Thiel Happenings

Mercer Counseling Center, Thiel College sign agreement to benefit employees and students

The Community Counseling Center of Mercer County and Thiel College announce the signing of a new agreement that will provide numerous benefits to both organizations.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Athletic accomplishments celebrated at second annual Tommys

The Thiel College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in conjunction with the Department of Athletics hosted the second annual Tommys Sunday night at the William A. Passavant Center.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Thiel celebrates the sciences with recognitions for mentors and professionals of the year

Alumnus Punit Upadhyaya ’09 and teachers from Ashtabula, Ohio and Farrell, Pa. were recognized Friday during Thiel College’s Science Mentor of the Year Awards.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Vormelker returns to Thiel as women’s basketball head coach

Director of Athletics Jason Fautas announced Friday the hiring of Jessica Vormelker ’19 as Thiel College’s women’s basketball head coach.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Campus community chips in to help maintenance spread about 55 tons of mulch

Members of the faculty and staff helped out the facilities department to spread about 186 cubic yards of mulch on Wednesday in preparation for Commencement. That much mulch is estimated to have weighed about 55 tons.

Mulch quick facts

1. The weight of 55 tons of wood mulch is equivalent to the weight of about 37 cars.
2. According to the Mulch & Soil Council, using wood mulch in landscaping can help reduce soil erosion, retain moisture, and regulate soil temperature.Wood mulch can also be used to improve soil health by increasing organic matter content and providing nutrients to plants as it breaks down over time.
3. 55 tons of wood mulch could potentially produce enough heat through decomposition to generate electricity for a small community.

Budget and enrollment updates focus of final campus-wide TNT

Faculty and staff members gathered for the the final Thiel News Time of the spring semester and got budget and enrollment updates.

Farewell Fest is Friday

The annual Farewell Festival is at 4 p.m. Friday, April 28 in the Lutheran Heritage Room.

Faculty and staff from all departments volunteer during the event at the various stations.

Student News

Daley shares his Thiel story and his principles for success

Ricardo Daley ’96 was the featured speaker at the April 19 Ruth A. Miller Senior Business Seminar. Ricardo has spent his career in the financial services industry and is in the process of launching his own firm and a foundation with his wife.

“Ricardo was born in Jamaica and then later moved to England with his father. Then, at the age of eleven, Ricardo moved once again; this time to America.” Matt Castles ’23

“Ricardo was recruited by many different schools for basketball, but he decided to come to Thiel. Thiel made him feel at home from his first visit. He learned about Thiel through his grandmother’s work friends.” Emily Grandy ’23

“Rick said that his first thought upon arriving to campus was ‘I’m home.’ It kind of gave me goosebumps to hear him say that because it is the exact same thing that I said when I first visited campus.” Allison Walsh ’24

“Once Ricardo made it to Thiel’s campus and saw Greenville Hall, he knew where he wanted to be. When he first got started, he thought he was going to go into law; however, that soon changed, and he switched to accounting and business.” Amy Jackson ’23

“After coming to Thiel, he struggled for the first semester, but he sought out the resources to help him succeed. He learned how to study because of a program they had here at Thiel. He had to figure it out for himself, which made him a better leader in the long run.” Natalie Zgurich ’23

“Another thing that he had at Thiel was a mentor, or two, in Ricardo’s case. Professor Ligo and Professor Miller were two professors at Thiel who helped Ricardo during his time in the business department. Professor Ligo helped Ricardo with his work ethic and helped him strive. As for Professor Miller, he gave Ricardo an insight into the entrepreneurial route in life.” Amy Jackson ’23

“I enjoyed how he praised Thiel for the mentors that he experienced. One big lesson he learned is that you can be more than what you are. An example of this came when he recognized Prof. David Miller for having multiple streams of income from his businesses.” Ian Yahner ’24

“Upon graduation, he did not know what he wanted to do with his life, so he worked at Thiel as an admissions counselor and assistant basketball coach for a year. After a year of working for the College, he decided that he wanted to pursue a career in financial planning. Fast forward to his life now, and he is on the brink of starting his own private equity group.” Tyler Zere ’23

“Daley has worked in various sectors of the investment field, but he has now created his own business with four pillars. He can give back to the organizations that are important to him, work in the investment industry, and work with his wife while doing it.” Natalie Zgurich ’23

“Ricardo was one of the more interactive speakers we had. At the beginning, he asked us ‘who we are,’ ‘what are we studying,’ ‘where we are from,’ and ended it with our ‘what’ and ‘why.’ He wanted to know what drives us to succeed and why it drives us, and whether it is personal or not.” Jeremy Meyer ’23

“Mr. Daley also gave advice stating, ‘You need to have personal and professional development.’ This means that you need to be true and honest with yourself and have a healthy routine. This will complement professional development in the work environment.” Asher Patton ’24

