Benjamin Pietrzyk (JFRC Fall ‘03, BA ‘05, GS ‘06) and Mary Pietrzyk (nee Mattingly) (JFRC ‘04-‘05, BA ‘06) are happy to announce the ar- rival of their newest Rambler, Nora Adeline, born in August 2014.
Marc R. Wezowski (BS ‘03, MS ‘06) started as a Partner at Husch Blackwell LLP.
Meghan Burke (MA ’05, PhD ’09) made Nerd- Scholar’s second annual “40 Under 40: Professors Who Inspire” feature, which describes the profes- sors as “demonstrating the difference between good and great.”
Laura M. Carter (JFRC Summer ’05, MED ’06) received her PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in May 2015. Her dissertation title was “Disordered Eating and Spiritual Well-Being in College-Age Women.”
Sean C. Herring (JD ‘05) was recently elevated to shareholder at Jackson Lewis, PC. His practice focuses on employment litigation matters.
William F. Kelley (MBA ’05) will receive the Michael J. Howlett Award.
Chantal Khan (BS ’05) is launching her recruiting company, The Pretium Consultants Group, Inc., with a new interactive online course component under the name The Future Mind of Business Project. The courses are designed to fill the gap between how recruiters find and assess talent and how companies onboard and train them.
Jason Wapiennik (BA ’05) and Joanna Wapien- nik welcomed their son, Jacob Peter Wapiennik, into the world on June 7, 2014.
Josh Hayes (BA ’06) married Chicago native Anne Hayes in Stanwood, Michigan, on July 26, 2014. He was also promoted to contracts and grants analyst at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems in Washington, DC.
Nicole Paradiso (JD ’06) and Rennie Santilli announce the birth of their daughter, Estella Para- diso Santilli, who was born on May 10, 2014.
Andrew Zimmerman (BS ’06) joined Armstrong Teasdale’s financial and real estate services prac- tice group in its St. Louis office. A commercial liti- gator, he represents clients in matters involving debtor and creditor rights, lender liability, loan restructurings/workouts, receivership and fore- closure proceedings, and lien priority disputes.
Julia H. Delekta (BS ’07) married Edward Bella- my II at Gesu Catholic Church in Detroit, Michigan on May 16, 2015.
Michael Stark (MBA ’13, JD ’13), right, at a December Holiday Heroes event. PHOTO BY HEATHER EIDSON ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Success through service
MICHAEL STARK FULLY ADMITS to hav- ing his “Jerry Maguire moment.” After earning both his JD from the School of Law and MBA from the Quinlan School of Business in just three years, Stark lasted about four months at an IT consulting firm. But then on a nondescript Wednesday, he decided to quit. “I’ve never looked back,” the now 28-year-
old says. “If you had asked me two years ago what I’d be doing, I don’t even know how I could’ve pictured this.” Stark found his path in early 2014. Brandt
Kucharski, the corporate controller at GrubHub, asked Stark to be the first full-time executive director for Holiday Heroes, a nonprofit that works with hospitals to throw parties and events for its youngest patients. Kucharski approached Stark after learning about his position on the board of directors at Aspire of Illinois, an organization that assists those with developmental disabilities. To Stark, it all seemed serendipitous. “It was just one of those life tapping you on
the shoulder things,” he says. “When I was look- ing at Holiday Heroes, I was doing my diligence, and I saw in their filings they had actually gotten 501(c)(3) status on my birthday. There was something just in my gut that was saying go do this.”
Since 2009, Holiday Heroes has brought fes-
tive parties and crafts to kids with critical and chronic health issues. These themed celebra- tions, which include Christmas, Halloween, Fourth of July, and—Stark’s personal favorite— superheroes, bring joy and excitement to the often dreary day-to-day activities in a hospital. “That first year at Holiday Heroes I was the
only staff person, so I was doing everything from admin to fundraising to planning these hospital parties to coordinating with the board of directors,” Stark says. “It was just one of those things that was really challenging, but it was incredibly rewarding, too.” In 2015 alone, Holiday Heroes helped more
than 1,000 kids in the Chicago area, but Stark doesn’t want to stop there. He also sits on the Campaign for Quinlan Leadership Committee and is one of the founders of the Chicago Lead- ership Alliance, which promotes social change and supports local entrepreneurs, businesses, and nonprofits. “In 10 years, I aspire to be one of Chicago’s
leading social entrepreneurs,” Stark says. “My ultimate goal is to prove that one can do well by doing good—to inspire others, bring people together, and instill this ethos into the fabric of our city and its communities.” — ANNA GAYNOR
WINTER 2016 35
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