District introduces 2021 distinguished alumni

The Elyria Catholic High School community is celebrating the recipients of its annual Distinguished Alumni and Our Lady of Grace Benefactor awards.

In keeping with this year’s all-school theme, “Elyria Catholic Cares,” the Exceptional Service Award has returned, according to a new release.

Elyria Catholic recognizes these award winners and their continued commitment to the school’s Pillars of excellence, compassion, faith, tradition and community, the release said.

LaShanda Taylor Adams, 1992

LaShanda Taylor Adams is receiving the 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award for her work as a child advocate attorney and significant contributions to reform the legal system to benefit children.

Adams graduated summa cum laude from Spelman College with a bachelor of arts in English.

In recognition of her strong academic record and her interest in pursuing a career in public interest law, she received a RootTilden-Kern public interest scholarship to attend New York University School of Law.

While in law school, she received several awards, including the Derrick Bell Scholarship for Public Service and the Bergstrom Child Welfare Law Fellowship.

Adams also served on the editorial board of the Review of Law and Social Change and represented parents in New York Family Court as a student attorney in the Family Defense Clinic.

After graduating from law school, she received a Skadden Fellowship to develop a project at The Children’s Law Center in the District of Columbia.

Since leaving the Center, she has continued to use her law degree to benefit children and families involved in the foster care system.

Through her work at the New Jersey Office of the Child Advocate and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, Adams has advocated for system reform.

Currently, she is associate dean for Academic Affairs and a professor of Law at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law.

Adams is vice president of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Counsel for Children and serves on the Maryland Citizens Review Board for Children, to which she was appointed by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.

In 2019, she was named a Fulbright scholar by the

Australian-American Fulbright Commission.

Adams lives in Maryland with her husband, Tim, and daughter, Emilia.

Dr. Richard Kovacs, 1972

Dr. Richard Kovacs is honored for his significant and exceptional contributions to the field of cardiology.

Kovacs is a clinical cardiologist and Sally Russell professor of cardiology at Indiana University School of Medicine and the service line leader of Indiana University Health Physicians.

He has focused his research efforts on three clinical topics: quality and measurement of quality, drug safety and sports cardiology.

Kovacs has published extensively on the pro-arrhythmic effects of nonantiarrhythmic drugs and serves on data safety monitoring boards for numerous clinical trials, including the NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Collaborative.

A long-time member of the American College of Cardiology, Kovacs is a past member of the Board of Trustees, has served as president and secretary and chaired the Science and Quality Committee.

He was a co-chair of the committee that revised the AHA/ACC Eligibility and Disqualification Recommendations for Competitive Athletes with Cardiovascular Abnormalities.

Kovacs is a member of the ACC Sports and Cardiology Section and oversees the cardiovascular evaluations of players at the Annual National Football League Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

He has served on the Joint ACC/AHA Task Force on Practice Guidelines, National Cardiovascular Data Registries Management Board and the Cardiac Safety Research Consortium.

Kovacs also served as the medical director and CEO of Methodist Research Institute and a senior clinical research physician at the Lilly Research Laboratories of Eli Lilly and Company.

A graduate of the University of Chicago and the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, he completed an internship and residency at the Indiana University Medical Center.

His fellowship training also was at Indiana University, where he served as chief fellow and chief medical resident.

Rick Simmons 1989

Rick Simmons is recognized for his innovative work in the field of executive coaching, offering specialized expertise to leaders and leadership teams around the world in the areas of business strategy, leadership development and change management.

Simmons and his wife, Amy, co-founded the telos institute, a leading global organizational development firm in 2006.

Prior to founding telos, he spent 10 years in senior strategy and sales leadership positions within the financial services industry.

Seeking ways to make a more meaningful and longer lasting contribution to society, Simmons left that industry to pursue a master of science in organizational behavior from Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, where he focused research on quantifying the value of coaching to individuals and organizations.

Recently, he was named a founding fellow at The Harvard Institute of Coaching at the MacLean Medical School where he contributes insights and best practices to the growing field of executive coaching.

Simmons also earned his professional coaching certification from the Weatherhead School and has studied at the world-renowned Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.

Before receiving his master’s, he earned a bachelor of arts in economics and finance from Baldwin Wallace University.

Simmons and his wife also established the telos leadership foundation to provide transformational leadership development opportunities for young people of all backgrounds.

He is a longstanding board member of Ravenwood Health, a nonprofit that provides mental health and addiction services in Geauga County, that pivoted to serve the community after the Chardon High School shooting in 2012, and now is addressing the deadly opioid epidemic.

Personally, Simmons tests his beliefs around achievement by running ultra marathons.

His recent tests include the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015 USA Track and Field 24-Hour Run National Championships.

