Sweet Surprise

Imagine my surprise when I opened the Winter 2007 edition of Miami magazine and saw my picture as one of the original Sugarcane batgirls (No. 10 in the photo). I was selected as a Sugarcane my freshman year and proudly served on the squad for the next four years, two as the captain.

Being a Sugarcane was one of the highlights of my years at the University of Miami. Coach Ron Fraser was the ultimate showman who always looked for ways to bring attention to the University’s fabulous baseball program. A couple of years ago, my husband and I were vacationing in Miami and decided to attend a Hurricanes baseball game. Even though the stadium had greatly changed and the crowds were much larger, the Sugarcanes were still there. That night happened to be “Ron Fraser Bobble Head Night.” Coach Fraser was being honored, and I spent some time talking to him. I was able to thank him for the great impact he had on my life by giving me a chance to be part of the UM baseball legacy.

As a high school teacher, I frequently wear University of Miami clothing and highly recommend the University of Miami to my students. Thank you for recognizing the contributions of the Sugarcanes.

Diane (Daughetee) Huff, B.Ed. ’72
Marlboro, New Jersey

Fond Memories of the Murfins

I was so startled to see the name “Pamela K. Murfin, M.S.Ed. ’86, Ph.D. ’89” in the In Memoriam pages of Miami magazine (Winter 2007). Ross and Pam Murfin were the first masters at the Honors Residential College (now Hecht) in the mid-1980s. They were raising two young children at the time. They were wonderful, warm, nurturing people who really helped us during our transition to independence. My friends and I have fond memories of the Murfin family, spending a lot of time in their home. We are sorry for their loss.

Angela Burrafato, B.S. ’89, M.D. ’93
Via the Internet

Postcards from Mabibo

Since my arrival here in November 2005, I have missed two UM Homecoming and Alumni Weekends, two Christmases worth of Grandma’s home cooking, and several weddings of close friends and fellow alumni. However, as I reflect back on the past year, it is by no means defined by what was lacking. Rather it was the countless blessings and joys that gave shape to my 2006—a year spent far from the familiarities of our beloved UM campus but among a community of people just as loving, welcoming, and accepting as our UM family.

The people of Mabibo, my neighborhood here on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, have indeed taken me in as one of their own. Much to the disappointment of the elders, I have yet to marry one of their daughters, but even with this I keep myself open-minded. In exchange for their unending hospitality, I try to offer what humble service I can. I teach full-time at the neighborhood high school and part-time (evenings) at a primary school for local orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children.

We are now in the final stages of registering the nonprofit organization I formed with a group of University students and alumni of the high school at which I teach. Our goal with this Tanzanian NGO is to take orphaned and abandoned children from begging on the streets to safe living and learning environments while enrolling them in schools. We currently operate one facility under a two-year lease, and we are raising funds for the construction of a brand-new complex that we hope will be up and running by the end of this year. Complete information on our work is online at: http://mysite.verizon.net/vzenwrjd/tanzania/index.html.

This year is looking very bright from our small corner of the world. Although I rang in the new year in Tanzania, eating Tanzanian foods and dancing Tanzanian dances, part of my heart was watching the calendar change from Coral Gables, under a banyan tree overlooking Lake Osceola, thinking of our great University and the amazing people who share in its tradition. My fellow ’Canes, I wish you nothing but the best this year, and I hope to reunite with you all come 2008! Until then, and always, Go ’Canes!

Billy Bludgus, B.S. ’05
Jesuit Volunteers International
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Big, Bold, and Dynamic

When I was in the fourth grade, my teacher would nudge students out of their shell by attaching the words “big, bold, and dynamic!” to every command. “Prepare your presentations big, bold, and dynamic!” she would say. It’s a catchphrase that still resonates every time I am tempted to settle for the easy way out instead of reaching for maximum impact.

Big, bold, and dynamic is modus operandi at the University of Miami. An institution that can pull off back-to-back lectures by Al Gore and Bill Clinton, a successful billion-dollar-plus fundraising campaign, and a U.S. presidential debate is one that dreams without limits. The University has again petitioned the Commission on Presidential Debates to host a debate during the 2008 election year. If it’s selected, you can expect a repeat performance of big, bold, and dynamic guest speakers and special programs leading up to the main event.

The “if you can dream it, you can do it” philosophy at the University is not only at the administrative level. Students show us that four years on campus is plenty of time to implement profound changes in their immediate spheres and beyond. Sometimes their initiatives are symbolic, like when 500 of them gathered hand-in-hand, dressed in orange, to “hug” Lake Osceola. They were celebrating President Shalala’s signing of the Talloires Declaration, a ten-point action plan signed by more than 300 academic institutions worldwide for incorporating sustainability in every aspect of operations. The gesture is part of Green U, the University’s grand-scale plan to improve its interface with the fragile Earth.

In every issue of Miami magazine, you read about people doing cool research in untapped areas and winning awards for innovation and insight. Important, too, are the inconspicuous gestures, like students who volunteer to clean up their communities or to simply spend time with a stranger needing a friend. In both visible and invisible ways, the “wow factor” here is high, and I hope it inspires you to live your life in ways that are big, bold, and dynamic.

— Meredith Danton, Editor