A Message from the Dean
Dear Thiel Parents,
I hope you and your family were able to enjoy some quality time over the Easter holiday! It’s hard to believe we have less than a month left this semester. Although the days are winding down, we have a lot of events and activities coming up that we would like to share with you.
This week, Thiel College and the Greenville community will join forces once again to have our annual Spring Into Action service day. As many of you will recall, last year more than 400 college volunteers (mostly students) spent the day helping to construct a new playground in Greenville’s Riverside Park. This year we will travel back to the park and focus much of our attention on expanding and improving the hiking, biking and walking trails. We also will have several other projects taking place. On Sunday, April 14, we will have two work shifts (10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.) running with a picnic style lunch being served at 1 p.m. Volunteers will perform a variety of tasks including working on the trail, enhancing the Amphitheater, doing maintenance work on the playground and more. This project will be a wonderful opportunity for our students and a blessing to the community.
Then on Friday, April 26, we will be hosting our annual “Fair-well Festival.” This program is our final student activity each year. It is a wonderful opportunity for students to say their good-byes to friends, faculty, and staff before heading home for the summer. We try to create a carnival style atmosphere with plenty of food stations (including carnival trailers), games, music and lots of fun. It’s also the perfect time for students to make some final memories with the graduating seniors before they leave us.
Finally, speaking of graduating seniors, that brings us to the most important event of the year. Commencement will take place on Sunday, May 5. More details can be found in Upcoming Events section of this newsletter. However I do want to take this opportunity to offer a very loud CONGRATULATIONS to our parents of the graduating class. We are so proud to have your sons and daughters going out into the world to represent Thiel College! Thank you for partnering with us over the years.
Best wishes on the final month of the semester, and thank you again for subscribing to A Letter Home.
Sincerely,
Mike McKinney ’02
Dean of Students
Honor Roll
Students of the Month
Every month, two students are chosen as Students of the Month. View the March and April Students of the Month.
Campus Activities
Relay for Life
On Saturday, April 6, Thiel held its own Relay for Life event in the Rissell-Schreyer Dome. Current student and cancer survivor Ryan Hart spearheaded the planning for this event. Fifteen teams represented different groups on campus, and the fundraising was plentiful throughout this past month. I am excited to share that Ryan's efforts organizing this event resulted in more than $10,000 raised. Thanks to everyone who participated! If you are interested in donating to this cause, please click here and click on the donate link.
Earth Week 2013: Caring for the Earth's Energy
All events are in the Lutheran Heritage Room of the Howard Miller Student Center unless noted otherwise. Thiel's Earth Week celebration events are free and open to the public. The events are sponsored by the Global Institute of Thiel College in partnership with the Student Life Office. Questions can be directed to Dr. Curt Thompson at 724-589-2106.
"The Basics of Fracking" with Todd Garcia-Bish, director of environmental education at Lutherlyn Bible Camp, and "Shale Gas: Follow the Science," with Patrick Findle, business development director, Gas Technology Institute
Wednesday, April 10 at 4 p.m.
These presentations will be followed by a Q & A with the speakers.
"Gas Rush: A Reporter's Perspective" with author and journalist Tom Wilber
Wednesday, April 10 at 7 p.m.
Wilber provides an overview of high volume hydraulic fracturing and related events and social influences that continue to play out—market dynamics; the anti-fracking movement; Home Rule and other legal challenges; and local, state and national politics influencing regulations. Wilber has been in the newspaper business for more than 20 years. He has reported on shale gas development in New York and Pennsylvania since 2008 and began writing about shale gas development full time in 2010.
Quiet Riot: "The History and Future of Energy"
Thursday, April 11 at 7 p.m.
Two brothers, David and Bill Mettler, better known as Quiet Riot, with degrees in aerospace engineering, environmental education and natural resource management, blend storytelling, comedy, mime, music and sound effects to reveal our interdependence with one another and the natural world, leading to the necessity of choosing clean renewable energy to power our lives.
Athletics
2013 Student-Athletes of the Week
| 3/25 | Hannah Stelmach | Women's Lacrosse |
| 3/25 | Timothy O'Shea | Men's Lacrosse |
| 3/18 | Kaitlyn Bonzo | Dance Team |
| 3/18 | Collin McAndrew | Men's Tennis |
| 3/11 | Jordan Powell | Wrestling |
| 3/11 | Beth Snider | Women's Lacrosse |
| 3/11 | Nick Rossmiller | Baseball |
| 3/4 | Ashley Dolan | Softball |
| 3/4 | Nick Schiavonni | Baseball |
| 2/25 | Emily Harrigan | Women's Lacrosse |
| 2/25 | Francis Ahia | Men's Lacrosse |
| 2/25 | Kourtney Polvinale | Dance Team |
| 2/25 | Eric Steininger | Baseball |
| 2/18 | Meri Steinmetz | Women's Track & Field |
| 2/18 | Adam Matthews | Wrestling |
Rossmiller Pitches a Perfect Game
Thiel baseball pitcher Nick Rossmiller (Butler, Pa./Butler) tossed the first perfect game in Tomcat history as Thiel defeated Hiram 14-0 Friday evening at Tomcat Park. Rossmiller's perfect game is the first in recorded Tomcat history, and only the 16th in NCAA DIII baseball history.
Powell Earns All-American Status
Thiel College sophomore Jordan Powell finished seventh Saturday in the 165-pound bracket at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, which were held at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Looking for more information about Thiel Athletics?
Please visit the official website for information about all of our teams, schedules and more.
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The Performing Arts
Cabaret
The Thiel Players performed Cabaret on April 4, 5 and 6. The show was one of Dr. William Robinson’s final productions before retirement. (Photo credit: Allen Morrill)