SUNY Adirondack Report to the Community, 2021-2022

YOU FIND COMMUNITY HERE.

YOU EXPLORE HERE.

YOU MAKE YOURSELF PROUD HERE.

YOUR FUTURE IS HERE.

Katelyn Kuklinski

Hometown: Warrensburg, New York

2016 graduate of SUNY Adirondack with an associate degree in Outdoor Education

Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Ecology from SUNY Plattsburgh

Currently: Earning a master’s degree in Forest Resources with a concentration in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at University of Maine

“My connections are rooted in SUNY Adirondack and I love that.”

Strategic Goals

With pride in SUNY Adirondack’s history, we look ahead with great hope and ambition. A strong future depends on responsive and relevant programs, services and focus on success for all. In this publication, we share the college’s goals to continue to enrich and support a vibrant, sustainable, thriving community to work, live and learn.

Strategic Goal 1

DEVELOP INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

Strategic Goal 2 EXPAND ENROLLMENT

Strategic Goal 3 CHAMPION STUDENT SUCCESS

Strategic Goal 4

STRENGTHEN ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY

VISION

Through our commitment to innovation, excellence and inclusion, we will be the educational provider of choice and pathway to success for all.

Enhance program offerings and services to support diverse learners through innovative strategies, use of technology, and flexible scheduling and delivery methods.  Seek new student populations to expand credit and non-credit enrollment and invest in completion strategies that create equitable outcomes.

MISSION

Create and promote deeper partnerships and initiatives that lead students to transfer and employment success. Increase racial and ethnic diversity of employees, improve investments in employee development and continue to streamline administrative work.

WE VALUE

SUNY Adirondack enriches and transforms lives and communities through accessible lifelong educational opportunities.

Access, partnerships and lifelong learning

Hometown: Bronx, New York

2021 graduate of SUNY Adirondack with an associate degree in Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship

Bachelor’s degree in Creative Arts from Siena College

“What really hooked me when I got on campus, it felt like home instantaneously. I just fell in love, it felt like home — peaceful and like a community. I felt the entire staff was invested in me.”

Tyron Bethel

MORE THAN 475 DEGREES ARE AWARDED EACH ACADEMIC YEAR

40 PERCENT OF DEGREES WERE Associate of Applied Science and Associate of Occupational Science, which are DESIGNED FOR EMPLOYMENT UPON GRADUATION

192

The number of colleges and universities that SUNY Adirondack GRADUATES TRANSFER TO WITHIN A YEAR OF GRADUATION

60 PERCENT OF DEGREES WERE Associate of Arts and Associate of Science, which are DESIGNED FOR TRANSFER

42 PERCENT OF SUNY ADIRONDACK GRADUATES TRANSFER to a four-year institution within a year of graduation

23,000 ALUMNI

AS OF FALL 2021

50 PERCENT of SUNY Adirondack students are enrolled full time*

39 PERCENT of SUNY Adirondack students are Saratoga County residents*

28 PERCENT of SUNY Adirondack students are Warren County residents*

20 PERCENT of SUNY Adirondack students are Washington County residents*

*Based on Fall 2021 enrollment

80 PERCENT of survey respondents work for employers in Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties

20 PERCENT of graduate survey respondents report being employed in health care

70 PERCENT of SUNY Adirondack alumni report working in New York state 10 years after graduating

THE SIXTIETH COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY held May 14, 2022, at Cool Insuring Arena

“SUNY Adirondack is here, committed to the needs of our region.”

— Kristine D. Duffy, Ed.D., president

From the President

Since SUNY Adirondack issued its Report to the Community in January 2020, the world has clearly changed. Then, most of us believed global pandemics were a thing of centuries past, had never heard of COVID or Zoom and couldn’t imagine being isolated for months on end.

Like every person, business and institution, SUNY Adirondack was forced to adapt quickly when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Our faculty members scrambled to deliver their lessons virtually, our students were relegated to chatroom discussions and our facilities were shuttered.

Despite what seemed like insurmountable challenges, we prevailed: our educators taught and our students learned. Classes looked different, “interaction” was redefined and our worldview transformed, but SUNY Adirondack proudly congratulated graduates (virtually in 2020, hybrid in 2021 and in person in 2022).

Our graduates did what previous graduates have always done. They successfully transferred to com-

plete advanced degrees or pursued employment in our region. Despite the chaos, SUNY Adirondack continued to provide a stellar education to its students, and we remain an integral part of this community.

We learned a lot and sharpened our focus on the whole student, acutely acknowledging that academic success is contingent upon addressing life’s challenges.

Much like our greater society, we committed to increasing access to health and wellness in ways we hadn’t before. We developed a complement of services alongside our well-respected Counseling Center team, bringing on additional staff to develop programming and services focused on the six pillars of health — physical, emotional, social, spiritual, intellectual and occupational. More employees from all parts of the college are trained to support students’ mental health than ever before. This is a community-wide effort.

Our partners are critical to enhancing our services. Hudson Headwaters Health Network’s mobile health care unit is a biweekly fixture

on campus, providing care to campus community members. A nurse from Glens Falls Hospital maintains weekday hours in an on-campus wellness space to ensure students have access to the medical care they need.

The Community Hub, a SUNY Adirondack program that meets the non-academic needs of students, uses grant funding and donations to increase its offerings to include Wi-Fi access, gas cards, an array of toiletries and, of course, food and clothing.

The past three years revealed a lot about the world, humanity, interconnectivity, health care, politics and the importance of preparing a well-rounded person and workforce. And, once again, it proved SUNY Adirondack is here, committed to the needs of our region and ready to provide each individual the support, inspiration and opportunity to succeed. Thank you for being with us during the hard times and for celebrating with us during our best times.

GREAT FUTURES continue to START HERE.

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.

Strategic Goal 1

DEVELOP INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

Enhance program offerings and services to support diverse learners through innovative strategies, use of technology, and flexible scheduling and delivery methods.

Body of discovery

Professor of Anatomy and Physiology Ann Miele has gotten used to hearing, “This is cool,” in her lab.

Miele uses Anatomage — a high-resolution 3D learning table — to teach anatomy and physiology of the human body. “Having a strong foundation of understanding of the human body is key to student success in many health science programs,” said Miele, who has taught at SUNY Adirondack for 27 years.

“The human body is amazing, yet very complex,” she said. “One of the essentials to learning about and understanding our complicated bodies is students engaging in the process.”

Anatomage provides that opportunity, offering four gross anatomy cases, more than 20 high-resolution regional anatomy cases and more than 1,000 pathological examples.

“Students are able to explore both gross and microscopic anatomy of

multiple cadavers,” Miele said.

The technology of Anatomage segments thousands of structures from images to provide accurate 3D anatomy.

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack has two Anatomage tables.

DETAILS: Anatomage is an interactive 3D anatomy and physiology learning tool being used in the world’s leading institutions and medical schools. According to Anatomage, the table allows students to interact with young and well-preserved digital cadavers instead of aged, degenerated bodies.

WHERE: Adirondack Hall and SUNY Adirondack Saratoga

The result is greater understanding, both Miele and Loneck said.

“Along with various models and specimens we have in the lab, Anatomage promotes learning and understanding of the human body, a very difficult subject,” Miele said.

“I have used Anatomage during some labs to show and identify ‘real life’ anatomical structures for each system,” said Andrea Loneck, an adjunct instructor in SUNY Adirondack’s Science division.

Healthy gains

As the world struggled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, SUNY Adirondack recognized increased social, emotional and physical needs among the community, and responded by developing an office of Health and Wellness, creating wellness spaces around campus, joining a national suicide prevention network and extending training.

In addition to the college’s longstanding and well-respected Counseling team — Beth Braxton, associate professor of Counseling and licensed mental health counselor (LMHC); Holly Irion, assistant professor of Counseling and LMHC; Tara Booth, assistant professor of Counseling, LMHC, certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC), CASAC-T and coordinator of Community Connections; and Lindsay Farrar, LMHC and multicultural specialist — SUNY Adirondack brought on Lori Prock as director of Health and Wellness,

and Tobey Gifford and Kyle Esposito as Wellness coordinators. The team develops programming and services focused on the six pillars of health — physical, emotional, social, spiritual, intellectual and occupational.

Wellness spaces were developed around campus to provide students, faculty and staff places to socialize, meditate, pray, study or reflect.

The college also joined the JED Campus network, an initiative of The Jed Foundation that helps colleges strengthen mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems.

SUNY Adirondack faculty and staff members participated in Mental Health First Aid, a National Council for Behavioral Health training, as well as Stop the Bleed, Narcan and de-escalation trainings.

Hudson Headwaters Health Network’s mobile health care unit is a biweekly fixture on campus, providing care to cam-

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack extended its commitment to student well-being by developing an on-campus Health and Wellness office, joining the JED Campus Network and designating wellness spaces around the college’s Queensbury campus.

DETAILS: With a commitment to the six pillars of health, SUNY Adirondack offers programs, facilities and personnel devoted to health and wellness.

pus community members. A nurse from Glens Falls Hospital maintains weekday hours in an on-campus wellness space to ensure students have access to medical care they need.

The Health and Wellness office is possible with funds designated to the college through the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a portion of which SUNY dictates must be designated to support the mental health and wellness of students.

“We are excited to add to existing health initiatives on campus to ensure we are caring for our students’ well-being in a holistic way,” said Kathryn O’Sick, dean for Student Affairs.

By The Numbers

5 Narcan boxes on campus, one at Seasoned and one at SUNY Adirondack Saratoga

20 people trained in Narcan usage

Approximately 100 staff and students trained in Mental Health First Aid

70 people attended Depression Screening Day

1,550 people used the Fitness Center

145 people used Hudson Headwaters Health Network’s mobile van

178 people visited on-campus Glens Falls Hospital nurse Deb Neal

260 athletes worked with campus Wellness coordinators on stress management, meditation and team building

30 people trained in QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), a suicide prevention training

10 people participated in Stop the Bleed Training in conjunction with Outdoor Education

70 people attended We’ve Got Your Back Health Fair

30 people attended Survivor Day event

100 people trained on Mental Health First Aid

226 people received counseling services in 2022

MAKING IT WORK

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack’s Nursing faculty team earned Northeastern New York Professional Nurses Organization’s (NNYPNO) Teamwork Award.

WHY: The SUNY Adirondack team was selected because of how well its members work together to benefit students and help them achieve positive outcomes.

was

work

“I nominated the team and

thrilled its

was recognized. This really recognizes their efforts to work with students and move them through the challenges they face.”

— Kim Hedley, chair of SUNY Adirondack’s Health Sciences division

The bigger picture

Matt Ryan has seen the suffering addiction causes.

The SUNY Adirondack student lived in Florida when the opioid epidemic took hold, and he watched friends struggle. But as he witnessed the chaos around him unfold, he realized substance abuse isn’t a siloed issue.

“Criminal justice, substance abuse and mental health are looked at as separate issues, but really it’s one issue intertwined,” said Ryan, who searched online for degree programs in New York state and found SUNY Adirondack’s Criminal Justice: Substance Abuse Services (CRSA).

He enrolled in 2013 and took a summer internship in a dual recovery program through a local association for mental health.

“I continued to show up, unpaid, for another nine months, so they eventually hired me,” Ryan said. He served as case manager, then program coordinator and director, creating pro-

gramming, writing requests for proposals, securing funding and collaborating with law enforcement agencies on ways to reduce recidivism.

“I love direct care, but my true passion is creating programs, policies and initiatives, working toward the ultimate goal of reaching and serving the most people,” he said.

Ryan left the agency for a better work-life balance (he has an infant and a toddler at home), returned to SUNY Adirondack to finish a CRSA degree and works as youth health care manager at Wait House.

In January, he started work at Empire State University on a business management degree in economics.

a culmination in Continuums of Care,”

“Any community or region with federal funding through HUD is mandated to have COC, with the goal of solving homelessness as a core value, but it’s so much more: shared resources, collaboration and program development.”

As a member of a COC agency, Ryan chairs committees that help create policy and a strategic plan to help see people through recovery.

“I saw the 500,000-foot view while doing this and working with other agencies. I got to see the fruits of my labor and my colleagues’ labor turn into tangible results, from concept to completion, from writing these grants and RTCs to ‘Welcome home,’ with someone walking into a beautiful apartment with their new baby and their spouse, and being able to do that on a statewide level, that is something I fell in love with,” Ryan said.

“Through my career working in mental health, I saw needs within the area — housing, services — but it really came to

he said.

