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Saint Vincent College honors its 2024 Alumni of Distinction

Saint Vincent College honors its 2024 Alumni of Distinction

by Public Relations | June 27, 2024

LATROBE, PA – Saint Vincent College is pleased to announce its 2024 Alumni of Distinction in recognition of their exemplary service to the College, community and country in areas such as professional achievement, church involvement, community service, humanitarian efforts and personal/family accomplishments.

This year’s honorees are Marianne Reid Anderson, C’87, of Pittsburgh; Adrienne M. Geis, C’89, of Alexandria, VA; Joe Hoffman, C’78, of Dallas; W. Jeffrey Hoover, C’79, of Wexford; Daniel P. Lynch, C’89, of Fombell; William A. Ramos, C’64, of Nesconset, NY; and Ronald G. Rosemeier, P’70, C’74, of Monkton, MD.

The Alumni of Distinction will be honored Oct. 4 at the Fred M. Rogers Center on campus as part of Homecoming and Fall Family Weekend.

Marianne Reid Anderson C’87       

Marianne Reid Anderson, C'87Marianne Reid Anderson crafted a successful career as an associate program manager with the Forhan and Wakefield Group working with Exxon Research and Development, IBM, and Ashton-Tate. She spent four years as a technical writer and account manager for Microsoft, and later taught the Advanced Microsoft Excel course and a freshman collegiate computer camp as an adjunct professor for the McKenna School.

Saint Vincent’s business core classes put Anderson on a path to become president of Maritom, LLC, which specializes in the latest technology for architecture, design, development. social media and distance learning. She also was executive editor of Northern Connection magazine from 2013 to 2017.

The Covid-19 pandemic marked a calamitous turning point in Anderson’s life. “I refer to Covid as my car wreck,” she said.

After contracting the virus in 2021, Anderson spent a month in a hospital intensive-care unit with a tracheostomy tube feeding air into her beleaguered lungs. Two months later, still weak from that battle, she sustained a stroke.

“The best way to describe the past three years for me is, ‘complications and side effects,’” Anderson said. “I had to learn how to walk, how to talk, how to read. It’s been one thing after another, all related to Covid.”

The stroke and the ensuing rehab robbed Anderson of her independence and put her professional career on hold. However, she continues to find ways to remain active, including serving as a mentor for young alumni who are building their own careers.

“I tell them, when you have an opportunity, you’ve got to seize it, grab onto it and work hard,” she said. “I hope I’m able to assist them in going forward, always forward, everywhere forward.”

Through it all, Anderson has been inspired by a motto— “If you don’t wake up dead, it means God has work for you to do,” she recalled with a laugh—that she learned during her high school years from of one of the Sisters who taught her at Saint Benedict Academy in Pittsburgh.

“Every time I’m asked how I’m still alive, I just think back to what the Benedictines told me,” Anderson said. “I believe there’s a reason behind all of this. The Benedictines always stressed that if you’re feeling overwhelmed, give back. Look at people who have it worse and do something for them. Help others in some way and your problems won’t seem as big.”

Earlier this year, Anderson was selected for the “40 Women for 40 Years” list of the most impactful alumnae in Saint Vincent College history. She was the first woman alum named to the SVC Board of Directors (2000 to 2015) and won the 1999 Recent Alumna Achievement Award. Anderson also has taught an advanced Microsoft Excel course as an adjunct professor for the Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government.

Anderson lives in the North Hills with her husband, Tom.

Adrienne M. Geis, C’89

Adrienne M. Geis, C'89Adrienne Geis became a Bearcat by accident. Her great-grandfather, Louis Geis, attended Saint Vincent in the late 1870s. After only a few days, however, he decided college wasn’t for him and trekked on foot 50 miles back home to Johnstown.

More than a century later, Geis began her college selection process by looking at Penn State University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. “Knowing my great-grandfather walked home from SVC, it wasn’t on my radar,” Geis said. That changed when, during a car ride from Johnstown to Pittsburgh, Geis and her dad made an impromptu stop at Saint Vincent and toured the campus.

“Coincidentally, they were holding a test for the Alex. G. McKenna Economics Scholarship that day and asked if I’d like to sit for it,” she said. “I left with a great impression of the school as being very welcoming. When I was informed a few months later that I was a co-winner of that scholarship, my decision was made.”

