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Alumni Spotlights

Overview

Alumni Spotlights are a special way of Crusaders staying in touch with our Advancement Office. These spotlights highlight an Alumni and their journey since graduating from Bishop Canevin High School so that all members of the Bishop Canevin Community- whether it’s an Alumni or a current BC family, can stay updated into the lives of formers Crusaders. If you’re interested in submitting your good news or a friend’s, email Bishop Canevin’s Marketing and Communication Specialist, Lauren Gamble at gamblel@bishopcanevin.org.

Kaylah Alford

After graduating from Bishop Canevin, Kaylah attended California University of Pennsylvania. During her time at Cal U, she was a member of The Young and Gifted Gospel Choir and eventually became president of the organization. Kaylah was also a member of the psychology club. She graduated from Cal U with Bachelor of Science in Psychology.

 

After graduating from Cal U Kaylah worked at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital in Oakland as a Milieu Therapist. Kaylah is currently working as a Career Advisor in the Duquesne/ Wilkinsburg area. In the Spring of 2024 she will be attending Penn West University for her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a certification in Sports Counseling and Student Athlete Mental Wellness.

 

“I have so many memories from Bishop Canevin that I am thankful for and love and cherish. I can say my favorite memory at BC was becoming the first African American Woman to win Homecoming Queen. It was such an experience!” -Kaylah Alford

Ryan Douglass

Since graduating Bishop Canevin in 1997 Ryan was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 13th round of the MLB draft having the opportunity to play baseball professionally for 9 years overall. Ryan finished his career with the Washington Wild Things in 2005.

 

He then entered the political scene for 3.5 years working for State Representative Thomas Petrone – even running for State Rep in 2008.

Ryan is currently in his 15th year in the Supply Chain industry working for a tremendous 3PL, Target Freight Management, in South Park. Lastly, Ryan runs a non-profit, ‘Ryan Douglass Field of Dreams’, which are free baseball clinics for children held in the Pittsburgh area.

Clinic Information

Caroline DeFrank

Caroline qualified for the Boston Marathon running Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth Minnesota last summer, and it was only her second marathon. She trained for about 4 1/2 months leading up to the Boston Marathon.

Caroline’s family and college track teammates (from Pitt) went to Boston to watch her race. Fellow BC Alum, Bailey Burgess ’15, one of Caroline’s teammates from Canevin resides in Boston, so she was there to support Caroline too.

“The weather for the race was perfect—rainy, so it felt just like Pittsburgh. Despite the rain, the crowds were awesome. There wasn’t a single stretch of roads that did not have fans. Running through the colleges campuses along the route were so fun because the students were the best fans. I ran comfortably for most of the race to really take in the experience and luckily was able to speed up the last five miles of the race. Seeing my friends and family as I was turning onto Boylston was the best part and I was about to finish strong!” -Caroline.

Lt. Darryl Smith

We want to congratulate Lt. Darryl Smith, a 24-year veteran of the office, on his graduation from the FBI National Academy, in Quantico, Virginia, one of the premier law enforcement training programs in the world. The academy was established in 1935 to provide advanced investigative, management and fitness training to law enforcement officers who have proven themselves to be leaders for their organization.

Since its founding, nearly 50,000 individuals have graduated from the 10-week course and we are extremely proud that Lt. Smith’s name is now included in that list. 

 

He will join Sheriff Kraus, Commander Richard Manning, Commander Leo O’Neill and Lt. Conor Mullen. Please join all of us in wishing Lt. Darryl Smith all the best!

Winnie Yang

Winnie is a senior at Elon University and will graduate this May with a B.S. in Statistics and a minor in math. She is a Mu Sigma Rho (The National Statistics Honor Society) member and recipient of the Math and Statistics Departmental Scholarship. After graduating, Winnie will work as a data analytics intern at Apple in Beijing, China, for a year and attend N.C. State University to pursue a Master of Science in Analytics starting June 2024.

 

During her time at Elon University, Winnie completed two data analytics internships and various statistics and media analytics projects. Her dream job is working as a data scientist for the Walt Disney Company.

