Faculty doors are typically open to their students. When Loyola magazine came knocking, however, not every professor wanted to welcome a photographer into that office space.

Totally understandable.

We were asking not only to enter a very personal area, but to photograph it and share images with alumni, prospective students, and—since it’s 2012 and everyone is on Facebook—the world.

Some faculty members were worried about the clutter. They asked for time to straighten up—but we were looking for authentic spaces. We were also looking for offices with color and character, stories and personality—whether that meant they were elegant and clean or a bit less organized.

Kelly DeVries, Ph.D., professor of history, was on sabbatical. But, good sport that he is, he told us just to make arrangements with Joanne Dabney, administrative assistant for the department. And Dabney—who has an impressive office covered with photos and postcards herself—was happy to show us around.

When the first photo of DeVries’ office appeared on Loyola’s Facebook page, alumni recognized it immediately.

“I think i see my final paper from 20yrs ago… bottom left…” wrote Bill Murray, ’93.

“There’s a TV episode of hoarders in our future,” chimed in Paul Tallon, Ph.D., associate professor of information systems.

And then DeVries himself weighed in: “Who did that to my office? I left it completely cllean and tidy,” he said.

Thank you to Dr. DeVries and all the faculty members who opened their doors to give our readers a window into their shelves and selves.

When we invited alumni to share stories of professors who had made a difference in their lives, we enjoyed helping people who hadn’t seen or spoken in years connect with one another.

Equally delightful was the response from professors when we shared the stories with them—such as the one from Robert Pond, Ph.D., associate dean for the natural sciences, whose former student, Stacey Watts Ambuehl, ’05, praised him for his mentoring.

“That’s awfully flattering,” Pond wrote in an email reply. “Stacey probably doesn’t realize that she is one of the best research students that I ever encountered—as efficient, independent, and thorough as one could wish. Her keenness toward the topic and her energy made my role rather easy.”

The responses from the surprised and flattered faculty members made me think that we should take the time to interview both a professor and graduate to see what they would say about each other. So I reached out to Kelly Lynn Freitag Casagrande, M.Ed.,’09, this year’s Literacy Leader Award winner. Casagrande was nominated by her former professor, Wendy M. Smith, Ph.D., associate professor of education. Surely they’d have something insightful to say about each other. And they did. 

Casagrande talked about how her early days as a teacher led her to the reading specialist program at Loyola, where her love for literacy deepened. “I was a struggling reader and just found my niche within this program, finding this love for teaching reading and working for kids,” Casagrande said.

It was during the summer of her second year at Loyola that Casagrande met Smith. “Wendy was just wonderful, really engaging, extremely supportive. She was actually the one I worked on my thesis with. I had this crazy, lofty idea of what I wanted to do and didn’t know how to equate it to reading and the actual practice we were doing in the classroom. She helped me figure out how to narrow it down and focus it,” Casagrande said.

Together, they refined Casagrande’s thesis to focus on the reading behaviors of children who have Asperger’s and look at how to increase their literacy and comprehension.

“She took a lot of personal time to sit with me and work with me and perfect it. A lot of professors wouldn’t do the same. She really invested that time, which was special,” said Casagrande.

When Smith was invited to nominate a graduate for the Literacy Leader Award, she thought of Casagrande—and remembered their work together on that project.

“Kelly had a number of boys with very low social skills, and it was affecting their academic abilities. She wanted to research activities she could do with them to improve their social skills,” Smith said. “She did it during their lunchtime, and it really did make a difference for those kids. The parents even saw a difference in their children’s behavior and their attitude toward school.”

Casagrande is now a reading specialist at Graceland Park Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City and enrolled in a doctorate of school administration at Johns Hopkins University, though she is planning to transfer to UMBC’s doctorate program in language literacy and culture.

“What impressed me about Kelly so much is that working with middle school boys is just tough,” Smith said. “She absolutely loves that group, and I think that makes such a difference. I could tell that she had a real love for that age group.”

