Midas Touch
When Lois Harrison of West Windsor leaves for the Olympic Games in Athens next month, she’ll be fulfilling a life-long dream of participating in an international athletic event – a dream that was put on hold more than two decades ago when a shoulder injury forced her to bow out of the World Rowing Championships.
Instead of going as an athlete, however, Harrison is attending the 2004 Olympic Games as a member of the Athens Health Services Sports Massage team. Harrison, 48, a nationally certified massage therapist who has her own practice in West Windsor, was one of only 100 sports massage therapists selected from a pool of over 500 applicants from 12 countries. She was chosen based on her high level of mastery in the field and her professional experience with elite athletes at both national and international events. She has been assigned to provide massage therapy to the athletes in the rowing, canoeing, and kayaking venue.
“”Sports massage is a critical part of an athlete’s performance,”” says Harrison. Its is used during training to help prevent injuries and relieve muscular stress, which in turn enables harder and more consistent traning. In Athens, Harrison will be doing pre-event massage – a supplement to the athletes’ warm-up, to boost circulation, increase flexibility and range of motion, and help prevent injuries – and post-event massage to help the athletes recover quickly after each competition.
Harrison was born in Huntington, Long Island, and her family moved frequently due to her father’s job as a metallurgist (her mother was a housewife). She says she is both thrilled and touched to be part of what she knows will be an unforgettable and emotional experience in Athens. “”I’m an optimist. What I love about the Olympics is that this is when countries drop their boundaries. You’re out there as the best in the world in your sport. People cheer you on whether you represent their country or not. What excites me is that I get to work with athletes from all countries. There are no national boundaries. They’re all just human beings.””
Harrison says that to be able to use her massage skills to help rowers at the Olympics is her way of giving back and helping someone else realize their dreams.
Her trip to the Olympic Games represents the achievement of a goal that Harrison, at many times in her life, despaired ever of reaching. In high school she played basketball and helped start both a girl’s track team and crew team. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison on an athletic scholarship for women’s crew, and graduated in 1978 with a major in marketing. While in college she was named to the women’s U.S. rowing team camp in 1977, but just one month before trying out for the World Rowing Championships, she ripped her shoulder muscles.
She didn’t know it at the time, but she was suffering from Lyme disease. Since the year before, her sophomore year in college, she’d started suffering short-term memory loss. She went from being a straight A student to getting Bs and Cs. Doctors didn’t know what was wrong with her.
After failing to make the competition, Hariison went home, brokenhearted. The disease kicked in with a vengeance. She suffered fatigue, muscle spasms, and food allergies. In 1984 she went from being able to run 10 miles to being unable to do a half-hour of aerobics. Finally, in 1998, a blood test for Lyme disease came up positive. Scarcely had she caught her breath when a year later, in September of 1999, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent a lumpectomy, radiation, and chemotherapy.
Harrison is a survivor in the truest sense of the word. This Thanksgiving will mark five years since she’s been clean of cancer. She manages her Lyme disease with Chinese herbs and medication.
It was in January, 2001, that Harrison made a decision that would mark a turning point in her life – and eventually earn her a ticket to the Olympic Games. After having spent 20 years in retail as a buyer and merchandiser, the last five years for Macy’s in New York, “”I decided to change my life,”” says Harrison. “”After my (breast cancer) treatment, I decided to become a massage therapist.””
She enrolled at the Somerset School of Massage in Wall and graduated first in her class a year later. She has also studied aromatherapy and the Asian healing techniques of qi gong and chi nei tsang.
“”Massage gave me back my body,”” says Harrison. “”It got rid of the aches and pains and restrictions in movement from all the scar tissue I had. I’m feeling good. I’m getting my life back.””
Last December she started working with a trainer at the New York Sports Club in Plainsboro to help regain her strength and balance. In April she went back to something she hasn’t been able to do in years. From April through July 1 of this year, she started rowing again through an adult program at Mercer County Park that will continue in the fall. During the summer, she takes her own training scull out on the lake.
