SSBS Student Spotlights
DAVID MORENO
I was born in Virginia, but I grew up most of my life in Honduras. I moved back here to the United States in 2016, graduated high school and enrolled at Marymount. It’s been the best choice I’ve ever made by far regarding academics. I didn’t expect to be at a private Catholic institution ever in my life, so I’m really thankful that Marymount gave me this opportunity to study Communications. It’s something that I’m passionate about, so I’m really grateful for the people, the staff and my friends who made me feel comfortable as I was coming in into college.
TYLAR ABRAMS
Tylar Abrams, ’16, has wanted to be on television since she was five. “Back then I was determined to be a Disney star like Hannah Montana,” she says with a laugh. These days she’s focused on the news end of things, an interest that blossomed while studying communication at Marymount.
STEPHANIE DOWNING
After graduating this May with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Criminal Justice, Stephanie Downing was selected to receive a prestigious, fully-funded Critical Language Scholarship to study Hindi in Jaipur, India this summer.
VICTOR KIRBY
The transition from star Marymount point guard to successful harness racing driver came naturally for Victor Kirby. Both involve competition, require physical fitness and depend on great hand-eye coordination.
CONNIE DEFRANCO
A dedication to lifelong learning has brought Connie DeFranco to the front of the classroom.
Once a non-traditional adult student working full-time while pursuing a college degree, in spring 2017 she began teaching forensic psychology to undergraduates as an adjunct faculty member at Marymount.
LEORA LIHACH
In high school, Leora Lihach did a little acting but never imagined she’d ever write a play. But thanks to Marymount University, she’s done that and much more. Her first work, “Madres de la Revolucion” (Mothers of the Revolution) is based on the real-life testimonioof Commander Nidia Díaz, a mother and revolutionary who endured prison and human rights violations during the Salvadoran Civil War. It grew out of Leora’s honors thesis and was written while she studied abroad at Oxford University in England through the honors program and Marymount’s Center for Global Education.
Meet Leora
JABRIEL HASAN
Serving as SGA president, carrying a full academic load, and balancing other campus activities and a busy social calendar, Jabriel Hasan had found little time for volunteer work – until the first Saturday he served at the D.C.- area Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa’s international organization. “We started at 6:30 with morning Mass preceding breakfast, followed by the day’s work of wiping down beds. I saw women who had given their whole lives to service. The nuns had chosen to marry Christ and to see Him in the people who the world so often abandons: the old, the sick and people living in poverty. That morning, my heart changed. What had started as a small volunteer service experience became a foundation for my future.”
KELLY SMIGEN
Serving as SGA president, carrying a full academic load, and balancing other campus activities and a busy social calendar, Jabriel Hasan had found little time for volunteer work – until the first Saturday he served at the D.C.- area Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa’s international organization. “We started at 6:30 with morning Mass preceding breakfast, followed by the day’s work of wiping down beds. I saw women who had given their whole lives to service. The nuns had chosen to marry Christ and to see Him in the people who the world so often abandons: the old, the sick and people living in poverty. That morning, my heart changed. What had started as a small volunteer service experience became a foundation for my future.”
