Geneseo Scene - Summer 2013

Summer 2013

geneseo scene

A magazine for alumni, parents and friends of SUNY Geneseo

What’s Your Story?

An alumnus discovers

how the universe works Ruling the airwaves: Alumni on TV and radio

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geneseo Summer 2013

scene CONTENTS

FEATURES 8

Ruling the TV and airwaves One of the biggest names in radio is a Geneseo graduate. Many others have made their mark as personalities and news anchors. Peek inside the college’s long tradition of inspiring on-air talent.

14 What’s your story?

In ways big or small, Geneseo has helped shape our lives and strengthen the bond we have for the college and each other. “What’s Your Story” is an invitation to share what stays with you.

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Discovery: How the universe works Ben Kilminster ’97 is among researchers who identified the — Higgs boson — one of the most important scientific advancements in our lifetime.

DEPARTMENTS 3 19

One College Circle Athletics and Recreation: A certification course mentors students to become school coaches, even before graduation.

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Alumni News Class Notes

COLUMNS 2 7 22 36

President’s Message Letters to the Editor Random Profile: One Cup 1:1 Dan Strang

Cover: ©iStockphoto.com/John Woodcock and ma_rish Cover illustration collage by Carole Smith Volpe ’91 Table of contents: Students raised $92,000 — a Geneseo record — for the American Cancer Society during the annual Relay for Life, walking in teams overnight. Team captains formed a ribbon as hundreds of students circled in the ceremonial first lap.

Photography by Keith Walters ’11.

Postmaster: Please address changes to the Collins Alumni Center, McClellan House, SUNY Geneseo, 1 College Circle, Geneseo, NY 14454-1484.

Standard-class postage paid at Lebanon Junction, KY 40150

geneseo scene

Vol. 39, No. 1; Summer 2013

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Telling Our Story ood stories usually have great beginnings. This is especially true of the people who chose to start their journeys on this campus. Over the past 19 years, I have had the privilege of hearing — or reading — countless stories about our graduates and the indelible impression Geneseo has left on their lives.

Each story is fascinating. The common Geneseo experience connects us all and, yet, remains unique for each one of us. As the ancient philosopher Heraclitus observed, a person cannot step into the same river twice. The stories of our alumni are the same yet different, similar but never identical.

Kerry Fogarty Alexander ’87 expressed that idea last fall during Homecoming at a Career Connections breakfast for students.

“This is where our story started,” she said. “This place stays with you. Be here. Let it lead you.”

In that spirit, we are pleased to introduce a new communications initiative, “What’s Your Story?”(page 14), that gives voice to the special Geneseo experiences that shape the lives of alumni.

A favorite professor, for example, or a life-changing class. A demanding coach or an unforgettable game. Perhaps a chance meeting that blossomed into a lifelong friendship — or even marriage.

Or those experiences may be a collection of memories that engaged the senses. Who can forget the sunsets over the valley? The sound of the Sturges bells? Or the smell of alfalfa in the morning? remains unique for each one of us.

For a particular group of alumni, the defining memory is Blake Hall, home of WGSU–FM (89.3) — celebrating its 50th anniversary (page 5). As you’ll read on page 8, Geneseo alumni in the media are seen and heard every day throughout the nation. Each one has a Geneseo story.

So does Ben Kilminster ’97, associate professor at the Physics Institute of the University of Zürich, whose research on the Higgs boson, the so-called “God particle” (page 16), is helping to tell the ultimate story of how the universe began. He credits his success as a scientist to undergraduate research experiences and mentoring received at Geneseo.

Every issue of the Scene is filled with alumni stories that demonstrate the transformational power of liberal learning at Geneseo. The college’s ascending reputation in national higher education is itself a story that continues to unfold, thanks to your generous gifts of time, talent and financial resources. In fact, our historic Shaping Lives of Purpose campaign may indeed be the best story of all — simply for the many new beginnings it will create for others whose stories remain to be told.

As is our custom, we will devote the next Scene to more stories, which will include my own personal narrative. I shall step down from the presidency Oct. 1 and retire next June. So very much of my story is Geneseo, and it wouldn’t be what it is without all of you.

G The Geneseo Scene is published

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

Christopher C. Dahl, President William H. Brower III, Vice President for College Advancement Anthony T. Hoppa, Assistant Vice President for College Communications Kris Dreessen, Editor Carole Smith Volpe ’91, Creative Director Contributing writers: Meredith Drake Anthony T. Hoppa David Irwin Laura Kenyon Ben Kilminster ’97 Daniel B. O’Brien ’13 Kim Showalter ’13

Contributing photographers: Kris Dreessen Keith Walters ’11 Alumni Relations Office Ronna Bosko, Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Michelle Walton Worden ’92, Associate Director of Alumni Relations Tracy Young Gagnier ’93, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Megan Cheever ’03, Alumni Outreach Coordinator Alumni Relations Office at Collins Alumni Center McClellan House SUNY Geneseo 1 College Circle Geneseo, NY 14454-1484 Phone: (585) 245-5506 Fax: (585) 245-5505 alumni@geneseo.edu Contact the Scene at scene@geneseo.edu.

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

… the common Geneseo experience connects us all and, yet,

Gratefully yours,

Christopher Dahl

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PHOTOS BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

One College Circle Snapshot: Geneseo’s 147th Commencement • Say it isn’t over: 1,191 seniors bid bittersweet adieu, waving their diplomas and high-fiving friends.

• The applause: New alumni were cheered on by more than 4,800 well-wishers.

• One of us: President Christopher C. Dahl declared himself an honorary member of the class of 2013, for his last commencement as president.

• Lighting the way: President Christopher C. Dahl bestowed an honorary doctorate of humane letters to world-renowned Middle English literature professor and scholar Russell Peck, who has worked with Geneseo students.

• Behind the scenes: Commencement planners had already scribbled notes and were discussing tweaks for next year even before these ceremonies ended.

• Final farewell: Russell Allen ’13 says he found his voice — and a belief he can succeed in theater — at Geneseo. He double majored in speech pathology and theater. “There is so much collaboration and trust in what students have to offer and it’s really inspiring. Being a product of that environment has fostered confidence in myself and my peers. I’m confident that the education I got at Geneseo, and I don’t just mean academically, has equipped me to do just about anything I want to.”

CAMPUS NEWS

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A taste of careers 45 years of dance 50 years on the air A chemistry milestone News in brief Summer 2013

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CAMPUS NEWS

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Courtney Volturno ’06, left, shares how she works with city teens with Sheena Mooney ’15 during the first Winter Break Alumni/Parent Shadow Program.

Campus innovation

New shadow program is a career “sneak preview” sychology major Sheena Mooney ’15 thought she wanted to work with kids. Shadowing an alumna who mentors city teens about opportunities for college and then watching her help a teen apply for a job reinforced it.

“I really liked what she was doing,” Mooney says. “She didn’t have a set, go into an office and only know people by a number job… Her job was going out and doing whatever these kids needed her to do at that time.”

As a program coordinator at Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection, an affiliate of Hillside Family of Agencies, Courtney Volturno ’06 works with juniors and seniors in eight district high schools

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throughout Rochester, N.Y., to spark students’ interest in attending college. Students meet at least two of six risk factors for non-matriculation.

“Sometimes this is the first time someone is really talking to the students about college seriously,” Volturno says of her position. “… You have to be persistent — to push them and show them that you’re not going to go away easily because you believe this is important for them.”

While Volturno’s position

isn’t a direct fit for Mooney’s career choice, the experience gave her a taste of what working with teens would be like.

That’s the mission of the college’s new Winter Break Alumni/Parent Shadow Program.

More than 100 freshmen and sophomores signed up for the opportunity to shadow alumni in diverse fields and disciplines over winter break.

Stacey Wiley, director of career development, solicited alumni and parent volunteers

Interested in volunteering for the 2014 Winter Break Shadow Program? Call the Office of Career Development at (585) 245-5721 or email wileys@geneseo.edu.

from around the country who work in a variety of career fields, including law, financial services, education and health care. Interested students chose their top three preferences and Wiley matched students to preferred alumni on a first-come, first-served basis. Of the more than 100 students who expressed interest, Wiley was able to match 82 pairs.

The program targets younger students. Shadowing allows students to try different careers on for size and find out what does and doesn’t interest them, without making a major investment of time, says Wiley.

Volturno was happy to participate.

“You know the basic professions that you’ve come into contact with you’re entire life — doctors, teachers, police officers — but there are so many different opportunities out there,” says Volturno, “and I think it’s important to go out and see what those opportunities are.”

Feedback from volunteers and students will help Wiley improve and tailor the program to student needs.

Wiley is seeking more alumni and parents in the highinterest fields of law, health care and finance, so more students with these interests can participate.

“We talk with students every day who are struggling to choose a major because they don’t know what particular jobs actually entail,” says Wiley.

“The shadow program allows students to explore a potential career field by spending time with someone connected to Geneseo, who is happy to help them.”

— By Daniel B. O’Brien ’13

A full-circle moment

Alumni and students mark 45 years of dance n 1968, the Geneseo Dance Ensemble gathered to perform for the first time. On April 18-21, the campus celebrated the group’s 45th anniversary with a reunion weekend of performances by students and alumni, with works choreographed by alumni, faculty and guest artists.

Alumni gave talks and workshops.

First offered at Geneseo through physical education, Bertha V.B. Lederer is credited with bringing the Dance Studies program to the fine arts in 1954, transforming an old storage room into the Brodie Dance Studio.

Forty-five years later, Visiting Professor of Dance Mark Broomfield ’94 played a large part in the anniversary celebration. Being back at Geneseo after completing his doctorate to teach the current generation is “a full-circle moment,” he says.

“He brings a different perspective to Geneseo we haven’t had in the past,” with diversity and dances of the African diaspora, says Stephanie Willmarth ’14.

Many other alumni returned to campus to share their experiences, reminisce and mentor aspiring dancers, including

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Melanie Aceto ’95 and Heather Klopchin ’95, both associate professors of dance at colleges.

Alumni also have gone on to perform in Tony Award-winning musicals, to direct and to become members of the most renowned dance troupes in the world, such as Garth Fagan Dance. Broomfield has danced with the repertory company Cleo Parker Robinson Dance.

“Reflecting on 45 years of the Dance Ensemble at Geneseo, I am so humbled and grateful that alumni artists and current student artists, being such a dedicated and passionate group of people, continue to pour their energy and their commitment into the Dance Studies program,” says Jonette Lancos, who has guided the program’s evolution since 1976. She became Geneseo’s first full professor of dance in 2004.

It inspires current students “to dream big,” Lancos says.

The anniversary weekend, says Emily Andrews ’13, “was an amazing opportunity to be able to share the stage with such experienced artists and represent the past, present and future of the Geneseo Dance Ensemble.”

— Kim Showalter ’13

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

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Read about alumni on-air — page 8 Visit the WGSU facebook page — www.facebook.com/wgsufm

Geneseo milestones

WGSU celebrates 50 years on the airwaves rom students and alumni, to town members, to parents listening for a mention of their son on the hockey rink, WGSU–FM has kept all segments of the Geneseo community connected for 50 years.

In celebrating the station’s golden anniversary, WGSU alumnus and faculty adviser and Lecturer Mike Saffran ’85, has delved deep into the archives of Blake Hall, rummaging for old reels of greetings and promos to digitize and share.

He remembers making the reels during his time as a student and supervisor, along with nostalgia from the golden days of radio.

“The basement of Blake B was my home away from home,” he says. “Certainly, some of my colleagues would feel the same. The funny thing is, from 30 years ago, there have been some equipment upgrades, but it’s largely the same. The footprint is identical. It’s still old Blake Hall.”

Many WGSU members from past to present share a great deal of affinity for their WGSU experience.

“We wanted to do more than just play music, we wanted to make connections and have themes. Creativity is important to radio,” says former supervisor Gregory Adamo ’74, who went on to form and run a station at the College of Staten Island, and now teaches full time at Morgan State.

