Winter 2018

Challenge Accepted (Extended Online Feature)

salibalr — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 20:02:30 +0000

Challenge Accepted (Extended Online Feature) salibalr Thu, 12/13/2018 - 15:02

Dual-sport student-athlete Jordan Anderson turns competitive fire into a career

A chance attendance of a lacrosse game changed the course of Jordan Anderson’s life.

Anderson ’17 had just wrapped up a very successful freshman year on the Mustang women’s basketball team, earning Rookie of the Year status in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) for her performance as the team’s starting point guard.

“As soon as that last regular season game hit, the next day I was just walking around and thought, ‘what am I supposed to do now?’” Anderson said. “I’m so used to having practice and being busy with sports-related activities.”

Anderson initially considered trying out for Morrisville’s softball team. It was one of the three sports (basketball and soccer being the other two) in which she excelled at Unadilla Valley High School, just outside her hometown of West Edmeston, New York.

But Anderson’s newfound downtime also gave her the opportunity to support one of her dual-sport teammates by attending a Mustang women’s lacrosse home game, where a flood of competitive juices instantly struck her.

“I could have a lot of fun with this,” Anderson recalled thinking as she watched the game from the stands at Drake Field and her determination to make the team kicked in. “I just wanted a new challenge for myself and just have fun and enjoy my moment.”

Entering a sport in which she had never competed and admittedly knew very little about would be no small task, but Anderson was no stranger to overcoming challenges. Since being diagnosed at the age of 3 with 50-75 percent hearing loss in both of her ears, Anderson has used sports nearly her entire life as an outlet to “get in a zone” and focus on her concentration.

“I just view it as something that is a part of me; makes me who I am, to an extent.”

That doesn’t mean it’s been easy. Not always being able to hear her coach’s play call from the sidelines of a basketball game, or sometimes having to compete without her hearing aids due to bad weather during outdoor sports, hasn’t held Anderson back from doing what she loves.

“I understand that having hearing aids can affect one’s life significantly, but I do not view it as a disability,” Anderson said. “I just view it as something that is a part of me; makes me who I am, to an extent. I never said I couldn't do anything because of my hearing loss.”

She attributes that attitude to her parents, Wendy and Steve, who always supported her in whatever endeavor she pursued.

“They have done so much for me and allowed me be the person that I am,” Anderson said emotionally. “They just let me be myself.”

It was no wonder, then, that one of Anderson’s deciding factors in attending ��Ƶ was the opportunity for her parents and family to be able to regularly attend her sporting events.

What they would end up witnessing was one of the most successful runs by a student-athlete in the history of Mustang athletics.

Anderson earned a roster spot on the lacrosse team her sophomore year, becoming a defensive starter by year’s end and helping the Mustangs secure their first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III tournament after claiming the NEAC championship. The following season, she vaulted to the NEAC All-Conference First Team and was named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. She matched both of those accolades her senior year, while also helping bring home another conference title for Morrisville.

That two-day championship tournament held in Pennsylvania caused Anderson to miss her graduation ceremony, but also provided her with one of her favorite Morrisville memories. The team surprised her with a graduation celebration — cap, mock diploma and all — in the hotel lobby.

The next day, Anderson was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NEAC tournament after her lock-down defense helped the Mustangs seal the championship.

“‘Unstoppable’ is the word that comes to mind to describe Jordan,” said Kelsey Van Alstyne, Anderson’s lacrosse coach during all three of her seasons. “She learned the game of lacrosse in a few short months. But that wasn’t enough; she worked to perfect it. The focus and drive she showed every single day was so impressive and such a good example for her peers to follow.”

Anderson left an equally impressive legacy on the Morrisville basketball court. She finished her career as the program’s all-time leader in a whopping seven different categories, registered two NEAC All-Conference First Team honors and led the Mustangs to their first two appearances in the conference championship, all while never missing a single contest in four seasons.

“It was never about individual success for Jordan,” said Morrisville head women’s basketball coach Erin Skaradek, who coached Anderson during her junior and senior seasons. “More than anything, she wanted her team to succeed and would do anything in her control to make that happen. In my 10 years coaching college basketball, I have never coached a harder working or more determined individual.”

Even more impressive: Anderson’s academics never suffered from her commitment to become the greatest athlete she could be. While pursuing an associate degree in sports nutrition & fitness management and a bachelor’s degree in human performance & health promotion (HPHP), Anderson earned Morrisville Dean’s List honors during each of her eight semesters on campus, while also claiming NEAC Scholar-Athlete recognition for both basketball and lacrosse during every season she competed.

Her senior year, she added the prestigious SUNY Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete Award.

“That’s what I love about Division III. It’s not all athletics or all academics, it’s a combination of both,” Anderson said. “In order to be able to strive on the field or court, you should be able to also strive in the classroom.”

Anderson is now excited to get a chance to leave her mark on another Division III athletics program, as she helps build the new women’s lacrosse program at Marietta College (Ohio). She is the team’s first-ever assistant head coach.

“It’s a very different experience that a lot of people can’t say they have done,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity and very exciting. You get to establish a culture.”

The only thing that could match Anderson’s basketball skills was her on-court intensity, a factor which drove her toward pursuing lacrosse as a coach.

“Basketball, for me, is almost too serious,” she said. “Lacrosse is just a whole different learning process. I know I can grow the most if I try to coach lacrosse.”

Skaradek agreed.

“Jordan is always looking to learn so she can excel in her sport,” she said. “When you pursue a career in coaching, you have to be passionate about what you do, and there’s no doubt Jordan has a passion for sport.”

Skaradek and Van Alstyne are both excited to watch their former pupil become a peer.

“Jordan has all the necessary tools to become a very successful head coach,” Skaradek said. “I’m excited to follow her, mentor her and watch her grow as a leader in women’s athletics.”

“I was so proud when she took the position at Marietta and that she had found a love for the game of lacrosse that I have always had,” Van Alstyne said. “It has been wonderful having the opportunity to attend recruiting tournaments with her and I look forward to seeing her on the sidelines this spring.”

