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AlumNews
PUBLISHED FOR GRADUATES OF THE COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY SUMMER 2013
Inside:
Artist Behind the Mask
Real-life Crime Sleuths
From Silo to Hoop House
The Joys of Life-long Learning
College of Lake County

INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Contents
FEATURES
3 Artist Behind the Mask
Master mask-maker Jeff Semmerling has established a business that allows
him to practice his art, earn a living and do good.
7 Real-life Crime Sleuths
On television crime dramas, the life of evidence sleuths is filled with glamour
and drama. The reality is far different, our experts say.
9 From Silo to Hoop House
The Grayslake campus was built on farmland. Now, the college is teaching
students how to make small-scale local farming profitable, and CLC is
bringing a portion of the campus back to agriculture.
11 Lifelong Learning
CLC’s Discovery! and Quest programming for seniors proves learning
knows no age.
To Our Readers:
As you head to the beach, backyard or
favorite spot for summer reading, don’t forget
to take this issue with you. You’ll enjoy an
intriguing mix of stories as varied as a
pot-luck picnic.
Start with our cover story of Jeff Semmerling,
an accomplished mask maker who has
turned his chosen art form into a livelihood
and powerful tool for doing social good.
Then, learn how television provides a
distorted picture of scientific crime detection.
Sarah Owen and other real-life forensic
science professionals reveal how Hollywood
gets the story wrong.
And stay current with CLC by reading
about the college’s new sustainable agriculture
program and how it is encouraging production
of locally grown food. Wrap up with
our story on the opportunities for lifelong
learning offered by the Discovery! and
Quest programs.
Julie Shroka, Director of Alumni
Relations and Special Events
DEPARTMENTS
13 Foundation
14 Sports Update
15 News Roundup
15 Class Notes
16 Upcoming Events
AlumNews
AlumNews is published three times
a year by the College of Lake County’s Office
of Alumni Relations and Special Events.
Director of Alumni Relations
and Special Events
JULIE SHROKA
Administrative Secretary
DORAE BLOCK
To submit story ideas, email Dave Fink,
AlumNews editor, at dfink@clcillinois.edu
or call him at (847) 543-2243.
Cover: Former CLC theatre student Jeff Semmerling in his Chicago mask-making studio.
Cover photo credit: Eric Fogleman
Address change? Call (847) 543-2400.
Share memories, ideas and
comments at the CLC alumni website,
at www.clcroundtable.org.
2 | COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY

COVER STORY
Artist
Behind
the Mask
Master mask-maker Jeff
Semmerling has established
a business that allows him
to practice his art, earn a
living and do good.
PHOTO CREDIT: SHAWN WOOD
When Jeff Semmerling (’79)
was a young actor working in
New Orleans, he attended his first
Mardi Gras. The year was 1983, and
he found the blizzard of confetti
falling on brightly costumed revelers
a dazzling sight. “It was like roller
blinds going up in my head. Just
amazing,” he recalled.
Continue to page 4
ALUMNEWS | 3

COVER STORY
Artist behind the mask
continued from page 3
Semmerling marveled at how the costumes
and festival seemed to liberate people from
their cares about making money or achieving
personal success. “Each person had this brilliant
expression,” he said. “I saw people put aside
themselves for a day to do something fun.”
The experience was an epiphany for
Semmerling, one of several that have shaped
his life and career as an internationally known
Chicago-based theatrical mask maker who
also volunteers his talents around the world
on behalf of social causes.
A Lake County beginning
Semmerling’s artistic journey began as a child
growing up in Lake Villa, where he did puppet
shows at home for his family and at his grade
school. While attending Grant High School, he
acted in stage plays, and after graduating, he
enrolled at CLC. He continued to act (in such
productions as “Status Quo Vadis”) and “took
every theatre class that they taught.” Even
though the facilities were limited—CLC’s
theatre program was located in a “temporary”
building, he learned elements of craft that
prepared him well for transfer to Northwestern
University as a theatre major.
“At CLC, we had to do everything–set building,
prop storage, costuming,” he said. “I met
people at Northwestern who were impressed by
the theatre training I had received at CLC.”
After graduating from Northwestern in
1981, Semmerling began building an acting
resume, taking jobs at Renaissance fairs and in
theatre at venues like Baltimore’s Blackbird
Theatre Company.
