March 2012Vol. 6, No. 7

IMPACT

University alumnae continuing Waynesburg’s mission of service after graduation

Inspiring Students to Pursue Lives of Purpose

Two Waynesburg University

alumnae have made an impact

and gained attention for

their dedication to maintaining the

University’s mission of faith, service and

learning after their graduation dates.

Margaret Graham, a 2010 public

relations and sociology graduate, and

Sarah Spicuzza, a 2011 communication

and advertising graduate, have continued

life after college with Pittsburgh Urban

Leadership Service Experience (PULSE).

PULSE, an organization committed to

cultivating a community of young servant

leaders to transform Pittsburgh, places

individuals in nonprofit organizations

throughout the city to perform volunteer

service for 35 hours a week.

Both Graham and Spicuzza work

directly with the skill sets they learned

at Waynesburg University, such as

social media, newsletter writing and

annual report writing for the nonprofit

organizations to which they are assigned.

Spicuzza serves as an executive assistant

at Serving Leaders, and Graham serves as

the communication coordinator at East

Liberty Development Inc.

“PULSE provides a great opportunity

to explore vocation and calling while

receiving the support of a community and

the hands-on experience in a potential

career field,” Graham said.

Both women have been recognized

for their service by an online, higher

education magazine, and Graham

was recently named one of Western

Pennsylvania’s 2012 “Rising Stars,” by

Get Involved!, Inc. These awards are

presented annually to 21 local, young

professionals ages 21-29 in the nonprofit,

business and governmental sectors

who dedicate their time and talent to

community organizations and who are

making a positive difference.

As Graham and Spicuzza near the

end of their leadership experience with

PULSE, they remember fondly their

accomplishments at both Waynesburg

University and with the PULSE program

and look forward to a lifetime of service.

“PULSE is an extension of the great

things that Waynesburg was able to

offer me. Graduating from PULSE is like

graduating college

all over again,”

Spicuzza said. “I

am excited to see

what God has in

store for me.”

University awards three Community Impact Grants to benefit students, community

As servants for God, we are called

to continually give to others. In

1 Peter 4:10, the Bible states “As

each has received a gift, use it to serve

one another, as good stewards of God’s

varied grace.” At Waynesburg University,

students are taught to provide assistance

using their specific gifts and talents. Each

semester, Community Impact Grants are

awarded during Who’s Your Neighbor

Week to students who want to make a

difference in the community. Since the

fall of 2009, students have been able to

see a need within the local community

and apply for a grant to aid their choice of

project.

This year, three organizations received

a total of $3,000. The Council for

Exceptional Children (CEC), Freshmen

Bonner Scholars and the 2011 Vira Heinz

recipients were selected by a committee

consisting of University faculty, staff

and administration based on the project’s

value to the community, the project’s

fundamental short- and long-term impact

and its planning and implementation

process.

Sarah Brandstetter, Bonner Scholar

coordinator and a member of the selection

committee, believes that these grants

are a blessing to the community and

the students through the application of

Waynesburg University foundations.

“It is so exciting to see students connect

faith, service and learning through civic

engagement,” Brandstetter said. “All three

organizations have researched our local

community to find its needs and have

come up with exciting ways to educate

and excite the community about these

issues.”

Individuals were able to apply for a $500

grant; classes, groups or organizations

could apply for a $1,000 grant. Grant

recipients are required to complete their

project within the current semester and

are eligible for one award per school year.

Candidates were required to fill out an

application that included a budget and

a recommendation from a non-family

member.

After being reactivated last fall, the

Council for Exceptional Children sought

to build relationships and a sense of

community between local families

with students with special needs and

University students. The $1,000 grant

received will support Activity Day on

campus planned for April 21.

Shannon Bartley, junior elementary

education major and CEC president, is

grateful for the additional funds that will

make this day a success.

“We hope this day we have planned not

only provides a fun day for the children,

but also shows others that people with

disabilities are just like everyone else and

deserve to be included,” Bartley said.

The University’s freshman Bonner class

received $1,000 for its Distractions While

Driving project. The goal of the project

is to raise awareness about the risks of

distracted driving through the “Arrive

Alive Tour.” The Arrive Alive Tour

enables community members to climb

into a vehicle and virtually experience

distracted driving through a simulator.

Freshman Bonner Scholar and

psychology major Kyle Digiandomenico

anticipates the positive effects of the

simulation.

