Geneseo Scene - Winter 2014

Winter 2014

geneseo scene

A magazine for alumni, parents and friends of SUNY Geneseo

Everyday wonders

Things that make you go “hmmm�

Castles in the sky: A tree house with no limit Internship expansion

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geneseo Winter 2014

scene CONTENTS

FEATURES 8

Everyday wonders Every moment, science affects how we interact with each other and the world. Faculty explain some of the things that make us go “hmmm,” from changing leaves to dreams and that feeling of déjà vu.

14 Career boost 101: We help you get there Hands-on experience in their discipline is increasingly essential for graduating students entering the workforce. So is discovering their niche. The new mission of the career development office is to build empowering internships — and it needs you.

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Castles in the sky A Geneseo couple lets their imaginations — and visitors — run free in a mini city of kings, wizards and handmade treehouses spurred by an aha moment to “live now.”

DEPARTMENTS 3 20

One College Circle Athletics and Recreation: Fair play: A look at sportsmanship.

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Alumni News Class Notes

COLUMNS 2 13 22

President’s Message What’s Your Story?

Perspectives Effective and meaningful gun legislation requires input from all stakeholders.

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Random Profile: One Cup

Cover Photo by Keith Walters ’11.

Table of contents: The aurora borealis lights up a field on Route 63 outside Geneseo, near the equestrian team stable.

Photography by Keith Walters ’11.

Postmaster: Please address changes to the Office of Alumni Relations, Doty Hall, SUNY Geneseo, 1 College Circle, Geneseo, NY 14454-1484.

Standard-class postage paid at Lebanon Junction, KY 40150

geneseo scene

Vol. 39, No.3; Winter 2014 The Geneseo Scene is published

by SUNY Geneseo, Division of College Advancement, Office of College Communications.

Carol S. Long, Interim President William H. Brower III, Vice President for College Advancement Anthony T. Hoppa, Assistant Vice President for College Communications Kris Dreessen, Editor Carole Smith Volpe ’91, Creative Director Contributing writers: Chelsea Butkowski ’15 Anthony T. Hoppa David Irwin Chris Hayden ’83 Jim Memmott Nate Wiley ’99

Contributing photographers: Kris Dreessen Keith Walters ’11 Alumni Relations Office Ronna Bosko, Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Michelle Walton Worden ’92, Associate Director of Alumni Relations Tracy Young Gagnier ’93, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Alumni Relations Office: Doty Hall SUNY Geneseo 1 College Circle Geneseo, NY 14454-1484 Phone: (585) 245-5506 Fax: (585) 245-5505 alumni@geneseo.edu Contact the Scene at scene@geneseo.edu.

Visit the website at www.geneseo.edu/geneseo_scene Phone: (585) 245-5516

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Tea time: Geneseo revives tradition “A great idea should always be left to steep like loose tea leaves in a teapot for a while to make sure that the tea will be strong enough and that the idea truly is a great one.”

— Phoebe Stone, The Romeo and Juliet Code inter at Geneseo has been a season of great ideas steeping quietly before bursting into flavorful action in challenging internships, dreamscape tree houses, or projects in alternative energy and sustainable agriculture.

More than ever, higher education is nurturing innovation while it adapts to new demographic and regulatory demands and to competitive pressures from digital and for-profit organizations, and Geneseo is immersing itself in its own process of reflection and evolution.

Some of this reflection will take place over tea.

The Geneseo art collection contains a lovely silver tea service made up of pieces from several 19th-century silver manufacturing companies. These came to the college as class gifts, or from the personal estates of community members such as the late Bertha V.B. Lederer, longtime art professor and tea aficionado. Professor Lederer knew the value of a cup of tea for generating conversation.

In February, I began hosting a series of teas at the president’s residence that are open to all, into a world of quiet reviving a traditional form of campus discussion contemplation of life. and engagement. The 1938-39 Student Handbook from the Geneseo Normal School describes the standing committees of the Student Cooperative Government; the Social Activities Committee included a sub-committee devoted entirely to the subject of teas and hosting teas! Teatime was a student-organized pastime at Geneseo, even through the 1960s.

As Chinese writer Lin Yutang has said, “There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life.” At Geneseo, we have much to talk about at our new teas.

This is a time when the college needs to reflect and respond to changes in educational demand; changes in the nature, use and delivery of information; changes in the global political and social landscape; and changes in our own campus as we begin the search for a successor to President Emeritus Christopher C. Dahl.

Tea is the most frequently consumed drink after water, and its global history in China, India, Japan, Britain, Korea, Argentina and elsewhere will surely help to infuse our discussions with wisdom and perspective.

Join us. I look forward to the conversation.

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There is something in the nature of tea that leads us

Cordially,

Carol S. Long Interim President

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One College Circle

CAMPUS NEWS Freeze Frame: Caught in the grip of a polar vortex Keith Walters ’11 used a GoPro camera mounted to a small motorized aerial quadcopter to capture this new view of campus.

4 Campus News: What’s new?

6 News in brief Winter 2014 3

ONE COLLEGE CIRCLE

CAMPUS NEWS #Presidentialblogging Interim President Carol S. Long is tweeting and blogging. Follow her at @SUNYGeneseoPres on Twitter, and read her blog “Across the Valley” at http://go.geneseo.edu/acrossthevalley.

Peace Corps champs Geneseo has a tradition of giving back — on campus, locally and in the world. For the first time, the college is among the Peace Corps’ top volunteer-producing colleges and universities across the country.

We are ranked 22nd among medium-sized schools, with 17 alumni with undergraduate degrees working worldwide, including Theresa Montenarello ’12, who is stationed in Thailand.

She is among 246 Geneseo graduates who have joined the Corps since its inception in 1961.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Destination: Globalization How can Geneseo become more internationalized in all facets of campus life, research, study abroad and community? More than 100 students, faculty and staff gathered for a summit on Feb. 1 to discuss ideas as the college continues an 18-month effort to strategically examine its global reach, at home and abroad.

The single life Starting this fall, students looking for a “little more leg room” will be living it up in Jones Hall. Rooms in the B side have been converted into 75 “superior singles.” It’s the first time since 2008 that Geneseo has been able to offer single rooms.

PHOTOS BY KEITH WALTERS ’11, KRIS DREESSEN

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ILLUSTRATION BY JOANNA WALTERS ’13

Drink coffee, help Nicaraguan farmers Order a cup of coffee at Books & Bytes in Milne Library and you get more than a savory wake-me-up. You’re helping farmers in El Sauce, Nicaragua. Campus Auxiliary Services is buying direct trade from a cooperative in the town where Geneseo has had a longtime service-learning and humanities program.

Thirsty? Go green!

Juic’d just opened in MJ, offering freshsqueezed concoctions featuring kale, cucumbers and other healthy veggies and fruits. The “baristas” are also making fruit crackers from the pulp.

Random Acts!

ILLUSTRATION BY JOANNA WALTERS ’13

People here go out of their way to help each other.

When we hear about it, we celebrate their gestures of kindness.

When AXP brothers braved camping for a week in polar vortex temps — as low as minus 2 degrees — during their 13th “Freeze Out” on the Sturges Quad to raise money for cancer research, members of Geneseo’s second-shift custodial team were spotted delivering coffee and doughnuts to make their night warmer. The guys raised $6,800!

Giving back, and paying it forward!

New recital hall, grand piano The college’s new state-of-the-art auditorium is open in renovated Doty Hall and already playing host to faculty and student recitals. It is also home to the college’s newest Steinway grand piano, here played by Professor and Chair of the Department of Music Jonathan Gonder.

Digital transcendentalism Geneseo has launched a collection of Henry David Thoreau writings and related research on the web for worldwide access. Digital Thoreau users can track the revisions of his “Walden” manuscripts — and discuss theories with others within chapters. Students are also producing online exhibits of work by the late Distinguished Professor Emeritus Walter Harding, our own world-renowned Thoreau expert.

Visit www.digitalthoreau.org Winter 2014

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ONE COLLEGE CIRCLE

NEWS IN BRIEF she went for it.

So far, she has illustrated two completed books for O’Connor and is working on the third book in Patch’s series.

“It's such a feeling of accomplishment to hold not only pages of art, but also pages of time,” says Fowler. “Throughout the illustrating process, I learn so much about myself as an artist.”

— Chelsea Butkowski ’15

Heavenly research … in a galaxy far, far away

PHOTO BY KRIS DREESSEN

Associate Professor of Physics Aaron Steinhauer and two students captured images of star clusters 11,000 light years away over winter break at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. Their National Science Foundation and Geneseo-

Author James Patterson sent autographed copies of his latest children's novel, “Treasure Hunters,” to the eight SUNY Geneseo students awarded James Patterson Teacher Education Scholarships this year, pictured here with the dean of the Ella Cline Shear School of Education. Front row, from left, Marissa Liberati; Jessica Stoneham; Melissa Bellonte; and Kelsey Horan. Back row, from left, Hannah Pettengill; Kristen Bondi; Dean Anjoo Sikka; Haley Hilgenberg; and Ashley Hark.

Best-selling author James Patterson creates scholarships James Patterson has written more than 100 books, but has said he was a reluctant reader as a child. It wasn't until college, when he could read what interested him, that he found its joy.

Giving back, he recently created a scholarship program in Geneseo’s Ella Cline Shear School of Education to support aspiring teachers in promoting the importance of literacy in education.

Eight students earning a master’s degree in literacy received a $6,000 James Patterson Teacher Education Scholarship this year. This spring, Geneseo will award the Patterson scholarships to full-time, first-year students intending to seek teacher certification.

Spotlight on: Student creation As illustrator for the children’s book “The Adventures of Patch 6

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the Puffin,” Carly Fowler ’14 uses her paintbrush to transport young readers into a fantasyland where a puffin and his sea creature friends team up for adventures.

Author Brigid O’Connor’s series teaches children about the importance of family and the value of marine and shore life. Each page of playful yet anatomically correct watercol-

ors of marine animals took Fowler six hours to complete, from sketch to finish.

Fowler, a studio art major, wanted a jump-start on breaking into the professional art world, so she sought advice from a storyboard artist from one of her favorite films, “The Hobbit.” He said illustration is the best place to break into the industry;

supported research examines distance, makeup and other characteristics to help understand what happens under the stellar surface — very, very far away.

Students create start-ups at Geneseo

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Carly Fowler ’14 at work in Brodie.

What better way to learn turning innovation and good ideas into solid business than to do it?

Student teams are working beside industry experts and mentors, and in some cases, faculty from Geneseo and other colleges, to devise businesses from inception to carry through.

Ideas vary from inventing diagnostic sensors for equine care to turning plastic into fuel, to creating online marketplaces specialized for college campuses, and

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Blue Wave champs! Geneseo earned its 22nd SUNY Athletic Conference championship win for the women’s Blue Wave swimming and diving team and its 21st for the men. Here, Coach Paul Dotterweich and teammates cheer on swimmers at a meet.

working directly with Campus Auxiliary Services to explore opening a digital bookstore.

