Class Scene

WE’VE GOT CLASS

1990s

Todd Fadley, Class of 1997 of Springfield, Ohio recently began a new career as a Department Service Officer with AMVETS (American Veterans). Todd is happy to have found his true professional calling after many years of service with various sectors of Ohio Law Enforcement and the United States Marine Corps, helping veterans.

2000s

Lew Montgomery, Class of 2000 of Marco Island, Florida was recently named the new Head Football Coach for Marco Island Academy, a charter high school in Marco Island, Collier County, Florida. Lew was an avid player, himself, while on campus and is TU’s all-time career leader in quarterback sacks (30) and tackles for loss (55). He is also the single season sacks record holder with 15 in 1999.

Alexis Berg-Townsend, Class

of 2003 was recently nominated as a candidate to receive the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) 2021 Woman of the Year Award. This recognition was made in light of her efforts to raise a total of $65,000 for the affiliate LLS Man & Woman of the Year Campaign, a charitable effort dedicated to helping those affected by its namesake diseases, as well as the continued funding of subsequent treatment and cure-related research. The fundraising efforts of Alexis and her team allowed for the naming and support of immunotherapy research in honor of J. Michael Schweder, her late uncle who passed away from lymphoma during the 2021 campaign. Alexis is especially proud to have helped advance this research due to her personal connection to the cause.

Abigail Merchantz, Class

of 2007 of Lockport, Illinois married her husband, William on October 10, 2020 in Portage, Michigan.

Janice Mitchell, MCJ 2007 of Cleveland, Ohio published her memoir entitled “My Ticket to Ride: How I Ran Away to England to Meet the Beatles and Got Rock and Roll Banned in Cleveland (A True Story from 1964)”on September 15, 2021. The memoir is already receiving both local and national attention. Janice is a retired federal investigator, a private investigator, former adjunct professor in TU’s criminal justice department and, as the title of her memoir suggests, a lifelong Beatles fan. Kathryn Schmidt Picha, Class of 2008 of Burbank, California and her husband, Brent, welcomed their first child, Slade into the world on October 9, 2020.

Mike Lento, Class of 2008, MBA 2010 of Kansas, Ohio is the Head Football Coach for the Lakota Raiders of Lakota High School, and was recently named the All-Ohio Division V. Co-Coach of the Year. He was also named as the 2021 Ohio High School Football Coaches Association (OHSFCA) Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award recipient.

Maggie L. Smith, MSCJ 2009 of San Angelo, Texas recently graduated with a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology degree from Angelo State University and plans to continue her journey toward becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate before eventually attaining the status of Licensed Professional Counselor. Maggie is looking forward to the few years of supervised internships this will require.

Stephen Gambescia, MH 2009

of Havertown, Pennsylvania completed a Master of Legal Studies degree, with a concentration in Healthcare Compliance at the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law in May of 2021. He also received their Award for Outstanding Performance in Healthcare Compliance. As it happens, Drexel’s mascot is also a dragon, and Stephen is very proud of his new “Double Dragon” status. He is employed as a professor at Drexel.

2010s

Allison Christina Budaj, MH in Humanities, 2010 and MH

in Communication, 2015 of Cincinnati, Ohio defended her dissertation in May of 2020 to obtain a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Humanities and Culture from Union Institute and University. She is now employed through the Ameritech College of Healthcare as a Full Professor.

Jessica Novak, MH 2012 of Cleveland, Ohio recently started a new position as Program Manager for Continuing Education and Health Technologies, Grants, Projects and Recruitment at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio. She was also recently selected to be a new member of the 100+ Latinos Cleveland Must Know cohort, dedicated to providing professional opportunities for and amplifying the voices of Hispanic, Latino and Latinx individuals / communities within the greater Cleveland area.

Keenan Hamilton, Class of 2013 of Lawrence, Kansas is a Facility Operations Programmer with his current city of residence.

Dylan Powers, Class of 2014

of Snellville, Georgia recently purchased his first home with his wife, Elyse Frances Corridoni, who is also a TU alumna. The couple moved to Georgia in 2017 so Dylan could accept a job with the Gwinnett Strippers, the Atlanta Braves Triple-A affiliate. He currently works as a Ticket Sales Account Executive with this organization. The couple was married in September of 2018, and celebrated with a baseballthemed wedding.

Joseph Holland, MS 2014 of Harrodsburg, Kentucky is now a police officer / detective with the Lexington Police Department in Lexington, Kentucky.

Justin Hairston, Class of 2014

of Columbia, Missouri began working for the University of Missouri’s Department of Athletics in May of 2021 and now serves as the Associate Director of Fiscal Operations for the Tiger Scholarship Fund. He lives with his rescue dog, Ace, to whom he is grateful for helping make the move to Missouri easier. Prior to this, Justin spent five years working for the University of Detroit, Mercy as their Director of Ticket Operations and attributes much of his successes to the knowledge he gained during his time as a TU student.

Alyssa Palmer, MS 2015 of Fremont, Ohio recently began a new job as a Group Clinician with Oriana House, Inc. in Tiffin, Ohio.

Quadra Brown, MS 2015 of Garfield, Ohio is the Senior Media Coordinator for the newly-renamed Attane (formerly GlynnDevins), a marketing agency based in Kansas City, Missouri.

Jordan Kiser, Class of 2016 of Sandusky, Ohio was recently appointed as the National Account Manager for Sports Force Parks in Sandusky. He began this new role in may of 2021, and has worked with his current employer since 2017.

William McCague, Class

of 2016 of Delaware, Ohio is currently employed by the Target Corporation as a Supply Chain Safety Operation Manager.

Allison Kesler, Class of 2017 of Ada, Ohio recently passed the Ohio Bar Examination and is now licensed to practice law. She is currently the Juvenile Prosecutor for the Marion County Prosecutor's Office. Prior to starting this position, she was a Certified Legal Intern within the same organization. After attending TU, she earned her Juris Doctorate through the Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law.

Jamileh Naboulsi, class of 2017 of Rochester, Michigan recently joined Collins Einhorn Farrell (CEF) in Southfield, Michigan as their newest Associate Attorney in the firm’s General and Automotive Liability sector. CEF is one of the leading law firms in defense litigation in the Midwest, offering legal representation in a wide variety of industries. Jamileh also holds a Juris Doctorate from the Michigan State University College of Law, having graduated in 2020.

Stephanie Winemiller, MS

2019 of Fresno, California recently began a new career as an Associate Trial Attorney for Farmers Insurance.

2020s

Grace Hannah Gregory, Class

of 2020 of Lakewood, Ohio is employed through LIG Solutions, working with their Department of Human Resources / Recruiting. She began this new position in June, 2021. Her primary responsibility is the recruitment of new Call Center Representatives and Licensed Health Insurance Agents. She oversees candidate screening, interviews, onboarding and new hire orientation endeavors.

Rebecca Kielbasa, Class of

2021 of Tiffin, Ohio is currently pursuing a Master’s in Higher Education Administration degree with TU. She also works with TU’s Department of Marketing and Communications as the Web Content Editor. Rebecca joined the Marketing team and began her journey as a graduate student directly following her undergraduate work in May of 2021, and is proud to now work with the very institution she called home for the last four years.

IN MEMORIUM

James “Brian” Chapman, Class of 1989

Brian was recently joined by his wife, Terri, who departed shortly after his passing. Brian is survived by a beautiful family.