Washington & Jefferson College Spring 2014 Magazine

Artistically Inspired

Sweet shop owner preserves history in unique—and delicious—way

RYAN BERLEY ’98

Caulin Grant ’15 is using Instagram to kick-start his photography career, with hopes of one day working for National Geographic. An expert at landscape photography, Grant took this photo on a trip to Erie, Pa.

On the cover

Ryan

’98, owner of Shane Confectionery—the oldest continuously operated confectionery shop in America— wraps a box of candy in beautiful red ribbon. To learn more about how the arts at W&J have influenced our graduates, turn to page 9.

Artistically Inspired

Berley

PHOTO BY CHRIS CRISMAN

The arts in education

President Tori Haring-Smith performs at a production of “The Vagina Monologues.”

Washington & Jefferson College is well-known for its excellence in the sciences, humanities, business and education, but few people associate the College with the fine arts. And yet, for decades, the arts at W&J have been winning national recognition and graduating students whose careers have been exceedingly successful. You will read about many of these graduates further on in this volume. You can see W&J graduates at the Whitney Biennial, in the movies, on television and on New York stages. Many of you draw on the arts every day: surgeons reshape bones, teachers create attractive and stimulating learning environments, business leaders use design to stimulate employees and attract customers—art is everywhere.

The arts are basic to our fundamental humanity. Our earliest ancestors drew on the walls of caves, plucked taut sinews of animals to create music and used dance to tell stories. The arts make us human, and hence they are a foundational element in a liberal arts education. The arts teach creative problem-solving and empathy. They let us speak not only from our minds but also from our hearts. The arts teach students to think “outside the box.”

It is not surprising, therefore, that leading innovators, entrepreneurs and scientists have nurtured their artistic sensibilities. Einstein played the violin; Benjamin Franklin met regularly to discuss the arts with his Leather Apron Club. Steve Jobs was famous for arguing that an Apple product had to be not only functional but also beautiful—graceful in the hand and pleasing to the eye.

As we rely more and more on technology to convey information, W&J teaches students across the curriculum how to communicate visually in a way that conveys information and is aesthetically pleasing. True to the interdisciplinary nature of the liberal arts, creating a visual message requires knowledge of rhetoric, psychology, visual arts and, of course, the field from which the data is taken.

As many of you know, I spent much of my life in the theater as a director and dramaturg. When presented with a theater script, let’s say “The Glass Menagerie,” I would ask—what does this story say to us today? Tennessee Williams was intrigued by the new technology of his time; how would he convey his story in our time? Seeing and re-seeing a story, in collaboration with a troupe of actors, taught us all a flexibility of mind that is the foundation for creative problem-solving.

Although I have some notable artists among my ancestors, I cannot draw or paint or sculpt. I took a drawing course from a professor who was famous for being able to help anyone—and I mean anyone —learn to draw. I worked hard, studying milk cartons and human figures, but I could never get them right. The milk carton top was always inverted—going out, when it should have been receding; the human figures were grotesque representations of the beautiful models in front of me. The instructor conceded that he had met his match. But I gained so much from that class—seeing for the first time how the planes of a human face define our look, enjoying the play of light and shadow in natural and man-made environments and even coming to appreciate the intricacies of a milk carton’s design. I saw the world differently after that class. I had expanded my perspective on life.

It is this flexibility of mind, this ability to see things anew, that makes the arts so important in our lives. I echo the sentiments of Richard Florida that “We must begin to think of creativity as a common good like liberty or security. It’s something essential that belongs to all of us, and that must always be nourished, renewed and maintained—or else it will slip away.” If we lose our artistic creativity, we lose what makes us human.

TORI HARING-SMITH, PH.D. PRESIDENT

Want to hear more from the President? Follow Tori Haring-Smith on Twitter @wjpresident

Washington & Jefferson College Magazine

SPRING 2014

Editor

ALLYSON GILMORE ’12

Contributors

ERIN FAULK ’08

KERRI DIGIOVANNI LACOCK ’09

SCOTT MCGUINNESS

ROBERT REID

GEORGIA SCHUMACHER ’10

AMY WELCH

Student Assistants

MORGAN MATTINGLY ’14

GENEVIEVE VANVOORHIS ’14

Designer

JEFF VANIK, VANIK DESIGN LLC

Photographers

ELLIOTT CRAMER

CHRIS CRISMAN

ERIN FAULK ’08

LEV GORDON

SAM LIPP

BOB SAMUEL

MARTIN SANTEK

Illustrator

KEITH BENDIS ’68

Printer

KNEPPER PRESS

W&J Magazine , published twice a year by the Office of Communications, highlights alumni and campus news about and of interest to more than 23,000 alumni and friends of the College. To receive additional copies or back issues, please call 724-223-6074 or email wjmag@washjeff.edu.

Letters to the Editor

W&J welcomes feedback from readers regarding the magazine or topics related to the College. Submissions may be edited for style, length and clarity.

Email wjmag@washjeff.edu or mail a letter to: Editor, W&J Magazine Office of Communications

Washington & Jefferson College 60 S. Lincoln Street Washington, PA 15301

Corrections

In the Fall 2013 issue of the magazine:

On page 38, James M. Ewing ’62 was mistakenly referred to as James E. Ewing ’62.

Noted & Quoted

“Bob ‘Mother’ Murphy was the athletic director back then. The team was on a shoestring budget , so Murphy mortgaged his house to pay his expenses (a ticket on the train).”

BILL DUKETT, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR 1

“COMING OFF A LOSS

in the commonwealth’s second-largest city would make it

tough.”

JOSEPH

DISARRO, PH.D.,

PROFESSOR/CHAIR, POLITICAL SCIENCE 2

“I really do believe the passion

“Many ask me if I’d like to spend a night in their house. But I’m not into that –I’m a writer of tales, not a ghostbuster.”

JAMES LONGO, ED.D., PROFESSOR/CHAIR, EDUCATION3

is significant and

deep

and

broad enough that THIS WON’T BE THE END. IT WILL BE THE BEGINNING.”

TORI HARING-SMITH, PH.D., PRESIDENT 4

“TENACITY. DON’T GIVE UP. HAVE YOUR HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE, AND STRIVE TO DO WHAT YOU LOVE THROUGH EMPOWERING OTHERS.”

HOLLIS ZEMANY MCLACHLAN ’06 5

“I’m not sure what type of law I want to specialize in. I just want to be open to learning. That’s my plan for now.”

NATHAN MICHAUX ’136

“There is a certain amount of comfort and security knowing that if I were to become really ill in Europe, the health care system and social welfare system would help prevent me from LOSING MY INCOME.”

NINA IRWIN ’05 7

“I never

wanted to stay in Pittsburgh and, five to 10 years from now, say,

‘I SHOULD HAVE WENT.’”

EVAN ZAMPATTI ’13 8

1 “Remember when: W&J earned respect in 1922 Rose Bowl,” Bill DiFabio, Washington (Pa.) Observer-Reporter , Jan. 11, 2014

2 “Former auditor general, Pittsburgh mayoral candidate Wagner considers run for governor,” Brad Bumsted, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review , Nov. 11, 2013

3 “ W&J professor collects, publishes ghostly tales,” Dave Zuchowski, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , Oct. 31, 2013

4 “Nine Pa. colleges join national effort to fund low-income students,” Eleanor Chute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jan. 14, 2014

5 “Hollis McLachlan: Award-winning artisticpreneur,” Angela Marie Hutchinson, Hollywood & Vine magazine, Winter 2014

6 “A newsmaker you should know: New W&J graduate named Lehrman History Scholar,” Kathleen Ganster, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , Aug. 15, 2013

7 “Making a living (and a life) abroad,” The New York Times, Jan. 5, 2014

8 “ W&J alums take big risks moving to big cities,” Emily Petsko, Washington (Pa.) Observer-Reporter , Sept. 2, 2013

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Journalist, art critic helped pave the way for arts at W&J

One of Washington & Jefferson College’s most prominent alumni in the art world wasn’t known as much for creating art as for promoting and writing about it. Charles M. Kurtz, class of 1876, was a journalist, art critic and art dealer who helped introduce many European and American artists to audiences at exhibitions across the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Born in New Castle, Pa., in 1855, Kurtz showed artistic talent at an early age, painting scenery for the local opera house at age 15, along with 1,000 signboards for a local business.

When Kurtz came to W&J in 1872, he quickly made his mark and found ways to further his interest in art. He was elected the class artist—a first at the College—and he founded Repertoire , an annual publication that evolved into the yearbook now called the Pandora . As class artist, Kurtz presented the class sketch during Commencement activities. Typically an essay describing the graduates’ time at the College, Kurtz’s presentation was, instead, an actual sketch of the class.

Also while at W&J, Kurtz founded W&J’s chapter of Iota Kappa Alpha in 1873, which later became Phi Delta Kappa and was referred to on campus as “Charley Kurtz’s frat.” The fraternity later merged with Phi Gamma Delta.

Unlike most of his classmates, who went into law, medicine, the ministry or business, Kurtz chose to pursue a career in the arts, and after graduating with his bachelor’s degree he studied painting at the National Academy of Design in New York City.

In 1879, the same year he earned his master’s degree from W&J (when the College offered master’s degrees), Kurtz turned his hand to journalism. After a brief stint working for The Guardian newspaper in his hometown, Kurtz went back to New York City and started writing about art for various newspapers and magazines. During this time, he also founded National Academy Notes , an illustrated guide to exhibitions at the National Academy, and he began traveling to Europe, writing about art and artists there for the papers at home.

Kurtz managed traveling exhibitions of works by European artists, such as Mihály Munkácsy, as well as for the American Art Union, an artists’ society dedicated to promoting American art. He traveled throughout the United States with these exhibits, and in 1883, while in Louisville, Ky., his knowledge and experience earned him the position of director of the Art Department of the Southern Exposition, which he managed for four years.

It was during this time that Kurtz met a young art student named Julia Stephenson from nearby Harrodsburg, Ky. Kurtz and Stephenson married in 1885 and had three daughters. Because of Kurtz’s extensive travel, the couple was often separated, but wrote long, illustrated letters to each other throughout their marriage. Many of these survive today and are housed at the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution.

Kurtz gained international stature in the art world with his 1891 appointment as second-in-command for the Department of Fine Arts at the Chicago World’s Fair. Kurtz set off once again for Europe, promoting the fair to government officials and soliciting

The opening page of Repertoire, the annual publication Kurtz founded that evolved into the Pandora yearbook.

artists to participate in the 1893 event. He also helped supervise the United States Art Section at the fair.

As his reputation as an art critic grew, Kurtz was charged with bringing painters from the Glasgow and Danish schools, and the German “Secession” movement to American attention. His final project, as director of the Albright Art Gallery at the Buffalo Art Academy, was to promote the Spanish artist Joaquín Sorolla. Kurtz had health issues throughout his life, but it was while sitting for a portrait by Sorolla in 1909 that he became extremely ill and died.

When Kurtz died, William Kennedy, one of the Glasgow artists he promoted, remembered him as a man who had “the energy and power to carry out public schemes for the good of the world.” As a public advocate for art, rather than an artist himself, Kurtz left an enduring legacy of fostering an appreciation for art in America.

For his impressive accomplishments, W&J presented Kurtz with an honorary Doctor of Philosophy at the 1902 centennial Commencement for his work as an art critic and writer.

– AMY WELCH WELCH IS THE ARCHIVIST AND OUTREACH LIBRARIAN AT W&J.

Senior has sights set on Hollywood

Candace Woods ’14 has dreams of becoming a movie producer, and after immersing herself in the industry and learning firsthand what it takes to be successful in Hollywood from actors, directors and filmmakers, this senior is one step closer to achieving her goal.

Woods spent Intersession as an intern to actor/producer Matt Easton ’02 . The communication arts major with a concentration in film and video studies spent last June at the New York Film Academy taking classes in screenwriting, producing, directing and editing. She then spent August in Los Angeles conducting interviews with professionals in the entertainment industry. The interviews are part of a documentary she is completing for her senior capstone project.

“The College has helped me take control of what I want to do.”

– CANDACE WOODS ’14

While in Los Angeles, Woods met with Hollis Zemany McLachlan ’06 and Matt Weis ’09 , as well as a number of other established actors, filmmakers, screenwriters and playwrights. She wanted to hear about their personal journeys and learn what the industry is all about. Woods said she learned a lot about the business and how it really is “what you make of it” from McLachlan.

McLachlan told Woods, “It’s really easy to start fresh in Hollywood. That was one of the best feelings of coming here, being a recent graduate from college, was that I could be who I wanted to be. I had a lot of control over my own destiny, and I went for it.”

ACADEM i C UPDATE

Woods also met Alex Burns, who once worked for “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and currently works for Paramount Studios. Since Woods was so passionate about what she was doing and had a clear idea of what she wanted to learn, Burns arranged for Woods to go backstage at Kimmel.

“I spent three days backstage watching how the show was put together and all that goes into it. I was able to interview the staff and production team behind Kimmel as well as meet the celebrities who were on the show,” Woods said.

Woods also spent time with Curt Mega, who is most well-known for his role on the very successful Fox television show “Glee.” He is relatively new to the business and has been in Los Angeles for three years. Woods said it was interesting to hear how the role changed Mega’s life, as he is now able to create what he wants to because of his large fan base.

Using everything she has learned, Woods has finished the first draft of her documentary.

“Upon doing so, I realized that I have produced, directed, filmed and edited my own film, which most people my age cannot say that they have done,” she said. “This project helped reaffirm that this is what I want to do as a career. It was also a stepping stone for opportunities that might come up.”

Woods appreciates the support W&J professors have offered her. She said her education at W&J has prepared her well for the career that awaits her.

“The College has helped me take control of what I want to do,” she said. “Bill Cameron, for one, has always had my back. He helped me make so many contacts. He told me, ‘The reason I am doing this is because you have the drive. I know you will set the world on fire, and I will be there to watch.’”

Woods plans to edit the documentary to less than one hour in length, making it a “short,” and submit the film to festivals.

– ROBERT REID

The Department of Theatre and Communication at W&J has changed its title and transformed its course offerings to better meet student needs.

The department is now the Department of Communication Arts. While many of the course offerings will remain the same, new and updated courses and programs are now being offered to enhance the degree and reflect a more robust level of career preparation.

Associate Professor and Chair Anthony Fleury, Ph.D., said the department decided to overhaul its offerings to emphasize the liberal arts aspect of the program, as well as meet an increase in student requests for communication and public relations specific courses.

New and updated courses include:

• Research Methods in Communication Arts

• Writing for the Stage and Screen

• Radio Drama and Documentar y

• Advanced Public Speaking: Professionalism and Activism

Students will also have the opportunity to take courses covering the connections between mass media and theater, focusing on the history of communication arts.

Two one-credit courses—Radio Performance or Production, and Theatre Performance or Production—can be taken up to four times and include activities such as performing in a play, helping backstage of a production or working with community radio shows.

There also will be opportunities for students to take courses through Pittsburgh Filmmakers, one of the oldest and largest media arts centers in the United States, and transfer the credits to the College’s program.

Candace Woods traveled to Hollywood to interview actors, directors and filmmakers for a documentary.

Junior turns social media into professional photography career

Like many college students, Caulin Grant ’15 has an Instagram account. Unlike most students—or most Instagram users, for that matter—Grant’s account is gaining followers by the thousand.

The Washington & Jefferson College junior from Sewickley, Pa., earned a coveted spot on Instagram’s Suggested User list, and that spot is helping him make connections he never thought possible.

Instagram has attracted a following of professional photographers that other social networks haven’t experienced, and Grant quickly learned that the smartphone application can be used to make career connections around the world.

“If you break up Instagram into tiers, you have the casual user, the amateur photographers, then the professionals who are working closely with the Instagram team and parts of that community,” he said. “I’ve been working my way up in those tiers, and as I go it’s like a whole other world.”

Grant said photography has been a consistent thread throughout his life, from time with friends and family to his courses at W&J. But it’s only been within the past year that he decided to get serious about it.

Grant bought a Nikon D3200 and taught himself everything he could about photography, photo editing and the mechanics of cameras. His first official photography course was Conservation Photography, offered during W&J’s January 2014 Intersession term.

He intended to use Instagram for fun, but through InstaMeets, a program Instagram created to connect its users through in-person meetings, he met photography professionals in the Pittsburgh area.

Once an InstaMeet session is approved, the social network assigns a hashtag for the group that members use as they post photos throughout the day. Grant has hosted three InstaMeet sessions in Pittsburgh over the past year, one of which was sponsored by San Francisco-based camera accessory manufacturer Joby.

His account had roughly 9,000 followers before other Instagram users nominated him as a Suggested User, and since Instagram granted him that title, his list of followers has ballooned to 31,000. He sees that as an opportunity to share his work broadly and continue making professional connections.

Grant applied for a Magellan Project grant and, if approved, plans a trip to meet Instagramers and professional photographers across the United States.

“I want to study the effect Instagram has had on photography and on its users,” Grant said. “A lot of people think of Instagram and social media generally as not being serious, but this is real and it’s had a real effect on people and how they live.”

