2010s
2010s
10 Happy and Sad News
Sara DeVore married Jim Encalada on May 5, 2018 in Ogunquit, Maine. Liz (Ruiz) Fritsch was the matron of honor and many ND alumni were in attendance. Jim Redden married UNC graduate Allison Stewart in North Carolina. The bridal party included Ed Redden (ND’12), Michael Johnston and Kenzie (Bowen) Johnston. Jim and his wife live in Nashville TN. John Ryan married Alexandra Mallozzi ’11 in July 2016 at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. They welcomed their first son, Jack August Ryan, in June 2018. He is named after the bride’s late grandfather, August Ventura ’49. Anthony Logan and Hayley (Mohr) Logan welcomed their first daughter, Ingrid Rose, on July 19th. Ross Moore and Meghan Lehr Moore (SM’11) welcome their first son, Patrick Joseph, this past May. It is with a heavy heart that I report that our classmate Jim Napier, III died in July while working in Colorado. Jim was a law student at the University of Iowa. He is survived by his father, Jim Napier Jr. ’74 Please keep Jim’s family and friends in your prayers. I completed my pediatrics residency at Johns Hopkins in June and started a new job as a pediatric hospitalist and emergency physician at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Maryland. Please send me your updates. — Matthew Malloy; ndclass2010@gmail.com
10MBA Another Quarter of Great News
Brent Piechowiak joined Watchfire Signs in Danville IL as chief financial officer. Watchfire Signs is an 85-year-old growing manufacturer of signs and digital billboards. They do everything from engineering, service, sales, circuit board assembly, to supporting the final product. He will be splitting his time between Chicagoland and Danville. Andrew Franger and Anne Riley were married June 2 at the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg VA. In attendance were fellow MBA alums Alan McLaughlin, Andy Dietler, Brian Cannella, Christopher Gresh, Devon Healy, Justin Skelton, Michael Bush, Sean Haggerty, and Timothy Hannigan. Jen and Brian Milligan welcomed Margaret (Maggie) Louis to their family on May 3. Jen and Brian are learning (slowly) to play zone defense against Brady, Brogan, and Maggie. Brendan Condon has lived in London for six years and is about to get dual citizenship. Brendan also became a homeowner for the first time buying a one-bedroom apartment along the river in a new development. Balki Rangan has been promoted to director, financial control and reporting, and leads a team of 110 in India and is part of the global financial control leadership team at RBS. He also has been appointed to the diversity and inclusion council in RBS India, responsible for improving the inclusion of persons with disabilities, into mainstream corporate jobs. This wraps up another quarter for Team MBA 2010. Now take a moment and send me some details of “what’s good” to include in the next update. Share your news anytime. Go Irish. — John Gerberich; cell 847-331-4707; jgerberi@alumni.nd.edu
10JD Babies
More ND babies made their way into the world this quarter. In patriotic fashion, proud parents Jen and Matthew Elster welcomed their second son, Avi Robert Elster, early in the morning on July 4. He is named after his late grandfather and already is the loudest burper in the family. Congrats to Emily (Rector) and Preston Carter ’07 ’10JD who welcomed baby number three, Neal Lucas Carter, into their family. Big brother and big sister are thrilled. Mary and Warren Dubitsky announced they too are expecting baby number three this October. We cannot wait to welcome the little one to the ND family. Keep sending me your updates for my next column. Until next time. – Jennifer (Hernandez) Laffitte; 10310 Southwest 128th Ave., Miami FL 33186; res 305-322-7154; bus 786-762-3815; jherna11@alumni.nd.edu
11 Class Secretary — Evan James;
ndclass2011@gmail.com
11JD Dream Wedding
