June 2004

Class notes

Teresa Selby Fink '89 is currently studying how to write children's literature. In March, she joined the Kansas Author's Club, and sent some of her stories into the District 6 (her district) writing contest. In April, she received third place for her children's story entitled Ewe're Not Fat, Ewe're Fluffy. She was so excited and very proud of her accomplishment. (The woman who received first and second place had been writing and teaching how to write children's literature for years!) She plans on sending the story in to the state-wide competition in June. She is also currently writing a profile on the woman, Patricia Brooks Carey, who founded a planetarium in Hutchinson, Kansas in 1962. Please pray that she will be able to get all of her facts correct, and will be able to get her story written and turned in by the deadline of June 19. The planetarium Mrs. Carey founded is now known as the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. It is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute, and holds the most space artifacts than any other museum in the country, possibly even the world. They have more artifacts there than even NASA has in its museum. The Cosmosphere houses the Apollo 13 capsule, and will soon house the touring restored Liberty Bell 7 capsule, plus many other fascinating items. It also has omnimax theater and planetarium shows daily, and hosts some wonderful space camps every year. It's a great place to visit! In October, a centennial book celebrating the Kansas Author's Club will be released. One of her poems will be in the book. She is a published writer now! Above is a picture of her four wonderful children - Thomas, 7: Megan, 5: Anthony, 9; and Diane, 3. It was taken during a trip over spring break. Aren't they adorable?

Mark and Katy Wallacavage brought Isabel Wallacavage into the world at 9am on Tuesday morning June 1st at a weight of 9.9 lbs.

Meghan Bratt Doran was at graduating with her baby (see right). Her sister, Lesly Bratt, graduated and is now a member of the elite Admissions and Marketing Office team at Christendom College.

Wedding news: Mike Schmitt and Ann Fraser were married on May 22; Katie Wathen and Robert Edge were married on May 29; Alex Doylend and Ron Klassen are getting married on June 5 as are Jill Watson and Patrick Storey on that day; Leah Slinger and John Halisky are getting hitched on June 12; Mary Boever and Mike Blum the following week on June 19, as are Liz Hendricks and Nat Lloyd; followed by Amber Meza and Louis Massett's wedding on June 26th. Whew. That's a lot of cake to have and eat.

Gerard Saguto '98 was ordained to the priesthood on May 22. He is now a priest of the Fraternity of St. Peter. He joins fellow alumni Fr. Tom Longua FSSP, and Fr. Joseph Porter FSSP.

Mike Eidem '04 recently won a radio contest by guessing the name and artist of a song that was played backwards. He was so excited. He will now be going to a Blink 182 and No Doubt concert at the expense of WincFM radio.

Mary Lou (Foley) Loftus has just completed her first year as principal of St. Anthony Academy in Manassas, VA. In addition to her high-school teaching duties, she has been working on developing the academy's curriculum. Currently, the school is in need of a 3-4th grade teacher on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or a high-school Literature teacher on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Would be a great part-time job! Contact marylouloftus@yahoo.com.

Real estate agent and alumna Elizabeth Price has been taken off the market. Yep, she is now dating an Internet Guy. Here's what she has to say about the whole thing: "I don't know if you are familiar with Ave Maria Singles website... it's an online Catholic Dating Service. Well, next week I am going to be on the front page of the Northern Virginia Daily because they did a report on me and my boyfriend who met on this site.. Anyhow, I thought I'd pass out the word for Catholic friends to check out the paper next week because I am famous."

Another bit of celebrity news ... US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was caught getting a photo taken with Gabriel Young (01). On May 16, 2004, 4
Christendom Alumni graduated from Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor MI. Andrea Hale, Angela Pfister, Christopher Young, and Gabriel Young as well as Mark Bailey (brother to Katie Bailey (01) walked across the stage to receive their degrees and be congratulated by the Commencement Speaker, Justice Thomas. They all go to their various states to study for the legal Bar Examination before heading off to theirr various jobs (including Judicial Clerkships and US Air Force JAG Corps). Please keep them in your prayers as they all prepare for the Bar Exam on July 27th and 28th (yes it is hard and yes it is 2 full days).

