Ursinus Magazine Spring 2014

URSINUS Spring/Summer 2014

MAGAZINE

In Motion

New Alum Zachary Scheib 2014 Wins Berman Prize; Externship Progam Launches; ABC Films in Olin; Plus, Partners in the Art of Aging and The Power of Shakespeare

Ursinus Commencement was May 16, 2014.

See p. 14

in this issue

FEATURES

Show Me the Ropes

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A new externship program connects students and alumni in the workplace. The Ursinus Career and Professional Development Office celebrated its first Externship Program this academic year. Read about the job-shadowing program’s real workplace experience for 17 students exploring careers they hope to pursue after graduation. Students share what they learned while following an extern sponsor, typically an alumnus, parent or friend of Ursinus College, throughout a traditional workday.

Gone to the Dogs

Janie Lancey Harris 1971 has found a match for her energy and athleticism in her four-legged partners.

At Ursinus, she was a health and physical education major and a member of the field hockey and lacrosse teams. Harris has discovered that participating in canine agility with her highly trained dogs nurtures her love of competing and builds a great bond with the animals.

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Partners in the Art of Aging Well

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Alli Rosati 2012 is one of many Ursinus graduates, students, and professors who are part of a growing field of professionals helping seniors thrive, in body and mind, as they age. The timing couldn’t be better. According to the Administration on Aging, the elder population in the United States numbered 39.6 million in 2009. This represents about one in every eight Americans. By 2030, there will be about 72.1 million older persons; almost twice the number it is today.

No Reservations

Stephen Lange 1979 packed his Jeep, lifted his small dog, Smiley, into the passenger seat and set out for a new life on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It was 2010 and Pine Ridge, one of the poorest and most remote areas of the United States, was thousands of miles from the comforts of his East Coast life. But as a clinical psychologist, Lange felt a call to help and heal where he could.

CAMPUS NEWS

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Commencement highlights; Peace Corps Prep signing; students collect shoes for orphans in Nairobi; the campus celebrates inventions through the U Innovate Competition; faculty and students held conference on Preventing Pandemics.

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ALUMNI WEEKEND

PHILOSOPHY ON PHILANTHROPY

FIELD NOTES

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Photo spread: The College Community celebrated a vibrant mix of alumni and students on Alumni Weekend in April.

Christian Sockel 1993, assistant headmaster for advancement at a private, college preparatory high school in Pottstown, Pa., has signed on as volunteer chair of the Major Gifts Committee at Ursinus.

“Ursinus is a very special place,” he says. “As alumni, it’s our responsibility to make sure it remains that way. I owe a lot of my personal and professional success and happiness to Ursinus.

I hope others view it the same way.”

Matt Kozusko, Associate Professor of English, teaches Shakespeare and early modern drama. He talks about his research in Shakespeare and performance.

“As mediators or curators of Shakespeare, English professors are themselves in a position of great power and responsibility,” says Kozusko. “We're training people to be good users of literature.”

ON THE COVER Zachary Scheib 2014 is this year's winner of the Berman Prize for Excellence, a $500 prize recognizing outstanding artistic achievement. Scheib, a psychology major, won the Berman Prize for his large-scale kinetic sculpture, Balancing a Fractal Universe. Scheib’s work was selected by Charles Stainback, the Berman Museum’s Director, and Ginny Kollak, Curator of Exhibitions. In making their choice Stainback and Kollak were not only impressed with the formal beauty of the sculpture, but also with the interdisciplinary nature and interactive features of the work, which references molecular structures and invites its audience to touch and play. Cover photo by Jeffrey D. Morgan.

letter from the

president

Dear Friends, As you read the articles in this eclectic issue of Ursinus Magazine, pause to think about the wildly creative paths our graduates have taken after Commencement. This issue features alumni and students in the forefront of the burgeoning ‘healthy aging’ field, an alumnus who gave up a psychology practice to help residents of a South Dakota reservation, and an alumna who participates with her dogs in the competitive sport of canine agility.

URSINUS MAGAZINE V O L U M E C X V, N O . 1 S P R I N G 2 0 1 4

Third class postage paid at Lansdale, Pa. Ursinus Magazine is published seasonally three times a year.

Copyright 2014 by Ursinus College.

Editorial correspondence and submissions: Ursinus Magazine, P.O. Box 1000, Collegeville, PA 19426-1000.

(610) 409-3300 or e-mail: ucmag@ursinus.edu

Editor Kathryn Campbell kcampbell@ursinus.edu Director of Communications Wendy Greenberg wgreenberg@ursinus.edu

I am reminded that Ursinus has a longstanding record of excellence in career preparation and guidance. Through the Office of Career and Professional Development, we annually survey each graduating class six months after Commencement. In the most recently canvassed, that for the Class of 2012, we found that 97 percent of them were employed, pursuing post-graduate study, completing a fellowship, serving in the military, or completing a public service commitment such as Teach for America. Amid concerns about the employability of college graduates, this is heartening news indeed.

Senior Writer Ellen Cosgrove Labrecque 1995 elabrecque@ursinus.edu

One of the reasons we renamed the former Career Services Office is to highlight the importance placed on post-graduate outcomes in an Ursinus education. The Office of Career and Professional Development, with its new academic home in the Office of Academic Affairs, underscores the “Liberal Arts Plus” model at Ursinus that emphasizes curricular rigor with applied experience beyond the classroom, most notably in the forms of internships and independent research.

Contributing to this Issue Steve Falk, Jim Roese, Joshua Walsh 2013, Brian Garfinkle, Erika Compton Butler 1994, Olivia Frymark 2016, Charlie Stainback, Erin Hovey 1996, Cora White Horse, Linda Johnson, Dan Johnson

A recent initiative from this office is spotlighted in this current issue of the Magazine. A new Externship Program connects students to alumni in the workplace. The job-shadowing program offered the inaugural group of 17 students opportunities to explore careers they hope to pursue after graduation. We thank the alumni who volunteered to be externship sponsors.

In this issue you will also read about the launch of two programs to enhance skills for life after graduation. The Peace Corps Preparatory program consists of courses and a community service component to equip students for international development work and potential Peace Corps service. And the U-Imagine! Center for Integrative and Entrepreneurial Studies fosters entrepreneurial competencies in students, regardless of major or post-graduate goals. We aspire to enable our students to become creative and compassionate leaders.

In a recent Huffington Post article, I wrote that what students encounter in college matters long after college. A recent Gallup-Purdue poll found that certain experiences among undergraduate students correlated with personal well-being and engagement at work. These experiences included having a professor who gets students excited about learning and cares about students as individuals; having a mentor who encourages students to pursue goals and dreams; working on a project that took a semester or more to complete; having an internship or job to apply classroom learning; and being extremely active in extracurricular activities and organizations while attending college.

I’ve received emails from alumni struck by how their own Ursinus experiences echoed the findings of the Gallup-Purdue report. One wrote: I realized that Ursinus must be a special place, because most of the items on this list are things that we as a UC community take for granted. It is apparently innovative to require that each student complete an internship, research project, or other independent learning opportunity.

It is apparently rare for extracurriculars to be the accepted norm, and for professors to truly care about students as whole persons. At Ursinus, these things are given.

Go, Bears!

Bobby Fong, President PAGE 2 URSINUS MAGAZINE

Class Notes Editor Jennifer Meininger Wolfe jwolfe1@ursinus.edu

Design Jeffrey Morgan JDM Creative Advertising, LLC www.jdmcreative.com Chair, Board of Trustees Alan P. Novak 1971 President Dr. Bobby Fong Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Dr. Lucien (Terry) Winegar Senior Vice President for Advancement Jill A. Leauber Marsteller 1978 Vice President for Enrollment Richard DiFeliciantonio Vice President for Finance and Administration Jonathan C. Ivec Vice President for Student Affairs Deborah Nolan The mission of Ursinus College is to enable students to become independent, responsible, and thoughtful individuals through a program of liberal education. That education prepares them to live creatively and usefully, and to provide leadership for their society in an interdependent world.

gateway the

URSINUS CAMPUS NEWS

Start-ups Compete Preventing a Pandemic Peace Corps Program Swim Team Makes A Splash Watson Winner ABC Drama Films in Olin

Start-ups Compete for Prize Money The U-Innovate! competition invited Ursinus students to demonstrate their skill as independent and creative thinkers this spring. Three top teams earned financial support to further develop their ideas with prize money donated

by Trustee Will Abele 1961. The competition asked students to develop “inspired, imaginative and innovative ideas for a product or service that fulfills a market need and/or solves a social problem.”

in mind. Available online and updated in real-time by accredited physicians across the world, its information will be accessible to the public. Team members Aubrey Paris 2015, Samir Shah 2015 and Evan Lord 2014 were awarded $7,500. Second place was Missed Moments, an application that will allow mostly college students to connect with someone they almost connected with, but missed the opportunity. The team, Bryan Sadler 2014, Duncan McLuckie 2015 and Jonathan Monroe 2014, was awarded $5,000.

Students presented their ideas in the Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center’s Lenfest Theater on April 6.

Rob Gilfillan, founder Dinosource, the third and CEO of Cenero, ofplace idea, is an applifered the keynote talk, cation that tracks the “Four Key Fundamensources of food in restals I Wish I Undertaurants. Atticus Gravstood Before Starting en 2014 and Michelle My Business.” A 1991 Tanco 2014, who will Awarded a first-place prize of $7,500 was GEMS, Globalized Ethics for Medical Science, a global infectious graduate of Ursinus, receive $3,000, are also disease-reporting database. From left; Trustee Will Abele 1961, GEMS team mem­bers Evan Lord 2014, Aubrey Paris 2015, Samir Shah 2015 and President Bobby Fong. he was instrumental in finalists in the “Ohbuilding a technologyPenn for Business” focused business before co-founding Cenero, an audiovisual and conference competition for college business students held at Grove City College April solutions provider.

12. The team Aro Hairbands, which uses microencapsulation technology to place fragrance in headbands, won $500 for Best Presentation. The team The competition is a program of U-Imagine! The Center for Integrative included Frank Sirch 2014, Bryn O’Neill 2014 and Steven Berardi 2014. and Entrepreneurial Studies. Directed by an interdisciplinary faculty team Ideas from the 15 teams involving 30 students included a textbook sharing of Carol Cirka from Business and Economics, Rebecca Jaroff from English, business, educational programs, a fitness center for kids, a poncho for all and April Kontostathis from Mathematics and Computer Science, the new weather, realistic–looking dolls, a mobile phone app that tracks triggers of center fosters an entrepreneurial spirit and builds entrepreneurial compeseizures, a non-profit devoted to using the arts as solutions to social encountencies in students, regardless of major or post-graduate goals. Its mission ters, an arts management services company; a clothing company that would is to give students the confidence and the ability to recognize and take full empower African women; an outdoor classroom venture and a luxury resale advantage of opportunities to apply their learning and become creative and business. Ursinus alumni served as mentors to the student teams, and the compassionate leaders. judging was done by five local business leaders: Tammy Cansler, President of Tendal Corp.; Brian DiSabatino, President and CEO of EDiS Company; The winning team included two biology majors and a philosophy major.

