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Bellarmine Magazine_Spring2013

Question & ansWer Kaelin Rybak ’74: Travel agent, Hall of FamerBy Jim Welp | jwelp@bellarmine.edu foreiGn-lAnGuAGe MAJor KAelin KAllAy ryBAK ’74 began her career into the game (which was a rarity) but he as a travel agent in 1976, a gig that led her to become founding president of Knights actually scored a basket. Well, dad went Travel in 1985. Since selling Knights Travel in 2004, she has been an independent through the two older sons’ names before agent with The Travel Authority. But travel is not her only passion. She’s a member getting it right. “That’s my son Mike - no, of the Bellarmine Athletics Hall of Fame, honored for keeping men’s and women’s Tom - no, Paul!” basketball statistics for 43 seasons. (She comes by her hoops hysteria honestly; she’s the daughter of beloved WAVE-TV and radio sports announcer Ed Kallay.) As When keeping stats at basketball if that’s not enough service to her teams, she’s also sung the National Anthem at games, do you prefer to sit on a basketball games for all 43 years. She led the Bellarmine Boosters and was a member phone book or towels? of the Board of Overseers for nine years. For a two-year stretch (April 1983-March The first 25 or more years of keeping 1985) she was assistant vice-president for external affairs/alumni relations at statistics at Bellarmine I typed on a Bellarmine. She met her husband, Bill ’73, in The Concord office in the fall of 1970. typewriter. I needed to be able to see All of her brothers (Mike, Tom and Paul) attended Bellarmine, with Paul graduating over the machine, so I sat on an old tele- in 1971. And now she’s ready to answer our questions. phone book. I used it for so long that it actually had the groove of my derriere in it! The phonebook isn’t thick enough How have you managed to outflank Why is study abroad such a trans- now, so I use a stack of towels in order Expedia all these years? formative experience for young to see over the scorer’s table. The phone Computers are obviously a large part people? book was more practical. I have to stand of everyone’s life. However, a computer I was blessed to have had an opportu- up carefully with the towels so they can’t ask all the questions and under- nity to spend eight weeks studying in don’t go sliding off the chair. stand all the nuances of what someone Europe in high school. I also received wants out of a honeymoon to French an English-Speaking Union Scholarship Do you have a singing background? Polynesia or a family trip to Italy. Those to study in Oxford following graduation What lead to the anthem gig? who want personal attention have kept from Bellarmine. Both of these experi- I studied voice through high school. me busy. ences helped to give me the love for At Bellarmine I sang in the Glee Club study of other cultures and ultimately and took a conducting class with Gus Any travel nightmare stories you’d a career path. So I am delighted to see Coin (chair of the music department). like to share? so many students have an opportunity He scheduled a student to sing at all the There were two natural disasters that to experience other cultures and there- games and I started by singing probably created havoc and both were volcanic by often realize how truly blessed we four or five times each year as a student. eruptions! The volcano in Iceland, are in this country. Since I was always at the games, they which shut down airports as far away knew there would be someone available as Genoa, Italy, stranded a group that What’s your fondest memory of to sing. (I have also been a cantor at St. had just finished a Mediterranean your Dad’s illustrious career? Martha since 1976 and have directed cruise. They were not able to return to Some of the things that jump out in my the choir since 1989.) the States until six days later…and it was memory are his “bloopers.” Early in his the day before the Kentucky Derby. career he was broadcasting a Louisville Who was your favorite professor Their airline told them that once they Colonels baseball game. The score was when you were a student at could get them to Chicago, it would be tied and the visitors had bases loaded Bellarmine? two days before they could get them a and a full count on the batter. “Ball four, As a foreign language major and having flight to Louisville. So I jumped in and he walked him, horse shit!” Well, he worked in the foreign language depart- booked two minivan rentals. In addi- thought he would be fired first thing the ment for a year, I was very close to Pro- tion, volcanic eruptions in Chile affected next morning. Fortunately he wasn’t! fessor Leonard Latkovski. (Years later I a group of high school girls who were (His boss did ask him to apologize on sang both his funeral and that of his wife.) delayed on their return. Fortunately the air for his comment. To that, he Then there is Dr. Margaret Mahoney, they were staying with families who replied, “I thought about it, but how with whom my husband and I have had were able to provide an extra night of do I gently say ‘I’m sorry I said ‘horse a close friendship these many years and accommodations. shit’ last night’?” The boss agreed and in whose honor we started the Margaret the whole thing was dropped.) Another Mahoney Endowed Scholarship. And I time he was broadcasting a high school have to credit Bernie Thiemann with basketball game in which his youngest giving me the economics background to son played for Flaget. Paul not only got run a business. spring 2013 19


Bellarmine Magazine_Spring2013
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