2010s
2010s
10 Looking Forward
Cathy (Zyra) ’10SMC and Jake Jeffrey and welcomed their first child, Jane Jaclyn Jeffrey, into this crazy world on March 30. They pray she will be able to attend her first ND football game this fall. A special thank you to our classmates who are working as essential workers during this pandemic, especially the healthcare workers on the frontlines. You make us proud and show the world what the Fighting Irish can do. Heal like a champion today. We are disappointed that we will not be coming together as a class on campus this summer for our 10-year reunion. As we hit our 10-year milestone, take this opportunity to reach out to a classmate you haven’t talked to in a while: your dorm friend from down the hall, your lab partner, the friend you did all those group projects with, your friend from band, the friend you worked with on a service trip, your friend from your favorite club. I hope you are healthy, and I look forward to celebrating together in person the next time we can. And while you’re stuck in your house, take a moment to send me an update. I’d love to hear from you. Go Irish. — Matt Molloy; ndclass2010@gmail.com
10MBA Hard to Believe a Decade Has Passed
One of the 2010 MBA power couples, Gina (Castellano) and Brannon Morisoli send a shout out to the class. Brannon was promoted to director at his specialty finance firm, SWK holdings, which was up listed to the Nasdaq. To mark the occasion, Gina and Brannon rang the opening bell at Nasdaq in January. Gina was promoted to project manager with Bluetree Network, a healthcare consulting firm. In new additions, Kevin Goodwin and his wife Meredith are excited to announce the birth of their first child on Nov. 3, a baby girl named Reaghan. Kevin was due to complete his general surgery residency at the U of Minnesota and will move to Stanford this summer to start a two-year cardiac surgery fellowship. For me personally, assembling the 2010 MBA class update continues to be a joy. I love it. It is a virtual connection and allows me to witness the personal and professional accomplishments of our class. Thank you to all who have contributed and those who will contribute in the coming decades. As I write this in April, my family is one month into the Illinois stay-at-home order. I have been using these uncertain times as an excuse to spark up more virtual connections with our class and hope you will as well while we ride out the season. Thank you for doing what you do and sharing your news with me along the way. I will miss seeing everyone on campus in June. Stay tuned to reunion.nd.edu/ for updates on other ways we can celebrate our reunion milestone. Go Irish. — John Gerberich; cell 847-331-4707; jgerberi@alumni.nd.edu
10JD Class Secretary – 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
11MBA Making Lemonade Out of Lemons
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the MBA Class of 2011 remains busy, optimistic and full of updates. Matt Kelly and his wife, Christina, shared that their children, Hannah (who was a toddler when we were at Notre Dame) is 11, Thomas (born the summer after graduation) is 8, James is 5 and Declan (Deckie) is 3. All are healthy, thank God. Due to living in the melting pot of the virus in suburban New York, they are anxiously awaiting Christina’s breakdown from dealing with social distancing and four cute but noisy kids. School is suspended and wine stores are closing daily. Please send prayers for her in her time of need. Matt, on the other hand, can leave the house. It’s been a wild couple of years for the Kelly family. After eight years of specialty lending in the franchised restaurant space, Matt left corporate to return to his small business roots, this time in the construction market. With a brother-in-law partner, they recently acquired a niche piping service business focused on installing replacement water or waste lines to residential and small commercial property owners. Think of the plumbing outside of a dwelling or building. When these pipes break, there are often numerous obstacles to account for that weren’t “in play” when first installed, such as driveways and roads, lawns and gardens, utilities, walls, etc. They can replace these pipes while minimizing impact on the property, without the need to dig a trench the length of the pipe. This is an important niche in Westchester County, where many