Rob Gilfillan 1991, President of Cenero; Michael Macintosh 1996, founder Awarded first place was GEMS, Globalized Ethics for Medical Science, a of an internet start-up, and Christopher Taormina of Taormina solutions. global infectious disease-reporting database which accounts for disease ocFor more information on the U-Imagine! Center or the U-Innovate! Comcurrences around the world and provides treatment options with cultures petition, visit ursinus.edu/uimagine. n SPRING 2014 2013 PAGE 3 SPRING/SUMMER

Preventing a Pandemic Ursinus students and faculty who participated in a Pandemics Preparedness conference are looking toward the next step: published actionable recommendations for policymakers addressing scientific and technological issues facing societies as they relate to pandemic preparedness.

Ursinus students were full participants in the April 11-12 conference which was sponsored by the Institute on Science for Global Policy and the Ursinus Center for Science and the Common Good, which is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Some 55 Ursinus students participated, along with peers from Muhlenberg, Whittier and Eckerd colleges. The conference was a pilot for other conferences which will include undergraduate students at the table, said ISGP Director George Atkinson. Sixteen Ursinus students had More than 50 Ursinus students were given a rare opportunity to particpate in the two-day conference on campus sponsored by the Institute on Science for Global Policy and the Ursinus Center for Science and the Common Good.

prepared by taking a course with Dr. Tony Lobo: “Pathogens, Pandemics and Preparedness.”

As Ursinus President Bobby Fong noted in his opening remarks, the pathogens “are an airline flight away from almost any spot on the planet. Are we ready for the next outbreak? How can we respond in a timely and effective way, while respecting national borders, political authority and indigenous cultures?”

“Citizens and policymakers need to better understand the scientific processes and findings that inform sound decision making,” Dr. Fong said. “In turn, scientists need to understand the ethical, political and logistical contexts in which their work is embedded. This mutual dependence between science and public policy underlies the mission of the College’s Center for Science and the Common Good.”

The policymakers included the Physician General of Pennsylvania, health department administrators, leaders of biotech firms and government officials. The scientists included George W. Korch, Senior Science Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Stephen S. Morse, Professor of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; and Kasisomayajula “Vish” Viswanath, Associate Professor, Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health.

The conference allowed the scientists to provide credible scientific evidence so that the policymakers and students, in this case, could be better informed to recommend policy for preventing pandemics. This ISGP Academic Partnership was the first conference in which students could question the speakers. Robert Dawley, Professor of Biology and conference director, said he hopes the conference will eventually be a biannual event at Ursinus. n

The Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics Ursinus aims to educate students not only academically, but morally and ethically as well. The Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics did all these things, while promoting student scholarship. The contest was launched by U-Imagine! Center for Integrative and Entrepreneurial Studies. Students were invited to submit an essay on a topic of ethical or moral importance. Submissions were judged based on clarity, insight, focus, originality, and quality of analysis. The first prize winner was awarded $3000; second prize, $2,000; and third prize, $1,000 through the generosity of Trustee and alumnus Will Able 1961. Able named the contest in honor of his Ursinus teacher and mentor, Richard Schellhase 1945. Schellhase has had a long and distinguished career in philanthropy and in the clergy. Since 1947, Schellhase has been a respected clergyman in the Evangelical and Reformed Church, and its successor, the United Church of Christ. He served as Assistant Professor of Religion at Ursinus College from 1956 to 1964.

“This contest sought to promote reflection and writing about matters of ethical and moral importance,” says Kelly Sorensen, Class of 1954 Chair of Ethics and Associate Professor in the Philosophy and Religious Studies department. Senior Sophie Zander, an English and Politics major, received first prize in the competition for her essay, “The Awakening: Reevaluating the Anthropocentric Framework of Western Ethics.” Zander was Vice President of the Haines-Barnard Pre-Law Society and a Legal Studies Center intern. Second prize went to senior Jarrett Field for his essay titled, “A Defense of Stand Your Ground Legislation.”

Third prize went to junior Sara Bajor for her essay, “Moving to a New Paradigm: A Reflection on Ethics.” n

By Ellen Cosgrove Labrecque 1995 PAGE 4 URSINUS MAGAZINE

It’s Official Peace Corps Preparatory Program Begins Ursinus College is officially a participant in the Peace Corps Preparatory program as one of 14 colleges and universities in the U.S. which can offer a focused program leading to international service. A signing ceremony April 25 made the partnership official. The program, which will be directed by the Hon. Joseph Melrose (1966), Ambassador-in-Residence and professor in the Politics and International Relations department, and Christian Rice, Assistant Dean for Civic Engagement and director of the Bonner Leader Program, will begin modestly this fall and grow each year. Carla Rinde, Director of the Career and Professional Development office, was instrumental in bringing the program to campus. Schools are selected for the program based on their demonstrated interest in promoting international learning and service opportunities to their students.

"I was pleased and excited to learn that The Peace Corps Preparatory program has officially become a part of Ursinus because it was at Ursinus that I discovered my passion to learn about other people, cultures, and ideas,” said Lea Marano 2013. “This passion led me to Malawi where I am currently serving as a Peace Corps Education volunteer. I’m looking forward to hearing what students think of the program, but I am even more excited to hear how they carry these lessons outside of the Ursinus community.”

Marano said she was fortunate to have been a part of a positive environment at Ursinus. “It showed me the power of an open mind and an open heart,” she said. “But I am even more grateful for that experience because it inspired me to share that lesson with students across the globe."

An official signing ceremony took place on campus in April.

Seated are David Burgess, Chief of Operations for Volunteer Recruitment and Selection at the U.S. Peace Corps office in Washington, D.C., and Terry Winegar, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. Standing left to right are Christian Rice, Assistant Dean for Civic Engagement and director of the Bonner Leader Program, Hon. Joseph Melrose (1966), Ambassador-in-Residence and professor in the Politics and International Relations department and President Bobby Fong.

Professor Melrose, retired Ambassador to Sierra Leone and recently acting ambassador to the U.N. for Management and Reform, said the program builds on the College’s goal of making students global citizens. “The Peace Corps Prep program will not only help prepare any students wishing to become a Peace Corps Volunteer, but aid them should they wish to pursue a career working with any of the international organizations working in the fields of humanitarian relief,” said Melrose. “In short, completing the program will make them better citizens of the world in which we live.”

David Burgess, Chief of Operations for Volunteer Recruitment and Selection at the U.S. Peace Corps office in Washington, D.C., said at the ceremony that the Peace Corps office approved six colleges which they deemed a good fit for the organization. The newly approved colleges and universities join eight schools with current programs. “Already I know it is a great fit,” Burgess said, surrounded by a student art show which he said showed students’ “cross-cultural competency.” Ursinus alumni who have served in the Peace Corps are not large in number, he said, Lea Marano 2013 works in Malawi as a “but one individual can have an enormous impact.”

Peace Corps Education volunteer.

State Senator John Rafferty also attended the ceremony. The program will build upon offerings such as longstanding participation in the Model United Nations, and the selective Bonner Leaders program by offering students an additional opportunity to be exposed to international issues outside the existing International Relations major. The other schools approved for preparatory programs this year are Arcadia University, Wilmington University, Hiram College, Georgia Gwinnett College and University of Washington, Tacoma. The eight schools with existing programs are Elon University, Knox College, Pittsburgh State University, Shawnee State University, University of Missouri, University of Montana, University of North Georgia and Wittenberg University. n

Ursinus Welcomes Four New Members to Board of Trustees Susan S. Callahan 1985 Susan (Stong) Callahan graduated from Ursinus in 1985 with a B.A in Economics. She was a member of the Omega Chi sorority and the Student Government Association; Graham C. Mackenzie 1974 Graham Mackenzie graduated from Ursinus in 1974 with a B.A. Political Science. Graham was a member and treasurer of the Zeta Chi fraternity. As an alumnus, he served as a representative and President of the Ursinus Alumni Association; Aakash Shah 2010 Aakash Shah graduated from Ursinus College in 2010. He was named a Rhodes Scholar and completed an MBA and an MSc in Social Policy at Oxford University. He currently is a third-year student at Harvard Medical School, training at Massachusetts General Hospital; Rob Wonderling P 2017As President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Rob Wonderling leads a business advocacy organization of member companies that promotes growth and economic development in the 11-county Greater Philadelphia region.

SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 5

suggests Ursinus when crews are looking for colleges in the region.

“We have such a beautiful campus and film-friendly students and teachers that I always think filmmakers would find inspiration at Ursinus,” says Shiner. (The campus community also experienced the art of filmmaking in 2004 when scenes for the Lee Daniels film Shadowboxer were shot on campus.)

Before the filming this spring, crews made minor modifications to the lecture hall and hung lights. Bomberger Auditorium was used as a holding area for extras, many of whom were Ursinus students.

Tori Steinberg, a sophomore from Warrington, Pa., with a double major in Business & Economics and Media Communications Studies, was among them. The Ursinus Tour Guide and member of the Women’s Basketball Team submitted her photo to the casting company via e-mail. Twenty minutes later, she was hired. She was to report to the set with three outfits a law student would wear.

Many Ursinus students may make their small-screen debut this fall in a new ABC drama that features scenes that were filmed in Olin Auditorium this March. The show, from executive producers Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers and Peter Nowalk, is titled How to Get Away with Murder. It stars Viola Davis (The Help) as a law professor at a fictional university.

A first-hand look at how TV shows are made was a thrill for Steinberg. Four hours were spent on what she estimates will be two minutes of screen time.

“We had to keep doing [things] over and over,” she says. “People had to walk to the right places at the right time [and] the camera needed to catch a certain look from the actors. It was pretty exhausting!”

Filming took place in the Philadelphia area, and the Ursinus campus was selected specifically for Olin Auditorium. Its layout closely resembled what the crew envisioned for lecture-hall scenes. Ursinus was contacted by the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, where Nicole Shiner 1998 serves as Director of Operations & Government Affairs. Though Shiner did not play a major part in the selection of Ursinus for this production, she says she always

The most memorable part for Steinberg was being seated next to Alfie Enoch, who played Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter films. “We talked about all different things, from going to school at Ursinus…to how long it takes him to memorize scripts,” says Steinberg. Despite working two 14-hour days, Steinberg is happy she participated. “When else can an everyday college student get the opportunity to be on TV?” n

Athletics

picks. Senior long stick midfielder Nile Thompson was named honorable mention. Ridinger, who was a second-team pick last season, started and played in all 15 games this season. For the year, he had 27 caused turnovers and 44 ground balls. He also scored a goal and added an assist.

