GOOD WORK IN PROGRESS spring 2023 THELAKER a publ icat ion for alumni and friends of f inger lakes communi ty col lege Historic year in volleyball // pg. 10 Remembering George Fraley // pg. 23 Alumni who lead in human services
openingshot The College’s chapter of Active Minds and the Student Veterans Organization brought the traveling exhibit “Send Silence Packing” to the main campus in November to encourage discussion about mental health. Backpacks representing individuals who have committed suicide were spread across the front lawn for a day. Stories from across the country about those who had been lost to suicide were pinned to many of the packs. AERIAL PHOTO BY STEPHEN KALBACH, INSET PHOTO BY LENORE FRIEND
Dear Fellow Lakers, Commencement season will be upon us in the coming weeks. We o en think of our graduates as leaving us, moving on to the next chapter in their lives. Yet as the cover story for this edition of the Laker shows, our alumni o en begin their careers right here in the Finger Lakes. Faculty and sta transition seamlessly from instructors to mentors, colleagues and friends. Early in her career at e Arc Ontario, Michelle Jungermann ’99 conducted vocational assessments, o en for people seeking a new livelihood due to a physical disability. She connected clients who started their journey at FLCC with college services that would make them more successful. “ at was a nice full circle,” she said of collaborating with FLCC as a professional. Nash Bock ’06, ’14, the chief business and innovation o cer at Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity, remains a familiar face in the main campus halls as he currently serves on the FLCC Association Board of Directors. He still plays music, informally, with fellow alumnus Leo Medler ’06. “ e friends and connections I have from my time with FLCC are the ones that I’ve carried forward. When I think about who I interact with, hang out with, it’s those FLCC connections,” he said. ese lifelong relationships are an outgrowth of the care and concern our faculty and sta show for students every day. Alumna Dawn Pietropaolo, featured in the Class Notes section, started college a er raising her children and was understandably intimidated. She said faculty support contributed to her con dence and success. “At FLCC, it was more about you as a person, more about them sharing with you. ey made it feel possible,” Dawn explained. ose of us who teach and manage the day-to-day business of the College enjoy hearing from alumni and seeing you at campus events. It gives us renewed energy amid the busyness of life. If you haven’t connected with a fellow alumnus, a professor or a sta member who got to know you, take a moment and send a quick email. Even though you may have le us years ago, you are not far away at all, and we would love to hear from you! Respectfully, Robert Nye President, Finger Lakes Community College 2 | THELAKER President Robert K. Nye Chief Advancement Officer Louis Noce Director of Development Brie Chupalio Editor/Chief Writer Lenore Friend Director of Public Relations and Communications Contributors Brie Chupalio Nicholas Julien Margaret Lorenzetti Design and Layout Sarah R. Butler Photography Stephen Kalbach Jan Regan Rikki Van Camp COVER PHOTO OF MICHELLE JUNGERMANN ‘99 AT NORTH STAR CAFÉ BY RIKKI VAN CAMP The Laker is produced by the Advancement and Communications offices at Finger Lakes Community College. Views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or official College policies. Finger Lakes Community College does not discriminate based on an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, disability, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, familial status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, or criminal conviction. Connect with us Finger Lakes Community College 3325 Marvin Sands Drive Canandaigua, NY 14424 Email: alumni@flcc.edu (585) 785-1454 www.facebook.com/fingerlakescommunitycollege @flcc_connects @flcc_connects from the president
flcc foundation U P D A T E Muller Field Station to host first summer camp FLCC will expand its popular summer STEAM camps for middle schoolers this year to include a week at Muller Field Station, the College’s research and education facility at the south end of Honeoye Lake. STEAM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, art and math and re ects the broad range of disciplines students are exposed to at the camps. For example, the new Muller Field Station camp will focus on STEAM in nature July 31 to Aug. 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Campers will observe local wildlife, go on canoe adventures through the swamp, garden, journal about nature, and gain skills in identifying plants, insects, and birds. Campers will also engage in conversations about environmental issues, sustainability, and stewardship. e cost is $200 for the week. More information is available on the College news blog at forward.csc. cc.edu. e application is at cc.edu/steam. e late Florence Muller donated the 48acre property to FLCC in 1999 in memory of her husband, Emil, a Swiss immigrant who sought to preserve the biodiversity of the Honeoye valley. Since then, funding from the Emil Muller Foundation and Florence M. Muller Foundation has supported education, research and improvements to property. THELAKER | 3 FROM THE COVER: Careers in Service pages 4–6 pages 16–17 SPRING 2023 CONTENTS THELAKER ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Erin Joy Grgas ’22 page 14 CAMPUS HAPPENINGS pages 7–12 CLASS notes pages 18–23 page 24 SAVE the DATE
Two graduates who are leaders in the human service field talk about their career paths and rewards of the job. from the cover Nash Bock’s passion at FLCC was music, and he thought he would make a career of it. But his early college experience was also about community, and that struck a note when he had an opportunity to take a leadership role at Habitat for Humanity. “I fell in love with the mission of the organization, was inspired by the people involved in the work, and opportunities presented themselves,” says Nash, now the chief business and innovation o cer for Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity. e organization is a recent merger of the Flower City (Monroe), Ontario and Wayne county Habitat chapters and re ects a trend in human service organizations seeking creative ways to pool resources and generate new revenue. Michelle Jungerman ’99 has spent her entire career at another well-known social service agency, e Arc Ontario, formerly Ontario ARC. She has witnessed a transformation in the agency’s approach to helping those with intellectual and developmental disabilities build work and life skills. What’s more, her current role as chief operating o cer of the agency’s business enterprises requires her to be as much a serial entrepreneur as a social worker. ough the business environment has changed, the approach to meeting urgent human needs remains very much about getting to know individuals and their circumstances before charting a path forward. Michelle Jungermann ’99: The Arc Ontario Michelle thought she might want to be a teacher when she started at FLCC. en, a visitor to one of her classes talked about domestic violence victims. 4 | THELAKER ‘YOU HAVE TO MEET EVERYONE WHERE THEY’RE AT’ Nash Bock ’06, ’14 is the chief business and innovation officer for Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity.
