 Good afternoon everyone. My name is Lisa Raola. I'm the Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Roger Williams University and welcome. Despite the weather everybody came out for this really important occasion this afternoon and I'm so pleased to see President and Maya Farish and many of our faculty and staff, the alumni who are being honored today along with their classmates and family and friends who are joining us to mark a really special occasion. For the alumni in the room many years out and the newly graduated, I'd like to start this event off by reminding everyone that there was a 10-year stretch that we did not do this. There was a time when we were not taking the opportunity to honor and recognize the alumni who have distinguished themselves. So a few years ago we changed that and today marks the fifth year that we have done this award ceremony since a hiatus that was much too long. Everybody needs to understand that establishing tradition is very difficult. It's a hard fought victory when you're able to bring it back. It's like cutting down a redwood tree. It takes a long time for something like that to come back. So we are determined not to allow this to lapse again in the future and for the alumni and the faculty and the staff remember that administrators are just passing through but you really are the common denominator that defines the institution. So it's important to remember why we do this and to continue to celebrate the remarkable men and women of the Roger Williams community. The alumni who are being recognized today are the absolute best representation of the value of a Roger Williams education. They have led lives of significance across a broad range of disciplines and they truly embody the core values and our core purpose of strengthening society by choosing to engage in the problems of the communities that we serve at Roger Williams. These alums are the ambassadors out in the world and they have brought us great honor in the work that they do so we are really proud to salute them today. It's equally gratifying to see the faculty and the family members and the friends who have taken the time to celebrate with them and we are so pleased that they're part of this occasion. For all that the alumni have done and will do in the coming years to give back to Roger Williams we want to reinforce our commitment to you. We aim to be an institution that daily earns the respect and trust that you have placed in your alma mater so welcome everybody. It now is my honor to introduce two of the officers of the Alumni Association. Chip Craig from the great class of 1994 and Lindsay Gumb from the great class of 2009. Thank you. Good evening. Chip and I are going to present the class leadership award and the class leadership award recognizes the members of a class for extraordinary leadership organization and support of Roger Williams University. It's presented annually to honor an outstanding class that encourages exceptional participation and meaningful engagement in the life of the university. So this year the Alumni Association is proud to present the class leadership award to the graduates of 2001 and by the sound of it there's a few of them here. So excellent. Thank you very much for representing your class. You guys are also celebrating your 15th year at reunion and it sounds like you're having a good time as well so that's great. Ryan good timing with the beer and wine right before it right. So accepting the award is alumni alumna Erin Lichtenstein. So I'm just going to take a second to first and foremost thank the university for hosting this amazing event and just really recognize that as leaders it is our responsibility to recognize and pursue opportunities that are set forth. I know that's something that I learned as a graduate of Roger Williams and on behalf of the class this is one opportunity that I know I was excited we have a group here and I actually want to thank Sue Badoosa and Sam Kennedy they're back there somewhere give a little wave for really inspiring all of us to not only recognize this opportunity of this weekend but to seize the moment and get together with good friends and come to a magical place that helped form us into who we are so thank you for this award and we're excited to be here and look forward to many other years. So at this time it's my pleasure to introduce Heather Bejulian class of 1997 who is also the president of the Alumni Association. Heather will present this year's Alumni Service Award. Love this packed house. The Alumni Service Award recognizes a graduate for outstanding service to the university through his or her voluntary contributions that go above and beyond the normal call of duty. This year's recipient is Megan Alves class of 1991. Megan has led the charge in supporting Alumni Weekend and recognizing the work and talent of the theater alumni and faculty over the past few years. A special event in 2013 honored Professor William Grant George's 80th birthday which was attended by so many alumni that many who hadn't been back to campus since graduation. Their re-engagement was really all due to Megan's efforts and Professor Grant George is here with his wife Nancy today so thank you for coming. In 2014 the momentum continued with a successful production honoring Professor Diane Cronwell. And last year was no exception with a beautiful tribute honoring one of Megan's mentors Professor Peter Wright on the occasion of his retirement. Peter and Megan hold a very special bond because he was her first director casting her and John Gabriel Borkman in her debut performance at Roger Williams. Megan's family was a very strong influence in her theater career. Both of her parents were actors and as a family they would participate in the Revolutionary War re-enactments together in New Jersey. Those early days of acting led to Megan's deep love for theater and everything related to performance. Her legacy continues with her two sons and the