 

Winnie organized events at Elon such as, “International Coffee,” every two weeks, where she met students and faculty with international backgrounds, and worked to promote the growth of a global community at Elon. She was also one of the only bilingual Campus Tour guides and the sole Mandarin Campus Tour Guide at Elon Admissions.

 

Jaime Slavinsky

Jaime is a 1995 Bishop Canevin graduate. She recently opened a new company, Ensemble Actors Studio!

Jaime was active in the musicals at Canevin and has worked as a professional actor, director, producer, and educator for the past 25 years here in Pittsburgh and New York City. She holds a degree in acting from Point Park University and trained with the world-renowned Atlantic Acting School in NYC and London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. As an educator, she’s spent the last 8 years teaching acting for theater, film, and television at the Emmy Award-winning casting office in downtown Pittsburgh. Jaime’s dreams have finally become a reality with the opening of her studio.

 

The studio space is located in the new Yunker Street Studios in McKees Rocks and will be an artistic home for professional actor training, coaching, headshots, demo reels, and performance opportunities with the resident theater company, Ensemble Actors Theater. Jaime is thrilled to be able to bring this artistic endeavor to our Canevin community!

Jaime's Studio

Michael Aches

Michael is currently a senior at Thiel College and will graduate in the spring with a B.S. degree in Mathematics and minors in Physics and History. He recently finished the fall semester with a 4.0 GPA and Dean’s List status. As a member of the Dietrich Honors Institute, Michael has earned several academic awards and scholarships to include: The Thiel College Certificate of Recognition for outstanding academic achievement, Dietrich Honors Institute Scholarship, Thiel Merit Award Scholarship, Thiel College Grant, The George and Magdalene Skegas Scholarship for Mathematics, and The Leland E. Householder 33 Scholarship.

Michael is also member of the Thiel Tomcat Baseball Team which was most recently honored last season, by the American Baseball Coaches Association, with the Team Academic Excellence Award. The team posted a 3.31 GPA during the fall 2022 semester and has won the award consecutively for the past seven years. 

Last season, Michael was one of 57 Thiel College student athletes who were inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society which recognizes college student athletes who received a varsity letter in their sport, achieved junior academic standing or higher after their fifth full-time semester, and earned a 3.4 or higher cumulative grade-point average.

During the summer, Michael completed an internship with T3 Global Strategies located in Bridgeville, PA. Upon graduating in the spring, Michael plans on attending graduate school to pursue a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering.

Dr. Lucas Briola

Dr. Lucas Briola, currently assistant professor of theology at Saint Vincent College (where he graduated from in 2013), just published a book entitled The Eucharistic Vision of Laudato Si’: Praise, Conversion, and Integral Ecology through The Catholic University of America Press. It considers the centrality of the Eucharist in Pope Francis’s famous 2015 social encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. It offers the first book length treatment of this subject.

 

In 2021, Briola was awarded the “Best Article of the Year” by the College Theology Society for an article on this topic. 

Briola's Article Here

Trevor Timbario

2016 graduate Trevor Timbario has been busy since his graduation from Bishop Canevin. In 2018 he graduated from the St. Anthony Program at Duquesne University. Since then he has been working, volunteering, and singing. He has sung the National Anthem at PNC park, at the University of Pittsburgh, and for many Special Olympic events. He also has participated in other musical events his most recent one was at the LeMont restaurant singing with the band Dr.Zoot. In addition, Trevor works for the Crafton School of the Arts using an Excel program to track and load the books and music.

 

He also volunteers weekly at the Green Tree Public Library and at Global Links. He was recently recognized for his over 100 hours of volunteering at Global Links. Trevor speaks fondly of his days at BC and still talks about the good times he had when he was here.

Joyce (Oliphant) Tremel

Joyce just recently released her fifth published novel on November 8th. It’s the second book in the Homefront News Mysteries titled DEATH ON A DEADLINE, written under the pen name Joyce St. Anthony. The series features protagonist Irene Ingram who takes over her father’s newspaper when he goes overseas as a war correspondent in 1942. In Death on a Deadline, a Hollywood war bond drive comes to town, and one of the stars ends up dead in the dunk tank at the county fair.

