Past Experiential Learning Day Presentations
Experiential Learning at Albertus
President Camille and Dr O'Connell
An Albertus education is about pursuing the truth, applying what you learn to make a difference in the world, and sharing the fruits of your search for truth with others. It is truly a celebration of the hands on learning that students in all of our programs (undergraduate and graduate, semester-long or accelerated) are engaged in. Students will share and present what they accomplished in their curricular and co-curricular activities.
March 30, 2022
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Featured Presentations
In this presentation, Charisma and Jaylein presented the research they conducted in
World Politics this past fall. Using a critical analysis of the globalization of food,
Charisma and Jaylein analyzed and discussed major themes that arise when trying to
understand the phenomenon of globalization in our contemporary world.
Student Presenters: Charisma Prince & Jaylein Piekarski
Poetry from Juliana Bertrand
Moderator: Dr.Ross Edwards
ELD Award Ceremony Program
- Opening Prayer from Dr. Edward Dunar
- Welcome Remarks from Dr. Joshua Abreu
- Statement from President Marc Camille
- Statement from V.P. of Academic Affairs Dr. Sean O’ Connell
- Presenting of ELD Awards to students
- A Conversation with ELD presenter & award recipient Katherine Bergamo
- Closing Remarks from Dr. Abreu
April 7, 2021
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Featured Presentations
Dr. Joshua Abreu, Director, Center for Teaching and Learning Ecellence, welcomes virtual attendants to Experiential Learning Day.
Campus Infrastructure
Class Research Project
Zacharia Ouladelhadjahmed '23, Criminal Justice
Karissa Kerrs '23, Criminal Justice
Toward an Ecologically Integrated Campus
Service Learning Project
Ryan Herpy '23, Political Science
Service/Service Learning Project
Jasmine Jones '23, Biology & Math
Crisbeth Castaneda '23, Chemistry & Math
Arooba Sholmiyet '23, Business Management & Accounting
After the student presentations, an Awards Ceremony was held to recognize and celebrate students who have excelled in internships, service, research and creative arts. At the Awards Ceremony, a special acknowledgement of Dr. Hilda Speicher was made, who recently retired and dedicated much energy and time in developing Experiential Learning Day (ELD) as a vital component of an Albertus Magnus College education.
Watch Event Video >ELD Award Ceremony Program
- Statements from President Dr. Marc Camille and Vice President Dr. Sean O' Connell
- Prayer from Dr. Jon Sozek, Assistant Professor of Religion
- Welcome Statement from Dr. Joshua Abreu, new Director of Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) and coordinator of ELD
- Recognition of ELD Award Recipients and a conversation with one of the winners, Molly D'Andrea
- Closing musical performance by the Albertus Magnus College Chorus
Experiential Learning Day Award Recipients
Molly D'Andrea
Jonny's Jara-Silva
Jennifer Castelot
Kervin Franco
Andrew McGovern
April 20-24, 2020
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Featured Presentations
April 20, 2020
President Camille and Dr. Sean P. O'Connell welcoming virtual attendants to Experiential Learning Week.
April 23, 2020
Jilian R Celentano hosts a virtual lecture via BlueJeans, where she discusses her internship while participating in the Yale Gender Program.
April 22, 2020
M.F.A. Candidate, Ann-Marie Murzin, hosts a lecture via BlueJeans, where she demonstrates how to transform a legal document into a poem.
April 21, 2020
Alex Mitchell, Leilim Chang, and Jerry Randolph present their experiences while interning with the Office of Communication and Marketing.
The Experiential Learning Day Awards for Excellence in Research:
These awards are given to students who have exemplified excellence in their research as an intern or assistant volunteer on a faculty member’s project, or for undergraduate or graduate thesis or capstone work in the Spring or Fall of 2019. It is our esteemed honor to announce the Awardees..
Undergraduate Day Awardee
Brittany Alvarez (Class of 2021 – ADP, Psychology)
Brittany enrolled in a research internship in the Fall of 2019 working in the research
lab of Drs. Bonnie Pepper and Hilda Speicher in the Psychology department focused
on the study of romantic and therapeutic relationships in the LGBTQ+ community. Her
skill, willingness to learn and tackle new and sometimes intimidating tasks, exceptional
organizational skills, and welcoming demeanor and ability to work with others contributed
to her excellent execution of a number of complicated, sensitive, and important tasks
allowing her and the research team (8 students in all) to conduct quality research
with the community at large and at Albertus.
