Class Notes
Phillip Beardsley ‘92
I chose SUNY Poly because it was a good place to go to. It was a brand-new campus, so it was exciting. I made a bunch of friends at SUNY Poly. I took computer courses and some math and science to get my core courses going. I help support the computer network out at Griffiss Air Force Base, and I used my degree to get my job there.
Michael Belen ‘86
I attended SUNY Poly due to the location and the quality education that was affordable. I met a lot of great people in all age groups, which was pretty fun. There were great days there and I felt great that I graduated. What really makes me smile when I think about SUNY Poly are the people I met there.
William Benson ‘81
I decided to attend SUNY Poly because my sister lived in Utica. The faculty overall was good, and I had a lot of friends up there. After graduation, it opened a lot of doors for me, and I had a couple of excellent jobs because of it.
Makayla Hulett ‘21 is currently a Graduate Student at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders and will have her degree completed in August of this year (2023). She recently was voted to receive the Dr. Anne Toolan Rowley Endowed Award at their annual Honors Convocation Ceremony. She is also the Coordinator of Volunteers at Albany Med. While at SUNY Poly, Makayla was an excellent student and a 4-year member of the volleyball program. She was selected as Female Wildcat of the Year in 2020-2021.
Sara Butch (Hawkins) ‘08
is the Director of Product Operations at Global Medical Education and is very excited to work in the tech space for healthcare, with many SUNY institutions as a customer!
Pradhan Das ‘19
The reason I went to SUNY Poly was because of the degrees that it provided. I had friends who graduated from SUNY Poly, and I also have a few friends who are in college now. I’m working as a software engineer III at Toshiba GCS in North Carolina and as an application development consultant III at United Health Group.
Paul Juiliani ‘16
When I was in India, I was applying for a master’s degree in telecommunications. I attended the program because I got a scholarship and was able to stay on campus for at least one year. I learned a whole lot of things during my time at SUNY Poly. I was not very fluent in English at that point. Eventually, my written and verbal communications improved and now it has led me to work at T-Mobile.
Brian Jweid ‘13 is currently the Director of Civil Service Administration for Oneida County. I was nominated and selected to serve on the executive committee for the New York State Association of Personnel and Civil Service Officers in November of 2022. The Associations works directly with the New York State Department of Civil Service to further develop the testing administration and help develop more efficient overall processes for local public sector agencies.
Deborah McClenon ‘93
I had a lot of friends, good experiences, and an opportunity to play collegiate sports. I was mentored by a finance instructor who was friends with the dean of the school of business. Being a business major gave me a lot of opportunities. I am now the director of systems and data center management at SUNY Oneonta.
Dr. Kathy Roucek Prairie, DNP ‘95
I was inspired to attend SUNY Poly due to the opportunity to learn more about game design and other high-tech design when I first heard about it. When I first visited, I ended up going into growth design and video editing over game design. While attending there, I really enjoyed my freshman and sophomore year. Going to SUNY Poly was an opportunity to grow and to get away from home for a bit. It also helped me find myself while learning what I wanted to do with my life.
Sandra Morin Robinson ‘79
has recently retired after 46 years in Nursing. She had a great start at SUNY Poly!
Charles Nava ‘86 received the 2022 Presidential Rank Award while being in the Department of the Air force. The award recognized a select group of career members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) for exceptional performance over a long time. Later, the Rank Award statute was amended to extend eligibility to senior career employees with a sustained record of exceptional professional, technical, and/or scientific achievement recognized on a national or international level.
Edward “Eddie” Rose III ‘96
I had friends who were at SUNY Poly. The housing on campus made an impression on me. SUNY Poly prepared me for the future in the construction industry.
Mary Schenkel ‘89
My husband was in the military, and we were supposed to go to Italy. Our orders got canceled three days before we were to leave, so I decided to enroll at night school in SUNY Poly. My degree was in health services management, and I got a good job at a compounding pharmacy. The organizational skills I got at SUNY Poly really helped me out, and I worked there until we left Mississippi almost 11 years later.
Aashish Sharma ‘07
I wanted to continue my education and had friends there at SUNY Poly. I have lifelong friendships. I was recruited to play basketball as well. I played point guard and shooting guard. Having that degree opened doors for me from becoming a teacher to officiating opportunities. Now I have a new endeavor in management and officiating. I’m part of management with the start of a new league. The college life experience in general makes me smile.
Alex Steinhilber ’17 Civil Engineering Tech and Jennifer Maxam ’19 Business, were married on Saturday, September 9, 2023. They both played lacrosse and met through mutual friends in the spring of 2017.
Raymon Upson ‘13
At that time, I was working in manufacturing and getting my bachelor’s degree. SUNY Poly was close to work, and it allowed me to get a manager position. The professors were great, and they did a lot of work to help me get my degree in a relatively short time. The stuff I learned at SUNY Poly, specifically in finance, helped me with my manager position. I’ve made some investment on my own and have had some success, too. Right now, I do shipping, receiving, and quality control. SUNY Poly is a great asset to the community.
David Valin ‘87
I was transferred from a community college to a four-year college. They took the most credits and had the best program. What made an impression on me was the friendliness of everybody around on campus and the knowledge of the professors in the material. We had professors coming in from Griffiss Air Force Base. They had real-world experience as well. SUNY Poly allowed me to break into the tech field and specifically the operating system level of computers. I’ve been doing that for about 33 years.
Michelen Wood ‘86
When I graduated from college, I was able to get a job in the field that I was interested in, health information management. I now work for the Association for Children with Special Needs.
Ziomara Zamora ‘04 was inducted into UCF Golden Key International Honour Society in March 2023 and is a first-time homeowner since August 2019. It’s been a game changer since I left Utica, NY in January 2018. I truly miss my SUNY Poly family but it’s great to look back and see the actual growth personal and professional these years. With love – ZZ
Go Wildcats!
