SAHS Distinguished Alumni
Our Distinguished Alumni Award is our way of recognizing truly outstanding alumni for their academic, professional, and/or community achievements.
Some Examples of a Deserving Candidate Might Include:
• Accomplishments and honors earned while in high school.
• Job related exemplary achievement and/or noteworthy record.
• Personal accomplishments and honors earned post high school graduation.
• Work in and impact on community (local, state, and/or national level).
• Demonstrated leadership and positive role modeling.
Nominate a Distinguished Alumni Today
2023 Distinguished Alumni Recipients
Jay Snyder, Class of 1960, Jennifer Gunn, Class of 1994, Elizabeth DeShong, Class of 1998, and
Nathan Troup, Class of 1998 were honored as the 2023 Distinguished Alumni recipients.
Jay Muller, Class of 1982, Brandon Barnhart, Class of 1990, Nick Park, Class of 2005, Jonah Roth, Class of 2017, Hannah Doll, Class of 2019, and Jillian Haddon, Class of 2021, were the Alumni Performers.
Jay Snyder – Class of 1960
The most senior of our 2023 recipients is Jay Snyder. After graduation from Selinsgrove, Jay graduated from Susquehanna University and later joined the United States Army reaching the rank of 1st Lieutenant.
Post-army, Jay’s spent his career working in the Pennsylvania State government for 25 years, but during all of his time working, tennis officiating was his avocation. Upon his retirement in 1990, tennis became his vocation when he became the US Director of Tennis Officials in New York. Three years later, Jay was appointed Director of the US Open Tennis Championship for nine (9) years. The Open Championship is held each fall in Flushing Meadows, New York. In addition to his duties as director, he was involved in the construction of Arthur Ashe Stadium, which hosts the US Open and is the largest tennis arena in the world.
Upon retirement from his involvement in tennis, he became a consultant for a company specializing in evaluating the operations of NFL stadiums, which includes the upcoming Super Bowl LVIII to be held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Jay’s civic and community accomplishments include serving on the Board of Directors of the International Youth Advocate Program, PA Prostate Cancer Coalition, Vietnam Veterans Round Table, Indiantown Gap National Cemetery Council, Chapter 542 Vietnam Veterans of America as well as involvement in many church and local organizations.
Jennifer Gunn – Class of 1994
Our next 2023 recipient is Jennifer (Hackett) Gunn. Upon graduation from Selinsgrove, Jennifer attended Duquesne University in Pittsburg where she achieved a Bachelor of Music degree from the Mary Pappert School of Music as well as additional studies at the University of Akron. She is equally trained and at home playing both the piccolo and flute. Jennifer’s professional musical career included musical positions as Assistant Principal Flute of the Louisville Orchestra, Principal Flute of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and Second Flute of the Wheeling Symphony.
Recognized for her “virtuosic poise” as well as “a dazzling piccolo virtuoso”, Jennifer was appointed to the position of Piccolo of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by Maestro Daniel Barenboim in 2005 where she replaced a person who was tenured for 43 years. She made her flute solo debut under the direction of Ludovic Morlot on the orchestra’s Music Now series and a year later she made her piccolo debut under the direction of Harry Bicket on RV443 Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s subscription series. Jennifer has enjoyed many opportunities to join colleagues in a variety of performance settings in Chicago, Topeka Kansas, Marion Massachusetts, Scottsdale Arizona, and Saint Barthelemy French West Indies.
She is also in demand as a clinician, a frequent guest at universities around the country, serves as an orchestral coach with various civic orchestras, and has taught piccolo and flute master classes around the world. Jennifer credits her parents who nurtured her musical talent as well as how supportive the arts programs were in schools. She states “I’m probably a product of my public school system” and encourages kids to follow their own dreams with “your willingness and eagerness to make things happen”. Jennifer credits her parents who nurtured her musical talent as well as how supportive the music teachers in the arts programs were in our public schools.
Elizabeth DeShong – Class of 1998
After graduation, Elizabeth earned her Bachelor’s of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and her Master’s of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
From there, she joined the young artist program at Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center (2005-2008). Immediately following her time in Chicago, she began her professional career by touring England as Hänsel in Humperdinck’s “Hänsel und Gretel” with Glyndebourne on Tour and made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2008 in Puccini’s “La Rondine.”
Since then, Elizabeth has developed a reputation as “one of the most intelligent stage performers of her generation (Opera News).” Lauded equally for her musicianship and commanding stage presence, she has established herself as a regular on concert and operatic stages worldwide. Those stages include The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, The Royal Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper, Atlanta Opera, Washington National Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, and Los Angeles Opera, just to name a few. She has also performed with many symphonic orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Rara, The English Concert, Minnesota Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, as well as many others.
DeShong’s most recent international appearance as Fidès in Meyerbeer’s “Le Prophête” at the Aix-en-Provence Festival earned her high acclaim. Fidès being one of the most difficult roles in the operatic repertoire, one critic was quoted as saying, she was able to “surpass the unattainable.” Recent recordings include Mercadante’s “Il proscritto” with Opera Rara and Max Raimi’s “Three Lisel Mueller Settings” with Riccardo Muti and the CSO.
Elizabeth is quick to credit her music teachers, both in voice and piano. She also credits the Selinsgrove instrumental and vocal music programs for giving her opportunities to perform and develop her craft.
Nathan Troup – Class of 1998
With much credit due to the teachers who fostered his creativity at an early age, following high school graduation Nathan attended Susquehanna University and Boston University, earning his undergraduate and graduate degrees in voice and opera performance.
As a young emerging talent, Nathan’s performance credits garnered critical accolades in a wide range of repertoire from opera to early music to musical theater. While establishing a performing career in Boston and beyond, Nathan embarked on several influential artistic collaborations that would ultimately redirect his artistic focus from performing to directing and designing.
A partnership with Boston’s renowned Emmanuel Music introduced him to the innovative work of stage director Peter Sellars, choreographer Mark Morris, and film maker Errol Morris, further broadening his professional artistic lens. He returned to Boston University’s Opera Institute in 2007 where he was mentored by program director Sharon Daniels, launching what would become an international career as a celebrated stage director and highly sought-after clinician and educator in the performing arts.
His staged works have earned national and international critical acclaim, several Best of Boston accolades, and a 2020 Regional Emmy Award for Best Arts & Entertainment feature for Iowa PBS.
Notable engagements include those with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Festival, Carnegie Hall, Boston Lyric Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, Castleton Festival, NYC’s Miller Theater at Columbia University, Jessica Lang Dance at Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival and Brooklyn Academy of Music, as well as curated projects with Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, and TEDxCambridge.
Nathan is an Associate Professor of Opera at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee in addition to serving on the faculties of Boston University’s Opera Institute and Des Moines Metro Opera’s Apprentice Artist training program. He’s on the board of directors of Guerilla Opera, and spent a decade as an outreach artist with Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble’s award-winning Outreach Program (“Outstanding Merit and Contribution” by Early Music America), creating access to collaborative musical experiences to neglected and incarcerated youth.
