s living beings, we strive toward the light. It is, quite literally, necessary for us to sustain and thrive. Every year, it awakens the plants and animals around us and re-energizes our students as they work through the spring semester. It allows us to see more clearly, make new discoveries, and illuminate our understanding of countless topics.
This is not a coincidence. In his Holy Rule, Saint Benedict writes, “let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God.” And so, we allow the light in, invite it to shine through us, and pass it on to the generations of students passing through these halls.
A Saint Vincent education illuminates not just our students, but every member of our community. As we teach our students to learn the skills they need to succeed, we teach them to lead successful and meaningful lives. They, in turn, enrich us with new perspectives and remind us of our purpose in the pursuit of our mission.
Examples of this interconnection exist across campus. Students and professors pursue research breakthroughs. New programs prepare students for a changing world. Alumni reflect on history and explore new ideas. But these examples are most felt in the everyday interactions we have, from hallway conversations to the small reflective moments in the quiet spaces on campus.
Let us, then, open our eyes to the light together. Let us take in that light and thrive in its presence. And let us pass it on to those who need it, continuing to move forward in pursuit of a better tomorrow.
Looking forward,
Rev. Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B. President
At the Spring Honors Convocation, Father Paul Taylor introduces the finalists for the 2024 President’s Award: (from left) Olivia Persin, Helen Kish, Bridgette Gorg, Alyson Frank, and Delaney Fox.
SPRING 2024, VOL. 2, NO. 2
Archabbot and Chancellor
Rt. Rev. Martin de Porres Bartel, O.S.B., S’85
President
Rev. Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B., C’87, S’91
Executive Vice President/ Chief Operating Officer
Jeff Mallory, Ed.D., C’06, G’13
Vice President of Marketing Simon Stuchlik, C’12
Editor-in-Chief
Morgan Paris, C’16 Institutional Marketing Manager
Art Director George Fetkovich, C’80
Designer Ellie Powell, C’22
Contributing Writers
Noah Aftanas, C’21
Jim Bendel, C’60
Jim Berger, C’04
Rob Biertempfel
David Collins, C’24
Guy Davis
Andrew Julo
Madison Kozera, C’24
Liz Palmer
Photography Liz Palmer
Visit us on the web at 1846.stvincent.edu 1846@stvincent.edu
DEPARTMENTS
2 News Briefs
New healthcare program debuts in the fall.
1846: The Magazine of Saint Vincent College (United States Postal Service Publication Number USPS 51448000) is published by Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, for alumni, parents and friends. Thirdclass postage paid at Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Alumni Office, Saint Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe, PA 15650-2690. Saint Vincent College reserves the right to accept or decline submissions of both information and photos for use in 1846: The Magazine of Saint Vincent College, based on content, quality, timeliness and suitability, at the discretion of the editor. Saint Vincent College subscribes to a policy of equal opportunity in the classroom, workplace and programs, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, veteran status, national origin, marital status, genetic history or disability. To learn more, visit: http://www.stvincent.edu/Legal-Information/.
Infant program captures PAC Championship.
Students shine in campus documentary.
New aviation program debuts in the fall.
Susan Baker Shipley delivers the spring commencement address.
Recent grad builds a Bedford business.
Ronald
15 From the Archives
20 Office Space
30 Class Notes
32 By the Numbers
Corrections to 1846, Vol. 2, No. 1
On the back cover, Bibiana Boerio was stated to have worked with Brother David Carlson on the Library renovation. She worked with Brother David Kelly.
ON THE COVER
The illuminated manuscript-inspired illustration by art director George Fetkovich and designer Ellie Powell features a historic SVC monogram. The monogram was used by the College’s sports teams in the early 20th century. Check out the next installment of 1846: The Podcast featuring Dom Nania, Head Wrestling Coach
news briefs
College of Distinction rankings
Saint Vincent College has been named a College of Distinction for the 2023 – 2024 academic year, both overall and in several subcategories: Pennsylvania colleges, Catholic colleges, business programs, education programs, engineering programs, and career development. Colleges of Distinction is a hand-picked selection of top schools that are well-equipped to provide a personalized education geared toward a student’s interests.
1846 awarded
Saint Vincent College won three awards in the 39th annual Educational Advertising Awards. 1846: The Magazine of Saint Vincent College (Vol. 1 No. 1) was a silver winner in the publications category, and SVC was a bronze winner in the special event materials and total recruitment package categories.
commencement
Saint Vincent College held its 178th annual Spring Commencement Ceremony on May 11, awarding bachelor’s or master’s degrees to 298 students and certificates of completion to five Bearcat B.E.S.T. students. Susie Baker Shipley, president of the Pennsylvania, Ohio Valley, and Mahoning region for Huntington Bank, delivered the commencement address and was presented with the Presidential Medal of Honor.
student to attend Fulbright
Rising sophomore public history major Jonah Weaver, of Danville, Pennsylvania, was selected to attend the Fulbright Summer Institute this summer at Aberystwyth University in Wales. The Fulbright Summer Institute is one of the world’s most prestigious and selective summer scholarship programs.
auditor general visit
Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy DeFoor visited Saint Vincent’s campus and gave a presentation on the job of an auditor general and potential career opportunities within the Department of Auditor General. Afterward, DeFoor hosted a questionand-answer session with accounting, math, and finance students.
Read more and get the latest Saint Vincent College news at 1846.stvincent.edu/news.
world series of birding
Dr. Jim Kellam’s World Series of Birds class participated in New Jersey Audobon’s World Series of Birding competition May 8 – 12, held in Cape May, New Jersey. SVC’s three teams finished strong, sighting 116, 104, and 95 species, respectively. The students who participated included Mike Azinger, C 26; Jonah Weaver, C 27; Teresa Grimm, C 27; Cassie Lanza, C 26; Mary McConville, C 27; Kristen Prince, C 26; Grace Scoville, C 26, and Carolina Walters, C 26.
DataFest
Saint Vincent College’s Data Science Team, consisting of mathematics majors Victoria Barone, C 26; Sean Talbot, C 25; and Antonia Sunseri, C’24, won best statistical analysis at the fourth annual American Statistical Association DataFest 2024 competition held April 12 – 14 at Robert Morris University. Dr. Mary Regina Boland and Dr. Justin Petrovich co-sponsor the team.
care for campus
Noting that the trees lining the entryway to campus were in need of care, Dr. Thomas Cline stepped forward to take on their preservation. Dr. Cline is a professor of business and statistics in the Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics, and Government.
spring honors convocation
Awards were presented to faculty, administrators, and students during the College’s annual Spring Honors Convocation on April 24. Among the awardees were Olivia Persin, C’24 (President’s Award); Dr. Sara Lindey (Boniface Wimmer Faculty Award); Dr. Lucas Briola, C’13 (Quentin Schaut Faculty Award); Dr. Nicholas Racculia, C’00 (SGA Faculty Award); and Dr. Anthony Kane (SGA Administrator Award). Daniel Lynch, C’89, delivered this year’s convocation address.