Before nominating her, Smith contacted Casagrande’s current principal and heard that the Loyola graduate continues to excel in her work. “The Literacy Leader is not just an excellent teacher, which is pretty amazing in itself, but somebody who is really a leader in the field,” Smith said. “Her new principal also confirmed for me that Kelly is a leader in her school.”

For her part, Casagrande still pulls out binders to refresh her memory of what Smith discussed in class, especially when she is working with a student who has Asperger’s. “There are multiple times I think about her,” said Casagrande of her former teacher. “She made me feel more confident about myself.”

When Stacey Watts Ambuehl graduated in 2005, she gave her mentor and professor a gift—a model Porsche. So, when we were arranging a photo shoot with her and Robert Pond, Ph.D., associate dean of natural sciences, we thought we would ask Pond to bring the model car.

After all, it would be fun to showcase this pair’s shared interest in fine automotive engineering in our upcoming feature on professors who have made a difference in the lives of alumni.

Pond had a different idea. He offered to try to find a sports car. He talked with one of his engineering students, Renia Zervos, ’13, who asked her father, Demetrios, to bring his Viper to campus for the shoot. Then Jim invited a friend and fellow Viper owner, Brian H. Schmincke, to come along.

By the time freelance photographer Cory Donovan arrived on campus with his camera, he found not only the reunited professor and graduate—visiting from her Ph.D. program in analytical chemistry at University of Maryland Baltimore County—but also two pristine, shining, red-and-white Dodge Vipers.

It was a perfect day with nearly cloudless skies, and the sleek sports cars gleamed in the sun. The cars’ owners—with the help of the photographer—didn’t just give us a terrific photo for the April issue. They also made the day for Pond and Ambuehl. The professor and his former student had plenty to catch up on, but the main topic of the day was cars.

And before dad and daughter drove off, both Pond and Ambuehl took a good look under the Viper’s hood.

If you were on campus this morning…

…you joined a sea of fans wearing green.

…you saw the green “Patsos for President” banner the women’s lacrosse players were waving.

…you overheard that Cardinal Edwin O’Brien called Head Coach Jimmy Patsos last night to congratulate him.

…you screamed when Patsos walked up the sidewalk from Reitz Arena.

…you screamed louder when the bus full of men’s basketball players arrived.

…you couldn’t stop screaming when you saw the players carrying the MAAC trophy gleaming in the sun up the steps to Maryland Hall so everyone could see it.

…you joined the crowd yelling “Speech! Speech! Speech!”

…you heard Patsos say, “I wish Father was here because I really think three years ago when he made us Loyola University, he took us to another level.” (Rev. Brian F. Linnane, S.J., is meeting with alumni in California.)

…you listened as Susan Donovan, executive vice president, thanked the cheerleaders, students, and alumni who came to the game: “And we could sense everybody back home was there, sending texts and emails. It was just a special time.”

…you know that Patsos needs a better phone. “Stop texting me. I don’t have any more room on my phone,” he joked with the crowd.

…you smiled as Donovan praised the Greyhounds players. “We could not have been better represented by these men and the coaching staff. It was impressive from the beginning to the end… it made Loyola proud,” she said. “They have started a legacy, and it’s because they’re a team. They all work together and they represent us well. So let’s go to the dance.”

…you heard Jimmy Patsos invite you to cheer on Loyola in the NCAA Tournament next week: “Anybody that wants to come on the trip, I hope you can make it.”

…you wondered how the rally would come to an end. Then you heard one of the players yell, “We’re dancing, baby!”

…you congratulated the coach, and he smiled and said, “It’s what the University needs. But it’s not just what it needs. It’s what it deserves.”

…you are happy to be hoarse.

Something about the holidays inspires people to reconnect. Just in the past few weeks I have heard from alumni who were highlighted in past magazines.

This holiday season two of the businesses featured in the December 2010 Gift Giving Guide are partnering together. After the guide was published, Angelina’s of Maryland owner Chad Zoretic, ’93, reached out to Roseda Beef, owned by Ed Burchell, ’64. The alumni-owned businesses are now co-branding and co-selling “surf and turf” packages featuring Angelina’s crab cakes and Roseda’s filet mignons and ribeye steaks.