The experience at Mardi Gras, however,
gradually changed his career goals. He had
come to New Orleans on a winter break from
Renaissance Fairs to be part of a Commedia
dell’arte troupe that performed in masks,
re-creating classic comic characters like the
harlequin. Through commedia and Mardi Gras,
Semmerling began to see the potential of masks
to blend together several aspects of the arts.
“It’s painting. It’s sculpture. It’s performance.
It’s intellectually stimulating in lots of ways,”
he said.
The performance aspect of mask-making also
tapped into something else he values about theatre:
people working together for a common goal.
“I studied theatre because I really like this
sort of group thing that happens in theatre,
where you’re not just working alone. You’re
working with other people on something that’s
bigger than you can do yourself,” he said.
While beginning his mask-making
business, Semmerling took courses in both art
and anthropology. The art classes made a “big
difference in my masks” in terms of aesthetic
quality, he said. The anthropology classes
taught him more about the cultural role of
masks in festivals —a society’s way of having
communal fun. “You have to have something
you’re living for that’s more than money,”
he said.
“… I really like this sort of
group thing that happens in
theatre, where you’re not just
working alone. You’re working
with other people on
something that’s bigger than
you can do yourself.”
—Jeff Semmerling (’79)
Jeff Semmerling (seated, left) in a scene from 1978 CLC theatre production of Status Quo Vadis.
In 1986, Semmerling and business partner
Sonja Schaeffer, opened Semmerling & Schaefer
Mask Studios. For the last 10 years, the business
has operated out of Inside Out Art Studio, a
4 | COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY

COVER STORY
Semmerling (center) demonstrates mask-making techniques while serving as an artist-in-residence at Indiana University.
Montrose Avenue storefront that Semmerling
co-founded with his wife, Donna Lurie. At this
location, they have served both commercial
clients like Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and
the Goodman Theatre and individual customers
while also offering workshops on the art of
mask-making.
Clowns for peace
In 2000, Semmerling, who has also worked as
a clown and puppeteer, participated in a performance
tour of Russian orphanages, hospitals
and nursing homes with a troupe led by Dr.
Hunter “Patch” Adams. (Adams is the physician
and social activist who was profiled in the 1998
motion picture “Patch Adams,” starring
Robin Williams.)
Semmerling took a box of clown noses and
little toys with him to give away at the orphanages,
but soon found that he was receiving more
than he gave. “I gave one of the kids a present,
and she left and came back with one of her few
toys, a little plastic panda bear that was a
beloved children’s cartoon character. I still have
that toy,” he said.
Semmerling said the experience “opened
the floodgates” for him. “I realized, ‘Wow! This
act of giving is better than taking.’” A year later,
he and a friend went to Italy to teach mask
making and then to civil-war-torn Macedonia to
entertain and serve as a force for peace.
Back at home, he started a local chapter of
Clowns for Peace, part of the Gesundheit! Instititute
founded by Adams. “Our motto is a pretty
simple message: ‘Spread kindness and love
through clowns,’” Semmerling said.
As a clown and mask maker, Semmerling
has been active in educational programs. He has
taught teenagers and adults with autism and
other developmental disabilities, and he has
conducted after-school programs in challenged
neighborhoods of Chicago. “When I teach, I
point out that making art is a lot like life.” he
said. “You make choices and end up with something
unique because of your choices, and just
“Spread kindness and love
through clowns.”
— Clowns for Peace motto
like in life, if you don’t like where it’s getting
you, you can always start over.”
As Semmerling sees it, masks have a therapeutic
value, giving people permission to reveal
and accept parts of themselves they usually hide.
“It’s really important to get over yourself and
dress up,” said Semmerling. “We feel we have to
protect the ego and persona by behaving with
control. Our real self is something different than
the one that we want others to know.”
Dressing up helps break down social barriers,
satisfies the human need for festival and
adds fun and spontaneity to daily life, he said.
“I think being an artist is as good as being a
doctor because you are changing people,” said
Semmerling, who takes pride in wearing a smile
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COVER STORY
Artist behind the mask
continued from page 5
mask whenever he walks through an airport, or
“rat maze” as he calls it. “Our challenge is to not
live in a rut, but our lives can so easily go there.”
Semmerling’s mask-making seminars and
summer camps complement his mask sales,
which he says are seasonal. Peak times include
Mardi Gras and Halloween. Masquerade weddings
are a newer niche, and he’s seeing more
operas among his commercial clients.
Jennifer Caprio, resident costume
designer for Minneapolis’ Mill City Summer
Opera, hired Semmerling to create masks for
commedia clowns Nedda and Canio in the
opera “Pagliacci.”
