Lisa DeCarlo Apollonio spent most of her childhood in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. She graduated from high school in Fairfax County, VA. She received her BA in English from Providence College in Providence, RI and her teaching certificate from Towson University in Towson, MD. Mrs. Apollonio received her M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from McDaniel College in Frederick, MD. She taught middle school language arts for eight years in Anne Arundel County, MD and wrote curriculum for seventh-grade language arts.
When she married, Mrs. Apollonio moved overseas and worked as an Area Coordinator for a community college on a Naval Station. Since moving to Kentucky, Mrs. Apollonio has earned her gifted and talented endorsement from Northern Kentucky University.
Mrs. Apollonio also teaches classes for ExploreMore! and Duke TIP; Covington Latin School hosts both programs. She is also the moderator for the school yearbook.
Mrs. Apollonio and her husband have two children. They are active parishioners at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Burlington, Kentucky. In her spare time, Mrs. Apollonio enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family.
Carpe Diem ~ Horace
Find the good, and praise it. ~ Alex Haley
Everyone deserves the chance to fly! ~ Elphaba in Wicked, Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Mrs. Cruts grew up in the Cincinnati area. She graduated from Turpin High School in Anderson Township, Ohio. Mrs. Cruts attended DeSales University to pursue her passion for Theology and teaching. After her second semester, she chose to add Mathematics as a second major because she missed the joy of solving Calculus problems! Mrs. Cruts is honored to share her love for Jesus Christ and his Church and her delight in mathematics with her students. She is married and is an active parishioner at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Cincinnati, OH.
The mathematician does not study pure mathematics because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it and he delights in it because it is beautiful. -- Georg Cantor
The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness. – Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI
Mr. Finke returned to Covington Latin in 2013. He also taught here from 1987 – 1990. Since then, he has earned two Master's degrees (Mathematics and Educational Leadership). He has taught classes at the elementary (St. Cecilia School), high school (CLS, Notre Dame Academy and Newport High School) and college (Southern Ohio College and TMC) levels. He has administered two schools (St. William in Price Hill and Holy Trinity in Newport and Bellevue). He also had a carpentry and remodeling business. He enjoys outdoor activities with his wife and four sons. He also enjoys visiting with his grandchildren.
Veritas vos liberabit
Joe comes to Covington Latin School with a wealth of experience. Having spent the last 40 years in Catholic Education his passion for teaching, assurance that all students learn, and teachers teach is very obvious. His early educational experience was formed by the Benedictine Monks of Cleveland. Later Joe found his way back to his alma mater to teach, coach (football and baseball), and ultimately became principal.
Love of learning has been a hallmark of Joe’s life. Earning first a Bachelor's degree in Education he continued his studies and was awarded a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. The Catholic Faith is very important to Joe and he sought and was granted a Master’s Degree in Theology. In addition to his two Master Degrees, he has well over 50 additional credit hours in a variety of subjects and disciplines.
Through the years Joe has taught biology, anatomy and physiology, physical science, accounting, marketing, computer programming, and theology.
Mr. Gressock comes to Covington Latin School hoping to share his experiences, wisdom, and passion for all things educational.
Mr. Evan Harmeling has lived in Northern Kentucky his entire life. He graduated from Covington Catholic High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Thomas More University. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Education. Mr. Harmeling worked in a veterinary clinic for four years before becoming the biology teacher at Covington Latin. He discovered his love of teaching while working as a T.A. for several biology labs during his undergraduate career. He is excited to be teaching in the Diocese of Covington.
Mr. Harmeling enjoys spending his free time experiencing the natural world. He is an avid hunter, fisherman, and all-around outdoorsman. He hopes to one day visit all of our nation’s national parks. His other interests include spending time with his family and playing musical instruments.
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God remains forever.” –Isaiah 40:8
Mrs. Hofmann grew up in Maumee, Ohio and moved to Cincinnati to attend the University of Cincinnati. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art Education from UC’s College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning in 1989 and began her teaching career at the School for Creative and Performing Arts and Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati. In addition to teaching art and art history to young people, Mrs. Hofmann also taught area educators about the collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum through it’s Evening for Educators Program. Outside of the classroom, Mrs. Hofmann has been known to organize and run art camps that seek to immerse young people in the beauty of art and inspire them to create!
Trained as a bookbinder in college, Mrs. Hofmann has brought the love of this craft to many of the schools in which she has taught, including Latin School. She is married and has five children and is an active parishioner at Old St. Mary’s Church in Cincinnati where she teaches catechism and sews vestments. She earned her Master Degree in Visual Arts Education in 2015 with the focus on Classical education in the Visual Arts and received the Director’s Choice award for her bees wax lithophane interpretation of the seven liberal arts.
