www.ndnu.edu

NDNUfall 2012

The Magazine of noTre DaMe De naMur universiTy today

Premiere

Issue

Setting our studentsup for success

2 NDNU Today

W elcome to the new look of our alumni

magazine. In addition to a visual makeover,

we have a new name, NDNU Today. I think you’ll

enjoy the changes we’ve made.

The first few weeks of class are always a busy

time, but this year it’s even more so. Not only are we

looking at another year of record enrollment, we are

introducing and ramping up programs funded by

our federal Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and other grants to assure that

all students, including Hispanic, low-income and first-generation students,

succeed and persist to graduation. We’re combining tried and true programs

such as study strategies classes and supplemental instruction with cutting

edge ideas like success coaching to give our students the best chance possible

to succeed. The program was launched in pilot mode in the spring and the

success of that endeavor is illustrated in the main article in this issue.

But while we in higher education are trying to do our part, we are finding our

job is made much more difficult by the budget cuts hitting education in states

across the country, resulting in a dearth of science education in middle and high

school. Two of our top science faculty, Melissa Book McAlexander and Isabelle

Haithcox, take a sobering look at the phenomenon and question whether as a

nation, we really are dedicated to turning out future scientists.

As always we also focus attention on the great things our alumni are doing

and in this issue we take a look at three recent grads who have been spending

time in Kenya helping deliver health services to the rural population there, and

having a few adventures along the way.

In future issues we should have some further news about the future of

Ralston Hall, which was closed earlier this year for seismic retrofitting and

other repairs. A space team has been put together to make recommendations as

to the future use of Ralston Hall and the use of other spaces on campus.

President’s Message

Judith Maxwell Greig, Ph.D.President

www.ndnu.edu

Contents COVER PHOTO Alberto Hidalgo ’13, student coach

NDNU TodayThe Magazine of Notre Dame de Namur University

Judith Maxwell Greig, Ph.D., President

EDITORIAL STAFF

Richard RossiExecutive Editor

Karen PlesurManaging Editor

Claire KarolyAssistant Editor

Manny NungarayAdvancement Editor

ContributorsNeil GonzalesIsabelle G. Haithcox, Ph.D. Scott KimmelmanMelissa Book McAlexander, Ph.D.

PhotosNDNU Communications Office Archives

PrintingSt. Croix Press, Wisconsin

Special thanks to all those who contributed to this magazine.

View NDNU Today online at www.ndnu.edu/magazine

Contact us:Office of Communications

1500 Ralston Avenue, Belmont, CA 94002pr@ndnu.edu(650) 508-3614

Book Nook4 Find your next read in our new faculty and alumni book section

Campus News5 A familiar face in a new position; new faces on our board

Athletics6 New and returning athletes look forward to an exciting fall season

Faculty Forum8 The importance of exposing our youth to science early and often

Feature Story10 Opening doors for underserved students

Class Notes14 The exciting lives of our alumni

Alumni Profile18 Drew Comeau’s eye-opening experience in Kenya

4 NDNU Today

Recognizing that problems with body image are often the lead cause of eating disorders, therapists are increasingly look-ing for innovative and effective ways to address these issues with clients. This book is packed with simple, inexpensive art-based activities that use a range of media to engage with common body image concerns openly and creatively. The activities employ basic principles from Behavioral Therapy. All the exercises are thoroughly explained with illustrative case studies and sample artworks from the author’s extensive thera-peutic experience.

Case Studies in Preparation for the

California Reading Competency Test

Joanne C. Rossi, Ph.D. Dean, School of Education Beth E. Schipper, Ph.D., Professor of EducationUC Irvine

Allyn & Bacon

Case Studies in Preparation for the California Reading Competency Test is the ideal resource for pre-service teachers who want practice in synthesizing and analyzing assessment and strategies for reading in the K—8 classroom, for credential candidates who need to prepare to succeed in taking the Reading Instruction Competence Assess-ment (RICA®), and for in-service teachers who want to enhance their assessment and instruction, while increasing students’ learning.

Dealing With Difficult People: It’s a Zoo Out There

Cheryl Joseph, Ph.D.Professor of Sociology

Worthy Shorts

Ever feel like you have been attacked by a lion,

bitten by a viper, or kicked by a mule when you haven’t even left home turf? If so, Deal-ing With Difficult People: It’s a Zoo Out There is the book for you! Let’s face it: whether it is your boss; your teacher; your spouse; your coworker; your parent; or best friend, people can sometimes be beastly. This book explores effective communication techniques by tenderly and humorously comparing stereotypic behavior of various animals to that of challenging people.

The Church of Abhishik-tananda: An Introduction to the Ecclesiology of Henri le Saux

Enrico Beltramini, Ph.D.Lecturer of Religious Studies

LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing

Henri Le Saux, OSB (1910-1973), known in India as Swami Abhishiktânanda, is a well known pioneer of the interreligious dialogue in the contemporary Catholic Ro-man Church. This work is an introductory investigation of the ecclesiastic and ecclesi-astical foundations of this dialogue. It sug-gests that Abhishiktânanda’s ecclesiology is well-founded not only in the monastic tradition, but also in the theological work of the Second Vatican Council.

Reflections of Body Image in Art Therapy: Exploring Self Through Metaphor and Multi-Media

Margaret Hunter ’98

Jessica Kingsley Publishers, UK

City Baby and Star: Addiction, Transcendence, and the Tenderloin

Don Stannard-Friel, Ph.D.Professor of Sociology and Anthropology

University Press of America

This book is an exploration of the so-ciological, biological, and psychological forces that create pathways into and out of street deviance. Utilizing in-depth case studies, the book examines the relation-ship of an individual’s learned and inher-ited human traits and the culture that receives, socializes and judges him or her. The book centers on the compelling life stories of City Baby and Star, two women who became criminal drug addicts, and the colorful history of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District.