He plans to end his trip in San Francisco with friends who worked with photographers at Instagram’s headquarters.

Grant’s ultimate goal is to work for National Geographic , but he recognizes that many photographers share the same dream, and that he has a lot to learn. For now, he plans to start a little smaller—by bringing awareness of the Magellan Project to Instagram employees and convincing them to do a photo feature about W&J.

Caulin Grant aspires to be a photographer for National Geographic

“It’s my crusade,” he said. “What I’m learning is that Instagram really is its own community, and we have our community here. We’ll see (what happens). I have to try.”

– ERIN FAULK ’08

Follow Caulin Grant on Instagram and see more of his photos @caulingrant, or visit his website www.caulingrantphoto.com.

Magellan scholar broadens knowledge of world art

After taking three art history classes at Washington & Jefferson College, Catherine Beaudoin ’15, wanted to further her knowledge of world art.

Beaudoin applied for a Magellan Project grant and spent last summer exploring contemporary art at the most revered museums and galleries in Berlin and Prague. Beaudoin wanted to understand the diversity of the contemporary art movement as well as expand the conceptual horizons within her own work. Her aim, she said, was to find a recurring theme of the cultural issues that propel contemporary art in order to receive intellectual, artistic and spiritual guidance.

“As far as contemporary art, Berlin did not disappoint me. The art I witnessed pushed my perception of what I thought contemporary art was. As I hoped, these works gave me a greater appreciation of the contemporary movement,” Beaudoin said. “During my visit, I could not draw and write fast enough in my sketchbook to capture all that was becoming infused into my creative spirit.”

The Pergamon Museum in Germany and Prague Castle and Old Town Square were some of her favorite points of interest within the two cities.

In order to remember her adventure more clearly, Beaudoin kept a journal along with her sketchbook. “The journal contained the places I went, the people I met and all spontaneous thoughts and emotions along the way,” Beaudoin said. “I firmly believe that every traveler, Magellan recipient or not, should record their experiences. Besides the photographs and the sketchbook, my journal was the best souvenir I brought back from my trip to Germany and the Czech Republic.”

Beaudoin says she is even more curious and driven than she thought she would be after her Magellan.

“I still believe I am the same person, but somehow wiser from my experiences. The material I witnessed firsthand spins creative gears in my head that have rusted since my childhood years. The people I met set my soul on fire, gave me purpose and reassured me in the choice I made to embark on my Magellan in the first place. More than anything, I feel powerful, blessed and grateful to have become a part of this incredible program here at Washington & Jefferson College,” Beaudoin added.

Creating art in the laboratory

This past Intersession, students at W&J had the opportunity to try their hand at the art of glassblowing. William Sheers ’71 , Ph.D., professor of physics, taught the course Scientific and Artistic Glassblowing, which he described as an introductory hands-on course for anyone who can appreciate the beauty of handcrafted glass and who would like to learn this challenging skill.

“Roughly half of the course is devoted to making artistic creations in glass, while the other half concentrates on making basic scientific apparatus,” Sheers said. “The course focuses exclusively on the glass-working technique of flame-working, where students learn how to use the gas/oxygen torch with solid glass rod to make colorful glass figures, including flowers, animals and fantasy creations such as fire-breathing dragons. Scientific apparatus will be constructed from glass tubing using the torch and blow-hose.”

“I still believe I am the same person, but somehow wiser from my experiences.”

– CATHERINE BEAUDOIN ’15

Sheers said he originally taught only the making of basic scientific apparatus because that was his interest. But the students wanted to do more, so he learned some artistic techniques to share with them. Glassblowers used to be attached to almost all chemistry research laboratories and some physics laboratories, too. But not so much now, he said.

“You could argue that students learn how to construct apparatus, something we also teach in the advanced physics and chemistry courses, and engineering courses, too. But the art is so incredibly difficult that they likely will never use anything they’ve made with glass in the labs,” Sheers added. “They get a real appreciation for glassblowers and what they do. It may be one of the few times that students find something that no matter how hard they work, they will not succeed. It takes years to become proficient with the art. I think it’s good to see the difficulty. They also encounter that in my research lab where they have to do microsurgery, which they also can’t learn in a short time.”

Catherine Beaudoin, who is from Barkhamsted, Conn., studied contemporary art in Berlin and Prague for a Magellan Project.

Nadeera Sidique ’16 creates a glass flower in the Scientific and Artistic Glassblowing Intersession course.

By the Numbers: MODERN LANGUAGES

From adding new classes to implementing new programs and activities, the Department of Modern Languages has been steadily growing its program over the past 10 years.

Freshman embraces new language, culture on stage

As a child growing up in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon, in Mexico, Adrian Elizondo ’17 loved to imitate actors and repeat their lines. In high school, he performed in “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King,” but his real passion for acting blossomed his first semester at W&J.

6 Faculty members in the department

17 Countries modern languages faculty have resided in over the past 10 years

27 Courses taught since 2009

114

Classroom hours offered each week this spring

133

Students who have studied a language over the past five years

2,216

High school students who have participated in W&J-hosted German Day over the past 10 years

4,000

Largest number of miles traveled to a job after graduation by a language major Languages currently studied

10,057

Elizondo’s performance as Tony Lopez in the production of “The Spring Harvest” this past fall was powerful enough to earn him a spot in a national competition for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. The contest will be held later this year.

But what makes Elizondo’s performance even more impressive is that English is his second language, and he learned a lot of it on the stage during rehearsals. Although he understood English when he came to W&J, he had never spoken it regularly.

“Our whole culture is mixed up with American culture,” Elizondo said. “There’s always great English movies in the theater. I was born in this mixture of Mexican and English. Can I speak it? Yes, but this is my first experience of having to survive in English.”

Learning lines for the play gave Elizondo a crash course in understanding the language—something he thought would take all of his freshman year to achieve.

As the cast worked through the challenging nature of the play, in which one friend accuses another of sexual assault after a party, Elizondo worked through an unfamiliar language and culture.

“I had to go through the lines of the other characters and understand what they were saying to me and what it meant to my character,” Elizondo said. “In all the conversations I’ve had, I think I have improved in how I listen to people and how I communicate myself.”

Elizondo had often considered going to college in the United States, and W&J drew his attention because a liberal arts education seemed so unique. When Elizondo talked with a W&J representative at a college fair in Monterrey, he said he immediately felt he had found his future.

“To do something artistic or related to theater—which is now my dream and my goal—that’s not really an option back home. If I had stayed in Mexico, I probably would have gotten a business degree and done everything that everyone before me has already done,” he said. “In Mexico you’re either a businessman, an engineer or a lawyer. For me, finding acting and the play and screenwriting were things I fell in love with.”

But when he auditioned at W&J and was offered the role of Tony Lopez, he almost didn’t take it.

“I didn’t feel I was ready for the pressure because I didn’t want to disappoint anyone,” he said. “But then I thought if I want to grow as an actor and as a person, I need to take the challenge.”

As stunned as Elizondo was to be cast in a lead role, it didn’t match the surprise of writer/director T. Scott Frank ’71 , M.F.A., professor of theatre and communication at W&J, who was amazed at seeing Elizondo grasp the subtleties of the English language so quickly.

“Adrian is a great leader in that way because everyone witnessed the herculean task that was before him and had to rise to the challenge,” Frank said. “Even at times when he didn’t know completely what a line might be, he still knew what the character was trying to do. That’s such a mature approach to the craft.”

Elizondo’s mother, who has never missed one of his shows, flew in from Mexico and his brothers drove in from Cornell University and Penn State University for the weekend to see him perform. Elizondo didn’t expect his family to be able to come, and he was thrilled to share this experience with them.

“Here (on the stage) I get to express things I would not get to express in normal life,” he said. “The more characters you get to play, the more you get to know yourself. What I tell my mom is that I’m really happy with who I am. I’m more proud of who I am after this.” – ERIN FAULK ’08

Adrian Elizondo stands with Professor T. Scott Frank.

Elizondo playing Tony Lopez in “The Spring Harvest.”

Artistically Inspired

The Actor

The Artist The Antiquarian The Confectioner

The Director

The Confectioner

Marzipan candies and old-fashioned techniques, authentic soda fountains and sharing his antiques, the joy making candy and ice cream brings— these are a few of Ryan Berley’s favorite things.

Always an entrepreneur at heart, Ryan Berley ’98 turned an idea that he describes as a “lark” into two profitable businesses with more than 40 employees. Co-owners of The Franklin Fountain and Shane Confectionery, Berley and his brother, Eric, are preserving history in a unique—and delicious—way.

The brothers’ business venture began when their family bought a historic building in Old City, Philadelphia. A former antique appraiser, Berley originally intended to open an antique store in the building, but when this plan was put on hold, he and his brother started brainstorming business concepts.

“I was really looking to use antiques in a way where a lot of people could appreciate them,” Berley explained. “Rather than just buying and selling antiques, I wanted something more. I wanted the general public to be able to see and appreciate old things.”

With inspiration from antiques and by taking cues from the architecture of the building, Berley realized the space looked like an old-time ice cream parlor. He began to research old soda fountains, which he found were vanishing from the American landscape, and a business idea was born. Berley and his brother spent the next two years planning and purchasing antiques in order to fulfill their newfound quests of building an authentic soda fountain and learning to make ice cream. After the brothers’ hard work, The Franklin Fountain opened for business in 2004 with great success.

However, Berley and his brother soon realized that ice cream was a seasonal business and they needed something else to complement their ice cream in the downtime. Berley explains, “Coincidentally in 2006, an old candy maker in Philadelphia passed away. His name was Harry Young and his family had a candy store from the 1890s that was closing and they were selling everything at auction. So we made a major investment in their collection of antique clear toy hard-candy molds.”

While Berley had the equipment for the candy, he didn’t have adequate space for production. The first clear toy candies were made in the basement of The Franklin Fountain, which was quickly being outgrown. The candy business was booming, having captured the attention of The Food Network and Martha Stewart Living . The Berleys knew they were on to something and needed to make another business move.

As fate would have it, the Berleys’ shop neighbor, Mr. Shane, who owned Shane Confectionery, was ready to retire. He agreed to sell his business and candy equipment to the Berley brothers. After the purchase, the Berleys spent 18 months extensively renovating the historic building, reopening the store in 2011. To stay true to its heritage, the Shane Confectionery kitchen remains equipped with all original

In honor of her heritage and culture, Rosanna Tsatie wears her traditional Zuni regalia under her cap and gown during Commencement.

“Rather than just buying and selling antiques, I wanted something more. I wanted the general public to be able to see and appreciate old things.”

– RYAN BERLEY ’98

cast-iron equipment. The candy makers use hand-beaten copper kettles to make the candy and thick marble flat tables to cool it.

“From all of our research and traveling, we determined that it is the oldest continuously operated confectionery shop in America,”

Berley said. “It has always operated in some capacity as a confectionery and we believe that it was actually built for that use back in 1863. So that’s 150 years of sweets.” Indeed, Smithsonian magazine found the history of the shop worthy of a feature article.

And while Berley may call his idea to go into the candy business a lark, sweets—and a love for history—run in his blood. “Our parents actually collected soda fountain and ice cream and candy antiques and decorated our dining room that we grew up in. So this influence was always there,” he said.

Other influences on Berley were his grandfather, Wilbert W. Sprowls ’37 , who instilled in him a love of history, and his uncle George Sprowls, who owned Herb’s Drug Store on Main Street in Washington, Pa. Berley worked at the drug store while attending W&J. After his uncle told him stories about being a

soda jerk in the 1940s and 1950s, Berley began to see how the soda fountain represented a place where people of all ages could go. This sense of community is what Berley is hoping to create with his historic stores.

Berley has traveled all over the world visiting sweet shops and soda fountains, going to conferences and talking with owners to record oral histories. “In the winter we traveled to Cologne, Germany, to attend an international sweets exhibition, which is the biggest candy show in the world,” Berley said. “Then we traveled Europe for two and a half weeks going to sweet shops. I’m not sure if it gets any better than that. That was an incredible experience, and we are continually inspired by the European confectionery tradition.”

While Berley’s job has many perks, his favorite part is the history. “The part that I love, that drives me, is interpreting the history, the antiques,” he said. “So pairing the historical sweets that we are bringing back to life, alongside the objects and the tools we use to make them, that’s probably my favorite part.”

– ALLYSON GILMORE ’12

The Director

Matt Sohn ’90 still might not know what he wants to be when he grows up, but right now, he knows he’s having fun.

An Emmy-nominated cinematographer in Los Angeles, California, Sohn spent all nine seasons with “The Office” as a camera operator and director of photography. Currently, he is a director for a number of single-camera comedies including “The Goldbergs,” “New Girl” and “Parks and Recreation.”

Spending 12-15 hours a day on set and directing 10-12 different shows in a television season, Sohn’s life isn’t all play. A full week of careful preparation goes into the shooting of a single episode of a typical single-camera comedy. Considerable time is spent breaking down the script, conducting table reads, blocking out how the show is going to be filmed and casting guest stars. An additional week of filming is needed to complete an episode, plus a number of days to edit.

“You work until the work is done, and you have to take it all in stride and realize why you’re doing it,” Sohn said. “It’s entertainment—you want to ultimately make people laugh and like what they are watching. But it’s also a creative process, and you need to keep the network and the production team happy as well.”

According to Sohn, his success was made possible by making the most of opportunities that were presented to him.

As a senior psychology major at W&J, Sohn got his start in the world of television with what he calls a “fluke” internship at WPXI in Pittsburgh, which turned into a part-time job. He explains that this internship had a standing rule that only one student from each area college and university was accepted every semester. Being the first student from W&J to apply, Sohn thinks that “they felt obliged” to give him the internship. Regardless, Sohn showed he earned the internship, and through contacts at WPXI he received a job offer in Salt Lake City to build a newscast from the ground up. He worked

“I never had any blinders to stop me from doing any of the things that I’ve done.”

– MATT SOHN ’90

filming the news at a local Fox affiliate for the next three years before moving to Los Angeles to explore other aspects of the business.

“When I was at W&J, I had no clue what I was going to do with my life. I was always interested in new challenges and adventures that came my way and was never afraid of doing hard work to complete the task at hand. I think it also helped that I didn’t have a specific goal that I was trying to reach. I never had any blinders to stop me from doing any of the things that I’ve done,” Sohn said.

And he’s done a lot. Working on reality shows and documentaries early in his career made Sohn a world adventurer, who has been to every continent but Antarctica. Even then, he came close. “I found a boat that would drop me off, but they didn’t know when they could pick me up, so I opted not to go,” laughed Sohn.

Starting out with documentary-form shows “Cops” and “LAPD: Life on the Beat,” Sohn was able to branch out to filming wildlife documentaries in places like Africa, India and South America, eventually becoming part of the “Eco-Challenge” adventure race.

“That was a great show to work on because it was in different locations around the world;

it was me and a sound man chasing down competing teams and bush-bashing for days at a time,” Sohn said.

From there, Sohn bounced back and forth between positions as director of photography and cameraman for “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race,” sometimes traveling 10 to 11 months out of the year. During the off-season for these shows, he returned to Los Angeles to work on scripted shows such as “Scrubs” and any other movies or pilots that he could get work on.

When asked about the extent of his travel, Sohn said, “It was all part of my job. I got to immerse myself into other cultures and to experience amazing things.”

However, after Sohn got dengue fever in Thailand, his life of adventure came to a close. “That kind of took me out of the reality world, which was just as well because I needed the change,” he explained. “That’s also when ‘The Office’ came along. I started off on the first season as a camera operator. In season five I became the director of photography, and around that same time I started directing.”

For Sohn, there are many perks to his career choice besides travel. What’s the best part? Sohn joked, “Let’s see, I don’t have to wear a tie, I don’t have to shave, I don’t have to sit behind a desk.” He said more seriously, “I think that it’s great being surrounded by so many creative people. And right now as a director, to be able to bounce from show to show, and to get to collaborate with so many amazing writers, actors and crew, putting all the aspects of a show together is wonderful.”

What Sohn can teach all of us is that sometimes it’s good not to have a plan. “I’ve had these wonderful opportunities that have come up, and because I didn’t have a specific plan, I was able to try these different things out,” Sohn said. “I mean, that’s how I found my way into documentaries, reality shows and scripted work. It was because people gave me opportunities and through my passion for the business and hard work, I took these opportunities and made the best out of them, not really thinking about where it could take me. I was just up for trying something new.”

From spending two and a half weeks submerged in a nuclear sub, to visiting one of the last fishing villages that uses trained otters to herd fish into the fisherman’s nets in Bangladesh, to flying around New York with Donald Trump in his helicopter, Sohn has had a variety of experiences most people only dream of.

But then again, it’s his job.

– ALLYSON GILMORE ’12

The Actor

On her lunch break at work, Dawn McGee ’91 can barely contain her excitement. A co-worker just asked her to marry him—or at least she’s sure that’s what he meant by giving her a bowl of wedding soup, she explains to the chef on the other end of the line. Instead of a phone, though, McGee holds an empty soup can. She’s an actor, not a crazy office worker, and this is a commercial for Progresso soup.

