- DeSales University

DeSales University
Magazine
Centaur Seasons by Steve McKee ’74
Forty years ago we played on a half-good, half-bad basketball team for a
brand-new college. Forty years later a lot has changed.
Teresa (Messineo) Manidis ’95
Manidis and her children participate in World War II reenactments and
convey a powerful message.
Alumni Events Schedule Spring 2014
Mark your calendars with the great events DeSales will host in spring 2014.
Fall 2013
letter from the president
It was wonderful to see many of you at this year’s
Homecoming. With the glorious weather and the number of activities on both Friday and Saturday, the campus
was crackling with energy.
If you were here that weekend, hopefully you had the
opportunity to see the Rev. Daniel G. Gambet OSFS
Center for Business and Healthcare. Opened in April,
our largest academic building is up and running. All of
the business, nursing, and physician assistant courses and
faculty of the university are now housed in this remarkable facility. It contains the first human anatomy lab of
the Lehigh Valley, six simulation facilities for healthcare
education, a set of standardized patient rooms, the most
modern nursing equipment from B. Braun Corporation, and the PPL EnergyPlus
trading floor simulation laboratory.
In addition to the building, during the summer months DeSales University added
six additional academic endowment funds to support the programs within the
Gambet Center:
Fall 2013
Editor
Laura R. Zielinski
Contributing Writers
Joshua Martin ’13
Steve McKee ’74
Roseann Damico Schatkowski ’86
Daniel Patrick Sheehan
B.J. Spigelmyer ’99
Photographers
Marisha Camp
Amy Herzog ’10
Pat Jacoby ’13
Printing
Alcom Printing Group, Inc.
On the Cover:
1. Division of Business:
Activities at Homecoming
included a pumpkin patch.
Pictured are Christine
Brett, wife of Martin Brett
’98, associate professor
of sport management,
their son Shea, and their
nephew, Declan. (Photo by
a. Mr. William Dwyer Endowment for Excellence in Undergraduate
Business Education
b. Dr. Hal Dolenga Endowment for Excellence in Graduate
Business Education
2. Division of Science and Healthcare:
a. Dr. Rodger Berg Endowment for Excellence in Undergraduate
Natural Science Education
b. Excellence in Graduate Nursing Education Endowment
c. Excellence in Physician Assistant Studies Education Endowment
d. Physician Assistant “Allentown Rescue Mission—
DeSales University Free Clinic” Endowment
When these funds reach investments of $500,000, they begin to generate $25,000
per year for the leader of the activity to spend on one-time projects to enhance
the educational experiences of the students and to support the work of the faculty. Buildings are essential, but people truly make the difference in education.
Denise Sanchez
Phil Stein
Rob Upton
Amy Herzog’10)
President
Fr. Bernard F. O’Connor, OSFS
Vice President for Institutional
Advancement
Thomas L. Campbell
Executive Director of Communications
Tom McNamara ’92
It is a challenging time for higher education, but challenging times are not necessarily damaging for an institution like DeSales University. As I’ve mentioned,
1965 was not exactly the best time to open a Catholic college. Saint Francis de
Sales and the great optimism of Salesian spirituality will guide us well as we face
each new adventure.
Bernard F. O’Connor
President
2
The DeSales University Magazine is published twice a year
by the Institutional Advancement Office for the alumni
and friends of the University. Comments and suggestions
are welcome. Please address all correspondence to Laura
Zielinski, editor, DeSales University Magazine, DeSales
University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley, PA 18034.
Phone: 610.282.1100, ext. 1359; fax 610.282.2059; or
e-mail [email protected].
Contents
4 In the News
8 Athletics
10 Centaur Seasons by Steve McKee ’74
Forty years ago we played on a half-good, half-bad basketball team for a brand-new college. Forty years later a
lot has changed.
12 Alumni Event Schedule Spring 2014
14 Teresa (Messineo) Manidis ’95: Learning from the World’s Mistakes
Manidis and her children participate in World War II reenactments and convey a powerful message.
16 Message From the Alumni Office
DO YOU
16 Class Notes
have a PLAN
FOR THE FUTURE?
Don’t delay making plans for your future! Planning is easy when you use
the new online Wills Planner available on our website. The Wills Planner
helps you organize your estate planning information before meeting with
your attorney. You can even share your secure account information online
to help your attorney complete the plan. To get started, visit our planned
giving website today and click on “Plan Your Will” to create an account.
We look forward to helping you plan your future. Call Thomas Campbell
at DeSales University, 610.282.4604.
http://desales.giftlegacy.com
3
in the news
Four Alumni Awarded at Homecoming
During the 2013 DeSales University homecoming weekend, four
alumni received awards for their service to the community and
success in their professional life after graduation.
Matt McMahon ’08 received the Young Alumni Service Award
for going above and beyond to serve the
community. While attending DeSales,
McMahon participated in many activities
with the Center for Service and Social
Justice, where he discovered his love and
future career in promoting social justice.
In 2012, he moved to Bangkok and began
work with the International Federation of
the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) and currently holds the position
of Southeast Asia Regional Gender Focal Person. In his work,
McMahon makes sure that women, children and marginalized
groups are able to persevere through natural disasters without
discrimination and to promote gender-related peace.
Chris Morganelli ’11 was awarded the Young Alumni Achievement Award for striving for excellence in his field of work while
still preserving a strong relationship with
the university, family and community.
After graduation, Morganelli founded
CMorganelli Designs, LLC, where he
is currently holds the position of CEO.
After three years, the business has worked
with clients such as the Lehigh Valley Bar
Association, Arts Academy Charter School
and St. Luke’s Center for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Alongside this project, Morganelli co-founded
Snyder Morganelli IT, LLC, where his focus is spent creating the
best technological solutions for clients.
Tim Reilly ’79 was awarded the Alumni Achievement Award
for inspiring many people, especially those
within the DeSales community. After
graduating in only three and a half years,
he made a name for himself in the insurance business. The Tim Reilly/Nationwide
Insurance Agency has graced the Northeast
Philadelphia area for 33 years. On top of
this, Reilly continues to make his presence
known throughout the DeSales community
by regularly attending alumni networking
events, supporting the basketball team and is a former member
of the DeSales Presidents Council and a current member of the
DeSales Heritage Society.
Jennifer Wall ’99 received the Alumni Service Award for her
contributions to the community and preserving the principles
of St. Francis DeSales. She has worked as a
physician assistant, specializing in the burn
and plastic reconstructive fields for 13 years.
In addition to this, Wall is the founder and
President of Africa Burn Relief, where she
works with local healthcare providers to
assist in the progression of burn treatments
in Nkhoma, Malawi. In the past, she has
worked with burn victims at Lehigh Valley
Hospital (Allentown), The Arizona Burn Center and at the 2013
Boston Marathon. She currently works at Brigham and Women’s
Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
If You Build it, They Will Live There
DeSales is constructing new two new residence halls, scheduled
to be open in August 2014. Situated across the loop road from the
McShea Student Center and DeChantal Hall, the townhouse-style
buildings will include kitchens. As needs grow, more townhouses
will be constructed at the site.
Right: Construction of the first new townhouse is across from the
McShea Student Center.
4
American Playwright Christopher Durang Visits with Students
American Playwright Christopher
Durang appeared on campus on
Tuesday, September 24, 2013, as
the featured guest in “An Afternoon with Christopher Durang”
in the Schubert Theatre of the
Labuda Center for the Performing Arts.
“I had heard that Durang, who’s
been co-chairing the Playwriting
Program at The Julliard School in
Playwright Christopher Durang
Manhattan, enjoys visiting college
campuses and interacting with
students,” says John Bell, chair of the Performing and Fine Arts
department. “So I decided to make the invitation and to my great
surprise, he accepted rather enthusiastically.”
Durang, whose latest play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
won the 2013 Tony Award winner for Best Play. He appeared in
an actors studio-like conversation, first sharing his thoughts on
the process of playwriting followed by a reading of some of his
favorite passages from his plays. Questions were then fielded from
performing arts students.
