Tag Archives: Student Standouts

Hinche Vocational School photo

Communicorps Students Design Vocational School for Haiti

Hinche Vocational School photo
(l-r) Peter Temple; Ryan Smith (Boston chapter of AfH), Will Preskenis, James Eliscar (OSDPC), Fritz Henning, Jason Abram, Jessica Pierre, Estineau Jean (OSDPC), Kristen Guillette, Jacques Parent (OSDPC), Jillian Cornelius (Lynn Roman photo)

One of Haiti’s problems stems from a severe lack of skilled construction workers, a need that became woefully apparent following the 2010 earthquake. For most construction projects, workers are brought in from the Dominican Republic, a somewhat absurd solution in a country suffering from high unemployment. But education in Haiti is not free, making it an impossible dream for many citizens. The drop-out rate is high, leaving many with little education and few prospects for employment. These often travel to the capital city where their lives can rapidly disintegrate.

When Peter Temple, associate professor of architecture, learned through contacts at the Boston chapter of Architecture for Humanity (AfH) that a Boston-based Haitian group, the Organization of Support to the Development of Plateau Central (OSDPC), had hopes of building a vocational school in Haiti’s Central Plateau, he realized that this presented a perfect opportunity for his Communicorps students to step up to a real-world challenge and provide an architectural plan that should offer long-lasting benefit. The OSDPC been given a building site near the Haitian city of Hinche and had begun the necessary fundraising, and the Communicorps students spent the semester designing a vocational school to teach construction trades and auto mechanics. The plan is actually for a small campus of buildings that will include the main school building, a working auto garage, residential housing for teachers and staff, an administration building, and a separate large dining facility, all within a walled compound. With adequate funding, the school will be able to train Haitians in needed job skills that they otherwise could never afford.
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James Lavimoniere photo

James Lavimoniere Earns Year in Germany

James Lavimoniere photo
James Lavimoniere
(Photo by Alison Pantesco)

Political Science major James Lavimoniere has been awarded an all-expenses paid, year-long academic and professional experience in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX), a highly competitive exchange. Funded by the German Bundestag and U.S. Congress through the U.S. Department of State, this program annually provides 75 young professionals who have a strong interest in cultural exchange the opportunity to study, work, and live with a host in Germany. The CBYX program consists of two months of German language school; four months of classes in the participant’s career field at a university, technical school, or professional school; and a five-month internship in the career field. Participants are placed throughout Germany on this scholarship program.
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Too Much Screen Time = Shorter Attention Span

Mia Hulslander
Mia Hulslander

One of the downsides of the digital age is that we spend a lot more time staring at the screen on one electronic device or another. In many cases, too much time. Some of us remember life before the LCD screen, but our children don’t. It’s the only world they’ve ever known. What effects might that be having on them?

In order to find out, a team of students in Assistant Professor of Health Science Marj Droppa’s Behavior Change class conducted a study involving second graders at Keene’s Wheelock Elementary School. Their goal was not only to discover what effects screen time over exposure was having on the elementary students, but also to devise a program that would help the kids reduce their screen time. Screen-time activities included television, computers, video games, and any other electronic device with a video screen.

Christine Smigel
Christine Smigel

As part of the project, the Health Science students conducted a research-based focus group with the elementary students to determine the issues around screen time. The student’s research found that over exposure to screen time resulted in the second graders exhibiting shorter attention spans in the classroom, a decrease in family time, and nightmares. “Our focus group revealed that the second graders had short attention spans due to screen time over exposure,” explained Mia Hulslander, one of the student researchers. “We realized this through the students’ complaints of boredom when they were watching TV and playing video games. They reported never being satisfied with the screen time they were currently watching.”
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Two Students Exhibit Photos in Magenta Festival

Anne Johnson (left) and Anastasia Dubrovina
Anne Johnson (left) and Anastasia Dubrovina

Two independent-study photography students, Anastasia Dubrovina and Anne Johnson, will have their work featured in the 2013 Magenta Festival in Boston this May.

“It’s been amazing working with these two and seeing them develop as young artists,” said Assistant Professor of Art Jonathan Gitelson. “They are two of the most self-motivated students I’ve encountered in my three years at Keene, and I’m so proud of their recent accomplishment. This is a big deal!”
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Jordan Chase: First A&H Student to Win SURF Grant

Jordan Chase
Jordan Chase

When music student Jordan Chase was awarded one of the three available SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship) grants for summer 2013, it was the first time the fellowship has gone to a KSC student in the Arts and Humanities. He will receive $4000 to work on his project, titled “Instrumentation, Orchestration, and Large-scale Composition.”

