Roberta Leonard

Thiel College Vice President for College Advancement Roberta Leonard was the featured speaker at the January 24 Ruth A. Miller Senior Business Seminar. Leonard has worked at Thiel for more than 20 years in a variety of positions, currently serving as Vice President for College Advancement. Roberta guided the class through an etiquette dinner, highlighting the dos and don’ts of dining in a business situation. After dinner, she shared her experiences working in government and at Thiel.

“Roberta Leonard is an extremely talented and dedicated staff member at Thiel College. She is employed as the vice president of College Advancement, and she essentially started the grant system that Thiel currently has in place.” Madi Yurich ’24

“Due to her success at grant writing for Mercer County the president of Thiel College reached out and offered a job to Roberta. Taking this opportunity has led her to where she is today. On the way she would earn Thiel many grants and donations. She spoke of how Thiel’s mission-driven passion really motivated her to stay.” George Tice ’24

“After advancing her career while being employed by the county, she was hired at Thiel College to continue using her grant writing gift. While working for Thiel, she held various job titles, including Executive Director of the Capital Campaign, Director of Grants, and Vice President of College Advancement, among others. She stated that she loves her job, and it shows with her contributions at Thiel as the institution achieves very high returns on its investments.” Jacara Green ’25

“Throughout her whole career, Roberta made an impact on people’s lives. Whether that job was as a paternity officer or head of grant programs, she was always mission driven and devoted to improving the life of those around her and who she worked for.” Connor Lovic ’24

“Roberta spoke about the importance of connection with others, developing relationships that improve the quality of all parties involved. In her words, “relationships drive success”. Her passion to change people’s lives daily truly supports her desire for mission driven work. She spoke of the importance of knowing what drives you, what makes you continue to want to push forward.” Damion Grinnell ’25

Roberta emphasized the importance of relationships and how kindness fosters success. She underscored the need to form genuine relationships, not just for money and profit, and explained that relationships played a key role in building a life.” Yeryoung Kim ’24

“Just like myself, Roberta was a first-generation college student as well as her other five siblings. Roberta referred to her family as being the core of her life and how they have always kept her motivated. I found that very comforting to hear because family means the same to me and why I am where I’m at today.” Taya Sykes ’24

“Roberta's engaging presence and insightful discourse on proper dinner etiquette, coupled with her remarkable life story, made her a captivating speaker at our seminar dinner. As a successful woman of many firsts, Roberta stands as a source of inspiration and learning for us students.” Emma Hatfield ’25

Lessons Learned

“Relationships drive success.” Nick DiLullo ’24
“In the lack of a plan, make your own plan.” Jacara Green ’25
“Remember we all have our own story, a past. Our story is something we carry with us, and it comes out in the ways we interact with one other. Do not judge others when they have the courage to share their story.” Damion Grinnell ’25
“Get out and travel to experience new things.” Emma Hatfield ’25
“Hold your friends and family close. You don’t get them back so you must cherish it while you can.” Connor Lovic ’24
“Your family does not have to be your blood relatives; it is who you make it.” Alex Martin ’24
“Always be kind to everyone because you don’t know what others are going through.” Hailey McClain ’24
“A rising tide raises all ships.” Jackson Pletcher ’24
“You can move up, move down, or move out.” Isaac Sasala ’24
“Live every day to the fullest because you never know when it will be your last.” Abigail Sefton ’25
“Everyone has a back story. So be kind, and don’t judge others.” Austin Siko ’24
“Loving what you do and making a difference is worth more than the money you make.” Julianne Slagle ’25
“Where you are at now in your career is not your final destination.” Taya Sykes ’24
“Keep an open mind when job searching, there are titles and positions you’ve never heard of that need people like you!” George Tice ’24
“If you can take the trip, take the trip!” Madi Yurich ’24
“Roberta knows everyone!” Connor Lovic ’24

Dinner “Dishing”

“Our dinner was designed in a way that would teach us proper etiquette with some of the most difficult dishes we could experience. Expectedly, the dishes were all delicious, however navigating them posed a challenge. From cutting through croutons like crust, and eating our pasta neatly, to deciding how to approach our frozen desert, we all accepted the challenge to test our manners and had a wonderful meal.” Emma Hatfield ’25
“Before the dinner I was unaware of which fork, knife, and spoon should be used for each serving of the meal provided. I am now knowledgeable on this topic and will use these techniques at future formal dinner settings.” Jacara Green ’25
“Dinner was difficult to eat on purpose, but I appreciate a good challenge. I never had goat cheese before, and I really enjoyed it.” Hailey McClain ’24
“At dinner we learned proper etiquette for a business dinner whether that be with a client, an interview, or a company dinner. The meal we were fed was very difficult to follow the proper etiquette but was very beneficial to experience.” Jackson Pletcher ’24
The dinner experience was definitely very humbling. I learned how to eat challenging foods and how to act during a professional business meal. I especially learned about foods that are not ideal menu choices during a professional meal, particularly spaghetti noodles. Overall, I thought all the food was amazing, but I especially favored the frozen brownie sundae.” Madi Yurich ’24
“Our table had many good conversations about different things such as classes that have impacted us and our families. Another thing we talked about was some of our experiences here at Thiel and how our time here has shaped and changed us.” Nick DiLullo ’24