Winter 2019
Winter 2019
FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear Friends, As spring approaches, I cannot help but reflect on an exciting school year thus far—one that saw the public launch of the most ambitious fundraising campaign in Loyola history and an admirable assortment of successes fueled by the talents and dedication of our students.
Above: President Anthony Day and Dr. Lawrence Jackson ‘86 at the inaugural Blakefield Book & Bean.
I’d like to acknowledge the extraordinary generosity of all those who have supported Ignite: The Campaign for Loyola Blakefield. We knew that our success would be dependent upon a community-wide effort, and those who have answered our call have been an essential part of why we will be able to transform the vision of Ignite into reality. Please continue to stay tuned for updates regarding the campaign.
On February 19, we were fortunate to have Dr. Lawrence Jackson ’86 join us as our inaugural guest for a new speaker series designed to bring inspirational and stimulating written works to life through interaction with the author. His presentation focused on his book, My Father’s Name: A Black Virginia Family after the Civil War, which takes the reader on a journey to discover his ancestral roots. Thanks to all who joined us. I am pleased to share that we will welcome Mark K. Shriver in May for a discussion about his work, A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver. Stay tuned for details. Finally, as the season of Lent is upon us, please consider taking part in our Lenten Prayer group. Hosted by our Office of Ignatian Mission & Identity, it is structured so that you can begin your day here at Blakefield in five weekly sessions from March 11 – April 9. Sign up here. I wish you and your family a blessed Easter Season and a spring of renewal and hope.
AMDG,
Anthony I. Day P ‘15, ‘19 President & Director of the Work
2
20
12
CONTENTS
18
14
16
Campus News
4
Alumni News & Events
6
2019 Kelley Medal Recipient:
10
Ignite: The Campaign for Loyola Blakefield
11
The Last Frontier
12
Five Questions with Ric Chiapetta
14
Newspaper Spotlight
16
Flying High with Our New Drone Club
18
Brothers Share Passion to Serve Lesotho Youth
20
Class Notes
22
In Memoriam
23
CONTRIBUTORS Editor & Photography: Michael Nitti Design: Lara Towson
10
11
CAMPUS NEWS Winter 2019
CYBER DONS QUALIFY FOR CYBERPATRIOT NATIONAL FINALS
SPEECH & DEBATE WINS CHAMPIONSHIP, QUALIFIES FIVE FOR NATIONAL TOURNAMENT 4
LOYOLA BLAKEFIELD RECEIVES VOLUNTEER GROUP OF THE YEAR AWARD FROM THE BALTIMORE STATION
Click each panel to view more media associated with these stories. Click here to read all the latest news.
DAVALLI NAMED BCL COACH OF THE YEAR, SEVERAL DONS EARN BCL HONORS
ROBOTICS SENDS THREE TEAMS TO STATES
NEW SPEAKER SERIES
NATIONAL MERIT FINALISTS
TRACK AND FIELD DONS COMPETE AT NATIONALS
PHOTOGRAPHY & DIGITAL MEDIA STUDENTS RECEIVE REGIONAL HONORS
5
ALUMNI EVENTS @ BLAKEFI FIRST ANNUAL ALUMNI BRACKET CHALLENGE
ATTIRE 4 HIRE PAT MUTH ‘99 DEPARTURE
ATTENTION CORPORATE PARTNERS! The Loyola Blakefield Office of Advancement has recently created its first Corporate Partners Program. Loyola invites businesses and organizations to join the program for 2018–19. To learn more about the program click here or contact Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Mark Finlan.
6
KELLEY MEDAL RECIPIENT: MO
IELD
Visit loyolablakefield.org/events to see all upcoming alumni events.
