Rowan University Commencement 2007: Student stories of interest
Rowan University Commencement 2007: Student stories of interest
April 25, 2007
College graduation is a memorable day for most people, but some
students bring to that day especially interesting stories that set
them apart. Here are a few from Rowan University, which will hold
commencement ceremonies on May 10 (graduate students) and May 11
(undergraduates):
Nadine Burr, Washington Township (Gloucester County)
Nadine Burr is the ultimate feel-good success story. Once homeless, she is about to become the first person in her immediate family to earn a degree (a bachelor's in history, magna cum laude). While many of her classmates were teens and twentysomethings, she is a 47-year-old mother of two (and heart attack survivor) who has worked as many as three jobs while attending school on a half-time basis. A Gloucester County College graduate, Burr started at Rowan in 2002 and is a member of the Phi Alpha Theta history honor society and a two-time recipient of Lauren Rose Albert book scholarships. She's considering attending a master's program at Rowan and would like to teach college history, become a published author and start a non-profit organization that can help women going through what she experienced find the assistance they need.
Lyndsy and Kelly Castano, Woolwich Township
Getting accepted at veterinary school is pretty impressive ? it's long been said it's harder to get into vet school than medical school ? so the Biological Sciences professors at Rowan University could be pretty pleased that one of their own is heading off to the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in Indiana after graduation. They might just be thrilled that two of their students will head there. The fact that the Woolwich Township students are 21-year-old twin sisters just adds interest. Lyndsy Castano will graduate Rowan University in May with a degree in biological sciences, a Spanish minor and an honors concentration. Kelly Castano will graduate with a degree in biological sciences, a chemistry minor and an honors concentration. The graduates of Padua Academy, Wilmington, are the daughters of Geralynn and Al Castano, and their move to Indiana for veterinary school will be their first time living full time away from home. Their younger sister, Whitny, is a Rowan sophomore in the Law/Justice program, and younger brother Ian is an entering freshman. Said Lyndsy of her Rowan education, "You have a lot of personal contact with teachers, and they offered a lot of opportunities, like research projects."
Joanna Leigh Congalton, Ridgefield
All the world is a stage for Joanna Leigh Congalton, or it soon will be. Congalton is graduating with honors with a bachelor's in theatre, a bachelor's in English and a minor in dance and heading to Columbia University to pursue a master's of fine arts in stage management. Congalton, who is the fifth generation of her family to live in Ridgefield ? and grow up in the same house ? has been a member of the English and theatre honor societies, president of Rowan's Lab Theatre and Alpha Psi Omega, Rho Nu Chapter and winner of the Joseph Robinette Excellence in Theatre and Dance Medallion. She is a published monologist (her monologues can be found in the book "Classroom Scenes and Monologues"), was stage manager of eight main stage shows at Rowan University in three years and has professional stage management credits in New York and Philadelphia. Her ultimate goal is to establish a career for herself as a professional stage manager in New York and return to the world of academia as a professor.
Edward Greve, Glassboro
When his classmates graduate from Rowan on May 11, Glassboro native Edward Greve will be celebrating in Holland. That's where he's in a master's program in mathematical physics at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. That he's in graduate school before officially finishing his undergraduate degree is one thing. That he's doing that in a foreign country is another. That he's just 19 years old is quite an accomplishment in anyone's book. A double major (physics and mathematics), Greve received one of the first Glassboro High School scholarships Rowan issued. A 2005 GHS graduate, the son of Claudia and Carlton Greve (and brother of soon-to-be Rowan graduate Andrew, 21) actually left high school in the spring of 2004 at age 16 to start college, looking for intense math and science courses. Along with his classroom work, Greve has been an active researcher at Rowan and elsewhere. He worked with Dr. David Klassen, an astronomy and physics associate professor, on Martian spectral imaging, looking for what comprises the Martian atmosphere and how the atmosphere changes from season to season. He worked with Dr. Samuel Lofland, an astronomy and physics professor, on electron spin resonance, researching materials that become extremely magnetic at very low temperatures (around -300? Fahrenheit). He also worked with mathematics professor Dr. Tom Osler to translate works by 16th century Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler from French into English. He traveled to Pisa, Italy, last summer as part of a competitive Research Experiences for Undergraduates project at the University of Pisa for the European Gravitational Observatory, generating data for an astronomy project.
