Class Notes
1960s and 1970s
James Yerbic ’67 was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Elmhurst University in Elmhurst, Ill. Yerbic served on the Board of Trustees for 26 years, and is currently a Trustee Emeritus.
Bill ’73 and Sharon Goodwin ’74 celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Oct. 12, 2024.
Major League Baseball named Steve Weller ’77, the official scorer for the 2024 All-Star game. Weller has been an official scorer for 30 seasons and has worked four World Series (2010, 2011, 2020 and 2023) as well as the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo. A former student assistant to BU Athletic Hall of Fame member Joe Dalfonso, Weller spent 24 years as a sports information director and served as a baseball press officer at the 1984 (Los Angeles) and 1988 (Seoul, South Korea) Olympics.
1980s
“We’re just picking up where we left off!” was the theme of this ’86 class reunion/60th birthday celebration trip in Reunion, Fla. Top, left to right: Pamela Eby Coady, Marcia Wexelberg May, Nina Volungis Murray, Kristin Anderson Ketelhut. Bottom, left to right: Beth Cameron Pearson, Beth Panizzi Moore, Margaret Miranda.
Chris Brathwaite ’89 was named vice president and chief communications officer at American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio.
1990s
Dr. Norrine Russell ’90, Founder and CEO of Russell Coaching for Students, has a new podcast available on Apple called ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety: Breaking Out of the Box, featuring inspiring stories, practical suggestions and wisdom to help professionals and parents.
David Van Dixhorn ’94, was recently named chief development officer at Abacus Architects based at the firm’s Sheboygan, Wis., office.
Becky O’Hearn ’99, a Pre-K teacher at Frederick Stock School in Chicago, received the prestigious Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. O’Hearn is one of 10 award recipients in Illinois.
Good Morning America chose Christina Estes’ ’91 debut mystery, Off the Air, as a Buzz Pick. Christina’s award-winning journalism career inspired her to write about a TV reporter investigating the suspicious death of a controversial radio talk show host.
2000s
Mat Fletcher MS ’00, a senior vice president and the railway market principal at Hanson Professional Services Inc., recently celebrated 25 years of service with the company. Working at the Peoria office, Fletcher directs the firm’s business development efforts and operations serving the railroad industry nationwide.
Tommy Choi ’03, has been named the 2025 Illinois Realtors© president. He is the 100th president in the association’s history and the first of Asian and Korean descent. He is cofounder and owner of Weinberg Choi Residential at Keller Williams in Chicago.
Myskeshia Mitchell ’01 MA ’10, a counselor at Peoria High School, was named Illinois High School Counselor of the Year through the Illinois School Counselor Association. She was selected from hundreds of other nominated school counselors in the state. “My actions show students that I genuinely care, and being recognized for the work I am passionate about makes it purposeful,” Mitchell said.
Jerry Bedor Phillips, MFA ’10, exhibited his solo exhibition “Reached er Belau” at Catapult Creative House in Cape Girardeau, Mo., in March 2024, with the Southeastern Missouri State University Department of Art & Design. The exhibition is a continuation into Phillips’ exploration in the history of the Republic of Palau, a small archipelago in Micronesia, and the parallel connections with his family’s personal history.
Aimée Moy ’18, joined the Alden Network in Chicago as a Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional.
Hannah Engel ’20, an aviation civil engineer at Hanson Professional Services Inc.’s Springfield, Ill. headquarters, earned her professional engineer license in Illinois.
Michael Kuzma ’20, inventor of the Kuzma Self-Playing Guitar, recently attended the MARS 2024 event hosted by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. His self-playing guitar performed during cocktail hour and dinner for astronauts, technology innovators and leaders in the world of automation. Bezos called Kuzma a madman when his robotic guitar played at a humanly impossible speed of 44 notes per second. Also in attendance was Grammy award-winning artist Jewel (pictured with Kuzma), who watched the self-playing guitar perform her hit song, “You Were Meant For Me.”
Dr. Charla Lewis GRD ’22, has been appointed vice president of Academic Affairs at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Previously, she was the dean of the College of Arts and Education.