“The masks were lightweight, sturdy and
breathable, which made the opera singers very
happy,” Caprio said. “They were just beautiful
to look at, and the craftsmanship was the best
I’ve ever seen.”
This spring, Jeff Semmerling was named
as CLC’s nominee for the statewide 2013
Distinguished Alumnus Award sponsored
by the Illinois Community College Trustees
Association.
In November, Jeff’s studio will relocate to
a much larger space in Chicago’s Portage
Park neighborhood. To learn more about him,
visit www.maskartists.com.
Above: Mill City Summer Opera production of “Pagliacci.” Photo © Michal Daniel, 2012.
Below: Animal masks om Florida Grande Opera’s production of “Romeo and Juliet,”
2012.
Jeff in his ubiquitous “smile” mask.
6 | COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY

ALUMNI PROFILE
Sarah Owen is portrayed in a typical lab setting at the Grayslake campus to demonstrate the actual tools she uses in her profession.
The college has an evidence microscope available for classroom use.
Real-life
Crime
Sleuths
On television crime
dramas, the life of
evidence sleuths is
filled with glamour
and drama. The
reality is far different,
our experts say.
Asleek crime fighter wearing a
leather jacket, sunglasses and
stilettos speeds to a crime scene in
a Hummer. The evidence she collects is
rushed to the lab, the findings processed in
minutes with state-of-the-art equipment.
Her razor sharp intuition is confirmed. The
DNA of the culprit everyone else fails to
suspect is all over the evidence. So goes a
typical plotline of wildly popular crime
shows like “CSI.”
The reality is far different, as judged
by the experiences of criminal justice
experts such as forensic scientist Sarah
Owen (’03), adjunct professor and police
commander John Briscoe, and network
security analysts Ken Kerasek and Sunshine
Voelker, who received training in CLC’s
digital forensics program. What happens
at rapid-fire pace in an hour crime show
in reality often involves slow, methodical
work and little glamour.
Obtaining a DNA sample, for example,
often means examining clothing and
bedding that can be blood-soaked or
stained with semen or saliva. It’s part
of the job, like painstakingly piecing
evidence together.
“They (television characters) do
blood work or some fingerprinting, and
the suspect’s face pops up on a screen
in a matter of seconds, showing who it
matches,” said Owen, who holds a B.S.
in chemistry from the University of
Wisconsin-Platteville, with a concentration
in criminalistics. “There aren’t computer
systems out there to do that,” she said,
shaking her head.
In the real world, it can take weeks
to analyze a piece of evidence, have it
peer reviewed and produce a final
report, Owen said.
Continued to page 8
ALUMNEWS | 7

ALUMNI PROFILE
TV compresses time on digital tasks,
too, according to Briscoe. A sworn officer
for 24 years, he has worked in computer
forensics since 1999 and has taught the
subject at CLC for the past seven years.
“With large-capacity hard drives, it’s
not uncommon to need as much as 40
hours to do a preliminary search,” he
explained. “TV dramas make it seem as if
records can be searched and the case
wrapped up in 30 minutes.”
TV characters often act as if they
can extract anything from a computer,
regardless of its condition, noted Sunshine
Voelker, who now works at a Chicago
consulting firm. “The reality is that if a
hard drive is damaged in a fire, the data is
not always recoverable,” she said.
Documentation and teamwork
Much of the work in forensics involves
documentation and report writing. “You
need to be able to archive information in
your file,” Briscoe said, noting that some
court proceedings don’t take place for a
year or two after the crime happens.
“You absolutely need to have everything
well-documented,” said Owen. “When I
testify in court, the opposing attorney is
trying to discredit the evidence and findings—or
even me as a scientist.” Indeed,
testifying in court is another critical, and
sometimes nerve-wracking, task that is
ignored or downplayed on TV, Owen said.
Television, Owen said, tends to conflate
roles in the lab, showing one person doing
everything. “The person is a DNA analyst,
they process for fingerprints, they’re doing
the investigative work, they are collecting
evidence and they’re processing everything
at the crime lab.”
In real life, Owen explained, forensic
scientists often phone detectives and
investigators working the case to ensure
that the evidence is suitable for testing.
Also, it’s not uncommon to consult with
peers in other labs, discussing analytical
techniques on a case that you haven’t
encountered before, she said.
