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[Music] Hello Blue Jays and welcome to the nest stories about life after Manor College. I am your host Kelly Peiffer vice president of marketing communications and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this podcast will encourage, inform, and inspire you, making you feel like at Manor College you belong here always. Before we get to today's guest, it's time for a special segment of the show I like to call did you know? Did you know that Manor College's first athletics team competed in women's

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basketball? In the late 1950s, Manor College students regularly competed on volleyball and tennis courts behind the original St. Basil's Academy on the Sisters property, which is next to our campus. Minor College's first collegiate team was in women's basketball, which debuted in the 1960s. So, Manor was playing kind of um recreational sports before it became competitive. The team played several local colleges including Holy Family, Chestnut Hill, Gwynedd Mercy, and Holy Redeemer. The team featured multiple

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winning records, and women's basketball still continues to be a vital part of our Manor College athletics today. So since the 1960s when we first started bringing collegiate sports, Manor has become home to dozen a dozen sports for both men and women, men's soccer became the first male sport on campus in the fall of 1990 after Manor College became a co-ed institution in the late 80s. The team played their first games at the Tris soccer field in Horsham, which Manor still has a connection to Tris

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today. And um finally the Blue Jays found a home on a field next to Mother Perpetual Help Hall where our team still plays today. After men's soccer came men's basketball soon followed that next year in 1991. The team found early success winning their conference championship just six years after starting the team. Our Blue Jays compete in the United States Collegiate Association or the USCAA and Manor College was actually a founding member of the Eastern States Athletic Conference. Recently, the Blue

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Jays found success on multiple levels. Both men's soccer and men's basketball won their conference championships in recent years and entered the USCAA National Tournament. Just last month, our outdoor track team competed at the USAA Track and Field National Championships in Springfield, Massachusetts. So whether it's on the soccer pitch, on the basketball court, on the volleyball court, on the baseball diamond, or around the track, we always love to see our Blue Jays flying high and competing. Today we have a truly

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special guest. He is someone who bleeds blue and white and has been a Blue Jay since 1997. Today's guest is a true pillar of the Manor College community and has been a campus staple for almost 25 years. Today, we're thrilled to have with us someone whose journey started right here in Philadelphia, graduating from Abraham Lincoln High School before finding his way to Manor. He dove head first into the college experience, earning his liberal arts associates degree in 1999 and proudly representing the Blue Jays

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on the men's soccer team. from Manor College. He then continued to pursue his academics at Millersville University. And now he is a it's a fantastic full circle moment. He uh he's been back at Manor on campus leading the charge as the director of athletics and the head coach for our men's soccer team. A first generation college student himself, he knows firsthand the transformative power of higher education. And we are eager to hear about his experiences and his story. So, please give me a warm please

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join me in giving a warm welcome to John JD Dempster. Hi, John. Hi, Kelly. Thanks for having me. Of course. I'm happy to have you and um it's always good to see a friendly face. So, thanks so much for talking to us today. And can you start us off by sharing how did you choose Manor and what was your college decision like? It was very different for me, Kelly. Um as you mentioned, I am a rail splitter at heart. Abraham Lincoln. Uh I was a public school kid and um I wasn't quite sure what I wanted

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to do where a lot of our students are in that same category. But for me, I talked to the men's soccer coach here and uh he kind of laid it out for me and said, "Hey, we need a goaltender. I know you're looking for a place to go." And um I'll never forget it. When I pulled up to campus with my mother, I just felt like this was the place I was going to be. it. Like you said, I've been here for a long time and it's like a second home to me. Sure. Absolutely. I love how you describe that like when you pulled in um

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with your mom like you just felt it. And I feel like I always tell students like trust your instincts, trust your gut. There's something about that that's really telling. If you are on a college campus and you're like this doesn't feel right, listen to that. But then on the other side, if it does feel right, listen to that. So, that's really cool to hear um that you found a home not so far away from your actual home, you know, not being that too far away. Lincoln High School is kind of right down the street. So, tell us, John, what

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were you like as a student? What was campus like in the late 90s? Um kind of give us take us back a little bit. Well, I think about it all the time and Manor was a place where everybody was friendly. Um I like I said I felt like home when I was um transforming say from Lincoln High School public uh education to Manor College. Um I wasn't the best student to be honest with you. I was uh I would call myself academically lazy and uh when I got to campus I met some teachers and they were just so nice to

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me. Um, one in particular was Jane Zegestowsky and uh, she just kind of made me feel comfortable and would work with me and um, from there like say practicing for a sport, the education piece for me um, I became something where I just wanted to keep doing it. I uh, got a few good grades. Well, so I wanted to get more uh, better grades, you know, I got B's, I wanted A's. Um, and so the academic part for me was um, it was great because I felt like I got my real education here at Manor College and

