Christa Currie – Graduated Class of 1996 at Western Brown High School. She is presently an Associate Professor, Department Chair at Mount St. Joseph University after being awarded tenure in 2014. Previous she held an Assistant Professor position at Mount Sr. Joseph from 2009-2014.
Currie received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Technology from the College of Applied Science, University of Cincinnati in 2001 and a PhD. In Analytical Chemistry , University of Cincinnati in 2009. Her doctoral thesis was titled “Capillary Electrophoresis and Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis for Pharmaceutical l Applications.” She worked closely in the doctoral program with Dr. Ken Wehmeyer of P&G Pharmaceuticals.
Undergraduate research included “Capillary Electrophoresis Separation of Amino Acids, Organic Acids, and Carbohydrates using Indirect UV Detection.“ She completed four co-op sessions at Proctor & Gamble in product development, product research, and analytical support and completed one year internship in Food and Beverage Analytical.
Currie was awarded the Chemical Technology Distinguished Student Scholarship (3 years full tuition) sponsored by Proctor & Gamble (1999-2001); Sensors Fellowship, University of Cincinnati (2003-2006); Departmental Award, Chemical Technology (2001) presented to the student with the top independent research project.
Currie is an Adjunct Instructor at Thomas Moore College, College of Mount St. Joseph and Cincinnati State College. She has co-authored several publications and resides in the Cincinnati area.
Dia D. (Mills) McCaughan – (Award accepted by Dia's mother) Graduated Class of 1991 at Western Brown High School. She attended Xavier University where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology in 1995. After graduation she relocated to the Philadelphia area where she attended Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine.
After graduation in 2000 she was accepted into a two year surgical residence at Elkins Park Hospital in the northern suburb of Philadelphia covering Emergency Room calls for Elkins Park and Abington Hospitals and caring for all podiatric related admissions for the attending podiatric physicians as well as providing surgical assistance to those staff surgeons and a few ambulatory surgical centers in the area.
McCaughan completed her surgical rotations for vascular surgery, orthopedic surgery, general surgery, and wound care at Temple University’s Foot and Ankle Clinic; Cooper Hospital in Camden, NJ; Springfield Hospital in Springfield, PA; Wilmington Hospital in Delaware; and Hahneman University Hospital in Philadelphia. Her favorite rotation was at the Martin Army Hospital at Ft. Benning, GA. She felt it was an honor to provide health care to the troops, to study military trauma and take home many valuable surgical skills applicable and easily incorporated into her medical practice.
McCaughan started own practice in Lancaster County, PA in 2004 and is now in her 12th year providing palliative and surgical care to members of the community. She holds medical licenses to practice podiatric medicine and surgery in Delaware, Minnesota, and North Carolina. She is Board Certified in Foot Surgery by the prestigious American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgeons; Fellow of the American Society of Podiatric Surgeons and the Academy of Physicians in Wound Healing.
Dia and husband Jim reside in Pennsylvania where she is an active member of the medical staff at Lancaster General and Heart of Lancaster Hospitals in Lancaster County, PA.
Willis M. Miller – Graduated Valedictorian Class of 1946 at Mount Orab High School. Attended Capital University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1950 with a 4.0 GPA majoring in Math (31 semester hours). During his teaching career he also took graduate courses at Ohio State University.
Mr. Miller has a remarkable 60 years of teaching experience in public education. He began his career teaching math three years in Conesville Schools before and after serving with the US Army (1951-1953) during the Korean Conflict. He then taught two years at Roosevelt Jr. High (Zanesville City Schools). His longest tenure was 37 years at General Sherman Jr. High (Lancaster City Schools) where he served as Head Master of the Math Department. He concluded six decades in the classroom with 18 years (three years as a volunteer) in the Liberty Union-Thurston Local Schools (Baltimore, OH).
Willis is renowned in the area for his extensive collection of bicycles and automobilia. One of his dozen bikes is actually the one he rode through the streets of Mount Orab as a young boy. At 87 years of age he continues to ride his bicycle throughout the community nearly every day, sometimes even in inclement weather. He has a long list of both young and older persons who bring their broken bicycles to him for repairs. Rehabbing damaged or unwanted bikes and giving them to needy children in the area always gives him great pleasure. Miller taught math each day between an elementary and a middle school (LU-T Schools). He could be seen riding his bicycle, regardless of the weather conditions, the one-half mile between the buildings to fulfill his commitment to his students.
Miller’s memory is extraordinary and he can recall the various cars driven by his school teachers. He enjoyed the luxury of being transported in a Model A (Ford) school bus starting in the second grade after riding his bike to the Salem one-room school (1934-35) when he entered the first grade. He still owns and drives his Model T (Ford) occasionally.