“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”
― Saint Mother Teresa
Adam Iadipaolo is originally from Peoria, Illinois and after graduating high school he studied in the seminary for the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois for six years. After discerning his vocation to marriage he attended the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, earning a Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 2004.
Mr. Iadipaolo taught for one year at St. John’s College High School in Washington D.C., before moving to Northern Kentucky where his wife is a native. Adam has served as an adjunct professor at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West in Cincinnati where he taught courses on the History and Theology of Marriage and co-taught a course on the “Theology of the Body” with his wife, who also graduated from the John Paul II Institute. Both of them have given numerous talks on John Paul II’s Wednesday Catecheses known most commonly as the “Theology of the Body.”
Mr. Iadipaolo enjoys spending time with his family, playing soccer, and bird-watching. He and his wife are grateful to God for the gift of their “little treasures:” three daughters and three sons.
Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God. ― St. Ignatius of Loyola
Molly Jacobs grew up in Louisville, though she has deep roots in northern Kentucky. She attended Xavier University for her undergraduate degree, during which she studied abroad at the Sorbonne. She graduated in 2005 with a double major in History and French and a minor in English, then spent the next year teaching high school English in Chalon-sur-Saône, France.
Molly decided to return to school and earned her MA in Mediaeval Studies from the University of Toronto. She continued her studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where she focused on the medieval literature of Scandinavia. During this time she presented at national and international conferences and spent two summers studying medieval manuscripts in Denmark and Iceland. After finishing her Ph.D., she taught writing and literature courses at Berkeley for two years. She and her husband then decided to return to Cincinnati, where they manage their garden and an ever-growing menagerie.
Ben Kleier earned a bachelor’s degree in fine art and English in 2016. He pursued his M.A. in Professional Writing at the University of Cincinnati to learn more about how writing is applied in the workplace. It was there that he learned he loved to teach others and couldn’t bear to leave the classroom. He taught technical writing courses for engineering, computer science, and information technology students for two years while earning his degree.
After he graduated in 2018, he taught courses at Northern Kentucky University, Thomas More University, and Ivy Technical College. He joined the Covington Latin faculty in 2019 to teach English. He loves the Catholic identity of the school and the heritage of Covington Latin has as a diocesan institution.
He’s blessed to be involved with the formation of the students of Covington Latin School as they become contemplative and resolute men and women. Outside of Covington Latin, Ben volunteers as an editorial assistant for the Cincinnati Review, participates in a young adult bible study, and engages with various Catholic programs such as That Man is You.
After graduating from Morehead State University with a Bachelor’s in History and a minor in International Studies, Mrs. Knox moved to Washington DC where she worked for Shared Hope International. The non-profit worked to bring about awareness of modern-day slavery in the United States. Mrs. Knox worked in DC for a year before moving back to Kentucky to study at Xavier University. She graduated with a Master’s in Secondary Education and a Master’s in Theology.
From 2015 to 2018 she worked at Purcell Marian High School as the Director for the Marianist Urban Student Program. As director she aided at-risk students with their school work, mentored, kept track of finances and scholarships, and provided extracurricular activities for the students. Mrs. Knox also taught a history and religion class while working at Purcell Marian. In 2018 Mrs. Knox began teaching at Mercy McAuley High School where she taught Contemporary World Issues, Minority Studies, Old Testament, New Testament, and Lifestyles and Relationships.
Mrs. Knox will be teaching both History and Theology at Covington Latin School. She also serves on the board of The Chip Terry Fund for First Responders, a non-profit that provides educational, financial and emotional support and counseling to police, fire, and other emergency personnel and their families, particularly those affected by PTSD and other occupational related stress disorders. Mrs. Knox is looking forward to a new school year at CLS.
After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education and English, Mr. Krebs developed teaching experience at two other schools prior to joining the Latin School faculty in 1991. Teaching English, Drama, and Speech, Mr. Krebs also served as faculty advisor to Student Council, the Shakespeare Club, and coached the golf team for eight years. He has had the privilege to co-lead the Covington Latin Expeditionary Force to Europe on four occasions: in 1992, 1995, 1999, and 2004. During those years he also served on the Faculty Advisory Committee, as an elected faculty liaison to the Headmaster.
A year after earning his Master's Degree in Education, in the fall of 1999, he joined Dr. Bowman's team at the Diocesan Education Office, serving as Secondary Consultant, the ACUE Schools Consultant, and the office manager for the Kentucky Non-Public Schools Commission. Those two years in the education office took him around the diocese and the state, meeting people who are passionate about private and faith-based education.
