Featured Alumni

What are some of your favorite memories from your time at Assumption?

• Wow! There are so many! High school is such an interesting transition from being a grade school kid to an 18-year-old. Assumption was and is such a nurturing place. It always felt like a warm blanket. As a freshman and sophomore, I loved the Pep Rallies and the new excitement of football and basketball games. There was such great school spirit. It was also when you started paying attention to girls. It was special to see them in the classic plaid skirts and blazers. Very classy…. My first two years, the girls were on the west side of the school and boys on the east. My last two years we were combined. It was actually good both ways. The camaraderie was incredible. Hanging with your buddies. When senior year was ending, I had a sense of “I don’t want this to be over”. Like Bryan Adams says in his song, “Those were the best days of my life.”

Were there any teachers, coaches, or staff members who had a lasting impact on you? How?

• I was a Math/Science guy, and I also took 4 years of French because I was a bicyclist and dreamed of riding in France. Sr. Mary Laurent was a Math guru and sweet person. My French teachers were great. Sr. Claire Marie was a gem in Honors Biology. Father Phillips and Father Leveling were fun in English and Don Miller was the taskmaster in Honors English.

What did you enjoy most about being an Assumption student?

• The incredible school spirit, the gym (I played basketball), lunches in the cafeteria, donut Thursday and mashed potatoes and gravy with every meal! I was in what I still believe was a great class and my classmates were wonderful to be around. We pushed each other academically and supported each other.

Were you involved in any clubs, sports, activities, or organizations while at Assumption?

• I was a work-study kid and always had some extra job to do. Cleaning the cafeteria for Mr. Ambrose, washing towels in the locker rooms, working the bookstore, etc. I played basketball all 4 years and also was on Student Council my Senior Year and ran Cross Country. I wish I would have done more. I was a shy kid. I regret not being in Chorus or Plays.

Can you tell us a little about your educational and career journey after graduating from Assumption?

• I was a good student and got offered scholarships to 4 colleges: St. Ambrose, Marycrest, Augustana, and Carleton College in Northfield, MN. I was 18 and it was time to get out of town, so I went sight-unseen to Carleton College. I started as a Math major and played basketball. My Freshman year I also played baseball and ran cross-country. I was an ADD kid. To most ADD kids, there is little planning for the future. There is now, and not now. The future was a “not now”. I entered college thinking I’d be a Math major and teach Math and coach basketball in high school for a career. I was at a high-powered college and was surrounded by pre-med and pre-law students. It made me start thinking about future goals.

When did you first become interested in medicine?

• That’s a great story! When I was a kid, I remember bringing birds and animals home to “take care of them”. My Mom wasn’t impressed when I brought home “a little bear” in a coffee can that was actually a rat! The Health Department was at our house promptly.
  Because I was a biker, I subscribed to American Cycling magazine. Dr. Paul Dudley White, a Harvard Cardiologist, would write articles about exercise physiology and the effects of exercise on blood pressure and cardiac output. Being a Math guy, I liked how quantitative cardiac function was. I carried that with me and, when I got to Med School, I was going to be a Cardiologist unless I found something more interesting.
  The road to Med School took me to a semester of Grad School at the University of South Dakota (USD) in Vermillion where I took more pre-med courses and met my spouse, Paula, who was also a grad student en route to Med School. She is now a Dermatologist at the University of Iowa.
  USD had a strong Basic Science program, but 1/3 of the class needed to transfer after the first two years to a program with larger hospitals for the clinical years. I transferred to Iowa and Paula did all 4 years there.
  It gets more complicated! During my Internship at Iowa, I was informed that I was being called into the Air Force. So after one year of training after Med School, I was a Primary Care Doctor at an Air Force base in Virginia for 2 years and then at another AF base in New Jersey for a year. During this time, my wife finished Med School and her Internship, and we both began/resumed our post-graduate training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.
  During my time in Philly, the field of Cardiac Electrophysiology was taking off and Philadelphia was the epicenter! I found it fascinating. Defibrillators had just been invented, and drug therapy was still the norm for treating nasty arrhythmias. It seemed much more cerebral than ballooning open arteries and there was more Math involved!

