Peggy Dunn Letter
from the Kean University
Distinguished Alumni Award
"To have two memorable students receive this prestigious award in the same year is mind-boggling to me. I am honored to have been a part of both of their lives not only while they were at Kean but also long after they graduated. I am so proud of all the things they have accomplished in such a variety of ways. Lou Ann is not only a successful attorney and mom but also she is fulfilling a life-long dream to create theatre, not an easy task in today's world. I am not quite sure how she caught the theatre bug but I like to think her work in college speech tournaments started her on the road to creating and producing first, children's plays and then musicals about her beloved Jersey shore.
And Joe had a dream of working in radio when most kids his age merely listened to it. All of us in theatre vied for him to be in our plays because we knew that voice alone would capture an audience. And to think he even allowed us to be in his radio shows.
Far too many of our students are lost to us once graduation occurs although social medial is doing its part to allow students and their accomplishments to remain in our lives. It humbles me when I read or hear from any of my students because they are all working in their individual ways to make the world a better place.....a lesson I would like to think they learned at Kean."With great admiration.
Margaret "Peggy" Dunn PhD
Professor Emeritus Communications and Theatre
Kean University
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| Joe Bevilacqua is sooooo happy that Kenny Savoy gets a kiss too! |
Other recipients were:
KEVIN ALTON '73 H '07
Retired, Most Recently Senior Director of a Drug Metabolism Group
LOU ANN BEHAN '80
Founding, Artistic Director of the SJN Theatre Ministry in Reston, VA; Writer at Shorester Productions (1998-2010)
BARUTI KAFELE '86
Educational Consultant and Motivational Speakers,
VINCENT J. MANZO '05
Assistant Professor of Music Technology and cognition at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA
An excerpt of Joseph Bevilacqua's acceptance speech:
"...but seriously I am shocked and honored to be here amongst a scientist who’s cured cholesterol, a playwright who is also a lawyer, and all of you. Because I am just a guy doing funny voices and trying to make people laugh and make people happy. And I hope I am doing that. But without Kean I wouldn't have accomplished anything because I was really diamond in the rough when I got here. I don’t know how they didn’t throw me out because I was thrown out of the college I went to prior. Before I went to Kean I went to Middlesex County College and they ran me out of there on a rail and told me never to come back. And I took a semester off and I said to myself “what am I doing wrong?” and I kind-a cleaned up my act, I cut my hair different, real short and it was 1982 and I put on an IZOD shirt and looked all preppie. I walked into the studio and Peggy Dunn is there in the studio theater and right away I am sucked in and involved with everything and I felt like I was “at home” and ever since I keep coming back. You can’t get rid of me. You throw me out, I keep coming back and doing things for the college because it was such a wonderful experience.
And I have taught at various colleges myself and I have always been slightly disappointed at the way they look at the world and the students. Because here at Kean (I could have gone to Princeton, I could have gone to Rutgers and I came here in a “open house”), I felt as though I was in a safe environment where you could be yourself and not be ostracized for it. But they always warned you: “you’re going to be ostracized” when you get outside in the real world. The real world is not as safe. So your were warned. But you were there to try all these things and experiment with what you had. And the mentors: Peggy Dunn, Jim Murphy... (Excuse me President, you should come out of your shell more. You are so shy.)... Bob Cirasa, big mentor of mine, a wonderful man. I am glad to see he is hanging upside down in China. It’s great.
So, thank you. Thank my wonderful wife Lorie Kellogg who is half of me. My sister Caryn who is here. Ken Savoy and Tom Babkowski. Kenny is on The Comedy-O-Rama Hour. If you listen just go to waterlogg with two g’s dot com. Lou Ann, a wonderful talent, great to work with her. And thank you President Farahi and Art Snyder who came here. I haven’t seen this man since 1982, and one last thing, the man suffered through me and Garrett Gega annoying him with different voices as he is trying to read the news. So thank you and I really appreciate this. It is a wonderful thing to me. Give it up for everybody else. Thank you so much."
WATERLOGG PRODUCTIONS 4 PODCASTS
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 The Joe Bev Experience Podcast on iTunes OR click on the link to the right to hear us online |  OR click on the link to the right to hear us online |
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