POLETTA LOUIS ’92 Martin Luther King Jr

Reflections

A PUBLICATION OF THE SUNY ONEONTA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

SPRING 2020

POLETTA LOUIS ’92

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Keynote Speaker

ALSO...

Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and School of Economics & Business celebrate 50 Years

Reflections

Volume XLXIII Number 3 Spring 2020

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FROM NETZER 301

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COLLEGE FOUNDATION

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ACROSS THE QUAD

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EARTH & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES 50TH ANNIVERSARY
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SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS & BUSINESS 50TH ANNIVERSARY
BEYOND THE PILLARS
BEHIND THE DOOR: A LOOK
ALUMNI PROFILE:

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On the Cover:

Poletta Louis ’92

connects Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights legacy to the continuing struggle for equality and justice in all facets of our society.

Photo by Gerry Raymonda

Reflections

Vol. XLXIII Number 3 Spring 2020

MANAGING EDITOR

Laura M. Lincoln

EDITOR

Adrienne Martini

LEAD DESIGNER

Jonah Roberts

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Adrienne Martini Geoﬀrey Hassard Benjamin Wendrow ’08

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Gerry Raymonda Michael Forster Rothbart

Reﬂections is published three times a year by the Division of College Advancement and is funded in part by the SUNY Oneonta Alumni Association through charitable gifts to the Fund for Oneonta.

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From Netzer 301

This is an edited version of President Barbara Jean Morris’ message to the SUNY Oneonta community as the COVID-19 public health emergency unfolded.

shifted online and campus closed, some had to ﬁnd money to buy laptops. Our Student Emergency Fund has become a vital resource for students whose college careers were about to end because of the curveball this global emergency threw at us.
I hope you and your family are healthy and faring as well as possible during

these uncertain times.

While some of the immediate concerns

are resolved, the consequences are still revealing themselves. In the midst of everything that happened, our campus united, and I was in awe of SUNY Oneonta. With tenacity and empathy, Red Dragons stayed true to our students and to the SUNY Oneonta
This issue of Reﬂections was in the process of being ﬁnalized and sent to press as the COVID-19 public health emergency began to unfold. We had no idea how much would change and how quickly.

Our situation on campus has continued community of alumni, faculty, and staff. to evolve. I struggle to find words
When I first came to SUNY Oneonta, accurate enough to express how I feel almost two years ago now, the thing about what we went a through in such that struck me most was the profound a short time in March. We sent our ethic of care that was universal here — students off for spring break, wished present everywhere and on display day them safe travels, and told them we after day. It truly shone through. That would see them back in Oneonta in a ethic of care is what binds us. It is our week.

When I ﬁrst came to
SUNY Oneonta, almost two years ago now, the thing that struck me most was the profound ethic of care that was universal here.

calling card.
Who could have possibly guessed that,
For the past few months, our ethic of two weeks later, we would transition care has shone through — again. It to online classes, cancel long-awaited kept us strong and allowed us to ﬁnd events, postpone commencement, joy in an uncertain time. To be sure, close our buildings, send most of our more challenges lie ahead as we come employees home, and watch students to a more complete understanding of pack their belongings to move oﬀ our new reality. I know we are up to campus for the rest of the semester? the challenges. There is nowhere else

That’s the view from campus. However, all members of our Red Dragon family have felt an impact, including our
I would rather be and no one else with whom I’d rather do this work. All Red Dragons are in this together, and we alumni. Our commitment to all of you is will get through this together. just as important. During this time, we
We wish you and your family good have found new ways to connect with health and safety, now and in the weeks you and help you to connect with each to come. Thank you for being such an other. important part of the SUNY Oneonta

family.

“Disruptive” is the word used to

describe the eﬀects of COVID-19. Those feelings of stress, uncertainty, and sadness may have faded by now. But those disruptive days aren’t so far in the past that we’ve forgotten them. We can still feel the emotional exhaustion.
Barbara Jean Morris, Ph.D. President
We faced an unprecedented situation. Our students faced additional ﬁnancial hardships and new expenses that they could not have foreseen. Their campus jobs disappeared. When instruction

2

Spring 2020 | Reflections

Daren Rylewicz ’93

From The Alumni Association

stonework for the 9/11 memorial towers like visitations from people he had

adjacent to Fitzelle Hall.

