Student Spotlight

Olivia Centonza graduated from Saint Joseph's University in 2020 with a major in music and minors in music industry and psychology. While at Saint Joseph's, she studied voice with Dr. Misoon Ghim, piano with Dr. Elizabeth Morgan and guitar with Dr. Cale Hoeflicker. During her senior year, Olivia shadowed three music therapists for a semester and completed a senior thesis about the experience. She graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Centonza completed graduate school at New York University, earning a Master of Arts in music therapy. She is currently employed as a full-time music therapist at Mount Sinai Children's Hospital in NYC. You can read more about Olivia and her accomplishments here.  

Erin Gartland ’17 is a Saint Joseph's University graduate who majored in music and food marketing. While at Saint Joseph’s, she played violin in the pit orchestra for the SJU Theatre Company and performed in a number of different chamber groups with students from the piano and classical guitar studios. Gartland received her M.M. in violin performance from the University of Delaware.

John Bradley ’17 completed a primary major in music and secondary majors in accounting and economics. Bradley was a part of Saint Joseph's classical guitar studio. He performed both solo and chamber pieces as well as a senior recital which included compositions by artists such as J.S. Bach, Jose Merlin and Astor Piazzolla. After graduation, Bradley attended graduate school at the University of South Carolina to pursue a master's in music performance with a concentration in Classical Guitar Performance in the fall.

Keara Parciak ’14 was a music and french major at Saint Joseph's University and studied piano, voice and music composition. While at Saint Joseph's, she was a member of the University Singers, Opera Workshop and Chapel Choir. She was also active as a cantor, held an officer position in University Singers and composed a work for solo flute which premiered in a concert celebrating Debussy’s 150th birthday. She spent a semester studying piano and voice in French at the prestigious Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. Parciak also composed a classical mass for piano and four-part choir as part of the Summer Scholars program. Parciak attended Westminster Choir College, where she received a master's degree in sacred music, and is currently the director of music and liturgy at Saint Olaf Catholic Church in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Nicole Benzing graduated as a music major from Saint Joseph's University. She plays the guitar, bassoon and piano. She played guitar for the Chapel Choir at Saint Joseph's. Her goals in the music industry include pursuing a graduate degree in music therapy and a career in the music therapy industry teaching children with autism.

Anastasia Korbal ’22 is a double major in theatre and film, with a concentration in musical theatre, and communication studies. She is a member of the Actors Equity Association. Her previous experience includes the National Tours: "Les Miserables" (25th Anniversary Tour), "Little House on the Prairie" (First National Tour) and "Annie" (35th Anniversary Tour). Korbal portrayed Mary Magdalene in SJU Theatre Company’s production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" in March 2021.

Sean Hogan '17 studied musical theatre at Saint Joseph's University. He performed numerous roles while at Saint Joseph's, including Billy Bigelow in "Carousel," Tony in "West Side Story," John Wilkes Booth in "Assassins" and Captain Walker in "The Who’s Tommy." He received his MFA in musical theatre from Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2020.

Megan O’Donnell ’17 graduated from Saint Joseph's University with a theatre and film degree. While at Saint Joseph's, she served as assistant stage manager for both “Next to Normal” and “Guys & Dolls." She also took on the role of production stage manager for “West Side Story” in fall 2014. O'Donnell was awarded the Frank Olley Theatre Scholarship and is currently a stage supervisor at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Courtney Allen '16 studied theatre and film with an emphasis on musical theatre at Saint Joseph's University. She performed in numerous musical productions at Saint Joseph's, including "Next To Normal" (Natalie), "Guys & Dolls" (Adelaide) and "West Side Story" (Anita). She spent her formative years in Philadelphia and New York City studying the performance side of music, theatre and film. She is currently a freelance podcast editor and host based in Los Angeles.

Cait McNamara ’15 studied film and history at Saint Joseph's University. After graduating, she moved to Los Angeles and spent the summer interning at Diesel Films, working on the mini-series "NFLUp!" She previously worked at Premiere Digital, a media distribution company that works with studios to deliver films and shows to online platforms such as Netflix and Hulu. McNamara currently works as an account manager for Sony New Media Solutions.

Diamonique Drummond ’15 graduated from Saint Joseph's University with a degree in film and communication. After graduation, she worked as a production assistant and audience coordinator on local reality shows, including "American Idol" (FOX), "Long Lost Family" (TLC), "The Great Christmas Light Fight" (ABC) and a political commercial for Kevin Dougherty, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice candidate. She relocated to Los Angeles to further pursue her career in the film and television industry and worked as an assistant on numerous shows including "The Celebrity Apprentice" (NBC), "American Ninja Warrior" (NBC/Esquire) and "Finding Prince Charming" (Logo). She is currently freelancing in Los Angeles and hopes to continue prospering in the industry.

Emily Steele graduated in 2015 with degrees in computer science and theatre and film. After graduation, she began a two-year technical rotational program with Comcast/NBCUniversal where she worked in the Studio Operations IT department within NBCUniversal’s Film and Television group in Los Angeles. Upon completion of the program, she launched into a full-time career with the company as a media workflow solutions engineer. She is currently a senior software engineer with Disney Streaming Services.

Ian Glatts '14 studied film at Saint Joseph's University. While at Saint Joseph's, he studied abroad at the Film and Television Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. After three years of film study on campus, Glatts looked to round out his undergraduate experience by immersing himself completely in an international program devoted to the practice of film. He took his experience from Saint Joseph's campus and applied it firsthand abroad, putting theory into practice and working to prove that he was able to thrive in such an environment.