All Star 2
Family Conference

Deirdre Fischer

“Sometimes life will take you by the throat, and sometimes it’ll hand you unrequested gifts. Other times you find it has placed you on a conveyor belt which does not appear to be of your own choosing. Acceptance of it all, all of life’s vagaries and disruptions, joys and opportunities, has led me to see my losses and the trials of transition as a vital part of my successes in this journey.” - Deirdre Fischer

Professionally, Deirdre is an educator, workshop leader and goal-development coach. She works with students to understand the role that habits play in cognitive and emotional processing and how they are a vital backdrop for our activities, discussions and choices. Her passion is coaching students on how to manage the “vagaries of living” and to choose new work and life practices. Deirdre strives to both live her own life, and help others to see how “life itself is our best and primary teacher.” Personally, she is a poet, mother, philosopher, writer, artist, care-giver, dancer and friend to many. She has lived through many transitions and is currently in the process of practicing “radical acceptance” and making mindful choices about several current turning points in her own life, including changing relationships, recovery from substance abuse, caring for her aging mother, and learning to walk with others, rather than alone.

Steve Emt

At the age of 25, I had a life-changing accident that resulted in me being confined to a wheelchair. Sport has always been an integral part of my life, so I began my search for the one sport that would fill the void. At the age of 42, I was introduced to the sport of curling, and today, I am a proud Paralympian.

Currently, I am training with the US Paralympic Team that will compete in the 2022 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. At the same time, I travel the world and share my story with people of all ages and inspire them to make decisions in their life that will result in success moving forward. With the right mindset, and the right plan in place...anything can be overcome and all your life goals can be achieved.

Further information on his recent work can be found at his website here: Steve Emt

Skip Kosciusko

Skip Kosciusko recently celebrated 31 years clean and sober. In the 1990’s he was a nurse in the emergency room at a rural hospital. He had an infant daughter and his wife was pregnant with their second child. That’s when he went to jail for bringing a gun to work and holding up the hospital for drugs. He got into recovery, and became a wonderful father to his 4 children, a volunteer EMT and firefighter, and a mentor to many young adults in recovery. He runs a successful tree care company and regularly employs others in recovery, making AA meetings a part of their work-day every day.

Minister of the Week: Reverend Megan Kelly Gorman

Reverend Megan Kelly Gorman has been an enthusiastic All Star II Shoaler since 1982 and is delighted to be on staff again as Minister of the week. Megan grew up as an active member of Central Unitarian Church in Paramus, New Jersey and was ordained there in April of 2006. Megan was a Religious Studies Major at Connecticut College with a Minor in Gender and Women's Studies. She graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 2003 and became a Board Certified hospital chaplain specializing in end of life care, trauma and pediatrics. Megan transitioned into working in hospital administration in 2010 but she continues to serve by volunteering as a minister in her local UU congregation and at large. She relishes serving as a minister on Star because it is this community that inspired her to become a religious leader and very much looks forward to connecting with new and old Shoalers alike.