Winter 2019
DINNER, DONS, AND TEACHERS
ONSIGNOR MARTIN FEILD ’51
FINLEY NAMED RUGBY COACH
UPCOMING EVENTS Class of ‘59 60th Reunion April 13th Blakefest & Reunion Weekend April 26th – 28th Alumni Tennis Open May 3rd Golden Dons Dinner May 15th Class of ‘69 50th Reunion May 31st - June 2nd
2019 TASTE OF BLAKEFIELD
7
Corporate P
FIRST NATIO
“Since the time I moved the strength and goodne and being fresh out of c embodied ‘Men for Oth things that I did and de service. Based on the c decision to partner wit
- Mac Tisdale, Presid
“First National Bank Through this corpora opportunities for ou support by choosing
- Mark Finlan, Asso
8
Partners Spotlight
ONAL BANK
to Baltimore 25 years ago, I have always been in awe of ess of the Loyola community. Growing up in a small town college, it was several Dons who welcomed me to town and hers!’ Further, I am proud to have a son who saw the same ecided to be a part of this Jesuit tradition and Ignatian culture and mission of First National Bank, it is an easy th Loyola Blakefield. Roll Dons Roll!
dent, Mid-Atlantic Region F.N.B. Corporation
has been an incredible supporter of Loyola Blakefield. ate partnership, we are able to support so many ur Dons. For any banking-related services, please show your g First National Bank.�
ociate Director of Alumni Relations, Loyola Blakefield
9
Monsignor Martin Feild ’51 Named Rev. Joseph M Kelley, S.J. Medal Recipient for 2019 Monsignor Martin Feild
’51 has been selected as the 2019 recipient of the Rev. Joseph M. Kelley Medal – the highest form of recognition given to a Loyola Blakefield alumnus. After 20 years as pastor of St. Joseph and 56 years in active ministry as a priest, Monsignor Feild retired in the summer of 2015. He currently resides at Mercy Ridge Retirement Community in Timonium. Looking back at his many years in the priesthood, Monsignor said he has enjoyed every moment of his service. He found happiness in the priesthood, and tried to share that happiness with others. Monsignor Feild grew up in St. Mark Parish in Catonsville as the eighth of 11 brothers and sisters. Impressed by the priests of St. Mark and the School Sisters of Notre Dame who taught him, Monsignor thought of becoming a priest at an early age. After graduating from Loyola High School, he entered St. Charles College, a former minor seminary in Catonsville. He later studied at St. Mary’s Seminary on Paca Street in Baltimore and St. Mary’s Seminary in Roland Park. Ordained in 1959 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, Monsignor Feild served as associate pastor of St. Joseph in Cockeysville from 1959 to 1969. He then was the associate pastor of St. Clement I in Lansdowne from 1969 to 1975 before being named pastor of St. Peter the Apostle in Oakland. After 20 years in Garrett County, Monsignor Feild moved to Taneytown in 1995 as pastor of St. Joseph, a position he held until his retirement.
10
Some of the testimonials below are from residents of Taneytown that hold Monsignor Feild in the highest regard. “He is truly a beacon and inspiration for his brother Dons. He is the most self-less person I have ever known” - Stephen Marsalek, ’64. “Monsignor’s imprint of his time in Taneytown is left in the hearts of the people; of young and old” - Nancy McCormick, Economic Development and Community Director for the City of Taneytown. “During his time in Taneytown he was a leader in the ministerial community and had a special place in his heart for those who were down and out, regardless of religious affiliation” - James McCarron, Mayor of Taneytown. “Standing at about 6’4”, he is recognized all over Taneytown and is revered by both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Monsignor Martin never fails to visit those in hospitals and nursing homes, and frequently surprises non-parishioners who are ill by dropping in for a pleasant ecumenical visit and a blessing” - Larry Webster, President, the Holy Name Society of Saint Joseph, Taneytown.
Click here to view photo and video highlights from the Kelley Medal Breakfast.
Ignite:
The Campaign for Loyola Blakefield Ignite will result in the construction of a new Innovative Learning Center, investment in the endowment, and bolster annual giving.
Testimonials Click the thumbnail below to hear from proud Ignite supporters.