Anderson also puts her Morrisville degrees to good use, working as a certified strength and conditioning coach for her lacrosse team and Marietta’s softball team. Thanks to the five different internships she completed as a student, including at Morrisville’s Wellness Center, Anderson feels more than prepared for those tasks.

“I know, without a doubt, that she will excel and be a terrific role model for all the players that are fortunate enough to play for her,” said Van Alstyne, who also served as one of Anderson’s strength and conditioning internship supervisors. “I know whichever path, sport or profession Jordan chooses, she will be incredibly successful and will inspire those around her to be better, as she did with me.”

As she begins her coaching career, Anderson now shares the same message she has lived by with any student-athletes who doubt themselves.

“Just go out there and be yourself,” she said. “Focus on what you want to achieve and use your support system. Just go out there and be you — and work hard, of course.”

“Focus on what you want to achieve and use your support system. Just go out there and be you — and work hard, of course.”

Setting the Mustang Mark

Jordan Anderson is arguably the most decorated female student-athlete in the history of Mustang athletics, racking up numerous academic and athletic accolades while donning the green and white jersey for both the women’s basketball and lacrosse teams during her collegiate career.

Her accolades include:

2016-17 ��Ƶ Female Student-Athlete of the Year, as selected by college’s Athletics Department
2016-17 SUNY Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete Award, as chosen by a panel of athletic directors from across the SUNY system and members of the SUNY provost's office, based on academic credentials and athletic accomplishments
Eight-time ��Ƶ Dean's List honoree
One of three ��Ƶ female student-athletes selected to attend the inaugural North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Women's Leadership Day in 2017
First Morrisville student-athlete to garner NEAC All-Conference First Team accolades in two different sports

Basketball (four seasons)

Selected as team captain during all four seasons
Four-time NEAC Scholar-Athlete honoree (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17)
Two-time NEAC All-Conference First Team selection (2015-16, 2016-17)
2016-17 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III North Second Team All-Star
2013-14 NEAC Rookie of the Year
Finished 2016-17 season as NCAA Division III leader in total assists (203)
First ��Ƶ women's basketball student-athlete to reach the milestone of 1,000 career points, doing so as a junior
Set the NEAC record for most steals in a game (11) during 2013-14 season
Guided the Mustangs to three straight appearances in the NEAC tournament (2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17) and two appearances in the NEAC championship (2015-16, 2016-17)
Finished as the program’s all-time career leader in:
- games played (108 — all starts at the point guard position);
- points scored (1,400)
- assists (515);
- steals (334);
- field goals made (419);
- free throws made (518);
- two-point field goals scored (370)

Women’s Lacrosse (three seasons)

Appeared in 51 games at defense, starting 48
Selected as team captain during senior season
Three-time NEAC Scholar-Athlete honoree (2015, 2016, 2017)
NEAC Defensive Player of the Year selection in 2016 and 2017, becoming the first student-athlete in program history to win the award in consecutive seasons
Two-time NEAC All-Conference First Team selection (2016, 2017)
Named Most Outstanding Player of the 2017 NEAC championship tournament
2017 ECAC Division III North First Team All-Star
2016 ECAC Division III Metro/Upstate First Team All-Star
Set the program’s single-season record for caused turnovers (68) in 2017, and finished third all-time in career caused turnovers (130)

Led the Mustangs to two NEAC championships (2015, 2017) and the program’s first-ever berth to the NCAA Division III tournament (2015), in addition to a second tournament appearance (2017)

Author

Eugenio Mercurio

Published date

December 17, 2018

News Type

Living in Tandem

salibalr — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 19:50:10 +0000

Living in Tandem salibalr Thu, 12/13/2018 - 14:50

Mike ’79 and Stephanie Battisti ’79 have lived their lives in tandem since meeting as undergraduate students at ��Ƶ in the 1970s.

The couple graduated in 1979 and grew their lives together on a maple and dairy farm outside of Morrisville. They shifted gears after their children were grown, starting a new chapter in the Adirondacks.

To celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in 2010, they took a 4,300-mile cross-country trip on a bicycle built for two. Averaging 50 miles on the bike each day, they made their way from Virginia to Washington State, camping in good weather, sightseeing on rest days and visiting most of the roadside diners along the way.

Throughout the trip, as Stephanie updated friends and family on their progress on a personal blog, Mike took notes on a digital recorder with hopes of eventually sharing their story with an even wider audience.

His book, “Tandem Tales,” is filled with the daily details of their monumental journey and serves as a primer for cyclists who might be considering a long-distance adventure of their own.

The final line of the epilogue sums up their trip: “After 30 years of marriage, there may have been an easier way to renew our wedding vows, but we wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.”

A life in tandem

When they met, Mike Battisti was studying animal husbandry and Stephanie was in the natural resources conservation program. After graduation, they settled on Battisti’s family dairy farm outside of Morrisville and raised their four children while working the farm for three decades. Stephanie also ran the village flower shop.

As farming began to wear on their bodies and their grown children decided on other professions, the couple sold the farm and began to plan for a new chapter of their lives. They moved to the Adirondacks, settling in the small hamlet of Jay outside of Lake Placid. Mike now maintains the former Olympic nordic ski trails and biathlon facilities in Lake Placid; Stephanie works as a teller for Champlain National Bank.

They discovered their passion for cycling after attempting other outdoor recreation activities. Hiking, skiing and kayaking didn’t stick, and cycling individually was difficult because the couple rode at different speeds.

“He would ride circles around me,” Stephanie said with a laugh.

They tried their first tandem bike while still living in Morrisville, and although the first few rides were rough (and ended with one rider on the ground), they soon found a rhythm.

“We were arriving at the top of each climb together,” wrote Mike. “We were hooked.”

Their love of tandem cycling grew in the Adirondacks, where they looped the New York and Vermont shores of Lake Champlain.

The idea for the transcontinental trip coincided with their 30th wedding anniversary and was followed with intense research and preparation. The route would take them through 10 states and over the Appalachian, Ozark, Rocky and Cascade mountains.

“The road would be our classroom and we would learn about each state’s people, history, agriculture and geography,” Mike wrote. “It would be a voyage of enlightenment that no textbook could match.”

