Seton Hill University - Forward Magazine - Fall/Winter 2020 by Seton Hill University

FORWARD THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE of SETON HILL UNIVERSITY

Seton Hill Returns to Campus During the COVID-19 Pandemic Inside: Special Commemorative May 2020 Commencement Program

HONOR ROLL OF DONORS JULY 1, 2019 TO JUNE 30, 2020 FALL/WINTER 2020

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Message from the President

Ruth O’Block Grant Scholars Named

Seton Hill Receives $1.6 Million TRIO Grant

Wei Zhang ’94 Finds International Business Success

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Inaugural Nancy Amorose Memorial Scholarship Recipients Named Julianna Nichols ’21 Named Inaugural Audrey Fedyszyn Jakubowski Lazarus Scholar

Alumni, Student on the COVID-19 Frontlines

2020 Distinguished Alumni

President Mary Finger Honored as Woman of Influence

Fulbright Scholar Nathan Davis ’20 Begins Basketball Career in Germany

Class of 2020 Leaves Lasting Impact

Commemorative May 2020 Commencement Program

Honor Roll of Donors

departments

campus ministry 36 Tony Krzmarzick Named Director

faculty in focus 38 New Deans Named campus news 40 News and Sports Briefs in memoriam 46 Jeffrey Bartel and Eva Fleischner

Seton Hill student Leta Meyer, a junior Art Education major, captured this image of the Administration Building on a beautiful fall day in November.

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A Message from the President Dear Alumni and Friends, Dear Alumni and Friends, When we look back on the year 1918 – both in the history of Seton Hill and the history of the world – we see a story emerge of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill who founded a four-year college for women in the midst of a deadly influenza pandemic. Despite all the obstacles put before them, our founding Sisters succeeded in their endeavors – and set for us a path forward as an institution. Over more than a century, Seton Hill has survived wars and conflicts, the Great Depression and recessions, and societal upheavals. Seton Hill has done so because of the courage and strength of spirit imbued by our founders and inherent to our very existence.

divide felt by students across the country when schools moved to virtual settings. Our faculty and staff are educated in the use of mobile technology, and Seton Hill’s Office of Innovative Teaching and Learning stepped up by offering additional resources for the fully remote learning environment that came upon us suddenly in the spring. While most of our residential students moved home in March – and received room and board refunds and credits – several students who could not return home because of travel restrictions or immune-compromised

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, we initially thought our students would be leaving campus and Students used Zoom to present their Honors Capstone projects learning remotely for virtually during the Spring 2020 semester. just two weeks. Soon, it became apparent that the coronavirus would relatives in their households were drastically alter life as we knew it, permitted to stay on campus. but we were as prepared as we could Despite the campus shutdown, possibly be for the myriad challenges our campus community found creative the pandemic would bring. ways to remain connected. Faculty COVID-19 RESPONSE members used Zoom and other platforms to teach their students – and As an Apple Distinguished School, to bring speakers from around the world Seton Hill was well-equipped for the into their classrooms. Coaches used move to remote learning necessitated such platforms as well to engage with by the pandemic. All of our students, student-athletes. Academic support faculty and staff are outfitted with services and counseling services were MacBooks, which eliminated the digital

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offered virtually. The Mission and Identity team provided spiritual support and shared virtual Mission Moments and held weekly Mass on YouTube. Honors Capstone projects were shared virtually on Zoom, which served to broaden the audience who learned about their amazing work.

Foundation to provide scholarship support for vulnerable students in the university’s pre-med program and an anonymous donation of $150,000 for scholarships for students financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with $50,000 to be used as a challenge grant to attract additional commitments

series of virtual events, including a Grad Bash, Honors Convocation and a Mass of Thanksgiving. We also acknowledge our deep pride for our May graduates of the Class of 2020 with a special Commemorative Commencement Program in this issue of Forward Magazine.

We updated the Seton Hill community through the COVID-19 website that was set up early in the pandemic and remains a clearinghouse for news and information. While Alumni Weekend was postponed, the Alumni Relations Office has hosted numerous virtual events for alumni and friends throughout the pandemic that have brought alumni together from all over the world. And we gave back to the community – offering residence hall space to area healthcare workers on the frontlines who did not want to return home during the early months of the pandemic, and donating Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Sisters of Charity at Caritas Christi and Adelphoi. But from the beginning of the pandemic, we have been focused on helping Seton Hill students – especially those whose financial circumstances were changed due to COVID-19 and the economic shutdowns that followed. Seton Hill quickly established the Setonian Financial Aid Fund to help students return to Seton Hill in spite of any economic repercussions of the pandemic. More than $115,000 has been raised for this initiative thanks to the generosity of Seton Hill alumni and friends. The university received emergency funding from several local foundations and other donors, including a $100,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon

Seton Hill University students celebrating a Virtual Grad Bash.

for student scholarships at Seton Hill. I am pleased to report Seton Hill met and indeed exceeded the challenge thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our alumni and friends. Seton Hill also received $633,423 in direct student aid through the federal CARES Act, which is being distributed via an application process to students for whom the pandemic has caused financial turmoil. CLASS OF 2020 In the midst of the early months of the pandemic, the Seton Hill Class of 2020 should have gathered for the May Commencement ceremony. But the evolving guidance and requirements around gatherings and travel into Pennsylvania forced Seton Hill to cancel an in-person Commencement. The university still found ways to honor those May graduates through a

Seton Hill held a virtual Commencement Ceremony for May, August and December graduates on December 14 in recognition of the Class of 2020. In addition, a Commemorative Commencement Program for August and December graduates will be included in the next Forward. In his homily during the Mass of Thanksgiving, Seton Hill Chaplain Msgr. Roger Statnick spoke directly to the sadness the Class of 2020 felt around missing an in-person Commencement and entering a changed world. He said, “Graduates, ’Let not your hearts be troubled.’ They won’t be if we all live as God lives with us: generously, respecting all creation—especially its human form—and humbly. Your Setonian education gave you what you need to do this. It gave you the tools of grace. Use them well in a world desperate for

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Natural and Health Sciences and Visual and Performing Arts classes for which inperson formats are ideal. Students in other fields of study also felt they learn their best when they are in a traditional classroom setting. And so – with the help and advice of medical experts – we developed a Project H.O.P.E. student leaders Katelyn Ross and Carlie robust Return to Campus Humanic pose with the personalized notes and candy favors Plan that prioritized the they distributed to Seton Hill’s custodial and maintenance health and safety of our staff for their work during the pandemic. entire campus community as we engaged in face-tograciousness that is given like God gives face learning and followed the Center us life — generously, respectfully and for Disease Control and Pennsylvania humbly. When your heart is tempted to Department of Health guidelines. take in the world’s troubles and become overwhelmed by them, recall what Seton Hill taught you while it developed your talents, skills and knowledge.” I know the Class of 2020 will take their talents, skills and knowledge and their experiences during the pandemic to bring about real change in the world.

MOVING FORWARD WITH NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMS While the pandemic may have changed the campus experience temporarily, it has not stopped Seton Hill and our faculty from developing new academic programs that meet the needs of students and regional and national employers. This fall, Seton Hill has launched several new programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels with new opportunities for adult learners as well. An undergraduate degree in Digital Humanities prepares students for writing, communication and design work in the ever-emerging digital fields. We’ve also launched a RN to

It quickly became apparent that while the virtual learning that we engaged in during the Spring was certainly rigorous and valuable in getting us through that difficult time, Seton Hill students wanted to be back on campus learning in face-to-face formats.

Seton Hill developed a number of key initiatives as part of the Return to Campus Plan, including the testing of all students prior to the start of faceStudents, faculty and staff participate in Virtual Fall Honors Convocation. to-face classes; mandatory mask wearing; reducing class sizes and BSN program for working nurses who furnishings throughout campus to want to complete their bachelor’s allow for physical distancing; and degree and online certificate programs protocols for testing, quarantine and in Addictions and Substance Abuse, isolation of students, faculty and staff Business Leadership and Adaptive who experience COVID-19 symptoms. Online Instruction.

While some classes can be held virtually, more than 60 percent of Seton Hill students are enrolled in

Thanks to those protocols – and the hard work and dedication of our amazing students, faculty and staff – we

RETURN TO CAMPUS Almost immediately after moving to virtual learning in the Spring, the administrative team at Seton Hill began looking forward to the Fall 2020 semester and how we would approach teaching and learning during the pandemic.

While the plan provided remote learning opportunities for students who chose modality, the vast majority of students returned to in-person classes in the fall.

successfully completed the Fall 2020 semester through face-to-face learning in our traditional residential setting.

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Seton Hill is also now offering master’s level programs in Nutrition and Dietetics, including an Integrated

Master’s in Nutrition and Dietetics in which students can earn both a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science degree in five years and an online Master of Science in Advanced Nutrition Practice that will begin in January for those already working in the field. And, in fall 2021, Seton Hill expects to launch its first doctoral program – a Doctorate in Physical Therapy – that will provide a pathway to Seton Hill students studying in our Exercise Science undergraduate program. DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION TASK FORCE As our community and our nation continue to deal with the extraordinary health and economic repercussions of the pandemic, we are confronting incidents of racism and violence that challenge the dignity of every human being. The sorrow and anger expressed over the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, among others, underscores racial injustices that impact, particularly, our students of color in profound ways. While I am proud of the diversity and equity work that Seton Hill has done to build an educational institution that is open and responsive to the needs of our students, faculty, and staff, we recognize as an institution that more must be done. In February of this year, I invited Dr. Elizabeth Ortiz, the Vice President for the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity at DePaul University, to come to Seton Hill and conduct a diversity audit of university programs and efforts. Dr. Ortiz’s report identifies areas of strength and possible areas of improvement related to diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives

currently underway at Seton Hill.

generations of Setonians.

In an effort to best respond to the opportunities outlined in Dr. Ortiz’s study, the President’s Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was convened.

And I hope when those future Setonians look back upon the history of Seton Hill University, they will note the remarkable fortitude shown by our students, faculty and staff during this incredible time in our history.

The Task Force is co-chaired by Imogene Cathey, J.D., Vice President and General Counsel for Seton Hill; David Droppa, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Social Work Program Director; Adriel Hilton, Ph.D., Dean of Students and Diversity Officer, and myself. Task Force membership includes students, faculty, staff and alumni. The group began meeting in August and is charged with reviewing, analyzing and making recommendations for a number of areas and activities throughout Seton Hill University. The Task Force is working in concert with existing campus programs and structures including the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the MultiCultural Awareness Task Force, the Retention Committee, and the Mission Task Force, as well as with offices throughout campus to develop a comprehensive program of change to foster and safeguard inclusive practices on campus. The initial focus of the Task Force is the student experience to ensure that Seton Hill is a welcoming place for all our students. I will continue to provide communications to students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends that inform on the progress of this Task Force and all of our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

I want to thank you for your continued support of Seton Hill and our students – especially over these past nine months. Your prayers, phone calls and notes of encouragement, your philanthropic support – especially your commitment to the Student Scholarship, Setonian Financial Aid, and other student scholarship funds – in addition to your participation in virtual events for alumni and friends affirm for all of us just how special the Seton Hill community is. While we recognize that the Spring 2021 semester will hold challenges similar to those we faced this fall, we are prepared to manage those challenges by carrying forward the faith and commitment of our founders. Please continue to stay healthy and safe and join me in praying for a new chapter in 2021. Hazard Yet Forward,

Mary

LOOKING AHEAD Despite the pandemic and all that this year has brought, all of us at Seton Hill continue to plan for a bright future for this proud institution and for future

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Ruth O’Block Grant Scholars Named

Awardees Will Benefit from Mentorship, Leadership Programming When the Verstanding Family, and Grant Verstandig – the founder and CEO of Rally Health – decided to create The Ruth O’Block Grant Endowed Scholarship Program at Seton Hill in 2018, they had a two-fold purpose. First, the scholarship allowed the family to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of Grant’s grandmother, Seton Hill alumna and Immediate Past Chair of the Seton Hill Board of Trustees, Ruth O’Block Grant. And second, the leadership gift provided the family with the opportunity to commemorate the university’s 100th anniversary year in an extraordinary way. The five Seton Hill students named Grant Scholars for the 2020-21 academic year – Kathryn Dzurik, David Conely, Jessica Delio, Gracie Stynchula and Germaine Uwimpuhwe - will benefit from the mentorship and guidance of exceptional leaders and entrepreneurs like Ruth Grant, who distinguished herself as a world-class entrepreneur as President of Louis A. Grant, Inc., a multi-million dollar corporation, and developed business relationships that spanned the globe. The Grant Scholars will also participate in experiences that will help them hone their leadership skills and will prepare them for success in graduate school, their careers and their communities. Ruth Grant and her daughters, Toni Verstandig and Ruth Ann Grant, were honored guests at the Virtual Fall Honors Convocation on October 16 during which the five grant scholars were announced. Lee and Toni Verstandig, Ruth O’Block Grant, Mary Finger and Ruth Ann Grant at the Centennial Appreciation Luncheon for Scholarship Donors and Student Recipients in 2018. The Verstandig Family and Grant Verstandig - the founder and CEO of Rally Health - created The Ruth O’Block Grant Endowed Scholarship Program at Seton Hill as part of the university’s Centennial Celebration..

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KATHRYN DZURIK Kathryn Dzurik, a chemistry major, said her selection as a Grant Scholar for a second year will allow her to continue her mentorship with Dr. Abigail McElhinny, Senior Vice President of Research & Development, Operations, for Personal Genome Diagnostics, Inc. (PGDx), a provider of advanced cancer genome testing products and services. Earlier in her career, Dr. McElhinny was a senior scientist at stem cell pioneer Aastrom, Inc. “My first experience as a Grant Scholar was wonderful,” Dzurik said. “I’m in regular contact with my mentor, who’s based in Baltimore and Arizona. We’ve communicated with each other all year.” Dzurik said she and Dr. McElhinny, who earned a biology degree at Seton Hill, have plenty to talk about. “I enjoy talking to her,” she said. “I ask her about what courses I’m taking and what I should be taking, and I ask her about what she’s working on.” During her first year as a Grant Scholar, Dzurik also had the opportunity to meet Ruth Grant and members of the Verstanding and Grant families. Dzurik was inspired by Ruth Grant’s accomplishments and wanted to continue with the program for a second year to continue to gain the skills to become a leader in her field someday. Dzurik said she has always been interested in science, particularly in research and antibiotics. “I just want to be able to help as many people as I can with efficient medication or in other ways, focusing on medicine and health care in general,” she said. In her free time, Dzurik has written a rough draft of a book for people who are intimidated by chemistry. “Most people hear about chemistry and shy away from it,” she said. “Chemistry is all around us; there are many uses for it. It’s cool to have people who don’t like chemistry understand it.”

