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Engineering a Safer, More User-Friendly Future
J
UAN M. “JOHN” GARCIA ’99 has been tinkering with machinery and electronics since grade school. A precocious kid with an insatiable curiosity about how things work, he’s been building his own computers since the age of 12. Since earning his electrical John Gar cia ‘99 engineering degree from the University of Iowa in 2003, he has been at the forefront of a technological revolution that is changing the way we live and work. From 2016 to 2019, he served as an engineer and product manager for HARMAN, where he researched autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle product strategies, including GPS navigation systems that will employ machine learning and other artificial intelligence technologies to enhance the user experience. According to Garcia, we can look forward to navigation systems that will suggest the location of a favorite restaurant at lunchtime or alert us to the location of gas or charging stations when our fuel tanks or batteries are running low. Now at Motorola Solutions, Garcia is creating aerial intelligence solutions for public safety agencies worldwide. 4
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LOYOL A M AGA ZINE
from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and a BA in Spanish from Johns Hopkins University.
2003
Dr. Michael B. Brennan ‘03—–see story on page 23 Thomas A. Schlacks and Kelly A. O’Shea were married in September 2017 in Chicago with a small reception in South Haven, Michigan. The couple, who met 16 years ago at Loyola Academy, honeymooned in Bermuda. O’Shea earned her master’s degree in public health from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2015 and works in perinatal mental health research at Northwestern University. Schlacks is acting and working in film production.
Newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Schlacks ‘03
Stephen D. Christ, a former architecture student of James Cleland, created a series of metallic posters entitled Decades in 2017. Each architectural poster focused on a notable building from every decade since the Great Chicago Fire. A limited supply of the posters, as well as other items, can be found in his Etsy shop, Design Pavilion. Christian Friedrich signed with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization in July 2019. Kelly A. O’Shea—–see Thomas A. Schlacks ’03 Andreas G. Safakas (see top photo on opposite page) married Kirstin E. Kuenzi in Cleveland, Ohio, in July 2017. The couple honeymooned in Santorini, Greece, and currently resides in Chicago. Safakas, who earned a master’s degree in urban planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is a development finance manager at the Chicago Housing Authority. Safakas also serves as a mentor for Loyola’s Alumni Mentor Program and LA Tank, as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Chicago. Liam T. Stanton, a senior manager for strategic growth at West Monroe Partners, cofounded Buoy in January 2017. Buoy is an online marketplace of office perks and experiences—–from yoga classes and chair massages to family-style lunches—–that offers a fast and easy way for companies to boost office morale and bring employees together.
2004
Alison M. Strom wrapped up her eighth year of teaching German at Fenwick High School in June 2019. In addition to teaching, Strom stays busy at home as the mother of two-year-old quadruplets.
Nicole C. Woitowich returned to Loyola to speak to our Women in STEAM cocurricular club members in January 2019. Woitowich, a biochemist at Northwestern University, is passionate about the advancement of women in the STEM disciplines.
2006
Maire Mulroe Shields—–see Brendan J. Shields ’98
2005
Mary Catherine Casey celebrated the one-year anniversary of her physical therapy private practice, The FIT Institute, in Chicago in July 2017. Learn more at thefitinstitutechicago.com.
Irene M. Brown married Stephen Toyoda in June 2017 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Wilmette.
Irene M . Brow n ’06 (center) with fellow Rambl er s Chris toph er R. Heredia ’05 (left) and Co lleen G. (Gorman) Der rico ’06.
