Class notes: Summer 2023

1960s

Mary Ann (Shutt) McCloy ’60 and her husband continue to teach in the School Time Bible program in South Carolina; they previously spent 35 years in Zimbabwe teaching Bible classes in schools there; they reside in Lexington, South Carolina. 

Dr. James V. Koch ’64, LHD ’09, co-authored Vital and Valuable: The Relevance of HBCUs to American Life and Education, published by Columbia University Press in February; is president emeritus at Old Dominion University.

Maureen Brady ’67, M.S. ’71, owns Bare Roots Genealogy Services; is a family history speaker and instructor; has presented at numerous conferences, meetings, and workshops; resides in Barrington. 

Dr. Barbara Suelter ’67, M.S. ’72, Ed.D. ’86, is an active volunteer in a variety of leadership roles with a soup kitchen, promise scholarship program, River Country Quilt Show, Underground Railroad/Woodlawn Farm, senior center quilting program, and the Sunshine Singers; is a retired school district superintendent; resides in Jacksonville. 

Tom Lamont ’69 was appointed by President Joe Biden to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee; is a former assistant secretary of the Army; resides in Springfield.

Dr. Garth Piercy ’69, M.S. ’79, Ph.D. ’90, and Tammy Hansen ’12, M.S. ’15, were married in Hell, Michigan, in December 2022; Garth is a retired educational administrator at East Peoria Community High School; Tammy is a library specialist in Illinois State Library in Springfield; they reside in Normal. 

Gary Schnurrpusch ’69 was elected trustee of Burke Centre, Virginia, a planned residential community in northern Virginia; is a retired Navy surface warfare captain and defense analysis contractor; is a former high school teacher and retired defense technical librarian; resides in Virginia with wife Diane (Read) Schnurrpusch ’70.  

Brenda (Weir) Wyatt ’69 chairs a local arts board and serves as the curator of two galleries; is retired from careers as an elementary school teacher and flight attendant; resides in Keller, Texas. 

1970s

Nona (Haberthur) Hoak ’70 is retired from teaching; taught full-time for 34 years and subbed for 14 years; volunteers now every school day; resides in Pekin. 

David Holst ’71, M.S. ’74, and Diane (Ritchie) Holst ’72 celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in April; they reside in Henderson, Nevada. 

Janet Long ’71 is retired after 32 years of teaching high school health education and 10 years as a student teaching supervisor at Illinois State; resides in Barrington. 

Pamela (Meyers) Michel ’73 is retired after 29 years of teaching elementary school in Central Community Unit School District 301 in Kane County; coached middle school boys’ and girls’ track and field for 11 years; resides in Elgin. 

Vicki (Weber) Iliff ’74, M.A. ’77, celebrated her 70th birthday by making her third trip to Honduras with the Chispa Project to install a library at an elementary school there; is a retired teacher; resides in Lake Wales, Florida. 

Renda Rabe ’75 retired from Washington County Vocational Workshop in Nashville, Illinois, after more than 27 years of service; served as a qualified intellectual disabilities professional, case manager, and director of developmental training; resides in Coulterville. 

Mark Baldwin ’76 is a professor and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences; resides in Yakima, Washington.

Bill Davey ’76 retired as president-north operations of First State Bank in Sycamore after 39 years in banking; was a three-year starter on the defensive line for the Illinois State football team; resides in Sycamore. 

Mark Murphy, M.S. ’76, is retired from Aramco Services Company (now Aramco Americas) as vice president and CFO; resides in Kennesaw, Georgia. 

Roy Santoro ’77 released his seventh book, Hurricane Ian: Stories From the Storm, a collection of firsthand accounts of people who survived the storm and the heroes who helped them. 

Sandra Couch ’78 has been a registered nurse for 33 years, currently at Arbor Terrace of Naperville, an assisted living facility; served as a school aide and nurse with Naperville Community Unit School District 203 last summer; resides in Naperville. 

Cheryl Gaines, M.S. ’79, is the co-founder of Collaborative Solutions Institute, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary; resides in Normal. 

Angela (Houmes) Jones ’79, M.S. ’81, is a retired speech-language pathologist who worked in Kankakee School District 111; works part-time for Iroquois Special Education Association; resides in Donovan. 

1980s

Robert Nolan, M.F.A. ’80, is a manager of Broadway and national tours, including productions of My One and Only, Cabaret, Macbeth, Starlight Express, Les Miserables, Five Guys Named Moe, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, Putting it Together, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Oklahoma!, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; resides in New York City. 

