clc - summer 2011 alumni magazine

College of Lake County

AlumNewsPUBLISHED FOR GRADUATES OF THE COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY SUMMER 201 1

Backstage with CLC Theatre, Dance and Music:

Oliver! 2011 Summer Musical

Student Performance Opportunities

Graduates in Arts Careers

29484 College_Layout 1 8/1/11 11:09 AM

2 | COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

AlumNews is published three times a year by the College of Lake County’s Office

of Alumni Relations and Special Events.

Director of Alumni Relations and Special Events JULIE SHROKA

Administrative Secretary DORAE BLOCK

To submit story ideas, email Dave Fink, AlumNews editor, at [email protected]

or call him at (847) 543-2243.

You can also share ideas and comments at the CLC alumni website, at www.clcroundtable.org.

To Our Readers:Each spring at the College of Lake

County there’s a flowering of creative energyas the year’s final theatre, music and dancedepartment productions are mounted.

These performances are, of course, theculmination of a year’s worth of academicwork designed to hone students’ artisticcraft—making them better musicians, actors, dancers or directors.

But because many CLC productions also make auditions open to non-students,they play an important part in maintaining a vibrant creative community in Lake County.

Going behind the scenes of the spring’sproductions, this issue of AlumNews showsthat academic programs and community areboth thriving at CLC!

Julie ShrokaDirector of Alumni Relations and Special Events

ContentsFEATURES

3 The Vision’s the ThingThe College of Lake County’s summer production of Oliver! offers a glimpse intothe creativity, planning, logistics and many rehearsals that turn a director’svision into a polished performance

6 CLC’s Annual Rite of SpringEach spring, the school year’s final performances of the theatre, dance and musicdepartments showcase the talents of performing arts students as well as non-student community members who work in offices by day and perform by night.

8 Careers in the Arts Start HereThe experiences of four former students show that CLC can be a great trainingground for careers or further study in the performing arts.

10 Also a Patron of the ArtsFrom raising funds to build the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts onthe Grayslake campus to paying transportation costs to bring school children toperformances, the CLC Foundation is helping to support the arts on campus.

DEPARTMENTS

8 Class Notes

11 News Roundup

12 Upcoming Events

Cover: In a July dress/technical rehearsal for the college’s summer production of Oliver!, Fagin (Waukegan resident Greg Nevil) advises Oliver and the thieves that they’ve “got to pick a pocket or two” to survive.

Green and Accountable: The revamped AlumNews is printed on recycled paper at the samecost as the previous newsletter format.Photos: Mike Hirsh (ShowFoto) and Bob Booker, CLC Public Relations Department

AlumNews


ALUMNEWS | 3

COVER STORY

The Vision’s the ThingThe College of Lake County’s summer production of Oliver! offers a glimpse into the creativity,

planning, logistics and many rehearsals that turn a director’s vision into a polished performance.

cast to turn director Mitchell’s vision into a polished performance.

Mitchell made the decision to stage Oliver!in early 2010. The show, based on the classicCharles Dickens novel, tells the story of an orphan who runs away from an orphanage and hooks up with a gang of boys trained to be pickpockets by Fagin, an aging, money-grasping underworld figure. The tale highlightsclass differences amid the upheaval of the Industrial Revolution.

For its summer production, the CLC TheatreDepartment often chooses a musical, whichtends to have a broader audience base, Mitchellsaid. But in choosing exactly which musical toproduce, there is a lot to consider. “We look atthe value of the play historically, socially andeducationally,” he explained. “I like to havemusicals that involve children. It brings kids tothe college, and they are prospective students.”

Venue is also a consideration. CLC’s JamesLumber Center for the Performing Arts has three

L ess than two weeks after auditioning andfive weeks before opening night, 20 youngactors line up backstage in the James

Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at theCollege of Lake County. Boys and girls alike havebeen cast as orphans living in a gritty work-house in 1850s London. And despite their youngage—they’re all under age 12, there is no horse-play or joking around. Each actor is intently listening for director Tom Mitchell’s cue.

“One…two…three..,” he calls each of the20 in succession on stage to take a place at arough-hewn dining table. Rocking back andforth, and lifting their empty wooden food bowlsin unison, they mimic cockney English accents,singing the famous opening lines of Food, Glorious Food :

“Is it worth the waiting for?If we live ‘til eighty-four,All we’ll ever get is gruel!Ev’ry day we say a prayerWill they change the bill of fare?Still we get the same old gruel!”