THELAKER | 5 Michelle Jungermann ’99 has learned the fundamentals of starting and operating businesses as The Arc Ontario moved from sheltered workshops to mainstream ventures with a social purpose. “I got really moved by the idea of being able to help people in di cult circumstances,” she says. Michelle’s work with e Arc Ontario has involved serving those with disabilities, something that she says “never crossed my mind” at FLCC or her transfer school, Nazareth College. She started in 2002 as a service coordinator, writing care plans for clients. At that time,ARCs, as they were known, o en ran sheltered workshops that tailored manufacturing tasks for their clients’ abilities. e agencies bussed workers to the sites and back home again. Now, Michelle coordinates four businesses in which Arc clients work alongside community members, for example, by ringing up orders and cleaning tables at North Star Café. e Arc also operates Bad Dog Boutique, a retail and grooming shop in downtown Canandaigua, and Spot On Cleaning, which provides commercial cleaning throughout Ontario County. e newest startup that combines employees with and without disabilities is FLX Premier Bottling, which packages shampoo, lotions and body wash. Michelle has enjoyed learning from the business community, for example, getting advice from Finger Lakes Co ee Roasters as she scouted for a downtown Canandaigua site for North Star Café. e café, which moved from Farmington to 92 S. Main last fall, was the Arc’s rst social enterprise in 2017. “It was a great opportunity to educate the community on what people with a disability can do, rather than what they couldn’t do,” she says of the trend away from sheltered workshops. e Arc closed its workshop in 2010 and focused on nding employment training for its clients in the community. e social enterprises helped increase job opportunities while generating revenue that funds Arc services not covered by other sources, such as Medicaid. Michelle said the greatest challenge for her and her team of on-site business managers has been balancing the human service mission with the need to generate revenue, especially during the height of the pandemic. “We want to protect the people we support, but we also have to run a business,” she says. All in all, the trend toward inclusion has bene ted Arc employees and clients as well as the wider community. “I love what I do. Look at where this eld has come as I’ve grown with it,” Michelle marvels. “ e eld has changed, the acceptance has changed, the opportunities have changed.” ough she had not envisioned herself in this particular niche while in school, the approach to human services that she learned from faculty like Barbara Chappell and John Pietropaolo is a constant, Michelle says: “You have to meet everyone where they’re at in order to help them move forward.”
6 | THELAKER the new, merged organization will give him the opportunity to focus on opportunities to add and expand services, for example, doing more work to repair homes. “Habitat really came into my life at the right time. I love playing music, but the life of a performing musician was not really the life I wanted to have, being on the road, playing late into the night,” says Nash, who has a photo of his two young daughters in his o ce at the ReStore building in Hopewell. “I was learning what I wanted and what I didn’t want in my future and Habitat presented me with an opportunity to have a career that aligns with my values, is deeply rooted in community, and provided the work-life balance for Heather and I to start our own family.” Nash has long been open to tackling something new. At FLCC, he took classes in marketing, business and computer science – he even returned to get an associate degree in computer science in 2014. While students, he and Heather joined the Finger Lakes Environmental Action Club, joining conservation professor Marty Dodge on a trip to southern California’s Channel Islands. “I came out of my college experience with a major in music but an ability to utilize skills in a variety of elds,” Nash says, “and I think that positioned me well to be able to try out di erent things and be open to new opportunities as they came along.” – Lenore Friend Photos by Rikki Van Camp Nash Bock ’06, ’14: Habitat for Humanity A er earning a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Geneseo, Nash taught private music lessons and worked at FLCC as an adjunct instructor in the music department for a few years. (His wife, Heather ’06, worked for FLCC’s Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative from 2012 through 2021). Nash began working at Ontario County Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore to make some extra money in the summers. “My rst job was a part-time associate, so I was literally pushing couches around, greeting donors, helping shoppers,” he says. His role soon expanded to website development and social media strategy. In 2014, he became the program services manager, overseeing the process for selecting new families for Habitat homes and working closely with volunteers. “It’s very personal. We spend a year to two years working with families on their journey to becoming homeowners,” he begins. “ ey’re inviting us into their lives as well. We get to know them very closely. We get to know their kids. O en, you get to know their siblings or parents, too.” A year later, the board of directors named him executive director, overseeing everything from fundraising to volunteer management to connecting with the international organization. His role with from the cover “Habitat presented me with an opportunity to have a career that aligns with my values.” Nash Bock ’06, ’14 Nash Bock says Habitat for Humanity builds relationships as much as it builds houses.
