Thiel Happenings

Thiel College received a record-setting 456 donations in 24 hours on the way to raising nearly $200,000 for The Thiel Fund with its one-day online fundraising campaign Thursday, Feb. 21.

Two student-musicians in the Tomcat Marching Pride have been selected to participate in the 72nd Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band Concert from Friday, March 8—10 at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Thiel College will present a series of restored silkscreen productions from its private collection of pop artist and activist Corita Kent in the Weyers-Sampson Gallery of the Howard Miller Student Center from Feb. 28 to March 29.

Witosky tells Miller Seminar students to make their own luck

Gary Witosky ’79 earned his bachelor’s degree from Thiel College and holds a Master of Accountancy from Stetson University. In addition, he is a certified public accountant and chartered global management accountant. Witosky’s professional experience includes more than 20 years in public accounting and private industry. He concluded his six years in public accounting as an audit supervisor at Ernst & Whinney (now Ernst & Young) in Cleveland, Ohio. He is also the first person to be named the David M. Miller ’61 Chair of Accounting. Witosky spoke to Ruth A. Miller Senior Seminar students on Feb. 20.

• Read about past speakers at the Ruth A. Miller Senior Seminar page.

“Gary Witosky’s presentation also featured many keys for students to find success. Passion was a major aspect that I connected with. Finding something that you love and enjoy doing can be crucial in a professional career. Preparation meeting opportunity is how to be lucky in this world. Finding meaning was another point that I needed to hear from a speaker on this night. Tough decisions will be made, but being yourself and knowing who you are and what you want is really important.”—Paul Wotus ’19

“Gary Witosky has made a tremendous impact on the lives of so many, including my own. In the time I have known him, he has gone above and beyond anything I would have imagined, never asking for anything in return, and always believing in more than anyone else has. His accomplishments, and his willingness to serve are goals that I can only hope to achieve one day.”—Terri Eddy ’19

“He went through being from a small town with a big family and having parents who never attended college to becoming such an amazing man and accomplishing so much. I personally would say that Professor Witosky would be one of my heroes.”—Diana Sileshi ’19

“After his story, he told us his keys to success. They were, perform with passion, don’t settle, get grit, know yourself, great things happen in silence, have a hear and serve others. Instead of talking about all of them, I’ll speak on my favorite one, which was get grit. I believe I have this and always have. When things looked south, I would work hard to achieve what I wanted to achieve.”—Dalton DuBrosky ’19

“He started out his presentation by discussing the definition of luck. To Gary Witosky, luck is not success brought on by chance; however, luck is where opportunity meets preparation. Professor Witosky explained that preparation makes taking an opportunity possible. He also advocated that hard work is a much better attribute than raw talent. Anyone can outwork a talented individual who doesn’t work hard.”—Zach Stiglitz ’19

Military Heroes Week essay contest open to students and employees

Anyone passionate about a military hero in their life, who wants to explore how military heroes affect our freedoms as citizens or creatively express an appreciation for our military hero heroes can participate in the Kappa Sigma Military Heroes Week Essay Contest. 
Answer one of the prompts below with an essay of 1,200 words or less.

Essay requirements

• Please have a title and identify which prompt question you chose, and why?
• Please keep the essay to 1,200 words or less.
• Deadline for entry is March 25.
• Have your entry proofread and edited to fit American English language standards.

Essay prompts

• Describe a military hero that you know. What qualities does he or she possess? How has he or she made a positive impact in your life, the community, or our country?
•  What's the significance of military service people? How do they show heroism in what they do?

The top three essay submissions will have their work honored at a public reading on Friday, March 29 in the Lutheran Heritage Room and with publication in next year's edition of The Phoenix, Thiel’s creative literary magazine.

A grand prize winner will be awarded a $20 gift card to Sheetz!

For more information or to submit an entry, contact Charlie Lichtenwalter ’21.

Student News

Institutional Scholarship applications now available

Scholarship Applications for the 2019-2020 Academic Year are now available!
Any student wishing to be considered for a Thiel Endowed Scholarships should fill out the 2019-20 Institutional Scholarship application, which is located on the Thiel Hub.