“That was pretty good, you guys!” shoutsValerie Alpert, a CLC dance instructor who’salso the show’s choreographer. She has coachedthe kids on lifting the bowls in unison, andshe— as well as the kids— are happy that theroutine is starting to jell.

“Good job,” Mitchell agrees, but he’s notquite satisfied. “We have lots of time to perfect it.”

Every scene in this production of Oliver!will be rehearsed over and over again before theopening night. But rehearsals are just a smallpart of the planning, logistics and dedicationthat will be required of the production crew and

theatres—the 600-seat Mainstage Theatre, the250-seat Studio Theatre and the black-boxFrank Harnish Experimental Theatre.

“We stage bigger performances such asOliver! on the Mainstage,” Mitchell said. “Thesmaller Studio Theatre hosts edgier productionsthat benefit from a more intimate setting suchas last year’s Urinetown, a satire dealing withwater conservation and greed.”

Rather than produce a

musical theatre offering

an idealized version of

London, I want this to

be more realistic.

—Tom Mitchell

CLC theatre professor Tom Mitchell directs the college’s production of Oliver!

continued on page 4



COVER STORY

The most important decision—the oneguiding all others—is choosing an artistic vision, Mitchell said. Ten weeks before openingnight, on May 5, he explored his vision forOliver! with a production team that includedchoreographer Alpert as well as: Jean Hersey,vocal director; Paul Hefner, orchestra conductor;Matt Godlewski, sound designer; andJoey Brennan, lighting designer and scene shop supervisor.

Mitchell shared his creative vision for the show. “It’s GOT to be a grittier show thanthe way it is normally portrayed,” he told theproduction staff. “The dancing will be lessBroadway and more action. London in the 1850swas like all other cities during the IndustrialRevolution. It was full of soot and garbage, thestreets were open sewers and the common peopledidn’t wash all that often. Rather than producea musical theatre offering an idealized version of London, I want this to be more realistic. Thisaffects everything, to the costumes, scenery, light-ing and the way the actors portray the characters.”

Though challenged by Mitchell’s vision, the team’s mood remained relaxed as the director shared the tentative production schedule:Auditions were still three weeks away, in lateMay. But after that, the pace would speed updramatically. All 55 roles, many of them children,would need to be cast by June 1. From then,through the play’s first performance in mid-July,the team would need to design costumes, buildsets, coordinate sound and lighting and holdmany hours of stage rehearsals and technicalrun-throughs.

“I’ve told parents of the child actors thatonce we get to July, all bets are off. I own theirchildren,” he said laughing.

Bringing the vision to stageMitchell began by sketching the look he

wanted for the production on paper. Then, heworked closely with Brennan, who used a com-puter-aided design program to produce detaileddrawings that guide the set builders.

While Brennan coordinated lighting andsound effects with contractor Matt Godlewski,

Mitchell worked with student Bill Roberts, theshow’s costume designer, to fine-tune a realisticlook for each character. Most of the costumesare made from scratch, said Mitchell, notingthat the large Oliver! cast will require about$3,000 worth of fabric. “I prefer to make costumesrather than rent them, because it’s an opportunityfor theatre students to learn how to build costumes,” he explained, adding that he tries to re-use as much existing fabric as possible.

“A costume tells more about a character than anything else,” said Roberts as he exam-ined fabric swatches in the theatre’s costumeshop. “We have a cast of 55 characters, and it’simportant to dress each one correctly and letcolor tell the story. Characters from the ‘nice’side of town will have bright, colorful costumes,whereas the thieves will be wearing green, rustor brown colors.”

While set building and costume designbegan in May, the actors’ rehearsals began inearly June and continued for at least fourevenings a week, including dress rehearsals.

The long summer evenings spent inside forrehearsals aren’t a chore for 11-year-old MattSchroeder, a Gurnee resident who plays theleading role of Oliver Twist. “I love to do this,”said a smiling Schroeder, who has playedWinthrop in The Music Man and Charlie inWilly Wonka, Jr. produced by Christian YouthTheatre. “Acting lets you try out different characters. At the beginning, you have the feeling that there’s a lot to remember, but in the end, it all plays out.” In addition to the stage rehearsals at CLC, Schroeder estimatesthat he spends about a half-hour a day at home memorizing lines and rehearsing his part.