neighborhoods were conceived before modern amenities. Anyhow, the business has done well since November 2019 despite some softening of the economy due to the virus. Emergency service still needs to get done. Michelle (Mellard) Petersen also has some good news to share. She and husband, James, welcomed their first child, Henry David Petersen, on Feb. 26. He is a healthy little guy and they are in love. The Petersen family lives in Portland OR. Michelle still works for Nike. Tim Frahme reports that San Francisco is under lockdown. He’s watching Netflix and drinking lots of beer. He has enough toilet paper to last awhile, so at least he has that going for him. Jeff Harer is staying busy. He started a new role as corporate VP of finance, business operations and supply chain at Cargill. He’s still based in Minneapolis. Now, he’s attempting to stave off insanity due to quarantine with three kids under 11 years old. He spends his spare time witnessing Nate Burns and Landon Spitalnik predict the future with 80-90 percent accuracy on a text string that is also full of world-class Giphys from Israel Peck and Gene Kim. — Mimi Wilfong; 903-714-4988; mimitwilfong@gmail.com
11JD Quarantined
Is everyone excited to be quarantined? We will get through it. It is just like 1L winter during bad weather and we were all stuck studying for Torts. And just like 1L year, I will try to fill the time with gossip — I mean life updates. Instead of salacious tidbits from dark nights at original Finnies, most of these updates are baby related. Anna and Chris Simpson welcomed Jack Rafferty Simpson on Feb. 18. It is still unclear if he will join the red-headed (better) half of the family. Shari Taylor and husband James Molloy closed a cross-national deal by welcoming Cillian Molloy in March. Lakwame Anyane-Yeboa and wife Shirlz Bonita welcomed Osagyefo Jaylen in April. And finally, if you had to vote a member of our class Tiger King, who would it be? I have my thoughts. No, it’s not Blake Rambo. Yes, he is from Oklahoma and married a man, but Blake is a man of muted earth tones and Bonobos. So, I am taking votes. Just email me. — Lauren Sharkey; lksharkey@gmail.com
12 Birth Announcement
Kristen ’11SMC and William Cernanec welcomed their sweet baby boy, James Ryan Cernanec, on Jan. 22. Congratulations to the happy parents. — Tyler Harmsen; tharmsen14@gmail.com
12MBA Class Secretary — Chris Villani;
christopher.villani@gmail.com
12JD Seize the Opportunity
My dearest classmates, what follows is a relatively short column. It was a mistake offering free photos of my dog. Next time, dog photos only go to people who give me something to print. As is tradition, we begin with babies. Jessica and Jim Audette welcomed their second son on March 31. Nathan James Audette is happy and healthy, as are mom and dad. And in the future-babies category, Carter (Mills) Isham will have had her baby by the time this prints. She’s spent her third trimester doing yoga and enjoying quarantine in Golden CO with her husband and dog. In weddings, Steven Hahn married Jane Lee back in February. Wendy (Tran) Novotne, Fabian Gauna and Tim Nguyen were in attendance. I’ve also been told that Niki Cheskey got engaged. Congrats to everyone. Moving into miscellany, Colin Diamond says that he has seized the opportunity and used this extended time away from court to grow a full beard for the first time. He says that it’s not perfect, but he is very happy with it. Only time will tell if it stays once Colin is back in court. In personal news, I used the time away from court to shave and grow a new beard from scratch. I’m excited to report that there’s a lot of gray coming in. Alvin Adjei has also been productive during the quarantine down in Texas. Through what he called “strategic acquisition strategy” and “effective social-media leveraging,” Alvin claims to have cornered the market on certain high-demand supplies. I asked if he was hoarding and trying to resell toilet paper or hand sanitizer, but Alvin said no. He missed that window and was only able to stock up on off-brand peanut butter and caffeine-free diet soda. Sales are slow now, but he’s sure he’ll see a big uptick in demand soon. He most looks forward to clearing all that peanut butter out of his spare bedroom. That’s all I’ve got this quarter. See you in a few months. — Jimmy Champlin; james.c.champlin@gmail.com
13 Class Column, Quarantine Edition