“”You push yourself but you’re part of a team to be able to get all those people moving as one,”” Harrison says. “”There’s no way to describe the feeling. It’s a combination of power and serenity. The feeling of being on the water and gliding is incredible.””
She has had tremendous support from her family, and her children have enabled her to stay involved in the sports world. Her husband, Steve Schloss, 47, is currently between jobs after working in sales in publishing. Their daughter, Niki, 16, will be a junior at High School South in the fall. Harrison coached Niki’s recreational soccer and basketball for years. Son Dan will be a seventh grader at Grover Middle School. This past spring marked Harrison’s fifth year of coaching her son’s travel soccer team.
The support from her family and the community has come not only in emotion terms but also financial. Harrison is paying for the trip to Athens out of her own pocket. Her job at the games is strictly a volunteer position. On top of losing a month’s wages, she estimates she’ll need $5,”000 to pay for airfare, room, board, and other expenses during her Olympic stay. To date she has raised $3,”200, much of it from her clients and people she has coached in soccer, but she still remains shy of her goal.
Since collecting Olympic pins is a hugely popular hobby, Harrison is offering pins made for the Olympic massage team as an incentive for people to donate. Donors of $25 or more receive an Olympic pin representing the massage team; a $100 donation earns a pin plus a body cream, soap, or mist. Donors of $250 or more receive a pin plus a gift certificate for an hour-long massage.
“”The generosity of the community has already been above and beyond what I expected,”” says Harrison. “”I am so appreciative and proud. Many athletes sacrifice so much to be at the Olympics. They train for years and put their lives on hold just to do it. You have to admire that tremendously, and that’s why I’m trying to make my own.contribution. I am so grateful to those who are helping me make it happen.””
To make a donation to Harrison’s Olympic trip or for more information on her massage therapy services call her at 609-897-1215 or E-mail schloss6@comcast.net.
Foundation Gala
The West Windsor-Plainsboro Education Foundation raised over $30,”000 at its recent gala held at Princeton University. The event featured entertainment by the High School North Jazz Band, High School South Findecano Quartet, and Sandstorm Band. Both silent and live auctions were held. Congressman Rush Holt was honored for his commitment to educational excellence.
West Windsor-Plainsboro Education Foundation participated with the Central New Jersey Education Foundation Partnership, a consortium of 15 area foundations and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs of Princeton University, to provide area high school students with presentations affording them an opportunity to explore the most pressing issues of the day. Students from both West Windsor-Plainsboro high schools attended the event.
“”These programs help to ensure a global understanding and context of world events for our students,”” says Brett Charleston, a social studies teacher at High School North.
Presenters included William Burke-White, with a presentation on national security, and Miguel Centeno, director of Princeton University’s global research institute, who presented a talk about the implications of globalization.
“”These programs give students a breadth of experience in understanding world issues,”” said Robert Loretan, superintendent of schools for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. “”Listening to and learning from leading experts allows our students to have a global understanding of the importance of education.””
Landmark Volunteer
Danielle Sleeper, 15, of West Windsor, is spending one week as a Landmark Volunteer at the southern Berkshires’ Schenob Brook Preserve and a second week at Bartholomew’s Cobble. She will be doing trail maintenance and removal of invasive plant species in fragile ecosystems, as well as bridge building and trial maintenance.
An honors student at High School North, she plays field hockey, is a theater member, and plays the flute in the school band. She dances with a company doing both shows and competition. Through the Girl Scouts, she received the Silver Award, and has volunteered at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, worked at the June Fete, collected toiletries and baby items for Homefront, and has also helped to get grant money for toys for children at the Institute for Childhood Blood Disorders at the Cancer Institute at Robert Wood Johnson University. She is the daughter of Eric and Andrea Sleeper.
Landmark Volunteers is a non-profit summer service organization offering high school students and adults the opportunity to perform community service at one of 65 nationally recognized historical, cultural, and environmental or social service institutions. For information about the program visit www.volunteers.com.
