Graduation Highlights
Mother, Daughter Share Awards and Diplomas
on Mother's Day
Rockville Centre, N.Y. residents Margaret
McDaid and her daughter, Maureen Berman, have shared many aspects of their
lives together. On Mother's Day, May 11, the mother and daughter received
identical professional diplomas and were feted as co-winners of the highest
departmental achievement award in their subject area at the C.W. Post commencement
exercises.
Mrs. McDaid is a second grade teacher at the Maurice W. Downing School in
Malverne, and Mrs. Berman, who is expecting her first child, is a learning
specialist at the Hampton Street School in Mineola. Both women have master's
degrees and both received professional diplomas from C.W. Post, which makes
them eligible for New York State post-graduate certification in school administration.
Mrs. McDaid and Mrs. Berman intend to use their new certification to obtain
principalships in elementary schools.
"Through the years, Maureen and I have become friends and sharing partners.
Although a generation separates us, we both share a love for children and
teaching, and hope one day to open a learning center together," said
Margaret McDaid.
Dr. Dennis Murphy of the Department of Educational Leadership and Administration
said the women always sat together in class and both maintained top grades.
Each were given the Department of Educational Leadership Outstanding Student
Award in recognition of their parallel achievement. They were also be inducted,
together, into Phi Delta Kappa, the educational honor society on May 20.
Grandpa the Graduate
Graduation is a dream come true for one
Melville man. Paul Pomeranz, grandpa of 13, graduated with a B.A. in history
on May 11 from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, Brookville.
He's in his early seventies.
Paul Pomeranz is not just a student of history; he has lived through some
of the major events of this century. During World War II, he served in the
United States Air Force and was shot down by a Focke Wolfe 190, a high-flying
German warplane. After eight months in a POW camp, Mr. Pomeranz and ten
thousand other prisoners were marched out of the East German camp on a death
march across Germany.
After working for 50 years, Pomeranz wanted to finish his education. He
has been a full-time student at C.W. Post since the summer of 1994 and has
maintained a 3.5 cumulative grade point average.
While a student at C.W. Post, he cultivated an appreciation for art and
history. "I really got into artwork, and I liked it," he said.
"Art has given me an outlet for the history that I have lived through.
It has enabled me to show others what happened in the past and how people
were affected by the chain of events."
Pomeranz's sculpture will be shown at the Vietnam Veterans Dedication in
the Town of Huntington on June 8. Exhibited work will include "Pipe
Man," "Heads of German Soldiers," and "Russian Soldier
of World War II."
Pomeranz was among more than 1,350 students graduating on Mother's Day from
the C.W. Post Campus. He plans on pursuing a master's degree either in history,
political science or fine art.
Student Follows an Extraordinary Road to Graduation
In 1993, Michael Foresto of Greenlawn was
critically injured in a head-on collision on Route 25A. Foresto suffered
a traumatic brain injury, resulting in the amputation of his left arm, but
he didn't let that slow him down on his road to earning a bachelor's degree
from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University.
A bodybuilder and part-time cook, Foresto spent more than a year after the
accident in several hospitals doing intensive rehabilitation, re-learning
how to walk, speak and read. By May 1994, the physical education major had
recovered enough to return to school part-time, but needed two more years
to build his physical and academic strength.
Throughout his recovery, Foresto exercised, watched his diet and worked
hard to maintain control of his diabetes. While in therapy, he channeled
his energy into the design of an exercise device that he and other amputees
could use. His hard work paid off as the patent was recently granted to
him. "I discovered there was little equipment available to amputees,
so I was glad to be able to develop something that could help me keep fit
and would help others also," said Foresto.
Foresto completed his studies with a major in Physical Education in a Non-School
Setting in February with a 3.41 GPA, but chose to participate in the May
1997 graduation ceremony. He is working on a certification as a strength
and conditioning specialist and hopes to continue his exercise studies in
graduate school. He is listed in Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities
for 1996-97 and was nominated for the Roy Ilowit Award of the college's
Department of Health, Physical Education and Movement Science. 
Upstate Student Chosen as 1997 Valedictorian
Sarah Bilofsky, 1997 Valedictorian
C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University
She's worked at MTV News on its famed Choose or
Lose presidential election campaign coverage. She was a reporter for The
London Times while studying abroad, and was a radio intern at the United
Nations.
Sarah E. Bilofsky has an impressive list of achievements for a 22-year-old
college student, but she can now add to her resume one of the most prestigious
honors, that of Valedictorian of the Class of 1997 at the C.W. Post Campus
of Long Island University.
