2008

Class correspondent:
Amelia Dietrich; ameliajdietrich@gmail.com

Posted 2/26/19

Daniel Purtell recently completed his second Master’s Degree and was approved for ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  He is currently awaiting an assignment and looking forward to his ordination as a minister of the Word and Sacrament in the coming months.

Posted 12/18/18

Amanda Ternosky Dennis, husband, Brian, and big sister, Savannah, welcomed a son, Sawyer, on May 15, 2018. 

Posted 12/5/18

Emily Anderson Buggey and her husband, Jesse, welcomed a daughter, Madeline, on August 24, 2018.

Posted 10/5/18

Whitney Peterson has been offered employment, by South Whitehall Township, as a police officer. Whitney is currently a police officer here at Moravian College.  She graduated from the Allentown Police Academy in December, 2017.

Posted 7/23/18

Megan Palmer Strella and husband, Stephen, welcomed twin girls on February 2, 2018.  The girls are Eve Charlotte and Cora Elizabeth.

Posted 4/4/18

Janelle Pham has a tenure-track position at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Ga.  She completed her Ph.D.  in sociology at UC Santa Barbara.  She earned her MA at Lehigh University after she completed her double major here at Moravian.

Posted 1/29/18

Ryan Cress and his wife, Melanie welcomed as son, Isaac, on December 8, 2017.

Posted 10/31/17

Elise Martin Jones is the new Principal at Paxinosa Elementary, an Easton Area School District school in the city’s West Ward.

Posted 8/3/17

Rachel Andes Bodtmann and husband, Matthew, welcomed their second child, Benjamin Thomas on May 25, 2017.  Rachel is also entering her tenth year of teaching at Washington Elementary in Bangor, Pa.

Posted 4-26-17

Amelia Dietrich and Fernando Fonseca Pacheco were married in an intimate ceremony in Harrisburg, Pa., on November 5, 2016.

Posted 3/30/17

Geoffrey Roche writes that he will begin his new job, on March 27, as Director, Public Relations, and Government Affairs at Olympus.

Posted 1-31-17

After nearly four years as an Assistant Defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia and a year in private practice, Zak Goldstein has recently started his own law firm. The firm, Goldstein Mehta LLC, is located in Center City Philadelphia.  Zak focuses his practice on criminal defense and related litigation.

Posted 11/30/16

We are sad to report that Julia Bronstein Miles passed away on October 26, 2016.

Posted 9/26/16

Rachel Andes Bodtmann and her husband, Matthew, were recently filmed for the HGTV show House Hunters.  The show features their search for a larger family home in the Bethlehem and Nazareth areas.  The show will air on October 25, 2016.
Omar Ramirez and his wife, Marissa Sharon Ramirez ’07, welcomed a son, Moses Franklin, on September 4, 2016.
Andrew Piccone and Julia Tumas were married in October, 2015 in Cape May, New Jersey.
Patricia Colelli Roberts and her husband, Nathan, welcomed their daughter, Elliana Mae Roberts, on May 12, 2016.

Posted 8/30/16

Katie Kizina Frusciante and her husband, Eric, welcomed a son, Jack Erikkson in February, 2016.

Posted 7/29/16

Ryan Cress married Melanie Thorne on July 2, 2016 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Other Hounds from the class of 2008, in attendance were: Kristin Gratz, John Wagner, Stephen Buynovsky, Sean Hill, Steven Strohl, and, Jonathan Csaszar.
Patrick McDermott is engaged to marry Kristen Zacheis ’07 on March 25, 2017.

Posted 6/24/16

Alexandra Picone Gro and her husband, Anthony ’07 have a daughter, Adriana Sofia.

Posted 5/31/16

Erin Maher received a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2016.

Posted 2/19/16

Jacquelyn Olimpo Morrow and her husband, Ryan, are expecting their first child in May, 2016.
Patricia Colelli Roberts and her husband, Nathan, are expecting a baby girl in May.
Amanda Ternosky Dennis and her husband, Brian, are expecting their first child in June.

Posted 8/25/15

Jessica Preston Grillo and husband, Michael Grillo ’04 welcomed a son, Archer Thomas Grillo, on July 31, 2015.

Posted 7/28/15

Amelia Dietrich was awarded an ACLS Public Fellowship, which places recent Ph.D.s from the humanities and humanistic social sciences in two-year staff positions at partnering organizations in government and the nonprofit sector.  Amelia joins The Forum on Education Abroad as their Assistant Director for Digital Resources.

