Ave Maria Living Magazine | Issue #3 | Nov. 2016
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>Ave</strong> Mar i a<br />
LIVING<br />
Graduate Story:<br />
Roman Samuels<br />
- Page 7<br />
T h e Sol or z an os - Fr om N ew Yor k T o<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> # 3 | <strong>Nov</strong>em ber , <strong>2016</strong><br />
A v e M a r i a !<br />
A Stella M ar is of FL Publication<br />
- Page 12
Stella Maris of FL<br />
CONTENT<br />
avemarialiving@outlook.com<br />
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS<br />
Meli and Matt Neubek<br />
617-519-7423<br />
www.neubek.com<br />
WEB PRESENCE<br />
Robb Klucik<br />
239-898-4052<br />
avemarialiving@gmail.com<br />
avemarialiving.com<br />
Fr om the Pu bl i sher s<br />
We hope you enjoyed the October issue of <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Living</strong>. This<br />
<strong>Nov</strong>ember issue is a fun one. Our featured <strong>Ave</strong> graduate, Roman<br />
Samuels, is a vibrant and driven young man looking to leave his mark<br />
on the world and our featured family, the Solorzanos, are a<br />
fun-loving and energetic family with a brand new bundle of joy -<br />
baby Kilian! We'd like to thank them for sharing their stories.<br />
We'd also like to thank our awesome photography team, Meli and Matt<br />
Neubek, and our new writers, Sarah Blanchard and Lauren<br />
Solorzano. They have been instrumental in putting together this<br />
publication.<br />
Finally, we would like to thank all of our local business sponsors. This<br />
publication would not be possible without their support! If you would<br />
like to see your business in this publication give us a call or send us<br />
a message.<br />
Have a Happy<br />
Thanksgiving!<br />
FEEDBACK/IDEAS/SUBMISSIONS<br />
We are always happy to hear<br />
from you! Please email<br />
avemarialiving@outlook.com with<br />
your feedback, ideas, or<br />
submissions. Please note, that all<br />
content must be submitted by the<br />
15th of the previous month.<br />
IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS<br />
Emergency..................................911<br />
Sheriff's Office...........239-252-9300<br />
Water Park.................239-348-8384<br />
LCEC............................800-599-2356<br />
AMUC..........................239-348-0248<br />
Quasi Parish...............239-261-5555<br />
Publix..........................239-304-3269<br />
Immokalee Library.....239-657-2882<br />
Donahue Academy....239-280-2450<br />
<strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong><br />
Montessori.................239-261-2272<br />
<strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong><br />
International..............239-692-8919<br />
All cont ent is ow ned by St ella<br />
Maris of FL, Inc., Copyright <strong>2016</strong>.<br />
?<strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Living</strong>? is a t radem ark<br />
of <strong>Ave</strong><strong>Maria</strong><strong>Living</strong>.com and is<br />
used by perm ission.<br />
Hi!<br />
Fr om the Photogr aphy Team<br />
We?re Meli and Matt. We?ve been shooting together<br />
since 2015. Meli has been in the business since 2011<br />
? started in Boston (Go Patriots!) and has been in<br />
Naples since 2012. Matt grew up in Naples since 1985,<br />
has been a self-taught photo hobbyist since 2005,<br />
and got his professional start in 2015 shortly after<br />
he and Meli got married.<br />
We are storytellers and artists and get excited<br />
about being creative with our craft. While our goal<br />
is always to create art, we never fail to<br />
memorialize the day and tell your story. All the<br />
while, having fun.<br />
Capturing moments that make people go, ?woah!?<br />
makes us genuinely happy. Happy is good. Happy is<br />
even better when it?s shared.<br />
You can check out more of our work and get in<br />
touch with us by going to www.neubek.com.<br />
We?d love to meet you,<br />
Meli(ssa) & Matt(hew)<br />
2
Business Bio<br />
AV E CROSSFI T<br />
It is said<br />
that we<br />
can?t truly<br />
begin to<br />
understand<br />
where we<br />
are going<br />
until we know where we have been.<br />
Let me take a moment to introduce<br />
myself. My name is Wilson Ospina,<br />
co-founder of <strong>Ave</strong> CrossFit.<br />
From a very young age I devoted my<br />
life to helping others. No other choice<br />
I?ve made thus far has more<br />
conclusively demonstrated this than<br />
joining the United States Navy. As a<br />
