CLASS NOTES
Oh! The Places You’ll Go! Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go. Dr. Seuss knew. Our teachers and administrators know, too. When our students leave St. John’s they are ready to burst forth into a world where they will experience new and fascinating things. Two of our recent graduates have wasted no time in jumping into international research projects that will shape not only their academic future, but the path that their entire future will take.
Andrew Crowley ’07 spent three weeks at the Northeast Science Station in Cherskiy, Siberia, last summer with a Polaris Project research team that included students and professors from colleges and universities in the United States and Russia. The science station is located north of the Arctic Circle on the Kolyma River, in an area described as one of the most beautiful and remote parts of the world. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Polaris Project conducts research into the Arctic ecosystem and provides undergraduates with the unusual opportunity of designing their own research programs. Andrew, who is majoring in biology and Russian at Holy Cross, reports that his work focused on “the bacterial metabolism in the river and the various rivers and streams that feed it.”
Jared Katz ’08 went deep into Guatemala’s rain forest – and other parts of Central America – during the second semester of his sophomore year at Lafayette College as part of an archeological team that worked on a variety of ancient sites, some of them six hours away from the closest village. Among many remarkable experiences in the field, he excavated and recorded the location, condition and iconography of stelae and ancient palace structures; descended 30 feet into a network of underground tunnels that link Mayan religious structures dating back to 300 BC; and tromped through a snake-infested site to create maps for future study. Check out his blog at http://voices.lafayette.edu/ category/jared-katz/ for fascinating commentary and marvelous photos of his adventure.
Stephen Dutcher ’07 and Billy Huzar ’07 have returned to St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia for their senior year.
Massachusetts in more than 40 years. Matt has returned to Bates College for his senior year. Ben Slingerland was chosen from just under 10,000 applicants to be one of 90 summer interns with Nike at their headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. He spent two months in the North American soccer marketing department. After a summer spent rubbing shoulders with some of the country’s biggest name athletes and adjusting to the culture and climate of the Pacific Northwest, Ben is back at Georgetown for his senior year and soccer season. He gained valuable experience in marketing and learned a lot about the importance of networking.
is made up of 15 mid-Atlantic teams. In June, Christopher pitched a complete game no hitter against the Edenton Steamers in a 2-0 win. He finished the season with a 2.30 ERA and .182 batting average. He has returned to Yale for his junior year. Steve DiCarlo won the men’s club championship as Salem Country Club this summer by defeating friend and frequent playing partner Nick Mini ’07 in a very close final match. Steve is a junior at Boston College majoring in economics. Preston Pero is a junior at Providence College majoring in business economics, minoring in finance. He is a music director for WDOM 91.3 Providence College Radio, a legitimate radio station that broadcasts to the entire Providence area. He is also part of a men’s squad helping to train and scrimmage against the PC Division 1 women’s varsity soccer team
2008 Christopher O’Hare pitched for the Kill Devil Hills Daredevils in a college summer baseball league in North Carolina this summer. The Coastal Plain League 36
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Nick Mini ’07 and Steve DiCarlo ’08 at Salem Country Club.
and will be playing men’s club volleyball. Justin Colella is a junior soccer player at St. Anselm College. This season he has taken on an additional challenge with his soccer team, raising money for the fight against AIDS through a program he calls “Goals for Grassroots”. For every goal the team scores this year, every player and coach on the team will donate one dollar to the program. In addition to the money that is raised from the goals, for every win and shutout the team records, all of the team members and coaches will donate one dollar to the program. The original goal of Colella’s program was to raise $1,000. Currently, his program has raised $1,050. Proceeds are sent to a global non-profit organization, Grassrootsoccer, which funds HIV/AIDS research in Africa. Beyond his own team’s efforts, Justin hopes to encourage other teams at St. Anselm and elsewhere to join in the effort. Head coach Peter Ramsey wishes he had more players like Justin, “Justin is a good soccer player, but a better person. He has gotten better every day because he works so hard. He has become one of our best players, leaders, and team members we have had in years.” Ramsey asks a lot of his players on the field, but demands even more off the pitch. “He is the unsung hero, the hardest worker, the kindest player to our freshman, a true mentor, and a great teammate. If we had 11 Colellas, Saint Anselm College would not lose.” ■