lost. The doe was Kathleen, who knew

how special this campus was to both of them. The eagle was his childhood friend Eric, a firefighter who lost his life at the World Trade Center.
Five years after Kathleen died, John, a New York City firefighter, was at the World Trade Center buildings when they were bombed in 1993. On Sept. 11, 2001, he was on his way to work at the New York City Fire Museum in lower Manhattan. He was walking out of a subway station when the north tower
“They have helped me to understand that they may take your physical being away, but they may not take away your eternal spirit. Your actions, words, and was hit. After calling the fire dispatcher, deeds will exist infinitely,” he said. John went downtown to help.
As he prepared the Class of 2002 for

During the commencement for the Class of 2002, John spoke. On Sept. 11, he said, “Our status changed from life after college, he reminded them, “Every individual has the potential to contribute to the advancement of the rescuers to victims. Our job description human race. Go forth and do so, make

John Jermyn ’81 passed away in

December 2019. He was 63 years old. We hope all our alumni who have died lived lives full of meaning and connection. John certainly did. His impact has been felt not only on campus, but in the wider community, too. changed from protecting the public from the ravages of ﬁre to becoming front-line soldiers in the war on terrorism.” your mark, do your best, and enjoy yourself as you go along. Make our city, our state, our country, and our world a better place for us all to live in.”

This wasn’t how John expected his life to go after he graduated from SUNY Oneonta. “I am just an average, regular campus—a better place for all. guy who is doing his job. Life can be both funny and strange; you never know what tomorrow will bring,” he said.
Thank you, John, for all of your work. It has helped make this world—and this

Daren Rylewicz ’93

John ’ s i mpact has been felt not only on campus, but in the wider community, too.

President
SUNY Oneonta Alumni Association

In his speech, John talked about an experience he’d had on campus in the late 1990s. He was visiting Oneonta with his son and decided to go for a run one morning. Near the green space
John was a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2007 to 2015. From 2012 to 2014, he served as president. His sister Kathleen between Milne Library and the Chase was a Red Dragon as well. She would have graduated in 1989 but was killed when Pan Am Flight 103 was brought down by a terrorist’s bomb over
Gymnasium, he came face to face with a white-tailed doe. The two locked eyes before each turned to run in the opposite direction.
Lockerbie, Scotland. Kathleen was returning from a semester studying in London. In her honor, John donated more than $140,000 and endowed a scholarship. In addition, he made gifts to fund all of the landscaping and
He had a similar experience with a bald eagle while hiking near Lake Tahoe a few years later. The majestic bird soared overhead so close, John said, that it felt like he could touch it. Both moments were special; both felt

John

Jermyn ’81
SUNY ONEONTA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2020

PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT-ELECT

Carolyn Cacciato ’79 Katie Dupuree ’07 Thomas Glennon ’09 Alice Maggiore ’10 Erikka Misrahi ’08 Coleen Moore ‘96 Judith Stern Palais ’81 Bob Raymond ’74
Mark Ventrone ’79

EX OFFICIO

Daren Rylewicz ’93

VICE PRESIDENT

Ed Aluck ’95

SECRETARY

Stephanie Peguillan ’15

TREASURER

Drew McKay ’05
Christine Warnquist ’71

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Laura Madelone Lincoln

BOARD MEMBERS

Paul J. Adamo ’81 Barbara Jean Morris, Ph.D.

STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS

Odalis Galeano Umana ’20 Luke Sheridan ’20

BOARD MEMBERS

Erica Skov Beams ’07 Kyle Beckley ’08

HONORARY BOARD MEMBER

Jim Zians

C.L. “Three” Bollinger ’01

3

Across

THE

QUAD

Scott Saltzman ’86

spoke with students about the fundamentals of marketing.

Poletta Louis ’92 ’11 ’15

delivers her keynote on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

ALUMNI RETURN TO CAMPUS TO SHARE INSIGHT WITH STUDENTS

Scott Saltzman ’86, national sales manager for Puma North America,

returned to campus in November. While here, he spoke with students learning the fundamentals of marketing, as well as those in fashion marketing and apparels quality analysis.

Poletta Louis ’92 ’11 ’15, an elementary school counselor for the Worcester

Central School District, in Worcester, New York, was the guest speaker for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. Louis is originally from the Caribbean and emigrated to Oneonta through the Job Corps program in 1987. After completing the Job Corps program, she graduated from SUNY Oneonta with a bachelor’s degree in business economics and a minor in personnel administration. In her early career, Louis worked for the Oneonta Job Corps program and subsequently spent 14 years in higher education. The program was an evening of remembrance, reﬂection, inﬂuence, and an engaging conversation in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. This conversation linked King’s civil rights legacy to the continuing struggle for equality and justice.

