ALUMNI
A Message from the
President
Dear Alumni and Friends,
NEWS
Staying Connected With Your Classmates THE GROOVY ’70s 1970 - DCN. ERIC ELSTRO was ordained a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Lansing on May 18, 2019.
1994 - MATTHEW McGIVNEY was recently appointed Judge of Michigan’s 44th District Court by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
When the Board asked me what I wanted to focus on as president, I identified a few areas that
THE VIRTUAL ’00s 2000 - DAN CASSAR and his wife, Melissa, were married on August 18, 2018.
I felt we can quickly address: accessibility, tuition assistance, campus and program development, and finding the best possible people to work with our students. I am happy to say that we are already making incredible progress on all of these items. Accessibility. Some generous donors have provided funding for us to start a bus program; so beginning this fall, we are offering four bus routes to help families commute to and from CC. You can learn more at www.catholiccentral.net/transportation. Tuition Assistance. As of July 1st, we were able to offer tuition assistance to 170 families for this upcoming Ed Turek ’85
school year at a total of $1.1 million. All of this money comes from DRIVE tickets, individual gifts, and our endowment fund.
Campus and Program Development. In addition to the general summer repairs throughout the building, we put the final touches on our new Fr. James Martin, C.S.B. Baseball Complex, refinished the Bernie Holowicki Basketball Court, repaved a large part of the parking lot, and are starting a number of projects around Fr. Richard Elmer, C.S.B. ’46 Stadium, which will be apparent this fall. Beginning in August, we are introducing “GDK Days” to our community to help us focus on our mission of “Teaching Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge.” A Culture Committee, comprised of several faculty members, worked for months to develop the content and structure. The GDK Days will engage our students, faculty, and parents in their own ways. Exceptional Employees. I knew we had good people working at CC, but seeing the dedication and effort firsthand every day is inspiring. Their excitement and care is contagious and one of the reasons families continue to choose CC to educate their sons. I am looking forward to working closely with Fr. Patrick Fulton, C.S.B. and Fr. Mike Buentello, C.S.B. (read more in this issue), and I am also excited to welcome several other new faculty members for the fall. Continuing Challenges. While we are making great progress in the areas above, we are well aware of some of the challenges we face every day. We know tuition is expensive. We also know that we need to continue to have the best facilities and technology possible for our students and families. We are attacking these challenges head on with some new partnerships and outreach. While our enrollment numbers remain strong, we need to continue to push forward. Help us find the young men we want at CC! You can submit a referral or sign up your son/grandson/nephew up to receive information at www.catholiccentral.net/admissions. The only way we can continue to make progress on these issues is with your help. As we grow, support of our mission from the Catholic Central family does as well. Your recurring and increasing philanthropic gifts not only add up quickly, but also are critical to our mission. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Looking at the horizon, there are several exciting projects being considered to help grow the mission of Catholic Central. As each is considered and developed, I look forward to sharing them with you. You are in my prayers, and I ask that you keep all of us in yours. Your fellow Shamrock,
Mr. Ed Turek ’85 President, Detroit Catholic Central High School
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M E S S A G E F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T O F C AT H O L I C C E N T R A L • FA L L 2 0 1 9
Left to right: Jerry Salcynski ’70, Carmine Palombo ’70, Hon. Tom Brennan ’70, Dcn. Eric Elstro ’70, Jim Verney ’70, Bob Wayner ’70, and Jack Cahill ’70
1974 - PAUL NOETZEL lives in Austin, Texas, and works for Cushman & Wakefield where he was elevated to a national role to help lead Asset Services’ deliverables for Project Trinity. He is a member of their account management team and serves as a liaison between key institutional clients and their platform to promote growth, profitability, and operational best practices to drive performance excellence. 1977 - BILL WYMAN lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with his wife, Therese. This year marks their 35th wedding anniversary. They recently welcomed their first grandchild, Penny Rose DeLuca.
Left to right: Charlie Kovelle ’03, Brandon Gregory ’03, Dan ’00 and Melissa Cassar, Nathan Soltis ’03, Kevin Russom ’03, Patrick Carroll ’08, and Tom Christensen ’75
2005 - MIKE OAKLEAF and his wife, Sara Droze, were married on November 17, 2018, by Fr. John Wheeler, C.S.B. ’57 at Sweetest Heart of Mary in Detroit.
Granddaughter of Bill Wyman ’77, Penny Rose DeLuca
THE HAPPENING ’90s 1991 - STEVEN SHANNON was recently promoted to full professor and named the next director of graduate programs for the nuclear engineering program at North Carolina State University. He will oversee the third-ranked nuclear engineering program in the country based on the most recent US News and World Report rankings of graduate programs.
Pictured behind Mike ’05 and Sara Oakleaf, left to right: Fr. John Wheeler, C.S.B. ’57, Anthony Ansara ’02, Britton Steele ’05, Andrew Ansara III ’12, Kevin Hager ’08, Michael Ansara ’02, Nick Barrett ’05, Josh Stack ’02, Matt Stack ’05, Andy Hager ’05, Victor Ansara ’05, Nick Ansara ’08, Jason Lewarne ’05, Jimmy Burns ’04, Matt Esper ’02, and Will Carpenter
A L U M N I N E W S • FA L L 2 0 1 9
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