Over the past few years, McGee has appeared onscreen often, playing quirky and witty characters who command your laughter in commercials for Kinkos, GEICO, the New York Lottery, Ally Bank and many more. She has the confidence and skill to improvise on set. Yet, if it hadn’t been for an elective theater course at W&J, McGee might never have become an actress, instead sticking to her plan of becoming a lawyer. McGee feels fortunate that, working with Professor Bill Cameron, she uncovered a love for acting. She finished her degree, but law school was out; the Big Apple was in.

“That’s what’s so great about college,” she said. “I went there thinking this (law school) is what I want, but college gives you that opportunity to truly find what it is that you’re passionate about.” For McGee, there was no doubt that acting was her passion.

During her first years in New York City, McGee was the archetype of a struggling actress. She took on self-described “survival jobs”—from bartending to teaching CPR to working as an assistant in a casting office—while putting her spare time and change toward acting classes. She frequently turned to small, low-budget theaters for artistic expression, bringing home little to no pay but striving to gain experience and attention in a city filled with actors.

When her career started to turn with a televised public service announcement, McGee was relieved, knowing, “I can actually make a career of this.” Now, her list of television experience features the Netflix award-winning “House of Cards,” TBS’ “Are We There Yet?,” FX’s “Louie” and CBS’ “As the World Turns.” In 2007, she played a lead role in the PRISM award-winning movie “Bobby Dogs,” and, in 2012, she appeared alongside Robert De Niro in the film “Being Flynn.”

She admits that working with such famous actors can trigger a few jitters. “I don’t mind nerves because I feel like nerves mean that you care,” McGee said. “I think if I don’t get nervous, then I’ve lost something or maybe I’m numb to the process.”

McGee has learned not to dwell on her nerves or to look too far ahead. “Anything can happen in this business, so although you want to celebrate

LEV GORDON

“Even though I love being on set and I love doing all that stuff, I really love the research aspect of putting the work in to figure out what the story is and what the arcs are and where the character changes are and what is my part in trying to properly tell that story.”

– DAWN MCGEE ’91

the fact that you booked the job, you always know that at any time things can change,” she said. Her world is one of constant adjustment, where scripts get edited without notice and characters regularly get dropped. Adapting is part of the business, and changes can also go in her favor—she’s received calls asking her to be on site to film a commercial that afternoon.

Along with the uncertainty comes a fast pace. Shows and films give her the most time to prepare; for the work with De Niro, she knew six weeks in advance that she had the job. For commercials, though, she often has a week’s notice or less—and doesn’t find out her lines until she’s sitting in a chair waiting for makeup on the day of the shoot.

Despite her success thus far, McGee works every day to develop her skills and identify future opportunities. “If you’re going into a finance

career, you go on an interview, you get a job, and ideally you have that job for a decent period of time,” she explained. “With acting, you go on auditions and even if you book that job, you might shoot for a day and then you have to go for another audition. It’s a constant process of interviewing; we just call it auditioning.”

Part of finding future opportunities is maintaining relationships with directors and agents and as McGee puts it, “simply reminding them you are around.” Working with directors who let her improvise on set and other actors whom she can play off of is a part of the job McGee relishes, but her favorite part of her work is delving into characters and doing the research that entails. “Even though I love being on set and I love doing all that stuff, I really love the research aspect of putting the work in to figure out what the story is and what the arcs are and where the character changes are and what is my part in trying to properly tell that story,” she said.

What’s next for this promising alum? She hopes to delve more into film work, but she also longs to return to where she started—a live stage.

“When you’re doing a film, things get mixed up—you might shoot for three minutes, cut and do it again,” she said. “When you’re in a play, you get to tell a story from A to Z. You get to go through every emotion and discover new things. I really love that ride.” In between jobs, she’s already active with a theater company in the city, but she dreams of a bigger stage. “I would love to wind up on a show on Broadway,” she said.

– GEORGIA SCHUMACHER ’10

The Antiquarian

Bound in the highly recognizable Murray-green cloth with gold writing, a first edition of Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” is a rare find. As a young book dealer, Stephan Loewentheil ’72 knew this, but what he didn’t know was that when he found the book bound in a brown cloth with the exact same stamping as the well-known green copy, he was in for a greater find. This trial binding for “The Origin of Species,” the only known copy, was the first great book Loewentheil bought, but it was by no means the last. Loewentheil is founder and owner of Luxury Catalogs, a leading international dealer in rare books, manuscripts and 19th-century photography, and he has traveled all over the world buying and selling antiques. Retaining such clients as the White House, Loewentheil has an impressive inventory with selections including a signed portrait of Abraham Lincoln, a photograph of the construction of the Statue of Liberty and an autographed letter from Mark Twain. Loewentheil’s goal is to transmit cultural knowledge to future generations through his work. “It turned out that this was exactly what I was supposed to do with my life,” he said. “It fit my abilities and my lack of abilities perfectly. I love history, and I love the process of research and learning.”

Antique print materials were not always on Loewentheil’s mind as a career path. With a juris

doctor from Cornell University and an interest in the structure of society, Loewentheil’s original intention was to go into law, but during a renovation project in Baltimore his plans changed when he came across some historic documents.

Loewentheil made the fateful decision to look into the antique marketplace and met an older gentleman named Jacob Zeitlin, a well-known rare-book dealer with a shop in Los Angeles, who would become his friend and mentor. “I only worked with him for 60 days, but it was like a lifetime of mentorship,” Loewentheil said. Listening to Zeitlin’s wisdom, Loewentheil has resisted the temptation to keep many items for himself. “He told me when you find something you really love and you’re tempted to keep it, keep it until you find someone who will love it and want it as much as you do,” Loewentheil remembered. Personally, Loewentheil does have a very extensive collection of 19th-century photography consisting of over 10,000 photographs of China. He also has a large collection of Civil War photography, which he has been giving away to institutions. Photographs are often said to open a window to the past, but for Loewentheil they do much more: Photographs show how the important trends, thoughts and qualities of humankind develop over the centuries.

Loewentheil won’t pick a favorite piece from his collection, because he says, “It’s like picking among your children.” And for him, the sum is greater than its parts. “Each of these photographs when taken individually are interesting and beautiful and sometimes valuable, but when you put a large collection together you can learn more from the aggregation of a collection than you can from the individual objects.”

Although his career keeps him busy, Loewentheil has found time to start an organic farm in upstate New York—a venture that he began “by mistake” but describes as wonderful. He raises sheep, cattle, turkeys, chickens, fruit and vegetables, but the only thing Loewentheil actually sells is organic hay. He gives his organic food to friends, family and people in need. “It’s very rewarding,” Loewentheil said. “Being a farmer is an amazing thing. Knowing that you sit down at night and can serve a dinner that you are personally responsible for is a very unusual and wonderful thing.”

Reflecting on his success as an antiquarian and farmer, Loewentheil gives credit to the place where he says it all started: W&J. “Through W&J I was able to get into an Ivy League law school and my eventual success came from Washington & Jefferson in little old Washington, Pennsylvania. Everyone should know that if you take care of business and if you go through W&J you have unlimited opportunities.”

– ALLYSON GILMORE ’12

The Artist

Many artists are fascinated by color or by shapes. Others are driven by a need to capture and share their understanding of objects, people or scenery. For Chicago-based artist Tony Lewis ’08, language is his inspiration.

Perhaps an inevitable result of his constant reading, writing and communicating about art, Lewis has what he calls “an attraction to language in a visual sense.” Based on the overwhelmingly positive reactions to his work, he is not the only one fascinated by this idea. Lewis is a newly arrived name on the national and international art scene, having exhibited in Chicago, New York City, Miami and several other U.S. cities. Internationally, he’s shown in Germany, Italy and Israel. Most recently, his work was on display for three months on the Caribbean island of Martinique as part of the 2013-2014 BIAC Martinique (International Biennial of Contemporary Art).

Continuing his list of accomplishments, Lewis’ art will also be featured in the 2014 Whitney Biennial from March through May, truly giving him a prominent place in today’s community of influential artists. This popular New York City event, which takes place at the Whitney Museum of American Art, is now in its 77th year and is perhaps the country’s most well-known survey of contemporary American art.

Lewis’ most recent series of works has been largely influenced by H. Jackson Brown Jr.’s “Life’s Little Instruction Book,” which he first encountered at his mother’s house. “It’s essentially an American positivist, self-help book filled with inspirational reminders to live a happy and rewarding life,” he explained. For Lewis, though, this book led to a fascination with the “social instruction inherent in morally considerate language.”

Driven by his research and his own attempts to re-create this style of writing, his minimalistic art has become a way to explore and re-imagine language. In several works, he relies only on

large 84”x 60” sheets of white paper, pencil, tape and black graphite powder—something that appears throughout his body of work. “It’s that ethical decision of consistency as an artist, to know material well enough to have some sort of agency,” he explained.

His finished works are both intriguing and enigmatic, most featuring only a few sparse letters, fragmented words and occasionally nonsensical phrases like “people peopled and color colored” that hint of underlying meaning. Words and letters are sometimes connected by a faint line, as if he is struggling to find the significance among them. When asked, Lewis described these pieces as “a systematic deconstruction, erasure and re-ordering of a full sentence, phrases and words—at times, down to letters.”

In a few instances, however, he repurposes full sentences from “Life’s Little Instruction

Book.” Yet when re-created by Lewis using nails pounded into a wall, sentences from the book, including “Keep a tight rein on your temper” and “Never argue with police officers, and address them as ‘officer,’” seem more ominous than they did in their original publication.

Lewis hopes that such works will cause viewers to stop and ponder the points he is making and the personal meaning behind his art. “I choose material, subjects and methods that are important to how I begin to understand my place in the world,” he said. “I would hope there is room for reflection on such things when people look at the work.”

His desire to share his point of view and learn from those around him led him to discover his passion for teaching. “The most engaging conversations frequently happen in the classroom,” Lewis explained. For now, he’s focusing solely on his work, but he’s insistent on spending more time teaching in the future.

His desire to teach others may stem in part from his years at W&J, where he began developing his current aesthetic and creativity. “Patrick Schmidt taught me how to think when it comes to making art, and John Lambertson taught me why I love it,” he said.

Outside the art department, his mentor was the school chaplain, Dr. Robert Vande Kappelle. “Through the study of religion, he allowed me to step outside of myself, to gain a richer perspective on self-identity,” said Lewis.

Without these mentors and his experiences at W&J, Lewis would not have gotten where he is today. He said, “The support I received from W&J was crucial for how I look at the world.”

– GEORGIA SCHUMACHER ’10

SAM LIPP

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND SHANE CAMPBELL GALLERY, CHICAGO

Overcoming Overcoming Overcoming

the Odds

W&J football team rises to the challenge and wins PAC championship

In early October, the Presidents football team boarded its Coach USA charter buses after a tough 24-19 loss to Bethany in West Virginia. The short 30-minute trip home gave the team time to reflect at the midway point of the season. Nationally-ranked Thomas More loomed next on the schedule, but few were giving Washington & Jefferson a chance at salvaging the season a week removed from its first loss to the Bethany Bison in 30 years.

W&J needed to run the table to repeat as Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) champion. Running back Dion Wiegand ’14 played an outstanding stretch of early-season games, but his impact was never greater as a President than during a 45-21 victory over then 20th-ranked Thomas More. The victory, which helped shape the rest of the Presidents’ season, was aided by three touchdowns from Wiegand, including a momentum-changing 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter. Wiegand tied the record posted by DeWayne Jeter ’87 in a 1986 game against Case Western Reserve for the longest return in W&J history.

A week later, quarterback Matt Bliss ’14 threw four touchdown passes for a 38-6 win at Westminster. Jon Lowery ’15 and Jared Pratt ’15 spearheaded a defensive effort at Saint Vincent the following week to guide W&J to a 42-7 triumph.

Only two home games versus Geneva and Waynesburg were left on the schedule, and victories against each would clinch the PAC title and automatic National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) playoff bid. Max Creighan ’15 hauled in a pair of touchdown passes over the Geneva Golden Tornadoes as the Presidents rolled to a 49-34 win. The PAC Backyard Brawl against Waynesburg was next, and the Presidents were ready. A 17-point third quarter, fueled by a 59-yard punt return touchdown by Alex Baroffio ’14, proved to be the difference as W&J dominated its local rival 38-13.

A day after the win over Waynesburg, W&J learned its first-round opponent in the playoffs would be the defending national champions and top-ranked Purple Raiders of the University of Mount Union (UMU), the alma mater of 2013 PAC Coach of the Year Mike Sirianni. The Presidents hung tough with UMU,

Dion Wiegand, a first team All-PAC player and D3football.com third team All-South Region choice, ranks among the NCAA Division III top-20 statistical leaders in five different categories.

He played in the All-American Bowl at the Mall of America Field at the Metrodome in Minneapolis this past December.

despite starting a freshman, Pete Coughlin ’17, at quarterback since Bliss was injured in the Waynesburg victory and unable to play in the postseason. Coughlin performed admirably, but the Purple Raiders held off W&J for a 34-20 win.

Coughlin completed 20 of 44 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns in his second career start. Baroffio capped a record-breaking career with 12 catches for 131 yards and three scores. He was selected to the American Football Coaches Association All-America Team following a season in which he became W&J’s career leader in receptions (269) and receiving yards (3,204). In the postgame press conference at Mount Union, Baroffio simply stated what all his teammates also believe: “I’m proud to be a President.”

A D3football.com third-team All-South Region choice, Wiegand recorded one of the top offensive seasons by a running back in the program’s 122-year history with 1,339 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns. The 25 touchdowns tied for second place in the school’s single-season record book. His 1,953 all-purpose yards marked the fourth-best single-season total in school history.

B.J. Monacelli ’14 led the defense for a third consecutive year with five interceptions, and he finished his career sixth overall in school history with 11. Pratt recorded a team-high 98 tackles from his linebacker position.

W&J will enter the 2014 season three victories shy of becoming the third NCAA Division III football program with 700 all-time victories. Only Mount Union and Wittenberg have eclipsed the 700-win plateau. Also in 2014, two familiar schools make their return to the PAC as Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) rejoin as football-only affiliates. W&J hosts CMU on Sept. 20 at Cameron Stadium, while the Presidents host CWRU on Homecoming Day, Oct. 25.

another PAC championship win—the 23rd in W&J’s history.

SPORTS TALK

Mario Sacco ’07 remembers sitting in the bleachers as a child watching his older sister’s basketball games. Listening to the sports announcer’s commentary in “The Homerdome” at Homer-Center High School in Indiana County, Pa., he recognized his dream. “I really wanted to do the public address announcing,” Sacco said. “I thought about it all of the time and eventually, they (school officials) finally agreed. I loved it and even though I was young, I thought I was pretty good. I think I’ve had a microphone in my hand every year since.”

Thirteen years later, in 2009, Sacco exhaled as the bright lights glimmered down on him—he had made it. He needed to pinch himself after a dream journey, which started inside the Homerdome and weaved through stops in Washington, Pa., and Syracuse, N.Y., eventually becoming a reality in the Southern Tier of New York when Sacco was hired by WETM, an NBC affiliate in Elmira, as the station’s weekend sports anchor/weekday sports reporter.

Sacco never believed he would pursue a career in broadcasting despite his comfort behind a microphone. He had an interest in law and enrolled at Washington & Jefferson College in 2003 as a pre-law student.

“I was sitting in one of Dr. DiSarro’s classes my freshman year and I was laughing to myself, thinking ‘This isn’t going to work out,’” Sacco explained. “Around the same time, I was reading about the College’s radio station and working with Dr. Anthony Fleury. I had a great opportunity to become a sports director for WNJR.”

With this opportunity, Sacco developed a weekly football coach’s show with W&J Head Coach Mike Sirianni and provided play-by-play coverage for every W&J football game. He also covered every home men’s and women’s basketball game and traveled to road conference contests when his schedule allowed. Sacco’s last football broadcast for W&J came in a press box 1,343 miles away from Washington, in Belton, Texas, as he saw the Presidents fall to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

“Telling stories that inspire the community is what brings a smile to my face every day.”

– MARIO SACCO ’07

Mario Sacco filming at Watkins Glen International.

30-27 in the NCAA playoffs. The NCAA does not pay expenses for student broadcasters, but Sacco was determined, raising money for a flight to Texas and finding a resting spot on the floor in one of the team’s hotel rooms.

After graduating in 2007 with his degree in political science and a minor in communications, Sacco set off, 60-plus resume tapes in hand, looking for that dream job. Reality hit him quickly as there were thousands of other young graduates looking for that same job. He took a job as a marketing consultant at Renda Broadcasting, selling advertising for four local radio stations, while also broadcasting high school football and basketball games on the radio for about 18 months.

Sacco decided to apply to Syracuse University’s (SU) renowned S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, but was placed on the waitlist. A year later, he applied again and was accepted into the program, which has produced some of broadcasting’s biggest legends, including Bob Costas and Mike Tirico.