Hello classmates, and thanks for reading another installment of Class Notes. As this was written, we were in the thick of the worst pandemic the world has seen in nearly a century, and I pray that by the time it is published we’ve come through the other side, maybe a little weathered but hopefully stronger and more connected to the ones we love than ever before. I can’t express how disappointed I am that nobody emailed my lousy brother who writes the column before mine. Sparse on updates, likely due to everyone being busy, but I have people who are excellent Facebook sleuthers. Several of our classmates got engaged. Bobby Shields proposed to Olivia Hnat, and the coin landed on tails, so she said yes. God speed, Olivia. Melissa Hoshizaki, who has bravely worked in Cook County Hospital ED during the pandemic, got engaged to Derick Chmielewski, who showed up to my wedding significantly better dressed. Danny Kinasz got engaged to Kat Sullivan ’14SMC. Tina Yue got engaged to Joe Madar at Lake Tahoe, which I’m sure led to some splendid photographs. The only wedding I heard about was Chrissie Diebold marrying David Shearn, likely due to so many weddings getting postponed. As a healthcare worker I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone who sacrificed by delaying, postponing, or significantly shrinking their weddings in the name of helping the greater good. I know (my wife would correct me and say she knows) how much planning goes into a wedding, and I can’t imagine the stress that had to come with that. I can only hope that the stress and setbacks are repaid to your marriage a hundred-fold as joy and happiness to come. Speaking of little bundles of joy, Emmy Pusateri and Matthew Robison ’18 welcomed their son Henry on Dec. 11. Mike and Francie Broghammer are expecting their second child, and Chris and Jessie Sarkis are expecting their first. Just on time, Kathryn Chew published a children’s book, The Thing King. Ryan Lion once tried to write a children’s story about a Don Lucer who came under the spell of a Miller and goes on an adventure and ends up at a Burgher’s palace far from his home. He said he was inspired by true events in his life, although Ryan’s more likely to encounter a dragon than write a children’s book. These are the only updates I have for this issue. Again, I’d like to thank everyone for doing their part in helping stem COVID-19. I’d like to applaud our colleagues who are residents in cities hit hard by the virus, and who worked tirelessly to help those who needed it most. Finally, I’d like to encourage everyone to reconnect with people you’ve lost touch with over the years. We could all use a little extra support these days, and what better family is there to rely on than the Notre Dame family we have? Cheers. — Chris Champlin; Cincinnati OH; ndupdates2013@gmail.com
13MBA Same, Same
Here is a shoutout to Ryan Heatherman who felt sorry for my constant begging for news and decided to throw me a bone. There is nothing new to report, just that he moved to Oklahoma a few years ago and joined the US Attorney’s Office. He prosecutes white-collar and civil rights crimes as an assistant US attorney. He and wife Rebecca have four sons who keep them on their toes. If you are reading this, then the deadline to send me your update is coming soon. If we are still social distancing, you’ve got nothing better to do than send me info. — Nick Imgrund; 314-775-7364; daimgrund@yahoo.com
13JD Class Secretary — Alex Blair;
apblair@gmail.com
14 Life Changes
December was a big month for growing families. Emily Brenzel and her husband Chris welcomed their first baby, Eleanor Lucy, in December. Kate Johnson ’13, ’14MSA and Arturo Martinez wed in a beautiful Basilica ceremony on Dec. 7. Class President Carolina (Wilson) Aranguren and her husband Ignacio Aranguren welcomed their son Ignacio in March. Looking forward, summertime looks to be veiled in love as well. Lyonite Lauren Krumdick will wed Sorin Otter Tripp Ateyeh in Vermont on Aug. 22. The same day but a couple of states away, yours truly Lizzie Helpling will wed Fightin’ Illini Brandon Trebbien in Ohio. Stay well and keep each other in your prayers. — Lizzie Helpling; 3806 Lincoln Road Cincinnati OH 45247; res 513-470-9723; helplinge@gmail.com
14MBA Class Secretary — Jessica Bonanno;
407-808-7148; jbonanno@alumni.nd.edu; Krick Cahill; 518-598-4222; kcahill1@alumni.nd.edu
