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Adam Olinski is planting big ideas and harvesting abundant success. The SUNY Morrisville assistant professor of horticulture recently received the New York State Nursery and Landscape Association President’s Award, a top honor in his field. It recognizes three educators for outstanding work in advancing the Empire State’s green industry.  “I was really surprised,” he said in a recent interview, “and very honored.” 

If selflessness and giving turn coaches into champions, Jonathon Stockton is in a league of his own.  The 37-year-old SUNY Morrisville student and youth coach found his calling — a cause larger than life — helping others. “I live to enrich the lives of others because that nourishes my life,” Stockton said with a radiant smile.       

Back in 2014, the SUNY Morrisville football team came together for an unprecedented season, as the Mustangs rewrote the record books, captured the attention of national audiences and left an undeniable mark on the program’s and college’s athletics history.  A decade later, the Mustangs were able to huddle up once again, this time to cement their legacy as one of SUNY Morrisville’s all-time greats with their induction into the Athletics Wall of Fame. 

The Children’s Center at SUNY Morrisville has been providing high-quality childcare and peace of mind to the families of students, faculty, staff and the local community ever since it first opened its doors in 1994.  Fittingly, the Center’s location within the college’s Bailey Hall will now be dedicated to the visionaries who made it possible.

When SUNY Morrisville cross-country head coach Derek Powers approached Nikko Recchio about joining his program four years ago, the high school senior from Waterville, New York, saw himself as a very mediocre athlete who had fallen out of love with running.

When Shadow LaValley ’14 was competing in the 2023 Amateur Players Golf Tour, he proudly sported a SUNY Morrisville baseball cap. Working on his golf swing is still a work in progress, he said, but he finds it a good distraction from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles city life.

Ask any automotive student at SUNY Morrisville about their most memorable experiences and they’ll likely point to the faculty at the heart of it all. “Their devotion to seeing us succeed is what I love so much about them,” said Dan Betsinger, an automotive technology - Ford Automotive Student Service Educational Training (ASSET) Program student from Cobleskill, New York.

When Len Montreal ’83 and Regina Riccardi Montreal ’83 think back about their time at SUNY Morrisville, they fondly remember the friendly, supportive environment, the small-town atmosphere, the close-knit community and the access to nature and the outdoors. It’s easy for them to get sentimental and nostalgic.

When Bret Bossard ’02 and Luke Huysman ’03 were students at SUNY Morrisville, they supplemented their classwork with internships at Barbland Dairy, which began as a potato farm in the 1950s before transitioning to beef and then dairy. 

When he came to Morrisville as assistant professor of environmental & renewable resources in 2019, Mohammadali Azadfar had a dream — and a plan. Azadfar — ‘Ali’ to most who know him — was thrilled with the opportunity to teach in the wood products technology and residential construction degree programs. His plan started with fundamental instruction for the students in his classes — and grew beyond measure with the addition of industry research in his courses.

As most of you journalism (J-grads) now know, Dan Reeder, 74, former Morrisville journalism professor, died Sept. 20, 2023 from complications of lung cancer. In June, Dan and his wife, Janet, relocated from his beloved Lawrence, Kansas, to Texas, to be closer to their son, Tim.

Doyen “Dolo” Grant’s past is always present in his professional life. Hanging on the wall of Dolo’s Fitness — a gym Grant ’09 owns and operates in his hometown of Canarsie, New York — is a dark green SUNY Morrisville football jersey. When his gym opened in 2019, the former Mustangs football captain and star wide receiver had his No. 9 home uniform, flanked by two action photos, mounted in a customized black frame. 

This past summer, the SUNY Morrisville Athletics Department decided to make a bold move. Needing to replace the turf playing surface of Drake Field for the first time since 2006, what set the project apart was the installation of a one-of-a-kind black turf.

Chris Pelrah ’06 and his wife were hiking in the Adirondacks when they came upon a forest ranger heading out to check on a complaint.    “There was some bear activity with people camping in the High Peaks area and the bears were getting into people’s food,” Pelrah said. “I remember the feeling I got — of the ranger helping others — and doing so outdoors. It was an interaction that changed my life.”

View the latest issue of Momentum Each issue of Momentum magazine speaks to the energy that moves the college forward, featuring news about alumni, students, faculty, staff and community members who are making a difference in the classroom, community and the world. 

Country music bounces non-stop off the concrete bleachers in the cavernous Syracuse Coliseum as the show ring gate swings open and the announcer crackles to life. “Here’s draw number 20, back number 591, Holy Cannoli Katie and RE Sears.” The chestnut mare jogs into the center of the ring and, with nearly invisible cues from Sears — a tap on the neck, a touch of the spur — spins four times to the left, four to the right.

Nova Cadamatre’s time at SUNY Morrisville is etched in her memory. She lived on campus with a roommate before moving to a cozy attic apartment in a house off Route 20 and she appeared in musical theater productions of “Cabaret’’ and “Godspell.’’ The South Carolina transplant recalled the connection she instantly felt with her fellow horticulture classmates.

From a simple knock at the door to knocking on the door of greatness.  From “arriving with nothing” to leaving with everything. From honoring previous Mustang legends to now becoming one.  Those were just some of the memorable storylines highlighting the SUNY Morrisville Athletics Wall of Fame Class of 2023, which honored seven Mustangs:

Ernesto Mitchell ’23 went from chasing a dream to having a dream college career. Mitchell, who graduated this May with a degree in criminal justice, wrapped up his collegiate playing career as one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of the Mustang football program.

Leonard Cunningham came to SUNY Morrisville in the fall of 1913, a member of the third entering class in the school’s young history. It was a relatively short trek in those days; Cunningham’s father worked as a farmhand at a Cazenovia farm, just over 11 miles to the west on Route 20 — a hilly dirt road that would remain unpaved until the early 1930s.

Noah Greger ’18 knew one thing growing up — he loved cars. He had a knack for mechanics, rebuilding engines and fixing motors long before he was old enough to be in the driver’s seat. The first spark was his longing to restore a rundown Datsun sitting in a neighbor’s yard, in his Danbury, Connecticut hometown, and later fixing the engine on the ATV his parents bought him when he was 11.

From their offices at SUNY Morrisville, nursing professors Norma Swartout and Jane Stephenson marveled at where their students were completing online courses for their bachelor’s degree curriculum. One student was logging in from Europe, where her husband was stationed in Germany. Another had traveled to visit family in India, while another had returned home to Africa to complete her internship and coursework.

William K. “Bill” Guglielmo, Morrisville Class of 1969, died in February after leading the Rome Area Chamber of Commerce for more than 25 years.

Student Recreation Center “What a great day for Morrisville!” That sentiment was shared by SUNY Morrisville President David Rogers as he addressed the sizeable crowd gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil SUNY Morrisville’s new Student Recreation Center.