Welcome
to our NEW online magazine. If you have information that you
would like to share with your fellow alumni, send it to Tom
McFadden at tmcfadden@christendom.edu.
The CCAA Board of Directors, in conjunction with the Alumni
Affairs Office at Christendom, has decided to discontinue
writing, printing, distributing, publishing physically "The
Grapevine." There are many reasons for this, but the
main reason is that the alumni e-groupseems to be able to
serve the same function as "The Grapevine," with
less time, effort, and expense.
The
Grapevine Online will be emailed, depending on the amount
of information sent to the editor, every month. It will have
a couple of sections, namely, Class Notes (your basic
information on alumni babies, weddings, jobs, etc.), Alumni
Profiles (more in-depth information on certain alumni),
Calendar of Events, and Links to various recent
stories about Christendom College and/or the Alumni of
Christendom.
Of
course, all comments, suggestions, and information should
be sent to tmcfadden@christendom.edu.
Here
goes nothing.....
December
2001 Edition of The
Grapevine Online
Class
Notes / Calendar of Events / Alumni
Profiles/ Links to Stories /Old
Editions of The Grapevine Print Edition /Prior
issues
Class
Notes
Mary
McFadden ('98) is teaching at The American School in Switzerland
(TASIS), CH 6926 Montagnola-Lugano, Switzerland. Email is
mcfadden.mary@tasis.ch or mcfadden76@yahoo.com
Mary
Louise Foley ('93) married Sean Patrick Loftus in Rochester,
New York on July 21, 2001 at Holy Name of Mary Roman Catholic
Church. The Daughters of Mary (including her sister, Sister
Mary Catherine) sang beautifully for a Nuptial High Mass.
Sean is an active member of the Air Force, stationed at the
Pentagon. He is originally from New Jersey. They are currently
living happily ever after in Oakton, Virginia.
Chris McFadden ('90-'92) is getting
married July 13th 2002 to Jessica Slovak in Washington, DC.
Chris went to Christendom for 2 years 90-92, then George Mason
University, Fairfax, graduating in 1996. He currently lives
in Arlington, Virginia, and works for DiscoveryStore.com.
Jessica Slovak of El Centro, California, graduated from UC
Berkeley in 1997. She currently lives in Washington, DC, and
works at Hill and Knowlton.
Heidi
(Malovrh) and Steve Zweifach
celebrated the birth of their first child, Jacob Aaron on
June 14, 2000. They are currently living in historic,
Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.
Stephen
Pilon and Elizabeth (Dateno) Pilon
moved and are expecting #5.
Michael
Collins and his wife (Karen)
are expecting number 7 in January. Many may not know that
4 years ago they moved from Canada to Southern California.
Now he loves winter, and works at TAC.
Matthew
Cuddeback has received a
tenure-track appointment as Assistant Professor of Philosophy
at Providence College in Providence, RI. Providence College
is run by the Dominican Friars. Cuddeback received his Ph.D.
from The Catholic University of America in 1998.
John
Kelsey and friends: We have a new pumpkinhead! In February
99 my brother Michael Kelsey (2000) while on his way to see
a ballet at the University of VA with Miss Clair Bailey (2001)
found a large orange pumpkin in a dumpster. He and his brother
John Kelsey (99) proudly displayed this pumpkin in the window
of St.Francis. That is, it was displayed when Mark Calhoun
(99) was not engaged in kicking the pumpkin onto the roof
of the dorm and waiting for it to roll down just to kick it
up again. Anyway, a hole was cut in the bottom of the pumpkin
and it was proudly worn as a pumpkinhead along with a trench
coat and a carried candle. It became a pumpkinhead. Pumpkinhead
made appearances all over campus particularly in dorm rooms
in the middle of the night. Pumpkinhead was loved by all...well
mostly. Shortly after returning to campus after a trip to
Lafayette IN with Ben Hatke (2000), "Holy Roman Emperor
hopeful Ryan Jones" (2000), and Michael Kelsey (2000)
during which pumpkinhead, his three friends, and John Kelsey
(99) toured the campus of Purdue University and attended several
parties, pumkinhead became a victim of a heinous crime. Villians
from St. Benedict abducted pumpkinhead from his guardian.
