Category: Academics

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Professor Spotlight: Dr. Cramer

I recently got to interview another member of the chemistry department here at Grove City: Dr. Susan Cramer. After attending Malone University and obtaining her undergraduate degree in chemistry, Dr. Cramer got her master’s degree from the University of Toledo. While she was on a trip home, she stopped by her alma mater (Malone), and was informed of a teaching opportunity, which she later applied for and accepted. After teaching at Malone for four years, she returned to the University of Akron to get her Ph.D. While there, she saw an ad for an opening in the Grove City College Department of Chemistry and has been here as a faculty member since the fall of 2002.

Dr. Cramer is involved in variety of aspects for the department. As an organic chemist, she primarily teaches that class and the lab that accompanies it. She was originally hired to teach polymer chemistry, as well as “baby chem” (chemistry for non-science majors), and she still teaches these classes periodically. Teaching class and labs is something she enjoys, and she mentioned to me how Grove City is unique because professors are the ones doing all the teaching, not graduate assistants.

Having grown up on a small dairy farm in Ohio, the small-town aspect of Grove City is just one of the things that is very attractive about the College to Dr. Cramer. She also enjoys the amount of equipment and instrumentation that Grove City provides for students to use to get “hands-on” experience. One of the things that originally drew her to Grove City was the resources the College is able to provide to students, since many other colleges do not have these same opportunities. Another thing that drew her to Grove City, and has kept her here, is the fact that Grove City is a Christian institution. Dr. Cramer wanted to stay at a small Christian college since this is similar to where she went to college. She told me that she “can openly share [her] faith” here, and that is something she was unable to do at other institutions she worked.

Unlike many other professors, Dr. Cramer is not actively involved in research at the College. However, this does not mean she is not busy filling her time with other things. She is a faculty advisor for the Grove City chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS), as well as the chemistry honorary. She is also well known for her willingness to participate in different events on campus, the most famous being Faculty Follies (this year, she did an excellent dance number that her students loved). “I think it’s fun to give students a good laugh every once in a while.”

Something Dr. Cramer emphasized during our interview was the level of personal interaction that happens between students and faculty at Grove City. They both get to know each other well, and faculty will not only know student’s names, but they will know much more about them. She mentioned that she has lunch with different students regularly, and every year she hosts a fall party at her house for members of ACS. She also highlighted how students become very close with the other members of their class, and how that is fun for both the students and the faculty. She was able to recount to me many different stories of interactions with students over the years, and how that makes her job more enjoyable. Her care for students was evident even as I sat outside her office with friends a few weeks after this interview, and she took the time to come say hi to all of us and check in on how everyone was doing. Dr. Cramer has served Grove City well for many years, and will no doubt continue to do so.

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Bill Flanagan: More Than a WPXI-TV Host

Trisha Pritchard’s public speaking class had the pleasure of meeting Bill Flanagan, a Pittsburgh local and strong community figure. Bill is currently the chief corporate relations officer for Allegheny Conference for Community Development and host of WPXI-TV’s “Our Region’s Business.”

With 25 years of full-time TV news, Bill has had a remarkably amount of experience and continues to learn these useful lessons. He has learned to focus on the main points, considering the majority of people watching the news are multitasking. “I’ve learned to speak to a 6th grade level, not because people are illiterate but because they just are not paying attention,” Bill said. Consuming media comes with a million other distractions going on around them like getting ready in the morning. Bill emphasized that if people can remember one sentence during the entire six to seven minute story, he has gotten the message across. Framing the talk into three main parts makes it easier for people to remember the important points and reinforce the message. Making a simple, yet meaningful broadcast is what will impact the community the most.

Bill has had his share of experiences while involved with journalism and broadcasting, but he discussed some of his favorites and most memorable. The first news story he ever covered was President Richard Nixon’s resignation, which was a strong start to his career. He also accidentally interviewed President Ronald Reagan, who was about to board the plane awaiting him. Bill’s producer was signaling him to wrap up his news story explaining about Reagan’s current activities, when Reagan thought he was being called over to be interviewed. On the spot, Bill had to ask Reagan a couple of questions, which was a great lesson about organizing and producing content quickly while not cracking under intense pressure. He recalls painful interviews and stories covered, like talking to a family after a loss of their soldier son or the bombing at a Marine base in Lebanon. Bill emphasized finding a connection with people even in the worst situations and celebrating everything he can, like the giving life of a fallen soldier.

