Santa Margarita Catholic High School

Wings 

09 

S A N T A M A R G A R I T A 

C A T H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L

Dwelling in the Lord’s own shelter we find 

refuge in His might. 

Lifted up on eagle’s wings, now we soar to 

greater heights. 

Santa Margarita, Alma Mater, proudly let our 

voices raise! 

Eagles soaring, your sons and daughters, 

with one heart now sing your praise. 

Gathered now as God’s own family, we are 

sheltered by His wings. 

The Lord’s our refuge and our stronghold, 

and the power that makes us sing. 

Santa Margarita, Alma Mater, proudly let our 

voices raise! 

Eagles soaring, your sons and daughters, 

with one heart now sing your praise.

Wings 

09 

Table of Contents 

Letter from Our Principal. ..................2 

Happenings. ..............................3 

20th Anniversary Celebration .............12 

Class of 2008 ...........................13 

Alumni Highlights. .......................21 

Alumni Profiles ..........................23 

Class Updates. ..........................30 

Donor List. .............................51 

In Memoriam ...........................52 

SMCHS Mission Statement 

Santa Margarita Catholic High School (SMCHS) endeavors to bring the person and teachings of Jesus Christ to this time and 

place through a holistic and nurturing educational experience. We are dedicated to working with parents to provide the finest 

religious, moral, academic, physical, social, and personal programs possible. In addition to promoting excellence in the skills 

and abilities developed in the various arts and disciplines, we seek to encourage in our students a positive sense of self-worth, 

self-discipline, personal responsibility, successful interpersonal relationships, commitment to Gospel values, and a desire to 

contribute positively to the society and environment in which they live. 

WINGS | 2009

Letter 

from our 

Principal 

Dear Alumni & Parents of Our Alumni: 

I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest thanks to all alumni who so generously 

support their Alma Mater whether by time, treasure or talent. With a relatively short history, I have 

been impressed by the number of alumni who really make their love for SMCHS well known. I would 

particularly like to thank those who were part of our first annual Alumni Career Day! It was great to 

see the sharing that took place between those who “used to be in the seats” and those who are now. 

It is with great hope that we look for this program to continue and get even bigger in the years ahead. 

As some of you may be aware, SMCHS is poised to begin a rather large construction project. I look 

forward to shovels in the ground in spring 2009 for our new Athletic Building and after that a new 

Academic Building. Both buildings will come to near 20 million dollars and the financing is through 

municipal tax free bonds. However, we will also move forward on a campaign to raise funds which will 

help us pay off the new Aquatics Center and provide us with reserves for school needs. In fact within 

this publication you will find an envelope which will give you an opportunity to help us as we begin 

this process. Knowing that our economy is not the best at this time, I thank you in advance for the 

help you might be able to give us. 

I do hope that the next time you are on campus, you will take the opportunity to visit our new Sacred 

Heart Chapel. The building, on the outside looks familiar, but the inside is totally changed thanks to a 

very generous gift from Mr. and Mrs. Art Birtcher. It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful high 

school chapels anywhere. In addition part of their gift was a statue of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the 

patroness of the school who now resides in a beautiful garden outside the chapel. For the first time in 

21 years there is a face to the name of the school! 

As we move through 2009, I pray that you and your families will be blessed by Our Lord with love, joy 

and great happiness. 

Caritas Christi, 

Raymond R. Dunne

Happenings 

WINGS | 2009

Wings 

09 

SANTA MARGARITA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 

Happenings 

Alumni Career Day 

SMCHS has a new tradition with 

its First Annual Alumni Career Day! 

On Nov. 24, 2008 about 20 alumni 

returned to SM to speak to the junior 

class about their careers and path to 

success. The SM grads inspired the 

junior class to begin thinking about 

potential careers, reminding the 

students it wasn’t long ago when 

they were in their shoes. 

“Perhaps only later in life does it 

become evident the impact an 

environment like Santa Margarita had 

on us and what we decided to do with 

our lives,” said alumna Stephanie Soltis 

’97, a captain in the US Air Force. 

Jobs of the former SM students 

ranged from attorneys, careers in the 

entertainment industry, a military pilot, 

teachers, entrepreneurs, nonprofit 

executives, an equine veterinarian 

and much more. SM students said 

the day was an opportunity to hear 

about a wide range of careers. 

“It helps us look into paths we 

wouldn’t necessarily think about,” 

said SM junior Colleen O’Sullivan. 

“It opens new doors.” 

Nathan Imperiale ’04, gave the 

keynote speech, talking to the junior 

class about his road to success as the 

owner of NJI Media Group, a premier 

digital communications and online 

marketing firm in Washington, D.C. 

Imperiale compared the business 

world to a class project. 

“If you don’t put 100 percent into 

it you’re not going to get out of it 

what you should,” said Imperiale, 

whose resume includes an internship 

at the White House and several 

internships and jobs on Capitol Hill. 

“Our students are fortunate to 

have supportive alumni that care 

about the future Eagle family,” 

said Alumni Coordinator Lynne 

Powers, who organized the event. 

