUAL WAGE OF

HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS AND TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONS in the Capital/Northern New York

non-metropolitan area, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

NUMBER OF NURSING STUDENTS ENROLLED AT SUNY ADIRONDACK IN THE 2021-22 ACADEMIC YEAR

NUMBER OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE MAJORS WITH A CONCENTRATION IN HEALTH

EDUCATION ENROLLED IN THE 2022 ACADEMIC YEAR

300+

INCREASE IN NUMBER OF JOBS IN EDUCATION AND HEALTH SERVICES IN THE GLENS FALLS

METROPOLITAN STATISTIC AREA BETWEEN September 2022 and September 2023, according to the state Department of Labor

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STANDOUT STUDENT While a student at SUNY Adirondack, Afifa France earned the Daisy Award, a recognition that celebrates nurses and nursing students by collecting nominations from patients, families and co-workers, and the Riley Olson Memorial Scholarship.

“It was hard as a mom to juggle school, family life; it was definitely a challenge and that’s one of the reasons why when I was in nursing school, I made it a priority to support other moms because I knew the struggle.

We supported each other.”

When Afifa France was 8 years old, she was hospitalized and spent two weeks in the Georgetown Hospital children’s ward, setting in motion a lifelong pursuit of nurturing.

“I remember following the nurses, I was their little shadow,” said France, who explained that in Guyana, her native country, young kids whose parents could no longer care for them left them at hospitals. “I would walk around, and help the nurses feed the younger kids

who nurses would look after, even though they weren’t actually sick.”

France recovered from the illness that landed her among the orphaned children, but never outgrew her love of caring for others.

AFIFA FRANCE

Cardiac Nurses

HOMETOWN: PARIKA, GUYANA 2021 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN NURSING CURRENTLY: NURSE IN SARATOGA HOSPITAL’S CARDIAC/RENAL/STROKE UNIT; STUDENT AT SUNY PLATTSBURGH, PURSUING A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN NURSING “If you talk to my family, I always had a mother role,” she said.

She grew up, married and had children, moving to the United States in 2011, when her husband was in residency at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady.

Once her children were in school, she started taking prerequisites at SUNY Adirondack preparing to study nursing. “I always wanted to become a nurse; there was no doubt about it,” she said.

She dove into her studies and was in her first semester of the rigorous Nursing program when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “It was definitely challenging because everybody had to adjust to a new way of learning,” she said.

During the lockdown when she was inundated by the workload, her father died of a massive heart attack.

“He died in his own country, and I couldn’t go back,” she lamented.

“If my dad had the resources we have here, he would probably be alive today.”

She is both haunted and inspired by the memory of the last time she spoke with her dad. “He called me on a Wednesday night, and he likes to talk about politics and sports. I was studying and said, ‘Can I call you this weekend?’ And of course he never got to that, and I forever live with that in my head,” she said.

FUN

“As we got off the phone, he said, ‘When you finish with school, you are going to be a real, real nurse.’”

That loss fueled a new interest for France. “I felt a sense of obligation to understand heart disease,” she said.

“I want to help people understand because I see so many patients come in with a diagnosis with the heart and they have no knowledge of it, no understanding of what it is.

I see confusion in them and in their families’ faces, and it just takes me back to my dad.”

After graduating from the Nursing program in 2021, France started working in the Cardiac/Renal/Stroke Unit at Saratoga Hospital, where she performed a clinical rotation.

“If there’s something going on with the heart, it can affect all the systems of the body,” she explained. “There are aspects of life that patients can change and, with all this medicine available to us, to make the most of their time on this earth.”

FACT

AFIFA FRANCE HAS FOUR GREAT-AUNTS ON HER MOTHER’S SIDE OF THE FAMILY WHO ARE NURSES, AS WELL AS COUSINS AND OTHER RELATIVES WHO ARE PHARMACISTS AND SERVE IN OTHER HEALTH-RELATED CAREERS.

France’s daughter, Afeina France, is a second-semester Nursing student at SUNY Adirondack. “I decided to switch from pre-med to nursing during COVID; the focus on patient care that nursing offers really intrigued me,” said Afeina France, who earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Biology before enrolling at SUNY Adirondack.

“My mother’s influence definitely swayed me in my decision; however my goals and qualities, I feel, were always going to send me down this path.”

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“The professors in SUNY Adirondack’s Nursing program are just outstanding, some of the best I’ve ever met.”

VIRGINIA ZIELASKOWSKI

Cardiac Nurses

HOMETOWN: GLENVILLE, NEW YORK 2021 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN NURSING CURRENTLY: NURSE AT SARATOGA CARDIOLOGY Before enrolling in nursing school for a second time, Virginia Zielaskowski knew she had to have a few important conversations.

“I communicated with my family, my sisters: ‘I’m not going to be as available as I once was,’” she remembered. “My boyfriend was supportive, my friends were supportive — and that took a lot of stress off me.”

Knowing SUNY Adirondack’s Nursing program was going to require her undivided attention was a difficult lesson learned, as Zielaskowski had already left the rigorous curriculum once before.

“At that time, I wasn’t mature enough to realize that you constantly have to study,” she admitted.

