Click the link below to read a recap of our April activities, a note from our Executive Director, a list of college acceptances for our seniors and more!
Shepherds Community Newsletter
Tag Archives: Tag: Alumni
Jessica R. (center) in a brief relaxed moment out of a stressful day on the COVID-19 floor with her PPE protected colleagues. Jessica received her nursing degree from Fairfield University in 2018. Shepherds is proud of Jessica’s hard work which is now providing relief to her community.
Thank you to Jessica and our many Shepherds alumni and supporters who work in health care and other essential services!
As we consider Jessica’s success, Shepherds realizes there are many other economically and academically-challenged students out there we want to help. Financial support and mentors are the two critical factors for Shepherds to be able to support students like Jessica. Won’t you help us today by considering being a mentor for a freshman this fall or making a donation today?
To find out more about Shepherds, contact Executive Director Dan McAuliffe at info@shepherdsmentors.org or 203-367- 4273. With your support, Shepherds can provide that same helping hand to more students.
Recently a Shepherds and Kolbe Cathedral High School alumnus reached out to his mentor, Brian O’Connor. Isaiah Smith graduated from KCHS in 2003 and furthered his education at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI. He graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering.
Shepherds and Brian O’Connor were excited to hear of Isaiah’s success. Currently, he along with his wife and two beautiful daughters live in Manchester, CT. Isaiah works at Koh Young America, Inc as a Regional Sales Manager.
Mentoring a student through the Shepherds program pays big social dividends to both the student and mentor. “Shepherds provided the opportunity for a private college preparatory education and a mentor to guide Isaiah. He made great use of the resources we gave him. Isaiah’s success is a great example how education is the gift that keeps on giving,” claimed Executive Director Dan McAuliffe. “Isaiah’s education and Shepherds experience have not only been a great benefit to him directly, but to his wife and children as well.”
Mentor Brian O’Connor was touched when Isaiah reached out to him, “I often wondered where Isaiah was and how his life turned out. It was a beautiful note and heartwarming to know he completed college, has a good job, and is happily married with a loving family,” stated mentor Brian O’Connor.
When asked about the impact that his mentor had on him, Isaiah responded “I truly believe my mentor Brian’s contribution to my high school education played a role in my success in life. I cannot thank him enough.”
Mentor Brian O’Connor changed a life. You can too! Why not consider become a Shepherds mentor this year? Shepherds is seeking mentors for the incoming Shepherds freshman class at both Kolbe Cathedral High School and Notre Dame West Haven. To find out more about the Shepherds program, contact Dan McAuliffe at info@shepherdsmentors.org or call 203-367-4273. www.shepherdsmentors.org
Shepherds enjoyed hearing from a student alumnus at Shepherds Notre Dame Mentor Appreciation Night. Notre Dame West Haven ’14 alum, Jeenn Barreiro embraced the lessons he learned during his time as a Shepherds student at NDWHS.
After high school, he continued his education at College of the Holy Cross, graduating in 2018. Jeenn currently works at Brigham and Women’s Hospital as a researcher and plans on attending graduate school in the fall.
While his academic and work successes make Shepherds proud, his impact on his community in Boston brings the lessons learned at Shepherds and NDWH full-circle. At our Mentor Appreciation Night, he spoke about how he is now a mentor himself. Jeenn mentoring and coaching a soccer team of refugees, undocumented and socio-economically challenged youths.
Shepherds, a non-profit based in Bridgeport, has supported the education and success of inner-city teens from the New Haven and Bridgeport areas for 20 years. During National Mentoring Month, Shepherds students will celebrate the role that mentors play in their lives with a Mentor Appreciation Night at Notre Dame West Haven High School. Mentors make a monthly commitment of time and energy to an individual student and receive professional training and extensive staff support throughout their four-year commitment.
Results over 20 years have demonstrated that Shepherds students have a much higher likelihood of graduating from high school, pursuing higher education, breaking the cycle of poverty and becoming productive members of society. Since 1998, 265 students who might otherwise have dropped out of high school have graduated and gone on to institutions of higher learning, military or civil service roles.