“My experience was in radio, but this was big-time television training,” Sacco said. “I sat in offices with professors who had Emmys sitting on their desks. One walk down the hall past the Costas room and you realize that SU is a dream home for future broadcasters. I learned to shoot highlights, write and edit—pretty much everything that goes into a production.”

During his time at Syracuse, Sacco also worked internships at Fox Sports Pittsburgh and WHAGTV, the NBC affiliate in Hagerstown, Md. He earned his master’s degree in 2009 and, six months later, was offered the position at WETM. Sacco has since served as the sports anchor on the 6 and 11 o’clock newscasts from Friday through Sunday. The rest of the week he is out in the field, working on the day’s top sports news as a reporter.

The Elmira-Corning market covers news and sports from Ithaca, N.Y., to the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania. High school sports are the station’s primary focus, but the area also hosts a Champions Tour golf tournament each year as well as NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Watkins Glen.

“Ever since I’ve been here, we’ve been number one in the ratings,” Sacco said. “We have a twoperson sports staff so I shoot all of the highlights myself and then write and edit. I don’t get a chance to spend as much time at the games as I wish, because when I am anchoring, I have to get back to the studio. There’s no crew following along with me to games. The sports director and I do it all ourselves.”

The most difficult part about Sacco’s job comes during the week of the Cheez-It 355 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International. “On Friday before the race I am at the track at 4 a.m. doing live interviews for our morning shows and putting in 18-hour days. It’s a lot of hard work, but I wouldn’t trade interviewing celebrities like Brad Keselowski or Jimmie Johnson for anything.”

The hard work at the track has paid off, as the WETM sports team has won the New York State Broadcasters Award for Best Sports Coverage the last three years. For Sacco, every day at the office brings a new journey.

“I’ve covered a 52-game winning streak on the high school football field and I’ve interviewed Hall of Fame golfer Tom Watson. I’ve even ridden around Watkins Glen International going over 160 miles per hour,” he said. “These are the perks of my job, but it is the stories I get to tell that make me love what I do. The story on a high school student with cerebral palsy that a football team rallied around, or during the last Olympics, interviewing a former local high school basketball player (Stefanie Collins), who played for the Great Britain national team. Telling stories that inspire the community is what brings a smile to my face every day. It’s not just about who scored the game-winning touchdown or who won the race. It’s about finding that story our viewers will remember past the final buzzer.”

“I’m really enjoying where I’m at right now. It’s a

Mario Sacco at his anchor desk at WETM in Elmira, N.Y.

W&J Athletic Hall of Fame inducts six new members

Washington & Jefferson College inducted its 15th Athletic Hall of Fame class on Oct. 11, 2013. Headlining the group was Kaitlyn Orstein ’08, who swam to eight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III championships during her career. A 25-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) champion, Orstein won multiple 200 individual medley (2005, 2007, 2008), 400 individual medley (2005, 2006) and 200 breaststroke (2007, 2008) national championships, while also claiming the 100 breaststroke national title in 2008. She established 18 W&J, 10 PAC and five NCAA records, and was a 14-time NCAA Division III All-American. Orstein was named the PAC Swimmer of the Year during all four years on the squad. She led the Presidents to the 2005 and 2008 PAC team championships.

Ten years before Orstein was making waves in the pool, Carrie Banaszak Dunbar ’99 was dominating the volleyball court inside the same building. During her two years on campus, the team posted a 55-10 record, including a perfect 14-0 mark in the conference. Dunbar led the team to a pair of PAC championships and to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III South championships in 1997 and 1998, which were the program’s first post-season titles. The 1998 ECAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, Dunbar led W&J to an undefeated home record and the most victories in school history during the 1998 championship season. The Presidents ended her senior year with 16 consecutive victories. In 1998, Dunbar became the fourth female in W&J history to earn College Sports Information Directors of America

(CoSIDA) Academic All-America accolades. She was the 1997 PAC Player of the Year and finished her W&J career with 613 kills (.439 hitting percentage) and 180 blocks.

Tom Benic ’67 is one of 11 wrestlers in school history to capture three PAC individual championships and helped lead the Presidents to two of their five conference team championships. Benic only lost one conference match during his career. Benic, who served as sports editor and then editor of the Red & Black newspaper, finished his career with 50 victories in 60 matches (50-9-1), which remains the fourth-best career winning percentage (.848) in school history. In 1965, Benic capped a 9-1-1 record with the conference title that helped the Presidents win the team championship. One year later, the Presidents had four individual champions en route to the conference tournament title. As a senior, Benic once again captured the 123-pound title, but the Presidents missed out on claiming a third league title by just one point. Benic is one of just 25 wrestlers in W&J history to win at least 50 career matches.

If W&J were forced to select only 11 players in its 122-year history of football to play on an “all-time defense,” one of the safety positions would most likely be manned by Frank Pilato ’05. Pilato was only the seventh player in school history to be selected to the Associated Press Little All-America Team as a first-team selection. He accumulated 95 tackles and seven interceptions as a senior after leading the Presidents to the NCAA quarterfinals for the

first time since 1995. Pilato was recognized on the 2003 and 2004 American Football Coaches Association AllAmerica Team, one of only two players in school history to land the prestigious honor twice. He also earned AllAmerica distinction from D3football.com (2003 and 2004), Football Gazette (2004) and CoSIDA (2003). A two-time first-team All-PAC selection, Pilato intercepted 18 passes and became W&J’s all-time leader, a record which still stands today.

Coach James White impacted the lives of W&J studentathletes for more than three decades. He served as the head men’s tennis and wrestling coach from 1965-1997, and he also spent 21 years as an assistant football coach at the College. A 1994 inductee into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, White retired with 576 combined victories as a W&J head coach. White, who also served as associate director of athletics during his W&J career, guided the Presidents’ wrestling program to three of the program’s five PAC championships (1965, 1966, 1995). White’s tennis teams also enjoyed tremendous success, winning the only four conference championships in school history (1967, 1968, 1969, 1986). White coached 66 PAC individual tennis and wrestling champions, five NCAA All-Americans and two of the College’s 41 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.

E. Lee North ’46 established himself as a key historian of W&J football by writing the definitive book, “Battling The Indians, Panthers, and Nittany Lions,” which chronicles the first 100 years of Presidents football and describes in detail many of the people and stories W&J is so proud of today. Prior to publishing “Battling,” North wrote “She Produces All Americans: The Story of Football at W&J from 1890-1946.” The book describes the amazing saga of a small school that rose to the football heights to whip such grid stalwarts as Penn State, Pitt, West Virginia and Syracuse and become the only small college to play in the Rose Bowl. As a student, North was editor of the Red & Black newspaper. After graduation, he spent two years as the publicity director at W&J and worked hand-in-hand with legendary Pro Football Hall of Famer Pete Henry, then the director of athletics.

– SCOTT MCGUINNESS

From left, President Tori Haring-Smith, E. Lee North, Frank Pilato, Kaitlyn Orstein, James White, Carrie Banaszak Dunbar, Tom Benic and William Dukett (director of athletics) celebrate at the induction ceremony.

W&J alumni

W&J recognizes alumni award winners Betsey Hurwitz-Schwab (back), Hollis McLachlan (front), Richard Crosbie and Jim Gismondi, whose widow, Elizabeth Gismondi (right), accepted his award on his behalf.

W&J recognizes noteworthy alumni

Four distinguished alumni were presented with Washington & Jefferson College’s highest honors during the Homecoming & Reunion dinner in September. The award winners were recognized for their commitment to their professions, as well as to their community and alma mater.

– KERRI DIGIOVANNI LACOCK ’09

D

Betsey Hurwitz-Schwab ’74, has always had a passion for serving others. She also knows what it means to be a leader, having been one of the first women to enroll at W&J in 1970.

An active member of the College’s board of trustees since 2004, Hurwitz-Schwab has served as chair of the External Relations Committee and been a member of the committees on student life, audit & risk management, academic affairs and governance.

The retired vice president of human resources at a children’s apparel company that included the Little Me brand of children’s wear, Hurwitz-Schwab had responsibility for more than 600 employees in 35 states and four countries. She now devotes her time to the boards of a number of nonprofit organizations, using her business acumen to provide effective oversight.

In addition to her work on the board, Hurwitz-Schwab has served as a speaker at the W&J Women in Leadership Conference, hosted development events and served on the co-education celebration committee. She currently is serving as chair of the Commemorative Public Art Committee, a committee that led the effort for a public art project that will honor the myriad of changes that occurred during the 1970 academic year at W&J.

D i ST i NGU i SHED SERV i CE AWARD (POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED)

James F. Gismondi ’72

For his lifetime of service to W&J, James F. Gismondi ’72 was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Award, which his wife, Elizabeth, accepted on his behalf.

Gismondi earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from W&J, and his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1974. He held various management positions of increasing responsibility during his 25-year career at Ford Motor Company, including strategy & vehicle planning manager, education & training manager and retail financing strategy manager.

In 1993, Gismondi served as a member of the W&J Development Council, where he was appointed as council chairperson. He also served multiple terms on the board of trustees, and he acted as chair of his class reunion committee in celebration of his 40th reunion at Homecoming 2012.

Gismondi also was a lifetime member of the John McMillan Society.

“From the clubs in which he participated as a undergraduate to the numerous councils on which he served as an alumnus, Jim Gismondi was instrumental in the continuing success of Washington & Jefferson College,” said President Tori HaringSmith, Ph.D.

ALUMN i AWARD FOR ACH i EVEMENT

Richard B. Crosbie ’65

Former chief chemist of Nike, Richard Crosbie ’65, has paved the way for a generation striving to advance the environmental efforts of the highly competitive athletic shoe industry, which is built on style, performance and speed.

A leader in “green” shoe manufacturing, Crosbie is an internationally renowned expert chemist in the industry and is credited with reducing Nike’s volatile organic compound emissions by 90 percent.

During his time at Nike, Crosbie spearheaded a chemical engineering team charged with setting standards for the quality of design of the company’s athletic shoes. Features that are common in today’s shoes, such as multi-colored soles, were concepts that Crosbie helped to create. Under Crosbie’s guidance, the first shoe with a two-colored sole, the Nike Pegasus, was launched.

After graduating from W&J with a degree in philosophy, Crosbie served in the U.S. Army Special Forces as a first lieutenant, from 1965-68. He served in Vietnam from 1967-68 and was awarded the Purple Heart.

Crosbie is currently the president of Crosbie Consulting Co., serving clients such as Nike, Converse, Timberland, New Balance, Sole Technology and Under Armour, among others.

OUTSTAND i NG YOUNG ALUMN i AWARD

Hollis Zemany McLachlan ’06

Hollis Zemany McLachlan ’06 is making a name for herself as an award-winning actor, filmmaker and author. After graduation, McLachlan took a leap and moved from her native Canonsburg, Pa., home to Hollywood, Calif.

Since then, McLachlan has held several roles in television and film, including “Big Love” and “The Weathered Underground.” She also has co-founded Pie Head Productions, LLC and No Love Here Films, organizations that attempt to enlighten audiences about the work people with disabilities can accomplish. Pie Head casts a diverse group of actors, regardless of ability or disability.

McLachlan has won numerous awards for her films, including the prestigious Grand Jury Prize and best screenplay at the Hollywood & Vine Film Festival for “Pie Head,” a film she co-wrote, directed and starred in, and which was partially shot at W&J.

In addition, McLachlan won two awards in the Best Shorts Competition: the coveted Award of Excellence for her powerful leading performance in her short film “Broken Things” and the Award of Merit in the Women Filmmaker’s Category for overall production value. McLachlan is also a published author of an alloriginal content book titled, “101 Monologues for Kids!”

Homecoming & Reunion Weekend 2013

Bringing the red and black spirit with them, alumni converged on the Washington & Jefferson College campus in late September to create a memorable Homecoming & Reunion Weekend 2013.

President Tori Haring-Smith, Ph.D., kicked off the weekend by reminiscing with alumni at Friday evening’s Homecoming dinner. “As I talk with so many of you at events and one-on-one, I have been impressed by the many ways in which you report that your experience at W&J changed your life. You learned to think, to question, to write effectively and to speak clearly. You remember that day in Dr. Gargano’s class when his love of literature infected you. You remember Homer Porter and Dewey Dieter, who had faith in you and worked you harder than you had ever been worked before. You remember Hugh Taylor, who slapped the screen while projecting slides of famous art. Through Greek organizations and athletic teams, you discovered what it takes to be a leader, how to deal with adversity and what friendship truly means. As a result, you tell me, when you gather with your college friends, no matter how many years have passed, it is as if you had never been apart. And, for you, W&J truly is a family.”

Sunny skies and warm weather greeted alumni as they watched the Presidents’ 32-19 victory over Thiel College and the crowning of Kenny Roberts ’14 and Constanza Salinas ’14 as Homecoming King and Queen.

The weekend also featured traditional highlights like class reunions, legal and medical lectures, a tailgate lunch and the ever-popular Fifth Quarter event. New additions for alumni included a wine tasting and a German beer garden tasting.

b The Class of 1968 gathered for its 45th Washington & Jefferson College reunion. In honor of this milestone event, the class raised $427,199 in support of its alma mater. With an impressive participation of 32 percent of the class, the 1968 graduates claimed the coveted Class Cup, which was presented during the annual Homecoming dinner. c Matt Needles ’12 reunites with the W&J Jazz Ensemble to play at the football game. d Young alumni pose with W&J mascots, George and Tom. e Former football teammates and members of the Class of 1978, Gerry Cerrone, Jimmy Fernberger, Tony Casino, John Noble, Ted Cuneo and Vance Richmond, with their friend, Mark Guracke (kneeling). The friends return for every class reunion. f Classmates Penny Green ’93 and Trina Sellers Fullard ’93 celebrate their 20th reunion. g Young alumni attend the Tailgate Lunch. h Edward Jaeger ’53 shows off the official W&J dink he received as a freshman. i Millie and Marvin “Monk” Diehl ’54 cheer on the Presidents during their 32-19 win over Thiel College. j Becky Donaldson Shellem ’83 served as an honorary co-captain of the Presidents’ football team. An outstanding member of the Presidents’ swim team as a student, Shellem is a member of the W&J Athletic Hall of Fame, a three-time team MVP and six-time All-American. 1) Kenny Roberts ’14 and Constanza Salinas ’14 were named the 2013 Homecoming King and Queen. 1! Carrie Campbell ’12, Rachel Shaw ’13 and Alicia Stoyanoff ’12 show off balloon animals they had made at the Tailgate Lunch. 1@ Alumni Executive Council President Julie Grebenz Rothbardt ’93 and her family celebrate Homecoming.

THEN NOW

Wrestling runs in the family

In the late 1960s, brothers Tom ’67 and Pat Benic ’70 were forces on the Washington & Jefferson College wrestling team, claiming multiple Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) championship titles. Fast forward to the present wrestling team and a new set of brothers, Josh ’14 and Lukas Etzel ’17, are following in the Benic brothers’ footsteps and making their own mark on the W&J wrestling mat.

Recently inducted into the 15th W&J Athletic Hall of Fame class, Tom Benic finished his collegiate career with 50 victories in 60 matches, which remains the fourth-best career winning percentage in W&J wrestling history. Tom won the PAC championships in 1965, 1966 and 1967, and at the time of his graduation he was only the second President to claim three league titles.

Tom’s younger brother Pat holds the sixth-best career winning percentage in W&J wrestling history with 41 wins. Pat won the PAC championships in 1967, 1968 and 1969, and following his brother, Pat was the third President to claim three league titles. Only eight other wrestlers have accomplished this feat since the Benic brothers.

One of those wrestlers being Josh Etzel, who recently won his third PAC championship. He became W&J’s sixth All-American in wrestling after placing sixth in the 157-pound weight class at the NCAA championships. Hoping to follow in his brother’s footsteps, Lukas has the potential to reach the accomplishments of the others, having claimed 62 victories in high school.

Being teammates, in addition to brothers, has made both family relationships stronger.

“Being on the same team as your brother allows you someone to talk to, someone to encourage you and push you,” said Josh.

“You’re rooting for him, wanting him to do the best he can, just as you did for all your teammates,” said Pat of wrestling with his brother.

As much as they value their successes on the wrestling mat, the Benic and Etzel brothers agree that the best part of being a W&J President is the College’s commitment to academic excellence.

“The academics at W&J prepare you for any future,” said Josh.

“Academics always came first,” said Pat, noting that he missed matches to study for finals his freshman season.

“Being a student-athlete teaches you time management, and you have to develop the ability to work through problems, which is not that much different than when you are in the workplace,” added Tom.

After W&J, Tom attended graduate school at Northwestern University, and then was drafted for the Vietnam War. When it was discovered that he had a journalism background, Tom was made a reporter on the front line for the Pacific Stars & Stripes, the U.S. military’s independent newspaper. After the war, he took a job with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a writer, covering everything from high school sports to education topics.

