Deacon Thomas A. Kostic, 69, serves the Diocese of Scranton as principal of Holy Family Academy elementary school in Hazleton.

Members of Saints Cyril & Methodius Parish, Hazleton, he and his wife of 37 years, Patricia, reside in Hazleton and have one child.

Mr. Kostic graduated from Bishop Hafey High School in 1973, after which he earned his bachelor's degree in social work, with a minor in criminal justice, from King's College, Wilkes-Barre.

For the following five years, Mr. Kostic attended Officer Training School for the United States Air Force, attaining the rank of captain. During that time he also received his master's degree in public administration from Troy State University in Alabama.

Mr. Kostic has pursued further graduate studies in philosophy and theology at Catholic University and the Washington Theological Union, both in Washington, D.C., and in theology at Marywood University, Scranton.