impact
Your community college
Vol. 3, No. 2
COD alum Justin Roman is riding high—both on Chicago
radio with friend Dougie Stylz, and as founder and
front man of the band Jump Smokers.
Changing
It Up
Photo by Lloyd DeGrane/special to College of DuPage
As a DuPage County teen, Justin
From COD, Roman enrolled in
Roman had two dreams: pitch for the
Elmhurst College, where he quickly
Cubs or be the next Michael Jackson.
earned a bachelor’s in business and
Baseball didn’t work out.
landed a promotion department
But as co-host of B96 radio’s Stylz
internship at B96.
and Roman show and as front man for
That, in turn, led to an invitation
a band that’s opening for Pitbull, don’t
to make a deejay demo tape with
count the College of DuPage graduate
friend Dougie Stylz. The rest is
out on the Michael Jackson part.
Chicagoland radio history.
Roman epitomizes the student with
Today, Roman is riding high.
a dream who must change direction.
As founder and front man of the
“I was groomed to play baseball,”
band Jump Smokers, he and his band
said Roman. At Lake Park High
mates have been opening for Pitbull’s
School, the left-handed pitcher won
national tour.
“all the awards you can win.”
Stylz and Roman are soaring on
But the hoped-for Division I
Chicago radio.
scholarship never materialized.
And while the Cubs fan may not
“It broke my heart,” said Roman.
have landed that pitching gig, he
“So, it was like, ‘All right, I may not be
did get to throw out the first ball at a
Photo courtesy Front Row Ctr
good enough to pitch for the Cubs.
Cubs game, and he and Stylz got to
Maybe music is the way I should go.’”
sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
Roman caught the music bug as
during a seventh-inning Wrigley
a Westfield Middle School student.
Field stretch.
—Justin Roman
There, he met Mike Lettieri of M&R
Having missed out on one dream
Music, who did deejay duty for school
and scored with another, Roman
So he did. And Lettieri put them on stage at local
dances. Lettieri let Roman and his friends perform at festivals. The girls screamed some more.
offers this advice to students:
a dance. “The girls went crazy,” said Roman.
“I don’t care what you go into—music, sports,
So when baseball fell through, the self-described
After that, Roman hounded Lettieri for a job until “mama’s boy” decided to stay home, enroll at COD
medicine, law—never give up,” said Roman.
he became an assistant mobile deejay.
“Because persistence pays off, and people who quit
and find a new direction.
“I really wanted to be up on stage,” said Roman.
“COD was the best choice I could have made,” said are never going to make it.
“I wanted to be the center of attention.”
“People will say, ‘No, you can’t pitch for the Cubs.
Roman. “Instead of wasting time, I got all my general
Sometimes, Roman grabbed the microphone and education out of the way. I got my associate’s degree, No, you can’t be the next Michael Jackson.’ You’re
sang along. The girls screamed some more. Lettieri
and it bought me about two years to figure out where going to hear 1,000 nos. But one yes will change your
said, “You should put a group together. You’ve got a
I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. Plus, it saved entire life. I’m living proof of that.”
good voice. You have good stage presence.”
my parents money.”
“All right, I may not be good enough to pitch for
the Cubs. Maybe music is the way I should go.”
College of DuPage :: impact :: cod.edu/impact
1
Masterminding
Success
Certificate programs
designed for
post-graduate students
As a working single parent, Nadene Eisner likes the flexibility the Teaching Online
Utilizing Technology (TOUT) program offers, allowing her to set her own schedule
to complete coursework. As a deaf student, she appreciates support services COD
provides, such as transcription of the audio portion of her online courses.
COD offers many certificate programs ideal for degreed professionals.
Professionals looking to strengthen their already
impressive resumes are finding valuable options
at College of DuPage. Highly educated, successful
people like Karen Brasini Andrews, a senior vice
president at Cole Taylor Bank, a commercial bank
headquartered in Chicago, are enhancing their
success through COD certificate programs.
Two years ago, Andrews began the Advanced
Accounting certificate at COD to prepare for a big
item on her bucket list. “I’m going to be sitting for
the first part of my CPA exam this summer,” said
Andrews, who holds an MBA and a bachelor’s degree
in finance and political science. “I’m doing this to
update my current skills and also for transitional
planning for semi-retirement down the road.”
When she decided to go back to college—some
20 years after earning her master’s degree—Andrews
found it would take more than a couple classes
to prepare for the rigorous four-part CPA exam.
