Greenville Native, TV Director McWhirter Visits Thiel College

GREENVILLE, Pa. – Greenville native, producer and TV director David McWhirter visited Thiel College and met with officials from Penn-Northwest Development Corp. earlier this week.

While on campus, McWhirter visited the college’s James Pedas Communication Center, home to Thiel College student media organizations and campus television station TCTV. Pedas is a graduate of Thiel College and owned several drive-in theaters with his brother, Ted, as well as Circle Films Inc., the studio that produced the Coen Brothers’ first two films – “Blood Simple” in 1984 and “Raising Arizona” in 1987.

“I love both Thiel and Greenville,” McWhirter said in a statement. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from, if you have passion and drive, you should pursue your dreams wherever they should lead.”

In a meeting with Rod Wilt, executive director of Penn-Northwest and a Thiel graduate, McWhirter discussed collaborating with a local film team about the possibility of shooting a short film in nearby Sharon.

“David’s talent in the field of directing and editing television production is well documented,” Wilt said. “He has Mercer County roots and is proud to be from Greenville. Having him back home to start networking with Get2Work productions on an exciting opportunity was a fantastic opportunity for Penn-Northwest and Thiel College.”

McWhirter has directed more than 50 hours of television for shows such as “All-American,” “The Flash,” “Supergirl” and “Quantico.” His directorial debut came in 2007 with a fifth-season episode of “The Closer” that earned actress Kyra Sedgwick an Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Television Series.

Pictured: David McWhirter met with students during a tour of Thiel College.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.