2010s

10 Weddings and Babies

Kenzie Jane Bowen and Michael Johnston tied the knot on Dec. 28 in Baltimore. Father Joe Carey, CSC, of Notre Dame was the presider. Sean McRoskey was the best man. Duda Cardoso and Geoff Chi-Johnston ’05 also were in the wedding party. More than 30 members of the class of 2010 were present. Kenzie is in her last year of medical school at the U of Maryland in Baltimore. Michael is a soccer coach and mathematics teacher at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney MD. Marissa Baum and Thomas Staudt recently got engaged in California and plan to marry in 2015. Claudia Miranda and Francis Garcia set March 22 for their wedding date. Frank Vento got engaged to Stephanie Demkowski. They will be getting married in August. Frank is finishing his third year of medical school at the U of Toledo School of Medicine. Sarah and Matthew Cossack welcomed their son, Andrew Stephen, into the world on Nov. 25. Maria and Dave ’09 Phelps welcomed their second daughter, Eloise, on Dec. 11. Congratulations to the happy parents and the newest little Domers. After teaching high school in New Orleans for three years with Teach for America, Kevin Gallin has returned to Notre Dame to pursue a master’s degree in English, with a planned graduation of May 2015. Bronwen Mitchell will be graduating with a doctorate in physical therapy from the Washington U in St. Louis School of Medicine in May. Jordan Schank continues his work at Notre Dame. He wants you to follow him on Twitter: jschank. Keep the updates coming. Go Irish. – Matt Molloy; 602-510-7373; NDclass2010@gmail.com

10MBA Updates Galore

Sean Haggerty and his wife added another Domer to the Haggerty clan. Connell Edward Haggerty was born Jan. 8. Sean is a finance manager at Amazon and lives in Greenville SC.
Colleen (O’Donnell) and Mark Leveck had a healthy baby girl, Marie Collette, on Feb. 1. Mom and baby are doing great as the family settles into their new home in Seattle. There is exciting news from the other side of the world. Balki Rangan has been promoted to the role of assistant vice president, financial control, with The Royal Bank of Scotland at Gurgaon, India. Gurgaon is located about 20 miles southwest of New Delhi. Pete Austin was recently promoted to manager of corporate treasury at Toys “R” Us. He is heading to Costa Rica in February for vacation. Even more exciting than a promotion is that Pete finally got rid of his 1999 Honda Civic. Pete, Xavier Navarro and Victor Arias were spotted together eating tacos in the West Village on a cold February night, which sparked many memories of El Paraiso in South Bend, the taco capital of the world. Victor has accepted a new position with Edelman PR in New York City as account supervisor in the multicultural group. Look out NYC, Victor has moved from DC to NYC. In entrepreneurship news, Kevin May has recently purchased a competitor called MBT Investments which operates in northern Louisiana. Kevin is living in Shreveport and is looking forward to expanding his business further. Please contact me with your promotions, new additions, and special updates. Go Irish. – John Gerberich; cell 847-331-4707; jgerberi@alumni.nd.edu

