Thomas Curran Sekella ’68 COE

Growing up in Elmira, New York, Thomas Curran Sekella, known to all as “Curran”, held summer jobs at the local engineering company where his father worked. For Curran, the summer work was challenging, sparking his lifelong love of engineering. He was particularly drawn to aerospace engineering; Curran’s idea of fun in high school had been building and launching rockets. According to Curran, some had successful launches, and some were otherwise.

Curran’s quest to learn all that he could about engineering led him to follow in his father’s footsteps. Youston Sekella was self-educated, never having had formal training as an engineer. Nevertheless, he had a stellar career, which included holding 35 engineering patents. If engineering was a constant in Curran’s upbringing, a second constant was the presence of the Catholic Church, due to the steadfast faith of both his Irish mother and Ukrainian father.

When it came time for Curran and his older brother, Matt, to select their colleges, both chose Catholic institutions. Matt took a direct path to Georgetown. Curran’s choice of Villanova was made indirectly, when his father brought home a Villanova yearbook which a young colleague had given to him. Curran was taken with the photos and also with the story of the famous Villanova Olympian sprinter, Frank Budd. More importantly, he also knew he could study engineering at Villanova. He applied in the spring of 1964, after his first campus visit.

At the College of Engineering (COE), Curran took the mechanical engineering curriculum, never fully letting go of his passion for aerospace design. For Curran, the most memorable aspect of attending COE was the education itself. The coursework was not easy and the first two weeks were overwhelming as he settled into St. Rita’s Hall. The complexity of the work formed Curran’s life-long ambition to design things that work based on the analysis needed to complement the actual purpose of the design.

Besides his studies, Curran also devoted time to Villanova Engineer magazine. He authored articles about cars, but always circled back to his interest in mechanical engineering. Fr. John Curran O.S.A., was also a large part of his Villanova experience. Curran rarely uses his given name, “Thomas”, but rather uses his middle name, which is his mother’s maiden name. The priest and the student shared their name and Curran found great support in the time they spent talking.

In choosing a Catholic university, Curran became exposed to an array of new experiences which defined and deepened his faith. This was the time immediately after the Second Vatican Council, and Curran came to understand his Catholic faith in different ways, casting off the rote version of taking part in religion which he had carried to that point. The ability to talk with priests and have deep discussions about faith, without judgment, was exciting. The Villanova spiritual experience has stayed with Curran for his entire life, serving as the bedrock of his deep commitment to his faith.

Following graduation, Curran returned to his hometown and began to work at the same engineering firm where he had spent summers. The company joined with Martin Marietta, so Curran was able to realize his dream of working in aerospace design. Around this time, Curran also began to worship at a local monastery, which was a comfortable successor to his experience at Core chapel. It was at Core that he developed the habit of attending daily mass, which he still follows. The monastery was staffed by the Benedictine priests and brothers. Curran sees a strong link between them and the Augustinians, in their ability to make faith personal.

Also around the time that he returned to Elmira, Curran met and married the love of his life, Barbara. Together they raised their two daughters, Jennifer and Jillian. Barbara and Curran frequently travel down to Villanova and are regular guests at the 1842 Heritage Society Mass and Brunch. They also take part in other campus activities, such as when Curran attended his 50th Reunion in 2018. He keeps in touch with classmates Emmet Bonner,’68 CLAS, Charles Schwerzler,’68 CLAS and Neil Sheehan,’68 CLAS.

For Curran, his Villanova education had a critical impact on his entire professional life. To this day, he still refers to his COE textbooks. To express his gratitude for his Villanova education, Curran, along with Barbara, made the University part of his estate plan. As he says, “I went in as a boy and left as a man.” He counts his time at Villanova as the most significant four years of his life, during which he achieved his goals of becoming an engineer and also of developing on a personal level.

Curran has named Villanova as a beneficiary under his will, with a bequest to benefit his beloved College of Engineering. He challenges his colleagues to consider doing the same by asking them, “How did you like Villanova?”. If your Villanova education is a gift from which you have been benefitting your entire life, would you also consider making Villanova part of your estate plan? To discuss ideas and opportunities for charitable giving, please contact Tim McKinley at 215-240-0812 or timothy.mckinley@villanova.edu.