Hello, SRU!

SRU alumna Amanda Howett, ’18, talks about being named to the Forbes Magazine 30 Under 30 for the sports industry. Howett, 25, is the athletic director at Penn State Shenango and she joined a list that includes NFL quarterbacks, Olympians, sports entrepreneurs and more.

Professional ultrarunner Patrick Reagan ’10 checks in following his recent induction into the SRU Athletics Hall of Fame to share his journey from The Rock to becoming one of the top long-distance runners in the U.S., having placed third at the 100-kilometer World Championships and reaching the U.S. Olympic trials in the marathon.

SRU English professor Mark O’Connor describes a community writing program he’s leading where students facilitate a creative writing workshop for people from Butler County in recovery from drug and alcohol addictions.

SRU professor Brittany Nwachuku and graduate student Alyssa Peters share how interns from SRU’s Master of Social Work program are embedded with three local police departments as social workers who go on call with patrolling officers.

SRU professors Fadoua Loudiy and Franklyn Charles talk about how they got their students to start an online cooking show called “Soul Food,” and, of course, the conversation turns to everyone’s appreciation for appetizing edibles in advance of the holiday season.

Jenna Kriley, a junior SRU biology major, explains how a bunch of mammoth fossils wound up in a sinkhole in South Dakota, and how an aspiring med school student such as herself got to dig them up with other paleontologists.

For a special Halloween episode, our first-ever guest Bob Watson returns to the show to share an SRU ghost story about how the late Emma Guffey Miller, a trustee from 1933-68 and influential campus and national political figure, might still be lingering in North Hall.

SRU’s new athletic director Roberta Page, ’88, talks about coming back to her alma mater and what fans can expect from The Rock sports teams this year.

PET PROJECT Johnny Phommachanh, a 2021 SRU grad, shares how leaving a googly-eyed rock on campus last spring attracted a lot of eyeballs on social media and TV, leading to a local resurgence of the pet rock craze.

Pancho Timmons, a 2000 SRU graduate, shares how his life was changed by a brief encounter while he was at The Rock, and now he’s a social entrepreneur, business owner and co-authored of the book “Quick and Easy World Change: Fixing Our Messed Up World One Small Act at a Time."

SRU President Bill Behre makes his first appearance on the podcast to share his thoughts on the new academic year, the return of a fully in-person campus, vaccinations and lessons learned since the start of the pandemic.

Lauren Moran, SRU director of student engagement and leadership, talks about what her office is doing to support first- and second-year students who are arriving on campus. Because of last year’s pandemic limitations, there will be twice as many students who are new to campus this year.

Justin Brown, ’11, developed a diversity training program when he was a Slippery Rock University student. He now leads a nationally recognized diversity awareness program and is the author of “Ugh!?! Not Another Diversity Book.” Hear his story, why diversity is important and how he “rocked” a Super Bowl TV ad.

SRU alumnus Ryan Muldowney, ’05, tells the story about being a contestant on “Wheel of Fortune” and almost winning $1 million. He settled for a trip to Costa Rica and an appearance on the “Hello, SRU” podcast.

Justin Matteo, a cadet in SRU’s Army ROTC program, shares his experience from the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition at West Point. Matteo was on a team from SRU that was pitted against the top ROTC units in the nation on a rigorous 36-hour course to “test their warrior spirit, team cohesion and dedication to mission accomplishment.”

Jillian Stringfellow, project coordinator from Slippery Rock University’s Physical and Health Education Department, discusses how The Rock gets the ball rolling for high school unified sports teams in the community, particularly with indoor bocce, where student-athletes with and without disabilities compete together.

SRU music professor David Glover recounts the tale of how The Balcony Big Band got back together after a curbside trash rescue. Glover is a member of Pittsburgh’s premier big-band jazz ensemble that also features SRU alumni.

Levi and Allie Lewis, from the SRU Class of 2014, talk about working for the Super Bowl-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Lewises are among three Bucs employees who graduated from The Rock.

With her crystal-ball syllabus, SRU professor of history Lia Paradis shares how she coincidentally started teaching a course about pandemics as a new pandemic emerged, if history really does repeat itself, and her own podcast, “Lies Agreed Upon.”

Exercise science professor Seth Jenny and Adam Schultz, president of the Esports Club at SRU, talk about the popularity of esports as a college sport and the potential for esports as a field of study. Find out how they respond to Jeremy’s initial skepticism.

Mary Jo Ross, Slippery Rock University associate professor of hospitality and tourism management, talks about how the restaurant industry has been affected by the pandemic. Learn how Ross, who worked decades as an event producer in Orlando, Florida, plans to turn Slippery Rock into a Magic Kingdom for her students.

Trevor Nordquist shares his story about visiting every Pennsylvania state park during his final year as an SRU student in 2020. Find out what he learned about his state and his state of mind during a time when most people dreaded periods of solitude during the pandemic, as well as his favorite parks and what motivated him to visit 121 parks in 303 days.

For the first episode of "Hello, SRU," retired administrator and SRU alumnus Bob Watson, '70, walks listeners through the history of The Rock. Watson is the author of "Slippery Rock University: The Legend Behind the Name," a 460-page book published in 2011 that chronicled the history the University.

"Hello, SRU" is the official podcast of Slippery Rock University. Hosted and produced by SRU professors Jeremy Lynch and Nick Artman, with assistance by Justin Zackal from the Office of University Communication and Public Affairs, this podcast features conversations with SRU faculty, staff, students and alumni. "Hello, SRU" is your opportunity to hear stories that make The Rock a caring community...