Alumni Stories

A Pioneer in her Field

Fascinated by the intellectual challenges in this burgeoning field, Judy was able to put her talents to work writing diagnostic programs for an experimental line of computers called UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) shortly upon graduating. In the years to follow, Judy would work in different capacities for multiple computer-related companies and agencies.

Some of her accomplishments include programming large displays of military information, coding war game simulations, coding systems for the U.S. Army, testing early email programs and looking at solutions for protecting classified information. Judy even co-wrote a research paper on a mechanism to track access to computer files called “Beyond the Pale of MAC and DAC.”

“I’ve really enjoyed my working life,” says Judy. “I always worked with very smart people, had interesting projects, and was never bored.”

In her personal life, Judy’s achievements are just as impressive. As a young mother, she ran the first food program of the ecumenical organization ALIVE in Alexandria, Virginia. Every day, she would receive calls from churches with the names of families who were in need. Then, she would pack the food and call on volunteers to deliver it.

However, that was just the beginning of Judy’s relationship with charitable causes. Following the death of their daughter Carol in 2008, Judy and her late husband Phillip began to fund a Mentored Investigator Award for the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance in her memory. Additionally, Judy and Phillip funded several scholarships to aide students at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, Boston University and Saint Elizabeth University.

“Both of us place great importance on the value of education,” says Judy. “Phil worked his way through college by driving a cab and I had a full scholarship to SEU.

In 2019, the pair established the Class of 1960 scholarship at SEU, in hopes of offering all students the ability to earn an education.

“I am the oldest of eight children and never would have been able to afford SEU without the scholarship I was granted,” recalls Judy. “And SEU gave me a great education, deepened my Catholic faith, provided a strong example of resourceful women and was a place where I gained life-long friendships.”

“Graduating from SEU was such a big day for me,” explains Anne. “I was the first in my family to go to college because the opportunity just hadn’t been there for anybody else. Being able to plow that road for my family was wonderful.”

While interested in education, Anne’s parents were denied the ability to complete college due to family responsibilities. Her mother had to stop attending nursing school to care for her small children and her father could not sacrifice his career for a degree.

“Earning my degree was a gift to my parents because they felt they missed out on that experience. It was something that meant so much to our entire family,” recalls Anne. “My son is even asking me about colleges and, now that the school’s co-ed, he can have that experience too.”

A perpetual student, Anne has channeled her love of learning into her hobbies and personal interests. She believes that constantly learning introduces people to concepts they never knew they would find fascinating. This curiosity for the world actually led Anne to her career as a pastry chef.

“I wasn’t one of those people who had been baking and cooking my whole life, I would always take the instant cooking dough approach,” says Anne. “But I started baking as a hobby and soon realized I wanted to make it my career.”

After attending culinary school, Anne began working for Auguste Escoffier, an entirely online school of culinary arts that was just opening. A groundbreaking concept at the time, the virtual learning format challenged Anne to reconceptualize teaching and think creatively, a skill she honed at SEU.

“All the teachers at SEU allowed us to be as creative as possible and that’s stuck with me throughout my career,” says Anne, an executive chef for Escoffier. “Teaching virtually required me to utilize that creativity to help students better visualize techniques without me physically being with them.”

While Anne did not pursue a career in psychology or writing, she utilizes interpersonal and professional skills acquired at SEU every single day.

Inspiring the Youth

In 2014, President Barack Obama tapped David to lead the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBK Alliance) in the city of Newark. Despite being in the midst of earning his master’s in divinity from Princeton University, David took a three-year leave of absence to lead this initiative. Dedicated to building safe and supportive communities where boys and young men of color feel valued, David helped these young people realize their potential through promoting effective programs and policies.

“The desire to help others stems from my mentors, great heroes and sheroes, that instilled in me a desire to serve and give back,” says David, a cum-laude graduate of Morehouse College. “I feel God has put me in a position to help others achieve their goals.”

As a third-generation Baptist preacher, David literally grew up with the tenants of compassion, love and service that surrounded the church. Passed from his grandfather to his father, their legacy inspired David to make his own mark on the world. Presently serving as a pastor at the Community Church of East Williston and engaged in family ministry at Metropolitan Baptist Church, David is intent on mentoring young people. In fact, he lives his life in accordance with Jeremiah 29:11, a Biblical passage that reads, “For I [God] know the plans I have for you.”

“I strongly believe everyone has a plan for their life,” says David, a recipient of the Kenyon J. Wildrick award in Homiletics. “As an academic advisor, adjunct professor and educational specialist for Kean University, my job is literally to help my students find their own path in life. When that path is obstructed, I find ways to break down doors in the system.”

Whether he’s inspiring young people in the church or the classroom, David has utilized the knowledge he acquired in every stage of his life to become the educator, mentor and teacher he needed as a child.

Reviving Heritage Food Ways

“The bologna sandwich was an alternative to standing at the stove, cooking all day,” explains Kibbe McGaa Brown, ‘93 a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service and a graduate of SEU’s dietetic internship program. “Eating this way became a matter of status because some people had the ability to afford convenience.”

However, with ease of preparation came an entirely new problem: high blood sugar. In the early 1990s, before the diabetes epidemic was well understood, Kibbe began working as a dietician for Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. She had witnessed the devastating impacts of diabetes on her aunts and uncles and was determined to help other Native people with the condition. Not knowing where to start fighting this disease, Kibbe turned to her elders.

