On Saturday, February 27, two new members will be inducted into the Catawba College Athletic Training Hall of Fame. The induction of the Class of 2016 will take place between noon and 2 p.m. in the Hurley Room of the Cannon Student Center on campus.
The 2016 inductees are Shawn Fitzgerald ’95 of Wilmington, N.C., and Andrew Sylvester ’98 of Duncansville, Pa.
Catawba’s Athletic Training Hall of Fame inducted its inaugural class in 2011. Previous inductees include Gary Blabon ’91 of Salisbury; Dr. Dan Burks ’93 of Salisbury; Chris Felix ’92 of Audubon, N.J.; Dr. Jolene Miller Henning ’96 of Jamestown; Scott McCall ’93 of Charlotte; and Holly Stump ’98 of Lithia, Fla.; Jim Bradley ’86 of Mebane; John Lukowski ’92 of Irmo, S.C.; Angela Shirk Sneed ’93 of Mooresville; Jeff Tucker ’90 of Jensen Beach, Fla.; Bryan Fass ’95 of Davidson; Carrie Graham of Coventry, Conn.; Ronald Ogrodowicz ’96 of Stratford, Conn.; Richard Sharpnack ’95 of Pitman, N.J.; Sandra Cash Campbell ’87 of Elberton, Ga. and Matthew Shaller ’98 of Knoxville, Tenn.
The induction ceremony is sponsored by the Catawba College Athletics Department and the Catawba College Athletic Training Program. Make reservations to attend by Feb. 20 or for more information about the event, contact Catawba’s Head Athletic Trainer Robert Casmus at bcasmus@catawba.edu or 704-637-4350.
Following are the achievements of the 2016 inductees:
Shawn Fitzgerald ’95 B.A., P.A.
Shawn Fitzgerald is a Physician Assistant at Carolina Sports Medicine in Wilmington, North Carolina. He joined the Carolina Sports Medicine Practice in 2002.
Shawn earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sports Medicine from Catawba College in 1995. Following graduation, he was the athletic trainer for the Florence Flames minor league baseball club for the now defunct South Atlantic League.
Shawn completed his physician assistant education at Marywood University in Scranton, Pa, in 2002. In 2001, he was the Nathanial Alston and the Margaret Briggs Foundation Scholarship Award recipient and a six-time member of the Dean’s List at Marywood University. Fitzgerald completed many of his clinical rotations as a physician assistant at Duke University and his orthopedic rotations with Triangle Orthopedics and the Miller Clinic.
He is currently the Director of Carolina Sports Medicine Outreach Programs for New Hanover, Columbus, Onslow and Duplin counties. He provides sports medicine services directly to Hoggard High School, Ashley High School, Wallace Rose Hill High School and North Brunswick High School. He is a former vice-president and board member for the Sharing Our Bounty in Wilmington, a non-profit organization that provides furniture, appliances, home goods, and clothing to those in-need. Shawn currently serves as preceptor for the Marywood University Physician Assistant Program and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Athletic Training Program.
He is married to Kerry Fitzgerald and they have three children, Macie, age 12; Ella, age 10; and Avery, age 8. The Fitzgeralds reside in Wilmington.
Andrew Sylvester ’98 B.S., B.S.N.
Andrew Sylvester is a registered nurse and certified flight nurse with 15 years of practical experience in emergency, prehospital and air-care medical services. He is currently the unit director of the 13-bed emergency department for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Bedford Memorial Hospital in Bedford, Pa.
Andrew earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training from Catawba College in 1998. Following his graduation from Catawba, he completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Radford University in Virginia in 2000.
After graduating from Radford University, Sylvester was a flight nurse for Stat Medevac in Altoona, Pa., and staff nurse for UPMC Altoona in Altoona. He has served as an emergency department staff and a critical care nurse for Altoona Regional Hospital and a Med-Surg and ICU Staff Nurse at UPMC Bedford Hospital.
Andrew has been awarded the STAT MEDEVAC Safety Award and serves as a flight nurse preceptor. He is currently the president of the Duncansville, Pennsylvania Volunteer Fire Department and is an active member of the Everett Lions Club in Everett, Pa.
Married to wife Jessica, the couple has two children, Peyton, age 3, and Sydney, age 10 months. The Sylvesters reside in Duncansville, Pa.
