Keri Sewell Seitz
Summer is here! The wind is howling and we are in the dead of winter as I write — but it’s warm by the time you read this! I’m happy to tell you that we heard from a couple of classmates and I have some updates, so let’s go!
Dale Johnson Gordon G has a new position with Full Circle Health Care in Presque Isle. Dale is a board-certified family and emergency nurse practitioner and is also a certified sexual assault forensic examiner. She’s worked throughout Aroostook County in emergency departments, other family practices, the Maine migrant program, and with the Micmac Indian Health Service. She’s also served as a faculty member at Northern Maine Community College and at the University of Maine at Fort Kent. Congrats on the new position, Dale!
We heard from our classmate, Todd M. Curro, all the way from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, where he teaches at an international school. He’s been there since 2012 and just last year earned his doctor of education at Concordia University in Portland, OR. His research was on the repatriation experiences of Saudi youths who have lived abroad and then returned to Saudi Arabia. Hello, Todd!
Murtha Cullina LLP of New Haven, CT, is the new professional home of Erek M. Sharp G, where he is partner in the business and finance department and the employee benefits practice group. Erek is also a board member for the Connecticut Chapter of the National Institute of Pension Administrators as well as for Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation.
I received a nice email from Scott Mason G who, when reading this column, recognized my address as one in his childhood neighborhood. He remembered well those families who lived as neighbors to my home, now. He shared with me that he’s currently working for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory as the chief scientist for the Shipboard Systems Group, supporting a variety of US Navy programs. He lives in Clarksville, MD, with his wife and three elementary school-aged children. After completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at UMaine, he was awarded a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 2000 from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Upon completing his studies, his professional career took him to California, where he was a post-doctoral appointee at the Combustion Research Facility at Sandia National Laboratories and then joined Lockheed Martin Space Systems. Scott, it was fantastic to hear from you — don’t be a stranger!
Lastly, I also heard from Elizabeth Byard, APRN, CNP, who earned her BSN in 1995 and in 2015 a post-graduate certificate in food science and nutrition at UMaine. She has embarked on an entrepreneurial journey by starting her health and wellness coaching business called Coaching2Wellness, LLC. Her business brings both her knowledge and experience from her career as a nurse practitioner and her belief in food as medicine to the table (so to speak). Elizabeth is also a graduate of the UMaine Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Volunteer and Eat Well programs.
Whew — that was more than I usually write and it was so nice to hear from everyone! I hope wherever this finds you that you are happy and healthy!