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Jim Macaluso ’72, M.Ed. ’80 retired after 50 years as Tampa’s King High School baseball coach. He is believed to be the coach with the longest tenure coaching the same sport at the same school in the Tampa Bay area. In April, the Tampa Bay Times wrote a story from his last home game (a 12-6 win over Brandon High) which mentioned several other UTampa alums in attendance: Tony Saladino ’58, Pop Cuesta ’69, John Crumbley ’82, Spartan baseball head Coach Joe Urso ’92, and Hillsborough County schools Superintendent Van Ayres ’96, who threw the first pitch. (Saladino died in August.)

John Magnolia ’73, president of the plumbing and mechanical contracting business Magnolia Companies, spoke with Construction Today in March about his company’s founding and future. Magnolia’s father started the Washington, D.C.-area company 75 years ago. “I’d like to continue upholding the family legacy for as long as possible,” Magnolia told Construction Today. “I always tell people; I’ll be here when I’m 80. You never know what the future will hold, but I’ll be here for as long as I possibly can. The work keeps me engaged and driven. It offers purpose.”

John Walsh ’74 is retired and on the board of directors for the Indigenous Leaders of North America, an organization that works with Native American youth. Last year, he and his wife, Miyoung, visited 17 countries in an around-the-world trip that included stops in East Asia, Europe, and Central and South America.

Paul Sollazzo ’75 is retired after a 44-year teaching and coaching career with Hillsborough County schools. Sollazzo spends much of his time traveling, coaching AAU basketball teams and serving as a volunteer basketball coach for Florida Academy and Bloomingdale High School in Brandon. This year, Paul and his wife, Terry, will celebrate their 41st wedding anniversary.

Robert W. Ford ’76 was the official starter at the 2025 U.S. Open golf tournament in June, reading the players’ names at the first tee. It’s a role he’s played for the past six years after a long career as head pro at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania (the Open’s venue) and Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach. Ahead of the tournament, the New York Times wrote a story about how Ford’s successor at Oakmont would be the head pro at the Open for the first time this year — and how influential Ford’s mentorship had been to the younger man’s career.

Charles J. Gutierrez ’76 retired from the Veterans Administration as a registered respiratory therapist, during which he served as clinician, supervisor, educator and researcher. Over his career, he published numerous scientific studies and helped establish neurorespiratory care as a clinical sub-specialty. He has served as an instructor in the respiratory care program at Hillsborough College and is currently an academic tutor at Pasco-Hernando State College.

Gerald Gillis MBA ’77 released his fifth book, Finding His Own Way, A Marine Novel, in April. The coming-of-age story is set in WWII.

In June, the American Association of Blacks in Energy named Thomas Graham ’82 its interim president and CEO. Graham is retired from Pepco Holdings and has more than three decades of executive leadership experience in the energy and nonprofit sectors.

Christopher Marcelletti ’83 has been with United Airlines for 30 years and is program manager of environmental affairs. He is also the father of new Spartan alum Bella Marcelletti BFA ’25. The pair is pictured on campus in the photo at the top of the next column.

Lelo Prado ’88 was named by the Tampa Bay Times in June as one of several contenders for the open athletic director position at University of South Florida. Prado, deputy athletic director at USF, oversees athletic fundraising.

Terry Rupp ’88 was inducted into the Sports Club of Tampa Bay Hall of Fame in June. Longtime athletic director at Jesuit High School in Tampa, Rupp had a standout prep baseball career when he attended the same school. He then played baseball and basketball for the Spartans, earning all-Sunshine Conference honors in both sports, and later was head coach of UTampa baseball, leading the Spartans to the 1998 Div. II NCAA title. Rupp was honored along with two-time Stanley Cup champion coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning Jon Cooper, Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach Tony Dungy and iconic ESPN personality Dick Vitale, among others.

Sean Manning ’01 was promoted to publisher at Simon & Schuster in September. In March, he was the subject of a story in New York magazine titled “Can Simon & Schuster Become the A24 of Books? The imprint’s new publisher is betting on it.”

Sam Militello ’02 was the subject of a Forbes.com article in June, after he helped the Spartans to a 10th NCAA Div. II baseball national championship. The article was titled “Former Yankees Pitcher Sam Militello Has Had A ‘Rewarding’ 25 Years with the Tampa Spartans.”

Kelly Seyed ’02 is vice president at McAllister & Quinn, a grants consulting and government relations firm. She recently was a panelist on a U.S. News Live streaming event titled “Leading Hospitals Through Seismic Shifts in Federal Health Policy.”

Jessica Freedman ’03 is a childbirth educator and birth doula. She recently was on the podcast How to Be a Redhead, discussing whether redheads experience birth differently.

Lauren Clark Dykes ’04 played the role of Regina in the Mad Theatre of Tampa production of Rock of Ages at the Shimberg Playhouse in the Straz Center, Jan. 16-Feb. 2.

Kim Smithers MBA ’04 co-founded IQ Fiber, an internet service provider, in 2021. Smithers now lives in Jacksonville and recently expanded IQ Fiber’s network services to Pinellas County, looking to grow her business in the Tampa Bay area.

Daniel Blake ’05 was named JetBlue’s vice president of airports experience in April. He has day-to-day oversight of airport operations across JetBlue’s 100-plus destinations spanning the U.S., Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. Previously, Blake served as JetBlue’s director of airport operations in Boston.

