Spring 2020
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BY WAY OF BUCKNELL
SPRING FORWARD
Blossoms abound as the days grow warmer.
If you would like a reprint of this photo, please fill out the form at bucknell.edu/bmagazine. We will send you a complimentary 8-by-10 print.
photograph by Emily Paine
BY WAY OF BUCKNELL
SPRING FORWARD
Blossoms abound as the days grow warmer.
If you would like a reprint of this photo, please fill out the form at bucknell.edu/bmagazine. We will send you a complimentary 8-by-10 print.
photograph by Emily Paine
Pathways
From Nicaragua to Bucknell typography

by Michael Blanding

In a 2018 performance, artist Elyla Sinverguenza walked slowly through downtown Managua, Nicaragua, wearing a long black dress and hood, clutching a naked doll. Protesting repressive gender and sexuality policies, the artist painted half the doll red and black to represent the socialist Sandinista government and the other half blue and white, the colors of the opposition National Unity party.

Elyla (whose name is pronounced El-EE-la, and who uses gender-neutral pronouns) has long staged provocative public performances, often involving symbolic costumes and rituals. “The so-called socialist left in my country has systematically undermined LGBTQ rights and erased our histories,” says Elyla, who fled Nicaragua after receiving death threats. “Any activist or artist who is a dissident voice under such a dictatorial regime is at risk of repression, persecution and death.”

Pathways
Photograph of Maren Burling '19
From Nicaragua to Bucknell typography
by Michael Blanding
In a 2018 performance, artist Elyla Sinverguenza walked slowly through downtown Managua, Nicaragua, wearing a long black dress and hood, clutching a naked doll. Protesting repressive gender and sexuality policies, the artist painted half the doll red and black to represent the socialist Sandinista government and the other half blue and white, the colors of the opposition National Unity party.

Elyla (whose name is pronounced El-EE-la, and who uses gender-neutral pronouns) has long staged provocative public performances, often involving symbolic costumes and rituals. “The so-called socialist left in my country has systematically undermined LGBTQ rights and erased our histories,” says Elyla, who fled Nicaragua after receiving death threats. “Any activist or artist who is a dissident voice under such a dictatorial regime is at risk of repression, persecution and death.”

Gateway
Letters
Editor's Letter graphic
Sherri Kimmel, Editor
For questions or comments, contact me at sherri.kimmel@bucknell.edu
Every person reading this magazine has experienced a life disruption due to the advent of the coronavirus (COVID-19). A quarterly publication is anything but nimble, but we have made as many modifications as we could for a magazine that was fully assembled and ready for printing when the COVID-19 crisis arose. You can read a campus update on Page 6 and, on Page 12, learn the reaction of a senior athlete who saw his final baseball season come to an abrupt halt. Look for a fuller report in our Summer issue on how Bucknell and its community have weathered this unprecedented era. Our last issue had a theme of hope. Let’s hold that thought.
MAKING AN IMPACT: Nine thumbs up for the HOPE theme in the Winter 2020 Bucknell Magazine. It is as timely and as welcome as anything could be. No one is immune from having normal turn into nightmare, but the sharing of experiences can inspire pathways unimagined. And it highlights your commitment to a publication that has impact. Well done, and thank you for creating and contributing to this. You’ve raised your own bar. I’m reserving my 10-thumbed hand to see what your next issue brings.
Ben Nelson ’72
Titusville, Fla.
MORE ON POPULATION GROWTH
John Clegg P’17, responding in the Winter 2020 edition, illuminates the point of my Fall 2019 letter to the editor. He writes, “Anti-human themes should have no place in modern ecology and environmentalism.” I had written that discussion of population growth was conspicuously absent from sustainability and ecology dialogue. His position, like many engaged persons’, is that even discussion is a nonstarter. I do not advocate any particular solution, but it must be part of the conversation. Ignoring the impact of exponential population growth is unrealistic at best.
Douglas Burns ’77
Jordan, Minn.
FINDING HOPE IN HAITI
ONE CANNOT HELP but be inspired by the true accounts of hope amidst adversity in the Winter 2020 issue. Where can one find hope? The pendulum may yet swing back to something as old and timeless as faith in God. It’s where Bucknell got its start.

I have been fortunate to witness hope in action via many service trips to Haiti following the massive 2010 earthquake that resulted in a reported 230,000 deaths. Working through World Hope and Global Partners, we arrived in Haiti in July 2010 to build the first of 20 structures to replace those that were destroyed. With materials previously shipped by way of sea containers, we began our work at the epicenter of the quake near Léogâne. The church we replaced was home to a congregation of about 200 people, 28 of whom died in the quake just six months before.

That July, we worked side-by-side with Haitians in the sweltering heat (120-degree days) constructing a 40-by-64-foot building with a gabled tin roof topping 17-foot-high walls designed to be earthquake and hurricane resistant. We were privileged to worship with them upon completion, and you could feel the hope that their faith in Christ provided. The men wore pressed white shirts and ties, the women wore beautifully colored dresses, and the children wore bows in their hair. Although they live in what is considered to be the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, they chose not to accept defeat.

We returned to Haiti five times over the next few years to help build and complete other church/school buildings. The stories are all similar. Hope does exist in the most difficult of situations. This hope comes from their faith in God, as does mine. We can learn from these “poorest” of people.

Todd Jenner ’66
Cameron, N.Y.
A GIRL CALLED HOPE

The most recent Bucknell Magazine asked readers to answer the question of what hope means to us. Hope is my daughter. That might sound cliché. Doesn’t every parent think their kid represents hope? But really … her story, our story, is deep. She represents everything that hope should be. My husband, Chris Crellin ’00, and I tried for years to get pregnant, and after years of infertility and trying everything medically possible, we were told we would not have children of our own. Then months later, we found out that we were finally pregnant (with no interventions). At 22 weeks’ gestation, we found out our daughter would be born with a critical congenital heart defect, tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, and would require lifesaving surgery shortly after birth. We knew instantly what we would name her: Hope.

Hope is now 5 and thriving. She is a light and everything that hope should be. In the years before her birth there was so much darkness, but despite her illness and the darkness that came with it, she brought light into our lives. Since her birth, I find hope everywhere I go. Maybe one day she will bring her light to the Bucknell Class of ’38.