It can be found under the Home Page in the section titled “Scholarship Form.” Fill it out online and submit. The files will then be delivered to the Financial Aid Office for inclusion in the selection process. 
 
Pennsylvania residents must have their FAFSA filed by May 1 to meet PA State Grant Deadline

For more information, contact the Financial Aid Office.

Positions available with Office of Admission Thiel Team 

Positions are available with Admissions Thiel Team. It is a unique campus paid leadership opportunity that supports the Admissions Office through campus tours, phone call campaigns, hosting opportunities, recruitment events and more. As a valued member of the Admissions Office, Thiel Team members are responsible for assisting in the recruitment of new students.

A brief information session was held Wednesday, but there is still an opportunity to get involved. Students interested in becoming a member of the Admissions Thiel Team should contact Vice President of Enrollment Management Ashley Josay Zullo.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to submit nominees for the Thiel Team. Send an email to Zullo.

• Students can apply online.

Deadline to apply is March 8 and interviews will be conducted the week of March 11.

Thiel Happenings

Thiel College’s Organization of Black Collegiates, an inclusive organization to promote and raise cultural awareness around the campus, is hosting a series of events to recognize and celebrate Black History Month.

Thiel College’s annual one-day giving campaign to benefit The Thiel Fund is Thursday, Feb. 21.

Author and nationally-recognized sociologist Ruth Peterson, Ph.D., is the first speaker for Thiel College’s new criminal justice speaker series, which is being supported by alumnus Robert Crutchfield, Ph.D. ’71.

French onion and prime rib soup wins second annual Golden Ladle

On Tuesday, February 19th Director of Public Safety and Police Chief Dennis Bish took home the Golden Ladle award at Thiel College's second annual chili cook-off. Bish was voted best of the 10 competitors with a prime rib French onion soup.

The contest raised $184 for the American Heart Association.

Student News

Damen Taylor’s four F’s are the foundation of his presentation

Finance and Accounting Manager for Three Rivers Adoption Council and Thiel alumnus Damen Taylor ’95 was the guest speaker for the Ruth A. Miller Senior Seminar on February 13, 2019. Taylor discussed the Four F’s—Focus, Faith, Family and Finish—and explained to the students the importance of learning from their mistakes and acknowledging when they don’t know the answers to life’s questions.

• Read about past speakers at the Ruth A. Miller Senior Seminar page.

“Faith inspires us to have faith in God and ourselves to believe what we know. Family is incredibly important in our lives, they are often why we do what we do and are many times the helpful crutch that gets us through hard times. And the last F, Focus, is all about finishing what we start and refusing to give up. Damen gave us a clear blueprint of how to maintain a successful life by utilizing these methods. His words and motivations helped me to really appreciate what I have and aspire to work harder.” —Justin Pierce ’19

“When he talked about faith, he talked about the time when his professor at Thiel called him a talented bum. His professor said that he believed in Damen. That was the moment when things changed for him because he started to have faith in himself.” —Alex Lam ’19

“He talked about the four F’s and how important they are to have in your life. Focus, Faith, Family, and Finish were the four F’s. Focusing—Damen thought that we should have some sort of settled plan for when we graduate. Faith—because you have to have faith in yourself and believing in what you know. Family—keep those who are close to you in a circle and keep the negative people out. Finish—College is based on finishing what you have started and the degree is what separates you from others.” —Matt Hultquist ’19

“The four Fs are something that Damen Taylor lives by. This really made me evaluate what was important to me. Damen’s four Fs were Focus, Faith, Family, and Finish. Focus can be a huge component during a lifetime and professional career. Everyone has a plan. How you go through with that plan and what you do is important. For Mr. Taylor, football helped him show his focus. ‘Focus determines reality.’” —Paul Wotus ’19

“Damen also gave an insightful outlook as to why a college degree is important. He says the number reason employers will hire college graduates is because a degree indicates you are capable of finishing what you started. Damen is currently working as Finance and Accounting Manager for Three Rivers Adoption Council and loves what he does, believing every child deserves a family.” —Ben Ratka ’19

Etc.

