A university president, an athletic director, a retired military colonel and an Emmy nominated composer all have two things in common: they all graduated from Altoona High School, and they all are considered to be Distinguished Alumni of the district. 

The Distinguished Alumni Association started in 1989 and has since grown to have over 2,000  members in all areas of the United States. 

This year, there were four alumni chosen to receive the honor: Dr. Kelly Miller, Fredina Ingold, Michael Kooman and Col. Joseph Fraundorfer. 

Dr. Miller graduated from Altoona in 1986, and continued to pursue her education at the University of Pittsburgh, before receiving her master’s degree and a Ph.D from Pennsylvania State University. Currently, Miller serves as the President of Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. 

On Sept. 12, she met with two groups of students during the school day, sharing with them her life story, as well as some advice. 

“Grown ups may look like they have it all together – that’s not true,” Dr. Miller said. “You get to define what success looks like for you. Whatever it is, you need to set that for yourself and think about it, because everyone’s going to try and pressure you to have a certain look, certain things, a certain way within your life. Only you get to define that.”

Rob Davis introduced Col. Fraundorfer at the Distinguished Alumni dinner on Sept. 13. 

“It’s quite a privilege to be here to introduce Joe Fraundorfer, Lieutenant Colonel, Retired Joe Fraundorfer,” Davis said. “Though around here, we just call him Joe, but I call him brilliant, engaging and extraordinarily humble.” 

During his speech, Col. Fraundorfer told a story about his time in Iraq. 

 “I was in Iraq in 2006 and 2007; it was sort of the height of the insurgency, bombs going off all the time,” Col. Fraundorfer said. “People from my hometown and our families would send us care packages that would often come in Tupperware. Our teams would travel extensively, and we would go into small towns and villages to clean water filtration systems. Women would like to see us coming because they knew we were bringing clean water to the towns. I would often bring them Tupperware cookies and share them with the locals. More often than not, disagreements would break out, fights would break out among the women who would get the Tupperware again. This kind of surprised me, so I asked a friend of mine. He said, ‘These ladies have very little electricity and therefore almost no refrigeration in their house. So they have to go to the marketplace to buy food, almost every day. Almost every day, bombs are blowing up in the marketplaces and killing. So if they have Tupperware, they can spend two or three days with the food they paid for, and it literally saves the wife.”

Paula Foreman introduced Fredina Ingold. During her time at the high school on Sept. 12, Ingold spoke with the female athletes. 

“Listening to her [Ingold] speak to our female athletes, you could see that she comes from a perspective of conviction and passion for everything she does, and she takes a true interest in those around her,” Foreman said. “I think I’ve learned more about her yesterday than some of the girls that were there and watching.” 

Ingold was part of the first Altoona Lady Lion’s basketball team. 

“I remember walking into practice,” Ingold said. “We didn’t have uniforms. We didn’t even know what the heck we were doing. And they didn’t always fit. We weren’t sure what was going on at that time. But what I remember most is a feeling of being part of something new. Something that hasn’t been done before here. And that was pretty exciting. At that time, I didn’t realize how special that moment was, but looking back now, I see it as the first time I learned the power of being part of a team. The courage it takes to try something new and the importance of paving the way for others.” 

Ingold reflected on her time at the high school, as well as being part of the Lady Lion’s basketball team. 

“When you’re young, walking the halls of high school, cheering in the stands or rushing for practice at clubs or meetings, you don’t always realize the impact those experiences will have on you,” Ingold said. “Looking back, you begin to see how much your time in high school will shape you, your values, your work ethic and your confidence in what’s possible. I had the privilege of playing on the very first women’s basketball team at Altoona High School. At the time, we probably didn’t even realize we were part of something historic. We just loved the game, loved competing and loved being part of the team. We were not only learning how to play basketball, but also to stand tall. Take risks, and believe that our voices and efforts matter.”

Michael Kooman’s high school drama director, Elizabeth Happeny, introduced him at the dinner. 

At the time she had Kooman as a student, her students were practicing for the play “Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon.” 

“He [Kooman] was not a member of the cast or crew, but he was a groupie,” Happeny said. “I  can tell you it’s hard for us [groupies] not to get involved. When there was a pause in rehearsals, he often went to the piano and would play something.” 

“Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon” did not come with any music to be played at the beginning of the show or at intermission. 

“One day, I said to Mike, ‘Do you think you could compose something that would identify each of the characters in the story?’ When I first heard his composition, I was absolutely amazed,” Happeny said. “You didn’t have to know the characters to recognize through Michael’s music who they were and what they represented.”  

Kooman premiered a family musical, “Finn.” The show premiered at the Kennedy Center in November 2024. 

“It’s thematically a show about being yourself and finding yourself,” Kooman said. “It’s also about finding your people, finding your pack, your shark pack, as we say in the show.” 

Kooman has worked at the Kennedy Center multiple times. 

“It was my favorite place to work,” Kooman said. 

The show was a box office hit and was nominated for multiple awards. The show was successful enough that the Kennedy Center planned a two year tour of the show. 

“I’ve had a lot of musicals, I’ve had them in a lot of different places, but I never had a tour, and I never had a tour in America,” Kooman said. 

