Hall of Fame

List of 7 items.

• Joseph F. Karnicky '61

  Dr. Joseph F. Karnicky was Notre Dame’s first Valedictorian. As a senior, Joe placed first at the Greater Trenton Science Fair, which earned him a trip to Kansas City, Missouri for the National Science Fair where his project placed fourth in national competition. His subject: Theoretical Calculation of the Specific Heat of Francium. At graduation, in addition to being Valedictorian, Joe received awards for “General Excellence for Four Years,” “Distinction Ratings for Senior Year,” and “Proficiency in Forensic Activities.” After graduating from Notre Dame, Joe continued his education as a National Merit Scholar, attending Villanova University as a Chemistry major and graduating as Valedictorian again in 1965. Joe later earned a Doctorate in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship. For some time, Dr. Karnicky taught chemistry in Switzerland and at the University of Southern California. In 1978, Dr. Karnicky moved to the San Francisco Bay area where he began his career at Varian Associates, one of the first high-tech companies in Silicon Valley, where he worked on the development of novel detectors for high performance liquid chromatography and was awarded a patent for his invention, “A nebulizer particularly adapted for analytical purposes.” In 1981, Dr. Karnicky was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and continued to work until 1999 when he retired on disability. To this day, Joe pursues applying technology for the mitigation of the effects of disabilities.

   

  As he lives on the West Coast in Menlo Park, CA, Dr. Karnicky’s brother, Anthony ’63, will be accepting the award on his behalf.

• Thomas McManimon '77

  Beyond his years as a student and parent to three ND students, Tom McManimon has served Notre Dame High School for more than 18 years. As a member of our Marketing Committee and past Capital Campaign efforts, Tom’s guidance and creativity led to Notre Dame’s “Come to know” theme, our highly-visible clover logo, and multiple marketing campaigns.

   

  For nearly four decades, Tom has served many national and international clients helping to launch brands, reinvent companies and support client needs with a full mix of design and advertising media. As President and Owner of StimulusBrand Communications, Tom offers a broad spectrum of media skills to his clients, including Strategy and Brand Identity, Print Advertising, TV and Video, Sales Collateral, Website design, and Social media. 

   

  Tom is also a published author and professional speaker delivering corporate and motivational talks to companies, schools and professional organizations. Tom presently serves as a member of the Board of Directors at the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce and chairs their Independent Business Alliance program. He earned his BFA from Providence College.

   

  Tom comes from a long legacy of McManimon alumni including 8 brothers and sisters and 3 children. He and his wife, Mary, live in Ewing, NJ.

• Joseph R. Pratico '06

  Joe is Associate Director-Talent Acquisition for Verizon. In Joe's role at Verizon, he oversees and is responsible for five other leaders whose teams find top talent to work at Verizon for their corporate functions, IE: finance, human resources, marketing, legal, and strategy. His team focuses on creating and strengthening relationships with stakeholders like candidates, business leaders, the compensation team, and HR business partners. Joe previously received spotlight awards, an MVP, an employee spotlight, and a 360-degree excellence award, all at Verizon. Joe has been a Notre Dame event volunteer for the past seven years, and sits on the Notre Dame Board of Governor's Advancement Committee. Additionally, Joe is President Emeritus of the Lambda Rho Alumni Association of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, Vice Chair of the RWJ Hamilton Foundation Young Professionals group, Operations Advisor for the Alpha Psi Chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, and an active volunteer with Special Olympics New Jersey. Joe received a Business Administration degree from UNC Greensboro, MBA from Centenary University, and a Masters Certificate in HR from Cornell University. 

   

  Joe and his wife, Brooke, live in Hamilton, NJ. 

• William Romano, Faculty

  Bill Romano has over 40 years of teaching experience at Notre Dame in the Social Studies Department. He spent several years as Dean of Discipline and was a Freshman Class Advisor for Student Government for 15 years. He also served as Coordinator of Student Government where he monitored all four levels of Student Government events and worked closely with the Student Government Executive Board.

   

  Bill was the Head Coach of the Varsity softball team for five years and named “Coach of the Year” by the Trenton Times and Trentonian. He has been involved with the ND baseball program for 27 years as Head Freshman Coach, Head JV Coach and Varsity Assistant Coach. Bill was also a Varsity Football Assistant Coach for four years.

   

  He has served his community in Jackson by coaching in the Recreation Basketball League, as well as coaching baseball for 10 years at Holbrook Little League. Bill is also a member of the Delaware Valley Umpires Association.
  
  Bill has been married to his wife Jo Anne Spitz ‘73 Romano for 37 years. He has two sons, Chris, Class of 2002 and Dan, a daughter-in law, Kristin, and two grandsons, Nicholas and Alexander.

• Rosa Aviles '83 Rosado

  Rosa and her husband, Freddie are McDonald’s franchisees, who have owned multiple McDonald’s restaurants in Philadelphia and Mercer County. They have recently sold all of their stores except one on the corner of Chambers and Hamilton Avenues across from Trenton High School. Rosa and her husband believe in giving back to those less fortunate in the community where they both grew up. (Freddie graduated from Trenton High School.) They regularly give food, clothing, toys, and other items to those in need and have organized events to provide free back-to-school haircuts to city children. The Rosados have launched a tutoring plan for high school students who work for them, with bonuses to those students who bring home straight A’s on their report cards. Rosa is an active member of the Performing Arts Parents Association at Notre Dame.

   

  Rosa’s son Freddie is an alumnus, class of 2008 and her daughter, Rosa Mia is a sophomore. The Rosado family lives in Titusville.

• Christina Fritz '82 Sellers

  Christina has been an active member of the Notre Dame community since her days as a student, when she was involved in soccer and softball. In her professional career, Christina worked for Church and Dwight Co. as a research and development chemist on personal care products. She was an ND volunteer when her sons were students (Thomas ’12, Christopher ’15 and Matt ’17) and is still involved with the Notre Dame family. She helped with the Ice Hockey and Lacrosse Teams, serving as a “Team Mom”, volunteers with the Senior Fashion Show and Post Prom and is a key volunteer putting in many hours to help with a successful Harvest Moon Auction. She also assists with the St. Gregory the Great annual carnival, supports the Alzheimer’s Association with their walk, is a member of 100+ Women of Mercer County, and recently started volunteering at Dress for Success of Mercer County.
  
  Christina epitomizes selflessness and humility, preferring to be recognized as part of a team, rather than individually for her own contributions.

• Harold W. Youmans '62

  Colonel Harold Youmans is a decorated war veteran with 28 years of service in the US Army. He earned 4 awards for valor in Vietnam and had assignments on the Army Staff, the Joint Staff and the Special Operations Command. He participated in 12 named military campaigns where his special counsel was sought, and holds the Defense Superior Service Medal. Harold is a recognized expert in unconventional warfare, admitted to the Infantry OCS Hall of Honor at Fort Benning and inducted as a Distinguished Member of the Regiment at the JFK Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg. His professional writings have been archived at the US Army Heritage and Education Center at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Following retirement, he provided legal representation to veterans laying claims before the US Department of Veterans Affairs. He was appointed Special Magistrate and Hearing Officer in several Florida communities and heard cases in administrative appeals, land use and code enforcement. He has served as Chair of the Florida Bar’s Military Affairs Committee, was a two-time recipient of the Bar’s Burton Award for Public Service and received the Community Service Award from the Board of County Commissioners of Hillsborough County, Florida. Harold earned a BS from the University of Tampa, an MS from the University of South Florida and a JD from the University of Florida.

   

  Harold and his wife, Darlene Williams ’62 Youmans, live in Riverview, Florida.