_{Mount Saint Mary College student volunteers gather up donations to deliver during the college’s annual Thanksgiving food drive on November 20, 2017.} 

Mount Saint Mary College students donated a whopping $2,000-plus worth of food on Monday, November 20, helping to feed local people in need this Thanksgiving. 

The initiative, spearheaded by the college’s Campus Ministry, delivered the food to Newburgh’s First United Methodist Church on Liberty Street for distribution to local families.

Students donated $1,741.65 over five days for the drive, which surpassed the record by more than $1,000. They used the money to purchase food for donation on Monday morning, in addition to items collected on campus over the last three weeks.

Fr. Gregoire Fluet, director of Campus Ministry and Mount chaplain, and Roger May, assistant director of Campus Ministry, thanked the Mount community for their generosity. 

As students helped ready the Thanksgiving feast for delivery, Campus Ministry and the Mount’s Office of Alumni Affairs began hosting a coat drive the very same day. The jackets will be donated to the Newburgh Ministry, which serves both low-income and the homeless population in Newburgh. 

For the Christmas season, Campus Ministry began collecting toys to be donated to local people in need. 

Earlier this semester, Campus Ministry collected hundreds of shirts, dresses, shoes, and more for the storm-ravaged areas of Texas, Florida, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the neighboring islands. 

But the Mount’s spirit of giving doesn’t end with Campus Ministry: More than a dozen at-risk youths from Newburgh and beyond were thankful for food and friendship at the college’s Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Thanksgiving gathering on Saturday, November 18.

_{Volunteers from Mount Saint Mary College’s Big Brothers Big Sisters program celebrated Thanksgiving with area “Littles” on Saturday, November 18.}

The children will be spending Thanksgiving with their families, but the party gave them a chance to enjoy the holiday with their BBBS family as well. According to club president Jackie Hogan of Cornwall-On-Hudson, N.Y., nearly 20 Mount mentors joined in the fun.

The BBBS program is both rewarding and heart-warming as college students invest their time with underprivileged children. Through several get-togethers over the semester, the “Littles” form a lasting bond with their Mount “Bigs.”

Also on November 18, the college’s Aging United student club brought some Thanksgiving cheer to the residents of Montgomery Nursing Home in Newburgh, N.Y. during a visit. Aging United explores opportunities in service, programming, and research in the field of aging and hosts several events throughout the semester. In recent years, it has become a club tradition to visit the nursing home during the holiday season. 

_{Members of the Mount Saint Mary College Aging United Club make Thanksgiving craft projects with residents at the Montgomery Nursing Home on Saturday, November 18. Here, student Sheila Pawelski of Shrub Oak, N.Y. works with resident Julia Paolini.}

_{The annual Vespers service at Mount Saint Mary College, led by Durward Entrekin, is a tradition that marks the beginning of the Christmas season at the college. This year’s Vespers service will take place December 3.}

For the Mount Saint Mary College community, the annual Christmas Vespers service of lessons and carols signals the joyous beginning of the holiday season.

The Mount tradition began in 1974 and has been a cherished part of college’s heritage ever since. This year, the Mount community will gather for Vespers on Sunday, December 3, at 7 p.m. 

On the night of the service, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the Mount huddle together in the beautiful Chapel of the Most Holy Rosary on campus, anxiously awaiting the first strains of the orchestra. 

Throughout the night, the chapel is filled with hymns and traditional songs of the season, including “Oh Holy Night,” “Carol of the Bells,” and “Christmas Day,” as well as Bible passages related to Christmas. Towards the end of the service, the audience joins in singing “Silent Night,” during which the lights are dimmed and the chapel is illuminated with candles. 

The service “speaks to the sense of community, a sweetness and caring for others, that so many at the Mount cherish,” said Durward Entrekin, professor of music and director of the Mount Saint Mary College Choir.

The choir itself reflects this sense of community, with individuals from all over the college joining in. Students from Entrekin’s Voice Workshop course make up the majority of the singers, with the performance marking the culmination of the class. However, the choir also features faculty and staff members, student volunteer participants, and members of the local St. Philip’s Church Choir in Philipstown, N.Y., which Entrekin also directs. Some singers have been participating in the Vespers tradition for decades, he revealed. 

Entrekin takes great pride in heralding the season through the service. “So few things remain the same in our world, but Vespers is one of them,” he noted. Aside from the choral pieces, the program for the service remains the same from year to year, including the readings, prayers, and even some of the song selections.

