Southern Alumni Magazine Fall '21 by Southern Connecticut State University

a publication for alumni and friends of Southern Connecticut State University

ALUMNI MAGAZINE | Fall | 21

ASMA RAHIMYAR, ’21 Rhodes Scholar, Truman Scholar, Owl

F E AT U R E S

14 The Road to Oxford

20 Thinking Caps

Graduates wore their hearts on their mortar boards at Southern’s five in-person commencement ceremonies.

Life has been tremendously challenging, but there’s much to be grateful for. So, we asked Southern students and faculty to tell us about it. But to please, keep it brief. Six words, to be precise.

Southern |

ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Fall | 21

22 Through Their Eyes

At the age of 16, Lelia Adams, ’02, came to the United States through an immigration program colloquially known as the Green Card Lottery. Today, she’s an attorney focused exclusively on immigration law.

24 The Good Fight

Widely recognized as one of the top plaintiff lawyers in the U.S., Mike Arias, ’81, recently helped clients reach a historic $842.4 million settlement in one of the most high-profile sexual-abuse cases in the nation.

28 Planting Roots

John Torello, ’91, M.S. ’97, and his family have completely revitalized Connecticut’s historic Old Bishop Farm into a growing destination for families and foodies.

DE PARTM E N TS

MAX S. GERBER PHOTO

2 ■ From the President 3 ■ Campus News 10 ■ Hidden Campus 12 ■ True Blue 27 ■ Social Southern 34 ■ Supporting Southern A $500,000 gift supported by the Amour Propre Fund establishes the School of Business Endowment for Leadership Development at Southern.

37 ■ Spaces & Places in New Haven Connecticut's coastline

38 ■ Owl Update

He’s played for the Owls and the NFL. Now Jacques Cesaire, ’11, is an assistant coach with the Buffalo Bills.

40 ■ Alumni News 44 ■ Alumni Notes 48 ■ Seen on Campus Fall 2021 | 1

DEAR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS...

fter 18 months of working and learning in a mainly virtual environment, it was exciting and invigorating to welcome our students back to campus in August, with more than 75 percent of classes offered in person and a full array of services and activities on ground. Throughout the long months of the pandemic,

color in New Haven; and provide undergraduates from underrepresented groups with internships in plant health and protection at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. You will notice a common theme in all of these grants: providing access and serving the community — both critical aspects of our social justice-themed mission.

we never flinched

Two new state-

from our commitment

funded building

to student success. I

projects also are

feel proud of what we

taking shape on

at Southern have done

campus. The first is

to prioritize health and

our new Health and

well-being. And we

Human Services

continue to do so, with

building, which will

student and employee

be completed this fall

vaccination numbers

and open in spring of

that give us an

2022. It will provide

excellent chance of

an array of clinical

maintaining a safe campus throughout the fall. In short,

services for the wider community and wonderful training

we remain Southern Strong.

facilities for the future nurses and health practitioners who

Now we are ready to play a key role in our state’s post-COVID revival, starting the academic year with numerous new programs approved for the fall. All are

will join the thousands of Southern alumni serving on the front lines during the pandemic. The second is our new home for the School of

geared toward current trends and needs, in fields such as

Business, scheduled to open in 2023. The building will be

data science; cybersecurity; behavior analysis; and

self-sustaining in terms of energy use and provide twice

tourism, hospitality, and event management.

the space as the current facility.

We’re also launching our fourth doctorate, an Ed.D.

All this, and more, shows that Southern is alive and

in Counseling Education and Supervision, and a host of

well. I look forward to welcoming you back to

accelerated 4+1 programs to help students earn their

Homecoming and other campus events, and I thank you

bachelor’s and master’s degrees in just five years.

for your support of student success.

Additionally, we’ve received millions of dollars in national grants to: enhance science and math education

Sincerely,

in the state’s high-needs school districts; improve COVID-

Joe Bertolino

19 vaccine confidence and access among communities of

President

2 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Southern

Off to Washington

ALUMNI MAGAZINE n VOL 18 • NO 1

Joe Bertolino, President Michael K. Kingan, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Executive Director, SCSU Foundation, Inc. STAFF

Patrick Dilger, Director of Integrated Communications & Marketing Villia Struyk, Editor Mary Pat Caputo, Associate Editor Christina Levere, Editorial Assistant Marylou Conley, ’83, Art Director Isabel Chenoweth, Photographer Jason Edwards, ’21, Contributing Photographer Kenneth Sweeten, Sports Mary Verner, ’14, MBA ’18, Alumni Notes OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS

Gregory Bernard, ’04, Director of Alumni Relations (203) 392-6500 SOPHOMORE ANDREINA BARAJAS NOVOA IS SPENDING THE FALL SEMESTER IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,

participating in a congressional internship awarded through the

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. Barajas Novoa, who is double majoring in sociology and political science at Southern, is one of just 23 students selected nationally to take part in the highly competitive program for Latinx students. Historically, only about 20 percent of applicants are chosen for the fall session. In addition to being placed in a congressional office, she will receive leadership training and attend a graduate-level public policy course taught by The George

EDITORIAL OFFICE

Southern Connecticut State University Office of Integrated Communications & Marketing/Southern Alumni Magazine 501 Crescent Street New Haven, CT 06515-1355 Telephone (203) 392-6591; fax (203) 392-5083 Email address: StruykV1@SouthernCT.edu University website: SouthernCT.edu Printed by The Lane Press, Inc.

Washington University.

Saluting Southern’s Graduates

THE CLASS OF 2021 was recognized at five separate

commencement ceremonies held on campus on May 18 and 19. This year’s graduates were joined by a smaller number from the Class of 2020 who opted to walk after participating in a virtual ceremony last year due to COVID-19 restrictions. A senior yearbook, photos, and videos of the ceremonies are at SouthernCT.edu/commencement. Plus, turn to page 20 for a feature on graduates’ decorated mortar boards, an artful celebration of their accomplishments.

Class of 2021 AT A GLANCE

1,033 graduates, including

• 30 Veterans • 35 Honors College Graduates

• 17 International Students

• 339 Graduate Degrees

• 22 Doctorates • Graduates’ age range: 20- to 68-years old

Southern Alumni Magazine is published by the university in cooperation with the SCSU Alumni Association two times a year and distributed free of charge to alumni and friends of the university. Opinions expressed in Southern Alumni Magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the university or the SCSU Alumni Association. Although the editors have made every reasonable effort to be factually accurate, no responsibility is assumed for errors. Postage paid at Burlington, Vt. Southern Connecticut State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, age, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, marital status, ancestry, present or past history of mental disorder, learning disability or physical disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or criminal record. Inquiries related to nondiscrimination policies and Title IX may be forwarded to Paula Rice, Title IX Coordinator and Director of Diversity and Equity Programs, 501 Crescent Street, BU 240, New Haven, CT, 06515; (203) 392-5568; RiceP1@SouthernCT.edu.

Fall 2021 | 3

C A M P U S NEW S n

$1.4 Million Grant Supports Future STEM Teachers

HE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) AWARDED SOUTHERN A $1.4 MILLION GRANT to bolster science

and mathematics education in some of the state’s highneeds school districts. The grant — to be awarded over five years through the NSF’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program — will be used to recruit and prepare a diverse group of future teachers in the STEM disciplines [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics]. The program will add 30 full-tuition scholarships for Southern students in their final two years of study, provided they plan to teach in a high-needs school district for at least four years after graduation. Carrie-Anne Sherwood (right), an assistant professor of curriculum and learning who specializes in science education, is the program coordinator and principal investigator for the grant. The project includes partnerships with Gateway Community College; the public school districts of New Haven, Hamden, and Meriden; and Cooperative Educational Services, a regional education service center.

New Home for the School of Business

ONSTRUCTION IS UNDERWAY ON A 60,000-SQ. FT. NEW HOME FOR THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, an environmentally

sustainable facility that will provide a launch pad for expanding the school’s offerings and developing partnerships with the business community. It is slated to be the first net-zero emissions building constructed by the State of Connecticut. Solar panels will help generate 90 percent of the building’s energy needs, supplemented by an on-site, below-ground geothermal field. “During the course of a year, the amount of renewable energy created on site will be equal to the total amount of energy used by the building,” says Eric Lessne, associate vice president for capital budgeting and facilities operations. The four-story facility will be located at the corner of Wintergreen and Farnham avenues, and is expected to be completed by early 2023. Oak Park Architects of West Hartford is the project’s architect, while Sasaki of Watertown, Mass., is the designer. Features include: • A dedicated MBA classroom and administrative suite.

The business school is moving toward accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) — a premier level of distinction held by only five percent of business schools worldwide.

4 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

• A Behavior Lab with observation room. • A 1,200-sq. ft. space designed for financial market and data analytics. • The Academic Advising and Business Success Center. • An Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center. • The Lindy Lee Gold Leadership Suite, supported by Amour Propre. The suite was named in recognition of Gold’s ongoing support, including a $500,000 gift to establish the School of Business Endowment for Leadership Development at Southern. (See page 34.)

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New Dean of School of Business

Fast Facts. Good News.

FOLLOWING A NATIONWIDE SEARCH, JENNIFER ROBIN

became dean of the School of Business on July 1. Robin comes to Southern from the Foster College of Business at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., where she was the associate dean and a professor of management and leadership. She also served as the executive Jennifer Robin coaching lead of the Theresa S. Falcon Executive MBA Program. Robin is a highly regarded speaker and the co-author of several popular books: No Excuses: How You Can Turn Any Workplace into a Great One and The Great Workplace: How to Build It, How to Keep It, and Why It Matters, which was translated into nine languages. She succeeds Ellen Durnin, who retired January 1, after leading the School of Business for more than a decade. James Thorson, chairman of the Department of Economics, had served as interim dean of the School of Business since early January.

New Athletics Director Named

CHRIS BARKER JOINS SOUTHERN AS THE DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS, becoming

the sixth person to hold the position in Owls history. He comes to Southern from the University of Wisconsin Parkside, where he was deputy director of athletics since 2020, after holding several positions of increasing responsibility there. “I wanted to work at an Chris Barker institution that served a lot of first-generation students, a regional public university, and, more important, a place that cared,” says Barker, of his decision to join Southern from Parkside, which is also a Div. II competitor.

94,750-sq. ft. Health and Human

• The

Services Building is slated to open in spring 2022.

Highlights will include a Human Performance Teaching and Research Laboratory, a Center for Adaptive Sport and Inclusive Recreation, an expanded Communication Disorders Clinic, and an Audiology Clinic — all open to the public. • Students participating in on-campus activities

fully vaccinated against COVID-19, at Southern are required to be

barring those who are exempt.

628,550 was raised for Southern

• A record $

students during the 2021 Day of Caring. Thank you to the 1,753 alumni and friends who contributed, setting another record.

• Southern’s graduate program in human performance is

one of only two accredited offerings of its kind in New

“50 best” by the Sports Management Degree Guide. • An almost $500,000 grant from the USDA’s England and is recognized as one of the

National Institute of Food and Agriculture will provide undergraduates from underrepresented groups with summer internships at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, beginning in summer 2022.

• Southern’s Master of Science in Sport and Entertainment

Management was ranked

1ST on Intelligent.com’s

guide to the “Top 54” online graduate programs in the field.

571,000 grant from the Centers for

• A$

Disease Control and Prevention was awarded to CARE (Community Alliance for Research & Engagement) to improve COVID-19 vaccine confidence and access in communities of color in New Haven. CARE is housed at Southern and the Yale School of Public Health. • Solve Climate by 2030, an international effort to address

climate change at local levels, drew more than

100

colleges and universities in April. Southern joined UConn as hosts of the state’s webinar.

Fall 2021 | 5

C A M P U S NEW S n

Faculty Honors

Troy Paddock, a professor of history who specializes in topics related to imperial Germany and propaganda in World War I, was named a Connecticut State University Professor — an honor that acknowledges excellence in creative activity, teaching, and service. The title is awarded to outstanding faculty at the four Connecticut State Universities (CSU), which in addition to Southern include Central, Eastern, and Western. “Our students are fortunate to have a scholar with Dr. Paddock’s credentials participating in their education,” says President Joe Bertolino. “Twice the chair of his department, he has taught many different courses in history, seven of which he created.” Paddock has earned several faculty Troy Paddock awards during his 23-year tenure at

Southern. In 2008, he was promoted to a full professor and was selected as the recipient of the Connecticut State University System Board of Trustees Research Award. In 2015, he earned Southern’s Faculty Scholar Award, and in 2017, was chosen for the Robert Jirsa Service Award. His recent works include the book, Contesting the Origins of the First World War: An Historiographical Argument, published by Routledge Press. Each university is limited to three designated CSU professors at any time. Paddock repaces David Levine, who recently retired as the CSU professor emeriti of art. Vivian Shipley, professor of English, and Elliott Horch, professor of physics, are the other CSU Professors representing Southern.

other news, two professors were honored as Southern’s campus recipients of the 2020-21 Board of Regents Faculty Awards, recognizing exceptional teaching and research at the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system. In addition to the four state regional universities, the system includes 12 community colleges and Charter Oak State College. • The Board of Regents Teaching Award at Southern goes to Rachel Furey, assistant professor of English. Furey teaches fiction and nonfiction writing as well as writing for young adults. Her work has been published in numerous journals, garnering a variety of literary prizes including Sycamore Review’s Wabash Prize for Fiction, The Briar Cliff Review’s creative nonfiction contest award, and Hunger Mountain’s Katherine Paterson Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing. • The Board of Regents Research Award at Southern was presented to Jason Smith, associate professor of history, who specializes in 19th-century America; military, naval, and maritime history; the history of science and technology; environmental history; and digital history. His first book, To Master the Boundless Sea: The U.S. Navy, the Marine Environment, and the Cartography of Empire, was published in 2018. His work also has appeared in Environmental History, The Journal of Military History, The International Journal of Maritime History, and The New England Quarterly.

