Nursing was not at the forefront of Steven Corey鈥檚 mind when he began looking for a career. It wasn鈥檛 until the Scotia, New York, native got a job as a patient care technician with Albany Medical Center in 2007 that he realized he wanted to stay in the world of health care.
He earned his associate degree in nursing from Maria College a year later, in 2008. After a few years in trauma nursing, Corey was promoted to a patient care coordinator. This new clinical leadership role carried a lot of responsibility, but Corey was ready for it. 鈥淚 loved the work. Being a leader in a department full of incredible talent inspired me,鈥� he says.
First career: Restaurant industry
Favorite part about Excelsior: Interacting with peers on discussion boards
Personal interests: 鈥淭he Walking Dead鈥� television show and听鈥淪tar Wars鈥�
By 2013, Corey had been covering night shifts in the Emergency Department for some time and was ready to apply for the position of nightshift assistant nurse manager. As it turned out, he was declined for the role due to lack of education. Corey then learned of Albany Medical Center鈥檚 partnership with Excelsior College and decided to take the plunge into online learning so he could advance his career. 鈥淭he process of enrollment and setting up a course schedule was surprisingly easy. So, I jumped right in. Excelsior offered eight-week courses, which allowed me to expedite my effort,鈥� he says and adds that working with his Excelsior academic advisor and the education team at Albany Medical Center was a smooth process.
鈥淎nd whether it鈥檚 budget-related, policy-related, or regulation-related, I鈥檓 learning something new every day.鈥� 鈥揝teven Corey
It didn鈥檛 take long for Corey to master navigating Excelsior鈥檚 online courses. In less than a year after enrolling, Corey earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2014 and decided to pursue a master鈥檚 degree with Excelsior. He earned a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership and Administration of Health Care Systems in 2017 and soon found himself on a path to nursing leadership.
After earning a master鈥檚 degree, Corey first became a nurse manager for the medical ICU and, as he puts it, he 鈥渉ad a blast.鈥� He enjoyed his relationships with his coworkers and spent a little under two years gaining experience as a manager and doing administrative work. In January 2019, the chief nursing officer asked Corey to return to the Emergency Department to become the interim assistant vice president of emergency services, trauma, and mental health. He was appointed to the position in October 2019.
As an assistant vice president, Corey has a challenging job. Problems are on a larger scale, he says, noting that looking after several different units, instead of just one, makes things more complicated. It鈥檚 also what makes things so interesting. 鈥淚t [a problem that arises] changes the thinking a little bit, it changes the strategy a little bit, and it challenges you to research and learn every single day鈥� And whether it鈥檚 budget-related, policy-related, or regulation-related, I鈥檓 learning something new every day,鈥� says Corey. He also points out that his job involves a lot of self-discovery, saying he learns about himself and his capabilities with each new opportunity.
Corey says being in leadership has caused him to be a better mentor to the nurses and nursing leaders. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about building the next group of leaders and promoting your team,鈥� he says. The changing times of health care make it an exciting time to be on a nursing team, making on-the-spot decisions and trying to problem-solve issues not previously encountered. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a cool place to be,鈥� says Corey.
鈥淜eeping a Tradition Alive鈥� by Len Tantillo, 2011, Oil on Canvas, Collection of Excelsior College, 24 x 40 in.
In honor of Excelsior College鈥檚 40th anniversary in 2011, Excelsior President John F. Ebersole commissioned artist Len Tantillo to create a commemorative work. The painting, 鈥淜eeping a Tradition Alive,鈥� shows traveling educators in the 19th century, an historical nod to how Excelsior College brings educational opportunities to students. The painting pays homage to those who pursue learning as well as to those who provide the education. Tantillo鈥檚 research on the lyceum movement, an early form of organized adult education in the United States, influenced his concept and led to a direct connection with Excelsior as an online institution. When asked what he hoped people would take away from his work, Tantillo said: 鈥淭he idea, at the most ground level, that people鈥檚 desire to learn is universal and timeless. If the desire is strong enough, you鈥檒l make time to do it.鈥�
Albany, New York 鈥� Excelsior College is building a learning ecosystem to offer seamless pathways for students and award college credit for certificate programs. University of California, Irvine Division of Continuing Education (UCI DCE) is partnering with Excelsior to offer students earning evaluated certificates an opportunity to convert that professional certificate to credit in an Excelsior degree program.
