CLC AlumNews Spring 2013

AlumNews PU BLI SHE D FOR GRADUATES OF THE COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY

EARLY

SPRI NG 2013

START

A 15-y ear -o l d grad s tart o uate g n co ll ets an ege an early d wo r ld trav el.

Inside: Speaking of Success State of the Art Foundation Spotlight College of Lake County

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Contents FE ATU RES 3

Early Start Grace Duval (’12) began taking classes at CLC at age 12. By age 14, she had graduated from CLC and started her junior year at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

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Speaking of Success A public speaking course started Jim Fantus (’71) on the path to becoming a health care industry CEO.

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Join Us in Changing Lives Alumni like Channel 7 meteorologist Mike Caplan are lending their support to the CLC Foundation’s scholarship campaign. .

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To Our Readers: In every issue, AlumNews publishes stories about the successes of the college and its alumni, and this edition is no exception.

We are, however, making a small change— reducing our usual number of feature stories from four to three. It’s a decision that allows us to devote space to something that’s very important to CLC and its students: the Changing Lives Scholarship Campaign.

Sponsored by the CLC Foundation, and supported by the CLC Alumni Association, Changing Lives is providing an opportunity for alumni, college staff and the community to join together to keep college accessible to students who have been hit hard by rising tuition and a stalled economy.

I encourage you to read about Changing Lives—particularly the message of Mike Caplan, ABC-TV meteorologist and alumni campaign chair. Please join Mike and other alumni in supporting the campaign. Even a small contribution can make a big difference!

Julie Shroka, director of Alumni Relations and Special Events

State of the Art Art—and artists—are thriving at CLC. The college’s permanent collection includes more than 600 works by significant regional, national and international artists.

D E PARTME NTS 15

Class Notes

15

News Roundup

14

Foundation Spotlight.

16

Upcoming Events

Cover: Fifteen-year-old Grace Duval (’12) visits the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, during a family trip in February 2013. Last May, she graduated from CLC at age 14; she completed a successful fall semester at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

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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.

Address change? Call (847) 543-2400.

Share memories, ideas and comments at the CLC alumni website, at www.clcroundtable.org.

COVER STORY

EARLY START Grace Duval (’12)

began taking classes at CLC at age 12.

By age 14, she had

graduated from CLC

and started her junior year at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

L

ike any teenager about to go back to school in the fall, 14-year-old Grace Duval was happy to have her braces removed. But unlike others her age, she wasn’t preparing to enter the ninth grade and high school. Instead, she was about to begin her junior year of college at the University of IllinoisChicago, after having earned an Associate in Arts degree at the College of Lake County in May. continued on page 4

Grace Duval at CLC’s 2012 Co m mencement. She graduate d with highes t honors.

ALUMNEWS | 3

COVER STORY Early Start continued from page 3

In late August 2012 when classes started at UIC, Duval rode to school on the Metra train—her first train ride alone into the city.

She had the usual first-day worries about finding her classes and not getting lost on UIC’s 28,000student urban campus. But she also had her own special—and atypical—anxiety: Will I look too young? Will they think I don’t belong?

Duval tamped down her first-day worries by watching—appropriately enough—an episode of “The Big Bang Theory,” the sitcom about precocious twenty-somethings, on her laptop during the train ride. But catching the UIC campus shuttle at the train station, Duval found her worries fluttering again. “I was afraid the shuttle driver might look at me sideways when I pulled out my UIC ID,” she said. But the driver proved to be friendly, and Duval had no problems finding her two honors courses: Hemingway and Modernism and a French literature class.

“No one seemed to notice my age and things went well for me, so I considered my first day a success,” said Duval. “It was exciting,” she said, noting she “was not really scared.”

That first day proved to be an indicator of the rest of the semester. Duval completed her two courses with As, and her age was never an issue.

“I never told anyone my age, except one instructor, and nobody ever knew. I think getting my braces off helped me look older,” she said.

Duval, who is majoring in classical studies, said that her CLC education gave her solid preparation for a four-year university. (She started taking CLC courses at age 12 and graduated in May 2012 as the second-youngest student ever to receive an Associate in Arts degree. Her accomplishment drew media coverage in the Daily Herald newspaper and on the Chicago ABC affiliate.)

Having CLC classes that met only once a week helped her learn to plan her assignments ahead, she said. And her French classes at CLC with Professor Maria Manterola provided a good foundation for her UIC French course, which was taught entirely in French. “I thought

4 | COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY

Grace Duval identifies plants in a botany course on the Grayslake campus.