Briscoe concurs. “No one person
knows it all,” he said. “I’ve consulted with
others on new technologies such as
facial recognition.”
Networking is also important to
contain costs.
“With limited budgets, nobody has
glamorous labs available, with every
means possible to dissect data,” said Ken
Kerasek, who is a network security analyst
in AON/Hewitt’s Lincolnshire office and
has completed several CLC digital forensics
classes. “Typically, you reach out to
peers and other forensics investigators.”
“CSI Effect”
The popularity of crimes shows has
created what Owen calls the “CSI effect”
in the courtroom.
“When you go to court, the jurors
expect you to always have fingerprint
evidence and DNA evidence on everything—even
though that might not be
an essential part of the investigation,”
said Owen, who avoids watching the
shows. “And if you weren’t able to get
DNA results on something, that doesn’t
necessarily mean that that individual is
innocent. It just means that DNA wasn’t
present. But it (DNA evidence) may not
even be necessary, because there’s
other corroborating evidence through
the investigations.”
Owen said it’s important for colleges
“to stress the scientific foundation of
forensic science as well as the investigations
part.”
A forensic science career requires,
minimally, a bachelor’s degree in either
chemistry or biology, she said. She
highly recommends an internship
before graduation to see if the field is
a good fit. For digital forensics, at least
a two-year degree in computer
technology, with hands-on courses in
digital forensics, is recommended. And
with constantly changing technology,
continuing education and networking
are critical, Owen and Briscoe noted.
Hollywood aside, Owen finds her
career a rewarding one. “It feels good
to know that you help get criminals off
the street, provide closure for victims
and exonerate the wrongfully accused,”
she said.
8 | COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY

COLLEGE FOCUS
From Silo
to Hoop House
The Grayslake campus was built on farmland. Now, the college is teaching students how to make small-scale
local farming profitable, and CLC is bringing a portion of the campus back to agriculture.
On a sunny May morning, Gianna
Fazioli, (pictured above) a local
foods coordinator and instructor in the college’s
new sustainable agriculture program, helps a
dozen students set up hoses to irrigate a 2,000-
square-foot production plot near the greenhouse
on the Grayslake campus. It’s the start of a
growing season that will produce fresh lettuce,
tomatoes and other produce for Lancer’s and
Prairie, two restaurants on the campus.
Just a few steps away from the plot is a
vintage stone silo, a vivid reminder that CLC’s
Grayslake campus was built on a site that was
once farmland. The college is restoring a
small portion of the campus to farming to
teach students practices that can make smallscale,
local farming economically viable for
producing healthful, fresh-tasting food.
Launched last year, the sustainable agriculture
program includes a 63-credit associate
degree and a 25-credit certificate. The students
enrolled range from recent high-school graduates
to mid-life career changers, and the
program emphasizes hands-on learning.
Sustainable farming differs from traditional
farming in several ways, according to Rory
Klick, chair of the CLC’s horticulture program.
“A traditional farmer typically grows a commodity
crop of corn or soybeans on 200-plus acres,
using pesticides and chemical fertilizers and
harvests once a year,” she said.
A sustainable farm, by contrast, she said,
is usually four to 20 acres and grows many types
of fruits and vegetables that need to be harvested
at different times of the year. Crops range from
beans, cabbage and winter squash to strawberries
and tomatoes. Instead of chemical fertilizers,
the farmer tends to use crop rotation and composting
techniques and natural means rather
than pesticides to control insects.
Sustainable agriculture can coexist with
traditional farming, Klick said. “A growing
number of downstate Illinois farmers who raise
subsidized, commodity crops of corn and soybeans
are seeing profit in setting aside five to 10
acres for berries, fruits and vegetables,” she said.
Locally grown food also makes sense
environmentally, Klick said, because food isn’t
trucked great distances, and greenhouse gases
and fuel consumption are reduced.
“The average meal travels 1500 miles before
it gets to your plate,” she explained. “Illinois
spends $48 billion annually on food, and only
1 percent of this is purchased from local Illinois
farms. This despite Illinois having some of the
most fertile soil in the Midwest.”
The 2007 Illinois Local Food, Farms and
Jobs Act calls for a statewide 20 percent procurement
goal of local food by the year 2020, Fazioli
added, and the new sustainable agriculture
program is designed to help meet the demand.
Continued to page 10
ALUMNEWS | 9

COLLEGE FOCUS
From silo to hoop house
continued from page 9
The sustainable agriculture program’s
practical approach is evident in course names,
which include Annual Fruit and Vegetable
Production and Season Extension Methods.
