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.
October
2006 edition of The
Grapevine Online
Class
Notes / Calendar of Events / Links
to Stories / Prior
issues
Class
notes
Dan
Miller (80's) and family traveled 110 miles to Johnson
City, NY to watch the Crusaders take on Davis College. Why?
To see #20 Matt vanLieshout, Christendom freshman and first
Holy Cross Academy graduate to enter Christendom. The ladies
won, but the men lost in a close match. Also, Dan is proud
that Holy Cross Academy again has been ranked one of the nations
top 50 Catholic schools (and in the top 20 for Catholic Identity),
one of only 12 to receive the honor three years running. Don't
forget to support HCA by entering the Huge Cash Raffle with
$15,000 in prizes, top prize $5,000, only 300 tickets printed
and 25 drawings, so your odds are excellent. Tickets are $100.
Go to www.holycrossacademy.com
and support a school founded on Christendom's mission of restoring
all things in Christ.
Greg
and Emily Costello would like to announce the birth
of Ella Elizabeth on August 9. She weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and
they are all doing really well.
Mike
and Heather (Wier) Hambleton and Tom and Emily
(Meeks) Williams met in New York City last weekend for
a double date! They spent the day all over the city including
Little Italy for the St. Genaro festival and Battery Park.
Before going to dinner at a piano bar, Emily and Heather of
course did some shopping! Please pray for Heather and Mike
as they travel through Egypt for two weeks, and Emily and
Tom as they enter the last month before the baby is born.
Damien
and Christy (Coy) Dodge '05 are having fun in Virginia
Beach, especially now that the tourists are gone and the beaches
aren't so crowded! They have been settling into Navy life,
but are looking forward to Damien starting a Shore Tour job
later this year. The most exciting news is that they are expecting
a little one to arrive sometime in April! Please pray for
them and their baby during these next few months.
On
September 15 (the Feast of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows), Katy
(Jenkins) Hochschild presented her husband Adam with a
son and heir, Maxwell Steven Mariae Hochschild. Born at home
at 4:36 in the morning, the long-awaited child weighed a healthy
8lb. 4oz. and was 20 and 3/4 in. long. The whole family is
well and happy.
For those
of you who don't know, Therese Dodge '06 is gallavanting
around Italy....again! She is a teacher/RA at the Institute
of the Religious of the Sacred Heart in Florence, Italy. It
is a private school, teaching Pre-K through Senior High. For
all those “Rome students” who have been blessed
to have been taught by Madre, it is the school run by her
order. Therese is working as a dorm-mother for their boarding
students and is helping out the Sisters there with all of
their needs. Please keep her in your prayers for a happy and
holy year! She would love to see any Christendomites who might
be passing through Italy, so stop by and she will give you
a tour of Florence! If you wish, you can contact her at: pixilatedted@hotmail.com
She is having loads of fun, even though she has to learn Italian
and iron all the girls' clothes. :) Last week, the Christendom
Rome group visited the convent and she was able to jump on
and off their tours every so often during the mornings and
join in some of their evening classes. It was fun to see Madre
in classroom mode and to be a mischievious college student
again! One of the nights she was even able to go out to dinner
with a few of the Christendomites (Dan Henson, Laura Shrader,
and Trena Pilegaard). She was very sorry to have to say good-bye
to them all at the end of the week! But she is enjoying her
time in Florence and wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
Mark
and Anna (Hepler) Mourachian are the proud parents
of twin girls. Miriam and Naomi were born on September 30th,
just one day before their due date. At 7 lbs 4oz and 7lbs
10oz, Anna might have set a record for having the largest
twins on the Grapevine. Both Mom and babies are doing
great. Miriam and Naomi join their sister, Florence, 3 and
brother, Joshua, almost 2.
The Redner
sisters say hello! Neither will make it to homecoming this
year: Maizie couldn't get time off from her studies
at the Research Center for Paranormal and Erratic Behavior
in Canada, where she enrolled in behavioral studies this fall.
