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Gregg B. Betheil ’92
"I majored in both history and government & law, interned with Senator Frank Lautenberg, was Student Government president, and worked with the admissions office on diversity issues. As an Alumni Admissions Representative, I want more folks to be prepared to take advantage of an education like Lafayette's," says Gregg B. Betheil '92, vice president of academy programs for the National Academy Foundation, New York City, a national non-profit network of career academies within American high schools. "Today my responsibilities include everything from federal policy to oversight of all academy programs. My position also takes me into many urban centers. I've introduced Lafayette students into urban high schools and, in turn, helped high school students visit the college."
Mar 13, 2005
John Wilbur Mack ’39
What do you say about a guy who has been volunteering for Lafayette since 1927? “Attaboy” hardly seems adequate for John Wilbur Mack ’39 who, in the years since, has served as president of the alumni association and chairman, treasurer, and unofficial archivist of his class’ reunion committee. Mack had the advantage of growing up close to campus. On opening day of the 1927 season he asked coach Herb McCracken if he could be team mascot. McCracken took Mack into the locker room to meet the players and Mack soon was leading the team onto Fisher Field, where he served three seasons as mascot.
Mar 13, 2005
John W. Landis ’39
When John W. Landis ’39 graduated from Lafayette, he served as valedictorian and won the Pepper Prize, awarded annually to the student who most closely represents the “Lafayette ideal.” Since then, Landis, joined by his wife, Muriel, has more than proven himself deserving of the reward by giving back to the Lafayette community. Most recently, that took the form of a $1 million commitment to support the College’s community outreach program. "Muriel and I have enjoyed our voluntary efforts so much we would like to help others find the same fulfillment," he says. "We look upon the community outreach program as a means of doing just that."
Mar 13, 2005
David Schechner ’50
In more than 40 years as Alumni Admissions Representative, David Schechner ’50 has “conveyed the excitement of Lafayette academics and campus life” to countless prospective students. “It’s very rewarding, especially the personal interviews,” he says Schechner. “Based on our own life experience, we can emphasize how important it is to go to a place that has small classes, where teachers know you and make you work hard – a place where you’re really engaged in your education.”
Mar 13, 2005
Ed Landis ’56
When Ed Landis ’56 graduated from Lafayette, he was the fifth brother in his family to do so. As it turned out, his family’s involvement with the College was only just beginning. The brothers – including John ’39, Paul ’42, Richard ’43, and Glenn ’44 – and friends established the Edwin C. and Estella Barto Landis Scholarship Fund to honor their parents. Donating to the fund and interacting with the students it supports is a “long term investment,” Landis says. “This personal experience may be persuasive later in their decisions about how much of their fortune to share with Lafayette.”
Mar 13, 2005
Robert S. Beane ’58
Bob Beane ’58 and his son, Silas Beane ’88, strengthened connections with Lafayette by establishing an endowed scholarship fund. Bob, a Trustee, is retired senior VP and director of Johnson & Higgins. Silas is assistant professor of physics at University of New Hampshire. “We’re both enthusiastic about our time and our education at Lafayette, and we wanted to try and help some young people to be able to come here,” Bob says. “When I was out of the country for years I did not have much contact with Lafayette, but it’s exciting being involved at a time when the College has become stronger academically and physically.”
Mar 13, 2005
Thomas L. Greenbaum ’64
Thomas L. Greenbaum ’64, president and founder of the market-research firm Groups Plus, Wilton, Conn., is a nationally recognized authority in the field of qualitative research and has written critically acclaimed books on the subject. "I had a wonderful experience at Lafayette and have remained close with the college and my fraternity brothers. And I met my wife, a graduate of Cedar Crest, while I was there,” he says. "I just want to keep learning. I spend a tremendous amount of time taking courses, mostly on tape, on World War II and other topics. I'd rather do this than vacation in Florida."
Mar 13, 2005
Howard Heller ’65
On the day he graduated from Lafayette, Howard Heller ’65 pledged money to the College. Since then, the New Jersey tool and equipment salesman has continued to give, serving as chair of the Annual Fund committee and fund manager for the Class of ’65. "I get all excited when I talk about the Annual Fund. I recognize the value of the College and how much it really depends on this.” Heller also interviews prospective students. "I go to their homes, talk to their parents and possibly their brothers and sisters over coffee or tea. It's been very rewarding.”
Mar 13, 2005
Gary Oleson ’70
After three decades as an airline pilot, Gary Oleson ’70 still finds the job challenging, exciting, dynamic, and rewarding. Oleson, who hosted an externship at the United Airlines pilot training center in Denver, says he’s glad to mentor Lafayette students, because his own experience at the College was “a critical building block” in his life and career. "It literally laid the foundation in self-direction, discipline, interpersonal skills, critical thinking, and general broadening of my knowledge and experience.”
Mar 13, 2005
Shirley Blackall '72
In 1978, Shirley Blackall '72 introduced the first high-end collectible dolls in this country. Today, artistically rendered, exquisitely dressed dolls are the most popular collectible in the United States. Since 1998, Blackall's Masterpiece Dolls have been featured on Home Shopping Network. "So much of what I do each day relates to what I learned as an economics major at Lafayette and later in business school at Boston University -- how to analyze the market and react to change, how to see what is missing from the marketplace and fill that void," she says. "I loved Lafayette. Being academically successful there gave me a lot of confidence. I believed I could meet any challenge and learn from every experience."
