Alumni Association

Forever True

February, 2023

Dates to Remember

Teutonia Mannerchor Alumni Luncheon

Bad Weather and poor turnouts have been the reasons for the cancellation of the alumni luncheons in January and February.



REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE NO LUNCHEONS IN JANUARY OR FEBRUARY.

Prom Season

While we are in the middle of winter, we have been looking to Spring and the Senior Prom. For the May alumni newsletter, we want to show the class of 2023 how prom was years ago. So, we want you to send us a picture of you and your prom date. Please send those photos to us here. We need to have prom photos by April 26th in order to have them in the May alumni newsletter. Get out those old photo albums, climb up in the attic, search the garage, and come up with your best prom picture. Also let's us know the prom theme (if you can remember it).

Celebrating 50 Years of Trojanette Pride

2023 marks the 50^th Year of Trojanettes at North Catholic.  Come celebrate and cheer on the current Trojanette Basketball Team as they take on Pine Richland at 1:30pm at North Catholic.  Light reception to follow after the game.  Reunite and connect with teammates and enjoy a walk down memory line with memorabilia to show and share.  Register here

Don Graham Classic

The Don Graham Classic will be held on Saturday, February 11, 2023, at North Catholic High School. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. The game schedule is as follows:



11am 9th Grade Boys vs Central Catholic 

12:30 JV Girls vs Oakland Catholic

2pm Varsity Girls vs Oakland Catholic

4pm Varsity Boys vs Central Catholic

5:30 JV Boys vs Central Catholic 

Come join us to cheer on our Trojan and Trojanette Basketball teams!

Trojan Triumph Auction

Save the Date for Saturday, May 6, 2023, as North Catholic High School presents the 35^th Annual Trojan Triumph Auction and Gala: Denim & Diamonds, celebrating 50 years of co-ed!  Look for more details in the near future!  



Alumni Spotlight

Semester Test

How Many Teachers do You Remember?

It's our annual semester teacher exam. These people were on staff from the 50's through the 2020's. How many can you name? Send your answers/guesses to us here.

Bro. Ed Spang

Mr. Jim Zahren

Mrs. Rita Canton

Mr. Steve Fialkovich

Mr. Chris Wolfson

Sr. Eileen Huckestein

Mrs. Morgan Bucci

Mr. Leon Kozakowski

Mr. Vince Buccina

Mrs. Gail Stutz

Mr. Jonathan Hoffmann

Mr. Robert Maydak

We had a number of alums take the semester teacher test. Here are their responses. Older alums (pre 1970) easily identified Mr. Jim Zahren (B). Alums who guessed included Dave Murdoch ('54), Bob Colbert ('65), and Jeff Witherel ('66). Bob and Jeff also identified Bro. Ed Spang (A). Shannon Zeis Wishart ('01) was able to identify five teachers: Mrs. Canton (C), Mr. Fialkovich (D), Mr. Wolfson (E), Mrs Stutz (J), and Mr. Maydak (L). Russ Hartzell ('00), with a bit of help from his with Laura Bogosto ('99), also correctly identified five teachers including Canton, Fialkovich, Wolfson, and Stutz. He also was able to identify Mr Kozakowski (I). He could not name Mr. Maydak (M), but said,, "can't remember his name, but he was there when I was." Former principal Ed Scheid ('69) also could not remember Mr. Maydak, but identified every other teacher with the exception of Brother Ed Spang. Thanks to all of you for playing along at home.

Interested in being a featured alum in the coming months? Just let us know by clicking here.

Flashback Photo

Last Month's Flashback

This is a picture from the 1986 Yearbook. Mrs. Simon taught home economics and the class project was simple: each student was given a raw egg to care for over a week's time just as a person would care for a baby. The egg/baby had to be carried/cared for on a daily basis and was to be in the student's possession at all times. Unfortunately, there is no record of how many babies survived a week.

We got no responses on this photo. It was a disappointment and it was the first time that there was no response to a flashback picture.

This Month's Flashback

This is an interesting photo. Can you tell us who they are and what is going on here? Here's hoping that we get a good response to this second flashback of 2023.

Send your guesses to us here.

Class Notes

Calling all NC Grads from 2000-2022!

Want to help current students achieve their career goals? A group of North Catholic Teachers is looking for feedback from alumni who graduated from North Catholic between 2000 - 2022 on ways to improve course selection for current North Catholic students. Alumni currently in college or those in their career fields are asked to click the link below to answer this very brief survey. Responses will be sent to teachers so they can better prepare and guide our students to a path of success. Thank you in advance! Click here to help!