Did you always know you wanted to become a surgeon, or did that develop later?

• I’m an Electrophysiologist. We do pacemaker and defibrillator surgeries and various kinds of ablation procedures where we go up into the heart with little catheters, find the foci where abnormal rhythms originate, and freeze or cauterize them.
  I “grew up” with the field. When I finished training, ablation didn’t exist. I finished training in 1989 and did my first ablation in 1991 here in Davenport. It was on Channel 6 news! Now doctors do hundreds of those a year.

Was there a particular person or experience that helped shape your career path?

• I owe a great deal to Dr. Arnold Greenspon at Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia and Dr. Greg Flaker at University of Missouri Hospitals. “Arnie” was the Fellowship Director at Jefferson and an Electrophysiologist. He took me under his wing and nurtured my interest in heart rhythm management. When my General Cardiology training was ending, he called his friend Dr. Flaker and got me a position for another year of training at the University of Missouri in Columbia where I spent most of my time in the lab doing both Electrophysiology and Vascular Intervention. It was a wonderful year of intense learning.

What does a typical day look like for you as a heart doctor?

• There are equal numbers of Clinic Days and Lab Days. In the clinic, we see new and return patients. Some have devices like pacemakers or defibrillators and we check those. Some need medication adjustment. We do a lot of teaching explaining to patients exactly what their issue is. We draw a lot of pictures!
  On lab days, we are either implanting devices, replacing those with battery depletion, or doing mapping and ablation procedures where we track down the source of the abnormal rhythm, which can be in nooks or crannies in the top or bottom of the heart. We use a very sophisticated intracardiac GPS system and try and eliminate the abnormal rhythm with some form of energy. The first is heat (cautery). We also use cold (cryo) in certain situations. More recently, electroporation has become the “medium of choice” for atrial fibrillation.

 What do you find most rewarding about your work?

• That’s an easy one! Curing patients of their problems. We have patients with weak hearts or slow hearts that aren’t pumping enough blood and these people come to the hospital in the morning with pale skin and cold hands and leave in the afternoon pink and warm. People are often limited by their rhythm issues, physically, psychologically, or both. We love to be able to restore a full and active life to people. Lots of hugs in my business!

What is one of the biggest challenges of your profession?

• The field has grown so much in my career with the ability to treat a very broad range of rhythm issues. It’s hard to be good at procedures for uncommon arrhythmias that you rarely perform. Knowing when to ask for help is important and is better for the patient.

What values or lessons from Assumption have stayed with you throughout your life?

• Personal attention and a nurturing atmosphere. I spent seven years as the Director of Arrhythmia Services at University of Iowa Hospitals. When I got there, morale was low and “learning by intimidation” was the norm. I brought some AHS to Iowa and made learning electrophysiology more like Mrs. Martin’s Biology classes. Our Fellows were much happier, better fed, and much more academically productive!

What advice would you give to an Assumption student who is interested in pursuing a career in medicine?

• I think the two highest callings are religious life and medicine. I would strongly encourage a medical career if someone were leaning that way. You can have such a positive impact on so many lives and develop such nice, lasting relationships with patients and families.

What does being an Assumption Knight mean to you today?

• It means my parents cared enough to send me and my five siblings to a very special place. Most doctors begin their curriculum vitae (resume’) with their undergraduate college. I begin mine with Assumption High School.

What was your favorite class at Assumption?

• Study Hall! No, it would be Sr. Mary Laurent’s advanced Math classes.

Who was your favorite teacher?

• My all-time favorite teacher was in grade school. I had Sr. Mary Lester for 2^nd, 5^th, and 7^th grades at St. Paul’s School. She was a superstar! She eventually became Principal at Dubuque Wahlert and was the first, and probably only, Nun to be Mayor of Dubuque!

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?

• Riding my bike all over God’s Creation, civic projects, playing with grandkids and being with my wonderful spouse, Paula.

Do you still stay connected with any of your Assumption classmates?

• Absolutely! We had an incredible class, and we still get a group together every couple months and have big reunions every 5 years that are quite well-attended.

