Welcome
to Christendom's Alumni E-Zine. If you have information that
you would like to share with your fellow alumni, send it to
Tom McFadden at tmcfadden@christendom.edu.
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.
May
2005 edition of The
Grapevine Online
Class
Notes / Calendar of Events / Links
to Stories / Prior
issues
Class
notes
Teri
Rusnak '03 got accepted to St. Luke's School of Nursing
in Bethlehem, PA. She will be attending this fall, and is
very excited to be joining alumna Anne-Marie Jensen,
who will be in her second year there. A little while ago,
she completed a nursing assistant course through her local
college, finishing at the the top (the very top) of her class.
Her teacher told her, "You are going to go far, Teri
Rusnak". She also recently began her first grown-up job
as a nursing assistant at a local nursing home, where she
will be spending many hours playing bingo, and other fun recreational
activities with the residents.
Tom
and Amanda (Farinholt) McFadden are expecting baby #7
in September.
Paul
(Wonderboy) and Meg (McNeely) Jalsevac (both '03 except
Meg was a proud recipient of the coveted AA degree) are
expecting baby #1 in or around November. They are very happy.
They believe that the baby will be the best baby in the world.
Meg is also now an American citizen (Paul would be too but
he loves waving that Maple Leaf around) so how aboot no more
Canadian jokes now, eh?
Theodore
Schwalm ('94) has just launched a new on-line store selling
Catholic book, videos, CDs, art, religious articles, etc.
It is still having all its inventory entered into it but is
up and running for business. The store is located on the web
at www.CatholicOneShop.com.
He also has just recently redone the web site at www.catholic-art.org
on which he lists artwork done by his older brothers, including
a new line of prints that he is having produced.
On
April 6th, Scythian played at a rally in Dupont Circle (DC)
for Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko in his first visit
to the U.S. Sure Scythian is a Celtic band, but alumni Danylo
and Alex Fedoryka are 100% Ukrainian so they were able
to whip up something Ukie. Aside from being maced by the Secret
Service, the event was a good time . . .In other news, the
Lads will be featured in the Arlington Catholic Herald
at the end of May so keep your eyes peeled. As always, you
can find Scythian on Thursdays at Fado and in Baltimore, Philly
or DC on the weekends. See scythianmusic.com
for a full schedule.
Deacon
Shaun Whittington (’01) will be graduating from Mundelein
Seminary on May 7th with a M.Div. and S.T.B. But that is not
the big deal. On June 4th he will be ordained a priest for
the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. All are welcome to the Ordination
at 10am and the First Holy Mass at 5:30pm at St. Michael Catholic
Church in Brookville, IN. The Rev. Father Robert Skeris will
be the vesting preist and also preaching the First Mass. The
St. Boniface Choir under the direction of Mrs. Linda Schafer
(mother of Denver, John Paul, and Claire) will be assisting
the Mass with their beautiful and prayerful voices. If you
are intersted in attenting the Ordination and/or First Mass,
please email Deacon Whittington (swhittington@usml.edu)
for more information. Regardless, please say a prayer on that
day for all who are being ordained.
Niall
O'Donnell '03, the provisional newly elected and now gloriously
reigning Internatinal Man of Leisure, has much to say:
"Things in Rome have been crazy. First I went to Ireland,
that’s me on Croagh Patrick… Then John Paul Jansen
came, then Kristin Cronkhite, Maria Bissex and Nathan
Kryn were here for Easter. Then my parents came out for
the Pope’s funeral and that was unforgettable. I didn’t
have my camera when they came so we don’t have any pics.
Then Dan Zwick came, followed shortly by Ben McMahon.
Even Dr. and Mrs. Jansen were able to come up onto my terrace
one night with Sebastian, while Ben was here." Pictures
are below. There seems to be a lot of drinking going on...maybe
it's an Irish thing.