In high school, Zielaskowski attended New Visions through BOCES and knew she wanted to pursue a career in health care. She headed to SUNY Potsdam with plans to become a physician’s assistant, but decided it wasn’t a good fit and left college.

She worked as a patient care technician, helping bathe patients, assisting them on walks and meeting their needs so nurses can handle discharges, admissions and distribution of medication.

“As a nurse, you’re constantly bedside, constantly advocating, and I felt that was more my calling,” Zielaskowski said. “Nursing was more my niche.”

She returned to her education determined. “My study habits changed and, even though the program was extremely rigorous, I never felt like I couldn’t get the resources I needed.”

Zielaskowski prioritized her studies and was successful. “It’s not forever — that’s something the professors really supported us on; they said, ‘This isn’t forever, you just gotta buckle down for these two years,’” she said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Zielaskowski had a front-row seat to how it impacted medical professionals.

“I remember I was on the phone with one of the professors because she was an ER nurse as well, explaining the process of what she did when she went home after work,” she said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to go on because the situation was so scary.”

But she stuck with it, graduated and started work in Saratoga Hospital’s cardiology unit. She took a job at Saratoga Cardiology to develop a better work-life balance and loves her job.

“Working bedside is anxiety inducing, with a large patient load,” she said of her move from a hospital to a doctor’s office. “When your patient will tell you the gratitude they have for you and the staff around you, there’s no better feeling than them telling you that you’ve made a difference.”

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“I loved it at SUNY Adirondack.

I loved the Nursing program, and always felt very supported.”

TONI BISHOP-MCWAIN

Chief Nursing Officers

HOMETOWN: GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK 1991 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN NURSING 2013 GRADUATE OF SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN NURSING 2014 GRADUATE OF SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY WITH A MASTER’S DEGREE IN NURSING 2019 GRADUATE OF SAINT FRANCIS MEDICAL CENTER COLLEGE OF NURSING WITH A DOCTORATE IN NURSING PRACTICE CURRENTLY: CHIEF NURSING OFFICER AT SARATOGA HOSPITAL

Toni Bishop-McWain was a teenager when her grandfather became ill and she discovered her life’s passion.

“Observing the care he received, I felt called to be there in the hospital to help and care for people,” said Bishop-McWain, who was given an opportunity to pursue a nursing education at SUNY Adirondack when the Warren Washington Medical Auxiliary offered her a scholarship.

“Without that organization and the women who founded it, I never would have gone on to be a nurse,” Bishop-McWain said.

After graduating from SUNY Adirondack, Bishop-McWain went on to work as a critical care nurse.

“In a critical care unit, you’re not only saving lives, but you’re caring for the families, too,” she said. “The connection you have to the community, the patient and their family is so rewarding.”

Over the years, Bishop-McWain continued her education and moved up the ranks of nursing administration. She worked as a nurse manager, earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees, and, in 2021, was named chief nursing officer (CNO) at Saratoga Hospital.

As CNO, Bishop-McWain is responsible for the quality of care delivered, which is determined by infection rates, patient satisfaction, and recruitment and retention of nurses.

The latter has proven difficult since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We know nurses are leaving the field because the pandemic put so much strain on them,” she said.

“Nursing has changed a lot, and it’s tough right now.”

Even after more than 30 years as a nurse, Bishop-McWain still feels called to the field.

“I have faith that the next generation of nurses will provide compassionate care and reflect an ongoing dedication to our patients.”

FUN FACT

TONI BISHOP-MCWAIN IS A 2023 SUNY ADIRONDACK TRAILBLAZER, AN HONOR BESTOWED UPON SUNY ADIRONDACK ALUMNI WHO HAVE ACHIEVED OUTSTANDING PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS, HAD A TREMENDOUS PHILANTHROPIC IMPACT ON THEIR COMMUNITIES AND GIVE BACK THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE.

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“Having the ability to assist people in need and respond under pressure always got my adrenaline going”

“I just spoke to one of my old high school classes, and I told them that it’s better off starting with a two-year school close to home.

SUNY Adirondack is not as expensive [as larger universities] and really helped direct my pathway.”

DANIELLE JOURDAN

Deputy Coroners

HOMETOWN: SARATOGA, NEW YORK 2008 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK, WITH A DEGREE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: POLICE SCIENCE 2010 GRADUATE OF JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY CURRENTLY: DECEDENT AFFAIRS COORDINATOR AND PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER AT SARATOGA HOSPITAL, AND DEPUTY CORONER IN SARATOGA COUNTY

Danielle Jourdan sees families at some of their worst moments, but still finds joy in her work.

As the Decedent Affairs coordinator at Saratoga Hospital, Jourdan assists families after a loved one’s death. “I help them with continuity of care, letting them know their loved one is going to be in good hands,” she said.

Every day is different, but Jourdan’s work includes helping families take steps to plan services, ensuring they understand cause of death and even simply providing courtesy cards to the hospital cafeteria.

“Any time I can take a weight off a family member is confirmation of why I do what I do,” said Jourdan, a graduate of SUNY Adirondack’s Criminal Justice: Police

FUN FACT

Science degree program who went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College.

After college, she served as a member of campus safety at Skidmore College, then as a public safety officer at Saratoga Hospital.

