COOKING IS A BIG DEAL TO MAUREEN O’DONNELL SANCHEZ ’87. She sells luxury ingredients to Chicagoland restaurants, she blogs about her family’s kitchen adventures and Feb. 24, she competed in front of a national television audience on Food Network’s “Chopped.”

Food blogger Maureen O’Donnell Sanchez ’87 created dishes before a national audience on the Food Network’s hit show, “Chopped.”

“Chopped” tests chefs’ skill, speed and ingenuity. Each week, four chefs compete before a panel of expert judges and turn baskets of mystery ingredients into a three-course meal.

“It was an incredible experience to be in front of all those cameras and be in an unfamiliar kitchen with unfamiliar ingredients and cooking in front of celebrity chefs,” said Sanchez, who gained appreciation of great food starting with paella dinners at the home of Professor Emeritus Pedro Diez Del Rio as a child.

Sanchez was a familiar face on campus and in the community as a student, working at Penfield Library and tending bar at Old City Hall.

A Spanish major at Oswego, Sanchez started out in customer service at a Cambridge software developer and she continued in different capacities for different companies as she found herself on the move from Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and Raleigh, before finding a career that truly fits her tastes. Today Sanchez sells delicacies like truffles and caviar to high-end restaurants in Chicago and beyond.

At home in Oswego, Ill., she and her husband, Gene, are devotees of scratch cooking, focusing on using often self-grown, unprocessed ingredients to create healthy gourmet meals for their three children.

Sanchez’s TV aspirations went well beyond her love of cooking. Although she didn’t become the “Chopped” Champion, “It was a great opportunity to get press for my sister,” said Sanchez, who has become an advocate for missing persons during a decades-long search for her sister, Judith Erin O’Donnell. Last seen in November 1980, Judy has influenced Sanchez to pursue her passions. “Judy has provided the lens. The rest of the noise and distractions fall off and you can focus on what’s important once you find it.”

—Shane M. Liebler

Lt. Col. Waters ’70, left, stands with the recipient of the scholarship he endowed, Tim Huppert ’13. Waters recently established a new fund to help vets with short-term financial needs.

Oswego has been designated a military-friendly college in Military Advanced Education’s 2013 guide.

The publication, which helps inform education service officers, transition officers and the service members they counsel, named SUNY Oswego to its annual list in the 2013 Guide to Military-Friendly Colleges & Universities, noting that schools on the list “go out of their way to implement military-friendly policies in support of our men and women in uniform.”

“. . .We have highly skilled, highly motivated young men and women coming into the workforce. They are a tremendous asset for us, for the whole country, and we need to nurture what we have there.”

— Lt. Col. Mike Waters ’70

“I think the designation shows the extent the campus goes to, to provide a welcoming environment (for current service members and those transitioning to civilian life) and to give them the specific support they need,” said Benjamin Parker, academic planning coordinator for SUNY Oswego’s Division of Extended Learning.Oswego’s services to veterans include counselors, weekly college representative at Fort Drum, acceptance at full value of credits earned for military schooling and training, increased opportunities for faculty and staff to learn the challenges facing returning service members, relationships with community institutions that routinely assist veterans and flexibility in academic options, such as the college’s all-online Master of Business Administration degree.The college has a cross-campus, interoffice committee working to further improve veterans’ services and dedicated space in 206F Culkin Hall for the Veteran’s Services Office.

Vets helping vets

Oswego alumni veterans are part of the network for those just entering college life. Lt. Col. Mike Waters ’70 USAF (Ret.) who spent more than 34 years in the military, part time and full time, has extended a helping hand to fellow veterans because of the help he encountered returning from the Vietnam War.When his unit was about to be called back just six months after he enrolled at Oswego in 1967, he found that professors were willing to make accommodations for his absence and the college helped by retaining his job as an RA, which was crucial to funding his studies.Waters has funded a scholarship for military veterans, especially combat vets, who are in need of financial help.In addition, he recently started a new fund, to provide non-interest loans for veterans with short-term financial needs. “Veterans come here on the G.I. Bill, but they may not get their money until several weeks into the semester,” he says. The fund Waters established will help to bridge that gap.“With the military downsizing … we have highly skilled, highly motivated young men and women coming into the workforce,” Waters notes. “They are a tremendous asset for us, for the whole country, and we need to nurture what we have there.”Recognition of alumni service in the military is a goal for Col. Jack James ’62, USMC (Ret.). James instituted a salute to veterans at Reunion 2012, and sponsored pins to recognize alumni military service by branch.All veterans are urged to contact the Alumni Relations Office at King Alumni Hall or call 315-312-2258 to enter their military service as part of the alumni record.

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.

Howard Gordon ’74, M ’78

Gordon is a member of the NAPAHE board. He was recognized for enhancing the presence of the organization in the higher education community, contributing to the association’s development and overall progress and serving as a role model and mentor to new presidential assistants.

He has been executive assistant to President Stanley since 1996. Gordon is also the college’s special assistant for social equity and senior Title IX coordinator. Previously, he served SUNY Oswego as an assistant dean of arts and sciences and a counselor in the Office of Special Programs, now the Office of Learning Services.