WGSU’s most recent station manager, Laura Vitto ’13, ultimately deems the station an academic club, but feels most strongly about the community created from many hours working together.

“The community is what brings people to WGSU, and it’s what keeps them there,” she says. “I’ve met my best friend here. I think everyone else can say the same.”

The core of the WGSU experience, says Adamo, is derived not only from expression and creativity, but its practical use as a learning tool. It made him a strong proponent of experiential learning. He says the skills he learned at WGSU enabled him to work effectively in groups and taught him how to supervise people.

He wouldn’t be where he is today if it weren’t for WGSU. Vitto sees that translation already.

“The oral communication skills are something a lot of employers are looking for,” she says. “You can get your foot in the door with a great resume and a great cover letter, but at the end of the day you have to close the deal with your personality and your voice. Being on the air, that’s something a lot of our DJs are learning. That’s something you can take to any job.”

— By Daniel B. O’Brien ’13

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Students perform in the Geneseo Dance Ensemble’s 45th anniversary celebration.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

College welcomes new director of alumni and parent relations New Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Ronna Bosko will be reaching out to alumni and parents to strengthen their connection to Geneseo.

Bosko previously served as a senior major gifts officer at Geneseo for three years and was instrumental in BOSKO numerous successful philanthropic initiatives, including the formation of alumni committees throughout the country.

Before coming to Geneseo, she served as director and associate director of alumni relations at SUNY Plattsburgh.

She also worked as an admissions adviser at Plattsburgh after earning her bachelor’s degree there in sociology. She also received a master’s degree at Plattsburgh in student affairs practice in higher education.

continued a 56-year tradition of outstanding choral creativity by collaborating with area performing groups and professional soloists from New York City to present Carl Orff’s 20th-century masterpiece “Carmina Burana.”

Students showcase research and talents On an April day, Twitter users around the world posted more than 2,665 tweets — in a single minute. Geography majors Allison Roosa ’13 and Patrick Heffernan ’13 collected and examined the global distribu-

tion of the 140-character blasts over two days to examine how how social media impacts society.

They were among more than 965 students — representing all academic departments as well as clubs — who exhibited their scholarly and creative efforts in the seventh annual GREAT Day — Geneseo Recognizing Excellence, Achievement and Talent — on April 16.

College expands internship opportunities Geneseo is reinforcing its support for student career devel-

opment with the addition of a new director to help students gain real-world experience.

Robert H. DiCarlo, associate director for internship opportunities, is responsible for expanding the number and type of substantive internships available. He oversees all aspects of the program, including faculty and department collaboration, student career advising and program evaluation. Geneseo’s Alumni Council has made student career development a priority and is focused on engaging Geneseo alumni in all walks of life in the initiative.

Spotlight on scholars

Aspiring chemist wins national award

World-class music The celebrated Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and renowned soloists recently performed on campus with professors and students.

The orchestra featured solos from two music faculty members — pianist Jonathan Gonder, professor and department chair, and soprano and Adjunct Lecturer Pamela Kurau. Gonder has performed with numerous orchestras and been featured on national television and radio. He has received numerous awards in competitions.

A week later, the acclaimed Chamber Singers ensemble 6

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PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

For the third consecutive year, a Geneseo student has received one of the nation’s most prestigious scholarships for aspiring scientists.

Carolyn Levinn ’14 is the 17th Geneseo student to earn the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program award for her achievement and potential in chemistry.

Levinn’s research focuses on bio-organic chemistry and the study of natural products.

Her dream? To earn a doctorate and teach

chemistry at a major university. She’s also a member of several academic honor societies, captain of the indoor track and field teams, and helps fellow students in crisis as an emergency medical technician with Geneseo First Response.

Levinn’s senior year will be worry-free for finances with the award. It pays for tuition, fees, books, room and board up to $7,500 per year.

— Kris Dreessen

LETTERS

Letters to the Editor We want to hear from you! The Scene welcomes feedback and encourages discussion of higher-education issues, content and your thoughts about Geneseo. Send letters, which may be edited for space, to scene@geneseo.edu or to the Scene editor, SUNY Geneseo, Roemer House, 1 College Circle, Geneseo, NY 14454.

CAS changes are appreciated When I was at Geneseo from 1960 to 1964, I worked in the dining hall as a food line server. Not only did we get some pay, we got that meal free when we worked. That was important as I was working my way through college. Campus Auxiliary Services had some really good meals! I really enjoyed reading about all the changes in the food service area in the winter 2013 issue. I was especially delighted to know accommodations for the gluten-free diet are now available. Thank you so much for having that option for those that need it. You are on the leading edge of colleges to provide that service. That is where I would be eating if I were at Geneseo now.

— Martha MacAuley Russell ’64 Thoughts on giving In the winter issue, Geneseo Foundation Board Chair Jack Kramer ’76 wonders why only 8.5 percent of alumni give to the college and what could be accomplished if more alumni gave. While I would absolutely love to donate money to Geneseo, I am just not at the point in my life where I have discretionary income to allocate back to Geneseo. When the day does come that I have said money — after my master’s graduation from the University of Michigan — you can certainly bet that I will be

donating back to Geneseo.

Geneseo holds a special place in my heart.

— Melissa Loughlin ’11 The complexities of giving I recently read Jack Kramer’s article “What If?” Here is my 2 cents. One of our sons is studying at Geneseo, class of 2014.

We are fortunate to be able to send him to one of the finest SUNY schools. Although he was accepted at some good private schools, we could not afford to send him. My wife and I are grateful to Geneseo for the opportunities our son has and for the support he will have in the future. We have contributed to the Geneseo fund drives as much as we can, totally aware of how much state funding has declined, and the increased need for contributions.

Now to the nitty-gritty! In the article, Jack said that alumni of Geneseo’s private college peers contribute four to six times as much as Geneseo alumni.

What is the participation rate of alumni in the other SUNY schools? Is it greater than the 8.5 percent at Geneseo? If there is no appreciable difference, then perhaps we are looking at the difference between SUNY schools overall and the considerably more expensive private colleges. I am concerned that perhaps the excellent education at Geneseo does not lead to as

many good-paying jobs as those who follow a more expensive private education. It seems as though folks who earn more money may contribute more to their alma maters, regardless of the actual needs of the school. In all probability, we will continue to see even greater reductions in state funding for education, just as we are seeing in our local elementary and high schools and throughout the SUNY system. Education is taking a beating and it looks like it will continue until there is a more serious wake-up call voiced nationwide.

I am sure that when the time comes, my son will do his share to help Geneseo, but first he will have to get out in the world and earn some money! Meanwhile, please accept my respect and admiration for all you do for Geneseo.

— Garry Harned Grafteful alumnus contributes to next student generation I recently read the article by Jack Kramer ’76 regarding financial need of the school. In my time at Geneseo, I started off in business and geology, ended in psychology and biology, and made about as many different decisions regarding my future career path as that statement entails. Supportive Geneseo staff helped me decide on career possibilities

and programs that would fit my interests. I graduated from SUNY Upstate Medical University in 2012 with a doctorate of physical therapy. As a traveling physical therapist, I am able to travel throughout the country between a variety of types of clinics in need of a PT. My time in Geneseo was truly formative and enjoyable.

I made a wide variety of friends that I spend many of my weekends visiting nowadays. I still visit Geneseo for as many alumni functions as possible, and recently attended a friend’s wedding in Geneseo — taking several bride and groom photos “in” and around the bear fountain.

Now that I am finally in a position where I am making money and able to give back to Geneseo, I am happy to join the ranks of the alumni donors who helped make my experience possible. Without the bonds I made in Geneseo, my development as a student and as a person, and the guidance I received, I don’t know where I would have ended up in terms of my social life, grad school or career, but I do believe that Geneseo placed me on an amazing path. I have sent the first check of many, and encourage my peers to join me, with the hope that Geneseo can continue to do the same for others.

— Steven Avallone ’09

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Seen and Heard ...

from Geneseo From Nashville to New York and beaming from the satellites, alumni have a long tradition of entertaining millions of people on TV and radio. ike other Geneseo graduates who have made successful careers in broadcasting, Gregg Hughes ’86 may have majored in something else, but his heart was always on the air.

“I always knew what I wanted,” says Hughes, who chose Geneseo specifically because he could make that dream come true — right away — on campus radio stations WGSU-FM and WGBC-AM. At Geneseo, underclassmen have the opportunity to dive in as talent to find their voice and gain professional skills for the air, and a career. That is equally true for GSTV, the campus TV station.

Hughes earned a DJ show on WGBC his first days on campus and ran around Onondaga with a clipboard taking music requests. “I started my radio career right there. I got my little shift and the rest is history,” he says.

Hughes became one of the most popular radio personalities in the country as “Opie” on “The Opie & Anthony Show,” now broadcast to 24 million subscribers on his own channel on SiriusXM satellite radio.

Hughes is one of many Geneseo alumni who have made names for themselves in national and regional media as hosts, news anchors, DJs and personalities across all genres, from rock to talk to country on the FM and AM dials and television.

In Rochester, N.Y., it’s like a local on-air reunion with several alumni as longtime anchors and personalities.

Still other alumni work as production directors and in other behind-the-scenes roles. They all have something in common: passion and hands-on experience at Geneseo.

“That opportunity has always been a hallmark here,” says Lecturer Mike Saffran, a WGSU alumnus and the station’s faculty director, who has worked at several New York stations as on-air talent and still hosts an afternoon shift at WRMM–FM. Geneseo’s media talents have witnessed sweeping changes in the field over the decades, adapting and trailblazing, remaining relevant.

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GREGG HUGHES, PHOTO BY BEN GABBE/GETTY IMAGES

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The switch from analog to all-digital is the biggest change Joe Lomonaco ’93 and Chet Walker ’78 have experienced. Meanwhile, Hughes was among the first personalities in the country to move from terrestrial to satellite radio, without Federal Communications Commission oversight and with paid subscribers.

Even how people consume their news and entertainment is significantly different, says Norma Holland ’97, morning TV news anchor at 13WHAM News in Rochester.

“Viewer habits are the biggest change in 17 years. We as an industry have to adapt or we will be obsolete,” says Holland, who posts on Facebook, tweets and reads comments online throughout her broadcast and day. “Habits have changed, social media have changed and smart phones have changed how we produce our product and how we present it.”

Meet some of our Geneseo alumni who have long careers on the air …

Gregg Hughes ’86: Voice of comedy and controversy fter the radio prank in which he pretended the mayor of Boston died in a car accident with a prostitute, Gregg Hughes ’86 turned on the news and recognized where the reporters were swarming.

His lawn.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, they just started the news from my front yard,’” he remembers. “It was unbelievable. I had cameras and TV crews camped out trying to get a statement from me. You can see somebody looking out through the blinds, and that’s me.”

Hughes — known as “Opie” of the “Opie & Anthony Radio Show” — never thought anyone would buy into the April Fool’s Day joke. The PR frenzy ultimately got him and partner Anthony Cumia fired, and hired anyway at WNEW-FM New York City, their biggest gig yet.

It was a time, says Hughes, when talkradio jocks could really push the envelope. No more. That has been the biggest change he has experienced in his 27-year career as a nationally known — and controversial — personality.

At a mall signing in Massachusetts, Hughes found a line of fans wrapped around the building, chanting their names. In New York City, their show was syndicated in some 30 markets across the country, reaching 20 million listeners — the equivalent of every person in New York state.

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“In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t keep up,” says Hughes, who never wanted to be anything but a radio host.

Hughes chose Geneseo for air-time opportunity as an undergraduate, hosting AM and FM shifts, and working as a DJ at Fat Augies and The Inn Between.

He worked in Buffalo and Rochester before his break in Boston.

In New York, Hughes says they took more chances, until another racy prank made national news, this time taking them off terrestrial radio. It signaled a shift in radio culture, says Hughes: Companies just aren’t willing to accept risks.

