Thiel Happenings

Thiel College Professor of Art showcases work at Greenville art gallery

Professor of Painting and Curator of Art at Thiel College Sean McConnor, M.F.A. is exhibiting his work in an exhibition titled “Sean McConnor: Paintings and Drawings” at Sans MOCO Art Gallery in Greenville, Pa.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Canfield High School girls choir joining Thiel College singers for concert

The Thiel College Music Department will present its fall choral concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 30, in the David Johnson Memorial Chapel.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Join us for free snacks, activities, and socializing during tomorrow's Common Hour. We encourage you to bring spare change for our prize basket raffle or to vote for a colleague to wear a festive Pumpkin Suit. All proceeds will benefit Hurricane Relief funding.

We look forward to seeing you in front of Greenville Hall beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Signage in place at Spence Academic Center

As work is continuing at the Daniel and Dorothy Spence Academic Center, the outside signage was put in place for the renovated facility on Wednesday.

Barbara Long-Cooper photo essay of fall at Thiel

Retired faculty services assistant Barbara Long-Cooper ’98 submitted her photo essay of Thiel in Fall. The Office of Communications and Marketing is collecting photos that showcase the beauty and spirit of campus life. All faculty and staff members are invited to share their favorite moments from across campus!

Whether it’s a stunning landscape, a memorable interaction with students, or even a rare glimpse of the elusive woodchucks that roam campus, we’d love to see what you capture.

📸 Submit your photos to tnotes@thiel.edu and help us highlight the scenes that make Thiel College special!

IT marking Cybersecurity Awareness Month

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

Employees should have gotten 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 ext. 4000 or support@thiel.edu.

Submit a special veteran to be included in Thiel College's Veterans Day project

In preparation for Veterans Day the Digital Content Specialist Stacy Butera is asking for submission for a video project to recognize and thank the friends and family of the Thiel community who have served in the Armed Forces to keep us free. 

Email sbutera@thiel.edu with a photo of a veteran who is special to you along with a message by Nov. 7.

Student News

Student entrepreneurs present during seminar

On October 16, a panel of Thiel student entrepreneurs shared their experiences and lessons with the class. The panel featured Yianni Pangiotopoulos ’25 (Ioannis Imports LLC), Ava ’25 and Anna Kavulla ’27 (A Pastel Petal), Patrick Belback (Complex Marketing Solutions ), Casey Yacos ’25 (SellingbyKC)

The panel consisted of five student entrepreneurs, and I found it both important and interesting to hear their stories as well as their tips for entrepreneurship. —Lexi Brown ’26

Casey's standout trait is her constant desire for more—whether that be sales, followers, or

growth. I admire her drive to always seek more than what she currently has. —Lexi Brown ’26

Many presentations highlighted the significance of having a clear, purpose-driven goal for your work. Whether it's uplifting others through art or teaching future generations, having a meaningful mission can motivate both you and your audience, providing direction and inspiration in your endeavors. —Yeeun Seo ’25

Patrick, who runs a digital marketing agency, detailed his persistence in generating clients through cold calling and networking, showing the value of tenacity. —Jaehee Lee ’25

The final speakers were Anna and Ave Kavulla who own and run A Pastel Petal, which is an authentic artwork and has faith-filled messages. They offer both products and services, the products include watercolor and calligraphy products like greeting cards, stickers, canvases, and painted stones. —Emily Ripple ’26

Yianni is from Maryland and is part of Kophini, a company that sells Greek honey, olive oil, and has tea and jam in the works. They import and produce these products from Greece, where they own 82 acres of land. —Rachael Smith ’26

… Casey Yacos described her journey from 600 followers to 30,000 through her Instagram thrift store, demonstrating how consistency and passion can lead to success. —Jaehee Lee ’25

Their ability to combine their talents and hobbies into a business was impressive, demonstrating how personal interests can evolve into a successful venture. —Jaehee Lee ’25

They [Casey Yacos] began during their freshman year, selling items from local thrift stores but initially struggled to make a profit. Over time, they learned to source inventory more affordably, including from places like Goodwill and Plato’s Closet. They also started doing live sales, which helped grow their business. —Yeeun Seo ’25

It was motivating to see people of my age take on challenges, face failures, and achieve success. —Minseo Kim ’25

Casey's journey illustrates that consistency in efforts, such as regularly engaging with her audience and participating in live sales, is crucial for building a successful business —Daeun Lee ’25

They highlighted the role of creativity in business success. From social media strategies to product innovation, each team showed that thinking outside the box can lead to unique business opportunities and solutions. —Suengwoo Baek ’25

It was very interesting to hear about all the different businesses that my peers own and was a great insight to how we all can start a business and not all businesses are the same and it changes by the person —Zach Bergstresser ’25

Lessons Learned

• You have to be okay with the hard parts; failing is okay. —Lexi Brown ’26

• One lesson I learned from Patrick is the importance of attending networking events. It’s crucial to put yourself out there and make connections. Starting and growing a business is much easier when you have people to reference and support you. —Rachael Smith ’26

• Entrepreneurs always want more for their business —Emily Ripple ’26

• Be willing to collaborate —Emily Ripple ’26

• Consistency is crucial —Chaerin Ryu ’25

• Adapting to Change and Growth: The presentations emphasized the necessity of adapting to change as you grow, whether in business or personal pursuits. Embracing new opportunities, such as shifting business models or incorporating feedback, can lead to continuous improvement and success over time. This adaptability can help you navigate challenges and seize new possibilities in your own journey. —Yeeun Seo ’25