oldest is following in mom's footsteps and performing in school productions and will be debuting in his first community theater performance this summer. We hope to see him at a Roger Williams stage soon. A few years. A couple more years. Megan is a superstar alum her determination strength and unwavering loyalty to the university are unmatched. Her friends will tell you that she played a huge role in why they love their time at Roger Williams. She has a big heart and they always knew that they could count on her for a big hug. We are honored to have Megan with us this year celebrating her 25th reunion hard to believe and once again leading the charge for the theater alumni's bash at the barn. It was with deep appreciation that the Alumni Association presents the 2016 Alumni Service Award to Megan Alps. Okay you knew I was going to do that right? I feel so selfish in accepting this award because I do what I do not just because I love Roger Williams University and I love the people who made being a student at Roger Williams so incredibly special. My former professors now my friends and my former fellow students also my friends but I just want everybody to be together. I want to get together and have a great time at least once a year so that's really why I do this. I do have a great passion for recognizing the events that Heather mentioned the milestones in the theater and with our family if you will and I guess that is really what drives me is the passion for theater but passion also for the people. The people who made the theater here at Roger Williams University my home. I also want to take a moment just to thank a few people. I really want to thank my wonderful wonderful friends my fellow Roger Williams theater peeps who nominated me for this award it actually Ryan can tell you I was blown away when I received that phone call. I'm receiving an award because I'm the best at herding cats. It's awesome and as difficult as these people can be sometimes Mark Axison to to get together in one place and to listen and play nicely together it is worth every single moment. I'd also like to thank the Alumni Association for recognizing me with this honor I again it's almost unbelievable that I am getting recognized for doing something that I love so very very much so thank you all very much and have a great rest of your weekend. I just want to say that there's already a collection of tissues up here. Okay get ready for more. So I am very proud to present the 2016 Young Alumni Achievement Award. This award recognizes a recent graduate for significant long-term accomplishments who in his or her in this case happens to be her ten years since graduation has made outstanding contributions to her chosen profession and has rendered distinguished service to the public welfare thus honoring Roger Williams University and the Alumni Association. This year's recipient is Teresa Agonia from the class of 2013. Come join me up here and come stand next to me. You're gonna make me look bad. So Teresa is an alumna who has achieved great professional success in just three years since graduate. Remember you could be as much as ten years out to get this but she's getting it after three years and if I were you I'd keep an eye on her because her success seems to be multiplying exponentially. As I read her life story I'm convinced that she is destined for greatness so remember her name. Teresa is a native of Central Falls. She was born to Portuguese immigrant parents. Her mom is here today with us. Welcome who came to the United States to fulfill their dreams. She over and over again in so many of the interviews that I read about you she continuously credits her parents for her success because she was able to bear witness to the struggles that her family overcame in order to thrive in a new country. See why we need these here. So Teresa's story really is a first-generation story. Portuguese culture and traditions are important to her having graduated from the Portuguese Portuguese School at Club Juventude Lucetana dancing with the Portuguese Folklore group for 15 years and serving as president of the dance troupe. Teresa plays his family at the heart of her professional success. There are words of advice resonating with her daily about the need to give back to the community and be an active citizen always engaging with her community. Her moral compass points constantly towards others and a pay it forward philosophy is her guide. During her college years she was active with the Roger Williams chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America PRSSA serving as vice president and with the Intercultural Center where she was a mentor for the Bridge to Success program. Her dedication to Roger Williams continues to this day as she returns to the ICC for the ceremony where we present the stoles to the graduating senior seniors and always remind them of where they came from and who their biggest fans are. Teresa serves as a mentor for current students assisting the admissions office with recruitment and visiting campus frequently to speak about her inspiring journey. Since her graduation in 2013 she's been deeply involved with the Rhode Island community serving as a board member for the Central Falls High School Alumni Association and the Providence Children's Youth Cabinet also as a director representative for the Providence Performing Arts Center. Her volunteerism squarely aligns with her current role as deputy chief of staff for Mayor Jorge Lorza in Providence. Mayor Lorza very much wanted to be here today so he sends his regrets that he couldn't join us. She was appointed to her position in 2014 after serving Mayor James Deosa as the Business Outreach and Public Relations Coordinator for the City of Central Falls and before that as a communications assistant in the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University. Teresa is driven to make positive impacts on the community and her career path is a highlight real