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Matt D’Amaddio and Joe Martin ‘06 spoke at the WMA Class of 2011 One-Hundred-Day Celebration. They spoke about their appreciation for their Academy education, the way it built character and provided a springboard for their education and careers. They encouraged the members of the Class of 2011 to cherish their Brian Easler, also a close friend and time and their relationships at the Marcelo’s advisor when he attended Academy and to give back to the the Academy. Marcelo and Lumara school when they achieve success. plan to visit WMA as soon as they Tori D’Amato is back at WMA are able. helping to coach Girls’ JV Lacrosse this spring. Justine Douvadjian took first place in the Armenian Youth After a brief stint at Grumman in Federation Olympics pentathlon Washington DC, Peter Jurgens has held in Philadelphia recently. begun work at Homeland Security. Justine, who graduated last spring He’s been working in many sectors from Bryant University with a of the Homeland Security network degree in finance, works for New as part of his training. Balance in Boston. Terrence “T” O’Brien graduated Kelsey Ekness is helping her dad, from St Lawrence University in May biology teacher Paul Ekness, coach 2010 with a degree in government. Varsity Track & Field this spring. He played a very successful role on the soccer team at SLU, starting as
a defender all four years. Two weeks after graduation from SLU, T returned to El Salvador, where he was born and lived until age 4. T continues to live in El Salvador, volunteering in educational and human service settings. He also had a chance to play with a national soccer team for a week! Brian Race has graduated from Wheaton College and is in the process of applying to graduate programs for music. In the meantime, he’s teaching bass and cello lessons at Wilbraham Music.
T is second from the left, front row. He and other staff from Superate Inc, a Salvadorean non-profit, brought a group of high school students from economically fragile families and communities to visit Mayan ruins.
Josh Binney has been inducted into the International Honor Society in Economics, Omicron Delta Epsilon, and Phi Alpha Theta for his accomplishments in history. He was on campus in December for the Young Alumni Reception and
CUBA: A MILLION MILES AWAY Andy D’Avanzo ’07, who graduated from Brown University this spring, had the chance to spend a semester abroad last year. A fluent Spanish speaker, he opted to go to Cuba. What follows is his account of the experience. Next fall, Andy will be teaching in Cumberland, Rhode Island, in the Teach for America program.
the people I met Cuba were the most amiable, good-humored, and open-minded I have ever known. In addition, I had never seen such agency, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
Despite a stagnant government regime that has stifled economic growth, suppressed personal expression, and misappropriated When I look back on the four some of the country’s most months I spent in Cuba, there are valuable resources, the Cuban so many stories, images, questions, people are surprisingly content, and people that come to mind overwhelmingly hospitable, that to summarize it would be and made my time there truly completely impossible. Living in unforgettable. I stayed in a 2-floor Havana opened my eyes to an apartment one block from the entirely different world. Despite Malecón, a seawall that runs along being only approximately 90 Havana’s coast, with 8 other Brown miles away from Florida’s southern students as well as a woman who tip, I felt a million miles away. cooked for us and adopted us If it weren’t for the openness, as her surrogate grandchildren. graciousness, and hospitality of We made friends easily, despite our hosts and friends, I would have having to adjust to the thick Cuban been completely lost. In general, accents and marked cultural
differences, (I thank former WMA music teacher Sergio Castellanos for his salsa dance class, it came in quite handy!) and I quickly felt comfortable in a city that was so foreign. It was a life changing opportunity for which I will always be grateful, and I cannot wait to go back.
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This is in the city of Trinidad, on the northern coast, which was formerly a huge sugar producing city, but now relies heavily on tourism. In the photo, I’m being challenged to a “drum-off” with a local conga drummer for a free copy of his band’s CD. I held my own, but in the end the CD was worth the full price.