Spotlight On

Taneequa Fields, ’12
Forging a path for future generations

Taneequa Fields knows about going into difficult situations and making a difference. Whether it’s working with at-risk children on the streets of Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, or entering a room full of graduate students and matching their knowledge, compassion and poise in discussing the experience of interning, this social work major impresses everyone she meets.

“We are all highly impressed with her thoughtfulness and articulateness. She’s a single mother who works hard and does extremely well,” said Dr. Cindy King-Frode, coordinator, BSW Program.

The Dorchester native spent the fall semester as a mentor with Friends of the Children-Boston. She worked with youngsters both in and out of the classroom, and saw close up an entirely different side of life.

“It introduced me to a whole new side of Boston,” Taneequa said. “I saw homelessness and real poverty, poor education and a lack of parental involvement. It was a really bad situation, but still, the kids were wonderful.”

These experiences formed the basis for her presentation, held at Friends of Boston’s area headquarters. The raves came not only from the other presenters (all graduate students), but also from an assistant dean from Simmons College, who remarked on Taneequa’s “love of learning and capability.”

She has a son, Caine, 2, and between daycare, school, home life and studying, has had to learn how to juggle.

“It’s a lot, but doing social work itself is a lot, too,” she said.

Already well prepared for the future, she plans to continue her education at Boston University’s Graduate School for Social Work. Her goal is to work in juvenile probation and ultimately to serve in the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. Taneequa believes she has some important insights that will suit her well for this work.

“They’re good kids,” she said, “they just have a bad reputation.”

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Dan Slack, international exchange student
Teaching the world, up the street and around the globe

When Dan Slack steps before a classroom in Dubai he’ll be carrying with him many of the lessons he learned at Bridgewater State University.

“It was an eye opener for me being here. It made me realize that I would like to teach abroad and it gave me a hunger for working with international children,” said the 23-year-old Manchester, England, native.

Dan was a transfer student in 2009, coming to BSU as part of an exchange program with his home institution, Manchester Metropolitan University. He spent a transformative semester here, and then returned to the U.K. and completed his degree in July 2010.

He took a job teaching at a local elementary school, but hankered to take his skills abroad.

“In my interview in Dubai, I told them helping children to become global citizens and to be aware of their place in their community and in the wider world was my main goal,” he said. “If we get that at an early age, hopefully it will lead to greater understanding between people of the world.”

Much of this outlook was shaped by his semester at BSU.

“This was my first taste of education outside the U.K., and it really changed my whole philosophy,” he said.

He hopes to spend a few years teaching in Dubai before setting his sights on another international location – perhaps not one so far away.

“I’d love to come back to teach in the U.S.,” he said. “Maybe even here in Bridgewater.”

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Rachel Robinson, ’15
MVP on and off the field

Psychology major Rachel Robinson gives her all, whether it’s as a star defender on the Bears field hockey team or working with the needy in our nation’s capital.

Living by the credo of Mother Theresa, who once said, “If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one,” the freshman regularly volunteers to help the less fortunate. The Athletics Department selected her as its MVP off the Field for the month of April.

“I enjoy helping people when they need it the most,” said the Hardwick, Maine, native.

Each summer since 2009, Rachel has gone to Washington, D.C., as part of a youth mission trip with the First Congregational Church of West Brookfield. There, as part of a team of 35 students, she works long hours to feed people in need through organizations such as DC Central Kitchen, Food and Friends, Martha's Table, and others. Each of these organizations works to feed the local community in unique ways including preparing meals from scratch, transporting meals to communities that need it, serving meals restaurant style, and packaging meals in boxes to be sent out to people in need.

Additionally, Rachel's group worked with an organization called Parks and People, cleaning up parks in the Washington D.C. area. This summer, Rachel will go on her fourth mission trip, working with these organizations.

Rachel says that her participation in Bridgewater State University athletics has made her a more "hard working, responsible, and committed" individual. She plans to someday transition from feeding physical bodies to feeding the young minds of teenagers by becoming either a guidance counselor or a teacher at the high school level. Either way, the future holds bright things for this conscientious student-athlete.

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Jerry Dimandja, '12
Approaching Takeoff on a Lifelong Dream

Jerry Dimandja has never wanted any career other than aviation. His father had been an air traffic controller and still works in the industry. When Jerry was young, his father would take him to work, and it was clear from the first he was smitten.

“Since I was a kid I've been intrigued by this. I've never seen myself working in any other field," he said.

