Commencement 2012: Student Profiles

Meet some of our newest alumni...

	Behind the Scenes: Jenna Broccolo Jenna Broccolo loved to act in school plays as a student in high school, but she didn't really know what a stage manager was until she enrolled at the University. Now she is headed for an internship at Disney World as a stepping-stone to a career in stage management. At Disney, she'll work in the costume department helping the Disney characters with their costumes and, she hopes, managing the logistics of the costume operation. But when Broccolo wasn't behind the stage on campus, she was an active member in the URI Newman Club, a Catholic service group. Twice, she travelled with the club to Nicaragua, where they helped to set a whole new stage in the lives of some disabled children.
	Supply and Demand: Tony Poon Hidden from the headlines declaring record unemployment for college graduates are the Tony Poons of the world. A supply chain major at the College of Business Administration, Tony will graduate in May but he has already been working full time as a weapon system manager for the U.S. Army since end of January, navigating his way through an extremely complex organization. "Knowing the right people can get you the right job at the right place," he said. "The connections made with professors and other students in college can last a lifetime."
	Smooth Sailing: Mary Arnold As a business major, Mary Arnold's favorite College of Business Administration event was Career Day when nearly 100 business alumni return to Kingston to meet with students and share their experiences. "I was so inspired by the stories," she remembered. Now this member of the URI Sailing Team finds her inspiration as marketing assistant to the chief marketing director at Hinckley Yachts, a name synonymous with the highest levels of yachting. "I am already in the real world," said Mary. "I can see why people say the real world's scary but I'm glad I was prepared."
	A Whole New Game: Franco Lo Presti If you talk with senior Franco Lo Presti, he might tell you he is a soccer player, public relations major, musician, actor and now a model. But if you ask 10-year-old Will St. Germaine, of Charlestown, he will simply tell you Lo Presti is his friend. Lo Presti calls Will an inspiration, a boy with a developmental disability that prevents him from decoding words, and who learns through auditory processes. When Lo Presti earns his bachelor's degree, he will be flooded with memories of his time with his soccer mates, favorite professors, a member of the Ramettes who was largely responsible for launching his modeling career and the not-so-random encounter with Will.
	True Standout: Nicholas Guscott An academic false start may have slowed Nicholas Guscott's college career, but it didn't stop this sprinter from finishing his race to graduate and continue his road to more championships and success. Guscott's passion for sprinting and track and field sprouted through a sport that's immensely popular in his Jamaican roots - soccer. Throughout his four years at URI, he has been a key part of the men's track and field team. Although his achievements on the track have been noteworthy, Guscott's true determination can be seen in his will to succeed in the classroom as he majored in communication studies. He has aspirations to continue running track for a local track and field club in New York after graduating, and also hopes to compete on the professional level.
	Dual Diligence: Tristany & Kirsten Leikem For URI tennis aces Tristany and Kirsten Leikem, diligence and commitment have paved their way for a future set with major victories. The twins, from Tucson, Ariz., have played pivotal roles on the court, in the classroom, and in the communities of Tucson and URI. Both have been members of the Dean's List, Honors Program, and Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll every semester since their freshman year, and both are members of the URI Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. However, their internship in Tucson had the most profound effect on their lives -- having served in the office of their Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in summer 2010, they also volunteered there after she was critically injured in a shooting, Jan. 8, 2011 during which six people were killed and 13 injured.
	From Cell to Stage: Erick Betancourt Erick Betancourt once couldn't foresee a life beyond his own city block. Soon, he couldn't see life beyond his cell block. But a small role in a small play turned his life around in a big way, and a bachelor's degree in theater from the University of Rhode Island has helped propel the Providence resident to The Actor's Studio, where he will follow in the footsteps of such Academy Award winners such as Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel and Jack Nicholson. Betancourt will pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree at the prestigious acting school as he follows his dreams of success.
	Student Speaker: Mary McGunigal Mary McGunigal wants to be a doctor. And she's well on her way. That's because during her sophomore year, she was selected by the Mount Sinai Humanities and Medicine Early Acceptance Program in New York City. But first, when she receives her degree in Classical Studies during undergraduate ceremonies on May 20, she will deliver the student commencement speech.
