Alumni Spotlight

Congratulations to recent graduate, Catherine Friedline ‘21, a long-time Girl Scout who created Troop Hope!  Catherine’s passion for young children, especially those undergoing long-term medical treatments who often miss out on fun activities with their friends, inspired her creation of the program.  

With Troop Hope, Catherine earned her Gold Award and received the Scouts' highest honor as "Woman of Distinction." This is the highest achievement in Girl Scouts, completed by only 6% of all Scouts.  Click HERE to read the full article! 

Ryan, a rising sophomore, is a member of UGA’s Honors College and is pursuing a double major in Biology and Psychology.

As a pre-dental student, Ryan is active in Saving Smiles, a small student-led service group committed to educating the local Athens community on oral health, as well as helping fellow students with their dental school applications.  This past May, Ryan had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala on a dental mission trip, providing free dental care for several patients in dire need. 

Ryan has also recently been trained as a Crisis Text Line Counselor, supporting those in need during any crisis including abuse, depression, possible suicide or self-harm risk, or just someone looking for a listening ear.  Through these conversations, Ryan has learned how it only takes one person to make a difference, and her hope is that she can be that person for someone else.

Through her involvement and experience in such organizations, Ryan looks back and recognizes the role that Blessed Trinity played in her life, forming her into the woman she is today. Throughout her involvement at BT with student government, ambassadors, competitive cheerleading, and track, Ryan feels that she has been able to use her leadership skills as one of the first stepping stones into the journey of becoming who God truly meant for her to be. 

“Thank you to the Blessed Trinity teachers and staff for having confidence in my ability to make a difference, helping me realize my full potential.  At Blessed Trinity, I not only learned chemistry, English, and calculus, but I also learned kindness, generosity, and most of all, faith.”

Kathleen, a rising junior, is majoring in risk management and insurance, minoring in political science, and will receive certificates in business law and personal and organizational leadership upon graduation.  She was recently selected as one of 30 juniors to participate in the Institute for Leadership Advancement Leonard’s Scholars Program in the Terry School of Business.  This two year program emphasizes team building, networking, service, and innovative course material. Kathleen also serves as a Terry School of Business Ambassador, is the Vice President of UGA’s Aviation Club, and works as the Director of Marketing for a local Athens commercial real estate company. 

Four members of the Duke wrestling team were recently named to the All-ACC Academic Team, and  Blessed Trinity Catholic High School alum, Vincent Baker ‘19, was one of two true freshmen voted to the 19-man squad. Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team require a 3.0 GPA for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one's academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.

Now wrestling at 197 pounds, Vincent Baker finished strong during his rookie season as a Blue Devil. He registered two of his six wins in back-to-back outings against No. 3 NC State (dual) and No. 9 Virginia Tech (ACC Championships)....Read more.

While COVID-19 continues to be ever present amongst our society, Peyton O’Malley ‘18, took matters into her own hands when her initial internship was suddenly called off due to the pandemic.  Peyton took to LinkedIn to secure not one, but two, internships!  This past summer, Peyton secured an internship with Truist Bank here in Atlanta. Already looking ahead to summer 2021, Peyton accepted her second internship with JP Morgan in New York City.  Peyton is currently a junior in Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Law, Science, & Technology. 

A larger than life size rosary hangs on display at the Chancery of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.  During her senior year at Berry College, as part of her expansive art project, Elisa Jiménez ‘17 carefully handcrafted each seven-inch ceramic rosary bead.  Made from clay, each bead was then delicately coated in a white glaze before Elisa painted a unique blue design on each one.  

Click HERE to read the full article from The Georgia Bulletin.  Elisa talks about her personal journey as an artist and reflects on the significant role that Mary, the Mother of God, has had in her life. 

While at Berry College, Elisa was an active member in the Catholic Student Association.  She double majored in education and art and now teaches at a Catholic school in Miami. 

Nikulaus Pujals, Blessed Trinity Class of 2017, was recently named as a Distinguished Military Graduate (DMG) at The University of North Georgia (UNG).  Distinguished Military Graduates finish in the top 20% of Army graduates on the national Order of Merit List by achieving superior grade-point averages, demonstrating strong performances in the Army Combat Fitness Test, and proving their worth as exceptional leaders in their college ROTC training program.  Congratulations, Nikulaus! 