He dedicated “Tandem Tales” to Stephanie, along with the alternate title “For better and for worse, for uphill and for downhill, as long as we both shall pedal.”

“She put my ring on her finger, her feet on the pedals and her life in my hands,” he wrote in the dedication to his wife.

“She put my ring on her finger, her feet on the pedals and her life in my hands,” he wrote in the dedication to his wife.

From sea to shining sea

They began their adventure in Yorktown, Virginia, with a cycling tradition: dipping the rear wheel of the tandem bicycle into the Atlantic Ocean. Their first days included Colonial Williamsburg and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, and figuring out the logistics of what they had undertaken.

They frequented classic diners for breakfast, where their standard order included the “four building blocks” of their nutritional requirements: bacon, eggs, ketchup and chocolate milk. Dinners were sometimes steak at a local restaurant, sometimes Walmart rotisserie chicken in bed or pizza delivered to the motel. A photo in the book shows the tandem bike pulled into a carport at a Sonic Drive-In, where the couple ordered a chocolate shake and a salad.

They camped about 60 percent of the time in state parks and campgrounds, though the East Coast humidity and heat were brutal. Other nights were spent in motels, bed and breakfasts, and with neighborly hosts found through the WarmShowers.org bicycling community.

On Day 19, they crossed their first state line into Kentucky, where they toured Lincoln Homestead State Park. On Day 26, their odometers hit 1,000 miles, a milestone they marked with their first flat tire of the trip.

The next state was Illinois, where Stephanie cut her hair into a “Dorothy Hamill bob” to better handle the heat and they posed for photos with statues of Popeye. They crossed the Mississippi River on Day 32. The peaks of the Ozark Mountains gave way to the rolling farmland of Missouri and the flat landscape of Kansas. Riding in the rain, they repurposed plastic bags from Walmart as shoe covers.

Their highest elevation — 11,542 feet above sea level — came on Day 55 at the Hoosier Pass in Colorado, one of the nine times they crossed the continental divide. Wyoming came with new breeds of wildlife — prairie dogs, prairie chickens, rattlesnakes and coyote road kills.

They hit the 3,000-mile mark in Yellowstone National Park, and saw Old Faithful erupt on Day 68 as Mike took a rest day for a sore ankle later diagnosed as carpal tunnel of the foot.

In Montana, they savored a “New York hot dog” with sauerkraut and Gulden’s mustard. Big Sky Country offered plenty of scenic vistas along with switchback and hairpin curves downhill. They entered the Pacific Time Zone on Day 83 as they rode into Northern Idaho, where they attended a fly-in breakfast at a local airstrip. Family, friends and colleagues followed their adventures on the blog, chiming in messages of support and asking questions along the way.

“I’ve learned more about U.S. geography in the last three months than I did in all my years at school,” wrote one reader in the comments section.

Washington, the last state before the Pacific Ocean, came on Day 84. On their final descent, the Battistis passed cyclists heading out on their own cross-country

journey.

“It was our turn to cheer them on,” Mike wrote. “It was bittersweet; they were just beginning their adventure, and ours was coming to an end.”

They rolled their front wheel into the waters of the Puget Sound on Day 97, and posted a photo with the caption, “Still in love at the Pacific.” They dismantled their bike to ship home, and took a plane back to New York after celebrating with family for several days in Seattle.

Reflecting on the trip of a lifetime

The Battistis don’t have a specific moment from the three-month journey that they consider a favorite.

“It was all about the journey, not the destination,” Mike said.

One of the highlights was meeting other long-haul riders, who were easily identifiable by the amount of gear strapped to their bicycles.

“Everyone was so friendly and helpful, which was something I had not anticipated,” Mike said. “It really was the highlight of the trip.”

The couple wasn’t immune to the length and physical demands of the trip. Mike describes several emotional moments along the way, but neither of them ever wanted to give up.

“I think a lot of people fail when doing an epic bike trip, because it can be more mental than physical,” he said. “I think we started out with a really good attitude and everything fell into place.”

The payoff for the hard days: one stunning view after another from coast to coast.

“When you’re riding in totally new terrain, around every bend there’s a whole new vista,” Mike said.

They don’t hesitate when asked if they would do it all again.

“In a heartbeat,” said Mike, who is hoping to one day lead a group cycling trip.

“I want to share my love and enthusiasm with other people who maybe don’t have the confidence to do it on their own,” he said. “It’s amazing what people can do if they know they have someone watching their backs.”

Tandem logistics

The bike

A steel-framed Burley “Duet” Tandem, which weighed an estimated 450 pounds when fully loaded with the Battistis camping gear (including a Smokey Bear stuffed animal for their grandson, Elijah).

The cargo

The couple packed as if they were “ultra light” campers, with a MSR Hubba Hubba tent and sleeping pads. The bike’s four panniers (bags designed for long-distance cycling) held minimal clothing and some cold food; the couple did not carry cooking gear and opted for breakfast at diners and dinners at restaurants. They resupplied with prearranged “mail drops,” sending themselves sample-sized toiletries, tires and tubes, Gatorade powder and medication.

The training

Mike spent the winter before the trip doing a lot of cross-country skiing in the Adirondacks as cross-training; Stephanie took a spin class at the local gym. They took some shorter rides in May to get accustomed to the bike saddles.

The route

To plan their journey, the Battistis turned to the Adventure Cycling Association, a nonprofit which publishes highly detailed routes for cross-country travelers. They started on the TransAmerica route from Yorktown, Virginia, to Missoula, Montana, where they intercepted the Northern Tier route to Seattle, Washington.

The Book

“Tandem Tales” is available on amazon.com, $14.95 for paperback. A Kindle version is also available.

Author

Alaina Potrikus Beckett

Published date

December 17, 2018

News Type

Natural-world Passport

salibalr — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 19:41:49 +0000

Natural-world Passport salibalr Thu, 12/13/2018 - 14:41

From her post as a waterfowl researcher at the Forbes Biological Station in Havana, Illinois, Cheyenne Beach ’16 sees the whole country.

She can look east and recall her time as an AmeriCorps volunteer on Chincoteague Island off the coast of Virginia.

She can look west to the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge along the Colorado River in Arizona, where she worked with endangered species in the fall of 2016.