The
James & Michelle (McCoy) Hoeper Family on Easter
Sunday.Jim & Michelle welcomed baby #2, Victoria Marie
on February 4th ..... #1, Cecelia Jean turned 2 on February
3rd! Victoria decided to come 2-1/2 weeks early - Mommy was
happy about that as baby was 8 lb. 2 oz. Needless to say,
with a 2-yr. old and a newborn the Hoeper household is kept
on its toes!!
Marc-Pierre Jansen, formerly the IML, is coaching the
St. Gregory's Highlanders to a winning season (currently 4-2)
on the rugby pitch. Stay tuned for end of season and playoff
results.
Alumni
Mike and Alyssa Hichborn are pictured above with their
school, Mariamante Academy, located in Fredericksburg, VA.
They made a field trip to Christendom on May 5.
According
to inside sources, Dan Arnold '92 is now part of the
conglamorate known as Novus
Consulting Group. He joins fellow alumni Sean Garvey,
Steve O'Keefe, Steve Daly, John Echaniz, Bennett Ellis, Erica
Quest, Mike Rohan, John Burch, and many others.
Daniel
McGuire '03 reports: "I got a summer position with
the Department of Justice
in DC, to fill the time between my first and second years
of lawschool. Also, if everyone could pray for my family--
my mother had a baby girl, Rita Anne, and Friday April 22,
but the baby died this past Sunday as a result of an untreatable
genetic problem called trisomy-18. She was baptized, so I
guess it's my family that needs the
prayers.
Rose
will be one year old at the end of May--very hard to believe!
She's crawling and cruising into everything, and trying at
least fifty times a day to either kill or severely injure
herself! She's had six teeth come in over the last five weeks,
and is making some efforts to talk (nothing consistent yet,
though). In the picture, she's hugging her favorite toy and
naptime buddy, Lambie. Mom and Dad don't get out much, but
some recent bits of news are that Ben has completed his second
semester of grad school, and that our house is nearly halfway
babyproofed! Elizabeth, as always, is a Veritable Domestic
Goddess and Official Lord of the Rings Expert of the Butina
house.
Chris
Lane ('03) will be making a little move, followed by a
big one. In June, he'll land in Old Town Manassas. In mid-August,
he'll be off to win his fortune in St. Louis, MO. So far,
he knows at least 4 things about St. Louis: he will be in
Saint Louis University's history program there; it has a big
arch; there's a river or two; and he'll be the fifth member
of the class of 2003 to show up there. If anyone else has
connections in the St. Louis network, especially any Catholic
ones, he'd love to hear of them. You may email him at clane1775@yahoo.com.
Nat
and Liz (Hendricks) Lloyd '04 announce the birth of
their baby Isabel.
That's
Doctor to you. Competing for the title of IML took a back
seat last month for alumnus Michael McFadden ('95-'97),
traveling only nationally to California (zero
IML points accrued). The reason, however, is that he was active
voyaging into uncharted territory of another kind, defending
his dissertation to complete a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering
at the University of Delaware. Christendom classmate, alumnus
Peter D. Jensen ('99) led McFadden's cheering section, waving
a foam novelty finger and chanting "DE-FENSE! (clap clap),
DE-FENSE! (clap clap)." When called upon for comment,
alumnus and Director of Admissions Tom McFadden (BA '90, MA
'98) noted, "I'll call him 'doctor' as long as he calls
me 'master.'" If
you have any questions about lasers, optics, or any of the
special effects from any of the Star Wars movies, give him
a shout.
Sean
& Jessica (Murphy) Gordon have a new arrival to the
family! Clare Lucia was born Wednesday, April 20th at 9:54
pm weighing 7 lbs 4 ozs and 18.5 inches. She joins older siblings
James Patrick (4), John Thomas (3), and Catherine Alexandra
(1 1/2).
Mary
(McFadden) Brand '98 and her husband Jonathan are moving
back to the States from Switzerland in June. They will be
teaching at St. Anne's-Belfield, a private school in Charlottesville,
Virginia. This summer they hope to find a nice place to live
there.
