Thiel Happenings

A former patient of Children’s Hospital is leading Phi Theta Phi’s 54th annual Walk-a-Thon, which started on Monday with donation collections in the region. The two-day, 100-mile walk from Greenville to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh begins Friday morning.

Passion Driven Stats students present research to campus community

Students in PSY 215: Statistics for the Social Sciences taught by Professor of Psychology Kristel Gallagher, Ph.D. presented their class research posters to the campus community. The students were treated to sparkling non-alcoholic beverages to celebrate the completion of their research.

1922

2022

Last Tuesday,more than 100 students, faculty and staff gathered outside Roth Hall to recreate an old Thiel tradition. In its early history, students and faculty would gather together on the lawn in front of Roth Hall to take an annual picture. One such photo, taken on November 21, 1922, is shown and is displayed outside of the STEAM Room on the second floor of the library.

Dome Volunteers recognized during TNT

At Tuesday’s Thiel News Time, President Susan Traverso, Ph.D. discussed enrollment and provided the campus community with updates from the Board of Trustees meetings in early November.

As part of the proceedings, she took a moment to recognize all the staff and faculty who took time to help raise the Rissell-Schreyer Dome. She asked volunteers who helped with the Dome who attended Tuesday’s TNT to stand and be recognized.

Student News

Wallace and Oakes share their insights as professional advisors to entrepreneurs

“This week’s seminar class was a special format. It was a panel of professionals consisting of Mr. Jeff Wallace and Prof. Melissa Oakes. Both have impressive experiences in their respective business fields and have spent years collaborating with entrepreneurs.” Ava Kavulla ’25

“Mr. Wallace started us off for the night. He shared with us the story of his thirty-eight-year career in banking. As a 1983 graduate of Westminster College, Mr. Wallace received his degree in management. He would go on to start his career as a branch manager at The First National Bank of Mercer County, which later would become what is now known as First National Bank. For most of his time at First National Bank, he specialized in commercial lending and real estate development deals.” Tyler Zere ’23

“Though he is not a Thiel College graduate, he is involved with Thiel as he was a former board member and is now on the board of associates as well as other involvement with the basketball and golf teams.” Autumn Gourley ’24

“After graduating from Thiel, Prof. Oakes went into public accounting and got her CPA working a lot within the healthcare field. She is now a professor at Thiel and runs her own practice out of her house. Oakes works with an auto body shop, farmers, a bus company, and various individuals to complete their payroll, general bookkeeping, and tax returns.” Ashley Wolford ’23

“Professor Oakes was then presented with the opportunity to work as a professor at Thiel College, so she went on to receive her MBA and become a professor. She has now worked at Thiel for over a decade and in addition to being a professor, she has her own very successful tax business with both commercial and individual clients.” Tyler Zere ’23

“He called bankers the point guards of a business because they have to know everything that is going on and will have connections one may need to help their business grow and prosper.” Jakob Misencik ’23

“He mentioned the 5 Cs of credit which are character, capacity, capital, collateral, and conditions. Character is your credit history, capacity is borrower’s dept-to-income ratio, capital is your level of seriousness, collateral is self-explanatory, and conditions includes the interest rate.” Nevaeh Arnold ’23

“Mr. Wallace also noted that it is more difficult for entrepreneurs to get funding than it used to be. Regulation has made it a lot harder for entrepreneurs to secure funding for business ventures. This puts an emphasis on ensuring you are honest and trustworthy when applying for lending.” Tyler Zere ’23

“Bankers consider a lot before approving a loan especially for startup companies as there is a lot of risk involved. When applying for a loan to start a business, you must ask for more money than you think you will need, as you will go through it quicker than you think you will.” Justina Jenkins ’23

“He said that banks will try to get the most collateral they can because of the risk involved with entrepreneurs.” Jakob Misencik ’23

“He wanted us to know as young entrepreneurs that relationships must be developed and fostered with your banker, if something goes wrong you need to be able to be comfortable enough to tell them, so the problem isn’t a surprise to them. You need to be trustworthy and understand that things don’t go always as planned or expected.” Kaleb Achuff ’24

“He also shared some stories he had when he worked in the bank. I could feel how enthusiastic he was about commercial lending.” Chaeeun Lee ’23

“When asked what courses in college helped him the most in his career Mr. Wallace replied, ‘1. Writing, 2. Accounting, 3. Management.’ While at FNB he had to write many agreements, being as clear and precise as possible. He didn’t think that writing would be at the top, but it benefited him in his career greatly.” Ashley Wolford ’23

“Prof. Oakes said, ‘Do not ‘Google it’, do not take the ‘cheap way’, utilize attorneys and accountants at the beginning so it does not cost you more money to fix your mistakes.” Justina Jenkins ’23

“In addition, before starting a business, workers' wages, tax policies of the state, and loans from banks must be carefully considered, and other accounting management-related bills must be identified according to the state.” Seoyeon Choo ’23

“She also advised people to be cautious about hiring staff. She gave examples of taxes, social security and Medicare and made it clear that hiring employees is not just about paying wages.” Areumsongi Shin ’23

“They also spoke about the importance of networking, knowing people will always help you stay ahead of your career which helps if there is ever need for change.” Sydney Hipps ’23

“One of the most important concepts I learned was that it is important to rely on professionals such as lawyers, bankers, and accountants when it comes to starting a business.” Brycen Dorfmeister ’23

“Both speakers echoed the importance of being flexible in changing and developing markets. Their ability to cover numerous pieces of business wisdom as they shared their own career path stories was much appreciated by Thiel’s young entrepreneurs!” Ava Kavulla ’25

Lessons Learned

• “Make sure you have a separate bank account for your personal life and your business life.” Kaleb Achuff ’24
• “Always be transparent. Bankers hate surprises.” Nevaeh Arnold ’23
• “Cash is King!” Matt Castles ’23
• “Stay educated.” Seoyeon Choo ’23
• “Ignorance is not an excuse with the IRS.” Matt Castles ’23
• “No matter where you go or what you do, writing is very important.” Autumn Gourley ’24
• “Understand the current economic market before borrowing.” Ava Kavulla ’25
• "Business should be business and personal should be personal." Seoyeon Choo ’23
• “Network with people in similar positions as you or get a mentor.” Ian Yahner ’23

Dinner Dishing

• “The dinner served tonight included halupki, pierogi, sauerkraut, corn and kolache. They were all new to me, but the taste reminded me of some Korean food which was really interesting. I really enjoyed the food, especially the dessert. I would like to thank Ava for planning this wonderful meal.” Chaeeun Lee ’23

• “Ava picked yet another great meal this week that was Slovakian inspired. It consisted of cabbage rolls, pierogis, and kolache - it all was delicious.” Ashley Wolford ’23
• “My table had the honor of sitting with Jeff Wallace for dinner. He was great to talk to as he has children that are relative to our age and could relate to most of the things that the table talked about.” Ian Yahner ’23

• “The Slovak meal I planned was delicious. I am so grateful for the hard-work and talent the chefs demonstrated with preparing the difficult dishes. I really enjoyed getting to visit with the people at my table, as well. We had an enjoyable conversation about traditions, work experiences, internships, and college.” Ava Kavulla ’25

TLC offers tips and resources for finals week

Here are some useful resources from the Learning Commons on how to have a successful finals week:

1. 25 Crucial Study Tips
2. Test-Taking Tips Checklist
3. Strategies for Combating Test Stress
4. 5-Minute Fix for Test Anxiety
5. Make an Exam Prep Plan