(100 words) + 10 random questions

Katherine Cook ’06

A LABORATORY INTERNSHIP WITH CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR KESTAS BENDINSKAS and summer of hands-on experience at W.R. Grace & Co., thanks to the support of W. R. Grace CEO Fred Festa ’81, eventually put Katherine Cook ’06 on the front line of fighting breast cancer.

Matthew Pond ’08 and Kristin Amone ’09 were married in October in Rochester. Alumni in attendance included, from left: Jimmy Lacagnina ’10, Joe Ferrari ’10, Nicole Lafe ’09, Chris Caputo ’09, the bride, the bridegroom, Don Heagle ’09 and Kelley Kowalczyk ’12. Matthew is earning his MBA and currently works for Enterprise Holdings. Kristin recently earned her master’s in school psychology and works as behavioral specialist for Hillside Children’s Center. The couple resides in Rochester.

As BrieAnne Wilson ’10, M ’12 trudged upward, wind and cold gnawed at her face. It was only November, but the weather had surprised her and her friends with snow and temperatures that dipped below freezing.

Now they were caught in a snowstorm on the side of a mountain in the Adirondacks. Unlike Wilson, who brought winter gear, half the group forgot hats and gloves. Some even neglected to bring winter coats.

BrieAnne Wilson ’10, M ’12 climbed the first of 46 Adirondack High Peaks in 2009 when she scaled Big Slide. Her quest to join the Forty-Sixer Club ended successfully atop Gothics Oct. 29, 2011.

They pushed on through the snow. When Wilson finally hoisted herself up to the summit of Big Slide Mountain, which stands 4,240 feet above sea level, she was greeted by a panorama of New York state’s highest and most rugged mountains.

“The view was absolutely fantastic,” Wilson said. “The fulfillment of getting to the top … I felt very rewarded once I got to the top.”

Since that climb with the college’s Outdoor Club in 2009, Wilson has conquered all 46 of the Adirondacks High Peaks, those that rise more than 4,000 feet.

She was officially inducted as the 7,328th member in the Adirondack Forty-Sixers Club May 27 in Lake Placid.

Wilson dedicated her final mountain, Gothics, to her deceased grandfather, who along with her father got her interested in the outdoors when she was young. On the summit, she placed a memorial and drank a toast to her grandfather with wine she carried up.

Now Wilson has a new goal to climb all 46 High Peaks again, but during winter. That would put her into an even more exclusive club of only 564 who have accomplished that feat.

“You get such a rush from it that you’re like ‘I need to do this again,’” she said.

— Ken Sturtz ’12

Ed. Note: This story originally appeared in the May 23 edition of the Oswego Palladium-Times. This modified version is republished with permission.

Mike Lukajic ’04, wearing the white jersey in this photo from the 2000-01 season, recently was ranked one of the top 15 NCAA Division III scorers of the last 10 years.

Lukajic was the sole SUNY Athletic Conference representative on the list, which ranked NCAA Division III players’ best individual seasons. In addition to a one-goal-per-game average in the 2002-03 regular season, he also scored at least one goal in each of Oswego’s postseason victories that year en route to the Division III national championship game.

Lukajic had more than 100 goals in his four-year collegiate career and went on to four years in the Central Hockey League, where he played 172 games and scored 74 goals, according to d3hockey.com.

As operations coordinator for “Good Morning America,” Cameron processes hires, tracks freelancers and runs the internship program among other tasks. The former WSTM-TV (Syracuse) and WNYW-TV (New York) intern hopes to make his way to the front of the cameras eventually, but loves learning all aspects of the broadcasting business.

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A member of the Future Alumni Network as a student, Cameron stays active with the Graduates Of the Last Decade Leadership Council.

Cameron’s advice: “If you use the tools you are given at Oswego and stay connected, you’re going to be successful.”

1. Key to a good morning:

My key to a good morning is started with my Pandora radio, specifically the Anita Baker station. Listening to the classic oldies puts me
in the perfect zone to make a good morning a great morning!

2. Part of a complete breakfast:

I love pancakes and cream cheese bagels — separately of course, everything bagels to be exact. But I would not be myself without having a banana and at least one cup of coffee.

3. Go-to Oswego dining hall dinner item:

Anything off the grill at Pathfinder dining hall from paninis, cheese steaks, chicken phillies, burgers, waffle fries — Oh my!