Deep in Talent, Men’s Lacrosse Just Miss Conference Playoffs

Ursinus men’s lacrosse became a varsity sport in 2000 and the team has made the Centennial Conference playoffs only once, in 2011. The team lost three defenders to graduation in 2013, and even though they felt 2014 playoff ready — they just missed making the post-season.

“This year’s squad is the most talented group of players I have ever coached,” says head coach Jamie Steele, who is in his fifth season at Ursinus. “Making the Centennial Conference tournament and earning an NCAA bid was definitely a realistic goal.”

The Bears finished the season 9–6 overall and 5–3 in the Centennial Conference. Despite not making the playoffs, five members of the team were still named to the All-Centennial team. Junior defender Ryan Ridinger and sophomore goalkeeper Brian Neff were named to the first-team, while junior attack Steve Smyrl and junior midfielder Jake Weber were second-team PAGE 6 URSINUS MAGAZINE

By Jennifer Meininger Wolfe

Neff, who was a second-team pick last season, posted a 7.50 GAA with 157 saves while going 9–6. His goal against average was second best in the Centennial. “Brian never gets rattled,” says Steele. He is always calm and collected and plays his best in the biggest moments. "What more could you ask of your goalie?” Every game he plays, says Neff, helps him to gain confidence.

“I spent the summer playing in a league and on a club team so I felt really prepared this year. Next season, we will be even better.”

Men’s and Women’s Golf Hill is Stand Out on Men’s Team

Junior Russell Hill admits the unusually snowy winter made it tougher than ever to get outside and practice his swing. “Other winters I was able to get outside and hit balls everyday. This winter, we had to do all our practicing in the field house. It’s a lot different hitting into nets as opposed to knowing where your ball would land.”

Hill, still came out on top of his game this spring. He was named AllCentennial for the second season in a row. He won the UC Spring Invitational and finished tied for fourth in the Centennial Conference

Championships. Head Coach Wes Hollis, who became head coach Hill’s freshman year, attributes Hill’s success to his much-approved short game around the greens. “As a freshman, Russell struggled with chipping the ball.

When he came back in the fall his chipping game was completely turned around. It is such a testament to him that he will take on an issue and work through it.”

Go Grapplers! The Wrestling team captured their second straight and 11th total Centennial Conference title this past season. Head coach Bill Racich was named Coach of the Year and freshman Derek Arnold was named Rookie of the Year.

A total of eight wrestlers were named to the All-Conference team.

Rebuilding Year for Women’s Golf Team

The women’s team, also coached by Hollis, had a rebuilding season. After graduating four seniors in 2013, the team worked on fine-tuning their skill level. Junior Alyssa Sardone and sophomore Rebecca Honor are both capable of consistently shooting in the double digits.

“My irons are my strength,” says Honor, the team captain. “I am always controlled there and able to get straight to the green without getting into too much trouble.

Our team is truly on the rise.”

Baseball, a Comeback for the Ages

On April 23 at a game against Arcadia University, the Ursinus baseball team was trailing 12–0 after three innings. That’s when the wild ride began. The Bears scored 19 runs in the 4th inning, pounding out 13 hits in this stretch.

They then turned around and added six more runs in the 5th inning. The Bears’ 19 runs in the fourth was the second-best all-time by a Centennial Conference school in an inning. Ursinus’s 13 hits is also one off the Conference record of 14.

Freshman left fielder Jose Colone tied an NCAA record with three hits in one inning. Sophomore first baseman Chris Jablonski finished the game 4-5 with 5 RBI. He hit a grand slam in the 19-run fourth inning. Ursinus won the game after 6 innings, 25-14 (it was called early due to darkness), and finished the season at 17–17. The Bears, which played 21 freshmen, improved drastically from their 7–23 2013 campaign. Second-year head coach Stan Exter is confident the future is only getting brighter. “I’ve been in games where you chipped away and came back from eight, nine runs down, but never 12 and then put a 19-spot up in one inning,” he says. “We scored 25 runs in two innings. That’s unheard of. I’ve never seen it.” n

Making a Splash!

The Women's Swim team captured its first Centennial Conference title in 2014. Senior Malena Lair Ferrari was named as the outstanding swimmer of the meet, while head coach Mark Feinberg was named as Coach of the Year. The Bears also finished the dual meet season with a perfect 11–0 record, including 7–0 in the Conference.

SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 7

The Arts

in public places. His sleepers, found sprawled in parks, curled up on benches, and contorted into all sorts of unlikely positions, express a profound attitude of trust and peace. Putnam’s photographs will also be accompanied by screenings of Andy Warhol’s legendary film Sleep: a five-hour portrait of poet John Giorno at rest.

Good Neighbors October 14, 2014–January 11, 2015

Good Neighbors is an exhibition concerned with making overtures, gaining trust, and the bonds that are formed by being invited into someone’s personal space. Taking notions of home— which can take many forms—as its starting point, the exhibition features installations and photography by Ursinus Art department faculty members Kay Healy and Sarah Kaufman alongside works by a handful of to-be-determined artists from the region.

Over the summer, Healy and Kaufman will join the Berman’s Ginny Kollak and Charles Stainback in visiting artists in their studios throughout the Philadelphia area. Through introductions both targeted and serendipitous, this project seeks to turn casual networks into lasting connections and to highlight an open, vibrant community of artists.

A Stratigraphic Fiction (Time Before Time) Spring 2015

Donald E. Camp William Larson, 2006 Monoprint with earth pigment and casein on paper 22½ x 30 in.

Collection of the Berman Museum of Art, gift of the artist, BAM2013.229

77 Portraits | May 27–September 21, 2014

Coming from a very straightforward premise and drawn entirely from the collection of the Berman Museum of Art, 77 Portraits brings together a total of seventy-seven works across a range of mediums and time periods, all of which feature the human face or figure. The works on display vary from a sixteenth-century oil painting to very recent photographs, demonstrating that across the ages, the urge to make pictures of people—to make portraits—endures.

Sleep | July 8–October 26, 2014

From the mid-1960s through the 1970s, New York-based photographer Michael Putnam captured images of people from around the world sleeping PAGE 8 URSINUS MAGAZINE

A Stratigraphic Fiction (Time Before Time) presents sculptures, photographs, films, and works on paper from 1970 to the present, all keyed to recent discussions surrounding the theory of the Anthropocene—a new term for the most recent epoch in geologic time. Though it has not yet been formally adopted, many argue that the profound impact man has made upon the Earth since the Industrial Revolution leaves little doubt that a major boundary has been transgressed. Yet for now the Anthropocene remains uniquely speculative—it is still just an idea, an evocative word, a construct of language. By focusing on both natural and man-made materials, landscapes, and narratives, the artists featured reflect on the beauty, fear, contradictions, and questions that come with forcefully etching ourselves into the language of stones.

Rare Bird: John James Audubon and Contemporary Art Fall 2015

Rare Bird: John James Audubon and Contemporary Art combines original drawings, watercolors, prints, and books by John James Audubon with contemporary works—several of them new commissions—that take as their point of departure the legacy and spirit of James Audubon as an artist and naturalist. This is the first in a new strand of exhibition programming at the Berman Museum that features interdisciplinary content and cross-generational practitioners. Among the artists featured in the exhibition are Berlinbased conceptualists Julian Charrière and Julius von Bismarck, the British sculptor Kate MccGwire, and Brooklyn artist Nina Katchadourian.

“Ursinus Gave Us a Sense of Community”

When twins Scott and Michael Taddonio, both Class of 2013, lost their Norristown, Pa., home this December to a fire, their family was left with nothing. The accidental fire started in the fireplace and destroyed the entire house. “We really just had our wallets and the clothes on our back,” says Scott. “The stuff we lost, like photographs and family memorabilia – those are irreplaceable.”

While coping with this loss, Scott, Michael and their parents (Dr. William and Dr. Joann Taddonio), were overwhelmed by the support and generosity of their friends and community. The local chapter of the Red Cross provided shelter in a hotel and The Red Paw Emergency Relief team offered supplies needed to take care of the family’s two cats. Their neighborhood, a local church, as well as coworkers gave a monetary donation, furniture, clothing and gifts.

Carol Williams (right), Assistant to the Registrar, learned the Taddonio brothers’ circumstances and organized a donation drop. “It’s my hope that when the boys remember Ursinus, they not only think of the wonderful education they received, but also the caring, giving people who lifted their spirits in times of tragedy,” says Williams.

The Ursinus community also came together for the Taddonio brothers. The College replaced the graduates’ 2013 diplomas, yearbooks, as well as their senior portraits. Additionally, the staff and faculty collected donations and clothes.

“All we asked of the school was to replace our diplomas, yet Ursinus took it one step farther and gave us so much more,” says Scott. “The names of the people on the card were friends I graduated with, as well as professors I didn’t even know. We were so touched and it gave us such a sense of community.”

When Carol Williams, Assistant to the Registrar, learned of the brothers’ circumstances, she spoke to staff and faculty and organized a donation drop. “It’s my hope that when the boys remember Ursinus, they not only think of the wonderful education they received, but also the caring, giving people who lifted their spirits in times of tragedy,” says Williams. “I am proud of my co-workers’ response to the request of donations for our friends in need. It just reiterates the sense of caring, giving individuals that make up our Ursinus family.”

The brothers, who both double majored in biology and neurology, work at the Pottstown Memorial Hospital in the registration department. They will attend medical school at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) this fall. Meanwhile, the family has rented a house two miles from their burned down home, and are rebuilding on the same land. They hope to be living in the new house by next winter.

“We are so thankful for everybody who has been there for us through this difficult time,” says Scott. “Ursinus has made it so clear to us, that even after you graduate, you are still family.” n

By Ellen Cosgrove Labrecque 1995

Watson Winner Hopes for Global Connection of Black Male Artists Ursinus senior Codey Young is one of only 43 students in the country to be selected as a 2014-2015 Thomas J. Watson Fellow. Young, of Pottstown, will travel for a year to the African Diasporic countries of the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Germany and France.

During his journey he will explore “black men’s use of artistic expressions to create a sense of identity rooted in their link to African ancestry while adapting to the cultural and historic circumstances that define their geographic location,” according to his proposal. His topic, “Releasing the Caged Bird: Chronicling Artistic Expressions of Black Masculinity,” will make use of his own poetry to chronicle his encounters. In all the countries, Young plans to interact with men in the arts, including scholars and dancers. Arriving in Germany in time for Berlin’s Black History Month, he hopes to gain insight into the marginalization of Germans of African descent, and their cultural identity. A major in Philosophy and Sociology with a minor in Africana & African American Studies, Young has been inspired by his studies and travel, and dedicated his poetry to chronicling African Americans’ lives and struggle for liberation.

