Hartwick’s Alumni Awards Expands Focus on Younger Graduates

The Hartwick College Alumni Association is placing greater emphasis on recognizing graduates from the past 10 years with today’s announcement of the winners of its annual Alumni Awards. This year, a new award has been added to the traditional awards program; for the first time, the Association will recognize an Outstanding Recent Alumnus, bringing the total to six members of the Hartwick College community being saluted. These honors go to graduates and current faculty or staff for their service to the College and Hartwick community.

This year’s winners are:

• Colleen Connery ’83 of Oakland, CA, has earned the Outstanding Volunteer Award, which recognizes those who have demonstrated outstanding and sustained volunteer service for the College. This award is given to alumni, retired employees, parents, or friends of the College.
• Patricia Dopazo of Stamford, NY, is the College’s Outstanding Employee, as someone who has gone above and beyond their job to support the Alumni Association of the College.
• Dr. Lynda Potter Ewen ’65 of Cold Spring, NY, was named the winner of the Distinguished Alumna Award, given to a graduate who has distinguished themselves through outstanding achievements in their professional career, civic, and/or charitable activities.
• Christopher Janitz ’21 Mount Vision, NY earned the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, given to a graduate of the last decade who has shown exceptional competence, performance, and achievement in professional or volunteer activities.
• Troy Johnstone ’16 of Liberty, NY, was named our Outstanding Recent Alumnus. This award recognizes graduates who, during relatively few years following graduation, have shown outstanding performance and achievement in professional and volunteer activities,
  and demonstrated a commitment to engaging with Hartwick students and the College community at large.
• Susan Schroeder Warner ’84 of Riverside, CT, will be presented the Meritorious Service Award for demonstrating outstanding loyalty and effective service to the College.

The group will be feted at an on-campus ceremony on Friday, September 20, during True Blue Weekend 2024.

Also being recognized this year are 10 “Rising Hawks.” This recognition is given to younger Hartwick graduates who have demonstrated outstanding performance and achievement in professional and volunteer activities, and have demonstrated a commitment to engaging with Hartwick students and/or the Hartwick community at large.

This year’s Rising Hawks are:

• Katie Blydenburgh ’14, Westtown, NY
• Maxine Dunn ’17, Peterborough, NH
• Joseph Haws ’09, Astoria, NY
• Robert Mele ’14, Patchogue, NY
• Travis Moyer ’19, Oneida, NY
• Joseph Nolan ’19, Washington, DC
• Charles O’Neill ’16, Mount Vernon, NY
• Samantha (Capparelli) Pencar ’14, Miami, FL
• Stephanie Sacco ’18, New Fairfield, CT
• Calvin Yeager ’16, Arcata, CA

“We are so proud of this year’s awardees, and look forward to celebrating with them on campus during True Blue Weekend 2024!” said Director of Alumni, Parent & Family Relations Kimberly Hastings. “These awardees were all nominated by their peers, which is a testament to the impact they’ve had on the communities they serve. Thank you to all who submitted nominations, and to our Alumni Association Board of Directors for going through the difficult process of selecting this year’s winners.”

Outstanding Volunteer Award winner Connery is recognized for her work not only as a College Trustee, but also as chair of the College’s Together, We Soar campaign and its fundraising committee. She is entering her eighth year on the Board, and also serves as its secretary. As the Campaign Chair, she plays a crucial role in spearheading fundraising efforts that will ensure the College’s continued success and innovation. Her leadership has been instrumental in mobilizing support from alumni, parents and friends of the College, helping to secure a robust financial foundation for Hartwick’s future. “Colleen embodies the spirit of Hartwick College,”; said President Jim Mullen. “Her generosity, leadership, and dedication to our mission are truly inspiring.” She retired from her corporate career in 2018 and now volunteers at a local elementary school library, creates artwork, and provides marketing communications support to friends managing local businesses.

