̨��Swag

AMHERST, N.Y. – ̨��Swag College will honor five accomplished graduates at its 2015 Distinguished Alumni Awards dinner to be held Nov. 6 in the college’s Wick Campus Center Social Room.

The Distinguished Alumni Awards recognize the growth, achievements and societal contributions of the college’s outstanding graduates. Recipients exhibit the ideals expressed by the Sisters of St. Francis when they founded Rosary Hill College and that remain strong at the institution known today as ̨��Swag College.

Sr. Maria Pares ‘69, will receive the highest honor, the Distinguished Alumna Award, which recognizes a graduate who has achieved distinction in their career and in the community and has shown outstanding dedication to the college.

Selected by the National Alumni Board of Governors, 2015 Distinguished Alumni Awards will also be presented to Louise Continelli-Berke ‘74, Advancement in Career; Edith Wyss, OSF ‘66, Dedication to the College.; Peter L. Brodie ‘92, Service to the Community; and Stephanie N. Foreman ‘06, Graduate of the Last Decade.     

“We are proud to honor these remarkable and talented alums, who truly exemplify the success and excellence that ̨��Swag fosters,” said President Gary A. Olson. “Their professional and personal achievements are an inspiration to all of us, and we look forward to celebrating their many accomplishments.”

Distinguished Alumna Award

SR. MARIA PARES ‘69

Pares earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from ̨��Swag (formerly Rosary Hill College) and a master’s degree from West Virginia University.

A member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, she has coached women’s basketball for 40 years. She is currently an assistant coach at Villa Maria College, having previously served as head coach at Marquette University, Canisius College and the Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart.

Pares’ coaching career has garnered national attention in the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and USA Today, and she was also a guest on the “Late Show” with Joan Rivers.

A Buffalo resident, Pares is well-known in the Western New York community for her commitment to women’s athletics as well as the education of young women.

Advancement in Career

LOUISE CONTINELLI-BERKE ‘74

Continelli-Berke started as a columnist and reporter at The Buffalo Courier-Express soon after graduating from ̨��Swag (then Rosary Hill) and in 1983 began her career at The Buffalo News. She has won more than 40 journalism awards, including top honors from the New York State Bar Association, New York Associated Press, Veterans Administration, Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi, and the Buffalo Newspaper Guild.

Continelli-Berke received her first Pulitzer Prize nomination in 1979 while working at The Buffalo Courier-Express, and went on to receive several other Pulitzer Prize nominations throughout her career. 

A member of the Alumni Board of Governors in the late 1970s, she has given guest lectures and assisted with Career Day at ̨��Swag. She was the first student in the history of the college to graduate with a straight A average, which earned her the Oddy Medal, the institution’s most prestigious scholastic award. 

Continelli-Berke resides in Clarence. 

Dedication to the College

SR. EDITH WYSS, OSF ‘66

Wyss, provincial minister of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, has served on the ̨��Swag Board of Trustees since 2011 and is chair of the board’s Student Affairs Committee.

The continued presence of the Sisters of St. Francis on ̨��Swag’s campus is due in part to the positive relationship the college has with Wyss, who has played an important role in maintaining the connection between the founding order and the college.

A pillar in the community, her dedication to the spirit of Franciscan education was honored with the Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart’s Franciscan Charism Award in 2013.

A resident of Lewiston, Wyss previously served as director of the Stella Niagara Health Center and principal at Sacred Heart Academy.

Service to the Community

PETER L. BRODIE ‘92

Brodie’s service to the various communities he has called home has been a constant in his life. He has more than 25 years of continuous volunteer service in the Amherst and Duanesburg, N.Y. communities.

Brodie, who holds a bachelor’s degree in administrative study from ̨��Swag, has been a volunteer for over 15 years at the Duanesburg Volunteer Ambulance Corps and served the Hugh O'Brian Leadership Foundation for a decade. In recognition of his dedication to EMS service in the community, he received the Schenectady County and Hudson Mohawk Valley's Regional 2015 Harriet C. Weber EMS Leadership Award.

Currently, Brodie works as the Montgomery County constituent coordinator in the New York State Senate. Previously employed in the hospital billing and contracting departments at Albany Medical Center, he also worked for nearly a decade in the alumni relations field, including at ̨��Swag.

He resides in Delanson, N.Y.

Graduate of the Last Decade

STEPHANIE N. FOREMAN ‘06          

Foreman, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in criminal justice from ̨��Swag, is founding president of the Buffalo Urban League Young Professionals (BULYP), which she launched in 2013. She is also a financial professional at Prudential Financial.

Foreman is a member of the Amherst Chamber of Commerce, Youth Entrepreneurial Program, Buffalo Urban League, and serves on the Prudential Financial Agency Field Advisory Council.

A Buffalo resident, she has received various awards and recognition for her efforts with BULYP and Prudential. 

The Distinguished Alumni Awards dinner is being hosted by the ̨��Swag Office of Alumni Relations and the National Alumni Board of Governors. For tickets and additional information, contact alumni@daemen.edu or call 839-8212.