Gary Hessel, BCHS Class of ’76 writes the following:

“My wife (Brenda) and I had a great time at this years’ 45 year reunion.

We split our time between our homes in Whitestown, IN and Santa Clara, Utah. We have 3 grandkids in Firestone, Colorado – 3 in St. George, Utah and 2 in Brownsburg, IN.”

Aaron Hepp, BCHS Class of 2012, is once again on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium! This time he is a senior broadcast producer and editor at the University of Alabama, on the sidelines and behind the scenes for the Crimson Tide as they meet Georgia in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship!

After playing on back-to-back state champion football teams at BCHS, Aaron played football from 2012-2016 at Ball State. During that time, he joined Ball State Sports Link to learn the trade, to prepare for a career after football. Upon graduation, he spent 7 months at the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, and has been working with Alabama Athletics since July 2017.

Read the complete story (in the Muncie Star Press) of his pathway from playing football to producing broadcasts for the top game of the college season.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Hepp/Star Press

Katie Wessel, BCHS Class of ’09, married Ryan Harcourt in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on Nov. 20, 2021. The newlyweds met through a mutual friend and Ryan’s co-worker, Kalie (Noll) Hicks, BCHS ’09. The wedding was a beautiful day, celebrating with close family, friends and loved ones. Together, they are starting their next adventure as husband and wife in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Congratulations to Monique Ware, BCHS Class of 2005, who recently started a new job as Director of Financial Aid for the Indianapolis location of Ivy Tech Community College. Monique had previously worked at Marian University for over 13 years in financial aid in the positions of assistant, associate, and director of financial aid.

Kenny LaRose, BCHS Class of 2011 and Colleen (Treesh) LaRose, BCHS Class of 2013, welcomed Scottie Catherine LaRose into their family on 9/9/21. She had open heart surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital at 8 days old and now she is thriving!! Our prayers for the health of this new little LaRose.

Greg Welch, BCHS Class of 1983, recently completed a year of Clinical Pastoral Education Residency at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, IL where I am working as a hospital chaplain. The residency is a required step toward certification as a Board Certified Chaplain.

Courtney Wheelock, BCHS Class of 2012 and a third-year PhD student in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences (ENS), University at Buffalo, has received several awards and scholarships for her research involving altitude-acclimation. Whitney is looking at whether heat acclimation, which takes less time than altitude acclimation, might be a good substitute if someone needs to quickly get used to a high altitude.

“She calls it “cross acclimation” between a hot environment and hyperbaric (high altitude) exposure. The theory, she says, “is that heat acclimation might improve conditioning in high altitudes.” She is studying the idea at a specific height of 8,000 feet above sea level, roughly the altitude of Afghanistan. Once you get above 2,500 feet, she explains, physical performance declines in people who aren’t acclimated.” ¹

Whitney became interested in the field as she shadowed sport medicine doctors and athletic trainers, then helped in a research lab. Her career path enables her to explore a range of environments. She can explore what happens in hot or cold environments in the department’s environmental chamber, and can simulate environments of different heights in the hypobaric chamber.

¹Read the full story at buffalo.edu.

Congratulations to Meredith (McGregor) Nyberg, BCHS Class of 2004, who was recently married to Jonathan Nyberg on July 31, 2021!