Thank you to the following alumni 

who participated: 

Brian McGibbon ’92 

Executive Director of YMCA of 

Orange County 

Ryan Sim ’97 

Community Organizer for the Orange 

County Congregation 

Jenny (Peterson) Cramer ’98 

Mathematics Teacher at St. John’s 

Episcopal 

Alyse Gome ’97 

Co-developer and owner of Hope 

Wines 

Jami (Orlowski) La Fave ’93 

College counselor for EDvantage 

Marisa Brutoco ’96 

Attorney/associate for Wilson, Sonsini, 

Goodrich and Rosati 

Nick Brutocao ’98 

Attorney for Malcom and Cisneros. 

John Raney ’00 

Attorney with Latham and Watkins LLP 

Nick Mosich ’98 

Attorney with Latham and Watkins LLP 

Kathryn Gallagher ’93 

Communications Manager for Home 

Depot 

Steve Luxenberg ’00 

Owner of SML Productions 

Dr. Heather (Kelley) Larson ’99 

Equine/Race Track Veterinarian 

Mary Nichols ’96 

Product Manager for Black and Decker 

Chris Abbamonto ’96 

Energy Products Manager at UC Irvine 

Captain Stephanie Soltis ’97 

Captain in US Air Force and C-17 Pilot 

Susannah (Benchetler) Johnson ’94 

Director of Sales and Marketing at 

MacAir Inc. 

Diane Panosian ’99 

Associate Producer for New Wave 

Entertainment 

Josh Mooney ’92 

Chief Marketing Officer for Jux 

Interactive 

Nathan Imperiale ’04 

Owner of NJI Media Group 

If you would like to participate in 

Alumni Career Day next year, please 

send an e-mail to alumni@ smhs.org 

HAPPENINGS 

4

WINGS | 2009 

the devotion to the Sacred Heart 

and is the patroness of the school. 

“For some 20 years we carried her 

name with little recognition of who she 

was,” Dunne said. “We’re not named 

for a city we’re named for a saint.” 

Renovated Chapel: 

A Dream Come True 

On Nov. 1, 2008 the newly renovated 

Sacred Heart Chapel was blessed 

and the altar formally dedicated, by 

Bishop Tod D. Brown along with 10 

other priests and two deacons. 

“This is a sacred space,” Brown said 

during the service. “May the Santa 

Margarita community be strengthened 

here and renewed in hope.” 

The Birtcher family funded the 

extensive chapel renovation working 

with Talleres de Arte Granda, a liturgical 

arts company in Spain that custom-built 

the sacred art statues and marble altar. 

The newly renovated chapel provides 

a true spiritual center of the campus. 

“We wanted to create a safe place 

for kids where they could get to 

know the Lord,” said Gaye Birtcher. 

“My hope is that when a student 

is facing something major in their 

life they learn to put it at the Lord’s 

feet and take comfort in that.” 

Highlights of the renovated Missionstyle 

Sacred Heart Chapel include a 

marble altar, a gold-plated tabernacle, 

new marble and wood flooring, handcarved 

statues and a gold-accented 

crucifix of Jesus surrendering to Christ. 

Principal Ray Dunne told the Birtchers: 

“You have given us a gift that will 

be a living legacy of your Catholic 

faith and love. Thank you from the 

bottom of 1,800 people’s hearts.” 

Outside the chapel is a serene garden 

where a five-foot bronze-like statue 

of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, also 

donated by the Birtchers, graces the 

campus. St. Margaret Mary began 

Athletic Victories 

Girls’ Varsity Volleyball won the CIF 

Championship title on Saturday, Nov. 

22, 2008 after a win against Mira 

Costa of Manhattan Beach. Go Eagles! 

Girls’ Golf, Girls’ Tennis and Girls’ 

Volleyball all won league 

championships this school year! 

The Boy’s Basketball team went to 

the CIF finals. Congratulations! 

SM Girls’ Golf Coach Amy Connelly, 

who kept the Eagles at the top of the 

county ranking for the entire season, 

was selected as The Orange County 

Register’s Golf Coach of the Year and 

Cristy Chapman-Uhrig was selected 

as Volleyball Coach of the Year after a 

championship season! 

5

Wings 

09 


Hundreds Rally 

to Support 

Injured Alumnus 

Hundreds turned out at SMCHS 

the day after Thanksgiving for a flag 

football fundraiser to support SM 

graduate Damien Minna ’97. Minna, 

a former SMCHS football star, was 

injured in a 2004 diving accident 

that left him a quadriplegic. 

The “Gift of Heart” fundraiser has 

become somewhat of a reunion 

with hundreds of SMCHS friends, 

family and alumni showing up 

to raise funds for Minna. Minna’s 

physical therapy and special needs 

require $3,000 to $5,000 a month. 

Minna was a 1996 Sea View League 

and CIF Division V defensive football 

player of the year for the school. 

“Damien’s part of the program,” said 

Dean of Students Jerry Holloway 

who attended the event and coaches 

football at SM. “He always will be.” 

For more information or to donate, 

visit www.damienminna.com. 

belting out the lyrics to some of their 

favorite tunes including Kelly Clarkson’s 

“Since You’ve Been Gone” and 

Coldplay’s “Yellow.” 

