WCU Magazine Fall/Winter 2025

Nick Fanelli ’06 and John Worley ’80
Complete Assignments at the 2026 Olympic Games

Nick Fanelli ’06, second from right

Two alumni held important roles at the 2026 Olympic Games, held in Milan, Italy, in February and March.

Nick Fanelli ’06

As a supervisory special agent with the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Nick Fanelli ’06 served as the U.S. Olympic Security Coordinator in Milan, Italy, where he’s lived with his family since 2024, working from the U.S. Consulate. He led U.S. security coordination at Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

The DSS serves as the lead U.S. law enforcement agency for all designated International Special Security Events like the Olympics, World Cup, Panamerican Games, and other high-profile political summits, etc. The Diplomatic Security Service also maintains a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee that commits DSS to ensuring the safety and security of Team USA during the Olympics and other international security events. DSS also provides security support to visiting U.S. officials, U.S. citizens, and the U.S. business community during these global events.

Fanelli has extensive experience supporting major international/national security events, having overseen DSS security planning in New York for several U.N. General Assembly Sessions, and having served as a Field Liaison Officer during the 2020-21 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He was a security observer during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

A transfer student who majored in criminal justice and minored in psychology, Fanelli said, “My education and experience at West Chester were fundamental to any success I’ve had since graduating in 2006. My instructors, particularly those in the criminal justice, sociology, legal, and international relations sections, inspired my curiosity to learn more about our communities, justice system, governance, and global affairs in general. They were incredibly informed, engaging, and always challenged us to think critically and to ask the tough questions of ourselves and others. As a full-time student who was also working full-time and serving in the Air National Guard, I also learned leadership, personal accountability, time management, and developed a strong work ethic during my years at West Chester — skills that serve me to this day.

“The atmosphere on campus was also important,” he continued. “I really felt like I was part of a proud community. As a transfer student who came in a little older than most at 21, I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but I had an amazing experience at West Chester across the board.

“The instructor and administrative staff also worked with me when I was deployed several times during my studies, which helped me stay on track academically while allowing me to continue to serve my country. I always appreciated their flexibility and efforts to help me succeed during those challenging years.”

John Worley ’80

John Worley ’80, head athletic trainer for the NHL’s Minnesota Wild ice hockey team, served as an athletic trainer for the U.S. Olympics Men's Ice Hockey Team at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy. The team brought home Olympic gold.

In a recent interview with fellow alumnus and CBS Sports Philadelphia anchor/reporter Pat Gallen ’07, Worley said of the once-in-a-lifetime experience, “I just remember the complete excitement. Throwing arms up in the air, celebrating, and jumping up and down. I turned and looked at the people I worked with all week, and the players who were nearby. It was a complete love fest.”

Worley previously served as an athletic trainer for the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.

Now in his 28th NHL season, Worley has held positions with the Wild and the Philadelphia Flyers. He started his NHL career in 1993-94 as the head athletic trainer for the Flyers, a role he held through the 2003-04 season. Worley then served as manager of sports medicine services at the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, a position he held from 2005- 2009. He returned to the NHL for the 2009-10 season as an assistant athletic trainer for the Wild and became head athletic trainer for the 2016-17 season.

I look back on my career, and I’ve been so fortunate and lucky.

Originally from Ridley Park, PA, Worley graduated from WCU with a degree in athletic training and sports medicine. If he had to do it all over again, he would do the same.

“I watched the Stanley Cup games live that the Flyers won,” he shared with Gallen. “When you see Bobby Clarke, Paul Holmgren, and others walk down the hallways, and you’re working with and for these people, [it’s amazing.] We cannot forget Mr. Ed Snider; he was just a phenomenal person in the lineage of Philadelphia Flyers hockey. … I look back on my career, and I’ve been so fortunate and lucky to be able to have the path that I’ve had.”

John Worley ’80, third from right