Class Notes

1961

KEVIN BERGEN, Alexandria, VA, recently shared a photo of when he and other freshmen (as they were known in that era) gathered on the second floor of Old Hall in 1957. (See photo.)

U.S. SEN. PATRICK LEAHY,

D-VT, Middlesex, VT, is writing a memoir titled The Road Taken, according to a recent news release from his publisher, Simon & Schuster. The release date is set for April 2022. The memoir will take readers “inside the room” for key moments in the nation’s modern history, from post-Watergate reform to Congress’s role in “greenlighting a disastrous war in Iraq,” the release states.

1967

REV. CHARLES RANGES,

SSE, Essex Junction, VT, was featured recently in a story by writer Mary Regina Morrell in Vermont Catholic magazine, a publication of the Diocese of Burlington, for his ministry as pastor of the Essex Catholic Community at Holy Family St. Lawrence and St. Pius X parishes.

1969

JACK T. SCULLY, Colchester, VT, has news about his ongoing writing enterprises: “Mianus Village, my collection of poems about a boy growing up in a low-rent housing development beside a ‘tinsel-glistening river’ in the years after WWII, is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and elsewhere. The publisher is Antrim House Books.” Read more about it at the publisher’s website: https://antrimhousebooks. com/scully.html.

1972

BILL BRIDGEO, Augusta,

ME, announced his retirement in April. According to an article in a Maine newspaper this summer, Bill’s retirement comes after 23 years as the City of Augusta’s manager and 43 years in municipal management. From the article: “The 71-year-old Maine native said he still loves his job, but the time is right for someone new to take on the job and for him to join his wife, Janice, who retired six months ago after two decades as an elementary school teacher in Winthrop. He submitted his resignation to city councilors Monday, one day before completing his 23rd year as Augusta’s manager, with his last day on the job to be Sept. 10. He started on the job in Augusta in 1998, after serving as manager in Canandaigua, New York, for 11 years. He is Augusta’s longest-tenured city manager.” Bill and fellow St. Mike’s alumnus ROBERT DEVLIN ’73 had a long, friendly, and productive work connection through their related jobs in the same area, though they did not know each other during their college years.

1973

ROBERT DEVLIN, Gardiner,

ME, has announced he will retire at the end of the year and leave the job he essentially created as the administrator of Kennebec County in Maine, according to an article this summer in the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. The article states Bob said he had initially planned to retire about four years ago, but committed to commissioners to stay four more years. Before Bob came to Kennebec County, he was the deputy county manager for Cumberland County and lobbyist for the Maine Municipal Association. He also served as the director of the Medical Crisis Unit in Portland, and through his job, he spent a great deal of time in Augusta. Bob has

Annie Rosello ’94 of the Institutional Advancement staff (development and admissions officer for the mid-Atlantic region) shared a photo she received this summer from Kevin Bergen ’61, who offered this caption: “Freshmen gather on the second floor of Old Hall in 1957. This is their 60th reunion year. You might want to see if people can identify themselves or friends. Kevin is third row, sixth from left in horizontal striped shirt.” Writes Annie, “Kevin’s wife Patsy found it in a box recently, and he was kind enough to send it to me … Even though the date on the photo is 1958, he said it’s from the fall of 1957. Maybe he didn’t get his film developed till he got home for the summer!” Thanks to Kevin for sharing the memory.

Sixteen members of the Class of 1965 and their spouses gathered on the shores of Lake Champlain on Tuesday, September 14, to celebrate their 55th Reunion after the pandemic caused the 2020 Reunion to be canceled. In this photo are (all members of the Class of ’65): Front row, left to right: Gerry Loftus, Jim Geier, John Cunningham, Greg Tocci, Kirk Weixel, Frank Geier; back row, left to right: Joe Seremeth, Bill Troy, Frank Stratford, Kevin Slane, Mike Ryan, Ned O’Brien, Jim Cahill, Gene LaBombard, Jim Whitman, Larry Dugan.

