\u201cYou are always going to benefit from the education you get at Wright State University,\u201d he said. \u201cYou gain so much knowledge and confidence that when you get out \u2014 and it happens to more people than you would know \u2014 they don\u2019t use their major directly. They go in a different direction. But that major allowed them to learn life skills that make them successful as they move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geraci was a walk-on for the swim team at Wright State. It\u2019s hard to miss his name and image in the Wright State Natatorium. He is splashed all over the walls on banners and plaques.<\/p>\n
A 2003 inductee into the Wright State Swimming and Diving Wall of Fame, he earned four All-American honors during his career and holds the three-meter, 11 dive school record with a score of 566.00.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing to Wright State was a wonderful experience. It gave me the book knowledge of what I needed,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the springboard diving gave me a lot of confidence in myself and the ability to tackle problems as they happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2021\/06\/JR-Geraci-508x339.jpg\")
<\/a>Wright State education alumnus J.R. Geraci dived into college, into the water on the swim team and into business as the owner of the Beavercreek Pizza Dive. (Video by Kris Sproles)<\/p><\/div>\n
After graduating from Wright State, Geraci taught elementary school in Fairborn.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad was a teacher so I thought that was a good calling for me as well,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026I was very prepared. At Wright State, we had both urban and suburban experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he was teaching, Geraci returned to Wright State as the diving coach and to teach in the Health and Physical Recreation Department, duties he performed for three years. Twenty years later, he would return to coach diving for another three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had very good success with the divers as a coach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After teaching in Fairborn for a year, Geraci had an opportunity to sell, rent and service golf carts in Cincinnati. When the owners retired, he bought the business and began managing it, at the age of 27.<\/p>\n
After many years of doing that, Geraci made another career swerve.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife was in marketing and I decided I wanted to do something we could work on together,\u201d he said. \u201cThe store became available and I said, \u2018Let\u2019s do pizza.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
So the Beavercreek Pizza Dive was born 14 years ago, the name inspired by Geraci\u2019s days of springboard diving. The restaurant makes and sells New York-style pizza, pretzels and oven-baked sandwiches.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2021\/06\/JR-Geraci-diving-256x300.jpg\")
<\/a>J.R. Geraci was inducted into the Wright State Swimming and Diving Wall of Fame in 2003.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cEverything is homemade \u2014 our own bread, our own dough, our own sauce. We cut our slices real big so you can fold them like a New Yorker,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026After you come here, you\u2019re going to wonder why you never came before. I hear it all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
To keep staff and customers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, Geraci turned the 43-seat lobby into a production area and currently only offers home delivery or delivery to customers in the parking lot.<\/p>\n
Geraci also owns the Beavercreek Event Center and manages residential and commercial properties in the Dayton area.<\/p>\n
Over the years, Geraci has employed many Wright State students at the Beavercreek Pizza Dive and offers scholarship money to student employees with good grades.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving Wright State in our backyard feeds us with high-quality individuals that can help us run our business,\u201d he said. \u201cWe like to hire people that have goals and a future. We find that they are very productive team members.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
J.R. Geraci has dived into most everything in his life: college, water on the swim team and into business as the owner of the Beavercreek Pizza Dive. Continue reading