Maria
Bissex ('02) traveled to Rome on Spy Wednesday in the
company of alumni Anne
Kopec '04, Jacinta Scheetz'04 , and student Peter O'Brien.
After delays due to snow in New York, and a rowdy flight full
of teenage Spring-Breakers, they wound up in the Eternal City
on Holy Thursday. Miss Bissex met up with Niall O'Donnell
and Kristin Cronkhite for a fortnight's adventure that
proved to be historic as well as breath-takingly wonderful.
They spent time with fellow Christendom alumni Alphonse
Pinto, James Maldonado Berry, Nathan Kryn, and Ben and Heather
Akers, and also periodically ran into Fadi Auro
(who was in Italy on pilgrimage with some of his students
from St. Gregory's Academy) and current Christendom students
in Rome such as Sebastian Jansen and Mary Lademan.
One of the highlights of the trip was the Easter Vigil at
St. Peter's celebrated by then-Cardinal Ratzinger, when by
some miracle of grace James, Kristin, and Maria wound up in
the front row VIP section of the left transept directly behind
the cardinals and next to the king of Spain!!! They were only
a matter of yards from Cardinal Ratzinger when he processed
out at the end of Mass! During the course of their visit Kristin
and Maria visited dozens of churches, enjoyed fresh homemade
Italian food and of course gelati, picnicked on the Appian
Way, toured the catacombs, strolled through the Roman Forum,
and collected numerous souvenirs. And of course, they did
plenty of drinking wine in the street, enjoying pastries from
the best bakery in the world, celebrating Easter on the roof
of Niall's apartment after the Vigil Mass. One of the best
parts of her journey was their day trip out to Subiaco, the
monastery of St. Benedict--a trip that has become even more
significant and meaningful since the election of our new Pope,
who has such a great devotion to St. Benedict. When they found
out John Paul II was dying on Friday evening, April 1st, they
spent time praying in St. Peter's Square, and they were there
shortly after his death on April 2nd. It was an unforgettable
and profoundly moving experience to be RIGHT THERE in Rome
during his death. During the last 12 hours of her time in
Rome, Maria was able to get into St. Peter's (after a nine
hour wait) to pay her last respects to our late Holy Father.
Though she never had gotten to see him in life, she is thankful
to God for the tremendous grace she was given to be there
at the time of his passing into eternity. She has been homesick
for Italy ever since she came back, and she looks forward
to returning in November when some students and teachers from
Holy Family Academy will be making a pilgrimage. It is impossible
to describe all the glories and wonders of being in Rome--you
all have to go and see for yourselves!!!
Alumnus
Joe McFadden is in Iraq for the next couple of months.
Kevin
Fox '04 got married to a lovely woman by the name of Gretchen
on Jan 15th. They now live in VA where Kevin works as a Computer
consultant for Trinity Consulting. They are also the proud
owners of a condo in Manassas.
Michael
Kelsey (2000) has earned his Juris Doctorate from Quinnipiac
Law school of Hamdem Connecticut. Mike also has recently become
the owner of a cordless drill. Both are sure to benefit him
in one way or another in the future.
Mike('00),
Colby('99), Isabel, and Catherine Storck welcomed Joseph
Anton Storck (Anton after Colby's great-grandfather) into
the world on Tuesday, April 12 at 9:22 am. He weighed in at
6 lbs, 15 oz and is 21 inches long (and very cute!). All are
doing well, and Isabel and Catherine are excited to have a
little brother now.
Alumna
Elizabeth Price teases us by saying that she has some
interesting Grapevine news... but that she will pass it on
for the June edition. She also says that her sister Rebecca
and her husband Joe O'Herron are expecting Baby
#2!!!
