Alumni News

Ben Aloia, ‘91, has been reappointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to the State Civil Jury Instructions Committee. He was first appointed in September 2013. The committee is composed of attorneys and judges who ensure that the state’s Model Civil Jury Instructions are concise, understandable, conversational, balanced, and not argumentative. The Ben Aloia ‘91 committee has the authority to amend or repeal existing instructions, and when appropriate, to adopt new instructions. Ben’s law office is in Mt. Clemens, and he has coached the DLS Mock Trial Team since its inception in 2014. Ben and his wife Michele live in Shelby Township, and are the parents of two boys who attend St. Lawrence in Utica.

Alex Bruck, ‘11, is graduating in April 2016 from the Haworth College of Business at Western Michigan University. He earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration, specializing in Integrated Supply Management, with minors in Business Analytics and General Business. He has accepted a position as a Buyer for Honda Motor Company in Columbus, OH.

Josh Cox, ‘13, was named to the Academic All-Mac Team Conference. Now a junior at Central Michigan University, Josh carries a 3.7 GPA.

Bill Fox, ‘50, has three grandchildren at the University of Notre Dame, one in graduate school, and two undergraduates. Bill was featured on a recent WTVS Special on his fellow classmate, JP McCarthy.

Nick Frontczak, ‘63, welcomed his first great grandson in August 2015, another “Nick.” John Lamerato, ‘98, was recognized for his exceptional teaching by Stanford University by one of his former students at Saint Augustine High School in San Diego, CA, who is now a freshman at Stanford. The student wrote: “Growing up, I was never the student that read a book for fun and I did not care for English classes. Fortunately for me, John Lamerato does not simply teach an English class. He uses music, games, and competitive activities to motivate his students to learn and develop an appreciation for literature. He is the reason why I now read books for fun and enjoy writing on various topics.”

The chair of the English Department at his high school, John teaches AP English and senior English. This summer, he will be speaking at the The International Boys’ School Coalition Conference in Vancouver. John and his wife Kara, and their two children, live in San Diego.

Lawrence Piejak, ‘60, and his wife Lori celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August 2015.

Kevin Shubnell, ‘00, was selected as the Junior High Teacher of the Year by the Hazel Park Public Schools. He was nominated by his peers and students at Hazel Park Junior High School, where he has taught Social Studies since 2008. In naming Kevin for the Award, the school’s administration noted how he integrates technology in the classroom throughout the day, and is consistently looking for ways to improve his instruction. “He develops wonderful rapport with his students while holding them accountable for their performance.” Kevin is also a mentor to other coworkers, and a professional development presenter. Kevin and his family live in St. Clair Shores.

Al Sottrel, ‘59, has two grandsons who competed in the 2015 state Cross-Country Finals.

Bob Thomas, ‘63, now has 12 grandchildren. The two oldest boys are attending all-boys’ Catholic high schools. Adam Thomas (father Frank ‘88) is at Xaverian High School near Boston, and Conner Popa is a freshman at DLS.

Alumni News

Dave Van Ittersum, ‘12

Dave Van Ittersum, ‘12, was a fouryear letterman and three-year starter at Albion. He earned two rings for being MIAA Champion. His senior year, he led the Britons in sacks and tackles for a loss. At the banquet, he received a plaque for the Champion’s Club, recognizing a player’s efforts on and off the field and every day in practice. Dave also received plaques as Defensive Line Player of the Year and as an All-League Player for the MIAA. Dave is graduating in May with a degree in Business Management.

Alumnus Chris Godfrey, ‘76, presented a “Golden Football” to Br. Jerome Stevens as part of the NFL’s Celebration of Super Bowl 50. Br. Jerome was Principal of DLS Godfrey’s senior year, while Chris was being recruited for college football programs. Chris went to the University of Michigan, and played in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl Championship with the New York Giants in 1987.

2016 Grandparents’ Day

DLS Welcomed the Freshmen, Class of 2019, and their Grandparents, at the annual Grandparents’ Day on February 11. A highlight of the event is the photo of current freshmen with their grandfathers who are either De La Salle or St. Joe’s Alumni.

Back row, standing: Joe Pierce, Jack O’Brien, Br. Bob Carnaghi, Conner Popa, and Andrew Carnaghi. Front row, seated: Thomas Hayosh (DLS ‘56), Gino Paliaroli (SJ ‘55), Bob Thomas (DLS ‘63), and Louis Carnaghi (SJ ‘51).

