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.
September
2006 edition of The
Grapevine Online
Class
Notes / Calendar of Events / Links
to Stories / Prior
issues
Class
notes
Jake
and Laura (Sadelson) Minick '06 are now officially
husband and wife (August 26th). They are currently living
in Charlotte where Jake started Law School two days after
the wedding (he knows... he's crazy). Laura will start her
teaching position next week. Jake recently turned down Pixar
Studios when they asked him to be the voice of Lightning McQueen
in their summer blockbuster hit: Cars. Jake felt that the
character of Lightning might tarnish his "nice guy image."
Jake's agent "Bud" stated that Lightning's smile
was not as genuine as Jake's, at least not at the beginning
of the film. "It might have meant a nicer honeymoon for
Laura and I with the money I could have made from that movie,"
said Jake, "but my years at Christendom taught me that
there is more to life than money." Pixar was interested
in Jake for the part when they learned that he was one of
three people on Santa's Nice List in 2005.
Chris
(1990-1992) and Jessica McFadden are happy to announce
the birth of their second child and first daughter Eve Maria.
She was born on March 22 weighing 8 lbs. 1 oz and 20 inches.
She is a very happy baby and her older brother Charlie thinks
she's the greatest.
Leah
Marsh '06 will soon be starting her fall semester at University
of Wisconsin - Milwaukee for Post-Bac Teacher Certification.
"It's a really liberal school, and very different from
what I'm used to, so I could use a lot of prayers," said
Leah. Leah was very surprised to see Scythian in Milwaukee
recently (August 17) for Irish Fest. "It was nice to
see a little bit of Christendom culture out here in the midwest."
Tim
and Leah Coffey just wanted to let the grapevine readers
know about the new addition to their family. Maureen Rene
was born July 19th, 7 lbs 14 oz and already looks like she
has doubled in size! The Coffeys are planning a trip east
in Mid September for Marc Pierre Jansen's wedding.
John
Kelsey would just like to say that if any Christendomites
happen to be traveling in the Hyde Park NY area (I believe
Hyde Park is Fr. MacLucas' hometown and is sorta on the way
to Auriesville) in the northern part of the archdiocese of
NY, they are encouraged to stop in the brewpub for a pint...
www.hydeparkbrewing.com
Christy
Van Sant ’03 married Christian Renkawitz June 30th,
2006 in Cape Cod , MA. In attendance were Bethany Sargis ’03,
Theresa Fer ’03, Alyssa Lombardi ’03 and Heather
Tansey ’03.
Kelly
Fogarty '06 is teaching 132 sophomores New Testament as
a religion teacher at Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne,
IN. "AHHHH!!!! It's nice to be back in this area so that
I can do fun things with friends and family" (including
alumnus Aunt Kelly (Kuhn) Shininger). Kelly Fogarty
would love to hear from people, if they would like to write
her at this address: kelly_m_fogarty@yahoo.com
Heidi
and Nick Oligny (both '06) say "Hello from Denver!"
They were married July 22 and are now living in Denver. They'd
love to hear from anyone who is in the area or passing through.
Justin
and Molly (Becker) Smith are proud to announce the birth
of their daughter, Lucy Margaret Mary (photo at right), born
on July 22nd, 2006. She weighed 8 lbs., 3 oz., and was 20
3/4 ins. long. With her mother's sweet disposition and her
father's great sense of humor, she's a very happy baby, and
is looking forward to attending Christendom in 2024. Go class
of 2028!
Jacinta
Whittaker '05 started classes as a full-time transfer
student at Shenandoah Conservatory at Shenandoah University
on Monday, in the organ performance BM curriculum. Attending
a school close to home allows her to stay at home while continuing
her education and to keep in touch with friends and family.
With the grace of God, she may even be able to maintain a
small sort of Catholic group on the Shenandoah campus. She's
depending on those Christendom College pray-ers for a good
and productive school semester!