“They took a number-one show off the air, which was unheard of,” says Hughes.

Since 2004, the show has a new home and its own channel at SiriusXM satellite radio. SiriusXM has 24.4 million subscribers.

Hughes and Cumia’s show has evolved, with discussions of issues of the day, comedy and interviews with Quentin Tarantino, JJ Abrams, David Lee Roth and others. Hughes says he’s become a better interviewer; the show’s more cerebral.

“I think it’s just a good solid comedy show, but we have no problem getting serious if we have to,” he says.

— Kris Dreessen

Norma Holland ’97: Telling the story of her city orma Holland ’96 was elated to walk across the commencement stage, but there was little time to celebrate.

She had to work the next day as a TV reporter.

Holland’s experience as a GSTV anchor on campus helped solidify her interest in broadcast journalism and land an internship her junior year — and then a part-time job as a senior — at 13WHAM News in Rochester, N.Y. That was 17 years ago. She’s worked her way up from cub reporter to morning news anchor, a role she’s she had since 2003.

“People wake up and they want to know what’s going on,” says Holland. “We present it in a way that’s palatable at 5 o’clock in the morning.”

At her start, Holland’s internship was sort of a coup. Aimed at minority students, the paid position usually went to those at big-name universities. She went for it anyway.

“I knew I could do the job,” she says.

Much like the unrelenting pace of TV news, Holland’s introduction to the field was brief; she had to be a quick thinker.

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Follow her on Twitter: twitter.com/norm

She shadowed reporters for just a day and a half before setting out solo to interview the fire chief of Oklahoma City, who was visiting Rochester after the federal building bombings.

“You have to be prepared to cover anything, at any time, and you have to have the skills to back that up,” says Holland.

As morning co-anchor, she delivers the news and discusses trends, but can just as easily find herself covering breaking news.

Holland works in the city where she grew up. Being a journalist, she says, means telling its story on its best and worst days.

When a gunman shot and killed two West Webster, N.Y., firefighters last Christmas Eve, she felt her role was most imperative. She anchored coverage for seven hours, as colleagues reported from the scene.

“The story was unfolding by the minute and I knew everything I said mattered to the victim’s families and all who were watching it develop,” she says.

“I wasn’t just reporting the news, I was speaking directly to my community.”

— Kris Dreessen

Read his blog: www.mydrivefm.com/pages/Mayor.html PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Pete Kennedy ’83: The Mayor of talk he nuns didn’t like it, but Pete Kennedy ’83 loved playing rock music over the PA for his Catholic school classmates when he and his friends lugged in their turntables for their weekly eighth-grade show.

Kennedy’s real calling for radio came those times he tagged along with his father — who was the mayor of Canandaigua, N.Y. — to a little AM station as his dad reported out on sewer, road improvement and other small-city issues.

Dad didn’t like them much, but Pete was drawn to the guys behind the glass. They looked like they were having fun.

“He told me they were DJs. They stand around and BS and play music.

And they are wearing T-shirts and shorts. I was like, ’Well, I can do that!’”

Kennedy has, for 30 years on Rochester, N.Y., airwaves, playing rock and top 40 and bantering with callers about news and whatever else comes up.

He got his start in high school at that same little station his father visited.

At Geneseo’s WGSU–FM, “I played tunes and heckled my buddies from the dorm … It was a combination of everything. That’s where I learned pretty much everything about radio.”

At Geneseo, Kennedy was also a DJ at the Inn Between. The IB and WGSU helped him in a crucial skill-set he’d carry through his life, and career: “I got a master’s degree from socializing with people in both places.”

Kennedy landed his first on-air job two weeks after graduation: With his experience, they didn’t need to teach him the ropes.

He has been on-air talent at three stations — first WHFM–FM, then WPXY–FM for 20 years, and now WDVI–FM. He calls himself “The Mayor” Pete Kennedy, an homage to his father. A big part of his role as “The Mayor” is to be the emcee at charity events, which he is proud to do.

“It’s part of your job to live and work in the community …” says Kennedy.

“Go out and give back and you know you get plenty of reward. It’s fun.”

— Kris Dreessen

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PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

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Tony Infantino ’76: Still a rush oming up on 40 years in radio, Tony Infantino ’76 still revels in the magic behind the mic.

“I love it,” he says. “I get to come to work and play. I get to be Tony Infantino for my job — and I am uniquely qualified for the position!’”

Since 1994, Infantino has been the face behind the jingle that invites listeners to “Wake Up With Tony” on WRMM–FM in Rochester, N.Y. Ironically, he was trying to do the same in 1974 as a communications major, albeit on a much smaller scale.

“I was on air three mornings a week at WGBC and served as production director,” he says. “I basically lived in the studio.”

That is unless he was in class with professors like the late Charles “Doc” Goetzinger, whom Infantino calls “the smartest man I ever met.” Or in the Rathskellar enjoying a few beers with friends. Or at the gazebo “applauding the sunsets.” Or at WXXY-FM in Montour Falls, working the weekend noon to 6 slot.

“What you learn in college is how to get along with people,” offers Infantino. “You learn how to learn — and that to me is the

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Jim Chandler ’87: Waking ’em up in Music City efore he was known as Jim Chandler — half of Nashville’s popular duo “Woody and Jim in the Morning” — he was Jim Crowe, a West Seneca, N.Y., kid who wanted to be a fighter pilot.

Or a radio DJ. “That was before LASIK — and when they told me that with my vision, I could never fly, it was like, ‘Okay, plan B,’” recalls Crowe ’87, who majored in speech communication. “DJ was another way of being cool.”

Crowe — who only goes by Chandler at work — has come a long way since playing “radio station” in his youth.

“I remember putting albums on the stereo and talking to myself between songs,” he said. “Now that I think about it, that’s kind of sad and pathetic … I should have had more friends!”

Today, he has legions of fans who have been waking up to his humor for 15 years on Nashville’s longestrunning radio show. That’s a far cry from his first stint behind the mic in 1984 on WGBC–AM at Geneseo. “It was the farm team of WGSU,” deadpans Crowe. “If you did well, they brought you over to FM.” He later served as WGSU program director and general manager, with the perk of having his own show. He also worked for commerical stations including WHAM–AM in Rochester,

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most important thing. I need to know a little bit about everything.”

It was true then — and is true now, especially given how technology is changing the medium.

“What used to take me two hours now takes literally two minutes,” he says. “It’s so automated; you can do so many things you couldn’t do 10 to 20 years ago.”

One thing hasn’t changed: Infantino’s love for Rochester. Defying the odds in a transient profession, he has spent virtually his entire career in his home city, anchored by a close-knit family.

“My parents and brothers provided nothing but support every step of the way,” he says. “They are my heroes.”

Infantino splits his time between his radio show, daily promotional appearances for his show on TV, and gigs with his band as a singer and guitarist.

It could go to his head, but it doesn’t.

He explains: “My teenage son once told me, ‘Dad, you’re just famous enough that people know who you are … but they don’t care enough to come up and bother you!’”

— Anthony T. Hoppa

Read his morning show blog: warm1013.com/morning-show-blog/ PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Chandler, continued from page 12

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Read Chet’s blog: www.wham1180.com/pages/ chetwalker.html

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Read Joe’s blog: www.wham1180.com/pages/ joelomonaco.html PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Chet Walker ’78 and Joe Lomonaco ’93: Talk radio hosts wo Geneseo alumni own both of the coveted drive-time radio programs on WHAM-AM, among the top-rated stations in Rochester, N.Y. In the morning, it’s Chet Walker ’78, who has been with the talk-radio station since 1979, first on the overnight shift and now ushering in a new day from 5 to 8:30 a.m.

In the afternoon, it’s Joe “Joe Lo” Lomonaco ’93, who’s been there 19 years and hosts the “5 O’clock Newshour.” He spends the rest of his day as the station’s creative services director in charge of commercial production.

Walker and Lomonaco read and introduce local, national and international news segments, update listeners on traffic and weather, get in some jokes and basically serve as on-air personality.

Even though 15 years separate their Geneseo experiences, they share a passion for the storytelling impact that radio has on listeners. Mentors — like WGBC adviser Bill Berry and professors Bill Cook and Randy Barbara Kaplan — influenced them greatly, in deciding their career, learning directing and how to tell a story.

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Walker earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and speech communication at Geneseo, then a master’s degree in social work at the University at Buffalo, but he had taken an interest in broadcasting at Geneseo, where he got involved with campus stations WGBC on the AM dial and WGSU–FM. That’s what won out.

“I figured I would need my social work training to fall back on when they kicked me off of the air, which should happen any day now,” jokes Walker.

Lomonaco, too, found WGSU his freshman year and stuck with it.

“I spent four years learning how to make a lot of mistakes on the radio, but it helped me get to where I am now,” he says.

Satisfaction of reaching thousands of listeners in their day has been the constant through the years.

“People I’ve never met will acknowledge something I said that was meaningful to them and say have listened to me for many years,” says Chet. “That is huge.”

— David Irwin

where he gained more than just professional experience. He picked up a new identity.

While working nights at WHAM, someone would call him 20 minutes before setting fire to public buildings. Though Crowe recorded the calls and notified police, he found the experience unnerving.

“That’s when I realized that maybe I should use another name,’” Crowe said.

So he did what any Buffalo Bills fan would do. He took the name of a player. Coincidentally, former wide receiver Bob Chandler even had the same last initial.

Overnight, Jim Crowe became Jim Chandler.

Looking back, Crowe holds many fond memories of Geneseo, but none rival his favorite: meeting his wife, Jennifer Heins, when they were active in the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity.

“She was one of my pledgemasters,” said Crowe. “And I’m still taking orders from her today!”

— Anthony T. Hoppa

:

Read his blog at www.1075theriver.com/pages/ personality_wj.html

Seen and Heard is a peek inside Geneseo’s tradition of media talent — on and off the air.

Others include • Rachel Kingston ’08, news reporter on WIVB-TV in Buffalo • John “J.T. The Brick” Tournour ’87, sports talk radio host and Oakland Raiders announcer • Mike Ninnie ’85, general manager of three Rochester, N.Y., radio stations Join the conversation and tell us your story at … www.geneseo.edu/wys/form

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What’s your story?

By Anthony T. Hoppa

Everyone has a story.

A Geneseo story.

A story about a person, place or event that shaped your life in ways big or small.

Whether memories burn brightly as if just ignited, or glow softly like embers from a fading fire, the feelings of this shared experience called “college” resonate forever.

Alumni stories light the way and warm the heart. They connect us to each other and to this special place. They strengthen the common bond of “being here” that unites us all.

So tell us: What’s your story?

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Read more and submit your own at geneseo.edu/WYS

ILLUSTRATION BY ©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/MA_RISH

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“This place stays with you.

I come back every year.

So does my husband. This is where our story started.

Be here. Let it lead you.”

— Kerry Fogarty Alexander ’87

When Kerry Fogarty Alexander ’87 returns to campus every fall, she doesn’t consider the six-and-a-half hour drive from Cheshire, Conn., as leaving home.

Rather, she’s coming home — back to a place where her story started. Where her life, as she now knows it, really began.

At Geneseo, she discovered a passion for learning.

She met her husband, Chris Alexander ’89 — an Omega — at a toga party at the AGO house.

She enjoyed simple pleasures like Aunt Cookie’s subs or french fries with mayonnaise at the College Union snack bar.

Walking underneath the archway near The Hub outside Sturges. Or checking out the wall that still gets painted. It served as the “what’s going on” place before the advent of social media.

Those little pieces of precious memories now form a mosaic that reflects her life at Geneseo. Coming back is her way of never forgetting. ometimes we try to orchestrate our life instead of letting our life lead us in its natural path. I came to Geneseo as an accounting major and never thought I’d be doing what I’m doing now. I took a large psych 101 class and loved it so much I changed majors. I took classes with different professors like Bill Cook and Karen Duffy … They sparked an interest in me and helped me realize I could have a minor in organizational and occupational behavior. They

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PHOTO BY JOEY ESPOSITO: EXPOSUREMAX PHOTOGRAPHY

A touchstone

led me to places I didn’t know existed, and that has since led me along this path to become a high school guidance director at Sacred Heart Academy. I absolutely love what I do.”

