A look into the lives of Meramec alumni
By: DENNIS PARKS
Staff Writer
One of the heroes in that Cardinal victory in 2011 was STLCC-Meramec alumnus, David Freese. However, Freese is not the first or only graduate of Meramec to rise to fame and fortune.
Currently, three names have plaques on Meramec’s Alumni Walk of Fame that is located beneath the flagpoles in the visitor parking lot at the front of campus. These names are Sharon Rohrbach, a former nursing student; Todd Newton, a former communications student and a group of music students collectively known as Sh-Boom.
SHARON ROHRBACH, co-founder of Nurses for Newborns
After graduating from Meramec in 1976, Rohrbach began her full-time career as a registered nurse. Working at St. Anthony’s Medical Center in south St. Louis County, she was assigned to the Critical Care Nursery. In this position, Rohrbach was often filling a key role in caring for newborn infants with life-threatening illness brought into the hospital’s emergency room within the first few days after delivery. This experience gave Rohrbach the idea that much of this ER care of newborns could be eliminated by additional medical assessment of newborns and education for new parents.
“I kept waiting for someone else to step up to attack the problem of infant mortality and no one else did, so I started Nurses for Newborns,” Rohrbach said.
Teamed with Robin Kinney, co-founder of Nurses for Newborns, Rohrbach founded the Nurses for Newborns Foundation (http://nfnf.org) in 1991. According to the foundation’s website, “Nurses for Newborn’s mission is to provide a safety net for families most at-risk; to help prevent infant mortality, child abuse and neglect through home-based programs that provide education, healthcare and positive parenting skills.” Through home visits by registered nurses, Nurses for Newborns, “serve teen moms, moms that are mentally or physically challenged, infants that are sick and general population families that are in need.”
According to Rohrbach, her most helpful class while attending Meramec was the Women Entrepreneur Class, in which she learned how to prepare a business plan and build a successful organization.
“Apply what you learn as soon as possible. I don’t think I would have retained the information about how to write a business plan if I didn’t apply it quickly,” Rohrbach said.
Rohrbach has been given many awards over the past decade. She has received awards like the Robert Wood Johnson Community Leadership Award, the Use Your Life award and a $100,000 Purpose Prize in 2007.
After retiring as CEO in 2008, Rohrbach now works as a consultant at Dynamic Change (http://dynamicchangeconsulting.com), which she co-owns with Nurses for Newborns co-founder Robin Kinney.
TODD NEWTON, voice-over for E! Network and Writer
Working as an intern for St. Louis radio station HOT-97 FM while attending Meramec, Newton did what he could to learn as much as possible about the radio industry.
“I think I was extremely observant during that period in my life,” Newton said. “I had to knock on a lot of doors, but I just never quit.”
Radio work soon led to television work, doing voice-overs for E! Network. Soon he was in Los Angeles looking for an agent. His current book project, “Living the Dream: Success for Today’s Achiever” discusses success and its different definitions.
“I don’t believe in big breaks,” Newton said. “You just have to keep looking- and working- for that next step. I never look at any opportunity as being too small. There’s always something to learn from each endeavor, whether it’s a meeting, a TV show or a conversation with a stranger.”
Newton has used his skills learned while a student at Meramec to become a radio personality, Emmy Award winning television host, author and keynote speaker. He has served as host of The Price Is Right Live! and is the author of “Life in the Bonus Round: A Game Show Host’s Road to Success & Fulfillment.”
“Be aggressive. Whatever you want to see happen in your life, you need to be passionate and focused,” Newton said. “Be open and up front about what you want to achieve from it.”
Newton’s personal development books are available at http://toddnewtononline.com, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Best Friends Animal Society.
“I have the power to choose what my life will become.” Newton said.
SH-BOOM, fifties and sixties rock and roll cover band
Fifties and ‘60s rock ‘n’ roll cover band, Sh-Boom is a collection of Meramec graduates and alumni that have been making music together for more than 30 years. Founding members Dave Caito and Brad James graduated from Meramec in 1981, while Rob Miller graduated from Meramec in 1982. Founding members Scott Lackey, Ben Lackey and Mike Waterman also attended Meramec. Tom Gerke and Lamar Pilsing were also included when the band became the first recipient of the Meramec Alumni Walk of Fame in 1999.
“The success that my band Sh-Boom has enjoyed was a long process of taking advantage of nearly every opportunity to perform, regardless of the monetary reward,” James said.
To maximize that opportunity, Sh-Boom realized they had found a niche and they offered a unique product. Performing at a private party attended by the VP Fair’s corporate sponsors gave the band exposure to several corporate contacts.
“It also opened our eyes to the opportunities there were to play for private business,” James said.
Encouragement by Meramec’s music department faculty to perform all styles of music seems to have been the band’s best preparation for success.
“We were provided with many opportunities to perform both on and off campus,” James said.
James’ advice to students looking to reach their potential is “take advantage of as many opportunities as you can to use your talents and gifts; whether creative, athletic or academic.”
To find out where Sh-Boom is playing or to schedule them for your event, check out their website at http://sh-boom.com.