It’s the first course of its kind offered at Geneseo, and is taught by Judith Albers, the Charles L. “Bud” VanArsdale Professor of Entrepreneurship.

Teams with viable business plans can potentially start a business as an internship to be awarded seed capital.

Job shadowing is a career sneak peak Sixty-six students spent time with professionals through Geneseo’s Winter Break Alumni Shadow Program. Students are paired with alumni and parent volunteers — from around the country — for an insider’s insight into what life is like trading stocks, teaching, practicing law or working in healthcare and other fields — and to consider what best suits them. Interested in hosting? Visit go.geneseo.edu/ shadowinterest.

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Geneseo student-athletes were on hand to thank a group of local veterans as part of the second annual Red, White and Blue Knight in January.

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Everyday wonders explained

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO “HMMM”

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Everyday wonder #1

Dreams. Déjà vu. How we see heat and why ice roars. From the inner workings of our minds and how we react with the world, faculty experts answer the mysteries in everyday things around us.

By Kris Dreessen and faculty unk his beak and Tippy, the dapper bird with his blue hat and fire-engine red felted head, will bob into a glass of water and never stop drinking. Since the 1920s, Tippy has tipped, righted himself and bowed for another sip.

With his plastic legs and test tube body, the plastic bird is deceivingly simple. Legend has it that even Einstein was fascinated but couldn’t figure out how it worked.

“There are a lot of physics principles at work in this silly little toy,” says Charlie Freeman, chair and professor of physics, who was inspired to dig the department’s own Tippy out of lab storage to check him out.

“Tippy is basically a tiny heat engine that turns thermal energy into mechanical energy,” says Freeman.

The liquid in his abdomen is methylene chloride — a paint thinner — which has an extremely low boiling point. When you dip his beak into water, the felt on his head absorbs the water, and some of this water evaporates. A process called evaporative cooling causes his head to become cooler, which creates a heat differential between his head and abdomen. That

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lower temperature in his head means a lower pressure. This differential causes the liquid to rise to his head, tip him off balance, and send him to the drink.

Repeat.

Water drawn up on the head is capillary action, the same as in plants and trees and how our paper towels suck up the spill on the counter. Evaporative cooling is why steam emanates from our piping hot but cooling cups of coffee. At first called the “insatiable bird,” Tippy will continue to drink, until enough water evaporates that he can’t reach any more.

Steam engines and our car engines operate on the same conversion of thermal energy into mechanical energy.

The list goes on, says Freeman.

“That’s one of the great things about science. It changes the whole way you think about the universe,” says Freeman. “From every daily activity, you have a whole new take on it. It will really change the way you think about everyday life.”

With that in mind, we take a fun examination of other everyday wonders, explained by faculty experts for an eye-opening view of how we, nature and the universe work.

Why do leaves change color?

Explained by Chair and Associate Professor of Biology George Briggs Maybe first we should ask: Why does a tree shed leaves in the first place? Or, to put it in an evolutionary context, “Is there some advantage to shedding leaves?”

Here in upstate New York winters, leaves are a liability because they accumulate snow and consequently can cause a tree to lose branches. Branches hold leaves up to the light, so losing a branch is much more significant than losing leaves. In a region like ours, the leaf drop is coordinated by the changing seasons and precedes winter, when leaves are not useful and are actually a hazard.

Shedding parts is fundamental to plants, a feature that distinguishes them from most familiar organisms like mammals. All plants lose and replace leaves (and roots), no matter their geographical location.

Trees draw water from their roots, and turn it and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar to feed themselves and live — that’s photosynthesis. When winter approaches and days are shorter,

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

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Everyday wonder #2

Why do things glow red when they get hot? Why is “white hot” hotter than red?

Explained by Professor and Chair of Physics Charlie Freeman Do you know how they use infrared cameras to detect heat?

Because things at ordinary temperatures radiate predominately in the infrared region — where our human eyes can’t detect it.

But it turns out that the wavelength of the emitted radiation gets smaller and smaller as the temperature gets hotter and hotter. This is something called Wien’s displacement law, wavelength * temperature = constant.

Here’s how it works: Our eyes are only sensitive to a small sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum which we call “visible light.” At ordinary room temperature, the wavelength of the emitted light is too long for us to see.

This light is in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. As the object heats

up, the wavelength of light emitted gets shorter and shorter. Of all the colors that we can see, red light has the longest wavelength so it is the color that we see first when something gets hot — but it’s been heating up.

If we increase the temperature further, then the object begins to emit considerable amounts of shorter wavelength light including green and blue light. When these colors are all mixed together — red, green, blue — the result is white light which is why we say the object is “white hot.”

Next time you’re heating up a side of baked mac and cheese for your “red hot,” ponder the oven’s heating element. It’s heating up from the moment you press “preheat,” but we see it when it begins to glow red.

PHOTO PROVIDED

before leaves are shed, they die in a controlled process called senescence that generally ends with a weakening of the junction with the twig.

As they die, all green leaves change color when chlorophyll, the pigment that makes them green and absorbs light for photosynthesis, is degraded.

Chlorophyll can’t be transported out of the leaf and its degradation allows minerals — nitrogen and magnesium — present in chlorophyll to be transported back to the twigs, where it’s stored to be used in next year’s growth.

Most leaves lacking chlorophyll are a pale yellow and

not very colorful, but some trees, like maples, actually synthesize new pigments during senescence.

When this happens, the result is the fire-engine reds, intense oranges and other colors that transform the landscape into an artist’s palette. It is significant that these pigments do not contain minerals like nitrogen and therefore can be shed without the tree losing minerals.

It’s a “myth” that leaves don’t change color, but reveal their true color as that green from the chlorophyll fades. In reality, most of the color seen in fall is new pigment, made in late summer and early fall.

PHOTO BY ISTOCKPHOTO/MLIBERRA

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Everyday wonder #3

Why do we remember our dreams if we are sleeping?

And why do we all dream about falling?

Explained by Professor of Psychology Terrence Bazzett To understand at least some aspects of dreams, you have to first understand that the brain never stops working, not even when we’re sleeping.

The brain does synchronize some activity in slow wave sleep, and we remember very little from that part of sleeping, but during dream sleep — REM/rapid eye movement sleep — activity in our brain is similar to when we’re awake and alert.

During REM, the brain may recall memories, sort through ideas and concepts, and do other “brain stuff” much the way it does when we’re awake. Just can’t get that big upcoming meeting out of your mind? Maybe your brain will sift through those emotions here.

So it makes sense that we remember at least some aspects of dreams. Our brain is actually working in these times, and why wouldn’t we remember if our brains are working?

So why do people — all kinds of people with varied backgrounds and tastes and lives — frequently dream about falling?

Well, even though the brain is active

during dream sleep, it’s not working very effectively. For example, our frontal lobe that organizes our thoughts and memories becomes sluggish, while our occipital lobe that processes visual information becomes highly active. This is why our dreams might be visually striking, but really poorly organized. For example, you

might have a vivid dream where you are sitting in your office, but then you stand and turn around to find you’re in a friend’s house where your dog from your early childhood is barking at you.

The brain also does something pretty neat: It paralyzes the body (in a sense) during dream sleep so we don’t act out our dreams and hurt ourselves. If you’ve ever dreamed of having a hard time moving, usually when trying to run away from monsters, it’s because your brain is trying to get your body to move, but it can’t.

Likewise, the brain has difficulty interpreting vestibular input from your inner ear during dream sleep. This makes it hard for the brain to sense how your body is oriented. Combine an inability to sense body orientation with the paralysis, and your poor brain has little choice but to assume you’re falling, or flying, or doing something else very weird with your body. So that weird body sensation becomes integrated into your dream.

Aren’t dreams cool?

PHOTO BY ISTOCKPHOTO/PAVLEN

Everyday wonder #4

I feel like I’ve been here before … what is déjà vu?

Explained by Professor of Psychology Terrence Bazzett “Déjà vu” literally translated means “already seen.” We often use it to describe the “feeling like I’ve been here before.”

It seems strange and uncommon when it happens, but explaining déjà vu is actually relatively simple, and logical. It’s about survival and the amygdala.

Consider first that human brains are similar to those of other animals, but perhaps slightly more evolved. As such, we remain hard-wired for some functions that we no longer require.

For example, all brains effectively store emotionally and physiologically arousing memories. Think of an animal that survives a vicious attack by a predator, or that success-

fully engages in breeding. These incidents create arousing memories worth remembering for survival and procreation. In forming such memories, the animal’s brain takes in all available stimuli — smells, sights, sounds, tastes and more to make as complete a memory as possible. In the future, when those stimuli are encountered again, the animal is reminded of the earlier incident, and becomes appropriately aroused to be cautious, or on the lookout for mates.

In this regard, déjà vu in us is a very real and very useful sensation. In fact, the amygdala is the brain area typically credited with storing emotional memories that can be triggered by stimuli from the environment.

The amygdala is also particularly responsive to smells, maybe because other animals are more sensitive to olfactory stimuli than we humans. As for our own déjà vu, we pay less attention to emotions evoked by stimuli (like smells), because our brains have evolved to use more sophisticated cognitive processes for trying to interpret or explain sensations we experience. However, passed down by our ancestors, we have kept that tendency to store emotionally charged memories.

So if the smell of fall leaves and candles burning in jack-o-lanterns evokes a little flashback to your childhood Halloweens, now you’ll know why.

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Everyday wonder #5

Why do kids pick up languages more easily than adults?

Explained by Associate Professor of Education Mary Jensen Do young children pick up languages more readily than adults? If we are thinking about the sounds, intonations and rhythms of language, the answer is yes.

Young children are more adept at picking up these aspects of language early on in their lives.

Being able to communicate in a second language beyond your native tongue can give a child an advantage in learning, though other circumstances in a child’s life affect learning as well. Part of the reason for this advantage is because in today’s digital age, we are reimagining geography and “stretching” our social relationships worldwide. Interactions are much more porous and fluid than traditional face-to-face interactions.

In addition to being better attuned to

our changing world, children who learn and regularly use another language have other cognitive advantages. For example, they outscore monolingual children in “executive functioning”— planning, organizing and goal-setting — which is important to learning. Also, using another language offers children many occasions for cognitive flexibility, selective attention, and use of self-monitoring skills, which may account for advantages in solving complex math problems and multi-tasking.

Images of the brain also suggest that bilingual children use different brain networks than children who speak one language. Bilingualism may even offer lifelong bilinguals some protection against the early onset of dementia.

Perhaps, a few words of caution are in order. An effective way to support language learning of young children is to engage them in symbolic play and reallife situations and encourage them to express themselves while building on their prior knowledge. In addition, schools should help children to preserve their heritage language. Early learning sets the stage for development of advanced levels of proficiency in one or more languages.

When children don’t grow up in a bilingual or multilingual family, families can pursue strategies to support these experiences, such as enrolling children in a language club or program that offers opportunities to use another language.