News from Caroline Pollock '03: Kristin Starcher '03 and Rob Brown '02 are engaged!!!! Caroline is their wedding planner. Katie Kreiger is also getting married and Caroline is her second in command

Christen McCaffrey married Jason Manak on May 17th. Pic is to the right. Eveything went well as planned. They are now living in CO.

Ben and Elizabeth Butina '03 would like to let the world know that Rose Therese Butina was born on May 31 at 6:35pm! She weighed 7lbs 8oz at birth, and is 20 inches long. Mom and baby came through labor and delivery just fine and are now back at home--at the new house! Ben and Elizabeth would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support, and they promise to send pictures of little Rose and the new house soon.

Jonathan and Sherri Carlson also announce the birth of their little cherub Martha Grace (not named after St. Martha of Stewart). Born on May 25th weighing in at a stunning 7 lbs 10oz and measuring 21 inches, Jon says that he is quite happy that the kid looks like Sherri and not him (aren't we all). Young Martha scored a nice 12.9 on her little baby test, so I guess she also got Sherri's smarts too!

Katie Bailey Halisky (who claims no line of lineage with Raymond Hain, despite what Karla reported in the last Grapevine) has informed the Grapevine that twins could be in her future. Facts are sketchy but she is definitely pregnant. She is also into pointing fingers at people, especially priests. Remember, Katie, there's that old saying about beams and splinters...

Also seen pregnant was Maria Gaetano O'Brien.

And Anna Wright Polley is pregnant and due on or around September 10th.

Jaime Berger '03 is going to North Dakota in August to teach on an Indian reservation. It is a missionary school run by S.O.L.T. (Fr. John Corapi's order). If you think of it, please send a few prayers up that everything works out okay for her.

From Jean Rohan "Our roommate, Christine Beglis, will be traveling the world this summer (from June 29-August 17) and was hoping to sublet her room so that she won't have to pay rent during that time. It is $425 per month + utilities which run between $50-$100. It's the basement bedroom room in a small house with it's own private bathroom and comes complete with three fantasticlly WONDERFUL roommates (Karla K, Beth Bowes & Jean Rohan) in Oakton, VA and it is 20 minutes outside the city. If you have any interest please email cbeglis@hotmail.com or je_rohan@hotmail.com.Thanks, sorry no photos I have some real winners of Karla, but she would KILL me, so this is all."

The Laxton family asks for continued prayers for Ben, serving in Iraq (second from the right in pic). Ben is now a captain select, and looking forward to the promotion and pay raise. He has orders to move to Oklahoma in October, after this second deployment to Iraq is completed. Alicia and the girls are spending the summer in NY, to hurry the time and enjoy her family. Then it will be a hectic month of homecoming, moving, and settling in to a new life in OK. For those who they have lost contact with, their email is laxtoniusmaximus@aol.com. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Some exciting news from Andrew and Julie (Fox) Fier, both of ’01: Julie won a trivia contest on the radio and the prize was a ride in a 1958 Vintage Rolls Royce along with dinner at a fine seafood restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, MN, which we enjoyed one beautiful spring evening. There is a picture of us with the car. There is also a recent picture of the 2 girls that Julie nannies for, Katie (4 years old) and Sarah (16 months). They keep her super busy these days. Now for some real exciting news and a prayer request: we have just started the adoption process with an agency called Holy Family Adoption Agency, whose ministry is to go to the abortion clinics in the Twin Cities and do sidewalk counseling to let women know that there are couples wanting to adopt their babies so they would chose adoption instead of having an abortion. They only place babies into homes that are truly Catholic and living the Faith, so we are blessed to be working with such an agency. Since it is only God who can provide the child that He has intended for us, we would appreciate everyone’s prayers so that He may give strength to the birth mothers that are counseled by this agency and that He may save our baby’s life, providing us with the opportunity to become parents. It is a long process and we need continued prayers and support. Thanks a million!!

MPJ (aka IML) '02 is a busy busy man. He is currently in Mother Land of Canada, acting as a groomsman in teh wedding of Ron Klassen and Alex Doylend, then, he will drive all night to go to Indiana to be a groomsman in the wedding of Jill Watson and Pat Storey. Truly, he is the IML.

Sarah Parker ('98) is engaged to Desmond Silveira. They will be married in California on Dec. 4, 2004.