The music professor, who has been leading the Mount choir for 24 years, has a particular love for singing “Oh, Come All Ye Faithful,” the notes of the dramatic opening hymn ricocheting off the walls as the entire congregation joins in. “It has an emotional high that never gets old,” he said. 

Nicholas Valentine, the former mayor of Newburgh, also eagerly awaits the event each year. The Mount benefactor is a faithful patron of the service – he’s attended every Vespers but one since 1974. And this year, Valentine’s wife, Susan, was selected to give the eighth reading.

The community leader has also been donating the tuxedo rentals for the Mount’s Vespers service for more than 40 years. 

After attending the first Vespers and noticing that the male singers did not have traditional choir outfits, Valentine, who owns Broadway Tailors in Newburgh, approached the choir director to offer his services, and has been doing so ever since.

When it comes to recognition for his kindness, Valentine always protests that he is already well rewarded. “They do Vespers, they don’t have to give me anything else for it!” 

“I never looked at this as a donation,” he added. “This is my choice to give to a place that is very dear to me. The Mount means so much to Newburgh.”

The businessman used to attend the service annually with his mother until she passed away. More than a decade later, he still feels her presence in the chapel at Vespers.

“She used to ask me, ‘When are we going to the event at the Mount?’” he reminisced.  

So what’s Valentine’s favorite part of the service? That’s easy, he says: The solo for “Once in Royal David’s City.”

“The soloist at the beginning still gives me shivers,” the former mayor noted of the iconic opening, which features a single acapella voice from the choir loft. “There is nothing more beautiful than that hymn. It stays with me.”

_{The Mount’s Dominican Scholars of Hope held a Krispy Kreme donut sale earlier in the month to aid relief efforts in Puerto Rico.}

Mount Saint Mary College's Dominican Scholars of Hope recently held a Krispy Kreme donut fundraiser that netted more than $1,000 for hurricane victims.

The funds raised from the on-campus sale will be given to the Dominican Sisters of Hope to support relief efforts for their school in Puerto Rico, which was impacted by recent hurricanes.

The Dominican Scholars of Hope is a nonacademic living and learning community for highly motivated Mount freshmen and sophomores. Rooted in the values of the Judeo-Christian and Dominican heritage of the Mount, it is inspired by the four pillars of Dominican life: study, spirituality, community, and service.

The program is spearheaded by Charles Zola, chair of the Division of Philosophy and Religious Studies, associate professor of philosophy, and director of the Mount’s Catholic and Dominican Institute.

“The generosity of the Mount community was truly remarkable and demonstrates that the Dominican pillars of community and service are integral values of our campus family,” said Zola.

The Office of Counseling Services at Mount Saint Mary College recently launched a new initiative offering students online counseling benefits.

Counseling Services launched The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Interactive Screening Program (ISP) earlier this semester. It is being used in conjunction with the college’s existing online aid and screening programs.

Through ISP, a questionnaire is sent to selected groups of students who are statistically less likely to avail themselves of the college’s counseling services. The Office of Counseling Services is notified when a student completes the questionnaire and sends a personally tailored response via email. 

Students remain anonymous while they interact with the counselors online, discuss the results of the survey, and learn ways that the Office of Counseling Services can aid them. If they wish, students are always welcome to continue the conversation in person. 

The goal is to create a comfortable, safe discussion for students who may otherwise be unlikely to use the Mount’s counseling services, notes Orin Strauchler, assistant dean of Student Support Services and Director of Counseling at the Mount.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in institutions where ISP is utilized, 8-10 percent of students who are sent the link fill out the questionnaire, and 25 percent of those participants engage in a dialogue with a counselor following completion. Additionally, the students who received this counselor feedback were three times more likely to avail themselves of in-person services, and 27 percent were found to be at significant risk for depression and suicide.

Strauchler became aware of ISP through the local Hudson Valley chapter of the AFSP and was assisted in obtaining a program fee waiver by former Mount counselor Tamara Battiste-Locke. Mount counselors Caitlin Cassidy-Kramer and Benjamin Greenwald are overseeing the program.

Strauchler is passionate about his work, and his counseling promotion efforts extend beyond the Mount. He recently presented at the 68th Annual Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors Conference in Denver, Colo. on encouraging college students to “be brave” when it comes to talking about difficult subjects, including mental health.

