by Alyssa Caliguri, Associate Director of Admissions and Student Affairs

There are typically high levels of stress on college campuses during the weeks leading up to Final Exams. To help address this, a practice common across colleges in the U.S. involves bringing trained therapy dogs to their campuses to interact with their students and provide emotional support. Webb already has a long tradition of dogs visiting (or even residing on) campus. Over the past few years, Sully, Barney, Duke, Pebbles, Callie, Dan, Beau, Diego, Holly, and other employee dogs have spent some time on campus with Webbies. On Tuesday, June 15th, two therapy dogs from Therapy Dogs of Long Island joined in on the fun and visited the Webb Institute campus. T to help relieve some stress before final exams. Toby, the golden retriever, and Lucy, a Labrador retriever, greeted students in the Visconti Reception Room and provided some well-deserved relief from the workload and studying. According to Therapy Dogs of Long Island, “Dogs can help improve mental and physical health, pain management, and behavior/interpersonal interaction.

Dogs can also reduce heart rate, blood pressure, fear and anxiety, and aggression.” Toby and Lucy brought unconditional love and many smiles to the students’ faces during this time.

There is something special and calming about a dog’s companionship, and its ability to understand feelings and situations around it, without ever having a conversation.

Marguerite Caliguri, Toby’s owner states, ” Bringing Toby to therapy visits has been very rewarding for both of us as a therapy dog team. Toby can really pick up on people’s feelings; at the same time, I’ve seen people’s attitude change completely for the better once they see Toby coming. It is also equally as rewarding for Toby to socialize, lend a paw, and brighten someone’s day. He thrives on being with people and seeing that he loves it so much, I knew I had to share it with as many people as I can.” Student wellness is key to academic success. The Office of Admissions and Student Affairs hopes to continue providing wellness initiatives throughout the upcoming year to help the students thrive in and out of the classroom environment.

When world-renowned Russian-American pianist, Alexei Tartakovsky played the music of Mozart, Chopin, and Schubert on the grand piano at Webb Institute on September 7, Webb became more than a school for future shipbuilders. It also became a hub for creators, architects, and engineers – entranced in the journey of musical art and creativity.

Students dressed in formal attire for a special night of timeless melodies.

“A fantastic musician and pianist,” enthused fellow classical pianist, Martha Argerich, which is a sentiment echoed by the New York Concert Review, calling him “one of the finest young pianists in recent years.”

From winning three top prizes in a single year to a unanimous first prize win at the Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition, Tartakovsky had always stolen the spotlight on international stages. To have him at Webb for our unique community was special.

What made this evening particularly meaningful was the collaborative spirit that brought Tartakovsky to our campus. “Our students not only excel in STEM; they have an appreciation for all facets of human achievement, including the arts and music,” commented Professor Goloubeva, one of the key orchestrators of the event, along with Professor Harris.

Professor Harris, coordinator of our Humanities program at Webb added, “Alexei Tartakovsky’s performance was an enhancement of our Humanities program, and a testament to the multidimensional and creative talent we cultivate here. You can see that our students felt the music deeply.”

Webbies engage in conversation during the intermission of musical inspiration.

Jack Jackson, a member of the Leadership Committee responsible for the recital, said, “This event, the first of its kind for some of us, was a valuable chance for Webbies to experience the artistry of piano performance and expand our outlook on beauty beyond the engineering curriculum, and into the field of fine art.”

As we send our heartfelt gratitude to Alexei Tartakovsky, who continues his European tour this week in Bonn, we also thank Professor Harris and Gloubeva as well as our pro-active Leadership Committee which includes Thomas Motyka, Ben Calkins, Jack Jackson, Steven Katz and Burke Kanemasu.

Their collective effort enriched what it means to be a Webbie – to be able to take in the magic of engineering and the arts, including the music of Chopin in a Long Island mansion.

As Alexei Tartakovsky graced Webb Institute’s mansion with notes of classical music, this special night captured the essence of what makes Webb a beautiful place for both mind and soul.