6 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Calling all future Owls!

Explore everything Southern has to offer. Undergraduate Open House Rachel Furey

(on campus) Oct. 24 | 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Undergraduate Open House (on campus) Nov. 13 | 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Can’t make either event or looking for information on graduate programs?

Jason Smith

Schedule a tour at your convenience, sign up for an information session, or take a virtual tour at SouthernCT.edu/about/visit.

Elsie Rogers Halliday Okobi professor of educational leadership and policy studies MARY BROWN PHOTO

faculty spotlight

A RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENT: Okobi has been

named a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow for the second time. The program places African-born academics who are working in the United States and Canada with institutions of higher learning in Africa to collaborate on educational projects for up to 90 days.* Okobi became a naturalized citizen in 1996 and has lived in the U.S. since 1974.

WHAT SHE ’ LL DO : Okobi will provide professional

development training to library staff at the United States International University Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.

AT SOUTHERN : Okobi joined the faculty in 1990.

Her research interests include digital reference services, open-source and open-access resources, internet training in developing countries, and the application of technology to library services.

OTHER INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE :

Okobi first received a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship in 2019 to train librarians at the American University of Nigeria.

WORLD VIEW : She is also a member of American

Friends of Kenya — a New London-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to developing school media centers, providing books, and training teacher-librarians. In 2012, Okobi traveled with the group to establish school library centers in Kenya.

A FEW OF MANY OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS :

As a Fulbright Specialist Scholar for Librarianship, Okobi traveled to Vietnam to train faculty and library managers at the Hanoi University of Culture. She also worked with noted Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. on the publication of the Dictionary of African Biography.

*The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship is funded by the Carnegie Corp. of New York and managed by the Institute of International Education in collaboration with United States International University Africa. Fall 2021 | 7

C A M P U S NEW S n

CSCU Leader Appointed

Meet Southern’s First Sustainability Fellow

THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY’S STUDENT-INTERNSHIP PROGRAM is a win-win

Terrence Cheng is the newly named

president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, which in addition to Southern includes Central, Eastern, and Western state universities; 12 community colleges; and Charter Oak State College. He previously was director of the University of Connecticut Stamford campus and also served as a faculty member in UConn’s Department of English.

initiative, providing students with real-world experience while helping Southern emerge as a leader in campus conservation efforts. Derek Faulkner, ’21, was recenty named the department’s first sustainability fellow, a position supported by a Derek Faulkner, ’21 generous gift from the Antonacci Family Foundation. Faulkner graduated in May with a degree in environmental studies and sustainability (concentration in coastal marine systems), but his fellowship continued through the summer. In addition to guiding a team of student interns, he planned the campus community garden. Produce from the organic garden is donated to local soup kitchens/emergency pantries. Other responsibilities included: monitoring Southern’s solar SOUT arrays; expanding community engagement and H USESERN outreach; and leading daily operations for food recovery. Southern donates excess food from dining % green operations to local soup kitchens, and diverts food TO P energ O y CAM WER scraps for composting and energy generation in PUS conjunction with Quantum Biopower.

100

Mayoral Collection Housed at Southern

HE NEW HAVEN MAYORAL ARCHIVE AT SOUTHERN presents

the history of Connecticut’s third most populous city through a unique vantage point — the lives and political careers of four previous mayors: Biagio DiLieto (1980-1990), John Daniels (19901994), John DeStefano Jr. (1994-2014), and Toni Harp (2014-2020). Established through the generosity of attorney Neil Thomas Proto, ’67, the collection includes correspondence, special project materials, proclamations, and memoranda. The archive also will chronicle the mayors’ early lives and feature supporting items from individuals who served or associated with them. The collection will be housed in Southern’s Buley Library and be available online, with an opening exhibit and reception planned for Oct. 28 at the John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts. “As New Haven’s public university and consistent with its historically thoughtful relationship with the city, Southern is a natural home for this important archival collection,’’ says Proto, a retired partner with a Washington, D.C., law firm as well as a law professor, author, and playwright. In his 45-year career in law, Proto was widely held as a leading environmental litigator. A longtime supporter of Southern students, he also recently funded the Neil Thomas Proto Scholar and Civic Fund in Law and Social (Clockwise from top left) New Haven mayors John Daniels, Justice at the university. Biagio DiLieto, John DeStefano Jr., and Toni Harp

8 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Recent Graduates Honored OUR MEMBERS OF THE CLASS OF 2021

were recognized for

Seeing America’s Migrant Children

exceptional achievement as the recipients of the Henry

Barnard Distinguished Student Award, one of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system’s highest honors. • Asma Rahimyar, the first Rhodes Scholar in

Southern’s history, is attending Oxford University to pursue graduate degrees in forced migration and refugee studies, and criminology. She also is the CSCU’s first recipient of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship for outstanding potential for leadership, public service, and academic excellence. A double major in political science and philosophy at Southern, she was president of the Muslim Students Association. (See page 14.)

• Paul McKee, who majored in psychology and

minored in biology and data science, is pursuing a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience at Duke University — an internationally top-ranked program that typically accepts ten or fewer students annually. A Marine Corps veteran, he was widely published in peer-reviewed scholarly/ professional journals as an undergraduate and is a member of Mensa, a high IQ society. McKee, a first-generation college student, established the first student-funded endowed scholarship at Southern to foster interdisciplinary work between the data science program and the Department of Psychology. (See news.SouthernCT.edu/meetingof-the-minds.)

• Psychology major Camryn Arpino-Brown has a demonstrated commitment to social justice, including organizing a Black Lives Matter rally on campus. At Southern, she was a representative with the Student Government Association, a diversity coordinator at the Multicultural Center, and a resident adviser. Arpino-Brown also was secretary of Southern’s NAACP chapter and Sisters in School Together Achieving Success. • Honors College graduate Therese Ziaks completed Southern’s B.S. to M.S. accelerated pathway for chemistry majors and was named the American Chemical Society’s “Outstanding Senior Organic Chemistry Student.” At Southern, she was an undergraduate research assistant in the Department of Chemistry, a member of the Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology, and the founder and president of the Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honors Society. MORE AT

MIGRANT CHILDREN WHO ARE DETAINED AT THE U.S. BORDER “FACE ALMOST UNIVERSAL TRAUMATIC HISTORIES,” according to the

American Academy of Pediatrics. Award-winning poet-activist Seth Michelson gave voice to some of these child asylees through a series of poetry workshops. The end result: a bilingual collection of the children’s poems, Dreaming America: Voices of Undocumented Youth in Maximum Security Detention. In April, Michelson shared his experiences with the Southern community during a three-day virtual visit. The book, which was published by Settlement House, has a further Southern connection. Laurence Moffi, ’68, is the cofounder of the nonprofit publishing company that “takes its name from the settlement houses of the late 19th and 20th centuries,” which supported the urban poor and immigrant populations. True to its namesake, the publisher is donating the proceeds of the book to a legal defense fund for incarcerated child asylees. Students from several classes worked with Tina Re, art and special collection librarian, on an artists’ book illustrating the child asylees’ poems.

news.SouthernCT.edu/barnard-scholars-selected Fall 2021 | 9

HI DDE N C A M PU S ■

Students hone their craft in the on-campus Digital Production Facility — home to a broadcast studio with high-definition studio cameras, editing stations, and professional equipment for use in the field. MORE AT:

SouthernCT.edu/academics/communication

Fall 2021 | 11

From the pool to the playing field, a look at SOUTHERN ATHLETICS.

Yes, They Did It Again. Congrats to the NE10 Champs!

THE MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD TEAM RETURNED TO BATTLE WITH A VENGEANCE IN SPRING 2021, WINNING THE NORTHEAST-10 (NE10) OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP

and smashing a league record in the process. The Owls scored 301.5 points at the tournament (125.5 points more than second-place finisher American International) to become the first in NE10 history to pass the 300-point mark. It was the fourth year in row that the Owls won the NE10 outdoor tournament and the 17th time overall. Head coach John Wallin, ’00, recalls entering the contest with confidence but a “seed of doubt” after COVID-19 shut down competition for more than a year. “It was incredibly rewarding from a coaching perspective because we hadn’t been at an NE10 championship in 15 months,” says Wallin of the win. The Owls entered competition extremely motivated. “There was a lot of rumbling from our [longtime] rival, saying that this meet was going to be really close. Or that they were going to beat us. But our team was prepared to make sure there was no chance of that happening. It was going to be a dominating performance,” says Wallin, who alongside his assistants, garnered NE10 “Coaching Staff of the Year” honors. 12 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Several student-athletes also received the highest recognitions from the NE10. Nigel Green was named the “Track Athlete of the Year,” building on his extensive accomplishments. He’s the NE10 champion in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash as well as a member of the Southern foursomes who won the NE10 championship in the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays.

Want sports?

Jordan Davis — who won the javelin throw at both the NE10 and New England championships — brought home “Field Rookie of the Year” honors. Seven Owls qualified for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championship, and all returned to Southern with All-American honors (six first-team honorees, one second team). The event was held May 27-29 in Allendale, Mich.

SCSUOWLS.COM

SOUTHERN’S ATHLETICS WEBSITE provides an inside look at the

university’s winning sports program. The site, which has a mobile-device friendly design, includes expanded video content, competition highlights, game day schedules, a social media hub, photo galleries, student-athlete profiles, and access to the Owls online store.

MORE AT SCSUowls.com

SMag48ppFall21-c.qxp_r5 9/15/21 10:18 AM Page 13

Softball player Sara Buscetto, ’20, has always been recognized for her speed — a skill set she drew on to break the Owl record for career stolen bases. On April 18, Southern won both games in a double header against American International College, and Buscetto walked away with her name in the Owl records book for successfully stealing the 65th base of her college career. “This was something that I had been really working for and chasing,” says Buscetto, who completed her last year of eligibility as a graduate student. In contrast, she didn’t know she’d broken the single-season record in her junior year until after the fact. “But when I found out I could potentially break the all-time record, I was hyperfocused on it,” she says.

PHOTO

Buscetto Steals into Record Books

JORDAN MENARD

Meet the All-American

Oghenefejiro “Fejiro” Onakpoma, ’21 • Interdisciplinary studies major (concentrations in exercise science and public health: nutrition) • Track and Field, competing in the triple jump • Hometown: Naugatuck, Conn. The best: Onakpoma won the triple jump at both the 2021 New England and Northeast-10 (NE10) outdoor championships. He finished second at the NCAA Div. II Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

He’s also a: Four-time NCAA Div. II All American * Three-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association East Region Field Athlete of the Year * Twotime NE10 Conference Field Athlete of the Year.

It begins: A star basketball player at Naugatuck High School, he turned to track and field for conditioning while a high school junior.

His event is? Onakpoma’s high school coach tested him in a variety. “We didn’t know if I was going to be a sprinter or a jumper,” says Onakpoma. He was the latter; a standout in the triple jump, he won the event at the Class L Open State Championship. Sara Buscetto, ’20

The odds were not in her favor. The 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, and challenges continued in 2021 with shifts in scheduling and safety protocols. “This year, we played about half the games we usually do, so I had to work even harder to get it done. I’m proud of myself, and so grateful that my coaches and teammates had the faith in me and supported me in doing it,” says Buscetto. Softball remains a passion. Buscetto hopes to stay active in the sport, perhaps as a coach. In the meantime, her career path draws on knowledge gained majoring in business administration with a concentration in management. Her family owns and operates Filomena’s restaurant in her hometown of Waterford, Conn., and she also works in real estate. “I’m excited to see what the future holds for me after my time at Southern,” she says.

A family tradition: “My pop did track and field when he was in college and high school. He used to compete for Nigeria,” says Onakpoma.

I came to Southern because [fill in the blank]: “They believed in me more than I believed in myself. When someone believes in you that much, you’ve got to go hard,” says Onakpoma.

What makes him excel: “Fejiro knows his value, and he fights very hard to be competitive. His mindset, work ethic, and the way his brain operates are on a much higher level than most. He maximizes his abilities,” says head coach John Wallin, ’00.

Competition delayed: In March 2020, Onakpoma was among the qualifiers in Birmingham, Ala., for the NCAA Div. II Indoor Track and Field Championship when the competition was canceled due to COVID-19.

Returning to competition: The team won its fourth consecutive NE10 Outdoor Championship in 2021. Onakpoma says it’s one of his proudest achievements. “It’s a confidence boost for the team. We walk around with that alpha pride that comes with being a Southern Owl,” he says.

