Many graduates of Westfield State University follow a linear path from degree to career. A criminal justice major becomes a court officer, or a communication major enters a longtime career as a journalist or radio personality. But sometimes, alumni use their degrees in creative ways. This article describes how the paths evolved for three different alumni.
From business, to health, to cupcakes
The business degree Scott St. Cyr ’84 earned at Westfield State led him into healthcare and a career as a spa owner, but a hard left a few years ago finds him now living in West Hollywood, where he makes cupcakes, or more precisely “Scottycakes.”
After graduation, St. Cyr put his business degree to work for business purposes. He worked at an inn on Cape Cod and then in men’s retail, including a stint at the old Boston landmark, Jordan Marsh.
A longtime passion for health and well-being led St. Cyr to make a dramatic change in his professional goals and direction, and in the mid-80s, he attended the Polarity Realization Institute (PRI) in Ipswich and completed its holistic massage and polarity practitioner programs.
St. Cyr began to focus his attention on the art of balance.
Using the polarity therapy, an energy therapy that is centered around the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether, St. Cyr went to work for PRI, teaching massage and polarity and using his business degree as well for management purposes.
In 1998, St. Cyr took the leap to business owner, opening his own spa “with the sole vision of creating an oasis for healing and wellness.”
That spa, étant – French for “being” – on Tremont Street in Boston is a rare salon that focuses almost exclusively on health.
étant offers massage, acupuncture, polarity therapy, and in a latter-day concession to beauty, it now offers facials and waxing as well. The atmosphere is undeniably welcoming and nurturing.
St. Cyr was married to Keith Saucier in May 2010, and a year later, Saucier was recruited for a career opportunity on the west coast.
With étant thriving, St. Cyr knew it was time for a new challenge.
“We knew it was the right move for us, especially since I dreamed of retiring in a warm climate,” he says, noting he turned over the everyday operation of étant to manager Bernadette McNeill ’84.
These days, St. Cyr is happy in West Hollywood and pursuing a new career baking Scottycakes, delicious and unique cupcakes.
He began this business by selling his treats at farmer’s markets, and he now sells them wholesale to Whole Foods and Trader Joes and is considering whether to open his own establishment.
“My focus has always been on living a full and balanced life. étant is doing well, Keith is loving his new job. Scottycakes is keeping me busy, and together we are exploring the west coast,” says St. Cyr. “I have been extremely blessed with family and friends that have been great at cheering me on.”
To learn more about étant, visit their website at www.etant.com.
Investments assistant veers off Broadway
It was a lunchtime theater audition that dramatically changed the professional path for Kerrin Clark ’06.
She was an executive assistant at an investment firm in Boston, putting her liberal arts degree to work, but she was someone who also loved song and dance.
So, in 2007, Clark took her lunch break and headed over to the Lyric Stage in Boston to audition for a part in Stephen Sondheim’s Tony-award-winning musical, “Follies.”
Clark was cast as Young Stella; and it was her first equity show. It opened off- Broadway and provided Clark with unique experiences that parlayed into other stage opportunities.
The role brought her investments career to a halt and led her to become the director of The Greater Boston School of Dance.
When she first took to the stage, Clark performed in several professional shows before landing a long-lasting role touring the United States with “Girls Night: The Musical.”
“It was a lot of fun, but also hard work,” says Clark. “I traveled throughout the U.S.”
When Clark wasn’t on the road, she was living in Wellesley and teaching at a dance studio there. “I just loved it,” she says.
After three years with “Girls Night,” Clark decided to open her own dance studio, The Greater Boston School of Dance, in a bold and challenging move.
At the school, Clark says the staff is committed to giving all students the best dance and performing arts education in the greater Boston area. Students are given the tools to express themselves through dance, music, visual arts and theater.
“We strive to bring the star out in every student that enters our studio. This is where friendships, passion and dreams are made,” says Clark.
Westfield State was a dream-maker, too. “I learned to stand up for myself there, and I learned that I was a lot tougher than I thought,” Clark says. “My experiences as a resident assistant taught me how to manage situations, provide guidance and find resources. I use those skills every day.”
With over 50 students, her quickly growing studio offers ballet, tap, singing, jazz, hip hop and musical theater, to name a few.
“At Westfield State, I was entrusted with leadership as a resident assistant. I found that trust personally empowering. I was able to assist other students, point them in helpful directions, and basically be there when I was needed,” she says. “I felt I always had someone to turn to with my questions or for support. I apply that same model to my dance studio: questions are welcome; support, always there for you.”
To learn more about Clark’s studio, visit www.greaterbostonschoolofdance.com.
Theater major is a role model for girls
Almost from the start, it was pretty clear that A’ndrea Blake ’01 was headed for a career in the theater.
“At a dance recital when I was about 2 years old, I had to be pulled from the stage because I wouldn’t stop bowing,” she laughs.
Perhaps it was in her name with the apostrophe, intended to signal a more dramatic pronunciation with a soft “a,” as in “ahn-drea,” but perhaps her affinity for theater was just in her genes.
Blake studied tap and jazz as a very young child and then spread her wings into modeling from ages 4 to 12. The Rutland native, who now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., then turned her University bachelor’s degree in theater into a ticket that has found her on the stage, in front of the camera as a plus-size model and in the studio, where she practices Reiki and is a personal trainer.
She is making it her mission to be a role model for girls to embrace their talents, abilities and curves and to feel comfortable, confident and healthy in the skin they’re in.
As a teen, Blake transitioned from modeling into acting in her local community theater because she thought she was too big to be a model. In high school, she was a cheerleader in the fall and busy with musical productions in the spring, so when it came time for college, she understood how to multitask and keep herself busy.
“I learned from really fabulous professors who both challenged and inspired me. I had to perform, both academically and artistically, and I am grateful for that experience,” she says. As a theater major, the Musical Theatre Guild occupied a lot of her time.
As she approached graduation from Westfield State, Professor Jack Shea supported and encouraged Blake to apply for admission to the prestigious Actors Studio, which, at that time, was affiliated with the New School in New York City.
She did, and while backpacking her way through Ireland during the summer of 2001, Blake received word that she was accepted. In 2004, she received a master’s in fine arts degree in acting and immediately went on to her off-Broadway debut as Titania in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
This was followed by various off-off-Broadway plays, a pilot on the WB television network and a role in NBC’s “Book of Daniel” television series.
Blake also serves as the co-artistic director of Cheeky Monkey Theatre Company, which she founded with a colleague. She has resumed her modeling career as a plus-size model – a category that didn’t exist when she was a teen.
“I am a proponent that there is no one size that is beautiful or healthy,” says Blake.
