What's Happening in Cougar Country

Walking the halls of Lake Catholic, it’s unfortunately tough to find a student whose family hasn’t suffered personal tragedy to family members, with alcohol at the root of the situation.

So, again, this Prom and graduation season, Dean of Students Matt Moran has been working with the Mentor Police Department to help the Lake Catholic students understand the dangers of drinking and driving, the effects of alcohol, and how one decision can change their lives forever.

Earlier this month, Moran, other administrators, and a group of students spent the day at the Spire Institute in Geneva, with 1,200 other students from schools in four different counties, for the inSpire to Drive Safely program. 

Then this week, officers and officials from 11 different police departments and health agencies were on campus for the annual Prom Blitz.

“Both events are definitely eye openers,” said junior Drew Zegela, who will be going to Prom for the first time this year. “The staged crash site was a tough reminder of what could actually happen.”

Senior Jimmy Meden agreed.

“This year it definitely hit harder,” said Meden, who will be attending Prom for the second time. “I don’t know if I was paying attention more or what, but the stories everyone was telling just really showed the truth and the dangers that are possible. During this time with Prom and graduation parties, those stories will sit with me and be constant reminders of what can happen.”

And that’s exactly what Moran and Dan Radigan, a 1993 Lake Catholic graduate and an officer in the Mentor Police Department's Crime Prevention Unit, were hoping for.

inSpire to Drive Safely

“The stories that we heard out at Spire were so powerful,” Moran said. “You could hear a pin drop it was so quiet while listening to what happened to these families.”
At the inSpire event, Brian Rosenberg, a former Jefferson Area High School student, shared his powerful personal story.

In 2014, when he was 22 years old and attending the University of Toledo, Rosenberg chose to drink and drive—which resulted in the death of a woman. He was convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide, served seven years in prison. He also lost his driver’s license for life.

Now a certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor, Rosenberg told everyone in attendance that it doesn’t matter how good of a student you are or whether you’ve ever been in trouble—one poor decision can change the lives of many people.

“When I took that drink after work that night, I had no idea what path it would take me down,” Rosenberg said.

He pointed out that people often assume tragedies like this happen to someone else.

“We see the commercials about tragic accidents, but we think, ‘This will never happen to me,’” he said. “Nobody ever stood in front of me and explained what happens after the crash—yes, someone may have been hurt or died, but what about the person who caused it? Unfortunately, my worst nightmare became my reality.”

Also, Dr. Brian Hoeflinger and his wife, Cindy, shared the heartbreaking story of their oldest son, also named Brian, who died at age 18 after driving under the influence.

“We had the perfect life—four kids, two boys and two girls. Our oldest, Brian, was very active in sports, did well academically, and life was just really great,” Cindy said.

But everything changed after one night of poor decisions following a school basketball game.

Cindy received a chilling phone call from one of Brian’s friend’s mother.

Eventually, they learned that Brian had driven alone, crashed into a tree, and the car caught fire, according to reports.

“Sometimes kids think, ‘I would never do anything that stupid,” Cindy said. “Well, my son had a 4.6 GPA from St. John’s Jesuit High School in Toledo, a 32 on his ACT, was a scratch golfer, very well-liked and respected—and he made three really bad decisions that night.”

The Hoeflingers urged students to think before driving or getting in the car with someone intoxicated.

“We’re not experts,” Dr. Hoeflinger said, “but we have experience with what pain a decision like that can cause—not just to the driver, but to a family and a community.”

Prom Blitz

The Blitz event, which also occurs before the Homecoming weekend, is put on during the lunch periods by several agencies. This year, the program was run by the cities of Mentor, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Kirtland, and Kirtland Hills police departments, the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Lake County, the Lake Health Department, the UH Lake Health Community Outreach department, University Hospitals, the Ohio State Penitentiary, and the Ohio Traffic Safety Office. 

Students were able to answer questions related to public safety and safe driving habits, as well as participate in various activities – playing cornhole, walking a straight line, and even throwing a ball - while experiencing how impairment can affect their actions.

“The goal of events like this is to show the effects of alcohol,” Radigan said. “Those worst-case scenarios can happen to anyone. No one is immune. So when we come into the schools, if we can touch even just a handful of students with that message, we consider it a success.”