ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Sandra Chamberlain is acknowledged as a Pinnacle Life Member for her contributions to the field of Technology.
Mrs. Chamberlain pursued higher education, first earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. It was here that Dr. John R. Bergstrom, the founder of the geology department, mentored her. In thanksgiving for his mentoring, Sandy has established a scholarship in his name, with the first award given to a young lady in May 2023. This was followed years later with a Master’s Degree in Adult Education with an emphasis in diversity from SUNY Buffalo State College in 2006.
After graduating from UW-EC, she flew to California, where she applied for and accepted a job at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California. She loved the opportunity, and it was also during this time she met her husband, Royal, who went to the heavenly realm in December 2021. Two firsts took place during this time. Some of the first moon rocks were under lock and key at the survey but not part of Sandy’s division, and Royal was the still photographer for the 1st heart transplant at the Palo Alto VA Hospital. After two years in California, Royal was commissioned into the U.S. Army. At Fort Carson, Sandy was asked to teach Immigration and Naturalization classes through Army Community Services (ACS). After the first class graduated, she was also asked to teach English as a Second Language class. She received many honors there from ACS. When her husband received orders for Kaiserslautern, West Germany, she took her skills to that ACS community. It began through the lending locker options for incoming and outgoing military personnel and grew to become the Volunteer Supervisor of ACS. There were 17 different programs with 120 volunteers. Looking at the needs, she helped create the new program, Economy Wives. This program reached out to mostly enlisted men’s wives who lived in the villages around the base where they were isolated, not knowing the language, culture or how to use the mark to make purchases. We took these women all over Germany to outlets and made sure that each person who went with us had something they wanted to remind them of their time in Germany.
After four years in Germany, the next duty station was the Tooele Army Depot in Utah. After two years there, the family moved to Rochester, NY. Her husband, Royal, chose the Rochester Institute of Technology for his Master’s degree. The first thing Sandy did was to search out her faith community. She picked a church in the inner city and became involved in social justice issues. She also answered the call of an ad in the church bulletin, asking someone to reach out to take in two brothers from the Vietnam Children’s Boat Exodus. Once again, the family answered the call, and Chay and Cuong became part of the family.
At the same time, Sandy was asked to become a teacher’s aide for the Pre-K program at the church’s school. That lasted for a year. A new department was being created at Monroe Community College (MCC) for students from many different countries. The English as a Second Language Department needed a tutor for its students. Mrs. Chamberlain met the co-chair at church, and was asked to join them as a tutor, while her husband was working as a medical photography at the University of Rochester. Much of his work required being in the operating room documenting surgical procedures. His work also served as teaching tools for new medical professionals and publishing. She had studied French since the 5th grade, took college classes, learned German economics, sent her daughters to German schools. On top of that, her husband was a translator for the commanding general in Spanish and German.
Mrs. Chamberlain began working at MCC in 1983, as she worked as a professional tutor for 16 ½ years. She was then promoted to a Senior Technical Assistant in the Integrated Learning Center, running five different labs and hiring 45 people to tutor and work as student aides. Their computer lab housed the assistive technology for those with disabilities. While doing this, she also enrolled in sign language classes. After doing that for 15 years, Sandy was offered a position as an Online Concierge within the Virtual Campus, working with remote students.
In her spare time, she does Tae Kwon Do and is currently working on getting a new stripe on her black belt. Sandy aims for her students to follow their dreams and continues assisting students anywhere on campus, primarily online.
Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]
SOURCE The Inner Circle