“That sparked my love for taking care of people on a different level,” she said. “It’s truly nice being able to be there for them, even if it’s just a little conversation to let them know they’re going to be safe.”

Jourdan also serves as deputy coroner for Saratoga County. “When I’m on call with them, I never know if we’ll get a call and what kind of call — car accidents, overdoses, somebody down for an extended period of time and no one knows why,” she said.

“We help establish the story, the why, what led up to it, and talk to

family members to find out about that person.”

The coroner’s office is called, then given an overview from the investigating agency on the scene. “They tell us what they figured out, then we do an investigation of the body, look at what you can see on the body, anything that’s missing, anything you see at the scene and what you don’t see,” said Jourdan, who is a nationally certified medicolegal death investigator. “You get one shot at being on the scene.”

She attends autopsies, answering questions and taking notes to help the medical examiner determine what happened, then explains the findings to the family of the deceased.

“If you had told me at 17 years old that I’d be working at a coroner’s office, I would have laughed in your face and told you that you were crazy,” Jourdan laughed. “You never know, at 18 years old, what you’re going to do the rest of your life.”

DANIELLE JOURDAN HAS BEEN A COMPETITIVE CHEERLEADER THROUGHOUT MUCH OF HER LIFE. TODAY, SHE COACHES A SARATOGA POP WARNER TEAM. THE 11- TO 14-YEAR-OLD ATHLETES TRAIN IN TUMBLING, GYMNASTICS AND DANCE, THEN COMPETE IN TWO-AND-A-HALF-MINUTE “NONSTOP MOVEMENT” SETS. “I LOVE THEIR ATHLETICISM,” MUSED JOURDAN, WHO IS A MOM OF TWO DAUGHTERS, AGES 8 AND 11. “I WANT THEM TO CONTINUE TO BE ATHLETIC AND TO CONTINUE TO GROW, BUT THEY KNOW I WANT THEM TO BE GOOD PEOPLE —- ON THE COMPETITION MAT, IN THE GYM AND AT SCHOOL. I WANT THEM TO BE THE DRIVING FORCE OF GOOD.”

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“I loved my time at SUNY Adirondack.

They have a phenomenal program. SUNY Adirondack really helped foster my growth and the nurse I am today.”

JULIE MOSHER

Directors of Nursing

HOMETOWN: GREENWICH, NEW YORK 2003 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN LIBERAL ARTS 2008 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN NURSING 2014 GRADUATE OF EMPIRE STATE UNIVERSITY WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN NURSING 2019 GRADUATE OF EMPIRE STATE UNIVERSITY WITH A MASTER’S DEGREE IN NURSING ADMINISTRATION CURRENTLY: DIRECTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT GLENS FALLS HOSPITAL Julie Mosher stood wide-eyed in the hallway outside her father’s hospital room, in awe of the nurses working around her.

“I loved it,” she remembered. “I always knew I wanted to be somewhere in a hospital environment.”

By the time the Greenwich native was 14, she was volunteering as a candy striper at Mary McClellan Hospital in Cambridge. When her friends were hurt, they called on her to patch them up.

“I always had a niche for helping people,” she said.

After high school, she enrolled at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, to study health care administration. After a year, she transferred to SUNY Adirondack with plans to study nursing.

“Life took a different path; I got married and had a child, so my nursing goals were put on hold,” she said.

When her kids were young, she took a class or two at a time, pecking away at a Liberal Arts degree. She worked, first at Verizon, then as a substitute teacher. She ran her own grocery delivery

FUN FACT

business and worked in a chiropractic office — all while working toward a degree she earned in 2003.

“I dabbled in a lot of things while raising my children, but I always felt that void,” she said. “I wanted to be a nurse in the worst way.”

When her youngest child started kindergarten, she enrolled in SUNY Adirondack’s Nursing program, requiring a high degree of structure in her house.

“I had a very supportive husband and we tag-teamed it: When I was committed to class and clinical, he was home with the kids, and when they were in school, I was in class. Many times, my schoolwork started when they went to bed and I’d be up until 1 or 2 in the morning,” she said. “It was a family approach.”

She graduated from the rigorous program in 2008. “It was one of the proudest moments I’ve had in my career,” she marveled.

In the years since, Mosher worked as a school nurse, per diem at an urgent

care facility and at Glens Falls Hospital, where she returned full time in 2014.

She became the hospital’s diabetes educator, then a clinical educator for medical surgical, then manager of the education department.

She headed back to the classroom and earned a bachelor’s degree in 2014, then a master’s in 2019. In 2022, she was promoted to director of Nursing Practice and Professional Development.

“When you’re a clinical nurse at bedside, you’re very focused on patient assignments, doing everything you can for the patients — you’re advocating for them, triaging, making sure medications are delivered in a timely manner, looking for any abnormal symptoms — but when you move into an administrative position, you start to take a broader look at the impact you have on all patients,” she said. “The view of nursing and of patients starts to widen and you see things from how they will affect everything on a whole.”

Even as her responsibilities have shifted, her love of nursing runs deep.

“I love being with patients, helping people; I just love what I do.”

