Salem
The Magazine of Salem State University | Winter 2016
STATEMENT
ABOVE AND BEYOND Students and Alumni Who Inspire Us
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PR ES I DE N T ’S M ES SAGE
editor James K. Glynn ’77 design and production Simeen Brown
Daily, I receive communications about members of our Salem State community in the news: their accomplishments, quotes from our faculty experts about trending topics, students and staff being honored, and alumni doing notable things. Each mention of the good works of someone in our university family brings with it a tremendous feeling of pride. What it makes abundantly clear to me is that ours is a community of doers, a community of achievers—and a community that, in everything it does, reaches just that little bit further. In this issue of Salem Statement, we have chosen to profile several individuals who—through tenacity, big dreams, someone’s belief in them, and a desire to make a difference for others—have inspired us. Emmanuel Asonganyi’s ’11 unwavering pursuit of an education puts learning in true perspective, while the efforts of Tina Giarla ’15 and Jamie Zahlaway Belsito ’96 to provide others with the resources they never had are changing lives. In the stories of Bob Kelleher ’75 and Eddie Scofield ’15, we learn what it is to discover one’s true passion and change one’s life focus. I hope you are as moved as I am by their stories. On campus, we’ve been fortunate to add several outstanding individuals to our leadership team, including Cynthia Lynch as the Center for Civic Engagement’s first full-time director, Gail Gasparich as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Chunju Chen as executive director of strategic planning and decision support. You can read more about them—and the talents they bring to our university—in the pages that follow. May the news and stories inform and inspire you in the year to come. Sincerely, Patricia Maguire Meservey President, Salem State University
assistant editors Taylor Mugford Margo W.R. Steiner ’11G copy editor Patrice (Bonin) Buchanan ’75 p h o t o g r a p hy Caitlin Armstrong ’16 Simeen Brown Kim Mimnaugh Lisa Nipp Michael Sperling Lea St. Germaine ’03 Margo W.R. Steiner ’11G writing Ann Carlson Sandra Yudilevich Espinoza Ashley Festa Kyle Lallatin ’16 Victor DeRubeis Taylor Mugford Margo W.R. Steiner ’11G editorial advisory board Donna Beaulieu Robert Brown Karen Murray Cady Linda Coleman Mary Dunn ’78 Kathy Neville Taylor Mugford Anthony Pira ’13G Mandy Ray Margo Steiner ’11G t: 978.542.7519 e:
[email protected] w: salemstate.edu/statement Salem State University, Salem, MA publishes Salem Statement twice a year. Copyright 2016 Salem State University All publication rights reserved. Send address changes to Alumni Affairs a: 352 Lafayette Street Salem, MA 01970 e:
[email protected] t: 978.542.7552 on the cover Jamie Zahlaway Belsito ’96 on Capitol Hill where she advocated for federal legislation to provide coverage to women suffering from postpartum depression; one of six stories of inspiration in this issue. Photo by Lisa Nipp.
TAB LE O F C O N TE N T S
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AROUND CAMPUS Faculty, students and alumni making news
4 ATHLETICS Rugby team advances to the East Coast Championship round
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VOICES OF OUR STUDENTS Intern is no longer searching for his identity
FEATURES 11 INSPIRATION
Six stories about alumni who inspire
ALUMNI 32 THE LATEST Pam Doherty ’92 rings in a new year with the alumni board
34 TELLING THE TALE OF A TEACHER Author writes about her grandmother who graduated in 1896
36 CLASS NOTES What are your old classmates up to?
41 EVENTS Where the parties have been and where the next ones are going to be
SUMMER 2016: GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY STUDY AND TRAVEL INSTITUTE
THE BATTLE FOR EUROPE: THE LOW COUNTRIES IN WORLD WAR II BELGIUM, LUXEMBOURG, NETHERLANDS // July 5-18, 2016 (Travel July 7-18) Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Bruges, Bastogne, Brussels, Aachen, Luxembourg City
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NEWS
News
University Appoints Director of Strategic Planning Chunju Chen PhD has been appointed executive director of strategic planning and decision support. Chen comes to Salem State from Northern Michigan University, where she most recently served as assistant provost of institutional research, planning and assessment. Prior to that, she was employed for 15 years as executive director of institutional research at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Chunju Chen has extensive experience working across divisions to provide a full range of institutional research functions and strategic planning support to promote a climate of data-driven decision-making. Her expertise, according to President Meservey, will “allow the university to make necessary and fundamental changes based on better and more efficient data collection and analysis.”
University Appoints First Director of Civic Engagement At her 2007 inauguration, President Meservey charged the university to build on its legacy of service to the North Shore and beyond by establishing a center for civic engagement. In her remarks she noted that, “It is our duty to ensure that students understand the importance of community involvement, and that they are well versed in the privileges and responsibilities that come with citizenship in a democratic republic.” The increasing scope of service initiatives on campus and off resulted in the appointment of Cynthia Lynch as the Center for Civic Engagement’s first full-time director in October. Lynch comes to Salem State from Middlesex Community College, where she served as director of service learning.
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Murphy ’75, Chisholm Named to Board of Trustees Kathleen Murphy ’75, left, and Teresa Chisholm, right, have been named to the Salem State University Board of Trustees. Murphy, a resident of Middleton, received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Salem State in 1975 and her PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of South Dakota. She has completed executive coursework at both Dartmouth and the Harvard Business School and serves as CEO of Chi Solutions, Inc. She is also a noted speaker and author. Chisholm, a resident of Lynnfield, is an administrator at Harvard University, and an independent higher education consultant. Her previous professional experience includes accounting, financial analysis and project management.
NEWS
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Announced The university has announced the appointment of Gail Gasparich PhD as dean of its College of Arts and Sciences effective March 14, 2016. Gasparich joins Salem State from Towson University, where she serves as associate dean of the Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics and is acting assistant provost and professor in the biological sciences. A celebrated scholar, she has received wide acclaim for her work with spiroplasma, a unique group of bacteria without cell walls that are found in different types of insects and crustaceans, and for identifying new strains of bacteria that may one day lead to better natural pesticides. “Our committee’s search for a new dean was both extensive and deep, and we are convinced that Gail Gasparich will be a terrific leader of our College of Arts and Sciences,” said Joseph Cambone, dean of the School of Education and search committee chair.
Professor Speaks at U.S. Consulate Center in Vietnam
State Auditor Addresses Health Policies During Campus Visit
Economics professor Van Pham spent five months in Vietnam as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar this fall. Alumnus Michael Gormalley ’73, a volunteer with the Global Community Service Foundation, which aims to end poverty in Southeast Asia, visited her while she was addressing 180 students at the American Center in Ho Chi Minh City. Her topic covered what it was like being a student at an American college or university. Gormalley said, “the attendees were very attentive to hearing her talk and her sharing of real college life experiences.” During the presentation, Van Pham introduced Gormalley to the students, who enthusiastically asked questions about the American education system and Salem State University.
During a visit to campus in November, State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump spoke to students about health care issues. Her talk focused on the role of the Office of the State Auditor in identifying potential fraud, opportunities for cost savings and improved efficiencies at MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. Bump seeks “to root out waste, fraud and abuse in state government, and to find ways that our state government can work better.” The event was cosponsored by the university’s political science department, the Bates Center for Public Affairs, the pre-law society, and the political science academy.
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Music Faculty Member Releases Album on iTunes Mike Testa, assistant professor in music and dance, has released a new experimental electronic album. APCP features seven compositions that Testa wrote on the theme of retro-futuristic space travel. “Space exploration and physics have always been interests of mine,” he said. “I love to read books about new theories on space travel and new technologies. I am also always looking for ways to incorporate real science and data into my musical compositions, as a lot of the technology used to make electronic music is also used in scientific experiments.” The album was released by the New England based NuHarp label.
Rugby Club Wins East Coast Championship On the heels of an undefeated (8-0) regular season, the Salem State rugby club team travelled to Emmitsburg, Maryland, in December, and returned home as East Coast champions with a 24-23 victory over Washington & Lee University. In just their third year, the Vikings will play for the National Small College Rugby Organization Championship in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in April. The team was ranked 14th in the nation out of 240 programs. Club sports receive a base budget from the student government association (SGA). Officials, travel, trainers, and other miscellaneous expenses must be covered through fundraising in order for the club to operate successfully. The experience in Maryland “was hopefully just the beginning of great things for this program,” said Michelle Cunningham, Salem State’s intramural and club sports coordinator. “The team has great student leaders who are determined to continue developing the program.” For more information on club sports, contact Cunningham in athletics and recreation.
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NEWS
Women’s Ice Hockey Makes its Debut with a Win The university’s first women’s varsity ice hockey team got off to a promising start when it opened the 2015-16 season with a 3-0 shutout of Johnson & Wales. Senior goalie Jenn Toussaint stopped 10 shots and three different players scored for a convincing win in the team’s inaugural game.
Salem State Ranks among Top 100 Women-Led Businesses The Boston Globe Magazine, in partnership with The Commonwealth Institute, has named Salem State as one of the top 100 women-led businesses in Massachusetts. The top-100 list honors female-led organizations with the most impressive records of innovation, work place diversity, revenue, and employee numbers. Salem State’s president, Patricia Maguire Meservey, has led the university since 2007. Now in her ninth year, she presides over a growing campus that has added the three-story Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Center, the 40,000-square-foot Harold E. and Marilyn J. Gassett Fitness and Recreation Center, and Viking Hall, a residence facility housing 350 students. According to the Globe’s website, “We looked at revenue, the operating budget and other variables, including the number of full-time employees, diversity and innovative projects. We then ranked organizations according to our own formula. We considered both for-profit and nonprofit organizations.” This is the 14th year that The Commonwealth Institute — a local nonprofit that supports female business leaders — has created the list, and the third year that The Boston Globe Magazine has partnered with the group.
Hockey Player Receives Invitation to NCAA Convention Mike Chen, a junior member of the men’s hockey team, received a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III ethnic minority grant to attend the athletic association’s annual convention in San Antonio, Texas, in January. “I was thrilled and in disbelief for a moment,” Chen said. “Only a handful of studentathletes are selected for this grant, and to even be nominated was an honor.” Chen, who is majoring in sport and movement science with a concentration in sports management, added that making connections with the administrative staff as well as with the student athletes were among his goals at the conference. “I want to get a better understanding of how the NCAA operates,” he said.
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Students Travel to Rwanda, Visit Genocide Sites In early 2014, Joyce and Bill Cummings ’13H, through their Cummings Foundation, provided a $1 million civic grant to Salem State’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. A portion of the grant funded Salem State students traveling to Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) in Rwanda. On July 16, 2015, social work professor Rob McAndrews, an authority on the Rwandan genocide, departed Boston with seven undergraduate and three graduate students selected for the trip. The students selected represented a diversity of academic and career interests. Claude Kitaire, a graduate student in the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Certificate Program, is a native Rwandan and was of school age at the time of the 1994 genocide. During their 12-day trip, students stayed on the ASYV campus, where they developed close relationships with families; participated in work, educational and medical projects; worked in the campus kitchen; and engaged in discussions with their hosts. The group also visited two genocide sites. Trip participants, who kept daily journals and prepared research papers on some aspect of Rwanda’s history, were also generous in their donations to Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, bringing clothing, sports equipment and school supplies. Upon their return to Salem, the group raised an additional $2,500 for the ASYV campus.
