impact
Your community college
Vol. 3, No. 3
Lasting
Impressions
College of DuPage President Robert L. Breuder makes pretzels alongside students
during a visit to the Bake Shop in the Culinary & Hospitality Center.
Photo by Press Photography Network/special to College of DuPage
Dr. Robert L. Breuder Believes That Helping others achieve comes full circle
College of DuPage President Dr. Robert L. Breuder
finds some irony in his recently being named a
Distinguished Alumni by Florida State University.
His first application to FSU’s doctoral program
was rejected in large part because his GRE score
wasn’t high enough.
While initially disappointing, Dr. Breuder recalls
the episode as another obstacle to overcome early in
his career. Instead of heading to sunny Florida, he
found himself in New York, taking additional postgraduate courses at SUNY-Albany,
biding his time until he could earn
acceptance into FSU. A chance
encounter with Maurice Litton,
program chair for FSU’s Higher
Education program, however,
soon led the future community
college president to take a huge
risk on his future and that of his young family.
“Dr. Litton happened to be speaking on campus.
I approached him and said, ‘I would like you to
know that I tried to get admitted to the university,
but I didn’t get accepted.’ He asked for my name and
information. Some months later, he asked me to
resubmit an application and retake the GRE to get a
better score.”
With provisional status and no guarantee of
admission, Dr. Breuder and his wife packed up their
possessions and 1-year-old child and headed to
Tallahassee.
“You had to spend a semester demonstrating your
academic prowess, pass the GRE exam in a foreign
language, write a major paper and half a dozen other
requirements,” Dr. Breuder said. “Dr. Litton became
my mentor. When I came upon challenges and had
a moment where I didn’t think I could get over that
hill, he would just settle me down and talk to me and
say, ‘You can do this’.”
Dr. Breuder completed the program, forever
grateful for all the individuals over the years who
was the youngest community college president in the
nation at Penn College at the age of 36.
Just as Litton impacted his life, Dr. Breuder said
he’s pleased he has made lasting impressions on
others and the institutions where he has worked. He’s
accumulated a box of correspondence over the years.
The cards and letters are an apt and invigorating
reminder that every decision and interaction makes
an impact, no matter how seemingly insignificant.
“We have the obligation to impact and to make a
difference. We have an obligation
to effect change. We have an
obligation to help our students
advance and achieve. If we
don’t do this, then I think we’re
in violation of the career we’ve
chosen and the life we’re living,”
he said. “I have been blessed
by having someone like Dr. Litton who impacted
my future and never gave up on me. It’s something
we discuss often here at College of DuPage—each
and every encounter by each and every employee
can make a positive difference in our students’ lives.
Karma in this instance is definitely at work. If you
give back, you’ll get the reinforcement that what you
do matters by witnessing the success of those around
you. Helping people achieve is something that truly
comes full circle.”
“Dr. Litton became my mentor. When I came upon challenges,
he would just settle me down and talk to me and say,
‘You can do this.’” — Dr. Robert L. Breuder
College of DuPage :: impact :: cod.edu/impact
believed in his abilities, including the continued
support he received from Dr. Litton.
“The impact Dr. Litton had on my life was
monumental. If he had not been in my life, I probably
would not have gotten into the doctorate program,”
he said. “It’s amazing how one person can make such
an incredible impact on your future success.”
Dr. Litton’s influence, the result of that chance
encounter so many years ago, continues to resonate
with Dr. Breuder, who has served as a community
college president for more than three decades and
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Mike Zuranski says he has taken every meteorology class COD
offers. His interest in weather paid off last year when he earned
a top spot in the national WxChallenge. Zuranski is completing
the new Severe Weather Hazards and Preparedness certificate as
well as the Geographic Information Systems certificate and has a
career in digital mapping on his radar.