Fleet Marine Force Hospital<br />
Corpsman, my sole purpose, mission<br />
and objective was to care for and, if<br />
necessary, rip marines, sailors,<br />
soldiers, airmen and civilians from<br />
the grips of death on the front line.<br />
Finding CrossFit<br />
I?ve carried CrossFit in my heart ever<br />
since I first came across it in 2008.<br />
After I left the Service in 2011, I finally<br />
had a chance to visit my first real<br />
CrossFit Box in Naples, FL. I chose<br />
CrossFit Blaze. My mind was blown<br />
away. The sense of camaraderie, the<br />
tangible passion of everyone there,<br />
the shared anguish all in an effort to<br />
truly pursue fitness. It wasn?t just<br />
about bigger pecs or traps or quads<br />
or how thick the biceps were. It<br />
wasn't about the scale or the number<br />
reflected or the size of your waist or<br />
how skinny or good you looked in<br />
the mirror. This was different. This<br />
was about really developing, growing<br />
strong and finding your true<br />
potential. Creating a better version of<br />
yourself with a focus on longevity<br />
and pushing back disease.<br />
Crossroads<br />
Shortly after my wife and I relocated<br />
and started to attend CrossFit<br />
Redline, where I met some of the<br />
most gracious and wonderful<br />
individuals (I only wish I could have<br />
been there longer), I was confronted<br />
with VA doctor's opinions regarding<br />
my physical health. I decided to<br />
comply and heed their recommendations<br />
to change my fitness habits to<br />
better suit their findings. It was<br />
difficult for me to believe that at 30,<br />
my body would be incapable of<br />
heavier exercise. This never really<br />
sat well me. I found that my health<br />
began to deteriorate. I gained large<br />
amounts of weight and my<br />
cholesterol went through the roof. I<br />
had never felt so miserable about<br />
myself. But at least my knees and my<br />
back were staying healthy, right?<br />
How Far We?ve Come<br />
A little over a year ago today, we<br />
arrived in <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong>. My wife and I<br />
were searching for a home and fell<br />
in love with the community from the<br />
moment we arrived. I was thrilled<br />
with the idea of having my own<br />
garage. Truth be told, I barely knew<br />
what I was going to do with it.<br />
Initially my goal was to get "a few<br />
things? for myself to play with. A bar,<br />
some plates and a rower later, I<br />
began my journey back to CrossFit.<br />
My neighbor joined me for workouts.<br />
One neighbor turned into two. Then<br />
four. Then 8. Fast forward 10 months<br />
and we are holding 3 to 4 classes a<br />
day ranging from just a few to about<br />
18 motivated neighbors at a time, all<br />
from my two car garage. It has been<br />
truly amazing but it seems as though<br />
we have outgrown our little space.<br />
What began as a simple idea in a<br />
garage, a love for fitness and a<br />
distaste for a sedentary lifestyle has<br />
blossomed into a state of desire for<br />
constant improvement. We are driven<br />
by the betterment and the<br />
improvement of others. Today our<br />
battle is different. Our fight is against<br />
complacency. Against chronic<br />
diseases. Against inaction. I view my<br />
role and the roles of our team with<br />
the same passion, drive and<br />
importance as when I served on the<br />
front line. Our mission today is to<br />
live healthy, invigorated and plentiful<br />
lives and to share this philosophy<br />
with as many people as we can. Now<br />
it?s time to begin our next adventure.<br />
Now we want to share this with<br />
absolutely everyone. Stand by. This is<br />
just the beginning.<br />
Who We Are<br />
Our CrossFit Gym in <strong>Ave</strong> is a family.<br />
We are unique and diverse, but<br />
3<br />
all-inclusive. This is a place where<br />
everybody knows your name. We<br />
believe in having fun. Exercise needs<br />
to be different every day and present<br />
new and fun challenges. We believe<br />
this creates a true sense of accomplishment<br />
and confidence. We believe<br />
in mastering the basics. We believe<br />
that building a foundation of<br />
knowledge and proper movement is<br />
a cornerstone of improvement. We<br />
believe in always being a student of<br />
both life and of CrossFit. You can?t<br />
progress forward if you think you?re<br />
done learning. We are here to learn<br />
from CrossFit and each one of our<br />
members, day after day.