“We believe if we can save one life by

providing individuals with the experiences

and information which enables them to

rethink their choices, our mission was

accomplished,” Digiandomenico said.

The 2011 Vira Heinz recipients

received $1,000 for their Mondo Giusto

and Garden: Ethical Consumerism and

Sustainable Living project. Mondo Giusto

will educate the community and campus

about practices of fair trade, buying

locally and living sustainably. In addition,

the Vira Heinz recipients will hold a

dedication ceremony for a garden which

will serve as a beautiful and sustainable

connection between the campus and

community.

Megan Peebles, a 2011 recipient and

junior interactive design major, hopes

their event will showcase the importance

of buying locally and cause community

members to consider fair trade.

In an effort to act out Waynesburg University’s mission of faith, service and learning, three student organizations were granted $1,000 each for their visions for community development.

IMPACT

NEWS & NOTES• Waynesburg University will

celebrate its 163rd year and the

162nd anniversary of its charter by

the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Tuesday, March 20. The celebration

will be held in Waynesburg University’s

Roberts Chapel at 11 a.m. The

Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes from

Shadyside Presbyterian Church in

Pittsburgh will address those in

attendance. The public is cordially

invited to attend.

• The Waynesburg University

Department of Criminal Justice

Administration and the Office of

Admissions will host its spring Mock

Crime Scene Workshop Saturday,

March 24. The event provides high

school students the opportunity to

work with Waynesburg University

students and faculty, as well as experts

in the field, to analyze crime scenes

and collect and process evidence. A

variety of workshops will be offered

and will allow students to determine

if a criminal justice or forensic science

major is right for them.

• The Waynesburg University Music

Program will present a spring jazz

concert Monday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m.

The event will be held in the Goodwin

Performing Arts Center. The event is

free, and the public is cordially invited

to attend. The Waynesburg University

Vocal Jazz Ensemble, the Instrumental

Jazz Combo and the Percussion

Ensemble combine to bring you a night

of jazz and percussion standards.

• Waynesburg University’s second

annual Undergraduate Research

Symposium will be held Saturday,

April 14, in the University’s Center for

Research and Economic Development.

All undergraduates who have been

actively involved with research projects

mentored by University faculty are

eligible to showcase their work by

displaying a poster or giving an oral

presentation. All research presented is

representative of research as defined by

Council On Undergraduate Research

(CUR). CUR’s definition states that

research is “an inquiry or investigation

conducted by an undergraduate student

that makes an original intellectual or

creative contribution to the discipline.”

University director ordained and installed as Presbyterian Minister

On February 15, the Waynesburg University community was blessed with the presence of a Waynesburg alumna, Anne Banister. Since graduating in 2009, Banister has committed her life to serving the world around her by applying the skills she gained at Waynesburg University. She spoke to faculty and students in McCance Auditorium about her life after graduation through a lecture titled “Mountains Between Us: Educate, Equip, Empower.”

During her time at Waynesburg University, Banister pursued a degree in communication with a minor in service leadership. Originally, she was unsure of attending a small school, but after visiting Waynesburg University for the first time, she got a sensation that something bigger was going on and that God was present on campus. She soon found that her academic experience would extend much further than the classroom.

“In the fall of 2006, one of my friends invited me to attend a viewing of Invisible Children during Waynesburg’s ‘Who’s Your Neighbor Week,’” Banister said. “I was absolutely shocked by the genocide in the 20-year war. This really sparked my interest in picking up my minor in service leadership and my interest in helping those in need.”

The staff and faculty at Waynesburg University pushed her to work harder and to achieve more. Before graduating, Anne produced four documentaries for four nonprofit organizations, including the West Waynesburg Jesus Distributor, PeaceWorks, World Vision and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“The faculty at Waynesburg University really did encourage me to be the best that I could be,” Banister said. “The hands on, real world application along with the leadership aspect that Waynesburg focuses on pushed me out of my comfort zone and has really given me more than adequate preparation for what I am doing now.”

Since graduation, Banister has been working with organizations in the small country of Nepal. Located South of China, Nepal is a developing country that suffers from poor health, social inequality and a lack of government support.

“A lot of people are required to fend for themselves,” Banister said. “The country consists of a lot of farming; it’s a physically demanding environment there.”

Banister has been fighting for equal rights in Nepal through working with the charity the Edge of Seven, an organization that invests in projects that further alleviate women in developing countries of social inequalities, along with giving them education, health and economic opportunities.

