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Eleventh Annual USC High School Halls of FameUpper St. Clair School District
Friday, October 8, 2010
The purpose of the Halls of Fame is to identify and to honor those who have distinguished themselves in academics, the arts or athletics at the high school,
collegiate or professional level and who, in so doing, have contributed to the pride and prestige of Upper St. Clair High School.The Athletic Hall of Fame inductees for 2010 are Sean Lee and Kevin Slowey.
The Arts Hall of Fame inductee for 2010 is Timothy Hobbs.
The Academics Hall of Fame inductees for 2010 are Jennifer E. Bell, James Eshleman,Aimee Hernandez, Brendan McGuire, David Seidenfeld, and Thomas Smedley.
Enjoy some of the "digital memories" of that day!
Listed below are brief bios about all of our inductees.
The Athletic Hall of Fame inductees for 2010 are Sean Lee and Kevin Slowey.Sean Lee
Sean Lee, Class of 2005, was a two-sport athlete who was graduated with a 3.7 grade point average. He was a member of National Honor Society who earned seven varsity letters in football and basketball during his years at USC. He is one of the few individuals to be selected to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and Tribune Review Fabulous 22 Football Team and to their Fabulous Five Basketball Team. As a senior Sean helped to lead the Panthers to the 2005 WPIAL Basketball Championship. For his exceptional performances on both teams, Sean was named the 2005 Almanac Athlete of the Year, the 2005 Tribune Review Athlete of the Year, and the 2005 Pittsburgh Post Gazette Athlete of the Year. Sean left USC to go to Penn State where he was a four-year letterman and two-times captain of the football team. Sean was known nationally as a highly skilled and passionate linebacker. He was a three-year starter and two-times Big Ten Second Team Linebacker. Despite one year hampered by significant injury, Sean was the fourth leading tackler of all time at Penn State! During his career at Penn State, the team won four bowl games. Sean was named the MVP for the Alamo Bowl Victory. He was named the Big Ten Player of the Week three times, and in 2007 he was selected for the Pro-Football Weekly All-American First Team. In addition to his athletic achievements, Sean was graduated with a grade point average over 3.0 in Finance. Sean was the 55th player chosen in the 2010 National Football League Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He is currently playing for them in his rookie season. Sean Lee has frequently been recognized for the service that he has performed on behalf of Penn State University and the Dallas Football Club.
Kevin Slowey
Kevin Slowey, Class of 2002, was an exceptional student and athlete at USC. He was a member of National Honor Society, a nominee for Student of the Year, and a valedictorian. As a member of the baseball team, Kevin was selected for the Pittsburgh South All Star Team in 2001 and 2002 and for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette All Star Team in 2002. When he left USC, Kevin continued to excel both as a student and an athlete. He attended Winthrop University where he earned a 3.96 GPA over three years. Kevin was awarded the Griffin-Guettler Award for being the male athlete with the highest grade point average at Winthrop University. He was also the 2004-2005 Big South Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year. As a pitcher at Winthrop, Kevin holds the all time record of 30 career wins and 331 strikeouts in three years. As a result, he was an ABCA First Team All-American as well as a Collegiate Baseball Second Team All-American. In 2005 Kevin was a Second Round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins. In the next two years Kevin had been named the Minor League Baseball Most Spectacular Triple A Pitcher, the MLB.com Triple A Starting Pitcher of the Year, and the 2007 Minnesota Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year. In the 2007 season Kevin moved to the Majors where he has been a starting pitcher for the Minnesota Twins ever since. During the season Kevin does volunteer work with the Twins Community Fund Organization. In the off-season he enjoys fishing, pheasant hunting, reading, and being a Steelers and Penguins fan.The Arts Hall of Fame inductee for 2010 is Timothy Hobbs.