THELAKER | 7 campus happenings Trustees name April Devaux and Warren White to ranks of emeriti e College Board of Trustees granted professor emeritus distinction at its March 1 meeting to two retired faculty members: April Devaux, professor of computing sciences, and Warren White, assistant professor of communication. April and Warren will be recognized at commencement on May 20. April Devaux April, a full-time faculty member for 18 years, was nominated in part for her leadership as chair of the Computing Sciences Department. She is credited with keeping the curriculum current through the growth of the tech industry in the 1990s and its transitions in the 2000s and beyond. April brought a level-headed, goal-focused approach to many College committees. In the written nomination submitted to the trustees, one colleague noted: “I observed April quietly but e ectively defuse controversies and arguments and lead everyone back to what really mattered.” e nominating committee also recognized April for her work with Rochester Institute of Technology to establish the Game Programming and Design articulation agreement. She was particularly devoted to championing women in STEM and followed up with her students a er they completed her class. “Professor Devaux’s legacy is profound because what she le behind when she retired is a program and an institution that is far stronger, far healthier and far more successful at ful lling its mission because of the work she did,” the nominating committee concluded. Warren White Warren joined FLCC a er a career in broadcast news media and brought a wealth of real-world experience and professionalism to the classroom for 22 years. He was known for being meticulous in classroom preparation and curriculum revisions. Warren’s revisions to the TV Production II and Media Writing courses and his work developing the Digital Video Editing course have shaped the New Media and Communications programs. He chaired the Assessment Committee in its formative years and continued to serve until the year before he retired. Warren planned Laker Day tours to media businesses and organizations such as WXXI in Rochester. He also assisted students by volunteering for Move-in Day at the Suites at Laker Landing and information tables at the start of each semester. Over the years, he served as an advisor for the Radio Club and supported the Communications Club, Phi eta Kappa, veterans events and the Honors Program. As one colleague noted in the nomination, “He always had time for students, meeting with them regularly to cheer them on, and when necessary, to o er them a dose of tough love.” Emeritus designation is granted to retirees with 15 or more years of service who have distinguished themselves through community service, professional growth, e ectiveness in performing job responsibilities, or college service. Beth Johnson, interim associate vice president of instruction, served as chair of the Emeritus Committee. Members for the 2023 nominations were Timothy Biehler, Robert Brown, Teresa Daddis, Amy Flagler, Ryan McCabe, Sarah Moon, Barbara Schreiber and Sarah Whi en. April Devaux introduces the recipient of the Outstanding Computer Science Alumni Achievement Award, Kris Nettnin ’00, with Sandy Brown, right, at the 2015 Alumni Association Awards Celebration. Warren White served as the macebearer for the Humanities and Visual and Performing Arts commencement ceremony in May 2022
8 | THELAKER campus happenings Retired professor is ‘Keeping a Promise’ Retired humanities professor Barbara Murphy returned to campus in March for a combined exhibit of photography and poetry called “Keeping a Promise,” which runs through April 7 at the Williams-Insalaco Gallery 34. e exhibit features photographs by the late Joe Ripperger with poems Barbara, his aunt, wrote in response to each photo. is type of writing is known as ekphrastic poetry. Barbara and Joe began talking about a collaboration in early 2019. “I had taken a week-long poetry course at Writers and Books in January, and one of the instructors had asked us to write some ekphrastic poems. I had fun with it and thought it could be fun to collaborate with Joe,” she explained. “He came to my house with his laptop and showed me some photos and sent me others. I wrote some poems, and he did give me feedback on those rst few poems. We also talked about how cool it would be to nd a place in Rochester to exhibit his work.” Joe, who had bipolar disorder, died by suicide in June. “I wrote Joe’s eulogy and began to write poems about the experience of losing him,” Barbara said. “I asked his father for Joe’s hard drive and started working on the ekphrastic poems. Holocaust survivor to speak April 20 e College will host Holocaust survivor Warren Heilbronner on ursday, April 20, at 12:45 p.m. in the main campus auditorium. His talk is part of the History, Culture and Diversity series organized by Robert Brown, professor of history. e event is free and open to the public. It will also be broadcast live on Finger Lakes Television, available on Spectrum cable channel 1304, Roku and ngerlakestv.org. As a child, Warren saw the Gestapo come to his home in Stuttgart during Kristallnacht in 1938 to look for his father. His father, who successfully hid that night, was later arrested and sent to the Dachau concentration camp. Warren’s mother was able to secure his father’s release with an a davit from an uncle in Memphis who pledged to support them upon immigration to the U.S. Warren attended Columbia Law School then served in the Army Reserves before taking a job as a lawyer in Rochester. He is an advocate for social justice issues and shares his story to teach about the Holocaust. “ e writing that corresponded to his photos and the writing that re ected my grief turned into a book. As the book, a er many revisions, seemed to be nished, I thought, ‘I’ve got to nd a place to exhibit Joe’s work!’ at desire eventually led me to the Mental Health Association of Rochester.” e exhibit was rst staged last year at the Mental Health Association of Rochester’s o ce on North Goodman Street and then at the Joy Gallery in Rochester. Barron Naegel, director of FLCC’s Williams-Insalaco Gallery 34, attended the closing reception at the Joy Gallery and invited her to bring the show to the College. “ e purpose of the exhibit is to celebrate what he saw through his lens and to, in a way, keep the promise to nd someplace to exhibit his work,” Barbara said, adding, “He loved taking pictures of many subjects, including his friends, baseball games, owers, and downtown Rochester. Being diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 16 or 17 began a lifetime of struggle, but his curiosity about the world and his camera were mainstays in his life.” Barbara Murphy at a poetry reading at FLCC before her retirement. A photo by Joe Ripperger in the “Keeping a Promise” exhibit at FLCC, which closes on April 7.
