Beginning in the Spring of 2013, juniors and seniors in the Comm Tech 4-7 classes nominate Hempfield Graduates who have had an impact on the Comm Tech program, OR in the field of communications, journalism, and film. In April, seniors then vote for the inductee to the Hall of Fame. Any nominee that receives a vote is added to the next year’s ballot.
INDUCTEES:
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2013
Jessie Long – Class of 1970 Jessie Long came back to Hempfield in 1988 as the Director of Public Relations. After the television studio was created in the high school in the mid 90s, she and Mrs. Dorman wanted to find a way to use the talents of our students to connect our district with the community at large. In 1997, Hempfield Happenings debuted, and Jessie has been involved in all 295 episodes (not including specials) until her retirement in 2013. In addition to working with our students on an individual basis, finding stories, setting up press interviews, administrative interviews, and making community connections, she also logged numerous uncounted hours assisting our students in recording video and audio. In recognition of her impact on the Comm Tech Program, Jessie was unanimously selected by the senior class as the first inductee to the Comm Tech Hall of Fame. |
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2014
Julie Gargotta – Class of 2004 Julie’s interest in broadcasting began in elementary school, before she became one of the first full time crew members of Centerville Middle School’s WCMS. At Hempfield, she excelled in her work on WHHS and Hempfield Happenings, representing the district at the Comcast Cable Ace awards. After graduation, she went to Temple University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism with a minor in Spanish. She led Temple's Diamond Gems Dance team, pledged Delta Zeta sorority and volunteered for Temple Update for four years. After she graduated, Julie worked for Philly dot com and a production studio in West Chester, PA. At the time of her induction, Julie served as a traffic and news reporter with WGAL News 8 in Lancaster, PA, wrote magazine articles for Harrisburg Magazine and Susquehanna Style, and earned her Master of Journalism degree at her alma mater in 2013, finishing top of her program. Late in 2014, Julie moved to Orlando, Florida to serve as a multimedia journalist for Spectrum News 13. She is now the morning anchor, turns weekly stories and has earned several Emmy nominations and Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists awards. Because of her contributions to Hempfield’s program, and her continued excellence in the field of broadcasting, Julie was chosen by the senior class as the first Comm Tech graduate inducted into the Comm Tech Hall of Fame. |
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2014
Jordan Durham – Class of 2013 Jordan came to our program late in his high school career, but he has made a huge impact. As a student, he was approachable, and liked to involve students from all levels in his projects. After graduating, Jordan earned a scholarship to Point Park University in Pittsburgh to study film. While at Point Park, Jordan has continued to assist Hempfield students, holding “on the spot video contests” on weekends for fun, sharing what he has learned in his college studies to improve high school videos. In March 2014, Jordan was present at Hempfield’s national competition in Orlando as an intern for the Student Television Network, our first. At Point Park, he has been recognized as his leadership role as a freshman. The senior class recognizes Jordan for pushing our program forward while he was here with innovative films that told great stories. They appreciate him involving a wide variety of students with his work. He is described as smart, driven, passionate, professional, and proactive, while serving as a good role model for the program. We look forward to seeing what Jordan accomplishes in his future. |
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2015
Karla Liriano – Class of 2013 Karla began as a special reporter on the WCMS television news at Centerville Middle school, and eventually took all 6 Comm Tech classes offered at the high school. As part of the STN national contingent in 2013, she was the reporter who earned a 2nd place award for her “Man on the Street” report about Californians. After receiving a full scholarship to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, she began working in media studies, while also seeking a minor in Political Science, and a certificate in International Studies. She has been very active at ASU, where she started as an intern at ASU News and Sun Devil Athletics. As of May 2015, she is a digital reporter for Cronkite news, focusing mainly on Arizona courts and legal matters. This background led her to an internship with Rachel Maddow in New York. The senior class nominated and inducted Karla for the way she continues to represent our program, and for the tenacity she has shown in taking advantage of the opportunities that have come her way. |