Echoes 2004
Echoes 2004, High School South’s annual literary magazine distributed to students in late spring, is chock full of poetry, prose, and artwork. What was formerly just a literary magazine has been extended into an event, Echoes in the Dark, showcasing original music, drama, poetry, and visual art.
Included in this year’s edition of Echoes is poetry written by Mackenzie Kimmel, Jason Richards, Peter Wei, Hanif Yazdi, Nikita Tipnis, Ed Moorman, Jason Hwang, Tracy Kawabata, Erich Pachner, Santosh Prakash, Manisha Bhattacharya, Megan Finley, Matt Richards, and Eshna Bhaduri.
Prose published included authors Max Martin and Peter Wei. A parody based on “”I am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General”” from Pirates of Penzance submitted by Lauren Yokomizo, Shari Horowitz, Angela Xiong, and Eric Kang, is titled “”I am the Very Model of a Modern Texan President””
Artwork contributors included Siobhan Feehan, Lisa Simi, Teresa Calvez, Erin Boyer, Stephanie Adamo, Theresa Yang, Nishan Patel, Krithika Kavanoor, Shika Bora, Talia Markowitz, Ed Moorman, Kate Guthrie, Anne Karetnikov, Jessica Walradt, Krithika Kavanoor, Adrienne Hisbrook, Koumeidhi Etticala, and Christin Seldon.
Advisors thanked include James McCulloch, Deborah Marinsky, and Randye McBride. Editorial staff included Manisha Bhattacharya, Amy Kawabata, Santosh Prakash, and Jason Richards.
Scholarships
Michael Shentu received the fourth annual Jan Trenholm Memorial Scholarship. The Friends of West Windsor Library awarded him $1,”000 at a library ceremony. Shentu, a graduate of High School South, will attend University of Michigan with plans to major in biomedical engineering.
A West Windsor Library volunteer for three years, Shentu organized activities at the library through his popular school tutoring program, “”Students for School.”” He spearheaded Earth Day activities and science programs in conjunction with several Princeton University professors. As a volunteer for the library’s annual book sale, he collected and donated over 2,”000 books. To continue the program, Shentu has passed the leadership and responsibility to other high school students.
Jan Trenholm, whose name the scholarship bears, was a dedicated West Windsor Library volunteer. The scholarship is awarded annually to a worthy graduating senior for volunteer work at the library. Applications are available each spring.
Spanish
Honors
Julie Elkin, a seventh grade student at Chapin School, placed first in the state of New Jersey on the National Spanish exam, level I. She received a monetary award from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.
Book Awards
Seven colleges honored West Windsor-Plainsboro High School juniors through their annual book awards programs. Nora Wong was honored by Connecticut College for leadership positions. Andrew Watrous was honored by Yale University for personal character and intellectual promise. Beth Ann Macaluso was honored by Mount Holyoke College for a distinguished academic record and outstanding verbal skills. Renate Santos was honored by Wellesley College as a female with exceptional academic and character records. Esther Holland was honored by Bryn Mawr College for her intellectual curiosity. Shreya Durvasula was honored by Smith College for academic achievement, leadership, and concern for others. Dan Lee was honored with Cal Tech’s Signature Award for creative thinking.
College Graduates
Alvernia College: Fnu Vineet, Plainsboro, received a master’s in business administration with a concentration in marketing communications.
Boston College: Nicole Rose Gregorio, West Windsor, Lynch School of Education, honors program, magna cum laude. She double majored in elementary education and math and computer science. She is a graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School.
Bucknell University: Kaoru Yamamoto, West Windsor, bachelor degree in anthropology, cum laude.
Lehigh University: Jeffrey Beam, bachelor’s in biology; and Terrence Driscoll, bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. Both are West Windsor residents.
New York University: David Vecchione, West Windsor, graduated magna cum laude and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.
Syracuse University: Kristen Pilkiewicz, West Windsor, biology major with a degree from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences.
