YOU
PORTRAITS
BELIEVED
IN ME
How Pitt-Bradford professors have changed the lives of their students forever
Pitt Forged. Bradford Inspired.
I remember the professors who guided and inspired me even though it’s been more than 40 years since I was a student at Pitt-Bradford.
Dr. Vince Kohler, professor of English, taught me Technical Writing and Research Writing. In addition to being a great motivator, he nurtured, encouraged and made long-lasting connections with all of us.
Dr. Sam Fohr, professor of philosophy, encouraged us to think – something you’d expect from a philosopher – by using several of the complex issues of the late 1970s and early ’80s as a starting point.
In each of the four classes I had with Dr. Ed Hopkins, professor of geology, he shared his passion for science. With a boyish curiosity, he approached all of his classes with a great deal of enthusiasm, which inspired all of us.
My Pitt-Bradford experience is not unique. I am but one of thousands of students who have been guided and inspired by at least one Pitt-Bradford professor. (You can read a few of those stories beginning on page 6).
I am but one of many students who have been guided and inspired by at least one Pitt-Bradford professor.
Close connections with professors are one of the hallmarks of a Pitt-Bradford education.
Earlier this year, we launched a new brand campaign that features the tagline, Pitt Forged. Bradford Inspired. That tagline is meant to convey the distinctive advantages our students experience: While they work toward earning the University of Pittsburgh degree, which commands respect all over the world, they’re part of a welcoming campus community where they’re supported, inspired and empowered to flourish.
This new tagline, however, is much more than just a slogan we’ll use in our materials. Supporting and inspiring our students has been part of Pitt-Bradford’s DNA for more than 60 years.
Our professors, along with our staff, alumni, donors and friends, support, encourage and inspire our students every day. Faculty introduce students to new ideas and opportunities. Staff members give students their time and attention when they need someone to listen. Alumni offer professional guidance, and our donors set an example of generosity that inspires our students to continue the longstanding tradition of giving.
The tagline may be new, but the actions it represents are not.
Pitt-Bradford truly is Pitt forged and Bradford inspired.
PORTRAITS
Telling the Stories of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
SENIOR EDITOR Pat Frantz Cercone
EDITOR Kimberly Marcott Weinberg
COPY EDITORS Laurie Dufford Judy Hopkins ’71-’73
ART DIRECTOR
John Sizing www.jspublicationdesign.com
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Alan Hancock ’07, ’19
Denny Henry
Jason Keen
Glenn Melvin ’04
PRINTER Progressive Direct Marketing
Published by the Office of Communications and Marketing University of Pittsburgh at Bradford © 2024 www.upb.pitt.edu
NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY STATEMENT
The University of Pittsburgh, as an educational institution and as an employer, values equality of opportunity, human dignity, and racial/ethnic and cultural diversity. Accordingly, as fully explained in Policy 07-01-03, the University prohibits and will not engage in discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, disability, or status as a veteran. The University also prohibits and will not engage in retaliation against any person who makes a claim of discrimination or harassment or who provides information in such an investigation. Further, the University will continue to take affirmative steps to support and advance these values consistent with the University’s mission. This policy applies to admissions, employment, access to and treatment in University programs and activities. This is a commitment made by the University and is in accordance with federal, state and/or local laws and regulations.
For information on University equal opportunity and affirmative action programs, please contact: University of Pittsburgh, Office of Affirmative Action, Diversity and Inclusion, Carol W. Mohamed, Director (and Title IX, 504 and ADA Coordinator), 412 Bellefield Hall, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15260 (412) 648-7860.
Richard T. Esch ’83, president
In compliance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the University guarantees that students have the right to inspect all personally identifiable records maintained by the institution and may challenge the content and accuracy of those records through appropriate institutional procedures. It is further guaranteed by the University that student records containing personally identifiable information will not be released except as permitted by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.
Sofia Brien
Director of Human Resources and Title IX Liaison (814)362-0251, spb128@pitt.edu
Dr. K. James Evans, who served as vice president and dean of student affairs at Pitt-Bradford for 42 years until his retirement in 2018, receives the Presidential Medal of Distinction, Pitt-Bradford’s highest honor, during Commencement from President Richard Esch. Evans also addressed the class.
8 Messages for Mentors
College is a time to broaden minds, and nothing cracks a student’s worldview open like a great professor. We asked alumni how Pitt-Bradford changed their lives, and they returned to us with a list of influential mentors. Seven alumni explained for us how faculty sparked their interest.
14 One Alma Mater: Four Different Teachers
Four Pitt-Bradford alumni are building relationships with students in four different settings – a nature preschool in Cleveland, a school for students with disabilities in Rochester, N.Y., a rural public high school in Bradford and an under-resourced school in Chicago.
20 Measuring What We Think We Know
Three Pitt-Bradford professors have been quantifying hunches about young people’s mental health in Pennsylvania. For Dr. Shailendra Gajanan, it has been determining whether and how much the COVID-19 pandemic affected K-12 students’ mental health. For Dr. Patricia Lanzon and Dr. William Clark, it has been determining whether agencies have access to the information they need to help children throughout their school years.
2 First Shot
Students, faculty and staff settle into the newest academic building on campus, the George B. Duke Engineering and Information Technologies Building.
4 The Commons
The university’s artificial turf field will be named in honor of Gary Rathburn ’68-’70; Panther athletic teams return to winning form; Judy Hopkins ’71-’73 remembers class with Dr. Erik Nakjavani; and Dr. Jonathan Chitiyo’s new book.
22 Panther Pack
One emergency management services alumnus memorializes the life of another, and a special message to the Class of 2024.
On the cover – Left column, top to bottom: Jeff Guterman, Dr. Vince Kohler, Dr. Shailendra Gajanan; Dr. Lauren Yaich, Dr. Steven Hoffmaster. Center column: Dr. Patricia Lanzon and Dr. William Clark; Dr. Mary Mulcahy. Right column: Dr. Sam Fohr, Dr. Janet McCauley, Jay Monti, Lizbeth “Betsy” Matz, Dr. Robert Laing, Dr. Jonathan Chitiyo, Dr. Edgar Hopkins, Dr. Helene Lawson.
first shot
Duke at dusk
The George B. Duke Engineering and Information Technologies Building lights up at dusk. A year and a half after opening, students of all majors are settling in to the 39,000-square-foot building.
They meet in the brightly lit study rooms to fill whiteboards with explanatory drawings of lung functions, decision trees for capstone projects and practice computer science equations.
A small-scale, 3-D printed mockup of a Baja race car now occupies the student innovation project lab where, in the fall, members of the campus’ Baja Racing Club will be constructing a full-scale model of the car from PVC pipe.
Last November, the Duke Building played host to an international conference on energy storage organized by Dr. Beth Rezaie, assistant professor of mechanical engineering technology.
“It’s a wonderful place to work. We had a lot of fun in the makerspace during Maker Month in March,” said Dr. Matt Kropf, who directs three of the programs housed in the building.
During Maker Month programs, faculty, staff and students took part in workshops making pillows and soldering stained glass.
One of Kropf’s favorite memories from the first year was teaching forensic science major Madison Miller how to use the makerspace’s laser engraver. “I trained her, and she just ran with it,” he said. “It was great just watching her enjoy it.”
COMMONS
News from Around the Quad
Having a field day
Artificial turf field to be named in honor of Gary Rathburn ’68-’70
It’s been more than 50 years since they first met at Pitt-Bradford in 1968, but Gary Rathburn ’68-’70 and his PittBradford pals stayed close as they transferred to the Pittsburgh campus and for many years beyond.
Each year this Bradford gang attends a Pitt football game together, but this year is going to be a two-parter. Before they attend this year’s “Backyard Brawl” against Pitt rival West Virginia, where Rathburn will be honored for a gift to the university, they’ve got a special date in Bradford. Rathburn and his friends will be on hand Sept. 13 when Pitt-Bradford’s new $6.5 million artificial turf field will be named Rathburn Family Field in appreciation for a $500,000 gift he made toward the field, which will be home to Panther soccer and lacrosse teams.
“Pitt set the stage for my success,” he said of his time at both campuses, spending his first two years living in Emery Hall in Bradford and attending
class at Hamsher House before moving with his friends to Pittsburgh, where they shared an apartment.
At the Pittsburgh campus, Rathburn and his wife, Anita, support the Pitt football program and sponsor an annual undergraduate international research award for political science students.
Influenced by Dr. Janet McCauley, who taught political science at Pitt-Bradford, he set his sights on law school. While he never made it to law school, his career exporting coal took him places he’d studied, including Western Europe, northern Africa, East Asia and Brazil. “I got to see the Berlin Wall, and many other historical sites,” he said.
Another Pitt-Bradford mentor for Rathburn was Jay Monti, director of men’s housing. “He was the key person there who was a mentor to me,” he said. “He talked to everybody. The class was small enough that he could. He ate in the cafeteria with us. He was there if
you wanted to talk about anything.”
He said that when he attended Pitt-Bradford, athletics were not as evolved as they are now. Although he didn’t consider himself an athlete, he played soccer himself at Pitt-Bradford before hurting his knee.
In addition to supporting the Pitt-Bradford field and Pitt football, he and Anita, a former special education teacher, enjoy supporting higher education. At Slippery Rock University, they have supported an equestrian center that provides classes with horses for many disabled children, veterans and other adults.
“I think that athletics are a good way for young people to release stress, and this seemed like a good way to contribute – to help form the brains of students through sports.”
Gary Rathburn ’68-’70, third from right, and his Pitt buddies take in a football game together each year. Here they are at the Pitt-Georgia Tech game in October 2022. His crew includes, from left, Gary Riviello ’67-’69, Tom Little ’68-’70, former Pittsburgh Steelers and Panthers’ play-by-play announcer Bill Hargrove, Jim DiBella, Rathburn, Pitt football color analyst Pat Bostick and Bill Hughey ’68-’70.
Scan to learn more about PantherFest celebration at Rathburn Field Sept. 14.
Athletic teams returning to form
The 2023-24 academic year saw a resurgence for some Panther athletic programs as four teams qualified for postseason play. Two completed their seasons with winning records, and two increased their championship meet score by nearly 100 points. Panther softball had an outstanding year under Head Coach Tina Phillips. The team won 25 games, the program’s most since the 2005-06 season when it won 35. The Panthers were led by five All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference performers, including sophomore Krislyn Clement, who earned two all-conference honors, one as a shortstop and the other as a pitcher, and freshman Sara Stroup, who made the first team and was named AMCC Newcomer of the Year.
After returning to the AMCC Tournament last year for the first time since 2016-17, men’s basketball continued its climb, compiling its first winning record in nine seasons and finishing 14-12. Junior forward Jamarion Butler was the lone AllAMCC honoree, earning first-team honors.
Women’s basketball had its best season under coach Kaserra Owens, finishing with a 9-16 record. The team earned a spot in the AMCC tournament with a 6-12 conference record. Freshman Paige Gratto had an impressive debut campaign, garnering a second team All-AMCC honor.
The final Panther team to make the postseason was the women’s bowling team, which earned the sixth seed in the AMCC tournament with a 9-11 record. Junior Brookelyn Garvey continued her decorated career, making the second all-conference team while
also earning multiple all-tournament honors. She was the Tournament MVP at the Daemen Storm Fall Classic.
More swimmers competing in men’s and women’s swimming this year improved results for the teams, increasing their final scores in the Allegheny Empire Swimming and Diving Championships by nearly 100 points each.
The men’s team went from 267 to 326, headlined by Conan Young, who earned another meet title in the 1650 Freestyle. The women’s team increased its point total from 154.0 to 230.5. They were led by sophomore Isabella Cercone, who earned a second team all-conference nod in the 100yard breaststroke.
While these programs all made
post-season appearances, other teams saw gains.
Under the direction of new head coach Lorenzo Rodriguez, the women’s soccer team won its first game in three seasons, closing the year with a 6-0 win over Wells College.
The baseball team won 12 games, including five in AMCC play, just missing out on playoff contention as they finished only two games out of the final spot. Five players earned AllAMCC honors, headlined by Shawn Mannering, who made the first team at pitcher.
Panther wrestling had three grapplers earn a spot on the all-conference list as Colton Gietler, D.J. Slovick and Gavin Thompson all finished second in their weight classes. – Matt Lovell
Junior Jamarion Butler of Oklahoma City, Okla., helped lift the Panthers to a winning season in men’s basketball. After a few rough years for several Panther teams, things are looking up.
Learning to travel by book
How Dr. Erik Nakjavani and Ernest Hemingway taught one alumna to commune with books by Judy Hopkins ’71-’73
More than 50 years ago, I was a 17-yearold sitting in a windowless room that was once part of Emery Hardware Co. in downtown Bradford, repurposed as a college classroom. The class was 20th Century Narrative, and the instructor was Mr. Erik Nakjavani (later Dr. Nakjavani). He was handing back tests we had taken on a series of short stories we had read by Ernest Hemingway.
At first, I stared at the test without opening it for the grade. Erik made us fold our sheets of regular notebook paper lengthwise in half: We’d write our answers on the right side; he would make comments on the left.
The class consisted of only freshmen and sophomores. Pitt-Bradford was a two-year school at that point, requiring attendees to finish their Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degrees at the Pittsburgh campus or else transfer to another university.
Then, as now, one student asked, “Did anyone get an A?”
Erik walked back to his podium at the front of the classroom. He waited before speaking. “Yes,” he said. It couldn’t be me. What did I know? I was just a naïve teenager, having graduated from Bradford High School a few months before. I had grown up in Bradford, now attending classes at the local campus of the University of Pittsburgh, one located in various buildings downtown and at Hamsher House near the hospital until the actual West Branch campus could be built.
Erik’s class had been my first introduction to Hemingway. I had learned that Hemingway’s short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” referred to a space—physical or metaphorical or both— that people seek out for solace when they feel fragile, or what Hemingway would call being “in despair.”
I learned from another short story that a shaky World War I veteran, shattered by the war, made progress toward recovery by doing something
simple like cooking a breakfast for himself by a big, two-hearted river, far away from everyone. I learned from reading “In Another Country” that loving someone could still mean losing them. These things I learned by reading Hemingway as interpreted by Mr. Nakjavani.
I comforted myself that no matter what grade I received, I would know these things.
I turned over the test and opened the last sheet. On it was a red “A.”
Erik Nakjavani was and is the most influential professor I ever had. I took every class he taught at Pitt-Bradford during my two years there, including French, Aesthetics, Existentialism, and Comparative Literary Methods. I have never learned so much about life in my life.
It didn’t take me long to know that Erik was a true scholar. In his slightly accented speech, he spoke in a cadence that lifted then fell, as if he were carefully choosing words for one of his many journal articles. But he always grounded his insights in a way that we could carry them with us and think about them not only after class but, as it turned out, throughout our lives.
In a different class held downstairs at Emery Hardware, Erik spoke of Hemingway’s book “A Moveable Feast.” He looked at us and said, “I hope all of you can go to Paris as Hemingway did when he was young. Paris is for the young.”
I never physically made it there. But, in the words of Emily Dickinson who told us that “there is no frigate like a book to take us lands away,” I traveled far with the books I read for Erik’s classes. With Miguel de
Dr. Erik Nakjavani now lives in Lancaster, Pa., where he is still writing and presenting.
Judy Hopkins as a student in the 1970s.
In 1976, back from having graduated from Dickinson College, I took a summer seminar Erik was teaching at Pitt-Bradford on Hemingway and Faulkner. To this day, I remember what he told the class about Addie Bundren in “As I Lay Dying”— “Faulkner didn’t tell us everything about a character. Just as in real life, we can never completely know someone.”
I reconnected with Erik by way of the social platform X several years ago. I said in a post on X how inspirational a professor he had been after having
“I have never learned so much about life in my life.”
Unamuno’s novella, “San Manuel Bueno, Martyr,” I was transported to Spain to learn about a kindly priest whose pious demeanor belied his lack of faith.
From Erik, I became acquainted with international scholars and their philosophies: Edward Husserl’s phenomenology, Sartre’s existentialism, along with the teachings of Malraux, Leibnitz, Karl Jaspers, Henri Bergson, Goethe, Heidegger and others.
Never the icy scholar, Erik was a very personable professor. We students longed to get to know him better, along with his lovely wife, Jeanne, and his adorable daughter, Kirsten, just a child at that time. Some students in our classes invited him to one of our parties, an invitation he graciously accepted. We intended to shock him by showing him the album cover of “Two Virgins,” featuring a completely naked John Lennon and Yoko Ono. We watched carefully as Erik, chuckling, took a brief glance and handed back the album. We found out it would take more than that to unsettle the sophisticated man that was our professor.
read a chapter written by him in the then newly released book titled “One True Sentence: Writers & Readers on Hemingway’s Art” by Mark Cirino and Michael Von Cannon. My post was passed on to Erik by another former student. After that, I received a letter from him, and then we corresponded. Erik inspired me to become a teacher and hold my students to high standards. He proved that young people can learn challenging concepts. Because of his teaching gifts and his brilliance, I understood the ideas he lectured about, ideas that have stayed with me for more than 50 years. He provided me with a foundation for subsequent learning and developed in me an unparalleled curiosity about—and love for—great writing. Looking back, I realize how fortunate I was to have had a worldrenowned scholar teaching me what the best minds—including his—had to offer.
–Judy Hopkins ’71-’73 taught English at various universities in Arizona, California, New York state and 17 years at Pitt-Bradford. She is the author of “Babe in the Woods,” her debut novel, published in 2023.
bookshelf
Compassion abroad
Dr. Jonathan Chitiyo, an associate professor of education, has a new book about teaching children with special needs in Africa. Originally from Zimbabwe, Chitiyo studied how teachers in Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe are trained to support these students.
The book addresses a global problem: the shortage of teachers, especially in developing countries.
“Schools across Africa need enough well-trained teachers to meet the needs of students with special needs,” Chitiyo said.
His book, “Discussions of Inclusive Education within African Contexts,” aims to help current and future teachers support children with special needs in regular classrooms. According to UNICEF, these children make up 10 percent of kids in Eastern and Southern Africa and are often marginalized in their education.
“There is an urgent need for better teacher-training programs and resources to support these children and ensure they receive an inclusive education,” Chitiyo said.
“I wrote this book for teachers, parents and policymakers, offering best practices to create inclusive and supportive learning environments for all students, especially those with special needs.”
Chitiyo also emphasized the need for more funding for schools and public awareness campaigns.
“Negative attitudes toward disability exist everywhere, and they can significantly harm the educational experiences of students with special needs,” he said.
UNICEF reports that children with special needs in southern and eastern Africa are more likely to be sick, miss school, and are less likely to read or be read to at home.
“This is quite discouraging considering that most countries have registered their commitment to the education of students with special needs by signing international agreements,” Chitiyo said.
MESSAGES FOR MENTOR S How Pitt-Bradford professors changed the lives of their students
Last summer, Portraits asked readers about the ways Pitt-Bradford had changed their lives, and we got the same response from everyone we heard from –professors.
Pitt-Bradford has always specialized in nurturing and inspiring students to be the best they could be. Whether or not they knew it when they applied to teach at Pitt-Bradford, the campus’ faculty have always (and continue to) put students first with their gifts of time, mentoring and friendship.
Patrick “P.J.” Mogon ’79 came to Pitt-Bradford after serving eight years in the U.S. Navy. “I knew I didn’t want to be lost on the Oakland campus,” he wrote. “I arrived in Bradford somewhat adrift and foundering as a veteran adult freshman. I found a small group of similar adult students, including Dave and Robert Newcombe, whose father (Bob Newcombe) was on staff, and became comfortable in the helpful academic atmosphere.
“When Professor (Bob) Laing marched the chicken across my first paper with red ink, his comment was that it was a well-written piece, but I needed some remediation in writing technique and met with me to facilitate that. A full senior professor! Wow!”
How else did faculty affect their students? We have some messages from alumni to faculty members who shaped their lives in ways large and small.
Dr. Mary Mulcahy
FROM: WILLIAM “JOEY” HANNON ’13, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, GUILFORD (N.C.) TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE
TO: DR. MARY MULCAHY, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, PITT-BRADFORD
“I don’t know to what extent you’re aware of this, but when I first enrolled at Pitt-Bradford, I had NO IDEA what I wanted to do. My second semester, I enrolled in Bio 102 with you. That represented a turning point in the trajectory of my life. Your enthusiasm for the subject and brightness and excitement when communicating with students awakened something in me that had long been dormant. It reminded me that, as a child, learning about living things was inherently rewarding to me.
“You seemed to believe in me, to encourage me. I can’t really count the number of times that I was granted unique opportunities by you and Dr. (Lauren) Yaich.” (cont.)
Hannon/Mulcahy (cont.)
Those opportunities included conducting pollination research, serving as a student representative on a faculty search committee, and launching a college teaching career of his own as an adjunct biology professor.
“I’m reaching out not only to thank you, but I also have some good news to share with you. I was selected to receive the GTCC Excellence in Teaching Award out of more than 200 faculty.
“There are times when working for a bureaucratic institution is frustrating; sometimes students can be very challenging, and sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of the impact that we have on our communities. But every single year when I read my student evaluations and I’m reminded of that impact, you’re one of the people I count as responsible for putting me here, and I’m sure I’m not the only student who remembers you this way.
“Thank you for your patience, kindness and dedication to your students. Thank you for being you.”
From an impromptu speech given by Jennifer Lewke ’05 (inset), investigative reporter at WHEC in Rochester, N.Y., at a retirement reception for Jeffrey Guterman, associate professor of broadcast communications.
“As an 18-year-old girl on campus, I think you saw something in me that I hadn’t yet seen, and I thank you every day for that. You helped to nurture it in a supportive and thoughtful way and a creative way, which I think is impor tant in our business, too.
“I had big dreams of becoming a reporter, but I had never picked up a camera. I had never shot a stand-up. I had great big dreams, but no actual tangible skills until I met Jeff. He is the kind of person who doesn’t just talk to you, he teaches. He took us out in the field with cameras and showed us how to shoot video, how to find a story, how to make a story good, how to talk to people. To me, that’s teaching.”
Guterman is retiring Aug. 20 from the broadcast communications program he founded at Pitt-Bradford in 1985.
An interview with Susan Silvestri ’72-’74 about Dr. Janet McCauley, first chairperson of the Social Sciences Department
“I worked as a student assistant for Dr. Janet McCauley (inset), who was instrumental in developing my interest in government and human services. She taught most of the political science classes and was a very special person. She was very bright and personable. I was in a couple of classes where there were no women. Women didn’t really go into political science at the time.”
As an assistant, Silvestri
corrected tests and helped McCauley with her research. She said that McCauley’s husband was the city manager of Bradford, and it helped her bring politics and reality together.
“I just thought it was fascinating,” Silvestri said. Silvestri went on to earn a political science degree from the Pittsburgh campus in 1976 and worked 40 years for the Area Agency on Aging in Westmoreland County, Pa.
Susan Silvestri ‘72-’74 and her husband, Greg ‘73-’75.
Jeffrey Guterman working hands-on with students.
From an Instagram post by Troi “Tee” Williams ’17
@traveling.tee – first semester of my freshman year of college at @upittbradford I was randomly placed in a Japanese language and cultures class.
I tried to switch into a Spanish class, but they said no, so I committed to taking the class. I ended up liking it and did pretty well, so my professor suggested I apply for a Cultural Exchange
experience in Yokohama, Japan, with our sister school.
I ended up applying for the trip, got accepted and stayed with a host family for two weeks. After Japan, I was gassed to keep traveling, so I kept up with the study abroad office and planned to do a semester abroad in London during my junior year.
While in London, I traveled to 10 countries
across Western Europe, took my first solo trip, and started blogging about all of my travels.
I fell in love with writing about my travels and decided to be a travel writer.
Without that random Japanese class and Professor Don Ulin (inset), I wouldn’t be where I am today (Thailand).
Troi “Tee” Williams ’17 at the Cape Coast Slave Castle in Ghana.
Williams has been traveling the world as a social media strategist and writer since 2018. Follow her at onecupoftee.com.
From an interview with Celeste Myslewski ’77 about Dr. Steven Hoffmaster, assistant professor of physics
“The two classes that I really remember and think about all of the time were both ones that I had to take – geology and physics.”
Physics was taught by Dr. Steven Hoffmaster, who would later teach at Gonzaga University in Washington.
“You have no idea how much I dreaded taking physics. I was running a 4.0 GPA, and I thought, ‘This is the end. Science. I can’t do this.’”
Not so. She could not only “do it” she fell in love with it.
“It was the way he taught it. He was a funny guy. He had a great sense of humor. Sometimes as he was teaching a physical principal, he would tell a joke. When I was taking an exam, I would laugh thinking of it. It made me so relaxed.”
After a career in retail, Myslewski retired and pursued a passion made possible by that one physics class – aviation.
“I love airplanes and how they work. I go to airshows.
They bring together everything I love – planes, history and science.”
She’s even now a member of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, “I never thought I’d be into science and aviation, and I have thanked in my mind many times Steve Hoffmaster, wherever he is. That one class just opened up a world that is amazing to me. It was his class.”
“I never thought I’d be into science and aviation, and I have thanked in my mind many times Steve Hoffmaster, wherever he is. That one class just opened up a world that is amazing to me. IT WAS HIS CLASS. ”
is holding the plan he wrote for Lewicki as an undergraduate for a business that eventually became his business, protocol80.
Donny Kemick
From left, Don Lewicki with Donny Kemick ’04 and his wife, Amanda Wentworth Kemick ’04. Kemick
Dr. Steven Hoffmaster
Celeste Myslewski
on his pledge to create the Donald C. Lewicki Technology Fund
Donny Kemick ’04 and his wife, Amanda Wentworth Kemick ’04, made a pledge last summer to create the Donald C. Lewicki Technology Fund to provide scholarships to Pitt-Bradford students in honor of Donny Kemick’s faculty mentor.
Kemick is the owner of protocol80, a business he started with classmates while still a student at Pitt-Bradford.
The two first met in Lewicki’s Microsoft Office class.
“He just made it interesting to me,” Kemick said.
“He was so instrumental and helped so many students.”
Lewicki went on to start the computer information systems and technology major at Pitt-Bradford, which encourages projects like the one that became protocol80.
While Kemick took that first class with Lewicki, Lewicki noticed Kemick taking an interest and encouraged him to pursue a minor in management information systems.
“That was huge – a pivotal moment,” Kemick said. Lewicki continued to make suggestions and provide opportunities for Kemick. “Nobody in my life has really directed me and pushed me the way Don did.”
ONE ALMA MATER. FOUR VERY DIFFERENT TEACHERS.
From rural PA to downtown Chicago, four alumni apply nature and nurture to students, from tender toddlers to troubled teens
By Maya Bingaman ’19
If necessity is the mother of invention, it was also behind four Pitt-Bradford alumni who saw an educational need and filled it. For some, it was creating the educational environment they wanted for their own children. For others, it is finding a way to nurture the students who need it most.
Shaping the next generation through nature-based day care
In 2015, Lana Radl ’06-’08 gave birth to her second daughter. Instead of sending her daughter off to a day care center where she would spend most of the day, she and her partner sought forest-based preschool. However, options were non-existent in Cleveland, so Radl got to work.
In 2016, Radl founded the Cleveland Nature House, where she introduces young children from
12 months to age 6 to the wonders of local wildlife and environmental literacy.
Radl’s path to becoming a prominent figure in environmental education was anything but straightforward. Her journey began at Pitt-Bradford where she earned an associate degree, followed by a bachelor’s degree in geography from Miami University in Ohio and a master’s degree in sustainability from
ONE ALMA MATER. FOUR VERY DIFFERENT TEACHERS.
the University of South Florida.
Reflecting on her time at PittBradford, Radl said, “The unique interdisciplinary arts and science classes were very helpful.” And, she said, having a small campus near a national forest and a closeknit community was instrumental in shaping her approach to education.
Previously she worked organizing a Climate Leaders program at Case Western Reserve University, challenging students’ perceptions of nature and the environment. Later, as an educator for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, she focused on renewable energy education.
“A lot of minds at the (teenage stage) are prejudiced toward nature and the environment. It’s difficult to educate them on a variety of topics like climate change and how it impacts their environment.
Students are thinking about what makes money versus life balance and how we can leave a positive environment for other generations,” she explained.
Radl was eager to encourage the next generation to be good stewards to the planet. The Cleveland Nature House – encompassing over 1,000 square feet of indoor space and a half acre of outdoor area – provides vegetarian meals and uses toys made from renewable resources.
“I was very mindful about creating an environment that aligns with sustainable values,” Radl said.
A typical day at the Nature House follows a Waldorfinspired rhythm. Children enjoy free social time, outdoor exploration and nature-based learning sessions.
“We might walk to a local park or explore the diverse flora within our fenced area,” Radl said. “The goal is to make environmental education a natural part of their daily lives.
“I took the time to review the different types of pedago-
gies practiced for early education – Montessori, Waldorf, co-ops – and the positive and negative aspects of publicschool systems. I wanted to take the pros from all of those to make the Nature House.”
Improved mental health and deep learning are added benefits Radl cites for nature-based care. “Outside environments can relax their nervous system to help them deal with anxiety or provide fortitude for other life challenges.”
Beyond the daily operations of the Nature House, Radl has been exploring digital avenues to broaden her impact. She creates YouTube videos featuring nature-based books, offering an educational alternative to typical screen time. She’s also active in the community, participating in Earth Day events and tabling at a native plant nursery to spread awareness about environmental issues. She is also a committee member of the City of Shaker Heights Sustainability Committee.
Looking ahead, Radl dreams of expanding the Cleveland Nature House to serve more children and to reach economically disadvantaged families. She believes public schools could benefit from incorporating nature-based learning into their curricula.
A principal guided by relationship building
Jessica Dolan ’11 has always known she wanted to be a teacher. Now, as the principal of a nonprofit school for students with disabilities in Rochester, N.Y., Dolan’s experiences as a teacher and a parent have shaped her into a passionate and empathetic leader, too.
Dolan’s career commenced in New York after she earned a degree in secondary English education from Pitt-Bradford in 2010. Her path wasn’t straightforward. Dolan found herself in a challenging job market post-graduation.
“No one was hiring,” she recalled. “I took a job as a teaching assistant and worked on academic intervention.”
Despite attending 20 interviews in two years, Dolan struggled to secure a permanent role. During this period, she earned a master’s degree in literacy from Canisius University in Buffalo, N.Y., which eventually helped her land a job in the inner city of Rochester.
Dolan found her niche with middle schoolers when she began teaching seventh grade in a Rochester charter school with more than 100 students.
“Middle schoolers are the most interesting things on the planet,” she said with a laugh. “They’ll eat you alive if you don’t build relationships with them.”
That insight guided her approach throughout her career
Children at the Cleveland Nature House pick tomatoes (top), enjoy a classroom with large windows to the outside (center), and spend time in nature daily (bottom).
ONE ALMA MATER. FOUR VERY DIFFERENT TEACHERS.
– the importance of connecting with students on a personal level, something that was reinforced when she followed her husband to Phoenix and continued teaching seventh grade.
“Teachers roll their eyes when administrators say you have to build relationships, but it’s everything,” she said.
Her next move took her to Indiana, where she taught seventh and eighth grade for half a decade and also coached volleyball and soccer. In Indiana, Dolan began to see the broader impact she could have in an administrative role. She regarded herself as a worker ant, but serving in leadership roles had a transformative effect on her.
“I realized I could advocate for kids on a larger scale,” she said.
Dolan’s career took a turn whenher son, Jacob, was born with a genetic duplication and other cognitive delays. His condition opened her eyes to the unique challenges faced by students with disabilities.
“Because of him, I’m a better teacher and administrator,” she said. This personal experience fueled her passion for her current role as principal, which she stepped into after moving back to Rochester.
Dolan relies on empathy and adheres to combatting biases in the rural and urban communities she serves. Having grown up with limited resources herself, she understands the impact of systemic barriers.
“The answer to kids’ shortcomings isn’t just parenting. There’s generational poverty and limited access to resources.”
Building trust with students and their families is central to Dolan’s philosophy. She makes it a point to know at least three things about each student that are not school-related. “It’s not hard to get to know kids; you just have to ask,” she said.
This approach has helped her connect deeply with her students, even during challenging times. Dolan recalled a period when Jacob was hospitalized for over a month, and she didn’t have paid time off to use. “I was honest with my students and told them I needed grace.”
Dolan acknowledged the difficulties of being an educator, particularly in a profession that often lacks
respect and adequate compensation.
“The hardest part is that collectively, it’s not a respected profession.” Despite these challenges, she remains committed to transparency and communication with her students and their families, sending weekly updates and maintaining open lines of communication.
One of Dolan’s key insights is the need to adapt to the changing world. She believes educators must embrace the realities of instant gratification and internet accessibility to engage students effectively. Furthermore, she advocates for recognizing the capabilities of students with disabilities rather than focusing solely on their limitations.
“Everyone focuses so much on what these students can’t do, but there’s so much they can do.”
Prospective engineer redirected to becoming a math educator
Christopher Bishop ’11 embarked on a journey about 6 hours northwest of Philadelphia in 2005 to pursue his dream of being an engineer. He started that journey at Pitt-Bradford after initially being deferred by the Pittsburgh campus.
However, GPA standards prevented Bishop from transferring to Pittsburgh after two years. Despite the initial setback, he found solace in mathematics and teaching.
“I enjoy helping people, so I decided to switch gears and become a math educator,” he said.
While at Pitt-Bradford, Bishop not only found his professional calling but also a personal connection. He met
Jessica Dolan ’11 with her family
Christopher Bishop ’11
ONE ALMA MATER. FOUR VERY DIFFERENT TEACHERS.
his wife, Christina Bishop ’17, on the stoop of Hemingway House during a Resident Advisor event when they bonded over pineapple pizza and their interest in anime.
After graduating in 2010, Bishop’s teaching career took root at Beacon Light Behavioral Health System and its sister school in Bridgeport, Pa., where he worked as a behavioral health technician in the alternative education setting. His early career helped him develop the belief that students must be looked at as a whole instead of what a test score deems them to be.
“Just because a student or child is labeled as a bad kid doesn’t mean they have nothing of value to bring to the table,” Bishop said.
He also learned that growth and development can extend beyond a classroom. At one point, Bishop had to use safe crisis management and restrain a girl who was spitting at staff and throwing objects. After the incident ended, Bishop recalls being moved to tears when the girl, without any prompting, apologized to him and reconciled her actions.
Bishop now is a geometry and algebra teacher at Bradford Area High School where he aims to continue to foster an environment of inclusivity and empathy, where every student is encouraged to learn, whether they care about earning straight A’s or just getting a high-enough grade to pass.
His dedication extends beyond the confines of the school day. He invests time in building relationships with his students, whether through extracurricular activities or casual conversations.
“When I see them outside of class, I try to say ‘hi’ and ask non-school-related questions. Some are in dance or sing in choir or in band. I only live three blocks from work, so if there are events happening at the school sometimes, I tell my wife I’m leaving for a few hours to watch.”
“[Students] light up when they know I saw them,” he said, adding that he hopes showing up for his students outside of school hours will encourage his pupils to work outside of school hours, too.
Reflecting on his journey, Bishop acknowledges the role of resilience instilled in him while at Pitt-Bradford, where he learned to adapt and persevere in the face of adversity and ultimately find his true calling in education.
Romainne Harrod Kelley ’11 (seated) with her own children and Mrs. Tapia, her second grade teacher, “the first teacher that really noticed me.”
ONE ALMA MATER. FOUR VERY DIFFERENT TEACHERS.
Self-motivated educator on a mission to serve Chicago students
For the past 12 years, Romainne Kelley has dedicated herself to serving under-resourced communities in Chicago, which, she said, requires passion and grit.
Kelley’s excitement for education stems from her upbringing, where her single mother of four placed high importance on academic excellence. Growing up in California and Arizona, Kelley excelled in school and was inspired by great teachers who left a lasting impression, notably Mrs. Tapia, her second-grade teacher with whom she maintains a close bond today.
Her path to teaching took shape during high school, where she actively participated in programs like Future Teachers of America and gained experience in tutoring and lesson planning. Kelley graduated from Pitt-Bradford in 2011 with an English major and three minors.
Following her undergraduate studies, Kelley embarked on a journey with AmeriCorps, gaining valuable experience in Cincinnati and later pursuing a master’s degree in education while working in admissions at DePaul University in Chicago. Determined to make a difference in the lives of students, she transitioned to teaching and eventually took a vice principal role, driven by her unwavering passion for education and serving as the representative she wished she had.
Throughout her career, Kelley has faced numerous challenges such as navigating resource limitations.
“Institutions can be set up for failure. If scores are low, they reduce funding. You don’t always have resources, and
it’s taxing if you’re not truly passionate,” she said, adding that her current school hasn’t been able to invest in a full-time nurse in over a decade.
Kelley also has had to work with unsupportive administrators and address cultural conflicts surrounding education.
“Some people believe being smart isn’t cool. If you read too well and you articulate, that’s acting white, and you don’t want to be part of that spectrum,” Kelley said.
Kelley’s commitment to her students always goes beyond the classroom. Her goal is to be a consistent and positive presence in her students’ lives, serving as a stable adult figure they can rely on for guidance and support, especially for students with more challenging home lives.
Kelley’s commitment to her students always goes beyond the classroom. Her goal is to be a consistent and positive presence in her students’ lives, serving as a stable adult figure.
She remains steadfast in her belief that every student deserves access to quality education and opportunities for success. Looking ahead, Kelley envisions creating her own school or virtual homeschool program to provide even more tailored and intentional education experiences for students.
Romainne Harrod Kelley ’11, far left, with her students during the past academic year on a field trip to the WNDR Museum in Chicago, a museum designed to evoke wonder through interactive art and technology.
Measuring what we think we know
Pitt-Bradford faculty quantify problems with children’s mental health to help schools and providers make better choices for students
by KIMBERLY WEINBERG Portraits Editor
Three Pitt-Bradford professors are trying to measure something very hard to quantify – what factors have detrimental effects on children’s mental health.
One professor is analyzing how the COVID-19 school closures affected students’ mental health and academics. Two others seek to increase the flow of information between service providers of at-risk children.
Dr. Shailendra Gajanan, professor of economics, spent his most recent sabbatical analyzing three years of Pennsylvania Youth Survey data to figure out how the pandemic may have affected student mental health for the Center for Rural Pennsylvania. The center is a legislative agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly that pays for studies to help government groups and organizations maximize resources for the state’s 3.4 million rural residents.
Unlike other grant-giving organizations, the center puts out an open call for proposals to study topics of importance to the state. After the center selected Gajanan to perform the study, it sent him the youth surveys.
Gajanan notoriously loves data. “Big data is my friend,” he said. His last book taught graduate students and economists how to analyze statistics to evaluate outcomes for policies involving poverty and nutrition. He literally wrote the book.
“This particular data set crashed my computer,” he said. “Every other year, every student in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 in Pennsylvania has to answer these 300 questions.” Questions include demographic information and attitudes toward drugs and weapons, academics, their families and mental health. He had three years’ worth of such data.
At first, he wasn’t sure how to use this massive data set to answer the center’s question. Then he realized he could borrow a method from his extensive research on global hunger.
With the data safely installed on an external hard drive, he began giving each student’s answer a value of 0 or 1 to
create a mental health index for students showing their stress level. For example, when asked to respond to the statement “I ignore the rules that get in my way,” Gajanan assigned a 1 to students who answered “somewhat true” or “very true” and a 0 to students who answered “very false” or “somewhat false.”
He then used the index to examine changes in students’ stress levels by school district over three years of data –tests conducted in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
Gajanan found that compared with 2017 and 2019, the number of rural counties with many students experiencing high stress levels in 2021 increased significantly, while the number of urban counties with many students experiencing high stress levels remained consistently lower.
In general, Gajanan said he found that both rural and urban students whose families had lower incomes suffered more than their more financially stable peers during the pandemic, both mentally and academically. However, students from low-income, rural backgrounds suffered more mental distress than their urban counterparts because of fewer resources.
Rural students were less likely to have access to mental health services and technology needed to attend school online. Other considerations were the generally lower education level of rural parents, which made it harder for them to help their students with schoolwork.
Gajanan also found that in counties with higher levels of mental stress, students’ academic performance was negatively affected. Once the study was published and reported on by Spotlight PA, Gajanan was invited to be the keynote speaker for the Pennsylvania Association of County Administrators of Mental Health and Developmental Services.
Following his presentation, several counties followed up with Gajanan, and he has provided their offices and commissioners with individual data so that they may start plans to lower levels of mental stress for students.
Another team, Dr. Patricia Lanzon and Dr. William Clark, both assistant professors of education, are focusing on how kids get mental health services as they grow up. They have been collaborating with educators and those who provide social services in McKean and Warren counties.
Their goal is to improve the mental health of children as they grow by finding gaps across childhood mental health services and developmental stages.
“Social and emotional challenges in high school students are often related to mental health issues that
were identified when these children were infants and toddlers,” Lanzon said.
The pair found that there’s good mental health support for babies and young kids, but things get patchy for children over age 8.
“We have to do better at educating parents on how to educate their teens.”
To learn more about this, they are collaborating with mental health agencies and schools in McKean County, where Bradford is located, and neighboring Warren County, where Clark lives and is the former superintendent of schools.
In talking with these professionals, Lanzon and Clark developed the idea of a shared, centralized childhood mental health database that tracks a child’s mental health history from infancy all the way through high school.
They found that children who become depressed often first show signs between the ages of 11 and 14. If teachers, therapists, doctors and everyone who helps a child had all the information they needed in one place, they could spot kids who might be struggling with depression or other problems.
For Clark and Warren County officials, the need to do something to help student mental health is personal: three students and a teacher took their own lives in separate incidents from 2021 to 2024. “When something like that happens, everybody rallies,” he said.
Once at-risk students can be better named using an accessible mental health database, Clark and Lanzon envision a new system in which a school official or service provider checks on those at-risk students and their families as they age in a helpful way – providing age-appropriate parenting support and services for the student, if needed.
“We have to do better at educating parents on how to educate their teens,” Clark said.
With a goal established – an accessible mental health database and continuing education for parents – Clark and Lanzon are now seeking funding to create a pilot program.
“There’s definitely a need,” he said.
While rural school officials and mental health professionals might have sensed youth mental health problems at a gut level, thanks to Pitt-Bradford researchers, many have a more exact perception of what those problems are, their severity and how they might be solved.
Dr. Shailendra Gajanan, professor of economics, used economic methods to help the Pennsylvania legislature find out how COVID-19 affected children’s mental health.
Dr. Patricia Lanzon and Dr. William Clark presented their initial findings for a pilot program to fill gaps in treatment for children.
PANTHER PACK
1960s
Dave Crandall ’65-’66 retired as chairman of the board at UPMC East in Monroeville, Pa.
1970s
Judith Bowman-Kreitmeyer ’71-’73 retired as an engineer from Marconi Communications. She lives in Lincoln City, Ore.
Stephen Hallstrom ’75-’76 is a retired deputy prosecuting attorney for the Benton County (Wash.) prosecuting attorney’s civil division. He currently lives in Cheney, Wash.
Frank Linet ’75-’77 is a retired vice president of DMS Squared. He lives in Marietta, Ga.
1980s
Marianne Jacaszek-Brown ’84 retired early from BB&T Bank as vice president and relationship manager. She currently lives in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Admir “A.J.” Meslaic ’89-’91 has recently become a new business owner of Oxford International Securities in Nevada. His company is involved in nationwide restaurant supplies. He started his career with 10 years of engineering and manufacturing with GE in Erie, Pa., and then Texas. He met his wife, Carol, on his first day at Pitt-Bradford in 1989, and they are married with two accomplished daughters.
If you have an update for Portraits magazine, visit www.upbalumni.org and click on “How to update your info” or email us at Portraits@pitt.edu.
1990s
James Campbell ’90 recently started a new job as a machinist. He lives in New Castle, Pa.
Andrew Klembara ’90 retired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, where he was a corrections officer. He lives in Elysburg, Pa.
Kristina Luzzi ’92 is co-owner of Small Town Girl Boutique in downtown Bradford, which received the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Award in May.
Patricia Fitzsimmons ’94 started a new job as a consumer relations representative at Zippo Manufacturing Co.
Pam Cossaboon Morgan ’77-’79 reached her goal of running 50 half marathons in 50 states this March in Syracuse, N.Y., five days before her 65th birthday. “It was one of my favorite races!” she wrote Portraits. “There was snow on the ground, cool air, and my son flew up to surprise me on the route, dressing up in three different costumes to cheer me along the course.” With the support of friends, Morgan began the quest after her husband died. “We’ve had so much fun traveling around our amazing country, getting to visit many national parks, reindeer farms, animal conservation centers, trails, towns big and small, family and friends. We have so many stories.”
Mary Honard-Kutzmas ’94 has a new position as a lecturer at Thiel College in the Physician Assistant Studies Program. She enjoys working with students to help them reach their goal of becoming a physician assistant. She continues to practice as a PA, working primarily in a virtual urgent care center.
Joseph Colosimo ’94 has a new position as Wealth Partner at CNB. He lives in Warren, Pa.
Lori Johnson ’98 has a new job as director of finance and accounting at Plants and Goodwin Inc. She recently served a year as president of the Kiwanis Club of Bradford, a group that pursues creative ways of helping the children of the Bradford community. Literacy is one of the group’s main focuses, and members volunteer to read in classrooms, distribute free books via kiosks, and hand out free books at other community events.
2000s
Matthew Delaney ’00 is a physician assistant and medical advisor with the U.S. Army 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade recently stationed in Africa doing global health engagement. In June he began an assignment as an Army flight surgeon. He is married to Marcy Dolan ’99
Bradley McLaughlin ’01 is a forensic laboratory manager
PANTHER PACK
with the Pennsylvania State Police. He lives in Erie, Pa.
Divia Thani ’01 was named to the 2024 A100 List, a list of the 100 Asian Pacific leaders with the most impact. Thani appears alongside actor, director, producer and writer Dev Patel; the Maui first responders; and multiplatinum-selling recording artist and entrepreneur Saweetie. She is the global editorial director for Condé Nast Traveler, overseeing the renowned luxury travel and lifestyle brand with an audience of more than 35 million people. She is now based in London. The list was compiled by the mass media and venture capital group Gold House.
Tonya Johnson ’03 was promoted in February to director of operations, overseeing six large dialysis facilities for Fresenius Kidney Care. While she no longer provides nursing care, her fulfillment now comes from grooming others for success.
Jessica Clopp Lindsay ’03 is the director of curriculum and innovation for Brookville (Pa.) Area School District. She lives in Tarentum, Pa.
Leasa Maley ’03 received the President’s Award for Staff Excellence at Pitt-Bradford, where she is the assistant director of auxiliary services. Maley, who has worked at Pitt-Bradford for 37 years, received the award during
received the
in marketing, management and brand
roles
several established global organizations
Honors Convocation. In addition to her work at PittBradford, she volunteers at the Limestone (N.Y.) Fire Department.
Tyler Kerr ’04 is the new senior director of digital communications at VF Corporation. He lives in Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Peter Hammer ’06 and his wife, Jacklyn, welcomed a daughter, Ava, in 2023. He is employed by Florida Blue as an analyst and was recently promoted to Analyst II.
Keelan Miller ’06 is an academic advisor at Pitt-Bradford.
Whitney Coleman ’07 is a clinical social worker,
therapist, author, international speaker, TEDx speaker, consultant, and owner of two businesses. She helps people figure out what they need to achieve the goal they desire.
Michelle Sturtevant ’07 is the graduate medical education manager at Allegheny Health Network’s Saint Vincent Hospital. She lives in Lake City, Pa.
Trisha Wright ’07 was recently promoted to commander in the U.S. Public Health Service at her current duty station at the Federal Correctional Institution McKean in Lewis Run, Pa. In December, she became the northeast regional nurse consultant for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons,
overseeing 16 federal correctional institutions.
Craig Lindahl ’08 has a new job as senior pastor at Global Methodist Church in Templeton, Pa.
Jonathan Campbell ’08 is currently deployed to the Horn of Africa region with the Pennsylvania National Guard. Over the last year and a half, he has had the opportunity to serve as the Unit Public Affairs Representative for the 1-112 Infantry Battalion. When he is not deployed, he is a small-business lender and underwriter at Northwest Savings Bank.
Brittany Linsenbigler ’09 started her new job as a special education-life skills
Marketing executive, entrepreneur and Bradford native Thomas Cole ’80-’82
Alumni Award of Distinction from the Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association at Commencement. Cole’s career
building spans more than 40 years and includes strategic leadership
in
as well as in agencies he founded.
PANTHER PACK
teacher at Keystone Oaks School District in Pittsburgh.
Donna Black ’09 retired as a staff accountant at Zippo Manufacturing Co. She lives in Bradford.
2010s
Erik Austin ’12 was recently sworn in as the president of the Pennsylvania Association of TRIO Programs. He is the TRIO program director at Westminster College.
Amanda Fox ’12 started a new position as vice president of operations and events at Visit Rochester (N.Y).
Danielle Persing ’12 is an administrative assistant in the Academic Advising Center at Pitt-Bradford.
Brett Butler ’13 is the new chief of the Bradford City Fire Department.
Lauren Marshall ’13 is business manager of Renda Media, a privately held broadcasting company.
Brigit Schneider ’13 was recently promoted to wealth strategist at PNC in Albuquerque, N.M.
Hollie Watson ’13 began a new position as forensic case manager at Forest Warren (Pa.) Human Services in Warren.
Brittany Keck ’13 began her new position as chief
operating officer at Futures Rehabilitation Center in Bradford.
Mackenzie Heale ’14 started a new job as an investigative specialist trainee for the New York State Office of Attorney General.
Eric Marasco ’15 began a new position as corporate accounts manager at Calumet Specialty Products Partners. He lives in Bradford.
Kyle Meserole ’15 was promoted to mortgage loan officer at Hamlin Bank & Trust Company in Olean, N.Y. He is currently a top mortgage lender in the Southern Tier. He plans to wed Matthew E. Tyssee Sept. 28 in Sayre, Pa.
Daniel Yeager ’15 began a new job as business manager of the Bradford Sanitary Authority.
David Dupont ’15 began his new job as a certified
strength and conditioning specialist/head of athletic performance at Vintage Boxing in Richmond, Va. He lives in Glen Allen, Va.
Laura Burr ’15 started a new job as a nurse at AHN Wexford. She lives in New Castle, Pa.
Miranda Sipko ’16 began a new job as a nurse at UPMC in Pittsburgh.
Evan Greening ’17 was hired as the new head boys’ basketball coach at Colgan High School in Manassas, Va. Greening is a former head boys’ basketball coach at Brentsville and Park View Sterling high schools and most recently, Loudoun County High School. He was the 2022-23 Dulles District Coach of the Year at Park View before going to Loudoun County for a season. He will also teach social studies at Colgan.
Bethany Kier ’17 began a new job as a product stewardship specialist at Braskem in Pittsburgh. Previously, she worked at PPG Industries for over five years. She is looking forward to her next career step.
Joshua Fields ’18 started his new job in Erie, Pa., as an information technology technician at Erie Insurance.
Wesley Dugan ’19 became the father of a baby girl, Reese Willow Dugan, this past October.
Sierra McKinzie ’19 started her new job as research scientist/engineer at the University of Washington. She recently submitted her first author manuscript titled, “Podocytes from Hypertensive and Obese Mice Acquire an Inflammatory, Senescent and Aged Phenotype.” The paper has been accepted for publication to the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology.
2020s
Julian Rowe ’20 served a year with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps. In AmeriCorps, he collaborated with team members from all around the country to help nonprofit organizations with their goals. The projects he worked on during his service term were reconstruction efforts or building new homes throughout the southwest. Julian also traveled around
GLENN MELVIN ’04
Shakira Jackson ’22 talks with undergraduate students at the Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association’s annual Backpack to Briefcase event. She spoke about her experiences at Georgetown University, where she earned a Master of Arts in democracy and government and is studying for a law degree.
PANTHER PACK
Missouri to assist at different mass COVID vaccination sites.
Dominick Giannini ’21 is pursuing a Master of Arts in international affairs at American University. After a semester interning with Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, he began his new position as staff assistant in Fetterman’s office. He lives in Washington, DC.
Adam Guthrie ’21 began a new job as educational representative at Northern Pennsylvania Regional College.
Ezoza Ismailova ’21 is a new program associate at the International Research and Exchange Board. IREX’s international development and exchange programs support cultural and public diplomatic efforts between the United States and other countries. She supports student leadership programs that include the Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program in Tunisia and the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan.
Daniel Picklo ’21 is the new lead web developer at BridgeRev, an internet marketing service.
Etreece Adams Taylor ’21 gave birth to daughter Euree Taylor in 2022. She received her master’s degree in psychology in October 2023. This fall she will
begin a doctoral program for behavioral health management. She currently works as a social worker for an acute psychiatric program for adolescents that is designed to offer care for teenagers whose behavioral health issues cannot be managed at home. She would like to focus on
developmental milestones and mental health.
Nathan Schneider ’23 is earning his Master of Business Administration at Gannon University, where he has continued to play basketball for the NCAA Division II Golden Knights, which went 32-3 during the
regular season and reached the Division II Elite Eight.
Hannah Seeley ’23 began a new job as a brain health coach at Asbury Bethany Villages in Frederick, Md. She assesses and creates prescription plans for residents and coaches them through the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial aspects of each exercise plan using fitness games. This program has shown to be extremely beneficial for residents at Asbury Bethany Villages and also helps residents stay active.
Andrew Truman ’23 is the social media strategist for Pitt-Bradford. Before coming back to Pitt-Bradford, he spent six months as a cast member at EPCOT at Disney World.
Andrea Gordon-Peace ’24 began her new job as PKC
U.S. Army Spc. Trenton Wills ’23 is deployed as part of the Pennsylvania National Guard at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, East Africa.
Graduating senior Mike Griffin spoke at the Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association’s annual Graduate Celebration, where the Class of 2024 was officially welcomed. Before parting Pitt-Bradford, members of the class donated $882 toward funds of their choice.
PANTHER PACK
Teacher at the Children of Destiny Learning Academy.
Zoe Halpate ’24 is a student in the veterinary school at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. In order to help other students realize their dream of vet school, she has written a guide, “From Pre-Vet to Success: A Comprehensive Guide,” available on Amazon.
Farhid Negahban ’24 is a police officer with the Fairfax County (Va.) Police Department.
Shane Rogers ’24 is attending the University of Buffalo to pursue a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.
Veronica Shaffer ’24 is a tax associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Pittsburgh.
In Memoriam
Tied by service
One alumnus honors memory of another through brotherhood of EMS work
ALUMNILEGACY
Timothy “T.J.” Johnson ’89 is being honored as a fallen firefighter thanks to a fellow Pitt-Bradford alumnus, Jim Vitaletti ’71-’73, who is a member of the board of directors of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Service.
In the winter issue of Portraits, Vitaletti read about Johnson’s death following a fire call. Johnson died of an apparent heart attack last October after answering an EMS call with the Pleasant Valley Fire Department, where he was the chief. Shortly after the call, he died at home. He had been fire chief for three years and a member of the department since 1986.
“After reading the alumni information, I researched Timothy and found that his death certainly met the requirements for being honored as part of our service,” Vitaletti said.
“In July, Timothy will be one of 36 honorees from across the country that will be honored at this year’s service in Arlington, Va.”
Johnson’s name will be inscribed on a Tree of Honor that has the names of hundreds of previous EMS honorees.
In April, he was one of six Pennsylvania firefighters remembered as part of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg, Md.
He earned his bachelor’s degree at Pitt-Bradford in computer science and worked for 34 years at Whirley Industries in Warren, Pa., where he was information technology director.
Rev. Christopher Barnes ’95 died in May in Titusville, Pa. After graduating from Pitt-Bradford, he became a mortician and served as a funeral director at Koch-Chatley Gaeto Memorial Chapel in Bradford before entering St. Mark Seminary. He was ordained in 2010 in St. Peter Cathedral in Erie, Pa., and served throughout the Erie diocese.
Debra Caskey ’82 died in February. After attending PittBradford for a year, she earned her bachelor’s degree in English at the Pittsburgh campus. She worked for several opticians in the area and was a member of American Legion Post 108 Auxiliary and Pine Acres Country Club.
Karen Hyde-Kelley ’91 died in January. She was a registered nurse at UPMC Cole in Coudersport, Pa., and enjoyed being outdoors, camping and taking walks as well as spending time with her dog, Waldo, and her bird, Maclead.
Beverly Johnson Check ’96 died in March after an extended illness. She was a registered nurse at Warren (Pa.) State Hospital.
Jon Eilers ’82 died April 2 at Piedmont Metro Atlanta Hospital in Atlanta, where he lived. In the early ‘80s, he worked in the Bradford oil fields for National Transit, then began a career as an investment broker for Inacom International in Denver. After moving to Washington, D.C., he used his passion and knowledge of engineering to launch a career as a solutions engineer for Honeywell Federal Systems and eventually PDA Engineering, selling high-end CAD software to the federal government and its major contractors. More specialized government work took him to Atlanta, where he eventually transitioned from the corporate arena to become a contractor himself.
Betty Fasnacht ’81 died in April in Warren, Pa. She was a nurse at Warren (Pa.) State Hospital for 12 years, city editor at The Bradford Era newspaper from 1970 to 1975 and organist at Grace Lutheran Church and Temple Beth El, both in Bradford. Her eldest son was an apprentice mechanic at the Harri Emery Airport Hangar, today’s Hangar Building, which houses financial aid, enrollment services and business affairs. Her four other children all attended Pitt-Bradford between 1973 and 1981.
Dear Class of 2024
You are special to us. Sure, every class is special to us, but this is different. You came to us online and behind masks. Some of us didn’t even meet you in person until you were sophomores.
•
We met your pets wandering into frames, parents putting away laundry and siblings knocking on bedroom doors. You saw our dining room tables turned into offices, our cats walking across keyboards and our challenges with new-to-us technology.
•
A lot of you bravely moved to campus for your first time away from home, met the fellow students we told you would be your three new best friends and many of you stayed close with them. You went outside and met new people, played Jackbox games and sometimes kept your cameras on. Thank you. Thank you to your families who trusted us.
•
Together we faced anxiety, uncertainty, ambiguity and new ways of learning, teaching and relating. All things considered, you were pretty patient with us — a lot who love nothing more than to plan, plan, plan, meet the deadline and follow the syllabus. We were a little unmoored by our loss of control, the constant changes, the unmanageable outside world.
•
It was a delight to meet you once again when the masks came off. We have watched you learn, show and exemplify empathy, resilience and perseverance. We hope that you will remember in the years to come that you can do hard things, because you did this — you earned your degree during a worldwide emergency.
•
Thank you — for the confidence you had in us to keep you safe, all the times you did the things you didn’t feel like doing, all the times you kept us going.
Love,
Your Alma Mater
Office of Philanthropic and Alumni Engagement
300
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Graduating senior Torie Wiest, a forensic science major from Elizabethville, Pa., shows off her new degree with the panther following Commencement.
GLENN MELVIN