Jose Aguirre married Tamara Pallas on June 26 in front of family and friends in paradise, aka Santorini, Greece. The ceremony was held at sunset and the wedding party included NDLS alumni Andrew Wheeler as best man, Aaron O’Dell and layman Alex “Chops” Klupchak ’09. It may have been a Tuesday, but the dance floor stayed packed until after 3 a.m. Those midnight gyros were clutch. The award for best dance moves goes out to the ND alumni in attendance: Alex Lee, DJ Ward, Taylor Wilson, Fritz Shadley ’08 ’12JD, Monique Moreira ’12JD and Mitch Ramirez ’12JD, Kelly Lockman ’13JD and Peter Doyle ’12JD, Dante Tota ’12JD, and Zach Thundy ’07 ’09MBA. The TBW record stalled at three touches during the rehearsal cruise around the caldera, but we blame the Gators who participated. After watching the sunrise for the third morning in a row (because: Alex Lee) and using Fritz’s hat as a map, as the locals do, the wedding guests bid antio sas to the beautiful island. Send me any updates. — Lauren Sharkey; lksharkey@gmail.com
12 Wedding and Birth Announcements
Carly and Bobby Huffman got married Sept. 30, 2017 in New York City. The wedding party included Maddie Landon ’17, Meghan (Huffman) Brennan ’11, Rusty Landon ’20, Tara (Files) Caton, Ali (Unger) Patil, Joe Mezyk, Brian Tower, Tom Visk, Terry Mahoney, Andy Foley, Guy Schwartz, Nick Bondi, Mark Kramer and Mark Welsh. Jennifer Smith and Andrew Steier got married April 7 at St. Anne in Houston TX. Their wedding party included Erica Smith ’14, Stephanie Sansone, Leanna (Steier) McDonald ’08, Tony Steier ’06, Dominic Cimino, Josh Rehberg, and Chris Michalski. They had a blast celebrating with many Notre Dame alumni in attendance including McGlinn Shamrocks, Duncan Highlanders, and Pangborn Violence (friends of the father of the bride, Kevin Smith ’81). Andrew and Jenn live in Houston, where Jenn is an engineer for ExxonMobil and Andrew graduated with a master’s degree in geology from the U of Houston in May and is a geologist for Total Energy. Katharine and Ryan Kavanagh welcomed their second child, Celia McKenna Kavanagh, on Aug.16, 2017. She was baptized at the Log Chapel over the ND/NC State weekend in October 2017. — Tyler Harmsen; Ricardo Lyon 361, Santiago, Chile; tharmsen@alumni.nd.edu
12MBA Class Secretary — Chris Villani;
christopher.villani@gmail.com
12JD News Galore
Hello everyone. Again, thank you for sending in your news, updates and thinly veiled insults. I appreciate them all. First, everyone’s favorite: babies. Additions to the NDLS ’12 crew come first from Crista (Dittert) Hollingsworth, who with husband Ralston Hall Hollingsworth, welcomed Cora Declan Hollingsworth. Cora joins brother Winston and sister Darcy Grey to complete the Hollingsworth clan. Jenna and Bryan Bond also had a baby. This was before the last column deadline, but Bryan told me via Snapchat, the message disappeared, and I forgot about it. In weddings, Ryan Shupe married Raquita Bolden in Chicago in July. I checked Facebook photos, and it seemed like a pretty awesome time. Ryan is at Pretzel & Stouffer and says all is well. Caitlin Shetter and Jimmy Mitchell got married in May at Kimball Hall in Roswell GA. Fun fact: my wedding reception was at the same place in 2016. Jimmy and I are fighting for the title of Favorite NDLS Jimmy with the venue’s owner. Domers present included me, Sharon Lim (maid of honor/groomsman), Paul DiPietro (groomsman), Stephanie Rochel (bridesmaid), Bryan Bond, Ryan Raybould, Nicole Vachon, Isadora Huntley, Adrienne de la Rosa ’03, ’13JD, Sheila Keefe ’12, Andrew Lamb ’12, Carolyn Sweeney ’06, ’11JD, Jay McCann ’82, and Hon. Charles R. Wilson ’76, ’79JD (11th Cir.). Caitlin is head of HR at Spanx, having left Jones Day, and Jimmy (Mitchell, not me) is shaping young minds as a professor of law at Georgia State U Law School. He's running their health law clinic and is also on the faculty at Morehouse Medical School, where he teaches legal ethics. Speaking of Raybould, Drew Stokesbary tells me that he bumped into Ryan during a recent vacation on Maui. Ashley Stokesbary saw an Instagram post from Brooke Raybould (Ashley and Brooke are Insta-friends, but had yet to meet IRL) that mentioned heading to Maui, so they all met up before the Stokesbarys flew back to the mainland. This was the first time Drew and Ryan reunited since graduation, and Drew reports that Ryan took “under two minutes” to remind Drew that he had skipped Ryan's wedding. In professional news, Andrew Doyle reports that he is on a four-trial winning streak at the public defender’s office in Bend OR, where he was recently named to the State Defense