For this eight-week project, Jordan will create a new composition for chamber orchestra, focusing on several areas of research and composition. He’ll address instrumentation and orchestration, large-scale compositional form, the compositional process itself, and marketing and promoting the piece. His study of instrumentation will require him to learn to play several of the orchestral instruments to make him better able to develop idiomatic compositional ideas. To better understand orchestration, he’ll study works by various composers to enhance his understanding of formal structure. Once Jordan has completed his piece, he’ll send the final score to at least one national competition and contact several local and national conductors in an effort to promote and market it.
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KSC Sends Seven to New England Intercollegiate Band

(l–r) Josh Brennan, Gabe Belluscio, Kathryn Lanouette, Alyssa Comeau, Katey Lundstedt, Kirsten Burrows
(l–r) Josh Brennan, Gabe Belluscio, Kathryn Lanouette, Alyssa Comeau, Katey Lundstedt, Kirsten Burrows (missing from photo: Sam Irvine, trombone)

Seven Keene State College students have been chosen to play in the honors ensemble for the 31st Annual New England Intercollegiate Band: Alyssa Comeau ’13, clarinet; Kathryne Lundstedt ’14, clarinet; Kirsten Burrows ’14, trumpet; Kathryn Lanouette ’15, clarinet; Joshua Brennan ’15, percussion; Sam Irvine ’16, trombone; and Gabriel Belluscio ’15, tenor saxophone. Sophomore Joshua Brennan, a Music Education and Composition major, won a cash prize and was selected to perform a solo work on marimba.

Organized by the New England College Band Association, the Festival will be held at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., on April 12 and 13. It brings the top college musicians from across New England together for a weekend of music making with an internationally known guest conductor. This year, that is T. Andre Feagin, an Assistant Professor of Music and Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Keene State has been represented at this honors festival since it’s start in 1981.

Theatre & Dance Dept. Shines at American College Festival

Michael Portrie beside his display of his work on Private Lives.
Michael Portrie beside his display of his award-winning work on Private Lives.

KSC Theatre and Dance faculty and students carried home an impressive collection of awards and honors from Region I’s Kennedy Center American College Festival, held this year at the Conference Center at Hyannis, Mass., from January 29–Feburary 2.

The Production team from Dracula, including Director Dan Patterson, Costume Designer Mary Robarge, Scenic Designer Tiffany Dalian, Lighting Designer and Special Effects and Projections Jeremy Robarge (assisted by Michael Portrie), and Technical Director Craig Lindsay, won the Merit Award for Excellence in Technical Production. Will Adams garnered a National Award for Excellence in Sound Design Honorable Mention for his work on the play.
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Good to the Last Drop—a Completely Fulfilling IST to Guatemala

Guatemala-Group-Shot
Back row, l–r: Cameron Haggar, Kevin Coles, Kateland Dittig, Carolyn Hall, Taylor Ciambra, Kya Roumimper, Katelyn Williams, Alyssa Tremblay, Jessica Lambert, Jessica Gagne Cloutier
Front row, l–r: Addy Parsons, Hannah Gagnon, coffee farmer Alberto, Lisa Bryant, Michelle Brahen

Fourteen KSC students are much more sensitive to the coffee they drink, after their International Service Trip (IST) to Guatemala in January. “More sensitive” in that, after spending nine days working on a Fair Trade coffee farm, they’re much more aware of the labor and economics that go into that cup of Joe. As the group wrote in their last blog post at the end of the trip, “And to the farmers and artisans: your kindness, patience, and passion will not be forgotten. We will share your stories, emulate your work ethic, and remember you fondly. We will be better consumers and better people for having met you.”

Volunteers usually only last about an hour at this kind of work, but there's a seven-foot hole for a biodigester all ready, thanks to  (l–r) Hannah Gagnon, Kya Roumimper, Katelyn Williams, Kateland Dittig, and Cameron Haggar (in the hole).
Volunteers usually only last about an hour at this kind of work, but there’s a seven-foot hole for a biodigester all ready, thanks to (l–r) Hannah Gagnon, Kya Roumimper, Katelyn Williams, Kateland Dittig, and Cameron Haggar (in the hole).

The group travelled to a small village in Guatemala called San Miguel Escobar, situated at the base of Volcan de Agua, just outside Antigua. They worked with coffee farmers and artisans through an NGO called As Green as It Gets, which focuses on economic development and environmentally sustainable agriculture in Guatemala. The organization eliminates most of the middle men to ensure that the growers earn a significantly higher profit from their crop than if they sold to a local distributor. The students picked hundreds of pounds of coffee cherries, sorted and dried beans, dug a new bio-digester and a tilapia pond by hand, and helped to make textiles and cosmetics from local materials.

