UC Alumni and Fans Across the Nation Gather to Celebrate the Bearcats in the Sweet 16

The excitement is unparalleled, the anticipation overwhelming, and the rivalry stronger than ever! UC alumni and fans across the country are pumped to cheer their Bearcats on to victory as The University of Cincinnati takes on The Ohio State University in one of the most celebrated college basketball games of the year. But helping make history on such short notice was no small feat for the UC Alumni Association.

Watch this news story (courtesy of WLWT), featuring UCAA's Executive Director Myron Hughes, who explains the effect the quick turnaround has had on the association's ability to quickly plan official Sweet 16 activities for alumni nationwide. 

Speaking of alumni events, if you'll be in Boston for Thursday's game, you won't want to miss the best Bearcat party in Boston! Join your fellow alumni and friends for a pep rally featuring the UC Bearcat Band, cheerleaders, and the Bearcat himself, along with a dinner buffet, all for just $20. Register to reserve your spot now! 

Alumni and fans in other cities are also doing their part to celebrate the Bearcats' appearance in the 2012 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Below is the most comprehensive list the UCAA has compiled to date. Check out the UC Where You Are section of the UCAA website for additional Alumni Network activities and also for network leader contact information for your city. And of course, Go Bearcats!

Official UC List of 3/22 Sweet 16 Nationwide Events

Boston
Contact: Sam Walston
Grand Canal (OFFICIAL UC Pre-game Event Location)
57 Canal St.
Boston, MA 02114
4:00 pm - 7:00 pm EST
Paid registration required

Chicago

Contact: David Watkins
O'Leary's Pub
541 N Wells
Chicago, IL 60610
8:30-11:30 pm CST

Cleveland
Contact: Branson Wright
Opus Restaurant
20126 Chagrin Blvd.
Shaker Heights, OH 44122
9:00 pm-12:00 am EST

Columbus
Contact: Stephanie Dodd
Gresso's
961 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43206
8:30 pm-12:00 am EST

Dallas
Contact: Christopher Hunter

BlackFinn
4440 Belt Line Rd.
Addison, TX 75001
8:30 pm-12:00 am EST

Denver
Contact: John Messiter
LoDo's Bar and Grill
1946 Market Street
Denver, CO 80202
7:30-10:30 pm MST

Houston
Contact: Jim Sorg
Champps Americana
1121 Uptown Park Blvd
Houston, TX 77056
8:00-11:00 pm CST

Milwaukee
Contact: Mark Kremer
Buffalo Wild Wings at Bayshore Mall
590 W. Northshore Drive
Glendale, WI 53217
8:30-10:30 pm CST

Nashville
Contact: Amy McNeil
The Tavern
1904 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
8:00-11:00 pm CST

New York
Contact: Mj Kong
Phebe's
359 Bowery
New York, NY 10003
8:30 pm-12:00 am EST

San Diego
Contact: Lauren Eckles
East Village Tavern & Bowl
930 Market Street
San Diego, CA 92101
6:30-9:00 pm PST

San Francisco 
Contact: Chad Reid
Grand Oaks Sports Bar in Oakland 
736 Washington Street
Oakland, CA 94607
6:45-9:00 pm PST

St. Louis
Contact: Alan Robbins
Buffalo Wild Wings
12653 Olive Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63141
8:00-11:00 pm CST

Tampa Bay
Contact: Matt Carlin
Brick House Tavern & Tap
1102 North Dale Mabry Highway
Tampa, FL 33607
9:30-11:30 pm EST

Washington DC

Contact: Tim Lolli

Penn Quarter Sports Tavern
639 Indiana Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004
8:00 pm-1:00 am EST

Questions? Please contact the UC Alumni Association at 1-877-4-UCALUM toll-free.


Where will you be watching the game on Thursday? Let us know where you'll be "Representing the C" by commenting below!

New Program Gathers Students and Alumni Around the Dinner Table

Diners take a quick photo break with their host alum,
Myron Hughes, at Clifton's Cactus Pear restaurant.

Nothing brings people together better than good food and great company! Such was the reasoning behind the UC Student Alumni Council's decision to create the all-new  "Dinner with 12 Strangers" program, which brings students and alumni together around the dinner table to make Bearcat connections across varying generations, careers and interests.

The second annual event held  this February included five dinners hosted by alumni all around Cincinnati (up from two last year). 

Even family members got in on the fun at the Uhls' dinner
hosted at their home in Sharonville.

