Connections - An Alumni and Friends Magazine by Holy Cross College, Notre Dame, IN
Three Who Make a Difference–
Outstanding Alumni Award Winners 2009
This year's alumni award winners were honored at the President's Gala during Ave Crux Weekend. The Outstanding Alumni Award was given to Mark Tabit ('80) and the Alumni Service Award was given to Jay Dunne ('07). This was also the inaugural year for the Young Alumni Award which was presented to Chris Nichol ('06).
Mark Tabit hails from Falls View, WV. Tabit came to Holy Cross College in 1978 and graduated in 1980 with his Associates in Arts then went on to complete his BA in Finance at the University of Notre Dame. Tabit began his career in the financial industry in Chicago, where he lived for 14 years before accepting a transfer request to Southern California. He currently resides in Pacific Palisades, CA with his wife of 26 years, Jill. Tabit works for Merrill Lynch in Santa Monica, CA as the leader of the Tabit Group. Tabit is a Holy Cross College Trustee and has been very generous to the College with his time, influence, financial acumen and his family's resources. His financial investments in Holy Cross have blessed the College with outdoor basketball and tennis courts, the Pivot Point Lobby in the Pfeil Center, offices in the Vincent Building and a Tabit Family endowed scholarship.
Tabit is a "pied piper" for Holy Cross College. He genuinely loves the College and its students. Tabit serves on the board of Loyola High School, St. Monica's High School, and Facing Forward Foundation. He and his wife have four children. His son Luke is a 2006 Holy Cross College alumni.
Jay Dunne, a native of the northwest side of Chicago, came to Holy Cross College as a junior from Saint John's University in Collegevillle, MN. During his two years at Holy Cross he organized and directed the Cross and Anchor Workshops, a lecture series aimed at aiding in the development of first year students. He also worked to bring awareness to major issues on the African continent and founded Holy Cross College's Annual Run for Hope (see Annual Run for Hope). After traveling to Ghana twice as a student, he returned for a year of service alongside the Brothers of Holy Cross. He taught English and religious & moral education to underprivileged boys at the Holy Cross Skills Training Centre. His Ghana Blog entries have become legendary around the Holy Cross College Campus.
Dunne returned to become the Assistant Director of the newly established Center for Global Perspectives. His work at the Center increases awareness of humanitarian crises and fosters cultural sensitivity through campus events and student associations. This year Dunne applied and was accepted to several prestigious graduate programs and will attend the George Mason University Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution in Fairfax, VA this fall.
Chris Nichol of a LaGrange Park, IL started his college education at Holy Cross in August of 2002 and graduated with an Associates of Arts in 2004. He continued through the Baccalaureate program to earn a Bachelors of Arts in Liberal Studies in May of 2006.
After graduation, he moved to East Lansing, MI to attend Michigan State University, where he earned a Master of Arts in Counseling in June 2008. Nichol immediately began working at Michigan State University as an Academic Advisor in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. He is very involved in the Knights of Columbus, Religious Education, and Boy Scouting through his local parish. Nichol and his wife, Nicole, are expecting their first child in the early of May 2010.