Alumni success

Bringing hope for immigrant families

Maricela Torres in her office at the Esperanza Community Center

Driving to work in the Northwood area of West Palm Beach, Maricela Torres would notice the Hispanic men gathered on a corner lot, hoping to be hired as day laborers. Born in Mexico, Torres came to the U.S. at age 10, so she well understood the challenge of mastering English and adjusting to life in the States. As she learned more about the Guatemalan community in Palm Beach County, she discovered many other challenges these day laborers faced. Some were illiterate, and often were cheated by their employers. Newcomers were clueless about how to find medical help, register their children for school or set up a bank account. Somebody should do something to help these people, she thought. And then the prompting came: Why couldn’t I start looking into a solution? Studying in evening classes at PBA, Torres had earned her bachelor’s degree in organizational management and her master’s degree in counseling. She also had found her calling: serving others. With a co-founder, she opened the Esperanza Community Center. Esperanza is Spanish for “hope,” in this case: hope for the future, hope to raise families, hope to live and thrive and coexist with others in a neighborly fashion. Located on Broadway Avenue, the center opened in March 2019. It now serves some 260 families, with a variety of classes, workshops and referrals and with a network of clients who help each other. “The most amazing group of women come together,” said Torres. “They share parenting tips. They volunteer watching each other’s children. It’s gratifying to see how they themselves give back.” Torres is now executive director of the center, and she also works full time at Florida Crystals. On a recent Tuesday she worked a full day, then came to the center to interview a prospective English teacher and finally teach an English class herself. “It’s been a long day,” she said, “but it’s been a great day.”

Award-winning grad ‘blessed to bless others’

Emmanuel McNeely speaks in a PBA chapel service.

“PBA was a launching pad,” said Emmanuel McNeely. “While it was so good spiritually, emotionally and growing me up to be a man of God, it also was great professionally.” On Feb. 11 McNeely will receive the 2021 Young Alumni Award from the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities for his work helping underrepresented minorities successfully pursue medical careers. The CCCU is an association of more than 180 Christian institutions around the world. Its annual award goes to a graduate “who has exhibited uncommon leadership or achieved notable success in a way that reflects Christian higher education.” McNeely, a 2012 PBA grad in medicinal and biological chemistry, is on track to earn his doctorate in medicine in 2023 from Florida Atlantic University. He has conducted spine surgery research on a fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, and his goal is to become an orthopedic surgeon. McNeely and his wife, Sa’Rah McNeely, founded The Dr. McNeely Dream (M.D.) Project, which has reached thousands of minority students through workshops and the workbook the McNeelys co-authored. Mentoring and lifting up others: “That’s my heart,” McNeely said. “I know God blesses us to be a blessing.”

Jeff Swindell

‘Numbers person’ rose in the ranks at Disney

Fresh out of PBA in 1997, business major Jeff Swindell landed at Disney Cruise Line in a “temp” job where at first it seemed his most important task was making the morning coffee. Swindell responded with this ethic: Whatever the job, do the best you can and look for more responsibility. “That’s opened doors for me,” he said. “You take on new things, and people learn to trust you.” When Swindell’s two-month temp agency obligation ended, the cruise line hired him full time. This “numbers person” had begun a career he loves, and he’s now senior vice president/ finance for Disney’s international parks and resorts, including parks in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Paris. “One of the great things about a company like Disney is that you can do a lot of different things,” he said. “I’ve been blessed with the opportunities that God has given me.” Those opportunities included five years as CFO of Disneyland in California, as well as three years working in London. He now lives in Winter Garden, Florida. Swindell still vividly recalls discussions from his PBA classes, about international business and social responsibility. In addition to what he learned about economics and business situations, at PBA “I grew up a lot,” he said. He also loved the Christian atmosphere and he developed lifelong friendships. After PBA, and while working for The Walt Disney Company, he earned a master’s degree in applied economics from the University of Central Florida and an MBA from Duke University. Now leading the young people on his finance teams, his focus is helping them succeed. The servant leadership style that his parents instilled and that PBA reinforced has served him well, he said. He’s used his Disney positions to encourage others in community service through organizations like Big Brother Big Sisters. “I know my life has been significantly impacted by support from others,” he said. “It only seems right to pay that forward.”