Stephen Simms ’81 retired from DHL Supply Chain after a 39-year career of logistics operations and information technology management; previously worked for Victoria’s Secret/Bath & Body Works, the Scotts Company, and HAVI Corp.; resides in Westerville, Ohio. 

Joseph Kolar ’82, partner with Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, was named to the 2023 editions of Super Lawyers and Leading Lawyers. 

Paula (Hinkle) Beasley ’83 retired from The Hartford in St. Louis after working for 38 years in loss control and risk engineering; resides in Waterloo. 

Victor Mensavage ’83 is the chief executive officer of JHS Community, a faith-based health care sharing ministry headquartered in Dallas; resides in Woodridge. 

Janet Sinn-Hanlon ’83 is a medical illustrator at the University of Illinois; resides in Mahomet. 

Brian Keith Mason ’84 retired from a 36-year career in accounting and systems management positions with Illinois Farm Bureau; resides with his wife, Joyce (Nitz) Mason ’84, in Bloomington. 

Kevin Cantwell ’85 is retired from the United States Postal Service; resides in Florissant, Missouri. 

Katherine (Holzinger) Harris ’85 retired from Basler Electric Company after serving in purchasing and supply chain roles for 32 years; resides in Alhambra. 

Gregory Hill ’85 teaches law and ethics as a faculty member at Marquette University; practices as an of counsel attorney; resides in Milwaukee. 

Todd Reeser ’85 is the director of athletics at Columbus State University, an institution competing at the NCAA Division II level; resides in Columbus, Georgia. 

Tom West ’85 is the housing representative at Northern Illinois University; resides in DeKalb. 

Jeff Hines ’87 celebrated his 30th anniversary working for Eli Lilly and Company; is a senior director of quality assurance supporting product research and development; resides in Carmel, Indiana. 

Eric Hoss ’87, MBA ’90, is a technology director at State Farm; was inducted into the College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame; resides in Bloomington with his wife Terri (Schaefer) Hoss ’88, MBA ’90, a marketing analyst at State Farm. 

Jill (Schuler) Rosenau ’87 is a certified life coach and diabetes life coach; is the founder of PathWeighs To Possibility Coaching; resides in Bloomington. 

Adam Weiss ’87 is the author of Divorce Smart: How to Thrive and Come Out Whole, which offers advice based upon his own
experience; resides in Arlington Heights. 

Theresa Parilla Konieczny ’88 published a children’s book, Shape Towns: Can Hexner Find His Home?; toured local schools to read the book and answer student questions; is a senior director of human resources for U.S. Foods; resides in Elmhurst. 

William Yowell ’89 has been a full-time firefighter/paramedic for the Village of Arlington Heights for the past 27 years; resides in Lindenhurst. 

1990s

April (Franic) Cook ’90 joined Hanson Professional Services Inc.’s Springfield headquarters as a human resources business partner; has more than 20 years of human resources experience.

Matthew Muirheid ’90 is president of Macon County Farm Bureau; resides in Oakley.

Barbara Winters ’90 is publishing her debut book, Sexpectations: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Healthy Relationships, in August; is a sexual risk avoidance specialist working for E3 Family Solutions, Inc.; resides with her husband in Florida. 

Tom Galante ’91 is a commissioner with the Natural Resources Commission; was a candidate for City of St. Charles Ward 1 Alderperson in the April election; resides in St. Charles.

Aida Martinez ’91 is a career coach at Joliet Junior College, helping students select majors and careers, providing resume and cover letter reviews, and interview and career coaching; resides in Rockford.

Janine (Garcia) Moberg ’91 is an assistant manager at Hobby Lobby; taught for 23 years; resides in Russell, Minnesota.

Dawn (Chenoweth) Murphy ’91 teaches and co-teaches sophomore math in the special education department at Lockport High School; resides in Manhattan, Illinois.

Jeffrey Hohn ’92 is a college counselor at Rockford Boylan Central Catholic High School; is a former Peace Corps volunteer; resides in Rockford.

Kathy Sebuck ’92 published Waves of Change: Growth Mindset Tools for Connected Balance; resides in San Diego.

Susie (Hayes) High ’93, M.S. ’95, MFA ’20, is the costume shop director for Illinois State’s School of Theatre and Dance; her husband, Ryan High ’12, joined Illinois State’s Department of Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality as an associate technical director; they reside in Normal.

Susan (Rippel) Palmer ’93 works at Meta Reality Labs with virtual reality devices and provides marketing consulting at machine learning-artificial intelligence data analytics firm Algo; resides in Litchfield Park, Arizona.