Although class and observation missions keep her busy, she
hopes all her classmates are keeping their sanity . . . something
she doesn't encounter much at the Research Center. Suzannah
leaves October 6th for a trip to Russia to meet with a long
time correspondent there. She says the total change of environment
will give her a mental break and refresh her writing.
Jaclyn
Weber, who's living with Suzannah, has started researching
for the bestseller: Why Great Danes Make the Best Apartment
Pet. An anonymous source says this is a response to the
ban on pets in her current residence; however this statement
is unconfirmed. She's looking forward to seeing all her old
classmates this homecoming weekend.
Becky
(Birch) Kunasz hasn't been up to much lately. But just
six months ago, Cyprian Alexander Kunasz (photo on left) was
born into their family. Six weeks later her husband Markian
came home from Iraq safe and sound; and got to meet his son!!
Adriana
Richardson has moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where she
is a graduate student at Marquette University, getting her
Master's in Counseling, specifically addictions counseling.
She has already become a Registered Alcohol and Drug Counselor
(RADC-I) in the state of Wisconsin - she passed the test and
everything! She is training/volunteering at a nice homeless
shelter in downtown Milwaukee with the addiction recovery
program at the clinic they have there. She is planning on
graduating in 2008 after which she will change the world,
and all of it's addicts. To make money she works for the Milwaukee
Symphony Orchestra doing ticket sales - a no-brainer job is
necessary in certain situations and hers is one of those situations.
She lives in a one room apartment with her pet iguana Greendale,
in a particularly crime-ridden area of the "drunkest"
city in the USA (according to Forbes). Adriana told some of
the residents at the shelter that once upon a time she herself
was a category on Jeopardy, but they didn't believe her.
Here's
a shot of Jim and Ellen (Storey) Kelly '94 with
their two boys Joseph and Peter during a fun family vacation
in Seattle this past August. The Kellys were visiting "the
grandparents" and enjoyed seeing their cousins too, the
children of Rick and Amy (Strada) Storey, as well as
Patrick and Jill (Watson) Storey.
Kate
Power from Australia, is engaged to be married! She believes
that she may very well be the last from her group of Christendom
friends to take this big step! She will be marrying Steve
Tyndall (Melbourne, Australia) on Saturday, November 11th,
back in her hometown of Brisbane. She will send through a
picture after the big event. Both her sisters Ann-Louise
and Erica will be acting as Bridesmaids.
Jessica
Ciesla '06 recently received a job promotion at the bank
where she has been working. She was promoted to full-time
Vault teller. This means that she will be selling money to
the fed and evaluating employees. This is a very perplexing
situation for her since she went to Christendom attempting
to escape the clutches of all math related work. "I guess
that's the world we live in" said Jessica, with a smile.
Bar tending is still a possibility, but she has put it on
hold for a bit. Ironically enough . . . she inspired her sister
to take it up and she started her first bartending job a few
days ago.
As for Nate Scheutz, he is doing well. He received
a job within his division. He helps lead everyone in their
marching drills. He is only allowed to write letters on Sundays.
He recently spent a week on the gun range and firefighting.
It isnt all boyhood fantasies however, there is a lot of tedious
testing that continues to go on and as he put it "the
first week he felt like they were cows to the slaughter."
Needless to say, prayers for his success would be greatly
appreciated.
Michael
Gabriel Wallacavage, son of Mark and Katy Wallacavage
was baptized on Sunday, October 1st after the Latin mass at
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church in the Historic Overbrook
Farms section of Philadelphia, near St. Charles Seminary and
the Cardinal's residence. Picture includes Mr and Mrs. Michael
Wallacavage and Kathy's parents, Dr. John and Martha Haas.
Dr. John Haas is the President of the National Catholic Bioethics
Center (www.ncbcenter.org)
and the International Institute for Culture (www.iiculture.org),
both located within two blocks of this beautiful church.
Mark's
older brother, Mike Wallacavage '89, having worked
for several years as the Program Director at the International
Institute for Culture, grew to know and love the rich architectural
historical sections of Philadelphia. Now a real estate agent
with Keller Williams, he specializes in Overbrook Farms Real
Estate. His recent transactions include procuring an investment
property for Alex and Dan Fedoryka and a first
home for Teresa Fedoryka in this neighborhood. If you
know anyone interesting in moving to the historic neighborhood
of Overbrook Farms, please contact him at mike@mikewalla.com
or 484-947-4975.
