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Alumni In the NewsGraphic Design Teacher Named Alumnus of the Year Graphic Design Teacher Named Alumnus of the Year
Richmond Garrick (center) is the Middlesex County College Alumnus of the Year. He is flanked by William Egbert, president of the College’s Alumni Association, and Joann La Perla-Morales, president of the College. Richmond Garrick, a graphic design teacher at the Williamstown High School in Monroe Township, has been named Alumnus of the Year at Middlesex County College. The award was presented by Joann La Perla-Morales, president of the College, and William Egbert, president of the Alumni Association. Mr. Garrick, a member of the class of 1995, teaches his students the importance of visual arts and its effect on society. He has won several awards, including the Lajos Markos Art Foundation Scholarship for representational art, the Dean John I. Bettenbender Memorial Performance Award, which honors artists for outstanding graduate artistic achievement, and the Montclair State University School of the Arts Advisory Board Talent Award. Mr. Garrick has presented numerous art exhibits in the New York-New Jersey area and in the United Kingdom and has appeared in various publications including the Star Ledger, the Philadelphia Tribune, and the alumni magazines of Middlesex County College and Rutgers University. Mr. Garrick has contributed to the Middlesex Alumni Art Exhibit on various occasions and has been a member of the adjunct faculty in the Department of Visual, Performing and Media Arts. He graduated with high honors from Middlesex and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Montclair State University and a Master of Fine Arts from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Mr. Garrick’s artwork is inspirational. He lectures to various student and other groups, explaining the conditions in his homeland of Sierra Leone and the civil unrest that took place and how painting was a means to represent his dismay on canvas. He says he hopes to continue to use his art to bring awareness of his homeland to a wider audience. He also volunteers at the United Methodist Church in New Brunswick as a singer and produces various music programs.
Alumni Association Presents 2011 Scholarship
MCC Alumnus Awarded Business ScholarshipShawn Zwonar, an engineering science student who graduated in May, received the 2010-2011 Edison Chamber of Commerce/Annamae Baerenbach Annual Business Scholarship. The award was presented at the Chamber’s annual meeting June 14. While at Middlesex, Shawn maintained a high grade point average as well asparticipated in several extracurricular activities. He was active in Democracy House,the College’s service-learning program, volunteering with Elijah’s Promise soup kitchen and the Salvation Army. “Shawn has been a true example of a mature leader, a model student and an engaged citizen,” said Phillip Vazquez, Democracy House coordinator. “Both the hunger and education teams at Democracy House respect and admire Shawn.” Shawn was also a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges, where he volunteered at toy collection drives and blood drives. He was vice president of the Chemistry Environmental Club and was co-founder of Zeta Delta Finance Society, created to teach basic marketing and business skills to students. He is planning to transfer to the University of Minnesota for his bachelor’s degree.
Winners of the 2011 Edison Chamber of Commerce awards, from left: Joe Cascio, Chamber Member of the Year; Isaac “Ike” Heller, of Heller Industrial Parks, Outstanding Business of the Year; Shawn Zwonar; Brian Legg, Outstanding Entrepreneur (he is also an officer of the Middlesex County College Foundation); Jennifer Teffenhart-Blevins, Outstanding Educator of the Year; Joe Coyle, Citizen of the Year; and Gerald R. Cohen, CEO and chief chemical engineer of Gerrus Maintenance, the Outstanding Business.
MCC Alumnus Named Cooperative Education Student of the Year
Nick Tancredi, who graduated in May from Middlesex County College, was named the Outstanding Co-Op/Internship Student of the Year for a two-year school. The award was presented at the New Jersey Cooperative Education and Internships Association awards program in June at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. “Nick takes his job so seriously and has an incredible work ethic that it makes him an amazing employee,” said Barbara Raido, the cooperative education coordinator at Middlesex County College. “He’s always trying to learn something new.” Mr. Tancredi interned at Home Essentials & Beyond doing product photography, which is where he has been working since June of 2010; his co-op was from January to May of 2011. “Nick is a great guy, a skilled worker, and overall a great addition to Home Essentials & Beyond,” said David Mercado, the company’s art director. “Though I have been at this job for seven years, he teaches me things on a daily basis that increase my skills and abilities in dealing with photos and editing programs.” Mr. Tancredi was in Project Connections, a program at the College that helps bring out the potential of college-able students with learning disabilities. He has been a student leader in Project Connections since the spring of 2008, and he was president of Advocates for Students with Learning Differences, which, among other projects, organized fundraisers for veterans’ groups and for other organizations. |
Yuen Shan Yuen, left, and Heather Ramstedt flank Middlesex County College Alumni President William Egbert III ’04 as he presents the Alumni Association 2011 Scholarship awards. Ms. Yuen, a Liberal Arts/Business major, received a $750 scholarship. Her interests include writing, language and community service. She volunteered at a community center that focused on promoting family, social and racial harmony through the creation of drama. Ms. Ramstedt was awarded a $500 scholarship. She is a Nursing major and has been interested in health care from a young age caring for family members. Her hobbies include reading, swimming and bicycling. This is the first time the Alumni Association presented two scholarships. They were awarded at the Association’s annual dinner meeting in June.
