F or years, Doris B. Hudak has participated in the nomination and selection process of recipients for the prestigious Barringer Award given by the Brookdale Community College (BCC) Alumni Association Executive Board and a selection panel from the Brookdale community in Lincroft.
Doris B. Hudak But this year was different. Hudak, the immediate past president of the alumni association, was herself a 2009 recipient of the 24th annual Barringer Award presented by Peter Burnham, Brookdale’s president on March 27.
“Never in a million years did I think I would receive this award,” said Hudak, a 1983 Brookdale graduate.
The Barringer Award was established in 1986 by Dr. Bob Barringer to recognize individualswho epitomize the quality of excellence in education and who make a significant impact on the college and its students. It is the alumni association’s highest award.
The award’s criteria include outstanding service: to students in the classroom or other educational activities that enhance students’ educational experience and opportunity to succeed; to the institution in a leadership or inspirational role; to the community that reflects well on the institution and the college’s image; and the length of service of the honoree.
Hudak, 79, a Middletown resident, received two letters of nomination, one from Colin P. Casey in Red Bank and one from Joan Brearley in Sea Bright, both of whom worked with Hudak as members of the alumni association executive board.
In Casey’s letter, he enumerated Hudak’s numerous contributions to Brookdale, including initiating and chairing the alumni association’s Phone-A-Thon committee to raise funds; working in the college’s Career Services Department; increasing the number of student job placements; and spearheading the Buy- A-Brick campaign to educate students about when Brookdale was a farm and home to Regret, the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby, and to raise funds for scholarships.
Casey’s letter highlighted Hudak’s involvement as a chair in the “Knowledge Is Power — Three Cups of Tea” initiative. Through her active fundraising and coalition efforts, $35,000 was collected to build a school for girls in the name of Brookdale in the Karakoram region in Central Asia under the auspices of Greg Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute (CAI).
Casey stated that Hudak was an active participant in the Monmouth County initial “Running and Winning” project that provided hands-on training for 60 women high school juniors to learn how to conduct a campaign and run for office.
Casey ended his letter by stating, “Few people have been such a good friend to the college, and I know of no volunteer who has donated the time and passion this extraordinary lady has … the time has come to honor Doris for all she has done for Brookdale.”
Brearley, who has known Hudak for more than 20 years, said by phone that Hudak embodies all facets of the award.
“Doris is a remarkable woman. She is quiet but accomplishes without fanfare the projects
she undertakes. I’m thrilled and pleased to be included in any tribute to Doris,” Brearley said. When time came for Hudak to choose which human service sector she would apply her Brookdale degree, she chose to work as a bereavement facilitator. “My time as a hospice volunteer at Riverview pointed me in the direction of bereavement,” she said. “People needed help dealing with grief.” And so, Hudak designed a bereavement program for funeral directors in New Jersey, the first of its kind in the state. She was named by the Board of the National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved (NCMB)
to serve as chair of fundraising and special events, as well as giving training seminars.
Her efforts and expertise are found in the NCMB training manual, the official manual for the Diocese of Trenton, which honored her for her efforts in the ministry of bereavement to many parishes, including her parish of St. Mary’s in Colts Neck.
Hudak’s studies at Brookdale included kata kehone, a form of karate, under Professor Jeung H. Kim. In 1997 and at the age of 68, she joined a Brookdale delegation of karate students in an international karate tournament at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. Hudak came back with a gold medal in the category for women age 60 and older.”I was determined never to feel like a victim,” she said.
Two years later, Hudak went around the world solo and published her adventures in a book published in 2006 titled “The Journey of a Dream: One Woman’s Travel Tale.”
At the age of 75, she raised funds for Brookdale student scholarships by obtaining pledges for her solo backpacking trip of 70 miles to the Compestella de Santiago (St. James Cathedral) pilgrimage site in Spain.
Hudak continues to take courses at Brookdale, calling the college “her home away from home” and “a nurturing place where she loves learning and earning her degree, a personal goal of hers.”
As to the future, Hudak is preparing for a return to Spain next year.
“The feast of St. James falls on a Sunday, and a special door is opened at the cathedral,” she said. “I want to be there for that occasion. I haven’t found anyone to travel with yet because of the crowd that is expected. I think it will be a blast of a party with all the people — the more the merrier.”
Hudak and her husband, Thomas, have four children: Thomas Jr. and his wife, Mandy, who live in Hong Kong with their children Thomas III, Anastasia and Morgan; Susan and her husband, James, who live in New Jersey with their children Michelle and Jenna; Veronica and her husband, Ken, who live in Virginia; and Janice, who lives in Florida.
The other 2009 Barringer Award recipients are: Karen D’Agostino, Ph.D., Brookdale professor of English; and Webster B. Trammell, Psy.D., vice president of development, community and governmental relations for Brookdale.