Left: Westerville South High School’s newest Alumni Hall of Fame inductees Carl Boehm, Katheryn (Katie) Geschke McMahon, and Kristie Koehler Vuocolo.
Westerville South High School inducted three alumni into its Hall of Fame at a luncheon and ceremony held on April 26 – Carl Boehm, Katheryn (Katie) Geschke McMahon, and Kristie Koehler Vuocolo. The school’s Superintendent’s Student Advisory Committee selected those honored from a pool of applicants who graduated at least 10 years ago, have demonstrated success in their career, and have made significant contributions to their community. Superintendent John Kellogg meets with the Student Advisory throughout the school year.
Carl Boehm is a 1952 graduate of Westerville High School, where he played in the band and was an active member of the Future Farmers of America. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture Education and a Master of Education diploma from The Ohio State University. Boehm taught for 31 years in the Westerville school district. He began his teaching career in 1957 and taught 10 years in Belmont County before joining the vocational agriculture staff at Westerville High School in 1967. As head of the Vo-Ag Department, he was chosen as Outstanding Teacher by the Westerville Education Association in 1977, and out of more than 700 teachers statewide, was named the Ohio Vo-AG Teacher’s Association Teacher of the Year in 1978. He was a member and first chairperson of the Westerville Shade Tree Commission, and received a Distinguished Service Award from Ducks Unlimited in 1989. He has been a member of the Westerville Fire Department C.A.R.T. since 2004 and was named Volunteer of the Year award in 2014. In retirement, Boehm has worked for DJ’s Feed Store and Vance’s Outdoor Gun Shop. He committed most of his life to serving the Westerville community and affected many lives throughout his illustrious teaching career.
Katheryn McMahon is a 1997 graduate of Westerville South High School, where she played a number of sports, maintained a stellar grade point average, was a member of the National Honor Society, and was recognized as a “Top Cat” during her senior year. She served on several high school committees and was a class officer. McMahon attended The Ohio State University, majoring in Health Information and Systems through the College of Allied Medicine. At OSU, she was a member of the Student Alumni Council and was accepted into the prestigious Mortar Board Honorary. After graduating with honors, she worked for Licking Memorial Hospital as a Medical Records Supervisor, and then worked for MedQuest, which was purchased by MModal. Here, she has held several positions, including Project Manager, Sales, and currently is the Director of Implementation and Adoption. She is active in the program to assist physicians and patient relationships. McMahan has volunteered for Honor Flight and continues to run half marathons to support Honor Flight, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and other charitable organizations. In 2018, she participated in her first mini-triathlon.
Kristie Vuocolo is a 1992 graduate of Westerville South High School, where she was homecoming queen, inducted into the Hall of Excellence, a member of the National Honor Society, Social Secretary, Student Council representative, and head drum major in the Marching Band. She participated in four musicals and performed in the Children’s Theater touring program. Vuocolo is a graduate of the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree. She also earned a Master of Journalism and Mass Communication, with an emphasis on social media and public relations, from Kent State University. In addition, she received a certificate in Community College Teaching and Learning from the University of Illinois. After graduating from college in 1996, Vuocolo served in an AmeriCorps program and worked with under-served populations in San Jose, California, where she tutored bilingual students and created an afterschool program. She then returned to Chicago and spent a decade as a television producer for a PBS station. She received an Emmy Award and the Peter Lisagor Award for her work on the arts magazine program, Artbeat Chicago. She returned to Westerville in 2013, and in 2016, created the non-profit Good Medicine Productions, with a mission to bring transformative joy to children and adults through the art of improvisational theater, comedic performance and innovative storytelling.