“In addition to hundreds of hours of volunteer service, students learned about local agriculture, sustainable farming, and the economics of coffee.” explained KSC’s Coordinator of Community Services, Jessica Gagne Cloutier. “They were immersed in the culture of Guatemala, eating nearly every lunch and dinner in the homes of the farmers they worked with. Students learned to make corn tortillas, roasted and ground coffee to drink, and engaged in endless conversation.”
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Honors Students Attend Conference

(L–R) Jessica Lulka, Rebecca Rieger, Honors Director Margaret Walsh, and Krista Sullivan

Seven KSC honors students presented at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference on November 17th in Boston. Three students from the 2012 Honors Global Engagement course, Jessica Lulka, Rebecca Rieger, and Krista Sullivan, discussed the different meanings of global citizenship as part of an “idea exchange.” The honors travel courses to Bosnia and Nicaragua in 2012 provided them with intercultural experiences and new perspectives. What knowledge, language, and skills do students need to participate in a complex and interdependent world? The students presented their own suggestions for expanding educational programs and connecting across borders.

(L–R, front row) Alex Claus, Rebecca Lazinsk, Jillian Tomaselli, and Hannah Walker. (Back row) Education Professor Pru Cuper

Four seniors in the Honors Program, Alex Claus, Rebecca Lazinsk, Jillian Tomaselli, and Hannah Walker, presented “Narratives, Connections, and Contributions: Using Case Study Research in an Honors Senior Seminar” at the conference. They shared the research they conducted in this fall’s capstone. With each student serving as his or her own case, participants explain their research questions, data tables, and interdisciplinary frameworks they used to examine their own growth and development since entering college.

Professor Pru Cuper (Education) and Honors Director Margaret Walsh (Sociology) collaborated with the students.

KSC Earns Right to Host Fall AIAS Quad Conference

The faculty and students who were instrumental in bringing the 2013 Fall AIAS Quad Conference to KSC (from left): Professor Bart Sapeta, Architecture Club (AC) advisor; Stefan Cavezzali, AC event manager; Michael Helmer, AIAS Quad Conference committee chair; Jacob Blake, AC member; Alexandria Fournier, AC president; Ryan Glick, AC vice president; Jillian Tomaselli, AC secretary; Professor Donna Paley, Architecture program coordinator

As a result of the KSC Architecture Club’s impressive participation in the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) Quad conferences over the last four years, it won the right to host the 2013 Fall AIAS Quad Conference at the new TDS Center. To celebrate, the Architecture Club sponsored its first ever Beaux Arts Ball on October 27th.
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Two Student Papers Published in Metamorphosis

Brian Watson ’12

Two recent KSC graduates, Brian Watson ’12 and Anna Peterson ’12 have research papers published in the fall 2012 issue of Metamorphosis, COPLAC’s online journal highlighting outstanding work in undergraduate research.

English and history major Brian Watson’s paper, “Crossdressing, Crossculture: Conceptions and Perceptions of Crossdressing in Golden Age Madrid and Tudor-Stuart London,” explores the issue of crossdressing as a common ground on which to explore Spanish and English cultures in three dimensions: on the stage, as a literary device, and as done by actual historical figures. Brian is currently enrolled in a PhD program in Intellectual and Cultural History at Drew University in NJ.

Anna Peterson ’12

Elementary education and communications major Anna Peterson’s paper, “The Role of Organizational Culture in Donor Recruitment at the American Red Cross,” looks at how the nonprofit sector in New Hampshire plays a significant role in “preserving and enhancing the quality of life for NH residents” and how the government has partnered with the nonprofit sector to help provide a range of services. Anna is currently a permanent substitute teacher in the Merrimack Valley School District.

Keene State College is one of 26 members of COPLAC, the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, which champions the cause of liberal arts and sciences education of superior quality in the public sector. COPLAC institutions provide students of high ability and from all backgrounds access to an outstanding liberal arts education.

Student Callers Pitch in—with Enthusiasm!

Student callers Kayla Cunningham and Michael Perry.

If you’re an alum, you’ve likely received a call from one of KSC’s very charming phonathon students. These dedicated souls show up to staff the phonathon room each evening for 10 weeks during the fall and spring semesters to engage alums and other members of the KSC community in the College’s forward motion. They’ve just started this year, and thanks to their enthusiasm—and your generosity—they raised $10,464.81 during their first week on the job. At this moment, just 2 ½ weeks in, they’ve raised more than $16,000!

“This good work is to the credit of my amazing student managers, Kaleigh Liupakka and Renee Giles.” explained Assistant Director of Annual Giving Lindsay Tafflas. “They are very supportive, understanding, and helpful to all the new callers. They set a great example by making calls themselves. It is a privilege to work with this gang. They are truly doing one of the most difficult jobs on campus, and they are always motivated to raise as many gifts as they can to help their peers. They understand that they are connecting with alumni—having conversations, sharing stories, and listening to memories—and they really enjoy their work, which is why they are so effective. I would hope any alumnus would look forward to talking to these stellar callers!”