Molly Saghirian Crellin ’01
Bedford, Mass.
Table of Contents
Blossoms abound as the days grow warmer.
From Nicaragua to Bucknell.
GATEWAY
Publishing during the COVID-19 crisis.
Our readers share their thoughts.
Bucknell moves to remote instruction as coronavirus spreads.
In Lewisburg and far afield, Bucknell’s students and staff make a positive and palpable difference.
Black alumni and students reinforce the Bucknell bond.
Freeman College of Management expands offerings.
Provost Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak recommends some favorites.
Trish McGee ’83 acts, directs — and teaches philosophy.
Local dogs are stars in Professor Kevin Myers’ research methods course.
Baseball student-athlete Tyler Wincig ’20 was a team leader.
Arborist William Kuntz offers tips on caring for trees and shrubs.
Inside-Out students stage a transformative “Twelve Angry Men.”
Lawyer Elaine Silver ’74 brokers peaceful divorces.
FEATURES
Introducing young Bucknellians who spur innovation.
As new generations join the workforce, change is the watchword.
George Washington Carver and Forrest Brown bonded on the road and through correspondence.
’RAY BUCKNELL
Setting the record straight on controversial speakers.
Bill Saporito ’76 depicts a story of redemption in “Becoming Coach Jake.”
Steven Goodell ’80 continues law career after a catastrophic accident.
Malik Malone ’91 markets the Buckeyes.
YMCA CEO Michael Bright ’93 serves the Newark, N.J., community.
Jennifer Bower Dawson ’03 helps keep the roads safe as self-driving takes off.
Michael Boccella ’07 builds a career as a school superintendent.
Erin Burns Bellisimo ’93 helps young women in finance succeed.
Haley Perry Romano ’90 teaches students business basics.
Alumnae make their mark in finance.
Jake Bellucci ’12 helps M&M’s develop new flavors.
Nicole Adams ’18 connects students with corporate partners.
Remember your friends, family and classmates.
Your opportunities to get involved.
Rebecca Meyers unites love of birds and filmmaking.
ON THE COVER:
Introducing Bucknell’s young innovators.

Illustration by Margaret Tillman Ayres

Bucknell
magazine

Volume 13, Issue 2

Vice President for Communications
Gail Glover

Senior Director of Content Strategy
Heather Johns

Editor
Sherri Kimmel

Design
Amy Wells

Associate Editor
Matt Hughes

class notes editor
Heidi Hormel

Contributors
Brad Tufts
Emily Paine
Susan Lindt
Bryan Wendell
Brooke Thames

Editorial Assistants
Miyah Powe ’20
Kim Faulk

Website
bucknell.edu/bmagazine

Contact
Email: bmagazine@bucknell.edu
Class Notes:
classnotes@bucknell.edu
Telephone: 570-577-3611

Bucknell Magazine
(ISSN 1044-7563), of which this is volume 13, number 2, is published in winter, spring, summer and fall by Bucknell University, One Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837. Periodicals Postage paid at Lewisburg, PA and additional mailing offices.
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Postmaster
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© 2020 Bucknell University
Please recycle after use.

Mix Paper from responsible sources
student working from home
Photo: Emily Paine
Safety First
Bucknell moves to remote instruction as coronavirus spreads
by Matt Hughes
Bucknell took action in March to protect students, faculty, staff and the Lewisburg community from the coronavirus (COVID-19), including transitioning to remote instruction, ending study-abroad programs and canceling events.

The University announced March 10 that classes would be held remotely for the remaining spring semester and that students would be required to vacate campus housing (with prorated credits for room and board, and exceptions available for students with need). Two days later, Bucknell canceled all events through the end of the spring semester, including admissions open houses, and advised students abroad to return to the U.S. as soon as possible.

President John Bravman acknowledged the disruption these changes would cause for a residential university like Bucknell, but he said they were taken to safeguard the most vulnerable to the disease.

news ticker
DOLLARS FOR DIGITAL
A $1 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will allow Bucknell to partner with the Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory and Newcastle University. They will establish a cooperative that supports an expanding collection of peer-reviewed digital scholarly works.
SUSTAINABILITY STAR
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education awarded Bucknell a STARS Gold rating to recognize its sustainability achievements. STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education.
GOLD DIGGER
Bucknell Magazine won two gold awards — for best magazine and staff writing — in the Accolades Awards contest sponsored by District II of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. “Pedagogy Behind Bars,” from the Winter 2019 edition, was a platinum finalist for best article and advances to international competition.
AROUND TOWN AND AROUND THE GLOBE
’burg and Beyond
In Lewisburg and far afield, Bucknell’s students and staff make a positive and palpable difference.
From left: Juniors Kartikeya Sharma, Ryan Bailis and Julia Knox take design thinking on the road.
Photo: April Bartholomew
" "
From left: Juniors Kartikeya Sharma, Ryan Bailis and Julia Knox take design thinking on the road.

" "Selinsgrove, Pa.
There’s no shortage of what Ryan Bailis ’21 calls “wicked problems” — issues that can only be tackled with novel, innovative ideas. This fall, the computer engineering and management major teamed up with Julia Knox ’21 and Kartikeya Sharma ’21 to create a workshop that empowers undergraduates to conquer complex challenges.

What They Did
Sharma, Knox and Bailis led a three-hour design-thinking workshop at nearby Susquehanna University. Design thinking is a problem-solving
process that helps people brainstorm effective, actionable solutions. After hearing about a workshop Sharma, Knox and Bailis taught at Bucknell, Susquehanna professor Emma Fleck invited the three to host a similar event for her management class. The Bucknellians led Susquehanna students through a series of interactive activities to generate creative solutions for dining and laundry service issues.

‘We Built This’
Black alumni and students reinforce the Bucknell bond
by Brooke Thames

In the 174 years since Bucknell was founded, many traditions have come and gone. But occasionally students realize that some are worth resurrecting. Effiem Obasi ’20 is a case in point. Obasi was serving as president of the Black Student Union (BSU) when she discovered there once was a Black Alumni Weekend on campus. But it was phased out in 1998, the year of her birth. Obasi had been looking for ways to strengthen the bond between Black alumni and current students, so she launched a revived Black Alumni Weekend last year. Though no longer the BSU president, she helped plan the second annual weekend Feb. 28–March 1.

This year’s celebration was even bigger and better as the decade-old, student-led Black Arts Festival merged with Black Alumni Weekend. The combined programs offered a chance for Black alumni and students to meet, network and honor Black history at Bucknell. Standout events included a networking brunch with an alumni panel, a step-dance show featuring local Black Greek letter organizations (and the University’s own Bisonettes dance team) and a Black history exhibit in Bucknell’s African American affinity house.

“We wanted to create something that made Black alumni feel like they needed to come back to campus and reconnect,” says Obasi, a psychology major and Posse scholar from Los Angeles. “We also thought it was important to establish something that current Black students can claim ownership of and can connect to 10, 15 or 30 years from now.”

New Management Major and Minors to Debut
by Matt Hughes
The Freeman College of Management is expanding academic programs to help students build specialized skill sets to pursue their dream jobs.

This fall, the college will add a new major in management & organizations and two new minors: a minor in real estate that’s open to majors in all colleges, and a minor in management that’s just for students in the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Engineering.

The new major is open-ended by design, says Raquel Alexander, the Kenneth W. Freeman Professor of Management and Dean of the Freeman College of Management. Students can build management skills in the areas that most interest them and best serve their career plans.

“It allows students flexibility when they walk in the door,” Alexander says.

Already drawing interest is the real-estate specialization, which draws on Bucknell’s strong alumni network (the Freeman College’s real-estate advisory board has 19 alumni members) to offer authentic industry experiences students won’t find elsewhere.

The college also offers opportunities for more students to explore management. The new management minor enables arts & sciences and engineering majors to earn credentials certifying their management experience. The real-estate minor is also open to students from any of Bucknell’s three colleges.