Codey James Young offered remarks as the Class of 2014 speaker for Commencement May 16, 2014.

Through The Brothers’ Network, an arts and culture-centered non-profit serving black men; attending theater or poetry performances; or publishing his work, Codey has found an empowering outlet in art. At Ursinus, Codey works as a Senior Assistant to the Chaplain, Rev. Charles Rice. He also serves as a student consultant for the Teaching and Learning Initiative, directed by Dr. Meredith Goldsmith, through which he recently took part in a trip to Hong Kong to assist the implementation of a student consultant program at Lingnan University.

Continuing its tradition of providing transformational exposure and life-changing opportunities to promising students, the Watson Foundation provides a year of international exploration for select graduating college seniors in any field. Only schools selected for the rigor and scope of their liberal arts programs can nominate students as Fellows. The Fellows were selected from 700 candidates and 150 finalists. Each Fellow receives $28,000 for 12 months of travel, college loan assistance as applicable, and an insurance allowance. n SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 9

A Faith Journey and 221 Pairs of Shoes When Ursinus Chaplain Rev. Charles Rice was invited as the guest speaker in the chapel of Valley Forge Military College, senior Brandon Irving went along with him. “I happened to meet a student named Ronald Gundo, a native Kenyan, who escorted us around the campus,” says Irving. “We talked for a while about our faith journeys and he happened to mention a shoe drive he was thinking about doing with a Christian ministry for Kenyan children.” Irving, a Religious Studies and Biology major, wanted to get the Ursinus campus involved.

Ursinus students pictured from left to right are: Edgar Torres, Monica Durham, Branden Irving and Emelia Perry.

Ursinus students worked with students at Valley Forge Military College to collect hundreds of shoes for poor children in Kenya. Ursinus and Valley Forge students worked with a Christian ministry located in Mathare, an extremely impoverished area in Nairobi, Kenya. In Mathare, approximately 600,000 people live under daily oppression of poverty. The congestion has made survival a daily battle for the residents against the backdrop of diseases, crime and lawlessness.

“We collected a total of 221 pairs of shoes,” says Irving. The whole process taught him that many people within the Ursinus community are willing to help when the opportunity presents itself. “What inspires me in anything I do for those who are less fortunate, privileged, and prosperous, is knowing that God understands their situations and loves them,” he says. “My faith has a lot to do with this shoe drive in that I seek to work out my salvation through genuine love of God and others.” n

A Guiding Light in the Political Science Department Professor Houghton Kane Retires

When Houghton Kane first walked onto the Ursinus campus with his wife, Nancy, he didn’t know that he would be staying put for the next 43 years. Kane started at Ursinus as a part-time instructor in American Government while simultaneously completing his degree at Temple University School of Law. He soon discovered he had a greater passion for teaching and decided to accept a full-time position at Ursinus in what was then the Political Science department.

Kane had many roles during his career including as an executive assistant to Ursinus’ president and the Dean of Student Life for 15 years. He initiated many of the volunteer programs at Ursinus, including the English as a Second Language after-school tutoring program in Norristown. His work continued the Ursinus tradition of students becoming involved in community service and led to the programs known today as Project Pericles and the Bonner Program.

Kane’s successor and current Dean of Student Life, Deborah Nolan, described Kane as the “father of student affairs as we know it today.” Rebecca Evans, chair of the Politics Department, says Kane is “the very best imaginable colleague. He is friendly, helpful and kind.”

While Kane has been a guiding force within the Ursinus community, he has also made a name for himself beyond it. He was recently elected President of the Board of Directors for the Norristown-based charitable, organization ACLAMO (Latin American Community Action of Montgomery County), which provides “educational, health, economic, social and cultural opportunities to low-income individuals and families in Montgomery County, especially those of a Spanish-speaking heritage.”

After his retirement, Kane will continue working with ACLAMO, and he and his wife will travel to visit his children and grandchildren. Kane’s actions and ideas will live on through the programs and policies at Ursinus.

His presence, guidance, and heart will be greatly missed by everyone in the Ursinus community. “I will always be deeply grateful to all of the wonderful people who have made my time at Ursinus so enjoyable and meaningful,” says Kane. “Hats off to all! Full steam ahead! Adelante!” n

By Olivia Frymark 2016 PAGE 10 URSINUS MAGAZINE

An Incredible Era

Paulette Patton had little idea what to expect when she moved with her husband to Collegeville. Fortunately, the town was home to a small liberal arts college similar to the one where she worked at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. Patton was Director of the Upward Bound program there.

“It was a program designed to prepare first generation and Pell eligible high school students for college,” she says.

After visiting Ursinus she decided it would be “a great place to work.” She applied for a job and changed the face of diversity at Ursinus forever. Patton was hired by President John Strassburger as the first Director of the Office of Multicultural Services on May 19, 1997. She describes herself as “forever grateful” to Strassburger, who died in 2010. “He had faith in me that I could help achieve his mission of making Ursinus a place where all students could feel at home and a valued member of the Ursinus community,” says Patton.

Perhaps her biggest contribution at Ursinus was directing the Crigler Institute, formerly called the Bridge Program, a summer program designed to attract and retain underrepresented minority students. Patton says that the Institute’s biggest effects were in students' minds. “African American and Latino students feel that they have a place at Ursinus,” she says. “And that they can feel good about being an Ursinus graduate.”

Patton is proud of Crigler alumni who have continued to support Ursinus.

“We now have graduates who have come back to speak, perform, and lecture at Ursinus,” she says. “We have physicians, lawyers, college professors, public health professionals, business owners, and dance performers. That's profound.”

New alumna Mercy Gambrah 2014 with Paulette Patton at Homecoming this fall.

Crigler alumnus and Telecommunications Technologies Administrator at Ursinus College, James C. Tiggett III (Class of 2001) echoes her sentiments, saying he “would probably not be in this position if it was not for her.”

Dean of Students Deborah Nolan says Patton “started an incredible era that we had never seen the likes of at Ursinus.” Nolan calls Patton the driving force behind minority retention at Ursinus. “She built a sense of community we had never seen before,” says Nolan, “[and] I hope that sense of presence and community...will continue forever.”

Patton hopes the Crigler Institute “will stay true to its mission of providing a place for those students who have been traditionally underrepresented.”

Her retirement plans include traveling across the country to the states she has not visited. She also looks forward to being more available for her grandchildren. Patton leaves in August, ending a long and profound career redefining diversity at Ursinus. n

By Joshua Walsh 2013

Also Moving On...

Ken Schaefer 1970, Assistant to the President

After 48 years at Ursinus College, Ken Schaefer will retire at the end of June. “It’s been a great ride,” says Schaefer. After graduating from Ursinus in 1970, Schaefer began his service to the first of five presidential administrations as an admissions counselor. "Ken and I have been at Ursinus together for a long time," says Ross Doughty 1968, Professor of History and Department Chair. “I worked closely with him on admissions matters in the 70’s and early 80’s after I returned to teach at Ursinus. Ken has served Ursinus well in many capacities over the years and his skill, dedication and constant good humor will be greatly missed.”

By 1981 he had risen to the position of Dean of Admissions. He subsequently moved into Advancement work, first as Director of Annual Giving and then Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations. Beginning in 1999 he assumed the responsibilities of Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees. In 2011, he became Assistant to President Bobby Fong.

James Baer 1966, Director of Pre-Law Center

James L. Baer, Esq. a 1966 graduate of Ursinus and of the University of Virginia School of Law is moving back home to Maryland where he will continue his pre-law teaching and fundraising activities. The first Center for Legal Studies at Ursinus was created in 2011 and was directed by Baer. It brought together all aspects of the College’s assistance to its students interested in a career in the law, mentoring, curricular and advising. The creation of the Center for Legal Studies transformed pre-legal studies for students and for future generations of lawyers at Ursinus. When the Center for Legal Studies began three and a half years ago, Baer was excited about the Center’s inclusion of enhanced advising including LSAT preparation and law school contact, a heightened emphasis on the pre-law society and expanded curricular offerings. His objective was to create a cadre of students who would work collaboratively to assure the very best preparation available for law school. The Center for Legal Studies has in this period of time become a national exemplar for pre-legal studies. Students who were interested in a law career found a variety of contacts with alumni as nine alumni attorneys were directly involved in judging the Moot Court competition. In total, 106 alumni are members of UCLAG providing individual mentoring for pre-law students. “There really are no words to adequately describe such an excellent teacher, encouraging mentor, and charismatic friend as Jim Baer has been to so many students at Ursinus,” says Michelle J. Stranen 2005, Assistant District Attorney in Delaware County, Pa. “I've learned that sometimes your path many only cross briefly with someone, but the legacy that they leave with you will last a lifetime. Baer's influence was certainly so instrumental in my life that I can't imagine an Ursinus without him. He exemplified the true ideals that we should all strive for and did so in such a humble and unassuming way.” Hon. Joe Melrose 1966 Ambassador-in-Residence and Professor in Politics and International Relations says Baer will be missed. “For more than fifty years Ursinus has been a major part of Jim’s life and he of its. First as a an active student, then an active alum, a member of the Board of Trustees, a significant fundraiser and most recently with the very successful pre-law program.”

SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 11

alumni

weekend 1. (L) Joan (Bauerle) Beekey 1964 and (R) Jeanne (Roosen) Grimsley 1964 2. Alumni Award Winners were honored April 26 at a ceremony at the Lenfest Theater in the Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center. Seated Roger Lee 2010,The Rising Star Alumni Award; Martin Dresner 1961, Henry P. and M. Page Laughlin Educator Award; Alexander Peay 2009, Alumni Award for Service to Humanity; Zeba Hussaini 2014, Senior Alumni Award.

Standing: Lauren Caresscia Nisenson 2005 New York National Council Member; Jay Richards 2004 Washington, D.C., National Council Member; William Daggett 1962 Alumni Award for Professional Achievement; Lesley Katz 1987 Philadelphia National Council Member and President Bobby Fong. Not pictured Jerry Gares 2014 Senior Alumni Award.

3. Friends share a happy greeting during Alumni Weekend. 4. Some representatives of the Class of 1954 gather in the Berman Museum.

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philosophyon PHILANTHROPY Christian Sockel 1993 holds Ursinus close to his heart. Now, more than 20 years after graduating, he’s giving back to the place that gave him so much. The former lawyer, who is assistant headmaster for advancement at a private, college preparatory high school in Pottstown, Pa., has signed on as volunteer chair of the Major Gifts Committee at Ursinus.

“Ursinus is a very special place,” he says. “As alumni, it’s our responsibility to make sure it remains that way. I owe a lot of my personal and professional success and happiness to Ursinus.

I hope others view it the same way.”