The display case just inside the entrance to the school houses memorabilia from the school's history. There is also North Catholic apparel available.

You can check out the NC gear in the spirit shop by clicking here.

Class of 1970

Mike Lamb and daughter Kathy ('00) enjoy some time together.

Class of 1975

That's Joe Cieply of Highmark greeting classmate Russell Bynum of Bynum's Marketing and Deputy Executive Director of FLM Haiti

Class of 1979

Doreen Giovanazzi Yoest and her husband show their spirit before the Penguin game against the Hurricanes.

That's Michele Reukauf, Dede Reukauf ('81), and Nancy ('82) deciding on whether they might need a new career while on the beach. Or maybe it was just a side hustle.

Class of 1981

Tom Sullivan, Pat Collins ('75), and Jeff Sullivan ('87) get ready for a bowling tournament.

Class of 1987

John Mudrany and his family celebrate a night out.

Becky Broskey Dittman and her daughter are off to Florida to avoid winter weather.

Class of 1990

Jen Rodak and sister Shannon enjoy a visit to Narcisi Winery.

Class of 1991

Allison Sweeney Gannon and her husband Tim ('90) and kids offer a toast to a great 2023.

Class of 1992

Myles Rooney celebrates his son's 21st birthday at the Harp and Fiddle.

It's a mini reunion as classmates attend a performance of Matt Muckle's band at the Hard Rock at Station Square. That's Matt in the center.

Class of 1993

Congratulations to Steve Walkauskas on his promotion to Vice President of Engeneering at Micro Focus.

Class of 1994

Meet the newlyweds: Mr. and Mrs. Jacque Morrow

D.J. Judge and his lady attend a performance of Shen Yun.

Mary Jo Schultz revisits her German roots at the Hofbrauhaus.

Class of 1995

Mike Quinn and his family celebrate the New Year.

Class of 1997

Amanda Luczak Gray and her husband are ready for some South Side fun.

Christian Reid and his family are out to celebrate a birthday.

Class of 1998

Leigh Anne Sobehart Wojciechowski and her husband attend a business conference.

Class of 2002

Father Mike Ackerman was recently named pastor of Resurrection Parish, Bethel Park/Upper St. Clair by Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik. He is also part-time chaplain at Seton-LaSalle High School.

The Lamb siblings get together: Fran, Mary ('06), and Joe ('12).

Class of 2004

Nick Stehle and his son attend the wild turkey federation exhibit.

Class of 2005

Jeanine Vento McGuire celebrates her anniversary with her husband.

Alex Dumrauf and her real estate partner set their goals for 2023.

Class of 2006

Bryan Stillwagon and his son are Kenny Pickett fans.

Class of 2008

The Sweeneys: Kerrigan and Kelsey DiSanti attend the Looking Glass gala.

Class of 2009

Ryan Porter is with his special lady for a night out.

Class of 2010

Diana Sieber enjoys her time with her dog.

Class of 2013

Bailey Hollihan (behind the mask) continues her dental residency.

Lauren Wolosik enjoys an adult beverage.

Mackenzie Knapp Noftz and family send us their Christmas photo.

Class of 2020

Here's a story about Tess Myers and her father and cousin.

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If you know an alum who doesn't get the newsletter and would like to receive it, send us their email address and we will add them to the distribution list. Just send it here.

Thanks to Al Young (67), Jim Oldaker ('59), Carmen DiGiacomo ('59), Shari Brown Butler ('82), Jen Rodak ('90), Andy Becker ('55), DeDe Raukauf Yoest ('81), Joe Cieply ('75), Bob Colbert ('65), Dave Johnston ('71), John Murphy ('73), and Jim Eberz ('64) for sending information and pictures to us.

If you have news/photos you want to share with classmates, send them to alumni news.

ALL reunion updates will ALSO be available on the school's website, northcatholic.org or by clicking here!

 NC Class of 1958

Save the Weekend! The Class of 1958 will hold its 65^th reunion on the weekend of September 8, 9, and 10, 2023. There will be a buffet dinner on Friday evening the 8^th, a stag gathering in the evening on the 9^th, followed by Mass and brunch on Sunday the 10^th. Additional details will follow in subsequent issues of the Alumni News and on the school website.