THELAKER | 9 From left, Tori Armstrong, Benjamin Clovis, and Juan V. Espana II ’20 rehearse “The Maltese Walter.” Alumni join cast of ‘The Ragged Middle’ production e spring mainstage production is not one play, not two, but 14 short plays gathered under the title: “ e Ragged Middle: Twisted Tales of In nity and Powdered Donuts.” Jim Perri, technical director and production manager for the Visual and Performing Arts Department, took inspiration for the o -beat approach from “ e Twilight Zone,” a science ction TV series that ran from 1959 to 1964. e plays are a mix of dramas and comedies, some by award-winning playwrights, and four that Jim wrote. He read about 100 short plays before narrowing the eld to 40. “Once the actors were chosen, they had a say in whittling down the scripts,” he said. “ ey were able to o er the top three roles they wanted to play.” Jim also had some practical reasons to stage an anthology. Not every cast member is in every play. is makes it easier to make adjustments if someone falls ill. It also makes for exible rehearsals, allowing for participation by alumni whose theater experiences were cut short by COVID-19. Four of the 12 cast members are alumni: Ben Koeberle ’15 of Clyde, Juan Espana II ’20 of Penn Yan, Julia Corsner ’22 of Geneva and Julia Diamond ’22 of Interlaken. Ben, a theatre arts graduate, is also a current student, having returned in 2021 to get an accounting degree. ` “When I heard about the opportunity to be in the spring production, I jumped at the chance. It has been quite a journey getting to know and work with everyone in the cast and crew,” he said. “I’m hoping this production will be a steppingstone in future acting and theater projects following my time at FLCC.” Ben is performing in three plays, including one of Jim’s called, “Find Your Center.” Jim also wrote “Dead Ringer,” “Dynamic Duo,” and “ e Middle Space.” Plays by other authors are “ e Best Escape” by Carolyn West, “[PG]” by Nat Gruca, “Boxed In” by Ben Kingsland, “Genesis” by Donald Tongue, “If the Shoe Fits” by Tim Bohn, “Hold For ree” by Sherry Kramer, “Something in Common” by Robin Pond, “ e Maltese Walter” by John Minigan, and “Best Lei’d Plans” by Kelly Younger. e latter three plays were published in “ e Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2016.” e show includes an improvised piece called “Beautiful Day.” e remaining cast consists of Victoria Armstrong of Honeoye, Gayle Burke of Trumansburg, Benjamin Clovis of Stanley, Clara Elwell of Naples, Blythe Hodgson of Ithaca, Liam Hule of Canandaigua, Christopher Kalen of Farmington, and Red Steiner of Bloom eld. e crew includes Kathryn Snyder on lighting and stage management, Brandon Wyand on sound and scenic construction, Skye Wyand on scenic art, Je Kidd on video and Sarah Spindler on costumes. Performances are in the main campus auditorium for four shows: 7:30 p.m. on April 6 and April 7, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. on April 8. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for seniors and non-FLCC students and free with an FLCC ID. From left, Ben Koeberle ’15, Chris Kalen, Clara Elwell, and Julia Corsner ’22 rehearse the short play “[PG],” one of 14 plays in the production “The Ragged Middle” running through April 8. PHOTOS BY RIKKI VAN CAMP
10 | THELAKER Meanwhile, the new men’s volleyball team began competing this semester. Women’s volleyball: Another winning season e Lakers women’s volleyball team nished seventh in the nation for the second year in a row at the NJCAA Division III National Championship in November. A er winning the NJCAA Region III championships in a nal match against Jamestown Community College, the Lakers entered the national competition ranked 10th. In their rst game, the Lakers upset the No. 7 team, Sandhill Community College in North Carolina, winning 3-0 with strong performances by Brooke DeGro of Castile, Megan Sanford of Savona, Sage Barnedo of Silver Spring, M.D., and Kaidyn VanDelinder of Gananda. In following matchups, the Lakers lost to the College of DuPage Chaparrals and Dutchess Community College then won against Fulton Montgomery Community College to end the series in seventh place. A er celebrating the women’s team’s success, the FLCC community has shi ed gears to support the new men’s volleyball team, which began competing this semester. e decision to add FLCC’s 18th intercollegiate athletic o ering followed an announcement by the NJCAA and the First Point Volleyball Foundation that FLCC was one of 15 institutions to receive a $10,000 grant to start up a men’s volleyball program. Women’s volleyball head coach Andrew Solomon also coaches the new team. In early season competition, the men’s team won its rst three matches against Union County College, Middlesex College, and Passaic County Community College. As of March 6, Jonah Grbic of Victor ranked rst in the nation in kills per set (4.29) and kills (163), while Nick Ferris of Canandaigua ranked rst in hitting percentage at .441. The Lakers battle Dutchess Community College during the NJCAA Division III National Championship in November. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NJCAA For the history books: FLCC’s first men’s volleyball team includes, bottom row, from left: AJ DeBalso, Bryce Ceravolo, Samuel Guardado, Adrian Marin, Garyson Gaud, and Alex Sindone. Top row, from left: Head coach Andrew Solomon, Jonah Grbic, Nehemiah Williams, Ian Meeks, Daniel Seymour, Nick Ferris, Jarett Campbell, Mitchell Schiller, and assistant coach Kyle Salisbury. PHOTO BY FLCC ATHLETICS