University Leads Movement to Make SAT Optional Salem State has become the first of the state’s nine public colleges and universities to make SAT and ACT tests optional for undergraduate admission. Piloting a test-optional pathway for students who apply for the fall 2016 semester, university officials will later evaluate whether to make the policy permanent. Prospective students can still submit test scores, but Salem State’s admission counselors will put more emphasis on grade-point averages and the rigor of high school courses. According to President Meservey, “Our goal is to better ensure equitable access for high school students whose academic potential may not be adequately reflected by standardized test scores.” 6
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Program Addresses Nursing Shortage A degree program designed to enable college graduates to achieve a bachelor of science degree in nursing (BSN) is being implemented at Salem State. Addressing a nationwide shortage of nurses, the Accelerated Second Degree BSN Program will offer an alternative pathway for college graduates to return to school and obtain nursing licensure. The 15-month program will be available this May 2016, during Summer Session I. For more information, visit salemstate.edu/nursing or call 978.542.6624.
NEWS
Social Work and International Programs Move to New Location The School of Social Work and International Programs held an open house and reception in October to celebrate the opening of their new offices and classrooms at 287 Lafayette Street. Remarks were offered by President Meservey, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs David Silva (pictured right at the event), vice chair of the board of trustees Alyce Davis ’75, Salem mayor Kimberley Driscoll ’89, and the manager of Salem Renewal, LLC, David Pabich. Social work offers both bachelor’s and master’s degrees, while the international programs include offerings in ESL.
Student Named to Salem Award Foundation Board Political science major Yaira Matos, of Salem, has been named to the board of the Salem Award Foundation. Inspired by the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, the foundation annually honors an individual who “truly embodies the ideals of empathy and tolerance.” Previous winners include Jose Vargas, an immigration rights activist, and Jonathan Shay, a doctor who works with veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Matos said she became involved with the Salem Award Foundation “by taking part in local actions for various causes.” A member of Amnesty International on campus, she has a busy schedule. “My days are spent at school, at my internship with Small Planet Institute in Cambridge, or working on different projects,” she said. “I’m busy, but gladly consumed by so many amazing projects.” W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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VO I C ES O F OU R STUDE N T S
‘Taking Pride in Who I Am’ NO LONGER SEARCHING FOR AN IDENTITY AFTER CLEMENTE’S TALK
To commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month, Salem State University brought Rosa Clemente to Viking Hall for a workshop entitled “The Construction of Race and Power in America.” Clemente is a well-known speaker, community organizer and hip hop activist, and has appeared often in the media, including on CNN, C-SPAN, MSNBC, teleSUR, and Democracy Now!. She ran for vice president on the Green Party ticket in 2008 and has founded a number of organizations working for racial equality, including Know Thy Self Productions and R.E.A.C. Hip Hop Coalition. I was excited to meet someone with experience in fighting for their rights and identity. Since middle school I have been struggling to find the best way to express my own racial identity. I am half black and half white, so like Clemente I am biracial. I have grown up trying to figure out how to be proud of my identity. Going into the workshop I was anxious. I didn’t know what to expect. I had never met an activist before. I didn’t have much experience with proud people who boast their identity without shame or fear, either. Clemente began by reading her essay, “Who Is Black?” She talked about growing up as an Afro-Latina in a place where people would not acknowledge her as part of either population: “I am so tired of having to prove to others that I am Black, and that Puerto Rico, along with Cuba, Panama and the Dominican Republic, are part of the African
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by KYLE LALLATIN ‘16 Diaspora. Do we forget that the slave ships dropped off our people all over the world, hence the word Diaspora?” Clemente then moved on to her main issue: Why do people of color have fewer rights and less money than white people in this country? In addressing the question, she cited many statistics. “We are under a system of white supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism,” she said, adding that we must use education to address these issues first. “If we don’t start there, especially for the young people of color, it’s hurting them,” she explained. This quote resonated with me, for I have experienced the effects of that system firsthand. Growing up, I could only watch as my mother’s entire life was affected by her not being white. She had to watch where she stood in elevators, lest people treat her as a serviceperson and order her to press the buttons. The only black teacher in my entire school district, she is the target of racial slurs from some of her students. Because of her ostracism, I have always been afraid to be who I truly am. In high school, when I expressed offense at racist jokes I would be told, “Your white half should be laughing.” I had to hide who I was. Attending Rosa Clemente’s workshop validated a lot of my feelings. I no longer see the need to be afraid of my race. I don’t need to worry about favoring one race over the other in how I express myself. My identity is a tool for me to defend myself against oppression and aggression. I am the legacy of many people’s histories and stories, the result of their dreams, successes and failures. I should be and will be proud of who I am and what I represent. n Kyle Lallatin is a senior English major from Pittsfield. He interned in the university’s marketing and communications office this fall.
photo by Caitlin Armstrong
NEWS
Activist Rosa Clemente spoke at Viking Hall. W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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What’s your reason? salemstate.edu/reasons REASON
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Felicia Hayden ’15 “I’m excited to have the Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons as the new heart of Salem 10 State’s campus. My fellow students and I plan to take what we discover with us, into the world, wherever we go.”
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W hen socia l work professor Sandra Yudilevich Espinoza contacted us and of fered to write a stor y about a former student who was an inspiration to her and others, it provided food for thought. W hile it’s not uncommon for a professor to inspire students, it’s not of ten you hear about the students who inspire their professors. We thought, let’s f ill the Statement with stories of Sa lem State a lumni and students who have gone...
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students and alumni who inspire us
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Riding With MS Diagnosed with MS, My Former Student is an Inspiration as She Continues to Volunteer and Help Others BY SANDRA YUDILEVICH ESPINOZA 12
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F E AT U R E S
For Susan Evensen Tena ’11G, life has always revolved around the twin tenets of giving and compassion for others. Those traits helped set her career course, and have led her to a life of service. Even today, as she grapples with an unexpected recent diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), she continues to care for others and for the causes that hold meaning for her. Recently, she and her team rode in Bike MS: A Green Mountain Getaway. The team rode in memory of Bobby Mac, a charity cyclist who died about the same time Susan was diagnosed, so the ride was doubly personal. A progressive neurological disorder, multiple sclerosis has some treatment options, but it does not have a cure. Her bike riding jersey reads, “I Ride with MS.” She wears it to create an opening for others to ask about the condition. It helps her spread the word as she continues to raise money for MS research. As a student, Susan impressed me with her quiet and calm demeanor. A person who thinks before she speaks, when she does share her thoughts they are always important and valuable. Unassuming, she is a bright young woman possessed of a strong work ethic and a wry sense of humor. These are traits that will help her move forward. The roots of Susan’s professional and volunteer life can be traced back to
her childhood. Her mother, a physical therapist, was “very civic minded,” Susan said, and brought this perspective to her work and family. From an early age Susan was aware of her mother’s work, and participated with her in activities that helped others. Making a difference in people’s lives continues to be important to Susan; it is, she explains, a path to “self-soothing.” Susan graduated from Brandeis University magna cum laude in 2001. Unsure of a career path, she signed up for AmeriCorps and spent two years in full-time community service. Her first year was with Generations Incorporated, a Boston program that works to improve youngsters’ literacy skills by pairing them with older, adult volunteers. She eventually moved on to AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), where she served as a team leader. The experience provided “practice in being a leader,” she said, and was “eye opening.” Among her posts at NCCC was work with the forest service in Sedona, Arizona (building a handicapped-accessible trail to an archeological site), and engagements with a San Diego charter school, a nonprofit multi-service center in Sacramento, California, and Boys and Girls clubs in Anchorage, Alaska. After AmeriCorps, Susan returned to Boston, knowing she wanted to work with older adults. She began a full-time job at Ethos, a nonprofit that provides elders with the services necessary to promote their well-being, dignity and autonomy. Then Susan enrolled in the four-year, part-time MSW program in Salem State’s School of Social Work. Her first
of two internships was at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. Considered a macro placement, it provided her skills and knowledge in how to create change in systems. Her second placement, for which I was her faculty field liaison, was at Sherrill House, a skilled nursing facility. I observed Susan at work there, where she carried out the duties of a nursing home social worker: assessments, therapeutic sessions and case management. Additionally, she ran a group that addressed the needs of sun-downing dementia patients. In both placements, she was given high marks by her supervisors. Currently the assistant director of Ethos’ home-care programs, Susan continues to volunteer. In addition to serving on the board of Generations Incorporated, she rides hundreds of miles annually to raise money for causes including—in addition to MS research—HIV and cystic fibrosis. Susan draws inspiration from many sources, including Dr. Paul Farmer, whose work in Haiti is chronicled in Tracy Kidder’s book, Mountain Beyond Mountains. In particular, she is drawn to his idea that human beings are “capable of complexity.” She understands, she said, that “things aren’t black and white, they’re more complex and we have to tolerate that.” For anyone, but especially a social worker, that is an invaluable concept to understand. n
Sandra Yudilevich Espinoza is an assistant professor of social work at Salem State. W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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Homeward Bound Alumna is Turning Her Conundrum into a Calling BY VICTOR DERUBEIS
“Many students are faced with the option of, ‘Do I pay rent and not attend school? Or do I pay for my education and become homeless?’” —Tina Giarla ’15
to help
Go to the univer sit y ’s 10,0 0 0 Reasons website. To donate to Salem State’s s tudent food pantr y, please spe c if y that your donation go to the s tudent advocacy of fic e. salems tate.e du /makeagif t
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Finding one’s way home is a story at least as old as Homer’s The Odyssey, and as new as Steven Spielberg’s E.T., the Extraterrestrial. For Tina Giarla, a December 2015 Salem State University graduate, the journey started out more like Alice’s harrowing trip down the rabbit hole in her adventures in Wonderland. It was fall 2011, Giarla’s first semester at Salem State, and things were going pretty well considering that her mother was in jail for drug offenses and her father had died when she was 13. Tina had graduated from high school in Florida and yearned to be near relatives in Massachusetts, especially since her family in Florida had all but disintegrated. She’d been accepted to Salem State University, secured a room in Bowditch Hall for the fall and had some work-study financial aid. Along came Thanksgiving break. At a time when almost all students living on campus go home, Giarla had no home to go to. She was apprehensive about disclosing her family situation, but she mustered up the courage to visit the university’s housing office to ask if she could stay on campus over the break. “Everyone leaves. The dorms close,” she remembers being told. Tina considered renting a room in Salem, but couldn’t afford it. She eventually ended up staying for the long weekend with family members who live in Revere. Giarla managed to complete the semester, but soon faced an even more daunting problem—winter break. She saw just one option and booked a last-minute flight to Florida where she stayed with her best friend.