All money from tickets sales and 

profits from sales at the concert went 

to humanitarian relief in Darfur and 

Uganda, including a project to help 

build an orphanage in Uganda. 

School clubs Third World First, Santa 

Margarita Commission on Human 

Rights and the SM True Musicians Club 

joined together to put on the concert. 

The student-run concert included 

student bands as well as William 

Tell, formerly of the popular band 

Something Corporate, who stole the 

stage and the hearts of SM girls. 

Third World First focuses on raising 

awareness about major issues in 

developing nations such as education, 

poverty and disease. Santa Margarita 

Commission on Human Rights works 

to educate people about human rights 

violations occurring around the world. 

This is the second year Third World 

First, SMCHR and SM True Musicians 

have put on the show. This school 

year’s event raised double what was 

made last year. 

Senior Christina de los Reyes, president 

of Third World First, said she hopes the 

concert created awareness on campus 

about life in developing countries. 

“We aren’t the only people on this 

earth,” she said. “We can make a 

difference. This is about helping people. 

I don’t think people realize how intense 

it can be to live in some of these 

developing countries.” 

Students Rock 

For Peace 

Santa Margarita Catholic High School 

students rocked for peace on Nov. 

16, 2008 at a benefit concert that 

raised more than $12,000 to support 

developing areas of the world. 

More than 700 students packed the 

Moiso Pavilion (gym) for the event, 

HAPPENINGS 

6

WINGS | 2009 

Principal Ray 

Dunne Named 

2009 Man of 

Character 

Be honest, upfront and true to yourself. 

This is how Ray Dunne, principal of 

Santa Margarita Catholic High School, 

lives his life. 

“What you see is what you get,” Dunne 

said. “I don’t try to falsify anything.” 

Being a man of good character is 

something that comes naturally, Dunne 

said. He credits his parents for instilling 

values in him at a young age. 

So when Dunne was selected as 

a 2009 “Man of Character” by the 

Orange County Council of the Boy 

Scouts of America he was both 

honored and humbled. 

“I just do what I do,” said Dunne, who 

was once a Boy Scout himself. “I never 

thought I would be recognized for it.” 

A color guard of about 50 Boy Scouts 

surprised Dunne with the award in 

front of hundreds during the school’s 

half-time football game against Servite 

High School in October. SMCHS 

parent and Boy Scouts Board Member 

Ralph Linzmeier and Manny Montanez, 

a previous recipient of the Man of 

Character honor, presented the award. 

“There is something so special about 

Ray,” Linzmeier said. “He genuinely 

cares for the students and exemplifies 

the traits of a Boy Scout.” 

Each year, the Orange County Council 

of the Boy Scouts of America conducts 

a countywide search for eight “Men 

of Character.” The men are chosen 

because of their profound influence in 

the community and for demonstrating 

the values Scouting strives to develop 

in young men. 

Before being named principal at 

SMCHS in 2007, Dunne provided 

leadership at Servite High School in 

Anaheim for 16 years where he served 

as both a principal and a teacher, 

preceded by 17 years of administrative 

and teaching experience at Anaheim’s 

Canyon High School in the Orange 

Unified School District. 

He is active in his parish, San Antonio 

Catholic Church, where he serves 

as a Eucharistic minister, is involved 

in the family assistance and youth 

ministry programs and stewardship 

committee. Dunne is also a member of 

the Equestrian Order of the Knights of 

the Holy Sepulcher, a Catholic chivalric 

order marked by honour, generosity 

and spiritual and religious pursuit. 

SM Students 

Experience 

History 

Thirty-one SMCHS seniors witnessed 

history in January when they stood 

on the National Mall and watched 

the inauguration of the first African 

American president. 

“I am really happy we have finally 

reached this point,” said senior Kelsey 

Jezierski. “It’s been a long time coming. 

This is something I will one day tell my 

grandchildren about.” 

(Continued on page 8) 

7

Wings 

09 


(Continuted from page 7) 

The 31 students attended as part of 

the school’s Interdisciplinary Program, 

a program that emphasizes hands-on 

learning and connects subject matter 

between various disciplines. 

The senior ID class integrates the study 

of government and economics with the 

study of world religions. 

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” 

said Doris Gatfield, coordinator of the 

Interdisciplinary Program. 

The trip was arranged through Close 

Up, a nonprofit organization which 

offers programming for students in 

Washington, D.C., utilizing the city as a 

living classroom, giving students unique 

access to the people, processes and 

places that make up our nation’s capital. 

The week-long experience included 

workshops on current issues; visits 

to museums, memorials and key 

monuments; a trip to the White House; 

meetings with members of Congress 

and staff; mock exercises; a student 

Inauguration Ball and an outing to 

the Supreme Court and Library of 

Congress. 

“It’s a complete immersion experience,” 

said religion teacher Maria Johnson, 

who attended the trip. 

But topping the list, of course, was 

the swearing in of Barack Obama 

as president. 

“It’s history in the making and we 

got to be there to experience it,” 

said senior Deeba Fahami. “This 

is breaking a threshold. For the 

rest of American history they will 

talk about the first black president 

and I can say was there.” 