ANATOMY OF THE NURSING PROGRAM
STORY Jim Berger PHOTOGRAPHY Liz Palmer
After nearly eighteen months of planning, Saint Vincent College will welcome its inaugural cohort into its Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program when the fall semester begins in August.
The Saint Vincent BSN program officially received approval by the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing in November 2023. It will provide students with a thorough classroom and practical education, while immersing them in the College’s classic Benedictine, liberal arts and sciences curriculum.
“Saint Vincent nurses will be educated with three distinct concepts threaded throughout the curriculum,” said Dr. Helen Burns, the Rev. Owen Roth, O.S.B., Inaugural Director of Nursing. “First, they will be educated as professionals. Second, as clinicians. And third, as leaders, regardless of any role that they accept. Saint Vincent nurses will be prepared to work in any healthcare setting.”
Burns was appointed to her role at Saint Vincent College after a distinguished nursing career, culminating with her position as senior vice president and chief nursing officer for Excela Health (now Independence Health). A fellow of
the American Academy of Nursing, she has also served as deputy secretary for health planning and assessment for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
With extensive experience in nursing education, Burns previously served as associate dean for clinical education in the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Nursing and as a member of the US Department Health and Human Services’ National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice, and she was excited to have the opportunity to spearhead the creation of the new program at Saint Vincent College.
“It is an opportunity to create a legacy,” she remarked. “Every student who will be educated through this program is going to go out and touch thousands of lives.”
BSN students will follow a rigorous, 124-credit curriculum spanning a multitude of disciplines, with the Saint Vincent College core curriculum providing the foundation. Students will also be required to enroll in science, math, informatics, ethics, and humanities courses. The nursing-specific and medical specialty courses, taught
by highly qualified nursing professionals and educators, will include more than 1,000 clinical hours.
“We will have an interdisciplinary approach to education,” explained Burns. “The education of Saint Vincent nurses is going to be built on the foundation of Catholic tradition and the Benedictine Hallmarks, along with evidence-based practice.”
While this is the first time that Saint Vincent College will be offering its own BSN program, there have been nursing students on campus since 2019, when a satellite partnership with Carlow University was launched that enabled SVC students to earn a BSN from the Carlow School of Nursing. The collaborative partnership has resulted in more than forty students successfully earning a BSN conferred by Carlow, which has assured the continuation of the partnership to graduate all students currently enrolled in that program.
“The transition has gone well, and we are supporting each other,” said Burns. “We are supportive of Carlow in graduating the current students enrolled in its BSN program, and Carlow is supportive of Saint Vincent as we are building and implementing our own program.”
Throughout the Carlow partnership, the bulk of the nursing-specific courses have been held in the James F. Will Engineering and Biomedical Sciences Hall in the Sis
and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion. The facility has received a wealth of additions and upgrades over the past four years, including a state-of-the-art nursing simulation lab with authentic equipment aimed at replicating clinical experiences and the Ralph H. Liberatore Human Anatomy Suite, a large laboratory space designed for cadaveric medical training sessions highlighted by the Anatomage Table, which is a computerized, three-dimensional cadaver model that allows students to visualize anatomy exactly as they would on a fresh cadaver.
When Saint Vincent College’s BSN program launches this fall, its students will utilize these facilities in Will Hall, but only on a temporary basis, as construction is slated to begin in February on Rhodora and John Donahue Hall. The three-story structure, which is to be located alongside the Dupré Pavilion, will house the David Scaife Family Center for Excellence and Innovation in Nursing. The Center will feature a nursing skills lab, a virtual reality suite, simulation labs, a telehealth suite, conference rooms, and classrooms to support the nursing curriculum.
“It will continue to connect nursing with science. It’s going to be technologically intensive and will provide our future generation of nurses with invaluable resources.
“We really are on a path to creating a premiere nursing program.” ♦
IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A LEGACY. EVERY STUDENT WHO WILL BE EDUCATED THROUGH THIS PROGRAM IS GOING TO GO OUT AND TOUCH THOUSANDS OF LIVES.
THE YOUNG AND THE
WRESTLERS
STORY Rob Biertempfel
PHOTOGRAPHY Liz Palmer
Heavyweight Jacob Beistel takes down a Waynesburg University oppponent.
The wrestling program reemerges after fifty years and captures a championship.
The rebirth of Saint Vincent College wrestling became official in March 2022, when school officials reignited the varsity program after a fifty-year hiatus. Yet, it wasn’t until one morning in October 2023—more than a year after coach Dominick Nania was hired and began piecing together his inaugural roster—that the whole thing became real. “The day when we rolled out the mats in the workout room for the first time, it started to feel like we were legit,” Nania said.
Another landmark moment happened a couple of weeks later, when the Bearcats opened their season at the Adrian College Invitational in Michigan. “That was the first time I saw the guys wrestling in their singlets,” Nania said. “When I see them pound their chest and it says ‘Saint Vincent’ there, that means a lot. They’re proud of it, too, because they’re building this program.”
Wrestling is Saint Vincent’s twenty-fourth varsity sport and competes in NCAA Division III. From 1963 to 1975, SVC wrestled at the NAIA level. When interest waned, the program was downgraded to a club sport for a few years before finally vanishing from campus. Tom Harbert, who coached SVC’s wrestling team from 1963 to 1971, began lobbying about ten years ago to reboot the program.
“I’ve had a good ride with this sport,” said Harbert, a member of the Saint Vincent College Athletic Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “Wrestling gave me an education; it led me to different people and to different jobs. It’s been a long ride, but also a good one. And I am so happy that it’s come back to Saint Vincent.”
Harbert had a lot of help getting wrestling reinstated. Alumni such as Domenick Valore, C’75, and John Lally, C’77, a member of the Saint Vincent College Board of Directors, made persuasive arguments. Dr. Jeff Mallory, C’06, G’13, Saint Vincent’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, quickly
saw the upside: “I was puzzled only by why we hadn’t thought about it [earlier].”
Harbert wrote more than 200 letters to his former wrestlers, friends, and wrestling fans to raise money for mats and equipment. According to Mallory, the total came to more than $150,000. “And we have more [people] who are pleased with where we are and already have said they would like us to approach them again for more funding,” Mallory said.
By the summer of 2022, the program had its budget and a full coaching staff. The well-equipped Dolan Family Wrestling Facility in Saint Scholastica Hall was ready to go, using mats borrowed from Hempfield High School until the SVC customized mats arrived in October. The next step was crucial: recruiting wrestlers. Western Pennsylvania, and especially Westmoreland County, is an incubator for blue-chip high school and youth league wrestlers; in fact, many of the best Division I programs mine talent out of towns like Murrysville, Latrobe, Greensburg, Connellsville, Waynesburg, and Kittanning.
