Prepare to succeed.
Daemen graduates move quickly into careers of their choice and do well in those careers. They are also well prepared if they decide to change careers. (Studies show that college graduates will change jobs between six-nine times during their working lives.)
Daemen graduates are informed citizens, prepared to play productive roles in local and global communities both as effective participants and leaders. They make reasoned ethical choices and consider connections between values and behavior. They can effectively access, evaluate, and apply relevant and valid information using a variety of information resources. They have the writing and speaking skills necessary for effective communication.
Daemen College graduates are well prepared to pursue advanced study in graduate or professional school.
Daemen’s Career Development Center provides students and graduates with a wide variety of services specially geared to the vocational and self-development needs of the College community before and after graduation.
A sample of distinguished alumni:
Mary Ann Eposito, ’64: 11 cookbooks and a cooking show on PBS
Ciao Italia! is the registered trademark of one of the College’s most visible daughter, Mary Ann Saporito Esposito, who graduated in 1964 from Rosary Hill College, with a degree in history and secondary education, and a strong desire to be a history teacher.
Forty years later, Mary Ann is still teaching, but in a venue far removed from her original version.
Ciao Italia! is seen on about 270 PBS stations across the U.S. and beyond.
Despite her visibility, and strenuous work and travel schedules that include at least two trips to Italy a year (much of it filming show segments), Mary Ann hasn’t forgotten growing up in Depew, where she was the oldest of seven children. She also has strong memories of practice-teaching history in Buffalo’s Seneca Vocational High School, and, of course, her Rosary Hill experience.
Sue Falsone ‘96: Head Physical Therapist for the Los Angeles Dodgers. (The first woman in Major League Baseball to do so.)
The Los Angeles Dodgers have announced that Sue Falsone, a 1996 graduate of Daemen College and a former Town of Tonawanda resident, has been named a member of their medical department, making her Major League Baseball’s first-ever female physical therapist. Falsone is Director of Performance Physical Therapy for Athletes’ Performance, a private sports performance training company, based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Falsone holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Daemen, and a Masters degree in human movement science with a concentration in sports medicine from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“I always found sports medicine very interesting,” Falsone said. “Athletic training, strength and conditioning, and, of course, physical therapy. Usually you have to choose one field to specialize in. But at Athletes’ Performance, we provide a continuum of care for professional and other world-class athletes, and I am able to engage in all three specialties. My passion has always been to blend all three, and through our full partnerships with major league sports teams and other top athletes, I am able to make a real difference in their training and performance, and rehab from injuries.”
Anthony J.M. Jones: New York City Sports and Entertainment Lawyer
The Jones Firm provides legal representation for individuals and businesses in a variety of areas of the law. Specifically: Entertainment & Intellectual Property, Sports Law, Corporate and Business Law.
“The most important lesson that I’ve learned is that failure is just a stepping stone to success. Each time you try something that doesn’t work, you can never lose the lesson; each time you fall, you are that much closer to succeeding, but if you never try then you will never know. Failure is something that you can’t be afraid of, just accept that it is going to happen sometimes but take what you learn and apply it on your next project. Each time you do that, you’re starting at a different, more educated position than the last time.”
Dr. Thomas P. Koestler ’75: Medical Research
Dr. Thomas P. Koestler’s health care career has carried him to an executive position at Schering-Plough, one of the country’s major pharmaceutical research institutes. His career accomplishments include 62 product approvals for drugs treating medical conditions from arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease to hypertension, glaucoma, malaria, and transplant rejection. Dr. Koestler has authored or co-authored 22 scientific articles and abstracts, acquired clinical research experience in several divergent fields including rheumatology, oncology and pulmonary cough/colds, and produced one patent.
At the Schering-Plough Research Institute, Dr. Koestler is executive vice president for global affairs and global project management, with responsibilities including strengthening links between global pharmaceutical business operations and the research institute, and serving as an interface between the company and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and its counterpart in other countries such as Japan, and the European Medicine Evaluation Agency. Dr. Koestler joined the company in 2003.
Dr. Koestler is a self proclaimed “true-Buffalonian,” having grown up in Buffalo’s Parkside/Hertel/Starin neighborhoods. He credits Daemen as having cemented his desire to pursue a career in health care.
Jennifer Gurske MD ’99, ‘02, Over achiever PT now orthopedic Surgery
Jennifer Gurske de Perio has demonstrated outstanding commitment to the field of medicine, as well as her community. While a student at Daemen, Jennifer’s long list of honors and accomplishments included receiving the Daemen College President’s Leadership Award and the Daemen College Physical Therapy Faculty Recognition Award in 1999; being listed in Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities 1998, 1999; making the National and Daemen College Dean’s List, and, also, receiving the College’s Mary A. LoCurto Community Service Scholarship, in 1997.
Professionally, Jennifer is a member of the Curriculum and Interview Committees, in the Orthopaedic Surgery Department, at the University at Buffalo; she is also an Assistant Professor at Daemen, teaching graduate-level courses in the Physical Therapy Program. In addition, Jennifer serves as a wound care expert, and management consultant to the Wound Management Team at McAuley Seton Home Care in Cheektowaga.
Currently, after having completed her degree at the University at Buffalo Medical School, Jennifer is performing her residency in Orthopaedic surgery in the Kaleida Health Care System. Jennifer also participates in charity and community-based organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity.
Lynn Marinelli ’85: First women to chair the Erie County Legislature
Lynn Marinelli is one of the most well-known elected leaders in Erie County. Representing the Legislature’s 11th District, encompassing portions of North Buffalo, Kenmore, and Tonawanda, she was first elected to the Erie County Legislature in 1996. Marinelli has won re-election five times, and is presently Chair of the Legislature.
Marinelli served as Majority Leader in 2004/2005. She is past chair of the Government Affairs and Community Enrichment Committees and past vice chair of the Finance, Management &