 Paula J. (Dirubbo) Donovan '94 What are your fondest memories as a student of AWHS? I have so many fond memories of AWHS! Approachable teachers who really cared about our well-being and our understanding of the class work. Many fun and fulfilling campus ministry events, with amazing faculty and compassionate fellow students. Cross country and track seasons with the venerable Coach Van Dorpe (who let me run on his boys track team during the Indoor Season when there was no girls team!) and awesome team mates. It was the high- quality of faculty, students, class work and activities that gave me the confidence and foundation to know I could achieve anything. Have you stayed close to the friends you made at AWHS? I've stayed in touch with a few friends from high school. They are good people I am proud to know - and we always have a good time on the rare occasion that we find a time to get together and catch up. The one friend I have remained close with is Nancy Olsson Niles (‘95). She has always been the type of friend who would drop everything to help me if I needed it; a storybook true friend. I am glad after all the years we landed just a town apart and we are both moms to a pile of boys. What are your impressions of AWHS today? Strengths? Areas of potential growth? My impression of AWHS today is that the school is still blessed by a faculty that leads by example, with the intent of developing the students spiritually, academically, morally and physically. Equally important, the students, supported by their families, arrive with the intent of growing in this way. Campus Ministry is in integral part of the school, weaving throughout the curriculum and extracurricular activities. It is an integral part of the AWHS experience, developing the compassionate and world aware attributes of the students. I hope this always remains the case for AWHS. I am glad the school became private, allowing positive growth in the areas needed. However, with this change I hope that AWHS remains a school that families from a range of socio-economic classes can still send their children to. Active financial support from alumni and supporters are needed to allow this to be the case. Active fund raising by AWHS is also needed. How might our alumni best serve AWHS? There are two main ways alumni can serve AWHS - time and money. If there are activities or events at the school, it would be fantastic if alumni who could participate and offer their knowledge gained through career and/or experience do so. Also, attending networking events or offering your contact information to students and alumni alike strengthens our community as a whole, in career development, job finding, and career advice. Also, to keep AWHS high quality and accessible to all students, financial support by alumni who can afford to give is must. Please include a brief biography including: Since graduating from AWHS, I went on to receive a B.A. in Math and Pre-Med from Holy Cross in Worcester, MA and then a M.S. in Applied Math from UMass Amherst. For the past decade, I have worked at MIT Lincoln Laboratory as a Research Scientist. My work has primarily been on developing a wide range of communication networks, from the component level through the network and application levels. This work involves a lot of modeling and analysis, and often serves a military utility before reaching a wider audience, i.e., the American household. Before taking on more managerial roles, I received a patent on a Single Sideband Optical Transmitter. Currently, I manage a program funded by the Air Force called Multi-function Advanced Data Link (MADL), which is a wireless communication system for use on the F-22, F-35 and B-2 fighter jets. Outside of work I keep just as busy -- my husband, Matt, and I are proud parents of two boys, Jake and Joey, with one more boy on the way! Also, I am still running and racing. A little slower these days behind a double stroller ... if you see me out there, you better cheer me on!
Previous Alumni Spotlights:David Skill '64
Kerri Phillips Toloczko '75
Henry Amoroso '62
Regina Coppens Buchsbaum '76
Russ deMariano '96
Suzanne Skjold '93
Warren Madden '81
We are proud to introduce this new feature to our website! On a regular basis, we will shine the spotlight on one of our thousands of alumni who have made their mark on the world after AWHS, while remaining an active part of the fabric, fiber, and family that is our school. Enjoy, and please feel free to suggest Alums for future spotlights by E-mail to csavery@awhs.org
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