Spring, 2003

Alumni in the Arts
Glancing through the new Alumni Directory we noticed several alumni who are working in careers in, or associated with, the arts. We contacted some of them just to give you an idea of some of the interesting livelihoods they’ve discovered:

Steve (English major) and Linda (Psychology major) Biando ’73 (WY)
Steve is the executive director of the Wyoming Public Television Foundation, in Riverton, WY ( http://www.wyoptv.org/). He began his career track in fundraising as director of Alumni Affairs at Assumption in 1978. He eventually went on to work in development at Stonehill and Anna Maria Colleges, then they moved to Wyoming to fundraise for Central Wyoming College. When it was decided to start a foundation to support their public television station, Steve filled the bill, and has run the program since 2000.

Linda, now a registered nurse, was in the first graduating class of women. She and Steve met as classmates, and married in the Chapel, right after their commencement (1973). Brother Robert participated in the ceremony. At their 25th reunion (1998), they renewed their vows, and guess who participated?

Eric Meza AP’71 (CA)
Eric dabbled for years in photography and advertising in New York City, before joining Josten Films, and beginning his career in music video production. In 1984, he established Meza Movies, and has been involved in “Hot Tracks” music videos, produced 26 gold and platinum albums, and been nominated for numerous Grammy Awards. He has been involved with several sit-coms, including “Family Matters,” “Living Single,” and “Smart Guy, ” which he directed.

He directed the films House Party 3
(http://www.hollywood.com/movies/detail/movie/179349), in 1994, starring Kid 'N Play, Bernie Mac, Gilbert Gottfried, Angela Means, and Sherri Saum, and The Breaks (http://www.hollywood.com/movies/detail/movie/275399), in 1999, starring Mitch Mullany, Carl Anthony Payne II, Paula Jai Parker, Loretta Devine, and Clifton Powell (http://www.hollywood.com) .

Anthony “Tony” Annicone ’76
(History major/English minor) (RI)
An actor and director, Tony juggles a multitude of artistic venues. Presently, he is a theatre reviewer for http://www.theatermirror.com, out of Boston, and directed God’s Favorite, by Neil Simon, at the Newport Playhouse (RI), this spring as well as a murder mystery theatre group’s “Whodunnit,” while playing in “Harvey” at a third venue. Tony has taught drama for 20 years, and been acting and directing in RI for the past 25 years. In all, he has been in 59 shows and directed 79 shows.
While at Assumption he took classes in “Playwriting, ” and “Intro to Acting,” with Don Letendre, who re-launched him into theatre. His debut was actually at four years old, in a nursery school extravaganza.
If anyone wishes to ask him any questions about theatre or reviewing, he can be reached at: tannicone@aol.com Here’s Tony (fourth from the left, back row), in Harvey.

“Tom” Carey AP 61
(Boston College ’65/Yale University School of Architecture ’70) (MA)
Tom is an independent architect in the Boston area, and some of his work can be seen on: http://www.homeportfolio.com/GetInspired/GreatAmericanHomes/05.17.01/index.jhtml.

Robert “Rob” De Marco ’88
(Business Management major/Music minor) (NY)
A classical guitarist, Rob was originally inspired and taught by Peter Clemente at Assumption. Rob teaches private classical guitar lessons, and performs in clubs and at festivals. His wife, Melaina (Socha) ’88 (Business management major) and he met at Assumption. She works for a venture capital company as an operations administrator.

Michael Lajeunesse ’67
(Natural Sciences Major) (CT)
Michael’s currently back in school, preparing for his next (third) career. First, he was a research chemist for a company in Connecticut, where he invented the first no-wax floor covering. After only three years, he shifted from research to teaching science (after taking his teaching requirements back at Assumption) at Ellis Vocational School (CT), where he taught for 28 years. In 1985 he was selected as Teacher-of-the-Year for his school and the State of Connecticut Vocational Schools.
Retired for two and a half years, he’s now taking courses at Rhode Island School of Design and the Worcester Art Museum (http://www.worcesterart.org/), primarily studying the fine art of photography. His current work will be shown this June 2003, at the Worcester Art Museum, in the end of the semester Student Show!

Frederick Shea ’73
(English Major) (MA)
President of Stained Glass Resources, Inc. (http://www.stainedglassresources.com), in Hampden, MA, and Pittsburgh, PA, Frederick encourages visitors to take a studio tour to see the process involved in stained glass design and fabrication of new work and the repair and restoration of existing work nationwide. His staff includes artisans and craftsmen who specialize in historic stained glass restoration. Several years ago, they re-leaded the large window in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit! Quite a feat!

Denis Ouellette AP’69, ’73
(Philosophy major, BS, Computer Science, Coleman College San Diego) (MT)
Head of Graphics for Golden Ratio Woodworks, a manufacturer of spa and massage tables and equipment (http://www.goldenratiowoodworks.com) , Denis also does freelance graphics and publishes Natural Life News & Directory, a 40-page free paper distributed throughout Southwest Montana, a journal on holistic and healthy living in Montana.