••• “My life as a student revolved around Alpha Kappa Phi and our sorority projects. Many of us who come back for Homecoming were involved as Greeks. For me, in some ways, it’s an escape from the pressures of my reality now. I can go back to Geneseo and be Kerry Fogarty again for three days with old friends and just be and laugh and remember. It’s a way to step back, slow down and reconnect.”

••• “Geneseo changed me from having a mindset of getting a corporate job … to doing something that gave me more of a personal value. At Geneseo, I learned to value people for who they are. We were real people from real families with real lives — and we still are. My dad was a cop and my mom wrapped presents at Macy’s. That’s who I am and that’s important to me. ” ••• “Geneseo is my touchstone and in so many ways, it doesn’t change. Coming back every year allows me to remember always where I came from and how important that was.”

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How a Geneseo alumnus — and one infinitesimally small particle —

are changing how we view the universe.

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Discovery of the Higgs boson — or the so-called “God Particle” — helped confirm the standard model of physics, one of the fundamental theories for how the universe works. Ben Kilminster ’97 is among the researchers who proved one of the most important scientific discoveries in our lifetime.

By Ben Kilminster ’97 orty-nine years ago, scientists theorized that a special fundamental particle — the Higgs boson — must exist. When other fundamental particles interact with it, they acquire mass.

What does this mean? The infinitesimally miniscule Higgs boson is one of the building blocks of all things.

Without it, there is no you. Or me.

Or more precisely, without the mass provided by the Higgs boson, the electron would travel at the speed of light and not be bound in atoms. This would mean that atoms and molecules would not exist, which would mean that you and I would not exist.

If all of a sudden the Higgs field disappeared, matter would simply disappear into energy.

So if anyone asks if a Higgs is important, tell them their mortal life depends on it.

Scientists have pursued the greatest questions about the universe, and based many of our principles and predictions of physics using this theory — despite never being able to create a Higgs boson or prove its existence.

Having the capability to prove the existence of the Higgs boson was a pie-in-thesky dream.

As a 1997 Geneseo physics graduate, I am honored to have co-led a team that found evidence for the crucial new particle, and quite fortunate to have participated in its final discovery.

It took a long time to get there.

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•••

PHOTO BY JOS SCHMID

Finding the needle in the haystack

In 1998, I took part in a study to see how hard it would be to detect the Higgs boson at the Tevatron particle collider at Fermilab, outside of Chicago. At the time, this was the only collider with enough energy to produce Higgs bosons, but there was just not enough data to prove they were there.

I switched topics and for my doctoral

thesis at the University of Rochester I studied the top quark, the heaviest fundamental particle known to exist, with a mass of 180 times that of a proton. It wasn’t until 2005 that I began seriously searching for the Higgs boson at the Tevatron.

I was really drawn to the idea of seeing a new particle pop into existence from pure theory. And, at this time, the pursuit of the Higgs boson became very real, because we had high enough energy collisions, and were collecting enough data to sift through and find it.

When studying the Higgs boson, we are essentially pursuing the forces of nature and the constituents of the universe, by trying to produce in a laboratory energy densities that existed only a ten-billionth of a second after the Big Bang.

To accomplish this was a daunting task.

The problem was that you need to collide protons together to create the conditions needed to form a Higgs boson. You have to do it precisely — 1,000,000,000,000 times in order to produce just one Higgs boson. Despite the fact that the Tevatron collided protons together at rates of millions of times per second, and ran almost 24-7, with a Higgs boson produced every few days, it was (and is) still actually impossible to identify a single Higgs boson with 100 percent accuracy.

Why? Higgs bosons decay so quickly, disappearing into a shower of dozens of particles. As soon as they form, they decay. And they are similar enough to other types of particle decays that we can only calculate a probability that a Higgs boson was there.

So we needed to be detectives to find it, and use as many observations as we can, to maximize our probability.

Here’s how we managed to do it: We had a 5,000-ton particle detector, which could take snapshots of the collisions by collecting a million measurements together to describe each collision and all of the particles that

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ben Kilminster ’97 is an associate professor at the University of Zürich Physics Institute.

Kilminster has dedicated much of his research to searching for the Higgs boson, a unique particle which gives mass to particles like the electron, and which explains why the force of light and that of nuclear reactions is so different.

At Fermilab’s accelerator near Chicago, Kilminster co-led the team that found evidence for a new particle in the search for the Higgs boson, and at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) Large Hadron Collider accelerator, he helped produce a definitive observation of this particle. He also is featured in the film “The Atom Smashers.”

University of Zürich Associate Physics Professor Ben Kilminster ’97 helped produce a definitive observation of the Higgs boson particle, which is believed to be one of the most important scientific discoveries of our lifetime. Here, he holds a custom electronics board that he helped design, which reconstructs thousands of possible track trajectories of particles at a rate of 7 million times a second.

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Geneseo’s physics and astronomy department celebrates

HIGGS BOSON 101:

Ben Kilminster’s series of “Plain English” articles explores the Higgs boson in depth.

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www-cdf.fnal.gov/physics/new/hdg/Plain_English.html Kilminster is also featured in “The Atom Smashers” documentary. http://theatomsmashers.com

were produced. But drowning out our Higgs boson signal were millions of mundane proton collisions we call “backgrounds” which produced almost identical snapshots.

Imagine this impossible scenario: You need to find all the needles in a haystack.

But all you are given are pictures of the haystack, and not the haystack itself. And then it turns out that the pictures are not photos, but paintings.

••• The moment that changed our understanding

By 2011, we had developed analysis techniques that could pick out needles with very high probability. I had been heavily involved in developing these analysis techniques and became co-leader of the Higgs boson search group from 2008 to 2011. The added complication was that in Europe a new accelerator called the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was turning on, with higher energy and faster collision rates than the American one. That team would likely find the Higgs boson first. So I joined that experiment as well in 2011, helping to combine all the data together and determine if it yielded a consistent answer.

On July 4, 2012, it all came to a head.

Scientists at both accelerators had been working frantically to prepare their results for the big, yearly particle physics conference, which was in Australia that year. The results came in. On one side, my Tevatron experiment had found evidence for a new particle that looked just like the Higgs boson in one of the ways it decayed. On the other hand, my LHC experiment had observed a new particle decaying just like the Higgs boson in two other ways that it could decay. Together, the evidence was quite overwhelming. With all of the experiments taken together, there was less than a chance in a billion that we were wrong.

This was a big deal.

The Higgs boson had been theorized in the 1960s by six theoretical physicists, one named Peter Higgs, and another one

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: www.geneseo.edu/physicsfest

named Richard Hagen, a professor at the University of Rochester. They were trying to explain how the force of light electricity and magnetism was related to the force that controlled nuclear reactions, and they stumbled onto a theory, which predicted this new particle. But it took until 2012 for experiments to catch up with the theory and provide proof that something just like the Higgs boson existed and the universe was filled with a field providing mass to fundamental particles.

Physicists were ecstatic. Since I was part of both the American and European experiments, I knew what to expect. Still, I

I GOT MY START AT GENESEO …

I have worked in the field of particle physics since I participated in research with former Geneseo Professor Sarah Durston Johnson on Cornell’s CLEO experiment while a student at Geneseo. CLEO was a particle physics experiment for studying electronpositron collisions. I also worked with Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy Emeritus David Meisel, studying chaos in evolutionary systems.

drove out to Fermilab at midnight on July 4 to see the presentations on a big screen.

LHC leaders Joe Incandela and Fabiola Gianotti gave live web-streamed presentations presenting the findings. For a few days the Higgs boson was all over the media. Reporters interviewed scientists, and everyone gave their renditions on what this abstract finding meant. Less than a year later, additional data has proven that this new particle is a Higgs boson.

••• The discovery is like walking on the moon

We scientists were all happy, but now we are on to the next thing. We have many questions to ask about how the universe

50 years on Aug. 30 and 31

started 13.8 billion years ago and how the forces unify, and why there are so many particles with such different masses. But we are very excited that our theories have proven so accurate in predicting the behavior of the universe.

In another sense, the Higgs boson confirmation is akin to the monumental achievement of walking on the moon. It once seemed impossible and will change how we think about the universe — and what we can learn in it.

Knowledge is so important because it can be built upon. Until we knew what an electron was, we could not make a computer.

Until we found out how particles acquire mass, we could not take the next step in knowledge.

The frontier of knowledge about the smallest objects in the universe, the highest energies of the universe, and the origins of the forces that control objects at these energies has brought mankind to a point in time where we now understand and have proof of how particles can gain mass.

This is a huge feat of knowledge for humanity, and the full implications of it may not be understood for many years, when we have built upon this knowledge many times and created new knowledge and technology.

The truth is that until we ask the questions, and learn the answers, we don’t know what we will gain.

I think about current Geneseo students who are starting out or considering scientific research.

If you stick to it, you can become a leading expert on some part of the human experience. You could increase human knowledge and potentially the quality of life of billions of people for many millions of years into the future. Sounds hard to achieve, I know, but you’ve got a great place to start. Science builds off the research of others in the past, and our body of knowledge is humankind’s prized possession.

ATHLETICS AND RECREATION

On deck

The next generation of coaches Students earn certification to mentor school teams before they graduate.

“I see them as starting with an empty tool box. They fill that tool box by watching practices, watching games, developing their own philosophy.”

— Michael Mooney

By Meredith Drake hen Shane Zanetti ’08 got hired to teach social studies and coach track at a small school in upstate New York, there wasn’t a year-round distance running program. So he started one.

When he left three years later, the program was going strong. A student even wrote her college essay on what Zanetti taught her about running a 5K race, and believing in herself.

That success, he says, is thanks to what he learned from his own coaches at Geneseo and the instruction that helped him become a successful coach. Zanetti was able to complete a nine-credit program to become a New York state certified coach as an undergraduate.

“At Geneseo, I learned how to build a team into a program and a family,” says Zanetti, who now teaches and coaches cross-country and track at Saratoga Springs High School. “I still draw on what I learned at Geneseo all the time. The program made me realize there’s a lot more to coaching than just knowing your sport and sharing it with the kids.”

Those epiphanies? Ideas like team above the individual. And, if your athletes trust and believe in you, you can make them believe in themselves.

Started in 1978 as a way for education majors to graduate with additional teaching credentials, 120 Geneseo students have earned certification in 11 of Geneseo’s 12 varsity sports. That makes them eligible upon graduation to lead varsity, junior varsity and modified sports in public and private schools.

Aspiring coaches cover the nuts and bolts and nuánces, like how to hold people’s

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PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Lexi Williams ’13, left, and Alexa Salzman ’13 earned their New York state certification to coach team sports before they even graduated from college through a unique program that more than 120 Geneseo students have completed.

attention. They learn to care for and prevent emergencies and injuries, create portfolios with personal coaching philosophy and practice plans, learn to communicate with colleagues and parents, and spend time one on one with a Geneseo coach and campus trainers. Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation Michael Mooney has taught principles and philosophies of coaching for 20 years.

“I see them as starting with an empty tool box,” he says. “They fill that tool box by watching practices, watching games, developing their own philosophy … What they don’t understand is all the other things you have to do as a coach. There’s a lot of paperwork and then you’re part psychologist, part teacher, part counselor, part philosopher. My job is to get them to think bigger, globally. They have to think about how to get the players to come together.”

Geneseo women’s soccer coach Nathan

Wiley encourages students he works with to observe as many other coaches as they can.

The “wow,” Mooney says, is when alumni say they used something they learned in class and it worked.