Christopher Imbrosciano, South Plainfield
Acting made everything possible for theatre arts and child drama major Christopher Imbrosciano. And that includes walking. "I was unable to step backwards until it was required for a curtain call," says Imbrosciano, who was born with cerebral palsy and got into acting as a way to escape from the pain of more than 30 orthopedic surgeries he endured as a child. A South Plainfield resident, Imbrosciano has performed in dozens of productions, including, most recently, Rowan's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," in which he portrayed Francis Flute. Last summer, he was the first person with a disability to receive a fully funded apprenticeship to the nationally renowned Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Mass. He received the apprenticeship through VSA Arts, an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Nationally, only 70 promising acting students are invited to Williamstown each year. Born three months premature, Imbrosciano had a massive brain hemorrhage as an infant. "My parents were told they should consider 'non-aggressive' treatment and allow me to die," he said. Instead, they pursued operations and therapies and encouraged him to act, beginning at age 6. "I've always been defined as having cerebral palsy," Imbrosciano said. "But cerebral palsy does not define me." Presently, he's looking for a job and attending auditions.
Rachel Kelly, Lincoln Park
Rachel Kelly's life has been one of international service. So it's no surprise that Kelly will earn her bachelor's degree in English from Rowan, with a minor in political science, on May 11 and then prepare to go to South Korea on a prestigious Fulbright Program scholarship this summer. Kelly, from Lincoln Park, will spend a year teaching English as a second language to elementary and middle school children through the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships Program. Kelly is the seventh Rowan student in as many years to land a Fulbright. She also was accepted into the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program, an honor she had to decline to accept the Fulbright. In South Korea, Kelly, who speaks no Korean, will live with a host family as she completes her teaching assignment. "That stood out for me," she says. "I want to be 100 percent immersed in the culture." Kelly began her international service work in junior high, when she traveled to Venezuela two straight summers to work, through her church, with inner-city children. She did the same in Ireland the year she graduated from DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne. "The Fulbright is going to be a huge challenge every day," she says. "That's what stokes me."
Nicole Lampson, Millville
Nicole Lampson, 30, has been on a long, determined road to earn her college degree. She had her first child in 11th grade. "As a teen mom, times were more than tough," she said. "I had to go back to school not long after my daughter was born and had to find a babysitter so that I could work to support her. Eventually, I did graduate, but barely." Lampson went on to attend a county college for one semester, but the stress of raising a child, going to school and working was too much for her, so she dropped out. After moving several times due to evictions and financial difficulties, she settled in Ohio, a place where she thought she could start over. She left a year later, pregnant. Upon returning to New Jersey, she met "a wonderful man, Ronald," and things started looking up. However, the next year her grandmother, great-grandfather and Ronald died. She was devastated, but made a promise to God that she was going to get her life back together and not depend on anyone else. She's living up to that promise. Lampson, now married to Damon Lampson and a mom of three, is graduating with an English/Secondary Education degree and hopes to teach in Cumberland County and eventually earn her master's degree and work as a school guidance counselor or family counselor. (NOTE: She is the daughter of a Rowan alum and niece of a Rowan staff member. At times she brought her children to class and often studied in administrative offices when she was juggling six classes and substitute teaching.)
Lani Nguyen, Woodlynne
Lani Nguyen, 33, recalls what it's like to grow up hungering for an education. As an Amerasian kid in Vietnam, she knew she wanted to go on to college; she also knew what it felt like to be discriminated against because of her heritage (her father was a U.S. soldier during the Vietnam War, her mother a Vietnamese woman) and how difficult it would be to get ahead because of it. She graduated from high school and obtained some added education to learn more math and English, worked as a tutor for children and hoped for more. Seven years ago, Lani and her mother, Cuc Nguyen, came to the U.S. under the Amerasian Act with very limited English skills but with a belief in the opportunities the country offered. That belief ? and her own hard work and the support of her mother ? will be rewarded in May when Nguyen graduates with a 3.5 GPA in law/justice and sociology. Nguyen, who attended classes on Rowan's Camden and Glassboro campuses while working weekends in retail, has held three internships and would like to work in the Camden County Prosecutor's Office or the Camden City Hall of Justice. She will enter Rowan's Graduate School's counseling program this year.
Laura and Lisa Wasik, Mount Laurel
Twins Laura and Lisa Wasik, 22, have taken most of their classes and lived together at Rowan University. On May 11, they will leave the campus with twin degrees in Secondary Education/ English. The Lenape Regional High School grads and daughters of Barbara and Keith Springer have more in common. Lisa, who wants to teach and eventually go to graduate school to pursue school counseling, said of attending school with her sister, "We always had support in the class, which is comforting. When I had a question about an assignment or needed help, obviously my sister could help. Having two ears listen to what your teacher is teaching helps you see all the angles." Laura, too, enjoyed the experience of studying side by side with her sister. "It was great. We always had somebody to study with. If one of us missed a class, the other would take notes," she said. And, no surprise, she hopes to teach and eventually go to graduate school at Rowan to pursue school counseling.
