Jacob “Jake” Van Cleef, currently a senior at Villanova University, founded the Villanova Sentry during his sophomore year to raise Jacob V a n C le e f ‘16 awareness of social injustices. Fellow Rambler Katherine Nicole Baker ’16 serves as a reporter for the publication. Van Cleef has been involved in a variety of activist groups, including ACT (the Association for Change and Transformation), The Forum, VUSLAM (the Villanova University Student Labor Action Movement) and POWER (Peers Offering Wellness Education and Resources). He also starred in Villanova’s production of Arsenic and Lace.
2017
Jack P. Badovinac, an offensive lineman at Colgate, was named to the Patriot League preseason team in Summer 2019. M. Brennan Dwyer was the starting draw control specialist for Northwestern University’s women’s lacrosse team during her sophomore year in Spring 2019. She finished the year with 181 draw controls, fifth in the NCAA, earning her All-Big Ten honors, Intercollegiate Lacrosse Women’s Coach Association Third-Team All-American honors and Inside Lacrosse Media First Team AllAmerican honors. To top off this great season, Dwyer’s team won the 2019 Big Ten championship for the first time since the Big Ten began sponsoring women’s lacrosse. Brian M. Vance, a catcher for the Kenosha Kingfishers, a summer baseball league, was featured on WGN-TV in June 2019, when his dance moves to Beyoncé in the bullpen went viral on social media. The Kingfishers’ marketing team kept the dancing going with the “Vancy Dancy Dance-Off,” a dancing competition between Vance and fans from the stands. During the school year, Vance plays baseball at St. Joseph’s University. 4
A leader in service: New President’s Leadership Council Chair Saly M. Sebastian ’06 (center) with Loyola Academy President Rev. Patrick E. McGrath, SJ, (right) and Vice President of Alumni and Network Engagement Martin G. Jennings ‘98
Helping Young Rambler Alumni Stay Connected
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HEN Saly M. Sebastian ’06 was working as an international banking senior analyst for J.P. Morgan in New York City, she couldn’t get home very often to see her fellow Ramblers. So she was especially gratified when our alumni relations team began holding regional reunions in New York City to reconnect with Loyola alumni living on the East Coast. “I attended several of those New York regional reunions, and I remember thinking that it was amazing to be a graduate of a high school that really cares about its students and is proactively reengaging alumni after graduation,” she recalls today. “Loyola’s alumni network is truly unique. It rivals the alumni networks of universities and feels like a family of students, teachers, staff, alumni and parents who will be forever invested in your success.” Those New York reunions inspired Sebastian to stay connected with the Loyola community. When she moved back to the Midwest in 2014 to work in J.P. Morgan’s Chicago office, she
joined our President’s Leadership Council (PLC)—–a board of young alumni leaders who support Loyola by serving as ambassadors to the school’s young alumni community. After serving as a member of the group’s executive board for several years, she took over as chair of the President’s Leadership Council in Fall 2019. “Through the dedication of our emeritus members, the PLC now plays a vital role in Loyola’s alumni engagement efforts,” says Sebastian. “I am excited to lead us into the next chapter. Our priorities over the next few years are to ensure that our programs are meeting the needs of Loyola’s young alumni community and to create more leadership opportunities for PLC members who are interested in getting more involved.” Sebastian—–now a senior program manager at Snapfish—–also mentors current Loyola students and serves on the Board of Trustees’ Jesuit Catholic Identity Committee. 4 Find out more about President’s Leadership Council membership and upcoming events at goramblers.org/plc.
SPRING 2020
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