10JD Tra la, It’s May

It has been a long winter in South Bend, folks. Luckily, we have lots of cheerful news to warm our hearts. Here’s who got out of Dodge just in time: Maria Hinton. She spent the winter in the lovely and tragically hip Eagle Rock neighborhood of LA, where she is the assistant director for housing services at Occidental College. She’s been taking in the sights (Disneyland, SaMo Pier) and rubbing our noses in it with sunny pictures on Facebook. She and Larry Luppi, after some light internet stalking (his) and charm (hers), had a private meet and greet with Coach Holtz in advance of the national championship game. We miss you, Maria. Here’s who embraced the cold and snow with some beautiful wedding photos on snowy Dec. 14: Lindsey Brazys ’05 SMC, ’10 JD, who married Eric Pianowski at the Basilica. Helping them celebrate were Jennifer (Quintanilla) and Joe Barton, Maureen Bush ’05SMC, ’09MBA, Michael Chambliss ’05, ’10JD, Bernadette (Nguyen) Florip, Stacy Greiner, and Stacey (Stark) Neulieb ’05SMC. After a reception at the DoubleTree atrium and plenty of photogenic snow, the couple honeymooned in Jamaica and made it back in time for Christmas. They reside in Elkhart. Here’s who had a new little bundle of joy to help keep them warm: Lorraine and Deepak Madala (and adorable big sister Elina) welcomed baby Kavya on Dec. 18. The happy family lives in the Washington DC area, where Deepak works for the Virginia Poverty Law Center. Here’s who escaped the cold for a Hawaiian honeymoon: Megan Matuska ’07, ’10JD and Brent Baxter, who were married at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Charles IL. Her bridesmaids included Carolin Hubscher ’07, Gabby (Obregon) Leyhane ’07 and Maggie McGinn ’07. Also celebrating were Laura (Navarre) Abbruzzese ’07, Julie (Pearce) ’07 and John Argentieri ’07, Jenna (Blank) Dailey ’07, Erin (Brady) ’04, and Nick Gaeke ’04, John Leyhane ’07, Danielle Potts ’07 and Rene (Sopiarz) ’03, ‘10JD and Eddie O’Connell ’03. After their honeymoon on Oahu, they returned to their normal lives. Brent is a property claims supervisor for Pekin Insurance, and Megan works as an assistant state’s attorney in Kane County IL. Here’s who dropped a record in 2012 and we’re only just now reporting it (cough): Jessica Brock, who co-wrote and performed the song “In Her Name” on the Spirit of Notre Dame CD, available on iTunes. Here’s who else was on the CD: Regis Philbin. And Brendan Hanehan, we think. Jessica is a proud Kansan and a fine human being in spite of it. The co-composer is Paul Maich ’72. Mark your calendars because our first official class reunion is one short year from now over Memorial Day weekend in 2015.This gathering features a hospitality tent that remains open until the wee hours of the morning, overnight stays in the dorms and general merriment. – Susie Wine; 1106 N. St. Joseph St., South Bend IN 46617; 574-514-3746

11 Wedding Bells

On Nov. 2, Michael Flanigan married Melissa Vondriska in Cleveland OH. Members of the wedding party included Allison Vondriska, Rebecca Flanigan ’13, Kate Fogarty, Jennifer Sowinski, Marie Girardot, Laura Tiche, Bart Johnson, Alex Buell, Eddie Guilbeau, Stephen Siena and Adam Hakes. Many other Notre Dame and SMC alumni were present. The Flanigans live in Columbus. Jessie Burjek and Andrew Watkins were married on June 22, 2013 in Lemont IL. Bridesmaids included Hannah Fisher, Carolyn Rendos and Catherine Mapelli ’10. Groomsmen included Michael Belatti and Kevin Hussey. The couple resides in Indianapolis. Andrew is in his third year of dental school at Indiana U, and Jessie is in her first year of the accounting PhD program at Indiana U. Grant Erickson and Brandi Allen were married on Feb. 22 in Green Bay. Lora O’Shaughnessy, Annapatrice Clarke, Eric Prister and Colin Fisher were in the bridal party. Sean McCullough and Stephanie Piszczor are engaged and will be married on Aug. 16 in Stephanie’s hometown of Orland Park IL at Our Lady of the Woods Parish. Kevin McKernan and Katie McNelis got married on Dec. 27 in Berkeley Heights NJ. They live in Tucson. Congratulations to Jordan Gamble and David Downham, who were married on Jan. 4 in Lafayette IN. Anne Reser and Michael Hill were married on Nov. 9 in South Bend. Classmates Madeline Buckley, Justin Siler and Elizabeth Dieckman were members of the wedding party. Kyle Mitchell and Jocelyn Rausch got engaged on Martha’s Vineyard in June 2013. Rameez Tase and Megan Fitzgerald joined in the celebration. The couple plans to get married during the summer of 2016 after Kyle graduates from the U of Texas Medical School at Houston and Jocelyn graduates from the physician assistant program at Tufts U School of Medicine. Kaitlyn Smous and Martin Wieck, who both graduated from the School of Architecture, got engaged on Christmas Day. Nuptials will be held in Nashville TN sometime that is “not football season.” Benjamin Spitler and Katherine Campbell ’10 were engaged on May 4, 2013 after Ben proposed in front of the Basilica. The couple will be getting married in May in Buffalo NY. Brian Cook proposed to Erica Severson at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in downtown Grand Rapids after Mass. They are hoping to book a 2015 wedding at the Basilica. In July 2013, Brittan Mawby got engaged to Matthew Leiser in Rhode Island. The wedding will be held at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Aug.16. Maureen Early and John Charles Goetz ’06 were engaged on Oct. 13 and planned to be married at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Mishawaka on April 26. In August 2013, Nick Civetta quit his engineering job and moved to Rome, Italy, to play professional rugby for a team called Lazio. Big congratulations to Katherine and John Deahl ’12 of Topeka KS, who welcomed Elizabeth Annette into the world on Nov. 6. Congratulations to Ty Adams, who was elected president of the first year law students at the U of Georgia Law School. Emeka Nwankwo recently released his debut album, Training Camp. It is available for free download at his website www.emekamusic.com. Check it out. Mark Pomerenke, an electrical engineering grad, helped build the Kansas City Inland Port, riverside industrial and other multifamily deals. His group is revitalizing Kansas City, and he was recently offered equity in his firm. — Evan James; ndclass2011@gmail.com