Victoria Stanley ’93 joined Tarleton Corp. as its new human resources director.

Kathleen Lopez Rodriguez ’94 is a teacher at Peoria’s Charter Oak Primary School; was a finalist for a 2023 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Leadership.

James O’Brien ’94 is an IT support specialist with Global Data Consultants; resides in Rockford.

Dr. Rey de la Cruz, Ed.D. ’95, is recognized as the first film student and high school film teacher in the Philippines by film historian Nick Deocampo in his 2022 book, Alternative Cinema: The Unchronicled History of Alternative Cinema in the Philippines; wrote the screenplay for Ballesteros on my Mind, based on his 2016 book of the same name.

Scott Hoaglund ’95, MBA ’98, is a senior sales manager for Samsung Electronics America, Inc.; resides in Cumming, Georgia.

Joseph Ingram ’95 has worked for 28 years in education, as a physical education teacher, dean of students, and assistant principal; has coached seventh- and eighth-grade basketball, and earned three state runner-up and one third-place finish; resides in Lynwood.

Amy (Burch) Denney ’96 is a health reporter for The Epoch Times; resides in Springfield.

Kimberly Muhich ’96 earned an MBA from Aurora University; is a human capital management consultant for Automatic Data Processing; resides in Aurora.

Melanie (Frankovich) Holden ’97 owns a full-service interior design company focused on sustainable design and specifications; resides in O’Fallon.

Eric Irion ’97 is self-employed; enjoys gardening; resides in Jasper, Texas.

Jennifer (Botts) Olden ’97 is a licensed clinical social worker with the Department of Veterans Affairs; resides in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Ginger Slocum ’97, M.S. ’00, has worked in education for 26 years, including the past nine as principal at Columbine Elementary School in Woodland Park School District; resides in Florissant, Colorado.

Brian Horner ’98 is a fourth and fifth grade teacher at Meadow Glens Elementary School; was a finalist for a 2023 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Sam Taylor ’98 is a regional underwriting manager for the southeastern United States for AIG’s private client group; resides in Rockford.

2000s

Kelly (Cordes) Cartwright ’00 is an accounting specialist with Tricoci Salon & Spas; resides in Palatine.

Doriane (Woods) Henderson ’00, M.S. ’08 ’13, is an elementary school principal with Joliet Public Schools District 86; resides in Richton Park.

Jessica (Rumczikas) Paschke ’00 restarted a career as an interior decorator; recently relocated with her family from the United Kingdom to Chicago.

Curt Casson ’01 is a software engineering manager at Caterpillar; resides with his wife and four children in Lexington.

Amy Merchant ’01 joined Laughlin Constable as executive vice president and head of account management; brings 18 years of marketing leadership to the role.

Dr. Mark Nowakowski ’02 was promoted to associate professor of music at Kent State University; released his second portrait disc, Metanoia, a follow-up to his release, Blood, Forgotten; is widely published, in publications such as Sacred Arts Journal and Sound on Sound; is composer-in-residence for His Majesty’s Men; is director of the Vos Omnes Virtual Choir; resides with his wife and four children in Ohio.

Christy Smith-Hall ’02 is the director of development and marketing for Deborah’s Place, a Chicago nonprofit providing services and housing for women experiencing homelessness; resides in Chicago.

Karla Liebers ’03 is a training and development specialist with the State of Oregon Department of Human Services, working in intellectual and developmental disabilities; resides in Salem, Oregon.

Melanie (Palmer) Boseo ’04 is a high school counselor at Joliet West High School, where she previously student-taught; resides in Manhattan.

Joseph McQueen ’04 published Calming Young Minds, a book for educators or social workers wanting to make a difference in the lives of struggling teens; is an education consultant and director of alternative education; resides in Galesburg.

Ashley Underhill ’05 is a travel nurse; resides in Peoria.

Valerie (Korte) Driscoll ’06 earned a master’s degree in STEM education; is a teacher in Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7; resides in Highland.

Nicole Eisenrich ’06 serves as the advisory board chair for the occupational safety and health program at Illinois State University; is a vice president-senior risk control consultant for Gallagher; resides in Lake in the Hills.

Emily Brown ’07 is an eighth grade reading teacher in Chicago Public Schools at Robert J. Richardson Middle School; was a finalist for a 2023 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Jacob DeGeal ’07 and his wife, Lauren Smedley, appeared in a 2023 episode of HGTV’s House Hunters as they searched for a new home; they reside in Baltimore and teach at the University of Baltimore.