Everyday wonder #6

Is the ice-covered lake growling at me?

Explained by Distinguished Teaching Professor of Physics Stephen Padalino Ever been startled by a loud boom or gutis clear, ice will further lose thermal energy through radiative cooling to the sky tural moan while you were next to or and then to space. The thermal energy walking on an ice-covered lake? loss produces contractions of the ice, When Interim President Carol S. Long which in turn causes cracking, twisting moved into a home on Conesus Lake, she and slipping as it floats freely over the got a heads up to keep her ears pricked lake water. A variety of sounds at different for “ice monsters.” frequencies can be heard during this She has been hearing them daily this process. season: “The lake growls and sings and When a massive piece of ice cracks, it moans, along with the occasional crack. produces sounds short in duration and What makes this happen? It is pretty fun.” low in frequency — a booming. This The phenomenon is called ice booming. booming can travel the length of the lake It occurs when lake ice expands and conand certainly startle someone nearby. tracts during large changes in temperaWhen ice sheets rub against each other tures due to solar exposure during the day along fractures, it makes higher pitched or radiative cooling at night. Radiative PHOTO BY ISTOCKPHOTO/SENSORSPOT sounds.

Twisting ice can make very highcooling, unlike conduction, convection or extinguished fire, you can detect if it is pitched continuous songs that sometimes evaporation, happens when electromagstill hot by sensing infrared radiation sound like whales’ voices. netic energy is emitted from an object. emitted from the still-warm embers. It Henry David Thoreau wrote about his This is seen and felt when campfire may seem strange but even ice emits experience hearing them on a cold night embers cool. These embers glow a dim infrared radiation. at Flint’s Pond in February 1850: red color; hidden from our sight are So, if it is a cold, calm night and the sky “... It stretched itself and longer wavelengths of light in yawned like a waking man with a the infrared. Although our eye Hear the booming on Dog Lake in Yosemite National Park gradually increasing tumult, cannot detect these wavelengths, go.geneseo.edu/icebooming which was kept up three or four our skin can. By putting your hours.” hand near the embers of a visibly

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WHAT’S YOUR STORY?

) s y a w l A ( Ready for some football

By Anthony T. Hoppa ooking back, perhaps multimedia journalist Chris Brown ’94 was destined to end up at 1 Bills Drive in Orchard Park, N.Y. Consider how he met his future wife — and loyal Bills fan — Tracie Lopardi Brown ’95 his sophomore year in Erie Hall.

“My roommate lived down the street from Tracie in Tonawanda,” he said. “The first time I went to her house one weekend, she showed me videotapes of her family dancing in the snow after the Bills made their second Super Bowl — and I thought, ‘What kind of people are they?!’”

Then there’s the dubious distinction of spending all four years at Geneseo watching the Bills … lose the Super Bowl.

That’s a far cry from his youth on Long Island, when Chris spent nights glued to sports radio listening to the Islanders win four Stanley Cups or Knicks basketball.

Back then, he bled blue-and-orange, but today, it’s blue-and-red. As the Bills Insider for Buffalobills.com, Chris connects Bills fans worldwide through his website reporting.

“It’s interesting traveling and working for the Bills because all of your media training preaches that it’s about objectivity and credibility,” he explained. “I believe I achieve that in my writing, but I had to develop techniques of reporting without inserting opinion, and that’s difficult to do.”

Chris owes a large part of his success to Geneseo, which he supports with his time and through alumni giving. He serves the Alumni Council as co-chair of the 1994 class leadership committee, speaks at campus events for students and is a member of

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PHOTO BY CRAIG MELVIN

Chris Brown ’94, left, with radio color commentator and former Bills safety Mark Kelso on the Bills Radio Network pre-game show.

“I didn’t have the NFL in mind when I declared communication as my major.

I thought I’d be doing basketball play-by-play.”

— Chris Brown ’94 the Roundtable Athletic Association.

“I remember my first campus visit to Geneseo on just an awful rainy day, trudging through the tour,” he recalled.

“Despite the weather, there was just something that appealed to me … Geneseo seemed like the right setting.”

His intuition proved correct. In class or on the field — he was co-captain of the men’s soccer team — Chris made the most of his Geneseo experience.

That included three internships to gain a competitive career advantage — at WFAN-AM in New York City, the first-ever all-sports radio station, and with the Rochester Americans and Geneseo’s Sports Information Department.

: geneseo.edu/WYS

Read more and submit your own at

“I never realized how important organizational communication with Dr. Roseann Hartmann was until I entered the working world,” he said.

His first job? The night shift at oldies radio station WJJL-AM in Niagara Falls, where he covered town council meetings and put together a weekly Buffalo Bills report. That led to Buffalo’s WGR-AM, where he rose to Bills beat reporter in 1997.

From there, he joined Empire Sports Network, and then became editor of the new “Bills Digest.” In 2006, he joined the Bills as lead journalist for the team’s website, complementing that role as a pre-game radio analyst and television show co-host.

Chris knows that if it weren’t for the game-day sacrifices made by Tracie — a full-time partner at a law firm — his career would not be possible.

“Tracie is a true football widow, handling things on weekends with our children,” he said. “She’s the reason I’m able to do something I really love.”

And to think it wasn’t his first plan.

“I didn’t have the NFL in mind when I declared communication as my major,” Chris said. “I thought I’d be doing basketball play-by-play.”

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Career boost: 101

Geneseo is strengthening its internship opportunities and needs you.

By Jim Memmott

or Lauren Hollasch ’15, Main Street in Geneseo has been her laboratory, her home-away-from-home, her inspiration.

Thanks to an internship with the Livingston County Development Group, she has sharpened her organizational and people skills, just as she has focused her long-term goals.

“The internship has been the most beneficial part of my academic career so far,” says the mathematics and business administration major.

The college is hoping for more success stories like Hollasch’s. To that end, Rob DiCarlo was hired last April as associate director of internship opportunities in the Office of Career Development.

He’ll be the main contact point for students interested in internships and for alumni and others who would like to sponsor interns. His office is building meaningful, even transformational, internships — short-term, out-of-classroom experiences that will clarify students’ long-term goals and maybe even lead to post-graduate employment.

Beyond that, he hopes to establish Geneseo as a leader in internships — a focal point in SUNY for liberal arts and social science internships.

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Alumni involvement

Alumni can be crucial to this process by reaching back and helping students test the workplace waters, DiCarlo says.

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“Geneseo alums are very generous,” he says. “We have a whole list of alums that I refer students to all the time.”

One of DiCarlo’s goals is to draw in more alumni as internship sponsors, making their involvement as seamless as possible.

In the past, offers of help from graduates sometimes didn’t get through to the college, DiCarlo says: “Alumni were frustrated. They didn’t know whom to contact about internships. My role is to be the central point of control between students, faculty and alumni.”

For sure, technology is part of the process.

DiCarlo has established a way on the college’s KnightJobs webpage for employers and departments to list internships and for students to file their credentials. And he serves as a kind of coach and mentor, helping students focus their interests, create their resumes and apply for internships.

In demand

DiCarlo has come to campus at a time when students are increasingly seeking internships, as it has become apparent that future employers have come to expect to see internship experience on a resume.

Geneseo students, DiCarlo notes, are extremely good candidates for internships.

“Our students are some of the best and the brightest,” he says. “A lot of students I see have already interned at the high school level. They tend to be really motivated. They do the things that are asked of them and then some.”

Since his arrival, DiCarlo’s calendar has been filled with one-on-one interviews with students.

“It’s been hectic,” he says, as he sits in his Erwin Hall office near the end of the semester. “Since September, I’ve had probably 120 student appointments. It’s gotten so busy we’ve started doing group workshops. The student demand for internships has been tremendous. Our job is to get them prepped.”

In some cases, the students know exactly what kind of internships they want to do.

Accounting majors look for accounting firms with summer internship opportunities; students hoping to work in finance look for internships with banks or investment firms.

William Duncanson ’14, a philosophy major from Bemus Point, N.Y., has been working with DiCarlo in hopes of finding an internship in finance.

“He has helped me a lot by putting me in touch with different alumni and guiding me step by step toward finding an internship,” Duncanson says. “Whether I get the internship I want is still up in the air, but Rob and his office have given me the opportunity.”

When he meets with students, DiCarlo often starts a kind of Match.com inventory.

“I ask them what they do in their spare time,” he says. “I ask them if they’re in a doctor’s waiting room what magazine they pick up.”

Out of this, they form a plan of action.

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Interning with the Livingston County Development Group, Lauren Hollasch ’15 uses Main Street Geneseo as a laboratory and home-away-from-home working with businesses.

Networking

DiCarlo also tells all the internship candidates that they may already have a network of internship contacts. Their roommate’s mother might work at an accounting firm. Their older brother’s wife’s uncle may be the intern coordinator at a large nonprofit institution.

Ava Russell ’14 took advantage of a family connection to land a 2013 summer internship with Swenson Book Development outside Ithaca, N.Y. Her mother knew Jill Swenson, the owner of the small firm that helps authors develop manuscripts for publication.

Russell, an English major interested in a career in publishing, met with Swenson for an informational interview. The interview, in turn, led to the offer of the internship.

At Swenson Book, Russell created material for the website, wrote a blog and edited manuscripts, working with authors.

The experience underscored her belief that there’s an advantage to interning at small businesses and/or start-up business-

es. It’s easier to be heard and it’s easier to get a mentor’s attention, she suggests.

Earlier, Russell had interned at “Fresh Dirt” Ithaca, a publication that reports on issues of sustainability. She was able to edit during both internships and also to report, working on stories about where some local chefs like to eat, as well as stories on where local massage therapists go for massages.

The “Fresh Dirt” experience, combined with her on-campus experience as a copy editor for The Lamron, made her realize that she gets more satisfaction from editing than reporting.

“I kind of prefer the behind-the-scenes work,” she says. “That’s something I learned about myself. I’m more of an analytical thinker than a creative thinker.”

It’s epiphanies like this that make internships, even internships that don’t work out to be a good fit, especially valuable, DiCarlo says. An intern’s romanticized view of a field can sometimes clash with reality. After that, students know what

“He has helped me a lot by putting me in touch with different alumni and guiding me step by step toward finding an internship. Whether I get the internship I want is still up in the air, but Rob and his office have given me the opportunity.”

— William Duncanson ’14

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they don’t want to do, a valuable takeaway.

On Main Street

Lauren Hollasch got her internship with Livingston County Development Group another way, through word of mouth.

Kayla Holmes ’13, one of her Sigma Delta Tau sorority sisters, was finishing up an internship with the development group and encouraged Hollasch to apply for the position.

Hollasch applied and was awarded the internship beginning in fall 2012. Her position is funded by a gift to the college from Greg O’Connell ’64. A business developer who has invested heavily in Livingston County, O’Connell has been a strong advocate for more connections between Geneseo students and the communities that surround the college.