Christine Finn’81
(English major/Political Science minor) (MA)
The senior animation designer at WCVB-TV Channel 5 (http://www.thebostonchannel.com/) in Boston, Christine is responsible for the news promos that entice us to “stay tuned” for upcoming news stories.
Following her commencement, she went on to the Art Institute of Boston to study graphic design, and, after free-lancing for a short time, went to WCVB-TV (’85), where she’s been involved with producing a wide variety of assignments over the years, including many special pieces to promote the station’s community service.

Col. Robert L. Barrows ’68
(English, Masters in Management Supervision, Central Michigan College) (FL)
Circuitously, Bob went from working for Robert Kennedy’s Intercollegiate Youth Council, as a student at Assumption, to the US Army,, flight school, and being a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, to becoming an entertainment and literary agent.
He represents several authors, including Pulitzer Prize winner William Meredith, known recently for Effort at Speech (http://www.conncoll.edu/meredith/works/volumes-of-poetry/effort.htm), Richard Harteis (Sapphire Dawn) (http://www.vivisphere.com/vivispherebooks/3206/3206.asp), and our own Paul Hemphill AP’64, ’68. He also promotes top operatic star, the “Lithuanian Nightingale,” Jurate (http://www.jurate.com).

Robert DeMott ’65
(English, PhD, Kent State) (OH)
Professor Emeritus John Burke has kept the Public Affairs Office abreast of what’s up with many of his former students, including Ohio University’s Distinguished Professor of English Robert DeMott, a well-known literary scholar and poet. He recently was honored with an OHIOANA Book Award for Midwest Voices, a book of poems he co-authored with Jerry Roscoe.
DeMott is considered one of the world's leading scholars on the life and career of Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. He has published countless articles and numerous books on this subject and has lectured all over the U.S., as well as in Canada and Russia. His edition of Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath journal, Working Days, was a New York Times Best Book of 1989. He serves on the editorial board of the international journal Steinbeck Studies, has been featured on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, and was a part of an Emmy-nominated documentary film on Steinbeck produced by The Learning Channel in 2000. (For more information see his bio posted by Marshall College, where he recently gave the keynote speech for a Liberal Arts Conference: http://www.marshall.edu//libartsconf/keynote.htm.

Justine Andrews ’93
Art History (MA, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, and Ph.D., UCLA) (CA)
Justine is an art historian focusing on Medieval Art (1300s), and is particularly interested in examples of where the high gothic style of the Latin Church combines with the Byzantine style of the Eastern Orthodox Church bringing their cultures together.
She has experienced several outstanding internships and study abroad opportunities, beginning at Assumption at the American Antiquarian Society and the first Rome program that was a part of the Foundation’s Program. During her Master’s Program, she interned at the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), and the Meadows Museum of Art (Dallas, TX), and her doctoral work internships took her to the J. Paul Getty Museum in LA, to Cyprus where she studied Gothic architecture and to Paris where she studied the illuminated manuscript from Greece, an illustrated commentary on the Book of Job. She is currently teaching Art History at UCLA, Loyola Marymount University, and California State University at Northridge.
Below is an image of the Cover of the Gospel Book of Otto III (with tenth-century Byzantine ivory panel) c. 1000 Staatsbibliothek, Munich. This isn't exactly the image she works with nor is it the period (She work on 13th and 14th manuscript imagery) - but this image does embody the crossing of cultures (Western/Latin and Eastern/Byzantine) in visual imagery with which she has focused her study of Medieval Art.

Danielle Mackey (Douillard) '94
(double major in Studio Art (painting) and English) (NY)
Danielle is in the Account Management field of advertising as an Account Supervisor. She worked for a small, family-run agency outside of Boston after graduating, then moved to NYC and was employed by Arnold Communications (McDonald's) from '96 - '98. She joined Calvin Klein's in-house agency from '98 - '00. She has been with J. Walter Thompson, the first ad agency in US, for the past three years. Danielle's clients include Pepsi, Lipton, WildAid, and the National Center for Family Literacy.
Account Management is the department in advertising that has direct relationships with the agency's clients. Danielle works with her clients to identify the business objectives they need their advertising to achieve (i.e. a new product may need to elicit trial, an established brand may want to reach a new audience). Those objectives are then parlayed into a creative brief, and she works with creative teams to develop, present and produce advertising creative. The creative can range from TV, radio, print, on-line, out-of-home work, and so on depending on the client's objectives and budget. This also includes working with other agencies to develop media plans, in-store creative, etc. so that the message is consistent every time a brand touches a consumer .
"What I enjoy about this is that I actually get to see ads created, and I understand why. I also know what the results are, and understand how advertising affects businesses. Account Management is the area between creative and business, so I get to wear two hats. I also have the unique role of helping my Clients understand what works and what doesn't. As with many creative processes, developing advertising can be iterative, and often it's challenging for Clients to react to and evaluate work in a constructive manner. Many Brand Managers are MBA's and are trained to be very literal, to evaluate from a business perspective, not the heart/gut. Another important part of my job is to ask questions, to be very explicit with the clients, and to help them be clear with their agency when giving direction - especially when temperamental Creative Directors and millions of dollars are involved.
That said, in the future I envision myself moving completely to the creative side. I've always been interested in graphic design and would some day like to have my own business."
You can learn more about J. Walter Thompson at http://www.jwt.com.