	New Underwater Legacy: Michael Brennan Michael Brennan was first introduced to marine explorer Robert Ballard when, as a high school freshman, he was chosen to join Professor Ballard on a science program at Yellowstone National Park through the JASON Project. That childhood experience led him on a circuitous path to Rhode Island for graduate studies where he has played an important role in Ballard's research expeditions to the Black Sea and Aegean Sea since 2006. It has also led him to become one of the first students to graduate from URI's Archaeological Oceanography program that was founded by Ballard.
	A New Future: Franklin Solano When Franklin Solano Jr. arrived at the University four years ago, he was searching for a life beyond the streets of Central Falls and set about to change the course of his future. A former running back, Solano craved discipline and structure and planned to enter the Army after high school, but instead he listened to his father, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, who urged him to get his college degree first. Now the Human Development and Family Studies major, battalion commander of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps classes at URI, Roger Williams and Salve Regina University; and former intern with Sen. Jack Reed, will also be the first of his family to earn a college degree -- forever changing his family's future.
	Solutions in any Language: Colleen Grinham Colleen Grinham always knew she wanted to help people. As a young girl, she set her sights on donning a white coat and becoming a medical doctor. When she encountered blood, her plans changed. Now with her degree in civil engineering as part of the International Engineering Program, Grinham still aims to help people, but it's by finding better ways to provide drinking water and to treat wastewater. And doing so while explaining the science and the details in the language of the people who are being helped -- whether in Arabic, German, Greek, Spanish and Italian or other languages. She says she hopes to be an engineer who can not only solve the world's problems, but communicate the solutions as well.
	Building on a Flame: Mike Clark When Mike Clark began his career as a Providence firefighter in the late 1980s, he never imagined that 25 years later he would receive a master's degree in nursing education, nor that he'd study abroad in the process. As it turns though, Clark, the youngest of five siblings, comes from a family of nurses. After their parents had died when they were young, he and his siblings helped raise one another and one of his sisters, who is also a nurse, inspired him to pursue nursing field. The two work now side by side at Rhode Island Hospital.
	For the Health of It: Reudi Correia Reudi Correia said she has always had "the caring gene" and she proved it by taking care of her family in good times and bad while she was growing up. As a nursing student, she continued in that role as an ambassador for prospective students and their parents, welcoming them to the University and sharing her experiences so they would feel comfortable in the next stage of their lives. Now she enthusiastically looks forward to caring for people and helping them avoid illnesses for many years to come. After graduation, she will apply to the novice nurse program at Rhode Island Hospital, but then hopes to one day earn a master's degree and become a family nurse practitioner to help prevent illnesses.
	Big "Little" Things: Stephanie Barrena Biomedical engineering student Stephanie Barrena has enjoyed many golden opportunities during her undergraduate years -- from working on top-level research related to use of silver nano-particles in medical and commercial industries, to receiving a scholarship for the Cleveland Clinic's Aspiring Physicians and Research Scientists Conference, and to designing a new phone application for people with muscular dystrophy. Next she'll put these experiences to work as she pursues an interest in cardiology and further nano-particle research in graduate school.
	Fisheries Redoux: Alexa Kretsch Alexa Kretsch knew from her earliest days that a career in the marine sciences was in her future. She spent summers at the beach, loved dolphins, and enrolled in a vocational high school for those interested in marine science and technology. At URI, she pursued every opportunity to gain hands-on experience and was awarded a prestigious Hollings Scholarship for those studying marine science. Throughout her studies, Kretsch said she has kept her eye on a significant rift she hopes to focus on in graduate school: "The world of fisheries is really divided between the scientists, the fishermen and the fishery managers, and they seldom agree on anything. I want to find a way to bring them together."
	Biodiversity Conservation: Ryan Kleinert Ryan Kleinert took an unusual route from high school to college, spending six years living alone in the wilderness of the southern Appalachian and Adirondack mountains before settling in Charlestown and starting work on a degree in wildlife biology and conservation. That time spent immersing himself in the natural environment has paid off. Kleinert graduates from URI as the top wildlife biology major and as the University's nominee as the top wildlife biology student in New England and he has been hired as a full-time biological technician by the Fish and Wildlife Service. There he will continue his work monitoring and protecting endangered species in the Ocean state.