Opening Doors - University of Rhode Island

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University of Rhode Island Foundation Opening Doors [and providing extraordinary opportunities for students] Bright lights, big city. Twenty-one URI students, as members of the URI Concert Choir, took advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when they traveled to New York City to perform at the famed Carnegie Hall last May. Renowned for its architectural distinction and beauty, as well as its history and acoustics, Carnegie Hall is among the most famous venues for classical and popular music in the country and world. Under the expert direction of Mark Conley, director of choral activities for URI, the students joined with members of several other choirs from around the country, filling the famous stage and performing in front of a large audience. A jam-packed two-day trip filled with rehearsals and some New York City site-seeing culminated with the performance described as “unbelievable” by URI student Carey Shunskis, a senior from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania (pictured below, upper left). Andrew St. George, currently a junior from East Providence, Rhode Island, also participated. “To think that the famous musicians and performers you look up to and study have stood on that very same stage to perform is just incredible,” he said. “And for us – students-- to get that chance so soon. It was just great.” Photos by Kevin J. McCormick/Group Photos Inc. Shunskis, who has performed with the Choir in Italy and other exciting locations, said, “Carnegie Hall was by far the best. It was amazing... the epitome of my college experience!” Private funds from the Richard Beaupre Hope and Heritage Fund, supporting the College of Arts and Sciences, made this unique opportunity possible. page 6
Opening Doors and Setting New Records ANNUAL REPORT FY 2009 Opening Doors [a student’s story] Oliver Palmer ‘10 Oliver Palmer’s career at URI is a story of prowess, both on the baseball field and in the classroom. Captain of the URI baseball team, Palmer’s athletic career highlights include his being named a 2009 New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Division I All- Star. Additionally Palmer has been selected for the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All District I First Team. Not that he’ll volunteer the information. He merely confirms it when asked. Palmer is much more interested in speaking about his team when talking of its 2009 dream season. The Rams won 37 games last year, defeating nationally ranked teams, and advancing to the Atlantic 10 championship game. “It was one of the winningest teams in URI history,” Palmer said. “We beat a bunch of top-ranked teams and set records.” Though the recipient of a privately funded athletic scholarship, for which he expresses his gratitude, Palmer’s talents extend beyond the baseball field. The senior maintains a 3.69 grade point average. He routinely merits a spot on the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and is the first Ram to earn the Academic All-District I honor since 2005. “My scholarship played a role in my attending URI and has enabled me to make the most of my time here.” Palmer has also been known to help others in need. In 2008, while playing for the Quincy Gems in Quincy, Ill. Palmer and his teammates worked placing sandbags on the banks of the Mississippi River to prevent flooding. Also, with the Rams, Palmer is a regular volunteer for Walk Now for Autism Southern New England, an annual event. Palmer approaches volunteering with the nonchalance one might reserve for a neighborhood pickup game. “We do the little things we can do,” he says. Palmer intends to pursue a career in the video-editing field, perhaps working for a professional team or in a college’s- or university’s sports communications office. An intern in URI’s sports communications office, Palmer says he enjoys working behind the scenes, setting up streaming videos of URI’s men’sand women’s soccer- and volleyball games. He also is considering pursuing a graduate degree. Palmer will graduate with a business minor, a course of study the senior undertook, he says, in response to an uncertain, and, as of late, volatile local- and national economic forecast. No doubt Palmer will ably weather the storm. page 7
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