Csilla
and Gerry Zapiain and their children Christopher and
Bernadette recently visited the Central Parish Church of St.
Mary in Széchenyi square in Pécs, south central
Hungary. At one time, it was the town's chief mosque, having
been built by Pasha Kassim on the same site as and using the
stones from the old Romanesque church of St. Bartholomew.
After the Turks were expelled, Jesuits re-dedicated the building
as a church and renovated it in the Baroque style. Note the
fact that the crescent was left behind... 
only
to be topped with a cross! The Turkish dome construction is
particularly impressive - the main structure is topped by
a stalactite-vaulted roof followed by an octagonal tambour
structure which in turn is covered by a 92ft high green dome.
Also left intact is the typicalIslamic feature of the prayer-niche(mihrab)
facing Mecca, on the south wall near the main entrance.During
their travels abroad, Christopher and Bernadette also had
a chance to sit at the controls of a Russian Tupolev 154 passenger
aircraft: Aviation Heritage Display, Budapest, Hungary.
Maria
Bissex had planned on going back to school full time,
but God had something else in mind, and Maria is teaching
again . . . at St. John's Academy in McLean where she joins
Christendom alums Sebastian Jansen, Sabatino Carnazzo, and
Nicole Calio. She's teaching music for the pre-K through 8th
grades, as well as assisting in the formation of a children's
chant choir for the school Mass and one of the Sunday Masses.
She has lots of support from their pastor Fr. McAfee, the
music director Mr. David Lang, and the principal Mr. Peter
Schultz. She's planning on taking a few classes as well to
work towards her Masters in Music Education. In the meantime,
she hopes to see some Christendom alumni out for the 9:00
a.m. Mass in the next few months to hear their beautiful children's
choir sing traditional sacred music!
Emily
and Ted Eidem's (both '00) oldest, Mary, started Kindergarten
last week at Holy Angels Academy in Louisville. This was a
big parental milestone for them! "When it's time to pass
the test, Kindergarten is the best!"
Nate
Schuetz '06 is currently in bootcamp. He went to Navy
boot on Friday Aug 25th. He will be done sometime in late
October. Please remember to keep him in your prayers.
After
failing to secure a temporary job in Virginia post graduation,
Trena Pilegaard '06 spent a relaxing summer at her
parents home in California. She found various ways to beat
the heat in one of the hottest California summers on record,
including an exclusive wine tasting tour in Napa Valley (wine
cellars are maintained at 55 degrees, very good when it is
116 outside). When it wasn't in a wineglass trying to tell
the difference between a Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon,
Trena's nose was never
very far from the musty pages of a good book. Lest some begin
to think Trena spent all her time in frivolity, she wasn't
completely idle and spent a good deal of time freelancing.
Now she is ready for some adventure and is heading to Rome
to be Christendom College's Rome Program Resident Director
for the 2006-07 school year. The position is not only an exciting
prospect, but is extremely providential as it will allow her
to be home for the birth of her newest sibling (#12) at Christmas
time. She hopes to see many Christendom classmates and alumni
in the Eternal City.
The Class
of ’98 annual reunion was recently held in Florida ,
as usual. Pictured at Epcot are Chris and Sarah Muro with
Isabella and Katalina, Johnangelo Leggio, and Gregory
Whelton.
Brittany
and Breton Smith recently took a vacation to the Outer
Banks in North Carolina with some of their family. "It
is the most beautiful place I've ever been, rivaling the Amalfi
Coast and Assisi in Italy. There are wild horses there that
run along the beach and roll in the sand, and they come right
up to the vacation homes to eat the grass and probably food
from the tourists that they are not supposed to be eating,"
remarked Brittany. Brittany has two dogs, and has recently
purchased a new car (that can be seen by clicking this link:
www.hyundaiusa.com/vehicle/elantra/trim/gt.aspx.