Durang is a playwright whose plays include The Marriage of Bette
and Boo (Public Theatre, 1985; Obie award, Dramatists Guild Hull
Warriner Award), Laughing Wild (Playwrights Horizons, 1987),
Durang/Durang (an evening of six plays at Manhattan Theatre
Club, 1994, including the Tennessee Williams’ parody, For Whom
the Southern Belle Tolls) and Betty’s Summer Vacation (Playwrights
Horizons, 1999; Obie award).
His most recent works are Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge,
which premiered at City Theatre in Pittsburgh in 2002. And the
musical Adrift in Macao, with music by Peter Melnick and book
and lyrics by Durang, which premiered at New York Stage and
Film in summer 2002. In 2013, his play Vanya and Sonia and Masha
and Spike premiered on Broadway starring Sigourney Weaver and
David Hyde Pierce and won the Tony Award for Best Play.
Durang is also a performer and shared in an acting ensemble Obie
for The Marriage of Bette and Boo. In movies, he has appeared in
The Secret of My Success, Mr. North, The Butcher’s Wife, Housesitter,
and The Cowboy Way, among others.
He has a B.A. from Harvard College, and an M.F.A. in Playwriting
from Yale School of Drama.
PA Utilities Commissioner Tours Gambet Center Trading Room
On October 8, Pennsylvania Utilities Commissioner (PUC)
Pamela A. Witmer visited the PPL Energy Plus Trading
Simulation Room in the Gambet Center for Business and
Health Care. DeSales faculty members, Bradley Barnhorst,
assistant professor of business, and Dr. Chris Cocozza, chair
of the business division, gave presentations on how the trading room is used by business and finance students.
Barnhorst described software that traditional undergraduates, ACCESS students, and graduate students, use to simulate real-world market situations and simulated portfolio
management. Alumnus Patrick McDonnell ’95, executive
policy manager for Commissioner Witmer, also attended.
Pictured right are (l-r) Dr. Cocozza,Tom Campbell, vice president
for institutional advancement at DeSales, McDonnell,Witmer,
Shelby Linton-Keddie, attorney for the PUC, Rev. Bernard
O’Connor, president of DeSales University, Robert Barkanic,
senior director of energy policy at PPL EnergyPlus, and Barnhorst.
5
in the news
Denise Sanchez, The Morning Call
Prayers for the Dead: DeSales Opens Cadaver
Laboratory with Religious Service
Somewhere along the line, the four men and four women sealed
in blue bags and stretched on chilly looking metal tables in the
Human Anatomy Laboratory at DeSales University had decided
to make gifts of themselves in death.
Here they were, then, on Wednesday, surrounded by a couple
dozen students in the Center Valley school’s physician assistant
graduate program -- young men and women who would soon
enough begin to explore the cadavers with the intimacy peculiar
to medical science.
Now, though, the students were gathered for prayer. DeSales is a
Catholic school, and with the introduction of the cadaver lab this year
in the new Gambet Center for Business and Healthcare, the faculty
saw a spiritual opportunity, a chance to remind students embarking
on medical careers that the dead were once living -- not very long
ago at that -- and were owed the respect due any human being.
This was all in keeping with Catholic teaching, which demands
respect for life from conception to death and holds that the soul
will be reunited with the perfected body at the end of time --
6
even bodies that have long gone to dust or been scrutinized by
young learners in laboratories.
“This is a new step for us into another way of learning,” said
the Rev. Douglas Burns, a biology teacher in the natural science
department. “It’s an opportunity to learn from people who have
given us the gift of themselves.”
Burns and his colleague, the Rev. Peter Leonard, dean of graduate education, led the brief service, reflecting on the continuity
of dignity beyond the grave. In offering themselves to science, the
dead, in a particular way, had fulfilled Christ’s dictum that laying
down one’s life for another is the greatest love.
“These were people like yourselves, who made a generous decision to offer their bodies to you so that you may be better educated and help others be well through what you learn in this lab,”
Leonard said.
The new lab -- equipped beyond cadavers with precise reproductions of bones and organs and a full-sized plastic skeleton, indistin-
guishable from the real thing -- will enhance learning immensely,
said Dr. Wayne Stuart, director of the 14-year-old physician assistant
program.
“They’ll get a better understanding of the three-dimensional aspect
of anatomy ... and it’s variability,” he said. “Not everyone is built the
same way.”
In Pennsylvania, which is crowded with medical schools, the demand for cadavers far exceeds the supply. The cadavers at DeSales,
elderly men and women who died of natural causes, came to the
school from Albany Medical College in New York.
None had any known connection to DeSales, or to the Lehigh Valley. To minimize any chance that students will end up working on
the cadaver of someone they knew, donated bodies are always sent
far afield. Cadavers from Pittsburgh, for example, are sent to schools
in Philadelphia, and vice versa.
“We’ve had people make requests to be donated here,” Leonard said.
“We have to say no.”
The cadavers arrived in July and will be returned next July. Beyond
the graduate students, they will likely be used in the training of
residents and medical students at area hospitals, Stuart said.
None of the students on hand for the prayer service betrayed any
queasiness at the prospect of working with cadavers. And they
seemed to appreciate starting the program in prayer.
“I think it’s a really good way to give us some perspective on this,”
said Molly Geiger, 21.
Caroline Seery, 24, a New Yorker, said she was drawn to DeSales
specifically by the addition of the lab to the program.
“We’re going to be the first class to have it,” she said. “I think it’s a
great experience we can have prior to getting hands-on with living
patients.”
Burns told the students the prayer service didn’t have to be a onceand-done thing.
“Perhaps each time you come into the lab, it would be a good spiritual exercise to remember the people you’re going to work with in
prayer,” he said.
—Daniel Patrick Sheehan
This article was reprinted with permission from The Morning Call. For
more photos, visit http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/
mc-grossanatomylab-20130828-pictures,0,7433441.photogallery
DeSales University 33rd Annual Dinner Dance
Saturday, March 15, 2014
To be placed on the invitation list, contact Diane Moeser
610.282.1100, ext. 1307 • [email protected]
Breakfast with Santa
DeSales University Center
Sunday, December 8, 2013 • 10 am to 12 pm
Cost: $10 per person and $5 per child under age 12
RSVP at www.desales.edu/santa
Come join Santa for a special breakfast at DeSales University!
All alumni and their families are welcome to join us for this
festive event, which will include a delightful breakfast and the
opportunity to take pictures with Santa. Please bring
your own camera so you don’t miss out on the
fun! Available seats for the breakfast are
limited so please RSVP quickly.
There will also be a Mass that follows
the breakfast at 12:30 pm in the Wills
Hall Chapel for those
who are interested in
attending.
Questions? Contact
Adam Tucker at
[email protected]
or call 610.282.1100, ext. 1789.
7
athletics
Men’s & Women’s
Basketball 2013-14
2013 Athletic Hall of Fame
For the full team schedules, including tournaments
and non-conference games, visit athletics.desales.edu.
Home games in bold type.
Men’s Basketball
Gettysburg College Tournament
11/15 Penn State- Harrisburg
8:00 p.m.
11/16 Consolation/Championship 2:00/4:00 p.m.
11/20 at Penn State Wilkes-Barre
8:00 p.m.
11/23 at Arcadia University
3:00 p.m.
11/26 Moravian College
8:00 p.m.
12/4 at FDU-Florham
8:00 p.m.
12/7 Wilkes University
3:00 p.m.
12/9 at St. Mary’s College (MD)
7:00 p.m.
12/11 Penn State Berks
7:00 p.m.
12/14 Muhlenberg College
3:00 p.m.
1/3 Medgar Evers College
8:00 p.m.
1/5 Haverford College
3:00 p.m.
1/8 at Catholic University
7:00 p.m.
1/15 King’s College (Pa.)
8:00 p.m.
1/18 at Delaware Valley College
3:00 p.m.
1/22 at Misericordia University
8:00 p.m.
1/25 Eastern University
3:00 p.m.
1/29 Manhattanville College
8:00 p.m.
2/1 at King’s College (Pa.)
3:00 p.m.
2/5 Delaware Valley College
8:00 p.m.
2/8 Misericordia University
3:00 p.m.
2/12 at Manhattanville College
8:00 p.m.