After consulting with COD Professor and Program
Coordinator Lisa Capozzoli, Andrews learned the
Advanced Accounting certificate, developed for
CPA exam candidates who have already earned a
bachelor’s degree, provided a solid foundation for
this next milestone. “I liked the fact that COD had
the relationship with Northern Illinois University,
and COD tracked into the NIU CPA review courses.
Economically, I think it’s a good value. I liked the
fact that COD presented the program as a bundled
package solution.” Andrews resides in Naperville
with her husband and two college-age children. She
found COD’s program and convenient location to be
a good fit in achieving a work/life balance.
Master’s Track program
Professionals with clinical master’s degrees in social
work, counseling, psychology, human services
or a similar field of study can prepare for another
valuable credential at COD. The Addictions
Counselor Certification program known as Master’s
Track includes four addictions-specific courses and
an internship. Students who complete the program
and pass the state exam become Certified Alcohol
and Drug Counselors (CADC).
“A lot of the licensed counselors and social
workers are essentially being required to get the
CADC credential to make them competitive,” said
When Michele Racanelli decided to make the most of her strengths in listening and helping people, she realized
education was her key to success. After nine years of schooling while working full time, she became a licensed
psychotherapist and is now completing COD’s Master’s Track Addictions Counselor Certification program.
2
Human Services Assistant Professor Jason Florin.
“This is a really nice route. Instead of going back to
school for two or three more years, you go for a
couple of semesters and get certified.”
Master’s Track classes are offered online—a major
plus for Michele Racanelli, a former human resources
benefits specialist who started with one psychology
class at COD. She continued her studies, earning her
associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees while working
full time, and is now a licensed psychotherapist.
Racanelli wants to help women battling or affected by
addiction. “It’s that thousand-mile journey that begins
with one step. I’m always encouraging people to take
one class, something you’re interested in. You have no
idea where that path can lead you.”
Teaching Online Utilizing
Technology (TOUT)
certificate
The five-course TOUT certificate helps educators,
trainers and people in the business/corporate world
learn the ins and outs of online instruction, covering
everything from theory and best practices to using
multimedia and creating an online course. “We look
at how to make your basic course even more valuable
so that it’s more engaging, more interesting, more
interactive,” said Professor Lois Stanciak. “It’s very
different teaching a course online than teaching face
to face.”
Nadene Eisner is a certified school library media
specialist who most recently taught life skills and social
studies classes for The School Association for Special
Education in DuPage County’s Deaf and Hard of
Hearing program. She found the new TOUT program
while exploring continuing education courses that
might help her professionally. Eisner holds a BA in
English, an MS in Information Studies, a Certificate
of Advanced Studies and this fall begins a master’s
program in Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse.
“I’m deaf and employment of deaf people in the
educational field unfortunately is limited,” said Eisner,
who wants to teach at a community college. “I earned
my CAS through a synchronous online program, and
I thought the idea of becoming certified as an online
instructor, combined with a subject master’s degree,
might lead to more employment opportunities in
both hearing and deaf education.”
Taking it to A
Higher
Degree
Karen Brasini Andrews is one of 860 students
with a master’s degree or higher who enrolled in
classes this year. The Cole Taylor Bank senior vice
president is completing COD’s Advanced Accounting
certificate program in preparation for the CPA exam.
“I think it’s a great program. I’ve recommended it to
other colleagues.”
Lisa Capozzoli, Accounting professor and
program coordinator, estimates 75 percent of
students attending night classes in Accounting
are degree-holding working adults who enrich the
classroom experience for transfer students and
instructors alike.
College of DuPage :: impact :: cod.edu/impact
3
Photos by Lloyd DeGrane/special to College of DuPage
3
The World is
When children learn to ride bicycles, there are no
“Costa Rica: Whales, Mangroves, Monkeys and More”
textbooks or classroom lectures involved. It’s a
and “The Tour du Mont Blanc: Hiking France, Italy and
process of training wheels, pedaling and push after
Switzerland.”
push from patient parents.
At COD, field and experiential learning courses fall
When teens and adults learn to drive, videos and
into four categories:
reading materials may set the stage, but the rubber
•Weekend and outdoor
meets the road (literally) when the student driver sits
• Natural science
behind the wheel, puts the car in gear and presses
• Social science/cultural
the accelerator.
• International
And when College of DuPage students want to
Many of the courses are interdisciplinary—they
learn a language, understand a culture, climb a
involve study of more than one subject at a time. For
mountain, paddle a boat, hike a trail or master some example, one adventure trip to Alaska involves physical
other new skill, going and doing often proves more
education credit. But it also provides speech credit and
effective than sitting and reading.
leadership training.