NC Class of 1966

The Class of ’66 has its own ‘Reunion Book!’ To view the Reunion Book: 

           Go to YouTube on any browser

           Put “North Catholic Reunion Book” on Search bar

Slides are shown on a 7 second interval automatically or you can scan forward using the scanning bar on the lower left, 

NC Class of 1973

Chuck Bauer writes, "We are still in the general gathering phase. We have close to 40 now in our group.  The contact email info and to get updates is Northcatholic1973@gmail.com."

NC Class of 1978

The 45th class reunion will be held on September 2, 2023 at The Cabin in North Park. More details to follow. Any questions, please call Joyce Velardita Rouda at 412-322-8337 or Linda Maloney Schindler at 412-526-5763.

NC Class of 1990

Martin Miller and Leah Vaughan Quigley are still hoping to organize a class reunion. Keep an eye out for some news

NC Class of 1996

Lori Munsch Klein and Chrissy Shraeder are trying to get a 25th reunion together. Unfortunately the response has been slow. They have set up a form you can link to here. Also you can can email them information and questions here.

NC Class of 1997

The class of 1997 will celebrate their 25th reunion this year. Let us know about reunion plans so we can spread the word.

Military Legacy Scholarship

North Catholic has a Military Legacy Scholarship in honor of all alumni who have served in our nation’s military forces. The goal is to provide a $1,000.00 scholarship annually. To date we have raised over $30,000 to fund this annual scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to the student provided certain benchmarks are met. Every 4 years (or sooner) it is awarded to an incoming 9^th grade student. Molly Burke ('24) is the recipient of the scholarship.

If you wish, you may make a contribution in someone's honor/memory. Donations can be made by sending checks payable to North Catholic, write "North Catholic Military Scholarship" in the memo, and mail to: 

North Catholic High School

1617 Route 228

Cranberry Township, PA 16066

ATTN: Development Office

A kiosk with the names of all alumni who have served in the military stands in the main hallway of the school. Thank you for your service.



The John Latulippe Memorial Scholarship

The John Latuilippe Memorial Scholarship has been awarded to Gabriel Grindstaff - NC class of 2024. Thank you to all who have donated. 

Class of 1959 Scholarship

The NCHS Class of 1959 Scholarship Fund has awarded $5,200 Scholarships for the 2022-23 School Year to Brianna Venturella and Shamus Straub.

The Fund has awarded scholarships totaling $93,200 to ten recipients since the inception of the Fund. Contributions to the Fund can be made at any time and should be sent to the North Catholic Foundation, North Catholic High School, ATTN: Class of 1959 Scholarship Fund, 1617 Route 228, Cranberry Township, PA 16066.

If you would like more information about the Fund, please contact Joe Blitzko(joeyblitz@aol.com), Dick Halleran (rhalleran@verizon.net), or Mike Conroy (conroy1603@gmail.com).

Class of 1965 Legacy Scholarship

The Class of 1965 Legacy Scholarship award for the 2022-2023 school year was made to senior Kaitlyn Kenaan. She is the daughter of NC alum Dan Kenaan ('91). Kaitlyn received $1,000 to help with tuition. She is an the honor roll student. Thomas Zizan, the son of Julie (Rogalla) Zizan ('87) graduated this past June. We will award two scholarships for the 2023-2024 school year next summer.

While the Legacy Scholarship continues to grow, we do need the help of our classmates to increase the scholarship fund. When we were at North, almost all of the tuition was paid by our parishes, now the burden has fallen on the parents. Catholic education is not cheap and in order to help parents provide the great education we received all those years ago, we need more of our classmates to step up and help keep our legacy scholarship fund growing. No contribution is too small. Thanks to classmates, ED KOSS, and one in honor of BILL GUBANIC for their recent contributions. If you have questions, feel free to contact Bob Colbert (bobcolbert@comcast.net) or Walt Quinn (quinn.walter@comcast.net)

Some of our classmates are committing to making a small (read $10, $15) monthly donation via their credit card. It's a painless way to contribute and Bob Colbert and others have been doing so for a while. As Bob said, "it's less that the cost of a bottle of wine." If you would like to contribute a small monthly amount via your credit card, contact Amber Nicotra Morrison to set it up.

John Mikulan is also donating 20% of the royalties from his book, The Bark of the Day to the fund.

Class of 1966 Scholarship

The Class of ’66, is proud to announce the selection of their first scholarship recipient, Andrew Scears ('26). The committee, under the leadership of Tom Balestreire, is well on its way to funding its goal of $100,000 for the Class of ’66 Scholarship Fund. The Fund will be administered by the Class in conjunction with the school. We, Tom Maier, Jim Beran, Hank Marziale, Paul Ladish, and Bob Gierl have contacted many but if you or someone you know is wishing to be included, contact Tommy, 404.358.4864, text or call.