DONATE Please consider joining us with your support of Ignite. If you would like to discuss your support of our efforts, please contact: Adam Trice Director of Development
11
D
aniel Quinn grew up right down the st Loyola Blakefield in Rodgers Forge, but it w and his brothers were looking for a private to attend, that he really paid any attention on Chestnut and Charles. “My father wasn more, so we didn’t really have a grasp on th Catholic education played in the area,” said attended public school until his time at Loy tion of attending Loyola started when his o Joe, Class of 1965, was accepted on a schol other three Quinn brothers—James ‘71, Da William ‘76—followed suit.
During his time at Loyola, Dan recalls being wrestling team and participating in student Perhaps the biggest aspect he remembers ing Loyola in the ‘70s was the wide variety o members. “The seventies were anti-war yea interesting to see, even among the Jesuit co mix of old school conservative guys and mo ing guys,” said Quinn. They all got along fin Dan, but the differing political perspectives esting to watch. Dan recalls Fr. Bill Waters, ulty member who had the most influence o Loyola. “He really took a lot of students und
After graduating from Loyola, Dan attended College in Massachusetts as an English maj enjoyed my time there and felt like Loyola p me well for college, not just academically, b as well.” When he graduated from Amherst teaching job at Choate Rosemary Hall, a pri school in Connecticut, where he taught Eng chology, coached on the wrestling team, an the summer school program. “I enjoyed tha but ultimately decided teaching wasn’t my
treet from wasn’t until he e high school to the school n’t from Baltihe role that d Dan, who yola. The tradioldest brother, larship. The aniel ‘72, and
g a part of the t government. from attendof faculty ars, and it was ommunity, a ore left-leanne, remembers s were interSJ, as the facon his time at der his wing.”
d Amherst jor. “I really prepared but socially t, Dan took a ivate boarding glish and Psynd took part in at quite a bit, calling.” After
two academic years, Dan moved to the west coast and attended law school at the University of Washington in Seattle from 1979–82. From there, he applied for an internship at Richmond & Associates law firm in Anchorage during the summer of 1982. They ended up taking him on full-time. “When I first started, I told them I’d only be there for two years, thinking it would be my little Alaska adventure, and then I would return to the real world,” said Quinn. “Well, here I am now 37 years later.” He became a partner of the firm in 1985, and it became known as it is today as Richmond & Quinn. The firm focuses on civil litigation. “We do some of the bigger cases involving aviation,” said Quinn. “There’s a lot of flying and a lot of aviation disasters here in Alaska because there isn’t much of a road system.” One of the most notable cases his firm took on involved the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. “We represented the third mate who was actually in charge of the vessel when it happened. That was some really interesting litigation.” In his spare time, Dan recently picked up cross-country skiing as a hobby. “There are so many good trails out here, and they light them up at night. I’ve been doing it to stay in shape and not be intimated by the cold winters out here.” He also volunteers at a local food kitchen on occasion, noting there is a big homeless problem in Anchorage. Dan doesn’t get back to Baltimore much—the last time was in 2009 to watch his son graduate from Johns Hopkins—but he does still try to follow the Ravens and the Orioles, though he admittedly roots for the Seattle Seahawks as they are one of the closest professional
sports teams to Anchorage. His son now resides in Charlotte and his daughter in New York. One of Dan’s proudest moments was becoming a grandfather just a few months ago. He hopes to get back to campus soon, but he is still able to show his pride in being a Don by giving back to the place he believes provided such a solid foundation for him and his brothers. It wasn’t until just a few years ago when his oldest brother, Joe, a member of the Loyola Blakefield Board of Trustees at the time, reached out to him about starting a scholarship at Loyola. “My brothers and I all attended Loyola on scholarships. We felt like Loyola was more than generous to us, and we received a great education there with wonderful people guiding us. So, when my brother approached me about a scholarship opportunity, I was immediately on board.” Even though he no longer resides down the street from Loyola, Dan will always be a Don and a man for others at heart.
What sparked your early interest i and performing?
FIVE QUESTIONS WITH
Ric a t t e p a Chi Ric Chiapetta was born and raised in Oneonta, New York. Although he pursued an early interest in theater, it took him until his senior year of high school to land a lead part, but the result was an award-winning performance in the title role in Pippin. He joined Loyola in the fall as a faculty member in the Performing Arts Department and Director of the Blakefield Players. A father of two boys, Ric currently resides in Towson with his wife Karen. Please join us in welcoming Ric to the Loyola community, and learn more about him via the following interview.