DAVID CONELY David Conely, a junior Business Administration major, said the Grant Scholar Program will benefit him in college and beyond. “I thought it would be an excellent way to use resources that the campus has, such as alumni connections, and make myself more well-rounded professionally. Through the Grant Scholars program, I hope to futher develop my skills and make an impact,” Conely said. The mentorship aspect of the program was another draw, he said. “It will be a key component to develop myself to where I want to go with my career in life.” Conely is specializing in marketing and human resources, and he’s working to earn a minor in finance. “Sustainability and green construction are very important to me, and I thought I could combine them,” he said. Last summer he served an internship with Samuel, Son & Co., a construction company that is remediating severely polluted silt in the Randle Reef area of Hamilton Harbor in Lake Ontario, a century-old dumping site for energy, steel and municipal companies. “I highlighted different apps for products to present to customers. It taught me about the industry and allowed me to talk to customers about the product and the environmental aspects of it,” Conely said. He noted the company managed his work schedule at its Neville Island, Pittsburgh, location around the COVID-19 challenge. “They let me go into the office to work and also to take my work home,” he said. “It was a nice hybrid situation; it gave me a realistic view of how the workplace is now.”

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JESSICA DELIO Jessica Delio was certain of two things when she made decisions about college and a major. She wanted to earn her degree at a small school, and she wanted to follow in her father’s career footsteps. She chose to major in business administration, double specializing in marketing and human resources, and to attend Seton Hill. “My dad is in marketing, so he really inspired me to go into the field,” Delio said. “He’s a big part in my life, and I’ve always looked up to him. When deciding on a major, I felt I wanted to get into marketing myself.” When it was time to visit colleges, she was interested only in small schools. “I wanted a personalized experience on campus and to not be just a number. That’s why I chose Seton Hill,” she said. Delio was invited to apply for the Grant Scholar program based on her academic achievement, “and that’s something I’m really proud of,” she said. “Having good professors has really helped me do well academically.” She looks forward to working with a mentor and further developing the leadership skills she has learned from being active in campus clubs. “I’m involved in several clubs here and have leadership positions in them. Having a mentor will be really helpful to further the experience,” she said. “I’m excited to see how a mentor can help me career-wise. They are successful in their careers, so I’d like to take their advice.”

GRACIE STYNCHULA Helping her family deal with her younger brother’s developmental and health issues made Gracie Stynchula want to do more. “I want to work as a genetic counselor because my brother was diagnosed with autism when he was 3,” the biology major said. “We’ve been dealing with genetic counselors for years. Throughout his life, we’ve also been dealing with cerebral palsy, and he had a crushed palate when he was born.” Now 14, he’s adjusted to school well. “Because of the years of therapy and doctor appointments, I really understand the empathy needed to help families dealing with genetic disorders, and sometimes people get discouraged because they don’t understand it,” Stynchula said. “But people with autism are capable of doing everything,” she said. “I want to help them live the best life they can.” The demand for genetic counseling is high and there are few licensed counselors, she said. “You counsel parents with empathy by diagnosing and treating. The patients can be pediatric, adults or prenatal,” she said. Stynchula said the financial and leadership benefits of the Grant Scholar program are invaluable. “When I was growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money for college. It’s not just my brother’s medical problems; I come from a family of six kids, and there’s not enough to pay for school for everyone. So I apply for every scholarship I can find. And I am honored to be named a Grant Scholar,” she said. Having a mentor to guide her through academic courses and professional choices will be helpful now and in the future, she said. “I feel having a mentor and benefitting from such leadership will aid me after graduation, too.”

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GERMAINE UWIMPUHWE Germaine Uwimpuhwe was a high school student in Rwanda, Africa, when she realized a dream to study computer science in the United States. “I wanted to study in the U.S. because it has a strong education system. “When I saw Seton Hill University online, I said, ’Oh, I want to go there,’” she said. Uwimpuhwe learned about a scholarship opportunity through a friend and applied. Today, as a Computer Science major at Seton Hill, she sees many opportunities in being selected a Grant Scholar. “For me, this is the right opportunity. I’m considering being a business administrator, so I applied for this scholarship to get some leadership guidance,” she said. “I know I would have to oversee some projects, and I want to work on leadership. I know I will need that trait in the future.” Uwimpuhwe puts a high value on the mentorship aspect of the program. “When you don’t have good guidance from others, you won’t be able to succeed the way you want. If more experienced people in their work share with me, it will help to maximize my potential skill,” she said. “Most of us make mistakes, and when you have a mentor, you see how you can learn from those mistakes.” Uwimpuhwe has completed two internships - one in information technology at a New York City company where she troubleshooted computer issues. “For the next internship I had to choose another field. I chose business administration, and it was the best internship I had. I enjoyed representing and protecting the company,” she said. After completing her degree, she hopes to stay in the U.S. and work in business.

Mentorship Key to Grant Scholars Program A key component of The Ruth O’Block Grant Endowed Scholarship Program is mentorship for Grant Scholarship Award recipients. The Mentorship Program is directed by Provost Susan Yochum, SC, Ph.D. Debasish Chakraborty, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Business, serves as the Faculty Grant Scholar Liaison. The comprehensive Mentorship Program for Grant Scholars supports academic achievement, co-curricular involvement and professional development. Students are provided with a mentor - an accomplished professional in their field of study - who meets with them and offers guidance in their academic pursuits as well as career advice. Grant Scholars participate in a series of events and activities as a cohort.

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Seton Hill University Receives Competitive Five-year grant funding renews Student Support Services program

achieve academic success.” Seton Hill University has received a $1.6 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Education to provide students President Finger continued, “Seton Hill TRIO students have with opportunities to achieve academic success through TRIO historically been successful at the university, persisting from one Student Support Services. academic year to the next and graduating from the university at high rates. We are pleased that this funding will continue to The grant award will provide $1,658,505 in renewal funding provide needed resources that over five years for Seton Hill’s ensure ongoing achievement of longstanding TRIO Student our TRIO students. “ Support Services program. The program is designed to The Federal TRIO Student foster an institutional climate Success Program began in 1965 supportive of success and under Title IV of the Higher to increase the persistence Education Act and is one of and graduation rates of 170 eight federal TRIO programs undergraduate students with designed to identify, assist academic need who come from and provide services to those families with low-income, are from backgrounds traditionally the first generation to attend a underrepresented in higher college or university, and/or are education. individuals with disabilities. The success of TRIO Student “Seton Hill University’s Support Services-eligible students commitment to providing is often hindered by a number of educational opportunities to factors. Seton Hill’s TRIO Student our students who have been Support Services program works traditionally underrepresented to remove barriers to success by in higher education has been providing extensive services to evident since the institution’s support these students throughout founding by the Sisters of their college career, including one- Seton Hill University President Charity of Seton Hill more than on-one academic coaching, course 100 years ago,” said Seton Hill Mary C. Finger advising; study skills courses; University President Mary C. tutoring and writing assistance; Finger. “The renewal of Seton career and personal counseling; Hill’s TRIO Student Support financial literacy education; a peer Services grant for another five years will allow the university mentoring program; and guidance for securing admission and to provide critically important resources to help our students financial aid for enrollment in graduate or professional school.

“Seton Hill University’s commitment to providing educational opportunities to our students who have been traditionally underrepresented in higher education has been evident since the institution’s founding by the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill more than 100 years ago,”

TRIO by the Numbers

Year TRIO established at Seton Hill: 1979

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Students assisted annually: 170

Faculty/Staff Serving as Academic Coaches: 5

Total 5-year Grant Funding: $1,658,505

$1.6 million Federal TRIO Grant Michael Metosky ’14, MBA ’16 Credits TRIO and Seton Hill for Success Michael Metosky came to Seton Hill underprepared for the rigors of college, but Seton Hill’s TRIO Student Success Program and his faculty and staff mentors helped him earn both an undergraduate degree in Sports Management and his MBA from Seton Hill. Today, Metosky ’14, MBA ’16 works for the Miami Dolphins football team in a highly-coveted sales job, which put him on the field for last year’s Super Bowl. “If it wasn’t for the TRIO program, I don’t know what I would have done,” he said. “I would have taken a completely different path in life.” Metosky said he struggled in high school, graduating with just a 2.1 GPA. He grew up in a low-income household and was the first in his family to attend college. He did not have anyone in his immediate circle who could offer guidance. He said Seton Hill’s community saw promise in him. “My faculty members and the TRIO program staff invested a ton of time in me. I just didn’t see my own promise,” he said. “Seton Hill opened a lot of doors and windows for me.” But he also put in hard work, graduating with a 3.5 GPA and going on to earn his MBA while working multiple jobs, often staying up until 2 a.m. to study. After earning his MBA, Michael was managing gyms in the Pittsburgh area when he decided to make a move to South Florida. He applied for a sales job with the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins along with about 2,000 other people. He was among fewer than 50 people who went through a rigorous interview process and was one of only nine hired. While that was a pressure-filled situation that included seven interviews, Michael had to prove himself after being hired by earning a promotion within a year or risk being let go. Three years later, he works in group sales with the Dolphins and spends his spare time speaking with at-risk youth. He regularly speaks with TRIO program students around the country about what he has been able to accomplish thanks to the program. He’s most recently spoken with students from Kentucky to Alaska. When Metosky goes home to West Mifflin and sees some of his old friends, they express how proud they are of how far he’s come. He was even able to purchase a home for his mother. “I’m building and then I’m going back,” he said. “Someday I plan to open a nonprofit that’s a one-stop shop for people who want to chase their dreams.”

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Wei Zhang ’94 is the President of Alibaba Pictures in Los Angeles.

Wei Zhang ’94 Finds International Business Success

Zhang Received 2019 Seton Hill Distinguished Alumni Leadership Award When Wei Zhang thinks back on her four years at Seton Hill, she remembers the kindness shown to her by her professors and fellow students as she worked to improve her English and overcome a language barrier. “One of the difficulties I had was reading slower than the other students because of the language issue,” said Zhang, a native of Beijing, China who arrived in the United States just a year before enrolling at Seton Hill. “When I went into exams I found it took me a longer time to process. I told my accounting professor Mr. (Paul) Mahady, ’I promise you I know all the answers. If you give me an extra 30 minutes I will prove to you I know the material.’ And he did. It was just so kind of him. He could have said no, but he gave me a chance to prove myself. That kind of environment is only available at a small school like Seton Hill.” Since her days at Seton Hill, Zhang has gone onto success in business and media both in the United States and China – and she credits her Seton Hill education as being a key component. “Seton Hill has played an important role in my life,” said Zhang, who currently serves as President of Alibaba Pictures in Los Angeles. “I owe part of what I have today to Seton Hill because I was nurtured in that great environment.” Zhang came to the United States at the urging of her mother, who always wanted her daughter to study abroad. Zhang’s mother majored in English in college, and, as an employee of the Chinese coal ministry, was involved in international work. During her first year in the United States, Zhang finished her high school career at the United World College, an international high school in New Mexico. When it came to college, Zhang’s mother had a friend, David Eyer, who connected her with Seton Hill. Eyer and his wife, Irene Eyer ’95, were close to Seton Hill and President Emerita JoAnne Boyle. The Eyers met Wei Zhang when she was a teenager during one of David’s frequent business trips to China in the 1980s. “Wei, Irene and I accompanied Wei’s mom to the Xu Beihong museum that recognizes one of China’s leading 20th century artists,” David

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Eyer recalled. “Irene had just begun her studies at Seton Hill as a non-traditional art student and was the mother of five children. We knew Seton Hill would be a perfect fit for Wei.” Zhang said a scholarship she received from Seton Hill provided her the opportunity to attend and she took advantage of all that Seton Hill offered – even playing on the volleyball team and competing in a national tournament in Hawaii. At first, Zhang thought she would major in communication or media. As a high school student in China, she had hosted television shows. But she recognized that might not be a practical path for her, so she decided to study Business with a concentration in International Organization and a minor in Finance. During her junior year, Zhang pursued an internship with GE. At the end of that summer in Connecticut, Zhang – who was competing against students from Ivy League schools – was one of two interns offered entry into the company’s fulltime management training program after graduation.

During the program, she rotated through various GE businesses throughout the country, volunteering for whatever task needed to be done. After her second year in the program, Zhang was offered a full-time job in finance for GE’s nuclear energy arm in California. But she decided she wanted more. “I always felt like finance is a great way to lay a foundation for a career, but I wanted to be more frontend than backend,” she said. Zhang left GE to earn her MBA from Harvard Business School. When she graduated, she had been away from China for a decade and she was longing to return. So she took a job with Bain & Company, a management consulting firm that had just opened a location there. “I actually had to relearn a lot of things in Chinese, especially related to the professional world, “ she said. “There was sort of a culture shock returning to China from the United States.” But that culture shock wouldn’t last long. Zhang soon landed a position as director of business development for

Seton Hill President Mary Finger presented Wei Zhang with the Distinguished Alumni Leadership Award in 2019 during a visit to California.

News Corp – the international media company – in China. At the same time, she began hosting television talk shows on the weekend. She would eventually return to GE, where she would run their CNBC network in China, and would later head back to News Corp as their Chief Operating Officer before joining Alibaba in 2008. Zhang began her work at Alibaba, a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology, on its corporate investment team. Five years ago, Alibaba acquired a film company, and Zhang’s experience in the entertainment industry made her wellequipped to manage that business. She and her family moved to Los Angeles – where her husband grew up – so they could be closer to his family and so that she could open an Alibaba office in Southern California. At Alibaba Pictures, Zhang works to bring American movies to China by investing in creative companies and projects that have content of interest to Chinese audiences. Sometimes those can be theatrical releases and sometimes they can be streaming digital content. Zhang has worked with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment on projects. She brought 2019 Academy Award Best Picture “Green Book” to China to great success and has marketed the last two “Mission Impossible” films in the country. For all of her accomplishments, Zhang was awarded the Seton Hill Distinguished Alumni Leadership Award in 2019, but she was unable to attend Alumni Weekend festivities that summer. Instead, President Mary Finger presented her with her award during a trip to Los Angeles in the fall of 2019. “I am very humbled and honored. I’m sure there are plenty of alumni more deserving,” she said. “Those four years in college really shape who you are, and I was shaped into who I am because of Seton Hill.”

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Inaugural Nancy Amorose Memorial Julia DiOrio, Melanie Nacey plan careers in geriatric nursing

students studying in the DiOrio finds the nursing program Daniel J. Wukich School challenging but satisfying. “It’s very of Nursing who have an hands-on with our practicum. For me, it’s interest in pursuing careers a different way of learning, and it’s very in geriatric nursing. rewarding.” DiOrio and Nacey The Nancy Amorose Memorial were recognized at Seton Scholarship is a major boost to her Hill’s Virtual Fall Honors resume, she said. Convocation as the “It’s definitely a door-opener to inaugural recipients of the a lot of opportunities in the field, and Nancy Amorose Memorial there’s a need for geriatric nurses. One Scholarship. nursing home has already reached out DiOrio said she was to me to work as a CNA (certified nursing inspired to work with older assistant), and I can do that while I’m patients by her grandmother, a student. I think the experience will a geriatric home health benefit me in school, too.” nurse. Nacey said she chose a career in “When my sister and geriatric nursing after watching nurses I were little, we’d go with care for her grandparents. her to care for patients,” “When I was young, I spent a lot she said. “Just the way she Julia DiOrio of time with my grandparents at nursing communicated with and treated her patients, it was very Seton Hill University sophomore inspirational. That’s what nursing students Julia DiOrio and made me want to pursue Melanie Nacey have been named the nursing. My grandmother inaugural recipients of The Nancy was my inspiration.” Amorose Memorial Endowed Scholarship DiOrio started her at Seton Hill University. freshman year at Seton Hill Seton Hill Trustee Daniel J. Wukich as a pre-med major and has another name for the fund, which entered the nursing program was established by members of the when the Daniel J. Wukich Wukich family and supported by the School of Nursing opened in friends, family and colleagues of the Fall of 2019. the late Nancy Amorose, a longtime “I grew up around friend of Seton Hill University who was Greensburg, and I wanted instrumental in the operations and to stay local and be around growth of the Quest Healthcare family my family. I visited local of companies. colleges, and when I toured “Nancy’s Fund for Nurses,” Seton Hill’s campus and saw as Wukich affectionately calls the all the beautiful buildings - it scholarship, was established to provide was the right fit for me,” she financial support to Seton Hill nursing Melanie Nacey said.