Timothy J. Hobbs
Tim Hobbs, Class of 1998, was an exceptional student and athlete at USC. He was active in Math league, Calcu-Solve, Interact, and Multi-Cultural Club. Tim was elected captain of the varsity baseball team. He was a member of National Honor Society, a valedictorian, and a National Merit Commended Scholar. At Emory University Tim became the captain of the varsity baseball team and earned the 2002 Emory University Aliberti Award for exemplary leadership and character and an NCAA 2002 Postgraduate Scholarship Award. Tim was graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Mathematics/Economics and he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Tim went to New York University's Stern School of Business where he specialized in Finance, Law & Business, and Entertainment & Media. During his post-graduate study, Tim worked as a warehouse manager, then a project manager, and finally the Northeast regional sales supervisor for McMaster-Carr Supply Company in Princeton, New Jersey. He also worked as an associate at Walt Disney Studios. When he earned his MBA, Tim was invited to attend the Cannes Film Festival in 2007, to attend a Beijing study in May of 2007, and he was the first MBA to be selected by philosopher Ronald Dworkin for his prestigious colloquium. Since he earned his MBA, Tim has founded and served as the CEO of Torch Capital & Torch Films, a global feature film financing, production, and distribution company. Mayor Michael Bloomberg selected it for New York City's first entrepreneurship incubator initiative in 2009. Torch Films first feature film was "Marina of the Zabbaleen," a documentary that tells the story of 7-year-old Marina in a garbage-recycling village in Cairo, Egypt. The film received favorable reviews in the New York Times and qualified for consideration for the 2010 Academy Awards. Because the film is now sold as a "f!ex-disc," which is 100% recyclable, Torch Films is being praised as a "green" studio. Tim's company is currently filming two feature films.The Academics Hall of Fame inductees for 2010 are Jennifer E. Bell, James Eshleman,
Aimee Hernandez, Brendan McGuire, David Seidenfeld, and Thomas Smedley.
Jennifer E. Bell
Jennifer Bell, Class of 1994, was the vice-president or president of her class all four years. She also was a member of the yearbook staff, German Club, SADD, and National Honor Society. Jennifer was a Seiko Youth Challenge I Regional Semi-finalist in 1991 and a Seiko Youth Challenge II National Finalist in 1992. She was the Rotary Club Paul Harris Award winner as a junior and a National Merit Scholarship winner as a senior. Jennifer was a valedictorian of her class. She went to Wake Forest University where she was the recipient of a Carswell Academic Scholarship and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She earned a B.A. in History with Honors and was graduated magna cum laude in 1998. Jennifer attended the University Of Virginia School Of Law where she earned her Juris Doctor in 2001. After she was admitted to practice law in Washington state, Jennifer worked for five years with the firm of Perkins Coie in Seattle. In 2002 and 2004 Jen was recognized for her pro bono work on behalf of low-income immigrants and unaccompanied children. In 2006 she left the law firm and moved to Tacoma to work for the Northwest Justice Project, a non-profit, publicly funded legal aid provider. In this capacity Jennifer provides free legal services to low-income clients with housing, consumer, and employment issues. She has been a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and served on the Board of the Washington State Chapter of the American Parkinson's Disease Association. Jennifer and her husband enjoy biking, kayaking, golfing, travel, and, of course, Steelers football!
James R. Eshleman
Jim Eshleman, Class of 1977, was very active in marching band, the choirs, and the musicals. He also was a member of the Rifle Team, Speech and Debate, and the National Honor Society. Jim became an Eagle Scout. After graduation Jim attended the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a B.A. in Biophysics, an MD in Medicine, and a PhD. in Anatomy & Structural Biology. He was selected as Chief Resident in Clinical Pathology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. During his years at Penn, Jim was awarded four fellowships, the Young Investigator Award, and the Leonard Berwick Teaching Award. In 1993 he went to Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine where he was a faculty member and then Assistant Professor for the Department of Pathology. In 1996 Jim moved to the Division of General Medical Sciences (Oncology) and to Transfusion Medicine Service. Since 1997 Jim has been a Professor for the Departments of Pathology and Oncology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He is also the Associate Director of the Molecular Diagnostics laboratory. In these various capacities he is working toward the early detection of pancreatic cancer, novel therapeutics of pancreatic cancer, and discovery of genes predisposing to pancreatic cancer. Jim pursues his research through his teaching, the 87 papers that he has published, the lectures that he has given around the world, and the 21 grants that he has been awarded. Jim and his wife live in Lutherville, Maryland, where they are involved in their daughters' education and interests.