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Tina returned to Salem in January for the start of her second semester. Even with two jobs—one on campus in the university’s archives, and another as a waitress at Finz restaurant on Pickering Wharf—she still didn’t make enough money to live on campus or to pay local rents. Hers was the world of homeless college students, a subset of the social services category known as “unaccompanied youth.” “Many students are faced with the option of, ‘Do I pay rent and not attend school? Or do I pay for my education and become homeless?” Giarla points out. Working full time to pay her rent while cobbling together scholarships here and financial aid there, she made it through her sophomore year while living with relatives. During her junior year she had a stroke of good fortune: She moved in with her grandfather, an arrangement that allowed her to complete her degree requirements this past December, just one semester behind schedule. “When I moved to Massachusetts after high school, my grandfather was a little reluctant to take in an 18-year-old because he was uncertain how much support I would require,” Giarla recalls. “Being 89 years old at the time, he knew he couldn’t provide the support he believed I needed.” When Tina demonstrated her ability to be independent and serious about her studies, the arrangement became a good fit for both of them. “(My grandfather) describes it best in Italian,” Giarla says. “Si prende cura di me, mi prendo cura di te,” meaning, ‘You take care of me, I take care of you.’”
fellow wanderers Anthony Pira, a 2013 Salem State graduate with a master’s degree in social work, who was himself homeless for a time, identified with Giarla when he heard her speak at a conference last year. “Someone experiencing a housing crisis is not in that situation because they won the lottery,” Pira says. “It is because every system in their life has failed them: their parents, school counselors, neighbors, religious people, family, educators.” It’s a population whose numbers remain nebulous. The federal Free Application for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA), the only entity that keeps track, pegs the number of homeless college-age students at 58,000, but warns the number could be higher because of the stigma attached to it.
Tina Giarla ’15 and Salem State director of student advocacy Christine Sullivan meet on campus to discuss how the university can help students overcome roadblocks to their education. 16
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F E AT U R E S
At Salem State, its existence is real and is being recognized and addressed, according to Christine Sullivan, director of student advocacy. She says that in the past year 35 students have shared their stories of homelessness. However, she believes the actual number to be much higher. Sullivan expresses student advocacy’s mission simply: to help students overcome roadblocks to their education. Her responsibilities include raising student awareness of the resources available to help those in danger of becoming homeless. In a recent survey of 600 students, Sullivan says, approximately 200 indicated that they were having problems affording food. In response, her office established a food pantry to which donations of non-perishable items are encouraged. Sullivan acknowledges, though, that there is more to do and that each student’s predicament is unique. Most, however, fall into one of the following categories: family problems with abuse; strained relationships; drugs and alcohol; lack of a job; and lack of affordable housing. “There are also students who have been in foster care, and are trying to transition to independent living; some students feel they can do it on their own and they find out that it’s harder than they think,” Sullivan says. While it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the cases and the magnitude of the problem, Tina Giarla has used it as a call to action, not only for herself but for others who might not be as outgoing or as resourceful as she.
connecting with legislators Kelly Turley, field supervisor at the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless in Lynn, began working with Giarla two-and-a-half years ago when the latter was a Salem State intern there. Last June Giarla was hired by the organization as a fulltime community organizer. “During her internship she often spoke to legislators and community groups, sharing her personal story as a way to connect with them,” Turley said. Giarla’s role at the coalition has expanded beyond her initial work with unaccompanied youth to assisting people with disabilities. Turley cites Giarla’s testimony and legwork as instrumental in the passage of legislation sponsored by the Massachusetts Commission on Unaccompanied and Homeless Youth. The legislation resulted in a $2 million allocation in the 2015-16 state budget to deal with problems facing unaccompanied youth, including homelessness. When you ask peers and professors about Tina Giarla, they invariably use the word “drive.” “When she was interning full time and working another full-time job, she was just driven to contribute,” says Turley. “She wants to succeed,” says business professor David A. Goodof, whom Giarla cites as a mentor. “Whether homelessness or some other motivator, she is going to get where she wants to go.”
mixing business with social responsibility
As a business student, Giarla learned how to be pragmatic and has been able to analyze the problem from several angles. She says her management courses have helped her move beyond the financial skills of spreadsheets and analysis. “They’ve helped me become a project manager and leader,” she says. “They’ve helped me develop my networking ability, and exposed me to a very diverse population.” Turley hopes Giarla will be working at the coalition for “a very long time,” but recognizes that her protégé is considering graduate school, law school, public office and, just maybe, running her own nonprofit. With all her ambition, Goodof notes that Giarla has also acquired the ability to put things into their proper perspective—something she credits to a philosophy course she took with professor Mandy Lobraico. Professor Goodof was also a help in that department. “There were times when he had to calm me down because I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off,” Giarla recalls. Tina in December earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management. The recent grad, now 23 years old, sees homelessness in general—and student homelessness in particular—as a matter of social justice. “When someone has to sacrifice their education because they need a place to sleep, that’s injustice,” Giarla says. “She is that rare student whose future will be worth watching,” Goodof adds. “I will learn from her forever.” As she tries to find new ways to prevent others from enduring what happened to her, Tina Giarla has found a home in a journey that’s just beginning. n W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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When Giving Up is Not an Option Recent Graduate Never Quit Searching for a Better Life BY MARGO W.R. STEINER
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For every student who takes higher education for granted, there are others who face—and conquer—what often seem to be insurmountable obstacles to achieve their dreams for the future. Emmanuel Asonganyi ’11 is one of the latter.
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A native of Cameroon, he led an arduous existence as a young man, wandering around Saharan Africa for years trying to make a better life for himself. He was born the son of a coca farmer and was forced—in November 1993—to drop out of his freshman year at university because of strikes and unrest in Cameroon. Ill from recurring bouts of malaria and typhoid fever, Asonganyi decided then that he would rather die struggling to find a future elsewhere in the world than die with nothing in his own country. On December 3, 1993, with $400 in his pocket, he looked at an atlas and vowed to make a future for himself in Spain. A Christian from English-speaking Cameroon, he set as his goal to be in Spain by Christmas. Although the journey was far more hazardous than he ever could have imagined, the young man never lost hope. For the next six years, Emmanuel Asonganyi was smuggled by human traffickers and traveled on his own by truck, immigrant transport, foot, and train between Nigeria, Algeria, Libya, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Liberia, Tunisia, and other countries of North Africa in his quest to make the crossing to Spain. Working menial labor, he was deceived by employers, defrauded by those who said they could help him, hunted by police, and deported over and over again by governments of numerous countries. Home for Emmanuel were graveyards and abandoned barnyards and farms where he hid at night, sleeping fitfully in his only pair of jeans and sneakers, ready to run if discovered.
A native of Cameroon, he led an arduous existence as a young man, wandering around Saharan Africa for years trying to make a better life for himself.
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He arrived in 2006, seeking political asylum, and enrolled at Salem State University. His wife would not join him until 2011, in time for his graduation. And yet, he never gave up, always believing that a better life was just over the horizon. Posing as a Liberian, he eventually sought refuge in Algeria. Here he was arrested for having false papers and sent to a refugee camp in the Ivory Coast via Burkina Faso. Because he spoke English well, other Liberians on the transport to the Ivory Coast asked him to speak on their behalf to the president of Liberia on his visit to Burkina Faso. A fortuitous meeting with a member of the president’s inner circle changed his life. The man gave Emmanuel $1,000 and told him he believed he would make a difference. With the money, Emmanuel Asonganyi traveled to a village in Mali, where he paid an old man to go to court and claim him as his son, thus gaining him a Malian passport. Posing as a professional soccer player, he was able to secure a visa from the South Korean embassy to travel to Seoul. Restrictions on him by several countries, necessitated that he travel to South Korea by way of Niger, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco in a rather convoluted parody of his life to that point. In Seoul, he studied 20
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at Konkuk University and supported himself by teaching English. Later, he would work for a time in Japan. Six years after leaving Cameroon without a word to anyone he called his family, only to learn that his father had been persecuted all those years, accused of witchcraft for not being able to produce his son. Asonganyi eventually traveled back to Cameroon, where he was married. His wife’s family had immigrated to Ohio; attending a family wedding was his opportunity to come to the United States and acquire what he had so longed for—an education. He arrived in 2006, seeking political asylum, and enrolled at Salem State University. His wife would not join him until 2011, in time for his graduation. In his senior year, Emmanuel and his lab partners developed an alternative, greener method for the preparation of alkenes. The environmentally friendly method was recognized by the American Chemical Society in 2012. A dean’s list chemistry student, Emmanuel Asonganyi achieved his lifelong—and hard-won—dream in May 2011, when he received his bachelor’s degree. No student had worked harder for the honor. Bachelor’s degree in hand, he enrolled at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Worcester, but circumstances would again intervene. His wife had become pregnant and was experiencing difficulties, so the couple brought her mother from Africa to help. The same month his wife delivered their first child, however, they discovered that her mother was suffering from lumbar lymphoma that had metastasized. Caring for his wife and baby boy while driving his mother-in-law to
chemotherapy for several months took its toll on Emmanuel, and he was forced to drop out of school. “There were two ways I could look at it,” he said. “I could view it as a challenge or I could give up.” Emmanuel Asonganyi never gives up. Instead of returning to his pharmacy studies, he decided to send his wife to school. She received her LPN from New Hampshire’s Harmony Health Care Institute, Inc., and is currently working as a nurse in Worcester. Emmanuel himself is now enrolled in classes to become a nurse; when he graduates in August 2016, he hopes to pursue a nurse practitioner’s degree at Massachusetts General Hospital. He works hard to give back, describing himself as “a bit of an entrepreneur, and a philanthropist without the millions who does what he can.” Ironically, it was talking to his nurse practitioner about his desire to effect change in people’s lives that led him and his nurse practitioner to create a non-governmental organization— Boston Medical Services-Ghana. He currently serves as a director and secretary of the nonprofit group, which seeks to bring innovative and comprehensive health care to Ghana, and serves also on the board of the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, Inc. An inspiration to all with whom he comes in contact, newly-minted American citizen Emmanuel Asonganyi is far from finished. Achieving that longsought-after education was really only the beginning, for there is much still to be accomplished—most of it in service to others. He has not yet been to Spain. n
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Project Success Alumnus Turns Humble Beginnings into Prosperity Growing up in the projects of Everett, Bob Kelleher ’78 never dreamed he would one day ring the bell on Wall Street, consult with clients in Paris, Abu Dhabi and Warsaw, speak before a gathering of hundreds in Shanghai, or create the number one employee engagement video of all time, Who’s Sinking Your Boat? The youngest in a family of seven, all he ever wanted to do was teach school like his three older brothers. “That’s what Kelleher boys did,” he says, laughing. Perhaps it was his childhood that grounded him for future success. “I wouldn’t change my life for anything. Heck, it wasn’t until we were adults that any of us realized we had been poor.”
BY MARGO W.R. STEINER
“The architect of the present is incapable of creating its future” —Bob Kelleher ’78 Above: Bob Kelleher ’78, second from the right, with, family members who also went to Salem State, from the lef t, brother Hugh Kelleher ’70 (a retired Everett public school principal), wife Candy Kelleher ’78 (current speech and language pathologist, Danvers Public Schools), and nephew Ryan Kelleher ’05 (current creative director at Computer Sciences Corporation).
