EXCELLENCE

Marquette Reunion + Homecoming draws huge attendance

7 days. 60 events. 17,000 attendees.

Alumni with class years ending in 2 or 7 descended on the Marquette campus in early October for Reunion + Homecoming, a week filled with events that brought together students, alumni, families and the community. From Mass and block parties to the Blue & Gold Foam 5K Run/Walk and the Rock the Mall concert featuring Fitz and the Tantrums and AJR, the energy and Marquette spirit on campus was electric. Save the date for Reunion + Homecoming 2018: Oct. 1-7.

Meeting at Komen race turns survivor into Marquette women's basketball 'superfan'

In 2014, breast cancer survivor Julie Taggart met the Marquette women's basketball team at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Though Julie wasn't a basketball fan, she accepted the team's invitation to the annual Play for Kay Foundation game at the Al McGuire Center and was hooked. Julie and her husband now attend every home game and remain faithful fans.

"[Julie and her husband] were there when we weren't winning any games — sophomore year, freshman year, we didn't win as much as we do now," said Shantelle Valentine, a senior who plays center for the women's team. "They've been on this ride with our success."

Read about mutual fan/player affinity in the full story by Jim Stingl, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Through clever caricatures, one Marquette associate professor found a way to make biochemistry more accessible

There are two Paul Gassers who teach at Marquette. The first, an associate professor of biomedical sciences, is a genuinely likeable guy with humble mannerisms and a mind for neuroscience. The second is literally a cartoon — the human Gasser’s personification on paper. As he puts in, a “geeky scientist with glasses.” Gasser uses cartoons — his self-caricature is just one of his stable of regular doodles — to help students learn one of the most complex subjects they’ll have to master: biochemistry.

Learn more about "cartoon chemistry" in the full story from the Marquette College of Health Sciences.

FAITH

October Reflection: Fall is a time for change and success

By Rev. Frederick Zagone, S.J., Chaplain, Marquette University Alumni Association

We just celebrated Homecoming on campus. And for the first time we combined Homecoming and Reunion. More than 17,000 students, alumni, family and friends celebrated throughout the week. Save a little rain prior to the concert on Saturday night, the weather cooperated and all had a great time! Nothing could dampen the high spirits on campus.

Homecoming and Reunion are both opportunities to return to a place with special meaning in our lives. We revisit favorite places that have special memories or locations of first experiences. Perhaps you met your spouse or maybe your best friends at Marquette. Even if s/he is no longer here, there may have been a teacher or staff person who somehow affected your life. Sometimes, it is just nice to come home to a familiar place.

Those who attended the events this year saw many changes on campus. True to their names, the flaming red maple trees along Wisconsin Avenue are bright with color. Construction cranes are high in the sky as the new residence halls at Wild Commons take shape. Reunion attendees got to see the campus abuzz with students.

As another academic year moves ahead and true to our tradition we move forward ready for change knowing that God has great plans for us. We have high expectations for our students, faculty, staff and alumni to be successful. To be the difference.

We pray God continues to bless Marquette. Our learning. Our teaching. Our research. Our living. May God bless you, too. And don't forget to click here to check out the All Souls' Day Remembrance in November.

Remember loved ones with prayers during November

Beginning with the Feast of All Saints and the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day) at the beginning of November, a centuries-old tradition calls for remembering our deceased family and friends in prayer the entire month. If you have deceased loved ones whom you would like remembered by the Marquette community throughout the month of November, submit your prayer request below and it will be shared with the Marquette community. Prayer requests will be placed before the altars in campus chapels.

Send your prayer request to the Marquette community.

Marquette Magazine: Being human

Dr. John Pustejovsky, Arts '76, has addressed the Jesuit honor society, Alpha Sigma Nu, annually with remarks that lead to hushed acknowledgment that something special happens at a Jesuit university

What I know of Jesuit education — that experience common to all members of Alpha Sigma Nu — I’ve learned as a student in this university, as a teacher in this same university, but also as a father, a son, a spouse, a friend, a Catholic, as a colleague. What I can say about it, any one of you can say equally well. What’s most important for me to say is, I know, what you would say: It changed me. It continues to change me.

Read the full story from Marquette Magazine.

 

LEADERSHIP

Personal experience leads to work for educational equity for Dreamers at Marquette University

Marquette provides scholarships and support to undocumented students through Dreamers’ Gala, a fundraising event. “This program sends a message of hope to undocumented students—that as a Jesuit university we support undocumented students,” said Eva Martinez Powless, director of intercultural engagement.

Learn more about the Dreamer students at Marquette in the the full story from the Ignatian Solidarity Network.

Marquette President Michael R. Lovell discusses long-term strategic plan for the university

At a Wisconsin Technology Council event in September, Dr. Lovell said a confluence of factors — ranging from dollars and cents to technology — are behind Marquette’s desire to dig deep into planning for the future and ensuring the university is competitive and prepares students for the future.