SMCHS Students 

Return from MUN 

Conferences in 

Paris and London 

with Awards 

Eleven juniors returned Dec. 9, 2008 

from the Paris Model UN Conference. 

Students from 18 different countries 

attended the conference, simulating 

the workings of the real United 

Nations. Santa Margarita was one of 

two schools from the United States in 

attendance. 

“When you are representing not only 

your school, but your country, it means 

so much more,” said John Remmell, 

the school MUN Advisor. “We are 

showing people that the U.S. cares 

about what is going on in the world. 

We want to be involved citizens of the 

world. We want to make a difference.” 

Students David Mastrovich ’11 and 

Megan Kang ’11 were awarded the 

highest honor of “Best Delegate.” 

HAPPENINGS 

8

WINGS | 2009 

In addition to attending the conference, 

the students got to tour Paris visiting 

sites including the Eiffel Tower, Notre 

Dame, Champs Elysées, the Louvre, the 

Museé d’Orsay and Versailles. 

“This was truly a once in a lifetime 

opportunity,” said Megan Kang. 

In November, 18 SMCHS sophomores 

attended the 27th annual Royal 

Russell MUN Conference held in East 

Croydon in the London area. The 

students represented the countries 

of Mexico, Costa Rica, Zambia and 

Lebanon in a mock meeting of the 

United Nations. 

Students Jessica Drivas, Michael 

Costigan, Kishen Patel and Cassidy 

Pearl, who began preparing for the 

conference in the summer, won 

Distinguished Delegate awards 

for their superior participation. 

Students from around the world 

participated in the conference from 

places including Africa, Japan, Ireland, 

Italy and Greece. 

“I want them to experience different 

cultures and people with different 

views that they may not get here in 

Southern California,” Remmell said. 

Easing the 

Transition 

An exciting new program began 

at Santa Margarita this school year. 

Link Crew is a nationally recognized 

freshman transition program that 

works to ease the transition into 

high school. 

SMCHS is the only private school in 

California to have the Link Crew for 

incoming freshmen. The program helps 

freshmen adjust to high school life by 

teaming them up with upper classmen 

who serve as Link Crew leaders. 

Link Crew leaders meet every other 

week with freshmen, eat with them 

from time to time at lunch, invite them 

to extracurricular activities and support 

them in their studies. 

Link Crew is a successful program with 

documented and researched results. 

Link Crew schools have fewer discipline 

referrals, higher academic success and 

fewer attendance issues. 

AP Scholar Awards 

One hundred twenty three students 

were named 2008 AP Scholars by 

the College Board in recognition for 

their exceptional achievement on the 

Advanced Placement Examinations. The 

exams are graded on a 5 point scale 

with scores of 3, 4 or 5 considered 

passing. Nationally, only about 18% 

of the more than 1.6 million high 

school students in more than 16,000 

secondary schools worldwide who 

took AP Exams in May 2008 

performed at a high enough level to 

merit such recognition. 

9

Wings 

09 


Bishop Brown 

Celebrates Ash 

Wednesday 

Service at SMCHS 

The Most Rev. Bishop Tod D. 

Brown celebrated Ash Wednesday 

Mass at Santa Margarita Catholic 

High School on Feb. 25, marking 

the beginning of Lent. 

Brown encouraged students, faculty 

and staff to spend time during Lent 

praying more, doing good work 

for others and making sacrifices. 

“Lent is a gift because it gives us 

the opportunity to step back and 

spend more time in reflection,” 

he said. “It’s time to deepen our 

personal relationship with the 

Lord, to be in service to others 

and deepen our prayer life.” 

SM Students Build 

Robot 


has a new sport – and you won’t 

find the team practicing in the gym 

or on the athletic fields. Instead, 

they’ve been writing software and 

tinkering with motors and gears in 

the classroom. 

In just three weeks, eleven SMCHS 

students built a working robot for the 

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition 

of Science and Technology) Robotics 

Competition in March at the Long 

Beach Convention Center. 

Based in Manchester, New 

Hampshire, the nonprofit FIRST was 

created in 1989 by Dean Kamen, 

inventor of the Segway scooter, 

as a “varsity sport” for the mind, 

combining the competition and 

fervor of a sport with the process of 

innovation and engineering. 

Beginning with a kickoff in January, 

teams had six weeks to design and 

build a robot for competition starting 

with a “bot kit” of sensors, wheels, 

hardware and rules which guide the 

design of the robot. 

But while other teams had been 

working since early January, SMCHS 

students were in “overdrive,” 

working to get their robot 

competition-ready in just three 

weeks after an opportunity to accept 

a $6,000 sponsorship from Boeing- 

Anaheim presented itself. 

“It’s so cool to see the initiative 

these kids have,” said science teacher 

Rennie Stark. 

Stark said the competition is a 

wonderful way for students to gain 

real-world experience. 

“You need to have something for 

these kids to get their hands dirty 

and apply what they learn in the 

classroom,” Stark said. 

HAPPENINGS 

10

WINGS | 2009 

The Captain’s Gala on the S.S. Valentasia 

The 19th annual Valentasia, the 

Captain’s Gala on the S.S. Valentasia, 

sailed in high style, on Saturday 

February 21, 2009. Parents, family 

and friends attended the gala at the 

Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and 

Spa. Proceeds from the evening went 

toward the “Fund for Excellence.” 