The Gift That Arrives Broken

Jacqueline Berger Program Director, Master of Arts in English

Autumn House Press

She asks: what is the magic that makes these

poems of a quiet, ordinary life, with small sensuous pleasures, and the tracking of a father’s gradual decline toward death, so compelling? Is it the understated wisdom, the graceful compassion toward the self and others, the awareness that one is always “swallowing rage,” balanced by the decision with a friend to “share des-sert, but share two of them because we love both chocolate and plums?” Is it the precision of description, is it the amused memories of the self at sixteen, dropping acid and tearing up money, or the amused speculation about a girl with a baby at a crafts fair selling goddess magnets, “so fe-male the air around her is perfumed,” and the baby’s dad, “loose as a hinged board, slow as oil…Now I want to marry both of them”? “I am trying to get to the center,” Berger writes, “though there is no center, or everywhere is.”

BOO

K N

OO

K

Call for BooksTell us about your recently published book by sending us the title, the publisher and a short description of the book. Email to mnungaray@ndnu.edu.

?

www.ndnu.edu

NDNU’s newest board of trustees member, Alicia C. Aguirre, is the mayor of Redwood City, Calif. She is also a professor at Cañada College, where she

teaches in the English Institute and the Spanish Department. Aguirre has an MA in Education and has done doctoral studies at the Universidad Iberoamericana. She was honored as a Fulbright Exchange Professor.

Also new to NDNU’s board of trustees is Cynthia Vrooman ’70, ’77. She earned a BA in History from NDNU as well as a teaching credential.

Vrooman went on to earn her master’s degree in theology from St. Mary’s College, then later returned to NDNU as the director of campus ministry. Over the last thirty years she has lectured in Catholic dioceses from Seattle to Los Angeles. She worked in the Diocese of Santa Rosa as a religious education coordinator giving workshops to parents and educators.

New Faculty Faces

William Barry, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Education

Lisa Simpson, Full-time Instructor of Education

Therese Martin, Adjunct Professor, School of Business and Management

Melissa Osborn, Assistant Librarian

NDNU Welcomes...

Hernan Bucheli Appointed Vice President for External Affairs

NDNU recently announced the appointment of Hernan Bucheli, formerly vice president for enrollment management, as vice president for external affairs. This position adds responsibility for university advancement to his current duties. "We have had significant success, under Hernan's leadership, in building enrollment to record levels while also improving retention of current students," said university President Judith Maxwell Greig, Ph.D. "Hernan's success in enrollment management has come from a disciplined, strategic, data-driven approach and I am certain he will bring the same approach and passion to advancement with the same results." Before joining NDNU in November 2007 as vice president for enrollment management, Bucheli was assistant vice chancellor for enrollment and student affairs at Chapman University, with responsibility for enrollment at all 26 university college campuses. While at Chapman, he led the effort that earned a 2007 national award for marketing and recruitment excellence. Bucheli is also a highly regarded national speaker on student recruitment and retention. Bucheli received a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from San Francisco State University and a Master of Arts in Communication from Barry University and currently serves on the Peninsula College Fund Board.

CAM

PUSN

EWSSay Hello To Your New

Alumni Director

Manny Nungaray ’01, ’05, added alumni relations to his role as director of

development over the summer. He has served the university over 12 years in the Division of University Advancement. Manny received both a B.S. in Finance and Accounting and an MBA from NDNU. He looks forward to catching up with his fellow alumni and cultivating programs to keep alumni connected with the university and each other.

Other New Faces

Carla Christensen, Interim Student Activities Coordinator

Antonio Delgado, Public Safety Officer

Cheyne Inman, Head Coach Women’s Cross Country

Jason Katz, Assistant Director of Development for Athletics

Christopher Kornahrens, Custodial and Setup Operations Manager

Victoria Lin, Business Office Staff Accountant

James McGarry, Interim Director of Dorothy Stang Center

Byron Nepomuceno, Head Women’s Tennis Coach

Tess Nichols, Compliance Coordinator

James Saunders, Director of Public Safety

Mark Robinson, IR Analyst

6 NDNU Today

Men’s Basketball Tyler Fricke ’12 Erik Hartvigson ’12 Trent Henwood ’12 Marcus Hightower ’13 Steven Palmer ’13 Josh Pettit ’12

Women’s Basketball Maya Arellanos ’15Kathleen de la Cruz ’12Tess Dominguez ’15Janie Hironaka ’12Pilar Mullins ’12Natellie Saia ’12Emily Vore ’12Lauren Ward ’13

Men’s Cross Country Michael Temple ’15Michael Vendelin ’15

Women’s Cross Country Stephanie Biehl ’12Olivia Reason ’13Lauren Villalobos ’12Mara Wright ’12

Men’s Golf Troy Davis ’12Michael Lyons ’13Andrew Shoup ’15Brandon Van Goethen ’12

Men’s Soccer Frank Barnes ’13Manny Cardenas ’13Nicholas Chang ’14Haig Farajian ’13 Nick McCallion ’15Christian Rosales ’12 Scott Sweetnam ’12 Jay Tsuruoka ’15 Mikhail Wingate-Pearse ’15

Women’s Soccer Kelsey Baxter ’12Sarah Biser ’12Billie Hiraishi ’13Andrea Huerta ’13Lilly Johnson ’15Tara Kai LamCenteio ’15Samantha Paetz ’12Margo Rasteiro ’12Shaylja Singh ’14Amrun Singh ’14Alexis Tershay ’13Hannah Verschelden ’15Kimberly Wilhite ’13Rebecca Yim ’15

Softball Kayla Anderson ’14Robyn Araujo ’12Gina Bologna ’12Meggan Craviotto ’12Jessica Frediani ’14Tenea Golson ’12Lucinda Knudson ’15Samantha McConvey ’13Mary Ortega ’13Hillary Ruddick ’13Shay Shibata ’13Hillary Uekawa ’13Amanda Wallach ’15Taylor Williams ’14

Women’s Tennis Rebecca Corteza ’12Maria Galindo ’14Katherine Rosas ’12Morganna Thomsen-Hayes ’13

Women’s Volleyball Brooke DeMiguel ’15Michelle Engledinger ’14Colleen Stafford ’14Tatiana Wesley ’12

2011-12 PacWest Academic All-Conference TeamSixty-nine NDNU student-athletes earned recogni-tion for their work in the classroom with selections to the PacWest Academic All-Conference Team. These student-athletes qualified for Academic All-Confer-ence honors this season by maintaining a minimum 3.0 grade point average.

