Class of 2019 shares success stories

From advanced degree programs to positions with established accounting and law firms to serving in developing nations, members of the Class of 2019 are finding success in their chosen fields. Graduating students and their faculty members were recently invited to submit success stories to SALVEtoday, which are listed below.

To learn more about some of Salve Regina’s 2019 graduates, visit salve.edu/2019-success.

Editor’s note: Members of the Class of 2019 are invited to share additional success stories in the comments section of this page.

Madisen Archibald
B.S. in biology
Archibald will join the University of Vermont’s neurological sciences department as a laboratory research technician. In this role, she will be working with mice colonies and participating in research related to the neurobiology of gastrointestinal function in health and disease states.

Abigail Burke
B.A. in cultural and historic preservation and environmental studies
This summer, Burke will work as a national park ranger at Cape Cod National Seashore. As a biological technician, she will protect and monitor piping plovers and other endangered shorebirds on the cape’s outer beaches. In mid-August, Burke will begin an internship with the student conservation association at Yellowstone National Park, where she will be working to restore the population of native trout in Yellowstone Lake.

Mirasia Cassese
B.S. in social work
Cassese will pursue a master’s degree in social work with advanced standing at Rhode Island College. “I decided to pursue the MSW so I can become licensed in the state of Rhode Island and eventually open my own practice, where I can work with youth in the LGBTQ+ community,” she said. “Although this is where some of my passions lie, I truly would be happy working with any population. My goal is to help people, regardless of the demographic.”

Kyle Cavallaro
B.A. in administration of justice
Cavallaro applied to police departments during his junior year, and in 2018 was hired by the West Warwick Police Department. From July to December 2018, he attended the R.I. Municipal Police Academy, which required taking a semester off. He returned to Salve this spring and finished his studies while working as a full-time police officer in West Warwick.

Cassidy Chapman
B.S. in accounting, minor in global business and economics
Chapman will join the accounting and business consulting firm Sansiveri, Kimball & Co. as a staff accountant.

Morgan Conneely
B.A.S. in English and secondary education
Conneely will participate in the Academy for Urban School Leadership, a teaching residency program in Chicago’s public schools. She will teach middle school English while pursuing a master’s degree in education at National Louis University. “My time spent working at Thompson Middle School has helped bring my awareness and love for working in urban public schools,” she said. “Salve, Thompson and the community of Newport have helped me tremendously and I am very appreciative of that.”

Edward Cullinane
B.A. in history
Cullinane will pursue a master’s degree in higher education administration at Boston College and work in the college’s Office of Residential Life as a graduate resident director. “The part of my Salve education that will be most useful to me is my co-curricular experiences serving as president of the Student Government Association and working as a Resident Advisor and Orientation leader,” he said. “These experiences have helped me to find my passion of working within higher education and I have learned so much through them.”

Izabella Da Silva
B.A. in Spanish, minor in secondary education
Da Silva will join SUNY Potsdam as a residence hall director. She hopes to further her education and continue to make an impact in the higher education world by working with and mentoring marginalized and underrepresented college students. “I have always believed in giving back to the community that gave me the opportunity to grow, and I will always be thankful for the unending support I have received from my mentors at Salve,” she said. “The community I found here will always be a shining example of how mercy can, and will, change the world.”

Daniel Donnelly
B.S. in chemistry, minor in mathematics
Donnelly will pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California Irvine, focusing on atmospheric and computational chemistry. He will begin his studies with a 10-week summer research program under the direction of Dr. Manabu Shiraiwa.

Mallorie Geiger
B.A. in English literature and Spanish
Geiger will pursue a master’s degree in teaching, with an emphasis on English literature and ESL, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “I aspire to one day either work in the administration of a high school or even work to change education policy on the national front,” she said.

Nicole Gostanian
B.A. in global studies and sociology and anthropology, minor in history
Gostanian will pursue the Juris Doctor degree at Quinnipiac University School of Law. “I have enjoyed the ability to participate in multiple civic engagement courses,” she said. “In these courses, I was able to engage with the Newport community and begin to develop solutions to problems they had identified. These were unique opportunities to work directly with members of the community and to practice applying theories from class.”