One technology that will be used in the latter
course is a new hoop house being constructed
this summer on the Grayslake campus.
A greenhouse-style structure, a hoop house
consists of metal frames, or hoops, that support
transparent plastic. Sunlight warms the inside
air and soil to a temperature conducive to
planting. “The main advantage is being able to
start your crops earlier and continue to harvest
them late into the winter,” Fazioli said.
The hoop house is the latest in the college’s
efforts to provide more locally grown food in
both Lancer’s and the student-managed Prairie
restaurant. Beginning last summer, both
restaurants began serving limited quantities
of campus-grown lettuce and tomatoes, earning
a thumbs-up from customers, according to chef
Rob Wygant, co-chair of the hospitality and
culinary arts department.
The eventual goal is to have the CLC farm
supply 20 percent of the restaurant’s produce,
Fazioli said.
For their part, students in the sustainable
agriculture program say they are reaping a
bounty of benefits. “We’re not just reading a
book, we’re going out and we’re doing it,” said
Eddie Popelka (’09) a CLC maintenance
engineer who is now working on a sustainable
agriculture degree. In a few years, he plans to
open a sustainable farm to supplement his
passion for beekeeping.
The best part of locally grown food,
according to Popelka, is its unbeatable taste
and the knowledge of where it came from.
“I’m going to start making more educated
decisions on the food I buy; who I buy it from
and where I buy it. Just being a part of growing
a garden that’s going to provide food for our
college and our community, really makes me
feel more of a part of our community,”
he said. Find out more at
www.clcillinois.edu/programs/hrt.
Horticulture students and staff install drip
irrigation hoses for spring planting, with
CLC’s original farm silo in the background.
10 | COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY

CONTINUING EDUCATION
Lifelong Learning
CLC’s Discovery! and Quest programming for seniors proves learning knows no age.
Howard Koster, a retired salesman and
Lincolnshire resident, listened with
interest to a lecture on the D-Day
invasion offered as part of a College of Lake
County course for seniors. Though the lecture
was informative, the topic came alive for Koster
when another student, an older man, began
sharing his war-time experiences. “He was in
the U.S. Army’s 101 st Airborne Division and was
a paratrooper behind enemy lines,” Koster said.
Koster said the instructor, Gary Midkiff,
drew the veteran out, even though the man was
“humble about what he did and didn’t want to
talk about it.” Eventually, the class learned that
the student had been in the Battle of the Bulge,
and he spoke with first-person knowledge about
the battle and the rivalry between division commanders.
“He helped us appreciate what took
place in the war,” Koster said.
CLC’s programs for adults 50 and older are
designed to provide such opportunities for mature
students to learn not just from instructors
but also from each other.
“Mature students have a lifetime of experiences
to share,” said Georgianne
Marcinkovich, who coordinates the programming,
which includes the popular “Discovery!”
series of courses offered in the fall and spring
and the “Quest” one-week seminars offered in
the summer.
Discovery! courses are offered in a variety of
formats—a single session, multiple sessions or
day field trips. All are designed to inspire the joy
of learning without tests or grades.
Some courses have humorous titles like
“Unconditionally, Categorically, Totally Beginning
Computer” or “Chicago’s Diners, Drive-ins
and Dives.” Others focus on weightier topics like
“The Abrahamic Religions” and “The Eight Most
Important Battles during the Civil War.” Student
feedback is an important source of course topic
ideas, according to Marcinkovich.
Creativity has been a hallmark of Discovery!
since it began in the early 1990s as classes
offered aboard a Metra train car traveling from
ALUMNEWS | 11

CONTINUING EDUCATION
Highland Park to downtown Chicago. The
courses were part of a joint promotional effort
between CLC and Metra, recalled Sheila Marks
who was the first director of the program.
Quest courses are based on the Elderhostel
model. Courses meet for four consecutive days
and focus in-depth on topics such as American
culture of the 1950s, Marcinkovich said.
In each program, students enjoy the chance
to learn and make new friends, two factors that
contribute to a healthy, happy—and youthfulretirement,
according to the landmark Harvard
University study of adult development.
Making friends and studying favorite subjects,
especially movies and history, keeps Heidi
Mullejans coming back to both the Discovery!
and Quest programs. The Deerfield resident and
retired math teacher says the number of courses
she’s taken is “in the double digits,” with topics
ranging from the First Amendment to the films
of Marilyn Monroe.
