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Cynthia Eaton
It wasn't the way we had hoped to celebrate their decades of service to the college, but it was the best we could do. During a Zoom ceremony on the evening of Thursday, January 28, the FA and Guild hosted our first annual awards and recognition celebration. In addition to celebrating the recipients of our new FA member recognition awards, we also put our hands together for almost three dozen retirees from both the FA and the Guild (who often start out as FA members). The evening began with warm words of congratulations from FA President Dante Morelli, SCCC Interim President Lou Petrizzo and past FA Presidents Ellen Schuler Mauk and Kevin Peterman. Invited to share some words of wisdom with colleagues, retirees like Sister Mary Ann Borrello (Sociology, Grant) advised projecting joy to students. "Just remember, no matter what we teach, do it with a smile. For that may be the only smile that student receives from someone who cares that day." Ruth Kolk (Nursing, Grant) focused on students too: "I have many wonderful memories of my journey educating nursing students, and together we can be proud of the impact they make in today’s world. To my colleagues: Continue to strive for excellence—you do make a difference." It surprised no one that retiree Sue DeMasi, who also served as a writer for The WORD for many years, celebrated the solidarity she felt at the college: "It is the people that make the place. The fact that I worked every day with people who were smart and kind, people who cared about the world and our students, people who fought for the rights of others—all of that made SCCC a special place to work. My years there were valuable to me professionally and personally, and I take that with me in the future." Retired long-time FA Executive Council representative Jane-Marie Wright (Math, Ammerman) shared a wistful quote: "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." Another celebration of collaboration came from Catherine Lipnick-End (English, Ammerman) as she said, "Please know that as I journey on to discover the next chapter of life, I leave the community at the college with the deepest of gratitude for the many enriching experiences I have had with the wonderful souls I have been blessed and honored to call students, friends and colleagues. Words cannot possibly convey how very thankful I am for the gratifying opportunities to work with, learn from, grow and co-create with so many amazing, inspiring, gifted, intelligent, creative, selfless, giving and dedicated professionals. I cherish the memories and will miss you dearly—but most especially I will miss you, Kimberly Ng Southard, you're the best!" One retiree we celebrated noted the dual honor of simultaneously getting to celebrate her own daughter as the inaugural recipient of the FA member recognition award for outstanding mentoring. "My little girl was just two years old when I started some 30 years ago," said Louise Johnston (Admissions, Eastern). "I could never have imagined SCCC would become my home away from home where I was able to make a difference at the college and impact the lives of so many students. Fortunately, I had amazing colleagues and supervisors who were mentors that helped me flourish as a counseling professional. Thank you, FA: I'm grateful for all your support along the way. It is with great honor and pride that I get to share this day with that same little girl." Below is the list of retirees we celebrated in late January. Please know that we are heartbroken that we could not celebrate with you in person. FA Retirees
Guild Retirees
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