This year, the event featured a “cruise” 

theme. The evening started with a VIP 

reception where the popular SMCHS 

steel drum band welcomed guests. A 

delicious four-course dinner and fine 

wine were served. 

The Fund-a-Need appeal raises 

money for specific needs at SMCHS. 

Thanks to the generous donations of 

Valentasia attendees, this year Funda-Need 

raised more than $40,000 

for tuition assistance, a gift that will 

truly last a lifetime. Alumnus Scott 

Fullerton ’08 gave a heartwarming 

speech on the impact tuition 

assistance can make on a student’s life. 

A stay at the beautiful Meritage 

Resort in Napa was raffled off and live 

auction items included a Kona Condo 

Stay, Luxury Getaway to Cabo San 

Lucas, Guys Day Out Fishing Trip and 

the ever-popular Day at the Del Mar 

Races. An Irish dinner with Principal 

Dunne was a hit as well. Many 

attendees danced until after midnight 

to the band “Rembrandt.” 

The success of Valentasia was the 

result of the hard work and dedication 

of Chair Jurga Streit and about 20 

parent and student volunteers. 

If you are interested in helping or 

attending Valentasia next year, 

contact the SMCHS Advancement 

Office for more information! 

Call (949)766-6080 or email 

advancement@smhs.org 

Valentasia Chairs Jurga Streit 

and Tim Streit. 

Student volunteers helped make the evening a success! 

Girls golf coach Amy Connelly and girls 

volleyball coach Cristy Chapman Uhrig 

were honored for earning All County 

Coach of the Year. 

11

Wings 

09 


20th Anniversary Celebration 

By Samantha Toth ’09 

On October 14, 2007, more 

than 500 members of the 

SMCHS community arrived 

at Santa Margarita Catholic 

High School to celebrate 

its 20th anniversary. 

The main attraction of the event was 

Bishop Brown’s blessing of the recently 

completed aquatic facility featuring 

a 50-meter Olympic size swimming 

pool. The center contains a 50-meter 

Olympic pool, 400 permanent bleacher 

seats, bathroom and showering facilities, 

a scoreboard, two diving boards, an 

advanced team room (equipped with 

sophisticated video/audio systems), 

and a poolside concession stand. 

The new outdoor pool is the most 

advanced high school swimming venue 

in Southern California. Swim coach 

Ron Blanc comments, “We used to 

have to use the Saddleback College 

pool for our practices and meets. It is 

much easier on the swimmers to have 

a pool right here on the premises.” 

During the blessing, Bishop Brown 

proclaimed, “May the waters of 

this pool always remind us of the 

bounty and goodness with which 

God provides for His people.” 