The Student Alumni Council looks to grow the program within Cincinnati next year, and even possibly to include future alumni hosts in networks across the country too.

Thanks to this year’s alumni hosts, including:

• Tom and Missy Uhl (Business, '85)
• Scott and Eileen Tucker (Engineering, '83 and '91)
• Chris and Andrea Zahumensky (Business, '98 and '00)
• Myron Hughes and Diane Lewis (Business, '86; Evening '94 and Business, '99)
• Richard Posey and Jeff Klump (DAAP, '85)

“We really enjoyed the students,” Zahumensky said. “They were so easy to talk to and seemed genuinely happy to be there and engage. We had a nice, diverse group across ages and student groups but still found lots of commonalities to discuss. We’d definitely participate again and would also encourage other alumni to

do the same. What a great event!”

The event provides an opportunity for students and alumni to interact in a fun and relaxing environment, while also expanding their networks and developing relationships with fellow Bearcat mentors.

“The dinner was a great opportunity to step outside my typical Saturday night and spend it with such accomplished and interesting individuals," said Ella Koachway, a current junior majoring in hospitality management. "Hearing one another speak and meeting others who are bound for successful futures encouraged me within my own journey.”

Want to host or co-host a dinner in your city the next time around? Let us know below!



Cleveland sportswriter and alumni network leader brings ‘Wright stuff’



UC Alum Branson Wright’s sports journalism career has
taken him from UC’s News Record to earning his own sports
column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

 In case you missed the first edition of our all-new "UC Where You Are" e-newsletter, we're featuring some of the top-read stories here on our blog. If you like what you see, check out the full issue online and then update your contact information to ensure you receive the latest version in your inbox every few months. Comment below if you have the perfect alum in mind for us to feature in our spring edition too!

Branson Wright‘s sports journalism career has taken him from UC’s News Record to northeastern Ohio working for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where he still manages to keep a close eye on Bearcats Athletics. He’s also helping keep fellow alumni connected as the new co-leader of the UC Alumni Association’s Cleveland Alumni Network.

Like virtually all alumni, Branson Wright’s professional path was altered at UC, where the aspiring sportswriter leveraged every opportunity available to make his career dreams come true.


Cleveland sportswriter and UC alum Branson Wright poses
with NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann at the East-West Shrine
College All-Star game in 1989 where UC's Andrew Stewart
was participating.

 “I grew up in Silverton in suburban Cincinnati — right across the street from [major league baseball player] Buddy Bell,” Wright says. “My dad wanted me to go to UC, but I wanted to see other places and ended up going to West Virginia. After a couple years and diminishing funds, I had to leave. An adviser at WVU suggested I go home, enroll at UC for a while, then return to Morgantown. That was my plan.”

But when Wright got to UC and started to work for The News Record, he saw that sports editor Angelique Chengelis, who now covers the University of Michigan for the Detroit News, was about to graduate. “I was ‘next in line’ and decided to stay, and that changed everything for me,” he said.

The News Record promotion helped open doors — from internships, to relationships with people in athletics, to invaluable mentoring from faculty and staff such as Eric Abercrumbie and Ken Simonson. “They knew about my dream to be a sportswriter and urged me to stay focused.”

As a result, Wright covered and became friends with many fellow Bearcats, including basketball player and future UC Alumni Association executive director Myron Hughes, who recently asked Wright to volunteer with the Cleveland Alumni Network.

While Cashmere Wright is dishing out assists for the basketball Bearcats these days, Branson Wright (no relation) notched an unofficial assist on one of the biggest buckets in UC hoops history. The first game ever played in Fifth Third Arena saw new coach Bob Huggins’ undermanned UC team beat 20th-ranked Minnesota 66-64 on a three-point buzzer-beater by Steve Sanders, a Cleveland native who had just joined the team largely on the advice Wright offered to both coach and player.

“Steve’s team of football players was my intramural basketball team’s biggest rivals — they would always beat us in the championships,” Wright recalls. “When Huggins showed up, he needed players and announced he would hold tryouts. I told him, ‘You need to look at Steve Sanders.’ Steve had completed his football eligibility, and I encouraged him to try out. So I take credit.”

When he’s not writing for the newspaper, Wright works on a film project about Dwight Anderson, a Dayton, Ohio, basketball legend who went on to play at both Kentucky and Southern California but never realized his vast potential due to a string of bad choices and personal problems. Working without a budget for three years now, Wright hopes to assemble the film in the near future.