JULIE MOSHER’S OLDEST SON IS A SUNY ADIRONDACK NURSING ALUM WHO WORKS AS A CARDIOVASCULAR NURSE AT ALBANY MEDICAL CENTER AND ADIRONDACK CARDIOLOGY AT GLENS FALLS HOSPITAL, AND IS STUDYING TO BE A NURSE PRACTITIONER. (HER YOUNGEST SON BECAME A POLICE OFFICER LIKE HIS DAD.) “IT CERTAINLY WASN’T AN EXPECTATION, BUT THEY DEFINITELY FOLLOWED IN OUR FOOTSTEPS.”

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“I wanted to support others struggling with addiction, so I went searching for a program that specialized in alcohol and substance abuse counseling, and my experience at SUNY Adirondack was great.”

Jamie Munyon spent 20 years actively addicted, but those years weren’t wasted.

“I see purpose in it,” said Munyon, who since the start of his recovery 11 years ago has earned two academic degrees; worked to help people struggling with homelessness, addiction, mental health disorders and poverty; and fallen in love and gotten married.

Today, he’s executive director of Open Door Mission, a Glens Falls-

based Christian ministry dedicated to serving the needs of people living in poverty. But in 2012, Munyon finished a run at an inpatient rehabilitation facility after being confronted about his addiction, which by then included seven years of opioid use.

“I knew I needed to make some changes,” he remembered. “But I wasn’t interested in engaging, I was trying to do it on my own, so I relapsed and it got pretty scary pretty quick.”

By Christmastime, he was ready to try again and was sober for a few weeks. “I relapsed in January 2013, and I had a moment of clarity. I realized I needed help.”

Munyon started going to the outpatient treatment center he avoided a few months earlier, secured a sponsor and went to 12-step meetings.

“I did what other people suggested I do: I submitted to the process of recovery,” he said.

A year or two in, he decided to use

JAMIE MUNYON

Executive Directors

HOMETOWN: SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK 2002 GRADUATE OF CLINTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE WITH A DEGREE IN HUMAN SERVICES 2016 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES 2019 GRADUATE OF SUNY PLATTSBURGH IN QUEENSBURY WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN PSYCHOLOGY CURRENTLY: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OPEN DOOR MISSION; STUDENT AT UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO PURSUING A MASTER’S DEGREE IN SOCIAL WORK his experiences to help others and enrolled in SUNY Adirondack’s Criminal Justice: Substance Abuse Services program.

“It was really challenging,” he admitted. “I had a lot of anxiety around school and returning was really challenging for me, but it’s one of the things you learn as you navigate recovery, that the adversity you face is an opportunity to grow. Just push through it and, on the other side, you experience growth.”

He successfully earned a degree, then transferred to SUNY Plattsburgh’s branch campus at SUNY Adirondack to earn a bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

While completing an internship as part of the degree program, Munyon received a job offer to work at Open Door’s Code Blue, an emergency overnight shelter for homeless people in Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties.

Munyon continued to work at Open Door, meeting with clients as they arrived at the shelter, helping them secure additional supports, meeting their immediate needs and helping them develop long-term solutions through the nonprofit organization’s Life Paths program.

For the past year, he has served as the organization’s executive director.

“There’s no doubt: It’s challenging to work with folks who are struggling, but ultimately it strengthens me and fills me up as I’m able to form relationships with those individuals and be a healthy support for them,” he said.

“I’ve definitely faced a lot of the challenges these folks are faced with on a daily basis, just trying to figure out the complexities of life.”

Because Munyon can relate so closely to some clients’ struggles, he feels empowered to help. “I’m pretty transparent about what I’ve been through,” he said. “Some of the folks we serve know about my story, and I think it helps them, gives them hope.”

HOW TO HELP The greater Glens Falls region is seeing a dramatic increase in homelessness and food insecurity. In the winter of 2022-23, Open Door’s Code Blue shelter had twice as many people seeking emergency shelter than it did the year before.

Similarly, demand for the Open Door food pantry, which is open three days a week and is intended to help the food insecure supplement what they have, has increased so significantly, appointments are being scheduled up to two months out. (Emergency food needs are met immediately.)

Jamie Munyon, executive director of Open Door Mission, said there are many ways to help the nonprofit organization. Visit https:// opendoor-ny.org to learn how to donate food, make monetary donations or give your time as a volunteer.

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“SUNY Adirondack is a good stepping stone.”

MICKI GUY

Firefighters and Paramedics

HOMETOWN: GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK 1997 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN LIBERAL ARTS MATH AND SCIENCE 1999 GRADUATE OF HUDSON VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S PARAMEDIC CERTIFICATION PROGRAM VETERAN OF THE NEW YORK ARMY NATIONAL GUARD CURRENTLY: FIREFIGHTER/PARAMEDIC FOR THE CITY OF GLENS FALLS Selecting a best day at work is difficult for Micki Guy, but the longtime firefighter and paramedic didn’t hesitate when asked about her worst: A 15-month-old boy died, succumbing to injuries inflicted by his father.

Guy — Glens Falls’ first female firefighter/paramedic — responded to the 911 call, but nothing the team did could save the toddler in what became a widely reported case.