The Saint Michael’s alumni office hosted a double Golden Knights Reunion Weekend August 19–22 for the Class of 1970, top, and the Class of 1971, bottom, a momentous 50th anniversary celebration for each. (For the 1970 group, it was a year late thanks to COVID-19.) A popular activity for the weekend was a boat cruise of Lake Champlain on the Spirit of Ethan Allen for many Golden Knights and their spouses. Owing to the pandemic, the Class of 1970 had the longest-serving Reunion committee in history, nearly two years. The Class of 1971 committee was the second-longest-serving (one year) for the same reason. Said Carla Francis, development and gift planning officer in Institutional Advancement, “These guys are super volunteers. The big highlights to me were seeing guys reconnect who hadn’t seen each other in years, and who were making plans to get together in the future. Also, both classes raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the College and had high participation in the class gift. It was a once-in-history fusion of two Golden Knight classes, which they seemed to really enjoy given how many friendships spanned class years.”

Mary Alice Ruggiero Conner ’04 shared, via email with her Edmundite Campus Ministry friends, Rev. Brian Cummings, SSE ’86, and Jerome Monachino ’91, these old photos of interest to earlier generations at St. Mike’s. Mary Alice writes of the photos: “It was Parents’ Weekend 1969. In the picture with the red car, my dad, Anthony Ruggiero, Class of 1969, is on the right. My grandfather, also Anthony Ruggiero, is on the left. In the stadium pic, my dad is the one with the gray sweater, standing next to my grandfather with the beige-ish sweater. They weren’t quite as dressed up as their friends, which would have been typical of them! I don’t know who the other people in the picture are, unfortunately; I wish I did. I found these pics in my grandfather’s stuff, long after both he and my dad had passed away, so there is no one to ask.” Can anybody out there help with more IDs?

Paul Galbraith ’78 of Highland Falls, NY, shares that he will be filming Part II of the Cupcake Chronicles during Halloween. He writes: “In Part II, the former bakery owner, a ghost who has not attained her wings to become an angel, tries in vain to get a bell and a character named Clarence helps her out. Get the picture?” Rev. Brian Cummings, SSE ’86 attended the dedication of the Col. Donald Cook ’56 Library at Xavier High School in Manhattan on September 15. Col. Cook, a Xavier alumnus, was a Congressional Medal of Honor winner and Saint Michael’s graduate who died as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War after making great sacrifices for his fellow prisoners. Fr. Brian presided at a Mass in the Church of St. Francis Xavier on West 16th Street in New York City. In his homily, he said, “My connection with this celebration today is with Col. Cook, as he went on after Xavier to a small Catholic school in Winooski Park, Vermont, just outside of Burlington, called Saint Michael’s College, graduating in 1956. I too left a Jesuit high school and ventured north and graduated from Saint Michael’s, 30 years later, in 1986. After some time working as an accountant here in the New York City area, I entered the Society of St. Edmund, and was ordained at St. Mike’s, and have been working there as an Edmundite priest for the last 25 years.” He then linked the experiences of the Cook family to Our Lady of Sorrows, since that was the feast for the day, and further noted Col. Cook’s great devotion to Mary and the rosary, cultivated while a Saint Michael’s student, which sustained him through the trials of his life.

been the chief administrator for Kennebec County, overseeing the administrative responsibilities of the county, preparing and maintaining oversight of the county’s annual spending plan, and appearing before legislative committees and state agencies on county matters.

1976

JOHN O’HERN, Fairfield, CT, an author, actor, and storyteller, writes that he has put his latest book (Not the Kennedys: An Irish-American Family Experience: Less Like the Brady Bunch, More like Lord of the Flies) up on Amazon. An excerpt from the Amazon description: “This is a true story of intense love matched by intense hatred and fear, of growing up Irish Catholic in a family of eight children in the era of the Kennedys, where families of this magnitude were looked upon as a grand achievement, a joyous celebration of fertility, fellowship, and life.”

1978

PAUL GALBRAITH,

Highland Falls, NY, shares that he will be filming Part II of the Cupcake Chronicles during Halloween. (See photo.)

1979

GEORGE KEADY,

Longmeadow, MA, attended the wedding of two alumni, his daughter and son-in-law, in Stowe, VT, this June. (See photo.)

1981

KEVIN LOSO, Rutland, VT, earned recognition this summer from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) as NACD directorship certified. According to NACD publicity, this recognition “signals to boards, investors, and other stakeholders that they possess the highest commitment to continuing director education available in the United States.” Kevin serves as the executive director for the Rutland Housing Authority and as a consultant to Housing Initiatives Inc. He is the chairman of the board at Heritage Family Credit Union and serves on the board of directors of HAI Group, an insurer of the public and affordable housing industry. JACKIE KIRBY KEADY,

Longmeadow, MA, attended the wedding of her alumni daughter and son-in-law in Stowe this June. (See photo.)

