The Mendel Alumni Association is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 Mendel High School Alumni Association Legacy Awards. Current High School Seniors who are a child, grandchild, or great-grandchild of a Mendel Alumnus and who had been accepted at any institution of higher education for the 2023/2024 school year were eligible for the 2024 Mendel Legacy Award,  

The basic qualifications for the Scholarship included:
1) A Minimum 21 ACT or 1100 SAT score.
2) A Minimum of 2.8 GPA.
3) Proof of acceptance at any institution of higher education for the 2024/2025 school year.
4) Proof of Community/School Involvement. (Can be highlighted in Essay)
5) Submittal of a three hundred Word or Less Essay titled “Share your goals as you prepare to advance your education. What are your educational or career plans after you graduate from college?”  

The outstanding Mendel Alumni Association Legacy Award Winners for 2024 are:

Mitchell Voltz

 $1,000 Legacy Award/ Providence High School. Mitchell’s grandfathers are Rich Voltz from the Mendel Class of 1968 and Dan Redican from the Mendel Class of 1966. Mitchell will be attending the University of Dayton in the Fall.

Excerpts from Mitchell’s Essay:

Mendel Men are Gentleman. A motto that was painted on the wall of Mendal High School, is a phrase both my Grandpa Redican and my Grandpa Voltz could be heard saying when reminiscing about their high school years. Both highly successful men in their careers, they have been a role model and inspiration to me, as they both are and were men of integrity and sincerity.

 I have been very fortunate to be surrounded by many positive, hardworking men in my life. Growing up, watching my father take risks to build a successful manufacturing representative company inspires me to fulfill a career goal of working in the business industry. My goal is to use the characteristics that my father has installed in me of hard work, discipline, and persistence to obtain my career aspirations.

 In the fall of 2024, I plan to attend the University of Dayton to further my education in the field of accounting. Being asked to be a member of the Honors Program at Dayton gives me the opportunity to research and study global and domestic markets, with the top professors in the county, while learning to analyze, make judgements, and solve problems with others which fascinates me. My drive to find success in the business field stems from my family’s encouragement to work hard, explore options, and take risks. 

Upon graduation from college, my goal is to work in the field of accounting as a consultant for a major consulting firm such as Deloitte or as a chief financial officer for a Fortune 500 company. 

Ultimately, my plan is to follow in my grandfathers and father’s footsteps, which is to be a good husband and father, a man of integrity and honor, a gentleman.

Angela Hersham

$700 Legacy Award/ New Trier High School. Angela’s grandfathers are Larry Hersham from the Mendel Class of 1967 and Nick Meyers from the Mendel Class of 1957. She will be attending Indiana University in the Fall.

Excerpts from Angela’s Essay:

I am eager to explore and learn more about how I can fuse business and leadership to help others. My high school experiences, from being captain of the New Trier Girls Gymnastics team to being part of the Women in Business club, have shown me the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity that comes along in order to attain new skills and to build creative confidence. In college, I hope to work with other motivated peers and professors to use my degree to make the world a better place.

By preserving resources and ecosystems, businesses can sustain their operations, safeguarding their economic viability and benefiting consumers in the long run. I hope to use my business degree to promote sustainability and to confront the issue of climate change. After taking economics in high school, I understand that individuals seek to maximize their utility or well-being, often through consumption and resource allocation. As a business major, I could use this principle to showcase how sustainable practices can lead to long-term happiness by way of a healthier planet.

At Indiana University, I will research how businesses can use their abilities to help the environment. For example, an electric vehicle saves between 50% and 70% of carbon dioxide compared to a gasoline-powered automobile. If everyone could afford an electric vehicle, our collective carbon footprint would be drastically reduced. However, current electric vehicles are dominated by the luxury market. The science behind electric vehicles has been demonstrated, but businesses must find a way to produce these vehicles more efficiently. Only when the cost of producing electric vehicles decreases will the average consumer be able justify the purchase. I hope to leave college with a way to get electric vehicles to enough consumers, so that the environment is positively impacted.

Emily Giavery

$700 Legacy Award/ Stagg High School. Emily’s grandfather is William Reynolds from the Mendel Class of 1959. Emily plans to attend the University of Iowa in the Fall.

Excerpts from Emily’s Essay:

As I prepare to advance my education at a four-year university, I plan to get my bachelor’s degree in Sports and Recreation Management. After that, I would like to get my master’s degree in business management to further my career path and to increase my knowledge. 

After attaining my degrees, I would like to continue my career at a town’s park and recreation center. I would like to create a safe, fun learning environment for families, citizens, children, parents, and the community. I want to be the person to create this safe environment for my community because I have experienced first-hand someone in my life that has had a huge impact on it.

I have worked at the Palos Heights Pool and the Palos Heights Recreational Center for three years. I have gotten CPR and Lifeguard Certified, worked as a lifeguard, trained as a crew leader for the pool, taught swim lessons, supervised open gym and ran youth basketball practices.

