26 minute read
The Engelkemeyer era A decisive decade
by Ron Schachter
Over the past decade, Nichols College students immersed in the study of effective leaders needed to look no further than Dr. Susan West Engelkemeyer as a prime example. Her accomplishments speak volumes — from elevating the student profile to developing significant leadership programs to building and modernizing the physical campus to completing a $66 million fundraising campaign. But it’s also the quieter qualities of leadership, in the words of students, faculty, staff, and alumni, that have defined her presidency: Caring. Empathetic. Dedicated. Accessible. Visionary.
Engelkemeyer will retire from Nichols on June 30, after ably navigating Nichols through one of the most challenging periods in higher education, which included a spate of college closures and a global pandemic.
“Ten years in this role is a long time, well above the [six-year] average for a college president,” says Engelkemeyer, who points to the opportunity to spend more time with Dave, her husband of 47 years, her young grandchildren, and 94-year-old father. “It’s time for some fresh eyes for the college.” What Engelkemeyer saw through her own eyes posed a challenge even before being named the college’s seventh president — from buildings that “looked tired” to student enrollment, achievement, and retention metrics that were wanting.
“We were looking for someone to move us forward, to professionalize the administration of the whole school. She had the experiences at other schools that she could bring with her,” recalls John Davis ’72, chair of the Nichols Board of Trustees, who brings the perspective of almost three decades as a trustee.
“She had a really good understanding of what needed to be done to take us to the next level,” concurs Gerald Fels ’66, trustee emeritus, former board chair, and the interim president of Nichols for a year before Engelkemeyer’s arrival.
Davis and Fels note that Engelkemeyer came with an academic background strong on business and leadership, with the added ability to market. “She had a long career as an administrator at Babson,” Davis explains. “She had worked at different colleges that were all growing and weren’t static.” Engelkemeyer had served as dean of both the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Ithaca College business schools.
It did not take her long to impress the faculty and administrators she would be leading. “She came in with a vision,” says Associate Dean for Business Luanne Westerling. “She jumped in and got to know everyone. She’s very warm. She’s been great for Nichols.”
Measures of success
Engelkemeyer promptly took aim at the college’s admission standards, as well as its 59 percent retention and 36 percent graduation rates. “I knew it was not a sustainable situation,” she emphasizes. “So, in 2012, we raised admission standards and set a threshold on SAT scores.
“We took a one-year hit on enrollment,” Engelkemeyer admits, “but rose to nearly 1,200 students two years later.”
That’s compared to the 700 to 800 students Davis estimates were typically enrolled years before. Fast forward to the end of the decade and the
third-semester retention rate had climbed to 76.4 percent, headed towards a target of 80 percent. Even through the pandemic, the momentum continued — in fall 2020, fifth-semester retention (students returning for their junior year) climbed to an all-time high of 67 percent. Meanwhile, the four-year graduation saw a 50 percent increase, and the average GPA and SAT scores of incoming first years have reached the highest levels in the school’s history.
More challenging to Engelkemeyer was her push for accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a designation that applies to more than a dozen undergraduate majors and several of the college’s master’s programs. The Initial Self Evaluation Report was accepted in 2018, and the college is working toward meeting all nine standards for accreditation.
“AACSB is the gold standard for business accreditation,” she explains. “The decision to pursue the accreditation was the most difficult for which to get buy in, support, and consensus.”
The process has meant finding professors with advanced degrees in business disciplines — almost a dozen in the past three years alone — and helping to subsidize doctoral degrees for current faculty members. “One of the things it does is put more emphasis on research by the faculty. So, folks have to think about publications as an important goal,” Engelkemeyer adds.
That chapter in Engelkemeyer’s tenure has proved instructive. “One thing I’ve learned is to have a little more patience than 10 years ago,” she says. “We’ve implemented a lot of change here. Change is hard and is an individual process. I’ve learned the ‘nudge and wait’ approach.”
Leadership education
Along the way, Engelkemeyer launched several high-profile programs that have helped define the college in the new millennium. “We put a stake in the ground on leadership,” she says, offering a simple sentence that covers an extensive initiative touching every Nichols student and faculty member. “We revised our mission statement around leadership.”
“Eight years ago, she approached me and said, ‘I have this idea. We have leadership in our mission statement, but we don’t have programs that promote it,’” says Westerling.