A mathematics major, Pat spent two years traveling through Europe immediately after graduation with plans to attend law school. Instead, when he returned from Europe, Pat started working as a photojournalist for a local paper, which led to a long and successful career. He has photographed more than a dozen Olympic

Games, numerous athletic championships and various presidential events. During the past two presidential inaugurations, both Benic brothers were selected as photographers.

“It was a privilege to be there. Being there with my brother made it that much more special,” said Pat of sharing the experience with Tom.

Josh and Lukas are both members of the prehealth program and are majoring in biochemistry. Josh hopes to become a spinal orthopedic surgeon, and Lukas hopes to become an endocrinologist. Josh, a Gamma Sigma Epsilon and Gamma Sigma Alpha honor student, has completed his applications for medical school and is awaiting acceptance.

In addition to their impressive medical aspirations, the Etzels have big wrestling goals as well. Both Etzels hope to claim national championship titles by the end of their wrestling careers at W&J.

– KERRI DIGIOVANNI LACOCK ’09

Tom (left) and Pat Benic pictured as seniors at W&J.

Josh (left) and Lukas Etzel have high aspirations for their wrestling careers at W&J.

Tom (left) and Pat Benic celebrate Tom’s induction into the W&J Athletic Hall of Fame.

Alumnus directs gift to fellow history majors

Preserving the past is what William Davis ’81 is passionate about. An archivist at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Davis has always loved history. While he was growing up in Long Island, N.Y., history was his favorite subject, so when it came time for Davis to search for a college, he had a major in mind, but needed the right school. Davis’ adviser recommended Washington & Jefferson College on the strength of its history department. Davis visited the campus, liked it immediately and chose W&J as his academic home.

Davis’ passion for history grew even stronger throughout his years at W&J. During his senior year, the College’s bicentennial was celebrated. As part of the yearlong celebration, Davis wrote a series of articles for the Red & Black newspaper, called the “200th Perspective,” highlighting interesting pieces of W&J’s history such as the Spoon of Knowledge and the acquiring of a doorknob used in “Gone with the Wind.”

Upon graduating from W&J, Davis attended the University of Maryland for his master’s degree and interned at NARA. While interning, Davis

was offered and quickly accepted a job at NARA, beginning his 30-year career as an archivist. Davis plays an active part in preserving our nation’s history by processing historic records such as petitions and memorials, and helping people to access historic documents.

Davis credits W&J in preparing him for his role as an archivist. “W&J helped me become a more mature person,” Davis said. “My experience at W&J was enjoyable and very nurturing. It was very helpful in forming me as an adult.”

As Davis’ career in Washington, D.C., evolved, so did his relationship with the College. Recognizing the College has always been important in his life, Davis decided he would like to give back, creating The William Hal Davis Endowed Scholarship Fund in History. Distributed annually, the scholarship is awarded to a student majoring in history who has demonstrated financial need.

“This was my way of helping the younger generation and, of course, paying tribute to history, which has always been the big interest in my life,” said Davis. “Creating the scholarship has been such a gratifying experience.”

Recently, Davis visited campus to meet with members of the history department

“This was my way of helping the younger generation and, of course, paying tribute to history, which has always been the big interest in my life.”

– WILLIAM DAVIS ’81

create your legacy at W&J, visit www.washjeff.edu/support-wj

and his scholarship recipient, seeing firsthand the positive impact of his giving to the College.

Among those he met with was his former professor and adviser, Robert Dodge, Ph.D., to whom Davis is forever grateful. “He (Dr. Dodge) was a very good adviser, being very caring and taking the time to discuss my future,” said Davis. “It was so nice to see him again. He loves teaching, and you can tell. His character has always been very enthusiastic.”

For Davis, giving back to W&J is a way to show gratitude to professors like Dr. Dodge and to the College for helping him realize his dream job as a NARA archivist.

With his gift, Davis hopes to help history students follow their passion and realize their own dreams.

“The College has always been so good to me and this is my way to give back,” Davis said.

“It is wonderful to be able to give back and help students that have a pleasure in history, as I’ve always loved history.”

Alumni interested in learning more about creating a scholarship may contact Michele Abate Hufnagel ’93, W&J’s associate vice president for development and alumni relations.

– KERRI DIGIOVANNI LACOCK ’09

William Davis stands in his archivist robes in the Archives of the United States of America.

W&J class notes

1950

Warner Schlaupitz participated in the Senior Olympics and received four gold medals. He received two medals in weightlifting (for bench press and dead lift), one for the 100-meter dash and one for the one-mile cycling time trials. Schlaupitz anticipates three more medals in bowling. He resides in Dover, Del.

1956

Kenneth Bell, M.D., was honored as the Kaiser Permanente Lifetime Achievement Recipient at the 2013 Senior Care Hero Awards Gala in Orange County, Calif. The award is meant to celebrate the impact of “unsung heroes in senior care.” Bell has been a leader in health care for over 30 years and has served on the board of SeniorServ, the largest senior nutrition and supportive services nonprofit agency in Orange County.

1959

Ronald V. Pellegrini, M.D., was inducted into the Ringgold Rams Club Hall of Fame in Monongahela, Pa. Pellegrini is currently a cardiothoracic surgeon with the Heart and Vascular Center at Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville, Pa.

1960

Rev. Douglas Carroll is celebrating 50 years of being an Episcopal priest. Throughout his service he has worked in more than a half-dozen churches in southwestern New York, at one point traveling to each of them every Sunday much like a “circuit riding preacher.” Carroll also works full time for Steuben County’s child abuse services. He currently resides in Cohoctan, N.Y.

Stuart Paskow was awarded the Outstanding Small Business Launched by an Individual 50+ Award by The SCORE Foundation and FranNet. The award was given based on successful business growth and hard work done by Paskow as CEO of Mitch-Stuart Inc., a Florida-based company specializing in creating enticing travel programs and experiences to aid nonprofit associations in attracting new donors and reaching fundraising goals.

Robert H. Shoop Jr. has been named trustee emeritus of Washington & Jefferson College after 17 years serving as a board member. He is senior counsel at Clark Hill Thorp Reed’s Labor and Employment Practice Group in Pittsburgh.

1961

Samuel Spagnolo, M.D., currently serves as a pulmonary diseases and allergy medicine specialist at the George Washington University Medical Hospital in Washington, D.C. He began his medical career in Washington, Pa. While still a student at W&J, Spagnolo worked as a night and weekend laboratory technician at Washington Hospital. Spagnolo writes, “To both institutions I will be forever grateful for those opportunities. The knowledge, experience and wisdom gained during those years were immeasurable to me.”

1962

James Clarke, Ph.D., published “Backcountry: A Novel,” which is a thriller set in Montana’s Glacier National Park. Clarke is the author of five other nonfiction books on violent crime, including the critically acclaimed, “Last Rampage: The Escape of Gary Tison.” He resides in Tucson, Ariz.

James Clarke published

“Backcountry: A Novel,” which is a thriller set in Montana’s Glacier National Park.

1964

Thomas H. Bainbridge was named commissioner of the Ohio Industrial Commission by Governor John Kasich and will serve a six-year term. Bainbridge brings over four decades of workers’ compensation experience to his new role, having previously worked as an attorney and managing partner at Ward, Kaps, Bainbridge, Mauer & Melvin and later as a partner at the Bainbridge Firm. During his time as an attorney, Bainbridge worked to protect the rights of Ohio’s workers and employers through his involvement with numerous organizations, including serving as the commissioner for the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Oversight Commission. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the Columbus Bar Association, the Ohio Association for Justice and the American Association for Justice.

Charles Bens, Ph.D., was selected for the Vail Visiting Professorship of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. Bens is an author, speaker and wellness consultant specializing in the prevention

and reversal of chronic disease. The Vail Visiting Professorship is designed to keep cancer providers up-to-date on the latest scientific and medical advances. Bens resides in Sarasota, Fla.

1965

John Bean received the Distinguished Ambassador Award at the Penn State DuBois Alumni Society’s Awards Banquet. This award is given to those who have made significant contributions to Penn State’s campus and mission. Bean is currently the semi-retired chairman of Symmco, Inc., a leading manufacturer of powdered metal engineer parts. Previously, he served as president of Ideal Products, Inc. Bean is a past trustee of W&J, and he resides in Sarasota, Fla.

1966

Wilbert H. Milligan III, Ph.D., D.M.D., was honored with a Presidential Citation from the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). The award is given to those who display exceptional service to the association and dental education community. Milligan works as director of continuing education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and serves as counselor of the ADEA Section of Business and Financial Administration.

Jeffrey Siger released the fifth book in his Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series, “Mykonos After Midnight.” Described by Publishers Weekly as “a complicated international plot that threatens to disrupt the easygoing, anything goes life that Mykonos is famous for— keeps the reader engaged.” Siger is an international best-selling novelist based in New York, N.Y.

1967

Tom Martindale was named president of TRI Commercial/CORFAC International, a leading full-service commercial real estate services provider in Calif., where he has worked for more than 25 years. Previously, he served as senior vice president and Bay Area regional manager of the company. He serves on TRI’s board of directors and also on the executive committees of both TRI and CORFAC International.

Conservationist dedicated to protecting bat population

Andrew Walker ’76 recently joined Bat Conservation International (BCI), a nonprofit organization committed to protecting the world’s 1300plus species of bats and their habitats, as executive director.

A conservationist at heart, Walker joins BCI after 23 years with The Nature Conservancy, where he served as director of the Conservancy’s Trustee Leadership Program, among other roles, directing training and consulting programs for the Conservancy’s 1400 regional, state and country trustees and their executive directors to build more engaged and effective boards in the United States, Latin America and Asia. He was also one of four senior Nature Conservancy staff charged with transforming fundraising to meet the organization’s rapidly expanding global vision, helping raise Conservancy annual major gift revenues from $50 million to more than $400 million. This expertise will prove invaluable as he takes BCI’s work to a larger, global scale, implementing new conservation strategies, refining and strengthening its organizational capacity and raising the funds to fulfill its mission.

As Walker explains, “conservation ran in our blood,” with his parents being active bird watchers and his mother a Girl Scout for many years. Walker spent 12 years as a Boy Scout. His fascination with bats began at age five, when his grandparents rented a house in Chautauqua, N.Y., for the summer and the night air was full of bats.

Walker explained the critical role bats play in our everyday lives and the benefits they bring to their ecosystems. “In the United States alone, insect-eating bats have been estimated to save farmers an average of $23 billion per year in lower pesticide use and improved crop yields. But bats also play critical roles as pollinators (we would not have tequila without them) and fruit eaters, who pass seeds through their guts and distribute

Frederick Nesta, Ph.D., is now senior lecturer for the Department of Information Studies at the University College London Qatar in Doha, Qatar. He is also program director for the Master of Arts in library and information studies and is establishing a new program to train regional librarians.

1968

Charles “Tuck” Nason was elected chairman of Washington Real Estate Investment Trust, a New York Stock Exchange publicly traded real estate investment trust. Nason previously worked at the Arcadia Group of Washington, D.C., where he spent 26 years, including serving as chairman and CEO from 1988-2003. Nason has been a trustee of W&J for 24 years, including time spent as chairman of the board. He resides in Fort Myers, Fla.

Gregory Zeigler released his second book, “The Straw That Broke,” an environmental thriller intended as a modern allegory to shed light on the desperate clashes over precious water. Zeigler is a lifelong educator, writer, speaker and environmentalist. His first book was a travel memoir titled “Travels with Max: In Search of Steinbeck’s America Fifty Years Later.”

them across tropical landscapes as they fly, making bats one of the principal drivers of rainforest diversity and regeneration.” Walker feels privileged to do this necessary work with bats, which make up nearly onefourth of all mammal species, viewing his part in conservation as an important part of the larger whole. “One reason we’re discovering 20 new species of bats every year is that remote ecosystems are no longer remote or intact. It’s easy to despair. Buddhists sometimes liken seemingly insurmountable tasks to putting out forest fires ‘by carrying snow in a teaspoon.’ But that’s not meant as pessimism, it simply means we do what we can with the resources at hand. I think everyone involved in social change has to find this point of equanimity. We must value the commitment and attempt to ‘do good’ as much as we value the outcomes of our actions. If enough of us have teaspoons, there is hope in the world. So I remain an optimist.”

1973

W&J also played a role in preparing Walker for his future career. “The skills I learned at W&J in critical, comparative thinking and writing I use every day. It opened up so many worlds of knowledge and enjoyment for me. It’s made life so much more interesting,” said Walker.

Mark Katlic, M.D., chief of surgery at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, was named a 2013 Innovator of the Year by The Daily Record for his pioneering work as the director of the revolutionary Sinai Center for Geriatric Surgery. The center, the first of its kind in the U.S., opened in 2012 and aims to provide a new level of specialized surgical and pre- and postoperative care for elderly patients. It is aimed at improving their treatment through research and education.

Mark Katlic, chief of surgery at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, was named a 2013 Innovator of the Year.

The Rev. Peter M. Suwak was ordained a minister in the Office of Word and Sacrament at Resurrection Lutheran Church. Suwak will serve the Accident Lutheran Parish, including Grace Lutheran Church in Friendville, Md., and St. Paul and St. John Lutheran Churches in Accident, Md. Previously, Suwak was a civil rights trial attorney for over 30 years, most recently practicing in Washington, Pa.

1974

Bernard Bezilla, Ph.D., was featured in Rubber & Plastics News. Bezilla serves as technical director at Struktol Company of America in Stow, Ohio, and has 32 years of technical experience in the rubber industry. Previously, he was employed by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Bezilla worked with compounders to develop new formulations and implemented mixing/processing schemes for new product introductions.

William Jersey was named manager of the Hershey branch of Members 1st Federal Credit Union in Derry Township, Pa. Previously, he served as the general manager of Ritter Food Service.

Andrew Walker joined Bat Conservation International as executive director.

Real estate entrepreneur honored for leadership, prowess

David A. Ross ’78, president and co-founder of Atlantic Realty Companies, has been honored as an Entrepreneur of the Year by Washington & Jefferson College at the 27th annual Entrepreneurial Leadership Dinner.

An expert in acquisitions, land use, development and leasing, Ross has been responsible for the development of approximately ten million square feet of commercial, industrial and retail property throughout the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Md., metropolitan areas.

In addition to his founding role in Atlantic Realty, Ross maintains a very active presence in the community and local organizations. He currently serves on the board of directors of Easter Seals Greater Baltimore-Washington Region and is the founding co-chair of the Easter Seals Bright Stars and VIP Program. Ross was honored with The Clarence Donohoe Award, an award presented to an Easter Seals board member who exemplifies excellence in leadership and volunteerism. Ross, who also serves on the W&J board of trustees and chairs the Property, Building and Grounds Committee, serves as chairman of the board of directors for the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce and the

Craig E. Simpson received the Allegheny County Bar Association’s 2013 Philip Werner Amram Award in recognition of his professional excellence and commitment to the ideals of the Allegheny County Bar Association and community. Simpson’s practice is focused in the area of attorney and judicial ethics and disciplinary law. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Duquesne University School of Law where he taught professional responsibility.

1975

David W. Beyer, M.D., is the chief of anesthesiology and medical director of Laurel Surgical Center in Greensburg, Pa.

Patricia Brletic, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at W&J, was featured in the Observer Reporter for teaching a craft-brewing course. Brletic has been teaching this course for the past 10 years. Craft and microbrewing has become a multi-billion dollar industry, and the course introduces fundamental concepts of chemistry and biochemistry as they apply to brewing.

Jesse Penico, M.D., joined the Memorial Physician Clinics in Gulfport, Miss., in the practice of infectious diseases. Penico is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases.

1979

Marc Newman published his first novel “The Last Matador.” In addition to writing, Newman teaches American literature part time. Previously, he spent 27 years working on Wall Street, most recently for a major global investment bank as a senior institutional trader. He currently resides in Towaco, N.J.

1980

Steering Committee for Reston Interfaith. He also is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Northern Virginia chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks and the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce.

Dedicated to his local community, Ross was selected as Reston’s Citizen of the Year by the Times Community Newspapers. He has served on the board of directors of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, Celebrate Fairfax, the Child Development Center of Northern Virginia, the Reston Teen Center, the Reston Community Center, the Committee for Dulles, the Fairfax County Health Care Advisory Board, Fairfax County Long Term Care Council and the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance.

President Tori Haring-Smith congratulates David Ross for being named W&J’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

Harry Miller was promoted to major general, a two-star position, at a ceremony in Fort Drum, N.Y. He currently serves as commander of the Troy-based 42nd Infantry Division and is employed as executive director of Veteran Services for Easter Seals New Hampshire/New England. A two-tour veteran of the War in Iraq, Miller previously served as rear detachment commander of the 10th Mountain Division while the division headquarters was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010-2011.

Lee Spangler, Ph.D., associate professor at Montana State University and director of the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership, is engaged in a regional experiment to see if carbon dioxide can be safely

and permanently stored underground. In geological formations of ancient basalt half a mile deep, the partnership injects the greenhouse gas and carefully monitors the results. The partnership’s mission is to find safe and affordable ways to permanently store the greenhouse gas emissions of the U.S.