Throughout these experiences I had in my community, my boss has always been there for me as a role model. He has shown me what it takes to create a safe and positive environment for his customers, as well as his employees. 

Aside from my boss, my grandpa has always been a huge inspiration to me. He is a Mendel Alumnus, and he is a Member of the Mendel Hall of Fame. He has attained his law degree and still actively practices at a firm. My Granpa Bill has always been a positive light in my life, and he has shown me what it is like to be humble, kind, respectful and hard working. 

These two role models have played a huge part in my career decisions and all my decisions that will shape my future. 

Michael Sczurek

$700 Legacy Award/ Sandburg High School. Michael’s grandfather is Don Laroche from the Mendel Class of 1964. Michael will be attending Indiana University in the Fall. 

Excerpts from Michael’s Essay:

As I take my next steps down the road of education, my primary goal is to excel and make as many connections as possible that will help me later in life. I am very excited to have the opportunity to pursue a more specific education in college at Indiana University and to sharpen my skills in order to achieve success post-graduation. I would be lying if I said that I knew exactly what I am going to do after I graduate college; however, I do know that I am going to do whatever it takes to succeed in the business world. 

My greatest inspiration to do so is my grandfather Don LaRoche, who graduated from Mendel High School in 1964. After earning a college degree, he started at the bottom as a restaurant busboy. Over a span of nearly twenty years, he never gave up, and he rose the ranks to eventually take over as the owner of his own restaurant business. I plan to emulate his success and grind my way to the top after college. He has taught me that through hard work and determination, anything is possible. I am incredibly fortunate to still have a mentor like him in my life who has instilled these winning qualities in me since I was a young boy.

 My family has been involved in the restaurant business for generations; however, my goal is to branch out and prove to both me and my family that I have the capability to achieve my goals through dedication and resilience. I will start off my career getting a job in finance and see where life takes me after that. 

No matter what happens, I will march forward to reach my goal, just like the Men of Mendel did.

Reagan Lorenzen

$700 Legacy Award/ Westfield High School. Reagan’s grandfather is Jack Stoner from the Mendel Class of 1968. Reagan will be attending Rose Hulman Institute in the Fall. 

Excerpts from Reagan’s Essay:

My motivation to pursue Computer Science stems from the software program, ServiceTitan. ServiceTitan is a program assigned to assist contractors by storing their information such as appointment schedules, financial estimates, projects, and clientele history. 

In 2012, Ara Mahdessian and Vahe Kuzoyan, 2 first-generation Armenian Stanford students who met in college, founded ServiceTitan. Ara and Vahe created ServiceTitan from the experiences and struggles they witnessed their fathers face as they worked long, seventy hour weeks within the trades. Like Ara and Vahe, I grew up in a similar environment. My father worked as a service plumber for Williams Comfort Air. Throughout my childhood, my father was met with similar struggles like Ara and Vahe’s fathers. Long hours, working multiple days in a row, and sacrifices of his health, time and energy. 

When my father told me about the origin of ServiceTitan, I became inspired to create a similar impact. The lack of technological advancement in the trades industry directly impacted not only my family, but thousands of families across the country. My career long term goal is to create a similar impact as Ara and Vahe, but my short-term goal is to pursue Computer Science at Rose Hulman and acquire an internship. 

My long-term education goal is to use my education from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to make a similar contribution to causes like the trades and contracting industry by implementing efficient software so fathers like mine can return home for dinner. This scholarship will assist my family and me to pay for tuition at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and prevent me from having to work and study simultaneously, and instead focus on my studies and pursuing my dream major at my dream school. 

Devan Reynolds

$600 Legacy Award/ Providence High School. Devan’s grandfather is George Reynolds from the Mendel Class of 1964. Devan will be attending Millersville University in the Fall. 

Excerpts from Devan’s Essay:

I am going to Millersville University to study meteorology. Weather has always been a passion of mine and I am excited to turn it into a career after college. 

Although my life after college is far away, I already have three main career ideas in mind. These include meteorological research; working for an airline company; and storm chasing in my free time. 

At Millersville, I am planning to study via the professional meteorology route, which avoids broadcast meteorology. This is because I want to do research regarding weather instead of being on television. 

One of my career aspirations is to participate in research regarding the lack of advanced storm warning systems in the Midwest. I feel like it is important to update and maintain these warning systems because, even now, people fail to listen and comply with them, which puts their lives in danger. 

Another one of my career aspirations is to work as a meteorologist for an airline company. My father works as a dispatcher for United Airlines, and he interacts with the on-staff meteorologists almost every day at work because they play such a major role in flight planning. Since I am familiar with the kind of work my dad does, and my dad knows meteorologists personally, I am hoping for an internship there. 