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Scholarship Recipients Named homes and hospitals. I saw nurses helping them during their end of life and come to terms with things like cancer, and that inspired me,” she said. Later, her brother was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. “I went to a lot of his doctor appointments with him. It was a very eye-opening experience. I want to help people like my brother. I will value the opportunity to be a support system to others when they’re dealing with some of the most threatening diseases of their lives.” Her third semester in the nursing program is challenging, she said. “It’s a heavy load of classes. But I feel it is preparing me for the field.” The scholarship will ease financial worries, she said. “I’ve been trying to take on the lowest amount of debt possible, and this will help with tuition and books. I won’t have as much debt when I start to work as a nurse. I’m very appreciative and grateful.” Nacey looks forward to working in clinical settings, which will begin in the spring semester at a nursing home. “Knowing what you want to do makes all the work you put into it worth it, because this is moving me toward my goal,” she said.

Nancy Amorose Remembered Through Endowed Scholarship Nancy Amorose was a spirited woman who was so effortlessly herself. Amorose, who died in 2017 after a battle with lung cancer, was instrumental in the operations and growth of the Quest Healthcare family of companies, founded by Seton Hill Trustee Daniel J. Wukich. Quest operates two long-term nursing care facilities in Westmoreland County. Amorose also was a driving force behind Wukich Racing - Dan Wukich’s Thoroughbred horse racing operation. She meticulously planned the Wukich Horse Tour annually for friends of Quest Healthcare and Seton Hill University. In her memory, the Wukich family, led by Daniel P. Wukich, created The Nancy Amorose Memorial Endowed Scholarship through the Centennial Campaign for Student Scholarships, which supports students in the BSN program in the Daniel J. Wukich School of Nursing at Seton Hill. The scholarship provides support to students with an interest in a career in geriatric nursing, carrying on Amorose’s legacy.

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Julianna Nichols ’21 Named Inaugural Audrey Nichols’ research will have implications in anatomy, anthropology and chemistry

Julianna Nichols, a senior Biochemistry major, was named the inaugural recipient of the Audrey Fedyszyn Jakubowski Lazarus Basic Science Fund for Women, which funds undergraduate research for female Seton Hill University students.

When Julianna Nichols waits for a pot of salt solution to boil in a Seton Hill laboratory, she’s researching ways to better use cadaver bones to tell scientists more about who their donors were and how they lived. As the inaugural recipient of a scholarship from the Audrey Fedyszyn Jakubowski Lazarus Basic Science Fund for Women, which funds undergraduate research for female Seton Hill students, the senior Biochemistry major is working on an independent research project with applications to the fields of anatomy, anthropology and chemistry. “This is a new method to remove soft tissue from cadavers,” Nichols said, who is working on her Honors Capstone Research Project. “The method could be expanded from animals to human cadavers people who have donated their bodies to science - so the bones are not affected in composition or appearance.” Nichols noted that most bone collections available for research are from marginalized people – the poor, elderly, and mentally ill - who died in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Their bodies often were left unclaimed, and the law permitted their use for scientific research. “Bone collections began to grow as studying bones became applicable to anthropology, medicine, dentistry and evolutionary biology,” she said. As laws changed, strict guidelines were set for the scientific use of

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cadavers. Obtaining them became more difficult, limiting the contents in bone repositories to skeletons – and the stories they tell – gathered more than a century ago. Nichols wants to help build “a modern collection of bones that could better reflect the lives and circumstances of more contemporary people.” Today, the only legal source for new experimental bone acquisition is individuals who have donated their bodies to science. However, bodies prepared for cadaver research are chemically preserved, preventing the use of known methods to access the bones - like household bleach - without altering them. Nichols’ goal is to find a method that doesn’t affect the composition or appearance of bones, allowing scientists use of the whole body. “A cadaver could be used by Physician Assistant students for their anatomy classes and then the bones could be studied by anthropology students,” Nichols said. One method she’s trying is boiling animal cadavers in a salt solution in hopes that it could be applied to human bones. Little research on the topic exists, but Nichols enjoys the challenge. “My advisor’s (Dr. Bobbie Leeper) dissertation involved work to try to remove soft tissue from bones. When you research the topic, hers is the first name that comes up. It is a very specific field,” Nichols said.

Fedyszyn Jakubowski Lazarus Scholar “These types of projects definitely draw me – the novelty of the project and to see what I can do in the field.” For a budding scientist, Seton Hill alumna Dr. Audrey Fedyszyn Jakubowski Lazarus ’64 is an excellent role model, Nichols said. “When I learned her story, I was very impressed by how many similarities there were between her life and how well this award seemed to fit me,” she said. “This is the kind of person we are looking for today as a role model because of her accomplishments and the contributions she has made here and internationally.” The Audrey Fedyszyn Jakubowski Lazarus Basic Science Fund for Women was created in 2019 with a significant leadership gift from Dr. Jakubowski Lazarus and her husband, Gerald S. Lazarus, M.D. The fund provides financial assistance to female junior and senior students at Seton Hill majoring in chemistry, biochemistry and mathematics so that they may immerse themselves in hands-on collaborative scientific research under the guidance of a Seton Hill faculty member. Dr. Jakubowski Lazarus, a Seton Hill Distinguished Alumna, earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the State University of New York at Buffalo and spent her career in leadership roles for major pharmaceutical companies, including Bristol Myers Inc., DuPont Merck and SuperGen. While working for SuperGen, she lived in China for three Audrey Fedyszyn Jakubowski Lazarus ’64 years where she served as a visiting professor at Peking Union Medical College. Nichols sees China, where she was born, and family as personal links to Dr. Lazarus. “(My mother) has always been my biggest support, beginning 21 years ago when she adopted me from a Chinese orphanage to raise me by herself,” Nichols told Dr. Lazarus in a thank-you letter. “I am also deeply inspired by your story of being a single mother who created a successful career for yourself while also providing for your children.” Nichols plans to work as a clinical pharmacist but finds research compelling, too. “I’m also looking at which fields I would go into if I ended up doing research,” she said. She was accepted into North Dakota State University Summer Undergrad Research Experience (SURE) and worked in a lab last summer with a host doctor who is making adhesives from plant oils to ease reliance on petroleum-based projects. “This adhesive could be used on substrates and you would see if it was comparable with other leading adhesives that are on the market. Some were competitive, if not better than, petroleum-based ones,” Nichols said. “It was a wonderful experience.”

Ceremony of Gratitude Honors Donors Every November, students in Seton Hill’s Physician Assistant program hold a Ceremony of Gratitude to honor and thank those who have donated their bodies to science. The 2020 ceremony was held on Nov. 18 in Saint Joseph Chapel for students to attend in person and was available via live stream. “It’s how we treat donors with dignity and respect as we follow our Catholic mission and identity,” said Dr. Bobbie Leeper, Associate Professor of Biology and Physician Assistant Programs, who manages the Human Anatomy Lab. “It’s a special ceremony that students plan to say thanks and goodbye, and it’s different every year.” The ceremony is held after the last lab of the semester. “The bodies then go on to cremation and are given back to family members so they can have closure. We’re blessing them along that last path,” Leeper said. At the ceremony, which is nondenominational and interfaith, some students sing, play an instrument, or read a poem or speech they’ve written. “Because we do not know the religion of our donors, we embrace all religions and try to incorporate spiritual readings and poetry into our program. Students may read Bible passages or make secular comments,” Leeper said. “We always do the giving of roses. A candle is lit for every donor, and each has his own vase. Students hold roses and place them in a vase. It’s very touching.” In the blessing of the donors segment of the program, all students dispense holy water. “We want to bless donors on the next passage in their life’s journey,” Leeper said. Leeper encourages students to think about the impact human cadavers have had on their education. “I like saying it’s putting the human into the human anatomy. These students aren’t going on to work with the dead, they’re going to work with the living. The donors have family members who love them; think of them as human,” she said. Even before PA students take their first lab, they must complete assignments in the Catholic Social Teaching tradition to reflect on treating the five donors with the same respect and dignity afforded to all living people. They attend a “reflection lab” to discuss how dissection impacts their education and human dignity as well as an art therapy workshop to create something as a physical way to honor the donors. FORWARD MAGAZINE

On the Frontlines

Seton Hill Alumni, Student Help to Wage the Battle Against COVID-19

As COVID-19 spread throughout the United States in March 2020, many businesses closed or allowed employees to work from home to slow the rate of spread. But essential health care workers stayed on the frontlines of the global pandemic, working to heal the sick. They reported to work despite the many unknowns about the novel virus. How did it spread? Would their PPE protect them? Were there enough ventilators for patients? Two recent Seton Hill graduates and a current student were among those frontline workers. Emily Dolgas ’17, a registered nurse who earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Seton Hill before earning a BSN from Moravian University; Cory Rings, a 2019 graduate of the Physician Assistant Program; and Juliane Tomasic, a sophomore nursing student and full-time EMT with an ambulance service, have been caring for COVID-19 patients throughout the pandemic.

Juliane Tomasic When Seton Hill moved all classes online in March in response to the pandemic, student and part-time EMT Juliane Tomasic shifted to full-time hours at an ambulance company based near campus. Working on a Mutual Aid Ambulance Service crew, she transports COVID-19 patients and responds to typical calls - dialysis patients, accident victims, nursing home residents – with the same precautions. “Whether it’s a COVID call or any 911 call, you prepare as if the virus might be present,” Tomasic said. For an EMT, a steady PPE supply and regular decontamination is crucial, she said. “We were issued four N95s and four K95s, goggles, a plastic face shield, uniforms, rain ponchos with hoods. We go through so much PPE on a daily basis. “After every COVID patient, we had to return to the facility, take off our PPE, shower, put the PPE in a washer so it was ready for next time, and disinfect our masks,” she said, noting that she wears triple gloves and adds a surgical mask over her N95. “I honestly did feel protected,” said Tomasic, who is also a volunteer firefighter. “I trust medical professionals. As long as I’m listening to their advice on what I should do to protect myself from COVID, I’m fine.”

Juliane Tomasic

School openings in August triggered a surge in cases and 911 calls. By then, Mutual Aid had modified protocols and added equipment. Crews are now allowed 40 minutes to decontaminate. “With more 911 calls, we have to keep the ball rolling and be as fast and efficient as we can,” said Tomasic, who passed the EMT certification exam at age 17. “Ever since I could remember, I wanted to work in trauma and focus on helping people,” she said. “I wanted to become an ER physician, but hands-on learning is where I really succeeded.” She looks forward to nursing practicums and plans to work with an ambulance crew after certification as a Pre-Hospital RN.

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Cory Rings A hospitalist at Butler Memorial Hospital since August 2019, Cory Rings was moved to a COVID-19 unit early in the pandemic and found his niche: the Infectious Disease Department. “Thankfully I had some experiences under my belt before it happened. This is so new. We’re learning about it together,” he said. “We were surprised at how quickly things progressed. People are fine one minute, and a few hours later they need a ventilator. It’s very rapidly progressing.” Patient care has been manageable during the pandemic, he said. “We had little surges here and there. We were well-prepared in terms of PPE and a plan. We’re as prepared as we can be.” The COVID-19 fight is ongoing, with case numbers surging in November. “All of a sudden we saw the patient numbers spiking. It’s nursing homes, where it moves like wildfire; schools; rallies around the election; weddings - any kind of gatherings,” he said. While many COVID team workers have returned to their units, Rings took a permanent position in the Infectious Disease Department in August. Cory Rings “It’s been a really great learning opportunity,” he said. “When I worked as hospitalist, we had sick patients, but we also had many different kinds of medical cases. Working with infectious diseases is a more intense level of care. The people we treat are really sick. We have to do a lot more for them.” Cases range from pneumonia to skin and bone infections. “We see everything that general medical doctors see, except we get the really, really sick ones.” In the future, Rings wants to help other Seton Hill students in the PA program. “I felt really prepared going into the workforce and just want to help with the program. The Seton Hill education helps you be prepared as you can be. Seton Hill not only taught us how to take care of people, it creates a very empathetic approach to care.”

Emily Dolgas Emily Dolgas’ first day on the job as a night shift nurse in a New Jersey hospital emergency room was unforgettable. That same day, the state went on lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19. “I interviewed the first week in March and accepted the job offer literally three or four days before the lockdown,” she said. After a weekend with her family in the Pittsburgh area to celebrate her job, she returned to a new reality. Even before she was hired, Dolgas prepared for the novel virus, learning how it was transmitted, what PPE was required. “I did some research and followed the news of how it was entering the United States, and I came into the job with an understanding of it and knowing what to expect.” Working alongside a preceptor, an experienced nurse who acts as a mentor, Dolgas admits that she was scared at first. “It was a fear of the unknown,” she said. “But I was excited to be part of it. I was trained to be in this job. I was glad to be doing my part in everything.” New Jersey’s case numbers were peaking, and the patient census was high, she said. “The cases we did have, we were able to adequately care for. We were well-staffed, and PPE Emily Dolgas was not an issue. On one of my first days, I had an N95 mask on, and I asked my preceptor if I should save it rather than throw away. She said no, we were well-equipped.” Dolgas’ degree in Spanish from Seton Hill, which she earned before entering an accelerated BSN program at Moravian, has aided her care for Spanish-speaking patients. “We have mobile translators – computer screens on wheels – but for little things, like a patient wants a glass of water, or says the pain in my arm is coming back, it’s really useful in communicating. It offers a more personal relationship with the patients.”