I loved theater in elementary school, but it passion when I was in high school thanks to ma teacher, Mr. Bob Squires. He became a me, offering guidance in all aspects of my e and my life. Theater provided an outlet like else—allowing me self-expression and to b students who shared similar interests.
How did your education and form training prepare you as a professio performer, and what are some hig from your performing career?
I was very fortunate to have done my unde work at the Crane School of Music where, a man, I was cast in a chamber opera opposi Fleming. Renee, of course, went on to beco leading operatic soprano of the last 30 year me under her wing and taught me the impo taking care of my voice and always being p Throughout my collegiate career, I had man derful and influential teachers, but none ha impact on my career as a performer or as a than Mr. Wayne Conner, whom I studied w Peabody Institute of Music at Johns Hopkin ty. As a performer, I was able to sing all alo Coast from Maine to Georgia. I performed glass Opera, Boston Concert Opera, Baltim and Wolftrap, in roles such as Figaro in bot of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, Papage Magic Flute and Danilo in The Merry Widow. great deal of musical theater including the The Phantom of the Opera in Sydney, Austra Fiddler on the Roof and Emile de Becque in S In addition, I directed the opera program a University and served as artistic director fo organization in Georgia.
Once your teaching career began, did you discover about your passio education and working with high students?
I have worked with students of various age director and as a vocal teacher.
in theater
became a o my draa mentor to education e nothing be with other
mal onal ghlights
ergraduate as a freshite Renee ome the rs. She took ortance of prepared. ny wonad a bigger a teacher with at the ns Universiong the East at Glimmermore Opera, th The Barber eno in The I also sang a title role in alia, Tevye in South Pacific. at Towson or an arts
, what on for school
es both as a
I think as an educator you find that you really click with certain age groups, and for me, it has always been the students in middle school and high school whom I really enjoy teaching. It is a wonderful age; the students are trying to figure out who they really are and what they really want to do with their lives. I love being a part of that process and teaching them about my craft, which meant so much to me. You hope as a teacher to have the same effect on your students that your mentors had on you. If you do, you’ll be a part of that student for the rest of his life. What a great legacy!
What have you witnessed in the students and community thus far during your time at Loyola? I have never been anywhere with such a strong sense of being part of a whole. The Loyola family is very connected. I have the father of a Loyola alumnus coming in to help build the sets for my show. How cool is that! It speaks volumes about the experience both the parents and their child had while they were at Loyola. Everywhere I go, I run into alumni who welcome me to the fold. The students I am working with have such a passion for theater that it is a joy to teach them. It’s so rewarding to help them grow as performers and believe in themselves.
What exciting things can folks be on the lookout for as you and the Blakefield Players continue to evolve and grow? Aside from trying to grow the academic side of drama at Loyola by hopefully offering some advanced theater classes in both acting and theater technology, I am looking forward to also growing the performance opportunities. I would love to see either a full faculty play, or a mix of faculty and students working on a production. I would also like to create a black box type of theater to house events such as coffee house performances or student-directed plays. I’d also like to expand into improv and experimental theatre.
The Blakefield Players perform in their winter musical comedy, Once Upon a Mattress. Click here to see more photos.
15
LOYOLA BLAKEFIELD NEWS JOURNALISM RETURNS TO CAMPUS
During first period of any given school day at Loyola, you can hear a buzz inside the AV room of the Mary G. Creaghan Library—the campus headquarters of Loyola Blakefield News, our student-run newspaper. The paper is back and better than ever this school year with a record number of student writers and a brand-new website to feature their ever-evolving digital content. The new website comes as part of a major revival in journalism at Loyola over the past three years.
After some heavy recruiting towards the end of that school year, the class picked up last year with about 15 students enrolled and a more structured approach to the course. “I decided to restructure the whole class and started with a journalism boot camp during the first quarter of the year. We also decided to have four main editors—a mix of juniors and seniors so the juniors could take over the following year after the seniors graduated.”