Abigail Gray
B.A. in American history
Gray will pursue a joint Master of Public Administration/Master of Arts in international education management at Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. “My end goal is to return to New England and work in a higher education institution or with an international business based in New England,” she said.

Emily Kahler
B.S. in biology, minors in chemistry and neuroscience
Kahler will pursue the Doctor of Chiropractic degree at the University of Western States.

Mckenzie Kapsimalis
B.S. in marketing, minors in business administration and sports management
Kapsimalis completed her undergraduate studies a semester early and is pursuing an MBA at Salve Regina through the combined bachelor’s/master’s program. “Earning my degree has opened up more possibilities than I could have imagined,” she said. “I am excited to see where I land next.”

Erica Little
B.A. in psychology, minor in special education
During the fall semester of her senior year, Little began working with dually diagnosed adolescents as a therapeutic support specialist at Brockton Area Multi Services Inc. She has since accepted a full-time position as a child and family support specialist and plans to eventually pursue a master’s degree.

Gabriella Amonu McCarthy
B.A. in administration of justice, minor in biology
McCarthy will join the Boston law firm Nelson Mullins as a legal assistant. She plans to eventually attend law school.

Megan McCue
B.S. in nursing
McCue will join Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a registered nurse in the oncology ICU step down unit. “Working in oncology has always been a dream of mine, and after having many family members touched by the amazing nurses and staff at Memorial Sloan Kettering, I knew that working for such a prestigious hospital was my dream,” she said.

Michaela McMahon
B.A. in cultural and historic preservation and English literature, minors in art history and creative writing
McMahon has committed to a graduate program in Irish writing at Trinity College Dublin’s School of English.

Shannon Miller
B.A. in biology, minor in environmental studies
Miller will join the Peace Corps in Senegal, working in the agroforestry program on environmental forestry and natural resource management. “I’ve been very lucky to have had various opportunities that allowed me to try different things in the biology field,” she said. “From being a nursing assistant to bird banding and ending at my internship at Clean Ocean Access working in marine biology, I’ve gained so much. I’m very thankful for my time at Salve and to Dr. Chace as a mentor.”

Gillian Murphy
B.S. in health care administration and management, minor in business administration
Murphy has been interning with Beacon Hill Staffing Group in Boston since June 2018 and recently signed an agreement for full-time employment. “I am going to be on the fast track as an account executive,” she said. “I have been working very heavily with the CVS Health/Aetna account and have been learning the staffing side of the industry.”

Nicole Perez
B.S. in social work
Perez will pursue a master’s degree in clinical social work at Boston College School of Social Work. “The faculty member that has impacted me the most is Dr. Mary Montminy-Danna,” she said. “Not only has she supported me in the most difficult times in my life, but she has guided me and molded me to the person that I am today, and will continue to become. She has truly changed my personal, professional and civic identity.”

Sydney Smith
B.S. in accounting
Smith will join the audit department of Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co. after interning with the accounting and business consulting firm throughout her senior year. “I plan on starting the CPA exam this summer, and then I hope to stay in public accounting for years to come,” she said.

Richard Tegtmeier
B.S. in biology, minors in chemistry and music
Tegtmeier will pursue a Ph.D. in plant biology at Cornell University. “It is the perfect outlet to both exercise my passions as well as help solve major problems in global food security and the environment,” he said. “I think long-term I want to incorporate my love for public speaking into a scientific communication role in order to help the public maintain scientific literacy in our rapidly changing society.”

Sophia Tiano
B.S. in chemistry
Tiano will pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Rhode Island. “After gaining experience doing chemistry research, I decided to eventually have a career as a research chemist,” she said. “I am pursuing a research-based degree, which is the next step in obtaining that career goal.”

Hope Vaughn
B.S. in social work and Spanish
Vaughn will spend two years in Chile with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, which performs vital service among the poor and marginalized across 46 communities in six countries. I decided to join the JVC because I knew I wanted to make a difference internationally,” she said. “I really liked the program that the JVC offered because it involved faith in action, something that I really value.”