Math major Alexa Salzman ’13 and speech pathology major Lexi Williams ’13 completed their certification as softball coaches last semester. Sharing her love of the sport with the next generation is Salzman’s way of carrying on the strong coaching that’s kept her in the sport for 17 years.

“I’ve had great coaches in my career and want to inspire someone else in the same way,” she says.

Williams has played softball since she was 6. With a father who coached, she knew a thing or two about coaches just from growing up around them. She’s eager to try it out herself.

“I want to take what I’ve learned from everyone,” she says, “and add my own twist.”

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SOCIAL NETWORK As part of our new feature, The Scene will highlight one of Geneseo’s 194 student clubs. Enjoy a look at those that are longtime traditions, as well as the surprising and the new.

25 years

MODEL UN 25 years on the micro-world stage

By Daniel B. O’Brien ’13 In other words, delegates take on real hris Caggiano ’13 didn’t expect his positions of power and work with the same committee to devolve into nuclear war, but in Model UN, you just never tools accessible to those individuals — be it military technology or Congressional fundknow. ing. Sometimes they take on the muscle of As a member of the Pakistani cabinet, the mafia in committees focused on the Caggiano made alliances with Russia, South Africa and Turkey during a blistering underground politics of Italy, or personas in a mock “Game of Thrones.” Caggiano crisis between India and China. Taking on the persona of the country he represented, has also argued from the position of a drug cartel. he shifted focus on “It’s an interesting way to They spend the Pakistan. He had done months before each his research and had get a new perspective on conference researchno intention of being issues — and the perspective ing, collaborating, lost in the shuffle. you’re representing may not and holding mock “I found people who were willing to listen to be your own, you have to see committees and debates, then hash my point,” says outside the box.” out world issues with Caggiano, Geneseo — Katie Becker ’14 delegations from Model UN president other colleges. for 2012-2013. “People Geneseo is a small school, so students tend who wanted to bump the conventional to represent smaller nations. They always powers … wanted to send me small arms make their mark. and jets and tanks.”

“Debating with delegates at top-tier uniBefore he knew it, Caggiano was the cenversities, we’ve gotten to the point where ter of nuclear war — and the winner of we are competitive — ranked ahead of the Best Delegate of his committee. “(People) think of it as dry parliamentary some Ivy League schools,” says Caggiano.

“By our delegates really knowing their topdebate, but a lot of Model UN has evolved to involve crisis committees,” he says. “That ics, and being well-versed, they stand out.”

Last April, Geneseo earned Best means it’s an active, non-static topic.

Delegation honors at Five College Model People have the power of their persons.”

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United Nations, meaning the club won the most individual awards. Geneseo previously won the second-place delegation award for four consecutive years.

This year, the club celebrates a 25-year history of providing students with a passion for politics — and research, debate and a little showmanship — with time on the world stage. The club began formally in 1988, but Geneseo fielded delegations earlier, when Elaine Kehew ’89 told Professor of Political Science and International

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Celebrating 25 years: Members of the Model UN have explored and debated world issues and gained new perspectives representing countries at conferences since Elaine Kehew ’89 co-founded the club.

Relations Robert Goeckel that she missed her high school Model UN club and wanted to start one at Geneseo.

That first year, they recruited seven students, secured seed money from The Geneseo Foundation and hitched a ride with another school to represent Honduras at Harvard’s Model UN. Now, some 15 to 20 club members participate in four or five conferences per year.

Dave Eaton ’88 was one of Goeckel’s pio-

neering recruits. He remembers how working on an Energy Committee taught him how to go outside his comfort zone.

“I had to look up things I wasn’t familiar with, which was kind of neat,” says Eaton.

“Bringing that specialized knowledge into a team framework is a useful thing I took out of it.”

Twenty-five years later, Katie Becker ’14 finds the same epiphanies in the Model UN microcosm.

“It’s an interesting way to get a new perspective on issues — and the perspective you’re representing may not be your own,” she says. “You have to see outside the box.”

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RANDOM PROFILE

One Cup Kyle Denniston Class of 2004

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

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

Up next ... Colorado Could it be you?

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QUICK FACTS Home: Bellevue, Neb. Graduation year: 2004 Degree: bachelor’s in physics Family: wife, Johanna ’04 Hobbies: Hiking, backpacking, running, cycling.

Something about me that usually surprises people: I would rather be on a mountain than anywhere else in the world.

The biggest risk I’ve taken: Leaving graduate school with no future assurances.

How you describe Geneseo: A great place to spend four years.

Favorite campus hangout: A tie between Greene Hall Junior Lab and Kelly’s.

Best Geneseo memory: Meeting Johanna.

Favorite professor or class: Chi Ming Tang, Charlie Freeman, Jerry Reber How Geneseo has shaped your life: It provided me with the foundation of my education, taught me a lot about myself and introduced me to some of my best friends, including my wife.

Most important life lesson learned at Geneseo: Don’t be afraid to do the things that make you happiest.

ILLUSTRATION AMANDA LINDLEY

hen Kyle Denniston ’04 was a freshman in high school, his grandmother came to live with his family.

Though Denniston welcomed her presence, he cannot say the same for the circumstances that brought her.

She came to help after his father was diagnosed with angiosarcoma, a malignant cancer that attacks blood or lymphatic vessels. During this time, his mom was a force in keeping the family together, even during long trips away for treatment.

“It was tough,” Denniston says. “It gives you the first-hand experience of what a family affected by cancer goes through.

You just have to get through it.”

His father has been cancer-free for 16 years.

Denniston’s experience would later inspire him to become a radiation oncologist. He now works every day helping cancer patients. As a resident at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, he uses 3-D software to create treatment plans. Sometimes, when Denniston is making diagnoses, he thinks of his father.

“I can’t help but think about what they did back then, and how he was treated,” he says. “It’s an interesting thought. Especially when I see a case with a similar disease as he had. It hits close to home. The beauty of what we do now is that because everything is 3-D based, every treatment plan ends up being unique to the patient. We do have certain guidelines, for example, for radiation doses. But, anatomically, we’re really able to fashion every plan individually for the patients that we’re treating. That’s probably the biggest step forward as far as radiation technology has gone over the past 15 years.”

Denniston initially sought a doctorate in medical physics, but Chicago turned out to be lonesome on two accounts: the absence of his girlfriend and future wife Johanna Schaefer Denniston ’04 — whom he met on his very first day at Geneseo in Suffolk Hall — and a lack of fervor for his field.

“We spent a lot of time doing computer programming and mathematical models and things — the very back end,” he says.

“I found that there was something lacking.”

Denniston moved to Boston with Johanna for medical school at Tufts University.

“I can’t remember what things were like before we were together,” says Denniston, who can’t imagine where he’d be without his wife’s support. “It’s been a long time and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

In 2011, they moved to Omaha; Johanna is a special education teacher. Even though many of his patients are terminal and treatment sometimes means helping them suffer as little as possible, he’s optimistic.

“When you see a patient who is really having a rough time and you’re able to help them to enjoy life more, that’s very rewarding,” he says. “We can play a major role in making their quality of life better ... Focus on the positive.”

PHOTO PROVIDED

By Daniel B. O’Brien ’13

ART BY ELAINE KEHEW ’89

Alumni News ABOUT THE ARTIST: Inspired by her first trip to Lamu, an island on the Kenya-Somali border, Elaine Kehew ’89 painted “Under the Dhow Sail.”

“To get from the mainland to the island, you need to take this ferry,” she says. “I snapped a photo under the sail. The island has no cars, just boats and donkeys. I became so interested in the people and life of that island that I based my most recent body of work on life in Lamu.”

Kehew is drawn to nature and looks for unexpected combinations of color to portray a sense of life rooted in the earth or on the sea.

While at Geneseo, Kehew helped found the Model UN club (see story on page 20). It was a prophetic move, as she lives in Nairobi, Kenya, with her family, and works as a consultant for the Urban Legislative Group in the UN Habitat’s Land Governance Branch, building a global database of all urban laws of member nations.

See more of her work at www.elainekehew.com Share your artwork with us! Send a short bio and a link or examples of your work to scene@geneseo.edu.

ALUMNI NEWS

24 28 29 30

Alumni event photos Native historian A Fab director Class Notes Summer 2013

23

Upcoming

Geneseo — coming soon, to a city near you!

Alumni Events

The Office of Alumni Relations is constantly planning events on campus and throughout the 18 regions identified below. In an effort to reduce cost and preserve resources, invitations to most of our events will be sent by email (not print). To stay informed of alumni gatherings occurring in Geneseo or in a region near you, please check the alumni website, www.geneseo.edu/alumni, and make sure Geneseo has your most up-todate email address.

The Office of Alumni Relations is always looking for regional event ideas.

Contact the office at alumni@geneseo.edu if you would like to work with us to plan an event in your area.

Events being planned as of press deadline: August 2013 San Francisco: Aug. 10 — San Jose Giants baseball game and barbecue in San Jose Campus: Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 — Physics department 50th Anniversary Celebration Syracuse: Aug. 17 — Alumni cruise on Skaneateles Lake September 2013 Campus: Sept. 14 — Alumni Mudcat Club Baseball reunion weekend Sept. 27-29 — HOMECOMING October 2013 Denver: Oct. 3 — Oktoberfest reception and tour Washington, D.C.: Oct. 10 — Dessert reception with alumni and students of the Political Affairs Club

GENESEO ALUMNI REGIONS

New York City: Oct. 17 — Wall Street Association reception Campus: Oct. 25 through 27 — FAMILY WEEKEND Look for upcoming opportunities to say goodbye to President Christopher C. Dahl, who is retiring. We will be announcing dates very soon for farewell receptions across the country.

Also, we are continuously adding new events to our calendar! Please check our website — www.geneseo.edu/alumni — for the most upto-date list of events in your area.

• Albany Region • Buffalo Region • Chicago Region • Colorado Region • Florida — East Coast Region • Florida — West Coast Region • Long Island Region • New England Region • New Jersey — Northern Region • New York City Region • North Carolina Region • Philadelphia/New Jersey — Southern Region • Rochester Region • San Francisco Region • Southern California Region • Syracuse Region • Washington, D.C. Region • Westchester/Connecticut Region

It is very important that you keep Geneseo informed of your current mailing address. You will receive event invitations and notifications based on the address we have on file, the address where this issue of the Scene was mailed. If the address on the back of this magazine isn’t up to date, you might be missing out!

Geneseo alumni homepage: alumni.geneseo.edu

Alumni Women’s Soccer Weekend, Campus 24

geneseo scene

Alumni Events

Alumni Pep Band Reunion, Campus Alumni Hockey Weekend, Campus

Alumni Women’s Field Hockey Weekend, Campus Alumni Men’s Soccer Weekend, Campus

Alumni Women’s Volleyball Reunion, Campus

Alumni Women’s Basketball Reunion, Campus Summer 2013

25

Alumni Events

Amerks Event — Rochester Geneseo Night Out at the Rochester Amerks, hosted by James Traylor ’07 and Financial Architects MassMutual.

Alumni Men’s and Women’s Rugby Weekend — Campus

Sabres Event — Buffalo Geneseo Night Out at the Buffalo Sabres hockey game.

UAA Last Chance Broomball Tournament — Campus Last Chance Broomball Tournament hosted by the Undergraduate Alumni Association, featuring faculty/staff and alumni teams.

26

geneseo scene

Alumni Luncheon — San Diego

Wegmans Cooking School Event — Rochester, N.Y.

Syracuse, N.Y., Barbecue Event Dinosaur Barbeque Event hosted by Tanya Woldbeck Gesek ’93.

NYC Alumni Happy Hour Happy Hour organized by Padraic McConville ’04 and Clare Cusack ’96

NYC Alumni Reception and Wine Pairing Event hosted by Frank Vafier ’74 at Corkbuzz Externship Reception — Washington, D.C. Externship Student and Alumni Reception hosted by James Leary ’76 and Andrea Vavonese ’91, Washington, D.C.

