Thiel Happenings

Schmidt and Trumbull named Thiel College Student of the Month honorees for October

Thiel College announces Kaitlyn Schmidt ’25, of Monroeville, Pa., and Owen Trumbull ’25, of Lottsville, Pa., as its Student of the Month honorees for October.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Thiel College Con Spirito Chamber Music Concert Series presents the Dorian Wind Quintet

Thiel College will welcome the world-renowned Dorian Wind Quintet to the David Johnson Memorial Chapel at 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 16 as part of the College’s Con Spirito Chamber Music Concert Series.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Thiel outpaces national enrollment trends with ongoing student growth, census data shows

Thiel College has experienced another year of positive enrollment trends, with the release of the Fall 2024 census statistics showing significant growth in new undergraduate students and overall student numbers—highlighted by the growth of its total student population by 12.7% since 2021.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Thiel College welcomes seven new faculty members across multiple disciplines

Seven accomplished faculty members, representing a diverse range of expertise in their respective fields, have joined the faculty at Thiel College.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Take a look back at Homecoming

With nearly 1,000 people on campus and activities starting on Thursday, Sept. 26 and carrying through to Sunday, Sept. 28, it was impossible to be everywhere at once.

• Check out the Flickr album.

One of the key highlights of the weekend was the awarding of an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to distinguished alumnus and Professor Emeritus of Business Administration and Accounting Gary Witosky ’79. Witosky’s professional experience includes more than 20 years in public accounting and private industry. In 2002, Witosky joined Thiel College—at the invitation of his former professor and mentor, David M. Miller ’61 H’20—as an adjunct professor. He subsequently served as the College’s interim vice president of finance in 2004, and as the senior vice president of Thiel in 2007-2009. He returned to the faculty in 2009 and eventually became the Chair of the Arthur McGonigal Department of Business Administration and Accounting in 2015. Witosky was appointed Thiel’s first David M. Miller Endowed Chair of Accounting in 2016 and has served as Executive Director of the Haller Enterprise Institute. In 2009, Witosky received the Service to Thiel Award from the Thiel Alumni Association and was recognized as the Professor of the Year by the College in 2016. Witosky has had a remarkable career in finance, philanthropy, and leadership. He is recognized for his outstanding contributions to both his profession and his community and his alma mater.

In addition to Witosky’s honorary degree, several other exceptional alumni were honored with prestigious awards during Homecoming. The award winners include:

• Bryan Stamm’87 is receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award.
• Ryan Hart, Ph.D. ’15 is receiving the Young Alumni Award.
• G. Leah (Glessner) Dever ’74 is receiving the Service to Thiel.

The Class of 1974 also celebrated its 50th reunion and presented the College with the largest class gift in the history of the College with a donation of $184,105 for education scholarships.

Enrollment, budget and Assist and Attend programs highlight TNT 

The first Thiel News Time of the fall semester was Oct. 8. Topics included an enrollment and budget update, the introduction of new staff members, and discussion of the Assist and Attend programs.

 TNTs begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Sawhill Georgian Room of the Howard Miller Student Center.

Remaining schedule

• November 5
  
• December 3

IT marking Cybersecurity Awareness Month

In support of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Solution Center will be continuing our Cybersecurity Awareness initiative with mandatory training assignments through our partner, KnowBe4.

On Oct. 3, employees should expect an email link directly from KnowBe4 (do-not-reply@training.knowbe4.com) indicating his or her enrollment and assignments. Employees will be assigned two trainings entitled “2024 Social Engineering-Red Flags (13 minutes) and “2024 Common Threats” (14 minutes). Both assignments are due by November 19.

Please log in to KnowBe4 using your Thiel email address, for example - Tommy Tomcat would be ttomcat@thiel.edu. Please note, if you haven’t logged into KnowBe4 in a while, you will likely need to click the “Forgot Password” button to reset your password and finish logging in. The Solution Center cannot reset your KnowBe4 password.

Additionally, as part of our current Cybersecurity Awareness campaign, you will continue to receive weekly simulated phishing emails. Through your training and the simulated phishing attempts, you will learn to prevent potential cyberattacks to our network.

If you have questions or concerns regarding any of the cybersecurity initiatives, please contact the Solution Center at 724-589-4000 or support@thiel.edu.

Wellness Committee calendar for October

• Download the PDF to print.

Student News

Bank executive offers tips to entrepreneur seminar

Jim Miale ’85 the VP of Commercial Banking at Erie Bank, spoke to the entrepreneur seminar class on Oct. 2 and shared his thoughts on the value of networking for entrepreneurs.

