Teacher Update!

Dear Class of 1999,

First of all I have to say (and a teacher should never say this) that you were one of my very, very, very favorite classes in my 35- year-career at Conant. What an amazing class you were!!!!! Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your life. A teacher is the one who should inspire. In this case it was the opposite. You all inspired me so much.I was thrilled to get your invitation to the reunion and would have seriously considered attending it had it not been for the fact I will be travelling the Greek Isles with I'm sure one of your very favorite teachers, Susan Craft. So I do regret so much not to be able to see you and catch up. You don't know how much I appreciated the invitation to attend the reunion. Thanks so much.I moved to Portland, OR in 2002 when I retired. I love it here. I live in the downtown area and am totally tied up in the cultural scene and never have to use my car. I also teach English to political refugees from all over the world two hours a day four days a week when I want to. The job is completely flexible so I can take off and travel whenever I want. I love it. Please email or visit me out here like Justin G. did. Justin, it was great fun seeing you. Thanks so much I hope you have a wonderful reunion and even though I will be in Greece I will be thinking of you. I cannot believe it's been ten years already!

All my best, Sr. Premo

Jamielynn Wedoff

I cannot believe that it has been 10 YEARS since we have graduated from high school. After I graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 2003, I accepted a job at Schaumburg High School teaching US history and Psychology. I coach the sophomore level of girls basketball. I graduated from Olivet Nazarene University in 2006 with a Masters in Education. My husband Nick and I just celebrated our 1st anniversay on the 4th of July and I moved to Woodstock, Il. Nick teaches at Fremd High School and is an Athletic coordinator. We enjoying spending our time with our family, gardening, taking pictures and vacationing.

Jennifer (Hughes) Hemker

Where to start.....I graduated in 2003 from University of Northern Colorado with a BS in Earth Science, and then moved out to California to pursue a Master's degree in Geological Oceanography through Moss Landing Marine Institute (Cal State). After spending a couple of interesting years as a Geologist I returned to the field of Education and am now halfway done with an MS in Educational Counseling with PPSC Credential. I am pursuing this degree to become a School Counselor in which I hope to help students find their true passions in life and to follow them. I have been married since July 15th, 2006 to my husband Michael, and we are expecting our first child (daughter) this December. My husband and I currently reside in Northern California where I work for a local University as an Academic Advisor, and my husband is a District Attorney practicing criminal law for our County's District Attorney's Office.

Timothy Jenkins

I became a Police Officer on March 22, 2004 for the City of Galesburg, IL (45 miles east of Iowa) and served there until February 21, 2009. I moved down to Springfield, IL to work for the Springfield Police Department on February 23, 2009 and truly enjoy working as a Police Officer. Over the past 5 1/2 years I have received numerous awards for DUI Enforcement and also got to appear on the CBS Early Show after receiving a Distinguished Law Enforcement Award in 2008 for running along side and stopping a vehicle with a female passed out behind the wheel with her foot on the gas pedal and her 10 year old daughter in the passenger seat. I just celebrated my 1 Year Wedding Anniversary on July 12th and my wife Megan is a pre-school teacher and we live on the west side of Springfield.

Reunion Committee

Left to Right

Allison Bies: Allison works at the Schaumburg Township District Library coordinating children's programs. Activities include running, reading, and bargain-hunting. She is detail-oriented, so reunion planning is an appropriate extra-curricular activity.

Kari (Vermilion) Pantol: After high school, Kari spent many years in undergrad and grad school trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She has since chosen fundraising and worked at various cultural institutions in Chicago. She now works at a local Community College in the vicinity of her home in Minooka, IL that she shares with her husband Steve. She enjoys gardening, seeing plays, beer tasting, traveling, and wants to learn to knit.

Laura (Blum) Thorson: Since graduating college, Laura has been developing her career in the field of clinical research. In early 2005, she married Greg Thorson (Conant Class of ’98). They have settled in Schaumburg and are expecting their first child this October. She is looking forward to reconnecting with some of her old classmates and finding out what everyone has been up to these past 10 years.

Amy (Fraser) Christie: Amy earned a business degree from Bradley University in 2003 and a paralegal certificate from Loyola University in 2004. She is currently employed as a legal assistant for the Social Security Administration. In her free time she enjoys biking, reading, scrapbooking, tennis, and watching the White Sox and Blackhawks. She lives in New Lenox with her husband Nick and their parrot Finley.

Send us your Updates!

In lieu of printing paper reunion programs, we will be posting classmate updates on our blog. If you are interested in participating, please email us a recent photo of yourself and a short update of what you've been up to lately. You may submit your update whether you plan to attend the reunion or not.

Send all submissions to cougars1999@gmail.com