Welcome
to Christendom's Alumni E-Zine. If you have information that
you would like to share with your fellow alumni, send it to
the Grapevine Editor, Tom McGraw, at tvmcgraw@yahoo.com.
The editor reserves the right to include or exclude any information
submitted for publication in The Grapevine.
The
Grapevine Online is uploaded on the First Friday of every
month. It will have a couple of sections (when information
is available), namely, Class Notes (your basic information
on alumni babies, weddings, jobs, etc.), Calendar of Events,
and Links to various recent stories about Christendom
College and/or the Alumni of Christendom.
July/August
2006 edition of The
Grapevine Online
Class
Notes / Calendar of Events / Links
to Stories / Prior
issues
Class
notes
Alyssa
Lombardi's mom and some of her brothers came to visit
her in DC, and were able to get an audience with President
Bush on his birthday. It was pretty cool!!
Fred
Gruber's '06 application to the seminary in his home diocese
of Pittsburgh has been accepted. He will be starting at St.
Paul Seminary in Pittsburgh in the Fall. During two years
of formation, he will be studying for an M.A. in philosophy
from Duquesne University before four more years of Theology
at St. Vincent College or the North American College in Rome.
God willing, he may be ordained by 2012. Fred was recently
voted most likely to be the next pope by the graduating class
of 2006. He was also voted most likely to be a dictator! ;-)
Fred still hasn't decided which superlative award pleases
him more.
Ken
Furlong '05 and Alaina Wozniak '04
were married on May 27th in North Jackson, Ohio. Fr. O'Kielty
was the celebrant of the Mass and many Christendom friends
were in attendance, especially in the choir loft and on the
altar. After the wedding (week 1), Ken and Alaina flew to
California for the wedding of Harrison Brehm '04 and Mary
Wise '04 (week 2), went on their honeymoon (bye week),
flew to Cincinnati where Ken served as best man and photographer
for the wedding of Peter Furlong '06 and Rachel Piron '05
(week 4), and then drove home. In July they attended the wedding
of Maria Brake '04 and Mike Marstall. Ken will also
be attending the wedding of Jake Minick '06 and Laura
Sadelson. With the regular season over, they are planning
to rest up for the playoffs. Ken and Alaina are expecting
their first child in March 2007, and have bought a house in
Front Royal, where they plan to be for the foreseeable future.Ken
is working in McLean, VA with Anthony Smitha '05 and Alex
Scrivener '05. Alaina is just trying to put the house
in order, with the companionship of her turtle.
Laura
(Williams) Ross '05 sends greetings from Alabama! She
and her hubby are enjoying their last little bit of free time
before their baby is born. (He's due Sept. 2 - just in time
for their first anniversary.) Last month, after a year of
training, James graduated from Army Flight School! :) Our
families were able to join us for the graduation ball and
ceremony, as well as sample some southern culture (boiled
green peanuts, fried green tomatoes, sweet tea, and dead armadillos
on the sides on the road :) Please keep them in your prayers
as James' training continues and their son's delivery draws
near!
The
lads of Scythian have a couple of big gigs coming up
in the Midwest and Bethlehem PA which Christendom Alumni might
be interested in. The dog days of summer have the fellas of
Scythian working like dogs. In the next month the Lads will
make a pilgrimage to Bethlehem (PA), will be in the presence
of St. Paul (MN) and visit the Pabst Brewery in Milwaukee.
Three locations, three festivals, 500,000 people: Scythian
has finally hit the big time. On August 5th Scythian will
be at Musikfest in Bethlehem PA playing on the Volkplatz Stage
starting at 4pm. Last year Musikfest drew over one million
attendees. Next up Scythian travels to St. Paul Minnesota
where it will be headlining the Minnesota Irish Fair with
Gaelic Storm. The lads will be on the main stage each day
from August 11-13 and will be closing out Saturday night after
Gaelic Storm where they expect a crowd of 20,000 people. This
will be Scythian’s biggest show to date so all you Midwest
alumni come out for a party. The next week (August 17-19)
Scythian will be playing at the world’s largest Irish
Festival – the Milwaukee Irish Fest (who knew). For the
last two years Scythian has been playing the pub circuit but
it appears they’re on the cusp of something big. Come
out and dance a jig or two and be sure to stop by and say
hey to Leks and Dan Fedoryka. For more information
visit www.scythianmusic.com
Niki
Calio '06 and Therese Dodge '06 recently went over
to the Eternal City to attend a 2 week intensive 6 credit
Bioethics course given by the Legionaries at the Regina Apostolorum
Pontifical University. It was entitled "Tecnicizzare
l'uomo o umanizzare la tecnologia: Bioetica al futuro"
(for all those Italian Scholars, most courses were given in
Italian with simultaneous translation into English). It covered
topics from how the philosophy of DesCartes and Heidegger
influence modern ethical thinking, to nanotechnology, stem
cell research and even video games! "We learned alot,
and met alot of cool people. It was a great opportunity to
study once more in Rome, and to brush up on our Italian skills
by (almost) full immersion ;) For dinner the last night, Therese
and I went out with our roommate Melissa to Domus Pacis (where
fall semester 04 stayed when we went for our Rome semester).