“Ricardo ended his presentation with his seven principles to success which are to have integrity, find a mentor, stay curious, be a subject expert, have good work ethic, set goals, and lastly, know attachment vs. commitment.” Emily Grandy ’23

“’Straight power my good man’ – a quote Ricardo used to talk about an interaction he had with Prof. David Miller.” Ian Yahner ’24

“Daley learned this from the late Prof. David Miller, but it has been mentioned by almost all our speakers thus far. He said that David Miller was the first person who saw potential in him, which caused him to believe in himself.” Natalie Zgurich ’23

“I greatly enjoyed hearing Mr. Daley’s life story and advice. He is an inspiring person, and I hope to get other chances to speak with him.” Allison Walsh ’24

“Overall, the speech offered valuable insights into the importance of mentorship, networking, and personal growth, and served as a reminder that success is a continuous process of learning and development.” Seoyeon Choo ’23

“It was also a notable experience to be able to surprise Professor Witosky with this year’s edition of The Phoenix, which is dedicated to him and Professor Miller. It will definitely be one of my favorite memories of my time at Thiel!” Allison Walsh ’24

Lessons Learned

• “Find someone who holds you accountable.” Matt Castles ’23
• “Attitude is everything.” Inseo Chong ’23
• “You will get paid for value, not time.” Seoyeon Choo ’23
• “Don’t drink at networking events.” Emily Grandy ’23
• “Make sure your belt matches your dress shoes.” Matt Castles ’23
• “You have to attract success.” Amy Jackson ’23
• “Always grind for the family. Take great care of the loved ones around you and set an example for them.” Asher Patton ’24
• “Have a strong work ethic, set goals, and think big.” Allison Walsh ’24
• “You must be able to call yourself out. Have an accountability partner who can call you out if you are not reaching your full potential.” Natalie Zgurich ’23
• “People love helping people.” Ian Yahner ’24
• “Pull yourself up.” Tyler Zere ’23
• “The most important part about networking is the follow up. Mention something that was talked about to add the familiarity piece about it.” Natalie Zgurich ’23

Dinner “Dishing”

• “Over the past couple of weeks, we have had various meals that were inspired by countries around the world, and this week was Korean food. The dinner served tonight included pan-fried tofu and a beef pancake as an appetizer, and pork belly slices with white kimchi as a main dish. Lastly, hotteok was served with ice cream as a dessert.” Seoyeon Choo ’23
• “Overall, it was a delicious meal, and I was very grateful to the chef, who prepared it almost the same as the Korean taste.” Inseo Chong ’23
• “First of all, it was a very happy and meaningful experience in that I could make my own Korean food menu and share it with my American friends. I was thankful and amazed to see everyone trying to use chopsticks at least once. If everyone who participated in the dinner enjoyed Korean food, I was very satisfied with it, and the food itself was of course the best.” Sujin Park ’23
• “It has been a pleasure working as dinner concierge and sharing our culture. I hope it was a positive and enjoyable experience for all involved, and I realized that it is always enjoyable to introduce my culture to others.” Seoyeon Choo ’23
• “This was a delicious meal and something I will never forget about. We learned how to properly use chopsticks and used them throughout dinner, except for when it came to dessert.” Amy Jackson ’23
• “I would argue that tonight’s dinner is one of the best dinners that we have had all semester. I ate it all and enjoyed every bit of it. I also like that every dinner had something new that I could try, with tofu being that item for this dinner.” Ian Yahner ’24

Alpha Chi induction ceremony

On April 13, eight new members were inducted into the Alpha Chi Honor Society. On April 14, all members and their families were welcomed to a celebratory dinner.

Pictured are bottom row, left to right: Bethany Bonnar ’23, Brianne Coatsworth ’24, Erika Cook ’24, Alexander Martin ’24; Middle row, left to right: Madison Yurich ’24, Allison Walsh ’24, Kylie Vergnola ’24, Emmalee Sheeler ’24; Top row, left to right: Zoe Heckathorne ’23, Kylie Gardner ’24 (Vice President), Emily Irons ’24 (President), Madison Walsh ’23 (Secretary/Treasurer), Raquel McDonald ’23; Not pictured (current members): Alexander Andreozzi ’23, Abraham Hochstetler ’23, Connor Lovic ’24, Kaylee Suarez ’23, Gianna Tofani ’23, Noah Toy ’23, and Sarah Wakley ’23.

The faculty sponsors for Alpha Chi are Shannon Deets, Ph.D., Kara Schreckenghost, and Jared Johnson, Ph.D.

Communication students tour Pittsburgh TV studio

Communication students toured Pittsburgh NBC affiliate WPXI last week and grabbed a photo with weatherman Scott Harbaugh and anchors Gordon Loesch and Katherine Amenta.

Read the latest edition of The Phoenix

The Phoenix was released during last week’s Scholarship and Arts Syposium. Faculty, staff, students and alumni all contributed works to this year’s edition.