Mar 13, 2005
Marilyn Balamaci ’74
When Marilyn Balamaci ’74 hosted externs as senior editor at Family Circle magazine, she found bright and perceptive would-be editors who immediately understood how to cut and reshape a story. Balamaci says she loves working with students and new hires and that Lafayette's externship program is a great program. She believes Lafayette prepared her well for the twists and turns of her magazine career. "Being in the first class of women at a previously all-male school was one of the best experiences I could have had. I learned to face the world.”
Mar 13, 2005
Ted Janeczek ’74
Ted Janeczek ’74, executive vice president and CFO of Country Meadows Retirement Communities,
remembers his years at Lafayette with a great deal of affection. "There were a lot of good pieces, and a lot of good friends from college carried through," he says. Janeczek, who recently was honored by the Alzheimer's Association, Southcentral Pennsylvania Chapter, for his charitable efforts over the last 15 years, has been giving back to Lafayette for almost that long as an alumni admissions representative. "It's a great way to get a perspective on today's younger people and what they are about," he says. "It's a pretty enlightening program. These are talented kids."
Mar 13, 2005
Marianne Okkema Rhebergen ’75
When Marianne Okkema Rhebergen ’75 arrived at Lafayette, young women were – finally – studying alongside young men, and change was in the air. “I wanted to go to a small liberal arts school,” says Rhebergen, a Presbyterian minister who holds a Ph.D. in divinity and works as interim executive presbyter for the Presbyterian Church USA’s Lehigh Presbytery. “That was the image I had of college.” Rhebergen, who met her husband, Paul Rhebergen ’73, at Lafayette, went on to have three children. In 1999 her eldest, Debbie Rhebergen ’03, chose Lafayette and three years later Kristin Rhebergen ’06 did the same. Marianne Rhebergen says. “It’s still an institution where the faculty know their students.”
Mar 13, 2005
Joseph H. McCann III ’75
Joseph H. McCann III ’75, CEO of the executive search firm J.H. McCann & Co., New York City, is grateful to those who have helped him achieve his goals. So he and his wife, Jane, established an endowed scholarship fund to help Lafayette students achieve their goals. “Lafayette gave me tremendous confidence and motivated me in ways I’ll forever be grateful for. So we feel we’d like to give to the Lafayette family,” he says. “Benefactors had given a lot of money so people like me could attend Lafayette. I benefited from their generosity, and we’re trying to do just a small part to perpetuate and perhaps improve things.”
Mar 13, 2005
Craig Dally ’78
When Craig Dally '78, his wife, Ann, and his siblings set up a scholarship fund to honor their parents, Marge Dally and the late John T. Dally '49, they ensured it would help students from the region where their family has deep roots. “It is an event that would have made my father most proud,” says Dally, now a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives for the 138th district, which includes parts of Monroe County and northern Northampton County. Dally says the scholarship, given to intercollegiate scholar-athletes from the Pen Argyl, Bangor, and Nazareth areas, “promotes an institution that my father cherished and supports members of a community that he loved."
Mar 13, 2005
David Albala ’78
“Over the years, my Lafayette education has provided me with a firm foundation on which to grow and become creative,” says David Albala ’78, professor of urology and head of minimally invasive surgery at Duke University Medical Center. He has offered many Lafayette interns and opportunity to use cutting-edge technology, conduct research, and watch him perform surgery and interact with patients. "When you reach a certain level and are comfortable with yourself, you do things for people underneath you to help them succeed. The nicest thing is when they all get into medical school.”
Mar 13, 2005
Carolyn Lee Thrasher Vehslage ’83
After being a computer consultant for 15 years, Carolyn Lee Thrasher Vehslage ’83 now designs web sites and pictorial art quilts that have been exhibited around the world. Being involved in externships is “just part of my nature,” she says. “I'm living the best life I could live and I feel I have something to offer the students in terms of knowledge. I enjoy the mentoring process. I know it's important for art majors to see how an artist works and how it fits in with their lifestyle.”
Mar 13, 2005
Leslie Morgan ’83
“We were a Type-A bunch of street fighters whose goal was to go out and eat life. We hated to fail,” says Leslie Morgan ’83, managing partner of TS Morgan Associates, whose career as an organizer goes back to her first days out of college when she raised money for underprivileged children by putting together parties in the Hamptons. She’s since raised money for political candidates and sold bonds on Wall Street before launching her own company, through which she co-owns and manages a Holiday Inn franchise in Wilmington, Del. “I think that’s one thing I got from Lafayette.”
Mar 13, 2005
Lisa Ryan Ruth ’85
As a student Lisa Ryan Ruth ’85 interned at Northampton County’s probation and parole office. The experience helped her find her niche as a student assistance counselor. Ruth, who works with middle school students for Child and Family Services of Newport, R.I., also lends a hand to Lafayette students as an externship host. “I’m thrilled” to provide the opportunity to students, she says. “It’s like giving back what I got. It’s also a great thing for students to get out there and see how things really work.”
Mar 13, 2005
Alison Ziegler Fischer ’87
Mentoring Lafayette students is a way of giving back to the College community that nurtured her for Alison Ziegler Fischer ’87, vice president of FRB/Weber Shandwick, a New York City consulting firm that specializes in financial communications and the investment community. "I've been hosting externships for at least five years. They always go very well. I try to make it as informative and real life as I can,” she says. "I did an externship myself as a junior in college and thought it was valuable. It helped narrow the options I thought I'd be interested in."
Mar 13, 2005
