25 YEARS OF AMU ALUMNI

A Family Under Our Mother

If you ask a member of our University community what their favorite thing about AMU is, you will get a variety of answers. You might hear about our excellent professors, accessibility to the sacraments, fun events, or lifelong friendships grounded in the Catholic faith. But no matter what you hear, they all boil down to one thing: the people. It’s the people that make Ave Maria University so special, and it’s our alumni who show the best of what Ave Maria offers. Whether graduates from the Institute, College, University — Michigan campus, Naples campus, or Ave Maria town — AMU alumni share something in common: an ardent dedication to the Catholic Church and a powerful witness of Our Lady’s intercession. Journey through the years with us as we celebrate 25 years of incredible Ave Maria graduates.

CLASS SPOTLIGHT MEET FR. SHAWN CONOBOY

Fr. Shawn Conoboy is a priest of the Diocese of Youngstown, currently serving Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Aurora, Ohio. He is the only parish priest for about 1500 families. After coming to Ave Maria for his undergraduate studies, Father received his Ph.D. in systematic theology from Duquesne University.

Fr. Shawn was the very first graduate of AMU and was also the first ordained alumnus in our school’s history. One of the things that underscored my time at AMU was understanding St. Thomas Aquinas as the model for growing in holiness through academic pursuits. Continue to pursue holiness, because everything else falls from there. That’s how the mission is lived out.

— Fr. Shawn Conoboy ('02), Philosophy

Class Spotlight Meet Jacob Blanchard

Jacob Blanchard is both an alumnus and a faculty member of AMU! He is currently an instructor of biology at the University, which he majored in during his undergraduate studies. Before coming to AMU to teach, Jacob lived abroad with his wife, Mary, as she worked on her doctorate. Mary ('06) is also an alumna and faculty member at AMU!

Jacob attended Ave Maria College in the fall of 2002, Ave Maria University in the fall of 2004, and returned to his alma mater as a faculty member in the fall of 2014. I was initially attracted to Ave Maria as a student because it was an affordable Catholic education. Inspired by my undergraduate experience, I was happy to join the faculty after benefitting from the enthusiasm and mentorship of my Ave Maria professors.

—Jacob Blanchard ('06), Biology

2009-2010

Class Spotlight Meet Andrew And Veronica Mullally

Andrew and Veronica Mullally are a husband-wife duo who started Credo Family Medicine in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, in 2016. Andrew ('09), M.D., and Veronica ('10), MBA (specializing in healthcare management), met at AMU during their undergraduate studies and got married shortly after Veronica’s graduation in 2010.

Andrew and Veronica’s family has grown quite a bit since graduating; they now have eight kids! Andrew is the oldest of nine, and six of his siblings have chosen Ave for college.

Looking back, I cannot express enough the benefit of a supportive, positive, and Catholic peer group on a college student. It was very formative for me and I wouldn’t want anything else.

— Andrew Mullally ('09), Biology

[Andrew and I] both value the education we received at Ave, mainly in our moral theology and philosophy training. ... Our formation at Ave gave us the tools to tackle many topics, especially medical ethics. ... My most fond memory of Ave was seeing Fr. Garrity riding his bike, saying hi and “God bless you!” to everyone he met.

— Veronica Mullally ('10), Mathematics

CLASS SPOTLIGHT MEET MARCELLINO D’AMBROSIO

Marcellino D’Ambrosio is the director of marketing and community success for SENT Ventures in Flower Mound, Texas. He is also the co-founder and creative director for Sherwood Fellows. Marcellino majored in literature and rhetoric at AMU and was drawn to the University because it was so young and full of opportunity.

What I learned at AMU was how to dig incessantly for the truth. ... AMU is a school that trains the laity in pioneering and blazing new trails for the Church. That’s what I saw when I was there. I really believe in what Ave Maria University is and who she can be.

— Marcellino D’Ambrosio ('11), Literature and Rhetoric

Class Spotlight Meet Julia Sadusky

Dr. Julia Sadusky is a clinical psychologist in Colorado and the owner of Lux Counseling and Consulting, her private practice. Julia specializes in sexual identity, gender identity, and eating disorders and has written two books surrounding these themes. She also teaches a sexuality class in a master’s in counseling program at Denver Seminary.

Ave gave me an excellent formation. ... It encouraged me and my classmates to see ourselves as effective witnesses through our career paths. From a psychological perspective, having a solid path has been grounding for me in a field with so many stakeholders, many of whom are not Catholic. I don’t think I would be able to do this work in the same way if I hadn’t gone to Ave.