The Fearsome Foursome came out of nowhere to storm the Presidents Cup with an impressive 3 Over. Mark, Danu, Lex and Lucky Lou attribute their success to team chemistry - Lou's longball, Mark's putting, Danu's short game and Lex's water penalties. The team will be back next year to back Lou's brash prediction to win the umbrella at next years raffle (More golf tournament pics below).

Bjorn Lundberg's summer seminarian assignment is St. Mary's in Alexandria, VA, from June 15-August 14.

C. David Brown, Seminarian extraordinaire for the Diocese of Arlington, VA, was the featured seminarian in the Arlington Catholic Herald last week.

June's Happy Happy Birthdays.....

Calendar of events

July 17, 2004: Summer Institute with Cardinal Francis Arinze

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Press Releases and Campus News: http://www.christendom.edu/news/releases.shtml

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Presidential Golf Tournament Brings in $30,000

On May 24, Christendom College held its first annual President's Invitational Golf Tournament at Bull Run Golf Course in Haymarket, Virginia. The event raised over $30,000 to go toward the College's new Student Center.

Organized by Dean of Student Life J. Michael Brown, the tournament brought together over 90 area alumni and friends of the College. Brown says that the College hopes to raise $400,000 for the Student Center by the fall of 2005. The student body itself has taken on the task of raising more than $60,000 for the project through various raffles and activities.

The planned Center will house a mini-theater; a meeting place for student organizations and clubs; private study space; a common room featuring recreational games and a comfortable lounge' a coffee bar; offices for Student Life personnel; and the College bookstore.

"I am so grateful to all of the participants and sponsors for helping to make this tournament such a great success," said Brown. "Now, with the additional $30,000 in proceeds from the golf tournament, the target is a little closer."

The tournament was sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, among others.

"It was such a great time," said Christendom College President Dr. Timothy O'Donnell. "The weather was perfect and the course was spectacular. Mike Brown did a top-notch job of putting this tournament on. I'm already looking forward to next year's tournament."
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Christendom Names New Director of Admissions

Christendom College is pleased to announce that Thomas L. McFadden, Jr., has been hired as the new Director of Admissions and Marketing effective May 17.

With more than 12 years of administrative leadership experience, McFadden most recently has served as the College Relations Officer at Christendom. Since 2000, he has played an integral role in the development and maintenance of Christendom's image building process, including acting as the liaison to the College's 1300 alumni.

"Tom's hiring is a critical component for the College's newly reconfigured administrative layout," says College President Timothy T. O'Donnell. "As we enter a new phase of our college's history, I am confident that Tom's leadership abilities will help Christendom to continue to provide one of the best liberal arts educations in the nation. He conveys a clear vision of how to improve both enrollment and marketing strategies and demonstrates excellent managerial skills. We are thrilled to have him in this new position."

After earning a Bachelor of Arts from Christendom College in 1990, McFadden worked as an Assistant General Manager for a large Washington, D.C., area restaurant chain for four years. In 1994, he changed careers and took on the role of Director of Religious Education after being asked to revitalize the religious education program at a Virginia parish. In 1998, he received his Master of Arts degree from the Notre Dame Graduate School (NDGS) of Christendom College. In 1999, after teaching part-time at the NDGS and acting as its Dean of the Summer Program, he moved to New Hampshire where he spent a year serving as a Headmaster of a small independent elementary school.

Among his responsibilities as director of admissions and marketing, McFadden will work closely with the President's office and academic departments, analyzing statistics, strategies and trends at the College to improve recruitment techniques and enrollment as the College moves closer towards its goal of 500 students by the year 2010.

"Tom is an experienced and enthusiastic administrative professional who impresses us all with his ability to motivate and his adept managerial skills," said Mark McShurley, Executive Vice President at the College. "We welcome him to his new position and look forward to the many contributions he will undoubtedly continue to bring to our College. His experience and history of success in all of his past positions are very encouraging, and we believe he will do an extraordinary job here in the admissions office of Christendom College."

McFadden replaces Paul L. Heisler who faithfully served the College as Director of Admissions for the past nine years. During Heisler's tenure, new student applications increased over 100%; new student enrollments increased over 50%; Freshman SAT averages rose 77 points; and the total college grew 71%.
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