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distinguished alumni

Distinguished Alumni In 2020, Seton Hill honored 11 alumni with the University’s Distinguished Alumni Leadership Award for demonstrating outstanding achievement and leadership in one (or more) of the following areas: education, business professions, science and technology, arts, voluntary services, military services and philanthropy. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seton Hill University 2020 Distinguished Alumni will be honored during expanded Alumni Weekend 2021 events currently scheduled for June 2021. Bernadette R. Fondy, Ph.D. ’69 • Distinguished Alumna Leadership Award

Bernadette Fondy enjoyed a 40-year career at Seton Hill, her undergraduate alma mater, where she received her bachelor’s degree in biology in 1969. Upon earning both her master’s degree in biology and Ph.D. in plant physiology from the University of Dayton, Bernadette taught biology and involved several students in her research. She received four research grants from the National Science Foundation; presented research papers at the national meetings of the American Society of Plant Physiologists for 14 consecutive years; actively participated at the National Institutes of Health Extramural Associate Program that focused on increasing the participation of undergraduate women in scientific research; and conducted plant research as a Fellow for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. Dr. Fondy served as Academic Dean at Seton Hill and was promoted to Vice President for Academic Affairs. During her time in this role, she guided the development of the Seton Hill Physician Assistant Program and the master’s degree programs in Elementary Education and Art Therapy. After leaving this position, she served as director of the Physician Assistant Program and led its transition to a master’s degree program. Prior to her retirement, Bernadette initiated the Exercise Science major, served as Dean of the School of Natural and Health Sciences, and as the inaugural director of the Office of Academic Innovation and Planning at Seton Hill. In this role she worked with faculty to develop several new academic programs, including cybersecurity, data analytics and nursing. She established the Bernadette R. Fondy Endowed Scholarship to support academically-talented Seton Hill students with financial need who plan to study one of the natural sciences.

Susan M. Printy, Ph.D. ’70 • Distinguished Alumna Leadership Award

Following her 1970 graduation from Seton Hill with a degree in English, Susan Printy completed her training to become a high school teacher while bringing up three children. Susan taught American literature and English literature for 18 years at a rural public high school in Bellevue, Ohio where she was also the yearbook advisor and assistant drama director. She later earned a Master of Education in Educational Administration from Bowling Green State University, and, at the age of 48 when her youngest child went off to college, Susan entered a full-time doctoral program at The Ohio State University. Susan is an associate professor emeritus of K-12 educational administration in the College of Education at Michigan State University where her research interests centered on two ideas: that schools improve when they are learning organizations and that schools enjoy a range of positive outcomes when principals share leadership with teachers. She was the key architect in the design and implementation of Michigan State’s Doctor of Educational Leadership, infusing the curriculum with the core values of social justice, engagement and collaboration and serving as the program’s first director. With two of her Michigan State colleagues, Susan engaged with administrators at ADA University in Baku, Azerbaijan to develop and implement a new MA in Educational Management.

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Leadership Awards Victoria Marie Gribschaw, SC ’70 • Distinguished Alumna Leadership Award

Sr. Victoria Marie Gribschaw began her journey at Seton Hill with the Class of 1965 on the Sisters of Charity Undergraduate Teaching Scholarship - often referred to as “the plan” - and earned her chemistry degree in 1970. She holds a master’s degree in Family Resources/Home Economics Education from West Virginia University and a Ph.D. in Consumer and Family Economics with a minor in Microeconomic Theory from The Ohio State University. Over four decades of service to Seton Hill, Sr. Victoria Marie helped to establish the University’s business program, served as Chair of the Family and Consumer Sciences Department, Director of the Family Studies Program and was Chair of the Division of Social Studies. In addition to teaching courses in Family and Consumer Sciences and Business, she developed and taught courses in the liberal arts core curriculum. She was Class Advisor for the classes of 1978, 1984, 1994 and 2000, which established The Millennium Scholarship for class officers and student government leaders. She published and presented on topics including poverty and economic mobility, family dynamics, and educational strategies; holds membership in numerous professional organizations; twice served as President of the Pennsylvania Association of Family and Consumer Sciences; and held three-year terms as both the Secretary and Treasurer of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. She continues a legacy of volunteerism as a lector and Eucharistic Minister at the Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg and as Chaplain for the Seton Hill women’s basketball team.

Marie McColley Kerstetter ’70 • Distinguished Alumna Leadership Award

Marie McColley Kerstetter put her Seton Hill bachelor’s degree and Temple University master’s degree in music education into practice for nearly 40 years, teaching public high school students music and vocal ensemble music performance. Prior to her retirement in 2008, she earned the Excellence in Education Award on eight occasions. The award is given to a teacher that students select as being the most memorable and life changing for them in all of their 12 years of public education. In her spare time, Marie taught vocal ensembles for seven years at Nazareth College and became the first female musical director and accompanist at the Kalamazoo Civic Players, a local regional theatre that is ranked third in the United States by the American Association of Community Theatre. Marie received the Kalamazoo Arts Community’s Medal of Arts Award and the Larkin Noble Award for her lifetime achievements that included directing and accompanying more than 350 musicals in over 35 years of volunteer service. As she did during her four years at Seton Hill when she was very involved in liturgy, playing guitar and singing for the folk service, Marie has continued her liturgy work at several local churches in the town of Allegan, Michigan. She has also spent the last 13 years as the musical director and accompanist at Westminster Presbyterian Church, a “church community that reminds her so much of the fellowship and local Christian love that she experienced and remembered fondly of Seton Hill.”

Lynn M. Grattan ’75 • Distinguished Alumna Leadership Award

Lynn Grattan graduated from Seton Hill in 1975 with a major in psychology and minor in sociology. She holds an M.S. in Clinical/Community Psychology from American International University and was awarded her Ph.D. in Psychology with distinction from the University of Connecticut. She completed her neuropsychology training during her internship and three year post-doctoral fellowship at Brown University. Lynn is a licensed psychologist in the state of Maryland, has been on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine for 30 years, and currently serves as Professor in the Department of Neurology, with secondary appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry, Epidemiology and Public Health. She also serves as Division Head for Neuropsychology and is the Director of the Neuropsychological Diagnostic and Research Laboratory within the medical school. Lynn has been leading National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research studies of the neuropsychological and behavioral impacts of a wide variety of neurological, neurosurgical and neurotoxic insults on the human brain as well as the effects of disasters like the Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil spill, hurricanes and COVID-19 for more than 30 years. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, abstracts, book chapters and reviews. She regularly gives invited lectures in her field at other universities, symposia and professional meetings across the United States and abroad. She is honored to serve on several National Steering Committees and as a reviewer or editorial board member for professional journals and NIH grant submissions.

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distinguished alumni

Angelica Docog ’83 • Distinguished Alumna Leadership Award

Angelica Docog became the first female and Latina-Asian to assume the role of Executive Director of the University of Texas at San Antonio Institute of Texan Cultures--one of the top cultural arts destinations in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to joining the Institute, Angelica worked for 15 years in the curatorial, research and interpretation aspects of museum operations as a scholar, educator and administrator. Her research interests include cultural identity; cultural representation; cultural sustainability and cultural preservation of culturally diverse communities in museums. Her Seton Hill degree in history and minor in political science set “ …a foundation of excellence in spiritual and academic growth…” that followed her through earning her M.A. from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in History Museum Studies in Cooperstown, New York, where she was the recipient of the New York State Minority Fellowship. She is currently pursuing a doctorate at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Angelica holds numerous professional memberships and gives back to her community through service on multiple chambers of commerce, two cultural heritage organizations and a refugee advisory board. In 2019, The San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame selected Angelica to join its class of inductees.

Giovanna Rivera Genard ’94 • Distinguished Alumna Leadership Award

A native of Puerto Rico, Giovanna Rivera Genard is a 1994 communication and information arts graduate of Seton Hill who later earned an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration with a concentration in Communication from The Pennsylvania State University. Giovanna launched into a successful career in communication, marketing and public relations upon graduation, first serving in the admissions office at Seton Hill, and in 2016, becoming the first Latinx member of the President’s Cabinet in Old Dominion University’s history when she was appointed Assistant Vice President for Strategic Communication and Marketing, as well as Chief Marketing Officer. In addition to this role, Giovanna is a guest lecturer at Old Dominion, where she teaches and mentors the next generation of communicators. As an inclusive leader, she volunteers to close the equity gap, create a diverse talent pipeline and promote social mobility, helping establish ODU’s national Social Mobility Symposium and global programs such as High-Achieving Latinxs in Engineering & Science (HALES) and Remote Experience for Young Engineers and Scientists (REYES). In 2017, she was invited to join the Forbes Communications Council, a national group of respected leaders and executives who have depth and diversity of experience in the industry, and in 2019, the CIVIC Leadership Institute. Giovanna collaborates regularly with non-profits and Latin American Embassies in the U.S., has been a guest speaker at state and national conferences, serves on the executive board of the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium and the Board of Directors of the YWCA South Hampton Roads, and served on Seton Hill’s Alumni Advisory Council from 2010 to 2012.

Tanya Moximchalk ’95 • Distinguished Alumna Leadership Award

Tanya Moximchalk graduated from Seton Hill in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in a self-designed major in corporate leadership; she earned her MBA from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005. She has spent the majority of her career in banking, holding many roles including in human resources and product management, and currently serves as Vice President, Business Experience Planning and Administration Manager for Enterprise Innovation at PNC Financial Services. Tanya remembers the lessons she learned at Seton Hill as she gives back to others. She actively mentors early talent through formal and informal partnerships and has served on boards for the Salvation Army of Southwestern PA, WQED and the YWCA Center for Race and Gender Equity. She supports Seton Hill by facilitating partnerships for student internships, providing advice and guidance as a Career Connections Program volunteer, serving as a reunion chair and as a past member of the Alumni Advisory Council, and through the creation of the Sr. Colette Toler, SC ’57 Endowed Memorial Scholarship, all of which demonstrate her value of “… keeping in mind the outside world and those in our community that may need support…”

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Nalo Hopkinson ’02 MA • Distinguished Alumna Leadership Award

Born in Jamaica, Nalo Hopkinson is a 2002 graduate of Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction master’s degree program; she holds an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom. As a published author and professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside, Nalo’s focus is on science fiction, fantasy and magical realism. In 1998, Nalo published her first novel, Brown Girl in the Ring, and has since written and published five novels, two short story collections and a chapbook, which draw on Caribbean history, language and the fairy and folk tales she read at a young age. Between 2018 and 2020, she was the author of “House of Whispers,” a monthly series of comics set in Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” Universe and published by DC Comics. Nalo has been recognized with many literary awards including the John W. Campbell Award, the World Fantasy Award and the Andre Norton Award. In 2008, her book “The New Moon’s Arms” received the Prix Aurora Award and the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, making her the first author to receive this award twice. Nalo has been a guest speaker at many science fiction conventions and is a founding member of the Carl Brandon Society, an organization devoted to exploring race and ethnicity in speculative fiction. In 2018, California State University Eagle-Con gave her the Octavia Butler Memorial Award, which celebrates an author whose writing exemplifies the spirit of Butler’s work. Also in 2018, the San Diego Comics Convention gave her the Inkpot Award, recognizing her achievements in science fiction.

Marcus L. Thompson ’08 • Distinguished Alumnus Leadership Award/Young Alumnus Achievement Marcus Thompson is a 2008 communication graduate of Seton Hill. He has established himself as a business development and community engagement leader for Skanska Building USA, a global construction management firm based out of Stockholm, Sweden. With his wife Ashley and son Zechariah, Marcus is active in the Cincinnati, Ohio community, leading initiatives to help raise kids and families out of poverty, stop child abuse, bring individuals out of addiction and secure greenspace for families to have a safe place outdoors. Among his many accomplishments, Marcus became the youngest and first African-American to serve as President of a governmentappointed Board of Parks Commissioners for Great Parks of Hamilton County in 2019. He has also been recognized as a 40 Under 40 by the Cincinnati Business Courier and, as a former student-athlete, enjoys serving as co-director of Saturday Hoops to mentor vulnerable children through faith, fun and basketball.

Matthew Zamosky ’10 • Distinguished Alumnus Leadership Award for Military Service

Prior to graduating with his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration as an adult degree student in 2010, Matt Zamosky served 20 years in the United States Air Force, retiring at the rank of Master Sergeant in 2006. Matt works tirelessly to raise awareness of the benefits and services available to the military community as the Westmoreland County Director of Veterans Affairs, a position which he has held for nearly 10 years; through his many volunteer guiding roles on nonprofit boards and professional associations that provide assistance and support for Pennsylvania veterans; and through his service in veterans organizations. Matt is president of the Pennsylvania State Association of County Directors of Veterans Affairs, serves on the Pennsylvania Veterans Foundation Board of Directors, is a Deputy Commander of the 31st District of the American Legion, serves as cochair of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Veterans Advisory Board, is a member of VFW Post 33 and Chapter 98 of The Retired Enlisted Association and is serving as the First Vice Commander of American Legion Post 982. He is a founding member of the Seton Hill Alumni Veterans Affinity, serves on the Seton Hill Social Work Advisory Board and was previously a member of the Alumni Advisory Council from 2014 to 2017.

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Jessica Delio ’22, Abbey Sitko ’20, President Mary Finger, Fardan Allen ’20 and John Orlando ’20 on the front porch of the Administration Building in February 2020.

Seton Hill President Mary C. Finger Honored as a Woman of Influence Seton Hill University President Mary C. Finger has been named one of the Pittsburgh Business Times’ 2020 Women of Influence. Dr. Finger joined 25 other Pittsburgh area leaders who received the honor at a virtual awards ceremony on September 14. “During her tenure as Seton Hill University President, Mary Finger has led bold new initiatives to increase enrollment and retention, enhance Seton Hill’s academic offerings, improve graduate outcomes, construct and renovate university facilities, support students through increased scholarships and enhance Seton Hill’s positive economic impact on the Pittsburgh region and Pennsylvania,” said Seton Hill University Board of Trustees Chair Karen Farmer White, who nominated Dr. Finger for the award. “Dr. Finger’s significant contributions to making Seton Hill University an educational leader in the Pittsburgh region and her outstanding These photographs were taken in February 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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service to the community make her deserving of the Women of Influence honor.” “I am humbled to be honored among such a distinguished group of leaders in the Pittsburgh region,” Mary Finger said. “The Women of Influence recognition is one I share with the members of the Seton Hill community who dedicate themselves to provide outstanding educational opportunities to our students. I am proud to lead Seton Hill University and to follow in the footsteps of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, a group of strong women who founded this institution more than a century ago.” Dr. Finger began her tenure as President of Seton Hill University in June 2014. Under her leadership, Seton Hill University has experienced a 14 percent growth in enrollment. The two largest freshmen classes in Seton Hill’s history in Fall 2017

and Fall 2019 – were enrolled during her tenure. Recognizing the need for new academic programs to train future workers to meet the needs of employers throughout the Pittsburgh region, President Finger initiated the Office of Academic Innovation and Planning at Seton Hill University. Through the office, Seton Hill faculty are engaging with regional business and community leaders to rapidly bring new academic programs to market that will allow employers to fill needed positions in all types of industries. Seton Hill has developed more than a dozen new programs at the undergraduate and graduate level in the last few years, including Nursing, Health Science, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, Global Studies, Digital Humanities and new MBA concentrations in Healthcare Administration, Project Management and Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination. Seton Hill has also expanded facilities during Mary Finger’s tenure, including the completion of two new academic facilities – the JoAnne Woodyard Boyle Health Sciences Center on the main campus and the Seton Hill Arts Center in downtown Greensburg; the expansion of the Rose M. O’Brien Center for Campus Ministry; the renovation and expansion of historic Lowe Dining Hall; and the construction of the Sisters of Charity Residence Hall. Dr. Finger also initiated a nationaly recognized career readiness program, Fit for the World, which provides Seton Hill students with career support through their classes during their four years of study. Through this program and the rigor of Seton Hill’s academic programs, the measurable success of Seton Hill graduates has continued to increase. In fact, 98 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients in Seton Hill’s Class of 2019 were employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation, while 100 percent of master’s degree recipients were employed in that same time frame.

that Seton Hill contributed $116.8 million to the Pennsylvania economy in 2018. This impact represents a more than $46 million increase since 2014 when Mary Finger’s tenure at Seton Hill began, according to AICUP. Mary Finger is dedicated to serving other nonprofit organizations on the regional, state and national levels. As a member of the Board of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Mary has continued and grown a substantial partnership with PBT that brings the cultural organization’s artists to Greensburg for performances at the Seton Hill University Performing Arts Center as well as dance residencies and master classes for Seton Hill dance majors and youth dancers from throughout Westmoreland County. Dr. Finger serves as vice chair of the board of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and is also on the boards of the Pennsylvania Economy League of Pittsburgh, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Dr. Finger has nearly 35 years of experience in higher education administration. Dr. Finger has served a number of higher education institutions, including DePaul University, Mount Mary College (now University); Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Foundation. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University, a master’s degree from Mount Mary and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

During Seton Hill’s Centennial Celebration in 2018, Dr. Finger initiated a successful fundraising campaign to establish or increase funding to student scholarships. The university has also provided substantial economic impact to the Pittsburgh region and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during her tenure. An economic impact study released by the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP) in October 2019 revealed

Taylor Crupie ’21, Cristyada Gordon ’22, President Mary Finger, Zach Geiselhart ’20 and Elliott Barwin ’22 meet in President Finger’s office in February 2020.