As part of her internship, Hollasch was the Geneseo Main Street manager, organizing, among other projects, AutumnFest 2013 on Main Street, a one-day mix of food vendors, local and college musicians, artisans, and more.

During her internship, Hollasch has worked with the Livingston County

“The student demand for internships has been tremendous. Our job is to get them prepped.”

— Rob DiCarlo Associate Director of Internship Opportunities Chamber of Commerce, the Geneseo Welcome Center, the Geneseo Tourism Committee and a variety of Geneseo business owners.

“I’ve gotten to know the merchants on a first-name basis,” she says. “I’ve gotten to know the town and the village and the community that’s here.”

Louise Wadsworth, the downtown coordinator for the county development group, has served as Hollasch’s boss DiCarlo and mentor, offering her that mix of guidance and independence that most interns seek.

“She’s the most inspirational person,” Hollasch says. “She has a passion for every-

thing she does.” In particular, she says that Wadsworth showed her the importance of getting the various groups in the community on the same page in terms of promoting Geneseo.

Thanks to the internship, Hollasch now has a very specific post-college career in mind. She’d like to return to the Buffalo area and work for a financial institution as a community reinvestment adviser — someone who uses the bank’s money and expertise to revitalize streets and neighborhoods.

“I like numbers,” Hollasch says. “But I’m a people person, too.”

Presumably, once she gets established, Hollasch will reach back to Geneseo in search of interns, helping them as she was helped. And by that time, internships should be a key part of the Geneseo experience, another way of putting the liberal arts experience to work.

Alumni internship host: Jennifer Chan ’98

Let them learn the ropes, with freedom and supervision Jennifer Chan ’98, a manager of eBook Production at Random House in New York City, wanted to give back to the college by sponsoring an internship during the summer of 2013, a period before Rob DiCarlo’s position overseeing internships was created.

Setting up and supervising the internship took work, but Chan found that she enjoyed the experience. It was beneficial to the company and to the intern, a win-win for all concerned.

With the help of the chair of the Department of English, Chan first received applicants for the internship. She then chose Emily Withers ’15, an English literature major.

Chan organized the internship so Withers had a mix of supervision and freedom.

“It’s my philosophy that internships should be a useful view into the company,” Chan says. “Essentially we are drawing back the curtain and saying this is how it all works and this is what these people do.”

Before Withers arrived, Chan created a schedule for her time at Random House with three goals in mind. She wanted her to network within the company, to learn a new skill that pertained to the industry, and to come away with “an

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opinion as to whether the company and industry was a good fit for her.”

Consequently, Withers got to meet with people throughout the organization, some of whom she was introduced to, some of whom she met on her own. And she was also given a project to complete on her own.

“I was instructed to ‘build an eBook,’” Withers says.

In completing it, Withers, learned everything from copyediting techniques to computer coding. At the end of the summer, she gave a presentation on her project.

“I found it extremely nerve-wracking,” Withers says, “as I was presenting to producers, managers, and my internship adviser — generally people I desperately wanted (and still want) to impress.”

“Apparently I did well. Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy my presentation, however enticed as they might have been by the doughnuts I’d brought in.”

Doughnuts or not, Chan gave Withers and the internship high marks.

“Emily was delightful,” Chan says, “and is someone we would work with again.”

How to host an internship 1. Timeframe – Geneseo students can intern any semester, including over winter break.

Start the process to list your internship with the Department of Career Development the semester prior to the internship.

2. Goals and Learning Outcomes – What do you want to accomplish by hosting an intern? Having a specific project that can be completed during a semester works well and gives the intern a sense of ownership and something tangible for a resume.

Shelby Leonard ’15 collaborated in groundbreaking heart research during an FDA internship.

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Shelby Leonard ’15

Summer FDA internship makes her an author and collaborator of groundbreaking heart research. or a while, Shelby Leonard ’15 was overwhelmed at her internship last summer with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Washington, D.C. Leonard was working on a team exploring a new heart treatment for patients for whom open-heart surgery for aortic valve replacement is too risky. Leonard’s role?

Design and run never-done-before research on how and how much a heart valve moves; those calculations will be used to make a new device that can insert a new valve into patients using a catheter inserted through a leg.

A psychology major with a minor in biology and chemistry, she had just finished her second year of college. One of the other interns had been accepted at several prestigious medical schools. Another had already completed medical school.

Her knowledge of the heart was limited at best. “I knew it pumps blood,” she says, with a chuckle.

She worked day and night to get up to speed, but two weeks in, still unsure of herself, she expressed doubts to her supervisor. He said he picked her for a reason and liked how she worked. Her fear left, and she dug in. Each day, she gained confidence in her abilities as she worked with

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her fellow researchers. “…They pushed me to be my best, which I didn’t even know I had.”

Leonard devised research to examine human heart valve measurements using CT scans. She did the same for swine and sheep, examining whether they are similar enough to implant the device for testing.

She exchanged ideas with researchers in weekly meetings, and worked with highprofile doctors.

Ultimately, she will be a co-author of 10 research papers for the FDA following independent testing. The device will have her name attached to its development.

“This will save lives,” she says. “It is incredible to know that I was working on something so big. It’s an opportunity many people do not get.”

Leonard obtained her unpaid internship through The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, with which Geneseo has a growing partnership.

Through her good work, she earned a paid internship with the same FDA supervisor this summer. Originally, she saw herself becoming a physician specializing in pain management. Now, because of her internship, she’s thinking of specializing in cardiology.

3. Training and Supervision – Your intern may have limited prior experience and will need supervision. Successful internships begin with an orientation that sets a professional tone.

4. Credit – Internship credit ensures that your internship is formally affiliated and overseen

by Geneseo. You will have a learning agreement and be active in your intern’s learning and professional development.

5. Pay – While not required, we strongly encourage you to pay your intern. Unpaid internships are a financial challenge and limit your applicant pool.

6. Professional Development – Where appropriate, include your intern in meetings, trainings and networking opportunities.

7. Feedback – You will complete an evaluation form with your intern. Give on-going feedback and encouragement; he or she may need additional guidance and your patience.

8. Recruitment – There are several services to help you recruit interns, including KnightJobs.

9. Transitions – Internships are like semesterlong interviews. The program can provide your organization with a stream of talented future employees.

10. Questions? Contact Rob DiCarlo, associate director for internship opportunities, at dicarlo@geneseo.edu or (585) 245-5750.

— By Rob DiCarlo

:

Visit www.geneseo.edu/career_ development/employer_welcome

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Destination: Backyard imagination

A Geneseo couple creates

magical tree houses for the kid in everyone.

By Kris Dreessen alk the yellow brick road at Joe and Heather Ferrero’s house and you’ll find a simple wooden bridge. Just beyond is an elaborate fairy garden where tiny imps tend to farmhouses and relax in mini lounge sets.

Above is a tree house wonderland.

There’s a cathedral, tea house, wizard’s den and the only 1946 Triumph automobile in the United States. Its headlights illuminate the boughs of the 20-foot-tall che rry tree it calls home. Cuckoo clocks actually cuckoo here, and in the castle, you can read chivalric code on the wall from the velvet throne.

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have created all of this in a green patch of yard since January 2012. Lots of people love the idea and volunteer for construction, from community members to Scouts to Geneseo student organizations and students.

Future plans include a Galilean observatory, a World War I era bi-plane, transforming an old 1957 speedboat into a pirate ship, and creating a music room in honor of Professor of Music Jim Kimball and his music history class, where Heather and Joe first met in 1993.

Jim’s helping Joe build a working pipe organ using recycled fireplace bellows.

“It brings you back, like when you were a kid,” says Joe. “It brings you back, like when you were a kid,” says Joe. A mechanical engineer who worked in the automotive industry, Joe started the project after he had a freak accident. As he was using a high-pressure paint sprayer, a dry paint slug hit him in the face, blinding his left eye. Had it hit an inch higher, he says, it would have put him six feet under.

“That made me look at life a little differently,” he says. From then on, all of his “grandfather projects” became don’twait-do-it-now projects.

When his daughters, Anna and Jamie, asked for a tree house, the whole family got going.

The Ferreros — both 1996 alumni —

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geneseo scene

The best thing about the Ferrero family’s dreamscape? You’re invited.

Each Saturday, spring through fall, the Ferreros put out a perpetual welcome sign. Their creation is for everyone; they get hundreds of visitors.

During these visits they get to see kids give their imaginations free rein — and see parents happily watch, or more often, throw their feet up on the swing or run off to the antique car.

“Everyone wants a tree house, even the biggest of people,” says Joe. “Seeing their smiles, there’s no describing the feeling you get when you see joy of other people. Hopefully, we can inspire others to dream and create.”

: go.geneseo.edu/treecreations View more photos of the treehouses:

Everyone and their imaginations are encouraged to play at Joe ’96 and Heather ’96 Ferrero’s backyard tree house complex, built with dreams and a live-now inspiration.

PHOTOS BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

VISIT Ferrero’s Tree Creations in Geneseo on Saturdays, spring through fall, at 4677 Lakeville Groveland Road in Geneseo.

Call (585) 243-1638 to schedule a visit. www.treecreations.org

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ATHLETICS AND RECREATION

Fair play Keeping the art of sportsmanship alive Screaming parents at peewee matches. Players throwing punches at community games. Last fall, Kentucky’s athletic sanctioning body ordered high schools not to conduct post-game handshakes because of physical confrontations. It’s the latest news about bad sportsmanship. Conversely, Geneseo’s women’s soccer team has won several national sportsmanship awards. Coach Nate Wiley ’99 writes about the meaning of good sportsmanship and how Geneseo stays true to that mission.

Wiley

— By Nate Wiley ’99

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geneseo scene

PHOTOS BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

portsmanship is what you do after a tough moment, for or against you. Are you the person who helps up an opponent who has just fallen? Too many times athletes, coaches (and fans) allow themselves to hide behind the rationalization, “I’m just too competitive.”

Sportsmanship is what happens after the fact. It’s not so much who you are going into competition, but who you are coming out of it.

Our women’s soccer team has won the Team Ethics Award of Merit from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for the last six years in a row — three times earning a rare “gold” distinction, meaning that we didn’t get a yellow or red card for a personal foul the entire season. The award is based on how you act in the heat of battle, which is certainly not easy.

Finally, sportsmanship is what a team does after they have lost.

We have had our fair share of losses and we have never been the team who has acted out against an opponent, the officials or their teammates. That is a true mark of a team’s sports-

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manship. We have a certain standard by which our players hold themselves and that we reinforce every day in training.

Our focus on sportsmanship starts with recruiting. I emphasize to recruits that we are not just recruiting the player; we are equally concerned with the person, with character. I want to know that when the chips are

things have happened in my life that have provided perspective about competition and sportsmanship. Two things come straight to the forefront — my wife and kids.

I coach soccer for a living.

