Five alumni recognized during Reunion Weekend

Five alumni received special recognition awards during the University’s recent Reunion Weekend celebration. Alumni Achievement Award recipients include Stephanie Barry ’98, Marian Mathison Desrosiers ’68, Carol Sarganis ’68 and Audrain Triplett ’78. Shannon Sacharko-Theobald ’98 received the Exceptional Volunteer Award.

Stephanie Barry ’98

Barry is a senior tactical intelligence research specialist at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s San Antonio District Office, and has distinguished herself with numerous outstanding performance awards for her work in multiple high profile investigations. Her most recent investigation into drug trafficking will be featured as a segment on television’s 20/20 series.

She has been awarded a Distinguished Service Commendation by the director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency, an honor only awarded to those individuals who demonstrate a high level of proficiency, dedication and professionalism. She was also awarded the Global War on Terrorism Civilian Medal.

Just last month, Barry was awarded the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program award.  Always focused on helping others, she has elected to use her scholarship award for Spanish language training which will benefit those she works with in the San Antonio area.

Marian Mathison Desrosiers ’68

Having taught for two decades in the Massachusetts public school system, Desrosiers is a former executive board member of the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS), a Fulbright Scholar to India and to Russia, and an adjunct professor of history and humanities at Salve Regina.

She has published works on women in positions of leadership during World War II and in the Rhode Island judiciary, as well as 19th century Irish immigration and colonial Newport. Her most recent book is “John Banister of Newport: The Life and Accounts of a Colonial Merchant.” For this work, written in 2017, she was awarded a $2,000 Rhode Island Council on the Humanities Scholar Grant. This fall, NCSS will post online several classroom lessons based on her research.

Her professional activities include serving on the Erik Barnouw Award Committee (Organization of American Historians, 2017-2020), serving on the executive boards of the Massachusetts Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities (1994-2000), the aforementioned National Council for the Social Studies (2009-2012), and the Massachusetts Council for Social Studies (2008-2013).

Carol Sarganis ’68

A member of Salve’s 50th reunion class, Sarganis flourished as a student and graduate, overcoming Limb-girdle Muscular Dystrophy, with which she was diagnosed shortly after birth.

While doctors predicted that Sarganis would probably not survive 13 years and her school guidance counselors advised that it would be unwise for her to attend college, Sarganis – supported by her parents – enrolled as a freshman at Salve in 1964, determined to earn her bachelor’s degree in education. She arrived at Ochre Court using crutches and a manual wheelchair and was assisted by RN‘s who were also students themselves.

Four years later and almost fully dependent on her wheelchair at this point, Sarganis earned her degree and began her career as a remedial reading specialist in Newport Public Schools, where she worked until retiring in 1996. During her tenure in Newport, she was recognized as teacher of the year.

Audrain Triplett ’78

A retired U.S. Navy commander, Triplett is a Newport native and Rogers High School graduate who earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Salve while on active military service with the Navy Nurse Corps, graduating magna cum laude.

Her 24 years of military service included eight duty stations with a tour in Yokosuka, Japan during the Vietnam War, as well as the National Navy Medical Center. While stationed in Japan and caring for American soldiers airlifted from Vietnam, Audrain used her leave time traveling to India, Taipei and Malaysia. After three years, she decided to make the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps her career.  She retired from the Navy in 1989, having received the Navy Commendation Medal and the National Defense Service Award.

Audrain is a former board member of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, and is currently a member of the Newport Hospital Foundation Board of Governors and board member of the New England Navy Nurse Corps Association. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta.

Shannon Sacharko-Theobald ’98

After graduating with her biology degree from Salve in 1998, Sacharko-Theobald went into the dental field, most recently working for Dr. Stephen Tabori as a surgical implant coordinator along with managing the practice. Sacharko-Theobald has been instrumental in serving on numerous alumni committees for Salve, including the Governor’s Ball and the Dunes Club summer social committee, which she served as co-chair in 2016.