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Cavagnaro
FACE #10
Manager, Project Mgmt.,
Canon USA
What was your path/journey after you graduated from Cornell?
I have been married for 21+ years, and our total time together will be 30 years in 2025. We love life along the Jersey Shore; we have been in Barnegat for the past 20 years.
We do not have children, but American Eskimo Dogs intended to be pets. But they wound up being in movies, TV shows, commercials, ads, books, and newspapers! They are also a professional Trick/Therapy Dog Team, where they perform exciting interactive tricks at various venues, but they also have the sweet empathetic demeanors of therapy dogs who are able to connect with the elderly, infirm, and young, while vanquishing the fear of dogs in others. They have had multiple featured interviews and segments made of them by the American Kennel Club.
As a Vietnamese refugee who escaped Saigon in 1975 when it fell to the Communist Party, I have recently devoted my time to honoring Americans who fought in the Vietnam War through a movement my husband and I founded called “Thanking Vietnam Veterans in Barnegat.”
Through this, we:
1. Built a monument for Vietnam veterans in our town - the only monument in the country completely funded by a Vietnamese refugee.
2. Host large annual events for Vietnam veterans that attract hundreds from all over the NJ/Tri-State area and beyond, and heavily incorporate various youth groups to ensure the events’ longevity.
3. Travel around the area giving interactive presentations about my escape from Vietnam to educate students from elementary through university levels, along with civic and veterans groups on the refugee and Vietnam veteran experiences. These stories contrast starkly with each other, moving most to tears, and inspiring students to volunteer at our events to honor our Vietnam veterans.
Our efforts have gotten national attention by the Associated Press, USA Today, Military Times, and featured segments on Newsmax TV and Fox Philadelphia.
Some of the notable accolades we have received include:
Americanism Award – National Society Daughters of the American Revolution – 2024
State of New Jersey – Executive Department Proclamation – Governor Phil Murphy – 2024
Vietnam War Commemoration Top Performer – United States Department of Defense – 2024
United States Congressional Record – US Congressman Andy Kim – 2022
Patriot of the Year – United States Exercise Tiger Foundation – 2018
Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition – US Congressman Tom MacArthur – 2017
Changing the lives of these once forsaken heroes is something that gives me immense fulfillment and purpose!
What was your favorite class or Cornell? In retrospect, what has proven to be your most useful class from Cornell?
Sledding down Buffalo Street on a dining hall tray during the Blizzard of 1993, when all the streets were closed from the snow. We were kicked out of the streets by the National Guard.
Which Cornell classmates do you keep in contact with?
COMM 201 with Prof. Liesel Reinhart. Never in a million years did I think I would have any use for public speaking, but that is what I do all the time now - between my day job, the Trick/Therapy Dog Team, and public events for Vietnam veterans.
Like many, I had a major fear of public speaking. Getting my first A in her class taught me that I would speak well in public as long as I knew what I was talking about!
What is your favorite memory from your time at Cornell?
Many! Facebook has made it much easier to do so casually, but on a more regular basis: Stephanie Gendell, Mike Tamber, Erica Heitner, Marisol Barrero, Pete and Scott Klein, Joe D'Italia, Mike Docherty, Binnie Robinson, Alison Torrillo, Abra Benson, Julie Lubell, Kitren Nickerson, Priscilla Yu, and Dan Hooker, to name a few.