1982

GARRY HARRINGTON,

Tucson, AZ, had another amazing challenging adventure, this one on Mount Denali in Alaska. (See photos for the full story.)

1986

REV. BRIAN CUMMINGS,

SSE, Colchester, VT, attended the dedication of the Col. Donald Cook ’56 Library at Xavier High School in Manhattan on September 15. (See photo with fuller account.)

Garry Harrington ’82 is an intrepid adventurer—in the last Class Notes we told of his bikepacking adventure on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Garry is also an accomplished “peak bagger,” having summited the highest points in 49 of the 50 United States. In 2016, he made an unsuccessful attempt to climb Denali in Alaska, the most challenging state high point, and recently he set out with a team of friends and fellow adventurers to try again. After the trip, Garry posted on social media the gripping extended tale of what happened this time around, with unforeseen complexities and extreme challenges. He recounts how ultimately, his best judgment and an injury led him to descend Denali again without bagging it.

Here’s the end of the report from this onetime Saint Michael’s cross-country team runner: “Do I have regrets? Yes and no. I certainly had great hopes of summiting this time after failing in 2016, as it would have put me in great company among the 150 or so climbers who have ever completed the 50 state high points. But I have to admit that the rib injury created a snowball effect that derailed those hopes. My ribs kept me from being able to shovel snow and build walls, keeping me from protecting the tent from the winds, keeping me from sleeping, which kept me from having the energy and the clearheadedness to continue a strenuous climb in dangerous conditions. I feel I made the only logical choice, which was to descend while I was still coherent enough to do so. I congratulate the three members of [my climbing team] the Denali Dirty Half Dozen who made it to the summit. Will I go back to Denali again someday? That’s too early to tell. It certainly was not a pleasant experience once again under the circumstances. Perhaps I can be satisfied to just be a 49-state high-pointer. Or, perhaps not. We shall see.” The photos show a cold Garry on his adventure, and low-hanging clouds below the 11,000-foot-elevation camp.

St. Mike’s Class of ’88 RI reunion Steve Flynn ’93 and his wife Amy were on a getaway to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands this past year when they decided to head to Lime Out, a floating bar and taco boat in Coral Bay. “Flynny” reports to his friend Annie Rosello ’94, development and admissions officer for the College, “Amy and I were talking with our waitress, who mentioned that she went to college in Vermont, so of course I asked where. When she (Corey Thomas ’12) said St. Mike’s, I said ‘No way, me too!’ And the woman sitting near me (Laura Provost Martin ’88) chimed in and said that she went to St. Mike’s as well. Such a crazy small world! Purple Knights are always glad to meet—anytime, anywhere!” The photo shows, from left, Corey, Laura and Flynny.

DIANE LEBLANC,

Northfield, MN, published a new collection of poems, The Feast Delayed (Terrapin Books, 2021). Diane is a professor of writing at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.

FLORIAN MENNINGER,

New York, NY, a St. Mike’s ice hockey alumnus, was featured in the Times Leader newspaper of Wilkes-Barre, PA, this summer. It was a story of Florian and his son Eric making a 150-mile rollerblade journey between New York City and WilkesBarre to raise money for prostate cancer research, relating to Florian’s diagnosis with the disease in January 2020.

1988

LAURA PROVOST MARTIN,

Vienna, VA, enjoyed a chance St. Mike’s alumni encounter at a floating bar in the Caribbean this spring. (See photo.)

1989

MARIE COLBERT, Walpole,

MA, was a (virtual) guest speaker for the Sigma Beta Delta academic honor society for business students at Saint Michael’s on International Women’s Day in March. She told of helping to build and run a software company where she was president/CEO for 20 years before a brief retirement that preceded starting a new software company, Masterly Logistics Systems, where she is presently chief commercial officer.

1993

STEVE FLYNN, Hingham, MA, enjoyed a chance St. Mike’s alumni encounter at a floating bar in the Caribbean this spring. (See photo.) Steve also helped organize a major golf/50th birthday reunion on Cape Cod for alumni from the mid-1990s. (See photos.)

