Honorees Abaigeal O'Brien and Christopher Hantman with fellow members of the MCLA class of 2014.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts recognized five alumni on Saturday who have demonstrated excellence in their professional and personal lives.

"These are individuals who've really excelled in their various fields and so it's always really quite gratifying to see what our alums have done," President James Birge said.

"It's always extraordinary things."

Abaigeal O'Brien, class of 2014; Donald Pecor Jr., class of 1966; Christopher Hantman, class of 2014; professor Maura Mills, class of 2005; and Amanda Marino Herlihy, class of 2007, were honored with engraved clocks and dinner at the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation.

Hantman shared a quote from his mother: "Always leave a room better than when you found it." While this started as a way to get him to clean up his toys as a child, it has evolved into a value of always leaving a person's day brighter than when he entered it.

"Choosing kindness every day can be enough and sometimes, choosing kindness isn't the easiest option but it has a lasting impact on those we touch as well as our own mental health," he said.

"It is living a community-minded life. Community is not just taking responsibility for yourself but also for your neighbors, calling others in instead of out, looking at people unlike ourselves as collaborators, not competitors. If we can go through life with the perspective of 'How can I help better things while I'm here?' instead of leaving complaints on social media or finding blame than others, I think we find ourselves more connected and more contented."

Hantman was honored with the Community Service and Citizenship Award for demonstrating a record of service to the local community or the world at large. He is the college and career readiness coordinator at Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter Public School in Adams where he was recently voted high school teacher of the year by the children.

He is the former coordinator of civic engagement at MCLA, as service was a major part of his upbringing and guided his work in college. Outside of work, he has been involved with the Berkshire Food Project, 1Berkshire Youth Leadership Program, the Greylock Community Club, and the Elizabeth Freeman Center. He is also a founding member of the Common Folk Artist Collective.

The awardee was heavily involved with the former Center for Service and Citizenship and worked there after graduating, helping to form the volunteer center and the college's food pantry. In this role, he also helped organize the spring and fall days of service for eight years along with alternative spring break trips, Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, and student-led programming.

Pecor received the Outstanding Educator Emeritus Award which honors a retired educator and alum who spent their career dedicated to the education and development of students and the profession.  

The Adams native received his master's from Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., in 1969 and went on to lead a long and successful career as a beloved educator. He taught at Drury High School from 1967 to 2006, serving as the chair of its history department from 1979 to 2006 and as dean of curriculum and instruction from 1999 until his retirement in 2006.

He was an adjunct professor at MCLA from 1983 to 2020, earning the 1992 North Adams State College Teacher of the Year Award and the MCLA class of 2005 Senior Appreciation Award. He served on the MCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors for more than 12 years, was awarded an honorary doctorate at the college's 2008 commencement exercises and, in 2006, received the MCLA Alumni Association's Service to the College Award.

Pecor is listed in the Who's Who Among American Teachers and the Department of Education has published his educators' guide teaching women's history.

"I'm accepting this award, in some ways, for all those early and mid-1960 graduates, hundreds who went into education and educated generations of students. North Adams State College at the time had prepared us well," he said.

"It provided the skill, the knowledge to succeed and I think most of us did, including many who went on to careers in administration, went on to teach at the college level."

He feels lucky to have begun teaching in the late 1960s, which "could not have been a more controversial time, except this one, to start teaching."

"It almost, in some ways, every day raised issues that were great for the social studies classroom but also, I think we grew up and started teaching in an atmosphere that was very conducive," Pecor said.

"There was a great deal of freedom to teach. There was no overemphasizing of standardized testing. Everybody recognized that teachers should, in some ways, decide what was best for the students, and maybe most importantly, there was no real censorship in my career."

He also feels fortunate to have maintained a more than 60-year relationship with the college, from a student in 1962 to now.

O'Brien traveled from Alaska to receive the Vanguard Award which recognizes a graduate from the last 15 years who has shown significant growth and achievement in their field as well as a commitment to supporting and serving as a role model to current students.

She is not sure that any experience had a bigger impact on who she is as a person than the time spent at MCLA.

"My time at MCLA prepared me for this role in the way that the classes I took, the professors I had, and the experiences I had showcase how important is to care for the society and the people around you, how important is to care for your community and to give voices to those who may be struggling to be heard," O'Brien said.

"As the deputy director of access to justice services in the Alaska court system, I spend my days helping people access the justice they deserve and part of my drive comes from the spirit and the lessons I've learned at MCLA. It is the MCLA foundation that allowed me to excel, to work hard, and to frankly think, and it's on this foundation which I built my life, my values, and all my friends."

She is the deputy director of access to justice services in Anchorage. Her work focuses on addressing the justice needs Alaskans face that may help solve their problems before they are in the legal system. This includes partnerships with legal, social, and medical service providers.

The awardee runs multiple mediation programs and helps apply for and manage new grant programs, as she strives to make the law more accessible to Alaskans. In her spare time, she volunteers with the Food Bank of Alaska and the Northwest Abortion Access Fund.

After graduating from MCLA with a degree in environmental studies, she enrolled in Vermont Law School and after passing her bar exam, moved to the secluded town of Dillingham, Alaska. Here she worked for Judge Christina Ray where her workload included everything from routine misdemeanor arraignments to a wrongful death suit due to a faulty airplane.

Mills received the Outstanding Educator Award for demonstrating a sustained history of professional or community achievement and leadership. She is currently an associate professor of management at the University of Alabama and is a past recipient of a distinguished alumni award. Mills has presented and published pedagogically related work in national and international outlets and her 2015 book is used as a textbook in courses at a variety of institutions.

Herlihy received the Distinguished Alum Award for a sustained history of professional community achievement and leadership. She is the executive director of the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities Foundation and has raised more than $5 million in support for arts education across South Carolina.

Both were unable to attend the ceremony and provided video comments for attendees.

"I'm sure you will all agree that these recipients embody the ideals of compassion, leadership, and dedicated service that define the core values of what an education at MCLA represents," Alumni Association President Jake Boillat said.

Speaking about the awardees, Birge said choosing to be an attorney in Alaska or educating the community's young people are great testaments to the kind of education they received from MCLA and the commitment they have made to raising the tide for all boats.

"They've all committed to doing some really important good work," he added.