Westminster College's Bleasby Colloquia Series Opens Sept. 16

"Two Roads," a panel of Westminster College English alumni, opens the Westminster College Bleasby Colloquia Series Thursday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. in the Sebastian Mueller Theater located in the McKelvey Campus Center.

 "This colloquium will shatter the myth that an English degree is impractical unless you want to teach," said Alissa Duchek, 1996 Westminster graduate and panel member.  "Each graduate on the panel chose not to teach after graduation, but pursued careers in fields such as technical writing, public relations, guidance counseling, and media relations.  They will discuss their non-traditional career paths and offer some advice they learned when they 'took the road less traveled.'"

 The panelists include:

Valentine Brkich is a 1997 graduate.  He held several different jobs while continuing to work on his writing in his free time.  In October 2003, he self-published his first book, "Cageball, Poker, and the Atomic Wedgie," a memoir of his Catholic school days.  His book started as his senior Capstone Project at Westminster.  Brkich resides in Bridgewater and is head writer for the Heritage Valley Health System in Beaver.  He is currently working on his second book.

Alissa Duchek is a 1996 graduate.  After graduation she was a freelance writer, an advertising representative for her local newspaper, assistant editor for a local parenting magazine, and a technical writer for a pharmaceutical claims processing company.  She is now an eleventh-grade English teacher at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center.

Angie Renninger is a 1997 graduate.  Renninger joined the Miami University (Ohio) Athletic Department, and currently serves as an associate athletic media relations director for men's basketball, women's volleyball, and men's golf teams.  During her time at Miami, she has assisted in publicizing athletes such as Wally Szczerbiak of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and Ben Roethlisberger of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.

Julie Sitko is a 1997 graduate.  After graduation, she was an admissions counselor for Westminster College, while enrolled in the graduate program for school counseling which she completed in 2000.  She is currently director of counseling and college counselor at Vincentian Academy at Duquesne University. 

This colloquium is the first in a series of events scheduled for the George Bleasby Colloquia, a series of literary events in honor of Dr. Bleasby, who chaired the Department of English at Westminster from 1954-75.

For more information, contact Dr. Bethany Hicok, assistant professor of English atWEstminster College, at (724) 946-6349 or e-mail hicokbf@westminster.edu.

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