Attorney DUI Committee. Says Andrew, “Guess I'm an expert now.” He is most proud of streaming every World Cup game on his tablet in court and talking Messi on the record. Finally, I'm working as a public defender for the Cherokee Judicial Circuit, based out of Cartersville GA. I’m excited to expand my practice and work with a vibrant organization. I’m equally excited by the number of greasy-spoon diners within walking distance of the office. In personal news, Colin Diamond reports that he coached the men of the St. Michael’s School track team to second consecutive division and league titles, a first in over 20 years for the school. He proactively assured me that his runners could pass a screen for HGH and EPO, which kind of raised a red flag. I requested copies of reports, but they have not been forthcoming. Finally, Alvin Adjei recently flew down to Miami to surprise Armando Montesino for lunch. Sadly, Alvin took a wrong turn in the airport, got sidetracked by a “practically free” flight to Dubuque, and instead spent his weekend touring the Cinnamon Ridge dairy farm. He said the situation probably turned out for the best, as the tour was “illuminating.” — James Champlin; james.c.champlin@gmail.com
13 Changing Schedules
Hello classmates, and thanks for flipping straight to what may be the only column in this magazine that has minimal journalistic standards and is entirely hearsay. For those of you who were able to make the reunion, it was a great weekend. There was also a wonderful memorial for Jenny Wilde, who was undoubtedly one of the best souls I’ve had the fortune to know. For those of you who weren’t, I strongly recommend it next go around. It was wonderful getting to catch up with everyone. To start off the update, let’s talk about who got hitched. Kaylee Caniff and Michael Verleye were married at Notre Dame, but it was the marching band who blessed their union, chanting and doing choreographed rituals during the reception. Vickie Jankoski became engaged to Kipp Mayne ’11 in February. They met where millennials tend to meet, at an ND young alumni kickball league. I also heard that Blake Breslau, a walk-on to the football team our junior and senior year, married Kelsey Sweeney in July in Madison. They’re exceptionally intelligent and successful individuals, which puts my nightly Lean Cuisine and movie marathons into perspective. Finally, I’m not sure how I missed it, but Jessie and Chris Sarkis were married in September 2017. Next up is baby Domers. Aaron Stumpf informed me that he and his wife Kelsey had a baby in March, Josephine Olga Stumpf, and Sean and Alysha Liebscher are the godparents. He told me, with certainty, that Josephine is cuter than Robert Toole’s daughter, Gussie. I don’t have an opinion, but I’m hoping this sparks a letter to the editor because that’s what I miss most about The Observer. I received some professional updates as well. Neil O’Dougherty completed his first year of Harvard Law and is interning for the NY attorney general, which means he may be in a Dick Wolf show soon. Connor Carmichael started his residency in the practice of family medicine at New York Presbyterian. Amy Fernow started her residency in surgery, living in Columbus OH. Right down the street is Connaught Blood, who started medical school in Toledo. Patrizia Martellero is working for an executive recruitment firm and apparently bakes the most wonderful things, so if she’s reaching out to you, it’s worthwhile to answer. Rev. James De Oreo was ordained to the priesthood in Lafayette IN on June 2. It may be too early to call, but I favor a future cardinal in the making. A little birdie (or a somewhat large bird, as he described himself) informed me that Christina Murray graduated from Creighton Medical School. Finally, Joey Fallon (Knott) works in finance on Pine Street. Wrapping up with miscellaneous updates, John Roberts and John Tran regularly invite and defeat people they know to be far less active into Fitbit competitions. Chris Johnson, having graduated Columbia Law School, had to leave his beloved New York. He’s best remembered for his frequent train rides from 110th to 8th just for the spicy mustard at McSorley’s. Finally, I was able to see Megan Rodts, Kaitlyn Marks and Michael Moore all in the same day at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. I even got to spend the whole month working with Megan. Thanks to everyone for the record number of updates this time. Please continue to send them my way. Cheers. — Chris Champlin; nd2013updates@gmail.com