The resurgence is due in large part to Katie Korrow, who is now in her third year as a member of our English Department. “When I started here three years ago, I picked up the newspaper as part of my course load. It was just an elective journalism class at the time,” said Korrow, who has an MFA in nonfiction writing and also teaches English Honors and Advanced Nonfiction courses. In her first year at Loyola, Korrow started the class with just 12 students. “We were reading Capote’s In Cold Blood and doing some nonfiction writing, and then all of the sudden six guys dropped the course, and right then I decided that we were going to focus solely on journalism and writing newsworthy stories.”
Fast forward to the beginning of this school year and there was a wait list for the class with more than 35 students having applied. “I got really lucky with the students I have this year,” said Korrow. “When I was looking for students, I wanted to make sure I had guys who could work in this type of setting and who were capable of working independently. Some guys do it well, and some guys I have to stay on, but that’s the main thing I’m looking for—students who are going to fit into this environment.”
For the remainder of that year, those six students wrote article and posted them to a page on Loyola’s website, but it provided little exposure and limited features in terms of multimedia content and layout.
Senior Ben Gallagher, who serves as one of the four editors this year, believes the spike in popularity has to do with the structure of the class, or lack thereof at times. “During your freshman and sophomore years at Loyola, you don’t really have much choice in your classes. Students are assigned their six or seven classes and only really get to choose whether to take honors or not.
“They are a diverse group, but they mesh really well,” added Korrow. “It’s a place where they look forward to coming everyday, where they can express their thoughts and write about things they care about.” Aside from working on stories for the paper, students are also tasked with projects throughout the year, since it is technically still an academic course. One project involved teaming up with photography students and covering a local business. “I partnered with another senior, Hayden Deppe, in Mr. Ziegler’s photography class, and we profiled Hairway to Steven, a local barbershop in Towson,” said Gallagher. “I interviewed the owner, Steven, and his assistant, Charlie, while Hayden took photos of the shop.” Other projects have included starting their own podcasts. “I’ve had them listening to podcasts from the New York Times and This American Life to give them ideas for their own,” said Korrow. So, when I heard about the newspaper and this journalism class, I immediately signed up because this class is just so different than any other here.” At the beginning of the week, the editors meet in the library to discuss all the topics they want to cover that week and decide which of their assigned writers would be best for each story. Topics range from sporting event recaps to faculty and staff profiles and movie and music reviews. Also, if a student has his own specific idea for a story, he is more than welcome to cover that. Stories are then submitted by the end of the week, unless it’s a longer article that requires more interviews or find more content or outside of school. Each article is posted to the website when it’s ready. “The editors are in charge of proofing the stories and posting them to the website,” said Korrow. “They only really ever come to me if they think there is something controversial.” “Students treat it more like a workplace than a classroom,” said senior editor Mason Rush. “It’s not like other classes where you know you’re going to sit down and take notes for forty minutes and just listen to the teacher the entire time. This environment allows for students to come in and have discussions, and if we get our articles done early in the week, we can talk to our peers and help them out with their stories or just debate on topics.” Students often receive tips about new stories to cover, but their biggest benefit is having students from all walks of life in the class. “We have such a diverse group of guys, and they are involved in every aspect of Loyola,” said Ben, who was a senior captain of the varsity soccer team in the fall and serves a peer educator and vice president of Ping Pong Club. “That’s how we really get our information about what’s happening on campus.”
In order to publish such multimedia content to the web, the class decided they needed to invest in their own website. “There were just some limitations with Loyola’s website,” said Korrow. “So, I asked the students if anyone had experience creating websites.” Junior Hoon Kim raised his hand. “I’ve done some programming with online forums, but I’ve never worked with WordPress, so it was kind of a learning experience for me,” said Hoon. “I was able to watch a few tutorials online and got the framework for the site done in just a few hours. I just wanted to make it relatively clean and simple to navigate.” All in all, between securing funding, acquiring the domain, and uploading content, it took the entire month of December before they were ready to launch. Aside from the new website, students also run the newspaper’s Twitter handle—@BlakefieldNews—to gain more exposure. The team is always looking for new content, so visit loyolablakefieldnews.com, and submit a request if you have a local story for them to cover. “Overall, we’re just constantly expanding, trying to come up with new content and new ways to present it,” said Mason. “It’s great to see how far it has come in the four years I’ve been here, and I can only imagine what it will be in another four years.”