It was nice to visit, they changed the place a little bit,
but they have most of the same staff." Niki is very excited
that she has found a teaching job with St. John's School in
McLean, VA teaching fourth grade. Niki will be moving down
to Arlington this week to join the rest of the DC area Christendomites.
(As a side note, both Sabatino and Sebastien Jansen
work for St. John's Parish). It should be a fun year.
Ben
and Theresa Fisher and their sons Nicholas (2 1/2) and
Zachary (1 this month) are in Idaho Falls, Idaho for most
of the month of August while Ben is on a business trip. They
had a very interesting drive West spanning three days: starting
in the seemingly sub-tropic regions of Tennessee; through
a storm in Illinois with hurricane-force winds; pausing for
a delightful visit with Brendan & Susan McGuire and
Chris Lane in St. Louis; then heading across Nebraska
farmland and Wyoming sagebrush into Utah mountains and finally
Idaho. While they have yet to see a potato farm, they did
get a chance to visit the local wildlife and get a photo op
with the back of an unobliging Bengal Tiger at the Tautphaus
Zoo. The boys had more fun than it looks.
Joseph
and Angela (Schuett) Reninger were married at St.
Michael's Church in Silver Spring, MD on July 22, 2006. They
met at a dance and enjoy various activities including swing
dancing together.
Erin
and Phil Menke are happy to announce the birth of their
firstborn, Edward Melvin Menke, on June 27, 2006. Baby and
mother are doing great!
Mary
(McFadden) Brand '98 has been working hard this summer
during her "vacation" from teaching. (No more international
leisure for her now that she has a mortgage!). She heard about
an opportunity to work as a Grant Reviewer for the Administation
for Children and Families (ACF) from a friend who works there.
This summer she participated in three grant reviews: Community
Based Abstinence Education, Healthy Marriage, and Responsible
Fatherhood initiatives. It is a great opportunity for any
liberally educated person out there to use his or her reading,
writing and analytical skills while helping to put taxpayer
money to good use, networking with great people and being
paid a generous stipend (including travel expenses to the
D.C. area, and food and lodging for the week). If you are
interested in applying for the process check out www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/grantreview
and follow the instructions for submitting a resume and a
writing sample or e-mail Mary with questions. (mcfadden76@yahoo.com).
Elisabeth
(Boever) Gideon '00 had a little girl, Ruth Marie Gideon,
born June 29th, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. She was
9 lbs. and 21". She is beautiful and healthy. If anyone
would like to contact them, please write: elisabethgideon@hotmail.com
Anne-Marie
Jensen graduated from St. Luke's School of Nursing August
3rd and begins work in an intensive care unit on Long Island
in September. "Congratulations Anne-Marie from your family
and friends! You are going to be the best nurse in all the
land!" Being a nurse has been her dream since childhood.
In
keeping with their long-standing (two year) tradition (lower
case “t”), the Christendom FOCUS missionaries went
out for some good times at the Claddagh Irish Pub in Madison,
WI. They shared lots of stories and laughs. And, like a Catholic
family, they’re growing! Andy Day, Helen Almeter,
Kelly Mulhern, and Megan Mead are their proud new additions
this year. During this Summer Training, in particular, Andy
has especially increased his devotion to Our Lady and strives
to conform his life to hers. As is shown in this picture,
he is “blessed among women.” He wants to say to
the other men, “Guys, y’all are really missin’
out!” He has been quoted as saying, “I love the
attention!” In
this picture: Anne Wolpert ’05 (University of
Missouri Kansas City), Marie Antunes ’05 (Illinois
State University), Kelly Mulhern ’06 (University
of North Florida), Megan Mead ’06 (University
of Massachusetts), Christine Wright ’02 (Denver
Metro), Trish Metzger ’05 (George Mason), Helen
Almeter ’05 (University of Maryland), Andy Day
’06 (Seton Hall), Sarah Akers ’00 (East
Coast Regional Director).
Sean
and Halyna Kay are living in Boston, Ma where Sean is
a senior manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Halyna is staying
busy at home with the birth of Cecilia Kathleen on May 3rd.
She joins her older siblings Alexandra 7, Aidan 5, Sean 3,
and Natalia 23 months.
Jessica
Ciesla '06 relocated to Duluth, MN with her family. The
move went very well but now they live in three places at once.
Apparently where they live, it is called West Duluth, Proctor
AND Bay View. Weird huh? Jess landed a job as a part-time
bank teller at Western National Bank. She's never seen so
much money in her life (except when whe went shopping for
Christmas Formal for SAC). None of that money is coming to
her, however so she is currently investigating (drum roll
please) becoming a part-time BARTENDER!!! Ahhh, the things
alumni do nowadays so that they can afford medical insurance.
