PEOPLE & BUSINESSES IN THE NEWS
February 23, 2023
THAT’S WHAT HEROES DO
Sweethearts & Heroes, a student empowerment and empathy activation team that aims to prevent bullying and suicide—with a focus on social-emotional health—returned to the Cooperstown Central School District on Tuesday and Wednesday, January 10 and 11. For more than 15 years, Sweethearts & Heroes has presented a program they refer to as “the stop, drop and roll of bullying” to more than two million students in school districts from New England to Hawaii. “We go where we’re needed. That’s what heroes do,” said Sweethearts & Heroes Director Tom Murphy, himself a Cooperstown Central School alumnus.
MULTIPLE MASTERS
Case Wilhelm VanDeValk of Richmondville completed a master of science degree from Clarkson University for civil and environmental engineering. Additionally, James Wait of Cherry Valley earned a master of science degree in physics. Both degrees were awarded on December 17, 2022.
PENNSYLVANIA PUNDIT
Nathaniel Edwards of Morris earned Dean’s List honors at Wilkes University for the fall 2022 semester. To be awarded the honor, Wilkes University students must earn a 3.5 GPA while taking 12 credits.
EAGER EDUCATORS
Gilbertsville-Mount Upton Central School District welcomed the following new teachers for the 2022-2023 school year: Zea Beckwith, LTA high school special education; Rebecca Fuller, pre-kindergarten; Abbey Beaver, school counselor; Cameron Race, middle school/high school physical education; Jeffrey Rhone, Spanish; Amy Favinger, grade 4; Tracy Kokell, middle school/high school math; Susan Phillippe, special education; and Tom Bishop, middle school/high school English.
HONOR SOCIETY HONORS
At the Community Foundation of Otsego County’s first “Student Voices, Student Choices” competition held on November 21, 2022, the Gilbertsville Mount-Upton National Honor Society won a top prize of $5,000.00, which was donated to the Otsego County Backpack Program. The competition was created to foster philanthropy and community leadership among local students. Participants were asked to “identify the greatest needs in their communities, research organizations that address those needs and then present their causes to a panel of local leaders and educators.”
PERFECT PRESIDENT’S LISTERS
SUNY Morrisville released the names of students who qualified for their President’s List, including Jack Shurmer of Milford and Anastasia Majestic of Oneonta. To qualify, students must achieve a perfect semester GPA of 4.0 while completing 12 credit hours of classes.
TREES AND FEES
The Sidney Federal Credit Union partnered with the National Forest Foundation to commit to planting a tree every time a new member joins the credit union in 2023. In 2022, the SFCU gained 10,000 new members, the largest growth of members in its history, raising their overall membership to over 65,000 individuals and bringing total assets over $800 million. The NFF works to engage the American public with the country’s National Forests, leading conservation, restoring fish and wildlife, and promoting responsible recreation by leveraging private and public funding. SFCU membership is available to residents of the following counties: Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Essex, Fulton, Hamilton, Madison, Montgomery, Onondaga, Otsego, Schoharie and portions of Broome, Oneida and Herkimer.
AMBITIOUS ARTISTS
SUNY Oneonta’s Ronica Clarke of Richfield Springs, Kenneth Dukes of Oneonta and 34 other students recently debuted their art exhibit, displayed in the SUNY Oneonta Project Space Gallery. The show, “Art Across Campus: Literature in Translation,” featured painting, drawing, sculpture, blackout poetry and collage art styles from students of Dr. Sheena Mason, assistant professor of English. According to the press release, the contributing students are part of the Postcolonial Literature and Culture: The Americas, Creolization in Literature, African American Women Writers and Postcolonial and Culture: Africa courses.