GEORGE GOLDSWORTHY,

Cambridge, VT, the College’s manager of print and mail, was unanimously elected to serve an unprecedented fifth term as president of the Association of College and University Mail Services (ACUMS), which remotely celebrated its 43rd anniversary during the pandemic. The organization serves the professional development of collegiate mailroom managers throughout the Northeast; members represent SUNY Schools, Harvard, and many other colleges and universities.

1994

LAURA COUNTER

MCKENNA, Hanson, MA, recently had a joyful reunion with a fellow Saint Michael’s Theater graduate from the 1990s. (See photo.) In late September, 30 Saint Michael’s College alumni came together from all across the country and as far away as London for an epic reunion on the Cape. In celebration of their 50th birthdays, the friends spent the weekend teeing off at Bayberry Hills golf course in a Ryder Cup format, split up into their early 1990s intramural softball teams, the Diamond Dusters and the ’Batters. “We had a great weekend with awesome turnout,” said Steve Flynn ’93. “Bill McCarthy did a lot of the organizing but managed to hand the ’Batters the Cup due to a scoring error on his part.” This crew proves just how rock-solid St. Mike’s friendships are. “Although it was a competitive weekend,” Steve said, “it was all about great friends—and we laughed a lot!”

The group of four, left to right: Brian Murphy, Derek Rynne, Steve Flynn, Bill MCarthy.

The attendees: Class of ’92: Jay Mauro; Class of ’93: Ben Ardito, Steve Barlock, Jim Barten, Dave Berry, Dave Bierwirth, Eric Breemen, Tony Ciraulo, Greg Doherty, Greg Eibell, Steve Flynn, Derek Glynn, Topher Johnson, Jim Kuczo, Carlos Martin, Bill McCarthy, Sean McDaniel, Scott Mosher, Brian Murphy, Andy Northup, Chris Phillips, Brian Rayder, Derek Rynne, Matt Salamone, Jeff Stebbins, Brad Sweeney, Pete Watson, Rob Woodman; Class of ’94: Kevin Kiley; Class of ’95: Kevin Leddy.

Two Saint Michael’s theater pals from the 1990s reunited at the site of a Vermont performance by one of them in September. G. Richard Ames ’95, who recently performed in his one-man show as Mark Twain at QuarryWorks Theatre in Adamant, posted on social media about encountering and appreciating a fellow Saint Michael’s graduate at a show, writing: “Before I went to hit all my Marks yesterday afternoon, I saw a young woman waiting for the show who looked familiar ... but I couldn’t positively identify her. After the show, she reminded this old man that she was Laura Counter McKenna ’94, a dear college friend whom I hadn’t seen since she graduated! She’d driven up with her son Matt in the morning from south of Boston just to see my show! I was floored, honored, and so very touched. (I know some of you are saying, ‘But, Rick, you’ve been ‘touched’ for as long as I’ve known you.’ Stifle!) What an awesome mini-reunion! Thanks again, Laura (and Matt), for making the journey.”

1995

G. RICHARD AMES,

Burlington, VT, recently had a joyful reunion with a fellow Saint Michael’s Theater graduate from the 1990s. (See photo.)

1996

MARY BRODSKY, Essex

Junction, VT, will join the Community College of Vermont (CCV) as its first executive director of human resources, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Mary currently serves as associate chief human resource officer at the University of Vermont. Prior to her work at UVM, she was acting director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Employee Relations Division. She also held positions within the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, working in congressional and public affairs, equal employment opportunity, and labor and employee relations. She was appointed by Governors Jim Douglas and Peter Shumlin to serve as a member of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, a post she held for nine years. She was to step into her new role beginning October 4. She is married to BRENDAN KINNEY ’93,

formerly of the Saint Michael’s Institutional Advancement staff.

ERIC WILBUR, Norton,

MA, released his first book, Thirty Years in a White Haze, this summer. His publicist, Sammy Blair, writes, “The book made the Boston Globe Summer 2021 reading list and is on several top 10 charts on Amazon. Eric co-wrote the book with extreme skiing pioneer Dan Egan, and the story has taken the skiing world by storm. Eric is doing a book tour through Vermont during September and October.”

1997

MATTHEW WEST, Canter-

bury, CT, was a finalist this spring in the selection of West Hartford Teacher of the Year. Matthew joined West Hartford Public Schools in 2007. He teaches English to grades 9–12 at Hall High School. He led a statewide professional development session on implicit bias, organized and moderated Hall’s Human Rights Day panel, cochaired the Safe School Climate Committee, and coordinated the National Walkout Day advisory response. He has a master’s degree from the University of New Haven and an advanced certification in educational leadership from Sacred Heart University.

