Riverside woman promoted at Cantata Adult Life Services
Cantata Adult Life Services announced in January that Riverside resident Alice Franks had been promoted to the position of campus director for Cantata’s senior living campus and British Home Rehabilitation Services in Brookfield.
Franks, who was previously director of campus living, has more than 20 years of experience working with seniors. In her new role, she will be responsible for all operations related to running the Brookfield campus.
“This new role allows for a chance to advance that Cantata vision, while playing a significant role in fulfilling our mission,” said Franks in a press release.
Cantata Adult Life Services is a not-for-profit organization designed to help adults 55 and older “better their live their best lives.”
FLOS appoints new board
The Frederick Law Olmsted Society voted in a new board of directors at their annual meeting on Jan. 17.
The officers are Tim Ozga, president; Sander Kaplan, vice president; Jennifer Pacourek, secretary; and Mary Geroch, treasurer. New directors include Maura Braun, Kimber Coombes, Michael Johnson, Lois Kimmelman, Abigail Randall and Greg Randall.
Mary and Bill Judy, who were appointed in 2013, will renew for two more years, ending in 2015. Three-year renewals include Kim and Rob Dixon, Mary Geroch, Constance and Tom Guardi, Cathy Maloney, Tim Ozga and Aberdeen Marsh-Ozga.
Fred Kitch was named honorary director.
Teachers recognized
Riverside-Brookfield High School computer science teacher Sandy Czajka and French teacher Laurence Forberg along with Lyons Township High School Spanish teacher JoEllen Gregie have been invited to serve as an Advanced Placement reader at this year’s annual College Board AP Reading. All exams contain multiple choice and free response questions, either essay or problem solving, which provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of the material.
Lyons Township High School physical education teacher and boys varsity swimming coach Scott Walker recently was named a nominee for Positive Coaching Alliance’s Double-Goal Coach Award, given annually to youth and high school coaches who pursue winning and teaching. life lessons through sports. The PCA will announce its 25 winners on March 4.
On campus
North Riverside resident Travis Tirpak earned his master’s degree from the College of Health and Human Sciences at Northern Illinois University’s graduation ceremony held in December 2013.
Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights announced last month that Riverside resident Anthony Narducci had earned a bachelor’s degree in social work. He was awarded his degree at the school’s December 2013 commencement ceremony.
Kyle McKain of Riverside was named to the dean’s list at Northern Illinois University for the fall semester. A student in the College of Engineering Technology he attained a grade-point average of at least 3.5 out of a 4-point scale.
Andreja Siliunas, a senior sociology major from Riverside, has been named to the dean’s list for the 2013 fall semester at The College of Wooster (Ohio). A graduate of Trinity High School, Siliunas’ GPA for the semester was at least 3.65.
Riverside resident Ann Conner earned a spot on the dean’s list for the fall 2013 semester at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Her cumulative GPA is at least 3.5.
Among those named to the dean’s list for the 2013 fall semester at the University of Dayton were Christopher Crisanti of Brookfield, William Meyer of North Riverside and Patrick Vrablik of Riverside. Each attained a GPA of at least 3.5.
Tara Kaplan of Riverside earned semester honors for the fall 2013 semester at Edgewood College in Madison, Wis., for attaining a GPA of at least 3.5.
North Riverside resident Bryan Reyes earned dean’s list honors for the fall 2013 semester at University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
Courtney A. Kulinski, of Brookfield, a junior in environmental engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo., has been named to the honor list for the 2013 fall semester by attaining at least a 3.2 GPA.
Riverside resident Alyssa Kmet, a pharmacy major, is on the dean’s list for the fall 2013 semester at Butler University in Indianapolis. Students on the list are in the top 20 percent of their college as determined by GPA.
Among the students named to the dean’s list for the 2013 fall semester at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., were Brookfield resident Emily Furjanic and North Riverside resident Nicole Rocconi. Both are seniors in the College of Arts and Sciences and attained GPAs for at least 3.5.
Jonathan Medina, of Brookfield, was named to the dean’s honor roll for the 2013 fall semester at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Mich. A computer science major, Medina achieved a GPA of at least 3.5 for the term.
The following students were named to the dean’s list for the 2013 fall semester at University of Wisconsin-Madison: Riverside residents Drew Gresik, Margaret McLaughlin, Stephanie Sauer and Katherine Wade.
Among those named to the dean’s list for the 2013 fall semester at Lewis University in Romeoville were Brookfield residents Sabrina Hill (English), Rachel Dlask (mass communications), Stephanie Raga (English) and Robert Hansen (nursing) and North Riverside resident Erica Densch (athletic training). The minimum GPA for dean’s list inclusion was 3.5.
