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.
April
2007 edition of The
Grapevine Online
Class
Notes / Calendar of Events / Links
to Stories / Prior
issues
Class
notes
After
his famous appearance with Jennifer Aniston in the Grapevine
back in 2003, at long last we have heard again from Pete
Jensen. Here is a picture from his recent "Christendom
in Rome" reunion. He was in Rome for all of February
doing research on his thesis. He is set to graduate in May
(provided he finishes said thesis) with a Master's in Architecture
from the University of Miami. The photo was taken in Trena
Pilegaard's kitchen with Ben and Heather Akers, Trena,
Fadi Auro, Christina Denton, Gwen Adams, his eminence
Alphonse Pinto, and Pete. Trena was nice enough to
invite all of them to her private terrace for the gathering
(where just a few days before, they had a real live Christendom
dance--with "Lady in Red" as the final song, no
less).
On
March 19th, the Feast Day of St. Joseph, Sr. Mary Patricia
Wolpert professed her temporary vows, received her habit,
and a name change. She is named after one of the Doctors of
the Church - St. Teresa of Avila! In this picture Sr. Teresa
is presenting flowers to the Blessed Mother. Her sister Anne
reflected afterwards that, "she is the happiest I've
ever seen her, and her wedding was the most joyous occasion
I've ever witnessed!" Bunny (Martell) Cerny '04
was also thirlled to be able to attend.
Here
are the children of Regina and Tom Luckey on Easter:
Oksana 10, Claudia 8, Philomena 6, Luke 4, Theresa 2, and
Dominic 7 weeks. Dominic Anthony is their new addition. He
was born on Feb 17, 2007 at their home in South Carolina.
The Luckeys are living in Columbia until June 2009 where Tom
is being trained in Emergency Medicine.
John
and Gretchen Bowes are happy to announce their newest
member of the family, Emily Marie. She joined them on the
8th of March weighing 6 lbs 14 ozs and was 20.5 inches long.
Her big brothers are loving having a baby sister. They now
reside in Orlando were they are enjoying the break from the
Fleet Marine Forces. The boys are loving it there, as they
never run out of things to do.
Laura
(Williams) Ross and Adrienne Alessandro had a smashing
time catching up in Kansas. Laura has officially offered the
title to Adrienne of "baby holder extraordinaire."
They enjoyed checking out the local art gallery, bookshops,
shooting range, boutiques and, of course, Starbucks. Perhaps
Laura will visit again next year for the third annual re-enactment
of Melville's "Maldive Shark" and other favorites.
Kelly
Fogarty just went on a week long trip to Mississippi with
21 students from Bishop Dwenger High School (where she teaches),
two other local high schools and her sister from Ohio, to
work for Habitat for Humanity. The trip down, which was supposed
to be approximately 12-14 hours, was 19 hours, because they
had 2 flat tires! During the week Kelly learned to drive a
"mini bus", hang siding, build walls, put up trusses,
and the art of moving rocks to line ditches (see photo) She
passed on a Christendom tradition to the students - she taught
some of the kids how to swing dance, and they LOVED it! Her
travels are not over yet, as she's going to be traveling in
June to Paris, Rome, Assisi, and finally to Plock, Poland
where she'll be teaching for three weeks in July. If anyone
has any recommendations for accomodations, sights to see etc.
she is open to suggestions (kelly_m_fogarty@yahoo.com).
On
March 9th, Ken and Alaina Furlong ('05 and '04) welcomed
into the world their first child, Kenneth Joseph Furlong,
Jr. He was born at 10:08 PM, weighing 7 lbs 11 oz, and was
20 inches long. Both mother and baby are doing very well.
William
and Sarah (Webster) Vitellaro welcomed Aliceanna Fiorella
on January 1, 2007 at 1:32am weighing 5lbs 1oz and measuring
19in. She was a bit eager to meet everyone so she arrived
six weeks early and then spent two weeks in the NICU. She
is doing very well and big brother Rafe adores her (most of
the time). She was baptized February 11 with Sergio and Angela
Yona as her godparents.
