Discussions
The trials and triumphs of women in law
Photos by Lee Ferris
The Mount’s Pre-Law Society and the Women Empowerment Club recently presented a panel talk titled “The Triumphs and Obstacles Faced by Women in Law,” which explored the inequalities that many women face in both their pursuit of legal education and professional practice.
While significant, such obstacles haven’t deterred women from success, noted keynote speaker, the Honorable Sandra B. Sciortino, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Orange County.
“I’ve seen far more women become lawyers since the 1980s when I first entered the profession,” she said. “The likelihood of seeing a female [professional] partner is much greater than it was 30 or 40 years ago.”
But there is still much work to be done, she added, for women to achieve parity with their male counterparts in law professions.
In addition to Sciortino, the panelists were Mount alumna Veronica A. McMillan’11, R.N., Esq., a partner with Arciero McMillan & Burgess, PC; Rebecca McGee, Esq., senior assistant District Attorney in Rockland County, N.Y.; and Jennifer Schneider, Esq., managing attorney with Drake Loeb PLLC.
The student moderators were Emily Brueckner, vice president of the college’s Pre-Law Society; Amanda Asare, president of the Mount’s Women Empowerment Club; Chrislyn Castro, treasurer and social manager of the Mount’s Pre-Law Society; and Sierra Morris, vice president of the Women Empowerment Club.
Mount hosts second event in healthcare series on grief
Photos by Lee Ferris
The Mount hosted “No Boundaries: Complicated Deaths, Complicated Grief,” the second in a three-part conversation on grief and loss for healthcare professionals, right before the end of the Fall 2023 semester.
The talk was presented by the Kaplan Family Foundation in collaboration with Cornerstone Family Healthcare; Mount Saint Mary College’s Center on Aging and DIS-Ability Policy (CADP); Access: Supports for Living; and Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall.
After the welcoming and networking reception that began the event, Dr. Kenneth Doka, a licensed mental health counselor and preeminent expert in grief, shared his thoughts on modern grief theories.
He addressed risk factors for complicated grief such as traumatic and sudden losses, focusing on deaths due to suicide, addiction, and homicide; the current ways that complications of grief are recognized in the DSM-5-TR; and current perspectives on treatment.
Mount Social Science professors Lawrence Force and Jeffrey Kahana are co-directors of the Mount’s CADP. Established in 2006, CADP promotes an interdisciplinary perspective dedicated to excellence in research and scholarship in the fields of gerontology and disability studies.
Experts offer insight into the cybersecurity industry
Photo by Lee Ferris
Tony Cusato, a Business Information Security Officer (BISO) with IBM Corporate, discusses Cybersecurity with students, faculty, and staff.
In celebration of Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, the Mount’s Center for Cybersecurity recently hosted several events featuring local leaders in the field.
First Tony Cusato, a Business Information Security Officer (BISO) with IBM Corporate, discussed his path to success in the cybersecurity industry.
Cusato has nearly 40 years of experience as a technologist working with IBM's Fortune 500 enterprise clients in the Information Technology field, specializing in Cloud and IT Data Centers, and Cybersecurity.
He noted that as the world becomes more and more reliant on technology, the need for cybersecurity professionals will only increase.
“Whether you’re a bank, whether you’re an insurance organization, whether you’re a college or university – you’ve got records and data that needs to be secured,” said Cusato. “Anything you can do with hands-on experience is to your benefit. That’s the best thing about this: you’re learning with hands-on experience.”
Later that week, the Center for Cybersecurity welcomed back several Mount alumni who currently work in the field for a panel discussion called “A Journey from a Student to a Cybersecurity Professional.”
The panelists were Jack Santaroni ’16, a Proactive Security Consultant at Unit 42 by Palo Alto Networks; Ryan Bellows ’20, a Cybersecurity Analyst at Regeneron; and Sean Jennings ’17, a Cybersecurity Analyst at Central Hudson Gas & Electric.
The panel covered a variety of topics, including job interview preparation and advanced certification preparation.
The panelists agreed that students should take advantage of internships before the end of their college careers, allowing them to apply the theory they’ve learned through their coursework to real-life situations. Panelists also shared the importance of developing good communication skills within the field of Cybersecurity, which are necessary when collaborating with other departments and relaying information to clients and vendors.
Alumni reveal ins and outs of life after Mount athletics
Photos by Lee Ferris
Students got some important insight from recent Mount alumni at the “Transitioning into Life After College Athletics” panel.
The Mount’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee and the Student Business Association hosted the panel, which featured four student-athlete alumni: Nicole Cervone (lacrosse), Claire Newman (soccer), Anthony Paggiotta (lacrosse) and Cullen Roper (baseball).
They discussed how effective time management, teamwork, and leadership skills have a direct correlation with success in one’s career. They also noted the importance of networking with mentors, friends, and alumni.
Roper explained how different life has become after college.
“The amount of time on my hands is crazy,” he explained. “The most important thing you can do is to find a hobby,” preferably one that can build up marketable skills.
Sometimes things don’t always work out the way you think they will, Cervone said, and it’s OK to change your plans.
She also shared that skills learned from athletics, such as having goals and working well with a team, are skills that are highly valued in the work world.
