Portraits of Student Success

Thu., Jun 25

The following portraits of four new Southern graduates speak to the hard work and dedication for which the university's students are known. Congratulations and best wishes to all of our new grads! 

Fifth time is the charm

Regina Milano has taken the fifth when it comes to her education at Southern. Fifth degree, that is.

Milano recently participated in a graduate commencement ceremony in anticipation of receiving her Doctor of Education degree in educational leadership and policy studies. Upon completion of her dissertation, she will have earned a diploma for the fifth time from the university. And she will become one of only four students in university history to have earned a Southern degree at each of the four levels -- bachelor's, master's, sixth year and Ed.D.

"Southern has been like a second home for me," says Milano, a high school science teacher at the Stiles Alternative Learning Center in West Haven. "I have developed so many positive relationships with faculty and staff, as well as my fellow students."

After graduating from Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden, she entered Southern and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in communication. But it was when she returned to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in biology that her career path began to take shape. "I fell in love with biology after having worked with faculty members like Dwight Smith (currently the department chairman) and Noble Proctor (biology professor emeritus). They are among the best researchers in their field, and they brought the subject to life with collections and slide shows."

Milano later earned a Master of Science degree in biology, when she realized she wanted to enter the teaching profession.   

She landed a job 13 years ago as a high school science teacher at Sacred Heart Academy. Three years later, she opted to enter the public education arena and for the last seven and a half years, has taught science at Stiles.

Milano credits her mother, Jane Ciarlone, who serves as coordinator of Southern's Office of Study Skills Enrichment, with instilling in her the value of education. She said another impetus for her drive toward earning the Ed.D. is probably rooted in her own experiences as a student.

"As a student, particularly in high school and as an undergraduate, things didn't always come easy," she says. "But in the long run, that extra effort that I had to put in made me appreciate accomplishments in education even more and gave me an extra motivation to achieve. I also think it has helped me as a teacher to see things from a student's perspective."

She is thinking of becoming an adjunct faculty member at the college level and plans to work more closely with animals, such as pursuing training in the field of wildlife rehabilitation and writing for publications that focus on animals.

Milano said helping animals has been a passion of hers for many years. She credits Rosalyn Amenta, a Southern faculty member, with helping her during her undergraduate days to generate the intellectual fire power to convert her love of animals into tangible results that benefit them and improve the environment.

training the stars

Brian O'Loughlin was already living what many people would regard as the American Dream -- happily married with a rewarding career that was providing him with countless travel opportunities and the chance to hobnob with some famous people.

As a personal trainer, he worked with the likes of Hall of Fame golfer Chi-Chi Rodriguez and "The Big Man" Clarence Clemons, a saxophone player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.

Yet, one thing was missing from an otherwise fulfilling life -- a college diploma. O'Loughlin had been an active member of campus while he was enrolled as a Southern student in the late 1980s and early 1990s. O'Loughlin was nearly finished with his coursework, when the lure of a steady paycheck from a local gym led him to take a semester off from school. That one semester off led to another semester and then another. Eventually, he ditched plans to finish school when he relocated to Florida as part of an effort to further his personal training career. And the effort succeeded in enhancing that career.

Despite his success, the thought of forgoing that degree gnawed at him for years. He was particularly pained because his parents were always huge advocates of education.

"Being so close and never finishing -- it killed me inside," O'Loughlin said. "It chased me all around the world. No matter what I did, I never forgot that I didn't finish college."

That one misgiving was finally erased recently, when O'Loughlin received a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science. He finally had decided to take action about a year ago, when he got in touch with Frank Ladore, a friend from his college days and now interim director of Southern's Office of Academic Advisement. He wanted to see what it would take for him to complete his degree. Ladore, after analyzing his transcript and consulting with several university staff members, informed him that only two classes were needed to complete the degree -- a foreign language and a world history class. So, O'Loughlin successfully completed courses in Spanish and Western Civilization at Indian River State College in Florida, where the credits would be transferred to Southern.

"I felt like a thousand-pound weight was lifted off my shoulders," says O'Loughlin, who credits Ladore for helping him to rewrite his life story. "He changed my life...he was so awesome and so helpful."

While at Gold's Gym in Stuart, Fla., O'Loughlin worked as a trainer and developed nutritional programs for clients. One client, Susan Loretti, then married to professional golfer Larry Loretti, recommended O'Loughlin to Rodriguez, who became a regular client.

He worked for Clemons for five years on several different tours, noting that the grueling schedule was "consistently inconsistent." He frequently got by on three hours of sleep. O'Loughlin says he once traveled to Spain, Germany, and France in a 24-hour period.

"I was able to meet some of the best musicians in the world," he says. "These musicians are the legends...talented beyond words."

