Each month we will feature a member of our alumni (the League of Knights) to highlight their accomplishments after graduating from IC Catholic Prep. This month, we spoke to both Carl and Christine (Imielski) Alaimo, class of 1994. Carl and Christine are both alumni and current parents to ICCP freshman, Nicholas Alaimo. Carl attended Triton college and Columbia College Chicago for Television and Film. Christine received a degree from the College of DuPage.
ICCP: What was your favorite subject in school?
Carl: I would say my favorite subject was Math and Acting class. I have always liked working with numbers and even with the advancement in technology in the world we live in today, the fundamentals I learned in high school still carry onto the field I work in today. Acting class took me out of the comfort zone and broke the fear of speaking in front of others, which still serves me well every day of my professional career.
Christine: My favorite subject in school was History. Mr. Zdun and Mr. Eufrasio were two of my favorite teachers. They always made their history classes interesting and kept us up informed on current events.
ICCP: What is your best memory from your time at IC?
Carl and Christine: Our ultimate highlight from IC was meeting each other.
Christine: We are both graduates of 1994 and remained high school sweethearts. We married in 2002 and have two beautiful children, Nicholas, a freshman at IC Catholic Prep, and Angelina, a sixth grader at St. Luke Parish School in River Forest, Illinois.
Carl: In a close second to meeting Christine, would be the friendships I still keep to this day. Many schools have a large student population and many students go through four years of school and still never meet people in their same class. I feel the smaller class size compared to other high schools is a huge asset to IC.
Christine: My other favorite memories from IC were from Homecoming. It was always such a fun time to get involved and spend time with my classmates. I remember building our class floats, attending the pep rallies, football games, and dances. During Homecoming week, everyone always showed so much school spirit and we were all proud to be IC Knights!
ICCP: What are some highlights from your career?
Carl: I have had many highlights, Before I was even 21 years of age I was working for the #1 syndicated talk show in American and did so for 15 years traveling the world and ending my run as the Assistant Director of the show. Since leaving the show I produced a feature film with another alumni from class of 1994, Johnny Arreola, which now streams on Amazon.
In 2008 I had the chance to be part of the TV crew for NBC sports covering the Olympics in Korea. I will never forget being on the ice as the Women’s USA hockey team received their gold medals by beating Canada and watching our flag raised as the national anthem was played.
Christine: I started my career in the Fashion Industry working in management for the main line stores for Nordstrom. After many years of management, I moved to Nordstrom’s corporate office to work as a buying assistant and I also had the opportunity to work for the Corporate Contributions department where I got the chance to learn about and partner with many non-for-profit organizations. I left Nordstrom to stay home and raise my children. I recently got back in the fashion world and started my own jewelry company called Nic N Bella, which I named after my children.
ICCP: What is one other thing you would like to share with IC alumni?
Christine: Our son Nicholas is a freshman at IC this year and we couldn’t be prouder. We know that giving him a Catholic education at IC will help him to grow and evolve into a kind young adult. The important values he is learning there will stay with him throughout his life.
Carl: I agree. I strongly believe the values I learned at IC made me the person I am today. I pass that knowledge on to my kids…respect, care for others…and always show kindness.
Christine: I feel truly blessed that I had the opportunity to attend IC. There I learned life lessons and values that have shaped me into the person I am today. I have remained friends with many people that I met at IC and they have become family to me. IC is a second home to me and my family and I know we will always be welcomed with open arms. That’s why we’ve stay connected to IC.