Thiel Happenings

Thiel College celebrating ‘Let the Good Times Roar’ for its Homecoming 2019 festivities

Homecoming—a Thiel College tradition since 1915—will celebrate the theme Let the Good Times Roar with events from Oct. 10—13.

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First TNT of the year covers variety of important topics

President Susan Traverso, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Liz Frombgen, Ph.D., were the primary speakers at the first campus-wide gathering of members of the faculty and staff at TNT on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

Cabinet members also introduced new staff members and made brief announcements.

Traverso gave enrollment and budget updates, as well as details on the growing collaboration with Sharon Regional Medical Center and on the progress of the USDA loan program. Frombgen covered the work being done on the College’s Middle States Accreditation process.

Also discussed were the new plans for the Innovation Proposal, which will give employees an opportunity to submit ideas for campus innovations on any topic. 

Doctors give HPI students into health professions

The Health Professions Institute's weekly presentations included Dr. George Kum-Nji ’05 on Sept. 12 and Dr. Lynn Williams on Sept. 19.

Comments regarding Dr. Kum-Nji

“Dr. Kum-Nji’s presentation was inspiring and motivational because I also wish to work in healthcare. I enjoyed the fact that he is a graduate of Thiel College and is able to relate to our HPI 303 class because we are all interested in working in healthcare. He was very personable, and his story resonated with me long after the presentation concluded.”—Jacqueline Galford ’21

“George Kum-Nji had a pretty powerful message to me. Coincidently, I have the same path as George. I am at Thiel for a healthcare profession, I am a black man, and I also plan on going to the service after I graduate from Thiel. It is very reassuring seeing similarities between George and I because that means that I too can make it out and actually become a doctor.”—James McKinney ’22

“I also really enjoyed that he was very open about what he would have done differently and steps he wished he would have taken. It is hard when you are going through it to realize what mistakes you are making or what you could be doing better, so listening to someone who has been through it is great knowing they know exactly what can help. Overall, I really enjoyed Dr. Kum-Nji’s talk and took a lot of useful information out of it!”—Matthew Hess ’20

Comments regarding Dr. Williams:

“I think Dr. Williams was an amazing choice for HPI to include as one of our guest speakers. She really was amazing about sharing her connections, including everyone’s anticipated career path, and making sure we knew we were more than welcome to contact her. I also like the fact she didn’t have a conventional path to medical school. I think that is inspiring and it gives me hope that everyone will end up in their place even if we take different paths to get there.”—Shyloh McTighe ’22

“Dr.Lynn (resonated with me) because she stayed on the path of medicine while having a family. She shared with us that she was married and had five children, all girls. This gave me inspiration that having a family and furthering education/career is possible as a woman.”—Stacy Reecks ’21

“This talk reaffirmed my belief in wanting to be a Physician Assistant versus anything else in the medical field.”—Julia Wagner ’20

Student News

Thiel students tour local farm

Professor of Political Science and Department Chair Marie Courtemanche, Ph.D., and students in her SEMS 110 course toured the Walnut Hill Farm on Sept. 19 to see the workings of a local farm focused on sustainability and small production. Courtemanche’s class explores how natural resources, climate and geography all play a role in shaping what people eat. The course also examines how societies have developed unique methods of food preparation and consumption that are intimately tied to ideas of culture and identity.

Each week students study a specific part of the world and attempt to recreate dishes important to the region.

• Follow what the students are eating on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thiel_eats/.

Accounting alumna makes recruiting trip to Thiel, speaks in classes

Team Leader/Auditor Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General Loretta (Loughner) Unger ’05 (above left) and her colleague Katherine Iannone spoke to the classes of Associate Professor of Business Administration and Accounting Melissa Oakes ’03 and Professor of Business Administration and Accounting Gary Witosky ’79 Wednesday about accounting careers with the U.S. government.

In addition to speaking in classes, the pair also conducted job interviews with four students and mock interviews with three others.

Thiel College graduates Randy Santarelli ’19, Dominik Pfleger ’18 and Drew Dellert ’18 also have positions with the Department of Defense. Pfleger was recently nominated for junior auditor. 

Student of the Month nominations close Friday

Nominations for the Student of the Month program are open. This program recognizes seniors from any academic department or program. Students are nominated by members of the faculty, staff, and administration and are selected based on criteria listed below, which are derived primarily from the Mission Statement of Thiel College. Any nominated students who did not win in the fall will be considered in the spring along with any new spring nominations. 

• Scholarship (3.6 GPA or higher after having completed at least four semesters at Thiel College
• Ethical and responsible leadership
• Consistently solid work ethic
• Good representatives of departments/programs at Thiel College

This year the nomination form will be online only. The deadline for fall nominations is Friday, Sept 27.  There is no limit on the number of students a person can nominate, but each nomination requires a separate form. The list of eligible students and the nomination form can be accessed here or through the link below. 

• Use the online nomination form.