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2015
Megan Yoder – Class of 2013 Megan began on-air with WCMS in 7th grade, and continued through all 6 high school Comm Tech classes, and traveling to the 2013 national competition in Los Angeles. During her time at HHS, Megan was well known not only for her kind personality, but as one of the best conversational interviewers ever in the program. She became a broadcast journalism student at American University, where she has served as a main anchor and reporter for ATV Student News, and held an internship with TCG Advertising and Design. As of May 2015, she’s a software trainer at the New Media Center on campus, a writer for American Way of Life investigative magazine, and an intern with Rubinfield PR. That never makes her a stranger at Hempfield, though, as her face is frequently at Hempfield events, and is not forgotten in the Comm Tech program. She has served as a good ambassador of her college, and a wonderful representative of Hempfield’s program. The senior class inducted her because they are proud of her accomplishments and her continued involvement with our current students. As of 2024, Megan is a Digital Audience Editor for VERIFYThis.com |
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2016
Allison (Dieboldt) McDuffee – Class of 1998 Before joining NBCUniversal, Allison spent eight years with The Walt Disney Company in New York and London serving in research, trade marketing and international strategy roles. She started her career as a Research Analyst with Petry Media. She enjoys volunteering with City Harvest, an organization focused on eliminating hunger in NYC and also organized service trips to New York City areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. Her teacher, Mrs. Susan Dorman, remembers that Allison was always up for a challenge. She was a great writer and excelled in all aspects of production. The senior students recognized Allison, the oldest student to be inducted, with this honor out of the respect of her accomplishments after graduation. Since her induction in 2016, Allison led Insights and Measurement at Twitch and Amazon Ads to raise the profile of Twitch among the advertising industry. As of 2024, she is the Global Head of Brand Insights and Measurement at Roblox, where she is building industry-leading measurement capabilities to support Roblox's growing immersive ads Business, providing actionable, data-driven insights for brands on the platform. |
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2016
Megan McGuire- Class of 2014 Megan began her Comm Tech studies as a homeroom representative and participant in WCMS. While Megan was a student here, she was involved in all 6 classes. She also was a Comm Tech 1 intern, and traveled to STN in Los Angeles. She even started our first online show, which eventually became Hempfield Weekly. At Hofstra University, she immediately got involved as a broadcast journalism major with a minor in international affairs. Her freshman year she was a part of the morning news hour. She joined the sports department in the Spring of freshman year. She quickly rose through the ranks of HU Pride Productions, to the point where as a sophomore – she was a director. At the time of her induction, she is an anchor on Hofstra SportsBeat, and is the university reporter for the New York Islanders with WRHU. She also has served the role of “Megan the Intern” for the Chris Mannix Show on NBCSportsRadio. The students induct her because the great things she is doing at Hofstra. She also have continued to encourage our current students with their college and broadcasting searches, and look up to her as both a journalist and a person. As of 2024, Megan is a Tour Media Official with the LPGA. |
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2017
