Michael Kasperski: Class of '82

Remember, business is always personal.

         

Michael Kasperski

Class of ’82

Michael Kasperski enjoys things in life that involve challenging one’s mind. Ever since Michael (Mike) came to St. Bonaventure University and after Bonaventure, in both his accounting and then educational career, he has been able to challenge his mind over and over again.

Mike grew up in the Olean area and because of growing up in Olean he always knew about Bonaventure and the strong community that was here.

“I didn’t even look at other colleges when it came down to choosing schools. I knew from a young age that Bonaventure was the place for me.”

Before Mike started attending St. Bonaventure University in the fall of 1981 he was enrolled as a student at Jamestown Community College (JCC) for two years and then when Mike finally transferred to Bonaventure as a junior he said that he never felt more at home.

“It was different for me because my wife and I had married after my sophomore year of college, so I had come in to the university as a married man. Even though there was that difference between most students and I and that I was also a commuter, that didn’t affect me in the slightest bit when it came down to me feeling a part of the Bonaventure community.”

Mike says that his favorite memory as an undergraduate at Bonaventure would have to be his relationships that he built with his professors.

“I owe a great deal of my success and who I am as a man today to the influential professors that I had when I was an undergraduate.”

Mike graduated from St. Bonaventure in December of 1982 with a Bachelor in Accounting.

“I was very fortunate because I had taken accounting classes in high school and I was always very fond of how accounting would challenge my mind. To me, being an accountant is not work, I find it fun and rewarding.”

Following his graduation from St. Bonaventure, Mike started working at a large regional accounting firm called Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro. He worked at the offices in Olean for a total of 14 years. During his eighth year with the firm he was promoted to partner and continued in that position until he left in 1997 to go work for a client of the firm called DAPA Communications Inc. as the company’s Chief Financial Officer.

“DAPA was a really interesting company to work for because their headquarters were in Paris, France. They were one of the first companies to establish antennas for cellular network towers in the world and I believe that it was a really neat thing that I was able to be a part of.”

During Mike’s time with DAPA he was also starting his own CPA (Certified Public Accountant) firm on the side, and was teaching as an adjunct for JCC and then later on for St. Bonaventure. Balancing two big jobs started to become too stressful. So he decided after working at DAPA for about five years it was time to move on to focusing solely on his own firm.

 “The firm had taken off so I joined together with another accounting firm in Olean with my own CPA firm, and it continued to grow.”

Then in June 2003 Mike received a call from Professor Mike Fischer asking him if he would be interested in a full-time teaching position at the school.

“So when I received that call from Mike it was definitely the definition of perfect timing in my life, as my largest client just announced that they were merging with a Public Company and all the other clients were being taken care of by the other firm. So I decided to jump at the opportunity to teach full-time.”

Mike started teaching at St. Bonaventure University in the fall of 2003 and has been teaching at the university ever since. During his first two years as a professor he was also working on his Masters of Business Administration receiving it from St. Bonaventure University in 2005.

“This is the greatest gig that I could have ever received in my lifetime. Coming back to this school made for a wonderful opportunity. The students keep you young and I feel like I am always being transported back in time. Even as a professor I still feel like I am in the bona bubble.”

Mike’s favorite memory of being a professor he says would have to be the relationships that he builds with his students.

“My cell phone is filled with numbers of my past students who have turned into lifelong friends of mine. My wife and I attend baptisms, weddings, anniversaries, and all types of family events because I feel like my students are part of my family.”

John Stevens: Class of '74

“It’s easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission.”

John Stevens

Class of ’74

John Stevens is the type of person who goes after what he wants. This quality has served him well in his life and career. St. Bonaventure University was an important stepping stone on John’s path to a long and fulfilling career and life.  John grew up in Olean and was always aware of the existence of the university. But it wasn’t until it came time to make a college choice several years later that he realized what a great fit St. Bonaventure was for him. John started at St. Bonaventure University as a freshman in the fall of 1970. Some of his favorite memories from his undergraduate years had to do with the people he met during his four-year good journey:  

            “As a journalism student, I was fortunate enough to have Dr. Jandoli as my professor for a feature writing course. He taught me a lot about the art of writing and what it takes to be a good writer. I also had Professor Jim Martini for American Literature.  Dr. Martini was another professor that I admired a great deal.  He was a tremendous classroom teacher. I was always excited for his class to start, because he always created such a great learning environment for the all the students. Jim was actually a great influence on me as I developed my own teaching style and technique.”

