Alumni eUpdates

November/December 2025

IMAGE: @musicandtechnologypurchase students Alex Vantassel and Dexter Pretnar performed with President Michael E. Steiper during the Fall 2025 Admissions Open House. Photo by Madeleine Trudeau.

Momentum at Purchase

Student interest at Purchase College continues to grow, reflecting the strength of our academic programs and campus community.

“This fall’s Open House showcased what makes Purchase special, from the energy of our students to the creativity of our Conservatory performers,” said President Michael E. Steiper. The Open House welcomed 395 prospective students and their families, an increase over last year, with indicators pointing to strong application numbers for the Class of 2026.

This positive momentum aligns with statewide trends, as SUNY enrollment has increased for the third consecutive year. More

Thank You for Supporting Purchase

Thank you to our alumni, friends, and supporters who made this year’s Giving Tuesday a success in support of student scholarships.

We were especially grateful to Peter Compo ’81, whose $25,000 challenge grant is continuing to double all donations to the School of Natural and Social Sciences until December 31.

We welcomed a record number of individual givers, and new donors to the Purchase community. This generosity is making a difference for students like Chelsea, a senior majoring in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Environmental Studies, who is preparing for a career in patient care as a physician assistant after Purchase.

If you have not yet made a gift this year, the holiday season offers a meaningful opportunity to give back to your alma mater. A gift made before December 31 not only helps sustain the momentum created by our alumni community, but also allows you to receive the full tax benefit of charitable giving for this year.

Make your year-end gift today at purchase.edu/give

Believe in Purchase—just as Purchase believed in you.

IMAGE: Rebecca Spektor sharing her Purchase stories with students before her concert. Photo by Julia Khoroshilov

Regina Spektor '01 Comes Home

Regina Spektor ’01 (Music) returned to campus on November 21 for a benefit concert held at the Performing Arts Center to support ArtsWestchester on the occasion of its 60th anniversary. The evening was especially meaningful as Regina shared personal Purchase stories from the stage and was joined for several songs by her husband and fellow alumnus, Jack Dishel ’98 (Music).

Before the concert, Spektor met with current Studio Composition students, offering insight into her creative process, the craft of songwriting, and life as a working artist. More.

2026 Grammy Nominees from Purchase College

Countdown to the 2026 GRAMMYs

Four exceptional members of our Conservatory of Music community are nominees for the 2026 GRAMMY Awards that will be presented on February 1 in Los Angeles.

Samara Joy ’21 (Music: Jazz Studies)

Nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Portrait and Best Jazz Performance for “Peace of Mind/Dreams Come True.” More about Samara

Silas Brown ’10 (Music: Studio Production), Associate Professor of Music

Nominated for Best Opera Recording for Huang Ruo: An American Soldier. More about Silas

Jon Faddis, Professor of Music

Nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album for his trumpet performance on The Original Influencers: Dizzy, Chano & Chico. More about Jon

Ben Barnett ’16 (Music: Performance (Jazz)

Nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album as a contributor and member of The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra for the live album The Original Influencers: Dizzy, Chano & Chico. More about Ben

GRAMMY is a registered trademark of The Recording Academy.

Get Loaded Wins 2025 Shark Tank Grand Prize

Get Loaded Takes Home Shark Tank 2025 Grand Prize

IMAGE: Nancy Deckinger of the Dr. E. Lawrence Deckinger Family Foundation with Get Loaded co-founders (left to right) Sebastian Ford, Isabella Millan, Michael Rice, and Yordi Gonzalez.

On December 2, the Department of Economics hosted Purchase College’s 8th annual Shark Tank–inspired competition, where five student teams pitched entrepreneurial ideas to a panel of judges for the chance to win funding. The Grand Prize went to Get Loaded for its standout proposal to renovate the Wayback Lounge into a space where students can study while doing laundry, boosting student morale. Meet some of the 2025 teams.

The competition is made possible by the generous support of Nancy Deckinger and the Dr. E. Lawrence Deckinger Family Foundation, whose continued commitment helps Purchase students build entrepreneurial skills and bring creative ideas to life.

#ProofofPurchase Alumni News

Paul Feldstein ’77 (Literature), director of The Feldstein Agency, has sold the rights to two books by fellow Purchase alumni: Michaela, the debut novel by Frank Kirby ’76, and The Ghost of Tenth Street, a debut memoir by Paul Spillenger ’80. Both titles will be published by Tivoli Books in 2026. More

Kevin Sutton ’83 (Visual Arts: Painting) is exhibiting new work in Sanctuary at the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum in Woodstock, New York. His practice continues to explore personal and mythic imagery through painting and mixed media. Kevin received a MFA from Pratt Institute in 1986. More

John Aiello ’86, ’97 (Music) has been selected as a member of the American Delegation of Artists to the 2025 Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts exhibition in Paris. His black-and-white photography was selected by a jury. Currently serving as head of the Learning Lab at the Pearl River Public Library, John credits Purchase with “culturing me up.” More

Mary Wendelken ’90 (Music: Instrumental Performance), a classical pianist, educator, and founder of Wendelken Piano Studio in Tampa Bay, Florida, has been named the 2025 Teacher of Distinction for the Southeastern United States by the Royal Conservatory of Music. Through her teaching, she is known for nurturing musicianship, confidence, and a lifelong love of music in her students. More