Her work continues at NVMS along with fellow CC alumni Chris
VanderWoude, Heather Tansey, and Sharon Scanlon. They
are about to move to a new office in Old Town Manassas and
everyone is very excited about it. You should ask Sharon about
her Feng Shui strategies for decorating it--she's got a lot
of ideas.
Here
is little Rose Marie Meza, the one-month old daughter of Jake
and Jessica Meza (both '05),who already has enough
hair to put a bow in it! Also shown is a picture with her
proud parents at her baptism on Sunday, August 13th. Photos
courtesy of the Morgan family.
Alex
and Dan Fedoryka just came back from a tour in the Midwest
where they headlined the St. Paul MN Irish Fair with Liam
Clancy & Gaelic Storm and played at the Milwaukee Irish
Fest with Tommy Makem. Alumni Erica Quest, Ben McMahon
and Colleen Fier made it out to the St. Paul festival
where Scythian played to a crowd of 7,000 people. Jeff
Carr showed his support in Milwaukee along with Paul
Blaney where Scythian was one of only two bands to get
a five star rating (out of the 90 bands participating) from
the festival president. The big crowds and the great reviews
were great, but the highlight of the trip was when Liam Clancy
asked Dan to share a mic with him (see photo) and lead a verse
of “The Wild Rover”. Thanks to
Dr. O’Donnell for the sing-along prep he gave them at
St. Patrick’s Day– Dan was able to remember the
verse. The brothers Fed also got to chat with Tommy Makem
(who’s battling cancer) and got the inside scoop on where
he got a lot of his songs (his mom). Overall, Scythian’s
first major festivals turned out well and they hope to be
back next year. "Thanks all you alumni for coming out
& showing your support." Scythian’s next festivals
are in Muskegon , MI and Wildwood NJ – both in September.
For more info (and pics) you can check out www.scythianmusic.com.
Mike
and Mary (Boever) Blum welcomed Anthony Pio into their
family on July 21st. He is a healthy little boy (pictured
right), weighing 8lbs 8oz at birth, and loves his big sister
Agnes (17 months). Dad, Mom and little ones are doing well.
Here is
some exciting news from the Akers. Matt and Jan's
second daughter was born at then end of last month: Isabel
Virginia. Zach is at Benedictine College in Atchison,
KS, as the Residential Director of Turner Hall (over 140 freshmen
men) and also the head of the Men's Formation Work Group.
He is currently enjoying it in Kansas. If anyone was wondering,
he recently found out that there are actually good Catholics
at other Catholic institutions other than Christendom! If
anyone is in the KC Area, feel free to stop by, as Zach is
less than an hour north of KC zakers8@hotmail.com.
This
past May (2006) Fr. Ben Cameron, CPM spent the month
giving parish missions in Melbourne, Australia; it was the
first mission preaching trip by the Fathers of Mercy outside
of North America in about 100 years. Anyone who would like
to read about this mission trip should visit: www.fathersofmercy.com/current_events/news/australia_2006
Since
graduating from Christendom, and completing several European
vacations and years of dedicated work, Craig Summers
'92 went on to the University of Phoenix to a complete
a Bachelors in Business in June 2004. Craig married Christan
Nagle on August 14 2004 at Resurrection Parish in southern
New Jersey. They are living in Nokesville Va, and now have
a son Colin Michael (at left) born June 20 2006, and baptised
August 19. Christan is home taking care of Colin, while Craig
works in finance for a defense contractor in Woodbridge VA.
David
Wallace '05, just completed his year of candidacy in Bavaria
with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. He
is currently trying to stay cool in the August heat of Alabama
during a brief vacation. On September 11th he will begin formal
seminary studies at the motherhouse of the Institute in Gricigliano,
outside Florence, Italy. However, before heading back over
to Europe, David will make a three-day stop in northern Virginia
for some well-wishing to a few of the now not-so-newly-weds
of the class of 2005 (and their children). He'll be in the
Front Royal area Sept. 4-6. David offers an open invitation
to anyone who would like to come to Italy for his vestition
and tonsure next June, a great opportunity to see a week of
Pontifical High Masses and ordinations in the traditional
Roman Rite nestled in the hills of Tuscany! This photo is
from this year's priestly ordinations, celebrated by the Most
Reverend Archbishop of St. Louis, MO, Raymond L. Burke. (David
is the non-cleric on the left.) David requests many prayers
as he continues his seven-year formation towards the sacred
and eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ."
