1950s
Appears InDr. Kenneth Janda ’57 authored The Democratic Evolution: From Slavery to Equality, 1828-2020, which he dedicated to former Illinois State Normal University Department of Social Sciences faculty.
1960s
Nancy Doddek Grandone ’69, M.S. ’72, formed a foundation to benefit the students of Gillespie CUSD #7 that’s distributed more than $1 million since 1992; has engaged local citizens, parents, and donors to provide curricular resources and post-secondary scholarships in a record-breaking year in 2024; resides in Gillespie.
1970s
John ’72 and Ronda (Forbes) Carl ’73 celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary; met as Illinois State students; are retired; reside in Glendale Heights.
1980s
Dr. Kathy Bieschke ’82, M.S. ’85, was elevated to senior vice provost at Penn State University; has worked at Penn State since 1991, most recently serving as vice provost for faculty affairs.
Susan (Beck) Grossius ’82 is retired from a career as an instructor at the Sysmex Center for Learning; relocated to Moscow Mills, Missouri.
Dawn Gaspardo ’87 is a retired teacher looking forward to retirement travels; resides in Long Point.
Raymond “Joe” Sims ’89 is retired; relocated from Dublin to Marana, Arizona.
1990s
Rebecca Campbell ’90 is a retired educator who worked in East Aurora District 131 for 33 years; resides in Montgomery.
Brenda Scarbrough Weddigen ’90 works in sales for Karl Storz Endoscopy; has a son attending Illinois State; resides in Springfield.
Tammy (Stone) Crippen ’91 has been teaching for 32 years; currently teaches at Sherrard High School; has two master’s degrees; has two grandsons; resides in Viola.
Doug ’91, M.S. ’93, and Lora (Hauser) Kenney ’92 have two daughters who are now Redbird alums; reside in Sycamore.
Anthony Trendl ’91 is the author of Death, Misery, & Other Curiosities: 12 Dark Short Stories Filled With Angst and Tragedy, The Raging Giant Blue Goldfish: 22 Short Stories,and The Joro Spider Journal: The Blue Book; is the principal speechwriter at American Speechwriter, a boutique firm advising global leaders and celebrities; resides in Suwanee, Georgia.
Annette (Giesen) Lemancik ’92 is a therapist with Josselyn; taught fifth grade for almost 20 years; resides in Niles.
Dawn (Bertolotto) McKay ’92 has been an art teacher at Hilltop Elementary for 30 years; resides in McHenry.
Grechen Wingerter ’92 was promoted to full professor at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she has taught since 2015; resides in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Jennifer (McAloon) Lasater ’93 received the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ (NACE) Kauffman Award, recognizing contributions to NACE; is vice president of student and career advancement at Purdue Global, Purdue’s online university for working adults; resides in Yorkville.
Heather (Darnall) Stiles ’93 and her husband own the Red Wing Shoes stores in Bloomington and Champaign; their daughter is a junior at Illinois State; they reside in Bloomington.
David Wlodarczyk ’93 has been a high school social studies teacher for 30 years, teaching U.S. history, world cultures, civics, economics, practical law, and sociology; has taught at Ridgewood High School for the past 27 years; coaches high school and club volleyball; resides in Lake Zurich.
Wendy Adams-Good ’94 celebrated five years of employment as circulation librarian at Savannah College of Art and Design’s Jen Library; resides in Statesboro, Georgia.
Dr. Timothy Andera, Ed.D. ’94, is a retired professor of career and technical education at South Dakota State University; is the author of Modern Masonry, a textbook and workbook; resides in Volga, South Dakota.
Vicky (DiMaggio) Berger ’94 is enrolled in a master’s program for blind and low-vision education; resides in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Jeff Leininger ’94 is a retired police officer; resides in Sherman.
Sarah (Abboreno) Corbin ’95, M.S. ’97, is director of communications for Food Recovery Network, a national nonprofit fighting climate change and hunger; resides in Oak Park.
Bennie ’95 and Nicole (Haskin) Radford ’95 have been married for 27 years; have two adult children; reside in Fort Myers, Florida.