The new school year means the start of a new athletics calendar at NDNU. With the Pacific West Conference expanding to 14

teams the fall sports face their toughest challenges yet. Men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country all start their seasons in the fall and look to make their mark in this new 14-team conference. Men’s soccer, lead by head coach BJ Noble, is coming off a 12-6 season and a fourth place finish in the PacWest. The Argos return just four starters but welcome in a crop of new talent that should help them compete for the conference title once again. NDNU returns two-time All-PacWest forward Armando Garcia as well as All-Conference defender Manny Cardenas. Sophomore Jay Tsuruoka takes over in net while Division I transfer Jonathan Gonzalez joins Garcia at forward. Noble also leads the women’s soccer program, which finished last season at 7-7-4 overall and an outstanding 6-2-4 in PacWest play. The Argos return their leading scorer, preseason All-PacWest selec-tion Massiel Castellanos as well as former All-Conference standouts Alexis Tershay, Kimberly Wilhite, Amrun Singh and Jessica Santos. The women’s volleyball team looks to rebound from a 5-24 season with the addition of eight new players. In addition to the newcom-ers, the Argos get senior middle blocker Jennifer Jasper back. Jasper finished second on the team and fourth in the conference last season in kills and set a school record with 35 kills in a match. Men’s and women’s cross country welcomes a new coach with the addition of Cheyne Inman. Inman brings a great deal of experience to the NDNU program and will look to improve on last year’s eighth place finishes at the PacWest Championships. The men’s squad returns several of their top runners from last year, including Michael Vendelin and Michael Temple, while the women return Lauren Villalobos.

Jesus Gonzalez ’14

2012 NDNU Athletics

Fall Preview

SPO

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www.ndnu.edu

G e t Ac qu ai nt e d w i t h

Our Students

1967 full - and part-time

students1147undergradu-

ates of which 66% are female

and 34% are male 820 graduates of which 73% are

female and 27% are male

representing 28 states and

23countries.

student athletes181

Fall 2011 Statistics

8 NDNU Today

NDNU is about to embark on one of the most excit-ing endeavors in its history. Thanks to over $6 million in grants from the federal government that we were eli-gible to receive as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), NDNU is instituting exciting new programs to help Hispanic and low-income students succeed in college. Some of the grant funds are earmarked especially to help more Hispanic and low-income students pursue careers in what are called STEM (science, technology, engineer-ing and mathematics) professions. Yet for all our good intentions, programs like ours will fail miserably if we don’t take science education at the high and middle school level more seriously.

Case in point: California, a state known for its progressive environmental policies and leading-edge technology, ironically stood on the cusp of setting sci-ence education back by decades during the state budget negotiations earlier this year. At a time when the rest of the world is becoming increasingly competitive in science and technology, a little-known provision of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed 2013-14 budget would have eliminated the requirement that high school students take two years of laboratory science and instead require one.

Thankfully, the approved budget salvaged the funding

for a second year of science, although Gov. Brown prom-

ises massive cuts to education in November if voters don’t

approve a tax increase. But the fact that California’s lead-

ership, overseeing the ninth largest economy in the world,

so devalues science education that it’s willing to risk

producing a generation of science illiterates is alarming.

Our focus needs to be on better preparing our students.

As it is, students in California and across the coun-

try all too frequently arrive in high school with limited

science experience from elementary or middle school.

The intense focus on testing in math and reading in early

grades, increasing class sizes, and ever-smaller budgets

leaves little room for serious science education. Even two

years of mandatory laboratory science in high school can’t

completely close that gap. The effect of these years of

limited experience in science is that many students arrive

in college uninterested in science and at a disadvantage

in developing critical thinking skills. One of my col-

leagues, who has taught middle and high school science,

says science is critical for “figuring stuff out.” Science

experiences help students gain the skills they need to

solve challenges and make decisions in all areas of their

Science Stars or Scientific IlliteratesT H E CHOICE IS O URS!

FAC

ULT

Y FO

RU

M

by Melissa Book McAlexander, Ph.D., and Isabelle G. Haithcox, Ph.D., NDNU Department of Natural Sciences

Dr. Isabelle G. Haithcox in the lab.

www.ndnu.edu

Programs like these are invaluable, but they’re no substitute for good policy, and they won’t stanch the losses incurred by providing inadequate science education in high school.

technological innovator. The country needs graduates

proficient in STEM fields to fill jobs in fields ranging

from computer science to environmental engineering to

renewable energy. We also need knowledgeable teachers

at all levels, from kindergarten to university, to prepare

our students to pursue these careers.

High school science classes are vital for exposing stu-

dents to STEM fields; for some, it will be the last science

instruction they ever have, and for others it will lay the

groundwork for a college major and perhaps a science-

related career. Either way, we’ll only harm ourselves by

failing to provide comprehensive science education in

high school. By generating high school graduates uninter-

ested and ill prepared for STEM majors and careers, we’ll

be creating a knowledge deficit from which we might

never rebound.

While programs like those now offered at NDNU are

invaluable, they’re no substitute for good educational

policy and investment in science education. St. Julie

Billiart, co-foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame said,

“Teach them what they need to know for life.” In provid-

ing support for students pursuing STEM fields at NDNU,

we are doing just that.

lives, not just in chemistry. Additionally, students who

may be interested in science degrees often lack proper

foundations for scientific observation or measurement

when they begin college-level work.

Meanwhile, colleges and universities struggle to

fill gaping holes in STEM education. How can stu-

dents from low-performing and under-funded schools

eventually pursue the high-paying jobs available in

STEM fields, when they arrive at college ill-prepared

for even the introductory coursework in these ma-

jors? To adequately support these students, we’ll need

more tutoring and academic support; otherwise, these

students are at risk of earning low grades or chang-

ing majors before they’ve gotten through the gateway

courses.