            John not only enjoyed St. Bonaventure because of his classroom experience, but because of the extracurricular activities he was involved in as well.

            “Since I was a commuter student, I met most of my new friends through campus clubs that I belonged to.  I was part of the college radio station for all four years and wrote for the St. Bonaventure newspaper. I remember during my freshman year I came in second place for a national college newspaper contest for a feature piece that I had written.  It was a very exciting and rewarding time for me in my college career.”

            John graduated from St. Bonaventure in 1974 with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. During his senior year, John worked at WHDL radio station in Olean and then, after graduation, moved to a full-time position at the station.

            “The radio station was a really cool first out of college job for me because I was able to interview interesting people like Miss. New York State, who ended up receiving the title of Miss. America and I covered interesting stories like the 1974 sniper shooting at the Olean high school.”

            After spending about a year at the radio station John decided to pursue a job with the city of Olean. He worked in the Urban Renewal Agency for 2 years. Then in 1977, John decided to move back into radio for about 3-4 months, working for WESB Bradford radio station.  John then decided to pursue a job with BOCES where he took on the role of educational TV production coordinator.

            “With this job, I wrote, produced, and broadcasted different educational TV programs that were used by teachers for their students to watch in class. That job doesn’t even exist anymore, but it was a wonderful learning experience. However, I knew at that point that I didn’t want to do on-air work forever.”

            While still working at the BOCES job, John received a call from a friend saying that there was a Human Resources job open in Friendship, New York with a company called Macler Industries. Since John knew he didn’t want to do TV forever and it was a higher paying job, he decided to give the job a try.

During this time, John also started to work on his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree at St. Bonaventure University. John worked at Macler Industries until 1982 when he was offered a position in the Human Resources department at Dresser Rand as an administrator for training and development. John worked at Dresser Rand for 2 years.

            “I really enjoyed my job at Dresser Rand, but the company was going through some tough times with lots of layoffs.”

            In 1984, John took a job with AVX Corporations in the Human Resources department with the same job title that he had at Dresser Rand.

            “I did a lot of traveling and training during my time at AVX. The job was a great experience for me, especially because I got to learn more about how human resources really worked. During this time I also taught evening classes about training and development at Jamestown Community College (JCC). It was neat because it was onetime open enrollment classes and anyone around the area could pay a small fee to come in and learn. ”

            After John left AVX Corporation in 1989 he started working at Alcas Corporation (now Cutco) as the Director of Training and Organizational Development, where he worked until 1999. 

            “Working at Alcas was a great learning experience for me because I was there for a long period of time and it allowed me to learn about the human resources world.”

            In 1992, while working at Alcas, John received his Masters from SUNY Empire State College.

            “I was originally working towards a Masters at St. Bonaventure, but I started my degree at a very busy time in my life. I saw that Empire State College’s Masters Program would work better with my schedule. I also found that Empire State’s Masters Program had more of the specific coursework I wanted for my degree, coursework that St. Bonaventure just didn’t offer at that time.” 

            While at Alcas, he received a call from St. Bonaventure regarding the school’s plan to open an Achievement Center and they wanted to know if he would like to be a part of it. So, in 1999, John came back to St. Bonaventure and was certified to teach training and development courses, which he did from 1999-2004. He also gained more experience teaching at St. Bonaventure beginning in 1992 as an adjunct.

            While at the Achievement Center, he accepted the job of Vice President of Human Resources at the Rehabilitation Center in Olean, where he worked from 2004-2007. During this time, John also started his own consulting firm that he still does to this day.