I was going to be the only one not able to comprehend the professor. But Madame Manterola had prepared me well.”

In an intermediate French class, for example, Manterola assigned Duval to read French novels from the 19th and 20th centuries. Later, it turned out that one of those books eventually was used in Duval’s UIC French class.

“Grace was very mature for her age and selfassured,” recalled Manterola, who taught Duval in six French courses. “She was never absent, never missed an assignment or deadline, was always attracted by all aspects of the language and culture. On many occasions I was astounded

by Grace’s superior analytical and critical thinking skills.”

Passion for reading, learning began at home The daughter of an Army officer, Duval is part of a family that moves a lot and has home-schooled Duval and her siblings. It’s an upbringing that has encouraged reading and curiosity and minimized television-watching.

“We don’t watch much TV,” she said, though she added that she loves the History Channel.

“I read about five hours for every hour of watching TV.” Added Grace’s mother, Natalie: “I’m a big believer in turning off the TV.”

Through reading, Duval became fascinated with classical history and how it still affects us today.

“I love studying how ancient cultures have profound impact (on modern civilizations),” she said. “The ancient Greeks invented concrete, started the first democracies and contributed literature and poetry.

“Everything we have today is part of history. No matter how advanced we become (technologically), we still have problems (wars, conflicts, political battles) just a more advanced version of it.”

Future goals Now 15, Duval is taking a break from college to relocate with her family to Virginia and visit a family friend in Germany. She’s applied to the College of William and Mary and hopes to resume her studies there in Fall 2013.

Eventually, Duval would like to earn a Ph.D. in classical studies. And like many young people, she has a dream of celebrity. Though TV-watching isn’t encouraged in her home, she’d like one day to host her own show on the History Channel, writing scripts, filming historical re-enactments and visiting the ancient sites of Greece and Rome.

ALUMNI PROFILE

Speaking of Success

A public speaking course at CLC started Jim Fantus (’71) on the path to becoming a health care industry CEO. n 1969, when Jim Fantus was a 23-year-old father, he was busy juggling a part-time sales job, computer courses and family duties. Nevertheless, he volunteered to be treasurer of his Waukegan church, little realizing he would soon be asked to do what for him was a terrifying task: give a speech from the pulpit, asking his fellow parishioners to increase their donations.

“I thought I wanted to die,” he recalled. He managed to survive the speech, but instead of seeing the experience as traumatic, he viewed it as a springboard for self-improvement.

Later that year, the aspiring computer programmer added an introductory speech class to his course load at the College of Lake County, which had recently opened in Grayslake.

The course would prove transformational, not only helping Fantus feel more at ease in public speaking but also providing skills that would help him advance his career from sales to management to positions as a CEO.

I

continued on page 6

ALUMNEWS | 5

ALUMNI PROFILE Speaking of Success continued from page 5

Effective managers take time to listen to customers and employees, says Jim Fantus, CEO of Newington, Conn.-based Clinical Laboratory Partners LLC.

Fantus graduated from CLC with an associate degree in data processing and later earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce from LaSalle University and an M.B.A. from Albuquerquebased Century University. After starting in sales and then moving up to management, he became a CEO at age 38. Today, he is the chief executive officer of Newington, Conn.-based Clinical Laboratory Partners LLC, a medical laboratory with $125 million in net revenue and 900 employees, and vice president of the parent company, $2.5 billion Hartford Health Care.

Over a 34-year career, Fantus has helped grow seven healthcare-related companies and he has become a sought-after speaker at industry events. His path, from young computer geek

6 | COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY

terrified of public speaking, to corporate CEO and experienced presenter, is a lesson in taking risks and confronting challenges head-on.

Facing fear helped launch career Fantus said that he not only overcame his public-speaking anxiety, but he eventually learned to enjoy the experience. “Once I put this demon behind me, I switched careers and decided to go into sales,” he said. “I wanted to be in a job where I made a difference, where I could see fruits of my labor and impact a big company’s distribution or sales. And I liked the deal-making aspect of it.”

Gaining public speaking skills was essential to making his new career path possible. “In sales

or management, you have to make a presentation to be recognized or to make the deal, often in front of people who are skeptical,” he said.

Fantus moved to the medical lab industry as a sales manager in 1979, and five years later became a CEO. The latter opportunity came during a call to provide a reference for someone.

