INSIGHTS Montgomery College Alumni Magazine • Spring 2002 Channeling Success Peruvian-born alumna finds her station in life pg 3 $50 Cash Deposit $25 Cash Deposit with a new or used for Checking Auto Loan with Direct Deposit Present this Coupon at loan settlement Present this Coupon when you open for a new, used or refinanced auto loan – your SECU Checking account and we’ll deposit $50 with Direct Deposit into your SECU Savings account and we’ll deposit $25 into your account This Bonus Loan Coupon is not a check. You do not have to pay to This Checking Deposit Coupon is not a check. You do not have to pay redeem this Coupon, just apply, receive approval and at settlement to redeem this Coupon, just open either a SECU Free Checking with present this coupon on a new, used, or non-SECU refinanced auto Interest account or a Five-Star Checking account, from 5/1/02 through loan in the amount of $7,500 or more (minimum 36-month term), 7/31/02. SECU will deposit $25 into your SECU Checking account within from 5/1/02 through 7/31/02. SECU will then deposit $50 into your 7 business days after Direct Deposit arrangements are established Share Savings account within 7 business days. Coupons not valid if (approximately 30-60 days after account is opened). Coupons not altered; limit of one coupon per loan. valid if altered; limit of one coupon per account opened. INSIGHTS Dear MC Alumni and Friends, 3 As my term comes to an end as Montgomery College Alumni Association president, I am reminded of all Channeling the former students and employees I had the pleasure to meet over the past two years. I am also reminded Success of the many exciting events the association hosted and of the variety of venues in which I represented the 4 alumni association. I am especially proud of our association’s launch of this magazine. A Four-Year Degree Only In this issue you will get a taste of my experience as you learn more about alumni and employees. This Minutes Away year, for the first time since the campuses combined the graduation ceremony, a former student will deli- ver the commencement address. You may know Wendy Thompson, as she is very active in the community, 5 and is the general manager for Telemundo 64, the Washington, D.C. affiliate of the Spanish-language Summer Dinner television network. Also in this issue, you’ll learn about a gem of a professor who will be retiring after Theatre’s Silver 30 years, leaving the College and his students a spectacular legacy. Anniversary 7 We hope you will join us in celebrating the Summer Dinner Theatre’s 25th Anniversary. Alumni nights Faculty and are June 21 for South Pacific and July 19 for On the Town. There will also be a gala celebration honoring Staff Focus the Silver Anniversary this summer. Certainly those of you who performed previously in our Summer Dinner Theatre productions would enjoy a reunion. If you’ve been a consistent theatre-goer, you won’t 9 want to miss these milestone performances. Takoma Park Expansion The years ahead will prove to be interesting and challenging at our first campus, as we’ve just broken 11 ground for a new Health Sciences Center on Georgia Avenue, part of the Takoma Park Campus’expan- Class Notes sion into south Silver Spring. It should be exciting to witness the campus’ expansion over the next several years. 11 Bliss Beat I will continue to be involved with the Alumni Association, and I encourage you to do the same. Mont- gomery College provided us with a solid background and opportunities to advance in our careers and/or 12 enrich our lives. I hope you will consider making a gift and participating in the College’s and the Alumni Giving Back Association’s events. I look forward to seeing you in the future. Sincerely, Robert F. Costello III ’64 Alumni Association President P.S. Nominations are now being accepted for the Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award through June 30. Visit our Web site at www.montgomerycollege.edu, under the Alumni and Friends category, to obtain a nomination form or call the alumni office at 301-279-5378. INSIGHTS Editorial Staff: Jill Fitzgerald, Jim Terry ’95, Jessica L. Warnick ’86 Design: Clint Wu Photography: Donald Rejonis (unless otherwise noted) Contributing Writers: Richard Richina, Jim Terry ’95, Jessica L.Warnick ’86, Carrie Hurd ’94, Larry Bubes ’56, Sara Smith Production Coordination: Denise Matheny ’95, Erica Ulanow Vice President of Institutional Advancement: Sarah A. Meehan Director of Development: Kayran C. Moore Director of Communications: Steve Simon ’81 Alumni Director: Jessica L. Warnick ’86 Alumni Coordinator: Jim Terry ’95 Annual Fund Coordinator: Carrie Hurd ’94 Alumni Assistant: Bernice Grossman. Insights is produced by the Office of Institutional Advancement. Send editorial correspondence to: Insights, MC Alumni Office, 900 