Tomcat Tributes

Tomcat Tributes recognize the teamwork Thiel College employees exhibit each day. Employees can nominate co-workers for recognition in four categories (Random Act of Kindness, Going the Extra Mile, Had a Great Idea, Just Because).

• To nominate a fellow employee, visit the Campus Resources link on the Thiel Hub.

Publishing Schedule

T-Notes is published weekly. It arrives Wednesday afternoons. The next edition will be out Feb. 27. Send your event or news to tnotes@thiel.edu by noon Monday, Feb. 25 to be published in that week’s edition.

Connect with Thiel College

• Subscribe to the Thiel College YouTube channel
• Thiel College Newsroom

Thiel Happenings

Carmen Triskett, center, poses with the Thiel College cheer squad during a recent women’s basketball game.

Thiel College is forming faculty and staff reading groups that will meet throughout the spring 2019 semester to discuss diversity and inclusion at the College.

Thiel College has been recognized by a Pittsburgh Public Broadcasting Service station as a “Champion of Education” as part of the station’s Future Jobs Workforce Development Initiative.

More than 100 faculty and staff gather for Middle States kick off

Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Liz Frombgen, Ph.D., hosted faculty and staff members on Feb. 5 to discuss the upcoming process for the College’s Middle States Accreditation process.

More than 100 faculty and staff members attended the information session in the Lutheran Heritage Room. Many members of the campus community will be participating in one of the nine working groups that will be collecting information and preparing reports as part of the process. 

The self-study timeline evaluation period is in the 2020-2021 academic year and will likely include a site visit from Middle States accreditors in spring 2021. 

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is one of seven regional accrediting organizations in the United States and is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Events recognize students, employees and community members

Member of the Board of Trustees John Frangakis H’19, state Sen. Michele Brooks, state Rep. Mark Longietti, 10 employees and its best students were honored in two events on February 7 and 8.

The celebrations started with the annual Founders’ Day event on Thursday morning. 

• Read more about the honorees.

Festivities continued on Friday where Frangakis was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science and honors students were acknowledged for their achievement.

• Read more about Academic Honors Convocation.

Photographs from both events as well as past Thiel College events are available at flickr.com.

  Thiel College’s Flickr gallery

• View photos from the Founders’ Day celebration.
• View photos from Academic Honors Convocation.

Patrick prepares students for transition from college to career

Senior Vice President Ancillary Services at UPMC Kathleen Patrick ’79 was the guest speaker for the Ruth A. Miller Senior Seminar on February 6, 2019. Patrick emphasized to the students the importance of searching for opportunity, recognizing personal weaknesses, and making patient satisfaction a priority as they begin the transition from college to the workplace.

• Read about past speakers at the Ruth A. Miller Senior Seminar page.

“For dinner on February 6, 2019, I had the opportunity to sit with (the) speaker. Kathie is an alumna of Thiel, and as a result, we had the opportunity to share stories and compare our experiences 40 years apart. It was a great opportunity to converse with Kathie as she has gained a tremendous amount of valuable insight from her life and experiences that she shared with us. Particularly, to enjoy our time in college and take advantage of all the different opportunities available to us, such as study abroad.” –Terri Eddy ’19

“Always be the one to volunteer, it shows that you can take initiative. Enjoy this time of your life, you will never get another chance to experience it. Always have a firm handshake with both men and women, treat both genders equally. Always hold your ground and do not cave under pressure (like when she held hers when her boss threatened to fire her for investigating him).” –Ryan Ball ’19

“Kathie went to the University of Pittsburgh for her first year of college. She did not like it because it was too big for her. She wanted a smaller atmosphere as well as an individual connection with her professors. She decided to come to Thiel because of the strong accounting and business program.” –Alex Lam ’19

“Kathy shared some of her wisdom for the students in the room who are not quite sure what career path to take after graduation. She explained that the best thing for us students to do is to keep all opportunities open. We should keep all options open because this is the time in our lives that we can fail and still have a very successful career afterward.” –Zach Stiglitz ’19

“During dinner, we discussed our paths to Thiel, as well as the importance of eye contact and a good handshake. I asked Kathy how she liked my handshake when meeting me prior to dinner. She rated it a 9.2 out of 10. That is an A, I’ll take it!” –Ben Ratka ’19

Student News

Upcoming events mark OBC’s Black History Month celebration

Thiel College’s Organization of Black Collegiates, an inclusive organization to promote and raise cultural awareness around the campus, is hosting a week of events which will celebrate Black History Month.

