Jordan Grady: Checkbooks and Playbooks

The typical college athlete is almost always focused on the game and only the game, but for Jordan Grady it's a different story. Although Grady shows a strong interest in the game, most of his passion lies within his academic success.

Jordan Grady is a senior accounting and finance major at Slippery Rock University. Coinciding with his academic career, Grady is a member of the SRU men's basketball team. Grady's love for the game stems from the model that his older brother, Ian, had already established. Growing up the two were inseparable and shared a plethora of common future goals.

On December 15, 1992, Grady was born 3 months premature due to medical condition of his mother, in the small town of Romney, West Virginia. Due to the lack of opportunities for the boys to flourish in their athletic careers, the family decided to make a move to Cumberland, Maryland when Grady was 10 years old. Grady feels a great sense of connection and pride to Cumberland, and considers this to be his hometown.

The start of Grady's basketball career was in 4th grade when his father put the ball in his hands, which led to Grady's future basketball success. He played on several different teams growing up, and his father was his AAU coach which pushed him in the right direction. Grady says that if it wasn't for his brother though, he's not sure what athletic path he would have taken.


Ian Grady, Jordan's brother, has had a lasting impact on his life. Ian began coaching at SRU in 2011, and Jordan began playing for the school in 2012. "Having my brother as a coach has kept me on the right path throughout college," Jordan said. Jordan has always looked up to his brother throughout his basketball career, and that has only grown in college. Jordan says that he enjoys being able to receive constructive criticism from his brother, and that it took a while for him to get to that point. It took a while for Jordan to get used to his brother being his coach, but that without Ian, his experience at SRU wouldn't be the same.


Although Jordan is dedicated to the game, his real passion comes into play with his love for numbers. Both of Grady's parents, have a background in finances, however Grady expresses his true inspiration to become an accountant was during his junior year of high school. Grady enrolled in an accounting class and fell in love with the idea of future success and money. He hopes for a future filled with great financial success, which motivates him every day with his career path.


"Jordan is a hardworking, determined student athlete that puts forth a great effort towards basketball, as well as his studies," Jon Valeriano, Graduate Assistant of men's SRU basketball team, said.

Jordan Grady is a well-rounded individual who not only associates with teammates on the court, he also has a positive support system off the court. "He genuinely cares about the things he does and the people he interacts with," Justine Wisyanski, friend of the Grady's, said. "He is enthusiastic about what he loves and his heart is filled with passion and determination. He is a goal driven individual who wants to make the best of himself now, and prepare for the future," Wisyanski said.

Grady has set himself up for his future, and is on the path to great success. Many people agree that he is a well-rounded individual who has a passion for his future and success. His time at SRU has prepared him for a successful career as an accountant.

Jordan Grady on Dipity.

Biography Proposal

Dr, Merhaut is a professor in the special education department. He not only is a professor but he is also the head of the department. He has a daughter with special needs as well, so for this project I would like to explore his life further. I think it's interesting how he has a special needs child, and also is a professor for special education. I'm sure that this is not easy, I'm sure that he has had to over come many obstacles to become who he is. He is very open about his story and is also a very hard working professor. For this project, I want to talk about his story with his daughter, and how he has gotten to where he is today and how he is striving to make a difference.

Tom Wolf Biography

Meograph Proposal

For this project, I plan to do a biography of Tom Wolf. This is newsworthy because he was just elected governor of Pennsylvania. The election took place about a week ago, so the coverage of this would be considered timely. A biography of his life works extremely well for this project because I can map out different places that are significant in his life. For example, I could map where he went to school, his hometown, and important places over his career. In order to get some more content about him, I plan to talk to faculty and students about their thoughts on him winning the election. Specifically, I would like to contact people who are involved in the political science department. I could also use links on the software to other pages like his website and inform viewers of more information. By using different photos of Tom Wolf, I can easily portray a specific message and deliver it in a clear way. I can also use graphs and percentages from the polls to show his success. Students and faculty voices on a college campus is a great way to show opinions on the topic. Overall, I believe that Tom Wolf’s life would be an extremely newsworthy event. 

Dodge For Paws

Slippery Rock University ARC, Saturday, November 8 2014. 1 pm

Slippery Rock University's student-run PR firm, Rock PRoductions, hosted their third annual Dodge For Paws event which raised $500 for the Butler County Humane Society. Dodge For Paws is a dodge ball tournament where student teams of 5 people compete against each other for the trophy. This year, there were 11 teams competing in the tournament.

The Butler County Humane Society (BCHS) is a non-profit animal shelter that has been serving the community for over 100 years. BCHS is funded solely on the support of the community members and any donations that the organization receives. The Butler County Humane Society offers extensive services to help the thousands of animals that come through the shelter. These services include spaying and neutering, microchipping, and up to date vaccinations on the animals.

Immediately upon entering the ARC, an information table was set up from the Butler Humane Society. Pamphlets and informational brochures lined the table. Binders filled with photos of animals that are currently up for adoption also were provided. Michelle Allen, Executive director, was present to talk about the Humane Society and their involvement with Dodge For Paws.

Michelle Allen, Executive Director of the Butler Humane Society talks about their involvement with Dodge For Paws and the excitement that it brings towards the non-profit.

Multiple information sources were provided to any students interested in adopting a pet from the Humane Society.

Walking through the ARC, you could see the different teams prepare for their match. The tournament was set up like a typical bracket. Winners of each match moved on to compete against other winners of other matches. Team members were lining the halls stretching and coming up with strategies on how to bring their team to victory.

When the teams were called into their match, they were given a brief amount of time to practice throwing and aiming at targets (each other). Afterwards, they were called to the center line where they were given a run down of the rules. Some rules included a holding call where a member could only hold a dodge ball for 5 seconds. If the team member did not throw the ball within those 5 seconds, the ball was automatically rolled across the court and given to the other team. Also, once a team was down to two members, the other team was able to then cross the center line and able to throw from the blue line. Then the whistle blew and the match began until there was a winning team.

When the whistle blew, teams viciously became determined to win the match. 

Teams were given the list of rules followed by friendly handshakes before the match began. 

Rock PRoductions had a wonderful turn out. The organization was able to raise $500 that was directly given to the BCHS. Members of Rock Productions were posted around the ARC to help direct and help students with any questions they had. Rock PRoductions also used this event as a way to get new members involved within the organization. All new members were assigned to a certain committee which they were directly involved in with the planning process. This was an excellent way to make new members feel involved in the organization. Overall, the event raised awareness for a good cause along with bringing the student body closer together.

Pride Week with RockOUT!

KettleCorn Proposal

It is Pride Week at Slippery Rock this week, so for my next project I plan to talk to students about their thoughts. There are many events going on this week that deal with the topic. However, my project will mainly deal with students' thoughts and feelings about the LGBT community.