Alumni Spotlight - Cory Strasko '13

“Elyria Catholic was a blessing in disguise for me. Faith and our education were very important in my family” says Cory Strasko, Class of 2013.

“I consider EC a foundational part of who I’ve become. It was there where I first explored my creativity, grew my faith, and developed the building blocks for who I am. Excellence, Compassion, Faith, Tradition, and Community. When pillars like this are ingrained into you, you have a safety net to fall back on. They’ve allowed me to pursue excellence and give my all to a greater good in my community. When you’re down and out and all you feel like you have is yourself or even at times you feel like you lose yourself, you know you have faith, family, and friends who are compassionate and loyal.  That tradition instilled truly doesn’t graduate, it stays with you.”

The plan was for Cory to attend Lorain Catholic like his mom, but when LC closed, he became a Panther instead. Cory followed in his older brother’s footsteps who graduated from Elyria Catholic in  2011.  

“He was an angel in school and might I add a 4.0 student who was involved in the arts and baseball. The school was very excited to get another Strasko boy, but they were soon to find out how different we were.”

Cory will be the first to admit he was the class clown in high school, which ended up being his senior superlative. But he credits Elyria Catholic for letting him be himself. 

“I was 100% a handful, but the teachers really personalized my experience. They pushed me and saw my potential.”

One teacher who really shaped Cory’s experience was Mr. Matt Barber. Cory was one of the few students who found a way to get a class taught by him every year. He says Mr. Barber’s structure and personality made his class his favorite part of the day.

“There was a respect I had for him and I believe he had for every student regardless of the situation or personality… There have been many people throughout my life that allowed me to learn through my failures and in my opinion, that’s the best way to learn.”

It was the work ethic Cory learned through his studies and basketball that he carried over into life beyond the corner of Poplar and Gulf. When he went away to play college basketball, he received his first 4.0 GPA. 

“I truly do accredit my education for how easy college was at first. I was a solid 3.0 and above student athlete at EC. Because of my ability to manage multiple things at once as a student athlete and be a team player, I have excelled in almost all my work environments as a top performer for the respective companies I have worked for.”

He is currently a senior loan officer at Cross Country Mortgage and Director of Sales at ImFromCleveland.com, an award-winning media outlet created by fellow EC Alumni, John Stursa ‘13. He says his next act is a stand-up comedian in the making.

“Last year I did my first paid show, and you may catch me out and about at local open mics practicing my craft… I was always told there’s a time and a place for having fun, but later in life I realized making people laugh wasn’t a choice for me, it was a calling. You just never know what people are going through, and a simple smile breaks down so many barriers. I’m very passionate about finding my happiness/calling and I would say the best of ‘Cory’s Stories’ is yet to come.”

He hopes current and future Elyria Catholic students know it’s never too late or too early in life to learn about themselves. He says when your one and only job is to learn, it’s a tremendous opportunity to grow and learn about yourself.

As for his fellow classmates from 2013, he says “Let’s help make the community a better place for future generations to come.” 

Elyria Catholic is excited to welcome Cory as a gala auctioneer for this year’s Evening for Excellence: Cheers to 75 Years! on Saturday, Apr 22, 2023 at Tom’s Country Place.