Beth Smeaton married Michael Case ’10.  Michael is working as a pricing science analyst at Philip’s Pet Food and Supplies.  Beth is now a stay at home mom to Isabel Marie Case who was born on August 29, 2014.          

Posted 5/28/15

Jessica Cianci graduated from the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy at Shenandoah University with a Doctorate of Pharmacy degree in May 2015.  She will be returning to NJ to work as a staff pharmacist with CVS Pharmacy.

Posteed 2/27/15

Jeff Kocsis, a lifelong resident of Bethlehem, announced that he is running for the two-term seat on the Bethlehem City Council as a Democrat.

Posted 1/29/15

Andrew Lynn and Rachel Matus ’10 were married on June 21, 2014 in Peter Hall on Moravian’s south campus.  Andrew and Rachel are both teachers in the Bethlehem Area School district.

Posted 12/22/14

Jennel Yelito is engaged to William Swenson, Jr.  Jennel is a sixth grade teacher and head girls tennis coach in the Tamaqua Area School District.

Posted 11/21/14

Andrew Piccone is engaged to Julia Tumas.  They are planning an October 2015 wedding.  Andrew recently opened his own photo business specializing in engagement, baby and live music photography.  His business is based in New York City.

Posted 10/27/14

Katie Kizina married Eric Frusciante on September 13, 2014 in Stroudsburg, Pa.  Members of the bridal party included Ryan Williams ’09 and Andrea Heineman ’07.

Posted 9/25/14

Omar Ramirez and his wife, Marissa Sharon Ramirez ’07 welcomed a baby boy, Owen Michael on September 9, 2014.
Amelia Dietrich graduated with a Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics and Languages Sciences from Penn State University, in May 2014.

Posted 8/27/14

Rebecca Angstadt Roche and Geoffrey Roche are expecting their first child, a boy, in December.  Rebecca and Geoffrey live in Moore Township, Pa. with dog, Dinero.

Posted 7/30/14

Alicia Rampulla had a daughter, Juliana Conklin, on November 17, 2013.
Marisa Gennace graduated in July from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Marisa completed the five-year course in veterinary medicine to receive her BVM&S.

Posted 5/30/14

Dan Purtell will be graduating with a Masters of Arts in Public Leadership from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia this May.  After a short period of downtime, Dan will be moving to Hungary in August for the year through Young Adults in Global Mission program sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Posted 5/2/14

Lynsey Augustus Larson and Dan Larson ’07 are the proud parents of Nola (born August, 2012) and Gustave (Gus) (born April, 2013).
Morgan Maragliano received her J.D. from Touro in May, 2013 and was admitted to the NY State Bar in March.
Rachel Kieser is attending Villanova University for her Masters in Taxation.  She expects to graduate in 2016.
Katie Pulizzano received her Masters in Music Education from Loyola University in Maryland in May 2013.  She competed in the Ironman World Championship in 2012 and was also part of Team USA and competed in the Sprint World Championships in London this past September.
Ashley Alvernes received her M.A. in School & Community Psychology from Seton Hall University in 2010 and her Ed.S in School & Community Psychology from Seton Hall in December 2012.
Megan Palmer married Stephen Strella, III on August 24, 2013 in Bethlehem, Pa.
Heidi Domedion Mack received her M.S. in Clinical Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy from Chestnut Hill College.  Heidi and her husband, Joshua, welcomed a daughter, Adalynn Grace Mack on February 24, 2014.

Posted 3/31/14

Matthew Kosensky writes that he has recently received his certification of tenure at the Flemington-Raritan School District as an 8th grade science teacher in which he has led and coordinated a variety of research and industrial  grants to further enhance the practice of science within the classroom.  Matthew is also proud to announce his marriage to Jennifer Jaman of Nazareth, Pa. on June 15, 2013.

Posted 2/12/14

Jessica Preston is engaged to Michael Grillo ’04.  The couple reside in Trenton N.J.   A May, 2014 wedding is planned.
Mark Gasdaska and Elizabeth Festa ’09 were married on October 12, 2013.

Posted 12/3/13

Geoffrey Roche was recently promoted and now serves as Director, Community & Government Relations for Pocono Health System.  In his new role he will also oversee the planning department.
Rachel Andes Bodtmann, and her husband, Matt, welcomed their beautiful baby girl, Shelby Jean, to the world on October 29, 2013.

