Alumni and friends who give generously of their time and talents to Maryville University as well as those whose work brings distinction to their profession will be honored during the sixth annual Spirit of Maryville Dinner on May 18, 2019. The Spirit of Maryville awards also recognize people or organizations that provide extraordinary service to the community at large. Following are the distinguished recipients of the 2019 Spirit of Maryville Awards.
College of Arts and Sciences
DANIEL ABEBE, ’97
How does a kid with a 2.8 high school GPA wind up at Harvard Law School? The road begins at Maryville, according to Daniel Abebe, PhD, JD, now vice provost at the University of Chicago Law School. Abebe chose Maryville at the urging of his parents, along with a family friend—Maryville’s then-president Keith Lovin, PhD.
Lovin kept a watchful eye on him, as did another family friend, Margie Wade, PhD, who was dean of Admissions & Enrollment. Abebe also credits the support of two iconic Maryville professors and mentors: the late Marshall King, PhD, and the late Radko Jansky, JD, along with Residence Hall Director, James Ingram. As the only African American in his class, Abebe leaned on this support while involving himself in activities across campus: working as a resident adviser, playing soccer, serving on student government
and more.
Graduating summa cum laude, with the honor of speaking at Commencement, a more seasoned and mature Abebe was on his way to Harvard for his law degree, and eventually to the University of Chicago for a master’s and PhD in political science. Now, he is helping that institution’s law school shape its programming and strategic planning. Looking back warmly at his Maryville experience, and the relationships that helped bring him where he is today, he notes the well-worn adage, “It takes a village.”
John E. Simon School of Business
MICHAEL RETH, ’02, ’04
AND SERGEY ABROSIMOV, ‘06
Michael Reth, chief executive officer of Axiom Product Administration, and Sergey Abrosimov, chief technology officer, are riding the success that comes from creating a company that disrupts traditional and outdated business practices. A relatively new entry in the field of automotive finance and insurance, Axiom was recognized by the St. Louis Business Journal as the fastest-growing company in 2018. Revenue increased by 700 percent, a statistic made even more astounding by the fact that Axiom grew from only five dealer clients in 2013 to more than 500 dealer relationships in 2018 and now 600 in 2019.
The idea for the company grew out of Reth’s MBA capstone thesis, encouraged by his instructor Maha Alul. Reth was pursuing his degree through Maryville’s Weekend and Evening College and worked with Abrosimov at a nearby company at the time. At Reth’s urging, Abrosimov also earned his MBA at Maryville. Years later, as the auto industry evolved, Reth put his thesis ideas into action by creating Axiom. He brought Abrosimov in as a consultant before inviting him to join the senior executive team. With operations in major cities throughout five countries, this duo has proven that what happens at Maryville does not always stay at Maryville!
School of Education
CHARLOTTE IJEI, ’14
Charlotte Ijei, EdD, is director of pupil personnel & diversity for the Parkway School District in St. Louis County. Her passion for moving the district toward educational equity has been both personal and professional. As a Parkway parent, she experienced her own children’s struggles to fit in at a predominately white school in the early 1980s. Joining Parkway North High School as a college counselor in 1996, she found a more diverse student population, but one still segregated by classrooms and teacher expectations. Students of color earning A’s were not encouraged to take honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses.
Changing the mindset among counselors, teachers and administrators was a challenge. But under Ijei’s leadership, Parkway has implemented a “Whole School Justice” program, requiring faculty and staff to participate in intensive social justice training. As a result, African American students are better represented in AP and honors classes, and suspensions have decreased dramatically. Parkway also won a 2018 National School Board Association diversity award and is narrowing achievement and opportunity gaps. For Ijei, who brought her “social justice lens” to Maryville’s doctoral program, it’s about more than changing minds; it’s about “change of heart.”
Myrtle E. and Earl E. Walker College of
Health Professions
CY WOODROME, ’84
Cy Woodrome has built a nontraditional career in a field dominated by traditional methods. Having previously earned an undergraduate degree in anatomy and physiology, Woodrome enrolled in Maryville’s Weekend and Evening College to become a cardiothoracic nurse. Later, as a working nurse, he earned a master’s degree in Health Systems Management elsewhere, spurring his next career change to health care management.
This path also led him to found a company that delivers health care in a nontraditional way: through remote cardiac patient monitoring. Mobilis Health provides Bluetooth-enabled kits (with components like blood pressure cuffs, finger probes and digital scales) that enable certified technicians to monitor a patient’s condition 24/7.
