The fall sports season was an excellent one for all six Laser teams.

The men's soccer team won its final five games to earn its first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) playoff appearance since 2015. Field hockey made its third straight visit to the GNAC championship.

Women's soccer advanced to the GNAC semifinals, and women's volleyball had a solid season and qualified for the GNAC tourney. Men's and women's cross country had successful seasons as well.

Field hockey seniors Mindy Esposito and Samantha Taylor (left) received All-New England East Region accolades and First Team All-GNAC honors. Esposito was also named GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, and Taylor earned a berth in the prestigious National Field Hockey Coaches Association senior game in Manheim, Pennsylvania.

Seniors Brooke Landry and Grace Duguay were named All-GNAC First and Second Team honorees, respectively.

Junior Korynne Provenzano, freshman Bobbi O'Guin, and senior Caitlin Rotonnelli were named to the All-GNAC First, Second, and Third Teams, respectively, for their standout performances throughout the season.

Sophomore Kiana Perez Diaz was named to the All-GNAC Second Team in women's volleyball for the second straight season. Way to go, Lasers! 

Photo courtesy of Mike Broglio

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge awarded Lasell University a bronze seal for achieving a student voting rate between 20 and 29 percent in the 2018 midterm election. 

"Our students are engaged and passionate about the democratic process," said TD Byrd Hughes, associate director of the Center for Community Based Learning. "This upcoming presidential election  is going to be one unlike any in our lifetime, and we look forward to encouraging students to stay involved, be informed, and get out and vote."

"The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is a "nonpartisan, national initiative that supports campuses as they work to increase nonpartisan engagement and full student voter participation," and "encourages higher education institutions to form the habits of active and informed citizenship."

Lasell University is one of more than 560 campus participants that have joined the challenge since its launch in 2016.

Lasell University and Regis College partnered on a theatrical collaboration at the latter's Eleanor Welch Casey Theatre in November.

The joint production of Children of Eden marked the second year of partnership between the Lasell University Drama Club and Regis. Debut director Jamie Nicole Imperato '15 guided the cross-campus cast in telling the story of Adam and Eve (Act I) and Noah's Ark (Act II), while developing strong relationships and adding depth to each of their professional networks. 

"While practicing for the show, you could find cast members from each institution guest-swiping their show mates into their campus cafeterias," said Imperato. To elevate the production value, she enlisted the help of Lasell student Allie Doyle '20 and alumna Jaime Fortier '15 to purchase fabric for, design, and craft every costume. That, coupled with her inclusive and focused directorial eye, helped the cast to deliver the best possible product to audiences over the four-show run.

Photo courtesy of Nina Groom

A flash fashion show in Valentine Dining Hall, 10-minute takeaway presentations, and the debut of I, Too, Am Lasell - a video highlighting the dynamic and diverse community at Lasell University - took place on December 10, 2019, as part of the annual Fall Connected Learning Symposium. 

"This semester's presentations were extraordinary, with a wonderful and positive buzz throughout the campus," said Lasell Provost Jim Ostrow. "All students and faculty should once again take great pride in the results of our Connected Learning educational philosophy at work!"

More than 60 presentations, performances, and activities took place throughout the day, including "Connected Conversations," an opportunity for Lasell students, administrators, Village residents, and employees to contemplate what they believe to be the world's greatest global challenge. Intergenerational groups gathered in the Arnow Campus Center to discuss their perspectives on democracy, racism, immigration, sustainability, and more.

Photos by Jonathan Aponovich '22/Rebecca LeBlanc '20

Lasell University recently hired Basil Stewart as Vice President for Finance and Administration. Stewart most recently served as chief financial officer and senior vice president for finance and administration at Merrimack College. Stewart will serve as chief financial officer for both Lasell University and Lasell Village. 

Earlier in his career, Stewart worked as controller at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Smith College, and Wentworth Institute of Technology. A certified public accountant, Stewart began his professional career at Coopers & Lybrand, one of the oldest and most distinguished accounting firms in the country.

"I look forward to collaborating with everyone on campus, including the senior management team, faculty, staff, and students," said Stewart. "I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the Lasell community in ways that are real and impactful." 

Photo by Margaret Brochu 

Lasell's student-run fashion boutique opened its first brick-and-mortar storefront this fall. 

Studio 1851 launched in 2017 as a pop-up boutique. In its new, permanent location in the Winslow Academic Center, students enrolled in Assistant Professor Kristin Kinsky's retail management course have created a store for the community to browse goods created or sourced by fashion students. 

"This hands-on approach has given them the opportunity to test their knowledge and truly have responsibility and input into what goes on in the store," says Kinsky, whose students created the first business and marketing plans for the venture in 2017. 

"The idea was unanimously supported by senior management," says Kinsky, though despite many creative efforts to find a home for the boutique, availability was limited - until now.  

At Studio 1851, students learn firsthand about store operations, customer relationships, promotion, brand management, and sales and inventory tracking. Moving forward, Kinsky hopes to see affiliated student internship opportunities and multidisciplinary courses in fashion, business, entrepreneurship, graphic design, and accounting.

Photo by Jonathan Aponovich '22

Harriet Zabusky-Zand, a talented artist who attended Lasell in 1960, made a generous donation of her work to the University. A series of oil paintings, Dawn Sequence, along with several pastels, are on display in and around Brennan Library. She also donated a set of screen prints that are in use as a teaching tool for Lasell students. 

Zabusky-Zand has been a professional artist for nearly 40 years. She began as a painter and printmaker and more recently began working in clay from her studio in Marston Mills on Cape Cod. Her home sits on Long Pond, a beautiful body of water that has served as the inspiration for a number of her paintings.In her own words, "Color is the thread that runs through all of my work."

Zabusky-Zand earned a Diploma in Fine Arts from Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art. She has exhibited widely in the United States and United Kingdom.

The Lasell Presidential Speaker Series hosted three professionals this fall to speak on topics in journalism, politics, and psychology. 

Associate Professor of Journalism Marie Campagna Franklin, a former lead reporter and columnist for The Boston Globe, spoke about the future of media in the United States. 

"I love a spirited discussion about the news, regardless of circumstances," she said. "To be able to reflect on the changing face of journalism with so many former and current students in the room with me was truly a career highlight."

Retired American diplomat and current Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School Nicholas Burns invited the Lasell community to engage in a timely conversation about his extensive career in foreign service, and to examine the status of U.S. foreign policy under the current administration. 

To conclude the series, Associate Professor of Psychology Zane Zheng discussed the societal transformation of body perception and self-awareness with regard to aging.