A
Bringing their Game
COD students find success competing in the ‘big leagues’
Mike Zuranski has never been to Burbank, but he
holds an unusual claim to fame when it comes to the
Southern California entertainment hub. The 29-yearold College of DuPage student won a top spot in
the national WxChallenge for accurately predicting
the weather there for 10 days in February—while
representing the only two-year school in the
meteorology competition.
Ted Stelling, a computer programmer turned
engineering student, led the way for Team Vulcan
and their 125-pound hand-built robot to enter
the 26th Annual Jerry Sanders Creative Design
Competition at the University of Illinois-Urbana/
Champaign. These eight COD students took one
amazing journey, going where only four-year schools
had gone before.
And then there’s Meghan Thome. The former
fourth-grade teacher came to COD three years ago
to explore her creative side. When Graphic Design
Professor John Callegari chose her to serve as the
student representative for the Adobe Partners by
Design program, she made the most of a golden
opportunity no other community college offers.
COD is among a select group of 27 schools and
the only community college accepted in the Adobe
partnership, which offers benefits, including oncampus training using state-of-the art software, free
seat licenses for almost all Adobe software products
and the chance to participate in the Adobe Design
Achievement Awards. As student representative,
Thome promoted Adobe activities like the awards
program, attended the software giant’s international
conferences, and provided a student perspective on
new company products before they were launched.
“I thought it would be a cool thing, but I never
imagined how many connections I would make
through Partners by Design. It gave me a real-world
point of view and a bigger picture of opportunities
out there,” said Thome.
Opportunities like these give COD students a
chance to step outside their comfort zones and into a
real-world classroom.
Zuranski and 45 other COD competitors entered
the 2012-2013 WxChallenge, which is open to
undergraduate, graduate and doctorate students as
well as higher education faculty, staff and alumni.
COD finished first in Illinois and 13th nationwide
in the contest run by the University of Oklahoma.
Two other COD students earned trophies for their
forecasting skills for the cities of Newark, N.J., and
Austin, Tex.; six COD participants finished in the
top 64 cumulatively among the more than 1,500
contenders.
“There were a lot of colleges competing, really
good programs with some really big names in the
field, so we were really impressed with how well we
did our first year,” said the meteorology student, lab
assistant and weather champion. Zuranski attributes
his success to a little bit of luck and a lot of hands-on
learning at COD. “When I was considering COD’s
Meteorology program, I met with Professor Paul
Sirvatka. One of the first things he said was that
this is the best school in the country to start your
educational career in meteorology. Looking back, he
was absolutely right.”
For Stelling and his robot crew, the “win” was not
measured in how they placed, but in how they got
there. Just about every step was a team effort and a
chance to learn something new.
“There’s no question that the students benefit
from it. Everybody who was on this team was very
passionate about it, we wanted to compete, we
wanted to do this,” said Stelling. “We would have
loved to win, but no one is heartbroken and never
wants to do it again because we didn’t get first place.
Everybody’s very anxious to get back into it.”
Serving as the Adobe Partners by Design student representative
leads a list of many accomplishments for Meghan Thome, including
being named one of COD’s 2013 outstanding graduates. Thome (left,
with graphic design professor John Callegari) finished among the top
10 in Parade magazine’s Own the Room’s Speakers Corner contest,
took top honors for Best Portfolio at COD’s Portfolio Night 2013 and
was a semifinalist in the Adobe Design Achievement Awards.
2
Photo by Tony Armour Photography/special to College of DuPage
How the
Robot
Got its Start
When Ted Stelling saw a small notice in the student newspaper about a robotics contest last fall, something
clicked. He recalled a good friend, an electrical engineering professor, who showed him some laptop software
used to program a device. “I realized that software wasn’t simply about rearranging information. Software could
actually be used to direct physical activity in some sort of machine. From that point on I wanted to do that type of
thing. I wanted to see software and hardware work together to do something real in the real world as opposed to
just virtual. So that’s why robotics kind of caught my eye.”
Stelling got the ball, or in this case, the robot rolling, serving as captain of Team Vulcan and leading the COD
charge to the 26th Annual Jerry Sanders Creative Design Competition at University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign.