1981

Eric Lundgren, M.D., and Lauren PrattLundgren ’82, write “Our oldest daughter Jessica is in her second year of her internal medicine residency at UVA Medical Center, and our daughter Megan is in her last year at Jefferson Medical College preparing for general surgery residency interviews. Our son Eric is in his first year at Capital University Law School.”

A. Michael Pratt was inducted into Uniontown Area High School’s Hall of Fame. He currently serves as vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and is a partner at the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP. He is a member of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and American bar associations and president of the Barristers Association of Philadelphia.

1982

The Honorable Kevin A. Ohlson was invested as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. He currently resides in Virginia.

1987

Debbie Lestitian has been named the chief administration officer in the Cabinet of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. She is an attorney, accountant and an assistant treasurer at Carnegie Mellon University. She currently resides in Brookline, Pa.

Debbie Lestitian is the chief administration officer in the Cabinet of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.

1989

Col. Timothy Starostanko assumed command of the 418th Contracting Support Brigade. The 418th will be composed of more than 50 soldiers assigned to the 901st Contingency Battalion, in addition to subordinate contingency contracting teams and a senior contingency contracting team. These teams are called upon to perform contracting in a

contingency environment including military and stability operations as well as natural disasters and humanitarian events. Starostanko entered the Army in 1989 as an infantry officer. He became a military intelligence officer in 1994 and served in numerous intelligence positions before joining the Army Acquisition Corps in 1996.

1990

Robert G. Perry has joined the board of directors of the Northeast Ohio Medical University Foundation. He currently serves as vice president of the Welty Building Company, Ltd. Previously, Perry served as manager of suite operations for the Cleveland Browns, president and CEO at Legacy Healthcare Solutions and senior therapeutic director for Pfizer. He resides in Youngstown, Ohio.

Elizabeth Twyman Phillips published an e-book titled “Homeschooling in Pennsylvania: How to Comply With the Law in 8 Easy Steps.” Phillips used her experience as a lawyer to create this guide to help direct Pennsylvania parents through the legal filing requirements of homeschooling. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, Mark, and their four children.

Pellegrini named interim head of Homicide Unit in Allegheny County

Lisa Pellegrini ’85, an assistant Allegheny County district attorney, was appointed as the interim head of the Homicide Unit of the Allegheny County District Attorney Office. Pellegrini is the first woman to hold this position, in which she is responsible for approving arrest and search warrants for homicides, and also for assigning and trying homicide cases.

Pellegrini made the decision to go to law school with the intent to become a prosecutor after following the 1989 trial of bodybuilder Robert Golub and realizing being a prosecutor was what she wanted to do.

After graduating from Touro College Law Center in N.Y., Pellegrini worked for the Suffolk County, N.Y., district attorney’s office for two years before returning to Pittsburgh.

Her father, Ronald Pellegrini ’59, M.D., told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “Somewhere along the line, she developed this attitude that societal wrongs should not go without punishment. That’s a passion of hers.”

“Somewhere along the line, she developed this attitude that societal wrongs should not go without punishment. That’s a passion of hers.”

– RONALD PELLEGRINI ’59

1992

Darin P. Trelka, M.D., Ph.D., deputy chief medical examiner with the Office of Broward County Medical Examiner and Trauma Services, was recognized as Medical Examiner Donation Champion of the Year by the Assisting Life Alliance and the University of Miami Teaching Bank. This award, given at the Life Alliance’s Organ Recovery Agency’s Annual Luminaire Gala, is given to someone who goes above and beyond in support of organ, eye and tissue donation and transplant.

Darin P. Trelka was recognized as Medical Examiner Donation Champion of the Year by the Assisting Life Alliance and the University of Miami Teaching Bank. ’92

1993

Kevin Deitrick, Ed.D., has become the director of athletics and activities at North Hills School

Lisa Pellegrini is an assistant district attorney for Allegheny County.

Pellegrini’s biggest, and most publicized, case to date was in June 2011, when a jury found Richard Poplawski guilty of gunning down three Pittsburgh police officers at his home. Pellegrini’s work on this case earned her the Special Award for Exemplary Homicide Prosecution from Amen Corner at the organization’s 11th annual Sen. John Heinz Law Enforcement Awards Luncheon.

In 2000, she was nominated prosecutor of the year by the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators for convictions in an international check fraud scheme.

Pellegrini told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “This is my dream job.”

Original Story by Adam Brandolph, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Principal recognized as state’s best

Michael Ghilani ’94, Ph.D., principal at Upper St. Clair (USC) High School since 2006, has been named High School Principal of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary & Secondary School Principals.

Under Ghilani’s leadership, the school has started an Asian studies exchange program with schools in Thailand and China. Each year, 50 Thai students come to Upper St. Clair High School and spend five weeks, and USC students spend three weeks in Bangkok, living with sponsor families. Teachers from China and USC also trade places for a few weeks to experience different classroom settings.

Ghilani also established the Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) program and STEM center. This past year, 80 students participated from area schools.

Ghilani joined the Upper St. Clair School District in 2001 as the assistant principal/dean of students at Upper St. Clair High School. He has spent the past 17 years in education, beginning his career as a school counselor in the Plum School District in 1996.

District. Deitrick also teaches history courses as an adjunct professor at Duquesne University. Previously, he worked at Duquesne University as assistant director for student services in the athletic department where he was responsible for overseeing various Division I teams. Before his collegiate experience, Deitrick was a building administrator in the North Allegheny School District, and he served as an assistant principal, assistant athletic director and high school history teacher in the Upper St. Clair School District.

Mike Mikus was named campaign manager of Katie McGinty’s gubernatorial campaign. Mikus has 20 years of political experience and has managed several important campaigns. He was named one of Pennsylvania’s top political operatives in 2012 by PoliticsPA.

1995

Gina Gurgiolo joined Plan Sponsor Advisors (PSA), a Chicago-based retirement plan and investment consulting firm, as a senior investment consultant. Before joining PSA, she held a number of consulting and product management roles and has worked in compliance, design, administration, relationship management and recordkeeping for both corporate and nonprofit clients.

Jennifer Swanton was promoted to assistant finance officer of Worcester County, Md. In 2005, she joined the Worcester County government as the enterprise fund controller and was part of the financial team that earned the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for four consecutive years. Previously, Swanton taught at Worcester Preparatory School and worked as a public accountant with Pigg, Krahl & Stern.

of performance during his three-year tenure at PNC. He currently serves as the senior relationship manager in the Asset Management Group.

Frank Kosir has been named to the Pennsylvania Rising Stars list of the top up-and-coming attorneys for 2013. The Rising Stars list is published by Super Lawyers, and is created by fellow lawyers’ nominations for the best attorneys who are age 40 or under, or who have been practicing for less than 10 years. Kosir is a member of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott’s Real Estate and Lending Group, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group, Corporate and Business Law Group and Construction Law Group. He has significant experience in all areas of real property law.

1997

Drew Chelosky has joined the staff of West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va., as assistant dean for development, overseeing donor relations for the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. Previously, Chelosky worked as the director of development for the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Robert V. Serych, O.D., and his wife, Melissa, both optometrists, own and operate a private practice in Center Twp., Pa., where they reside with their two children, Luke and Liliana.

1998

Clancy Atkinson was awarded the PNC Performance Award, the highest honor given to employees of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Selected from among 55,000 employees, Atkinson was chosen based on his pattern of significant achievements and levels

Christopher S. Musuneggi was named a recipient of the 2013 Five Star Wealth Manager Award, given by Five Star Professionals in conjunction with Pittsburgh Magazine. This list, which honors the top seven percent of the nation’s wealth managers, is based on an independent survey conducted by Five Star Professionals. Musuneggi was featured in the July issue of Pittsburgh Magazine for this honor. Currently, he is the vice president of business development of the Musuneggi Financial Group.

1999

Robert Filander was named the head men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. Previously, Filander served as an assistant coach at W&J from 1999-2007. He also served as the head men’s and women’s water polo coach at W&J from 2003-2007 and was an adjunct professor of physical education.

2000

Michael E. Dukes has joined the Chicago office of Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP as an associate attorney. Dukes will focus his practice in the area of intellectual property portfolio development and management, including patent preparation and prosecution, licensing and strategic counseling. Owen George accepted the position of head coach of the Asheboro High School (AHS) varsity football team in Asheboro, N.C. George has been a teacher and assistant coach at AHS for 13 years. During his time with the team, he has worked with nearly all positions on the field and served as both offensive and defensive coordinator.

Michael Ghilani was named High School Principal of the Year.

Cory Goehring, Ph.D., joined the staff at Waynesburg University as an assistant professor of English. He will teach College Composition I and II. Goehring earned his doctorate in English from the University of Pittsburgh.

2002

Adam R. Swinchock accepted the position of director of instructional technology for the Jefferson-Morgan School District. Previously, Swinchock has served as the technology coordinator for the Jefferson-Morgan School District and as technology coordinator for Greene County Career & Technology Center and the Greene County Industrial Development Authority.

2003

Tony Thompson has been named to the Pennsylvania Rising Stars list of the top up-and-coming attorneys for 2013. The Rising Stars list is published by Super Lawyers, and is created by fellow lawyers’ nominations for the best attorneys who are age 40 or under, or who have been practicing for less than 10 years. Thompson is a member of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Employment Law & Employee Benefits and Intellectual Property Groups of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott. He counsels clients on

a variety of matters including contract negotiations, trade secrets, labor-management relations, complex commercial litigation and commercial landlord and tenant disputes.

2004

Andy Herrick joined the Charleston, W.Va., office of Bailey & Wyant, PLLC, as a new associate. In May 2013, Herrick received his law degree from West Virginia University College of Law. Herrick will focus his practice in general civil litigation.

Shannon A. Morrissey received her Master of Science in community leadership from Duquesne University. The commencement ceremony was held at the A.J. Palumbo Center on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013.

Matthew Pihlblad, M.D., has joined the Ross Eye Institute in New York as an ophthalmologist with a subspecialty in pediatric ophthalmology. Pihlblad recently completed a fellowship at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.

2005

Todd M. Vaccaro is the director of athletics for Abington School District in Abington, Pa.

2006

Stacy Derrow Herrick received her master’s degree in information design and technology from the State University of New York Institute of Technology in Utica, N.Y. She has accepted a position at West Virginia State University’s Gus R. Douglass Land-Grant Institute as a communications specialist. She handles graphic design, social media management, website content management, marketing and promotion of the Institute’s programs and initiatives.

Polish food-maker opens first pierogi truck in Pittsburgh

Lynne M. Szarnicki ’04 was featured in Pittsburgh Magazine for her Polishstyle pierogies and PGH Pierogi Truck—the first and only pierogi truck in Pittsburgh.

Immediately after graduating from W&J, Szarnicki began her pierogi business. “I really wanted to start something of my own and I saw there was an opportunity with ethnic food in Pittsburgh,” said Szarnicki. “Starting out on your own is exciting and I always thought if I failed that I could just get a job. At least I could say that I tried or that I lived my self-employment dream for a while. Luckily I made it and I have been doing this for almost 10 years now.”

In 2004, Szarnicki established PolishPierogi.com, which offers pierogies, stuffed cabbage, haluski, kielbasa and many other Polish-American foods. The business started out catering and selling at local retailers and farmer’s markets, but Szarnicki began to think about easier solutions to selling her products.

After many years setting up and tearing down at farmer’s markets, Szarnicki started to think a truck or trailer would be helpful. She explains that this is, coincidentally, when LA food trucks became popular and the option seemed more feasible. At the same time, she had just married David Rau, an excellent craftsman. Rau constructed the food truck in their backyard out of mostly recycled materials, and the PGH Pierogi Truck was born.

Since 2012, Szarnicki has been able to serve potato and cheese pierogi, stuffed cabbage and haluski throughout Pittsburgh from the PGH Pierogi Truck.

To find the truck and Szarnicki’s delicious cuisine, visit the website: PolishPierogi.com. You can also follow the truck directly on Facebook and Twitter: facebook.com/PGHPierogiTruck and @PGHPierogiTruck.

“I really wanted to start something of my own and I saw there was an opportunity with ethnic food in Pittsburgh.”

– LYNNE SZARNICKI ’04

Lynne Szarnicki was featured in Pittsburgh Magazine for her polish pierogies and new food truck.

Geoffrey Royer was promoted to manager of Royer’s Flowers & Gifts Lancaster West store in Lancaster, Pa. Royer joined the company in 2002 and had been manager of Royer’s Hershey store.

Ashley Deihl Stremme won the NASCAR Better Half Dash at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. This competition, in its third year, is a chance for wives and girlfriends of NASCAR competitors to have their turn on the track and raise money for charity.

2007

Kevin Leavor, Ph.D., joined NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Leavor graduated with a doctorate in atmospheric science from Hampton University in May of 2013.

2008

Erin Faulk has accepted the position of content manager at W&J. She will oversee all content for the College website and main social media pages. Previously, she worked as local editor of Patch.com.

Charvonne Holliday, coordinator of international projects at Windber Research Institute, Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, will be published in a book titled “A Public Health Approach to Bullying Prevention.” The book, published by the American Public Health Association, is written as a resource for educators, pediatricians, legislators and community members. Holliday is currently completing her doctorate in public health at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. She was one of 33 graduate students named to the Jonas Salk Fellowship project, which helps bring health care reform to those in need. Holliday was also selected by the Johnstown branch of the NAACP to speak at the annual Freedom Fund Banquet this past October.

Matt Miller, M.D., graduated from West Virginia University School of Medicine. He will be completing his residency at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., specializing in radiology.

2009

Ryan G. Borchik was sworn into office as a prosecutor for Chester County, Pa. Borchik was hired as an assistant district attorney. Previously, he served as an intern in the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore.

Matthew Chapman is attending Hult International Business School for a one year MBA program that will take him to Shanghai, China; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. He is currently an intern with GE Healthcare in marketing/sales roles.

2010

Shunika S. Hamilton graduated from Navy Officer Candidate School and received a commission as an ensign in the U.S. Navy while assigned at Officer Training Command, Newport, R.I.

Kennan Killeen joined the staff at Butler Senior High School as an English teacher.

Craig E. Rumbaugh attended Ross University School of Medicine, located in Dominica, West Indies. This world-renowned medical program allowed him to further develop the French and Spanish skills he gained at W&J, while completing his basic science background in medicine. Rumbaugh is currently completing clinical rotations in Miami, Fla.

Matthew M. Seefeld currently lives in the Washington D.C. area and works for the United States government.

Polly Ziegler has accepted a position as associate predictive modeler for Allstate Insurance in the Menlo Park, Calif., office. She also serves as the girls water polo coach at Palo Alto High School.

2012

Donnelle S. Jageman has a graduate internship in strategic services at Mount Nittany Health based in State College, Pa.

Alyssa Moses accepted the position of cadet adviser at Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Va.

Ryan G. Verlihay joined the staff at W&J as a first-year baseball assistant. Previously, he served as the head junior varsity coach and assistant varsity coach at Blackhawk High School, creating practice plans and instructing student-athletes on fundamentals. Throughout the years, Verlihay has worked with youth baseball and softball leagues in his hometown of Beaver Falls, Pa., as a head coach and instructor. Verlihay was a member of the Presidents baseball team during his four years at W&J.

2013

Andrew Booth joined the W&J football program as a first-year football assistant. He is a former member of the team for four seasons, claiming a conference title in his final season and an Eastern College Athletic Conference Southwest Bowl championship his junior year.

Zachary DeCicco was hired as coordinator of McKechnie Field operations, the spring training ground of the Pittsburgh Pirates, located in Bradenton, Fla. DeCicco was a Florida operations intern for the team during the 2013 season and will assist the manager of the field with all facets of operations.

Nathan Michaux received the 2013 Gilder Lehrman History Scholar Award. This award is granted to 15 outstanding graduating college seniors across the nation, who have demonstrated academic or extracurricular excellence in American history or American studies. Recipients spend a week in New York attending meetings with leading American historians and taking the behind-the-scenes tours of archives. Michaux was also given the David R. Scarborough/Rotary Academic Achievement Award by the Rotary Club of Washington. Michaux is currently attending the College of William & Mary Law School.

Nathan Michaux received the 2013 Gilder Lehrman History Scholar Award and the David R. Scarborough/Rotary Academic Achievement Award.

Hannah Shaner accepted the position of receptionist and marketing/human resources coordinator at Burns & Scalo Roofing, Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pa. Shaner previously worked as an intern in the marketing department of Burns & Scalo.

WEDDINGS

2001

Lindsey Detrick and Brandon Novogradac were married April 14, 2013, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Scenery Hill, Pa. Joining them in celebration were Amanda Manning Buttermore and April Hamilton Waltz ’02.

2007

Eric Taslov and Carley Riggin ’09 were married Sept. 14, 2013, at Holy Trinity Church in Robinson Township, Pa. The wedding party included Taylor Frankovitch, Kerri DiGiovanni Lacock ’09, Frank Rocchio, Natalie Schuler Rocchio ’08 and Michael Sklarsky ’06 More than 30 W&J alumni attended the wedding. The couple resides in Robinson Township.

