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No matter the distance, Miami bond unites

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By Lauren Schwab, Contributing Writer 9:31 AM Thursday, June 18, 2009

Miami University alumni are traveling not only from all parts of the country this weekend to reconnect with classmates and the campus, but some also will be traveling from all over the globe. The alumni office said it expects members to be traveling from Ecuador, Australia and other countries to attend Miami’s Alumni Weekend.

Carlos Ballerino, class of 1950, will travel from Guayaquil, Ecuador, South America to be in Oxford.

“Miami University is a major part of my accomplishments in life, both from personal and professional basis,” Ballerino said.

Ballerino graduated with a degree in industrial management. He is now a sales consultant and semi-retired from the company he founded in 1973, Repraser S.A., which handles agribusiness food processing, packaging, environmental and fire suppression systems.

“There is no doubt education at Miami helped me to put my ideas to work,” Ballerino said.

Ballerino will be attending Alumni Weekend with his wife, Ilse, and their son, Andres. Neither his wife nor son attended Miami, but Ballerino said maybe his grandchildren will.

“Hopefully I will see some classmates again in spite of aging aches. I have a dear friend and his wife who live in Oxford and was my boss as head of the Speakers Bureau,” Ballerino said.

Ballerino said he is impressed with how Miami has grown in size of students and facilities.

“My class was 5,000 students, and now I understand there are over 15,000. The campus and buildings are always beautiful,” Ballerino said.

Bill Schwartz also is traveling a far distance to return to Oxford. Schwartz, class of 1959, is coming to his 50th graduation reunion from Tasmania, Australia’s island state. Schwartz said he is most looking forward to reuniting with his Sigma Nu pledge brothers.

In 1984, the group gathered for its 25-year reunion at the Hueston Woods Lodge.

“For many, it was the first get-together since graduation day June 8, 1959. To say we had a great time is truly an understatement. It was magic,” Schwartz said.

The pledge brothers have gathered yearly in such divers places as Cape Cod, San Antonio, Chicago, Seattle, and even Bangkok, Thailand, St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and on a few cruise ships, Schwartz said. They all communicate almost daily.

“We call our e-mails the ‘Fratnet.’ ” he said. “For each of us, this Miami bond is still an important part of our daily lives.”

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