Bridgewater State University
Bridgewater State University
"Stunning" is the only word that to us seems appropriate after reviewing a video produced recently by the Office of Admissions at Bridgewater State University.
For prospective students and their families, this is an ideal introduction to the university in its many phases . . . for the rest of us, it's a superb look at everyday life at the 10th largest college or university - public or private - in all of New England.
Without further ado, here's the link:
The Enterprise Hails Work of BSU Graduate Student
Whose Book Offers "Practical Guide" to Dealing with
Mental Health Issues
The Enterprise of Brockton, the region's largest newspaper, on July 30, 2026, published a profile of U.S. Army Veteran Steve Littlefield, G '27, who has authored a new book which he says is a "practical guide" for those who work in "high high-pressure mental professions" - i.e., first responders and veterans - help cope with the pressures they face daily..
Mr. Littlefield spent 26 yers in the military and was deployed to Iraq at age 22 in 2004, and again to Afghanistan in 2010. He retired last April.
Presently seeking a master's degree at Bridgewater State, in June Mr. Littlefield published "The Rucksack We Carry: A Field Manual for Veterans and First Responders."
President Clark sent the following message to the university community last week and we share it below:
We were pleased to help welcome the Portuguese tall ship NRP Sagres to New Bedford for a truly memorable visit to the Whaling City.
The awe-inspiring, 292-foot, three-masted vessel is a training ship for the Portuguese Navy.
It visited New Bedford as the last stop on a voyage to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary.
BSU was proud to co-sponsor a special event at the New Bedford Whaling Museum featuring the ship’s commander, José Eduardo de Sousa Luís. Commander Sousa Luís spoke about NRP Sagres’ naval mission and role as a cultural ambassador of Portugal.
Additionally, I joined several members of the campus community at a reception on board the ship.
Other guests included New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell; Francisco António Duarte Lopes, the ambassador from Portugal to the U.S.; and a variety of lawmakers.
Ambassador Duarte Lopes visited BSU last summer, when we discussed ways to strengthen connections between southeastern Massachusetts and Portugal.
These partnerships are already creating meaningful opportunities for our faculty and students through research, teaching and study abroad.
The reception allowed for continued conversations as we explore ways to serve the large Portuguese diaspora living in southeastern Massachusetts.
BSU was also a sponsor of Sail Boston, which hosted the NRP Sagres and more than 60 other ships for a five-day festival.
I was honored to serve alongside some of the region’s top business and nonprofit executives on Sail Boston’s Board of Directors. BSU was the only higher education institution represented on the board.
These activities help us to position our university as an important partner in regional, national and international initiatives that build bridges while enhancing opportunities for our students.
Think Your Major Defines Your Future?
BSU Says Think Again
We're grateful to Ms. Heather Harrison Michonski, G '26, of the Office of Enrollment, Marketing and Communications, for sharing this story about Dr. Gerald Tang, executive director for career training and internships at BSU:
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
It’s a question that stumps many, especially college students who are usually still trying to figure it all out.
To help solve this riddle, Bridgewater State University Career Services and Internships is launching a new framework that helps students explore the possibilities.
“We’re trying to make the hidden curriculum of career development visible,” said Executive Director of Career Services and Internships Dr. Gerald Tang, [pictured above]. While many students understand how to earn a college degree, they don’t always know about the “unwritten steps” that can lead to a meaningful career.
According to Dr. Tang, the framework focuses on three areas: education, skill building, and experience.
Rather than asking students, “what major are you choosing?” Career Services is encouraging them to think more broadly: What interests them? What skills do they want to develop? What experiences will help them grow?
“We want to shift away from the idea that a major equals a career.
A major is just one piece of the puzzle,” Dr. Tang said.
“We want students to think more broadly about their interests, goals, and values, and how those align with industries, companies, and roles, not just a major,” he said.
The goal is to inspire students right out of the gate, which is the reason this new framework is being presented to them as early as orientation.
“This is streamlining what we’ve already been doing in a way that is easily digestible and understandable. It offers a clearer way for students to break it up into smaller steps, to build career confidence,” said Katie Vagen, associate director of Internships and Career Development.
To read the full story, please click on this link:
Reminisces of a Lifetime Goal Accomplished:
Alumna Isabella Kathleen Oteri
Walked the Full Length of the
Appalachian Trail
"Mount Katahdin dominates an otherwise flat and endless forests of northern Maine while hosting subarctic climate and alpine vegetation. Mount Katahdin is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Thru-hikers lovingly refer to her as 'Momma K.' Katahdin is an extremely steep and strenuous climb. She offers some of the longest unbroken lines of sight in the United States. On a clear day it can be seen from the White Mountains of neighboring New Hampshire, a distance of 170 miles," said Ms. Oteri.
Ms. Isabella Kathleen Oteri, ’75, completed a 2,197.4-mile thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.), beginning on her 70th birthday, March 25th, of 2024, and finishing on December 7th.
The A.T. is the world’s longest hiking-only footpath, spanning 14 states from Georgia to Maine.
Hiking the A.T. was not a lifetime dream, she told us.