Though he thought the man being considered for the job was a “great guy,” he couldn’t recommend him for the position in question.

Fantus’s candor and knowledge of the industry, however, must have been impressive. The call ended with him being asked if he would be interested in becoming the company’s CEO. The company had been led by a series of CEOs with operations and finance experience,

ALUMNI PROFILE

A CEO’s Tips on How to Move Up Fantus said, and wasn’t doing well. “They needed new business to survive and finally decided that they needed a marketing person,” he said.

Though he had never thought of being a CEO, Fantus decided to take a chance and accept the job. “I had nothing to lose,” he recalled. But the early days on the job would prove sobering.

“In my second week in the job, the company couldn’t make payroll,” he said.

Fantus tackled the problem by doing the one thing that he considers to be the difference between success and failure: He asked for help, seeking advice from an unlikely source— a competitor whom he respected. The advice he received was to focus on key numbers—net revenue and total expenses, including personnel and supplies.

Taking this advice, Fantus turned the company around from near bankruptcy to normal cash flow in one year. The company’s revenues grew from $5 million to $13 million in four years, and it completed one acquisition.

With this track record, Fantus later became CEO of laboratory companies in Milwaukee and Albuquerque en route to his current position, which he assumed in 2006.

Listening skills important Fantus said that an effective CEO combines skills in delegating, managing time, listening to customers and employees and keeping a sense of humor.

At Clinical Laboratory Partners, he introduced a quality-improvement program titled, “The Stupid Things My Company Makes Me Do.” This program was designed to incentivize employees to submit real-world examples of workplace tasks they are assigned to do but actually waste time. “There was a report that took a full day to produce, but no one ever looked at it,” Fantus recalled. “We eliminated it.”

Mentoring others is also important, he said, a fact not lost on former employees. “I learned a lot from Jim about the sales process, how to run

His path, from young computer geek terrified of public speaking, to corporate CEO and experienced presenter, is a lesson in taking risks and confronting challenges head-on. a profitable business and how to build longterm client relationships,” said M. Susan Stegall, who worked for Fantus as an administrative director and now owns her own Ohio-based consulting firm whose services include strategic and operational business planning. “One thing about working with Jim was his great sense of humor,” she recalled, indicating he kept a humor file that he opened up when a staff member was having a rough day.

Today, as the healthcare industry faces increasing government pressure to contain costs, Fantus is encountering a new set of challenges.

Not only is the need for lab tests being scrutinized more, but the effect of government regulations is to lower the payments his company receives per test. “That means we have to lower our operating costs,” he said. “Our goal is to be best option in the new paradigm.”

Jim Fantus has led his company since 2006.

• Learn what it takes to be an effective leader. In addition to solid skills in time management and delegating, good managers relate to employees’ concerns and show empathy, Fantus said. In his 40s, with a wife and two sons at home, Fantus was laid off from a position as a business development director at an East Coast-based laboratory. “I had never gotten let go before,” he said.

After about six months as a consultant, he was hired as a CEO in Milwaukee.

“It was very humbling to have lost my job, but it made me a better business leader to have been in those shoes. When I have to make tough decisions, I always think of the employee’s perspective.”

• Learn public speaking and negotiating skills. Of all the courses he took toward his degrees, Fantus considers the CLC speech class the most beneficial to his career.

In sales or as a CEO, he said, “you have to be prepared to get up and talk and act as if it doesn’t bother you, whether it’s a group of five or 500.”

• Never stop learning, including finance and, especially, sales and marketing.

“To become a CEO, having a background in sales and marketing is key,” he said, noting that 65 percent of CEOs come from the field. “You learn all aspects of a company. You’re out there face to face, learning from the customer’s point of view. Successful CEOs will listen to customers.”

• Be willing to relocate. To advance his career, Fantus and his family have moved several times, living in six states, from Arizona to Connecticut. To access opportunities in senior management, you must be willing to move, he said. It’s really about the numbers—there are just fewer jobs at the higher levels, he explained.

ALUMNEWS | 7

SCHOLARSHIP

JOIN US IN

Changing Lives

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you hadn’t attended the College of Lake County? Lately, I’ve been thinking about that question because rising costs and tight state funding have forced CLC to raise tuition several times in recent years. Though CLC continues to be students’ most affordable option, many still struggle to afford school.

