Springfield College Alumni News from Around the Globe

In this section, you will find alumni updates submitted January 22, 2024 through February 25, 2024. Thanks for sharing your news! Please direct any future submissions to alumni@springfieldcollege.edu.

By: Maria D'Agostino Crawford '91 and Damon Markiewicz

Springfield College has had strong representation at the Super Bowl for nearly 20 years and this year was no different. Kansas City Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo '82 and Assistant Head Coach Dave Toub '84 both played football at Springfield College prior to their impressive NFL careers. Spagnuolo made NFL history as the first offensive or defensive coordinator to win four Super Bowls. Congratulations to our Super Bowl Champions!

Jon Conrad '97 could be seen during the Super Bowl broadcast at midfield for the coin toss. Conrad is the Athletic Director of Lahainaluna High School on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Wildfires swept through much of Lahaina last summer, yet the Lahainaluna High School football team persevered and were the Champions of the Maui Scholastic League. Conrad, along with several of the team's coaches and players were recognized just prior to the coin toss.

Thank you to Anna Woosley G'20, Event Operations Coordinator, NFL UK who sent in this terrific photo of her and fellow Springfield College alumnus Sebastian Martin '22, Seasonal Event Accreditation Assistant, NFL from Super Bowl LVIII. Also in attendance was Carla Lide-Buglione G'11, Senior Manager, Football Operations, NFL who was taking part in her seventh Super Bowl.

When asked about his Springfield College experience, Martin shared "SC has led me to have a successful career so far by having professors who pushed me to be comfortable with the uncomfortable moments. They taught me to listen with intent, think critically, and build relationships in a fast paced industry. To me Springfield College means having a strong work ethic, compassion for others, a supportive community, and the opportunity to access diverse life experiences."

Congratulations to Travis Bean '16 and Amanda Rodrigues '16 who were married on September 2, 2023, in their home state of Rhode Island. They both lived on the third floor of Reed Hall their freshman year which is where they met. Not until two years after graduation did they reconnect and the rest is history.

They fell in love in Kresge gym. Congratulations to gymnastics alumni Jess Clemens ‘19 and Tucker McClure ‘16, who were married in December with their SC community by their side.

Not only did this incredible group of alumni SHOW UP for their friends, they flew to Cancun to celebrate their wedding.

Congratulations to Samuel Grudzien '16 and Callie Phillips Grudzien '16 who were married this past August at Butternut Farm Golf Club in Stow, MA.

Says Callie, "We met at Springfield College on the swim team where we both swam competitively for four years. We officially started dating our junior year and have been together ever since. Our wedding was beautiful and we got to celebrate with some of our friends and teammates from the SC swim team. We are grateful that Springfield College brought us together and we have had many wonderful memories to share together ever since!"

If you would like to be featured in an upcoming "Wedding Wednesday", please email your photos and a little bit about your love story to alumni@springfieldcollege.edu. We welcome anniversary stories as well.

Springfield College alumni, students, and faculty loudly and proudly represented our alma mater at the American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting Conference in Boston. So many connections, reunions, and "what a small world" moments made for a great get together at the alumni social in Faneuil Hall.

Thank you to our Springfield College alumni who recently got together in Hartford, CT. It is always wonderful to see alumni from different generations connecting and growing their networks.

What a fun (and warmer than New England) Florida Alumni gathering recently held in St. Pete's Beach. Thank you to all who attended another great night of connecting and fellowship.

Congratulations to graduate alumna Shannon Sullivan, G’22, (pictured on the left), Director of Camp and Teen Services at the YMCA of Central & Northern Westchester, for receiving the Rising Star Award at the Northeast Camp Conference held at Frost Valley YMCA. This honor recognizes an “emerging leader in the camping industry who brings new ideas, creative approaches, a desire to learn, and a passion to the Y camping movement.”

"Ricky Peacock '13 and I were both at a UGA basketball game vs. Florida," writes Gabby Gaudrealt '14. "I am an assistant coach for cross country and track, and Ricky works with marketing for BMW and has an account with UGA. We haven't seen each other since we graduated so it was really cool that UGA reconnected us. Go Pride!"

"Look who ended up as my physical therapist, not only a Springfield College alum, but she also works and lives in the next town," writes Judy Watson Ingram '63. Judy's physical therapist is Kristen Albin Pease '08, G'09. Great to see they are both wearing Springfield College gear!

Springfield College alumna Jennifer Steier, G'01, was recently honored with the Industrial/Organizational Psychology program Alumni Excellence Award. Steier received the honor in recognition of displaying excellence in her profession and engagement with the Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Human Resources Management professional community.

Steier returned to Alden Street on Thursday, February 8 to receive her award, and she had the opportunity to meet with current faculty, staff, and students to talk about her professional journey, and recap how her educational experience at Springfield College prepared her for her career after graduation.

“It’s always enjoyable to visit the campus, and it’s rewarding to spend time talking with current students and answering their questions,” explained Steier. “I had a great experience at Springfield College, one that prepared me to be successful. I really appreciate the award, it means a lot to me.”

Can we tell you how much we love when alumni visit the Alumni House? Recent visitors include Tom Girolamo '18 and Vin Minotti '94.

Tom and Vin, both of Backyard Sports, a leading provider of community team sports, also spoke to sport management students during their time on campus.

Christie Idiong ‘16, G’19, stopped by recently and we couldn’t resist getting out the 2016 yearbook to reminisce.

Hope to see some of you on Alden Street soon! The porch light is always on.

