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Julia Bies is
good at her job but she wanted to get better.
Enter the
Keuka College Accelerated Studies for Adults Program (ASAP).
A care team
coordinator with Gentiva Health Services, she is responsible
for the general non-clinical operations of the satellite
branch in Auburn.
“I have a
vast array of job duties, of which I have had limited
experience and
exposure,” she explained. “Coordinating home care services
takes more than just a few phone calls with the physician's
office; it takes great organizational skills and the ability
to multi-task. With duties ranging to coordinating these
services with
physician's offices, I also have to make sure that the
correct account is being
billed as well as the correct clinical associate being
paid.”
When she
heard about ASAP, “it sounded like something that would give
me more exposure to the topics in which I lacked knowledge.”
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“With the
focus of the program being placed on the entire
organization, or putting together the pieces that make up
the big picture, I knew that I had found the program I
needed,” she explained.
The
convenience of the course schedules made the program very
appealing, according to Bies.
“I was able
to take classes only one night a week while continuing with
my full-time job,” she said. “I was able to work full time
throughout the program and not fall behind in either work or
school. The accelerated pace gave me the drive to continue
on at just the right pace, so as to not lose interest.”
The small
class sizes and individual attention that goes with them
also appealed to Bies.
Members of the Planetary Storm cohort: Back row, left
to right: Bill Howard, Keith LaSota (faculty member), Thomas Arnold, Joel
Glimpse. Middle: Gwen Ellinwood, Stacey Jackson. Front: Bob
Spinelli, Julia Bies, Angela Carnicelli. |
“Knowing that
the professors would know who I was made the idea of the
program that much better,” she said. “I enjoy being a name,
not just a number.”
Bies, and the
other members of the Planetary Storm cohort (Cayuga County
Community College in Auburn), will receive their bachelor of
science degree in organizational management this Sunday. As
a result, Bies expects more doors to open up.
“There are
many more opportunities out there for me to advance,” she
said. “I have a better understanding of the importance of
each piece of the puzzle within an organization, and what
things I can do to help out in other areas. I am very proud
to have accomplished this milestone.”
Bies plans to
pursue a master’s in management through ASAP.
“I found that the layout of the program fit perfectly into
my busy lifestyle,” she said. “I know that I can continue
on, with only minor modifications in life to complete the
next level, and open up even more opportunities for myself.” |
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Unified
childhood/special education major Samantha Borthwick has
experienced her share of ups and downs the past four years,
including the death of her mother the summer after her
freshman year.
But the
bubbly blond remained positive and focused despite
adversity, and will graduate with honors this Sunday.
Borthwick
is one of only five seniors to be graduating with honors in
education.
In order
to qualify for honors, education students must hold a
cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 and successfully
complete an honors thesis.
“Poverty
and English Language Learners” is the title of Borthwick’s
thesis, which compared the Rochester City School District
with other school districts throughout the U.S. Borthwick
found that communicating with parents and motivating
children were key to their scholastic success.
“Dr.
Andrew Beigel was solely responsible for me completing my thesis,”
said Borthwick. “He introduced me to the idea, pushed me
along on deadlines, helped me edit [the paper], and gave me
a boost of confidence.”
Her mother
is the reason that Borthwick considered Keuka.
“My mom
always said, ‘How about Keuka?,’” said the Weedsport native,
who looked at two other local colleges. “I visited and knew
right away that this was where I was supposed to be.”
And she
got involved right away. Borthwick participated in the
education and special education clubs her freshman year, a
memorable year.
“I pretty
much lived in Davis, though I technically lived in
Saunders,” said Borthwick. “I remember hanging out with my
friends in Davis and going home—to someone else’s home—on
weekends. Keuka is small enough that it is conducive to
making friends.
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I think I
had more friends outside of my major that first year.”
The summer
after her freshman year, Borthwick worked as a TeamWorks!
The Birkett Mills/Keuka College Challenge Experience (ropes
course) facilitator. She later co-founded and participated
in the TeamWorks! Club.
Borthwick—whose
concentration is Spanish—traveled to Mexico and The
University of Carmen on a Field Period led by Professor of
Spanish Michaela Cosgrove her sophomore year. The following
summer, she helped host University of Carmen students
visiting Keuka.
“It was a
great experience to show them [American] culture and Keuka,”
said Borthwick, who remains in touch with her host brother
and sister from her stay in Mexico via e-mail and the
telephone.