1998

CATHERINE “KATE”

PALOPOLI, Burlington, VT, started work at Saint Michael’s as the College’s controller on April 26, 2021. Kate earned her St. Mike’s degree in Accounting and moved to Vermont with her family from Massachusetts in late June, when she started working from a campus office rather than remotely. She had most recently worked for nearly three years as director of financial planning, analysis, and reporting for Richelieu Foods in Braintree, MA.

1999

HEATHER LASHWAY,

Orchard Park, NY, this spring earned a promotion to senior vice president, director of retail banking for Berkshire Bank. Prior to joining Berkshire, Heather spent 11 years with Citizens Bank in senior retail banking roles, including director of sales, division training manager, and regional sales manager. She was previously an Albany Business Review “40 under 40” honoree.

2000

KRISTIN MARTINSON

ZAWATSKI, Framingham, MA, recently graduated from the Rabb School of Professional Studies at Brandeis University with an M.S. in project and program management. “Due to COVID, our ceremony was virtual, but it was still a great way to see and connect with my classmates and celebrate our accomplishments,” Kristin writes.

MARIA RINALDI, Jericho,

VT, has been deeply involved in choral music

since her days as a Saint Michael’s student, and she still sings regularly with the Liturgical Ensemble in the Chapel for Sunday Mass. In recent years, she founded a new local chorus that was revived this summer after a pause during the pandemic: Vermont’s Freedom & Unity, which returned to rehearsing in the College Chapel in late June. “We strive to become one of the most diverse and inclusive choruses in the state of Vermont,” says Maria.

2001

MELISSA GUERRETTE,

Norway, ME, a teacher at Oxford Elementary School in Maine, has been named Oxford County’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. The honor puts her in the running with 16 other educators for Maine’s Teacher of the Year, to be announced later in 2021. This is the third time she has been nominated. Melissa has spent her entire career teaching at OES. In 2005 she earned a master’s degree in education with a mathematics specialty from Walden University.

2004

Read news about SHELLEY OUELLETTE WILCOX,

Bolton, CT, as cofounder of a new business with her alumna sister, under 2007 class notes. Shelley moved to Connecticut recently from South Carolina. JOSH KESSLER, Essex

Junction, VT, the director of Athletic Communications for St. Mike’s, this summer achieved a milestone goal that has been a long time coming—visiting all of Vermont’s 251 towns (and a few extra locations just for kicks). Says Josh, “Hopefully the road-tripping adventures won’t end. There’s still so much to see out there.”

MARY ALICE RUGGIERO

CONNER, West Bridgewater, CT, shared via email this summer with her Edmundite Campus Ministry friends, Rev. Brian Cummings, SSE ’86 and Jerome Monachino ’91, some great images that will be of interest to earlier generations at St. Mike’s. (See photos.)

2005

ASHLEY TERWILLIGER,

Glens Falls, NY, married Jono Pollard on September 18, 2021. (See photo.)

2006

JONAH KESSEL, Maple-

wood, NJ, left the newsroom of the New York Times in May and joined the New York Times opinion section as the deputy director of opinion video. Previously he was in the Times’s newsroom as director of cinematography and as an international video correspondent. From 2011 to 2016 he covered Asia for the video desk, working out of the Beijing and Hong Kong Ashley Terwilliger ’05 shared this photo from her wedding, September 18, 2021. From left: Jeffrey Pollard ’01, Hartley (Flagg) Pollard ’02, Jono Pollard (groom), Ashley Terwilliger ’05 (bride), Carly (Rencsko) Lemire ’05, Benjamin Lemire ’04, Lauren Breedlove ’04.

Erin Mooney Martin ’08, of Manchester, NH, shares some career news: “In May of this year, I was able to attend commencement to celebrate earning my Ed.D. (doctorate in education) back in 2020. My research was centered [on] teacher empowerment and retention in high-poverty, urban middle schools.” The photo shows Erin being honored at the ceremony at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH, where she earned her doctoral degree.