Summer 2013

27

ALUMNI NEWS

ALUMNI PROFILE

class of ’93 Michael Galban PHOTO BY KRIS DREESSEN

Michael Galban ’93, pictured at Ganondagan State Historic Site, is a renowned scholar and resource of native peoples who has helped tribal communities revive traditional crafts and processes. He also is an internationally acclaimed artist.

Doorkeeper of Native American history ot long ago, no Senecas in the Cattaraugus reservation practiced blackash basketry. While the baskets are still an important part of marriage, corn washing and other ceremonies, the delicate, time-intensive art form had been set aside for generations.

Native American historian and craftsman Michael Galban ’93 and his wife, Tonia Loran, changed that.

They taught apprentices how to split black ash logs; even how to make the tools used specifically for the task. They showed them how to clean the splints they cut and to weave the wood as people had hundreds of years ago. A new group carries on the tribal tradition.

“There really is a core group of Seneca basket-makers now.

These are people who made it a

N

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“I interpret history with a culcommitment and priority in turally appropriate perspective,” their lives,” says Galban, a says Galban. “The Washoe/Paiute whole story.” tribe member.

Galban lectures “It’s a great feeland consults ing to know you extensively played a part in throughout the revitalizing that.”

United States for As the public museums and othhistorian at ers. He works with Ganondagan TV and film crews State Historic Site, to ensure their Galban provides portrayals of native Galban recreated this 1700s interpretation to pouch with hand-dyed history and culture visitors of the porcupine quills. are authentic.

Haudenosaunee In his specialty, community that Galban is also part forensic flourished in Victor, N.Y., during scientist. the 17th century.

Galban meticulously recreates With 22 years of research and native objects — often found insight from tribal elders, only in museums. He does so Galban has become a renowned precisely as they were made censcholar, resource and teacher of turies ago, from process to finhistory, culture and art of many ished piece, such as pouches native peoples throughout decorated with dyed porcupine North America.

quills that were used at the time of the American Revolution.

“I see those historic pieces as master works, like anybody would see a Degas or Monet,” says Galban.

There’s a lot of experimentation; often little is known about the objects. “Native art is very much a science,” he says.

To make the quill pouch, for example, Galban traded for the deer hide and tanned it himself.

He hunted the porcupine, then cleaned and dyed the quills with bed straw root. First, he had to figure out a formula that worked — and find the plant.

“Barely anyone even knows what bed straw root looks like,” he says.

Galban’s own work often becomes part of prized collections; a similar pouch is on exhibit in Germany.

While Galban studied fine art at Geneseo and intended a career as a contemporary Indian artist, he says he discovered it was “all wrong for me.”

He put it aside, until he carved out his niche at Ganondagan, where he started working as a sophomore in college.

He now sees his path was in him all along. As a child, Galban looked at books of Indian art and envisioned himself in those times.

“The passion I found was an old one,” he says. “I just hadn’t realized it.”

In preserving that history, and keeping it alive, Galban sees himself as a “doorkeeper” — to preserve, celebrate and share what is endangered.

“I feel it is a priority for native people to have a full understanding and appreciation of their past,” says Galban. “We owe it to our ancestors to carry on some of those elements …

My goal is to present it back to native communities whose tradition it really is. I think that’s my calling.”

— by Kris Dreessen

Director of fun for all that is Fab hat’s the next big trend you’ll see in home goods, fun clothing and candy jars?

Swedish Fish.

“There’s a company that makes giant edible Gummy Bears,” says Devin Guinn ’06.

“Gummy bear-related merchandise was big in 2012. I want them to do the Swedish Fish and Pez. I want a Swedish Fish night light, an ottoman, a pillow. That would be cool.”

Guinn is the director of merchandising-fun — yes, that’s actually his title — at Fab, an online retailer of products with fun, funky and stylish designs. On a given day, shoppers might pick up anything from mid-century modern club chairs to maple-bacon chocolate fudge to earrings featuring miniatures of Barack and Michelle Obama.

Guinn oversees a team of 14, including merchandise buyers and support staff, and sets trends. “I get to say, ‘What’s the cool new thing of the year?’” says Guinn.

Guinn’s trend-setting acumen has helped Fab’s sales skyrocket — from $20 million in 2011 to more than $100 million in 2012 — and revenue is set to dou-

W

“A liberal arts education gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in all categories and all genres and all topics of conversation.”

— Devin Guinn ’06 ble in 2013. Visits to Fab.com trounce those of other e-commerce sites like Zulily, Etsy, Rue La La and Woot; the site currently has 12 million and growing members.

Guinn has been a part of Fab from its inception. After getting his degree in musical theater, Guinn worked both

PHOTO PROVIDED

in theater management and in retail for Apple until he was hired by Fabulis.com, a social networking site for gay men, in 2011.

Two months after Guinn was hired by Fabulis, its founders, Bradford Shellhammer and Jason Goldberg, shifted the compa-

ny’s focus from social networking to selling welldesigned products, and rebranded the company from Fabulis to Fab. Of Fabulis’ original employees, only two made the transition to Fab — and Guinn was one of them.

Guinn says it was his “spirit and energy” that got him hired at Fabulis and kept him on as it transitioned to Fab. Though not everyone might see a connection between his education and becoming a successful professional at a top-rated Internet start-up, Guinn credits his Geneseo education as a key to his success. He was encouraged to try everything out, he says.

“A liberal arts education gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in all categories and all genres and all topics of conversation,” says Guinn. “It gave me broad exposure to a lot of different things.

When I left the theater world and went to Fab, I wasn’t scared, I wasn’t concerned, I knew that I had the right foundation and could do anything well if I put my mind to it.”

— By Laura Kenyon Look for the Swedish Fish! As director of merchandising and fun at Fab.com, Devin Guinn ’06 looks for those special things that are stylish and set trends.

class of ’06 Devin Guinn Summer 2013

29

ALUMNI NEWS

Class Notes 1950s Maureen Curry ’54 is the first recipient of the Magnano Heart of Olean Award given by the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce in November 2012. The award is bestowed upon an individual who has the spirit of Louis Magnano’s business acumen and his loyalty and love for his Olean community.

1960s Ann Marie Hanson Stanton ’62

is working for the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.

Jonathan Kurnik ’69 has resumed a 33-year career in pastoral ministry in Canada after a five-year hiatus, serving with a nursing care team in the southern United States. Lynda Graham Rogers ’69 recently retired from teaching middle school math and now lives in Florida.

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

Wayne Fisher ’72, a Maryland antiques dealer and artist, outfitted a historic manor with arrangements of mid-19th-century antiques that pay homage to the Civil War era and the home’s original owners. His work was featured in the March 2013 issue of Country Sampler magazine. John Robie ’73, a music producer, musician and composer, collaborated with DJ Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force in the 1970s to create “Planet Rock,” a gold-selling song that is widely credited with inspiring future hip-hop and electronic music. Most recently, “Planet Rock” was named as the No. 3 hip-hop song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. Robie has produced, played on or composed more than 100 songs, albums and soundtracks, for films such as “Pretty in Pink.” Carla Roetzer Vitale ’73 co-wrote “Treasure Island, a New Musical,” and served as dramaturg 30

geneseo scene

and education consultant for the production, which recently premiered at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock. Vitale has danced with Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey and others, and has choreographed more than 40 productions, including a national tour of “Annie.” Jill Paddock Santopietro ’75 has begun her fifth year as director of the Georgetown County Museum in historic Georgetown, S.C. Prior to her current position, she served as events and communication director of the New Jersey Museum of Agriculture in New Brunswick.

1980 Daniel Farberman recently accept-

ed a position at Kaleida Health in Buffalo, N.Y., as vice president of employee and labor relations. He recently was employed at The Buffalo News as vice president of human resources and labor relations.

Daniel Farberman

Gail Hornstein

recently formed the law firm of Hornstein & Bennett PLLC in Scottsdale, Ariz., with a focus on health care law and civil litigation.

She also provides mediation services. Most recently, she was a partner with Smith, Farhart & Hornstein LLC in the Phoenix area.

1983 William Shelp and Bonnalinn Myers are happy to announce their marriage on Jan. 28, 2012.

1984 Celebrating their 30th reunion in 2014.

1987 Scott and Michele Deegan wel-

comed two daughters, Katie and

climate, forests, indigenous peoples’ rights and biological diversity.

Mairy, on Feb. 7, 2013, in Bellingham, Wash.

1988 Melinda Berry is a project consultant/program manager at SkillSoft in the greater Boston area. She is also the director, business development and coach for Career College Edge. James Carter recently accepted a position at LSeven Solutions in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as an I.T. project/field engineer.

Mark Cronin accepted a position in September 2012 at University Cardiovascular Associates in Rochester, N.Y., as chief executive officer. Before that, he was vice president of corporate and systems initiatives at the American Cancer Society. Hilda Smith Pomeroy received a master of science degree in health care administration from Utica College in August 2012.

David Terry was recently named as the East region environmental coordinator for GEI Consultants Inc. He is responsible for coordinating environmental standards, training and business development for East Coast offices.

1989 Celebrating their 25th reunion in 2014.

Anne Petermann was recently awarded the International White Dove Award from the Rochester Committee on Latin America in Rochester, N.Y., for her international work to protect the environment, defend the rights of indigenous peoples, protect forests, and stop the release of genetically engineered trees. She works in solidarity with social movements, communities and organizations from around the world with a focus in Mexico, Central America and South America. Petermann is the executive director of the Global Justice Ecology Project and also the international coordinator of the Campaign to Stop Genetically Engineered Trees. Since 2004, she has presented around the world at United Nations meetings on the

Maureen Ryan Wolfe Maureen Ryan Wolfe

was recently promoted to senior vice president/director of human resources and community relations from vice president/people and organization development director at ESL Federal Credit Union in Victor, N.Y.

1992 Amy Ludwig-VanDerwater has

released her first book of poetry for children, titled “Forest Has a Song.”

1993 Christopher Dailey was recently promoted to superintendent of schools at the Batavia City (N.Y.) School District.

1994 Celebrating their 20th reunion in 2014.

1995 Gregory Ahlquist, a social studies

teacher at Webster Thomas High School in Webster, N.Y., was named by the Board of Regents as 2013 New York State Teacher of the Year.

He is a Webster native and has taught at the school for 12 years.

1995 Kevin Bozza was recently promoted from assistant vice president to vice president, clinical resource management, at the Long Island Health Network in Melville, N.Y. David Flynn and Lisa Rand Flynn ’97 are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Alice Hazel, on Nov. 19, 2012. Shelley Mehlenbacher recently accepted a

position at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets in Montpelier, Vt., as assistant state veterinarian. Shelley also received a master of public health from the University of Minnesota — School of Public Health on June 1, 2011.

At the same time, she successfully passed the board exam and became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. Dennis Nayor was appointed to the rank of chief of police for the City of Oneonta Police Department in April 2012. He has served with the department since 1995. Nayor is a New York State Department of Criminal Justice certified police general topics instructor, police defensive tactics instructor, police firearms instructor, police physical fitness instructor, DARE instructor, and hostage negotiator. Amy West recently accepted a position as manager of communications and media at Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (Tufts CTSI) in Boston.

1996 Melissa “Lissy” L’Amoreaux is vice

president, digital/interactive for Eclipse Advertising. She was formerly CEO/executive creative director for Union Inc. Union was acquired

by Eclipse Advertising in April 2012.

Matthew Tappon recently accepted a position at Council Rock Primary School in Brighton, N.Y., as principal. He was most recently employed at Churchville Chili Middle School as assistant principal.

1997

Submit your class note or notice at

go.geneseo.edu/classnote employed by Five Star Bank for 17 years, most recently as vice president and manager of product development and marketing research. Barbara Ann RiefferFlanagan authored a book, “Evolving Iran.” Cary Silverman was appointed to the faculty of The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., as an adjunct professor. Tina Pepe Stern and Erik Stern are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Zachary Michael Stern, born on June 25, 2012, in Weston, Fla.

