Dr. John Ebersole, '43, posthumously, graduated from St. Ambrose College and Indiana University Medical School.  He had a 24 year career in the US Navy Medical Corps and served aboard two nuclear submarines.  In 1963, he assisted at President Kennedy’s autopsy.  Upon retirement from the Navy, he created and directed the John Hale Steinman Cancer Center, the first radiation treatment center in the United States.  He was an avid gardener and photographer and helped form the Orange Street Improbables; a group of mystery enthusiasts.  He passed away in 1993.

Mr. Thomas McGinn ’47, graduated from St. Ambrose College.  He was selected for a three-year corporate manufacturing management program with General Electric.  After 36 years with GE, he founded Thomas A. McGinn and Associates, a human resource consulting firm.  He taught business and management courses at the University of Virginia and Piedmont Community College.  Tom co-authored the book, Harrassed—100 Women Describe Inappropriate Behavior in the Workplace. Mr. McGinn passed away peacefully at his home in Fountain Hills, AZ on April 6, 2017.

Catherine L. Crisham, ’92, graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and earned her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude from Georgetown University.  She began her career as a clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Minneapolis and was an Associate Attorney for six years at Winston and Strawn LLP.  In 2007, she became the Assistant US Attorney for the Western District of Washington in Seattle.  She is an active member of her parish, is a mentor at Seattle Girls’ School and is a board member for Girls on the Run, Puget Sound.

Nichol Hill Hooker was Valedictorian of the Class of 1995.  She attended Loras College and earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honors; her major was Elementary Education with minors in Math and French. She was a Bishop Loras Academic Scholar and a member of Kappa Delta Pi and Delta Epsilon Sigma, Catholic Honor Societies.  She was accepted into the ACE/Alliance for Catholic Education program at the University of Notre Dame and earned a Master of Education Degree in Secondary Math Education.  Nichol earned her Doctorate of Education Degree from Loyola University, Chicago.  Her dissertation is titled Service-Learning and Jesuit Pedagogy-A Critical Analysis.  There is a copy in the Newman library.
 

She began her teaching career at Saint John Placquemine in Louisiana where she created a schoolwide program for recycling paper, plastic, and aluminum.  She then accepted a position in the Mathematics Department at Loyola Academy in Chicago.  She was a mentor for new faculty, represented the Math Department on the Curriculum Committee, was a mentor for the Sophomore Clauius Scholar program and for the Sophomore Dumbach scholars.  In 2001, she received the Brotherhood/Sisterhood Award for Equity, Justice and Fairness in the classroom.  She also received the Ministry Department Spirit Award.
 

Nichol represented Loyola in Peru to collaborate with the Jesuit organizations in Tacna.  She took an Ignatian pilgrimage to Spain and Italy and was advisor for summer service trips to Kentucky, South Dakota and Virginia.  She also developed an annual immersion trip to Kenya and Tanzania which focused on international peace and justice issues. 
 

Currently, Nichol teaches at the Latin School in Chicago where she is the Upper School Mathematics Department Chair, faculty advisor of the Student Service-Learning Board and Faculty Council Chair.  She has led several immersive learning experiences studying art in West Texas, the land and literature of John Steinbeck in Monterey, California and the history and culture of Mallorca, Spain through hiking and cooking.
           Nichol and Josh and their son, Jacob are members of Saint John XXVIII Parish in Evanston.

Rachel Hermes was Valedictorian of the Class of 1999.  She attended Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and International Studies.  Her senior thesis was Poultry, Politics and Promise: The Peace Corps in India 1961-1974.  While at Harvard, Rachel was a finalist for the FITZIE award in recognition of outstanding character and service and did receive the Radcliffe Traveling Grant. This grant allowed her to travel to Delhi, India and volunteer at Mother Teresa’s Home for Disabled Children.
 

After graduation, Rachel entered the Peace Corps and was posted to Togo, West Africa where she was responsible for the education and empowerment of girls and women.  During her two years there she organized and managed a districtwide campaign to educate the local communities about the danger and illegality of forced marriages.  She established and trained permanent Anti-Forced Marriage Committees.  She also secured a grant and oversaw the construction of a basketball court in Guerin Kouka which provided a recreational activity for the community, particularly for girls and women.  Not one to waste time, Rachel used the halftime of games to make presentations about HIV/AIDS awareness, gender equity and other community issues.
 

Rachel returned to the United States and enrolled at Columbia University, New York City.  While there she was selected by classmates to receive the prestigious Harvey Picker Public Service Award for her commitment to service.  She earned her Master’s Degree in International Affairs; her final report was “Youth and Sustainable Livelihoods: Linking Vocational Training Programs to Market Opportunities in Northern Uganda.”  In 2009, as part of Catholic Relief Services, Rachel returned to Africa. In Zambia, she was an International Development Fellow focusing on HIV/AIDS related care and treatment. She then moved to West Darfur in the Sudan where she managed two grant funds to construct classrooms, conduct teacher training and provide accelerated learning programs.  She also managed a school feeding program benefitting 39 schools in West Darfur. 
 

Rachel spent a brief time in Rwanda before accepting a position as Education Coordinator for Catholic Relief Services in Haiti.  She lived in Port-au-Prince and managed a nation-wide initiative to improve the quality of Catholic education in over 2,300 Catholic Schools.
 

Currently, Rachel works for Rotary Foundation as Senior Research and Evaluation Partner.  She leads the global grant model evaluation to understand the effectiveness of the 80 million dollars of grants awarded annually. She was a 2021 Emerging Leader with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and serves on the board of GirlForward, a non-profit that serves adolescent girls who have experienced conflict and displacement.  She and her husband have served as volunteers on the Health Outreach Bus with the Night Ministry and Rachel is on the board of a non-profit to support people with disabilities.  Rachel is an active member of Saint Gile’s Parish in Oak Park; she lives in Chicago with her husband and two sons.