Mount Saint Mary College is dedicated to the mental and physical wellbeing of its students. In addition to the ISP initiative, the Mount’s Student Support Services recently received a $300,000 grant for violence awareness and prevention. Awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice over the course of three years, the grant will be used to fund the college’s multidisciplinary approach to combat all forms of dating, domestic, and sexual violence/stalking on campus and beyond. The program will increase students’ knowledge on how to identify, prevent, and report violence. It will benefit all students, with particular attention paid to the needs of historically underserved populations.

In addition, through a partnership between the Mount and Safe Homes of Orange County, Safe Homes volunteers came to the campus twice in November to provide a confidential support group for survivors of sexual, relationship, and domestic violence and stalking.

_{Mount students sing in front of the college’s Christmas tree.} 

Mount Saint Mary College students, staff, and faculty got into the holiday spirit at the fifth annual Christmas Tree Lighting on November 28.

Participants sang classic Christmas carols, drank hot chocolate, and were wowed by the elegant tree. Carnival games, an ice-skating rink, and a giant inflatable snow globe for festive photo ops rounded out the night. 

The event was co-sponsored by Student Activities, Campus Ministry, and The Office of International Programs. 

There wasn’t an empty seat to be found at the packed annual Vespers Service at Mount Saint Mary College on December 3. 

The highly-anticipated annual service, which kicks off the season for the college community, features lessons and carols like “Ave Maria,” “Ding Dong Merrily on High,” and “Silent Night.”  The Mount Saint Mary College Choir, which consists of students, faculty, and staff, were joined by the St. Philip’s Church Choir of Garrison to present the performance.

Mount Professor of Music Durward Entrekin has been conducting and organizing the Vespers Service for the past 24 years.

Aside from the choral pieces, the program for the service remains the same from year to year, including the readings, prayers, and even some of the song selections.

“So few things remain the same in our world, but Vespers is one of them,” Entrekin noted. “It has an emotional high that never gets old.”

The first Vespers at the Mount took place in 1974. Nicholas Valentine, former mayor of Newburgh, was in the audience, and observed that the choir could benefit from classic tuxedos. He has been providing tuxedo rentals for the service from his business, Broadway Tailors of Newburgh, since 1975.
 

Mount Saint Mary College was proud to celebrate three outstanding pillars of the local community at the Eighth Annual Gala Reception on Friday, December 1.

Michael TJ McCormack, principal architect and founding partner of Liscum McCormack VanVoorhis LLP; Rick Brownell, owner and president of Freedom Ford Inc.; and Nancy Rossi Brownell, vice president of Putnam for Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley; were honored with the Joseph A. Bonura Award for Leadership Excellence. 

This award recognizes individuals whose professional accomplishments and approach to management reflect the same commitment to quality, concern for neighbors, and shared prosperity that have exemplified the career and character of restaurateur Joseph A. Bonura. The local businessman owns Anthony’s Pier 9 in New Windsor and the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel, among other businesses. 

Nearly 250 guests attended the event, held at the Kaplan Family Mathematics, Science and Technology Center. The Gala raised more than $100,000 in gifts, sponsorships, and ticket sales.

According to Mount Saint Mary College President Dr. David Kennett, the funds enable the college to provide an affordable, values-based education to thousands of deserving students, many of whom are among the first in their families to attend college.

It’s a noble pursuit, said honoree Nancy Rossi Brownell. 

“I’m proud to know that our support and your support make it possible for students of all economic levels to fulfil their dreams of a four-year, faith-based, private college education,” she explained, adding that about one third of Mount scholars are first-generation college students. “Events like this make dreams like that come true.”

In addition to her support of the Mount, Nancy serves on the boards of the Foundation for Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Hudson Valley Hospice Foundation, the Estate Planning Council of Putnam County, and as vice president for the Garden Club of Orange and Dutchess. She is a member of the Cold Spring Chamber of Commerce, Greater Mahopac-Carmel Chamber of Commerce, and the Professional Women of Putnam. 

Service is one of the Brownell family’s greatest joys, noted honoree Rick Brownell. The Hudson Valley “has given us the opportunity for much success, a great life, and a wonderful place to raise our two boys,” he explained, “so it’s natural for Nancy and me to give back to the community that has given so much to us.”

Rick currently serves as president of the Beacon Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, Beacon Elks Club, Beacon Sloop Club, New Hamburg Yacht Club, and as a member of the National Auto Dealers Association. He volunteers with Topfield Equestrian Center and represented Dutchess County in the Tenth Annual Fireball Run, an Amazon Prime reality show that features Hudson Valley locations as part of a race to recover America’s missing children.