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um, what I loved about the social aspect really was um, I mentioned however how nice everybody was and there was no clicks, you know, um, athletes could hang with uh, non-athletes and um, different groups could hang with different groups and it was totally cool. Um, some of my best friends are I still talk to all the time and it happened right here on Manor's campus. Uh, you mentioned that I, you know, I didn't live far away and I actually lived here too to get the full, you know, experience and I'll tell you the

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resident's life was great here. Uh the education was great here and it just um it was it was a an experience that when I transferred I didn't get. So I wished at the time that I could just stay here and get the bachelor's degree but now we can. Right now we can. Um that's so cool. And I love how you are able to reflect on um someone like Jane Zegestowsky who was a longtime faculty member in math I believe and then she became like a a an associate dean or provost and kind of worked up in leadership. And today Jane is a board

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member of Manor. So what a what a cool arc for her to like kind of go from faculty to administrator to now a board member and really staying with the college. felt like she believed in you. She saw something in you and then that snowballed you to get those B's, get those A's, and then get involved. And um I'm glad that you were able to have like a full college experience even though you totally could have commuted back home as well. But it's nice that you were able to kind of like get that cuz it's something that a lot of students um

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either desire or you know feel like they maybe miss out on. So it's cool that Manor was able to kind of be that for you. So let's talk a little bit about what was it like like you are a graduate from the college obviously you're you're really involved as a student and then you go away for a little bit and then talk about like coming back to coach and then coming back um as an employee and kind of what was that transition like because that's pretty interesting. It it was it was amazing for me because um I

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always said I wanted to give back but I just didn't know how. um you know I I have friends that are mechanics and you know they can help you with your car and I just I just didn't know how I could help and then I realized that I loved working with people and I loved sharing my experience that I had here as a student. So when I came back to Manor to work, I worked in the admissions department for 17 years and I absolutely loved it because I got to work with potential students all the time and I got to share my stories and my

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experiences. Um and then with coaching, uh my former high school coach, uh Mr. Patton at Abraham Lincoln High School, we still talk to this day. um he inspired me when I was a player there and um all of the good things that he did for me and and my family. Uh I wanted to um incorporate if I ever got the chance to coach. And um he was more than a coach and that's kind of what I thrived to be. Not just an X's and O's guy, but someone that um was going to be a part of my players lives. um not just

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the two to four years that they were here, but beyond that. So, when I got the opportunity to coach, um it wasn't about wins and losses for me, although I do love to win, but it was really just getting our guys from point A, you know, they're here as a freshman to mature and learn, become a good person, and uh succeed um and graduate. I mean, the ultimate goal is to get their degree. Yeah. So yeah, that's great. Yeah. I mean, you spent a lot of time in admission. So like not just recruiting athletes or recruiting soccer players,

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but just recruiting students to come in come into the the door and share your story. And I like how you said you wanted to give back. You just didn't know how. But um obviously working for the college is a great way to give back cuz I mean it's we are a nonprofit and we are I feel like we all are serving students and each other frankly in some some way. Um is there any particular stories or years where you remember um you know students maybe like reminded them of yourself and you saw yourself in

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a lot of students or a lot of players and then you saw them get motivated and they weren't maybe the best academically but then they turned it around and like do you kind of have any any stories about that? I mean, honestly, Kelly, every year there's someone like that and um it's great to see them grow. Um as a again, as a coach, you see these players come in or you see these students come in and they just don't know. Uh they're they're a lot of them are just clueless about college and and and and why

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they're going to college, but they know they should go to college, right? So I was in the same situation where hey I was lazy in high school. I had a lot of fun. I played a lot of sports. I had a lot of friends. But the academic piece was the one where if it wasn't for teachers like Jany and Mike Landis and John Stora um you know we we just wouldn't know and and you might drop out or you might not get that full experience. So, what I try to do, Kelly, is share that story and say, "Listen, I've been there. I've been right where

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you are. There's tons of help here. There's teachers here that'll help you. I will help you." And I think me being here full-time and letting them know that it's not just all about sports that that I'm here for you. And and there's other coaches that are here for their players as well, but um yeah, I have students that come and go all the time. that are in the same situation and it's just so cool to see them just mature and and and get through it, you know. Um our one of our seniors

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this year, uh Maximo Chavez, Maximo Chavez was in the same situation and it's just so cool to see him through his personal battles, his educational battles, his social battles, just get through it. I mean, he would come in and we'd talk and uh you know, we we'd actually um we'd pray together, too. And um it it was just great to see him just become that man that he is. And now he's going to get his bachelor's degree from Manor College. So, I'm really happy about that. Yeah, that's awesome. I

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mean, I I have an inside look and and inside scoop on what, you know, what John Dempster means to an institution just because I've worked here for a long time alongside of you and I I know um you can't you can't ask students like if if you ask students, you know, randomly pull a few in the cafeteria like who's someone here that really impacted you? There's a really really high chance John Dempster's name comes up. I mean, almost every single athlete for sure, but then other non-athletes, too. Oh, JD is

