Shawn Fitzpatrick

I am sorry to have to report that Shawn Fitzpatrick was killed in a car accident on December 19, 2010. I’m sure that everyone who lived in Collins while Shawn was there (maybe 1990-1994?) will remember him fondly as the red-haired, always-friendly math enthusiast and skateboarder who was always excited about some sort of new idea, whether it was designing a multi-level Star Trek-inspired chess board, learning German or figuring out how to play “Maple Leaf Rag.”

After graduation, Shawn received a language teaching certificate and then moved to Japan, where he taught for several years. This is where he met his wife Shigemi, and became the extremely proud father of a little boy, Rick, who is now about four years old. About three years ago the family came to the US, where Shawn enrolled in the MA program in Teaching English as a Second Language at University of Illinois, Urban-Champaign. He recently completed his degree, and this past semester had started teaching at Gainesville State College in Oakwood, Georgia. It seemed like he was really excited to start this new chapter in his life, and to share it with his family.

If you would like to send a condolence message to his mom Brenda (now Ms. Brenda Erdell) or to Shigemi and Rick, please either contact me (at mfcappie at hotmail.com) or Shawn’s friend Neil Wilson (at acht_zuendkerzen at yahoo.com) for the address.
-- MF Cappiello

Howard Kingkade (Collins 81-82)

It was at the living-learning center that I was in my first play THE MOUSETRAP. A great experience.
I went on to get a BA in Theatre from IU and an MFA in Theatre from the University of South Carolina.
I went on to become a SAG actor and perform in a number of national commercials, TV shows, and feature films. In 2008, I won BEST SCREENPLAY at the Beverly Hills International Film Festival for the film HOLE IN THE PAPER SKY, starring Jessica Biel and Garry Marshall. The film went on to win the AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS at the Rhode Island Film Festival, the Palm Springs Film Festival, and the Florida Film Festival.
I currently teach for the University of South Carolina.

Dave Meek

I have accepted a position as a writer/editor for the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, and will be starting in January 2011.

Presently, I am an attorney licensed in North Carolina and working as an attorney adviser with the Social Security Administration in Macon, Georgia.

Q Project Awards

Each year, incoming Collins students take Q199, a peer-taught course that introduces them to the guiding principles of the community: academics, diversity, community, sustainable living, and student empowerment.

One class requirement, the Q project, can manifest in a number of different ways, from joining an established group or council to writing for the Collins Columns to putting on a program to share students’ own interests with the community at large.

Candace Bertotti and Ellen Goldberg, two Collins alumni, recently decided to give back to the Collins community by offering awards to students with exemplary Q projects. Collins’ scholarship committee will examine the applications to determine which projects best fit the criteria.

Candace and Ellen reminisced about their time at Collins and what it meant to them. “The people that I met at Collins are still my best friends in the universe,” Ellen says. Candace agrees, saying that the friendships she made during her time at Collins continue to support her.

Both were involved and held leadership roles: Candace was a Q teacher and student government president, and Ellen was the Columns editor for two years. Here’s what they have to say about their time in Collins and what they hope their new award will do for current Collins students.

What do you remember most about your time at Collins?

CB: I lived in Forest, Teter, and Read before I ended up at Collins as a junior. While I had a good experience at the other dorms, Collins had a real sense of community. I remember a sense of belonging and support, and a synergy of creativity and activism.

EG: I have a really tight-knit group of friends, such as Candace, that I met either on Ed 3, where I lived, or all over Collins. My involvement helped me become friends with a lot of other people. We had a staff of 20-30 people on the Columns by the time I was a senior.

What was the impetus behind your decision to give to Collins as alumni?

CB: I made the commitment while I was still living in Collins. Ellen and I would talk about how we wanted to give back someday, as Collins made a huge difference for both of us. Then, real life showed up after college, and that commitment was almost forgotten. It’s easy to think of yourself as a generous person, but then one day you wake up and realize you haven’t taken action to make that true.

At a big university like IU, there are so many ways to fall through the cracks and not feel a part of a community. Collins, to me, was such an oasis of community, and I want to continue to support that.

EG: It’s so rewarding to give back to the things that are most important to you. I have for years wanted to give back to Collins, and there was always a reason not to do it. But now I’m in a place where I can give. I believe in the mission of Collins.

How do you hope the Q Project Award will affect the Collins community?

CB: The science of influence is one of my favorite topics. Research shows that the more sources of influence you apply to a challenge, the more likely you’ll be to influence change. I wanted to add an additional source of influence, a monetary reward, to encourage students.