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Nadine Burr, Washington Township (Gloucester County)
Nadine Burr is the ultimate feel-good success story. Once homeless, she is about to become the first person in her immediate family to earn a degree (a bachelor's in history, magna cum laude). While many of her classmates were teens and twentysomethings, she is a 47-year-old mother of two (and heart attack survivor) who has worked as many as three jobs while attending school on a half-time basis. A Gloucester County College graduate, Burr started at Rowan in 2002 and is a member of the Phi Alpha Theta history honor society and a two-time recipient of Lauren Rose Albert book scholarships. She's considering attending a master's program at Rowan and would like to teach college history, become a published author and start a non-profit organization that can help women going through what she experienced find the assistance they need.
Lyndsy and Kelly Castano, Woolwich Township
Getting accepted at veterinary school is pretty impressive ? it's long been said it's harder to get into vet school than medical school ? so the Biological Sciences professors at Rowan University could be pretty pleased that one of their own is heading off to the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in Indiana after graduation. They might just be thrilled that two of their students will head there. The fact that the Woolwich Township students are 21-year-old twin sisters just adds interest. Lyndsy Castano will graduate Rowan University in May with a degree in biological sciences, a Spanish minor and an honors concentration. Kelly Castano will graduate with a degree in biological sciences, a chemistry minor and an honors concentration. The graduates of Padua Academy, Wilmington, are the daughters of Geralynn and Al Castano, and their move to Indiana for veterinary school will be their first time living full time away from home. Their younger sister, Whitny, is a Rowan sophomore in the Law/Justice program, and younger brother Ian is an entering freshman. Said Lyndsy of her Rowan education, "You have a lot of personal contact with teachers, and they offered a lot of opportunities, like research projects."
Joanna Leigh Congalton, Ridgefield
All the world is a stage for Joanna Leigh Congalton, or it soon will be. Congalton is graduating with honors with a bachelor's in theatre, a bachelor's in English and a minor in dance and heading to Columbia University to pursue a master's of fine arts in stage management. Congalton, who is the fifth generation of her family to live in Ridgefield ? and grow up in the same house ? has been a member of the English and theatre honor societies, president of Rowan's Lab Theatre and Alpha Psi Omega, Rho Nu Chapter and winner of the Joseph Robinette Excellence in Theatre and Dance Medallion. She is a published monologist (her monologues can be found in the book "Classroom Scenes and Monologues"), was stage manager of eight main stage shows at Rowan University in three years and has professional stage management credits in New York and Philadelphia. Her ultimate goal is to establish a career for herself as a professional stage manager in New York and return to the world of academia as a professor.
Edward Greve, Glassboro
When his classmates graduate from Rowan on May 11, Glassboro native Edward Greve will be celebrating in Holland. That's where he's in a master's program in mathematical physics at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. That he's in graduate school before officially finishing his undergraduate degree is one thing. That he's doing that in a foreign country is another. That he's just 19 years old is quite an accomplishment in anyone's book. A double major (physics and mathematics), Greve received one of the first Glassboro High School scholarships Rowan issued. A 2005 GHS graduate, the son of Claudia and Carlton Greve (and brother of soon-to-be Rowan graduate Andrew, 21) actually left high school in the spring of 2004 at age 16 to start college, looking for intense math and science courses. Along with his classroom work, Greve has been an active researcher at Rowan and elsewhere. He worked with Dr. David Klassen, an astronomy and physics associate professor, on Martian spectral imaging, looking for what comprises the Martian atmosphere and how the atmosphere changes from season to season. He worked with Dr. Samuel Lofland, an astronomy and physics professor, on electron spin resonance, researching materials that become extremely magnetic at very low temperatures (around -300? Fahrenheit). He also worked with mathematics professor Dr. Tom Osler to translate works by 16th century Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler from French into English. He traveled to Pisa, Italy, last summer as part of a competitive Research Experiences for Undergraduates project at the University of Pisa for the European Gravitational Observatory, generating data for an astronomy project.