In having a Sunday morning talk show for 30 years, Bill has learned that drawing out his nerves gives him the right energy level to focus and interview people to the best of his ability. He stresses how the interviewee is just as nervous, if not more, and needs to rely on Bill’s ability to ask the fair and honest questions they need to give the answers they want. When Bill focuses solely on the person he is interviewing instead of himself and has “done his homework of preparation,” he finds he is not nervous at all for a TV interview.

Bill also discussed the importance of interpersonal communication in everyday situations. Having a job requires one to be able to work well together, deal with confrontation, know how to public speak, and be open with a boss or someone of higher authority. In his specific region of work, Bill deals with people coming in and out of a career.  He must know how to handle the changes in a work environment without disrupting the business as a whole. When the majority of the “Baby Boomers” are getting close to retirement, he needs to recruit members of the younger generation to fill the needed positions. Bill places emphasis on taking skills seriously, especially with the younger people entering the workplace for the first time.

Businesses are always competing. Bill is constantly working toward improving region’s competitiveness to make it more attractive to other businesses to invest in, ultimately maximizing profit. With all of the opportunities opening up, it is extremely valuable to have employees prepared for their future career. This means having students well equipped in college and focused on the subjects that they could potentially be involved with. Chances like internships are relevant in that people can “decide what they want and go for it,” as Bill said.

The relationships that he has made throughout his career has given him the skills to establish new, reconnect, and connect others. Bill has had a major success in using his relationships to better the community, like organizing 100 organizations around the same message, to strengthen one another at the end of the day. Bill’s closing remarks consisted of prioritizing the development of communication with people, challenging one another with different viewpoints, and ultimately coming together as much as possible. “Narrow pathways do not lead to a great result,” Bill said. Let us remember that opening our eyes to understand others and their ideas, no matter the situation, leads to a better world altogether.

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Business Policy and Strategy Writing Competition

Business Policy and Strategy is a senior level course required for all business majors including business management, accounting, finance, marketing, international business, and industrial management. Many students refer to the class as their “Senior Capstone” taught by Professor Richard Kocur. Throughout this speaking intensive course, students are given various writing and presentation assignments within a group. However, at the end of each semester, Professor Kocur asks his students to complete an individual writing assignment with the prompt, “What does it mean to be a Christian in today’s business world?” Students are able to submit their essays into a writing competition among approximately 60 members of the class. Professor Kocur narrows down the top seven papers, which are then evaluated by various professors in Grove City’s business department. Students with the top three essays receive a monetary prize and an in-class recognition.

Mr. Kocur decided that this assignment was a great way for seniors to think about how their faith will be incorporated in their future jobs. He stated, “The assignment is a unique aspect of our business department and I think demonstrates our connection with the College’s mission and values. The essay contest serves to support not only the mission of the College, but the Business Program’s vision of being a premier undergraduate business program where scholarship and application combine with Christian principles.”

As an accounting student in the Business Policy and Strategy course last semester, I had the opportunity to complete this assignment and consider the “Christian Perspective” in the business world. I personally loved this assignment, and I took the time to look back on what I had learned in my classes at Grove City about implementing Christian values in the real world. The prompt for the paper was not an easy question to answer. However, I focused my paper on living out Christian values in all aspects of life, rather than compartmentalizing work, family, friends, and faith. Although discussing your faith in the workplace is not always appropriate, acting as an example of Christ is a great way to implement one’s Christian values in all components of their life. After writing my paper, I was lucky enough to receive third place in the competition among my classmates, which was a great way to complete my semester.