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He lost his dad when he was just 14. “I went to school one morning, and came home to find that my father had died.” Coincidentally, it was the same year he met the woman who would eventually become his wife. “I have often thought that Candy and I have been together for a thousand years because she came into my life when there was a terrific void,” he says. “We went to high school together, worked at Star Market together and we graduated from Salem State together, where we both majored in elementary education.” Kelleher’s mother became the family’s rock, working as a waitress at Hilltop Steak House for years to support her family. “My mom worked hard, and had a great sense of humor,” Bob recalls. “From 1971 when Dad died to 1997 when my mom died, she was my best friend. When one parent dies, I’ve found the children grow closer to the surviving parent. It was certainly that way in our family. “Even my wife knew that. After we were married, I would come home from my teaching job in Everett and go straight to my mother’s. My wife was in graduate school then, and she’d call to see where I was. ‘I’m at my mom’s,’ I’d
“I got noticed precisely because I was different, a liberal arts thinker working with highly analytical people.” —Bob Kelleher ’78
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tell her. ‘She’s cooking for me.’” “I’m your wife,” Candy would respond, “and I’m cooking for you.” Kelleher graduated from Salem State in 1978, and found it difficult to land a teaching job. “I felt lucky to get one in Everett, probably because my brothers were teachers there. Then Proposition 21/2 hit in ’80/’81, and the young teachers were laid off. It wiped out an entire generation of educators. I was told I’d have to sub for 10 years before I could get back in.” He found a job in admissions at Newbury Junior College in Boston, eventually joining the newly-established hospitality division as admissions head. For four years he traveled the country, recruiting students. When Candy became pregnant in 1985, however, he realized a career in education at a small junior college wasn’t going to pay the bills. It was then that Bob Kelleher learned how to leverage his skills into increasingly responsible positions. It was a life lesson that would propel him to unprecedented success, worldwide recognition and a very comfortable lifestyle. Answering an ad for a personnel rep/college recruiter, he took an entrylevel job with global engineering powerhouse Metcalf & Eddy. “I’m traveling the country, interviewing civil engineering grads from Stanford, UCLA, Georgia Tech, and MIT—kids way smarter than me. How do I pick the one to bring back to the company? The greatest piece of advice I ever got was, ‘Bring back the one candidate you’d like to have a beer with.’” It all stems from the acronym BEST (behavior, education, skills, traits), he
says. “Success or failure comes from the B and the T. You fire employees because they’re arrogant or they’re not a team player, and this was true in my own career. I eventually became chief operating officer of a global firm and I’m in charge of 3,000 engineers and scientists.” He laughs. “I’m the guy who was always good in English but not very good at numbers and math. And now I’ve got all these MIT people reporting to me. It had nothing to do with my education and skills; it had everything, however, to do with my behavior and traits. “Here I am a liberal arts guy getting into highly technical stuff. That made me different. Because I wasn’t an engineer or a consultant bringing in the billing hours and revenue, I had to show my value somehow. I got noticed precisely because I was different, a liberal arts thinker working with highly analytical people.” Environmental consulting firm ENSR recruited Kelleher to head its human resources department in 1993. “HR was the enemy in this company, the bad guys who were laying people off. Employees wouldn’t even look at you in the hallways. I told my team, ‘We have to create a concierge level of service. We have to be the Four Seasons of HR and provide internal customer service. It couldn’t be reactive, it had to be proactive.” He would eventually become its chief operating officer and executive vice president. It was at this point that Bob Kelleher began formulating the concept for what he does so successfully now—employee engagement. Instead of showing up in Chicago to lay people off, he and
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his team would go to Chicago, “and do something (different). We started creating cool stuff, like training, development and a corporate university.” At the same time, he was building a bestin-class culture of learning—and a nice success story. Eventually, Bob and three colleagues would become part owners of the firm when its German parent company sold out to a private equity firm. “These,” he says, “were the wonder years. This is when I really began focusing on employee engagement. To show you how cutting edge we were I acquired the domain name as my personal website back then. If you typed in employee engagement in 2000, you’d get between 50 and 100 matches. If you Google it now”—he leaps to his computer—“you get 13,600,000 hits!” The company saw tremendous growth between 2000 and 2005, expanding from 1,000 to 3,000 employees, and going global. Kelleher was traveling constantly and, in 2005,
he became chief human capital officer for AECOM, a 47,000-employee, Fortune 400 professional services firm with 450 global offices. The kid from the projects had become a very successful man. On a return trip from Paris, however, he had an epiphany of sorts. “I began thinking about the family life, which was being shortchanged; I could no longer attend my children’s sporting and other events.” On a cocktail napkin, he wrote out a business plan. “It would involve me writing a book and making presentations. I wanted to build a company that would allow me time for my family.” In 2009, he gave up the lucrative salary and perks and resigned from corporate America. They were angry. He was scared. He missed the camaraderie of a large firm, but as founder and president of The Employee Engagement Group he would go on to become a bestselling author and a much-sought-after speaker on the global stage. He became,
in essence, his own brand. His first book, Louder Than Words: 10 Practical Employee Engagement Steps…that Drive Results!, has become one of the world’s best-selling employee engagement books since its release in 2010. His third, Employee Engagement for Dummies, has been translated into 30 languages. A sought-after speaker and thought leader on employee engagement, he has presented to the leadership teams of many of the world’s top companies, including Shell, TJX, Prudential, Abbott Labs, Fidelity, and Millipore, as well as to the Centers for Disease Control. He also has written for Business Week, Fortune, Incentive Magazine, and many others. Bob Kelleher’s message is simple: both leaders and managers have to do a better job. “Seven out of 10 employees are disengaged, and two out of 10 are actually trying to sink your boat. Companies today have to engage their whole employee, not just the employee at work, the subject of Bob’s next book, I-Engage.” He admits he’s a huge fan of the millennials. “I thought we were successful with 25,000 YouTube hits, then I hired a BU film student. He put blood in the video. ‘Mr. K, you’ve got to be edgy,’ he said. I balked, but the hits did increase.” “The architect of the present is incapable of creating its future,” Bob Kelleher warns, “and young kids like him represent where we’re going. This is what’s so great about Salem State University. Its students live on social media and technology and they know where the world is going.” Take it from one who knows. n W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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While nearly 20 percent of pregnant and postpartum women struggle with depression, Belsito wanted to make sure that none feel helpless and suffer alone, as she had.
Breaking the Silence Jamie Zahlaway Belsito’s deep, dark secret has helped shed new light on a devastating, yet very common, mental condition—and legislators around the country are taking notice.
“I felt like I was a cat hanging on a screen,” said Belsito ’96, who suffered from postpartum depression (PPD) after giving birth to her two daughters. “It’s like there’s nothing stable under your feet, and you’re holding on for dear life.” At the time, Belsito didn’t realize her compulsive thoughts and feelings of rage were normal and treatable. Following the birth of her first daughter Hadia, and again after Rose’s birth two years later, she knew she needed help, but was unsure where to find it. 24
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“I kept my depression under wraps because I was worried people might think I was crying wolf,” said Belsito, whose stress was compounded by caring for her toddler and newborn while her husband was traveling for work. “I had this thought that people would deem me to be a bad mom, and intervene by taking my children. You can bet I wasn’t going to say anything.” When her anguish persisted for months after giving birth to Rose, Belsito called her health-care provider, saying she had hit rock bottom and needed immediate intervention. The provider told her she couldn’t be seen for eight weeks, and suggested she go to the emergency room. Desperate, Belsito called her therapist, whom she hadn’t seen for a long time. Her therapist explained to Jamie’s husband that his wife’s condition was real and could be treated. With validation of her feelings—and therapy— Jamie eventually emerged from the depression she had been experiencing for 10 months.
After learning that nearly 20 percent of pregnant and postpartum women struggle with depression, Belsito wanted to make sure that none feel helpless and suffer alone, as she had. She wanted to take action, and she wanted the effects to be big. And she just so happened to know her way around the government landscape. Before the birth of her children, the Salem State University political science major had worked as a congressional intern and later as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. In October 2013, Jamie Belsito reached out to State Senator Joan Lovely, a 2006 Salem State alumna who led the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. At their first meeting, she asked if Lovely would be interested in joining the state’s special legislative commission on postpartum depression. At their second meeting, she spent two-anda-half hours describing her journey through depression.
photo by Lisa Nipp
After ‘Hitting Rock Bottom,’ Advocate Takes Battle Against Postpartum Depression to Capitol Hill BY ASHLEY FESTA
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“Jamie reached out, asking, ‘Who can I talk to in the governor’s office? How can I get people to pay attention on Beacon Hill?’ I helped connect her to Lt. Gov. Polito. I was happy to do so because what’s amazing is that Jamie is doing this out of passion, and with no pay. She’s doing this for moms. This is what citizen activism is about.” —Matt LeBretton ’98
Facing Page: Jamie Zahlaway Belsito ’96 works on federal legislation for postpartum depression screening at Sen. Warren’s office in Washington.
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“I listened to her symptoms and remembered my own experiences following the birth of my child, now 28,” said Lovely, who joined the commission shortly after their discussion. “I went through intensive therapy for panic disorder because I couldn’t leave my house. Was that manifested postpartum depression? I’ll never know. I didn’t go back to my obstetrician; I just tried to figure it out on my own, and that’s what a lot of women have done.” At Lovely’s invitation, Belsito attended one of the Commonwealth’s Special Commission for Postpartum Depression quarterly meetings. The room was filled with child psychiatrists, mothers support groups, Medicaid representatives, perinatal social workers, psychiatric nurses, obstetricians, pediatricians, family practice physicians, and health insurance representatives. The discussion focused on how to support moms who may be struggling and get them screened for postpartum depression. “If a standardized maternal mental health support system had been in place when I found out I was pregnant, a nurse or doctor or even a pediatrician could have given me information about what’s normal pre- and post-birth,” Belsito said. “There would also have been informed people who could have told me about mothers’ support groups and the potential for anxiety.” Jamie Belsito also wanted to involve the governor’s office. She reached out to another Salem State alum, Matt LeBretton ’98, who, in addition to his job as vice president for public affairs at New Balance, also serves as finance chair for Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. Belsito knew LeBretton from their undergraduate days when they both served as members of Salem State’s student government association. “Jamie reached out, asking, ‘Who can I talk to in the governor’s office? How can I get people on Beacon Hill to pay attention?’” LeBretton said. “I helped connect her to Lt. Gov. Polito. I was happy to do so because what’s amazing is that Jamie is doing this out of passion, and with no pay. She’s doing this for moms. This is what citizen activism is about.” Herself the mother of two, Polito sympathized with Belsito and wanted to help. “Too often, postpartum depression goes undiagnosed and untreated,” she said. Jamie continued her activism by joining the North Shore Postpartum Task Force, which brings together a variety of resources to assist mothers and families on the North Shore. The website provides contact information for a range of services, such as breastfeeding support, counseling, parent education, play groups, and food banks. At a task force meeting in September 2014, the group proposed creating an advocacy day to raise awareness. On June 29 of last year, the event—Bringing Postpartum Depression into the Light: Decreasing Stigma, Supporting Families and Implementing Policy Change in Massachusetts—drew about 200 people to the State House. Pediatricians, obstetricians, maternal mental health specialists, and more than a dozen state legislators gathered to hear real-life stories about the effects of postpartum depression, and to discuss ways to assist mothers in the future. At the event, Polito made a major announcement: Beginning in spring 2016, MassHealth would pay for mandatory postpartum depression screening, the first step toward helping women, infants and families receive better care post-birth.