My life revolves around competition, not only in the games we play, but in recruiting — convincing potential

“Sportsmanship is what happens after the fact. It’s not so much who you are going into competition, but who you are coming out of it.” down, we have the character to get back up and be successful. I also talk to them about the “experience” of women’s soccer at Geneseo. We travel internationally every three years. We are going to play good soccer against good teams, and we are going to conduct ourselves in the right way.

Having been an extremely competitive high school and college athlete myself, and experiencing first-hand some great triumphs and some big defeats, I also exhibited signs of being both a good sport and a sore loser. But a few

student-athletes to attend Geneseo. My wife, Sheila, was a college soccer player herself and knows what I am going through. She has helped me understand that when the game is over, it is over, and I need to move on. Nothing snaps me back to reality after a tough loss than seeing my kids run over to me looking for hugs and kisses (I’m actually tearing up as I write this), as though I have just won the national championship.

My job as a coach is to exemplify what good sportsmanship looks like. I want the

best effort out of my athletes, and I know yelling at them is not the way to get there. I want them to leave Geneseo seeing what it’s like to be passionate and motivated, but not doing it at the expense of them or my own personal integrity.

Where do these unsportsmanlike outbursts come from?

Maybe it’s because good sportsmanship is often developed as a youth and our athletic organizations have become increasingly competitive. Maybe the rising cost of college has led many parents to pursue scholarship opportunities for their children, creating a “whatever it takes” environment to gain an advantage when young people are developing their own sense of right and wrong.

Overall, I’m not sure that sportsmanship has become any better, but I also don’t feel it has become worse. What we see in the media, or at least what is talked about via Twitter and other social media, are the extremes. For every example of bad sportsmanship, there is a great example of it as well.

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PERSPECTIVES Perspectives provides a forum for discussion on personal epiphanies, science and many issues that affect all of our daily lives. The fall 2013 perspective offered by New York State Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle ’86 about balancing rights and gun regulation drew strong responses, as expected. Here is one alumnus’ differing viewpoint.

Providing a forum for another outlook lends itself to the spirit of Perspectives and we encourage you to explore ideas within each issue of the Scene.

The SAFE Act Counterpoint:

New York’s new gun law is misguided in curbing gun violence.

By Chris Hayden ’83

Chris Hayden ’83 is an avid hunter, a former competitive shooter, a longtime member of the National Rifle Hayden Association and the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, and numerous other conservation, shooting and hunting clubs. He owns an insurance agency in upstate New York and is among six generations of Hayden family members who have attended Geneseo. He was compelled to write a counterpoint to the recent Perspectives that supported the New York SAFE Act – one of the strictest gun laws in the country.

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geneseo scene

n the fall issue of the Geneseo Scene, New York State Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle ’86 addressed balancing rights and regulation, and advocated the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act. In it, he said discussion on gun control “is a necessary and important conversation for Americans to have but it also is a difficult and painful one. Advocates on all sides are passionate.”

Discussion of gun control in the United States is very important. As a gun owner, I have several problems with the SAFE Act, which affects me and all New Yorkers, especially those of us who question its effectiveness of actually addressing deeper issues involved with gun control and violence.

First, the notion that there was meaningful and widespread conversation about the merits of this bill and its impact is untrue. Its passage was greeted with surprise and dismay by nearly all gun owners in New York. It was hastily written and consequently packed with errors and not vetted with law enforcement officials. Its requirements and provisions baffle lawabiding gun owners of this state. Those of us with even a basic working knowledge of firearms cannot see how it makes residents safer.

In a parliamentary maneuver known as a “Message of Necessity,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assembly and Senate leaders put the SAFE Act in front of their members in the early morning hours of Jan. 15, 2013. Essentially, this waived the normal statutory requirement that a bill be available to members three days before a vote. This rule exists to give our elected representatives a chance to read what they are voting on. Legislators were given less than an hour to review it. Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin stated: “We’re told basically to shut up and vote.”

It was passed by both houses and signed by the governor shortly after. I believe the way it was presented was not done in error. Cuomo has used, and addressed, Messages of Necessity in previous legislative sessions to cram bills through that he deemed too important to debate.

For the SAFE Act, I believe there was no conversation, no input from law enforcement, sportsmen, the firearms industry or any other source outside of the few who wrote the bill. In Connecticut, where the horrific events of the Newtown shootings occurred, serious and thoughtful input was sought and received from all interested parties for months before legislators passed a very restrictive law in full view of the public. Why did we not have the same approach in New York?

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Let’s look at New York’s law: It allows a person to possess a 10-round magazine, but that person cannot have more than seven rounds in it. The idea that a mentally disturbed person with the intent to commit mass murder is going to abide by this is beyond foolish.

Capping the size of magazines to those that hold no more than 10 rounds may make the general public feel safer. That is, until you spend a few minutes thinking about it. A mad man walking into an elementary school with a dozen 10-round magazines is just as deadly as one who has four 30-round magazines. The authors of the law originally forgot to exempt law enforcement from some of the law’s provisions, but that has since been amended.

The list of errors and failure to think through the impact of this bill could be discussed for hours.

In nearly all of the recent mass shootings, the perpetrator was known to be a threat to himself and to others. The SAFE Act does nothing to establish a meaningful set of enforceable guidelines to identify, involuntarily commit and treat those who demonstrate through word or action that they are potentially harmful to themselves or others.

The guidelines that were established were immediately rejected by the providers of mental healthcare in this state because of their concern that it would prevent those who need treatment from seeking it.

Nothing has been accomplished by this bill to address this core cause of mass shootings.

Finally, because of the way the law was passed, and the absurdity of much of its content and the restriction of what many law-abiding New Yorkers view as a fundamental right to keep and bear arms, the statute has been formally opposed by 50 of the 52 upstate counties in New York. Many county sheriffs, local chiefs of police and other law enforcement officials have pub-

“We need to talk and not scream in an open conversation, not behind emergency measures passed in the dark of night.”

passed in the shadows of government, with very little or no input from county or local law enforcement personnel. It fails completely to address mental health issues to protect the citizens of this state. It was poorly written and will be nearly impossible to enforce in a way that will prevent a crime.

Guns such as a Ruger Mini-14 are still legal while an AR-15 is not. Each shoots the same bullet just as fast! Pointing to an AR-15 and saying it is more dangerous than a pump shotgun just doesn’t add up if you know what either can do.

All across the nation we have seen terrible acts of violence using firearms.

A perverse wave of mass shootings by a percentage of the population so small one can barely quantify the figure has hit us all emotionally. This bill and others like it elsewhere grant the appearance that something is being done.

Yet, applying the law to what happened in Newtown, Aurora, Virginia Tech, and all of the others would have done nothing to stop the carnage.

We need a mental health system that doesn’t shy away from mandating longterm inpatient care for those who are a danger to themselves and others. We need a system that can house them in a secure environment. We need measured, comlicly stated they will not actively enforce it. mon sense laws that crush the thought of There are important things that can be putting guns in the hands of people who should not have them. We need to talk done to address gun violence. The SAFE Act did hit on a few of them. They include and not scream in an open conversation, not behind emergency measures passed in harsh punishment for people who purthe dark of night. chase guns for people who cannot do so Editor’s Note: Learn more about the SAFE Act lawfully on their own. It does incorporate mandatory secure storage of firearms and at www.governor.ny.gov/nysafeact/gun-reform ammunition, life imprisonment for firing on first responders and a few other provisions. With consultation involving all interested parties, the bill could have included more common sense solutions.

The SAFE Act sets a terrible precedent,

ILLUSTRATION B Y ISTOCKPHOTO/LOGORILLA

Winter 2014

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SOCIAL NETWORK

By Chelsea Butkowski ’15

Earth advocates

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geneseo scene

n the days leading up to Earth Week 2013, Jessica Kroenert ’15 and other members of the Geneseo Environmental Organization — GEO — picked 750 discarded water bottles from recycling bins on campus. They spent hours tying them in long strands, then hung the massive bottle chains in front of the College Union ballroom with a simple sign: “This is how many water bottles Americans use in one half second.”

That means we use 5.4 million bottles every hour; more than 129 million every single day.

“Everyone looked really surprised by how many there were,” says Kroenert, vice president. “Our goal was to get students to think twice before buying bottled water, which is an incredibly unsustainable practice, and I believe we achieved that.”

The mission for the project is similar to all of GEO’s work.

“GEO was founded with a premise to create an organization to promote environmentally friendly initiatives not only on campus and to the greater Geneseo and New York community, but also on a global scale,” says Jen Benson ’14, president.

GEO is Geneseo’s first sustainability-focused club and comprises about 40 environmentally conscious students from a variety of majors. They bond over potluck dinners and community-service trips to local farms, where they help with planting. They collaborate in group discussions about topics from urban sustainability to recycling guidelines and the importance of student activism.

“We work off each other’s interests,” says Kroenert. “… You

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will definitely learn something new from other members.”

In collaboration with EcoHouse residence hall students last year, GEO also hosted a dumpster dive. Facilities crews saved a bag of refuse from each building for GEO members, who separated items that could have been recycled.

Donning facemasks and safety suits, GEO members weighed the “non trash” on the College Union patio. They saved a total of 73.2 pounds of bottles, cans and alternative recyclables like chip bags and shoes from being trashed through innovations in “upcycling” — transforming items into other uses. (see sidebar) GEO’s tradition of being very active on campus helped earn the college a spot on The Princeton Review’s list of “322 Green Colleges in 2013.”

Ultimately, GEO members strive to inspire individuals to choose Earth-conscious products and actions and to help spark change in local and national sustainability initiatives. GEO members also serve on Geneseo’s President’s Commission on Sustainability, which promotes sustainable initiatives in Geneseo.

Former president Lisa Johnson ’13 says that through GEO she realized the importance of promoting sustainable life choices. She hopes to use her communication degree and GEO experience to pursue a career at an environmental nonprofit organization.

“GEO has made me a lot more aware of the choices that I make and the impact they can have,” Johnson says. “I learned how much I can do for both my community here and the community at large.”

Beyond the blue bin: I can recycle that?

Things that can be “upcycled” and transformed into a new use.

• Chip bags — TerraCycle takes discarded chip and other bags and stitches them into tote bags, wallets and other new items. Visit terracycle.com to contribute bags or purchase up-cycled products.

• Cell phones — Old phones can be refurbished or smelted to extract precious metals like gold, silver and palladium.

Recycle them through call2recycle.org.

• Sneakers — Nike shreds your worn-out kicks to make Nike Grind material, used for tracks, sport courts and other surfaces. Donors have transformed 28 million pairs of shoes and 36,000 tons of scrap material since 1990 — used in more than 450,000 locations around the world. http://swoo.sh/1dga2EQ

• Wine corks — reCork will turn your corks into shoe soles. They’ve also planted 7,000 cork trees in Portugal. Drop-off locations are nationwide. www.recork.org

• Bras — This effort provides proper-fitting brassieres for women in shelters, and with other needs. www.brarecycling.com Looking for something specific? Have items you no longer need but have some life in them? Look for or list at Freecycle.org

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

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RANDOM PROFILE

One Cup Class of 1985

iane Perfitt ’85 fell in love under the Greek Tree.

