The Mt. Lebanon School District has recognized three Mt. Lebanon High School graduates with its Great Alumni Award. The award, now in its 20th year, is a project of the high school student council, which chooses the awardees with input from a selection committee composed of students, faculty, administrators and past Great Alumni Award recipients. This year’s honorees are:

Lt. Kris Siegert ‘93

Lt. Siegert (AKA Firefighter Kris), is a familiar face around Mt. Lebanon, as the manager of the fire department’s Youth Fire Intervention Program. When a special needs student hid in the closet instead of escaping a fire (and was thankfully rescued safely), he saw a need for a different approach to fire safety for non-typical students. He developed an adaptive program to teach fire safety to special needs students across the district, a program that has been so successful that he has held training for fire departments in other states. He has spoken at numerous local and national safety education conferences and offers his curriculum free of charge to others. In addition to being a volunteer firefighter for seven years before joining the career staff, he has worked with various animal welfare organizations and served on the South Hills Area Council of Governments Technical Rescue Team. He is also a founding member and curriculum specialist of Youth Fire Intervention International, a group dedicated to helping prevent fires started by children.

Rear Admiral Katie Sheldon, ‘95

RADM Sheldon graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1999 and is a seasoned surface warfare officer with extensive operational and leadership experience. She has deployed to the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf, and held numerous command roles in both reserve and active duty. She most recently served as the Reserve Chief of Staff for U.S. Third Fleet and currently serves as Vice Commander for U.S. Seventh Fleet. Her personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Navy Female Athlete of the Year for 2001 and various other unit and service awards. 

Michael Turian, ‘97

Michael Turian rose to fame as a professional Magic: the Gathering (MTG) card game player and is now in the MTG Hall of Fame, having 13 top 10 finishes in his competitive career. He began his professional career as a developer for Wizards of the Coast (MTG’s division of Hasbro) in 2004, rising steadily through the ranks to executive producer. Since 2019, Michael has served on the board of directors for Safe Crossings Foundation, a leader in funding services that help grieving children heal. He has fostered fundraising competitions in Wizards of the Coast/MGT chapters to raise more than $5 million for Seattle Children’s Hospital, naming their newest Magnuson Center for Autism waiting room after the Wizards of the Coast.