John Kupetz, a CLC professor of multimedia
and mass communications, taught the
Marilyn Monroe course. “We saw three movies
on Marilyn Monroe, and I am amazed about
what he (Kupetz) knows about the actors, their
lives, the producers and the story lines,” Mullejans
said.
Kupetz and many other instructors for the
Discovery! and Quest programs teach regular,
credit-based CLC courses during the day, and
they relish the chance to teach older students.
“With traditional age students, you need to
fill in a lot of historical details,” said Kupetz.
“They may not understand a passing reference
to Elvis, the Beatles or Sen. Joe McCarthy
as much as the retirees. But the retirees know it.”
Kupetz also appreciates the enthusiasm of
Discovery! students. “They bring a lifetime of
experience,” he said. “The discussions are incredibly
lively, and I don’t have to work hard to
draw things out (of them). Actually, I learn a lot
from them and I always feel upbeat after teaching
the class. It’s something I really enjoy.”
Kupetz’s views are echoed by John Tenuto,
a CLC sociology professor who has taught Discovery!
courses ranging from “The Science of
Star Trek” to “What 1960s Advertisements Tell
Us About Then and Now.”
“These students have such an enthusiasm for
learning that it makes you want to be the best
you can be for them,” Tenuto said.
Learn more about Discovery! and Quest at
www.clcillinois.edu/seniors
Bus tours (such as this one led by Laurel Kaiser) and visiting sites ranging from architectural icons to Chicago’s theatres are
part of Discovery! course offerings.
12 | COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY

COLLEGE FOUNDATION
A Dream Fulfilled
13 years ago, the CLC Foundation adopted a North Chicago kindergarten class,
making a commitment to helping the kids to dream big.
Le: ”I Have a Dream” scholars
Charles Jones and Kashmir McElrath
in 2013
Right: Charles presenting paper in
2005
In 2000, when Charles Jones and
Kashmir McElrath were kindergarten
students in North Chicago, the members
of their class were told they were special and
that they would have a special new name—
“Dreamers.” In a community where many
students drop out of school, their class would
participate in a program offered just for them
with the goal of helping them stay in school
and go on to college.
Charles and Kashmir became “Dreamers”
when the CLC Foundation committed to
participate in the national I Have a Dream ®
(IHD) program. Over the years, the Foundation
has contributed $260,000 to fund learning
support services and cultural enrichment
activities for the students. And as an inducement
to finishing high school and enrolling in
college, IHD also committed to providing
“last dollar” college tuition assistance, making
up the difference between tuition and other
scholarships the students might receive.
This spring Charles and Kashmir, along
with 23 of their classmates, graduated from
North Chicago High School and other area high
schools, and all of the students are continuing
on to further education.
“The support of the College of Lake County
Foundation has been instrumental in helping
to shape the lives of Dreamers,” said Janae
Denton, who has coordinated the program
since 2004.
“Several have made the decision to start at
CLC. We truly appreciate the support this
opportunity has afforded our students and know
that it wouldn’t be possible without the support
of the College of Lake County Foundation.”
In addition to participating in after-school
study groups, field trips and other learning
activities, the students enjoyed the chance to
build leadership skills by helping other students.
At North Chicago High School, Jones founded a
poetry workshop aimed at promoting positive
self-expression. “It was amazing,” he said.
“There are teens who don’t express themselves
well and usually get their feelings out by
fighting. But in the group, people who you
didn’t think had poetic skills actually had ability.
And it made me happy to see joy in people.”
McElrath, who served on the North Chicago
High School student council, visited the local
middle school to talk with students about
preparing for high school. “Set goals and chal-
lenge yourself,” she advised the students. “Take
advanced and honors classes.”
Outside the school, Jones and McElrath,
along with their IHAD peers, enjoyed community
service activities, which included regular
visits to Alzheimer’s patients in Zion.
With high school now a memory, McElrath
plans to attend Agnes Scott College in Georgia as
a psychology major. Jones will attend Lake Forest
College, where he plans to major in mathematics
and psychology. He wants to become a
math teacher.
William Devore, retired executive
director of the CLC Foundation, said he is
“thrilled” at the program’s success. “All these
students came from challenging economic
backgrounds, and now to see them all graduate
and head off to college is extremely special,”
he said. “The CLC Foundation is committed to
changing lives through its financial support of
students and academic programs, so we feel
privileged to have had the opportunity to help
these young people reach their educational
goals and become all they can be.”