KSC Chamber Singers Build Trail to Porcupine Falls

On the trail with the KSC Chamber Singers. Front row, l–r: Dr. Sandra Howard, David Parker, Emily DeAngelis, Kerri McCormack, Lauren Weiner. Back row: Nick Tocci, Kirk Bobkowski, Hannah Hall, Kevin Lackie, Dan Ciccarello, Brandon Carta, Jesse Oberg, Amy St. Louis, Kaitie Hart, Samantha McCloghry, Olivia Arciprete, and Ryan Owens (executive director, Monadnock Conservancy)

The KSC Chamber Singers as trailwrights? How does that work? Easy: For the past three semesters, the Singers have partnered with local non-profits. The ensemble works with an organization to learn about its mission, promote awareness about the group, and give a themed performance to raise money for that organization.

This semester, the Singers have partnered with the Monadnock Conservancy, a local land trust. They worked with the Conservancy to build a trail to Porcupine Falls in Gilsum, on land that was recently donated to the land trust. The Chamber Singers will give a concert this December (3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, in the Alumni Recital Hall) to benefit the Conservancy, and that will include a world premiere of a commissioned work centered on the themes of conservation and land preservation. In addition, a discussion panel before the concert will feature the guest composer and the Conservancy’s executive director, Ryan Owens (also bass singer with the Chamber Singers of Keene), who will discuss the merger of music and the protection of land.
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Jennifer MacIntosh Knows No Limits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=SwzN_xuai1A

The next time you think you can’t do something, think of the story of Jennifer McIntosh. Jennifer, a junior who is disabled, came to KSC from the Crotched Mountain School in Greenfield, NH. She is a person who uses a wheelchair, and uses an ECO augmentative and alternative communication device (an eye-scanning typepad that she affectionately refers to as “Pinky”) to communicate.

Jennifer had helped establish an adaptive dance program while she was at Crotched Mountain, and when she heard about the KSC Theater and Dance Department’s class, Dance as a Way of Knowing, she wanted to sign up. Continue reading Jennifer MacIntosh Knows No Limits

Honors Students Visit Bosnia

top row, l-r: Jessica Lulka, Johanna DeBari, Audrey Petiot, Eliza Smiley, Julia Oberst, Julia Dowling, Kristen Hunyadi, Allie Bedell, William Pearson
bottom row, l-r: Emina Jakupovic, Becca Brady, and Brittany Boscarino (Katie Conlon is missing from the photo).
Audrey Petiot, Julia Dowling, and Emina Jakupovic are all local volunteers at the Center for Peacebuilding in Sanski Most.

During the spring 2012 semester, 10 students in the Honors Program—Allie Bedell, Brittany Boscarino, Becca Brady, Katie Conlon, Johanna DeBari, Kristen Hunyadi, Jessica Lulka, Julia Oberst, William Pearson, and Eliza Smiley—took Associate Professor of Sociology Brian Green’s Honors Global Engagement course focusing on Bosnia-Herzegovina, in south-eastern Europe. They learned about Bosnia’s culture, its history, and the issues affecting the country today. Particular emphasis was placed on the late civil war from 1992–1995 and how that has altered the dynamics among the three major ethnic groups: the Serbs, the Croats, and the Bosniaks (Muslims).
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Students in Free Enterprise

KSC management students with their trophy at the SIFE Regional Competition:
(kneeling, l-r): Taylor Galusha, Christina Alvarez, Heather Parilla, and Molly Michelnoick
(standing, l-r): Chris Gruner, Phillip Horn, Greg Devaux, Susan Albert, Dayna Coleman, Kristin Walsh, Evgeny Blinkov, Jordan Volikas, Lorin Dupuis, Tahj Russell

Fourteen management students traveled to NYC recently for the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Regional Competition, where they placed 1st Runner Up and brought home a trophy. Many of the judges and corporate attendees from national corporations congratulated the KSC students on a great year.

“Over this past academic year we have engaged in some great community service projects and networked with many of the corporations that specifically look to hire SIFE students,” said Emily Porschitz, assistant professor of management. “Diana Schaller, for example, recently secured a job at Liberty Mutual through SIFE connections that we began building at last year’s competition. Brian Prozeller from Liberty Mutual’s office in Boston came to Keene State in the Fall and spent extensive time with the SIFE students.”

“Whether or not they find employment directly through SIFE, I am certain that SIFE in general, and specifically attending the competition and job fair in New York City is a wonderful experiential learning opportunity for the students,” Prof. Porschitz explained. “Our students were extremely professional throughout the whole experience, and soaked up a taste of life in corporate New York City!”