That’s the premise behind Field and Experiential
Learning at COD, a program that’s been around
“Not only do we travel to
since the school’s inception. But it’s also a program
amazing places, but we also
that Lombard resident Paul Gibboney calls “the best
immerse ourselves in the
kept secret of College of DuPage.”
Gibboney should know. Since 2007, he’s taken
destination.” —Gib Egge, Instructor
more than 20 field experience courses at COD.
The courses are all led by COD faculty members
With COD faculty facilitators and groups of
and
combine classroom sessions as preparation, then
students young and old, Gibboney has learned
the field experience itself. All are for beginners, unless
about and traveled to Yosemite, Grand Staircase
otherwise noted. And all provide academic credit that
(Escalante), Death Valley, the Pacific Northwest,
Hawaii, the Smokies, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, New may count toward a degree or certificate.
But while graduation may appeal to some, program
Mexico, the Grand Canyon, the U.S. Rockies, the
manager Maren McKellin said the courses and
Canadian Rockies, Alaska, Bryce and Zion canyons,
experiences are open to all.
Italy, Acadia and more.
“Our students range from people working on
Closer to home, he’s hiked, backpacked and
advanced
degrees to people with no interest in a degree
explored with COD in Northwest Illinois, Southern
whatsoever,” said McKellin.
Indiana and Ohio.
Program participants, instructors and managers say
And he’s not stopping soon. Within the next 18
months, Gibboney has enrolled in COD experiential the program has many benefits compared to traveling
on one’s own or with a for-profit tour company.
courses/trips called “Machu Picchu and the Inca
Trail,” “Classic Landscapes of the Desert Southwest,”
4
s Our Classroom
Breadth of offerings, depth of immersion
While the number of offered courses depends on the
economy, it’s common for College of DuPage to offer
80 courses per year. The courses range from weekend
jaunts near Chicago to weeks-long travel to exotic
destinations.
The experiences build skills, open minds and
change lives.
“Not only do we travel to amazing places,” said
Gib Egge, coordinator of Experiential Education
and Training, “but we also immerse ourselves in the
destination.
“It’s one thing to see the Grand Canyon from the
rim, but it is an entirely different experience when you
spend five days experiencing the canyon’s extremes—
30-degree evenings camping on the rim, 128-degree
days on the bottom, living among the wildlife and
exotic plants, learning that you can survive with
very little.
“And we end the trip by climbing out of the
canyon and achieving a goal that fewer than
1 percent of the other visitors have achieved.”
Going places few get to go
Because these are academic trips facilitated by wellconnected faculty members and students engaged in
learning, some COD students get behind-the-scenes
looks few encounter.
Professor Theodore Darden, for example, leads one
trip that compares the U.S. criminal justice system
with its counterparts in the United Kingdom. The field
experience includes a visit to Scotland Yard in London.
Another course, called “Taphonomy: Understanding
and Investigating the Dead,” examines death
investigation and forensic-science techniques.
College of DuPage :: impact :: cod.edu/impact
In that course, said Darden, “we work with the
DuPage County Coroner’s Office and the University
of Tennessee’s Forensic Anthropology Department
(the “Body Farm”).
“Students work with human corpses in
understanding causes of death, identification of
human remains in regards to bones, time of death,
all the other effects surrounding death investigations.”
Darden said the course is similar to what the F.B.I.
uses to train agents and what many police agencies
use to train homicide detectives.
“Fewer than 1 percent of all law enforcement
officers will ever have a course like this, and students
that I teach will have that on their resumes,” said
Darden. “It can only enhance their chances.”
“Traveling with COD
was one of the most
wonderful and
memorable experiences
I’ve had.” —Kristin Schlottman
Learn with people who aren’t like you
Many group travel experiences involve similar kinds
of people—families, seniors, couples, etc. But with
College of DuPage, many types of students learn
side by side.
“You won’t be the only one your age,” said
McKellin, “and you’ll learn next to someone who
doesn’t look like you and doesn’t come from the
same background.”
Despite their differences, said Egge, “most groups
are very encouraging of one another and help one
another achieve goals.”
Competitive cost
Because College of DuPage is a not-for-profit
organization, it doesn’t charge the kind of markup
that often affects travel costs. The result is affordable
travel and academic study—even when factoring in
the cost of required tuition.
Nanette Bauer, who lives in Lombard and has
taken “too many trips to mention” with COD, said,
“I try to travel as frugally as possible so that I have a
budget to plan another trip in the future. COD
is probably a bit more than when we travel on
our own, but certainly less than traveling with a
travel company.”