He’s also proud of: “Making All American [four times]. I’ve faced a lot of adversity, including injuries. There is a huge mental aspect to track and field, and I am proud that I stuck with it and went as far as I needed to go to succeed,” he says.

Final thoughts from Coach: “Fejiro is one of those guys who does everything right. He works his tail off. He’s kind, thoughtful, polite. A great human being — the kind of athlete we should be building up. At the same time, I don’t think he is concerned with being built up, which is why he is so good. He’s focusing on trying to improve.” Fall 2021 | 13

After speaking at commencement and receiving her degree, Asma Rahimyar, ’21, poses with her parents.

14 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

THE ROAD TO

Oxford

What’s next for Rhodes Scholar Asma Rahimyar, ’21? Oxford University welcomed the talented student this fall, launching the next chapter in a life story shaped by family, history, and a pursuit of justice. By Villia Struyk t’s a sky-blue spring day — May 26, to be exact — and Asma Rahimyar, ’21, is at a crossroads. A week earlier, she spoke at the College of Arts and Sciences commencement ceremony, one of the first public events held on campus since the COVID-19 pandemic. Rahimyar, then a teaching assistant and tutor at Southern, was grading papers hours before taking the stage to address her socially distanced classmates, a surreal experience charged with “so many different emotions,” she says. “When I enrolled at Southern four years ago, I had difficulty holding my head up. I mean that literally, but I also mean that figuratively — the way I felt about myself and my aspirations. I had these really big dreams, but I thought that I wasn’t positioned to obtain them,” she says. It doesn’t happen often, but Rahimyar was wrong. Instead, she left Southern among the academic elite — the first in university history awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, the top-ranked institution of higher learning in the world.* Rahimyar was one of only 32 Americans chosen for the honor out of a pool of more than 2,300 exceptionally talented applicants, including many with an Ivy League pedigree. The scholarship covers full tuition/fees, airfare, and a stipend, and will enable Rahimyar to pursue two graduate degrees. She’ll begin with forced migration and refugee studies, likely followed by criminology. The Rhodes Scholarship is one of many accolades bestowed on Rahimyar, who also received a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for those pursuing careers as public service leaders. Once again, she was the first Southern student so honored, as well as the only student from the entire Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system to ever receive either award, widely regarded among academia’s most prestigious. (For the record, she also graduated summa cum laude and was named a Henry Barnard Scholar by the CSCU. See page 9.)

But the Rhodes Scholarship is in a league of its own. Its alumni include Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, heads of state, university presidents, high court judges, and leaders of major organizations such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International. So, amid the pandemic, Rahimyar found herself in the limelight, interviewed close to 20 times by media, ranging from the Hartford Courant to National Public Radio to TOLOnews, tagged as Afghanistan’s first 24-hour news and current affairs network. The resulting story each told is riveting. It’s also one Rahimyar has documented since childhood. “Those are all of the journals I kept as a kid,” she says, pointing to the bottom shelf of a bookcase during a Zoom interview. “Even before I knew how to write in complete sentences, I was writing my thoughts about the world,” she says. Then and now, those thoughts often include Afghanistan, her parents’ homeland. During the Soviet occupation, they fled to Pakistan as refugees and emigrated to America in 1997. Rahimyar has heard their stories, which initially centered on life during peacetime. The excitement of Kabul. Visiting with nomads among stunning mountain vistas. But as she grew older, their memories took a darker turn. While her father studied medicine, half of his classmates disappeared: fleeing the country, abducted, or killed. “The person who was sitting next to you on Tuesday, wouldn’t be there on Wednesday,” says Rahimyar. Her mother was a second-year university student when she fled overnight. “That was five years before going to school was mandated a crime in Afghanistan for women,” says Rahimyar, reflecting on the challenges her mother, who did not speak English, faced as an immigrant. “She often tells me that I will live out the dreams she couldn’t,” she says. Even as a child, Rahimyar would juxtapose her parents’ experiences with what was reported by the media, many of the headlines “reductionist in so many ways regarding Afghanistan and the Afghan experience,” she sums. “It created such a confusion in me,” she says. “But

Fall 2021 | 15

also, a sense that something needs to be done in response to the injustices — the unaddressed actions and the unaddressed crimes. That has been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember, and I think an awareness of injustice is bound to have a formative impact.”

An Education Rahimyar is her parents’ first American-born child, raised to view education as both a gift and a driving force. From a young age, she’d roam the shelves of the local library, reading her selections to her mother. The family debated mathematics, history, poetry, and philosophy over dinner, often in multiple languages. “We call ourselves the Vienna Circle, my brothers and I,” she says, with a laugh. Those three brothers were drawn to scientific pursuits. One is earning a doctorate in mathematics, another studied computer science, and the youngest is interested in engineering. “We’re not an overt family of poets,” Rahimyar says with a smile. The family did, however, provide inspiration for Rahimyar’s writing. “These are my grandfather’s poetry books,” she says, gesturing once more to the bookcase behind her. Among them is the work of renowned Persian poet Rumi. Faced with the oncoming army of Genghis Khan, he fled with his family from what is now Afghanistan, Rahimyar explains. She proudly notes that her father graduated at the top of his class in medical school, and Rahimyar initially thought she’d major in biology and become a pediatric oncologist. But politics, a long-held interest, held sway. “I remember sitting in my first political science courses and thinking, ‘this subject has the room for my anger built in,’” she says. In contrast, philosophy was a revelation. “I can never properly articulate what philosophy has done for me, aside from saying that it undergirds everything I do, including my work as a writer, a political scientist, and as a human being,” she says. Ultimately, she majored in both subjects, and minored in English, which was “inevitable,” she notes. But for some, Rahimyar’s decision to attend Southern was anything but inevitable. She has always been “bookish,” a skyhigh achiever. Folks repeatedly asked, why wasn’t she “at the school three miles down the road?” The more sensitive asked a second question: what was she learning at Southern that she wouldn’t have elsewhere? Rahimyar continues to answer with stories. There are exceptionally talented classmates, often first-generation college students, holding down several jobs and raising families. There are students she tutored through Southern’s Academic Success Center, including some immigrants. “I saw the ways their hands trembled as we started our appointments because they were embarrassed about their accents. But as we went on, I noticed that the trembling stopped . . . And I was also able to see a perseverance that I think defines what education can be at its best in our country — which is empowering those who feel that their voices are not heard,” she says. Rahimyar thrived at Southern, where she was president of the Muslim Students Association and a representative on the 16 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Student Government Association. “I found myself speaking to diplomats at the United Nations or hearing my voice on the loudspeaker across campus,” she says. She held other leadership positions as well and received Southern’s Provost’s Award for Excellence in Research. Rahimyar’s senior thesis shows her propensity for inquiry. She studied the extent of human rights violations within Sovietoccupied Afghanistan and the response, or lack thereof, from the international community. Her research draws on eyewitness reports held in the archives of the Afghanistan Center at Kabul University. These reports are devastating. There are deaths, burnings, chemical weapons. Women and children. Sons and daughters. Often, there are no marked graves. Rahimyar spent the summer between her sophomore and junior years sorting through thousands of pages of these human rights violations, at times, “falling asleep in the midst of names of people who are no longer here,” she says. She carefully wrote each name by hand. She also developed a workable database of some of these lives lost to illuminate trends. “Does this constitute genocide? Why hasn’t international law been able to respond to atrocities of this scale? What can we do moving forward?” she asks. These questions will drive her academic and professional pursuits. For the summer, this meant focusing on justice issues. Building on a previous internship, she was a grant writer with Elena’s Light. The organization provides home-based English as a second language classes as well as health education to refugee and immigrant women and their children. Rahimyar also was an intern with Refugees International, working virtually with the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group “dedicated to improving the lives of displaced people around the world.” The Rhodes Scholarship lets her continue this journey. Ultimately, she hopes to attend law school, ideally through a combined J.D. and Ph.D. program. Her goals: to become a practicing lawyer with a specialization in immigration, refugee law, and asylum while also focusing on legal scholarship. There are, she says, questions in need of answers: How do we define genocide within international law? If not genocide, then what weight do designations such as democide and politicide have? What impact does conferring impunity upon perpetrators of human rights violations have on governmental legitimacy? In the meantime, there is Oxford. Rahimyar recalls close friends breaking down in joyful tears when they heard the news. “I hope you know what it means to know that a Southern student can go toe-to-toe with students from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford,” one told her. She also remembers those times of doubt when her selection as a Rhodes Scholar seemed an impossibility. The application process was different this year, the first time the final interviews were conducted virtually due to COVID-19. But it remained justifiably thorough, requiring, for example, eight formal letters of recommendation. After the initial interviews, some applicants received a callback. “The assumption is that you left a strong enough impression. That you are part of a narrower pool,” says Rahimyar. And, so, at the appointed

continues on page 46

Life has been tremendously challenging, but there’s much to be grateful for. So, we asked Southern students and faculty to tell us about it. But to please, keep it brief. Six words, to be precise.

aster of brevity Ernest Hemingway once reportedly won a $10 bet by writing a

story in six words. The tale — “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” — was never officially attributed to Hemingway and is largely considered an urban legend. But

the six-word memoir continues to inspire and challenge writers today. Author Larry Smith has built a literary dynasty around the idea, creating a successful website, book series, and lecture circuit by asking his followers to reflect on different topics in six words. The concept has caught fire. The New York Times, National Public Radio, and Wired magazine are among those reporting on the phenomenon or seeking their own six-word story submissions. This spring, Southern Alumni Magazine followed suit and invited students and faculty to express their gratitude. We narrowed our focus by reaching out to faculty in the departments of Communication, Media, and Screen Studies; English, including the M.F.A. in Creative Writing program; and Journalism. Their creativity is shared in the following pages.

Fall 2021 | 17

Overwhelmed by the Generosity and Sacrifice.

Baby shoes for sale, thoroughly worn.  Michael Rabuffo, English major music minor

 Matthew Mainieri, dual majors in special educationelementary education collaborative and liberal studies (concentrations in English and history)

Which Southern mask matches my outfit?  Elizabeth Mercado, English major (concentration in professional writing); co-editor-in-chief of Crescent Magazine

Exposure to our own visual truths.  Jason Edwards, ’21, journalism major and public relations minor; former photo editor of Crescent Magazine; multimedia coordinator and community builder, Southern’s Office of Integrated Communications & Marketing

Six feet: great blue heron’s wingspan.  Rachel Furey, assistant professor of English

BOOKMARKS: TURN TO THESE PAGES FOR MORE WRITING BY SOUTHERN STUDENTS.

18 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Newborn life embracing grateful great grandparents.  Maria Barresi, English major (concentration in creative writing)

My son Sebastian changed my life.  Martine Senecal, interdisciplinary studies major (concentrations in communication and psychology)

Soulmates Music Innovation Love Education Serenity  Bonnie Farley-Lucas, ’87, professor of communication, media, and screen Studies

Crescent Magazine Available in print and online, this award-winning magazine is created for students, by students. CrescentMagazine.org

Grateful for finding love after abuse.

Call my name a fabled story.

 Madison Conklin, elementary education major

Today. 5,384 days past “miracle drug.”  Teresa Twomey, graduate student in the M.F.A. in creative writing program

Life began when I seized control.  Michele Furnaros, English major (concentration in creative writing)

The masked man tells a story.

Never got to see my […] again.

 Shawn Contreras, English major (concentration in creative writing)

 Lupita Barajas, ’21, English major (concentration in creative writing) and minors in film studies and honors transdisciplinary concepts and perspectives

And suddenly, my arms became wings.

Black car. Careful embrace. Drive away.  Madeline S. Scharf, English major (concentration in literature) and minor in journalism

Folio Southern’s undergraduate literary and arts magazine features poetry, art, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Folio2021.org and SouthernCT.edu/folio

 Brianna Savage, ’21, senior general studies major (concentration in health and community service)

 Genevieve Jaser, ’21, interdisciplinary studies major (concentrations in English and communication); former editor-in-chief of Folio

Noctua Review The annual arts and literary journal is produced by Southern’s M.F.A. in Creative Writing program. Launched in 2008, it is the brainchild of Lois Lake Church, M.A. ’08. NoctuaReview.com

Southern News The student-run college newspaper is available in print and online. TheSouthernNews.org

Fall 2021 | 19

Graduates wore their hearts on their mortar boards at Southern’s ﬁve in-person commencement ceremonies. The events were held on campus May 18 and 19 at Jess Dow Field to recognize graduates of the Class of 2021 and the Class of 2020, which was limited to a virtual celebration last year due to COVID-19. MORE AT: 20 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

go.SouthernCT.edu/scsu2021

Fall 2021 | 21

THROUGH

Their Eyes

T’S A SCORCHING-HOT DAY IN PHOENIX, and attorney

Lelia Adams, ’02, has just completed a call with an exhausted new client. “They told me they’d talked to 15 lawyers, but I was the first who listened and gave them hope,” says Adams. Their faith is well placed. Adams is the principal attorney at Essien Law Group, which focuses exclusively on immigration law. It’s a specialized but broad practice with expertise in employment-based immigration, student visas, deportation defense, citizenship and naturalization, asylum, the Violence Against Women Act, and more. Adams’ influence also is far reaching; immigration law is primarily dealt with at the federal level, meaning she can practice throughout the country. “I don’t believe in flouting the American system,” she says. “But I am always touched [by the personal stories], and if there is a capable rule I can find to help clients, I am all for that.” The law office’s tagline — “An Immigrant Helping Other Immigrants” — underscores her personal connection. “I have been through this immigration hell on my own. That’s one reason people seek me out,” she says.