Posted 10/31/13

Lauren Pochron is engaged to Jay DeStefano ’09.  A November ’14 wedding is planned.
Katie Kizina is engaged to Eric David Frusciante; a September 2014 wedding is planned.  Katie is pursuing her master’s degree in public health.  She is currently working for the Treatment Research Institute, in Philadelphia, as a project coordinator.
Rena Sinerco and Kyle Hummel were married, in Bethlehem, on October 13.
Claudia Acevedo Santiago and Zachary Santiago ’09 welcomed their second daughter, Ellie Viktoria, on July 4, 2013.  Ellie has an older sister, Ava Nikole, who is 3 years old.

Katherine Parys Michaud and her husband, Stephen are celebrating the birth of their first child, Hunter Stephen, born on October 13, 2013.

Posted 9-27-13

Elizabeth Paly is returning to Central Catholic High School in Allentown, Pa as a co-head coach for the Vikettes softball team.
Geoffrey Roche has been named to the Pocono Record’s “40 Under 40” special report.

Posted 8/1/13

Jill Newswanger is engaged to be married to Kenneth Alston.  The wedding is planned for November 2, 2013 in Lancaster, PA.

Posted 5/21/13

Since the Sands Casino Events Center in Bethlehem opened in May of 2012, Justin Klement has pained portraits of many of the biggest acts who have performed there. The works are based mostly on stock photos and get signed by the performers. At present more than a dozen hang in the center and there will be more in the future. The events center displays his artwork but he retains ownership of them. Justin is not only a music fan but a sports fan as well. Justin can be found at nearly every Eagles home game at Lincoln Financial Field painting images of the Eagles players for three hours before kickoff. He has also done paintings of the Philadelphia Flyers and the Philadelphia Phillies. Justin also does paintings and portraits commissioned by people who aren’t as famous. Visit his website at www.enviousart.com.

Posted 4/2/13

Colleen Kane Marsh serves as the interim chairwoman of the board of Bethlehem Food Co-Op.  Colleen works for Moravian Theological Seminary doing marketing, photography, graphic design and writing.  In addition to work, she co-leads five Girl Scout troops.

Posted 3/11/13

Janelle Pham has begun her first year in the Sociology PhD program at the University of California Santa Barbara.               
Daniel Purtell writes, “In August I left my job of almost four years in Connecticut and moved to Philadelphia to begin graduate work at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.  I’m currently working cooperatively with the seminary and the school of Social Work at Temple University on a Masters of Public Leadership.  This is a two year program and I look forward to pursuing a career in social ministry after I am finished”.
Geoffrey Roche has been selected as a Rurual Health Fellow to participate in the National Rural Health Association’s yearlong, intensive program aimed at developing leaders who can articulate a clear and compelling vision for rural America.

Posted 2/5/13

Jasmin Maurer has served as Peace Economy Project’s (PEP) executive assistant, in Missouri, for the past year and was selected by the board of directors to serve as the new executive director of PEP starting in February. 

Posted 1/6/13

Rebecca Angstadt Roche, a cost accountant for A & H Sportswear, was recognized in December by the owners of the company, with the Hidden Treasures Award for her efforts with the implementation of their new Blue Cherry inventory management system.

Posted 12/4/12

Alexandra Turrel is proud to announce her engagement to Christopher Zucchero.  A summer 2013 wedding is planned.  Alexandra is currently pursuing her Masters of Education with reading specialist certification at Cabrini College.  She is also a first grade teacher in Central Bucks School District.

Posted 9/28/12

Kim Garcia ’08 was married on May 5, 2012 to Jon Smith. Their reception was held at Stroudsmoor Country Inn, in Stroudsburg, PA. Devon Kondrup ’08 was a member of her bridal party.

Posted 5/11/12

From the Alumni House:

We are happy to announce the engagement of Katie Kizina to Eric Frusciante.  A 2014 Wedding is being planned.
Posted 4/3/12

Cate Savoth is teaching English as a Second Language to Kindergarten through 6th grade students at a school called LCI Academy in Mok-dong, Seoul.  Most of her students go to school from 9a.m.- 9p.m.  She also plans curriculum and created a new story telling class for her company.  Her other classes include phonics, grammar, literature, and conversation lessons.  She arrived in late August, and plans to stay for a full year.

Posted 2/29/12

From the Alumni House:
Kristopher Foulk and Scott Frankenfield have been promoted to senior in the audit and accounting services practices of Parentebeard’s Allentown office.