In addition, through this partnership, Excelsior students and alumni will have the opportunity to enroll in the UCI DCE certificate programs to continue their lifelong learning.
Excelsior College was founded in 1971 as the Regents External Degree Program, which evaluated credit earned from college courses, proficiency examinations, military educational programs, and the assessment of knowledge gained from experience and nontraditional approaches to education to help students achieve degree completion. While evolving to offer degree programs fully online, Excelsior has maintained its commitment to aggregating credit for previous learning accomplishments and awarding credit for approved workplace and military training, health care credentials, and industry certifications.
鈥淭he partnership between Excelsior and UCI DCE represents a shift in higher education to a larger educational ecosystem,鈥� said David Schejbal, president of Excelsior College. 鈥淭he collaboration will allow students of both institutions flexibility in customizing the best learning experience to meet their needs.鈥�
UCI DCE was established in 1962 and has served the lifelong learning and career development needs of individuals and organizations. It offers over 80 industry-relevant certificates and specialized studies programs.
鈥淭he learning pathway partnership between the University of California Irvine鈥檚 Division of Continuing Education (UCI) and Excelsior College is a wonderful example of the kind of inter-institutional cooperation that foreshadows a major trend in higher education,鈥� said Gary Matkin, dean of continuing education and vice provost of career pathways. 鈥淏uilt on the need for students to have facilitated on-ramps to learning that create value to them over their life transitions, the partnership combines the strength of UCI鈥檚 credit certificate programs and Excelsior鈥檚 long tradition of innovation in degree completion programs. Students can start with a UCI program gaining credit for it toward an Excelsior degree or start with the degree and enhance it with a UCI certificate program. As always, for both institutions, students are at the center of this partnership. We hope this partnership will be a model for other institutions as higher education evolves to meet students鈥� needs.鈥�
More information about the partnership is available at excelsior.edu/uci.
# # #
Media Contact Excelsior College:
Erin Coufal, ecoufal@excelsior.edu, 518-608-8498
听
ABOUT EXCELSIOR COLLEGE
Excelsior College is an accredited, not-for-profit online college focused on helping adults complete their degrees and advance their careers. The college contributes to the development of a diverse, educated, and career-ready society by valuing lifelong learning with an emphasis on serving individuals historically underrepresented in higher education. Founded in 1971, Excelsior meets students where they are 鈥� academically and geographically 鈥� removing obstacles to the educational goals of adults pursuing continuing education and degree completion. Our pillars include innovation, flexibility, academic excellence, and integrity.
Virtual Internship Program Steers Merideth Sweeney Toward Her Dream Job
In spring 2020, Excelsior College student Merideth Sweeney of Woodland Hills, California, began a virtual internship with Posturedontics, a dental ergonomics company focused on evidence-based ergonomic therapies for dental professionals. Little did she know that the internship would connect her to a new career. Through this internship, she met dentist Michael Goldberg of Practice Perfect Systems, a health care practice management consulting firm based in California.
When her internship through Excelsior came to an end in November 2020, Goldberg asked Sweeney to join his firm. Sweeney, a former dental hygienist, now works with Goldberg in the company鈥檚 marketing department, helping dental practices build and grow their businesses. She focuses on developing and marketing resources for other companies to turn to when they have questions about dental practices. 鈥淲e are taking all the biggest dental problems that dentists are facing right now,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e are picking things that we actually believe in, that we believe will help, to solve the issues that are facing dental practices.鈥�
Sweeney knows the dental field. For 20 years, she was a dental hygienist until a severe injury left her unable to work for two years. It was then that she decided it was time to return to school to pursue a different path to support herself. She returned to Excelsior College where she had previously earned a 产补肠丑别濒辞谤鈥檚 in health sciences to obtain a master鈥檚 in health care administration. She鈥檚 on track to finish the program in February 2021.
Sweeney鈥檚 studies and experiences in Excelsior鈥檚 Master of Science in Health Care Administration program fit in with her current role with Practice Perfect Systems. 鈥淚 like [that] I鈥檓 in marketing. I love the psychology behind how someone decides to purchase an item鈥 like to influence people or inspire people to believe in the things that I do,鈥� she says, referring to being able to help other companies choose the service best for them.
