North Central Now 2011 | North Central College

Concert Choir hits high notes on European tour

Performing in some of the most hallowed cities and cathedrals in Europe created special memories for North Central’s Concert Choir.

The choir of 37 singers, under the direction of Jeordano “Pete” Martinez, professor of music, spent seven days in Italy and sang during Catholic masses at St. Peter’s Basilica at Vatican City and St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice and at concerts in Florence, Venice and Siena.

Deborah Dean Cafarelli 1986

Colonel Deborah Dean Cafarelli is the Air Force Materiel Command chair to the United States Air Force (USAF) Air University. She joined the Air War College faculty in the Department of Warfighting in July 2009. As a developmental/flight test engineer, she has served in a variety of acquisition and staff positions at the Air Force Phillips Laboratory, the Air Force Flight Development Test Center, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Air Staff. She has also commanded the 633rd Electronic Systems Squadron (JSTARS).

Mimi Cowan 1997

Mimi Cowan was selected to receive a 2011 OAH and the Immigration and Ethnic History Society (IEHS) John Higham Travel Grant by the Organization of American Historians (OAH). The annual grant is given to graduate students toward costs of attending the OAH/IEHS Annual Meeting. Cowan’s area of scholarly research involves German and Irish immigrants versus nativists in 19th century Chicago. She’s published articles on Irish nationalists as well as book reviews and 10 papers on the Irish and Chicago.

Kathy Johnsen Schrenk 1997

Kathy Johnsen Schrenk is secretary for the board of directors of Restore Hetch Hetchy, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco that’s working to drain the reservoir from Yosemite National Park and restore the valley to its natural wilderness. The glacial valley was initially protected by the establishment of Yosemite National Park, but the city of San Francisco won congressional approval in 1913 to build O’Shaughnessy Dam on the Tuolumne River, which flooded the valley under 300 feet of water. She lives in Menlo Park, CA, and may be reached at kathys@gmail.com.