MHS announces second group of Distinguished Alumni; public invited to ceremony
Ten Mundelein High School graduates have been selected from a field of 30 nominees for the second annual Distinguished Alumni Award Ceremony and Banquet to be held Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Double Tree Hotel in Mundelein. All members of the Mundelein community and the MHS family are invited to attend. Cost of the banquet, to include a sit-down dinner and ceremony, is $50 per person. To register for the event, visit the MHS website at www.d120.org and click on the shopping cart at the top right corner. Deadline is Sunday, Sept. 30.
“We hear so often about our alumni who are making positive contributions to the world, said Superintendent Kevin Myers. “This is an enjoyable way for us to get together and celebrate those contributions together.”
Those chosen to be inducted into the Distinguished Alumni Class of 2018 include the following:
Sol Cabachuela, Class of 2004: Parent Liaison at MHS, Mundelein Village Clerk, Senior Merchandising Analyst at Walgreen’s Headquarters, President of the Mundelein Latino Police Academy, mentor for Kids Hope USA, Chapel Infant Ministry.
Steve Figved, Class of 1967: Chief Administrator for Will County 911 Emergency Telephone System; previous experiences as fire chief for Bartlett and Barrington fire departments; charter member and president of the MHS Foundation.
Mark Knigge, Class of 1966: Retired from Abbott Laboratories as cell and molecular biologist; Village of Wauconda Park District Commissioner, Trustee and Mayor; published in Journal of Science regarding HIV Aids research and discovery of a new Hepatitis Virus, President of Lake County Municipal League and Liaison to Great Lakes Naval Base.
Sean McNanie, Class of 1979: Third Round Draft pick by the Buffalo Bills football team, also played for the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts, Current President/CEO of Patriot West Constructors; Chairman/CEO/President of SLM Consulting and Management, participates yearly in Aspen Grassroots Experience in Aspen, CO which provides funding for at-risk youth from across the country.
Merry Quinn-Krajniak, Class of 1981: Regional Director for Vicariate I within Office of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago, experience at several Lake County high schools as teacher, counselor, student services director, assistant principal and assistant superintendent, One Million Degrees Volunteer Coach, Board member at First Christian Church, CROP Walk participant, raising money for food pantries and the homeless.
Randall Schenck, Class of 2004: Director of Quality Assurance, Medline Industries, Inc., served as a US Army Sniper Section Leader/Illinois Marksmanship Team Captain Chicago, 2013 Federal Employee of the Year, Received Purple Heart for Meritorious Service, President’s Volunteer Service Award, Senior Vice Commander VFW; American Legion member, Lake County Lightning Youth Baseball Head Coach.
Juniper Simonis, Class of 2002: DAPPER State founder/owner and lead scientist, Edanz Editing, expert language editor, Lincoln Park Zoo Adjunct Scientist, Course Instructor at Cornell University, numerous learned writings in the field along with research grants and projects, Rose City Rollers, Inc. skater, junior team coach, trainer, training committee member, Lamont C. Cole Award, Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University.
Brad Steele, Class of 1977: Captain of the Boeing 747-400 with Kalitta Air, LLC, flying all types of cargo worldwide, flies military cargo charters in and out of Afghanistan, enjoyed a long naval career in many capacities including the Diplomatic Corp and Foreign Services assigned to Saudi Arabia and throughout the Middle East, Commanding Officer of VC-8 in Puerto Rico, retired after 28 years of service on the USS Missouri berthed at Pearl Harbor.
Scott Verschoor, Class of 1984: The Wharton School, executive leadership development and life sciences at KPMG, President for Life Sciences Practice at Model N, senior manager at Deloittle Consulting, director at Sallie Mae, systems manager for General Motors Account at Electronic Data Systems, Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Music Institute of Chicago.
Steven Wilson, Class of 1975: Math instructor at the Christian International School of Prague, Prague, Czech Republic, has taught mathematics at the junior high, high school and collegiate level. Assistant Chair of Mathematics at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS, named Professor Emeritus there in 2017, served as a Bible teacher in Kansas City, MO and in Lawrence, KS.