Rutgers University: Plainsboro residents receiving bachelor degrees include: Marnei Almodovar, Bachelor of Science, Marketing; Advaith Bongu, Bachelor of Arts, Cell Biology & Neuroscience; Georgine Charles, Bachelor of Science, Nursing; Bhavana Daruvuri, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology; Leo Kao, Bachelor of Arts, Economics; Diane Mistretta, Bachelor of Science, Finance; and Monisha Motiwala, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology.
Also, Niket Parikh, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science; Bachelor of Arts, Biological Sciences; Ruth Thompson, Bachelor of Arts, Information Systems; Vincent Vecchia, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science; Felicia Vichkulwrapan, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology; and Yevgeniy Yaroslavskiy, Bachelor of Arts, Economics.
Plainsboro residents receiving master’s degrees include: Sharon Budka, Master of Social Work; Bhaskar Dasgupta, Master of Business Administration; Christopher Graham, Master of Fine Arts, Theater Arts; and Serena Rice, Master of Social Work.
Plainsboro residents receiving doctorate degrees include: Sonal Chaudhari, Doctor of Pharmacy; Evan Greenstein, Juris Doctor Law; Dennis Krasnokutsky, Doctor of Musical Arts, Music; Sunil Mehta, Doctor of Pharmacy; Gloria Sung and William Zanowitz, Juris Doctor Law.
West Windsor residents receiving bachelor degrees include Christopher Caldarella, Bachelor of Science, Electrical & Computer Engineering; Amit Baria, Bachelor of Science, Finance; David Botwin, Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics; Nancy Chan, Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering; Andrew Chen, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science; Melissa Eisenstein, Bachelor of Arts, History; and Alexandra Fields, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology.
Also, Katryna Grimshaw, Bachelor of Arts, Journalism And Media Studies; Kimberly Hassmiller, Bachelor of Arts, Communication; Kalpana Hira, Bachelor of Arts, English; Jeffrey Julio, Bachelor of Science, Anthropology – Evolutionary; Jeff Kao, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science; and Janet Lin, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science.
Also, Colleen Maniere, Bachelor of Arts, Sociology; Shaffer Mok, Bachelor of Arts, Biological Sciences; Keith Rose, Bachelor of Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering; Jaya Srinivasan, Bachelor of Science, Finance; Gina Totaro, Bachelor of Arts, Art History; Robert Yeung, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science; and Sara Zislin, Bachelor of Arts, Spanish.
West Windsor residents receiving master’s degrees include Biji Joseph, Master of Business Administration; Susan Ackerman, Master Human Resource Management; Katherine Heavers, Master of Education, Science Education; and Barton Kartoz, Ronald Fulton, and Thomas Hui all received a Master of Business Administration.
West Windsor residents receiving doctor of pharmacy degrees include Regina Lee and Manish Chaudhary.
Honors
Bucknell University: Eric Doby, Allison Robl, and Kaoru Yamamoto, all of West Windsor, dean’s list.
Georgetown University: Megan E. Di Sciullo, West Windsor, earned seconds honors on the dean’s list with a 3.8 average. A sophomore, she is majoring in international business and marketing at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. She interned this past year at the congressional office of Representative Steven Rothman and was elected to the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She is a graduate of High School North, Class of 2002.
Lewis & Clark College: Robin Eisenhut, West Windsor, dean’s list. A senior, she is majoring in biology.
New York University: Michael Veccione, West Windsor, dean’s list.
Rutgers University: Jacques O. Lebel, West Windsor, dean’s list for both the fall 2003 and spring 2004 semesters. A communications major, he is a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He is a graduate of High School South, Class of 2001.
Danna Raphaello, West Windsor, was awarded a $3,”000 accounting scholarship from the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants.
University of Scranton: Peter Guala, West Windsor, dean’s list. He is a freshman majoring in economics.
Wake Forest University: John Joseph Engel, West Windsor, dean’s list. He is a junior with a major in history.
University of Wisconsin, Madison: Matthew Blumenfeld, West Windsor, dean’s list.