HELPING HANDS

WHAT: Grant that supports students enrolled in SUNY Adirondack’s New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS)-certified Criminal Justice: Substance Abuse Services (CRSA) Associate in Applied Science degree program

WHERE: SUNY Adirondack

THE PROJECT: Students in SUNY Adirondack CRSA receive:

• textbook support;

• gas cards;

• wraparound support;

• completion stipends;

• academic advising;

• professional coaching; and

• CASAC-T examination fees

WHY: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, need for substance abuse counselors will grow 22 percent by 2031, adding more than 77,500 jobs. Need is particularly high in New York state, where more than 1.9 million people battle substance abuse. In Warren County, the opioid death rate was higher than the state average, with a rate of 26.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2020; in Washington County, that number was 24.3 per 100,000; and in Saratoga County, the rate of 15.9 deaths per 100,000 was lower than the state average.

GROWING A WORKFORCE

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack was selected with partners Schenectady County Community College, Columbia-Greene Community College and Fulton-Montgomery Community College to receive a $1 million in funding to create and enhance credential programs and course offerings that provide pathways to employment in the cannabis industry.

WHERE: SUNY Adirondack’s farmlands and greenhouses

THE PROJECT: Each partner in the grant will focus on a specialty within the cannabis field. SUNY Adirondack will focus on how to best grow cannabis plants, and small business and entrepreneurship in the cannabis industry.

WHY: The goal is to prepare students for jobs in the fast-growing cannabis industry, which New York State Department of Health estimates will grow to between $1.7 and $3.5 billion annually. According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, a $1.7 billion industry could generate an economic output of $4.1 billion and 30,700 jobs, and attract hundreds of millions of dollars in capital investment.

HOW: SUNY Adirondack will offer five new still-in-development courses, including:

• how to grow hemp;

• how to harvest and prepare hemp for processing;

• history of cannabis in society;

• business-centered classes

The courses will be electives in SUNY Adirondack’s Agricultural Business degree program. They will also be offered as a certificate program.

ABOUT HEMP

The strain of cannabis that will be grown at SUNY Adirondack is CBD hemp, which is low in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the principal psychoactive element in marijuana. Hemp must have less than 0.3 percent THC and is tested by state officials to ensure compliance.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the value of hemp production in the U.S. in 2021 was $712 million, with more than 54,000 acres planted.

Fifty-two percent of hemp producers report farming as their primary occupation.

The global hemp industry is forecast to be valued at $16.75 billion by 2030.

“We are hoping this program will be a good attractor of students into a new branch of agriculture in New York.”

— Tim Scherbatskoy, Biology professor

Changing landscape

WHAT: Education on Agroforestry grant, funded by Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) and Northeast Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC); administered through Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District

WHERE: SUNY Adirondack’s farmlands

THE PROJECT: Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District, SUNY Adirondack’s Agricultural Business program and TheFarm@ ADK research impact of agroforestry, then put it in action on the campus farm and in classrooms.

WHY: Forest hedgerows and waterway buffers planted in and around agricultural fields conserve water, reduce erosion and improve ecological diversity.

HOW: Working closely with Nick Rowell, natural resource specialist for Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District, and an expert in soil and erosion, and Jared Woodcock, co-founder of Agroforestry Management and an expert in the field, SUNY Adirondack plans to plant nut-bearing trees and shrubs, including hazelnut and chestnut, around its agricultural fields.

A DIRTY JOB

Nick Rowell, natural resource specialist for Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District, teaches as an adjunct instructor at SUNY Adirondack.

He works closely with SUNY Adirondack’s Agricultural Business professors, offering student workshops in such subjects as no-till practices and nutrient management.

“Soil is the base of any farm,” Rowell said. “These practices help the farm, economically and productively, and keep the whole ecosystem around the farm healthier.”

NICK ROWELL

“These nut trees naturally provide food for wildlife, for birds and deer,” said Tim Scherbatskoy, a Biology professor at SUNY Adirondack. “Habitat and biodiversity are incredibly important for sustainable and ecological farming.”

The Farm Market grows

Offering fresh produce for sale to students, faculty, staff and the general public, the markets were held in the Student Center, on The Farm and in Adirondack Hall.

In addition to retail markets, The Farm harvests and delivers root vegetables, herbs and greens to the Culinary Arts Program, Seasoned, and harvests greens for pickup for Bolton Central School district.

TheFarm@ADK hosted eight retail markets on campus throughout September, October and November 2022.

By

The Numbers

SUNY Adirondack’s Culinary Center donates between 40 and 60 pounds of food to Open Door Mission each academic year.

The Farm annually uses 5,000 pounds of compost generated from the college’s Culinary Program, the Dining Hall and Einstein Bros. Bagel Cafe, saving more than $800 in fertilizer costs.

The Farm doesn’t use pesticides or other harmful chemicals on the campus farm or orchard.

Follow The Farm on Instagram @sustainablefoodadk

Even if his students’ grades didn’t depend on it, SUNY Adirondack Culinary instructor Matt Bolton is confident they would volunteer at community events.

“Most of the students say that except for running Seasoned, volunteering is the best part of the program, because it’s the hands-on educational training they all really like as culinarians,” Bolton said.

Students in food preparation classes are required to participate in one event a semester

(participation is 10 percent of their grade), but Bolton said most sign up for more.

sign

events,

“They show up with bells and whistles, and have fun. This helps them explore what they might want to do and they’re making that career filing cabinet to build upon connections in the future,” Bolton said.

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack’s Culinary students have a lot on their plates, as the program increases its participation in regional nonprofit events

WHERE: Downtown Glens Falls

DETAILS: Under the guidance of Chef Matt Bolton, SUNY Adirondack Culinary students prepare and serve delicious food at fundraising events.

EVENTS IN WHICH SEASONED AND CULINARY STUDENTS PARTICIPATE:

• Glens Falls Brew Fest’s Taps and Apps;

• an annual scholarship dinner with vintner Joseph Carr;

• Wing Fest;

Serving up goodwill lasting efforts

• BOCES open houses;

• Festival of Trees;

• Hometown Thanksgiving;

• Glens Falls Collaborative’s Christkindlmarkt;

• NAACP Soul Food Gala

A high-temperature dish machine to eliminate the need for drying chemicals and reduce the amount of water used

Biodegradable containers  for all takeout, no straws and recycles daily (bottles, cans, plastic, paper, etc.)

Sustainably sourced seafood

Motion-sensor lights and precontrolled temperatures to limit electric and fuel use

“A lot of them

up for all the

even if they don’t have to, with no reward at the end,” he said.

At your service

WHAT: A group of hospitality professionals developed a training program to help those interested in working in the hospitality industry build skills.

DETAILS: Pathways Up for Success in Hospitality (PUSH) is a program that offers free courses to hospitality workers. Those who successfully complete various trainings earn a certification that aligns them for hospitality jobs in the region.

SUNY Adirondack Business professor Kelli Hatin served on Warren County’s Hospitality Workforce Committee to develop a training incentive program to secure a flow of qualified tourism professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“Our group met often weekly for months to lay plans to create a ‘pathway’ for individuals to garner information about hospitality, our region and the industry,” Hatin said. The program included an “on your own” online Career Management Training package curated from offerings including Metrix and A2D (Arrival to Departure) Hospitality Training Program coordinated by Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce and CVB.

Individuals who complete both parts of the program receive a Pathways Up for Success in Hos-

GREAT OPPORTUNITY

With national unemployment rates at a low and businesses struggling to find workers, Great Escape tapped a local resource: SUNY Adirondack students.

In spring 2022, the company — one of the region’s largest seasonal employers — teamed with the college to offer opportunities to students in its collaborative “Work, Learn and Play” program.

pitality (PUSH) badge through Warren County Workforce Development. This badge can be included on resumes, indicating the job candidate is in “advanced standing” among PUSH partner businesses, entitling them to a guaranteed interview and a higher starting wage.

Students in Hatin’s Principles of Hospitality class (HOS 181) are required to take the A2D training and are offered the opportunity to take the Metrix option to earn the PUSH badge.

Other committee members include Liza Ochsendorf, director of Warren County Workforce Development; Tyler Herrick, general manager of The Queensbury Hotel and president of Spruce Hospitality; the late Frank Dittrich; Jim Siplon, executive director of Warren County Economic Development Corporation; Roger Allan, an A2D trainer; Andrea Kinderman of Warren County Workforce Development; and Amy Potter of Warren County EDC.

Students earned up to $16.25 an hour, lived on campus, were provided shuttle transportation to and from campus, received free park tickets and meals, and were given flexible schedules so they could enroll in summer classes.

“We hired 14 students and offered a variety of experiences — security, operations, marketing — that directly aligned with their studies and future career goals,” said Andrea Sheldon, director of Human Resources at the park.

“We provided hands-on education and experience, and hope to continue growing the program to create future leaders for Six Flags and the Lake George region.”

A program allowed students to stay on campus for the summer, work in various positions at the 150-acre theme park and continue to earn credits toward a degree.

A fresh perspective

Talking to Kevin Ankeny, longtime SUNY Adirondack professor of Broadcast Media Production, it’s easy to hear why his pitch-perfect voice has long been a sought-after asset.

But the former radio personality brought other talents to a project about the impact of humans and invasive species on the region’s natural environment.

Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District reached out to Ankeny to do some video editing for a grant-funded project for New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) and Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP).

“They found out I am SCUBA certified and invited me to dive with them,” Ankeny said.

Ankeny worked with the team underwater and helped secure a student intern to edit the video, “A Fresh Water Perspective.” “It was a great learning experience for the student,” he said.

The team conducted interviews about the water quality of Lake George, meeting with representatives from Lake George Association, Lake George Park Commission and Lake George Waterkeeper, among others.

According to the Warren County Soil and Water District website, the goal of the video was to provide the public with a lake-bottom view and promote protection of natural resources and water quality in the Lake Champlain Watershed.

“The work they do is really important,” Ankeny said. “The lake is such an economic driver.”

‘Middle of Nowhere,’ together

When Lindsay Farrar was a young teenager, she listened to Hanson, a pop band that took the charts by storm in the early 1990s.

“We took a deep dive into the lyrics and purpose of the ‘Middle of Nowhere’ album, which was written essentially by children,” Farrar said.

Farrar, a counselor at SUNY Adirondack, teamed with Broadcast Media professor Kevin Ankeny, whose students were each assigned a song Farrar associated with a mental health topic, such as depression, fitting in or breakups.

Aiden Moulton is a Broadcasting major who participated in the project.

“I picked the topic ‘fitting in’ because out of all the topics presented, that’s the one I connected with the most and have had the hardest time dealing with,” Moulton said. He played Hanson’s “Weird.”

“What I liked about the music in ‘Weird’ is that it’s a slow build, but it never feels depressing,” he said. “I liked the music, but the lyrics

weren’t for me. [The music] feels like you’re being accepted and I think that works well even if you don’t have lyrics.”

Moulton also played The Doors’ “People are Strange” during his episode, since he normally listens to classic rock (he never heard of Hanson before this project) and finds the song relatable.

Episodes in the series ranged from 3 to 15 minutes and varied greatly, since students made the assignment their own.

WHAT: Students in Broadcast Media class team with Lindsay Farrar, an on-campus counselor with a focus on diversity, to create a series of radio shows inspired by Hanson’s “Middle of Nowhere” album.

WHERE: SUNY Adirondack’s Radio Studio

THE PROJECT: For “Mental Health Minutes,” students selected a mental health topic, were assigned a song from the Hanson album, which they then discussed on air with Farrar.

WHY: Farrar said she sees students struggling to engage with others. “I wanted to do something fun and de-stigmatizing, a way to reach people. People aren’t comfortable with people anymore.”

“It’s beautiful,” Farrar said. “It was outstanding to see the differentiation around the students’ creative vision and audio production. All of them blew me away. Each one was a moment of awe.”

Pop of culture

Michael Klass likes a good laugh — and that inspired his portion of an Audio Production II project.

“Some people did stories about specific movies or TV shows, but I wanted to do something a bit more lighthearted,” the Media Arts major said. “I was thinking about what to do for a project and it just hit me: I thought it would be pretty funny to talk about laugh tracks.”

Klass’ three-minute podcast is one of 11 created by the class for 92.7 The Revolution.

For Klass, the idea of the laugh track — and its decreasing use in modern comedies — was an ideal subject matter.

“One of my favorite shows is ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,’ which has no laugh track, and people praise it for not using one,” Klass said.

Since he drives for work, Klass listens to podcasts regularly, especially “My Brother, My Brother and Me” and “The Always Sunny Podcast,” which delves into behind-the-scenes stories from the cast of Klass’ favorite sitcom.

“Podcasts are important, I think,” he said. “Sometimes I need something just a bit more engaging than music to listen to; it makes me feel less lonely in the car.”

WHAT: Students in COM 275, Audio Production II, created Popcasts, a series of podcasts about pop culture.

WHERE: SUNY Adirondack’s Radio Studio

WHY: Students selected a topic under the broad “pop culture” category, then created a podcast that aired on 92.7 The Revolution and is available at http://www.wgfr.org/.

“This is our first time offering this course, which has a focus away from strictly programming to include different types of audio projects, including podcasting,”

said Kevin Ankeny, distinguished professor of Broadcasting. “The students really dug in and did great projects.”

