MAGAZINE - Poly Prep Country Day School

C L A S S N O T E S
Class of 1998 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, front to back, row 1) Julius Nasso, Nicole
Barbiere, Ranee Jaber, (row 2) Lillian Feldman, Michele Yuras-Jaber, Allison Rizzuti, Jennifer Greene,
Danielle Lissance, Frances Messano, MaryBreen O’Connor, (row 3) Ali Ouni , Ray Guarini, Josh
Rosenthal, Chris Bruno, Francis Barbiere, John Barone, David Cerutti, (row 4) Wil Acosta, Al Zirino, Adam
Tosto, Jason D’Amelio, James Valentino, Ted Hart, and Adam Dumey.
Medicine. Her favorite Poly
tradition is Christmas Chapel.
Erica Saviano married Bobby
Tsioutas in November 2007
at Cipriani in Manhattan.
Her brother, Frank Saviano
’99, Marisa Passafiume,
and Lauren McElroy ’00
were in the bridal party.
Stella Koutros, Sal Vacarro
’99, Joseph LaFemina ’99,
Will Karczewski ’99, Christine
Sforzo ’99, and Andria
Castellano ’00 attended.
Lauren Tafuri is a wardrobe
stylist in California.
Adam Tosto acts and models
full-time. He recently had
starring roles in a short film,
Indecent Space, and in an
off-Broadway production of
Much Ado About Nothing. He
lives in Prospect Heights,
Brooklyn, with his girlfriend
and two dogs. He recalls Mr.
Stone once calling him a “double
jerk” in Shakespeare class.
James F. Valentino attended
University of Pennsylvania Law
School from 2002 to 2005. He
works as a litigation associate
at Cahill, Gordon & Reindel.
Albert Zirino is an engineer
at Flack and Kurtz. He writes:
“Ray Guarini and Jason
D’Amelio were inducted into
the 18th Avenue Hall of Fame
back in 2002. I think they
would be too shy to let anyone
know of their achievement.”
1999
Christine Sforzo is engaged
to Will Karczewski, who
proposed at Poly in November
2007.
2000
In April, Noah Aberlin
appeared in New York City
Opera’s production of Candide.
After graduating from Poly,
Aberlin earned his BFA
in musical theatre from
Syracuse University. He has
since performed in shows
across the United States
and Canada. Candide was
Aberlin’s first opera performance.
Lieutenant Brian M. Hart is
doing his first tour in Iraq.
His classmates write to wish
him well and thank him for
his support.
Matthew Murumba performed
in The Moonlight Room,
by Tristine Skyler, at the Bank
Street Theatre in February.
The show also marked his
first foray into producing.
Murumba returned to Poly
this year for Community and
Diversity Day, as part of
the education component of
theatre company Stage 13.
2001
Leona (Kotlyar) Shnayder
married Garry in summer
2008. She is a junior at
University of Buffalo School of
Dental Medicine.
In June 2005, after a year
at the University of Aix,
Genevieve Waite graduated
cum laude from Bates College.
Her honors thesis (in French)
examined trends of post-9/11
American tourism in southern
France. After graduation,
she taught English to children
in Aix-en-Provence and
Manosque for two years and
is currently under contract
with Hatier Publishers to
produce a textbook. Waite
sends best wishes to her Poly
friends and invites them to get
in touch if they visit the
Luberon, Vaucluse, Provence–
Alpes–Côte d’Azur regions.
2002
Christine Capone spoke at
an April dinner in honor of
coach Ed Ruck’s 40th and final
year at Poly. Capone recalled
Ruck’s signature whistling,
which, according to her, he
could sustain for an entire
6-minute race. (See page 10.)
Frankie Nasso produced the
film Officer Down, which was
screened at the Staten Island
Film Festival in June. Directed
by Richard Recco, the movie
won the award for Best Short
Film in the Babelgum Online
Film Festival at Cannes in May.
2003
Marsha Bannister graduated
cum laude a semester early
from Georgetown University.
She is studying public policy at
Harvard’s Kennedy School.
She writes: “I remember trying
to dye Mr. Oliveras’s hair
red when we went to Spain, but
it only ended up turning his
scalp pink for the rest of the
trip. What a good sport!”
Jesse Campoamor is lead
community organizer for the
Healthcare Education Project,
a joint initiative of the Greater
New York Hospital Association
and 1199 SEIU United
Healthcare Workers East.
Anthony Ciccone received
his BS in information systems
management from Quinnipiac
University. He works at Pepsi
Bottling Group as an IT business
analyst, has volunteered
for United Way and Habitat for
Humanity, and helped raise
money for AIDS awareness.
He lives in White Plains.
Matt Dresher went to Bowdoin
College. A former captain of
Poly’s squash team, Dresher
works at Greenwich Academy
in Connecticut, whose squash
team has been rated best in the
country. Dresher will bring
SUMMER 2008 37