13MBA Reunion Update, Unfortunate News
By now you probably have heard the sad news I have to pass along. Stephen Robinson unexpectedly passed away in May. He leaves behind wife Sarra and five children. I only had one class with Steve, but I remember him as being a very friendly and welcoming person who got along with everyone. Please keep his family in your prayers. In happier news, Phil Lynch is engaged to Elise Lenthe. A March 2019 wedding is planned. Phil and Elise live in Atlanta. Phil left his previous employer to be the co-founder of a new consulting firm. As of this writing, he’s been in business for two months and is partner and COO. To top it off, he’s juggling numerous home renovations. Does that mean we can visit? Ha ha. Our five-year reunion took place in early June. Dana Macke, Kasia Prouty, Griffin Eaton, Charles Florance, Mitchell Johnson, Kevin Kastenholz and I met at a South Bend Cubs game. (Did you know they are no longer the Silver Hawks?) The Cubs were kind enough to shoot fireworks for the occasion. Charlie was the pseudo host for the weekend as both nights we met at the Indiana Whiskey Company factory for good whiskey and conversation. The IWC is doing very well and Charlie is thinking about raising capital to expand, so save some change in case you get the chance to help a classmate. It sounds like many of you missed the reunion because it was in the middle of a window where you or your spouse was due. Congrats to all. In today’s world with privacy concerns, I don’t want to list any names unless you give me the news directly. But classmates are interested in hearing the news, so please send it in to me if you are comfortable doing so. I hope to see some of you this fall at a football game. The deadline for the next notes is Oct. 20. — Nick Imgrund; 314-775-7364; daimgrund@yahoo.com
13JD New Arrivals
Jennifer and Kevin Landino welcomed their first daughter Cora Elaine Landino to Ypsilanti MI. Recently, Kevin and I celebrated Cora’s arrival over steaks and strong cocktails at Knight’s Steakhouse in Ann Arbor, which is a more modest and reserved town than you Double Domers led me to believe. Michael McGriskin wrote to announce the birth on March 9 of his first child, Elizabeth Ann McGriskin. She shares that birthday with many notable former NDLS Class of 2013 Student Bar Association secretaries. Michael won an award from his alma mater for 30 Under 30 and was picked as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in June. Mary Megan and Joe Florczak added twin girls Madeline and Katherine to the platoon. Joe, you’re gonna need a 737 before all is said and done. Tim Cantu and his wife Marie called up the No. 1 prospect in the farm system, infant son Adrian Michael, from Triple AAA. I remember when Eric Cervone and I were suggesting names for Tim and Marie’s first child during SBA Trivia 1L year. Sadly, Tim and Marie never used any of our (admittedly unprintable) suggestions. Robert Cross recently posted separate pictures of new daughter Olive Cross and a handsome red grouper that he caught off the coast of Naples FL. The grouper pics got more likes, proving y’all are terrible. Congrats to Bullshark and Kelly. Please email me. — Alex Blair; apblair@gmail.com
14 Wedding Bells
Liza Manfred and Tyler Treuting are getting married in Washington DC in October. Tyler proposed on “the” bench outside of Cavanaugh during football season 2017. On April 21, the annual Blue-Gold game served as a fitting backdrop for the beautiful wedding of two of Notre Dame’s finest former drum majors: Nicole (McMillan) and Leo Mironovich. The ceremony and reception were brimming with love and bursting with Irish and Ukrainian traditions. Congratulations to the newlyweds. Inseparable since meeting during the fall of their freshman year at Notre Dame, Christina Mondi-Rago and Lenny Rago were married on June 16 just outside of Chicago. A testament to this incredibly loving couple’s thoughtfulness in planning the details of their wedding day, a positively wonderful time was had by all. Congratulations, Lenny and Christina. Kate (Emery) and Mitch Mandel celebrated their wedding at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on June 23, surrounded by family, friends, and many of Kate’s fellow Domers. The pure joy and unconditional love shared between these two was evident at every moment of the day and felt by all in attendance. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Mandel. The men of Fisher Hall would like to congratulate Michael Neuberger on his marriage to Maren Gray. The former Hall President of the Year's wedding took place on July 27 in the couple’s home state of Minnesota. Patrick Touhy (Dillon Hall) and Margaret “Connor” Sullivan (Walsh Hall) got married on June 30 in Winston-Salem NC. Matt Dooley, a member of the Notre Dame tennis team, graduated from the McGovern School of Medicine at the U of Texas at Houston in May. He is starting a residency in internal medicine at UVA in Charlottesville. He’s looking forward to cheering on the Irish tennis team when they come to Charlottesville to take on the Cavaliers. 2014 grads and freshman roommates Kevin Strickland and Jamie O’Donohue decided to “go back to school.” Kevin is going after his MBA and Jamie is working at a law degree. Good luck to those all-star students. — Michael Nichols; miketnicholsii@gmail.com
14MBA Class Secretary — Jessica Bonanno;
407-808-7148; jbonanno@alumni.nd.edu;
Krick Cahill;
518-598-4222; kcahill1@alumni.nd.edu
14JD Rock Stars
The spring quarter marked our fourth anniversary of graduating from law school. From what I have seen, you guys are rock stars and you are doing great things with your careers. Congrats to you. Along those lines, we are approaching our five-year reunion. I’ll disburse information as we get closer, but to help with that, I put together a shared doc for your email addresses. Please take a moment to add yours to the list. While some of you are on top of updating your alumni information (I see you Liz C. and Caroline B.) others are not. (Shout out to Ramsey.) On to updates: Congratulations to Kristen and Nathan Cantanese on the birth of their daughter Lucia Allison on April 29. She will be donning a steady wardrobe of ND gold, green, and blue onesies for football season. Start ’em early. “Today I married the man I want to stick with for life,” says newlywed Adreanne Smith Stuckey on her marriage to Jason Stuckey on March 23. The #StuckwithStuckey celebration included a lot of dancing and special guest appearances from Pat Kelly (formerly Pat Duret), Lauren Lyman and Bryce Rucker. Watch out Cinco de Mayo, #CincodeMiller2018 is infringing on your rights. Congrats to Michelle and Geoffrey Miller on their recent marriage. In case you are as curious as I am, they did not drink Miller Lite and they had a solid dance game thanks to Brendan Smith. We would probably all know this, but Brendan’s zero posts on his Instagram page have not given us much. What are you doing @smith12251? Have a great next few months. — Rachel Hanley; rachelhanley@gmail.com
15 Class Secretary — Robert Reed;
cell 847-691-0666; rreed1@alumni.nd.edu
15JD Pursuing Adventures and Gettin’ Hitched
Hello classmates. I am officially taking over Class Notes from our wonderful secretary, Matt Wine. Thanks, Matt, for keeping us informed (with lots of sarcasm) for three years. And thanks in advance for sending me updates, allowing me to stalk your social media accounts, and responding to my many pleas for updates on your fun and exciting lives. Yes, I know we are all lawyers, but we can still have fun and exciting lives. Our favorite Bengal Bouts boxer, Gage O’Connell, is stepping into a new ring. Gage has decided to pursue his lifelong dream of serving his country and has joined the Marine Corps. He was commissioned in March and is undergoing basic school in Quantico VA. He will become a judge advocate for the Marines. Congrats, Gage. Audra Passinault and John Blodgett are living the dream in Alaska. They are beginning their second year of a two-year stint in the Land of the Midnight Sun. When they’re not hanging out with moose or exploring the great outdoors, they are working hard to serve the Alaskan courts and legal