            “While I was at the rehabilitation center, I received a call from Dr. John Watson, the Dean of the business school.  Dr. Watson asked me if I would like to return to St. Bonaventure as a full-time teacher in the school of business.  I instantly accepted. I have always loved teaching and have been doing it ever since.”

            One of John’s favorite memories as a professor is working with his friend and mentor, Dr. John Watson.

            “John had asked me to come back to teach.  Without him, I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing now. He was so kind to me and such a great support system throughout my teaching career. But most importantly, he was also a great friend.”

Now that John is back teaching at the school where it all started for him he feels truly blessed and honored to be a bonnie forever.

            “To be honest, I never really left the school. I have done statistics for the men’s, and later on ladies, basketball games since 1977 and am still doing it. It’s nice because the community here at St.  Bonaventure hasn’t really changed all that much to me. The Franciscan spirit is still here and I believe that I, as teacher, need to show my students the true Franciscan spirit, the spirit that I have grown to know so well throughout my relationship with this university.”

             

Carol Fischer: Class of '80

"Blessed to be a Bonnie" 

      

Carol Fischer

Class of ’80 

Carol Fischer has always been someone who enjoys reading a good book and grabbing any type of opportunity to learn something new. Her drive and love for education and learning are what made her so successful and proud of her career. She relates so much of her success back to her years as a student at St. Bonaventure University.

Carol first came across St. Bonaventure University on three separate occasions. The first visit was with her high school when Carol and a group of students came for Press Day. The second visit was for Modern Languages Day and the third was when she and four other friends (including Lauren Matz from a previous blog) did an overnight visit to the college. During her three visits to the university, Carol really enjoyed the school activities, busy events, and beautiful campus. Carol also grew up outside Buffalo in Kenmore, NY so she thought that the campus was a perfect distance away from home.

“The true clincher was what others were saying about the campus. I received letters and phone calls from current students asking me about my decision and really giving me good details of the programs. Hearing that from people my age confirmed that St. Bonaventure was the school for me.”

Carol Fischer started her freshman year at St. Bonaventure in the fall of 1976 as a psychology major but in her sophomore year switched to accounting. As Carol reminisces about her favorite moments spent as an undergraduate, a few memories came to mind.

“My favorite memory would have to be going to basketball games with my floor. Basketball games were the thing to do and each floor would have their own shirts with nicknames printed on them. All the students would fill the wooden bleachers down by the court in the Reilly Center. It was a mad house but always a great bonding experience. Along with our floors, we would also do a lot of fun events like cocktail parties which were my personal favorite.”

Coming from a household of seven siblings, Carol has always had a big place in her heart for family. Being away from them at school was difficult for her at times but she found peace with her home sick feelings by attending mass on campus.

“Since I am one of seven, it was hard for me at first to be living away from my family. I found, however, that when I attended the masses on campus, people from town would bring their children. This always made me feel better because it eased the feeling of missing my family. I was able to surround myself with kids who were close to my siblings’ ages and it gave me a sense of comfort.”

  Carol graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting.

 Carol moved to Buffalo after graduation and started working for the accounting firm Price Waterhouse. She later left what was then one of the big eight accounting firms to go work for a client of the company called Merchants Insurance Group. During this time she also applied for, and got accepted into MBA at SUNY Buffalo.  

Carol received her Certified Public Accountant license (CPA) and her Master of Business Administration (MBA). At this point, Carol was interested in the teaching aspect of accounting and wanted to pursue that type of career.

“What appealed to me about teaching was the flexibility. I had already done my time in the office setting and I was ready to experience a new aspect of accounting.”

Carol taught as an adjunct at Damon College until her five-year reunion when she shared with her old professors that she wanted to be a teacher.

“I was sitting with old professors of mine and discussing how I had just accepted a position at Daemon College and really wanted to pursue the field of teaching. As soon as I said those words, my professors were eager to say how there was an opening here at the university for me to teach. So by the fall of 1985, I was teaching in accounting and finance.”