Jeff
and Kristy (Hibl) Elliott ('96 and '97) welcomed Nicholas
Joseph Fredrick Elliott to their family on March 2st. Mom,
Dad and baby are all doing well and in spite of lack of experience
Jeff is already a pro at diaper changing. Nicholas was baptized
at St. Alphonsus Church in Baltimore and screamed through
most of the ceremony, which some have said indicates that
he will not be a priest. Kristy thinks it means he doesn't
like to have his meal and nap schedule disrupted and hopes
it won't affect his vocation one way or another.
Tom
and Annemarie Ciskanik had a wonderful Easter, visiting
with Paul and Jenni Ciskanik and their children. The
photo of both families together didn't turn out for the Grapevine,
but here you can see Thomas (14), Mike (6) and Lucy (3) with
their dad Tom (age undisclosed) and Annemarie (29!!).
The Beekwilders
(Quinn, Lisa,& Xavier) are proud to announce the
arrival of Thaddeus Gerard Beekwilder. The newest little Beekwilder
was born on March 2, 2007 at 12:30 a.m. Mom and baby are doing
great.
Quinn is starting a new career in Real Estate with Prudential
Realty so if anyone is interested in buying or selling a home
don't hesitate to contact him at his web site www.prurealty.com/quinn.
Lisa is busy with the kids and is working hard to finish her
last class for her Associates degree from Christendom. Xavier
is a ball of fun and enjoying his new brother. More updates
to follow in the coming months.
Kateri
Schmidt has moved from Capitol Hill to the Department
of Labor and is now working in the office of Secretary Elaine
L. Chao. The job was a great opportunity for her and she really
loves it! This is the view from her office.
Chris
and Sarah Muro welcomed their third child at 3:30 AM on
Monday, March 12th, Gianna Gabrielle was born at the Muros’
home in Florida . She was 8 lb 11 oz and measured 19 inches.
Her big sisters, Isabella and Katalina, are thrilled with
her and love to help mommy with the new baby. In the photo
on the left, you can see them meeting her for the first time.
Patrick
and Jill Storey welcomed their second little boy into
the world, Andrew Joseph Storey. He was born on March 2nd
and weighed 5lbs., 12oz. He is pictured here on the right
with his big brother, George.
Jason
& Beth (Ross) Crye [both CC '04] are pleased to announce
the birth of a son, John Benedict. He was born on April 2nd
in Newport, RI, weighing in at 6 lbs. 3 oz. and 19 inches
long.
Chris
Mirus ('97) has accepted a tenure-track position in the
Philosophy Department at the University of Dallas.
On
St Patrick's Day, Bethany Sargis, Sharon Scanlon, Julie
Abernethy, Kate McMahon, Theresa Fer, Alyssa Lombardi and
Maribeth Kuznia participated in a 5K in Manassas. And
who or what, was the driving force behind this amazing display
of fun and fitness? It was Heather Tansey, who is training
to run in the Boston Marathon, and possibly the Olympic Games
in China. Sources informed the Grapevine that Heather ran
the race with particular distinction, coming in 12th place
out of a field of 1,500.
Megan
Wickard relocated to Northern Virginia earlier in the
year and is living with Elizabeth Rice in Centreville. She
recently started a business serving as a labor and postpartum
doula, assisting families during labor and birth as well as
the first few weeks of the new baby's life. This work is something
she has had her heart set on for a while and she is thankful
to be given the opportunity to 
pursue
it full time. She would love to work with alumni and their
families. If anyone would like to learn more about what doulas
do, she can be reached at m_wickard@hotmail.com
Lastly,
we have received another update from IML Joseph Kosten.
March has been a very busy month with trips to Milan for Carnivale,
to yet another Acton Institute Conference. Milan was amazing!
The conference went very well with such distinguished guests
as Cardinal Herranz, as well as the Ambassador from Taiwan
and the Dutch Ambassador. Also, Joseph enjoyed visiting with
Dr. and Mrs. O'Donnell at Trena's penthouse apartment in Rome.
Now, he is just preparing for visits from his family and friends
. . . viva Roma!
Calendar
of events
October
5-7, 2007: Homecoming Weekend
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Press
Releases and Campus News: http://www.christendom.edu/news/releases.shtml
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