The first book in the series, FRONT PAGE MURDER, released in March and features sabotage at the local factory making war materiel.

 

Joyce is also the author of the award winning Brewing Trouble mysteries under her own name (Joyce Tremel) set in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. A third series, The Cider House Mysteries will launch late next year.

Alanna (Trosky) Fernandez

Alanna graduated from Bishop Canevin in 2010. She was a Crusette all 4 years and was Captain during her senior year. She participated in the musical all 4 years. Alanna attended California University of Pennsylvania where she earned her degree in Public Relations and Tourism Studies. She began to work in sales at a local hotel from 2014-2020 where she unfortunately lost her job over Covid. She is now a marketing specialist for Highmark which she thoroughly enjoys. Alanna now lives in Robinson with her husband Mitch, 3 year old daughter Aviana and 3 month old son Jaden.

Jaden Gales

Upon graduation from Bishop Canevin, Jaden began attending Saint Vincent College to earn his degree in visual arts and graphic design. Jaden is a student-athlete at SVC, where he showcases his talents on the court. He was very successful at BC, leading his team to the WPIAL Championship and Hershey, PA to win the State Championship. We’re very proud of Jaden and look forward to seeing his growth over his college years. Good luck this season to Jaden and the Bearcats! #15

 

“After graduating I’ve been playing ball and working on becoming a better person. Ever since I’ve been up at Saint Vincent, I’ve received nothing but love and support from everyone around me. And on the court, everything has been going as planned so far. Really, I just remain humble and grateful for what I have.” -Jaden Gales

Gianfranco Schiaretta

Gianfranco Schiaretta is an alum from the Class of 2017 via St. Anthony School Programs. He was on the BC’s swim team from 2013-2017. He is currently a member of The USA Down Syndrome National Team. In October, he qualified to represent Pennsylvania and the USA in the DSISO World Championship taken place in Albufeira, Portugal. Gianfranco did not medal but he made finals in the 100 breaststroke event. He also set a new 100 Breast SCM Senior Americas Region Record.

Donavin Meriweather

After graduating from BC in 2018, Donavin attended Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration – Entrepreneurial Studies and Minoring in Accounting. He is currently finishing his MBA in Healthcare Administration and will graduate August of 2023. Donavin works as the Graduate Assistant in Admissions for Seton Hill University. On Thursday, Donavin visited Bishop Canevin’s college fair day to offer information on SHU and advice to our Crusaders. While attending SHU, he ran Cross Country and Track, holding records in both the 4x800m relay and DMR. He’s looking to break the 800m record this upcoming season. Good luck to Donavin as he continues to strive for greatness. We can’t wait to follow your accomplishments!

Dan Deasy

After attending Bishop Canevin, Dan went on to study at the University of Pittsburgh. Following Pitt, Dan began a career at the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works. In 2005, he was elected to serve on Pittsburgh City Council. Following a successful term, which included reopening the Police Zone in his community previously closed due to budget cuts. Dan decided to seek the position of State Representative.

“It has been an honor to represent my neighbors in Harrisburg for the past 14 years. It is a tremendous responsibility and I am so grateful for the opportunity to try to make a positive impact in my community every day.” -Dan Deasy

Dan’s four children are also Bishop Canevin Alumni – Alyssa, Danielle, Thomas, and Abigail Deasy. They were also very active during their time at BC, involving themselves in sports, student government, clubs, and always maintaining a high honors record.

Nina (Midgley) Kelman

Nina (Midgley) Kelman, Class of 2007, is the owner of My Favorite Sweet Shoppe in Bridgeville.

After BC, she attended Saint Mary’s College and earned a degree in Mass Communications and Public Relations in 2011. She purchased the Sweet Shoppe in 2014 from another BC alumna! For 8 years, Nina has been providing sweet treats to customers, and business, across the country! Her shoppe specializes in gourmet caramel apples, homemade fudge, specialty chocolates and candies, and more!

 

Along with the Sweet Shoppe, she is the Crusette moderator at Bishop Canevin.

Lauren Gamble

Marketing & Communication Specialist

gamblel@bishopcanevin.org

(412)-922-7400 ext. 215