FOR THE GAZETTE
STEVENS POINT — On Could 27, Pacelli Catholic Faculties acknowledged this 12 months’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, Cynthia (Meshak) Calhoun-Kosiec.
The award, given yearly to an alumnus (or alumni), acknowledges graduates from the Catholic highschool who exemplify a Christian way of life for his or her skilled and/or volunteer achievements bringing honor and distinction to Pacelli and success in management, service, and character, each in personal and public life. Thus far, there are 24 recipients of Pacelli’s most prestigious alumni award.
Cynthia is a 1981 graduate of Pacelli, and the primary of Ralph and Mary Jane Meshak’s 4 youngsters to graduate from Pacelli Catholic Excessive College (Cynthia ‘81, Michael ’83, Patrick ‘85, and Melissa ’87). After commencement, she served within the U.S. Military for seven years of energetic responsibility, as a Dental Specialist and two years within the reserves, leaving service on the rank of Sergeant. For the final 21 years, she has labored as an Environmental Safety Technician (EPT) for the Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District.
Cynthia’s household proudly boasts three generations of Pacelli alumni and U.S. Navy service. Cindy’s mom, Mary Jane (Drefcinski) is a 1955 Maria graduate, alongside along with her sons Brett ‘09 and Dylan ’18, as graduates of Pacelli Catholic Excessive College. She adopted within the footsteps of her father, who was a Retired First Sergeant, Sign Command. Additionally following in service had been her brothers Mike and Pat. It carried by way of to her son Kirby (SSG) who served 10 years within the Military, the final 6 as a Inexperienced Beret, and son Brett (SPC) who served for six years in army counter-intelligence.
Throughout her service, she was stationed at Ft. Hood, TX, Augsburg and Munich, Germany, and Ft. Benning, GA, the place she labored as a dental assistant, managed a dental workplace in Munich, and labored at a big dental clinic at Ft. Benning, GA as the ground supervisor. Throughout her tenure at Ft. Benning, GA it was then that she started educating Non secular Schooling. When her household was stationed in Germany, she was energetic of their non secular schooling program and served on the European Navy Council of Catholic Girls.
She has practiced what she has realized along with her sons. After transferring again to the world from her time within the Navy, she despatched her youngsters, Kirby, Brett and Dylan, to Pacelli Catholic Faculties. The schooling Pacelli offered, not solely academically however in religion, was extraordinarily necessary to her. Via hardships which have come her method, she has by no means strayed from believing in Catholic teachings and labored additional hours and volunteered extra hours to make sure her three sons had a Catholic schooling. Her volunteering and pushing her sons to increase their religion was evident in non secular achievement awards in scouting and at Pacelli, together with the Diocese of La Crosse Bishop’s medals in 2009 (Brett) and 2018 (Dylan).
Cynthia continued to serve her group and nation. She has served on the DAV-Chapter 30 because the Chaplain, a counselor for Boy Scout Troop 201, and deployments for aid efforts associated to Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, Gustave, and Maria.
Presently, Cynthia serves as a member at giant on the St. Bron’s Pastoral Council, the chair of the Navy ministry at St. Bron’s, and has taught Religion Formation for six years at St. Bron’s, working with seventh and eighth-grade college students. She will likely be attending Steubenville this summer season with college students from St. Bron’s in St. Paul, MN. She is an energetic Lector and Lay Eucharistic minister, taking communion each third Sunday to a nursing dwelling in Plover and accomplished the Lay Formation course from the Diocese of La Crosse. In her free time, you’ll find her spending time with household, touring, and dealing in her flower gardens.
In her sister Melissa’s phrases, “To satisfy her is to know her love for God and the Church. To know her is a consolation and reminder that one’s religion isn’t one in every of silent reflection however of motion. To be served by her is to know that God does have his caretakers right here on Earth.”
Cynthia (Meshak) Calhoun-Kosiec was formally acknowledged Could 27 at a brunch held in her honor. She additionally served because the keynote speaker on the Pacelli Catholic Excessive College Class of 2023 commencement ceremony.
