CLASS NOTES
CLASS NOTES
winter 2014 | St. Lawrence University Magazine 63
62 winter 2014 | St. Lawrence University Magazine
Amanda Pendergrass
wrote, “I am still work-
ing at the New England Center for Children in
Marlborough, Mass. I'm in the public school ser-
vices department as a BCBA in a nearby public
school. I got my master’s in applied behavior
analysis last year from Western New England
University, and I just started school again in a
program through Simmons College to get my
certificate to teach severe special needs. Then I
will be done with school!"
Yuki Poudyal
, who majored in psychology and
sociology at St. Lawrence, was recently featured
in an article on yahoo.com. After graduation,
Yuki returned home to Kathmandu, Nepal, and
launched “Kolor Kathmandu,” which has involved
over 60 artists painting murals throughout the
city. Many of the murals feature religious and
abstract themes, but also address some of Ne-
pal’s social and cultural issues, including caste
discrimination. Yuki said about the project, “Kath-
mandu used to be a city of art and culture, but
when I returned home after five years studying
in the United States, I saw that it was bombarded
with posters and negative visuals.” After working
on this project for a while, she is happy with the
results:“Not a single mural has been painted over
by someone. People seem to respect our works,”
she said in the article. Congratulations on this
amazing project, Yuki!
2010
Joshua Johnson ’10
1110 8th Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
716-499-3016 (cell)
Next Reunion: 5
th
, 2017 (cluster with ’08, ’09)
I hope everyone is keeping warm this winter.
Many updates to share with you after a busy wed-
ding season.
Kiley Sotomayor
wrote on the gathering of sev-
eral classmates for the wedding of
Timothy Har-
ris
and Jennifer Mauro. In attendance were
Zach
Slater, Sean Voss, Steve Bodnar
and alumni
from various other classes.
Amanda Earley
ran into Kiley at another wed-
ding. Both were guests as
Ellen Truskowski
married Ryan Pluta. The wedding took place in
Hammond, N.Y., and the reception was in Clay-
ton, N.Y., on September 1. The wedding included
Liz Truskowski, Emmanuel Mbong, Heather
Goss, Beth Penrose, Christian Lopez
and
Tara
Johnson
.
Sidnie Howard
married Salvatore D'Amelio in
September in Skaneateles, N.Y.
Cathy Yancey
and
Kaitlin Hewlett
were in attendance, along
with Dr. Thomas Bersani '78.
Alex Curran
and Christy Tobia ’08 were mar-
ried on October 20, 2012, in Grande Prairie, Al-
berta. They additionally had a big reception in
Canton on July 20, 2013, with numerous alums
on hand. In college, Alex was a hockey player
and Christy was a sweater girl, and at the re-
ception Alex put on his jersey and Christy bor-
rowed a sweater for memories’ sake. See also
the group shot on page 58.
Switching gears from weddings to careers,
Melissa Freakley
was hired at the Watertown,
N.Y., law firm Conboy, McKay, Bachman & Kendall,
LLP. She received a juris doctor magna cum laude
from Syracuse University College of Law in 2012
and was admitted to the New York State Bar in
June. While in law school Melissa was a member
of the
Syracuse Law Review
staff, Justinian Honor
Society, and the Estate Planning and Family Law
Society.
Geoff Baum
started working at GE for a short
stint post-graduation, which eventually led to
his entire team of eight or nine people quitting
to create a startup. The new company is called
Grey Wall Software and they developed a prod-
uct called Veoci-The Virtual EOC. The product is
a tool used to manage emergency and incident
responses. You can learn more about his project
by visiting the website
Keep the news coming and be sure to register to
attend our first reunion! We will be clustered with
the classes of 2008 and 2009.
2011
Beth Spadaccini ’11
PO Box 49
Waddington NY 13694
315-323-0650
Next Reunion: 5
th
, 2017 (cluster with ’12, ’13)
2012
Lauren Liebhaber ’12
510 East Broadway
Boston, MA 02127
315-527-8452 (cell)
Next Reunion: 5
th
, 2017 (cluster with ’11, ’13)
After living in NewYork City for a year with
John
Curle
and
Griffin Green, Matt Dodge
moved
home to central New Hampshire and is working
at New Hampton School, his prep school alma
mater, as a math teacher, football and ski coach,
and dormparent. Matt says it was a great new op-
portunity and he was excited for a very busy fall.
Nicole Carnevale
successfully survived her first
year of law school at the University of Pittsburgh
and spent the summer clerking for a Family Court
judge in Allegheny County. She is anticipating
heading home next summer and clerking for a
Providence Family Court judge to gain as much
exposure as possible to family law.
TimMoore
is working for Elite EquineVeterinary
as the head “vet tech” and office manager. Elite
Equine Veterinary is an equine-only ambulatory
veterinary business based in Marcy, N.Y. Tim is
hoping to attend veterinary school at Cornell Uni-
versity in the future.
2013
Brittany Moten ’13
536 East 79th Street, Apt #5E
NewYork, NY 10075
858-444-7298
Next Reunion: 5
th
, 2017 (cluster with ’11, ’12)
The Class of 2013 is continuing to do exciting
things as we begin our post-undergraduate lives!