Sockel is encouraging Ursinus alumni to donate to the new Annual Fund Scholars Program, a term-scholarship of at least Christian Sockel 1993 and his wife, Jennifer. They hope $5,000 a year for students who to encourage others to pledge demonstrate academic merit gifts to the Annual Fund and financial need. Donors are Scholars Program. matched with a student from whom they can get periodic updates, with the chance to meet their student during the year.

Sockel, a history major, is one of nine alumni and friends of Ursinus who already have pledged gifts to the new scholarship. He and his wife, Jennifer, have pledged $35,000 over five years – $25,000 for the Sockel ’93 Family Annual Fund Scholarship and $10,000 for the planned Innovation and Discovery Center on campus.

“Through both his service as the Chair of the Major Gifts Committee and his generous pledge to the Annual Fund Scholars Program, Christian leads by example for both his family and his fellow Ursinus alumni,” says Jill Marsteller 1978, Senior Vice President for Advancement. “We are so very fortunate to have his experience, enthusiasm and dedication, and I hope many others will join him in supporting Ursinus and our students at a new level.”

The Sockels also are sharing the lessons of philanthropy with their children. In addition to setting an example through their own generous gifts, Christian and Jennifer plan to give their daughters each a modest amount of money annually to make charitable donations to organizations that are important to them. The Sockels want to teach Portia, 10, and Annika, 8, about generosity, and have asked their girls to donate the money. It’s not an easy lesson to teach children, so they put it in simple terms: “Some people are blessed,” Christian tells

his daughters. “To whom much is given, much is expected; those who have more, in my view, are obligated to share.”

His philosophy on philanthropy, he says, is rooted in his deep Catholic faith. Growing up near Reading, Pa., Sockel attended Catholic school from kindergarten through 12th grade. “We are blessed,” he says, “and giving back is part of that.”

support a cause or organization.”

In addition to soliciting gifts for Ursinus, Sockel is assistant headmaster for advancement fulltime for The Hill School where he has worked since 2008. After practicing law for five and a half years, Sockel realized the legal profession wasn’t the right fit for him. After some reflection, he began a new career path in the advancement field. “Working in advancement is a job filled with promise and happiness,” he says, “asking people to

Sockel likes the challenge, and he is eager to begin making connections with alumni and friends of Ursinus. He knows there will be many who want to join him in supporting the College. “It’s not going to be easy work,” he says. “But I think all alumni can be supportive of the school in some fashion, because Ursinus is a piece of who they are today.”

By Erika Compton Butler 1994 For additional information regarding the Ursinus Annual Fund Scholars program, please contact Rosemary R. Pall, Director of Annual Giving, by calling 610-409-3424 or via e-mail at rpall@ursinus.edu

Annual Fund Scholars Program Donors James 1964 and Irmgard Barrett Susan A. DeCourcey 1988 John M. Fessick 1985 Judy R. Hoak Kathleen Y. Knoebel 1973 Jill Leauber Marsteller 1978 Adam Sager 1990 and Stephanie Sager Rev. Dr. Harold Smith 1955 Christian P. 1993 Sockel and Jennifer R. Sockel SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 13

Commencement

2014

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The Ursinus senior class graduated in the Floy Lewis Bakes Center field house, where the ceremony was moved because of heavy rain. John E.F. Corson, who was President of the College when the Class of 2014 entered as freshmen, presided and greeted the graduates. Class President Tyler Schindler introduced the speakers, and Codey James Young offered remarks as the Class of 2014 speaker.

1. A morning of celebration and celebration. 2. Kim Eble, Richard Eble, Leah Eble, Donald Parlee 1955, Rikki Eble 2016, Joan Parlee 1957, William Eble 2016 3. Bryanna Bonner 2014 shares a happy moment.

4. John E.F. Corson, who was President of the College when the Class of 2014 entered as freshmen, presided and greeted the graduates. 5. Alanna Messner 2014, Peter Messner 1980, Diane Messner and Rich Bochuer 6. Rayna Nunes 2014 walks through the rain to the field house. 7. President Bobby Fong congratulates a new graduate. 8. Steve Berardi 2014 shows the exuberance of many new graduates. 9. Commencement speaker Zainab Hawa Bangura, Special Representative of the (United Nations) Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, told the Class of 2014 that every one of them “has the power to positively impact the life of another person.” Bangura received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the Commencement and received a standing ovation from the audience. She spoke on the power of education to improve society, against the backdrop of her own life in Sierra Leone, born to a woman who had no formal education and where women were considered property. “By virtue of the schooling that I received, I am now considered the head of my family. . . . in one generation a woman can go from being considered chattel to being in charge,” she said 10. Celebrating with family after the ceremony. 11. Dr. Fong congratulates The Reverend Gail E. Bowman, a minister and lawyer who serves as Chaplain and Director of the Willis D. Weatherford Jr. Campus Christian Center, received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. 12. Ercol Acri and fellow graduates share anticipation and joy on graduation day.

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SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 15

Show me the

Ropes

By Kathryn Campbell

A New Externship Program Connects Students and Alumni in the Workplace

PAGE 16 URSINUS MAGAZINE

To Life

he Ursinus Career and Professional Development Office celebrated its first Externship Program for 17 Ursinus students. The job-shadowing program offered a real workplace experience for students exploring careers they hope to pursue after graduation.

During the last week of winter break, externship students followed an extern sponsor, typically an alumnus, parent or friend of Ursinus College, throughout a traditional workday.

“We continue to see the benefits of student participation in the Extern Program months after students shared offices with our alumni,” says Michele Poruban, Assistant Director, Career and Professional Development. Poruban and Sharon Hansen, Associate Director for Employer Relations, created and developed the program. “While working with students as they compose their career goals I hear how they are using their experiences during the externship to polish their resumes and target their internship or job search on positions related to the work they saw while shadowing. Without the incredible response we received from alumni who were willing to share their career experiences with students, this program would not exist.”

The opportunity to learn about wildlife and the work of employees at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge was a dream realized for Megan Maccaroni, an Environmental Studies & Spanish major who will graduate this May. “I want SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 17

“I had a fabulous week with Megan during the extern program,” says Mariana Bergerson 2002 (at right). She is Deputy Refuge Manager at the U.S. Fish & Wild­life Service John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum and hosted Megan Maccaroni.

“At the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mariana always had something different and exciting happening,” says Maccaroni, an Environmental Studies and Spanish major who graduated in May 2014.

to get involved in the environmental field because I expect it to be a career where my day-to-day activities are never exactly the same,” says Maccaroni.

“This was true at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mariana always had something different and exciting happening.”

Mariana Bergerson 2002 is Deputy Refuge Manager at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum and hosted Maccaroni. “I had a fabulous week with Megan during the extern program,” says Bergerson. “Megan learned about the specific positions, biology, maintenance, visitor services, law enforcement, and management at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, as well as the many opportunities in the environmental field with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Her experiences mirrored the mission of the USFWS which is ‘working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.’ ” Although some of the field work was prevented by winter weather, Maccaroni helped to complete a bird survey and install new interpretive signs. She also participated in several meetings and conference calls on environmental education programs, Urban Refuge Partnership grant applications, invasive removal projects, and community involvement.

“It was an amazing opportunity for me to meet new people in my field and learn about possibilities for me after graduation,” says Maccaroni. “I gained a really great insight of what it’s like to work in the conservation field as well as what it’s like to work for the government. My experience also introduced me to a number of opportunities I could apply to be part of after graduation. As a senior, it made me realize that the “real world” that awaits me after gradua-

tion isn’t so scary after all, and that my Ursinus education has truly prepared me to one day take on a job like deputy manager at a wildlife refuge.”

Bergerson said she would love to host another extern. “Megan was professional, inquisitive, and truly excited about learning and conservation,” says Bergerson. The externship offered a glimpse of the daily operations at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, says Begerson. “Much of what is accomplished at John Heinz is a result of teamwork between our small staff and coordination with our local partners. Megan gained valuable insight seeing how our team works together to accomplish the USFWS’s vision for conservation and wildlife protection.”

As a student at Ursinus, Bergerson says she had a good idea of what she wanted to do, but was unsure of the path to take to get there. “Ursinus provided me with a broad, well-rounded liberal arts education that allowed me to gain and succeed at opportunities after Ursinus,” she says. “Ursinus taught me how to see the big picture and how to jump in and work with a diverse team of people.”

“The extern program is a wonderful example of how we are putting the Ursinus strategic plan to work,” says Carla Mollins Rinde, Director, Career and Professional Development. “This new program demonstrates our commitment to providing opportunities for students to link academic learning with experiential education and to connect them to the world that awaits them post-graduation. We believe that shadowing an alum in a "real-world" work setting can deliver an experience that is unattainable in the classroom.”

Senior Evan Hill spent the week working at SEI Investments, a financial ser-

“Without the incredible response we received from alumni who were willing to share their career experiences with students, this program would not exist,” says Michele Poruban, Assistant Director, Career and Professional Development. Poruban and Sharon Hansen, Associate Director for Employer Relations, created and developed the program. “We look forward to the growth of the program as more alumni and friends of the College support students as extern sponsors.”

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vices company headquartered in Oaks, Pa. Hill was paired with Dean Mioli 1983 who is Director of Investment Planning at SEI. Mioli says the extern program is a great opportunity to share work experiences and your company with college students. “I thought it would be good for Evan to spend time with other Ursinus grads as well as myself and see a few sides of a large multi-national financial services company,” he says. Hill experienced three distinct sides of the SEI business. With the investment service team he saw how SEI supports advisors with investment portfolio analysis, portfolio development and tax return observations. “Evan also shadowed Rob Wrzesniewski 1991, attending several meetings as SEI embarks on extremely important technology launch. Evan was exposed to a very different business model and introduced to several institutional team members. I think he gained valuable insight on roles and functions in a profit center,” says Mioli.

Heather Perpetua 2015 and Bahir Eley 2016 were paired with Heather Dromgoole 1998, who is director of human resources at Alteva in Philadelphia. “The extern experience was exactly what I hoped,” says Perpetua. “I talked to people who had interesting stories about how they got to be where they are today.”

Perpetua says it was a great opportunity to speak with the CEO and the CFO and other executives. “Many of them did not have a background in cloud communication, especially because it was not as common of a field in the past. As someone who is still fairly undecided on what I want to do in the future, I found it beneficial to know that a variety of different experiences will benefit you.”

The most difficult thing to get used to, she says, was the open office space.

“Even those with their own offices did not have ceilings, so there really was no privacy. However, all of the employees seemed to get along very well which may have been helped by the openness of the work space.”

Dromgoole says Alteva, a leading service provider of cloud communications and collaboration solutions for businesses, had never sponsored internships or externships before this experience. “This was a new concept for us,” she says. “I felt comfortable handling this, but I wasn’t sure what level of participation I would receive from my colleagues. The fact that Heather and Bahir came into the office eager to learn and interested in the business made things much easier as it truly encouraged my colleagues to provide some background on their work and work experiences.”