Second place writer, Olivia (Ebert) Greathouse, also enjoyed the assignment and explained how she felt on the paper. “I thought the business writing competition was a great opportunity to express and share my thoughts about Christianity and business. It forced me to put into words the thoughts in my head about how I will bring my faith into the workplace. I believe being a Christian should permeate every aspect of our lives including our life at work. While we may not proclaim our Christianity to everyone we encounter, it should be evident in our actions and attitudes each and every day.”

Austin Everett took first place in the competition, and found that this question was something that had been on his mind for quite some time. He stated, “The paper was really a culmination of four years of wrestling with the subject matter. Discussions in classes and with professors outside the classroom lit my interest in this subject which then led me to various books and thought leaders. The understanding of the Christian and his or her work became an increasingly pressing issue on my mind, so when it came to writing the paper, it was really an issue of simply putting onto paper four years of thought that was nurtured by professors and books from the church, past and present.”

The writing assignment will continue to be assigned to students in the Business Policy and Strategy course each semester. Altogether, the competition for the paper is a great way for business majors to really dive into the complexity of the question, “What does it mean to be a Christian in today’s business world?”

 

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Myth Busted: If You Switch Majors You Will Not Graduate on Time, Chapter 2

Grove City College Chapel

It was not long into my second semester of college that I realized that I was again in a weird position. What is business management and why am I majoring in it? It was a good thing that at this point I was taking Principles of Management to find out. This only led me more astray though. I was again in the situation of, “What is this major and why am I in it if I do not know what I can do with it or if I even want to be a manager?” So, again I went in search of my calling. This second semester of college I took various types of business and economics classes trying to find my place in this big crazy world. Nothing “did it” (whatever “it” is) for me. I was forced to stay on this business track until I found what I wanted to do.

It was the first semester of my sophomore year that I found “it.” I was in Principles of Accounting with Professor Stone and I was not sure what it was but I was convinced that this “it” was in fact the “it.” At the end of that semester I decided to drop the business management major and pick up accounting (if you have not kept count until this point, this was my third different major). I continued on second semester of sophomore year as an accounting major and then into my junior year. I grew to appreciate the field and enjoy it more and more. That appreciation has led me to now, my second semester of my junior year, and I am still an accounting major.

Along this winding journey of major changes and confusion it was important for me to keep in mind my current position and what classes I needed to take to graduate on time, but this was the easy part. All three of my past and current advisors made this part of switching majors easy for me. They told me my current state and what I needed to take to graduate on time and even gave me pointers of how to spread the course load to minimize stress and maximize the value. I cannot stress enough that this was the easy part. You will figure it out, you will fit the classes that you need in. I am currently attempting to get a degree in accounting but to also acquire as close to 150 credits (128 credits is all that is required to graduate) as possible so that I can sit for my Certified Public Accountancy Exam (CPA Exam). I have made the classes fit, and so can you. No matter who you are, whether you switch majors six times or you do not switch majors at all, if you commit to finishing in four years (or five or six, whatever pace is most ideal to you) you can do it. In my journey to achieve 150 credits I have mapped out my schedule so that I will graduate with 146 credits. If I can do it, the kid who did not know what he wanted to do with his life and switched majors twice, then you can do it too!

Moral of the story is to have faith and meet with your advisors. It is funny how things come full circle. Did you notice how faith was one of the first things to come up when looking at how most people do not know what they want to do with their lives? This is because this faith is what allowed me and allows us as Christians to be joyful in times where we freak out because we have no idea of what we could do with our major and in times where we do not think that we can graduate on time. Faith is the overlapping factor. As Philippians 1:6 says, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” This walk, and this mindset of trusting in God that he will lead us to where we need to be has led me to being a junior accounting major, somewhere I would have never thought I would be as a senior in high school. So, have faith and God will lead you. We, as humans, do not know what we want to do with our lives because our lives here on Earth are in hindsight not for us, they are for a bigger purpose which we may one day fulfill in Heaven.

If you are interested in hearing more about my story or simply want to just personally contact me about any of your specific worries feel free to at gosstd1@gcc.edu. I would be glad to help a worried younger high school me build up the courage to do things that I never did and to help you succeed to your fullest potential! God bless!