The Vision’s the Thingcontinued from page 3

Student set builders paint a windowframe for the Oliver! production.


ALUMNEWS | 5

COVER STORY

Almost thereOn a Tuesday evening, four weeks before

opening night, Mitchell summons Oliver andthe Artful Dodger on stage to rehearse the famous scene in which the Artful Dodger, a veteran pickpocket, encounters the runawayOliver in London and recruits him into thegang. At Mitchell’s cue, Camille Michelotti,a Libertyville resident portraying Dodger high-steps and points to Oliver as she begins to sing the peppy tune Consider Yourself:

“Consider yourself at home.Consider yourself one of the family.We’ve taken to you so strong.It’s clear we’re going to get along.”

“STOP!” shouts Mitchell. “Dodger, I wantyou to move around Oliver as you are singing.Oliver, you need to show a more bewildered lookat this friendly treatment by a total stranger.Let’s do this again.”

In the next run-through, the Artful Dodgerrepeats a spirited rendition of “Consider Your-self,” this time moving around Oliver, who is sitting at the bench looking bewildered.

“STOP!” shouts Mitchell. The young actorsanticipate more coaching, but Mitchell is satis-fied enough to let the cast take a 10-minutebreak. “That was good.”

By the end of the evening, Mitchell is confident of where his actors will take their performances. “Overall, I’m pleased with wherethings are,” he said. But like all good directors,he wants to stretch his company further.“There’s still a lot to work out,” he says with a smile.

And then…

Nerves and excitement are firing fast asTech Week is set to begin. It’s the time when acting, costumes, lighting, sound and set design all come together.

During a 20-minute morning storm onMonday, July 11—the first day of Tech Week,power is lost to much of Lake County, includingthe Mainstage Theatre where Oliver! is scheduled to open on Friday. Though electricityis restored later that evening to parts of theGrayslake campus, it is out for four days in theMainstage Theatre, resulting in canceling theshow’s weekend debut and moving openingnight to July 21.

“There’s a natural momentum to a show,and disrupting it like this can be devastating,”Mitchell said. “But the cast and crew just wouldn’t quit.”

Until power was restored, the crew sewedcostumes in hallways and the actors rehearsedin the cavernous, poor-acoustic atrium. Andonce the power was restored, their entire focuswas on getting to opening night, he said.

“They proved the fate of this productionwasn’t in the stars—or the lightning!” he said.

The James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts, which houses CLC’stheatre program, has state-of-the-artfacilities, including a costume shop.

Oliver (Gurnee resident Matt Schroeder,foreground) rehearses with Mr. Bumble,played by Dino Mazzetti of Lake Zurich.

Characters from the ‘nice’

side of town will have bright,

colorful costumes, whereas

the thieves will be wearing

green, rust or brown colors.



In the fall of 2010, theatre department faculty chose Bill Roberts as student directorfor the production. With input from theatre in-structor Craig Rich, Roberts chose All in theTiming,— a work that consists of six shortplays, most of them comedic and employingword play—for the production.

The choice of the play, Rich said, “takesinto account the play’s complexity and the talent level of students.”

All in the Timing offered the students the opportunity to make a lot of artistic choices,Rich said. “It can be done simply or elaborately,”he said. “I think we found the right balance.Bill made exciting directing choices. You couldsee his skill in blocking and the ideas that hebrought to each character.”

Mounting the production was a four-monthprocess including casting, script read-throughs,blocking, costume fittings, set design and bothacting and technical rehearsals, all done withstudents in charge.

“As an instructor, I give students guidelines,but I don’t want to tell them what to do,” Richsaid. “Part of this process is having the studentsdiscover their own creative approaches.”

“I wanted to make each story individual,”said Roberts. “The cast did a great job of stayingtrue to their characters.” Roberts, whose first CLCacting role was Wilbur the pig in Charlotte’sWeb, previously designed costumes and makeupfor other CLC productions. In his role as a direc-tor, he said he has learned the importance ofclear communication among everyone, on stageand backstage, in making a production runsmoothly. “It’s all in the timing,” he said.

COLLEGE FOCUS

tion; band and choral concerts; and the 13 annual Fear No Art showcase. The performersare made up of students who want to becomeactors, music teachers and musicians, and non-student community members who work left-brain jobs like banking during the day but thrill to spending their evenings performing.