Over the summer,
Erica Spera
began pursuing
standup comedy in New York City. She moved
to Los Angeles in the fall to be a regular on a live
streaming podcast. In addition to performing
standup, she is looking for work in the entertain-
ment industry, preferably something in comedy.
In July,
Ashley Jeffress
accepted a position at
Wayfair, an e-commerce home and lifestyle web-
site. She is an event merchandise associate for
their flash sale site, Joss &Main. She is living in the
beautiful Beacon Hill area of Boston, Mass., with
Kappa sister
Tate Gillman
.
After spending her summer as the trip program
head at an all-girls’ summer camp in Fitzwilliam,
N. H.,
Emily Grilli
relocated to Denver in August.
She is spending a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA
Volunteer with the Jefferson Conservation Dis-
trict. She serves as aWestern HardrockWatershed
Team (WHWT) member, supporting the district’s
current forest renewal and wildfire mitigation
projects while continuing to reach out to local
communities promoting healthy living and ur-
ban agriculture projects. As a VISTA volunteer, she
wears many hats and is excited to see what her
humbling year of service in Colorado brings!
Kate Mahar
began her new role as an outdoor
educator with the High Trails Outdoor Education
Center in Florissant, Col., and is taking it by storm!
Kate works alongside other outdoor educators,
teaching sixth grade students a week-long curric-
ulum based on Colorado's landscape and history.
Students, teachers and staff work together while
learning crucial team-building and individual
lifestyle skills. Kate hopes to return to graduate
school in Rochester, N.Y., once she finishes explor-
ing theWest.
After investing her time, dedication and posi-
tive energy into St. Lawrence women's basket-
ball,
Amber Rodgers
was given the opportunity
to spread her wings this year at Denver Univer-
sity. She works with their NCAA Division I wom-
en's basketball program and serves as one of the
assistant coaches. Additionally, she is enrolled in
DU's Graduate School of Social Work and after
two years she will graduate with her MSW.
Amber, Kate and Emily, townhouse-mates at St.
Lawrence, live together in a cozy apartment in
Denver.
Speaking of Saints getting together,
Eliza Cress
and a “slu” of recent alumni and current students
met up last summer to attend a Grace Potter and
the Nocturnals concert at Tanglewood in the
Berkshires of Massachusetts. In true Laurentian
spirit, they brought along their good old trusty
scarlet and brown banner.
The St. Lawrence spirit was also heavily present
at the lovely matrimonial ceremony of KDS sister
Kelly Brennan
and Adam Bendon ’11, which
took place on July 6, 2013. Loved ones surround-
ed Kelly and Adam, including much of their St.
Lawrence family on their special day.
I have taken a job as an assistant media planner
at Havas Media in New York, N.Y. Havas is an ad-
vertising media agency with offices all over the
world, but in the United States, has locations in
New York, Chicago and headquarters in Boston.
I help plan digital and online advertising cam-
paigns for different financial companies.
Another big congratulations and good luck to
the exuberant Class of 2013 as we begin our lives
in the“grown-up" world!
Graduate Programs
Gary E. Krolikowski M’77
4380 Lakeshore Drive
Castile, NY 14427
585-237-6168
In an attempt to hear from more of you I have
started an open group on Facebook: “Saint Law-
rence University Graduate Program Alumni.” I
urge you to join this group and extend its mem-
bership beyond the current two. Hopefully it will
provide a meaningful sharing of our St. Lawrence
memories and our subsequent successes. This
is the first time the group’s existence has been
shared with the St. Lawrence community. Let’s
make it a success!
St. Lawrence has contributed so much to each
of us who completed graduate studies in Canton;
please think of those contributions, your experi-
ences, your accomplishments that St. Lawrence
University played a role in! Please feel free to
contact this reporter and share those insights so
that they may be reported to the balance of the
University community.
One graduate alumnus did contact us and pro-
vided both news and a North Country history les-
son as well!
Mark Merritt
states that his gradu-
ate education set him up for a career in “human
intelligence.”He has recently published his fourth
book,
They Rest Not at Night
(available at Amazon.
com). This new book is based on his 27 years of
first-hand experience in Special Operations; he
has travelled to many locations throughout the
world.
Mark’s father was a St. Lawrence employee in
the 1960s, and his North Country roots extend
to General Edwin A. Merritt, a leader during the
CivilWar who later chaired St. Lawrence’s Board of
Trustees for 28 years, partly while also serving as a
state Assemblyman. Merritt Hall at SUNY Potsdam
bears his name and the Potsdam museum bears
the general’s image in a stained glass window.
Tori Carton ’11, Kelley Jenkins ’11
and
Megan McNiven ’11
reunited in Chicago to
complete the Chicago Half Marathon on Sep-
tember 8, 2013.
When you purchase SaintsWear items, you’re making a difference for stu-
dents and buying a high-quality product. The Alumni Council receives 60%
of the profits from SaintsWear sales, 100% of which go toward supporting
programming for our students.
• Bracelet charms
• St. Lawrence cycling jerseys
• Rugby shirts
• Scarlet and brown unisex cardigans
…and more!
See our entire collection online at
or call the
St. Lawrence bookstore at 1-800-379-5460.
S A I N T S W E A R