A decade ago, Nania was the first-ever wrestling commit for a new program at Wheeling Jesuit (now called Wheeling University), so he understands the grind of the recruiting process. After coaching as an assistant for a total of six years at Seton Hill University and Hempfield and Norwin high schools, he knows what type of wrestlers will fit in at Saint Vincent. “You have to find not only the right athlete, but the right studentathlete,” Nania said. “We have lots of tiny hometown kids and small-school kids here. It’s stereotypical for someone to say, ‘Oh, I don’t want to live in some small town forever,’ but some of our guys actually do want to go back to their hometown and stay there forever—that’s wrestling.”
Nineteen of Saint Vincent’s twenty-one wrestlers are either freshmen or sophomores. Nania isn’t keen on the quick-fix of luring a lot of student-athletes from the transfer portal
because he wants to build around guys who will be at Saint Vincent for four years. “I think our culture will stay strong that way,” Nania said.
Chase Brandebura, C 27, who wrestles at 165 pounds, was a four-year letterman at Carlynton High School and a two-time qualifier for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AA tournament. He had reservations about joining a first-year college program but bought in to Nania’s sales pitch during his recruiting visit.
“Having the opportunity to make history right off the bat was a huge part of what brought me to Saint Vincent,” Brandebura said. “There’s no one ahead of me [on the depth chart]. I get to be myself and set the standard. What’s perfect about this team is, we all want to come in and set the bar high. Hopefully, fifty years down the line, this program is even better than we want it to be now.”
Although only three of its fellow member schools in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference sponsor wrestling, Saint Vincent won’t lack for competition. There are nearly as many teams at the Division III level (123) as there are in Division I and II combined (146). At the Desert Duals in Las Vegas in mid-December, SVC took on several of the top teams in the country, including No. 2 Wartburg.
“Bringing wrestling back was a no-brainer,” Mallory said. “The staff is top notch. The alumni support is superb. We’ve seen a record number of streaming [views]. It’s already been a success all the way around.”
The Robert S. Carey Student Center was buzzing on Nov. 14, 2023, when SVC hosted its first dual meet against Penn State-Behrend.
Plenty of current students and alumni showed up, but the full-house crowd also was dotted with other folks wearing t-shirts and hoodies of nearby high school wrestling teams. From his home in the Florida Keys, Lally watched the meet via the Internet. “It was pretty cool,” Lally said.
“We lost the meet, but in the last match, our heavyweight [Jake Beistel, C’24] pinned the kid from Penn StateBehrend in under a minute, and the crowd exploded.
Head coach Dom Nania
WRES
I’m so happy for those guys.”
Three weeks later, the Bearcats notched their first dual-meet victory against Pitt-Bradford. Nania wiped tears from his eyes as the team celebrated in the visitors’ locker room. The coach wept again after watching his undermanned squad of newcomers—Beistel, the Bearcats’ best and most experienced wrestler, missed the event due to health reasons—doggedly battle through tough bouts in the Desert Duals.
Saint Vincent finished the dual-meet season with records of 5-7 overall and 2-1 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. In the first-ever appearance in the PAC championship tournament, the Bearcats racked up 103.5 points and breezed to the team title. Brandebura won the 165-pound weight class and was named the PAC’s newcomer of the year. Sean Cain, C 27, (125 pounds) and Charlie Mesich, C 27, (157 pounds) also won individual titles. Nania was named PAC coach of the year. At the NCAA Division III Southeast Regional Championships, Beistel finished seventh and Mesich eighth in their respective weight classes.
Saint Vincent’s rookie season in Division III was marked by highs, lows, and a lot of progress. “I feel like I cry all the time now,” Nania said with a laugh. “I’m so proud of what we’re doing here, and I’m so proud of the guys. It’s hard not to get emotional because it has been a very stressful couple of years. It’s been a lot of really hard work, but I wouldn’t want to do this anywhere else because we’re building up a program from nothing.” ♦
STORY Liz Palmer
PHOTOGRAPHY Liz Palmer
Heading into its eleventh season, the award-winning series The College Tour continues its mission of shedding light on the authentic experiences of students at various colleges and universities. The show is hosted by Alex Boylan, an Emmy-nominated producer who won the second season of “The Amazing Race” on CBS. Boylan’s inspiration for the series was personal, driven by witnessing his nieces’ challenges in navigating the college search process, constrained by financial considerations. Serving as a valuable resource for prospective students, the show offers a comprehensive guide to aid in the decision-making process, addressing the question: Which college is best for me?
In its recently released tenth season, Saint Vincent College takes center stage, providing a glimpse into the lives of its students.
The SVC journey began with over forty students auditioning for the chance to be among one of the ten featured in the episode. Filming took place on campus from August 28 to September 1, 2023. The SVC episode made its premiere on Amazon Prime on February 27, 2024. The episode captures not only the individual narratives of students but also the genuine essence of the daily life at Saint Vincent College. On the following pages, the ten featured students share their experiences with the project. ♦
ELIZABETHDACANAY
C 26 | BIOCHEMISTRY
Beaver, PA
I have had such a positive experience at Saint Vincent thus far that I wanted to audition for The College Tour to share my love for the school with others. Through my participation, I have grown to appreciate the unique opportunities Saint Vincent has provided me with even more. SVC’s episode showed me how different and wonderful other fellow students’ college experiences have been. I hope prospective students see the caring community at Saint Vincent when they watch the episode. Without my professors providing solid academics, encouraging me to pursue my career goals, and directing me to campus resources, I would not be in the position I am today. I am grateful for those who continue to support me, and I assure students planning to attend Saint Vincent that they, too, will experience a caring, committed, and accessible community.
DESONIOPOWELL
C'22 | COMMUNICATION
Lancaster, TX
What motivated me to audition for The College Tour is the encouragement I received from my family, friends, and professors. When I first submitted the audition video, I was scared to tell my story because of how hard the journey was. But when I was informed that I would be one of the cast for the show, I saw it as a way to help the future students connect with my background. From the first moment I stepped on campus at Saint Vincent College, I was welcomed with open arms. Being a student athlete from Texas and traversing north helped me open my eyes to a whole new way of living. When I lived in Texas, there was a lot of adversity with not having a stable place to live. Hopefully, with me telling my story, future students know that they don’t have to feel alone and that there are always people there to help you at Saint Vincent College.
RACHELANDREOLA
C'24 | MATHEMATICS
Pittsburgh, PA
I decided to audition for The College Tour for a couple reasons. I’ve loved my journey at Saint Vincent, and I thought it would be such a privilege to share that in a public way. Additionally, I have some experience performing on a stage, so I was interested in pushing myself out of my comfort zone by going in front of a camera instead. In doing so, I learned new skills, was introduced to great people, and engaged in enlightening self-reflection. I hope prospective students can see a fuller picture of what it is like to be a member of our community—something that can enhance their understanding of the reality of student life. When writing my segment, I aspired to capture my honest experiences and opinions, as I know the other participants did as well. From academics to student life and everything in between, I think that prospective students can get an authentic view of Saint Vincent by watching SVC’s episode of The College Tour. I hope that they will see the passion, motivation, and sense of community that the students on campus cultivate and understand that there is a place for them to thrive at Saint Vincent.