Mike Still- Class of 1999 Mike was one of the first student broadcasters on the WHHS Morning News Show. Mrs Dorman recalls his humorous ideas for the show, which included an “investigative report” on what the custodial staff really did in the HHS “Basement”. After leaving Hempfield, Mike attended Penn State. He currently is a writer, actor, and director whose television credits include The Middle (ABC), Happy Endings (ABC), Drunk History (Comedy Central), The Kroll Show (Comedy Central), Comedy Bang! Bang! (IFC), and Adam Ruins Everything (TruTV). Mike has been seen dozens of times in digital shorts for CollegeHumor, Funny or Die and more. Mike served as associate producer of The UCB Show for Seeso and Artistic Director at the UCB Theater in Los Angeles, where he has performed hundreds of times in such shows as ASSSSCAT and Death by Roo Roo. He recently (2017) created and produced a pilot for TBS with Thomas Middleditch. Mike is the co-host of the political comedy podcast Hard Nation on Earwolf. |
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2017
Christopher Detwiler- Class of 2016 While at Hempfield, Chris was one of the first students to aggressively pursue press credentials for sporting events. They ranged from Millersville University football, to Hersheypark Arena for the wrestling tournament, and by the end of his junior year, he was working an interview with NFL Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis. In his senior year, he was part of the press corps for Pete Rose at the Nook. Chris is now a broadcast journalism major at Hofstra University. In just his freshman year, he writes for the sports section of the Hofstra Chronicle, and is associate producer for Sports Beat, which is Hofstra’s version of SportsCenter. He also works for the Islanders games of the NHL with WRHU, and has chronicled Hofstra wrestling at Madison Square Garden. And when the first presidential debate came to Hofstra last year, he was volunteering with Fox News. As a freshman- he called a Long Island Ducks game… a baseball team like the Barnstormers in the International League, AND he was given the WRHU Rookie of the Year award, presented by the adults and peers from his radio station. His nominee said “Chris is hard working, determined, and a golden example of a person everyone should strive to be, both with his Film and Journalism [studies], but also as a person.” As of 2024, he is a staff writer at NHL.com. |
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2017
Mrs Susan Dorman- Founders Award Mrs. Susan Dorman was the founder of the Comm Tech classes at Hempfield in the early ’90s, which eventually set the stage for the first WHHS morning news broadcast in 1993, and Hempfield Happenings in 1995. She established with school administrators the precedent the students journalists would practice real journalism under and open forum policy. Through her tireless and trendsetting efforts, her work through 2010 led Hempfield to regional excellence through numerous Cable Ace Awards. The alumni of her program have started careers all across the country in film, broadcast news, acting, and many other endeavors. The Class of 2016 recognizes her for everything she has done for Hempfield and the Comm Tech Program. |
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2018
Joey White - Class of 2016 As a student at Hempfield, Joey was always looking for ways to improve his interviewing skills took advantage of all the opportunities Hempfield offered him. He found himself on the team that interviewed professionals, like NFL Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis or Pete Rose. Joey is a journalism major at West Virginia University, with minors in both Spanish and Sports Broadcasting. As a freshman, he became a sports writer and intern for W-V-Metronews dot com, which reports on local sports news and Mountaineer football. He became a commentator and sideline reporter for West Virginia baseball, and women’s basketball. He works as a technical assistant for the Mountaineer Sports Network on I-M-G, and spent the summer of 2018 interning with the Media Relations department for the West Virginia Black Bears. Our students celebrate Joey's accomplishments, and thank him for still being there for assistance well after graduation. Since his induction in 2018, Joey graduated WVU with a degree in journalism and minors in Spanish and Sports Comm. He then earned masters degrees in Sports Management and Athletic Coaching. After spending a year as the Video Coordinator for WVU Women's Basketball, as of 2024, he's serving as the Director of Analytics and Player Personall for Wake Forest Women's Basketball. |
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2018