A family story As a young child living in Nigeria, Adams would gaze in awe at the planes soaring overhead. “I thought America was in the sky,” she says with a laugh. “Of course, the plane lands. But as a child I couldn’t comprehend it. It was a fantasy.” Adams grew up in a small village without electricity or running tap water. Life was directed by the seasons. There are two in Nigeria — rainy and dry — and during the latter, she would walk 1½ miles a day to a stream for water. She also gathered firewood and helped with farming. The family raised much of their own food: cassava, taro, and vegetables. Village life was punctuated by community gatherings. But school most sharply shaped the rhythm of life. “My dad would say, ‘The only way out of here is education,’” says Adams. Based solely on merit, she was accepted into a prestigious, highly selective secondary school. Still, her father sought more for his children, hiring local teachers to provide extra preparation in English language and mathematics. “My dad hated idleness. Even when going to fetch water, I was expected to be studying. He would buy a newspaper and tell me to summarize it. It was very annoying,” she says with a laugh. “But I learned how to write summaries.” She also developed a fierce determination, which would serve her well when the family immigrated to the United States. Adams’ mother had traveled to the U.S. first, formally seeking asylum. Then the door was opened to the entire family when Adams’ father won the “Green Card Lottery,” officially known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Administered by the U.S. Department of State, the program provides up to 50,000 immigrant visas annually. Only those from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States are eligible to register, with the winners selected randomly. Adams’ father was among them, beating the tremendous odds and qualifying his wife and children to come to the U.S. with him.

“I still never thought it would happen,” says Adams. “America was for the rich.” But the church raised money to help pay for plane tickets. In 1996, after a 16-hour flight, Adams arrived in the U.S. at the age of 16. There, she received an immediate lesson on perspective from a friendly stranger. Hearing Adams’ accent, she asked where she was from. “Africa,” explained Adams, prompting more questions. “How did you get here?” asked the woman. “I won the lottery,” she answered — leaving the woman to mistakenly imagine the family’s multi-million-dollar winnings.

Living the dream Adams settled with her family in Middletown, Conn., adapting to life as an American teen. “I vowed to work extremely hard. I was beyond determined,” she says. She attended high school, worked as a cashier at Stop & Shop, and started saving for a car. Snow was a revelation as were occasional unkind comments. She recalls classmates repeatedly asking her to say “water,” then laughing at her pronunciation. “I hated it,” she says. But out of all the hardships and challenges, only one would prove disastrous: Adams’ mother’s critical misunderstanding of one aspect of the immigration process. When her husband won the Green Card Lottery, she had been told there was no need to continue with her asylum case and missed the final hearing. The advice was wrong, and she ultimately was deported. Thinking back, Adams says she was driven to succeed since childhood. “But the focus on immigration law came from my mom being deported and the single goal of bringing her back to the U.S. no matter what,” she says.

Becoming a lawyer Adams enrolled at Southern where she majored in political science, enhancing her education by interning with U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and joining the university’s Pre-Law Society. It was an active group, she says, providing comradery and needed advice on everything from LSAT prep to admissions interviews. “The people at Southern are very remarkable,” says Adams. After graduation, she worked for Verizon Wireless as a coordinator in the Department of Continuity Marketing and Operations and began laying the groundwork to attend law school, which she financed on her own. At 26, she enrolled at Stetson University College of Law in Tampa Bay, Fl., earning a juris doctorate and receiving honors. She also studied common law and the law of restitution at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. “Nigeria was colonized by the British. . . . They have similar systems,” she says of her desire to learn about international immigration. (Further illustrating her drive to succeed, Adams launched a side enterprise, Muesliikon, after discovering the health benefits of muesli cereal while studying in England. It’s now sold online and at several retailers, including AJ’s Fine Foods in Arizona.)

continues on page 46 Fall 2021 | 23

THE

Good

Fight

Widely recognized as one of the top plaintiff lawyers in the U.S. Mike Arias, ’81, recently helped clients reach a historic $842.4 million settlement in one of the most high-proﬁle sexual-abuse cases in the nation. By Natalie Missakian MAX S. GERBER PHOTO

RESH OUT OF PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY’S LAW SCHOOL IN 1984,

Mike Arias, ‘81, landed a plum position as a defense attorney with a prestigious New York firm. But his work on an aviation disaster case quickly soured him on the job. “I was sitting there trying to make arguments about why this person’s life wasn’t worth what people were arguing it was worth, and I thought, ‘I’m on the wrong side here,’” he says. “I didn’t want to defend corporations. I wanted to advocate for people.” And that’s what he’s been doing for the last 35 years. Today, Arias — the founding and managing partner of Arias, Sanguinetti, Wang & Torrijos (ASWT) — is recognized as one of the top plaintiff lawyers in the country. He’s led numerous class actions and other lawsuits against some of the nation’s largest corporations and institutions, including sexual assault cases against major universities, the Catholic Church, and the Boy Scouts of America.

continues 24 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

March, Arias helped obtain a record $842.4 He says unlike victims in other types of crimes, sexualmillion settlement in a high-profile sexual abuse assault survivors often stay quiet about their abuse out of case filed by more than 700 women against the shame or embarrassment. “They hold it within themselves, University of Southern California (USC) over and it can be devastating,” Arias says. allegations against its longtime campus gynecologist Dr. The lawsuit alleged USC knew about problems with George Tyndall. It’s believed to be the largest personal injury Tyndall for years but mishandled the complaints.“People settlement ever against a university and the largest known would report things, and it wouldn’t work its way up the settlement in a sexual abuse case in U.S. history. (By chain of command, or it was just ignored,” he says. comparison, Penn State shelled out $109 million in the Jerry Makings of an advocate Sandusky sex abuse case, while Michigan State settled with victims of former university physician and USA Gymnastics Arias attributes his success in the courtroom to a knack doctor Larry Nassar for $500 million.) for strategy and problem solving. “I’m not a book-smart Combined with an earlier class-action lawsuit, USC’s total person,” he insists, degrees and accolades notwithstanding. payout is more than $1.1 billion — a historically high figure “People come to me with a situation, and I find a way to get that further illustrates the through it. And I think it all comes significance of the aforementioned from my life experiences,” he says. $842.4 settlement reached by ASWT The oldest of five siblings in a and co-counsel. Consider the figures blended family, Arias was born in outlined by ASWT in a news San Diego and never knew his announcement about the victory. A father. He was raised by two separate class-action settlement, stepfathers (both good Navy men, negotiated by other law firms on he says) and a mother who worked behalf of more than 18,000 women, full time at a bank to help provide resulted in a $215 million settlement. for the family. (In its news release, ASWT estimates The military lifestyle meant those victims who sought moving often, so Arias learned early compensation in the highest tier on to rely on himself. When he was will receive a “paltry $96,000 on 12 and living in Key West, Fla., he average.”) In contrast, those talked his way into a job on a shrimp represented by ASWT and coboat — despite being too young to counsel — the 700-plus women who work legally — because he wanted opted out of the class-action lawsuit to make his own money. — will be entitled to an average After stops in Florida, Virginia, recovery of $1.2 million. and South Carolina, the family Arias counts the case as one of moved to Groton, Conn., during the most impactful of his career — Arias’ junior year of high school, — Mike Arias, ’81 and not just because of the jawwhen his stepfather was assigned dropping payout. “I think it’s going to the Navy submarine base there. to be life-changing for many of these Arias initially stayed behind, living for women,” Arias, 62, says during a several months at the home of his Zoom interview last spring from his high school football coach. “I was so home in Playa del Rey, Calif. “As I’ve learned in many of tired of moving. I told my parents, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not going these sexual assault cases, the experience doesn’t go away. It with you,’” he says, although he ultimately boarded a bus and lingers with you for the rest of your life. But what I think helps headed north to rejoin the family. is when there is an open understanding of what happened. Arias says he started to flourish once he arrived at When there is an ability to say something about it,” he says. Southern, where he majored in business administration with Arias was one of two lawyers appointed by a judge to a concentration in economics. He played football for the coordinate and litigate the case against USC, which involved Fighting Owls freshman year, but when knee problems multiple law firms around the country, including his Los dashed his athletics aspirations, he threw himself into a new Angeles-based firm. His firm represented 138 of the women. passion: school politics. “I ended up running for class His advocacy for the victims began even before the case president my sophomore year [and won], and then I got went to trial. Arias successfully pushed for a state law that involved in the Student Council,” says Arias, who also temporarily lifted California’s statute of limitations on sexual managed the student union and was president of the Alpha assault lawsuits, clearing the way for more of the women to Gamma Chi service fraternity and the People-to-People Club, sue. “Some of these victims were from [incidences that took which supported Southern’s international students and place in] the 1990s, so many were facing that statute of explored life abroad. limitation defense,” he says. continues on page 47

“People come to me

with a situation and I ﬁnd a way to get through it. And I think it all comes from my life

experiences.”

26 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Look Whooooo’s Talking

What happens when Southern runs a photo contest for Day of Caring? Answer: You raise critically needed funds for students and get powerful shots like this. More than $628,550 was raised during the Day of Caring campaign thanks to 1,753 generous donors.

Posts, ’Grams, Tweets, and More

On April 1, a tongue-in-cheek video about the “New School of Metal” prompted a Southern graduate turned music scholar to reach out from across the pond, where she’s a Ph.D. candidate at the University College London. She’s traveled as far as Helsinki to speak on the topic. Amanda Kathleen About time my alma mater (of two degrees!) got up to speed. I am an SCSU Owl and a metal music studies scholar! No April Fool’s here!

One of the happiest signs of the times? President Joe Bertolino hand delivering free congratulatory lawn signs to some members of the Class of 2021.

From wanderlust to an overwhelming desire to hug grandma, the Southern community shares some of the reasons they got vaccinated. #getvaccinated #COVIDfree

FACEBOOK • SouthernCT • 27,920+ followers

Join the Conversation! Follow Southern on:

TWITTER • @SCSU • 8,330+ followers INSTAGRAM • @southernscsu • 6,400+ followers LINKED IN • Southern Connecticut State University • 53,490+ followers TIKTOK • @SCSU

Connect with President Joe Bertolino: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

@SCSUTopOwl

Fall 2021 | 27

John Torello, ’91, M.S. ’97, and his family have completely revitalized Connecticut’s historic Old Bishop Farm into a growing destination for families and foodies. By Natalie Missakian

MBLAZONED IN LARGE BLOCK LETTERS ACROSS THE SIDE OF OLD BISHOP FARM’S COUNTRY STORE IS A SINGLE WORD: “BELIEVE.” Indeed, for John

Torello, ’91, M.S. ’97, and his wife Carolyn, it took a leap of faith to bring the neglected 200-plus-year-old farm on Route 70 in Cheshire, Conn., back to life. Not to mention vision, a little trial and error, and a lot of sweat. But as Torello walks the 15-acre property on a bright, breezy morning last May — the fruits of his labor all around him — it’s clear this is where he’s supposed to be. He proudly points out the flowering apple trees he and Carolyn planted themselves (300 that first year) and the pond that was hidden behind mounds of tangled brush. He plans to build a footbridge across it soon, maybe get some ducks. “It’s a 10-year project,” says Torello. He mentions adding a barn, unfazed by the work to come. “I love it here,” he says. Torello jokes that it took him 30 years to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. He grew up in New Haven’s Westville neighborhood, less than a mile from Southern. So, his decision to transfer there from the University of Connecticut’s Waterbury branch midway through his first year was like a homecoming. “I still have people that I met at Southern who I talk to regularly — some daily,” he says. After graduating with a liberal studies degree and minors in finance and marketing, he landed his first job with an insurance company, but found the work unsatisfying. A college friend who worked at a local psychiatric hospital suggested he come work with him. “You’d be great at this,” the friend told him, planting the seed for his first career switch. Torello took a job there as a psychiatric assistant and returned to Southern to earn a master’s degree in school psychology. That eventually led to a position counseling juveniles for Connecticut’s criminal justice division, where Torello has been for the last 20 years, now in an administrative role. “I like that job, but I knew that I still wanted to do something else,” he says. In 2015, what started as a simple real estate investment led to his latest career leap to farm owner/operator. Torello comes from agricultural stock — his grandfather and great-grandfather owned an apple farm and cider mill in New Haven at the turn of the 20th century — but he hadn’t planned to carry on the family legacy. Until recently, the only products of Torello’s green thumb were the peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants he grew in his backyard garden. His connection to the iconic Cheshire farm was solely as a customer. “We’d come here often because we live so close,” he says. “My kids loved coming here.”

30 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

[clockwise from top]

1 Carolyn and John Torello, ‘91, M.S. ‘97, pose near the farm’s country store. The family’s mantra — Believe — is written in 4-foot-tall letters outside the store and stands as a tribute to their late son Michael.

