Giving Back: Putting a Love of Words to Work for Wilkes Students

Clayton ’49 and Theresa Karambelas shared a commitment to Wilkes that began with his days as a business administration major at then Wilkes College. The couple built their dedication through close relationships with University presidents and a desire to play a role in the success of Wilkes. “Many years ago, Clayton mentioned that sometime in his life, when our financial situation got better, that he would like to do something important for Wilkes,” says Theresa Karambelas.

Tributes to the couple’s generosity stand across campus: the pergola on the Fenner Quadrangle, the atrium in the Henry Student Center, the digital marquee on the corner of River and South Streets and the grand staircase in the Cohen Science Center. “Everything was important to him, so he was always trying to help in whatever way we were able to at the time,” says Theresa Karambelas.

One day, Theresa Karambelas reminded her husband of his big plans for his alma mater. This gentle nudge resulted in the establishment of the Karambelas East Campus Gateway and the Karambelas Media and Communication Center, as well as a light-hearted moment at the building’s dedication. “Clayton was speaking. And he said, ‘I just want the fellows in this audience to know, once you tell your wife something, they never forget,’” she says.

Though Clayton Karambelas passed away in 2021, Theresa Karambelas remains passionate about the success of Wilkes. She is particularly invested in the education of the students who major in communication and media studies and make their academic home in the building that bears the Karambelas name.

This dedication led to an idea that would provide valuable support for the communication and media studies department while also serving her love for WVIA, northeastern Pennsylvania’s PBS affiliate. With this idea in mind, Theresa Karambelas picked up the phone and called Wilkes University President Greg Cant, who was in Nevada to visit potential donors. “I often tease everybody at Wilkes. They give me their cell numbers, and they don’t know how dangerous that is,” she says.

She and Cant talked for a few moments, and when he returned to campus, followed up with a meeting between WVIA and Wilkes. As a result of this collaboration, Theresa Karambelas will launch a paid internship for one or two students per year to fill a vital role in the WVIA newsroom. The internship will begin in the spring 2025 semester. “If Clayton were alive, he’d probably love this idea,” she says. “It seemed like the perfect thing to do. It’s going to be something I can take great personal satisfaction in.”

As the internship’s benefactor, Theresa Karambelas wants the program to enrich both Wilkes and WVIA. She also hopes the program will serve the community that means so much to her through the delivery of quality, local journalism. “It’s not just a WIN-WIN,” she says. “It’s a WIN-WIN-WIN for the students, WVIA and Wilkes.”

At the heart of the initiative is a desire to enhance the academic experience for the students who take part in the internship, giving them the opportunity to gain real-world newsroom skills. Theresa Karambelas has committed to funding the internship for three years, and then she hopes another supporter will pick up the mantle. “I hope that this becomes a very important part of what happens between WVIA and Wilkes,” she says. “I worry about the next generation because they’re our future.”

Kerry Miscavage ’95 has seen some changes in the newsroom and in the media landscape since she started her career as a senior account executive. After working her way up through the ranks, the publisher of the Times Leader Media Group knows what it takes to put a newspaper together. And she wants to make sure Wilkes students with an interest in journalism do, too.

To help prepare students for a career in today’s media, Miscavage decided to give back to Wilkes through an internship at the Times Leader. “There’s a natural draw to work with my alma mater,” says Miscavage. “Plus, we’ve had great success with Wilkes students in the past.”

The internship offers a chance for an English or communication and media studies major to get hands-on experience in a newsroom. The student who lands the position won’t be just making copies and running errands. “They’re actually doing the work that a journalist would be doing,” says Miscavage.

Over the course of the semester, the Times Leader intern will get to focus on elements of news reporting and writing, sports reporting, pagination, graphic design, photography, videography and special projects, including plans for the paper’s “Best Of” events. These multifaceted experiences will help prepare the intern for a variety of positions after graduation and help catch the attention of potential employers. “It’s more advantageous to have a well-rounded journalist,” says Miscavage. “It’s a perfect resume builder.”

While still searching for a candidate, Miscavage has high hopes for any Wilkes student who joins the Times Leader team. She knows many of the faculty members from communication and media studies, and, as a Wilkes English major, remembers the quality of education she received in Kirby Hall. As the Times Leader has been such a huge part of Miscavage’s story, she can’t wait to help turn the page for a talented Wilkes student. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn and soak in how a newsroom operates, from the beginning of the story to publication, the start of a story idea to the very end,” says Miscavage.