Brian Colona:
CLASS OF 1978
Conant High SchoolClass of 1978
Hoffman estates, IL
Helen Keller Junior High SchoolClass of 1974
Schaumburg, IL
Fairview Elementary SchoolClass of 1972
Hoffman estates, IL
Brian's Story
Life
In Sep 2006, my wife Shirley formerly Higley - 1976 Conant Grad) and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We have 3 kids (Lauren, Brandon, and Shelby). The girls are accomplished dancers and Brandon is a martial artist. They are great students with lots of energy and friends. So far, they've managed to avoid the pitfalls of being teenagers....unlike their father. We live in the Houston area. Lauren (who is away at college now) is a great person and true friend to everyone she meets. She has her sights set on being an elementary school teacher and she'll be a great one. Brandon is smart as a whip and while he is a dedicated and disciplined martial artist (won a Gold Medal at the WKA Championships in Nov 2008), his other interests include computers, video games, Guitar Hero, and real electic guitar. He is in the process of applying to college to pursue a degree in engineering starting in Fall 2010. He is a quietly cool dude with a kind heart who can't miss being a success wherever he lands. Shelby has one goal. Broadway. She is a skilled dancer and singer and wants to be a performer on the stage in New York. She didn't get those genes from me but she's a gem and will not be denied. Watch for her name in lights one day. I graduated in 1982 from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. I moved to California in 1982 to work as an engineer with Chevron USA (formerly Standard Oil of California). After 15 yrs with Chevron in various roles and locations, I left to join Vitol as their Manager of Operations. Vitol are a privately-held oil and commodities trading company. It's a great company and the work is fast-paced and exciting. Check us out on the Internet. Shirley worked for the Quaker Oats Co. in Chicago after graduating Conant in 1976. She was there for 10 years until 1986 when we got married and she left Chicago to join me in Texas where I was working for Chevron at the time. She's a great mom and active in the commun...Expand for more
ity. I guess 10 years of dating and 20+ years of marriage makes us an old, married couple at this point but we're still totally in love and are having a great life raising the kids, hanging with our friends and wrestling with all the challenges that life throws at us. We've been blessed with health and happiness and success. I'm still a music nut with space made in our home for the same drum set I had in high school. It's hard to find the time but I have a go at them when I can. I have a large and diverse CD collection with everything from Led Zep to Willie Nelson to Frank Sinatra to Ornette Coleman to Widespread Panic to Duke Ellington to The Eels to The Libertines to North Mississippi AllStars. A goal was to hook the kids on music and I have been successful with that. So what does my son listen to most....Led Zep, Queen, and 1970's vintage Styx....go figure. (who remembers when Styx played the Conant gym in 1974 ? 1975 ?). We like living in Houston (especially Oct-May). The summers are too hot here but I like that better than the cold of my beloved Chicago. Shirley's family is still in the Chicago area so we get up there for visits and it's amazing to see the changes. I can get lost 3 miles from my childhood house !!! Hard to imagine that Conant was surrounded by cornfields for much of time I was there. One thing I can say about my experiences living in different places around the country is that people are different and people from the Midwest are the best. Solid, fair, reliable and true. It's amazing how often I hit it off with someone and come to find that they are from the Midwest. My sister Tracey (Conant Class of 1980) has been in Los Angeles for years and she has commented about this same thing. We got lucky to grow-up in the time and in the town we did. By the way, Tracey is a Senior Vice President of Marketing at Colombia-TriStar Pictures. Not too shabby for a small town girl from Hoffman Estates. My folks are 80+, doing well, & living in Florida. Later !
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