Featured events include:

• Harambee Youth Organization: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19; Lutheran Heritage Room of the Howard Miller Student Center—The Harambee Youth Organization is a program that motivates disadvantaged African-American youth to strive for leadership, self-fulfillment and community service. The organization provides “Edutainment” consisting of authentic African dances, such as the “Koteba” or Big Dance and “Maindiani (Domba)” or coming of age dance among others.
• 19th OBC Soul Food Feast: 4–5:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24; Lutheran Heritage Room of the Howard Miller Student Center—Foods associated with African-American culture will be available for the campus to enjoy. The event raises awareness for one of the many diverse cultures that call Thiel College home.
• OBC Poetry Night: 7–8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25; Sawhill-Georgian Room of the Howard Miller Student Center—Slam poet and spoken word artist from Youngstown, Ohio Doreen Devine Block shares her unique version of slam poetry performance with the campus.
• Consent Matters Presentation: 8–9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26; Weyers Lounge of the Howard Miller Student Center—A presentation on how to seek and recognize consent and identify situations in which it cannot be obtained. Students will also learn about how they can step in to help others who need them in difficult situations.

​For more information, contact Thiel College student activities.

Etc.

Tomcat Tributes

Tomcat Tributes recognize the teamwork Thiel College employees exhibit each day. Employees can nominate co-workers for recognition in four categories (Random Act of Kindness, Going the Extra Mile, Had a Great Idea, Just Because).

• To nominate a fellow employee, visit the Campus Resources link on the Thiel Hub.

Thiel Happenings

Thiel College announces 270 students were named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2018 semester.

Two Pennsylvania legislators will join 10 Thiel College faculty and staff members as honorees for the College’s annual Founders’ Day celebration at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 in the College’s Lutheran Heritage Room of the Howard Miller Student Center.

Frangakis, top students to be acknowledged during Friday’s Convocation

Academic Honors Convocation is at 7 p.m. Friday in the William A. Passavant Memorial Center.

First-year, sophomore, junior and senior students who are on the Dean’s List will be awarded certificates.

Reminder for all student recipients: that all awardees must be seated by 6:30 p.m. Late arrivals will not be formally recognized during the ceremony.  

All Alpha Chi students will be seated on the stage and will be honored by name and by awards in recognition of their academic achievement.

Also new this year is the announcement of fraternity and sorority honors. The female and male Greek houses with the highest combined overall GPA for the 2018-2019 academic year will be revealed and recognized.

Hermitage businessman John R. Frangakis will be awarded an honorary degree during the ceremony. He was a member of the Board of Trustees from 2008–2017 and will return to the board on Saturday, Feb. 9. Frangakis was the chairperson of the 2016 Presidential Search Committee.

Frangakis is chairman and chief executive officer of Reynolds Service Inc. and chief executive officer of Cross IT Services & Solutions, LLC. He was recognized as Thiel College’s Haller Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014.

Campus experiences first closure in more than 20 years

Last week ’s Arctic blast led to the first cancellation of classes and closure of College offices in more than two decades. As a result, there was no Jan. 30 edition of T-Notes. Campus offices and classes were canceled on Jan. 30 and 31. Campus activity resumed on Feb. 1. Temperatures in the region were below zero with wind chills as low as -25 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thiel to host public comment session for USDA program

At 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18, Thiel College will hold a public meeting in Classroom 125 on the first floor of James Pedas Communication Center. The purpose of this meeting is to give the citizens of Greenville, Pa. and the surrounding community the opportunity to become acquainted with the proposed USDA financing to include the construction and renovation of the Academic Center, Rhodehouse Science Building, Langenheim Memorial Library and Wellness Center. Thiel College is applying for project financing through the USDA Community Facilities Program.

Attendees will be able to ask questions and comment about the project, general financing, and have any other general inquiry acknowledged.

For more information, contact Bob Schmoll at ext. 2102.