The students were given some short-term projects, too. They helped Dromgoole review data on the pension plan valuation reports for consistency with the previous year’s reporting and worked on researching information for marketing and sales leads. “They helped to enter some of the marketing lead information into a database and also closed out resolved tickets in our Salesforce system for customer issues that have since been addressed.”

Dromgoole’s career in Human Resources has taught her that it is necessary to understand all facets of the business in order to be an effective leader and business partner. “I tried to provide Heather and Bahir with exposure to numerous areas within Alteva in the hopes that they could understand that, even though they may currently have respective interests in Marketing and Accounting, success in those areas depends on knowing the business as a whole,” she says.

Bahir Eley was thrilled with the exposure the externship program offered.

“It was a wonderful experience because I got the chance to meet and talk with very intelligent people who gave me great advice,” Eley says. “The transition from college to the environment of a big company was the most

Extern Sponsors Mariana Bergerson 2002 U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Geoffrey Brace 2003 PA House of Representatives

Amanda D’Amico-Lichtenstein 2007 Global Interdependence Center

Heather Dromgoole 1998 Alteva

Megan Helzner 2008

National Museum of American Jewish History

Matt Hummell 2010 De Lage Landen

Chris Kriegner 2004 O’Brien & Gere

Ryan Matty 2005

West Pharmaceutical Services

Dean Mioli 1983 SEI

Alexander Miron 2007 Moody’s Analytics

Aaron Ranck 2002

U.S. House of Representatives

John Sears 1999 Janssen

Michelle Stranen 2005 Delaware County DA’s Office

Jeannine Stuart 1985 AREUFIT Health Services

Sarah Tax 2006 Research Partnership

Eric Wilden 1992 My Way

For information on how to be involved as an Extern Sponsor, visit www.ursinus.edu/NetCommunity or email Sharon Hansen at shansen@ursinus.edu

SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 19

difficult thing to get used to. Being in college, you go to class and you do homework, but not much socializing. In a business, you need to be a very outgoing person.”

The experience has helped him gain confidence for the future, Eley says.

“I’ve gained knowledge on what I would like to possibly do, whether that may be HR, finance, or accounting. I can apply everything that I’ve learned at Alteva to another job, which could make me a better candidate.”

decisions that are disappointing and not always anticipated,” Stranen says.

“A jury trial can be a true gamble. There are no guarantees no matter how hard you prepare or how much evidence you have on your side. With a jury trial, the ultimate decision is left entirely to a group of total strangers.”

Stranen offered the Ursinus junior a courtside seat during her busy week.

He was able to observe court proceedings, talk with attorneys, and tour the courthouse and local prison. “I hope that I was able to give Anthony a realistic idea of what the practice of criminal law involves. He should have a better idea of whether he wants to continue pursuing a career in criminal law or explore other areas of the law that might interest him.”

Sierzega agreed that the week in the District Attorney's office offered new insights about the courtroom experience. “It wasn’t as hectic as I imagined,” he says. “I was fascinated by how much the attorneys rely on each for help regarding different cases and how willing the people, at least the ones I saw, were willing to help their fellow attorney out.”

This externship confirmed his desire to work in public interest law, he says.

“In terms of serving the community, this externship showed me how much work these attorneys put in to protect and better our state. The cases were all interesting in their own way, and I came out each day with an interesting story to tell. I never felt bored. Being able to come home each day without feeling bored or stuck in a job, while also doing work that was protecting my community, seems to me to be a great combination, and a combination that I found during my externship experience.”

Michelle J. Stranen 2005, an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the District Attorney in the Delaware County Courthouse; Anthony Sierzega 2015 and Assistant Public Defender David Iannucci 1999.

Michelle J. Stranen 2005 is an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the District Attorney in the Delaware County Courthouse. “As a student, I knew I wanted to become an attorney,” says Stranen. “I was fortunate enough to obtain summer internships at a few different civil law firms.” She thought she would practice civil law after law school. “But during my second summer of law school, I was hired as a certified legal intern with the District Attorney’s Office and really fell in love with being a prosecutor. Criminal law is very exciting and different each day.”

Stranen hosted Anthony Sierzega 2015. “Many people have ideas about what attorneys do based on how lawyers are portrayed on television,” says Stranen. “There are some similarities to television, but there are also many differences. Not all lawyers spend their days working in a courtroom. While I do spend a lot of time in court, it is not always for trial purposes. Many cases resolve themselves after negotiations, through diversionary programs or plea agreements.”

Since the law is constantly evolving, says Stranen, a lawyer can never stop learning. “All lawyers must participate in an ongoing yearly educational process and that is one of the reasons I was drawn to the law and why it continues to keep me interested on a daily basis.”

Whether it is criminal law, or another area of the law, Stranen says the legal profession can be a very rewarding career. “I enjoy being part of the law enforcement community. Our state troopers and local police officers work hard and risk their own safety to protect citizens and remove criminals from our neighborhoods. My job begins after theirs and I work hard with the information I am provided to ensure that the true criminals are convicted. I can sleep at night knowing that I have done my part to keep the community safe from harm.”

Would she volunteer again? “I would absolutely participate in the program again,” she says. “Ursinus students like Anthony always impress me as professional and enthusiastic. The benefit is tremendous and it is certainly an easy way for alumni to give back to Ursinus students.”

The Externship Program will be expanded next year, says Sharon Hansen, Associate Director for Employer Relations, Career and Professional Development. The goal is to offer more opportunities to students. “We look forward to involving more alumni as Extern Sponsors in 2015 and years to come,” says Hansen. n

The Extern Program

is open to Ursinus College students of all class years and majors, at least 18 years or older. Preference is given to second,

The most difficult aspect of her work, she says, has been setting her personal feelings aside in the prosecution of a case. “I am passionate about my job. It can be hard to balance the opinions of victims and witnesses and still make sure that justice is being served to everyone involved.”

third and fourth year students. Some workplace sponsors

Another challenge she talked about with Sierzega is the unpredictability of juries. “Anyone who has ever tried a case knows that juries can make

of the decision-making and career planning process.

PAGE 20 URSINUS MAGAZINE

may restrict their Externships to certain majors or years. The College Career and Professional Development Office offer programs, resources, and services designed to help at all stages

Megan Helzner 2008 is Manager of Annual Giving and Membership at the National Museum of American Jewish History. “My work

is a mix of developing fundraising mailings, communications, planning member events, and sharing our collection and programs with donors near and far,” says Helzner, who mentored junior Katie Lobst. “Much of what my colleagues and I focus on is also ‘friend-raising.’ I hope that Katie came away that fundraising is very people-centric and about matching people's personal interests with passion and philanthropy.”

Helzner also mentioned Andrew Eron 2013, who just finished a five-month internship at NMAJH. “He conducted an ambitious email and phone survey of our Members. The research and analysis that he did helped us to better understand our members' motivations for getting involved. Andrew offered some wisdom to Katie, and Katie let Andrew and me know what's new at Ursinus now. It was very special to have three UC people here at the Museum all at once!”

“The extern program is a wonderful example of how we are putting the Ur­sinus strategic plan to work,” says Carla Mollins Rinde, Director, Career and Professional Development. “This new program demonstrates our commit­ment to providing opportunities for students to link academic learning with experiential education and to connect them to the world that awaits them post-graduation.”

SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 21

The dog in the air, a Rat Terrier named HOTS, belongs to Janie Harris 1971.

Harris competes with HOTS and her other dogs in canine agility.

gone to the

dogs

By Kathryn Campbell

PAGE 22 URSINUS MAGAZINE

J

anie Lancey Harris 1971 has always been a blur of buoyant energy.

Athletic and petite, she has ridden horses and played field hockey and lacrosse since she was a child. At Ursinus, she was a health and physical education major and a member of the field hockey and lacrosse teams. Her former teammates and coaches, she says, inspired her love of competing, and winning.

But these days, her life has gone to the dogs and they have become central to her love of sport and play. Harris participates in canine agility, a competitive and fun team sport that requires a partnership between the human handler and his or her dog. Together they negotiate a course of obstacles with the handler providing cues for the dog to follow, with the strongest being degrees of handler’s body language and motion.

“I love it for the athleticism it requires,” says the mother and grandmother.

“And I love it for the joy of the relationship with the dogs.”

than 150 affiliated groups conducting more than 600 days of events each year throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and Japan.

In October 2013 Harris and Booker were planning to travel to Tennessee for the Cynosport National & International Event trials. “The bags were packed, the hotel rooms booked and stalls were rented,” says Harris. And then, days before they were to leave, Harris injured her hamstring.

“It was devastating,” she says. “I was forced to scratch Booker from the competition and the organizer found a replacement for my team.” Instead of performing center stage, Harris glumly watched the trials live stream on her computer. With time, Harris started therapy for her injury. She recovered enough to hike the hilly 15 acres of farmland she and Andy own in Zionsville.

In addition to competing through the United States Dog Agility Association, Harris also performs with her dogs, HOTS and Bailey, at suburban Philadelphia area schools, teaching kids fitness through action-packed canine activities such as disc catching, freestyle dance, and tricks. After 35 years of teaching physical education and health in the Souderton School District, Harris retired knowing much about the needs and challenges of keeping middle school students fit. Showing kids that fitness can be fun, she says, is important.

It was during one of these walks in December when Booker suddenly collapsed. “He was joyfully running on the farm and then he was flat out on his side, unconscious,” says Harris. Andy and Janie rushed him to University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, where doctors made every attempt to prolong his life. But Booker died during his post-operative recovery. Harris says the type of cancer Booker had, hemangiosarcoma, causes death without any prior symptoms. “In Booker's case, the sarcoma was located on his heart.”

"Janie has a passion for teaching, both people and animals,” says her husband, Andy Harris 1970. A special education teacher, he worked in the Souderton School District as well. “Over the past eight years, she has been dedicated to agility training and her new Doggy Days performances. Whatever Janie does, she is driven to be the best."

The outpouring of support after his death helped her to heal.

But the past year offered a series of setbacks, both emotional and physical, for which she was not prepared. Her best partner in canine agility was Booker T., a beloved and highly intelligent border collie. Together they trained hard in regional meets, and collected enough wining scores to enter the nationals.

"I love it for the joy of the relationship with the dogs,” says Harris, seen here with her beloved Booker T. In addition to compet­ing through the United States Dog Agil­ity Association, Harris also performs with her dogs at sub­urban Philadelphia area schools teach­ing kids fitness through action-packed canine activities, such as disc catching, freestyle dance and tricks.

“You need to be sensitive to your partner and give clear directions to your dog,” says Harris, 65. “My dogs love to work.” Booker’s ability and keenness to please captured the hearts of both spectators and fellow competitors.