“Days like that, when you’re in the moment, you’re in work mode: ‘We have to do this, we have to do that’; you separate yourself from your emotions so you can do what you have to,” said Guy, a 1997 SUNY Adirondack graduate who has been a city firefighter/paramedic since 2010. “That changes you and you never forget.”

As such tragedies do for many in the field, that trauma piled on top of countless others — big and small — from a career that spans 30 years and includes time in New York Army National Guard, Warren County Office of Emergency Services, Mountain Lakes Regional EMS Council and as a paramedic instructor.

“I went through some cumulative PTSD — I’ve been a paramedic for 30 years — and could feel myself

on the decline, mental health wise, so when a friend started posting on social media about first responder mental health at a local yoga studio, I said, ‘I need help,’” Guy remembered.

She began taking yoga classes and doing breath work. “It really puts you in a better space,” she said.

“You become so completely disconnected from yourself because you think, ‘Yeah, I can handle it,’ and you push it down, and push it down more.”

Now she advocates for greater awareness among her peers. “I really focus on taking care of those things and am trying to push that mind-set out to the EMT community,” she said.

Guy was always interested in health care. When she graduated from Glens Falls High School, she went to Plymouth State College to play field hockey and planned to get into athletic training.

She was homesick, though, so she returned to her hometown and enrolled at SUNY Adirondack, where she earned a Liberal Arts degree. “I graduated, then said, ‘What do I do now, because I’m not a professional

basketball player?’” the three-sport college athlete joked. Her dad, a retired sheriff’s deputy, suggested she shadow an EMT crew.

She spent one shift in the ambulance and knew she found her calling. “I love taking care of people and it’s always moving, it’s always different,” she said.

She enlisted in the New York Army National Guard, where she was trained as a medic. In the years since, she has taught EMT courses, training the next generation of first responders.

“I know I’m not going to be able to do this forever,” she said. “Interacting with the students and watching them be excited about this field, it’s awesome.”

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“SUNY Adirondack was really special to me; it was one of the most rewarding and best times of my life.

If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

SARAH EMERICH

Mental Health Nurses

HOMETOWN: SCOTIA, NEW YORK 2020 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN NURSING CURRENTLY: ASSISTANT NURSE MANAGER AT FOUR WINDS What made Sarah Emerich good at being an esthetician is, in many ways, what makes her a good nurse.

“You’re doing your best to take care of a person, to make them comfortable,” she said. “You have to be a people person and charismatic, and on your feet all day.”

Emerich grew up wanting to be a makeup artist, so she earned an esthetics license and worked in a plastic surgeon’s office affiliated with Saratoga Hospital. “I saw more opportunity in that field as a nurse,” she said, so she enrolled in SUNY Adirondack’s Nursing program.

The COVID-19 lockdown hit as she was starting her final semester. “I felt like I was missing out on the hands-on experience,” she said. “That was really, really hard.”

But she graduated and took a job as a psychiatric nurse at Four Winds, a Saratoga-based psychiatric care facility. There, she administers medication, monitors patients and ensures they’re safe.

“We do a lot of ‘contacting,’” she said.

“If someone is really emotionally struggling, we talk it out, figure out what type of coping skills are healthy — deep breathing, teaching them to meditate, interpersonal effectiveness skills, set boundaries with people so you can have healthy relations — we teach skills they can use and learn what they like best.”

Patients stay for an average of eight to

10 days, so Emerich meets new people daily. “I love that every day is different and exciting,” she said. “I love to see the change from when patients first come in to the day they leave.”

Many patients return.

“Mental health is a lot like physical health in that when you are diagnosed with an illness, you have to go in for checkups,” she explained.

“It’s the same thing with mental illness; sometimes you have to come in, have your meds changed a little bit, or some people need extra therapy.”

“The returners are my favorites,” Emerich admitted. “I get to know them a little better, and each time they bring something different and change a little more, which is awesome to see.

Getting to see them again and seeing they’re safe is the best part, and makes me a little more attached to them.”

Unfortunately, Emerich and her colleagues sometimes learn of a former patient who takes their own life. “That is the worst thing that could possibly happen, and that really sticks with you,” she said.

To separate the stress and thankfully rare heartbreak of her work from her

home life, Emerich employs some of what she learned as a nurse. “I like to read, I love journaling,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot myself in some of these groups [sessions] and I learned to do a lot myself.”

The good days, though, far outnumber the bad. “It’s such an exciting job and the patients are really remarkable,” she gushed. “There are few days I’m like, ‘What am I doing here?’ And that’s how you know you’re in the right spot.

I love working here and can see myself never leaving.”

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SUNY Adirondack’s Workforce Readiness Academies Program (WRAP) Reimagine Grant provides free training opportunities for qualifying residents 18 and older who are seeking occupational skills training to launch a career or switch into a high-demand industry such as industrial manufacturing or health care. Included in the program are customized services based on participant need, such as success coaching and career services resources. The SUNY Reimagine Workforce Preparation Training Program is fully funded by the United States Department of Education.

Learn more at www.sunyacc.edu/ great-futures-high-demand-careersstart-here about training in: • Behavioral and Psychiatric Health Technician • Medical Administrative Assistant • Medical Assistant • Medical Coding and Billing for Outpatient Services • Patient Care Technician • Pharmacy Technician • Veterinary Assistant

22

“Don’t be afraid of coming back to college as an adult.

