Alumni  potlight

 
James Corgel ’69

Jim Corgel graduated from CCHS in 1969, and went on to pursue both a BA and MBA from the University of Notre Dame, where he was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus by Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, and later served as Chairman of the University’s Undergraduate Advisory Council.

After graduation, Jim joined IBM in 1975. He was a member of IBM’s Integration and Values Team since 1997, a senior management group responsible for strategy implementation, and served in a number of key General Manager roles with global responsibility. In his last job he was responsible for IBM’s worldwide relationship with independent software vendors. He also managed key partnerships with the development, academic, and venture capital communities that comprise IBM’s industry leading ecosystem of influencers. His business experience includes leadership roles in sales, business operations, marketing, and industry specific markets. On three occasions he lead IBM into brand new markets, building experience in new business design, deployment, and measurement. He retired from the company in July 2013, serving successfully for 38 years. But his greatest achievement at IBM? It’s where he met Christine, his wife.

In his retirement, Jim founded Corgel Group, a non-profit career consultancy helping individuals find the right fit for their skills and experience in a corporate environment. He is a member of the board of trustees for the American Management Association, a world leader in professional development, and for Earthplace, a nature discovery center located in Westport,CT where Jim and Chris participate in a number of non-profit groups and have made their home for 30 years.

Last year, Jim and Chris graciously donated $200,000.00, and established the James ’69 and Christine Corgel Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship provides two students with a $5,000 scholarship each for each year they are enrolled in Seton Catholic Central High School (9-12). Recipients of the scholarship are from under-represented backgrounds and low-income families. Jim and Christine’s generous gift to the system reinforces the importance of providing a solid and diverse Catholic based education to the residents of Broome County.

Wade Ryer ’93

Born and raised on the west side of Binghamton, Wade has over twenty years of experience in animation and worked on films such as Kung Fu Panda 2, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and several others. Wade attended Syracuse University and graduated with a BFA in Computer Graphics.

He has worked for studios such as DreamWorks Animation, Framestore, Electronic Arts, ReelFX and Sony Imageworks. His career has taken him to London, Montreal, Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Wade’s education at Seton laid the foundation for everything he has accomplished. The encouragement and guidance were instrumental from teachers like Ms. Schmidt in launching him into art school at Syracuse University and beyond. Wade also credits a big part of his success to playing football for Seton. He was never a big star, but playing football showed him what it meant to be a part of a team, taught him self-discipline, and the value of working hard.

Wade frequently returns to the Southern Tier to visit his family and to help with the yearly LUMA Festival. He enjoys speaking with local students about working in the field of animation and gives tips on getting into art school.

Wade currently works on animated films for Sony Imageworks and resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.