Shepherds is committed to helping these students achieve their potential through a high quality, college preparatory curriculum, go on to higher education, and eventually become valuable and productive members of society. Fifteen adult mentors are needed for students beginning high school in September of 2019.
Financial sponsors are always needed to help to defray tuition costs and provide additional supports and services throughout the school year including test prep and remedial supports. If you are open to making a valuable impact on a young person’s life and reaping the personal rewards that come with it, please contact Dan McAuliffe, Shepherds’ Executive Director, by April 15th. You can reach Dan by email dmcauliffe@shepherdsmentors.org or call him at 203-367-4273.
From The New Haven Register
By Eric Anderson Updated 11:28 am EST, Friday, November 23, 2018
STUYVESANT, New York – It was a close call for hundreds of holiday travelers aboard an Amtrak train on Thanksgiving Eve when two of the passenger cars separated from the rest of the train.
The cars had just been attached at the Albany-Rensselaer station to provide more seating for the packed Adirondack, which had originated in Montreal and was heading south to Penn Station in New York City.
A quick-thinking Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student, freshman Reuben Clarke, of West Haven, Conn., was credited with pulling the emergency brake at the front of the car.
“The car from the back of the train was like leaving us, and I saw sparks and stuff like that and a huge gust of wind,” Clarke, an offensive lineman on the RPI football team and 2018 graduate of Notre Dame High School in West Haven, told CBS 6 News in Albany. “So I just calmed myself down, and I was like, we have to stop the train and make sure everyone was fine.”
The train was carrying 287 passengers and crew when the incident occurred. No injuries were reported, the cars didn’t derail, and passengers were transferred to a new train to continue their trip, state police said. The Adirondack had just left the Albany-Rensselaer station when the cars decoupled about 7:22 p.m.
Trains on that section of track can travel up to 110 mph. It’s not clear how fast this train was traveling when the cars separated.
Clarke “saved our lives tonight,” Helen Mark Crane told CNN. “Our car broke off from the rest of the train and was picking up speed. There was no Amtrak personnel in our car. Reuben calmly went into action and pulled the emergency brake at the front of the car. Thankful he was on the train with my son and I.”
Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said the railroad is investigating the cause of the separation.
One transportation source said the cars, which he believed were added at the Rensselaer station, should have stopped automatically when they separated. But if they had been improperly connected, the automatic braking might not have worked.
The incident occurred on one of the busiest travel days for Amtrak. The Adirondack was delayed about 3 hours and 15 minutes, Amtrak tweeted, and the northbound Empire Service Train 245’s departure also was delayed because of the late arrival of the crew from the Adirondack.
Read the original article at https://www.nhregister.com/business/article/Amtrak-probes-what-caused-passengers-cars-to-13416229.php?utm_campaign=fb-tablet&utm_source=CMS+Sharing+Button&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR3hYLAVwUFgBSpCaymFIS4xdnN_KCMXTniy5f2J2MvN00PJ8bJ6vs7zpY8#photo-16545701
Shepherds 20th Anniversary Gala at The Inn at Longshore in Westport on Thursday, October 11th was a time for celebration and for reflection on the accomplishments of our more than 300 student alumni and their mentors. It also served as a platform for creating a foundation for the next 20 years — as Executive Director, Dan McAuliffe noted in his opening remarks, “We are here to celebrate the past and to build for the future.” To view photos from the event as well as the video produced for the evening, click on the appropriate tabs on our home page.
2018 Honoree Tammy Taylor (center) with husband Lou, a Shepherds Board Member and their children Elise, Brigette and Jack
Darien’s Tammy Taylor has been a mentor since 2002. She was introduced to Shepherds shortly after 9/11 and was inspired to try and do something good in her own backyard. Since then, she has been proud to see Curtia, Chinkini & Ugonna graduate from high school and move on to college. A valued board member since 2012, Ms. Taylor has served as Chair of the Mentoring Committee overseeing all mentoring activities including recruitment, training and support.
