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Megan Viera ’18 concentrates on her footing as she walks up a wooden ramp leading to the porch of a two-story farmhouse. A prominent sign hanging by the door — “It’s so good to be home” sums up a near decade of perseverance for the 27-year-old Sherburne, New York, resident.

A life once limited is now filled with opportunity and dreams for Dahmili (“Molly”) Pierre Browne ’20. The SUNY Morrisville criminal justice graduate spent most of her childhood moving in and out of motels and living in shelters in a crime-ridden part of Bronx, New York, where sirens saturate neighborhoods and a quarter of all students drop out of high school. So much changed for Browne when the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) offered her the chance to go to college.

As a single mother, Rolanda Campbell ’22 has faced her share of financial burdens while pursuing her education at SUNY Morrisville. But childcare costs, transportation worries and so many other financial burdens were alleviated thanks to the college’s Student Hardship Fund, which helped her stay on track. The fund supports students who incur a sudden expense or change in circumstances they cannot overcome with financial aid or family support.

As the semester came to an end, three agribusiness students had something a little extra to celebrate. They won the top three prizes in the 2021 Cotton Family Business  Idea Competition, a competition where students have the opportunity to win money and take their ideas to the next level.

There were smiles of joy, relief, elbow bumping, physically distanced selfies and Mustang Pride was in full swing as SUNY Morrisville graduates celebrated scaled-back, in-person ceremonies in lieu of a traditional commencement this year.

“If your goal is to make difference, you start with journalism and Morrisville.” Those words spoken by SUNY Morrisville journalism graduate Mike Gormley are precisely what he has been doing as a reporter covering politics and government for four decades.

Inspiring entrepreneur selected as a Forbes Next 1000 honoree

The future of agriculture, engineering and energy isn’t confined to traditional desks and lecture halls at SUNY Morrisville. Students will begin taking classes this fall in the $16 million Agricultural and Clean Energy Technology (ACET) Center, a 30,000-square foot applied learning technology building that will bolster the renewable energy, agricultural engineering, and diesel technology programs.

As a hot housing market and spike in home remodeling propel the need for skilled tradespeople in the residential construction industry, Mike Gridley ’04 is doing his part to ease the demand. The assistant professor of residential construction at SUNY Morrisville has been teaching the tricks of his trade and molding skilled workers for more than two decades in the classroom and as proprietor of Gridley Construction, in Hamilton, New York.

“It’s worth it if you put in the effort,” said Danielle Bunting ’21 while reflecting on her time as a SUNY Morrisville Mustang.

As the COVID-19 pandemic caused the physical world to remain distanced, the virtual world of esports has emerged to connect people like never before. SUNY Morrisville students are among those taking a hold of esports (electronic sports), an organized sports competition featuring multiplayer video games where gamers from around the world can compete individually or as a team. They also can tune in as spectators.

It was going to be a memorable spring break in Morocco. As she packed her suitcase, Jessica Miller’s mind drifted to the mountainous country of western North Africa, a March trip she had planned for months to marry her fiancé, Mouaad Essaadi, who lives there.

Shortly after he graduated from SUNY Morrisville, Kyle Clark ’18 returned to his fifth-generation family dairy farm with a four-year degree in dairy management and a plan to resurrect the creamery that once stood on the property, located on Elk Creek Road in Delhi, New York.

Brian Simmons’ aunt offered him a job washing dishes on a Friday night when her restaurant in Nunda, New York, was short-staffed. “The rest is history,” he said. Since that day more than two decades ago, Simmons ’01 has built a successful career out of nourishing patrons as owner and chef of The Yard of Ale Restaurant.

Rebecca Werbela ’04 started an agriculture education program at Morrisville-Eaton Middle-High School in a small room with big plans. As they grew, so did the excitement of her students who are grabbing hold of dynamic lessons — getting their hands dirty building and planting, growing vegetables hydroponically and gaining an understanding about the hundreds of careers available to them in the agriculture industry.

Three pairs of siblings at SUNY Morrisville are bringing more than just their skill and abilities to the game — they bring their chemistry, the anticipation of the next move, the difference in balance that counters the other and the desire to make a difference in Mustang athletics. Despite all spring- and fall-season athletics competitions being canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the siblings shared their thoughts about being teammates.

One large, ongoing art project is how Taylor McDowell describes his life.Why? Because its elements combine to create a portrait of what the 2015 SUNY Morrisville graduate loves: web and game development, drumming, storytelling, art and music. Each has shaped the life of the 28-year-old New Hartford, New York resident, whose palette is a colorful blend of perseverance and will.

Like most first-year students in 2020, Mo the Mustang’s (they/them/their) arrival on campus at SUNY Morrisville was not what they originally had in mind. Wearing a face mask, practicing physical distancing, picking up meals to go and otherwise adjusting to pandemic life were some of the firsts that the college’s mascot experienced at the same time as other students.

A beacon for generations, no end in sight for professor Shirley Crawford, SUNY Morrisville’s longest-standing faculty member Social science professor Norman Dann, Ph.D., recalls very clearly the day he returned to his office on the SUNY Morrisville campus to find a young faculty member, in her first days on campus, waiting outside his door.

For Angela Marriott ’17, it was a career-defining moment. In the summer of 2015, she observed the daily work of police officers during a ride-along in her hometown of Peekskill, New York. Seeing firsthand how a female officer deftly handled the challenges of the job cemented her desire to pursue a career in law enforcement. “The way she was connected and interacted with people and carried herself as a woman in law enforcement is who I aspired to be,” Marriott said.

Sheneya Wilson ’13 commanded the room. Wilson, a Ph.D. student, Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar, author and business owner, visited campus to deliver the keynote lecture for Entrepreneurs’ Day, held February 27. 

Julio Torres Santana ’07 didn’t speak English when he arrived in New York City as a teenager. No one in his family had ever graduated from college, and his childhood in the Dominican Republic was marked with poverty and hardship. But his drive to succeed and passion for architecture pushed him to complete an associate degree at SUNY Morrisville and become the school’s first architectural studies student to be accepted into the bachelor’s degree program at Cornell University.

For Tristan Archambault ’22, receiving a scholarship changed his college experience. It gave him the opportunity to take summer classes, stay on track with his degree and be a member of the Mustang men’s ice hockey team.   “I could not have been more proud and honored to accept such a high honor here at SUNY Morrisville,” Archambault said of the Crawford Scholarship he received. “Scholarship support is a very important part of helping students advance their education.”

When Alexandra “Ali” Bland ’09 was pregnant with her first child in 2015, she asked her husband if he could build a radiator cover that could double as a changing table in their nursery. Before long, Thomas Bland ’09 had created a rustic piece with a drawer, small cupboard and an eye-catching herringbone-patterned top made from pallets.

Only a lucky few know exactly what they want to be when they “grow up,” but most figure it out mid-way through college. When Jimmy Sardelli enrolled in SUNY Morrisville’s equine science program, he was still trying to find his path in life.