On
Friday, August 18, Sharon Scanlon celebrated her birthday.
Friends joined her for a game at the Potomac Nationals. Here's
Sharon with their mascot. If you look close you can see the
elusive Chris Vander Woude in the the background. He and his
new fiance wore matching orange outfits.
The Hatke
Family's Italian Odyssey has passed the halfway mark with
a return date of December 1. At the close of August, things
are already getting a little chilly in their mountain hideaway
in Gravagna. Ben
continues to paint, while Anna gardens and the kids
run wild through cobbled paths. You can read more news about
the Hatke's any time through Ben's weekly updates at www.househatke.com
or on Anna's blog:
http://passathepasta.livejournal.com
And lots of pictures at: www.flickr.com/photos/49013086@N00
Jennifer
(O'Gorman) Flippen finished up a trip to Italy returning
August 9th. She enjoyed being the guest of the very gracious
Hatkes (Ben and Anna). They reside in an incredibly
lovely and untouched part of Italy called Gravagna up in the
mountains. It is close to Pisa (as in Leaning Tower of . .
) and a few hours from Florence where Ben is studying art.
It was a great visit since she was able to reside in a real
Italian village with simple Italian people (like the guy who
came to dinner and drank a little too much wine and kept switching
between singing (in Italian) and snoring (Universal Language).
The town of Gravagna is on the side of a mountain with a wonderful
view of a deep narrow valley which immediately leads back
into another beautiful mountain. It was great to clear the
mind so she could come back and return to her domestic duties.
The photo was taken from the courtyard of the tiny village's
lovely church. In the photo are Jen, Anna Hatke with
daughters Angelica and Zita, Jamie Berger, and a British
friend named Hannah (Jen regrets to admit that she not only
doesn't know her last name but not even the correct spelling
of her first) who was great to chat with!! Florence was lovely
but past in a blur as Jen
and Anna ran around trying to see everything. Also, Jen and
Francois are expecting another wee babe in January.
Please keep her in your prayers for a safe and healthy delivery.
Beth
(Fittin) Wiener '90 and her family went on a fishing
trip recently on Lake Superior, in Minnesota. Husband Chris,
daughter Kateri (8), son Andrew (11), daughter Rachel (11),
and me. Things are going well here and everyone is anxious
for school to begin again.
Robyn
Lee’s '02 job title was switched around from editorial
assistant to assistant editor of Faith & Family
magazine (but she is still the editorial assistant for the
National Catholic Register). If you’ve never heard
of the Register or Faith & Family check them out at www.ncregister.com
and www.faithandfamilymag.com.
Michael
Cerny and Bernadine Martell '04; Married August 5,
2006; Kansas City, KS.
Joseph
Woodard is in Honduras and staying pretty busy with the
Missioners of Christ. Joseph has found there is much to be
done, and the field is ripe for harvest down there (similar
to what he saw in China). Joseph is continuing to enjoy Mr.
O´Herron´s Metaphysics notes (though, tristemente,
Spanish is taking priority over metaphysics for a while).
The website for the Missioners of Christ in Honduras is honduras.missioners.org,
and if you´re interested in their work, contact tony@missioners.org.
Joseph has a few more pictures posted at www.xanga.com/randomcollegestudent.
"Pray for us, and for the Church in Honduras. . . . I
love ya´ll and miss ya´ll. ¡Vayan con Dios!"
Calendar
of events
October
6-8, 2006: Homecoming
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Press
Releases and Campus News: http://www.christendom.edu/news/releases.shtml
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