North Haven’s Greg Dillon, a Notre Dame West Haven alum and former police officer, will join the Shepherds Board of Directors this year. Mentoring his 8th student, Jared a rising senior, Greg has seen the impact that the program has had on many young men and their families. All prior seven of the students Greg has mentored have graduated from high school and moved on to college. Greg still keeps in touch with them and says, “There is tremendous satisfaction in seeing a boy enter NDHS, full of doubt and indecision, maybe lacking confidence or unsure of their goals, and leaving NDHS as a mature, poised young man, brimming with potential, with a plan and a bright future.”
On Thursday evening, October 11th, Shepherds, a mentoring and scholarship non-profit based in Bridgeport, will celebrate 20 years of “changing students lives” with a gala at The Inn at Longshore in Westport. The evening will feature highly respected TV journalist and co-anchor of ABC News’ Nightline, Byron Pitts, speaking on his inspiring life experience growing up in inner city Baltimore and overcoming the challenges of illiteracy and a speech impediment. NBC 4 New York Weatherman, Dave Price will be the Emcee and two of the Shepherd’s most experienced and dedicated mentors, Tammy Taylor of Darien and Greg Dillon of North Haven, will receive the prestigious Founder’s Award.
Byron Pitts has covered national news stories and in-depth features for ABC, reporting across the news division, including “Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight with David Muir,” “This Week” and “20/20.” He is a multiple Emmy award winning journalist and news veteran with over 20 years of experience and is known for his thoughtful storytelling, on-the-ground reporting and in-depth interviews. In addition, Pitts is the author of Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life’s Challenges and Be the One: Six True Stories of Teens Overcoming Hardship with Hope.
Shepherds supports inner-city teens from the New Haven and Bridgeport areas where the graduation rates from public high schools are significantly below their suburban peers. Shepherds empowers these students to build a foundation for their success by providing 4 year scholarships for a college preparatory education at Notre Dame West Haven High School and Kolbe Cathedral High School, academic and life skill programs, and the positive role model and support of a committed Shepherds mentor.
Results over 20 years have demonstrated that Shepherds students have a much higher likelihood of graduating from high school, pursuing higher education, breaking the cycle of poverty and becoming productive members of society. Two hundred sixty-five students who might otherwise have dropped out of high school have graduated and gone on to institutions of higher learning or to military or civil service roles.
Shepherds has been successful because of the loyal support and commitment of its many mentors and sponsors. This year’s recipients of the Shepherds’ Founder’s Award have mentored several students during their time with the organization.
Tammy Taylor has been a mentor since 2002 and is a longstanding Board member. She has served as Chair of the Mentoring Committee overseeing all mentoring activities including recruitment, training and support. Mr. Dillon has mentored 8 students through graduation from his alma mater, Notre Dame High School in West Haven. He will join Shepherds Board of Directors in recognition of his incredible support for the organization.
Would you like to change a life? Visit www.shepherdsmentors.org or call 203-367-4273 to purchase tickets to experience and celebrate Shepherds success at the Anniversary dinner or to learn more about Shepherds sponsorship and mentoring opportunities.
Community Service has always been an important part of student life at both Kolbe Cathedral and Notre Dame High Schools. In the mid 2000’s students from Kolbe participated in NEA’s Read Across America Day – a nationwide reading celebration that takes place annually on March 2—Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Across the country, thousands of schools, libraries, and community centers participated by bringing together kids, teens, and books. Pictured is Kolbe alum Sarah Witkowski donning the signature hat for the cause.
Current Kolbe students are still required to perform community service and oftentimes mentors help students connect to volunteer opportunities that fulfill their requirements. Students enrolled at Kolbe now are expected to participate in the following:
•Freshmen – two group community service projects
•Sophomores – 10 hours of community service in & out of school
•Juniors – 30 hours of community service outside of school
•Seniors – 20 hours of community service outside of the school
Are you a graduate of Shepherds mentoring program at any of our past or current partner schools and have photos or a story to share? We’d love to hear from you! Contact Amy Chickles, Director of Programming at achickles@shepherdsmentors.org.