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awesome. You know, I know that you you help your students and athletes in so many ways than just being a coach, giving them rides to airports, doing all sorts of things on the weekends and just like being I know people have used um like father figure or um you know, uncle and brother and like different kind of familial terms to describe you. So, I think you're certainly leaving you're leaving a mark on these these people um every year in in big and small ways that you might not even realize, but it's

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really cool. And I think that that talks to the greater like purpose we all have here at Manor is that like we're not just here to give you an education. Here's your degree. See you. It's really a lot more about connection, relationships, and serving. I always kind of go back to like servant leadership and service to our students um through their education while they're alumni. You know, I love it when alumni come back and they like connect with us or they ask us for help with something and we can be those

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connectors and advocates for them. And I see that you do a lot of that in your work and these are all the things that are not like in a job description, but they are just the things that we all do to help, you know, these people that we we love. So, thanks for all that you do on that front, John. I know it's time and effort, um, but it really means a lot and leaves an impact. So, let's talk a little bit about the athletic director hat that you wear, um, overseeing all 12 of our sports. Um, how have you seen

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athletics at Manor College grow and change over the last couple decades? Oh, great question. Um, I it first of all, it's a dream job and I'm just so happy that I have it. Um, but when I took over the position, we had three sports. Um, and when I sat with President Perry, we talked and I said, "What do you want me to do? You know, where do you see this thing going?" And he said, "Well, I'd like to see more athletic offerings. I'd like to see our rosters expand and then I'd like to see us um to

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start to win." So, um, I said, "Great. I I'm always up for a challenge. I'm ready for it." But when you backtrack, I told you about me pulling up to campus uh with my mom and I just I'm telling you, I just I knew this is where I wanted to be. But the second thing that I said was, "Do they have a baseball team?" And they didn't. They didn't have a baseball team. Um but that's just my point is so when I took over the first ad was baseball. Um it was personal for me. It was it was an ad

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that I wished that we had for years and now we have it. And then I knew that um we wanted to expand our women's offerings. So we reinstituted women's soccer and volleyball. We added cross country indoor track and outdoor track for both men and women. So my goal, yeah, was to grow and to expand the rosters. And then it was if we could take part in somehow expanding from say a two-year associates degree granting institution into a four-year bachelor's degree granting institution, I would love to be a part of that. And we we we

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helped with that in 2018 and 19. And now our sophomores when they graduate, I don't have to hear them say, I don't want to leave. I want to stay here. Now they can. So, so for me that is the ultimate where as a as you know we wear many hats here. So I when I put my coaching hat on I say hey we got this freshman and sophomore ready to play college level sports and now they're transferring. Now we can say no now they're ready to play. And because of those efforts and and all of our sport offerings we are now seeing the results

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and now we're starting to win and get those banners um and get the recognition. And honestly, we're still probably the smallest college in the USCAA. I know we're the smallest college in our in the ESAC conference, but it that doesn't matter because even though, you know, we're we're small in numbers, we're still we're still have um like big hearts and we are just, you know, ready to win and and we've proved it. So, yeah. Yeah. So, men's basketball this year, won the first ESAC conference championship this year. That was

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amazing. men's soccer did it two years ago. So, we're really starting to get the recognition. And in the past uh four years, we've had uh two teams go to the national championship tournament twice. So, total of four times. So, I'm really excited about that. Yeah. I mean, it's been exponential growth over the last really 10 years, I would say. Really exploded. What year did you start in the ad position? Do you know? It was 2018. Okay. And then co hit. Right. Right. I know. And going through athletics with COVID, it was a whole

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another I mean going through it with academics was a whole another thing. Athletics and I think what you said is really true. You know, being a two-year school for 70 out of our 77 years of existence, you know, that meant you have two years of athlete. So you have and at most, you know, four year institutions, freshman normally don't play. They play their junior senior year, but you use those two years as grooming years. Here it was like, well, we got freshman and sophomores all the time. That's it.

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Right. So, like you said, like we were grooming them and then they leave. So, we were never able to like reap the benefit of us grooming them. So, now we can and obviously we're seeing the results from that which is awesome. Um I I don't know. I always kind of love being like the underdog in some ways. I think it's a very Philadelphia um mantra obviously with um some of the Eagles kind of doing that. But I also think like, you know, Manor, we're small, but we're mighty. And I think our athletics really embodies that kind of

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persona. So, it's really cool to see. Um, you're sitting in our gym today, and I see there's lots of banners on the on the ceiling, and I know behind you there's even more that are the newer ones. And I always find that like athletics drives campus culture. And not just for the athletes, like non-athletes like it, professors like it, parents like it, like it drives campus culture. and it really does set a tone for a campus. So, it's always good to see our athletics teams um expanding and doing well obviously is really fun. I hear