Celebrity
sighting expert Miss Claire Jensen '03 checked in with
the Grapevine office in April, worried that the Grapevine
may have gone under, therefore, taking away her platform to
promote herself. Here's what she had to say: "Tom, I'm
worried about you....where the heck's the Grapevine? I need
this outlet for my life to be complete. Please save it, if
not for the rest of the alumni, at least for me. I went to
the NYC Fire Department's annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner,
where my unit was awarded.....well, the Humanitarian Award
actually. It was a celebrity-sighting affair, but didn't take
any photos with them (thought it would have been tacky since
I was an honoree), except one of Ronan Tynan (one of the Irish
Tenors) accosting me, and he is very scary looking, so you
don't get that one.......here is one with some firemen I work
with......there was lots of free booze (isn't there always
though, for a single girl in a fire department of 10,000 guys?)
and good food....wish you could have been there.....peace
out." Such an exciting life.
On
Spring Break and needing a little rejunvination from classes,
John-Paul Jansen '00 once again decided to go to the
Eternal City. After spending the day around the Vatican, having
just seen the Pope, unfortunately for his last popemobile
ride, returning to the Vatican from Gemilli Hospital. Here
they are spending a little time at Ponte Sant'Angelo discussing
a little religion, the Holy Father influence's, philosophy
and Christendom memories. Here with Ben and Heather Akers,
Alphonso Pinto, Niall O'Donnell and Anne (Ben McMahon's
fiancee). His brother, the former IML, was unable to make
it (due to the fact that he's now no longer the IML) but is
said to be on the move soon.
Pics
Above: Ted and Emily (Foushee) Eidem have some exciting
news! Bernadette Rose was born at home on April 16th (the
Feast of St. Bernadette Soubirous) weighing 6 1/2 lbs, 20
1/2" long. Big sisters Mary (3 1/2) and Laura (2) are
so happy to have finally met the baby!
Gentleman
extraordinaire Tom Cole '04 says that he is quite well,
and keeping plenty busy as a teacher and student! He is still
the High School teacher at Holy Family Academy in Manassas,
Virginia. It has been a real joy to teach there, he says,
and he plans to return to HFA next year. In addition, he has
been admitted into the Graduate program in History at George
Mason University. Thus, he is, and shall be, working towards
his Master of Arts part-time as he continues to teach. Bravo,
Mr. Cole.
Mike
Wallacavage '89 was featured in the National Catholic
Register last week. Way to go Mike!
Gabriel
Young ('01) was promoted May 1 to the rank of Captain
in the U.S. Air Force. He's serving at Ramstein Air Force
Base, near Frankfurt, and can be reached at gabriel.young@ramstein.af.mil.
Cpt. Young would love to hear from fellow Christendomites,
and would love to play tour guide (and host) to anyone who
would like to see the Holy Father's homeland. Speaking of
which, if you're headed to World Youth Day and don't mind
a bit of a commute to Cologne, drop Gabe a line about camping
out at his condo!
Moira
Carmela Schmitt, at 5 weeks. Born 2-17-05, at 7 lb, 4 oz,
she's getting more fat and sassy every day! Her hair's already
past her ears, so maybe when the Schmitts come to Christendom
for graduation, she'll have pigtails!!! Parents Michael
and Anne (Fraser) Schmitt(ino) are also doing well, and
keeping busy.
And
finally, we have heard once again from the illusive Pearse
Marschner (01) who is back from Iraq - for now. His heartfelt
thanks to any who may have dropped a payer for his health
and salvation over the past 2 years. All prayers for the former
have been efficacious. He is working in NOVA and looking for
acoustic musicians in Alexandria area. Any so inclined, please
write pearseinarabia@yahoo.com.
Read
about the Wallflower below
Calendar
of events
July
16, 2005: Summer Institute
October
7-9, 2005: Homecoming
top of page
Press
Releases and Campus News: http://www.christendom.edu/news/releases.shtml
top of page
The
Wallflower.
Dane Weber recently restole the Wallflower from unsuspecting
students and then brought it to Coffee House last weekend.
Dane was then jumped and the Wallflower stolen where it now
resides hidden in mystery.
Where
does she hide? Nobody knows.