It was there that her boyfriend, Mark Perfitt ’84 spent hours talking with her about classes and dreams for the future. Where he held her close against the cold winter chill. Where they watched the last brilliant orange sunrays of the day set over the valley.

“The tree was kind of a romantic spot that we could be together, like our own special place,” she says.

When Diane toured campus for the first time, there was something about the tree, also known as the Painted Tree, that grabbed her. “It just seemed so collegiate to me, like a fun tradition,” she says. Back then, only Greek organizations painted the tree, and they battled to claim it every semester.

Soon after, during her sophomore year, Diane had her own opportunity to get close to the tree as an Alpha Kappa Phi pledge. She remembers the paint actually freezing in the cold air as she and her pledge sisters tried covering it in AGO colors — blue, yellow and white. They guarded the tree throughout the fall of 1982 and preserved their AGO letters on its trunk for the full semester.

As she was pledging AGO, Diane went to a toga party and met Mark, who had recently finished a naval tour before entering college.

He was pledging the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He caught her eye right away and from then on they were a couple.

“He was tall, dark and handsome,” she says, “with a great sense of humor and joy for life.”

Soon after Diane’s graduation in 1985, Mark proposed to her at a friend’s wedding.

Right after their honeymoon in 1985, they hopped into the car and headed for Kansas City, where Mark had a new job in finance and sales.

“I think moving brought Mark and I closer together because we had to rely on each other,” she says. “We were all we had at that point.”

Kansas City was actually the first of four — and soon, five — moves for Diane and Mark. Job transfers and changes have brought them across the country and back again with moves to Stevensville, Mich.; Nashville, and Evansville, Ind. They’ve lived in Evansville with their sons for 16 years, but will soon be moving to Memphis so Mark can take a promotion as vice president of business development for Mega Group USA. The Perfitts are among more than 3,000 “Geneseo couples” who found each other at college, making their own Geneseo tradition.

Diane, who studied psychology at Geneseo, helps to support their 19-, 21- and 23-year-old sons in college. She works as a business administrator at a prosthetics and orthotics office. She says the kindness and patience she has developed as a mother and wife help her to communicate with people dealing with losing a limb.

Geneseo — and the tradition of the Greek Tree — brought Diane her true love, and planted the seeds for 26 years of marriage, three sons and a lifetime of experiences. While Diane doesn’t know what Memphis will bring, she is sure that her passion for her family will stick with her.

“The best thing about being a mom is my kids,” she says. “I can’t wait to see how their lives continue to take shape and where their own lives will take them.”

PHOTO PROVIDED

By Chelsea Butkowski ’15

D

ONE CUP Inspired by the idea that everyone has a story to share, we offer the “random profile.”

Each issue, we don a blindfold and throw a dart at a map of the United States to choose our state, then take aim again to choose a lucky alum. We catch up, relive memories and share life insight, like we are talking over coffee.

Up next ... Illinois Could it be you?

26

geneseo scene

QUICK FACTS Home: Evansville, Ind. Graduation year: 1985 Degree: bachelor’s in psychology Favorite Geneseo hangout: The AGO house and The Inn Between Best Geneseo memory: On a hot day in my freshman year, we were able to sunbathe on “Onondaga Beach.” Almost the whole dorm was out on the back lawn. It was a fabulous day!

Most rewarding experience since college: Raising my three boys, who have grown into amazing young men.

Professionally, it is watching amputees with whom I work come into our office in a wheelchair and walk out on a new prosthesis. It is inspirational!

Most important life lesson: Life is short, so enjoy every moment.

People are usually surprised to discover: That I love to scuba dive.

Favorite quote: “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” — Susan Jeffers Advice to current seniors: Dare to pursue your dreams.

Also, keep in touch with your college friends. Some of my best friends are people who I met on my very first day at Geneseo.

ILLUSTRATION AMANDA LINDLEY

Diane Perfitt

Alumni News EAR!

NEW THIS Y

NG I M O C E M HO END WEEK 17-18th R E B O T C O 2014

ALUMNI NEWS

28 30 31 32 33

Alumni event photos Realtor to rock star Real-life CSI Flashback Class Notes Winter 2014

27

Upcoming

Alumni Events The Office of Alumni and Parent Relations is always looking for regional event ideas. Contact the office at alumni@geneseo.edu if you would like to work with us to plan an event in your area.

FUTURE PLANNING Reunion: July 11-12, 2014 Celebrating reunion class years ending in 4 or 9 Family Weekend: September 19-20, 2014 Homecoming Weekend: October 17-18, 2014 Make sure we have your email so we can invite you to join us! We are always planning events on campus and throughout Geneseo’s 18 alumni regions across the country. Most of our event invitations are sent by email to reduce cost and conserve resources.

Visit alumni.geneseo.edu for events in your area!

Campus — Alumni Swim Meet

Campus — Greek Hall of Fame

Westchester Event

New York City 28

geneseo scene

Campus — Greek Hall of Fame

Alumni Events

Campus — Sports Hall of Fame Inductions Campus — Women’s Alumni Lacrosse game

Campus — Men’s Alumni Lacrosse game

Geology Alumni Picnic, Conesus Lake

Women’s networking event, New York City

Gaus Family Hockey Locker Room Dedication Winter 2014

29

ALUMNI NEWS

ALUMNI PROFILE

class of ’95 Elvio Fernandes PHOTO PROVIDED

Musician Elvio Fernandes ’95, second from right, is living his dream as a full member of pop-rock band Daughtry — but at first, he said no!

From Realtor to rocker lvio Fernandes ’95 was sealing the deal on a new house for a young couple in Rochester when he got the call.

After 13 years of playing afterhours shows with a local pop/rock cover band, and a lifetime of writing, producing and performing music, his big break had arrived.

Chris Daughtry, the voice behind chart toppers like “Home” and “It’s Not Over,” was on the other line. With a proposition.

Did Elvio want to join Daughtry’s 2012 national tour as a keyboardist, guitarist and background vocalist?

“I wanted that call and I

E

: 30

worked for it for so many years,” remembers Elvio. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

But in that moment, Elvio said, “No.” Touring would mean long absences from his wife and two young sons, who were 10 and 7.

He might miss his sons’ first dances or their first days at middle school. Elvio knew a rockstar lifestyle is a hectic one, even if it was his dream job.

Elvio’s wife talked some sense into him that night. He remembers her saying, “‘Okay, so let me get this straight. You’ve been working your whole life trying to get to that next level as a musician. You just got the call and you said no? … I want you

Follow Elvio on Twitter @elviofernandes

geneseo scene

to try this. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it.’”

With his family’s support, Elvio packed his bags and went.

“Daughtry,” he says, “has now become my life.”

Elvio started rehearsals in February 2012. After bonding on tours throughout the United States and Europe, Daughtry invited Elvio to be an official member last August.

“I was proud of that,” he says, “but to be asked to be an official member of the band, it comes at a price. I’ve probably spent more time in the past two years with Daughtry than I have my own family. That’s the toughest part. There’s no job in this world worth losing a family over, so I’m very smart about that.”

Elvio visits his family at

home in Rochester whenever he can and spends most of his downtime on tour video chatting with them.

So how did Daughtry find Elvio, a Realtor who moonlighted as rocker?

They met through a mutual friend, singer Ace Young, while Daughtry and Young performed together as finalists on season five of “American Idol.” Elvio and Young had been writing songs collaboratively for years. With Young’s encouragement, Elvio, producer Greg Wiktorski and Daughtry co-wrote the song “Crazy,” which appeared on the band’s 2011 album “Break the Spell,” which was certified Gold, selling more than 600,000 copies. Elvio also produced and co-wrote the song “Witness”, which is featured on their latest album “Baptized.”

Now Elvio plays for crowds of 20,000 fans in Europe and met and hung out with celebrities such as Liam Neeson, Stevie Wonder, Richard Marx, Cee Lo Green, and others. Elvio even got to hang out and listen to the new Aerosmith album with Steven Tyler before performing live on “American Idol.”

Even with the perks of fame all around him, it’s the music itself and energy of being on stage that ignites Elvio’s passion for performing.

“It’s a rush like nothing you’ll ever imagine,” he says.

“Through music, you have the ability to change lives and help people forget about anything that’s negative or stressful.”

And to think, Elvio — a Spanish major — bought his first guitar at Buzzo’s Music on Main Street in Geneseo.

— By Chelsea Butkowski ’15

Life in the real CSI aime Hoey ’03 has forensic science in her DNA. The Geneseo biology major is a forensic scientist/DNA analyst in the Forensic Biology Section of the Westchester County (N.Y.) Forensic Lab with important responsibilities in the county’s criminal justice system. She analyzes DNA evidence from police crime scene investigations such as robberies, burglaries, assaults and, on occasion, homicides.

“I always loved science as a kid,” says Hoey. “I got turned on to molecular biology and DNA in high school as part of a research project to determine how closely related my half brother and I were. At Geneseo, my undergraduate research focused on molecular biology, which led to my interest in forensic science.”

An internship while at Geneseo at the Monroe County medical examiner’s office sealed her interest in forensic science.

After earning her bachelor’s degree, Hoey obtained a master’s degree in forensic molecular biology at SUNY Albany, which eventually led to the position in Westchester County in 2006. She was soon promoted to forensic scientist.

Hoey has seen dramatic advances in the profession, even in the relatively short time she has been in the field.

“Our instrumentation has become more sensitive,” she says, “and robotics are more common in our lab, which increases the number of samples we can process at once. It used to take a quarter-size drop of blood to produce a DNA profile. Now we can do it with much less evidence, such as a swabbing of skin cells left

J

behind at the scene.”

Hoey says the abundance of crime scene investigation (CSI) television dramas the past decade has greatly elevated the exposure of forensic scientists to the public, which has both positive and negative aspects.

idea of what we do, but first and foremost, we are scientists.”

Hoey herself typically testifies in court several times a year.

“It’s sometimes tricky to take very complex science and explain it in a manner that is understandable to the court and

“I still stay in touch with many of my professors.

It makes me want to stay involved with the college I love.”

— Jaime Hoey’03 “We learned about the ‘CSI effect’ in grad school and how the shows sometimes produce unrealistic expectations by real jurors,” she says. “The time frames on an hour-long TV show aren’t representative of how long it takes to go through an entire case. It can sometimes take a year. Everyone has an

a jury but still be accurate,” says Hoey. “I simply present the facts of my findings.”

With an increasing number of convicted criminals being exonerated by DNA evidence through such programs as The Innocence Project, Hoey’s work takes on even more significance. She hasn’t been

personally involved in such a case, but her lab has. Her greatest satisfaction with the job is being part of the criminal justice system.

“I help elucidate what has happened, and being able to help solve crimes is something I’m proud of.”

Hoey credits her experiences at Geneseo for her success, especially the strong faculty she encountered.

