PANTHER ELYRIA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL MAGAZINEProwl FALL 2019 m leaving m I a y P ri n t ! “Since I was a freshman at Elyria Catholic, so many parts of my life have changed. The community that Elyria Catholic provides has let me step out of my shell and mature overall. I am involved in many extracurriculars which have given me the privilege to meet and build relationships with so many wonderful people.” –Natalie Byrne ’2l ELYRIA CATHOLIC 2020 Forward Gala CASINO ROYALE SAVE THE DATE! APRIL 4, 2020 All alumni, parents and friends of Elyria Catholic are invited to join us as we celebrate our accomplishments and prepare for the future! PLEASE JOIN US FOR... • Cocktails and Appetizers • Formal Dinner • Live and Silent Auction • Unique Raffles • and a LIVE CASINO!!! CONTENTS ELYRIA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL FALL 2019 MAGAZINE 04 Letter from the Principal 06 Loyalty that Never Dies 07 Alumni Spotlight 10 Panther Pride News 20 Panther Prowlings EDITOR ELYRIA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL Annie Cunningham 21 Alumni Reunions Principal Suzanne Lester 70th Anniversary Ball CONTRIBUTORS 24 Assistant Principal Katie Bradesca Tom Taylor ’79 Donor Recognition Jack Duffy 25 Suzanne Lester Dean of Academics 33 In Memoriam Kelsie Stites Elizabeth Adkins Michelle Hoffman Director of Admissions Sara Lanzola Graduation Day 2019 Terry Ziegelmeyer 34 Abby Shaw ’20 Director of Advancement Jacob Walther ’20 Elyria Catholic Annual Fund Michelle Hoffman 35 Joan Villareal ’69 Director of Alumni Relations Biddy St. Marie ’59 36 Calendar of Events Kelsie Stites PHOTO CONTRIBUTIONS Director of Athletics Allen Clark Jack Duffy Annie Cunningham Director of Campus Ministry ECHO Yearbook Staff Sara Lanzola Missy Decker ’20 Director of Communications & Marketing Anne Wilkinson Annie Cunningham Director of Finance DESIGN AND PRINTING Jill Anglin Academy Graphic Communication Panther Prowl is an annual publication of ELYRIA CATHOLIC ADVISORY COUNCIL the Communications Department distributed to alumni, parents, faculty, Officers: administrators, and friends of Elyria Dr. Nicholas Ksenich, Chairperson Catholic High School. Mrs. Susan Pavlus, Vice Chairperson Reader Feedback Mr. Nathanial Carson ’10 We want to hear from you. We need your Mr. Rob Corts ’79 help to stay current. Please send address Reflection... Mr. Michael Essenmacher ’94 changes, share your life celebrations, or Mr. Gary Fischer “ Elyria Catholic provided me with all the provide your thoughts and comments on Mrs. Judy Glenn ’84 resources I needed to prepare me for the rest the Panther Prowl magazine with us to: Sr. Sean Groh, SND of my life. At EC, I was challenged both in Mr. Matthew Gustoff ’07 and out of the classroom, as my classmates, Mrs. Maria Gutierrez Elyria Catholic High School Mr. Tom Hileman teachers, and coaches pushed me to be ATTN: Communications Department Mr. Brian Hoagland ’83 better in my academics and extracurriculars. 725 Gulf Road Mr. Christopher Nagel Beyond this, EC’s community provided Elyria, Ohio 44035 Mr. Joe Pronesti ’88 me with friendships that will last a lifetime. [email protected] Mr. Spencer Roule ’10 Looking back at my high school years now, I Mr. Joe Savoy ’85 Or Update online: cannot think of a better place to have spent it Mrs. Michele Diedrick Turrill ’81 than Elyria Catholic.” elyriacatholic.com – Max Menner, Valedictorian, National Merit Finalist, Class of 2019 www.elyriacatholic.com 3 PRINCIPAL’S LETTER A message from the Principal Suzanne Lester After a two-year process of self-study and validation, Elyria Catholic High School has maintained full accreditation through the 2024-2025 school year. The self-study and validation, although tedious, were worth the efforts. As a school community, we learned much about ourselves, both who we are as a school and where we want to be by the 2024-25 school year. After much reflection and discussion, faculty members altered our mission statement and our belief statement to be a bit more concise. Elyria Catholic’s Prayer at the Pole 2019 revised mission is: To actively encourage young men and women to identify and learning process. Prior to introducing the students to the concepts of celebrate their God-given gifts and fulfill their own intellectual, growth mindset, faculty members are participating in professional social, and spiritual potential within the Catholic tradition. development on these concepts themselves. At Elyria Catholic, we believe: In addition to looking to the future, there is much the Elyria Catholic community has to celebrate now. Beginning with the 2018-19 school • Students are granted individual gifts and talents by God to do year, between twenty and thirty students voluntarily participated in His work. It is our responsibility to foster and develop them. the Sacrament of Reconciliation monthly during lunch. Additionally, • As parents/guardians are the primary educators of their two seniors chose to be confirmed. Students in the junior and senior children, we must give them the