![Plymouth Magazine Spring 2021](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-mag-logo-sp2021.png)
![Plymouth State 150 years Badge](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/pm-badge-white-outline.png)
![Proud Past, Bright Future](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/proud-past-bright-futurev2.png)
![Savannah and Sam Wisel Savannah and Sam Wisel pictured together, smiling](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/Set_Students_Up_01.jpg)
![pinwheel icon](/assets/2021/05/pinwheel.png)
Savannah and Sam met through their shared service activities while undergraduates at Plymouth State. They both volunteered for the Student Support Foundation and Alternative Spring Break trip. “Our service experiences inspired us to live lives in service to others,” says Sam, a current member of PSU’s volunteer fundraising body, the President’s Council. “We’re happy to give back so current and future Plymouth State students can find their path.”
![Moses Jean-Pierre in the 90s black and white image of Moses Jean-Pierre in the middle of playing a basketball game](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/Set_Students_Up_03.jpg)
![Moses Jean-Pierre Moses Jean-Pierre seated outside, smiling and wearing shades and a blue suit](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/Set_Students_Up_02.jpg)
![pinwheel icon](/assets/2021/05/pinwheel.png)
Jean-Pierre is the all-time leading scorer in NH College men’s basketball history at 2,483 points! He broke 23 program records at Plymouth State and was named ECAC Division III Player of the Year and NABC Division III First Team All-American.
![Plymouth Magazine](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-magazine-logo.png)
MANAGING Editor | Patrick Gullo
EXECUTIVE EDITOR | Marlin Collingwood
Designer | Daphne Bruemmer ’98
Marcia Schmidt Blaine
Alissa Helms
Chris Kilmer ’99
Louise Samaha McCormack ’72
Lesley McGowan
Peter Lee Miller
Ann Thurston ’80, ’00G, ’07CAGS
Reed Silvers ’23
John Anderson
George Disario
Mackenzie Fullerton ’17
Jeremy Gasowski ’01
Ian Halter
Kaleb Hart ’11
Bret Kulakovich
John Tully
Jack Vachon ’21
Brett Wilhelm
Comments to:
Editor, Plymouth Magazine, Communications & Marketing, MSC 24, Plymouth State University, 17 High St., Plymouth, NH 03264-1595; psu-mccs@plymouth.edu
Please send address changes to:
University Advancement, MSC 50, Plymouth State University, 17 High St., Plymouth, NH 03264-1595; (800) 772-2620; alumni@plymouth.edu
Alumni may update their contact information online at go.plymouth.edu/infoupdate.
Rounds Hall circa 1903, and 2021.
![Stay Connected](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/stay-connected.png)
![In This Issue 150 Years of Changing Lives](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/in-this-issue.png)
![Plymouth State Logo Badge](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-state-logo.png)
![First teaching staff at Plymouth 1871](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/TIME-1st-teaching-staff-at-PNS.jpg)
![Plymouth State Logo Badge](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-state-logo.png)
![President Donald Birx Livestream](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-state-universitys-best-fig1.jpg)
In his Founders Day remarks, President Donald Birx describes a century and a half of service to New Hampshire and its citizens, distinguished by “…a continuity of inspiration and growth, and a transformation of lives for the better.” He also shared his vision of PSU 50 years from now, when the University will mark its two-hundredth anniversary.
Plymouth Normal School opened the doors to its first class on March 15, 1871, 150 years ago. From Plymouth Normal School to Plymouth Teachers College, and Plymouth State College to today’s Plymouth State University, there has been a continuity of inspiration and growth and a transformation of lives for the better. From the beginning, Plymouth has been a place of purpose, learning, and service focused on enhancing society and opening doors of opportunity. It’s an incredible story of commitment that we can all take great pride in. We should not miss, though, that PSU has faced periods of enormous challenge from its very beginning, but these have served to make it stronger. Like a tree in the wind, the roots have grown deeper, the branches stronger, the outreach greater, and its tender shoots spread further.
![Drew Guay at the gym Drew Guay](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/of-note-fig1.jpg)
40 Under Forty is organized by the Union Leader, which noted, “Perhaps one of the reasons that New Hampshire is the special place that we know it to be is because it keeps producing these young men and women who care and who thrive here.”