Students can earn the management minor through Bucknell’s Summer Management Institute, launched last summer. This immersive, eight-week program explores basic management principles and all aspects of management taught at Bucknell, as well as lessons in leadership drawn from the liberal arts and real-world consulting.

These and other recent changes have broadened options for Freeman College students. In the last two years, the college reinvented its accounting & financial management curriculum to offer new majors in accounting and finance. Also added was a new business analytics major that prepares students for a future that’s increasingly data driven.

What I'm Reading Logo for Bucknell Magazine
Clip art of Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak, Provost and Professor of English
Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak
Provost and Professor of English
Lima :: Limón, Natalie Scenters-Zapico Cover
Lima :: Limón, Natalie Scenters-Zapico.
Poetry is my go-to genre after a long day at work. The precision of the linguistic choices, the rhythms of the language and the conciseness of expression drown out the noise of the day. Lima :: Limón takes me back to the borderlands of South Texas, where English and Spanish intermingle and intersect in a single sentence. The collection depicts the borderlands as a confluence of many cultures that coexist, and not always comfortably.
The Capital, Robert Menasse Cover
The Capital, Robert Menasse.
I look forward to long flights when I can read more than 30 pages of a novel. Recently, I read The Capital, set in Brussels, the European Union’s capital. The characters come from a host of nation-states and bring their own desires, aspirations and frustrations, used cleverly as a plot device to demonstrate the real potential and dangers of fracturing the union, whose goal was to bring peace and economic stability to Europe.
The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux, Cathy N. Davidson Cover
The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux, Cathy N. Davidson.
My work as provost engages me closely with literature on higher education. An Americanist by training (like me), the author reviews historical models of higher education in the U.S., from the Puritan university to the one designed by Charles Eliot in response to the Industrial Revolution. It is time, she argues, to review that paradigm and consider how we can best prepare students for a more complex world.
What I'm Reading Logo for Bucknell Magazine
Clip art of Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak, Provost and Professor of English
Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak
Provost and Professor of English
Lima :: Limón, Natalie Scenters-Zapico Cover
Lima :: Limón, Natalie Scenters-Zapico.
Poetry is my go-to genre after a long day at work. The precision of the linguistic choices, the rhythms of the language and the conciseness of expression drown out the noise of the day. Lima :: Limón takes me back to the borderlands of South Texas, where English and Spanish intermingle and intersect in a single sentence. The collection depicts the borderlands as a confluence of many cultures that coexist, and not always comfortably.
The Capital, Robert Menasse Cover
The Capital, Robert Menasse.
I look forward to long flights when I can read more than 30 pages of a novel. Recently, I read The Capital, set in Brussels, the European Union’s capital. The characters come from a host of nation-states and bring their own desires, aspirations and frustrations, used cleverly as a plot device to demonstrate the real potential and dangers of fracturing the union, whose goal was to bring peace and economic stability to Europe.
The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux, Cathy N. Davidson Cover
The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux, Cathy N. Davidson.
My work as provost engages me closely with literature on higher education. An Americanist by training (like me), the author reviews historical models of higher education in the U.S., from the Puritan university to the one designed by Charles Eliot in response to the Industrial Revolution. It is time, she argues, to review that paradigm and consider how we can best prepare students for a more complex world.
Pop Quiz
Trish
McGee ’83
Filmmaker/Philosophy Professor

Philosophy professor Trish McGee ’83 caught the film bug relatively recently: She was heading to her 35th Reunion at Bucknell when a friend asked if she wanted to act in a movie, Shadows. Now, McGee has just released her own independent film: In Your Afterglow, about a tormented psychology professor, played by McGee, who exploits the gifts of an autistic girl to uncover the mystery of her past life.

One
Favorite film about teaching?
 
a. To Sir, with Love
b. Dead Poets Society
c. Wonder Boys
I love Robin Williams and can relate to his rather unorthodox methods.
Two
Best movie for teaching philosophy?
a. The Matrix
b. Memento
c. Ex Machina
I have most recently been using Ex Machina to explore artificial intelligence as it relates to what it means to be human. For years, though, I used Memento as a great example to teach certain philosophy of mind concepts. My film is about the impact of memories from a previous life. I’m intrigued by how much memories affect our decision-making and behavior.
4. What Oscar-winning film do you wish you’d written?
a. The Favourite
b. The King’s Speech
c. La La Land
If had to pick one, I would say The King’s Speech. That’s just a really great film. But ultimately, I’d say none of the above. I want to write my own Oscar winner.
Five
Hardest thing about making a film?
a. Fundraising
b. Finding time to write
c. Acting, producing and directing at the same time
Fundraising by far was the most difficult part of producing this film. We are still looking for funding to help with film distribution. Producing and acting at the same time was also very difficult. For my next film, I’ll choose one or the other.
Cool Class clipart
This experience primes students to consider alternative explanations
Research Methods in Learning
What Class?
Research Methods in Learning
Who Teaches It?
Professor Kevin Myers, psychology

“In this course, students devise behavioral tests of learning and memory abilities in dogs and conduct simple experiments to investigate dog cognition. Neighbors in the Lewisburg community volunteer to bring in their canine best friends as test subjects, and in return get to learn a little about their dogs’ habits.

“This class allows students to view the research process from the researcher’s perspective, so they experience what goes into conducting a scientifically sound experiment. Students design their projects from start to finish, coming up with an experimental question, establishing procedures, testing the dogs and interpreting their data. They also gain practice communicating their research to an outside audience at a semester-end research poster session.

In 2019, Tyler Wincig ’20 was Patriot League Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Photo: Marc Hagemeier
" "
In 2019, Tyler Wincig ’20 was Patriot League Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was unable to complete his senior season this spring.
Plate Discipline Paid Off
by Andrew Faught

Tyler Wincig ’20 is a patient guy.

His baseball stats tell the tale. During his junior campaign last season, the utility player got on base in an eye-popping half of all of his plate appearances. His .500 on-base percentage was second best in the Patriot League and the third-highest mark in team history — in addition to ranking 20th best in NCAA Division I play.

If a pitch isn’t to his liking, Wincig is happy to let it pass (he drew 29 walks last season, the 10th most in program history).

“You can’t score if you don’t get on base first,” says Wincig, who was named Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year in his sport in 2019. “I’m proudest of my on-base percentage, and I also think it benefits the team more than any other stat I have.”

Ask the Expert text
How to Care for Trees and Shrubs
Illustration of William Kuntz
Illustration: Joel Kimmel

" "Hundreds of trees dotting Bucknell’s campus are silent witnesses as generations of students come and go. But even these gentle giants are under someone’s careful eye. Arborist William Kuntz has tended Bucknell’s glorious canopy since 2003. Every tree, from the skinniest sapling to the majestic white oaks over the Grove, gets attention right on schedule. And if you ask Kuntz, this familiarity is the key to healthy trees and shrubs.