What We Do<br />
It?s plain and simple: we make people<br />
healthier and more fit. And we do this by<br />
utilizing the best from many programs like<br />
gymnastics, weightlifting, endurance<br />
training, calisthenics and more. We train<br />
functional movement, meaning we utilize<br />
movements that the body is intended to do.<br />
The CrossFit program is designed to<br />
improve ten general physical skills:<br />
cardio-respiratory endurance, stamina,<br />
strength, flexibility, power, speed,<br />
coordination, agility, balance and accuracy.<br />
The result is well rounded physical fitness<br />
and restored vitality.<br />
Who We Train<br />
Everyone! It doesn?t matter if you begin<br />
CrossFit as a couch potato, a yogi, or a<br />
marathon runner- you will gain incredible<br />
results by committing to our program.<br />
CrossFit is for you if you:<br />
- Are sick of the regular gym atmosphere<br />
- Are tired of not seeing any results<br />
- Want to finally get in shape without doing<br />
it alone<br />
- Have lost interest in your normal gym<br />
routine<br />
- Want to improve in your sport<br />
- Want to feel, look and be your best<br />
possible YOU<br />
- Be a part of an incredible community of<br />
like-minded individuals<br />
For more information, Follow us @<br />
https://www.facebook.com/AVEXFIT/
~ Residential mortgages for home purchases<br />
~ Construction loans ~ Lot loans<br />
~ Refinancing your existing mortgage can be a sound financial<br />
decision. Benefits may include: lowering your interest rate, lowering<br />
your monthly payment, removing mortgage insurance, or<br />
consolidating debt.<br />
~ And more<br />
NMLS# 903827<br />
Mark Fein - Mortgage Loan Originator 239-784-7236 Mark.Fein@53.com<br />
C O M M U N I T Y<br />
SUBMI SSI ONS:<br />
Book Fair! Ignatius Press.<br />
Sat . No vember 12, 3pm-8pm<br />
&<br />
A T H A N K SGI V I N G D AY<br />
P R AY E R<br />
Sun. No vember 13, 9am-4pm<br />
@ <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> Quasi Parish Hall<br />
Chr ist mas Tr ee<br />
Light ing<br />
and M ovie Night.<br />
December 16<br />
More Info to Come<br />
TENNIS ROUND ROBIN<br />
FEBRUARY<br />
MORE INFO TO C OME<br />
513<br />
We t hank you, Fat her, for t he gift of<br />
Jesus your Son w ho came t o our<br />
eart h and lived in a simple home. We<br />
have a great er appreciat ion of t he<br />
value and dignit y of t he human<br />
family because he loved and w as<br />
loved w it hin it s shelt er. Bless us<br />
t his day; may w e grow in love for<br />
each ot her in our family and so give<br />
t hanks t o you w ho are t he maker of<br />
all human families and our abiding<br />
peace.<br />
Am en<br />
~Msgr. Michael Buckley
Legal Corner<br />
By: Robb Klucik<br />
WHAT IS A WILL?<br />
Often people<br />
ask me to<br />
explain the<br />
basic elements<br />
of a Last Will<br />
and Testament,<br />
so here I<br />
will share<br />
some information<br />
compiled<br />
by the<br />
Florida Bar:<br />
A will is a written direction<br />
controlling the disposition of<br />
property at death. The laws of<br />
each state set the formal<br />
requirements for a legal will. In<br />
Florida:<br />
- You, the maker of the will<br />
(called the testator), must be at<br />
least 18 years old.<br />
- You must be of sound mind at<br />
the time you sign your will.<br />
- Your will must be written.<br />
- Your will must be witnessed and<br />
notarized in the special manner<br />
provided by law for wills.<br />
- It is necessary to follow exactly<br />
the formalities required by<br />
Florida law for the execution of a<br />
will.<br />
- To be effective, your will must<br />
be proved valid in and allowed by<br />
the probate court.<br />
No will becomes final until the<br />
death of the testator, and it may<br />
be changed or added to by the<br />
testator by drawing a new will or<br />
by a "codicil," which is simply a<br />
separately written addition or<br />
amendment executed with the<br />
same formalities as a will. A will's<br />
terms cannot be changed by<br />
writing something in or crossing<br />
something out after the will is<br />
executed. In fact, writing on the<br />
will after its execution may<br />
invalidate part of the will or all of<br />
it.<br />
WHAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY<br />
A WILL?<br />
- You decide who gets your<br />
property instead of the law<br />
making the choice for you.<br />
- You may name the personal<br />
representative (executor) of your<br />
will as you choose, provided the<br />
one named can qualify under<br />
Florida law. A personal<br />
representative is one who<br />
manages an estate, and it may be<br />
either an individual or a bank or<br />
trust company, subject to certain<br />
limitations.<br />
- A trust may be created in your<br />
will whereby the estate or a<br />
portion of the estate will be kept<br />
intact with income distributed to<br />
or accumulated for the benefit of<br />
members of the family or others.<br />
Minors can be cared for without<br />
the expense of proceedings for<br />
guardianship of property.<br />
- Real estate and other assets<br />
may be sold without court<br />
proceedings, if your will<br />
adequately authorizes it.<br />
- You may make gifts, effective at<br />
or after your death, to charity.<br />
- You decide who bears any tax<br />
burden, rather than the law<br />
making that decision.<br />
- A guardian may be named for<br />
