Latest news with #GannonUniversity
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Sharpsville native, Kennedy Catholic graduate ordained a priest in Erie
SHARON, Pa. (WKBN) — A big step of faith for a Sharpsville native and 2015 Kennedy Catholic graduate. Reverend Michael Christopher Scanga was ordained Friday into the sacred priesthood. He was one of two men who officially became priests in the Diocese of Erie at St. Peter Cathedral. The other was the Reverend Brandon Matthew Feikels. Both graduated from Gannon University. Scanga said the Cathedral was packed, and he was so grateful for the support. 'It really is an incredible time. It was overwhelming for me. I felt like my emotions needed time to catch up to what just happened, because my heart was just so full,' Scanga said. 'But it was also so beautiful for me to see the faces of my family and of my friends.' Scanga credits his family and the Shenango Valley Catholic community for instilling his faith. 'The perspective I have now, I just really appreciate the teachers I had in school; they really believed in me and all my peers,' Scanga said. 'I encountered Jesus through people in my life who were praying every day.' After high school, Scanga did not join the seminary right away, instead studying psychology at a Franciscan university in Steubenville. 'All my friends thought that I was going to go to seminary right away, but I needed some time to sort of figure it out,' Scanga said. 'I went in different directions in college, but ultimately, at the end, I still felt called to be a priest. I couldn't deny it.' Scanga said the biggest moments for him during his time at the seminary were every day moments with fellow seminarians and the relationships he built along the way. 'I've never laughed harder in my life than in seminay,' Scanga said. 'People have this exalted view of seminary, and it is a beautiful place, but it's so human in the best of ways. All of us are just real with each other…we're learning and growing together.' Scanga said he encourages all men, Catholic or not, to explore their faith and be open to being a priest. 'There aren't a lot of [priests]. We need more to take care of our people,' Scanga said. 'Don't be afraid. Jesus still calls people today, and it's worth it.' Scanga has been assigned to Saint James' Parish in Erie, where he served while he was in the seminary. On June 7, Reverend Travis Seagraves will be ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Youngstown. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
National Fuel employees team up with Erie students for Days of Doing
More than 700 National Fuel employees got a change of scenery for the last three days. Employees have been participating in their company-wide initiative called Days of Doing. Multiple Erie elementary schools will receive filtered water stations thanks to donation It's a spring clean-up and beautification effort that workers volunteer for in the communities that they live in. Thursday, several employees could be seen working alongside students of Wilson Middle School, cleaning up around the property. Erie County hosts career fair at Gannon University 'Our employees see our name out in the community for different sponsorships and things like that and we want to provide them with the opportunity to do some hands on work so it gives them an opportunity to give back to their community and also get to work alongside some coworkers that they might not normally engage with on the daily basis,' said Amanda Nelson, assistant director of corporate communications for National Fuel. 58 Service projects across 40 different locations in PA and New York were a part of this effort. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Matthew Thomas: City of Erie is a 'dead man walking,' but solutions not hard
The city of Erie, Pa., is a dead man walking. In 1965, the population of the city I came to love as a Gannon student (class of 2009) was 140,000 strong. Now, 60 years later, 90,000 people may be an optimistic estimate. Those numbers mean our average loss per decade stands at 8,333 residents, putting us on track for just 65,000 in 30 years. As things stand, that could take us from being the third-largest Pennsylvania city to the eighth. As has happened in deep-blue cities like Chicago and Detroit, that could also mean seeing a lot of neighborhoods in which home values drop to approximately $1, as a lack combines with high city property taxes to make many houses worthless (even with the current national housing boom). I recently noted to a group of retired businessmen and city officials that my wife and I and our three young children (the third is due in July) live in Erie by choice, not job or economic compulsion. I'm an attorney with thousands of cases and countless courtroom hours under his belt. I've handled legal matters in five different Pennsylvania counties, ranging from debt defense (and collection) to high-level criminal cases, and I've worked as a law clerk (legal research and writer) for several judges, as well as practiced estate law. I've also worked as a full-time editor and writer for a Catholic media outlet and published articles and columns through at least five professional media organizations. I speak Spanish fairly well (I could probably return to fluency with a few months of study) and hold degrees in both political science and law. My wife is a librarian (although now a stay-at-home mom) with 20 years of unbroken experience and two college degrees. She was the acting director of the Erie County Public Library on two separate occasions (she twice turned down the top job to focus on our children). We've chosen to stay in Erie and