Golden Ladle up for grabs at second annual contest

Participants and tasters needed for the second annual Soup and Chili Cook-off from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 19 in Weyers Lounge. Participants can sign up in the Student Life Office. Cost to taste is $5. All proceeds will go to the American Heart Association.

• Read more about the event.

To sign up or for more information, contact Jackie Kytchak at ext. 2125.

Student News

Author discusses business ethics with Miller Seminar attendees

Retired Shoe Sensation chief executive officer Mike Zawoysky ’79 and his former boss at Foot Locker, Inc. and author of “Jesus & Co.” Bruce Hartman discussed business ethics and connecting the lessons of the gospel with today’s business world.

• Read about past speakers at the Ruth A. Miller Senior Seminar page.

“Dinner Summary: Food was good. (It) was an incredible experience to speak with Bruce and Mike, and I look forward to getting in contact with them as they planned. They are very knowledgeable of the business world and could help me to get started. So to talk with them and have them offer to help me in any way is truly incredible and I look forward to it very much.” – Justin Pearce ’19

“Dr. Bruce Hartman has been the CEO/CFO of many renowned companies some being Foot Locker, Yankee Candle and May’s (which is currently Macy’s). He earned the great honor of being recognized with the Fortune Top 500 CFOs. Dr. Hartman has always known what he wanted to become.” – Diana Sileshi ’19

“Bruce Hartman who kindly took his time out of his busy schedule to visit Thiel College, made sure the students received quality advice and tips. One great tip that hit me hard was figuring out what the employer wants. Some things that Bruce mentioned were being positive, being trustworthy, and wanting to learn. This is what I needed to hear on this Wednesday night!” – Paul Wotus ’19

“This week we had the privilege of listening to our guest speaker Bruce Hartman. We were given a book called “Jesus & Co.” that was actually written by him. The book is about connecting the lessons of the gospel with today’s business world. Bruce talked about some of his life stories along with some of his life experiences and how he included his faith in his everyday life.” – Nick Fowkes ’19

“Our speaker was introduced by Mike Zawoysky, his former colleague. During the introduction, Mike sang Bruce’s praises. He credited Bruce for bringing Foot Locker back from the brink of bankruptcy. However, as soon as Bruce took the podium, he immediately gave credit instead to those who worked for him which is a testament to his character. Bruce went on to tell us a story of how the company was able to borrow additional funds from the bank due to his honest answer to a question on the future of his company. While his answer did not seem like the best strategic business decision, he still told the truth.” – Terri Eddy ’19

“Mike Zawoysky is a Thiel College alumnus ’79, and (he) played basketball. Mike worked with Bruce throughout his career, he was his mentor after he left Thiel and entered into the workforce. Mike takes a lot of pride in business ethics and how he knew that in his career he practiced them through his faith. He was also a part of salvaging Foot Locker from bankruptcy in 2002. Mike and Bruce worked together on this project, and Foot Locker is still in business today.” – Cam Cianci ’19

Aguirre and Reitz earn extra effort award from TLC

Farook Aguirre ’19 and Joelle Reitz ’19 won the February Extraordinary Effort Award given by the Thiel Learning Commons.

Reitz, of DuBois, Pa., is a health systems and neuroscience major with a chemistry minor. She is a 2015 graduate of DuBois (Pa.) High School.

Aguirre, of Adventure, Fla., is a criminal justice major. He is a 2012 graduate of Freedom (Fla.) High School.

Etc.

Tomcat Tributes

Tomcat Tributes recognize the teamwork Thiel College employees exhibit each day. Employees can nominate co-workers for recognition in four categories (Random Act of Kindness, Going the Extra Mile, Had a Great Idea, Just Because).

• To nominate a fellow employee, visit the Campus Resources link on the Thiel Hub.

Publishing Schedule

T-Notes is published weekly. It arrives Wednesday afternoons. The next edition will be out Feb. 13, 2019. Send your event or news to tnotes@thiel.edu by noon Monday, Feb. 11 to be published in that week’s edition.

Connect with Thiel College

• Subscribe to the Thiel College YouTube channel
• Thiel College Newsroom