Designing success

WHAT: Arts, Media and Culture offers a Lending Library that provides students equipment and software they need to successfully complete their courses.

WHAT IT INCLUDES:

• 2021 iMac Desktops;

• 2015 iMac Desktops for introductory-level students;

• Macbook Pros;

• iPads;

• Canon Rebel t7 cameras;

• various Nikon cameras;

SUNY Adirondack’s Arts, Media and Culture division offers resources and facilities generally seen only at large universities. With five computer labs (four in Washington Hall and one in SUNY Adirondack Saratoga) and radio and TV studios, AMC and Early College Career Academy students have access to industry-standard computers, software and equipment, providing them hands-on experiences that prepare them for careers in the industry.

• impact strobe lighting kits and modifiers;

• transmitters;

• off-camera flash kits;

• Wacom drawing tablets;

• backpack lighting kits;

• hard drives;

• lenses;

• microphones;

• lighting rigs, mixers and remote triggers

WHO IT AFFECTS: As of the Spring 2023 semester, 221 students — those who are AMC majors and others taking AMC classes as electives — were using the lending system.

By The Numbers

• FOUR COMPUTER LABS;

• TWO GLOWFORGE LASER CUTTERS;

• TWO NOMAD CNC MACHINES;

• FIVE MAKERBOT REPLICATOR+ 3D PRINTERS;

• ONE MAKERBOT METHOD X 3D PRINTER;

• ONE ULTIMAKER 3 3D PRINTER;

• THREE ENDER 3 VS 3D PRINTERS;

• ONE CREALITY CR-30 BELT PRINTER;

• ONE FORM 2 RESIN PRINTER

(JUST

OFFERINGS)

SOFTWARE THAT INCLUDES

• Adobe Suite

• Ultimaker Cura

• PreForm

• Nomad

• Creality Slicer

• Procreate

•

•

• Vectorinator

• Sketchbook and so much more!

Stacking up

What: The Business Council of New York State honored the State University of New York (SUNY) system with a New York State Workforce Innovation Award for the college system’s microcredential programs.

Details: SUNY Adirondack offers 10 microcredentials — series of courses that lead to certification of a skill set — including:

• Adobe Illustrator Basics

• Adobe InDesign Basics

• Adobe Photoshop Basics

• Intermediate Spanish for Global Communications

• NYS Coaching Certification

• Rock Climbing Certification

• Ski Instruction Level I Certification

• Ski Instruction Level I EnhancedCertification

• Snowboarding Instruction

Level I Certification

• Snowboarding Instruction

Level I Enhanced Certification

Visit www.sunyacc.edu/ academics/microcredentials.

JOB PREP

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack offers Workforce Readiness Academies Program (WRAP) to serve unemployed and underemployed residents of New York.

DETAILS: Funded through a New York State and Federal Department of Labor grant, the partnership provides instruction in Front End Web Development, Python for Data Analytics, Sterile Processing Technician and Electrical Maintenance Technician Bootcamp.

When a flier landed a little crooked at a Schuylerville Central School cheerleading practice, her elbow crushed the nose of a teammate. Blood gushed, as it so often does with nose injuries, but Charlene Becker didn’t panic.

“I was naturally kind of calm,” said Becker, the team’s coach, who earned New York State Coaching Certification through SUNY Adirondack’s microcredentials program.

“It was pretty rough, there was a ton of blood, but I stayed calm, got ice on her right away and got the bleeding to stop. She didn’t even have black eyes,” Becker said, with just a hint of pride.

After graduating from SUNY Adirondack and SUNY Plattsburgh’s branch campus at SUNY Adirondack, Becker

dove into work at Aflac. A friend was hired as Schuylerville High School’s head cheering coach, and she asked Becker to be her assistant. After a year and a half, the friend had to step down, so Becker took on the head coach role.

“Being able to coach, to continue that passion and develop athletes, to help them succeed, that’s something I really love to do,” Becker said.

She took athletic training courses at SUNY Adirondack, learning to analyze and tape injuries (she said she has taped countless ankles in her coaching career), and handle an emergency.

She heads into her seventh year coaching with a 2022 Sectionals victory and an appearance at States under her skirt. But mostly she’s proud of life lessons learned.

“I think it’s important they’re a student first, athlete second, so they’re focusing on academics,” she said. “I want them to develop these skills in their high school careers because this is a precursor for life, they’re learning life skills.”

SUNY Adirondack’s WRAP includes customized support services based on participant need, such as career coaching, academic advising, job-search skills, and accessing resources such as emergency child care and technology support.

By The Numbers

Sixty-eight students have taken Python for Data Analytics since Summer 2021

Nine completed Front-End Web Development in 2021

20 finished Sterile Processing Technician in 2022

23 enrolled in Electrical Maintenance Bootcamp

Sacred connection

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack welcomes Larry Yazzie and Patti Two Ravens in separate events honoring indigenous heritage.

DETAILS: World-champion fancy dancer Larry Yazzie performed at the college in November 2021 and Patti Two Ravens, keeper of Mother Moose Drum, performed in October 2022.

When Lindsay Farrar was hired as a multicultural specialist at SUNY Adirondack, the counselor knew she had to do a little research.

“I spent time learning what was already going on at the college regarding multiculturalism, and I discovered most was focused on race — particularly black vs. white,” Farrar said. “I analyzed what we were offering and what we were lacking, then got busy where I could make a difference.”

That included welcoming Patti Two

Ravens to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day in 2022. Patti Two Ravens is Metis (Native/European) and drum keeper of Mother Moose Drum, a 36-inch-by-17-inch 14-sided mother drum.

She has facilitated drum and healing circles for years.

“In relation to counseling and healing, connecting to the sacred is a natural fit,” Farrar said. “Before people went to therapy, they drummed, they danced, they sang, they were strengthened by their community.”

Patti Two Ravens led drum circles celebrating culture, offering healing for women who are victims of violence (native women suffer significantly higher rates of victimization than white women) and providing a spiritual experience for all participants.

Larry Yazzie, a world-champion fancy dancer, helped SUNY Adirondack celebrate Indigenous Peoples Month in 2021 by performing on campus. Yazzie is a Native American (Mesk-

waki/Dine Tribe) who has performed all over the world, including in Russia, Finland, Norway, France, Romania, Brazil, Australia and Guatemala.

“My artistry allows me to share and educate about my beautiful culture,” Yazzie said. “The stories and traditions are passed on through song and dance, which is another way for keeping our culture alive.”

Farrar knows the importance of celebrating heritage.

“A lot of history is told from the perspective of colonial settlers, white men, and that’s not true,” Farrar said. “It is a topic we have more growth and learning to do, and our students are naturally curious and open to learning about things. I want to bring forth something authentic and meaningful to share with the wider community.”

In good company

WHAT: The Men of Color Alliance (MOCA) brings together male students, faculty and staff of color to provide networking and social opportunities in a safe space.

DETAILS: Sixteen students meet regularly for social activities, mentorship and networking events.

By The Numbers

16 MOCA participants at SUNY Adirondack

Two participants made the Dean’s List in Fall 2022

2.24 average GPA of participants (the national average for men of color is 2.1)

The young men of MOCA created a video to promote the group, showing its members playing mini golf, racing go-karts, eating hibachi, designing their ideal student lounge and building marshmallow structures in a STEM challenge.

But the fun they’re having is just the surface of a campus-wide effort to help provide male students of color — a group that, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, experiences the lowest graduation rates compared with peers of other races and ethnicities — opportunities for success.

“Having that sense of community, of belonging, is important,” said

MOCA offers participating students academic success coaches, monthly networking luncheons, four-year college transfer visits, a stipend for professional attire and attendance at SUNY’s Men of Color annual Diversity Conference.

Elijah Cullum, a Criminal Justice major and student trustee.

“We have to start somewhere,” Cullum said. “Everybody — black, Hispanic, any minorities — if we help other people who look like us, we have the potential of being something great.”

Strategic Goal 2

EXPAND ENROLLMENT

Seek new student populations to expand credit and non-credit enrollment and invest in completion strategies that create equitable outcomes.

Game changer

Talk about a home-field advantage: SUNY Adirondack in late 2022 broke ground on a $5.7 million turf field — a move that provides the college and entire region increased opportunities.

Adaptable for softball, baseball, soccer and lacrosse, the field is the latest of upgrades to the college’s Athletics facilities, and provides SUNY Adirondack greater capability to recruit student athletes.

The facility is the most recent investment by SUNY Adirondack in the broader community, as it provides regional tourism and athletics professionals opportunity to host sporting events in a state-of-theart facility. (Rentals are anticipated to begin in the fall of 2023.)

“This substantial investment elevates the opportunities to bring new sports tournaments and events to the area and showcase the college to new athletes, fans and families,” said Gina Mintzer, executive director of Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce and CVB.

The turf field project is funded by:

• SUNY Adirondack;

• SUNY Adirondack Foundation;

• the Faculty-Student Association of SUNY Adirondack;

• Adirondack Housing Association;

• Stewart’s Shops and the Dake Family: a fund of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region;

• the Estate of Thomas Ross;

• Adirondack Trust Company;

• Bette & Cring;

• with matching funds provided by New York state

“We are proud of this amazing new facility and excited by the possibilities it brings to the college and our region,” said Rachael Hunsinger Patten, chief advancement officer at the college and executive director of SUNY Adirondack Foundation.

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack breaks ground on a $5.7 million synthetic turf field.

WHERE: On the south side of the Queensbury campus, the field is behind the Gymnasium, beyond the east-side parking lot.

DETAILS: The project includes:

• a field for softball, baseball, soccer and lacrosse;

• a press box;

• dugouts;

• bullpens;

• two sets of stands (one to watch baseball and softball games; another to view soccer and lacrosse games);

• a complete sound system;

• capability to live-stream games

GIVE: SUNY Adirondack Foundation continues to fundraise in support of the project. Naming opportunities are available. Donations can be made at www.sunyacc.edu/give or by calling 518-743-2243.

“SUNY Adirondack is an asset for our entire region, as these facilities are used by the college’s athletic teams as well as by the community for various sports and recreational activities.”

‘We’re all Timberwolves’

Samantha Whay-Jenkins built a career around education and was honored by the Queen of England as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her service to education and promotion of British business. The 58-year-old United Kingdom native has lived and worked in Spain, Panama and Qatar in education leadership and human resources support and consultancy. But despite her considerable successes, Whay-Jenkins never earned a college degree.

“I went to university for a year, dropped out and went right to

work,” she said.

After establishing a British school in Panama, she arrived in Qatar and was tasked with developing a relationship between Durham School and SUNY Adirondack.

As the school and college were preparing to offer courses in live, interactive classrooms, WhayJenkins was asked to attend classes to help students transition successfully into the program.

“Because I was going to be in all the classes, they said, ‘You might as well sign up as well; you’re going to be attending all the classes, you might as well get the credits,’” she said.

“It has been a real challenge juggling a full-time job and studying.”

Whay-Jenkins is SUNY Adirondack’s first graduate from its program in Qatar and, as such, spoke at Commencement 2022 at Cool Insuring Arena in downtown Glens Falls.

“[The students in Qatar] feel they’re part of the college and they do feel like Timberwolves,” she said.

SAMANTHA WHAY-JENKINS

Associate degree in Liberal Arts from SUNY Adirondack in Doha, Qatar, in 2022

Executive director of Operations at Durham School for Girls

WHAT: Engineering, Computer Science and Calculus lab, an informal meeting space for students taking advanced courses in mathematics

WHERE: Dearlove, Room 126

WHY: Students taking advanced mathematics courses gather to work collaboratively, study, do homework and, when needed, ask faculty members for help.

It all adds up

Julian Mattison is an Engineering Science major who uses the Engineering, Computer Science and Calculus lab nearly every day.

“The math lab is a fairly chill place to work, an environment free of other distractions,” he said. “I go there in between classes and sometimes before and after to work on homework, labs or study for my classes.”

According to Jill Lloyd, chair of the Mathematics Division and associate professor of Mathematics at SUNY Adirondack, mostly Engineering students use the space, since most high-level math students are in that program.

“Students benefit so much from working together and sharing ideas,” Lloyd said. “The best way to learn something is to explain to someone else; they’re helping somebody and gaining a better depth of knowledge.”

“Some of the professors started this space because we didn’t earn our degrees alone,” Lloyd said. “We worked with other people.”

Students like Mattison use whiteboards and computers, and can easily pop in to one of the surrounding faculty offices for help when needed.

to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of Albany to study either civil or environmental engineering. “It’s a space for higherlevel math students to connect and work together.”

“I feel as though I should take advantage of the opportunity given to me to work in the math lab, because not everyone is given a space like this,” said Mattison, who has applied

Second chance

In more than seven years as an adjunct instructor and tutor of English, Lisa Grant has read countless essays. But few have moved her as much as submissions to the 2022 edition of Expressions, SUNY Adirondack’s creative publication.