![Daniel Lee, Jonathan Couser, and Cathie LeBlanc are implementing PSU’s new data analytics grant. SU’s new data analytics grant](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/of-note-fig2.jpg)
PSU is developing a Data Analytics Learning Community (DALC) and offered an interdisciplinary course during the Spring 2021 semester that blended data analytics with traditional history coursework.
![Skiers Take All-America Honors Skiers having fun](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/of-note-fig3-4-mobile.jpg)
![Skier holding flag Skier in snow](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/of-note-fig3.jpg)
![Skier doing a run Skier going down hill](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/of-note-fig4.jpg)
NCAA All-America recognizes the most accomplished athletes in a range of sports, and Plymouth State is now the proud home to two of the nation’s very best college skiers.
![Enjoying the view Archival image of people exploring on Mountain Day](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/Looking_Back_01.jpg)
![Plymouth State 150](/assets/2021/05/ps-badge.png)
New Hampshire’s legislature took action in 1870 to address a desperate need for trained educators. The “act for the establishment and management of a state normal school for the better training of teachers” appropriated a small amount of money for the new institution but left the details of establishing the school to trustees.
Many towns submitted proposals, but Plymouth’s was community wide. The town purchased and offered the old Holmes Plymouth Academy buildings and pledged $7,000; Plymouth citizens raised $1,100. The railroad promised $4,000 if Plymouth was chosen. The local school district promised $600/year for tuition to teach town students. All told, the town offered some $42,000 in real estate and cash. After reviewing a competitive set of proposals, the trustees chose Plymouth. The town had a history of support for higher education, buildings for the school already existed, Plymouth was a tourist destination and travel to town was increasingly easy, and the school had clear citizen support.
![Mackenzie Fullerton ’17 Mackenzie Fullerton ’17 participating in PSU’s new program](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/Robotics_MakerSpace.jpg)
Plymouth State University’s Place in the World Today
Transforming to meet today’s needs
Recognizing that a fundamental redesign was needed to better prepare graduates for today’s marketplace, Plymouth State began a process in 2015 that has since transformed the University and continues to evolve. PSU’s Integrated Clusters learning model is a flexible, efficient, and responsive version of higher education for the twenty-first century. It is based on problem solving, integrative thinking, teamwork, and an entrepreneurial spirit with students engaged in the various challenges of our times, and the cross-disciplinary thinking so important in communicating, actualizing, and synthesizing new ideas in an information rich environment.
![Panther Facial Recognition System Mockup of the Panther Facial Recognition System](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-2021-sp-11-img1.jpg)
![Plymouth State 150](/assets/2021/05/ps-badge.png)
Leading up to the automatic sliding doors of Prospect Hall, an archway with facial recognition instantly grants me access. The place is almost empty—about 10 to 15 students in total. It was only 8:30, and most kids do not have a class as early as 9:00, the first morning block. I make my way over to the omelet station, where Robot Chef Moosilauke and Robot Chef Tecumseh cook up the popular breakfast option. I make my way over to the touchscreen kiosk where I select cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and green peppers. I watch as Tecumseh gathers the ingredients and cooks the omelet on the griddle. A few minutes later, the eggs are displayed on a ceramic plate by the pickup window. After grabbing a coffee from the beverage station, I maneuver past Stinson, the cleaning robot wiping down some empty tables, and find a seat by the television wall showing the local news.
![Early 1900's photograph of hikers](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/hiking-early-1900.jpg)
![Plymouth State 150](/assets/2021/05/ps-badge.png)
Hiking
Plymouth State’s setting in the Lakes and Mountains Region of New Hampshire makes hiking a perfect fit from the school’s founding to today.