He received a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service in 1991.

Lou Borrelli Jr. ’77

Borrelli has been involved with the media technology company since last year, serving as an advisor and investor. He’ll now oversee all aspects of NimbleTV’s marketing, including communications, strategy and business development.

NimbleTV offers a kind of boxless Slingbox and DVR service, allowing cable, satellite and telecommunications TV subscribers the ability to stream their video content on numerous digital devices.

Borrelli previously served as president and CEO of NEP Broadcasting, an international provider of outsourced teleproduction services critical to the delivery of live sports and entertainment events.

Prior to joining NEP, he was senior VP of broadband for America Online, responsible for developing AOL’s High Speed Broadband business plan, managing the commercial launch of AOL High Speed Cable to Time Warner Cable customers, and developing distribution partnerships for AOL across the cable television and telecommunications industries.

Soundview will use the Elmwood Park, N.J.-based Marcal as its core brand of paper towels, tissues and napkins, according to a company press release.

George Wurtz ’78

“We plan to focus on superior customer service and product excellence by building on the quality of our people, our equipment, our papermaking skills and our core brand, Marcal,” Soundview CEO George Wurtz ’78 said in a press release. “Soundview’s leadership team is comprised of industry veterans with unparalleled experience in the tissue business. With the strong focus and high standards of this team, Soundview is well-positioned to transform this business, better serving our customers.”

Wurtz has a long history in the paper industry including as a former executive vice president of Georgia Pacific. An industrial arts major at Oswego, Wurtz is a member of the college’s Engineering Advisory Board.

John Barker ’96

Barker has overall responsibility for enhancing the undergraduate and graduate student experience in the School of Arts and Sciences and strengthening the integration of university-wide undergraduate and graduate academic and co-curricular initiatives.

Prior to his appointment, Barker served as founder and director of the University of Miami’s Office of Academic Enhancement. Barker has worked in the past as faculty master for one of the University of Miami’s residential colleges and as an adjunct faculty member in the university’s Department of Educational and Psychological Studies, part of the Miami School of Education.

A political science and history major at Oswego, Barker holds a doctorate in higher education from the University of Rochester.

Brian Ronan ’84 with his award for “Best Sound Design in a Musical” at the Tony Awards in June. He won for “The Book of Mormon” and was also nominated for “Anything Goes” in the same category.

“The Tony for sound design is relatively new and it’s a real honor to be singled out among so many talented designers,” he said. “In my formative years following my time at Oswego, I was inspired by many great designers prior to Tony eligibility, one of whom is Oswego graduate Tom Morse ’74. [He] is one of the designers who really pulled Broadway sound into the 21st century.”

Some of Ronan’s most valuable collegiate experience came from his time with Campus Lighting, an independent, student-run entity that gave him a feel for the business side of performance. He then made some of his first Broadway connections as an intern at Masque Sound.

“I think every show has a voice of its own,” Ronan said previously, “Part of my job is to find that sound and bring it forward to the audience.”

Ronan considers a Broadway house “just an empty room” until sound and light crews enhance it. He and his crew set up the sound and communications systems for each performance: everything from the mixing board to the backstage headsets.

Current projects include “Anything Goes” on Broadway and “Rent” off-Broadway as well as “American Idiot” and “Bring It On,” both touring nationally. He is also working on “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” starring Matthew Broderick and a musical adaption of the novel Giant.

Tom Gillen ’72 is Oswego’s new mayor.

Gillen won the Nov. 8 mayoral election 2,426 to 1,234, a margin of 2 to 1, against opponent William D. “Dave” White ’92.

“It’s a thrill and honor to be the mayor of this community,” Gillen said. “I’m happy that I can play a part in helping this community grow into the 21st century.”

Gillen grew up in Oswego and attended Oswego State in the 1960s, when the college experienced unprecedented growth.

Coming from a small community, Gillen believed that he held limited views until attending college.

“It opened my eyes to a lot of different people and ideas,” Gillen said.

Gillen graduated with an English degree and earned his teaching certificate, but instead went into sales and marketing, working for companies like AT&T and Apple. He left Oswego for a short period of time, but returned after the birth of his first daughter.

“I wanted my children to grow up like I did, in a traditional small city upbringing,” Gillen said.

After retiring, Gillen made the decision to run for mayor. He took office in January and will serve a four-year term. l

— Erin Marulli ’13

Tom Walpole ’79 has been named senior vice president, global manufacturing excellence, and president, Novelis Asia.

The president of Novelis Asia since 2007, Walpole assumed additional responsibilities to increase the speed at which the company integrates its global manufacturing operations through common standards, policies and practices.

He will also oversee execution on the company’s overall improvement goals for its manufacturing assets over the next three to five years. In addition, he will be responsible for helping the company achieve world-class employee health and safety performance and for implementing global standards for all new major capital investments.

Walpole has more than 30 years of aluminum industry experience. Prior to the Novelis spin-off from Alcan Inc. in 2005, he held a number of international positions with Alcan including vice president of sales and marketing for the rolled products operations in Korea and president of the lithographic, can and painted products business in Europe.

In addition to his accounting degree from Oswego, he holds an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.

He resides in Seoul, Korea.