Saint Michael's This Week
August 11, 2023
St. Mike's dragon boat team beats out UVM in opening heat of Festival
The 2023 Lake Champlain Boat Festival took place on Sunday August 6, and the Saint Michael’s Dragon Boat team leader, Allison Close ‘01 of the campus mailroom, shared this report: “We had a beautiful day to race. The Saint Michael's College Dragon Slayers team is made up of faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the College. Our first race of the day was against Champlain College and UVM. We did beat UVM by 2 seconds, but Champlain College was the overall winner of the race. In our second race we faced the NEFCU Navigators from New England Federal Credit Union. It was a close one, but unfortunately, we lost by four tenths of a second. The big winners for the day were CrossFit Burlington. The Lake Champlain Dragon Boat Festival is a fundraiser put on by Dragonheart Vermont. This year’s festival will benefit not only Dragonheart Vermont but its pledge partner, the McClure Miller Respite house located in Colchester." If you would like to donate please click this link
SAINT MICHAEL'S NEWS
Chuck Tobin ’80 retires as producing artistic director of College Playhouse
“Everything came out beautiful.”
This last line of the last production of the last summer season in the “Chuck Tobin era” of Saint Michael’s Playhouse was a most fitting ending, professionally and personally for Tobin, a 1980 St. Mike’s theater graduate who is retiring this October after decades of work at the Playhouse. Tobin was intentional in selecting Over the River and Through the Woods by Joe DiPietro as the final show of the 2023 Playhouse season, knowing it would be his last production as producing artistic director. The story focuses on family, relationships, and transitions — all topics at the forefront of Tobin’s mind these days. Tobin watched the final performance from his second-floor McCarthy Arts Center office with its large window that looks out over the very theater where he appeared regularly in leading roles during his Saint Michael’s student days. The Over the River and Through the Woods seasoned professional cast and production team collaborated to deliver an absorbing and touching story, well told, in signature Playhouse style. The show brought a final standing ovation in a building that Tobin first saw and loved when it was brand new in 1975. He tells the story of his first visit to campus and McCarthy Arts Center that year as a theater-loving high school senior from suburban Boston, visiting mostly based on a friend’s recommendation of the College and its Theater Department, then led by Saint Michael’s legends and eventual Tobin mentors Donald and Joanne Rathgeb. Below, the cast of Over the River and Through the Woods in a dinner scene. (Photo Andy Duback)
Read full story on Chuck Tobin retirement>>
Read Seven Days review of season's final Playhouse show>>
Off to teach English in France, recent graduate feels both excited, confident
For Sydney Nelson ’23, her later high school years while growing up in Stillwater, Minnesota, pointed her toward Saint Michael’s College and her eventual French major with overseas study. Now a prestigious scholarship through the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) to teach English to French high school students outside Paris for the next seven months points her to another promising adventure — and thanks to her Saint Michael’s experiences, Nelson knows she can handle it. During a break from a summer job back home picking blueberries on a farm in July, months prior to departure for the program’s October 1 start, the recent graduate described how her Saint Michael’s global experiences made her confident and flexible when encountering cross-cultural challenges – so much so that applying for TAPIF and the extended time away from home that it demands did not intimidate her. “I think having these opportunities to travel through St. Mike’s, and learning more about the world and being more open to trying new things, has been very beneficial to me and made me feel very prepared and excited for TAPIF,” said Nelson, who did a semester abroad in Grenoble, France her junior year. A few weeks after returning from that, she headed to an extended summer internship in Seoul, South Korea, through a Freeman Foundation grant — another prestigious competitive honor that she learned about through the College’s Center for Global Engagement (CGE).
