LOUISIANA

Kevin T. Spain Sr., AAB ’08, Lafayette — has been promoted to senior human resource repre- sentative. His company, Fugro (www.fugro.com), hired him in 2006 with the plan of improving its presence in the military community by recruiting more transitioning servicemembers. Spain served in the U.S. Navy from 1983 until 2003 as a recruiter and recruiting manager. His title was Navy counselor, which, he explains, “is basically a human resources occupation in the Navy.” This led him to pursue a career in human resources. Currently, Spain recruits for his company across the nation at colleges and military installations, doing presentations at Military TAP classes and campuses about the career opportunities his company offers. Recently, he helped Fugro achieve selection by G.I. Jobs magazine as a Top 100 Military Friendly Employer for 2010. He says, “I’m doing what I love to do and would say that I’m blessed for being in an occupation that helps people.”

MSgt Tanya R. Whitney, AA ’86, BAL ’91, Sorrento — retired from the U.S. Army in July 2010 after 27 years of service as an aircraft maintenance supervisor. During the last 15 years, she has been assigned to the Army National Guard’s Operational Support Airlift Agency at Fort Belvoir, VA, overseeing contract maintenance on all the Guard’s fixed wing aircraft. Recently, she was selected to a civil service position with the Army Fixed Wing Product Manager’s Office as a logistic management specialist.

MARYLAND

Susan C. Fritz, BSL ’00, LaPlata — retired from the U.S. Navy in 2004 after 30 years. Since retirement, she completed two master’s degrees from University of Maryland University College. In 2006, she was awarded a Master of Science with a concentration in Human Resource Management and, in 2010, a Master of Business Administration. In December 2009, she “married a wonderful man, Michael Fritz,” and was also promoted to the position of deputy program manager. Fritz is currently working for the Force Chaplain at Commander Navy Installations Command.

MICHIGAN

Nancy L. Parker, BSL ’08, Dowagiac — began working on her degree in her twenties and completed it when she was 62. Now she is helping others reach their educational goals as a tutor, working with the Pathfinders Adult Education program. 

NEW MEXICO

Mark L. Marquez, BSL ’89, Farmington — earned a Master of Religious Education, Landmark Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, Texas. His thesis title was “Education Theology and Philosophical of Christian Leadership: A Historical Analysis and Contribution of Western Christianity.” Marquez works with American Indians and helps with job and business development in Farmington.

NEW YORK 

Jeffrey Baker, AA ’73, BS ’75, Fairport — joined the Excelsior College online faculty last year as a subject matter expert for redevelopment of both the introductory and educational psychology courses. Last summer, at the American Psychological Association meeting in Toronto, he presented a poster on “Moving Classroom Discussions Online” and a paper on college students with learning disabilities. In spring, he was elected to the position of delegate-at-large (member of the executive committee) of the New York State Conference of the American Association of University Professors. This summer, he presented at the AAUP Annual Conference on the “State of the University: Separating Adjunct Fact from Fiction.” In addition to his Excelsior degrees, Dr. Baker holds an MS in counseling from Syracuse University and a PhD in educational psychology from Capella University. He is adjunct assistant professor of psychology at Monroe Community College and also teaches at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Donald A. Carapella Jr., BGB ’97, Corning — recently published a new book, Corning, for Arcadia Publishing’s postcard history series. The book features numerous unpublished postcards from the author’s collection and a few public archives to illustrate the history of that city from the 1890s until the 1960s. An avid postcard collector with a strong interest in local history, Carapella is also a member of the Corning Painted Post Historical Society. He says his experiences with Corning Community College as well as Excelsior College helped prepare him to write this book.

Justin T. Lanci, BSL ’09, Brooklyn — was recently accepted to New York Law School and will begin his studies in fall 2010.

Nancy Winters, AA nursing ’02, Lake Grove — says that “without Excelsior College, I never would have been able to fulfill my dream of being a registered nurse. Now I am a nurse practitioner and will be attending university in the fall to complete my PhD in nursing. Thank you, Excelsior!”

OREGON

Karl Bjorn Erickson, AS ’94, Salem — has written a children’s book titled, Tristan’s Travels, which will be coming out in fall from Rafka Press. His wife Kimberly did the illustrations. Set in Astoria, OR, the tale follows the misadventures of a seagull who is afraid to fly. Currently, Erickson works for the Oregon State Employment Department.

PENNSYLVANIA

Fredrick J. Chmiel, BSL ’10, Verona — has joined the staff of the Penn State Lady Lions basketball team as an assistant coach. Chmiel spent the last two seasons at San Diego State, where he worked with the perimeter players, scouted opponents, and served as the academic liaison.