of her passion. As deputy chief of staff at Providence City Hall she manages special projects as well as interfacing with various city boards and committees on behalf of Mayor Lorza. She has a special interest in working with organizations devoted to youth and education. Teresa's desire to give back to the youth of Rhode Island especially Central Falls is evident in her involvement with the High School Alumni Association. One of her former teachers from Central Falls Ron Thompson who also wanted to be here and he was sorry that he couldn't join us but what he wanted us to to tell you is that Teresa knows the struggles of youth in urban communities based on her own personal experience which is highlighted in a book A School in Trouble a personal story of Central Falls High. This book features students who are able to succeed in a chronically low achieving school located in the poorest community in the state. Teresa shines as a bright star for the Central Falls community and for Roger Williams and her past teachers are very proud of her accomplishments. We are thrilled to have Teresa with us today although I have to admit that I almost wish that you could make it because she joins us from Las Vegas where she was just representing Rhode Island in the Miss USA pageant and the only thing that would have kept her from us today is if she was if she had won the pageant which she should have won the pageant. If I was a judge she would have won so the the Roger Williams Alumni Association is very very proud to present you with the 2016 Young Alumni Award. Teresa and Gohanya thank you. I'm going to do this the opposite way. Thank you so much. I should bring you with you me you with me everywhere to introduce me maybe sounds so much cooler than I think I am but first I just want to thank the Alumni Association. How great is it to have a weekend where we recognize the hard work of individuals from our community but really I just I'm so honored but I wish we lived in a world where we didn't need to be recognized for the work that we need to do and I wish we would all just do our part because that's what I think I do. I just try to inspire other people to be involved in their communities to be active citizens because it's so important and really my activism comes because I grew up in an urban community and I remember people telling me that I wasn't good enough or that we couldn't achieve success because of where we came from and so I just try to inspire others to do their part know that they can achieve success because really if you work hard you can get anywhere that you want and I try to share that story with people when I host them now as interns or whenever I come back to campus because I really want students to know that they can achieve success and I really just want everyone to know that regardless of getting whether you get an award or not it's just so important to be involved so thank you so much Roger Williams for instilling that in me. President Farrish is a great leader and I'm so fortunate to know him very well and Maya Farrish who are also very active within the Rhode Island community and I'm fortunate to work with them in my capacity in the mayor's office so thank you so much and I'm just truly so blessed to be here and a special thank you to my mom as well for being an amazing role model and a forceful woman in my life so thank you. I don't know if I could travel with you everywhere but yes so it is now my pleasure to to bring President Farrish to the podium before I bring him up here I want to say that it really isn't a coincidence that the revival of the alumni awards is coincident with President Farrish taking the helm at Roger Williams in 2011 I really can't imagine a leader who is more authentic in his drive for excellence for relevance and for impact and for access in higher education. Don Farrish is a leader not only for RWU but really a compelling voice in the 21st century for higher education and really lifting lifting up the entire enterprise he cares deeply about our alumni community and will before long create an army of believers in his vision for the future of Roger Williams University so please help me welcome President Farrish. Thank you Lisa that was it was very kind I'm going to give that 20 dollars later. So the distinguished alumnus or alumna award for the year recognizes a graduate for several things for significant long-term success in personal and professional achievements for outstanding contributions to his or her profession and certainly for distinguished service to public welfare thus honoring Roger Williams University and our alumni association and this year's honoree Mark Fallon from the class of 1978 meets all of these requirements with room despair in fact as you can see from his extensive bio which is in very small print because there's a lot to say in the program his long list of accomplishments and awards makes him the favorite for next year's award too so we're thinking if you condense Mark's impressive resume to its essence it describes a man who is a public servant in the truest sense of those words and for that we can all be proud that he calls Roger Williams University his alma mater actually calls Roger Williams College his alma mater because that's what it was when he graduated upon leaving what was then Roger Williams College with a degree in administration of justice Mark has spent nearly 40 years as a federal agent a counterintelligence officer and national security professional the bulk of his government career 27 years was spent with the naval criminal investigative service commonly known as NCIS I think they made a television program about it with stops along the way with the U.S. martial service and departments of homeland security and defense Mark has been intimately involved in some of the most significant terrorist investigations of the last 25 years including the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen the investigation