To the north and south she follows the migratory patterns of waterfowl from Canada to Georgia, from East Texas to the West Indies.

The Waterville, New York, native, who commuted just a dozen miles to attend ��Ƶ, has traveled thousands of miles since she collected her natural-world passport in the form of a bachelor’s degree in renewable resources technology from ��Ƶ.

Her post-graduation life has also included a stint at the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge in Coleharbor, North Dakota, where she monitored an endangered bird called

the piping plover.

Attending Morrisville on a presidential scholarship, Beach did three stints with AmeriCorps, the national community service organization, while in college. In her junior year, that service sent her to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Chincoteague Island, Virginia.

Her current job in Illinois allowed her to reconnect with her boyfriend and fellow Morrisville grad Jared Trickey ’16, whose degree in renewable resources technology has taken him down a different path.

“In the last two years, Jared and I have had the most insane experiences,” she said. “But they were mostly separate experiences until now.

“This is the first time we have been able to get a job in the same place together.”

Beach has begun a Master of Science degree program at Western Illinois University while she works full-time in a wood duck telemetry program, banding and releasing wood ducks to track their migratory patterns.

Beach traces everything back to Morrisville, where she recalled bonding with department chair and professor William Snyder — “We were inseparable from the start, and I served as lab assistant in his classes. He had a great impact on my life” — and with professor Brendan Kelly. “All of them (faculty) were awesome in their own ways,” she added.

There is much value in what faculty are teaching students as natural resources careers become more timely and relevant in the wake of climate change, which poses a threat to people, animals and the environment. “The irony is that with all the natural disasters, climate change means that governments have to spend more money

on staffing people who have the skills we are teaching,” Kelly said.

Morrisville’s Environmental Science Department is thriving in this time of change, said Kelly, himself a ’93 graduate of Morrisville’s natural resources conservation

program who went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry and a Master of Science degree in natural resources from

the University of New Hampshire. “The blessing is to be hands-on. We’re tech-heavy, and that’s what sets us apart.”

Thanks to its close ties to government and industry, the department also gives its students experience with log loaders, surveying equipment, trucks and heavy equipment of all sizes and descriptions, and the state-of-the-art lab equipment they’ll use in the field.

Graduates are using their myriad skills in many ways.

In the summer of 2017, Trickey, from Redwood, New York, was working for the Idaho Department of Fish & Game out of the Lewiston Office, located near Nez Perce, Idaho and the Clearwater National Forest. The region contains the largest wilderness and primitive areas in the lower 48 states, accessible only by foot, boat or horseback, and Trickey’s job as part of a small team was to monitor the wolf population in the mountains.

Wolf management out west is a big deal, Trickey noted. “They place trail cameras in grid formations. They test the DNA of wolf scat to monitor diseases and to determine the age of the animals. They tag them to track their travel. It’s an important part of wildlife management.”

He moved on last April to work as an intern with the Nature Conservancy Gulf Fire Project out of Fort Benning, Georgia, above the Florida panhandle. His job there was to set controlled burns that helped eradicate unwanted hardwoods from the land so that long-leaf pines could again take root in their native soil.

A typical schedule for Trickey included four consecutive 10-hour days (he said they’re more like 12- to 15-hour days) with three days off, working deep in the woods amid steep terrain, extreme temperatures, high altitude and, of course, smoke. The Nature Conservancy site said members have to pass the Work Capacity (Pack) Test at the “arduous” level. That means completing a three-mile deep-forest hike with a 45-pound pack in 45 minutes.

After the start of the thunderstorm season brought his work to an end in Georgia, Trickey moved to Illinois to be closer to Beach and to work on waterfowl research in a

biologist position for Pheasants Forever. He continues to get some fire prevention work there.

While Trickey was in Idaho, Morrisville graduate Ryan Roberti ’14 was working just across the border in Montana in the Lolo National Forest as a forest protection officer for the U.S. Forest Service.

Roberti earned his Associate of Applied Science degree in natural resources conservation at Morrisville.

“I think what drew me to Morrisville was a college booth,” recalled the Elmira Heights, New York, native. “I told my guidance counselor I wanted to work outdoors; someone told me to look up Morrisville. I talked to Brendan [Kelly] a lot. I could see it was going to be real hands-on education, not death by PowerPoint.”

Roberti went on to Unity College near Bangor, Maine, to earn a bachelor’s degree in conservation law enforcement. He worked for the Forest Service from May to

November 2017 as a forest technician, obtaining his Forest Protection Officer (FPO) certification. He worked as an FPO during the devastating fire that started with

lightning strikes on Lolo Peak. At one point, he was on a security detail for Ryan Zinke, secretary of the interior, who surveyed the damage wrought by the fire that destroyed more than 53,000 acres over nine months.

“Everyone thinks that you can just pour water on the (fire) line and it will go out,” Roberti said. “The Lolo fire was a great example of a fire at such a scale that it’s more about trying to control it.”

Most wildfires reach such a scale and move at such a speed that they vaporize moderate quantities of water on contact and resist conventional efforts to extinguish

them, Roberti explained. “Unless you’ve been there, you can’t imagine the heat and the speed of a fire. You have to anticipate it and get ahead of it, then cut off its

sources of fuel,” he added.

Roberti said Lolo was also an example of the growing threat posed by climate change.

Roberti has also worked seasonally at Black Hills National Forest on the border of South Dakota and Wyoming. He traveled to Franklin, North Carolina, to attend the Seasonal Federal Law Enforcement Academy for the National Park Service, where he was certified to work as a law enforcement officer at a national park.

Closer to the ��Ƶ campus is Mark Kicher ’16 a Penn Yan, New York, native who received his bachelor’s degree in renewable resources technology. “There are so many opportunities in the natural resources industry, and the program is so diverse,” said Kicher, who worked for a private tree removal company in Massachusetts out of college before returning to his home state to work for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation.

He supervises seasonal staff and prepares the park and campgrounds at Green Lakes State Park near Fayetteville, New York, and at Chittenango Falls State Park,

located just 20 minutes from the Morrisville campus.