One additional financial plus: depending on the
program, COD students may be able to use financial
aid for experiential courses.
Someone to sweat the details
Finally, like other forms of group travel, COD
arranges the itineraries and does the booking.
“Traveling with COD was one of the most
wonderful and memorable experiences I’ve had,”
said Kristin Schlottman, who participated in a field
course in Costa Rica.
“There were so many benefits to traveling with
the College. I really felt like I was in good hands
throughout the entire trip, and it was a really nice
feeling to know that everything had already been
planned out for you.”
To learn more about field and experiential learning at COD,
visit cod.edu/academics/field.
5
making an
impact
Around Campus
Beyond the classroom, there’s a lot to experience at College of DuPage, whether it is
dining at Waterleaf Restaurant, listening to 90.9fm WDCB or attending a McAninch Arts
Center event. There is always something new and interesting happening at COD.
Waterleaf Restaurant’s Executive
Chef Nadia Tilkian is excited to share
her recipes for entertaining. Follow Chef
Nadia on her blog. Sample her recipes
each month at waterleafrestaurant.com
and enjoy her creations at Waterleaf
restaurant Wednesdays through Sundays;
reservations at (630) 942-6881.
Photo by John Boehm/special to College of DuPage
A personal message from College of DuPage
President Dr. Robert L. Breuder:
Dear Neighbors,
Wedding season is upon us and the Inn at Water’s Edge is hosting many wedding parties this summer.
To find out more about bridal packages, reunions and summer vacation stays, call (630) 942-6888 or
visit innatwatersedgehotel.com.
In the United States, community colleges, sometimes
called junior colleges, technical colleges, or city colleges,
are primarily two-year public institutions providing
higher education and lower-level tertiary education,
granting certificates, diplomas and associate’s degrees.
Many also offer continuing and adult education.
—Wikipedia
Given their definition of a stereotypical community
college, Wikipedia’s editors would be as surprised as
the visitors from around the world who come here to
discover a remarkable and far-from-typical College
of DuPage.
They would be surprised—as you will be from this
issue of impact—to find people with advanced
degrees doing post-graduate work at COD.
They would be surprised to find students of all ages
and backgrounds learning about the world together
first in our classrooms, then through experiential
learning that spans the globe.
They would be surprised to learn about students
giving back through service-learning projects in the
community that makes our college possible.
The McAninch Arts Center renovation is progressing on schedule. In the interim, New Philharmonic
and Buffalo Theatre Ensemble will open the 2013/2014 MAC season with performances in alternate
locations. Information about show schedules and locations can be found at AtTheMAC.org or by calling
(630) 942-4000.
In other words, your community college provides
services light years ahead of the average institution.
At COD, we are grateful for the impact you have had
on us. And we are committed to making an impact
on this community, those who choose to learn here,
and those who choose to apply that learning here at
home and throughout the world.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert L. Breuder
President, College of DuPage
6
Listeners to 90.9fm WDCB and
wdcb.org can recharge Wednesday
evenings with The Sounds of Brazil
at 7 p.m. with host Scott Adams as
he transports listeners to Rio for
two hours of fun in the sun. Then it’s
Radio Deluxe at 9 p.m. hosted by
John Pizzarelli (left) from his studio in
New York, bringing great conversation
and a mix of wonderful tunes.
Photos by Terence Guider-Shaw/special to College of DuPage
Emily Beazley and her younger sister, Olivia, react to a new music room in their home, part of a
joint project between the College of DuPage Interior Design program and Special Spaces.
Joyful Rehab
COD interior design students teamed up with Special Spaces,
helping Emily Beazley feel safe and happy on her road
to good health.
On the morning after cancer survivor Emily Beazley
moved into her new bedroom, the 10-year-old
Chicago girl told her parents she had the best night’s
sleep of her life.
That was music to the ears of Ed and Nadia
Beazley, and Emily’s younger sister, Olivia, who had
watched Emily battle the most aggressive form of
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma since her diagnosis in
April 2011.
Her newly decorated bedroom and a renovated
music room are the result of a project between
the College of DuPage Interior Design program
and Special Spaces, a national organization that
creates dream bedrooms for children with lifethreatening diseases.
Emily associated her old room with being really,
really sick, her father said.
“That was where she would lay when she was
going through the extremely tough chemo cycles,
and there were a lot of days and nights spent crying in
her room, not knowing what the future held for her.”
Now that she is almost done with treatment
and feeling better, Emily entertains and does her
homework in her new room, and lies on her bed and
reads or plays with her iPad.