14JD Catching Up
I missed last quarter, so think of this as a biannual update. Let’s start with babies. Congratulations to: Jenny and Tommy Slattery on the birth of Isla Grace Slattery; April and Matt Kentala on the birth of Tallulah Pippen Kentala; and Michelle and Geoffrey Miller on the birth of Penelope Miller. I used to give details on each, but I think instead I am going to start posting pictures in our Facebook group so you can check out the cuter side of your fellow alumni and start arranging their marriages to each other. Stay tuned. The year opened with the wedding of Sabina Danek and Richard Waller. Aside from the unexpected snowy weather, the event was a blast. The party was a reunion everyone needed. I write this in quarantine, and I hope by the time you read it, you are all outside in the sun doing amazing things like shopping in stores, visiting bars and sitting in restaurants. — Rachel Hanley; rachelrhanley@gmail.com
15 Classmate Updates
On Sept. 12, Emma Parma will marry the love of her life, Stewart Christensen ’15Texas A&M in her hometown of Kerrville TX. They will be surrounded by family, friends and ND grads, including the maid of honor Julia Kruep. Julia and Emma were roommates for all four years at ND. Maria McMullen completed her PGY-1 pharmacy residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and will be staying on as a clinical pharmacist in the emergency department. If you are ever injured in New Hampshire, or just in New Hampshire in general, stop by to say hi. — Emily Flores; Alexandria VA; eflores2@alumni.nd.edu
15JD Class Secretary — Alisa Finelli;
alisafinelli@gmail.com
16 In the Time of COVID-19
Here’s hoping that by the time we read this, we’re back to somewhat normal life. I can’t wait to be back at social gatherings and restaurants and sporting events and just outside with you all. The biggest thank you goes to our classmates who have stepped up during this crisis. All the med students who received their residency placements for the next few years include Megan McGarel with pediatric medicine at USC in Greenville SC; Krista Roberts with pediatrics and a master’s in public health in Oakland CA; Sean Himel with neurosurgery at UT Memphis; Meg Gegick with pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; Sarah Rohrman with pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus OH; Nathan Parisi at Nationwide in internal medicine-pediatrics; Ellie Sato with orthopedic surgery at the U of Utah; Mel Ricker with family medicine at U of Wisconsin; Sarah Russel with otolaryngology at UNC-Chapel Hill; Carter Boyd with plastic surgery at NYU; Vince Riccelli with plastic surgery at UT Southwestern in Dallas; Kelly O’Shea with OB/GYN at Wright State U Boonshoft in Dayton OH; Brigid Mumford also with OB/GYN at U of Pittsburgh; Maggie Long with OB/GYN at U of Iowa; David Reed with anesthesiology at Stanford; Michelle Feeney with emergency medicine at U of Michigan; Evelyn Huang with emergency medicine at Northwestern. What a time to be in the medical field. You are amazing. Evelyn also just pushed a change to a law in Indiana regarding needlestick injuries. Noelle Langmack works for Boston Scientific where she oversees heart valve production and she has led projects using their equipment and staff to make face shields for healthcare workers. Cheers to our engaged couples: Nicole Thieken and Joe Norby, Stephanie Comstock and Jameson Ondrof ’15, Kat Joyce and Chris Viamontes, Grace Mazur and Matt Lawton ’15, Katie Kidd and Stephen Ueland, Paige Johnson and Keenan Bailey, Kristina Stang and Nick King, Taylor Ellerbrock and Aaron DiGenova, Katie Feeney and Chris Stepien ’16 ’17MS, Mary-Katherine Kladar and Michael Lindt, and Katie Higgins and Aaron Dunn. Katie Lang ’17 and Chris Holdsworth were married in December 2018, and Sarah Pryor and Justin Hoffman were married at Notre Dame in June last year. This spring, Lucre Simon ’17 and Juan Jose Daboub were married in El Salvador and Viviana Dewey and Nick Nissen were married in Monterrey, Mexico. My biggest cheers are for the couples whose wedding plans were changed or put on hold because of this situation. Know that we’re all celebrating you in spirit but can’t wait to get out on the dance floor with you, whenever it might be. Kaitlyn (Kennedy) and John McMackin are Eagles fans and had their daughter, Thea Bernadette, on the