HAPPENINGS 

12

Class of 2008 

WINGS | 2009

Wings 

09 


College Acceptance Stats 

Post Secondary Education 

Total Students in Senior Class = 416 

4-Year Colleges 78% 

CA Public Colleges 46% 

Catholic Colleges 17% 

Out of State Colleges 37% 

2-Year Colleges 20% 

CA Private Colleges 15% 

Military Academies 2% 

CLASS OF 2008 

14

WINGS | 2009 

Class of 2008 | Final College Decision List 

Necole Marie Abboud, UC Irvine 

Raphael Abdon, Saddleback 

Peter Aguero, Pepperdine 

Andrea Teresa Aguirre, UCLA 

Michael Ahmari, Saddleback 

Hannah Alt, San Diego State 

Amy Anderson, Notre Dame 

Chelsea Anderson, Saddleback 

Jaclyn Anderson, United States Coast Guard 

Academy 

Kacey Elise Anderson, UC Berkeley 

Christina Michelle Andrews, Saddleback College 

Brittney Marie Angelich, San Diego State 

University 

Nathan Renato Appel, Saddleback College 

Daniel James Applegate, University of Oregon 

Jake M Arriola, University of Arizona 

Kyle J Arriola, University of Arizona 

Carlo R Audagnotti, Boise State University 

Caroline S Bailey, Santa Barbara City College 

Kaleigh Rae Baker, Saddleback College 

Ryan Christopher Ball, University of Southern 

California 

Lauren R Barber, University of Hawaii at Manoa 

Shane Patrick Barnecut, Cal State University, San 

Marcos 

Kacey Falon’ Barnett, Irvine Valley College 

Ryan Doyle Barnett, Irvine Valley College 

Brandon Michael Betts, Navy Medic 

Caitlin A Birck, Miami University, Oxford 

David Waddell Bird, Oberlin Conservatory of 

Music 

Catharine Virginia Bishop, Vanderbilt University 

Sonja Bishop, California State University, Fullerton 

Desmond Patrick Bolia, Political Science/Law 

Rossana Marie Bouchaya, UC Irvine 

Alexia Bouttier, University of Colorado at Boulder 

Mary Katherine Bradford, Purdue University 

Caroline Bramlage, The Ohio State University 

Kevin J Brand, Saint Mary’s College of California 

Justin Brice Breunsbach, Saddleback College 

Trevor Ryan Brooks, Northern Arizona University 

Erik Jonathan Brown, Arizona State University 

Meagan E Brown, UC Santa Barbara 

Ryan Alexander Brown, University of Alaska 

Fairbanks 

Gabrielle K Bruno, Saint Mary’s College of 

California 

Chloe Melissa Burgoon, Santa Barbara City 

College 

Lynsey Ann Buschur, University of Dayton 

Lorenzo C Cadiz, Saddleback College 

Channing Arianna Calderon, University of Arizona 

Michael Patrick Callahan, UC Santa Barbara 

Brandon Michael Campbell, University of Arizona 

Taylor V Campbell, Saddleback College 

Kevin Richard Capata, Cal Poly State University, 

San Luis Obispo 

Devon M Carew, University of San Diego 

Katy Elizabeth Carlson, Lasell College 

Victoria B Cate, Air Force Airborne Missions 

Systems 

Courtney Ellen Causgrove, University of San Diego 

Dominic Alexander Chaklos, University of San 

Diego 

Alyssa Shelby Chamberlain, Santa Barbara City 

College 

William J Chetney, The New York Conservatory 

for Dramatic Arts 

Annmarie Antoniette Chiarello, The University of 

Texas, Austin 

Zackary Joseph Chichelo, Washington and Lee 

University 

Nicole Marie Chilcott, Santiago Canyon College 

Christina Michele Chormann, Arizona State 

University 

Lauryn Francis Ciszek, Northeastern University 

Patrick Richard Clark, University of Oregon 

Michael Vincent Cleofe, Saint Mary’s College of 

California 

Casey Sayle Cochrane, University of Arizona 

Kelly Christine Collins, UC Irvine 

Danielle Taryn Conn, San Francisco State 

University 

Luke D Connor, Georgetown University 

Jenna Michele Costantino, University of San 

Francisco 

Justin Timothy Couch, UC Irvine 

Korri Yvonne Courtois, Arizona State University 

Christopher P Couwenberg, University of Arizona 

Kevin Thomas Cowgill, Orange Coast College 

Michael Stuart Craigmile, University of Virginia 

Jessica Marie Cruz, Saddleback College 

Robert F Cumming, Trinity College 

Camille Nicole Cuzakis, Saddleback College 

Andrew G Dadour, UCLA 

Megan D Dalessio, UC Berkeley 

Justin Hoang Danh, Cal Poly State University, San 

Luis Obispo 

Dorianne K Dawson, Saddleback College 

Caitlin E De Coursey, Saint Mary’s College of 

California 

Stephen Forrest De Mille, Saddleback College 

Maximilian A Deatrick, United States Military 

Academy 

Robert C DeHuff, Saddleback College 

Alexandra C DeMeo-Varbel, San Francisco State 

University 

Neha P Desai, UC Berkeley 

Blake R Dinger, Santiago Canyon College 

Nicole A Diubaldo, University of San Diego 

Jennifer L Dixon, Texas Christian University 

Roger S Downes, Loyola Marymount University 

Conor J Doyle, University of Arizona 

Taylor S Doyle, Cal Poly State University, San Luis 

Obispo 

Kevin P Dunn, UC Davis 

Mallika Dutta, Duke University 

Corinne J Easterling, Fordham University 

John S Eastman, Holy Cross College 

Megan R Eden, Gonzaga University 

Brianna N Edwards, UC Irvine 

Derek A Elbertse, Arizona State University 

Alexa N Elliott, Loyola Marymount University 

Samantha Lea Elwell, California State University, 

Chico 

Michael A Erkelens, Santa Clara 

Declan W Escobar, Iona College 

Gerald M Espinosa, Stonehill College 

Travis Fabian, University of Steubenville 

Adam Fernandez, University of Oregon 

Jonathan B Fernandez, UC Merced 

Matthew Ferrara, California State University, Chico 

Rachel Feucht, University of Colorado at Boulder 

Michael P Fice, UCLA 

Ryan Edward Finneran, Adrian College 

Kristin Bernice Fiore, Saddleback College 

Allison L Fisher, University of Connecticut 

Lauren Fisher, Orange Coast College 

Maureen Frances Fleming, Saddleback College 

Jennifer A Flynn, United States Air Force Academy 

Regina A Fountain, University of San Francisco 

Caitlin Elizabeth Frawley, University of Nebraska 

Erica L Fretheim, San Jose State University 

Megan L Fries, University of Puget Sound 

Lauren R Fryling, UC Santa Barbara 

Alexa Renee Fuller, UC Santa Barbara 

Scott S Fullerton, Cal State University, Long Beach 

Damian Paul Gallagher, Saddleback College 

Vincent Luna Gallardo, Saddleback College 

Karina Lynn Galvin, University of Notre Dame 

Jarrett Batesta Gamarra, Pasadena City College 

Alexis B Garby, Saddleback College 

Brianna Katherine Gerwin, University of Arizona 

Shawn T Gilmore, University of Oregon 

Gillian McCall Gipe, Saddleback College 

Christina Giudice, College of the Holy Cross 

Francesca Giuliano, Colorado State University 

Brian Christopher Gleason, Utah State University 

Stephanie Elizabeth Goff, Saint Mary’s College 

Kristen Gonzalez, Cal Poly University, Pomona 

15

Wings 

09 


Class of 2008 | Final College Decision List (Cont’d) 