In the Normal School years, hiking was listed as a sport along with baseball and basketball, and individual and group hikes were traditional. A student wrote about her experience in the April 1922 Prospect:
![John P. Clark ’71 '73G Vintage black-and-white photograph of John P. Clark ’71 smiling on a phone call](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-2021-sp-14-img1.jpg)
![Professor Emerita Louise Samaha McCormack '72 Vintage black-and-white photograph of Professor Emerita Louise Samaha McCormack '72 doing cheer](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-2021-sp-14-img2.jpg)
![President Harold Hyde's family Vintage black-and-white photograph of the wife and daughter of President Harold Hyde standing in their Sunday best on some porch steps](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-2021-sp-14-img3.jpg)
!["St. Eustace and the Stag" by Karl Drerup The brightly-colored and high-contrast acrylic painting "St. Eustace and the Stag" by Karl Drerup](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-2021-sp-14-img4.jpg)
Above: St. Eustace and the Stag, Karl Drerup, enamel, 1948, courtesy of Mary Anne Hyde Saul
![John P. Clark ’71 '73G Vintage black-and-white photograph of John P. Clark ’71 '73G smiling on a phone call](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-2021-sp-14-img1.jpg)
![Professor Emerita Louise Samaha McCormack '72 Vintage black-and-white photograph of Professor Emerita Louise Samaha McCormack '72 doing cheer](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-2021-sp-14-img2.jpg)
![President Harold Hyde's family Vintage black-and-white photograph of the wife and daughter of President Harold Hyde standing in their Sunday best on some porch steps](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-2021-sp-14-img3.jpg)
!["St. Eustace and the Stag" by Karl Drerup The brightly-colored and high-contrast acrylic painting "St. Eustace and the Stag" by Karl Drerup](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-2021-sp-14-img4.jpg)
Above: St. Eustace and the Stag, Karl Drerup, enamel, 1948, courtesy of Mary Anne Hyde Saul
![The number 150 made out of flowers The number 150 made out of flowers in front of the commencement stage](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img1.jpg)
![Commencement Speaker Plymouth State University One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary Commencement Speaker](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img2.jpg)
![Commencement Student Speaker Plymouth State University One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary Commencement Student Speaker](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img3.jpg)
![Commencement Student Speaker Plymouth State University One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary Commencement Student Speaker](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img4.jpg)
![Commencement Speaker Dr. Deborah Birx Plymouth State University One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary Commencement Speaker](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img5.jpg)
![The number 150 made out of flowers The number 150 made out of flowers in front of the commencement stage](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img1.jpg)
![Commencement Speaker Plymouth State University One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary Commencement Speaker](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img2.jpg)
![Commencement Student Speaker Plymouth State University One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary Commencement Student Speaker](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img3.jpg)
![Commencement Student Speaker Plymouth State University One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary Commencement Student Speaker](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img4.jpg)
![Commencement Speaker Dr. Deborah Birx Plymouth State University One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary Commencement Speaker](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img5.jpg)
![Students embracing showing their decorated graduation caps Two students embracing showing their decorated graduation caps](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img7.jpg)
![Students taking a group selfie Graduating students taking a group selfie](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img6.jpg)
![Anthem singer Todd Angilly '99 Todd Angilly '99](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img8.jpg)
![Graduate posing for a picture Graduating student posing for a picture](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img9.jpg)
![Service dog at the 150th commencement Service dog at the 150th commencement wearing a graduation cap](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img10.jpg)
![Three people posing for a picture at the 150th commencement Three people posing for a picture together at the 150th commencement](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-21-one-hundred-fiftieth-anniversary-img11.jpg)
![Female Skiier](/assets/2021/05/skiier.png)
![Veterans Plymouth veterans](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/img1.jpg)
![Ski day Plymouth ski day](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-2021-plymouth-experience-img2.jpg)
![Students on campus Plymouth students on campus](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/img3.jpg)
![Students skiing Students skiing on campus](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-2021-plymouth-experience-img5.jpg)
![Sorority Women in greek sorority](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-2021-plymouth-experience-img6.jpg)
![Plymouth theatre Plymouth theatre 1998](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-2021-plymouth-experience-img7.jpg)
![Students playing in the snow Plymouth students playing in the snow](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-spring-2021-plymouth-experience-img8.jpg)
Sylivia (Fusegni) Peterlin ’61 played intramural sports for four years and was a member of the Newman Club and Mary Lyon house committee. The month she graduated, she married Duane Peterlin, welcoming a daughter and a son in the following years. She worked with the Apprentice Academic Program of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for 10 years, receiving a certificate of appreciation for her contribution to the program. Currently an adjunct professor teaching math at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, NH, Peterlin says, “I enjoyed the math classes that Miss Smith taught and have always liked working with numbers.”