Matt Jordan ’11 of Camp LeJeune, NC, an emergency medicine physician assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, recently returned from a seven-month deployment, which included providing emergent and urgent medical care to American citizens and Afghans during the evacuation operation in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021. Matt earned a degree in biology at Saint Michael’s College. Matt shared this photo of him proudly showing off the Purple Knight colors on a Saint Michael’s pennant when he was in Kabul.

Megan (Flynn) Manning ’12, her husband Luke Manning ’12, and their alumni guests at their wedding brunch. They were married on September 10, 2021, in Newburyport, MA. Left to right: Brian Bailey ’12, Caitlin Quinn ’12, Ethan Madden ’15, Joseph Rhodes ’12, Graham Madden ’12, Michael Cracchiola ’12. That’s Megan and Luke in front with the banner, of course. bureaus. He has reported on the ground from over 25 countries for the Times. In 2013, Jonah was the field video journalist on the team awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, and he is a two-time World Press Photo winner. He has four times been named a Multimedia Journalist of the Year from Pictures of the Year International, and has been awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Justice and Human Rights Reporting and the Innovative Storytelling Award from the National Press Foundation.

2007

KELLEY OUELLETTE

KHOURY, Louisville, CO, recently started a nonprofit organization, Operation Birthday, with her sister,

SHELLEY OUELLETTE

WILCOX ’04. Operation Birthday is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is founded on the principle that all children deserve a birthday celebration. Its mission is to ensure that each child feels special on his or her birthday by providing parents in need with birthday items they are not able to afford. Kelley has been doing this on a very small scale with her niece (Shelley’s daughter Shelby-Ann) for four years and is hopeful that through this nonprofit she can increase her impact so more children can have the birthday they deserve. To learn more, visit www. operationbirthday.org.

2008

RORY DOYLE, Cleveland, MS, is a working photographer based in the rural Mississippi Delta. In 2009, the Maine native moved to Mississippi to pursue a master’s degree at Delta State University. Rory has remained committed to photographing Mississippi and the South and has a particular focus on sharing stories from the Delta. His most recent featured work appeared on the newsletter/ website called The Bitter Southerner, supported by the National Geographic Society’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Journalists.

JOHN KUNKEL, M.D.,

Katy, TX, completed his five-year residency in orthopedic surgery in Philadelphia, PA, in July. He is currently completing a fellowship in sports medicine orthopedic surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas. This has given him the opportunity to serve as an assistant team physician for the Houston Texans, the Houston Astros, and Rice University Athletics, as well as the NASA Astronaut Core. He lives just outside Houston with his wife (NOELLE KUNKEL ’10) and their two daughters (Adeline, 4, and Roselind, 3).

ERIN MOONEY MARTIN,

Manchester, NH, earned her doctorate in education in 2020 and recently was able to attend a delayed commencement to note the occasion at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. (See photo.)

MALLORY WOOD WILLSEA,

Saratoga Springs, NY, was promoted to executive vice president of strategy and operations at PlatformQ Education in July 2021. “My husband and I moved back to the East Coast (Saratoga Springs) this spring from California and I’m hoping to make a trip to Burlington and a visit to Saint Michael’s soon,” says Mallory.

2010

NICHOLAS RIZZO and SARAH MASLAK RIZZO,

Peabody, MA, write, “We welcomed our twins Sophia Elizabeth and Michael David on May 26, 2020 (on mommy’s birthday), and they joined our daughter Isabella Maria, born April 10, 2019.”

RYAN LAROCHELLE, Orono,

ME, shares career news: “Excited and honored to be part of the inaugural group of Racial Equity Fellows Learning Community on Teaching (REFLeCT) at the University of Maine. Some important and difficult work ahead.” Ryan’s faculty profile reads, “Ryan LaRochelle is a lecturer at the Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service at the University of Maine, where he teaches courses in both leadership studies and political science. Prior to coming to the University of Maine, he was a visiting lecturer of political science

at Brandeis University and a fellow at the Gordon Center for American Public Policy. LaRochelle’s paper ‘The Great Society and American Political Development’ was awarded the New England Political Science Association’s John C. Donovan Prize for the best paper written by a faculty member in 2019. As a graduate student, he also received the New England Political Science Association’s Robert C. Wood prize for the best paper written by a graduate student.”

MEGAN FLYNN

MANNING and LUKE

MANNING, Roslindale, MA, gathered with alumni guests at their wedding brunch this fall. They were married on September 10 in Newburyport, MA. (See photo.)