minor children.<br />
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THERE IS<br />
NO WILL?<br />
If you die without a will (this is<br />
called dying "intestate"), your<br />
property will be distributed to<br />
your heirs according to a formula<br />
fixed by law. Your property does<br />
not go to the state of Florida<br />
unless there are absolutely no<br />
heirs at law, which is very<br />
unlikely. In other words, if you<br />
fail to make a will, the<br />
inheritance statute determines<br />
who gets your property. The<br />
inheritance statute contains a<br />
rigid formula and makes no<br />
exception for those in unusual<br />
need. When there is no will, the<br />
court appoints a personal<br />
representative, known or<br />
unknown to you, to manage your<br />
estate. The cost of probating may<br />
be greater than if you had<br />
planned your estate with a will,<br />
and the administration of your<br />
estate may be subject to greater<br />
court supervision.<br />
Attorney Robb Klucik has been<br />
practicing law in <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong>,<br />
Florida, since 2009.<br />
6
WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO M AKE THE WORLD M ORE BEAUTIFUL:<br />
ROM AN SAM UELS<br />
"THAT'SALLVERYWELL, BUTTHEREISATHIRDTHINGYOUMUSTDO. YOUMUSTDOSOMETHINGTOMAKE<br />
THEWORLDMOREBEAUTIFUL."<br />
- COONEY,BARBARA. (1982). MISS RUMPHIUS. LONDON: VIKING PRESS.<br />
Wr i tten By : Laur en Sol or zano<br />
?People don?t get it, until they see<br />
you do it.?<br />
Roman Samuels was once known as<br />
?the suit guy? at <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong><br />
University, and as he looks forward<br />
to his next journey, he?s hoping to<br />
leave the suit and tie behind.<br />
A graduate from the class of 2013,<br />
the way Roman ended up at <strong>Ave</strong><br />
<strong>Maria</strong> University is not much<br />
different than many people?s story;<br />
his parents urged him to go to<br />
college. As an eighteen year old his<br />
vision for his future involved music,<br />
and dreams of becoming a rock<br />
star. He was already the<br />
singer/songwriter for his band in<br />
Denver, CO and was not exactly<br />
dedicated to school. Getting a late<br />
start in the application process,<br />
Roman applied to mostly state<br />
schools with the exception of <strong>Ave</strong><br />
<strong>Maria</strong> University. His father had<br />
gone to a talk by Tom Monaghan<br />
and, feeling inspired, encouraged<br />
Roman to give it a shot.<br />
When talking about <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> and<br />
his visit here in July of 2009, Roman<br />
states ?it just felt...peaceful. I could<br />
see myself here.? Admitting he<br />
found the place a bit bizarre at first,<br />
<strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> University gave him a<br />
feeling of being cared for or<br />
wanted. On phone calls with<br />
admissions staff they referred to<br />
him by name and asked about the<br />
recent shows he performed with his<br />
band. Compared to the state schools,<br />
where he was asked his student<br />
number and phone calls were brief<br />
and impersonal. Roman chose to<br />
journey to Florida and leave<br />
Colorado behind. His high school<br />
band dissipated with a little<br />
resentment and Roman began his<br />
college career in 2009.<br />
In 2009 the University was going<br />
through the accreditation process,<br />
7
which meant they had to freeze<br />
their curriculum. The majors<br />
offered at the time were very<br />
limited, so with music in mind<br />
Roman chose the closest thing<br />
he could think of...economics.<br />
He laughs as he explains his<br />
thought process; the music<br />
offered was sacred music so he<br />
wanted more of a business<br />
route. There was no business<br />
offered at the time, so<br />
economics seemed like the next<br />
best thing. His initial plan was<br />
to stay at the University for six<br />
months and then transfer to a<br />
school with more options that<br />
better suited his interests. Then<br />
he took his first economics<br />
class in his second semester<br />
and he was hooked.<br />
As a high school student Roman<br />
didn?t care much for school, but<br />
by the end of his first year of<br />
college he found himself<br />
thriving and even loving the<br />
things he was learning about.<br />
He started to think about his<br />
future differently, learning<br />
about stocks, investing,<br />
analyzing companies...in his<br />
words he was ?bitten by the<br />
bug.? After mastering the<br />
juggling of classes, homework,<br />
papers and a social life Roman<br />
remained at the university that<br />
summer to add another<br />
challenge to his plate, a job. A<br />
job as a student worker in the<br />
library quickly changed to<br />
working in the office of Tom<br />
Monaghan on the third floor.<br />
As a student worker Roman did<br />
not need to wear a suit, but<br />
Tom Monaghan quickly got to<br />
know Roman and put him in<br />
charge of a project referred to<br />
as the ?zig zag wall? (a wall of<br />
chapels that would lead up to<br />
the Oratory representing every<br />
rite in the Catholic Church -<br />
with the Oratory representing<br />
the Roman rite. It would be an<br />
outward symbol to show how<br />
universal and multicultural the<br />
Church is - unfortunately the<br />
project hasn?t made it to<br />
production? yet). As a<br />