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Fulbright or Full-Court Press? Nathan Davis ’20 Finds Multiple Paths to Europe

One way or another, Nathan Davis was heading to Europe after graduating from Seton Hill in May 2020. Whether he would be playing basketball for a European team or teaching English to students in Spain as a Fulbright Scholar, Davis had faith that he would find the right path. “Whatever God’s timing is you

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have to trust in that and have faith it’s the right thing to do,” said Davis, a Spanish graduate and a fouryear starter for the Seton Hill men’s basketball team. Ultimately – with the Fulbright program suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic – Davis chose to sign a professional basketball contract with a German basketball team,

Citybasket Recklinghausen, in June. “It was very difficult to inform Fulbright of my decision, but the uncertainty of whether or not the program would still occur really pushed me in the basketball direction,” Davis said. “And, to be truthful, playing basketball at the professional level was at the top of my list of goals from the beginning.”

Davis, who has been in Germany since September, suffered a small injury that kept him out of action for about a month. “I was able to rehab and get back on the court for our games in October. However, with COVID cases rising here in Germany, the league decided to shut down until mid-January. This has been disappointing and frustrating, but I understand that this is a global issue and bigger than basketball at this point in time.” While he waits for the basketball season to start again, Davis has been adjusting well to life in Germany. “The food is good and the people are lovely,” he said. “Most people also speak English, including my coaches and teammates, so the language barrier has not been much of a problem. Gratefully, I have picked up on some German since I’ve been here.” While he is happy with his decision to play professional

basketball, Davis hopes that he will be able to participate in the Fulbright program at some point. Davis is the second Seton Hill Spanish alumnus to earn a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Grant to Spain in the last four years. Anthony Palmiscno ’16 spent the 2016-17 academic year teaching English in the country. The English Teaching Assistant Programs place Fulbright honorees in classrooms abroad to provide assistance to local English teachers. The assistants help teach English language while serving as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. Davis studied abroad in Spain as part of a May term trip during his freshman year. “I loved it, and I’ve been really wanting to go back since,” he said. Davis’ achievements in the classroom and on the basketball court are a result of his own high

expectations for himself. “I’ve never known anything different than being a student-athlete,” he said. “Hard work is something I’ve always prided myself on. No matter what the situation is you always have control over how hard you work.” Someday, Davis may follow his parents’ footsteps into the education field. His mother, Shelly, is a special educator and his father, Todd, is a professor at Penn State Altoona. Davis’ brother, Noah, is a Seton Hill alumnus and former teammate on the Griffins basketball team. His student teaching experience at Greensburg Salem High School during his senior year helped Davis see his potential in building relationships with students. “I think I could have a positive influence on kids that age,” he said.

Nathan Davis ’20 is playing professional basketball with the Citybasket Recklinghausen Basketball Club in Germany for the 2020-21 season.

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Class of 2020 Leaves Lasting Impact The Class of 2020 Hazard Yet Forward Scholarship will Support Future Setonians As COVID-19 arrived in the United States, the officers of the Class of 2020 were discussing their class gift and how they would leave their mark on Seton Hill University. It soon became clear that establishing a scholarship for future Setonians would leave a lasting legacy and provide much needed aid at a critical time for so many students. “The class officers realized that once the pandemic hit many students were affected financially because their jobs and their parents’ jobs were suspended,” said Class of 2020 President Gianna Donate. “There were students worried whether they would be able to come back to school or if they could finish out their semesters if they couldn’t afford it.” So the class established the Class of 2020 Hazard Yet Forward Scholarship to provide financial assistance to Seton Hill students in need. “We thought the name ’Hazard Yet Forward’ was an appropriate one because it shows how the student body is able to move forward even when challenged with adversity and how a past class is able to help and contribute to new incoming students,” added Donate. The Seton Hill Class of 2020 certainly faced their share of adversity as the pandemic forced Spring 2020 classes to move to virtual formats and brought about the cancellation of the May commencement ceremony. But their resilience and ability to move forward despite obstacles can be summed up by the Class of 2020 Motto: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.”

Mary Finger with the Class of 2020 officers Kennedy Kehew, Sarah Hester, Gianna Donate, Alexis Teitelbaum and Bridget Deveney at their junior Tree Planting ceremony in 2019.

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Seton Hill May 2020 Graduates Share their Plans for the Future Tasha Nicole Brownfield Bachelor of Arts in Psychology “I will be attending Yale University in the fall of 2020 to obtain a Master of Divinity to seek ordination in the Unitarian Universalist Church. Although I am not sure where Yale Divinity School and ordination will take me, I will happily serve wherever I am needed in the world.”

Alexis Dailey Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education PreK-4 & Special Education PreK-8 “I accepted a position as a kindergarten teacher for the 2020-21 school year.”

Leah Dice Bachelor of Science in Osteopathic Medicine - Biology 3+4 “I began my studies at LECOM at Seton Hill in July. After medical school, I want to practice medicine while teaching at a university.”

Natalie Frydryck Bachelor of Science in Biology “I currently have a job at PerkinElmer and am working on the lab end of COVID-19 testing. I plan to continue working in labs and eventually earn a master’s and Ph.D. in biology.”

Olivia Gennaro Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics “I will be attending graduate school in the Spring of 2021 to pursue Biomedical Engineering, with a concentration in Bioinstrumentation and Medical Imaging. I will also be pursuing my MBA in Project Management, while continuing to tutor in mathematics and physics for underserved children in my community.”

Amir Goodwin Bachelor of Science in Sports Management “I am currently working as a youth sports coach at USA Sports Group and as a teacher at West Philadelphia Achievement Charter School.”

Sammantha Jackson Bachelor of Science in Honors in Forensic Science “I am attending Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia to obtain my Master’s of Science in Criminal Justice with an Intelligence and Crime Analysis Specialization.”

Harrison Klein Bachelor of Science in Osteopathic Medicine - Biology 3+4 “I will be attending Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) at Seton Hill to pursue my medical degree.”

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Conferring of Degrees

Seton Hill University

May 2020 Graduates Commemorative Program

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Dear May 2020 Graduates, Commencement marks an important day in the lives of graduates and their families. As they cross the stage to receive their diploma, graduates are moving from one phase of their lives to another. One chapter comes to a close and another begins in those brief moments. It is a joyful moment when I present each graduate with their diploma. Seeing the excitement on our graduates’ faces – and hearing the celebratory cheers from their family members and friends – truly makes me proud to serve Seton Hill and its students. I am a first-generation college graduate myself, so I understand the hard work and dedication and the struggles and sacrifices that students and their families make to attain an education and to earn a degree. And so it was heartbreaking when the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to hold an in-person graduation for our May 2020 graduates. This Commemorative Commencement Program – which lists the names and degrees of those who would have been recognized at our May undergraduate and graduate Commencement ceremonies – serves as one way that all of us at Seton Hill acknowledge the accomplishments of you and your classmates. I know these days have been challenging. I am proud of each of you and value deeply the resilience of your class in completing your senior year strong and remaining connected with one another. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton said, “The front door, the back door, the side door that leads to the Chapel…all the windows, upstairs and downstairs, open at your coming.” You always have a special place here at Seton Hill University, and we look forward to welcoming you back to your alma mater. Hazard Yet Forward,

Mary C. Finger President

The Caritas Medal The Caritas Medal, commissioned in 1993 to mark the 75th anniversary of Seton Hill University, is worn by faculty and staff who have given 20 years of distinguished service to Seton Hill University. It was designed by Christopher Markle, then a senior graphic design major in the Seton Hill University School of Visual and Performing Arts. The university seal appears on the obverse which includes the Coat of Arms of Seton Hill University. On the reverse is a line drawing of the Seton Hill University Administration Building. The medal is inscribed with words from Wisdom 1:5, A holy thing it is, the spirit that brings instruction.

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Candidates for Degrees Bachelor of Arts Fardan Allen �� General Studies Madyson Baer ��Dance Hannah Barkley-Mastalski �� Education Nichole Bassegio �� Psychology Jennifer Bergman ��English Deia Biddle ��Art Therapy Peggy Bitner ��Art Therapy Alyssa Blake �� Education Alyese Bolton �� Communication Austin Braendel ��Mathematics Tasha Brownfield �� Psychology Cassawndra Brugos ��Theatre Molly Carbone ��Theatre Alexa Civittolo ��Global Studies Adam Clark ��Art Therapy Bayley Clark �� Psychology Amber Clemens �� Art Sarah Como ��Art Therapy Hope Creamer ��Art Therapy Colby Crouse �� Political Science Brian Dabney �� Criminal Justice Alexis Dailey �� Education Lloyd Davies �� Political Science Nathan Davis ��Spanish Dale Detrick ��Spanish Emily Doell �� Criminal Justice Vanessa Drapala �� Human Services Stephen Dumnich ��Journalism Chynna El-Ayazra �� Art Carrie Ellis �� Political Science Taro Gaither ��History Michele Gala ��Dance Olivia Gennaro ��Mathematics Samantha Gray ��English Kailen Grimm �� Criminal Justice Jessica Hanson �� Education Mercedes Holets �� Education Carrie Hood �� Art Bradley Howells �� Education Asia Johnson �� Criminal Justice Sarah Johnson ��History Alexis Johnston �� Psychology

Alexandra Kornides �� Communication Julie Lang �� Education Maya Lavery ��Spanish Brooke Lawrence �� Education Courtney Ann Lawrence �� Education Layne Lueckert ��Theatre Moses-JaMonte Mabry �� Communication Logan Maloni �� Criminal Justice Kaitlyn Marsh ��English Jacob Meager �� Art Elizabeth Miller ��Dance Travis Miller ��Theatre Cameron Nickel ��Theatre Courtney Nolt �� Psychology Zachery Odenthal ��English Caitlyn Padgett �� Education Nicole Page �� Education Giordanna Paola �� Educational Studies Paige Parshall �� Education Jeffrey Pergola ��Mathematics Brittaney Pietrangelo �� Communication Halle Polechko ��Theatre Colette Pritchard ��Art Therapy Mackenzie Robinson �� Political Science Chelsea Rohan �� Criminal Justice Jay Scerbo �� Criminal Justice Jenna Schatz ��English Emily Smith �� Education Nathaniel Stennett ��Religious Studies Charles Stull �� Political Science Julia Stypula ��Theatre Evan Suter ��Mathematics Alexis Teitelbaum �� Education Ryleigh Testa �� Art Breanna VanDyke �� Psychology Madison Verrall ��Spanish Evan Vissat ��English Ashley Werner �� Psychology Jayme Winter ��Art Therapy Anna Yates �� Art Noah Zaken ��Theatre Business

Bachelor of Fine Arts Chynna El-Ayazra �� Art Elizabeth Engel �� Art John Kenneally �� Art Madeline Kocur ��Theatre Gwendolyn Little ��Theatre Jordan Mayers �� Art

Kaitlyn Mayers �� Art Malcolm McGraw ��Theatre Victoria Michaels �� Art Leah Prestogeorge ��Theatre Leah Riley �� Art

Bachelor of Music Bridget Deveney �� Music Austin Hollobaugh �� Music

+ Degree in Honors

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Janie Wilcox ��Music Therapy

Bachelor of Science Tyler Affa �� Business Administration Caitlyn Ahlborn ��Health Science AbdulMalik AlMutairi �� Business Administration Jennifer Alspaugh ��Health Science Mary Baich ��Medical Studies Adam Bankovich �� Business Administration Ryan Barabe ��Sports Management Alexandra Barbera ��Medical Studies Jessie Belding �� Hospitality and Tourism Melissa Bingey �� Business Administration Rebecca Birdsall �� Accounting Vivian Bishop �� Biology Ashley Boehm ��Exercise Science Rachael Bowers �� Business Administration Nathan Bowlen �� Biology Caitlin Bray ��Exercise Science Kyle Cardella �� Business Administration Vincent Cervone ��Chemistry Heather Chaderwick ��Medical Studies Daniel Clark �� Accounting Rachael Cobo ��Health Science Kaitlyn Davis �� Business Administration Noah Davis ��Sports Management Madison DeBone ��Medical Studies Parker Denny ��Exercise Science Mary DePrimio ��Medical Studies Leah Dice �� Biology Kristen DiNofrio ��Medical Studies Julie Downs ��Exercise Science Alyssa Doyle �� Biology Max Eismann �� Biochemistry Brianna Fait ��Dietetics Julia Forsman ��Medical Studies Abigail Frech ��Dietetics Dominic Frisina �� Business Administration Natalie Frydryck �� Biology Wynnsome Gadson ��Health Science Michele Gala �� Business Administration Alexandra Gassman ��Health Science Zachary Geiselhart ��Computer Science Elizabeth Ginter �� Biology Amir Goodwin ��Sports Management Steven Gourau �� Computer Science Damon Greenwald �� Biology Bianca Guerrieri �� Business Administration Ryan Haberman ��Cybersecurity Emma Haley ��Exercise Science Erik Hammer �� Business Administration Allie Harvey �� Biology Kaitlyn Heslop ��Exercise Science Sarah Holzer ��Sports Management Agnes Hoover �� Biochemistry Rachel Howard ��Dietetics Sammantha Jackson �� Forensic Science Bayley Jamanis �� Business Administration Alexis Johnston �� Biology Caitlyn Kambouroglos ��Dietetics Anthony Karabatsos �� Business Administration Olivia Kelly ��Health Science Liam Kettle �� Business Administration Kathleen Kimmich ��Health Science