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Having Fun with Your Electives: ART 104

Most majors at Grove City College leave some room for electives hours, and if you are lucky enough to be in one of those fields of study, I would first and foremost suggest you to take courses that interest you. But I would also encourage you to branch out and try new things. That is what I did when I took ART 104 the first semester of my junior year. ART 104, also known as beginning wheel throwing, was definitely not one of those courses that is related to my major and applicable, or so I thought.

Beginning wheel throwing is a pottery class where you build things such as bowls, vases, and mugs using a ball of clay and a wheel that spins. Now, most people in hearing about this class would think that it is applicable for anyone in the arts, or even sciences, in that it works on and demonstrates hand-eye coordination, imagination, and, through the medium of clay, artistic ability. For an accounting major like myself I thought, “Is it really a great applicable elective to take?” Some may say no, but I would disagree. Though I did not learn anything about debits or credits, I did learn a lot about myself and this course supplied me with the opportunity to get into something I would have never thought I would have when I was a junior or senior in high school. This class changed my outlook on the field of arts and supplied me the opportunity to use the ideas and themes of the required Humanities course known as Civ. Arts to practice and create art as an accounting major. This course provided me and my fellow classmates the opportunity to not just follow the various rules and laws of our future fields of study but to create new exciting things.

This class supplied me personally with a form of art that made me feel as if there was some artistic ability in my body. Allowing me to discover things about myself that I may not have discovered without the combination of the both this course and Civ. Arts. So, Beginning wheel throwing may not be for everyone but do not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and try new things. That is part of the liberal arts experience that Grove City College provides.

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Myth Busted: If You Switch Majors You Will Not Graduate on Time, Chapter 1

Grove City College Chapel

What do seniors in high school and a junior accounting major from Grove City College have in common? Well yes, neither is going to have to take the annoying and stressful ACT /SAT tests again… But besides that, I was thinking more along the lines that neither really knows what they want to do with their future. I can say this speaking from self-experience and observing others. It may sound cliché, but no one knows what they truly want to do with their future, and if you do not believe me ask your parents. My father has worked at the same location for the past 27 years and he comes home most days saying he does not know what he wants to do with his life. So how did we go from having a title about switching majors to this tangent about how most people do not know what they want to do with their lives? I choose to take this route because this is my current position and this lack of knowing has not only inspired me to try new things throughout my time here at Grove City College but to also have faith, so let me elaborate.

My freshman year of college I came in as a chemistry major. Seems like a good idea right? For some people this may be the perfect fit for them but for me… not so much. In choosing to go to college I had no idea what I wanted to be and in a somewhat hap hazardous way decided that since I took a year of chemistry in high school and liked it that I would go to college and become a… who knows. Throughout my first semester I was pushed and stretched mentally and the 16 credits of chemistry, physics, calculus, biblical revelations, and fitness and wellness really threw me for a loop. I was constantly working to keep up and knew that I was a chemistry major but had absolutely no clue why. A major shifting point for me was when I attended the Grove City College annual Career Fair and immediately became aware that I had no desire to do any of the jobs that an individual with a chemistry major would be equipped to do. I still remember that day vividly. I left the Career Fair freaking out wondering what I had gotten myself into. I was working harder and studying more than I had ever studied before and had no desire to be doing anything in the field of chemistry. So, I ran (literally) to my room from the Career Fair and called my parents, on the verge of tears, telling them I was ruined. I had made the biggest mistake of my life, but what I didn’t know was that this was just part of a bigger plan.

After the long phone call with my parents I decided that chemistry was not the major for me and no matter the implications of changing majors I was going to switch, but to what? I had people suggest various majors to me but what I felt in that moment drawn to (see this common trend of me making these big “in the moment” decisions to decide my future) business management. I felt that this was the “career” for me. So, I finished out my first semester as a chemistry major and in the final weeks dropped the chemistry major and added business management.

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Reel Life at Grove City College: A Chat with Dr. Schaefer, Religion Professor

In this episode of Reel Life, I got to meet and speak with a professor widely known and beloved here at Grove City College — Dr. Paul Schaefer.

