Thiel Happenings

Thiel College’s largest single fundraising day focused on continued growth for 10th event

Thiel College’s 10th annual, one-day online giving event that unites the Thiel community and celebrates the College is Thursday, Feb. 23.

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Thiel College cheer team earns highest score at its first competition of the year

The Thiel College cheer team received the highest score and took first place at the Spirit Against Cancer Competition, hosted by Penn State Behrend on Saturday, Feb. 11.

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$500 donation bolsters emergency pantry

The Student Life Emergency Pantry has received a $500 donation from the non-profit organization Christian Fitness Ministries in Greenville. CFM is run by Michelle Lentz, Instructional Technologist, and her husband, Josh Lentz. This generous donation will be used for the purchase of food to be distributed to students as needs arise and will keep the pantry fully stocked for a long time to come.

Phi Theta Phi hosting Penguins event for all Thiel community members

Phi Theta Phi is hosting a fundraiser Thiel community event at the March 20 Pittsburgh Penguins game against the Ottawa Senators.

• Order tickets.

The brothers of Phi Theta Phi are hosting an alumni event prior to the game at The Souper Bowl, across the street from the arena from 5-6:45 p.m. before the game. All Thiel community members (alumni, staff and faculty and friends of the College) are invited.

Fifteen dollars from each FedEx Level ticket and $10 from each Giant Eagle and Snapple Level ticket purchased through this special offer will be donated back to the Phi Theta Phi Charitable Foundation Endowment Fund.

Alumni board accepting nominations for awards

The Thiel College Alumni Board is now accepting nominations for the Distinguished Alumni, Service to Thiel, and Young Alumni awards. Award recipients personify the very best of Thiel College and are truly leading lives of meaning and purpose. These awards exist to recognize the accomplishments of Thiel alumni. Submit a nominee by April 7, 2023. The awards are presented to the recipients as part of Homecoming weekend during a special awards ceremony. This year, Homecoming is the weekend of
September 29 - October 1

• Nominate Online!

The 2022 award winners were:

• Distinguished Alumni Awards: Tracy (Fair) Robertson ’74 and Amy (Maliner) Zell ’95
• Service to Thiel Award: Leo Phillips ’84 (posthumously)
• Young Alumni Award: Kayla (Ohlin) Emanuelson ’13

For more information, contact Alumni Relations.

Diversity webinar viewing in Bly Hall on Feb. 28

This spring, Thiel was accepted to participate in the Council of Independent Colleges/Association of College and University Educators program Belong: An Inclusive Learning Community. This program aligns with both the Thiel 2026 strategic plan, and recent changes from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that now embed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) language throughout all of the standards of our accreditation.

The opening presentation in the Belong program will be held on February 28. A public viewing is available in Bly Hall of the Academic Center from 1:30-2:30 p.m. Anyone interested may also register for the webinar directly through the link below.

• Register for the upcoming DEI webinar ‘It Takes a Village.’

Later this spring, Vice President for Student Life and Athletics and Dean of Students Mike McKinney, Ed.D. ’02 and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Greg Q. Butcher, Ph.D. will be organizing additional sessions to support this program. 

‘It Takes a Village’ is the first of Belong’s live quarterly webinar series featuring DEI practitioners and experts that address issues of inclusivity and belonging, introducing practical approaches that can be implemented right away.  This interactive 60-minute webinar provides faculty, staff, and administrators with practical approaches to mitigate unintended bias in everyday interactions with students and each other.

Student News

Student-worker spotlight in the writing lab

Writing Lab Consultant Matt Beuermann ’23, SI/PASS Leader Gwynne Fuhrer ’24, and SI/PASS Leader Anthony Baileys ’24 collaborate at the Writing Lab before their staff meeting.

• Student worker supervisors are encouraged to highlight their employees by sending a photo of students doing their great work to pr@thiel.edu.'

The FHC “Thiel Team” share their thoughts and experiences

Ben Beck ’10, Ryan Hart ’15, Matthew O’Connor ’20, Terra Radaker ’09, and Owen Sa ’22, all employees of FHC, Inc. were the featured speakers at the Feb. 15 Ruth A. Miller Senior Business Seminar. Ben is the Marketing & Communications Manager, Terra is a Manufacturing Support Specialist, Ryan is a Neuro Documentation Coordinator, and Matthew and Owen both serve as Procedural Support Specialists in the Greenville office of FHC.

“‘What do a philosophy major, a criminal justice major, a fine arts major, a computer science major, and an accounting major all have in common?’ This was a question proposed to us at Wednesday’s dinner when our five speakers stood before us. Before seeing the presentation, I would have never been able to answer this question without a simple answer like, ‘they all have a college degree.’ Each member of FHC who stood before us on Wednesday night never imagined themselves at a neurological manufacturing company that produces groundbreaking technology.” Natalie Zgurich ’23

“Everyone who spoke during our class is a Thiel alumni and works for Dr. Fred Haer ’65, who is the CEO of FHC, Inc. FHC, Inc. is a neuroscience company that makes products to help with Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, dystonia, and essential tremors.” Matt Castles ’23

“It is interesting that none of them pursued neuroscience at Thiel, but they all ended up at FHC. Ms. Radaker was actually a preschool teacher for eleven years before she began working at FHC.” Autumn Gourley ’24

“They produce devices that help with different types of brain surgery, such as DBS and Stereoelectroencephalography. The team manufactures the devices and deals with supporting and marketing aspects of the business.” Emily Grandy ’23

