Moore and Mehmel honored with Alfred State Alumni Awards
Written by Paul Welker | June 2023
Gary Moore, ’76, and Christiana Mehmel, ’19 were honored for bringing distinction to their alma mater and to themselves through their outstanding personal and professional achievements. Moore was named the 2023 Alfred State Distinguished Alumni while Mehmel was named the 2023 Alfred State Outstanding Young Alumni Award Winner.
When reading about Gary and Christiana most people would not be able to connect the two together. On top of her architecture studies and as a release from the stress of her studies, Christiana's love of running led to her joining Coach Moore’s last cross country team before he retired.
Running has always been a home for Christiana. “There are huge life metaphors in running. Most of it is just showing up. When you are running, 90% of the time, you are telling yourself just stop this is painful but once you finish you are so incredibly proud of yourself.”
Gary was honored and proud to stand alongside one of his former student-athletes. “To hear what she is doing now as a recent graduate with her architecture degree is amazing. She is working on designing things for high schools in the Rochester area. It is neat to be honored with her.”
“I always knew that he was very involved and active in everything that he did,” commented Christiana. “It is humbling and an honor to be awarded with him for such a great award. He is certainly deserving.”
Gary Moore, '76
Gary, a former Alfred State Athlete of the Year and a 2016 Athletic Department Hall of Fame member, was a fixture in the college’s athletic department for over 35 years. He continues to this day to be a positive influence on the college.
Gary never expected to return to work at Alfred State after he graduated in 1976. A phone call from Athletic Director Dick Giedlin offering him a chance to coach in a temporary job changed his plans. “I stopped coaching at a high school and put my plans for graduate school on hold and came on down. The people and the students at Alfred State have always been great to work with and the community, you cannot beat it, so I always stayed here.”
“There are so many great people that have gone to the school, and I admire other people’s achievements way beyond what I have ever accomplished in my life."Gary Moore, '76
During his tenure, he coached cross country, track & field, and swimming. He has also taught physical education classes, ran the intramural program, and served as the Director of the Summer Sports Festival. Gary was recognized for his support of individual student-athletes and for his sportsmanship reflected in his demeanor with other coaches, athletes, and any person he encountered.
As a coach, Gary led four of his teams to NJCAA National Championships (the 2000 men’s outdoor track & field team, the 2003 women’s cross-country team, the 2007 women’s outdoor track & field team, and the 2011 women’s cross-country team) He also guided 47 teams to Region III Championships. Countless athletes earned All-Region, All-American, and moved on to compete at a higher level.
Gary is known all over campus due to his willingness to serve on countless committees and his role of serving as a representative to the United University Professions union. That service continues today in retirement as he is active within the Rochester Alumni Chapter, volunteers to assist at cross country and track & field events and has been key in the continuation of the annual Special Olympics event held on campus.
His impact will be felt for years to come as he has created a planned gift to support the cross country and track and field programs.
“It was always an honor to work at Alfred State College and be involved with helping with the alumni with volunteer activities. There are so many great people that have gone to the school, and I admire other people’s achievements way beyond what I have ever accomplished in my life.”
“Our alumni are great! You read about the wonderful things they are doing in the newspapers and the Alfred State website. I like to hang out with them, they are a good group of people.”
Christiana Mehmel, '19
Christiana graduated from Alfred State’s NAAB-accredited Bachelor of Architecture program and has flourished in the early stages of her career while supporting the college along the way.
“You cannot really move forward without acknowledging your past. Alfred State is a huge part of my past and my future. By coming back and being an adjunct professor or doing critiques or even just coming back for career fairs I get to interact with students, and I am giving back to the students and the college. That is important because I got a lot out of being here so giving back is important to me.”
As a student, Christiana demonstrated an elevated level of maturity within her work ethic and leadership qualities. She was nominated to be a student speaker at the 2017 Appalachian Teaching Project, she worked diligently and took on a leadership role on civic engagement projects as a member of Southern Tier Architectural Resource and was one of five students that participated in a semester-long mentoring program with students from Edison High School in Rochester. She also was an integral member of the 2017 and 2018 Design-Build team and served as project manager for the 2018 team.
“Going through school I always picked them as professors because I knew that you know they care about their students, and they want to point you in the right direction."Christiana Mehmel, '19
She did that all while being a member of the track and field team and working part time at an architecture firm in Olean.
Christiana accepted a full-time position with SEI Design Group in Rochester. Almost immediately she volunteered to work on the firm’s Project Runway creation for Rochester’s 2019 Fashion Week, a fundraiser for the Rochester Center for Youth. She followed this up by serving on the firm’s construction team, building a public sculpture out of canned goods to benefit Rochester’s Foodlink. She also joined the Rochester Chapter of the American Institute of Architects as an associate member in late 2019 and stepped up to fill a vacancy on the organization’s Board of Directors in January 2020 as Director of Emerging Rochester Architects (ERA).
She stepped up and was one of ten members on the Alfred State’s Architecture Emerging Professionals Advisory Board that reviewed and offered feedback on the program’s context, mission, and shared values of the discipline and profession. On top of serving on the advisory board, she has been an adjunct professor and taught the lab section of Construction Technology 1.
“Dave Carli, Rick Carlo, Joy Carlson, Bill Dean - they have all made such a huge impact on my life. Going through school I always picked them as professors because I knew that you know they care about their students, and they want to point you in the right direction. All of them have really made a difference.”
Gary and Christiana were honored with a reception prior to Honors Convocation, and both were able to share a few words to current students during the ceremony.
