Success Stories

Success Stories

The 91°µÍø Impact

Discover how 91°µÍø students, alumni, and faculty turn education into action. Explore success stories of leadership, service, and innovation that reflect our Franciscan mission. Ready to see where your story begins? Explore how you can join a community that leads with purpose.

 

Search for success stories at 91°µÍø

Gino Giacolona

Computer science program spurs educational turnaround

Gino Giacolona '25 didn’t see college in his future when he graduated from high school.And he would tell you he wasn’t a good student. But after taking a gap year and working in construction, he realized hard labor wasn’t for him. It was the compu...

  • College of Innovation, Discovery, and Enterprise
  • 2026
Derrick Golden

Graduate student relishes role as special education teacher in Reading School District

Derrick Golden is a busy man.A graduate student at 91°µÍø and a member of the men’s basketball team, he’s also employed full time with Reading School District (RSD) as an emergency-certified fifth-grade special education math teacher....

  • College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences
  • 2026
91°µÍø President Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. and LeeAnn Smulligan MBA ’09, Chief Operating Officer, Mrs. T’s Pierogies

Industry-focused faculty fuel COO’s career trajectory

Industry-focused faculty fuel COO’s career trajectoryWhen LeeAnn Smulligan MBA ’09 walks into a room, people listen, not solely because of her title, but because of the way she leads. With more than two decades at Mrs. T’s Pierogies, Smulligan has...

  • College of Innovation, Discovery, and Enterprise
  • 2026
Eric Recktenwald

Department of Science chair loves to dive into research with students

Though he wears hats as associate professor of both biology and physical therapy and as the Department of Science chair at 91°µÍø, at the heart of everything Eric Recktenwald does is research. That, and his students.  A grad...

  • College of Innovation, Discovery, and Enterprise
  • 2026