photo by Lisa Nipp
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taking action
These mandatory screenings resulted from one of two pieces of legislation passed in Massachusetts to help postpartum women. Within a year of Jamie Belsito contacting Senator Lovely, Massachusetts mothers suddenly had many more options for perinatal health care. “When Jamie puts her mind to a cause, she’s unstoppable,” LeBretton said. The screenings include a series of questions designed to identify mothers who are having mental wellness challenges following birth. Mothers exhibiting symptoms of depression receive resources about where to find help. Women can be screened by their obstetrician, their general physician or even their newborn’s pediatrician, who often see new mothers more frequently than any other doctor throughout a baby’s first year of life. A second bill provides funding for a pilot program of four health centers in low-income and multi-lingual communities. Funded through the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, the centers will be a onestop shop for mothers on Medicaid, administering the mandatory screening
along with other services, such as postpartum doulas and lactation counselors. Mothers will have access to emotional support as well as referrals to appropriate mental health counselors when necessary. Another new program, MCPAP for Moms, was launched in July 2014, and gives health-care providers a toolkit of resources to make available to new and expectant mothers. The program is an extension of the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP), which helps primary care providers meet the needs of children with behavioral health problems. MCPAP for Moms provides information and assistance to screen mothers, identify women at risk and refer them for treatment, and has already assisted more than 700 patients. “If mom is having a hard time, it affects not only the health and wellness of the child, but their ability to bond,” Belsito said. “When a tiny person is depending on me as a parent, I have to be the best I can be and I have to figure out how to do that. Pediatricians now have the resources to help.”
moving forward
Jamie Belsito was recently appointed advocacy chair for the National Coalition on Maternal Mental Health (NCMMH) and she’s also working with U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, who filed a bipartisan federal bill in July to fund postpartum depression services at the state level. “Jamie’s drive, advocacy and guidance played a crucial role in our introduction of the Bringing Postpartum Depression Out of the Shadows Act,” Clark said. “Our bill invests in comprehensive maternal care and screenings so that mothers know they’re not alone, that their suffering matters and that getting the help they need and deserve doesn’t make them bad moms.” Belsito is thrilled that, on November 19, Senator Ed Markey cosponsored legislation in the U.S. Senate to create screening and treatment for PPD. “I want to see the conversation start from the day a woman finds out she’s pregnant,” she said. “Postpartum depression is nothing to be ashamed of. It has nothing to do with whether you love your child—you just want your sanity so you can be the best parent you can be.” n W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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The Reluctant Learner Underachieving and Heading Down a Dark Road, Alumnus Opens His Options with a Degree in English It’s the fall of 2007 and Edward Scofield is doing what he does best: being a punk in Nancy Barile’s lowest-level senior English class at Revere High School. Barile assigns him and the rest of the class a writing exercise. Edward wants to take a nap. He insists he will finish the assignment, and turn in an A paper. Barile is skeptical. Edward has his nap, finishes his assignment and turns in an A paper. “Don’t think this is always going to work,” Barile tells him. In a parallel universe, there might be an Edward Scofield lying in a gutter on a godforsaken side street. A syringe, just emptied of heroin, is protruding from his left forearm, his eyes vacant
and his pupils fixed and dilated. Then there’s the Edward Scofield in our universe, who finished up his bachelor’s degree credits at Salem State University in December, his future full of possibilities that could include work with computers. Or social work. Or as a motivational speaker. Or as a writer of books. Or the subject of a movie. Or, as his high school English teacher hopes, a career that would likely make use of all those skills: a teacher. For Barile, an award-winning national board-certified teacher who earned her certificate in advanced graduate studies in education at Salem State, Scofield easily could have become the young man in that parallel universe. That fateful fall, Barile found herself with a class of 32 students and a mix of behavioral problems. “I was looking at the roster and the names are kind of notorious, kids I had heard as freshmen were tough students,” Barile recalls. Not only were the students hostile to her, they were hostile to one another. “I was facing a brick wall, and on top of the brick wall was Eddie, the chief instigator,” says Barile,
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who won The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award in 2013 and serves on the College Board New England Regional Council. Barile knew Eddie Scofield ran with a rough crowd that was into drugs. After the first couple of days she was certain she wanted him out of her class. He was sarcastic. He was oppositional for the sake of it. He was the poster child for what educators call a “reluctant learner,” and what the rest of us might politely call a wise guy. She went to Eddie’s previous English teacher and was blunt: “I’ve got to get this kid out of my class.” That teacher—someone Barile had mentored—wasn’t afraid to push back. “He’s really smart,” Barile recalls the teacher saying. “Give that kid a chance. I’m fairly certain that he has a pretty horrendous home life.” That turned out to be an understatement. Edward Scofield learned early about what he didn’t want to do with his life. He saw an aunt use heroin—she said it was medicine—when he was five years old. “My mother’s family taught me much, mostly about what I didn’t want W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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to be. [My mom] is one of 10 children and each of them has experienced problems with drugs or alcohol,” says Scofield, now 24. Even though his mother had her demons, and his father and stepfather were either abusive or absent, she managed to find a way to give Edward some stability. She also overcame an inexplicable paralysis that confined her to a wheelchair for a time. “She shaped my understanding of the world, and gave me a base for many of my social beliefs. She was an accepting woman in that color, sexuality and other factors did not matter to her,” Scofield says. That may have worked in the early years, but as Edward grew older, his home life became more unstable and complicated. His salvation was a great aunt, whom he calls Nonni. She saw something in Eddie that his principal caregivers did not. “Nonni gave me a place to live twice in my life,” he says. “The first time, my mother and I had lost our apartment soon after a police raid for my mom’s then-boyfriend; our only option was to live with one of my mother’s five sisters, whose house already had too many people.” Edward stayed there for about six months before moving in with Nonni for part of fourth grade and all of the fifth. He later returned to live with his mother. But by his senior year of high school, things had reached a breaking point. Edward was dealing with an aggressive and alcoholic stepfather, his severely depressed mother and younger brothers who often became his responsibility. He even became homeless for a time, but ended up graduating from Revere High in 2008. “After moving out and spending a 30
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Eddie Scofield ’15, president of the English Honors Society, meets with honor students and professor Scott Nowka.
couple of years trying to cope on my own, I broke down and told Nonni about my situation. She gave me a home again and almost immediately, everything improved. If not for her,” he adds, “I absolutely would not be in college at all.”
reconnecting with the past
Scofield lost touch with Nancy Barile until they friended each other on Facebook a few years later. They arranged a meeting. She knew that the student she called Eddie, a video game enthusiast, had worked at a GameStop and that he was a student at Salem State. Barile figured he had gone there to study computers, which was partially true. Then he told her he was studying to become an English teacher, and that she was his inspiration. “Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather,” Barile says. She was floored, too, by his physical appearance. The once overweight Scofield, through a combination of will and hard work, had lost 150 pounds. Since reconnecting, Barile and Scofield have teamed up on a number
of projects to help teachers deal with reluctant learners, and the two spoke at a conference two years ago. Barile had planned to speak for 30 minutes of the two-hour session, but ended up turning the entire time over to the former student she knew as Eddie. “He told me things I had no idea about: his mother’s addiction, his abusive stepfather. There was not a dry eye in the room,” Barile says. That conference led to a 2014 article about practical steps teachers can take when dealing with problem students in the national publication Education Week. Barile notes that the article has received more online views and shares than any other in the magazine’s history. It also led to an appearance on the national radio show EdTalk. Sharing his painful past hasn’t been easy. Scofield credits Mary DeChillo of the psychology department for helping him deal with that part of his life. The class was “Adolescent Social Work,” and students were encouraged to share their personal experiences. Most of them were just barely out of adolescence themselves. “I was forced to confront all the negativity from my past. It was during
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that time that I discovered a willingness to share it,” Scofield explains. “I came to accept that I couldn’t change any of the past circumstances of my life, nor could I ever forget them, but I didn’t need to let those things control the person I was becoming.” Professor DeChillo, who surmised that Scofield was intellectually curious and self-aware from the moment he first sat front and center in her classroom, says she tried to reassure him about sharing his story with the class. “He made an appointment to see me and was very concerned about what to expect in the class. There would be lots of revelations,” she recalls. “It was then that he told me his story.” Still, Scofield cites the class as therapeutic, as was his experience in the class of now-retired Salem State English professor Edward Mavragis. “His class was the first I had that was solely led by students,” Scofield recalls of “Young Adult Literature,” which he took in fall 2013. It included the reading of Elie Wiesel’s Holocaust memoir, Night, and the John Green novel, The Fault in Our Stars, about a 16-yearold cancer patient. “It was a class that functioned autonomously, with only subtle intervention from the professor if discussions began to slow,” he recalls. Professor Mavragis says that while Scofield had a chip on his shoulder, he made no excuses for his difficult upbringing and managed to use it in a positive way. “He talked to me about his life and his struggles and his hopes,” says Mavragis, who also formerly served as superintendent in the ConcordCarlisle, Massachusetts, public schools. “I tried to give him encouragement, to reinforce with him that he was really
smart.” While Scofield may be adept at computers, and he acknowledges that computers and video games can be a refuge for him, Mavragis can envision him interacting with others in a professional setting, either in a classroom or other environment that involves young people. “His background would certainly be a bonus in dealing with troubled youth,” Mavragis adds.
no regrets about the journey
When Edward talks about the direction his life might take, he’s enthusiastic about the possibilities. He has no regrets about the circuitous route his education has taken, from his first years at Bunker Hill Community College to his initial major in computer science at Salem State before switching to English. In December he completed his English degree requirements with a double minor in computer science and educational studies. “I didn’t choose English because I like to read, or write or any of the more common reasons. I chose it because it was the subject in which I saw the most flexibility,” he explains. For Scofield, being flexible has also meant taking semesters off to earn money for tuition by working various jobs, including his current position at the Whole Foods Market in Melrose. “The core concepts of English are analysis and critical thinking,” he explains. “They improve your ability to argue on a particular topic through the use of supporting evidence, whatever your stance happens to be. These abilities have applications in fields such as business, law and even technology.”