Whether you start at 21 or 31, you have plenty of time to make a difference and help people.”

CAITLIN BELL

Psychiatric Nurses

HOMETOWN: GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK 2022 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN NURSING CURRENTLY: PSYCHIATRIC NURSE, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, AT GLENS FALLS HOSPITAL; STUDENT AT CHAMBERLAIN UNIVERSITY, WORKING ON A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN NURSING

Caitlin Bell grew up tagging along after her older cousin, Michelle, whom she lovingly calls her “second mom.”

When Michelle — who is more than a decade older than Bell — went to work caring for a teenager with disabilities, Bell tagged along. Spending time with the young man made an impact.

“He needed quite a bit of care — he could speak through tablets, say just a few words, used a wheelchair, required constant care and help with feedings — but Michelle always had fun with him,” Bell remembered.

“She brought him all over; we’d go to the movies, shopping, to see hot air balloons, to concerts.”

Bell loved what her cousin demonstrated to her at a young age: “You can take care of somebody and improve their life by making sure they have as normal an experience as possible,” she said.

200,000 to

450,000

After high school, Bell enrolled at SUNY Adirondack with hopes of becoming a nurse, but left shortly after. “I was 18 and didn’t study as much as I probably should have,” she admitted.

“There’s really a lot of patients on our floor that don’t have the more medical side of physical illnesses; it’s primarily about their mental health,” she said. “It’s definitely a lot of just sitting down and talking to patients.”

Instead, she started working for the ARC, then CWI, caring for people with developmental disabilities.

“Helping that population, helping them accomplish their goals, was rewarding,” she said.

That is what Bell loves most about her job. “The patient-to-nurse ratio is so high on medical floors, you don’t have as much time to get to know patients,” she said. “I like mental health because it’s more about having conversations and getting to know patients and their experiences.”

She earned a licensed practical nurse (LPN) through BOCES, then returned to SUNY Adirondack to earn a nursing degree. “There are not as many opportunities for LPNs as there are for RNs,” she said. “I wanted to continue to expand my skills.”

Bell worked full time and attended classes when her son was just a toddler. “It was tough, but it was worth it,” she said.

She graduated in 2022 and is a psychiatric nurse in Glens Falls Hospital’s Behavioral Health unit.

There, she performs many of the duties typically associated with nurses, but mostly focuses on making connections.

Given the nature of mental illness, Bell admits some days on the job are stressful.

“I’ve sat with people on their worst days and it helps when they start talking with you, and sharing their experiences, and what brought them here, and to see the change in people while they’re here,” she said.

“There are definitely tough days, but I have never questioned if I want to do this.”

Deficit in the number of REGISTERED

NURSES ANTICIPATED BY 2025, as reported by Rockefeller Institute of Government

24

“I really liked my classes.

I’m kind of shy, but I liked the debates in class.”

KATIE VAN BUREN

Recovery Intake Specialists

HOMETOWN: GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK 2021 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN MANAGEMENT, MARKETING AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP CURRENTLY: INTAKE SPECIALIST AT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES NORTH; STUDENT AT EMPIRE STATE UNIVERSITY, EARNING A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING

Katie Van Buren has dreams of owning a cat cafe, but spends her days working as an intake specialist at Behavioral Health Services North (BHSN), and she thinks that’s just the cat’s meow.

“I love working in substance abuse; it’s such an interesting field,” said Van Buren, a 2021 graduate of SUNY Adirondack’s Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship program. “And this job is really preparing me for owning my own business.”

During a trip to Japan, Van Buren was introduced to cat cafes and, while she’s no copy cat, she was inspired. “They’re really popular in Japan; you eat in one room, then go to a whole room of cats you can adopt,” she said.

She earned a business degree to work toward her goal. Never one to sit on her haunches, she went to work after graduation, saving money and further developing her business plan.

Van Buren was hired at BHSN, where she digs her claws into answering phones; working with referral centers, insurance companies, primary care doctors, and probation, parole and legal offices; offering referrals; main-

taining information security; and assembling intake packets, among other duties.

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“This job definitely helps me with working independently, time management and business paperwork,” she purred.

online, for StartUp ADK, a comprehensive course focused on the business planning process that provides the skills needed to start or scale up your business.

The satisfaction that really brings the cat back, though, comes in seeing patients work to change their circumstances. “It’s really nice seeing people who come in at their lowest of lows, then over a few months, they get so much better, you wouldn’t even recognize them,” she said.

As Van Buren scratches away at a bachelor’s degree, she continues to play cat and mouse with ideas for the business she thinks she will name Kitty Cottage and decorate with quilts and florals to emanate a coziness like being at Grandma’s house — perfect to curl up with a hot mug of coffee, a book and a cat on your lap.

Included in the program are local content experts in: • marketing • market research • bookkeeping • tax issues and cash flow • financial projections • legal considerations • human resources • business insurance • and more Participants use an online business plan builder and gain knowledge, feedback and support from an experienced entrepreneur.

Residents of Warren or Washington counties who successfully complete this program may be eligible to apply for a small-business loan through Warren or Washington counties’ LDCs. Learn more at www.sunyacc.edu/ continuing-education-catalog.

