Month: January 2022

Compassion and hard work were the ideals that Shellie Levin Graf, Class of 1980, embodied when she founded Elegant Essentials in 1993. Specifically, her purpose has been to help women diagnosed with breast cancer and their families. Her company now has locations in Medina and Mentor, where she and her nine employees have addressed the physical and emotional needs of tens of thousands of women. The financial success of Elegant Essentials has never been Shellie’s focus. She absorbed her late mother’s blue collar, Lake County lifestyle ethic and combined it with…

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Rick McVey, Class of 1977, is a Wall Street entrepreneur and innovator.  He is the Chairman and CEO of MarketAxess, an electronic bond-trading firm he founded in 2000. In an industry that is not widely understood by most of us, Rick made trading bonds fairer and more accessible to all customers, large and small, by introducing electronic trading versus the previously known and used process.  That process involved placing an order by phone and then having it processed through investment banks, securing significant profits on the trades by the banks…

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President and professor of historical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary for 16 years, Dr. Peter J. Lillback, RHS Class of 1970, is only the fourth president in WTS’s history. He is a prominent theologian who is widely published and sought after as a popular speaker. He has written 20 books, both historical and theological. One of his books, Washington’s Sacred Fire, was a No. 1 best seller on Amazon in America. Residing between Philadelphia and Valley Forge for many years, Dr. Lillback has pursued an avid interest in the history…

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Twenty years after he graduated from Riverside in 2001, Jason Cavell owns two businesses, one that keeps the athletic fervor he displayed at Riverside and the University of Mount Union, and one that uses his university degree. But at anything he does, Jason credits “hard work and long hours” for his success, and certainly his football years taught him discipline and teamwork. Jason perhaps learned his “hard work” ethic from Riverside football coach Don Andersen during his high school years, and the awards he earned are a testament to that…

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Achieving a “personal best” is the driving force behind Dr. Christopher Basich’s life – for himself, for his students, for other teachers and for educational administrators. From his high school years at Riverside, graduating in 1999, through his collegiate days and his professional career at the Riverside Local School District, Chris has led by example in both athletic endeavors and academic preparedness. While at Riverside, Chris played football in the eleventh and twelfth grades. He was recruited by several schools, ultimately selecting The University of Mount Union as his final…

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Amy Bartholomew knew she had to find a way to combine her love of sport and her desire for a professional career when she was in high school at Riverside. Amy graduated from Riverside in 1992. Today, she is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with several publications and presentations, and an accomplished marathoner (12 years running the Boston Marathon), swimmer, and triathlete–qualifying to represent Team USA in World Championships in 2019 and 2020. The love of sport also leads Amy to give extensively to her community, particularly as a certified…

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Christopher Sopko, Class of 1997, is working at the Pentagon after being promoted to colonel in the Air Force and has also been promoted to captain with United Airlines. Chris has logged over 13,000 total hours of flight time in general aviation, the military and the airlines. His work at the Pentagon involves determining strategy with the Air Force’s Air Staff, also referred to as Air Force Futures, which is designated A5/7. Its mission is ensuring that the Air Force meets the needs of today’s warfighter to fly, fight and…

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Dr. Michael Dingeldein, RHS Class of 1995, is a pediatric surgeon and director of pediatric trauma at University Hospital Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, having joined the staff in 2014. He is an assistant professor in surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Mike has board certifications in general surgery, surgical critical care, and pediatric surgery. His clinical interests include thoracic surgery, neonatal surgery, critical care, oncology, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (via heart-lung machines), and trauma. He is an active faculty member of the UH general surgery residency and…

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