:O) Hopefully, since bartending is a high paying job, she
will be able to earn enough money to pay off some debt and
earn some more. She is hoping to go back to school for some
kind of art program... God willing of course. You can do it
Jessica!!
Margaret
(Healy) Pickard '84, saw a wedding photo in the June online
Grapevine, and read that Christy (Coy) Dodge '05, had
recently married and moved to Virginia Beach. Shortly thereafter,
Margaret noticed someone new at daily Mass at St. Gregory
Parish in Virginia Beach. The young woman looked familiar,
and was, indeed, Christy! Welcome to Tidewater! The Pickards
enjoyed a visit from her brother, Fr. Daniel Healy, in May.
He is a priest of the Anawim Community, www.anawim.com and
lives in Manila, the Philippines, where he is director of
their Community Center and the House of Formation for seminarians.
He visited Margaret, Mike, and their children, Claire (14),
Joseph (12), Luke (9), and George (6), at their home in Virginia
Beach during a trip to the States. Having forgotten Mother's
Day, Margaret and Fr. Daniel used Claire's new digital camera
to create a long-distance Mother's Day card for their mom,
Gretchen Healy, in St. Paul MN.
Having
had his fair share of stained glass, saints' tombs, muscat,
and camembert, Chris Lane '03 returns from his European
travels on July 1. The pilgrimage from Notre-Dame de Paris
to Notre-Dame de Chartres was incredible--there's nothing
like walking and singing for three days in honor of Our Lady
with thousands of other Catholics. It's held yearly around
Pentecost weekend--don't miss it if you ever get the chance.
Really. Since then, he has passed his time learning French
at the Paris Alliance Française, visiting shrines in
Paris and environs, trying to pronounce "un an,"
and tolerating soccer fans.
Niall
O'Donnell is back in the USA and living with Bryan Hadro
and Mathew Gelis. Fantastic so far. His last days in Rome
were bitter with thoughts of parting, but sweet with thoughts
of returning home to Sherry, family and friends. Christine
Collins came out for a visit. Alumnae Alphonse Lopez-Pinto
Rizal, Tom Carroll, James Maldonado-Berry and Niall (along
with Magdalene College Alumnus, Jeremy Kryn) had a farewell
lunch at a fine pizzeria… His days as IML are officially
over. We hope we don’t live with this Sede Vacantis for
long. We need to have the conclave and find a successor…
Jake
and Jessica (Morgan) Meza welcomed Rose Marie Meza into
the world recently. She weighed 7 and 1/2 lbs and they should
have pictures for the September issue. I guess Jake is not
gloating too much over the fact that he was right (they had
a girl as he predicted) and that Jessica . . . well let's
just say that she was right too. Moms are always right, right?
On
May 20th, 2006 at St. Alphonsus Church in Baltimore Jeffrey
C. Elliott '96 took Kristin L. Hibl '97 as his
bride. The Tridentine nuptial Mass and vows were presided
over by Rev. Robert Skeris. A slew of Christendom friends
and family were in attendance to help celebrate the joyous
occasion. The Elliotts will stay in the Baltimore area.
Jacqu
(Walz) Fetsko '83 and her husband completed their first
marathon (The Rite Aid Marathon) this past May. They did it
in under 6 hours!!!!I Jacqu's dad was at mile 26 waiting for
them and her mom was at the finish line with chocolates and
a blanket! Their daughter will be starting at Christendom
College this fall (Therese Anne). They look forward to seeing
some of their classmates and their kids this fall!!!
Danny
Heenan '05 just completed his first year of teaching history
and catechism to grades 5-7 at the brand new Our Lady of Hope
Catholic School in Potomac Falls, VA. There he worked hard,
bringing the children to a variety of field trips including
Harpers Ferry (where they learned about the famous war that
took place from 1961-1865. They also went to Old St. Mary's
Church in Washington DC where he took several students to
experience the beauty of a Solemn High Mass in the Traditional
Latin Rite. He also brought his entire 7th grade class (5
students) to attend the March for Life. Next year Danny will
continue to work at Our Lady of Hope, but only part-time because
he received a scholarship and teaching assistantship from
the history department at CUA.
Pearse
Marschner '01 wrapped up his time in Syria and Lebanon
just as the Israelis were beginning to unwrap theirs. Finished
with war zones for at least a year, he is taking full advantage
of the rare summer water-level of the Shenandoah en canoe
avec dog, Kip. His fiancee, Catherine, keeps him coming back
to shore at regular intervals.
Calendar
of events
October
6-8, 2006: Homecoming
top of page
Press
Releases and Campus News: http://www.christendom.edu/news/releases.shtml
top of page
