Jeff Harris - Taking a Different Path to Reach His Goals

On Thursday, May 22, Landscape Architecture major Jeff Harris will don cap and gown to graduate with a group of friends and colleagues with whom he has spent innumerable hours envisioning elaborate, comprehensive, sustainable futures for towns and cities across the country and well beyond.

A little less than a year ago, the landscape of Harris’ own future — and the possibility that he would see the end of this part of his journey at his friends’ side — changed dramatically. While celebrating the 4th of July holiday with friends in North Carolina, a beach accident rendered the 24-year-old a quadriplegic.

For some, that might have been the end of a promising career as a graphic designer and landscape architect. For Harris, his resolve unwavering, he set about determining new paths to achieve his goals.

“In the beginning, I was worried that I would lose everything — who I was, what I was about. In some respects I have, but it’s not going to change my life,” he said. “I’m not going to change my aspirations for success because of this — you just change how you approach it. You find new ways to accomplish tasks — I know that if I have the desire and the will and I keep working at it, I will eventually accomplish everything I want to do.”

READ MORE

Marc Adelman - A 42-Year Long Journey Reaches its End

Soon-to-be graduating History major Marc Adelman will be completing his degree after five years of study at Temple.

That might not sound so out of the ordinary — plenty of students have done the “five-year plan” as it’s sometimes referred to. It’s the 42-year long detour between years three and four where things get interesting for Adelman.

“I’m a 68-year-old, soon-to-be college graduate!” said Adelman with a laugh. “After 42 years, I’m actually counting the days to graduation — it’s mindboggling!”

Adelman began his long, strange trip at Temple in the early 1960’s where he pursued a degree in Social Work.

“It was a great institution to be at; there was so much going on. I got caught up in the social activism of the 60s, which is what drew me to social work,” said the Philadelphia native. “I did work in the field for about five years after I left Temple.”

In 1966, family responsibilities took him away from his studies “though I always assumed I’d complete my degree at some point.”

“I’m not one to make excuses in life — that has negative connotations and that doesn’t get you anywhere,” he said. “I make priorities in life. That way, my cup is always half full, never half empty."

READ MORE

Joyce Rondinella - Learning Locally, Thinking Globally

For Joyce Rondinella, the Earth is her classroom. She plans to protect it in whatever way she can and teach others to do the same.

“I’ve always had a passion for the environment — I’ve always wanted to be outside, planting and gardening. My particular interest is in conservation,” said Rondinella, who will graduate with a degree in Horticulture on Thursday, May 22. “We are entering the Green Industry at a crucial time for the environment. With the education that we have received here, we have an obligation to spread the word and use what we have learned for the betterment of the environment.”

Rondinella came to the program already armed with a wealth of knowledge that she has freely shared with her fellow students. While attending classes, she has maintained a full-time position at Longwood Gardens as a senior gardener in charge of the tropical display conservatory. Her field work and research has taken her to Europe, South America, and “as many botanical gardens as I could in the United States” and well beyond.

“I started at Ambler in Spring 2004. I transferred from the Longwood Gardens Professional Gardeners Training Program — Temple’s articulation agreement with Longwood is a tremendous asset,” said Rondinella, who will be the student speaker at the Ambler College Graduation Ceremony on May 22, which begins at 3:30 p.m. in the Learning Center Auditorium. “There are currently interns working at Longwood from the Ambler campus and I try to spread the word to all of the horticulture and landscape architecture majors — it’s a strong partnership.”

READ MORE

Thomas A. Vargas - To Protect and Serve

For every student, the end of the semester invariably brings with it the stress and anxiety of final tests and papers.

For Thomas A. Vargas, who will graduate with a degree in Criminal Justice on May 22, he was mentally prepared for the challenge. Four years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps will do that for you.

“I joined the Marines a month prior to September 11 — I was in boot camp when 9-11 attack occurred. I think serving in the military allowed me to learn how to take things a little slower and have a more open mind,” he said. “I stay at ease and don’t allow myself to become overwhelmed. You take everything one step at a time and everything falls into place.”

According to Vargas, it was his time in the military that led him to pursue a career in criminal justice.

“My occupation while in the military was as a paralegal,” he said. “For the last two years I served, I was working with JAG (Judge Advocate General) lawyers on numerous cases, including issues such as human trafficking and child exploitation. It definitely sparked an interest in the criminal justice field and I decided to pursue it further."

READ MORE

Sarada Jailal and Ryan Gillon - Student Leaders in Every Sense

It would be safe to say that Sarada Jailal and Ryan Gillon are people persons.

In no way do Jailal or Gillon, who will both graduate from Temple on May 22, have a “failure to communicate” — to borrow a phrase from Cool Hand Luke. In fact the two students — who share the title of “Temple University Ambler Student Leader of the Year for 2007-2008” — have spent much of their school careers honing their skills to do just that.

“I wanted to come to Temple because I knew they had a good Communications program. The Ambler campus, in particular, also reminded me of home,” said Jailal, a graduate of Pocono Mountain West High School. “I grew up in a rural location — I’m not a city person — and I enjoyed the idea of starting out in a small, secure atmosphere where people actually knew your name. I’ve been able to meet so many people; they’ve become my substitute family.”

Not that Jailal has had a great deal of time to be homesick. During her senior year, the Journalism and Communications major was also editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, The Temple Column; a student worker in the Administration Building, Admissions, and the Student Activities office; and an Owl Ambassador, showing the next generation of students everything that Ambler has to offer.

READ MORE