11MBA Strategic Planning

Jonathan Retartha ’07, ’11MBA has moved back to South Bend to work as assistant director of young and next generation alumni at Notre Dame. He supports the University’s development efforts in annual giving programs. He serves as program director for Sorin Society’s Corby Young Alumni and manages strategic planning for fundraising efforts targeted at 1-20 year alumni. Chad Elkins recently started his own tax preparation business and has self-published a book, The Elkins Comprehensive Tax Guide – 2014 Edition, through Amazon. Chris Orenchuk took on a new role as manager of Global Synergy Development. His new focus is on front of store strategy as it pertains to the pending merger between Alliance Boots and Walgreens, as well as reporting on online sales of Boots-related products. Mauricio Ramirez and Jennifer De Arana moved from Dallas to Miami. Mauricio works as a senior marketing manager at MoneyGram. Jennifer decided to leave her role at Dr Pepper to spend time with their children. Their daughter Sofia just celebrated her second birthday, and they are excited to announce they are expecting a new baby in June. Everyone in the family is excited, including Mauri, 3. Emily (Malinowski) and Brian McEvily were married on Aug. 17 in Rehoboth Beach DE. They honeymooned in Italy and Greece and live in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. Crissy (Manalo) and Paul Ragos were married in May 2013 at the Guardian Angel Cathedral in Las Vegas. James Brennan, Rick Aznar-Beane, David Knudsen, Karén Mkrtchyan, Sanak Mishra, Pat Corr, Suzy Guttler, Tim Huang and Chris Orenchuk were in attendance. Paul was promoted to manager at Deloitte Consulting. Daniela and Marcelo Fernandez said that their son, Gelo, is very excited for his new brother or sister who will be here in 2014. Parting shots: Israel Peck said he is in good health, Viral Kothari is still running stuff, James Brennan lost to Jeff Harer in Words with Friends and Rick Aznar-Beane has been playing a lot of golf, including TPC Scottsdale. As always, please send your updates. – Chris Orenchuk; 574-514-5671; chris.orenchuk@gmail.com

11JD Class Secretary—Charles Flynn; charles.a.flynn@gmail.com

12 Off to a Flying Start

Caitlin (Arens) and Andrew Velzen got married at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids on Jan. 4. The attendants included Angela Campbell, Matthew Esparza and Michael Higginson, as well as Tessa DeMers and Ryan Loos ’13. Other alumni present included Alex Griswold, Andrew McBride ’11, Tien Nguyen and Randall Velzen ’78JD. Despite the delayed flight due to the horrible winter weather, the newlyweds enjoyed a wonderful Jamaican honeymoon. They are currently at Purdue U working on their graduate degrees. Please continue sending class updates. – Tyler Harmsen; 1925 NW 19th St., Oklahoma City OK 73106; tharmsen@alumni.nd.edu

12MBA First Child

Hyon and Chris McNamara welcomed their first child, Quinn Brendan McNamara, on Dec. 11. He already looks fantastic in his ND bib. Please send your updates so we can all share in your fantastic news. – Jenna Newcomb; irishMBA2012@gmail.com