THELAKER | 11 Nursing graduates line up at the 2022 ceremony. campus happenings Nursing grads excel, trustees approve LPN program e FLCC nursing class of 2022 had a pass rate of 93 percent on the NCLEX-RN, which stands for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. e FLCC score exceeded the 63 percent pass rate for New York state associate degree holders and 69 percent rate for that group nationally. Students with a bachelor’s degree in nursing who took the exam in New York had an overall 66 percent pass rate. FLCC has recently updated its curriculum to focus on clinical judgment, a key component of the exam. e Nursing Department has also incorporated more elements to reinforce learning, such as recorded lectures students can revisit, online quizzes and discussions, a professional tutor, and a study and test-taking coach. FLCC graduated 45 nursing students in 2022, meaning 42 passed the national exam last year. e College recently expanded facilities to be able to accept new nursing students in the spring semester. e inaugural spring semester class of 20 students began in January. In addition, the Board of Trustees in January approved the curriculum for a new licensed practical nursing certi cate program. e State University of New York and the state Education Department must sign o on the program before students can enroll. Approval is expected in time for a fall 2024 class. Students who graduate from the certi cate program will receive 14 credits toward the 64-credit registered nursing associate degree program. No, not that chatbot ChatbotGPT may be all the rage, but FLCC has been quietly using arti cial intelligence via a chatbot for just over a year to help students navigate the college landscape. e chatbot is a text messaging service, known to students as Flick. (Flick is the name of the FLCC mascot.) e chatbot is programmed with about 350 common questions and answers. “Students can ask Flick questions like, ‘What are the library hours?’ or ‘When is my bill due?’” explains Sarah Whi en, associate vice president of student a airs. Every other week, the chatbot poses questions to students who have a valid cell phone number on le, about 80 percent of all students registered for a class. Students can opt out of messaging, but fewer than 1 percent do. e bot rst asks students how they are doing and provides multiple choice answers. Based on each student’s response, the chatbot asks further questions to narrow down the speci c problem. For example, if a student reports things aren’t going well, the chatbot asks if the problem is academic, nancial, emotional, etc. “We’re asking about students’ academic and social well-being, physical health, mental health, and nancial well-being. ese questions are tailored and written in a way that is actionable, so that people at the College get the response and can intervene in a much more robust way,” Sarah said. e response rate for the periodic surveys ranges between 50 and 60 percent of students who received a text. e chatbot complements another online tool, TimelyCare, an app that provides free unlimited telehealth and emergency mental health support. All matriculated, meaning enrolled in a degree or certi cate program, full- and part-time students can enroll to use the service. During the 2021-22 academic year, 280 students posted 1,000 visits. Fi y-seven percent were for mental health care. During the fall 2022 semester, 470 students registered and 544 visits transpired. Another 40 visits were logged during winter session. TimelyCare is available to students from the rst day of the term through the rst day of the subsequent term. Essentially a student who is registered for fall can receive coverage until the following fall term begins (12 months).
place entry, “Luminous,” was inspired by a suggestion to mimic vintage botanical drawings of grapes and vines. “ e hardest part was just allowing myself time to hash out a bunch of dueling ideas,” Matt said. “I received the initial, overarching concept from one of the viticulture students and then started the brainstorming process, which resulted in a variety of design paths. I ended up choosing this label because it was the most attractive to me and t well with what the student was asking for.” Matt, a Canandaigua Academy graduate, did not begin to explore art as a career path until starting at FLCC. “I always was a doodler,” he said. “I love creating and expressing myself and interests through art and design. It just seems like I’m not even doing work. When I did the wine label, it wasn’t really like homework.” Soon, his wine label will begin showing up on two local store shelves. Students in the viticulture and wine technology two-year degree and one-year certi cate programs produce commercial wines that are available at Ryan’s Wine and Spirits in Canandaigua and Pedulla’s Wine and Liquor in Geneva. Orders can also be arranged via online form on the FLCC website at cc.edu/viticulture-center. 12 | THELAKER Serpent to grace FLCC’s 2022 vintages Wines that students will bottle in May will bear the image of a serpent designed by Matthew Neininger of Canandaigua, a second-year graphic design student. e serpent is a ri on FLCC’s lake monster mascot, Flick. Matt’s wrap-around label is designed to look like a faded historic map with a hand-drawn serpent about to bite down on a cluster of grapes an unwitting sherman is using for bait. His drawing was one of 16 entries in the annual contest, in which graphic design students use suggestions from viticulture and wine technology students to develop label concepts. e students present their work and their decisions for using certain colors, fonts and images at the end of the fall semester. e viticulture students then meet to discuss the entries and name a winner. Matt was humbled by the selection. “I couldn’t believe it. e competition was tough, and I knew if I was a judge, the selection would be a di cult one,” he said. e viticulture students provided 10 to 12 possible ideas for a label, yielding a wide variety of designs. Madison Hobbs of Penn Yan took second place with her “Alley Cat” design, inspired by a request for a lighthearted take. Victor resident Audrey Brown’s thirdFirst place: Matthew Neininger of Canandaigua Second place: Madison Hobbs of Penn Yan Third place: Audrey Brown of Victor
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14 | THELAKER Erin Joy Grgas ’22 thought she might go to college later in life. Then the theaters closed. Dancing has always been Erin Joy Grgas’ life. “I started dancing when I was 2 because my sister was in tap and ballet classes, and I wanted to dance with her,” said Erin, 24. “I was immediately hooked and have danced ever since.” WE INTERRUPT THIS DANCE CAREER… WITH A DEGREE alumni spotlight Erin Joy Grgas (pronounced GER-gus) began dancing at age 2.