So far, Sweeney has used much of what she has learned鈥攑articularly new knowledge about one-on-one coaching鈥攊n her role. She鈥檚 already put some of her knowledge to the test by writing content for an online employee handbook that other dental companies can reference for answers to common best practice questions. And at Goldberg鈥檚 suggestion, in January 2021, Sweeney started a three-to-six-month leadership program with John Maxwell, a popular and influential leadership expert. Sweeney says she鈥檚 hoping to glean several things out of the program: 鈥渂ecoming more comfortable speaking in front of groups, being able to communicate my message easier, not to be so intimidated, and also to learn how to delegate more.鈥�
Sweeney advises others that to land a job outside of clinical dentistry, it鈥檚 important to increase your education in administration or marketing. Because Sweeney took a virtual internship while pursuing her master鈥檚 degree with Excelsior, she was able to contact the company that would eventually become her dream job and is now helping other dental companies succeed.
More from Merideth Sweeney:
What is the best piece of听business advice you have ever received?
The best piece of business advice I have ever received is to hire personnel based on their attitude first and then for skills and traits鈥� An employee鈥檚 attitude and behavior are tell-tale signs of their productivity level, how well they work with their fellow employees, and the regard for their organization. Evaluating these characteristics is possible by hiring employees on a short-term basis and giving them a project to complete.
What are the most important traits/skills for someone to succeed in your field?
Some of the essential traits/skills for someone to succeed in the consulting field is the curiosity to learn, seeing the big picture, being open-minded to incorporating business ideas and innovations originating outside the dental industry, and effective communication/relationship building. There needs to be a desire to learn and improve your skills because business changes daily, and the need to pivot and adapt is crucial.
Best book/podcast/e-newsletter that is relevant to your industry?
Dentistry鈥檚 Morning Briefing e-newsletter by Dentistry IQ magazine is a daily roundup of timely content related to the dental industry and links to informative posts and articles. Practice Perfect Systems鈥� consulting niche focuses on dental sleep medicine, so the podcast by Jamison Spencer, DMD, MS, called The Airway, Sleep & TMD is timely and relevant.
Albany, NY 鈥� In 2011, Excelsior College鈥檚 then president, John Ebersole, commissioned Len Tantillo to create a historical work in honor of the College鈥檚 40th anniversary. Now, 10 years later, Excelsior is celebrating its 50th anniversary and the painting is on loan to Albany Institute of History & Art as part of the 鈥淎 Sense of Time: The Historical Art of L.F. Tantillo鈥� exhibition.
Tantillo鈥檚 painting, 鈥淜eeping a Tradition Alive,鈥� links Excelsior鈥檚 modern-day, remote learning style to the educational endeavors of the American lyceum of the 19th century. This early form of adult education is portrayed in the painting, and the lanterns in the scene symbolize the light of knowledge. The characters in the painting symbolize predecessors of Excelsior students. Adults of all ages and backgrounds came to learn from the prominent teachers of the lyceum movement just as students of all backgrounds find light and education at Excelsior College.
鈥淭he refrain of a college without walls kept echoing in my head. Education that was not tied to a specific place was my inspiration for the painting,鈥� said artist Len Tantillo.
In the mid- to late 19th century, lacking campuses and classrooms, lyceums took place in any available outdoor or indoor location. They were all about learning. The painting 鈥淜eeping a Tradition Alive鈥� celebrates the dedication of highly motivated teachers and the indomitable spirit of adult students willing to give up their free time in pursuit of knowledge.
鈥淓xcelsior College is proud to have this Tantillo painting as part of its history, especially now as the College celebrates its 50th anniversary,鈥� said David Schejbal, president of Excelsior College. 鈥淎lbany Institute of History & Art curated a prolific exhibit of Tantillo鈥檚 work, and Excelsior is pleased to share this painting with the museum and the public.鈥�
鈥淎 Sense of Time: The Historical Art of L.F. Tantillo鈥� is on display at the Albany Institute of History & Art through July 25.