12JD All the News

Here is all the news that’s fit to print, or at least everything I heard about. In December, Nick Weeks asked Melesa Freerks to marry him and, of course, she said yes. Fun fact: they have been dating for 12 years, making them a heartwarming example of high school sweethearts working it out for the long term. Brian Boyle married Jenna Heitchue on Dec. 14. The newlyweds make their home in lovely Chicago, where he works as a trial attorney and she is the academic dean of a high school. Lisa Rispoli and her husband, Michael, welcomed their first child, Dean Henry Goshorn, on Jan. 16. Dean is reportedly excited about being born in the nick of time to avoid having a prime number for a birthday. Monica (Bordas) Schmucker’s daughter, Tessa, was born in August and is a very healthy baby. Brittany Hunt wanted to let us know that Joey placed in the top five in his class spelling bee, earning him an automatic berth in the school spelling bee to be held in February. Godspeed, Joey. Remember that “I before E except after C” is an inefficient rule with lots of weird exceptions. That segues into my next section, in which I describe how Brittany Hunt is excited to start working as assistant general counsel with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. Three cheers for new jobs, and three cheers for spelling. Kathleen Sparks is working as a nurse attorney at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard in Chicago with Patrick A. Salvi ’77JD, Brian Salvi ’13JD and Patrick Salvi Jr. ’07JD. She gets to use her nursing degree and her law degree. She is also sick of Chicago’s wintry weather. Monique Magar recently relocated to Kern County CA where she will be working as a deputy public defender in the Kern County Public Defender’s Office. I looked up Kern County, and it appears to be a large area in California that does not have any beaches at all. I know, I’m as surprised as you are. Manasi Raveendran moved to New York approximately one week before I wrote this. She didn’t specify whether she was referring to the city or the state, but encourages us to come visit. If we can find her, that is. Placed firmly in the “miscellany” category, Alvin Adjei recently tried to make a new friend during the Super Bowl by telling her he was Seattle Seahawk Golden Tate’s RA. When I reminded him via SMS that Golden had moved out of our dorm before we became RAs, Mr. Adjei replied, “Haha, I’m going with it.” There is no word on how things went, but I can only assume poorly. As always, it’s been a pleasure. Please send me your updates, preferably more than 12 hours out from my deadline next time. – James Champlin; james.c.champlin@gmail.com

13 Back in Our Day

Hello again, and thank you for reading another installment of class notes. Engagements: I have only received one update concerning a recent engagement. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Ana Hernandez and Matthew Kent ’12. They are set to be married in August at what I assume will be a beautiful ceremony. Through some Facebook stalking, I also found out that Sean Meehan is engaged to Amy Stuhldreher. I’d again like to express my congratulations, but with a word of caution to my friend Sean since Amy is related to one of the Four Horsemen. From what I’ve heard, her ancestor was a force to be reckoned with, so let’s hope Sean never forgets an anniversary. Thanks to Facebook, I also found out that Ted Spinelli and Alex Meyer are engaged, which if you know them makes perfect sense. In all seriousness though, for these two couples and any others engaged or married, I hope the rest of your days together bring nothing but peace and joy. Rachel Meyer gave birth to her son Henry Albert on Nov. 21. I know I speak for the whole class in expressing my congratulations to Rachel. It is with a heavy heart that I share the loss of our classmate Connor Sorensen, a resident of Morrissey Manor, who passed away Dec. 20. For those of us who knew him, we knew what an exceptional person he was and what a beautiful memory he leaves behind. If you’d like to share a memory or send your regards, please visit http://www.lifestorynet.com/memories/96238. The above updates are the only ones I received by email, so again please share this outlet with your classmates. The next update is due May 1, so please send what you would like included to the email address listed below. I’m inclined to remind you that I cannot include pictures of your kittens, no matter how cute they are. Cough, Claire George, cough. – Chris Champlin; 1846 N. Cedar Village Ct., Fairborn OH 45324; res 513-646-4752; nd2013updates@gmail.com

13JD Engagement-palooza

On Nov. 16, I proposed to Caroline Zogas 3L on the steps of the Golden Dome. It came as a total surprise because I had schemed with the jeweler to convince Caroline that the ring wouldn’t be ready until Nov. 20. After all, successful unions are built upon a foundation of lies and deception. Shaun Kelly proposed to Hannah Margaret in Albuquerque, presumably in the middle of a Breaking Bad-themed bus tour. Shaun recently accepted a position at Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell in Wilmington DE after the conclusion of his clerkship this September. Published author and impresario Daniel Colt Collins has launched Mackr Clothing Brand and now serves as the West Coast director of operations in Southern California. Translation: Dan is from Buffalo, spent the better part of a decade in South Bend, and is done with that whole winter thing. Dan’s brand features seasonal lines of surf, skate, snow, moto and streetwear apparel. Michael Patlan attended the Sugar Bowl where he saw his beloved Sooners trounce the Alabama Crimson Tide. Kevin Landino ate a sandwich. Robert Cross won $2,500 on a scratch-off, but blew it all on a pen than can write in space. William Shanahan is the proud owner of a new vacuum cleaner purchased from a door-to-door salesman. – Alex Blair; apblair@gmail.com