Seven St. Joseph’s College alumni and one current SJC student received the Celebrate Long Island’s Young Professionals Award in May at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Huntington, New York.
The Huntington Chamber of Commerce held the 10th annual event to recognize 30 successful professionals from Long Island who are under the age of 30. The chamber created the Young Professionals Committee “to encourage young influential people from all lines of work to come together and share their experiences, utilize each other’s resources, generate business, work with chamber members and build their careers.”
SJC’s Young Professionals Honored
Dakota Arocho, a mobile program coordinator for Long Island Cares, Inc., received his B.S. in Human Services from St. Joseph’s in 2017. Arocho fulfills his desire to serve humanity by helping children, veterans, the eldery and the general population suffering from food insecurity. He plans to return to SJC for his M.S. in Human Services Leadership.
Shannon Dempsey, a demand planner II for Leviton Manufacturing Company Inc., graduated from St. Joe’s with a B.A. in Mathematics in 2010. The 29-year-old helped in planning the launch of Leviton’s groundbreaking line of WiFi-capable light switches and dimmers as part of Leviton’s “Decora Smart” technology.
Dylan Gafarian received a B.S. in Speech Communication and B.A. in Journalism and New Media Studies from SJC in 2015. After graduating, he began working at St. Joseph’s College. He later became an admissions counselor at Stony Brook University. Continuing his career in higher education, Gafarian is now an admissions counselor for Farmingdale State College. His goal is to make the admissions process fun, exciting and attainable for all.
Kristina Jubinville, a learning specialist at Longwood Central School District, is a St. Joe’s graduate with a B.A. in Child Study. She is a very active adviser for STEM Club at Longwood Middle School, which engages the students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Gabrielle Macagnone is a student at SJC Long Island pursing a B.S. in Business Administration. She expects to graduate in spring 2019. Macagnone held several internships, including one with Chanel Inc. She just accepted a summer position with the NPD Group in Port Washington, New York, as a product and development associate.
Alissa Moriarty, a 2012 SJC graduate with a B.S. in Accounting, now works as a supervisor of audit and consulting staffat Cerini & Associates, LLP. There, she serves nonprofit organizations and small business clientele across a variety of industries.
Cristian Murphy, director of Campus Ministry at SJC Long Island, earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s in 2014. He worked at Catholic schools for the past four years as a youth minister and as a high school theology teacher before joining SJC Long Island as campus minister. He’s also a freelance filmmaker focused on faith and service through documentary film. He serves as a volunteer first-responder for the West Islip Fire Department.
James Tomeo graduated from St. Joe’s in 2015. He is the vice president of the Elwood School District Board of Education and the Elwood Taxpayers Association. He’s also the co-chair of the Legislative Committee, Safety Committee and Facilities Committee. Tomeo recently pursued his interests in being an entrepreneur and became a small business owner.
Also in attendance from SJC were Thomas Travis, Ph.D., interim provost and professor of general studies; Eileen White Jahn, Ph.D., chair and professor of business administration and marketing at SJC Long Island; Gail Lamberta, Ph.D., associate dean of community development, chair and professor of recreational and leisure studies, and coordinator of experiential learning; and SJC alumni who were past recipients of the 30 Under 30 Award.