Christine Kiral ��Exercise Science Ryan Kirdahy ��Medical Studies Harrison Klein �� Biology Michele Klim �� Accounting Fadehan Kolawole ��Health Science Kelsey Korzak �� Business Administration Alexis Kupic ��Chemistry Hannah Laslo ��Medical Studies Mattie Lefever ��Dietetics Monique Lepre �� Accounting Jillian Livorse �� Business Administration Hannah Long �� Hospitality and Tourism Amy Lynch ��Sports Management Ryan Manbeck �� Accounting Kristina McClellan ��Medical Studies Heavenlee McCurdy �� Business Administration Austin McLean ��Health Science Madelyn Mitchell �� Business Administration Aaron Mora �� Business Administration Jack Moran �� Business Administration Kiana Murdock ��Medical Studies Baylee Musser ��Health Science Evangeline Muzika ��Dietetics Jessica Neill ��Medical Studies Danielle Nese �� Biochemistry Cameron Nickel �� Business Administration Carson Offman ��Health Science John Orlando ��Sports Management Erin Parks �� Business Administration Sawyer Patrick �� Biology Mary Paulone ��Health Science Jacob Payne ��Sports Management Alejandro Perez �� Business Administration Victoria Pickford �� Biology Elyza Pilatowski-Herzin �� Biology Stephanie Polinsky ��Exercise Science Ethan Quinn ��Chemistry Sydney Rabold ��Exercise Science Kayla Rack �� Business Administration Emily Raffay ��Medical Studies Alexander Raschiatore ��Health Science Alexander Reau ��Chemistry Zachary Recklein �� Business Administration Brendan Reed ��Cybersecurity Rachel Reese �� Accounting Taylor Roberts ��Exercise Science Reagan Rush ��Medical Studies Ana Salazar Gonzalez ��Dietetics Elyse Santillan ��Medical Studies Giavanna Santone ��Exercise Science Jenna Sassack ��Medical Studies Lauren Schoeppner ��Medical Studies Madison Schwerzler ��Medical Studies Stephanie Scott �� Business Administration Jenna Shumar ��Medical Studies Taylor Sipo ��Medical Studies Abbey Sitko �� Biology Christiana Skrabak ��Health Science Matthew Slaughter ��Health Science Rachel Sproat ��Dietetics Dylan Stephenson �� Business Administration

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Nicole Susi ��Exercise Science Evan Suter ��Computer Science Brittney Sutherin �� Business Administration Kayla Sweigard �� Biology Olivia Theodor �� Cybersecurity Justin Timothy ��Computer Science Erika Totaro ��Computer Science Jacob Trimbur �� Health Science Jerrell Turner ��Exercise Science

Alexis Vargas �� Business Administration Denise Veliky �� Business Administration Miranda Veliky ��Exercise Science David Vilchek ��Computer Science Zachary Weakland ��Computer Science Hannah Woitkowiak �� Health Science Tyler Zaluski �� Business Administration Kylie Zuiderhof ��Medical Studies

Bachelor of Social Work James Good �� Social Work Ethan Hartman �� Social Work Jacob Mullaney �� Social Work Kelly Polosky �� Social Work

Maura Kelly �� Social Work Anna Testa �� Social Work Taylor Sabol �� Social Work

Certificates Megan Gretz ��Genocide and Holocaust Studies Certificate

Michelle Kardos �� Pastoral Ministry Certificate

Master of Arts Clare Beardsley ��Art Therapy Lisa Buettner ��Art Therapy Savannah Burch ��Art Therapy Molly Girard ��Art Therapy Emily Heinze ��Art Therapy Ashley Johns ��Art Therapy Jennifer Lucas ��Art Therapy Danielle Lusty ��Art Therapy Amber Masusock ��Art Therapy Kachina Mooney ��Art Therapy Hannah Pritchard ��Art Therapy Christen Robl ��Art Therapy Andrea Schwartz ��Art Therapy

Vanessa Slotterback ��Art Therapy Monica Gallen �� Elementary/Middle Level Education Brittany Bargiel �� Marriage and Family Therapy Nicole Barnhart �� Marriage and Family Therapy Emmanuel Cooke �� Marriage and Family Therapy Candice Coughenour �� Marriage and Family Therapy Stephanie Ponczek �� Marriage and Family Therapy Brooke Wiles �� Marriage and Family Therapy Penny Bittner �� Special Education Megan Gretz �� Special Education Phillip Mihm �� Special Education Maggie Zimmerman �� Special Education Olivia Mills �� Special Education

Master of Business Administration Shelby Goudy �� Business Administration Macey Hollenshead �� Business Administration Billy Martin �� Business Administration Shahzib Shahbaz �� Business Administration Adam Siecinski �� Business Administration Jose Lopez �� Business Administration Sarah Resenic �� Business Administration + Degree in Honors

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Kenneth Fox �� Business Administration Meliniqua Francis �� Business Administration Jacob Hartman �� Business Administration Crystal Joyce �� Business Administration Macey Marks �� Business Administration Kyle Minger �� Business Administration Matthew Williams �� Business Administration

Master of Science Miranda Arison ��Physician Assistant Mary Baich ��Physician Assistant Alexandra Barbera ��Physician Assistant Melissa Bischak ��Physician Assistant David Cessar ��Physician Assistant Heather Chaderwick ��Physician Assistant Anthony Corcoran ��Physician Assistant Madison DeBone ��Physician Assistant Maria DeCario ��Physician Assistant Mary DePrimio ��Physician Assistant Kristen DiNofrio ��Physician Assistant Julia Forsman ��Physician Assistant Ian Godfrey ��Physician Assistant Ryan Kirdahy ��Physician Assistant Manisha Kochhar ��Physician Assistant Briana Kostan ��Physician Assistant Hannah Laslo ��Physician Assistant Heather Mason ��Physician Assistant

Kristina McClellan �� Physician Assistant Cristiana Michele �� Physician Assistant Jessica Mizikar �� Physician Assistant Kiana Murdock �� Physician Assistant Thomas Murrin �� Physician Assistant Regina Nefjodova �� Physician Assistant Emily Raffay �� Physician Assistant Harris Roberts �� Physician Assistant Jenna Roseski �� Physician Assistant Reagan Rush �� Physician Assistant Elyse Santillan �� Physician Assistant Jenna Sassack �� Physician Assistant Lauren Schoeppner �� Physician Assistant Madison Schwerzler �� Physician Assistant Jenna Shumar �� Physician Assistant Parminder Singh �� Physician Assistant Taylor Sipos �� Physician Assistant Kylie Zuiderhof �� Physician Assistant

The Seton Hill University Alma Mater Alma Mater hail we greet thee, Sons and daughters come to meet thee, Keep us near thee, we entreat thee, Dearest Seton Hill. Chorus: Seton Hill we love thee, Make us worthy of thee, Make us glow with zeal to know Warm as the skies above thee, Alma Mater may thy hoary years, but brighter make thy story, Be to thee a crown of glory, Dearest Seton Hill.

Academic Attire The caps, gowns, and hoods of academic dress, first used in the United States in 1754 with the founding of what is now Columbia University, represent a tradition believed to have begun at England’s Oxford or Cambridge University in the 12th and 13th century. The standard cap, the mortarboard, may have first reflected the square shape of the Oxford quadrangle. The cut of the gown’s sleeves indicates the highest degree earned by the wearer: pointed for the bachelor’s, long, closed, and square for the master’s, and full, round, and open for the doctorate. The doctoral gown is faced with velvet, with three velvet bars on the sleeve. The length of the academic hood reflects the degree, the longest for the doctorate, slightly shorter for the master’s,

and shortest for the bachelor’s; its color reveals the academic field and its lining, the degree granting instituion. As established by the American Council on Education, colors for hoods for selected disciplines are: Arts, Letters, and Humanities ��White Business �� Drab Dentistry �� Lilac Education �� Light Blue Fine Arts �� Brown Law �� Purple Music �� Pink Philosophy �� Dark Blue Science �� Golden Yellow Social Work �� Citron Theology �� Scarlet

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campus ministry

Tony Krzmarzick Named Director of Campus Ministry Marissa Haynes Leads Service Outreach Efforts

Tony Krzmarzick

When Sister Maureen O’Brien, the longtime Director of Campus Ministry at Seton Hill, was promoted to Vice President for Mission and Identity last year, the search began for an individual who could fill this important role at the university. At the same time, Tony Krzmarzick was looking for a new opportunity in campus ministry in the Pittsburgh region. “This just felt like the right place for me. Everything fell into place,” said Krzmarzick, who began his tenure as Director of Campus Ministry on July 1. “When God opens more than one door, you know you have to go through it.” A theology and music major at the University of San Diego, Krzmarzick worked in youth ministry for three years before deciding to pursue a Master of Divinity degree at Boston College. “It’s the same work that priests do but focuses on some different aspects. It’s really to prepare to ‘walk with people.’” He and his wife, Rebecca, a Ligonier native, were living in Cleveland where he spent three years in ministry at St. Ignatious High School, a Jesuit Catholic school for boys. As new parents to daughter Rosalie, the couple felt a three-hour drive still wasn’t close enough to family.

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“A mentor at Boston College and my mother-in-law encouraged me to check out the job at Seton Hill. I got to know more about Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hill, and the Sisters of Charity, and I could see myself being part of this community and contributing to the ministry,” Krzmarzick said. Rebecca Krzmarzick, who also holds a Master of Divinity, teaches theology as an adjunct professor at Seton Hill and St. Vincent College. Tony Krzmarzick, who grew up in the Catholic faith, views his role as complementing a pastor or minister’s work and sees the college years as an important time to explore one’s faith, one’s spirituality, and self. “Young people living on their own for first time are deciding who they are, what they believe and what they want to do,” he said. “When I got to college, I realized how important my faith was to me. It was a very formative time in forming my faith, and I had some significant mentors. I was involved in campus choir. The director encouraged us, supported us, inspired us to see new ways of seeing things. It was such a positive experience. I was drawn to college ministry.”

Both personally and professionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has made 2020 a year like no other, Krzmarzick said. “It was very interesting to leave a job in another city, start a new job in a new town and move into a new house in the midst of it,” he said. “They told me there’s a real sense of community here, and I certainly feel that.” Through the challenges of physical distancing and masks, the Campus Ministry staff has worked to continue its programs, including Contemporary Worship services and Coffee Talks, which features topics important to students. “One was, ’Voting your Conscience. Does it matter?” with Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego. We arranged a talk by Zoom to discuss how our faith impacts who and what we vote for. Zoom made it possible and allowed 120 students, alumni and community members to join us in that conversation,” Krzmarzick said. Since September, the office has made the Sunday liturgy accessible, to students and the public via a livestream on Facebook with Chaplain Msgr. Roger Statnick celebrating. Earlier in the pandemic, weekly Masses were recorded and posted to a YouTube channel. “We’ve reached a lot of students that way, and also staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the university,” Krzmarzick said. “Human beings are made for connection, for when we’re all able to gather. Now we need to use all the means necessary to do that.” Campus Ministry falls under the auspices of the Office of Mission and Identity at Seton Hill, led by Vice President Sister Maureen O’Brien. The team also includes Msgr. Roger Statnick, the university chaplain, and Marissa Haynes, who serves as Director of Service Experience. Haynes took on this new title in January, having served as Coordinator of Service Outreach previously. She has worked under COVID restrictions to keep students and community partners

connected for service projects, both on and off campus. “Students go to a food pantry to connect with people in need or an agency that helps the needy,” she said. “I work to make sure that students are not just doing the action but reflecting on how that will impact their future actions.” While a few partnerships were paused, Haynes has transitioned some programs to campus. One popular program is Make-To-Donate. “We provide our students with materials, and they made paracord bracelets for military members for Operation Gratitude; donated hats and gloves to Feeding the Spirit; and, made dog toys and cat toys, which were donated to Animal Friends of Westmoreland County,” she said. Programs such as the Drop Off/Pick Up are “a great way to stay in touch with our partners from a distance,” Haynes said. One participant, the United Way, drops off literacy packets. Students fill them, and the agency collects them for distribution. A student favorite benefits the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank. “They give us a couple of dozen boxes of diapers. The students take them out and wrap them for distribution. They learn that diapers aren’t among the state’s benefits for families, so they are directly helping a child,” Haynes said. “When the world can be dark at times, the work we are doing can be a really beautiful.”

Marissa Haynes

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faculty in focus 38

Debasish Chakraborty, Ph.D Appointed Dean of the School of Business Debasish Chakraborty, Ph.D., has been named Dean of the School of Business at Seton Hill. Dr. Chakraborty most recently served as a Professor of Economics and has served as Assistant Dean and Director of the MBA Program at Central Michigan University. He began his tenure at Seton Hill on March 16, 2020. Dr. Chakraborty’s appointment comes as Paul Mahady, D.B.A., former Dean of the School of Business, decided to return to the classroom full-time. “Dr. Chakraborty brings to Seton Hill more than 35 years of experience in higher education both as a professor and as an administrator,” President Mary Finger said. “His commitment to student success along with his extensive teaching, collaborative administrative and innovative research experience will help continue our efforts of moving Seton Hill’s School of Business forward.” “As an educator, my job is to help students transform their lives,” Dr. Chakraborty said. “Students must be inspired to ask the right questions, and faculty members, who are our finest asset, must help students follow their quest with integrity and a sense of purpose. My role is simply to create that learning environment and enjoy the transformation in real time. I enjoy working with the faculty at Seton Hill to help students reach their goals.” Dr. Chakraborty comes to Seton Hill from Central Michigan University, where he taught Economics since 1983. During his time at Central Michigan, Dr. Chakraborty also served as Assistant Dean and Director of the MBA Program in the College of Business Administration, where he oversaw the day-to-day activities of the program, maintained partnerships with foreign universities to ensure growth of graduate programs in the College and supported the dean in formulating a strategic vision. Dr. Chakraborty also twice served as Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Economics at Central Michigan. His research has been published in the International Review of Business and Economics, the International Journal of Business Administration, the Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application, Applied Economics and the Journal of Economics and Business among others. He has presented at conferences around the world, including the American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences International Conference; the Annual Conference of the American Society of Business and Behavioral Science; the annual conference of the Indian Journal of Economics and Business; and the Annual Research Conference of Symbiosis International University. During the 2018-19 academic year, Dr. Chakraborty was involved in a research project on “Industry 4.0” sponsored by Automation Alley in Troy, Michigan. The goal was to help create smart factories in Michigan to help the state become the world leader in leveraging technology to ensure competitive advantage. Specifically, Dr. Chakraborty researched how technology such as Big Data and the Internet of Things could be adopted in manufacturing and the economic benefits of such adoption. Prior to his work at Central Michigan, Dr. Chakraborty served as an assistant professor of Economics at the University of Central Arkansas and at Thiel College. He has also served as visiting faculty at the University of Wales Newport, at Northwood University and at the University of Queensland, Australia. He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Xavier’s College and his master’s degree in Economics from Calcutta University, both located in Calcutta, India. Dr. Chakraborty earned his Ph.D. in International Economics from the University of Pittsburgh.

