Around 500 SUNY Oswego students were eligible to graduate at the Dec. 12 commencement ceremonies, prepared for the next steps in their journeys.

Daen Riviere will take his marketing degree into action as a district manager for Frito-Lay in Beltsville, Maryland. The experience will build on an internship last summer in Syracuse with the same company that gave him a tremendous hands-on introduction, he said, as well as a variety of skills picked up in classes.

“In a lot of my classes, we had presentations and group work where you had to put together analysis and present it, which is similar to what I have to do with these stores,” Riviere said. All his classes gave him “little things you learn everyday but don’t realize until you put it into action,” he added, as coursework and the internship let him know a lot more about “how to approach different types of people … how to have a lot more confidence and learn about how listening can help.”

With her biochemistry degree, Christina Buckingham will continue working full time on the Noble Health Services Inc. specialty pharmacy team in Syracuse, where she began as an intern this summer. Leading such organizations as the Chemistry Club and Colleges Against Cancer, serving as a peer adviser and traveling to the Dominican Republic to teach English to children through an alternative spring break have all marked her journey.

“Every experience throughout these past four years has played such an imperative role in preparing me for post-grad life,” Buckingham said. “I’ve been privileged enough to work under some of the most influential professors in chemistry, people who have proven to be the most honest and kind-hearted people I think I’ll ever come across. Both my instructors as well as supervisors at the Career Services Office … acted as my biggest role models.”

After accomplishing a lot in his time at Oswego, physics major Dylan McIntyre is looking at graduate programs, aiming for a Ph.D. in material sciences and hoping to work in alternative energy or a related field. He has done considerable research, gained grant-writing experience and had a lab-intensive internship with W.R. Grace.

“My first project was funded by a SUNY 4E grant, which supported research on energy conversion of nanomagnetic thin film materials,” McIntyre said. “The results of this project led to a presentation at an American Physical Society conference in San Antonio …, which is a fantastic place to make connections and learn about all of the exciting new research happening at today’s forefront of physics. …. I am currently working on a project with lithium ion batteries and have visited to Cornell to test them.”


Teaching plans

Spanish major Mallory Russell is looking overseas, having applied for a prestigious Fulbright fellowship to teach English in Brazil, with an alternate plan of applying to the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF). After that, she is considering graduate school to focus on interpretation or translation.

Her time at Oswego gave her a wealth of language opportunities, including studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain, and teaching English to Spanish speakers in the Syracuse school district. “I’m going to miss my professors and that department. They’ve been so supportive of me,” Russell said of the department of modern languages and literatures. “I think throughout this college career, I’ve taken risks and found those opportunities.”

Emily Monette will take her Oswego degrees—a master’s in special education and bachelor’s in childhood education—to Charlotte, North Carolina, to teach third-graders. Starting just four days after graduation, Monette will work in a co-taught classroom with a special educator to provide an inclusive environment to students with disabilities.

“My student teaching experiences in both undergrad and grad school helped me tremendously in being able to practice what I know and learned before going out into the real world,” Monette said. “Thanks to my experiences through SUNY Oswego I feel confident and am best prepared to take on my very own class in the real world.”

Technology education major Nick Carson will move to the head of a classroom as the high school technology education teacher in the Cobleskill-Richmondville school district.

“The technology education department at SUNY Oswego sent me out into the field quite well prepared,” said Carson, who also credited his cooperating teachers for mentoring him and providing extra guidance during his student teaching. “Oswego is a great experience both academically and socially.”


Business plans

Laura Einhorn is finishing her master’s in business administration online through Oswego, planning to return to working in advertising in New York City after taking time to raise her two girls.

“Overall, my journey in the SUNY Oswego MBA program has been a truly rewarding experience, boosting my confidence to take on bigger challenges in life and transforming me into a business leader,” she said. “I am sure I will face challenges that require certain knowledge or skills, that, thankfully, I have acquired through my time in the MBA program. I have no doubt that all the hard work put in all the class work will pay off.”

Public relations major Jenna Randazzo is in discussions with Big Four accounting firm PwC for a job in human resources. During college, she had the opportunity to build connections and experience with the company by interning abroad in their Dublin office.

“My overall experience as an Oswego student was amazing,” Randazzo said. “All the classes I’ve taken have provided me with useful tips and skills that I can use throughout my career. A big thanks to my parents, adviser and professors for helping me get to where I am today.”

PHOTO CAPTION: International time—SUNY Oswego Spanish major Mallory Russell, shown during a study abroad trip to Salamanca, Spain, has applied for a prestigious Fulbright fellowship to teach English in Brazil, with an alternate plan of applying to the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF), after her December graduation. She is one of around 500 students preparing for what’s next after the college’s Dec. 12 ceremonies.