2 Apple trees have a fairy-tale shimmer in the spring after being sprayed with kaolin clay, a natural way to repel pests and protect trees from hot temperatures.

3 A peaceful, happy moment between John and Michael. 4 Carolyn dreamed of being a baker since childhood. She previously was a teacher — a career she also loved — and can often be seen explaining the baking process to children watching at the wide viewing window.

5 The farm offers pick-your-own berries, cut-your-own flower and herb gardens, and fruit and vegetables.

Fall 2021 | 31

ut when the farm changed hands several years ago, the new owners struggled to keep up the property. They stopped growing fruit and started selling apples from other farms, and some longtime visitors stopped coming, says Torello. Around the same time, Torello had begun looking for an investment property. He’d made money flipping houses after college and was itching to get back into real estate. So, he approached the farm owners with a deal to buy the land and rent it back to them. “We’ll get the rental income we want, and you’ll get to keep your business,” he proposed. “It was awesome for a year — and then they broke their lease and moved,” he says. It was an unplanned turning point for the Torello family, who shut down the farm and embarked on a massive two-year renovation. They bulldozed hundreds of old and dead apple trees and replaced them with new ones, renovated the greenhouse and gardens, and completely revamped the store interior (sections date from the 1780s) before reopening in the fall of 2018. The couple’s decision to tackle each challenge was inspired, in part, by their son Michael, who died on July 30 at the age of 15. Michael had severe cerebral palsy that precluded employment opportunities; his parents had hoped the farm would bring enjoyment and a sense of purpose. “People need a place to work and to be a part of something,” Torello says. Until his condition worsened in 2019, Michael could often be seen with his parents inside the store, greeting customers or, perhaps, taste testing ice cream. Michael enjoyed the farm. As a family that strives to promote inclusivity, the Torellos welcome young people with disabilities to volunteer to do jobs around the farm; they only ask that they bring a coach. Above all, the farm is a family affair. Daughter Julia, 19, assists with baking. Joey, 17, and Matthew, 15, help outdoors when they are not in school. There is plenty of work for all. In step with the renovation, the family adopted a new business model, switching from a fall-only venture to one that operates almost year-round (April-December). To attract visitors during the summer, they added an ice cream parlor and started growing peaches, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. They planted cut-your-own flowers and herbs gardens, and offer walking tours and harvest days. Fall is the farm’s “bread-and-

continues on page 47

[clockwise from bottom left]

1 The farm was incorporated in 1809 and remains steeped in history — from the country store’s newly exposed original ceiling beams to the cozy fireplace.

2 The repaired greenhouse was moved to enhance the farm’s stunning vistas.

3 John Torello shares a tray of bakery treats. 4 Zinnias star in the cut-your-own flower garden. 5 During the 2020-21 academic year, six people with special needs volunteered alongside their coaches. “Did a good job. Champion!” says Bill [pictured], who comes twice a week with his volunteer coach Dave.

6 In addition to many traditional ice cream flavors, there are seasonal offerings. In mid-August, the ice cream menu included fluffer nutter, sweet corn, and fresh peach.

Fall 2021 | 33

SUPPORTING SOUTHERN ■

Leading the Way A $500,000 gift establishes the School of Business Endowment for Leadership Development. By Villia Struyk

LINDY LEE GOLD’S COMMITMENT TO SOUTHERN IS INSPIRED BY A CORE BELIEF. “Public education is the

vehicle for breaking the cycle of poverty,” says Gold, who has dedicated her life, both professionally and personally, to serving the community. In February, a $500,000 gift made through the Amour Propre Fund furthered Gold’s commitment by establishing the School of Business Endowment for Leadership Development at Southern. It is the largest contribution ever made in support of business students at the university. Gold, who is president of Amour Propre, made the gift to enhance and expand programs offered through the Leadership Center in the School of Business. These include the Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Program as well as IMPACT Greater New Haven, which places Southern business majors as interns at nonprofit organizations, with the university covering the cost of students’ stipends. Looking forward, the fund will support other leadership initiatives such as a Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program; a Student Leadership Council, uniting business majors with community and business leaders; and global experience programs. In recognition of this visionary donation, Southern will establish the Lindy Lee Gold Business Leadership Suite, generously supported by the Amour Propre Fund, within the new planned home for the School of Business. The 60,000-sq. ft. building is slated to open in 2023, with a ground-breaking ceremony held in September. Southern hopes to inspire others to contribute to the fund, ultimately raising an endowment of up to $2.5 million to support future leadership programs. The impact of Gold’s support is far-reaching. More than 1,100 undergraduates and nearly 125 master’s degree candidates are enrolled in the School of Business. In the past 30 years, 8,000 alumni have completed their degrees through the business school — with about 85 percent remaining in Connecticut to live and work after graduation. The gift also comes at a pivotal time. Southern’s School of Business is in the candidacy stage for initial accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Accreditation is a premier level of distinction held by only five percent of business schools worldwide. 34 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Change for Good

step with Southern’s commitment to social justice, the School of Business curriculum focuses on sustainability and a commitment to “doing good while doing well.” The goal: to encourage students to give back to their communities as they become well-rounded professionals. Gold’s beliefs match this commitment. “Education is a great equalizer,” she says, referencing the importance of early childhood development and the advantage to children who enter preschool knowing thousands of words compared to those who know hundreds. “The same thing happens when you look at social and leadership skills, mentorship, and even family connections,” says Gold, who serves on both the SCSU Foundation Board of Directors and the Business Advisory Council of the School of Business. “When our students graduate, I want to make sure they are on a more level playing field. . . . Education doesn’t just change the career trajectory and life of the person involved. It alters the paradigm for generations to come.”

Lindy Lee Gold [center, in green sweater] is a hands-on philanthropist. Students from the School of Business worked with her to help furnish transitional housing in New Haven.

Gold, one of four sisters, was raised in the Elm City. The family’s home was on Ellsworth Avenue, around the corner from Southern, and Gold attended Hamden Hall Country Day School before enrolling at Emerson College. Both of her parents were prominent attorneys. Her father, Marvin Gold, was also a real estate developer. “He did a lot to bring people with low incomes into home ownership,” says Gold of the man who served on numerous community boards, sometimes alongside her. “It’s in my DNA,” she says of her parents’ commitment to social justice. She recalls a family road trip to look at colleges for her eldest sister. The four “Gold Girls” and their parents drove from Connecticut to Florida. “In a sedan. Not a wagon. It’s amazing we were still talking to each other at the end,” she says. Even then, she knew the family’s trek had a deeper meaning. “It was to bear witness to the segregation and the pain. The further we went, the more you saw that hatred, which was not only directed against Blacks but against

Jews as well,” says Gold, who remains active in the Jewish community. The late Rabbi Robert E. Goldburg, who led Congregation Miskan Israel in Hamden until 1986, was also a guiding light. A vocal supporter of social justice, Rabbi Goldburg was arrested in 1961 alongside Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at a civil rights protest in Georgia — and he welcomed Rev. King and Stokely Carmichael as guest speakers at the synagogue. “Justice was the basic tenet of everything he spoke about or taught. I don’t know any other way,” says Gold of his influence. She also points to a driving Jewish principle as shaping her actions. “It’s called tikkun olam, which means repair your world,” she says. An early entrepreneur, Gold owned a wholesale and retail travel business in addition to a construction company, all of which she eventually sold. Her second career drew on this business experience as well as leadership skills honed working with numerous philanthropic organizations, including some she Fall 2021 | 35

SUPPORTING SOUTHERN ■

From left: Lindy Lee Gold, president of the Amour Propre Fund, presents a $500,000 ceremonial check to Ellen Durnin, dean emeritus of the School of Business.

established in New Haven. Since 1998, Gold has worked at the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. A senior development specialist, she is responsible for business retention, recruitment, development, and expansion, and sits on all work-related boards connected with job training, workforce investment, and education as well. Gold’s philanthropic leadership efforts also are extensive — too numerous to cite in this article. Her commitment is heartfelt and hands-on. In New Haven, she’s recently worked with the nonprofit organization ’r Kids on a program for teenage girls in foster care; joined forces with Christian Community Action to renovate and help furnish 18 apartments for families in need of transitional housing; and provided critical support to Y2Y, a student-led organization for homeless youth, age 18 to 24. At Southern, she previously provided a pivotal $150,000 grant to support the Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Program in the School of Business. The program was conceived by Judite Vamvakides, ’98, M.A. ’18, associate vice president of alumni and donor engagement, who developed it as a thesis project while completing a master’s degree in women’s studies at Southern. Ellen Durnin, dean of the School of Business at the time, served as Vamvakides’ thesis adviser and collaborator on the program. Gold’s funding took the pilot program to the next level. It includes guest speakers, workshops, and seminars; informational sessions on topics ranging from salary negotiation to networking; and even the creation of a virtual toolkit, equipped with webinars and more. The latter was so successful it was shared with all School of Business majors who graduated in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, an optional one-semester course is offered each spring semester, led by Yue (Christine) Liu, assistant professor of marketing. Liu, a first-generation immigrant from China, notes the transforming nature of 36 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

the program. “This opportunity helped me explore my potential as well,” says Liu of her heightened role as a mentor. “It’s the same for our students, who have found their confidence, a support network, and even a new job. Often, they are surprised by their potential and capabilities. It’s the first time they see themselves as future leaders.”

hat was certainly the case for Mariam Noorzad, ’21, who graduated in May with a degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting. “I literally had no confidence in myself. My biggest fear was not being able to find a job because I couldn’t get past the interview stage,” says Noorzad, reflecting on her early college days. She had left the workforce for several years to care for her two young daughters and signed on to the Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Program looking for guidance and support — both of which she found in abundance. “I learned how to interview, how to negotiate my salary, and how to network and create long-lasting connections,” she says. She also mastered LinkedIn, and inspired by successful women guest speakers, started a job search before graduating. She received about a dozen job offers — and, while still a junior, was hired to work for Big 4 accounting firm Ernst & Young after graduation. “This is surely something I didn’t realize I would ever be able to do,” says Noorzad. “She represents my goals for the program,” sums Gold. Dean Emeritus Durnin has repeatedly witnessed similar transformations. “Our students are smart, hardworking, and resourceful. They also usually have multiple responsibilities and complicated lives — and they are putting it together and managing it all,” she says. According to data from the 2019-2020 academic year, about 30 percent of Southern’s undergraduate population

continues on page 47

SPACES & PLACES IN NEW HAVEN ■

OWL TERRITORY

NEW HAVEN

EW HAVEN is located

on the center of Connecticut’s 618 miles of coastline* — providing countless opportunities for hands-on research. Undergraduate and graduate students regularly collaborate with faculty on projects conducted through the Werth

Center for Coastal and Marine Studies at Southern, which is based in the new science building and supported by a $3 million grant from the Werth Family Foundation. Student scientists have studied everything from heavy-metal contamination of waterways to coastal erosion caused by

hurricanes to the effects of acidification on northern coral. (Yes, there’s coral in Long Island Sound!) Another Southern initiative, Project Blue Hub spotlights the “blue economy” — defined by the World Bank as the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth

while maintaining a healthy ecosystem. The Project Blue team is dedicated to creating a Blue Economy Center focused on research and innovation in New Haven. Among the group’s first efforts: supporting expansion of the locally grown kelp industry by finding alternative niche markets.