Michelle C Gonzalez, Washington State 

Bridget M Goodreau, University of Portland 

Breanna Jean Gordon, Denison University 

Brittney Nicole Gorman, Sonoma State University 

Ryan Joseph Gotschall, Fordham University 

Clara Marie Greaney, University of San Diego 

Anthony Greene, Saddleback College 

Tessa C Greenwalt, San Francisco State University 

Caitlan Colleen Greubel, University of Notre Dame 

Katherine Ann Guerrero, Saddleback College 

Caleigh S Haber, California Culinary Academy 

Meghan Carolyn Haines, Miami University, Oxford 

Brett A Haness, Southern Methodist University 

Stephen Michael Hansen, Saddleback College 

Kelly Elizabeth Harman, UC Davis 

Logan M Harrell, Cal State University, Fresno 

Andraya P Harris, Loyola Marymount University 

Evan Kiyoshi Hashimoto, University of Washington 

Kayla Hasler, Cal State Fullerton 

Krista K Hauk, University of Oregon 

Jordan LeRoy Heil, Saint Mary’s College of 

California 

Elizabeth A Heisler, University of St. Thomas 

Nicholas Steven Hendren, Cal State Fullerton 

Emily Dorothy Hess, UC Santa Cruz 

Lyndsay B Hilde, Arizona State University 

Tara C Hitzeman, San Francisco State University 

Brian P Hogan, Santa Clara University 

Sharon Anne Holmes, UC Berkeley 

Patrick R Hull, University of Oregon 

Julie C Hunt, University of Arizona 

Courtney E Hunter, UC San Diego 

Amanda Laurel Hurlbert, Saddleback College 

Dayeanne Terese Hutton, Drew University 

Bradley S Irwin, San Francisco State University 

Ashlyn R James, Cal Poly State University, San Luis 

Obispo 

Nadia Jamil, Saddleback College 

Jordan S Johnson, University of Hawaii at Manoa 

Blaine Steven Jones, Saddleback College 

Cassaundra V Jonsson, University of San Diego 

Sara E Joseph, Indiana University at Bloomington 

Patrice K Kane, University of Colorado at Boulder 

Emily A Kaszton, University of Arizona 

Ann E Kennedy, University of Arizona 

Andrew M Kind, Saddleback College 

Laurie Hannah Klemens, Saint Mary’s College of 

California 

Kaitlin A Kobayashi, University of San Francisco 

Jessica A Koury, University of Colorado at Boulder 

Kelsey L Kraft, University of Oklahoma 

Vail C Krygsman, Pasadena City College 

Steven M Kuhl, Saddleback College 

Michael A Kunicki, Santa Barbara City College 

Chase Jeffrey Laakso, Saddleback College 

Lindsey M Lake, University of Oregon 

John D Lally, Loyola Marymount University 

Nicole K Lancaster, Saddleback College 

Daniel Laudadio, Fashion Institute of Design & 

Merchandising, Irvine 

Nicholas Laudadio, Saddleback College 

Ashley Anna Lazarz, UCLA 

Adam A LeHaf, Cal State University, Channel Islands 

Paul J Leon, Orange Coast College 

Mary J Letourneau, University of Southern 

California 

Jaimee Lieske, DePaul University 

Casey M Lile, Texas Christian University 

Mark I Lim, Chapman University 

Sean T Linn, Westmont College 

Kevin M Lloyd, UCLA 

Michael J Lockett, Cuesta College 

Lindsey A Loftus, UC Santa Barbara 

Lauren Landell Logan, Saddleback College 

Lauren C Lopez, Stony Brook University 

Charis N Lorenz, Hendrix College 

Alexis G Louchios, Saddleback College 

Geena R Lovato, Cal State Fullerton 

James Matthew Lowe, Cal State Fullerton 

Rebecca Louise Lowe, United States Naval 

Academy 

Kathleen Diane Lubanko, University of Arizona 

Devon Ann Luke, University of Colorado at 

Boulder 

Christopher D Lupin, Saint Mary’s College of 

California 

Johnni Z Macke, Saddleback College 

Yasamin C Mahallaty, University of San Diego 

Anthony J Maltese, III, Saddleback 

Sarah Mangiola, University of Arizona 

Sara E Manley, Georgetown 

Jonathan J Manna, Sonoma State 

Stephen Marchica, Loyola Marymount 

Garrett Martinez, Cal Poly State University, San 

Luis Obispo 

Miles N Martinez, Cal State Chico 

Cara J Masters, Purdue University 

Mackenzie M Maurer, University of San Diego 

Cristina M Maxey, University of Redlands 

Jennifer McCarthy, Saddleback 

Emily McCormick, Loyola Marymount 

Jennifer McCormick, University of San Diego 

Richard McCullagh, Saddleback 

Kelsey A McGovern, Pepperdine 

Michael McInerney, University of Oregon 

Amina Alicia McKenzie, Saddleback 

Michael McLain, United States Air Force Academy 

Jacqueline Christine Meddings, Saddleback College 