THELAKER | 15 Erin, who grew up on Long Island and moved to Manhattan at 18, is among FLCC’s newest graduates. She completed her associate degree in kinesiology and human performance in December. e online program turned out to be a silver lining in the pandemic cloud that shut down live performances just as her dancing career began. “I never imagined going to college until a er my dance career, or maybe ever, so this degree is more than a piece of paper for me,” she said. “Before the pandemic, I was living the hustle lifestyle,” she said. “For most dancers there’s no consistency, just a gig when you can, waking up at 6 a.m. and going to an audition, getting out at 3 p.m. to go take a dance class, then going to work.” The shutdown A few months into the pandemic, Erin understood that dancing would have to wait. She had already decided that if she did go to college, she would study physical therapy. “I was seriously injured at 13 years old, and my amazing physical therapy team is the only reason I am able to professionally dance today.” Amid formal ballet training, she had developed tendonitis in her hip and was told she faced an operation that might end her prospects. en, her mother read about the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at NYU Langone Health. “It sparked this joy in me that there are people in the world who care about the arts,” she explained. A friend who attended Empire State College recommended SUNY, and a web search led her to the only two-year online kinesiology degree in the SUNY system. “ e most helpful aspect of attending FLCC has been being able to do my degree entirely remotely. Finding such a strong program structured online allowed me to stay safe during the pandemic, as well as the ability to continue my life here in New York City.” Kinesiology and human performance is the study of human movement and how it impacts quality of life. “Everything about my degree program relates to dance,” Erin explained. “Understanding the anatomy of certain joints will dictate the biomechanics they are capable of, which makes dance moves make sense. e other aspect of this degree that is so helpful is recognizing, treating, and preventing sports injuries. I have had many injuries during my career and now knowing injury prevention and conditioning techniques will make me a stronger and healthier dancer!” The online experience Her courses were mostly asynchronous. She met nursing students in anatomy and physiology HyFlex classes, and she switched from an online to HyFlex statistics class to bene t from the ability to ask questions in real time. “ e tutors in the science Incubator and other academic support programs are amazing tools for online students. ey create a supportive environment that makes an online degree feel less isolating,” she said. With the return of live performances in New York, Erin plans to resume her dancing career. In fall 2022, she danced to “I Got Rhythm,” “Blackbird” and “’S Wonderful” during a celebration of Broadway song and dance at e Town Hall in Midtown Manhattan’s eater District. She teaches and works as an administrative assistant at Steps on Broadway, which o ers youth and elite dance programs. At some point, she plans to resume her work toward a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy. She is looking forward to meeting faculty in person at commencement, including her anatomy and physiology instructor, Amy Fenwick. “She is a superstar. She makes that intimidating, overwhelming course seem so logical and approaches it in such a human way that I felt like I could tackle learning every single body system in six months.” Her advisor was Jeremy Tiermini, professor and coordinator of her degree program. “He has been just one of the highlights of attending FLCC,” she said. “When you come from the dance world, having that sucked away from you, I felt adri . He helped me see that 100 percent we can do this. Let’s go!” – Lenore Friend Photos courtesy of Erin Joy Grgas The what lakes? The Finger Lakes region has been a running joke in Erin Joy Grgas’ family since she first encountered the term in fourth grade and took it too literally. “I could not believe the Finger Lakes were real. There could not be lakes that look like fingers,” she laughed. She has since vacationed in the Finger Lakes during a trip to Niagara Falls in 2019 and looks forward to seeing Finger Lakes Community College for the first time at commencement in May.
