May 10, 2001 - It must run in the family.

Charles Brockner and his mother Joette Stefl-Mabry will both be at the head of the class when they participate in the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University's graduation on Mother's Day 2001. Brockner is class valedictorian, and his mom is the first graduate of C.W. Post's Ph.D. program in information studies.

"It was the toughest thing I've ever done," said Stefl-Mabry of juggling a job and family while pursuing a doctoral degree. The resident of Shirley worked full-time at C.W. Post as the academic technology assistant to the Dean of Education while working toward her Ph.D. She took classes from 1 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays, and extended her work hours the remaining four weekdays in order to fulfill her full-time work responsibilities.

Stefl-Mabry found that researching and writing her thesis consumed even more time. She interviewed 90 people to determine what people trust in the media. Using a method called social judgment analysis, which her advisor, Dr. Red Owl, taught her, she discovered that people preferred human beings as their primary information source as opposed to a machine. "It appears that even though we're going high tech, resoundingly people trust people," said Stefl-Mabry. "The human element is still important and we need to keep it in technology."

Despite a very busy schedule, Stefl-Mabry still made time for her children, Kerri, now a sophomore at C.W. Post, son, Charles Brockner and son Kyle Mabry, 5. "I thought I would never survive," said Stefl-Mabry. "I always found school very easy and there was no part of this that was easy."

Still, it always perked up her spirits whenever she'd see her children on campus. Every Thursday night, between classes, she met Charles for dinner. She also frequently saw her daughter at lunch. "They gave me a tremendous amount of support," said Stefl-Mabry. "I think in many ways it was a good message for them saying, 'if you really want something, you can do it.'"

Says Charles, "When my mother and I speak we can really relate to each other's issues or problems especially during the end of the semester crunch."

Both Stefl-Mabry and her son are graduating with perfect 4.0 GPAs, and both want to continue their pursuits in the academic world as well. Stefl-Mabry hopes to find a full-time professorship position in information science or educational technology and Brockner intends to pursue a master's degree in national security studies and a Ph.D. in government at Georgetown University.

Brockner, 22, is graduating from C.W. Post with a B.A./M.A. in international studies/political science. He is currently the director of C.W. Post's Study Abroad program and the coordinator of the Academic Standing Committee, which monitors and maintains the academic standards of the campus.

Brockner has garnered an impressive resume of achievements. He was the recipient of a National Security Education Program scholarship, one of 50 nationwide, and spent two semesters in Prague studying at Charles University, where he also researched his thesis on the Czech application to the European Union. The biggest highlight of his time there was interning at the East West Institute's Prague Center, which sponsored the "Ten Year's After" Conference, hosted by President Vaclav Havel. "For this incredible experience I owe C.W. Post a great debt," said Brockner. "The preparation and support I received throughout my first three years provided me with a solid foundation that made my study and research in East Central Europe meaningful and enlightening."

Active in campus life, Brockner participated in the National Model United Nations Program, and served as an editor for Perspectives, the student journal of the Political Science, International Studies and History departments.

C.W. Post's 43rd annual commencement exercises will be held on Sunday, May 13, 2001. The campus is located on Northern Boulevard (Route 25A) in Brookville.