However, it is comforting for them to know there are other students who can relate to and learn from their unforgettable stories.

Pitt-Johnstown junior and Johnstown native Kala Ceryak said her four year experience with the U.S. Air Force Reserves was fulfilling, and that the rewards made the risks she took worthwhile.

Ceryak said she chose the Air Force for her military path because she was seeking to focus more on logistics. She later gained a senior airman rank in Air Transportation and Logistics.

Although she signed up to join the reserves, Ceryak spent three of her four years in the Armed Forces overseas: in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

“When I wasn’t deployed, I just did my training on the weekends or was spending time training for (another) deployment,” she said.

Ceryak started her Pitt-Johnstown education Summer 2010, returned in the spring of 2011 and again in the fall of 2012.

“I’m very passionate about what I did,” she said. “Your entire comprehension of the world is transformed; you are trained to think and view things differently.”

Going back and forth between military and college life was difficult at times, Ceryak said.

“You come back to a place you have known your entire life, but all of a sudden it seems foreign,” she said. “It’s hard, only because I have so much free time. I’m used to 12-hour days with no breaks.”

Ceryak said it was especially hard when she returned from her Iraq mission with only a three-week gap remaining before her Afghanistan mission.

“It’s like you’re on a vacation (when you are) home,” she said. “Once you’re used to all the comforts (of home), you’re thrust back into the chaos. But it makes you appreciate home.”

Ceryak said other campus veterans may be hesitant to identify themselves because they feel that no one will understand what they endured.

However, she said that it is important for campus veterans to relate to one another and share experiences with community members.

“We (veterans) don’t want to be distinguished as different from others,” she said. “We just did what we did; we don’t want the attention. But, at the same time, if students are seeking information about (military life), someone should be able to give it to them.”

Ceryak said more veterans stepping forward and being proud of the courage they have shown could benefit the university in general.

“I’d like to encourage people with military experience to embrace and share it with the people who want to know about it or be a part of it,” she said. “I think it would help UPJ to be a better, more accepting school for veterans and people in general to come to.”

Ceryak said she thinks it could be a good idea to have a Meet the Vets Day on campus. That way, willing campus veterans could share their experiences and advice with students interested in the military.

Although Ceryak knows war can be recognized for negative experiences, life after deployment depends on the veteran’s attitude, she said.

“A lot of what happens to you when you come home depends on your outlook and willingness to make adjustments to better your situation.”

One of the reasons she returned to UPJ for her degree was because of Mountain Cat Veterans Program Coordinator Paul Newman, Ceryak said.

“His passion to expand (the program) for current and future (veteran) students is something I could help with and be a part of,” she said. “That attracted me back to UPJ.”

Pitt-Johnstown Academic Affairs Assistant Vice President Paul Newman said there are perks to being a military veteran on campus.

Students who served in the U.S. Armed Forces are able to receive free campus parking, priority registration and tickets to Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center events.

Newman said although there are 50 or 60 veteran students in the program each semester, he knows that there are more military students on campus.

“A lot of vets on campus don’t want to be recognized,” he said. “They see and experience things that we can’t relate to, and part of them wants to forget.”

Newman said the adjustments between military and college schedules can sometimes be challenging for students.

“In combat, they are used to everyday rules and a clear mission,” he said. “Coming back to school, everyday contains multiple tasks.”

Newman said his family history of combat veterans is part of the reason why he feels dedicated to helping them receive more benefits and support from the university and the community.

“(Veterans) understand one another and need to have time together and have a common space,” he said. “These people undergo extreme sacrifice on my behalf, and they deserve to be treated exceptionally well when they come home.”

Many Pitt-Johnstown students and professors mourned the 2012 loss of Marine Corps veteran and former Delta Chi brother Brian Gindlesperger. He was considered a Mountain Cat Veterans Program leader and role model.

Newman said he became even more devoted to the program after the loss of Gindlesperger because it is imperative that veterans have a solid support system.

“I think about him every day,” Newman said. “Every time I walk past the Delta Chi fraternity house, I think of him.”

Pitt-Johnstown sophomore, Delta Chi brother and former Marine Christopher Regula said other campus veterans may find it comforting to join an organization where they are able to form a brotherhood bond with members.

Regula attended UPJ for three semesters before he joined the Marines, where he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and 2012 on combat tours.

When he decided to join a campus fraternity, Regula was seeking a union of friends similar to one he had in the military. Since many brothers are prior military members as well, the adjustment back into the college lifestyle has been somewhat easier, he said.

“The brotherhood formed in these organizations can help make the transition less stressful,” he said. “Having guys you can go to for advice or help with (your) problems creates the same nostalgic atmosphere you miss when you leave a unit.”

Regula said, although it is hard to adjust to a college agenda after military life, his time enlisted taught him to be more prompt with everything he does.

“You learn not to put off a task,” he said. “The military teaches you not to procrastinate in your work and to always be on time.”

Regula said he received a lot of support and guidance from Newman as he was getting settled again on campus.