Jerry was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but his family moved to New Jersey in 2007. Knowing what he wanted to do with his life, after high school he sought out aviation programs. Cost and proximity made BSU the obvious Choice, he said.

This really began to take off for this young man when an internship became available with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Working out of Logan International Airport, Jerry helped conduct airport inspections and created a directory of aeronautical information that pilots use. He also wrote articles for the DOT's newsletter.

However, his most impactful assignment involved the creation of a template for emergency plans that was made available to 36 of the regional airports in the state.

“Some airports do not have a safety plan for things like floods, terrorism or fire," he said. “This will really help them by providing a step by step procedure how to go about resolving whatever emergencies arise."

His internship at the DOT taught Jerry things he never could have learned from a book.

"I learned basically that the aviation field has more challenges than I thought," he said. “It's one thing to see things from a student perspective, but I learned what it feels like to be in the shoes of an airport manager. It's a big challenge and it takes a lot of commitment, dedication and a strong personality.

“I really appreciated this opportunity because it really taught me what it's like," he added.

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Caitlin Larracey
A student on the move

Caitlin Larracey, is making the most of her time at Bridgewater State University, with a trio of minors, a dozen conferences to her credit, and a good portion of her "downtime" spent working at the Writing Studio. Despite all this, the Carver resident manages to carry a GPA that, at 3.97, is just a hair away from perfection.

Big things had always been predicted for this outgoing young woman. As a freshman, she was selected as a Tsongas Scholar, one of the most prestigious honors college and university students in Massachusetts can earn.

Once she arrived on campus, Ms. Larracey got right down to business. In addition to selecting English as her major – with Renaissance literature as her primary focus – she also took on minors in Spanish, GLBT studies and history.

Among her dozen or so conference presentations is the 2012 Sigma Tau Delta International Convention held in New Orleans, and this year's National Conference on Undergraduate Research. She was just announced as the winner of this year's Thomas M. Curley Scholarship.

After spending one more semester at BSU, Ms. Larracey plans to apply Ph.D. Programs, including the one at Northeastern University. She hopes to become a professor, specializing in the field of Renaissance literature.

"I've always wanted to teach and think I'd really like teaching at the college level," she said. "And I also feel there's an obligation I to continue researching and finding material in the subject area I love." (John Winters, G '11, photo by Robert Matheson, '07)

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Shelby French, '14
The sky's no limit

When Shelby French, '14, was five years old she told her grandmother she wanted to fly airplanes. Today, this New Hampshire native is learning to do just that.

Where did this come from, this desire to be airborne? It's not too hard to see. When she was young, Shelby's family would visit the nearby Nashua airport and sit at the end of the runway to watch the small planes take off and land. Back then, Shelby believed that the best part of any family vacation was the thrill of flying to their destination.

During her time at Bridgewater Shelby has shared her passion. As a counselor at the university-sponsored ACE Camp - which allows local high school students a chance each summer to learn first-hand about aviation - and as a tutor to her fellow students, Shelby has been educating others about the joys of flight.

Along with her degree course work, ground school and community service, Shelby has joined the BSU flight team. All this should prepare her for a high-flying future. After graduation, Shelby hopes to become an airline pilot or join the National Guard to fly Blackhawks. (To read a full interview with Shelby visit http://www.bridgew.edu/Aviation/Student%20profile%20Shelby%20French.pdf; special thanks to Greg Bongiorno of the Aviation Science Department)

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Jennifer Ashley, G '14
"Pedaling" Ideas Across Campus

Jennifer Ashley of Columbus, Ind., is pursuing her master’s degree in athletic training. Her research project, "Feasibility of a Bike Share Program at BSU," looks at the viability of bike sharing as a form of alternative transportation on campus. “I love the sustainability and the physical aspects of cycling,” she said. “This project is incredibly timely with the uncertain global economy.  It would be great for our campus community to have environmental friendly transportation."  

Part of Jenn’s methodology included traveling to other local campuses that already use alternative modes of transportation, where she conducted interviews to gather information that would aid in her creation of various models that could be applied at BSU. She also created a survey that was disseminated on the BSU campus. Her findings? "It's definitely possible," she reports. "Ninety-percent of the students surveyed want access to bikes for use [around campus]."

