Class Notes
Three Westfield State Alumni graduated from the Boston Police Academy in July 2012. Pictured are Steve Hamilton '10 of Easton, Mike Breault '09 of Westford, and Kevin Aldred '09 of Randolph. They credit their success in the program to their Westfield State experience!
Corey Tobin '12 has joined Gilbane Building Company as an Associate Regional Accountant in the Boston Office. Tobin earned his degree in Business Management and joined Gilbane as an accounting intern in September 2012 and has spent the last several months working with the MA SPG team on Special Projects.
Richard J. Marsh '63 passed away on July 18th. While at Westfield State, he served as Vice President of his class, and earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Education. He taught science in the Agawam school system for over 25 years. He is survived by his loving wife, Patricia (Goggin) Marsh '64.
Two alumni now working for NBC! Nicole Nalepa '10 visited Eric Jones '10 on the set of his NBC Sports station in Stamford, CT. Jones made the move to NBC Sports after working for Westfield State's Communication and Media department. Nalepa is a multi-platform journalist with WWLP TV-22 News in Western Massachusetts.
Michael F. 'Mugga' McGovern '73, of Waltham, passed away on July 16, 2012 at his home in Manomet. He was 60. Mike was a lifelong Waltham resident and a 1969 graduate of Waltham High School. Four years later he earned a teaching degree at Westfield State and taught in the Waltham school system until his retirement two years ago. He also coached football and hockey at Waltham High School, Watertown High School and at Newton South High School where he was the head hockey coach.
Seth Richard Gemme ’07 graduated April 27, 2012 from the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical sciences. He graduated first in his class of 134 with Summa Cum Laude and research honors. Upon graduation, he was awarded Department of Emergency Medicine Scholastic Award for most outstanding academic record in emergency medicine, the Patrick Costello award for the highest grade on the written internal medicine exam, the Stephen J. Paolini Award and the John Paroski Memorial Award for his dedication and compassion in patient care, the Bernard H. Smith Memorial Award for the most outstanding performance in the Neurology clerkship, and the Morris & Sadie Stein Award for excellence in neuroscience. Gemme will continue his training and attend residency at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital specializing in emergency medicine. He received his B.A. in mathematics from Westfield State. He enjoys playing hockey and guitar, and spending time with his wife, Chelsie Monkiewicz and their golden retriever.
Debbie O'Brien '03, a teacher at Kelly School in Holyoke, brought her third graders to Westfield State for a day in April to talk to education majors about what makes a good teacher. The collaboration was exciting for all - the youngsters, the teachers-in-training, and the professors!
After more than four years of working and going to grad school in Florida, Kelly Packard '06 recently decided to move back to Western Massachusetts. She accepted a position with Elms College and is excited to be back in the area.
Katie Flaherty White '80 recently travelled to Tanzania. In celebration of her 40th year living with Type 1 diabetes, she was able to collect and deliver blood testing monitors to the outskirts of Shinyanga. Katie is proud to announce that her son, Sean White '10, is currently volunteering in Ndolelejii Shinyanga Tanzania. Sean joined Fr. Donald Sybertz, a Maryknoll Missionary and a native of Weymouth, to compile and enter 55 years of research on African Proverbs on a solar powered computer base. This daunting task consists of organizing and entering boxes of scrap paper scribbled in Swahili and Sukuma languages in order to provide a permanent record of Fr. Sybertz's teachings. Sean lives on the grounds of the village school, spending his days converting young children into Boston sports fans.
Barry Thunberg '88 has been named the new Controller for Linder's Inc., a used car dealership and automotive parts recycling yard in Worcester.
The town of Westborough has posthumously named Stephen Sullivan '92 a Memorial Day 2012 Grand Marshal. Members of Sullivan's family will represent him in the parade and ceremonies on Monday, May 28th.
Mary Cafferty '11, a Communication and English graduate and Commonwealth Honors Scholar, was awarded a $5000 PKP Graduate Fellowship. She will be attending the Creative Writing English Department MFA program at the University of Texas at Austin. Mary was chosen for one of 56 fellowships out of a qualified pool of 191 nominees.
James A. Slattery '53, of Levittown, NY, passed away on Feburary 20, 2012 at the age of 81. He was veteran of the US Army during the Korean Conflict and a past member of the Air National Guard at Westfield Airport. Jim was a Teacher in the Levittown schools for 34 years, he received his Bachelors Degree from Westfield State and Masters Degree at Hofstra University in 1963. Jim retired in 1991 but continued tutoring and teaching GED courses. He was a very active citizen, Boy Scout Cubmaster for 14 years, past President of the Levittown Men's Athletic Asso., helped organize the YOM Community Center (Yours Ours Mine) a sort of YMCA for Levittown residents. As a veteran he was active in the local American Legion Post and was part of a group of veterans giving talks on the Korean Conflict to local high schools on Long Island. He was a docent for the Levittown Historical Society Museum where he set up a program for school children from the district to have field trips to the museum. He was active in the Over The Hill Gang softball league. He loved to read and was a Mets fan, He leaves his wife of almost 55 years, Nancy, and their beloved children.