Matt returned to Latin School in the fall of 2001, serving as Campus Minister for the next eleven years. He is honored to serve the Latin School community as Dean of Students, a position he finds rewarding and enlightening. In his parish, he serves as an Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister, on the summer festival committee, and on the parish council.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. – Matthew 5:9
Ms. Kelly Kusch has taught Latin and Greek at Covington Latin School for several decades. She earned a BA in Classical Languages and Literature from the University of Chicago and a Masters of Education from Xavier University. Kelly studied in Italy for eight weeks as a Fulbright Scholar in 1995. In 2004, she won the American Philological Association Award for Excellence in Precollegiate Teaching. She was honored by the Diocese of Covington in 2014 for Excellence in Teaching. Kelly began the Volleyball program when Covington Latin admitted girls in 1992, and she coached all three teams for 20 years. She serves on the National Latin Exam Advisory Committee, she chairs the Scholarship Committee for the Ohio Classical Conference, and she is the State Co-Chair for the Kentucky Junior Classical League. Kelly has taken students to Italy and Britain and Greece. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Larry. Their two daughters, Maddie and Olivia, are alumnae of CLS.
Dux femina facti—Vergil, Aeneid 1.364
Mrs. Little grew up in a large musical Irish-Catholic Family in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has 5 brothers and sisters, and 16 nieces and nephews and counting. Mrs. Little graduated from Mother of Mercy High School, where she was the 2009 Regional Winner of the English Speaking Union’s Cincinnati Shakespeare Competition.
Mrs. Little has a Bachelor Degree in Vocal Performance from Northern Kentucky University. During her time there, she was a member of the Chamber Choir and the Vocal Jazz Ensemble, with whom she competed in an International Choral Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. She studied abroad for a summer in Salzburg, Austria with the Kentucky Institute for International Studies (KIIS). While there Mrs. Little studied Opera, Music Theory, and Music History.
After graduation, She performed with Cincinnati Chamber Opera, Queen City Chamber Opera, Cantigium Vocal Ensemble, and St. Peter in Chains Cathedral in Cincinnati. Mrs. Little currently sings at Old St. Mary’s in Over-The-Rhine, and lives in Sunman, Indiana, with her husband Mike, and daughter Ivy. They have a vegetable garden.
Over twenty years ago Dr. Pinyayev and her husband Aleksey came to Cincinnati from St. Petersburg, Russia. After receiving her Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati, she worked as a researcher at the Environmental Protection Agency, and later, as a visiting assistant professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Dr. Pinyayev has joined Covington Latin School in 2013 and since then has been teaching general and AP chemistry, Precalculus, and grade 8 Math. In her free time, she enjoys teaching her two sons how to cook, garden, and raise their seven chickens.
Ms. Silvers graduated from Morehead State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreation and Health. After graduation, Ms. Silvers began her career with the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati as a Youth and Family Life Director where she organized and managed summer camps, teen leadership programs, before and after school clubs and youth sports.
After a 10 year career with the YMCA, Ms. Silvers relocated to Charleston, SC where she opened and currently operates her own business, Teacups and Trucks, an event planning and program business for children. She was awarded the 40 Under 40 award in 2014 and also received a nomination for small business of the year for the state of South Carolina in 2017. As an entrepreneur, Ms. Silvers has enjoyed providing professional development training to regional and citywide recreation department leaders on how to best engage youth and teens in social and educational settings.
In 2018, Ms. Silvers made the decision to move back to Kentucky to be closer to her family. She enjoys volunteering with youth organizations whenever possible and has been an active supporter of Big Brothers, Big Sisters mentoring program for several years. When she is not working, Ms. Silvers stays busy shuttling her son to various academic and sports-related activities and enjoys decorating, event planning, DIY projects, football season and staying active outdoors.
Mrs. Stone is the School Counselor at Covington Latin School.
She is originally from West Virginia, but proud to call Kentucky her home, having moved here in 1986. She graduated from St. Henry Catholic School. After high school graduation, she worked in banking at Central Bank. Erin also had the privilege to be her grandmother’s caretaker during her elderly years.
Erin earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Northern Kentucky University and received her Master’s degree in school counseling from the University of the Cumberlands. It was during her internship where she was able to engage with students on a more personal guidance level and knew the school counseling field was her calling. Her philosophy for counseling is student-centered and solution-focused. She is passionate about helping the students of Covington Latin School develop and navigate their post-secondary education goals, as well as addressing personal and social development. She believes in providing a holistic approach by collaborating with the students, their families, and the Latin School community.
Another passion she has is working with Heart To Home adoption agency. Erin has the honor of working with birth parents and adoptive parents in the Northern Kentucky area. Her role as an adoption counselor includes caring for and supporting the birth moms and adoptive families.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two young children. She is excited to be working with students, their families, and faculty who are vested in educational success. Wishing everyone an amazing school year!