My final career aspiration is to take up the hobby of storm chasing. I am fully aware that this alone will not make for a job, but chasing storms has been an aspiration of mine ever since I was a kid, and I want to incorporate it into any career path I choose. 

Those are my three main career aspirations that I will pursue after college.

Zack Schwarz

$600 Legacy Award/ Providence High School. Zack’s grandfather is Charles Schwarz from the Mendel Class of 1958. Zack will be attending Coastal Carolina University in the Fall. 

Excerpts from Zack’s Essay:

My career aspiration after college is to be a sports broadcaster. I really enjoy listening to sports games because the announcer on the game adds energy and hype, and I really want to become one of those people.

 I love going back and listening to great calls in games because they make the moment so much better compared to a boring call with little emotion. It is also great because you get to watch the sports games while announcing them, so it is like a 2 in 1. The announcers always seem to be intrigued about the game they are on, and I love watching sports, so I feel like I would naturally bring good emotions to the game regardless of what teams are playing. 

Announcing a game is a very underappreciated part of sports games that deserves more love, and I would love to try to become a great one to draw more attention to the whole group of announcers. The announcers also get backstage perks in many stadiums, and I find many places really cool to go to and learn more about because of history or how modern they are.

 The announcers also get to meet with some of the players in the game, and that is an experience that is hard to come by. Being an announcer has many different perks that are not known about that much. Along with the aspect of watching and calling a game makes me want to become a sports announcer.

Kayleigh Schwarz

$500 Legacy Award/ Providence High School. Kayleigh’s grandfather is Charles Schwarz from the Mendel Class of 1958. Kaleigh is considering her options for school in the Fall. 

Excerpts from Kayleigh’s Essay:

Growing up I had never aspired to be anything. I had many interests, but nothing had ever struck me as something I would want to have as a lifelong career. As I got older, I began to watch many of the true crime shows on a variety of streaming services. After a few years of constantly watching these, I was finally able to realize what I wanted to do after college. I wanted to go to school to major in criminology and possibly minor in psychology.

With this, I would have the opportunity to be a CSI or crime scene investigator. This is a topic that has sparked my interest for many years. While I would prefer to investigate white collar crimes like embezzlement and tax fraud, I would be open to investigating all types of crime. I enjoy figuring out how crimes were carried out and what tools were used throughout the crime.

With a minor in psychology, I would also have some background in that field to help determine why the offender committed the crime. This is a topic that always interests me.

Whether it is why a person committed a certain murder, or why someone robbed several different places, the thought behind the crime and the internal motivation has always been something to stick out to me.

While I have only had one family member who has been a victim of a minor assault and robbery crime, I want the opportunity to be able to help all families come to terms with crimes that have happened to and around them. After college, I hope to be someone who can help people throughout my community feel safe in their homes and gain closure if they or a member of their family are victims of any crime.

Liam Nolan

$500 Legacy Award/ St. Rita High School. Liam’s grandfather is Terrance Nolan from the Mendel Class of 1966. Liam will be attending Maryville University in the Fall. 

Excerpts from Liam’s Essay:

Do something today that your future self will thank you for.” (unknown) 

Preparing for the end of my high school career fills me with a lot of emotions. I know that there are so many opportunities and challenges that will still be presented to me, but I feel that I am prepared to take them on. My goal of academic and athletic success is just beginning. I am ready and determined to achieve success in both domains, all while making my family proud and acknowledging their role in shaping my journey.

For me, working hard and striving to do my best comes from knowing that my family has always supported me in all that I do. They have been my unwavering support system, helping me work towards my dreams and instilling in me the values of hard work, perseverance, and resilience. 

I am committed to maintaining a high academic standing, knowing that this can only come from hard work. I will carry this over onto the lacrosse field as I strive to be the best teammate and player that I can be. This will take planning, discipline, and focus, all which I have learned throughout my time at St. Rita High School. I am committed to prioritizing my commitments, effectively managing my time, and communicating openly with both my coaches and professors to ensure that I can fulfill my obligations in both areas. Although I am uncertain what I will specifically study, I know that the unknown will allow me to explore different areas as I work to narrow down a path. I am excited to find my path, and I know that I will work to do everything I can to maintain the work ethic and focus that it will take to achieve my future goals.

Congratulations to all the 2024 Mendel Alumni Association Legacy Award Winners.

The Mendel Alumni Association Legacy Scholarship is open to Seniors in any High School who have Mendel Legacy (Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather.)

A portion of the profits at every Mendel Alumni Association fundraising activity is dedicated to the Mendel Alumni Association Legacy Award Program.

The number of Awards and the value of the Awards in 2025 will depend on these funds and contributions made by generous donors.

Donations for the Mendel Alumni Association Legacy Awards can be made on the Mendelchs.org website or  here

An announcement with the 2025 Legacy Award details will be made on the Mendelchs.org website in February 2025.