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2021 Distinguished Alumnus: Shawn McGorry
Shaler Area is proud to announce graduate Shawn McGorry (Class of 1976) has been named the 2021 Distinguished Alumnus.
 
Mr. McGorry was recognized during Shaler Area High School’s National Honor Society Induction Ceremony on Nov. 4 for his accomplishments following high school graduation and his contributions to the telecommunications and information technology industries. 
 
“I am truly honored to be recognized among the thousands of worthy, standout individuals, who are proud to call Shaler Area their alma mater,” McGorry said. 
 
The Shaler Area School District created the Distinguished Alumnus Award to recognize and honor the graduates of the Shaler Area, Shaler, Etna or Millvale School District who have made a valuable contribution to society either in their personal or professional life.
 
A committee of teachers and administrators from Shaler Area High School selects the winner of this award annually as a way of recognizing the many accomplishments of its graduates.
 
Mr. McGorry is currently the president and chief executive officer of Expedient, an information technology (IT) solutions firm, which provides data center services, cloud-compute platforms, and a full suite of related IT managed services to businesses and institutions nationwide. Mr. McGorry joined Expedient in December 2003, and under his leadership, Expedient evolved and grew from a boutique, local internet service provider to a bow nationwide IT infrastructure as a service provider (IaaS), with cloud-compute platforms located across a network of 14 data centers in 10 cities. The company also partners to host and manage cloud-compute platforms in Australia, Asia, Europe, and Canada. 
 
Prior to joining Expedient, Mr. McGorry was the vice president and chief operating officer of Stargate.net, Inc. where he helped build the company from a startup to one of the nation’s Top 20 Commercial Internet Service Providers. Before entering the internet industry, Mr. McGorry spent 16 years with TeleCommunications, Inc. (TCI), where he served as general manager before the firm was acquired by AT&T Broadband in 1999, then sold to Comcast Communications in 2002.
 
“With over 1,000 students in my senior class, Shaler Area was huge back in 1976,” McGorry said. “Back then, the challenges of not getting lost in the shuffle, both socially and academically, were many, but that experience served me well. I am truly grateful to all the teachers, staff, coaches, and fellow students that helped prepare me for my professional experience.”
 
Mr. McGorry earned his bachelor’s degree in business marketing/management from Clarion State University, then went on to earn a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis on finance from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.
 
“I strongly encourage today’s students to work hard and seize the opportunities as they come,” McGorry said. “At all times, please focus on using the incredible power to today’s technology in a positive, productive way. Too often, young people fall prey to the negative influence and unproductive behavior that is encouraged on social media. Technology is a powerful tool, but it can create a permanent record of the most negative, sometimes unintentional applications.”
 
Mr. McGorry lives in Marco Island, Florida, and also maintains a local connection with a residence in Mars Borough. He has been married to his wife Jeanne, who he met at Clarion, for 37 years. They have two adult children.