Lord make me an instrument of your peace ~ Prayer of St. Francis
After earning a doctorate in chemistry, Dr. Swartz spent 2 years at Northwestern University conducting research in the area of molecules which mimic biological systems. He joined the faculty at Thomas More College / University in 1979 and taught chemistry for 38 years. In 2000 he earned a masters degree in Computer Science and taught computer classes for 17 years. In 2006 he earned a masters degree in Forensic Science and taught forensic science classes for 11 years. During his 38 years at Thomas More College / University, he served as Division Chair of Natural Sciences (11 years), department chair for chemistry (8 years), department chair for computer science (8 years), and department chair for forensic science (10 years). He retired from Thomas More College / University in May of 2017.
In 2019 Dr. Swartz joined the faculty at Covington Latin and teaches technology classes part-time.
Mr. Syfert grew up in Cincinnati. He received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois where he also played on the university’s soccer and ultimate Frisbee teams. After starting his career in the petroleum industry, he returned to Cincinnati to work for Procter & Gamble as a product development engineer in Research and Development.
He has developed numerous novel consumer products and innovative, efficient, processes to make them in the laboratory and also at the manufacturing plant scale, with a recent specialization in personal cleansing products such as soaps and body washes (e.g., Olay Ribbons and Olay Moisturizing Bodywash). He has started up new products at manufacturing plants in the United States and internationally to bring products to market. He will be glad to tell you why Olay body wash is the best in the world.
Following a passion to teach, Mr. Syfert was licensed in the Graduate Licensure program at Xavier University and has a Professional Teaching Certificate from the State of Kentucky. His teaching experience includes student teaching Chemistry at Summit Country Day, teaching multiple years of science to home-school coop students and frequently demonstrating soap-making at various schools. He joined the Covington Latin faculty in 2015 to teach earth science, physical science and honors physics. His industry background, where he applied STEM principles every day, makes it possible to relate classroom science to real-world applications with relevant examples and hands-on learning.
Mr. Syfert and his wife are blessed with 5 children. He is very active in his faith and in his parish. He also coaches soccer and enjoys cycling, hiking, camping, reading, and woodworking.
Stephanie Tewes attended St. Henry High School and Northern Kentucky University. During her time at NKU, she spent a semester teaching high school in Worthing, England. Upon returning home in 2003, she was hired by Covington Latin School as a history, English, and speech teacher. Being a lifelong learner, she went back to NKU get her Masters Degree in Educational Administration and graduated in 2005. In 2007, she became the Dean of Studies.
She has won multiple teaching awards, including WCPO Teacher of the Week in 2005, Next Generation Leader Award in Education in 2013, and one of Cincy Magazine’s Featured Teachers in 2013 and 2018.
Over the course of her years at CLS, she has led 6 trips to Europe and 1 to Peru with students and parents. She also organizes the German Student Exchange Program and the National Honor Society. She has developed the school’s recycling program.
She coaches the CLS swimming and diving teams also. Her team has qualified for the state meet 6 out of 8 years. She started coaching tennis this year which also went to state.
She has helped lead numerous service opportunities, such as caroling, senior citizen proms, tutoring, and Cinderella’s Closet. She works closely with Magnified Giving to give back to local charities (and includes the National Honor Society in this).
In her free time, she enjoys traveling, sports, and farming turkeys. She comes from a large family and spends a lot of time with them, especially her niece and nephews.
“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.” ~Mother Teresa
Dave Webber attended Fern Creek High School in Louisville, KY and earned his Bachelors of Music Education at Eastern Kentucky University. During his time at EKU, he did extensive work on the trumpet. Upon graduation from EKU, Mr. Webber accepted the Director of Bands position at Bellevue High School, in Bellevue, KY. While at Bellevue, he completed his Masters in Educational Psychology at Northern Kentucky University. In 1990, Mr. Webber began his 24-year tenure as Director of Bands at Boone County High School in Florence, KY. While there, his bands were finalists in over 6 Bands of America Regional Championships, KMEA State Finalist, Grand National Adjudicator National Runner-up and received 24 years of straight Distinguished Ratings. He has won multiple teaching awards, KMEA District 6 Teacher of the Year, KMEA State Band Chair, EKU Music Alumnus of the Year, Fern Creek HS Outstanding Alumnus, Boone County Break the Mold, National Band Magazine 50 Directors Who Make A Difference and Bellevue Teacher of the Year. In 2019, Mr. Webber was awarded the prestigious KMEA Citation For Service Award.
Mr. Webber is the Director of the Band and Orchestra at CLS, a position he has held since 2015. Mr. Webber became the Director of the Florence Community Band in January of 2017 and was Interim Director of Symphonic Winds at Northern Kentucky University during the 2018-2019 school year. In his free time, Mr. Webber enjoys traveling with his wife, Betty.
“And when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him” 2 Kings 3:15