Elyria Catholic recognizes these award winners and their continued commitment to the school’s Pillars of excellence, compassion, faith, tradition and community...

Our Lady of Grace Benefactor Award

George Garton, class of 1955, and Mary Jane Garton, class of 1958, have been steadfast benefactors to Elyria Catholic High School since the early 1980s and continue their support to this day.

The Gartons established the Mary Garton Memorial Scholarship, upon the untimely passing of George’s sister, Mary Garton, a member of the Elyria Catholic Class of 1966, who served as an English teacher at Elyria Catholic High School for many years.

George Garton says, “It was the overwhelming positive feedback we received over the years from her students and co-workers that inspired us to consider a scholarship in her honor. She gave, in her relatively short life, the joy and reward of a Christ centered education to so many.”

Simmons and last year’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, Dr. Todd Sweda class of 1984, stated Mary Garton made a significant impact on their lives.

Mary Garton also received an Elyria Catholic Alumni Award in 2008 for Excellence in education.

The Mary Garton Scholarship helps students choose to attend Elyria Catholic for many years and currently provides four freshmen awards each year.

Although George and Mary Jane Garton established the scholarship, they are grateful to the many people who have continued to contribute to it over time.

George Garton graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, served eight years in the Navy and worked for two engineering firms.

Mary Jane Garton attended Marygrove College, graduated from William & Mary, and was a church organist, choir director and piano teacher.

The Gartons have been married for 60 years and have six children and 10 grandchildren.

Elyria Catholic also recognized winners of the Young Alumni Award of Excellence

Adrianna Davies, 2015

The 2021 Young Alumni Award of Excellence is being presented to Adrianna Davies, class of 2015, or as some may know her on-air as Adrianna Michaels, the morning meteorologist for Dayton 24/7 Now.

Michaels graduated cum laude from Ohio University in 2019 with a bachelor of science in meteorology and a journalism minor from the Scripps College of Communication.

She interned at both Cleveland 19 in Cleveland and WBNS 10TV in Columbus while pursuing her degree.

Upon graduation, Michaels says she took the skills she developed from being Elyria Catholic’s Spirit Senate president and turned them into a career in front of the camera.

Starting in Lima with Hometown Stations as the weekend meteorologist, she quickly was promoted to morning meteorologist.

After just six months, Michaels earned a spot on the morning show in Dayton moving from a television market ranked 189th in the U.S. to one ranked 63.

She gets up at 1:45 a.m. every day to work her shift from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m.

When Michaels isn’t watching the clouds or catching up on sleep, she enjoys watching Cleveland sports, playing with her corgi puppy, Ruby, and exploring new restaurants.

Elyria Catholic also announced recipients of its Exceptional Service Awards.

Spencer Roule, 2010

Spencer Roule, class of 2010, is honored for both his depth of service to Elyria Catholic and his commitment to having a positive impact on today’s youth.

Roule serves on the Elyria Catholic Advisory Council, Elyria Catholic Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and Elyria Catholic Golf Classic Committee.

He created a 2020 Founders’ Day video and served as the master of ceremony and auctioneer at the 70th anniversary Ball.

Roule believes that the coaches he had at Elyria Catholic had a strong and positive impact on his life and he strives to mentor young people in the same manner.

He is an assistant basketball coach at John Carroll University and has spent many years coaching high school football.

Roule is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lorain Historical Society and chaired their 2020 golf outing.

He also is a member of the Business Advisory Board for IPride Life Coaching.

Roule is a senior associate at Cerity Partners Wealth Management firm, where he is responsible for advising both individual and institutional clients, developing new client relationships and raising the profile of Cerity Partners in the Cleveland market.

Prior to joining Cerity Partners, he was a financial analyst with Marsh, Berry & Company, where he worked to provide independent insurance brokers with investment banking transaction services, valuations and business planning.

Roule received both his bachelor of science in business administration with a focus in finance and economics and his MBA from John Carroll University.

Linda Zemanek Schuster, 1977

Linda Zemanek Schuster, class of 1977, is honored for her steadfast service to the Elyria Catholic Athletic Department.

Schuster has provided 16 years of dedicated service to the athletic department and student-athletes.

She has anchored the department while transitioning seven athletic directors over her tenure, all while meeting the department’s intense deadlines and providing coaches, parents, athletes, opposing teams and staff members with the utmost in positive, kind and professional service.

Schuster constantly wears her signature smile.

She attended Lorain County Community College after graduation and worked for NASA for 15 years.

In 1986, she married Edward Schuster and eventually stayed home to raise their four children, Cody, Jacob, Jared and Ashley.

Schuster answered the call from the Elyria Catholic Athletic Director Chris Fiore in 2004 and began serving as athletic secretary.