Page 14 - Priorities #33 2006-April

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Other News & Notes
Raegan Miller ’85, Laura Brent ’04, and Tim Kovacky, Kyle McAuley, Francys Scott, Dan Wenger ’05, had dinner with Brian Schlaak, Dean of the Faculty and Dr. John Erkmann, Assistant Head of School when the two were in the Boston area in March.
Emily Strawn ‘03 – was listed as a first place winner on a trophy given for Western Regional Competitive Irish Dance. She is joined on that trophy by Ariel Zommer, class of 2008, who won the trophy this year. There have been only two competition Irish Dancers at Woodside Priory School, and they both took first place, winning the same trophy.
Roberto Cannessa, a friend of the school, who has hosted all of our Andes trekkers and was a graduation speaker, was on the Today Show on March 16, 2006. He is world famous as a survivor of the Andes plane crash in 1973 that was the topic of the book ,”Alive!”
Whirlwind Tour of Mexico Combines Promotion with Reunions
About a dozen alumni of the Priory or the former Summer Language Institute made an enthusiastic crowd for the first Mexico City alumni reunion, said Martin Mager, OSB. Father Martin was there to re-connect with old friends and said the luncheon was made especially enjoyable with sharing of stories and recollections of Priory years.
A morning at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe followed by an afternoon visit to the Aztec ruins near Mexico City were additional highlights for the Americans, he added.
The alumni discussed the time, place and location for a reunion next year and will announce it in the future.
Al Zappelli combined reunion opportunities with visits to schools in five Mexican cities, covering them all in just a week. As is always the case with recruiting abroad, help from former students and their families on the scene made the experience far better than he could have accomplished on his own, he said. In Mexico City, Guillermo Maafs, class of 1984, not only helped identify appropriate schools and arrange for visits, he saw that a big, full-color ad about the school ran in the newspaper just before the visit.
In Mexico City, enjoying the first official reunion in that country, are (from left) Hernan Valdes (Dominican Republic); Dave Arnold,classof1984andAlumniAssociationchair;GuillermoMaafs,classof 1984,andhiswife,Rocia;PabloAvalos,classof 2002; Dave’s wife, Donna, Al Zappelli, Director of Admissions; and Father Martin, Director of Alumni Relations.
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Benjamin Lee, with his wife and cousin, returned to the campus for the first time since his graduation in the class of 1980 and visited with Father Egon in the monastery. He left with a list of class- mates and current contact information.