Pumpkinhead has not been seen since. Well, recently while
in Lafayette IN once again, this time to attend Ben Hatke
and Anna Bertolini's wedding. Michael and John Kelsey, Clair
Bailey, Mark Calhoun and Jessica Carrano (2000) were enroute
to the Purdue University bar district to enjoy a refreshing
beverage. On their way, to their delight, they spied a bright
orange object perched proudly on top of an overflowing dumpster.
It was a plastic pumpkin. We claimed our prize and Mark Calhoun
immediately cut a hole in the bottom, we all rejoiced over
our new pumpkinhead. The combination of elements of the original
pumpkinhead's past, brought about the conception of a new
pumpkin. Mike and Clair together; the bar element of Purdue
University; Mark Calhoun; John, Mike, Ben, and "Holy
Roman Emperor hopeful Ryan Jones" together in Lafayette;
and off-course the Dumpster all must have pleased God to such
a degree that he Created another as a gift. We are very grateful.
As you can see, we have been blessed!
Melody
Stachyra ('95) married Bernard Pegis (TAC class of 94')
on July 21st at the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis.
Mike
('00) and Colby (Anderson) ('99) Storck are happy to report
that they have a baby daughter, Isabel Maria Pilar Storck,
born on June 4, 2001 at their house in Greenbelt, MD.
Bjorn
Lundberg ('97) began year two of pre-theology, known as
the Spirituality Year on September 5th. St. Charles Borromeo
Seminary is located in Northampton, PA at the Mary Immaculate
Center, a tremendous location obviously built by a great German:
this
place is beautiful and can survive any natural disaster, except
perhaps the 13 of us here for a year. Please pray for the
seminarians in year two of six.
Mary
(Kleinschmidt) ('87)
and Vladimir Tichy have two kids and expecting third: Elizabeth
(4 yrs.) and Dominik (2 yrs.) and baby due Feb. 18, 2002.
Just completed building their own house in a village near
Tisnov, Czech Republic. Email address: vlad-mary@tisnow.cz.
Vlad was just promoted recently as Manager of Czech operations
of Zwartwoud (Dutch logistic company).
John
('97) and Gretchen (Foltz) ('96) Bowes'
son Dominic is now 11months old. John is now a fully trained
KC-130 co-pilot and have been assigned to VMGR-252 at MCAS
Cherry Point for his fleet service.
FOCUS
missionaries from CC. Mary Claire Almeter '97--St Mary's
Detroit, Michigan, Heather Rankin '98--Carroll College,
Helena, Montana, Ben Akers '98--Denver University,
U.S. Air Force Academy Denver, Colorado, Sarah Akers '00--Benedictine
College, Atchison, Kansas.
On
September 22, 2001, Joan Longua ('83) married Major
William Philbin, USMC (Ret). Joan and Bill reside in Springfield,
Virginia.
Suzanne
(Kauphusman) Ellis ('88)
had #3 Nora Catherine on June 21, 2000. She was teaching religion
for grades K-8 for two years. Ended that last year with the
baby's arrival. Presently they are home schooling their other
two children. Clare Frances is in 3rd and Benet Anthony is
in 1st.
After
moving to the Atlanta area in July, Guy ('89) and Mary
Kate (Jensen) ('97) Smith have now moved to Huntsville,
Alabama for 2 years before joining everyone back in VA. They
now have 3 children, the newest is Dominic Guy, born April
26th. They also have Christina and Bernadette.
John
William "Bill" Erwin, Jr. ('00) moved to New
Haven, CT from Pickerington, OH in January. He is working
for Legionaries of Christ as IT support guy. His last car
(previously Emily Dateno's) exploded (as in, blew up), and
now he has a new one. It's nicer, and hopefully less dangerous.
He is happily single, which is not something one often encounters
at CC, at least not in recent days.
Michele
Lapalm ('91) was married
on November 25, 2000 to M.J. Velasco. She is working right
now as a management consultant in the satellite industry while
her husband is completing his commercial pilot certifications.
Andy O'Neill ('99)
and wife Heather (Gasper-older sister of Rob Gasper, class
of '98), had a baby girl, Oona Juliana, on March 21, 2001.