*National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fall 2021 | 37

OWL UPDATE ■

by John Rosengren

IKE MANY PEOPLE WHO HIT RETIREMENT EARLIER THAN EXPECTED, JACQUES CESAIRE, ‘11, WASN’T SURE WHAT

Jacques Cesaire, ’11 Assistant Defensive Line Coach Buffalo Bills

38 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

TO DO NEXT. What does a 31-year-old man do for an encore after a nine-year career playing in the NFL? Answer: Return to the NFL. This fall, Cesaire, now 41, begins his second season as the Buffalo Bills assistant defensive line coach. But his path from the San Diego Chargers defensive line to the sideline wasn’t an obvious one. Thanksgiving weekend, 2012, the year after his retirement, Cesaire found himself back in Massachusetts, watching his Gardner High School football team, something he hadn’t been able to do while playing in the NFL and at Southern, where he was a first team NCAA Division II All-American. He was mesmerized by the action — not on the field but on the sideline — observing his former coach Walt Dubzinski Jr. “I’m watching this 72year-old guy run around in the freezing cold, in short sleeves, chasing refs, motivating players,” Cesaire

says. “I thought, that’s fantastic. He’s so full of life, giving back to life. He’s doing the things I love to do.” That planted the seed. It took root in 2014 when his older brother, Carmy, the offensive coordinator at La Jolla Country Day School, a private school in California, invited Cesaire to be the defensive coordinator. The brothers, who had been teammates at Gardner, led La Jolla to the section championship. An offer from the University of San Diego to be the defensive line coach followed, a position Cesaire held from 2015-2019. Beginning in 2014, he also did a series of summer coaching internships through the Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, and Carolina Panthers. Several past interns in the program — Tony Dungy, Leslie Frazier, Lovie Smith, Mike Tomlin — went on to become head coaches in the NFL. In February 2020, Cesaire got a big break when he was invited to interview with the Bills for the assistant defensive line coaching spot. He’d gotten to know Bills head coach Sean McDermott in 2016 when he was interning with the Panthers, and McDermott was their

defensive coordinator. McDermott had witnessed Cesaire’s skills, which include attention to detail, a positive mentality, and the ability to motivate. Cesaire’s days on the field predisposed him to coaching as well. “As a player I was big into details of the position, the technique, motivation, and the process of preparing for a game,” he says. Still, he had a lot to learn, from a new playbook to installing defensive packages tailored to a new opponent each week. COVID-19 complicated matters. Cesaire had to figure out how to keep his players’ attention during Zoom meetings and, once they met in person, remind them to keep their masks on. “I like to keep my mouth shut and learn as much as I can and then apply it,” he says. He credits several of his past coaches with teaching him along the way. Among them are Southern’s Mike Dodge, ’83, M.S. ’93, who was defensive coordinator when Cesaire played for the Owls, and Rich Cavanaugh, then head coach, who often had to sculpt a team with players passed over by Div. I football programs. [Cavanaugh retired in January 2014 as the winningest (170 victories) and longest tenured head

“

There’s nothing better than impacting another human being’s life.

coach in Southern history. Dodge is now athletic academic support coordinator. “I learned how to develop players from them,” Cesaire says. “Southern prepared me for the NFL, to work hard and be motivated.” The fruit of his labor often goes unnoticed by the casual fan on Sundays. “They don’t realize how much detail is involved with the defensive line. It’s not just guys smashing heads with one another,” he says. “There’s footwork, hand placement, individual blocking schemes, beating someone one-onone, where the eyes go — and that’s just first and second downs.” He’s grateful to remain involved in the game beyond his playing days. “I love football — what it does for young men. It’s a microcosm of life, with its ups and downs,” he says. “You have to learn how to respond to what happens to you.” Cesaire hasn’t forgotten his past, which underscores his motivation to give back. His parents both emigrated from the poverty of Haiti. They worked hard but didn’t always have the money needed to provide

”

for Cesaire and his four siblings. The school delivered a dinner basket at Thanksgiving. The church gave them toys at Christmas. “Those are things I remember,” he says. “I’m passionate about impacting another person’s life, whether it be through coaching or charity.” He and his wife, Jill [Murray] Cesaire, ‘03, whom he met at Southern, and their three children, Viviana, 12; Desmond, 9; and Cassius, 6, still reside in the San Diego area, where they have made an impact through various charitable works, from supporting a school for homeless children to making hospital visits. The United Way honored him in 2008 for his work in the community. The Cesaire family also has generously supported Southern’s football program through the years — and Cesaire has returned to campus to meet with the players. On May 27, 2011, he and his family returned to New Haven for a more personal reason. It was commencement day, and Cesaire was among those crossing the stage to receive an undergraduate

— JACQUES CESAIRE, ’11

degree. Years ago, after completing his senior playing season, he had left Southern several courses shy of graduating after signing with sports agent Joe Linta. It was a solid plan for the then student-athlete. Cesaire joined the Panthers in May 2003, launching his NFL career, but he always intended to complete his degree — and ultimately did so, finishing the needed few courses in the spring 2011 semester. “My mom always preached the importance of going to college, as well as finishing what you start,” he says of receiving his degree, adding that doing so was one of his proudest achievements. As he spends more time with the Bills, an upwardly mobile team which won its division and advanced to the NFC Championship game last season, Cesaire is looking for ways to get involved with community giving in Buffalo. He also wants to keep helping players, maybe even one day as a head coach. “I hope I can coach for the next 30 years,” he says. “There’s nothing better than shaping another human being’s life.” n

[clockwise from left] • Jacques Cesaire, ’11, participates in Southern’s commencement ceremony, with his daughter, Viviana, and his wife, Jill. • Showing them how it’s done, Cesaire draws on his years of experience as an NFL player. At Southern, he was an All American and the Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year. He was inducted in Southern’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020.

Fall 2021 | 39

ALUMNI NEWS n

The World’s a Stage a community, and I just wanted to dive headfirst into it,” she says. Armed with an associate degree from Housatonic, she transferred to Southern, where she maintained her theater focus and, two years later, graduated magna cum laude. Along the way, she continued to perform. Her most memorable Southern role, she says: portraying Eurydice in Polaroid Stories by Naomi lizuka under the watchful eye of Raphael Massie, ’99, who directed the show. “He really helped me step into this challenging role and embody it fully. I came out a stronger actor than when we first began

rehearsals,” she says of Massie, who is an CTOR AND SINGER

Music. In addition, she performed

artistic associate at the esteemed

BETZABETH CASTRO, ’18,

recently in New England with Legacy

Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

WAS NAMED A JOANNE

WOODWARD INTERN AT WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE IN CONNECTICUT

— one of only three to

receive the honor in 2021. The summer program, which is regarded among the nation’s preeminent theater training opportunities, is highly competitive with more than 120 applicants this year — an acceptance rate of 2.5 percent. As the Playhouse’s education intern,

Theater, ReBirth Arts Collective,

Castro advises students majoring in

Westport Country Playhouse, and Advice

theatre to test the waters. “Dabble in

for the Players.

everything theater has to offer,” she says.

Castro is also an educational assis-

“If you’re an actor, obviously perform,

tant at Housatonic Community College’s

but try other things, too — like being

Writing Center. Housatonic is where she

crew, helping with the set, stage man-

first felt the lure of the stage. She credits

agement, design, writing, directing, etc.

Geoffrey Sheehan, professor of theater

Experience everything that theater has to

arts, with inspiring her to study the craft.

offer at least once, and you will definitely

“He showed me what theater can do for

collect a lot of transferable skills.”

Castro worked to support educational productions, programs, and events, drawing on her experience on stage and

Southern — along with its sister Connecticut State Colleges

working with students. In June 2021, she

and Universities — participates in the Transfer Tickets program.

starred as Maria in Fairfield Center Stage’s production of The Sound of

Start with an associate degree. End with a bachelor’s degree. MORE AT:

SouthernCT.edu/transfer-student-services

CALLING ALL OWLS Southern holds alumni events throughout the year — with programs on the arts, athletics, lectures, how-tos, and more. Update your contact information to receive the digital alumni newsletter with invitations to alumni events and other alumni-related news. Use the same form to share news in the Alumni Notes section of Southern Magazine. TELL US ABOUT IT AT: SouthernCT.edu/alumni/update-alumni-information.

40 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Alumni Association Welcomes Board Members

THE VOTES HAVE BEEN TALLIED,

and the SCSU Alumni Association Board of Directors

is pleased to welcome its newest members. Thank you to the Owls who voted by mail and computer ballot. More at: SouthernCT.edu/alumni/board-of-directors. A native of New Haven, LaShanté Kelley-James, ’04, M.S. ’14, was reelected to a second three-year term and also named president of the board. She is the assistant principal at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn., and previously taught high school English for 11 years at Riverside Education Academy in New Haven. She was named “Teacher of the Year” at Riverside eight times. At Southern, she earned an undergraduate degree in English education and a master’s degree in political science with a concentration in urban education. Extremely active as a student, she was a resident adviser, president of the Black Student Union, and Miss SCSU, and chartered the NAACP chapter. She also earned an additional certificate and sixthyear degree from Sacred Heart University. Grace Mukupa, ’02, is the senior associate of student success initiatives at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, supporting the 37 American Indian tribally controlled colleges. She received a Fulbright Fellowship to Tajikistan and was a Peace Corps volunteer in North Macedonia. Born in Zambia, Mukupa was raised in Japan and Belgium. Now a U.S. citizen, she speaks nine languages. At Southern, she was a dual major (political science and journalism) and went on to earn an MBA from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego, and a doctorate in international development from SUNY at Buffalo. In July 2021, she was inducted as president of the Crystal City-Pentagon chapter of the Rotary International Club in Virginia. Adwoa Ansah Rey, ’05, brings more than a decade of government, corporate, and nonprofit experience to the board. She is the president and chief executive officer of Women of Praize, an organization that provides spiritual support for women in politics. Rey majored in political science at Southern and went on to earn a graduate degree in religious studies from Howard University School of Divinity and a management certificate from Harvard Business School. While attending Southern, she was president of the Programs Council, president of the SCSU chapter of the NAACP, a senator on the Student Government Association, a student representative on the Connecticut State University System Board of Trustees, a resident adviser, and secretary of the Pre-Law Society. Montrel Morrison, ’18, also was recently named to the board, replacing a member who resigned. Morrison is the founder and chief executive officer of Daniel’s Company Youth Leadership Mentoring Organization and an award-winning mentor. While an undergraduate student, he was active in the NAACP, a founding member of BROSE (Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Excellence), and a member of the Multicultural Leadership and Heritage Ball councils.

2021-22 SCSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

LaShanté Kelley-James, ’04, M.S. ’14, President Renee Barnett Terry, ’76, Vice President Karl Stephen Wilson, ’02, Treasurer James “Jimmy” Booth, ’97, Secretary Madison Correia, ’19, M.S. ’20 Angela Hudson Davis, ’88, M.P.H. ’97 Shermaine Edmonds, ’04, MBA ’06 Valencia Goodridge, MBA ’08 Aba Hayford, ’10 Jodi Hill-Lilly, ’88, M.S.W. ’94 Kelly Hope, ’03, M.S. ’10 Debrah Manke, M.S. ’90, 6th Yr. ’17 Dorothy J. Martino, ’54, M.S. ’69 (Emeritus) Andrew “Mo” Marullo, ’10, M.S. ’14 Patricia Miller, ’69, M.S. ’75, 6th Yr. ’81 (Emeritus) Montrel Morrison, ’18 Grace Mukupa, ’02 Judit Vasmatics Paolini, ’73, M.S. ’79, 6th Yr. ’93 Adwoa Ansah Rey, ’05 Philip Robertson, ’66, M.S. ’75 Teresa Sirico, ’70, M.S. ’73 Carolyn Vanacore, ’52, M.S. ’68, 6th Yr. ’73 (Emeritus) Brian West, ’80 Southern Connecticut State University Office of Alumni Relations Alumni House 501 Crescent Street New Haven, CT 06515 Gregory Bernard, ’04, Director BernardG2@SouthernCT.edu Doreen Cammarata-Gilhuly, ’89, Associate Director GilhulyD1@SouthernCT.edu

Fall 2021 | 41

ALUMNI NEWS n

From the Front Lines: Helping Teens Cope

May 19 — approximately expectations — for being social, about children being witnesses to one year after officially having friends, being in a peer group. climate change. Seeing their earning her graduate degree — Being so socially isolated during a time environment changing around them Gretchen Miller Marino, M.S.W. ’20, when they ‘expect’ to be the most and feeling unsettled by it,” says returned to campus to receive her social,” says Marino. Marino. When COVID-19 hit, she diploma at one of five socially While no one could have imagined adapted her thesis midstream. “It felt distanced ceremonies held on campus. the unique challenges posed by important, when our environment (Graduates from the Classes of 2020 COVID-19, Marino says her Southern changed in such an extreme way: from and 2021 were invited to participate. education served her well. In particular, how we learned to how we ate to See page 3.) where we worked. Marino — It was anxiety who’d been inducing! [The recognized the thesis] became previous August much more during an online immediately ceremony because relevant than I of COVID-19 could have restrictions — anticipated,” found this year’s inshe says. person celebration Marino’s all the sweeter. “I family has a need this closure, historically strong and I definitely connection to want to celebrate,” Southern. She she said, during an describes herself interview as the “thirdconducted on generation Zoom a week Gretchen” to before the event. attend the Since university. Her September 2020, mother, Gretchen Marino has worked M. Marino, on the “education completed A tale of three Gretchens: [from left] President Joe Bertolino poses with Gretchen Miller Marino, M.S.W. ’20, and her mother Gretchen M. Marino, M.S. ’90, 6th Yr. ’93. front lines,” as the graduate The graduate’s grandmother, Gretchen M. Fuggi, (not pictured) also holds three in-person social programs in Southern degrees. worker/clinician at education (M.S. the Joshua Center Shoreline School in she lauds Carmela Smith, ’97, M.S.W. ’90, 6th Yr. ’93); her grandmother, Old Saybrook, Conn. Part of Hartford ’07, Ed.D. ’17, assistant professor of Gretchen Fuggi, ’60, M.S. ’69, 6th Yr. Healthcare, it’s a clinical day-treatment social work, for teaching her to adapt. ’92, earned advanced degrees in school for middle to high school “She has worked in a prison, in a reading. (That’s six degrees between students who are struggling with school, in so many unique settings the three women!) mental health challenges but do not and situations as a social worker. And, Initially, Marino planned to require in-patient care. through storytelling and situational work in policy after earning an Marino worked with students ininsight, she prepared us to be good undergraduate degree at Central person throughout the pandemic while social workers during the pandemic. Connecticut State. But a change of also helping some who were fully It still amazes me,” says Marino. heart led her to Southern to focus on remote. She says the school’s decision Marino’s graduate thesis — clinical practice as a graduate student. to stay open was driven by students’ originally focused on helping school “What really matters to me is the needs. “I think it’s been especially children with eco-anxiety — also interaction I have with that one person challenging being a teenager during primed her for the challenges of life that will potentially change their life COVID. I can’t imagine the during COVID-19. “I wrote the first forever. That’s the work I want to do,” expectations — including the personal draft before the pandemic. It was she says.