Pictured left to right: Team Vulcan captain Ted Stelling works alongside fellow team members Enrique Zubieta and
Daniel Rischl as they perform maintenance on the robot.
College of DuPage :: impact :: cod.edu/impact
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Photos above and top left by Lloyd DeGrane/special to College of DuPage
97
High Achievers Choose
College of DuPage
Alexis Amor
Waubonsie Valley
Julia Andersen
Wheaton North
John Batke
Wheaton-Warrenville South
Dylan Chapman
Glenbard South
Vishal Chaudhari
Glenbard East
Hira Chouhdry
Metea Valley
Randall Dziak
Willowbrook
Colton Eakins
Willowbrook
Christian Eustaquio
Glenbard East
Michael Hansen
Glenbard East
Krstina Harvel
Lyons Township
Paul Michael Haynes
Montini Catholic
Laura Kaczmarczyk
Lake Park
Nithya Karpagavinayagam
Metea Valley
Syeda Khalid
Wheaton North
Emmanuel Leon
Addison Trail
Dominic Lofrano
Willowbrook
Rebecca Luedtke
Glenbard East
Katherine Nowak
Lake Park
Marc Robert Oda
Homeschooled
Sarah Patterson
Lyons Township
Zachary Slezak
Wheaton North
Rachael Smith
Lemont
Peyton Sopoci
Fenton
Emily Witek
Naperville North
Asha Yacob
Wheaton North
Educating the Next Generation of Leaders
College of DuPage continues to attract talented,
high-achieving high school seniors. This
year’s 97 Presidential Scholars represent a 56
percent increase over the previous year, and in
the words of President Dr. Robert L. Breuder,
“these numbers are a testament to the higher
education treasure that is College of DuPage.”
Earl Dowling, COD’s Vice President of
Student Affairs, said, “The high quality of
our instruction, small class sizes, innovative
programs and state-of-the-art facilities have
created an educational environment that
appeals to exceptional students. Collectively,
everything offered by College of DuPage leads
to an agenda for success.”
COD’s Presidential Scholars pool carried an
average GPA of 4.027 on a 4.0 scale, and had an
average ACT composite score of 28.24. In fact,
32 Presidential Scholars reported ACT scores of
30 or better. All Presidential Scholars are enrolled
in the College of DuPage Honors Program and
the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society.
Presidential Scholars must pursue a degree
or certificate at College of DuPage and enroll in
a minimum of 15 hours per semester, maintain a
3.5 cumulative GPA, and complete a minimum
of 15 Honors credit hours, including an Honors
seminar and/or Humanities 2210, Leadership
Development. Presidential Scholars must also
complete a designated Service Learning course
or 20 hours of approved volunteer work during
their first year at COD.
For more information about the Presidential
Scholars award or attending College of DuPage,
contact the Admissions and Outreach office at
(630) 942-2380 or admissions@cod.edu.
Presidential Scholars find lessons in everyday life
Inspiration for young people begins at home
and extends into school, church and other
groups, but as COD Presidential Scholars
Ilham Hussaini, Colton Eakins and Kimmy
Hughes know, life-changing experiences can
occur anywhere—on the soccer field, on the
bus or even in the Panda Express line at
the mall.
“I was standing alone in line when an older
couple walked up behind me. I wasn’t in a
rush, so I insisted they go ahead,” Kimmy
remembers. “As the man’s wife was ordering,
he turned to me, told me they had been
married for 40 years, and said that he falls in
love with her for the first time every morning.
I congratulated him, genuinely happy to be
reminded how long love can last.”
Kimmy said the man told her a little more
about their marriage and how they met,
and then thanked her for listening. When
she reached the cash register to order, she
discovered he had already paid her bill.
“I was dumbfounded,” Kimmy said. “He
tipped his hat and walked off with his wife, not
realizing how much he had changed my life.”
Colton echoes that sentiment, recalling a
day when an elderly man on a bus noticed
that Colton was a college student, and began
telling him about his own father.
