SARATOGA SPRINGS — Empire State University recently announced that 100,000 students have graduated from the school.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the milestone of 100,000 alumni and to honor each person’s unique educational journey,” said President Lisa Vollendorf in a statement. “For more than 50 years, Empire has delivered high-quality, innovative education to learners of all ages. We look forward to welcoming our next 100,000 alumni in the coming decades.”
As part of its celebration, Empire State University held a 24-hour $100,000 for 100K Alumni fundraising campaign on November 25. A total of $138,611 was donated by 138 contributors.
SUNY Adirondack Timberwolf mascot Eddy Rondack high-fives Saratoga Springs High School students at an event last month. Photo via the Saratoga Springs City School District.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs High School seniors have been offered “instant admission” to SUNY Adirondack for the Fall 2025 semester.
Graduating Blue Streaks learned more about SUNY Adirondack from President Kristine Duffy at an event last month. At the gathering, students received acceptance packets, branded merchandise, and directions on how to proceed.
“We are thrilled to facilitate the college admissions process for students, removing barriers and making higher education more accessible,” Duffy said in a statement.
The instant admission offer was also extended to hundreds of local high school seniors in five area school districts, including Queensbury, Glens Falls, South Glens Falls, and Hudson Falls. SUNY Adirondack College Access and Enrollment Systems advisors worked directly with school counselors so students did not have to fill out applications.
“Your hard work should be in the classroom, not during the application process,” Duffy told students.
After being accepted, students interested in attending SUNY Adirondack can fill out an online form, selecting the field of study they wish to pursue and indicating if they are interested in one of SUNY Adirondack’s dual acceptance programs. Under those agreements, students who are accepted at SUNY Adirondack are also accepted to University at Albany, SUNY Plattsburgh at Queensbury, or SUNY Cobleskill. When the students complete requirements for an associate degree at SUNY Adirondack, they then seamlessly transfer to their selected four-year university without a second application process.
“These agreements help take the stress out of applying for college, and make the journey to a bachelor’s degree smoother,” Duffy said. “We hope more high schools become interested.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Families at the Waldorf School’s Forest Kindergarten acknowledged the waning hours of daylight last week by lighting a bonfire and then venturing through woodland trails carrying paper lanterns. The autumn ritual, which originated with the medieval celebration of Martinmas on November 11th, is still recognised throughout northern Europe and also at Waldorf schools across America. Waldorf education incorporates many traditional festivals honoring the changing seasons as a way to stay connected to the cycles of nature.
Physician Assistant students from Touro University celebrate after winning the 2024 New York State Society of Physician Associates Medical Challenge Bowl. Photo provided by Touro.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Hilton and City Center in Saratoga Springs hosted the 2024 New York State Society of Physician Associates annual conference earlier this month, the highlight of which was the Medical Challenge Bowl. The “Jeopardy”-esque competition features Physician Assistant students from 16 colleges across the state. This year’s champs hailed from the Touro University School of Health Sciences, a private Jewish university based in New York City.
“The whole weekend was a great experience, and the Challenge Bowl was a super fun and competitive event, as well as an awesome opportunity to prove how much we’ve learned in our studies,” said Touro student Katherine Lee.
Previous Challenge Bowl winners have included Marist College (2023 and 2020) and Albany Medical College (2021, 2018, 2017).
Skidmore College alumna Leighla Waterman ‘21, now works as a consumer insights analyst for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans. Photo provided by Leighla Waterman/Skidmore College.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College alumna Leighla Waterman, who graduated in 2021, now works as a consumer insights analyst for the National Football League’s New Orleans Saints and the National Basketball League’s New Orleans Pelicans. She is promoting the growth of the two teams, which are co-owned, by using data to enhance fan satisfaction and ultimately the teams’ bottom lines.
After graduating from Skidmore, Waterman landed a job as an instructor at Yale Young Global Scholars, developing and teaching seminars on domestic and foreign policy, economics, and political theory, while also mentoring students.