He maintains friendships with Kelly, Snyder and the other faculty he came to know at Morrisville. “They gave me all of this,” he said, “and I can say that the classes correlate 100 percent with what I am doing on any given day.”

“I can say that the classes correlate 100 percent with what I am doing on any given day.”

MARk KICHER ’16

Kicher said he has grown fond of the Northeast, and he expects to start within that region — New England and New York — as his career evolves.

In Illinois, Cheyenne Beach sees a different horizon. “I’ve got big plans,” Beach said. “I want to be a waterfowl biologist, to work on nesting habits, nesting behaviors,

brood behavior. I want to move north, maybe to Canada.

“It’s all out there for me.”

Author

Brian McDowell

Published date

December 17, 2018

News Type

From Combat to College

salibalr — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 19:37:34 +0000

From Combat to College salibalr Thu, 12/13/2018 - 14:37

Beyond a tattoo on her left forearm, nursing student Shana Prosser doesn’t advertise her military service. She spends her days in class or clocking in clinical hours at

the hospital, then returns home to her husband and two children in rural Chenango County.

When asked about her time in the service, the petite 30-year-old retired combat veteran rolls up her sweater to reveal a tattoo of a pin-up girl on her forearm with an explosive and an M-16 firearm — the kind she carried during her years in the U.S. Marine Corps. Barbed wire encircles the phrase, “Fight Like a Girl!”

“It reminds me of what I did and where I’ve been,” said Prosser, who got the tattoo after completing combat training.

“I don’t need special treatment,” said Prosser, who is expecting her third child in March and plans to graduate with her two-year nursing degree in May.

Strength runs in her family. Prosser was born on Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas, and grew up in Navarre, Florida, where her father was stationed.

After high school, Prosser declined an athletic scholarship to join the U.S. Marine Corps. She was the first female in her family to join the military.

“I felt like it was my duty to serve my country,” she said. “I wanted to give back before I took care of myself.”

Prosser was assigned the job of combat engineer, a role that includes building, repairing and maintaining structures, roads and power supplies in combat zones.

Prosser was trained particularly in building and detonating explosives for the Marine Corps bomb squad, a job that the self-professed “adrenaline junkie” relished.

“I loved it,” she said of her role on the front lines. She met her husband while posted at Twentynine Palms Air Ground Combat Center in San Bernardino, California; the couple married eight years ago.

Prosser served seven years of active duty before an injury forced her medical retirement. While she can’t give many details about the incident, she said it happened while on active duty overseas.

During a night raid, she was in hand-to-hand combat when she was slammed on her back, injuring her thoracic and lumbar spine.

She refused surgery, and spent a year undergoing physical therapy, medication management and massage therapy. She also lives with post-traumatic stress disorder

(PTSD).

In the aftermath of her injury, Prosser turned her sights on obtaining her nursing degree.

“It was always something I wanted to do,” said Prosser, who drew inspiration from her grandmother and aunt, both registered nurses. “Taking care of people, helping them when they are at their worst — this is where I was meant to be.”

Her planned career path comes as no surprise: she wants to work in the trauma department, drawing on the skills she learned in the military.

“I’ve seen quite a bit,” said Prosser, who was certified to treat gunshot wounds, missing limbs and other injuries common in combat situations.

While the atmosphere in the emergency room might deter others, Prosser said she feels at home in the hospital.

“I work better under pressure,” she said with a grin.

Still, life outside of the Marine Corps hasn’t been easy. Prosser is open about her struggles with PTSD.

“It’s actually harder to be out (of the military),” she said. “Being out in public or in big crowds, that’s not something I can do.”

She turns to the lessons she learned while in the military to help: “You adapt and you overcome,” she said.

She credits her husband and children for helping her overcome the daily challenges she faces.

“It’s still an adjustment for me; I try to take it day by day,” she said. “Without my husband and children, I would not be where I’m at now and thriving.”

Prosser also credits Marine Corps camaraderie with her recovery.

“We are brothers and sisters,” said Prosser, who signs her emails with the Marine Corps motto, “semper fidelis,” which means “always faithful” in Latin.

“We take care of each other, whether you are in the service and active or whether you’re out. It’s a very close family.”

Morrisville Supports Military

��Ƶ has earned the 2018-19 Military Friendly® School designation by Victory Media for its outstanding support to students who have served in the military.

The campus offers a host of educational benefits for eligible students in addition to veterans support services. An active Veterans Task Force, comprised of campus and community volunteers, assists with developing activities and support services to students, faculty and staff with military service and their families.

Author

Alaina Potrikus Beckett

Published date

December 17, 2018

News Type

Digital Detective

salibalr — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 19:31:19 +0000

Digital Detective salibalr Thu, 12/13/2018 - 14:31

Jeremy Dupuis ’16 has a knack for breaking things.

Dupuis infiltrates sensitive, proprietary and protected information on behalf of Ernst & Young, a multinational professional services company and one of the largest

accounting firms in the United States. He is an offensive security consultant, or, as others describe it, a “professional hacker.” The Albany area native never imagined such an exciting profession and a six-figure salary when he enrolled as an individual studies major at ��Ƶ.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Dupuis, who began his job at Ernst & Young in August, recalled during a telephone interview from his Houston, Texas apartment. “All my friends on campus were IT guys. We worked out a lot at the gym — they weren’t the stereotypical computer nerds. They had this confidence about them.”

In high school, Dupuis really enjoyed an elective that taught him about computer hardware devices like switches and routers, and basic computer functions. During

his second semester at Morrisville, he took a 101-level course that covered the basics — Microsoft Office functions, spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations.

Professor Richard Marcoux was impressed by Dupuis’s energy and enthusiasm.

“I remember seeing him at his laptop working on problems on his own,” Marcoux said. “He was very serious about this and picked up the material so quickly.”

“He was pulling me into the IT field without me really knowing it,” Dupuis said, adding that he changed majors to information technology: network administration prior to the start of his sophomore year. After that, his dedication to learning the trade flourished. By junior year, Dupuis found himself continuing extra credit projects even though his grades were solid — mainly for the thrill of new challenges and also to separate himself from his peers.