4. Favorite campus activity/organization:

There are just too many! Big shout out to FANs (Future Alumni Network), Department of Campus Life, Residence Life, Phi Beta Sigma Rho Xi chapter, Student Association and ALANA!

5. Greatest Oswego experience:

My favorite Oswego experience by far was being a building manager working in Hewitt Union and the Campus Center at Campus Life. I learned many valuable skills that I use to this very day, built great relationships, and it offered an enormous professional trajectory.

6. Worst thing about leaving Oswego:

I miss the carefree, casual life where there appeared to be a sense of security — a safe haven.

7. Best thing about coming back:

I love to see the new developments at the college, whether it be new structures, academic progress, reconnecting or meeting students.

8. Coolest internship:

Coolest internship was when I did news reporting at WSTM-TV Channel 3 in Syracuse. I learned the craft of reporting and working at a television station. Most of all, I got a front-row seat journeying throughout Central New York to places I would have otherwise not known.

9. Dream job:

I think I am at my dream job. I’ve dreamed big all my life and I seized a golden opportunity to work at ABC News and to be a part of the Good Morning America family! I intend to keep growing, learning and seeing what can come of this experience.

10. Words of wisdom:

To always strive to set a good example in work ethic and relationship building. You never know who may be watching or looking, but just know that someone always is.

A backpack journalist takes photos or videos for stories, and then produces them in addition to reporting and editing.

Nominated for a total of three, the KUSA-TV reporter won the Emmy award for “best live reporter” in the Heartland Region, which covers markets in five states including Colorado.

While working on his degree in broadcasting and mass communication, Kevin was very active in WTOP-TV from the moment he got accepted.

“I wanted to be a TV reporter since I was 4 years old,” Kevin says. “Oswego allowed students to get involved with WTOP as soon as you were a student. At SU, you had to be a junior. It was the best decision I made when it came to my academics.”

Fueled by a love for hiking and traveling, Kevin began dreaming of working for KUSA-TV back in high school. The NBC affiliate located in Denver ranks as one of the best in the country. In 2009, after working three years with WSYR-TV NewsChannel 9 in Syracuse, his dream became a reality, and he moved to Colorado.

“While at Oswego, I had three professors who really influenced me,” Kevin remembers. “One was Jerry Condra. The next was Ron Graeff — his broadcasting reporting class was excellent and taught me all the fundamentals. [Now dean] Fritz Messere ’71, M ’76 was [another]. He was just an excellent professor who helped and really inspired me.” l

— Emily Longeretta ’12

With her sorority and in the classroom, Deyadira “Betty” Diaz ’02 took several steps forward at Oswego. In fact, student step dancing earned her an award and spot on the national team after graduation.

A dedicated alumna of Omega Phi Beta sorority and longtime community advocate, Deyadira “Betty” Diaz ’02, far right, and some fellow sisters take part in the New York PRIDE Parade each year. Betty is a supporter of NBCUniversal’s LGBT affinity group, OUT@NBCU, and recently revived UNIDOS, a Latino affinity group, at NBCUniversal’s Rockefeller Center headquarters.

“It was one of the best experiences of my life,” Betty says of Oswego, where
she participated in the Latino Student Union among many other organizations.

An advocate for mentoring, she revived the UNIDOS Latino group at NBCUniversal in New York, where she is a research manager. Betty sits on the national Omega Phi Beta board and recently founded an alumni-student mentor
program for Oswego’s Zeta chapter.

“I used to come down every year without fail with my Dad, so it’s kind of cool that I work here now,” says Ryan, an Oswego business major who went to Cortland for his sports management master’s. As membership associate, he cultivates a key source of fundraising. Ryan occasionally gives tours, takes tickets, blogs and runs a movie projector, but often marvels at the history and lore surrounding him.

Best business class: Business Law 350 (I think that was the course number). I had a great professor and it was the one class I always looked forward to.

Worst grade: C-. I can remember the paper, the professor and exactly what I did wrong — it has stuck with me.

Favorite ballplayer: My all-time favorite player is Lou Gehrig. I really enjoy watching Robinson Cano and Roy Halladay for players of today.

Least favorite stat: Earned Run Average is easily eschewed by other factors in the game and fails to tell the whole story.