Geis said her instructors—particularly Dr. Gary Quinlivan, professor of economics and former dean of the McKenna School; Bro. David Carlson, O.S.B., S’83, associate professor of computing; and Fr. Alexander Devereux, O.S.B., P’52, C’57, S’61—propelled her toward success at Saint Vincent. She graduated with a degree in business computer systems analysis. “Being in small classes most of the time was challenging and stressful,” Geis said. “But over my career I have come to appreciate how very unusual and special that was.”

Geis is self-employed and lives in Alexandria, VA.

Joe Hoffman, C’78

Joe Hoffman, C’78The key to success, Joe Hoffman believes, is to “persistently strive to be a servant leader.”

After graduating summa cum laude with a degree in political science from Saint Vincent, Hoffman matriculated at the University of Texas School of Law. It was a necessary step outside his comfort zone. “Before I moved to Austin, I had never been south of Washington, D.C., or west of Cleveland,” he said. “It was the first time I’d flown in a commercial airplane.”

Living in Dallas the past 43 years, Hoffman practices corporate and securities law as a partner with Chicago-based Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. In February 2018, he and a small group of lawyers opened Katten’s Dallas office. “In less than six and a half years, we have grown to 70 lawyers and are the third-largest office in the firm,” he said.

Hoffman stays busy away from the office, too. He’s served the past 10 years on the Dallas Bar Association (DBA) community involvement committee, which partners with nonprofits and organizes food drives for the North Texas Food Bank, eyeglass drives for the Lion’s Club, blood drives, clothing collections and a back-to-school backpack drive. In 2023, the DBA recognized Hoffman for outstanding service.

The father of two daughters, Hoffman has been chairman of the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas endowment board for the past five years. He’s a trustee of the board and a member of the advancement committee of the Warren Center, a nonprofit that works with children who have developmental issues and disabilities.

Hoffman and his wife, Annabel, have established scholarships at the University of Texas School of Law and at two high schools in Texas. They are in the process of establishing a scholarship at Saint Vincent College to honor deceased members of the Class of 1978.

“It’s nice to be honored as an Alumni of Distinction,” Hoffman said. “But the more meaningful aspect to me is having lived a life worthy of such a distinction—a life that, hopefully, has made my communities better and serves as an example and inspiration to my friends, family and community.”

Jeffrey Hoover, C’79

Jeffrey Hoover, C’79A highway mishap during his senior year of high school put W. Jeffrey Hoover on an unexpected path from Saint Vincent College to a job that opened the door to world travel. “I wasn’t even planning on [going to] college because I couldn’t afford it,” Hoover said. “Then I was in a motorcycle accident and was awarded money. That changed everything.”

A Latrobe native, Hoover chose Saint Vincent because it was close to home. While a student, he worked for an accounting firm in Greensburg—a workplace experience that reinforced what he was learning in the classroom. “It really helped me to be successful in my career,” Hoover said. “I would advise anyone to hone your skills and listen to your advisors, not only about your skills but also how to look and dress for the job. That was key for me.”

The late Richard “Dick” Guskiewicz, C’54, a professor of accounting, helped Hoover land a job after graduation with Coopers & Lybrand accounting firm. After a merger in 1998, the company became PricewaterhouseCoopers. “My Saint Vincent education was stellar, as it gave me the skills to work for the largest accounting firm in the world,” Hoover said.

Hoover put his accounting degree to good use as a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He worked in 42 countries, including China and Japan. He spent the most time in West Africa, where he learned a tribal language and French.

Now retired, Hoover lives in Wexford.

Daniel P. Lynch, C’89

Daniel P. Lynch, C’89Friendship and teamwork always have been important to Daniel Lynch. Intramural football was a big part of student life when he was on campus in the late 1980s. Lynch played for the Orphans, who were undefeated in his junior and senior years. “It was a group of guys I lived with all fours years at Saint Vincent,” he said. “It was like a pseudo fraternity. Several of the Orphans have remained my best friends in the world.”

The friend who made the biggest impression on Lynch was his roommate, Joseph Hufnagel, C’89. “Joe was a terrific friend, a true Catholic, an awesome athlete, the hit of the party and extremely smart,” Lynch said. “He was the kind of college friend who’d stay up until the middle of the night with you, talking about the meaning of life.” After graduation, Lynch and Hufnagel traveled the United States and visited 27 national parks in three months. Hufnagel died due to pancreatic cancer in 2021.