“When it came to finding an internship, I wanted to stand out,” Dupuis said. “Since my peers and I were completing the same projects, the only way to separate myself was to go above and beyond.”

“He worked independently to push beyond his own knowledge and expand his skill set,” said professor Steve Klingaman, who had Dupuis in his Network Administration, Cybersecurity, and IT Project Management courses. “Jeremy very ambitiously sought and earned the coveted Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) certification.”

“Pretty much the whole company is compromised. We can make them go from heroes to zeroes in a matter of minutes.”

Like many credentials in the computing and networking field, the OSCP certification is something that IT professionals or computer scientists pursue on their own time

and at their own expense outside of their college degree curriculums. These programs are extremely rigorous and difficult. Dupuis said his education at ��Ƶ set him on a path to succeed.

Dupuis worked as a student employee at ��Ƶ’s computer help desk and made a few other stops along the way to Ernst & Young. At his previous job, with

Depth Security in Kansas City, Missouri, he worked as an IT security consultant. Before that, during his senior year at ��Ƶ, he served as an information security engineer intern at Secure Network Technologies in Syracuse, New York. In that role, the ��Ƶ graduate-to-be thought about how defenses could be strengthened by a good offense.

“I was always curious about the opposite,” he said. “What would it be like to try to break stuff?”

After obtaining the multiple Offensive Security certifications (OSCE, OSCP, OSWP), Dupuis found the opportunity to prove to Ernst & Young that he could indeed break

stuff.

He and other members of the company’s Attack and Penetration Team are assigned to visit customer sites and infiltrate their facilities and systems. Most if not all of the

workers at those sites are unaware of the team’s presence. The task involves staking out offices — observing the entrances and exits, the security staff and even the

dress codes for employees. Team members have been trained to make fake badges, impersonate themselves as employees or contractors, and even con their way into areas where they should not be allowed.

“If you stutter or freeze, it’s going to raise some alarm,” Dupuis said. “If we get caught, we’re likely going away in handcuffs.”

Once inside, Dupuis and his colleagues make quick work of completing the challenges assigned to them, which can include obtaining trade secrets, accessing payroll

records, or by becoming a high-privileged user on the corporate network.

“Millions of dollars are at risk,” Dupuis said. “Pretty much the whole company is compromised. We can make them go from heroes to zeroes in a matter of minutes.”

The clients are often alarmed but thankful for the team’s findings, and as a result companies improve the security of their facilities and networks, Dupuis explained.

The job involves quite a bit of travel and long hours as team members often log in more than 75 hours some weeks. So far, he has loved the fast-paced, challenging

environment.

His advice to aspiring hackers and ��Ƶ students: If you work hard, you’ll be surprised how “lucky” you can become.

“You are working super hard for three to five years of your life (in college) to become what you want to become,” he said. “It’s not the end of the world!”

Breaking Barriers

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the median annual salary for information security analysts with a bachelor’s degree and less than five years of experience

was $95,510 in 2017. There were an estimated 100,000 security analyst jobs in 2016, and that number is expected to increase by 28,500 in the next eight years.

��Ƶ offers a minor in cybersecurity that is open to all students. “This minor dovetails nicely with our B.Tech IT programs, especially network administration,” according to professor Stephen Klingaman.

The Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) is considered the most recognized penetration testing certification in the industry. This credential is usually sought by professionals in the computer science, software engineering or information technology industries who previously completed college degrees. Candidates must pass a 24-hour performance-based exam in a virtual network where they are challenged to obtain targets of varying configurations and operating systems in auto work.

Author

Aaron Gifford

Published date

December 17, 2018

News Type

Perfect Harmony

salibalr — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 19:24:06 +0000

Perfect Harmony salibalr Thu, 12/13/2018 - 14:24

Sibell pops her head over the stall door, flattens her nose and pins back her ears. If horses could hand out grades, right now her rider would be receiving a C-minus in

treats.

Message received.

Marcus Livermore, the mare’s obedient servant, rummages through the brushes, combs and hoof picks in his grooming kit and fishes out a peppermint. Sibell nickers at the sound of crumpling candy wrapper.

“She loves treats with a passion,” Livermore said. “She’s very patient. She’ll wait until you’re done with what you have to do but then she digs in begging for treats and

she’s relentless about it.”

They are a good team, the otter-brown mare with the kind eye and the lanky 20-year-old with the ready smile. Livermore rode to a national collegiate championship last May in the individual novice over fences class, the first SUNY Morrisville rider to come home as a national champion and the first to represent the college on the national stage since 2004.

He claimed the title after what head coach Erin Dunn called a “pristine ride” at the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) Finals.

The gold medal he won that day hangs proudly next to the desk in his apartment, a reminder of where he is going and where he has been.

Livermore was 8 when he started riding, a kid from the North Side of Syracuse, New York, who loved animals and begged his parents to take him into the barns at The Great New York State Fair so he could look at the horses. “It came out of nowhere,” he said of the force that bound him early and completely to riding.

He showed locally, then began competing seriously in eighth grade when he joined an Interscholastic Equestrian Association team, the national program for younger riders. He rode well, but never quite well enough, never advancing beyond regionals.

That changed when he came to ��Ƶ. Drive out of the village, past the harness racing track and Western barns, and make a sharp right onto Fearon Road. The low-slung green building with the copper cupola and trotting horse weathervane is the hunt seat training center, home to classrooms, three indoor riding arenas and a breeding wing where stallions are king. Pause for a moment; breathe in the scent of hay and leather and sweat, listen to the soundtrack of nickers and snorts.

Livermore is a junior majoring in equine science and it’s here, where the semester’s cadence is measured in the click of hooves and three-beat metronome of a canter,

that he found the edge needed to spur him forward.

The passion and determination were always there, “the drive to always be better,” Livermore said. “I’m always looking to improve my riding in any way, shape or form.”

What Morrisville gave him were teachers with two legs and four: coaches who challenge and demand but “are always so willing to help,” and horses who hold their riders to a higher standard.

There is Serendipity, Livermore’s favorite in the barn. They share a connection, he said, a bond that includes a similar thermostat: “Neither of us likes the cold.”