 By the fall of 1988, Carol and her husband came to the realization that they wanted to pursue their PhDs. Both she and her husband, who was also teaching at Bonaventure, took a leave of absence and moved to Pennsylvania to attend Pennsylvania State University.

“We chose Penn State because it was a practical distance away and we believed that the PhD program could be completed in a reasonable amount of time. My husband received his PhD in four years and I received mine in four and a half. During this period, we also had our first two children so it was a very busy time for us.”

After being involved with the program for awhile Carol and her husband returned to Bonaventure where she finished her dissertation and began teaching again and still is to this day.

Now that Carol is back teaching at the school where it all started for her, and has taken on the role as Dr. Fisher, she does view the university differently.

“I have more of a balanced view. I see St. Bonaventure’s strength and weaknesses. There will always be a place in my heart for this university. One of the main things that I learned from being a teacher is the sacrifice professors give for their students.”

Looking back on her teaching career, Carol says that the favorite aspect of her career always comes back to her students.

“The biggest reward for me is when I have students come up and tell me that I have made a difference in their lives. This feeling of reward has evolved over time with years of experience and age as a teacher. We teachers are here for the students and when you are told that you are doing it right, it’s the most humbling feeling. I will never get over that type of emotion.” 

Carl Case: Class of '80

“Carpe diem”

        

Carl Case

Class of ’80

Carl Case is the type of man who goes after life and his passions with a positive attitude and a full sense of adventure. Not only has Carl tackled obstacles that have come his way, but he has proved to himself and others that he can do anything that he sets his mind to.

            Carl had long known about St. Bonaventure University because he grew up about 20 miles away. When it came to deciding what school suited him best, his decision came down to the University of Buffalo or St. Bonaventure University.

            “Bonaventure had the degree program I was interested in and the college also gave me the best scholarship. In the end it was a no brainer. I was close to home so I really got the best of both worlds. I was able to live on campus and have the full college experience yet I was able to go home when I wanted to with an easy drive.”

            Carl says that he has many fond memories of being an undergraduate student at St. Bonaventure. A favorite memory was during his senior year when the floor that he lived on won the intramural championship cup.

“It was a very competitive road to receiving that cup.”

Another favorite memory was attending basketball games with his floor mates.

“The bottom of the court would be filled with students. As soon as that first buzzer went off, there was toilet paper flying everywhere. It was the main source of entertainment for us back in the day. My floor mates and I would walk into the arena to our seats with our floor shirts on so everyone would know who we were.”

Carl graduated with a major in Marketing in 1980 and then received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Bonaventure in 1982.

“Throughout college, I held a work-study job in the financial aid office. When I graduated, they offered me a full-time job. So while I was receiving my MBA, I was also working full time: work during the day and classes at night.”

After graduation, Carl began teaching at Olean Business Institute. He worked there from 1983–1990 and then decided to go for his doctoral degree at the University of North Texas for Business Computer Information Systems with a supporting field in Computer Education Cognitive Systems. During his time at North Texas, he was a teaching fellow from 1990–1993.

After finishing his coursework at the University of North Texas, Carl returned closer to home to teach at the University of Pittsburgh’s Bradford Campus from 1993–1999. During this time, Carl finished his dissertation and received his doctorate in 1996. Carl also developed several database programs for companies and the colleges where he taught.

By 1999, Carl received word of a job opening at his alma mater and he jumped on the opportunity very quickly.

“My goal was always to come back to St. Bonaventure University to teach. I wanted to give back to the community that gave so much to me in my life. I thought it was only fair, and I enjoy giving back. I always have.”

Carl’s favorite experience as a professor at Bonaventure has been as the advisor for the Business Information Systems Club (BIS).

“My most memorable time is when the club goes to New York City to install computers at homeless shelters. I have always been a man who enjoys giving back. So it warms my heart to see my students wanting to do the very same thing. It takes students out of our ‘Bona’s bubble’ that we create and puts them in a real life situation. It’s an all-around wonderful learning experience.”