Read full story on Sydney Nelson and TAPIF>>
Salad Days exemplify spirit and mission of College's Center for Environment, Farm
“Salad Days,” a cherished summer tradition of recent years, encompasses much of the philosophy, experience and heart of the Saint Michael’s College Center for the Environment and its campus Farm where these popular community lunches take place, typically three times over the growing season’s warmest months. Nesting birds chirped in a corner of the wooden shelter sitting beside bounteous rows of produce, and picnic tables full of visitors who sampled fresh produce in their luncheon salads this sunny noontime on Tuesday, August 1. Fresh-baked sourdough bread with garlic scape pesto accompanied the salads as Kristyn Achilich ’05, the Center for the Environment director, welcomed nearly 50 guests. Visibly pleased with the “wonderful turnout,” she observed that among the visitors this day were “past and present Farm team members, current and prospective students, colleagues from faculty and staff across all divisions of the college, and key community partners.” Achilich and Farm and Food Program Manager Christine Gall (speaking at right under shelter in photo at right), shared the programs' guiding philosophical underpinnings and guided an activity to hear in one or two words what the Farm means to students and the community. “We can’t impose our will on a system,” Achilich read, quoting author Donella Meadows. “We can listen to what the system tells us and discover how its properties and our values can work together to bring forth something much better than can be produced by our will alone.” Words about the Farm that Gall and Achilich heard from those gathered included “Investment, community, inspiration, connection, excellent CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), bounty, hope, healthy food, teamwork, refreshing, stories, joy, joyful, inspirational, delicious, second helpings, experiential learning, hard work, collaborative, relationships, beauty, spinach, healthy, growth, abundance, tulips, carrots, serene, pollinators, supportive, community engagement, integrity, holistic” – and, from a late-arriving Farm crew worker, “fantastic!” (photos by Caitlin Lei and Elizabeth Murray '13)
Read full story on significance of Salad Days at the Farm>>
Institute brings new American youth to campus for a week
From Sarah Childs, associate dean of students and director, Center for Student Diversity, Empowerment, and Community (DEC): "This summer, Saint Michael’s College was fortunate to play host to a wonderful group of young people who participated in USCRI’s Summer Institute for New American Youth. The Institute, for youth ages 14-20, sought to provide some of our New American community members with opportunities to explore careers and various educational disciplines as well as learn about pathways to higher education and vocational training in Vermont and beyond. The staff and faculty who facilitated workshops and activities with the group found out very quickly how eager, curious, and sharp this group of youth are and hope to one day have these students at St. Michael’s. Felicity Rodriguez, class of ’22, was among the staff team from USCRI who helped to plan the experience and accompany the students throughout the two weeks of the program. Felicity was a great ambassador for the college! We hope that St. Michael’s will host the program again next year. " These photos show one of the group's early gatherings with success advisors from the College's Center for Purposeful Learning, with one advisor, campus legend Lou DiMasi, in the lower image familiarizing the group with the sport he played and coached for so many years, ice hockey, by donning some gear. (photos by Vernita Weller)
Ben Slattery to join Admission team
Ben Slattery will start work on August 15 as a Saint Michael’s College Admission Counselor. Most recently he worked for University of Vermont Campus Recreation. A resident of Essex, Ben is a former member of the UVM men’s rugby team and enjoys hiking, skiing “and being active in general.” His interest in coming to work at Saint Michael’s originated through family connections. “My mother, Erin Slattery, now associate director of Information Technology Applications, has worked here since I was born, and my brother Spencer just started in the IT department.” He also cites “the great community at St. Mike’s” as a key motivation. Ben says he aims “to be a contributing member to the great community at St. Mike’s and to bring my very best work!”
Ashline presents at MathFest 2023 in Florida
George Ashline, professor of mathematics and statistics, participated in MathFest 2023, the annual meeting of the Mathematical Association of America held in Tampa, Florida in August. Each summer, MAA MathFest offers wide-ranging sessions featuring mathematical research and education for diverse audiences across the nation. In the contributed paper session entitled Mathematics and the Life Sciences: Initiatives, Programs, and Curricula, George presented “Connecting Mathematics with Chemistry: An Interdisciplinary Initiative Involving Faculty and Students.” The presentation featured some of his collaborative work with Chemistry Professor Bret Findley, Engineering Coordinator Barbara O’Donovan, and Saint Michael’s graduates Mitchell Andrea ’22 and Dylan Wawruck ’22. This work has been supported by Saint Michael’s S-STEM grant, NSF-DUE 1742241.
Another metro paper writes of Ellis album Ghost Hymns
The Memphis Flyer is Memphis’ alternative newsweekly, serving the metro Memphis area of nearly a million residents, and started in 1989 by the publishers of Memphis magazine. This week, author Alex Greene of that publication wrote about Bill Ellis, chair of the Fine Arts/Music at Saint Michael’s College, and Bill’s recent sixth album, Ghost Hymns, which has been attracting positive attention recently. Writes Green after describing Bill’s earlier career gig as a music reviewer for another Memphis paper, “He ended up putting journalism on the back burner in 2005 to study ethnomusicology with David Evans, ultimately writing his doctoral dissertation on the Reverend Gary Davis. That in turn led him to a faculty position at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, where he’s currently chair of fine arts and associate professor of music.”