However, early into the process of planning the tour, it was canceled.

“Not long into booking cities for this tour, the Kennedy Center was taken over very swiftly and very publicly,” Kooman said. “The new leader actually tweeted about my show, saying, ‘they’re going to put a stop to drag shows for children.’”

Finn, the show’s main character, is a shark who really enjoys all things sparkly, and sometimes wears a shirt with sparkles on it. 

“This fact made him feel different,” Kooman said. “The other sharks made fun of him for it, and they didn’t know how to deal with it. Finn didn’t even know what it meant, but it made him feel ostracized and it made him feel very different.” 

Kooman wrote “Finn” for a young family member. 

“Suddenly, this little sweet show that I wrote for my four year old nephew, I wrote every note of this show to see him smile,” Kooman said. “This [‘Finn’] was being targeted in a very public way, a way I never could have expected.” 

Kooman was upset about the cancellation of the show, and he and the other writers posted to social media. 

“Personally, I was heartbroken,” Kooman said. “This is a show that was really one of the most personal shows I could have ever written in my life, and it was a big hit. The two other writers and I decided to take a little text, a text only post, and just say how disappointed we were.”

Choosing to publish their disappointment led to opportunities they never expected. 

“Almost immediately, we got inundated with calls from the media, asking to interview us,” Kooman said. “Within 36 hours, I was on CNN, NPR, New York Times, New Yorker, CBC and more. The momentum did not stop for six weeks. It was a moment in my life that I barely remember. It was crazy.” 

From there, the theater community began to show their support. 

“People from all over the world were calling to tell us that they were disappointed, people calling saying that they wanted to restage the show, they wanted to do their own tour,” Kooman said. “People were calling to also just try to help in other ways.” 

The radio host of Sirius XM’s Broadway channel reached out to Kooman. 

“He said, ‘I want to do a reading of your show in New York City with a full orchestra, with all celebrities, because something is happening to you, and it’s not right,’” Kooman said. “Of course, we said yes to that. He told us to make a list of our dreamcast, and we thought, ‘none of these people are going to say yes.’ Every single person said yes. It was just amazing. Celebrities were calling to ask to be part of it, we had to say no at a certain point.” 

The concert sold out a 2000 seat theater and raised over $10,000 for the Trevor Project. 

The response from the theater community reminded Kooman of the community from his childhood. 

“It was one of those moments in my life when I realized the power of a community, a community of smart people, who are loyal to you and will stick up when you’re being mistreated,” Kooman said. “A community like the one I grew up in. A community that believes and invests in the next generation. This is your shark pack.” 

Haley Fleegle, introduced Dr. Miller during the Distinguished Alumni dinner. Fleegle is related to Dr. Miller. 

“I’m honored to introduce my cousin, a trailblazer, visionary leader, Dr. Kelly Miller,” Fleegle said. “Growing up, I had the opportunity to see Kelley’s charismatic spirit and  leadership from a young age. She would advocate for her fellow women anytime she could. She became the first in her family to go to college. She didn’t just walk across a stage. She set the stage for many of us to follow.” 

Dr. Miller was class president during her time at the high school. During her time, class presidents were not allowed to give a speech at graduation. 

“It was quite a rebel nerd move for me to give the commencement speech or give a speech at commencement,” Dr. Miller said. “I wasn’t supposed to, but back then, if you were class president, you got to graduate on behalf of your class. And I thought, ‘Well, they give me the microphone. If I start to speak, what are they going to do?’ So, I just made a speech and gave it. The principal wasn’t very happy, but I will say that they’ve done it ever since, so it must have turned out okay.” 

During her speech, Dr. Miller reflected on her last day of high school. 

“I can’t remember what I was wearing, but I remember that moment as if it was yesterday,” Dr. Miller said. “It was my last day of high school, and I stood with my hands against the door, not wanting to push it open, knowing that when I did, I was going to enter a new chapter of my life. After 40 years, I can answer that question with absolute certainty. I was ready for the next chapter and every chapter that followed.” 

Dr. Miller shared the words one of her teachers told her when she was in high school, and has carried with her to this day. 

“You define success yourself, and don’t let anyone else define it for you,” Dr. Miller said. 

The final speech was given by the daughter of Major Harold W. Stitt, who was given the honor of Distinguished Alumni posthumously. 

“I tried to imagine what my dad would say if he was here,” Becky Plot said. “He would probably talk about some memorable times he had with his childhood friend or about his memories with his cousin. My dad loved to tell jokes, so you would have heard a lot of corny jokes tonight.” 

Major Stitt ultimately settled down outside of Altoona, however, he made sure to familiarize his children with the area. 

“Growing up, my dad made sure that he brought me and my sisters back to Altoona at least once or twice a year,” Plot said. “He loved to take us around the city and he was so proud of Altoona. As a result, I’ve raised my kids the same way and made sure they know about Altoona.” 

 Attendees of the Distinguished Alumni dinner finished the evening by singing the Alma Mater. 

“Blow, oh gentle mountain breezes, from the golden west. Breathe thy peaceful evening tidings, to the AHS. Whisper to us words of pleasure, as the dim twilight. Softly gathers round our colors, Dear maroon and white.” – Altoona High School Alma Mater