2/15 FDU-Florham
3:00 p.m.
2/18 at Wilkes University
8:00 p.m.
2/22 at Eastern University
3:00 p.m.
2/26 Freedom Conference Playoffs (Semis.) TBA
3/1 Freedom Conference Playoffs (Champ.) TBA
WoMen’s Basketball
Morgan Stanley (Easton office) Tip-Off Tournament
11/15Lycoming College
6:00 p.m.
11/16Stevens Institute of Tech. 4:00 p.m.
11/20 at Gwynedd-Mercy College
11/23 Immaculata University
11/26 Moravian College
12/4 at FDU-Florham
12/7 Wilkes University
12/14 Muhlenberg College
7:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
Juniata College Holiday Tournamnent
12/29 Saint Vincent College
5:30 p.m.
12/30 Consolation/Championship 2:00/4:00 p.m.
1/3 Ursinus College
6:00 p.m.
1/5 at Baruch College
3:00 p.m.
1/11 at Rosemont College
1:00 p.m.
1/15 King’s College (Pa.)
6:00 p.m.
1/18 Delaware Valley College
1:00 p.m.
1/22 at Misericordia University
6:00 p.m.
1/25 Eastern University
1:00 p.m.
1/29 Manhattanville College
6:00 p.m.
2/1 at King’s College (Pa.)
1:00 p.m.
2/5 Delaware Valley College
6:00 p.m.
2/8 Misericordia University
1:00 p.m.
2/12 at Manhattanville College
6:00 p.m.
2/15 FDU-Florham
1:00 p.m.
2/18 at Wilkes University
6:00 p.m.
2/22 at Eastern University
1:00 p.m.
Freedom Conference Playoffs
2/26 Freedom Conference Playoffs (Semis)
TBA
3/1 Freedom Conference Playoffs (Champ.) TBA
8
The DeSales University athletic department inducted three new members, Kate
Corcoran ’00, Frank Yasunas ’92, Jerry
Wilkinson ’72, as well as the recognition
of the 2003 baseball team at its Athletics
Hall of Fame ceremony held on Friday,
September 27.
Corcoran joins the DSU Hall of Fame
as a standout on the women’s basketball
team from 1996-00 in which the Bulldogs
won three conference championships and
made three trips to the NCAA Tournament in her four years on the team. She
was named to the All-Freedom Conference First-Team twice (1999 and 2000),
was named the Lehigh Valley Association
of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
(LVAIAW) Player of the Year in 2000, was
named to the WBCA Mid-Atlantic Region First-Team and WBCA HonorableMention All-American as a senior.
Yasunas was a four-year player on the
men’s basketball team from 1988-92 and
was a junior on the 1990-91 team that
was the first men’s basketball team to win
20+ games and also won the ECAC South
Region Tournament Championship. He
was named to the All-ESAC First-Team
once and was named the Dr. John Compardo Male Athlete of the Year as a senior
in 1991-92. Yasunas was also named the
team Most Valuable Player three times and
was a two-time team captain as a junior
and a senior.
Wilkinson was a four-year player on the
very first men’s basketball teams at DeSales
University and also played one year as the
starting goalkeeper for the men’s soccer
team in 1971. He was a team Co-MVP
and co-captain as a senior on the basketball team. Wilkinson led the team in
rebounding in 1971-72 and helped the
Bulldogs record its first .500 or better season with a final record of 8-8. Wilkinson
was also an intramural standout and served
as the President of Intramurals in 1971-72.
The 2003 baseball team becomes the fifth
team recognized by the University’s Hall
of Fame committee. Current baseball
head coach Tim Neiman was the coach of
the team in 2003 as the Bulldogs posted
a 30-14 overall record, their third straight
30+ win season, and won the program’s
first and only NCAA Regional Championship, advancing to the NCAA Division
III College World Series.
—B.J. Spigelmyer
For extended biographies of this year’s Hall of
Fame class, visit www.desales.edu/athletics.
Five Minutes With
a Bulldog
Michelle Churchman ’15
Soccer and Track & Field
Major(s)?
I am a Sport and Exercise Science Major.
Career Goals/what are you interested in doing after
graduation?
After graduation I’m going to go to school to be a physical
therapist. Ideally I would love to work in the clinical setting
and rehab a variety of patients, but work with local athletic
trainers on injury prevention of high school and collegiate
athletes.
Do you have any special pre-game preparations?
Among the things I do—I always put my right cleat on before
my left. When we get out to the field, the team drapes their
jerseys on the benches and I make sure I am always next to
#20, Alyssa Brandt, my best friend. My right glove always
comes on first and I ask Alyssa to pull on my left one for me.
Finally, right before every half, after the team huddle with the
starters, I run straight through the center of the box and jump
up and tap the crossbar.
What’s your favorite aspect of being a student athlete?
My favorite part of being a student athlete is the connections
I make with my teammates. My best friends are those who I
play or run with. There’s some camaraderie about sweating,
bleeding, crying, and celebrating with a team. I never would
know that feeling of connection and form the bonds I have
with my teammates.
What’s your personal sport highlight at DeSales?
Starting in goal this year has been a real accomplishment but
I think something that combines my two favorite sports was
the mile goal. I ran a 6:09 last year but my goal was to break
6 minutes this year. I trained all summer, running and pushing
myself every day. When it came to preseason time, we had to
run the mile the first thing in the morning. I ended up running a 5:57. I think it was one of my proudest moments.
You have a rigorous athletic schedule being a three-sport
athlete (Soccer, indoor T&F, outdoor T&F) and you also
carry a 3.78 GPA into your junior year. How are you able to
balance such a busy athletic schedule and balance your time
to get your school work done?
The thing that I love about practice is that it gives me a break
from the academics stressors. Practice allows me, for two hours
every day, to let me have a release and allows me to do the things
I love. I constantly write down everything that I need to do on
these sticky notes. It’s an awesome feeling when I’m done with
something and I can cross it off my list. But having fun is a big
one for me. I’m an extremely bubbly person and those who know
me will certainly attest to this. So, I set goals and cross things off
my list.
You have started every game in goal this season for the Women’s
Soccer team and the team is enjoying some tremendous success
so far. What has the difference been?
The team dynamic is awesome this year. We brought back some
really good players but also brought in some key freshman. We
have a really good bench this year. There’s a mutual respect on the
team by everyone for everyone and I think that has been a factor.
In all honesty though, Coach Kemp has been the game changer
this year. She is so passionate about the sport of soccer and thoroughly dedicated to this team. Before the season started she
handed out a six point list that describes “Who We Are” as DeSales
University Women’s Soccer. The new direction has been the mantra for the season. Every time we step out onto the field, our goal
is to win, but even if we fail at our goal, “Success is not defined by
an external outcome but by your ability to do the best of which
we are capable.” If we failed, but improved from that game so be it,
next time we will be ready.
9
Centaur Seasons
by Steve McKee ’74
Forty years ago we played on a half-good, half-bad basketball team for a brand-new college. Forty years later a lot has changed.
The problem is remembering what to call them. When I played
we were the Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales Centaurs.
These days they’re the DeSales University Bulldogs.
Centaur-Centdog-Bultaur-Bulldogs. And the mascot and name
aren’t the only things that changed a dozen years ago.
When I showed up at the school in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, in
the fall of 1970, the college had graduated two classes. There were
five buildings, lots of cornfields, maybe 450 students. The barest of
bones; a handful of majors. The entire place making itself up as it
went along.
“It was the frontier days of the university,” says Jim Naccarato, a
guard on the team two years ahead of me and an Oblate of St.
Francis de Sales seminarian. “Everyone was taking a gamble. There
was real risk. It was an adventure.”
The bet paid off. Today, DeSales University boasts dozens buildings, perhaps 1,700 undergrads, a full complement of majors, all
the bells and whistles of a competitive college in the digital world.
As for the basketball teams. Well …
When I arrived the Centaurs’ two-year record was 8-28, with
losses of 20, 21, 22 (twice), 26, 27, 37, 41, 42, 61 and … 70.
