Alumni Features

Brian Sherry ’16 ’18 goes to work each day as a design and development engineer at Deep Coat Industries in north-suburban Sugar Grove, Illinois. Deep Coat Industries recently developed a new process for metalizing equipment and computer systems. Metallizing is a thermal spray coating process utilized to protect equipment, and humans, from injury. Brian's daily activities at work can run from client management to monitoring 3D printers, to analyzing the chemistry behind the metalizing process. Brian, who graduated with a bachelor's and a master's degree in chemistry from Lewis, says he spent the majority of his time learning from his mentor, Dr. Jason Keleher, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Chemistry. Brian credits Dr. Keleher’s research lab for challenging him to solve problems faster, work smarter, and understand the importance of meeting a deadline for a project.  Brian loved his time in Dr. Keleher’s lab so much that he donated $1,000 of his first...

Dawn Zibricky '12 on her graduation day. Dawn Zibricky ‘12 grew up outside of Quincy, Illinois, more than 300 miles away from the first  home she shared with her husband, Greg ‘94 in the Mt. Greenwood neighborhood. She never dreamt that living in Chicago was for her until she made a trip with some friends years ago to Billy Goat Tavern on Lower Wacker Drive in the Loop. When Dawn arrived, she saw first-hand the homeless that lived on the streets, ailing and begging for money. She witnessed how dire the need was for quality health and human services for the people of the city. What was initially a night out with friends became a moment of higher-calling for Dawn. She would go on to earn her bachelors and masters' degrees in Nursing, a doctorate in Educational Leadership, and teach at Lewis for some years before taking a position to teach at Elmhurst College. She felt drawn to administer care, heal, and teach others to do the same. Education and health sciences wer...

Sarah Kuczek ’18 career can change the lives of more than a dozen people per day. Some she tells their cancer has returned; if their unborn child is gaining weight; if mom’s body is handling pregnancy well. It is a career that is both exciting and daunting at the same time, but one that she loves. Sarah is an OBGYN sonographer at Northwestern Medicine Regional Medical Group. She is also qualified to assist with sonohysterogram and endometrial biopsies. She graduated from Lewis with her bachelor's in Diagnostic Medical Sonography with honors in 2018.  Sarah says sonography blended her love of many things, including people, technology, and anatomy, and allows her to give her patients the help they need – similar to what she experienced herself early on in her life. “When I was younger, I had an echocardiogram, or ultrasound of the heart. I also had ultrasounds when I was pregnant at 16. That pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage; however, that experience only made my passi...

Bryon Baxter ‘12 has a motto: “Be open to change and be adaptable. The world is always changing and opening yourself up to being challenged is truly important.” On average, about 3.5 million people work in the fast food industry in the United States every year. As a teenager, Bryon Baxter was one of them, working part-time at a Burger King in Indiana. He says it’s one of the many things that drew him to the food manufacturing business. “I started looking into the company and saw products like Kraft foods and Coca-Cola drinks and took a liking to the process – now, I’m working for these companies.” Bryon always had a mind for numbers and science. He knew early on he wanted to take a path that involved analytics. He says it was his part-time job at Burger King, his mom, and a few accounting and career-preparedness courses in high school that inspired him to set a goal and reach it. By the time Bryon graduated high school, he had been accepted to Purdue, Michigan State, and ...

Washington School in south suburban Joliet serves hundreds of children in Joliet Public Schools District 86. Many of the children who attend Washington have experienced serious challenges outside of the classroom and Language Arts teacher Kayla Ryan ’15 says she spends quite a bit of time worrying about their futures. “Many times my students have experienced more hardships than most adults in their short time here on Earth, and it effects their academics immensely. One of the best pieces of advice that I got in my undergrad came from Ann O’Brien and she said, ‘There will be no learning going on if a child’s basic need of sleep, food, and love are not met.’ I try to remember that every day, and this is where growing and forming the relationships that I have with my students is the most important part of my job.” For Kayla, becoming a teacher was a no-brainer. The second oldest of five children in her family, she spent many nights and weekends babysitting her siblings. She r...

As working adults, we change jobs or titles – but what about when we want to start a new career? The thought of going back to school or changing a career path can be daunting. For Peter Kim ’17, it was no different – until a chance encounter with an interview by a Lewis professor. “For many years, I was eager to switch careers into data science but wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. It had been a good deal of time since my undergraduate degree in business, so I had a lot of self-doubt about whether a master’s degree was a viable path.” When Peter came across an interview on a career website given by Lewis University Assistant Professor and Director of the M.S. Data Science program, Dr. Piotr Szczurek, he contacted the Lewis admissions office. “There was an admissions person who was really great about addressing my questions, and she encouraged me to apply! I was so happy that day I was admitted to Lewis. I worked really hard at Lewis, but I was also managing the deman...

