Alumni

Teachers in the Parks founder honored nationally

Matthew Hathaway’s (2000) labor of love in developing the Teachers in the Parks summer program has earned him national recognition as one of 46 recipients this year of the NEA Foundation’s prestigious California Casualty Awards for Teaching Excellence.

Hathaway, an elementary teacher in the Exeter Township School District, Berks County, founded Teachers in the Parks as a young teacher in 2004. Other teachers and school districts, particularly in the Berks County region, have joined in over the years.

“Teachers across Berks County earned this national honor,’’ Hathaway said. “Together, they have sent a clear message across Pennsylvania and now our nation that high-quality summer learning programs provide children a much clearer path to literacy and math proficiency.’’

Recipients of the Teaching Excellence award are nominated by their peers in NEA state affiliates based on their dedication to the profession, attention to diversity, and advocacy for fellow educators.

Leocadia Lellig, class of 2018, will defer college to spend nine months with Disney On Ice

Leocadia Lellig of Exeter Township has passed on her freshman year at Penn State to join the Disney on Ice tour as a performer. About three weeks of intensive rehearsing is next.

At age 4, Leocadia Lellig was a bored younger sibling watching her big brother learn to skate.

Christian, now 20, never really took to the ice.

But Cadia, as she’s known to her family, convinced her mom to get her lessons, too. She wowed the Learn-to-Skate coaches at the Body Zone Sports and Wellness Complex in Spring Township, and they quickly referred her to private lessons.

Now 18, Lellig will be making dreams come true this fall as part of the Disney on Ice Worlds of Enchantment show, performing alongside the likes of Ariel the Little Mermaid, “Toy Story’s” Buzz and Woody and “Frozen’s” Elsa and Anna.

An ensemble cast member, she has a nine-month contract that carries her through a new season, which starts Sept. 27.

“I always thought Disney on Ice was so cool,” said Lellig, who graduated from Exeter High School in June. “The level of skating is pretty professional. I’ve been really focused on making sure all my jumps are up to par and trying to get my double axles consistent.”

Most days this summer, she spent about 45 minutes at Body Zone’s gym working on strength and cardio training, followed by 90 minutes of skating practice on the rink downstairs.

By Lellig’s side has been Andrei Lavrentiev, her coach for almost all of her childhood.

He was there as she struggled with her first scratch spin at age 6— “That was a big episode, especially for my poor mom,” Lellig remembered — and when she traveled to Brazil to promote figure skating prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Having passed her senior free skate, Lellig could have continued to compete at the highest levels of the U.S. Figure Skating Association. But she said she prefers to put on her best performance rather than simply outdo other skaters.

That’s one reason Lavrentiev encouraged Lellig to send in an audition tape last year.

“You have to like to perform, and you have to have artistic skills,” said Lavrentiev, who spent six years with Disney on Ice before an injury led him to coaching. “When you’re competing, you might do it once a month. In Disney on Ice, you have to perform every day — and you have to be happy and smile no matter what.”

Lellig was one of three women to audition in person for Disney last year in Newark, N.J., between two shows with current cast members. Now that she’s been named to the cast, she’s gearing up for an intense three-week rehearsal period during which she will have to learn complicated sequences, get fitted for costumes and keep up her skating endurance.

An Olympic freestyle skate runs about 4 minutes. A Disney performance can last up to two hours, and on some days, the cast squeezes in three shows.

Performers travel from city to city on buses, sharing hotel rooms and making meals on the fly. Lellig said she recently discovered she’ll be accompanied by Rachel Wegfahrt, a Lehigh Valley skater who spent the last four years at a Minnesota boarding school known for its skating program.

Lellig’s lifestyle will be a departure from what she envisioned happening this fall. Recognized by the Reading Eagle as a Berks’ Best 2018 visual arts nominee, Lellig was accepted to Penn State University, attended orientation and set up her fall class schedule.

In high school, she enjoyed art classes, earning accolades at the Berks County Intermediate Unit’s Secondary Art exhibit and a GoggleWorks art show; kept herself flexible by performing with the Berks Ballet Theatre since age 3; and performed in Exeter’s theater program in shows ranging from “Bye Bye Birdie” to “Shrek the Musical.”

When she found out she made the cut at Disney, she deferred her Penn State admission and started buying hot pots and other dorm-like accommodations for her life as an on-the-road skater.

She also stopped her job as a Learn-to-Skate instructor to focus on improving her own skills.

Once her tour starts, Lellig won’t have much access to the ice outside of her call times, Lavrentiev said.

On a recent Thursday afternoon, Lellig showed off her smooth style, marked by tight layback spins, breathtakingly fast spirals and graceful waltz jumps.