COREY THOMAS, Trenton,

NJ, enjoyed a chance St. Mike’s alumni encounter at a floating bar in the Caribbean this spring. (See photo.)

2011 2014

MATT JORDAN, Camp

LeJeune, NC, an emergency medicine physician assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, recently returned from a seven-month deployment. (See photo.)

2012

REV. MICHAEL CARTER,

SSE, Colchester, VT, has had his work appear in recent months in the national publication U.S. Catholic. He posted on social media in July that a video reflection he did for this website of wide circulation reflects on the Mass readings for July 4, 2021—the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B), tying the readings into thoughts about the American Independence Day holiday and its meaning for him. More recently in a fall edition of U.S. Catholic, Fr. Michael wrote a review of a new album by the popular singer Billie Eilish.

ALEX IERONIMO,

Haverhill, MA, got married. (See MORGAN PETERSON

’15 note and photo.)

BEN LINDEMER, Brooklyn, NY, has an awesome job with the world’s biggest live streaming platform for gamers. He explains: “My role with Twitch & Amazon Advertising is within the Brand Partnerships Studio (BPS). My team, Influencer Relations, is responsible for identifying, recommending, and contracting influencers that execute sponsored broadcasts/streams on the platform. We evaluate the creative concepts that are pitched to brands and advertisers that are looking to activate with streamers on Twitch. We ensure the ideas are feasible, interesting, and fun for the brands, influencers, and their audience. Our team then decides which influencers across all of Twitch would Katie McNally ’14 recently made an alumni connection in her work as an archivist for the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston: William Edwards ’17, now a graduate student at Simmons University, interned with Katie. William spent the past summer processing paper and photograph collections from the Sisters of Saint Joseph archives as a way to gain professional experience in pursuit of his graduate degree. Both William and Katie credit Saint Michael’s as inspiring them to pursue careers in the field of history and archives.

The alumni parents of new bride Tara Keady ’15 shared about Tara’s recent wedding to Matthew Nault ’14. Jackie Kirby Keady ’81 of Longmeadow, MA, writes of this photo: “Celebrating the marriage of our daughter with immediate family in Stowe, Vermont, on June 5, 2021. The beautiful ceremony took place on a perfect Vermont day and included from left to right: father of the bride George Keady ’79, mother of the bride Jackie Kirby Keady ’81, the bride, Tara Keady ’15, the groom, Matthew Nault ’14, the groom’s sister-in-law, Nicole Bielak Nault ’11, and the groom’s brother, Andrew Nault ’11.”

Morgan Peterson ’15 married Alex Ieronimo ’14 on July 30, 2021, in New Hampshire surrounded by many St. Mike’s alumni, including Colin Ellis ’13, Patrick Bousquet ’13, Tim Dennis ’14, Brianne Conlon ’15, Emily Goodwin ’15, Elaine Ezerins ’15, Tarryn Bartkus ’15, Danika Gallup ’15, Lauren Kilmister ’15, Monique Poisson ’15, Shawna McGowan ’15, Misha D’Andrea ’15, Gabby Milano ’15, Peter Charrette ’14, Shelby Knudsen-Sarno ’15, Nick Sarno ’15.

be best fit to bring the campaign creative to life for the brand partner.”

KATIE MCNALLY, Dedham,

MA, recently made an alumni connection in her work as an archivist for the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston. (See photo.)

MATTHEW NAULT, Boston,

MA, got married. (See TARA KEADY ’15 note and

photo).

2015

TARA KEADY, Boston, MA, married MATTHEW NAULT ’14 on June 5, 2021, in Stowe. (See photo.)

LAURA BETH KUJAWA,

South Burlington, VT, recently had her poem titled “To Serve, To Taste” published on the website Empty House Press. According to the posting, Laura “is a cross-genre writer living in Burlington, Vermont. She received an MFA in writing and publishing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the founding editor of Canned magazine. Find her @laura_kujawa.”

MORGAN PETERSON,

Dedham, MA, married ALEX IERONIMO ’14 on

Hampshire, surrounded by many St. Mike’s alumni.

2016

JAMES DeVOURSNEY,

Bayonne, NY, won a role in a New Jersey theater production earlier this year. The website Broadway World carries news of the theater, and James got a mention in an item about a New Jersey production by Progressive Theater of the Max Vernon play, The View Upstairs: “His previous work includes Todd in The UVX by Luxury Universal Experience, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz at Saint Michael’s Playhouse, and Warren in Ordinary Days. James also toured as a tour actor/director with Missoula Children’s Theatre.… When not performing, James is working towards his EMT certification,” the item states.