2008

Christina DiCarlo, M.D., and Mathew Canestraro were married May 4, 2013, at St. Peter Catholic Church in Steubenville, Ohio. A reception followed at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, W.Va. Alexandra Castro, M.D., was among the bridesmaids in the wedding party. DiCarlo received her medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and will begin her pathology residency at Allegheny General Hospital. Canestraro is employed as a registered nurse at Allegheny General Hospital. The couple resides in Coraopolis, Pa.

Liza Donagher and Matt Miller, M.D., were married July 14, 2012, at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh. A reception followed at The Lexus Club at PNC Park. The late Andrew Guzzi ’09 was a groomsman. Other alumni in attendance included Alex Katich and Luke Anderson. Matt is a resident physician at Ruby Memorial Hospital, and Liza is an elementary school teacher. The couple resides in Morgantown, W.Va.

Lauren Parcells and Jason Pierce were married June 30, 2012, at Memorial Park Presbyterian Church in Allison Park, Pa. A reception was held at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association. W&J alumni in the bridal party included Nicole Pierce Briggs ’03, Ashley Holman, Paul Kramer and Tyler Wilson ’09. Parcells is a special education teacher at The Academy Charter School, and Pierce is a certified public accountant at Schneider Downs. The couple resides in Gibsonia, Pa.

Kristen Marie Schuh and Amit Tyagi were married June 8, 2013, on the rooftop of the Hilton Bentley Hotel in South Beach, Miami, Fla., with a reception following. Angela Watson served as maid of honor. The wedding was featured on the destination wedding blog, “Borrowed and Blue.” Schuh currently works in political communications in Washington, D.C., and Tyagi is a defense contractor in McLean, Va.

Erin Sevcik and Christopher Knizner were married Aug. 3, 2013, at Ave Maria Parish in Bentleyville, Pa. A reception was held in the Glessner Ballroom of Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, W.Va. Sevcik is a fourth-year dental student at Ohio State University College of Dentistry. Knizner works as a computer forensic specialist for the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The couple resides in Columbus, Ohio.

2009

Colleen Torsney and Zachary Hostetler were married Aug. 18, 2012, at Trinity United Methodist Church, in Youngstown, Ohio. A reception followed at Drake’s Landing in Canfield, Ohio. Alumni in the wedding party included Katie Donnelly, Melanie Lock and Tyler Wilson. The couple resides in Oakdale, Pa.

2011

Jenna Marie King and Nathan Paul Tressler were married Aug. 10, 2013, at Grace United Methodist Church in Somerset, Pa. The reception was held at the Paul Bunyon Tree Service Shop. The newlyweds will live in Rockwood, Pa.

2012

Cory Thoma and Anna Urchek were married June 8, 2013, at Saint Stephens Orthodox Church in Latrobe, Pa. Many faculty and alumni attended the wedding, including Michael Anderson ’04, Kelly Dollins ’04, John Mathews ’11 and Dr. Amanda Holland-Minkley. Thoma is pursuing his doctorate in computer science at the University of Pittsburgh, and Urchek is an accountant at Houston & Associates, LLC. The couple resides in Washington, Pa.

NEW ADDITIONS

1996

Jennifer Shugars Derk and her husband, Jason, announce the birth of their daughter, Rebecca Elizabeth, on Oct. 22, 2013. Rebecca joins big brother William.

2000

2002

Michelle Martelli Ocheltree and Leif Ocheltree ’01, welcome their first child, Claire Margaret, born Sept. 20, 2013.

Brian Johnson and his wife, Michelle Mantine ’03, announce the birth of their first child, Madeline Ann, on Oct. 6, 2013.

2006

Katie Groznik Goehring and her husband, Simon, announce the birth of their daughter, Anna Louise, on Sept. 10, 2012.

2007

Richard J. Soeder and his wife, Laura, welcome a son, Richard Logan, born Feb. 7, 2013.

Christine Briski Chilcott and her husband, Ross, welcome their second son, Roland James, born Nov. 2, 2012.

Nadia Mills and Andrew Grover announce the birth of their daughter, Leila Isabelle, born Dec. 25, 2011.

Mary Walton Rocco and her husband, Derek, announce the birth of their son, Samuel Tote, born Aug. 16, 2013.

2008

Marie Majkut Laury and her husband, Marc, welcome their first child, Lillian Lynn, born May 30, 2013.

Julianne Bittner Moore and her husband, Brant, announce the birth of their first son, Archer Matthew, on Feb. 19, 2013.

IN MEMORIAM

Samuel Newton Kelso Jr. ’37, M.D., Lancaster, N.Y., died July 15, 2009, at age 93.

Lt. Col. Samuel M. Elias ’40, Hollywood, Fla., died July 2, 2013, at age 95. Mr. Elias served in the U.S. Army Air Corps following his graduation from W&J. He was assigned to the 20th bombing wing, in the Marianna Islands, during World War II, which dropped the atomic bomb. Mr. Elias continued his military career, playing on basketball and softball teams for the U.S. Air Force. He received many awards for managing officer’s clubs, and retired as a lieutenant colonel. Mr. Elias sold real estate in Hollywood, Fla., and was granted lifetime membership into the South Broward Board of Realtors.

Julius Little ’41, Canonsburg, Pa., died July 11, 2013, at age 95. Mr. Little worked in management at Koppers Company, Inc. for 36 years. He was a 32nd degree Mason, and he was a member of Peters Creek Church, Sunnybrook Trout Club and the National Rifle Association.

Somers H. Smith Jr. ’41, Hickory, N.C., died July 29, 2011, at age 92. Mr. Smith worked as a chemist in the Naval Research Lab, Washington, D.C., before becoming a farmer in Siler City, N.C.

Warren S. Sellers ’42, Worcester, Pa., died Oct. 5, 2013, at age 92. Mr. Sellers worked as an executive director at the YMCA before becoming assistant minister, and later, minister of visitation at the Methodist churches in Downingtown and Phoenixville, Pa. In addition to these positions, he was a member of the Downingtown Rotary Club, as well as a Mason. A veteran of World War II, Mr. Sellers served as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army and Air Force in the European Theater from 1942-1945.

Dale B. Johnson ’43, D.D.S., Tucson, Ariz., died Aug. 21, 2013, at age 91. During his career, Dr. Johnson traveled to Germany, Korea and around the United States as a dentist for the U.S. Army. His most recent post was commander of the Dental Company at Fort Belvoir, comprised of four clinics

and 150 personnel. Dr. Johnson received the Legion of Merit for his service and retired as a colonel.

Joseph M. Kuchta ’44, Pleasant Hills, Pa., died July 1, 2013, at age 90. Mr. Kuchta worked as a research chemist at the U.S. Bureau of Mines specializing in fires and explosions. Following his retirement, he continued to work for the Mine Safety Administration in Sewickley as a consultant and expert witness for the mining and aeronautical industries. Mr. Kuchta served as part of the Bloody 100th Division of the U.S. Air Force as a B17 navigator during World War II.

John Ewing Noll ’44, Pahoa, Hawaii, died Jan. 7, 2013, at age 90. Before his retirement, Mr. Noll worked as a visual merchandising manager for Sears. He was also a veteran of World War II and the Korean War.

The Rev. H. Richard Siciliano ’44, Houston, Texas, died Sept. 1, 2013, at age 91. Rev. Siciliano began his ministry as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Summit Hill, Pa., and then became pastor of the Church of the Open Door in Brooklyn. From 1969-1985 he served as executive presbyter of the Presbytery of New Covenant, based in Houston, and he helped to found many church-related service programs during that time. He played an integral role in reuniting the northern and southern branches of Presbyterianism, which separated during the Civil War. Rev. Siciliano also served as president of the Texas Conference of Churches and as a founder of the Metropolitan Organization and the ChristianJewish Committee on Israel.

The Rev. H. Richard Siciliano helped reunite the northern and southern sects of Presbyterianism for the first time since the Civil War.

George F. Tibbens ’44, M.D., Washington, Pa., died Sept. 16, 2013, at age 92. Dr. Tibbens received his medical degree in ophthalmology from the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1949. After a two-year residency, Dr. Tibbens joined the U.S. Air Force in the Korean War. He was stationed in Japan for a year and then spent a year at Clark Air Force Base Hospital in the Philippines, later being honorably discharged with the rank of captain. Dr. Tibbens served on the staff of Washington Hospital. He was a member of the Washington County Medical Society and the American Medical Association. The Rev. Thomas M. Cummins Jr. ’45, Mt. Lebanon, Pa., died Sept. 17, 2013, at age 90. Rev. Cummins served as associate pastor at Dormont Presbyterian Church, but worked primarily in state hospitals, where he spent decades ministering to residents of Woodville State Hospital, as well as Dixmont, Marcy and Mayview institutions. Rev.

Cummins was the co-founder and first president of the Scott Conservancy, an organization devoted to preserving wildlife and wetlands in the Scott area. He received a Purple Heart for his service during World War II.

The Rev. Thomas M. Cummins Jr. received a Purple Heart for his service during World War II.

Arthur W. Kratzert ’46, Southington, Conn., died March 31, 2006, at age 80. Mr. Kratzert founded Kratzert, Jones & Associates, a full-service civil engineering firm. He also had a long history of service to the Masonic fraternity, receiving the 50 year award in 1998. Mr. Kratzert served with the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Peter P. Radkowski ’46, Portland, Maine, died Nov. 2, 2010, at age 85.

Gordon A. Wilson Jr. ’46, Cary, N.C., died Aug. 14, 2013, at age 89. Mr. Wilson worked as a mechanical engineer for McGraw-Edison/ Cooper Power Systems and held nine U.S. patents in switch gear technology. Mr. Wilson enjoyed many leadership positions as an active member of the Church of the Covenant. An Eagle Scout and Silver Beaver Award recipient, Mr. Wilson participated in scouting throughout his life.

Frank V. Petrone ’47, Cranberry, Pa., died Sept. 19, 2013, at age 90. Mr. Petrone worked as a brick salesman for various companies. A former township supervisor and chairman of the Cranberry planning commission, Mr. Petrone led a 10-year effort to get Cranberry its own post office and ZIP code. He also served as chairman of the former Producers Council of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Builder’s Exchange. In 2012, he was named Cranberry Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year. Mr. Petrone served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Frank V. Petrone was named Cranberry Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year in 2012.

Elmer P. Hulick ’49, Beaver, Pa., died Aug. 17, 2013, at age 88. Mr. Hulick was a lifelong teacher of English and history, first for Midland and then at Beaver junior and senior high schools. As part of his impressive work ethic, he held numerous supplemental jobs, including administrator of the night school program at Penn State University at Beaver, county auditor and security guard at Crucible Steel, among others. He was a World War II veteran, having served with the U.S. Navy as a radioman third class on the USS Rocky Mount in the South Pacific.

Leonard Wurzel (1918-2013)

Visionary mayor and former businessman

Beloved former mayor of Sands Point, New York, Leonard Wurzel ’39, died Nov. 16, 2013, at the age of 95.

Appointed mayor of Sands Point in 1989, Mr. Wurzel served in that position until his retirement in 2011. Dedicated to his town, even after his retirement, Mr. Wurzel remained a fixture at village hall, clocking in long days as an unpaid volunteer, starting new tasks and tying up loose ends from his time as mayor.

Mr. Wurzel is best remembered and revered for a project he began early in his tenure as mayor. Mr. Wurzel advocated for the town’s purchase of the former IBM Country Club and Conference Center, located on a 208-acre estate. The property was then converted into The Village Club of Sands Point and became a crown jewel of the community, housing a golf course and tennis courts.

Prior to his time as mayor, Mr. Wurzel served on the Sands Point Board of Zoning Appeals, which he eventually chaired, and was a member of the town’s board of trustees.

A World War II veteran, Mr. Wurzel was drafted as a U.S. Army private in 1941, after receiving his Master of Business Administration from Harvard, and was honorably discharged in 1946 as a captain. His mili-

John A. Botsko Jr. ’50, Brooklyn, Ohio, died Dec. 11, 2012, at age 87. Mr. Botsko is a World War II veteran, having served with the U.S. Navy.

Charles F. Kennedy ’50, Woodbine, Conn., died Feb. 26, 2009, at age 80. Before his retirement, Mr. Kennedy worked as the vice president of manufacturing for Whirlpool. He served as deacon at St. Joseph Catholic Church, in addition to being a member of Knights of Columbus, R.C.I.A. and the Deacon Scrutiny Committee. Mr. Kennedy was a Korean War veteran, having served with the U.S. Army as a tank instructor at Fort Knox.

L. Jerome Schwaed ’50, Kenmore, N.Y., died May 23, 2013, at age 86.

Charles C. Milton Sr. ’51, Wheeling, W.Va., died Oct. 18, 2013, at age 86. Mr. Milton worked for Bloch Brothers for 42 years, retiring as vice president of manufacturing. He also worked as general manager of production at the company’s facilities in New Jersey. Mr. Milton served both St. John’s and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Churches as senior warden, in addition to his terms as president and general campaign chairman for the United Way. Mr. Milton also served on the Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Wheeling Chamber of Commerce board of directors and was a board member of First National Bank of Wheeling Rotary. Mr. Milton was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II.

C. Richard Coen ’52, Washington, Pa., died Aug. 10, 2013, at the age of 83. Mr. Coen served as president of Coen Oil Co. Additionally, he served as president of C.S. Coen Land Co. and

tary honors include the Bronze Star and the Insignia of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, awarded by the Consulate General of France.

After his military service, Mr. Wurzel became a staple in the candy industry and was employed by Loft Candy Corporation, eventually serving as president of the company from 1957-1964, overseeing its factory in Long Island City, Queens, and several hundred stores. In 1964, he founded his own candy company, Calico Cottage Candies, which sells equipment and ingredients to retailers to make fudge. Calico Cottage Candies is now run by Mr. Wurzel’s sons.

Mr. Wurzel served as the president of Retail Confectioners International and the Association of Manufacturers of Confectionery and Chocolate.

Ross Independent Oil Co. He was on the board of directors of Pleasants County Bank and the Washington Hospital Foundation. Mr. Coen was also a generous philanthropist through his foundation, the C.S. and Mary Coen Foundation. A military veteran, Mr. Coen served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army following his graduation from W&J.

John F. Emerson ’52, Bemus Point, N.Y., died Aug. 31, 2013, at age 84. Mr. Emerson worked for the Westinghouse Corporation in Baltimore, Md., before finding work as an industrial electrician for the former Art Metal Inc. and becoming involved in real estate. He belonged to the First Congregational Church, as well as the Fenton Historical Society. Mr. Emerson served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War.

Wallace T. Miller ’52, M.D., East Falls, Pa., died June 23, 2013, at age 81. Dr. Miller received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and went on to become a clinical radiologist and teacher at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). He held various positions in radiology including department vice chairman and chief of the chest division. He also became a professor of radiology in the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Miller received numerous awards, including the I.S. Ravdin Award, which recognizes the outstanding clinician at HUP, and the Gold Medal Award from the Radiological Society of North America. In addition to serving on various medical societies and national committees, he published dozens of papers, chapters and textbooks. Dr. Miller was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having been stationed at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Va.

Charles A. Vogel ’52, Laguna Hills, Calif., died Sept. 19, 2013, at age 84. Mr. Vogel entered the U.S. Air Force Pilot Training Program in 1952 and served actively until 1957. He retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 1972 with the rank of major. He later opened a retail store by the name of Treasure House of California.

The Rev. Dr. James W. Matz ’53, Washington, Pa., died Aug. 1, 2009, at age 78. Rev. Matz served the Presbyterian churches in Cherry Tree, Mount Union and Liberty Boro. Active in the Pittsburgh Presbytery, he was also a member of Church of the Covenant in Washington. Rev. Matz was a member of the Masons and served in the National Guard.

Norman F. Sirianni ’53, Chicago, Ill., died June 28, 2013, at age 82.

Ralph Miller ’55, Delmont, Pa., died Oct. 28, 2013, at age 89. Mr. Miller received numerous awards during his time as a sales executive for Top Value Enterprises, and later, Omega Systems. He belonged to the Norwin Veterans Association and the South Hills Masons. Mr. Miller served in the U.S. Navy as part of the Combat Air Service Unit and completed training in several areas including aviation and aircraft ordnance. He received awards for excellence as a ball-turret gunner on the Grumman Avenger TBF-100 Torpedo Bomber.

Frank Kazmierczak ’57, San Jose, Calif., died Sept. 24, 2013, at age 79. He worked at Lockheed Corporation, currently known as Lockheed Martin, a major aircraft manufacturing company.

Leonard Wurzel was a revered former mayor of Sands Point, New York.

John S. Lightcap III ’58, Springfield, Pa., died June 28, 2013, at age 77. Mr. Lightcap served as a reserve officer in the U.S. Army for 13 years. Active in his church, he served as a rector’s warden and held other leadership roles at the Church of the Redeemer in Springfield. He was a member of the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, as well as a volunteer at the Kimmel Center.