EG: Q projects have been really powerful and transformative for the community. We wanted to do something that would have a positive effect on the community and give students who are already motivated a chance to be rewarded for their efforts.

What are you doing now, and did your involvement in Collins help shape who you are today?

CB: I have my own company and go around the world giving talks on how to have more influence. In addition, I’m on the faculty at the University of Maryland and deliver executive education on Negotiation and Crisis Communication. I’m also a volunteer mediator for child abuse cases in DC.

Experiencing the different viewpoints at Collins and being exposed to a wide variety of personalities widened my horizons and my thinking, and really shaped me.

EG: I’m the Director of the Transfer Center at Harold Washington College in Chicago. I help students make a seamless transition from two- to four-year colleges.

At Collins, I learned to believe in the power of people, bringing people closer together. Collins did so much for my formation and my growth. Collins made me the person I am today.

If you'd like to donate to Collins, go here.

Geoff McKim (87-89) and Amy Cornell (89-90)

Geoff McKim and Amy Cornell adopted a baby from China. We met Tessa Xiaojian Cornell McKim on April 5, 2010. Her birthday was May 18, 2009. She is from Jiangxi Province, China.

Mira Gerard, 1986-87

Mira lived in Collins-Cravens for her freshman year. She graduated in 1991 with a BFA in Painting & Drawing and went on to receive her MFA from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. Mira is a painter and art professor at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee and is married with two stepsons.

Pete Tidemann

Pete Tidemann was in Zanzibar again producing the world music festival Sauti za Busara (Sounds of Wisdom), this time as an official cultural envoy to Zanzibar for the State Department. This cultural award was granted to him after ten years of volunteerism in East Africa, building capacities in technical stage arts which he began at IU Opera department many years ago. Pete also raised money to purchase equipment for the festival and shipped over a 40' container full of state of the art sound and lighting for the festival to own. He is returning in October 2010 to continue training and education of the staff and technicians in the area. Meanwhile back on the stateside home front, Pete is shooting a feature length documentary and working for a variety of shows and entertainment events with everyone from Elton John to Rascal Flatts.

John Maly, RA in 1985

I am living in California with my wife and 3 boys. I worked in the family business. We sold that in 2007 to L'oreal. Now I run Mirabella Beauty, a cosmetic company.

I stay in touch with 2 of the other Collins staff, John Barce and Mark Hayden. In fact, Mark and I brought our wives to the Kentucky Derby last month!

Jim McLean

Jim McLean invented the FlashHarp®:

Most flash drives are devoid of personality. Not so my 3¼-inch playable FlashHarp®, the harmonica USB flash drive that's preloaded with my homespun video harmonica lesson.

Even if you don't master the art of playing the harp, you'll never have to throw FlashHarp in the back of a drawer, 'cuz you can always use it as a plain flash drive. Made in the U.S.A. with a soul seated smack at the heart of American music, patented FlashHarp is haute to tote--even if you don't give a hoot to toot! Gizmodo calls it, "4GBs of musical goodness."

Buy FlashHarp at http://www.backyardbrand.com
Demo FlashHarp at: http://www.harmonicausbdrive.com
See me (as The Backyard Harmonica Teacher) perform a bit at: http://www.flashharpmusic.com

Patent No. D602,940

Elissa Bradley's 2008 wedding

l-r:
friend, Candace Bertotti (1996), Brooke Ferguson (1998), Joe Provost (Elissa Bradley's new husband), Elissa Bradley (1997), Ellen Goldberg (1998), Felicity Lao (1997)

Your scholarship donations make a difference

Alex Lahmeyer can continue to live at Collins and be a tremendous leader—all because he was one of this year’s recipients of the Collins LLC award, funded by your donations.

Here’s what Alex has to say:

What do you do here at Collins?

I’m the vice-president of the Board of Programming (BOP), the promotions and decorations coordinator in the Welcome Week leadership committee, and a member of executive board; I was a Q instructor this fall, and I’m a barista in the Cheshire Café. I’ve also done a lot of individual programming, like The Gnomazing Race last year.

Do you have time for campus involvement, too?

Right now, I’m double-majoring in psychology and sociology. I volunteer as an usher at the IU Auditorium, and last year I volunteered at GLBT student support services. I just recently joined the ballroom dance club, and I sit on the Campus Housing Advisory Committee.

How has living at Collins benefited you?

I’ve met a lot of really genuine people and forged strong friendships. I didn’t realize, until I came to Collins, that I had a really limited view of the world. Here, I’ve met people from many backgrounds with varying aspirations. I feel that the Collins experience has opened my eyes to so many different perspectives.