Gabriel
Young ('01) is in his first year of law school at Ave
Maria Law School in MI.
Rosemary
Reninger ('98) is scheduled to receive an associate of
applied arts in music
from Northern Virginia Community College in May, 2002.
Andrew
Fier ('01) married Julie Fox (AA '01) on May 26, 2001.
They reside in West St Paul, MN. Julie works as a nanny and
Andrew works at Aarcee Party Rental. Both happy to be close
to their families, but miss their friends from Christendom.
Kevin
('86) and Laura (Hibl-'86) Clark had baby #6, Magdalena
Jeanne, who is now 1 year old (born November 30, 2000). They
had #5, Brendan Charles, in July, 1999. Kevin still works
at Seton Home School.
Kate
Power ('94-'95) is now living
in London working as a Corporate Events Manager and can be
contacted via: katiepower76@hotmail.com.
Michael
('86-'88) and Molly (Urban '87-'88) Charba
have six kids: Daniel, 11 years old Christopher, 9 years old,
Katherine, 9 years old , Elizabeth, 7 1/2 years old, Bernadette,
6 years old, Joseph, 3 years old.
Laura (Charba '87 AA degree) Mire
homeschools here four children, Stephanie, Timothy, Hannah
and Monica. Her husband, Philip, works for Dell Computer Corp
in Austin as an Information Protection Analyst.
Erica
(Power) Schuman ('91) is married with one child. Brigid
Carla Schuman, born 27th December 2000.
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Calendar
of events
January
5, 2002 -- Alumni Epiphany Party at Christendom
January
20, 2002 -- Alumni Fundraiser/Social at the Four Provinces
Restaurant/Bar in Falls Church, VA
Saturday,
September 28, 2002 Golf Scramble
to benefit the CCAA Scholarship Fund at Westfields
Golf Club in Clifton, VA.
October
12-13 Homecoming Weekend 2002!
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Alumni
Profiles
Steve
McGraw graduated from Christendom in May of 1988 with a major
in history. After graduation, he enrolled in law school at
the University of Virginia and finished the three-year program
in the spring of 1991. Throughout his stay at UVA, he was
able to work with the Legion of Mary, both the local chapters
in Charlottesville and as president of the governing council
for the diocese in Richmond. Unlike most of his law school
fellows, Steve knew that he wanted a career in public service
and had no interest in working for a private law firm. In
late 1991, after passing the Virginia bar examination, he
began working for the Justice Department in the department’s
civil division. His main duties were to defend federal employees
-- frequently law enforcement agents -- who were being sued
by private individuals for alleged violations of constitutional
rights. His office would weigh the facts of the case and,
if they determined that the employee was acting within the
scope of his employment in doing the acts for which he had
been sued, they would provide him with free legal representation.
As
for his vocation, it came in stages. During his last year
at Christendom, he considered, with no little trepidation,
the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood, but he came
to the conclusion that if he was not to get married, the single
life was probably what God had in mind for him. During his
years in law school, with great help from a priest of Opus
Dei who became his spiritual director, he came to the strong
discernment of a vocation to apostolic celibacy in the middle
of the world. This was the vocation that he proceeded to live,
working at the Justice Department, keeping a daily regimen
of Mass and personal prayer, and giving his available time
mostly to the Legion of Mary. With all of that, however, Steve
had a sense that he still hadn’t gotten to the bottom
of his vocation -- he was still just a little bit restless.
It was on February 10, 1997, during a session with his spiritual
direction study for the diocesan priesthood that his restlessness
ceased. As his spiritual director was speaking, it came to
Steve that this was, at last, his specific vocation -- apostolic
celibacy in the middle of the world, yes, but as a secular
priest. He began the process of application and entered Mount
St. Mary’s in the fall of that year.
According
to Father McGraw, “The thing I look forward to the most
about being a priest is that I will be able to give myself
wholeheartedly to the task of forming the lay faithful in
the teachings of the Church. This is an issue very dear to
me, as well as to Christendom College. I hope and pray that
God will give me the grace and strength to perform my vocation
to the best of my abilities and that I am able to fulfill
my duties as a priest worthily.”
