<MSantangelo@NA2.US.ML.com>
After graduating with a major in Government & Spanish, I was commissioned
as a Naval Officer (under the terms of my NROTC scholarship). I was assigned to
a guided missile destroyer (USS Conyngham DDG-17), and initially served as the
Auxiliary & Electrical Engineering Officer and then as the ship's Navigation
& Intelligence Officer. While on deployment with NATO forces, I did have an
opportunity to use some of my Spanish language skills on several occasions.
One time, I was assigned as a liaison with the Spanish ship Cazadora, and was
able to be the Cazadora's honored guest. They, of course, filled me to the brim
with Rioja and Paella, and my visiting fiancée (now wife) Bernadette Uy
('88) did most of the talking and charming in fluent Castillano.
Another time, a gastro-intestinal "plague" swept through my ship, forcing
us to pull into Palma de Mallorca for medical treatment. Since I was the only
officer that could muster even a few words in Spanish, I was tasked with transporting
dozens of my poor shipmates to the hospital and handled all of their affairs and
coordinated their treatment.
My last occasion to use my Spanish was in 1990, when the US decided to improve
relations with Argentina (which had been difficult in the aftermath of the Falklands
War). I was asked to sail onboard the tall-ship Libertad during her first visit
back to the USA since the war ended. I sailed with from the mouth of the Chesapeake
up into Baltimore Harbor. The captain of the ship took that opportunity to give
me a book and a lecture arguing for Argentina's claim to the "Malvinas"
and a substantial wedge of Antarctica. The most important thing I did for them
was to ensure that each and every un-married sailor and midshipman was introduced
to a young lady (thousands of whom where waiting on the pier when we arrived).
After marrying Bernadette in 1989, I left the active-duty Navy in Dec. 1990, and
have lived and worked in NY City, Princeton NJ, and since 1997, Boston, MA. For
that entire time, I have worked in the financial services industry at Bessemer
Trust Company and for the last 9 years with Merrill Lynch Trust Company. I am
a Vice President and Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA), and advise
Merrill Lynch's best/largest clients on matter of estate and tax planning, philanthropy
and wealth management. In keeping with my Navy experience, my occupation has nothing
to do with my college majors. I do believe that a well-round liberal arts education
has helped to make a superior communicator who is fairly well rounded in history,
culture, philosophy, foreign affairs etc. I think that business is best learned
by doing, but when will I again have a chance to devote 4 years of my life to
the study of the liberal arts and critical thinking?
Bern and I have 2 smart, athletic and very handsome boys (Nick age 11 and Alex
age 6) and live in Medfield, MA. Bern has been a full-time mom for the last 9
years, and is very active in the local public schools. Bern received her MS in
International Relations from Old Dominion University in 1989. Before becoming
a full-time mom, she worked at a non-profit organization called Parliamentarians
for Global Action. She also used her French and Spanish working for an manufacturing
export firm.