Dr. Jenna Goldsmith ’08, M.A. ’10, was named poet laureate of the City of Rockford for a two-year appointment; serves on Illinois State University’s Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Jessica Devore ’09 owns Green Acres Real Estate in Bloomington; resides in Clinton.

Tom Filline ’09 is a physical education teacher and standup comedian who has gained a following on TikTok and Instagram as the “Angry Gym Teacher”; recently performed his first headlining comedy performance at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago; resides in Aurora.

Kayla (Obert) Krussell ’09 is an artist and musician; released two songs under her musician name, Kayla Kru; is expecting her first child; resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Warren McCarty ’09 was recognized among the 2023 “Texas Rising Stars” in Super Lawyers; is a principal at Caldwell Cassady & Curry; resides in Dallas.

Kera (Jacobson) Sanchez ’09 is a Spanish teacher and Seal of Biliteracy coordinator in Round Lake Area School Community Unit School District #116; published a guided journal; resides in Palatine.

Anson Yeganegi ’09 is a director of system solutions at TDK; welcomed a daughter last June; resides in San Marcos, California.

2010s

Michael Ditore ’10 was included in Lawdragon’s 2023 edition of “500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers”; is an attorney with Corboy & Demetrio; resides in Chicago.

Corinne (Wengelewski) Batterman ’11, M.S. ’22, teaches at Joliet Community College; previously taught high school agriculture for 11 years; resides in Peotone.

Dustin Rothbart ’12 was nominated for a Jeff Award for Best Ensemble for his work in Blank Theatre Company’s production of The Wild Party; is a founder and co-artistic director of the Blank Theatre Company, which received 14 total nominations; resides in Chicago.

Dr. Steve Halle, Ph.D. ’13, published The Loose Pearl, a book by Chilean poet Paula Ilabaca Nunez, which received the 2023 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation; serves as director of Illinois State’s Publications Unit; resides in Normal.

Andrew (Davis) Mandel ’13 is studying to become a licensed marriage and family therapist in Adler University’s couples and family therapy program; resides in Chicago.

Zach Mowen ’13 is a staff attorney for the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet; resides in Louisville, Kentucky.

Erin (Addante) Sandrin ’13 and her husband are expecting their second child; they reside in San Antonio.

Kelsey Cavanaugh ’14 taught special education for five years; is a stay-at-home mother to two young children; resides in Cedar Lake, Indiana.

Megan Hejmej ’14, M.S. ’14, joined Hanson Professional Services Inc.’s Springfield headquarters as billing manager.

Nicholas Hevesy ’14 is an elementary school STEM teacher in Community Unit School District 300; welcomed a child in February; resides in Algonquin.

Tess Losada Miner ’14 will enroll in graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis this fall to pursue an MFA in dance; resides in St. Louis.

Jeremy Murphy ’14 is a Ph.D. student in communication studies at Ohio University; resides in The Plains, Ohio.

Tatiana Robinson-Patterson ’14 works at the Illinois State Police Forensic Science Center in Chicago; previously worked in the United States Drug Testing Lab; got married in 2021; resides in Willowbrook.

Paul Bristow ’15 is an area director of sales for Marcus Hotels and Resorts in Milwaukee; resides in St. Francis, Wisconsin.

Mary Dougherty ’15 is an adult probation supervisor in Cook County; has worked pre-trial officer, interstate compact officer, and home confinement supervisor; resides in Chicago.

Melissa Kaufmann ’15 is a Ph.D. student currently writing her dissertation; resides in Cibolo, Texas.

Jessica Selk ’15 earned a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling; is a partial hospitalization therapist with Ascension; resides in Wheeling.

Taylor Clayton ’16 earned a master’s degree in sport management from Western Illinois University in 2018 and a master’s degree in human development from Vanderbilt University in 2022; works for USA Baseball in athlete safety; resides in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Cynthia (Jagodzinski) Harbaugh, M.S.W. ’16, is a licensed social worker with a private practice specializing in working with women and children; resides in Normal.

Laura Holland ’16 is enrolled in graduate school at Eastern Illinois University; is employed by the University of Illinois as an office manager; resides in Bloomington.

Taylor Witter ’16 was recognized by the National Recreation and Park Association in its “30 Under 30” series; is an aquatic and recreation supervisor for Bloomingdale Park District.

Rita Gebreselassie ’17 is a development document writer in clinical compliance at AbbVie; resides in Chicago. 

Anya Malley ’17 is a content editing associate at Wolters Kluwer; resides in Yorkville.

Atash Saha, MBA ’17, is enrolled in a Ph.D. program in finance at the University of Mississippi; resides in Oxford, Mississippi.

