Alumni in the News

April 25, 2019
Drummer for Beyoncé Returns Home
Venzella Joy Williams ’11 headlines all-female concert in Buffalo

Drummer Venzella Joy Williams '11, who has toured with Beyonce for the last five years, returned to her hometown of Buffalo to perform her own music during an all-female concert on April 5. The event was part of the Arts & Sciences series at the Imagine Event Center. 

While in town, Williams spoke with several local media outlets regarding her career.

Watch the Channel 4 story here.

Watch the Channel 2 story here.

Read The Buffalo News story here.

 

Young ’02 Interviewed by The New York Times
Editor-in-chief of VerySmartBrothas discusses debut book

Damon Young ’02, editor-in-chief of VerySmartBrothas, a pop culture criticism website, was interviewed by the New York Times regarding the recent release of his debut book, What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays.

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker is a provocative and humorous memoir that explores the ever-shifting definitions of what it means to be black (and male) in America.

Young celebrated the release of What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker with a reading and book signing at Canisius on April 9.

Read the New York Times article here.

 

Alumna Beth Phoenix Competes for WWE Championship
Hall of Fame wrestler helps break WrestleMania attendance

Elizabeth Copeland ’02 (better known by her stage name Beth Phoenix), a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Famer, was part of this year’s WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium that broke all-time attendance records for the venue. The WWE’s annual signature event drew a crowd of 82,265.

Phoenix returned to WrestleMania for the first time in six years to compete for the WWE Women’s Tag Championship. Her team ultimately lost the four-way match to Bayley and Sasha Banks.

Read more here.

 

Alumnus Promoted to President of Rich Baseball
Buczkowski ’86 tapped for new role

Mike Buczkowski ’86 was promoted to president of Rich Baseball Operations. He now manages the three affiliated minor league teams owned by Rich Products, including the Buffalo Bisons. Buczkowski joined the organization in 1987 and was named general manager in 1993. He is the longest-tenured GM in the franchise’s history.

Read more here.