At its May 18 undergraduate commencement ceremony, Neumann University awarded a posthumous honorary degree to Ed Snider, a man who believed in learning by doing.

Snider’s accomplishments in the sports and entertainment industries certainly qualify him for recognition with an honorary doctorate. His emergence as a leader in the Philadelphia sports market started in 1964 as vice president with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Two years later, he transformed sports in the city when he mortgaged his home to establish a National Hockey League franchise. The Philadelphia Flyers became the first expansion team to capture the coveted Stanley Cup when they won it in 1974 and again in 1975.

Snider went on to become the driving force behind essential components of Philadelphia sports: the Spectrum, PRISM, Comcast Spectacor, and the Wells Fargo Center.

Dr. Chris Domes, Neumann’s president, described Snider as “a Philadelphia icon, an entrepreneur, a passionate philanthropist, and a risk-taker for the greater good … no one embodied the Philadelphia spirit better or loved the city more.” His business acumen, however, is not the reason why Neumann bestowed the award that his grandson Garrett accepted on his behalf. Snider’s proudest accomplishment was the creation of Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education in 2005. This foundation provides underserved children from urban neighborhoods in Philadelphia and Camden with the opportunity to learn ice hockey, academics, and life lessons.

The program combines educational enrichment initiatives, life skills, career exploration, and service learning with a first-rate hockey program. Hockey is just the “hook” used to foster academic success, personal development, and citizenship.

By every measure, this program seems to be the perfect application of the “learn by doing” theory to the unvarnished, challenging life of inner-city youngsters.

It now funds and administers programming for more than 3,000 boys and girls at nine inner-city sites.

“Snider was definitely more than just the hockey program,” recalls Jasmine Martinez ’22, ’23. “They provided after-school programs and homework help, and we did all this before we got on the ice.

They taught me life lessons and life skills, how to be professional, how to write a resume. They taught me so much that I can use in life.”

"They taught me life lessons and life skills, how to be professional, how to write a resume."

Martinez was the beneficiary of a grant provided by the Goals & Assists Foundation, another Snider-related nonprofit. The scholarship allowed her to graduate from Neumann without debt.

In October of 2023, Neumann solidified its partnership with Snider, receiving a challenge grant of $15 million from Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education to support the construction of the Ed Snider Ice Arena on campus. The university has two years to match the fundraising challenge.

The building will include two ice rinks, one serving as the home for Neumann’s ice hockey teams and another designated as the official home for expanded Snider programming and outreach into Delaware County. The rinks will have seating for 750 and 300 spectators, respectively. Two classrooms and dedicated office space will support Snider’s educational programs in the arena.

To learn more about the arena challenge, visit www.neumann.edu/challenge.

Internship Launches Career

Madelyn Tice has a head for business, but her heart pulled her to the outdoors.

So, she decided to solve the problem. What else would you expect from a valedictorian who earned her degree in just three years? On June 6, she began her career as a human resources coordinator at Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park.

Her path to the job began with an internship where she learned to blend her interests.

Tice began building that career blueprint more than a year ago, searching for HR internships connected to national parks. She hit the jackpot as a summer 2023 intern with the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation in Medora, North Dakota.

The foundation supports Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

“It was an amazing summer,” she recalls. “I got to meet people from all over the world, and the experience grew my passion for HR and the outdoors.”

"It was an amazing summer, I got to meet people from all over the world."

She learned by doing and now has a job she loves.

Main photo caption: Dr. Chris Domes and Scott Tharp, president and CEO of Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education, announced the Ed Snider Ice Arena challenge grant in October 2023. Tharp and William Whitmore, Jr., chairman of the board of Snider Hockey, also received honorary degrees at commencement.