What emerged was a required course for all first-year students — nicknamed Lead 101 — that put the words into action. The curriculum, taught by faculty from all Nichols majors, ranges from real-world case studies; to self-evaluation of leadership qualities and styles; to practicing leadership classroom activities.
Engelkemeyer has led by example in teaching one of the 10 sections offered each semester. “It’s good for our students to see our leader in the classroom,” says Westerling. “She’s a very participative leader-manager.”
The education continues beyond the first year, with many courses containing a leadership component and an option for students to join the co-curricular Emerging Leaders Program, which offers a host of activities, guest speakers, volunteer opportunities, and field trips.
At about the same time, Engelkemeyer turned her attention to the goal of raising the profile of women’s business education by founding the Institute for Women’s Leadership (IWL) in 2013. “It was part of the president and board’s vision for how Nichols could impact not only our students but also the community,” says Jean Beaupré, associate professor of communication and marketing and faculty advisor to the IWL, which she directed for its first six years.
While the IWL was having an impact through its speakers, dinners hosted by alumnae or other female business leaders, and field trips to their workplaces, there was no guarantee that the fledgling program would take root, Beaupré points out. “The biggest thing was her willingness to put the weight of the college presidency behind it, even to the point of giving us a high visibility location in the new academic building.”
The IWL has become a go-to authority on issues in women’s business. The annual Empowering Women in Business Conference hosted by Nichols has expanded. And the IWL Massachusetts Women’s Leadership Index — a biennial survey which grades Massachusettsbased businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations on their promotion of women to the highest ranks — has underscored the distance that these entities need to go and generated the media coverage to get the message out more widely.
Capital investment
Nichols wasn’t built in a day, but Engelkemeyer has contributed a hefty chunk during her 10 years here. “Even when I came to campus during the interview process, it looked a little tired,” she recollects.
The construction of the Fels Student Center was underway when she assumed office, but she soon got busy with new construction and renovations.
The centerpiece was the new academic building. The nearly $10 million LEEDcertified project, completed in 2015, features state-of-the-art, technologyenabled classrooms that facilitate group learning, faculty offices, a multimedia recording studio, and more visible locations for the Registrar’s Office and the Institute for Women’s Leadership.
Engelkemeyer also has managed to avoid what she calls an “arms race” among colleges to build high-priced facilities which they can ill afford. Much of the college’s construction efforts have gone into major additions to and a complete makeover of the Athletic Center, as well as the extensive renovation of several residence halls and — most recently over a multi-year period to avoid disruption to its everyday use — the Lombard Dining Hall.
“In terms of facilities we’re now competitive on a limited budget with other schools. The projects were well-thought-out,” says Davis. “Plus, she had to go out and help raise the money for them.”
Speaking of which, Engelkemeyer presided over the largest capital campaign in the college’s history, which exceeded its $45 million goal by the time it ended in 2017 and raised a total of $66.1 million following an extension.
“She recognized right away that if we were going to get the school to progress, it was going to take money. And we didn’t have much,” Davis admits. “We had talked about fundraising for 10 years.”
“There are a lot of business school deans becoming college presidents partly because of the financial challenges schools face today,” observes Engelkemeyer, who began visiting individual alumni early on to ask them to make big donations — “more in dollar amounts than they had given before,” Davis notes.
That’s how longtime trustee Robert “Kuppy” Kuppenheimer ’69 befriended Susan, as the successful first stop on her fundraising itinerary. “She flew around to about 95 percent of the folks who made large gifts,” he points out. “She got right in there and asked for the money.”
The two have since vacationed together, along with Trustee Tom Hall ’69 and his wife Denise, which includes fly fishing for the enthusiasts and trail riding for Susan, an accomplished equestrian.
COVID-tested
Finishing up her Nichols career, however, has not been a gentle trot through the meadow. For more than a year Engelkemeyer has had to harness her managerial abilities to lead a college through the COVID-19 pandemic in an educational world that combined social distancing on campus and distance learning off campus.
“I never in my wildest dreams thought of a COVID reality in my final year,” she admits, “especially in an institution like Nichols. We’re a close-knit community used to interacting. There was no more bantering with students on the sidewalk or in the dining hall.”
After dispersing students in March 2020, Engelkemeyer brought them back to campus for the fall term and beyond following an extensive and expensive preparation for their return. Frequent COVID testing — which helped limit cases to the dozens — as well as the strategic closing of campus before Thanksgiving and delaying of the spring term until a late February start — have made a difference.