“I was very well prepared to work hard when I entered graduate school,” says Hoey, “and I credit Geneseo’s faculty for instilling that work ethic. They are the college’s best asset, and I still stay in touch with many of my professors. It makes me want to stay involved with the college I love.”

— By David Irwin

class of ’03 Jaime Hoey PHOTO PROVIDED

An internship at a medical examiner’s office as a Geneseo student led Jaime Hoey ’03 to pursue a career in forensic science. She has been with the Westchester County (N.Y.) Forensic Lab since 2006. “Helping solve crimes is something I’m very proud of,” she says.

Winter 2014

31

ALUMNI NEWS

FLASHBACK My, how some things change, and how some things stay the same. We explore snapshots of Geneseo today and from yesteryear. Enjoy!

ack in 1963, the College Green was actually brown, as Bailey Hall was being built. Vintage cars lined Wadsworth Street, which used to run all the way through what is now campus.

Home to physics, biology and other sciences for more than four decades, Bailey Hall was built for just $25,000.

Now, a rainbow frames new work at Bailey on a recent evening, showing a major overhaul of the building, scheduled for completion this fall. The new, green-certified Bailey will be home to psychology, sociology, geography, anthropology and state-of-the-art labs.

With new advancements come change, but it’s still the same Geneseo. Some things never change.

B

32

geneseo scene

ALUMNI NEWS

Geneseo’s Alumni Travel Program Heads to

Class Notes 1960s Class of 1964 — celebrating their 50th reunion and Class of 1969 — celebrating their 45th reunion in 2014.

Jim “Sparky” Reed ’61 is a resident of Honolulu, Hawaii, where he has lived for 50 years, operating a real esate business. He still plays competitive baseball four days a week and often gets together with his Geneseo friend and neighbor Don “Kona” Smith. Mary Hawley Clarke ’66 is actively involved in gardening and with her family’s heritage group, The Society of the Hawley Family, as well as family genealogy efforts. She is a member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants and the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Stephan Clarke ’66 has completed work on the third edition of “The Lord Peter Wimsey Companion” in a wiki-format that accepts additions that are vetted by a committee of experts. He is also a professional genealogist and serves as registrar for the Rochester Chapter of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the General Society of the War of 1812. He is a member of the National Society, Sons of Colonial New England and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

1970s Class of 1974 — celebrating their 40th reunion and Class of 1979 — celebrating their 35th reunion in 2014.

Donna Longwell Colvin ’73

recently finished a term as a moderator for the Geneva, N.Y., Presbytery. Nicholas Lemmer ’73 recently retired. Marty Shopes ’73 hiked the 500-mile Colorado Trail from Denver to Durango in 2012.

Thomas Ingrassia ’74 released a book, “One Door Closes: Overcoming Adversity by Following Your Dreams,” and was featured in US News & World Report. Marybeth

Pospula Nowak ’74 recently retired from her job at the Rochester (N.Y.) City School District Office of Adult and Career Services Program, teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages to adult immigrants and refugees.

After 34 years of educating people in and out of public and private school systems, she’s enjoying daycaring for her granddaughter and helping out more in her parish, St. Kateri in Irondequoit, N.Y., spending time at the Thousand Islands in her new RV and reading.

Jacqueline Woodworth Pierson ’74 was awarded the Distinguished

Service Award by the North Carolina School Library Media Association for her lifetime promotion of the school librarian profession and her dedicated service to the association. She is the director of library media services for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Public School system. Janet Defrancisco Callahan ’76 has been selected for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America” for 2014.

Janet is managing partner at Hancock Estabrook LLP. Dale Hayes Klein ’77 wrote a business communication workbook, “In 30 Seconds ... Speak Like You Mean Business: You Are Your 30-Second Commercial!” Frank Sutliff ’79 is president of the School Administrators Association of New York State and in January presented a lecture at the Oneonta Area for Public Education Forum titled “On the State of Education in NY: Reform & Resistance.” He is principal at the West Canada Valley Middle-Senior High School in Newport, N.Y.

1980s Class of 1984 — celebrating their 30th reunion and Class of 1989 — celebrating their 25th reunion in 2014.

Peter Levy ’81 recently completed a gallery map and guide to the Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth. Heather Cripps Woytash ’81 recently accepted a position at Ivoclar Vivadent AG in Amherst,

Ireland July 16 - 27, 2014 Join us for a uniquely Geneseo experience highlighting history, music, drama and poetry.

Reservations for 20 spots are open for alumni, parents, friends, faculty and staff.

Visit go.geneseo.edu/Ireland2014 for details, itinerary, cost and deposit schedule Contact Alumni Relations at (585) 245-5506 or alumni@geneseo.edu

N.Y., as a business process consultant. She was recently employed at Gleason Corp. as a senior business systems analyst. Lynn Priddy ’82 is the provost at National American University, based in Rapid City, S.D., with 37 campuses nationwide and several international programs. Janet Fry Sweeney ’84 was recently promoted to vice president from director at the Pennsylvania Environmental Council in Luzerne, Pa. Carol Hutt McCarville ’85 was recently promoted to director of curriculum and instruction/CSE chairwoman at the Genesee Valley Central School District in Belmont, N.Y. Janet Frey Giannetta ’87 recently accepted a position at Elant Inc. as corporate director of human resources. She recently was employed at Wingate Healthcare as regional human resources director. Christine Kann Hoage ’88 and Daniel Hoage are happy to announce their marriage on July 6, 2013. Nicholas White ’89 retired from the U.S. Navy on Sept. 7, 2013, after serving for more than 24 years as a surface warfare officer. He has deployed numerous

times in support of various campaigns including Desert Storm and Desert Shield and has had command of several major installations.

He and his wife, Wendy FrazitaWhite ’90, plan to live in Southern California.

1990 Erin Murphy recently accepted a position at North Shore-LIJ Insurance Company Inc. as assistant vice president of Medicare oversight. She was recently employed at WellPoint as staff vice president of product development and innovation. David Rosell recently had his first book published. “Failure Is Not an Option” uses world travel and family stories coupled with financial survival tips to lay out eight fundamental risks every retiree faces and helps one create more certainty in the uncertainty of retirement. The book has been endorsed by Charles Schwab Jr. and other successful businesspersons. Frank Vassallo recently accepted a position at First Heritage Federal Credit Union in Painted Post, N.Y., as chief finan-

Winter 2014

33

ALUMNI NEWS

Anthony Mesi, of Avon, N.Y.,

CLASS NOTES cial officer. Wendy Frazita-White ’90 and her husband, Nicholas White ’89, plan to live in Southern California following his retirement from the U.S. Navy on Sept. 7, 2013, after serving for more than 24 years as a surface warfare officer, deployed during Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

1991 Nadene Grossman Orr recently accepted a position at We’ve Got The Keys in Key West, Fla., as president and CEO. Pamela Nitto Kurkoski was recently promoted to director of the Kenan Preschool from curriculum specialist at the Atlanta Speech School in Atlanta.

Christine Lisi Popolizio, a network update anchor at ESPN Radio in Bristol, Conn., was named to Radio Ink’s list of the 2013 Most Influential Women in Radio.

1992 Robert Antalek was recently pro-

moted to site administrator/assistant principal at Lopez Exceptional Student Center in Seffner, Fla.

recently published a young adult fantasy novel, “Sage,” which was awarded the Editor’s Choice and Rising Star status on iUniverse.com.

Some of the story occurs on the SUNY Geneseo campus. Leann Ciraolo Zemaitis recently accepted a position at Selux Corp. in Highland, N.Y., as a graphic designer.

1993 Hilary Banker was honored as a

2013 Super Lawyer, one of the top women chosen in Buffalo.

1994 Celebrating their 20th reunion in 2014.

Christopher Udy was recently promoted to director of finance at Ciminelli Real Estate Corp. in Buffalo, N.Y. Mark Zane was promoted to the rank of professor of sociology at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y., in fall of 2013.

1995 Kevin Bozza earned the distinction of board certification in health care management as a fel-

low of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Kyung Choi is the program director for Citi Salutes, which handles militaryveteran initiatives.

1997 Lisa Decker Schneider and Joseph Schneider are proud to

announce the birth of a baby boy, William Joseph, born on Feb. 8, 2013. Cary Silverman and Robin Lang are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Parker Hudson, born on Sept. 22, 2013. Stephanie Austria Tigue and John Tigue are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Morgan Helene, born on Feb. 16, 2013.

1998 Jessica Bellanca was recently pro-

moted to senior vice president/project group manager for compliance project strategy office from senior vice president/project manager for enterprise operations and technology at Citigroup in New York City.

Bernadette Daraio Feltz was recently promoted to assistant manager from supervisor at Ulster Savings in New Paltz, N.Y.

1999 Celebrating their 15th reunion in 2014.

Jaclyn Boushie recently accepted a position as a major gifts officer for SUNY Binghamton’s Harpur College of Arts and Sciences. She was recently a donor data and grants director for the American Red Cross.

2000 Erin Clarke completed a master’s degree in library science at the University at Buffalo and was hired by the Monroe County (N.Y.) Public Library System, where she has worked for the Rochester City Library System. She recently assumed new duties as the site supervisor for the Highland Branch. Carol Hudson McClellan and Brian McClellan are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Nathaniel, born in July, 2013.

James O’Brien recently accepted a position at the University of Rochester (N.Y.) as associate director of regional advancement. He was most recently employed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

2001 Jonathan Baumgartner and Nicole Sheff Baumgartner ’03

DESTINATION GENESEO Reunion 2014 Class Reunions for classes ending in a 4 or 9.

Special Reunions 50th anniversary: Phi Lambda Chi 120th anniversary: Sigma Gamma Phi

Get Involved If you would like to get involved in your reunion planning, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at alumni@geneseo.edu.

34

geneseo scene

are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Collin Michael, born on April 23, 2013. Luke Kelly recently accepted a position at eBay Inc. as senior director, NA FP&A & Verticals Analytics. He was recently employed at Corning Inc. as vice president of finance, Corning International. Karina Jackson Noyes and Brian Noyes are happy to announce their marriage on Sept. 2, 2012, in Lake Placid, N.Y. Mieko Ozeki coauthored and published a “How-to Guide on Campus Green Fund Implementation” with the Campus Green Fund Collaborative, a nonregistered, nonprofit organization, in partnership with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Thomas Warner is proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Patrick Thomas.

Scene around the world Submit your images to scene@geneseo.edu with a subject line of “Scene Around the World.”

See the complete photo gallery at go.geneseo.edu/goworld.

Wayne Parrish ’72 outside the family compound where he stayed while vacationing in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.

David Ednie ’99 and Kara Smolnycki Ednie ’00 explore Meade Glacier in Skagway, Alaska.

Eric Smith ’88 in Iceland.