Growing Together
Creating A Play Behind Bars
Inside-Out students stage a transformative ‘12 Angry Men’
by Sherri Kimmel
T

ime passes slowly, and your daily routine has few variations when you’re in prison for life. And so the days stretch on for Joel, who’s spent the last 17 years in state prison on a murder conviction, and his fellow inmate, Tito. Now 43, Tito has been incarcerated since he was convicted of murder at 19. Both men may spend the rest of their lives behind bars (although they have applied for commutation of their sentences), and when you’ve been incarcerated for so long, any opportunity for a change in routine is welcome.

But it’s also scary.

Using Joel’s back, Tito autographs a play program.
Mackenzie Gross ’21 (in black dress) celebrates their prison debut with cast and crew.
Q&A
Illustration of Elaine Silver
Illustration: Joel Kimmel
Elaine Silver ’74
Guiding Clients to Peaceful Divorce
by Lori Ferguson
“Holistic” collaborative divorce attorney Elaine Silver ’74 knows her goal of attaining peaceful divorces for clients may seem a bit far-fetched. But Silver has successfully facilitated many divorces over her four decades in practice. She represented businessman Carl Icahn’s first wife in her divorce and also won for another client the highest litigated alimony and support award to that date. The president of the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals spends her days seeking peace between parties.
Q: You majored in political science at Bucknell. What lessons did you carry into your work as an attorney?
I firmly believe that how you start a process is how you finish. Process fuels results, and I’ve always been interested in resolving, not litigating. Political science is all about process as well. So much of what you study in political science is really about the decision-making process, and a divorce is basically a very serious decision on a personal scale rather than a worldwide scale.
Features
CYCLE OF PROGRESS Innovators’ nonprofit brings hope to Ugandans
photograph by Kevin Di Salvo
Features
CYCLE OF PROGRESS Innovators’ nonprofit brings hope to Ugandans
photograph by Kevin Di Salvo
photograph by Kevin Di Salvo
Features
CYCLE OF PROGRESS Innovators’ nonprofit brings hope to Ugandans
photograph by Kevin Di Salvo
photograph by Kevin Di Salvo
Last fall, Bucknell Magazine announced its quest to recognize alumni under age 35 who creatively leveraged their Bucknell degrees to become exceptional entrepreneurs or to spur innovation within a company or institution.

In the following pages, we highlight 13 who stood out from the crowd.

We hope their insights spark some creative ideas of your own. — Sherri Kimmel, editor

illustrations by MARGIE TILLMAN AYRES
13 Under 35 Innovators illustration
Last fall, Bucknell Magazine announced its quest to recognize alumni under age 35 who creatively leveraged their Bucknell degrees to become exceptional entrepreneurs or to spur innovation within a company or institution.

In the following pages, we highlight 13 who stood out from the crowd.

We hope their insights spark some creative ideas of your own. — Sherri Kimmel, editor

illustrations by MARGIE TILLMAN AYRES
Dan Katz
Looking Up
Looking Up
Dan Katz ’08 puts innovative ideas into orbit
AS A PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY STUDENT, Dan Katz ’08 would point the department’s spectral cameras at stars to reveal invisible information about their chemical makeup. It tingled a deep-seated curiosity for the cosmos he’d held since adolescence.

But when he started putting his degree to use building satellite systems for companies like DirecTV and SiriusXM, Katz came to a sudden realization: Most of the countless cameras orbiting Earth today employ “basically the same technology in an iPhone, except with a big lens in front.”

2/A Smooth Brew

Craft-beer entrepreneur Tara Hankinson ’09 taps into the female market
THE EPIPHANY CAME to Tara Hankinson ’09 at a restaurant in Sag Harbor, N.Y., while she sat staring at a list of bitter, high-alcohol beers that only appealed to dedicated beer drinkers.

“I had this realization that beer companies are selling to the same customer again and again,” Hankinson says. “They don’t articulate craft beer in a way that’s approachable for people who don’t typically drink it.”

So last year, she and her business partner, LeAnn Darland, launched a beer company that offers fruit-forward beers that are easy on the palate.

Cancer Fighter
Cancer Fighter
Lara Lewis McGrath ’08 helps develop promising new drugs
TWO TECHNOLOGIES ARE DRIVING the development of revolutionary therapies to more effectively fight cancer in the 21st century: targeted immunotherapies and genomic sequencing. Biology major Lara Lewis McGrath ’08 is at the center of both.

McGrath is a senior scientist in translational genomics for Jounce Therapeutics, the Cambridge, Mass., pharmaceutical company co-founded by James Allison, the 2018 winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Using cutting-edge data-science techniques, McGrath helps to develop drugs that trigger the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Her work places her at the frontier of bioinformatics, a field that applies computer science to biological questions — and one so new that it “literally did not exist” when she was a Bucknell student.

The company’s most developed therapy, Vopratelimab, works with existing drugs to treat bladder and lung cancers. That drug is in the second of three clinical trials needed for FDA approval, and part of McGrath’s job is to use the trial results to deduce what genetic factors make patients receptive and others resistant to the therapies.

Lara Lewis McGrath
Cancer Fighter
Cancer Fighter
Lara Lewis McGrath ’08 helps develop promising new drugs
TWO TECHNOLOGIES ARE DRIVING the development of revolutionary therapies to more effectively fight cancer in the 21st century: targeted immunotherapies and genomic sequencing. Biology major Lara Lewis McGrath ’08 is at the center of both.

McGrath is a senior scientist in translational genomics for Jounce Therapeutics, the Cambridge, Mass., pharmaceutical company co-founded by James Allison, the 2018 winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Using cutting-edge data-science techniques, McGrath helps to develop drugs that trigger the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Her work places her at the frontier of bioinformatics, a field that applies computer science to biological questions — and one so new that it “literally did not exist” when she was a Bucknell student.

The company’s most developed therapy, Vopratelimab, works with existing drugs to treat bladder and lung cancers. That drug is in the second of three clinical trials needed for FDA approval, and part of McGrath’s job is to use the trial results to deduce what genetic factors make patients receptive and others resistant to the therapies.

Nishan Rajakaruna '08
Nishan Rajakaruna
Photo: Hasitha Dewapriya
A Higher Journey
A Higher Journey
After building a successful travel agency, Nishan Rajakaruna ’08 finds a new focus
EARN ENOUGH MONEY, and you can buy anything you want. Or you can take the opposite path.

After launching and growing a successful travel agency in his home country of Sri Lanka, Nishan Rajakaruna ’08 refocused his life on the teachings of Buddha.

“After I reached my financial target, I realized that money gives me happiness, but it’s not permanent, lasting happiness,” he says. “As soon as those materialistic objects are removed from your life, that happiness goes.”

5/Brain Games

Apple’s Stephen Wakulchik ’10 helps kids become coders

As a neuroscience major at Bucknell, Stephen Wakulchik ’10 could have followed a clear path to a career in medicine. But his interest in the science of learning led him instead to Silicon Valley, where he designs innovative educational programs for Apple.

For the last five years, Wakulchik has been an education engineer for Swift Playgrounds, an inventive app that teaches kids how to code. The program actively responds to users’ actions, offering personalized hints and suggestions to help novice coders understand key programming concepts. As kids develop their skills, Swift Playgrounds adapts to help them build what they want — from apps to games.