That bothers me, because CLC certainly changed my life for the better. I came to the college after starting my freshman year at Northwestern University. But after less than three quarters, I realized that the NU wasn’t right for me. I returned home confused and wondering what to do. Fortunately, the College of Lake County gave me a second chance. I thrived in CLC’s small classes where professors showed real interest in my success. In this caring environment, I became active on campus in the jazz band and as a DJ on the campus radio station. CLC gave me the chance to figure out who I was and where I wanted to go with my life. In a very real way, my career as a Channel 7 meteorologist began at CLC. I want today’s students to have the same opportunity to attend the college as you and I had. That is why I am excited that the College of Lake County Foundation has launched the Changing Lives campaign to help students in need. The goal of the campaign is to raise $2 million for student scholarships, and already, a little more than $1 million has been raised.

Won’t you join me in supporting Changing Lives? Support from alumni like us is important for achieving the campaign’s goal. By contributing to the campaign we can show our appreciation for all we received at CLC. And we can help our Lake County community by helping to keep life—changing educational opportunity available.

More information about the campaign is provided in the enclosed brochure. Any donation is appreciated and will make a difference. And donating is easy to do, either by completing the donation form provided with this mailing or by visiting the online donation site at www.clcillinois.edu/give.

Thank you for joining me and other alumni in supporting CLC’s students!

Mike Caplan Meteorologist, ABC 7 News, Chicago

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SCHOLARSHIP

WHY YOU SHOULD SUPPORT

Changing Lives

BECAUSE, TODAY, ACCESS TO COLLEGE IS ESSENTIAL. It used to be that a high school diploma was all that was needed to support a middle class lifestyle. Not so today. Without completing at least some college, today’s young people won’t have the higher-level skills they will need to move much beyond minimum-wage jobs.

BECAUSE MANY STUDENTS CAN’T EVEN AFFORD CLC’S LOWER-COST TUITION. On average, financial aid and family support run short of meeting students’ basic living expenses by about $2,300 per year.

For the poorest of our financial aid students, staying in school is a constant financial battle. In a district with a median household income of nearly $80,000, these students have an annual family income of under $23,000.

BECAUSE EDUCATED MINDS ARE OUR GREATEST RESOURCE. Access to college isn’t just important to individual lives. It’s also essential to the vitality of our local community and economy. CLC graduates, for example, generate millions of dollars in local, state and federal tax revenues, and they support schools, businesses and other vital community services. And CLC graduates comprise a skilled local workforce—an essential asset for employers in a global economy in which human capital is the competitive edge.

BECAUSE AT CLC YOUR DONATION CAN GO SO FAR. Because tuition at the College of Lake County is so much lower than at a university, your donation can have a wider reach, helping more students. Think about it this way: one or several donations totaling $10,000 can pay for the annual tuition of three students at CLC. At a public university, that amount would support just one student!

As a College of Lake County graduate, you know the value of a CLC education. Together, we can continue to create life-changing opportunities for both our students and our community!

YOUR GIFT TO

Changing Lives MAY BE MADE TO SUPPORT:

• CLC Foundation Scholarships in general.

The Foundation has eight major scholarship categories– Academic Achievement, Career, Diversity, English as a Second Language, GED, Honors, Returning to Education and Student Activities.

• A specific CLC Foundation Scholarship.

The Foundation also offers more than 100 individual scholarships, established to honor an individual or organization.

(For a list of scholarships, visit www.clcillinois.edu/scholarships and click on the “CLC Guide to Paying for College.”)

• Creation of a new scholarship of your choice.

Your donation can support a new scholarship, with award criteria of your choosing.

Donate online at www.clcillinois.edu/give Or contribute using the enclosed donation envelope.

ALUMNEWS | 9

COLLEGE FOCUS

STATE OF THE ART ART—AND ARTISTS—ARE THRIVING AT CLC. THE COLLEGE’S PERMANENT COLLECTION INCLUDES MORE THAN 600 WORKS BY SIGNIFICANT REGIONAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS.

Support for the visual arts is evident at the College of Lake County in the eclectic mix of sculptures, paintings, drawings and multi-media works on display. Over the years, the college has assembled a permanent collection of more than 600 works by significant regional, national and international artists.

The collection began in the early days of the college, but has increased tenfold since the mid-1980s, said Steve Jones, curator of the Robert T. Wright Gallery of Community Art on the Grayslake campus, which oversees the artwork. According to Jones, the gallery and collection have three major purposes: beautify CLC’s campuses, expose students and the community to a broad range of artistic styles and provide artists with a venue to display their work.