The boys basketball team provided and served food at the Saint Kilian fellowship dinner last week. It was a great chance for the boys to give back to their community and bring comfort to those in need.

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North hosted the Southwestern PA Qualifier Tournament for the FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Organization. Twenty-two teams from the FIRST organization were represented, including our own 12578.

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A group of NC students and teachers headed to Washington, DC for the Annual March for Life Walk.

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Markie Russell ('25) represented the North Catholic Dance Team in London, England as an All-American dancer where she performed at their New Year’s Day Parade. Markie was part of a select group of All-Americans who were identified at Varsity Spirit summer camps across the country.

The London New Year’s Day Parade attracts over 10,000 participants from the USA, UK, Europe, and beyond to delight a street audience of over 500,000 and TV audience, which reaches more than 500,000,000 annually.

“Dancing in the London New Year’s Day Parade as a Varsity All-American was a great privilege and experience. I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent North Catholic internationally and to uphold our core values with fellow dancers and cheerleaders from all over the United States of America” – Markie Russell

Classroom News

Students in Mrs. Philips' and Miss Lipps' classes participated in the Knights of Columbus Catholic Citizenship essay competition sponsored by the Knights of Columbus at St. Gregory Church. Each winner received a gift card, and first place essays will advance to the next level of competition. Congratulations to the winners of the Knights of Columbus Catholic Citizenship Essay Competition:

12^th Grade- John O’Toole

 11^th Grade- Ariel Orr

 9^th Grade- 1^st Place- Simone Sharpless

     2^nd Place- Ava Pingree

         3^rd Place- Brody Kennedy

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Students in Mrs. Murray's AP Biology class have been hard at work applying their learning of the cell membrane, cellular communication, and photosynthesis through the use of art illustrations.

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Mrs. Steininger’s Medical Perspectives classes have been busy learning lifesaving skills such as CPR, how to use an AED, as well as EpiPen administration.

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Band

Congratulations to the seniors in Marching Band as they celebrated at their banquet. Varsity letters were presented to Freshmen, Abby Dudkowski, Angie Zacherl, and Seniors, Noah Bates and David Schleppy.

Also celebrated were 9 Seniors: 5 years: Mackenzie Butler, Michaela Butler; 4 years Sara McConnell, Donovan Smith, and Rigel Weakland, and first years: Noah Bates,  Dylan Paulson, David Schleppy, and Adam Spotts.

Trojan Sports

Signing Day

Congratulations to the following student athletes who committed to play collegiate athletics in the 2023-2024 academic year. Max Rottmann, Basketball - Roanoke University, Andrew Maddalon, Basketball – Roanoke University, and Anna Waskiewicz, Basketball – Otterbein University.

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Girls Basketball

Congratulations to Anna Rocco who scored her 1,000th point of her career



Her teammates and fans joined in her special moment.

The Trojanettes have been beset by a series of injuries losing key players for lengthy periods of time. Read the PG story here.

As January comes to a close the Trojanettes are overall 14-3, 9-0 in section play and ranked #2 behind Blackhawk in Class 4A.

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Boys Basketball

The Trojans are 10-6 overall and 6-2 in Class 4A, section 2 following a section loss to #1 ranked Lincoln Park. You can read that story here.

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Hockey

The Iceman end the month with a 10-4-1 record in Class A

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SEND YOUR TAX DOLLARS TO NORTH CATHOLIC INSTEAD OF HARRISBURG!

Taxpayers can opt to have 90% of their tax liability given to North Catholic High School or the private school of their choice through the EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit) Program. Funds directed to North Catholic from this program directly support scholarships for students. 

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) are two programs that can make it possible for many students to receive a Catholic education.

Interested in more information? Contact Amber in the Development/Alumni Office at 412-321-4823, x 529 or amorrison@northcatholic.org

Watch this short video to learn more how easy it really is!

Click here to watch the short video!

Many thanks to our generous EITC contributors:

COZZA ENTERPRISES

FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF PA

FRANK'S PIZZERIA

GRANT STREET GROUP

HAND & SHOULDER CENTER

HUNTINGTON BANK

THE LYNCH LAW GROUP, LLC

MAHER DUESSEL

NEXTIER BANK

POINT SPRING & DRIVESHAFT CO.