When Lavrentiev cued up Michael Jackson on the rink’s audio system, she tried to string together a few of the moves that got her into Disney’s good graces. Though the exact choreography escapes her, Lellig smiled easily as she mimicked Jackson’s iconic moonwalk and a lean made famous in the “Smooth Criminal” video.

In just a few weeks, the music will be bubblier, the costumes bulkier and the fresh choreography drilled in to her.

“I’ll need to know all the numbers, to be able to do the footwork, the turning, the edge work,” Lellig said. “I think it will be fun. I’ve always loved to spin, and I like to do tricks.”

Matt Seifert – Class of 2011 – Trying out for 2020 Olympic Volleyball team

When Matt Seifert landed in Athens, Greece, last August, it was his maiden voyage outside of the United States, except for a vacation in Mexico.

His stay in Greece was for a much longer haul, so he spent his first several weeks getting accustomed to the culture and acclimated to his new home away from home: Piraeus, a port city of about 165,000, located seven miles southwest of Athens.

And there was a lot to take in, soak up and figure out.

Seifert, a 2011 Exeter grad and a four-year player and three-year captain for Penn State, traveled to Greece to play professional volleyball for Ethnikos Piraeus.

He returned home in May “humbled” by the experience and thankful for the one piece of advice that helped him make the most of it.

He was having brunch and a couple of American basketball players, who lived in the same building, happened to be at the table, one of whom had been playing overseas for six or seven years.

“We were talking about being in a completely new environment, about being homesick,” said Seifert, 25. “And he said that until you completely invest yourself in the area you’re in, you’re not going to make it. If you’re constantly telling yourself, ‘I’m not home; I’m not used to this; I’m out of my comfort zone; I can’t do this,’ you’re not going to make.”

Message received.

Seifert focused on where he was, not where he’d come from. He learned “a little bit of the language and how things worked.” He allowed himself to appreciate the people of Greece, his teammates especially, and took advantage of their welcoming hospitality.

“They made it really easy for a guy like me,” he said. “Getting acclimated definitely took awhile, and it was really hard, but a lot of fun.”

And well worth the effort.

“I still think I would’ve come to that realization (about going all-in), just a lot later maybe,” Seifert said. “But just having (that basketball player) there, saying that simple sentence helped.”

In addition to adjusting to the culture, he also had to adjust on the court, a process made easier because language wasn’t much of a barrier. He was the only American on the team, but his teammates and coaches spoke, at the very least, “very vanilla English.”

As for the game itself, it was faster, the style of play was different and the level of competition was more advanced than he was used to, but wanting to challenge himself was one of the main reasons he made the trip.

And those challenges were heightened, because last year, for the first time in 28 years, Ethnikos Piraeus moved up to the first division — A1 Tier — and finished seventh out of 11 teams.

“From where we started, and to make the playoffs, it was huge,” said Seifert, a 6-10 middle blocker. “That very rarely happens, for a team like my team, a small-budget team, making the playoffs. That was big news and rightfully so.”

Big news for Seifert was being named the league’s most valuable player for Week 17.

“That was a reaffirmation to me that if I just do my job, do what’s expected of me, then I can be successful and so can my team,” he said. “It wasn’t exactly like a light bulb going off, but it was a reminder to myself: Keep my head down and work, do what I’m expected to do, do it well and I’ll succeed, and my team will succeed.”

The next stop on Seifert’s world volleyball tour will be Buhl, Germany, located about 100 miles south of Frankfurt, where he’ll play for Volleyball Bisons Buhl.

The Buhl coach contacted Seifert while he was still in Greece; the contract was signed three weeks later; and he leaves in four days.

The league is more competitive; the city is “calmed down and quieter” than Athens, which suits him just fine; and the learning curve for his second trip overseas is minimal compared to the first.

“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” Seifert said. Better team, better league; definitely a steppingstone for me to where I want to get.”

If all goes well, Seifert plans to come back next summer and try out for the U.S. National Team, hoping to get a roster spot for a tournament in the summer of 2019.

“If that happens, great,” he said. “If not, I can say I (tried), and we’ll see what can happen the following season.”

Which happens to be an Olympic year. Of course, he’d love the chance to get a Tokyo stamp on his passport.

“If the opportunity (to try out) presents itself, if that’s something I’m lucky enough to be in a position for, it’s definitely something I’m going to take,” Seifert said. “But it’s not make-or-break for me.”

It’s not that he’s not driven and dedicated. Hardly. But there’s a sense of perspective involved here: He realizes how fortunate he’s been to get this far.

Seifert was supposed to go to Greece for the summer of 2016, but wrist surgery canceled his trip and put a question mark on his future. There were no guarantees he’d get a second chance to make a first impression.

“I was hopeful,” he said. “But, honestly, you have to be really, really lucky or be in the right place at the right time.