Michael Giudici ’71

 

What are some of your favorite memories from your time at Assumption?

• Wow! There are so many! High school is such an interesting transition from being a grade school kid to an 18-year-old. Assumption was and is such a nurturing place. It always felt like a warm blanket. As a freshman and sophomore, I loved the Pep Rallies and the new excitement of football and basketball games. There was such great school spirit. It was also when you started paying attention to girls. It was special to see them in the classic plaid skirts and blazers. Very classy…. My first two years, the girls were on the west side of the school and boys on the east. My last two years we were combined. It was actually good both ways. The camaraderie was incredible. Hanging with your buddies. When senior year was ending, I had a sense of “I don’t want this to be over”. Like Bryan Adams says in his song, “Those were the best days of my life.”

Were there any teachers, coaches, or staff members who had a lasting impact on you? How?

• I was a Math/Science guy, and I also took 4 years of French because I was a bicyclist and dreamed of riding in France. Sr. Mary Laurent was a Math guru and sweet person. My French teachers were great. Sr. Claire Marie was a gem in Honors Biology. Father Phillips and Father Leveling were fun in English and Don Miller was the taskmaster in Honors English.

What did you enjoy most about being an Assumption student?

• The incredible school spirit, the gym (I played basketball), lunches in the cafeteria, donut Thursday and mashed potatoes and gravy with every meal! I was in what I still believe was a great class and my classmates were wonderful to be around. We pushed each other academically and supported each other.

Were you involved in any clubs, sports, activities, or organizations while at Assumption?

• I was a work-study kid and always had some extra job to do. Cleaning the cafeteria for Mr. Ambrose, washing towels in the locker rooms, working the bookstore, etc. I played basketball all 4 years and also was on Student Council my Senior Year and ran Cross Country. I wish I would have done more. I was a shy kid. I regret not being in Chorus or Plays.

Can you tell us a little about your educational and career journey after graduating from Assumption?

• I was a good student and got offered scholarships to 4 colleges: St. Ambrose, Marycrest, Augustana, and Carleton College in Northfield, MN. I was 18 and it was time to get out of town, so I went sight-unseen to Carleton College. I started as a Math major and played basketball. My Freshman year I also played baseball and ran cross-country. I was an ADD kid. To most ADD kids, there is little planning for the future. There is now, and not now. The future was a “not now”. I entered college thinking I’d be a Math major and teach Math and coach basketball in high school for a career. I was at a high-powered college and was surrounded by pre-med and pre-law students. It made me start thinking about future goals.

When did you first become interested in medicine?

• That’s a great story! When I was a kid, I remember bringing birds and animals home to “take care of them”. My Mom wasn’t impressed when I brought home “a little bear” in a coffee can that was actually a rat! The Health Department was at our house promptly.
  Because I was a biker, I subscribed to American Cycling magazine. Dr. Paul Dudley White, a Harvard Cardiologist, would write articles about exercise physiology and the effects of exercise on blood pressure and cardiac output. Being a Math guy, I liked how quantitative cardiac function was. I carried that with me and, when I got to Med School, I was going to be a Cardiologist unless I found something more interesting.
  The road to Med School took me to a semester of Grad School at the University of South Dakota (USD) in Vermillion where I took more pre-med courses and met my spouse, Paula, who was also a grad student en route to Med School. She is now a Dermatologist at the University of Iowa.
  USD had a strong Basic Science program, but 1/3 of the class needed to transfer after the first two years to a program with larger hospitals for the clinical years. I transferred to Iowa and Paula did all 4 years there.
  It gets more complicated! During my Internship at Iowa, I was informed that I was being called into the Air Force. So after one year of training after Med School, I was a Primary Care Doctor at an Air Force base in Virginia for 2 years and then at another AF base in New Jersey for a year. During this time, my wife finished Med School and her Internship, and we both began/resumed our post-graduate training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.
  During my time in Philly, the field of Cardiac Electrophysiology was taking off and Philadelphia was the epicenter! I found it fascinating. Defibrillators had just been invented, and drug therapy was still the norm for treating nasty arrhythmias. It seemed much more cerebral than ballooning open arteries and there was more Math involved!

