MERCYHURST MAGAZINE SPRING 2018 Chasing Olympic dreams Ryan Zapolski ’11 and Elizabeth Fisher Zapolski ‘11 P. 2 Inside this issue: HISTORY DEPT. NAMED FOR THOMAS B. HAGEN P. 4 ’68 GRADS RECALL TUMULTUOUS ‘60S P. 8 SISTER CAROLYN HERRMANN IN HER OWN WORDS P. 15 MCCABE SISTERS START FAMILY TRADITION P. 23 The Ofce of Marketing and Public Relations publishes Mercyhurst Magazine twice a year. Magazine Editor Susan Hurley Corbran ’73 [email protected] 814-824-2090 Design Jeremy C. Hewitt ’07 [email protected] 814-824-3022 Contributing Writers Susan Hurley Corbran ’73 Deborah W. Morton Inside this issue Contributing Photographers 2 FOUR 2018 OLYMPIANS WITH ONE THING IN COMMON: MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY Jeremy C. Hewitt ’07 Angela Zanaglio ’16 4 HURST CHRISTENS THOMAS B. HAGEN HISTORY DEPARTMENT 6 KEYMAN ASEFI: THE MAN BEHIND MERCYHURST’S NEW ARCHITECTURAL FOOTPRINT Printing Leader Graphics, Erie, Pennsylvania 8 CLASS OF 1968 RECALLS CHANGE-FILLED YEARS AT HURST 15 REMARKABLE WOMAN LED MERCYHURST THROUGH TUMULTUOUS ‘60s Director of Alumni Engagement 18 DALY WRAPS UP 51-YEAR CAREER AT HURST Lindsay Cox Frank ’12 ’14M [email protected] 18 ROBERTS TO SUCCEED DAUSEY IN PROVOST’S OFFICE 814-824-2330 19 NEW VP OF MISSION INTEGRATION NAMED Class Notes Editor 19 DEAN NAMED FOR WALKER COLLEGE Courtney Olevnik ’08 ’13M 19 BELOVED LAKERS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR JOE KIMBALL RETIRES [email protected] 814-824-2246 20 ICE BREAKER TOURNAMENT COMING TO ERIE 20 RIDGE-PALMER FRIENDSHIP YIELDS SUPPORT FOR ARCHIVES Send changes of address to: 20 MERCYHURST ADMITTED TO COALITION FOR ACCESS, Alumni Relations AFFORDABILITY AND SUCCESS Mercyhurst University 501 E. 38th St. 21 CHRISTMAS TREE HONORS MERCY LEGACY Erie, PA 16546 21 ERIE INNOVATION DISTRICT MAKES GAME-CHANGING MOVES [email protected] 21 HOSPITALITY DEDICATES WINE ROOM 22 REFERRALS HELP DRIVE GRADUATE ENROLLMENT If you haven’t been receiving the bi-monthly 23 HURST IS A TRADITION FOR MCCABE FAMILY Alumni eNewsletter, Mercyhurst does not have an active email address for you. 24 CLASS NOTES 24 WEAVING CONNECTIONS: JAVI CUBILLOS ’11 Visit mercyhurst.edu/alumni/update to update your information and reconnect. 25 MERCYHURST ALUM CHEERS EAGLES ON TO VICTORY: JESSICA STACHELRODT ’13 26 A HURST LOVE STORY: KALEIGH HUBERT ’13, ALEX VINESKY ’14 We’d love to hear from you. Send your story ideas, suggestions and comments to 27 PATIENT ADVOCACY: KATE DUDA NEWMAN ’71 [email protected]. 28 INTEL GRAD FIGHTING CYBER THREATS: HENRY PELTOKANGAS ’10 28 NEW PROGRAMS ADDRESS NEED FOR CYBER PROFESSIONALS A message from the president Eleven years ago, New York Times sportswriter Dave Caldwell wrote a And, yes, we are story about our women’s hockey program, quoting then-star forward in good health. and 2006 Olympic gold medalist Meghan Agosta on why she chose to Construction is on attend Mercyhurst: “I wanted to go to a school where I felt like I could ft schedule for our new in, where it is a family.” sophomore residence hall, which will open I know that feeling resonates with all of us who live and work this fall. The new-and- at Mercyhurst. We are an inclusive community that strives to be improved student compassionately hospitable. What I fnd particularly inspiring, though, union at Mercyhurst is how our graduates take that feeling with them long after they’ve left North East is an Mercyhurst. amazing space, and an equally spectacular As I write this letter, the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, interior design are underway, and Mercyhurst is excited to have three alumni and one project is underway in current student on Olympic ice: Ryan Zapolski for Team USA, Meghan Hammermill Library, Agosta and Bailey Bram for Team Canada, and Emma Nuutinen for Team where we are building Finland. You can read more about them inside these pages. a new cyber lab center and renovating the main foor. What you’ll see from the interviews with our three alumni is that each I’d also like to recognize that our history department has a new one of them seeks to excel, not so much for themselves as for the greater benefactor and has been named in honor of Thomas B. Hagen, chair good; to inspire others; and to give of themselves through service – of Erie Insurance Group. Tom has generously given $1.5 million to lessons learned, at least in part, from their Mercyhurst years. Mercyhurst, a large part of which will support the university’s pursuits in Could we ask for anything more? the felds of history, specifcally its ongoing academic partnership with the Erie Maritime Museum and the U.S. Brig Niagara. Tom, like so many of Besides these contemporary alumni vignettes, you’ll fnd fashbacks as you, has become family to us and we are grateful for his support. members of the 