community. Audra works for the Alaska Court of Appeals and John works for the Alaska Superior Court. They are also co-presidents of the Anchorage Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section. Their favorite activities in Alaska include a massive tailgate for the Iditarod, and the Ski Train that takes cross country skiers to the back country. Audra and John, when can we come for a visit? In case you missed it, Nico Howard has left Chicago and moved back to Phoenix. He is working in the family business of real estate development. And another class couple got hitched. Congratulations to Ariane Vokes and Matt Arth. The law school sweethearts wed on May 26 in beautiful San Antonio. Matt is an attorney with the Public Utility Commission of Texas and Ariane is an attorney for the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES). The public service power couple lives in Austin with their adorable dog, Juniper. NDLS alumni at the wedding include: Stephanie Brennan, Jamie Chang, recently-wed class couple Alex and Pat Folley, Sylvia Costelloe, Kyle Ratliff, Maisie McDonald, Megan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Granholm, Catey Dines, and soon-to-be-wed class couple Elissa Kerr and Joey Swist. How did so many people find love in the hopeless place that is law school? Must be a different kind of law school. I know at least four other weddings this year and a few babies too. And there have been many other cool professional and personal accomplishments. Tell me about them. Or, if you’re too shy to brag about yourself, send me an update about one of our classmates. All sources will remain anonymous. I hope to see many of you on campus this fall. Go Irish. — Alisa Finelli; alisafinelli@gmail.com
16 Love Is in the Air
It’s engagement and wedding season for the Class of 2016. Congratulations to the happy couples. Thanks for giving us reasons to get together and celebrate something other than ND football. Crystal Avila ’17 and Bernie Floeder tied the knot in Chicago in April. Alison Widner and Hunter McDaniel were married in Farmington MI in June. Betsy Fitzgerald ’15 married Greg Ramos in Chicago in July, the same weekend that Carissa Mann married Brent Swanberg in Denver. Brendan Lesch ’14 proposed to Monica Simon in sunny California. Ellie Sato and Anthony Acuna love each other so much that they had two wedding ceremonies to celebrate, one in June and another in September. Kendra (Harding) and Nick Walter are enjoying newlywed life after being married at the Basilica in June. High school sweethearts Laura Wilke and Brian Maas married in May in St. Charles MO. Ellie Norby and Charlie Labuz celebrated his graduation from ACE and their engagement in the same weekend. Katie Ferrara met her fiancé Jack Beers at Dynamic Catholic where they work. Sarah Followill and Skyler Hughes are loving life after a September wedding in Houston. Jess Trinkl and Shane Giles recently announced their engagement and are planning a wedding next year in Wisconsin. Jess attends med school at Vanderbilt and Shane works with Ferrara Candy Company in Chicago. Madi King and fiancé Marc Prather will be married in October in St. Louis before moving to Charleston where he is stationed in the Navy. Brooke Brown and Keagan Gertz will be married in October in Ohio. Annie Mangano and David Surine celebrated a beautiful engagement on campus in June. Leah Perczak is in her third year of law school at U of Denver and is in the first months of being fiancée to Jason Ellinwood. Jenny and Antonio Marchi celebrate the first birthday of their sweet girl, Mari, in September. In other news, two years after graduation is a good time to change jobs or to start grad school. Kerry Walsh just started law school at William and Mary, putting her American Studies Degree to good use. Annalise Burnett worked on campus as a research assistant in the LEO lab but is a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy candidate at Tufts U. Jack Hanle made a cross-country move from Orange County CA to Tampa FL for a new aerospace engineering job. I’m happy that South Bend and Tampa are at least in the same time zone. Jake Kinsella started med school this semester at AT Still U. Shannon Montague returned to change lives for another year at Joseph C. Briscoe School in Baltimore after finishing with Teach for America. Alaciel Torres worked a new summer ’do that is now a fall ’do, and she’s also working it over at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago as a social media specialist. If you find yourself in Minneapolis, Emma Lyons would love for you to stop by for bagels and things at Mevyn. I’ll see you at tailgates this season but stop by my office in McKenna Hall before they tear it down next year for a rebuild. Catch me up. I’d love to hear from you. — Bridget Doyle; bdoyle3@alumni.nd.edu,