Recognizing the importance of data analytics to governments, think tanks, and campaign work, Waterman decided she could make a “tangible impact” by pursuing a master’s degree in data analytics at Tulane University.
“Embracing data wasn’t as hard as you might think, because Skidmore encourages critical and analytical thinking,” Waterman told her alma mater.
She initially intended to pursue policy work in Washington, D.C., but ended up landing a data analyst position at Delgado Community College in New Orleans instead. Never a huge sports fan, she was intrigued when the opportunity with the Saints became available.
“During my job interview, I was asked if I could name any of their players and I said, ‘No, I don’t follow sports that closely,’” she said. “But if you live in New Orleans for any period of time, you know the Saints are a big deal.”
For the Saints, Waterman is using machine learning to construct models for enhancing ticket sales. She tracks social media metrics across different platforms, and she recently automated the social media report and uses it to make predictions. During her first year on the job, she collaborated with the NFL to execute a season-long Saints fan experience study that provided an in-depth visual look into the Superdome gameday experience. She has also led the development of the companies’ new charitable giving request system, enabling the two teams to assess and respond to requests for donations.
“The Saints and increasingly the Pelicans are embedded in the New Orleans and Gulf South region communities,” Waterman said. “I’m honored to lead the charitable giving request system, and the better I do, the better off the community is.”
PORTER CORNERS — The Town of Greenfield will hold a “Sip & Shop” event at Brookhaven Golf Course at 333 Alpine Meadows Rd. in Porter Corners from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 30. The new holiday bazaar will combine a winter market and a holiday social opportunity that is free to the public. The event will benefit the Greenfield Elementary School Home School Association, its parent teacher group.
Booths will be sprinkled around The View Restaurant, which will be transformed into a winter bazaar. There will be food and drink specials so that patrons can enjoy a snack or lunch before, during, or after they shop. The event is for all ages. Booths will feature stocking stuffers and specialty gifts including art, jewelry, artisan wood products, local food items and more. The town will sell a new “TOG: Better TOGether” apparel, as well as Brookhaven Winter Park merchandise.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Madi Warmbier, a senior at Saratoga Springs High School, has been nominated as a Champion of the Year for Best Buddies, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Best Buddies will be hosting its third annual Champion of the Year Gala on November 22 at Brown’s Revolution Hall in Troy. During the gala, champion candidates and their mission partners will be recognized for the work they’re doing to create a more inclusive world.
“It’s important to me that everybody gets the opportunities they deserve, no matter their abilities,” Warmbier said.
Warmbier had previously been involved with the Special Olympics and unified sports before attending the Best Buddies Leadership Conference in Indiana. This summer, someone anonymously nominated her to become a Best Buddies Champion of the Year. Now, she will be competing against seven other nominees to see who can raise the most money for the organization. Thus far, Warmbier has secured a number of donations from friends and family, as well as items that will be submitted to an auction.
Warmbier has enjoyed the experience so much that she hopes to continue being involved in Best Buddies even after she graduates.
“I’m going to major in psychology and maybe a little bit of social work too,” she said. “Right now, I want to work for Best Buddies on the organization side, like planning things, because I just really love the organization.”
Warmbier is one of more than 1,750 students and adults that are participating in Best Buddies programs throughout the Capital Region. The gala on November 22 will raise funds to support and expand local programs, including the new adult-based Friendship Program.
Those interested in donating to Warmbier’s Champion of the Year campaign can do so here: https://www.bestbuddieschampion.org/albany/supporting/#madiwarmbier.
For more information about Best Buddies and the nonprofit’s local programs, visit bestbuddies.org/newyork.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Sherry Knotek has been the Technology and STEM teacher at St. Clement’s School in Saratoga Springs since 1995. Each year, during National Computer Science Week, St. Clement’s students participate in the worldwide “Hour of Code” by writing computer code for one hour.
This year, St. Clement’s is joining forces with Saratoga Central Catholic to create “Coding for Cancer,” a fundraiser that will benefit both the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.