EARNEST EXHIBIT
The artwork of Olivia Card of Oneonta, Samantha Harvey of Maryland and Dylan Neer of Otego, all area students attending SUNY Oneonta, was exhibited recently in “Black, White, & Full of Color,” a “collective single piece of work created with language-based drawing, blackout poetry, books and PowerPoint.” Displayed in the university’s Project Space Gallery from January 23 to February 18, the exhibit was described by assistant English professor Dr. Sheena Mason as “inspired by the concept of double consciousness and illustrates the questions of societal interpretations of race and the practice of racialization through the lens of racelessness, an overview of contemporary and historical literature on the subject and personal experience.”
COOP TO COLUMBIA
Cooperstown native Henry Wager was named to the Dean’s List at Columbia University for the fall 2022, spring 2022 and fall 2021 semesters. Studying history and economics, Wager maintained a GPA of 3.6 or better while taking 12 or more points of letter credit.
BRAINY BOYLE
Sophia Boyle of Worcester achieved Dean’s List status at Presbyterian College for the fall 2022 semester, part of a list of qualifying students who earned between a 3.3 and 3.9 GPA.
GOLDEN GRADUATE
Lark Kneaskern, of Morris, New York, graduated from the University of New Hampshire in December of 2022 with an MA in History and Museum Studies.
ALVERNIA ACADEMIC
Avery Leonard, of Maryland, New York, was named to the Dean’s List at Alvernia University for the fall 2022 semester, one of 660 Alvernia students to earn the honor. To be eligible for the Dean’s List, students must carry a semester GPA of 3.5 or better and take a minimum of 12 credits.
BSC BOSS
Heather Morris of Maryland, New York was named to the President’s Honor Roll at Bismarck State College for this past fall semester. To qualify for the BSC President’s Honor Roll, students must achieve a 3.5 GPA or better while taking 12 semester hours of classes.
WELCOME COLUMBIA CLASS
The Columbia-Bassett Medical School Program Class of 2025 was welcomed to Cooperstown in January, continuing Bassett Medical Center’s expanded partnership with the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons since the first class of 10 students arrived in 2012. The Class of 2025 has completed their 18 months of pre-clinical training at Columbia’s New York City campus and will spend the next two and a half years based in Cooperstown, gaining clinical experiences. Dr. Tommy Ibrahim, president and chief executive officer of Bassett Healthcare, said, “We are excited to welcome the exceptional students of the Columbia-Bassett Program Class of 2025. They will help create the future of healthcare. We are proud that Bassett, a leader in rural health, is where they will gain invaluable clinical experience. I hope you will take a moment to learn about each of them and welcome them to our community.” The students are Thomas Benz (Cicero, NY), Kishan Bhatt (Edison, NJ), Lindsey Gorsch (Charlottesville, VA), Matthew Johnson (Medfield, MA), Benjamin Lynch (Lyme, NH), Tiana Saak (Grundy Center, IA), Sidney Saint-Hilaire (Elmont, NY), Carina Sirochinksy (Brookyln, NY), Dean Strup (Dublin, OH) and Emma Weatherford (Flower Mound, TX).
HARTWICK HIRES
Hartwick College added two administrators to its team recently, welcoming College Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Officer Alicia Richardson and Dr. Noah Goldblatt, director of global education. Richardson previously worked as a full professor and interim chief diversity officer at SUNY Schenectady County Community College, where she developed “a college-wide strategic plan, professional development and programming activities, and audits of college policies and practices to promote—and eliminate barriers to—inclusion.” Goldblatt was the manager of institutional relations, North America, at Next Step Connection, a provider of experiential learning programs in Asia, where he earned expertise in the “advancement of study-abroad strategies, international education campaigns and intercultural efforts and activities.” Dr. Goldblatt began on January 16 and Richardson will start work on March 16.
EXCEPTIONAL ENGINEER
Matthew Huestis, a junior electrical engineering major at Clarkson University from Fly Creek, was named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2022 semester. To achieve the Dean’s List at Clarkson University, students must maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA while carrying at least 14 credit hours.
DEAN’S DECISION
Anika Buzzy of Oneonta was named to Moravian University’s Dean’s Honors List for the fall 2022 semester. Undergraduate students who maintain a GPA of 3.50 or higher.