Five Second Chance students in Grant’s ENG 101 class at Washington Correctional Facility submitted works and three were selected — in an anonymous jurying process — for inclusion.

of 3.2 and 4.0, respectively, while taking a full-time course load).

In August 2022, 17 students earned a certificate in Entrepreneurship and Management, with another 14 expected to receive a certificate in August 2023 and 10 students on track to earn an associate degree in August 2023.

According to the Department of Justice, programs such as Second Chance greatly reduce recidivism rates. Research findings show that inmates who participate in education programs are 43 percent less likely to return to prison than inmates who do not.

The largest-ever analysis of correctional educational studies indicate that prison education programs are cost effective, with a $1 investment in education reducing incarceration costs by $4 to $5 the first year after release, when those who leave prison are most likely to return.

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack offers Pell-eligible men at Washington Correctional Facility an opportunity to earn a degree through the Pell Second Chance program.

DETAILS: Students can earn a certificate in Entrepreneurship and Management, or an associate degree in Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Classes are offered in Washington Correctional Facility by SUNY Adirondack professors and adjunct instructors.

BY THE NUMBERs

44 students enrolled in Second Chance at Washington Correctional Facility

17 students awarded certificates

10 students on track to earn an associate degree in Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship in August 2023

22 computers in lab on a local area network (LAN) to support instruction and student learning

One in-classroom library developed for scholars

A smaller fall version of Expressions garnered 20 short stories and poems from Second Chance students in ENG 109, eight of which were selected for publication.

Increased skill in writing is among many successes in the classrooms at the correctional facility. Since the program started in fall 2021, the majority of students earned Dean’s or President’s List honors (maintaining a grade point average

A RAND Corporation analysis of correctional education research found that employment after release was 13 percent higher among prisoners who participated in education programs than among those who did not.

“These students are inspiring,” said Michael Prutsman, SUNY Adirondack’s dean for Extended Program. “Seeing the work they put in, their commitment and success is life-changing.”

“Their writing is some of the most thought-provoking student writing I have had the pleasure to read,” Grant said, describing the works as displaying “compassion,” “polish” and “pride.”

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

— Winston S. Churchill

INDIVIDUALS WHO PARTICIPATE IN ANY TYPE OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

WHILE IN PRISON ARE 43 PERCENT LESS LIKELY TO RETURN TO PRISON.

Black has been successful, securing more than $1.7 million in grant funding in the past year. (She works part time for SUNY Adirondack and part time for Fulton-Montgomery Community College, where she has secured more than $1.2 million in that time.)

SUNY Adirondack is a long way from South India, but Kelly Black is finding her work as a grant writer as fulfilling — albeit perhaps not quite as exciting — as her archaeological study of the impact of human-animal relationships on the environment throughout the Iron Age, Neolithic and early historic periods in that region.

As Black earned master’s and doctoral degrees, she applied for grants to fund her research, which brought her to Egypt, China and India. She secured grant funding from National Geographic and the National Science Foundation, among other sources.

Before beginning work at SUNY Adirondack, Black was a lecturer and teaching assistant at University of Chicago, teaching social theory courses and serving as a TA for anthropology and environmental law courses.

In 2017, Black moved to the region with her husband, who grew up here, and their young family. “I heard such great things about SUNY Adirondack so the college was always on my radar,” Black said. “When the grant writer job was posted … this opportunity seemed too good to ignore. The position was the perfect combination of things I was looking for in a job: it presented a new professional challenge, it required a skill set I was confident I had and I believed it would be a rewarding experience.”

have a positive impact over the

she said.

Much about the college makes her job a little easier in a competitive environment.

“SUNY Adirondack has a successful history of procuring large grants and managing complex projects,” Black said. “Funders do not need to worry about whether SUNY Adirondack can complete projects; the college has a successful track record.”

“There is so much good energy and good work that comes from the shared commitment to providing accessible education at SUNY Adirondack. It is really inspiring to watch and be a part of,” she said. “Working at SUNY Adirondack has exceeded my expectations.”

“As part of my job, I consider all the pros and cons of different grant opportunities and I help identify projects that the college can reasonably manage and which will

long and short term,”

“I think about whether a grant is a good fit for the college, how opportunities articulate with the college’s mission and how they support the college’s strategic goals.”

Planting roots

NURSING EXTENSION

WHAT: High Needs Nursing Grant

WHERE: SUNY Adirondack

Saratoga

THE PROJECT: SUNY Adirondack was awarded a state High Needs grant to extend its Nursing program enrollment.

WHY: The health care industry is in need of more nurses, as the nation’s aging population increases demand for health care.

SUNY Adirondack first started offering evening classes in rented space at Saratoga Central Catholic High School in 1977. Last winter, the college celebrated its 45th anniversary serving Saratoga County.

Today, the college offers courses at SUNY Adirondack Saratoga, a

two-story modern facility that features state-of-the-art laboratories, spacious classrooms and a lecture hall at 696 Route 9 in Wilton.

“We are honored to be Saratoga County’s educator of choice since 1977,” said Kristine D. Duffy, Ed.D., president of SUNY Adirondack. “SUNY Adirondack started off in Saratoga with just a few evening classes and, throughout more than four decades, has greatly expanded its presence, and is proud to be celebrating this milestone.”

BY THE NUMBERs

$48 million: SUNY Adirondack’s contribution to the Saratoga County economy

34 percent of SUNY Adirondack students are residents of Saratoga County

250: number of Saratoga County high school graduates who enter SUNY Adirondack directly from high school each year

1,500: number of students attending college courses in local high schools

1 in 8 Saratoga County residents, ages 18 to 65, are enrolled in a SUNY Adirondack course

18,982: number of Saratoga County students who took classes at SUNY Adirondack between 2007 and 2022

HOW: SUNY Adirondack welcomes eight licensed practical nurses (LPN) in a grant-funded cohort to SUNY Adirondack Saratoga, where they attend classes based on SUNY Adirondack’s Queensbury campus remotely, live and simultaneously in a classroom and laboratory specially outfitted for the program.

SUNY Adirondack received funding to increase enrollment and address emerging trends in Nursing education. The SUNY High Needs Nursing grant supports eight LPNs to attend SUNY Adirondack at its SUNY Adirondack Saratoga facility.

“The entire room is set up so the students are attending virtually, but they’re still a part of the classroom, expected to participate and be part of what is happening,” explained Kim Hedley, chair of SUNY Adirondack’s Health Services division.

A lab at SUNY Adirondack Saratoga was outfitted to look exactly like the Nursing lab at SUNY Adirondack’s Queensbury campus. A classroom assistant ensures everything runs smoothly and set up labs.

“This will help us meet the needs of our community,” Headley said.

Expanding horizons

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack’s Office of Continuing Education and Workforce Development joins forces with Saratoga Springs schools to offer non-credit courses in the district.

WHERE: Classes are offered at SUNY Adirondack Saratoga and Saratoga Springs school buildings.

WHY: Saratoga Springs School

District offered enrichment courses before the COVID-19 pandemic. Partnering with SUNY Adirondack’s long-standing, successful program will bring back new and past courses and instructors to Saratoga Springs residents.

DETAILS: In addition to SUNY Adirondack’s existing robust schedule of classes and activities

at its Queensbury and Glens Falls locations, courses are offered in Saratoga Springs for such varied interests as cooking, fitness, arts, languages, and trips and tours. Class prices start at $15 for single-session experiences and vary through $89 for multiple-week programs. Also offered are workforce development and upskilling courses at higher costs, with some providing funding opportunities.

An online brochure and registration request form are available at https://www.sunyacc.edu/ continuing-ed/continuingeducation-saratoga.

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack adds Electrical Maintenance Technician Bootcamp to its Workforce Development course offerings. The course includes a toolkit for each student, as well as OSHA’s Lockout Tagout (LOTO) certification training and examination.

WHERE: SUNY Adirondack Saratoga

DETAILS: The Electrical Maintenance Technician Bootcamp is a 12-week course offered by SUNY Adirondack’s WRAP Reimagine grant, under the SUNY Reimagine Workforce Preparation Training Program, fully funded by the United States Department of Education.

Career services are embedded in the course and include presentations by area job centers and recruitment opportunities with local employers.

The Electrical Maintenance Technician Bootcamp teaches participants a strong foundation in basic math applications and conversions, measurement and scientific notation skills; an introduction to AC and DC currents; safety protocol, including PPE and LOTO certification; an introduction to PLC equipment and relay communications; hand tool use; and use of continuous improvement models used in modern manufacturing environments including Lean and Six Sigma.

WHAT: A team of four SUNY Adirondack Early College Career Academy students attended SkillsUSA National Conference in June 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.

DETAILS: The group earned first place in the state competition, then moved on to nationals, where it took seventh.

The SkillsUSA National Conference provided Kayla Livingston a lot of firsts.

“It was an amazing experience,” said Livingston, a Hartford native and Independent Studies major at SUNY Adirondack who graduated from the college’s Early College Career Academy (ECCA) program. “The energy was insane.”

After arriving in Atlanta, Georgia, a group of four SUNY Adirondack ECCA students scrambled to catch a ride to State Farm Arena to see famed rapper Flo Rida perform — Livingston’s first time using Uber and seeing a live concert.

Fierce competition

The group, which also included Aidan Murphy, Nick Westfall and Hailey Westbrook, attended the national Entrepreneurship Competition in June 2022 after taking first place in the state SkillsUSA competition with its plan for Lifetime Zero, a zero-waste grocery store.

“We designed a grocery store to have no waste, no packaging,” Livingston explained. “It’s environmentally friendly, which is what we want — no more harming the environment more than we already are — and it benefits the consumer as they aren’t paying for the brand.”

The competitions are held in two parts: In the first, the group creates a business plan; in the second, the students deliver a presentation about their business in a situation Livingston described as being similar to hit ABC reality show “Shark Tank.”

Then, the young entrepreneurially minded students are faced with a challenge. At nationals, that was to

determine what would happen to the business during a two-day power outage.

“We had to make the best out of a worst-case scenario,” Livingston said. The SUNY Adirondack team impressed and took seventh in the national competition.

“The experience was life-changing,” Livingston said. “SkillsUSA really opened my eyes to the fact I don’t have to be a turtle in my shell, and that I can do anything if I set my mind to it.”

FUN FACT

After graduating from SUNY Adirondack’s ECCA program, the SkillsUSA team members all transferred to bachelor’s degree programs. Livingston will graduate from SUNY Adirondack in May 2023, then attend Castleton University, where she will major in Business. Murphy is a student at Bentley University; Westfall attends Syracuse University; and Westbrook is at Siena College.

Enriched

EXPANDING HORIZONS

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack and the Adirondack Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) offer Girls Go STEM, an annual day of science, technology, engineering and math for regional middle school girls.

DETAILS: Sixty young women visit SUNY Adirondack to explore STEM-related disciplines through hands-on learning experiences.

Since 2016 (with a break for the pandemic-related shutdown), SUNY Adirondack has hosted Girls Go STEM.

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack continues to offer Summer Enrichment, a program geared toward children in grades 4 through 10 to learn, experiment and have fun in courses designed for all interests.

DETAILS: At the height of the pandemic, SUNY Adirondack offered Summer Enrichment classes virtually, returning to in-person courses in the summer of 2022.

While their peers were sleeping in late or riding bikes around their neighborhoods, small groups of teenagers hunched over lab tables at SUNY Adirondack, peering into vials of murky orange liquid.

The kids — in grades 7 to 10 — were extracting DNA from strawberries, then examining it under a microscope.

“The hands-on activities were a lot of fun,” said Rowan Triller, a Queensbury student

who attended the Forensic Science program in the summer of 2022. “Now I bring the supplies when I baby-sit a new family and show the little kids, to hopefully inspire a love of science.”

Despite finding the experiment “fascinating,” what Triller liked most was the fingerprinting unit.

“I love true-crime podcasts and forensics TV dramas; taking fingerprints and learning about how to analyze them made me even more certain I want a job in an investigative field someday,” she said.

Other classes offered include American Sign Language, theater, rockets, art, “Dungeons & Dragons” and a Culinary Arts camp. Once students age out of Summer Enrichment, they can work as a faculty assistant or Summer Enrichment office assistant.

Learn more at https:// www.sunyacc.edu/ summer-enrichment.

The all-day event offers workshops that encourage middle-school girls to explore science, technology, engineering and math. Female speakers who work in related fields offer presentations, talks and hands-on experiences.

Participating young women are recommended by their teachers to attend the free event.

BY THE NUMBERs

434: Number of students who attended 2016 through 2022

Participating schools: Argyle Central School; Bolton Central School; Cambridge Central School; Corinth Central School; Fort Ann Central School; Fort Edward Union Free School; Glens Falls City School District; Granville Central School; Greenwich Central School; Hadley-Luzerne Central School; Hartford Central School; Hudson Falls Central School; Lake George Central School; Queensbury Union Free School District; Salem Central School; Schuylerville Central School; South Glens Falls Central School; St. Mary’s/St. Alphonsus Regional Catholic School; Warrensburg Central School

34 percent of STEM-related jobs in the United States are filled by women (despite the fact nearly half the workforce is women)

WHAT: Former SUNY Adirondack student competes in “Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the Ages” on FOX.

