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Former Lincoln resident and Lincoln College
grad publishes book
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[JAN. 8, 2004]
A former Lincoln resident
who now lives in Laramie, Wyo., has published a new book for
consumers. Gerald Mark Breen, a 2000 Lincoln College graduate, said that
the inspiration for his book came from a desire to help people with
the frustrations involved in collecting refunds and replacements
from customer service departments.
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The book, entitled "Customers: You
Deserve Customer Satisfaction," is available online at
www.1stbooks.com and will be available in paperback form early this
year from the same publisher, located in Indianapolis.
Breen said he has had so many
dissatisfying encounters himself that he decided the topic was ripe
for a solution. He also worked in the customer service industry for
several years, so he has seen both sides of the equation. The book
includes excerpts from actual conversations between Breen and
customer service representatives, to give readers a feel of the
tone, psychology and terminology that works to solve these types of
claim issues.
Breen attended Lincoln College from
September 1998 to May 2000, graduating with an associate of arts
degree. His adviser, Dan McLaughlin remembers him as a "very bright
student, very intelligent."
While he lived in Lincoln, he lived
with Scott and Karen Ferguson. Breen says they were "a major
inspiration and support structure for me during my time living in
Lincoln."
He was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa
honors society, and he worked as a tutor and an admissions
ambassador for the college while he was a student. According to Mrs.
Ferguson, he also worked for Pizza Hut and Papa John's while in
town. As she said, "He's a man of many talents."
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Breen said two professors were
especially inspirational for him while he lived and studied in
Lincoln: Joe Baker, professor of criminology, and John Welter,
professor of history.
After graduating from Lincoln College,
Breen, a native of Northbrook, went on to study psychology and
criminal justice at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, where he
earned two bachelor's degrees in 2002. While there, he was inducted
into the Psi Chi national honor society for the field of psychology.
He went on to study communications in a graduate program at Hawaii
Pacific University in Honolulu, Hawaii. He transferred after one
year to the University of Wyoming in Laramie, where he is currently
finishing his master's degree in communication and journalism.
He spent the entire summer of 2003
working on his book, and expects the price to be between $6 and $8
for a small paperback copy. Breen said he decided to write the book
after a friend encouraged him to publish a book as an important step
toward a career in journalism, communication and law. He thanks
Jonathan Matusitz for giving him the inspiration to write and
publish his first book.
Breen fondly
remembers his time in Lincoln and hopes he has made the community
that was his home for a short time proud of his accomplishments.
[Ruth Halpin]
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