Ron Denicolo ’97 is the director of strategic account management for Resonate, a marketing technology platform; has previously worked in advertising graphic design and sales at the Chicago Sun-Times, and advertising and marketing technology roles with HelloWorld and Oracle; resides in Riverside with his wife and two daughters.
Paul J. “P.J.” Giamanco ’98 is assistant superintendent of the Bridgeport Independent School District in Bridgeport, Texas; resides in Colleyville, Texas.
Olanna Pullen ’98, M.S. ’07, is a career advisor at Illinois State and a member of the alumni board for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology; resides in Normal.
Lisa (Sportun) van Wageningen ’99 has spent her career in education, teaching at all levels in the K-12 spectrum, as well as serving as an elementary school principal and, currently, a special education administrator; has a daughter who enrolled at Illinois State this fall; resides in Hampshire.
2000s
Carmen Ganser ’00, M.A. ’02, is the owner of Copywoman.com, a website content updating service; resides in San Manuel, Arizona.
Michael Latocha ’00 is an electrician with the touring company of Back to the Future; celebrated his 10th anniversary with Shoshana, with whom he has two children; they reside in Tavares, Florida.
Lisa (LaCerra) Nelson ’00 is a physical education teacher in Park Ridge-Niles School District 64; has a daughter currently attending Illinois State; resides in Park Ridge.
Lisa Simon ’01 has been teaching and coaching for 23 years; is a teacher in Plainfield School District; participates in races and community events; resides in Plainfield.
Jennifer (Louie) Trainum, M.M. ’01, released a solo violin album, Snow in Alabama, and its arrangement of “What Child is This” charted on iTunes in Sweden; is a Suzuki violin teacher in the University of Alabama System; resides in Northport, Alabama.
Bob Donahue ’02 was named the Person of the Year by the Apartment Association of Metro Denver; is married to Tara Donahue ’06, a training manager for Bellco Credit Union; they reside in Denver.
Jeff Rainaldi ’02 is an elementary school principal in Community Unit School District 308; resides in Aurora.
Stephanie Drago ’03 is a vice president of digital transformation for Taylor Corp.; resides in Mankato, Minnesota.
Missy (Knight) Hoover ’03 is a fourth grade teacher in Woodland CUSD 5; has a daughter enrolled at Illinois State; resides in Pontiac.
Tony ’03 and Rachel (Higgins) Klein ’08 have two children; Rachel is a teacher; they reside in Dunlap.
Ron Bejger ’06 is a system director of labor management and benchmarking at Endeavor Health; resides with his wife and two children in Aurora.
Mark Ingram ’06 is a teacher at Bartonville Grade School; resides in Peoria.
Jaimese (Lewis) Kellogg ’06 is an assistant location manager for Warner Brothers Television/John Wells Productions; was previously a talent agent before shifting her career toward TV and film production; is a working voice actor; welcomed her first child; resides in Chicago.
Greg ’06 and Lauren (Cygan) Peerbolte ’06 have successful careers in nonprofit organizations; reside in Channahon with their four children.
Susan (Honzik) Sierakowski ’06, M.P.A. ’06, was promoted to chief financial officer at Pampered Chef; resides in Downers Grove.
Leslie Adams ’07 was named the second-quarter ExtraOrdinary Woman of 2024 by the ExtraOrdinary Women Project BN; is active in the community as an advocate for suicide prevention and awareness and with LGBTQ+ organizations; resides in Bloomington.
Sierra Atkins-Strawder ’09 teaches first grade and coaches sixth grade girls’ volleyball at Thomas Metcalf School; resides in Normal.
Sara (Asplund) Harwell ’09 celebrated her 15th year in art education; has taught at Attea Middle School in Glenview for the past 13 years; is parent to two children; resides in Mount Prospect.
Andrea (Bickness) Vaughn ’09 owns a haunted house, escape room, axe-throwing range, and community theatre; resides in Romeoville.
Emily Watson ’09 started a new job as corporate communications manager for CEFCU; resides in Lacon.
2010s
Jeremy ’10 and Lisa Boswell ’08, M.S. ’10, are married with four children; Lisa is an adjunct professor at Aurora University who previously worked as a school social worker for 10 years; Jeremy is active duty in the Illinois National Guard, completed three deployments, and currently serves as a major in Rock Island, where the Boswells reside.