WHEN: Season 21 of the Gordon Ramsey hit reality TV show ran September 2022 through February 2023.

FUN FACT: After his “Hell’s Kitchen” experience, Billy Trudsoe returned to the area, where he is executive chef of Basil & Wicks in North Creek. Learn more at www.basilandwicks.com.

Strategic

Goal 3 CHAMPION STUDENT SUCCESS

Create and promote deeper partnerships and initiatives that lead students to transfer and employment success.

Hell’s Kitchen

Billy Trudsoe was awaiting a flight in the lobby of Albany International Airport, scrolling through Facebook, when a sponsored ad caught his eye. “There was an application for ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ so I filled it out,” he remembered. “When I got to the end — and this was during the era of masks — it read ‘Can we get a three-minute video of your personality?’ And I didn’t want to lose all this info, so I did it right there with my mask on.”

Four days later, producers of “Hell’s Kitchen,” a long- running FOX cooking competition reality show, called Trudsoe, who grew up in Chestertown, worked for years at restaurants throughout the Lake George region and attended SUNY Adirondack’s Culinary Arts program.

Nearly a year later, he appeared on “Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the Ages” on FOX.

“‘Hell’s Kitchen’ is a very intense, adverse, insane environment,” Trudsoe said. “You just don’t know what to expect or when to expect anything. It’s hot, it’s grueling, it’s tiresome.”

Trudsoe has worked at restaurants that include The Algonquin, Iva and Audie’s Country Diner, Malone Golf Club, The Garrison, Chateau on the Lake and Blue Water Manor before moving to Florida in 2021.

“I’ve been following Gordon Ramsey for 20-plus years,” Trudsoe said. “Just to have him try my food and to get a chance to meet him; he’s like Michael Jordan, the culinary GOAT in my eyes.”

Trudsoe was eliminated after the fifth service on “Hell’s Kitchen,” but still called the experience a win.

“I got to meet some great contestants, teammates you grow relationships with,” he said. “There’s nothing like ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ that’s for sure.”

Learn more about Billy Trudsoe by following his Instagram pages, @adkchef and @btruesmadflava.

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Eileen Caliva’s business, Caliva Cookie Co., is deeply rooted in SUNY Adirondack, so it was a natural step for her to teach her craft out of the college’s Culinary Arts Center.

Caliva earned a degree from the college, participated in its StartUp ADK business incubation class and regularly uses what she learned in running her business. So when the college started offering Continuing Education classes in baking, Caliva knew it was a perfect fit.

“Teaching baking classes at SUNY Adirondack Culinary Center has a lot of advantages,” Caliva said. “The facility offers an efficient prep area for students and enough ovens, stoves, refrig-

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack opened the kitchen doors of its Culinary Arts Center to the public by offering Continuing Education classes.

erators and kitchen equipment for baking and demonstration.” Perhaps sweetest of all for Caliva is how the biscotti baking classes strengthen her network. “It’s a great opportunity to retain customers and build relationships through positive interaction,” she said.

The benefits extend to her students, too.

“Baking classes are an excellent way to relax and improve your emotional well-being while learning new skills and having fun,” she said. “It can also be a great way to meet people with similar interests and make new friends.”

WHERE: SUNY Adirondack’s Culinary Arts Center, 14 Hudson Ave., Glens Falls

THE DETAILS: Continuing Education offers courses geared toward adult community members and a Summer Enrichment children’s culinary program out of the college’s Culinary Arts Center.

Awarded

What: Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, the highest recognition issued to students by SUNY

ANNE WOJTOWECZ

2022 graduate of SUNY Adirondack with a degree in Information Technology: Information Security

Currently: Tutor at SUNY Adirondack; dually enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s programs at The College of Saint Rose in cybersecurity and computer science, respectively

Anne Wojtowecz served in the U.S. Army from August 1999 to April 2011 and was promoted  through the ranks to staff sergeant. She served back-to-back tours in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

At SUNY Adirondack, Anne served as president of the Veterans Club and Phi Theta Kappa. She was on the President’s List every semester and received scholarships recognizing her achievements.

CRYSTAL PUTERKO

2022 graduate of SUNY Adirondack with a degree in Business Administration

Currently: Student at SUNY Oswego, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management

Crystal Puterko was a member of Phi Theta Kappa, on the Dean’s List for three  semesters, and received the Shirley Fox Memorial Scholarship. As a busy adult student, Crystal attended college full time while raising her family and working.

MIA DURHAM

2021 graduate of SUNY Adirondack’s Liberal Arts Math & Science program

Currently: Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science at SUNY Cobleskill’s animal science bachelor’s degree program; owner of Mia A. Durham Farriery

Mia Durham attended classes at SUNY Adirondack during her junior and senior years of high school to round out her homeschool education.

She earned a farrier’s certification from Cornell, opened a business caring for horses’ hooves and then enrolled at SUNY Adirondack full time. She graduated in 2021 with a degree in Liberal Arts Math & Science, then transferred to SUNY Cobleskill, where she pursued a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science, with the hope of becoming a veterinarian focusing on equine.

YANARY CHAMPAGNIE

2021 graduate of SUNY Adirondack with a degree in Business Administration

Yanary Champagnie has big dreams, centered on helping people: The Jamaica native and 2021 SUNY Adirondack graduate wants to run a nonprofit agency that helps provide people struggling with food and supplies they need. With good grades and such a solid work ethic, Champagnie was asked to apply to become a peer coach as part of ADK Compass’ program to support first-year students.

Power play

A health issue sidelined Brennan Dowd.

Off and on for two and a half months, the SUNY Adirondack graduate and Glens Falls native was in the hospital and, while recuperating, he watched hockey on TV.

“I’ve loved hockey forever,” he said. “I started reading a book about an industry professional and it all clicked. I decided that once I had my health figured out, I wanted to go back to school.”

So Dowd, who earned a degree in Liberal Arts from SUNY Adirondack, returned to the college and earned a second associate degree, this time in Broadcast Media Production, in May 2021. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in TV-Video Production from SUNY Plattsburgh in December 2021.

While a student at Plattsburgh, Dowd was the play-by-play announcer for Cardinals hockey, a job for which he was recommended by a professor.

Today, he is a production assistant at the Saratoga Springs-based

Carr-Hughes Productions, a sports production company. On a part-time basis, he is the voice of Adirondack Thunder Junior, a newly established junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Hockey League Premier with home ice at Cool Insuring Arena, and does interviewing and social media work for Adirondack Thunder.

In some ways, the pandemic and ensuing shutdown — which hit his second semester at SUNY Adirondack — assisted Dowd long after he walked across the stage with diploma in hand.

“I wish I had gotten more involved the first time I was here,” he said. “Coming back, it all clicked into place, ‘Oh wait, that makes sense because of this.’ I immediately got involved in as many things as I could.”

Dowd said things didn’t go as he planned, but worked out better than he imagined. “I’m having a hard time figuring out how all these opportunities would have happened. If it

weren’t for COVID, hockey wouldn’t have shut down, the SUNY Plattsburgh announcer might not have stepped away, I might not have built up experience at a TV station …”

All that led to SUNY Adirondack Professor Kevin Ankeny thinking of Dowd when Thunder Junior was looking for on-air talent.

“That’s twice now that a college professor has set me up with something very close to my dream job,” Dowd marveled.

SUNY Adirondack student majoring in Liberal Arts Humanities & Social Sciences, will graduate in May 2023 Will attend The College of Saint Rose to earn a bachelor’s degree in Social Studies: Adolescence Education with a concentration in History

Language of love

For years, Kevin Castellanos spoke to his father through his grandmother: The Long Island native would say what he wanted in English for his grandma to relay in Spanish to Castellanos’ father in El Salvador.

“It was difficult for me,” admitted Castellanos, who visited his father for the first time when he was 16. “It was really the first time we met, I could barely remember him and mostly my grandmother was my translator.”

Castellanos was born in the United States to Salvadoran parents, but until he started taking Spanish classes in middle school, he only spoke English. His parents split up by the time he was 2 and his father moved back to his home country.

“My mom didn’t want to teach me Spanish; she was afraid if I had an accent, I wouldn’t fit in,” Castellanos said. “That was her mind-set, so she taught me English and neglected teaching me Spanish.”

When he arrived at SUNY Adirondack, he was determined to improve his Spanish language skills. He wanted to speak to his father without a translator at a level beyond cordial conversation.

“Language gives us the power to make sense of the world around us and the opportunity to connect with the people we love,” said Adriana Umana, professor of language at SUNY Adirondack.

“In Kevin’s case, learning Spanish afforded him a chance to understand the many layers of his own Latino identity while reconnecting with a family he had been separated from by geography and language.

It was a gift to witness how Kevin was able to build a bridge toward El Salvador — where many of his family members live today — as he progressed in Spanish.“

Castellanos took every class offered, earning an Intermediate Spanish for Global Communications microcredential, which comprises nine credits and signifies students are able to communicate at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ Intermediate Level.

was a goal

I really wanted to communicate with my family in El Salvador,” he said. “My dad is proud of seeing me learn just so I can speak to him, and it’s nice to finally talk to him without any barriers.”

“Speaking Spanish

because

Common ground

After a fire destroyed the business he owned with his son, Bert Weber was humbled by the outpouring of support from his neighbors.

Once Common Roots Brewing Company rebuilt its South Glens Falls restaurant and taproom, Weber and his family created The Common Roots Foundation to give back to the community that supported them.

“The Foundation supports groups that are doing things to support environmental or social justice issues; people in crisis — it could be a business, family or organization — and things that promote an active and healthy lifestyle,” said Weber, who before opening the business attended SUNY Adirondack’s StartUp ADK program. “If we can support groups that are in line with our ethos, that’s where we’re going to put our money.”

The Foundation offers two application cycles a year, funding gifts of up to $2,500. In its most recent, the Foundation received 17 applications and granted $21,000 to nine of the applicants. Recipients include Wait House, Glens Falls Youth Center, Tri-County Literacy, Habitat for Humanity, Up Yonda Farms, Crandall

Park Beautification Committee and World Awareness Children’s Museum, among others.

The nonprofit organization, which was recently backed by its first legacy member, Boralex, also offers a microgrant of $250 once a month to help with difficult issues that arise throughout the year.

ANOTHER ROUND

Since Common Roots’ new facility opened, the company’s following has grown significantly.

“In summer months, people are turned away because it’s too crowded, they’re waiting in line,” co-owner Bert Weber lamented.

So when property across Marion Street from the taproom was listed for sale, Weber bought it with plans to build a warehouse to store supplies sometimes difficult to secure given supply chain issues.

Then, Common Roots owners saw an opportunity. “We could do another taproom over there and event space; we get a lot of requests for weddings and it doesn’t make sense to rent out the taproom on weekends,” he said.

Work has begun on the new facility, designed to match the current building, with an anticipated opening in June 2023.

“It’s very exciting,” Weber said.

Use the QR code to read Common Roots’ StartUp story.

“Our goal was simple: to give back to the tremendous community that supported us through difficult times and continues to step up for their neighbors,” said Weber, who serves as president of The Foundation’s board of directors. “The Foundation has been able to support even more programs that are truly making a difference in the lives of the people we want to serve.”

CHRISTIAN WEBER BERT WEBER

Students arrive at SUNY Adirondack eager to find themselves, to turn their potential into promise. They grow, expand their views and solidify their strengths. They graduate and head out into the world as innovative professionals, citizens who enact change and make a difference in our community.

The college bestows upon its alumni who demonstrate excellence in the areas of professional achievement, community service, service to ACC/ SUNY Adirondack and/or outstanding spirit, appointment to its Trailblazers Society.

Over the past two years, four alumni were named Trailblazers: Cassandra Moore of Glens Falls Hospital; Lisa Mitzen of Business for Good; John Strough, a longtime elected official; and Tanya Tobias-Tomis of Lake George Arts Project.

Moore is a 2005 graduate of SUNY Adirondack’s highly respected Nursing program and a 2021 Trailblazer. She is a service line administrator of Glens Falls Hospital’s Neurology & Stroke Program. Throughout the past 17 years, she has worked as a critical care nurse and nurse educator, and developed Glens Falls Hospital’s nurse residency and stroke programs.

Moore earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nursing Education and Leadership in a bridge program through Excelsior College in 2015 and, in 2016, returned to Glens Falls Hospital to help establish a nurse residency program in high-acuity areas. In 2018, she led a team in developing the hospital’s Stroke Program, of which she became director in 2020.

Mitzen, a 2022 inductee, is co-founder of Business for Good, a nonprofit organization that supports community organizations and busi-

nesses. Profits earned by businesses Mitzen owns — including The Bread Basket and Hattie’s Restaurant & Chicken Shack — fund Business for Good, which donates to regional nonprofit organizations and helps entrepreneurs further develop their businesses.