4
“He said that even though his father could
never afford to send him to college, he loved
him and had fond memories of going to
baseball games with him.”
Through that chance conversation and
others, Colton learned to recognize that
“the people I meet allow me to see life in
individual ways, and every person I have ever
encountered has had an impact on me.”
Ilham learned valuable life skills from a past
soccer coach, a Brazilian named Silvio.
“I had reached a low point in my young
soccer ‘career,’” she said. “But after a couple
training sessions, I saw that he was more than
just another coach.”
Ilham recalls that Silvio greeted her with a
huge grin, patiently explained the drills, and
challenged her to repeat them until she did
them successfully. Whenever she became
discouraged, he gave her a hug and a pep talk
and got her back on track.
“I realized how reaching out to someone can
have a profound effect,” she said, summing up
the lessons learned by her fellow Presidential
Scholars. “In my life, I will encounter people
who will be in need and will not have the
courage to reach out. In those situations, having
the influence of my experience with Silvio, I will
have the courage to reach out to them.”
Thomas Beardsley
Wheaton North
Joni Beqari
Addison Trail
Debora Bernal
Glenbard North
Tyler Bratland
Waubonsie Valley
Karissa Brazdys
Downers Grove North
Kevin Brewton
Downers Grove North
Aaron Basham
Lisle
Courtney Byczynski
Downers Grove South
Sage Cicero
Willowbrook
Agnieszka Cisak
Downers Grove South
Samuel Ciucci
Downers Grove South
Josh Copp
Hinsdale South
Ralph Daguit
Downers Grove South
Irenka De Leon
Waubonsie Valley
Erick Diaz
Wheaton North
Joanna Domanski
Downers Grove South
Haley Evans
Neuqua Valley
Thomas Faron
Glenbard East
Douglas Fillip
Fenton
Jocelyn Fletcher
Glenbard East
Daniela Garcia
West Chicago Community
Paul Gliori
Willowbrook
Marta Gowett
Wheaton North
Erik Greenwell
Glenbard South
Jonathan Heideman
Glenbard North
Jarrett Herman
York Community
Michael Hoffman
Downers Grove South
Bradley Howell
Metea Valley
Kimberly Hughes
York Community
Ilham Hussaini
Glenbard West
Hope Javier
Glenbard East
Kaitlin Jennings
Glenbard North
Iman Khan
Neuqua Valley
Nathan Kiehn
Heritage Academy–
Homeschooled
Alexandra Kirkolis
Lemont
Lisa Kleidon
Lyons Township
Thea Klinker
Downers Grove South
Jessica Krause
Lake Park
Kelly Krebaum
Lisle
Sarah Lapp
Wheaton North
Nicolette Maas
Lisle
Ryan Mamlic
Wheaton North
Amanda Manton
Glenbard North
Mitchell Martin
St. Francis
Taylor McKeown
Neuqua Valley
Caley Miller
Downers Grove North
Kelly Mortell
Metea Valley
Karina Negron
Plainfield
Jana Payne
Glenbard East
Eric Pekosh
West Chicago Community
Alexander Picchi
Neuqua Valley
Michael Restaino
Wheaton-Warrenville South
Michael Robles
Neuqua Valley
Stephany Ruiz-Gonzalez
Wheaton-Warrenville South
Hannah Schewe
Lyons Township
Zackary Sedivy
Westmont
Scott Spoolstra
York Community
Thomas Stoffels
Glenbard South
Timothy Stotz
York Community
Jacob Sumeraj
Neuqua Valley
Timothy Tunnell Jr.
