SHANNA HORNER O’HEA C’94
Shanna Horner O’Hea C’94 has made an impressive living off of lobster.
As the chef and co-owner of The Kennebunk Inn and Academe Brasserie for the past 17 years, she and her husband, Brian, have shipped their signature lobster dishes to all 50 states. They have hosted countless guests and served as many meals, and they have had their dishes featured in Oprah’s “O Magazine” and on several Food Network programs.
Horner O’Hea, whose father, David, was North Park’s President from 1987 to 2004, credits much of her success to her time at North Park, where she majored in art while also taking business classes.
After graduating from North Park, Horner O’Hea attended the Culinary Institute of America, where she met her husband and inn co-owner Brian O’Hea. Along with Shanna’s parents, the pair acquired the former private residence, built in 1799, and turned it into an inn and restaurant.
“I realize that North Park, in many ways, laid the foundation for my career as an innkeeper, chef, and entrepreneur,” Horner O’Hea said in her remarks over Homecoming weekend, when she was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award. “The core values of North Park—faith, family, friendships, and community—are now expressed in my life through owning an inn.”
AN TRAN C’14
An Tran C’14 won his first major guitar competition at age 12 in his native Vietnam. Since then, he has gone on to win more than a dozen competitions.
But in his first year at North Park, Tran was ready to give up music, even though it had been an indelible part of his life since his parents sang and played instruments for him while he was in the womb.
“My first year at North Park was really hard, and I was ready to quit the guitar on my second year,” recalls Tran, recipient of the Distinguished Young Alumni Award. “I thought I wasn’t good enough to make it my main career. Thankfully, I studied with some of the most amazing teachers. They were kind and understanding. They helped me realize my hopes and dreams. While at North Park, I learned not to give up and to pursue what I love the most.”
When An was accepted to Yale’s Master of Music program in 2014, he was one of two applicants chosen out of 200 from around the world. After graduating in 2017, he started his PhD program at Northwestern University and is now a Dorothy and Carl Johnson Endowed Doctor of Musical Arts candidate. He is married to Lucina Sosa.
“Music and arts connect people together,” says Tran, who values the personal relationships he built with faculty while here, such as Professor of Music Tom Zelle. “It’s a language that we all speak. I’m just so happy that North Park cares about arts and culture studies as much as any other fields. I’m thankful and proud to be a North Parker.”
DONN ENGEBRETSON A’69 C’73 S’78
North Park is a family affair for North Park Academy Distinguished Alumni Award honoree Donn Engebretson A’69 C’73 S’78.
Engebretson, who recently retired as Director of Global Advancement for the Evangelical Covenant Church, is part of a great North Park legacy: His father, Dr. Milton Engebretson, was President of the ECC from 1967 to 1986; his daughter, Kristen C’08 G’17 and son, Karl C’13 attended North Park; and his wife, Sally, is a coach in the Writing Center.
North Park offered his family not only an excellent education, Engebretson says, but a nurturing, faith-based environment, as well.
“I am grateful that North Park is an open enrollment school that welcomes students from many different backgrounds and faiths,” Engebretson says. “For me, open enrollment strengthens the Christian faith-centered life that allows students to explore what it might mean to follow Jesus in an environment that mirrors the freedom that comes through faith in Christ.”
Engebretson, who was a Covenant pastor before joining the ECC staff in 1998 where he served in various capacities, says he most values the lifelong relationships he has built at North Park.
“The blessing of community that I found in the professors, mentors and peers at North Park has been a gift of extravagant abundance in my life,” he says. “My interaction with the great people with whom I shared my education have been not only lifelong, but frequent and consistent gifts in my life.”
Engebretson thanks President Mary K. Surridge for the Distinguished Alumni honor, and praises her leadership.
“For me, her life, leadership, dedication, excellence, and deep faith exemplify a very exciting future for the wonderful living experiment that is North Park,” Engebretson says.