morning of the Super Bowl, so that was a good day. Crystal (Avila) ’17 and Bernie Floeder welcomed their sweet Solomon later in February. At the beginning of this year, Olivia Mitchell was promoted to the director of football operations position with Notre Dame. Olivia has been involved with ND football since freshman year, and she is now the eighth woman actively working as a director of football operations for a Power Five program. Kara Neumann lives and works in the District while gathering all the local needle pointers together, leading the Stitch Club of Washington DC. The group hit 1,000 followers this spring. Gabriela Leskur is moving from DC and heading to Case Western as a leadership fellow in their Master of Social Administration program. Adam Henderson will be starting at Yale Law School in the fall. Taylor Fiorini will graduate with honors from The Ohio State U College of Veterinary Medicine, and from there she will move to Philadelphia for a one-year specialty internship at UPenn School of Veterinary Medicine. Claire Welch graduated in December from London School of Economics and Political Science. Support Gen Lyons ’15 and Eryan Gwin’s latest venture, The Runner’s Report, a newsletter that will give news and advice from the running world while inspiring you to put on your running shoes. Make sure you check out the FaithND daily emails. Some of our classmates have offered thoughtful reflections. Thanks to Charlie Ducey, Will Harris, Pete St George, Maggie (Skoch) Musso, Chris Stepien ’16 ’17MS for your words. I’ve moved to Tampa FL to be with Jack Hanle so I can’t tell you to stop by my office on campus anymore. Regardless, you bet I’ll be looking out for your updates as usual. I’d love to hear from you. Go Irish, beat COVID. — Bridget Doyle; bdoyle3@alumni.nd.edu
16MBA Moves and More Moves
Classmates, first and foremost, we hope you and your families are well and healthy during this pandemic. As we write this article, most of us are living under shelter-in-place orders. While the virus has kept us apart physically, many have enjoyed virtual happy hours and coffee chats in reunion with classmates around the world. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming of cheerful updates. Inés and Guillermo Amengual welcomed Maximiliano José on March 21. He is named after St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Joseph. The new parents are loving life with little Max. Maria and Joshua Grabner relocated back to Josh’s hometown of Fort Wayne IN in 2018. They were married in May 2019, welcomed son William in February and are enjoying life together as a family. Emile Saad, Fernanda Rivas and their son Mateo (and goldendoodle Bosco) left Seattle to move back to the good ol’ Midwest and live in Chicago. Fernanda is still with Amazon and Emile with Groupon. In April, your co-secretary Claire Kenney also moved to Chicago and looks forward to reconnecting with classmates in the area. Your other co-secretary Kelly (Chase) and Chris Rubey JD (and Aussiedoodle Albus) apparently left Chicago at the wrong time. The Rubey family resides in South Bend and looks forward to hosting classmates in town for football games and the like. — Claire Kenney; 545 N. McClurg Court, Apt. 1601, Chicago 60611; res 734-751-2354; ckenney2@alumni.nd.edu; Kelly Rubey; res 952-270-7830; kchase@alumni.nd.edu
17 Dear Class of 2020
Many of you may have seen read, and connected with the “Dear Seniors” article that Margaret Duncan published in April on the Notre Dame Magazine website. It was written during the COVID-19 lockdown when the future was uncertain. Father Jenkins had recently announced the graduation you had worked so hard for would not be as my class had celebrated, but instead virtual. As Corey Robinson, a reporter and digital correspondent for NBC sports says, “I haven’t been through what you’ve been through, so I won’t act as if I know what it’s like to have senior year abruptly end like some TV show that went to commercial too soon. But please know that there is light at the end of this dark tunnel. … Whatever happens in this uncertain time, you can have full confidence that your Notre Dame family … will be here for you.” And here for you we are, with some unsolicited advice. First, Kevin Harrington notes that “people give advice to affirm the validity of their own choices, so take any guidance, including mine, with a nice