鈥淭he Albany Institute of History & Art is thrilled to host this 40-year retrospective of Len’s work,鈥� says Albany Institute of History & Art’s Executive Director Tammis Groft. 鈥淟en Tantillo is one of the most notable painters of historical subjects and marine views of our time. He鈥檚 recognized for his ability to capture specific moments and visualize places of the past through his paintings, and visitors have been awestruck by the scope and scale of his work.鈥�
###
Media Contact Excelsior College:
Erin Coufal, ecoufal@excelsior.edu, 518-608-8498
听ABOUT EXCELSIOR COLLEGE
Excelsior College is an accredited, not-for-profit online college focused on helping adults complete their degrees and advance their careers. The college contributes to the development of a diverse, educated, and career-ready society by valuing lifelong learning with an emphasis on serving individuals historically underrepresented in higher education. Founded in 1971, Excelsior meets students where they are 鈥� academically and geographically 鈥� removing obstacles to the educational goals of adults pursuing continuing education and degree completion. Our pillars include innovation, flexibility, academic excellence, and integrity.
Katheryn Soons uses three nursing degrees to excel in a lifelong career of helping others
Katheryn Soons has been around health care her whole life. In high school, she worked at her father鈥檚 ophthalmologist office and surgery center and in college, she volunteered with the fire and rescue squad. It was only natural that she pursued a career in health care, and for the past 29 years, she has worked in various capacities at the University of Vermont Medical Center. During that time, she has earned associate and 产补肠丑别濒辞谤鈥檚 degrees in nursing from Excelsior College. She completed a master鈥檚 degree in nursing education in December 2020.
The oldest of six girls in an Irish-Catholic family, Soons was encouraged to 鈥渂ranch out.鈥� She was nervous about leaving home, but her father suggested she attend the same school he had, Saint Michael鈥檚 College. That decision put her on a lifelong path of helping others. At 19, she joined the Saint Michael鈥檚 College Fire and Rescue where she became an advanced EMT, which she has been for 32 years. She also began working in the poison control center in the University of Vermont Medical Center鈥檚 emergency room. Her goal was to become an ER nurse, but she needed more schooling for that. Soons and a group of coworkers heard about Excelsior鈥檚 online programs and decided it was the best opportunity to pursue their RNs.
The University of Vermont Medical Center is also a corporate partner of Excelsior, which factored into Soons鈥� initial decision to enroll. Referring to the tuition discount that comes with her employment at the Medical Center, she says, 鈥淚t takes the edge off.鈥� She continued to receive discounted tuition during her pursuit of the master鈥檚 but notes since she is works part-time, she does not receive the full reimbursement. To compensate, she applied for and was awarded a critical care nursing scholarship that honors the life of a former ICU patient.
After she earned her associate degree in nursing in 2008, Soons became a nurse in the surgical ICU at the University of Vermont Medical Center. It was a good fit for her personality, but even though she was happy in the ICU, she decided to return to school again for her 产补肠丑别濒辞谤鈥檚 and earned that degree in June 2019. It was perfect timing, too, because the hospital was beginning to pursue magnet status and encouraged all nurses to achieve the 产补肠丑别濒辞谤鈥檚-prepared level.
Now Soons is on pace to earn her master鈥檚 in nursing education in late 2020. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very clear what you need to do to earn a good grade,鈥� says Soons, 鈥淚 have a routine with Excelsior. I can map out my term and say on this week I need to start preparing for that paper that鈥檚 due at the end of the term.鈥� Soons says the coursework has been rigorous, but the instructors are accessible and supportive if she ever has any questions, or if she needs an extra day. She says, 鈥淭hey recognize that many of us are working while we鈥檙e going to school and if you鈥檙e reasonable and you say, 鈥榯his is what I can do, this is how much I have done鈥欌�攖hey鈥檝e been very kind and understanding.鈥�
The discussion boards have been a highlight of Soons鈥� time with Excelsior. Having only worked and spent her adult life in Vermont, Soons admits she has one way of thinking, and so she appreciates the broad views and personal perspectives from others she comes across while in her courses. 鈥淲hen I鈥檓 on the discussion board, I鈥檓 with people from all over the all over the world,鈥� she says, 鈥淪o, it鈥檚 been great to be exposed to so many different types of nursing. And I find that really has enriched my educational experience.鈥�
Soons works part-time with the clinical emergencies response team and per diem in the adult surgical and pediatric ICU at the University of Vermont Medical Center, which demands nursing expertise across the life span. She works two 12-hour shifts a week, and because the schedule can be demanding on her physically and mentally, she has developed a system for self-care. Soons oftentimes wakes early to take a swim to keep her back and brain healthy, she says, and only drinks one cup of coffee per shift. Fridays are spent with her grandson exclusively, and Sundays, Monday night, and Tuesday night are saved for homework.