As top student of the graduating class, the Liverpool, New York resident
addressed more than 1,350 graduates at C.W. Post's 40th annual commencement
exercises. Bilofsky, who has a perfect 4.0 grade point average, was also
awarded a bachelor of fine arts degree in journalism.
While at C.W. Post, Bilofsky participated in numerous campus activities,
publications and internships. She worked as an editor of the campus newspaper,
The Pioneer, and as a reporter/anchor for WCWP-FM, the campus radio
station. She served on the Student Affairs Appeals Committee and was president
of Kappa Theta Epsilon, the cooperative education honor society. At commencement,
Bilofsky was named "Co-op Student of the Year," citing her multiple
achievements in integrating academic studies with paid professional work
experiences.
An accomplished musician, Bilofsky spends her summers participating in musical
and regional theater. She has performed as a singer and dancer in the Salt
City Center productions of "Jesus Christ Superstar," and most
recently in the Lakeside Dinner Theater's "Grand Hotel" at SUNY-Oswego,
where she had a major role.
Bilofsky, a graduate of Baker High School in Baldwinsville, New York, has
secured a position as a radio reporter and anchor at 570 WSYR-AM, a new
radio station in Syracuse.
Lindenhurst Resident is Salutatorian
of C.W. Post's Class of 1997
In her spare time, Lindenhurst, NY resident
Daniela Tedesco, a talented drama major, performs in theatrical productions
all throughout Long Island as well as in New York City. Throughout her college
years, she worked part time, most recently as a dental assistant and previously
as coordinator of special events at a children's center in Syosset.
Amazingly, this busy student juggles all of these activities while maintaining
a perfect 4.0 grade point average an accomplishment that has earned her
the distinction of Salutatorian for the Class of 1997 at the C.W. Post Campus
of Long Island University.
During her four years at C.W. Post, she has studied acting in master classes
led by Jason Alexander ("Seinfeld"), Lisa Brown ("Guiding
Light"), Maria Porter (C.W. Post) and Frederic DeFeis (Arena Players
Theatre), and has played the lead in productions of "Twelfth Night,"
"Into the Woods," "The Wizard of Oz," and "A Midsummer
Night's Dream."
"I performed in a play written by Susan Sontag that was produced at
C.W. Post, and two written by a Post student that ran off Broadway,"
said Tedesco, who speaks Italian and Spanish and will be taking her skills
out of the classroom and into the workforce on June 23, when she begins
a management training program at NYNEX in Manhattan.
 C.W. Post Honors Distinguished Alumni
(From left) C.W. Post
Distinguished Alumni: Edward J. Micone, Jr., executive vice president and
executive producer of the entertainment division of Radio City Productions;
Marion F. Wolf, co-founder and corporate vice president of Alpine Lace Brands,
Inc.; and Salvatore Naro, senior managing director of Bear, Stearns and
Co., Inc.
An entertainment executive for Radio City Productions,
the co-founder of Alpine Lace cheese products, and the senior managing
director of Bear, Stearns and Co. Inc. were honored with Distinguished
Alumni Awards at Long Island University's C.W. Post Campus commencement
ceremonies on Sunday, May 11.
Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented to C.W. Post graduates who have
achieved professional success and who serve as role models to students.
Edward J. Micone, Jr., executive vice president and executive producer
of the entertainment division of Radio City Productions, graduated from
C.W. Post in 1972. At Radio City, he oversees concert activities and the
booking of performing artists such as Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Prince,
Riverdance and Janet Jackson. Before moving to Radio City Productions, Micone
was an agent representing many of today's biggest names, including Robin
Williams, Jim Carrey, Dana Carvey and Patti LuPone.
C.W. Post alumna Marion F. Wolf is co-founder and corporate vice
president of Alpine Lace Brands, Inc., one of the most successful producers
of cheese products and deli meats in the country. Wolf received her master's
degree from C.W. Post in 1976.
Salvatore Naro, a 1983 graduate, is senior managing director of Bear,
Stearns and Co., Inc., one of the leading investment banking and securities
brokerage firms in the United States.
Dr. Joseph Shenker, provost of the C.W. Post Campus, presented the Distinguished
Alumni Awards at 40th annual commencement ceremonies.
For more information call the C.W. Post Public
Relations Office at (516) 299-2333 or e-mail cwpostpr@aurora.liunet.edu |
