Spotlight on Seniors
On December 16, 2006 Plattsburgh State sent forth another class of graduates who are
off to start the next step in their lives. Some will continue their education at institutions
across the country while others will enter the workforce. We're proud of each and
every one of them.The following profiles highlight a few students from the Plattsburgh State Class of
2006.
Erin Joyner
Erin Joyner, a graduating senior from Sandy Creek, N.Y., received her bachelor's degree
in
communication disorders and science. Erin has been working for the past three years in Student Financial Services at
SUNY Plattsburgh."Erin has been the best student worker in our office during my five-year tenure as
director," said Todd Moravec, director of Student Financial Services. "She is extremely
reliable, persistently hard working, always courteous and incredibly honest. She has
consistently performed at this high level during her long history in the office."Erin has been accepted as a part-time graduate student in communication disorders
and science at SUNY Plattsburgh for the spring semester and is applying for full-time
status next fall."The teachers are all very supportive," said Erin. "The program has given me good
experiences to help me in my career. I was able to do a practicum for a semester and
saw a client. It was a good experience."She has been an active member of the Plattsburgh community. She volunteered through
Project HELP, mentored students outside of school, served as treasurer for her major club,
the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA), and is a member of Psi Chi, the psychology honor society."I'm very excited about graduating," she said with a huge smile.
Meghan Greene
Meghan Greene is an
environmental science major (with an option in ecology)
from Glens Falls, N.Y.She says the best part of her undergraduate experience at SUNY Plattsburgh was doing
research work with the
Lake Champlain Research Institute (LCRI)."Working with LCRI was a really great experience, and I gained a lot of knowledge
and real-world experience," said Meghan, who is the process of looking for a job and
contemplating going on to graduate school. "Every summer I had the opportunity to
go on Lake Champlain and collected samples that we tested in the lab. We monitored
blue-green algae and worked collaboratively with SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry
(Syracuse). The
hands-on research
has expanded my classroom experience."She said that the opportunity to do important research as an undergraduate was something
that would not have been available to her at many other schools."Professors at SUNY Plattsburgh get to know you, and they go out of their way for
you," she said.
Andre Marshall
Andre Marshall is an
accounting
and
business
major from Bronx, N.Y. Following winter commencement, Andre will have a few months
to relax before he starts his new career with UHY, an accounting firm in Washington,
D.C."My advisor,
Dr. (Mohamed) Gaber, was excellent. I definitely learned enough to survive in the accounting world,"
said Andre. "Plattsburgh is a small school, but not too small. It's not so big that
you get lost, but big enough to give students many different opportunities."Andre has been a member of the Plattsburgh State
Gospel Choir
and served as vice president for finance in the
Student Association (SA), which has an annual budget of nearly $1 million dollars."I learned a lot through these opportunities," said Andre. "When I first came here,
I wasn't the best of public speakers. Through the SA, I was able to get hands-on leadership
experience. I wouldn't change my decision to come here at all."
Caroline Huising
Caroline Huising is not your typical student. The 50-year old from Saranac, N.Y.,
graduates with honors (summa cum laude) in
human development and family relations, with a concentration in
gerontology."I'm very privileged to be here. I went to college in the '60s, didn't finish, got
married and had three children," said Huising. "When my last son went to college,
I was running a bakery out of my home and decided to take a class." Now she's a SUNY
Plattsburgh graduate."I'm walking in some pretty big shoes," she said as she described the accomplishments
of her three children. Her oldest son, Damien, is a phycist working at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in its nanotechnology department. Her daughter, Anja,
completed her master's in education from St. Lawrence University and is engaged to
be married. Her youngest son, Matthew, is currently studying Middle Eastern history
at American University in Cairo, Egypt."I've led an exciting life, and I'm happy to get up every day and get going," said
Caroline. "Life's not over when you turn 50; it's just beginning. I hope to dispel
ideas about ageism."She said as a student at SUNY Plattsburgh, she met many people of all ages and from
all over the world."I've had wonderful opportunities as a student. Life is never boring, and I have helped
make my life beautiful. And, I couldn't have gone back to school without my husband,
Jurgen's, support. He really is my wind beneath my wings."
Joanne Parkinson
Joanne Parkinson's future says there will be a lot of travel.Following commencement, Joanne will be the marketing coordinator at Tour Aid Travel.
She started with Tour Aid as part of an internship last year, which turned into a
job over the summer. At the end of the summer, the company offered her a job following
graduation. She will be responsible for maintaining the Website, capitalize on marketing
opportunities and traveling."The people at Tour Aid are great, and I'm going to be doing exactly what I want to.
I'm all set. It will be nice to stay in the area, but I will also have opportunities
to travel."A
marketing major
from Westport, N.Y., Joanne transferred to SUNY Plattsburgh after attending a year
at SUNY Albany."I just didn't fit there (in Albany). I came up to Plattsburgh. I like my professors,
and Plattsburgh had that small-town feel," she said. "I like how personable the professors
are with you. In Albany, my teachers had no idea who I was the whole year. Within
a very short amount of time, my professors here knew my name."Joanne said as a student at SUNY Plattsburgh, she had the chance to learn on her own
and that it was easy to excel by applying your own knowledge."SUNY Plattsburgh is special because of the people you meet. It's what you make of
all the experiences available to you. I feel everybody is accepted up here."
Tameka Walker
When Tameka Walker came to Plattsburgh in January, she knew she was in for an experience
of a lifetime. Coming from Jamaica, she didn't quite know what to think of the North
Country winter. But she survived the cold and graduated with a bachelor's in
accounting,
finance
and
business."I love the diversity at Plattsburgh State," she said. "You meet people from every
part of the world. The class size is great and allows you to have close interaction
with your professors who will work around your schedule. The entire Plattsburgh area
is great, with its beautiful natural surroundings. I couldn't have chosen a better
place to come to school."Tameka will trade in North Country living for a somewhat bigger place. In August,
she starts her new job as staff accountant with KPMG in Manhattan."I'm excited as much as I am afraid of going to a big city. I'm excited to be working
on Park Avenue with one of the big four accounting firms."It was a grueling interview process, and she was in the interview room with other
students from the top schools in the country. But she said that it was obvious the
foundation she received at SUNY Plattsburgh allowed her to compete with anyone."There were students from about eight or nine of the elite schools, and nobody knew
where Plattsburgh was. With the support I got from my professors, I realized that
I could compete with students from any school - Harvard, Fordham - I was up to the
standards."
Ashley Smith
Ashley Smith, a member of the
Cardinal women's tennis team, graduates with a bachelor's degree in
business management.SUNY Plattsburgh wasn't her first choice. As a freshman, she traveled from her hometown
of Ithaca, N.Y., to Lexington where she enrolled at the University of Kentucky. But,
according to Ashley, Kentucky wasn't the right fit for her."I was looking around at the state schools (in New York) and came to Plattsburgh for
a visit. I loved the surroundings," she said. "I'm glad I went here. I really appreciated
the small class sizes."Ashley made the most of her time as a SUNY Plattsburgh student. She had the opportunity
to spend a semester abroad in Australia and played on the tennis team for two years."Playing on the tennis team was good for me, and I love to play tennis. As a member
of the team, I got to meet a lot of people and other athletes."Coming here was the best decision. I would never have gotten the study abroad opportunity.
It's just a lot different up here. The professors are here for you."Ashley is currently sending out applications for Master of Business Administration
programs at Harvard, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Cornell,
Arizona State and University of California at Irvine.