Aimee Joy Hernandez
Aimee Hernandez, Class of 1997, worked on the yearbook, sang in the choir, and was Field Captain of the Pantherettes. She went to Syracuse University where she earned a B.S. in Marketing Studies. After graduation she returned to Pittsburgh and worked as a buyer for Kaufmann's for one year. Then Aimee went to Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management. She earned her MBA with a major in Marketing in April of 2004 and enrolled in the Pepperdine University School of Law. During her last year in law school, Aimee worked 20 hours per week as a paid marketing and legal intern for NextAction. Upon earning her Juris Doctorate in 2006, Aimee was offered a full-time position. She relocated to Colorado to spearhead the implementation of online advertising initiative as an online marketing manager. She returned to the Los Angeles area to work for Advertising.com as a Senior Account Manager. She handled more than 150 online campaigns. Aimee was successful in recruiting, retention and training for new employees because she developed a program to promote career success and visibility within the organization. This success led to her position as an Account Manager Director for AOL.Advertislng. She supervises eight Account Managers and has a sales goal over $85MM. In her first year Aimee was recognized as one of AOL's Top Talent in 2008. She was named a Fellow for the Robert Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology Law at the Pepperdine University School of Law. When AOL went public, Aimee was one of 15 employees selected to ring the NYSE bell. Aimee is the co-chairman of the LA Chapter of AOL’s Wonder Women Organization.
Brendan Martin McGuire
Brendan McGuire, Class of 1980, demonstrated interest and leadership in many different fields at USC. In athletics he was the commissioner of a street hockey league and the pa announcer for soccer; in the arts he was active in the choirs, the orchestra, the musicals, and in art shows; in academics he was a member of National Honor Society and president of the senior class. In 1984 Brendan earned a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. In 1990 he earned a Masters in Bioengineering from Penn State and an MD in Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh. Brendan went to the University of Minnesota where he did an internship and residency in Internal Medicine and then a fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Since 1996 Brendan has been a Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is currently the medical Director of Liver Transplantation. He focuses on liver diseases and liver transplantation. Brendan has received numerous teaching awards from the UAB School of Medicine. He is the editor for the journal "Liver Transplantation,” he has published 49 articles, and he has written 9 chapters in books. Brendan is the principal investigator on clinical trials involving people with cirrhosis for NIH and corporations. He is actively involved in the United Network for Organ Sharing, in the American Society of Transplantation, in the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, and in the International Liver Transplant Society. Brendan and his wife Liz have three sons ages 13, 12, and 10.
David Seidenfeld
David Seidenfeld, Class of 1996, took part in a pilot program for CHANGES, an urban suburban program which partnered students from USCHS with students from a city school to perform community service activities. He was a member of National Honor Society and was captain of the track team. David went to Cornell University where he ran freshman track and served as a Resident Assistant for three years. In 2000 he earned a B.A. in Economics and Philosophy with distinction in all subjects. Because of his experience with CHANGES during high school, David learned about the value and effectiveness of community service. During his study at college, he learned of the inequity of economics. As a result, David joined the Peace Corps as a volunteer in the Community Action for Health Program and served two years in Zambia. He organized and trained community members as health educators for issues such as AIDS, HIV, malaria, malnutrition, etc. When he returned to the USA, David pursued his interest by earning an M.A. in International and Comparative Education from Stanford University in 2006. Awarded the Dean's Fellowship and the Institute for Educational Sciences (IES) Pre-doctoral Fellowship, David continued his studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his PhD. in Education Policy in 2010. He was awarded three grants during his doctoral studies supporting various education programs to reduce poverty in developing countries. In 2008 David founded the Impact Network Foundation to build community schools for AIDS orphans in rural Zambia and to run a micro-finance loan program for the 24 women who care for the orphans. Currently David is in Africa evaluating a UNICEF Go to School Initiative in Southern Sudan.
Thomas Smedley
Tom Smedley earned his B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Indiana University of PA, his M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from Penn State and his Principal's Certification from Pitt. After teaching briefly at Mt.Lebanon and at Altoona, Tom came to USCHS in 1981. During his 33 year career, he taught a variety of science and mathematics courses to both regular and advanced placement students. His students appreciated the individual attention that he gave them both in class and in the computer lab. Tom served as the Mathematics Curriculum Leader from 2003-2009. One of Tom's strengths as a teacher was to provide the practical applications of the math problems that they were solving. Because he had a dual career in the Army Reserve, Tom related his experiences as a nuclear, biologic, and chemical officer to his physics and math classes. Tom held the rank of full Colonel, Deputy Chief of Staff, Engineer of the 99th Regional Support Command in Coraopolis, PA in 2001. Tom's students benefited from having an outstanding teacher who also illustrated the belief in the importance of a strong Armed Forces Reserve for the security of the country. Because he enjoyed interacting with and getting to know students on a different level, Tom served as an assistant and a head rifle coach and an assistant track coach. In the post-Katrina years, Tom served as a role model when he did volunteer relief work in Mississippi and Alabama and worked with Habitat for Humanity in West Virginia. Tom lives with his wife and children in Bethel Park.
Last Modified on November 10, 2010