Dr. Shaefer is a religion professor. He teaches everything from required humanities classes like Christianity and Civilization to upper level courses like Systematic Theology. Schaefer is known for being witty, energetic, knowledgeable, and most of all passionate about the subjects he teaches.

Today, I asked him four questions:

  1. What do you like most about students here at Grove City College?
  2. What is the most challenging part of your job?
  3. What inspires you to do what you do?
  4. What is your favorite part of your job?

Dr. Schaefer is truly a wonderful professor who cares about the students here and about his work. This episode of Reel Life shows you a bit of that. Enjoy!

Check out an interview I did with one of his students here.

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Reel Life at Grove City College: A Chat with Andrew DiDonato, Professor of Exercise Science and Head Football Coach

Andrew DiDonato, a Grove City graduate in 2010, is head coach of the football team here at the college. He also teaches exercise science and physical education classes. In this episode of Reel Life, he sat down with me to answer some big questions.

  1. What inspired you to teach and coach in exercise science?
  2. What is the biggest piece of advice you’d give to college-aged students?
  3. How do you want Grove City College athletes to think about sports?
  4. What is your favorite part of your job?

Coach DiDonato is passionate, wise, and kind. I was so happy to get to do a video interview with him, because those traits show up on camera in a way I would not have been able to capture on paper.

I hope you enjoy watching as much as I enjoyed filming!

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Community Spotlight: December Graduate

When it comes to thinking about who makes up the community of Grove City College, often the first thought is students and professors. However, there are many more components – past and present – that play a vital role in the community here. I talked with Josh McFall, a December 2017 graduate. He studied accounting and participated in many camppus activities. Here is the interview that transpired:

Can you tell me a little about your academic journey?

I started my pursuit for higher education at Kent State University Trumbull Campus in the fall of 2013 as an undecided business major, after a semester I declared my major as Business Management before changing my major to accounting.

I stayed at Kent for two years before transferring to Grove City College. Three of my siblings had attended Grove City and I wasn’t convinced that it was the place for me. One of the turning points in my decision was at my sister Lizzy’s wedding at Harbison Chapel in the fall of 2014. I got to walk around the campus with my sister’s husband Joe, who also graduated from there. During this time, I got to talk with him about my preconceived notions and what I wanted from the remainder of my college career. Ultimately, that conversation and overall experience was the first event that led to my decision to attend Grove City College and I would end up applying about eight months later.

What has been the most difficult thing about graduating mid academic year?

Leaving my fiancée, sister, and friends in a rather anti-climactic way. I am a sentimental person, so I like having solid beginnings and endings as they help me compartmentalize my feelings and emotions. Graduating and leaving campus halfway through the academic school year is rather akin to walking out of a movie theater 10 minutes before the end of a movie while your friends all stay and watch it. You miss the last semester excitement and relief you share with other seniors who are about to graduate and walk to receive their diploma in May. I felt that excitement and relief mostly alone, and there was no fanfare or send off when I left campus. The vibe was just that of another winter break, and everyone else would see each other in a month.

Mind you, this is no fault of Grove City’s. There is nothing they could do to change the way things are. I was privileged to attend a dinner for the few seniors graduating in December at President and Mrs. McNulty’s house and it was a lovely time. Also, I will be back in May to walk, but if I’m being honest that is more for my parents than myself. If I had my way, I would choose not to walk simply because I have closed that chapter of my life and I am in a new one now (like I said, solid beginnings and endings).

What do you miss the most about Grove City?

What I miss may not be something unique to only Grove City, like chapel requirements, or jokes about rings by spring, but are unique to my personal experience and how it shaped my life. I miss the shenanigans and community of my transfer hall in Hicks, while living in the room with the window right above the trash cans everyone walks by to go to dinner. And I miss bonding with the guys of Pan Sophic while being their RA, and being given the opportunity to help foster community on my hall. And I miss having to amend my plan to get engaged multiple times due to inclement weather, another fraternity’s rush event, and a marching band competition this past October (I did finally pop the question and she said yes!). This is a tiny sliver of all that I value from my time and are they exclusively things that could have happened at Grove City? No, they could have happened at any college, but they didn’t, they happened at Grove City. And for that reason, I miss and reminisce about my time there. Those buildings and grounds will always be hallowed to me, not because they had uniqueness or specialness that was intrinsic to them (though they certainly do and that does play into it), but because that is the place where I built part of who I am today. So what I miss most is basically everything, the whole chapter beginning to end. I can’t think of one thing without being reminded of five other things.