Getting the play onPerformance space is reserved each spring

for a student acted, directed and designdproduction, generically called Play on! until a specific play is chosen. It’s intended as an opportunity for students to display their creativity and talent as actors, directors, stagemanagers, technicians and designers.

On a chilly, gray weekday evening inApril, student performers are warmingup throughout CLC’s James Lumber

Center for the Performing Arts. Actors rid themselves of nerves by spewing tongue twisters.Members of the Prairie Spirits Dance Troupestretch their legs at the barre in the dance studio. And musicians take horns and saxo-phones to their lips, creating a musical cacophony as they tune up.

All the activity is part of rehearsals for anannual rite of spring at the College of LakeCounty: the year’s final performances of theatre,dance and music ensemble groups.

The groups’ performances this spring included All in the Timing, a student produc-

CLC’s Annual Rite of SpringEach spring, the school year’s final theatre, dance and music performances showcase the talents

of performing arts students as well as non-student community members who work in offices

by day and perform by night.

In a scene entitled “Words, words, words,” from All in the Timing, three chimps attempt to write “Hamlet.”


COLLEGE FOCUS

A harmony of feelingsSpring music concerts present a diverse

mix of compositions designed to build on performers’ strengths while challenging singersand instrumental musicians to broaden theirown musical horizons..

It’s a philosophy that music professors Dr. Charles Clency and Dr. Michael Flackboth share. In addition to teaching responsibili-ties, Clency is the college’s director of choirs,and Flack is director of bands. “By exposing students to such a great diversity of choralmusic—sacred and secular— I hope to deepentheir understanding and tolerance for culturaldifferences and increase their appreciation ofhigher-quality levels of music and performance,”Dr. Clency explained.

In addition to exposing musicians to a vari-ety of musical styles, Dr. Flack said he wants hisstudents to “learn how their own individual partfits into the whole of the ensemble.”

The instructors’ encouragement, and challenge to reach higher, keeps musicianscoming back to perform. Mariel Shaw (’06) is a telebanker at Harris Bank by day, and has

played the B-flat clarinet in the CLC Wind Ensemble for eight years. “I like it because it’slocal and a challenging ensemble to play in,”she said. “Dr. Flack is really talented. He canhear a chord that’s off in a split second. He’spushed us to grow, and he’s deepened myknowledge of music theory. Plus, I’ve madefriends and bonded with members of my sectionof the band.”

As a collaborative art, choral and band performances require musicians to grow together, a challenge that appeals to many of the choral performers.

“What I find rewarding about singing in achoir is that it takes teamwork to make a beau-tiful piece of music,” said student Katie Grant.Grant, who has high-functioning autism, hasbeen a soprano in the Choir of Lake County for three years. “Anyone in the world can under-stand what I’m singing, even if they don’t understand English,” she explained. “Singing is about feelings and sharing those feelings. Alot of people believe autistics don’t have feelingsand being in a choir means I get to share myfeelings with the audience.”

CLC grad Lamaiya Lancaster (center),an adjunct dance instructor, performs inthe 2011 Fear No Art production.

ALUMNEWS | 7

CLC’s four choral ensembles consist of students and community members.

DanceAnother form of expression, dance—

including ballet, modern and jazz—thrives at CLC under the guidance of full-time instruc-tors Valerie Alpert, Therese Crews and adjuncts. The Fear No Art event, which cele-brates music, dance and visual arts, showcasesoriginal choreography by CLC students and faculty. “I’m always amazed and inspired to seemy students up on stage breaking outside their creative boxes and exploring their own styles of movement,” Alpert said.

One person who developed her own dancestyle under Alpert and Crews is Lamaiya Lancaster (’04), who later earned a bachelor’s degree in cultural studies from Columbia College. Now teaching part-time at CLC, Lancaster also performs professionally and choreographed two dance performances in this year’s Fear No Art, held in the Mainstage Theatre. “CLC has given me the chance to create my own dances, then audition and workwith the dancers to see my ideas brought to life on stage,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how much dance experience you’ve had in thepast—if you have an interest in dance, you can pursue it here.”



All four say they developed a true passion for the performing arts during their CLC years.

Stec and the others fondly recall how attend-ing and participating in college productions expanded on what they learned in class. “Whenattending plays, I was fascinated by the audienceinteraction, the importance of serving your audience and knowing to whom you aresinging,” said Stec, who later worked as a setbuilder and continued with acting, voice anddance classes. In CLC productions, he went on to play a friar in Much Ado About Nothing, andheld singing and dancing parts in Cabaret.

