I
don’t find a lot of advantages to getting “old”, but an advantage to being
retired is that, when I want to sit down in the middle of the afternoon and rest,
I can. Such was the case this past
Friday. I sat back and turned on the
TV. The Ellen DeGeneres Show was
on, and just as the picture came on, Ellen introduced her guest, Gina
Rodriguez.
Gina is an Emmy Award winning actress for her
portrayal as the title character in the TV series “Jane, the Virgin”, but, from
my standpoint, more importantly, she is an Ignatius graduate from the class of
2002.
There
are many Ignatius grads who have become very successful in their chosen field,
but I get a kick out of seeing one of our grads achieve a level of
“celebrity”. When Vyto Ruginis
(’74) makes an appearance on NCIS Los Angeles or Andre Braugher
(’80) appears on “Brooklyn 99”, it makes me smile. Both Casey Siemaszko (’79) and his
sister, Nina, have continued their acting careers. My wife and I still enjoy watching reruns of
The Hallmark Channel’s Mystery Woman in which Nina is the prettiest
district attorney in the world.
There’s
always a danger in naming some grads who are successful working in a particular
field, and missing others. The names
listed above are the ones I know and remember. I apologize to any in the entertainment field
that I have missed, and if I have, I’d like to hear about your career.
Speaking
of the class of 2002, this Saturday, the classes of 1992, 1997, 2002 and 2007
will have their reunions. I will try to
be there and, as always, I look forward to seeing any of you that I taught
and/or coached in tennis. I will have to
say, though, be kind. My memory isn’t what it once was, and you
probably don’t look exactly like you did the day that you graduated.
Finally,
still speaking of alumni, next Monday, May 1st is Frank Raispis’ 90th
birthday. If you are an alumnus from the
mid-‘50’s to around 2000, I’m sure that you remember Mr. Raispis leading the
students in the gym, in a rousing version of
“Hail, Ignatius”. He loves
getting greeting cards from former students and colleagues, and with some help,
he has them hung on his wall. If you are interested in sending him a greeting,
his address is:
Frank
Raispis
Bridgeway
Village
111
E. Washington
Bensenville,
IL 60106