For more than 15 years, she worked as a mortgage lending manager for companies including Countrywide Home Loans, MetLife and Paragon Home Loans. She is a 1989 graduate of SUNY Adirondack and a 1991 graduate of SUNY Utica.

Strough is a lifelong resident of Queensbury and longtime town supervisor. He was a high school teacher for 37 years, retiring in 2011. From 2004 to 2013, he served as a town councilman and, in 2013, as deputy town supervisor. He was elected as town supervisor in 2014 and is serving in his fifth term.

He served on SUNY Adirondack’s Board of Trustees, Warren County

“I am honored to receive the SUNY Adirondack Trailblazer award. My time at SUNY was instrumental in finding the right path for me. That path led me to great success, both personally and professionally.”

— Lisa Mitzen, Class of ’89

LISA MITZEN

Economic Developmental Council’s board, and several boards and committees dedicated to preservation of Lake George.

He is a 1971 graduate of SUNY Adirondack, a 1974 graduate of University of Buffalo and has pursued graduate studies at University at Albany and other institutions. He was inducted as a Trailblazer in 2022.

Tobias-Tomis is executive director of Lake George Arts Project, a nonprofit organization that promotes exposure and income opportunities to professional and emerging artists and provides quality arts programming to the Lake George region.

Over the past 23 years, Tobias-Tomis has held numerous arts administration positions in the region, including at The Hyde Collection and Saratoga Arts. She is vice president of the Board of Directors at Adirondack Folk School, a member of Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce Women in Business and, for more than a decade, has been a juror and steering committee member for LifeWorks’

Latino Community Advocacy Program’s Estamos Aqui fundraiser.

In the past, she served on Hudson River Mill Museum’s Board of Directors. Tobias-Tomis is a past Americans for the Arts Emerging Leader Scholarship award winner and has been an Americans for the Arts Emerging Leader award panelist, as well as an exhibition juror and guest speaker for many local and regional arts organizations.

Tobias-Tomis is a 1999 graduate of SUNY Adirondack, a 2001 graduate of University at Albany, earned a master’s degree from Skidmore College and was named a Trailblazer in 2022.

TANYA TOBIAS-TOMIS

JOHN STROUGH

CASSANDRA MOORE

“SUNY Adirondack was the perfect higher education start for me; the secure feeling of belonging, the strong sense of community and the excellent education I received (thank you, faculty) gave me a great platform for furthering my desire and ability to teach and lead.”

— John Strough, Class of ’71

John Strough displayed his Adirondack Community College freshman ‘beanie.’

HEATHER CHASE

Associate degree in Liberal Arts from SUNY Adirondack in 1994

Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art from The College of Saint Rose in 2001

Master’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from University of Phoenix Doctorate (all but dissertation) in Organizational Leadership from University of Phoenix

Currently: Associate professor of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Hudson Valley Community College

When Heather Chase’s father was sick, they discussed starting a scholarship in his name. After he died, she decided to invest her inheritance in SUNY Adirondack.

As a member of the college’s Garnet Society, Chase is proud to leave a legacy for future generations.

“I inherited a sizable amount of money, I have a full-time job so it’s not money I’m going to use much

Pay it forward

of, I don’t have children and I’m not married. I thought, ‘How can I use this money I know will be left after I’m gone to help my community, to make things better for someone else?’ The best way I could to do that is to support students. Education was something my dad was a firm believer in, so this just makes sense.”

JOIN THE GARNET SOCIETY

Designating SUNY Adirondack for an estate or planned gift — of any size — enrolls you as a Garnet Society member.

GIFTS INCLUDE:

• bequests;

• trusts;

• retirement assets;

• life insurance;

• outright gifts to the Foundation’s endowment

For more information on how to join this legacy-giving society or support SUNY Adirondack Foundation and student scholarships, contact SUNY Adirondack Foundation by calling 518-743-2243 or by emailing foundation@sunyacc.edu.

HOW TO GIVE

Creating a scholarship is easy, and a wonderful way to help future students. To learn more, please visit sunyacc.edu/ways-give, call 518-743-2243 or email foundation@sunyacc.edu.

When Amanda Martinez became ill during her first semester in SUNY Adirondack’s Nursing program, the mother of two had every excuse to quit: Buried in schoolwork, she had to help her kids — one of whom is on the autism spectrum — navigate attending school virtually during the pandemic and she ended up hospitalized and using a wheelchair.

But as recipient of the Chelsea Donna Marie Coutant Memorial Scholarship, Martinez wanted to succeed.

“t’s the motivation that somebody gave you money to better yourself, they saw something in you,” said Martinez, a veteran of the Air Force Reserves.

“Knowing someone invested in me made me realize how blessed I was.”

When Martinez first started feeling sick, more than one health care professional told her she was suffering from anxiety and sent her home. By the time she met with a neurologist, she had lost weight, couldn’t eat or walk, and was struggling to care for her children.

“The neurologist saved my life in less than 15 minutes,” she marveled. Her illness was diagnosed as POTS, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that attacks the nervous system.

“Although I went through hell and it was terrible, there was a silver lining: The experience piqued a massive interest for me in advocating for patients.”

She graduated in December 2022 as a registered nurse and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at SUNY Plattsburgh while working as a nurse in neurology.

On display

Hannah Williams’ art is sprinkled around downtown Glens Falls — at Flour Child Bakery, Kru Koffee, Minky Mink, the 518 Beauty Room, on utility boxes and, most recently and most difficult to miss, the exterior wall at 20 Warren St.

Williams was selected to create a mural as part of Glens Falls Downtown Revitalization Initiative’s

efforts to bring public art downtown.

Williams worked with the building’s owners to develop a theme about which they’re passionate.

“We have a love of nature in common, so I brought native flowers you can find in the city, on the Bike Trail or in Coles Woods,” she said. “Looking at the building now, it looks so small because I feel like I was touching every surface.”

FUN FACT: Williams was required to become certified in operating a boom lift for the Warren Street project. “It was pretty intimidating in the beginning, but I was driving all around in the end.”

“I enjoy all my murals, but this project takes the cake because it’s something I’ve been reaching for a decade,” said Williams, a 2013 graduate of SUNY Adirondack. “I’m super passionate about public art, and this is special because of the size and just having the opportunity.”

2022 graduate of SUNY Adirondack, with a degree in Advanced Manufacturing

Currently: Project/process engineer at Epimed in Johnstown

Grace Valla is so used to being one of the youngest people in the room, she hardly notices anymore that she’s one of the only women.

“Being a girl and being very young in the field puts me as a minority, but I don’t think it has hindered me at all,” said Valla, who attended PTECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) at SUNY Adirondack through WSWHE BOCES while in high school, then finished earning an associate degree in Advanced Manufacturing at the college in 2022. “As long as you have the skills to back up, no one questions your age or gender.”

Even if Valla shrugs off being seen as a groundbreaker, others are taking notice, as Valla was invited to serve as a panelist at Women in the Trades, an event hosted by Early College Career Academy.

“It was a wonderful experience,” said Valla, of South Glens Falls. “Five other women from various industries and I spoke, explained how we got here and struggles we had, hoping to inspire the next generation of girls.”

Even as a high school student in PTECH among mostly young men, Valla wasn’t preoccupied by being in the minority; she instead focused on learning all she could.

“All the classes, combined with the hands-on experience, really teach you what you like and what you don’t like, and gave me a sense of ‘I would enjoy this’ when I was looking for a job,” she said. “The program touches on so many different things that even if I didn’t feel like they were important at the time, it gave me a leg to stand on when someone at work needs someone to go to, I at least have a basic knowledge.”

After graduating high school, Valla attended one year at SUNY Adirondack — paid for through the program, so she has no college debt — to finish earning an associate degree. She thinks she might be interested in earning a bachelor’s degree at some point, but right now loves her job and exploring the field of engineering.

“PTECH prepared me for this job more than I could have ever imagined,” she said. “The program absolutely changed my life.”

GRACE VALLA

Castleton University’s volleyball team was stormed by SUNY Adirondack alumni, as the team’s head coach and two assistant coaches are past Timberwolves.

Stephanie Gengel and Madison Paquin, both of Queensbury, serve as assistant coaches while Jessica Trudeau of South Glens Falls leads the squad. All three women were standout players at SUNY Adirondack.

Paquin and Gengel played together at Queensbury High School and SUNY Adirondack, and Gengel and Trudeau played together for a season at the college.

“Having collaborated for almost a decade as players and friends, and out in the community, has made it a seamless tradition into coaching together,” Gengel said.

“We’re the perfect three to have together,” said Paquin, who was part of SUNY Adirondack’s 2013 team that won NJCCA Regionals, then placed fourth nationally.

“Playing volleyball at SUNY Adirondack were some of the best times ever,” said Trudeau, who was named to the Mountain Valley All-Conference and Region III AA All-Conference teams, and earned Most Valuable Player honors in 2016.

Serving success

Associate degree in Media Arts from SUNY Adirondack in 2018

Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from Castleton University in 2022

CURRENTLY: Head volleyball coach at Castleton University; student at Castleton University, pursuing a master’s degree in Athletic Leadership

Associate degree in Nursing from SUNY Adirondack in 2016

Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from SUNY Plattsburgh at SUNY Adirondack’s Queensbury branch campus in 2018

CURRENTLY: Pediatric psychiatric nurse; clinical instructor at St. Peter’s Hospital; earning a master’s degree from Sage Colleges to be a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner; assistant coach of Castleton University’s volleyball team

Associate degree in Math and Science from SUNY Adirondack in 2015

Associate degree in Engineering from SUNY Adirondack in 2017

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Animation from Full Sail University in 2019

CURRENTLY: Castleton University volleyball assistant coach; Master of Business Administration student at Castleton, with a concentration in Media and Communications

JESSICA TRUDEAU

STEPHANIE GENGEL

MADISON PAQUIN

JESSICA TRUDEAU

STEPHANIE GENGEL

MADISON PAQUIN

“Volleyball changed my life, it truly has.”

— Jessica Trudeau

All-American

The right-hander shot 366 (94, 91, 90, 91) in the four-round tourney at Chautauqua Golf Club outside Jamestown, New York.

Smith had a stellar second season for SUNY Adirondack, attending preseason training in Virginia, winning two in-season tournaments and taking first at Regionals. Perhaps most impressive, she shaved around 15 strokes off her game since her first season at the college.

“I usually shoot around a 94, 95, but definitely saw a lot of progression,” she said. “When I first joined

Driving success

ROARINBROOK SMITH

Associate degree in Individual Studies from SUNY Adirondack in 2022

Roarinbrook “Rory” Smith of North Creek earned All-American status on the links in the 2021-22 academic year, finishing fourth in the NJCAA Division III Championships.

the team, I shot around 110, 112, and the lowest I shot this year was an 86. I felt really accomplished.”

Her gains led to her being named SUNY Adirondack Athletics Female Athlete of the Year, and earned her Region 3 Athlete of the Week honors twice in May 2022.

Smith graduated from SUNY Adirondack in December 2022 and started at SUNY Potsdam in January. There, she will major in Anthropology with a minor in Art, with plans to create dioramas for museums.

GOAL SETTERS

FAST FACTS

TEAM MASCOT: Timberwolves COLORS: Green and Gold

AFFILIATION: Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA Region III) and the Mountain Valley Collegiate Conference Players come from all over the Northeast and Canada, including Albany, Troy, Saratoga, Rochester, New York City, Kingston, Oneonta and Poughkeepsie

TIMBERWOLF SCORING RECORD

YEAR TEAM SPORT ACHIEVEMENT

2015 MEN’S SOCCER CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

2021 WOMEN’S VOLLEYBAL L REGIONAL III QUALIFIER

2016 MEN S SOCCER CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

2021 WOMEN’S SOFTBALL SUB-REGION III QUALIFIER

2018 MEN S BOWLING NATIONALS

2021 WOMEN’S GOLF REGION III WOMEN’S CHAMPION

2018 MEN’S BASEBALL REGION III QUALIFIER

2022 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL OPENING ROUND — REGIONALS

2018 MEN S GOLF NATIONALS

2022 MEN’S BASEBALL SUB-REGION III QUALIFIER

2018 MEN S GOLF REGIONAL CHAMPIONS

2019 WOMEN S VOLLEYBALL REGION III QUALIFIER

2022 WOMEN’S GOLF REGION III

2019 MEN S GOLF NATIONALS

NATIONALSCHAMPION/

2022 MEN’S GOLF NATIONALS

2019 MEN’S BASEBALL SUB-REGION III QUALIFIER

— 4TH PLACE

2018 MEN’S BASEBALL REGION III QUALIFIER

Write on

MIKAELA STRINGER

2013 graduate of SUNY Adirondack with a degree in Hospitality Management

CURRENTLY: Author and dog care provider

Mikaela Stringer called her mom crying tears of disbelief and utter joy.