“They’re a great company and it’s nice to work with other Loyola alumni,” Chad writes. “Thought you would appreciate that the gift-giving guide encouraged our partnering.”

Kevin Wells, ’90, wrote to tell me about a radio interview he gave this week about his book, Burst: A Story of God’s Grace When Life Falls Apart.

Kevin gives interviews regularly, so that wasn’t anything unusual. This time, however, one of the interviewers was Jen Powers Schiller, ’89, speaking with Kevin on the Boston radio show “The Good Catholic Life.” If you listen in, you’ll hear them mention Loyola a few times, and Kevin—a diehard Orioles fan—even gets in a few words about the Red Sox.

Nearly seven months after his graduation, Danny Zech, ’11, wrote to let us know how his sailing trip is going. His National Geographic internship had fallen through, but he has been able to piece together grant funding for the trip. Danny, whose sailing expertise earned him an appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, is doing cultural anthropological research with the goal of turning it into a master’s thesis in international relations.

“Been doing research in Mexico’s Baja Sur for the past month and this coming one. Then I relocate to Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and Zihuatanejo for another month before sailing across the Pacific to spend three months in French Polynesia doing research there. After that I will sail over to northern Australia and Indonesia and stay there for about four months, then on to Madagascar and a few small islands around there before I put in to South Africa for an extended stay. Then I will hit St. Helena and keep on for Rio de Janeiro and stay there for a few more months. Eventually I will work my way north into the Caribbean, transit the Panama Canal, head to Galapagos and Easter Island, and finally head back to San Diego.”

To earn some extra money, Danny is hiring out his services as a professional shipwright and rigger. And in his spare time, he is blogging his journey.

Please keep the updates coming—or share a story we haven’t told yet in Loyola magazine.

Merry Christmas!

Rita

About Loyola magazine

With a sleigh full of stories about alumni, faculty, and students, I could start naming my favorite features from the year. In this season of giving, however, we are thinking about what others enjoy most.
You are, after all, our readers, and the reason we publish Loyola magazine.

So, this week—rather than make our own list of top picks—we decided to turn to Google Analytics to see which 10 stories were the best-read—at least by our online readers—in 2011.

Let us know. Do any of these look familiar?

10. Former Orioles and Mets GM Led Champions: Inspired by his father’s work ethic and thirst for opportunity, Frank Cashen, ‘45, guided the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets to five World Series appearances

9. A Career in Fashion: Internship leads to job offer for Loyola junior

8. Why Liberal Arts? An essay by Fr. James Miracky, S.J., dean of Loyola College, the University’s school of arts and sciences

7. At the Old Ball Game: Loyola’s liberal arts education prepares graduates for many areas, including the varied careers in America’s storied pastime

6. Encountering God’s Grace through Suffering: Memoir reveals how suffering can strengthen faith

5. Gift Honors Classmates’ Memories: Class of 2011 raises record gift in memory of two classmates

4. 10 Years after Sept. 11 Students Are Inspired to Join ROTC

3. Good Neighbors: York Road Initiative Takes Root

2. “I’m Not Going to Die This Way”: Family and Friends Honor Sean Lugano, ’95

1. Chapel Has Seen Decade of Weddings: Greyhounds keep saying “I do” in Alumni Memorial Chapel

If you made your own list, and checked it twice, what would you include? Do you have a favorite story from the year?

Rita

About Loyola magazine

When I was a child, my physicist father used to bring home prisms, fiber optics, and plate-sized lenses to share with his children. When Halley’s Comet swung by in 1986, he woke me up before dawn and we went to find it with our homemade telescope. At 8, I was only mildly impressed with the comet we wouldn’t see again until 2061, but I was dazzled by a shooting star and was thrilled to hear a rooster crow.

One clear, chilly evening as we were shivering under the stars, I asked my father how he could be a scientist and also have such a strong belief in God.

