Brockport's Best: The College at Brockport

Christopher Brown
BS in Biology ‘08

Living the “best of both worlds,” Christopher Brown is able to study and travel on a scenic island.  He is currently studying at St. George’s University Medical School in Grenada, West Indies.  Passionate about the excitement and fast pace of the medical field, Christopher is constantly learning new techniques and treatments to better serve his patients.  His valuable experience at Brockport has allowed him to excel in medical school.

“I was extremely fortunate to have taken classes with the many extraordinary professors at The College at Brockport.  They taught me the qualities that a student needs to thrive in medical school,” said Christopher, of Toronto, Canada, who majored in biology with a minor in chemistry as a student at Brockport.  Outside of the classroom, Christopher volunteered in the Emergency Department at Lakeside Memorial Hospital and presented laboratory research at various scientific conferences, including DDW in Washington, DC, and San Diego, CA; NCUR in San Francisco, CA; Ocean City, MD; and RASC in Rochester, NY.

Nancy Caronia
MA in English Literature ‘08

An actress, writer, journalist, director, poet and Tai Chi Chuan instructor, Nancy has lived in Manhattan, on the island of Capri in the Bay of Naples, and in the South of France.  She has won numerous awards for poetry and fiction and published hundreds of non-fiction articles.  She has performed a one-woman show about sculptor Ana Mendieta in New York, and written a play starring Oscar nominee David Strathairn.  After September 11, 2001 she refocused her priorities and decided she wanted to spend more time teaching.  As a fiction writer and degree poet, Nancy first enrolled in the graduate program in Creative Writing.   But much to her surprise—she discovered a new passion—serious scholarship.  “I surprised everybody, including myself,” she says.  “But the level of scholarship within the English department inspired me to change to a Master's in Literature.”  Having completed her degree, Nancy currently teaches in the English department at Brockport while she applies to doctoral programs.

Juan Castaneda
BS in Psychology and Sociology ‘09

A native of Brockport, NY, Juan is a double major in psychology and sociology.  His passion for helping others and his interest in understanding human interaction and society are what enticed him into the two fields of study.

Juan works with the Brockport Migrant Education Opportunity Program as a tutor-advocate, English as a Second Language instructor, and a teaching assistant in their summer school.   The program assists migrant farm-worker families and their children in developing life skills and attaining an education.

Juan’s greatest accomplishment at Brockport has been designing a peer mentoring program that will be implemented for the Department of Psychology.   “The goal is to have upperclassmen help out lowerclassmen in career goals and study skills improvement.   It would be a ‘Big Brother/Big Sister–type’ program.”  Juan continuously proves himself to be an extraordinary scholar.   He is a member of the Brockport Honors Program, Apha Kappa Delta sociology honor society, Psi Chi psychology honor society, and Alpha Chi honor society, which inducts only the top 10 percent of students in each academic field.   Juan plans to pursue his PhD in counseling psychology.

Nikolay Damyanov
BS in Meteorology, Water Resources and Earth Ecience ‘09

A native of Pleven, Bulgaria, Nikolay defines his Brockport experience in just one word – unique.  Damyanov, triple-majoring in meteorology, water resources and earth science, is an international student at Brockport and this is his fourth year at the College.  He is a member of The International Student Organization, The National Honor Society for the Earth Sciences, Alpha Chi and is employed at the College’s Drake Memorial Library Help Desk, assisting other students with their research questions.  He also is in charge of the Brockport Weather Calendar, and has served as an earth science tutor.  Last year he was named the Departmental Scholar in Meteorology.  I was recently accepted into one of the world’s finest institutions, McGill University in Montréal, and I did it with my Brockport degree.  I cannot see any better evidence that Brockport’s environment supports student success.  I feel well prepared for my professional future, and I attribute it all to the College’s ability to show students the way.