Alumni News

Alumnus Mark Prylow, ‘90 Reflects on his Pilot Experience

Until this season, Mark Prylow’s career-scoring record of 1,340 points in varsity basketball, set in 1990, remained a seemingly unattainable goal. But four-year varsity starter Kevin McKay broke the record in February (see page 30). Mark, who now lives in North Carolina with his wife and three children, reflected on the new record, writing in an email: “I must say that the attention brought on the last couple of weeks by having my DLS all-time scoring record broken has really made me pause and think about my high school days. I was recently reminiscing with Mike Gurney, my basketball teammate in all four of my years playing DLS basketball and best friend to this date. I even watched some old game clips and showed them to my kids for the first time, which was a lot of fun. “The time has allowed me to reflect with immense gratitude on my DLS education and basketball experience, and how the school and athletics helped prepare me for the challenges of business and life in general. You don’t realize at the time that you are being well-prepared for life, but that’s exactly what’s happening. “I have realized more and more over the years how much playing sports at DLS (and in college) translates well to real life and to the business world, because they all require hard work, commitment, dedication, and competitiveness in order to achieve success.” Recruited by Drake University, in Des Moines, IA, a Division 1 school in the Missouri Valley Conference, Mark set the freshman scoring record for most points in a game with 28 points against Arizona State.

Mark left Drake after his sophomore year to return to Michigan, transferring to Michigan State University, closer to home and thinking he would eventually work in the Detroit area after college. His DLS teammate Mike Peplowski, ‘88, brought Mark to the attention of MSU Head Coach Jud Heathcote and Associate Head Coach Tom Izzo. Prylow was a sophomore brought up to the varsity during Peplowski’s senior year, and was part of the 1988 CHSL Championship team. As a senior, Mark was All-Catholic, and fourth team All-State. He faced several future NBA players - such as Jalen Rose in those days as Detroit Southwestern seemed to always come up on the DLS playoff dance card. “Pep came over to my apartment and told me we need players and they know about you. I had been on their radar in high school, and they knew I had transferred. I got on the team, and got on scholarship.” At MSU, Mark was Academic All-Big-Ten Conference for two years, and in 1995, his senior year, was the recipient of the MSU Unsung Player Award, given annually to an unheralded player that most exhibits hard work and dedication to team success. Mark earned his BA, and then his MBA in 1996 from MSU in Finance and Accounting. Initially, he earned his CPA license and worked as a Finance Manager for Delphi Automotive in Detroit. For the past ten years, he has been a Finance Director at Robert Bosch, a global German conglomerate. The Bosch Power Tools division offered Mark the opportunity to live with his family in Switzerland from 2010-2013. Mark describes it as an “incredible personal and work experience.”

Alumni News

Three Classes Combine for Alumni Tourney Win

Alumni from three different classes combined to win the 2016 Alumni Basketball Tournament, now in its seventh year. Joe Novak, ‘03, a Math teacher and coach at DLS, organizes the tournaments. The tournament had eight teams who each played two games (two 20-minute halves with a running clock). Attendees, and their families and friends, adjourned to a nearby restaurant to continue the camaraderie.

Photo: (L. to R.) Branden Stachel (‘00), Dan Holka (‘01), Thayne Hellebuyck (‘01), Brad Thomas (‘00), Phil Labut (‘00), Patrick Cahill (‘00), Tony Wichmann (‘01), Nate Navalta (‘01), Brent Miller (‘02), and Nick Navalta (‘01).

Keeping The Peace

Retired Roseville Police Lieutenant Tom Suminski, father of Jared (‘10), Kyle (‘11), and Scott (‘14), organized the referees for the Alumni Tournament. Tom has worked at DLS as a monitor since his 2012 retirement, and has reffed both high school basketball and men’s leagues for 25 years. He says, “The guys are very competitive once they step on the court. They play hard. The refs are there to keep some sort of order so everyone can get to work on Monday. The nice thing is that once the game is over, they are still ‘brothers.’ There’s tremendous camaraderie.” Tom coached at St. Margaret’s in St. Clair Shores for many years, and got his “coaching fix.” He said, “It was natural to go into reffing with my police background. There are a lot of similarities between reffing and police work. You’re trying to keep the peace!”