I also have really grown as a leader here. Being a Q instructor and VP of BOP have taught me how to develop a personalized leadership style, how to collaborate with others, and how to throw myself out of my comfort zone. I’m currently unsure of the career I’d like to pursue after I graduate, but, right now, as a result of my experiences at Collins, I’ve been thinking about event planning.

What does this scholarship mean for you?

It makes me unbelievably happy. This scholarship means that I can stick around Collins longer and remain involved with everything I enjoy. It also puts me at ease knowing that there is less stress for my father, who has had a rough financial year due to health problems. Most of all, though, the scholarship makes me feel appreciated, and it's reassuring to find that the things I've done have positively affected the community that I have grown to love.

Emily Gleichenhaus

Here is a link to my Sing Books with Emily blog: http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/

A few of my performances can be seen on YouTube.com

“Would You Let Me,” Capital Fringe Festival 2008
Words and music by Roy Zimmerman, George Fulginiti-Shakar on piano
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS3V2WzaWQA

“Annie in My Room”
Words and music by Jill Leger, for her revue “Googling My Ex,” June 2008, Joshua Rich on piano
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBPIWVQ59_s

“Another Taxi”
Words and music by Jill Leger, for her revue “Googling My Ex,” June 2008, Joshua Rich on piano
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Fs9F3IIPE

“My Safe Harbor”
Words and music by Jill Leger, for her revue “Googling My Ex,” June 2008, Joshua Rich on piano
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xhJ2JObvt8

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/emleatha

Elissa Bradley, MPH, Class of 1997

Elissa Bradley received her Master’s in Public Health from UCLA in 2008. She now works as an HIV trainer and curriculum writer at Charles Drew University of Medicine in Los Angeles, a traditionally Black university in the neighborhood known as South Central. She is educating physicians and nurses at local clinics that treat the underserved.

After graduating, she married Joe Provost, a software engineer at Google. They were married outside above the docks and sailboats in Marina del Rey. Many beloved Collins and IU friends joined her, including Candace Bertotti, Ellen Goldberg, Brooke Ferguson, Lucas McGregor, Johnny Hobbes, Breanne Grady and others.

She feels blessed to have such an amazing group of friends. Most she met in Collins, where she lived for four fantastic years. She continues living in and enjoying California.

Suzanne L'Ecuyer

I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist. I live in the St. Louis, Missouri area.

Robert Nigro

"Whatever's Write" founder Robert Nigro has been named as one of two runners-up for the 2009 Creative Nonfiction Prize awarded by Hunger Mountain, a publication of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, for his memoir, "Under the Black Flag." Details here: http://www.hungermtn.org/contest-news/

Pete Tidemann

Pete has been working as a live sound engineer and producer for 25 yrs and has been involved with many live productions, festivals and special events. His specialty is working in developing countries with arts, film and music festivals. Recently he was involved with Film Festival Jakmel in Haiti, where they held a 6 day festival of film, culminating in a concert by Wyclef Jean on a beach in which 80,000 people showed up to see the show.

In addition, Pete has been involved with the Sauti za Busara music festival in Zanzibar, Tanzania for the last few years and is presently shipping a container of professional audio and lighting equipment to the festival for 2010. He started the first education and training program in stage arts in East Africa and continues to work with a variety of people and organizations to educate and train technicians and artists in the region. His company, Linear Velocity, works to bring together cultures through technology and the arts as a tool of communication. You may find his website at www.linearvelocity.com or the music festival at www.busaramusic.com

Christopher Cokinos

My new nonfiction book, The Fallen Sky: An Intimate History of Shooting Stars, was published in summer 2009 by Tarcher/Penguin, to reviews and notices in a number of venues including The New Yorker, Nature, Science, Seed, Discover and Natural History. I've done a number of radio and t.v. shows for the book and had a tie-in piece published in The New York Times.
www.christophercokinos.com

Suerah Bomzer Alterman

After a stint at ABC-TV research in NY, I moved to the Washington D.C. area to work in Public Broadcasting. I stayed at PBS for about 10 years and then retired to spend time with my children, start a private kindergarten and have fun. I currently teach English as a Second Language, working with children from around the world who come to live in Maryland.

Douglas Postels

I am a Collins alumnus, having lived there from 1984-1987 while doing an undergraduate major in microbiology.I am currently volunteering with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Lubutu, Democratic Republic of Congo.

I have a blog address (www.dougpostels.blogspot.com) if anyone is interested in reading about the life of an MSF volunteer. In real life, I currently live in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Julie Pitzen

Lived in Collins, Brown Hall, 1982-85
Currently living in Mongolia. Here's some more info:
www.ancientfragments.com
www.culturesnclay.wordpress.com