Dopazo, director of Planned Giving, was named the College’s Outstanding Employee. As a charitable gift planning specialist for the College for more than 15 years, she has helped donors establish optimal gift arrangements for themselves and Hartwick. Her passion is building relationships, which she has done in a variety of professional arenas world-wide spanning over 40 years, as a financial and estate planning advisor at the Trust Division of NBT Bank and at A.G. Edwards & Sons (now Wells Fargo Financial Services), and as a coffee trading professional specializing in Latin America. In addition to her fundraising activities, Dopazo enjoys working with faculty and off-campus partners to develop other, non-financial opportunities that enrich Hartwick’s educational programs and student experience. Her work finding alumni partners for Honors Seminar students was cited as one of her many attributes. Since 2018, Dopazo has taken great care to match students with alumni. Her collaboration with faculty has resulted in more than 40 different student-alumni partnerships. These partnerships have given students a much deeper understanding of labor markets and a professional connection for career advice. Most importantly, as one award submission noted, “her work has positively impacted the lives of many students.”

Distinguished Alumna Award winner Potter Ewen graduated from Hartwick as valedictorian, and, after earning a doctorate in sociology, spent the next 30 years teaching. She taught at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI; Marshall University in Huntington, WV; and in Tanzania as a Fulbright Fellow. Potter Ewen has written several books about Black women’s struggles as well as the struggles of coal miners in West Virginia, and also published numerous articles on these topics.

Janitz earned the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award for both his ongoing dedication to the Hartwick community and his professional accomplishments. As a Certified Public Accountant at a top 50 accounting firm, Janitz successfully manages the demands of two busy tax seasons every year: his own organization’s and that of Hartwick College’s VITA program. Active in the latter as an undergraduate, he still finds time to support the program as an alumnus. Janitz consistently returns to Hartwick to participate in the VITA program as well as offer invaluable mentorship and guidance to students. Further, he frequently alerts students to job opportunities, and provides career planning advice for business and accounting students. He has also virtually supported CPA-track students with their exam preparation. “His efforts not only enhance the professional prospects of our students but also strengthen the entire Hartwick alumni network,” said one of his nominators.

Johnstone was named Outstanding Recent Alumnus for his academic and career accomplishments in the legal field. While at Hartwick, he served for three years as a member of Student Council, and helped found Kappa Sigma Fraternity. A Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree Program graduate, Johnstone earned a political science degree in 2016 and later attended Albany (NY) Law School. He completed that program in just two and a half years, during which time he also participated in the school’s Community Development Clinic, which provided services to start-up businesses and charities that could not afford attorneys. Johnstone also interned for the Albany County Surrogate Court as a law student before graduating in December, 2018. Two months later, he passed the BAR Exam and relocated to his hometown of Liberty, NY. There he took a full-time position at Rourke Law, for whom he had previously interned. He currently practices in the fields of Elder Law, Trusts and Estate Planning, and Real Estate. In 2019, he also earned county-wide recognition as an “Emerging Young Professional.”  Ever-committed to his community, Johnstone has served on the Village of Liberty Planning Board and the Liberty Central School District Wall of Fame Committee. At just 26 years old, Johnstone was elected to serve as Town of Liberty Justice, and he is currently the youngest elected Judge in New York State. While juggling his professional commitments, he still makes it a priority to return to the Hartwick campus whenever asked to speak to current students.

Warner, the Meritorious Service Award winner, was recognized for not only her tireless contributions to the College – for which she is a member of its Board of Trustees – but also her vast volunteer and community work. A community engagement professional by trade, Warner created a program for Mastercard called Girls4Tech™. This educational curriculum introduces STEM disciplines to girls, ages 8-25. After more than 10 years, Girls4Tech has become the world’s largest STEM program of its kind, having reached more than 6 million girls in 64 countries. Along with her work with Hartwick and Girls4Tech, Warner oversees global volunteering, global disaster response, and the company’s CEO Force for Good Awards, which recognizes employees all over the world for making a difference. She also oversees youth apprentice programs for high school and community college students in New York City. In her personal time, she has served as a cheerleading coach, a Girl Scout leader and currently serves on the board of the Emily Catherine Fedorko Foundation to increase boating safety education for children.

For more information on the awards, visit the  webpage . For more information on True Blue 2024, visit the event website
or contact Hastings at 607-431-4045 or [email protected].