Donald A. Anchors ’60, Bethel Park, Pa., died Oct. 14, 2013, at age 75. Mr. Anchors was employed by the Industrial Appraisal Company and worked in mortgage banking and real estate in Pittsburgh. He was a member of the Mt. Lebanon Jaycees and the Mt. Lebanon planning commission board. Mr. Anchors served in the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant at Fort Devens, Mass., as well as during a tour in the transportation corps through Orleans, France.

Lt. Col. Lee W. Borden ’60, Glen, N.H., died June 1, 2013, at age 74. Mr. Borden served in the U.S. Army for 20 years. His military record includes serving as a district adviser in Vietnam, a special forces officer, 10th Special Forces and an

executive officer at the USA Intelligence School at Fort Devens, Mass. Mr. Borden served in the U.S., Germany, Korea and Vietnam. He was a recipient of the Bronze Star, Master Parachute Badge, Korean Parachute Badge and Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm.

William E. Reynolds ’60, Jefferson City, Mo., died June 18, 2012, at age 73. Mr. Reynolds served in the U.S. Army for 20 years, where he ultimately retired as a lieutenant colonel and was a recipient of the Bronze Star. He was a veteran of both the Korean and the Vietnam wars. In addition, he belonged to the Missouri Officer Association. Mr. Reynolds owned several franchises, such as the Yum Yum Tree and Dunkin’ Donuts, in Jefferson City, Mo., and Des Moines, Iowa.

The Rev. Malcolm H. McDowell Jr. ’62, Harwich, Mass., died Oct. 9, 2013, at age 73. Rev. McDowell received his master’s in divinity from the General Theological Seminary in New York in 1965, enabling him to work as an Episcopal priest for the diocese of Connecticut and eventually as dean of the cathedral in Harrisburg, Pa. Active in

Joseph B. Leckie (1928-2013)

Cherished vice president, devoted alumnus

Joseph B. Leckie ’50, a dedicated vice president whose career at Washington & Jefferson College spanned more than 36 years, died Dec. 12, 2013, at the age of 85.

During his time at W&J, Mr. Leckie garnered more than $56 million in voluntary support for the College and recruited hundreds of freshmen. Mr. Leckie began his storied tenure at W&J in 1952 as an assistant director of admissions and then served as director of alumni affairs from 1953-1960.

Mr. Leckie left W&J for a brief time to join the New York-based financial counseling firm of Marts & Lundy. During this time, Mr. Leckie gained knowledge that would help him later in his career by working with numerous clients to help run successful capital fundraising campaigns at different colleges, universities and philanthropic institutions.

Mr. Leckie returned to W&J as director of admissions in 1964. He became director of development four years later and was promoted to vice president of development in 1979, a position he held until his retirement in 1993. While Mr. Leckie contributed greatly to W&J’s financial and enrollment success—he considered the Olin Foundation grant for the Olin Fine Arts Center one of the highlights of his career—it was the people that he cared about the most.

“There was never a more loyal and revered son of our College than Joe.”

– RAY SIMMS ’58

the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, Rev. McDowell founded “The Net,” a program for hosting runaway youth in parish homes. Committed to his community, Rev. McDowell was a member of the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission and a board member of Youth Advocate Program.

The Rev. Malcolm H. McDowell Jr. founded “The Net,” a program for housing runaway youth.

John D. Weaver Jr. ’63, Green Tree, Pa., died July 13, 2013, at age 74.

John G. Shoop ’64, Chester, Va., died Aug. 2, 2013, at age 74.

Hugh S. McPhatter ’65, Boyds, Md., died Jan. 15, 2009, at age 70. Mr. McPhatter was a member of the Poolesville Chamber of Commerce and the

The impact Mr. Leckie had on many students is immense. “It is no exaggeration to say that without Joe Leckie’s confidence in me and efforts on my behalf, I would never have been admitted to W&J and, as a consequence, would probably not have had the very rewarding career I have enjoyed,” said James Clarke ’62. “He was truly a wonderful man and friend.”

Long-time friend Ray Simms ’58 remembers the vice president. “There was never a more loyal and revered son of our College than Joe—a caring, gracious human being who bled Red and Black,” said Simms. “I will miss him and his ever upbeat countenance on all matters that affected me during both my undergraduate and alumni years.”

Joseph Leckie was awarded the College’s Distinguished Service Award in 1993.

In honor of his dedication to higher education, Mr. Leckie received the Distinguished Service Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. Mr. Leckie also received the College’s Distinguished Service Award—the highest honor bestowed on an alumnus—for his dedication and many years of service to W&J. He was awarded an honorary doctor of public service degree from W&J for being “an uncommon graduate whose vision, service and leadership have enriched the lives of all of those with whom you have been associated.”

Memorial contributions in honor of Mr. Leckie may be directed to the Joseph B. ’50 and Betty L. Leckie Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Philip D. O’Connell III (1952-2013)

Cherished alumnus, former fundraiser

Former fundraising officer at Temple University, Philip D. O’Connell III ’74, died Dec. 19, 2013, at the age of 61.

A traveler who lived throughout the United States during his lifetime, Mr. O’Connell made Philadelphia home from the 1990s to 2012. He was executive director of planned giving at Temple University from 2005 to 2011, when he went into semiretirement and moved to Lancaster. Previously, he worked at Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. O’Connell, a lover of opera, symphony and artwork, was described as being “very cultured” by friends, a trait that was fostered at W&J, especially during a semester spent in France in order to complete his degree in French.

“He set an example for others to follow. We will always admire the strong character of Phil O’Connell.”

– CLARK EUSTIS ’74

Izaak Walton League. He enjoyed playing pool and riding horses.

Anthony C. Daum ’66, Houston, Texas, died Sept. 30, 2013, at age 69. Mr. Daum worked with the Bechtel Corporation for 40 years as a contracts manager, completing construction projects around the world. During his service to the U.S. Army from 1969-1972, Mr. Daum was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service as a captain with the 124th Transportation Command at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam.

James J. Sitter ’67, Erie, Pa., died July 27, 2013, at age 69. Mr. Sitter began his career as a CPA at Root, Spitznas & Smiley Inc., eventually becoming a CFO of Plastek Industries and a partner in Mafix, Inc. He served on several councils and committees at Saint George’s Church and was a founder of Saint George’s preschool. In addition, he belonged to the Lake Shore Country Club, the Erie Maennerchor Club and was a 3rd degree Knight of Columbus. Mr. Sitter served in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged in 1973.

Robert F. Milspaw ’70, Peters Township, Pa., died Nov. 14, 2013, at age 65. Mr. Milspaw worked for PNC Bank for 35 years. He served on the boards of Pittsburgh Youth Symphony and Peters Township School District. His son, Robert F. Milspaw Jr. ’00, also attended W&J.

William C. Seip ’73, Bryn Mawr, Pa., died July 19, 2010, at age 58.

Anthony B. Cocciolone ’75, D.D.S., Belle Vernon, Pa., died Oct. 31, 2013, at age 59. Dr. Cocciolone ran his dental practice in North Belle Vernon. He was a member of the American Dental Association, Belle Vernon Rotary Club,

Always devoted to his alma mater, Mr. O’Connell was a past member of the W&J Alumni Executive Council and participated in the W&J Alumni Mentor Program. He was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. Clark Eustis ’74 remembers his cherished friend. “Phil O’Connell was a true friend and classmate of mine,” said Eustis. “He always had a positive attitude and smile on his face and was a very special person. He was always a team player and concerned about the welfare of others. He set an example for others to follow. We will always admire the strong character of Phil O’Connell.” Memorial contributions in honor of Mr. O’Connell may be made to Washington & Jefferson College.

Belle Vernon Knights of Columbus Council and a Paul Harris Fellow. He was also a member of St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church. His daughter, Marissa A. Cocciolone ’09, also attended W&J.

John M. Tsagaris ’77, Virginia Beach, Va., died Oct. 27, 2013, at age 59. A member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, Mr. Tsagaris graduated magna cum laude from W&J. He attended Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and was a member of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in New Kensington, Pa.

Eloise Gregg ’85, Washington, Pa., died July 4, 2013, at age 66. She taught computer courses and accounting at Penn Commercial and later for the Community College of Allegheny County.

Jonathan W. Hall ’85, Royersford, Pa., died Oct. 29, 2013, at age 51. Mr. Hall worked as a mental health therapist and care coordinator. He spent the majority of his later life volunteering at the Kimmel Center of Performing Arts, Magee Rehab Hospital and the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society.

Elizabeth “Beth” A. Browning ’88, Chula Vista, Calif., died July 11, 2013, at age 46. Ms. Browning taught special education. She was also on a technology committee to help her co-workers, and enjoyed mentoring co-workers to help them

O’Connell was the executive director of planned giving at Temple University.

understand students with disabilities. In 2006, she was teacher of the year for Oneonta Elementary School, as well as for the district.

David M. Schowalter ’90, Glen Allen, Va., died Aug. 22, 2013, at age 46.

Joseph Wesley Warne ’01, Pittsburgh, Pa., died Aug. 17, 2013, at age 44. Mr. Warne created signs and displays for such companies as Heinz, Giant Eagle and Kennywood Park. He founded the company Creative Carved LLC, which was to serve as a launch pad for the art form he invented, called “Rilievos.” Mr. Warne was a decorated U.S. Army veteran, having received the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the South Korean Parachutist Badge.

Alicia N. Leiter ’03, Port Royal, Pa., died Oct. 11, 2013, at age 32. Ms. Leiter worked as director of Rainbow Connection Grow and Learn Childcare in Thompsontown, Pa.

FRIENDS

Edith S. Adler, Washington, Pa., died May 31, 2013, at age 100. Mrs. Adler and her husband, Bertram, owned a thriving clothing business, The Adler Company, in Canonsburg, Pa., from 1941 to 1967. For 52 years, Mrs. Adler was a volunteer at the Canonsburg Hospital. She also volunteered with the Washington Hospital Foundation. Mrs. Adler is survived by her sons, Jon Adler ’61, M.D., and Alan Adler ’69.

Mary E. Baker, East Washington, Pa., died July 25, 2013, at age 67. Mrs. Baker graduated

Byron T. Smialek (1943-2013)

Dedicated reporter and W&J football announcer

Byron T. Smialek, celebrated spokesman of athletics in the Pittsburgh media and football announcer at Washington & Jefferson College, died Oct. 8, 2013, at the age of 69.

Beginning his career as a reporter at the age of 17 with the Canonsburg Daily Notes, Mr. Smialek’s passion and persistence led him to become sports editor of the Observer-Reporter in 1969, where he spent the rest of his career.

In 1972, Mr. Smialek hired Park Burroughs ’71 as a sports writer on his staff. Burroughs went on to become the executive editor of the paper. “He loved people,” said Burroughs. “He wrote more than 1,200 columns and most of them were about the people that he made an effort to meet. Not everybody liked him, but everybody read him.”

As sports editor, Mr. Smialek expanded the Observer-Reporter’s coverage to include Pittsburgh professional and collegiate teams, personally covering the success of the Steelers throughout the 1970s.

In addition to his success as a print journalist, Mr. Smialek served as public address announcer for W&J football games for more than 10 years. Scott McGuinness, sports information director at the college, remembers Mr. Smialek fondly. “Byron meant a lot to me,” said McGuinness. “I was 22 years old when I came to the College and Byron, unsolicited, offered me valuable suggestions on dealing with the media.”

from Rhode Island College in 1969 and went on to become a teacher in the Washington School district and for the Intermediate Unit. For a time, she served as director of the post nursery at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, N.Y., while her husband, Kenneth L. Baker, was stationed there. Mrs. Baker attended W&J. She is survived by her husband Kenneth L. Baker ’68

Marjorie C. Brown, Berwyn, Pa., died Oct. 28, 2013, at age 81. She was a direct descendant of Reverend John Corbly, a founder of W&J. Mrs. Brown is survived by her husband, Oliver Wellington Brown Jr. ’49, and grandson, Charles Wellington Brown Seiler ’13

Nora Alice Kerr Calvert, Washington Pa., died Oct. 30, 2013, at age 97. Mrs. Calvert was a housemother for Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity at W&J, as well as a cook and server for the College. She also served as an aide at Washington Hospital and Kade Nursing Home.

Edward A. Chupa, Dallas, Texas, died Oct. 30, 2013, at age 95. Mr. Chupa taught American government and world affairs at Twin Falls Senior High School in Idaho before his retirement. Previously, he taught physical education and coached athletic teams at John Adams High School in Ohio, and ran the citywide summer sports program, where he helped organize the first Junior

Still, his journalistic success was not limited to the realm of sports.

Mr. Smialek went on to become a general-interest columnist, and he covered Washington City Hall as city editor. He worked as a senior writer and columnist from 1993 until his retirement in 2009.

Mr. Smialek was committed to giving back to the community. He cofounded the 2000 Turkeys seasonal food drive in 1982, and in less than a decade, Mr. Smialek and the other founders received an award from the Greater Washington County Food Bank. What began as a simple canned food drive is now a successful annual fundraiser. The campaign raised over $33,000 in 2013. Mr. Smialek’s initiative to help low-income families has become a holiday tradition for the businesses and community members of Washington County.

Smialek was a public address announcer for W&J football games for more than ten years.

Mr. Smialek was named to the Washington-Green County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hallf of Fame in 2008, which he regarded as one of the proudest achievements of his life.

Olympics event. Later hired by Hiram College, Mr. Chupa served as the liaison between the college and the Cleveland Browns during their summer training camp. Mr. Chupa worked as a coach and physical education instructor at W&J. A World War II veteran, Mr. Chupa received a Meritorious Conduct Medal for directing physical therapy for soldiers returning from the European and Pacific Theaters.

Vijay K. Jain, San Antonio, Texas, died Sept. 4, 2013, at age 73. Mr. Jain attended St. Xavier’s University in India, before moving to the United States in 1959. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, he held positions with the state departments of public welfare and human services in Ohio and Iowa. He also held finance positions with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, as well as with the cities of Schertz and Bastrop. Mr. Jain attended W&J.

Barbara E. Morrison, Washington Pa., died Sept. 11, 2013, at age 75. Mrs. Morrison worked as business manager for the Washington County Library System and Citizens Library. She served on executive boards for numerous community organizations, including treasurer for the Business and Professional Women’s Club, and the first treasurer for the Washington Literacy Council. Following her retirement, she began her business, Betsy’s Doll’s Rooms, with the help of her husband. Mrs. Morrison attended W&J.

David E. Olson, Rostraver Township, Pa., died Nov. 3, 2013, at age 69. Mr. Olson received his master’s in art education from Pennsylvania State University and taught at a number of institutions in Western Pennsylvania, including W&J. He belonged to the Pittsburgh Society of Sculptors, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and was a charter member of the Macdonald Bagpipe Band. He performed with the W&J Wind Ensemble, as well as several Veterans of Foreign Wars bands.

Taylor M. Parkman, Washington, Pa., died Sept. 16, 2013, at age 23. Ms. Parkman graduated from Washington High School. She loved music and played the clarinet in the Washington High School band, as well as the W&J Orchestra.

Michael L. Tonya, Cumming, Ga., died Sept. 20, 2013, at age 87. Mr. Tonya worked as a flight line electrician in Los Angeles, before moving to Columbus, Ohio, where he ultimately worked in sales. During the Bosnian War, he volunteered at the Atlanta Catholic Social Services as an interpreter for refugees. Mr. Tonya spoke several foreign languages include Croatian, Slovenian and Russian. Mr. Tonya served in the U.S. Navy from 1944-1946. Following his honorable discharge, he attended W&J.

THIS MOMENT made possible by your generosity.

When Jeff Germak ’14 interviewed with Wanda Felton, the vice chair and first vice president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States of America in Washington, D.C., he had expected to get an internship in the bank’s communications department. However, this single meeting changed his summer experience, and his life, when Felton told Jeff she wanted him to work under her supervision for the summer. During his time at the bank, Jeff completed projects relating to finance and trade in Sub-Saharan Africa, renewable energy and power generation, aviation, trade competitiveness of the United States, and much more. He was challenged. He learned. He was inspired.

“The career advice I received and the connections I made are so unbelievably valuable as I pursue my future career,” Jeff said. “ I am so thankful for the Magellan Project and the Franklin Award for the assistance it provided me this summer.”

When you give to the W&J Fund, you give Magellan Project scholars like Jeff the life-changing opportunity to travel the globe and engage in experiences that will shape their lives and arm them with the skills and knowledge to change the world around them.

Make a moment today. Make your gift at washjeff.edu/give.

Washington & Jefferson College

60 South Lincoln Street

Washington, Pennsylvania 15301-4801

The Illustrator

Known for his unique and humorous editorial illustrations, cartoonist/ illustrator Keith Bendis ’68 has been featured in some of America’s leading magazines and newspapers including Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, Vanity Fair and many others. For more of his illustrations in this issue, turn to page 9.

KEITH BENDIS ’68