Stringer was nominated as author of the month by one of her literary heroines, Kiersten Modglin, on a Facebook group for thriller writers.

“That was a wicked fan-girl moment,” said Stringer, who has self-published six books in the past three years. “Mind blown.”

Stringer grew up in Queensbury and attended SUNY Adirondack, where she earned a Hospitality Management degree. “I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do when I went to college,” she admitted. “I was working at The Sagamore at the time and I liked waitressing. But I still didn’t figure it all out until a couple of years ago.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Burlington, Vermont, area, Stringer was working at a school with a large population of refugees, helping them learn English, and was considering returning to college to become an English as a second language (ESL) teacher.

“They shut down the school, I was at home and had a lot of sit-around time doing nothing,” she said. “I am an avid thriller reader, so I decided to try to write my own book.”

Between working for DoorDash and InstaCart, Stringer wrote and, within a year, had a book. “When the school reopened, I said, ‘I’m going to try this writing thing out; this is actually kind of fun’,” she said.

Her first book, “The Lake House,” is based on her parents’ house on Lake George. (All her stories take place in the Adirondacks or Burlington area.) “We had a group of friends up there and I was like, ‘This could make for a good story: What if someone wasn’t trustworthy?’ The premise is they’re stuck on a secluded island and someone could possibly be dangerous, so the friends go up there

expecting it to be a much different experience than it turns out to be.”

A sequel, “The Mad House,” quickly followed. In the time since, Stringer released standalone novels “Dear Violet,” “Triggered” and “Hazardous Conditions,” and in spring 2023, “From This Day Forward,” the first in the three-part The Wedding Nightmares series.

Stringer — a newlywed who writes under her maiden name, Mikaela Bee — didn’t start reading regularly until about five years ago. “I read that book, ‘Girl, Wash your Face,’ a self-help book and she [author Rachel Hollis] said something like, ‘You can do anything you put your mind to,’ and for some reason, that motivated me. I didn’t think I could write a book and it turns out I did and it was the best feeling ever.”

BUY THE BOOK(S)

Mikaela Bee’s books are available on amazon.com, or, for signed copies, through her social media accounts, www.facebook.com/mikaelabeeauthor or mikaelabee_author on Instagram.

“I am an avid thriller reader, so I decided to try to write my own book.”

Strategic Goal 4 STRENGTHEN ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY

Increase racial and ethnic diversity of employees, improve investments in employee development and continue to streamline administrative work.

Green giants

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack participated in the international Earth Month EcoChallenge in April 2022.

WHERE: More than 730 teams from throughout the United States made efforts to cut back their ecological footprints.

THE RESULTS: SUNY Adirondack’s Wise’s Earth Warriors placed first out of 733 teams; a second team finished fourth; and the college’s student team finished 24th.

Colleen Wise, director of Financial Aid at SUNY Adirondack, led her staff, plus Reburta Moffitt, Prison Education coordinator, and Stephen Bodie, a former TRIO SSS advisor, to victory.

“Each team member chose various actions — daily or one time — to complete throughout the month of April,” Wise said. “This could be anything from driving less to volunteering in the community and, each time an action was completed, we earned points.”

Members of Wise’s Earth Warriors each received a NYS Empire Pass, season-long access to all New York state parks. The highest-scoring individuals received Fountain Square Outfitters gift cards.

“The EcoChallenge was fun and rewarding,” Wise said.

COLLEEN WISE

Sense of belonging

CORNELIUS GILBERT

Bachelor’s degree in History and Afro-American Studies from University of Wisconsin-Madison

Master’s degree in Afro-American Studies from University of Wisconsin-Madison

Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from University of Wisconsin-Madison

CURRENTLY: Chief diversity officer at SUNY Adirondack

Cornelius Gilbert, Ed.D., grew up the youngest of three children of a college-educated father and learned early the importance of education.

“My father was a 1966 South Illinois University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry,” he said. “That was a PWI, or predominantly white institution — and this was in 1966 — so our household really valued education.”

Gilbert grew up in Chicago, earned bachelor’s degrees in History and Afro-American Studies, a master’s degree in Afro-American Studies and a doctorate in Education with a focus on History from the University

of Wisconsin-Madison.

“I wanted to look at higher education and how social movements, particularly the black power movement, impacted it,” Gilbert said. “One of those impacts was me and the role of chief diversity officer.”

While he was living in Minneapolis, the nation suffered another “racial awakening,” he said. “With the murder of George Floyd, I was at a point in life where I wanted to do more, in terms of my skills, my knowledge. In the midst of the pandemic, I was thinking, ‘What else can I do to spread awareness, to really do that diversity work, equity work, inclusion and belonging?’”

Gilbert said he started his career with intent to work at a community college. “I can bring great value to the students a community college serves,” he said. “Life had to teach me what it had to teach me, to say, ‘This is where I need to be.’”

13% OF SUNY ADIRONDACK STUDENTS IDENTIFY AS BIPoC

OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, SUNY ADIRONDACK’S PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS OF COLOR HAS INCREASED FROM 6 PERCENT TO 13 PERCENT

Public art

With the incomparable beauty of the rolling foothills of the Adirondacks as a backdrop, SUNY Adirondack proudly displays public art throughout its picturesque campus. The college offers a self-guided tour of its outdoor artworks, available to campus visitors, faculty, staff, students and alumni.

The brochure was designed in part to introduce SUNY Adirondack’s Art Collection, a compilation of more than 1,000 pieces from more than 300 local, national and international artists.

In the college’s Visual Arts Gallery in Dearlove Hall, SUNY Adirondack offers a variety of exhibitions throughout the year emphasizing creativity, vision and imagination, exposing the campus and outside communities to works of artists from within, as well as outside, the Lower Adirondack and Capital regions.

Follow the Visual Arts Gallery on Instagram @sunyadk_art

Bruno LaVerdiere, a longtime adjunct professor of Art at SUNY Adirondack, died Aug. 13, 2022, leaving behind generations of students and colleagues he inspired, as well as a monumental body of artwork.

At age 13, LaVerdiere joined Saint Anthony’s Seminary to become a priest. He took vows to become a Benedictine monk at St. Martin’s Abbey in Washington. While in monastery from 1955-69, he studied Incan archaeological sites, Japanese ceramics and figurative sculpture at the Art Students League.

He began teaching art at Greenwich House Pottery in New York City and The Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. He fell in love with a fellow artist, left the monastery and relocated to Hadley in the Adirondack Mountains, where he raised his son, Julian, and worked for the rest of his life.

LaVerdiere taught classes at such institutions as Rochester Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State

In memorium

BRUNO LAVERDIERE 1937-2022

University, Ohio State University, Claremont Graduate Schools, New York University, University of Georgia in Italy and, locally, Skidmore College and SUNY Adirondack.

He received Artist’s Fellowships from National Endowment for the Arts in 1976 and 1990, and New York Foundation for the Arts in 1987. He earned a three-month residency grant from La Napoule Art Foundation in France in 1991, and acted as resident director there from 1995 to 1996.

The introspection he celebrated as a monk influenced him throughout his life.

His art is included in private and public collections, including SUNY Adirondack’s Art Collection, The Hyde Collection, J. Patrick Lannan Collection, Everson Museum of Art and Columbus Museum of Art.

But his legacy extends beyond his impressive sculptures, into the ways he shaped his colleagues and students, and transformed us all through his larger-than-life presence and passion.

“I created work that is minimal in nature and evokes a meditative response from the viewer,” he wrote of his art, much of which was inspired by historic sites and architecture.

Hands-on

LIN HARE

Bachelor’s degree in Biology from University of Rhode Island

Master’s degree in Liberal Studies, Small Group Management from SUNY Plattsburgh

Currently: Biology lab supervisor

Lin Hare spent several years studying marine ecosystems around the world, but ultimately landed at SUNY Adirondack, where she supervises the college’s biology labs, lab assistants and tutors.

“SUNY Adirondack gave me a place to use all my lab experience,” said Hare, who has worked at the college since 1991. “I couldn’t just do my job; I had to bring some of my interest in the environment to my work.”

Those efforts were recognized as Hare was named 2022 Conservationist of the Year by the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Directors for her work on natural resource conservation.

She sits on a steering committee working to repurpose the former Glens Falls Tennis & Swim Club and, at the college, works on individual study projects with students over the summer, benefitting the students, who gain experience, and the communities.

The crew samples water from area lakes and tests for non-point source septic pollution. “We test for free chlorine and E. coli; if we find them together, we consider it a positive site,” she said, explaining the information is then given to lake associations.

On a smaller scale, she also helped coordinate student volunteer projects that include developing the on-campus Butterfly Garden,

caring for the green roof project on Adirondack Hall, creating the koi ponds housed in the college’s indoor greenhouse, building the campus outdoor greenhouse and initiating what has evolved to be a 550-gallon salt-water reef aquarium on campus.

“These all tie in with my love of nature and a need for connecting with students in a different way,” Hare said. “If we get students’ hands involved in what they’re doing, it makes a difference. We teach from books, but we learn from nature.”

Level of care

Master’s degree in Nursing Administration from The Sage Colleges

Doctorate in Nursing Leadership from Walden University

Currently: Health Sciences division chair and associate professor at SUNY Adirondack

Nursing success BY THE NUMBERs

SUNY Adirondack’s three-year average pass rates for the NCLEX-RN exams is 90.12 percent; the national average is 79.23 percent.

Kim Hedley was recently named to the Western Governors University Nursing Advisory Council, a national advisory panel, representing associate degree nursing programs and rural health.

Hedley, the chair of SUNY Adirondack’s Health Sciences division, served as assistant dean at Excelsior College for 10 years before coming to SUNY Adirondack.

“My experience at Excelsior, a national program, was helpful in them making a decision,”

Hedley said.

Among her priorities in the role, she said, will be looking at ways to meet the needs of a changing workforce.

85.5 percent of Nursing students complete the program at SUNY Adirondack

87.5 percent of LPNs who enter SUNY Adirondack’s Nursing program finish successfully

SUNY Adirondack Nursing graduates have a 100 percent job placement rate, with many securing a position before graduation

“Everything with COVID is a challenge for all of us,” she said. “We have to have some sort of foundation, to realize nursing is evolving and we have to teach students to be able to roll with those changes.”

KIM HEDLEY

KIM HEDLEY

Business sense

Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from UMass Amherst

Master’s degree in Business Administration from Babson College

Doctorate in Organizational Psychology from Alliant International University

Currently: Distinguished professor of Business

Few people could make light of losing a million dollars, but Chandler Atkins, longtime SUNY Adirondack distinguished professor of Business, mentions an investment that left him in the red with as much enthusiasm as he has for his considerable number of successful ventures.

“I never thought I’d make a million dollars to lose,” he said, describing a now-defunct air charter business in Albany he ran from 2002 to 2008. “I took some money out of my 401(k), put another mortgage on my house …

“I was distraught, but then I realized that over that time, I flew more

than 200 kids with major medical issues to big hospitals,” he said. “That’s just $5,000 per kid, and that gave me the strength to pull through.”

That optimism could be attributed to the outlook a seasoned entrepreneur needs to continue investing, but a few minutes into talking with Atkins — whose enthusiasm and energy give the impression of a man much younger than his mid-70s — and it’s evident his commitment to the greater good is what fuels him.

“I feel like anything I can do to stimulate the tourism engine is a good thing,” Atkins said. “I keep thinking ‘tourism’ and ‘jobs for locals,’

CHANDLER ATKINS

and ‘bed tax for the counties’.”

Atkins has a long history of building businesses, starting as a boy growing up on a Massachusetts farm. “I was always of an entrepreneurial spirit,” he said.

He went to Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass Amherst, then to business school at Babson College. He managed a large apartment complex in Boston, then worked for many years running a chain of discotheques and, in 1976, opened Whimsey’s, the nation’s largest disco (during which time he also worked closely with legendary boxer Mohammad Ali to address issues of discrimination in the industry).

After a failed attempt at getting involved in politics, Atkins started teaching management as an adjunct professor at Holyoke Community College. When he met someone interested in opening a record store in Lake George, he traveled to the region to help and ended up staying.

He secured a job teaching at SUNY Adirondack, one he has held for more than 40 years. “I said to myself, ‘I am always going to work in the community, both in nonprofits and to try to make as much money in the community on side jobs as I do at the college,’ which was $11,000 a year,” he recalled.

When he heard of a family’s devastation after their young son was killed in a bike accident in front of the resort they owned, Atkins made a decision. “Out of that sob story, I decided to take the plunge in 1995 and I bought The Elms Waterfront Cottages,” he said.

“The first year, I lost $17,000 and I thought, ‘I am the stupidest guy in the world,’ the next year I lost $5,000 and I thought, ‘I’m getting better,’ and every year after that, we have been profitable,” he mused. The property offers cottages, the McMaster House and Bay Harbor Suites, as well as a playground, campfires and River Ridin’, a company that rents personal watercrafts, pontoon boats, rafts for a lazy river adventure and other water sports equipment.