DIANAMOSTEN
C 25 | INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Harrisburg, PA
Being involved as a servant-leader for my fellow peers has truly become who I am and what I take pride in doing. Having the opportunity to show potential Bearcats what it is like to be both a student-leader and student-athlete was vital. Looking back, my favorite part about being one of the selected student participants was the wait and anticipation of the big reveal of the entire production. I knew what many of the other participants’ topics were, but I didn’t quite know exactly what they would say. I think that is what made it special—we all wrote our own scripts for the world to hear. It was us students and alumni giving a glimpse of what it truly is to be a part of the Saint Vincent Community. With that, I hope that prospective students will see how beautiful the Saint Vincent Community is from the inside out. I hope that families will see that not only will their children get a phenomenal education but also have a lasting and impactful experience throughout their time here.
DAVIDCOLLINS
C'24 | ENGLISH AND COMMUNICATION
Oakmont, PA
What I thought was especially neat about The College Tour experience and the product we ended up creating was just how much carte blanche we were given regarding the script. After being paired with our most suitable subtopic like research or ministry, or mine, opportunity, we had complete freedom to erect our own individual scripts, catered to our own individual backgrounds and experiences. That nothing had to be filtered, fabricated, or forced shows, I think, that the college speaks for itself; we just happened to be the vessels through which our school’s story was told. I feel very fortunate to have been involved and am confident the authenticity will be palpable and attractive to prospective students.
ISAIAH
McELROY
C'23 | COMMUNICATION
Hagerstown, MD
I auditioned for The College Tour driven by a belief that sharing my experience would inspire others. In my segment, I discuss taking a leap of faith in attending SVC and how it turned out to be one of the most transformative decisions of my life. This story in particular is meant to inspire prospective students who may have the same concerns or doubts that I had when deciding which college to attend. By sharing my journey, I hope to encourage and motivate prospective and current students at SVC to pursue their aspirations with no regrets.
"I hope our episode gives them a real glimpse into the vibrant community waiting for them here."
DAVIDRAHAMAN
C'24 | ENGLISH
West Orange, NJ
The College Tour was a big opportunity for me because I wanted to represent Saint Vincent College. I wanted to share why it feels like a second home. The best part about filming was hanging out with the crew. They were all so friendly and funny, and they helped calm my nerves about remembering lines. This experience helped me get better in front of the camera, and I hope more opportunities like this come my way. Being part of this was not just about filming; it was a journey that contributed significantly to my personal growth. It gave me valuable experience in front of the camera, and I’m looking forward to more chances to build on this skill. When future students watch our episode, I want them to feel the strong sense of community we have at Saint Vincent. Our episode truly emphasizes that community vibe—a big theme at our school. I want prospective students to understand that our stories and experiences are genuine. The smiles, being part of different groups, and making lifelong friends—that’s the authentic Saint Vincent College experience. I hope our episode gives them a real glimpse into the vibrant community waiting for them here.
MARTATREMBETSKA
C 26 | MARKETING
First time being in front of a camera, first time looking right in the camera and telling my story, and first time seeing myself on a big screen. Getting out of my comfort zone was not an easy thing; overcoming anxiety and looking for support in other people— those are only some of the experiences that helped me to grow both internally and externally. Seeing that I can do all the things even if scared or uncomfortable made me realize that I can reach my goals if I put my mind to it. Being a part of The College Tour serves as a reminder for me to get out of my comfort zone more often. Making mistakes does not look scary anymore. On the contrary, I am proud of myself for self-improving so I can look back and see how much The College Tour gave so many valuable insights and lessons that I am excited to use in my everyday life.
DOMINICOTO
C'24 | THEOLOGY
Pittsburgh, PA
Being a part of The College Tour was great, but it almost didn’t happen for me. When I was at Fort Knox, Kentucky, conducting Cadet Summer Training for the military, it was nearly two weeks before I could check my phone. When I turned it on, I saw I’d received a ton of Outlook notifications about The College Tour. Our producers urgently needed me to send them a script of my own creation that same day. If not, I would have been re-casted for the show. I sent them the best I could offer in thirty minutes, and thankfully, I was able to be on the show.
If there is anything prospective students should think about when selecting Saint Vincent College, think about the tradition—understand it and soak it all in—be a sponge for what we are. Think of the community and the home that is Saint Vincent . This college is truly a community that runs deep in its Benedictine, Catholic roots, and it has shaped me into a man of God who is set on fire to pursue great and imaginative paths in life. My journey started with Saint Vincent, and the path has just begun.
STACIE RENEERAMOS
C 25 | MARKETING AND DIGITAL ART & MEDIA
Chula Vista, CA
When I was applying for college, I was choosing between a University of California school and one of the twenty schools I applied to for volleyball. The decision process was very difficult, and I chose Saint Vincent because of the Zoom calls with Coach Hozak and the virtual tours I attended from my room in California. I hope that with The College Tour, more students from out of state, especially athletes, can gain more insight and choose Saint Vincent just like I did. I would have loved to have had this resource available when I was trying to find out more information about each school I was applying to. SVC’s episode really delves into what prospective students would be looking for, from admissions to campus life. I think my section on athletics will help prospective students get the sense of community that Saint Vincent strives for in the Athletic Department. Above all, I hope that prospective students will be able to make the best decision for themselves and that The College Tour’s episode on Saint Vincent can guide them.
paper as a foundation upon which negatives were printed. Using glass allowed for a sharper, more stable and detailed image from which multiple photographs could then be produced. This type of photography was popular from the early 1850s through the 1920s. Due to the fragile nature of glass, archivists today now digitize the images found on old glass plates. One method of digitalization is by using a lightbox and DSLR camera. By placing the glass plate on the surface of a lightbox, the image becomes clearly visible.
The negative is then photographed using a DSLR camera
sharpness, and clarity as well as to restore areas of the photo that may have been damaged over time.
In the Saint Vincent College Archives are several dozen glass plate negatives that contain images of people, views of the Saint Vincent campus, and depictions of religious ceremonies. Most of these images have not been viewed for well over a hundred years. The work of digitizing these images helps illuminate the story contained within the old, delicate plates that for many decades laid dormant within a dusty box in the archives. These newly restored resources can now provide students, teachers, historians, and researchers with a view of late-nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century life
The images found here were produced by the process of inverting the negative image found on glass plates and then improving the appearance of each photo via Photoshop procedures.
TAKING
By the 1960s, the Spirit of Saint Vincent was a broken-down heap that sat unused and rusting on the outskirts of campus. There are whispers that the plane’s original propeller was salvaged and is still stashed somewhere nearby.
“I’ve been searching the basements and attics of our old buildings for it, but so far I have not come across it,” Davis said wistfully. A brochure from the 1980s urged prospective students to “fly into (what then was called) Westmoreland County Airport…and stay four years!” But without an active aviation program, SVC students who wanted to touch the clouds had to hire off-campus flying instructors.
only nine percent of commercial pilots.