Bob Culkeen '95, vice president of technology and operations at WJCT public radio and television in Jacksonville, Fla., has been named station manager of WILL television and radio at Illinois Public Media. Culkeen has also been an adjunct faculty member at Florida State College in Jacksonville, teaching broadcast history and multimedia project management. Before taking his position at WJCT in 1998, Culkeen had been assistant director of video services and distance learning at Westfield State University and chief videographer at WUFT in Gainesville, Fla.
When he begins his new job Jan. 9, Culkeen will have primary responsibility for the daily operation of WILL-TV, WILL-AM and WILL-FM, including supervision of programming, production, and engineering.
Culkeen said he’s excited by the opportunity to work at Illinois Public Media, in part because the job combines three areas that motivate him: broadcasting/media, higher education and community engagement. “I love the energy on a college campus,” he said. “It’s constantly changing. With a new freshmen class coming in every year, you have people with new ideas and who want to try new things.” He currently resides in Jacksonville with his wife, Beth Dorsey Culkeen '84.
Capt. Tracey G. Gove 93 was recently appointed as Police Chief for the town of West Hartford, CT. He was named police officer of the year in 1999 and has received the Mothers Against Drunk Driving enforcement award. He graduated first in his class at the Connecticut State Police Academy and received an award for academic excellence. After graduating from Westfield State, he went on to earn a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Hartford. Tracey currently lives in Farmington, CT with his wife and three sons. He has been a member of the police department for 16 years.
Two Westfield Grads tie the knot! Stephanie da Costa Clark '06 and Eric Clark ‘07 wed on July 23, 2011. They were married at St. Mary's church in their hometown North Attleboro and their reception directly followed at Lake Pearl Lucianos in Wrentham. There were over 20 Westfield grads in attendance! Pictured: (top row, left to right): Danny DiCamillo ‘07, Andrea Sandoval Lauzier ‘07, Christina Hanks ‘06, Cat Hanks ‘07, Kerri Donovan MacDonald ‘06, Jill Facchiano ‘06, Courtney Bachand ‘06, Shannon Wilga ‘06; (middle row, left to right): Patrick Gahan ‘07, Emily Ranson Chilton ‘06, Sarah Martin ‘08, Kaitlyn Begley ‘06, Carrie Crowell ‘06, Tim MacDonald ‘05; (bottom row, left to right): Nick Liberto ‘07, Alanna Drury ‘07, Stephanie Clark ‘06, Eric Clark ‘07, Joe Komow ‘07, Mike Begley ‘05.
Maureen Wark '85 is the new Dean of Students at Montserrat College of Art. Wark served as the Director of Residence Life and Summer Programs at Suffolk University for 13 years. Recently, she worked as a consultant to Suffolk University with the office of Budget/Risk Management on policy development and Emergency Action plans and at Curry College in residence life. Wark has also been an accomplished manager of college residence life at Emerson College and Merrimack College. She is an instrumental keynote speaker for college and university residence training seminars. Wark holds four certifications from FEMA, honors for professional accomplishments, and has authored numerous publications and presentations. She earned her BA in Criminal Justice from Westfield State and her MA in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH. Wark resides in Salem with her husband Andrew and new rescue black lab Sadie.
Meredith O'Connor '05 wed John Courtney on October 29, 2011 at the Cranwell Resort in Lenox.
Shannon Green '04 became the bride of Brian Broderick '07 on July 16, 2011 at a ceremony in Northampton. Many alumni were present at the event to wish the couple well.
Pictured are: Back Row: Omarthan Clarke '07, Betty Dely '08, Charlene Beausoleil '09, Jeremy Gould, Patrick Jaehnig '07, Josh Hettrick, Matt Lechter '10, Brittany Suslak '10, Mike Foyle '95, Ben Zavisa '10, and Frank Kuster '07. Middle Row: Stephany George '11, Chaitali Brahmbhatt, Shannon Green Broderick '04, Jennifer Gould, Kathi Bradford, Lisa Donahue '10, Jill Easttey '02. Front Row: Kate Czarniecki '05, Mark Green '06, Brian Broderick '07, Kelli Nielsen '04, Ryan O'Connell '07, Rosemary D. Sevigny '07, and Jessi Hufnagle.
Rosemary Dowling '07 married briana R. Sevigny on October 10, 2010 at the University of New Hampshire. Many Westfield State alumni were present. Pictured are Mike Primeau ’08, Charlie Bain ’11, Shannon Green ’04, Kate Quigley ’09, Kathi Bradford, Rosemary Dowling Sevigny ’07, Julie Kimball ’07, Ryan O’Connell ’07, Kelli Nielsen ’04, Lisa Donahue ’10, Brian Broderick ‘07, Megan Santos ’01, Jill Facchiano ‘06, Kerri Wemmitt, and Sarah Gaetani ’07.
