Student spotlight: Brandon Karafilis
Student spotlight: Brandon Karafilis
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- Saint Vincent College to partner with West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund to bring solar-powered charging station to campus
- Verostko Center announces new exhibition featuring members of Associated Artists of Pittsburgh
- Saint Vincent College to celebrate Life in Christ Week
- December SVC grad commissioned as army officer
- SVC APB wins regional award for record fifth year in a row
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- The European Journal of Physics accepts latest work by SVC emeritus professor
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- New Bachelor of Science in “Aviation Management – Professional Pilot” takes flight at Saint Vincent College
- SVC students’ documentary “Don’t Count Us Out” wins Gold Viddy Award
- Somerset Trust donates to Saint Vincent Small Business Development Center
- National top-10 ranking for Saint Vincent’s M.S. in Criminology program
- Fall 2023 Dean's List
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- The SVC Players to present “The Sound of Music” Feb. 22-25
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- SVC physics researchers search for possible effects of solar eclipse on cosmic showers
- Saint Vincent to host annual Summer Theatre gala on April 12
- Saint Vincent College to host eclipse viewing event April 8
- Saint Vincent College earns silver, bronze honors in annual Educational Advertising Awards
- Student spotlight: J’Shawn Taylor
- SVC to host presentation about Catholic Rural Ministry
- Student spotlight: Jacqueline Moon
- SVC to host 2024 senior art showcase
- Saint Vincent College announces updated plans for new athletic center
- Antique coverlet exhibit will open April 17 at Saint Vincent College’s McCarl Gallery
- SVC education department to host educator and author Dr. Todd Whitaker
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- Saint Vincent College announces Susan Baker Shipley as Spring 2024 Commencement speaker
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- Mr. Safin’s “From the Heart” captures filmmaking award
- Saint Vincent College extends new student commitment deadline to June 1
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- Saint Vincent College students, faculty recognized at 2024 Spring Honors Convocation
- Olivia Persin is named 2024 SVC President’s Award winner
- Dr. Sara Lindey receives Boniface Wimmer Faculty Award
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- Alumni spotlight: Chris Golias
- Attorney Daniel Lynch, C’89, delivers 2024 Spring Honors Convocation address
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- SVC communication students query Bishop Zubik during mock press conference
- Auditor General Timothy DeFoor makes recruiting pitch to students during Saint Vincent College visit
- SVC students Cameron Walker and Lauren Brennan honored at Education Department’s annual senior send-off picnic
- ‘The Marvelous Wonderettes’ kicks off Saint Vincent Summer Theatre’s 2024 season
- SVC professor receives $200,000 grant from National Science Foundation to study water desalination
- Seven SVC students participate in mock Supreme Court arguments
- Saint Vincent College students win for best statistical analysis at DataFest competition
- Saint Vincent College holds 178th Spring Commencement
- Spring 2024 commencement address by Ms. Susan Baker Shipley
- SVC engineering students cap Spring 2024 semester by presenting wind tunnel projects
- SVC graduate Dominic Oto commissioned as Army officer
- SVC alumna Elizabeth Elin wins 2024 Clark Award for religious studies and theology
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- SVC’s Dr. Tim Kelly quoted by The Associated Press
- 2024 SVC Challenge Program registration ends May 31
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- Alumni spotlight: Matt Bertone
- Trip to Portugal provided SVC students and alumni with global perspective
- Saint Vincent Summer Theatre offers special trolley trip for “Unnecessary Farce”
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- Saint Vincent College ranked among top 10 Pennsylvania colleges in 19 degree programs
- SVC President Fr. Paul Taylor listed among 2024 Trailblazers in Higher Education
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- Dr. Mary Regina Boland quoted by Catholic News Agency
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- Dr. Mary Beth Yount chosen to fill SVC’s Irene S. Taylor Endowed Chair for Catholic and Family Studies