Lynch graduated with a degree in mathematics and got his juris doctor degree from the University of Detroit School of Law. An attorney for 28 years, he is founder and managing partner of the Lynch Law Group LLC. Based in Cranberry Township, Lynch Law Group is one of Pittsburgh’s fastest-growing law firms.

“What I love most about my job is the people I deal with,” Lynch said. “I have a great team, and we have a lot of fun doing what we do.”

Before starting his firm, Lynch was vice president and general counsel for Pittsburgh Logistics Systems, Inc. He also was CEO of 3e Software, a start-up company that provided software to e-marketplaces, and a practicing attorney for six years at Reed Smith LLP in Pittsburgh.

Lynch is the author of “Building a Million-Dollar Book of Business, Principles and Behaviors for a Successful Law Practice” and is a frequent speaker about business development for practicing attorneys. Last April, he gave the convocation address at the annual Saint Vincent College Spring Honors Convocation.

“It’s a great honor to be selected for the Alumni of Distinction,” Lynch said. “However, I am reminded that I am merely the product of some very outstanding people that have influenced my life in profound ways, shaping, teaching and guiding all along.”

Lynch and his wife, Susan, C’89, live in Fombell.

William A. Ramos, C’64

William A. Ramos, C’64William Ramos came here in 1960 in large part because he wanted to attend a Catholic college. However, Saint Vincent had another strong selling point. “By today’s standards, Saint Vincent in 1960 was very affordable,” he said.

A two-semester course in American literature taught by Fr. Christopher Fullman, O.S.B., P’35, C’40, S’44, stoked Ramos’ life-long love of reading. “Fr. Christopher stressed the economic and social conditions [related to] the books we discussed,” Ramos said. “John Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ are good examples. To this day, there is always a book in my hand.”

A native of Long Island, N.Y., Ramos lived off campus for one semester while he was a student at Saint Vincent. “During that time, I came to appreciate the thoughtfulness and warmth of the people of Latrobe,” he said. “They were extremely friendly and often teased me about my New York accent. There was one merchant who gave me a discount on items I purchased because his son graduated from the Prep.”

After graduating from Saint Vincent College ith a political science degree, Ramos got a master’s degree in Latin American studies from New York University in 1967 and an MBA from Adelphi University in 1981. He worked more than 35 years for the investment banking company JPMorgan Chase & Co. and spent most of his career as a vice president in the commercial real estate department.

After he retired, Ramos gained a new full-time responsibility at his home in Nesconset, NY. “My wife [Louise] worked for 10 years after I retired,” he said. “As a result, I took up the cooking responsibilities. She is the baker, and I am the chef. She continues to teach me new recipes.”

Ronald G. Rosemeier, P’70, C’74

Ronald G. Rosemeier, P’70, C’74Saint Vincent College launched Ron Rosemeier on a trajectory into outer space. “I fell in love with physics at Saint Vincent,” Rosemeier said. “That’s what led me to start my company as a Ph.D. student at Johns Hopkins University.”

Rosemeier is the founder, president and CEO of Brimrose Technology Corp., which built an instrument that is scheduled to lift off in November to search for evidence of water on the moon. After the lunar expedition is complete, Rosemeier wants to keep reaching for the stars. The government of India plans to send one of Brimrose’s devices on an unmanned exploratory mission to Mars within the next several years.

“I went to Saint Vincent Prep intending to become a priest,” Rosemeier said. “I stayed for the magnificent [college] education, thanks to Fr. Roland Heid, [O.S.B., P'32, C'37, S'41]; Dr. Michael Gainer; and David Eckhart, my physics teacher in the Prep.”

It was Dr. Gainer, then the chair of the Physics Department, who urged Rosemeier to pursue his Ph.D. in materials science at Johns Hopkins. Using his pickup truck as collateral on a $3,000 loan, Rosemeier founded Brimrose in 1980. The Maryland-based research and development company is a leading designer, manufacturer and custom builder of high-tech equipment, including sound wave and light wave detectors.

“My secret is that I always tied in with guys who were smarter than me,” Rosemeier said. “That’s the philosophy of my company—always hire people who are smarter than you so they can come up with new stuff. That's what we do. We push the limits of technology and do stuff no one else does.”

Rosemeier lives in Monkton, MD, with his wife, Dr. Jolanta Soos, who is Brimrose’s chief technology officer.

 

 

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