CAMPUS

connections

NOVEMBER

Temple Grandin,

a leading advocate for the autism community, spoke in the Alumni Field House about connecting animal science and autism.
Mask and Hammer theatre club and the theatre department produced Ayad

Akhtar’s Disgraced.

The play was the Common Read for 2019-20.

4

Brynn Sussman ’15

met with students to speak about her career and working to overcome mental health challenges.

Rich Mendel ’85

Bill Ruﬃng ’85

Lauren Dolginko ’12

Rich Mendel ’85, a retired vice president from Afton Chemical Corp., and Bill Ruﬃng ’85, a vice president at

Action Capital Corp., spoke to engineering and industrial chemistry classes. After their discussions with students, the pair agreed that “given our careers and amazing things we’ve done, to do it all over again, we would always choose SUNY Oneonta.”

Brynn Sussman ’15, a 30 Under 30 nominee, returned to her

alma mater this fall to meet with students to speak about her career as well as how she has been dealing with and working to overcome mental health challenges. After graduation, Sussman began her career working for the NBA and NFL before taking a job as a manager for entertainment and creative development at the National Hockey League.

Lauren Dolginko ’12, who earned her master’s degree

from Binghamton University, returned to campus to talk about and recruit current students for Roux Associates, her employer. This environmental consulting firm serves clients including Amtrak, Sunoco, and Pfizer. Dolginko worked on the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program and works with developers to understand water contamination levels.
Sussman shared her professional experiences with the sports management department alongside her father, Gary Sussman, who is a former executive with the Brooklyn Nets. She also spent time with the men’s and women’s tennis teams.

Natalie Weiner,

a staﬀ writer at SB Nation, spoke about the 1959 project, where she is writing about jazz events during that year.
The Nutrition for Performance Club hosted a class full of cooking tips for maximizing athletic performance in the Human

Activist Robyn Ochs lead Loos-

ening the Gender Girdle, a workshop for students to explore gender rules and norms.
Ecology Kitchen.

5

The Harvey Delaney

Leadership Institute Panel

industry major because she studied classical cello for 12 years and wanted to combine her passion for classical music with business.
Alumni were on hand during the Harvey Delaney Leadership Institute to provide graduating students with some tools necessary to translate on-campus leadership

skills into post-graduation beneﬁts. John McAlary ’86, Michelle Osterhoudt ’99, Barbara Ann Heegan ’99, Keith Stewart, Coleen Moore ’96, Lisa Meschutt ’92 ’97, Kristen Gaynor ’11, 30 Under 30 ﬁnalist William VonAtzingen ’15, Tyler Itzkowitz ’15, and Michael

Morales ’17 shared their insights and time with our seniors.

April Brewer ’13, an assistant production manager at the

Kansas City Repertory Theater and a 30 Under 30 ﬁnalist, gave theatre students career advice during a Skype call with Mask and Hammer. She talked about the process of applying to theatre-speciﬁc graduate school programs as well as what to expect as a professional in the industry.

SUNY Oneonta students who are aspiring to be school counselors heard about experiences in the ﬁeld from Red

Dragons. Karen Gilbertson ’96 ’12 ’15, a counselor at Walton (New York) high school; Pathy Leiva ’18, the SUNY Oneonta EOP and CAMP director; Poletta Louis ’92 ’11 ’15, an

elementary school counselor; and recent graduate Matthew Horne ’17 ’19 participated in a panel discussion in November.
During a Skype call with music industry students, 30

Under 30 ﬁnalist Emilia Albarano ’16 talked about

her work in the classical division at Columbia Artists Management. For the 30 artists she manages, Albarano programs events, organizes travel, and arranges rehearsal schedules. When she was a student, she pursued a music

CAMPUS

As part of the Richard Siegfried Lecture
FlemFest featured SUNY Oneonta

connections

Series, Daniel Stich,

assistant professor of biology, delivered “Fish, Fishing, Dams, and Climate: What Have We Lost and What Do We Stand to Gain” in Craven Lounge. bands Kill the King, Daisy Haze, Descent, and Letters from the Coast at the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center.

DECEMBER

6

Earth Science Majors’ Night

Greg Floyd ’80

Christy Lamagna ’90

Greg Floyd ’80 and Christy Lamagna ’90 returned to

campus to talk with accepted students during two Scholars Days in February. After his presentation, Floyd met with communications students for an informal chat about how he began his career at CBS in Albany and stressed the importance of fully preparing for an interview and being ready for anything that might happen. Lamagna spoke about how she built Strategic Meetings and Events then held a ﬁreside chat with the Start-up Grind Club, a student group for those who want to start their own businesses. She also met with food service management students who are interested in event planning.