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there's a bit of news to be shared in the athletics department. Um so, I wanted to give you an opportunity to share what's going on that's coming out. Yes, really excited. We are adding two new sports for spring 2026. women's flag football and men's volleyball. And I'm telling you, I could not be happier. I've been um itching to kind of add these sports for a couple years now. And now that it's approved, we're going to we're going to spearhead this and we're going to put Manor College on the map. I'm really excited

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about these two new sports. Oh, that's great. I think that's so cool. So, tell me kind of why those two and kind of what's the buzz around that? Well, I'm going to start with men's volleyball first. In 2018, when I took over, it was starting to it was in it was in its infancy and was starting to gain popularity and that was kind of when we were transitioning from that two to four year um bachelor's degree granting institution and then co hit. So, I kind of tabled it for a little bit. Um but I was very interested

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because it was growing within our region, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. So, that was always in the back of my mind. I wanted to get that going. So what we did instead was start volleyball club and uh here on campus and it became a really popular club. It was a co-ed club but it was an opportunity for me to see how many male uh students will come in and be you know interested in playing the sport. So, you know, I was taking names and we were talking about it and I got to the point where I was like, "Okay, um the

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interest is there. Let let's move this forward." And that's what happened. And then with flag football, I mean, I think everybody I think the cat's out of the bag, so to speak. This is probably going to be the most popular sport in the near the near uh future. Um yeah, it's the PIAA have adopted it. The NCAA are about to adopt it. it's going to be an Olympic sport soon. I just wanted to get Manor College uh you know to kind of spearhead this or trailblaze it uh where when it does become an

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official sport through the NCAA that we're ready to go. Yeah, I love that. I love um how you were able to kind of kind of get like a little test group together for volleyball. I um just a few episodes ago we had Kaitlyn Rampone on the podcast talking about her Manor experience and she talked about volleyball club and how that was such that sounded like that was actually a really pivotal thing for her and her experience. She she talked so fondly about it and how um helping start the club but also being a part of it just

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like reignited her love for volleyball which she kind of um was dampered a little bit in high school. So that was really cool to hear. And then I didn't really realize how like that club was like a test group for what was to come. So cool foreshadowing there. Um and flag football, it certainly seems like the next sport for like America. I know um my son, he is six years old and like our town offers flag football for six-year-olds. Um, I think he's a little afraid to try it just yet, but we we

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think it's cool and it's a great alternative to football, which comes with a lot of just scary possibilities. So, flag football seems like a really cool offering, and I know we already have some students talking about it on campus, and I know more things are going to come out about it in the next um few months. So, I think it's really exciting, and congratulations. It's not easy starting sports and doing all this, but major kudos to you um for really spearheading this. So So John, as we kind of wrap up here, I usually end

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every episode with asking our alumni what advice that they would give to Manor students. It's kind of ironic asking you because you're someone who actually like does give advice to Manor students all the time where sometimes alumni don't feel as you know they're not as connected to our students like like you are but I'll still ask the question because I'm a creature of of habit but what advice would you give to Manor students who are currently like in their in their college days right now and um something that you think would

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resonate well with them. I say this a lot and I really mean it. I always tell them, don't be invisible. Um, if you're invisible, nobody knows what you'd like to do or what you'd like to try. There there's no harm in trying something and seeing if you like it. Um, I tell my players, get involved in other things besides athletics. Get involved in student government. That was a huge part of my life when I was in high school. Um, get involved in different clubs. Do community service. it could

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change your life. Um, that's probably the best advice I could give them, you know, and I I really mean it. If you're invisible, no, you're never going to get that chance. And especially at Manor College, I mean, we are a small private institution where everybody is pulling for you. So, all you really have to do is just show up and and talk. Yeah. Find your way. It's so true. And I think if there's any place not to be invisible at, it's Manor College, frankly, because as soon as you right,

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just show up and and share a little bit about yourself. Be a little bit vulnerable. You'll have people coming around you to find opportunities, find internships, jobs, if you need food, if you need resources. is I mean I feel like that's what we we do really well at and that's what I think is kind of um unique about us is you know I always say like a lot of institutions in our area particularly are small and are homey um and offer the same degrees that we offer but like what makes us different is our

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students and is the level of care that we have. So that's great advice. Don't be invisible. Um well thank you John so much for spending time with us today and I hope our listeners enjoyed your story. I know I had a blast talking to you and kind of hearing more about your journey and um thank you so much and thank you Kelly. Thank you for your department and all the stuff you do for athletics. Thank you for tuning in today. If you like what you heard, listen and subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up to date with all new

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episodes by following Manor College on Instagram at Manor College. And that's a wrap on another episode of The Nest Stories about life after Manor College. Remember Blue Jays, you belong here always. [Music] [Applause]