“Our speaker for tonight’s seminar was Jim Miale. Jim was born and raised in Finleyville, PA but also spent some time in Torrance, CA. Jim graduated from Thiel in 1985, but this was not always the plan.”―Casey Yacos ’25

“He graduated from Thiel College in 1985. He worked for 19 years with First National Bank of Pennsylvania in Hermitage. He also received a Master’s Degree in Business Education, Robert Marris University and came to ERIEBANK as a Commercial Loan Officer in 2012.” ―Chaerin Ryu ’25

“He also told us that the number one reason that people get fired from their jobs is because they do not get along with their coworkers.” ―Emily Ripple ’26

“Mr. Miale has to be my favorite presenter by far. I really liked how personable he was and how he wanted to get to know us as well. I also enjoyed hearing about his time here at Thiel.” ―Gianna Sprecace ’26

“Jim talked about finding an accountability partner to help keep us on track with our goals. He stressed that many people get fired because they can’t get along with their coworkers, highlighting the importance of building good relationships.” ―Yianni Panagiotopoulos ’25

“Another meaningful lesson was the value of being yourself, especially when building relationships and networking. This advice felt very relevant to me as an international student, as I sometimes find it challenging to show my true self.” ―Jaehee Lee ’25

“Overall, I enjoyed Jim’s presentation a lot. He was super excited to be there and gave an amazing presentation. I am very thankful and appreciative to have gotten the opportunity to listen to him speak.” ―Casey Yacos ’25

“The message that teamwork can help overcome difficult tasks serves as a reminder of the significance of cooperation and the need for effective collaboration in the workplace. Although I am still a college student.” ―Jaewon Lee ’25

“Shortly after and towards the end of his presentation, he gave us a ‘homework’ assignment that is obviously not graded but more of an exercise. This exercise was being able to find at least one person to make a connection with and hopefully someone you can add to your network for the future.” ―Dillon Belknap ’25

“The speaker says that networking is not just about building contacts but about making meaningful relationships that can provide support and opportunities throughout one’s career.” ―Minseo Kim ’25

“What I loved about his presentation was how he made us in active role in his presentation like asking us questions and doing a class/ team bounding experience. He also gave us a ton of lessons on networking, what it means to be and entrepreneur.” ― Patrick Belback ’25

Lessons Learned

• “As an entrepreneur you must believe in your business, and be enthusiastic, persistent, and optimistic.” ―Casey Yacos ’25
• “Set goals and create action plans.” ―Chaerin Ryu ’25
• “Be prepared for tough questions but answer them how you normally would.” ―Yianni Panagiotopoulos ’25
• “He explained that getting along with colleagues is key to avoiding job loss, which made me think about the importance of collaboration in every work setting.” ―Jaehee Lee ’25
• “Seeking advice and valuing diverse opinions lead to better decision-making and innovation.” ―Daeun Lee ’25
• “Your path always takes you down one road there may be many turns in the road.” ―Dillon Belknap ’25
• “Entrepreneurs must be resilient when faced with challenges.” ―Minseo Kim ’25
• “Building meaningful relationships is the easiest way to have a successful career.” ―Patrick Belback ’25
• “If you are not organized, your company is unlikely to be well put together, and it may fail. Every business needs a plan of action to operate effectively.” ―Rachael Smith ’26
• “The Value of Audience Engagement: From the speaker’s method of encouraging audience participation, I realized the importance of actively sharing opinions and interacting with others, as it’s a key part of learning and effective networking.” ―Suengwoo Baek ’25
• “Believe in your business.” ―Zach Bergstresser ’25

Dinner Dishings

“Dinner was a three-course meal consisting of French onion soup, flank steak with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus, and a chocolate trace leche cake with a garnish of a flower.” ―Emily Ripple ’26

“This was my first time having French onion soup (I know this is on the list of things not to order, and I felt like it was a trap to actually eat), and I thought that it wasn’t tough to eat, but it was very salty.” ―Gianna Sprecace ’25

“That slice of cake really hit the spot and was pretty good.” ―Yianni Panagiotopoulos ’25

“I was able to attend a delightful dinner that started with a comforting bowl of French onion soup, rich and savory with melted cheese on top.” ―Dillon Belknap ’25

“We discussed our favorite aspects of Thiel, and a common sentiment was that people are very nice. I shared that this was my favorite part as well, and it was great to see everyone agree with that.” ―Minseo Kim ’25

“I had never had asparagus before, but it wasn’t horrible.” ―Rachael Smith ’26

“The AVI team did a fantastic job with the dinner that came up with the last minute but did an excellent job.” ―Zach Bergstresser ’25

Spots available for Oct. 27 Cleveland Museum of Art trip

The trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art is Oct. 27.

The special exhibition is Demons, Ghosts, and Goblins in Chinese Art.

The trip is free to students. There are only 39 seats available.

• Sign up online.

For more information, contact Professor of Art and Curator of Art Sean McConnor.