“Nobody was doing anything but trying to win, play the best
10
they could,” says Tom Junod, an under-sized center on those first
two teams. “There was a lot of spirit among the people who were
there. Everyone wanted the school to succeed. I don’t think any of
us felt like we were wasting our time, and I don’t think any of us
did. We wanted to win.”
In my four years the Centaur went another 29-44. If you’re scoring at home, for the first six years of the Centaur’s existence, that’s
a combined 37-72.
“Wins meant so much to us,” says Dave Glielmi, my roommate
junior year. “We used to count them like they were jelly beans
when you were a kid.”
Meanwhile, the current DeSales Bulldogs coached by Scott Coval
have won 20 or more games in nine of the last 11 seasons. There
have been three appearances in the NCAA D-III postseason.
These guys are good.
And here’s the bonus: The better the Bulldogs are now, the better
we Centaurs can believe we were then. Don’t think we don’t.
This past September I began posting at “Centaur Seasons.” A
“memory blog,” it’s about those early days of Allentown College
of St. Francis de Sales and the certain something that I believe
came with attending a brand-new school that was right then as
much a concept as it was a college. Included in Centaur Seasons
Opposite: Photo of the 1971-72 men’s basketball team.
McKee is in the center in the back row, number 54.
got ready for the next game. To me it was pure sport. We were just
a bunch of guys playing ball.”
are the entries from an actual diary I wrote during the 1972-73
season, my junior year, posted 40 years later in “real” time. But
mainly Centaur Seasons is about the striving. The trying to win
but too-often losing. The playing in front of a handful of fans. The
being there at the beginning. The not knowing what our efforts
might bring, but knowing whatever it was we’d be long gone by
the time it happened.
Joe was a pass-first junior point guard when I was a senior. I
looked to him to get me the ball, which he did, consistently. As
a result I, me, Steve McKee, and my 6-foot-8-inches and 165
pounds of pipecleaner body that had not played basketball in high
school, became the hoops star I had long wanted to be. Even if
just for one year. Even if just at brand-new Allentown College of
St. So-On and So-Forth.
“We knew we weren’t going to be the centerfold story in Sports
Illustrated,” says Chris Cashman. “We had no real expectations.”
Joe told me about a visit to Center Valley a couple of years ago. “I
went back and saw how beautiful the campus is,” he said. “There’s
a soccer field right in the middle of the place now! I got choked
up. We had not even a quarter of all this. I looked around – the
beautiful facilities, the townhouses up on the hill, everything
going on – and thought, Man, this is a real college now. But you
know, what? We had a real college too.”
Cash, a year ahead of me, was the classic “last man cut” from his
high school team. At Allentown as a 6-3 center-forward he played
in every game his first three seasons. Then, senior year, on the first
day of practice he ripped up his ankle — and with it the gamesplayed streak.
“We were a Catholic start-up college fielding a start-up team,” he
says. “It was what it was. But what was magical about it was that A)
we loved to play basketball, B) we grew to kind of love each other,
and C) we took ourselves seriously enough not to run out there
and knowingly take the chance that we were going to embarrass
ourselves – even though, sometimes, we did embarrass ourselves.”
Writing the Centaur Seasons blogs, I’ve had pleasant occasion to
talk to many of my former teammates. It’s been great to reconnect, to hear the old stories. But I’ve also asked them to help me
try to get my hands around the certain something that I believe
made going to Allentown College when we did a particular,
unique experience. If only I can find it.
Tony Mazzeo offered this about the college, immediately. A threesport letterman, Maz won all the MVPs (soccer, hoops and baseball) and was named the Varsity Athlete of 1971-72 my sophomore
year. “If there had been an Allentown College in the 1930s, would
we have cared about it the way we did?” he asked me when we
talked. And then he answered: “No.” It’s the fact that there was no
Allentown College until we got there, until we made it so, Maz
says, that makes our being there so special. “I am absolutely convinced of this,” he says.
Joe Thomson, meanwhile, suggested this about Centaur Basketball.
“In a crazy way, in the purest sense of the word, it was just playing
the game for the love of the game,” he says. “There weren’t a lot
of externals. We weren’t getting money, we weren’t on scholarship.
We didn’t have to worry about who was getting all-conference.
We just played. We didn’t like the losing, but when we did we just
Which is why I think this is telling: Not one of my teammates
I’ve talked to has said they wished they were going to DeSales U
now, playing for the Bulldogs at a packed Billera Hall, taking a run
at conference titles, postseason play, league honors, all that. No,
thanks, we’re fine.
“If we go back to a game now,” says Dave Gleilmi, a 6-2 forward
and arguably the best player of the Centaur Season era, “the place
is called DeSales University and we’re watching a team called the
Bulldogs – that is obviously A LOT better than we used to be. But
then we get together after and we have a few drinks and now we’re
the Centaurs again, we’re Allentown College. And nobody’s saying,
‘Geez, I wish we were DeSales University.’ That wouldn’t be right.
We were who we should have been, and we always will be.”
The Centaur-Centdog-Bultaur-Bulldogs? They are who they
should always be. As Jerry Wilkinson – with Tony Mazzeo the cocaptain of a half-good 8-8 Centaur team their senior year – wrote
me in an email after some of us got together for a Bulldog game:
“I do hope these kids today feel anywhere near the joy that we do
that we played way back when.”
Joy.Yes, that’s the right word. Feel it forever, Bulldogs, forever.
This essay is drawn from the “Centaur Seasons” posts Steve McKee
has written since September 2012. Steve worked for 14 years at The
Wall Street Journal, where he was the first writer of the popular
online sports blog, “The Daily Fix.” He is the author of three books,
including Coach, an oral history of the sideline profession.
To read more of Steve’s blog, visit www.steve-mckee.com/category/
blog/
11
alumni events
Homecoming
Homecoming
Alumni Events Win
For more information, visit www.desales.edu/alumni, call Dug Salley at
Manayunk, Pa., Presidential Tour (Young Alumni)
December 5 • 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. cocktail reception
Manayunk Brewery, Philadelphia, Pa.
Homecoming
Alumni Lunch and Photos with Santa
December 8 • 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
DeSales University Center, Center Valley, Pa.
Alumni Donor Reception, Hotel Bethlehem
December 11 • 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. cocktail reception
By Invitation Only; Hotel Bethlehem, Bethlehem, Pa.
Florida Presidential Tour 2014
January 8: Naples • January 9: Miami • January 11: Orlando
Texas Presidential Tour 2014
January 14: Dallas • January 16: Houston
Career Networking Event
February 5, 2014 • 5:00 to 7:30 p.m.
DeSales University Center, Center Valley, Pa.
Homecoming
Bucks County, Pa., Presidential Tour
February 12 • 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. cocktail reception
TBA
Donor Wine Tasting Event
February 14, 2014 • 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
DeSales University Center, Center Valley, Pa.
Philadelphia Presidential Tour
March 6 • 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. cocktail reception • TBA
Homecoming
12
Dinner Dance 2013
NYC Harbor Cruise
nter/Spring 2014*
610.282.1100, ext 1694, or e-mail [email protected].
33rd Annual Dinner Dance
March 15 • DeSales University Campus
Young Alumni Event at Revolutions
March 28 • 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Revolutions at Saucon Valley, Bethlehem, Pa.
New York City Presidential Tour
Dinner Dance 2013
Dinner Dance 2012
April 3 • 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. cocktail reception • Location: TBA
Monmouth County, N.J., Presidential Tour
May 8 • 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. cocktail reception • Location: TBA
Lehigh Valley, Pa., Presidential Tour
June 4 • 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. cocktail reception
Gio Italian Grille, Macungie, Pa.
Hershey Park
June 22 • All day • Details TBA
26th Annual Golf Tournament
June 9 • Brookside Country Club, Macungie, Pa.
Alumni at the Iron Pigs Game
August 1 • Details TBA
Virginia Alumni Reception
NYC Broadway Show
August 23 • 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. • Details TBA
* Schedule is subject to change.Visit www.desales.edu/alumni for the most
current list of events. Most (though not all) of these events are free, and some have
limited capacity.