26

“If we didn’t have SUNY Adirondack right there, I don’t know what college would have looked like for me.

SUNY Adirondack gave me the opportunity to get my toes wet.

I’m thankful for everything it provided me and the confidence it gave me to move on to other things.”

NATE BURDETT

Senior Financial Analysts

HOMETOWN: WARRENSBURG, NEW YORK 2010 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN ADVENTURE SPORTS (NOW OUTDOOR EDUCATION) 2012 GRADUATE OF SUNY POTSDAM WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN COMMUNITY HEALTH CURRENTLY: SENIOR FINANCIAL ANALYST IN REVENUE AND REIMBURSEMENT AT GLENS FALLS HOSPITAL

When Nate Burdett was finishing high school, he didn’t know what he wanted to do, but his love of nature led him to SUNY Adirondack’s Adventure Sports program.

“I just enjoyed being outdoors and thought potentially it could be a career path,” said Burdett, a senior financial analyst at Glens Falls Hospital. “And I played baseball, so it expanded my playing days just a little longer.”

He knew going to college was what was expected, but didn’t see the big picture. “I never fully understood the importance of it,” he admitted. “You go to college, you get a job — it’s just what you do.”

While a student at SUNY Adirondack, Burdett’s relationships with professors helped him better understand the value of what he was learning. “I talked with them about my goals, they talked to me about higher education and what it can do for you,” he said.

“Talking about those goals made me realize their importance.”

Burdett earned an associate degree, then transferred to SUNY Potsdam, where he studied Community Health.

“I thought helping with population health, disease prevention, was kind of where I wanted to go, but toward the end of the program I wasn’t so sure.”

After graduation, he quickly landed a job in accounts receivable for a vendor that worked with hospitals.

“It was a foot in the door to get exposure to health care in some capacity,” he remembered.

When he took a job at Glens Falls Hospital, his education and work ethic quickly paid off. “I started to really enjoy what I was doing, my manager had taken note and promoted me, I took new position after new position, a new promotion every year,” he said.

“At some point I went from accounts receivable to finance.”

As senior financial analyst in the hospital’s Revenue and Reimbursement division, Burdett works with data and analytics to predict trends over time; looks at how insurance companies pay for services and why; and reports out to find efficiencies to maximize revenue without impacting patient care.

Number crunching seems a far trek from adventure sports, but Burdett finds the two create a nice balance.

TEAM BUILDING Among SUNY Adirondack’s Workforce Training opportunities are team-building exercises led by our trained, qualified staff on our Adventure Course.

“I’m happy I ended up where I am because, more than I ever thought, I enjoy working behind a desk every day,” he said, saying he still spends a lot of time hiking, riding his motorcycle and going for walks with his 2-yearold daughter and the family’s golden retriever. “I get to do those outdoor things after work and on the weekends, and still have a career where I can be in a temperature-controlled environment.”

“Once you figure out the ins and outs, it gets really interesting,” he said. “I enjoy being heavily involved in the things that drive decisions for the hospital.

A lot of people rely on the hospital’s survival.

I’m not just computing numbers; I’m doing things that can positively impact patient care.”

Learn more at www.sunyacc.edu/continuing-ed/ workforce-training, or by emailing conted@sunyacc.edu or calling 518-743-2238.

28

“My time at SUNY Adirondack gave me a really great opportunity to carve a pathway for what I do now.”

AMANDA ROSE MASTROPIETRO, M.S. E.D., CCC-SLP Speech Language Pathologists HOMETOWN: LAKE GEORGE, NEW YORK 2014 SUNY ADIRONDACK GRADUATE WITH A DEGREE IN LIBERAL ARTS HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 2016 GRADUATE OF THE COLLEGE OF SAINT ROSE WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN COMMUNICATION SCIENCES AND DISORDERS 2018 GRADUATE OF THE COLLEGE OF SAINT ROSE WITH A MASTER’S DEGREE IN COMMUNICATION SCIENCES AND DISORDERS CURRENTLY: SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST Amanda Rose Mastropietro was at a private college for less than a week when she called SUNY Adirondack and asked if she could enroll that semester.

“On that sixth day, it hit me: ‘I don’t think this is the place for me, I have no idea what I want to do yet and just think I need some time to figure this out before I really commit,’” she remembered. “I don’t need to be here if it’s not totally the place I should be, it’s so much money.”

So she called her parents, packed her bags, returned to Lake George, got a job and immediately started classes at SUNY Adirondack.

“I panicked; I just don’t think I was ready for that commitment,” she said.

“If it weren’t for SUNY Adirondack, I don’t know if I would have had the confidence to leave that environment so comfortably.”

Mastropietro dove into campus life.

“I took full advantage of all that I could and all that interested me,” she said.

Among her many on-campus activities, Mastropietro became a student mentor in the Reading and Writing Center, volunteering to help other students.

“That experience told me that was a form of teaching that’s very specialized,” she said.

She researched careers that focus on one-on-one learning. “I of course saw special education, English as a second language, reading teacher, reading specialist, but what really sparked my interest was speech language pathology,” she said. “It was more than just reading and writing; it was all types of communication — voice, articulation, swallowing. And I said, ‘That’s what I want to do, it’s perfect, it was meant for me.’”