“I believe that UPJ has a good support network (for veterans), but it is up to the individual to take advantage of it,” Regula said. “Faculty support is there, but, as far as students are concerned, participation is lacking.”

His experience in the Marines also gave him four years to decide what education path he would pursue when he returned to UPJ, Regula said.

“Being in the military has altered my views on what is really important in my life,” he said. “But there is so much to gain; whether it is for the sense of patriotic duty, the adrenaline of combat, the experience in something different, to pay for college or build a strong resume, the military is the way to go.”

- See more at: http://www.upj-advocate.com/features/2013/10/11/veterans-mission-now-in-classrooms/#sthash.T2Zq6hRL.dpuf

October 8 2013: NEWS: Pitt-Johnstown Homecoming 2013[video] Tags: Acacia, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Delta Chi, Delta Sigma Chi, Kappa Delta Rho, Kapp Zeta, Phi Sigma Sigma, Sigma Tau Gamma

Eden Cohen, Copy Editor
October 2, 2013 
Filed under Features

Sound swelled last Wednesday out of 240 Biddle Hall: the disjointed, cacophonic noise of instruments warming up. The concert band musicians were inside, preparing for practice.

Inside the room, junior Christina Flower held a trumpet in her hands.

Flower has been playing trumpet in the Pitt-Johnstown concert band for three years. She said the band plays mostly marches, but they play a few classical pieces, too.

Flower said she has been playing trumpet for about 13 years.

“I started playing actually in fourth-grade when I saw a demonstration at my school, and I thought it would be cool to be in the band,” Flower said. “My grandfather was also a big inspiration in my starting to play the trumpet because he was a music teacher.”

To maintain her skills, Flower practices once or twice a week for an hour, though she admits it’s challenging to make time around classwork. She also has trouble finding a place to practice.

“If you live on campus, it’s really hard (to practice) because you have to be considerate of those around you,” she said.

Concert band member sophomore Ariel Korlinchak started playing flute in fourth-grade. This is her second year playing in the concert band.

Korlinchak said she began when lessons were offered through her elementary school, inspired by her cousins who also played instruments.

“I thought it was the coolest thing,” she said.

Korlinchak and Flower also sing in the Pitt-Johnstown concert choir. Flower said the choir has performed show songs, spiritual and classical.

Both Flower and Korlinchak said they plan to continue with music once they graduate.

“Music has been such a big part of my life that I absolutely want to continue working,” she said, adding that she plans to sing or play through her church.

Korlinchak said she wants to play in her church on special occasions. She said she doesn’t want to play professionally but wants to keep playing in community groups.

In addition to the concert band and choir, Pitt-Johnstown’s music department also offers a jazz ensemble.

Ensemble member senior Michael Cerveris plays bass along with his friend, senior Tony Raco, who plays drums.

Cerveris said that the ensemble is entertaining since they play a different style of music than what he usually plays.

“It’s a nice breakup of the day,” Cerveris said.

Cerveris plays piano and guitar as well. He is classically trained in piano, which he started playing when he was 5 years old. He started playing guitar around age 15.

Cerveris and Raco are members of The Deep Vees, a band also including senior Randall Penn and Drake Watters, who graduated last semester.

Cerveris said they play mostly original songs from a wide array of genres, including reggae, blues and rock.

Cerveris met the other members of his band through his fraternity, Sigma Tau Gamma. He said they began when Penn ran for Mr. UPJ, and they decided to write a song about it. They have been playing ever since.

The Deep Vees often play at the Windber Hotel. They’ve also been trying to play on campus more, according to Cerveris.

Another band on campus is Them Blue Cats. Sophomore Sam Louderback is a vocalist and guitarist in the band.

Louderback began playing guitar in seventh grade. He said his sister gave him a guitar one day.

The band practices Fridays before shows, Louderback said. He practices by himself about an hour daily in his room.

Louderback said he met Them Blue Cats’ bassist, Andrew Dunlevy, at a summer camp when he was young. He met their drummer, Jason Kaczynski, last summer at Speal’s Tavern in New Alexandria.

Louderback said they mostly play covers of blues artists such as The Allman Brothers Band, Walter Trout and Joe Bonamassa.

The band plays at Joey’s The Edge, a bar and restaurant in Export, Westmoreland County.

Back inside Biddle 240, conductor Mike Bodolosky corralled concert band students into their seats and the sounds of individual instruments blended, becoming harmonious as they played an opening chord.

- See more at: http://www.upj-advocate.com/features/2013/10/02/music-strikes-chord-with-students/#sthash.9sSaKXS6.dpuf

October 2, 2013: NEWS: Music strikes chord with students [video] Tags: Sigma Tau Gamma

Hello Alpha Sig Alums!

Fall is always an exciting time for our chapter because we get to start off a brand new year at Pitt Johnstown and work to achieve the goals we set over our summer break. This fall, we are elated to welcome a new member class of 6 amazing new ladybugs! This is the biggest fall class we’ve had in several years and I believe it shows just how hard all of our past and present sisters have worked to recruit and promote a strong influence on our campus.