Why does all of this matter? Well, for one thing, the

federal government has been emphasizing the impor-

tance of strengthening science, technology, engineer-

ing and math education to keep the U.S. workforce

competitive in a global economy. President Obama

has called for training 100,000 new STEM teachers by

2020 and generating a million new STEM graduates

in order to keep the United States’ edge as a leading

Dr. Melissa Book McAlexander (middle) with students in class.

10 NDNU Today

In a continuing effort to provide access to higher education and help students succeed in college, Notre Dame de Namur University partnered with the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) in order to increase college completion rates for underserved KIPP students in the Bay Area and nationwide. Through this partnership, NDNU projects enroll-ing 15 KIPP students over the next two years and possibly more in future years. KIPP public charter schools prepare students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. Almost all of their students are students of color. The seven KIPP schools in the Bay Area serve more than 2,500 students, and over 85 percent of their alumni have gone on to college, more than twice the national average for students in low-income com-munities (46 percent). NDNU’s partnership with KIPP is part of the university’s longstanding com-mitment to diversity. With more than half of its current student body being first-generation college students, NDNU hopes to recruit and enroll qualified KIPP alumni beginning in the 2013-14 academic year. There are currently five KIPP alumni attending NDNU, two of who just started this fall. KIPP alumni will participate in NDNU’s Gen 1 Program for first-generation students and will also receive student coaching and mentoring through the InsideTrack program.

NDNU Partners With KIPP Schools To Promote College Completion

It’s an outgrowth of the mission of Notre Dame de Namur of

providing access to education to those poorly served”“

10 NDNU Today

The new students will have a coach to work with on any number of issues

in their life so they are on track to succeed in school and beyond.”

“

www.ndnu.edu

The chemistry professor was going through the material a little too quickly for junior Nancy Leon-Alvarez.

The biology major couldn’t ask all the questions she wanted and was feeling overwhelmed in the class this past spring. But then the professor told the class about a new supplemental-instruction program that could help struggling students grasp the chemistry content better.

“When I went through the program, I wasn’t confused any-more,” said Leon-Alvarez of Redwood City, Calif. “If I hadn’t gone through it, I could’ve failed chemistry.”

The program is just one of the various elements funded by two federal grants that are empowering NDNU like never before in its efforts to open higher-education doors for underserved students and guide them through science and technology studies.

NDNU has been busy putting the new measures in place since last fall when it received grants worth $6.1 million over five years from the U.S. Department of Education’s Hispanic-Serving

Institutions (HSI) programs. The measures also include student-success coaching and raising endowment funds for scholarships.NDNU became eligible for the grants because its undergraduate population had reached at least 25 percent Latino. NDNU is one of only two four-year, private institutions in Northern California to earn the HSI designation. Currently, Latinos account for nearly 30 percent of NDNU undergraduates.

University officials saw the grants as a way to continue the school tradition of reaching out to the underprivileged. “It’s an outgrowth of the mission of Notre Dame de Namur of providing access to education to those poorly served,” said NDNU President Judith Maxwell Greig, Ph.D.

Associate Provost Greg White, Ph.D., added: “We saw an op-portunity to better support our students who have academic needs and need the additional challenge that we can give. These grant programs give us the opportunity to extend services for His-panic and low-income students and strengthen the university.”

By Neil Gonzales

ueled by federal grants, NDNU launches new programs to widen higher-ed doors and encourage pursuit of sciences

12 NDNU Today

One grant is for $3.2 million, the largest federal funding that NDNU has been awarded. This grant finances a project that seeks to raise the retention and graduation rates of students, particularly those from Latino and needy families.

Under this project, one-on-one coaching from the San Francis-co-based counseling firm InsideTrack is available to all incoming freshmen and some transfer students.

Throughout their first year at NDNU, the new students will have a coach to work with on any number of issues in their life so they are on track to succeed in school and beyond.

“The coaches are talking with them about goals and helping them work on what they need to work on,” White said. “The coaches are also preparing them to go and effectively work through the different systems on campus and connect with people they need to connect with.”

Another part of the project is identifying students at risk of failing school and offering them extra academic support. In addi-tion, the project addresses language barriers by providing trans-lation services.

The other grant is for $2.9 million and aims to increase the number of Latino and low-income students earning degrees in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Of the undergraduate Latino students who entered NDNU from 2001 to 2004, 58 percent graduated within six years in any major, according to statistics given by science professors Isabelle Haithcox, Ph.D., and Melissa Book McAlexander, Ph.D. Howev-er, the six-year graduation rate dropped to 40 percent for those Latinos completing a science degree.

“It is this disparity that the grant will address,” Haithcox and McAlexander said. “The goal is to increase the graduation rates in STEM by 10 percent for Latino students.”

That’s important to do because Latinos represent only three percent of the STEM labor force nationwide though they make up nearly 17 percent of the total U.S. population, Haithcox and McAlexander said, citing data from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and the Census Bureau.

The country cannot afford to have a large segment of the population unprepared for the many lucrative jobs found in the STEM fields, they said.

Right now, the country doesn’t have enough students in general going into those areas even as the world continues to grow in-creasingly high-tech, added Peggy Koshland-Crane, Ed.D., direc-tor of the Academic Success Center. “Many students shy away from math and science areas.”

But with the STEM grant, she said, NDNU can raise student interest and achievement in the sciences through additional mentoring and tutoring.

Top: Nancy Leon-Alvarez (left) walks with friends through St. Mary’s Hall, where the university’s science classes are held.

Right: Alberto Hidalgo assists junior Rebecca Donsife during a supplemental instruction session.

12 NDNU Today

www.ndnu.edu

The grant also provides upgraded equipment, professional de-velopment for instructors and enhanced academic services such as the supplemental instruction that benefited Leon-Alvarez, who aspires to be a nurse or doctor.

Leon-Alvarez described the supplemental instruction as a “mini-class” led by a fellow student in advanced standing who went over concepts in detail.

“We could ask as many questions as we wanted,” she said, “and (the peer leader) was able to work with us one-on-one.”