42 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Alumna Hosts Vice President Harris

OW’S THIS FOR A VIP GUEST?

On March 26, Patrice Farquharson,

M.S. ’85, executive director of the West Haven Child Development Center, hosted Vice President Kamala Harris, who included the center on a state tour highlighting the administration’s American Rescue Plan. It wasn’t the first time Farquharson’s work caught the attention of the White House. In 2012 and 2015, former first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move Initiative” recognized a center-funded program designed to decrease disparities related to nutrition and obesity. Farquharson is a native of West Haven and her connection to the community is ironclad. She’s led the West Haven Child Development Center for 40 years, during which time, she’s secured several million dollars in grants to support multi-service programs

The West Haven Child Development Center hosted Vice President Kamala Harris, (right) pictured with Patrice Farquharson, M.S. ’85, the school’s executive director, and her daughter Julia, who attended the program as an infant and child.

benefiting the community. In recognition of her support of children and families, she’s received numerous accolades, including the President’s Award from the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (2010) and the Outstanding Higher Education Professional Award from the University of Connecticut Neag School of Education (2013). Having earned a Doctor of Education from Nova Southeastern University, she’s also commited to preparing tomorrow’s educators. She’s an associate professor at Post University in the Child Studies

Fore Students!

Southern’s annual Owl Golf Classic returned to the Lake of Isles at Foxwoods Resort Casino on May 24. Proceeds from the event support

Program and was appointed previously

Southern’s athletics

to a two-year term as dean of faculty at

program and

Charter Oak State College.

student-athletes.

Fall 2021 | 43

A L U M NI NO T ES n

Stay Connected

CLARE MEMBIELA, M.L.S. ’87, is a

FOR INVITATIONS TO ALUMNI EVENTS AND RELATED NEWS, PLEASE UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION AT:

SouthernCT.edu/alumni/update-alumniinformation. You may also use the form to submit news for consideration in the Alumni News column in future issues of this magazine. Thank you!

1960s

MICHAEL CONTI, ’65, began working

as a three-dimensional artist in 1962 under the artistic direction of the late David “Doc” Crespi at Southern Connecticut State College, as the institution was then known. Conti’s pottery and sculpture have been showcased throughout the United States and received numerous awards. His works can be seen at mcontistudios.com. LAWRENCE OLSZEWSKI, ’69, was

recognized by the Library Journal (LJ) as the “Reviewer of the Year.” For more than 40 years, he’s written reviews for the LJ, a leading publication for librarians in the U.S. established in 1876.

1970s

JEANNE THIEME, ’73, is a nationally

recognized watercolorist. She operates Pipe Dream Studios from her home in Swanzey, N.H. WILLIAM WALLACH, 6th Yr. ’73, who

coached soccer at Guilford High for more than 20 years, is being recognized for his contributions to the sport and the community. The city is naming The Bill Wallach Soccer Fields in his honor. Wallach previously received a Gold Key Award from the Connecticut Sportswriter’s Alliance, and was the “Connecticut Soccer Coaches Association Coach of the Year” in 1978, as reported in the New Haven Register. CANDACE VESSELLA, ’77, was named

one of six judges of the 2021 Rehoboth Beach Reads short story contest. She is president of the Friends of the Lewes Public Library. Vessella began her career as an intelligence analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency and retired in 2009 as vice president for government relations with BAE Systems, the U.S. subsidiary of an international defense, aerospace, and security company. She served 25 years as an intelligence officer in the United States Navy Reserve, retiring as a Navy Captain. 44 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

1980s

BRUCE FAFARD, ’80, was named chief

executive officer of the Museum of Science & History in Jacksonville, Fla. He brings more than 30 years of executive-leadership experience to the role from numerous industries, including aerospace, insurance, manufacturing, and retail. HOWARD HOROWITZ, ’81, was named

senior vice president and wealth manager at First Republic Bank. Prior to this appointment, he was senior vice president and wealth manager at Morgan Stanley and had worked at Wells Fargo and USB Financial Services. TARYN FISHER, ’82, is director of the

New Leaf Gallery in Keene, N.H., which specializes in contemporary handmade prints. She also is an adjunct faculty member in business management at Keene State College.

library law consultant at the Library of Michigan, helping public libraries understand and manage legal issues that impact services. In April, she was invited to speak with a panel of experts through the United for Libraries’ monthly virtual series, Learning Live.

1990s

DAVID SIZEMORE, M.S. ’93, 6th Yr. ’00,

was named the head of school at the Independent Day School in Middlefield, Conn. JOHN GONSKi, ’94, was elected pres-

ident of the Housatonic Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors. Gonski is vice president, customer experience manager, for People’s United Bank for Fairfield County. TAUNI BUTTERFIELD, M.S. ’95, was

named athletics director of the Carolina Day School in Asheville, N.C. BRENDA WESTBERRY, M.S. ’95, an

adjunct professor of sociology at Eastern Connecticut State University, was recognized at the campus level for exceptional teaching. Eastern designated Westberry as its honoree for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system’s 2020–21 Teaching Award. TRACEY CARBONE, M.S. ’99, 6th Yr.

’08, was named principal of Kings

Highway Elementary School in Westport, Conn., after working at the school for more than 20 years. LEA CROWN, ’99, M.P.H. ’06, is the

director of health and human services for Meriden, Conn. Crown has worked for the city for 15 years, starting as a public health educator. RAPHAEL MASSIE, ’99, is an artistic

associate at the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Massie’s directing credits include work at Elm Shakespeare in New Haven, Conn.; Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass.; and Southern. ALONA SALZBURG, ’99, was named

community liaison at Bridges by EPOCH, a memory care and assistedliving community in Trumbull, Conn. In her new role, Salzburg will connect local organizations, area professionals, and family caregivers with education, resources, and support at the community level.

2000s

PHILIP PIAZZA, M.S. ’00, 6th Yr. ’02,

Ed.D. ’18, was appointed assistant superintendent for Groton Public Schools in Connecticut. GREG SHUGRUE, 6th Yr. ’00, was

appointed head of school at the Gilbert School in Winsted, Conn. Prior to accepting this position, Shugrue had served as principal at New Milford High School since 2005.

VICTOR LEMBO, ’82, was appointed

deacon of the Lady of the Assumption Parish in Woodbridge, Conn. KATHERINE LIONTAS-WARREN, ’82, is

a professor of art at Cameron University, Lawton, Okla. Her works of art have been included in more than 450 national and juried shows and exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad. In May, she was a judge for the Goddard Center’s 51st Annual Juried Show. ELIZABETH FRANCO-SPANO, ’83,

M.S. ’92, 6th Yr. ’99, was named recreation director of the town of East Haven, Conn. Prior to the appointment, she was a physical education and health teacher for more than 35 years. In 2020, she was named “Teacher of the Year” by East Haven Public Schools. LEAH SECONDO, ’84, was hired to

broadcast the women’s basketball and softball competition at the Olympic Games from Tokyo, Japan. She worked for the Olympic Broadcasting Services, which is based in Spain and produces live television, radio, and digital coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for more than 200 countries.

In Print and On Screen

Arthur P. Ciaramicoli, M.S. ’72, shares that his latest book was published in May 2021: America Reunited: A Relational Solution to Bridging the Political, Social, and Personal Chasm Dividing our Nation. He is a licensed clinical psychologist who has been treating clients for more than 35 years. John Searles, ’91, announces that his latest novel, Her Last Affair (Harper Collins), will be published on March 1, 2022. Much of the novel’s action takes place in an old drive-in movie theater with the storyline driven by suspense and surprises. Gannel Jean-Pierre, ’96, M.S.N. ’09, is the author of Medical Decisions for a Loved One with a LifeThreatening Illness: Palliative Care for the Community. Jean-Pierre is a palliative care consultant for various skilled-nursing facilities in the Bronx and Yonkers areas of New York. He earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Columbia University. Ryan Meyer, ’16, published his second book of poetry: Tempest. Meyer’s work explores moments of hope, fear, self-doubt, relationships, and identity. Meyer was one of five poets featured by Forbes.com in a feature on inspiration.

RAYMOND GUARINO, ’01, was named

the assistant baseball coach at the University of Bridgeport, a part-time position. Previously, he worked on a longtime volunteer basis as an assistant coach with the Yale Bulldogs baseball team. He is a seventh-grade teacher at All Saints Catholic Academy in New Haven. ANN JACKSON, MBA ’01, is the chief

people and culture officer at the Oak View Group. Jackson will oversee staff management, leadership development, compensation and benefits, and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. She also will lead human resource functions globally. MEGHAN WARD, ’01 was named prin-

cipal of John Read Middle School in Redding, Conn. DAVID FERREIRA, ’03, was appointed

provost and vice president of academic affairs at Charter Oak State College. ROBERT NICHOLSON, ’03, received the

2021 “BEYA [Black Engineer of the Year Award] STEM Peer Reviewed Academia Award for Student Leadership” at the graduate level. The award recognizes “creative verve, an accomplished academic record, inspiring grades, and a proven desire to help others succeed.” Nicholson is enrolled in the Doctor of Business Administration Program at Trident University. JENNIFER CUTRALI, ’04, MBA ’09, was

named to the Housatonic Community College Foundation Board of Directors. Cutrali is the vice president, credit administration manager at Fairfield County Bank. KENNY HOWELL, ’04, MBA ’06, has

joined the Hartford Police ranks as an assistant chief. MARCIE GAWEL, ’05, M.S. ’06, ’09, has

joined the Yale School of Nursing as a lecturer in the Graduate Entry Prespecialty in Nursing Program. She is also a member of the simulation unit. Gawel is an adjunct clinical professor at Pace University School of Nursing and a clinical preceptor for the capstone course at Greenwich Hospital. KARA LEVENDUSKI, 6th Yr. ’07, was

named principal of Horace W. Porter School, the only school in the Columbia School District in Connecticut serving preschool through grade eight. WESLEY MATTICE, ’07, was named

head diving coach at North Carolina State University. ANTHONY FANTANO, ’08, recently

was interviewed by The New York Times and Forbes.com in recognition of his influence as an American music critic and internet personality. His music-related YouTube channel

“The Needle Drop” has 2,430,000plus subscribers. NICOLE QUERZÉ, M.S. ’08, was named

dean of students of Middlebrook School in Wilton, Conn. GREGORY BORER, ’09, was promoted

to sergeant by the East Haven Police Department in Connecticut. TANIA HOSSIN, ’10, joined Yale School

of Nursing as a part-time lecturer in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program. Hossin is a nurse practitioner with VA Urology Services in West Haven, Conn., and an oncology advanced practice registered nurse at Smilow Cancer Hospital, Yale New Haven Health. GREGORY THARP, M.L.S.

’10, is the author of numerous scholarly/professional manuscripts, including “Recommendations for Usage, Commercial Contracts, and Cost Recovery in Government Contracts,” which was published in April. He has more than 15 years of experience as a librarian and researcher, and previously held research positions at Harvard Medical School and Tufts University. He earned additional advanced degrees and certifications from the American Graduate University and Simmons University.

2010s

CIERRA STANCIL, ’11, joined the

Hartford Foundation for Public Giving as a member of the community impact team. The foundation supports Hartford and 28 surrounding towns. UYI OSUNDE, 6th Yr. ’12, was named

superintendent for Stratford Public Schools in Connecticut. He previously was principal of Windsor High School since 2016. RICHARD RAUCCI, ’12, M.S. ’15, was

named director of the Adult Education Program for Milford Public Schools. For the past 10 years, Raucci served the district as an English teacher and reading specialist at Joseph A. Foran High School. He also was the city’s Adult Education Program facilitator and an adjunct professor at Norwalk Community College, teaching foundational English courses and working with students who are transitioning from high school to college.

lence. Her research investigates determinants of victimization and perpetration — at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels — to develop effective interventions. Willie earned a Ph.D. in public health from Yale University. MARLA MCLEOD, ’14, was interviewed

by WBUR, Boston’s National Public Radio for the feature: “Painting Black Skin, An Artist Navigates Success and Loss in a Pandemic Year.” The feature highlighted McLeod’s success as an artist — she recently sold a painting for nearly $10,000 — and the challenges of life during the pandemic. She teaches art at both Tufts University and Southern. LONNIE BLACKWELL JR., ’18, was

sworn in as an entry-level hire with the Shelton Police Department. MARJAE M. JACKSON, ’18, graduated

from Elon University’s Master of Arts in Higher Education Program. TARAH KELLY, ’18, was invited by the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers to be on its Women in Sports Panel, a virtual presentation for college students. She is the group sales representative with the Sound Tigers and previously worked with the Los Angeles Kings in the hockey development department. ATTA “KAY” KAKRA DETOME, ’19, is

the software engineer and head of education for Holberton School in New Haven, which provides technology training. Detome also has taught computer science on a volunteer basis with numerous organizations, including Google Ignite CS. ROBERT HASS, M.S. ’19, joined the

West Hartford Police Department in 2013 and has received four unit citations. Hass became a field training officer in 2019 and was assigned to the traffic division in 2020. KYA O’DONNELL, ’19, is the newly

named head coach of the field hockey team at her alma mater Cheshire High School in Connecticut.