His advice to students? Your time is never wasted if you’re willing to explore subjects that may be unfamiliar to you—ones that get you out of your comfort zone. Scofield is learning that there are many parallel universes out there. Back home in Revere, some of his former peers have stayed on the streets and their lives have spun out of control due to drugs and alcohol. “He did not want to end up a statistic,” Barile says. “Something in my class spoke to him at some level, and gave him hope. His resiliency and hard work have a lot to do with his current success. His opposition was his suit of armor to protect him from the world.” “I’m still a bit of a reluctant learner. I can phase out in a class,” Scofield says. Given what he has experienced, he remains prone to depression, but praises the understanding professors at Salem State who have worked with him. “He wanted to be the best,” Mavragis says of the Edward Scofield in his course two years ago. “I don’t give out an easy A, but it was easy giving him one.” n
“I didn’t choose English because I like to read, or write or any of the more common reasons. I chose it because it was the subject in which I saw the most flexibility.” —Edward Scofield ’15 W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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A CLA US MSN N I OTES
CLASS NOTES
A LE T TE R F RO M T H E ALU M N I PR ES I DE N T
From the lef t, Janet Merriman ’82, Daphnee Georges ’10, Sidi Diarra (student trustee), Mary Bertrand ’13, Guy Clinch ‘89
What’s New for 2016? I’m pleased to bring greetings on behalf of the entire Salem State University Alumni Association and its board of directors! That goes especially for our seven new members, who each have committed to represent the university as distinguished ambassadors for a minimum term of two years. A heartfelt welcome aboard to Mary Bertrand ’13, Guy Clinch ’89, student trustee Aboubacar Diarra, Daphnee Georges ’10, Janet Merriman ’82, Timothy Shea ’83G, and Hope Watt-Bucci ’96G. We’re already hard at work on several new initiatives for 2016. First up is a grant program that will allow our student groups, clubs and athletic teams to apply for financial support through the association for programs, trips, supplies, and equipment. Our existing scholarship committee, which is experienced in this kind of award distribution, will oversee the grants. Also this year we’re excited to launch a beta version of our career exploration program, soon to be tested out by a small cohort of pre-selected alumni and students. This unique mentoring program will pair each student with a volunteer alum for a day of job shadowing. With so many alumni doing so many great things professionally, it’s sure to be a useful learning experience for current students—and one more terrific reason for everyone to stay connected with the career services team! On that note, in February, our Young Alumni Society and Bertolon Business School Alumni Network teamed up with career services to offer an etiquette dinner, which helped to prepare new grads and young alumni for those inevitable (and sometimes anxiety-stoking) business dinners and the finer points of well-mannered interaction. The event was a wonderful success and a great example how the association continues to provide professional development opportunities for alumni and graduating seniors. Lastly, I remind everyone that civic engagement remains a top priority for us as it does for the entire university. There’s always a lot going on there, but keep an eye out in particular for Global Day of Service on June 4 in the run-up to Alumni Weekend 2016, and drop us a line any time if you’d like to be involved in our adopt-a-house relationship with the North Shore Arc. Community services is one of the very most rewarding ways to stay involved with your alma mater while giving back to the community. Until our paths cross again, I wish you a wonderful start to the New Year!
Pamela Doherty ’92 Alumni Association President 32
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UN MI N I A LAULM
Alumnus, Founder of Soldier Design, Named to Foundation Board The Salem State University Foundation recently named Cambridge resident Bobby Riley ’00 to its board of directors. Riley is the founder and CEO of Soldier Design, an internationally recognized brand design consultancy. Riley earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Salem State, where he was a pioneer in the men’s lacrosse program. According to Mike Randall, major gifts officer at the university, “Bobby is a driven entrepreneur with incredible creativity and passion. Moreover, he believes wholeheartedly in Salem State University and its vision.”
Former Trustee Chair Abdoo Joins DCAMM Following a 10-year term on the university’s board of trustees, part of which he served as chair, David Abdoo accepted the position of chief of staff for the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM). The division manages hundreds of millions of dollars in state construction projects annually, including here on the Salem State campus. Abdoo, a former Lawrence, Mass., city councilor and 18-year veteran of the Army National Guard, had previously served the commonwealth within the Executive Office of Transportation.
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ALUMNI
The Tale of Annie Elizabeth Atkinson A GRADUATE OF THE CLASS OF 1896, SHE TAUGHT FOR 36 YEARS BY ANN CARLSON
AS A YOUNG CHILD, I KEPT COMPANY WITH A DEVOTED STORYTELLER AND TEACHER. My grandmother, Ann Atkinson Clark (above, far right), and I were together for just three-and-a-half years. When my parents brought me home from the hospital after my birth on November 26, 1942, she had already been retired two years. She had spent 36 years teaching in the Revere public schools, and was looking forward to living out the remainder of her life with her daughter Esther, her son-in-law Ernest Gordon, and her new granddaughter. I was named Ann Elizabeth after her. One of my earliest memories is listening to her read me a story. It was probably a tale by Beatrix Potter, featuring such characters as Pigling Bland and Squirrel Nutkin. Potter wrote and illustrated many animal stories set in the English Lake District, the place where Ann’s parents, John and Elizabeth Atkinson, 34
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had lived before immigrating to Boston around 1870. They had 12 children, but only three lived to maturity—Ann and two older brothers, Jonathan and Christopher. My grandmother asked her family and friends to call her “Annie.” These included her close associates in Chelsea, Salem and Revere. In 1894, she graduated from Chelsea High School, the only woman in her class to complete the college preparatory course, and enrolled at Salem Normal School, from which she would graduate in 1896. To be admitted, she had to pass examinations in nine different subjects. She did just that. Then, she joined 52 new classmates who arrived in Salem from all over New England, from Washington D.C., and from California. Dr. Daniel B. Hagar, the principal, taught classes alongside his faculty of 11 women and three men. Though no report cards survive from Annie’s normal school years, the Register and Circular of 1894-95 shows an impressive array of subjects available to her as a student.
The Salem Normal School physical plant offered science laboratories, an art room, a gymnasium, and other resources to complement classroom teaching. Living in Chelsea at the time, she traveled to and from her daily classes by trolley or railroad. Disembarking downtown, Annie walked a short distance to the main building, then a handsome brick structure on the corner of Broad Street. Following her graduation, she was ready to begin teaching the sixth grade class at Revere’s brand-new Wolcott School. Before doing so, however, she joined her mother on a voyage from Boston to Liverpool, England. Elizabeth wanted her to meet her Atkinson and Tyson relatives and see Britain. Another agenda item, though, was introducing Annie to a future spouse. In a July 14 letter home, Annie mentions a mysterious “Mr. Clarke,” member of an affluent family who lived in Birmingham: “Everything connected with [him] speaks of wealth, but [he] is very jolly and free. [He] is going to
ALUMNI
take me to the council buildings this afternoon, and someday we are going to Stratford-upon-Avon.” There is no further mention of him. The family lacked connections to anyone in Boston who could provide their only daughter with a life of luxury and privilege, for Annie’s parents were far from wealthy. Her father, John, stoked the boilers in a Boston brass foundry and Elizabeth was a dressmaker. The Atkinsons had bought a modest house on Jefferson Avenue, Chelsea, where they grew grapes and currants and kept bees. Upon their return home from England, Annie began her teaching career, earning an annual salary of $525. Annie spent summer vacations in Maine with her family. Sometime between 1900 and 1904, she was introduced to Albert Clark, a farmer who lived with his parents and three sisters at Mountain Valley Farm in Winterport. On November 16, 1904, Annie and Albert were married and began life at the farm. It was a total mismatch. Annie commented, “My mother-in-law wasn’t nice to me.” Betsey Clark, in fact, was a severe taskmaster who expected everyone under her roof to pitch in with daily work, whether it involved dispatching a chicken or mucking out a barn. Annie was sickened by the sights, sounds and smells of farm life. She opened the door and walked out sometime between September 1906 and June 12, 1907, returned home and gave birth to her daughter Esther at a private hospital outside Boston. After seven years, Albert divorced Annie and married again. I don’t know if he ever heard about Esther’s existence. On September 8, 1912, Annie resumed teaching at the Wolcott School, adding adult evening classes
in English as a second language. How could she work as a single mother in a public school without condemnation? The answer is simple. Because she was separated from her spouse, Revere school officials did not consider her married. If she had been, she would have been barred from teaching. Her father John, then a widower, and her brother Chris helped care for Esther. My mother remembered her childhood fondly. Annie later accepted a position at Garfield Junior High School in Revere, where she taught English, was advisor to the Garfield Echo literary magazine and was valued by a school that brought students from Central and Eastern European families into her classes. A threat loomed on the horizon, however, in the person and policies of Adolf Hitler, successor to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who had lost World War I and left behind economic turmoil and a scarred landscape in its wake. Safe to say that in the 1930s students and teachers at the Garfield School had family members living in Germany, Austria and other countries that would fall under the jackboots of the Third Reich and lead to World War II and the Holocaust. By early January 1939, war was in the air. One bestselling book, published in 1939 by international correspondent
Nora Waln, was generating concern at the Garfield School. In Reaching for the Stars, Waln described her life during 1934-39, when she and her husband lived in Germany and Austria. One of the first to describe the rise of Nazism in these countries, Waln, a Quaker, interviewed citizens who described how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement were affecting their daily lives. Some were hopeful that their situation would improve, but as Waln’s account gained momentum their futures grew bleaker. Sometime in 1939, 34 of Annie’s students gave her a copy of Reaching for the Stars. They signed the opening page, “With Love from the Homeroom of 39.” Last year, I discovered and read this remarkable book. It had been in my parents’ library, but I had never opened it. It turns out to be a well-chosen gift and adds to her story. I expect that Annie worried about her brother Chris, who had moved to England 10 years earlier. He wrote frequent letters to his sister and niece Esther, but their correspondence stopped in the 1930s and did not resume until 1945, just before Annie’s death. While he was well beyond the range of British military conscription, he lived under the threat of German bombs that fell in the industrial north of Britain, not far from his home in the Lake District. Annie completed her 36-year teaching career in 1940, and died on July 10, 1946. To the end, she was proud of her Salem Normal School education. Her letters show that she refused to tolerate disrespect. She was the first member of her family in the United States to complete an educational program beyond high school. In the Revere public schools she received abundant respect from her colleagues and students. I think of her to this day. n W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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C LAS S
CLASS NOTES
CLASS NOTES
Notes
CALLING ALL ALUMNI We want to hear from you! Send us your news all year round and we’ll be sure to get it into the next issue of Salem Statement. Email us, message us on Facebook or give us a call to let us know what you’re doing. Your photos are more than welcome, too! Please note that marriage and birth announcements can only be printed after the event has occurred.
[email protected] // 978.542.7530 And be sure to keep your personal contact information updated so you don’t miss an issue!
SALEMSTATE.EDU/ALUMNI
’63
JUDITH JOSEPHS received the Northeast Counselors Association Award on May 20, 2015, at the Danversport Yacht Club. The award is given for a contribution of unusual significance that substantially affects the guidance and counseling profession, and directly affects students.
’66 SAVE THE DATE FOR YOUR 50TH REUNION, ALUMNI WEEKEND 2016 !
’69
MICHAEL L . SHE A received the Bill Strausbaugh Award, given to PGA members who by their day-to-day efforts have distinguished themselves by mentoring fellow professionals, and through service to the community.
’70
STEPHEN J. O’LE ARY, who teaches accounting at Bentley University, was awarded the Adamian Excellence in Teaching Award on May 16, 2015. Administrators, faculty and students 36
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recommend faculty for this prestigious award. Professor O’Leary has taught accounting at Bentley for 21 years. THOMAS KEHOE was recently re-
elected to the Manchester-by-the-Sea Board of Selectman. This is Kehoe’s fourth three-year term on the board.
