Chesapeake Honor Wall Inducts Inaugural Four Members

In the 40 years since it opened, Chesapeake High School has nurtured the abilities and ambitions of many students. Some have pursued veterinary medicine, zoology, waste management or information technology; they have gone on to become business leaders, volunteers, mentors and game changers.

A project two years in the making, the Chesapeake High School Wall of Honor memorializes those outstanding alumni, and on Thursday, September 21, the first four members will be inducted into its ranks: Martin Bentz, Christine Calvert, Amy Eveleth and Jeff Fraley.

“The premise behind the Wall of Honor is not just what they accomplished in the time they were here but in the time since,” said Principal Steve Gorski. “Their time here lays a foundation, but after that, they can establish themselves in successful careers or their own businesses or other ventures. … I hope students will look at them and say, ‘I want to be on that wall one day.’”

Martin Bentz

Back when he was in high school, Martin Bentz discovered an interest in data processing. This was 1987 — what he described as “the early computer era” — and in addition to the basketball and baseball he played, his tech interests were a big part of his high school career. “I was even doing some work study program at the time,” he explained. “I did a half day as a senior and then went to a job doing computer and database work.”

His interest in computers was one of the main reasons he went to college. “Honestly, I was expecting to go to a trade school,” he recalled. “My father worked at Westinghouse, and one of his buddies who helped me on the computer was like, ‘Look, you want to do anything with computers, you have to go to college.’ And I was thinking, ‘Great,’ because I didn’t take the SATs or anything.”

Bentz pursued Anne Arundel Community College, then went on to University of Baltimore and finished up at University of Maryland University College. After graduation, he worked a series of odd jobs, eventually leading to his being an engineering contractor doing work across the United States.

“I realized the stuff I was doing was really high-end work,” he said. “I could see the need for this — there were so many places that needed guys like me. So I decided I would just go independent and do this type of work.”

Bentz launched his own company, ClearShark, providing tech solutions, design and implementation for every level of business. Much of his service can be provided remotely, but because approximately 75 percent of his work is through Fort Meade, Bentz decided to settle in his hometown of Pasadena.

The most important part of business for Bentz, however, is finding ways to support the community. “Giving back is big for me fundamentally,” he said. “I think everyone should figure out a way to give back. You have to figure out a way to help your community. Every little bit counts.”

Bentz found he was doing so much charitable giving on behalf of ClearShark that he went on to launch the ClearShark Charitable Foundation. He also serves on the board of the affiliated nonprofit ClearShark H2O, which his wife, Nichole, runs as executive director.

As for young people who want to go on to make a difference in the community themselves, Bentz encourages self-exploration and self-discovery as a starting point. “I sure as heck didn’t know what I wanted to do in high school,” he said. “You have to get your diploma and get some college under your belt and go discover some things and figure out life before you start saving your community and saving the world.”

Christine Calvert

Before she was caring for the health and well-being of Pasadena’s pets, Christine Calvert was a busy student at Chesapeake High School, where she did cheerleading, gymnastics, track and cross country, all while studying in advanced placement classes and serving on the student government association. Through all of her activities as a teenager, she learned the value of teamwork. It was a value that has stuck with her in her professional life as an adult, particularly in her role as the leader of her practice, Calvert Veterinary Center.

“Anywhere you work, no matter what job you’re doing, you’re working as part of a team,” she said. “You may have some individual things you’re responsible for, but ultimately, you’re part of the team and everyone has to do their part to make it work. As a group, we’re much stronger than just one person on their own.”

Being a veterinarian was a goal of Calvert’s since she was 8 years old, so she worked toward that goal in high school by volunteering at vet hospitals and animal shelters to gain experience. After she graduated from Virginia Tech, she was drawn back to Anne Arundel County. “The mountains were beautiful, but I always loved the water, so I wanted to come back to be near the bay and the rivers,” she said. She first worked in Severna Park, then Crofton, and it was merely by circumstance that she came to open her practice right in Pasadena. “It’s good to be able to support the community that basically raised me,” she said. “I didn’t have a grand plan I would come right back here and open up, but it worked out that way.”

