Circleville Alumni Association

05/22/2026

Today the Circleville Alumni Association welcomes another class into our ranks. Congrats to the Class of 2026! We know you'll do great things!

05/19/2026

The Circleville Alumni Association is dedicated to supporting the academic, athletic, arts and social service activities of students attending Circleville City Schools. It has been awarding scholarships since 2006. Recipients excel in academics and community service. Criteria includes a parent, grandparent, or guardian who is a CHS graduate.

All scholarship recipients are invited to this annual awards banquet to recognize their achievements as they continue with their chosen studies and careers. In March we were honored to award these three CHS Class of 2026 seniors:
(From left to right)
Hudson Phalin will attend Ohio University and study sports management. Hudson is the son of Phil and Beth (Deweese) Phalin. Beth is a 1999 graduate of CHS.

Liam McConnell will attend Shawnee State University and study plastic engineering. Liam is the son of Luke and Stephanie (Garrett) McConnell. Both parents graduated from CHS, Luke 1984 and Stephanie 1992.

Isabelle Perini will attend Cedarville University and study special education. Isabelle is the daughter of Nick and Rachel (Allen) Perini.
Rachel is a 1999 graduate of CHS.

04/13/2026

Thank you for all the recent supportive comments, likes, and shares! We’re deeply proud of all our Alumni Achievement Hall of Fame honorees.

Each year our board has the immense challenge of reviewing HOF nominations and we need your help!

If you know someone whom you feel is deserving of special recognition you should consider nominating them for the CHS Alumni Association Achievement Hall of Fame. 

Visit our website to download the application and view biographies of our past hall of famers.

To nominate candidates for future Hall of Fames, please email our Achievement Hall of Fame Coordinator, Julie Scherer, at the link below:

04/09/2026

2026 Circleville Alumni Association Achievement Hall of Fame Inductee Seth Hamman, Class of 1998.
Born in Berger Hospital and educated in Circleville schools, Seth Hamman is a true son of Circleville.
He graduated valedictorian from CHS in 1998 and went on to study at Duke University before beginning his career in the tech industry. He obtained his MS in Computer Science from Yale University in 2011 and his PhD in Computer Science from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 2016.
Transitioning to academia, Dr. Hamman led the creation of Cedarville University's cybersecurity program and became the founding director of Cedarville's Center for the Advancement of Cybersecurity in 2018.
He helped Cedarville become one of the first programs in the nation to achieve the NSA's prestigious Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations designation and then established the first Cyber Operations BS degree program in the state of Ohio. Under Dr. Hamman's tenure, Cedarville's cybersecurity program has twice been named the top cyber program in the nation.
Dr. Hamman is a national leader in the field of cybersecurity education, traveling and speaking across the country. He has received several grants for research, curriculum development, and student scholarships. In 2025 he published invitation to cyber security, a college textbook for introduction cyber courses.
Dr Hamman’s achievements were encouraged and motivated by many individuals who have blessed him throughout the years. Foremost are his parents, Tom and Genny Hamman, who have taught and supported him through all his endeavors. He is grateful for his many Circleville teachers and coaches for guiding him. His memories of growing up in Circleville are full of amazing people who helped shape his faith and character. He thanks God for his idyllic childhood and for being surrounded by so many loving adults.
Dr Hamman lives with his wife, Emily, and four children in the village of Cedarville, Ohio. He’s blessed to be a member of a strong church and community where he enjoys volunteering with ministry programs and youth sports having benefited himself from the positive impact of caring role models. 

