NeWS - Archbishop Alter High School

s C h o o l L i f e
As work ensues on creating six brand new science labs at
Alter this summer due to a successful start to the school’s capital
campaign, one can’t help but think about the awesome learning
that has always occurred in the science wing of Alter high school.
From these labs that are now hollowed shells came some of our
nation’s most esteemed science professionals currently working
in an array of fields and practices. And even in this most recent
decade, when the limitations of the antiquated laboratories were
becoming more and more noticeable, there never came a limitation
on the achievements born and careers inspired.
While many of our younger alumni continue to pursue medical
careers as so many Knights before them, many more today are
embarking upon fields in research as well.
Courtney Bakan ’04 studied Microbiology at ohio state and
is currently working at the James Cancer hospital in the Comprehensive
Cancer Center doing research on multiple myeloma and
neuroblastoma, primarily through nK (natural
Killer) cell biology. Courtney has already
written four research papers, four journals and
published two abstracts.
Josh Shearer ’04 is employed at the non-
Destructive evaluation Branch of the Air Force
Research labs at Wright Patterson Air Force
Base in Dayton. he is currently performing
research using laser Vibrometry for structural
health Monitoring which, if successful, could
serve as a detection method on various aircraft
structures across both civilian and military air fleets decreasing
maintenance costs and the time an airplane is out of service.
Additionally, this past March, Josh presented his research from
a previous project at the American society for non Destructive
testing symposium in st. louis.
Kristin Reeve ’06 was the only undergraduate to present at
ohio state’s Medical College Research Day this past spring. Currently
a junior in Biomedical science, Kristin has been studying
salmonella and typhoid fever and her abstract was one of six
exemplary topics selected for this annual showcasing.
one of the newest, growing fields of study is Biomedical
Research which only a handful of schools in the country offer,
ohio state university being one. It’s a very competitive program
into which only twenty students each year are accepted and
12 t h e R O U N D TA B L E
the fall of 2009 will see two Alter Knights among those twenty.
Monica Lachey and Tim Payne both received osu’s Biomedical
Award scholarship.
So what is it about Alter? how, without
the latest tools and state-of-the-art environment,
do our graduates, year after year,
get accepted into some of the most prestigious
programs and even become stand-outs
among many of the finest academicians?
the answers are obviously found in Alter’s
people rather than its facilities. the faculty
and students of Alter are truly exceptional.
Alter’s science teachers are relentless in their efforts to lead
and inspire generations of scientists. Fall 2008 marked the third
consecutive year that Alter’s science department has received
the Ohio Governor’s Award for Excellence in Youth Science Opportunities.
Also, science teacher Jennifer Butler was honored with
the hugh hildebrandt Award for outstanding Contribution to
science education due, in part, to her yearly leadership of the science
Fair process for our students.
on the other side of the desk are the Alter students who are
inquisitive, self-starters, demanding excellence of themselves.
of the thirty-one Alter students who attended the District science
Fair this past school year, twenty-one were advanced to the
state level. seventeen were then able to attend states and they
brought home numerous awards with 12 superior Ratings and
five excellent. Jeremiah Shaw was one who received a 40/40
score and earlier in the year, he was honored at the national level
by the ohio Academy of science in scientific Research & leadership.
Jeremiah was one of only eleven outstanding steM
students in grades 9-12 invited to present their scientific research
at the annual gathering of the American Association for the
Advancement of science.
Indeed it’s the people of Alter who breed success, and one
can only imagine what they’ll do now with the latest and greatest
labs in which to flourish.