handful of salt.” His advice is that “if you don’t like something, you’re allowed to quit. Here’s how to quit: live within your means, pack a six-months-rent-sized parachute, and pull the ripcord. In my experience, it is far more fulfilling to focus on your health, to enjoy your work, and to continue learning than to burn your 20s for the sake of financial security.” Kevin currently lives in Chicago by way of Boston, moving through three jobs since graduation. Christina Fernandez reminisces that “while graduation is a unique time on campus, what makes it so memorable are the people. Coordinate a summer reunion trip to visit your friends and use football season as a chance to get back to campus and celebrate in the places that have helped make these relationships so special.” Clare Geraghty also stresses the importance of friends. “Your ND relationships aren’t going anywhere. In this tough time, lean into the friends that will be with you in your next adventure.” She too has been rocked by the “safer at home” orders that came down the day that she moved out of her home in Milwaukee in a transition into Austin TX. Life is on pause for her while she’s living and working in her Ohio hometown. In terms of the passage of time, Liz Hynes points out that “life after college is eerily devoid of the markers you’ve always used to measure the passage of time, so you’re off to an early start.” She encourages you to do something for yourself when the world opens again to “give yourself some closure, and to take advantage of this time you may never have enough of again. Time is precious and we’re all just renting it.” Michael Markel, a third-year medical student, and student body president at Georgetown U School of Medicine notes “that once you are part of the community, you are always part of the community. It does not end at graduation.” Brooke Cohen (née Justus), a recent Harvard Law School graduate, echoes these sentiments: “People who went to ND have a connection to and affection for their alma mater that other schools lack. Ceremony or not, remember how blessed you are to have experienced this place, and to continue to be part of the ND family wherever life takes you next.” Congrats again Class of 2020. You have accomplished so much already. Welcome to the alumni community. To be included in the next class of 2017 update, please send me your update. — Celanire Flagg; cflagg@alumni.nd.edu
17MBA Happy Updates
Happy summer. Here are updates from some of your classmates. Ryan Evans accepted a job at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, where he specializes in labor and employment. His duties include assisting employers as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. When he is not at work, he can be found practicing with his new band. Their first album will be released soon. In other career news, Michael Adams has been successful in his career at New West Building Company in Jackson WY. After graduation, he started as a project manager and was promoted to director of project management, and most recently the vice president of development. His work concentrates on overseeing the construction of high-end homes, commercial properties, multi-family homes and hotels. He, his wife and their five children are enjoying life in Driggs ID. Finally, Colleen and Buck Andrews welcomed their second child, Eloise Murphy Andrews, on Jan. 19. She joins her sister Hazel. The family is doing well as they settle into life as a family of four. Cheers to the MBA Class of 2017. — Mary Tomasik; mtomasik@alumni.nd.edu
17JD Work-Life Balance
John Cerney has joined Schwartz & Kanyock, LLC, in Chicago as a commercial litigation associate. Hans Kessler and Meredith Holland ’14 BA, ’18JD got engaged on Dec. 6. Michael Gallagher married Brianna Hollick Gallagher on Jan. 18 in Pittsburgh. I look forward to hearing from you for our next issue. — Lauren Nottoli; laurennottoli@gmail.com
18 Advocating for Youth
Katharine Janes will promote legal rights this summer as a Katherine and David deWilde Public Interest Summer Fellow at the U of Virginia Law School. She will work for the Boston-based Youth Advocacy Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services and then for the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center. Both organizations advocate for youth in the criminal justice system. — Matthew Peters; mgpeters96@gmail.com