Borthwick
said Cosgrove and Beigel “made me want to be the best
educator that I can be, and showed me things that I didn’t
know I could do.”
It is
fitting that the speech she will deliver at commencement is
titled “Don’t Stop Believing,” after the popular Journey
song. Borthwick said it could have been titled “Don’t Stop
Believing… in Yourself.”
“A lot of
people inspire me—family, friends, professors,” said
Borthwick, an officer for Alpha Mu Gamma foreign language
(president) and Sigma Lambda Sigma (treasurer) honor
societies. “I’m going to try to inspire [the audience] to
make a difference.”
Borthwick
has worked her share of on-campus jobs—in Lightner Library,
the Center for Experiential Learning, The Writing and
Tutorial Center (as a Spanish tutor), and with TeamWorks!
She’s also held off-campus jobs: at Heron Hill winery and
The Haven Café.
“I was
running for awhile,” Borthwick admits. “I was always adding,
never subtracting, but I loved it all and couldn’t decide
what to drop.”
Among her
best college memories is 100 days.
“Everybody
participates and it is so nice to see everyone come
together—underclassmen and seniors alike,” said Borthwick,
who also “really enjoyed living in Allen House.”
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Borthwick
and four other women Keuka students earned the right to live
in Allen House their sophomore year. They were the first
students to inhabit the former guesthouse, which is now The
Women’s Center. They formed a group called Wingspan that was
committed to community service.
“The
experience of living with four other women is something I’ll
never forget,” said Borthwick, who has two brothers and a
sister. “We shared a lot of late nights and so many laughs.
“There
were so many random laughs,” added Borthwick. “I never knew
what to expect, especially at brunch, lunch, and dinner.”
However,
there was one constant throughout her four years at Keuka:
roommate and fellow unified childhood/special education
major Jessica Flood.
“We just
clicked from the start,” said Borthwick.
But the
two will be separated after this academic year as they begin
their professional lives.
Borthwick
interviewed for a graduate assistantship at Elmira College
and will find out just days before commencement whether or
not she was accepted.
“If it’s
meant to be, it will be,” said Borthwick. “If not, that’s
okay. I’ll get a job and get to work.”
Borthwick
would like to teach in a third grade inclusion classroom
nearby her family. Third grade was when she knew that
education was the field for her.
“I want to
work with kids, to help them, and make a difference,” said
Borthwick. “I want to see the ‘light bulb effect.’”
The
impending graduation will be “bittersweet” for Borthwick.
“I will be
really proud and excited to have my five-month-old nephew,
very pregnant sister (due in June), brothers and dad there,”
said Borthwick. “I feel like I’ve experienced the whole
circle of life during college—death and now births.” |
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Five years ago, Kelly Baker elected
to pursue a bachelor’s degree in occupational science (OT)
at Keuka College.
“Keuka was the best fit for me,” said
Baker.
Four years later, she decided to
continue her education at Keuka.
For the same reason.
“I hadn’t thought about another
school,” she said. “I was familiar with the professors, the
curriculum, and the school.”
Baker will receive her master’s
degree in occupational therapy at the College’s 98th
commencement this Sunday. She is a member of the first OT
master’s degree class in Keuka history. |
Besides being a good fit personally,
Baker figured staying at Keuka College for her master’s
degree would give her an advantage in the job market over OT
graduates from other schools.
“Facilities are familiar with Keuka
and the kind of clinicians it produces,” said Baker. “I
think Keuka attracts down-to-earth students. My professors
have helped us build on those characteristics by producing
strong but compassionate graduates, which facilities are
looking for.”
One of
those facilities is the Jefferson Rehabilitation Center in
Watertown. During her freshman year, Baker completed a Field
Period at the Center, so she got a feel for what
occupational therapists do on a daily basis, and apparently
they got a feel for her and what skills she could bring to
the Center.
Baker
recently accepted a job with the Center.
“I will
be working mostly with early intervention and pre-school
programs,” said Baker. “Most of the early intervention is
done in the client’s home, while the pre-school program is
on-site. The Center also has adult day programs for
individuals with developmental disabilities, so it’s
possible I’ll be working with that population as well.”
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Baker loves “the fact that I can work
in so many different settings and with any age group.
“Occupational therapists have the
background in anatomy, physiology, and neuroanatomy to be
involved in these services,” said Baker. “Additionally, we
have the ability to make intervention individualized and
functional, helping clients regain independence in their
everyday lives.”