Meanwhile, he’s bringing new energy to Cleveland-area Bearcats. Wright helped organize the most recent Crosstown Shootout game watch and hopes to come up with some creative new ways for Cleveland alums to reconnect with UC and one another. He welcomes help from other volunteers.

“I’m putting out the word — we’re looking for more involvement and some fresh ideas.”

Cleveland-area alumni can reach Wright at bwright11@aol.com.

Dayton Engineering Grad Pays It Forward to Young Aeronautic Enthusiasts

In case you missed the first edition of our all-new "UC Where You Are" e-newsletter, we're featuring some of the top-read stories here on our blog. If you like what you see, check out the full issue online and then update your contact information to ensure you receive the latest version in your inbox every few months. Comment below if you have the perfect alum in mind for us to feature in our spring edition too!

It’s not often that a kid can invite friends and family to an Air Show featuring his or her own airplane in flight. But that’s what happens at the end of College of Engineering grad Dale Whitford’s 15-week Model Airplane Building and Flying Program, open to any child in grades 4 to 12.

After 41 years of a remarkable career at the University of Dayton Research Institute, Whitford’s UC co-op experience inspired him to launch his aeronautics education program for youth. For the past fifteen years in a church gymnasium, Whitford and his team of volunteers have taught approximately 600 children about flight and engineering through hands-on weekly classes. Once a year for 15 weeks, children representing 15 different schools in the Dayton area learn how to read mechanical drawings, build a model plane, and study the principles of flight. The program culminates in a final Air Show, where kids fly their miniature aircraft in front of an audience.



Engineering grad Dale Whitford launched his youth model
airplane building program to share his lifelong passion for
airplanes with young aeronautical enthusiasts.

 According to Whitford, “When we first got married, my wife was uneasy about my flying, so I continued my hobby of model building from childhood. I taught my two young sons to build models, and eventually my grandchildren, and then some other kids. In 1998, our church asked the congregation for ideas for uses of the gym other than athletics.  I suggested the model building program to seed engineering interest in kids, and in September of that year I recruited my first class of 23 kids. The church loves it, the kids and volunteers love it, and I’ve never looked back.”

Whitford’s remarkable career and retirement followed a unique college recruitment experience. When the aspiring aeronautical engineer spoke to the dean of Engineering at the University of Tulsa, he told the young Whitford he belonged in a more impressive program than what Tulsa had to offer –the engineering school at the University of Cincinnati. And so it was that yet sight unseen, a mere three weeks after ending his Navy tour, Whitford walked on to UC’s campus.

After graduating from UC in the spring of 1951, Whitford married his (now) wife Sylvia the following day. With 13 job offers to choose from, Whitford accepted a full-time position at a small engineering firm in New Jersey. After six months, Whitford’s last supervisor at Wright Field contacted him and said he had recommended Whitford to University of Dayton officials for employment on a new government-sponsored research project that had been awarded to the University of Dayton.  Whitford and four other engineers launched Project Delta, a nuclear weapons testing project where he was involved in testing the effects of nuclear explosions on military aircraft.

Students of Whitford’s 3-month model airplane building
session at his home in Dayton show off their model airplanes.

These days, in addition to teaching children aerospace techniques, Whitford, the perennial educator, also instructs at the University of Dayton’s Lifelong Learning Institute. Whitford is also a published author on a variety of topics, including nuclear research, the Wright Brothers and jet engine history.

At least three of the Model Airplane Building and Flying Program graduates have gone on to pursue successful engineering careers, two of which attended the University of Cincinnati. UC President Gregory Williams successfully nominated Whitford for a “Co-Op Hall of Fame” award in 2011 by WACE (Advancing Cooperative and Work-Integrated Education), an honor that the dedicated UC alum considers a favorite lifetime achievement.

“I consider myself lucky to have known so early on what I wanted for a career when I grew up and then to have had so many opportunities to make that dream a reality,” Whitford said. “For me, the greatest satisfaction in leading the youth flying program is seeing that same spark of interest in the kids.”

Cindy Chiang: One 'Amazing' Chicago Bearcat



Cindy Chiang (Engineering, 2004) and fiancé Ernie Halvorsen

earned $1 million after being named co-champions of CBS’s

19th season of The Amazing Race.

 In case you missed the first edition of our all-new "UC Where You Are" e-newsletter, we're featuring some of the top-read stories here on our blog. If you like what you see, check out the full issue online and then update your contact information to ensure you receive the latest version in your inbox every few months. Comment below if you have the perfect alum in mind for us to feature in our spring edition too!