Rick previously served on Mount Saint Mary College’s Golf and Tennis Tournament Committee and the Grants Review Committee for the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley.

Honoree Michael TJ McCormack believes that education is a vital tool that forms the foundation of success. 

“We’re here tonight to give back to the community,” said McCormack. “As an architect, that’s really part of my heart – helping something get better. Mount Saint Mary College…has had such a special place in my heart, as well as all the students.”

McCormack was instrumental in designing many local educational institutes and enhancing campus structures for students, faculty, and staff alike. Among these are residential and study facilities for the Mount as well as projects for Marist College, Vassar College, and beyond. 

Working with the Mount over the past two decades on various projects has been an incredible and gratifying experience for McCormick and his firm, he said.

In that same vein, service in an important part of McCormack’s life. He has donated his time to his town, local hospitals, county boards, colleges, and local historical sites, including the Dutchess Community College Architectural Advisory Board; the Town of Clinton Planning Board; the Mid-Hudson Regional of Westchester Medical Center Board; Bannerman’s Island Trust; the Dutchess County Economic Development Advisory Council; the Dutchess Community College Foundation Board; and the Dutchess County Planning Federation. 

McCormack, his wife Susan, and their children are from Dutchess County, which they view as a local treasure. 
 

_{Mount students presented nearly 40 research projects at the recent iROC symposium. Here, biology majors Daley O’Keefe (far left) of Glastonbury, Conn. and Jessica Darin (far right) of Carmel, N.Y. present their project, “Determining the Cluster of the Bacteriophage Cappellism.”}

Mount Saint Mary College students showcased a semester of hard work at the Investigating Research on Campus (iROC) symposium last week.

Students in many majors presented nearly 40 course-related, honors, or independent research projects in poster form to the campus community.

“We really want to show the students the accessibility of research on campus,” explained series coordinator Evan Merkhofer, assistant professor of biology. “Research is a way for students to see a different side of their field.”

The goal of iROC is to “provide a forum for Mount faculty, staff, and students to showcase their research endeavors with both Mount Saint Mary College and the local community in a manner easily understood by attendees,” said Merkhofer. Presentations include research proposals, initial data collection, and completed research projects.

Mount Saint Mary College is ranked a Top-Tier University by U.S. News & World Report, and offers bachelor’s and master’s degree programs for careers in healthcare, business, education, social services, communications, media, and the liberal arts. 

_{Mount Saint Mary College students in the graduate nursing program present their research in poster form.}

Nearly two dozen Mount Saint Mary College graduate nursing students presented original research projects at the college’s Graduate Nursing Symposium on November 28.

As part of the graduate nursing program curriculum, the students developed and implemented research projects in various clinical settings. 

Naomi M. Biviano, RN, BSN, CLC of Milton, N.Y. presented on “Increased Follow-up and Teaching: An intervention for increased medication adherence and blood pressure control.” The graduate student, who is passionate about creating a more personal nursing experience, created a program that defined barriers (such as lack of knowledge, language miscommunication, etc.) that would prevent patients from adhering to their medication plan. With weekly follow-up phone calls that went over medication schedules, Biviano’s method cleared up misconceptions and empowered patients to participate in their own care.

“Patients who are involved are more likely to care” about their health, said Biviano.

Amir Islam, BSN, RN of New Hampton, N.Y. and Laura Guerra, BSN, RN of Florida, N.Y. chose to educate other nurses on proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the workforce. As the pair pointed out, PPE-related problems normally arose not from lack of PPE, but rather incorrect use. Through their research project, Islam and Guerra provided a demo on proper PPE implementation to a group of nurses, testing both prior and post-demo knowledge. The result was a 30 percent increase in PPE knowledge. 

The presentations were a capstone for these students’ research coursework, which had been developed over several semesters. The Mount’s nursing faculty acted as advisors for the students, overseeing the projects’ development and implementation. 

_{Donna Perk, seventh grade social studies teacher at Bishop Dunn Memorial School (center) and Johnna Touma, technology trainer for the Mount’s Office of Information Technology and Project CODE coordinator (right) teach Bishop Dunn students the basics of robotics.}

The engineers held their breath as they flicked switches, hoping to create light. Finally, one yelled out in excitement, “It’s working!”