16 | THELAKER foundation update An ESL grant has helped 70 students cover basic needs such as housing and transportation in the rst ve months of the 2022-23 academic year. e FLCC Foundation, which raises funds to support students and College programs, applied for the grant to replenish the Student Emergency Fund, which has supported students in nancial hardship for several years. ESL helps local not-for-pro t organizations advance areas of impact ESL has identi ed, for example, e orts that expand individual opportunity. “ e Foundation is honored to accept this donation from ESL to provide emergency assistance to FLCC students,” said Louis Noce, the College’s chief advancement o cer and executive director of the Foundation. “So many of our students face hardships that make it di cult to remain enrolled or focused on their studies. Being able to support our students ts perfectly with the mission of the FLCC Foundation.” ESL awarded the $100,000 grant in September 2022. A total of $55,257 had been distributed by the end of January to 70 students, with 30 grants for housing, 18 for transportation, 11 for books and supplies, and 10 for tuition. Students also received seven grants for utilities, seven for phone or internet costs, and ve for food. Students can receive funding in more than one category, for example, $500 for rent and $75 for internet. Paxton Creek of Canandaigua, a liberal arts major, was among the recipients. “I was struggling to make payments for my online texts. e Student Emergency Fund has helped me continue my studies here at FLCC and will be a reason why I’m graduating this spring,” he said. At FLCC, the Center for Student Well-Being administers the Student Emergency Fund. e Center promotes a holistic approach to student well-being by providing in-person and virtual health and counseling services and assistance with food and transportation. Emergency funds are available for students in good academic standing who nd themselves in need of immediate aid for expenses which would otherwise prevent them from remaining enrolled or completing a degree or certi cate. Funds are granted on a case-by-case basis and are not a substitute for federal and state nancial aid. Students must submit an application and brie y describe the unexpected circumstance that has led to hardship. e sta in the Center for Student Well-Being review the applications, and the Foundation makes nal funding decisions. Students who receive emergency funding are encouraged to complete an online webinar called “Financial Literacy: Smart Money Skills for College and Beyond.” e webinar takes about 25 minutes and explains how to build a budget, track spending, use credit wisely, avoid and eliminate debt, and plan for the future. In addition to the Student Emergency Fund, the FLCC Foundation also maintains the Mary Porcari Brady Nursing Student Support Fund. It assists nursing students facing unexpected expenses that could force them to delay studies or even leave the program. Students can apply for funds through a process administered by the Nursing Department and the Foundation. Other funds for students in crises are the Bridge Scholarship, Dr. Barb Etzel Emergency Loan Fund, and the Jane E. Bachar Emergency Grant, all of which have been in existence for several years. –Lenore Friend ESL provides $100,000 for student emergencies Visit the Foundation on the web: flcc.edu/foundation e FLCC Foundation website o ers information about the 501(c)(3) charitable corporation, scholarships, and the Alumni Association. It also has links to back issues of the Laker magazine and to the College’s Flickr site with thousands of photos of memorable moments for faculty, sta , students and graduates.
Nichelle Camp ’22 Recipient of the Wayne County Health Care and Newark Campus Center scholarships “My time here at FLCC has been nothing short of amazing! I am grateful for the numerous relationships I have made, the connections to some of the staff who work hard to assist me with tasks, and the opportunities that I have had and continue to receive as a student at the College. “Although there were many obstacles to overcome in the short amount of time that I have been a student here, I feel that I can truly say that I turned out better because of those challenges. “I graduated last May with my associate in health care studies, and I am proud to share that I was accepted into the FLCC nursing program! My greatest ambition would be to continue all the way through until I become a nurse practitioner, but for now, I am learning to take things one step at a time and just enjoy the moments that are still yet to come!” THELAKER | 17 e FLCC Foundation awarded more than 170 students a total of $176,000 in scholarships funded by local families, businesses and organizations for the 2022-23 academic year. e Foundation manages more than 100 scholarship funds for incoming and continuing students. Eligibility requirements vary and include criteria such as academic program, veteran status, rst-generation college student, hometown location, demonstration of nancial need, and successful essay completion. ere is one application for all scholarships which lters and quali es students based on their answers. Scholarship awards range from $250 to one year of tuition, currently $5,112. One award is larger: the Farash First in Family scholarshipcovers full tuition, fees, residence hall lodging, and books to one student per year. is special scholarship requires a student to live in Ontario or Monroe counties, be a rst-generation college student, demonstrate nancial need, and respond to essay questions. e application is available online at cc.edu/scholarships. e deadline to apply is April 30. 170 students receive $176K in private scholarships Lucian A. Sacheli ’22 Recipient of the Bill Parham Memorial Endowed Scholarship “I graduated high school in 2019 from Marcus Whitman with the highest honors as a straight-A student with 32 college credits from AP and Gemini courses. I then spent two years attending the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. “But then, into my second year in college at Syracuse, my mom was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. This made me want to leave Syracuse to come closer to home. For the past year I’ve continued my studies, now in engineering science, here at FLCC. “I mention all of this because my struggle at home, worrying about my mom and seeing her ill, is the largest reason why this scholarship is so helpful to me. It’s one less thing to worry about.” FLCC Trustee Santa Abraham and her husband, Matt, created the Geneva High School Alumni Scholarship and met the 2022-2023 recipient, Calvin VanDerlike, at the Constellation Brands Scholarship Reception in the fall. Calvin graduated at the end of the semester with an associate degree in criminal justice.