Michael D. DiTore ’10 was named partner at Chicago law firm Corboy & Demetrio; is a trial lawyer who joined the firm in 2018; has earned more than $100 million in verdicts and settlements for his clients in six years; resides in Chicago.
Rachel (Brown) Driver ’10 has taught middle school science for 13 years; has taught English language arts the past two years; has taught in Burr Ridge, West Chicago, Sterling, and Somerton, Arizona; also coaches cheerleading; has three children; resides in Ashton.
Stephanie (Donjon) Orme ’10 was promoted to a user experience researcher for Key Lime Interactive; resides in Brighton, Massachusetts.
Dr. Kevin ’10, M.S. ’12, and Bianca (Gerardi) Pietro ’14 relocated to Illinois after spending the past decade in New Hampshire; Bianca is a musical theatre educator; Kevin earned a doctorate from the University of New Hampshire in 2023 and is now director of the dietetics program at Loyola University Chicago; they reside with their three children in Woodridge.
Lindsey (Weaver) De La Rosa ’11 is a senior human resources generalist; married her husband, Ian De La Rosa ’12, whom she met at Illinois State; they reside in Cary.
Kaitlin Fink ’11 is a school library coordinator in the Batavia Public Schools system; resides in Geneva.
Ann (Gibble) Harnack ’11 welcomed her second child; is an associate sourcing manager for Kohl’s; resides in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
Courtney Huro ’11 earned an LBS1 endorsement for her teaching license; is a teacher at the Winston Knolls School; resides in Streamwood.
Kim Karnatz ’11 is a senior project manager with Pluralsight; welcomed her second child; resides in Draper, Utah.
Benjamin Layman ’11 is a human resources assistant at the Champaign Public Library; has two kids; resides in Champaign.
Adam McCrary ’11 is director of Illinois State Environmental Health and Safety; resides in Downs.
Jimmy ’11 and Bianca (Appelhans) Musial ’13 are parents to twin boys; Bianca is entering her third year of teaching in Crystal Lake District 47, realizing a dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher this year; the Musials reside in Lake in the Hills.
Alex Teater ’11 has been a teacher for 13 years; currently teaches middle school in Park Ridge; resides in Lombard.
Kurt Tribble ’12 celebrated his 10th anniversary of employment with Envoy Global, a global immigration services provider helping companies manage international workforces; resides in Chicago.
Nadia (Fiaz) Gage ’13 completed her 11th year as a multi-needs teacher at a middle school; welcomed her third child; resides in Plainfield.
Carly (Schoeneman) Henrickson ’13 is a pre-K teacher in Hawthorn School District 73; has a 1-year-old son; resides in Mundelein.
Emily (Gorman) Rehfeldt ’13 is a school counselor in Rockford Public School District #205; resides in Rockford.
Jennifer Poncin ’14 is a learning behavior specialist teacher at Normal Community High School; resides in Normal.
Danielle Vogel ’14, M.S. ’18, is a senior international student advisor at Northwestern University; received a Rising Star Young Leader Award from NAFSA: Association of International Educators; resides in Chicago.
Hannah Jacobs ’15 was recognized as the National Association of Social Workers’ Illinois Chapter’s 2024 Social Worker of the Year; has worked at SIU Center for Family Medicine for the past eight years.
Jason Kulish ’15 is physical therapist with ATI Physical Therapy; is father to a 2-year-old daughter; resides in Braidwood.
Morgan McWethy ’15 is a music teacher; performed with the Illinois State Alumni Concert Band; resides in Naperville.
Krista (Stuhr) Scarborough ’15 is a school counselor and part-time instructor at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada; resides in Las Vegas.
Tasha Kravec ’16 got married; is a senior property claims adjuster for Amica Mutual Insurance; resides in Darien.
Ashley Walker ’16 is a paralegal specialist in the Florida State Attorney’s Office 9th Judicial Circuit; resides in Maitland, Florida.
Kyle Nevills ’17 is a school principal in Grant Park School District #6; resides in Bradley.