As a senior, Baker took a class on
aquatic therapy and its benefits in pain reduction. She said
that classes such as this are the “best thing” about OT
because it demonstrates the “versatility of the profession.
“I thought it was great that
occupational therapists could provide aquatic therapy, and I
wanted to research it further,” said Baker.
Her research led her to devote her
graduate student scholarly project topic to “The Study of
Aquatic Therapy and its Effectiveness on Reducing Pain in
Adults.”
“Aquatic therapy could be provided
for anyone ranging from breast cancer survivors, to
individuals with physical or developmental disabilities,”
said Baker.
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Daniel Tessoni
Thirty-four
years ago, a soldier in Vietnam urged his fifth grade pen
pal to “study hard in school and learn everything [he could]
about the world in which [he] lived.”
That
soldier was Keuka College Board of Trustees member (since
2003) Daniel Tessoni and the fifth grader was Joel Glimpse,
who will graduate from the College’s Accelerated Studies for
Adults Program (ASAP) with a bachelor’s degree in
organizational management May 28.
Tessoni
was 24-years-old at the time. He had earned a M.S. degree
from Clarkson University only months before he entered the
service in October 1970 (he earned a bachelor’s degree from
St. John Fisher College in 1969).
“I am
supposed to leave Vietnam on May 2, 1972,” Tessoni wrote in
his letter to Glimpse dated Jan. 21, 1972. “That will
certainly be a happy day for me.
“You wrote
and said that you hoped the war would be ended by the time
you are old enough to go into the service,” Tessoni
continued. “Well, I certainly hope so, too. I hope you and
your friends never will be forced into fighting a war as all
wars are so ugly and costly and sad.”
Tessoni
stressed the importance of education to Glimpse: “What the
world needs most is [intelligent people], for if there were
enough intelligent people running countries all wars would
be avoided.”
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Glimpse,
who attended A.A. Gates Elementary School in Port Byron,
N.Y., “never forgot [Tessoni] and always hoped he made a
safe return.”
A resident
of Montezuma, Glimpse graduated high school with a Regents
diploma in 1979.
“I
graduated third in my class of approximately 100 [students]
and received the Bausch & Lomb Science Award from the
University of Rochester,” said Glimpse, who resides in
Auburn. “Unfortunately, I did not take advantage of this
award. Hindsight is 20/20.”
Glimpse
went on to work “several” jobs in his early 20s.
“I was
hired by the U.S. Postal Service and spent 14 years as a
letter carrier,” said Glimpse. “In the back of my mind, I
regretted not having secondary education. My wife encouraged
me to go back to school; I took her advice and began taking
classes at Cayuga Community College. I took one class at a
time and in 1995 I graduated summa cum laude (with an A.S.
in business administration) and was inducted into Phi Theta
Kappa.”
While
delivering mail in Auburn, N.Y., in 1999, Glimpse came
across a Tessoni family member and asked the man if he knew Dan.
The man told Glimpse that Dan was his brother and that he
was teaching in Rochester.
A few
years later, Glimpse made a career change and landed a job
as a field technician with Verizon Communication Inc.
“Verizon
has 100 percent tuition reimbursement—a benefit too valuable
to waste,” said Glimpse.
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So, when
he saw an ad in his local newspaper about ASAP in spring
2004, he signed up for the program—and his wife signed up
for the master’s in management degree program.
“I like
the format of ASAP,” said Glimpse. “[It’s] one night a week
and typically a five-week course length. It is accessible
due to the satellite in Auburn. I’ve also enjoyed the course
work.”
Glimpse
decided to further his education after Keuka and pursue a
M.B.A. He searched the Internet for M.B.A. programs and was
impressed by Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). On its
Web site, he discovered that Tessoni is a RIT faculty
member. Upon meeting RIT officials to discuss the M.B.A.
program, Glimpse told them about his pen pal and they gave
him Tessoni’s e-mail address; Glimpse contacted Tessoni last
fall.
“It was
very emotional for me,” said Tessoni—an assistant professor
of accounting at RIT—of talking with Glimpse more than three
decades after exchanging letters.
Tessoni
earned a Ph.D. in accounting and finance from Syracuse
University in 1986 and is a certified public accountant. He
also owns Value Based Management Associates, a consulting
firm.
Glimpse
will begin RIT’s M.B.A. program (with a concentration in
finance) in the fall. And, since accounting is part of the
curriculum, he may have Tessoni as a teacher.
Glimpse
will no doubt learn some more valuable lessons from Tessoni.
Like he
did back in 1972.
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