18 | THELAKER the 80s Cheryl Ten Eyck ’82 (Liberal Arts, Humanities) taught as an adjunct math instructor in the 80s and then returned to work at the College in 2010. She is now manager of instructional technology services and an adjunct instructor teaching Microso Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Michael Reifsteck ’85 (Accounting) was appointed as the new facilities director at Geneva Central School District. the 90s Amy Brandlin Galens, RN ’94 (Nursing), ’13 (Fine Arts) is currently working at Finger Lakes Area Counseling and Recovery Agency (FLACRA) in the Penn Yan Mental Health Clinic as a registered nurse. In addition, she is using her art skills to relax. the 00s Christopher J. Barnard (Physical Education) transferred from FLCC and went on to earn degrees from both Alfred University and the College at Brockport. He was selected as the new superintendent of Dundee Central School District in 2021. Frank A. Capozzi Jr. ’03 (Liberal Arts, Social Science) has been selected as the new executive director of Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes. He previously spent over 17 years with the Boy Scouts of America in Greetings, alumni! Greetings, alumni! I hope you enjoyed reading the alumni stories in this edition of the Laker. Do you have fond memories of your time at FLCC? Would you like to mentor a current student, plan a class reunion, host a networking event, or help in other ways? We have put together a survey to gather your thoughts. Please take a moment to ll it out at cc.edu/foundation. Look for “Alumni Engagement Survey” on the le side of the Foundation webpage. We also want to share your news, whether it’s the birth of a child, an engagement or wedding, a new job, a promotion or retirement. Did you become a 46er in the last year? Start a business? Enter your updates on a form at cc.edu/alumni-association or email alumni@ cc.edu. Finally, I hope you will join me in making a donation on May 5, FLCC’s annual Laker Day of Giving. Contributions ful ll a variety of needs within the College community. It doesn’t take much to change a life, whether it’s a one-time grant to help a student cover rent or a scholarship that covers all their books and fees. As you’ll see in the memorial section of this edition’s Class Notes, receiving a scholarship had an enormous impact on the late Althea Jones-Johnson ’18. She was awarded the omas Topping Adult Returning Student Scholarship, and a year later, the Brian M. Kolb Leadership Award. In 2020, she and a classmate, Samantha Maniscola ’18, started the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship. “ e scholarships de nitely helped me nancially and motivated me to step out of my comfort zone and see my own potential. I hope we’re able to help others do the same,” Althea said at the time. ank you for all you do to support your fellow alumni and the FLCC community. Regards, Marci Muller ’81 President, Alumni Association CLASS notes Alumni Association P E R K S Premier benefit: For a minimum $100 donation to the Alumni Association Projects Fund, you can audit up to four college credits at no cost (per credit hour cost is now $213). Please note that in-person attendance currently requires COVID-19 vaccination. Email alumni@flcc.edu with questions or to request an FLCC Alumni Association membership card.
THELAKER | 19 a variety of roles, most recently serving as chief operating o cer for Seneca Waterways Council. Kelley Monson ’03 (Networking), ’08 (Information Security) was appointed to the Geneva City School Board. Monson is chief operating o cer and senior vice president at Finger Lakes Federal Credit Union, where she has worked since 2007. Meaghan aine ’04 (Nursing) joined the OB-GYN practice at UR Medicine ompson Health’s Canandaigua Medical Group in 2022. She obtained a bachelor of nursing from Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester and a master’s degree in the family nurse practitioner program at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. Meaghan is certi ed by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and for the past ve years has worked as a family nurse practitioner with Lifecare Medical Associates in Seneca Falls. Ryan Kovar’s FLCC toolbox As the pandemic shutdowns began in 2020, an opportunity for Ryan Kovar ’12 opened up. Ryan, a graphic design graduate of FLCC, got a message from a children’s book author who had seen his work on hireanillustrator.com. A year later, “Wildly Perfect” hit the market, featuring his playful, quirky images to accompany verse encouraging individuality and self-con dence. Ryan gave a talk about his work as an animator and illustrator at the Williams-Insalaco Gallery 34 in December. He honed his own individuality and self-con dence at FLCC before he transferred to Rochester Institute of Technology to study lm and animation. “It was a great transitional period,” he said of his associate degree work. “I learned so many di erent programs and design principles that it provided me a toolbox to be able to pull from when I was doing projects at RIT.” Elaine Verstraete helped him sharpen his illustration style, which embraces the unusual and absurd. “Elaine encouraged me to be myself artistically,” he said. “She gave me the opportunity to learn so much more about illustration and the illustration process. A lot of what she taught I still remember to this day. She was a big in uence.” John Fox showed him how to make an animation sequence. “It was really cool that he gave me and others a chance to get a taste for that before moving on to RIT, where I studied it full-time. It de nitely reinforced that I do enjoy this and I can do this, and I’ll get better in the future.” Ryan took sculpture with Barron Naegel, who organized his recent gallery show, and graphic design with Liz Brownell. “She helped me a lot with understanding the concept of design and transitioning from traditional to digital,” he said. Since graduating from RIT in 2016, he has created a range of art as a freelancer, from magazines and print advertising to short lms and a cartoon series. Ryan o en gives animals a comical aspect with unusual colors and human expressions, and he draws outlandish creatures with odd mixes of tentacles, eyes, ns and feathers. “I specialize in creating fun, whimsical illustrations of cartoon characters, animals and fantastical other-worldly creatures,” he said. “Making the unusual relatable is what drives me to create.” In addition to “Wildly Perfect,” with text by Brooke McMahan, Ryan also illustrated “Wake the Wolf ” by Maurizio Lippiello. See more of Ryan’s work at ryankovar.com and on Instagram: @kovarcreations. Ryan Kovar ’12 exhibited his work at the Williams-Insalaco Gallery 34 at the main campus in December. PHOTO BY RIKKI VAN CAMP
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