encouragement and classes were able to participate in our inaugural Kairos Retreat, opportunity to participate in their child’s intellectual, social, Kairos I. During the current school year, approximately thirty young and spiritual formation. men and sixty young women have elected to launch Men’s and • Our primary role is to develop the whole person by passing on Women’s Ministry Programs. the Catholic faith, teaching Gospel values, and providing academic excellence. On the academic side, we are pleased to become a TEALS school as • All students can learn. It is our responsibility to provide a we have been the benefactor of Microsoft Philanthropies Technology variety of instructional approaches to meet learning styles. Education and Literacy in Schools assistance. Through this program, • Faculty and staff must foster a love of learning to encourage we are able to offer an Introduction to Coding and Game Design students to live a life of service to God and others. course to our students. Additionally, with much-increased interest in our broadcasting course, we have offered Broadcasting III and IV. For Faculty members, with input from both students and parents, arrived our creative students, we now offer an Advanced Placement Studio at two goals to be worked on over a four-year period. The Catholic Art class. We look forward to seeing all that our students create in identity goal is that students will deepen their personal faith these new elective offerings! relationship with Christ through prayer, faculty mentoring, family engagement, and service. The academic performance goal is that Elyria Catholic is excited to once again have a National Merit students will increase their initiative and self-direction through growth Semifinalist in our senior class. We are proud of Paige Miserandino mindset, goal-setting and self-assessment, responding to faculty who was also a member of our inaugural Robotics Team that feedback, and providing feedback to peers. competed in the World Championships last April. Paige is part of a senior class who collectively scored an average of 2.2 points higher The current year’s strategies are focused on prayer and growth than the state average across all four content areas and the mindset. Since prayer is a key element of a community that desires composite on the ACT. Not to be outdone, last year’s graduating to make disciples, faculty and staff have adopted a renewed class of 92 students earned 34 Honors Diplomas at graduation and commitment to meaningful prayer in their classes and in earned $7,203,544 in college scholarships! extracurricular activities with the intent of helping to strengthen students’ personal relationships with Christ. As for growth mindset, a Thank you for your continued support as we celebrate the present widely supported theory suggests that students’ learning behavior and, with your generosity, look forward to an even brighter future. and beliefs have a lasting impact on their learning outcomes. Those Thank you for leaving your print on our engaged community! who focus on learning as opposed to performance have a growth mindset, which helps them to overcome challenges faced in the 4 Elyria Catholic High School Magazine PRINCIPAL’S LETTER EC.EXE Robotics Club at Worlds TEALS Program Kairos Championship in Detroit Women’s Ministry – Mulieres Clarae Dei AP Studio Art Paige – National Merit Semifinalist Congratulations GRADUATES: CLASS OF 2019 Earned $7,203,544 Class of 2019! in scholarships and grants pursuing higher 95% education 3% military 2% other opportunities TEST SCORES ACT English Math Composite Class of 2019 21.6 20.1 21.4 Ohio Average 17.9 19.2 19.2 2019 Graduates received $7.2 Million in college scholarships www.elyriacatholic.com 5 PANTHER PRIDE NEWS LOYALTY that never dies The storied line in our Alma Mater, “loyalty that development and interviews with alumni, never dies,” can truly apply to Amy Butler’s 27 community members, parents, students, and years of service as a Panther. She was loyal to many others. Her commitment to listening and EC even before her time as a student when, as a learning was instrumental in creating valuable young girl, she would watch her father coach our goals within this plan. These goals were quickly Panthers on the football field. She is not afraid to checked off as Amy and her team worked tell you that she worked for her tuition while at tirelessly to accomplish them. This included the EC at the local McDonald’s because she was so hiring of a Marketing Director and an Alumni passionate about attending this school. Although Director, recruiting and forming key members of her time at EC as President has ended, it is a our community to take on bigger roles at EC testament to her commitment to Catholic through the Elyria Catholic Advisory Council, education and this community that she be called remodeling and building a state-of-the-art on by the Diocese of Cleveland to be the chemistry lab, the establishment of our Associate Superintendent for Secondary Makerspace, renovations to the auditorium, Schools.