’75
ANDRE A LIF TMAN received the
alumni association’s 2015 Elizabeth Williams Wade Award. K ATHLEEN MURPHY was appointed
to the board of trustees at Salem State University by Governer Charlie Baker on Dec. 30.
’78
CAROLINE REED (pictured above) saw
our “Throwback Thursday” Facebook post about the Alumni House and was kind enough to remind us that she and her husband, Dana Cyr, were married there in 1980. The building was decked out in fresh yellow and white daisies, she said, and the front doors closed on a runner that extended into the parking lot to greet family and friends. The ceremony itself, officiated by Reverend Marcia Dorsey, took place upstairs in the chapel, today known as Presidential Hall. Joanne Upham served as matron of honor and Bruce Bowden as best man. The stillhappy couple reside today in Sarasota, Fla.
ALUMNI
2015 ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENTS Please join us in congratulating last year’s awardees, who were recognized for their achievements at our annual jazz brunch celebration during alumni weekend in June.
Andrea Liftman ’75G Elizabeth Williams Wade Award
General Donald Bolduc ’88 Dr. Marilyn E. Flaherty Distinguished Alumnus Award
Kelly Quinn ’08, ’10G (left) George Ellison Sr. Volunteer of the Year Award
Zayda Gonzalez ’11 Alumni Rising Star Award
To learn more about past recipients or nominate someone for a 2016 award, please visit us online. The deadline for nominations is April 1.
salemstate.edu/alumni
LEADERS WANTED! With the mission of promoting the professional, educational and social interests of all Salem State alumni, the Salem State University Alumni Association Board of Directors serves the university and our greater community through a variety of volunteer opportunities. We currently seek four new board members for the 2016-2017 term. Nominations are due April 1, 2016; elections will follow in May. Please join us!
SALEMSTATE.EDU/ALUMNI/ASSOCIATION.PHP W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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ALUMNI
What’s your reason? salemstate.edu/reasons REASON
8348
Nate Bryant ’88, ’93G
campus community subcommittee co-chair
“I’m paying it forward because I truly appreciate 39 the opportunities Salem State has given me, first as a student and now as a long-time employee.”
W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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Save $ 50 when you design and purchase your college class ring on jostens.com by June 30, 2016, and use promo code 50RINGAL at checkout. Of fer excludes : Luxe Collection and Collegiate Tags™. Limit one promo code per order. Cannot be combined with other of fers or discounts. Not valid on prior purchases. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent. Valid only for online orders shipped to U.S. addresses. Promotion applies to standard catalog of fering only. Expires 6 / 30 /16 at 11: 59pm CT.
YOUR CARD HERE In November 2014, the Ber tolon School of Business ( BSB ) Alumni Net work unveiled the new business card wall located within the school. Hundreds of alumni have already submit ted cards to be displayed, and you can too! If you’d like to ser ve as a resource for current students, please send in your card today. Cards can be mailed to the alumni af fairs of fice, 352 Lafayet te Street, Salem, MA 01970, or scanned and emailed to
[email protected]. 40
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ALUMNI
2015 ALU M N I E V E N T S
A
B
C A, B and C: A sparkling new Viking Hall provided the backdrop for our 2015 Celebration of Giving, which honored donors for their contributions to the 10,000 Reasons campaign.
Family and friends of Janet Himmel ’68 and Kenneth Himmel ’85H gathered in the library this fall to dedicate the Daniel F. Harrigan ’27 Periodical Room, named for Janet’s father, an alumnus and longtime faculty member in the School of Education. W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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2015 ALU M N I E V E N T S
Athletes Weekend 2015 kicked off with the alumni games, and spilled into Sunday’s fun run. Both events were well attended and lots of fun. Join us in September for the 2016 festivities!
More than 200 guests spread the cheer and danced the night away at the alumni and friends holiday party, which reclaimed its much-loved place on the winter calendar through a stunning reception at downtown Salem’s historic Hamilton Hall.
More photos of these events and many others are always available on our Flickr page! flickr.com/photos/ ssualumni
42
Richard Bane, Rick Messervey, Henry Bertolon, and Elliot Katzman are among more than 100 golfers who competed in the alumni athletes golf tournament at Kernwood Country Club in September 2015. Together with the Peter Bruni memorial raffle held the same af ternoon, the event raised more than $ 4,000 for Salem State athletics.
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ALUMNI
Upcoming Events MARCH 5 Friends of Social Work Workshop Veterans Hall Ellison Campus Center
MARCH 11 Crosby Society Breakfast Bayfront Inn Naples, Florida
Thank You, Sponsors! Sponsoring an event with the Salem State University Foundation or Alumni Association is the perfect opportunity for your company to make an impression on one of the largest greater Boston alumni and friend networks—more than 70,000 strong. We offer several special events through which you can network and advertise your products and services to Salem State’s community of alumni, faculty, staff, donors, and friends. Event sponsorship packages for 2016 range from $500 to $25,000. We can also customize a package at any level to include multiple events of your choosing. Contact Taylor Dunn at 978.542.7560 or
[email protected] for more information. SALEM STATE SERIES 2015 FEATURING TOM BRADY PRESENTED BY DENORABILIA, LLC For a full list of 2015 Series sponsors, please visit salemstate.edu/series
MARCH 12 St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Luncheon Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club Naples, Florida
MARCH 13 Sullivan and Crosby Society Alumni Reception Pelican Isle Yacht Club Naples, Florida
MARCH 30 Civic Engagement Hall of Fame Hawthorne Hotel Salem
2015 ALUMNI ATHLETES WEEKEND FUN RUN/WALK PRESENTED BY ST. JEAN’S CREDIT UNION
MAY 11 Veteran Stole Ceremony Veterans Hall Ellison Campus Center
2015 ALUMNI ATHLETES WEEKEND GOLF TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY CHARTWELLS
MAY 19 Graduate School Commencement O’Keefe Complex
MAY 21 Undergraduate Commencement O’Keefe Complex
JUNE 2-5, 2016 Alumni Weekend salemstate.edu/alumniweekend W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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A Salem State University Community Program Now entering its 16th year, Youth at Risk (YAR) is the region’s largest conference for Essex County, Mass., professionals working with at-risk youth. Please join us for workshops and breakout sessions, keynote remarks, program exhibitions, and networking opportunities.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 8 am - 4 pm Endicott College, Beverly, Massachusetts
CEU, agenda and registration information will be available in March.
CHRIS HERREN TO DELIVER KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Chris Herren was a high school basketball All-American from Fall River who realized his lifelong dream of playing in the NBA only to lose it all to the nightmare of addiction. Alcohol- and drug-free since 2008, he shares his harrowing story of abuse and recovery with the hope of helping others touched by the same fate. Chris has also founded The Herren Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing treatment navigation, educational resources and mentoring to people and families dealing with substance abuse. SALEMSTATE.EDU/YAR |
[email protected] | 978.542.2293
All Salem State alumni are welcome to the
FREE RESOURCES OF CAREER SERVICES including resume and cover letter assistance, strategy sessions, workshops, and career fairs. Make an appointment or stop by ROOM 105 in the ELLISON CAMPUS CENTER MONDAY through FRIDAY, 8:30 am to 5 pm. SALEMSTATE.EDU/CAREERSERVICES 978.542.6406 |
[email protected] 44
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CLASS NOTES
’79
J. SCOT T DAIGLE retired from the
Massachusetts Department of Children & Families on September 15, 2015, following thirty years of distinguished service to the mental health profession.
’81
A former city planner, he has lived in Salem for 35 years. He earned a geography degree from Salem State.
’88 GENER AL DONALD BOLDUC
received the alumni association’s 2015 Dr. Marilyn E. Flaherty Distinguished Alumnus Award.
JOSEPH DOYLE has been appointed the new human resources manager for American Alarm and Communications, where he oversees the development and implementation of enhanced recruitment, training, benefits, and other human resource programs for 200 employees across five New England branches.
lieutenant colonel in the Massachusetts Environmental Police on May 4, 2015. Brian leaves the Winthrop Police Department to accept this position after 281/2 years of services there.
’82
’93
RICHARD PADOVA of Andover, an
instructor in global studies at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, received his master’s degree in history from Salem State University in May. A former high school social studies teacher and guidance counselor, he also has a master’s degree in school counseling from Northeastern University.
’87
STEVEN DIBBLE was elected Salem’s Ward 7 city councilor in November.
’89
BRIAN J. PERRIN was appointed a
PHILIP D. TOCC I has joined Academy
Mortgage as a district manager, where he will help lead the growth in loan officers and branches in the company’s New England district.
’94
SCOT T MOR RISON ’9 9G was
recently inducted into the Salem State University Northeast Regional Educators Hall of Fame, where he was recognized with the 2015 Northeast Regional Educator Award.
’95 MARIA NIGRO DI STEFANO
recently joined the Baker-Polito administration as northeast regional director of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development. Maria worked for Boston’s late mayor Tom Menino for 16 years, managing the Boston Main Streets program. She is a current member of the Greater Boston YMCA Key Leaders Council, and on the board of the East Boston YMCA.
’96
MELISSA COOK was appointed
director of behavioral health programs at the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. Cook previously worked for 15 years at the New Hampshire Department of Children, Youth and Families, and for four years at Casey Family Services. L AUR A CHILD MCCONNELL
won the bronze medal for best adult fiction e-book in the annual Independent Publisher Book Awards for her historical fiction comedy, The Five Step Plan. The book is written under her pen name, Elizabeth Welsford, and published by The Wild Rose Press.
ANTHONY D’ONOFRIO became associate director of the M.Ed program in athletics administration at Endicott College last July, following a worthwhile visit to our career services center, where he got a helping hand tailoring his resume and cover letters. Anthony was looking to return to the area following a 25-year career in coaching and athletics that took him all around the country, from Seattle to Las Vegas to Colorado Springs and to Florida, as well as several towns in Massachusetts. In his spare time he owns and runs the Crawfish Relay, a 232-mile cycling and running endurance race that goes through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. This year’s event, which kicks off on April 1, will be the third. Alumni ready to test their limits can receive 10% off the registration fee by entering code CR10 at crawfishrelay.com. W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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ALUMNI
O B I TUA R I ES
From March 1, 2014 to October 31, 2015
Faculty and Staff ELEANOR (HEENEY) DAUPHINEE
RITA M. MCCAULEY
Eleanor (Heeney) Dauphinee, 95, of Salem, died on May 12, at the Grosvenor Park Nursing Center, surrounded by her loving family. Born in Salem, she was raised and educated in Salem. Mrs. Dauphinee had been employed by Salem State University as a secretary in its history department for over 20 years.
Rita M. McCauley, 95, of Milton, passed away on April 10. She was a professor of biology at Boston State, Quincy College and Salem State.
THOMAS F. FREEMAN Thomas F. Freeman, 81, of Peabody, died on September 29 at his home. A lifelong Peabody resident, he received a law degree from Suffolk University and was an air force veteran of the Korean War before his discharge in 1957. Mr. Freeman was employed as a comptroller for over 25 years at Salem State University before retiring in 1996.
