November 10, 2014

Week of November 10, 2014
MVCC honors
our vets during
Veterans Day
ceremony
With the sound of trumpets playing
TAPS in the distance, MVCC held its annual Veterans Day ceremony on the Utica
Campus quad as the American Flag was
flown at half-staff on what could only be
described as a perfect Fall day to honor
the men and women who are serving
or have served in the Armed Forces in
defense of the nation.
Proctor High School’s Junior ROTC
took part in the ceremony by performing
a flag passing ceremony before raising
the main American flag from the half-staff
position to the full height of the flagpole.
Oneida County Executive Anthony Picenti, who is an MVCC alum, was on hand to thank all
the veterans. MVCC President Randall VanWagoner also addressed the audience.
Team MVCC has been conducting a food drive for veterans over the past two weeks. All
donated food will go to help feed local veterans through the Feed Our Vets organization with
items being accepted right up to the start of the ceremony.
MVCC is steeped in tradition of honoring Veterans and employs many men and women who
have served. In honor of these individuals, we have asked them to help us recognize them by
allowing us to list them below.
MVCC employees who have served
• John Coleman (Instructor, Business and Information Technology) Sergeant - U.S. Air Force, 5 years of service
• Karin Capuana’s son, Gary Julian, Sergeant - U.S. Air Force
• Thomas Gleason, Store Keeper Master Chief, Submarine
Corps, U.S. Navy, 20 years of service
• Bill Hunt (Instructor, STEM) Sergeant - U.S. Army, 4 years
active service; 2 years U.S. Army Reserves
• Thomas Jeff (Programmer Analyst) Spec 4 – U.S. Army, 2
years of service
• Bruce Kurtz (Associate Professor, Engineering Technologies
trades) Captain - U.S. Army (1971-78), Pennsylvania Army
National Guard (1978- 81), U.S. Air Force (1982-96), 21.5
years of service
• Leland McCormac (Adjunct) Lance Corporal - USMC Reserve, 5 years of service
• Eugene Militello (21 years at MVCC, retired in 2005) Radioman First Class - U.S. Navy, 20 years of service
• Morris Pearson (Director of Civic Responsibilities) E-5 Ser-
Communitas
geant – U.S. Army Reserves, 8 years of service
• Steven Senior (Associate Professor, Physical Education)
Lance Corporal – USMC Reserves, 6 years of service
• Jim Smrtic (Professor, Psychology and Human Services)
Major - U.S. Army/Army Reserve, 25 years of service
• Renae Sirles (Senior Administrative Specialist I) Staff Sergeant/E6 - New York Army National Guard, 20 years of
service
• Geri Sultenfuss (Senior Office Specialist I, Library) Marine
Science Technician 3rd Class - U.S. Coast Guard, 4 years of
service
• Jack Susenburger (Assistant Professor, Business and Information Technology) Seaman, U.S. Navy, 3 years of service
• John Swistak (Instructor, Mathematics) Staff Sergeant – U.S.
Air Force, 4 years of service
• Jason Yager (Instructor, Business and Information Technology) Senior Airmen – U.S. Air Force, 4 years of service
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Svoboda leaves influential mark on his students
Respiratory care has come a very
long way since Edwin R. Levine, MD,
established a primitive inhalation therapy
program at Michael Reese Hospital in
Chicago in 1943 to treat post-surgical
patients. Today’s treatments are using
cutting-edge technology, which is being
passed onto students in MVCC’s Respiratory Care under the watchful eye of
Professor Chuck Svoboda, MS, RRT.
Svoboda, who has dedicated 18 years
to furthering students in the field of
Respiratory Care, will be retiring from an
illustrious career at MVCC. He joined the
MVCC community in August 1996.
“I am looking forward to spending extra
time playing with my three grandchildren,
having time for my hobbies (fishing, hunting, gardening, and wood working), just
hanging out on my boat, and reading for
personal enjoyment,” said Svoboda, who
was the Clinical Coordinator Respiratory
Care Program at the College.
His students have recognized Svoboda
over the years as an instrumental figure
in their young careers and an inspirational figure as they move through life.
His dedication and service to the respiratory community was recognized back in
2008 when he was the recipient of an
award from the New York State Society
for Respiratory Care.
Over his career at MVCC, Svoboda
has taught Basic Science for Respiratory
Care (RC 101), Cardiopulmonary Pharmacology (RC 103), Principles of Respiratory Care 1 (RC 111), Clinical Practicum 1 (RC 131), Clinical Practicum 2
(RC 232), Clinical Practicum 3 (RC 233),
and Clinical Practicum 4 (RC 234).
“I really worked with wonderful colleagues and I will miss working with our
students,” said Svoboda. “I will miss the
excitement and interaction with the students while teaching.”
