Back to Global Connections Main Page

The Rev. Donald B. Green ’70 – Canada, Italy, Israel, Brazil, Madagascar, India, Zambia, Kenya
In 1993, 1996 and 2001, he lead mission trips to Madagascar while assistant to the Bishop of Southwest Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA, and in 1996, visited Kenya (including UN refugee camp in Kakuma) and Zambia. The following year, he visited a Christian mission in India with ELCA. In July 2003, he traveled to Winnipeg, Canada, for two weeks as a volunteer for the Lutheran World Federation Assembly.

Green also accompanied the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to Rome in January 2004 when the group became the first U.S. orchestra to play for a pope. He traveled as the convener, along with Rabbi Alvin Berkun of the Religious Leadership Forum of Southwest Pennsylvania. He was one of thirty who were introduced to Pope John Paul II in the library of the papal residence. In September 2005, he traveled to Israel as part of a peace mission with /Institute for Mainline Protestant Leaders to Israel. In response to the Presbyterian Church (USA) acting to begin divesting from firms profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestine, United Jewish Communities organized a group of Protestant clergy from around the country to listen to the many, diverse voices of Palestinians and Israelis, Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Alan Lovell ’70 – Brazil
He traveled to Brazil in October 2005 on an exchange visit sponsored by the U.S. State Department. He and other CEOs of nonprofits serving people with developmental disabilities visited similar facilities in Brazil for 10 days. He went on a similar trip to China in Sept. of 2001 and was abroad when on 9/11.

Linda Maier ’71 – Japan

Irv Miller '71 and Linda Maier '71

I am the science department chair at the Emma Willard School in Troy, N.Y. This past summer, I was selected to receive an all-expense-paid trip to Japan through the Toyota International Teachers Program. For 16 days, I joined 58 other teachers from across the nation to study the education, culture, industry and environment of Japan. This was a fabulous experience! The program arranged events for us that a typical visitor of Japan would not have the opportunity to experience. For example, I visited the Toyota production plant, met the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, spent a day in a kindergarten classroom, discussed world affairs with a Nagasaki survivor, received lessons in calligraphy, and learned of environmental problems at Ninety-Nine Island National Park. I visited Tokyo, Nagasaki, the Island of Hirado, Kyoto and Nagoya. But, above all, the people of Japan were the highlight of the trip for me. They were courteous, considerate, kind and respectful. I have never felt so welcomed in a country as I didin Japan.

My experience was made even more memorable by the following encounter: Prior to departing for Japan, the teachers had a two-day orientation in California. During that time, the organizers of the Toyota program repeatedly told the group they were thrilled that the vice president of their division would be joining us in Tokyo. In fact, they couldn’t speak highly enough of this individual – numerous superlatives were used to describe Irv Miller ’71 to the group. I wondered if this could be the Irv Miller I knew at Susquehanna, but figured that it probably wasn’t; after all, Miller is a pretty common name. However, I knew that if it was Susquehanna’s Irv, I’d know right away. He’s about 6’6” and I vividly remember cheering him on in basketball and football games.

The day after the teachers landed in Tokyo, Toyota sponsored a welcome lunch. As we entered the room, a very tall gentleman greeted each one of us. As I approached I said only, “Could you please tell me where you went to college?” Irv replied, “The same school that you did, Linda.” Irv and I hadn’t seen each other in 35 years, but I suppose we are proof that you never forget the people you meet at Susquehanna.

Rick Dorman ’75 – Japan
In 2000 I accompanied the Otterbein College Concert Choir on a 12-day performance tour of Japan. I served as a chaperone and guest-directed one performance. I serve the college as its vice president for institutional advancement and during our trip held an alumni reunion with 60 of our Japanese alumni while in Tokyo. We flew into Osaka and performed there and also in Hiroshima, Kyoto, Takayama, Shizuoka, Nara, and Tokyo. The trip was paid for by the choir members supplemented by a $75,000 gift from an alumna of the college. During the 16-hour return flight to America, I had each of the choir members write the donor a handwritten letter expressing what the trip meant to them and how it changed their lives. I compiled those into a memory book, complete with photographs taken of the group during the trip, and presented it to the donor upon our return. What a fabulous educational experience it was for all!

Lindy Woll ’75 Rote – Argentina
I was a Rotary exchange student to Argentina in 1969-1970. At age 16, I spent my junior year in high school in Hernando, a small town in the province of Cordoba. It was complete culture shock at first but turned out to be a life-changing experience for me. I spoke no Spanish when I went (I had two years of French in high school) but became very fluent by three months. After a year abroad, I came back to the U.S. for my senior year, and then attended Susquehanna University. Sadly, I no longer speak fluently but I do correspond with my host family and friends from Argentina. Today I work as associate executive director of the Ambler Area YMCA, located outside of Philadelphia. Among other things, I am responsible for our international program which sponsors youth exchanges and international camp counselors. In addition, I am a member of the Springfield Rotary Club and am chair of the Youth Exchange Committee.

John Muolo ’77 – United Kingdom
I have been living in London since 1999. I came here as a partner with the law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll and also worked as partner with Reed Smith. Currently, I am the vice president and general counsel of Nations Healthcare Limited, an elective surgery and diagnostics company. I am in the process of applying for dual U.S./U.K. citizenship.