Davis says that Engelkemeyer has passed her administrative COVID test. “Her presidential abilities have come through spectacularly and have come through much better than most institutions. She was able to achieve safety and good education at the same time.”
The students’ president
Less measurable but as impactful are Engelkemeyer’s normally wide-ranging interactions with Nichols students. “She’s very involved. She comes into the classroom for our mock interviews in PDS [Professional Development Seminar]. The kids love it,” reports Westerling. “She goes to sports events. She never says no when I ask her to come to other student events,” from leadership events to the college’s annual Elevator Speech Competition (for which she serves as a judge).
“I walked around campus, and I swear to you that there wasn’t a student that she didn’t know by name — first name and last name,” remarks Kuppenheimer, who also points to Engelkemeyer’s interest in extracurricular events. “I can’t tell you how important it is for students to know that the president is involved with them on a day-to-day basis.”
Former IWL Director Beaupré suggests that Engelkemeyer also makes a big contribution as a role model. “It’s made a big difference for female students to see a strong female leader,” Beaupré says.
Lexxus Andrews ’20, who is working as a graduate assistant and earning her master’s degree at Nichols, ticks off the qualities that she has noticed. “Just the way she carries herself on campus. Her style. The way she dresses. Her public speaking and her confidence with words — that’s what’s so inspiring,” Andrews says.
When it comes to Engelkemeyer’s overall contribution to Nichols students, Kuppenheimer gives a succinct assessment.
“She’s leaving in place a college that’s turning out a student who can hit the ground running at a corporation. She’s turning out a product that can be turned out at a higher level.”
Adds Fels, “She’s made the connection to the real world and what’s needed from the standpoint of education.”
Recent graduate Andrews, meanwhile, offers her own bottom line. “She’d better visit.”
1972
Class Champion:
Mark Alexander
mark1alex12@gmail.com
Mark Alexander and Jose Luis Veluntini ’74 catch up at Delray Beach, FL.
1973
Class Champion:
Jay Reese
(508) 359-7862 jay.reese@verizon.net
Jay Reese reports: After 47.5 years in the workforce, I have retired! I made it official in December 2020. For now, I’m waiting out the pandemic but look forward to traveling with my wife, kayaking on the Charles River and am starting to think about what’s next for me.
1978
Bill Fraser shares: For the past half a decade, a herd of Bison alumni from the late ’70s/early ’80s have been meeting for a summer weekend on the links in southern Maine. Speaking of those fellas, Pat Hoey ’79 has lived a life of leisure since the day he graduated. He will tell you it has been a life of hard knocks and sweaty brows, but don’t you believe him. Professionally, he has owned Pat Hoey Productions with services ranging from fundraising to the running of flower shows. It says right on his business card: “Let me get one thing straight, I don’t do any of the work, I tell you all what to do.” It is like a mission statement.
Mike Villanova ’79 lives in the Lowell area and is married to his wife Maura. Michael works in the technology industry and has no interest in explaining exactly what he does. They have three daughters with just one of them still in college.
Tom Loricco ’79 never moved from his hometown of New Haven, CT. Tom has been married to his lovely wife Trish for more decades and they have two wonderful children, daughter Nina, a pediatric nurse at Yale, and son Thomas, in his early 20s and the apple of Tom’s eye.
Mike Nelson ’80 and Andy Higgins ’80 function as the underclassmen of the group. Andy has been named ‘Newcomer of the Year’ for all five of these trips. That is a hard award to win more than once. Mike is still an ad man and, after years of living across the globe, has settled on the Mississippi River in Wisconsin. After living the life of a gypsy behind the bar at Leitrum’s Pub upon graduation, Andy took over his father’s ceramic firm (International Ceramics) and has built it into an industry power.
Marty Power has been a Nichols trustee and so very generous with his time and donations to the Hill. Upon graduation, Marty went to work for an independent oil and gas firm as an accountant. Then over a beer, he met someone in the oil trading department of said firm and, all of a sudden, Marty was the only Nichols College oil trader in a room full of Texas, Texas A&M, SMU and TCU graduates, and Marty was in charge.
Billy Strobel lives in the Houston, TX area and has been a homebuilder for 40 years.
Gary Guglielmello ’79 is a financial advisor.
Gary Godin, Larry Bean and Phil Robinson help round out our group. Larry lives in Manchester, NH, and plays out of Manchester Country Club. Larry has worked for most of the last decade at the IBM Corporation. Gary is the controller at Canal Toys and has spent most of the years since Nichols at that level of accounting control. Phil is a member at Plymouth Country Club and has had a very long career as a producer at Liberty Mutual.
That brings me to Bill Fraser (me). Bill has talked about grandchildren in this journal and Bill wins, as he has nine of them, eight boys and one girl, ranging from 1 month to 15 years old. Bill has been a recruiter/headhunter for 40 years since graduation and is mostly retired and living as a kept man as his wife is an entrepreneur who just founded her sixth company within the last year.
1985
Class Champion:
John Donahue
609-257-8717 Johndonahue1234@gmail.com
1986
Sherry (Harris) Bryant, associate executive director of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, was one of eight leaders in state high school associations to receive a citation from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). The award honors individuals who have made contributions to the NFHS, state high school associations, athletic director and coaching professions, the officiating avocation, and fine arts/ performing arts programs and is one of the most prestigious achievements in high school athletics and performing arts. Sherry is a former field hockey student-athlete who ranks among the all-time leaders in defensive saves.
Please send your Class Notes news directly to your class champion. If you do not have a class champion, news may be forwarded to classnotes@nichols. edu. Digital images are preferred, but please do not crop them! The higher the resolution the better — 300 dpi (dots per inch) is best. Digital images may be sent directly to the Alumni Relations Office classnotes@nichols.edu. Prints may be sent to: Nichols College, Alumni Relations Office, P.O. Box 5000, Dudley, MA 01571.
Building Success
Brooke Packard ’18
When asked to describe her profession, Brooke Packard ’18 confidently replies, “I sum it up in four words — entrepreneur, investor, realtor and educator.” A teacher by day and an entrepreneur by nights and weekends, Packard started her first business at the age of 18, as a freshman at Nichols College, and aims to reach financial freedom by the age of 30.
Packard, a Dudley native, felt it was important to stay close to family when searching for colleges, so she enrolled at Nichols as a commuter. Her life revolved around academics, women’s basketball, and working. Her path to business started as a convenient and flexible way to accommodate her college schedule, cleaning a few residential houses. Today her business, B.P.’s Easy Living, has over 100 customers and 12 hard-working employees whom she graciously credits for its success and growth. Her mentor has played a critical role in her professional development, “Watching someone who is bigger than you, better than you, more successful than you, opens your eyes to a whole new lifestyle, a whole new world. Then in my case, I told myself, ‘if this person can do it, so can I.’ Nothing is out of reach.” With the support of her mentor, Packard has continued to grow B.P.’s Easy Living expanding the client roster from residences to a variety of others, including wedding venues, schools and corporate offices. She has also expanded her service offerings to landscape and construction, personal chef and catering, and pet care. Her mission is simple and noble: make life easier for clients, empowering them to live their best life without the added stress.
Packard recently received her Massachusetts and Connecticut real estate licenses, further enhancing her brand and differentiating her sources of revenue. “Real estate is by far my passion,” she shares. “There are so many avenues of this business to explore, selling a client their dream home, owning investment properties, home renovations or even being on HGTV!”
In addition to B.P.’s Easy Living and real estate business, Packard decided to make the most of her newly found time stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic to create another business. One inspired by a class at Nichols. In the Death, Dying, and the Living course, students participated in a deep meditation to access past life memories. Packard remembers experiencing a clear vision of being abducted. This triggered the development of Trifecta Protection, a 3-in-1 safety device containing a knife, repellent spray, and alarm, the only product like it on the market with this level of protection. The business aims to make protection a priority for women and donates 5 percent of its proceeds to the Women’s Self-Defense Association. The brand also launched a podcast, “Real People, Real Stories,” providing a safe platform for victims to tell their stories and raise awareness.
Packard brings her entrepreneurial spirit into the classroom, where she is in her third year as a full-time 7th grade English teacher. “I love education, I adore children, and I enjoy English. It is an important skill to learn, and I instill this in my students,” she says, adding, “With my varied professional interests, I think I’m able to offer my students a unique perspective. I share the importance of relationships, the value of building a network and I encourage them to always be open to all possibilities when it comes to their careers.”
With Packard’s eyes on financial freedom and a schedule filled with business commitments, her truest goal is to be happy and healthy because, in her words, “Without it, you can’t do anything.” She continues, “If I do reach financial freedom, I would still work. As you can tell, I like to stay busy. In the future, I’d like to combine my skills in education and entrepreneurship to provide consulting services for small businesses. I’m also interested in building my investment portfolio to include the purchasing of stocks and cryptocurrency. In my personal life, I hope to have a big family with plenty of time to watch them grow up.”
Reflecting on her time at Nichols, Packard credits a public speaking class with giving her the confidence she has today. “At the time it was awful! I would sweat, and I’d black out and couldn’t even remember what I said, but those lessons and tactics helped me tremendously,” she notes. “Now I can speak in front of anyone and feel very confident. I even make my 7th graders do public speaking assignments. They feel the same way I did, but I tell them, ‘You’ll thank me one day when you are on Shark Tank!’”
– Jillian Riches
EJ Landry III has been appointed co-chair of the Nichols College Board of Advisors (BOA), a volunteer board established in 2007 to advocate for and engage with the college in multiple ways in support of the college’s strategic objectives. He is a seasoned financial expert with significant experience in auditing and consulting with companies in life sciences, technology and manufacturing industries. His career spanned 34 years at Deloitte, retiring as partner in fall of 2020. Landry was named co-chair of the BOA with Christine Scarafoni ’06.
1988
Tracy (Donham) Smith was recently promoted to director of undergraduate research for Johns Hopkins University. She and her husband Al have lived in Maryland for about 25 years raising their four kids, aged 27, 25, 24, and 19.
1989
Richard Wright MBA, CEO and treasurer of RTN Federal Credit Union, was selected CEO of the Year at the Cooperative Credit Union Association 2020 Awards of Excellence, held virtually October 14-16. In Wright’s video acceptance remarks, he said that while he was humbled and honored by this award, no one individual represents an organization and that the award was given in recognition of RTN’s success and achievements as an organization. Wright currently resides in Marlborough.
1991
Class Champion:
Donna Small
336-692-5157 dsmall9242000@yahoo.com
1992
Class Champion:
Keith Hofbeck
khofbeck@comcast.net
Deb Cote ’92 provides a photo of the 1991 softball team, recently inducted into the Nichols College Athletic Hall of Honor. Six members of the team were from the Class of ’92, including
Deb Cote, Deann (Desrosiers) Wisuri, Jenn (Yitts) O’Brien, Sarah Mitchell, Linda (Rose)
Roseberry, and Joanne (Starosta) Grzembski.
Pam (Burnham) Ganley shares that her eldest son Patrick graduated Parris Island, SC, U.S. Marine Corps in December.
Cliff and Donna (Cross) Whynott
offer an update: Cliff has taken his passion for boating and started Twilight Canvas Company Inc. in Ipswich, MA. As a skilled craftsman, Cliff provides customers throughout the North Shore with quality marine exterior/interior canvas upholstery, including seat covers, boat covers, dodgers, bimini tops, enclosures, and more.
1993
Andrea J. (Michaud) White MBA
was appointed president and CEO of Naveo Credit Union, the first woman to serve in that position in the institution’s 93-year history. Previously, she served as senior vice president of community banking at Freedom National Bank in Rhode Island and a member of the executive leadership team at Commonwealth National Bank in Worcester. Located in Somerville, MA, Naveo Credit Union is the former Cambridge Portuguese Credit Union, incorporated in 1928 by 27 Portuguese Americans.
1994
Class Champion:
Danielle Troiano Sprague
thedwoman@yahoo.com
2000
Class Champion:
Andrea Sacco
Andrea.j.Sacco@gmail.com
Derek Frazier MBA was named offensive line coach at the University of Wyoming. Most recently, he was the assistant offensive line coach with the New York Jets for two seasons. Previously, he spent four seasons at Central Michigan University as offensive line coach and later run-game coordinator. He and his wife Taryn have two children.
2001
Class Champion:
David Twiss
978-979-7658 David.twiss14@gmail.com
2002
Class Champion:
John Larochelle
john.larochelle1@gmail.com
Update from John Larochelle CPA: After spending just over 13 years in public accounting, I left the field five years ago to pursue the call to become a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Worcester. Last June, after five years of academic and pastoral studies, I was ordained a deacon by Bishop Robert McManus and am now in my final year at Saint John’s Seminary in Boston. I hope to be ordained a priest sometime in June 2021 and am looking forward to ministering to the people of God somewhere in Worcester County.
Brad Bemis shares: Since leaving the Hill, lots has changed. I can’t believe it has been almost 19 years since we all graduated. I know I was kind of an add-on to the Class of 2002 due to some very unfortunate issues, mainly my severe motorcycle accident, which pushed me back six months, and being deployed for 9/11 after the terror attacks. That was a long time ago.
So, I guess some cliff notes for changes since Nichols, right? I moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, six years ago. I took a full-time job as a firefighter paramedic with a great department. I got married in 2017 and then had a baby girl in 2019, Ella Rose. I have been promoted to lieutenant and have written several successful FEMA grants for my department.
I wish you and your families well and hope you are all staying safe with all this last year has brought upon us.
Princess R. Tucker reports: In October 2020, I started my own business, Evolution Distance Healing (EDH), offering intuitive readings, dream interpretation, chakra cleansing/balancing and reiki healing sessions. All services are offered via email and/or from a distance. I am certified as an advanced reiki practitioner and so excited to finally be using my gifts and skills to help others! www.evolutiondistancehealing. wordpress.com
A legacy family legacy
In the tightly woven fabric that is Nichols College, legacy families — generations of families with multiple Bison — are among the strongest fibers. Such are the ties that bind Bountiap Ketnouvong ’03 MBA ’05 and her son, Nicholas Douangchandy ’22. Their Nichols experience may be non-traditional, but their story of grit, hard work, commitment to service, and family above all is anything but atypical.
Ketnouvong came to the United States from her native Laos when she was 14. The family’s journey as refugees was not easy. Her youngest brother suffered from nearly fatal malnutrition. When they settled in Southbridge, Mass., her parents, both veterinarians, had to completely start over, finding work at Dexter-Russell.
The oldest daughter of a close family of six children, Ketnouvong remembers acclimating quickly, especially as she learned English. Small for her age, she was placed three grades behind at school (“They thought I was a genius,” she quips), but even when the situation was righted, she continued to flourish. Her parents taught her and her siblings to take nothing for granted and stressed the importance of education and family. Lessons that followed Ketnouvong to Nichols.
As a single mother to two school-aged sons, Ketnouvong attended classes mostly at night. “I used to bring Nicholas with me,” she says. “There were many willing students who would babysit for him or show him around.” She also worked 40-hour weekends as a home healthcare coordinator and provider, to accommodate the boys’ schedules.
Earning not one but two Nichols degrees during that time was a big achievement for this double Bison, who is currently an analyst at Saint-Gobain in Worcester. “I love my job,” she says, noting that she works for fellow double Bison Jennifer Corridori ’99 MBA ’04. The example she set also made a distinct impression on Douangchandy.
“My first memory of Nichols is being in the classroom while my mom presented her final project for a class,” he says. But before becoming a Bison himself, Douangchandy enlisted in the U.S. Army, following in the bootsteps of multiple family members, including an aunt who served in the Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm, as well as a great uncle who fought alongside American troops during the Vietnam War.
With specialized airborne training, he served with the 6th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Sapper Company, headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. “Alaska was beautiful,” he says, adding, “I’ve never been so cold in my life, but it was worth it,” even on four- to five-mile runs in temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees.
Why airborne? “I had a fear of heights, and I wanted to overcome that fear,” he explains. Of his 36 jumps, he counts #6 as is favorite. “It was a Black Hawk jump in the middle of the summer in Alaska. I saw the mountaintops and the city of Anchorage from a helicopter view.” Helicopter jumps are among the most sought after, Douangchandy points out. “It’s limited seating, you sit on the floor of the helicopter with your feet hanging out and the door is open.”
After his last jump, with his feet firmly on the ground, he followed in his mother’s footsteps back to the Hill, utilizing his GI bill to study business and economics at Nichols.
Now entering his senior year, Douangchandy reflects on the experience. “Transition from the military is mentally and emotionally really challenging,” he admits. “Professor [Boyd] Brown, a former marine, reached out and helped me adjust to the new environment.” He also admires Visiting Assistant Professor Rob Russo, who battled cancer, twice, while still teaching his courses. “Nothing can stop Professor Russo, in my opinion,” he says.
The same may be said for Douangchandy, who is setting his sights on finding “the perfect job that doesn’t make it feel like I’m going to work.” Until then, he says, “A house would be nice, too.” Make that two; Ketnouvong hopes to eventually have a vacation place in Laos where she can reconnect with family still there.
– Molly Thienel and Susan Veshi