sophomore in college Roman<br />
purchased his first suit, he<br />
began working from 7 am to 7<br />
pm, meeting with people to<br />
head up this vision Tom had<br />
entrusted to him. Breaking for<br />
classes in between work and<br />
doing homework in the<br />
evening, Roman rose to the<br />
challenge that work and school<br />
brought him. His time working<br />
on the project was limited to a<br />
year, but his future as ?the suit<br />
guy? had just begun.<br />
After the department he worked<br />
in was dissipated due to budget<br />
cuts, Roman looked for work<br />
elsewhere and he didn?t need to<br />
look far. With a recommendation<br />
from Tom Monaghan,<br />
Roman began working for<br />
Schwartz Investment Council,<br />
also known as <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong><br />
Mutual Funds. He began to<br />
enjoy putting on a nice suit and<br />
tie each day, blissfully unaware<br />
of the presence and attention<br />
he had gained from his<br />
business attire.<br />
After graduating in June 2013<br />
with a double major in<br />
economics and business,<br />
Roman was offered a full time<br />
position at <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> Mutual<br />
funds which he gladly accepted.<br />
Appreciative to have full time<br />
employment and not have to<br />
look for work when so many of<br />
his classmates were not finding<br />
jobs, Roman embraced work<br />
and took advantage of all the<br />
time free from homework and<br />
the benefits of a paycheck. He<br />
says ?that?s when music came<br />
back.? Writing and playing in<br />
his free time, his life became<br />
finance by day, music by night.<br />
He used his money to self fund,<br />
self produce his first full band<br />
album which was released on<br />
iTunes May 1, 2014.<br />
After two years of working full<br />
"It just felt...<br />
peaceful. I<br />
could see<br />
myself here."<br />
-Roman Samuels,<br />
class of 2013, of his<br />
decision to come to<br />
<strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> University.<br />
time for AMMF and playing<br />
some local venues, Roman<br />
became torn between his<br />
passions. He loved both his<br />
finance life and music but could<br />
not find the joy he got from<br />
playing in front of an audience<br />
at his desk job. In July <strong>2016</strong>,<br />
Roman decided to take a<br />
?sabbatical? from work to figure<br />
out what to do. He returned<br />
home to Denver for a month to<br />
spend time with family and<br />
come up with a plan. It became<br />
crystal clear: if there was a<br />
time for Roman to pursue<br />
music it would be now as a<br />
twenty-five-year-old single guy.<br />
In August <strong>2016</strong> Roman left <strong>Ave</strong><br />
<strong>Maria</strong> Mutual Funds, which he<br />
cannot speak more highly of.<br />
His appreciation of the<br />
8
opportunities they gave him are<br />
clear and you can tell the<br />
decision to leave was a hard<br />
one.<br />
So what is Roman doing now?<br />
His time in <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> is coming<br />
to a close as he plans to<br />
relocate back home to Denver,<br />
CO in January. He is using his<br />
experience to come up with a<br />
business plan for how he will<br />
pursue his music career, with<br />
clearly laid out goals,<br />
developing his brand and<br />
finding the market that will<br />
help him grow. He reflects back<br />
on something Tom Monaghan<br />
had told him during his days<br />
working on the zig zag wall<br />
project, ?People don?t get it, until<br />
they see you do it.? It?s a phrase<br />
he can relate to now, because<br />
his dream just doesn?t seem to<br />
make sense to some people. He?s<br />
hoping to make it, and show<br />
people rather than just tell<br />
them.<br />
Reflecting on his college<br />
experience and the timing of<br />
events, Roman is glad he didn?t<br />
just hop on a tour bus with<br />
some band when he was<br />
eighteen. He says college gave<br />
him ?a realization that he had<br />
more skills than just music.?<br />
With a college degree and a<br />
growing resume, Roman is<br />
confident that he can fulfill his<br />
dreams and that this might not<br />
have been the order of events<br />
he would have chosen, but that<br />
the timing is perfect. You can<br />
keep up with Roman on his<br />
journey at<br />
romansamuelsmusic.com<br />
and/or sign up for his weekly<br />
newsletter. He plans on<br />
potentially having a last<br />
performance in the coming<br />
month or two to say good bye<br />
to the place he has called home<br />
for the last seven years.<br />
Thank you Roman for sharing<br />
your gifts and passion for<br />
music to make our world a<br />
more beautiful place!<br />
***"The diversity of rites in the Catholic<br />
Church manifests its universality. Most<br />
Catholics worship according to the Roman<br />
rite, but there are millions who worship<br />
according to different rites. The more we<br />
appreciate their worship the more we can<br />
appreciate our own." Our Sunday Visitor.<br />
By: Emily Stimpson***<br />
9
afundraising partner of:<br />
GuadalupeGardens<br />
GuadalupeRoastery<br />
Specialty Coff eWithamission!<br />
- Fresh, Locally Roast ed , Specialt y Cof fee<br />
- Specialt y Grade Cof fee Beans = Except ional Flavor<br />
- Each Bag is From a Single Origin<br />
- All Proceeds Fund Mission Work<br />