Steve Farrell, PhD, FACSM ‘78 recently retired from The Cooper Institute in Dallas after 41 years. He held a number of positions at Cooper during his unusually long tenure. Early in his career, he was part of a team that delivered employee wellness programs for the Dallas and Richardson TX school districts, as well as for City of Dallas employees. He then directed similar wellness programs for employees of Union Life (Little Rock, Arkansas) and Fireman's Fund (Green Bay, WI) insurance companies.

The next three decades were spent in the Education Division at Cooper where Steve and his colleagues trained over 12,000 Federal, State, and Municipal law enforcement fitness leaders in various week-long workshops that were delivered at the Institute, as well as across nearly all 50 states. He also taught workshops for several thousand fitness leaders from all branches of the U.S. military.

These workshops took him to dozens of military bases around the world. During this time, The Cooper Institute became just one of a handful of organizations to achieve national accreditation for personal trainer certification. Steve completed his career in the Research Division of the Institute, where he published numerous papers in medical journals based on the 175,000 patient visits to the Cooper Clinic since 1970.

After 36 years as a physical education teacher, coach, and administrator and 31 years in the Danvers Massachusetts Public School System, Jim Madore '66 recently retired.

Jim and his wife Pam are living in Naples, Florida. Jim has a strong passion for writing. At the moment, he has three novels published on Amazon under the pen name J.R. Madore.

Elena Marchand '98 has been promoted to chief human resources officer at PACE-RI. In her new position, Marchand will report directly to the chief executive officer of the Rhode Island-based nonprofit organization. Marchand joined the HR team at PACE-RI in 2017 as an HR generalist. Most recently she was serving as senior director of human resources. Marchand's professional career (prior to and including her tenure at PACE-RI) has been dedicated to working within the nonprofit sector in various administrative, training, and healthcare management roles.

“Elena is a remarkable professional who possesses the right level of skill and leadership abilities to assume this new position. I am grateful for her dedication to this organization and the energy she will bring to this new role,” said CEO Joan Kwiatkowski. “I look forward to working with Elena as we expand the duties of the human resources department to serve and support our current employees and our future workforce.”

Biographer Craig Shirley '78 is about to release his sixth book on Ronald Reagan entitled, The Search for Reagan published by Post Hill Press. Shirley is also president of the noted public affairs firm of Shirley and McVicker.

“In 2024 practically no political figure has an approval rating above 50%, but in 1984 President Ronald Reagan won re-election by carrying forty nine of fifty states. And when he left the Oval Office he had an unheard of 73% approval rating. Why?” said Shirley.

Shirley is the author of six critically praised bestselling books on President Reagan, Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All, Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign that Changed America, Last Act: The Final Years and Emerging Legacy of Ronald Reagan, Reagan Rising: The Decisive Years, 1976-1980 and Citizen Newt: the Making of a Reagan Republican.

Congratulations to Shaun Ermi '17, G'22, who has been named Assistant Coach for the Women's Volleyball team at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to his current role, Ermi served as the assistant coach at Loyola Chicago.

In 2022, he served as a volunteer assistant at Ohio State, helping with coding and statistics in game for real-time trends for both the men’s and women’s programs. The women reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 2004 while the men reached the NCAA Quarterfinals.

Prior to his stint in Columbus, Ermi spent two seasons at Springfield College as an assistant coach for the men’s volleyball program. Ermi joined the college coaching ranks after coaching at the club level for Elite Volleyball Club from 2019 to 2020.

Many thanks to Christie Idiong '16 G'19, Adjunct Faculty, Springfield College and Founder of Cornerstone Conversations, Erica Rivers '98, Director of Athletics, Massasoit Community College and Hassan Robinson '95, Principal, Highland Park Elementary School for returning to campus for a discussion "Black on Alden Street" in celebration of Black History Month.

Deja Ware '19, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, moderated a wonderful conversation which touched on our panelists' time on Alden Street, challenges, career and life advice and many fond memories of the late John Wilson who had a 38-year career at Springfield College. Wilson served in a variety of roles, including Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

1991 classmates Kim Zenisky, Beth Schauer Blum and Maria D'Agostino Crawford recently got together for breakfast and a morning of Springfield College reminiscing and laughs. The trio met their first year at SC and have been friends ever since.

Send your updates, photos of you and your SC classmates and other news to alumni@springfieldcollege.edu. Thank you!

Movement and Sports Studies graduate Sichen Ni '23 has joined the tennis coaching staff at IMG Academy in Florida.

Tye Mill '18 recently started a new position with the Bridgeport Islanders (AHL) as their Manager of Ticket Sales and Service.

Double alumna Kyla Boyns '21, G'23, is a Training Specialist at TTM Technologies and looks forward to building on her experiences as a training and development professional.

Justin Turski '00 has started a new position as Territory Manager, Athletic Surfaces at Crafco, Inc.

Ron Stepanek, G'92, has been selected by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of New York to serve as their first ever Executive Director.

Phillip Schifilliti '21, Accessibility Coordinator at UBS Arena, shared that after months of preparation and fine-tuning, UBS Arena's official ADA Guide was launched at the start of the '23-'24 NY Islanders season. The guide is intended to inform guests of key resources and accommodations available for all individuals with a mobility or accessibility need, helping establish a sense of comfort before their visit. The guide has also been distributed to front-of-house supervisors, enhancing their knowledge of arena practices.

Vanessa Copp Wallace '85 - Having traveled the world as a military spouse since 1985, Vanessa has taught physical education and Christian education throughout the years. Currently in Dover, DE, she now works in a chiropractor's office and continues to educate and encourage folks in their healthy lifestyle choices within a Christian environment.