“Emily LOVES her room and enjoys spending
time in there thanks to the College of DuPage
Interior Design team,” Ed said. “She’s also in the
music room throughout the day playing her piano,
keyboard and violin. Emily hadn’t touched her violin
in a long time until the room makeover.”
College of DuPage :: impact :: cod.edu/impact
The project began when Kelly Knox, Special
Spaces Chicagoland director (Naperville affiliate),
approached Ann Cotton, College of DuPage
coordinator and professor of Interior Design.
Cotton didn’t hesitate.
“We personalized the room as much as possible
because Emily deserved something that was bright
and welcoming and a personal space that would
reflect her determination,” she said.
The group also decided to tackle a second room
to give Emily and Olivia an area to enjoy their
music. The COD students worked in two teams,
each taking on a different room. Team leaders were
Paige Ronchetti (Naperville) and Stephanie Michalek
(Downers Grove), who worked on the bedroom, and
Liz Wensel (Geneva), Nancy Faller (Glen Ellyn)
and Tiffany Miller (Wheaton), who worked on the
music room.
Cotton and her students met with Emily and her
family to see the original rooms. They learned more
about Emily and discovered what she wanted, which
included a bed that was higher off the ground to
allow for underneath storage; a bookshelf and desk;
the use of purple, her favorite color; and a theme that
included music, specifically the Miley Cyrus song
“The Climb.”
Even before Emily was diagnosed, she was a big fan
of the Disney show, Hannah Montana, her father said.
“She always loved ‘The Climb,’ but it took on new
meaning during her treatment. One day the music
therapist came into the room with her guitar. Emily
wasn’t feeling good and wasn’t really participating.
She was just listening and trying to relax. She asked
if the therapist knew ‘The Climb.’ She did, and Emily
sang it with her. It was very emotional, and from that
point on Emily said it’s her cancer-fighting song.”
Ed said the lyrics fit perfectly with what Emily
was going through, and that his daughter compares
her fight to climbing a mountain.
“She would say sometimes you’re going to have to
lose, like getting her pneumonia. But keep pushing,
keep fighting. It’s not just about the destination (the
end of treatment), but the journey that makes you
strong. Lately, she’s been saying she’s almost at the
top of that mountain.”
Ed and Nadia credit the College of DuPage
Interior Design students and staff with
accomplishing more than just a class project.
“We knew they truly cared about making
everything perfect for Emily and Olivia, and you
could see that in every detail of the rooms,” Ed said.
“This project was done with love. It shows us that
there are genuinely nice people out there in this
world who are willing to give their valuable time,
to touch the lives of strangers and make their lives
much better.
“If there is one place in this world a child should
feel safe and happy, it’s their bedroom. That is what
they have given to Emily.”
For more information about the Interior Design
program, call (630) 942-2502 or email
gayanna@cod.edu. For more about Special Spaces,
call (312) 343-2032 or email kellyk@specialspaces.org.
7
impact Vol. 3, No. 2
Published July 2013 by the Office of Marketing
and Communications at College of DuPage
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
425 Fawell Blvd.
PAID
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-6599
Palatine, IL
Permit No. 355
President
Marketing Director
Art Director
Dr. Robert L. Breuder
Laurie Jorgensen
Lou Demas
Vice President of
Writers
Designer
Marketing and
Amy Calhoun
Mark Brady
Communications
Jeff Elijah
Joseph Moore
Bruce Hetrick
Brian Kleemann
Jane Lelugas
Direct all comments and questions to the editor at impact@cod.edu.
ECRWSS
Residential Customer
©2013 College of DuPage. All rights reserved.
College of DuPage Board of Trustees
Erin Birt
Board Chairman
Wheaton
Kathy Hamilton
Board Vice Chairman
Hinsdale
Allison O’Donnell
Board Secretary
Winfield
Joseph C. Wozniak
Co-Vice Chairman
Naperville
Dianne McGuire
Naperville
Kim Savage
Darien
Nancy Svoboda
Downers Grove
Albert “AJ” Knopf
Student Trustee
West Chicago
impact
Your community college Vol. 3, No. 2
Learn a language, understand a culture, climb a mountain, paddle a
boat, hike a trail or master some other new skill through COD’s Field and
Experiential Learning program. See pages 4 and 5 for more details.

Visit Us on the Web
We hope you enjoy this issue of impact and discover
something new about your community college.
There’s more to these stories, so be sure to check out
our impact web page for other highlights, photos
and video interviews.
cod.edu/impact
impact
Vol. 3, No. 2
Your community college
Changing
It Up
COD Alum Justin Roman
Finds SucCess on Air,
On Stage