ELIZABETH V. (LIMA) LAKE Elizabeth V. (Lima) Lake, 54, died July 9 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Born in Peabody, she was a 1979 graduate of Peabody High School. She worked at Salem State for 15 years.
VIRGINIA (LINDEN) MACKEEN ’42, ’70G Virginia ( Linden ) MacKeen, 96, died on May 1. Born in Lynn, she was raised and educated in Swampscott, and was a graduate of Swampscott High School, class of 1936. She continued her education at Salem Teachers College, graduating in 1942, and went on to receive her master’s degree from Salem State in 1970. Mrs. MacKeen taught elementary school in Groveland, Greenfield, Reading, and Lynn from 1942 until 1966. She returned to Salem State in 1976 as an associate professor in the field of library administration. During this time she authored a bibliography for Massachusetts in the publication New England in the American Revolution, a copy of which was donated to the Peabody Institute Library in Danvers.
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MARY EMILY MILLER Mary Emily Miller, 81, died on April 17 in her home in Frederica, Delaware. After retiring from teaching at Salem State, she returned to Delaware and taught for the University of Delaware’s life-long learning programs, sharing her extensive knowledge of maritime history. She was a member of Daughters of the American Revolution.
ETHEL (KESSARIS) ROWE Ethel (Kessaris) Rowe, 90, died May 22 at the Hunt Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Danvers. Born and raised in Beverly, she was a graduate of Beverly High School, class of 1942. Mrs. Rowe was employed until her retirement as a secretary at Salem State.
JOSEPH FRANCIS RYAN Joseph Francis Ryan, 81, died on October 16. A resident of Marblehead for 50 years, he entered the navy and served aboard the USS Baltimore. Following graduation from Boston College and the New England School of Law, he became both a CPA and an attorney. Using these skills, he founded the firm of Ryan and Coscia where he helped clients deal with complex tax and estate issues. For many years he taught and mentored students at Salem State University.
TAUNO OLAVI TAMMINEN Tauno Olavi Tamminen, 99, of Gardner, died on April 5 at Gardner Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. During World War II, Mr. Tamminen was an instructor at the naval air base in Norman, Oklahoma. He later served as a commissioned officer at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. After the war, he taught at Saugus High School and then became a physical science supervisor at Salem State until his retirement in 1977.
ALUMNI
Alumni Martha Patten Pistenmaa ‘30 Dorothy Littlehale Whitney ‘35 Mary Michaels Miller ’36 Dorothy Russell Howell ‘37 Rose Weisman Goffin ‘39 Virginia Linden MacKeen ‘42 Eileen Clarkin Losco ‘43 Julia Sweeney Cox ‘44 Stella Cucchiara Lafferty ‘45 Irene McKeon Riley ‘45 Mary Sullivan Letourneau ‘47 Phyllis Guarino Rantz ‘47 Mary McCarty Doyle ‘50 Celeste Egan ‘50 Margaret Bartlett Welch ‘51 Maryann Luz Kiley ‘53 Marilyn Fitzgerald McGrail ‘54 Velma Frates Hoyer ‘55 Grey Bowden ‘57 Armand Thibodeau ‘58 Claire Morrison ‘59 Katherine Barry Jones ‘60 Sylvia Poirier ‘60 Howard Foster ‘61G Shirley Bowker Pierce ‘62 Shifra Halpert Boudreau ‘63 John Aucone ‘64 Barbara Connolly Lanzi ‘64 Kathleen Donoghue Lawn ‘64 John Sullivan ‘64
Raymond Lane ‘64G George Agganis ‘65 Rosemary Twomey Dwyer ‘65 Richard Mehm ‘66 Diane Ciman Bean ‘67 Mary Szostak ‘67 Mildred Airola Tamminen ‘67G Ernest Perry ‘67G Joan Wachsmuth Hale ‘70 Beverly Kalil ‘70 Lawrence Martin ‘70G William McNamara ‘70 Frank Salvo ‘70 Michael Slazar ‘70 Richard Heck ‘71 Mark Carnevale ‘73 Joseph Doucette ‘73 William Barnsley ‘73G Donald Chase ‘74G Francella Keah-Tigh Clark ‘74G John Yeannakopoulos ‘72 Paul Sampsonis ‘76 Beth-Ann Turner ‘76 Arlene Dobias Johnis ‘77 George Lembidakis ‘77G Patricia Levesque Morrison ‘77 Spiro Papanastasiou ‘78 Nancy Jennings Pelletier ‘78 John Tamagna ‘78G Andrea Carey ‘79
Sally Freedman Connolly ‘80G Eva Torrey Deveraux ‘80 Elizabeth Wescott Melville ‘80 Helen Hanlon Richards ‘80 Nancy Shagoury Hickey ‘81 Dustin Colby ‘83 Carol Gould ‘83 Linda Zordan Russo ‘85 Anthony Bubany ‘86 Cheryl Smith ‘87 Jeffrey Blydell ’88 Michael Connelly ‘88 Linda Morin ‘89 Debra Anderson Wilder ‘90 Leo Higgins ‘91 Donna Leria ‘93 Jeremy Eschelbacher ‘95 Steven Cummings ‘98 Pamela Jones Messinger ‘98 Judith McPhee Zyirek ‘98G Robert Brown ‘00G Tracie Nelson Fitzgerald ‘02 Mary-Margaret Batanian Almonte ‘03G James Mercer ‘04 Suzanne Langford ‘06 Bonita Goodhue Marshall ‘07 Jonathan Lazar ‘10 Caitlin Hennessy ‘12 Francis Troche ‘14 Meaghan Noel ’15
MILDRED (AIROLA) TAMMINEN ’67G
PETER J. ZUCARO
Mildred (Airola) Tamminen, 93, of Gardner, died on November 6 in Wachusett Manor Nursing Home. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University, a master’s degree from Salem State University in 1967, and a doctorate from Boston College. Mrs. Tamminen was chairman of the chemistry department at Massachusetts General Hospital School of Nursing. Later she joined the faculty of Salem State University as a chemistry teacher and was the author of a chemistry book for nurses.
Peter J. Zucaro, 83, died on October 16 at Kaplan Family Hospice in Danvers. Born and raised in Lynn, and a graduate of Lynn English High School, he joined the air force and was stationed in Alaska and in Texas. Following his discharge, he was employed by Salem State University as a carpenter.
W I N T E R 2 0 16 I S A L E M S TAT E M E N T
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CLASS NOTES
’97 ANTHONY PIER ANTOZ ZI ’97G
was recently inducted into the Salem State University Northeast Regional Educators Hall of Fame, and presented with the 2015 Salem State University Alumni Award.
’02
JOHN H. TARPINIAN was
promoted from commercial loan officer to assistant vice president of commercial lending at Village Bank Loan Center. Hired in 2009 as a senior credit analyst, he has served the bank as a commercial loan officer since 2001.
’07
LORI L AFR ANCE was named The 2015 conservation teacher of the year by Massachusetts Audubon and the New England Farm and Garden Association.
’08
KELLY QUINN received the alumni
association’s 2015 George Ellison Sr. Volunteer of the Year Award.
’09
PATRIC IA F. BECK MAN has
been appointed assistant principal at Birch Meadow Elementary School in Reading for the 2015-16 school year. Beckman was appointed to assist in day-to-day operations. GR A ZIA C RIVELLO received her master’s degree in criminal justice from Boston University, and has served for a year in the Catholic Community of Gloucester and Rockport’s music ministry.
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S A L E M S TAT E M E N T I W I N T E R 2 0 16
CLASS NOTES
She also continues her work as an administrator at RE/MAX Advantage. DIANA F. EMMONS accepted
a full scholarship to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette this fall, where she will pursue an advanced degree in non-fiction writing. She previously completed an MFA at Eastern Washington University. ELIAQUIN GONELL ’15G was recently inducted into the Salem State University Northeast Regional Educators Hall of Fame, where he was recognized with its 2015 Rising Star Award. JESSICA A . HER RICK is the
new development coordinator for Habitat for Humanity-Atlanta. She will serve as the primary database manager for the organization.
’11
Z AYDA GONZ ALEZ recently received the alumni association’s Rising Star Award.
’15
K IMBERLY BOUCHIE in
September received the Knowledge Universe Early Childhood Educator Award. A kindergarten teacher at KinderCare in Stoneham, she majored in education and minored in psychology at Salem State. The award recognizes teachers who demonstrate exceptional skills in educating young children with a $10,000 reward. Recipients are chosen yearly from more than 25,000 early childhood educators within the CCLC, KinderCare, Knowledge Beginnings, and Champions family of companies.
2015-2016 SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Pamela Doherty ’92, president Joe Wamness ’00G, vice president Debra Lee Surface ’05, secretary Alyce Davis ’75, alumni trustee
AFFINITY GROUP PRESIDENTS ANDREA LIFTMAN ’75G Friends of Education KELLY QUINN ’08, ’10G Friends of Social Work CRAIG MARKIEWICZ ’05, ’12G Bertolon School of Business Alumni Network ABOUBACAR DIARRA Student Trustee (VACANT) Student Government Association Representative
MEMBERS AT LARGE Mary Bertrand ’13 Robert Callahan ’72 Guy Clinch ’89 Christopher Corrente ’10, ’12G Thomas Cullinane ’86 Lance Eaton ’01 Daphnee Georges ’10 Keila Lora ’13 Deana Manfra ’11 Janet Merriman ’82 Thomas Page ’75, ’76G Tim Shea ’83G Carol Vara ’85, ’92G Hope Watt-Bucci ’96G Mikki Wilson ’09
LEGACY MEMBERS Erik Champy ’89, ’94G Eileen Connolly ’59, ’77G Richard Durgan ’69 Marilyn Flaherty ’54 Dorothy Foley ’48 Judith Josephs ’63, ’65G Josephine Kennedy ’72, ’76G Frank Lillo ’64, ’69G Jane Moroney ’60, ’62G Gary Roach ’80 Frederick Sannella ’64 Deirdre Sartorelli ’83 Alfred Viselli ’59, ’64G
ALUMNI T R AV E L PROGRAM salemstate.edu/travel
Join us in…
EXTRAORDINARY
ICELAND October 6-10, 2016 Our five-day, three-night getaway includes roundtrip airfare, nightly accommodations, breakfast daily and one dinner. $1679–$1779. Full details online. Register to join us today!
352 Lafayette Street Salem, Massachusetts 01970-5353
Educating you for life salemstate.edu
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PRIVILEGES Every Salem State graduate automatically becomes a member of the Salem State University Alumni Association. There are no dues to pay or forms to fill out—simply enjoy the following benefits anytime! • • • • • •
Full access to the Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons Walk-in or by-appointment access to career services Membership at Gassett Fitness and Recreation Center (limited quantity available) Lifetime subscription to Salem Statement magazine Promotional discounts on university gifts and apparel $5 off at-the-door purchases for all Friday Center for Creative and Performing Arts performances
…and much more! See the whole list of alumni perks online:
SALEMSTATE.EDU/ALUMNI/BENEFITS