Lisa Gorlitsky ’91 (Acting), an actor, writer, model, and yogini, recently received Best Actress at the International Indie Film Festival in Graz, Austria, for her pilot Heals, which she also wrote and stars in; Heals was also selected for the Big Apple Film Festival. Lisa lives in New York with her husband, fellow Purchase alum Daniel Schlachet ’89 (Acting), where she continues to perform on stage and screen. More

Adam T. Morton ’95 (Literature) was captain of Purchase College’s first men’s volleyball team. He began his career in education before an unexpected series of events led him into finance. Twenty-five years later, he has built a long and successful career in wealth management. Adam lives in Darien, Connecticut, where he enjoys fly fishing, boating, skiing, and coaching his children’s sports teams. More

Karen “Dr. K” Baptiste ’05 (Sociology and Psychology) received an Emmy at the 68th Annual New York Emmy Awards on October 11, 2025, for Preschool to Prison, her documentary amplifying the voices of children harmed by exclusionary and punitive school policies. She dedicated the award to educators, advocates, and the young people whose experiences drive her work toward more humane and just practices in education. More

Eustache Clerveaux ’09 (Liberal Arts: Legal Studies) joined Fidare Wealth Solutions as Partner and Private Wealth Advisor. A Certified Financial Planner, Certified Private Wealth Advisor, and IRS Enrolled Agent, he works with high-achieving professionals and families to build clarity and confidence around wealth and advanced tax strategy. Eustache also serves as Secretary of the PCAA Board of Directors and sits on its Executive Committee. More

Elizabeth R. Hyman ’11 (History, Journalism) is celebrating the success of her debut book, The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto, which is in its sixth week on the New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Bestseller List. Published by HarperCollins’ Perennial imprint, the work of narrative non-fiction landed on the list during its first week of release. She earned dual master’s degrees in History and Library Science from the University of Maryland-College Park. More

T.J. Raphael ’11 (Journalism) received the 2025 Signal Gold Award for Liberty Lost, her eight-part investigative series for Amazon’s Wondery Media examining young love, coercion, and defiance amid a resurgence of maternity homes in post-Roe America. She is the creator, host, reporter, and senior producer of the series, which is ranked #2 on Apple Podcasts’ Top Series list. More

Alyce Pellegrino ’14 (Creative Writing), who writes as A. J. Pellegrino, published her fourth piece with Read Furiously in the 2025 anthology Disco Fries & Scenic Drives: Life in the Garden State. She is the author of three short stories and one novella in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. Alyce lives in New Jersey with her partner. M or e

Raaisha Castro ’16 (Latin American Studies), a member of the PCAA Board, proudly shared that her daughter, Purchase Senior Ra’Lyn Vélez, ran in the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon through the competitive NYRR 9+1 program. Raaisha and her husband, Ramon Velez, also celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary in August.

Francis A. Howell III, Esq. ’17 (Liberal Arts: Legal Studies) recently helped secure a defense verdict in a complex wrongful-death case in Westchester County Supreme Court. His pre-trial motion practice, including a key motion in limine limiting expert testimony, contributed to the successful outcome on behalf of a hospital and its medical team. Howell is an attorney with Wilson Elser. More

Katie Lamar ’20 (Creative Writing) and Evan Liu ’20 (Literature) were married on October 11, 2025. They met as freshmen in 2016 and later returned to campus professionally — Evan as Student Activities Coordinator and Katie as Co-Director of the Alt Center. Fellow alumni Jewel Slade ’20 (New Media) and Steven Hummel ’20 (Art History) served as Maid and Man of Honor.

Stephanie Sanchez ’21 (Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies and Language and Culture) is pursuing a master’s degree in International Migration and Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she is researching the intersection of immigration and the labor market. More

In Memoriam

Alan Richard Good ’77 (Dance) passed away on June 4, 2025, in New York City at the age of 71. He was a distinguished member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1978 to 1994. More

Dr. Patricia S. Misciagno ’78 (Political Science) passed away on November 14, 2025, at the age of 77. After Purchase, she completed her Master’s and Doctoral studies in political science at NYU. More

Submit your news and updates for the next Alumni eUpdate

Purchase People: Going Places

IMAGE: Purchase EOP student BingQian '25 studied abroad at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, Japan during her spring 2024 semester. MORE

Members of the Purchase community are taking their learning beyond campus through study abroad, exchange, and faculty-led programs around the globe.

This fall, thirty-four Purchase students studied abroad through exchange partnerships, engaging in immersive experiences that connect coursework with culture, place, and practice. Faculty from the School of Art+Design, supported by a European Union Grant, traveled to Vienna to teach, lecture, and collaborate with colleagues at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, strengthening institutional ties and opening new pathways for future exchange.

In 2026, students and faculty from the Animation and Music & Technology will travel to Tokyo for a collaborative program with Technos College, blending live animation and original music with cultural exchange. And summer 2026 faculty-led programs will include:

Narni and Spoleto, Italy, where students will study Italian language alongside linked, interdisciplinary courses in theatre and law and justice,
Benin, West Africa, with a focus on art, art history, and dance,
Belfast, Northern Ireland, exploring peacebuilding through art, and
Istanbul, Turkey, featuring a program centered on museum studies.

Upcoming Global Learning Opportunities for Alumni and the Community

Purchase is also developing non-credit, faculty-led travel opportunities designed for alumni, Broadview residents, and members of the community; the first program will launch this spring.

In addition, Purchase alumnus Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin ’76 (Sociology) has invited alumni to participate in an immersive travel experience he is organizing to Israel in the summer.

More: Office of Global Education or @purchasestudyabroad and @purchaseinternational