And there is Sibell, the big Warmblood with the passion for peppermints. Students are assigned two horses to work with and grow together, and she and Livermore have been teammates for a while. Talk with any rider and they will tell you that mares have definite opinions. Sibell’s is that if her rider doesn’t ask properly, she need not answer.

“She’s very particular about how you ask her to do something,” Livermore said. “She’s not going to give it to you. You have to work for it.”

In the arena, he swings effortlessly into the saddle and the two warm up, threading a class of beginning riders who steal glances as Sibell bends into a turn and Livermore rises fluidly in the posting trot, in harmony with the mare.

Coach Dunn, watching from the rail, nods approval.

Livermore, she said, is a student of horsemanship. “He studies his craft, works on it both inside and outside the ring ... We have a society that wants things fast and

doesn’t want to put in the time. He’s certainly not that.”

Both of his assigned horses must be ridden every afternoon, Monday to Friday, and there are three riding lessons each week, two over fences and one on the flat. Students in the equine science program — Livermore received his associate degree in equine science & management in 2018 and is now working toward his bachelor’s degree — are also responsible for all aspects of horse care. They muck stalls, make sure each of the barn’s 50 horses are turned out daily, do the laundry and handle routine health care. As a junior, Livermore is adding management to his portfolio. As a senior, he is expected to be a leader.

It’s this hands-on experience that sets Morrisville apart, Livermore said. “I recommend Morrisville to anyone who has a passion for horses. There are so many options here, and there’s always somebody ready to help you out … Being in the barn every day is that added plus.”

“I recommend Morrisville to anyone who has a passion for horses. There are so many options here, and there’s always somebody ready to help you out.”

After college he would like to be a professional on the show-jumping circuit, riding for a large show barn. For now, his goal is closer at hand: Back to IHSA Nationals in 2019 with a dream of winning the Cacchione Cup, awarded to the nation’s top collegiate hunt seat rider.

And so there are horses to be ridden, tack to be cleaned, practice to be perfected. Harmony is not a coincidence.

Hands soft — the way she likes them — Livermore asks and Sibell upshifts into a canter. Her ears flick, listening. Livermore guides her quietly, confidently: Head up, heels down, eyes on the prize.

Good to Know

The Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association was established in 1967 by Robert Cacchione, when he was an 18-year-old sophomore at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

Cacchione’s idea was to put competition within the reach of students who didn’t own a horse. His vision lives on in IHSA’s unique competitive format: Riders draw their

horses, provided by the college hosting the show, in a lottery before each class. Schooling is not allowed.

IHSA began with just two colleges competing in hunt seat. Today, there are more than 400 member colleges in 45 states and Canada, and more than 10,000 student riders in hunt seat, Western horsemanship and reining.

��Ƶ competes in Zone 2, Region 3 with 10 other teams including SUNY Albany, Cobleskill and Oneonta and the current IHSA national team champion, Skidmore College.

One famous IHSA alum is Olympic gold medalist Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, who won the Cacchione Cup — awarded to the top hunt sear rider — competing for

Southern Seminary in 1984.

Author

Janis Barth

Published date

December 17, 2018

News Type

Hopped-Up Ice Cream Hits the Spot

salibalr — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 19:02:37 +0000

Hopped-Up Ice Cream Hits the Spot salibalr Thu, 12/13/2018 - 14:02

As the temperature soared into the mid-90s during this year’s Great New York State Fair, patrons lined up in front of Gilligan’s Ice Cream stand.

A large sign touting premium handcrafted hard ice cream enticed fairgoers as they wiped their brows with napkins and fanned themselves to the beat of music emanating from a nearby booth.

Some longed for the decadent refreshment to beat the heat, while others were hopped up to taste test Gilligan’s new frozen concoction: ice cream mixed with beer.

The grown-up treat is an offering from Gilligan’s Ice Cream, an extension of the popular Gilligan’s Island Restaurant open year-round in Sherburne, New York, with the assistance from Morrisville’s Copper Turret Restaurant & Brewhouse, ��Ƶ’s teaching restaurant.

Gilligan’s Ice Cream partners, Andy Lagoe ’92; twin brother, Mike Lagoe; and Gil Hodges ’92, teamed up with the Copper Turret’s award-winning head brewer, Micheal Coons, to perfect the new treat.

Gilligan’s is the first place in New York State to offer beer and hard cider ice cream, thanks to a recent amendment to a state law legalizing the production and sale of ice cream made with beer and cider. Wine ice cream has been legal for about a decade.

The legislation limits the percentage of alcohol in the ice cream to no more than five percent by volume and you need to be 21 to try it. It also requires a label that the

product contains alcohol.

So far, Gilligan’s has churned out three flavors of beer ice cream: Ice Cream Ale, made with plain ice cream and beer; Bavarian Chocolate, a mix of chocolate ice cream and beer; and Double Buzz, a combination of coffee ice cream and beer. All are made with Coons’s signature hand-crafted beer, a dark strong ale made with 100 percent New York malt and hops.

Samples offered throughout the 13-day state fair generated nods and praise, confirmation that the bitter taste of beer combined with the cold summer staple was a match made in dessert heaven. The Ice Cream Ale topped out as a state fair favorite.

“From the first bite of ice cream you know it’s beer, but it has a nice flavor and a smooth finish,” Mike Lagoe said about the Ice Cream Ale. “The ice cream’s sweetness tempers the bitterness of the beer.”

Beer and ice cream is a concept that was years in the making for the Lagoe brothers, who worked at the popular Gilligan’s hometown business many years before purchasing it in 2007. This year, they turned their focus to ice cream production and established their new company, Gilligan’s Ice Cream, along with Hodges.

The lineup of more than 30 flavors, already a hometown hit, gained popularity when the trio added beer. They turned to Nelson Farms, ��Ƶ’s food

processing incubator, to jumpstart their idea and tweak recipes, then enlisted the expertise of Coons.

“Micheal helped us with the technical aspects of beer and determined what would bring out the best flavor with ice cream,” Hodges said.

Gilligan’s challenge was to tackle the tricky chemistry as alcohol changes the freezing point of ice cream, lengthening its freezing time. Beer doesn’t evaporate during the process and moisture can throw off its consistency. But they were determined to get it right.