Danielle Zulkosky- Class of 2015 As a student, Danielle always pushed herself to improve from assignment to assignment, and was a willing volunteer for many activities. After graduation, she has attended Hofstra University where she is majoring in journalism. There, she became the entertainment anchor on Hofstra Today. She also has served as assistant news director, newsline producer, and call host for the show Morning Wake Up, she’s host of a League of Our Own, and was a contributor for the online magazine for collegiate women called Her Campus. During the 20-16 presidential debate at Hofstra, she was a CNN runner. In 2018, she was named Program Director of Talk at the public radio station WRHU, where she oversees all talk programs, which include news, sports, and specialty talk shows. She was a booking intern with MSNBC, where she researched the many breaking news stories aired on the network. After serving as a treasurer, she’s now Vice President of the Society of Professional Journalists. In June, she accepted a national award, called a Gracie for an hour long show she produced for their women’s program on WRHU. The students are proud of the reputation of excellence she has established at Hofstra. Since her induction in 2018, Danielle has worked as a reporter for WFRV-TV in Green Bay, and as of 2024 at WISH in Indianapolis. |
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Barbara Hackman Franklin-
Arthur A Hackman Studio Dedication, Class of 1958 At Hempfield, Barbara Hackman Franklin was the class valedictorian, president of the Student Council, captain of the field hockey and tennis teams, and a cheerleader. She received her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School as one of their first women graduates, and was honored with an Alumni Achievement Award in 2004. Barbara Hackman Franklin is an American government official, corporate director, and business executive. She served as the 29th US Secretary of Commerce from 1992-1993 to President George H.W. Bush during which she led a Presidential mission to China. Prior to her Cabinet position, Franklin served in the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. She was one of the original Commissioners and first Vice Chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. In 2006, she received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. Secretary Franklin is an expert on corporate governance, auditing, and financial reporting practices. She has served on the board of directors of 14 public companies, including Aetna, Dow Chemical, Westinghouse, and Nordstrom, 4 private companies, and numerous not-for-profit organizations. Directorship Magazine and the American Management Association named her one of the most influential people in corporate governance, and in 2014 she was inducted into the Directorship 100 Hall of Fame. She is currently the President and CEO of Barbara Franklin Enterprises, a private international consulting firm. Franklin is currently a member of the LafargeHolcim International Advisory Board in Zurich, Switzerland. Franklin has served as presiding director, chaired various board committees, and has been speaking and writing about corporate governance for over 30 years. She is chairman emerita of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), chairman emerita of the Economic Club of New York, and past president of the Management Executives' Society, among her participation in many other international, educational, and cultural activities. In 2012, she financially assisted in the renovation of the Comm Tech program and its facilities, creating the Arthur A Hackman studio, named after her father, the first superintendent of the Hempfield Unified Schools. The first class to graduate under the program, the class of 2016, wants to thank and honor her for keeping the program alive, which since has helped over 50 students gain the experience to enter communications degree programs across the country, netting almost $1,000,000 in scholarships. |
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2019
Marc Fusco- Class of 1989 As a student who was here before HSDTV, Marc Fusco was highly involved in Pat Kautter's drama and Dance Theater performances. He attended Penn State University and studied film. Though hard work and dedication to his craft, Marc is now a writer, director, editor, and distributer of content in Hollywood. After working in production at Amblin Entertainment, Fusco was handpicked by Steven Spielberg to work closely as his personal assistant. For close to five years from Amblen Entertainment to Dreamworks, he assisted the Academy Award-winning director on the films The Lost World, Amistad, and Saving Private Ryan. Since that time, he wrote and directed the award-winning family drama The Samuel Project, the comedy My Uncle Rafael. In 2019, Marc premiered his film at the local Regal Cinema, but made a great impact on our students. They were happy that in spite of his high profile and big named movies he visited us in person, and was accessible to all students. |