Spinnerstown Hotel Reception
13
Teresa (Messineo) Manidis ’95:
Learning from the World’s Mistakes
by Joshua Martin ’13
For the past 23 years, Reading, Pa., has hosted the annual World
War II Weekend where thousands gather to view reenactments,
antique war equipment, and the variety of costumes worn by their
fellow participants. Those who attend this event are a key part of
the World War II era resurrection, dressing in vintage clothing in
what is known by those in the reenactment business as “impressions.” Most dress in vintage American garments, some in military
uniform and others in the dress of civilians from their respected
countries during the war.
Two years ago, however, someone brought something new to the
table that, despite its simplicity, changed the atmosphere of the
festival entirely. Teresa Manidis ’95 had an idea on her way home
from her anatomy and physiology class.
“I thought to myself, there’s got to be something we can wear,
some accessory or something that we can use to distinguish
ourselves from the typical costumes,” says Manidis, “and then it hit
me, the Star of David! Clearly we will be living in German held
lands right before the start of the war.”
According to Manidis, the representation of European Jews at the
Reading WWII festival had been virtually non-existent up until
14
her decision to dress up, along with her three children, as a family
during the early stages of anti-Semitic discrimination in Germany.
The outfits prepared by Manidis and her family were just like
those of the other German civilian impressions, but with one distinct addition; a homemade, artificially faded, realistically depicted
Star of David.
Manidis and her family portray a Jewish family during a time
when the discrimination taking place in their lives had reached a
pivotal point.
“For us, it is still 1939. We are forced to wear something that isolates us within society - I couldn’t shop in your store, for example,
and you wouldn’t shop in mine - kind of like the ‘Separate But
Equal’ policy of the American South,” says Manidis, “But the point
is, it could have stopped there. It could have ended with just ostracism, wrong as that was. History could have played out another
way.”
The simplicity and understatement of the impression seemed to
be the reason for its overwhelming impact. By dressing normally,
as Jewish citizens certainly did before their ostracism, and not
brandishing the typical physical stereotypes that the Nazis inspired
Opposite: In costume, Teresa Manidis is pictured with her
three children (from left) Nicholas, Grace, and Sophia. Photo
by Marisha Camp. Used with permission.
and encouraged, the Manidis’s humanized the Jews in a way that
reminded countless veterans and actors what they were celebrating
that day, and what they had risked their lives for in the first place.
“Literally hundreds of people have come up to us to shake our
hands, to take our picture, to thank us, to kiss us, to cry over us,”
says Manidis, “People told us they had always hoped to see - but
never thought anyone would actually have enough moxie to do
- this impression at a reenactment; that it was an impression that
needed to be done.”
It is no surprise that Manidis is a DeSales University graduate,
since her actions and the impact she has on the people around her
radiate with the Christian Humanist philosophies that shape the
mission of the University.
“What we learned in Dr. Kane’s theology classes; that we are all
human, we are all the same underneath, the ideas of charity and
justice and sticking up for the underdog, those are all things that
we learned here,” explains Manidis, “everywhere you went you
had this theme of goodness and solidarity.You had a lot of self dignity, but you weren’t better than anyone else.”
Manidis, who has recently applied to DeSales’ masters in physician assistant studies program, has always had an interest in
medicine along with WWII history. Her interests and ambitious
spirit have inspired her to begin writing her first historical fiction
novel, which follows two frontline nurses on the battlefields of
World War II. The historical fiction work follows the protagonists
through a time period where nurses were present in front-line
combat for the first time in military history. Manidis developed
this story idea after more than six years of research.
“Once I told them what I was doing, they let me handle everything; the surgical equipment, the old bottles of morphine, and
they showed me how it worked since everything was so different.
Modern orthopedic surgery, prednisone and antibiotics didn’t
come into play until the war had already started, or even after the
war itself,’ says Manidis, “When it comes to the second World War,
people are still alive, and a lot is written about it, so you really
need to be diligent in your fact checking.”
The same values being celebrated at these reenactments and at
DeSales are the ones Manidis is passing down to her children.
After developing her own curriculum, Manidis has been home
schooling her children for the past 16 years in a way that she says
“prepares” them to potentially become DeSales students (her
eldest, Johnny, is a freshman) as well as citizens free of prejudice.
“The kids and I voted on a motto that sums up our home schooling philosophy. We picked, ‘We learn from our mistakes.’ And that’s
something our world, as a whole, would do well to do,” says Manidis, “Maybe our family is really good at imagining how it would
feel to be someone who is marginalized; maybe our faith has taught
us that we are all equal, all the same underneath; maybe we just like
pulling for the underdog. But it seems ludicrous to my kids that
they could be accepted without a little yellow star tacked to their
shirts but hated - really hated - if they wore one. That just doesn’t
make any kind of sense to them. I’d like to always keep it that way.”
“I decided to try something more along the lines of Gone with the
Wind, where you have Rhett and Scarlet as the only two fictitious
characters in that book while every other person and event was
real,” says Manidis, “so I am taking two fictitious Nurses; one in
the Pacific theater and one in the European, and putting them in
a real world.”
Manidis’ book is a work in progress and she continues to research,
contextualize and envision the scenarios she is dropping her
characters into in order to portray the most realistic and riveting
experiences she can. She understands, though, that unlike regular
fiction works, there are many pitfalls that need to be avoided in
the creative process. While most people go to the Reading WWII
reenactment to see the skirmishes, Manidis visits the medical tents
and talks to doctors in the name of research.
February 19 to March 2, 2014 • Labuda Center for the Performing Arts • Main Stage
Tickets and Information: 610•282•3192 • desales.edu/act1
15
class notes
Dear Alumni
Message from the Alumni Office
I suspect that each of you, like me, as a graduate of DeSales University, are quite
proud of the University’s accomplishments this past year, especially the opening
of the Gambet Center for Business and Health Care. It’s a game changer!
This year, we brought in a great class of firstyear students, all eager to pursue their degree
at our alma mater. Let’s wish them well as they
get started building a lifetime of memories. We
will never forget our experiences as undergraduates or how DSU shaped us into who we
are today.
Your involvement and awareness of DSU
happenings is critical to the success of the
University. In fact, recruitment and retention
of students is one DeSales priority where you
can be very helpful.
You may remember receiving information
about the Heritage Scholarship. It’s an easy
way for you to help us build our incoming class. In fact, all you need to do is
find a deserving student and we award a scholarship after you complete some
paperwork. It’s that easy. Take a minute to learn more and complete the form
online at www.desales.edu/heritage.
This year’s Homecoming Weekend was exciting and fun and possibly the best
to date. Hayrides and mazes and sports fun and cocktail receptions at the new
Gambet Center -- If you missed any of the excitement, take a look at some
photos at www.desales.edu. And, if you have not seen the Gambet Center,
please contact me and we can schedule a tour.
Mark your calendars NOW for Homecoming 2014 – scheduled for September
26 & 27, 2014. And, take note if it’s a reunion year for you next year -- reunion
years are: 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, and 2009.
Remember, if you ever have questions or want to volunteer for your reunion
class committee, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or
610-282-1100 ext. 1694.
Sincerely,
Dug Salley ’07
Director of Alumni Relations
16
Jerry Weiss ’75 and Maryanne (Janus)
Weiss ’77 celebrated the wedding of
their youngest daughter, Joanna, on
June 22, 2013. Dick and Deb (Barnak)
Burke ’75 and Jay Farmerie ’75 and
Mary Cay (McCole) Farmerie ’76 have
been invited to all four of the Weiss
children’s weddings. Also in the photos is
Fr. Jim Turner, OSFS ’75, who has been
the principal celebrant for all four of the
kid’s weddings.
Joanna is a Penn State graduate in civil
engineering who had a full AirForce
ROTC Scholarship. Jerry had the privilege of commissioning her and giving
her the oath of office as a United Sates
Air Force Officer the day she graduated.
She returned from a six-month deployment to Southwest Asia in early May and
was married six weeks later. She married
an Air Force intelligence officer, 1st
Lieutenant Michael Leger a University of
Texas grad. Joanna is also a 1st Lieutenant. They are both stationed at Beale Air
Force Base in California.