Meet University of Cincinnati alumna Cindy Chiang and her fiancé Ernie Halvorsen, both inspirational winners of CBS’s 19th season of The Amazing Race.

Before becoming a UC alum, Cindy earned her undergraduate degree as an honors student in biomedical engineering and was involved in as many activities as she could cram into a week. A member of Chi Omega sorority, Sigma Phi women’s honorary, Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society, Golden Key, and president of both the Women’s Panhellenic Association and CWEST (Cincinnati Women for Excellence and Spirit Together), Cindy made the seemingly impossible schedule part of her daily routine.

Fast forward to 2011--Cindy and Ernie watched the Amazing Race together for several seasons before Cindy suggested they submit an entry. Shortly thereafter, the newly engaged couple received notice that they were to be race contestants. The two travelled and competed in the televised contest for 23 days -- to twenty cities on four continents. Using clues provided at each leg of the journey, Cindy, Ernie and the other contestants performed prescribed tasks and raced off to their next destinations.  In the end, Cindy and Ernie handily won The Race—receiving $1 million and announcing their honorable intent to dedicate the funds to improving the lives of children worldwide.

The case of The Amazing Race, Season 19.



Cindy credits serving on the Student Alumni Council (SAC) as one of her favorite college experiences. Cindy recalls her time with UC SAC fondly because of the relationships she built with a broad cross-section of students, as well as alumni. Despite her involvement and growing confidence, Cindy knew she would be at the bottom of any professional hierarchy upon graduation. In order to be most competitive in the job market, she connected with three alumnae mentors: Kristin Bush, Heather Borchers Rogers and Caty Grzymajlo. Under their influence, she decided to work for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati.

Now grateful that she “couldn’t say no to volunteerism” as an undergraduate, Cindy knows the relationships she built with alumni as a student have had a tremendous impact on her life. Through that network, she not only carved out a meaningful career path, but also discovered the value in staying connected to the UC Alumni Association (UCAA).

Now a Chicago resident working for Kraft Foods, Cindy’s plans for the future are a perfect combination of the values and integrity she developed over time while both an undergrad and alumna at UC.  She and Ernie are using their Amazing Race award funds to build a business that will encourage American youth to live a healthier lifestyle. Cindy and Ernie’s young athletes’ program will support academic scholarships for educating youth around the world.  

Cindy and Ernie competing in Amazing Race.



In her not-so-spare time, Cindy serves on the UCAA’s strategic mission and goals committee. Ask Cindy what UCAA means to her, and she’s likely to tell you that everyone involved with the UC Alumni Association has affected her life.

According to Cindy “I’ve met some really inspirational alumni who challenged me to dream big and go for it. If it weren’t for the advice of UC alumni, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

History Buff? Test and Polish Your UC Trivia!

Did you know that one of the first attempts to establish the University of Cincinnati back in the early 1800's was through a community sweepstakes to raise $6,000?! Sadly, the first half-built university building being funded by the lottery was destroyed by the disastrous tornado that struck Cincinnati in 1809.

In his first of seven UC history lectures, UC's own Greg Hand uncovers this suprising tale, among several other historical unknowns surrounding UC's most formative years. Hand, associate vice president, university spokesperson and resident history buff is delivering a series of free 55-minute lunchtime talks in the Tangeman University Center Theater the third Thursday of each month. Each installment takes the audience through another entertaining chapter of the university's storied history.

In his next session on March 15, Hand will explore the university's geography through the campuses UC has occupied over the centuries. Some of these campuses are large and permanent while some were just fleeting outposts. Some “ghost” campuses still haunt the landscape. All have unusual and surprising stories.

Get caught up on what you missed and watch the first two sessions here or on the Proudly Cincinnati YouTube channel: "Patrons & Poltroons" and "140 Years in 55 Minutes."

Even if you can't attend in person, you can participate in the remaining sessions too by tuning in live on our live streaming channel. Mark your calendars now:

12:30 p.m., March 15  --  Evolution of UC's Campus and Many Campuses of UC's Colleges

12:30 p.m., April 19     --  Student Pioneers: First Alumni

12:30 p.m., May 17     --  Origin of UC Regalia & Symbols

Surprise your friends with a ton of UC fun facts...you won't believe what all has happened in 200 years!

