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First in a series of stories highlighting paths for Steel Valley graduates
Story by Andrew Chiappazzi
When Kendall McConnell walks into a classroom at Saint Vincent College for the first time each semester, there is a chance she’ll already have a connection with her professor.
“It's funny because some of the professors that taught my teachers in high school are still here,” McConnell said. “It’s kind of a nice icebreaker with some of my professors because, for some reason, a lot of people from Steel Valley came to Saint Vincent.”
Personal connections play a role in every aspect of our lives. For stressed-out high school seniors, relationships and a family atmosphere are taking on an even greater importance during their college searches. McConnell prioritized a small campus and the opportunity to play softball during her search, but being able to evaluate Saint Vincent through the past experiences of teachers she trusted was a significant bonus.
“They spoke very, very highly of the campus,” said McConnell, a 2023 Steel Valley graduate. “So, it was kind of comforting to hear that going through my senior year. It kind of gave me a little bit of a taste of what life is going to be like here and I think that was really helpful.”
Kayla Bish always wanted to be a teacher, but she wasn’t sure how she would handle being a college student. Her familiarity with PennWest California’s campus and recommendations from teachers settled some of her nerves and helped her adapt better than she could have imagined.
“I think there is a lot of pressure around the transition to college,” said Bish, a member of Steel Valley’s Class of 2023. “But realistically, I didn't have a lot of issues with the transition. And that's even as somebody who thought they would hate college.”
To aid in the often rocky transition from high school to college, four recent Steel Valley graduates shared their personal experiences on adapting to college life, while a trio of college administrators provided some insight on what colleges are doing to attract students and help them feel comfortable on campus.
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Ryan Fisher, a 2023 Steel Valley High School graduate, is now at Thiel College, where he plays soccer and is studying environmental safety management. Photo from Thiel College Athletics Department.
Ryan Fisher had a checklist for his college search process. He wanted a smaller school, a campus a modest distance from home, and an opportunity to play soccer. Most important, however, was a school that offered the relatively new major of environmental safety management.
“My dad was the one who introduced it to me, and it always sounded interesting,” said Fisher, a 2023 Steel Valley graduate.
He found a match at Thiel College in Mercer County, where he connected with an older student in the environmental safety program while on a campus visit.
“I reached out to him before committing to Thiel and asked him how the program was, if he really liked it, and what all it entailed,” Fisher said. “He was a big help for me.”
Emergent majors like the environmental safety program at Thiel is one way colleges and universities attract and retain students. Dr. Anthony Kane, the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Saint Vincent College, said the college’s recent ABET accreditation for its engineering program has attracted more students from traditional blue-collar towns in the Monongahela Valley.
“I think us having this new engineering program that's accredited - and we have proof that it’s been successful - has been attractive to students from our old steel towns,” Dr. Kane said. “The laborers were doing what a lot of engineers today are doing, just at a higher level with new technology.”
Dr. Kane said Saint Vincent continues to draw education and business majors as well, largely because of the reputation and innovation within those programs. The SAP Business One program, in particular, is a draw for business students with a desire to get their master’s degree.
“Because of some of the work we're doing with our SAP track, and then of course, with our Operational Excellence master's program,” Dr. Kane explained, “an athlete who is looking to see how can they get the most out of their education while exhausting their eligibility years can look at a track from business through to an Operational Excellence master’s and see that they can get a quality education for five years, while being able to step fully into their sport.”
Saint Vincent College provided everything that Kendall McConnell was searching for in a college.
Drawing students from the Mon Valley has been part of a renewed emphasis on local relationships for Saint Vincent College. Of the 15,000 alumni, many of them are current educators in local districts. Dr. Jeffrie Mallory, Executive Vice President at Saint Vincent College, said tapping into those alumni and making in-person visits to local schools has been a point of emphasis, especially after a surge of virtual visits during the pandemic.
“I think we've always prided ourselves on being in front of people,” Dr. Mallory said. “We’re just from the type of realm where we think great things happen when you're sitting in front of somebody, when you can walk the hallways, when you can walk the experiences that they've had.”
Personal relationships help build trust, which is something high school students and families are prioritizing even more as they search for a college. Will they have academic support? What about mental health resources? Are students isolated, or will there be ways to connect with peers? That trust is important for every student, but especially in the volatile world of college athletics. It’s why Saint Vincent assistant coach John Bell prioritizes in-person visits when recruiting football players.
“When you show up, it means a lot to kids,” Bell said. “Everything’s through social media. I want the kids to sit down and look me in the eye and say (to them), ‘I want you to come play for us.”