Posted 1/31/12

From the Alumni House:
Rachel Andes and her husband bought a home o in Bethlehem.  She is in her fourth year, teaching 4th grade at Washington Elementary in Bangor, PA.

Mark Gasdaska is recently engaged to Elizabeth Festa ’09.  A wedding for 2013 is being planned.

Posted 12/12/11

Congratulations to John R. Caporale who recently passed the New York and the New Jersey bar examinations.

Posted 11/29/11

In November, Andrew Piccone had a photo show in Lower Manhatten called “Faces of Occupy Wall Street”.  It was his first solo show in New York that demonstrated the protests on a personal level.  He is trained as a photo journalist and had honed his craft on the streets of New York.  These photos focus on the individuals and not the greater story of the protests.

Rachel Jean Andes married Matthew Anthony Bodtmann on June 24, 2011 on Lido Beach, Sarasota, Florida.
Posted

From the Alumni House:

David B. DiDonato has joined the law firm of Potter,  Anderson,  & Corroon, LLP as a member of their corporate group. He graduated from Widener University School of Law and was valedictorian of his class.

Posted 8/31/11

From the Alumni House:
Ryan Hess has been named a part-time assistant soccer coach at Lehigh University.

Posted 7/1/2011

From the Alumni House:
Kate Kizina is pursuing a Masters of Public Health Administration from Cappella University with a concentration in administration and policy.
Victoria Alston was recently promoted to manager client services, for Career Concepts, Inc.

Posted 4/27/11

From the Alumni House:
Claudia Acevedo and Zach Santiago ’09 are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Ava Nikole Santiago, on January 20, 2010.
Daniel Purtell was recently promoted to resident instructor at Alternative Services of CT INC located in Colchester, CT.  He works with autistic and developmentally disabled clients.

Posted 4/4/11

From the Alumni House:

Amanda Ternosky and Brian Dennis are pleased to announce their engagement.  A wedding is set for August 12, 2011.


Daniel Purtell was recently promoted to Resident Instructor at Alternative Services of CT Inc. located in Colchester, CT.


Katie Kizina was recently hired as a Research Assistant with the Treatment Research Institute in Philadelphia, PA. She will be working on a web-based concurrent recovery monitoring system which alerts substance abuse counselors and their supervisors of high-risk dropout rates of treatment using a monitoring intervention system. The purpose is to incorporate evidence-based psychosocial interventions into usual practice.

Posted 2/28/11

From the Alumni House:
David Poppe, Director of the ATMA SEVA Ambassadors Program, has been working with a team of Buddhist monks at Wat Doi Saket in Chiang Mai since 2009. He turned down a Peace Corps project in Eastern Europe to pursue this ATMA SEVA Ambassadors Program opportunity. His full bio can be read at http://www.atmaseva.org.

Posted 1/26/11

From the Alumni House:

Patrick McDermott joined AIDemocracy in June 2010 as their new Global Peace and Security Fellow.  This marks the return of Patrick to AIDemocracy, because in 2008, he served as the Global Peace and Security Program’s intern.  He was a legislative Aide for PA State Senator Lisa M. Boscola. He also canvassed on behalf of Save the Children and joined Global Zero, which is an international, non-partisan movement dedicated to the elimination of all nuclear weapons.  He went on a six-week road tour across the Midwest of the United States to screen a new documentary film making the case for “Zero” entitled “Countdown to Zero.”

Posted 10/29/10

From the Alumni House:
Tim Pagano recently passed the CPA exam.

Daniel Huster writes that he was recently hired as a Loan Analyst at Metropolitan Funding Corporation in New York City. MFC provides long-term, first mortgage financing for new construction, rehabilitation, refinance, and acquisitions to multifamily and health care owners and developers nationwide.

 

Posted 7/6/10

From the Alumni House:
      Andrew Goodbred 08 and Marcey Muffley Goodbred ’10 are happy to announce their marriage on May 29, in Lehighton, PA.  They currently reside in Bethlehem, PA.  Other former Hounds who attended included Simon Tabchi '08, Meredith Wright  '10, Beka Houska '10, Kaitlyn Siederman '11, Kyle Goodbred '13, Steve Ingraham '10, Peggie Naples '10, and Nicole Hale '10.  The couple visited St. Lucia for their honeymoon.  Andy has started his medical school clinical rotations at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, and Marcey will soon take her NCLEX nursing exam.

