The Gilded Age: Roger Hancock ’74

The Gilded Age: Alumnus Recalls ‘Best Four Years’ of his Life

John Fogerty’s song “Centerfield” might well have been describing “Rapid” Roger Hancock ’74 and his desire to play ball, except for Roger it was left field. After convincing then Laker Coach Walter J. “Doc” Nitardy to play him in his senior year, Roger took advantage of the opportunity to show his exceptional skill in bunting and stealing bases. He could ruin the focus of an opposing pitcher with his large leads off the base. By the end of the season, he led the team in on-base percentage, walks, stolen bases, runs scored and sacrifice bunts. Roger’s memory of his time on the Laker Baseball team is one of many he shared in an online account of his four years at SUNY Oswego, written while he was home during the pandemic. (Read his full account at magazine.oswego.edu.) He also pays tribute to the many friends he met and experiences he had, including attending his first rock concert, deepening his love of R&B music, enduring Oswego winters, enjoying the variety of meal options in the dining halls, attending classes and discovering his passion for the brand new computer science major. “I was really taken with my C.S. classes, and (the college) announced that they were having the first CS degree program … I was all in!” said Roger, who went on to have a 45-year career as a software developer and engineer. He remains in contact with many of his Oswego pals and tries to come back to campus for the quinquennial Return to Oz, reunion of alumni of color.

“Like many college graduates will agree … these were the BEST four years of my life,” he said. “I started to come ‘of age’ during those years and made lifelong friends.”

Above (front row, far right): Roger Hancock ’74 with the Laker Men’s Baseball team; at left (second from left) at Return to Oz V in October 2018.

Learn more about Roger’s Oswego experience at magazine.oswego.edu.

1980s

Joseph Ambrose ’80 of Amityville, N.Y., is a retired IT worker and currently spending time in a local FedEx ship center. At FedEx, Joseph is keeping the center’s computers up-to-date and learning how to safely pack and ship things for the community on the south shore of Long Island. During his time at Oswego, he was fortunate to be a paper grader for the late Professor Weslowski of the Computer Science Department. Mary “Monica” Bartoszek ‘80 of Ballston Lake, N.Y., had a long career in journalism, but has been working in the academic department of communication at the University of Albany since 2012. Joan Cear ’80 New York, N.Y., is the founder and principal of Grayfin Partner, LLC, a strategic communications consulting firm in New York City. She was previously senior vice president of communications at Kellen Company, a full-service public relations, public affairs, digital and integrated marketing agency, as well as a global leader in association management. James DiIorio ’80 of Sylvan Beach, N.Y., is a retired artist who worked at MadisonOneida BOCES in Verona, N.Y. To keep himself occupied, he has started doing artwork and sign making for Sylvan Synes, by Maynard Pynes. At Oswego, he was a part of the wrestling team for all four years. Lynn Kiyasu Hartwell ’80 of Mahopac, N.Y., is a senior manager in commercialization at PepsiCo in Purchase, N.Y. She enjoys mentoring new hires and building internal talent, while seeking the continued growth of PEP portfolio beverages. One of her current hobbies is repurposing and recycling in creative artistry. Stuart Allen ’81 of Salida, Colo., works at Lockheed Martin Corporation Foundation. Susan Baier ’81 is the director of finance at Omega Tool Measuring Machines in Fairport, N.Y. Previously, she served as vice president of finance at Lumetrics Inc. She earned a master’s degree in accounting from George Washington University. Charles Giacomo ’81 of Harrison, N.Y., retired as a firefighter from the Harrison Fire Department. Charles retired as a commander from the U.S. Navy Reserve, having served during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He has accumulated 306 carrier landings on five different aircraft carriers, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Air Medals and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, all with Combat designating “V” device.

ASK Me!

Top 10 Mistakes Made by Nice Girls: 1. Make miracles 2. Don’t take time to network (internally and externally) 3. Fail to set boundaries 4. Strive for perfection 5. Ignore the “look and sound” of success 6. Unclear vision/branding 7. Tolerate inappropriate behavior 8. Don’t ask 9. Use too many words (short sounds confident) 10. Avoid difficult conversation

Shared by Dr. Lois Frankel ’73, president of Corporate Coaching International and New York Times best-selling author, during her “Nice Girls Don’t Speak Up or Stand Out: How to Make Your Voice Heard, Your Point Known, Your Presence Felt” webinar to the SUNY Oswego community. Learn more at drloisfrankel.com.

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Thomas Pragel ’81 of Little River, S.C., is a retired educational technologist at the U.S. Department of Defense - Fort Jackson Schools.

Larry Rubinstein ’81 of North Bellmore, N.Y., is a manager for the engineer remote services department at Metrovision in Carlstadt, N.J. He traveled with Governor Cuomo and worked on the daily press conferences about the COVID-19 pandemic. He is responsible for the production and satellite transmission of the daily broadcasts.

Ron Kurtz ’82 of Boston works in corporate finance. After being a three-year RA in Oneida Hall, he thanks the residence directors, professors and alumni for making his four years at Oswego the happiest years of his life. Joann Avellino Schirripa ’82 of Huntington, N.Y., owns her own accounting firm in Huntington. Joann was a member of the Ski Club during her time at Oswego. Michelle Klinger Wellner ’82 of Weston, Fla., works at Spohn Global in Tamarac, Fla., where she is a director of product development. She enjoys CycleBar and Pure Barre workouts, and being president of the Phi Lambda Phi Alumni Association.

David Burnett ’83 of Sugar Loaf, N.Y., has worked as a SAP financial accounting and controlling systems analyst at Carl Zeiss Inc. in White Plains, N.Y., for the past 14 years. He enjoys working with the accounting team, SAP users on their business processes and new requirements for SAP.

Rob Perillo ’83 is a chief meteorologist at KATC, virtual channel 3, a dual ABC/ CW+-affiliated television station licensed to Lafayette, La. He was the recipient of this year’s John Coleman Broadcast Award from the National Tropical Weather Conference, the nation’s forum for professional training in hurricane preparedness for media and business.

Karen Huebel ’84 of Prospect, Ohio, is the director of theming and interpretive design at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, where she has worked for 24 years. She has been involved in designing and building zoos and aquariums for the past 30 years, starting as a volunteer in Syracuse, N.Y. She oversees habitat design, signage and technology and project manages all aspects of design for the zoo’s properties. She also serves as an associate instructor in Master Planning and Exhibit Design for The Ohio State University’s biology course. Mark W. Marano ’84 is president and chief executive officer of Structural Integrity Associates Inc. in Charlotte, N.C. Mark rejoined the workforce after a short retirement from Westinghouse Electric Company, where he previously was chief operating officer and oversaw core global products and services. He played a key role in the company’s emergence from bankruptcy. Previously, he served as Westinghouse President, Americas and EMEA sales regions for four years, driving strategic revenue growth in a challenging nuclear market. Jay Ahuja ’85 (above left) of Charlotte, N.C., was golfing with his father at Sea Pines Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C., in November, when he saw another golfer who was wearing an Oswego sweatshirt. Although neither recognized each other, it turned out that the fellow alumnus was Psi Phi Gamma brother, Dave D’Arcy ’89 (above right) who lives in Savannah, Ga. Amy Fliegelman Olli ’85, senior vice president and general counsel of VMWare, was appointed to the board of directors at Televerde, an integrated sales and marketing technology organization. Amy is responsible for the global law team and champions the company’s commitment to integrity, ethics, compliance and risk management practices. With more than 25 years of legal experience, she has participated in and led organizations responsible for corporate philanthropy; corporate security and business continuity planning; corporate social responsibility; environmental, health and safety; ethics and compliance; global trade compliance; government affairs; and government solutions.

Rocco Sinisi ’85 of Rockville Centre, N.Y. worked as a police officer with the Nassau County Police Department on Long Island for the past 29 years. He retired in early March. He plans to spend time with family and friends, and hopes to participate in his 13th consecutive Boston Marathon.

Terri Sharpe ’86 of St. Louis, Mo., is a realtor at HSG Realty in St. Louis after working as a business analyst and QA lead for financial services companies throughout much of her career.

Lisa Monahan ’87 of Little Falls, N.Y., is a principal welfare examiner at the Herkimer County Department of Social Services in Herkimer, N.Y. Henry Seymour ’87 ’92 of Cortland, N.Y., works in freelance film, video audio/visual production at Juggling Cats, LLC, in Rochester, N.Y. When Henry attended Oswego, he was involved in WOCR, The Oswegonian, WRVO and Onondaga Hall Council, and was a resident assistant.

John Sheffield ’87 M’97 of Oswego is a retired teacher, and now serves as the business development manager for the Lake Ontario Event & Conference Center.

Geri Penz Vaeth ’87 of Henrietta, N.Y., works as an administrative office assistant at Caldwell Manufacturing Co. NA LLC in Rochester, N.Y. Mark Warford ’87 is an assistant principal in the Bethlehem Central School District’s middle school in Delmar, N.Y. Mark was selected as a 2020 New York State Assistant Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State and the National Association of Elementary School Principals. He earned a master’s degree in administration from the University at Albany. Melinda Heaney Bienert ’88 of San Clemente, Calif., is a real estate investor at Real Simple Property Solutions, LLC. Jonathan Buhner ’89 M’94 retired as superintendent at South Colonie (N.Y.) Central School District in February after 12 years there and four years as superintendent of the Walton Central School District in Delaware County. He worked for a total of 30 years in public education. Nancy Merringer Morrison ’89 of Somerset, Pa., works as an elementary art and classroom teacher.

1990s

Kathleen Aris ’90 of Hazlet, N.J., is the director of events marketing at Sungard Availability Services in Carlstadt, N.J. Marci Goldman Gower ’90 of Denver, Colo., is a freelance marketing and events specialist. After living in Southern Florida for the past 15 years, Marci and her husband, Nick, decided to relocate to the Denver area. As a student at Oswego, she was involved with The Oswegonian. Sean Green ’90 was named the 20192020 All-Bee Boys Hockey Coach of the Year for Williamsville South’s (N.Y.) Federation hockey team after a small schools championship win. Hockey has played a huge role in Sean’s life after winning multiple national championships through Amherst hockey, playing collegiately at SUNY Oswego and continuing to play professionally after college. Charles E. Lattuca ’90 was elected president and CEO of GoTriangle in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel HIll area of North Laker Tapped to Call ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football’ Games

ESPN sportscaster Steve Levy ’87 was named the new play-by-play commentator for Monday Night Football. A communication studies alumnus, Steve joined ESPN in August 1993 as a SportsCenter anchor and emerged as one of ESPN’s leading play-by-play commentators for his work on college football, NFL, NHL and the XFL.

A loyal alumnus, he has frequently returned to campus to speak to students via the Alumni-In-Residence program and as a Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit panelist, the Commencement Eve Torchlight Ceremony speaker and emcee, and the emcee of the With Passion and Purpose campaign launch, The Tomorrow Show. He provided the naming gift for the Steve Levy ’87 Press Box in the Marano Campus Center Arena. He also established the Steve Levy ’87 Endowed Broadcasting Internship Fund to offset the cost of tuition credits and living expenses for broadcasting students who demonstrate initiative and interest in the field and who would not otherwise be able to afford to take on an internship.

Carolina. Previously, he was executive director of Transit Development and Delivery for the Maryland Department of Transportation. A six-year Navy veteran, Charles earned a certificate in Strategic Leadership for State Executives from Duke University. He began his career as a legislative analyst in the Office of the New York State Assembly’s minority leader and also has served as the New York governor’s assistant director of state operations, overseeing the Department of Transportation, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Office of General Services.

Barbara Roland Milano ’90 of Niskayuna, N.Y., works as an assistant to a CEO. She is happily living in the Capital Region of New York and working on her first novel. Kelly Molesworth Tiscornia ’90 of Salem, Ore., is in her 24th year working in the Salem Keizer School District, most recently as a school counselor.

Grace Bottitta Williamson ’90 of Owings, Md., works as a national recreation and tourism coordinator at the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in Silver Spring, Md. In her position she connects the public to their ocean parks through responsible recreation, tourism and stewardship opportunities. Grace said she is excited to see that Lake Ontario has been nominated as a potential new national marine sanctuary. Wendy Seamon Garcia ’91 of Round Hill, Va., teaches group exercise at Fairfax County Parks and Recreation. Her interest first sparked after she was a group exercise instructor at Cooper-Glimmerglass fitness centers on campus at Oswego. She was also involved in Alpha Phi Omega and the Sailing Club. She has been happily married for 20 years and has two children. Lee Kaiser ’91 of Centreville, Va., is a counselor working for Fairfax County Public Schools in Centreville.

Joseph J. Manna ’92, a senior partner at the law firm of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP, was elected president of the Western New York Trial Lawyers Association. With 25 years of experience as a trial attorney, he has tried cases from New York City to Los Angeles, focusing his practice on commercial litigation and plaintiff’s personal injury law, with a particular emphasis on medical malpractice matters. He is consistently recognized by his peers in The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers, and has earned national and regional recognition, including Lifetime Achievement Membership to America’s Top 100 Attorneys and being named to Buffalo Business First’s Legal Elite. Natalie McComb ’92 of Virginia Beach, Va., is an associate director of Administration & Strategies at Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters Inc. in Virginia Beach, Va. Julie Weiser Micali ’93 of Rochester, N.Y., is a special education teacher/instructional coach in the Rochester City School District. When Julie attended Oswego, she was involved in Omega Delta Phi and loved the sunsets on Lake Ontario.

ASK Me!

Seven Ways to Feel Happier: 1. Make someone else feel good 2. Smile and laugh 3. Step into the “Stretch Zone” 4. Identify and say positive “I am” statements 5. Before bed, think of three good things or what went well today 6. Strike a power pose for 2 minutes to enhance your confidence/performance 7. Focus on gratitude Shared by Pam Garramone ‘83, positive psychology speaker, life coach and author, during her “Seven Ways to Feel Happier, Instantly!” webinar to the SUNY Oswego community. Learn more at pamgarramone.com.

Share a little of yourself with others.

Become an ASK (Alumni Sharing

Knowledge) volunteer today.

alumni.oswego.edu/ask

Adam Altman ’94 has written over 100 telecommunications articles published in various technology magazines, and has published a novel, Ridicula (Publish Wholesale, 2018). He has been honored with writing scholarships and is currently working on his doctorate in education leadership after earning a graduate degree in information science from the University at Albany. Scott Gray ’95 of Oceanside, Calif., is a senior quality manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Carlsbad, Calif. Jeffrey Wernick ’95 of Latham, N.Y., is an assistant director of public information at NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, after working 20-plus years at WNYT, the NBC affiliate in Albany. Jeffrey left this position before the outbreak of COVID-19, but first helped develop a plan that enabled newscasts to continue while maintaining social distancing and having talent work remotely. He looks forward to helping media across the state from the other side of the business. During his time at Oswego, Jeffrey was involved in WTOP, WNYT and The Oswegonian. Michael Jargo ’96 of Stony Brook, N.Y., is a guidance counselor in Islip Public Schools in Islip, N.Y. Sean Pope ’96 M’99 of Brewster, N.Y., is a high school engineering teacher at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, N.Y. Nicole Woodall ’96 joined Fust Charles Chambers LLP in January 2019, after working in tax, accounting and advisory for the past 20 years. Jennifer DeMayo ’97 is a recruitment and employment specialist at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, N.Y. She is responsible for the coordination and implementation of human resource processes and procedures, including recruitment, employment, civil service processing, and payroll. Previously at MVCC, she held several positions in the college’s Business Office, finally serving as a principal account clerk. James Rowbottom ’97 of Smyrna, Ga., is a writer and producer for CNN Newsource in Atlanta, Ga. At Oswego, he was involved in the fraternity, Sigma Chi, and was a member of the Laker Cross Country team. Melissa E. Vincent ’97 lives in Santa Cruz, Calif., while working for Apple Inc. in Cupertino, Calif. She married her partner of five years while aboard S/V Seaheart in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, exchanging vows while headed toward Alcatraz and Angel Island. From working in Inclusion and Diversity with Apple, Melissa has been able to travel to many destinations including India, England, France, China, Singapore and Thailand. With her new role working for Apple’s Technology Development Group, she focuses on bringing Apple’s core values to life. Melissa is on the Board of Directors for Monterey Bay Marine Life Studies and the Whale Entanglement Team, and has trained extensively on whale disentanglement, including with NOAA experts in Maui.

A Lasting Tribute Via Sheldon Legacy Society

“Our IRA did very well, and we were able to direct part of the required mandatory distribution to the college as a charitable gift. It was easy to do, and financially, we would not have been able to establish an endowed fund without the IRA payout. Plus, this gift helps us avoid paying taxes on the money.”

—Donald Blauvelt ’62

Donald ’62 and Linda Mykland Blauvelt ’61 wanted to honor their late daughter, Debra Lynn Blauvelt M’08, while supporting their shared alma mater. By gifting part of their IRA’s required minimum distribution to the college, the couple was able to increase their philanthropy to SUNY Oswego and establish an endowed scholarship in memory of their daughter. Next year, the college will award the first Debra Lynn Blauvelt M’08 Memorial Scholarship to a non-traditional student. In 2011 in honor of the 50th anniversary of Linda’s graduation and their marriage, the Blauvelts also decided to leave Oswego a bequest in their will to establish the Blauvelt Scholarship Fund. They said it was a way to pass on their great Oswego experience to future generations of students.

If you are interested in learning more about how directing part of your IRA rollover to SUNY Oswego can both support the college and provide you some tax relief, please contact a member of our philanthropic engagement team at sheldonlegacy@oswego.edu or 315-312-3003.