Outside of the classroom, Svoboda
has served on various offices and committees. These include President of the
Central New York Chapter of the New
York State Society for Respiratory Care
(NYSSRC) from 2002 – 2004; Board of
Directors member on the NYSSRC Board
of Directors since (2000-2011), President
of the NYSSRC (2006-2007), Executive
Director for the NYSSRC (2008-2010),
and Immediate Past President of the
NYSSRC through December of 2011.
“I have been very active in the continuing education of the respiratory care professionals as Co-Chair of the NYSSRC
Annual Educational Symposium Planning
Committees for many years,” he added.
These include Co-Chair Program Committee for the NYSSRC NE Regional
COPD Symposium at the Sagamore in
Lake George (2008 & 2009), and CoChair Program Committee for the NYSSRC State Symposium, at Turning Stone
Casino (2011 & 2012).
MVCC student wins
Rome scholarship
The Rome College Foundation presented MVCC sophomore
Mandy Perry with two scholarship awards - the Mid-Career
Incentive Award and the Credit Bureau of Utica/Rome College
Foundation Award on Wednesday, Nov. 5.
Perry was one of four recipients (the others from Hamilton
College, Utica College, and SUNY-Polytechnic Institute) who
were honored at the Rome College Foundation Award Luncheon held on the Hamilton College Campus.
Each year, the Rome College Foundation awards $1,000
scholarships to local college students who exemplify achievement, citizenship, and financial need. Perry is currently completing her Nursing Degree at Mohawk Valley Community
College, and plans to graduate in May 2015.
Holiday Helpers Program - Make a Wish Come True
This holiday season Kiddie Campus has once again created our annual wish tree for our children. If you would like to make a
wish come true for a child please stop by the Center and choose a wish star from our tree. Donations will be accepted through
12/8.
Any questions please feel free to contact the Center; 792-5594 or email rsaxe@mvcc.edu.
2
Communitas
1984 EET CREW – The Electrical Engineering Technology faculty and staff gathered for a yearbook photo back in 1984. Some of these personnel are still training future generations here at MVCC.
30 YEARS LATER: The staff of the Electrical Engineering Technology gathered
for a photograph of the current faculty and staff of the program. Seated are:
Glenn Ballard, Instructor; Bob Decker, Professor and Director of Engineering
Technologies. Standing are: Bill Judycki, Professor; Bill Hunt, Instructor; Paul
Halko, Technical Assistant; and Jim Fiore, Professor.
MVCC deep in engineer history
The Electrical Engineering Technology faculty and staff gathered recently to emulate a photograph from 1984, one of which
several of them were also present for.
The College’s engineering programs have a wealth of knowledge with many of the faculty having decades of experience.
In the 2014 photograph, everyone teaches in the Electrical
Engineering Technology program with Paul Halko being the
program’s technical assistant.
Glenn Ballard is an instructor in the Electrical Service Technician program along with professor Bill Judycki and instructor
Bill Hunt. Other present for the photograph were professor Bob
Decker who is the Director of Engineering Technologies, and
professor Jim Fiore.
“I suggested to everyone that we come back in 2044 for
another 30-year picture,” said Fiore, who began his career at
MVCC in 1980 as an adjunct and became fulltime the following
year.
Halko and Decker joined the MVCC team in 1995-96 era with
Judycki shortly thereafter. Hunt and Ballard are the newcomers
in the past several years.
From the 1984 photograph, Walt Davis passed away a few
years after it was taken and an electrical scholarship was established in his name.
“Don Connelly passed away in 2011, but I believe everyone
else is still with us although many have left the area,” added
Fiore, who is seated at the far right of the photograph. “Both
Bob (Decker) and I went through the EET program separately
in the 1970s and had Don Connelly as an instructor. Don
displayed complete mastery of the material and was a consummate teacher.”
A fellow classmate of Fiore’s summed it up by saying, “If you
can’t learn from professor Connelly then you can’t learn.”
Connelly had a strong influence on many of the students who
went through the program. His methods also had an influence
on Fiore’s “own approach to teaching.”
Kiddie Campus Helpers
The children from the Kiddie Campus
made the long trek (they have short legs,
so the walk must have felt long) to Dr.
Barbara Scantlebury’s office to deliver
toys for the Shoe Box Campaign.
The children’s parents purchased
school supplies and plush animals that
will be delivered to children overseas
during the Christmas season. Joining Dr.
Scantlebury was Deanna Ferro-Aurience,
co-chair of Team MVCC, which is helping
to promote this campaign.
Dr. Scantlebury will continue to collect
the boxes, seen behind her, through this
month. For anyone interested in taking
part in the Shoe Box Campaign, contact
Dr. Scantlebury or Ferro-Aurience.