“These are the kinds of ideas you hear professional developers talking about, yet we’re making them available for kids to create right on their iPads,” says Wakulchik, who designs curricula for the program. “That’s something a lot of teaching-to-code programs have a hard time doing, which is what makes what I’m doing such cool work.”

A Sharper Image
A Sharper Image
Rebecca Rosenberg ’20 envisions helping the visually impaired

AS A CHILD, Rebecca Rosenberg ’20 had such poor vision, reading meant her nose was literally stuck in a book — just so so she could decipher the words.

Rosenberg was an infant when she was diagnosed with oculocutaneous albinism, a genetic condition causing involuntary eye movements and reduced clarity. The impairment can’t be completely corrected with eyeglasses, so she sought high-tech visual assistance. That’s how she discovered a well-stocked assistive technology market of bulky document cameras and talking screen readers mostly designed for those who are blind or nearly blind.

“They were actually harder to use than they were helpful, especially in a classroom environment,” says Rosenberg, who still holds her phone inches from her face to read text messages.

Muyambi Muyambi '12
Molly Burke '10

7+8/Forward Momentum

Muyambi Muyambi ’12 and Molly Burke ’10 transformed a student club into a powerful force against poverty

Muyambi Muyambi ’12’s obsession with bicycles began as a child in Uganda, where he remembers trying to build a wooden bike using found parts. The end product looked nice, but lacked one crucial element: It couldn’t roll.

Muyambi’s passion for pedal-powered vehicles grew as he did: “I saw bicycles saving people’s lives – from a man taking his pregnant wife to the hospital on a bicycle, to seeing my mother taken to the hospital on a bike multiple times.”

At Bucknell, the civil engineering and economics double major paired his life experience with resources accessible through a liberal arts education to start Bicycles Against Poverty, a student club raising awareness about the lack of access to bicycles in Uganda.

Change Agent
Change Agent
Lauren Weinstein ’10 uses creative solutions to make a world of difference

Self-proclaimed sociology-nerd-turned-designer Lauren Weinstein ’10 spends her days tackling what she calls “big, knotty social issues” for the design nonprofit IDEO.org. Most recently, she’s worked with adolescents living with HIV in Mozambique to help them embrace and stick with treatment plans.

For this project, IDEO.org partnered with ICAP at Columbia University to co-design, with young people, a program whose goal, she says, “was to put health and hope at the center by tackling community stigma, medical misconceptions and lack of belonging in the already tumultuous journey of adolescence. Most projects take a similar approach — spending time with a community, doing research, prototyping solutions, then working with a partner to implement them. What underpins all of our work is the belief that people are at the center of everything we do.”

Weinstein joined IDEO.org in June — a creative professional journey that began in her first-year sociology class with Professor Elizabeth Durden. Service-learning trips to Nicaragua with the Bucknell Brigade ignited her interest in on-the-ground social change. Earning her master’s in social design from the Maryland College Institute of Art provided further grounding for her move into social innovation.

Lauren Weinstein ’10 uses creative solutions to make a world of  difference
Change Agent
Change Agent
Lauren Weinstein ’10 uses creative solutions to make a world of difference
Self-proclaimed sociology-nerd-turned-designer Lauren Weinstein ’10 spends her days tackling what she calls “big, knotty social issues” for the design nonprofit IDEO.org. Most recently, she’s worked with adolescents living with HIV in Mozambique to help them embrace and stick with treatment plans.

For this project, IDEO.org partnered with ICAP at Columbia University to co-design, with young people, a program whose goal, she says, “was to put health and hope at the center by tackling community stigma, medical misconceptions and lack of belonging in the already tumultuous journey of adolescence. Most projects take a similar approach — spending time with a community, doing research, prototyping solutions, then working with a partner to implement them. What underpins all of our work is the belief that people are at the center of everything we do.”

Weinstein joined IDEO.org in June — a creative professional journey that began in her first-year sociology class with Professor Elizabeth Durden. Service-learning trips to Nicaragua with the Bucknell Brigade ignited her interest in on-the-ground social change. Earning her master’s in social design from the Maryland College Institute of Art provided further grounding for her move into social innovation.

A Capital Idea
A Capital Idea
Hiro Maeda ’09 helps investors realize their visions
Hiro Maeda ’09 makes no claim to the innovator title. Instead, he calls himself a mere facilitator who “loves to work with innovators, support them and see their ideas get realized.”

Yet his achievements belie his modesty. In 2016, Maeda was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in the finance and venture capital category. Maeda is the managing partner of Singapore-based BEENEXT, an early-stage venture capital firm investing primarily in Japan, India and Southeast Asia.

While still a Bucknell student, Maeda met his future boss, the founder and CEO of BEENOS, who would someday hire him to lead the company’s investment division. In 2010, Maeda launched Japan’s first startup accelerator. Five years later, he founded BEENEXT, which now manages more than $200 million in investments.

Hiro Maeda ’09
A Capital Idea
A Capital Idea
Hiro Maeda ’09 helps investors realize their visions
Hiro Maeda ’09 makes no claim to the innovator title. Instead, he calls himself a mere facilitator who “loves to work with innovators, support them and see their ideas get realized.”

Yet his achievements belie his modesty. In 2016, Maeda was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in the finance and venture capital category. Maeda is the managing partner of Singapore-based BEENEXT, an early-stage venture capital firm investing primarily in Japan, India and Southeast Asia.

While still a Bucknell student, Maeda met his future boss, the founder and CEO of BEENOS, who would someday hire him to lead the company’s investment division. In 2010, Maeda launched Japan’s first startup accelerator. Five years later, he founded BEENEXT, which now manages more than $200 million in investments.

Jessica Sturzenegger ’10 illustration
Nutrients for Newbies
Nutrients for Newbies
Organic baby food is a winning formula for Jessica Sturzenegger ’10
Jessica Sturzenegger ’10 remembers the dramatic change in her diet when she started college. After a childhood of wholesome homemade meals, the international relations and economics double major was sustained at Bucknell by an inordinate number of bagels.

After college, when she decided to harness her inner foodie to develop healthier food products, she originally had busy students in mind.

“Then someone showed me how much sugar is in baby food,” Sturzenegger says. “Research tells us our gut biome and palettes develop before we’re 3, so if we want to change the way future generations eat, we have to start with baby food.”

If you want to start your own business or product, do it; Don't talk about it, just do it.

12/Taking His Shot

Joe McMullan ’13 helps pioneer a powerful training tool

In 2017, Joe McMullan ’13 and his business partner, Rick Seidman, invented ShotSled — a patented and trademarked $1,499 training tool that helps wrestlers improve their positioning, form and technique.

McMullan came to Bucknell on a wrestling scholarship in 2009. While at Bucknell, he learned that starting a business is more about perseverance than connections.

“A lot of people will question your business model and offer their advice,” he says. “If you believe in yourself, your partner and your business model, success will eventually occur.”