Soons鈥� dream is to teach. She鈥檚 already dipped her toes into the pool, too, because she taught EMT training as adjunct faculty for five years and since 1991 as temporary faculty at the University of Vermont. She knows Excelsior鈥檚 master鈥檚 in nursing program will help her become a better teacher and already has some feelers out for a new teaching position. She says she owes it to her degrees for getting her this far and adds that she has become a better nurse because of what she鈥檚 learned. 鈥淭here are things I鈥檝e learned in the last three years in the 产补肠丑别濒辞谤鈥檚 in nursing program that were not included in the associate program, and these are the things I think make me a better nurse鈥攖hings like research, quality, theory鈥攖hings that you might kind of roll your eyes at, but there鈥檚 something to be said for this stuff.鈥�
鈥淵ou put yourself in the right place; you never know what can happen,鈥� advises Phyllis Wilson. And this three-time Excelsior graduate can rightfully back up this claim. Currently, the president of the Military Women鈥檚 Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 Wilson has an impressive 37-year military career, seven college degrees, a registered nurse credential, eight children, and 12 grandchildren.
With the goal of becoming a doctor, Wilson started her college career at a local community college following high school, the first in her family to pursue higher education. But due to limited financial resources, she could only afford one or two courses at a time. 鈥淚 realized that I was two and a half years into it, and I didn鈥檛 even have one year of college finished and I thought this is going to take forever鈥攖here鈥檚 got to be a better way,鈥� she recalls. And as fate would have it, she passed an Army recruiting station that was promoting college tuition benefits.
Wilson signed up, expecting to serve a four-year enlistment, yet discovered military service resonated with her. 鈥淭here was something about the military that was a perfect fit,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚 just love the teamwork and the travel鈥攖he incredible sights, scenes, sounds, and foods that I probably would have never been exposed to had I not raised my right hand and said I鈥檓 willing to join the military.鈥�
She began her Army career as a Military Intelligence German linguist voice intercept operator. During her active and reserve service, she held roles ranging from tactical to strategic with duty in Germany, Iraq, and the United States. She mobilized to support Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm and served as the signals intelligence collection manager for XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Wilson also supported Operation Enduring Freedom as a senior counterterrorism analyst and deployed twice to Iraq with a highly specialized Joint Special Operations Task Force, whose objective was the capture of Osama Bin Laden.
Military tuition benefits launched her educational career, covering the costs of three of her degrees. She earned the first, an associate degree, while living in Germany. She earned an LPN certificate stateside with the goal of joining her husband in Germany and working at the local military hospital. When that didn鈥檛 work out as planned, she took a position at a credit union, which offered tuition benefits as well. She observes, 鈥淟ife throws you curve balls, and you鈥檝e got to learn to swing.鈥�
And Wilson is pragmatic about those curve balls in her life. 鈥淚 would much rather have failed trying to do something than regret that I never tried. Because when I鈥檓 much older, I don鈥檛 want to regret that I didn鈥檛 even try for it.鈥�
Failure wasn鈥檛 an option when Wilson attended the Army鈥檚 airborne school. 鈥淚 was not coming back to an airborne unit without those wings,鈥� she says about earning her Parachutist Badge. 鈥淵ou find a way to get through. It truly is mental. There is so much your body can do for you, but sometimes you think you can鈥檛. But if your mind tells you that you can, you can!鈥�
Now as the leader of the Military Women鈥檚 Memorial, the nation鈥檚 only major national memorial to honor all women who have defended the nation from the Revolutionary War until the present, Wilson continues her service in a civilian role. 鈥淓verything I鈥檝e done in the military, God鈥檚 path, has prepared me to do exactly what I鈥檓 doing here [at the Memorial] I love this job!鈥�
听A parking lot encounter is another example of finding herself in the right place, one that prompted Wilson to apply for the Military Women鈥檚 Memorial position. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to be associated with a military women鈥檚 anything,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚 was a soldier, not a woman soldier.鈥� But after being confronted by a man who questioned her right to use a specially marked veteran鈥檚 parking spot, she rethought the opportunity. He asked Wilson if her husband was with her, incorrectly assuming only a man could be a veteran. Biting her tongue, this Army Women鈥檚 Foundation Hall of Fame member calmly explained that she was indeed entitled to use the spot. She explains, 鈥淕oodness, how many more women have to wear a uniform to serve this country before they鈥檙e recognized? Situations like this are happening to other women too and somebody has to champion them. Why not me?鈥�
Wilson earned her seventh college degree鈥攈er third at Excelsior鈥攊n June 2021. She used her Master in Public Administration capstone course to explore the Memorial鈥檚 organizational construct. Throughout her Excelsior studies, earning a BS in Liberal Studies in 1988 and a BS in Nursing in 2010, she enjoyed the College鈥檚 flexible approach to learning and its military savviness. Based on her personal experience at other colleges and universities, she observes, 鈥淭here weren’t a lot of colleges and universities that were nearly as helpful as Excelsior in finding those additional credits.鈥� The College, she says, is a good fit for military students. 鈥淭hey get it, they know what an ACE guide looks like, they know what a joint service transcript is, and they can help you get maximum credit,鈥� she explains.