Ted Williams, Blessed Trinity Class of 2017, will graduate Summa Cum Laude from the University of Georgia (UGA) this May with three (3) BA degrees!  The degrees are in History, Political Science, and International Affairs.  His time as an undergraduate at UGA included: Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, Order of Omega Greek Honor Society, Interned at War Room Strategies (a campaign consulting firm), Student Assistant for facilities at the Terry College of Business, and IM sports. 

Ted is honored to have received and has accepted a full scholarship to attend the University of Georgia School of Law!  Ted intends to go into Sports Law with a focus on contracts.  Congratulations, Ted, on all of your accomplishments thus far!

Haley Wrobel attended Villanova University, where she graduated with degrees in Biology, Spanish, and Latin American Studies.  In October 2021, Haley traveled to Ghana, Africa where she lived with a host family during her medical and public health internship. 

Intending to apply to medical school, Haley first wanted to take a gap year to diversify her healthcare experiences.  During high school, she attended a week-long UN Commission Conference on the Status of Women.  One of the guest speakers at the conference was a Doctor from Uganda.  After listening to the Doctor’s stories of how she established medical facilities in the most rural parts of Uganda, a fire was lit within Haley.  Her heart was set on interning in Africa!  

During her internship in Africa, Haley traveled to several local schools where she and her team would set up “outreach” tables to treat and provide the school children with medical supplies like bandaids, gauze, and iodine.  She taught interactive seminars on topics like ringworm (a major issue) and personal hygiene.  Haley also spent a great deal of time providing home care for a patient with cellulitis. 

A few days a week, Haley volunteered at Eastern Regional Hospital in the nearby town of Koforidua.  She assisted nurses with their daily tasks (like taking vitals and/or performing basic procedures) and shadowed physicians spending time in the obstetric triage, prenatal ward, postnatal ward, NICU, and antenatal clinics.  Specifically, Haley helped with using ultrasound machines, performing newborn checkups, and caring for new mothers. 

Haley will tell you that her time in Ghana was challenging, yet rewarding.  “I witnessed how the people of Ghana truly value each present moment and live life to the fullest.  They treat each moment like it is a gift.  Nothing is guaranteed, so we must relish in the blessings of each day,” said Haley.  She left for Africa ready to serve others and eager to learn and returned fiery to educate others and to continue her own education.  Best of luck to Haley as she applies to medical school! 

After graduating from Kennesaw State University last year with a degree in sport management, Zach Bazemore ‘16 secured a job as Operations Coordinator at Allegiant Stadium!  Home to the Las Vegas Raiders, Allegiant is also the NFL’s newest, state-of-the-art stadium. 

After a little over one year as coordinator, Zach was promoted to Assistant Operations Manager!  In addition to all of the preparation that goes into NFL games, Zach assists with the many other events that take place in the stadium such as concerts and collegiate games.  Click here to read more! 

Congratulations to K.J. Lemoine ‘16 who has been nominated by the Atlanta Braves as a Diamond Honoree of the Month. He will be honored at Truist Park before the start of the game on July 19! K.J. works for the organization as a member of their Market Research Team. He works every home game, observing and recording data, to help enhance and provide fans with the best game day experience possible.

It has been a lifelong dream of K.J.'s to work in the sports industry. An added bonus is having the opportunity to work for his home team - the Atlanta Braves.

Fun fact: If you stay until the end of a game, you may catch K.J. on the video board wishing fans a safe trip home after a Braves win!

Ryan Vassil ‘16, currently works as a Financial Professional for 49 Financial, based in Atlanta, Georgia.  After what seemed like endless job searching, Ryan discovered 49 Financial. 49 Financial has a huge faith component built into its culture, which was a big deciding factor for Ryan when interviewing for jobs.  For the longest time, Ryan always dreamt of doing big things in the business/financial world, but he had no idea that he would be able to find a company that allowed him to pursue his dream while also allowing him to grow in his faith.  Ryan attributes Blessed Trinity to helping him build a solid faith foundation.  He says “To be given an opportunity to accomplish big things while also helping and serving people that I truly love and care about is literally a dream come true for me. Thank you BT for helping me become who I am today”. 

The company’s name, 49 Financial, stems from a Bible verse.  Ecclesiastes 4:9: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.  This verse from Ecclesiastes embodies the core of what 49 Financial stands for, and is also one of its biggest differentiators, working and serving their clients as a team to provide the best client experience possible.  Ryan is beyond excited to build his career with 49 Financial, all while serving his community! 