These masterminds were not seasoned engineers or analysts, however – they were middle school girls from Bishop Dunn Elementary School in Newburgh, N.Y.

Thanks to a grant from the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Mount Saint Mary College’s Project CODE recently hosted a robotics workshop for female middle school students. Project CODE (Creating Opportunities for Digital Education) is one of the college’s latest initiatives, providing technology workshops and training for underserved middle school girls in the City of Newburgh. The workshops, which are coordinated by female technology faculty and staff at the Mount, began in the spring and have previously covered coding, website design, and more.

At the end of the spring semester, the young students in CODE expressed an interest in building their own technology. As a result, Johnna Touma, technology trainer for the Mount’s Office of Information Technology and Project CODE coordinator, applied for a grant from the AAUW to cover the cost of the robotics kits, which were used for the first time at the recent workshop.

The robotics kits, produced by LittleBits, allow students to learn about electronics creation and functionality. When manipulated in certain ways, students can cause the blocks to light up, make sound, move, and more, creating an introduction to basic concepts like switches and electricity. 

Touma, who spearheaded the creation of Project CODE, began the program as a way to encourage young women to consider careers in technology. 

“I think girls – especially underserved girls – aren’t going into technology careers because they have not been encouraged to pursue them and they have no female role models or mentors in these careers to guide them,” Touma said. “Having a wide range of hands-on computer activities may spark an interest and demonstrate that STEM careers are within their reach.”

In addition to Touma, mentors at the robotics workshop were: Smitha Kakkuzhi, assistant professor of Information Technology; Mayde Pokorny, assistant director of Digital Communications; Sharon Mankiewicz, business process analyst; Margaret Quinn, an adjunct instructor in the Division of Mathematics and Information Technology; and Donna Perk, seventh grade social studies teacher at Bishop Dunn Memorial School. 

Frances Spielhagen, professor of Education and co-director of the Mount’s Center for Adolescent Research and Development (under which Project CODE falls), who has done significant research on females in STEM careers, assisted Touma in obtaining the grant and also volunteers her time and expertise to the group. 

Kakkuzhi, who was a nuclear engineer prior to becoming a professor, gave the students some simple, powerful encouragement: “All of you could be engineers, building the newest computer gizmo, and making us proud,” she said. “You could be doing something magical.”

_{LeighAnn Perina of Staten Island, N.Y., a business major and chair of the Student Honors Council, wraps a book during the Honors Program fundraiser.} 

Students from Mount Saint Mary College recently wrapped gifts for customers at Barnes & Noble in Newburgh, N.Y. to raise funds for the Dominican Sisters of Hope.

The students, members of the college’s rigorous Honors Program, volunteered at various times during the busy gift-giving season.

The wrapping service was organized by Marie-Therese Sulit, associate professor of English and director of the Mount’s Honors Program.

_{Roger May, assistant director of Campus Ministry, and Michelle Iacuessa, director of Alumni Affairs at the college, help pack a van with bags of donated coats.}

The Mount Saint Mary College community donated more than 100 coats to the Newburgh Ministry on December 5.

The coats – for men, women, and children – came in all sizes. 

The holiday season will end long before winter’s chill leaves the air, “So a warm coat is a gift that keeps on giving to those in need,” noted Michelle Iacuessa, director of Alumni Affairs at the college. Iacuessa helped spearhead the donation campaign, which ran on campus from November 20 to December 1. 

“I’m very proud of the Mount community for helping to collect so many coats,” she added.

The Newburgh Ministry is a culturally diverse, grassroots organization located in the City of Newburgh’s east end. It serves the area’s low-income and homeless populations. 

For years, the Mount has collaborated with the Newburgh Ministry, enhancing both organizations’ service to the community and fostering hands-on learning opportunities for Mount students. The powerful partnership has led to the creation of community literacy programs, countless donation drives, and scores of students who integrate service into the fabric of their education and their daily lives. 

The coat drive was sponsored by the Mount’s Office of Alumni Affairs and Campus Ministry.

_{Mount Saint Mary College students got a helping paw from their furry friends on Wednesday, December 6, at the Kaplan Family Library and Learning Center.}

The end of the semester can be a demanding time for the Mount community, but trained therapy dogs provided a break for Mount Saint Mary College students, faculty, and staff on December 6 at the Kaplan Family Library and Learning Center.

The popular event has become a tradition at Mount Saint Mary College.