B
elieve it or not, Loyola’s beautiful 60-acre campus is even more breathtaking from above. Members of our new Drone Club can testify to this first-hand as they have taken to the skies for the past six months while honing their skills. The idea for such a club came to our Director of Plant Operations Ken Benway at the start of the school year. “It’s been a bit of a hobby for me for the past few years, and I noticed we didn’t have a club here at school, so I got permission and started one last September. We had a lot of student interest right off the bat.” Two of those students were freshmen Ian Cumming and Ethan Floyd. “On the day of the student activities fair, I was walking by on my way to lunch and saw this new club and signed up immediately,” said Cumming, who has some prior experience flying his own drone. Ethan also saw the exhibit of drones and decided immediately that he was in. “I’ve been flying my own drone for about two years, so I thought it was a great idea for a club to come to Loyola.” The first couple of meetings were all about safety and rules and regulations. “Before you even start flying, you have to learn all the guidelines for drones from the Federal Aviation Administration,” said Benway. Benway, who celebrates 20 years at Loyola in May, believes the club ultimately serves as a fun hobby for students, but it can also lead to other opportunities. “Once they start getting their skills down for flying, they can go on the FAA’s website and study to become a licensed drone pilot.” Benway even plans to implement this into the club in the future. “I’d love to eventually get my professional drone license to do some freelance drone photography,” added Ian, who currently edits and posts his drone photography to his Instagram page. “This club serves as a great gateway to that.”
18
Flying drones also teaches great hand-eye coordination. “At first, it’s kind of hard because if the drone is facing a different direction in the air than you’re facing on the ground, it will move in a different direction, so it really gives you a chance to build directional skills and quick reaction speed,” said Ethan. The club isn’t all about flying, though. Students are currently in the process of building racing drones from kits. “We already have an obstacle course that the students helped build, including a tower and some loops that you weave between,” said Benway. “We’ll break that out when it gets warmer.” The club also hopes to collaborate with other clubs on projects. For example, partnering with the robotics club to help build a drone frame, while students in the drone club build the motors and controls.” The club is now equipped for such projects with its own space located in Xavier Hall, where students meet every Wednesday after school. The space has tools to assemble and dissemble drones, as well as a virtual simulator. “If the weather is bad outside, students can use the simulator to choose four different types of drones and fly them virtually through cities or more rural settings,” said Benway. The club also currently owns four drones from companies such as GoPro, Parrot, and DJI, so students don’t need to have a drone to participate in the club. “I think some students don’t join because they think that they have to have a drone to be a part of the club, but we have drones available to fly,” urged Ethan. Benway hopes to get more students involved in the club as it continues to grow. “If you can use a video game controller, you can learn to fly a drone. It’s that simple.”
If you are interested in learning more about our Drone Club, please email Ken Benway at kbenway@loyolablakefield.org.
19
F
or the past decade, Reid and Kevin Rector have been active with the Touching Tiny Lives Foundation (TTLF), an organization charged with raising funds, spreading awareness, and providing technical support to help provide a smart and sustainable local response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Lesotho, Africa. In addition to leadership roles on the foundation’s board of directors (Reid has served as Executive Director from 2010-19), they both took part in one-year fellowships on the ground in Lesotho. With national HIV rates hovering around 24% (the second highest in the world) and tuberculosis rates also soaring at fourth highest in the world, Lesotho is at the epicenter of the global HIV pandemic. The following reflections are based on their experiences working with orphaned and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS and malnutrition.