Now that Carl is back at Bonaventure, his favorite part is being able to experience what it’s like to be a Bonaventure student all over again. This time, however, he has more knowledge of the campus and how it all works.

            “I know history about the school. Times have changed since I was a student here so I feel that it is very important to let this new generation of students know this school’s history so it won’t be lost over time.”

            In Carl’s spare time, he enjoys the adventures that life gives him. The motto that he lives by is “carpe diem,” seize the day. He has traveled to a total of 12 different countries and doesn’t plan on stopping, is a certified coach, runs every single day and hasn’t missed a day since February 1997.

            “I enjoy living life on the edge. I have skydived, gone scuba diving, zip lined, traveled in a hot air balloon, and have done so many other adventurous activities. I figure, why stop now? I still have my whole life ahead of me.” 

Lauren Matz: Class of '80

Literature has opened the mysterious and decisive doors of imagination and understanding. It allows us to see the way others see, to think the way others think, and above all, to feel.

-Salman Rushdie

Lauren Matz

Class of ‘80

Lauren Matz has kept a deep connection with Bonaventure most of her life, including before she was even a student. Not only did she receive her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the university, but she also returned years later with her doctorate and became an English professor. Lauren has maintained a very fulfilling career at St. Bonaventure University since then and hopes to continue her years at the university doing what she loves most: teaching.

Lauren was first introduced to St. Bonaventure University at her high school, Mount Saint Mary Academy.

“I visited the university twice during my junior year of high school: on Press Day and Modern Languages Day. Both were very enjoyable and I thought, and still think, that those events were excellent recruitment techniques for the university.”

She was also strongly influenced to attend the university from reading Thomas Merton’s autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, which she found to be very aspiring and admirable.

Lauren attended her first class as a St. Bonaventure student in the fall of 1976. One of her favorite memories as an undergraduate student was spending time at the Friedman Library on campus.

“I appreciated that a good library was available to us right on campus that I could go to anytime. I would spend a lot of my time in there either working, socializing, or attending group meetings. However, most of the wonderful hours were spent reading all the different types of books that the library has to offer.”

Lauren also worked in the library for her work study. She found that having this job had its own set of perks.

“My favorite memory of working at the library was during my senior year when I was the one to lock all the doors and close the library. I always felt special to be the last one in there.”

Throughout Lauren’s educational career at the university she was interested in a lot of courses along with her regular literature courses that caught her attention. Her three main topics of interest were European History, French Language and Literature, and Ancient Greek studies. She graduated St. Bonaventure University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English in 1980.

After graduation, Lauren dived right into a doctoral degree program in English at The Ohio State University.

“I chose Ohio State because, well for starters, the school offered me the best financial aid. The main reason, however, was my admiration of the work done by faculty member Richard D. Altick. He was a literary historian who specialized in 19^th century Victorian British literature. I had admired his work for so many years and it was an honor that I had been in two of his classes.”

By 1985 Lauren, who was now Dr. Matz, had received her bachelor’s, master’s, and now a doctoral degree in English.

After receiving her doctorate, Lauren stayed in the small college atmosphere. She taught her first postdoctoral class as an adjunct in 1984 at Ohio Dominican University, a small Catholic school located in Columbus, Ohio. In 1986, she moved to Nebraska to teach at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Lauren taught at this university until 1988 when she saw an opening for a teaching position at her alma mater and applied for it.

“I never thought that I would come back to Bonaventure in my career. I was excited to have the opportunity to return but I did so under sad circumstances. One of my mentors in college, Boyd A. Litzinger, had died the previous year from cancer. A year later I was taking over his teaching position. I try to fill the big shoes that he left at this university every day.”

During the fall of ’88, Lauren taught her first class in the English Department at St. Bonaventure and is still happily teaching to this day.

Lauren says that her favorite elements of being a professor at St. Bonaventure are familiarity with the environment and being part of the wonderful community again.

“Weirdly, this place has not changed in its essentials. The Bonaventure community still feels the same as ever.”

Since her return to the university, Lauren has many fond memories of being a professor. Some of her favorite recollections include being part of the Oxford program from 1994–1997 and the College Quiz Bowl – National Academic Tournaments from 1998–2008.