The morning after the idea was born, McMullan drove to the nearest dollar store and loaded up on plastic straws, hot glue, duct tape and pool noodles. The partners had a nonfunctional prototype a week later.

Joe McMullan ’13 illustration
Health Is on the Way
Health Is on the Way
Emily Hochman ’14 applies her own lifestyle choices to a business model

Emily Hochman ’14 is a self-described “responsible risk-taker” on a mission to make the world a healthier place.

Inspiration struck after a personal crisis forced her to reflect on her lifestyle. Hochman, who majored in art history and minored in dance, appeared outwardly fit, so a sudden health scare took her by surprise. “I realized the missing puzzle piece for me was nutrition,” she says.

Hochman enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and as she applied what she learned, she realized the importance of healthy eating. Seeing her own successful results, she quickly wanted to help others benefit from a healthy lifestyle and feel as good as she did. In early 2019, Hochman founded Wellory, a nutrition tech company that connects clients with certified health coaches, nutritionists and dietitians. Each new Wellory client completes a diet assessment and is connected with the right coach to help set goals and develop personalized plans. Coaches keep clients on track via daily messages and weekly progress tracking.

Emily Hochman ’14 applies her own lifestyle choices to a business model
Health Is on the Way
Health Is on the Way
Emily Hochman ’14 applies her own lifestyle choices to a business model
Emily Hochman ’14 is a self-described “responsible risk-taker” on a mission to make the world a healthier place.

Inspiration struck after a personal crisis forced her to reflect on her lifestyle. Hochman, who majored in art history and minored in dance, appeared outwardly fit, so a sudden health scare took her by surprise. “I realized the missing puzzle piece for me was nutrition,” she says.

Hochman enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and as she applied what she learned, she realized the importance of healthy eating. Seeing her own successful results, she quickly wanted to help others benefit from a healthy lifestyle and feel as good as she did. In early 2019, Hochman founded Wellory, a nutrition tech company that connects clients with certified health coaches, nutritionists and dietitians. Each new Wellory client completes a diet assessment and is connected with the right coach to help set goals and develop personalized plans. Coaches keep clients on track via daily messages and weekly progress tracking.

As new  generations move into the world of work, change is the watchword
by Matt Zencey

photographs by Dustin Fenstermacher

Soon to graduate, Effiem Obasi ’20 is seeking a job with flexibility.
Soon to graduate, Effiem Obasi ’20 is seeking a job with flexibility.
H

ere’s what the generation gap might look like in today’s office: A boomer-generation boss thinks, “Geez, why can’t these kids get into the office by 9 a.m.? What’s wrong with these slackers?” Meanwhile, those young “slackers” are thinking, “Man, my boss is a dinosaur. She expects me to be at the office by 9 a.m. sharp, even after I’ve been up ’til midnight working from home. She doesn’t have a clue.”

This clash of generational expectations is playing out across the modern American workplace, and that’s exactly the terrain Cali Williams Yost ’87, P’20 helps major corporations learn to navigate as CEO of Flex Strategy Group.

Yost says tech-savvy younger workers “are coming into the workplace with a completely different sensibility about how, when and where it is possible to work, and that is colliding with the traditional work model.”

Fellow Travelers
George Washington Carver and Bucknell’s Forrest Brown were pen pals and more
by Sherri Kimmel
George Washington Carver
Betsy Graves Reyneau, 1942
Oil on canvas
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
© Peter Edward Fayard
Carver
George Washington Carver
Betsy Graves Reyneau, 1942
Oil on canvas
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
© Peter Edward Fayard
Fellow Travelers
George Washington Carver and Bucknell’s Forrest Brown were pen pals and more
by Sherri Kimmel
U

niversity archives are spots of wonder filled with artifacts that are mesmerizing, quirky, priceless and surprising. At Bucknell’s Special Collections/University Archives, one of the surprising collections consists of letters to and from George Washington Carver. Born into slavery at the tail end of the Civil War, he became not only the first African American to earn a bachelor of science degree but also a prominent scientist who developed more than 300 household products from the humble peanut.

Generations of Bucknellians revered Carver’s correspondent, Forrest Brown, who arrived in 1930 as secretary of the Bucknell YMCA, recast as the Bucknell Christian Association in 1934. From that year until his retirement in 1966, Brown served as the association’s general secretary but also directed many of Bucknell’s intercultural and community service programs. The University’s Forrest D. Brown Conference Center at Cowan, which he developed, is named for him.

Welcoming and supporting students of color and international students was part of Brown’s life mission, according to his daughter, Carolyn Brown Chaapel ’56. International students “felt comfortable with him — coming into a new environment, a new land,” she recalls. “He wanted to give students coming here a sense of our people and our country.”

'ray Bucknell logo
BLOSSOMING BUCKNELL Beauty abounds on the springtime campus
photograph by Emily Paine
From the President
Illustration of John C. Bravman, President
Illustration: Joel Kimmel
Setting the Record Straight on Speaker Controversy
No one would dispute that we live in badly divided times. You see evidence daily through the lens of the impeachment hearings, the harsh rhetoric on the 2020 presidential campaign trail and politically charged social media posts. For that matter, you may see it around the family dinner table.
While deflecting controversy should perhaps be our goal at family gatherings, in the university setting we should be airing and discussing opinions that, well, may make us uncomfortable. And it should be a setting where robust debate on topical issues is welcomed and encouraged: Let free speech reign.
Book Talk
BOOKS
Becoming Coach Jake
by Alexander Diegel
In Becoming Coach Jake, author Bill Saporito ’76 chronicles soccer coach Martin “Coach Jake” Jacobson’s spiral into drug addiction and near ruin — and then ultimate redemption. With little more than a soccer ball and hope, Jacobson went on to transform hundreds of children’s lives.
MORE THAN A SOCCER BOOK
Jacobson’s story centers on his well-documented personal record — 19 New York City Public School Athletic League Championships. But Saporito, who co-authored the book with Jacobson, also recounts the coach’s secret struggle with addiction, even as his teams soared.
Becoming Coach Jake cover
BOOKS
Becoming Coach Jake
by Alexander Diegel
Becoming Coach Jake cover
In Becoming Coach Jake, author Bill Saporito ’76 chronicles soccer coach Martin “Coach Jake” Jacobson’s spiral into drug addiction and near ruin — and then ultimate redemption. With little more than a soccer ball and hope, Jacobson went on to transform hundreds of children’s lives.
MORE THAN A SOCCER BOOK
Jacobson’s story centers on his well-documented personal record — 19 New York City Public School Athletic League Championships. But Saporito, who co-authored the book with Jacobson, also recounts the coach’s secret struggle with addiction, even as his teams soared.
Alumni Photo Gallery
Images will scroll automatically

1953

Pictured at the Bucknell Cottage, 1949–50, from left, are Barb George Frazer ’53, Sue Appleyard Martucci ’53, Nancy Boyer Danahy ’53, P’80, P’84, G’13, G’15, Katherine “Kitsy” Bell Brown ’53 and Nancy Schreiner Hubley ’53.

The photo was submitted by Nancy’s daughter Debbie Hennel ’80.