“I always thought aviation would be cool to have here,” said Dr. Michael Urick, dean of the Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics, and Government. “We have a history of it, and we have a strategic advantage with the airport right across the street. So, we should be doing it, but how? It wasn’t until I talked with CCBC that I saw a path forward. I found there is expertise in the region; students can take their classes while living in our dorms and basically go across the street to fly. This is a win-win-win.”
Will the McKenna School give its graduates a set of pilot’s wings along with their diplomas?
“That would be cool,” Urick said with a grin. “I told my assistant we should order t-shirts that say ‘Saint Vincent McKenna School’ with the ‘Top Gun’ logo or something. Hmm…maybe next year.”
One afternoon, while Urick was working on the details of piecing together the aviation program, his five-year-old daughter walked up to him and said, “I want to be a pilot someday.” It was a misty-eyed moment for Urick, whose father, Richard Urick, C’77, took flying lessons while he was a student at Saint Vincent but never completed his pilot’s license. “I think this program will be good for our students,” Urick said. “It will be a way to get them exposed to traveling, going to new places and seeing new things, and expanding their horizons.”
There’s also an important practical motivation for SVC to relaunch the program: jobs. Commercial air travel, which declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, is surging again. Over the next fifteen years, however, the number of active pilots is expected to decrease by fifty percent, but the job growth potential for women is healthy. Currently, women account for
Having a bachelor’s degree allows aspiring pilots to earn their license with 1,250 flight hours instead of the usual 1,500 hours. It also lowers the minimum license age from 23 to 21, which is a plus for students who begin their pilot education while in high school.
Graduates will be able to work as a flight instructor and fly charter flights and sightseeing tours, but won’t yet have enough flight hours to pilot a commercial airline. However, students will be equipped to use their business degrees in the aviation industry to make a living while they earn additional flight hours to become a commercial pilot.
If Saint Vincent becomes a factory for the aviation industry, it would boost Arnold Palmer Regional Airport—more pilots in the area might lead to more private and/or public flights in and out of Latrobe—and could spur economic growth in Westmoreland County. “Starting a [pilot training] program at Saint Vincent is a big deal for this region and for the state when it comes to dealing with the pilot shortage,” said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority.
Jim Arnold, administrator of Laurel Highlands Aeronautical Academy, fell in love with flying about twenty years ago when he was in high school. He went on to Daniel Webster College in Nashua, New Hampshire, which was one of the top aviation schools in the country until it shuttered its program in 2017. The past few years, Arnold lobbied for Saint Vincent to fill the void. “I lost my alma mater, and it really hurts,” Arnold said. “My hope is we can make Saint Vincent’s program even better than what Webster had. I would love to see us filling those shoes. If we’re able to carry the prestige of Saint Vincent into aviation, wow, that would be incredible.” ♦
Rob Biertempfel
As one of the most successful bankers in the country and a longtime advocate of Catholic education, Susan Baker Shipley was a perfect choice to deliver Saint Vincent College’s Spring 2024 Commencement address. She exemplifies the value of finding a purpose in life and living it in full.
At the outset of her address, Ms. Shipley confessed to the 298 graduates that banking wasn’t even in her plans when she started college. Growing up, she wanted to be a doctor. Midway through her studies at the University of Notre Dame, though, Ms. Shipley took an organic chemistry class—and had an epiphany.
“Let’s just say, I’m a banker and not a doctor,” Ms. Shipley said with smile.
After productive stints with PNC and The Royal Bank of Scotland/Citizens Bank, Ms. Shipley now is president of Huntington Bank’s Pennsylvania, Ohio Valley, and Mahoning Valley Region. Her curriculum vitae is laden with roles on high-impact boards and committees, such as The Allegheny Conference on Community Development and Catholic Charities’ Campaign for Compassion Corner. She frequently appears on the Pittsburgh Business Times’ Power 100 list, which fetes the region’s most influential business leaders.
And here's one more for the list: the Saint Vincent College Presidential Medal of Honor.
Ms. Shipley received the award— which marks extraordinary service and leadership to profession, community, family, church, or education—from Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B., C’87, S’91, president of the College.
“Susie, from your childhood, you have followed your calling to make an impact,” Father Paul said. “You have broken through barriers. You have followed your inner voice, which enables you to live your life in a way that is consistent with your beliefs. It is your personal impact and dedication to this area and this institution that makes you such a deserving recipient of this award.”
Recently, Huntington Bank and Saint Vincent College have begun forging strong ties that will lead to transformative benefits for the bank, the College, and the region. Ms. Shipley has been at the center of those efforts. “She has always been a friend to the Bearcats,” said SVC interim athletic director and men’s basketball coach D.P. Harris, C’13. “Susie is a cheerleader for Catholic education, and humility is in her DNA.”
After getting her bachelor’s degree in pre-professional studies from Notre Dame in 1986, Ms. Shipley got a Rotary Club scholarship to study at Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. “During that special year, I built relationships with Spanish Rotarians who ran a myriad of different business and who all lived [the idea of] service above self,” she said in her commencement address. “I began to understand my calling—a business career that would enable me to live my Catholic faith to serve others. That’s how I found my purpose when I answered the call to become a banker.”
Susan Baker Shipley
“No man is his craft’s master the first day.”
While studying commercial illustration at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Roman Verostko, C’55, S’59, H’21, learned hand lettering. This sign, created by Roman, from 1948 describes a maxim from which I source great comfort.
An Archive for Art
The Verostko Center maintains a growing repository of archival materials on artists whose work is held by Saint Vincent, printed collateral from exhibitions hosted on campus since the late 1940s, and documentation related to the former Saint Vincent Monastic Museum.
Adjustable Lighting
When the Verostko Center was being designed, great care was made to select lighting that was both flexible and with conservation in mind. When artwork is shown inside our galleries, these LED fixtures assist in the care of sensitive works.
Archival Boxes
Prior to relocating the Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections to the Verostko Center in 2019, the College received a Preservation Assistance Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. We were able to acquire a variety of archival packaging supplies that allow us to care for fragile items.
Pitassi Archive File
Beginning in 1926, Angelo Leopardo Pitassi operated a stained-glass atelier in Pittsburgh’s East End, specializing in medieval-revival glass. Thanks to the generosity of the artist’s granddaughter, Nancy Ellis, Saint Vincent preserves correspondence between the Studio and its clients along with over 600 design schematics. The Pitassi Studio Archive is currently being digitized by Jonah Weaver, C 27.
Saint Benedict Medallion
After graduating from Saint John’s University (Collegeville, Minnesota) in 2009, I participated in a year of service with the Benedictine Volunteer Corps. This medallion portraying St. Benedict in the cave was one of the very special gifts I received at the end of my time serving at Il Monastero di San Benedetto in Subiaco, Italy.
office space
BY MORGAN PARIS
IfBooks gifted by Craig Felton, Ph.D.
Through the generosity of Craig McFadyen Felton, Ph.D., C’61, Professor Emeritus of Art at Smith College (Northampton, Massachusetts), Saint Vincent is home to an impressive collection of 3,000+ reference texts concerning the history of art and architecture with special emphasis given to Early Modern Europe. I frequently rely on Dr. Felton’s donation to conduct research.