Megan Mulcahy ’13 and Jenna Cross ’13 are teaching school in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and took a photo out front of the famous hotel Burj Al Arab, while showing the sights to their friends when they visited. With them are: Marteal Dellert ’13, Melissa Sproul ’13, Kelsey Horan’ 13, and Heather Kolbas’ 13.

Sarah Graham ’11 celebrated the 35th wedding anniversary of her parents, Janice Immordino Graham ’77 and Kevin Graham ’77 in Spain, and took their photo at the Alcazar of Seville.

Peter Johnson and Tanja Faller are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Sherazade Nafisa Anna, born on Aug. 18, 2013. Diane Pietraszewski recently accepted a position at Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP as an associate. She was recently employed at Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC as an associate.

April 23, 2013. Rebecca Belkota is a third-grade teacher for Perry (N.Y.) Central School District and was named Perry Central Alumni Association’s Teacher of the Year in June 2013. Kristin Lein Weston and Jonathan Weston are happy to announce their marriage on Aug. 12, 2012. Katherine Whipple recently accepted a position at Reed Eye Associates in Pittsford, N.Y., as a plastic surgeon.

2003

2004

Nicole Sheff Baumgartner and

Celebrating their 10th reunion in 2014.

2002

Jonathan Baumgartner ’01 are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Collin Michael, born on

Christina Barth Tewksbury and Nicholas Tewksbury are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl,

Cora Louise, born on June 12, 2013. Nicole Auriemma Thering and John Thering are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Evelyn Leigh, born on July 30, 2011.

2005 Kristy Heath Carey and Peter Carey were recently married.

Thomas Dooley recently accepted a position at WXXI Public Broadcasting in Rochester, N.Y., as a television producer. Steven Guglielmo joined the Macalester College psychology department as a tenure-track assistant professor last fall. He went to Macalester from Yale University, where he was

a lecturer in the Department of Psychology and the cognitive science program.

2006 Anthony Chefalo received a master

of science in higher education administration degree from Syracuse University in 2012 and has recently accepted a position at Syracuse University as a student conduct advisor in the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Sharon Mahoney Huynh and Hung Huynh are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Miranda Saina, born on May 27, 2013.

Winter 2014

35

ALUMNI NEWS

2007

2011

Sean Cogliardi recently accepted a position with Oracle Corp. as a senior licensing consultant in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Laura Fisher received a master of science in genetic counseling from Boston University in May 2013 and is a genetic counselor at Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo (N.Y.). Andrew Smith recently accepted a position at KPMG in Manhattan as audit senior associate. He is a licensed certified public accountant in New York and a member of the American Institute of CPAs. Keith Walters, college photographer for SUNY Geneseo, and Joanna Duell Walters ’13 are happy to announce their marriage on Nov. 9, 2013.

2008 Alyssa Brown and Matt Palmer

are happy to announce their marriage on Aug. 9, 2013, in Keuka Park, N.Y. They reside in Canandaigua, N.Y. Many Geneseo alumni were in attendance. Emily Rustin Sewnauth and Andrew Sewnauth are proud to announce the birth of their baby boy, Caleb, born in September 2013 in Rochester, N.Y.

2009 Celebrating their 5th reunion in 2014.

Nash Bock recently accepted a position at Habitat for Humanity of Ontario County in Canandaigua, N.Y. as a sales associate. Nicholas Cangialosi was recently promoted to associate — U.S. equities, asset management, from analyst — U.S. equities, asset management at J.P. Morgan financial services in New York, N.Y. Eileen Coyle was inducted into the Herkimer County Community College Athletic Hall of Fame.

2010 Sage Keber is a web/electronics

marketing specialist for Canandaigua National Bank. He has also started The Entertainment Collective, which books live concert events and media services for bands in the greater Finger Lakes Region of New York. Brian McGrath and Anne Beinetti McGrath ’13 are happy to announce their marriage on Sept. 21, 2013. Daniel Pollock received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute in 2013. Gabrielle Rowland is attending Dowling College in Oakdale, N.Y., pursuing a master of science in literacy education. Jessica Stephenson accepted a position in Spain as an English professor. Keith Williams recently accepted a position at AT&T in Rochester, N.Y., as team manager and MSS.

36

geneseo scene

March 16, 2013 Hal Failey ’40, July 13, 2013 June Mitchell ’41, Oct. 9, 2013 Vivian Schultheiss Backlund ’42,

Geraldine Hollabaugh ’74, April

Florence Secor Curtis ’42, July

9, 2013

27, 2011

Rebecca Van Skiver Mong ’74,

Elisabeth Helman ’42, Aug. 19,

Sept. 24, 2013

2012 Betty Everingham Hayes ’43,

Steve Dietz ’75, April 28, 2012 Kathleen Stuart Akerelrea ’77,

Sept. 23, 2013

March 18, 2010

Peg Cleary Paddock ’44, Sept.

Patricia McEnerney Miller ’80,

14, 2013

Sept. 24, 2012

Margaret Haley VanNortwick ’45, Aug. 29, 2010 Betty Ward Cheverie ’47, Jan. 4,

Janet Muth Brown ’81, Sept. 4,

2013 Marie Flo ’47, Sept. 10, 2013 Ono Schlageter ’47, Oct. 21,

2012 Noah Berg recently returned from

June 19, 2013

spending a year in Australia and will return there next year. Thomas Infantino and Delaina are happy to announce their marriage in the summer of 2013. Meghan Lijewski recently accepted a position at University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y., as a

Loren Beckwith ’50, June 9, 2005 Janet Bush Bennett ’50, Aug. 18,

Rachel Quinion Patcigo ’48,

Carol Johnson Thiele ’50, Sept.

16, 2013 Ruth Cook Silsbee ’51, May 13,

2013 Margaret Fox ’54, Aug. 26, 2012

go.geneseo.edu/classnote Anne Giesselman Meredith ’54, Alice Whittaker Carlino ’57, June

14, 2013

2013

Al Richmond ’58, Sept. 5, 2012 Tom Sergiovanni ’58, Jan. 4, 2013 Dave Griebert ’60, Aug. 18, 2011 Ann Kinney Sergiovanni ’60,

Nov. 14, 2013 Dick Welch ’61, Aug. 7, 2013 Beth Hurley Gibson ’62, Sept. 19,

2013

Bonnie Batjer Anderson ’64,

Alta Marlatt Young ’33, Feb. 4,

John Fabry ’64, June 17, 2013 Nancy Spadafora ’62, Nov. 4, 2013 Blythe Fisher Gehr ’66, June 30,

2013

2012

Elizabeth Gillett Gann ’36, Jan.

Laura Clise ’67, Oct. 11, 2013 Roy DeRemer ’69, Sept. 9, 2012 Jim Piersa ’70, Oct. 2, 2012 Sue McMahon Dean ’71, Aug. 24,

Carolyn Davison Beard ’38, April

3, 2011 Mervin Beard ’38, Aug. 26, 2010 Lettie Alexander Crawford ’40,

2013 Shawn Miller ’81, April 1, 2012 Ann Ritter Rayner ’82, Oct. 4, 2013 Timothy Berry ’89, Feb. 23, 2012 Jeff Newland ’89, Oct. 21, 2013 Cameron Wormer ’11, Nov. 6,

2013 FACULTY Edward B. Jakubauskas, college

president from 1979 to 1988, died Oct. 30, 2013. Jakubauskas initiated partnerships between the college and local businesses and supported the expansion of Geneseo’s internship program. In addition, he integrated the Departments of Business and Economics in the School of Business, established the current core curriculum and founded the Honors Program (now the Edgar Fellows Program).

Wendy Metz, adjunct instructor in Communicative Disorders and Sciences, died Aug. 30, 2013. She taught undergraduate and graduate courses for 23 years.

Dante Thomas, professor emeritus of English who taught at Geneseo for nearly 30 years, died Oct. 31, 2013.

Sharon Gillespie Henry ’63, Sept.

10, 2013 Aug. 4, 2013

25, 2013

John Lopez ’81, Nov. 24, 2013 Elizabeth McGuire ’81, Oct. 28,

Nov. 6, 2012

at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York, N.Y., as an assurance associate.

IN MEMORIAM

2013

2012

Submit your class note or notice at

Anne Beinetti McGrath and Brian McGrath ’10 are happy to announce their marriage on Sept.

21, 2013. Joanna Duell Walters and Keith Walters ’11, college photographer at SUNY Geneseo, are happy to announce their marriage on Nov. 9, 2013.

Sept. 9, 2013

Oct. 19, 2013

2012

patient care technician. Vishal Rajput recently accepted a position

Sue Fyfe Allidi ’73, Nov. 20, 2011 Robert Demattina ’73, Jan. 1, 2011 Christine Guenther Brienzo ’74,

2012 Phil Davies ’72, July 2, 2012 Don Sylor ’72, May 29, 2013

Wilbur Harold Wright, professor emeritus of education from 1949 to 1977, died Aug. 18, 2013.

He also served as director for several areas including research, institutional research, placement and admissions, as well as coordinator of field services, associate dean for liberal studies, and assistant to the president for planning and development.

Giving Back

The Greek Challenge

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Alumni who give back can give an extra boost to the new generation of brothers or sisters.

By Gina Scalise ’05 reek life was a defining part of John O’Malley’s Geneseo experience.

“Being a member of a fraternity (Sig Ep) broadened my social circle and gave me an opportunity to develop leadership skills,” says John, class of 1985. “Most important, I formed strong, lasting friendships that I still have almost 30 years later.

These connections are a big part of why I come back to campus today.”

Through the college’s Greek Challenge, John and his fraternal brothers and sisters can help provide today’s students with similar opportunities.

Four alumni partnered to launch the challenge — Prometheus/Phi Kap Bob Avallone ’76, Sig Tau Eric Rorapaugh ’89, Sig Ep Dave Firkins ’87, P’15 and his wife, Kathryn ’87, P’15. They contributed $50,000 total to chal-

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lenge Greek alumni like John to support Geneseo by making an unrestricted gift to the college.

In addition to building a tradition of giving among Greek alumni and providing valued support for teaching and learning, the fraternities and sororities with the highest alumni participation rates will receive prizes to help fund leadership training, national conference travel, recruitment and other key initiatives. The first-place organizations earns $7,000. This first challenge ends June 30. A second challenge culminates in 2015 with the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Geneseo’s Inter-Greek Council.

“This is a good time for Greeks at Geneseo,” says Wendi Kinney, assistant dean of students for fraternal life and off-campus services.

Membership is increasing, and the number of community service projects sponsored by fraternities and sororities is growing. It can be attributed, in part, to strategies presented at national seminars.

“The organizations that are flourishing send their members to conferences where they learn from the experts,” said Kinney.

“The Greek challenge will provide more of these kinds of opportunities.”

John is proud to make a difference via the Greek Challenge.

“Geneseo and my Greek life experience were important parts of my life when I was younger and continue to be today,” he says.

“I want to do what I can to support today’s students and those who will study here in the future.”

To learn more or to give to The Greek Challenge, visit go.geneseo.edu/greekchallenge

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