Waynesburg University’s

Roberts Chapel recently

hosted an ordination and

installation service for the Rev. Dr.

Lawrence M. Stratton as the director

of Waynesburg University’s Stover

Center for Constitutional Studies and

Moral Leadership and a minister of the

Presbyterian Church.

The Rev. Tom Ribar, Waynesburg

University chaplain, issued words of

welcome and a call to worship for the

very special service. Ribar quoted Psalm

46 verse 10, “Be still and know that I

am God,” to illustrate God’s hand in

Stratton’s journey to ministry.

Stratton was surrounded by his

colleagues, friends and family as he

received the traditional “Laying on of

Hands” ceremony and accepted the

charge to guide Waynesburg University

in the way of Jesus Christ.

“It was a very special experience to

be surrounded by so many people from

the Waynesburg University community,

along with my family and many friends

and colleagues from the past,” Stratton

said. “During the service, I looked

forward toward the pulpit and lectern;

only when I stood up after kneeling for

the laying on of hands and after greeting

the many Ministers and Elders did I look

toward the congregation and see how

many wonderful people were there.”

The Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes, senior

pastor of the Shadyside Presbyterian

Church in Pittsburgh, preached

a message entitled “The Great

Temptations of Scholarship” in which he

outlined the challenges that Stratton will

face as a newly ordained minister. One

temptation, Barnes said, is to satisfy the

educational hunger of students.

“As a professor, and now a minister,

resist the opportunity to fill the hunger

of students. God created them to be

hungry,” Barnes said. “You are to nurture

this hunger and to help your students

and your colleagues ask better questions

about the world.”

Waynesburg University’s Lamplighters

sang two anthems, “Sicut Cervus,” by

Giovanni P. Palestrina and “My Soul’s

Been Anchored in the Lord,” by Moses

Hogan, under the direction of Melanie

Catana, director of choral music at

Waynesburg University. University

faculty, staff and trustees, as well as

University President Timothy Thyreen

and his wife, Mrs. Carolyn Thyreen,

attended to show their support.

“It is a constant inspiration for me to

be part of Waynesburg University’s

endeavor of being a Christian institution

dedicated to the pursuit of truth and

service, especially as my academic and

spiritual path to Waynesburg began

almost two decades ago,” Stratton said.

The Rev. Dr. Donald P. Wilson,

interim executive presbyter at

Washington Presbytery, conducted the

prayer of ordination and the “Laying on

of Hands” ceremony. Wilson charged the

University to hold strong to its anchor in

the Lord and to welcome Stratton with

open arms. In the same prayer, he called

Stratton to be an example of Christ in

Waynesburg University’s classrooms and

hallways.

“We live in a broken time; to accept

a call to ministry at a time such as this

could be frightening,” Wilson said. “The

University accepts Stratton at a time

such as this to continue a mission of

faith, serving and learning.”

The Waynesburg University women’s

basketball team was rewarded for one of

its best seasons in program history by the

Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC)

when it handed out its annual post-season

awards. Three Yellow Jacket standouts were

honored as members

of the All-PAC teams,

including senior point

guard Hannah Hunter,

who was lauded as a

first-team pick. Hunter

finished second on

the team and eighth in the conference in

scoring at 13.3 points per game, while also

finishing second in the league in assists

(5.41 assists per game) and steals (2.96

steals per game). Hunter was also lauded

as a three-time PAC Player of the Week

and a two-time member of the D3Hoops.

com Team of the Week. Junior guard Jessi

Drayer picked up a second-team nod after

leading Waynesburg and finishing sixth in

the PAC in scoring with 14.5 points per

game. Drayer was also a member of one of

the D3Hoops.com Teams of the Week and

her 31 points against Chatham Dec. 10

were the second highest individual scoring

performance in the PAC this year. Fellow

junior guard Brittany Spencer rounded

out Waynesburg’s All-PAC trio with an

honorable mention selection. Spencer

averaged 10.3 points per game, while

leading the team and ranking sixth in the

PAC in rebounds with 7.4 boards per game.

After the player awards were announced,

Jacket head coach Sam Jones picked up one

of the biggest honors

of his time with the

Jacket women when

he was named PAC

Coach of the Year.

Standout women’s basketball trio named All-PACUniversity alumna speaks about

travels, documentary