Read full item about Bill Ellis and his album>>
Harrigan presents to DEI panel during conference on theater at the college level
Peter Harrigan of the Saint Michael’s Fine Arts/Theatre faculty presented at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) conference last week on a panel called “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in Design, Technology, Performing, and Management.” Peter’s section was called "Amplifying Student Voices" and it mostly consisted of (an edited version of) a video interview that Peter did with Sadie Chamberlain '25, a student who was involved in this year’s main stage theatrical production about women’s rights, called Woman This Woman That: An Evening of Suffrage Plays. Says Peter, “The video was very well received and the ATHE DTaP (Disability, Theatre and Performance) Focus Group is featuring it on their website. In my presentation I also used photos of Sadie at the Symposium this year (above left) and a photo of her with the Bass drum that is mentioned in the interview video (above right). From the conference program, a description of the session: “This session explores the diverse abilities, backgrounds, needs, and experiences of designers, managers and technicians. How can we make backstage more accessible for all?"
Editorial changing of the guard set for newsletter with retirement
Editor's note: As the longtime editor of this campus e-newsletter THIS WEEK, it has been my pleasure and honor to tell Saint Michael's College stories, week in week out, since inheriting this duty from the estimable former public relations/marketing director and my friend Buff Lindau, who was THIS WEEK's initiator nearly a decade ago. Once I retire next Tuesday, August 15, after my 20 years at Saint Michael's as staff writer, the next issue of a re-imagined e-newsletter is scheduled for Friday, September 1.
I would like to thank all the faculty and staff who have been generous in sharing news with me for THIS WEEK all these years. I encourage you to continue sharing news and photos of possible community interest with my esteemed colleagues here in Marketing/Communications, and/or with any eventual newsletter-editor successor. Starting today, please send your items, which you might previously have emailed to me personally, to [email protected]
Also, if you post something of interest on social media, I hope you will consider sending it as well to this campus email "news inbox." I hope to continue writing occasionally for and about the College, so I expect to continue regularly seeing my Saint Michael's family around campus and greater Burlington.
(photo by Jerry Swope)
Best wishes to all, Mark Tarnacki.
ALUMNI NEWS
Amanda Kaulins ’13 heading back soon to Poland-Ukraine border as volunteer
In February 2023, Amanda Kaulins '13 volunteered on the Polish-Ukrainian border, helping to provide relief for refugees of the Russo-Ukrainian war. She did everything from assembling and distributing care packages to creating lesson plans and teaching English, painting walls, tilings, floors, and packing supply trucks headed for the front lines. In August, Kaulins plans to return to the border to continue this life-altering work. Beyond her life-long dedication to volunteering, Kaulins explained that the war in Ukraine feels highly personal to her. “I’m half Latvian. Latvia is one of the three small Baltic countries in Northeastern Europe and has its own history with Russian occupation, including, like Ukraine, being a part of the Soviet Union. During that period my grandparents and other family members were forced to leave their homes and placed in refugee camps,” she said. The photo at right shows Amanda on some playground equipment that she and volunteers set up at a refugee center in Poland. Below, she's back row, by the front of the white van, wearing a red hat in a group shot showing refugee kids with their just-presented bags of supplies.
Read full story on relief work volunteer Kaulins>>
Paper profiles mental skills coach Amanda Donahoe '18
D. Sydney Rybicki ’18 of the Saint Michael's Alumni & Parent Relations office shares recent news of a classmate: “Amanda Donahoe '18 is an amazing mental health coach for young female athletes! Here's a recent article profiling her … she lived on my floor in Joyce our first year and played ice hockey here at Saint Michael’s … She's crushing it!! Proud to have her in our Purple Knight community!” From the recent story by writer Matt Williams appearing in The Salem News, a daily newspaper and website north of Boston: “Anyone that’s played for the Peabody High girls hockey or lacrosse teams in recent years is familiar with an Amanda Analogy. Assistant coach Amanda Donahoe has a way with words. She’ll often find a creative way to get a message across to a player who has lost focus or otherwise needs to think about what she’s doing from a new perspective … Now those Amanda Analogies are going national. Donahoe just wrapped up a stint as a mental performance coach at USA Hockey’s U-15 National Player Development Camp. Held at [Miami University] in Ohio, the camp brought some 200 of the best girls hockey players in the country born in the year 2008 together to train and showcase their skills for a variety of coaches. As a mental performance coach, Donahoe’s job was to help the players understand how to grapple with stress and adversity both on and off the ice."