Jennifer was mentored by two BSU faculty members, Drs. Pamela Russell and Tom Wu, both of the Movement Arts, Health Promotion and Leisure Studies Department. As an avid bicyclist herself, Dr. Russell was enthusiastic about the project and fully supportive of a bike share program on campus. Dr. Tom Wu elaborates on the importance of Jen's research: “This project has a significant impact to us because it can reduce the CO2 pollution and promote physical activity at the same time." Dr. Wu's own research interests deal with sports biomechanics and tie in nicely with Jen's research. He adds, "If in the future we are able to implement a bike sharing program at BSU and we have many faculty members and students participating in the program, we can then begin to evaluate people's mechanics on riding a bike. Perhaps we can then educate people on how to ride a bike more efficiently, and even attempt to design a bike that is more ergonomically-friendly.”

No matter what the final impact of the project, it’s clear that Jenn contributed a big piece of the puzzle. She presented her research at the 2011 ATP Summer Symposium.

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Bonnie (Fletcher) Dunigan, '12
A hands-on approach to life and learning

Psychology major Bonnie (Fletcher) Dunigan, '12, is the first-ever Adrian Tinsley Program participant to be the first-listed author of an article in a peer-reviewed journal. The article, "A Preliminary Examination of the Effect of Massage on Stated Body Image," was published in Body Image: An International Journal of Research. It was funded by a 2008 ATP summer grant and co-authored by Drs. Teresa King and Brendan Morse of the Department of Psychology.

The Easton resident also presented her research at the 2009 National Conference on Undergraduate Research, held at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, and published her findings in BSU's Undergraduate Review. Ms. Dunigan's research on the positive effects of massage on psychological health began early in her undergraduate career at BSU when she applied for, and was awarded, several ATP semester grants. In the summer of 2009, she traveled to Yarmouk University in Jordan with Dr. King and three other BSU students to conduct research on body image. Those findings she presented at the ATP summer symposium in August 2009.

Ms. Dunigan is a 1999 graduate of Oliver Ames High School. After graduation from BSU, she plans to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology as she prepares for her dream career of combining massage with traditional counseling.

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Carl Hollant, '14
He has the keys to the game

One doesn't typically associate 6' 3" 235 lbs. tight ends with concert pianists, but both ball playing and Beethoven are what occupy a lot of time for Carl Hollant, a sophomore from Brockton, Massachusetts. The gregarious young man is pursuing a double major at Bridgewater in criminal justice and music.

"I started playing the piano when I was 10 years old, and I continued until about my second year at Brockton High School when I stopped," he explains. "Then one day when I first came to BSU I was in the Campus Center and I heard a piano. I wandered into the room to listen and I realized how much I missed it. I e-mailed Dr. Deborah Nemko of the music faculty and asked if I might be admitted to a class. Once I told her my history, she said, 'I'm going to give you private lessons.' And so began my reintroduction to the piano, thanks to Dr. Nemko. She's a fantastic teacher and mentor. Subsequently, I added music as my second major due to her influence."

All types of music appeal to Carl - "I love classical and I love jazz and also gospel music too. Right now I'm working on pieces by Bach and Beethoven."

His main goal remains a career in the field of criminal justice, but he won't abandon the piano, he insists. "Eventually I'd like to become a detective in a homicide division," he said. "However, music is something one can do in many venues so I'm sure I'll continue performing. I won't give up the piano a second time." (Profile and photo by David K. Wilson, '71, Office of University Advancement)

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Megan O. Kenealy, '06
An Education in Craftsmanship

Megan O. Kenealy, ’06, has an ideal job for someone who majored in art at BSU and who is a veteran craftswoman herself: director of continuing education at Boston’s North Bennett Street School, which specializes in hands-on training in traditional trades and fine craftsmanship.

From bookbinding to violin making, from cabinet and furniture making to jewelry making and repair, the North Bennet Street School, incorporated in 1885, is renowned world-wide for its emphasis on the trades.

Ms. Kenealy credits the Adrian Tinsley Program at BSU for helping prepare her for this career.

“I had two grants, one a semester grant with Preston Saunders as my mentor and the other a summer research grant where I worked with Professor Rob Lorenson both of the Art Department,” she explains.  “My summer grant project was titled, ‘I Haven’t Bound What I Am Looking For’ and the focus was on artist books and bookmaking. It helped expose me to book arts. If it weren’t for the Adrian Tinsley Program, I might not be where I am today.

“I may not be binding as many books as I used to,” she adds, “but I help others take workshops and learn an appreciation for craftsmanship.” (Profile and photo by David K. Wilson, ’71, University Advancement)