Drew Guay, the University’s director of campus recreation. Mackenzie Fullerton ’17 photo.

“40 Under Forty” Honors Up-and-Comers

Five members of the Plymouth State community are honored in the New Hampshire Union Leader’s annual “40 Under Forty” celebration of up-and-coming young professionals. The award highlights Granite Staters who are making a difference in their communities and fields.

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.”

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.—Union Leader

Elizabeth Brochu ’14MEd is youth services director and substance misuse prevention coordinator of Communities for Alcohol- and Drug-free Youth (CADY). The nonprofit organization, based in Plymouth, serves rural towns in Central New Hampshire with comprehensive, outcome-based substance abuse prevention, including award-winning youth empowerment programming.

Drew Guay, the University’s director of campus recreation, has expanded offerings and mentoring to include students who might otherwise feel marginalized. When Guay began his tenure at PSU in 2012, the campus recreation program had roughly 13,000 check-ins per semester, but in the months before COVID-19, the program was seeing 35,000 to 40,000 check-ins. He is the former National Intramural & Recreational Sports Association state director for New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, is a member of the professional mentor program, and serves as the Region 1 Student Development Committee Chair.

Fiona McEnany ’18 is currently in a molecular and cellular biology PhD program at Dartmouth College. An activist focused on promoting healthcare access, some of her recent efforts include helping the Northern New Hampshire Medical Reserve Corps run COVID-19 vaccination clinics, serving on the New Hampshire Public Health Association Policy Committee, interning with a comprehensive AIDS service organization, administering hearing tests to migrant farmworkers, starting a free reproductive health clinic, and founding a public health-centered voter engagement advocacy team.

Ali Sekou ’17 is assistant store manager of Hannaford Supermarket in Concord, NH, where he is intimately involved in serving the community. Sekou is a Concord Library trustee and on the board of the Concord Public Library Foundation, the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success, and the Islamic Society of Greater Concord. He recently earned his master’s degree and completed Hannaford’s Retail Management Program, which is designed to develop the company’s future leaders.

Michael Whaland ’06, ’09MEd, ’13CAGS, ’20EdD is curriculum director for SAU 33 in Raymond, NH, and he is a PSU teaching lecturer. His volunteer activities include serving on the PSU Alumni Board of Directors and the Raymond Coalition for Youth Board of Directors. He is a founding member and advisory council member of the Rural Educational Leadership Network and serves on the Holmes Center for School Partnerships and Educator Preparation Advisory Council.