• 1973
In October 2007, Thomas Marino D.O.
was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease
called Myasthenia Gravis. While his medical
treatments have made him feel somewhat
better, he had to give up his medical practice, though he continues to read and volunteer at a free clinic in West Chester, Pa.,
for 10 or more hours per month. Thomas
and his wife Maria will be married 40 years
in December and are the parents of two
grown daughters—their oldest was married
in December 2012.
Members of the class of ’69, the Storti family, and Dr. John Compardo got together for a
reception on June 8 in the lobby of the new Gambet Center for Business and Healthcare.
Through the class’s giving and the generosity of the Storti Family, a faculty office in the
Gambet Center was named to honor the memory of John P. Storti ’69.
• 1975
• 1985
After 27 years, Gail “Clyde” (Roney)
Mallett retired from her job as a school
psychologist in Wissahickon School District. She’s now in private practice doing
educational neuropsychological evaluations,
and she’s finishing her doctorate in health
psychology from Capella University. Gail
also renewed her Phillies season tickets (hope
springs eternal), is going to loads of concerts,
and hopes to spend as much time as possible
with family and friends (especially my old
pals from AC!)
On February 15, 2013, Lou James accomplished a major life goal of owning his
own business when he purchased the former
Snyder, Hinkle & Lunsford Funeral Home
in Bethlehem, Pa. The business will take the
new name of James Funeral Home & Cremation Service, PC. Lou has been a licensed
funeral director for more than 15 years. He is
also a past president of the Eastern Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association and is
active in the Knights of Columbus, Ancient
Order of Hibernians Lehigh County Division
1, and is on the board of the South Bethlehem Historical Society. He is a member
of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Parish, Upper Saucon Township. Lou has
also become an Irish-holic. In March 2013,
he led a group of 10 travelers to tour Ireland
and Northern Ireland. This was his 15th trip
over to the Emerald Isle.
• 1977
Marie Lange began a new position with
the Independence Blue Cross Foundation
in June 2012. She’s responsible for their
Building Healthy Communities grant program and foundation communications. Marie’s position with the IBC Foundation is a
culmination of more than 25 years working
in the non-profit sector as a fundraising and
development specialist and in the for-profit
sector as a proposal writer in sales and marketing. She’s pleased to help organizations
meet the health and wellness needs of their
communities, not only through the financial support of the IBC Foundation, but
also by drawing on her experience ‘walking
in their shoes.’
• 1986
Jennifer (Lawrence) Kennedy is a current
Ed.D. doctoral candidate at NOVA Southeastern University.
• 1988
As of July 31, 2013, Thomas Williams has
been promoted to partner at Cloudburst
Security in Alexandria, Va.
Thomas M. Bozzuto ’75, DO, medical
director of the Phoebe Wound Care and
Hyperbaric Center, recently returned
from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he
was the only physician faculty in the first
Middle-East primary training course in
hyperbaric medicine in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia at the King Faisal Specialist
Hospital and Research Centre. There
were more than 60 participants from
civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as well as the Saudi Navy. Tom was
presented with a plaque and Ceremonial
Saudi Sword by Professor Abdullah al
Hokail, medical director of the King
Faisal Hyperbaric Centre.
Recently, Tom was awarded Fellowship
in the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical
Society at it’s Annual Scientific Assembly
in Orlando. This is the second year that
fellowships were awarded, and of the 500
board certified physicians in Undersea
and Hyperbaric Medicine, only 35 have
been awarded UHMS Fellowship to date.
Tom is medical director of the Phoebe
Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center
and will be installed as president of the
Georgia Osteopathic Medical Society at
the annual meeting in October.
• 1991
October 1, 2013, Matt Casper’s book
Saving Casper: A Christian and an Atheist
Talk about Caring Versus Scaring Evangelism
... and Why We Need to Change the Conversion Conversation was published by Tyndale/
Momentum. This is his second book for this
publisher. The first was Jim & Casper Go to
Church, published in 2007. Saving Casper is
a sequel of sorts (with a foreword by Paul
17
class notes
Gerry Pandaleon ’82 and Nancy Sayre
’08 have published a book—How to Sell
a Business for What It’s Really Worth: Nononsense secrets from a forensic accountant
and CFO. Gerry is the author, and
Nancy and her husband Michael published the book through their business—
Sayre Design—which recently branched
out to include publishing. Nancy edited
the book, while Michael designed the
cover. Gerry and Nancy met through
DeSales’ ACCESS program—Gerry
is an adjunct accounting professor and
Nancy is a graduate.
Young, who wrote The Shack, which sold
more than 20 million copies worldwide) and
can be purchased on Amazon and in most
bricks and mortar bookstores.
• 1992
Each year, during National Nurses Week,
Lehigh Valley Health Network honors Friends of Nursing award recipients.
Christine (Opilla) Heffernan, a radiation
oncology nurse, won the Keri Fegley Suchy
Award for Excellence in the Delivery of
Ambulatory Care. A celebration was held
in May at the Steelstacks in Bethlehem, Pa.
Christine has worked in the network for the
23 years.
• 1993
Cecy (Galdamez) Robson is happy to report
tremendous success with her Weird Girls
Urban Fantasy Romance Series, published
with Penguin’s Signet Eclipse. USA Today’s
HEA, Publisher’s Weekly, and Romantic Times
have praised her debut novel Sealed with a
Curse, released December 31, 2012. A Cursed
Embrace, the second book in The Weird Girl
Series, releases July 2, 2013, followed by
Cursed by Destiny in early 2014. For more information, check out www.cecyrobson.com
or find Cecy on Twitter or Facebook: www.
twitter.com/cecyrobson www.facebook.
com/Cecy.Robson. Cecy thanks all her
friends, including many DeSales alumni, for
all their continued support.
18
Cemantha (Morris) Giulian ’04 married Bill Giulian ’04 on September 15, 2012. The
ceremony and reception were held at Lulu Country Club in Glenside, Pa. Alumni in
attendance included Tony Hudacs ’01, RJ Scala ’04, Cagney Brennan ’05, Bob McCall ’04, Kristina (Grogan) Prozorov ’04, Lauren Schuette ’06, Hannah (Tuszynski)
Sullivan ’06, Dan Sullivan ’04, Vinny Mezzanotte ’07, Maria (Tate) Mezzanotte
’06, Carolyn DeMayo ’04, Katelyn (Finnegan) Piotrowicz ’04, Theresa Strayer ’05,
Rachel Kuter ’04, Amanda (Doklan) Lieberman ’04, Joanna (Lewis) Hudacs ’04,
and Tammy (McMullin) Kissinger ’04.
• 1994
• 1999
Derek Hulse authored and directed an
Jacob Campbell ’99 is now the business
intelligence analyst in the office of financial and business at The New School. He’s
working on the data warehouse team as they
build a warehouse for the entire university.
original, full-length comedy entitled At Any
Rate... that was produced at the Spring Lake
Theatre in Spring Lake, N.J. The production ran for three weeks in February 2013
and starred DeSales alumni Colleen (Welsh)
Hulse ’97, Tim Walling ’02, and Ian
Kearns ’06.
• 1995
Cindy Graf retired from Mondelez International/Kraft Foods on May 31, 2013, after
working for 34 years.
• 1997
Amy Phillips, Esq.,
and her husband
Dave Schanbacher
welcomed their first
son, Colton
Matthew, on
November 28,
2012.
Jeni Ascosi launched a short film, Beloved
on the Earth, to an online audience. The film
was shot surrounding the Lift-Life Retreat,
which Jeni hosts each year at an organic,
biodynamic farm and resort in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. Jeni also owns
and runs a private practice in Holistic Health
and Fitness in Manhattan. Her new interactive website is in the final development stages
but can still be accessed to view the film:
BelovedOnTheEarth.com.
• 2001
Ward Van Haute lives in Pennsburg, Pa.,
with his wife Becca, and their four kids,
Caius, Audrey, Maximilian, and Hezekiah.
During the summer of 2013, Ward showed
some of his contemporary reverse glass paint-
ings at Art Nouveau Galleries in Quakertown,
Pa. Ward is also excited to announce that in
the spring of 2015 he will be having a solo exhibition in Villanova University’s Art Gallery.