O'Loughlin now works as a therapist at the Egoscue Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where he helps people correct their posture through specific exercises and stretches to eliminate pain. His work at the clinic offers new challenges and rewards.

PREVENTING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE 

Anne Bubriski admits she "grew up in a bubble." "I never knew about domestic violence," she says, until a college course she took as an undergraduate at the University of Connecticut opened her eyes and changed her life. "I read a chapter in a textbook about domestic violence, and it was shocking to me that it existed. Reading about it got me interested in the process and the dynamic."

Bubriski came to Southern three years ago to earn a master's degree in women's studies and wrote her thesis on "Breaking Silence: African American Women Resisting Structure and Intimate Partner Violence." She graduated last month and in August will head to Florida, where she will enter the doctoral program in sociology at the University of Central Florida, one of only a few Ph.D. programs that offer a specialization in domestic violence. She received a teaching assistantship that will provide a full tuition waiver and a monthly stipend. The UCF sociology program has a nationally renowned scholar on violence against women, so the program is a good match for Bubriski.

Bubriski is particularly interested in domestic violence -- also known as intimate partner violence -- with regard to gender, class and race. In her thesis research she looked at the disproportionate representation of African American children in the welfare system and at the connection between child removal and IPV. Even as victims of IPV, African American mothers, in particular, often have to prove that they are "good mothers" in order to get their children back. Bubriski says that women's studies emphasizes giving back to the community, and she wants to turn her research into practice and get into preventive work, particularly with young men.

The statistics on IPV are tough: Bubriski says that one in four women in the United States has been a victim of domestic violence. "I couldn't believe it when I read this statistic," she says. Eighty to 85 percent of survivors are women, and 45 percent of first-time violence happens when a woman is pregnant. Abuse is also a problem among same-sex couples, Bubriski says, and she plans to look more into that in her graduate studies.

Bubriski says domestic violence is more complex than many people realize. "It's not enough just to say 'you can't hit a woman,'" she says, adding that there are seven or eight aspects of abuse. "Controlling behaviors are big -- controlling money, isolating a woman from her friends, manipulating the kids against her, cutting down her self-esteem. It's not usually that a woman gets hit out of the blue; other issues often come first. This is why I think preventive work is so important -- there's misunderstanding about what constitutes abuse."

Bubriski's thesis adviser, Yi-Chun Tricia Lin, director of the women's studies program, says that whatever Bubriski does "is driven by a greater vision for social change. Working with the underrepresented and underprivileged is her goal, and she finds her calling in making a change in a world that is marred by inequality." 

a time for everything

Working two jobs and helping to raise three boys while going to Southern part time, Anthony Gadsden has learned to make the most of his time.

"During the time school is out, it's unbelievable what the kids and I accomplish," Gadsden says, noting that he tries to spend "every ounce of time" with his children when he isn't at work or studying.

He applies that same ability to make the best use of his time when he is working, as well. A nurse's assistant at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, he was voted "Employee of the Year" in 2000, just a year after taking that position. He previously had worked in the medical facility's kitchen and later patient transport, before colleagues had suggested he become a nurse's assistant.

He recently earned a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology after starting at Southern in 2004.

In addition to taking classes, he has worked full time at St. Vincent's and has held down a part-time job at Jimmy's Hip Hop, a fashion store in Bridgeport. Between the two jobs, he regularly works every day, with the exception of every other Sunday. But Gadsden, 36, says the sacrifices he has made because of work and school were well worth it. Getting his degree was important, he says, because he wants to be an example to his children -- Dominick, 17; Anthony Jr., 10, and Brandon, 7. He says he could not have achieved his goal without support, particularly from his family.

"It's called having a great wife," Gadsden says about the key to his success and ability to juggle work, school, and family responsibilities.

Gadsden's hectic schedule didn't leave much time to enjoy the campus life as much as he would have liked, but he says the people he met at Southern were "unbelievable" and he loved the campus environment.

While he has a fulfilling career, Gadsden says he would like to explore his options now that he has a college diploma. He is particularly interested in helping people with substance abuse issues for a state agency, such as the Department of Children and Families or the Department of Adult Probation.

During internships, Gadsden got to see what a career in counseling would be like, and feels that it could be his true calling. Counseling seems like a good fit, he says, because he enjoys helping people, giving them "a breath of hope" for change.

Michael Ryan, professor of sociology, says he has been impressed by Gadsden. "Anthony just walked in one day as a typical advisee and I was impressed by his spirit and continued to be impressed during his tenure at Southern," Ryan says. "He made a phenomenal impression on all of the sociology professors. He's just an example of someone who very, very much appreciates the opportunity to receive an education."