“No matter how much we understand and control everything in the universe we need to remember that it is all created by God in his unchanging act of creation,” he said.

Not all scientists would agree with him, of course, but for my dad and for countless other scientists of faith, their belief in God and their desire to understand the world He created are inextricably linked.

The question of how science and faith overlap has been discussed for centuries. When I came to this Jesuit university three years ago to edit the magazine, I started a list of topics and story ideas we might like to address. “Science and faith” was quickly added to our ever-growing list. Because we have so many rich, compelling stories to share about Loyola alumni, faculty, and students and only so much space, however, we waited nearly three years to explore the topic in print.

Then, earlier this year, we found ourselves facing the perfect timing to delve into the topic—this December, following the reopening of the expanded, enhanced Donnelly Science Center. Suddenly an idea we had started discussing in 2009 seemed not only relevant but important; after all, the building proudly bears a quote—a favorite of our president—from the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins: “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.”

As is often the case, when we started nosing around, we came across numerous angles for the piece. Rev. Frank Haig, S.J., readily agreed to write an essay. We searched for students majoring in both science and theology and found two—both eager to talk about their intellectual journeys at Loyola. I met Rev. Jim Salmon, S.J., for lunch at Ignatius House and he shared with me the history and mission of the annual “Cosmos and Creation” conference. We hired a freelance writer who works for NASA to speak with academics in both areas to see how they intersected.

This week when my father and I were discussing the topic, he recalled a joke a Jesuit friend–Rev. David Allen, S.J., who lives in Loyola’s Ignatius House–shared with him several years ago:

A man once said he could make life and challenged God to a contest. God went first. He made a man from clay and breathed life into him. Then God said, “Your turn.”

The man started to pick up some clay to make his man, but God stopped him.

“Wait!” God told him. “You have to use your own clay. This is all mine.”

Do you have a science and faith joke of your own to share? We welcome your thoughts, your reaction to the cover, the stories, and the topic itself—or tell us where we should aim our telescope next.

Picking the cover is one of the most important decisions we make. It can also be the most difficult.

With this issue, we had so many stories we were eager to share with our readers. We have a package of baseball-related stories, including a profile of former O’s and Mets GM Frank Cashen, ‘45. We have an interview with Jerry Parr, M.S. ‘87, the former Secret Service agent credited with saving President Ronald Reagan’s life the day he was shot.

Still, as this issue came together, our cover theme steadily rose to the top. Last fall I had received a note from Patty Sacco, a proud mother who wanted to let me know of a recent accomplishment by the Loyola’s Greyhound Battalion. She encouraged me to take a closer look at ROTC at Loyola.

As I started asking questions around campus, I learned that Patty’s daughter, Christel, ‘11, was not just an outstanding student and ROTC cadet at Loyola. She was considered to be one of the top cadets in the country.

Christel obviously warranted a story herself, and I arranged to meet with her for an interview. As we were talking, and she mentioned how much Sept. 11 had spurred her on to consider ROTC, we started considering the story differently. With the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 approaching, the timing seemed ideal to talk not just about Christel, but also about ROTC.

The question, then, was how to portray ROTC and Sept. 11 on the cover.

I’m fortunate to work with a talented art director, Malia Leary, who always seems to choose the right photographer for each shoot–and gives just enough direction that the photographer also has some freedom. She asked John Coyle, ‘88, of Coyle Studios, to take some portrait shots of Christel by the Sept. 11 memorial on the Evergreen campus. John spent three hours photographing Christel, who was especially good-natured about the shoot considering she was preparing not only for finals, Commencement, and the ROTC commissioning ceremony, but also for her wedding in July.

Malia and I had originally thought we might want a dramatic, nighttime shot of the Sept. 11 memorial for the cover. Then John sent us the photos and we saw the shot of Christel gazing across campus. We liked the simplicity and strength of the photo. We also liked that–although Christel’s last name was on the back of her hat–it was somewhat anonymous, and that she was representing soldiers beyond herself.

What do you think? Would you have picked a different story? A different concept? What would you want to see on the cover of Loyola magazine?