Kyla Dunlavey ’95, ’97M
Physical Therapy

I am in my 14th year as a physical therapist. For more than seven years, I have been working at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) as a staff PT with more than six years in the outpatient amputee physical therapy service.

I am currently working at National Naval Medical Center (NNMC), helping to initiate the transition of these services from WRAMC to NNMC. It is the most rewarding experience I could ever dream of: to work with a service member suffering from severe multi-trauma and limb amputation and help them return to high-functioning levels (and in some cases, return to duty or Paralympic sports!). I am very thankful to all of my Gannon professors for their guidance, instruction and support in helping me to excel; I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.

Lisa M. Smith ’97
Theatre

I’ve spent my post-graduation years building a career in the film industry. I recently returned to my hometown of Pittsburgh after living in Los Angeles for 11 years. I am a documentary film/television producer and am currently working as producer of the Steeltown Entertainment Project’s FILM FACTORY, a year-long filmmaking competition. This fall, I will take on the challenge of being an assistant professor at Point Park University in the cinema studies department. My proudest accomplishment to date has been serving as a co-executive producer on a film called The People Speak based on Howard Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United States, that starred Zinn, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Marisa Tomei, among many others. Gannon gave me the tools to develop artistically and the space to learn from my mistakes. I was involved in Schuster Theatre productions, worked at WERG-FM, and, during my senior year, was the host of Sidestreets, a weekly news show aired on cable television.