Our Stories

Hunter Powell '20 has long dreamed of becoming a vet. As a high school student, Powell volunteered at a local dog rescue facility and at a coalition that helps care for stray cats. He currently works as a veterinary assistant and credits his time at Le Moyne with helping him to achieve his goal of “providing affordable, quality animal care in (his) community,” particularly those in shelters and care facilities. This fall, he will enter Cornell University’s veterinary medicine program.

Tamar Smithers, MS '18, talks about how we can use creativity and innovation to break the barriers that exist between underprivileged children and the potentially life-changing experience of visiting a museum.

Tyler Sperrazza ’13 admires the unique way in which books connect people, especially in cases when having read the same novel, biography or collection of poetry is the one thing they have in common.

Terri (Walker) Czopp was just 3 years old when her father, Gene Walker, graduated from Le Moyne in June of 1951, a member of the College’s inaugural class. She remembers standing on the steps in front of Grewen Hall that summer day, taking photos with him wearing his cap and gown, along with the class ring that would remain on his finger for the rest of his life.

When Ann Marie (Gardinier) Halstead ’98 set out to write “a little play about kindness,” she had no idea where it would lead. Since then her work, Have You Filled a Bucket Today?, has taken Halstead to Australia and inspired a song on iTunes, a musical, and a streaming production by Syracuse’s own Peaceful Schools. Beyond that, it has allowed the Le Moyne alumna to work with both old friends and new, and brought her tremendous joy.

Mark Temnycky’s maternal and paternal grandparents moved to the United States from Ukraine in the early 1950s, just as McCarthyism and the Red Scare were taking root. Some 70 years later, the Le Moyne alumnus has made a career of writing about Eastern Europe and its place in the world for venerable publications such as The New York Times and Forbes and for institutions like the Atlantic Council, the Wilson Center and the Center for European Policy Analysis.

Michael Madden ’71 is the managing partner and co-founder of the private equity investment firm BlackEagle Partners. He is also among Le Moyne’s most dedicated and generous alumni.