Saint Anselm Mourns Fallen Hero, Marine Capt. Kyle Van De Giesen ’02

We invite you to honor Marine Capt. Kyle Van De Giesen '02 with your remembrances and comments, which you can provide by using this blog's commenting feature below.

Read message from Fr. Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B., president of Saint Anselm College.

Alumni Perform "Alone: Selected Works of Edgar Allen Poe" at the Dana Center

Theatre KAPOW, founded by a group of Saint Anselm alumni, will perform Alone: Selected Works of Edgar Allen Poe on Tuesday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Dana Center. The event is free and open to the general public.

Alone, an adaptation on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, was written and revised by founding member Brian Kennedy, of the class of 1999, who stars in the title role, and will include such works as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, and Annabel Lee.

Matthew Cahoon, of the class of 1999 directs the production and the cast also features Anselmians Brian Kelly '09, and Jane Hogan '11, as well as New Hampshire actors Joel Breen and Kate Harper.

Theatre Kapow, also known as tKAPOW, was founded in the summer of 2008 by four alumni, Carey (Winslow) Cahoon '98, Matthew Cahoon '99, Brian Kennedy '99, and Rachel Follien '02.

(Winslow) Cahoon returns each season to direct the Saint Anselm Abbey Players as well as design and build the sets for their productions. Most recently, Carey helped with the spring 2009 Seussical production. Matthew Cahoon, the president of Theatre Kapow, serves as the Technical Director for the Abbey Players.

"Theatre KAPOW explores the truths of human experience through the passion and electricity of live theatre performed to the highest standards of excellence.  TKAPOW produces the best dramatic works from across all ages and cultures to inspire and challenge both artists and audience," says (Winslow) Cahoon.

Through this production, Theatre KAPOW joins in the English department's year-long celebration of writer Edgar Allan Poe's 200th birthday.

For more information on Alone see TKapow's web site explanation.

Caitlin McGee'10 Travels to Italy with Research Grant

Caitlin McGee'10, classics major from Nashua, N.H., traveled to Orvieto, Italy this past summer for her third consecutive archaeological dig. However, this summer was unique for McGee. With a $3,500 stipend she won through Saint Anselm's Undergraduate Research Scholar Program (URSP), McGee was able to conduct archaeological research at the college's Coriglia excavation site, about 150 miles northwest of Rome.

"My first year on the dig was my first time in Europe. Italy has allowed classics to come alive for me," said McGee, who discovered her passion for classics on the five-week annual excavation, led by professor David George, Ph.D.

McGee, who intends on attending graduate school, has always been curious about the different kinds of research related to her field of study (classics). Her hopes of taking part in the dig for a third time were high but with her busy schedule during the year, including being a resident assistant, she was unable to work to fund it. The aid from the URSP scholarship has allowed her to literally, dig a little deeper…She returned to Orvieto this past summer with not only the knowledge and understanding from her past two excursions but the will to theorize about her discoveries through a mix of archaeological field work and trips to museums to gather information.

McGee's research was centered on pottery found at the Coriglia site. "I found pottery interesting because of the implications of art, culture, and economy…it is what first caught my eye on the initial dig," said McGee.

McGee spent five weeks at the site, accompanied by 10 other students, all but one from Saint Anselm. The dig began in 2006 with seven Saint Anselm College students. Saint Anselm Classics professor David George, served as McGee's mentor. Dr. Claudio Bizzari, faculty of science and archaeology at the University of Camerino, in his role as co-director of the dig, provided additional guidance in Italy. McGee spent these days digging, photographing the pottery findings, putting it into catalogs with corresponding information, and conducting her own additional research at the end of the day.

In addition to the trip's day-to-day activities and completing her research, McGee was given more responsibility this third time around. She was appointed leader of a trench on site, meaning she was in charge of a particular digging area, given her experience. To her surprise, it amounted to more than just a leadership position. "It aided my research because I became more aware of the locations where certain pieces of pottery were found," said McGee.

This experience gave her the ability to have in-depth conversations with expert staff members about the workings of the site and particular findings. "I learned a great deal about archaeology and envisioning how the site works," she said.

McGee is in the process of turning her research into a paper to be presented to the college and hopefully extended to other venues. McGee believes that this opportunity will give her a competitive edge in graduate admissions. She hopes to attain a Ph.D. in classics where she can incorporate archaeology with an emphasis on language.

The URSP seeks to promote scholarly undergraduate research, inter-institutional mentoring, and increase the number of successful admissions to graduate school for students attending a small, four-year liberal arts college.