2020 CAROLYN RIDDLE, ’62, Sept. 9, 2020 RICHARD NAJARIAN, ’63, Feb. 25, 2021 KAREN M. O’CONNOR, ’65, May 28,

2020 SHEILA R. DEAN, ’66, Feb. 14, 2021 CATHERINE N. MCGUIRK, ’67, M.S.

’72, May 31, 2021 SUSANNE DUFFY, ’68, Jan. 16, 2021 LOUISE HIGGISTON, ’69, 6th Yr. ’85,

Jan. 22, 2021 CHARLES GERME, ’70, M.S. ’75, March

21, 2021 JEAN E. SUTHERLAND, M.S. ’70, Jan.

21, 2021 PAUL A. CAPPELLO, ’71, M.S. ’74, 6th

Yr. ’95, Jan. 28, 2021 LOIS (FOSTER) JOHNSON, M.S. ’71,

March 30, 2021 ALBERT J. BIBEAU, ’72, M.S. ’73, 6th Yr.

’81, Feb. 3, 2021 MARTHA HENDERSON, M.S. ’72, Dec.

31, 2020 ANN E. LARUSSA, ’72, M.S. ’78, Jan. 12,

2021 ROCCO ANDREW BALDELLI, ’73, Jan.

27, 2021 RICHARD MCHUGH, M.S. ’73, May 23,

2021 DANIEL T. MEISENHEIMER III, ’73,

M.S. ’76, April 10, 2021 CLAUDE L. GORFIEN, M.S. ’76, Feb. 20,

2021 ROGER HENRY OUELLETTE JR., ’77,

April 16, 2021 DANIEL M. DELVECCHIO, ’78, May 11,

2021 CATHERINE LUX, M.S. ’79, March 22,

2021 PETER K. KNUDSEN, ’85, Feb. 11, 2021 RONALD MCREAVY, 6th Yr. ’87, Jan. 5,

2021 MICHAEL E. WAGNER, M.S. ’87, Jan.

24, 2021 DAVID V. LANESE, ’88, Jan. 28, 2021 RONDA M. BUCHMEIER, M.S.W. ’90,

Jan. 23, 2021 JAMES MCKENNA, ’93, Dec. 31, 2020 JAMIE PELLETIER, ’94, Jan. 20, 2021 MANUEL RIVERA, ’02, M.S. ’05, Feb. 26,

2021

TIARA WILLIE, M.A. ’12, was named a

Bloomberg Assistant Professor of American Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Md. She joins the faculty in the Department of Mental Health. Willie is a social epidemiologist with a focus on examining the etiology and health consequences of gender-based vio-

RICHARD "DICK" AGUZZI, ’62, July 6,

IN MEMORIAM MARY REARDON, ’50, Dec. 19, 2020 MAURO J. SIRACO, ’54, April 16, 2021 JOSEPH CIABURRI, ’56, March 31, 2021 LORETTA TRIANA CLARK, ’61, May 3,

2021

KATHY R. YALOF, ’03, MBA ’10, March

14, 2021 AMANDA R. JACKSON, ’10, Feb. 24,

2021 KELLEY A. PATTERSON, M.S. ’10, Feb.

7, 2021 JOSEPH MATTEI, ’14, Jan. 26, 2021 Fall 2021 | 45

A L U M NI NO T ES ■

FACULTY DAVID LEVANDE, professor emeritus

of curriculum and learning, April 23, 2021 ADA M. LOMAX, associate professor

emeritus of social work, Jan. 3, 2021

PAUL RUEGER, associate professor

emeritus of art, Jan. 2, 2021 JAMES TAIT, professor of environment,

geography, and marine sciences, April 6, 2021

OMID NODOUSHANI, professor man-

agement/MIS and MBA director of the School of Business, April 18, 2021 DAVID A. PEARSON, professor of pub-

lic health, May 21, 2021

Alumni Notes are compiled from alumni submissions as well as announcements made in the media.

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WITH SOUTHERN FRIENDS AND CLASSMATES. • MAIL this completed form to Southern Alumni News: SCSU Alumni Relations Office, Alumni House 501 Crescent St., New Haven, CT 06515-1355

The Road to Oxford continued from page 16 time, she sat in her brother’s bedroom, the quietest spot in the house, waiting to be called for the all-important second interview. Rahimyar’s mother brought tea and waited beside her. But as the third hour approached, Rahimyar became convinced “it wasn’t happening.” She remembers urging her mother to leave and curling up on the bedroom floor in disappointment. Three and a half hours had passed when the Rhodes Scholar selection committee finally reached out. Her callback interview would be the final one. “They got me in a very uncurated head space. So, I went in, and they asked me very personal questions. What would

this mean if you won? What would it mean for your family? What would it mean for your university? It was a very vulnerable conversation,” she says. Her interview lasted about 20 minutes. Five minutes later, Rahimyar was announced among the Rhodes Scholars for 2021. She recalls a moment of pure joy and shares what happens next. Picture Rahimyar, dark hair flying, running to the opposite side of the house where her parents and brothers wait, and she collapses, enveloped in the outreached arms of her ecstatic family. ■

* Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021

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Through Their Eyes continued from page 23 After passing the bar, Adams practiced law in Missouri, working in consumer protection and family and juvenile law. She then relocated to Phoenix to focus solely on immigration. The stories her clients share convince Adams she’s made the right choice. There are the two friends who were lured to the U.S. with promises of a better life, only to have their documents and wages stolen — effectively forced into slave labor. (Adams successfully represented the two, who eventually fell in love, married, and found fulfilling work.) There’s the young woman who sought asylum after her family was killed in Mexico. “It was the first time I had to look at an autopsy report as an attorney. It was not fun,” says Adams. The client, who was in her early 20s, was jailed in the U.S. for illegal immigration. She told Adams, “Not to worry.” She was happy to be in custody. There was food, a place to rest, and no one was trying to kill her. “I told the judge, ‘If anyone is happier in a jailhouse than at home, they have a true case,’” says Adams. Her client was released. Of course, her mother’s case will always have the most prominent place in Adams’ heart. “The day I got licensed, I went home, got all the documents I could for my mom, and started petitioning for her,” she says. Adams was ultimately successful. But not without nail-biting, stressful moments — including a last-minute denial at the embassy. At 2 a.m. in Phoenix, Adams found herself faxing rebuttals to the Department of State and the embassy supervisor. Her mother’s application was accepted. “I cried my eyes out. I’d officially graduated and passed the bar. But it finally felt like I finished law school,” Adams says. The feelings of despair and elation have not been forgotten — all intrinsically tied to family and a sense of purpose. Last spring, Adams had her first child, and much to her husband’s chagrin, she answered her cellphone less than two hours after giving birth. Handing the baby to her husband, she spoke at length to the officer from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, who she’d been trying to reach for weeks. “When someone relies on you so much through a messy situation, this is what you do,” she says. ■

The Good Fight continued from page 26

Planting Roots continued from page 33

When state budget cuts to higher education threatened numerous faculty layoffs, Arias lobbied lawmakers and staged a “death of education” rally — complete with casket props built by the Department of Theatre — that landed him on the local TV news. Legislators later reinstated funds, saving jobs. “Somebody needed to speak up and do something,” Arias says. He planned to enter the military after graduation, but the late Southern economics professor Walt Ryba, who was also a lawyer, saw the makings of an advocate in Arias and set him on a different path. “He said, ‘Mike you should think about being a lawyer. There’s this test called the LSAT. You should go take it. Let’s just see what happens,’” Arias recalls. He scored well and applied to law school, with Ryba mentoring him through the process. “I remember sitting in his secretary’s office filling out all this stuff,” he recalls. “At the time it was like $50 or $100 [per application], and I didn’t have that kind of money. I was barely making it. He said ‘Don’t worry.’ He had his secretary sit with me and help me type out fee-waiver applications.” After earning his law degree, Arias worked for a couple of law firms before hanging out his shingle in 1989. He would go on to launch two more firms, including his current one in 2015, where he specializes in product liability, toxic torts [when the plaintiff alleges exposure to some dangerous substance caused an injury or illness], consumer and environmental issues, personal injury and wrongful death, and sexual abuse and harassment. In recent years, he held leadership roles in numerous trial lawyer associations, including stints as president of two of the largest in the country, the Consumer Attorneys of California and the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. He also sits on the executive committee of the American Association of Justice. In 2020, the National Law Journal named him a “Plaintiff Trailblazer,” and he has been singled out as one of the “Top 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers” by the trade publication Lawdragon for the last two years.

butter,” says Torello. October mainstays include apples, pumpkins, cider doughnuts, pies, and “all sorts of fall goodies.” The holidays bring Christmas trees and photo ops with Santa. While many farms focus on bulk production, Torello says he emphasizes quality over quantity. The farm specializes in heirloom produce, which it also sells to boutique grocery stores. He strives to farm organically but uses conventional methods if needed. “We’re a farm for families and foodies, so everything we grow is about the flavor,” Torello says. That philosophy carries over to the rest of the business. The doughnuts, pies, muffins, and other sweet treats for sale in the bakery shop are all made from scratch on the premises. While Carolyn does the baking, John oversees the ice cream. He makes it in small batches, producing a super-premium variety that contains less air and boasts a high butterfat content. Flavors range from the traditional, such as strawberry (with real fruit, of course) to the more inventive, like his adults-only Paddy’s Milk and Cookies, a whiskeyinfused sweet cream packed with oatmeal chocolate chip cookie crumbles. “We’ve had people drive from 45 minutes away for our ice cream, which is cool,” he says.

Fighting for change As for the historic USC case, Arias says a point of pride is negotiating the settlement without a confidentiality agreement. He wanted the victims to be free to tell their stories.Tyndall, the only full-time gynecologist in the campus health center from 1989 to 2016, has given up his medical license and is awaiting trial on dozens of sexual assault charges, to which he has pled not guilty. The settlement brought about policy changes at USC, but Arias is counting on it having a broader impact. He hopes publicity around the recordsetting sum will encourage other schools and large institutions to examine their sexual abuse reporting procedures. “There are a couple of ways you change bad systems,” Arias says. “You can try to legislate. Or you can teach them a lesson.” n

That giant “BELIEVE” sign is also a visitor favorite — and Michael is the inspiration behind that, too. “Believe” became a family mantra throughout Michael’s life; the Torellos were often told he would not survive. The word is displayed in decorations all around the family’s home. The couple initially planned to fill the empty space on the farm building with a banner that read “Ice Cream” or “Fresh Strawberries.” But in 2019, Michael was seriously injured in a fall that resulted in medical complications. He transitioned to palliative care. “I just said to my wife, ‘What if we put Believe up there?’” Torello recalls. He tells customers who ask about the sign to interpret it however they wish. “It could be religious or not religious. It could mean believe in yourself. It really is up to the reader,” he says. But for the family, Michael is the sole inspiration behind the message. Torello comments: “When I first wrote it, at the time, I didn’t really even know why. I just knew I had to do it. But now that he’s gone, I know this was the reason why. It was about him. I believe he is our angel. I believe he is always with us.” n

Supporting Southern continued from page 36 is considered “nontraditional,” or 25 years or older, and 41 percent identifies as an underrepresented minority. Financial obstacles are among the hardships facing students. Approximately 55 percent of Southern undergraduates receive need-based Pell grants for those with high levels of financial need. “Oftentimes they are the first in their family to go to university,” says Durnin. “Many do not have an educational or professional role model. That’s why building these leadership experiences is critical for our students to compete. The academic component is vital. But this piece is just as important.” Others agree with Durnin’s assessment on the importance of leadership training. At the national level, only 47 percent of human resource professionals believe their organization has the leaders needed to fill critical roles, according to the 2021 Global Leadership Forecast, conducted by DDI, a business consultancy. Clearly, something is missing. But where some note a lack, Lindy Lee Gold sees an opportunity. “We are responsible for making sure that people have a chance to reach their full potential,” says Gold, who is both an optimist and a pragmatist. “When I see a problem, I look for possible solutions — and figure out the best way I can to assist and help fix them.” n Fall 2021 | 47

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SOUTHERN SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Creates a Pathway to Student Success In 2020, Southern awarded more than $8.4 million to students who required financial aid. That’s a 17 percent increase from the previous year — and student need continues to grow. In response, the Southern Scholarship Fund was established in the 2020-21 academic year to: • Provide immediate financial aid to the growing number of students in need of tuition assistance • Offer more scholarship dollars per award to students in need • Help students in danger of dropping out before graduation as a result of financial hardships

••• Thank you to the more than 500 donors who helped launch the Southern Scholarship Fund in the 2020-21 academic year. You played a crucial role in supporting the success of our students.

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IN MAY, FIVE SOCIALLY DISTANCED COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES HONORED GRADUATES OF THE CLASSES OF 2021 AND 2020. (SEE PAGE 3.) THE FALL 2021 SEMESTER KICKED OFF WITH MORE THAN 75 PERCENT OF CLASSES ON GROUND.

Southern Alumni Magazine Fall '21

Articles inside

Planting Roots

Six Words. Limitless Gratitude.

Thinking Caps

The Road to Oxford

Through Their Eyes

The Good Fight