Thiel Happenings

Thiel College event celebrating undefeated women’s basketball teams and Title IX

Thiel College will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the three-year unbeaten streak of the 1971 to 1973 women’s basketball team as well as recognize the recent golden anniversary of the passage of the landmark federal civil rights law that prohibited sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government.

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Thiel College athletes will be outfitted in NIKE gear through partnership with BSN SPORTS

Thiel College announces that it has established a new athletic partnership with NIKE and BSN SPORTS, the nation’s largest direct marketer and distributor of sporting goods to the school and league markets and a division of Varsity Brands.

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Greater Johnstown High School senior wins full-tuition scholarship to Thiel College

Greater Johnstown High School senior Darshell Daniel, of Johnstown, Pa., won an academic scholarship worth $139,856 to Thiel College during a surprise presentation on Monday afternoon.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Additional full scholarship winner profiles

• Lincoln Park Performing Arts School senior awarded full-tuition scholarship to Thiel College
• Berkshire High School senior wins full-tuition scholarship to Thiel College
• Norwin High School senior awarded full-tuition scholarship to Thiel College

Founders’ Day returns as a campus gathering

Ten faculty and staff members and a member of the Thiel College Board of Trustees will be recognized at 11 a.m. Thursday, February 2 as part of the College’s annual Founders’ Day celebration.

It is the first in-person gathering for the annual tradition since 2020. 

Members of the campus community are urged to attend and celebrate their colleagues’ accomplishments along with the recipients’ family and friends.

Honorees
Staff Awards

• Distinguished Staff Award
  • Jennifer Gongaware, speech language pathology administrative assistant
  • Erin Bain, coordinator of the Accessibility Resource Center
  • Sonya Lapikas, Director of Admission
  • Morgan (Steiner) Bodnar ’16, MBA’21, Assistant Director of Admission, Graduate Counselor
  • Tyler North, women’s volleyball coach

Faculty Awards

• Professor of the Year
  • Jared Hanneman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology, Department Chair, Communication and Leadership Program Director
• Distinguished Scholar of the Year
  • Jared Johnson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English, Department Chair
• Distinguished Service Faculty of the Year
  • Christopher Stanisky, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry, Department Chair
• Distinguished Adjunct Faculty of the Year
  • Julie Harris, Adjunct Professor of Education
• Distinguished Teacher of the Year
  • Mary O’Donnell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology

Community Award

• Barbara and Louis Thiel Award
  • Rod E. Wilt ’86, Vice Chair for the Thiel College Board of Trustees

New I/T Support Request System begins Monday

Beginning Monday, January 30 please open your web browsers and bookmark this page: https://thielcollege.freshdesk.com or you may also browse to the IT Support link on the Thiel website, the Tomcat Tunnel (The little white square in the upper right-hand corner) and look for the IT Support icon.

The support email has also changed. You can still submit IT support requests via email but you must use support@thielcollege.freshdesk.com The old support ticket email address will be phased out and will not create a support ticket in the new system.

Email notifications! You will notice better communication as you will receive email notifications when you create a new ticket, a support member adds comments or needs more information from you, and, of course, you will receive a notification when the case is closed. All of these emails allow you to reply to them which then automatically adds your comments and questions to the ticket for the IT support staff to review.

In summary

New support request available Monday, January, 30

Website to bookmark: https://thielcollege.freshdesk.com

Support Ticket email: support@thielcollege.freshdesk.com

HR help to print W2 from Paycom

W2 forms are available to print via Paycom! Please click here for instructions on how to access your 2022 W2 or follow the steps below:

Student News

Phi Alpha Theta attends AHA conference in Philadelphia.

Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society, traveled to Philadelphia, Pa., to see this year’s American Historical Association Conference, which took place from Jan. 5-8. There were more than 250 panels spread out across the four days. On the first night, they attended a reception for undergraduates where Thiel students were able to talk to students from other schools. The president of the AHA stopped by the reception as well. Assistant Professor of History Jay Donis, Ph.D. led the trip.

Lindsey Durboraw ’23, who took Sports in American History during the spring 2022 semester, saw a panel titled “Baseball and Social Change in America.” The panel featured several historians and touched on the ways local, grassroots baseball leagues acculturated many different migrant groups to the United States. The panel also featured former Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner, Bud Selig, who celebrated what MLB had done, but also acknowledged that MLB has a long way to go to ensure more social change.

Julia Langietti ’23

• “One thing that I liked about the conference was that there was a large variety of presentations, so there was always something new and interesting to listen to each day.”
• “One thing that I liked about the trip was that we stayed right in the middle of Philadelphia, so we were able to easily walk to, and see lots of neat things, such as Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.”

Noah Toy ’23

• “One thing that I liked about the conference was listening to a panel that involved indigenous Mixtec researchers. Their presentation was a mixture of English as well as their indigenous language, which was unique to hear.”
• “One thing that I liked about the trip was visiting historical sites such as Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.”

Lindsey Durboraw ’23

• “I enjoyed having the opportunity to learn from historians who explained a large variety of topics through different cultural, ethnic, and gendered perspectives.
• This trip was a positive opportunity to further our knowledge and it gave us a chance to tour historical sites in Philadelphia, specifically the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Overall, I’m grateful to be given the chance to learn from experts in our field as well as network with fellow undergraduates.”