invest in its future and not leave, but that's starting to feel like a lonely vigil as we watch almost all of our friends in our age range leave the city for other spots in the county, or move even farther afield. Many who have stayed here have watched their children endure the horrors of the local public school system (per U.S. News and World Report, Erie High School has a graduation rate of just 70%, whereas every other Erie County high school except North East keeps its rate at 90% or higher — and North East is at 89%). They've also watched crime skyrocket (a 17-year-old was recently shot and killed two doors down from my house) and dangerous drugs flood the streets to the point where a high school student attending a party, once a cause of only mind concern, can quickly turn into a tragedy. As someone with a relative who struggled with cocaine addiction, I find that deeply concerning. A gentleman I was recently speaking with about my candidacy (and whom I genuinely like and respect) told me not to worry about Erie's decline. "Many immigrants are moving in," he assured me. Even assuming that by "immigrants" he means "Swiss bank executives, Korean doctors, Catholic priests from Africa and brilliant Japanese computer programmers," I hope I can be forgiven for still being concerned at the mass exodus of families that have lived here for generations. I'm also concerned that all those immigrant doctors clamoring to make a home in Erie will quickly discover that Millcreek has better schools, and join the rush for the door. My decades of experience in watching, studying, and writing about government (as well as my firsthand look, as a lawyer, at Erie's crime problem) tells me that we're at a crossroads, but a crossroads that provide a golden opportunity. As with most places in America, the solutions to Erie's problems really aren't hard. Clean up the streets (literally and figuratively), untie the hands of our city's police force and have them push back — hard — on crime, including (yes) drug crimes and domestic abuse. Increase police funding. Work with the federal government to get anyone out of our city who isn't supposed to be here. No one who commits violent crimes or transports drugs into our neighborhoods should continue to walk our streets. Bring in businesses that provide good, reliable wages for families and a real tax base to fix our town — not a dozen more nonprofit operations that pay zero tax dollars and are funded by temporary grants. The recent tariffs at the national level provide an incredible opportunity to places with the capacity to make all manner of goods in America, and Erie is one of them. More: Who are the candidates for city of Erie, county races in the May primary? Or…allow the city to finish its steady decline. Believe me, another grant or another project to fix up the downtown (as nice as that is) won't turn things around. If you care about the city, consider a change of direction and, yes, maybe a change away from the political party that has ruled, uncontested, since the mid-1960s (remember what I said above about when the decline started?). Let's go find the future. Matthew Thomas is seeking the Republican nomination in the May 20th Erie mayoral primary. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Thomas: Immigrants can't save Erie - policing, jobs will | Opinion
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mercyhurst University celebrates 2025 graduating class
Another batch of students made it to the finish line Sunday for a local college graduation. Students at Mercyhurst University walked the stage at Erie Insurance Arena Sunday afternoon to finish off their college careers. Gannon University hosts 2025 commencement ceremony Saturday Over 700 students received diplomas at the ceremony, as hundreds more cheered on the graduates from the stands. Mercyhurst also gave top honors to the recipient of the Carpe Diem Award, which goes to the student who made the most positive impact on the university. New Penn State Behrend grads hopeful as they enter uncertain job market 'I think Mercyhurst education and just Mercyhurst in general really helped us go out and do great things in the world, and I see a lot of potential in all of them, and I think we're going to go do great things,' said James Tonks, Carpe Diem Award recipient. As for what's next for Tonks, he said he will be finishing his master's degree at Mercyhurst while pursuing a job in college athletics. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Gannon University hosts 2025 commencement ceremony Saturday
Nearly 1,000 students turned the page and began the next chapter of their lives. Gannon University held its 2025 spring commencement ceremony Saturday afternoon. New Penn State Behrend grads hopeful as they enter uncertain job market Both undergraduate and graduate students were awarded degrees after their baccalaureate mass One student, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science, pre-med, expressed her gratitude for everyone who has helped along the way. Pioneer Day at local school aims to bring history to life 'First year was pretty tough because I was pretty much first gen, so I didn't know anything about coming into here. But then I found my group of people and my clique, and I formed really meaningful connections with my professors,' said Lina Windi, who graduated on Saturday. 'I'm from Iraq originally, so getting an education and having the resources is pretty tough. So having the opportunity to get the education that I know I needed here is just amazing.' Windi's next steps are getting her Master of Medical Science from LECOM. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