- Place an order in <strong>Nov</strong>ember and get ent ered for a chance t o w in a cof fee gift basket in December!<br />
- Gift basket s w ill also be available for purchase<br />
Order at : guadaluperoast ery.com<br />
Ask for t he Guadalupe Roast ery DARK ROAST at The Bean Of <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> and Support<br />
t he Missions and Local Business!<br />
What Makes Specialty Coffee Special?<br />
In the quest<br />
for the<br />
perfect cup<br />
of coffee, we<br />
must start at<br />
the source,<br />
the cherry. Coffee trees produce<br />
berries called "coffee cherries."<br />
Inside each cherry are two green<br />
coffee beans.<br />
When the cherries are ripe, they<br />
turn a bright red color. Ripe<br />
cherries make for the best tasting<br />
beans. But, in many cases, coffee<br />
plantation workers will pick<br />
cherries that are not yet ripe or<br />
over-ripened because it is much<br />
easier to strip each branch of the<br />
berries than picking and choosing<br />
the ripe ones.<br />
Generally, coffee berry pickers<br />
are paid by weight of their<br />
harvest and are, therefore, not as<br />
concerned about the quality of<br />
the cherries they pick.<br />
Coffee farms that produce<br />
specialty grade coffee are<br />
operated a bit differently.<br />
Typically, the workers are paid a<br />
By: Guadalupe Roastery<br />
higher wage and are focused on<br />
the quality of their harvest. rather<br />
than the quantity. Specialty<br />
coffees are usually produced in<br />
ideal climates and on smaller<br />
farms.<br />
To promote and regulate the<br />
industry, growers, exporters,<br />
roasters, retailers, and equipment<br />
suppliers have established trade<br />
associations.<br />
The standard for green coffee<br />
bean classification provided by<br />
the Specialty Coffee Association of<br />
America is:<br />
Specialty Grade Coffee - must<br />
have no more than 5 total defects<br />
with none of them being primary<br />
defects. Must possess at least one<br />
distinctive attribute in the body.<br />
flavor, aroma, or acidity.<br />
Premium Grade Coffee - must<br />
have no more than 8 total defects<br />
and primary defects are allowed.<br />
Exchange Grade Coffee - must<br />
have no more than 9-23 defects.<br />
Below Standard Grade Coffee -<br />
24-86 defects.<br />
Off Grade Coffee - more than 86<br />
defects.<br />
Roasters who pay a premium for<br />
specialty grade green coffee<br />
beans generally take special care<br />
to roast each batch to bring out<br />
the coffee's best attributes.<br />
When it comes to the preparation<br />
of the coffee, there are a wide<br />
variety of options. Many specialty<br />
coffeehouses prefer the pour<br />
over, but it is much more time<br />
consuming than a typical brew.<br />
While the roasting and<br />
preparation are important, it is<br />
the superior quality of the<br />
specialty grade coffee bean itself<br />
that produces a more vibrant cup<br />
of coffee and a more enjoyable<br />
coffee drinking experience.
The Solor zanos - Fr om New Yor k to <strong>Ave</strong> M ar ia! By : Sar ah Bl anchar d<br />
___________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
Everyone loves a good love story, especially one<br />
that takes place in <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong>.<br />
What are the chances that two kids from New York<br />
would only come to find each other? and love? in a<br />
little town in Southwest Florida?<br />
Mike and Lauren?s families lived just a few hundred<br />
miles from each other. Lauren grew up on Long<br />
Island, while Mike?s family moved to Rochester when<br />
he was eight. (Before that, he lived in the Bay area<br />
of California? and Mike still considers himself a<br />
Californian at heart.) When Lauren was looking at<br />
colleges, she had one priority: to get out of New<br />
York. Florida, the land of alligators, skunk ape<br />
sightings, and 80-degree Christmases, was about as<br />
different a place as she could imagine. She fell in<br />
love with the University of Florida?s campus when<br />
she went to visit, and decided to spend the next four<br />
years in Gainesville, earning her B.A. in English.<br />
Mike, too, was in search of balmier weather when<br />
12<br />
he began looking at colleges, but he was also looking<br />
for an education in the Catholic liberal arts. His first<br />
choice was to return to California via attending<br />
Thomas Aquinas College, but when he was<br />
wait-listed, he decided to look around at other<br />
options. He jokes that he ended up at <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong><br />
University because TAC didn?t want him. Luckily for<br />
Lauren, Mike didn?t realize at the time that his high<br />
ranking on the wait-list for TAC basically<br />
guaranteed he would have made it into the<br />
incoming class that year. He put TAC behind him<br />
and decided to go to AMU.<br />
So there they were: Mike was starting his B.A. in<br />
Literature at <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> University, and Lauren was<br />
three hundred miles away, studying English up in<br />
Gainesville. They had both traveled the distance of<br />
1,000 miles from New York to Florida while<br />
succeeding in maintaining the few hundred miles<br />
that separated them.<br />
Continued on page 14
17<br />
-Quote Author
But Mike and Lauren were clearly<br />
meant to be together. Anyone who<br />
knows them can see how well they<br />