• The importance of perseverance in overcoming challenges in entrepreneurship. —Minseo Kim ’25

• Separate personal life from work. —Zach Bergstresser ’25

• Set goals and stick to them. —Zach Bergstresser ’25

• Be willing to work hard. —Gianna Sprecace ’26

• Combine skills, collaborate with your community, and stay purpose driven. —Gianna Sprecace ’25

• Diverse Business Opportunities: Their presentation shows that there are numerous ways to start and grow a business, whether it’s through social media management, product imports, or creative product development. The key is identifying a niche and capitalizing on it. —Seungwoo Baek ’25

Dinner Dishing

• The dinner itself was fantastic, and AVI did an excellent job with the meal. —Lexi Brown ’26
• Dinner was surprisingly good. I’m not a vegetarian, but the dishes had much more flavor than I expected —Rachael Smith ’26
• Our special guest at dinner was Gary Witosky who ended up sitting with me at dinner, we enjoyed talking about golf and see where everyone was with their studies. —Emily Ripple ’26
• Attending weekly classes has helped me become more confident with small talk and networking, and this dinner was a significant step in my journey. —Jaehee Lee ’25
• Two presenters were seated at my table, allowing me to hear a bit of their presentations in advance. While we usually talk about everyday topics, it was refreshing to discuss their businesses this time, which provided me with new insights and motivation for my own endeavors —Yeeun Seo ’25

We got a glimpse of the creativity of the student concierges as they prepared the dinner menu, and the appetizers and desserts prepared by Yeeun this time were also wonderful menus filled with each person's own personality. —Suengwoo Baek ’25

Community members attend Eradicate Hate Summit in Pittsburgh

On October 22, faculty and staff members were joined by students in the Crimes Against Humanity course taught by Professor of History Sheila Nowinski, Ph.D. at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Pittsburgh. The day began with keynote speakers CBS News Correspondent Major Elliott Garrett and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords as well as panels of researchers, practitioners and activists working to combat the spread of hate-fueled violence and rhetoric.

They included groups who work with people who are attempting to leave violent hate groups or others who work to counter online hate with alternative messages. A networking lunch featured speakers sharing a variety of hate-dismantling tools, like one that tracks hate speech across a variety of social media platforms. After lunch students attended breakout sessions, each with a specific focus regarding the resolution of worldwide hate. 

One of the most impactful sessions covered the employment of the so-called Dark Web in propagating and promoting heinous online crimes, such as child sexual abuse material. The panel not only divulged the hateful ideologies that are present in the execution of these crimes, but also some ways that parents, guardians, or members of the general community can act to prevent these hateful crimes from happening and persisting through others. Through these experiences, students discovered not only the challenges facing our world but also inspiring ways to take action and promote positive change, as their own words below demonstrate.

Thiel College honorary degree recipient Laura Ellsworth, J.D. H’24 and alumnus Mark A. Nordenberg, J.D. ’70 H’97 co-chair the Eradicate Hate Global Summit. The Summit, which gathers international experts in Pittsburgh, addresses the prevalence of anti-Semitism, hate speech, and violent extremism. Ellsworth’s dedication to service has also been recognized with the 2018 Coleman Award for excellence in community service from the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics.

Students Attendees

Ireland Anderson ’27—“Going to the Summit, really opened my eyes to how complicated the world really is. Eradicating Hate has many different layers to it.”

Justin Aughinbaugh ’28—“Going to this summit I really learned a lot about people with different backgrounds and how they want to help the world”

Siera Bumbas ’27—“One of the most powerful moments of the Summit was witnessing a sea of people rise to give Congresswoman Gabby Giffords a standing ovation as she took the stage to speak about the darkest day of her life, and her recovery.”

Luca DiRienzo ’27—“Being able to see the amount of people who came to the summit really gave me hope on what we could do for the future.”

Michael King ’26—“I was especially moved seeing former Congresswoman Giffords at the summit, and seeing her recovery after a hate crime nearly ended her life was inspiring.”

Chad Morningstar ’25—“Learning about the amount of crime happening in the Dark Web was very surprising and shocking that so many children are being affected by these horrible crimes.”

Gavin Sankey ’25—“Hearing the stories of influential leaders like Congresswoman Giffords and seeing the hopeful results of their actions encouraged my spirits concerning the many hate-filled trials the world is currently facing.”

Also in attendance were Jordan Lang ’25, Zachary Mazey ’28 and Brenden McCready ’28

Faculty and staff attendees were President Susan Traverso, Ph.D.; Jay Donis, Ph.D.; Jarred Hanneman, Ph.D.; Lana Kulik, Ph.D.; Sheila Nowinski, Ph.D., Audra Franley ’17 and Than Oo.

The TLC will celebrate PLL Appreciation Week Nov. 4-8 to show gratitude for Thiel’s Peer Learning Leaders and all of the hard work they do for the College. PLLs include tutors, SI/PASS leaders, Writing Lab consultants, English conversation coaches, and a PLL mentor. These dedicated students support everything from math to science to honors, and they do what they do because they want to help others.

Please join us in the TLC during PLL Week to show your appreciation and enjoy some treats!

• Can’t make it? Leave a note for all, some, or one of our PLLs on this form.

We will be sure to share your kind words. Thank you for your continued support of our programs and staff!