Around Town
West Windsor Arts Council celebrated its Summer Solstice Poetry Festival on June 26 at Nassau Park Pavilion. Developers Diversified Realty, the owner and manager of Nassau Park, gave the council, along with West Windsor Mayor Shing-fu Hsueh, a check in the amount of $30,”000. The funds will be used to renovate the old Princeton Junction Fire House into the Arts Council residence. This was the group’s third annual poetry festival.
Board member Marie Alonzo will present her “”Unveiling the Bamboo”” at Chashama’s fifth annual festival of experimental performance, “”Oasis 2004,”” in New York City. Performances are Wednesday through Friday, July 23, at 7:30 p.m. at 217 East 42nd Street. Admission is free. For information call 212-391-8151 or visit www.chashama.org.
Alonzo has been a modern dance choreographer since 1984. She holds a doctorate in Arts Education from teachers College at Columbia University and MFA in dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. A faculty member of Princeton Dance and Theater Studio in Princeton Forrestal Village, she is co-founder of the new dance cooperative “”I’ll Have What She’s Having… Dance Project.”” She has worked with HT Chen & Dancers, Ruby Shang & Dancers, Lar Lubovitch, and the Asian American Dance Theater.
“”Unveiling the Bamboo”” is an original choreographic work that premiered to a sell-out crowd at the Mulberry Street Theater in New York in April, 2003. The dance features the talents of three other area artists including Elizabeth Madden-Zibman, a poet and freelance writer; Jeff Nathanson, a musician and visual arts professional; and Christine Colosimo, the dance program director for the Princeton Area YMCA.
A traditional Muslim Filipino dance called Malong where the artist artfully shows various ways to wrap a scarf is the inspiration for the dance. Drawing on sorrowful stories of once-vibrant women as they suffered under Taliban rule, Alonzo brings the dance through life stages featuring the bamboo as a strong presence.
Girl Tech
A workshop program at Mercer County College for girls ages 10 to 13, called Girl Tech, featured different aspects of technology in the new one-week program. The highlight of the week featured a session in the school’s television production studio, where the girls produced a newscast they called “”Day by Day.”” Using a storyboard, they wrote the script, and took on a variety of assignments including director, assistant director, technical director, anchor people, camera people, and audio personnel.
The session was led by instructor Valerie Daniels and two college interns. Hillary Katz of Plainsboro was a camera person during the workshop. West Windsor students included Erika Fields and Samantha Schofield. After the taping was completed, Samantha Schofield, who was the show’s director, commented, “”It was a little stressful, but fun.””
Merit Award
Bernadine Williams of West Windsor was given the District Award of Merit from Central New Jersey Council of Boy Scouts of America. The mother of five is associated with Cub Scout Pack 66 and is also the Cub Scout Roundtable Chairperson. The award is the highest recognition for an adult in a leadership position.
Business
Charles J. Clark of West Windsor was appointed to the 2004 Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans by Elaine Chao, Secretary of the United States Department of Labor. He will be assuming the actuarial counseling position through 2006.
The 15 members of the council, who represent employee organizations, employers, professions, and the general public, are responsible for submitting recommendations under the laws in ERIA (The Employee Retirement Income Security Act).
Clark is senior vice president of Aon Consulting, where he represents Aon’s New Jersey office on the Aon Consulting Retirement Practice Council. An associate of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, Clark has been a member of the ERISA Industry Committee and was a member of the retirement policy committee of the American Benefits Council.
Steven Richman of Plainsboro was reappointed as a trustee for the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. A partner in the Princeton law firm Duane Morris, Richman concentrates his practice in the areas of international law, intellectual property, and commercial litigation. He also serves on the editorial board of New Jersey Lawyer Magazine and as a trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Association.
Jim Manning, a West Windsor resident, is the principal and broker of record for WJL Real Estate Services, a new business in West Windsor. A successful residential and commercial broker since the mid-80s in New York City, he has now opened his home office at 24 Colebrook Court, West Windsor. To reach him call 609-951-0034 or E-mail him at wjrealestate@comcast.net.