— Julia Sadusky ('13), Psychology

Class Spotlight Meet Chris Fahey

Chris Fahey is a financial advisor at Edward Jones and is on the board of trustees for Ave Maria University. As a member of the class of 2014 (December), Chris was one of the captains on the inaugural Gyrene football team and played wide receiver throughout his college career. As a founding member of the team, Chris caught the University’s first receiving touchdown.

Chris is the first alumnus to serve on AMU’s board of trustees and majored in economics with a minor in literature during his undergraduate studies. He married AMU alumna Regina Fahey ('16) shortly after graduation, and the two live in Naples, Florida, with their two children.

I grew up as a cradle Catholic, with incredible examples of faith throughout my family, specifically my parents and grandparents. Even with their influence, had I not gone to Ave, I don’t know how I would’ve graduated and kept my Catholic faith. I am so thankful for the formation and experiences I received at AMU.

— Chris Fahey ('14), Economics

As a graduate of the class of 2006, it’s been amazing to both teach and learn at AMU. Over the years, two things have remained consistent:

excellent

faculty and eager students.

Mary Blanchard

Assistant Professor of History

Support Ave Maria University’s faculty and staff with your $10 monthly donation.

Class Spotlight Meet Alexis Stypa

Alexis Stypa is an architectural designer at Harrison Design in Santa Barbara, California. One of her most recent projects was a St. Joseph mosaic that was placed on the side of our St. Joseph dorm building. The project was in conjunction with the class of 2021’s senior gift and honors St. Joseph the Worker.

Alexis majored in humanities during her undergraduate studies, with a minor in mathematics.

When thinking about beauty in design, I think of the core classes in philosophy I took at Ave. They were extremely useful in laying out a foundation. ... I was able to take so many different classes and learn from so many great professors. I cherish the friendships I made at Ave.

— Alexis Stypa ('16), Humanities

Class Spotlight Meet John And Mary Thrun

Mary and John Thrun live locally in Fort Myers, Florida, with their two kids, Sammy and Ellie. John ('17) is a corporate manager at Gartner, and Mary ('18) has been a stay-at-home mom for over three years now. This summer will be their five-year wedding anniversary!

While at Ave, John majored in psychology, played on the ultimate frisbee team, and served as an RA. Following graduation, John enlisted in the Coast Guard and served for two years as a petty officer third-class machinery technician. Mary majored in history with a minor in politics. She was a part of the Mother Teresa Project, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and going on mission trips to Mexico City and Calcutta.

AMU was instrumental to my faith journey. It is only now I can truly look back and know Ave was where I was meant to be. The proximity of the sacraments was especially motivating for me and something I didn’t appreciate enough at the time.

— John Thrun ('17), Psychology

I was drawn to the joy I felt on campus when I visited during high school. You could really feel how happy and kind people were.

— Mary Thrun ('18), History

A New Initiative For The Amu Community Alumni Board Of Directors

The Alumni Board of Directors (ABD) is a committee aimed at intentionally connecting Ave Maria alumni with the University administration. Originally formed in 2014 as an initiative of the Department of Career Services, under the leadership of Zach Crockett ('13), the ABD evolved from the Alumni Leadership Council, which was founded in 2019 under the management of Paula Schute Belocura ('16). The ABD had its first in-person meeting during alumni weekend, March 2023.

I and many of the board members have a fundamental belief that, when people know what’s going on at Ave, they love Ave. Our hope is to partner strategically with the University to make sure we communicate the great things AMU and our alumni are doing.

— Stephen Akers ('19), Alumni Board of Directors President

Class Spotlight Meet Jessiah Rojas

Jessiah Rojas is a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. During his undergraduate studies at AMU, Jessiah majored in theology and was an assistant coach for the football team. He converted to the Catholic faith during his freshman year and entered the Church on Easter of 2017. He applied to the seminary during his senior year and entered in the fall of 2020. After graduation, Jessiah spent a year serving at Howard University as a campus minister and finished his (pre-theology) philosophical studies at the Catholic University of America. He also spent this summer studying in Rome with a summer seminarian program. Once a year, Jessiah comes back to campus to speak with the football team about the faith and his experience at AMU.

Stay close to the sacraments and continue to stay close to Him. Going to AMU, becoming Catholic, or entering the seminary, none of these things were the path of least resistance. Almost all were the path of most resistance, but in there, and in that chaos swimming upstream, there’s an underlying peace that He is with me.

— Jessiah Rojas ('20), Theology

Last week of classes