Read full profile of Amanda Donahoe>>
Classmates from 2008 building a business in Colchester that offers party planning, decor
From a recent story by staff writer Ella Ruehsen in the Colchester Sun, the weekly newspaper and website in the Saint Michael’s College “hometown,” about two 2008 alumna getting to be known as the “balloon girls”: “Among the floats, vehicles and pedestrian assemblies at Colchester’s Fourth of July parade, were Gabrielle Blow and Jenna Heney — standing out in the landscape with a big clear dome front and center on their float, full of balloons dancing as if part of a giant confetti convector. Blow lives in Colchester and Heney lives in South Burlington, but has family in Colchester and attends the Colchester parade every year because of them. Both are from Vermont and had gone to college together in Colchester at Saint Michael’s. ‘We just thought we'd do the float, you know, just to say, ‘Hey, this is who we are,’ kind of thing. Because we do a lot of business in Colchester,’ Blow said. ‘It just kind of felt right to do.’ Together, Blow and Heney run Voila! Let’s Party! A small business for party planning and decor, it aims to bring new party trends to the Vermont scene, which has previously been left behind as new party innovations would pop up elsewhere in the country, they said."
Read full story on alumnae balloon business>>
Alumni and their enterprises win 'Daysie' awards, including Cote '89 for newspaper
Rick Cote ’89 (at right in this photo with his wife, Susan) shared on social media recently about a nice honor for his business as owner and publisher with Susan of the Williston Observer, a daily newspaper and website in the Burlington-area community, posting about the Observer recently winning the category “Best community newspaper (that’s not Seven Days)” in the annual “Daysies” Awards for local businesses, institutions and individuals that Seven Days announced in a recent issue. Rick previously had a long successful career as a college fundraiser before moving into the publishing business. According to the Seven Days Award citation: “Williston Observer — The Observer has been covering what's up in Williston since 1985. From stories about local schools and sports to need-to-know news and business info, if it's buzzing in town, you'll read about it in this weekly, in print and online.” Commented Rick on his post, “Wow! This was a nice surprise. We had no idea we were in the running!” Other Saint Michael's alumni we noticed on an initial scroll through the honorees -- either directly by name, or indirectly through a winning business -- included Bluebird BBQ owner Sue Bette ‘01 for Best Barbecue, Craig Mitchell ’93 (Best DJ), Eileen O’Rourke ’83 (Best Real Estate Agent), Troy Millette '16 and his band The Fire Below (Best Folk Artist or Group), and "Best Mocktail" at Waterworks in Winooski (David Abdoo ’73, owner). We'd welcome hearing about any others for a social media, newsletter or class notes shoutout.
Kujawa '15 has story in NYU literary journal
A post on social media this week was a happy case of a proud Saint Michael's emeritus faculty dad, geographer Richard Kujawa, sharing news about his recently online-published alumna daughter, Laura Beth Kujawa ’15: “Super proud to report that Laura Beth Kujawa's (aka Daughter #2) story is now online at the Washington Square Review" -- an award-winning journal of new fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, translations, and interviews, published biannually by the students and faculty of the New York University (NYU) Graduate Creative Writing Program. Laura’s story in the Review is titled “We Will Wait for the End in This Airbnb.”
Read story by Laura Beth Kujawa>>
Bernier '04 completes Lake Placid Ironman
Chris Bernier ’04, who also worked in the Saint Michael’s Institutional Advancement Office in 2009, shared news this week of a recent achievement: “I completed Ironman Lake Placid in July. I had the best cheering squad including Abbie Bernier '04 and Jamie Palmer Keating '04,” wrote Chris, who is assistant vice president for development with the University of Vermont Foundation after previously working as director of marketing and development with Special Olympics Vermont and in other UVM development roles.
ATHLETICS NEWS
- St. Mike's swimmer-diver featured on Connecticut local news website
- More than two dozen student-athlets complete studies abroad
- 117 Purple Knight athletes earn academic achievement awards
- Six St. Mike's ice hockey women are All-American Scholars
UPCOMING EVENTS
Event Calendar
View upcoming public events on the campus of Saint Michael's College.
Saint Michael's This Week is produced by the Office of Marketing and Communications and
written by Mark Tarnacki, Staff Writer, Marketing and Communications.
Visit Saint Michael's online at smcvt.edu