10 minute read
Community Wellness
Focused on community
Ramos takes helm as new wellness center prepares to launch
The Mount recently appointed lifelong Newburgh resident Genesis Ramos as executive director of the Desmond Center for Community Engagement and Wellness.
“It’s an amazing opportunity that the college is embarking on and it’s truly an honor to be at the helm of it,” said Ramos. “There is a critical need for this in our community.”
The Desmond Center will be located on the college’s campus in what is currently Guzman Hall and will provide medical and educational services for low income individuals and families, including the uninsured. The center will offer educational workshops, family counseling services, fitness checks, immunizations, professional development events, and more for local residents. It will also house the college’s Desmond programing for adult enrichment.
As the executive director of the Desmond Center, Ramos will oversee the staffing, program development, and community outreach, among other responsibilities. The position is a perfect fit for her, she notes, because of her background in healthcare administration and her desire to serve the city she loves.
“Newburgh is home and near and dear to my heart,” said Ramos, who recently became the first woman of color elected to the Orange County Legislature. “A lot of this is about the invaluable experience I’ve been able to gain over the past decade and really wanting to bring it back home. I want to elevate our community and the healthcare outcomes in our community.”
Community has always been important to Ramos. In addition to being elected to the Orange County State Legislature, she currently serves as chair of the City of Newburgh Human Rights Commission; co-chair of the Economic Development Committee in Newburgh; and as a member of both the Safe Harbors of the Hudson Board of Directors and the Newburgh Ministry’s Board of Directors.
George Abaunza, vice president for Academic Affairs at the Mount, headed the search committee for the Desmond Center position. Ramos’s knowledge of, and commitment to, the Newburgh community made her an excellent fit for the role, Abaunza noted.
“Ms. Ramos has the skills necessary to help make this new venture successful for both the college and the local community,” he said.
Ramos comes to the Mount from Sun River Healthcare, formerly known as Hudson River Healthcare. She holds a Master of Public Administration with a Public Management Concentration from Marist College, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a Human Services Concentration from SUNY New Paltz; and an Associate of Science in Human Services from SUNY Orange.
Above: A rendering showing one of the center’s versatile spaces.
Genesis Ramos
Moved by faith and forgiveness
Immaculée Ilibagiza, a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and a New York Times best-selling author, inspired an audience of about 100 people with her journey of survival and forgiveness.
Ilibagiza was born and raised in a small village in Rwanda, Africa. The assassination of the Hutu president on April 6, 1994 sparked months of massacres of Tutsi tribe members throughout the country – known today as the Rwandan Genocide.
She and seven other women hid in the local pastor’s bathroom for the next 91 days. During the ordeal, Ilibagiza turned to prayer.
With the exception of one of her brothers, her entire family was murdered, along with one million of her fellow Rwandans. When Ilibagiza later met one of the men who killed her family, she forgave him.
“The talk was extremely powerful,” said Fr. Gregoire Fluet, college chaplain and director of Campus Ministry. He was touched by the message of forgiveness as empowering, as well as Ilibagiza’s “incredible insight...that the people who hurt us often do not fully understand what they are doing, because they are blinded by anger and hatred.”
Kaitlyn Corrigan of North Massapequa, N.Y., a sophomore and executive vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA), said “Immaculée was very inspiring to me.”
“She opened my eyes to how hardships impact people in different ways,” Corrigan explained. “I now have a different outlook on struggles others face as well as myself and will restore that compassion, forgiveness, and faith into my life from now on.”
Rwandan Genocide survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza with Fr. Gregoire Fluet, chaplain and director of Campus Ministry. “She opened my eyes to how hardships impact people in different ways.” Kaitlyn Corrigan, Mount student
Faculty artwork on display
The Mount’s CMA Gallery is hosting a dynamic exhibition of photography, painting, ceramics, and mixed media showcasing the work of the Mount’s visual arts faculty.
The Communication, Art, and Digital Media 2021 Faculty Exhibition features the works of Dean Goldberg, professor of Digital Media and Film Studies, and Director of the Communication, Art, and Digital Media (CADM) program; Chris Neyen, associate professor of Art and Graphic Design, and CMA Gallery Coordinator; and several adjunct professors.
The exhibition will run through February 24, 2022 and is located in Aquinas Hall. For more information on the CMA Gallery exhibits, visit
www.msmc.edu/CMAgallery
Sr. Connie Koch, OP speaking about Sr. Agnes Boyle
Members of the Mount community gathered for the Founders Day celebration.
Celebrating the Mount’s founders
The Founders Day celebrations honored the legacy of St. Dominic de Guzman and the Dominican Sisters who founded the college.
The events were sponsored by the Catholic and Dominican Institute (CDI) and facilitated by Charles Zola, CDI director, assistant to the President for Mission Integration, and associate professor of Philosophy.
Students enjoyed a dessert reception and learned about the innumerable contributions St. Dominic made to Christianity more than 800 years ago. It was the Dominican Sisters of Newburgh who, following in St. Dominic’s footsteps, founded the Mount in 1959.
Later that evening, Mount faculty, staff, and about a dozen Dominican Sisters celebrated the life of Sr. Agnes Boyle OP, who served the college for nearly 50 years. She passed away in November of 2019.