“Let’s just say there were many late nights eating beer ice cream samples,” Mike Lagoe said.

A lot of time and energy has gone into perfecting the product, whose process and recipe are a secret.

Gilligan’s owners initially went to Coons with samples made with beer from both the Copper Turret and other breweries, as well as cider and wine ice creams that they

had already been making.

“We discussed what worked and didn’t work for ice cream additions and after a lot of discussion and ice cream sensory analysis, we decided to try a few more options with beers from the Copper Turret,” Coons said.

“I was initially skeptical, but it was the existing wine ice creams that both sold me and inspired us all to try stronger, more flavorful beers, leading us to eventually work

with the 11.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) dark strong ale,” Coons explained.

“It was an absolute winner,” he said of the dark brew, rich with aromas of vanilla and oak combined with hints of fruit.

“It’s beer and ice cream. What else could you want?”

- micheal coons

“I don’t think the ice cream beer would be as successful and satisfying without Micheal’s help,” Hodges said.

Getting people to try it was the next step.

The blend of dairy and craft beer hit all of the right taste buds when it was introduced at the prestigious Syracuse Nationals car show at the New York State Fairgrounds and at Taste of Syracuse, Central New York’s largest food and music festival, and the New York State Fair where they blew through nearly 12,000 samples in two days.

The collaboration between Gilligan’s and the college is a homecoming for Andy Lagoe and Hodges, who were roommates while they attended ��Ƶ and worked part time at the eatery throughout school. Both graduated in 1992, Andy with a degree in liberal arts & sciences: mathematics & science, and Hodges in mechanical engineering technology.

Through the years, ��Ƶ had a hand in their accomplishments.

“You don’t realize that you’re building public speaking abilities, learning to engage with people and networking,” Hodges said of the skills honed in college that continue to open doors.

As attention turns to their new product, Gilligan’s Ice Cream is quickly gaining fans. This year, their regular ice cream will be sold in concession stands during the

Syracuse Crunch hockey season at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena.

And more is in the works for the flourishing business.

Just down the road from the restaurant, progress continues on a facility to expand ice cream production, a plan which could eventually lead to distribution outside of New York State and land them in freezers of superstores, drug stores and convenience stores.

As for the future of beer ice cream with ��Ƶ?

They plan to stick with three staples: ale, chocolate and coffee, adding seasonal flavors made with Coons’s beer. “Working with Gilligan’s has been a spectacular collaboration,” Coons said. “Developing products utilizing both beer and ice cream has been fascinating and has provided a great opportunity to learn more about a unique product integration.”

“What’s more fun than selling ice cream and beer?” Andy Lagoe asked.

“It’s beer and ice cream. What else could you want?” Coons added.

Author

Franci Valenzano

Published date

December 17, 2018

News Type

A Celestial View

salibalr — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 18:56:57 +0000

A Celestial View salibalr Thu, 12/13/2018 - 13:56

With love and care, Jerome “Jay” Caretti tends to ��Ƶ’s portal to the stars.

Painted silver and capped with a domed top resembling a silo, the Observatory stands atop a hill off Skyline Drive, on the east side of campus, overlooking Route 20. It is owned by the college and available to both students and the public.

The Observatory houses a 12.5-inch, handmade Schelter Newtonian telescope estimated to be 100 years old. The measurement refers to the instrument’s aperture (which is the diameter, in inches, of its light-collecting mirror and of the body of the telescope itself). It was donated to the college by Colgate University in 1967. Both the facility and the telescope are managed and maintained by Caretti, whose passion for astronomy has powered his continued role of dedicated caretaker beyond his college retirement.

“At least they tell me I’m retired,’’ Caretti said with a smile. He looks younger than his 73 years and is wearing a green ��Ƶ sweatshirt and navy blue NASA cap. “This is just kind of like a hobby for me.’’

Caretti believes the telescope was made by hand and polished sometime between 1900 and 1920. Polishing refers to the process of grinding glass to remove bubbles, pits and grit and create the smoothest possible surface for viewing, Caretti explained. In 2006, he undertook a project to restore its optimum usefulness, with help from students and faculty. He took the telescope apart piece by piece and cleaned, refurbished and reassembled it.

They stripped the body of the scope and members of the college’s Automotive Department repainted it.

A new eyepiece he created with brass matches the time period of the telescope. Parts of the scope had rusted significantly over the years. “The mirror was decrepit,’’ he said, adding that it was cleaned and coated to gain better visibility through it.

More than a decade later, the telescope is still in need of constant tender loving care, Caretti said. Approximately six and a half feet long and more than 200 pounds, it isn’t as sleek and compact as telescopes on the market today, but it has its value for hands-on learning.

“If it’s clear at night, it’s awe inspiring up here.”

- Jerome Caretti

To see the sky, you open the roof of the observatory and rotate it as needed, then point the telescope in the direction of objects to view.

“It’s not a professional telescope, but it’s an excellent teaching option,’’ Caretti said.

Caretti grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and got his first memorable glimpse of the vastness of space through a pair of binoculars. He beams when describing the thrill of

clearly seeing the Pleiades, a star cluster known as the seven sisters, and one of the brightest star clusters in the sky.

That experience helped to cement his interest in science and astronomy, and he graduated to telescopes for stargazing, including some instruments that he has built himself throughout the years.

After high school, Caretti served in the Army and worked for AT&T for a number of years. He joined the SUNY Morrisville staff in 1982 and served as an instructional

support associate in the Electrical Engineering Department for more than 20 years.

He has used this avenue to share his knowledge through lectures on astronomy and related subjects and regularly leads students and members of the campus community on guided nighttime outings to the Observatory.

This semester, Caretti took his love one step further by starting an “Astronomy Interest Group’’ on campus.

Some weeks, the fickle Central New York weather has cooperated and Caretti has taken a small group up to the Observatory to view the heavens through the telescope. Other weeks, he has offered a short presentation in the classroom.

“Unfortunately, the climate in our area doesn’t boast a lot of clear nights,’’ Caretti said. “But if it’s clear at night, it’s awe inspiring up here.’’

Author

Margaret McCormick

Published date

December 17, 2018

News Type