Written by: Natalie Kijurna
In 1984, Kay Moody made a life-changing decision. That was the year she decided to take matters into her own hands and start College of Court Reporting (CCR) – no small task considering she had four children and money was tight. But, undaunted, she unselfishly brought three students into her living room and started teaching. Fast forward 30 years. Today, College of Court Reporting’s President is her son, Jeff Moody, and Kay is in retirement. Okay, even Kay will tell you that’s not entirely true. Her expertise is too important not to have her involved in the day-to-day operations, but she’s supposed to be in retirement. Maybe. Someday.
So what’s happened in 30 years? Well, the school moved to its current location in Hobart, Indiana, and grew to over 220 students. Additionally, the Indiana Board for Proprietary Education (BPE) and the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) granted CCR full accreditation. The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) granted CCR approval on November 1, 1987, and CCR was the first school to be certified by NCRA for its online program in 2006. CCR earned, through the U.S. Department of Education’s Training for Realtime Writer’s grant competitions, over $540,000 in grant funding, which was used to provide scholarships and curriculum enhancement. A new theory was created along with an educator-based philosophy for teaching adult learners. Brilliant new cutting-edge technology was introduced and now utilized by several court reporting schools across the country. CCR currently has 9 full-time administrators, several part-time administrators, and over 20 teachers, most of whom are Certified Reporting Instructors or are academic teachers with advanced degrees. Add this to the exceptional students who hail from not only around the United States but from around the world, and you have just a tiny look into how CCR grew over the last 30 years. Not bad. Not bad at all.
The most exciting change, however, is that since the school opened, there are 400+ alumni who walked out CCR’s doors (or if they were online, their own door) to pursue their dreams. This article is really about them. In fact, it was written and created to honor and showcase some of our alumni from the past 30 years. CCR is honoring them, including those not mentioned, for their belief in what this field has to offer, as well as their passion, stamina, grit, and determination in completing the program. CCR also wants to showcase and honor them for their fortitude in keeping up with the profession by writing, CARTing, captioning, and transcribing their hearts out every single day.
CCR sends hearty congratulations to ALL of its alumni over the past 30 years. We wouldn’t be here if you weren’t, and we plan on continuing our quest to prepare and produce the best court reporters not only in the United States but in the world. Here are just a few of our superstars (in no particular order):
Nadine C., RBC (5/2012)
Huntersville, North Carolina
Voice Transcriptionist, Caption Colorado
Josephine Ross (5/2012)
Crown Point, IN
Court Reporter, Lake County Juvenile Court
Leah Klitzke, RPR (9/2004)
Alexandria, MN
Freelance Reporter
Debbie Anderson (9/2000)
Chesterton, IN
Owner, Anderson Court Reporting
Andrea Dalsing (1/2014)
Oswego, IL
Voice Captionist, Caption Colorado
Michelle, Illinois CSR (9/2010)
Joliet, IL
Freelance Reporter
Jennifer Mashuga (5/2013)
Chicago, IL
Voice Transcriptionist, Caption Colorado
Laura Tharp (1/2005)
Kouts, IN
Hannah J. Kwiatkowski (5/2013)
Cedar Lake, IN
Court Reporter, Iseminger & Associates
Christine Kutanovski (9/2006)
Crown Point, IN
Official Court Reporter, LaPorte Circuit Court
Bernadette Farran (1/2010)
Drums, PA
Freelance Court Reporter, AccuScript Court Reporters
Pattie Feucht (1/2013) RPR
Hollywood, FL
Court Reporter, United Reporting Inc.
Brittany Mahle (5/2014)
Rosenberg, TX
Communication Assistant, InnoCaption
Tracy McCullough (7/1989)
Hobart, IN
Brittany Shaw (5/2012)
Indianapolis, IN
Freelance Reporter, Circle City Reporting
Shay N. Sullivan (9/2007) RPR WKT
Gary, IN
Court Reporter, Fissinger & Associates
Jody K. Pope (1/2007) Washington CCR, RPR
Spokane, WA
Freelance Court Reporter, Storey & Miller
Gina Powell (1/2013)
Northport, AL
Voice Transcriptionist, Caption Colorado
Jennifer Goodrich (9/2010) RPR
Dallas, GA
Transcriptionist, AST
Joshua Foley (1/2011)
Washington D.C.
CART Provider/Captioner, various employers
Dina C. Riffett (1/2003)
Wheatfield, IN
CART Provider, self-employed
Jolene Isdale (1/2010) Connecticut CSR
Newtown, CT
Owner, Jolene Isdale, LLC
Marie Tibaldi (1/2014)
Easton, PA
Voice Transcriptionist
Jessica M. Warner Phipps (9/2000) Illinois CSR, RPR
Valparaiso, IN
Freelance Court Reporter, Jensen Litigation Solutions
Nicole L. Gagna (9/1997)
Portage, IN
Freelance Court Reporter, KB Court Reporting, Inc.
Brittany Curchoe (9/2010)
Bellefonte, PA
Official Court Reporter, Centre County Courthouse
Gretchen Fox (5/2007) RPR
Greenwood, IN
Court Reporter, Stewart Richardson
Traci Gidley (5/2005) Illinois CSR, RPR
Tinley Park, IL
Court Reporter, Jensen Reporting
Traci Peoples (9/2009)
Westerville, OH
Professional Court Reporter, Anderson Reporting Services
Alice D. Hadden (5/2002)
Portage, IN
Official Court Reporter, Porter County Government
Stacy Drohosky (1/1995) RPR, CRR, FCRR, Indiana CSR, Illinois CSR, CRI
Crown Point, IN
Official Court Reporter, U.S. District Court
Angela Mendoza (9/2004)
Hobart, IN
Freelance Court Reporter/Transcriber, Fissinger & Associates/Automatic Sync Technologies
Deborah Cohen-Rojas (5/2007) Illinois CSR, RPR
Gurnee, IL
Official Court Reporter, 19th Judicial Circuit Court
Shannon Gniadek (1/2007)
Hobart, IN
CART Provider, Terry’s Transcripts
Bob Strohl (1/2014)
Easton, PA
Voice Transcriptionist, Caption Colorado
Jennifer Mackay (1/2014)
New Lenox, IL
Audio Transcription/Scopist
Rachelle Cahoon (5/2014)
Boise, ID
Court Reporter, Tucker & Associates
Jade Ledbetter (1/2013) Illinois CSR, RPR
Vandalia, IL
Official Court Reporter, Illinois Fourth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge’s Office
Christie Leatiota (9/2011) CCR, RPR
Bothell, WA
Court Reporter, Snohomish County Courthouse
Shannon M. Niekamp (1/2014) Illinois Restricted CSR
Qunicy, IL
Court Reporter, Adams County Courthouse
Barb Hartwig (1/2012) RCP, RBC
Appleton, WI
Voice Transcriptionist, Caption Colorado
Jena Skorczewski (9/2008) CRI
Brandon, SD
Unified Judicial System State of South Dakota
Solange Ruiz-Uribe (5/2012)
Huntersville, NC
Freelance Court Reporter, A. William Roberts Jr. & Associates
Rebecca Mockbee (5/2008)
Danville, IL
Angie Shaw (5/2014)
Mustang, OK
Stephanie Lindsay (5/2010)
Rupert, ID
Transcriptionist
Christine A. Kovaleski (5/2009)
Lake Winola, PA
Court Reporter, various court reporting agencies
Amy Schleinz (9/2013)
Wausau, WI
Voice Transcriptionist
Nicolle Benjamin (1/2014)
Glend, CA
Cinta Corbin (2/2011)
Detroit, MI