For more information or to contribute, visit
www.clcillinois.edu/foundationgiving.
ALUMNEWS | 13

LANCER SPORTS ROUNDUP
Men’s basketball
Men’s basketball posted a 7-22 record in the first year under
coach Chuck Ramsey, who previously had an historic run
coaching Warren High School’s boys basketball team in Gurnee.
Ramsey set a Lake County high school record of more than
400 career wins.
Women’s basketball
Women’s basketball finished with a record of 16-14. The team was
led by two All Skyway Conference selections, Amanda Davis and
Donnie Taggart. Taggart was named to the all-regional team.
Baseball
Men’s baseball finished with a 20-18 record. Pitcher Chris DeRue
posted an earned-run-average of 0.28, ranking him first in the
nation for NJCAA Division 2 schools. He also was named to the
Skyway all-conference team and was nominated for the
all-regional team.
Softball
Women’s softball posted a 27-12 record and advanced to
the Region IV finals in Freeport, Ill., losing 5-4 to Kankakee
Community College in the championship game. Two players
were named to the NJCAA All-American Team: shortstop/
outfielder Brenda Botzenhart and first/third baseman
Sally Snarski.
Men’s tennis
Men’s tennis finished the season with a 4-4 record.
CLC basketball player and coach
honored by Skyway Conference
Hannah Woods, member of the 2012-13 Lancer women’s
basketball team, has won the prestigious Dick Durrant
Academic Award from the Skyway Conference.
The award is given to the student athlete with the highest
GPA with at least 48 credit hours earned. Woods graduated
from CLC in May 2013 with a 4.0 GPA. In addition, 13 other CLC
student athletes were honored for achieving a minimum 3.0
GPA average with at least 48 credit hours. Woods is the ninth
student athlete from CLC to win the award and the fourth
women’s basketball player to win.
Woods earned an Associate in Science degree from CLC in
May. She plans to continue basketball at the intramural level
this fall after transferring to Purdue University to major in
chemical engineering.
“The best part about sports at CLC is walking onto the court
for practice each day hearing your name happily shouted
from many different directions,” Woods said. “And Coach (Bill)
Braman encouraged us to also excel in academics, making it
possible for me to handle a full class load in the Honors
Program while playing college sports. My time at CLC was
well worth it.
Hannah Woods with her parents. She is transfering to Purdue
University and majoring in chemical engineering.
”I loved the small class sizes because it felt like one big family.
The teachers at CLC encouraged us to think for ourselves
while guiding us in the right direction. My fellow students
were supportive and made my community college experience
more fun than I ever imagined.”
In addition, former CLC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach
Richard Watson was inducted into the Skyway Conference
Hall of Fame. During Watson’s tenure as coach, CLC teams won
five consecutive Skyway Conference Championships in women’s
tennis and four out of five in men’s tennis. The women’s team
finished in the top five nationally on five occasions culminating
with a season that included 24 out of 25 wins and a second
place finish at the national championships.
The awards were presented June 13 at the Illinois Skyway
conference, held at McHenry County College.
14 | COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY

NEWS ROUNDUP
Keep learning, business leader tells Class of 2013
“Reboot yourself through life-long learning and look for ways to give
back as a mentor or tutor,” Dean DeBiase advised the Class of 2013 at two
commencement ceremonies held May 18 in the Physical Education Center
at the college’s Grayslake campus. DeBiase, who lives in Lake Forest, is a
business leader, entrepreneur and the author, with Seth Godin of the
best-selling business book “The Big Moo.” He enrolled at CLC in 1975 and
transferred a few credits short of earning a degree. At commencement,
he received an honorary associate degree and CLC’s Illinois Outstanding
Citizen Award.
Foundation Golf Outing raises $35,000
The annual Joan Legat Memorial Golf Outing, held June 3 at Glen Flora
Country Club in Waukegan, raised $35,000 for the CLC Foundation’s
scholarship fund, according to Julie Shroka, director of Alumni Relations
and Special Events. The event drew 110 golfers.
Alumni website now links easily to social
networking sites
The front page of the CLC Alumni website now contains buttons for
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, allowing easy access to the top social
networking sites. On LinkedIn, more than 300 CLC graduates have formed
a CLC alumni community. Find out more at www.clcroundtable.org.
New to the site? Click the First-time Login link at the top of the home page.