1967

Dick Emmitt ’67 with with daughter Meg ’06 and grandson Liam on Emmitt Field, the soccer field that bears their name. Meggie was a four-year soccer player and member of the 2005 Patriot League Championship team. When she moved to Madrid a few years ago, she played professionally. In addition to the soccer field, Dick made a gift in the early 2000s that funded the additional faculty position that was necessary to create a Department of Biomedical Engineering. This faculty position is named for his late parents, William ’30 and Gertrude Brooks Emmitt ’30. Additional Bucknellians in his family are sister Ginny Emmitt Chitwood ’59 and brother Bill ’69.

2009

Erin Kairys ’09 and Sam Cutler married Aug. 31 in Washington, D.C., with more than 20 Bucknellian in attendance. The wedding party included sister Caitlin Kairys ’10, Kelli Lipson ’09, Laura Meditz ’09, Laura Crawford Owens ’09, Lauren Fellner ’10, brother Matthew Kairys ’12, Rebecca Cottrell Bentzen ’09 and the bride’s father, David Kairys ’74, M’74. Erin is head of client services at a small financial technology company. Sam will finish his law degree in May and then start at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. The couple resides in Washington, D.C.

2010

Cale ’10 and Jaime Kianka Cadman ’13 married June 22 in Princeton N.J., with numerous Bucknell alumni in attendance.

2013

Christine Bange Pritchard ’13 married Ryan ’12 May 25 in Lyons, Colo. Many Bucknellians attended, including, pictured from left, Katrina Hefele ’13, Erica Brado Parilla ’14, Matthew Lamore ’12 and wife Hannah, Fitz Williams ’12, Kevin Nagle ’15, Kathryn Modugno Tamburro ’14, Jared Snyder ’09, Andrew Solomon ’12, Christine and Ryan, Jason White ’12 and his fiancée, Kara Baumgardner, Nicholas Barnett ’12 and wife Courtney, Aleem Naqvi ’12, Smik Lakhani ’11, Foster Perlmutter ’13 and Amanda Slaboden ’13.

(Photo credit: Kathryn Kim Photography)

2013

U.S. Army Capt. Patrick Towery ’13, right, works in the 4th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, Colo., alongside Capt. Adam Wendoloski, an intelligence officer and fellow member of the Bucknell ROTC Battalion.

2016

Bucknell alumni celebrate at the marriage reception of Katie Price ’16 and Brian Duncan ’16 (center) at the Bel-Air Bay Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Oct. 4.

Catch up with Bucknell alumni in pictures.

Submit your own photos to Bucknell Magazine by contacting your class reporter or emailing classnotes@bucknell.edu

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profile
The Ride to Recovery
After a catastrophic accident, Steven Goodell ’80 returns to practicing law
by Roy Kesey
By the mid-2010s, Steven Goodell ’80 had built a multifaceted law career: He represented local townships in Mercer County, N.J., was special counsel for the Diocese of Trenton and was general counsel for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. He stayed healthy by training and racing with his competitive cycling team. Then one morning in October 2016, the wheels came off his life.

His team was preparing for an upcoming race, riding in what Goodell describes as “a rotating, rhythmic paceline” — something like a bicycle chain in motion, each cyclist a separate link, all sharing the burden of fighting the wind. They were riding at 30 mph when those in front saw traffic slowing sharply ahead. Word didn’t reach the rearmost riders in time, and the group collapsed in on itself. Goodell found himself on the ground, paralyzed from the chest down.

profile
He’s with the Brand
Bison at heart, Malik Malone ’91 markets the Buckeyes
by Alexander Diegel
Who is that keeping his identity secret under his everyday clothes? No, it’s not Superman. It’s Malik Malone ’91, who represents the Ohio State athletics brand for Learfield IMG College, a large sports marketing company serving many of the top NCAA teams.

“Seeing Bucknell teams coming to Columbus to compete is a great kick. It may be a workday for me, but I’ll still be wearing my Bucknell T-shirt underneath my work clothes,” Malone says with a laugh. “There’s generally a tremendous turnout of Bucknellians for games.”

Much like his “secret” wardrobe, Malone keeps Bucknell close to his heart. This is his third year on the Bucknell University Alumni Association board, where he focuses on diversity and inclusion as a member of the executive committee.

“Playing basketball and going to school at Bucknell was truly a unique experience, and it’s important for me to stay connected to the school,” says Malone, who majored in sociology. “I miss being involved in the athletic side at Bucknell, so being so close and personal with Ohio State’s program is something I’ve really enjoyed.”

Flashback
Mike Bright, Basketball Hall of Fame
A Passion to Serve Others
Mike Bright ’93, a 2005 inductee to the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame for basketball, anticipates watching son Michael ’24 play football this fall. Bright, an English major married to Christinia Patterson ’94, is dedicated to youth and community development, serving as president and CEO of the YMCA of Newark (N.J.) and Vicinity since 2011.
1. How did Bucknell shape your career?
Bucknell opened my eyes and mind to the world. It gave me an opportunity to get closer to my passion, which was to serve others.
2. What class opened your eyes the most?
One class that really opened my eyes was Calculus Statistics. I realized then that engineering wasn’t for me. It forced me to rethink what I wanted to do in life.
profile
Taking the High Road
Her mission: Keeping us safe as self-driving delivery vehicles take off
by Matt Hughes
Move fast and break things isn’t a good motto when people’s lives are at risk. As the head of safety for Nuro, the first company to deploy driverless delivery vehicles on public streets, Jennifer Bower Dawson ’03 is charged with protecting the public welfare as this revolutionary technology takes to American roadways.

“Silicon Valley has a reputation for being cavalier in the way they deploy things — it’s, ‘Go be disruptive, go change the world, and ask questions later,’ ” Dawson says. “I railed against that from the sidelines, and as self-driving technology was hitting the roads I felt a moral responsibility to get involved.”

WAYFINDER
Michael Boccella ’07
In August 2003, I arrived at Bucknell for what would become a life-changing journey. Along with my new teammates, I reported to campus early for preseason football practice. Like many freshmen making the leap from high school to collegiate athletics, I quickly realized I was no longer the biggest, strongest or best player on my team. In fact, I realized that every ounce of my ability and work ethic would be needed just to keep up. A few weeks later, as more students arrived on campus and classes began, I had a very similar realization about academics. I quickly saw how intellectually gifted my classmates were and that I would have to push myself just to keep up. When I applied to Bucknell, it was my reach school, academically and athletically. But it was not until I arrived that I fully appreciated just how big the stretch would be.
profile
Investing in Inclusion
Erin Burns Bellissimo ’93 is shaping the next generation of women in finance
by Brooke Thames
When Erin Burns Bellissimo ’93 arrived on Wall Street fresh out of college, the management major had everything she needed to navigate the world of investing. Bellissimo’s early confidence came from Bucknell, where she honed the skills she used to rise in what is still a male-dominated industry.

