Honoring Excellence and Spirit at Gross Catholic!
Gross Catholic High School proudly continues to recognize exceptional graduates through its prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award. Moreover, the school is excited to introduce a brand-new honor: the Cougar Spirit Award. These awards celebrate individuals who embody leadership, service, and unwavering school pride while inspiring current and future Cougars.
The Distinguished Alumni Award: Celebrating Professional Achievement
The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes graduates who achieve exceptional success in their professional careers while demonstrating outstanding community service. Furthermore, recipients maintain a strong commitment to the values and mission of Gross Catholic. These honorees serve as powerful role models who inspire current students through their leadership, excellence, and integrity.
Recent recipients include Mike Donahue ’86, who serves student lunches three days weekly while supporting every school fundraiser through his business, Donohue’s Pub. Additionally, Coach Mike Filipowicz ’73 earned recognition for his 31-year coaching career, leading teams to three state championships and over 1,200 victories.
Know someone who exemplifies these qualities? Submit your Distinguished Alumni Award nomination now.
Introducing the Brand-New Cougar Spirit Award
Gross Catholic excitedly launches the Cougar Spirit Award this year to recognize individuals who bleed orange and blue! This new honor celebrates those who consistently demonstrate exceptional school spirit, pride, and enthusiasm for Gross Catholic. Recipients actively uplift the Cougar community through their support, engagement, and positive representation of school traditions and values.
Importantly, this award welcomes anyone who embodies Cougar pride—you don’t need to be an alumnus to qualify! The school seeks nominees who demonstrate unwavering dedication to the Cougar community through their actions, attendance at events, and infectious enthusiasm for all things Gross Catholic.
Do you know the ultimate Cougar fan? Nominate them for the Cougar Spirit Award now.
Why These Awards Matter
These honors create lasting impact throughout the Cougar community. They remind current students that their education extends far beyond graduation day while demonstrating how graduates maintain meaningful connections to their alma mater. Additionally, the awards showcase diverse paths to excellence—from diplomats and educators to business leaders and coaches—all united by their commitment to the values Gross Catholic instills.
The school presents both awards annually at Celebration, bringing together the entire Cougar community to recognize exceptional achievements. Each year’s recipients join a distinguished group that exemplifies the school’s motto, “Dux Esto” (Be a Leader).
Submit Your Nomination Today
Gross Catholic welcomes nominations for both awards through February 20th. When considering potential nominees, look for individuals who demonstrate leadership, serve their communities selflessly, and maintain strong connections to Cougar values. Whether nominating a distinguished professional for the Distinguished Alumni Award or an enthusiastic supporter for the new Cougar Spirit Award, your nomination helps strengthen the bonds that make the Cougar family special.
These awards represent more than recognition—they build bridges between generations of Cougars while inspiring students to imagine their own future contributions to the community that shaped them.
What You May Have Missed
- Gross Catholic High School Pioneers Dux Esto College Academy
- Building More Than Robots: How Gross Catholic Students Engineer Success
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About Gross Catholic High School
Gross Catholic, a co-educational, college preparatory high school, began its proud heritage of academic excellence rooted in the Marianist tradition in 1968. We consider ourselves one of the best Catholic schools in Omaha, Bellevue, and Papillion. The school motto Dux Esto (“Be a Leader”) is at the core of its extraordinary mission, innovative spirit, and fundamental values. The school offers a challenging environment and outstanding quality of life, both in academics and co-curricular activities, with a strong focus on STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) education. The spirit of Christian service and giving back is part of everything the school does. Gross Catholic’s top-tier status is reflected in its talented faculty, staff, and coaches who take great pride in seeing virtually every graduate head to college, often to the most prestigious domestic and international universities and service academies. Together with families and alumni, Gross Catholic forges relationships for a lifetime, helping to ready the next generation to be exemplary, principled leaders of the world.
To discover the Gross Catholic difference, contact us at 402.734.2000 or visit our Admissions page.