Latest news with #Pitt-Johnstown
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
6 Richland seniors sign to continue athletic careers
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) – As we approach the end of the scholastic year, six Richland High School seniors signed on Friday to continue their athletic careers at the next level. The group was headlined by Jude Mugerwa, who will run track at the Division I level for the University of Vermont. 'I was so excited when I found out they would like me to be on their team,' Mugerwa said. 'Bocce ball is for all,' becomes official sport in LHAC He didn't always envision himself sticking with track though. 'When I was a kid, I wanted to be a Division I football player,' Mugerwa said. 'But I kind of fell out of love for football.' Mugerwa's focus shifted to track heading into his senior year, putting in his full effort to try and keep his Division I dream alive. 'I'm still making my younger self happy with that,' Mugerwa said. 'I'm really happy I could achieve that dream.' He was part of a Richland track and field program that won back-to-back District VI Championships for both the boys and girls on Thursday. Austin Yarnick and Henry Levander, who both signed to run track for Pitt-Johnstown, also played pivotal roles in helping the Rams repeat as champs. 'It's been unprecedented,' Yarnick said. 'It's just like the culture we've built. We want to win, we put the work in and we all win.' 'That meant a lot to us as a team,' Levander said. 'Being a leader, (repeating) meant so much to me.' Levander's brother Charlie just graduated from Pitt-Johnstown and was also a member of the Mountain Cats track and field team. Taylor Mitchell will also head to Pitt-Johnstown to continue her cheerleading career, while Taylor Stape will cheer during Saint Francis' final season as a Division I program. 'I'm really excited about being in Division I this year even though they are switching to Division III (after next year),' Stape said. 'They just have a beautiful campus there, the people are so nice and I just can't wait to get started.' 'I know the (UPJ) coaches really well, I grew up with them,' Mitchell said. 'I'm excited to continue on my cheer journey.' Nathaniel Mayket signed with Waynesburg University's tennis and esports teams, which won two national championships this past week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pitt-Johnstown hosting student teacher showcase
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown is hosting a biennial student teacher showcase Tuesday at the John P. Murtha Center For Public Service and National Competitiveness on the Richland Township campus. Teacher candidates in the school's education program will present themselves and their professional dossiers from 4 to 6 p.m. Students will talk with visitors about their experiences, aspirations and more during the event. Disciplines will range from early childhood education and special education to secondary education sciences, social studies and mathematics. The showcase serves as the final opportunity for the pre-service teachers to gain insight from other professionals before entering the workforce. About 28 teacher candidates scheduled to graduate this spring are expected to present at the gathering. According to the university, 90% of education majors secure employment in their desired field within a year of graduation and 82% of them find employment in Pennsylvania. Additionally, Pitt-Johnstown touts a certification and licensure rate of 89% as of 2022. The university offers bachelor's degrees in early childhood, middle level and secondary education, as well as a dual- enrollment program for early childhood and special education. There are enhanced degree options for science, technology, engineering and mathematics tracks and English as a second language. For more information, visit
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Labor of love': Podcast promotes Pitt-Johnstown alumni and preserves their stories
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Tuck Shop Podcast is archiving the stories of University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown alumni as a way to share their successes and connect generations, host Matthew Sernell said. "Out of every UPJ alum, every single person has a story," the Pitt-Johnstown instructor said. The idea for a university-based podcast came from Sernell's involvement in Pitt-Johnstown events at which he was exposed to interesting stories of alumni across generations. That got him thinking about preserving tales of campus experiences, internships and jobs after graduation. Sernell is a proud Pitt-Johnstown alumnus who serves as co-president of the university's Alumni Association Board and is passionate about giving back to the campus that shaped him, he said. He said the podcast isn't a marketing initiative or a university product, but a way for him to "give back time and talent" to his alma mater. He said that the endeavor is "a labor of love." "It's legitimately an alumni who said, 'I want to do something to promote my alma mater,'" Sernell said. "This is a way I can ... tell cool stories, find neat people and kind of promote that out." David Janusek, Pitt-Johnstown's director of alumni engagement and giving, described the show as a "powerful tool in engagement in this day and age." He assists Sernell from time to time with recommendations for guests and sometimes co-hosts the podcast. "It's really helping to draw that spotlight back to our alum to say, 'Look at what this alum has accomplished,' " Janusek said. To date, The