Posted 5/4/10

From the Alumni House:
Amelia J. Dietrich was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Amelia’s project proposal focuses on bilingualism as a window for exploring the architecture of human language processing. Specifically, the project is going to investigate the way in which people’s expectations about the properties of verbs guide the decisions that they make on-line while processing sentences.

Posted 3/31/10

From the Alumni House:
Donna Smith, was recently hired as a Lab Clerk for Hi-Tech Pharmacal in Amityville, NY.  She is responsible for logging in samples for testing and interacting with the chemists according to the best company standards that are met.
Christopher J. Schilling was awarded a fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the East Asian and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI). He will be traveling to Nagoya University in Japan to do research on the nature and importance of forgetting.

Posted 3/4/10

From the Alumni House:
Judith Lynn Stevenson and Eric Alan Stein were married on Spetember 19, 2009.

After graduation from Villanova University School of Law in May 2009 as a published member of the Law Review, Matthew Hovey:  has joined Prince Law Offices, P.C. His practice will initially be focused on Family Law.

Posted 11/2/09

From the Alumni House:
Janelle Pham is an active member of the military, who is currently completing graduate work at Lehigh University. Janelle hopes to obtain her masters degree in Sociology and Anthropology. She spoke to the Lehigh community on campus at Packer House on September 30th. She shared her experience as a member of the Military Police Corps and discussed her accounts of working at a prison on victory base Camp Proper.

Posted 10/5/09

From the Alumni House:
Geoffrey M. Roche ‘08 and Rebecca Angstadt ’08 are proud to share that they got engaged on August 1, 2009 during a beautiful hike on the Appalachian Trail in Berks Country. They are going to be married on August 21, 2010 at Rebecca’s home church, Grace Bible Church of Hawk Mountain. Please know that their bridal party will also include several other Moravian alums including bridesmaids, Kelly LaTourette ’08, Elizabeth McGovern ’08, Carolyn Raufer ’09 and groomsmen, Nick Heimbach ’09, Patrick McDermott ’08, and Patrick Sutton ’09.
 

Amelia Dietrich ’08 has recently begun a Master’s/Ph.D. program in Hispanic Linguistics at Penn State University.

Posted 8/3/09

From the Alumni House:

Geoffrey M. Roche was recently approved to serve on the Moravian College Alumni Association Board of Directors. "I am honored to join such a dedicated team of fellow Moravian alumni in working to ensure that students meet alumni and have the best experience at Moravian College as possible. Please contact me if I can ever be of assistance.

Christopher Kopp was recently sworn in by the City of Bethlehem as one of their new police officers Bethlehem.

Posted 6/29/09

From the Alumni House:

Daniel Purtell was recently hired as resident instructor at Alternative Services of CT located in Colchester.  He is working with autistic and developmentally disabled clients.  He says, “it has been challenging but rewarding so far.”

Matt Hart was hired as a systems analyst for Valley Wide Real Estate and Asset Management. 

Marc Theoret MD received the 2008 ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) Young Investigator Award for Exploration of Immunotherapy. Marc develops research to investigate new immunotherapy treatments for patients with cancer.

Geoffrey M. Roche was elected to a first term on the Alumni Board May 30. Roche graduated from Moravian in ’08 and has recently completed graduate coursework in management and leadership at East Stroudsburg University.  He is a community and government relations professional currently employed at the Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. Geoffrey lives in Bethlehem, PA.While at Moravian, Geoffrey was on the Dean’s List, a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, and president of the Student Alumni Association. He will now co-chair the alumni board’s Student and Alumni Relations Committee.

Posted 4/20/09

From the Alumni House:

Patrick McDermott was recently hired as a legislative aide for Pennsylvania State Senator Lisa M. Boscola of the 18th Senatorial District.

Jessica Preston and Peter Coldwell ’06 are happy to announce their engagement. The wedding ceremony will take place August 15, 2009. Andrea Hewlett will be in the bridal party, and the groomsmen will include Robert Valente ’07, Jonathan Latiano ’06, and AJ Herold ’07.

Daniel Purtell was recently hired as resident instructor at Alternative Services of Connecticut, where he is working with autistic and developmentally disabled clients.

Brett Stout joined the Centenary College baseball program this year. He had been a volunteer assistant with a local American Legion Baseball program and an instructor at youth baseball camps held at many local high schools. Last summer he served as head coach of the Lehigh Valley Baseball Academy’s 14 and under team, which participated in elite championship tournaments. At the academy, he also recruited players and taught the proper mechanics for every aspect of the game.