Communitas
3
MVCC’s NJCAA
All-Americans
Lady Hawks win national cross country crown
Three runners finishing in the top five resulted in Mohawk Valley (N.Y.) being
crowned the 2014 NJCAA Division III women’s cross country national champions and
catapulted them to their 11th title. The Hawks were able to ease by the day’s competition as the team’s total score of 63 was above the next comparable team by over 20
points.
Sophomore Stephanie Boucher led the charge for the Hawks as she carried in a
second-place overall finish when she completed the course in a time of 20 minutes,
26.6 seconds. Following soon after were freshmen Mary Manzari (20:47.6) and Annamarie Roberts (20:56.6) who placed fourth and fifth in the championship race.
Other members of Mohawk Valley’s championship team included freshmen Rebecca Laporte who placed 23rd overall with a time of 22:22.6 and sophomore Hannah
West, who ran a 22:40.8 and finished 29th. Freshman Marissa Braun (23:31.2) and
sophomore Katie Evans (23:42.2) also competed for the Hawks and finished 41st and
45th, respectfully. Hawks run to second place at nationals
The Mohawk
Valley Community
College men’s cross
country team raced
out at the NJCAA
Division III Championships on Saturday
to capture second
place in a field of 28
colleges from across
the country.
The Hawks tallied
a total of 92 points
while Harper Community College won
the championship
with 28 points. Third place Howard College of Illinois accumulated 130 points.
The Hawks were led by freshman Barrett Celecki with a fourth place finish in a time
of 28:11. Joining him in the top 10 was sophomore Todd Stevens in eighth place in
28:48.6. Celecki received First Team All-American honors while Stevens earned Second Team All-American honors. Stevens was an All-American for MVCC last year.
Also scoring for the Hawks was sophomore Stephen Paddock in 24th place in
30:05.1, and sophomore Andrew Spagnuolo in 29th in a time of 30:18.2. The fifth runner for the Hawks was Connor Butters in 31st in 30:21.0 who cross the finish line just
before teammate Tyler Beattie in 32nd in 30:21.9.
Submit information for Communitas
to rhaubert@mvcc.edu
4
Female Cross Country
Year: Name
1983: Kathleen Kuhn #
1987: Tammy Rule #
1991: Peggy Larocque*; Donna Talerico
1992: Cindy Saburro; Stacey Ferguson
1993: Christine Sisting; Nancy Cook
1994: Nicole Branck; Melissa Richter;
Christy Collins
1995: Christy Collins; Nicole Branck; Shannon Mahan
1996: Shannon Mahan; Jamie Webster
1997: Jamie Webster; Colleen Peterson*;
Billie Scheible
1998: Colleen Peterson*; Billie Scheible;
Jen Lister
1999: Michelle Nizzi; Patty Phillips
2000: Najda Okanovic; April Wilburn
2001: Christina Raulli; Jillian LaMonte
2002: Janelle LaMonte; Liz LeVan; Stacey
Egbert
2003: Stacey Egbert
2004: Megan Dever
2005: Megan Dever; Julie Burr; Maria
Case; Kim Povec*
2006: Julie Burr; Alyssa Jones
2007: Sara Pick
2008: Sara Pick; Hannah Hoffman; Heather
Vroman*
2009: Hannah Hoffman; Cassie White;
Michelle Page
2010: Savannah Boucher; Cassie White;
Michelle Page; Nicole Hughes; Shelby
Knapp
2011: Savannah Boucher *; Stephanie
Peck
2012: Sara Rifendifer
2013: Andrea Szewcyzk
2014: Stephanie Boucher; Mary Manzari;
Anna Roberts
Male Cross Country
Year: Name
1991: Andy Bach*; Noel Schlict
1992: Rob Quaglia
1993: Mark Kuss
1994: Mark Kuss; Jason Rende; Aaron
Carey; Jason Cooney; Eric Foley
1995: Jason Rende*; Aaron Carey
1997: Lubert Lewis
1998: Lubert Lewis*
2001: Aaron Verminski
2002: Max Bawarski
2003: Mike Keating
2004: Mike Keating; Lukas Aeschliman
2005: Lukas Aeschlimann; Aaron Sirtoli;
Travis Dragoon
2006: Travis Dragoon
2007: Kevin Mulcahy; Celestino Rivera
2008: Kevin Mulcahy; Todd Butters
2009: Todd Butters; Garrett Parker
2010: Jeremy Hogel
2011: Thomas Arcuri; Jordon Hoffman
2012: Thomas Arcuri
2013: Matthew Brooks; Todd Stevens
2014: Barrett Celecki; Todd Stevens
* National Champion; # Division 1
Communitas