50-year Class of 1968 recall what it was like on campus during the turbulent ‘60s and share what they did after graduation. I hope you enjoy perusing our spring magazine, and I thank you for being Speaking of after graduation, check out the photo of alumni who now a part of the Mercyhurst family. work at Mercyhurst. It’s amazing how large that network has become over the years. Until next time, Carpe Diem. We have also tried in this magazine to keep you abreast of changes. Provost and alumnus David Dausey will be leaving us to return to his native Pittsburgh where he will become provost at Duquesne University in July. Beloved athletic director Joe Kimball has retired, as has Mary Daly, seemingly the longest-serving employee in Mercyhurst history. Sister Lisa Mary McCartney, RSM, will step down from Cabinet as vice president for Michael T. Victor, J.D., LL.D. Mission Integration at the end of this year to transition to part-time status. President, Mercyhurst University I am grateful for the leadership, the commitment to Mercy, and the loyalty of these dedicated individuals. As always, our people are the common denominator in the health of our institution. ON THE COVER: Ryan Zapolski ’11 tries out his Team USA gear after being named starting goalie for the American hockey team at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Joining him on the ice is his wife, Elizabeth Fisher Zapolski, also a 2011 Mercyhurst graduate. 1 Four 2018 Olympians with one thing in common: Mercyhurst University When the puck dropped at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Mercyhurst University was well represented on the ice. Four Lakers competed: Ryan Zapolski ’11 with Team USA; Meghan Agosta ‘11 and Bailey Bram ‘12 with Team Canada; and current student-athlete Emma Nuutinen with Team Finland. That Mercyhurst’s men’s and women’s ice hockey programs – and coaches Rick Gotkin and Mike Sisti – have produced Olympic-caliber athletes comes as no surprise to those familiar with the Lakers’ storied spirit of competition. Ryan Zapolski ’11 When the National Hockey League (NHL) elected not to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics, it opened the door for Zapolski, who played for Mercyhurst from 2007 to 2011 and now plays for Finland-based Jokerit in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was named starting goaltender for Team USA. “For guys like me, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I think that is something that we will all use as motivation – to not let a chance like this go to waste,” he said after his selection. Zapolski got a late start in youth hockey, not in the crease until age 11. He went on to play at Erie’s Cathedral Preparatory School and then enrolled at Mercyhurst. After graduating, Zapolski started his pro career with the ECHL, where he became just the second player in history to be named Rookie of the Year, Goaltender of the Year, First Team All-Star and MVP in a single ECHL season. Determined to play at the highest level, he traveled overseas and was signed by the Finnish pro team Lukko, where he spent a couple seasons before jumping to Jokerit and leading the team to a 15-game win streak last year. Just before heading to South Korea, Zapolski spent a week in Erie with his family and continued his workouts at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. During a media event at the MIC, Erie Mayor Joseph Schember issued a proclamation in his honor and his alma mater retired the #35 jersey he wore during his playing days as a Laker. Ryan and his wife, Elizabeth Fisher, were high school sweethearts who attended Mercyhurst together, Ryan studying biology and Elizabeth marketing. They were married in Christ the King Chapel on Aug. 1, 2015. Zapolski summed up his feelings this way: “I am honored to have the chance to play for our great country and carry on such a strong hockey tradition. Being able to represent Erie and Mercyhurst is really special to me and I hope it can inspire future generations of kids to really believe in their goals and to never give up on your dreams!” Top: Young fans Sam Wilkosz, 4 (in goalie mask), and Ian Wilkosz, 2, were thrilled to meet Olympian Ryan Zapolski during a Mercyhurst visit. Bottom: Honoring Ryan Zapolski before his departure for South Korea are from left: Bill Flanagan and Father Scott Jabo of Cathedral Prep; Erie Mayor Joseph Schember; Zapolski; President Michael T. Victor; and Rick Gotkin, head men’s hockey coach. 2 Meghan Agosta ’11 Bailey Bram ’12 Emma Nuutinen Meghan Agosta would appear to lead a Bailey Bram remembers sitting in the hallway Being named to Finland’s women’s ice hockey charmed life. Everything she touches seems to of Team Canada’s headquarters four years ago, team for the 2018 Olympic Games was a mixed turn to gold.