Reading High School alumni honored some of their own Thursday night, as well as a handful of students about to join their ranks.

The Reading High School Alumni Association held its annual dinner at Riveredge in Bern Township. The event serves two purposes: to recognize distinguished alumni who proudly have carried on the Reading School High name and to welcome graduating seniors into the fold through a scholarship program.

A total of 12 seniors - 10 from Reading High and two from Reading Muhlenberg Career & Technology Center - each received a $1,500 scholarship.

And three past Reading High graduates were honored with distinguished alumni awards:

Lee Ann Graul, Class of 1975: Graul is a career employee of the Defense Department. She most recently was a member of the Joint Coordination Element, a team established to improve cooperation between the departments of defense and homeland security.

She has also served as a member of the National Security Agency's Cyber Task Force, which deals with issues related to national cybersecurity.

Graul's former experience includes intelligence analysis and operations and management positions at the National Security Agency over the past three decades.

Michael J. Eppihimer, Class of 1986: Eppihimer is director of the cell biology, pathology and therapeutic area groups at Boston Scientific Corp., a worldwide developer, maker and marketer of medical devices.

He previously used his scientific skills as an associate professor of biology at Penn State University, as a staff and principal scientist at the former pharmaceutical company Wyeth and as a post-doctorate fellow at Louisiana State University Medical Center.

Eppihimer has published or contributed to dozens of scientific papers.

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High school alumni honor past, current graduates