17 One Year Later
It was a sad day when we no longer could say that we just graduated as a point of introduction (congrats ’18), but, that also means that our classmates have spent the past year working and researching and creating their own path in this journey of life. Grace Watkins finished her master’s degree in US history at Oxford and is pursuing a doctorate in history on a Rhodes Scholarship. Afterward, she plans to attend law school on her Truman Scholarship funding. She is an appropriate adult (legal guardian) for Oxford Youth Offender Services, advocating for minors and vulnerable persons in police custody. Over in India, Kiley Adams completed a Fulbright Research Fellowship where she studied the barriers that people with disabilities in rural communities experience in accessing care services. If you would like to hear her TED talk, Google “What Taekwondo Teaches Us About Caring for People with Disabilities.” Her work has been presented throughout India and will likely be included in future WHO policy recommendation reports. She was also involved with the Chennai Trekking Club, leading several women’s treks throughout South India. When not researching or hiking, Kiley could be found teaching swimming and self-defense to the local community workers. Next year she will attempt to adapt to the temperatures of Alaska where she will be working in outdoor recreation therapy for youth with disabilities. In the summer following graduation, Lexi Doyle had the opportunity to travel to Cambodia to do research for the philanthropy program of a Silicon Valley investment firm. In Cambodia, she visited several NGOs to conduct a needs assessment as a component of her summer-long evaluation of the firm’s philanthropic investments. Subsequently, she spent the year at Oxford completing a master’s degree in medical anthropology. This summer, she is writing her dissertation surrounding women’s reproductive health and will be doing an exploratory bike trip through South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Up in the Windy City, MK Andersen opened her own wedding and event planning firm, Your Day by MK, in August of 2017. Since then she has done weddings at the Adler Planetarium, The Palmer House, Chicago Athletic Association and more. She will travel to Madison WI and Notre Dame for two destination weddings. She has been featured in publications such as Voyage Chicago, Maharani Weddings and Chi Thee Wed. Feel free to visit yourdaybymk.com for wedding advice, free resources and a chance to connect. Finally, down in Komga, South Africa, Ruth Cooper, Rebecca Hauserman, Sara Shunck, and Robbie Ryan spent the year volunteering for Open Arms Home for Children (openarmshome.com). Open Arms was founded to meet the emotional, physical, and developmental needs of orphaned, abandoned, and disadvantaged children in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, one of the regions hit most devastatingly by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The volunteers spent the year living with and caring for 54 children, with duties ranging from instructing math and science lessons at the local school, transporting the children to doctor's appointments, or completing the mundane but necessary office tasks that come with running an international non-profit. It was a great deal of fun with high school rugby and netball tournaments, bake sales, birthday parties, and game watches. Considering this is my first time writing, I reached out to people for their stories. However, if you would like to be included or know someone who should be featured, feel free to email me. — Celanire Flagg; cflagg@alumni.nd.edu