Christopher Imbrosciano, South Plainfield
Acting made everything possible for theatre arts and child drama major Christopher Imbrosciano. And that includes walking. "I was unable to step backwards until it was required for a curtain call," says Imbrosciano, who was born with cerebral palsy and got into acting as a way to escape from the pain of more than 30 orthopedic surgeries he endured as a child. A South Plainfield resident, Imbrosciano has performed in dozens of productions, including, most recently, Rowan's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," in which he portrayed Francis Flute. Last summer, he was the first person with a disability to receive a fully funded apprenticeship to the nationally renowned Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Mass. He received the apprenticeship through VSA Arts, an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Nationally, only 70 promising acting students are invited to Williamstown each year. Born three months premature, Imbrosciano had a massive brain hemorrhage as an infant. "My parents were told they should consider 'non-aggressive' treatment and allow me to die," he said. Instead, they pursued operations and therapies and encouraged him to act, beginning at age 6. "I've always been defined as having cerebral palsy," Imbrosciano said. "But cerebral palsy does not define me." Presently, he's looking for a job and attending auditions.
Rachel Kelly, Lincoln Park
Rachel Kelly's life has been one of international service. So it's no surprise that Kelly will earn her bachelor's degree in English from Rowan, with a minor in political science, on May 11 and then prepare to go to South Korea on a prestigious Fulbright Program scholarship this summer. Kelly, from Lincoln Park, will spend a year teaching English as a second language to elementary and middle school children through the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships Program. Kelly is the seventh Rowan student in as many years to land a Fulbright. She also was accepted into the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program, an honor she had to decline to accept the Fulbright. In South Korea, Kelly, who speaks no Korean, will live with a host family as she completes her teaching assignment. "That stood out for me," she says. "I want to be 100 percent immersed in the culture." Kelly began her international service work in junior high, when she traveled to Venezuela two straight summers to work, through her church, with inner-city children. She did the same in Ireland the year she graduated from DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne. "The Fulbright is going to be a huge challenge every day," she says. "That's what stokes me."
Nicole Lampson, Millville
Nicole Lampson, 30, has been on a long, determined road to earn her college degree. She had her first child in 11th grade. "As a teen mom, times were more than tough," she said. "I had to go back to school not long after my daughter was born and had to find a babysitter so that I could work to support her. Eventually, I did graduate, but barely." Lampson went on to attend a county college for one semester, but the stress of raising a child, going to school and working was too much for her, so she dropped out. After moving several times due to evictions and financial difficulties, she settled in Ohio, a place where she thought she could start over. She left a year later, pregnant. Upon returning to New Jersey, she met "a wonderful man, Ronald," and things started looking up. However, the next year her grandmother, great-grandfather and Ronald died. She was devastated, but made a promise to God that she was going to get her life back together and not depend on anyone else. She's living up to that promise. Lampson, now married to Damon Lampson and a mom of three, is graduating with an English/Secondary Education degree and hopes to teach in Cumberland County and eventually earn her master's degree and work as a school guidance counselor or family counselor. (NOTE: She is the daughter of a Rowan alum and niece of a Rowan staff member. At times she brought her children to class and often studied in administrative offices when she was juggling six classes and substitute teaching.)
Lani Nguyen, Woodlynne
Lani Nguyen, 33, recalls what it's like to grow up hungering for an education. As an Amerasian kid in Vietnam, she knew she wanted to go on to college; she also knew what it felt like to be discriminated against because of her heritage (her father was a U.S. soldier during the Vietnam War, her mother a Vietnamese woman) and how difficult it would be to get ahead because of it. She graduated from high school and obtained some added education to learn more math and English, worked as a tutor for children and hoped for more. Seven years ago, Lani and her mother, Cuc Nguyen, came to the U.S. under the Amerasian Act with very limited English skills but with a belief in the opportunities the country offered. That belief ? and her own hard work and the support of her mother ? will be rewarded in May when Nguyen graduates with a 3.5 GPA in law/justice and sociology. Nguyen, who attended classes on Rowan's Camden and Glassboro campuses while working weekends in retail, has held three internships and would like to work in the Camden County Prosecutor's Office or the Camden City Hall of Justice. She will enter Rowan's Graduate School's counseling program this year.
Laura and Lisa Wasik, Mount Laurel
Twins Laura and Lisa Wasik, 22, have taken most of their classes and lived together at Rowan University. On May 11, they will leave the campus with twin degrees in Secondary Education/ English. The Lenape Regional High School grads and daughters of Barbara and Keith Springer have more in common. Lisa, who wants to teach and eventually go to graduate school to pursue school counseling, said of attending school with her sister, "We always had support in the class, which is comforting. When I had a question about an assignment or needed help, obviously my sister could help. Having two ears listen to what your teacher is teaching helps you see all the angles." Laura, too, enjoyed the experience of studying side by side with her sister. "It was great. We always had somebody to study with. If one of us missed a class, the other would take notes," she said. And, no surprise, she hopes to teach and eventually go to graduate school at Rowan to pursue school counseling.
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