As a recent graduate student working on her second master鈥檚 degree, she cites access to a world-class library and the collaboration with her fellow students as hallmarks of her experience. Noting the importance of self-improvement, she says, 鈥渉igher education is a great way to demonstrate that you鈥檙e trying to be the best possible employee, whether in uniform or out of uniform.鈥� Learn more about Excelsior College’s Liberal Arts degrees.
Artist blends technology, research, and talent to create a work of historic proportions
Artist Len Tantillo used digital techniques to set the stage for his painting. A digital model of one of the characters (shown on the right-hand monitor) was used to help breathe life into the final painted character (as seen on the detail provided on the left-hand monitor). Photo: Mike Hemberger
This article was originally published in Live & Learn Magazine, Vol. 14, No. 1, in 2011.
Blending present-day technology with traditional artistic techniques, artist Len Tantillo brings history to life in his many paintings. Much like Excelsior College鈥檚 use of technology to deliver educational opportunities to students, Tantillo has embraced digital modeling in conjunction with conventional painting techniques to offer rich depictions of the past.
In 2011, Excelsior President John Ebersole commissioned Tantillo to create a historical work in honor of the College鈥檚 40th anniversary. The artist, widely known for his insightful research to create deeply perceptive historical works, was challenged by the task. Forty years, after all, is not that old in a historical sense, and Excelsior doesn鈥檛 have stately, ivy-covered brick buildings on its campus that might create an obvious artistic backdrop. Tantillo explained the conundrum, 鈥淓xcelsior isn鈥檛 a place. Excelsior is an idea. So, how do you paint an idea?鈥�
鈥淭hat refrain of a college without walls kept kind of echoing in my head. You know, education, but not in a specific place鈥� 鈥揕en Tantillo
A skilled researcher, Tantillo started with his own instincts and imagination. His first thoughts were along the lines of itinerant professionals and doctors who made house calls. He thought, 鈥淚 wonder how many other services like that there could have been?鈥� With the seed planted, he began his exploration. 鈥淭hat refrain of a college without walls kept kind of echoing in my head. You know, education, but not in a specific place,鈥� he recalled.
Two Movements Spark an Idea
His investigation began simply, with keywords such as education, history, and night school and uncovered results that helped frame the concept from which the work, Keeping a Tradition Alive, was born. Tantillo learned of two educational endeavors鈥夆�斺�塗he American Lyceum and the Chautauqua Movement鈥夆�斺�塼hat spoke to the roots of non-traditional education, historical forebears to the innovative idea that became Excelsior College.
Much like Excelsior brings education to students, rather than the students coming to a physical classroom, the American Lyceum Movement featured traveling educators. Yale graduate Josiah Holbrook founded the movement in the mid-1820s, traveling across the eastern U.S. to promote the concept of education for adult learners. Initially aimed at farmers, the lyceums by the 1840s had become more professional institutions with lectures from famous intellectuals such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, Daniel Webster, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Susan B. Anthony.