Tuck Shop Podcast – named for a student gathering spot that connects multiple classes – has premiered 46 episodes, starting in October 2023, and has reached 17 countries, 27 states and Washington, D.C. The episodes are released every Wednesday during the academic year, and they run anywhere from 20 minutes to 35 minutes in length. They feature graduates who worked on the Apollo program, professors, certified public accountants, administrators and live shows at school events. One memorable episode featured the late Pat Pecora, Pitt-Johnstown's legendary wrestling coach, talking about his early days on campus and about recruiting team members at the cafeteria because there wasn't a budget for that work at the time. Janusek noted the importance of preserving these type of stories to share with past, current and future students. That's highlighted by the Pecora interview since Pecora's death in September, he noted. "A podcast is a living first-person narrative," he said. "We are a society of storytelling." There's also a new chance for alumni to connect with each other after listening to The Tuck Shop. Janusek views that as a key benefit for the show, which he describes as continuing the bond of Pitt-Johnstown graduates. Since the launch, Sernell said the podcast has been embraced by the Pitt-Johnstown community – a fact he said "is really cool." The Tuck Shop Podcast can be found on Podbean and a variety of other platforms. For more information, visit
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UPJ civics summit gathers Pa. teachers for education, collaboration
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Educational strategies, civil discourse and critical thinking skills were key topics for teachers who gathered Thursday at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown's second American Civic Education and Literacy Initiative teacher summit. 'This is one of the most exciting things going on in civics education in the state of Pennsylvania,' said David Keller Trevaskis, the Pennsylvania Bar Association's director of pro bono services. The former educator has a background in teaching civics and represented the state lawyers' organization at the conference. He was among the teachers and presenters who braved the elements to take part in about a dozen sessions and hear from keynote speaker Leon Smith, despite an overnight storm that encased the area in ice and delayed the summit's start by two hours. PHOTO GALLERY | American Civics Education Initiative Teacher Summit | University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Smith, who teaches at Haverford Senior High School in Delaware County, is the 2025 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. He spoke about how civics and social studies can empower and create a more knowledgeable citizenry; the importance of productive discussions; discrepancies in the number of Black educators and administrators since the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling; and how society is inundated with news. 'It is essential as citizens we possess skills that allow us to be critical consumers of information,' Smith told the crowd. Civics and social studies can do that, he said, adding that he believes educators and education have the power to change the world. Smith said his goals at the summit were to learn strategies he could take back to his coworkers and to explore lessons that could make teaching more meaningful. Topics of Thursday's sessions included learning more about the National Constitution Center's educational framework; finding time for social studies; introducing history-based mock trials to the classroom; and investigating national issues through project-based learning, among others. The sessions were offered by representatives from The Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement, the Bill of Rights Institute, Generation Citizen, the National Constitution Center, Classrooms without Borders, Pitt-Johnstown, Fair Districts PA and the Committee of Seventy. Mark Conlon, a Pitt-Johnstown professor, event organizer and ACE director, said the goal of the workshops was to provide teachers with a specialized space in which they could collaborate – especially in an age when this type of professional development may be limited. 'I kind of live for seeing everyone mingle and making those connections,' he said. Conlon added that it's important for teachers to remember that 'no matter the upheaval outside in the political realm, we can get together and focus on what the real job is, and that's training the next generation of citizens.' 'I think the whole point of today is we want to be in the know – to refine our practice,' Forest Hills High School teacher Benjamin Grove said. Thursday was the U.S. government teacher's first trip to the summit. Grove said he was intrigued by the collaborative element of the event and believed it would 'help us become better educators.' Pitt-Johnstown student Joseph Ruble considered the summit a chance for educators to explore diversity, he said. The secondary education major is pursuing a track in social studies and currently student-teaching in the Greater Johnstown School District. Teachers and students will convene again at Pitt- Johnstown from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 3 for the second Democracy Bowl – a follow-up to the summit. This event will encourage students to explore civics and social studies education in an environment full of historical lessons, conversation and friendly competition. For more information about the Democracy Bowl, contact Conlon at mac699@