Besides the new programs they bring, the grants will bolster NDNU’s endowment. If the university raises a certain amount of money for the endowment, White said, the grants will match that. “There’s a total of over $1 million available between the two grants as matching money to create scholarships for Latinos and low-income students,” he said. Moreover, the grants will enable NDNU to strengthen part-nerships with community colleges that ease the transfer process for students coming from the two-year public institutions. For instance, community college students will know exactly which courses they must take to qualify to transfer to NDNU.

The federal funding has resulted in another kind of collabo-ration – one with the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), a national network of college-preparatory public charter schools.

NDNU will help foster higher-education awareness among KIPP

students and bring them other services, Greig said.

The grants also complement existing efforts at NDNU like the

Gen 1 Program, which provides tuition aid, mentoring and other

assistance to students who are the first in their family to attend

a college or university.

“This is building on the Gen 1 Program,” Communications

Director Richard Rossi said. “This goes hand in hand with our

mission to improve access.”

Leon-Alvarez, who is the first in her family to attend a higher-

education institution, appreciates all that NDNU has to offer. “I

like NDNU,” she said. “It’s a small school, and people have more

time to help me out.”

While many of her friends are no longer pursuing their educa-

tion, Leon-Alvarez said, she takes pride in remaining in school.

“I know I’ll have a better future” by continuing her studies than

not doing so, she said.

She also feels proud about setting an example for her younger

brother. “I feel like he looks up to me,” she said. “He talks about

going to college. If I wouldn’t have gone to college, maybe he

wouldn’t think of going either.”

14 NDNU Today

CLASSNOTESNDNU Alumni

1940sMartha Jane (Oneto) Irwin ’49

has fond memories of CND. She lived on the second floor of Ralston Hall Mansion and remembers playing bridge in the “Smoking Room” with fellow students. Sr. Anna was an excel-lent geology professor who took the students out to the ocean to study tide pools. Sr. Anna would roll up her habit so it would not get wet, and wade right in to the ocean while teach-ing about sea biology. Martha remembers Sr. Barbara as a strict disciplinarian. After attending CND, Martha married Chuck Irwin, who was in the Air Force and later worked for a United Airlines subsidiary. Now retired, Martha and Chuck live in Fresno. Martha’s friend, Patricia Anne (Dunne) Vanni ’50 played piano for her wedding.

1960sMarianne (Jones) Testa ’62

still has her cap and gown from when she graduated in 1962; some things must be kept! She is thrilled to be celebrating her 50th reunion this year. Marianne is enjoying her family including one granddaughter who just received her first communion and another who is in college and has a class in surfing. “Did we ever have a class like that?” says Marianne, who remembers 18 units of work!

1970sDr. Diane A. Guay, Cred. ’73, MAT ’76, MPA ’80 served as a teacher in Burlingame and

the opening of an exhibit of Dr. Ramsey’s life work, Mary and Gregory would be there. They flew down for the event from their home in Portland, Oregon, and enjoyed visiting with their longtime friend and mentor. Mary now teaches elementary school and Greg works in the hospitality industry. They were delighted to visit the campus and see old friends they had not seen in over 10 years.

Denise Winkelstein ’74 is now part of the NDNU University Advancement team. With the closure of Ralston Hall Mansion for seismic retrofitting, she will be one of the Advancement Office event specialists. She is also happy to be working with Manny Nungaray ’01, MBA ’05 on alumni events and will also be working to help raise funds for the Ralston Hall Mansion restoration project. Denise lives in San Mateo with her husband, Charles. They have six grandchil-dren ranging in age from three to ten years old.

1980sDonald Cox ’80, MPA ’93 spent nearly a decade from 2000 – 2009 working as an elementary and middle school principal in the Palo Alto Unified School District. He took a year off along the way and attended culinary school followed by a stint as a pastry chef in a Michelin-starred restaurant. Since 2009, Donald has travelled a great deal throughout Europe and South America. Now, he teaches part time at Santa Clara University mentoring graduate students training to be principals and

superintendants. He also caters weddings and parties. When the mood strikes, Donald teaches cooking classes in his home kitchen.

Eddie Baza Calvo ’83

After graduation, Eddie returned to Guam and worked in the private sector, as the general manager of the Pacific Construc-tion Company and then vice president and general manager of the Pepsi Bottling Company of Guam. He was first elected as a senator in the Guam Legisla-ture in 1999. He has since been elected to five terms in office. Eddie served two years as the chairman of the Legislative Budget Committee, balancing the budget each year. He has served as both the vice speaker and acting speaker of the Legis-lature. In 2010, he was elected governor of Guam. Governor Calvo is the proud son of former Governor Paul McDonald Calvo and former first lady Rose Baza Calvo. He is married to Chris-tine Lujan Sonido. The couple has six children. He has also been involved with the Guam Chamber of Commerce, the Boy Scouts of America, the American Red Cross and the Knights of Columbus, to name a few.

Catherine Raye-Wong ’88 was named “Super Lawyer of North-ern California” by San Francisco Magazine in both 2007 and 2010. She continues to practice estate planning and probate law in downtown San Carlos. Her son, Stephen, plays jazz trumpet in the Aragon High School band and is an avid student of Japa-nese, having previously served as a student ambassador to Japan when he was in junior high

Hillsborough public schools for seven years and as a principal for Notre Dame des Victoires in San Francisco for another seven years. She returned to then-CND in 1987 as director of education and dean. One of her early accomplishments as a CND professor/administrator was to hire a young and talented teacher named Judith Maxwell Greig. Dr. Guay continued serv-ing at CND/NDNU in various roles until the completion of her phased retirement in 2007. She stays involved at NDNU, currently supervising student teachers in the single subject credential area and serving as a second reader/editor for Master of Arts in Education theses. She is proud to have helped start the Sr. Rosemarie Julie Gavin Teacher Education Endowed Scholarship Fund at NDNU and continues to support it.