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Kellee Van Aken, Ph.D. Named Dean of the School of Visual and Performing Arts Kellee Van Aken, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theatre and Chair of the Theatre and Dance Department at Seton Hill, has been appointed Dean of the School of Visual and Performing Arts. Dr. Van Aken served as Interim Dean of the School since July 2019 following the departure of Dr. Curt Scheib. Her tenure as Dean began on January 21, 2020. “Kellee Van Aken served Seton Hill and its School of Visual and Performing Arts well as Interim Dean,” President Mary C. Finger said. “Her leadership and commitment to our students made her the perfect choice for the permanent deanship. All of us at Seton Hill anticipate the continued growth of Seton Hill’s Visual and Performing Arts programs under Kellee’s direction.” “As a theatre artist, one of my great joys is collaborating with colleagues and students, and I am excited to be working with our excellent faculty and inspiring students,” Dr. Van Aken said. “I am eager to continue to build Seton Hill’s town-gown relationship with Greensburg by advancing opportunities to connect the university with the greater community through the arts. We have two beautiful facilities in the City and committed partners working with us to help us grow.” As Interim Dean, Dr. Van Aken was instrumental in the success of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s performance of “Classical Romance” at Seton Hill in November and the PBT dance residency and master class programs that benefited both Seton Hill dance students and youth dancers from throughout Westmoreland County. As a faculty member since 2011, she directed several productions for Seton Hill, including “Letters to Sala,” “Good Person of Setzuan,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “A Little Night Music,” “Urinetown”, “Salvation Road,” “Running in Traffic,” “Cabaret,” “Macbeth,” “Kindertransport” and “Life is a Dream.” She has worked to engage students in activities that serve to enrich their understanding of the stories they are telling and the world around them. As students rehearsed “Letters to Sala,” a true story about a young woman’s experiences during the Holocaust, Dr. Van Aken connected the cast and crew with Ann Kirschner, Sala’s daughter and the author of the book “Sala’s Gift,” as well as playwright Arlene Hutton, to provide them with a broader perspective about the real-life events they were portraying on stage. As Chair of the Theatre and Dance Department, Dr. Van Aken helped to coordinate the 2019 American College Dance Association MidAtlantic North Conference, which brought more than 200 dance students and faculty from 18 colleges and universities to the Seton Hill campus. A member of the Association of Theatre in Higher Education, Dr. Van Aken has presented at the organization’s national conference on topics ranging from preparing students for the profession to running a combined theatre and dance program. She served as the preconference planner for the Theatre as a Liberal Arts Committee for the 2020 conference in Detroit. She has worked for more than 20 years with visual artist Cheryl Capezzuti writing and performing puppet plays in short and long form. They performed most recently at the Puppeteers of America Festival in 2019 in Minneapolis. She also works as an audio describer for the blind and visually impaired, describing productions at City Theatre, Pittsburgh CLO and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Dr. Van Aken earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, a master’s from the University of California-Davis, and her doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh.

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campus news

Seton Hill University Named a Best Regional University by U.S. News and World Report University Also Honored as a Best College for Veterans and a Best Value School

Seton Hill University was once again named among the Best Regional Universities in the North in the 2021 edition of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report. The university was also lauded as a Best College for Veterans and a Best Value School. Seton Hill is ranked No. 43 among Regional Universities in the North. In addition, Seton Hill is ranked No. 20 among Regional Universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of the Best Colleges for Veterans and No. 22 in the region for Best Value Schools. The university moved up and achieved higher rankings in all three categories for 2021. “Seton Hill’s consistent recognition among the best regional universities in the north by U.S. News and World Report is a testament to the university’s longstanding commitment to offering high-quality academic programs undergirded with the liberal arts that prepare students for the global marketplace,” said President Mary C. Finger. “The rankings also highlight the outstanding work of Seton Hill’s faculty and staff in preparing students for their future endeavors.” Dr. Finger added, “Seton Hill’s accolade as a Best College for Veterans underscores the university’s efforts to provide our nation’s veterans with educational opportunities – a commitment that dates back to World War II when Seton Hill accepted male veterans to attend classes at the then women’s school. Seton Hill’s continuing support of veterans and their dependents is evident through the university’s participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which provides additional funds to veterans using the GI Bill, and our recently-established affinity group for Seton Hill alumni veterans.” “We are also pleased that Seton Hill’s commitment to affordability is again being lauded by U.S. News & World Report,” Dr. Finger added. “Especially in these uncertain economic times, Seton Hill is working to ensure that all academically talented students – regardless of their financial situation – are able to attain a Seton Hill degree.” The annual rankings, in which U.S. News categorizes schools based on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, provide an unmatched resource for parents and students contemplating one of life’s most challenging decisions. The annual U.S. News & World Report rankings represent the most comprehensive look at how schools stack up based on a set of 15 indicators of excellence, and help consumers evaluate and compare data compiled from more than 1,600 accredited four-year schools.

BEST COLLEGES FOR VETERANS U.S. News & World Report

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Seton Hill Women’s Basketball Earns No. 1 GPA in Nation Griffins Top WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll for NCAA Division II

“I continue to be impressed by our amazing student athletes For the first time in university history, the Seton Hill University whether in competition or the classroom,” stated Athletic Director Chris women’s basketball program has earned the top spot in the Women’s Snyder. “To have our women’s basketball program earn the highest Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Academic Top 25 grade point average in Division II is an incredible feat. Coach Katarski Team Honor Roll. The 2019-20 team, led by coach Mark Katarski, and his staff have much to be proud of.” finished the year with an overall team GPA of 3.831. The 3.831 GPA is the highest team GPA for a Griffin women’s “All of us at Seton Hill are incredibly proud of the tremendous basketball team since Seton Hill joined the NCAA in 2006-07. It is the academic achievements of the women’s basketball team during 12th time Seton Hill has been in the Top 25 in the past 13 seasons. the 2019-20 academic year,” said Seton Hill President Mary C. SHU is only one of two schools to Finger. “These young women have accomplish this honor. Rockhurst proven themselves to be outstanding University is the other. Seton Hill is the scholars as well as gifted athletes. highest ranked PSAC team in the list for This accomplishment also reflects the the sixth straight year. outstanding leadership of the coaching staff, especially Head Coach Mark Earlier this summer, the women’s Katarski, who continue to set high basketball team earned the PSAC Top standards for the program.” Team GPA Award for the sixth time in seven seasons. “It’s not often that a team can say they finished first in the country in Members of the 2019-20 team something,” Katarski said. “All credit include Courtney Cecere of Windber, goes to these 14 incredible women for PA, Lexi Civittolo of Seville, OH, Rena their hard work, dedication, and time Enterline of Blairsville, PA, Madeline management. Equally as responsible are Fischer of Wexford, PA, Samantha the tremendous efforts of the faculty and Kosmacki of Morgan, PA, Maddy Moore of staff at Seton Hill University for fostering Vandergrift, PA, Katie Nolan of Yorkville, an environment where student-athletes IL, Sydney Rabold of Baden, PA, Kennedi don’t have to choose between excelling in The 2019-20 Seton Hill Women’s Basketball team earned Stevenson of McKees Rocks, PA, Tiana both athletics and academics.” the top GPA in the nation. Stewart of Damascus, MD, Courtney Tomas of McKees Rocks, PA, Cheyenne The WBCA Academic Top 25 Trest of Canonsburg, PA, Taylin Tyler of Pittsburgh, PA and Kelly Weeks annually recognizes NCAA Division I, II and III; NAIA; and junior/ of Webster, NY. community college women’s basketball teams across the nation that carry the highest combined grade point average (GPA) inclusive of The team was coached by Katarski and assistant coaches Kelley all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2019Sundberg and Macey Hollenshead. 20 season is the 25th in which the WBCA has compiled the honor Founded in 1981, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association rolls. The Griffins 3.831 GPA was the second highest of all NCAA promotes women’s basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to institutions including Division I, II and III teams, just behind Division develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the III Buena Vista University. development of the game as a sport for women and girls.

Two Griffin Teams Earn PSAC Top Team GPA Award Two Seton Hill athletic teams earned the Top Team GPA Award from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference for their performance in the classroom during the 2019-2020 school year. The Griffin baseball team and women’s basketball team both earned the Top Team GPA Awards. Additionally, Griffin athletes tied for the second highest overall GPA in the league for 2019-20 with a 3.434 GPA. In each of their seven years in the PSAC, the Griffins have had one of the top two overall GPAs in the league. SHU has earned the top overall GPA five times. The two Seton Hill athletic teams received the Top Team GPA Award from the PSAC for reaching the highest GPA among their sports across the conference, which includes 18 public and private institutions in Pennsylvania. Both the golf team and women’s track and field team finished second.

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Seton Hill Remembers the March on Washington The Seton Hill University Office of Diversity, Inclusion and International Student Services and the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education on August 28 hosted a campus event, “Remembering the March on Washington: Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future.” Members of the Seton Hill community and the greater Greensburg community participated in the event marking the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. President Mary Finger said participants “stand with those who have traveled to Washington, D.C., today to march to demand racial equality and justice reform.” “When I think of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and so many other marches of the Civil Rights era, I’m cognizant of how faith and faith-filled people drove that movement and were responsible for the change that resulted,” she said. Dr. Finger said it was fitting that multiple faith communities were part of the Seton Hill event to both memorialize an important time in the nation’s history and move to action so that the work of Civil Rights leaders of the 1960s and ’70s continues today. She noted that since the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer and the deaths of other African-Americans in police shootings, the nation has seen “the birth of a movement that says clearly that there’s much work to be done.” Tsamara Roberts, President of the Seton Hill Black Student Union, said the Civil Rights Movement did not end with passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

“The passing of Congressional legislation does not always equate to a cultural shift in individuals’ mindsets and actions,” she said. “The speed at which ink dries on a bill is not equal to the speed at which people’s attitudes change.” That change will require difficult conversations about race, ethnicity and identity, Roberts said. “It is important that we realize that the battle has not been won and that there is more progress to be made.” In his remarks, John Makell IV, Vice President of the Black Student Union, said one of the most important goals of the effort was the right of minorities to vote - and he encouraged all in the audience to exercise that right. “This is not a trend, this is a movement, and we have a chance to help the movement with our vote,” he said. Rabbi Sara Perman, Rabbi Emerita of Congregation Emanuel Israel in Greensburg, spoke about the role of Jews in the Civil Rights Movement. She read a speech given at the march by Rabbi Dr. Joachim Prinz, a Holocaust survivor who became a leading Civil Rights activist in the U.S., who said in part: “When I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime, I learned many things. The most important thing that I learned under those tragic circumstances was that bigotry and hate are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence.” The Remembrance was modeled on the original March on Washington and included prayer, music and reflections. Others who participated included Sister Maureen O’Brien, Seton Hill Vice President for Mission and Identity; Seton Hill alumna Ruth Tolbert, President of the Greensburg-Jeannette NAACP; Bishop Carl Jones, Pastor of Greater Parkview Church; members of the Seton Hill Choral Ensemble, directed by Dr. Mark Boyle, Director of Choral and Vocal Activities; and the Heavenly Biscuits, a Westmoreland County Left to right: John Makell IV, Tsamara Roberts, Vanessa Rae Beggs and Lauren Condon of The Heavenly Biscuits, President musical duo. Mary Finger, Ruth Tolbert, Rabbi Sara Perman and Bishop Carl Jones at the March on Washington Remembrance.

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Seton Hill Students Earn Prestigious AICUP Scholarships Two Seton Hill students recently were selected to receive prestigious financial aid scholarship awards by the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania. Senior Samantha Estupinian, a Criminal Justice major, received the Council for Independent Colleges/UPS Educational Endowment Scholarship, and sophomore Ashley Shields, a Physician Assistant major, received the McLean Scholarship for Physician Assistant and Nursing majors. Shields was one of only seven recipients of the highly competitive McLean Scholarship in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania this year. “During my education at Seton Hill, I have diligently worked to attain my 4.0 GPA and have taken on a tutoring position to help others reach their personal academic goals,” Shields said. “(Physician Assistant) school is rigorous and expensive. Every day is a new challenge.” Another important personal goal she has set is to graduate debt free. “This scholarship enables me to be one step closer to that goal,” she said. “My parents have taught me that nothing comes easy, but through hard work, dedication, and prayer, all things are possible,” Shields said. “My dad always said, ’If you look at a mountain as a mountain, you will never climb it, but if you take it one step at a time and one day at a time, you will make it.’ ” Estupinian, a three-year infield player on the Griffins softball team, was named an Easton/NFCA All America Scholar Athlete Award Winner in 2019. “This scholarship has motivated me to prove that I am indeed worthy of it and that I will continue to be successful inside and outside of the classroom,” said Estupinian, who currently is completing an internship for her major at an institution that provides treatment and services for at-risk youths and their families. “My career goals include continuing to work with at-risk youth,” she said. “Additionally, I enjoy being a member of Seton Hill’s women’s softball team, and I am hopeful, especially since I’m a senior, that we can have a spring 2021 season.” Estupinian said the scholarship will help alleviate the financial impact of COVID-19 on her family. “My parents own a small business, in which we all work,” she said. “Being in New York, we were unable to work for several months as a result of the pandemic. News of receiving this scholarship was like a breath of fresh air. It has lessened my financial burden and allowed me to focus on my academic studies.”

Samantha Estupinian

Ashley Shields

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Dr. Adriel Hilton Named One of Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Dr. Adriel Hilton, the Dean of Students and Diversity Officer at Seton Hill, was named one of Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 Under 40 for 2020, a recognition of individuals whose creativity, vision and passion enrich the region. Dr. Hilton, who joined Seton Hill in 2018 and was most recently named a Co-Chair of the Presidential Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the university, has done extensive research in the areas of diversity, affirmative action, the impact of affirmative action and other programs on diversity in higher education, and factors that affect the success and persistence of minorities at universities. A prolific writer, he has edited nine books and authored numerous op-ed pieces. He focuses on advancing individual student success and engagement at Seton Hill as well as creating opportunities and partnerships with diversity-related organizations and in the community. He works through the nonprofit Negro Education Emergency Drive to recruit more students of color, particularly those from disadvantaged communities. “The U.S. Census notes that minority students will start outnumbering white students, and we want to stay on pace with that,” Dr. Hilton said. “There will be more Black and Brown students present here at the university.” “We know that Seton Hill is definitely relevant, and that some students wouldn’t have the opportunity to get this education without the scholarships and programs available to them,” he added. He works at keeping a good rapport with students - friendly and nonjudgmental. “At age 39, I’m in the middle – I’m not that far removed from them in age and not too old,” he said. “I try to meet everyone where they are, treat everyone respectfully. I speak to everyone on campus, from the president to every student, to let them know, ’Hey, we’re colleagues, and I’m human, I’ve made mistakes in my past and you will, too.’ This is an environment where we can do that. I take it as an honor and a privilege to be associated with them – to make sure this is a home for all. The leadership here is all committed to this.” Dr. Hilton is involved in the Greater Pittsburgh Higher Education Diversity Consortium, which brings together diversity professionals from 18 surrounding schools; serves on the Youth Commission for Westmoreland County, which assists the county’s juvenile court, and is active in the Pittsburgh chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, Inc., a national fraternity.