Joe
and Kate (Murrell) Pride '98 with GiGI (4yrs), Jack
(2yrs.), and Sophia (7mos.), celebrated Kate's 30th birthday
and their 5th Wedding Anniversary with a variety of festivities
in Helen, GA in September (see photo at left).
Bernadine
"Bunny" (Martell) Cerny '04 wants to share some
pictures of her wedding, here's the link: www.mikecerny.com/wedding
They went to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole in Wyoming for most
of their Honeymoon, and then spent a couple days in Denver,
visiting wineries and eating at restaurants that were new
to at least one of them (Mike had never been to Red Robin
before, and he loved it! They had the best waiter ever, there
in Denver! Bunny had never been to Macaroni Grill, and she
loved it, too!) They saw some of Mike's highschool classmates
in Denver at the Latin Mass there, and they had no idea Mike
was married... or that he was on his honeymoon, so they got
a kick out of that, and congratulated them. They visited the
Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (Bunny's Confirmation
Saint) just outside of Denver, atop a small mountain. Yellowstone
was beautiful, but they saw VERY little wildlife, only a couple
elk, and a buffalo or two way off in the distance, and chipmunks,
up close. Overall, it was a fun roadtrip, and to pass the
time on the long stretches of boring highway, Bunny read aloud
from "The Search for St. Valeria," a book by William
Biersach, which she recommends to anyone who would like a
good mystery (you might want to read "The Endless Knot"
and "The Darkness Did Not" before you read St. Valeria
since it is a triology). Any alum passing through the KC area
(Kansas or Missouri side), let Bunny know if you need a place
to stay or a warm meal. Email her at bunaboo@gmail.com.
The
Dan Vander Woudes are proud to announce the birth of
their fourth son, Luke. He showed up on Sunday, September
17th at 8 lbs. 14oz. He is much "loved" by his three
older brothers, John Paul (5 yrs), Bobby (3 yrs.) and Michael
(1 1/2 yrs.).
Chris
Mirus '97 is occupying a one-year position in philosophy
at the University of Dallas; he hopes it will turn into something
more permanent. At the end of the month he will be back in
New York giving a paper on Aristotle at a conference on ancient
and medieval philosophy.
Alex
and Daniel Fedoryka have been asked to be “Men
of the Month” for Lionheart Apparel – a new Catholic
clothing line. Founded by a UD & Catholic U grad, Lionheart
provides clothing which is Catholic but not overt: using ancient
symbols and scriptural references as designs. Of note Tarek,
of Catholic U., was on last season’s Apprentice (along
with Jennifer Murphy) and he used his business skills and
money to launch the venture. Check out the T-Shirts and hats
at www.lionheartapparel.com.
Lionheart donates 10% of all proceeds to pro-Life organizations.
After
graduating from Franciscan University of Steubenville with
a degree in Biology, Larissa Fedoryka moved to Boston
where she found a teacher who encouraged her to audition to
music schools. She was accepted to Boston Conservatory where
she studied cello performance with Andy Mark. During the spring
semester, she and her studio were 
able
to see Yo-Yo Ma’s dress rehearsal with the BSO. Afterwards,
they were invited to visit with Yo-Yo Ma (see photo at right)
where they played his cello (once the famous english cellist’s,
Jaqueline DuPre’s) and conversed with him for over an
hour. He is a very humble man and very inspiring. Over the
summer Larissa attended a music festival where she met Dr.
Michael Carrera and decided to transfer to Ohio University
in Athens, Ohio for further study. It's great for Larissa
to be out of the city and back in the country. We'll see how
long it will be before she gets the ol' Wanderlust again.
Calendar
of events
October
6-8, 2006: Homecoming
December
1, 2006: Life on Tap
February
24-26, 2007: Vocation Weekend
March
31, 2007: Alumni Career Mentoring Reception
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Press
Releases and Campus News: http://www.christendom.edu/news/releases.shtml
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