Faculty Co-Advisors: Bonnie Pepper & Hilda Speicher
Graduate Program Awardee
Viviana Torres (Class of 2020 – MAATC)
Viviana’s Master’s Thesis work titled “Guided Imagery and Watercolor Painting on Stress
in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis” was begun just as COVID19 social isolation
practices shut down the ability to recruit and run participants in research for thesis
work. Shared here is a description of the excellent study design and concept she proposed
and had approved by the Albertus Institutional Review Board. She is currently finishing
up her reflection on the pilot research she conducted.
Proposed Study: The purpose of this study is to explore the hypotheses that art making
in addition to guided imagery will decrease stress levels in adults with Multiples
Sclerosis more than solely participating in guided imagery. Increases in positive
affect and decreases in negative affect are also hypothesized, with the most significant
levels of change occurring in those who participate in art making in addition to guided
imagery.
Faculty Co-Advisors: Rebecca Arnold & Bonnie Pepper
The Experiential Learning Day Awards for Creative Works:
These awards are given to students who have exemplified excellence in their artistic scholarship in the form of visual, performing, or written arts during the Spring or Fall of 2019. It is our esteemed honor to announce the Awardee..
Undergraduate Day Awardee
Juliana Bertrand (Class of 2023 – Undeclared Honors Program)
Juliana’ creative work is the production of Shakespeare’s play titled “Romeo and Juliet”
which was originally planned to be performed at the College on Shakespeare’s birthday,
April 23rd. Unfortunately, rehearsals and performance dates had to be canceled because
of the coronavirus crisis. Her advisor points out that the work Juliana did in readying
these Shakespeare scenes for performance was outstanding. She will try to direct another
play in the fall.
Faculty Advisor: Susan Cole
The Experiential Learning Day Awards for Service Learning:
These awards are given to students who have exemplified excellence in their community service work during the Spring or Fall of 2019. It is our esteemed honor to announce the Awardees..
Graduate Program Awardee
Katelyn Blumetti & April Sozanski (Class of 2019 – MAATC)
Katelyn and April served together doing outstanding community outreach in the MAATC
program that involved service learning in Jamaica during the summer of 2019. Subsequently
they presented on this art therapy service activity at a professional conference.
The Experiential Learning Day Awards for Excellence in Internship:
These awards are given to students who have exemplified excellence, having performed at high levels in their Practicum or Internship placement in Spring or Fall of 2019. It is our esteemed honor to announce the Awardees. .
Undergraduate Day Awardees
Kaitlin D'Agostino (Class of 2020 - Graphic Design), Site: VP Creative Agency
Kaitlin approached her internship with a high level of professionalism and maturity.
She was very dedicated to learning new concepts and best practices for graphic designers.
Her advisor stated "She hit the ground running and exceeded her supervisor's expectations during her
entire internship experience at VP Creative Agency."
Faculty Advisor: Jerry Nevins
Sabrina Pohlig (Class of 2020 - Sports Management), Site: The People’s United Center at Quinnipiac
University
Sabrina’s advisor described the Center as "… a 185,000 square foot facility with basketball and hockey arenas joined by a common
lobby area. The facility is home to the Quinnipiac hockey and basketball programs
as Quinnipiac is a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA). At the same time, the institution has 21 sports programs and over 450 student-athletes.
During her time at Quinnipiac, Sabrina worked for and shadowed members of the People's
United Center staff and was able to experience the 2019 NCAA Women's Frozen Four featuring
the top four collegiate women's ice hockey teams in the country."
Faculty Advisor: Kristen DeCarli
Alexandra Ives (Class of 2020 - Criminal Justice), Site:Nelson & Votto Law Firm
In Alexandra’s placement, her advisor stated she “…learned how stressful navigating the criminal justice system can be. This experience
taught her how to empathize with justice-involved citizens. In addition to completing
her internship, she maintained a full course load of 18 credits and earned a 3.7 GPA."
Faculty Advisor: John Lawrie
Clinton Davidson (Class of 2020 - Healthcare Management), Site: Stonington Behavioral Health, Inc.