The recruiting process – both for athletes and traditional students – now requires a more individualized approach for colleges.
“You never want the students to feel like they're just a number or families to feel like they’re a number,” Dr. Kane said. “Because of some of the relationships we have, it's easy to go in and just feel like you're already a part of the community.”
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Cruce Brookins has had to adapt to juggling academics with the rigors of Division I football at the University of Pittsburgh.
Steel Valley Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator Olando Dulin shares an office at the high school with district community liaison and fellow assistant football coach Kevin Clarke. Their door is always open to students in need. Cruce Brookins often found himself in their office during his time at Steel Valley, asking for guidance and advice on any number of topics. The Class of 2023 graduate found a similar resource as a freshman at the Unviersity of Pittsburgh. Pitt’s Life Skills program serves as a support system for anything student-athletes need, with the idea of helping students who are on their own for the first time become self-sufficient.
“They help athletes get adjusted with time management, waking up on their own time, and just being able to go to class and juggle all these things at once, and be able to succeed while doing it,” Brookins explained. “You’ve got to manage your time a lot better, be more responsible, because it's more on you instead of your parents waking you up for school and stuff like that.”
For some, the independence and freedom associated with college helps them flourish. For others, it’s a challenge, especially when it comes to academics.
“Being in college, it’s really easy to slip,” Ryan Fisher said. “I’ve seen some people do it already. But the faculty always works to keep you involved. That’s one of the things that drew me here.”
At Saint Vincent, McConnell said the university utilizes a pod system. Dorm rooms connect to a common space, and each pod has a prefect – an older student who serves partially as a traditional residential assistant and partially as a mentor.
“I have an incredible prefect who has been just amazing,” McConnell said. “She's very vocal about the fact that she's there for us with anything that we would need and she's been someone that we've all kind of turned to when we had questions or felt intimidated by something. She’s offered incredible help for us.”
The first semester is always intense for new college students. Everything is different, from the schedule to the dorms. Some students have never been away from home for more than a day or two. Fisher said those new experiences make it important to set aside any fear of asking for help.
“I had to take tutoring for a math class last semester and I was nervous to reach out to some people who I didn't know at all,” he said. “I ended up sending the email, they set up my schedule for me for tutoring, and it helped me a lot. It got me to an A in math. And I couldn't thank them more for that.”
Bish, who was reticent about the college experience, is flourishing because of PennWest California’s support. The college structure suits her, with courses specific to her major in education instead of a focus on general studies.
”I'm already realizing what the purpose of this all was for,” she said. “I go and observe these classrooms and I'm learning about how to be a teacher. And it just makes me even more motivated and excited for the future to come.”
Saint Vincent’s small campus has been everything McConnell had hoped it would be. It’s a comfortable fit and it’s encouraged her to get out of her comfort zone and meet people. It’s a task made easier by the familial atmosphere.
“They really go out of their way to make you feel comfortable and welcomed, especially as a freshman,” she said. “And it's been very, very helpful. They're very approachable and really do truly want the best for all of us. And that's made life so much easier being here.”
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Kayla Bish wasn't sure about the college experience, but found a comfortable fit at PennWest California.
As students and families weigh options to find the right college fit, Dr. Mallory said it will be critical for colleges like Saint Vincent to continue to have healthy exchanges with local high schools to share perspectives on what students need and what colleges have to offer. Dr. Kane added that an individualized, holistic approach helps colleges better meet student needs.
“I would argue that Saint Vincent College is a lot like Steel Valley in the way that we seek to educate the whole person,” Dr. Kane said. “We seek to be more than just administrators and teachers, but to have a meaningful part in these young people's lives. From the first time I walked into Steel Valley, I knew it was different, and nothing has told me otherwise since then.
The search process is a whirlwind, followed by the anxiety of uprooting your life and moving into a new place alongside people you barely know. Bish said the fear is understandable, but also something that can be overcome.
“I know college can be scary for some people. I definitely thought it was going to be a really scary change,” she said. “But I absolutely love it, and I was terrified before moving.”
McConnell agreed. But thanks to the support she received from Steel Valley, she’s now building a new support system at Saint Vincent that is helping her thrive.
“It's very scary thinking about moving away to school. And then as an athlete, the recruiting process was very intimidating,” McConnell said. “I had incredible teachers that, when I was very stressed out, they were there to kind of talk me through it. Steel Valley is really just one giant family and I couldn't be more grateful to come from the place that I did.”