“I really enjoyed hearing that they are one of the only producers of these products and that they are from little old Greenville, Pennsylvania. I like seeing that even though we go to school in a very small town, the town has a business that is essential for such a specific surgery.” Ian Yahner ’24

“Ben proceeded to explain how these instruments work and how it is easier for neuroscientists to work with them. Rather than taking eight hours to complete surgery, these tools help them complete the surgery in under five hours.” Asher Patton ’23

“For me, neuroscience is hard to grasp, but I thought that learning how the products worked was so fascinating, and I was amazed at how effective they are.” Jeremy Meyer ’23

“In the neuroscience business, marketing departments have a strong focus on what to say and what not to say, and production departments have the most difficulty controlling unexpected variables.” Inseo Chong ’23

“Ben works as the marketing and communications manager for FHC. He discussed how FHC’s products are used for the brain, specifically dealing with the neurons. With his presentation, we got to hear a neuron dying in someone's brain, and he explained what to listen for during the process of one of the surgeries.” Amy Jackson ’23

“Terra’s department is involved in the production of some of these instruments. She is very skilled with the 3D printer, and she helps make sure that these products are shipped properly. Her emphasis is to get CT scans or MRIs from hospitals, so that she can try to figure out the proper angles required for the instrument to fit properly on the head of the patient.” Asher Patton ’23

“Each unit takes 6-10 hours to produce, and they must adhere to rigorous standards in order to be approved. Terra noted that they now have a 99% product pass rate, which is a testament to the quality of the products that they produce.” Tyler Zere ’23

“A piece of equipment malfunctioned during the operation because the doctor had unclicked one box in the program settings. Matthew ended up being “spit roasted” by the doctor and was told that he was basically useless because he could not fix the mistake that the doctor made. I applaud Matt because he was able to keep his composure while being screamed at. Personally, I could not have that much patience if I were not the one to blame.” Jeremy Meyer ’23

“Mr. Sa spoke up and said that he feels like his job is very rewarding and fulfilling, especially when he sees someone with Parkinson’s go through surgery, and he can see the tremors stop right there with his own eyes.” Autumn Gourley ’24

“I found Ryan’s story to be the most interesting, as he was a philosophy major. Ryan received his PhD recently and started with FHC this past October. What I found interesting about Ryan was the way in which he was able to explain how philosophy and medicine work in tandem with each other. This is something I have never thought about.” Tyler Zere ’23

“Dr. Hart is one of the most outstanding individuals that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and it was truly an honor to be able to hear more about him and his story and goals.” Allison Walsh ’24

“One thing that stood out to me was that all these alumni sound like they love what they do and are excited to be a part of FHC. I got the feeling that they were all proud of what they do and are extremely proud of what the company has accomplished with their help. I look forward to checking out what they do by visiting FHC soon.” Amy Jackson ’23

“The ‘cool word of the night’ was stereoelectroencephalography, which is both a diagnostic procedure used for epilepsy patients who are not responsive to medication as well as a really awesome Scrabble word!” Allison Walsh ’24

“If there was one thing that stuck with me, it was Matt’s experience. There are times when you can do everything right and then one thing can go wrong and ruin everything. As annoying and difficult as it may be, it is something that we are all going to deal with in life.” Jeremy Meyer ’23

“Some of the lessons I took away from this dinner were that Thiel College is a giant network, and there could always be a Tomcat who is willing to help you with your future needs. I’ve never seen a group of people like Thiel have the knowledge and history to help undergraduates succeed in life.” Asher Patton ’23

“Having a speaker group entirely composed of Thiel graduates who work at a local company with a global reach, speaks to the impact Thiel has even on a global level.” Tyler Zere ’23

Lessons Learned

• “Life is interdisciplinary.” Matt Castles ’23
• “You never stop learning.” Inseo Chong ’23
• “Don’t give up; keep going and get through it.” Seoyeon Choo ’23
• “Sometimes you can do everything right and things still go wrong.” Emily Grandy ’23
• “Control what you can control. Be humble and polite when something goes wrong, even if it is not your fault.” Natalie Zgurich ’23
• “Not every problem that you experience can be fixed that same day.” Ian Yahner ’24
• “When working in the marketing field, know the product and the market that you are selling to.” Amy Jackson ’23
• “There are things that are going to happen that may be out of your control, but you just have to keep going.” Sujin Park ’23
• “Teamwork is vital to make an organization operate. Each one of the speakers mentioned how they work with one another on a daily basis.” Natalie Zgurich ’23
• “Thiel graduates make global impacts.” Tyler Zere ’23

Dinner “Dishing”

• “Natalie Zgurich and I were the dinner concierges this week. I used to work at a Greek restaurant, so I thought that doing something from their menu would be neat in case no one had tried Greek food before. Everyone at my table complimented the meal, as well as others in the class, and that made me happy!” Autumn Gourley ’24
• “Dinner was amazing, with smooth to crunchy textures and rich flavor. Thanks to Autumn and Natalie, I was able to taste fresh and nutritious Greek food.” Seoyeon Choo ’23
• “Dinner was so good! Hearing that we were eating traditional Greek food, made me skeptical. However, after eating it, I would 100% say that I love Greek food.” Emily Grandy ’23
• “The spinach pie was to die for, and the baklava ice cream was delicious.” Jeremy Meyer ’23
• “Honestly, I think that it was the best food I've ever eaten. I would like to say thank you to Autumn and Natalie for allowing me to taste really delicious and new food.” Sujin Park ’23
• “I can also confidently say that this was the best meal I have probably ever had in my life; I asked Chef Crystal for the recipes!” Allison Walsh ’24