Tools for Framing
Acidic materials used to frame works on paper shorten their lifespan. I often enlist the Center’s student interns to assist with unframing and reframing these works.
you attended Saint Vincent prior to the start of the Library Renovation Project, chances are good you unknowingly spent some time in Andy Julo’s office—and the art storage area. Attracted to art since childhood, Julo got into art to be a maker, and while predominantly a steward of art at the moment, on the weekends, he works on his own craft, creating relief prints and cyanotypes (some of which are now on display in the Kansas City International Airport), which he now exhibits regionally. But, ever humble, he’s more apt to talk about the pieces that have found sanctuary and rest in the College’s library. The Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections boasts more than 5,000 objects, most of which are in the art storage area—formerly the upstairs stacks—which still has a faint biblichor scent. The director and curator for the Verostko Center of the Arts, Julo spends a great deal of his time in the art storage area, being curator in every sense of the word. As many understand the word “curator,” Julo does collect and organize pieces. But, “curator” comes from the Latin curare, which means “to take care of,” and Julo’s just as much of a caretaker of the objects in the collection as he is collector. Julo describes the art storage area as an “aha space,” a place that is sometimes a special stop on a tour for guests of the gallery, not only because it is visually interesting, but also because there’s the opportunity to see objects from different times that were never really intended to all be in the same space. This makes time travelers out of the gallery’s guests—and now, too, the readers of 1846. ♦
how a recent grad combined her artistic and entrepreneurial flairs to breathe life back into an old Bedford building
TaylorMade
STORY David Collins PHOTOGRAPHY Liz Palmer
The Hofius House in Bedford, Pennsylvania, has accepted several purposes in its rich history of over two centuries. From serving as a residence a surgeon once operated out of to briefly functioning as a brothel to becoming a popular bar called “Hurry Sundown,” these 10,000 square feet have seen it all. And the building’s newest owner—Saint Vincent alumna Taylor Wahl—is equipped to show it even more, adding to the history of the building and upholding the tradition of the sewing and quilting community in Bedford.
Taylor, originally from Windber, Pennsylvania, recently graduated with a degree in business management and a minor in operational excellence. She discovered her love of sewing at the age of eight, curating clothes for her American Girl Dolls, which soon turned into sewing matching clothes for herself. As she grew up, Taylor became fascinated by vintage clothes and the restoration of vintage textiles. She also met Mary Koval, a Bedford-based antique quilt appraiser nearing retirement.
was the ideal mentor under whose tutelage Taylor could develop her own love for quilting and business acumen.
“Mary approached me and said that she wants someone who’s young, someone who’s going to keep teaching people how to sew to take over her shop,” said Taylor. “But she wanted to sell the building to someone else. And I knew that from a profitable standpoint, I would need more than just the inventory aspect of a quilt store to make money.”
And so, Taylor bought the whole building.
“It has three commercial spaces. Right now, I have two tenants in there. I have an apartment of my own. And then I have seven bed and breakfast bedrooms.”
During her senior year, Taylor split her time between Bedford and campus. She credits SVC with having played a part in preparing her for this massive undertaking.
“I took a class, Management Information Systems. And in that class, we had to create a pseudo-business. We created a business plan and financials, and we presented it to the class as if we were essentially asking the bank for money.”
When it came time to meet with the bank ahead of her building purchase, Taylor was ready.
I was consistently following through. And especially when you’re young, you need to kind of prove yourself.
“I knew what needed to go into a business plan. I knew what the financials needed to look like. So I took my template from that class and recreated my business plan that I presented to the banks.”
Now managing tenants, organizing retreats, and hosting bachelorette parties, Taylor remarks that her persistence and stubbornness were crucial in getting to where she is.
Mary began introducing Taylor to antique fabrics— Mary’s expertise. Having spent over forty years studying American antique quilts, Mary had become a leading source for the best in American quilt and antique fabric, renowned worldwide. Mary exhibits in major antiques and quilt shows, she assembles quilt exhibits for museums and other venues all over the world, she lectures on a variety quilt topics from how-to to collection and care. And Mary
“I just kept working to get what I wanted. At that time, I was 20. And I was contacting attorneys, I would call my banker, I had a business advisor, and I would email them, or I would give them a call and if I didn’t get a call back, I would follow up with an email. I was consistently following through. And especially when you’re young, you need to kind of prove yourself.”
Having just graduated in May, Taylor is now able to give Hofius House her full attention. Her own shop, called “Twila’s,” named for her grandmother, is set to open in July.
Check in with Taylor and Twila’s on Instagram @sewtwilas. ♦
Lighting the way
BY Madison Kozera, English major, of Abingdon, MD
Though a human necessity, light is often overlooked or taken for granted. While sunlight allows for exploration of the waking world, moonlight is softer, illuminating quiet moments in the night. Humans tend to not notice light’s importance until there is a sufficient lack of it, as seen with Saint Vincent College’s turf field, which was previously unable to be utilized to its fullest potential. The installation of Musco Sports Lighting, designed to illuminate the turf field after dark, grants the community the ability to use the field anytime, day or night, and fill this deficiency.
“The Musco Lights are a completely self-contained system,” Terrance Hill, assistant director of facilities, explained. “They feature a streamlined design [that] delivers convenience, minimized set-up time, and reduced labor and operating costs.” This “smart technology platform” lets the community safely access the lights when necessary.
The lights mix both function and fashion, as Dr. Jeff Mallory, C'06, G'13, executive vice president and chief operating office of the College, explains: “The new lights, especially at night, along with our Basilica, truly stand out along the campus skyline.”
“As a newer feature to campus,” he continued, “the faculty feel there is a certain appreciation in seeing them and to those who utilize them.”
SVC’s aesthetic is not the only aspect that has changed with the new addition, as they serve an additional purpose: the ability to host athletic events after dark.
Before, every athletic activity required daylight to be entertained, making hosting evening games a difficult endeavor. Now, everyone can enjoy the thrill of the game well into the evening.
“Since the lights have been installed, I think there’s been a positive aura around the turf field,” David Rahaman, C’24, a former member of the Men’s Soccer Team, highlighted. “Everyone can use them, and they’re something that the entire student body can benefit from. It provides a different feeling as a player to play under the lights. The mentality of going into a night game is definitely more electric and gets the team buzzing in the locker room.”
With raving reviews, SVC’s community remains grateful for the addition of the Musco Lights, and the newest source of iridescence brings the community closer together, one evening at a time. ♦
The lights at UPMC Field are not the only project designed to illuminate campus. Saint Vincent has installed LED lights in the Performing Arts Center, along Wimmer Lane, and in parking lots to increase energy efficiency and safety. Funding for these projects has been provided, in part, through grants from our long-standing partner the West Penn Energy Fund (formerly West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund) and the PennDOT Multimodal Transportation Fund. Improved lighting across campus will remain a priority for Saint Vincent College in the years to come.