Susan Reisch ’77 -– United Kingdom
My first experience traveling abroad was with [Professor Emeritus of Political Science] Robert Bradford, who led the Susquehanna at Oxford trip in the summer of 1975. I still think it was the best summer of my life. I saw so many things and met the greatest people. From then on my number one goal in life was to see the world.

The next opportunity I had was after my graduation from Susquehanna in 1977. I got a job working for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Retreat Center outside of Geneva in Celigny, Switzerland. I washed dishes and set tables, but it was in a beautiful Chateau that looked over Lake Geneva and could view the Mont Blanc on clear days. At this center the WCC led workshops and study sessions for theologians from all over the world. I met people from countries I had never heard of. When we would sit down to dinner there often was a representative from every continent. I stayed for six months and then traveled around Europe with a rail pass.

The first thing I did when I got home was apply for the Peace Corps. Home was New York City and I wanted to go to a Pacific Island, so I could be as far away from home as possible. Peace Corps chose to send me to the island of Jamaica, in the same time zone as New York! It was worlds away though, and I was stationed in Kingston – far away from the tourist beaches and resorts.

I stayed for two and a half years, from 1979 to 1981, working as a social worker and a preschool teacher. I met my husband at a returned Peace Corps Volunteer Conference (he served in the Philippines). That brought me to Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, where I work in the international office at the university. I recruit international students to come get their degrees here. The students that I work with now are most impressed with the fact that I saw Bob Marley perform his last concert in Jamaica--shortly before he died. The experiences I had there and the lessons I learned are still so valuable to me today.

Living in another culture helps you not only learn about other people, but to examine your own culture. You will never be the same--I am forever grateful to Professor Bradford and Susquehanna for getting me started!

David Getz ’78 – Egypt
I spent six months in the Sinai, Egypt, from August 1983 to January 1984. I was a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and the criminal defense attorney for about 1200 American soldiers. My unit was part of the Multinational Force & Observers, which was formed to monitor the Camp David Accords peace treaty reached between Egypt and Israel.

David C. Lutcher ’78 – Appalachia
I have been a participant in Appalachia Service Project for four years. As pastor of my congregation, we have sent youth and adults to Appalachia to rebuild homes to make them warmer, safer and dryer. This year, we had 47 participants from a group combined from St. Andrew's Lutheran and Trinity Lutheran, both in Perkasie, Pa. It has been a tremendous personal experience for me and all those involved. Those of us who do the work always get more out of the trip than those served. I also hope to join a Thrivent trip next year.

George Segon ’79 – Germany
I have lived in Bonn, Germany, for 15 and a half years, initially having come to Bonn to learn German at the Goethe Institute. After two two-month visits for German instruction and the fall of the Berlin Wall in the middle of those study periods, I decided to return for my third course at Goethe with the hope of studying German literature, French and Italian at Bonn University. I achieved this, but opted not to continue with the "magister" (translated most often masters) program because of the lack of teacher-student communication and quality here which we are so used to and often take for granted in our university education at SU. I was extremely lucky to have a teaching certificate due to my studies as an applied music major with a minor in music education at SU, enabling me to quickly gain teaching jobs.

My first work of mention was training doctors and nurses for their development work in Africa and Asia (equivalent to the Peace Corps) at the German Foundation for International Development. You may think that this is a long way from clarinet playing but, as a high school student, the possibility of a career in math or science existed. At SU, we music majors were not required to take courses in these curriculums, but I can only sing the praises of a liberal arts education since it builds more well-rounded and hopefully sound-thinking individuals with a critical eye for the world around them. This does not always happen at the universities in Europe where people begin very early to specialize in one field, and in the case of Germany, acquire a blindingly narrow view of the world due to overspecialization. We call these people "fachidioten" in German, meaning expert idiots. To be fair to European and German education, I must however say that the more liberal social climate and remnants of a humanistic education in the public schools gives pre-college students more of what we call liberal arts at that level.

To continue with my personal story, I not only trained doctors and nurses at the foundation, but also people from all walks of life – my general knowledge and liberal arts training were also assets here. The German Parliament (Bundestag) then asked me to teach for them in a new program for members of Parliament in 1995 and I refused at first. I was then ready to move on from Germany! However, I said to myself, "Who am I to turn down such an incredible opportunity for self-development?", and then accepted in July 2005. This work has brought me so close to the political arena and I will continue to do this work more actively in Berlin when I move there in January 2006! I have only been teaching intensive one-week courses four times a year for the past six years as a commuter to Berlin, the new home of the German Parliament and democracy since 1999. I will also continue my so-called “mini-job” as assistant to a Member of Parliament, lecturer work at the Diplomatic School of the Foreign Office (Federal State Department) and begin new work with the Foreign Office All of this work has to do with the English language, something not very far from music, and in my case directly related to music in the way I open, reactivate and newly program my participant's ears, eyes and mouths to achieve new goals in the language. I have gone from the hopes of having a performance career-first as a clarinetist and then as a singer (I studied voice and opera after SU in private studios in New York for several years) to being a respected teacher-trainer-coach of the English language. I can truly say that the extreme discipline demanded in music studies at SU equipped me and other music students for any professional life.

Back to Global Connections Main Page