Kathy Diehl
Currently completing MFA in Dance

“When I went back to school, I’ll never forget that first day.  It was a snowy winter morning, and I came to class early.  As I walked around the studio, I felt a tremendous sense of clarity.  I knew that then that I was meant to teach in a college setting.  It was quite a feeling, given that I had just resigned from a career that I had been unhappy in for many years.”   After 10 years of working as a social worker at a Rochester Hospital, Kathy decided to take a leap and pursue her true love: dance.  In 2007, she enrolled in the MFA program in Dance at Brockport, which she says “is extremely busy and wonderfully exciting.”  In addition to her studies, she now holds a Graduate Teaching Assistantship. “It has been an amazing experience,” she says.  “I have been able to apply what I am learning in my own coursework directly into what I’m teaching.”  She also is seeing things come full circle.  Her mentor, Tim Draper, introduced her to Brockport years ago and now she will be following in his footsteps.

Jill Libby
BS Water Resources ‘09

On any given day, Jill Libby can be found taking stream samples or analyzing well water for her research in Earth Science at The College at Brockport.  Jill’s passion for Earth Science began as a sophomore in high school when she took a U.S. Geological Survey tour.

Despite being raised on a horse farm outside of tiny Tully, NY (“a town with no grocery store and only two stop lights!”), Jill’s experiences have been far and wide.  Her passion for travel has taken her throughout the United States, as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Cozumel.  Jill also cites fieldwork as a major part of her Brockport education.  Now a junior, she works summers at the Research Foundation conducting studies for the Earth Sciences Department.  “Brockport strikes a great balance between class, field and lab work,” she says.  “I find this incredibly important because that is the kind of work I hope to do in the future.”  She adds, “It takes more then just a degree to get a good job; you need to connect with companies and people outside of the college, and my professors have helped me do that.”

Andrea Macy
BS in Theatre and Journalism ‘10

From Long Island, NY, Macy is a double major in theatre and journalism planning to graduate in 2010.  She also is a student in Delta College, and the publicity manager for the Harlequins Performing Arts Club.

While interning at the Off Broadway New York City show, Forbidden Broadway, she was able to utilize material she learned at Brockport.  “Working alongside professionals in the theater, I was able to make connections between the subject matter being taught in my theater classes and the actual work I was doing for the general manager of the show.”

In the last few years, her interests have shifted to public relations.  “As a double major in theatre and journalism, my classes have allowed me to explore different writing techniques and methods that will prepare me for any career I decide to pursue.”

Babajide Osatuyi
BS in Computer Science/ BS in Computational Science ‘08

Will tsunamis ever be predicted through computer simulation?  Can the universe be explained by the patterns of particle physics?  What role can information systems play in solving real-life problems?

Questions like these fascinate Brockport alumnus Babajide Osatuyi, whose double major in both Computer Science and Computational Science has led to more questions–and to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he is currently pursuing his PhD in Information Systems.

Publishing papers with titles such as “Integrating an Ontological Taxonomy for Standardizing the Scenario–Based Knowledge Accumulator” may seem a long way from Babajide’s home–the multicultural, multi–religious, largely agricultural Middle Belt region of Nigeria.  As an undergraduate Honors scholar, Babajide was given the opportunity to work with Dr. Andoh–Baidoo on original research projects in Computational Science that have since been published in Computer Science journals and presented at the Americas Conference on Information Systems, one of the world’s leading academic conferences in the field.  Babajide says, “I was able to co–author with other scholars and be reviewed by my peers.  It was a great experience that prepared me for graduate study.”

Alinda Pridmore
BS in English with Teacher Certification in Childhood Inclusive Education ‘09

Setting a career goal in second grade may seem a little unusual, but for Alinda Pridmore it was a goal worth working toward.  It was Alinda’s second grade school teacher, Mrs. Daggs, who inspired her to be an elementary school teacher.  What Alinda didn’t know at the time was the multitude of experiences she would engage in along the way that would help her pursue her dream.

One thing that distinguishes Alinda from most students is her aspiration to teach children with disabilities.  “Every day in a special education classroom is different.  My professors at The College at Brockport have taught me how to be effective – even with the most challenging students.”

As a student teacher, she has worked with students having a variety of different disabilities including Asperger’s Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – all with very special and sometimes conflicting needs.  Moira Fallon, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Education and Human Development, helped Alinda overcome the challenges of a special education classroom.  Dr. Fallon taught Alinda about inclusion, a teaching technique that integrates children with disabilities into general classrooms.  “It intrigues and amazes me to see the students change over time, coping and being productive with their disabilities, and how excited they get when they succeed.”