04/08/2026

2026 Circleville Alumni Association Achievement Hall of Fame Inductee Jill Hoffman Gasper, Class of 1973.

Jill Hoffman Gasper has a made a lasting impact on the world of fashion and philanthropy in her community. Early on, she proved her leadership skills as one of the CHS marching band's Twin Field Commanders alongside Kathy Penn Warner. Following high school, she followed her passion for fashion at Purdue University graduating with a bachelor's degree in Consumer and Family Sciences.
While in college, Jill earned top honors in competition at the district, state, and national levels while furthering her interests in creative, philanthropic, and public service. After college, she began her career at The Union Company, followed by periods at Revlon, Peck and Peck, and Federated Department Stores.
Eventually, she found her creative voice as a wardrobe stylist for film and photography. Here, through her creative eye, she brought visual stories to life through clothing and construction using fashion as a form of communication.
Jill is proud of her endeavors in preservation and story telling which she attributes to high school history teacher, Wally Higgins. This early influence helped fuel her dedication to place her family's historic house and farm on the National Register of Historic Places. Along with her husband, Joseph, they founded the Joseph J and Jill Hoffman Gasper Learning Fund through the Circleville City Schools. In hopes of fostering the value of the arts, the foundation sponsors an annual field trip for more than 150 second grade Circleville Elementary students to the Columbus Museum of Art. For that, she's thankful to Earl Palm for recommending that she join the Circleville City School Foundation.
Jill's love of Circleville is evident in her commitment to local education and service. Friends and family keep Jill coming back, but her greatest motivation is her desire to see Circleville continue getting better.

04/07/2026

2026 Circleville Alumni Association Achievement Hall of Fame Inductee Deborah Lowe Wright, Class of 1970.
Deborah Lowe Wright is a distinguished historian and advocate for African American heritage in Pickaway County. She attended the College of Wooster, focusing on history education and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Ohio Christian University in 2022.
At Wooster, Deborah organized Afro-centric events, served as a liaison for Black students, and established a campus residency to foster improved relations between African American students and the broader college community.
A notable moment in her college career was meeting Maya Angelou.
In 1997 she identified a lack of records on Black life in Circleville. Her research led to the publication They Left Their Mark, which explores Circleville's role in the enforcement of the Fifteenth Amendment and the history of Black voting rights. Her work was recognized with an Ohio Bicentennial Historic Marker at Second Baptist Church.
Her other publications give additional insight into the county's Black history. Her works have appeared in the Pickaway Quarterly, Circleville Herald, and Roundtown Living.
Deborah co-founded the PCAAHA (Pickaway County African American Heritage Association) in 2003 to promote awareness of African American achievements in Pickaway County. As director and primary researcher, she has utilized various media platforms to share stories and assist in tracing family histories.
Deborah's lifelong passion for history has been recognized through numerous awards including resolutions from state and local government and honors from the Ohio Local History Alliance.

04/06/2026

2026 Circleville Alumni Association Achievement Hall of Fame Inductee Terry Dean, Class of 1960.

Terry Dean’s recent gift of artificial turf for Circleville boys’ baseball and girls’ softball is only a continuation of a philanthropic hitting streak that began decades ago.

It has been said that those who aren’t born into wealth are especially likely to give back. Terry proves this sentiment to be true. He started on the ground floor, moving from home to home as a child often without running water, indoor toilets, or other necessities we think of today. He retains a vivid memory of one life changing event. “It was my freshman year of school and dad told me to sit down at the table. He showed me $1300 dollars he had saved. We had never seen that much money.” Terry recalled. “‘Terry, he said, ‘we’re buying a house in Circleville and we aren’t moving around any more.’”

Terry became a talented baseball player but his name was seldom associated with academic prowess. He recalls his Latin teacher Mrs Elma Raines providing validation of this on the second day of class. She asked him to stay late and Terry recalls “She said ‘Terry, I know you’re a good baseball player but if you want to see the ball field you had best get out of my class.’”

Terry took two full time jobs after graduation and together they earned a little more than $80/week. In 1964, he joined United Parcel Service, which at the time had a presence in only a few states. At his retirement 30 years later, UPS was worldwide and his investments in UPS stocks created opportunities to help others: improvements in Circleville parks, water wells in South Africa, and gifts to a myriad of other charitable causes both public and private.

Terry hopes he can continue his charitable ways for a long time. At 84, he still plays slow pitch softball and is on a traveling team out of Columbus. He also enjoys acting as an umpire for softball games. To-date, he has umpired more than 15,000 games and was inducted in 2001 to the Columbus Softball Hall of Fame.

03/28/2026

2026 Hall of Fame Inductees