Mary ’74 and Gregory ’75 Chee Back in 1972, Mary had no idea when she went to her Drawing 101 class that it would change her life. But she met fellow student Gregory and they fell in love. When they decided to marry, Dr. David Ramsey, the head of CND’s Art Department and their mentor and academic advisor, walked Mary down the aisle at Cunningham Memorial Chapel. When their first child was born, Fr. Harris performed the baptism at the campus chapel and Dr. Ramsey and his wife Thea attended. When they were newly married, Mary and Greg used to housesit for the Ramseys. So, it is fitting that when Dr. Ramsey’s students hosted a reception at the Wie-gand Gallery in May 2012 for

Stay in touch! We would love to hear what is new with you! Please send us an email at alumni@ndnu.edu or call us at (650) 508-3501 and let us know what you have been doing since you left campus.

14 NDNU Today

www.ndnu.edu

Evelia Chacon ‘08 and Shaun Ferreira ‘09, married on August 11, 2012 in

the NDNU Cunningham Chapel.

Elizabeth Whitehorn ’06, Cred. ’07 married Alen Martin on July 12, 2012 at the San Ramon Golf Club. They both work for San Mateo-Foster City School District and live in Fremont. She has been teaching the fifth and first grades for San Mateo –Foster City School District since she graduated. Also, Elizabeth has continued working with NDNU by dancing with Coleen Lorenz and A Christmas Carol: The Gift. She is also a cheer coach for the Fremont Football League.

CLASSNOTESNDNU Alumni

school. Her daughter, Amy, is enjoying acting in plays and will enter the fifth grade next year.

1990sFred Ortiz ’91, MBA ’93 was just named president of dB Control Corporation, a manufacturer of large electronic hardware located in Fremont. He started his career in 1984 at Varian Industries in Palo Alto and came to NDNU in the professional studies program while working full time. He was consistently promoted to managerial sales positions during his career.

Richard Newton ’98 graduated from the Roosevelt University in Chicago with an MFA in direct-ing, dramaturgy and nonprofit management in 2004. He re-cently wrapped a television and Internet commercial for Western Health Advantage. Theatrical production highlights for 2012 include co-writer/collaborator/actor in the experimental play Philippos by Logan Hehn, a work integrating human actors and horses as actors, performed at The Red Barn, Stanford; Brit-ish dialect and cultural consul-tant with TheatreWorks’ New Works Festival for the workshop production of Being Earnest, a new musical by Paul Gor-don and Jay Gruska based on Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Mainstage production is slated for April 2013 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Richard has enjoyed many years working with Michael Elkins, NDNU and The Performing Arts Company on their annual productions of A Christmas Carol: The Gift.

Kerry Breuer ’99 went to China in October 2011 to do French translation, photography and interviews in conjunction with a PBS documentary, The Black Kung Fu Experience.

2000sDan DeSmidt ’00 has been ap-pointed police chief of Belmont effective July 1, 2012. Dan is a Belmont native and served on the Belmont police force for 25 years. Having risen through the ranks, he most recently served as second-in-command of the department, under Chief Don Mattei ’79, MPA ’98. Upon his appointment Dan said, “I’m humbled and honored to be chosen to lead the outstand-ing men and women of the Belmont Police Department. Together we will work to build upon the trust and mutual re-spect that has been forged with this vibrant community.”

Diane Sapienda-Boundy ’00 is currently working toward her MSW through the University of New England. She is currently employed at Kaiser Hospital in South San Francisco as senior staff assistant for the Depart-ment of Anesthesiology.

Michelle (Christensen) Regner ’04 noticed that her landlord had a pretty antiquated and inefficient way of collecting rent, so she did some research and developed an online man-agement system for residential property owners and named it Innercircuit. She now has nine employees and is working on broadening her customer base. Never one to rest on her laurels, she has identified a

Marriages and Unions

• New marriages/unions/engagements?• New jobs/promotions?• New additions to your family?

Email alumni@ndnu.edu.

Julie Loucks ’08 and Joe Simonton ’09 met at NDNU in 2006 and have been a couple ever since. They recently got engaged in July 2012; Joe proposed in front of Ralston Hall Mansion, and they plan to marry in September 2013. Julie and Joe played for the men’s and women’s soccer teams and majored in communication and biochemistry respectfully. They are currently living

Engagements

in Glendale, Arizona. Julie is working for Gannett, a multimedia corpora-tion, in marketing and advertis-ing. Joe is currently a third-year pharmacy student at Midwestern University in Glendale, Ariz., and is working toward a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. They are planning to move back to California next year and look forward to supporting the new NDNU Argonauts on the soccer field.

Laura Hill ’09 and John Paul Manfredi ’11 got engaged in December of last year at the gala performance of A Christmas Carol: The Gift in Ralston Hall Mansion. John Paul is currently teaching theol-ogy at Bishop Gorman Catholic High School in Las Vegas as well as youth ministering at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish. Laura is teaching second grade at St. Francis de Sales Catholic School.

Kelly Owen ’09 got engaged to Pat-rick Scott in July 2012 at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz, which is the same place that her father proposed to her mother. Their wedding will be on September 14, 2013 at a winery. Kelly now works as an executive assistant at YuMe in Redwood City.

Niki Rodrigues ’11 got engaged to Erik Nielsen in San Mateo in March 2012. They plan to marry June 8, 2013 in Martinez. The two met when Niki was a junior at NDNU. Niki was a theatre arts major and communica-tion and dance minor. She convinced Erik to accompany her in her last performance in A Christmas Carol: The Gift in 2010. Niki currently works as the administrative coor-dinator for Conferences and Events at NDNU and Erik is an advisory manager at KPMG LLP. The couple plans to reside in Erik’s San Mateo home following their wedding.

www.ndnu.edu

Evelia Chacon ’08 and Shaun Ferreira ’09 married on August 11, 2012 in the NDNU Cunning-ham Memorial Chapel.

16 NDNU Today

CLASSNOTESNDNU Alumni

second niche market which she is exploring. Michelle recently married and still finds time to stay involved at NDNU. She at-tended this year’s “Home for the Holidays” and hopes to partner with our computer science department in a potential new venture. “I love NDNU and want to stay involved!” she says.