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2019
Elizabeth Bierly- Class of 2017 Liz was a 2 year "SAG" Comm Tech student, who was involved in many different activities at Hempfield. Known to her graduating class as "mom", she currently attends Ithaca College with the prestigious Park Scholarship, and is studying Journalism, while minoring in counseling, politics, and interdisciplinary studies. She has been inducted into Lamda Pi Eta, the National Communication Association. While in college, she’s been published locally as an op-ed writer for Lancaster News Papers, as well as her local paper The Ithacan. She’s produced investigative pieces about immigration, a cause she feels strongly about. She leads two service projects where she is working with both elementary students to promote media literacy and documentary skills, and also works with senior citizens helping them with technology. Even after graduation, Liz's effects are still prominent in Comm Tech, and she has also been a frequent visitor. Our students appreciate the support that Liz still provides the students in the program. |
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2020
Jack Ruhl- Class of 2017 Jack was a 2-time STN, 4-year Comm Tech student. Jack is currently studying Television & Writing Production at Chapman University. He is best described as a collegiate content creator, starting off his freshmen year with a daily YouTube experiment called The Jack Ruhl Show. Hes' been hired for numerous student films, and writes and performs with a sketch comedy group. He has been an intern at Untitled Entertainment, and is passionate about music. Jack has been a frequent visitor to the current students in the program, and is always available to talk about college, film, or life in general. In essence, Jack is able to simply live by and be a role model for his motto from his YouTube show; "be awesome" |
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2021
Elias Warren- Class of 2010 Elias was a proud member of WHHS prior to his graduation. He received his undergraduate degree in Business Management from Penn State in 2013, and received his MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management in 2024. For seven years on the Harry Potter franchise, he championed a strategic, data-driven, and customer-obsessed approach to help turn the book and film juggernaut into a full 360° flywheel of touch points. His partnership with each studio division expanded the brand portfolio to include robust businesses in games, experiences, unscripted TV, consumer products, and more. In addition to helping craft the brand’s long-range vision and strategies, he lead the Wizarding World’s transmedia storytelling efforts to ensure compelling and consistent narratives are told on every platform. As of 2024, he leads Franchise Management & Marketing efforts at Wondery (Amazon’s podcasting arm) to cultivate new intellectual property and extend exiting content into products, experiences, and content in entertainment’s new frontier. The students of Hempfield thank him for his kindness, and his willingness to keep in communication with the school and the Comm Tech program. |
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2022
Shannon Murphy-Cunningham- Class of 2002 Shannon was a member of WHHS and Hempfield Happenings prior to her graduation; with her year only having 6 members in her class. While at Hempfield, she showed energy and enthusiasm, specifically with her diligence in her news packages. After graduating from Millersville University, she turned her "gift of gab" into a career. She spent over 15 years in television with KTEN in Texas, WBRE in Wilkes-Barre, and WGAL and Blue Ridge 11 in PA. At the time of her award, she is a marketing and brand developer at Conestoga Buildings, and owner of "Beauty on Budget Sale". The students of Hempfield appreciate Shannon's continued interest in our program, as well as her volunteerism and professionalism in the community. Shannon is someone who they strive to be like in their futures. |
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2023