MOON MISSION
Like every other kid in America on July 20, 1969, Ronald Rosemeier was awestruck as he watched the grainy, black-and-white images of astronaut Neil Armstrong’s one small step flicker on a television screen. The memory of that historic event still inspires him. Fifty-five years later, Rosemeier is trying to take his own giant leap from a western Pennsylvania coalfield to the surface of the moon—and beyond.
Last December, a spectrometer that Rosemeier helped create was nestled at the tip of a thirteen-ton rocket aimed at the moon. The device was stowed along with other scientific instruments, five micro-robots built by the Mexican space program, a small chunk of rock from the summit of Mount Everest, and the cremated remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.
Those diverse payloads—including the Near-Infrared Volatiles Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) that Rosemeier’s company built to search for signs of life in space—were selected to be part of the Peregrine Mission, America’s first lunar landing since the early 1970s. It was an important first step toward NASA’s goal of establishing a permanent, manned lunar base. “Before NASA returns humans to the moon, we are sending lots of science and technology,” a NASA promotional video states.
The mission was supposed to launch on Christmas Eve but was delayed by last-minute complications. “No big deal,” Rosemeier said with cheerful optimism. “The good part is, we’re still going to be on the moon! That’s the main thing.”
Rosemeier, P’70, C’74, was an undergraduate student at Saint Vincent College when the United States sent its last manned Apollo mission to the moon in 1972. He grew up in Cokeburg, Pennsylvania, STORY
Rob Biertempfel
a town of roughly 700 residents in Washington County. The son and grandson of coal miners, Rosemeier went to Saint Vincent Prep intending to become a priest. Those plans changed when Rosemeier became entranced by science.
Dr. Michael Gainer, who taught at Saint Vincent College for thirty-five years and was chair of the Physics Department, turned Rosemeier on to physics. With Gainer’s help, Rosemeier got into Johns Hopkins University, where he earned his PhD and met his wife, Dr. Jolanta Soos. In 1980, Rosemeier founded Brimrose Corporation, a research-and-development firm based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, about a half-hour north of Baltimore.
“I was kind of lucky on all this stuff coming together,” Rosemeier said. “Saint Vincent was very instrumental in getting me to do all of this.”
In 2019, NASA told top R&D companies it needed a device that could survive the harsh conditions of space travel and collect evidence of water and/or biological material throughout the solar system. It chose the NIRVSS (pronounced “nervous”), which uses a component designed twenty-five years ago by Soos, Brimrose’s chief technology officer.
Brimrose’s spectrometer identifies materials by measuring specific wavelengths of light. The core technology has been used by the food industry, pharmaceutical companies, and defense contractors. Now, it’s on track to go to the moon—and someday, perhaps,
Mars—to search for the building blocks of life.
“We designed [this specific spectrometer] before anybody else had it, but it was so new back then that everybody kind of scratched their heads and went, ‘Oh, well, um...,’” Rosemeier said. “Twenty-five years later, it’s finally coming to life for all these new applications.”
The Peregrine Mission was rescheduled for January 8, 2024.
Rosemeier watched with excitement as the Vulcan Centaur rocket roared off a launching pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, bound for the final frontier. However, the mission had a premature and fiery conclusion.
Shortly after liftoff, the spacecraft was crippled by mechanical issues and a fuel leak. The moon landing was scrubbed, and the Peregrine lurched through space for a few days and collected whatever data it could.
On January 18, the lander and everything on board burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean.
“Not so lucky on this mission,” Rosemeier said, still sounding resolute after the back-to-back disappointments. “We’ve got to keep pushing forward.”
Some of the items on the Peregrine, such as Roddenberry’s ashes, were meant to be jettisoned into space before the spacecraft reached the moon. The rest was supposed to land aboard the Peregrine on an ancient lava flow called the Bay of Stickiness, or Sinus Viscositatis.
A stationary drill would have brought up soil samples before the NIRVSS went to work. The NIRVSS spectrometer can differentiate between water and its molecular cousin, hydroxyl—either form would be useful for someday making rocket fuel at a moon base. The NIRVSS also can detect different types of minerals and ices that might be present in the lunar soil, such as frozen carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane.
NASA will include the NIRVISS on two more of its lunar missions.
Ronald Rosemeier (center) examines a spectrometer with fellow Brimrose scientists.
The next one is set to launch in November. This time, the NIRVSS will be attached to the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), which, unlike the stationary Peregrine, will roam and explore for water at multiple spots on the south pole of the moon. Instruments on the VIPER likely will be fully operational only for about two weeks before the lunar sunset, when the temperature drops to minus-380 degrees Fahrenheit. However, that should be ample time for the spectrometer to gather and record all the data it needs.
“Our instrument is very good at detecting water and also if there’s any kind of microbiology,” Rosemeier said. “So, it can [determine], is there life there? Was there ever life there? Are there any kind of molecular compounds left over? We’ll be able to tell instantaneously. If we find that there’s a biological structure there, that would be a game-changer.”
Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh-based company founded by Carnegie Mellon University graduate John Thornton, was contracted by NASA to oversee the Peregrine and VIPER missions. Successfully landing even an unmanned spacecraft on the moon is a high-risk venture. Only four countries have accomplished the feat, and, as of January, no private company had ever done so.
The information the NIRVSS gathered before the Peregrine burned up at the end of its truncated mission, along with the experience of staging the mission, could still be helpful down the line. “We didn’t make it [to the moon], but we still got some good stuff from the mission,” said Vladimir Stanislavsky, Brimrose’s chief operating officer.
“It’s a learning curve for future missions. We also are developing the same technology to go to Mars in the near future. So, there are good things ahead for us.”
After successfully operating a rover on the moon in 2023, the government of India now is aiming for Mars. The India Space Research Organization (ISRO) had an unmanned probe in Mars’ orbit from 2014 to 2022 mapping the surface of the Red Planet for potential landing spots. The ISRO already has asked Brimrose to produce a spectrometer for the Mars landing mission.
“It’s in the early stages [of planning],” Rosemeier said. “We’re building some devices for [ISRO], and they’ll start the testing. I think probably it will be another three years or so.”
In the meantime, planning for the next moon mission continues. The names of Rosemeier and his wife, along with everyone else at Brimrose who worked on the project, are engraved on the outside of the box that will hold the NIRVSS onto the VIPER. When the rover runs out of power, the box will become a sort of eternal monument on the dusty, barren surface.
“It’s like I’ll be on the moon forever,” Rosemeier said with a chuckle. “A thousand years from now, they’ll look at it and go, ‘Hey, who was this guy?’ It’s fun stuff.” ♦
“Saint Vincent was very instrumental in getting me to do all of this. It’s like I’ll be on the moon forever.”
Dr. Jeffrie Mallory, C’06, G’13
q
POSITION AT SVC
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
MAJOR/MASTERS
Public Policy Analysis/MSMOE
WHAT SPORT DOES SVC NOT HAVE THAT YOU THINK IT SHOULD?? Women’s Flag Football
RECOMMEND A BOOK: The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
COFFEE OR TEA? Coffee (a lot!!!)