1998 Maureen Haran Bowie received a master of science in educational leadership in building and district leadership from the College of New Rochelle in May 2013. She and her husband, Lucas Bowie, are also happy to announce their marriage on March 22, 2013, in The Woodlands in Woodbury, N.Y. They reside in Levittown, N.Y. John Elnicky and JoAnne Kukoda-Elnicky ’99 are proud to announce the birth of twins — a boy and a girl — born on April 2, 2012, in Buffalo, N.Y. Carson and Emma join big brother, Aidan, who was born on March 3, 2009, in Reston, Va. Brian Matyko

Aimee Dawson received a master

of arts in communication from SUNY Brockport in August 2012.

Marc DiPaolo and Stacey DiPaolo are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Keira Lillian DiPaolo, born on Jan. 16, 2013, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Lisa Rand Flynn and David Flynn ’95 are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Alice Hazel, born on Nov. 19, 2012. Charles Guarino is senior vice president and director of marketing for Five Star Bank, responsible for product development, marketing research, pricing, advertising, promotions and public relations activities. He has been

works for Citi Group in New York Brian Matyko City as a mortgage banker. He previously was employed at MetLife Home Loans as a Mortgage Consultant.

1999 Celebrating their 15th reunion in 2014.

Cory Soper Jacobs recently accepted a position at United Methodist Homes in Johnson City,

N.Y., as vice president of development. She most recently was employed at Binghamton University as Cory Soper Jacobs senior director of major gifts. Julie Kim recently accepted a position at AMC Networks in New York, N.Y., as director of pricing and planning.

She was previously employed at MTV Networks, a division of Julie Kim Viacom, as director of forecasting. JoAnne Kukoda-Elnicky and John Elnicky ’98 are proud to announce the birth of twins — a boy and a girl — born on April 2, 2012, in Buffalo, N.Y. Carson and Emma join big brother, Aidan, who was born on March 3, 2009, in Reston, Va. Karen Seaman Marotta and James Marotta are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Dylan, born on Sept. 21, 2012. Karen was also named managing director at the PR agency kwitten + company in New York City.

2000 Thomas D’Angelo was recently promoted to vice president, financial counseling, from account manager at The Ayco Co., L.P., a GS Co., in Parsippany, N.J. Pablo DeRosas has been volunteering with CityLax, a nonprofit organization that brings the sport of lacrosse to high school students in under-served areas of the New York community. For the past several years, Pablo has spent many cold winter Saturdays outside running clinics for students, most of whom have never touched a stick.

Recently, he was named to the Junior Advisory Board of CityLax and tasked with growing the networking base and fundraising efforts. Cortney Steffens received a doctorate in language, literacy and learning from Fordham University in August 2012.

2001 Sean Campbell was recently promoted to liability claims manager from liability claims supervisor at Preferred Mutual. Leah George recently accepted a position at Greater Rochester Enterprise as an international trade associate. She formerly was employed at Time Warner Cable, YNN Rochester.

Timothy Perla was recently promoted to partner at WilmerHale in Boston. Jeffrey Reingold was promoted to chief operating officer from senior director, operations, at Contract Pharmacal Corp. in Hauppauge, N.Y. Caitlin Ellison Rose and Matthew Rose are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Wesley Maxwell. He was born on Dec. 1, 2012, in Rochester, N.Y.

2002 Matt Lester and his wife, Diane

Lester, are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Matthew John Lester Jr., born on March 28, 2013, in Rochester, N.Y. Sarah Sandok Rabinovici recently accepted a position at Pepper Hamilton LLP in New York, N.Y., as an associate.

Sarah formerly was employed at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP as an associate.

Ryan Smith

and Karen are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Cora Madeline, born on July Sarah Sandok 11, 2012, in Rabinovici Washington, D.C. He also recently accepted a position at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., as a budget analyst. He was recently employed at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an analyst in the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization. Amanda Zullo

Summer 2013

31

ALUMNI NEWS

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

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

Jim ’75 and Joan Thompson ’75 Sobiesiak skiing on High Alpine at Snowmass, Colo. Garret’s Peak and Clark Peak are in the background.

Patricia Liegey ’75 exploring Sneed on the Ring of Kerry in Ireland.

Maureen Hall ’94 at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Timothy ’87 and Yvonne McGann ’85 O’Shea at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. They also traveled to Zimbabwe on their trip to Jon Prescott ’10 and Tess Leverenz ’11 in front of the Cathedral of Santiago visit their son, Colin, who was studying at the University of Cape Town. de Compostela, Spain, a main destination on the Way of St. James.

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received National Board Certification; she is one of fewer than 10 teachers in the North of Albany/Utica with this certification.

2003 Chanel Tillman, a teacher at William Cullen Bryant High School in Long Island City, N.Y., coached her first-year robotics team, the OwlBots, to a regional victory in the 2013 For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics Competition.

The team has been invited to compete in the National Robotics Competition in St. Louis, Mo.

2004 Celebrating their 10th reunion in 2014.

Kelly Brown Kester and Nathan Kester ’05 are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Claire London Kester, born on May 6, 2012, in Rochester, N.Y. Jill Carney Holcomb and Blake Holcomb are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Davis Owen, born on Dec. 3, 2012, in Jacksonville, Fla. Christopher Marquart recently accepted a position in July 2012 at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., as assistant dean of student life and director of residence life. He was recently employed at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt., as director of residence life.

Christopher Marquart

Heather Mitchell Oviedo

and Enrique Oviedo are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Brooke Arlene, born on Aug. 1, 2012, and Stella Elizabeth, born on Nov. 27, 2010. Rachael Phelan recently accepted a position at Martin, Harding & Mazzotti LLP in Schenectady, N.Y., as an attorney. She recently was employed at Buckley, Mendleson, Criscione & Quinn as an associate attorney.

Lauren Smith recently accepted a position at Phoenix College in Phoenix, Ariz., as a biology instruc-

tor. She and Matt Roberts are also happy to announce their marriage on Nov. 17, 2012, at Grace United Methodist Church in Merritt Island, Fla. They reside in Glendale, Ariz. Geneseo alumni who attended included Lauren’s college roommates. Joseph Schiller recently accepted a position at 2U Inc. as the regional field placement coordinator. He recently was employed at The Children’s Village as a social worker. Amy Spaziani Metz and Kyle Metz are happy to announce their marriage on May 19, 2012. They live in Houston. Many alumni attended the wedding. The ceremony was in the bride’s hometown in Elmira, N.Y., with a reception on Seneca Lake. The couple spent their honeymoon in Negril, Jamaica.

2005 Sarah Scott-Edwards Hahn and Owen Hahn ’10 are proud to

announce the birth of a baby girl, Tenar Amelia, born on Feb. 15, 2013, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Nathan Kester and Kelly Brown Kester ’04 are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Claire London Kester, born on May 6, 2012, in Rochester, N.Y. Logan Rath received his second master’s degree, a master of science in information design and technology, from SUNY Institute of Technology in December 2012.

Kimberly Cervello Rogers

received a doctorate in mathematics education from Michigan State University in August 2012. Heather Wilhelm and Robbie Routenberg were married in Java Center, N.Y.

2006 Angela Blair recently accepted a

position at AmeriCU Credit Union as executive assistant to the chief operating officer. She recently was employed at MAMI Interpreters.

Matthew Hanna is a general dentist at North Shore Comprehensive Dentistry in Roslyn, N.Y. Amy Borer and Christopher Parks are happy to announce their marriage on May 27, 2012, in Buffalo, N.Y. Kristi Ruggiero graduated from the Mercy College physician assistant program in August 2012 and is working as a physician assistant in the Elmhurst Hospital Emergency Room.

2007

2009

Ashley Retzlaff Allen was recently

Celebrating their 5th reunion in 2014.

Branden Kirchmeyer recently accepted a teaching position at Freedom English School in Kumamoto, Japan. He formerly was an instructor at the English Language Institute of SUNY Buffalo.

promoted to manager at Lumsden & McCormick in Buffalo, N.Y. William “Chris” Martusewicz

was recently promoted to vice president of finance from controller at Toshiba Ashley Retzlaff Business Allen Solutions in Rochester, N.Y. Kyla O’Brien was promoted to senior communications consultant in the corporate relations department for the southern region at Allstate Insurance, relocating to Nashville, Tenn.

2008 Leah Sopchak Kraus and Dayna Dodrill Bergan served as co-chairs

for a 65 Roses Dinner Dance in March in Syracuse, N.Y., to help fight cystic fibrosis. They were joined by 10 Geneseo alumnae volunteers. Lauren Kalinowski received a doctor of optometry from Illinois College of Optometry in May 2012. Tricia Kalinowski received a doctor of pharmacy from the University of Buffalo in May 2012. Joseph Malach has been volunteering with CityLax, a nonprofit organization that brings the sport of lacrosse to high school students in under-served areas of the New York community, spending many winter Saturdays outside running clinics for students, most of whom have never touched a stick. Recently, he was named to the Junior Advisory Board of CityLax and tasked with growing the networking base and fundraising efforts. Audrey Elwell Pizzuto was recently promoted to senior analyst at Brisbane Consulting Group LLC in Buffalo, N.Y. Jamie Sacca is working as a creative arts therapist at a children’s hospital in Queens, N.Y. Lindsay Wolford recently accepted a position at Liberty Mutual Insurance as a senior administrative assistant. She formerly was employed at Athletica Inc. as a business development coordinator.

Branden Kirchmeyer

Ryan Lang

recently transitioned into a new role at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York, N.Y., in the healthcare corporate and investment banking group. Mark Passero recently accepted a position at Fox Rothschild LLP in Pittsburgh, Pa. Chad Salitan recently accepted a position at the U.S. State Department’s anti-human trafficking office as a presidential management fellow. He is a foreign affairs officer, responsible for reporting human trafficking situations in several European countries, including monitoring and conducting country visits.

2010 Rebecca Coons accepted a position at Alfred State in Alfred, N.Y., as residence director and coordinator of student affairs assessment. She was previously employed at Medaille College as a graduate assistant for leadership development and multicultural education. Eric Dostal is in his last semester of law school at St. John’s University School of Law in Queens, N.Y. Michael Kracker recently accepted a position with Congressman Chris Collins (N.Y.-27) in Buffalo, N.Y., as district director.

He recently was employed with the Erie County Republican Committee as executive director. Colleen McNamara recently started her own company as CEO and founder of Stutelage Innovations LLC in East Amherst, N.Y. Lisa Hatzinger and Timothy Reyes are happy to announce their marriage on March 1, 2013, in Babylon, N.Y. They reside in Rochester, N.Y. Sarah Shaw is a

Summer 2013 33

ALUMNI NEWS

student at Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, set to graduate in 2014 as a doctor of optometry.

accepted a position at Credit Suisse bank in New York, N.Y., as an analyst, and formerly was employed at Moody’s Investors Service as a financial data associate. Hilarie Pirger recently accepted a position at M&T Bank as a relationship banker III.

2011

2012

Caitlin Lamoreaux is teaching middle and high school math at Our Lady of Mercy, a private school, in Rochester, N.Y. Hannah Littlefield recently accepted a position at Adworkshop in Lake Placid, N.Y., as an account coordinator. Taylor Newell recently

Donna Hanrahan recently won the

CLASS NOTES

Pollard Award for the Best Graduate Research Presentation at Yale University’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. Her research focused on the role of social media and mobile technology in responding to health-related emergencies,

Greeks get ready to celebrate!

