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2008 Michael Harvey, a classroom teacher since the mid 1990s and principal of Belmont High School since 2006, has been named superintendent of the Hamilton-Wenham school district. A graduate of Amherst College, Mike earned a doctorate in school leadership at UMass Lowell. Shannon Spinosa returned to her alma mater, Shawsheen Valley Technical High School, this fall as the school’s newest medical assistant teacher. After earning a bachelor’s degree at UMass Lowell, Shannon became an LPN before turning to education. Peter Udstuen is Shawsheen Valley Technical High School’s newest history teacher. Recently married, the Chelmsford resident is a native of Bellingham, where he played soccer and basketball in high school before playing rugby at UMass Lowell.
2009 Grace Basile, who has been interim assistant principal of the Shaughnessy Elementary School in Lowell since 2010, has been named principal of the Roosevelt School in Melrose. A graduate of Northeastern University, Grace has a master’s in education degree from UMass Lowell. Donna Fagen, who earned a doctorate in electrical engineering at UMass Lowell, is co-founder and chief technology officer at Equilateral Technologies Inc. of Lexington. The company deals in digital wireless technologies for voice and data. Donna was featured this spring in an issue of Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology.
Tommy Powers, a former UMass Lowell hockey player, has been named the strength and conditioning coordinator for the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. Joining the River Hawks in 2006-07, Tommy played in 15 career games while maintaining an outstanding academic record. The defenseman was a three-time selection to the Hockey East All-Academic Team. A stay-at-home defender, he carried a career rating of plus-1 with six penalty minutes and helped lead the River Hawks to the Florida College Classic Championship in 2007-08. Tommy graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology and a minor in nutrition.
2010 Brian Bahia launched a web design business in Lowell in May. The new company offers discounted rates for local businesses. Carolanne Brennan and Bruce Burkhardt Jr. were married on July 14. Carolanne earned a master’s degree in educational administration at UMass Lowell and is now teaching sixth grade. Brian Dempsey is the new school resource officer at Somerset-Berkley Regional High School. He was previously a full-time police officer for seven years, three years in Florida and four years in Somerset. Brian has been
working the overnight shift as a patrolman for the Somerset police department. He earned a master's degree in criminal justice from UMass Lowell.
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CLOSE-UP CLASS OF 2011
Shawn Hansen has worked for the Community Newspaper Co. as a freelance journalist since 2009, and has had his own television show, “Shawn Hansen’s Comedy Corner,” since 2010. Amy Stanley, who received her master’s degree in 2010, has been working at Lowell General Hospital, first in Community Health and Wellness and now in Human Resources. She also has been working on the side with Erin Caples ’02, ’04, another UMass Lowell alum, on a business Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and social media/grant consulting. Amy and Michael Tobin married in October.
2011 Joshua Northrup has joined Aerodyne Research. Inc., in Billerica as an assistant engineer in the company’s Center for Atmospheric and Environmental Chemistry.
2012 Anna Struna says she bought a new car, got a condo right on the beach on Cape Cod, was able to find and hold a good job and joined in partnership with a fellow local artist in opening and running an art gallery—all within two months of graduation.
Network. Have fun. Make a difference. Want to have a meaningful impact? Become an alumni volunteer. Whether serving on a Fall Festival alumni committee, mentoring a student in his field of expertise or donating time to a campus organization, our alumni volunteers enhance people’s lives. Help to increase UMass Lowell’s influence around the world. Volunteering opportunities include: Special reunions, alumni communications, alumni advisory groups, student recruitment, student mentoring, fundraising, University outreach and regional program assistance. For information, call 978-934-3140 or email Alumni_Office@uml.edu.
Building the Future on the Site of His Past The irony of his work isn’t lost on Rafael Rodriguez Jr. Neither is its value. The 2011 civil engineering grad has, since January 2012, worked as a field engineer for Turner Construction, the firm that has raised the Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center from rubble and dust to an $80 million, state-of-the-art showpiece housing research and development facilities. Rodriguez, 22, of Lawrence, calls it his “dream job,” a place where his past and the University’s future intersect along VFW Highway and University Avenue. The 2005 Lawrence High School graduate says he lived his sophomore and junior years in Smith Hall, the red-brick UMass Lowell dorm that was torn down to make way for ETIC. “I used to live right there,” he says, pointing to a patch of deepgreen grass where until recently construction trailers stood. “Used to play catch right out in front.” He recalls driving past the site during Smith’s demolition in 2010. “It was kind of upsetting in a way but at the same time, change was needed and things had to move forward. As I see it, that was inevitable. It was the start of this great building,” he adds, sweeping his hand toward the 84,000square-foot structure behind him. “It’s a place where every inch is state-of-the-art. Nanotechnology, clean rooms, labs of every kind. It’s all top-notch. The best.”—DP
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