Ms. Oteri, who had never hiked, backpacked, or camped, was motivated by a desire to push her physical limits through the demanding terrain on the East Coast.
"Hiking the trail stripped away modern comforts and forced me to confront pain, exhaustion, and unpredictable weather head-on. True endurance came from accepting that the suffering is temporary and just part of the journey.," she said.
The famous A.T. mantra, “No pain, no Maine,” reminded her that reaching Mount Katahdin required pushing through physical exhaustion.
Ms. Oteri learned that her hike wasn’t just a physical trek; it was, she said, a profound mental exercise, testing her well-being far beyond the physical strain.
"The daily grind of repetitive physical pain, relentless weather, and isolation created a psychological strain far beyond aching joints, wounds, and insect bites. Mentally, she managed the grueling journey by setting micro-goals.
"After hiking 500 miles, I viewed a six-foot-long map of the trail and, sadly, saw that I had completed only a small portion. Thinking about the entire 2,197.4 miles was paralyzing."
She said she found mental strength by breaking the journey into bite-size pieces.
She focused on reaching the next shelter or water source and, eventually, on each mile, then half a mile, and finally, each step
. "Living in the moment built the grit and resilience necessary to complete the trail," Ms. Oteri said.
Throughout the eight-month journey, she says the rewards were many.
"I experienced acts of kindness and support from fellow hikers, trail angels, hostel owners, and the welcoming communities known as 'Trail Towns.'
"After conquering strenuous climbs, I was treated to breathtaking views. I fondly remembered hiking the rugged spine of Franconia Ridge, high above treeline in the White Mountains, where weathered granite and Alpine tundra laid the pathway. The world suddenly dropped away, leaving me exposed and vulnerable," she explained.
"Suspended in the sky, surrounded by spectacular 360-degree views, standing on a ridge that bridged earth and heaven. Scanning the vastness, a mix of fear and exhilaration carried her along. As I gazed down at the tiny trees far below, I smiled. The grueling miles to get up there suddenly felt like a small price to pay for a front row seat in the sky."
As she hiked the Green Tunnel, her relationship with nature deepened naturally, she said.
"I realized a profound shift from viewing the forest as a scenic backdrop to experiencing it as her home. The day-to-day immersion in wildlife, flora, and hardwood trees triggered a profound sensory awakening, shifting my perspective from a mere visitor in the woods to an active participant in the ecosystem. Deep in the woods, the world’s noise faded. I was completely grounded in my body and anchored to the living Earth. Stepping away from the daily grind led to a simpler life focused purely on hiking, eating, and sleeping; a gift I will always treasure," she concluded.
As a member of the Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiking Class of 2024, Ms. Oteri joins a rare group of septuagenarians and octogenarians who have completed the journey.
Only about 50 people, aged 70 and older, have accomplished this feat.
Below is a brief video she kindly shared with us:
Recalling Aida Bruns, the First Latino to Join the Faculty at Bridgewater State
A New Addition to the Retired Faculty Club
Weekly Web Report:
Cyrus Peirce
Dr. Turner’s nearly 500-page book covered in rich detail all of the most important of the opportunities and challenges that Bridgewater State experienced since its founding in 1840. Plus he published a myriad of many smaller details as well, along with scores of long-forgotten personal recollections preserved on notes and cards and fading photographs that, otherwise, would have been lost forever.
He devoted five years to researching and writing the book, the first full BSU history published since 1933.
Today we summarize one such story: “Education reform did not begin in the United States but was a continuation of a movement that originated in Europe as early as the 17th century, the purpose of which was to produce better qualified teachers,” wrote Dr. Turner.
The movement to establish ‘Normal Schools’ for that purpose picked up steam in the 1820s and, by the mid-1830s, then-Governor Edward Edwards of Massachusetts was working with a coalition of citizens and legislators, including, most importantly, Horace Mann, then Secretary of Education, to support the establishment of three schools, one in each section of the state.
By 1839, two schools were set to open, one in Lexington (later moved to Framingham) and Barre (later moved to Westfield).
Nicholas Tillinghast, the first principal for Bridgewater, chose to wait a year until 1840, and instead traveled to Lexington to study with Cyrus Peirce, photo above, the headmaster there.
“With the Lexington site assured, the board voted on June 21, 1839, to appoint Cyrus Peirce of Nantucket to head the school at a salary of $1,500 plus $300 for moving expenses,” Dr. Turner wrote.
“Peirce accepted the position and commented, ‘I had rather die than fail in the undertaking."
"The new principal, whom his students referred to as ‘Father Peirce,’ was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1790.
"Parenthetically, principals of normal schools were often given a fatherly designation well into the 19th century.
“Albert Gardner Boyden, in a similar manner, was called ‘Pa’ at Bridgewater State, where he was principal from 1860 to 1906, which suggests that the principals were often viewed as substitute fathers," noted Dr. Turner.
Today a small bronze plaque is installed by the front door of Boyden Hall to recognize our debt to Cyrus Peirce.
This concludes the report for August 3, 2026
Next edition: Monday, August 10, 2026