Gretchen Hopkirk- Class of 2016 Gretchen was one of our last “SAG” members in Comm Tech and progressed through CT5 and was one of the first to travel to STN twice. She is the first STN Honor Society Student in the state of Pennsylvania, our first All American High School Film Festival award winner, and also earned Hempfield the School Spirit Award. Gretchen was Hemfpield's first High School NATAS award winner for talent, and also was nominated in three other categories; PSA, Arts and Culture, and Music Video. Gretchen was always a great writer, and a funny personality. After graduation, she attended Notre Dame and studied “Television Studios; Journalism, Ethics & Democracy”. There she worked as a producer for Fighting Irish Media all 4 years. As part of her professional journey, she was an associate at the Penn Hill Group, who trains other organizations to develop storytelling skills for the production of documentaries about educational issues. When this award was presented, she was a personal assistant in Los Angeles. |
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2023
Abigail Minnich- Class of 2020 Abby was part of 6 CT classes, traveled to STN twice, and also was in our first contingent to the 4-State in Missouri. At that ASB conference, she was a part of all of the only 4 Hempfield awards ever earned there (as of 2022)- two seconds in cinematography and writing, and two firsts in film and editing. Combining her love of media and astrophysics, Abby developed “Asking Questions”, a YouTube show where she interviewed science professionals. At Penn State she has double majored in film and astrophysics, with a goal to share her love of science through her media skills. She is an award winning producer, and spearheaded their university program “Asking Penn State”, earning numerous awards, including the Davey Ethics Award. |
NEW NOMINEES:
2013
Jessie Long (Class of 1970)*
Julie Gargotta (Class of 2004)*
David B Godin (Class of 2006)
Sam Nolan (Class of 2010)
Chase Pipkin (Class of 2010)
Brittany Jones (Class of 2011)
Morgan Bard-Garrison (Class of 2012)
Colleen McGettigan (Class of 2012)
2014
Allison Dieboldt-McDuffee (Class of 1998)*
Jordan Durham (Class of 2013)*
Megan Henry-Toth (Class of 2003)
Jarrett Lehman (Class of 2012)
Karla Liriano (Class of 2013)*
Ryan Schmucker (Class of 2013)
Michael Warren (Class of 2013)
Derek Witmer (Class of 2013)
Megan Yoder (Class of 2013)*
2015
Barbara Hackman Franklin (Class of 1958)*
Christina Butler (Class of 2002)
Megan McGuire (Class of 2014)*
Andrew Morris (Class of 2014)
2016
Tommy Bennett (Class of 2014)
2017
Mike Still (Class of 1999)*
Danielle Zulkosky (Class of 2015)*
Frankie Barrett (Class of 2016)
Christopher Detwiler (Class of 2016)*
Amanda Picciani (Class of 2016)
Joey White (Class of 2016)*
2018
Sarah Marie Hawkins (Class of 2007)
Jordan Graff (Class of 2009)
Mark Perry (Class of 2016)
Jack Ruhl (Class of 2017)*
2019
Elizabeth Bierly (Class of 2017)*
Marc Fusco (Class of 1989)*
Shannon Murphy Cunningham (Class of 2002)*
Bailey Rye (Class of 2018)
2020
Elias Warren (Class of 2010)*
2021
Gretchen Hopkirk (Class of 2016)*
2022
Kasey Kreider (Class of 2020)
2023
Erin Hart (Class of 2015)
Abby Minnich (Class of 2020)*
Sabrina Lessans (Class of 2021)
2024
Jase Gibbons (Class of 2020)
Meredith Hunter (Class of 2021)
Laurel Murr (Class of 2016)
Raeya Swope (Class of 2014)
Jessie Long (Class of 1970)*
Julie Gargotta (Class of 2004)*
David B Godin (Class of 2006)
Sam Nolan (Class of 2010)
Chase Pipkin (Class of 2010)
Brittany Jones (Class of 2011)
Morgan Bard-Garrison (Class of 2012)
Colleen McGettigan (Class of 2012)
2014
Allison Dieboldt-McDuffee (Class of 1998)*
Jordan Durham (Class of 2013)*
Megan Henry-Toth (Class of 2003)
Jarrett Lehman (Class of 2012)
Karla Liriano (Class of 2013)*
Ryan Schmucker (Class of 2013)
Michael Warren (Class of 2013)
Derek Witmer (Class of 2013)
Megan Yoder (Class of 2013)*
2015
Barbara Hackman Franklin (Class of 1958)*
Christina Butler (Class of 2002)
Megan McGuire (Class of 2014)*
Andrew Morris (Class of 2014)
2016
Tommy Bennett (Class of 2014)
2017
Mike Still (Class of 1999)*
Danielle Zulkosky (Class of 2015)*
Frankie Barrett (Class of 2016)
Christopher Detwiler (Class of 2016)*
Amanda Picciani (Class of 2016)
Joey White (Class of 2016)*
2018
Sarah Marie Hawkins (Class of 2007)
Jordan Graff (Class of 2009)
Mark Perry (Class of 2016)
Jack Ruhl (Class of 2017)*
2019
Elizabeth Bierly (Class of 2017)*
Marc Fusco (Class of 1989)*
Shannon Murphy Cunningham (Class of 2002)*
Bailey Rye (Class of 2018)
2020
Elias Warren (Class of 2010)*
2021
Gretchen Hopkirk (Class of 2016)*
2022
Kasey Kreider (Class of 2020)
2023
Erin Hart (Class of 2015)
Abby Minnich (Class of 2020)*
Sabrina Lessans (Class of 2021)
2024
Jase Gibbons (Class of 2020)
Meredith Hunter (Class of 2021)
Laurel Murr (Class of 2016)
Raeya Swope (Class of 2014)