“I didn’t know if it would happen again, but to be able to do it in an awesome league, in a beautiful place like Greece and then coming home and having another opportunity to do it somewhere else (next year), that’s something I don’t take for granted.”

Doug Resh – Class of ’98 40 under 40 Award Winner

Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Woodspur Farms, LLC: Coachella, CA

Age: 38

Personal Information: Married; One daughter

Hobbies: Home gardening; hiking and beach with family and dogs; traveling; Board Member – California Date Commission; Board Member – California Date Administrative Committee; Southwest Marketing Network – Farm to School Program – Regional Advisory Committee; Coach – Miracle League of San Diego; Coach – Special Olympics

Motto in life: Always try something twice because the first time might have been a mistake.

Work History: Resh started his career with Food Export USA-Northeast, helping small to midsize companies facilitate export marketing programs. He then owned an import/export company, as well as a food brokerage. After selling the businesses, he worked in sales, helping a company develop food systems into school districts on the West Coast. After taking a pair of sales manager jobs at Inabata (LaJolla, CA) and Roquette (Geneva, IL), he was recruited to work for Woodspur as director of ingredient sales. He was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing and has since led the entire sales team, R&D, and procurement. He was nominated in 2017 as TurningPoint Executive – Southern California Sales & Marketing Leader Award – Semifinalist. He has a masters degree in Food Marketing from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and a bachelor’s degree in International Business/International Studies from Millersville (PA) University.

Jonathan Bieber (2014) has golden finish

Exeter grad Jonathan Bieber wins his third straight Middle Atlantic Conference 110 hurdles title earlier this month.

Jonathan Bieber’s times had slowed and his body was breaking down. It didn’t look like he was ready to claim another gold medal.

Something happened at the Middle Atlantic Conference Track and Field Championships earlier this month. Something clicked.

“All of a sudden I wake up and I was feeling great and my mind was in the right place,” Bieber said. “I was ready to take on the meet.”

Albright’s senior won the 110 hurdles in 15.36, his personal best, and captured his third consecutive conference title in that event.

It was an out-of-nowhere triumph for the Exeter grad, who hadn’t broken 16 seconds all season.

It was, more importantly, another tribute to his mom.

Bieber dedicated his final two college seasons to Peri, who died of cancer in 2016 shortly after her son earned his first two MAC golds.

Whenever Bieber’s results didn’t match his expectations and he felt like quitting, he thought about his mom. He knew she would want him to continue.

“She was the kindest woman I’ve ever known,” Bieber said. “She always supported me in whatever I did. She did anything for me. If I forgot something at home, she’d run it over. Her and my dad would make almost every track meet.”

Bieber arrived at his first practice at Exeter as a sophomore in search of an event. He ran cross country, like his father, Exeter Hall of Famer Roy Bieber, when he was younger.

Jonathan realized distance running didn’t suit him. He found his way to the hurdles.

Progress was gradual. He was voted the team’s most improved athlete as a junior and named the MVP as a senior.

“He didn’t have a niche,” Exeter coach Kevan Schaeffer said. “He didn’t really know what was going on in track. We got him into the hurdles and started working with him. He had a great work ethic and that took him where he needed to go.”

Bieber’s college rise came as a surprise because his best high school result was a sixthplace finish in the Firing Meet as a senior.

He kept working at it. He kept improving.

“He’s super self-motivated,” Schaeffer said. “He really enjoys it. That definitely helps him out. I knew he was driven. I didn’t think it would go to this level. I’m just really proud of him.”

Bieber’s breakthrough came at the MAC Championships when he was a sophomore. He swept the 110 and 400 hurdles.

His mom was there.

“She was in tears the whole time,” he said. “She couldn’t believe it herself how much I improved.”

Bieber finished his Albright career as a four-time conference champ. He was voted the school’s outstanding track athlete three times and won the Eugene Shirk Award for high scholastic standards. He’ll graduate this week.

After being seeded first in the 110 hurdles as a sophomore and junior, Bieber wasn’t in the top three this year. He fought nagging injuries all spring and feared a possible stress fracture.

That made the victory even sweeter.

“I had all the odds stacked against me,” he said. “I was kind of in shock. I started yelling. I couldn’t believe that I actually won again.”

Taylor Bertolet signs with NY Jets

Former Exeter placekicker Taylor Bertolet has signed with the New York Jets.

The former Texas A&M kicker spent last offseason with the Los Angeles Rams after being undrafted.

At A&M in 2015, he made 22-of-31 field goals and was a second-team all-league pick. He kicked for the Aggies for four seasons, hitting on 66 percent of his field-goal attempts. He had 13 career field goals at Exeter, including a school-record 48-yarder in 2010, and was a two-time All-Berks pick.

Bertolet signed with the Denver Broncos March 23. He was signed by the Jets after taking part in a rookie minicamp last weekend.