Stec honed his operatic voice under the tutelage and piano accompaniment of instructorCaroline Rynex. He continued his studies inmusic and dance performance, earning a bach-elor’s degree from Northern Illinois University, a master’s degree from Northwestern Universityand a doctorate from Montreal University. After

W hat happens to College of LakeCounty performing arts students afterthey leave CLC?

The experiences of four former studentsshow that CLC can be a great training groundfor careers or further study in the performing arts.

Andrzej Stec (’00) is now a lyric tenorsinging in opera and at concerts around theworld. Emilie Lynn, a student from 2003 to2005, has acted in Chicago-area communitytheatre and on television, including a stint as a grieving sister in The Chicago Code, a Fox network police drama. Matt Godlewski, a student from 2003 to 2006, co-owns a companythat provides stage lighting and sound systems.And Hanna Supanich-Winter (’10) is major-ing in theatre design and production at IllinoisState University, where she’s stage managingcollege productions.

Art Careers Start HereThe experiences of four former students show that CLC can be a great training ground for careers

or further study in the performing arts.

several years in theatre and dance, Stec is nowdevoted to classical singing. Collaborating withsuch artists as Canadian soprano RosemaryLandry, and French pianist Jean-Eudes Vaillen-court, Stec has performed throughout Asia, Europe and North America. In April, he returnedto CLC for a “homecoming” concert in front of a capacity crowd in the D Wing rehearsal room.Accompanied by Vaillencourt, Stec beamed as he sang Après un reve by French composerGabriel Faure. The song, he told the audience,was the first operatic aria he sang on that stageas a CLC student.

Guidance from CLC instructors also inspiredGodlewski, a Lindenhurst native who initiallyplanned to be an electrician. But his goalschanged while taking theatre classes at CLC.“Tom Mitchell saw something in me that I didn’t see,” recalled Godlewski, who worked be-hind the scenes as a carpenter, lighting

CLASS NOTES

Andrzej Stec (’00) stars as Arturo in Bellini’s “I Puritani (The Puritans)” at theCleveland Opera Circle.

PHOT

OGRA

PHY

BY S

EANM

ICHE

AL K

VACE

K

Emilie Lynn portrays Natalie/Ed in AllShook Up with Big Noise Theatre Company.


CLASS NOTES

Alumni News

Robin Leckbee Perkins (’78) is archivistand conservator of records for MalisePrieto, clerk of court, St. TammanyParish in suburban New Orleans.

Artis Yancey (’80), former WaukeganPolice Chief, is now Lake County (Ill.)coroner.

Diane Otten (’82) teaches physical education for kindergarten throughfifth grade at Howe Elementary Schoolin Beach Park, Ill.

Christopher Carmichael (’84) is an associate professor of biology at Malone University in Canton, Ohio and a research associate at the ClevelandMetroparks Zoo. A herpetologist,Carmichael focuses on the behavioralecology of reptiles and amphibians, including alligators, boa constrictorsand pythons.

Ronnie Rice (’95) is a Duncan, S.C. –based motivational speaker; find outmore at www.rsquareenterprises.com.

Cristina Alvarez (’05) is a project manager for Medline Industries, Inc. in Mundelein.

Willa “Khandi” Lattimore-Turman (’09)is a nanny in Waukegan, Ill.

What have you been doing lately?Let your fellow grads know! Post yoursubmissions online at www.clcaa.com.Look for the message board that corresponds with your graduationdecade. Selected entries will also bepublished in the AlumNews.

designer, stage hand and at the soundboard.“When directing plays, he really let me experi-ment with new ideas, such as using lighting to change the color of shadows in a productionof American Buffalo, a play set in a New YorkCity junk shop.”

Godlewski, who also coordinated lightingand sound for Lysistrata, The Balcony andother productions, also grew under the leader-ship of longtime instructor Eibhlin Glennon,who is now retired. “As director, she always hada clear vision of how she wanted a show to look,and would bring it to life,” said Godlewski, who co-founded a company, Swing Street Productions, with fellow student MichaelPatrick in 2006.

Glennon’s guidance also proved inspirationalfor Emilie Lynn, a Vernon Hills native whodreamed of acting in musical theatre but struggled with her own shyness when starting in CLC’s program.