Dr. Andrew Beaty, Ed.D. ’18, was promoted to dean of Moody Online at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago; oversees all aspects of online education; serves as director of the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment; is a professor of applied biology; resides in Bloomington.

Daniele (Luetke) Buettner ’18 has taught fourth grade for five years in Genoa-Kingston Community Unit School District #424; earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction this summer; resides in Sycamore.

Samuel Bybee ’18 is a wildland firefighter with the United States Forest Services; resides in Vernal, Utah.

Alexandria Clink ’18 is a business assistant with Heartland Dental; resides in Leesburg, Florida.

Emily Siefken, M.S. ’18, is the director of volleyball operations at the University of Missouri; resides in Columbia, Missouri.

Madison Tromp-Bennet ’18 is an assistant academic counselor for the University of Illinois football team; resides in Normal.

Michael Bowen ’19 is a department chair, team leader, union representative, basketball and volleyball coach, and sponsor of the math and robotics club, in Peoria Public Schools District 150; resides in Dunlap.

Katelyn Dundovich ’19 created a dance program at a middle school in the northwest suburbs; is a high school dance team coach and choreographer; resides in Wheeling.

Malquita Foxx ’19 is a case manager with One Hope United; is expecting her first child; resides in Chicago.

Ian Rhode, MBA ’19, became chief financial officer of Investment Planners, Inc. and IPI Wealth Management; resides in Decatur.

2020s

Bianca D. Avila do Prado, M.M. ’20, started a program at Suzuki String Academy in Sandpoint, Idaho; teaches cello at the Music Institute of Chicago; started a Suzuki cello program for the Hispanic community in Evanston; resides in Evanston.

Amanda Green ’20 is a second grade teacher in Creighton School District; resides in Phoenix.

Eden Henrikson ’20 is a fifth grade teacher at Pepper Ridge Elementary School in McLean County Unit District No. 5; coaches the Normal Community High School speech team; resides in Normal. 

Brooke LaRocco ’20 is a third-year special education teacher in Itasca School District 10; resides in Wood Dale.

Julie Myers ’20 was promoted to program coordinator of Old Plank Studio at Trinity Services, Inc.; resides in Tinley Park.

Blake Whittle ’20 is getting married in October; is the owner of ClikIT; resides in Normal.

Molly Bredeson ’21 is a kindergarten teacher in Earlville Community Unit School District 9; resides in DeKalb.

Alexis Duehr ’21 is a registered nurse working at Carle BroMenn Medical Center; resides in Bloomington.

Tanya Estes ’21 is enrolled in a Master of Science-Family Nurse Practitioner program at Bradley University; resides in Decatur.

Breanne Evans ’21 is a marketing assistant at Heartland Community College and Creative Technologies graduate student at Illinois State; resides in Normal.

Sidney Harnetiaux ’21 is enrolled in the physician assistant program at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine; resides in Greenville.

Christina Healy ’21 earned certified therapeutic recreation specialist status; is employed by SEASPAR as a special recreation program coordinator; resides in Palos Hills.

Sabrynn Karr ’21 is a graduate student at Arizona State University; resides in Clinton.

Alzamil Mezhukkattil Koyakutty, MBA ’21, is a partner in the firm Mezhukkattil Mills; resides in Aluva, Kerala, India.

Emma Spence ’21 is a special education teacher in Moline-Coal Valley School District No. 40; resides in Coal Valley.

Christian Aaron ’22 is a database curator with PATH Crisis; resides in Normal.

Alexis Banovetz ’22 started a master’s program in elementary education best practices; resides in Naperville.

Elizabeth Hall ’22 is a human capital operations specialist with Fifth Third Bank based in Cincinnati; resides in Bloomington.

Jacey Hill ’22 is a financial advisor with Edward Jones; resides in Hillsboro.

Jessica Hogeboom ’22 is a fourth grade teacher in Kewanee Community Unit School District #229; resides in Kewanee.

Jenna Ladislas ’22 is an underwriter with Arthur J. Gallagher; resides in Carpentersville.

Dean Mantas ’22 is a probation officer in Lake County 19th Judicial Circuit; resides in Morton Grove.

Gianna Miritello ’22 is a special education teacher in a multi-needs classroom at AERO Special Education Cooperative; resides in Chicago.

Caleb Stout ’22 is a human resources coordinator for RoomReady; resides in Danville.

Nina Torossi ’22 is a second grade teacher in Pennoyer School District 79; resides in Harwood Heights.

Troops

Samantha DeAnda ’17 serves in the United States Army as a paralegal specialist.