Dorothy M. (Donigian) Nazarian ’62 majored in physical education, was involved in the PE department, and was a cheerleader while at Plymouth State. After graduating, she raised a family and obtained her LNA certificate. Nazarian recently started her own business called “Dorothy Cleans and More” and now lives in Campton, NH. She has 13 grandchildren.
![A red heart with an arrow through it graphic](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/the-green-img-heart-and-arrow.png)
Nancy L. (Beegle) Badger ’75 met her husband Richard G. Badger ’74 at Plymouth State College, and June 19, 2020, was their 44th wedding anniversary. They are still going strong!
Alyssa J. Babb ’12 and Joshua Casperson ’15 married at Church Landing at Mill Falls in Meredith, NH, on October 10, 2020.
Elizabeth “Betsy” (McCarthy) McAshley ’12 and David (Ashley) McAshley ’12 were married on September 2, 2019, at Kingsland Bay State Park in Ferrisburgh, VT.
![Joshua ’15 and Alyssa (Babb) Casperson ’12 Joshua ’15 and Alyssa (Babb) Casperson ’12 wedding with friends](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/the-green-img-30.jpg)
![McAshley McAshley wedding](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/the-green-img-31.jpg)
Brian Gagnon ’05, ’09G and Ashley (Spalding) Gagnon ’07, ’12G welcomed daughter June Breaker on May 3, 2021.
Leslie A. (Kingsley) Blakney ’07 and Noah Blakney welcomed their son Dylan Todd on August 2, 2020.
Meghan (Plumpton) Cotter ’08 and Kevin Cotter welcomed their second daughter, Rowan, into the world on October 15, 2020.
Phoebe (Brown) Minacapelli ’08 and Adam Minacapelli welcomed daughter Lucy Josephine on January 6, 2021.
Matthew Wallace ’10 and Riley (Lacasse) Wallace ’18 welcomed son Max David on April 11, 2021.
Brett Lucas ’11 and Tori Lucas welcomed daughter Kira Elisabeth on May 9, 2021.
Alyssa K. (Mira) Choudry ’12 and Samir Choudry ’12 welcomed twins! Daughter Addison Katherine and son Chandler Vance were born on January 5, 2021.
![Arrivals Collage of babies](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/the-green-img-32.jpg)
Got married? New job? New baby? Send us your updates and photos: go.plymouth.edu/classnotes
December 20, 2020, Concord, NH
Marion A. (Joslyn) Foster ’46
February 3, 2021, Williamsport, PA
Gene E. (Rich) Perry ’49
October 14, 2020, Laconia, NH
Jane (Willoughby) Cote ’51
January 18, 2021, San Antonio, TX
George E. Bryenton ’52
January 22, 2021, Newington, CT
Lionel G. Metivier ’52
June 22, 2020, Tenants Harbor, ME
October 8, 2020, Wilton, NH
Robert L. Nugent ’65
January 10, 2021, Hampstead, NH
William A. Roeger ’67
November 30, 2020, Methuen, MA
Frank A. Hubbard ’69
January 3, 2021, Plymouth, NH
Donald P. Blair ’71
January 4, 2021, Hooksett, NH
Thomas C. Lindsay ’71
January 3, 2021, South Tamworth, NH
January 12, 2021, Eden, UT
Ronaldo R. Pelchat ’80
November 28, 2020, Lancaster, NH
Eleanor A. Mason ’82
October 9, 2020, Winooski, VT
Richard M. Petrykowski ’83
April 10, 2020, Port Townsend, WA
Scott L. Babb ’84
September 19, 2020, Merrimack, NH
Thomas A. Carr ’86
March 9, 2021, Moncks Corner, SC
September 26, 2019, Hartsville, SC
Michele Bartlett
August 31, 2020, Loudon, NH
Carol A. Briggs
December 3, 2020, Kingston, NH
Michael W. Chase
October 16, 2019, Somerville, MA
Virginia M. Davio
December 4, 2019, Middlebury, CT
As part of Founders Day, Plymouth State honored three individuals in the community who walk the talk and live a life of service and philanthropy.
![Wally ’62 and Meredith Stevens ‘62](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/wally-meredith-stevens.jpg)
![Professor Emerita Bonnie Breen-Wagner ’72](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/bonnie-breen-wagner.jpg)
![Plymouth Magazine Plymouth Magazine Logo](https://magazine.plymouth.edu/assets/2021/05/plymouth-magazine.png)