Kathleen Maxwell, a graduate of Riverside-Brookfield High School, was named to the dean’s list for the 2013 fall semester at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., for attaining a semester GPA of at least 3.75. A German and environmental studies major, Maxwell is also a soprano with the Manitou Singers, a select group of 100 women’s voices from the first-year class. She is the daughter of Thomas and Deborah Maxwell of Riverside.
Riverside resident Alexandra VandeMerkt, a junior business administration major, was named to the dean’s list for the 2013 fall semester at Endicott College in Beverly, Mass., attaining a GPA of at least 3.5 for the marking period. She is the daughter of Jayne VandeMerkt.
Among those named to the dean’s list for the 2013 fall semester at Hope College in Holland, Mich., were Brookfield resident Katherine Sauer, North Riverside resident Joseph Zyck and Riverside resident Olivia Lauritsen. Students must attain a GPA of at least 3.5 to be on the dean’s list.
Named to the dean’s list for the 2013 fall semester at Marquette University in Milwaukee were Brookfield residents Kyle Antene (biomedical studies), Sarah Devereux (corporate communication) and Anna Reyes (public relations).
Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Mich., has announced that Robbynn Casiano, of Riverside, has been named to the president’s list for the 2013 fall semester. To make the president’s list, a student must attain a GPA of at least 3.8.
Area students named to the dean’s lists for the 2013 fall semester at Illinois State University include Brookfield residents Martin Calkins, Hannah Langosch, Nicholas Misiorowski, Patrick Mortimer, Emily Swift and Kamolphan Weeraklaew; North Riverside resident Michael Kosik; and Riverside resident Anna Tess.
Nathan Smith of Brookfield will tour the Midwest with the Augustana College (Rock Island) Choir from Feb. 21 through March 1. The nine-day, nine-concert tour will take nearly 60 students from as far north as the Twin Cities to as far east as Cincinnati. The program features a diverse mix of musical genres, ranging from choral music by Brahms to a praise song written in Swahili.
The choir will perform in River Forest at Grace Lutheran Church, 7300 Division St., on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
Two Riverside residents have been awarded scholarships to attend Cornell College, a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Mark Vander Naald earned a Dean’s Scholarship, while Abraham Ourth earned a Presidential Scholarship.
The Riverside-Brookfield High School student newspaper The Clarion has been named one of 10 finalists to win a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown Award in the Digital Publication category.
The Gold Crown Award is the highest award available in digital news media from the CSPA, a national student journalism organization. The Clarion was the only high school news website in Illinois to be named a finalist.
The editors of The Clarion area Rebecca Rusiecki, editor-in-chief; Hannah Pecis, media editor; Lauren Grimaldi, news editor; Katherine Alaks, opinion editor; William Voorhees, arts and entertainment editor; Carey Torres, lifestyles editor; Robert Filec, features editor; Steven Baer, sports editor; and Isabel Pena, public relations editor.
Several Brookfield residents were part of the cast of the musical In the Heights, staged Feb. 13-16 at Lyons Township High School. Sophomore Julia Melone played the part of Carla, while junior Xavier Ontiveros played Graphitti Pete. Members of the chorus and dancers included junior Rachel Martinez and sophomore Kayla Brooks.
Brookfield resident Laura Furmanski is among the dozen Lyons Township High School students advancing to the Scholastic Art Awards national competition in New York. Furmanski’s drawing titled “Self-Portrait” was a Gold Key winner at the regional competition.
Although not advancing to the national competition, two other Brookfield students were Silver Key winners, including sophomore Rachel Larsen (drawing) and freshman Grace Barone (jewelry). Furmanski, a senior, also won a Silver Key award in the printmaking category.
Brookfield student-artists at Lyons Township High School also were recognized recently at the 15th Annual Elmhurst College High School Art Show. Freshman Grace Barone earned an Award of Excellence while sophomore Jamie Osborne earned a Judge’s Choice Award for jewelry.
Several local students were named to the honor rolls at Nazareth Academy in LaGrange Park for the first semester of the 2013-14 school year.
Among those achieving A Honor Roll (3.8+ GPA) status were Brookfield residents Gloria Corona, Drew Dunker, Rebecca Letcher, Brittany Schneider, Robert Schneider and Jacquie Skokna; North Riverside residents Guillermo Arroyo, Connor O’Neill, Emylee Zdarsky and Danny Zontos; and Riverside residents Brendan Sedivy and Hana Sedivy.
Named to the B Honor Roll (3.33-3.79) were Brookfield residents Gina Crisanti, Luke Gerald and Zachary Johnson and Riverside resident Gregory Bernasek.
On Jan. 22 seventh- and eighth-grade students in Pastor Joel Brondos’ algebra class at St. Paul Lutheran School in Brookfield won a national online math competition through Sumdog.com, an online educational games.
Some 864 schools competed and 49,022 students participated nationwide. A total of 21 St. Paul students participated in the contest and correctly answered 18,829 questions
between them.