“Eihblin was supportive and encouragingwhile, at the same time, pushing me hard tobreak out of my comfort zone, dive deep into a character and really act,” recalled Lynn.

In 2004, Tom Mitchell cast Emilie as Mariain West Side Story. “It was the largest role I had

been given,” Lynn explained. “It also was thefirst time I ever had to learn a dialect or accent,so the role was definitely challenging. I was determined to make Maria as realistic and natural as possible, as I had always seen herplayed very naive and a little static.”

Following additional training in voice, acting and dance at the Improv Playhouse andother venues, Lynn has acted in community theatre throughout the Chicago area. Her manyroles include portraying a nun in Sound ofMusic at Drury Lane Oakbrook, and playing the role of Marian Paroo in The Music Manat Deerfield Family Theatre.

In addition to caring instructors, CLC offersfirst-rate facilities, according to Supanich-Winter,a Libertyville native. She has stage managedproductions at the Northlight Theatre in Skokieand at Illinois State in addition to CLC produc-tions of Angels in America and Anne Frankand Me. “CLC’s program is great, there aremany opportunities for self-motivated studentsto flourish,” she said. “The college gave me myfirst very serious taste of pressure, stress and suc-cess. After two years, I felt prepared to move on-ward and upward.”

Hanna Supanich-Winter (’10) stage managed CLC’s 2010 production of Angels inAmerica.

ALUMNEWS | 9



COLLEGE FOUNDATION

year, drawing 9,000 elementary and junior highschool students to the College of Lake CountyGrayslake campus.

The events included Stuart Little, a taleabout a diminutive mouse directed by CLC theatre department co-chair Tom Mitchell, aswell as national touring acts like MatheMagic™

and Super Scientific Circus.Bringing school children to campus to see

them was made possible by support from the CLCFoundation, which funded bus transportation.

“These programs are very engaging,” saidJo Taylor (’87), a sixth grade math teacherwho attended MatheMagic and other perform-

A loud, sharp snap cuts through the air,as a magician on stage cracks a whip.The youngsters in the audience sit up in

their seats, listening intently as he explains thatthe sharp sound is created because the tip of thewhip travels faster than the speed of sound. It’sthe same principle that makes colliding waves ofsound create a sonic boom, he tells them.

Before they know it, hundreds of school kidshave been entertained into learning something new.

The magician’s appearance on a stage inthe James Lumber Center for the PerformingArts was just one of a series of educational performances mounted in the 2010-11 academic

Also a Patron of the ArtsFrom raising funds to build the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts on the Grayslake campus

to paying transportation costs to bring school children to performances, the CLC Foundation is helping

to support the arts on campus.

Members of three CLC choirs performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2007. Their travel costs were funded in part by the CLC Foundation.

ances with her students from Abbott Middle Schoolin Waukegan. “They’re an excellent way tospark an interest in kids and help them see thatmath can be fun. The programs are also a great opportunity for students to see a live performancein a theatre setting, some for the first time. Weare grateful to have CLC in our own backyard.”

The CLC Foundation funds such program-ming as part of its commitment to support thecollege’s mission to expand access to education.Over the years—in the late 1990s, that commit-ment has included raising about $1.6 million toward the construction of the James LumberCenter for the Performing Arts. More recently, ithas also included funding to send CLC studentsto participate in major national and interna-tional cultural events.

In May 2007, the Foundation supporthelped 33 talented singers from three CLC choralgroups perform under the vocal direction ofmusic professor Dr. Charles Clency at a CarnegieHall concert. It also helped send CLC’s MondayNight Jazz Ensemble and the Wind Ensemble toa music festival in Besena, Italy, in 2005.

“Over the last five years, we’ve awardedabout $134,000 to fund important educationalprojects,” said William Devore, executive di-rector of the CLC Foundation. “Without theextra help from the Foundation, many of theseprojects just wouldn’t have happened.”

Want to help support the CLC Founda-tion’s work on behalf of students? For information on making a donation,visit www.clcillinois.edu/about clc/foundation.asp or call (847) 543-2640.


ALUMNEWS | 1 1

NEWS ROUNDUP

Alumni welcome 1,484 graduates in Class of ‘11

The class of 2011, consisting of 1,484 graduates, was recognized at CLC’s 42nd commencement ceremony, held May 14 in Waukegan’s Genesee Theatre.