With more than 25,000 registered competitors and more than 200 different breeds of dogs, including mix breeds, the USDAA represents more

“I was blessed to have this dog and the response has left me in awe,” says Harris. “I have a large box filled with cards.

Presents, flowers, and donations to the Canine Cancer Fund also flooded in.

The messages all referred to the relationship that Booker shared with me and the special qualities he possessed as an individual. I guess we were a well-loved team.”

Her grief in losing Booker was profound, she says. But she realized that she needed to maintain her commitment and focus for her youngest dog, HOTS, the little rat terrier, with whom she continues to train and trial. Recently, Harris was lucky enough to find a new puppy to bring into the pack. Named after the American skier Bode Miller, Bode Blue Eyes, is a beautiful young border collie. “Bode will be joining the family in this spring and he will have big paws to fill,” she says. “I feel that the universe has led me in this direction for a reason,” says Harris. “It is time, to once again, follow my heart.” n SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 23

P A R T N E R S

IN THE ART of

AGING

WELL

By Ellen Cosgrove Labrecque 1995

Ursinus graduates, students, and professors are part of a growing field of professionals helping seniors thrive, in body and mind, as they age.

A

lli Rosati 2012 admits the competition can get intense.

“They are really good bowlers,” she says with a laugh. “I can’t come close to beating any of them!” Rosati is the Life Enrichment Manager at Frederick Living Continuing Care Retirement Community in Frederick, Pa., a residence for adults over age 62. As an undergraduate, Rosati originally wanted to be an occupational therapist. But after working as an intern at Frederick between her junior and senior year, her career interests changed.

“After I stepped foot in Frederick, I fell in love with working with this population,” says Rosati, an Exercise and Sports Science major who is earning

her master’s degree from St. Joseph’s University in Gerontological Services.

“Every resident has a new story. I love to hear about what they're involved in, what they used to do, where they are from, and even how they met their spouse. It is a job that makes me smile everyday.”

As Enrichment Manager, Rosati plans activities, oversees the workout room, and educates staff and residents on wellness in general. The wellness activities she runs include everything from a Wii bowling league, which has 10 teams who participate, to men’s weightlifting, to bocce, to weekly trips to an indoor pool. Rosati creates a life wellness plan for residents, all the while absorbing their bowling tips.

SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 25

Life Enrichment Manager, Alli Rosati 2012, provides instruction on the proper use of exercise equipment at the Frederick Living Body Shop. David Christ is the resident.

“After I stepped foot in Frederick, I fell in love with working with this popu­lation,” says Alli Rosati 2012, an Exercise and Sports Science major who is earning her master’s degree from St. Joseph’s University in Gerontological Services.

“We had one resident who bowled a perfect score of 300,” Rosati says. She is one of many Ursinus graduates, students, and professors who are part of a growing field of professionals helping seniors thrive, in body and mind, as they age. The timing couldn’t be better. According to the Administration On Aging, the elder population in the United States – persons 65 years or older – numbered 39.6 million in 2009 (the latest year for which data are available).

This represents about one in every eight Americans. By 2030, there will be about 72.1 million older persons, close to twice the number it is today.

Students in Dr. Laura Borsdorf ’s Wellness and Fitness for Adult Populations Class are getting first-hand experience with this growing population.

As part of the class curriculum, students partner one-on-one with residents at Rosati’s Frederick facility. The students give the residents fitness tests and offer advice about how to improve their health based on the test results.

“Some of my students have misperceptions that all old people are in nursing homes,” Borsdorf says. “This program helps change stereotypes, while also creating mutually beneficial relationships.”

PAGE 26 URSINUS MAGAZINE

“I shared fitness tips for aging well, such as how to work on your balance,” says Nicole Good, a senior majoring in Exercise and Sports Science, who paired with an 85-year-old resident at Frederick last year. Good and Borsdorf were also selected to present their ideas on fall-proofing and balance at the Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (PSAHPERD) state convention in 2013.

Borsdorf, Good and Ursinus student, Sarah Muchowski, have been invited to present a session on “Changing Paradigms, Changing Lives,” at the 2014 PSAHPERD convention. Janet Schaefer 1971, works as a physical therapist at Pottstown Memorial Hospital, and says her senior patients inspire her the most. Her mother, Florence Floyd, who is 93, lives at Frederick. “The senior patients are just so motivated to get better,” explains Schaefer, who rehabilitates stroke and heart patients, as well as patients who are recovering from hip or knee replacements.

“Patients in their 70’s or 80’s expect to be active once they recover and are willing to work hard to get there,” she says. “They want to get back home to

their life and all their activities.”

Brad Trout 1986 also knows exactly how important it is for senior citizens to stay as independent as possible. He and his wife Dara, run Seniors Helping Seniors in Pennsylvania’s Chester, Montgomery, and Upper Bucks counties. They help seniors remain in their own homes by providing services like personal care, light housekeeping, meal preparation, transportation, and even small home repairs and yard work. The majority of the care workers are seniors themselves.

“Seniors build a more personal relationship because they have more life experiences and they have probably been through a lot of the same things as the people they are helping,” says Trout. While Trout focuses on the day-today life of seniors, James Ruggiero, 1986, helps them navigate their longterm goals. As Managing Partner at Ruggiero Law Offices in Paoli, Pa., a firm he founded in 1990 that focuses solely on estate planning and elder law, Ruggiero helps people deal with the financial and legal end of the aging process with as little anxiety as possible.

“Elder law didn’t exist when I graduated from law school, says Ruggiero, who has a degree from Widener University Law School. “But I decided to focus my work on helping elders because the greatest growth populationwise is this group. I can help them transition from one home to the next, or hand down wealth to the next generation.”

Ruggiero also helps families in crisis type situations; such as dealing with an illness resulting in unexpected long-term care costs and lifestyle changes.

Growing up in West Chester, Ruggiero lived with his 90-year-old grandmother and helped care for her until she died of cancer.

“I tell my clients I got my training before I went to law school,” says Ruggiero. “When I work with families who are the caregivers, I can tell them I was there and know how stressful it can be. I want make the legal end of things as smooth as possible.”

Jaymie Kate Burkhart 1996, is also a lawyer making life better for seniors, but she is doing it through policy change. As the Executive Director of the Alaska Mental Health Board in Juneau, Alaska, Burkhart addresses the needs of seniors who experience behavioral health disorders. She does this working with constituents and state agencies to ensure adequate public funding for mental health treatment, in particular a statewide program called IMPACT, which is evidence-based depression care for seniors. The program identifies seniors who are receiving diabetes care in a primary-care setting and screens

“Elder law didn’t exist when I graduated from law school,” says James Ruggiero 1986. He has a degree from Widener University Law School. “But I decided to focus my work on helping elders because the greatest growth populationwise is this group. I can help them transition from one home to the next, or hand down wealth to the next generation.”

them for depression. The patients who screen positive for depression are paired with a mental-health professional, who works with the senior to create a plan to address the depression as well as the medical issues they came to be treated for in the first place.

“By offering mental-health treatment through their primary-care doctor, we have been able to improve their mental, and as a result, their physical health substantially,” says Burkhart.

Victoria Wilkins 1998, who practices geriatric psychology at Weill Cornell Medical College in White Plains, New York, also understands the link between senior’s mental and physical health.

Wilkins treats older adults who suffered a traumatic health crisis, such as a stroke, and are suffering depression as a result of declining health and forced lifestyle changes.

“When someone is depressed after a stroke, the person doesn’t recover as well,” Wilkins, a psychology major at Ursinus who earned her Ph.D. in psychology at Victoria Wilkins 1998 Drexel University, says. “I work on treating the depression, because not only will that help the people feel better, but it will also help them stay motivated to do their physical therapy.”

Wilkins treats her patients with different methods of psychotherapy, such as behavioral activation, which encourages her patients to reengage in pleasurable and meaningful activities, and with cognitive therapy, which encourages them to be more flexible with their thinking.

“This might mean encouraging them to go back into a group, like a book club, they once loved,” Wilkins says. “If they can’t drive anymore, we encourage them to figure out another way to get there, like asking a friend or fellow member to drive them.”

Susan Wood 1970, might be just the person to call in a situation like this.

Wood is Transportation Manager for the Asbury Methodist Village, a continuing care retirement community in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The transportation services has 15 drivers who take the 1,600 residents anywhere from medical appointments, to shopping, to a museum. And although Wood’s days can be bogged down with logistics and the scheduling of the cars and buses, she never loses the overall scope of what their services are providing.

“Driving can be hard to give up for seniors because they feel like they lose their independence,” she says. ‘But we get them places so they can remain engaged. There is a lot of life still to be lived for seniors, and I’m glad I can help them live it.”

Wood is right on. In fact, the Administration on Aging also reports our country’s biggest growth is with the 80 plus population. There is certainly plenty of life for these seniors still to be lived, and Ursinus is leading the way to help them do it. n

SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 27

no

reserv

I

n February 2010, Stephen Lange packed his Jeep, lifted his small dog, Smiley, into the passenger seat and set out for a new life on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Pine Ridge, one of the poorest and most remote areas of the United States, was thousands of miles from the comforts of his East Coast life. But as a clinical psychologist, Lange felt a call to help and heal where he could.

The Lakota Oglala Sioux Tribe had a youth suicide crisis five times the national average. His work would be at the desperately understaffed Pine Ridge Hospital for the Indian Health Service Department.

“I was ready to go where I was needed,” says Lange, who learned about the crisis as a commissioned officer with the United States Public Services Reserves. “The Tribal President had declared a state of emergency because of so many youth suicides. They had no psychologist or psychiatrist or anybody with advanced training to work with prevention. The situation was dire.”

PAGE 28 URSINUS MAGAZINE

When Lange decided to move, he was living in Philadelphia, teaching as an adjunct professor at Chestnut Hill College and running his own psychology practice. Recently divorced, with two grown children, he says, the time was right for change.

During his first two years on Pine Ridge, Lange focused on community outreach strengthening support for youth and suicide prevention. He counseled at-risk youth, helped with a 24-hour on-call emergency service, and established suicide prevention training for community agencies and schools. His work has made a difference.

Before his arrival, there were 12 youth suicides in 2009. By 2012, the number of youth suicides was zero.

“Without Steve, I wouldn’t have been able to stay there as long as I did,” says Elizabeth Garcia-Janis, a psychiatrist who came to work on the reservation at the same time as Lange. “We were able to double-team on the frontline work. Steve breaks down barriers with the Lakota people that other people could not.”

continued to treat patients who needed his help, regardless of their ability to pay. These stories transfixed him. “My grandfather was the original doctor without borders,” says Lange about his hero.

rvations Stephen Lange 1979

Lange chose Ursinus for its unpretentious spirit as well as its strong psychology department. “Ursinus helped me to develop scientific problem-solving skills, rather than just mastering a set of facts.” He went on to earn his master’s in psychology from Lehigh University and his Ph.D. in psychological and educational services from Fordham University. At Fordham, he worked in the New York public schools as a school psychologist. While some other psychologists clamored to be in the more affluent Manhattan schools, Lange asked to be assigned to Harlem, where he felt he could make a bigger impact.