Sandy and Rich Parker prepare students for dining and career success

Sandy ’81 and Rich ’82 Parker were the guests and featured speakers at the Ruth A. Miller Senior Business Seminar, which was held on Jan. 18. Sandy guided the class through an etiquette dinner, highlighting the dos and don’ts of dinning in a business situation. After dinner, Rich shared his Thiel story as well as many observations about the challenges and successes he had during his career in business.

“To start off our night, Sandy Parker guided us through the dinner and explained rules and general things to keep in mind at each level of the meal. Her insights of how to effectively participate in a business dinner were extremely helpful, and I appreciated the seriousness with which she regarded the lesson.” Allison Walsh ’24

“Sandy Parker hosted it and lectured us throughout our meal about what was appropriate and what was not. It was kind of fun, trying to eat the messy and complicated food that Professor Witosky purposefully picked out to make us struggle.” Autumn Gourley ’24

“Dinner was very challenging and something I really enjoyed. Also, Sandy did an amazing job of explaining every detail of what to do and what not to do.” Matt Castles ’23

“All the food was good, especially the bruschetta and the pasta. However, I now know not to order these items at all when I am eating during this type of setting.” Jeremy Meyer ’23

“For instance, dress code, respect, manners, discipline, and understanding that you are tested to fail, were all key components of this dinner. I would like to thank them for the eye-opening opportunities and experiences that they shared with the class.” Asher Patton ’23

“Early in Rich’s life, he knew that he wanted to play football at the college level and truly enjoyed it. Academics and other aspects of college were not really on his mind if he was able to play football. At the time, he was recruited by the head coach at Thiel, becoming the starting right guard and even the captain of the football team later in his career. However, he was not excelling at everything. He was not doing well academically, and it became clear that he would not be allowed to play football unless he got his grades up.” Jeremy Meyer ’23

“Richard was not doing so well in the classroom, so Professor David Miller influenced him into getting a tutor.” Asher Patton ’23

“The tutor ended up being a girl who turned him down at a party during the previous semester, but ironically, he married her. He said, ‘if she can help me with accounting, then she can help me through life.’” Natalie Zgurich ’23

“He emphasized that he got through his college career because Thiel did not abandon him. The coach helped him, Professor Miller helped him, and Thiel itself kept him here by helping him get his grades up.” Autumn Gourley ’24

“Rich had no real plan for a job, so he worked at a few places but his time at each of them was short-lived. He was a cigarette, suit, and food salesman at different points in his career. He liked the food sales position and moved up to the business manager position at that company. He later left that position because he was not able to move up any farther in the business. After leaving food sales, he went into pharmaceutical sales.” Ian Yahner ’24

“He never gave up and realized that he wanted to go into pharmaceutical sales. Rich had to go through training and get 97% on a test to be able to work with the company that hired him. He ended up passing and was able to continue working.” Amy Jackson ’23

“Parker had many obstacles in his life, such as his wife getting sick and his mother passing away. He was also let go from four jobs, one of them being his dream job in pharmaceutical sales. He did not let that stop him, though. He went out on his own to sell compound medicine, but things were always changing, and he didn’t want to deal with such changes every three months. So, he retired at 52. Mr. Parker is a wonderful example of how things don’t always work out in life, but that doesn’t mean to give up or that your life is over.” Emily Grandy ’23

“Something he mentioned that spoke to me was that Thiel College won't abandon you, and based on my own experience, I believe that to be true.” Amy Jackson ’23

“Something he emphasized was that Thiel prepared him for his life ahead of him. The College did not give up on him and continued to support him, even if he wasn’t doing his best. All he had to do was work towards it to make it happen. That is a lesson that we can all learn because we control our fate and the paths we take in our lives.” Jeremy Meyer ’23

“Richard applied all the tools that he gained from Thiel and from Sandy to make him the person he is today. In addition, he also had family and close friends with him every step of the way. He retired at the age of 52, and Richard and Sandy are now helping Thiel students prepare for the future.” Asher Patton ’23

“To wrap up the evening, both Sandy and Richard emphasized the importance of showing your personality, being a leader, completing an internship, and being passionate.” Allison Walsh ’24

“The most powerful connection he got from Thiel would be his wife, Sandy Parker. After getting married to her through a tutoring program, they have been together as partners in life, giving each other job advice and helping each other.” Seoyoen Choo ’23

“I asked Rich when he felt the most successful and he answered, ‘when she said, ‘I do!’” Natalie Zgurich ’23

Lessons Learned

• “Avoid garlic as much as possible in a business meal.” Inseo Chong ’23
• “You never know who you are talking to, so always be aware of that.” Tyler Zere ’23
• “A college degree is more than just that; it demonstrates that you have discipline, success in the classroom, motivation, etc.” Autumn Gourley ’24
• “Thiel prepares you for what is to come in life.” Emily Grandy ’23
• “Be willing to do the small and unglamorous jobs.” Allison Walsh ’24
• “Save and invest while you are young.” Tyler Zere ’23
• “Perseverance and preparation are two of the most important qualities that a person can have.” Natalie Zgurich ’23