- 35th annual Saint Vincent College Week brings 41 Crossroads Foundation scholars to campus
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- Student spotlight: Marta Trembetska
- SVC chemistry professor authors chapter about scholarship of teaching and learning for STEM faculty
- Saint Vincent College honors its 2024 Alumni of Distinction
- Saint Vincent Summer Theatre’s trolley event a success
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- Saint Vincent College professor Dr. Lucas Briola to speak about Laudato Si’
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- Alumni spotlight: Kyla Hockley
- Saint Vincent College receives approval for Direct Entry Master of Science in Nursing program
- Spring 2024 Dean’s List
- SVC hosts annual Next One Up summer camp
- Professor tends to red maple trees along Saint Vincent College’s driveway entrance
- SVC student Maggie Shero and alumna Victoria Saddler earn grand champion laurels in equestrian competition
- Alumni spotlight: Chelsea Bayko
- Saint Vincent professor’s ‘Office Hours’ TV show promotes student and professional filmmakers from across the region
- DP Harris named Saint Vincent College’s director of athletics
- Saint Vincent College earns spot on Money’s Best Colleges in America 2024 list
- Student spotlight: Valeria Hurtado
- Phineas Gage to perform free concert in Latrobe
- Fr. Justin Matro to speak at Saint Vincent Seminary as part of Benedictine spirituality series
- SVC senior legal counsel Bruce Antkowiak interviewed for documentary series ‘The Godfather of Fentanyl’
- Tradition, hospitality shine through as Steelers wrap up 2024 training camp at Saint Vincent College
- Ready to roll: Tesla joins Saint Vincent’s fleet of vehicles
- Strong turnout for Phineas Gage concert in Latrobe
- Alumni spotlight: Mandi Freger
- Saint Vincent named a College of Distinction for 2024-25
- Two exhibitions to open at Verostko Center
- Saint Vincent College hires seven faculty for 2024-25 academic year
- Saint Vincent to host performance of Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh and soloist Chantal Braziel, C’15
- Saint Vincent College to host forum about election process and ballot security
- Saint Vincent College physics and chemistry professors collaborate on groundbreaking research project
- McCarl Coverlet Gallery set to open ‘Flights of Fancy’ exhibit
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- SVC student Julien Vonovier helps coach Switzerland to bronze medal at FIBA EuroBasket 2024
- ‘Parisian Pairings’ dinner set for Oct. 9
- Four Saint Vincent College degree programs ranked No. 1 in the state by College Raptor
- Blood drives set for Sept. 18 and 19 at Saint Vincent College
- Student spotlight: Anna Taylor
- Music at Midday returns to Saint Vincent College
- Tom Cocchi, C’13, becomes president of Saint Vincent College Alumni Council
- SVC professor chosen as Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture fellow
- Saint Vincent College selected to participate in inaugural Institute on AI, Pedagogy and the Curriculum
- Saint Vincent College rises on U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings
- Students and faculty from San Beda University in Philippines make weeklong visit to Saint Vincent College
- Gregg Brandt and Halcyon Voices featured in Saint Vincent College Concert Series
- Faculty spotlight: Marti Fusco
- Saint Vincent College reveals its 2024 Athletics Hall of Fame class
- SVC law professor quoted in Associated Press story about inmate’s 4-decade appeals process
- Saint Vincent College secures $370,000 grant from National Science Foundation
- Alumni spotlight: Chaz Coleman, C’12
- Saint Vincent College hosts annual Homecoming Weekend, announces Homecoming Queen and King
- Next Benedictine spirituality series event focuses on the Eucharist
- Saint Vincent College, Independence Health System collaborate to encourage healthcare careers
- Saint Vincent College filmmakers have scary good time in Pittsburgh 48-Hour Film Project competition
- Alumni spotlight: Delaney Fox, C’24
- Saint Vincent College cybersecurity and criminology programs earn national rankings from Intelligent.com
- Saint Vincent College’s nursing program awarded ‘most valuable’ national ranking
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- Dr. Matthew Ramage to give annual Pope Benedict XVI Lecture at Saint Vincent Seminary
- Student spotlight: Brandon Karafilis
LATROBE, PA – Brandon Karafilis had a lightbulb moment near the end of his freshman year at Saint Vincent College. He loved to write and was set to major in English, yet something didn’t feel quite right.