Did you always know you wanted to become a surgeon, or did that develop later?

• I’m an Electrophysiologist. We do pacemaker and defibrillator surgeries and various kinds of ablation procedures where we go up into the heart with little catheters, find the foci where abnormal rhythms originate, and freeze or cauterize them.
  I “grew up” with the field. When I finished training, ablation didn’t exist. I finished training in 1989 and did my first ablation in 1991 here in Davenport. It was on Channel 6 news! Now doctors do hundreds of those a year.

Was there a particular person or experience that helped shape your career path?

• I owe a great deal to Dr. Arnold Greenspon at Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia and Dr. Greg Flaker at University of Missouri Hospitals. “Arnie” was the Fellowship Director at Jefferson and an Electrophysiologist. He took me under his wing and nurtured my interest in heart rhythm management. When my General Cardiology training was ending, he called his friend Dr. Flaker and got me a position for another year of training at the University of Missouri in Columbia where I spent most of my time in the lab doing both Electrophysiology and Vascular Intervention. It was a wonderful year of intense learning.

What does a typical day look like for you as a heart doctor?

• There are equal numbers of Clinic Days and Lab Days. In the clinic, we see new and return patients. Some have devices like pacemakers or defibrillators and we check those. Some need medication adjustment. We do a lot of teaching explaining to patients exactly what their issue is. We draw a lot of pictures!
  On lab days, we are either implanting devices, replacing those with battery depletion, or doing mapping and ablation procedures where we track down the source of the abnormal rhythm, which can be in nooks or crannies in the top or bottom of the heart. We use a very sophisticated intracardiac GPS system and try and eliminate the abnormal rhythm with some form of energy. The first is heat (cautery). We also use cold (cryo) in certain situations. More recently, electroporation has become the “medium of choice” for atrial fibrillation.

 What do you find most rewarding about your work?

• That’s an easy one! Curing patients of their problems. We have patients with weak hearts or slow hearts that aren’t pumping enough blood and these people come to the hospital in the morning with pale skin and cold hands and leave in the afternoon pink and warm. People are often limited by their rhythm issues, physically, psychologically, or both. We love to be able to restore a full and active life to people. Lots of hugs in my business!

What is one of the biggest challenges of your profession?

• The field has grown so much in my career with the ability to treat a very broad range of rhythm issues. It’s hard to be good at procedures for uncommon arrhythmias that you rarely perform. Knowing when to ask for help is important and is better for the patient.

What values or lessons from Assumption have stayed with you throughout your life?

• Personal attention and a nurturing atmosphere. I spent seven years as the Director of Arrhythmia Services at University of Iowa Hospitals. When I got there, morale was low and “learning by intimidation” was the norm. I brought some AHS to Iowa and made learning electrophysiology more like Mrs. Martin’s Biology classes. Our Fellows were much happier, better fed, and much more academically productive!

What advice would you give to an Assumption student who is interested in pursuing a career in medicine?

• I think the two highest callings are religious life and medicine. I would strongly encourage a medical career if someone were leaning that way. You can have such a positive impact on so many lives and develop such nice, lasting relationships with patients and families.

What does being an Assumption Knight mean to you today?

• It means my parents cared enough to send me and my five siblings to a very special place. Most doctors begin their curriculum vitae (resume’) with their undergraduate college. I begin mine with Assumption High School.

What was your favorite class at Assumption?

• Study Hall! No, it would be Sr. Mary Laurent’s advanced Math classes.

Who was your favorite teacher?

• My all-time favorite teacher was in grade school. I had Sr. Mary Lester for 2^nd, 5^th, and 7^th grades at St. Paul’s School. She was a superstar! She eventually became Principal at Dubuque Wahlert and was the first, and probably only, Nun to be Mayor of Dubuque!

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?

• Riding my bike all over God’s Creation, civic projects, playing with grandkids and being with my wonderful spouse, Paula.

Do you still stay connected with any of your Assumption classmates?

• Absolutely! We had an incredible class, and we still get a group together every couple months and have big reunions every 5 years that are quite well-attended.