of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman the so-called blind shake on American soil and the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks Mark continues to use his vast knowledge and highly honed practical skills in the private sector as director of club fed that's club not club med fit club fed different place which provides strategic consulting services to public and private clients in the areas of crisis management risk assessment and insider threats throughout his public and private careers mark has been a leading advocate for the ethical investigation and prosecution of terrorists who threaten the United States and other civilized countries around the globe he has strongly and publicly opposed the use of torture and is pushed for evidence-based research to help inform and improve interrogation techniques while mark has years of experience as a field agent and hands-on investigator he has in many ways he is also in many ways a teacher and an academic because he has spent countless hours designing developing and implementing training programs for his professional colleagues and other law enforcement personnel he's also shared his expertise with a much broader audience through numerous appearances on national and international news programs including cnn fox news msnbc and the bbc and via opinion pieces in a variety of publications ranging from the huffington post to the journal of applied cognitive psychology mark has built an impressive career as an international security expert and an author and keynote speaker on combating terrorism violent extremism counterintelligence and interviewing strategies but he has never forgotten where he came from as dean bob mccanna wrote in his nomination of mark for this award there is no question that mark's early experiences at roger williams generated a love for our institution that endures and grows he continues to visit rwu to share his knowledge experiences and wisdom with today's students helping to develop the next generation of practitioners and scholars in criminal justice mark has also worked directly with the faculty of the school of justice studies in fact one of his research partners professor melissa rosano is with us today where where did she get down there's your hiding behind the okay i see melissa mark and melissa have produced important research that continues to inform the development of lawful and ethical interview and interrogation policies in recognition of his life's work as a true public servant of which this university is truly proud of please join me in congratulating mark fellon class of 1978 as the 2016 distinguished alumnus of the year oh president faris thank you so much i want to first and foremost thank the justice studies program stephanie manzi and bob mccay and melissa rosano for for the nomination for this it it's a humbling honor for me to be here with you i i stepped on to this to this campus actually it was the lower campus in 1974 for the first time having a really limited experience i had been to canada one time at a church tour and the furthest north i had been from new jersey where i grew up was to visit my relatives in johnston uh rhod island here and the mount hope bridge was symbolic bridges to the world for for rhodo-wim's students and for me and having having never flown in a plane before growing up just outside of north new jersey this institution helped me become what i became a federal agent law enforcement officer and i've been to now more than 50 countries and i've traveled around the world but but it rhodo-wim's was a bridge for me to do so thank you to the president alumni association for for honoring me here today i i told my wife she always threatens me that i embarrass her when i went up for a microphone particularly the time i was on cnn he said did you just call dick chainie a liar so preparing to come here i was trying to think of of how i can boil down in a few words what what i learned here at rhodo-wim's and and and really i could say three three words magna est veritas uh the rhodo-wim's motto a truth is mighty uh and through my career i have had to sell truth to power a number of times to the secretaries of defense and i've testified before congress uh and i've had to stand up to an issue that i believed in the constitution and those foundations were set right here at rhodo-wim's learning about the constitution the rules of evidence so so uh so while i was part of rhodo-wim's for four years uh since then rhodo-wim's has been part of me uh so so i want to thank you you so much for for what you helped me become i just want to close with a few words because uh when i was thinking about what to say uh about an hour ago i don't like to prayer too too far in advance i prefer to wake it um my granddaughter saw me uh staring out the window of my my dorm room uh much different dorm room than i was here i love what you guys have done to the place and my my granddaughter said what are you doing she said i said well i'm gonna have to say a few words and said well you need help i said well she said she said all you have to say is rhodo-wim's is awesome so let me quote close with a quote from kandice jade fallon my seven-year-old granddaughter here rhodo-wim's is awesome so thank you very much aren't you glad we brought the alumni awards back each year the recipients are entirely different and entirely the same in their passion to make an impact to leave a legacy and it tells me that there's something special in the dna of this institution it's so clear that our graduates are driven to make a difference in society in ways that are meaningful and intimate and bring credit to their profession above and beyond mere personal notoriety or gain and it's so important that we acknowledge their accomplishments because in many ways they are our own again i want to thank the faculty and family and friends and alumni for joining us here today and let's give another round of applause to all of our