At the reception, the vice president for Academic Affairs office was dedicated in honor of Sr. Boyle, who was best known for her tenure as vice president of Academic Advancement.
Mount trustee and 1971 alumna Sr. Connie Koch, OP offered an opening prayer for the ceremony.
“Agnes gave our congregation the unreserved gift of herself,” said Sr. Koch. “She will always be a part of us, and we are so much the better for that.”
Sr. Catherine (Cass) McDonell OP, prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Hope and 1969 Mount graduate, discussed the impact Sr. Boyle had on the Mount and her fellow sisters.
That night, CDI hosted the Founders Day Lecture, “Living Truth” by Ann Garrido, an associate professor of Homiletics at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Mo.
Watch faculty research series on YouTube
The Mount’s Investigating Research on Campus (iROC) series held another semester of passionate presentations, many of which are available for viewing on YouTube. iROC provides a forum for faculty, staff, and students to showcase their research endeavors with the college and local communities.
Presentations this semester included: • “Humanitarian, War
Correspondent, and Great
American Novelist: Edith
Wharton and World War I,” by Nancy Von Rosk, professor of English • “Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion in Sport” by
R. Scott Russell, assistant professor of Sports
Management • “Analogies or Differences:
Dickensian Déjà vu in Two
Tales by Henry James” by
Peter Witkowsky, associate professor of English/chair of the Division of Arts &
Letters and alumna Elizabeth
Hill-Caruso • “Helping teachers say ‘iROCk supporting CoLab-orative teams!’” by Micah Modell, assistant professor of
Information Technology • “Sustainability Accounting and Reporting: The Evolution of Management Accountability” by Tracey Niemotko and Moira Tolan, professors of Business
iROC videos
To see videos from iROC presentations and more, visit
www.msmc.edu/WatchiROC
Seniors snag trophy during Spirit Week
While donning capes and t-shirts with Superman’s signature “S,” the senior class claimed victory at the 2021 Mount Olympics.
The games were part of the college’s annual Spirit of the Mount Week, which features a variety of events celebrating the Mount, its students, and the college’s rich history.
In keeping with the longstanding tradition, Spirit Week wrapped up with the Annual Bonfire. It warmed the students’ spirits as they enjoyed fall foods and carnival games. The event included performances from the college’s cheerleading and dance teams, among other entertainment.
Top left: The Super Seniors took home the Mount Olympics trophy.
Above: Mack the Knight greeted the cheer team at the Annual Bonfire.
School of Business students pitched a product or idea to a panel of judges at their Shark Tank event during the Mount’s Family Weekend.
Mount professors and students hiked Mount Beacon. Exploring the great outdoors
From steep hikes to kayak trips, the Mount community did much to enjoy the natural beauty of the Hudson Valley during the Fall 2021 semester.
Mount families get a glimpse of the Knight life
Students introduced their families to campus life during the Mount’s Family Weekend in October. It was packed with events that showcased the vibrant campus community, including a walking tour, a club fair, and more.
Back in the spotlight
From left, Kaeley Langan, Genie Polycarpe, and Blai Ulloa.
The Fall 2021 semester saw the triumphant return to the stage for the Mount’s theatre program with Everything Will Be Alright, a series of short plays written and performed by alumni, current students, and faculty.
With the COVID-19 pandemic putting the brakes on live performances for nearly two years, James Phillips, associate professor of Theatre, was pleased to see the theatre program return to its in-person roots.
During the Summer of 2020, some of Phillips’s former and current students workshopped several short plays. “The writing was a way to maintain theatre and community through 2020, but the enticement for the writers was the promise of a fully realized production,” Philips explained.
Everything Will Be Alright featured six short plays that take a look at life during the pandemic, from the mundane to the supernatural.
Hail Mary by Jessica Romaniello, a current Mount junior, follows two tenants living in a cramped apartment building. They form a close relationship by speaking to each other through the thin walls, but things don’t end well when one comes down with the virus.
“It means the world to me to be given this opportunity,” said Romaniello. I’ve loved theatre for such a long time, so to actually be the one who is having their work performed is unreal.”
Roommate Bonding Activities by Joe Certa ’17 is about two roommates who accidentally summon a demon when trying out a new quarantine time killer. Once the demon arrives, the roommates must confront the issues they’ve been bottling up.
“I thought of how many of us were stuck inside and spending much more time with our partners, family, and roommates,” said Certa. “It was easy for little things to spiral into huge problems. But, this made us actually have to work out the things we might have otherwise ignored.”
Phase 47 by Lauren Roberts ’10 (formerly Thayer) takes a humorous look at how the world reopened: “Everything was categorized by phases, and every phase was meant to be better than the last,” she said. “By the time we enter phase 47, there are so many rules that people can’t keep track of them anymore, so everyone wears government issued shock collars.”
I, Elizabeth by Rebecca Ferretti ’16 (formerly Gordils) is about a man and woman whose wedding plans are up in the air, which causes tension in the relationship. The play was inspired by some real-life events, as Ferretti and her husband, John, had to postpone their own wedding in 2020. Not to worry: the couple, who met in one of Phillips’s theatre classes in 2014, were married in September 2021 – with Phillips officiating.
Other short plays in the production included Where Am I? by Lily Chimenti ’19 and The Quarantine Book Club by Erin-Therese Vecchi ’13.
Professor James Phillips.
