Oak Park High School alumna Suzanne Scrimenti has returned to her alma mater to coach the sport she once competed in.

Scrimenti ran Oak Park cross country and track and field while in high school and went on to run in college for California State University San Marcos. She is currently obtaining her master’s degree at California State University, Northridge in Communications Disorders and Sciences. In a year and a half, Scrimenti will be licensed as a Speech Language Pathologist.

“Even though I only ran two seasons of track and one season of cross country for Oak Park, I went on to run in college,” Scrimenti wrote in an email to the Talon. “That experience allowed me to not only grow as an athlete but learn more about running as a sport.”

Scrimenti helped coach a season of track prior to joining the faculty. She said her experiences as an athlete on the Oak Park cross country team helped to shape her path in cross country and her goals for the program as well.

“I hope to make a lasting impact on the athletes I coach. I was so inspired by the coaching staff when I was on the team in more ways than they could ever know,” Scrimenti wrote. “My goal is to challenge the athletes to push themselves not only physically, but to foster their belief and confidence in themselves. I want to help cultivate a strong team bond, high work ethic and great memories.”