In a series of interviews with notable alumni about their experiences at Assumption, we recently caught up with 2002 graduate Dan Bush, Co-Owner of Armored Gardens and the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel in Davenport, as well as Analog Arcade Bar (Davenport & Moline).

Q. What are you doing now?
I just opened our second Analog Arcade Bar location in Moline. I also have a restaurant called Armored Gardens, and a small music venue called the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel.

The QC used to have this 3-on-3 basketball tournament called Hoopfest back in the 90’s. It was such a fun event and we don’t have anything like it anymore. I’m currently trying to revive it.

Q: How did you become Co-owner at Analog Arcade Bar, Armored Gardens, and Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel? 
After moving back from Chicago after college, I really wanted to bring bigger city concepts to the Quad Cities. Most of my AHS classmates moved out of the area after high school and haven’t come back, and my goal is to get people to want to stay after high school (or come back).

Q. How did you come up with the unique concepts for each of your establishments?
I legitimately don’t know. I’ll be driving or going for a jog and an idea will pop in my head and then I think of the steps needed to do it. There is no process. Maybe there should be?

Q: What made you want to go into the restaurant and entertainment industry? 
I get bored easily, and the hospitality industry is always presenting new challenges that constantly keep my brain occupied. I realized early on that I wasn’t cut out for a standard desk job and I really find this work fulfilling.

Q. What is a typical day like for you?
There really isn’t a typical day, and I think that’s a big reason why I love my job so much. It doesn’t trap me in monotony. I try to set aside time every week to research something new whether it be a new concept or a new product.

Q: What do you enjoy most about the restaurant and entertainment industry?
I have a job where my product is selling fun. Seeing people having fun in a place I helped create is worth all the headaches (of which there are plenty).

Q. What are some of the things you learned at Assumption?
Assumption has been able to compete academically, athletically, and in the arts with much bigger schools because the collective standard of the faculty, staff, and student body is elevated. People really don’t talk about standards enough, but it really is the difference maker in life. Lower standards mean cutting corners and that makes long-term success difficult. But Assumption instills a standard and work ethic that turns successful students into successful alumni.

Q: How do you feel your time at Assumption has helped you in your career thus far?
I love that Assumption encourages its students to get involved in a variety of different things. As Coach Kacz used to say, “We don’t want one trick ponies.” In four years I played 3 sports, was on the newspaper staff, sang in the choir, performed in plays, and did countless other activities. The best part is that no one ever told me I needed to focus on one thing. I love that, and it shaped how I think now.

Q: What are a few of your favorite memories from your time at Assumption?
Although there were many, being the first quarterback to lead the Knights to four straight National Championships definitely takes the cake. Still waiting for my statue.

Q. Looking back on your time at Assumption, what are some of the experiences that helped prepare you for what you’re doing now?
I remember how Mrs. Brennan would have us rehearse for plays and how Coach Norton would have us practice in basketball. There was an intense focus on the preparation. When it comes time to perform or compete, things are kind of out of your hands at that point. It’s the time you spent (and how you spent it) beforehand that truly yields fantastic results.

I really can’t remember many games, but I remember the practices.

Q: Who were some of the biggest influences during your time at Assumption?
There were so many. Mrs. Carmine Draude (counselor) was definitely a big influence on my life. She really pushed me and made me want to be better. I remember Mr. Dave Simpson ’82 was the first teacher to talk to me like an adult and I always appreciated that.

Q: What suggestions or advice do you have for students who may want to pursue a career in hospitality?
Work. Find a place in the area you are interested in that recruits from within and outwork everyone around you. I’ve had jobs that I did for the paycheck and I’ve had jobs where I loved the work and the latter is better every single time.

Q: Do you have any last words of encouragement for the Class of 2019?
You have one life to live. You don’t get a second shot at it, so don’t waste it. Stop focusing on what you think others want/expect of you and focus on figuring out what YOU want. Try something, then try something else, and repeat this process until you have found that thing that gets you excited to wake up on Monday’s and do it. It’s that simple if you let it be that simple.

Thanks, Dan. We appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule for the interview. Congratulations on all the great work you’re doing!