The Manheim Township Alumni Association is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award. Since 1997, Manheim Township has presented the Distinguished Alumni Award to honor graduates who have achieved noteworthy accomplishments in their chosen fields, have positively impacted their communities, and who will serve as inspiration for students, alumni, and staff of the Manheim Township School District.
The Distinguished Alumni Award recipients for 2025 are Jeremy Rubenstein, class of 2002; John L. Snoke, class of 1959; and Jill Sebest Welch, class of 1983.
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Jeremy Rubenstein MTHS ’02 is an entrepreneur, national speaker, theater producer, and educator.
At Manheim Township, he participated in Quiz Bowl and Model UN, performed in Manheim Township Performing Arts (MTPA) productions, and appeared in local theater productions.
Rubenstein graduated from Penn State University with a double major in theater and journalism and a minor in history, where he also performed in MainStage productions. He holds advanced degrees in arts education, early childhood development, and social emotional learning. He has starred in national tours, feature films, and Off-Broadway productions, and has taught from elementary school through the college level.
In 2008, Rubenstein created Box Out Bullying™, an interactive live theater assembly. What began as a single touring production has grown into a national organization experienced by millions of students, parents, and faculty, offering student assemblies, parent workshops, and faculty professional development aimed at helping to sustain a positive school culture.
A passionate bullying prevention advocate, he uses the power of theater to spark meaningful conversations around empathy, bystander empowerment, and respect.
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John Snoke MTHS ‘59 is a retired Manheim Township School District educator
As a Manheim Township student, Snoke was senior class president, a member of student council, HI-Y club, National Honor Society and the choir. He played four years of football and participated in track and field and tennis.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in education from West Chester State College (now West Chester University), and a master’s degree in health and physical education from Temple University. In 1964 he returned to serve the Manheim Township school community, teaching at Brecht and Schaeffer Elementary Schools first before moving to Manheim Township Middle School as a health and physical education teacher. During his tenure he helped to develop and facilitate an adaptive physical education program. He is Past President of the Lancaster County Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
In addition to his teaching career, Snoke coached several Manheim Township athletics teams, including championship swimming and diving teams and boys’ gymnastics teams. He was instrumental in helping bring interscholastic soccer programs to Manheim Township, serving on the first coaching staff of the Boys Soccer program in the 1960s, and helping to start the girls’ soccer program during the 1989-90 school year, coaching the team to its first Lancaster Lebanon League Championship in 1991 and again in 1992.
Snoke retired from teaching in 1996, after 34 years of service to the district. He served on the Board of the Manheim Township Historical Society for the past 10 years. He is also a member of Zion Lutheran Church in East Petersburg, where he is the Health, Safety and Security chairman.
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Jill Sebest Welch MTHS ’83 is an attorney at Barley Snyder LLP.
At Manheim Township, Welch was a member of National Honor Society, student council and served as class vice president. She played on the softball and field hockey teams and participated in cheerleading and swim team.
Welch attended Wittenberg University, where she was a member of the Wittenberg College Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, and Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a minor in biology. Welch worked as a land use planner from 1989 to1994 and served as Executive Director of the Delaware County Transportation Management Association from 1994 through 2000.
She earned her Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University School of Law in 2000 with honors and worked as a law clerk to Hon. Thomas L. Ambro, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, before joining the firm of Morgan Lewis & Bockius as associate attorney in 2001.
Welch joined Barley Snyder LLP in 2005, where she has been a Partner since 2009. From 2020 through 2024, Welch chaired the Employment Practice Group. She is an 11-time recipient of the Pennsylvania Super Lawyer honor. As a member of the Lancaster County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, Welch is regular speaker on employment law and ethics.
Welch has been a Pennsylvania Dutch Council Scouting America Board member since 2018, serving as President of the Council since 2023, and volunteers with Scout Troop 99 and girl Troop 99-G. She served as Board member of the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board from 2009 through 2024, serving terms as both Vice-chair and Chair. She is also a past Board member and Vice-chair of the Lancaster Family YMCA.