If she had to offer advice to the Chesapeake students of today, she would tell them to listen to the needs of the community and get a group of people together to help meet those needs. “Work together and do things that make you happy and help other people too,” she said. She also encourages figuring out what they want to do and making it a goal. “If you have something you’re passionate about, you’re not working a day in your life. Figure out what you want to do and make the steps toward that.”

Amy Eveleth

When reflecting on her time at Chesapeake High, Amy Eveleth remembers playing tennis and soccer, and she remembers her friends, many of whom she is still close with today. But the most significant memory for Eveleth, who now serves as an animal collection specialist at the Maryland Zoo, is that of her science teachers. “I loved my science teachers a lot,” she said. “They were incredibly encouraging – they made me realize I could do what I was hoping to do, and it could actually be a career.”

Although Eveleth originally thought she wanted to be a science teacher herself, she eventually saw that she was more cut out for scientific pursuits, and her interest in being an educator was merely to be a soccer coach.

She still pursued a career that incorporates a fair bit of teaching. As the manager of the zoo’s traveling collection, Eveleth does media appearances and PR relations, which include engaging with audiences to teach them about the animals. “We do a lot of outreach and we go to schools,” Eveleth said. “What I like about it is that there are kids in some of these schools who will never get to the zoo, but I can take the critters to see them, and this is maybe the first and only time they get to see a penguin up close.”

A resident of Catonsville with her husband — fellow CHS alumnus Brian Eveleth — she still achieved her dream of being a soccer coach. She currently leads the 5-year-old girls for Catonsville Youth Soccer.

Eveleth encourages Chesapeake’s current students to recognize what they want in life and to figure out how they can make it happen. “Don’t give up on what you want to do,” she said. “If someone had told me in high school that I could have the position I do now, I’d want to know exactly how to get there.”

Jeff Fraley

Jeff Fraley’s most significant high school memories started when he was a freshman selected for the varsity baseball team at Chesapeake High School and culminated in his senior year with a 4A state championship win, the first in Chesapeake’s history. The game was the same night as graduation, and Fraley and his fellow senior teammates were bussed from Joe Cannon Stadium back to Chesapeake just in time to receive their diplomas with their caps and gowns on over their uniforms.

Although the glory of that night overshadows many of Fraley’s high school memories, he still remembers that there were many people who helped guide him and influence him along the way, starting with his upperclassmen teammates who mentored him his freshman year and continuing with his coaches who challenged him to be better both on and off the field.

“These influences in my life were always pushing me to do things I didn’t think I was capable of doing,” he said.

Although Fraley left Pasadena briefly to work in New Jersey, he returned to the area in 2005 to help with the family business after his grandfather passed away. Today, Fraley manages Fraley Corporation, a waste management company that also does civil construction.

Through his professional role, Fraley has undertaken many significant volunteer and charitable positions to help improve the community. In 2010, he became the chairman of the South Baltimore Business Alliance, where, as he put it, he was forged and shaped professionally. “I was surrounding myself with members of industrial businesses in Baltimore who cared about the community and taught me the importance of a thriving community and how it relates to a thriving business.”

During his term as chairman, the SBBA brought a GED program to Curtis Bay in partnership with the South Baltimore Learning Center. Additionally, Fraley and other volunteers participate in “clean the streets” days, and they sponsor a school supply drive and holiday shopping spree for underserved children.

In 2015, he joined the Baltimore Industrial Group and was nominated by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to serve on the board of the Baltimore Development Corporation.

Fraley believes success comes from a combination of hard work and the influence of others. “I’m a firm believer that you surround yourself with people that challenge you and they will sharpen your skill set and bring out the best in you,” he said. “I sit on boards with people who are brilliant and are driven and take the extra mile and teach me how to do that. I’m always being pushed by somebody who I feel sharpens me.”