Robert Oryall ’06 works for a pri-vate security firm in Los Angeles. He recently began a new posi-tion with Impact Bay Area as a suited instructor of self-defense for women. Robert has spent 30 years practicing various forms of martial arts and has taught self-defense courses to law enforce-ment, military personnel and bodyguards, as well as civilian men, women and children. With his degree in clinical counseling and administration of nonprof-its, he joined Impact Bay Area’s board of directors in April 2012. Robert noted, “After I got involved with the organization, it became apparent they needed new members for their board of directors. This is where my education from NDNU came in handy.” He is married with two children. His interests include travel, camping, hiking and golf. He is studying Japanese and training to compete in his first triathlon.

Miquette Subia-Belton Thompson ’06 has enjoyed six years of enriching work in the Bay Area nonprofit sector. She came to NDNU to become an English teacher, and through her engagement in service learn-ing, she realized that she could make a deeper impact by serv-ing those who had barriers to education due to incarceration,

Southern California and pursued a master’s degree in elementary education with an emphasis in language and literacy arts with an elementary credential. Camille is teaching for the Los Angeles Unified School District. She’s spent over 100 hours volunteering with underserved communities through Boys and Girls Clubs and LA Unified. Currently, she owns her own academic tutoring business. Camille says, “I am indebted to NDNU for all of these successes, especially Dr. Joanne Rossi, who encouraged me to become a teacher. The education I received has provided me an in-describable confidence. I am an African-American woman from a single parent home and owe a great deal of my success to the care and attention I received during my years at NDNU!”

Juan Carlos Vera ’07 is a third-year medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He was recently selected for the National Institutes of Health’s Medical Research Scholars Program. He is one of only 45 medical, dental and veterinary students nationwide chosen for this class. Juan stated, “I am humbled by this recognition and very excited to spend a year as a medical research scholar. My goal, above all, is to improve the health and quality of life of members from our community, through science.” He plans a career in neurosurgery.

Julia Louise Hosack ’08 has played Mrs. Potts on the nation-al tour of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast since 2008, to great acclaim and sell-out audiences of 2,500 people per show. She

has performed eight shows a week in all 50 states. Some of her favorite other professional roles include “Laurey” in Okla-homa!, and “Golde” in Fiddler on the Roof. The national tour of Beauty and the Beast recently stopped in San Jose where she was able to meet up with NDNU’s Music Department chair and mentor Debra Lambert. When not on stage, Julia is dedicated to her family.

Danielle Lagnit ’09 currently works for nonprofit organiza-tion Caminar doing mental health case management for people with dual diagnosis and co-occurring mental health disorders. She starts the Master of Social Work program at Cal State East Bay this fall. She is also a part of the San Mateo Anti-Stigma Initiative and is participating in a state-wide project for mental health called Advanced Recovery Practices.

2010sKourosh Behnam ’10 is working at the International Forum on Globalization as a program as-sociate. He is currently living in San Francisco. He also worked on a major report called Outing the Oligarchy: Billionaires Who Benefit From Today’s Climate Crisis, and helped with research on Jerry Mander’s new book Capitalism: The Fatal Flaws of an Obsolete System. Kourosh will be studying international political economy at Kings Col-lege London in the fall.

Claire Karoly ’10 joined the NDNU Office of Communica-tions full time as the web con-tent coordinator after she grad-

and involvement in the foster care and mental health system. After four years of providing di-rect service delivery, she gained interest in fundraising and development, and is currently a development associate at The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) in San Francisco. In 2013, she will graduate from USF with her master’s degree in nonprofit administration. In 2010, with NDNU alumna Maria Zontine ’05, she started a nonprofit organization called Blue Seed Resource Alignment, which was founded upon the concept that strong partnerships between youth and family ser-vice providers creates a higher quality of care for clients. Blue Seed is currently submitting pro-posals for funding and building its advisory board. Miquette was married in 2008 to James, and resides in Oakland, California.

Stephen Chang ’07 While at NDNU, Stephen enjoyed playing basketball for three seasons and majoring in psychology. Most recently, he moved down to Los Angeles to audition for parts on television shows and landed a part on CW’s 90210.

Jaclyn (White) Simi ’07 received a 2012 Native American Law Educational Internship to work at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch. She completed her final semester of graduate work at California Western Law School where she was president of the Native American Law Student Association. She is a member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.

Camille Smith ’07 moved to

16 NDNU Today

We want you to know…

As you might imagine, our needs are growing and NDNU has partnered with RuffaloCODY, a company that assists many colleges with phonathon management in order to develop a more robust annual giving program. In the next month, you may receive a phone call from our partners and we hope you will say “yes” to our request for your support.

www.ndnu.edu

Evelia Chacon ‘08 and Shaun Ferreira ‘09, married on August 11, 2012 in

the NDNU Cunningham Chapel.

CLASSNOTESNDNU Alumni

uated. She has also continued her association with the Music Department, taking graduate courses, appearing in the opera scenes program and perform-ing the lead in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief. Claire recently joined a local band, the JackAces, which covers a variety of music for special occasions, fundraisers and benefits. Visit www.facebook.com/JackAces for info. She continues to study voice with basso-profondo Gregory Stapp and hopes to get more involved in the San Fran-cisco classical and opera scene. Claire enjoys riding her bicycle up and down the Bay Area; she will participate in the Bike MS: Waves to Wine ride for her second year in September. Her greatest excitement, however, is her upcoming wedding to Criss Ard in October; they were engaged August 16, 2011. They live in Belmont with their cat Leeloo (Dallas-Multipass), who they adopted from the Penin-sula Humane Society.

Sarah Lopez ’10 is working as the internship coordinator/instructor for drama, dance and music at Kid Stock, Inc. She is currently working on develop-ing an internship program with NDNU as well as a potential summer children’s theatre pro-gram located on campus. She is also working as an actress in the theatre/film industry. Sarah is a member of the New Ground Theatre Dance Company in Bel-mont and On3 Dance Company in San Francisco. She says, “I’m an auntie now!!!”

Sonia Makol ’10 graduated from a master’s program in social work at the University of

Washington. She now works for Stanford University Medi-cal Center as a medical social worker, mainly in the emergency room.