Woodrome feels the Dean’s Award recognizes and confirms the importance of nursing. But it also shows how nurses can think outside the box and apply their expertise to deliver high-quality health care in new and different ways. Another common theme throughout Woodrome’s career is his belief in altruism, which also harkens back to nursing. Nurses, he says, “carry it in their DNA.”
Young Alumni Award
Greg Schwartz, ’10
Life has been sweet for Greg Schwartz. Not only did he discover his career interest as a student at Maryville; he also met his wife, Tracey Schrock Schwartz, ’09, on campus. Most telling of all, his career path took him to the “Sweetest Place on Earth”: Hershey, Pennsylvania. For more than five years, Schwartz has worked as a brand manager for The Hershey Company, promoting products like Kisses and Bliss.
Schwartz likens his job to running his own business, a concept he learned from his former professor, John Lewington, PhD. On any given day, he moves from developing packaging to directing consumer communications to managing a financial portfolio. Most recently, he and his wife moved with their infant son to Austin, Texas, where Schwartz is managing two brands purchased by Hershey: Skinny Pop and
Pirate’s Booty.
At Maryville, Schwartz and his roommate created an organization that ran student programs on weekends like skiing and laser tag. As an alumnus, he has reengaged as a member of Maryville Hillel’s Advisory Council. Fittingly, Schwartz is dedicated to providing as much candy as possible for the group’s annual “Chocolate Seder”; a Passover Seder done completely in — what else? — chocolate!
Volunteer of the Year Award
SCOTT DENNEY
Scott Denney owns Denney Lumber Company, a family business he began with his late father, Les Denney. But Denney has carried his dad’s legacy into another “family business” too: the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic at Maryville University. The Clinic wasn’t always Denney’s passion; it was his dad’s. A 33rd Degree Mason and active member of the Scottish Rite, Les was a driving force in creating the original Clinic in 1988 with a mission to provide free speech and language therapy for young children. Les tapped his good friend, the late Earl E. Walker, to help fund the Clinic. Eventually, Earl brought the Clinic to Maryville.
For his part, Denney wrote the original articles of incorporation for the Clinic, but then sat on the sidelines until his dad passed away in 2010. An invitation to join the Clinic board soon afterward ignited the same passion that drove his dad. Not only did Denney join, he became board chair in 2015. Now Denney calls himself “the messenger,” spreading the word about the Clinic to everyone he can, helping grow the annual Golf Tournament and raising funds to serve more children. Denney says that volunteering is good for the heart, and the Walker Clinic is grateful his heart is in the right place.
Heart of Maryville Award
BARBARA LAMY COONEY, ’58
Barbara Cooney exemplifies a life of service through the arts, the Society of the Sacred Heart and more. After earning a Bachelor of Arts at Maryville, she earned a master’s in English literature and a teaching certificate elsewhere. She went on to teach high school French and English for 15 years. Cooney also studied fine arts at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Missouri, where she taught an arts outreach program for senior citizens.
Cooney has received awards from the Missouri Arts Council and the Liberty Center Association for the Arts, and she exhibited her own artwork with lectures and workshops across Missouri. Twice winner of the Missouri State Fair Top Fifty, she has had two feature exhibits at the Kansas City Artists Coalition and a solo exhibit at State Fair Community College.
In service to her Sacred Heart Parish, Cooney has organized and taught religious classes as part of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; completed two terms as a member and chair of the Christian Education Commission; and served as a Sacred Heart School Board member. Cooney received a Sacred Heart Alumni Award in 2012 and, along with her husband, James, the Sacred Heart 2017 Hall of Fame Award.
Myrtle E. and Earl E. Walker Medal
NURSES FOR NEWBORNS
Nurses for Newborns was born out of a need to prevent infant mortality, child abuse and neglect in low-income neighborhoods where resources are scarce. Since its founding in the early 1990s, it has employed a successful home visitation model — sending specially trained pediatric nurses to the homes of pregnant women, as well as parents of infants facing medical, social or environmental risks. Referrals come from physicians, clinics and social service agencies as well as from families themselves.
Initial home visits include health and developmental assessments of both mothers and children, and screening for additional risk factors like maternal depression and domestic violence. Nurses then prepare a plan of action designed to ensure the baby’s health, safety and development. In subsequent visits, nurses monitor the infant’s health and progress, while also providing educational tools to support the family and improve parenting skills. They also assist with access to necessities like diapers, formula
and safety equipment.
To date, Nurses for Newborns has successfully assisted more than 110,000 infants and their families, in eastern Missouri and mid-Tennessee. Among other honors, program founder Sharon Rohrbach, RN, was presented with a Use Your Life Award by Oprah Winfrey in 2001.