winter 2011 newsletter - McGann-Mercy High School

ALUMNI
One of the most stressful
questions one faces throughout
the course of his or her lifetime
is “what do I want to be when I
grow up” While we all want to
be doctors, firemen, astronauts,
or the President of the United
States when we are eight, and
we all think we know what we
want to major in college to set us
on the right path, the first time
we seriously ponder this age-old
adage is when we prepare to
graduate from college and enter
the real world. And, many times,
the place where we finally land was not even a consideration when
we started. For Michelle Pirraglia, McGann-Mercy’s new Library
Clerk, her journey of exploration has come full circle.
Ms. Pirraglia, a Mastic native, has not strayed far from her
Catholic upbringing. Having attended Our Lady Queen of Apostles
during her formative years, she graduated from Bishop McGann-
Mercy High School in 1999. After receiving an Associates Degree
in Journalism from Suffolk Community College, she continued her
studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, ultimately
graduating with a BA in English in 2004. Being lucky enough to
leverage her summer internship spent copy editing at Suffolk Life
Newspapers into a full-time position, Ms. Pirraglia started as a copy
editor and reporter, and eventually moved her way up to Assistant
Bruce E. Kasold was named Chief Judge
of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans
Claims on August 6, 2010. He had been a
Judge of the Court since his appointment by
President George W. Bush in December 2003.
Kasold was born on April 26, 1951,
in New York City. His father, Edward, was
a city employee who became a U.S. Army
lieutenant colonel, and his mother, Louise,
was a nurse’s assistant. He attended St. John
the Evangelist School before graduating from
Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School
in New York in 1969, and earning a degree
from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point
in 1973. Between 1973 and 1976, Kasold
served as a platoon leader and training
officer in the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery,
stationed in Texas, Maryland, and Colorado.
Inspired by TV law shows like “Perry
Mason,” Kasold attended the University of
Florida Law School, where he was a member
of the Law Review and earned his J.D. in
1979. Between semesters, he worked at
the Fort Rucker, Alabama, Army post as an
assistant defense counsel in 1977, and as an
assistant prosecutor in 1978.
Answering Your Calling
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims:
Who is Bruce Kasold
The following year, Kasold joined the
Judge Advocate General’s Corps, handling
civil litigation cases until 1994. During that
period, he earned an LL.M. from Georgetown
University Law Center in 1982, and an
LL.M. equivalent from the Judge Advocate
General’s Legal Center and School in 1984.
Kasold lived in Augsburg, Germany, from
1984 to 1987, serving as legal counsel to
the VII Corps Artillery Commanding General.
Among his various responsibilities was
counsel or co-counsel in about 50 courtsmartial
cases. In 1987 he joined the Army’s
Office of General Counsel at the Pentagon
as an assistant general counsel. He was
subsequently recruited for a fellowship
on Capitol Hill, splitting his time between
the offices of then-Senator Joe Biden
(D-Delaware) and Senator John Warner
(R-Virginia).
In January 1994, Kasold joined the
Washington, D.C. law firm of Holland &
Knight as a commercial and government
contracts litigation attorney. From November
1995 to December 1998, he worked as
chief counsel for the Senate Committee
4
Managing Editor in the newsroom. Beginning to feel disenfranchised
with the politics involved in the field, and as much as she enjoyed
her job, she realized it was just that, a job. She began to feel as if
she was missing something, and began discerning a vocation to the
religious life. After much prayer and careful exploration, she visited
the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor
Michigan.
Founded in 1997, this Dominican order has grown from four
sisters to more than 100, with the average age of a sister being 28
and the average age of entry being 21. While their main apostolate is
teaching, what drew Ms. Pirraglia to the order was their genuine joy
in living religious life, which includes community prayer, recreation
and deep devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother. Ms.
Pirraglia felt right at home and entered the order as a postulant in
August of 2008, eventually becoming a Novice in August of 2009.
Although she still loved aspects of the life and the sisters, after a time
of serious prayer and discernment she came to realize her vocation
lay elsewhere.
Moving back to Long Island proved fortuitous for Ms. Pirraglia.
Still recognizing the importance of a Catholic education, she soon
learned of McGann-Mercy’s need for a library clerk. Joining the staff
in August of 2010 has brought her back to where she started and
she couldn’t be more pleased. Helping, working and sharing with
the students (especially her love for the works of authors like J.R.R.
Tolkien) has given her the opportunity to further explore her calling.
When she is not at McGann-Mercy, she volunteers at St. John the
Evangelist Youth Ministry in Center Moriches and is a contributing
author for the Patchogue branch of patch.com, an online newspaper.
on Rules and
Administration
and codrafted
the
initial Senate
resolution
for the
impeachment
proceedings against President Bill Clinton.
From 1998 to 2003 Kasold served as
chief counsel to the U.S. Senate’s secretary
and its sergeant at arms. From 2000 until
2004, he served as president of the Capitol
Hill Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
Beginning in 1989, he also served on the
board of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union,
providing voluntary financial services to
military and civilian personnel and their
families.
Kasold and his wife Patricia have a son,
Adam.
Reprinted with permission from AllGov.
Biedermanon, Danny, “Chief Judge of the United States
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims: Who is Bruce
Kasold,” November 1, 2010, AllGov