Neuqua Valley
Stephen Tuscher
Lemont
Joseph Vitone
Wheaton North
Ruth Vrtis
Westmont
Megumi Yamane
Wheaton-Warrenville South
Ashley Young
Hinsdale South
Stacy Zalisk
Metea Valley
Abigail Zeeb
Naperville Central
Jacqueline Zeisloft
Lyons Township
Rocco Zucchero
Downers Grove South
Ashleigh Zurek
Lisle
College of DuPage :: impact :: cod.edu/impact
5
making an
impact
Around Campus
Beyond the classroom, there’s a lot to experience at College of DuPage, whether it is
dining at Waterleaf Restaurant, listening to 90.9fm WDCB or attending a McAninch Arts
Center event. There is always something new and interesting happening at COD.
The McAninch Arts Center renovation is nearly complete. Ring in 2014 with New Philharmonic and be
the first to experience an evening of waltzes, polkas and traditional Viennese musical selections in the newly
renovated MAC. Information about show schedules and locations can be found at AtTheMAC.org or call
(630) 942-4000.
A personal message from College of DuPage
President Dr. Robert L. Breuder:
Dear Neighbors,
We usually tell stories in this publication about the
impact our programs and our college as a whole
make on this community and the world beyond.
But sometimes, impact is more personal: One
teacher challenging one student. Opening a mind
to new ideas. Helping someone discover a different
perspective. Encouraging individual expression.
Showing that there is, in fact, an alternative course
past some barrier. Urging someone on to try and
try again.
Listeners to 90.9fm WDCB
and wdcb.org can now enjoy a
new one-hour jazz program from
9 to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays.
“Chicago Jazz Revealed—Live
from Katerina’s” is hosted by Mike
Jeffers and produced by Chicago
Jazz Magazine and WDCB.
Photo by Christine Jeffers
Photo by John Boehm/special to College of DuPage
The beauty of personal impact is its ripple effect.
Each student we touch has the potential to benefit
a family, a community, a workplace, the nation
and the world. The mentor affects the protégé. The
protégé affects others. The building blocks sustain
themselves for generations.
One of my teachers had this kind of impact on me.
Were it not for him, I would not be here serving you
and our community. Many of our COD staff and
faculty members have a similar impact on
their students.
In addition to building skills and expanding
knowledge, mentorship is the best way I know to
touch the lives of those who entrust their educations
to College of DuPage. All of us at COD are grateful
to you for that opportunity.
The holidays are approaching fast. Be sure to book your special celebrations at the
professionally operated Waterleaf Restaurant. Executive Chef Nadia Tilkian can create
for you a perfect holiday feast to entertain your co-workers, friends or family. Plus Waterleaf
gift certificates make the perfect stocking stuffers. Waterleaf restaurant is open Wednesdays
through Sundays; reservations at (630) 942-6881 or waterleafrestaurant.com.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert L. Breuder
President, College of DuPage
Need a little break this holiday season? Whether it’s a girls’ weekend with friends, a night away from home
or extra space for visiting guests, The Inn at Water’s Edge offers various stays and packages to meet
your needs; call (630) 942-6888 or visit innatwatersedgehotel.com.
6
Photo by Tony Armour Photography/special to College of DuPage
Speaking UP!
Meet Jack Kent Cooke scholar Abby Escatel (left) and her mentor, speech professor Lauren Morgan.
Riverside resident Abby Escatel walked into Speech
1100 like most students taking the course: She was
there because she had to be, not because she wanted
to be. The course is required, said Escatel, and “I was
trying to finish school as soon as I could.”
But a funny thing happened on the way to
her fast-track education. While Escatel’s speech
professor, Lauren Morgan, was “incredibly
challenging,” and while Escatel had never done
public speaking, she aced the class.
Then Morgan recruited Escatel for the COD
speech team. She won a
gold medal in national
competition. She helped
the team win a national
championship.
Morgan also hired
Escatel as a part-time office
manager.
That time together in class, the workplace and
on the road to competitions led to a rare mentorprotégé partnership.
“My first year on the team, my family and I were
going through foreclosure procedures and had to
move,” said Escatel. “Lauren was very understanding.
She made me realize my optimism and strength.
Ever since then, I’ve known Lauren was more to me
than just my teacher or speech coach.”