Request, receive CLC transcripts online
Starting this September, alumni can request electronic delivery of their
CLC transcripts online. With free electronic delivery of official transcripts,
you will get immediate confirmation that your transcript has been sent to
you, an employer or another college. Transcripts can also be mailed or
picked up in the Admissions and Records office. For transcript requests,
visit www.clcillinois.edu/depts/adr/transcript.asp.
New online survey to gather
alumni feedback in planning
events, offerings
What kind of events, volunteer opportunities and
communication would you like to see from your
CLC Alumni Association? Take a few minutes to
complete the online survey, which will close September 15, 2013.
Class Notes
Karen Dewitt (’73) earned an M.F.A. in studio art
from Southern Illinois University with a specialty
in drawing. Since 1977, she and her husband have
co-owned a picture frame shop in Matteson, Ill.
Karen is also a self-published author and blogger
at karendewittauthor.blogspot.com.
Jean Porter (’73), a registered nurse, earned a B.S.N.
from Denver’s Metropolitan State University in 1984.
Now retired from full-time nursing, she works part time
in the Denver area and enjoys traveling.
Robert A. Burkhart (’78), who earned an A.A.S. in
nursing from the college in 1981, is now retired after 35
years in nursing. He and his wife Dixie have settled in
Michigan and are enjoying life on their small farm.
Jay Maningo-Salinas (’92), R.N., Ph.D., is the administrative
director of ambulatory nursing services at Mayo Clinic
in Phoenix, Ariz. In May, she was elected to a three-year
term as president of a professional organization representing
3,000 registered nurses of Filipino descent.
Anna Jones (’96) has earned a master’s degree in
professional counseling from Argosy University.
Val Munchez-van der Wagt (’05) is a chief
underwriter and senior division manager at
Northbrook, Ill.-based Allstate Corp.
Blake Hudson (’10) is a staff intern in the Illinois
State Senate in Springfield, where he works in
communications and public affairs.
In memoriam:
Ann Wezowski (’04), passed away March 22 after
a battle with cancer.
What have you been doing lately? Let other
alumni know! Submit your submissions online at
www.clcroundtable.org. Use the pull-down menu to
post in either the careers section or the message
board that corresponds with your graduation decade.
Click www.clcroundtable.org/survey or scan this Quick Response (QR) code
with your smart phone. First 20 alumni to complete the survey will receive
a CLC Alumni commemorative bookmark.
ALUMNEWS | 15

AlumNews
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UPCOMING EVENTS
The Capitol Steps
Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.
Mainstage Theatre, Regular $42/38/32
Senior/Staff/Alumni $41/37/31
CLC Student $15/Teen $15*
Always fresh, “The Capitol Steps” digs into the
headlines of the day and creates song parodies
and skits that convey a special brand of
satirical humor. They've been featured on NBC,
CBS, ABC and PBS, and can be heard four times
a year on National Public Radio stations
nationwide during their “Politics Takes a
Holiday” radio specials.
To order tickets, call the box office at (847)
543-2300 or visit www.clcillinois.edu/tickets.
Lake Geneva Oktoberfest
Sunday, October 13
Cost: $45 adults
$35 children 10 and under
Join alumni, friends and family at this annual
festival amid fall colors around Lake Geneva.
Enjoy polka music, a children’s band, a
children’s magic show and the Great Pumpkin
Giveaway. Check out the food and craft booths,
restaurant and shopping specials, wagon rides,
pony rides and much more! Ticket price
includes round-trip coach bus and dinner.
For more information or to register, visit
www.clcroundtable.org/Oktoberfest or call the
CLC Alumni Center at (847) 543-2400.
Bus Stop
By William Inge
Directed by Thomas B. Mitchell
Nov. 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 10 at 2 p.m.
Nov. 14, 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Studio Theatre
Regular $9
CLC/Senior/Teen/JLC Subscribers $7
Other fees may apply.
This Tony Award-winning dramatic comedy tells
the story of what happens when a bus full of
strangers is stranded outside of Kansas City
and must spend the night in a roadside diner. At
the center of it all is Bo, a headstrong, lovesick
cowboy and Cherie, the nightclub singer he is
determined to marry. Through laughter, friendship
and heartache, these weary travelers get
to know each other and themselves a little better
in this touching American classic.
SPECIAL PRICE TICKETS:
Buy one, get one free on Nov. 8 and 14.
Special offer not available online.
Auditions: September 16 & 17 at 6:30 p.m.,
Mainstage Theatre (open to the community)