Natalie Tadych ’17 and Tony Hueckstaedt ’17 met as Illinois State students; were married on October 5 in Chicago.
Kaitlyn Tossie, M.S. ’17, is a business administrative associate in Illinois State University’s School of Music; resides in Normal.
Kimberly Kreil ’18, M.P.A. ’18, is a practicing CPA at Leelyn Smith; resides in Wheaton.
Alyson (Ford) Marsh ’18, M.S. ’21, is an ambulatory social work care manager; welcomed her first child; resides in Washington, Illinois.
Alexander Campbell ’19, MBA ’21, is a marketing and communications coordinator for Illinois State’s Facilities Services; resides in Normal.
Amanda Campbell ’19 is in her sixth year of teaching K-1 special education; is in her final semester of a master’s program at Illinois State; resides in Tinley Park.
Andria Fox ’19 is a women, infants, and children (WIC) nurse and adverse pregnancy outcomes reporting system manager for the Stephenson County Health Department; resides in Rockford.
Jasmine Gluba ’19 is a transition to practice nursing professional development practitioner at the University of Louisville Hospital; previously worked in an oncology unit, eventually becoming the leader of that unit; resides in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Stephanie Hedgespeth ’19, M.S. ’23, is in her sixth year of teaching; is an English teacher at O’Fallon Township High School; got married; resides in St. Louis.
Matt Iaciancio ’19 and Riley VanBrocklin ’20 got married; met as students at Illinois State; reside in Mokena.
Kyle Lieberum ’19, M.S. ’23, is entering his sixth year teaching chemistry at Woodstock High School; resides in Elgin.
Ryan Springer ’19 founded and organized a 10-year reunion of the Chess Club at ISU; resides in Palos Heights.
Maddy Stark ’19 is a teacher in Decatur Public Schools; is pursuing a master’s degree in reading education; resides in Maroa.
2020s
Marian Addo, M.S. ’20, is in her fourth year of a Ph.D. program at Indiana University-Bloomington; resides in Bloomington, Indiana.
Tammy Block, M.S. ’20, is enrolled in a doctoral program at Illinois State; is a special educator teacher in the Dunlap school district; resides in East Peoria.
Joey Hatch, M.S. ’20, is an instructional assistant professor at Illinois State University and an education coordinator at the Illinois Art Station; resides in White Heath.
Marissa Jordan-Lenz ’20 is close to finishing work on her master’s degree; resides in Normal.
Karina Lopez ’20 started a photo booth business; traveled to Europe with family and friends; resides in Hoffman Estates.
Lauren Miller ’20 is a campus recruiter working in human resources at Uline; resides in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.
Kati Winkle ’20 is an MTSS (multi-tiered systems of support) math interventionist in a McLean County Unit District 5 high school; previously taught math for four years; resides in Normal.
Ashlyn Britz ’21 is in her fourth year of teaching high school art; resides in Decatur.
Grace Doyle ’21 is a games media journalist; resides in Bloomington.
Rachel Duffy ’21 is a Drug Enforcement Administration document and media exploration intelligence analyst; resides in La Grange Park.
Rebecca Farrington ’21 is a principal therapy development specialist with Medtronic; has a son enrolled in Illinois State’s construction management program; resides in Cuba, Illinois.
Grace Golick ’21 is moving to Sacramento, California, to pursue a graduate degree in nursing; resides in Folsom, California.
Michaela Goodman ’21 is a travel nurse exploring the United States; resides in Normal.
Dr. Caroline Hruby, Ed.D. ’21, is the author of Comfy Shoes and Keychains: Tips for Women in Leadership; is superintendent of O’Fallon School District 90; resides in O’Fallon.
Brittany Kurz ’21 ’22 is a registered nurse in the progressive care unit at Mayo Clinic; resides in Mankato, Minnesota.
Matt Nemsick ’21 is a contract geologist for Rangefront Mining Services, working in exploration of ore deposits; resides in Plainfield.
Brianne Rimmele ’21 is a science teacher at Waubonsie Valley High School; resides in Batavia.
Weronika Trzaska ’21 has been a computer science and math teacher at Amos Alonzo Stagg High School since student teaching there; is entering her fourth year of graduate school in a computer science master’s program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; resides in Countryside.