The Rotary Club of Princeton presented $1,”000 to Enable, an agency that serves people with disabilities. The check was presented on June 22 during a meeting at the Nassau Inn. The funds will be used to support student interns involved in “”Connect with Enable,”” a new program to connect volunteers in the community with Enable consumers. For information about the new program call Sharon Copeland at 609-987-5003, ext. 15.
Winners
Karen Albanese, the processor at the Princeton Junction Weichert Real Estate Office, won a barbecue for employees of the company from a promotion by radio station WPST, 97.5 FM. The crew brought food and radio personalities, Chris Rollins and Wade. Donna Lucarelli, a real estate associate, decorated the office and orchestrated games for the staff and associates attending the event.
WPST is located on Alexander Road, West Windsor. To win an “”office invasion”” – including lunch for up to 50 people – enter onlin at www.wpst.com.
Engagement
Tara M. Wyllie and Scott R. Davis will be married on Saturday, July 17. They are both teachers in the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. Wyllie teaches kindergarten at Maurice Hawk School. Davis, a West Windsor-Plainsboro High School graduate, is a health and physical education teacher and coach at Community Middle School.
The bride-to-be is the daughter of Thomas and Donna Wyllie of Ewing. She is a graduate of Rowan University.
The prospective bridegroom is the son of Joseph and Arlene Davis of Columbus. He graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College.
Births
The University Medical Center at Princeton has announced the following births:
Sons were born to West Windsor residents Carol and Mark Brugger, June 14; Sherry and Labib Mahfouz, June 18; Leigh and Gregg Scipp, June 18; and Lisa and William Mcelroy, June 22.
Sons were born to Plainsboro residents Pearl and Felix Onukwgha, June 15; and Teresa Scott-Rinaldi and Michael Moriello, June 27.
A daughter was born to Plainsboro residents Suchetha and Motilal Premchan on June 20.
Deaths
Doris E. McClelland, 72, of New Port Richey, died June 22 at Hernando-Pasco Hospice Care Center in New Port Richey. Survivors include a daughter, Roberta Winder of Plainsboro.
Roy Middleton, 76, of Media, Pennsylvania, died on June 23. Survivors include daughter, Anne Elizabeth Middleton-Becker of West Windsor. Contributions may be made to Delaware County Hospice, 5030 State Road, Suite 3001, Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 19026.
Robert Dean Stadler, 68, of Hamilton, died June 25 in Atlanta of multiple myeloma. Born in Trenton, he grew up in Hamilton and West Windsor townships.
A graduate of Princeton High School, Class of 1954, he was educated at Keystone Junior College and the University of Hawaii. An Army veteran, he served for two years in Hawaii. He taught elementary school in Hamilton Township for many years.
Survivors include his mother Beattrice Tindall Stadler of Atlanta; his sister, Gail S. Weber of Decatur, Georgia; two nephews and their wives, William and Kristen Weber, and Timothy and Rita Weber of Washington, D.C., and 10 great-nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held Sunday, August 15, at the Hamilton Square Baptist Church. Contributions should be sent to the Hamilton Square Baptist Church, 3752 Nottingham Way, Hamilton 08690.
John R. Martini, 46, of Edgewater Park, died June 28. Survivors include his sister and brother-in-law, Frances and Steven Varnum of West Windsor. Contributions on behalf of his son and daughter, Ryan and Shelby Martini, may be made to Jean Atkinson, 811 Bordentown Road, Bordentown 08505.
Susan S. Furnish, 64 of Robbinsville died July 1 at Princeton Medical Center. An area resident for 30 years, she was a member of Windsor Chapel in West Windsor. Contributions may be made to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, 138 Van Zandt Road, Skillman 08558, or Coaches vs. Cancer Program, American Cancer Society, 1315 Arrowhead Road, Topeka, Kansas 66604.
John G. Mitchell, 74, died July 4 at Bear Creek Assisted Living, West Windsor. He was raised in Elizabeth, and lived in Cranford before moving to Wall 17 years ago. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean Conflict and a manager for A&P Supermarket.