Inter-Greek Council is celebrating its 100th Anniversary — an ALL Greek reunion is being planned for

Summer Reunion 2015 Every current and former Greek organization will be invited to this special reunion celebration.

particularly epidemiological tracking of cholera in Haiti. She is now earning a master’s degree in bioethics at Columbia University and is working with Dr. Robert Klitzman to provide an international comparative analysis of institutional review board standards in HIV and AIDS research. She recently presented at the 7th International Conference on Ethical Issues in Biomedical Engineering at SUNY Downstate Medical Center on “Ethical Issues Surrounding the Direct-toConsumer Advertising of Neurotechnology.” The final manuscript will be published in Ethics in Biology, Engineering and Medicine, An International Journal. Most recently, she began a position as a research fellow at the Healthcare Innovation and Technology Lab, an independent research organization that investigates the use of innovative technologies to improve the quality, affordability and accessibility of healthcare around the world. William Porter recently was awarded the 2012 Dante Society of America’s Dante Prize for the best undergraduate essay, the first time in the society’s history that an undergraduate student has received the award twice. Porter also received it in 2010 as a sophomore at Geneseo.

In Memoriam ALUMNI Maxine Martin Carey ’35, Sept. 1,

2012 Lola Smith Knapp ’36, Aug. 12,

2009 Mildred Meyer ’36, Jan. 1, 2013 Gladys Etzold Siemesz ’37,

March 11, 2011 Alice Cady ’40, Aug. 28, 2012 Audrey Phelps Cloos ’41, Aug.

11, 2012 Jean Johnston Babcock ’41,

March 24, 2012 Shirley Raubenheimer Gardiner ’43, Feb. 25, 2013 Wesley Arnold ’44, Jan. 31, 2013 Alice Sliker Denneville ’44,

Oct. 30, 2012 Joan Burns Kingsley ’45,

Contact Tracy Young Gagnier ’93 at gagniert@geneseo.edu, if you would like to serve on your organization’s reunion committee.

Jan. 10, 2013 Betty Woodard Schnackel ’48,

Feb. 10, 2013 Barbara Miller Dawson ’49,

Dec. 8, 2012 Gerald Yaxley ’49, Aug. 28, 2012

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geneseo scene

Janet Wirth Pickler ’56,

March 8, 2013 Faye Kelson ’59, Aug. 8, 2011 Robert Bretz ’61, Aug. 1, 2012 Sharon Gruber ’63, April 14, 2012 Warren Hittleman ’63,

Jan. 25, 2007 Charles Mott ’63, July 3, 2011 Kenneth Wheaton ’63,

Jan. 18, 2013 Robertine Ritz Peters ’66,

Feb. 10, 2013 Carolyn Fravel Pettit ’66,

Feb. 17, 2013 Joanne Burdett Conrad ’67,

Jan. 26, 2013 Kristen Vankeuren ’68,

Aug. 7, 2012 Anthony Chirico ’70,

Jan. 11, 2013 Anne Feldman Slotnick ’70,

Jan. 2, 2012 Robin Braun ’73, June 21, 2012 Barbara Goodwin Holthouse ’73,

Dec. 12, 2012 Joseph Czop ’75, Oct. 18, 2012 Elmer Storm ’78, July 6, 2011 Deborah J. Samuels Kransler ’84,

May 5, 2013 Richard Wachowski ’86,

April 7, 2011 David McGrady ’88, Sept. 21, 2011 Diane Snedeker Zajac ’91,

July 26, 2002 Amanda Crow ’10, Dec. 4, 2012 FACULTY Ken Kinsey, professor emeritus of

physics, who joined Geneseo faculty in 1966, died Feb. 2, 2013.

John Hoey, associate professor emeritus of English, died on May 13, 2013. A faculty member from 1965 to 1994, he co-founded the club lacrosse team, helped students establish a club rugby team, coordinated a squash team for students, faculty, staff and community members, and was instrumental in establishing the Crew Club.

What’s your story? ... continued from page 15

Roots — and wings As a high school student, Ben Gajewski ’07 selected Geneseo as his first-choice college.

He was interested in liberal arts. He wanted a college with a strong reputation.

Coming from nearby Canandaigua, he loved the valley and landscape.

Yet subconsciously, there may have been another motivating factor. He knew he’d continue a family tradition at Geneseo, following his grandmother, Doris Chriswell ’50; father, Andrew ’72; and mother, Beth ’77.

What he didn’t know is how tightly Geneseo — the college and the village — would draw him in. Or how both would keep him connected years after he graduated.

Having majored in sociology with a minor in environmental studies, Gajewski pursued his passions that led him all the way to … Main Street.

Now executive director of the Genesee Valley Conservancy, Gajewski also serves as vice president of the Association for the Preservation of Geneseo board of trustees and as an elected member on the Village Board. In these roles, he is maintaining community tradition and planning for generations.

His story is all Geneseo — past, present and future. urt Cylke is the sole reason that I am still here. He was one of the most influential professors (sociology) who really changed my life. He recommended the conservancy, which I never knew about or considered as an option. He brought me into the community by engaging me with the preservation board. I’m lucky to have known him as a student and fortunate to now work with him on community projects.”

••• “Working as a photographer with The Lamron was a big part of my student life. I didn’t have my camera with me one day, and someone stopped to ask why. They had never seen me on campus without it. I didn’t realize that it was part of my regular ensemble.”

••• “People asked me to run for the Village Board in 2010 and I said, ‘No, I’m just out of school, starting a new job, still trying to figure out my career.’ Then they came back and asked again in 2012. I thought, ‘I’m here in Geneseo — there’s no point in denying it: This is my home, I have connections

“K

“Geneseo brought me here and Geneseo kept me here.”

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

and really, where else would I want to be?’

I’m very fortunate that the community elected me … I think it helps to have known what the student experience was like now that I’m making decisions on the board.”

••• “I’m surprised to find myself in this role leading the conservancy at such a young age. I think it just sort of worked out, being in the right place at the right time with the right background. Landowners know me

— Ben Gajewski ’07

and trust me, and that all stems from being an intern while I was a student at Geneseo, starting to work with these people, meeting them and slowly transitioning to living in the community.”

Who is this man?

Why do many Geneseo alumni remember Distinguished Teaching Professor of History Emeritus Bill Cook? Sure, the clothes — but more likely his teaching and storytelling.

He inspired students through the power of story. “Bill galvanized students by his unique combination of energy, knowledge and wit,” says colleague Ron Herzman, Distinguished Teaching Professor of English.

Geneseo professors like Cook are central to many of the countless stories alumni cherish. What’s your story?

:

Tell us your favorite professor story at Geneseo.edu/WYS

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Summer 2013

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1:1 One-to-one is a periodic feature in which the Scene talks one-to-one with a member of the Geneseo family. Meet School of Business Distinguished Service Professor Dan Strang, a leading expert in business simulations and champion of experiential learning.

What a long Strang trip it’s been …

Scene: Business simulation, experiential

learning are hot buttons for you. Tell us a little about that.

Strang: Before an entrepreneur can create a

successful business, he or she needs to be armed with more than a good idea. How do you raise capital? How can you project demand? What are the estimated costs?

We teach students the principles of business, so they are prepared. Many years ago, I gained my first exposure to experiential learning, and it has been a key element of my instruction.

Scene: What is experiential learning?

Strang: Students don’t just read about princi-

ples and ideas, they practice them and see how they work. For 30 years, I’ve helped my students get real-world experience through a business simulation game that I designed with a colleague. My inspiration came in the late 1970s, when I was teaching a management course. We were using a textbook. I was lecturing on principles of management. Frankly, it just wasn’t going very well.

Scene: What did you do?

Strang: I talked to a former colleague, who

suggested using a computerized simulation. I had my students run a mock business with this computer game.

Scene: Did it work?

Strang: They could hardly wait for me to get

to class to give them their results and to facilitate their next round of play. It was a remarkable change in the environment. It changed my teaching style forever.

Scene: What was the inspiration for creating

your own simulation?

Strang: Ultimately, I wanted students to reflect on their decisions. After an extensive search, I discovered that nothing on the market met my needs. Working with fellow professor Thomas Pray, we created our own computerized simulation, ultimately known as

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geneseo scene

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Distinguished Service Professor Dan Strang says gifts to Geneseo have provided him with professional opportunities that helped him become a leading expert in business simulations and a better teacher.

DECIDE, which has been used at universities and colleges across the country for more than three decades.

In teams, students run a $20 million shoe manufacturing company, responsible for key decisions any firm makes in marketing, finance and production. They learn the importance of planning and recognize interconnectedness of all of their decisions.

Students — now successful alumni — have shared how much they appreciated and enjoyed playing DECIDE. That is the greatest reward.

Scene: How were you able to gain this expertise?

Strang: I have enhanced DECIDE over time,

gaining knowledge and insight and conducting research by participating in professional organizations such as the Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning. I take great pride knowing that my students in the 1980s learned invaluable skills playing, but our contemporary students have gained so much additional value because of

my growth as an instructor.

As professors, we need to develop so we can pass along our knowledge. I would not be the professor I am today without support from The Fund for Geneseo.

Scene: How has donor support made you a

better professor?

Strang: The Fund has provided me the

opportunity to attend professional conferences throughout my 41-year Geneseo career.

That participation has allowed me to grow as a professor, to learn and to share ideas with the best minds in my field. As a result, my classroom instruction is better.

I am deeply grateful. I am a professor because I am eager to see my students learn and I want to see them develop. My success — and theirs — is due to donor support. If you truly value the superb education you received from Geneseo, be generous and provide our current generation of faculty with the same opportunity to develop their skills. It makes a real difference.

Mentor Tribute

Honoring a coach, for life Dunc Hinckley’s love gave lessons for life. Randy Shepard ’93 is making sure his memory lives on. wo-time All-American diver Randy Shepard ’93 remembers leaving the pool one practice to slip into the hot tub to soothe his sore back, tender after a week of tough practices.

Shepard ached for a little R and R, but Coach knew better.

“Coach came and pulled me out and put me back on the diving board,” Shepard says.

“I was angry about it, but I knew he was right.”

That’s how Coach Duncan “Dunc” HINCKLEY Hinckley was. He was a burly guy, whose bark was worse than his bite, says his wife, Linda Hinckley ’72: “Really, he was a big teddy bear.”

Shepard, and other Geneseo swimmers and divers from 1963 to 1993, knew this.

They treasured his drive in the pool and the genuine love he had for them.

“Dunc was one of those coaches you’d do anything for. He was always there for you,” says Shepard. “Anything you were doing, he could coach you on how to do it better.”

Geneseo won a total of eight SUNY titles under Hinckley, who was honored as SUNYAC swimming and diving Coach of the Year five times. Geneseo has won 21 of the last 24 women’s SUNYAC championships and 19 of the past men’s championships.

But it was so much more, says Shepard.

Hinckley built a family. Take Hinckley’s 80th birthday. More than 100 alumni returned to campus to wish him well.

T

:

PHOTO BY KEITH WALTERS ’11

Randy Shepard ’93 is leading an initiative to raise $64,000 for a new swimming scoreboard in honor of the late Coach Duncan “Dunc” Hinckley.

Shepard believes they, too, still live Coach’s lessons.

“At Geneseo, there was never a time I thought we wouldn’t win,” says Shepard. “I try to think like that now. I keep plugging along. Never giving up. Never quitting.”

He draws on that now to honor Hinckley, who died in July 2012.

Shepard has been working since last August to raise $64,000 to replace the old magnetic scoreboard with a video-compatible digital scoreboard as a memorial to Hinckley. He surprised Linda Hinckley with the news at Hinckley’s memorial service last fall. Together, they have

raised more than half of the goal.

“It was in my heart,” says Shepard.

“Something hit me and said, ‘I’ve got to to do this.’”

The scoreboard is a fitting memorial to Hinckley, says his wife. “If he knew, he would break down,” she says. “… It means more than words can ever say.”

Shepard sees the scoreboard as a link between the legacy Hinckley created and future Geneseo swimmers and divers.

“They will see his name, and ask what he did,” he says. “It brings his story to light each year and allows his memory to perpetuate far beyond his years.”

Interested in contributing? Call Randy at 585-750-2840 or visit giveto.geneseo.edu and enter “Dunc Hinckley Memorial” into the Special Allocations Instructions box

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