Sporting Life - Westminster College

www.westminster.edu94 Bess Godich Ondakoreceived her master’s of educationin guidance from Westminster andis an English teacher in the NewCastle School District. She livesin New Castle with her husband,Larry Ondako ’93, and theirdaughter.Sharyn Hunter received hermaster’s from the Universityof Arizona and is an assistantprofessor of developmental Englishat Sinclair Community College inDayton, Ohio.95 Jason Bonnar is the junior/senior high school band director inthe Mohawk Area School District.He and his wife, Amy DietrichBonnar ’94, and their two childrenreside in Beaver.Christopher Latta earned his MBAfrom Penn State University and hasbeen promoted to chief of staff forSen. Gib Armstrong ’65. He livesin Mechanicsburg with his wife,Michelle, and their daughter. (Seealso New Additions)The Rev. Matt Schultz and hiswife, Elizabeth, and two sons haverelocated to Watertown, N.Y.,where Matt is associate pastor atFirst Presbyterian Church.96 Erin Anderson Schuetzhas joined Clarion University ofPennsylvania as coordinator ofevents and scheduling. She and herhusband, Kevin, are residents ofFairmount City.Nicole Bahr of Clarion is asexual offenders assessment boardinvestigator for the PennsylvaniaBoard of Probation and Parole.97 Kelly Brant received herPh.D. from the University ofMichigan and is a postdoctoralresearch fellow in reproductivetoxicology at the university.Dr. Danylo Butenko received hisDVM from Ross University. Helives in Chicago with his wife,Daria Hankewych.Taryn Butenschoen of Sharonreceived a Ph.D. from theUniversity of Akron, and is anassistant professor at Thiel College.Carrie Dorfield Sheckellsreceived a master of arts degreein government at Johns HopkinsUniversity. She and her husband,Glenn, reside in Garrettsville, Md.,where Carrie is employed by theDepartment of Defense.Alumni Spotlight:Jodi Chmielewski ’98Magic Soccer RidePine-Richland girls soccer upends nation’s top team to win PA state titleJodi Chmielewski missed thewomen’s soccer boom at Westminsterby just a few months. But she camealong at just the right time for Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia.Chmielewski was fresh out ofcollege in the fall of 1998 when shejoined the Pine-Richland SchoolDistrict as a teacher and head varsitygirls soccer coach. Around the sametime, Westminster’s women’s soccerprogram was preparing for its debutas an intercollegiate sport. While theLady Titans burst on the scene witha 111-50-7 record over the past eightyears, including four consecutiveNCAA Division III national playoffappearances, things have been evenbetter for Chmielewski’s Lady Rams,who capped a steady rise with theirfirst-ever Pennsylvania Class AAA state championshipin 2005.The road to a state championship included knockingoff the number one team in the nation, 1-0, in the titlegame. The opponent, Owen J. Roberts, previouslywon the title in 2003, and not only had it not lost in 24games, it hadn’t even allowed a goal in its last 20.“We talked a lot about this being a chance of alifetime,” said Chmielewski, a sixth-grade mathteacher. “Whatever that magic was that we had, wejust wanted to keep it going.”In recognition of the job Chmielewski did withPine-Richland, the post-season honors rolled in,including being named coach of the year by thePennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association. She wasalso named regional coach of the year by the NationalSoccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA),and was a finalist for the NSCAA’s national coachof the year award.“It’s been a pretty amazing experience,”Chmielewski said.Although women’s soccer wasn’t yet a varsitysport at Westminster, Chmielewski played the sportfor four years at Shaler High School and playedfor Westminster’s club team, the precursor to theintercollegiate program. The elementary educationmajor was active with the chapel office and herJoey Palmeter has moved toPomfret Center, Conn. He isdirector of symphonic/marchingbands at Killingly Public Schools.Michael Penwell received amaster’s in counseling and is ahouse advisor at Vassar College inPoughkeepsie, N.Y.Renee St. Denis Jones M’03is assistant vice president andtreasury management officer withWhitney National Bank. She livesin Safety Harbor, Fla., with herhusband, Ronald.Jodi Chmielewski (left)and one of her players,Adrienne Steckel, are allsmiles after Pine-RichlandHigh School captured theWPIAL district championshipin November.Clint Shields earned his MBA fromIndiana Wesleyan University, andwas promoted to vice presidentin the card services departmentat Bank of America. His wife,Heidi Shelenberger Shields ’98,is a fifth-grade teacher at RanchoGabriela Elementary School andis pursuing a master’s in educationat Indiana Wesleyan University.The couple and their son live inGoodyear, Ariz.Joey Slater-McFeely is an Englishteacher in the Midland (Texas)Independent School District.sorority, Phi Mu, and she was also anall-region outfielder for the softballteam, which won four conferencechampionships and advanced to thenational tournament her freshmanyear.“My experiences, athletically,definitely prepared me,” Chmielewskisaid. “I was used to being successful andit carried over here. I wanted immediateresults. I wasn’t accustomed to losingseasons. I let the girls know what wasexpected of them and that I wouldn’tallow them to make excuses.”Pine-Richland had its share ofsuccess before Chmielewski arrived.But taking over as a 21-year-old, sheshrewdly put more of the program’semphasis on off-season conditioningand year-round play to strengthen theteam mentally and physically, while also focusing onyouth development camps and leagues in the area tohelp nurture interest among younger girls.That strategy paid off big time in 2005. After athree-game slump in midseason, the Lady Ramsrebounded to win their section (conference), their firstWPIAL district championship, and advance to the statetitle game for the first time in school history.“We found out that our margin for error was veryslim,” Chmielewski said. “Our goal was to win thesection. But we got on a roll and everything fell intoplace.”For Pine-Richland, the state title in soccer wasdoubly sweet, since earlier that fall the school’svolleyball team also won a state championship.“The school’s been very supportive and thecommunity has really done a lot,” said Chmielewski.“It’s really nice for girls sports to be highlighted.”Of course, being in the spotlight means Pine-Richland will be a very visible target for teamsaround the state in 2006. Just another challenge forChmielewski and her Lady Rams.“Everyone will be gunning for us, but hopefully wecan use that. The girls know what it’s like and they’llwant to go back.”– PSB98 Katharine Downs Kiss is asenior marketing manager withVerizon. Katie and her husband,Michael, are residents of Arlington,Va.Connie Dunn received hermaster’s of divinity fromPittsburgh Theological Seminary.Her husband, Harold Dunn ’88,received his Ph.D. from Penn StateUniversity and is a principal in theLaurel School District. The couplelives in Butler, where Connie isemployed at Hospice-VNA.26 Winte r 20 06 • Wes tminste r C ollege Magazine