• 2002
Shelly (Beermann)
Zarenkiewicz and
her husband Dave
welcomed their
second son, Luke
Braden, on
December 3, 2012.
Jesse Clancy ran his first Boston Marathon
on April 15, 2013. He finished in a time of
2 hours, 55 minutes, and 57 seconds. His
thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims
of that day.
Kathleen (Closkey) Rasley and Dennis Rasley ’03 welcomed their first child,
Elizabeth Grace, on February 18, 2013.
Elizabeth was born at Sacred Heart Hospital,
Allentown, Pa. She weighed 7 lbs., 12 oz.,
and measured 19 inches long. Mom and baby
are doing well.
• 2003
Ryan Gingrich and
Nicole (Ferraro)
Gingrich ’06 M’12
welcomed their first
son, Brett Aaron.
He was born on
December 30, 2012.
Theresa (Cermanski) Westwood and her
husband Rob welcomed their first child, Lily
Rose Westwood, on May 30, 2013.
Lewis Campanaro
and Heather
(Mooney) Campanaro ’03 welcomed
their second
daughter, Rowan
Phoenix, on June
12, 2013. She
weighed 7 lbs., 4 oz.
Her big sister Melia couldn’t be more
excited!
On January 12, 2013, two members of the class of 2007 were ordained deacons in the
Roman Catholic Church. Joe Newman, OSFS ’07 and Brian Zumbrum, OSFS ’07
were ordained at St. John Neumann Church in Reston, Va. Joe will continue to serve in
that parish, while Brian will serve at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna, Va. Alumni
in attendance included Hannah (Boyd) Vargo ’06, William Vargo ’07, Janna (Fellmeth) Kerr ’07, Lauren Cupples ’07, Ernie Justice ’07, Jenilee Raia ’07, Rachel
Wamba ’07, Elizabeth (Pfister) Poindexter ’07, Brian Radziwill ’07, Erin (Frey)
Doolittle ’07, and Bro. Robert Killion, OSFS ’09.
• 2004
Steven Kaminski married Liz Dufner in
Southampton, Pa., on December 1, 2012.
DeSales alumni in the wedding party included Jon Slabek ’04, Frank Mancuso
’04, and Kelly (Kaminski) Krall ’02. Other
alumni in attendance included Scott McMillan ’04, Jon Fehringer ’04, and Phillip Immediato ’04. Steve is finishing his final year
in earning his degree in court stenography at
Orleans Technical Institute. Liz teaches 5th
grade in the Boyertown School District. The
couple lives in Blue Bell, Pa.
television shows White Collar and Law and
Order: SVU. Her modeling credits include
calendars, websites, magazines, and more.
Matt Curtolo and Lauren Gotthelf are happy
to announce their engagement. Matt is a senior private equity analyst at Hirtle Callaghan
& Co. in West Conshohocken, Pa. Lauren
holds a degree in Pastry Arts from the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill and is a sales
representative for the Chef’s Warehouse.
The couple is planning a May 2014 wedding
in Conshohocken.
Tammy (McMullin)
Kissinger has been
modeling and acting
professionally under
the name Tammy
Jean. She’s currently
playing a lead role in
an independent film
in production—
Apocalypse Kiss—by Potent Media. Tammy’s
also had minor roles in several films: Martin
Scorcese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Guillaume
Canet’s Blood Ties, and Half Full Media’s
Dark Shield as well as Miss December which
was picked up by Kevin Smith’s Movie
Club. Additionally, she’s appeared in the
Jim Kilcur ’02 married Kristen Johnson
on July 14, 2012. The ceremony was
officiated by Jim’s uncle, Monsignor
Ralph Chieffo, at St. Mary Magdalene
church in Media, Pa.
19
class notes
Jason Barnes ’04 M’07 senior manager in
ParenteBeard’s tax services group, has been
selected by Lehigh Valley Business as a member of their 2013 Forty Under 40 class. He
was recognized for his ongoing commitment
to business growth, professional excellence
and community service.
Christopher Fulmer debuted season four of
the show he co-hosts at WYLN in Hazleton,
Pa., titled Off the Beaten Path and recently appeared in a production of Hello, Dolly! at the
Strawberry Playhouse in Tuscarora, Pa.
Georgeann Crossan married Joseph Moore
on May 3, 2013. The bridal party included
DeSales alums Alicia Gould ’04 and Steven
Gallagher ’03.
• 2005
Jennifer Simpson
and Justin Farah
‘03 welcomed a
baby girl on March
14, 2013. Gwendolyn Ann weighed 6
lbs., 15 oz., and
measured 19 inches
long.
Jessica Bedford had her play Blessed Are
produced by the Passage Theatre Company
at the Mill House Playhouse in Trenton,
Elizabeth Koneyak ’10 married Kevin Rakszawski on April 14, 2012, in Hunt Valley,
Md. Maddie Cummings ’10 was maid of honor and Katie McNally ’11 was a bridesmaid. Ian Carr ’10 served as lector. Also in attendance: Michelle Kuhner ’11, Matt
Kuhner ’10, Bob Schillinger ’10, Izzie Valk ’11, Brian Kaelber ’10, Ryan Ludwig
’10, Melissa Ludwig ’06, Stephanie Chrzanowski ’11, Ricky Malo ’11, Kathleen
Corrigan ’10, and Paul Rakszawski ’11.
N.J., in October and November 2012. Her
husband Ian starred along with fellow alumna
Kim Carson ’05.
In November 2012, Donna Bolton joined
Michael E. Orlic Real Estate in Quakertown,
Pa. She’s working with rentals as well as sales.
• 2006
Dan Maher had his work The Mighty Ducks
selected as the Best Web Series in the second
Annual Greater Lehigh Valley Filmmaker
Festival.
Angela Sigley and Marc Grossman are excited to announce their engagement. Angie is
an assistant professor of dance at DeSales, and
Marc is a biotechnician at Merck & Co., Inc.
Marc and Angie are planning a summer 2014
wedding.
• 2007
Ashley (Heilman)
Bilotti welcomed a
Nicole (Bealer) Branagh ’11 married Shawn Branagh on March 16, 2013, in Pottstown, Pa.
Melissa (Ehrenzeller) Haines ’09 was the matron of honor and Jamie Trindle ’11 served at
a bridesmaid.
20
son, Octavian
Joseph, on December 12, 2012.
Octavian weighed 9
lbs., 13 oz. He joins
sister Jasmine, who
was born December
12, 2010. He was a great 2nd birthday present!
Former DSU men’s basketball players came back to campus for the annual alumni basketball game last spring.
Scott and Amy (Ward) Rhine ’07 were
married on August 11, 2012, at Holy Spirit
Church in Palmyra, Pa., with a reception at
the Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pa.
Tom Lovelund ’07 , Monica Bendekovitz ’07, Amanda Fabrizio ’07, Melanie
McGregor ’07, Alissa DeVito ’07, and Tim
Radecki ’07 were in attendance to celebrate.
the Christmas 2013 season, a new venture
for the company.
Ryan Connolly received his doctorate of
Maggie Hoerburger became engaged to
osteopathic medicine from the Philadelphia
College of Osteopathic Medicine, and he
was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in
the United States Navy on June 2, 2013.
Ryan will be pursuing a residency in OB/
GYN.
Andrew Drake on December 23, 2012. The
couple is planning an October 2014 wedding
in Macungie, Pa.
Tara (Tedesco)
Uhnak and her
In June 2013, Amanda Fabrizio completed
her M.Ed. in educational leadership with
a focus in higher education from Lehigh
University. Shortly after graduation, she accepted a new role as the associate director of
Immaculata giving at Immaculata University.
Sr. Joanna Armstrong received the
Holy Habit of the
Order of the
Visitation of Holy
Mary and began
Novitiate on
December 8, 2012,
at Mont Deux
Coeurs (the Monastery in Tyringham,
Maine). This is the order founded by St.
Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal.
Lorelei Marquis has been promoted assistant director for the Musical Arts Academy
of Music and Dance in Exeter, N.H. She
has been with the company for 5 years as a
dance teacher. As assistant director, Lorelei
is proud to be spearheading the full-scale
production of The Steadfast Tin Soldier for
husband Chad
welcomed their first
child, Braxton Pius
Uhnak. He was
born in June 2013.
