For some community college student-athletes making the transition to a four-year institution or into the workforce, the experience can seem daunting and filled with questions.

That’s why as part of its monthly online Leadership Series, the Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (EPAC) invited three former student-athletes, now working in the real world, to talk about their personal experience making that transition and offer some perspective for current student-athletes about to go through it.

Former EPAC student-athletes Angelina Capozzi, Koran Prince and Joe Wysock each said they appreciated the time spent at community or technical college because it was the necessary step they needed to grow into the people they are today.

Capozzi graduated in May of 2020 from Cabrini University with her bachelor’s degree in communication. Before then, she attended Montgomery County Community College for two years, where she earned an associate’s degree while playing soccer, basketball and softball.

In high school, she said she felt lost and wasn’t a great student academically. When she went to MCCC that all changed.

“Montco helped me find what I enjoyed and what my interests were,” she said. “I needed two years to figure it out. I was choosing between physical therapy and marketing and communications. I met my professors and decided physical therapy wasn’t for me. The marketing and journalism classes were more my route. I was really happy to go that way. I loved everything I did there.”

Playing sports at MCCC also gave her a support system on campus and friendly faces to say hi to during the day. Her teams also instilled confidence in her that would follow her to Cabrini, she said.

At Cabrini, Capozzi was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, maintained a 3.8 GPA and played soccer.  She was assistant editor for Cabrini’s award-winning, student-run newspaper, The Loquitur, and won Cabrini’s 2018 Inspiring Action story contest. She also served as a photographer for Cabrini’s Alumni Association and was an ambassador for Cabrini Admissions.

Currently, she works full-time at Upper Gwynedd Township as the program coordinator. In addition to her full-time job she also runs her own freelance photography business and has just become an active member of the Upper Gwynedd Fire Department as its photographer.

Prince graduated from MCCC in 2014. During his time there, he was a member of the men’s basketball team. After receiving his associate’s degree, he transferred to Penn State University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Information Technology.

The smaller class sized at MCCC gave him the extra attention he needed to be successful, he said.

“It’s helped me where I am today,” he said.

He currently works for Health Now as a software developer. In addition to his full-time job, Prince works as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball program at MCCC. He is currently in his seventh season as the assistant coach and second season as the head junior varsity coach.

He said playing basketball for the Mustangs helped him develop time management skills, which he relies on today.

“I like to be on time or early,” he said. “It helped me develop a great work ethic.”

Wysock enrolled into Thaddeus Stevens College in Lancaster and was accepted into the carpentry program in 2004. There he went on to play two years of basketball and football. He was then given an opportunity to continue his athletic career at Penn College on the men’s basketball team.  He credits his time in technical college for giving him a leg up over his peers when he transferred.

“When I transferred to Penn College in my third year, I as so far ahead of people. I spent so much time getting hands-on experience in my first two years at Thaddeus Stevens. They kept pushing everyone,” he said. “I built a house that people live in in two years at Thaddeus Stevens. It prepared me for the next level.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Penn College, he landed a job with Benchmark Construction, a Lancaster-based construction firm. While working at Benchmark Construction he was able to attend Lebanon Valley College and earn his master’s degree in business administration. 

After many years of managing and being involved with healthcare construction, Wysock decided to apply for a Hospital Facilities position at a hospital that he had just finished building for Lancaster General Health. Wysock now holds extensive experience with healthcare operations, facility operations and project management. In addition, he has also served on a number of local and regional leadership boards that include; ABC (Associated Builders and Contractors), Lancaster Young Professionals and Scholarship Committees and currently serves on the Thaddeus Stevens Alumni Board, President’s Advisory Committee, and as Vice President of the Thaddeus Stevens Foundation. Wysock is also the Chairman of the Thaddeus Stevens Building/Construction Committee.

Continuing to play basketball at Penn College gave him a sense of normalcy during a period of transition in his life.

“It was definitely a transition but I was ready for it,” he said. “I guess one nice thing about athletics was I knew I was going there to play basketball. So I could meet guys on the team and start training and practices.”

The EPAC Leadership Series began as a healthy way for athletes from 12 community colleges across Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware to engage stay connected with one another and learn important life skills they’ll each need to be successful after college, as the pandemic continues to sideline competition. The series, which launched in September, is under the leadership of MCCC Assistant Athletic Director Nyere Miller and is based on a program the College began in 2020 that Miller spearheaded.

The sixth and final installment of the EPAC Leadership series will be held Thursday, April 1. The topic will be: “Making the transition to a four-year institution/workforce: How do I market myself? How do my student-athlete skills transition into real life experience?”