On December 13, Blessed Trinity alum, Huiet Joseph ‘16, received a plaque during Morehouse College’s 136th Commencement Ceremony honoring his achievement as salutatorian of the Class of 2020. Huiet was a chemistry major at Morehouse, where he earned a 3.99 GPA following the completion of his academic program in June.  Huiet is now attending the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine where he is studying to earn his MD, pursuing a career as an orthopedic surgeon. 

Huiet remained focused on academic excellence throughout his time at Morehouse, though he said maintaining straight A’s at Morehouse was a test of mettle, surviving tough professors, demanding workloads, labs, and project schedules, as well as the challenges of online learning during a global pandemic. He said, "“If you can survive a huge transition in your type of learning, you can survive anything. It’s another way to prepare you for the real world.”

Blessed Trinity Catholic High School alum, Brianna Yates ‘16, gave an inspirational TEDx Talk on The Magic of Human Connection. While she was a student at Syracuse University, Brianna made a brave decision to take a break from modern technology to begin focusing on and prioritizing face-to-face interactions. Letting go of the comfort and safety-net that can oftentimes be found when communicating behind a phone screen or a computer screen, Brianna reflects on her experience of using a flip phone, packing up and moving to Orlando, beginning a new job at Walt Disney World, and learning the value of personal interactions—an eye-opening experience, especially in today’s heavily digital world. 

Click here to watch the Brianna's full TEDx Talk! 

Each week, the University of Georgia features a student who has gone above and beyond the normal expectations of a UGA college student. This week was BT's own Sarah Kathryn "SK" Lasseigne '16. In addition to being a tour leader at the UGA Visitors Center, SK will also graduate with three majors (international affairs, history, and religion)! Sarah Kathryn developed her appreciation and passion for foreign affairs during study abroad trips to both Russia and Oxford University. She hopes to pursue a career within the national security and foreign policy sectors. On campus, SK serves as president of the Dean Tate Honor Society, is a member of Alpha Chi Omega, the Palladia Women's Honor Society, Order of the Omega Honor Society, and Blue Key Honor Society...Read SK's full article here. 

BT’s own, Evan Hussey ‘15,  landed a role in the production of “Elf”at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina!  Evan is part of the ensemble as the understudy for Buddy the Elf. 
The production is running now through January 2. 

For any alumni living in the low country area, be sure to get your tickets (click here).  It’s a show you won’t want to miss!  Congratulations Evan, and best of luck! 

Blessed Trinity alum, Ameet Kallarackal '14, shares some insights into his journey and career path as an entrepreneur.  When we learned about Ameet's most recent startup - Fisherman - we were thrilled at the opportunity for a brief Q&A with the CEO & Co-founder of Fisherman himself, Ameet Kallarackal. 

Q:  What did you major in at Boston College?
A:  I majored in Computer Science and Management, and I minored in Philosophy. 

Q:  What inspired you to start/launch Fisherman?  What was your career path like leading up to this? 
A:  When I was a sophomore in college, a classmate proposed that we start a business called Campus Insights together.  At the time, I barely knew about startups, but I was intrigued by the idea of collaborating to create something from scratch.  We ended up building a team, working with companies like Venmo, Airbnb, and GoFundMe, and selling the company during our senior year.  At this point, I had fallen in love with startups and immediately wanted to start something new.  I had some freelance web design and development experience, and after watching traditional small business owners consistently become frustrated trying to use tools like SquareSpace and Wix, I knew we needed to build a better solution to help folks like these transition to the digital era.  I’ve had internships as a developer and product manager, but Fisherman has been my only full-time job since we started the company as seniors in college.

Q:  Where did the Fisherman name come from?
A:  The name Fisherman comes from the quote, “Give someone a fish and they eat for a day, but teach them to fish and they’ll eat for a lifetime.”  We wanted to empower small business owners by building them a solution that would sustainably help them prosper online. 

Q:  How long were you working behind the scenes during the start up phase of Fisherman before going "public"? What was that process like? 
A:  My cofounder and I moved into his parents’ house after graduation and never stopped working. We spent 1.5 years hacking away on the early versions of the product and networking as much as possible to find our first customers, advisors, partners, and investors.  In the early days, we “bootstrapped” the business by doing freelance custom development and design work for other startups we met at conferences and coworking spaces.  Finally, with less than $100 in our bank account, we had a working product and enough early traction to raise our first round of funding. 

