SUNY Broome has many interesting and accomplished students, alumni, faculty and staff. Here are some of their stories. By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart One of Cadet Fourth Class Dani Bryan’s first childhood memories is of the power and beauty of aviation. She distinctly remembers tagging along with her dad to the Binghamton Airshow. Clinging to her noise-canceling headphones, she gazed up at the sky and watched in awe as the Blue Angels skillfully weaved By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart For Emily Zielewicz, maintaining a distinct balance between her professional life and personal life is a daily activity. Professionally, Zielewicz wears many hats, most notably the trademark Sheriff’s Stetson. As a Deputy with the Broome County Sheriff’s Office, Zielewicz ensures the overall welfare of the community members of Broome County. A By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart You never know when a perfectly worded Google search will pull up a life-changing opportunity. For Engineering Science A.S. student, Alejandro Chavarria Gonzalez, a quick scan of the over 156,000,000 Google results for “scholarships for Hispanic students,” eventually rippled to him being named one of the top Hispanic engineering students in By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart Like 3.2 million other American seniors who graduated in 2020, Melissa and Megan Carden entered their first year of college full of uncertainty. Their heavily anticipated senior year at Vestal High School came to a crashing halt in March of 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Everyone in our family By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart If you were in elementary or middle school during the 90’s or early 00’s, you can easily remember the genuine thrill that you felt at the sight of a television cart being rolled into your classroom. It only took one kid to start the chant, and before you knew it, your By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart When we first featured Brady Harrington in November of 2017, we highlighted the second-year, two-sport student athlete who was enthusiastically exploring the academic and professional opportunities that accompanied SUNY Broome’s then relatively new academic program of Sport Studies. Exactly four and a half years later, Harrington returned to SUNY Broome, not Detours and wrong turns are as much a part of life as they are in driving. For Quentin Pappadakis, the detours faced during his academic journey led him to some unexpected opportunities and new goals. Originally, Quentin attended SBCC with an interest in Criminal Justice. He hoped to become a member of the Binghamton Police It’s almost impossible to walk across campus and not bump into Student Assembly President and communications and media arts student, Ethan Roselle. Donning his trademark glasses and a warm, inviting smile, Roselle isn’t shy about greeting fellow students and learning about what he can do to help represent their perspective and voice to the College’s When Damata Ouedraogo talks to family and friends in her home of Burkina Faso, West Africa, they usually think that she is crazy. They can’t believe that a forty-seven year old, married, mother of four, would be pursuing a college education at her age and stage of life. “Forty-seven doesn’t mean that I’m dying tomorrow. For the past 75 years, SUNY Broome (or whatever our official title was at the time) has been a household name in the Southern Tier of New York. Much to our dismay, that sadly is not the case as you travel down I-81 S into Northeastern Pennsylvania. Thankfully, our name, reputation for academic excellence, and The Spring 2022 semester is going to be full of big things for criminal justice student Logan Paine. In addition to completing the final classes required for her degree, preparing for civil service exams, and beginning her job hunt, she has the added blessing of expecting a baby boy in the last few weeks of An early morning phone call changed Yueqi Diao’s life. So much so, that she has committed the exact time of the call to memory. “At 6:46 a.m., our phone rang. My mom, who works 60 hours a week, was already at work, so I was the only one home to answer it. It was so While it is not uncommon for SUNY Broome students to work in addition to attending classes, some students experience more on the job perks than others. For second year nursing student Kaitlyn Dattoria, her part-time job has a particularly incredible bonus. “I have had the privilege (so far) to witness and assist with the births To say that life has been eventful for Becky Hopper since the last time that we featured her as a student would be a major understatement. In 2017, when we first interviewed Hopper, we highlighted her five-year plan. Even then, her story was rooted in resilience. (This is an excellent time to stop reading and When polled, most SUNY Broome students admit that the thing that they like least about being a student at SUNY Broome is walking on campus in the rainy, cold Binghamton weather. For Carlos Contreras, a native of Mexicali, Mexico, whose summer temperatures easily scorch to well over 110 degrees, the climate at SUNY Broome is
