Carol Ann Alfano

Program Coordinator, Insurance Institute, Petrocelli College
College at Florham

How long have you been at FDU?

I have been with FDU for 10 years. I first started as a part-time employee but have been working full-time for the last five years.

One of my favorite possessions is ...

… my house. It has served my husband and I very well in raising our three great children. Now, it is wonderful to see my four little grandchildren enjoying the house their parents grew up in.

A perfect weekend afternoon is ...

… for my husband and I to go on a long drive, enjoy the scenery, stop for lunch at a quaint out-of-the-way place and have some wonderful alone time together.

If you could meet anyone in the world, whom would you pick? Why?

I would have loved to have met Jacqueline Kennedy. She met such interesting people around the world. She wasn’t just a fashion diva. She was intelligent and well read. I would ask her about her book collection and find out which were her favorites.

What book or film did you recently enjoy? Why would you recommend it?

The movie I recently saw was “Meet The Fockers,” which I found hysterical. If you want to take a silly break from the daily stress that we all have, I recommend seeing it. There is no deep hidden meaning, just a few good laughs.

What do you most value in your friends?

I value honesty the most. I have friends who are very dear to me and whom I have been friends with for more years than I care to mention.

Complete the phrase: People would be surprised to know that I ...

… wrote poetry as a form of release during a very difficult time in my life.

What profession other than your own would you most like to attempt, and what profession would you want nothing to do with?

I would like to attempt teaching. I love children of all ages and have seen firsthand the influence a good teacher has in a child’s life. I have many family members who are teachers and who find it a very rewarding profession. I wouldn’t want to be a doctor. I enjoy helping people, but I would become too attached to my patients and would get very upset if they didn’t get well.

Ellen Campbell

Assistant Professor of Education and Director of the MA in Education for Certified Teachers Program
Metropolitan Campus

How long have you been at FDU?

Two years.

One of my favorite possessions is ...

… my car because it is fun to drive and relaxing on the commute.

A perfect weekend afternoon is ...

… a warm fall day driving to Boston for lobster in the rough.

If you could meet anyone in the world, whom would you pick?

John Conway, who, some say, is the most profoundly interesting and important mathematician in the world. He studies the most diverse aspects of math while distilling it to its most fundamental patterns. He studies symmetry and fractals and once, when I heard him speak, he managed to show a topological move with his hands and his nose that was so amusing that elementary school children could grasp the concept. He walks around bare-foot in his office at Princeton University while precisely placing dodecahedrons from the ceiling among the array of his other solids. He has produced the Game of Life, not the Milton Bradley version, but rather a complex game of strategies. All great mathematicians are game players, and he is certainly one.

What book or film did you recently enjoy? Why would you recommend it?

David Boies’ book Courting Justice: From New York Yankees vs. Major League Baseball to Bush vs. Gore 1997–2000. I have listened to his legal debates with such interest, and with this book I feel I get a peek into one of the most brilliant minds in the country. The book is an insightful look at the powerful legal debates of our times from a person who knows how to craft the argument.

What do you most value in your friends?

I value open-mindedness and flexibility of thought, a willingness to try new things and a sense of humor and whimsy.

Complete the phrase: People would be surprised to know that I ...

… have several life-size soft sculptures in my living room that I constructed.

What profession other than your own would you most like to attempt, and what profession would you want nothing to do with?

I would like to be a film animator of children’s books. I “dabbled” in animation for the past two decades and would love to try it. I would not like to be a politician in either party.

Marc Cocchiola

Assistant Director for Development and Alumni Relations, University Advancement
Metropolitan Campus

How long have you been at FDU?

Nine months.

One of my favorite possessions are ...

… my cats, Collette and Smokey.

A perfect weekend afternoon is ...

… any time I do not have to do laundry.

If you could meet anyone in the world, whom would you pick? Why?

Author John Irving. I am a huge fan of his novels, and as a student of fiction and an aspiring novelist, his work most resembles my own style of writing. I would love to have a dialogue with him about the art of creative writing.

What book or film did you recently enjoy? Why would you recommend it?

The Harry Potter series, both book and film. The books transcend typical fantasy fiction and children’s literature, and become more sophisticated and complex as the main characters come of age. The adventures are exciting, the drama is poignant, and the characters are real and flawed. The films are true to the books, bringing excellent books to life.

What do you most value in your friends?

What I value most in my friends is the ability to be supportive. It is very easy to be a friend when adversity is absent. A true friend will not disappear when the other is struggling or is in trouble. I am most fulfilled when I am able to help a friend in need, and I have experienced the blessing of having a friend selflessly carry me through trying times.

Complete the phrase: People would be surprised to know that I ...

… have a fraternal twin brother.

What profession other than your own would you most like to attempt, and what profession would you want nothing to do with?

Besides becoming a novelist, I would love to be a professional poker player. One profession I would not want to venture into would be politics.

Burton Zwick

Lecturer of Finance
College at Florham

How long have you been at FDU?

I came to FDU in 1997, following almost 25 years in the financial service industry in New York City.

One of my favorite possessions is ...

Strange as it may seem, possessions don’t do much for me. My wife and I drive six- and 11-year old Toyotas, my 20-year-old watch is a notch or two above a Timex but many notches below a Rolex, and I have not bought a new suit or sport coat since I left work in New York City in 1999. What interests me much more than owning is doing, especially traveling to Europe and other faraway places. My wife and I spend much time and discretionary income preparing for and enjoying this type of travel.

A perfect weekend afternoon is ...

A perfect weekend for my wife and me is to see a matinee in New York City, followed by dinner. We especially like Italian cuisine, as well as a number of ethnic cuisines such as Indian, Greek and Chinese.

If you could meet anyone in the world, whom would you pick? Why?

I would love to meet Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the young co-founders of Google. I am fascinated by how they created their search engine and figured out how to get sponsors to pay them tons of money without destroying Google’s appeal as an independent, attractive venue to search for information.

What book or film did you recently enjoy? Why would you recommend it?

In preparation for an upcoming trip to Sicily, I recently read The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa. It is a beautiful book. I then saw the film by Luchino Visconti. It is also quite good, though, as is often the case, the book is even better in my opinion. I also enjoyed the recent film “A History of Violence,” with Viggo Mortensen.

What do you most value in your friends?

I value openness and willingness to talk to me about my concerns, both personal and otherwise.

Complete the phrase: People would be surprised to know that I ...

… never balance my checkbook. I simply make sure that the bank has credited my account for my deposits.

What profession other than your own would you most like to attempt, and what profession would you want nothing to do with?

I would like to be a writer of history and biography, such as David McCullough or Ron Chernow. I would not want to be a lawyer.

December 2005/
January 2006

View text only for this complete issue.

Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.

Metro =
Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, N.J.

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