
10 minute read
Class Notes
Alumni Class Notes
Class of 1985
With 30 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Susan
Mudd Vogel P ’13, ’18
is transferring her skills and expertise from health care to education. She recently accepted the role of director of advancement at The Field School, a private independent school for grades 6–12 near the Georgetown/Grover Park areas of Washington, D.C. Susan will be part of the administrative team and lead a staff of four in the Advancement office as the school celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
Class of 1988
Jake Heibel is set to retire as the principal of Great Mills High School after finishing a 30-year career with the St. Mary’s County Public School System. Jake is planning on taking a “gap” year to play tennis and go skiing as much as possible before seeking further employment opportunities. After a successful career at Deloitte, Tamika Langley Tremaglio started a new position as the executive director of the National Basketball Players Association.
Class of 1998
Tawny LaQuay is thriving under St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney Richard Fritz as a senior legal assistant. She was also recently appointed to the Board of Appeals for the Town of Leonardtown. Tawny enjoys giving back to the community where she lives and works.
Class of 1999
Jonathan Roberts eclipsed the 4,000-win plateau in his harness horse-racing career at Ocean Downs, then capped the 2020 slate by taking the fall meet driving title at Rosecroft Raceway in Prince George’s County.
Nina Verghese was named senior director and practice lead, Campaigns & Advocacy at APCO Worldwide. “I’ve long admired the dynamic team at APCO and couldn’t be more thrilled about this opportunity!”
Class of 2000
Carrianne Santangelo Downey joined SMR in March as a long-term substitute in the math department, working with our Honors Pre-Calculus students. Carrianne began her undergraduate work in education at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, transferring to the University of Maryland, where she earned her B.A, double-majoring in economics and government and politics. She earned her M.A. from Johns Hopkins University in applied economics with a concentration in domestic policy. Her post-college work included working for the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Education Statistics Services Institute. She has been accepted to Notre Dame of Maryland University to begin work on her accelerated certification in teaching, secondary education.


Class of 2008
Kelly Fitzwater married Craig Berry on Sept. 25, 2021, at the Woodlawn Estate in Ridge, Maryland. Kelly works at General Electric in the renewable energy division. Kelly and Craig are preparing to move to Paris for a few years for her job; they will leave Maryland in mid-2022.
JJ Raley and his wife, Aimee (SMR assistant director of admissions), welcomed their daughter, Callie Jane, on Dec. 2, 2021. JJ started working at OakPoint Insurance this past winter, alongside another SMR alum, Patrick Haley ’99, and remains the head boys soccer coach at SMR. JJ was named WCAC Coach of the Year in the fall of 2021!
Class of 2009
Ryan Fleming and his bride, Julia, were married on Oct. 9, 2021, at the Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian in Washington, D.C., by Monsignor Pope.



Class of 2010
Guy Brown debuted his children’s book, “Look Up to See What the Weather Will Be.” You can find Guy forecasting the weather on-air at KARE 11 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Guy enjoys volunteering at elementary schools, where he can share his passion for meteorology with lots of children. He is an active member of the National Weather Association and the National Association of Black Journalists.
Class of 2012
Lawrence and Sarah Forte (SMR resource teacher) welcomed their second child, Louis, on Sept. 15, joining big sister Bernadette! This future Knight is already a big Caps fan. Like father, like son! “We hope he will play on the SMR hockey team like his Uncle Christopher (Class of 2015).”

Class of 2013
Jack and Michelle Yates Brandenburg welcomed their first baby, Renly Ann, on May 28, 2020, at 1:30 in the afternoon, weighing 7 lbs. 2 oz. and measuring 18.5 inches long.

Lance Casimir, a 2017 graduate of Catholic University, was appointed to the university’s Board of Trustees. Lance graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Lance married Morgan Sanei in May 2020.
Eun Kyung “Kylie” Gorenflo gave birth to a healthy girl, Hani Lee Gorenflo, on July 10, 2021. Kylie is now working as a behavior technician in North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, Martin. Hani Lee loves cuddles and sings for Mommy and Daddy, and most importantly, she loves to eat, sleep and poop! Marissa Somerville was sworn in as a new assistant state’s attorney in Anne Arundel County. Marissa took the oath from fellow alum Judge William Mulford ’78. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2017 and her law degree from Barry University in 2020. Marissa was a dancer and basketball player during her years at SMR.

Jenna Taylor married Kyle Boothe ’16 on Aug. 14, 2021, in Newburg, Maryland. With both Kyle and Jenna being from local families, it was a very large wedding! They felt so blessed to be surrounded by such a wonderful support system of family and friends.



