News

Staring down into the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean Ocean, Lilo Starr came across a breathtaking sight. While snorkeling off Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas, Starr observed a magnificent display of multicolored fish just a few feet below them. The beautiful underwater scene captivated the 19-year-old SUNY Morrisville sophomore from Pearl River, New York.

Justin Redivivo didn’t set out to work in the agriculture field. He grew up in Canada, completed high school there and came to the United States to join his family and seek employment. He worked at Foxwoods Resorts Casino in Connecticut and attended college briefly to study hospitality. “College wasn’t my thing,’’ he said.

Janis Barth, owner and editor of New York Horse Magazine, shares a firsthand story about donating her beloved horse to SUNY Morrisville’s equine program. Sunday morning. The air is crisp with blue-ribbon dreams and the first intercollegiate horse show of the season is ramping up at the SUNY Morrisville Western barn.

As the world came together to acknowledge Earth Day this year, SUNY Morrisville was planting a new seed — a campus tradition that joined acts of kindness with sustainability to celebrate the day.

Walking across campus, Sheila Marshman greets a group of students with a wide grin, chatting about her daughter’s recent performance at the All-American Dairy Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Visiting an alum at a local farm later that day, she doesn’t hesitate to hop up on a forage harvester to pose for a photo, striding across the hay fields with confidence.

The story of George and Barb Elias is a perfect reminder that anyone can leave an extraordinary legacy. George Elias ’70 (instrument technology) endowed a scholarship in honor of his late wife, Barb ’81 (horse husbandry), the Barbara A. Elias ’81 Endowed Scholarship Fund.  Barb left a trail of giving that spread from New York State to Colorado and many places in-between. The scholarship George created will continue her legacy.

As a child, Tweh Johnson would often get in trouble for the numerous science experiments he concocted through his wild imagination. While they didn’t always go as planned, they all played a role in helping him discover his insatiable thirst for knowledge. That same inquisitiveness has now led him to a degree in the field of his dreams, thanks to SUNY Morrisville.

Wendy Groves can still remember that first day of drop off at the Children’s Center on the SUNY Morrisville campus nearly 30 years ago.

With the college’s official launch of the Campaign for Morrisville, an initiative that will strengthen resources for generations of Mustangs, there’s never been a more exciting time at SUNY Morrisville. “We’re laying the foundation for the next 100 years of applied education,” said Theresa Kevorkian, vice president for Institutional Advancement. “This transformative campaign is going to change the future of our college.”

Megan Viera ’18 concentrates on her footing as she walks up a wooden ramp leading to the porch of a two-story farmhouse. A prominent sign hanging by the door — “It’s so good to be home” sums up a near decade of perseverance for the 27-year-old Sherburne, New York, resident.

A life once limited is now filled with opportunity and dreams for Dahmili (“Molly”) Pierre Browne ’20. The SUNY Morrisville criminal justice graduate spent most of her childhood moving in and out of motels and living in shelters in a crime-ridden part of Bronx, New York, where sirens saturate neighborhoods and a quarter of all students drop out of high school. So much changed for Browne when the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) offered her the chance to go to college.

As a single mother, Rolanda Campbell ’22 has faced her share of financial burdens while pursuing her education at SUNY Morrisville. But childcare costs, transportation worries and so many other financial burdens were alleviated thanks to the college’s Student Hardship Fund, which helped her stay on track. The fund supports students who incur a sudden expense or change in circumstances they cannot overcome with financial aid or family support.

As the semester came to an end, three agribusiness students had something a little extra to celebrate. They won the top three prizes in the 2021 Cotton Family Business  Idea Competition, a competition where students have the opportunity to win money and take their ideas to the next level.

There were smiles of joy, relief, elbow bumping, physically distanced selfies and Mustang Pride was in full swing as SUNY Morrisville graduates celebrated scaled-back, in-person ceremonies in lieu of a traditional commencement this year.

“If your goal is to make difference, you start with journalism and Morrisville.” Those words spoken by SUNY Morrisville journalism graduate Mike Gormley are precisely what he has been doing as a reporter covering politics and government for four decades.

Inspiring entrepreneur selected as a Forbes Next 1000 honoree

The future of agriculture, engineering and energy isn’t confined to traditional desks and lecture halls at SUNY Morrisville. Students will begin taking classes this fall in the $16 million Agricultural and Clean Energy Technology (ACET) Center, a 30,000-square foot applied learning technology building that will bolster the renewable energy, agricultural engineering, and diesel technology programs.

As a hot housing market and spike in home remodeling propel the need for skilled tradespeople in the residential construction industry, Mike Gridley ’04 is doing his part to ease the demand. The assistant professor of residential construction at SUNY Morrisville has been teaching the tricks of his trade and molding skilled workers for more than two decades in the classroom and as proprietor of Gridley Construction, in Hamilton, New York.

“It’s worth it if you put in the effort,” said Danielle Bunting ’21 while reflecting on her time as a SUNY Morrisville Mustang.

As the COVID-19 pandemic caused the physical world to remain distanced, the virtual world of esports has emerged to connect people like never before. SUNY Morrisville students are among those taking a hold of esports (electronic sports), an organized sports competition featuring multiplayer video games where gamers from around the world can compete individually or as a team. They also can tune in as spectators.

It was going to be a memorable spring break in Morocco. As she packed her suitcase, Jessica Miller’s mind drifted to the mountainous country of western North Africa, a March trip she had planned for months to marry her fiancé, Mouaad Essaadi, who lives there.

Shortly after he graduated from SUNY Morrisville, Kyle Clark ’18 returned to his fifth-generation family dairy farm with a four-year degree in dairy management and a plan to resurrect the creamery that once stood on the property, located on Elk Creek Road in Delhi, New York.

Brian Simmons’ aunt offered him a job washing dishes on a Friday night when her restaurant in Nunda, New York, was short-staffed. “The rest is history,” he said. Since that day more than two decades ago, Simmons ’01 has built a successful career out of nourishing patrons as owner and chef of The Yard of Ale Restaurant.

Rebecca Werbela ’04 started an agriculture education program at Morrisville-Eaton Middle-High School in a small room with big plans. As they grew, so did the excitement of her students who are grabbing hold of dynamic lessons — getting their hands dirty building and planting, growing vegetables hydroponically and gaining an understanding about the hundreds of careers available to them in the agriculture industry.

Three pairs of siblings at SUNY Morrisville are bringing more than just their skill and abilities to the game — they bring their chemistry, the anticipation of the next move, the difference in balance that counters the other and the desire to make a difference in Mustang athletics. Despite all spring- and fall-season athletics competitions being canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the siblings shared their thoughts about being teammates.