Ron Passaro ‘95
year at numerous film festivals, including the Seattle International Film Festival and the Atlanta Film Festival. In the interest of staying in touch and getting to know other alumni, please feel free to say hello to Ron by sending an email to ronpassaro@ gmail.com. Cheers! James Zilian lives in Woodstock, VT, with his wife, Zoe, and 2 little girls, Mia and Ava. James is the senior designer for Simon Pearce Glass and Pottery. The July 2010 cover of Bon Appetit magazine features the Cavendish dinner plate designed by James.
96 I Sean Rooney and his wife, Lisette, had their daughter, Sophia, christened in a small ceremony performed by Father Damian at the Portsmouth Abbey Church on April 1, 2010. They also recently purchased a home in Middletown, RI. Corey Jamison is living back in Freeport, ME, trying to support his mom after the death of his father. He is working for Spurwink Services as an assistant program director, providing clinical supervision to 4 adolescent group homes and carrying a small caseload for individual therapy. He sees his brother, Ryan ’98, quite a bit in his new home in Kingston, NH. Sarah (Hatch) Straz writes, “I am a high school English teacher in York, ME. I was
married to Tim Straz in August of 2004, and we live on the Maine coast. I hope all is well at the Abbey! I try to visit whenever I am in Rhode Island, which is rare. Such fond memories, though!” Martin Eisner is an assistant professor of romance studies at Duke University. Professor Eisner has a B.A. in Italian (1999) and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature (2005) from Columbia University. He specializes in medieval Italian literature, particularly the works of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, as well as the history of the book and media.
Triona Mahon’s ‘97 bridesmaids included Tamara Sreenivasan Lal ‘98 (far left), Celine Thyssen-Miller ‘97 (middle) and Mary Burke ‘97 (far right). Celine’s daughter, Emma Miller, was the flower girl.
97 I
state to a job in science or math education as I work on a master’s degree; otherwise, please drop by to count cowboy hats with me!” Ryan Jamison made local news in early March after achieving a daring rescue of his dog, an 80-lb. German Shepherd named Hennessey. She wandered out on to a partially frozen pond and fell through the ice about 150 feet offshore. Ryan jumped in the icy water to reach Hennessey. He reached the sheet of ice and crawled 30 feet to his dog only to realize he would need more help. His girlfriend, Kelly, threw a broken canoe towards Ryan and he was able to use it to get his dog out of the water; unfortunately, the canoe started taking on water and could not be paddled through the snow and ice. Within moments, firefighters arrived with a rescue sled. Ryan and Hennessey are both recovered from their icy adventure. Jorge Andres Cedron recently became the legal counsel for the Latin America division of Stryker Corpora-
Ryan Grabert and Lou Tavares both recently had baby girls, and got together to catch up. Kyla Reagan Tavares was born 12/1/09 to Lou and his wife, Erika Darling. Maeve Ann Grabert was born 1/10/10 to Ryan and his wife, Meghan Grabert.
98 I Nat Spencer graduated from Roger Williams University Law School and is taking the NY Bar at the end of July. He is actively looking for a job focused on maritime law. While at Roger Williams Nat served as the president and secretary of the Maritime Law Society as well as a member of the Admiralty Moot Court Team. He also served as a legal intern at DeOrchis & Partners in New York City and at Save the Bay in Providence. Nat earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Vermont. He looks forward to the end of July when his bar classes end and he can unwind for a few weeks. Jennifer Stankiewicz moved to Fort Worth, TX, in September “and after living in Texas for almost a year would like to suggest we sell Texas back to Mexico, except for Austin and Padre Island,” she jokes. “I have been tutoring teen parents and inner-city teens to pass the TAKS science and math exams and graduate from high school, which has been rewarding and frustrating. I am also working at the Museum of Science and History as an educator. Hopefully in the fall I will be moving to a coastal blue
Jennifer Stankiewicz ‘98 moved to Texas in September
The July 2010 cover of Bon Appetit featured a dinner plate designed by James Zilian ‘95 PAGE 68
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