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Stories
and Links to Stories about Christendom/Alumni
More
Alumni Children Choose Christendom
In
the fall of 2000, Jacinta Scheetz became the first child of
Christendom alumni to attend the College. This year, four
more alumni children became Christendom freshmen: John Williams,
Tom Williams, David Hambleton, and Alex Scrivener.
John and
Tom Williams are two of the sons of Spencer and Loretta (Davison
‘81) Williams. David Hambleton is the second child of
alumni Bob and Amy (Francis) Hambleton. And finally, Alex
Scrivener is the son of alumni Robert and Anne Marie (Hinkell)
Scrivener.
Over
200 Alumni Return for Most Successful Homecoming Ever
Homecoming 2001 attracted the largest number of alumni
in Christendom’s 25-year history. From as far away as
California came over 200 alumni to participate in the Homecoming
events over the weekend of October 5-7.
On
Friday, October 5, The Second Annual Alumni Golf Scramble
was held at Carper’s Valley Golf Club in Winchester,
VA. Forty-four alumni and friends took part in the competition
and enjoyed a well-deserved BBQ dinner afterwards. The Scramble
was sponsored in part by Branner Printing, Lighthouse Underwriters,
LLC, Benchmark Management Services, Ltd., Progress Press,
Inc., F&M Bank, Valley Drilling Corp., Mr. and Mrs. Dan
Gorman, HNTB Corporation, The Marathon Bank, Schenck Foods
Co., McDonald’s Farms, Novus Consulting Group, and O’Brien
& Keane Architects. The $10,000 raised by the Golf Tournament
will go toward the Alumni Scholarship Fund.
Saturday,
October 6, saw Fr. Mark Wenzinger ‘81, celebrate an alumni
Mass. A cookout where alumni and their children were able
to reminisce together about the “good ol’ days”
in the Regina Coeli Building (Common Room) followed.
In
the afternoon, the “bravest” of the alumni took
on the Christendom Crusaders basketball team in a game where
the victor was not easily identifiable. On the one hand, the
Crusaders won the battle by winning the game (not by much,
well, not THAT much!), but on the other hand, the alumni won
the war by keeping up with the young fellas and not having
any medical emergencies!
Saturday
evening was the highlight of the weekend with more than 200
alumni and a number of faculty arriving on campus to take
advantage of the fine foods (provided by Chef Ron Steckman
and JoAnne Wolfrey) and beverages that were available during
the Alumni Reception, held in the Chapel Crypt. Fortunately,
the Beato Fra Angelico Fine Arts Program was hosting an art
exhibit in the Crypt that lent an elegant and cultured ambiance.
Further into the evening, at the Homecoming Dance, “For
Dancers Only,” a 17-piece swing orchestra provided lively
music for the students and alumni to enjoy.
And
on Sunday, after the ground breaking ceremony and a satisfying
brunch, the alumni were able to sit back and enjoy watching
the students play the traditional East vs.West flag football
game.
Next year’s
Homecoming is scheduled for October 11-13, 2002.
Alumni
Association Elects New Board Members
During Homecoming 2001, the Christendom College Alumni Association
(CCAA) voted in its new two-year term Board of Directors.
Replacing
Dori Rutherford ‘93 as president is Greg Polley ‘00.
Dori will remain a member of the Board as one of the past
presidents. Karla Kukendall ‘99 was re-elected as vice-president;
Michelle Gil ‘99 replaces Bevlin Cleveland ‘99 as
secretary; Anna Wright ‘00 takes the place of Doug Curell
as treasurer; Steven Storey ‘00, Phil Menke ‘01,
Rene Oberlin ‘99, and Paul Heisler ‘90 join as members-at-large;
and Josh Petersen ‘01 takes on the role of Class of 2001
representative.
The new
Board of Directors thanks all those who worked so hard to
make a difference to the CCAA over the past two years, in
particular, Dori Rutherford, Marianne Kerin, Denise Belleville,
Doug Curell, and Bevlin Cleveland.
At their
first meeting, the Board announced that the Alumni Scholarship
Fund has received $22,000 in donations since January of this
year, and that the monthly Alumni Donation Card has generated
more than $11,500 since May.
Press
Releases and Campus News: http://www.christendom.edu/news/releases.shtml
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