Research has indicated that watching, petting, or talking to an animal can lower blood pressure and heart rate. Interacting with animals can also reduce mental distress and lower anxiety levels – for example, during finals for college students.

“The dogs are comforting for the students during this stressful time of year,” explained Orin Strauchler, assistant dean of Student Support Services and director of counseling. “This event makes the students feel a little less tense and tired.”

“Wagging Tails Stress Relief” was co-sponsored by the Mount Saint Mary College Kaplan Family Library and Learning Center and the college’s Counseling Center.

_{Daniel Dunn, a Mount psychology student and veteran, offered his insight on service animals at Mount Saint Mary College last month. He is seen here with his service dog, Brady.}

The Dominican Center at Mount Saint Mary College was packed during a recent event focusing on veterans and service animals.

Experts discussed the ways in which animals can help in the healing process, as well as the legal rights of veterans regarding such animals. About a dozen veteran agencies shared resources with participants in between the talks. 

And plenty of service animals were in attendance, too. 

Speakers included Marcia A. Jacobowitz of Jacobowitz and Gubits, LLP; Kara Dorsey, president of the Hudson Valley Chapter for Canine Companions for Independence; Charlie Jackson of Blue Line K9 Services; P.J. Leo, a dog trainer; and more. 

Daniel Dunn, a Mount student and veteran, was also featured speaker – but it was his service dog, Brady, who really stole the show. 

Dunn served in the U.S. Navy for nearly eight years. He was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after acting as a first responder to a massive earthquake in Haiti. 

Later, upon being hospitalized for an injury for that required rehabilitation, Dunn discovered that he was in little or no pain when he was interacting with the therapy dog that visited him once a week. 

With this in mind, Dunn obtained a service dog. He was given strong PTSD medications, but they paled in comparison to the effect of his furry friend, Brady.

“Since having Brady, I have not taken a single medication for PTSD,” he explained. “He assists me with everyday things and makes me feel more confident about situations in which I normally would not…he changed my life forever.” 

There’s a misconception that service dogs are only for people with physical ailments, Dunn told the audience. But some wounds aren’t visible, he said, recounting how he is sometimes questioned by customers while he’s out shopping with Brady. One customer said that Dunn didn’t need a service dog because he didn’t have any observable issues.

“Curiosity as to why that person has a service animal is normal,” he said. “However, that person has a right to keep that personal, protected by the American Disability Act. What I hope is taken from this event is the privacy and the rights of both the service dog and its handler so that others can respect them.”

The event was spearheaded by Lisa Galina Alvarez, director of Admissions for Graduate Programs and Adult Degree Completion at the Mount, and Nicole Turner, recruitment and outreach coordinator in the Office of Graduate Programs and Adult Degree Completion. They were greatly aided by Samantha Stobert, First Year Experience Coordinator, and Jennifer Park, assistant librarian for Access and Outreach Services. 

_{Student-athletes from various Mount Saint Mary College sports teams collected 100 gifts for 13 Newburgh families recently. Trevor Purcell, assistant director of Athletics (far left, back row), and Jessica Mushel, director of Athletics, Recreation, and Physical Education (far right) oversaw the program.}

The Mount Saint Mary College Athletics Department is bringing some cheer to 13 Newburgh families in need this holiday season through the Adopt-a-Family initiative.

The program wrapped on December 8 with Mount student-athletes donating more than 100 gifts to the effort. 

Spearheaded by Trevor Purcell, assistant director of Athletics, with aid from Jessica Mushel, director of Athletics, Recreation, and Physical Education, the initiative saw Mount athletes purchasing gifts and other necessities for more than 30 children. 

“Christmas is supposed to be a special time for kids, and the thought of children being disappointed on Christmas morning bothers me,” said Purcell. “So the purpose of this is to put something under the tree and smiles on children’s faces.”

For the parents, the athletes purchased supermarket gift cards to help put a great meal on the table as well. 

Purcell noted that the department is looking forward to continuing the Adopt-a-Family initiative next holiday season as well. 

“We want to make it bigger and better every year,” he said. 

About 20 Mount Saint Mary College alumni kicked off the holiday season with a celebration at the Gardner Farm Inn in Troy, N.Y. on Friday, December 8.

At the inn, run by Mount grad John Hughes ’84, alumni mixed and mingled with Sr. Ann Sakac, OP, former Mount president; Sr. Margaret Anderson, OP ’67, a Dominican Sister of Hope and vice-chair of the Mount Saint Mary College Board of Trustees, and Sr. Patricia Sullivan ‘64, OP, professor emerita of Mathematics.