“While at Pine Ridge, I had access to the Grey Eagle Society, [a group of Lakota elders], who taught me about traditional food ways,” says Kibbe. “I learned that there was a radical shift in food intake for Native people in a relatively short amount of time and the elders taught me to consider how our ancestors ate instead.”

Using both her elders’ wisdom and formal education, Kibbe began to reimagine how nutrition education was taught to Native people. Instead of relying on the food pyramid, which was the only model at the time, Kibbe looked for a symbol more reflective of heritage food ways.

“The circle, with four directions, is a cultural symbol,” describes Kibbe. “Known as the medicine wheel, the west is water, the north is the buffalo, the east is for harvesting and gathering berries and plants while the south is for cultigens such as corn, beans, and potatoes.”

By developing materials that mirrored that traditional food system in contemporary ways, Kibbe was able to steer people away from refined carbohydrates and toward bone broth, plants, and other ancient food ways. As a national nutrition consultant for Indian Health Services (IHS) in the Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention, Kibbe is able to measure the impact of nutritional education, traditional diets, and other methods of intervention.

As reported by the IHS, Native Americans have the highest rates of Type II diabetes in the United States. However, as explained in the IHS’ Special Diabetes Program For Indians report to congress, diabetes-related deaths, hospitalizations for uncontrolled diabetes, and diabetic eye disease had all decreased. Additionally, for the first time, diabetes prevalence in American Indians and Alaska Native People decreased (and did so consistently) for four years; a feat never accomplished by the general U.S. population nor any other U.S. racial or ethnic group.

Kibbe was able to play a part in this reduction due to the education she received at Saint Elizabeth University.

“Studying at SEU equipped me to succeed in my career in Indian Health by preparing me to serve in clinical, community, and foodservice settings,” says Kibbe.

Gilliam Ojedis-Lucas, ’20, began her clinical practice in student teaching during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after Gilliam’s clinical practice ended, she was hired as a full-time first grade teacher and was presented with another unique challenge: teaching entirely online.

“Whenever the other teachers at the school found out that I was doing my student teaching, they would all respond in the same way,” says Gilliam. “They would look shocked and say: ‘You’re doing it now? Well, you’re definitely going to be ready when you’re finished.’ And they were right, I was ready.”

Matthew Thomas, ‘20, served in the US Navy from 1997 to 2001 and worked as a Hull Maintenance Technician Fireman during his years of service.

“My maternal grandfather Major David A. Thomas was the real reason why I served. I spent a lot of my time as a child with my grandpa and would always recount his stories of his time in the Air Force,” says Matthew. “He was my inspiration and hero.”

Following his time in the military, Matthew spent three years working as an EMT in Los Angeles, CA, where he met his wife and fellow SEU alum Heather. Working as an EMT later inspired Matthew to complete his degree in Health Administration at SEU.

“I am so happy that I attended SEU and had a wonderful time there. The professors that I met along the way were some of the greatest educators that I have had in my college career,” says Matthew.

American flags waved from every street corner, marching bands played patriotic tunes while confetti streamed over large crowds and Dr. Marion Hardy, '60, stood in the middle of it all.

"My internship gave me a head start in my career," says Thomas Michael, '20.

Last year, when he was nearing the end of his college career, Thomas realized that he wanted more hands-on experience. He became very interested in acquiring the experience and expertise necessary to operate a business effectively and turned to his advisors for assistance. As a psychology major with a business minor, Michael was looking for an internship that joined his two passions.

Shortly after consulting with his advisors and the Experiential Learning Center, Thomas was accepted into a semester-long management trainee program at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. In this position, he had the opportunity to partake in sales calls, delve into marketing tactics, work with insurance companies and used his psychology degree to enhance his ability to interact with customers.

"I learned how a multi-million-dollar business operates and the value of good customer service," explains Thomas. "People can rent a car anywhere but great costumer service makes them more likely to return to Enterprise."

Due to the skills and relationships Thomas developed as an intern, just one month after graduating from SEU he was able to secure a full-time position as a manager-in-training at Enterprise. This experience pushed Thomas to become more reflective, ambitious and confident in his abilities despite the uncertainty of the economy.

"During one of the most devastating health crises in our nation's history, Enterprise has helped me gain financial security," says Thomas. "And I wouldn't have gotten that chance without SEU."

Student Profile: Heidi Biller, '18, M.A. in Educational Leadership

Ten years ago, Heidi Biller promised her seriously ill father Roger that he would see her graduate from the Saint Elizabeth University. Unfortunately, Roger was unable to attend Heidi's college graduation due to complications from a liver transplant. Now, exactly a decade later, Heidi fulfilled her promise and Roger proudly watched as his daughter earned a master's in educational leadership from SEU.

"SEU isn't just about academics," says Heidi. "It's about family and it's about support. SEU was the only place I would ever even think of going for my master's."

For Heidi, SEU literally is family. In 1993, Roger himself became the first male valedictorian to graduate from, what was then called, the College's "night and weekend" program. Roger's enthusiasm for the College is what encouraged Heidi to pursue her undergraduate degree in English and education at SEU.

"I wanted to be a teacher ever since I was five years old," says Heidi. "When I started working as a teacher, I started seeing the leadership side of education and how important it was to support teachers."

To further honor her father during graduation, Heidi decorated her mortarboard, or cap, with the phrase, "What's the magic words?" As a child, Roger would ask Heidi this question and she'd reply, "I love Daddy," to which he'd respond, "I love Heidi."

At SEU, you receive more than just an education. You develop personal relationships with professors, gain confidence to chase your dreams and are given unconditional support.

Congratulations, Heidi and Roger!