No. 1 team: The Yankees are my favorite team. I am also a huge Jets fan.

Great Hall of Fame exhibit: The Pride and Passion exhibit. It profiles the Negro leagues. There is a lot jam-packed in a small space and a lot of great interactive opportunities for visitors.

Hardest Hall of Fame job: To be honest, all the jobs have ups and downs and I am not sure there is a hardest job. I guess it all depends on who you talk to.

Easiest meal: Pizza. All you have to do is dial.

Cooperstown hidden gem? Doubleday Field is a throwback to small-town ballparks. It has a beautiful façade and is tucked away off of Main Street. A lot people know it’s here — they just can’t find it.

Top Oswego spot: Greene’s Ale House. Good food and wings was always a must.

Elias Gutierrez '09 and model Elodie debut the spring 2012 line at Fashion Coterie in New York City.

He designs a high-profile line of dresses in the Garment District of New York City. He freelances for Kleinfeld Bridal, made famous by TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress” television series. As an intern, he created the jerseys worn by the big-headed presidential mascots who entertain during Washington Nationals baseball games.

“It’s [all] theatre. It’s something different every day,” says Elias, whose résumé bullet points for designing and creating far outnumber his years of professional experience. “It’s not every day you get to make a giant fruit for a commercial.”

Or the bobblehead likeness of controversial Iran President Mahmud Ahmajinedad — that one landed him on the cover of the New York Times.

The graphic design major produces a line of dresses for Mon Cheri Bridals in his main gig as associate designer. A costume design minor, Elias cut his teeth cutting cloth in the theatre department.

Today, he dreams up and sketches dress designs inspired by trendy pieces with ultra-expensive price tags out of reach for most.

“It’s not by any means a knockoff,” Elias says. “The goal is to make a luxury item that doesn’t break the bank.”

Elias studies hundreds of photos and hours of footage to come up with a design for, say, a wedding dress based on the threads Kate Middleton wore to her royal nuptials with Prince William.

Those specs are sent to China where cloth mockups called “muslins” are created and mass produced after tweaking.

Elias says his success has firm roots in Oswego’s theatre program, where professors Kitty Macey and Judy McCabe nurtured his talents.

“I had really close relationships with my professors,” he says. “That’s the kind of [program] they’ve set up: The Theatre Department is like a family.”

Wendy Paterson '09

Wendy was an environmental educator at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine before helping with animal recovery efforts in Alabama following the 2010 Gulf oil spill.

A graduate assistant teaching introductory biology labs at Central Michigan University, Wendy originally aspired to be a zookeeper.

“Then [at Oswego] I was introduced to the scientific process and looking at the ecosystem as a whole as opposed to just taking care of the animal,” said Wendy, who is researching mussels in the Great Lakes.

Michigan must-visit: I just visited Grand Haven, Mich. I am involved with mussel research in the Grand River and we stayed in Grand Haven for the night. It is a beautiful location with lots of festivals, restaurants and outdoor entertainment.

Oswego must-take course: My two favorite courses at Oswego were “Wetland Ecology” taught by Dr. Eric Hellquist and “Forensic Anthropology.”

Lake Ontario or Rice Creek? That is a hard choice. Rice Creek was my home but Lake Ontario is my inspiration.

On campus or off? I lived on campus during every fall and spring semester. I like the convenience. I really liked living in Moreland my last year because
it was peaceful and you had your own room.

Favorite zoo animal: I am a big fan of otter exhibits because they are such playful animals. There are some very nice ones in New York including the Wild Center, the Ross Park Zoo and the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. A close second would be butterfly gardens and leaf cutter ants, which are often found together.

No. 1 pet: My favorite pet would be a dog. Thousands of years of artificial selection lead to the perfect pet.

A teaching assistant’s No. 1 pet peeve: Students not paying attention and not reading the syllabus. There are only so many times I can go over the content in the syllabus before I become annoyed.

No. 1 reason to attend Oswego: My best answer is diversity. There is a little bit of everything. It was an endless buffet in courses, clubs and events. I couldn’t take all the courses or join all the clubs I wanted to in just four years.

Last place you look: The place I put it so I would not lose it.

Great book: My favorite series is Harry Potter by JK Rowling and my favorite nonfiction book is The Song of the Dodo by David Quammen.