“We do what we do because of the students. I have always enjoyed introducing young students to great literature. I’ve been teaching for 34 years now and I can’t wait for many more years to come of doing what I love to do.”

Carole McNall: Class of '75

  "There are years that ask questions and years that   answer."
 -Zora Neale Hurston

          

Carole McNall

Class of ‘75

Akron High School is where Carole McNall first realized that her dream was to become a journalist. McNall had started looking into journalism schools in New York State, including Syracuse University, but soon came to realize that SU wasn’t her dream college. McNall’s guidance counselor then suggested St. Bonaventure University and the school’s journalism program. By the fall of 1971, McNall was starting her first college semester as a Bonnie.

McNall’s favorite memory was when her graduate student boyfriend, Steve, asked her to marry him in the De La Roche basement when she was a sophomore. They married during the winter break of her senior year and, to this day, are still happily married.

McNall graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1975 with a Journalism degree and a world of experience ahead of her. Her career started in Olean, NY at WEBF, a radio station now called 95.7 WPIG.

“At first, I was offered a five-week position to fill in during someone’s vacation. My job was to manage the scheduling and write advertisements. At the end of five weeks, the station manager asked if I would take a position in the station’s news department, and I accepted the offer.”

McNall worked in the news department of the station for about two years until she decided to explore other career paths that would allow her to spend more time with her husband. McNall turned in her resume at the right place at the right time. She was contacted by the managing editor of the Olean Times Herald and, after turning in a sample news story for the interview, she was offered a job as a reporter and worked for the paper for almost 12 years.

Eight months after McNall left the Olean Times Herald and worked a couple of times for  St. Bonaventure University Relations, she found herself applying for, and being accepted into, the law school at SUNY Buffalo for her Law degree.

“My first year in law school, I found that I doubted myself a lot. I was wondering why I was living at my parents’ house during the week and coming home to see Steve on weekends. I was convinced that I wasn’t going back the next year until I came across an ad that was advertising a job at St. Bonaventure. I thought about applying for that job but then told myself ‘no.’ I was in law school and I will finish! My brother was a big help through the whole process as well because he went through law school. The Bonaventure ad, ironically, was my deal breaker.”

McNall graduated with Juris Doctor Degree in law in 1993 from SUNY Buffalo and passed her bar exam in July of that same year. McNall started her new career by working for a private law practice in Cuba, NY and eventually branched off into her own practice.

Later, McNall’s job path led her to Jamestown Community College (JCC) where she spent a semester teaching Constitutional Law. JCC then offered her the opportunity to teach Business Law. During this time, McNall ran into an old friend, Carol Fischer, who was the head of the accounting department at Bonaventure. “When Carol found out that I was about to teach a business law class at JCC, she was insistent on getting me to teach the class at St. Bonaventure, as well.”

McNall’s friend Carol succeeded in her mission. McNall started teaching part-time at both Bonaventure and JCC and began working at H&R Block. Later, when McNall’s friend, Dr. Mary Hamilton, was planning to retire from her position as a journalism professor, she recommended to the dean of the St. Bonaventure School of Journalism that McNall take over her position. McNall became a professor in the School of Journalism in the fall of 2003 and has been teaching full-time ever since.

When asked about some of her favorite memories as a professor, McNall said it was a couple of years ago when she was teaching two Introduction to Media classes.

“I brought in an article from Rolling Stone magazine that talked about the Boston Marathon bombing. I let the students read it and told them to come to the next class prepared to discuss the topic. The next two classes became two of my most favorite classes I have ever taught. There were strong debates along with heated opinions and it was then that I realized I really love what I do. I really felt like I was making a difference in the young journalism community.”

Paul Wieland: Class of '59

“Write if you get work, or hang from your thumbs.”