Seton Hill Nursing Students Celebrate Inaugural Stethoscope Ceremony Virtual Event Held in Honor of Louise Grundish, SC The Daniel J. Wukich School of Nursing held its Inaugural Stethoscope Ceremony virtually and celebrated the nursing career of Sister Louise Grundish, a longtime member of the Seton Hill University Board of Trustees. An anonymous donor made a gift in honor of Sister Louise that provided each of the 21 sophomore nursing students with a stethoscope as they embark on the clinical portion of their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. During her distinguished career in nursing, Sister Louise served in many roles including as the operating room supervisor at the former Providence Hospital, director

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of nursing education at the former Pittsburgh Hospital and director of nursing services for the Sisters of Divine Providence at Providence Heights. “I witnessed so many technological advances during my time as a nurse – and you will too,” Sister Louise told the nursing students. “But always remember that technology can never replace human kindness and the type of care that nurses can provide. Congratulations on receiving your stethoscopes tonight – use them to listen!” Seton Hill’s nursing students will begin their clinical experiences in the Spring 2021 semester.

National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education Photography Collection Provides Insight into the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps The Seton Hill University National Catholic Center for Holocaust organizing the material has been a joint effort by the National Education is now home to a digital archive of photographs and Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, the Seton Hill Archives, and letters from Harry B. Knights, a U.S. soldier whose unit was involved faculty and students from the School of Visual and Performing Arts in the liberation of Nazi concentration and the School of Humanities. campus at the end of World War II. The heart of the collection is “The many photographs Harry the series of photographs taken at Knights took document Nazi war Gardelegen, a German town that was crimes and also offer insights into the the site of a terrible atrocity at the end experiences of the average American of the war. As the Nazis were under soldier as they uncovered the horrors pressure from the Allied invasion, that had occurred in concentration they began to transfer prisoners from campus,” said Dr. James Paharik, outlying regions into the heart of Director of the National Catholic Center Germany. When a train carrying more for Holocaust Education. “The Knights than 1,000 prisoners broke down near Collection is a tremendous resource the town of Gardelegen, prisoners were for Seton Hill students and scholars of marched to a large barn and barricaded the Holocaust as they study the human inside; the barn was then set on fire, response to these atrocities.” killing nearly everyone. In the fall of 2019, retired One day later, Harry Knights and FBI Special Agent James Knights the rest of the 102ndInfantry Division approached the National Catholic discovered the gruesome remains of Center for Holocaust Education with an this hideous crime. Harry was an avid Harry Knights (left) with Father James Glynn during their service intriguing proposal. amateur photographer, and quickly set together in World War II. They would remain friends for decades. to work documenting what he found. In the years after the death of his The result gave powerful testimony to father, Harry B. Knights, James Knights Nazi criminality and their heartless desecration of human life. had lovingly safeguarded an extensive collection of photographs taken by his father along with dozens of letters that his father had During the fall semester, the NCCHE held a series of virtual written to friends and family during World War II. events about the Harry B. Knights Collection. The entire collection can be viewed online at www.theknightscollection.com. The Knights Collection contains more than 200 photographs and dozens of letters. The process of preserving, cataloguing and

Forensic Science Students, Faculty Recognized Bobbie Leeper, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology and Physician Assistant, accepts Certificates of Appreciation on behalf of Seton Hill Forensic Science students and faculty from Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Robert A. Harr (left) and Captain Stephen M. Russo. Leeper along with Associate Professor of Chemistry Diana Hoover, Ph.D., and Forensic Science Instructor Barbara Flowers participated in a January search in relation to the 2018 disappearance of Cassandra Gross in Westmoreland County. The students included Kallie Schaffer, Sierra Luzier, Caitlin Wolfe, Alexander Coval, Alexis Kupic, Nicole Stricek, Gianna Donate, Autumn Gaynor, Natalie Fryoryck, Holli Stiltenpole, Sarah Hester, Skylar Hayden, Laura Levic and Kasyia Rowe-Lawrence.

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in memoriam

Jeffrey Bartel, Ph.D. Honored at Class of 2021 Tree Blessing Dr. Jeffrey Bartel, an associate professor of psychology who died on December 3, 2019, was honored by the Class of 2021 at its annual tree blessing ceremony. Every spring, the junior class dedicates a tree to a person who impacts the lives of all Seton Hill University students. Bartel will be remembered by students and alumni “not only as being so energetic and fun but also as truly caring about his students as people,” class secretary Caitlin Srager said at the ceremony, which was delayed until August this year because of COVID-19. “He was always checking on his students to make sure they were OK.” At Seton Hill, Bartel taught infancy, childhood and adolescence, introductory courses in professional development, intro to psychology and sex and gender. “He was extraordinarily caring about the students,” said Dr. Elizabeth “Betsy” Jacobs, his closest colleague. “By the end of his life, he started to refer to them in almost paternal terms in the sense that he loved them, and the students knew it. He would be at a work meeting with those students at 7 o’clock in morning, and he lived in Pittsburgh. That’s the kind of person he was.” After obtaining his bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Political Science at Virginia Tech University, Bartel pursued graduate degrees in Child Development at Kansas State University and obtained a certificate in Women’s Studies. “He was brilliant. The experiments he came up with were amazing. He had incredibly detailed, sophisticated assignments that matched perfectly with his objectives. It was grad-level work,” Jacobs said. “He was a real stickler, extremely rigorous in his approach. His students really learned the value of detail from him.” Jacobs joined Seton Hill a year after Bartel, and the two worked closely together during his 12 years on the faculty. “I had some teaching experience when I came here, but he taught me to become a faculty member,” Jacobs said. “He taught me the value of focusing on the smaller pieces. I taught him the value of stepping back and looking at the bigger picture.”

The two developed a strong friendship, as well, sharing a similar sense of humor. “He was a riot,” Jacobs said. “He had a wacky side – a total obsession with anything Star Wars. There was regalia all over his office. He even had a Star Wars Christmas tree.” Dozens of bobbleheads decorated the office. Outside the classroom, Bartel was as passionate and intense about everything he loved, Jacobs said. That included parks and recreation, technology, the environment and cooking. “He must have had 25 pancake recipes that he put in

rotation,” she recalled. He made his own bread every week, and his lunch was the same every day - a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on his own bread and an apple. “He was very involved with his kids, Nickolas and Julie, and in the Scouts,” she said. Bartel is also survived by his wife, Tracy. Diagnosed with liver cancer at age 43, Bartel continued to teach for as long as possible, Jacobs said. “Up to the last six months or so of his life, he was coming to school. (His) last semester, he taught one class online. He was a fighter up until the very end.”

Class of 2021 officers Kendra Donahue, Shannon Hubble, Caitlin Srager, Sven Rabsahl and Taylor Fusco join with President Mary Finger at the Tree Blessing Ceremony in Honor of Jeffrey Bartel.

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Holocaust Scholar Eva Fleischner, Ph.D. Leaves Behind Legacy Eva Fleischner once described her life’s work as a teacher, scholar and lecturer as one of “…helping Christians to deepen their knowledge of the Jewish experience and tradition with the hope that Jews and Christians can come to a full understanding of what it means to be people of God in the world.” Dr. Fleischner, a pioneering Catholic theologian in Christian-Jewish relations and Holocaust studies and a longtime friend of Seton Hill University and its National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, died on July 6, 2020 on the eve of her 95th birthday. “We can certainly say the work of Dr. Eva Fleischner, who took up the challenge of Nostra Aetate with such great love, did more to change for the better (Catholic-Jewish relations) in the last 50 years than the previous centuries,” said Sister Gemma Del Duca, co-founder of the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education and a longtime friend and colleague of Dr. Fleischner. Dr. Fleischner was a founding member of the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education’s Advisory Board and a frequent participant in the Center’s conferences. Born in Vienna, Austria, Dr. Fleischner and her family emigrated to England and eventually the United States after Hitler’s annexation of Austria in 1938. A graduate of Radcliffe College who

was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to the University of Paris, Fleischner began her study of the Holocaust as well as Judaism and Christian anti-Semitism as a doctoral student at Marquette University. The focus of her doctoral dissertation “The Impact of the Holocaust on German Christian Theology Since 1945” was published as a book in 1975. After completing her Ph.D., she accepted a position in the department of philosophy and religion at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where she taught until retirement in 1991. Her focus over the years has been to awaken her fellow Christians to the riches of the Jewish tradition and the horrors of the Holocaust, in which Christianity played a part. Dr. Fleischner was a member of the US Bishop’s Office of Catholic-Jewish Relations Advisory Board; the US Holocaust Memorial Museum Christian Scholars Studying Judaism Committee; The Christian Scholars Group of the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies; and the Board of the Milwaukee Catholic-Jewish Conference. Dr. Fleischner was the recipient of the Nostra Aetate Award, the highest honor conferred by the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, in recognition of her work in the area of Catholic-Jewish relations. In 2014, she and her family established The Eva Fleischner, Ph.D. Endowed Fund for Visiting Scholars and Students in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Seton Hill, which enables the university to bring scholars to campus to teach about the issues that were central to her life and work. The Fleishner Fund supports Seton Hill’s ability to bring a premier national/international Scholar to Seton Hill through the annual Eva Fleischner Lecture Series and triennially through The Ethel LeFrak Holocaust Education Conference to address issues of contemporary relevance or importance to the study and appreciation of Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

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Seton Hill University

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2020–2021 Karen Farmer White Chair

Catherine Meinert, SC ’71 Vice Chair

Rebecca Cost Snyder Chair Elect

Louise Grundish, SC Secretary

Carmen Rivera Bauza ’83 Robin Heffernan Beck ’64 Rachel Blais, SC Todd D. Brice Robert A. DeMichiei Margaret DiVirgilio ’80 Barbara Einloth, SC ’71 Christine Delegram Farrell ’79 Mary C. Finger, ex officio Linda Fiorelli ’74 Matthew J. Galando ’04 Ruth O’Block Grant ’54 Colette Hanlon SC ’63 Grace Hartzog SC ’71 H. Phipps Hoffstot Ill Susan Jenny, SC ’66 Mary Norbert Long, SC ’67 Elizabeth Boyle McDonald Miriam Arroyo Murray ’84 Mary Jo Mutschler, SC ’69 Patricia O’Donoghue Kathleen Sarniak-Tanzola ’78 Mary Elizabeth Schrei, SC Frank P. Simpkins James C. Stalder Kym K. Stout Bridget Widdowson ’82 Daniel J. Wukich Jessica Ybanez-Moreno ’84

TRUSTEES EMERITI Jean Augustine, SC ’63 James Breisinger + B. Patrick Costello Mary Lou Costello ’55 Louis A. Craco Sara Gill Cutting ’62 Rosemary Donley, SC John R. Echement Frederick R. Favo Gertrude Foley, SC Brigid Marie Grandey, SC ’63 Marcia M. Gumberg Maureen Halloran, SC Donald M. Henderson Richard Hendricks Mary Ellen Lawrie Cooney Higgins ’64 John L. Holloway Patrice Hughes, SC ’62 A. Richard Kacin +Charles McKenna Lynch Ill +Jeremy Mahla, SC Arthur H. Meehan Marlene Mondalek, SC ’68 Donald I. Moritz Barbara Nakles ’76 Maureen O’Brien, SC Maureen Sheedy O’Brien M. Ellenita O’Connor, SC ’58 Paul M. Pohl Michele Moore Ridge ’69 Marc B. Robertshaw Arthur J. Rooney Jr. Ralph A. Scalise Anita Schulte, SC ’57 Joseph Whiteside

INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT Molly Robb Shimko

Vice President for Institutional Advancement

724.830.4620

shimko@setonhill.edu

Lisa Carino

Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement 724.838.2409 carino@setonhill.edu

Mira Funari

Associate Vice President for Advancement Operations 724.830.1993 mfunari@setonhill.edu

Erica Adams

Advancement Services Manager 724.830.1137 eadams@setonhill.edu

Callista Arida

Alumni Relations Associate 724.552.1310 carida@setonhill.edu

Cynthia Ferrari

Director of Grants and Government Support 724.830.4639 ferrari@setonhill.edu

Amy Lankey

Donor Stewardship Manager 724.552.4303 ametz@setonhill.edu

Jimmy Pirlo

Associate Director of Principal Gifts 724.552.4371 jpirlo@setonhill.edu

Jennifer Reeger

Director of Communications and Media Relations 724.830.1069 jreeger@setonhill.edu

Breanna Salvio

Graphic Designer 724.552.4397 bsalvio@setonhill.edu

Katie Stevens

Major Gifts Officer 724.838.4244 kstevens@setonhill.edu

Lisa Seremet

Administrative Assistant 724.552.4366 lseremet@setonhill.edu

Annie Urban

Executive Director of Principal Gifts and Community Engagement 724.552.4323 aurban@setonhill.edu

Daniel R. Wukich

Development and Alumni Relations Associate Extern 724.552.4329 drwukich@setonhill.edu

Ashley Zwierzelewski

UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION Mary C. Finger, Ed.D.

Maureen O’Brien, SC, M.A.

President

Vice President for Mission and Identity

Melissa Alsing, M.B.A.

Jennifer Lundy, M.B.A.

Rosalie Carpenter, Ed.D.

Molly Robb Shimko, M.B.A.

Imogene L. Cathey, J.D.

Susan Yochum, SC, Ph.D.

Chief Information Officer

Vice President for Student Affairs Vice President and General Counsel

Brett Freshour

Vice President for Enrollment Management

Director of Alumni Relations 724.830.1005 akunkle@setonhill.edu

FORWARD & CLASS NEWS DESIGNS: Breanna Salvio WRITING: Jennifer Reeger, Gloria Ruane PHOTOGRAPHY: Barry Reeger, SHU staff and students PRINTER: Laurel Valley Graphics

Vice President for Finance and Administration, CFO Vice President for Institutional Advancement Provost

The Forward magazine is published by Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA 15601, www.setonhill.edu, (724-830-1005), for the alumni and friends of the University. Postage paid at Greensburg, PA. Seton Hill University, as a matter of tradition and principle does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, gender, age disability, or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other university-administered programs. Seton Hill University adheres to the non-discrimination legislation of both the federal government and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including, but not necessarily limited to, the Civil Rights Act or 1964, Title VI, Title IX, 1972 Handicap Provision, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage

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1 Seton Hill Drive Greensburg, PA 15601-1599

Greensburg, PA Permit NO. 384

Throughout the Fall 2020 semester, Seton Hill students, faculty, staff and alumni volunteered in a variety of ways in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, Seton Hill community members recorded nearly 2,000 hours of service during the fall semester, which included traditional off-campus volunteer activities as well as on-campus projects that involved making items for donation to area nonprofits and even a virtual Labor of Love for alumni. Whether they planted trees at Hempfield Park, helped with horse care at the Stoneybrook Foundation’s therapeutic riding center, or helped build a house with Central Westmoreland Habitat for Humanity, Seton Hill students found a way to give back to the community during the pandemic.