The event was spearheaded by the college’s Office of Alumni Affairs.

_{Dedicated Mount students, faculty, and staff – including Roger May, assistant director of Campus Ministry (center) – collected more than 650 holiday gifts this season. All of them were donated to Newburgh families.}

Mount Saint Mary College is making the holidays a little brighter for families in need: Through the annual “Giving Tree” event, the community donated more than 650 gifts to the children of Newburgh.

Tags hang like ornaments on the Giving Tree, and written on the back of each is a gift request from an underprivileged child. Mount community members donate the requested items, creating happy holiday memories. 

“The dedication and support of the Mount community has once again made the Giving Tree a success,” said Fr. Gregoire Fluet, campus chaplain and director of the Mount’s Campus Ministry. “May God bless all of you during this holiday season and may God bless all of those individuals who are in need of support.”

Through Giving Tree events, the Mount has donated more than 4,250 gifts to local families in the last six years. 

The program was sponsored by Campus Ministry.

Robin Rosenberg, LCSW, JD, a career counselor with Mount Saint Mary College’s Career Center, recently presented on Chaos Theory at the annual NYS Cooperative and Experiential Education Association conference. 

“The Chaos Theory of Careers is based on the concept that career paths don’t always proceed in a linear fashion, but often have twists and turns, moving in unpredictable ways,” Rosenberg explained. With this in mind, Rosenberg said she “shared with the conference attendees some creative career assessment tools that they can use when working with students to identify experiential learning opportunities.”

The Mount’s Career Center prepares students for varied career opportunities in the Hudson Valley, New York City, the Capital Region, and beyond.
 

About 100 members of the local community enjoyed an afternoon of music by members and friends of the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, December 10 at Mount Saint Mary College’s Celebration of the Season Holiday Concert.

Concertgoers were greeted by Dr. David Kennett, Mount Saint Mary College President, and Joseph Valenti, vice president of Advancement. The concert featured holiday favorites such as “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “Jingle Bells,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” and “Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah.”

In addition to the fun, festive tunes, the celebration featured Christmas and Hanukkah poems read by local community members: 

• “The Christmas Tree,” a poem by Robert William Service, read by Patricia Kurucz Larkin
• “Navidad en Belen” (“Christmas in Bethlehem”), a traditional Spanish Christmas poem, read by Karen Mejia and Jerry Maldonado
• “Hanukkah Lights” a poem by P.M. Raskin, read by Charles E. Frankel
• “Gift of the Magi,” the classic Christmas story by O. Henry, ready by Julia Wheeler ’20, a Mount Saint Mary College Psychology major

Those in attendance showed their great generosity through donating food items to the Mount Saint Mary College Campus Ministry. More than 60 items were collected, which will be donated to families in need in the local community this holiday season. 

_{Mount students taught by Kate Burmon, assistant professor of Criminology (left), recently discussed how restorative justice practices could enhance the Mount’s existing conflict resolution policies.} 

The students of Mount Saint Mary College’s Conflict and Resolution course, taught by Kate Burmon, assistant professor of Criminology, recently discussed how restorative justice practices could be incorporated on campus.

Restorative justice focuses on relationships between community members. It theorizes that when conflict occurs, stakeholders must join together to find a means of restoring balance to the community as a whole. 

“In a criminal context, this means that the victims, offenders, and members of the community work together to find a solution that repairs, as much as possible, the harm done,” Burmon explained. “Restorative practices use dialogue, mediation, and other means to hold offenders accountable for their actions, while also helping them to reintegrate into the community after their responsibilities to the victims and community have been met.”

Presenters Nikolai Marzouka of Marlboro, N.Y. and Simone Marshall of Fayetteville, N.C., noted that restorative justice is not meant to replace existing discipline policies, but to enhance them. 

The students’ research shows that other colleges that have introduced restorative justice practices have seen a reduction in recidivism (reoffending), said Marzouka. 

The Mount launched its Criminology major in the Fall 2016 semester. Formulated by Mount Associate Criminology Professor Jenifer Lee-Gonyea, PhD, the major explores the varied aspects of crime, from victimization and the criminal justice system to exploring society’s response to criminals and the reasons people break the law. Those who complete the Criminology program will have many career options, including positions in law enforcement, corrections, community service agencies, child welfare programs, adult protective services, mental health, and more.