2017

WILLIAM EDWARDS,

Granby, CT, now a graduate student at Simmons University, made an unexpected and helpful alumni connection in the course of his studies during an internship. (See photo.) TAYLOR TEIXEIRA,

Henrico, VA, has joined SIMA Financial Group in Henrico, VA, as a senior accountant, according to a business brief from the website Richmond Bizsense in Virginia. A certified public accountant, Taylor is originally from Maine.

2018

JULIA COLASANTI,

Burlington, VT, got a mention in the August 4 issue of the Burlington weekly newspaper and website Seven Days, which mentioned chances to see comedy performances in the area. It told of her moving from Chicago, where she was trying her hand at comedy, to living with her parents in Michigan, to returning to Vermont in 2020 and starting the “Pop-Up Stand-Up” event in Burlington’s City Hall Park on August 7. Noted the article, “The event is Colasanti’s brainchild.… ‘The idea actually began during COVID,’ Colasanti explains.… She missed real audiences and shows.... As she dreamed of organizing a show, she realized she wanted it to be more than just a simple comedy event. ‘For me, mental health and comedy go hand in hand,’ Colasanti says.”

2019

EMILY CHABOT,

Williston, VT, a Saint Michael’s Psychology graduate, started work July 12 as the College’s assistant director of special events. Previously Emily worked at the University of Vermont Medical Center in the nephrology and transplant department as a patient service specialist.

JEREMY MIKAELSON

(WEIGUO YU), Kissimmee, FL, a professional magician, recently performed and lectured at a magic convention in Cherry Hill, NJ—the 2021 Magician’s Alliance of Eastern States Convention. Says Jeremy, “It was a superb experience performing and lecturing on my approach to the art of magic with over 100 fellow magicians on the East Coast! This is one of the oldest magic conventions in the country as the first convention was dated back in 1938! This feels like a dream come true! It’s also my first time judging stage magic competition. I still can’t believe it! Great to see some up-andcoming talent.”

2020

DINA ALSAFFAR, South

Burlington, VT, started work on August 16 as an academic support services specialist at Saint Michael’s College. After graduating from St. Mike’s in 2020, Dina went on to pursue higher education at McGill University, where she completed a master’s degree in sociology.

VICTORIA CASTILLO,

Williston, VT, began work August 16 as the new assistant director of MOVE, the volunteer service arm of Edmundite Campus Ministry at Saint Michael’s.

STEPHEN HIGGINS,

Sharon, MA, received recognition for his videography this spring. A May 12 announcement on the website of the School for International Training, based in Brattleboro, VT, notes that Stephen, who studied abroad through an SIT program while a Saint Michael’s student, is SIT Study Abroad’s 2019 video contest winner. A release states: “SIT’s Morocco: Field Studies in Journalism and New Media Program by Stephen Higgins was selected as a finalist for the Innovative Student Video category. Higgins’ video showcases the highlights of his study abroad experience that semester and conveyed the authenticity of the environment with a deeper understanding of the Moroccan culture in which he was immersed. The winner of the Innovative Student Video category is selected by popular vote.”

2021

PATRICK BARRETT,

Longmeadow, MA, was commissioned during a ceremony in the Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel after the 2021 Commencement in May. He will serve as a medical service officer for the Vermont National Guard.

MARLON HYDE, Burling-

ton, VT, is the Vermont Public Radio (VPR) news fellow, joining VPR in the spring of 2021 after graduating from Saint Michael’s with a degree in Media Studies, Journalism, and Digital Arts. Originally from Queens, NY, he comes from a family of storytellers. In the summer of 2021 he covered a wide variety of events, including a block party and mural painting event in Burlington’s Old North End and features about this year’s sensational Vermont Lake Monsters baseball team, which is playing in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League for the first year.

ASHLEY PARKER, Bowdoin,

ME, was commissioned during a ceremony in the Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel after the 2021 Commencement in May. She will serve as an active-duty chemist for the U.S. Air Force.

HANNAH ROQUE,

Burlington, VT, started work July 6 as an admission counselor in the Saint Michael’s College Admission Office. She is a recent graduate of the College with a bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education.