General

First it was a Mustang drag car. This time it's a Ford roadster. Students at Morrisville State College are building a 1933 Ford hot rod from the bolts up. They won't get to keep this shiny set of wheels though. The vehicle will be given away during a raffle at the Syracuse Nationals in 2011.

Morrisville State College student Richard Roberts, of Morrisville, N.Y., was recently honored with a 2010 SUNY-wide Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence. The prestigious award is based on outstanding academic achievement and service and leadership on campus and in the community. Roberts will graduate on May 15 during the college's 99th commencement ceremony which will be held at 1 p.m. in the John W. Stewart Center for Student Activities (STUAC).

Rebecca Potter, a student at the Norwich campus of Morrisville State College, is the recipient of the college's Rays of Light Award. The Rays of Light Award recognizes a student in sophomore class standing who has made significant contributions in his or her community through volunteering.

No matter what time of day or night, when he hears the sound of his ambulance pager going off, Jeremiah Piescik knows someone in the community needs his help. Piescik is a volunteer EMT with the Smithfield Eaton Volunteer Ambulance Corps (SEVAC). He's also a full-time student at Morrisville State College majoring in Information Technology: Network Administration. During the two years he has worked with SEVAC, he's responded to hundreds of calls and has pulled his share of overnighters helping those in desperate need of assistance.

Matthew Whalen, GTECH Corporation senior vice president of Global Technology Solutions, will address Morrisville State College students during the college's 99th commencement ceremony on May 15. Whalen, a 1989 graduate of Morrisville State College, is responsible for all aspects of the software development lifecycle, including requirements gathering, software development, implementations, customer acceptance, and ongoing software services for GTECH's global customer base.

Morrisville State College will host Ag Day on April 29. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Most events will be held in the academic quad (in front of Marshall Hall). Participants can learn more about agriculture, pet a calf, guess the weight of a horse, walk through a hay maze and sample Morrisville State College's homemade ice cream during the annual event. Tours of the wildlife museum and greenhouses will also be offered.

It isn't the first time they've traded their laptops, calculators and books for matching shirts and yard tools. Students at Morrisville State College are no strangers to rolling up their sleeves to help out in the community. And they will be at it again on April 20 during a college-wide volunteer brigade, “Into the Streets.” Throughout the event, students team up and volunteer to perform an array of tasks and services needed by residents in neighboring areas.

Nursing students at Morrisville State College are reaching beyond their regular textbook, classroom, clinical and laboratory lessons—participating in a community wide research project. They've partnered with the Madison County Health Department and Madison-Oneida BOCES to study childhood obesity in Madison County.

Joan Dannenhoffer, of Morrisville State College, has been awarded the 2010 St. Lawrence Section Outstanding Educator Award by the St. Lawrence Section of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). The prestigious award recognizes excellence and commitment in teaching engineering, engineering technology or engineering science. “It is rewarding and flattering to be honored from among so many deserving educators,” Dannenhoffer, associate professor of physics and coordinator of the college's physics program, said.

For nearly 20 years, Lewis “Spike” Holmes taught students in Morrisville State College's equine racing and management, western (stock seat) program, how to ride. His inspiriting voice was a constant at the western indoor riding arena where he devoted endless hours and energy sharing his affinity for horses, teaching and riding. Faculty, staff and students gathered there recently to honor Holmes, naming the indoor western arena of the Equine Complex, the Lewis “Spike” Holmes Western Riding Arena.