• 2008
David Wasserman left his position as producer of visual media and took a role with
Lehigh Valley-based FireRock Productions
to help launch the news magazine show, The
Peak in Fall 2012. After his time there, David
was offered the position of director of digital
media at The American College in Bryn
Mawr, Pa. He now manages a team of seven,
including two producers, two editors, a studio
manager, and two interns. Their high-profile
clientele includes Miller Coors, Johnson &
Johnson, General Mills, Nestle, Northwestern Mutual, Sam’s Club, Bankers Life and
Casualty Company, Merck, Dow Corning,
Aflac, State Farm, Penske Racing, Walmart,
Peabody Energy, and New York Life.
This fall, Courtney McClurkin begin attending Temple University’s School of Podiatric
Medicine.
On March 7, 2013,
Gia Zimmerman
became engaged to
Justin Long. The
couple is planning a
late 2013 or early
2014 wedding.
• 2009
Kevin Thomer BSN, RN, CNOR is a certified
nurse in the operating room (CNOR) and
is currently training to be a registered nurse
first assistant (RNFA) for Shriners Hospital
for Children in Philadelphia.
Nakia (Gard) Jones
and her husband
Arnell welcomed
their second
daughter—KateLee
Rosa—on June 11,
2013. Their older
daughter is named
Nayelle Narene.
Nakia is the assistant director of admissions at
Drexel University School of Public Health
and is a professional modern dancer for
SomaticMovers Dance Company.
Mary Galantino was featured by WFMZTV 69 News for her work to help bring
holiday cheer to young patients at St. Joseph
Medical Center in Reading, Pa. For the past
four years, Mary, a nurse, has budgeted 15
percent of her salary for gifts for kids in the
medical center’s pediatric department.
Victoria Bonito appeared as Lil Bit in the Villanova University production of How I Learned
to Drive by Paula Vogel in September 2012.
21
class notes
Jeffrey Lanigan performed in Sherlock
Holmes and the Crucifer of Blood at Hedgerow
Theatre in Rose Valley, Pa., in October and
November 2012.
Margaret Marshall is engaged to Jason
Rousis. Margaret is a doctoral candidate in
the pharmacy program at Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and Jason is the owner and
operator of Dialed In Autosports. The couple
are planning a December 2014 wedding.
Sarah Nelson married Joseph Gelet on
August 31, 2013.
Randi Leibowitz-Barroso graduated from
On November 24, 2012, Kate (Peters) McGuigan ’02 married Shawn McGuigan.
Alumni in attendance included Matt Barber ’02, John Doumaux ’01, Bob Valente
’02, Tim Wilkinson ’02, Michael Blakely ’03, Dave Grubb ’00 and Clare (Laracy)
Grubb ’01, Collette Mancuso ’00, Dennis Murphy ’01 and Karen (Loftus) Murphy ’03, Bridget (Sweeney) Blakely ’03, Jennifer (Cameron) Kincel ’02, Megan (Schnatz) McDevitt ’01, Kristen (Gallo) Knudsen ’02, Joe Kozole ’02, Chris
Shelly ’01 and Cathy (Samoylo) Shelly ’01, Kelly (Kaminski) Krall ’02, and Deema
(Toumeh) Hadid ’02. The couple lives in Warrington, Pa.
Kathleen Glynn is
engaged to Matthew
Miccarelli. Matthew
graduated from The
University of
California Berkeley
in 2008 and the
couple met in
January 2012. The
couple is planning an October 2014
wedding.
Madeline Moore and her sister Rebecca
are dancing with Catapult Entertainment,
a shadow imagery company based in Connecticut. They have been competing on
the NBC reality show America’s Got Talent,
and advanced to the Top 12. The sisters
recently formed a wedding dance choreography company—YourFirstDance (yourfirstdance.com).
Brian Coll recently self-published a horror novel on Amazon called Inner Demons.
It’s available in paperback as well as on the
22
Kindle. The central theme of the book is
bullying and how the victim often demonizes
the person who is bullying them. The story
centers on a group of high school students
who run a protection racket—if someone
pays them, they’ll make sure that person is
never bullied again. Things don’t turn out
the way they hoped, however, when it turns
out that the person who is stalking their most
recent client isn’t even human at all.
Amanda (Miner)
Conklin and Seth
Conklin ’10
welcomed their first
child. Emma
Therese was born
on July 25, 2013.
• 2010
Doug DeGirolamo was named the artistic
director for Thibodaux Playhouse, Inc., in
Thibodaux, La.
the University of Phoenix with a master’s in
psychology.
• 2011
Chris Stevens played in the ensemble of The
Sound of Music at the Paper Mill Playhouse in
Millburn, N.J., in December 2012.
Amanda (Roberts) Umstead and Weston
Umstead ’11 married on June 22, 2013.
In May of 2013, Samantha Lohr graduated with her master’s of education in school
counseling from West Chester University.
Allan Rush and
Kelly (Morrison)
Rush ’12 married
on October 13,
2012. Three DeSales
graduates were
groomsmen:
Kristopher Reif
’11, Dan Kwiatkowski ’12, and Peter Kaplan ’12. Also in
attendance were alumni Ally Castellano ’12,
Kolbe Rubin ’14, Isabel Garcia ’13, Ani
Lucas ’14, and Samantha Gambler ’14.
Amy Klotz has been promoted to senior accountant at ParenteBeard, a top 25 accounting firm.
Jessica Weaver graduated from Wilson
College in August 2013 with a degree in
veterinary medical technology.
• 2012
Abbi Snee recently booked a role on the
CW network’s Gossip Girl.
Michael Liiro was a stage manager and area
supervisor for events and productions at
Busch Gardens during the summer of 2012.
Julia Salvo was accepted into and began the
master’s of arts program in theatre at Villanova University in January 2013.
Adriana Stigliano released her first album,
titled, The Gift, which can be downloaded
through iTunes.
• 2013
Dawn Marie Tuers M’13 had her first article
published thanks to research she conducted
while attending classes at DeSales. The
article, entitled “Defensive Medicine in the
Emergency Department: Increasing Health
Care Costs Without Increasing Quality?”
was published in the Nursing Admin Quarterly,
April-Jun 2013, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 160–164
In Memoriam
Andrew D. Ardinger ’90
Paul W. Barndt Sr. P’78
Michael Baxter P’98
Dr. Julius G. Bede
Mary Jane Compardo P’70
Anthony J. Cushing ’72
Ashley Gonzalez ’07 and Thomas Hodgskin ’07 were married at DeSales University
on May 4, 2013. Alumni in attendance included Ryan Whalen ’07, Joseph Casilio ’07,
Becky (Kelly) Friedenberg ’ 06, Caitlin (Kinsella) McLemore ’07, Moira Ryan ’ 07,
Laura (Hrapczynski) Taylor ’07, Krista (Grunklee) Armbruster ’07, Brian Donnelly
’07, Shannon Dooling ’07, Lauren Fanslau ’08, Brian Thornton ’07, Mikki Conway
’07, Patti DeMatteo ’07, Julia Stroup ’10, Andy Wertner ’07, Angela (Pomo) Wertner ’06, and David Martin ’06.
Analisa (Santangini) DeFilippo ’88
Inez C. Donley
Charles J. Dowd ’75
Rose M. (Szerensits) Dries ’93
Kristin L. Ekey ’10, ’11M
Therese M. (Herbacek) Faust ’87
Marlene O. Fowler
Regina Gallagher P’00
Louie J. Herczeg ’74
Priscilla Payne Hurd
John A. Lyman ’98, ’01M
James V. Magee Jr., Esq. ’69
Ann Marie Mahoney ’03
Anne P. McGeady
Tara J. (Boyle) Mirabella ’97, ’01M
Shirley Pritulsky ’82
Frederick V. Schubert
David M. Seese ’96M
Thomas P. Stormes ’77
Irene J. Strella
Kathleen A. (Hahn) Wiegand ’77
J. Bowling Wills
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