Class of 2014
Aleksey House graduated from George Washington Law School with her J.D. concentration in government procurement law. She is an associate attorney at Berenzweig Leonard LLP. Aleksey will be marrying fellow Knight Preston Dabbs ’12 in October 2022.
Sister Maria Corredemptrix (Emma
Madden) made her final vows with the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará. President Rick Wood and John Olon, SMR director of Catholic identity and mission, attended the ceremony. We are very proud of Sister Maria’s commitment to her vocation. Our entire community will be praying for her as she resides at a monastery on the Jordan River at the site of Jesus’s baptism. See article on page 16.
Class of 2015
Robbie Boothe married Grace Prelog on April 30 at Ocean Hall in Bushwood, Maryland followed by a reception at Bowles Farm. The couple honeymooned in the Bahamas. You can catch Robbie and his band playing around Southern MD this summer!

Class of 2015 (continued)
Connor Bullis married Anna Morrison in June 2022. Connor is the grandson of the late Pat Reithmeyer Kalnasy (SMA ’52), the son of Ritch Bullis and Marta Kalnasy Bullis (SMR ’82), and the brother of Haley Bullis (SMR ’17). Anna is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Eric Morrison of Montgomery County, Maryland. The couple wed at St. Joseph’s Church in Morganza, presided over by the Rev. James Morrison and the Rev. Nicholas Morrison, Anna’s brothers.

Class of 2016
Jacob and Sarah Papp Chase welcomed their first baby on Aug. 19, 2021. Her name is Cecilia Rose! Brendan Harper visited campus to host a piano masterclass for our fine arts students. Brendan is a second-year graduate student at The Catholic University of America. He is pursuing a Master of Music degree with a dual concentration in piano performance and conducting. Brendan has been studying piano for over 15 years and currently studies with Dr. Ivo Kaltchev, head of the piano academic area at CUA. He has performed on campus and off-campus in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, including at churches, nursing homes, theaters, and the Kennedy Center. He recently made his international debut in Vienna, Austria. He has been teaching piano for over eight years, with experience teaching students of various ages and levels. Brendan has played and studied music from all periods, specializing in Romantic, Impressionistic and jazz music.

Catherine Nguyen
received the Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to study Bahasa Indonesia at the State University of Malang. CLS’s objective is to get university students to learn languages considered critical to American security and economic interests to employ in their professional careers. Catherine said, “It was a great experience!” Gabrielle Moore married Daniel Sydnor ’13 on June 5, 2021, at the Lady Star of Our Sea Church and then honeymooned in Cancun, Mexico. The best man was Chris Sydnor ’14, the maid of honor was Mallory Moore ’20, and three groomsmen were James Moore ’11, Chandler Moore ’17, and Julian Moore ’24. Daniel received an associate degree in art, and Gabrielle received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. They are both working for a gas and electric company in New Jersey that services a big chunk of the East Coast. Daniel works as a draftsman on gas utilities, and Gabrielle works as a design engineer for secondary power distribution. They are enjoying married life and adopted a Labrador named Moose!
On a chilly December afternoon, Thomas Showalter married Elisabeth in a beautiful wedding Mass in Alexandria, Virginia. The two then danced the night away to Chris Stapleton. The honeymooners fled the midAtlantic for warmer weather in the South.



Class of 2017
Gia Beaton graduated from Villanova University in May 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Currently, she is a regulatory affairs analyst at JP Morgan Chase & Co. in its New York City office. She’ll be attending Duke University School of Law in the fall. Tucker Jameson married Camryn Dougherty on June 19, 2021, at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Dallas. They welcomed daughter Sophia Grace on March 22, 2022.
Alison Johnson graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, where she received a bachelor’s degree in music, focusing on composition and musicology. One of her pieces, “Setting Sail,” premiered during a River Concert at the college. Alison said, “SMR played such a big part in helping me discover my true passions: God, music and teaching.” She started graduate school at the Notre Dame of Maryland University’s Operation TEACH, and is teaching music and religion at the Sisters Academy of Baltimore.
Class of 2018

In December, Mindy McNamara graduated from Shippensburg University with a double business major in business management and personal financial planning. Mindy graduated with high honors (magna cum laude). Before graduation, she received an offer for a full-time position. After graduating magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina in December 2021, Julia Vogel accepted an internship with Southern Way Catering to cap off her sport and entertainment management degree. In July, she will be relocating to Charlotte, N.C., to work as an associate recruiter for Signature Consultants, one of the nation’s largest staffing firms.

Class of 2020
Jaida Rhea is playing soccer at Goucher College. She is a Goucher representative to the NCAA Division 3 Student Athletic Advisory Committee, which is a role she will be in for the remainder of her time at Goucher. Jaida is also working as an intern for Seaside Sustainability. She was selected to work on their marketing team, and she is also the only undergrad writer for their blog regarding environmental issues. You can read some of her work here: https://www.seasidesustainability.org/blog. Jaida is excited to be planning her semester abroad for next spring in Costa Rica.
Class of 2021
Luke Getson attends the University of Notre Dame and made his debut in the marching band!
Katelyn Kovach, who attends Catholic University, was crowned Cherry Blossom Princess in March 2022.


Follow Us on Social Media!
facebook SMR Alumni page: facebook.com/
StMarysRykenAlumni
facebook SMR High School facebook.com/ page: