Communication Alumni Earn Top University Honors

Thomas P. Englert receives Distinguished Alumni Award

Thomas P. Englert, a 1976 graduate of Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication, has been chosen as one of two recipients of the 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award. 

Established in 1963, the Distinguished Alumni Awards program honors and celebrates alumni who bring distinction to their alma mater through professional accomplishments and who have achieved a high level of success in their careers. Alumni are nominated by their peers and selected by the WMU Alumni Association Board of Directors. 

Englert is the past CEO of Discount Tire Company, Inc., the world’s largest tire and wheel retailer operating more than 900 stores in 28 states across the country. As a student at WMU, Englert began working as an assistant store manager for a Discount Tire near campus. On his second day of employment, he met Bruce Halle, the founder, who became a mentor and friend.

Three decades after joining Discount Tire, in 2004, Mr. Englert left his position as executive vice president overseeing supply chain and purchasing for the company, and was named the CEO. Five years after taking the helm, Discount Tire took top honors as the largest private company in Arizona in 2009.

Englert has since stepped down from his position but remains an advisor and member of the board of directors. He and his wife Cindy live in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Both are life members of the WMU Alumni Association.

Englert was recognized during a homecoming weekend reception on Friday, Oct. 23, on campus. 
For more information about the awards, nomination process or past recipients, visit mywmu.com/da. Englert was also inducted into the School of Communication Alumni Academy on Thursday, Oct. 22nd, and received a College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Achievement Award on Friday, Oct. 23rd prior to the WMU Distinguished Alumnus Ceremony and Reception. 

School of Communication Alumni Academy Inductees

Each year, the School of Communication Alumni Academy inducts alumni who exemplify community engagement and career accomplishment. Al Pscholka, Donna St. John, and Kari Kay Kietzer were inducted into the academy this year in honor of their career accomplishments and overall contributions to the field.

Al Pscholka

Rep. Al Pscholka, a 1984 graduate of Western Michigan University, started his career in broadcasting, working as a news anchor/reporter for WMUK, the broadcasting service of Western Michigan University.  He continues broadcasting on a part time basis today, providing play-by-play commentary for high school football on WSJM in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph. 

He was part owner of Cosy Broadcasting, a group of five radio stations in Southwest Michigan before selling the stations in 1996.  Pscholka was then Vice President of Cornerstone Alliance, an economic development group in Southwest Michigan for nine years, before becoming District Director for U.S. Representative Fred Upton.  He also served his community for eight years on the Lincoln Township Board of Trustees before running for the State House in 2010.

Pscholka is serving his third term in the Michigan House of Representatives as Chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee.  In 2015, he was named “Most Effective” member of the House by the Michigan Information and Research Services (MIRS).  He was named Freshman Legislator of the Year in 2011.  

Donna St. John

Donna St. John retired from Western Michigan University in spring 2015 after 30 years of service to students. She spent 24 of those years in the Office of Admissions. 

Donna St. John began her career at WMU as a Residence Hall Director in the Ackley/Shilling Residence Halls.  She remembers those days fondly and credits that experience with launching her career-long passion for working with undergraduate students. 

When she began in the Office of Admissions, she first served as the Orientation Coordinator where she implemented orientation sessions for incoming freshman and transfer students. After 15 years of service to the WMU Orientation program, she became the Associate Director of Admissions and was responsible for undergraduate recruitment and the coordination of admission publications until her retirement.  In 2006 the Donna St. John Leadership Award was established to honor her service to WMU’s orientation program and further honor her mentoring of the many student orientation leaders who benefited from her guidance. Each year one exemplary student  orientation leader who reflects her leadership qualities and the values she brought to her work is selected to receive this honor. 

Kari Kay Kietzer

In 1999 Kietzer received her bachelor of arts degree from WMU in Public Relatoins and went on to earn her Masters in International Relations  from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 2011.  She then became an integral member of the program design team at the U.S. Army War College’s Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She played a key role in the creation of counter-corruption training courses for military and civilian personnel deploying to Afghanistan.Early in her career Kari Kay Kietzer spent many years at the University of Miami building and managing a portfolio of over 1000 alumni and soliciting more than $100k annually.

Following this assignment, the Commander of the Combined Joint Interagency Task Force- Shafafiyat requested her to serve as the Counter-Corruption Strategic Liaison and to further counter-/anti-corruption curriculum development. While in Kabul, Kari was chosen to serve in CJIATF-Afghanistan. In this capacity, she was the initiator and conceptual designer of a three-pronged strategic study plan to influence U.S. and NATO doctrine and policy related to anti-corruption planning, operation and stabilization. She also served as the International Security Assistance Force Commander’s project liaison. She and her team delivered the first NATO study examining the intersection of anti-corruption and strategic operations while researching the best practices and challenges for anti-corruption in post-conflict states.

At WMU Kietzer joined Delta Gamma Fraternity’s Epsilon Rho Chapter and remains an active member. She also serves as a Board Member for The Economic Club of Southwest Michigan.