Reid Rector ‘01 When I think of the year I spent living and working in Lesotho, I think of meeting three-year-old Mokete. We were at a clinic in one of the remote villages where Touching Tiny Lives does outreach work, there to deliver food and check on a few kids we knew to be struggling with acute illness and severe food insecurity—a double misfortune common in this part of the world and something TTL vigorously works to combat.
After visiting with other children throughout the day, a health worker brought Mokete and his young mother into a cold office filled with outdated and crude medical equipment. Mokete was just 15 pounds, and as his mother unwrapped him from her back, she started to cry, relieved someone had finally come to help. Mokete only let out faint whimpers, consistently timed, as if to remind both himself and the world that he was still alive despite his ribs protruding from his chest, his legs like twigs, his body ravaged by HIV and tuberculosis. Then as now in these mountains, Touching Tiny LIves was the only organization providing the acute care needed by kids like Mokete, and so we got to work, quickly loading him and his mother into our vehicle to take them to the hospital and then the TTL safe-home, where he would be put on life-saving medications and provided careful, around-the-clock nutritional care to recover. As we pulled away to start the drive, a woman ran from the clinic and knocked on the window, reaching in to hand Mokete’s mother some money for the indeterminately-long stay at the hospital ahead. I choked up as I realized the money changing hands was four Maloti, or about 50 cents. It occurred to me then that children like Mokete don’t die from HIV or TB. They die from poverty. Ten years later, I have a few kids of my own. I worry about whether my three-year-old is finishing dinner and whether my five year old’s cough is sounding worse. I cannot fathom what I would feel if my children were in Mokete’s condition, and poverty and circumstance made it almost impossible for me to help them. But I know I would want an organization like TTL to find my family and intervene with help, just as we did in Mokete’s case. That is why I have remained committed to TTL’s mission, including by serving on the board of the Touching Tiny Lives Foundation, a U.S.- and Canada-based nonprofit dedicated to raising funds for TTL. Our foundation makes TTL’s work possible through our collection of small contributions from donors who, in the end, are not too different from the woman with the four Maloti. Our donors—men and women for others—make so much possible, one child at a time. Reid currently resides in Denver Colorado and is an attorney with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
20
Learn more about the work of Touchin
Kevin Rector ‘03 After flying to South Africa, crossing the border into Lesotho, riding for hours along potholed dirt roads, and finally arriving at the Touching Tiny Lives safehome for infants and toddlers in the rural mountain town of Mokhotlong, I was nervous. I’d taken a leap of faith in deciding to follow my brother Reid’s example and dedicate the next year of my life to helping TTL in its mission, providing critical nutrition and medical support to young children whose lives had been negatively impacted by HIV/AIDS—a disease more prevalent in Lesotho than almost anywhere on earth. As I lay in bed in my thatch-roofed rondaval that first night, I felt small and far from everyone I loved, but I also knew what I was doing was important. From a young age, and throughout my four years at Loyola, I’d been taught again and again that I had been given a lot in life and had an obligation to give back. My mother had instilled that lesson in me and my siblings as kids when she had us help deliver meals from our church to the local homeless shelter. At Loyola, we’d all been told to be men for others. Here was my chance, I told myself. Put up or shut up. During the next 12 months, I learned for the first time in a visceral way just how unfair the world can be as sick infants struggled in my arms to breathe. I also learned the true strength of the human spirit and the tremendous power of love, watching those same kids fight for their lives and win with TTL’s help. I did everything I could to keep up with TTL’s energetic Basotho boss, M’e Nthabeleng Lephoto, but she ran circles around me. She taught me hard work, humility, compassion, and leadership. She taught me to keep pushing forward even when things got tough, because the babies counting on us couldn’t wait. I drove on outreach missions to rural villages, haggled over groceries for the safe-home, wrote grant proposals, ran errands for M’e Nthabeleng, and giggled with toddlers who had been nursed back to health. I saw firsthand how the tremendous power of a small group of people, given a bit of financial assistance to save lives, could transform families and inspire communities. I saw the best of humanity, triumphant in the face of disease and poverty, and I’ll never forget it. Kevin resides in Ellicott City, Maryland, and covers the Baltimore City Police Department and city crime for The Baltimore Sun.
ng Tiny Lives via touchingtinylives.org.