“One day when I was in English class, I was like, ‘This is nice. This is cool. But this kind of writing isn't exactly what I want to do,’” Karafilis recalled.
Unsure about how to steer his academic career, Karafilis sat down with his advisor, Dave Safin, associate professor and chair of the Visual Arts and Media Department in the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Talking it over with Safin, Karafilis realized he was keenly interested in journalism, particularly sports writing. Karafilis switched his major to communication and media studies with minors in marketing and digital art.
“What I like about communication is how it includes a lot of other stuff, like video and photography,” said Karafilis, a senior from Castle Shannon. “That way, I can have a fallback plan if I can’t [get a job as a sports reporter].”
Then again, Karafilis might not need a Plan B. He has gotten extensive experience over the past year as a freelance reporter for the Latrobe Bulletin. Last summer, he worked a digital media internship at Fallingwater. A few weeks ago, he began an internship as a writer for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ official website.
“Brandon has taken advantage of every opportunity given to him and it is paying off,” Safin said. “It shows how far our students can go when they are bright and motivated.”
After finding his niche, Karafilis began seeking ways to gain firsthand experience as a reporter.
“Everything you do in class is beneficial and improves your skill set, but the independent work you do outside the classroom really helps you get noticed,” Karafilis said. “Realizing I had to get the ball rolling on things like internships has made me want to hustle a little bit more.”
Safin introduced Karafilis and a few other students to the editors at the Latrobe Bulletin, who offered to set up the young writers with freelance gigs. Karafilis covered the Saint Vincent College club hockey team—a perfect way to gain practical journalism experience while being around his favorite sport.
“My first story [in the paper], I remember rereading it like three or four times because I was so excited,” Karafilis said with a smile. “Every time I had an article out, my mom wanted me to go to the store and buy a newspaper so she could make a [scrapbook] out of it.”
Saint Vincent went 15-3 and ended the season ranked No. 24 in the country. The Polar Bearcats beat Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 3-2, to win the College Hockey East M3 championship and earn a trip to the American Collegiate Hockey Association Men’s Division 3 national tournament.
“Covering that whole [season], especially the playoff games, was my favorite moment so far at Saint Vincent,” Karafilis said.
Last summer, Karafilis spent 10 weeks as the 2024 Fawcett Digital Media Intern at Fallingwater, the house designed in 1935 by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Karafilis worked for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s communications department, mainly creating Instagram and YouTube videos for the Fallingwater Institute.
Near the end of his Fallingwater internship, Karafilis saw a tweet from the Penguins about the team’s internship program—a chance to write about the players and coaches during training camp and the regular season.
“That’s my dream job,” Karafilis said. “When I got the call saying I’d gotten it, it was the craziest moment of my life.”
In his internship with the Penguins, Karafilis is using the skills he learned and refined while writing for the Bulletin—how to construct a story, conduct interviews and work under a tight deadline. Yet there are important differences between covering a team for a newspaper and working for a team’s website.
“I have to write in a different sort of light,” Karafilis said. “My opinions can’t come into play, because I’m representing the team. It’s not like being a Post-Gazette writer, who can express thoughts and concerns about the team.”
Karafilis’ schedule is hectic. On game days, he goes to his classes in the morning, changes into coat and tie and drives to PPG Paints Arena. After working at the Penguins game, he gets home around midnight, sets his alarm for 7 a.m. and does it all again the next day.
After tackling several assignments the past several months for the Bulletin and Fallingwater, Karafilis is used to the frantic pace. He knows the payoff will make it all worthwhile.
“It’s all definitely been coming at me fast, one thing after another,” Karafilis said. “There have been a lot of really cool moments. I really feel like I’m on the right track.”