Q:  What sets Fisherman apart from other similar companies? 
A:  Most companies in our space either sell a Do It Yourself (DIY) product where a user can drag and drop to build their own website, or they have an agency model with custom development.  Fisherman is unique in the way that our software fully automates the process, so someone with no technical ability can have a complete website without any effort in just a couple minutes.

Q:  What growth have you seen since founding Fisherman?  How did you take the company from just you and Nick (as co-founders), to hiring additional employees?  
A:  In late 2019, Nick and I launched the first version of our core product and we raised a small round of funding from a few angel investors who believed that we were on to something.  We used that capital to make our first two hires at the start of 2020, right before COVID hit.  Our target customers were facing an existential threat with COVID, so we decided to make our product completely free for 6 months for restaurants who needed to get online, a risk that ultimately paid off and accelerated our growth.  As we grew, we hired more employees and contractors (at the peak of COVID there were over 20 people working at Fisherman) and raised a seed round. 

Q:  How many clients does Fisherman have now? And across how many states/countries? 
A:  Fisherman now serves over 1,000 restaurants across all 50 U.S. states and Canada.

Q:  How did Blessed Trinity help prepare you for success? 
A:  BT provided me with leadership opportunities in a variety of organizations, including student council, soccer, and Habitat for Humanity. These experiences taught me valuable lessons and validated my desire to lead. Like many of my classmates, I was balancing classes and clubs with extra curricular activities and a part-time job, which forced me to learn how to prioritize and manage a demanding set of activities. I also met many of my closest friends who continue to challenge and support me today.

Q:  What is some advice that you would offer to younger folks pursuing a career or passion in the tech industry?  Advice for young entrepreneurs? 
A:  In our early days as founders, we constantly faced problems we didn’t feel experienced enough to solve, but we were forced to solve them and ended up learning new skills as a result.  More important than the solutions themselves was the understanding that these problems could be solved and the confidence that we could solve them with the right mindset, effort, and support.  In my opinion, there’s no better way to learn than trial by fire.  Reach for something big, work  passionately towards it, and humbly seek help along the way. 

A partner of The Piedmont Group, Casey Bradley ‘13, is starting his very own endeavor!  As founder and CEO of Founder Financial, Casey and his team specialize in working with fellow entrepreneurs.  Specifically, Founder Financial helps with business valuation, exit strategy planning, key employee retention, and personal financial planning.  

Casey started in the financial services industry immediately after graduating from Centre College in 2017.  He says “working under the leadership of fellow BT alumni and BT parents, Bill and Kathleen McQuaid, was extremely helpful in launching my career.”  He also credits his wife and fellow BT alum, Kate (McCormick) Bradley ’13, as a tremendous motivator for starting his own company.  Fellow alum, Bryson Jenkins ‘14, will be working alongside Casey at Founder Financial!    

Photography has been a huge part of her life from a young age, but it wasn't until her first photography class at Blessed Trinity that Colleen Walter '10 discovered her natural eye behind the lens. After graduating from Auburn University with a degree in Communications, Colleen moved back home to Atlanta. That's when XXIII Photo Studio was born. From families, weddings, senior portraits, and brand photography, Colleen has been capturing special moments ever since! 

Dancer and newlywed, Gia Mongell Binner ‘10, said “I Do” in her “something blue”. After graduating from Blessed Trinity in 2010, Gia attended Juilliard to pursue her career in dance. Since her debut in “An American in Paris” on Broadway, Gia went on to travel and perform internationally, perform for the Metropolitan Opera, and perform at the Tony Awards..​.Read More

Congratulations to Garrett Casale '08 who will be completing his ear, nose, and throat (ENT) residency at the University of Virginia later this month! Garrett has accepted a fellowship position at the Michigan Ear Institute for neurotology/skull base surgery starting in July 2021.

In addition, Garrett and his wife are expecting their first child in August!

After much thought and preparation, Courtney (Denis) Workman ‘07, and her husband, Cody Workman, are opening the doors to their own business!  Good Works Art + Social, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will host its grand opening tomorrow, Saturday, June 4.  It is a place where friends and family can gather to create unique DIY wood pieces and painted canvas projects.  

