Hilton Central School District welcomed six graduates into the Alumni Hall of Fame on October 4. They are: Sarah Blodgett Bermeo, Ph.D., Class of 1993; Howard Fraser Crumb (in memoriam), Class of 1949; Bonnie A. Lupo, BSN, MS, FNP-BC, Class of 1983; Lieutenant Sara Richardson Onyango, DHSc, Class of 2004; Chuck Partridge, Class of 1976; and Scott Verbridge, Ph.D., Class of 1998.
The inductees took part in a full day of activities at Hilton High School, including speaking to students, enjoying a luncheon with family and district administrators, being announced at the Homecoming Pep Rally, speaking at the induction ceremony followed by a community reception, taking part in the Homecoming parade and participating in the coin toss at the Homecoming football game.
Sarah Blodgett Bermeo, Ph.D. is associate professor of public policy and political science in the Sanford School at Duke University. She grew up on a farm in Hilton and became the first in her family to attend college. She received a B.A. in economics and political science from the University of Rochester, and master’s in Public Affairs and Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University. Dr. Bermeo studies relations between industrialized and developing countries, and has published articles on foreign aid, trade agreements, and immigration as well as a book, Targeted Development (Oxford University Press). Her writings on development and on Central America have been published by the Brookings Institution, The Washington Post, and numerous news outlets around the world. Dr. Bermeo has been a guest discussing violence and food insecurity in Central America on ABC Australia, the BBC, and multiple U.S. radio stations (including WXXI in Rochester). She lives in Durham, NC with her husband, Otto, and their three children.
Howard Fraser Crumb earned a B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University. A member of the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity while at Cornell, he commuted back and forth to Hilton to help out when needed at the family farm on Curtis Road. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was honorably discharged as a 1st Lieutenant in October 1955. Mr. Crumb believed strongly in the free-market economy. In 1956, he started what would become a distinguished career with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, until he retired in 1991. He was instrumental in the development of Automated Clearing House and FedWire Transactions. He also served as chairman of the Federal Reserve System Subcommittee on Communications. Following that career, Mr. Crumb continued to share his banking acumen and expertise in monetary policy for another 25 years in over 40 countries as a consultant to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other organizations. Throughout this time, he volunteered actively on various non-profit boards and religious organizations. He received a Doctor of Laws degree from Concordia College New York in May 1999. Mr. Crumb loved to travel for both business and pleasure. He married his sweetheart, Carolyn [nee Snyder, d. 2018], in October 1956. He is survived by four children and five grandchildren, whom he adored.
Bonnie A. Lupo, BSN, MS, FNP-BC, knew from childhood she wanted to help people as her kindergarten report card noted, “Always concerned for others.” In 1986, she became an RN at the age of 20 and continued on to earn her B.S. in Nursing from Alfred University. In 1998, after working in ICU, Special Procedures and Internal Medicine, she obtained a master’s in Managed Care and a post master’s Family Nurse Practitioner degree from St. John Fisher College. During this part of her career Ms. Lupo was involved in Program Development, Process Improvement, Patient Education and Healthcare Leadership. In 2007, she began working at the VA Medical Center in Rochester where she developed the Polytrauma and Women’s Health Programs required for critically injured and high risk Veterans. She developed the first Non VA Care Coordination Program (NVCC) to capture and track Veterans obtaining care in the community. In 2011, she developed the program on a national scale and it has evolved into the VHA National Office of Community Care – Clinical Integration. Ms. Lupo continues to develop National Veterans programs, policies and processes, is a Contract Officer Representative and works as a NP at the University of Rochester per diem. She is grateful for her path to serve, honor and improve the lives of Veterans and their care.
Lieutenant Sara Richardson Onyango, DHSc is on active duty in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts. She is stationed at the Food & Drug Administration where she inspects medical device manufacturers. She has served in the Public Health Service for the past seven years and was previously detailed to the Bureau of Prisons where she provided medical care to inmates. Her past deployments have included Liberia to assist with the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak and Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Lieutenant Onyango was honored by the U.S. Public Health Service with an Achievement Medal, Response Service Award, Global Response Service Award and Presidential Unit Citation, and received a Humanitarian Service Medal from the U.S. Dept. of Defense. She earned her Doctorate in Health Science from Nova Southeastern University, Master of Public Health from the University at Albany, Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Villanova University, and Bachelor of Science in International Health Science from SUNY Cortland. Prior to her commissioning, she taught high school health science in South Carolina.
Chuck Partridge received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The College at Brockport. From 1983 to 2014, he was a social studies teacher and wrestling coach at Lyndonville and Hilton Central Schools. Mr. Partridge was a two-time recipient of the University of Rochester Award for Excellence in Secondary Education. In 2003, he was named Hilton Central Schools Teachers’ Association Teacher of the Year. As a wrestling coach, Mr. Partridge received many accolades, including being inducted into the Hilton Athletic Hall of Fame and Section V Wrestling Hall of Fame; receiving the Genesee Region Coach of the Year, Hilton Athletic Director’s Award for Sportsmanship in Coaching, New York State Coaches Association Honor Award, Monroe County Public School Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, and Section V Wrestling Terry Justice Award. His record of 334 wins, 85 losses and two ties speaks for itself.
Scott Verbridge, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Faculty Fellow in the Virginia Tech – Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, with affiliate appointments in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Neuroscience, and the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center. He graduated from the University of Rochester summa cum laude with B.S. degrees in physics and applied mathematics. Dr. Verbridge completed his graduate studies at Cornell University with M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics, and postdoctoral research in biomedical engineering. His primary focus is as director of the Laboratory of Integrative Tumor Ecology (LITE). The Verbridge lab works to better understand how cancer can be either suppressed or accelerated (and possibly even reversed) by the surrounding cells and tissues, and is an inventor on multiple patents to target this so-called “Tumor Microenvironment.” His overall goals are to help improve treatment outcomes for patients with highly infiltrative or metastatic cancers in hard-to-treat tissues. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed journal papers, in addition to numerous conference proceedings, book chapters, and a co-edited book; his published work has now been cited over 7,500 times on Google Scholar. He was also a recipient of the 2017 NSF CAREER Award, and serves on the Editorial Board for the Nature Research open access journal Scientific Reports. Dr. Verbridge lives in Blacksburg, Virginia with his wife Carla, son Leo, and cat Charlie.
The first Hilton High School Alumni Hall of Fame Selection Committee was convened in 1999. The Hilton High School Alumni Hall of Fame Selection Committee performs a review of each nominee’s educational achievement; job-related achievements; honors and awards; community involvement; personal accomplishments; and/or any other appropriate qualifications that merit consideration.
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