balance each other, how they share<br />
similar interests, how they make<br />
each other? and everyone around<br />
them? laugh and share their joy.<br />
Events seemed to be working to<br />
bring these two together when<br />
Mike?s roommate freshman year<br />
began dating a girl who had been<br />
friends with Lauren since high<br />
school. And yet, it took two more<br />
years for Mike and Lauren finally<br />
to meet. But once they did, things<br />
started moving quickly.<br />
Over Halloween weekend in 2010,<br />
Mike tagged along with his<br />
roommate and his roommate?s<br />
girlfriend on a trip to visit Lauren<br />
up in Gainesville. They went tubing.<br />
On <strong>Nov</strong>ember 9, Lauren?s 21st<br />
birthday, they had their first<br />
?unofficial? date. Lauren and her<br />
friends stopped by the Pub in <strong>Ave</strong><br />
<strong>Maria</strong> before heading down to Key<br />
Largo for the weekend. Mike joined<br />
them there. ?We really clicked that<br />
night,? he says. The next day,<br />
Lauren and her friends took off for<br />
the Keys, but according to Mike,<br />
Lauren?s mind was in <strong>Ave</strong> that<br />
weekend. ?You pathetically called<br />
me the whole time!? he teases her.<br />
Lauren can take it, but she can also<br />
dish it. She reminds him of the first<br />
time he told her that he loved her.<br />
?We weren?t even dating!? she says.<br />
It was December 17, a month since<br />
that night at the pub, and hardly<br />
two months since Mike and Lauren<br />
first met. At 11a.m. on the morning<br />
of Lauren?s last day at the<br />
University of Florida, her phone<br />
rang. It was Mike, and he was<br />
telling her how much he loved her.<br />
This event is now a little bit of a<br />
debate between them. Mike had<br />
finished his final exams the night<br />
before, and when he called Lauren,<br />
he had been up the whole night<br />
celebrating with his friends. He<br />
insists his profession was sincere,<br />
but Lauren is skeptical, considering<br />
circumstances, how much he could<br />
have meant it. Either way, it hardly<br />
matters. They began dating<br />
officially two weeks later. Mike and<br />
Lauren laugh and shrug about that<br />
phone call, chalking it up to ?life<br />
before marriage.?<br />
Lauren graduated the next day and<br />
moved in with her mom, who had<br />
come down to Naples in 2009. Mike<br />
still had another year left of school.<br />
?I was on a 4.5-year plan,? he<br />
14<br />
laughs. ?If I had my way, I would?ve<br />
stayed five.? Lauren cuts in, ?No<br />
you wouldn?t!? And Mike<br />
immediately agrees: ?You?re right. I<br />
wanted to get married.?<br />
Mike and Lauren dated throughout<br />
that year. Lauren began working a<br />
few odd jobs, first at a daycare,<br />
then assisting students in SAT<br />
preparation, and finally as an aid<br />
at various schools, including<br />
Immokalee High School. It was<br />
through her time at Immokalee<br />
High School that she was offered a<br />
full-time job at the Eden Park<br />
Elementary School for the following<br />
year.<br />
On December 17, 2011, Mike<br />
graduated from <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong><br />
University. He moved back to<br />
Rochester and started looking for<br />
work? particularly work that could<br />
support a family. Lauren was on<br />
his mind, and he was making plans<br />
for a proposal.<br />
That Spring, Lauren traveled up to<br />
visit Mike in Rochester for Easter.<br />
The way Lauren tells it, the week<br />
was a crazy one? ending in near<br />
disaster. ?Mike?s brother was<br />
getting his tonsils out, so we were<br />
in and out of the hospital; and then
it was Holy Week, so we were going to Mass all the<br />
time. And then we got into a fight. I said something<br />
aggravating to him, and Mike said: ?You?re going to<br />
eat those words.?For some reason, I thought he<br />
meant he was going to give me a swirly.?<br />
At this point in the story, Mike and Lauren break out<br />
laughing. ?How did you get that idea?? Mike<br />
wonders. Lauren says, ?I don?t know. I thought you<br />
meant it literally? that I was going to have to eat my<br />
words.?<br />
Mike takes over telling the story. ?No, what I meant<br />
is that I was planning to propose.? Mike had ordered<br />
the engagement ring and it was late arriving. ?The<br />
reason why the ring got here late was because<br />
Lauren had told me she had really fat fingers.? The<br />
idea that Lauren has fat fingers borders on the<br />
preposterous, but Mike took her comment seriously.<br />
He contacted the ring dealer and requested it be<br />
sized up for ?fat fingers.? The extra time to get the<br />
ring sized caused it to come late in the mail. He was<br />
anxiously waiting for the ring to arrive when<br />
Lauren showed up at his house? a day before<br />
expected. ?I was trying to surprise him,? Lauren<br />
breaks in. ?There?s photographic proof of this,? Mike<br />
goes on, ?that when she surprised me, she literally<br />
jumped out of a trunk. And you can see it on my<br />
face: ?Oh son of a gun. I?m not ready for you. I don?t<br />
15<br />
have my surprise ready yet.?<br />
When the ring finally arrived, of course all of Mike?s<br />
family wanted to get a look at it. That?s what got<br />
Mike and Lauren started on their fight. ?I had Nosy<br />
Nelly over here,? Mike gestures to Lauren sitting<br />
across their dining room table, ?nagging me about it.<br />
