Alumni

From the age of 11, Carmen Garner ’01 was on his own. Born in Springfield, he lost his mother to illness when he was young, and his father abandoned the family. Garner’s brother was sentenced to life in prison. Rapidly moving among foster homes—17 in total—Garner graduated from high school, unsure of his future. “I

When Marjorie Rodríguez ’15, MSW’16 stepped on campus as a non-traditional transfer student, she felt self-sufficient. As a foster child who had recently aged out of the system, she’d learned how to deal with challenging situations alone. Rodríguez learned quickly, though, that to earn a degree, she needed support. “It was shocking to realize how

Rick Hayden ’87 arrived for an appointment with the Association for the Support of Human Services in the late 1970s. Five steps stood between him and his destination. He hopped down from his wheelchair, maneuvered his body up the steps while pulling his chair, and made it to his meeting. “Back then, you just had

A few years ago, Biology Professor Tim Parshall, Ph.D., approached Environmental Science Professor Kelly Anne McKeown, Ph.D., to ask if she could isolate the bacteria in ticks that leads to Lyme disease. Dr. McKeown was intrigued, and the two began a cross-departmental project. Dr. Parshall, a forest ecologist, says that the tick project is an