Among the collection’s noteworthy pieces are several that were donated by Richard and Stephanie Rogers in memory of John M. Mendheim. These works include abstract lithographs by Joan Miro and Salvador Dali and a pastel by Oskar Kokoschka, a German Expressionist. Other noteworthy pieces include five paintings by Chicago WPA-era artist Henry Simon and 24 pen and ink drawings created as political cartoons by John McCutcheon, a former Lake County resident and cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune.

Support for the collection comes from donations, state grants, the CLC Foundation and profits from sales in the art gallery gift shop.

Each work in the collection has been photographed and catalogued into a searchable electronic database. An audio tour of 15 works is also available.

STEVE JONES Curator Robert T. Wright Gallery of Community Art

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St. Horatio Alger, 1941

HENRY SIMON Five paintings by Chicago W.P.A. artist Henry Simon Henry Simon was a prolific artist whose career continued even into his eighties. He was employed by the Works Progress Administration from 1936-1942. The subject matter in these five pieces depicts American history, industry, agriculture and social conditions.

COLLEGE FOCUS

JOHN TINNEY MCCUTCHEON

JOAN MIRÓ

(1870-1949)

(1893-1983, Catalán)

Twenty-four pen and ink drawings by political cartoonist John T. McCutcheon

Sculptures II

McCutcheon was a cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune. His work reflects on the presidencies of Grover Cleveland to Franklin D. Roosevelt; the SpanishAmerican War through WWII; great prosperity of the Roaring 20s through the Great Depression of the 30s and 40s. He won the Pulitzer Prize for cartooning in 1931.

Lithograph; from a suite of prints, folded 2003.28 Gr

Untitled Lithograph;19/75 2003.32 Gr

Miró was a pre-eminent figure in the history of abstraction and an important example to several generations of artists around the world. He focused on the relationship between art and nature. His use of simplified shapes and primary colors gave an air of childlike innocence to his work.

Details from May 7, 1931 cartoon © Chicago Tribune Image 1: “The one the public listened to two years ago (1929).”

Image 2: “The one they are listening to today (1931).”

ALUMNEWS | 11

COLLEGE FOCUS

TITle: “Passages,” 2007.

ArTISTS: Steve Waldeck, Spring Grove resident; Peter Gena created the computergenerated music that accompanies the work. loCATIon: Grayslake campus, Technology

Building.

DeSCrIPTIon: A series of 16 “imagery units” consisting of paintings, three-dimensional art, music and other sounds depicting exterior and interior scenes at a now torn-down Lake County farmhouse.

HoW IT WAS ADDeD To THe ColleCTIon:

Acquired with funding from the Illinois’ Art in Architecture program.

ArTIST’S PerSPeCTIve: According to Waldeck, the work “seems to physically as well as philosophically connect the old (library building) to the new technology building and future buildings.” He said that he drew inspiration from 35 years spent in northern Illinois, during which he “learned to appreciate the passing beauty of this farm-rich heartland.”

TITle: “Dum Ars Est Vita Est” (“Where There Is Art, There is Life”) ArTIST: Bruno Surdo loCATIon: James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts, south entrance DeSCrIPTIon: Three oil-on-linen panels.

HoW IT WAS ADDeD To ClC’S ColleCTIon: Purchased with proceeds from

art gallery sales.

ArTIST’S PerSPeCTIve: They (CLC officials) showed me a huge wall and my heart started pounding,” Surdo told the Daily Herald. “I tried to incorporate a sense of the architecture of the center. The top is a statement of the beauty of art. I took it upon myself to do a celebratory piece.”

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COLLEGE FOCUS

ABOUT THE GALLERY roberT T. WrIgHT CoMMUnITy gAllery oF ArT: Located next to the Grayslake campus library, the 2,500-square-foot, glass-enclosed gallery overlooks Willow Lake and is one of the largest in all of Illinois’ community colleges. For hours and upcoming events, visit http://gallery.clcillinois.edu.

TITle: “Underground Railroad,” 2012

Free AUDIo ToUrS oF “PASSAgeS” AnD oTHer SeleCTeD ArT on THe grAySlAke CAMPUS. An iPod and headphones can be checked out for same-day use at the library. The majority of works on the tour are displayed in the first-floor hallway in the A Wing. Visitors also can use their smartphones to scan the QR code appearing on the nameplate next to selected works. The tour also is available online by visiting the above website.

ArTIST: Preston Jackson loCATIon: Lakeshore Campus DeSCrIPTIon: Depicts a man, woman and child fleeing to a safe stop on the Underground Railroad. Jackson researched the subject by reading a history of Lake County’s role in the Underground Railroad written by the late James Dorsey, a CLC sociology professor.

HoW IT WAS ADDeD To THe ColleCTIon:

Commissioned by the college after Jackson’s critically acclaimed 2009 exhibit in CLC’s gallery; funded by gallery shop sales.

ArTIST’S PerSPeCTIve: “We see a family trying to reach the next safe stop,” said Jackson, a professor of sculpture at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. “We see doorways and boat frames and swamps symbolized in the sculpture. These objects referenced the means of transport, the hardships endured and the effort that it took to reach freedom.”

Eleanor Spiess-Ferris, “Oasis,” 2005 gouache on paper

THe ArTCeTerA gAllery STore, ADJACenT To THe roberT T. WrIgHT gAllery, FeATUreS one-oF-A-kInD FIne ArTS AnD CrAFTS by loCAl ArTISAnS. Become a Friend of the Gallery Member and receive 10 percent off any Artcetera items throughout the year. Members receive 20 percent off during receptions and seasonal sales. For more information, call (847) 543-2405 or visit the blog at http://artceteragallery.blogspot.com.

ARTCETERA GALLERY STORE College of lake County Grayslake Campus

ALUMNEWS | 13

COLLEGE FOUNDATION

Despite family trauma, scholarship recipient Yvonne Arceo is determined to fulfill her goal of becoming a drug enforcement agent.

On Her Way

A

s a senior at Round Lake High School in the spring of 2011, Yvonne Arceo was looking forward to attending the College of Lake County in the fall. She saw CLC as the first step toward achieving her dream of becoming a drug enforcement agent. But her plans were brought into question when she received a double-dose of bad news: her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and her dad lost his job.

“We had to use up the money in my college account to pay for stuff at home,” Arceo recalled.

The stress of coping with her mother’s illness was particularly daunting. “It was a shock,” Arceo said, recalling the initial news of her mother’s cancer. “For a while, it was like it wasn’t real.”

But in the summer, Arceo received some bolstering news: she learned that she would receive a $2,500 Superintendent’s Scholarship from the CLC Foundation. The award was based not just on financial need, but also her 3.2 high-school GPA and involvement in extracurricular activities.

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Becoming a DEA agent means going to its academy, a challenge that Arceo says will require "lots of motivation."

The scholarship got her through a year at CLC and brought her one year closer to completing the education she needs to achieve her career goal. “Since I was little, I was into the secret agent thing,” she said. Watching television police dramas, she became fascinated with how officers infiltrate crime rings to pursue drug traffickers and other criminals.

Arceo plans to earn an Associate in Applied Science degree in criminal justice and transfer to the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2013.

After completing a bachelor’s degree, she wants to apply for a position with the Drug Enforcement Agency and attend its academy.

The latter, she said, is a challenge that requires “a lot of motivation.”

“There are so many physical and mental requirements,” she said, indicating that in addition to having a bachelor’s degree, “you have to be able to run and bench press.”

While Arceo’s parents were coping with illness and unemployment, she learned selfdiscipline skills that may help her achieve her goals. “I said to myself, ‘Don’t give into emotions. Get to work, do what needs to be done,’” she recalled.

Fortunately, it’s a bit easier for Arceo to keep her focus now. Her mother’s cancer is in remission, a result of radiation therapy and medications. And her father found another job after seven months of unemployment.

NEWS ROUNDUP

Board approves sustainable master plan Culminating nearly two years of work, the CLC Board of Trustees last November approved a new sustainable campus master plan. It includes energy-saving repairs to aging infrastructure, a new science building and consolidated space for student support services on the Grayslake campus as well as a major expansion of the Lakeshore Campus in Waukegan.

For details, visit www.clcillinois.edu/masterplan.

New CLC cheerleading squad takes the floor Fifteen College of Lake County students, former rivals at high school cheerleading competitions, have formed a new Lancer Cheerleading Club, which gave its first public performance at men’s and women’s home basketball games on Jan. 17.

The club marks the revival of cheerleading at CLC after a long hiatus. CLC previously had cheerleading and pom-pom squads in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

For more information on college sporting events, visit www.clcillinois.edu/athletics.

