Eric Simora graduated from Cathedral Prep in 1992. Simora chose to go to Prep because he had three older brothers that attended Prep, and he felt Prep had the best education available.
His favorite thing about his time at Prep was that everyone was welcomed to hang out with each other, and it seemed that everyone got along. Prep prepared Simora for his life after high school because he was taught to be more independent, more outgoing, and to cope with difficult situations. At Prep there were higher expectations on how you should behave, treat one another, and perform academically, and there was a greater sense of moral and responsibility placed on the students.
Simora explained how all these things helped shape how he interacts with his family, friends, co-workers, and the community. Some accomplishments he had while at Prep are that he was always in the top 20 for QPA each year at Prep, he was a member of the National Honors Society, and he took all AP and Honors classes while at Prep.
Simora’s favorite teachers from his time at Prep include Mr. Bill Clancy who taught chemistry. He respected him for his knowledge of the subject and how he made chemistry interesting and easy to learn. Another teacher was Mr. Lance Strasser who taught Latin.
Simora stateed that Mr. Strasser is on of the most intelligent people he has had the pleasure to talk with. Simora participated in freshmen football at Prep. During that time he started at right guard, and their team was undefeated during that season. He also participated in the boxing program at Prep. He boxed all 4 years at Prep, and he was one of the two people who went undefeated all four years.
While at Prep, Simora originally wanted to go to Penn State, but after graduation he took a year off and then attended Gannon for a year. Simora then took another year off and went to Penn State Behrend for a year. After that he worked as a manager at Blockbuster Video. He then joined the Armed Forces with the Pennsylvania National Guard. He went to Fort Knox and was trained as a Cavalry Scout. While he was in the National Guard he went back to school and graduated from Edinboro University with a BS in Biology and a minor in Psychology.
Simora explained that Prep had an impact on his life and future. It helped solidify and strengthen his morals and religious beliefs with his family. When he was at Prep, Simora wanted to become a doctor. Right now he works in research and development at Winland Foods as a food scientist. His plant produces marinades, salad dressing, barbecue sauce, and mayonnaise.
Simora’s best memories at Prep were when they went to Camp Notre Dame for senior day. While there, they played capture the flag and just enjoyed having fun as a class.
“I am still close with my high school friends,” Simora said. “One of my friends married my wife’s sister. I hang out with my friends that are still in town and the ones that I’ve out of town always visit back in Erie we keep in touch They will always be my brothers no matter how far away or how long in between seeing one another.”