New Alumni e-Newsletter Might Spotlight You Next

If we don't have your e-mail address, chances are you missed the first edition of our new "UC Where You Are" e-newsletter! It's not too late to check out the full issue online and then update your contact information to ensure you receive the latest version in your inbox every few months.

Like this blog, the new e-newsletter is all about bringing UC to you...no matter where you live. Some of the staff at UC (like John Albachten featured in this first issue) have the good fortune to meet and stay connected with incredible alumni like you, all with awesome stories about life after, yet still including, UC.

Through them, we're finding out that the depth of stories surrounding your Bearcat communities all around the world is even too much for this blog to handle at times. And oftentimes, your stories of accomplishment and community building are a good reminder of the unique role UC still plays in your personal, professional and social lives - even long after you leave campus.

So this is our way of spotlighting the amazing things alumni like you are doing to advance UC, your communities, your industries and often, the world. We hope it inspires you to connect with your local Bearcat community, connected to UC and even share your story with us, if you feel so inclined. We'll be featuring the top alumni spotlights right here on this blog too, so be on the lookout for these most recent ones over the next couple of weeks!

Comment below or give us a shout on Twitter @UofCincyAlumni or at alumni.association@uc.edu to let us know what's new with you or even nominate a fellow alum to spotlight on this blog or in the next newsletter.

Hope you enjoy this first edition and let us know what you want to see in the next one!

Couple's Shared Love for UC Inspires Red & Black Wedding

Once upon a time there were two students so committed to UC that they were destined to a Bearcat romance. Their love story begins and continues with UC at its center.

Leah's formal where this love story began.

Seth Vensil's and Leah Taylor's stars collided in 2009 when Leah needed a date to her sorority formal. Mutual friends pinned Seth as the perfect match for Leah and sparks flew instantly. The couple capped off their perfect first date with a stroll around UC’s campus that landed them at McMicken Tower and their (then) favorite Greek hangout, Uncle Woody’s.

Two years later, their love story came full circle when Seth invited Leah back to McMicken Hall. He wanted her to kiss Mick and Mack for good luck before his medical boards the following day, but Leah turned around only to find Seth down on one knee. 

Surprise!

The couple recently set their UC-themed wedding for June 22, 2013, exactly two years from the date Seth proposed, and the same day as his parents’ anniversary. They are as head over heels for UC as they are for each otehr that they even arranged for Lucy the Bearcat to make an appearance at their wedding. Leah also now serves as the official contributor for Proudly Cincinnati's UC-Inspired Weddings board on Pinterest to share her Red & Black-inspired wedding ideas with other Bearcat couples.

As for planning their future together, Seth says, “As a medical student, my life after school is determined by what residency program I match into.  I would like to stay in the Midwest and specifically Ohio.  Really, I'm just excited that Leah is willing to pick up and go wherever I go.  She has been my main support through the last couple of years and I can't wait to start our life together, wherever that may be.”

The groom and bride spent
New Year's Eve together in Chicago.

Wherever their next landing, it seems UC will always hold a special place in the hearts of the young couple - especially considering their jam-packed commitment to UC as students. Leah, a social work major at the College of Allied Health Sciences, managed to juggle leadership positions in her sorority, Chi Omega, Student Government, Student Alumni Council, and Cincinnati Women In Excellence and Spirit Together (CWEST), among others. In between classroom and student organization life, she even found time to take a service trip to El Salvador and represent UC's School of Social Work on a state level by serving on several state committees through the National Association of Social Workers.

Seth, a Biology and Chemistry student at the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences, loved his undergraduate experience so much that he continued on to study at the College of Medicine. Even with a challenging academic program, he served as president of his fraternity, Sigma Chi, and student trustee on UC's Board of Trustees. He stayed involved with 11 other organizations across campus, spanning Men of METRO and Sigma Sigma to ROAR and the Student Activities Board (SAB).

“My involvement in Greek Life and Student Government really cemented my love for UC and provided me with numerous opportunities.  I will always feel indebted to UC for allowing me such a-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it is my lifelong mission to give back in any way that I can.” 

Always "Representing the C," Seth and
Leah sport their Metro and CWEST apparel

Both Seth and Leah continue to be involved as graduate students in the Cincinnatus Honorary Society Alumni Board and the UC Bicentennial Committee – The Best is Yet to Come.

Seth and Leah obviously embody what it means to be Proudly Cincinnati, and we wish them the best of luck as they embark on their new life together!

Did you marry a fellow Bearcat and theme your wedding Red & Black like Leah and Seth? Tell us all about it!