           

Paul Wieland

Class of ’59

St. Bonaventure University tends to have a special hold on the university’s alumni base. This statement especially holds true to Paul Wieland who graduated from the university in 1959 and is now a faculty member in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Paul knew that he wanted to be a journalist ever since he was a kid. The students at Bishop Timon High School, where Paul attended, would make trips to attend Press Day at St. Bonaventure University, which was one of the biggest days of the year for the journalism department. Famous authors, journalists, and news figures would attend this event and Paul would always find himself being sucked into the excitement of it all. When it came time to apply for colleges, St. Bonaventure University’s School of Journalism was where Paul wanted to enroll. In the fall of 1955, he started his first semester at the university.

“One of the main reasons I chose this university was because the chairman of the journalism department at the time, Russell Jandoli, was someone whom I looked up to very much. He believed in ethical journalism and that is a belief that I still stand by today.”

One of Paul’s most memorable moments as an undergraduate was the hazing he experienced as a freshman.

“It was annoying at the time because the upper classmen would make us wear these brown beanies with a sign indicating our graduating year and force us to do ridiculous things. However, it made me count on the people I had just met, who would become good friends of mine, and really helped me feel like I was becoming a part of the Bonaventure community.”

After Paul graduated in 1959 with a degree in journalism and a minor in history, he started his career as a news reporter for the Buffalo Courier-Express. He also had a side job at a weekly suburban paper in Buffalo and taught English for a year at his former high school.

During the first nine years after college, Paul won a total of 20 awards for journalism. Later, Paul decided to leave the Buffalo Evening News because of a conflict with the managing editor, and decided to pursue other career paths.

“I found out later that the managing editor with whom I was having problems dropped dead of a heart attack at his desk three months after I left. It amazes me how different my career path would have been if I had waited out those three months. My philosophy has always been to work for people whom I respect. If there is no respect within the workplace, I am not interested and I am the first to leave.”

            After leaving, Paul received a job with General Motors in the company’s public relations department. Paul was soon offered a big promotion as the public relations director for  the Overseas Divisions in the headquarters of General Motors in New York City. However, Paul did not feel that this job was the right fit for him, so he left a year later.

“It was a good experience. I was able to be a part of the glamour of a job in the city and what General Motors had to offer its more senior employees. It just wasn’t the job for me.”

Soon after, Paul received a call from a friend asking him to be the director of public relations for a new hockey team called the Sabres. Since Paul had a long history of playing hockey, he jumped on the opportunity and worked as their director of public relations for 25 years. During this time, he also experimented with other jobs and started his own sports film company that made features for NBC sports and highlights for teams. Paul also worked for the Niagara Frontier Sports Network which covered all of the television sporting events in Western NY and in public relations at a private ad agency for the Sabres new arena.

 “One of the Knox brothers (the original owners of the Sabres) had been diagnosed with cancer and I knew that they were planning on selling the team so I decided to leave and work on other projects and jobs.”

After the Sabres, Paul worked for a public television operation in Massachusetts for six years, was in the process of writing two books and held a job at ESPN. During this time, he received a call from Lee Coppola, who had been a friend of Paul’s for years. Lee was the Dean of the School of Journalism at St. Bonaventure and he asked Paul if he was interested in a job in the department. He decided to take his friend up on the offer. Paul started teaching his first journalism class at his alma mater in 2002 and has been a member of the Bonaventure faculty ever since.

“I was still working for ESPN during my first year of teaching. I soon realized that I was juggling a lot between traveling to sporting events for ESPN and needing to be in the classroom to teach. I suffered a heart attack and knew that I needed to slow down. So I decided to stick with teaching and leave ESPN.”

Looking back on his years of being a professor, Paul says that his favorite memories always have to do with his students.

“I feel that I can relate to my students because I was also a Bonnie. My students have made me feel fuller and allowed me to live out the youthful spirit that I always had.”

If Paul had to pick one particular favorite memory as a professor, he says it was when a television sports production truck was donated to the university. He was happy that sports production had come back into his life.

“It made me feel good because I am now able to teach people the thing I loved most in my career.”

Along with teaching, Paul is in the process of writing a novel and enjoying time with his wife, children, and dog.