According to her advisor, CJ was placed in one of the most challenging internship tracks at Stonington. He was
also the first Day Student to accept the challenge of working alongside Residential
Aides in a 180-bed co-occurring disorder program in Groton. CJ quickly established
himself as reliable, honest, hard-working, and confident. Throughout his internship,
he emerged as one of several critical resources of the Director of the Residential
Service who described him as 'someone we need to find a way to keep and invest in.’”
Faculty Advisor: William Aniskovich
Natalie Rivera (Class of 2020 – Psychology), Site: The Kennedy Center
At her site Natalie was supervised by an Albertus alumna - Jen Narcisco (BA 2012,
MAATC 2015). Her advisor noted that her site supervisor remarked that "Natalie exceeds
all expectations... She has great ideas and implements them daily... She is trustworthy
and compassionate, addresses all needs without hesitation... You would think Natalie
had been here for years. She is one of our best interns."
Faculty Advisor: Stephen Joy
Undergraduate ADP Awardees
Jesse Ede (Class of 2020 – Psychology), Sites: Beecher Road School & The Kennedy Center
Jesse’s advisor described him as having “… excelled in both his practicum at Beecher Road School in spring 2019 and his internship
in fall 2019 at the Kennedy Center. During the latter, Jesse stepped in when they
became understaffed and performed the work of professionals. In each placement, he
worked with vulnerable, and sometimes difficult to manage populations and did so with
sensitivity and passion.”
Faculty Advisor: Hilda Speicher
Graduate Program Awardees
Albi Beshi (BA 2018; Class of 2021 – MS in Counseling & Mental Health), Site: UNH Student Counseling
Center
Albi’s advisor commented that he has earned an "Excellence in Field Placement Award for his second-year practicum placement at the
University of New Haven Student Counseling Center."
Faculty Advisor: Siobhan Evarts
Heather Congdon (Class of 2020 – MAATC), Sites: VA West Haven & Vinfen, Hartford
According to her advisor, Heather’s work was "outstanding clinical internship work
at the VA and then at Vinfen. She was creative and showed compassion, curiosity, and
a willingness to provide wonderful art therapy services for her clients."
Faculty Advisor: Rebecca Arnold/Evie Lindemann
The Experiential Learning Day Awards for Internship Site of the Year:
These awards are given to a company or an organization that exemplifies and exudes the Dominican Pillars of Community and Study. These sites have provided high-quality, hands-on experiences for Albertus Magnus Student interns that promote the intellectual connection between academic instruction and practical application. It is our esteemed honor to announce the Awardees..
Beecher Road School
Partnering since 2016
Profile: Beecher Road School succeeds in providing a caring, creative community that
not only inspires our students but embraces them holistically. Over the last few years,
Albertus students have had the opportunity to engage with the entire Beecher Road
School community. Under Dr. Kristine Rose’s mentorship, our students gain hands-on
experience with child psychology, school counseling, and behavioral modification methods.
Contact: Dr. Kristine Rose
Friend’s Center for Children
Partnering since 2017
Profile: The Friend’s Center for Children is an institution that provides early childhood
care and education year-round that is child-centered and affordable to a diverse community.
Our students are woven into the mission and vision to help provide access to high-quality
early childhood education. Our students have learned a great deal of practical knowledge
and gained priceless experience working with young children.
Contact: Therese Luetzgendorf, (MSHS Class of 2016)
The Experiential Learning Day Alumni Pay-it-Forward Award:
This award is given to an Albertus Magnus College alumna/us that exemplifies the Dominican Pillars Service, Study, and Community by reaching back to their alma mater to help fellow Falcons, providing opportunities for experiential learning. It is our esteemed honor to announce the inaugural 2020 Experiential Learning Day Alumni Pay-it-Foward Award Awardee..
Art and Soul Art Therapy
Partnering since 2019
Profile: Art and Soul Art Therapy is a small private psychotherapy practice that blends
out-of-the-box thinking with evidenced-based techniques to best meet the needs of
their clients. Art and Soul Art Therapy has four therapists who are alumnae of Albertus’
Master of Art in Art Therapy and Counseling program. They have hosted many of our
undergraduate students and have provided them with a valuable structure and experience.
Contact: Briana Benn-Mirandi, MAATC Class of '08