Jordan Tsoukalas ’21 is a kidney transplant coordinator at Abbott Northwestern Hospital; previously worked in the solid organ transplant unit at Mayo Clinic-Mankato; resides in Mankato, Minnesota.
Colleen Westburg ’21 is a nurse with UW Health, the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics; resides in Madison, Wisconsin.
Amma Apicella ’22 earned a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Northern Illinois University; resides in Oswego.
Brooke Bartling ’22 earned a master’s degree; resides in Nashville, Illinois.
Lauren Eyrse ’22 earned a master’s degree in kinesiology/sports psychology; resides in Springfield.
Sarah Hlade ’22 is a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing at Thomas Metcalf School, now in her third year at the school; resides in Bloomington.
Amanda (Severson) Larrea ’22 is an oncology registered dietitian with Duly Health & Care; resides in Oswego.
Anne (Cancialosi) Lasecki ’22 has taught in Illinois and Florida in roles in special education, with gifted learners, and for students in English for speakers of other languages; resides in Tinley Park.
Brook Smith ’22 started a new job as a field engineer with Advance Technologies; resides in Lithia Springs, Georgia.
Monica Williams ’22 began a master’s program in curriculum and instruction through Grand Canyon University; is a teacher at Leman Middle School; resides in Carol Stream.
Anna Carson ’23 is in her second year of teaching sixth grade science and coaching cross country in Indian Prairie School District 204; resides in Villa Park.
Rachel Garza ’23 is pursuing a master’s degree in education; is a hall director at Carthage College; resides in Grayslake.
Natalie Greenfield ’23 landed a job at Walsh Academy in Niles; resides in Arlington Heights.
Natalee Kost ’23 is a customer service representative and project manager with Mittera Chicago; resides in Palos Park.
Taylor Kurdys ’22, M.S. ’24, is a speech-language pathologist in McLean County Unit District 5; resides in Normal.
Kerrigan Link ’23 is enrolled in the Graduate School at Illinois State; resides in Normal.
Sarah (Beal) Luft, M.S. ’23, is an instructional coach in Pekin School District 108; resides in Pekin.
Paige Malloy ’23 is a staff support member in the City of Bloomington’s city clerk office; resides in Roselle.
Macey Olson ’23 earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from Aurora University; is an area manager for Amazon; resides in Aurora.
Destini Stewart ’23 is an eligibility worker for the State of Nevada; had a baby; resides in Las Vegas.
Olivia Streeter ’23 is enrolled in a master’s program at the University of Illinois; resides in Champaign.
Grace Telfer, M.S. ’23, accepted a teaching position at the College of DuPage; resides in Geneva.
Madie Tomlinson ’23 is a fifth grade teacher in McLean County Unit School District 5; is enjoying watching her sibling attend Illinois State; resides in Bloomington.
Kaitlyn Woods ’23 is a kindergarten teacher in McLean County Unit School District 5; recently earned a master’s degree; resides in Bloomington.
Khristian Wright ’23 is a fourth grade teacher in Galesburg Community School District #205; resides in Galesburg.
Alison Goulding ’24 is a first-year English teacher at Clinton High School; resides in Normal.
Ryleigh Hickman ’24 is enrolled in the anthropology master’s program at Illinois State; resides in Germantown Hills.
Joseph Koterwski ’24 is a seventh grade science teacher at Carpentersville Middle School; resides in Lake in the Hills.
Karyn Rader ’24 is a biology teacher at Ottawa Township High School; resides in Channahon.
Natalie Rodgers, M.S. ’24, started a new job as a community director at Georgetown University; resides in Washington, D.C.
Allison Schelling ’24 is a nanny aspiring to open her own daycare; resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Kayla Schmidt ’24 landed her first teaching job as a fifth grade teacher at Cornell Grade School; moved into her first house; resides in Lexington.
Troops
Elizabeth Roxworthy ’96 was promoted to the rank of colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard; commands the 34th Division Sustainment Brigade; graduated from U.S. Army War College in 2024, earning a master’s degree in strategic studies; works as a legislative liaison for Illinois Department of Military Affairs; resides in Rochester.
