Alumni Notes

2003 Telecommunications

was promoted to director II at ESPN. He's the lead director of all Baseball Tonight coverage for the third year, including MLB All-Star, Draft and World Series coverage.

Note Posted: September 22, 2022

2003 Journalism

is a lawyer representing catastrophically-injured victims in Philadelphia at the law firm of Ross Feller Casey LLP. He was promoted to partner in December 2018. His firm biography covers his background (www.rossfellercasey.com). Before joining Ross Feller Casey in 2010, he worked at Dechert LLP, one of the largest law firms in the nation. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two children.

Note Posted: January 5, 2019

2003 Journalism

was named managing editor of the Sun-Gazette in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Note Posted: September 30, 2021

2003 Advertising/Public Relations

released her first book, "30-Minute Weight Loss Cookbook: 100+ Quick and Easy Recipes for Sustainable Weight Loss," in May 2021.

Enright's book helps readers create a truly sustainable weight-loss plan with meals that don’t take a ton of time or effort to prepare. From breakfasts to dinners and desserts, the 30-Minute Weight Loss Cookbook helps readers cook up more than 100 satisfying dishes and provides guidance for changing the way you look at food and weight loss.

The book is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

Note Posted: July 20, 2021

2003 Advertising/Public Relations

was promoted to VP of media relations with the Pittsburgh Penguins. She has been with the team for 14 seasons.

Note Posted: June 18, 2020

2003 Advertising/Public Relations

was promoted to VP of media relations with the Pittsburgh Penguins. She is in the midst of her 14th season with the team.

Note Posted: December 30, 2019

2003 Telecommunications

is entering his second year as the lead director of ESPN's "College GameDay" for basketabll. He and his wife will also be welcoming their second daughter into the world in December.

Note Posted: November 23, 2016

2003 Telecommunications

earned her MBA with a concentration in marketing from the University of Pittsburgh. She is an executive producer at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh.

Note Posted: April 6, 2014

2003 Journalism

married Leighan Blaede ('03 H&HD) May 17, 2014, in Dahlonega, Georgia.

Note Posted: June 24, 2014

2003 Journalism

was named play-by-play announcer for the football team at Florida International University. He has been a sports broadcaster with 560 WQAM for the past seven years, working baseball, basketball and football, including the high school "Game of the Week." He also serves as an on-air personality as well a sports update anchor, reporter and producer. Levine previously spent time with WMAJ-WLTS, State College, Pa. (2003-04) and WKZO-WQSN-WKLZ-WQRL, Kalamazoo, Mich. (2005-07) as a sports director, play-by-play announcer and color analyst.

Note Posted: August 25, 2014

2003 Advertising/Public Relations

has been named chief creative officer at The Martin Agency.

Hoak joined Martin in 2016 as senior vice president, group creative director, working across multiple accounts and on new business.

Full Story

Note Posted: February 1, 2024

2002 Advertising/Public Relations

Ph.D., ('02 Ad/PR) recently published her second book, "(Not) Getting Paid to Do What You Love: Gender, Social Media, and Aspirational Work" (Yale University Press, 2017). She is an assistant professor of communication at Cornell University and lives with her husband Michael Duffy ('03 Eng) in Lansing, New York.

Note Posted: July 19, 2017

2002 Journalism

accepted a position as a Senior Major Gift Officer at Millersville University in Millersville, Pa. Ben, Karla (wife), and sons CJ (6) and Calvin (1) live in Landisville, Pa.

Note Posted: May 17, 2017

2002 Media Studies

made his stand-up comedy debut on "The Tonight Show" on Dec. 16, 2018.

Note Posted: January 29, 2019

2002 Telecommunications

recently joined L.B. Foster, headquartered in Pittsburgh. For more than a century, L.B. Foster has provided the materials necessary to construct and maintain major transportation, construction, energy, recreation and agriculture projects. L.B. Foster products have recently contributed to the improvement of many landmark structures including the Panama Canal, Brooklyn Bridge and New Orleans flood walls. As the Manager, Talent Development, she manages the design, implementation, and management of company-wide talent management initiatives across the talent life cycle, including recruiting and on-boarding, performance management, training and development, succession planning.

Note Posted: August 15, 2019

2002 Broadcast Journalism

and her husband Matthew welcomed daughter Mila Brock on Sept. 13, 2012. Natalie is a senior contract manager at Discovery Communications. The family reside in Gaithersburg, Md.

Note Posted: March 11, 2013

2002 Advertising/Public Relations

has launched MNM Strategy, sports + purpose consultancy created to inspire and create impact through the power of sport.

Note Posted: September 8, 2021

2002 Advertising/Public Relations

Gary Johnson ('02 Bus) welcomed daughter, Ella Catherine, on Aug. 13, 2013. Big brother Luke is 3. Elizabeth is director of pr and content development at Frost Miller Group.

Note Posted: April 1, 2014

2002 Journalism

was named executive director of annual giving for Gettysburg College. He has been a part of Gettysburg College's development office for 10 years, serving in a variety of roles. Ben leads a department of 12 professonals responsible for raising more than $6 million in annual philanthrophic support for the College. Ben and his wife, Karla, welcomed their second son, Calvin Thomas, on Aug. 18, 2015. He joins 5-year-old brother Cameron John (CJ). The family resides in Landisville, Pa.

Note Posted: October 30, 2015

2001 Telecommunications

, vice president of RE/MAX 1st Advantage, has helped manage his real estate office from being a start up in 2005 to being the #1 office in volume and number of transactions in 2014.

Note Posted: February 19, 2015

2001 Journalism

was awarded first place in this year's Best American Newspaper Narrative contest.

Fagone, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, was honored for "The Jessica Simulation," a longform story about a freelance writer who created an A.I.-powered chatbot to replicate the voice of his deceased fiancee.