But Atkins knew the business could offer more. “For the past 20-someodd years, I thought Lake George should have ATVs,” he said. He made several attempts to rent land for the venture, but nothing panned out. When he saw land for sale close to The Elms, he started researching the property, which included barns and a house.

“I learned all about the history of the property,” he said, chronicling how it was owned by Joseph McCarthy, an award-winning lyricist for shows on Broadway and the Ziegfeld Follies, who purchased it from its original owners, the Ellis family that founded Hadley.

McCarthy’s son, Joseph McCarthy Jr., married Hollywood femme fatale Veronica Lake and, during their short marriage, the pair vacationed often at the rural retreat. The family hosted such guests as chess legend Bobby Fischer, Hollywood royalty Mickey Rooney, Humphrey Bogart and Debbie Reynolds, and famed crooners Nat King Cole and Perry

Como, many of whom flew in on the property’s airstrip.

“From the history of the property, my wheels started to turn,” Atkins said. “I could take the farmhouse, renovate it and turn it into more lodging. I could turn the barns into wedding venues, host movie nights and, with the land, I could offer some to the college for livestock farming …”

So Atkins purchased the 171 acres, and went to work immediately renovating the six-bedroom house. “It’s going to be gorgeous, with a big wraparound porch, a jacuzzi, den, entertainment room,” he said.

He purchased ATVs and plans to groom logging trails for riding and hiking, and preserved a cemetery with 20 gravesites on the property. “In 1790, the original owners opened a sawmill and built their farm, then died and planted themselves here. I want to show the history and preserve it, rather than just run it over,” said Atkins, the third owner of the property.

Longer-term plans for the site, which Atkins — also a licensed pilot — is calling Mountain Airstrip Farm, include offering movie nights and hosting special events in the barns; cross-country skiing and snowmobiling on the trails; and rock climbing and rappelling on Antone Mountain across the street from the six-bedroom McCarthy Farmhouse.

“This farm is a 10-year project,” Atkins said. “I keep plugging along, having fun.”

Atkins developed a consulting business, helped other business owners strengthen their enterprises and earned a doctorate in industrial organizational psychology from Alliant International University.

EVAN SULLIVAN

Associate degree in Liberal Arts from SUNY Adirondack

Bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a doctorate in History from University at Albany

Currently: SUNY Adirondack instructor of European History

Historic perspective

Evan Sullivan appreciates accolades, but would be just as content if no one recognized his extensive community service, scholarly research and commitment to students.

In a recent interview about being named to The Post-Star’s 20 Under 40 in 2022, the history professor used the word “grateful” nearly as many times as “teaching.”

Sullivan serves on the Chapman Museum’s Board of Trustees, for which he is chair of the Programs & Education Committee.

He is active on a national level, too, publishing short historical pieces in the academic blog Nursing Clio; publishing chapters in three academic books about disability, war and veterans; and presenting research at academic conferences, including the No End to War  conference at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, that consisted of First World War scholars from around the world, and the Organization of American Historians conference.

Sullivan’s article, “America’s Living Unknown Soldiers: Amnesia and Veteran Imposters after the Great War” — originally published in

the First World War Studies journal in December 2021— was awarded honorable mention from the Disability History Association’s Outstanding Article or Book Chapter Award.

On campus, Sullivan has taken an active role, serving as chair of the Academic Standards Committee and participating in college governance meetings, as well as teaching.

“I feel that I have made some really rewarding connections with students each semester, and I probably learn as much from them as they do from me — if not more,” he said.

“I always feel grateful for the position I have been able to achieve as an educator and researcher, but to have that work publicly acknowledged feels really nice,” Sullivan said.

HOLLY IRION

Bachelor’s degree in Psychology; Gender and Sexuality Studies from St. Lawrence University

Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from University at Albany

Currently: Licensed mental health counselor and assistant professor of Counseling at SUNY Adirondack

Counsel of caring

Holly Irion provides a safe space, a caring ear and a sense of peace to the SUNY Adirondack community, and the greater community took notice as Irion was awarded The Post-Star’s 20 Under 40 recognition in 2022.

“It was truly an honor to be nominated and selected for the award,” said Irion, a licensed mental health counselor and assistant professor at SUNY Adirondack.

Irion has for the past three years collaborated with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to bring Out of the Darkness Campus Walk to SUNY Adirondack. In 2022, the event had more than 100 participants who raised approximately $10,000 for suicide prevention and awareness efforts.

She works as an adjunct teaching Freshman Seminar and Human Sexuality and serves the campus community as a counselor. She is co-chair of SUNY Adirondack’s fouryear partnership with the JED Foundation and serves on several campus committees and work groups. She completed with distinction the SUNY Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Teaching and Learning Certificate.

Off campus, she maintains a small practice in which she works with children and families, and serves on Warren County Community Services Board.

CORNELIUS TAVARRES

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from SUNY Empire Master’s degree in Sports Management from American Military University

Currently: Senior auditor for the Department of Defense; SUNY Adirondack women’s basketball coach

Cornelius Tavarres was named the NJCAA Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year for the 2021-22 season.

Tavarres joined SUNY Adirondack in 2020. The longtime basketball player spent more than a decade coaching girls’ and women’s basketball, at the AAU, high school and college levels. He founded Adirondack Shock in 2012; coached modified basketball at Corinth Central School District for a season, then led the varsity team to Sectionals; was assistant coach at Skidmore College; and served as head coach at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, where he led the team to the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season and conference titles, a bid to the USCAA National Championship and was named Conference Coach of the Year.

Tavarres and his wife are U.S. Army veterans. The couple has three grown children. Tavarres is part of the American Red Cross Eastern New York Distaster Workforce Engagement Team, volunteers at the annual Hometown Thanksgiving and serves as a mentor in Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“Nobody goes into the field of mental health for praise and accolades, but it sure does feel amazing to have my efforts recognized,” Irion said.

BILL HART

Associate degree in Accounting from SUNY Adirondack in 1992

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from SUNY Utica in 1995

Master’s degree in Business Administration from The College of Saint Rose in 2003

Currently: Vice president of U.S. Business Operations for Irving Consumer Products

Lasting connection

When Bill Hart’s daughter was honored for her prowess as a basketball player, Hart’s coach and mentor from SUNY Adirondack was there to celebrate with the family — three decades after Hart played for the Timberwolves.

“SUNY Adirondack is something that meant a lot to me and does to this day,” said Hart, vice president of U.S. Business Operations at Irving Tissue.

When Hart was looking at colleges, the South Glens Falls basketball standout was recruited by then-SUNY Adirondack coach Ben Davis and longtime Business professor Nick Buttino. “It was them who talked me into giving a look at SUNY Adirondack,” Hart said.

“I found myself academically and personally,” said Hart, who graduated with a degree in Accounting, then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Utica and an MBA from The College of Saint

Rose. “It all began at SUNY Adirondack for me.”

In the years since graduating, Hart has shown appreciation for the impact SUNY Adirondack has on him and the broader community. In his third term as a SUNY Adirondack Foundation board member — during which he was involved in fundraising campaigns — he is president.

“SUNY Adirondack is what kept me driving toward my future,” Hart said. “I have always felt that tie back to the college.”

Outside the boardroom, Hart also works with the college in his role at Irving, developing curriculum to ensure the region’s manufacturing needs are met with an educated, innovative workforce.

OFFICERS

Bill Hart, president; vice president of North American Business Operations, Irving Consumer Products Inc.

Erinn C. Kolligian, president-elect; manager, McGregor Village Development Corporation

Paul Dowen, ’79, treasurer and CPA; partner, Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli LLP

Kristine Duffy, Ed.D., SUNY Adirondack college president

Rachael Hunsinger Patten, secretary and executive director of the Foundation

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Patrick Canavan, ’91; vice president, Commercial Lending, Trustco Bank

Jim Casaccio, owner/licensed real estate broker, Premier Properties

Russell E. Danforth, ’76; owner, MEC Consulting LLC

Richard Ferguson; Chairman, Community Advisory Board, Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company

Edward L. Hanchett; executive director, Adirondack Radiology

Chad Mallow, ’97; Employee Benefits practice leader, Upstate Insurance Agency

Shelly Marcantonio; vice president, Employee Benefits Practice Leader, NBT Insurance Agency

Michael Murray, ’01; vice president, Commercial Lending, Adirondack Trust Company

Robert Nemer; co-owner, Nemer Auto Group

James R. Nolan, Ph.D.; professor of Quantitative Business Analysis and Computer Science, Siena College

Naftali Rottenstreich; professor of English, SUNY Adirondack

Sue Trumpick, immediate past president; retired chief information officer, SUNY Adirondack

Jessica Hugabone Vinson, Esq.; Vella, Carbone & Associates, LLP.

Robin Wadleigh, ’11; CPA, CFE, Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli LLP

FOUNDATION STAFF

Liz Lastowski, ’00; director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations

Carrie Griffen-Yakush, ’00; office specialist

“The college’s role as a workforce collaborative partner is important,” Hart said. “This furthers the quality of life in the community.”

Welcome back

SUNY Adirondack welcomed back one of its own when the college appointed Rachael Hunsinger Patten as chief advancement officer and executive director of SUNY Adirondack Foundation in February 2022.

2021-2022 FINANCIALS Assets: $6,613,165 **

Patten has nearly 30 years of experience in fundraising and higher education, including having served as executive director of Development, Alumni Relations and SUNY Adirondack Foundation from 2012 to 2018.

“When I first started working here, it clicked,” Patten said. “It felt like home.”

As CAO, Patten is the college’s chief fundraising officer, developing long-range strategic leadership and daily administration of the Foundation, Development and Alumni Relations. She is responsible for fostering relationships to support college programs and initiatives.

A graduate of Ithaca College, Patten has dedicated her career to higher education and nonprofit organizations, including work at Skidmore

23,000 Alumni of the College* *Fall 2021

College, Albany Law School and Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council (LARAC). She rejoins SUNY Adirondack after working in development at a large community college in Pennsylvania.

$723,306

“Education transforms lives. Community colleges, in particular, are uniquely suited to empower individuals, elevate families, strengthen community groups and support our workforce,” she said.

“It’s exciting to be part of that mission.”

Thank you to our countiessponsoringand Board of Trustees

2021

Warren County Board of Supervisors

Douglas N. Beaty

Claudia K. Braymer

Daniel Bruno

Ronald F. Conover

Jack Diamond

Dennis L. Dickinson

Bennet F. Driscoll Jr.

Edna A. Frasier

Kevin Geraghty

Andrea Hogan

Craig R. Leggett

Brad Magowan

Peter V. McDevitt

Eugene J. Merlino

Rachel Seeber

Susan H. Shepler

Sylvia Smith

John F. Strough III

Frank E. Thomas

Michael Wild

Washington County Board of Supervisors

Brian R. Campbell

Evera Sue Clary

Catherine Fedler

Paul D. Ferguson

Timothy Fisher

James S. Griffith

Dana E. Haff

Samuel J. Hall

Robert A. Henke

Matthew Hicks

Dana Hogan

David K. O’Brien

John Rozell

Daniel B. Shaw

Jay B. Skellie

Donald B. Ward

Darrell T. Wilson

SUNY Adirondack Board of Trustees

Lee Braggs

Amie E. Gonzales

Kathleen R. Grasmeder, Secretary

Kevin G. Hayes

Robert E. Judge, Ed.D., Chair

Patricia A. Pietropaolo, Ph.D., Vice Chair

Alan E. Redeker

John F. Strough III

Ariane Golden, Student Trustee

2022

Warren County Board of Supervisors

Douglas N. Beaty

Claudia K. Braymer

Daniel Bruno

Ronald F. Conover

Jack Diamond

Dennis J. Dickinson

Bennet F. Driscoll Jr.

Edna A. Frasier

Michael Geraci

Kevin Geraghty

Andrea Hogan

Craig R. Leggett

Brad Magowan

Peter V. McDevitt

Eugene J. Merlino

Debra Runyon

John F. Strough III

Frank E. Thomas

Michael Wild

Washington County Board of Supervisors

Brian R. Campbell

Evera Sue Clary

Catherine Fedler

Paul Ferguson

Timothy Fisher

James Griffith

Dana E. Haff

Matthew Hicks

Dana Hogan

James Nolan

Anthony Jordan

John Rowell

Daniel B. Shaw

Jay B. Skellie

Darrell Wilson

SUNY Adirondack

Board of Trustees

Lee Braggs

Amie Gonzales, Secretary

Kathleen Grasmeder, Vice Chair

Kevin Hayes

Robert Judge, Ed.D.

Otto Miller, Student Trustee

Diana Palmer, L.P.D., LMFT

Patricia Pietropaolo, Ph.D., Chair

Alan Redeker

GREAT FUTURES START HERE

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.

Finch Opaque Smooth, 70 lb. text.