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, MD 20850. Inquiries, address changes, weddings, deaths, general announcements, and correspondence: [email protected]. Visit the Montgomery College Web site: www.montgomerycollege.edu. thompson wendy wendy Success Channelingthompsonby Richard Richina endy Thompson understands Telemundo/WZDC-TV 64, the affiliate’s she says. “But it is up to them to take the benefit of investing in hu- official name, reaches 600,000 homes in the advantage of that opportunity.” W man potential and the respon- Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and sibilities attached to those investments. is carried by all the major cable networks Thompson spent eight years working as serving the region. Nationally, Telemundo, a nanny for two families in Takoma Park, The 35-year-old alumna of Montgomery the Miami-based television network, claims Maryland, while she pursued her dream College arrived nearly a decade ago from to reach 85 percent of the Hispanic com- of getting a higher education. The families Peru with little more than the expectation munity in the United States. As an affiliate, became extensions of her immediate family most immigrants share. Through good for- WZDC-TV 64 is the exclusive broadcast in Peru, enabling her to balance work time tune and a “tremendous thirst for success,” outlet of the national network’s program, and study when necessary and extending she found people who literally and figura- and is owned by ZGS Broadcasting, Inc. financial help when money became an tively invested in her future and opportu- issue of her continuing. nities opened for her. Thompson came to WZDC-TV 64 as a sales representative from a nonprofit inter- “I’m not ashamed of telling people I took As general manager of the Washington, national public health organization in 1995. care of babies and cleaned houses. In fact, D.C. affiliate of one of the largest Spanish After only two years with the company, I’m very proud of it,” she says, leaning language television networks in the coun- Thompson took over the general manager’s forward over her desk. “I share [my story] try, Telemundo, Thompson is fulfilling a position with very little experience in the with pride and with the hope that people responsibility she feels and welcomes by corporate world of broadcast media. Her who are in the same shoes can see there is making sure others in the Hispanic com- broad smile and gracious manner comple- an opportunity, if they persevere.” munity have what they need to succeed. ment the highly motivated personality that drives her to make the best of her opportu- Despite two years of English at a local “One of the reasons I am very committed nities in her adopted country. As she tells language school in Lima before leaving, to helping the Hispanic community is be- the story of leaving her family, the chal- Thompson began her academic career at cause I understand not many people have lenges she overcame, and the victories of Montgomery College taking noncredit the good fortune I had,” Thompson says, as securing a leadership role in the community writing classes in English. A female room- she sits in the small, rectangular office space today, her fingers clasp and unclasp into a mate, who worked at IBM at the time, that serves as the executive suite of the tele- fist unconsciously punctuating her points. suggested business as an area of study to communication affiliate. “All of our com- her. According to Thompson, Montgomery munity outreach work is geared toward giv- “What I think this country offers to every College was where her friend’s suggestion ing people some hope about their future.” immigrant who comes is opportunity,” became a reality and a passion for her. 3 “All the teachers had the attitude that national network, Thompson is carving every student who came to them were out slots for local programming. “The diamonds in the rough,” she says of community needs not only scholastic her experience at Montgomery College, education, but also education on issues adding that small classes and flexible and education on what is available to class schedules made it possible for her them,” she says. to realize her dream of getting a degree. Thompson is Montgomery College’s In addition to her career, Thompson commencement speaker this year, an serves in leadership positions in business opportunity that makes her feel “deeply, and community organizations such as deeply honored.” the National Center for Community and Justice and Montgomery County’s In a grayish-blue checked suit jacket, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, as burgundy knee-length skirt, and sensible another means of addressing the needs pumps, Thompson looks every bit the of the Hispanic community. She also A Four-Year Degree corporate executive she has become.