And that?s when I said she was going to eat her<br />
words. I was thinking, ?You?re going to be so<br />
surprised, you dummy!? They?re both laughing again.<br />
A few days later, after Easter, they took a drive up to<br />
Niagara Falls, where Mike gave Lauren a swirly? just<br />
kidding! He proposed. The ring was sized up so<br />
large, Mike explains, that Lauren had to put a whole<br />
pack of Band-Aids on her finger to keep it from<br />
flying off into the Falls.<br />
By summer, Mike was still looking for work and they<br />
were holding off on setting a wedding date until he<br />
found a full-time job. Since nothing was working out<br />
in Rochester, he moved down to Florida to at least<br />
be near Lauren. He started working an overnight<br />
security shift for Moraya Bay (a high rise condo<br />
near Wigins Pass Beach), and volunteering for<br />
Habitat for Humanity in Immokalee. Lauren was<br />
teaching fifth grade at Eden Park Elementary School.<br />
That December, they decided to go ahead and get<br />
married. ?I had a full-time job,? Lauren says, ?so we
could at least pay for our<br />
wedding, and maybe life after.?<br />
They set the wedding date for<br />
July 27, 2013, at St. Williams<br />
Catholic Church in Naples.<br />
Two days before their wedding,<br />
Mike was offered a full-time job<br />
with Habitat for Humanity as<br />
Director of Construction for<br />
Immokalee. As Director, he<br />
oversees anything having to do<br />
with construction, from<br />
infrastructure to the top of the<br />
-Quote Author<br />
roof, from pulling permits to<br />
dealing with venders. Lauren<br />
calls the timing of job offer<br />
perfect. ?We got to go on our<br />
honeymoon, and then go right to<br />
work the next day!? Few would be<br />
so excited about work when<br />
there is a wedding to think about,<br />
but for a young couple eager to<br />
start a life and family together,<br />
income is an important<br />
consideration.<br />
A blonde-haired little girl<br />
wanders over to the table. ?She?s<br />
a honeymoon baby,? Mike says, as<br />
he picks up their two-year-old<br />
daughter Kolbe. Lauren is still<br />
sitting at the table, cradling their<br />
newborn son, Kilian, in her arms.<br />
She is glowing? and it?s not from<br />
the sun setting behind her. There<br />
is a gentle love and a strong<br />
security that can be sensed in<br />
every aspect of their home.<br />
The Solorzano?s house, which<br />
they purchased in July 2014, is on<br />
a canal in Emerson Park. Their<br />
dinning room looks out on the<br />
water, with the tangled Florida<br />
wilderness stretching beyond.<br />
They live in a three-bedroom<br />
single-story home. It?s one of the<br />
original models, but one would<br />
hardly recognize it for all the<br />
work that Mike and Lauren have<br />
put into the home. On the outside,<br />
they recently painted contrasting<br />
colors that draw out the<br />
architectural details of the house.<br />
A set of bright orange adirondack<br />
chairs speaks of the fun and<br />
friendly lives within. Inside, Mike<br />
and Lauren have put down<br />
engineered bamboo flooring.<br />
They?ve renovated the bathrooms,<br />
painted cabinets and doors in<br />
cheery colors, and even installed<br />
a custom-built breakfast nook. (It<br />
certainly helps that Mike is in the<br />
construction business.)<br />
Mike says they?re a fan of the<br />
?tiny home? lifestyle. ?I want to<br />
try to be practical with space.?<br />
They go back and forth, sharing<br />
some more of their plans to<br />
install more custom shelving and<br />
storage, maximizing their space.<br />
Lauren adds: ?We figure this will<br />
some day be our tiny home,<br />
depending on how many kids we<br />
have.?<br />
?We love Emerson Park, now that<br />
we live here,? Lauren says. They<br />
came to the neighborhood<br />
?accidentally,? simply buying a<br />
home that suited their needs.<br />
Mike wouldn?t prefer to live<br />
anywhere else in <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong>. He<br />
loves the community, and to see<br />
all of the kids growing up around<br />
them. Lauren loves the layout of<br />
the neighborhood. ?I like how it<br />
feels like we?re close to everyone,<br />
and how the people around the<br />
corner still feel like immediate<br />
?I like how it feels<br />
like w e?re close to<br />
everyone, and<br />
how the people<br />
around the corner<br />
still feel like<br />
immediate<br />
neighbors.?<br />
- Lauren Solorzano<br />
neighbors.? Now that the<br />
Solorzanos are in Emerson Park,<br />
Lauren says: ?We would choose it<br />
again, every time.?<br />
One can?t help but think that Mike<br />
and Lauren know a good thing<br />
when they see it. For all their<br />
jokes and teasing, they are clear<br />
about what is important in<br />
life? growing in their love for<br />
each other, making a welcoming<br />
home for their children out of<br />
this love, and choosing a place to<br />
live, like <strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong>, where their<br />
love and their family can thrive.<br />
___________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
17
Stella Maris of FL<br />
<strong>Ave</strong> <strong>Maria</strong>, FL 34142<br />
PRSRT STD<br />
ECRWSS<br />
U.S. POSTAGE<br />
PAID<br />
EDDM RETAIL<br />
Local<br />
Postal Customer<br />
<strong>Ave</strong><strong>Maria</strong>GratiaPlena<br />
Hail Mary Full of Grace Luke 1:28