Campus Love Story: UC Helps 'Adopted Bearcats' Find Each Other

Can a new couple call UC “our school” if neither of them went there as a student? The couple in question, Keith and Janet Stichtenoth, thinks so — and so does everyone who attended their recent wedding on the UC campus.

MainStreet proves a natural backdrop for any UC couple.

In the spring of 2009, Keith, who was the Associate Executive Director of the UC Alumni Association at the time and now works in communications for the UC Foundation, met Janet VanderHorst. Janet worked in the UC Bookstore in Tangeman University Center and now manages the UC Medical Bookstore in the CARE/Crawley Building.

Each had come from a previous marriage that had lasted a long time but eventually dissolved. Each had worked at UC for a number of years — just “a few football fields apart” and parking each day in adjacent garages — but they’d never met. And each felt that they might be ready for “the right person to come along” if middle-aged good fortune were to smile on them.

Well, smile it did. Their UC friends and colleagues were delighted to watch a romance grow over the months that followed, providing a refreshing contrast to the teens and 20-somethings who bustled and coupled around them. “We had lunches on MainStreet and went on dates to CCM concerts and Bearcats baseball, soccer, volleyball and football games,” Janet said. “We even co-chaperoned a student bus trip to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl.”

When it came time to make it official and commit to a rest-of-a-lifetime together, they felt the wedding and reception had to be held on UC’s beautiful campus, and specifically inside the Myers Alumni Center where they had spent so much time together, even working side-by-side at the UC Alumni Association’s Bearcat Blitz pre-game football events.


Non-football Saturday? Not so fast...Nippert
Stadium hosted the "Wedding Bowl."

“Have you picked a date yet?!” people asked frequently after their November 2010 engagement announcement. And they would repeatedly answer, “Not yet. We have to wait for the 2011 football schedule to come out so we can pick a non-football Saturday in the fall.” When October 8 proved to be "The Day," friends and family gathered on campus, inside and outside the Myers Alumni Center, for a gorgeous autumn afternoon and evening.

“Coming to UC eight years ago put my life on a new, positive course in many ways, and the best of those turned out to be meeting Janet,” Keith said. “Lots of circumstances and plenty of people played a part in us finding each other here, but UC itself might have been the most important. We are proud and happy Bearcats together.”

Janet agrees. “I have loved being on a college campus, and working at UC had already changed my life. Then to meet Keith here, to fall in love here, and to get married here and celebrate our new life together with so many of our UC friends — we both feel incredibly lucky.”

Know any other "non-traditional" Bearcat couples this Valentine's Day? Tell us how their love for each other and UC unfolded!

Father, Son Alums Publish Motivational Book about "Going the Distance"

How far are you willing to go for a loved one?

Sharing both the Bearcat and father/son bonds, UC alums Jim Serger Jr. and Sr. recently came together to answer this question on their own terms. The duo wrote and published their first book, Go the Distance, to share a redemptive personal story about the power of unconditional love through life’s greatest challenges.

For the Sergers, their greatest challenge – and the inspiration for their book – was Jim Senior’s battle with alcoholism. Despite the toll the disease took on the family, the Sergers came out of it stronger and with a personal testimony to the power of family commitment.

“The book is about highs and lows. It’s about being down in the valley and looking toward the tallest peak,” Jim Jr. said. “We wrote it to help others see that no matter how big the challenge, there are ways to survive the storm. Life gave us extra innings and we took advantage of them and we hope it’s an inspiration for anyone else facing the same family hardships we faced.”

Jim Jr. credits his UC experience for empowering him to overcome his family odds. “Once I graduated I was prepared to handle any obstacle. UC equipped me with the skills to handle the work place and anything life threw at me.”

Jim Jr. earned his degree from the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences in 1991. After graduating, he joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed aboard the USS Independence CV – 62. During his four year deployment in Yokosuka, Japan, Jim climbed Mount Fuji and backpacked throughout Asia. He currently serves as the plant manager at the Indianapolis Home City Ice.

His father, Jim Sr., was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies out of high school, but opted to play third base on UC’s baseball team. He graduated from University College in 1967. He raised his family in Anderson Township for 30 years. A youth baseball head coach for 14 years, Jim strengthened the bond between himself and his two sons through this shared love.

Let us know what’s inspired you to “go the distance” in your own life – this book, a friend’s advice, a UC professor or class?


Video courtesy of Cincinnati's Fox 19.com