Sarah Pahk ’10 moved to Hawaii, where her father was born and raised and her grandmother still resides. She moved there for a change of pace as well as to help her grandmother. She works at a sports bar and grill and is enjoying the island life.

Paula Bradley ’11 is currently enjoying her work as a senior specialist in the general coun-sel’s office of Deloitte LLP in San Francisco.

Laura Guluzzy ’11 is beginning her second year in the San Francisco State Gerontology Graduate Studies Program. She has been active on the Foster City Village Steering Committee and was recently elected to the first board of directors. Foster City Village will be a network of services for seniors in Foster City. Laura previously worked with Senior Services Recreation for the city of Belmont.

Blake Lyon MPA ’11 received his undergraduate degree from Principia College in environmen-tal science and has worked for almost 10 years in the planning department of Redwood City, Calif. After receiving an MPA, he was promoted twice in less than a year, in large part due to the skills, theoretical knowledge and practical application he obtained while studying at NDNU. He currently serves as acting plan-ning manager, in charge of all ongoing development projects in Redwood City. Blake always knew he would get an advanced

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degree and assumed it would be a master’s degree in city and regional planning, but his superi-ors encouraged him to consider an MPA because of its versatility and practicality, so Blake decided to attend NDNU’s MPA program. He enjoyed the curriculum, ap-preciated the diversity possessed by his classmates and respected the depth of knowledge repre-sented by the professors. James Fogel was among his favorites. Blake lives in Redwood City with his wife and three-year-old daughter.

Ting-Yi Huang MS ’11 has been busy since she graduated and currently has three jobs! She is a domestic violence bilingual (Mandarin) counselor for Pyra-mid Alternatives in Pacifica. She is also an intern in the forensic psychology field at Pathways in San Mateo County, where she interviews prison inmates and screens them for mental illness, recommending treatment as an alternative to incarceration when appropriate. Finally, she works as a teaching assistant for Professor Nusha Askari at NDNU. “Profes-sor Askari is the best professor I have had in the 10 years I have been in the United States,” she says. “I love NDNU, it gave me a lot of confidence. At NDNU, everyone knows each other. I joke with Professor Askari that I never left NDNU, but in a way it’s true. I feel as connected now to the school as when I was a student and I hope to always feel this way.”

Ryan Hulsey ’11 played lacrosse for NDNU in 2011, his last year of eligibility. He is putting his business degree to good use as a financial representative for

Northwestern Mutual in Menlo Park, Calif. He lives in Belmont and enjoys stopping by campus to cheer on the Argonauts at Koret Field or Gleason Gym whenever he can. He enjoyed a trip to South Africa and Austra-lia last summer.

Marissa Martinez ’11 is currently living on the Pen-insula and enjoying life post graduation. She is about to em-bark on an exciting adventure in Africa. She leaves in October for two months abroad traveling through Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique. She hopes to have an exciting journey and great pictures to share with friends and family when she returns.

Jason Lawrence ’12 spends his free time working on cars, vol-unteering with a scout program, playing and exploring with his dog Blaze, and pondering the deep meaning of why they call it a flea market.

In Memorium

Alumni

Sara J. Sullivan ’47

Joan (Paganini) Roberts ’50

Patricia (Dunn) Vanni ’50

Joan (Vertin) Edwards ’54

Martha (Woolege) Schultz ’80

Sr. Carmen M. Sugiyama MA ’82

Marlene R. Gibson ’85

Elizabeth Ann Osborn MBA ’02

Faculty/Staff

Peggy Hart

Lois Marie Watson

www.ndnu.edu

18 NDNU Today

Drew Comeau ’10: Opening Eyes in Kenya

Early last year I traveled for the second time to Kenya with my parents, medical directors for the humanitarian group A Better World Canada, and

two good NDNU friends Hanna Martin ’10 and Kristen Mills ’09. I had some training before the trip, so the three of us were assigned the responsibility of running the eye clinic. The girls can attest to the joy of handing a pair of glasses to a child who had previously never been able to see clearly, and watching her eyes light up.

The “extra” training I received was to use a device called a tonometer which required me to lightly touch the front of their corneas with a bizarre-looking pen, an uncomfortable experience for both the patients and me, but it had to be done because glaucoma, which can lead to blindness if untreated, is a common ailment in Africa. Our travels took us to many other locations, including the Masai Mara where all the animals seem to congregate. The rare sighting of a leopard and her cubs was the highlight of that trip.

Hanna, now a nursing student at Samuel Merritt University, and Kristen, a personal trainer, also shadowed the doctors and

even ran the pharmacy, a role where Hanna’s training as emergency medical technician (EMT) proved extremely valuable. They showed a group of the community health workers how to do basic stretches. As former star players on the Argos women’s soccer team and kinesiology majors, stretching is second nature to them, but a source of great amusement for the health workers. They also taught the health workers exercises to strengthen different muscles. Projects like these, the ones that can be taught to the health workers who can implement them long-term, really make an impact,

Although we were always busy, we had the opportunity to watch two live births. The first child was a girl, and the new mother looked across the room and asked Kristen what her name was. She repeated the name and the woman told the doctor that she was going to name her child “Christ-en”. Somewhere in a small Kenyan community are two one-year-olds named “Christ-en” and “Ja-rue” who are likely to grow up very confused about the origins of their names.

I am now gearing up for my third trip to Kenya in October, where I will spend a month with five Australian medical students and 30 health professionals running clinics and teaching in the same areas that we previously visited. This offers a great opportunity to follow up with old patients and for me, now a first-year medical student at the University of Queensland, to apply some new knowledge and learn a great deal more. I can only hope it will be less uncomfortable for my patients than it was when I was poking them in the eyes with my tonometer pen.

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Alumni Drew Comeau, Kristen Mills and Hanna Martin explore Africa and demonstrate basic stretches and strengthening exercises to community health workers.

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NDNU Yesterday

Fishing Nuns — An unidentified nun fishes in

Banana Skin Lake, a small pond that used to

be on top of the hill behind the gym, but has

since dried up. Sr. Victorie Julie LeMieux (left)

watches. Do you know our mystery fisher?

Let us know at alumni@ndnu.edu.