The McNicholas Milestone

By Meghan Runte

Within the McNicholas faculty and staff, there are 24 alumni, ranging from the graduation years of 1974 to 2018, and much of the campus has changed since their time in high school. This installment will focus on the alumni from the 2000’s, including Lauren Loyer, Jenni Tumser, Kendra Lonnemann, Ashley Brothers, Mathew Brunner, and Cat Humphries. 

Mrs. Lauren Loyer, Vocal and Liturgical Music Director, graduated in 2010. “It’s hard to know if times have changed or if I’ve changed,” Loyer said. She said she was a “theatre kid” throughout high school and acted in plays, sang at mass, and was a part of jazz band. Loyer enjoyed going to home events at McNick to see her friends participate, and she said low-rise jeans and very straight hair were very popular at McNick and Taylor Swift was the new big thing. Loyer said she felt called to come back to McNick to teach so that the school can rise to its preforming arts potential. Loyer said she “is here for every student who loves to sing.” She added that she enjoys that the theatre pre-show ritual remains the same, and that events such as Mardi Gras and Kairos are still a part of McNick.  

Administrative Assistant to the Principal, Mrs. Jenni Tumser said she was the basketball team manager, a part of theatre, Spirit Club, Service Club, Student Council, and the yearbook staff. Throughout her high school experience, boy bands and MTV were very popular. Tumser shared that she wanted to come back to McNick because of the faith and service. She said she wanted to be “able to provide students the opportunity to grow in their faith and providing them the opportunity to lead through service.” Tumser was taught by Mrs. Combs, Mrs. Noble, Mr. Roflow, and Mrs. Sandmann, who all still teach at McNick. Tumser wishes that McNick still participated in the Sadie Hawkins dance, where the girls would ask a boy to the dance and shared that it was a fun and laid-back dance after a home basketball game.  

Mrs. Kendra Lonnemann, from the class of 2001, is now a math teacher at McNick. She shared that social media is one of the biggest changes from when she was in high school. Lonnemann also said that Starbucks has become much more popular, as well as having nails done. According to Lonnemann, the biggest trend while she was in high school was boy bands. Lonnemann played soccer, basketball, and track at McNick, and shared that she wanted to come back to McNick because “I had such a great experience that I wanted to help other Rockets have the same.” Both Lonnemann and Brothers were key members of the State Championship Women’s Basketball Team. Lonnemann also shared that a lot of her family has attended McNick, and the school has become part of her family. Mr. Rosenbaum, Mr. Losekamp, Mrs. Sandmann, and Mr. Roflow all taught Lonnemann when she attended McNick, and she said she enjoys that a lot of the traditions she had when at McNick, they still do now.  

Mrs. Ashley Brothers, whose current role is as a Math Teacher and Department Chair, also graduated in 2001. She shared that the biggest addition since she attended McNick is the athletic fields. Brothers said she decided to come back to McNick because “this community gave me so much that I felt called to give back.” One funny story from Brothers’ time at McNick is that “at the end of my senior year, my pre-calculus class used to turn around backwards and refuse to start until Mr. Losekamp did a cartwheel. He did one almost every day!” Brothers shared that there used to be a battle of the bands at McNick, and she wishes it still happened, and like Tumser, she also misses the Sadie Hawkins dance.  

Mr. Matthew Brunner is the third graduate from 2001 and in the math department. The math and robotics teacher said that when he attended McNick there was no A/C. Mrs. Combs and Mrs. Sandmann taught Brunner in his time at McNick, and he wishes McNick still did the Walk-a-thon and penny wars. Brunner said, “McNick is different yet the same as when I went here.” Although there have been many improvements to the school itself, it has the same community. Brunner shares that the courtyard used to be a parking lot and cameras around the school are new since he graduated as well. He shared that there are also way more extracurricular activities offered now, compared to when he attended high school.  

Science teacher Ms. Cat Humphries graduated in 2009. She shared that everything has changed since she was at McNick. When she was in high school, there was no block schedule, and she likes the new schedule better. Some of the new things at McNick include the culinary lab, sports performance center, and new cafe, as well as new branding and colors. Humphries was a part of the Ski Club, soccer, track, wrestling, and leadership. She shared that McNick didn’t have a track that was the proper length when she attended, and that she wanted to come back to McNick because of the experience she had. She knew McNick invested in each student as a person, and as soon as you walked in the doors, you had so many people praying for you. She said she always felt loved at McNick and shared that she had very good teachers that she looked up to and that inspired her to be the teacher that students looked up to. Humphries thoroughly enjoys her job and loves coming to school every day. She shared that she “definitely thinks that people that work here are doing it because it’s something that they love to do.”