The master plan has been dubbed “Beyond Boundaries,” and is a play on words that university officials say is aimed at demonstrating how the Marquette of the future will look different, physically and philosophically, from its current state.

Learn more about the 8-10 year plan in the full story from Urban Milwaukee.

Career advice: Why fear in the workplace is unnecessary — and 3 ways to overcome it

By Kyle Willkom, Bus Ad '12

I remember the first time I had to ask for a vacation day. I was in my first job out of college, and had a good reason to ask for the day off. I checked the schedule and nothing urgent seemed to be happening on that date. I was prepared to ask well in advance and...I was scared to death.

Get simple tips to address fear in the workplace.

 

SERVICE

Living the Marquette mission: Washington, D.C., alumni at the Kennedy School

Alumni from the MU Club of Washington, D.C., joined forces with Catholic Charities this August at the Kennedy School. Participants freshened up school facilities by painting classrooms and common spaces for the new school year.

Follow the MU Club of Washington, D.C., on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, and don't miss the club's upcoming networking happy hour event on Oct. 16.

Donations pour in as Marquette students mount relief effort for Puerto Rico

[On Sept. 30], a small area outside Marquette University's Alumni Memorial Union was piled high with bottled water, canned goods, diapers and storage boxes crammed with additional supplies like flashlights and batteries, all bound for Puerto Rico.

Most of the school's 51 students from the hurricane-battered island joined together on a beautiful fall day for a relief drive. They were far from home, but home was not far from their thoughts.

Learn how Marquette's Puerto Rican students took action to send supplies to their hurricane-damaged island home in the full story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Reunion + Homecoming 2017: More than 5,000 pounds of food collected for Hunger Task Force

Marquette students, faculty, staff and alumni contributed nonperishable food and monetary donations to Hunger Task Force during Reunion + Homecoming 2017. During the "Give. Eat. Grow" event on campus, participants "stuffed the truck" with more than 5,000 pounds of food donations while enjoying a farmer's market and al fresco lunch offerings.

upcoming events

Monday, Oct. 16

MU Club of Washington, D.C., Networking Happy Hour
Share your experiences with the Hill and the government relations industry with Les Aspin Center for Government interns at this networking reception.

Sunday, Oct. 22

MU Club of Chicago Scholarship Fundraiser
Join Marquette alumni, family and friends for a fundraiser at Pinot’s Palette in Logan Square. Our two-hour paint party will include all the supplies to create an artist-led painting of Joan of Arc Chapel. This event is family friendly.

Wednesday, Oct. 25

Milwaukee: AMUW Boheim Lecture - Chasing Progress: Jim Crow, Dixie and Outer Space
Hear how the U.S. space program joined powerful narratives of freedom in the American imagination. During a period of both heightened black dissent and accelerated technological advance, another version of the New South emerged.

Chicago Coaches Luncheon
Join alumni, parents and fans for a luncheon and panel discussion as we look ahead to the 2017-18 Marquette men's and women's basketball season.

Sunday, Oct. 29

MU Club of New York and New Jersey Mass and Brunch
Join the MU Club of New York and New Jersey for a special family and friends Mass and brunch. Join the group for Mass, brunch or both.

Friday, Nov. 3

Milwaukee: Marquette University College of Nursing NightinGala
Benefiting Marquette College of Nursing students who care for Milwaukee's most vulnerable
Enjoy an evening with fellow Marquette College of Nursing alumni and friends. Highlights include silent and live auctions, an inspiring program, and a delicious dinner.

Wednesday, Nov. 8

Atlanta: Forward Marquette
Gather with fellow Marquette University alumni, parents and friends to welcome Dr. Brian Till, James H. Keyes Dean of Business Administration when he visits Atlanta. He will share updates on the university and share the vision for the future.

Friday, Nov. 10

Milwaukee: Marquette University Business Administration Alumni Associaton Third Annual Sip & Savor Gala
Enjoy food, beverages and streaming of the Marquette men's basketball game while bidding on live and silent auction items. Proceeds from the event support the MUBAAA Scholarship Fund and other College of Business Administration initiatives.

 

Alumni Spotlight

Steve Rushin, Jour '88, wrote a memoir of his 1970s childhood. Sting-Ray Afternoons was published by Little, Brown in July. He lives in Granby, Conn. and is serving his fifth year in the Marquette University Alumni Association Mentor Program.

 

Claire (Norton) Bartholic, Arts ’97, placed third in the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon on Oct. 1 with a time of 3:00:29. She also won first place in the female master's division and became the 2017 State of Wisconsin Female Master's Marathon Champion. She lives in Asheville, N.C.


Seamus Doyle, Arts '15, is serving as a secondary education teacher trainer for Peace Corps Volunteer in Indonesia. He lives in Bangil, East Java.

 

Tell the Marquette community what you've been up to lately. Send in a class note today!

Publication of the achievements of our alumni does not constitute endorsement by Marquette University.

 

a. 1970
b. 1973
c. 1975
d. 1978

Answer: a. 1970

 

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