Commencement speaker Michelle Champagne (’92) received the Illinois Outstanding Citizen Award from the college. Champagne grew up in Chicagobut dropped out of high school following her parents’ divorce. Later, afterearning her GED diploma and graduating from CLC, Champagne earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Lake Forest College and a master’s of education degree from Harvard University. She currently operates her own Chicago-based consulting firm that helps non-profit organizations provide health, education and economic development to underserved populations. “CLC gave me structure, education and support, and I excelledwhile I was here,” she said.

Annual golf outing raises $29,400 for scholarships

The annual Joan Legat Memorial Golf Outing, held May 20 at White Deer Run golf course in Vernon Hills, raised $29,400 forthe CLC Foundation’s scholarship fund, according to Julie Shroka, director of alumni relations and special events. “We aregrateful that during these economically challenging times, we have such generous supporters,” Shroka said.

Career mentoring program seeks alumni volunteers in person and online

The Alumni Association is looking for alumni to help current CLC students or new graduates in job shadowing or career mentoring. “The time commitment is only only a few hours per month, involving one-on-one communication or an occasionalpresentation on your career as part of the Alumni in the Classroom program,” said Ed Oilschlager, alumni board memberand coordinator of the program. “For out-of-state alumni, online mentoring is an option.” For details, call the Alumni Centerat (847) 543-2400 or visit www.clcroundtable.org/mentoring.

Alumni discount program includes local and nationwide businesses

Join the CLC Alumni Association and receive discounts to hundreds of businesses, from auto insurance to local theatre. Visit www.clcdiscountclub.com for more details on the discounts and how to register.

Stay in touch with fellow CLC alumni online

Looking for a great way to network with fellow alumni and share your ideas? Visit the Alumni Association’s online communityat www.clcaa.com.

Michelle Champagne (’92) was the 2011commencement speaker.


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AlumNewsCollege of Lake County19351 West Washington StreetGrayslake, IL 60030-1198

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Lake Geneva Boat CruiseSunday, Aug. 14Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Cruise the storied Lake Geneva aboard

the Grande Belle of Geneva as you enjoy a

champagne brunch with other CLC alumni

and friends of the Foundation. Designed

to resemble a turn-of-the 20th century

steamer, the excursion boat is enclosed and

climate controlled on the main deck and in

a portion of the upper deck. For price, cruise

departure time and other details, visit

www.clcroundtable.org.

CLC Alumni Baseball OutingFriday, Aug. 26Lake County Fielders’ Stadium, Zion

Join fellow CLC Alumni and friends to

cheer the Lake County Fielders as they

battle the Yuma (Ariz.) Scorpions at the

Fielders’ new stadium. The Alumni Associa-

tion has reserved a party deck. Come and

enjoy an evening of baseball, raffles, catered

hamburgers, hot dogs and other picnic food,

along with cool beverages, great company

and post-game fireworks.

The game begins at 7 p.m., and the stadium

is located at the northeast corner of Route

173 and Green Bay Road in Zion. To register

for the event or for more information, call

the Alumni Center at (847) 543-2401 or visit

www.clcroundtable.org/Fielders2011.

Gone MadiganStaring Kathleen Madigan

Saturday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m.Mainstage Theatre

Jay Leno calls Kathleen Madigan “One of

America’s funniest female comics.”

Alumni $33/28/23

Save the Date!Saturday, October 29

Black & White Ballon the Magnificent MileHotel InterContinental®

505 North Michigan Ave., Chicago

Beginning at 6 p.m. in the Empire Ballroom

enjoy hors d’oeuvres, wine and spirits, silent

auction, live music and a game of chance.

The evening’s gourmet dinner, live auction,

raffle, dancing and live music will take place

in the beautiful Grand Ballroom. Admission

is $250 per person. All proceeds benefit the

CLC Foundation Scholarship Fund. For more

information, call the Alumni Relations Office

at (847) 543-2400 or visit www.clcaa.com.

The Secret GardenSept. 29 and 30 at 10 a.m.Oct. 1 at 3 & 7 p.m.Oct. 2 at 2 p.m.Mainstage Theatre

Adapted by April-Dawn Gladu.

Based upon the book by

Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Directed by Scott Mullins

The Secret Garden is a beautifully timeless

story about the blossoming of the earth and

the human spirit.

Tickets $6

Auditions: August 23 & 24 at 6:30 p.m.

Studio Theatre


clc - summer 2011 alumni magazine

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