Courtney said, “I always dreamed of having my own Art studio, and Cody always dreamed of having his own woodshop.  Our hard work and God’s provision allowed our dreams to collide and open our dream business."  The studio will feature two main areas - a working studio for classes and workshops and an art gallery, featuring local artists’ work for sale. 

Painting and creating art from a very young age, and later earning a degree in Studio Art from Georgia College, Courtney is the Artist behind the couple’s business vision.  Cody is the visionary and activator.  Never having met a stranger, Cody also puts the word “Social” in the business name. 

The name of the business, Good Works Art + Social, comes from the verse Ephesians 2:10: ‘For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.’  Click here to read more from an article published by the Chattanoogan. 

Follow Good Works Art + Social on Instagram! @goodworksartsocial 

For as long as she can remember, Sarah has always been fascinated by Italian culture and food. She grew up hearing stories about her great grandparents, who moved to America from Sicily in the early 1900s, which fueled her strong desire to learn more about Italy. 

In college, Sarah studied Italian language and culture as her minor and spent a semester studying abroad in Florence, Italy. After graduating, she packed up her bags, sold her car, and booked a one-way ticket to Italy. Sarah spent the next five years living, studying, blogging, and working in Bologna (Italy’s food capital!) and Genova.

In 2017, Sarah moved back to New York City, where she worked as the Brand Partnerships Coordinator and Content Manager for Eataly’s corporate marketing office.

In 2020, Sarah launched q.b. Cucina, her e-commerce marketplace. The name, q.b. Cucina, stems from the Italian phrase "quanto pasta", meaning "as much as needed".  Sarah says that in Italy, it's a phrase often used to indicate that there is no set amount of salt (or any ingredient) in a recipe—it's up to the individual to decide on based on their personal taste!  

q.b. Cucina specializes in making artisanal Italian kitchenware items, from pasta shapers to ravioli stamps, accessible to American shoppers.  Click here to read an interview by Sarah.  Be sure to check out the Instagram account for q.b. Cucina!

Katie (Peterson) Warner '07 is the author of a Catholic children’s book line.  Her newest title, Listening for God: Silence Practice for Little Ones, has been a #1 new release on Amazon for several weeks!  To read more about Katie’s published book collection, called The Catholic Child’s First Faith Treasury, and/or to shop all of the books in the collection, click here!  

Katie is author of the book, Head & Heart: Becoming Spiritual Leaders for Your Family, and a popular prayer journal series, the most well-known being A Parent Who Prays: A Journal to Guide You in Praying for Your Children (there are also versions for grandparents, godparents, and confirmation sponsors). She holds a graduate degree in Catholic Theology from the Augustine Institute, is a correspondent for the National Catholic Register, as well as a national Catholic speaker and TV segment host. Katie is the Communication Manager for a Catholics Come Home, an international media apostolate that invites fallen-away Catholics and others home to the Church.

Blessed Trinity alum, Will Benham ‘05, works as Executive Creative Director at Chemistry, an award-winning, full-service Marketing and Communications Agency. This week, Chemistry worked in partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Orthopedics and Sports Medicine to film an integrated campaign on Blessed Trinity’s campus!  

The overall concept for the campaign, Teen Athletes vs. Pro Athletes, is to showcase how teenagers are different from pro athletes in that they need special/different sports medicine care than pro athletes.  The agency is using humorous matchups between pro athletes, like Atlanta Falcon Grady Jarrett, and teen athletes!     

Will and his team shot video footage that will be used for four video spots to air on TV during Braves, Falcons, and Atlanta United Games this year, as well as on social and digital channels!  Chemistry also captured some still photography shots of the teenagers and pro athletes that will go into print, billboard, social, and digital marketing channels. 

Blessed Trinity Catholic High School alum, Dr. Carlos Montalvo ‘05, currently works as a Professor in the William B. Burnsed Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of South Alabama (USA) in Mobile. 

Dr. Montalvo was recently promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor. In addition, after a rigorous eight month process and unanimous approval from the school’s Dean, the Provost, the President, and Board of Trustees, Carlos Montalvo received his tenure! Academic tenure is a highly sought after accomplishment and a crown jewel achievement in academia that guarantees job security for life. 

Dr. Montalvo attended Georgia Tech where he graduated in 2009 with his Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering. Montalvo decided to further his education at Georgia Tech earning his Masters in 2010 and then his PhD in 2014.