21
Class Notes 1985
2001
2009
Kevin Walsh ’85 is President and
Andrew Illuminati ’01 joins
Terence Garvin ’09, linebacker
Managing Partner of Middle River Aviation, a general aviation company located at Martin State Airport. The company trains people to become pilots, rents planes to qualified pilots, and provides airplane maintenance. They are currently in their 9th year of operation.
Webb, Cornbrooks, Wilber, Vorhis, Douse, Leslie, & Mathers, LLP, as an Associate Attorney. His practice focuses on criminal defense and civil litigation. Andrew was also recently appointed co-chair of the Maryland State Bar Association’s Committee on Judicial Appointments.
for the Orlando Apollos in the Alliance of American Football League, notched both the league’s first interception and first pick-six in Orlando’s 40-6 win over Atlanta during the first week and was named the AAF’s inaugural Defensive Player of the Week. Read more here.
2004
Sam Dever ’14 graduated from the
1989
Paul Liszewski ’89, Head Brewer of East Brother Beer Co. in Richmond, CA, was one of the 10 featured brewers in the Winter 2019 Beer Connoisseur magazine for making the Top 10 Beers of 2018. Three of his beers made the Top 250 List: Oatmeal Stout (#9), Bo Pils (#31) and Gold IPA (#130). The Oatmeal Stout and Bo Pils were rated World Class, and the Gold IPA was rated Exceptional. Paul is offering to buy any Don their first pint when they visit the taproom.
Greg Szczepaniak ’89 and wife, Beth Ann (our Director of Ignatian Service), welcomed their second child, Tyler John Szczepaniak, into this world on January 25, 2019.
22
Winter 2019
Raffi Wartanian ’04 recently published an essay in The New York Times about names and assimilation in Baltimore. Read the article here.
2008
Joe Cummings ’08 was named head coach for the Major League Lacrosse Charlotte Hounds in January. Joe is the first former player to lead the Hounds and the third head coach in the Hounds’ seven-year history. Read more here.
2014
University of Colorado in 2018 and was accepted into the special forces school of the Israeli army. He has recently completed the basic training, which included learning Hebrew, and has been placed in the Tank Unit as a Negevest, the one who carries the large machine gun.
2015
Luke Musselman ’15 set a new pool record in the 200 IM for the Rider University Men’s Swimming & Diving Team in January, breaking the school’s oldest-standing pool record (14 years) with a time of 1:53.21. Read more here.
Share your news with fellow Dons! loyolablakefield.org/classnotes
2015
Elijah Wright ’15 of UMBC was named Most Outstanding Diver at the American East Swimming & Diving Championships after winning the Men’s 1-Meter and 3-Meter titles. Read more here.
2018
Brodie Holmes ’18 earned All-Ivy League First Team Honors as part of Columbia University’s winning Distance Medley Relay at the Ivy League Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 23. Read more here.
Drew Potter ’18 of the Wentworth Institute of Technology was named Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men’s Volleyball Rookie of the Week on Feb. 25. Read more here.
IN MEMORIAM ALUMNI Owen G. Hartlove Jr. ‘47 Marion J. Balcerzak ‘51 G. Lee Russo ’51, MD Richard M. Love ‘52 E. Patrick McDonough ‘53 Donald L. Rohr ‘54 Thomas M. Scanlan Jr. ‘55 Jefferson J. Walsh IV ‘56 William C. Urban ‘61 Robert M. Bracken ‘64 Stephen F. Stankiewicz ‘67 RichardF. Cadigan Jr. ‘75 Steven W. Danaher ‘93 Matthew P. Neumayer ‘96 Christopher C. Pennington ‘99
PAST PARENTS
Charles A. Hall Sr. Edward H. Latchford Francis J. McGuire Assunda M. Nuth
GRANDPARENTS Richard A. Froehlinger Jr. Patricia K. Smyth
FRIENDS Bernice S. Kucharski Margaret K. Riehl
CURRENT PARENTS Shannon Langlotz
23
loyolablakefield.org