Knotek was diagnosed with cancer in September 2021 and still continues her treatments.
“I know I can combine my role as a technology teacher as well as a patient to make a difference,” Knoteck told Saratoga TODAY. “As a patient at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, I not only see the increased impact that technology continues to make on cancer research, but it inspires me to encourage the next generation of learners to pursue a career in technology. The opportunity to tie this all together has become my mission and Coding for Cancer was born.”
Coding for Cancer will culminate on December 10 when students will spend an hour writing computer code during National Computer Science Week. In its first year, Coding for Cancer hopes to raise $25,000 for the Jimmy Fund.
“The Jimmy Fund was built on grassroots fundraising,” said Katherine Bahrawy, Associate Director of Event Fundraising at the Jimmy Fund, in a statement. “We are grateful for the efforts of our Jimmy FundRaisers, like Coding for Cancer, who are bringing their communities together to support groundbreaking research and extraordinary patient care at Dana-Farber. Every penny makes a difference.”
To support Coding for Cancer, visit https://charity.pledgeit.org/codeforcancer.
Justin is pictured with his wife Melissa and their two children, Allison and Dylan. Images provided.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Before Jerry Garcia stumbled upon the term in a dictionary, “Grateful Dead” originally referred to a folktale about a person who received karmic repayment for the good deed of resolving the debt of someone who had died. Perhaps it’s fitting then that the family and friends of Justin Kreider, a Grateful Dead and jam band fan who passed away in 2022, have honored his memory by providing scholarship money to student-musicians.
“[Justin] had this crazy memory,” said his wife Melissa Kreider. “He would memorize setlists. He knew all the lyrics, all the stories of where the lyrics came from and who wrote the songs.”
“We’d be at shows in the 90s and he would just be able to meet people,” said Justin’s friend Mark Scirocco. “He’d get their addresses and be trading [cassette] tapes with people. Next thing you’d know, he’d have hundreds of tapes.”
The Justin Kreider Music Never Stopped Fund logo incorporates many of Kreider’s passions, including the Grateful Dead, the New York Yankees, Phish, and live music.
Justin’s love of music led to Melissa and Mark co-founding the Justin Kreider Music Never Stopped Fund, which began its mission in earnest earlier this month with a cornhole tournament at the Saratoga Winery that raised $1,500. The money will go to a graduating Saratoga Springs High School student-musician who is looking to further their music education in college. The school’s music department will be nominating students for the prize.
Justin grew up in Saratoga Springs and graduated from the city’s high school in 1993.
His first job at the Trattoria Restaurant resulted in a nearly three-decade-long career in the restaurant business that took him to Park City, Utah and Portland, Oregon. He became the head chef of his own family in 2009, when his first child, Allison, was born. He also had a son, Dylan.
The Music Never Stopped Fund’s logo sums up much of Justin’s interests, incorporating a dancing turtle (his nickname was Turtle), a Yankees cap (he was a devoted baseball nerd), and of course the Grateful Dead’s signature “Stealie” skull and lightning bolt design.
Justin’s love of the Grateful Dead also helped to sum up his life philosophy, which in turn led to the creation of the music scholarship that bears his name. He’d often listen to Big Steve Parish, a former Grateful Dead crew member who now hosts a radio show devoted to the Dead.
“We’d be driving around town and you know the way Saratoga traffic can be, you’d be grumpy or whatever and Justin would be like, ‘hey, you gotta be like Big Steve and be a little nicer to everybody,’” said Scirocco. “For me, [the Music Never Stopped Fund is] like fulfilling that part of things. It’s like, let’s make things a little bit nicer for some people. I don’t want to be too tree hugger-ish or whatever, but it’s like let’s spread the love around. So it’s trying to live up to that ideal a little bit while remembering him.”
The Justin Kreider Music Never Stopped Fund will next host a Mandala Drawing Workshop at Next Door Kitchen & Bar on November 24. For more details, visit the charity’s Facebook page.