UPDATE 11/2018: Lewis alumna and gymnast Kristle Lowell ’12 recently won a bronze medal for the United States in the World Championships in St. Petersburg Russia! Kristle was competing for Morgan Park sports center under coach Chris Walker where she made the national team for 2018. “I qualified for the national team in Greensboro, NC, and went to the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. I wanted to definitely make the competition team, which is decided there, and I won both of the two verification competitions and made the competitive team! I got to work with a coach while I was there, Chelsea Rainer, and she was incredible.” For the World Championships, five athletes go but only four compete – so it was a constant competition to prove herself. “I did the performances of my life going into finals to get into the top eight. It’s extremely difficult to make finals with the current two per country rule. We went to this early-morning training session in Russia, where the W...

Tommy (Thomas) Hearden ’14 (Marketing) has always been a sports enthusiast and a golf devotee. He grew up around golf courses because of his Dad’s job and always knew he wanted to play in college. During his freshman year, the golf team won their first-ever conference, which brought the team closer together. “I met some of my best friends on that team, who I am lucky to still call my best friends today,” Tommy reflects. Tommy was doing great in golf, but in every sport or even life in general, there are setbacks. Tommy’s was his shoulder injury. While in high school, Tommy tore his labrum in his shoulder.  Instead of getting surgery right away, he did physical therapy and played through the pain. He played two years of golf at Lewis before he decided to have the surgery. “It was the toughest decision I had ever had to make at that point in my life” he says. “I played the entire fall season my junior year and was a solid part of the team. So to make this decision, I felt li...

Alexandria Poole ’16 has never been the type of girl who chases after fame and money. Instead, she is dedicating her life to putting the spotlight on others. After all, they say it’s not what you know, but who you know that can make all the difference. It was true for Alex’s journey in the communications field and now she hopes to make it true for others too. As a mass communications major with a focus in radio and TV broadcasting, Alex’s journey to the big leagues started with her own late-night show with WLRA, the Lewis student radio station. While the station originally featured country music, Alex took a chance and played her own pop music, gaining quite the following while doing so. In addition to being involved in the communications world, Alex was also a part of the Lewis Women’s Basketball team. Her junior year the Women’s basketball team made it all the way to the Elite 8. Playing in the Elite 8 tournament with her closest friends was by far the highlight of her career...

Many had their doubts about how volleyball would take him anywhere, but with the support of his coaches, professors and friends Greg proved just how vital a role the sport would play in his life. “It’s been an absolute dream come true,” says Greg. “Dan Friend definitely impacted my life in a big way. He helped me grow as a person and a player. Even though we ran through a rough patch in my younger years at school we are still friends to this day. Now, I am basically getting paid to travel the world and you definitely can’t beat that.” Following older brother Jay’s footsteps, Greg came to Lewis with two goals in mind: play volleyball and get a degree. Little did he know he would end up doing much more. Greg Petty grew up in Downers Grove, IL. In 2015 he graduated from Lewis with a Bachelor’s of Science in Physics and a minor in math. As a kid he was a huge sports enthusiast, trying out every sport he could, finally he found his calling with volleyball. Volleyball turned into his...

A leader in the Chicago broadcasting industry, Deborah Brown credits her family for instilling the importance of loyalty to family, community, faith and country. This quality is evident in her community service and the thrust of her career. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio/TV Broadcasting from Lewis University in 1995 and was recognized as an active and dynamic student. Deborah was involved with several campus organizations including Delta Sigma Theta, Student Government, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Pan-Hellenic Council and the Black Student Union. At Commencement, the Alumni Association presented her with the Father Aquinas Award which recognizes students who have demonstrated personal and intellectual growth, commitment to faith, and dedication to the Lasallian values of justice and association. After graduation, Deborah began her highly successful career in broadcasting as an intern for WGN-TV on the assignment desk for television news. As her talent was recognized...

“As a teacher I’m impacting more people than just myself. It’s a great responsibility.” Tony Pena, ’98 (pictured at left with his father), a math teacher at Stagg High School, works hard for his students. And he realizes that his work matters. His commitment has earned him a Golden Apple Award nomination and several wins during senior class polls. He has coached both baseball and track during his 17 years with the school.  His father taught him this mindset of working hard for others. “My dad came to the U.S. from Mexico at the age of 17 on a work visa. He was the oldest of nine kids and came here to help support his family back home. He spoke no English and had no money to his name. He often worked two jobs and sometimes three in order to give my two sisters and me a better life than he had. He wanted nothing more than for us to go to college and have an easier life.” Tony made his father proud and became the first in his family to graduate college.  “I was recruited...

Paul Salmon ‘94, MBA ’97 has recently been hired as the Eastern Regional Sales Director for Wheaton World Wide Moving | Bekins Van Lines. Wheaton Van Lines, Inc. is among the world’s leading providers of transportation services and is the fourth largest van line, owning three household goods relocation brands: Wheaton World Wide Moving, Bekins Van Lines and Clark & Reid. In his role, Paul oversees the growth of sales for all Wheaton and Bekins agents in the Eastern region. He acts as a liaison between agents and the van line, advising agents on sales and marketing strategies. In the moving industry for more than 20 years, Paul worked as the Eastern Regional Sales Director for Bekins for a short time before leaving in 2000 to explore other career options. Lured back into the moving industry, Paul most recently acted as the Director of Business Development at E.E. Ward Moving & Storage for a North American Van Lines’ agent. “Every day presents a new challenge, which is wha...