Morgan sparked a fire in Escatel. She changed
her major from paralegal studies to speech
communication. She found other COD faculty
members who challenged her and helped her
“think bigger.”
With that encouragement, the young woman
who saw many of her high school classmates drop
out, whose Mexican immigrant parents urged her
to press on, who balanced sales work at Nordstrom,
school at COD and raising her daughter Natalia,
landed a prestigious $30,000 Jack Kent Cooke
Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.
She’s now working toward a bachelor’s in Speech
Communication at North Central College.
relationships with others and ideas that matter to
them, you get to know them well.”
For Escatel, it’s made a difference she one day
hopes to pass on to her daughter and others.
“COD made me realize my love of learning
and provided me with the tools necessary to be
successful,” said Escatel. Those tools include not
only Morgan and other teachers, but also her JKC
Foundation funding.
“When you’re given such a prestigious
scholarship, the horizons inevitably expand.
Whatever I do with my life,
I want to give back to my
community in some way,”
said Escatel.
Priority one is Natalia,
now a 5-year-old would-be
cowgirl.
“She thinks that bringing
home trophies from school (for speech competition)
is normal and she’s excited to go to college, or what
she calls ‘mommy school,’ so she can win her own
trophies,” said Escatel.
But her real wish is that Natalia someday reaps
another kind of reward.
“If my daughter were to someday find her own
Lauren Morgan,” said Escatel, “I would not only be
incredibly grateful to that instructor, but would also
remind Natalia to soak in as much as she can. To this
day, the best leadership qualities I’ve observed have
come from my Lauren Morgan.”
“When you’re given such a prestigious scholarship, the horizons
inevitably expand. Whatever I do with my life, I want to give back to
my community in some way.” — Abby Escatel
College of DuPage :: impact :: cod.edu/impact
Morgan, who teaches between 120 to 130 students
per semester, says the mentor magic happens rarely,
maybe once a year.
“The first time I saw Abby in class, she sat in
front. She had lots of questions. She was a good
speaker. So I kept encouraging her to try the speech
team,” said Morgan. Eventually, Escatel signed on.
She’d found her passion, said Morgan. “You could see
it in her face.”
Morgan said mentoring isn’t something one
does intentionally. “In some ways, it’s a virtue of
what I teach. When people speak aloud about their
7
impact Vol. 3, No. 3
Published October 2013 by the Office of Marketing
and Communications at College of DuPage
President
Marketing Director
Art Director
Dr. Robert L. Breuder
Laurie Jorgensen
Lou Demas
Vice President of
Writers
Designer
Marketing and
Amy Calhoun
Mark Brady
Communications
Jen Duda
Joseph Moore
Jeff Elijah
Bruce Hetrick
Jane Lelugas
Direct all comments and questions to the editor at impact@cod.edu.
425 Fawell Blvd.
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-6599
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©2013 College of DuPage. All rights reserved.
College of DuPage Board of Trustees
Erin Birt
Board Chairman
Wheaton
Kathy Hamilton
Board Vice Chairman
Hinsdale
Allison O’Donnell
Board Secretary
Winfield
Joseph C. Wozniak
Co-Vice Chairman
Naperville
Dianne McGuire
Naperville
Kim Savage
Darien
Nancy Svoboda
Downers Grove
Stephanie Torres
Student Trustee
Naperville
impact
Your community college Vol. 3, No. 3

Visit Us on the Web
We hope you enjoy this issue of impact and discover
something new about your community college.
There’s more to these stories, so be sure to check out
our impact web page for other highlights, photos
and video interviews.
cod.edu/impact
College of DuPage, represented by Team Vulcan, was the
only two-year school ever granted permission to fight for the
title in a prestigious UIUC Robotics Competition. Find out
more on how COD students are finding success competing in
the ‘big leagues’ on page 2.
impact
Vol. 3, No. 3
Your community college
Lasting
Impressions
COD President
Dr. Robert L. Breuder
Remembers HIs Mentor,
Maurice Litton