“I never saw myself as limited in my academic or social opportunities because I was a woman,” says Bellissimo, who was a coxswain on the men’s crew team for four years at Bucknell. “Eventually, there came a point in my career when I wanted to create more opportunities for women to join the field, because the industry is best served by a diversity of thought and backgrounds.”

Entrepreneur Spotlight
Hayley Perry Romano headshot
TREP$
by Miranda Williams ’23
As a mother and elementary school teacher, Hayley Perry Romano ’90 noticed a gap in the average public school curriculum: Students weren’t being taught basic business concepts nor the value of creative innovation.

To address this gap, she developed TREP$ (short for “entrepreneur”), a project-based learning program providing students in grades 4 to 8 with a wide array of entrepreneurial skills. TREP$ is typically integrated into voluntary after-school programs, but many schools include it in their daily curricula. Since Romano launched TREP$ in 2007, it has grown to include 180 schools in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania catering to 40,000 students, and it earned the PTA Champion for Children Award and the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education’s Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education Award.

Career
Clusters
In the high stakes and male-dominated world of finance, Bucknell alumnae have been prepared by programs that see every student as a capable individual with the ability to be successful in the classroom and the boardroom.
Career Clusters
Career Clusters
PROFILE
A Candy-Coated Career
Jake Bellucci ’12 finds his footing in the food industry
by Matt Hughes

Some chemical engineers develop life-saving drugs and more efficient energy systems. Others make our lives a little sweeter.

Jake Bellucci ’12 is the latter. Since graduating, the chemical engineering major has been a project engineer for Mars Inc., setting up new candy factories around the world and working on the team that first produced M&M’s Caramel.

“Oil, gas and pharmaceuticals are popular industries for chemical engineers, but that wasn’t really for me — food seemed more tangible,” he says.

PROFILE
Preparing the Pitch
Nicole Adams ’18 helps students connect with corporate partners
by Eveline Chao

Nicole Adams ’18 developed a passion for education while working for Teach for America in New Jersey. But when summer break arrived, she wanted to keep working. That’s when she stumbled upon a nonprofit called SuitUp, which runs educational competitions to connect corporations with middle and high schools in low-income communities across the country. She fell in love with the mission and, in just a few months, rose from intern to program manager. “I run the whole competition,” Adams explains.

IN MEMORIAM
Remember your friends, family, classmates and others by posting a comment on our online Book of Remembrance. Go to bucknell.edu/bmagazine.
1943
Bob Frantz, Oct. 22, Lake Oswego, Ore.
Betty Hyde Yearing, Dec. 23, Orleans, Mass..
1944
Stacy Rollins M’49, Sept. 26, Portland, Ore.
1945
Janice Felmly Wurfel, Dec. 1, Brielle, N.J.
1947
Betty Angstadt Dombroski, Jan. 8, Elyria Township, Ohio
1948
Bob Craumer P’72, P’75, P’79, Nov. 22, Lemoyne, Pa.
1949
Edwin Dexter, Jan. 19, Waldoboro, Maine
Bob Hambleton, Nov. 6, Medford, N.J.
Joseph Lirio, Dec. 6, Philadelphia
Mary Scouller Nelson, Dec. 2, Southwick, Mass.
Merle Smith, Nov. 30, Ft. Myers, Fla.
1950
Fran Asher Baker, Dec. 11, Lewisburg, Pa.
Sally Kriner Goodman, Dec. 9, Northbrook, Ill.
Cal Seaman, Nov. 16, River Vale, N.J.
Donald Wian, Sept. 30, New Whiteland, Ind.
Don Williams, Oct. 27, Tilton, N.H.
Ellie Leiper Williams P’76, Dec. 9, Lewisburg, Pa.
1951
Shirley Lindauer Dannels, Nov. 22, State College, Pa.
Laurel Kreitzburg Ellis, Oct. 31, Woodsboro, Md.
George Metz P’78, Oct. 7, Chestertown, Md.
DO
360

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Wednesday, May 4, noon EDT
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Keep Us Posted
Update your contact information with us today! Email records@bucknell.edu or visit bucknell.edu/alumni.
Spread the Word!
Tell prospective Bucknellians about all the amazing memories that await them here. By filling out the request for information form on bucknell.edu, they’ll receive the new version of Bucknell’s viewbook.
Instant Success

To reach prospective students, you need to go where they are.

That was the plan in December, when Bucknell debuted its Instagram Q&A to answer admissions-related questions from prospective students and others. By harnessing the built-in audience of @BucknellU’s 18,000-plus Instagram followers, the launch was an overwhelming success.

Nearly 4,000 people tuned in to the Q&A, which was extended by popular demand from two days to a full week. More than 400 Instagram users, most of whom are prospective students, submitted questions.

Witty Winners
Here are our favorite caption submissions from the last issue:
“While you write the letter to enlist a woman’s help, the five of us will try to figure out how to work this thing.”
Laura Bender Dempster ’06
“Our Cappuccinos are getting rave reviews from Bison customers, but they’re costing us $85 a cup to brew!”
Bill Miller ’72
“I just want to know how the damn cat got in there in the first place.”
Colin Burke ’10
“I wonder what happens if we turn all of these knobs at once?”
Professor Tim Raymond, chemical engineering
“One espresso coming up.”
Steve Schaeffer P’20
“After all that and the toilet still doesn’t flush.”
Barry Paul ’73
Submit your caption for the retro photo on Page 69 to bmagazine@bucknell.edu or facebook.com/bucknellu by May 6.
Vintage photograph of Bucknell engineering students
Photo: Special Collections/University Archives
 My Favorite Thing graphic
Photo: Emily Paine
" "
An avid birder, Rebecca Meyers keeps bird nests in her office that were given to her by friends.
Bird Nests

" "REBECCA MEYERS is Bucknell’s academic film programmer and a film/media studies lecturer. In her own nonnarrative filmmaking, she has captured the often overlooked world of wild birds — a natural subject for this avid birder. To Meyers, this perfect marriage of two passions feels more like making poetry than making movies. In her office, Meyers keeps some bird nests — symbols of a perfect, natural world just outside, and of a yet-to-be made film.

Photo: Emily Paine
" "
An avid birder, Rebecca Meyers keeps bird nests in her office that were given to her by friends.
Photo: Emily Paine
" "
An avid birder, Rebecca Meyers keeps bird nests in her office that were given to her by friends.
Bird Nests

" "REBECCA MEYERS is Bucknell’s academic film programmer and a film/media studies lecturer. In her own nonnarrative filmmaking, she has captured the often overlooked world of wild birds — a natural subject for this avid birder. To Meyers, this perfect marriage of two passions feels more like making poetry than making movies. In her office, Meyers keeps some bird nests — symbols of a perfect, natural world just outside, and of a yet-to-be made film.

One of these nests has a blue-green thread in it. Maybe it’s dental floss. The idea that birds pick up things from the living, human, manmade environment and make homes out of them is beautiful to me. That kind of reuse is amazing.

Birding is unusual to a lot of people, so when they find out I do it, it sticks with them. I was considering making a film about bird nests, and people who know I’m into birds gave these to me. It’s amazing these nests have stayed together so long. They fell from trees and were outside until given to me.

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