The award was given as part of the annual Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference, a prestigious event for writers hosted in Dallas by the University of North Texas. Its writing contests award cash prizes and publishing opportunities for authors of book manuscripts, unpublished essays and longform journalism.

Note Posted: November 15, 2022

2001 Film-Video

is co-founder of Whiplash Digital, an indie game company. He uses his filmmaking skills to create atmospheric mobile games. The company released its released first game, "The Attuned" to much acclaim. It is currently availaible on iOS and Android. It topped the charts at No. 1 among 16K games on Slide DB, a well-known database for mobile games. The company's second game, "Courage," is currently in production. It debuted at No. 2 out of 19,000 games when announced two months ago. The company has been acknowledged by EA Chillingo and is an up and coming indie darling. www.whiplashdigital.com

Note Posted: April 26, 2016

2001 Journalism

was one of three reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle who earned National Headliner Awards in April 2022.

Fagone won first place in the feature writing category for “The Jessica Simulation,” a three-part narrative about a young man who used cutting-edge A.I. technology to seek closure with a chatbot simulation of his dead fiancee.

“Science fiction comes to life in this jaw-dropping entry,” the judges said of the story. “Well written and constructed and imaginatively presented.”

The 88th annual National Headliner Awards program, founded in 1934 by the Press Club of New Jersey, is one of the oldest national journalism contests in the country.

That was the second national award for “The Jessica Simulation”: Earlier in April, Fagone was awarded the prestigious Deborah Howell Award for Writing Excellence from the News Leaders Association.

In August of last year, The Chronicle sold film/TV rights to “The Jessica Simulation” to Universal Television to develop a limited series, after seven Hollywood production companies bid for the story.

Note Posted: August 29, 2022

2001 Journalism

serves as director of inclusion and audience growth for the American Press Institute. He's the first person to hold that role for the organization.

Along with his bachelor's, he also earned a master's degree in media studies from Penn State in 2006.

In his role, he builds upon API’s work in the area of organizational and cultural change and deepens the organization’s focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. He strives to both catalyze and partner with organizations already working in the DEI/B space.

Crittenden joined API from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, where he was program director and assistant professor of communication. At Jefferson, he ​​helped revamp the program’s curriculum and served as the inaugural Diversity Advocate for the College of Humanities and Sciences. For his efforts inside and outside the classroom, he received the university’s 2021 Provost’s Award for Service to the Profession.

He has also been a fellow with the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University and the Media and Inequality Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Crittenden earned his Ph.D. in communication from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His doctoral dissertation focused on the history of the National Association of Black Journalists, of which he is a member.

Prior to his academic career, Crittenden was a police and government reporter and is a veteran practitioner of community journalism. He is editor and co-researcher for the Germantown Info Hub, a collaboration with Temple University designed to provide better news coverage of the city’s Germantown neighborhood. He has also consulted for API on diversity-related issues as part of our community listening work.

Note Posted: July 22, 2022

2001 Advertising/Public Relations

is a strategy director at Agency TK working across offices in London, Leeds and Los Angeles. She currently lives outside of London with her English husband, and 2-year-old daughter, who inspired her to start a pregnancy and baby blog (www.babyonmybrain.com) to help new moms.

Note Posted: February 12, 2018

2001 Broadcast Journalism

was named director of digital content for CBS Philadelphia.

Note Posted: January 29, 2018

2001 Journalism

middle grade book, CALEB AND KIT, is a finalist for the 2017 Cybils Awards for literary merit and kid appeal in children's and young adult literature. CALEB AND KIT, published by Running Press Kids, is Vrabel's fifth release. Her sixth book, BRINGING ME BACK (Sky Pony Press), releases in February 2018.

Note Posted: January 9, 2018

2001 Media Studies

was named director of development for the State Theatre in State College.

Note Posted: July 15, 2021

2001 Film-Video

the author of Sex, Soup, and Two Fisted Eating: Hilarious Weight Loss for Wives which provides tips and encouragement for women to lose weight and get healthy and keeps them entertained along the way.

Note Posted: February 13, 2017

2001 Journalism

and her husband Jonathan welcomed son Chase on Sept. 18, 2012. Amy is a senior publications editor at the Pennsylvania Bar Association in Harrisburg. They reside in Lancaster County, Pa.

Note Posted: February 15, 2013

2001 Journalism

and Sydney Applegate were married Nov. 9, 2013, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Daryl is the copy manager for Shutterstock, the online photo and video library. Sydney is a production designer for Kate Spade New York. They live in New York.

Note Posted: December 15, 2013

2001 Telecommunications

was promoted to vice president, sales operations at CBS Television Distribution in New York.

Note Posted: June 11, 2013

2001 Media Studies

earned his doctoral degree in information systems and communications at Robert Morris University, Moon Township, Pa., graduating on May, 10, 2013. He is currently finalizing his dissertation, "Knowing is Half the Battle: How Veterans in Southwest Pennsylvania Learn and Share Benefit Information, and if Social Media Plays a Role in the Process."

Note Posted: July 8, 2013

2001 Film-Video

and fellow College of Communications alumnus Russ Shelly ('03 Journ) run a blog that reviews Trader Joe's brand food products. The blog -- http://www.whatsgoodattraderjoes.com -- has been featured on The Huffington Post, Reader's Digest, Yahoo! Shine, Fox News, The Daily Meal and other noteworthy media sources. The site has received nearly 6 million pageviews to date. Trader Joe's has stores across the nation, including one in State College.

Note Posted: July 12, 2013

2001 Journalism

and husband Bryan welcomed son Cylas John Clark on July 16, 2013. Katie is currently associate director of publications and senior editor at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Note Posted: November 13, 2013