After graduating from SUNY Adirondack, she transferred to The College of Saint Rose, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Throughout her time at Saint Rose, she volunteered at Glens Falls Hospital, working with the speech therapists who today are her colleagues.

“I’m still here, five years later, and I love it,” Mastropietro said.

Mastropietro works as a medical speech language pathologist, helping patients in acute care at the hospital — those who suffer from neurological disorders, strokes, dementia, or head and neck cancer. She also works in outpatient care, helping pediatric patients, mostly preschool-aged children.

“My heart is in many different places within the field; I treat patients of different ages and disorders,” said Mastropietro, who said she someday wants to select an area of specialization and teach college-level courses on speech pathology.

Right now, though, she’s happy with fulfilling more than one role.

“My work encompasses a lot of different levels of problem solving,” she said. “It’s more than just sitting down and teaching somebody a technique; it’s getting to know a person inside and out, their personality type, how they learn best, and how they can be the best version of themselves.”

30

“I tell everyone that SUNY Adirondack is underrated.

You’re going to get a great education there.”

Laura Malinconico started medical school when she was 32 years old and, while she doesn’t recommend doing so to others, she doesn’t regret it.

“What I did wasn’t exactly traditional, I don’t necessarily advise it, getting into med school the hard way, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” said Malinconico, a veterinarian at Glens Falls Animal Hospital.

After graduating from Lake George High School, Malinconico earned an associate degree in Business Administration from SUNY Adirondack, then a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Brockport.

“Like every other kid, I thought I’d make my mark in the business world,” she laughed.

And she did, landing jobs first at a construction company, then for Upper Hudson Primary Care Consortium as an accountant.

“After a few years of working there, I knew I probably didn’t want to do accounting the rest of my life because it was kind of boring,” Malinconico admitted.

She helped the doctors in the practice take a group of high school students on a pre-health career tour of Philadelphia colleges. “We went through a tour of Penn Vet and I said, ‘I think I know

what I want to do when I grow up,’” Malinconico said.

When she brought her dogs to their annual checkup at Glens Falls Animal Hospital, she mentioned to the veterinarian she was considering a career change. “He said, ‘What? You have a good job!’”

But Malinconico’s mind was made up, so he hired her to start work. “It took off from that,” she said.

While earning prerequisites for medical school — mostly at SUNY Adirondack, but also at Union College and Albany Medical College — she continued to work at Upper Hudson and Glens Falls Animal Hospital.

LAURA MALINCONICO

Veterinarians

HOMETOWN: LAKE GEORGE, NEW YORK 1990 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 1992 GRADUATE OF SUNY BROCKPORT WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 2005 GRADUATE OF ROSS UNIVERSITY WITH A DOCTORATE IN VETERINARY MEDICINE CURRENTLY: VETERINARIAN AT GLENS FALLS ANIMAL HOSPITAL

“The human doctors thought I was crazy, the guys at the Animal Hospital were just all for it and made sure I was prepared. My family was like, ‘Do you ever sleep?’, but it was a means to an end,” she said of the five years she spent in that blur.

She applied to several vet schools, but was rejected the first year. She kept plugging away and, the second year she applied, she was waitlisted.

Then, just as she was coming to terms with having to wait another year to get started on her doctorate, she discovered in her spam folder an email from Ross University, an offshore college in the Caribbean, urging her to apply for summer session.

She sent her materials, interviewed a few days later, and within two weeks was on her way to the blue water of the islands. Which, by the way, she didn’t get to enjoy, since she was so focused on her studies. “It was more of a job; get in and get out,” she said. “But it was definitely worth it.”

Malinconico loves her job. “I love, of course, the animals,” she said.

“But I like being part of a community, getting to meet and see a ton of people; people come in with a puppy and you get to grow up with the puppy, and now I’ve been doing it long enough that I have seen these critters over a course of a lifetime.”

“Veterinary medicine is a lifestyle, not just a career,” she said. “You have to be all in if you’re going to do it.”

FUN FACT

Veterinarian Laura Malinconico has three dogs, Vincenza, a 4-year-old Labrador retriever; Demi Doo, a rescue; and Sam Adams, a 14-year-old Lab she said is the “best job hazard.”

“I have a thing for Labradors, they’re my favorite,” Malinconico admitted.

Malinconico walked past an open exam room at work, saw baby Sammy, and said, “Oh, gosh, look at the puppy!”

The young woman with Sammy was going to take him offshore to medical school with her.

“I said, ‘Oh, wow, you must be really smart because when I went to med school, I called my mom crying every day, asking, “What have I done? ” ’ ” “She was like, ‘Do you think it’s going to be hard?’ And it’s like people who have their first baby and think it’s no big deal. I looked at her dad and was like, ‘Good luck!’ ” The next day, the young woman’s father called and said, “We don’t think we can keep this dog.

We’d like you to have him.”

Maliconico’s beloved Lab had died just six months earlier, so she wasn’t sure. She brought her mom to meet Sammy, and her mom said, “What’s the question?”

“He became part of our family that weekend, when he was 10 or 11 weeks old, and he’s the best guy ever,” she said.

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