Tantillo recalled sharing his concept with President Ebersole. 鈥淲e started talking about this idea of the American Lyceum and I made a sketch right on the spot鈥� (shown below). The artist envisioned a small, diverse group of people, gathered in a cornfield at night, after their work was done, much like the working adults who make up Excelsior鈥檚 average student. 鈥淚t was this idea of nighttime and glowing light and engaged individuals participating in some sort of educational event,鈥� he added.
Keeping a Tradition Alive by Len Tantillo, 2011, Oil on Canvas, Collection of Excelsior College, 24 x 40 in.
Lyceums flourished until the outbreak of the Civil War. Following the war, they blended into New York State鈥檚 Chautauqua Movement of the 1870s. The original Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly in western New York, founded in 1874 by John H. Vincent and Lewis Miller, began as a program for the training of Sunday-school teachers and church workers. At first entirely religious in nature and held outdoors, the program gradually broadened to include general education, recreation, lifelong learning, and popular entertainment. In later years, the summer lectures and classes were supplemented by a year-round, non-denominational course of directed home reading and correspondence study.
Stage is Set: Modeling Begins
With the concept for the work in hand, Tantillo was ready to plan the scope of the piece. With a degree in architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design, he began his career as an architectural designer and later worked as a freelance architectural illustrator. A commission to depict a series of 19th-century structures from archaeological artifacts and historical documents in 1980 was the genesis of his historical painting career, and in 1984, he left commercial art altogether to work full time in fine art. Yet his architectural background serves as a foundation on which to build his art, as he often creates models as a reference. When his work depicts events that predate photography, these models afford him a means to recreate history based on his research.
His early structural models were made out of cardboard, paper, and cloth, and he often used human models as well. Finding appropriate costumes for his subjects could prove challenging, sometimes requiring that he sew the meticulously researched attire himself. But about 10 years ago, he added computer modeling to his art box. Using the 3-D modeling and graphics software Rhino and Maya, he can create not only the setting for a piece, but individuals and their clothing as well. 鈥淭he computer allows me to take a human form, manipulate the facial features, create hair styles and clothing,鈥� he described.
The Excelsior-commissioned work took Tantillo approximately five months to create, and a large part of that time was devoted to perfecting the computer-generated model. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tremendously powerful tool,鈥� he said of the software. 鈥淚t allows me to go places I could never go before. The subjects were just too complex. But now that I have these skills to do the digital modeling, it has expanded my horizons tremendously.鈥� Once the digital work was done, Tantillo could begin the process of putting brush to canvas, marrying technology and tradition to produce a timeless piece of artistic beauty and historic significance.
The Painting: An Idea Takes Shape
The painting captures both the rural roots of adult education in America, as well as the spirit of the extraordinarily committed educators who traveled from community to community to share their knowledge.
This early form of night school portrays education being delivered to working adults. The many lanterns in the scene symbolize the flame or lamp of knowledge, and the promise inherent in education to bring students out of the darkness and into the light. Those depicted in this painting represent the forebears of Excelsior students today鈥夆�斺�塧dults of all ages, veterans and active military, ethnic minorities, men and women, and, most prominently, a nurse, who, carrying a lantern, evokes the image of Florence Nightingale. Given that Excelsior College has the largest nursing program in the country, it is appropriate that she is in the foreground.
A trunk with the name 鈥淩.E. Bennett鈥� inscribed on its side sits on the ground, next to the instructor鈥檚 wagon (detail below). Tantillo added this detail in homage to an educator who helped light his interest in history. 鈥淩obert Bennett was my favorite history teacher, my favorite teacher of all time,鈥� he explained. Bennett鈥檚 enthusiasm for history made a lasting impression on the artist. He added, 鈥淲hen you went into his class, you didn鈥檛 know what the lesson was going to be, but you knew it was going to be exciting and interesting. And he always made you think about it; he would try to take you back into the world at that time.鈥�
The work, Keeping a Tradition Alive, illustrates lessons learned from a time when formal American adult education was in its infancy. The torch has been passed, from the American Lyceum movement to Excelsior College and others. As the College celebrates four decades of providing educational opportunities to working adults, it is important to not forget those who blazed a trail, and thanks to the artistic vision of Len Tantillo, it will always be remembered. What does Tantillo hope people will take away from this work? 鈥淭he idea, at the most ground level, that people鈥檚 desire to learn is universal and timeless. If the desire is strong enough, you鈥檒l make time to do it.鈥�
