ALLEGHENY VIEW
Community College of Allegheny County - Allegheny Campus - Pittsburgh, PA
COUGAR CONNECTIONS SPECIAL EDITION
Perry’s party at the Fieldhouse!
By MALIK VINCENT Allegheny View Co-Advisor
give prospective students an idea of what happens in Student Life at Allegheny. Represented was the Student Nurses Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP), the Student Dietetics Association (SDA), the Student Government Organization and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA). “Student Life offers a variety of programs,” Christine McQuaide, who is Allegheny Campus’s interim director of student life, said. “The Athletic Photos by: Joy LeViere/Special To Allegheny View Open House was a great opportunity to showcase both our athletic department and student clubs and organizations.” The sounds of the Perry High School marching band permeated throughout the building as the teams prepared for battle. “I thought it was great that Perry atQuotable: tended with their band and dance team,” “During the Chalese Floyd, a student success coach season, overall, at Allegheny Campus, said. “I think playing at CCAC that added a total different element of was great. I’d culture to the event. They made it feel not played in like a bit more of a pep rally and I think, the past and I in a sense, the players fed off of that.” learned a lot. If Floyd carried out the bulk of the I were to play Athletic Open House’s coordination. again, I would Megan Pennington, a CCAC mudefinitely enjoy #23 sic major, played guitar and sang for it and learn even Monet’ Johnson the home crowd. She also opened Freshman, 5-7, F more.” up the game by leading attendees in W. Basketball the singing of our national anthem. “Her performance was a great reflecQuotable: tion and representation of the music “We had a great year my senior program here at Allegheny,” Floyd said year at Perry. We In an effort to engage with high were 7-3 in city school students and the community, league play durat large, the Allegheny Campus will ing the regular host three additional open houses season. The same that are set to take place on Mar 15, sort of tradition is Apr 9 (college wide), and Apr 27. here at CCAC. It’s #5 the same Norman Taylor (Malik Vincent is the Co-Advisor of the Allegheny View StuFreshman, 5-10, G expectations, just on a bigger d e n t N e w s p a p e r. H e c a n b e M. Basketball stage. reached at mvincent@ccac.edu.)
From Commodore to Cougar!
The CCAC-Allegheny Fieldhouse welcomed the Northside community for its campus’s Athletic Open House, Jan 30. 135 individuals gathered to watch both the Men and Women’s basketball teams take on Pitt-Titusville (UPT). The Cougar men took care of Pitt-Titusville, 87-59. They’d also won their first meeting against the Panthers. The Cougar women had one of their most competitive opening halves against UPT but fell to them by the final score of 80-61. “I thought it was a great night for our campus,” Cougars head coach Robert Keslar said. “I loved seeing that many people in stands. I love seeing clubs and organizations come together like that and we had two great games.” K e s l a r l e a d s b o t h t h e m e n ’s a n d w o m e n ’s b a s k e t b a l l p r o g r a m s . There were several representatives amongst the campus’s clubs and organizations present that set up informational tables to
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ALLEGHENY VIEW
COUGAR CONNECTIONS
Walking Down Ridge Avenue
By BRANDON KENNEY Allegheny View Staff Writer Question: How impactful has Cougar athletics been to the student body?
“Just by the looks of all the awards that we have, it seems like we strive to be the best. Especially with the number of the awards we have, I see an impressive amount. It really impressed me to see the amount of trophies that were in our trophy cases.” -Emilio Suarez Biology
“It’s a really good outlet-especially with having (to deal with a) work-life balance and having an activity while having school and also for the athletes to get some energy out. CCAC cares a lot about sports and academics, it’s a great quality for them to have.” -Brooke Webster General Studies
“Some of the positives that I see coming out of (Cougar athletics) is giving people a sense of comradery. That sense of being together and uniting (to achieve a goal).” -Brandon Myles General Studies
“Athletics seems to bring (a lot of guys to life) here. Most guys want to go to (bigger schools) and I feel like Community College is the best place to start. (I’ve attended games) a couple of times because a few of my friends are on the basketball team and I feel like they’ve done a good job with them. The coaches and everything.” -Elijah Williams General Studies
“It made me experience team work a lot more. It gave me some friendships and Bob (Keslar), the coach, has been a great role model.” -Darrell Williams General Studies
ALLEGHENY VIEW CCAC Allegheny Campus
Contact Information: (Phone) 412.237.4632 (Email) mvincent@ccac.edu Student Life Physical Education Building 808 Ridge Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Digital Media Editor: Robert Casamassa
Visuals Editor: Dylan Yee Layout and Advisers: Lyndsey Kuzak Malik Vincent Christine McQuaide
In this edition: Robert Casamassa Brandon Kenney Malik Vincent Editorial Policy: The VIEW is published as a
service to the campus community. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of CCAC administration, faculty, staff and/or student body.
ALLEGHENY VIEW SPECIAL EDITION
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Illustrious History of Cougar Athletics Spans Over A Half-Century By ROBERT CASAMASSA Allegheny View Staff Writer
As time progresses, most people find themselves drawn to athletics purely as a form of recreation or as an aid to help us through our academic odyssey. Since the school’s founding in 1966, CCAC has assisted in the development of many young athletes. Despite its adolescence and lack of similar prestige that the big, four-year universities enjoy, there is more to Cougar Athletics than meets the eye. During its first few years of existence, Allegheny campus saw an influx of young individuals that wished to participate in a sport. The first program to be launched was men’s basketball in 1967, which would be quickly accompanied by cross country, tennis, soccer, track, wrestling, and golf the very next year. Men’s basketball would go on to enjoy an accomplished record of 15-5 in 1968, having beaten the likes of Washington & Jefferson College and Carnegie Mellon University. The following year, CCAC would went on to beat Robert Morris in soccer and take first place in the National Junior Athletics Associa-
tion (NJCAA) Region XX championship for cross country. And with the guidance of Coach Bill Shay, a then associate professor of physical education at Allegheny campus, the men’s basketball would claim the regional, state, division, and national titles after the 1989-90 season. He would then go on to be inducted into the Regional XX Hall of Fame alongside CCAC’s first athletic director Neil Cohen and our current athletic coordinator Ken Hoeltje. All these accomplishments demonstrated pride in quality that we carry to this day. With all the statistics aside, however, the real quality in Allegheny’s athletic program may not be as simple as good coaches and talented athletes. When asked to reflect back on his days as coach of the women’s basketball club, Ken Hoeltje commented that the thing he appreciated the most was when one of his players would approach him years later and treat him like family. “When they’d contact me years later and say, ‘Coach, I’m getting married and I want you to come to my wedding’, that lets me know that I did my job right,” he said. His impact on the lives of his athletes was so important to both parties that it did not matter if they did not win an outstanding quantity of games; he had helped shape them into better people and they knew it. Looking back even further, Hoeltje reflected on his time as a student-athlete during his time studying at Allegheny Campus and how much of an impact Shay had made on his life. “To us, he was Coach,” Hoeltje said. “And that wasn’t a word we just threw
around. Even now, when I see him around the campus, I always say, ‘hi coach’, instead of Bill… Because he is.” The qualities of the program that have touched the lives of previous students was not simply the training, natural skill or good coaching, but the example of loyalty, dedication and commitment. Also, to not disappoint those that are depending on you, which is traceable all the way back to the school’s early years. It was established to better the community and that sense of it translated into a sincerity to better the lives of its athletes and provide them with opportunities for a better future through their sport. After over half a century of the roller coaster that is our education system, the school has not folded. The students are presented with an athletic program that provides them with the opportunity to improve and remain dedicated to one another for years beyond graduation. (Robert Casamassa is the Digital Media Editor of the Allegheny View Student Newspaper. He can be reached at cometpro57@gmail.com. )
File: CCAC Marketing /Circa 1969