Press Releases

May 11, 2001
Twenty-seven Years and a Wealth of Experience Later, Howie Seifert Graduates

Class Clown Hit the Road; Now is Supreme Court Cop

Contact:
Darren Johnson
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

Howie Seifert's mom, Helga, remembered it was a warm, bright day in September 1974 when she said goodbye to her son at Southampton College's freshman orientation. "He had always promised me he would get his degree," she said. "I just didn't know it would take so long."

Howie - who now is called Howard when he's on the job as a top Supreme Court cop - took the road much less traveled on his way to his bachelor's degree. "I did everything but finish, and it has always gnawed at me," he said at a recent luncheon on campus honoring his achievement. He will receive his degree at Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 20 at 2 p.m. at Southampton College of Long Island University.

Seifert was always big on dreams - and laughs. His part in "Animal House"-style antics is still remembered by administrators who worked at Southampton College in the 1970s. The massive food fights that ended with a curmudgeonly security guard taking a pie to the face, the well-known rock 'n' roll bands he booked that almost took down the gym, the wild parties were in Hamptons dives that since have become trendy. "If there was a hubbub, Howie was in the middle of it," recalled administrator Carol Gilbert. "Then he disappeared."

"I was a part of everything Southampton College and belonged to almost every student group," Seifert admitted. "Perhaps I was doing too much and lost focus."

Nine credits shy of his degree, he left. The road Seifert traveled took him through all 48 continental states as a circus promoter. One time in the South, he was chased out of town because white leaders found out performances benefited a black church. Always an entrepreneur, Seifert ran and owned coin shops, a realty firm with his wife, Ines, and a leather shop before being accepted into the highly selective corps of New York State Supreme Court police. A resident of East Quogue, Seifert serves in Nassau County and recently was promoted to Senior Court Officer, personally protecting the state's top judges.

But as much as Seifert's new gold badge, mother Helga cherished and always kept with her a badge of a different kind. It was Seifert's "Fall 1974 Southampton College Orientation" button, now off-white with ink faded. "I tried finishing up at other colleges, but none of them did it for me," Seifert said. "I felt the only way to get closure on this is to go back to where I started."

So last fall, over a quarter of a century later, Seifert returned to the 110-acre rustic campus where he came of age. "Now I was the oldest student in class, but I immediately felt at home again," he said. "Many of the professors and administrators were still here, and they treated me like I'd never really left."