During that time, he’s built lasting friendships, made short work of the region’s best pizza and leveraged new ways to share Quinnipiac’s stories around the world, from Instagram, Facebook and TikTok to the more than 100,000 readers of the Quinnipiac Today newsletter.

“I get to tell the best of the best stories. I get to celebrate the successes of our students, the accomplishments of our alumni, and the triumphs of our staff and faculty,” DeLoma said earlier this week. “I had the honor of organizing the pep rally and the sendoff rally for the men’s ice hockey for the Frozen Four. I have the pleasure of working closely with athletics, admissions, alumni and student affairs and each of the schools. I get to work with literally every area of this amazing university, and the best part is, I get to tell their stories.”

On October 24, DeLoma will join five colleagues — Julia Giblin, professor of anthropology; Amber Kelly, associate professor of social work; Theresa Luersen, senior instructor of chemistry and physical sciences; Eric Grgurich, executive director of the M&T Bank Arena; and Kristina Lynch, director of CARE — to be honored at the Center for Faculty and Staff Excellence awards ceremony.

“I feel like Quinnipiac has become interwoven into my DNA. I love this place,” said DeLoma, who also teaches journalism part-time in the School of Communications. “Quinnipiac has been a part of me for as long as I can remember.”

“When I was in high school, I was part of the Society of Professional Journalists,” DeLoma said. “In those days, the annual awards dinner was at Quinnipiac. I remember coming here as a high school freshman and sophomore and exploring the campus and being wowed by the McMahon Center.”

These days, DeLoma is wowed by the Recreation and Wellness Center, a rising South Quad and the Class of 2027, the first-year students who walk around campus full of discovery, just like he did all those years ago.

“I’m here for the students. I get their energy. I get their enthusiasm. And I get to look at the world through their eyes,” he said. “I plan on being at Quinnipiac for a very long time because there’s no better place to be and no better place to tell such inspiring stories.”

After graduating from Quinnipiac with a BA in journalism in 2006, DeLoma headed to The Advocate in Stamford, Connecticut, to work as a local news reporter. From there, he went to NBC New York and Fox News Channel to work as a news editor before returning to Quinnipiac in the former Office of Public Affairs in 2010.

On the side, DeLoma moonlighted for his first seven years at Quinnipiac on the copy desk at The Connecticut Post in Bridgeport editing and designing pages on deadline. DeLoma also interned there as a high school student at Fairfield Prep. Old habits die hard, after all.

John Morgan, associate vice president for public relations, recalled the commitment DeLoma made to his role as editor-in-chief of The Quinnipiac Chronicle, and later, in Quinnipiac’s public affairs office for five years.

“What I appreciated about Jamie as a student and his time as a reporter and editor at The Chronicle was that he always had his ear to the ground,” Morgan said. “I think that is such an important trait to have if you’re going to flourish in the public relations, marketing, media relations roles.”

“After Jamie did those stints in news at NBC, Fox and at the Post, the opportunity came up to work here, and I thought, ‘Wow, he’d be a great addition given all those traits.’ Plus, he’s a very good writer. He brought a lot of great assets to the table that I was happy to take advantage of here,” recalled Morgan.

Tom Ellett, the university’s chief experience officer, said he was genuinely surprised DeLoma hadn’t already won this award.

“Jamie was one of the first people I met when I came to Quinnipiac. Over the past 2 ½ years, I have interacted and engaged with Jamie almost daily,” he wrote in his nomination. “In my humble opinion, there is not another Quinnipiac staff member who is as committed and loyal to the Bobcat spirit as Jamie."

Steven Justo, MBA ’20, echoed Ellett’s assessment.

“Jamie is far too humble, but his efforts give the university a huge audience with Quinnipiac Today that single-handedly exceeds all other university communications combined,” Justo wrote in his nomination. “Jamie’s efforts and his commitment to Quinnipiac are the embodiment of what it means to be a Bobcat for life.”

DeLoma’s passion for his work also carries over to the classroom.

Madison Morris ’23, MS ’24, first met DeLoma as a first-year student in his COM 140 class. Like so many brand-new students, Morris was still finding her way around campus — around college, even. It was all so new, but DeLoma made it accessible and wonderful.

“He mentors students to help them become the best they can be,” Morris said. “At that time, I wasn’t the most confident writer, and I was looking to enhance my writing skills. I went to him one day after class to get help on one of the stories I was writing, and he guided me along.”

Soon after, Morris was working in the Office of Marketing and Communications. She covered Commencement and wrote stories for Quinnipiac Today. She learned about the back end of the digital newsletter system just because she was curious. 

“But that’s what he does for a lot of his students. He immediately identifies students who show the promise and the potential to grow and learn,” Morris added. “Looking back now, it’s almost unbelievable. I never would’ve thought I’d be in the position I’m in today. Being able to have the opportunities to work with Jamie for the last five years, I feel beyond prepared to go into the workforce.”

Lisa Scrofani, MS ’13, assistant director of digital content strategy, arrived at Quinnipiac in 2012. It didn’t take long before she met the social media standout with the infectious enthusiasm and the talent to match.

“When I first started working at Quinnipiac, probably the biggest reason I wanted to be friends with Jamie was because he brought more passion to the job than anyone I’d ever seen,” Scrofani said. “I really wanted to be part of that.”

“After I had been in my role for about two or three years, I made it a point to try and work with Jamie more directly because of the ways our roles could overlap between web and social media. We saw the possibilities for things to be more synergetic across the digital ecosystem.”

A decade later, the two remain close friends and colleagues.

More friends. More stories. More lives changed.

“I never expected to win this award because in my eyes, I'm not doing anything extraordinary,” DeLoma said. “I’m just doing my job. For me, the greatest reward is telling these stories and getting to know the Bobcats behind them. Truly, it never feels like work because I have so much inspiration and so much excitement here. My only goal is to make sure I leave Quinnipiac better than when I walked in.”