Athletics

Kaela Mochak ’24

Sport: Women’s Soccer Hometown: Westfield, MA Major: Chemistry Before sending her back onto the field in the second half of a scoreless game, head coach Brooke Barbuto stopped Kaela Mochak and delivered simple instructions. “She told me to shoot from wherever – whenever I was open, she wanted me putting the ball on net,” Mochak says. “So, when I saw the ball rolling, I just let it fly.”

The result: a seeing-eye missile tucked under the crossbar from 35 yards out that propelled UC to a 1-0 victory over Potsdam and earned the sophomore midfielder the No. 2 spot on the wildly popular ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 nightly segment.

The national recognition was the talk of campus and set Mochak’s phone and social media ablaze with congratulatory messages. “I was just going through social media and I was so honored that I was on UC’s Twitter and Instagram, and then I saw #SCTop10. I didn’t know what it meant. I went to my roommate, and she said, ‘Kaela, that means SportsCenter.’ I was in disbelief, and then the texts started rolling in from everywhere. That’s when it became real.”

Her favorite message? “I got a text from my grandfather,” she says. “I wear No. 18, which was his number in college, so when he saw me on national TV, that was a big thing for me.”

GETTING A GOOD RETURN

May '61 and Ron '60 Duff

Ron Duff ’60 is never one to let a good opportunity pass.

When his future wife, May ’61, dropped her glove in the UC library, he gallantly retrieved it for her. When a job came up at “Big 8” accounting firm right after graduation, Ron took it. When offered a move to the company’s Los Angeles office, he and May gladly left the cold weather behind.

And when the Duffs needed sound investment vehicles for retirement, they found one in a charitable gift annuity at UC. It enables proud alumni to support student learning at UC and earn a competitive dividend on their money at the same time.

Ron also saw it as a good opportunity to give something back to his alma mater.

“If it hadn’t been for UC,” he says, “I would not have met May, would not have had our four children and six grandchildren, and would not have had the success I’ve enjoyed.”

ABOUT CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES AT UTICA COLLEGE

A charitable gift annuity through Utica College can provide you or a loved one with a reliable and consistent stream of income for life, while also benefiting Utica College. Learn more about charitable gift annuities at Utica College at utica.edu/plannedgiving or contact Associate Vice President for Principal and Planned Gifts Tim Nelson at (315) 792-3489 or tnelson@utica.edu.