Carina Santa Maria ’07 won a seat on the Arlington Heights (IL) Village Board in a municipal election in April. Santa Maria is a licensed clinical social worker and executive director of Shelter Inc., a child welfare agency based in Arlington Heights, a Chicago suburb.

In May, Philip Bowen MBA ’08, a country music singer-songwriter and fiddle player, participated in his third Big Slick! Kansas City event, which raises money for pediatric cancer research. Bowen was among the actors, comedians and musicians who performed for patients at Children’s Mercy Hospital, played in a celebrity softball game and held a concert at the T-Mobile Center. Bowen just completed his first headlining tour and will release a new album, Appalachia Fever, this fall.

Ryan Coan ’08 is founder and CEO of Creative Riff, an experiential marketing agency. In May, he was named an Industry Innovator by BizBash, a media company covering the event industry.

In honor of Earth Day, digital artist Drake Arnold BFA ’09 was tapped by One Columbia for Arts & History to create public art meant to spark conversation about global warming. He had three installations in Columbia, SC, that were to remain up for at least six months, according to a story in Charleston’s (SC) The Post and Courier.��

Michelle Delker M.S. ’09, founder and CFO of The William Stanley CFO Group, expanded her business with the purchase of a CPA firm.

Roberto Mena ’10 is UTampa’s strength and conditioning coach, a role he began in August 2024 after founding and running for many years a Connecticut-based sports-performance business called Over the Top Athletes.

Tino Martinez Sr. ’11 is a new partner in The Pickleball Academy, which will soon have six locations in three states. Martinez first got involved as a player at the company’s Oldsmar location, according to a story in July on tampabeacon.com.

Ashley Kearney ’12 was elected in September as an at-large council member for the city of Seat Pleasant, MD, in the Washington, D.C., area. Kearney is the manager of learning and development sciences for District of Columbia Public Schools.

Francesca (Lombardo) Narduzzi ’12 is dean of students and culture at Evergreen Charter School in Hempstead, NY.

Sarah Rivera ’12 was promoted in April to graduate program coordinator III at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. She supervises a team of graduate advisers, is the lead recruiter for the Bush School online graduate programs and assists with social media promotion and engagement. Last year, she received the outstanding staff award at the Bush School.

Melissa Santell ’12 is a food photographer and founder of FoodXFeels, a photography and storytelling company for restaurants and hospitality brands. She was interviewed in the June/July issue of Tampa Magazine about her career and her favorite food-inspired jaunts in Tampa Bay.

Alex Knaggs ’14 is the new general manager at Trident Insurance, a general insurance company in Barbados. The news was announced on the Barbados Today website.

Klaus Gim ’15 is a certified professional coach who works with health care professionals. He also hosts a podcast called Transforming Healthcare Coaching.

In January, Skyler Howeth ’15 received the State Department’s Award for Heroism for his service as a special agent during an attack at the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Stephanie Sasse ’15 became principal of Hickory Elementary School in Williamsport, MD, in June.

Emily Tan ’15 was featured on WEDU Arts Plus in an episode about female artists in West Central Florida. Tan is an abstract painter, art teacher, performer and DJ.

Maranda Brown ’16 is a certified athletic trainer for the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field (FL). She recently was part of an Air Force video that educates service members about using the athletic trainers available to them.

Sarah Daniels ’16 started a new position as assistant project manager at The Beck Group. The news was announced in March.  

Lindsay Kraun ’16 is a pediatric occupational therapist who in May 2024 founded and currently coaches CP Soccer Atlanta, an adaptive soccer team for kids with cerebral palsy and brain injuries. In December, she was selected as an Everyday Hero by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Nik Lampe ’16 is an assistant professor in the Department of Mental Health Law & Policy at the University of South Florida. Lampe is leading a three-year grant funded by the Alzheimer’s Association, investigating Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias’ risk and protective factors among LGBTQ+ older adults in the southeastern U.S.

Mat Johnson ’17 joined the Princeton men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach in June. He previously was on the men’s basketball staff of the University of Connecticut Huskies.

Brett Grelle M.S. ’19 started a new job in March as sport science manager at Ultimate Fighting Championship. The news was announced on LinkedIn.

Andrew Kew ’19, M.A. ’22 played forward for the Victoria Shamrocks of the Western Lacrosse Association in Canada over the summer. In July, the Times Colonist newspaper in Western Canada interviewed Kew, the team’s leader in goals at the time, as the Shamrocks eyed the league’s coveted Mann Cup.

Sara Lattman ’19 was promoted in June to crisis team senior account manager at Red Banyan, a crisis communications firm. She has been with Red Banyan since 2022, according to a news release announcing her promotion.

Alexandra MacIntire ’19 started as a data analytics coordinator at Metrc in February. She also co-authored a chapter, titled “Tibetan Resistance and Insurgency,” in the Handbook of Terrorist and Insurgent Groups, published in October by Routledge.

Kevin O’Hare ’19 and Kate Beeken ’20 got married in Tampa after eight years of dating. The couple met through the political science department at UTampa in 2017. Also, O’Hare is returning to school to pursue a master’s degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Beeken is a director for the Democratic National Committee.