Lindenwood Magazine - Fall / Winter 2019

FALL/WINTER 2019-20 | 1 Lindenwood University REAL SUCCESS ADVANCEMENT & COMMUNICATIONS .............................. Kate O’Neal Acting Vice President Chris Duggan Director of Communications Craig Carmichael Director of Marketing Alexandra Bardon Web Content Administrator Amber Bush Graphic Designer John Creer Consultant Jaygan Eastman Administrative Assistant Brad Hansen Art Director Maureen Herrmann Director of Development Kassandra Linzmeier Associate Development Director Matthew Mathews Digital Marketing Manager Lennon Mueller Graphic Designer Scott Myers Director of Development Jason Waack Webmaster Cassandra Western Database and Stewardship Coordinator OTHER CONTRIBUTORS .............................. Don Adams, Jr. Charlie Mager Mike Morgan Phil Vida Lindenwood Magazine is published twice a year by the Office of Advancement & Communications at Lindenwood University. An archive of Lindenwood Magazine is mailed free of charge to Lindenwood alumni. Story ideas are welcome and should be sent to Lindenwood University, Advancement and Communications, 209 S. Kingshighway, St. Charles, MO 63301, or cduggan@lindenwood.edu. CHANGE OF ADDRESS notifications should be sent to the Office of Advancement and Communications at the mailing address above or cwestern@lindenwood.edu . Real Experience. Real Success. Enhancing lives through quality education and professional preparatory experiences. A SEASON OF FIRSTS AT LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY Since I took office as Lindenwood University’s president on July 1, my wife Beverly and I have been treated to several first experiences with this great university. We witnessed our first freshman move-in day in August as an army of students and employees came together to help our new Lions move into their campus residences. We took part in our first Homecoming and had a great time hosting a dinner for the honored class of 1969 and taking in all the great campus activities—including an amazing last-minute victory in the football game. We’re enjoying our first autumn on this beautiful campus with the cool temperatures and the bright orange and red colors of the trees. And soon, we will experience our first holiday season at Lindenwood. We hope you will join us for Winterfest from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8, to help get into the holiday spirit. You can find more information about that at www.lindenwood.edu . This is an exciting time at Lindenwood. When I took office, I was very impressed with Lindenwood’s history and where it is now, and I was also inspired by its potential. The faculty, staff, Board of Trustees, and I will work hard to seize upon innovation and make Lindenwood truly a university of the future. We are very proud of you, our alumni, and your many professional and personal accomplishments, some of which you can read about in this edition of Lindenwood Magazine . We hope that you will keep in touch—let us know what is going on in your lives and visit the campus at any time. Best wishes to you, and please have a blessed holiday season. John R. Porter President, Lindenwood University LEX FERRARIO (’13, ’15) HAS A CASE OF THE BLUES. Fortunately, that means the two-time Lindenwood graduate gets to talk every day about his Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues and get paid for it. Ferrario is the pre- and post-game host for the Blues broadcasts on their radio home, FM 101.1, ESPN Radio St. Louis, WXOS-FM. Between Ferrario and Scott Warmann (’92), who hosts the Blues’ pre- and post-game shows on Fox Sports Midwest, the radio and TV broadcasts before and after the Blues games have a decidedly Lindenwood flavor. “I also do daily reports from the Blues practices and games, host various Blues shows during the season, and fill in for other hosts in all sports during the off-season,” Ferrario said. Ferarrio, who was born in St. Louis in the Hill neighborhood and moved to Arnold in St. Louis County in third grade, said he started doing radio in junior year at Fox High School, where he did play-by-play for sports broadcasts there. “I knew I wanted to be involved in sports broadcasting, and I wanted to do play-by-play as a career at that time,” Ferrario said. “At Lindenwood, I did play-by-play as well and started to do sports shows. I knew that was the path I wanted to take.” In particular, he wanted to work in hockey. “I grew up listening to Jack Buck and Ken Wilson,” Ferrario said. “Hockey was always number-one for me.” During his senior year at Lindenwood, he landed an internship as a studio assistant for the Blues broadcasts at KMOX, which evolved into a producer roll in 2012. In 2014-15, he was awarded a sports apprenticeship position, which gave him the opportunity to be on the air—filling in as a host and sitting in as a co-host. From this experience, he became a pre- and post-game host for the Cardinals and Blues games in 2015 and filled in for Sports Open Line and other opportunities during the week. “When the Blues announced they were leaving KMOX in January, I reached out the Chris Newport, the program director, and asked about a possible position in broadcasting with the team,” Ferrario said. He interviewed for the job in June and was hired; he started at the beginning of July. “I tell people all the time that I would not be where I am in radio if it had not been for the opportunities I had a Lindenwood,” Ferrario said. “They put me on the air immediately. My internships would not have happened had it not been for that experience. When you get the chance, you show them you can do anything they need.” In addition to his bachelor’s in mass communications, he has a master’s in sports information from Lindenwood, and he met his wife, Katie, there as well. n A THAT’S A GOAL! Ferrario Achieves Dream as St. Louis Blues Broadcaster by Chris Duggan