Class Notes Robert Neuman (’72) recently retired from the Dallas Police Department after 31 years of service, and now teaches juggling to special needs adults and other groups.

Lisa Seveska Wernli (‘82) is a management consultant for the Northbrook, Ill.-based Allstate Corporation.

Eric Hamlin (’90) teaches eighth-grade social studies at the International School in Manila. He previously taught at the American School of Warsaw.

Steven T. Moore (’92) is an associate professor of English at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Tex. He has won three “Teacher of the Year” awards and has published a book, “The Cry of Black Rage in African American Literature, from Frederick Douglass to Richard Wright.”

Bob Chikos (’94) is a special education teacher and speech coach at Crystal Lake Central High School in Crystal Lake, Ill.

Janet Covert (’97) is an adjunct instructor of history at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in Asheville, N.C.

Ethan Metzger (’03) graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2008. A North Hollywood-based computer graphics animator, Metzger was technical director for “Adam and Dog.” The short film won an Annie Award in 2012 and was nominated for a 2012 Academy Award in the animation short film category.

Jeff Peterson (‘07) owns and operates Sustainability Guru Services, a Lake Zurich, Ill.-based consulting business that helps homeowners and offices save energy and create a healthier living and working environment.

In memoriam:

Association seeking student mentors

Ted Schaefer, 73, a longtime CLC English instructor, died on Dec. 11, 2012, in his Lake Geneva, Wis home.

Interested in helping current CLC students on their career paths? The Alumni Association is seeking CLC graduates to be mentors for individuals and groups (such as student clubs). Volunteers are also wanted to make classroom presentations and participate on career panels. Out-of-state alumni can help through email. Interested? Visit www.clcroundtable.org/mentoring or call (847) 543-2401.

Jim Reinemann, 67, CLC business instructor from 1970 to 2004, died in a Wisconsin logging accident Sept. 24, 2012.

James Sandus (’86), of Tripoli, Wis., died Aug. 26, 2012, from injuries resulting from a motorcycle accident.

What have you been doing lately? Let your

Alumni Association website now has blogging capability The Alumni Association’s website, at www.clcroundtable.org, has several upgrades, including the ability to blog and post classified ads. In addition, past issues of the AlumNews are available on the website.

fellow alumni know! Post 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. Selected entries also will be published in the AlumNews.

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U PCO MI NG EVENTS

Foundation Golf Outing

Baseball Outing

Monday, June 3 Glen Flora Country Club, Waukegan

Saturday, Aug. 10 6:30 p.m.

Fifth Third Bank Ballpark, Geneva

Enjoy a full day of golf, a pre-tourney lunch, contest prizes, an awards dinner and a silent auction. All proceeds will benefit the CLC Foundation Scholarship Fund. For more information, or to receive an invitation, call (847) 543-2400 or email alumni@clcillinois.edu.

See rising stars as the Kane County Cougars battle the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Both teams are Class A affiliates of major league teams—the Cougars for the Chicago Cubs, and the Kernels for the Minnesota Twins. Enjoy a free fireworks show after the game.

The ticket price of $25 per person (adult or child) includes a round-trip coach bus from the Grayslake campus. To reserve tickets, call the Alumni Relations and Special Events office at (847) 543-2400.

CLC Alumni Days at Six Flags Great America Chicago Chinatown Trip Saturday, June 29 Take a guided walking tour of Chinatown, enjoy dim sum at the famous Phoenix Restaurant and visit the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago.

Browse the shops of old and new Chinatown.

The admission, $40 per adult or child, includes a round-trip coach bus from CLC’s Grayslake campus. The bus leaves at 9 a.m. and returns in late afternoon. To register, visit clcroundtable.org/Chinatown.

July 13 & 14 and July 20 & 21 Enjoy a day of thrills at Great America for only $31 per adult or child. This price is more than half off the normal adult admission!

New this year is the igNIGHT Grand Finale.

Taking place right before the park closes, the show combines music, singing, dancing, laser lighting and pyrotechnics. To purchase the discount tickets, visit www.sixflags.com and enter the promotional code, CLCAlumni.

James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts April and May events include annual favorites: Gospel Choir Concert, Fear No Art, the Spring Choral Concert and the Guest Artist Concert.

For details and ticket information, call (847) 543-2300 or visit www.clcillinois.edu/tickets.