“Ursinus helped me to be skeptical about official versions of history, which is one reason that I am open to understanding that history can be glossed over in textbooks when it is too painful.”

The Pine Ridge reservation is the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined with about 50,000 American Indians living there. According to the Indian Health Services, the residents have the shortest life expectancy of any population (47 years for men, 52 for women) in the Western Hemisphere with alcoholism affecting 85 percent of families. The school drop-out rate is 70 percent.

“Ursinus helped me to develop scientific problem-solving skills, rather than just mastering a set of facts,” says Steve Lange.

He works with youth in crisis on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Lange feels a kindred spirit with the Lakota Indians, who have a long history of oppression. This includes the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre site, a National Historic Landmark. The tragic massacre by U.S. Cavalry left historical estimates at 200 Indians dead (including women and children) and about 50 wounded. Some other estimates of the Indians killed are closer to 300.

“Being Jewish,” he says, “helps me to appreciate how the effects of trauma are transmitted from generation to generation. I have relatives who were brutally murdered in Lithuania, and Wounded Knee affects me deeply.”

Lange has tried to live his life according to the Hebrew phrase Tikkun Olam, two words that translate as “world repair.” His professional career has been devoted to working with underserved populations.

Growing up in Lower Moreland, Pa., Lange heard stories about his grandfather, Horst Lange, a Jewish doctor who lived in Germany before World War II. After fleeing Germany to China in 1933, Horst

The remoteness of the area, the poverty, the frigid weather (some winter days are as cold as -40 degrees Fahrenheit) are unrelenting even for those who were raised there. Combined with the emotionally exhaustive work, recruiting and retaining staff on the reservation is challenging. In the four years Lange has been there, two fellow staff members (including Garcia-Janis) left because they got so sick from overwork.

Lange visits the Pine Ridge School and works with the at-risk students on a one-on-one basis. “Even though Steve is from outside the reservation, the kids were able to talk with him easily,” says Allie Bad Heart Bull, who manages dormitory and residential life at the kindergarten through 12th grade school. “He is truly able to help kids who were struggling with low self-esteem and abuse issues.”

Recently Lange bought a home in northern Nebraska, on the outskirts of the reservation. “People kept asking me how long I would be here,” says Lange, who lives there with his girlfriend. “I thought if I bought a house, my patients would get the idea, without my saying, that I was staying. Also, houses are cheap,” he says with a laugh.

Jokes and bargain real estate aside, Lange says he is committed to staying because he’s found a real connection with his patients and his co-workers.

Most importantly, he says, “If I’m not willing to stay and help these people, then who is?”

By Ellen Cosgrove Labrecque 1995

SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 29

Weddings

Molly McGlinchey 2009 and Brian Hampson 2009 were married on Sept. 14, 2013.

Brian Walsh 2002 and Liz Crimer were married on Aug. 11, 2012.

Kevin Poust 2002 and Carrie Nase were married on June 8, 2013.

Grace Buchele 2014 and Ryosuke Mineta were married on Jan. 2, 2014.

PAGE 38 URSINUS MAGAZINE

Lindsay Cappa 2008 and Eric Requa 2008 were married on July 9, 2011.

Leah Sakowski 2009 and David Kargman 2009 were married on Feb. 8, 2014.

Holly Brizell 2010 and Richard Weeks were married on June 14, 2013.

Samantha Papa 2009 and Brian Hrynczyszyn 2008 were married on Sept. 21, 2013.

Maureen McCarthy 2007 and Markus Weise 2007 were married on Dec. 27, 2013.

Ursinus wedding photos

Ursinus Magazine publishes wedding photos in the magazine as well as online. Please send your favorite wedding memories.

Send photos to Ursinus Magazine, P.O. Box 1000, Collegeville, PA 19426. Digital photos can be e-mailed to ucmag@ursinus.edu.

Ursinus College reserves the right to reject publication of photos which are not of publishable quality. We regret that we are not able to return print photographs. The wedding date must be given and the group photograph should include only Ursinus alumni.

Please sign onto the Ursinus online community: www.ursinus.edu/alumni for full captions including names of the Ursinus alumni pictured in the photo. Questions can be addressed to the Office of Alumni Relations, 610.409.3585, or by e-mailing ucmag@ursinus.edu.

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SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 39

field notes Oh, Enchantment!

Shakespeare as a Map to Our Experiences in the World

Matt Kozusko, Associate Professor of English at Ursinus, teaches Shakespeare and early modern drama. His principal research interest is

in Shakespeare and performance. Recent publications include articles in Shakespeare Survey, Early Theatre, Shakespeare Bulletin, and Borrowers & Lenders, and an essay collection, Thunder at a Playhouse: Essaying Shakespeare and the Early Modern Stage (co-editor, Susquehanna UP, 2010). His edition of The Two Gentlemen of Verona (New Kittredge Shakespeare) is forthcoming. He attended graduate school at the University of Georgia (PhD, 2003) but earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Texas and self-identifies as an Austinite.

He has two decades of experience performing Shakespeare in the U.S. and the U.K. and works performance into all of his classes. He writes mostly about the cultural function and status of Shakespeare in contemporary popular culture but also studies theater history. When not on campus or in the library, he can generally be found swimming with the local masters team or surfing the lazy beach breaks down the south Jersey shore. Kozusko is currently working on a monograph about Shakespeare as a redemptive or rehabilitative space in contemporary popular entertainment and imagination.

Q

What made you decide to pursue William Shakespeare’s work as your subject of research?

A

I remember reading Macbeth in high school and being fascinated by the way other characters in the play kept reciting his different titles. "Great Glamis!

PAGE 40 URSINUS MAGAZINE

Worthy Cawdor!" His identity seemed to change with language, and that got me thinking a lot about the power of words. A remarkable thing for a student otherwise totally uninterested in school! But I later backed into Shakespeare in graduate school almost accidently. As an undergraduate, I wrote my senior thesis on J. D. Salinger, and I applied to graduate programs planning to focus on American literature. The summer before I went, however, I did a ten-week intensive Shakespeare through performance program run out of a barn in the middle of the Texas hill country, and it affected me profoundly. Students in that program – Shakespeare at Winedale – spend

the summer putting together three Shakespeare plays, entirely on their own and from the ground up, with no other responsibilities, and then perform them for the public. It was the kind of the experience that transforms the way you see the world and changes the things you expect out of yourself. I went through the program again a few years later, and at that point, I was hooked. I started thinking seriously about how we use Shakespeare today as a way of mapping our experiences in the world around us – about the shaping power of words, really.

We give to Shakespeare's words the kind of power we otherwise reserve for sacred documents like scripture or extraordinarily important secular documents, like the U. S. Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. We treat the words as if they have a special kind of power. In Shakespeare's case, we regard them as having the power to articulate all that's most thrilling and terrifying about being human. I've always been interested in that power and in what it is that people see or sense in Shakespeare that sets him apart from his contemporaries.

Q

Can you tell us something about his work or his life that the average person doesn’t know?

A

This is a great question, and there are so many interesting answers. Most interesting, from my perspective, is that he was himself an actor whose work was fundamentally collaborative. Sure, he wrote the bulk of the plays and poems we attribute to him on his own, but he wrote for and with other members of his company, and he wrote, especially in his early and later years, in collaboration with other dramatists. One of the things that's most ridiculous about the notion that Shakespeare didn't write Shakespeare, or that an actor couldn't have had the education or refinement necessary for such celebrated accomplishments, is that it gets the logic exactly wrong: only an actor who knew and worked with other actors in the theater trenches, day in and day out, could have written these plays.

Q

How do your students approach his work? Do they connect with Shakespeare’s themes and language?

A

I spend a lot of time thinking about rhetoric and language and about how the meanings of words change over time. In my Introduction to Shakespeare class, we start with a poem that has the word "reek" in it, and we consider how the word's negative connotation today – of smelling bad – colors the entire poem and often misleads readers into thinking that the subject of the poem, the poet's mistress, is somehow ugly or foul. Her breath stinks, and she's ugly, but he loves her anyway. It's misleading because the poem actually celebrates the mistress's beauty as it critiques the hyperbolic metaphors of traditional love poetry. But you have to be paying careful attention to the other words in the poem – and to the way "reek" meant something slightly different 400 years ago – in order to see it.

One of my current projects is about bawdy jokes in Shakespeare, which contemporary readers and actors (especially actors) tend to find even when they aren't "really" there in the play texts. Correcting the way people read such moments looks like a frivolous bit of pedantry, but it's actually quite important: if you consider the power we ascribe to Shakespeare's words, the job of glossing or interpreting them, of getting their all-important meanings just right, is a matter of considerable consequence.

Whoever wields Shakespeare has a huge amount of power, and that power, ultimately, is what makes teaching and researching these plays and poems so enchanting and important for me. As mediators or curators of Shakespeare, English professors are themselves in a position of great power and responsibility: we're training people to be good users of literature.

Q

What aspect of your research is the most interesting or exciting?

A

The historical component is fascinating. Any time your research has you handling material objects that are 400 years old, you can't help but feel a little like a detective doing very important work. I did a lot of my dissertation research in Oxford, and I remember one day when I was working on a 17th-century court record. A colleague at the next desk over tapped me on the shoulder to show me what she was looking at. It was an Elizabethan manuscript – a translation of a French poem into English written by the future Queen Elizabeth when she was 10 or 11 years old. She'd done the translation herself and embroidered the cover, all as a gift for Catherine Parr, the last of her father King Henry VIII's wives. Simply touching that document (discreetly, while nobody at the library was looking!) was the thrill of a lifetime.

SPRING/SUMMER 2014 PAGE 41

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PO Box 1000 Collegeville, PA 19426-1000 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Homecoming October 24-25, 2014 Class Reunions 2009, 2004, 1999, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1979, 1974 and 1969

Organization Reunions Softball, Wrestling, Volleyball, Rugby, Delta Pi Sigma, Sigma Rho Lambda, Sigma Pi, Phi Alpha Psi, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Dance and Campus Publications

Friday: • Class Reunion Dinners • Third annual Grizzly Gala at RiverCrest Golf Club, Phoenixville (minutes from campus)

Saturday:

• Traditional tailgate with Victory Brew Pub on Wheels • Athletic games, including Football, Field Hockey and Men’s Soccer • Organizational and Class Reunions!

Excited?! Want more info?

Visit www.ursinus.edu/Homecoming or call 610-409-3585

REUNITE

WITH

THE

FRIENDS

YOU

LOVE!