BEST PIZZA IN LATROBE? Jioio’s (aka, J1010’s)
HOW MANY STEPS DOES IT TAKE TO GET FROM YOUR OFFICE TO SAUERKRAUT TOWER? 525
ARE YOU STREAMING ANY GOOD SHOWS, AND IF SO, WHAT? Dance Moms, because of my kids.
SOCKS WITH SANDALS: YES OR NO?
No
CROCS: YES OR NO?
Yes. I have four pairs of them.
WHAT’S YOUR IDEAL OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE? A muggy 80° YOUR FAVORITE SPOT
class notes
For a comprehensive, regularly-updated list of Class Notes, including birth, engagement, marriage, career, and other announcements, or to submit a class note of your own, go to 1846.stvincent.edu/classnotes.
BY NOAH AFTANAS
Jason Seidling: A Goal-oriented Story
Jason
Seidling is a 2007 graduate of Saint Vincent College with a degree in communication, and he’s the current director of team operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jason began his career at Saint Vincent as a student work study under then-sports information director Jeff Zidek. In his time at Saint Vincent, he worked as an intern for Steelers Training Camp as the school’s Steelers web reporter, which later turned into a part-time job with the organization. After graduating from SVC, he earned a full-year internship with the Steelers. After being with the Steelers for that year, he accepted a position as manager of content for the Pittsburgh Penguins website. He has now been with the Penguins since 2009. Jason has been a part of three Stanley Cup runs with the Penguins (2009, 2016, and 2017). Jason and his wife, Jeanine, reside in Pittsburgh with their son, Rhett. ♦
ALUMNI UPDATES
Karyn Pratt: Impacting New Beginnings
Karyn Pratt, currently the vice president of marketing and strategy development at Adelphoi, is a 1990 graduate of Saint Vincent College, having received a degree in communication. Karyn also received her MBA from Clarion University. After graduating from Saint Vincent, she was hired immediately at Adelphoi. Over her 34 years at Adelphoi, she has served as community relations coordinator, grant writer, and development supervisor before transitioning to her current role. Kayrn is also a member of the Sexual Abuse and Prevention Network and Pennsylvania Council of Children Youth and Family Services. ♦
REMEMBRANCES
Father Nathan Munsch, O.S.B.
AUGUST 19, 1951 - MARCH 20, 2024
Father Nathan was many things to many people: Benedictine monk, priest, theology professor, seminary formator, beloved brother, and uncle. To us, he was a wise spiritual guide, dear friend, and fitting namesake of our son. Throughout our many years with him, he modeled how— through a life of holiness—to seamlessly weave together intellectual curiosity, pastoral acuity, and spiritual depth. To the very end, Fr. Nathan was always reading—from histories of the Civil War to New York Times bestsellers, from classic French novels (in French!) to medieval theology. His lifelong love of learning shaped his teaching, whether classes on monastic history, world religions, or the sacraments. Fr. Nathan placed his erudition at the service of others. He diligently prepared us for marriage, leading us in communal prayers of lectio divina and exercises in reflective listening. His advice was always grounded, sensible, and challenging—a trait that his many beloved parishioners over the years came to appreciate. Nowhere did Fr. Nathan teach us more than in his patient endurance of ALS in the last five years of his life. He was honest about his struggles but also maintained his sense of humor. He needed constant assistance but also remained attentive to the particular needs of those around him. In a paradoxical way, while his physical abilities diminished, his capacity for joyful praise—his spiritual priesthood— remained.
It was a tremendous honor for us to help establish a scholarship for SVC theology majors in Fr. Nathan’s name. To date, strengthened by the legacy of Fr. Nathan, all five of its recipients have remained in ministry and/or theology. His work lives on in our little community. Once, in class, Fr. Nathan expressed his appreciation for an image of heaven as an eternal “aha!” moment. May he live on in that great community of joyful praise now.
– Drs. Lucas, C’13, and Catherine (Petrany) Briola
IN MEMORIAM
NAME
Jim SIlvis , C’62
Dr. John Stramat, C’76
Fr. Gabriel Coless, C’53
Edmund DiPasquale, C’58
Vincent Pecoraro, C’61
Charles Tyson, C’63
Stephen Summers, C’80
August Klein, Sr., C’57
Rev. Joseph Kurutz, C’55, S’59
John Bialon, C’87
Michael Sheehy, C 72
James Japalucci, C’75
Nicholas DiCuccio, P’60, C’64
Regis Stana, C’59
ROMAN VEROSTKO PASSES
DATE OF PASSING
February 10, 2024
February 13, 2024
February 12, 2024
February 20, 2024
February 23, 2023
March 7, 2024
March 9, 2024
March 9, 2024
March 12, 2024
March 16, 2024
March 18, 2024
March 25, 2024
March 26, 2024
March 30, 2024
Shortly before this issue went to press, we learned of the passing of Roman Verostko, C’55, S’59, H’21. A digital art pioneer, educator and humanist, Verostko was a pillar of the Saint Vincent community and the namesake of the Verostko Center for the Arts on campus. A memorial reception for family and friends at Saint Vincent College is being planned for this fall. A full obituary is available on the College website at bit.ly/verostkoobituary
BEARCAT
AT LAUREL VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB
SEPTEMBER 23, 2024
HOMECOMING & FALL FAMILY
WEEKEND
OCTOBER 4-6, 2024
Book of Hours
English, ca. 1450
86 unnumbered leaves, tempera, ink, and gold on parchment with calfskin binding over wooden boards, Latin Saint Vincent Special Collections
FROM
Learn more about this piece at 1846.stvincent.edu/collection.
A Lifelong Courtship
“I am going to marry that girl!”
Jerry
Slavonia, C’63, always had a love for Saint Vincent. His father, Joe Slavonia, C’37, began encouraging that love from an early age, taking Jerry to a variety of Saint Vincent activities and events. So, it just made sense that Jerry would end up at Saint Vincent like his father.
There are many ways to make life insurance a valuable way to strengthen the Mission of Saint Vincent College. If you also have an interest in aiding current and future Bearcats, consider reaching out to our director of planned giving, Jim Bendel, C’60, at 724-244-4905 or james.bendel@stvincent.edu
While the faculty of SVC provided Jerry with the tools he’d need to negotiate the challenges of the business world, it was a chance meeting with the secretary to the then-academic dean that changed his life. The secretary showed Jerry the photo of the Homecoming Court, made up of the men from Saint Vincent and the women from Seton Hill, for that year. Jerry was instantly attracted to one of the women in the photo and exclaimed, “I am going to marry that girl!” That girl was Margi Fiori and is now Margi Slavonia. Crediting SVC as the reason for his professional success and wanting to ensure current and future Bearcats have the same opportunities, Jerry and Margi made a very generous commitment through a gift of life insurance to Saint Vincent College: they make a contribution to Saint Vincent, and Jerry and Margi are credited with an appropriate tax deduction. ♦