What have you done post-graduation?

I work at Schneider Downs & Co in Pittsburgh which is a public accounting firm, and I am studying for the CPA exam.

How would you describe GCC’s community in your own words?

When people look at Grove City College, diversity is not necessarily the first thing that pops into their head’s, but to assume that the community here is totally homogeneous is very far from reality, I try to avoid making blanket statements for this reason. Like any other place, the overall community is like a patchwork quilt, and each patch in the quilt is itself another patchwork quilt, all the way down to the individual level. It’s true but ironic because I did end up just making a “blanket” statement… quilt… get it?

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Professor Spotlight: Dr. (Mr.) Homan

As the senior member of the Department of Chemistry, Dr. Timothy Homan has seen a lot at Grove City College, and I enjoyed being able to sit down and talk with him. Specifically, he mentioned that he has seen five offices, six college presidents, and the hiring of all seven of his colleagues in the department. After attending a small college in North Carolina for undergraduate, the University of Colorado for graduate school, and the University of Minnesota for post-doctoral studies, Dr. Homan spent a year teaching at Anderson University in Indiana. He learned about Grove City in the news, and soon applied here for a faculty position. He was initially rejected, but later was hired and has been here for 27 years.

For the last 14 years, Dr. Homan was the chair of the Department of Chemistry until recently handing the reigns over to Dr. Augspurger. He has served on a plethora of committees during his time here, spending the majority of his time working on the department’s accreditation with the American Chemical Society. He has also seen many big transitions in campus life, including new buildings, the abolishment of Saturday classes, students being permitted to walk on the grass, and the transition from having chapel four days a week to two days a week. He also mentioned that he has even begun to see the children of students he taught during his early years come and learn from him as well.

Although he will not be here next semester, Dr. Homan is still confident in the work done by his department. He and his wife (Dr. Kristin Homan, a psychology professor at Grove City) will both be taking sabbaticals to work as visiting scholars at the University of Wisconsin. While there, he will be working in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and he hopes to gain knowledge that he can bring back to Grove City to help develop a medicinal chemistry class.

One of the things Dr. Homan emphasized while we were talking was the principles that Grove City holds. Originally, these principles were what attracted him here. At the time, Grove City was involved in a Supreme Court case, and Dr. Homan was impressed by a college holding so firmly to its beliefs. This has not changed in the time he has been here, and he commented that “[the] principles on which the College has made its stake have been kept.” He also mentioned the commitment to science that the College has had the entirety of his time here. “One of the things I appreciated…from the very start, is the College’s commitment to science education…the College is willing to support our sciences financially, and I’m not so sure you’re going to find that level of commitment [elsewhere].”

After 27 years, Dr. Homan was able to comment very accurately on the strengths of Grove City’s Department of Chemistry. “In the years I’ve been here, we offer a very strong major and our graduates are very successful. You work hard, but I think you’ll find the department… [wants] to see you succeed and we are here to help you succeed.” He mentioned specifically the opportunities that are available to students, through research and their time in the laboratories and the classroom. Dr. Homan also had high praise for all of his colleagues, both for their work in the classroom and for the relationships they are able to build with students. “I think you’re going to get an excellent education, but it’s not just going to be an academic education. I think the life and Christian commitment of the institution is going to provide a great experience for you as well, and I think you’re going to be shaped in a way that will lead you to a good life.”

Dr. Homan has been an integral part of the education of countless students during their time at Grove City College. His reputation speaks volumes for the care he puts into his work, and the relationships he builds with students have a greater impact on them than many people could even imagine. Although I only spent a small amount of time with him, I can say with complete confidence that Grove City is blessed to have such an exemplary professor and person on our campus.