Miles V Medeiros, University of Oregon 

Marisa E Medina, UC Riverside 

Timothy S Meek, San Francisco State University 

James C Melton, University of Oregon 

John Mersch, IV, UC Berkeley 

Anne Kathryn Mickle, Santa Clara University 

Theresa J Migliaccio, Sonoma State University 

Christopher K Millbern, UCLA 

Amy F Miller, Southern Methodist University 

Brock Duncan Miller, Arizona State University 

Mallory Susan Milligan, Saddleback College 

Shannon G Mitchell, San Diego State University 

Cassandra Monnahan, Point Loma Nazarene 

University 

Alexandria M Montes, Thomas Aquinas College 

Jenna Elizabeth Moothart, University of San Diego 

Katherine E Moran, University of San Diego 

Ryan S Morasse, Saddleback College 

Marissa Louise Morimoto, UC Santa Barbara 

Kyle James Morrison, Sonoma State University 

Nicole D Moss, University of Oregon 

Mark James Motley, Saddleback College 

Christina Marie Mott, Cal State University, Long 

Beach 

Suzanne Moubayed, Cal State Fullerton 

Trevor M Moylan, University of Colorado at 

Boulder 

Joel Robert Mueting, University of Arizona 

Michael J Munoz, UC Berkeley 

Maura G Murphy, UC Davis 

Meghann Julia Murphy, University of Utah 

Natalie M Murphy, Saddleback College 

Brigette M Myers, Miami University, Oxford 

Dietrich G Nascimento, University of San Diego 

Natalie Grace Nassau, University of Oregon 

Nicole N Naughton, Orange Coast College 

Rebecca Leigh Nichols, Vanderbilt University 

Alexander I Niezgoda, Saddleback College 

Isabel A Niezgoda, Saddleback College 

Jennifer Norman, Cal Poly State University, San 

Luis Obispo 

Anthony G Nuccio, University of Oregon 

Corinne O’Donoghue, Saint Mary’s College of 

California 

Bridget O’Keefe, University of San Diego 

Rebecca A Olinger, San Francisco State University 

Nicole C Ontiveros, Princeton University 

Lauren E Oosdyke, University of Northern 

Colorado 

Daniel James Palkovic, University of Southern 

California 

Jeffrey P Palmer, University of Oregon 

Paige Palafox Palmer, Saint Mary’s College of 

California 

CLASS OF 2008 

16

WINGS | 2009 

Jason Paul Pancoe, United States Military Academy 

Benjamin J Papandrea, UC Irvine 

Ryan Christopher Papazian, Professional Hockey 

Player 

Natalie P Park, University of Barcelona, Spain 

Christopher Hampton Parr, University of Notre 

Dame 

Anna Barbara Patej, Princeton University 

Mishal Shashikant Patel, Indiana University at 

Bloomington 

Nipun R Patel, Boston University 

Shivani Suresh Patel, UC Berkeley 

Andrew M Pavlovich, Business 

Alican John Pekcan, Cal State Fullerton 

Mary A Peters, Cal State Fullerton 

Jennifer Lyn Peterson, Saddleback College 

Brian M Petri, Washington State University 

Justin Michael Petrilli, Cal Poly State University, San 

Luis Obispo 

Stephen M Phelps, Concordia University 

Elise C Pikula, Saddleback College 

Ryan Charles Pinner, CTP Construction Carpenter 

Alexander Kiyoshi Piper, Saddleback College 

Dayne Raub Plamondon, Saddleback College 

Rachel Lynn Pollard, University of Notre Dame 

Emma M Polson, San Jose State University 

Ryan M Pope, Boston University 

Evan Taylor Powell, University of Oregon 

Brent J Prevratil, Loyola Marymount University 

Brandon John Pritzl, University of San Diego 

Christine Leanne Prochnow, Santa Clara University 

Erika H Quechenberger, University of Nebraska 

at Lincoln 

Thomas P Quinn III, Holy Cross College 

Jonathon Joseph Quirk, University of Nebraska at 

Lincoln 

Ajay D Raheja, Cal State Fullerton 

Iman Rasheed, UC Irvine 

Almas R Rawji, The Ohio State University 

Emily A Rebensdorf, Orange Coast College 

Kristen Marie Redsun, Johns Ho pkins University 

Donald A Reis, Orange Coast College 

Elizabeth A Reischl, Cal Poly State University, San 

Luis Obispo 

Ashlee Loran Restadius, Purdue University 

Anthony Vincent Rettenmaier, UCLA 

Krista Renee Reuland, UC Santa Barbara 

Sophia Maria Richter, UC Berkeley 

Alexandra Xhimena Rivera, Saddleback College 

Eric D Rivero, Saddleback College 

Bradley Theodore Robinson, Cal Poly, San Luis 

Obispo 

Chase Tillman Rodgers, University of Nebraska 

at Lincoln 

Ryan H Roeder, Cal State Fullerton 

Shane Kenneth Rogers, Navy Fire fighter 

Michael Stephen Rommel, United States Air Force 

Academy 

Tessa Leigh Rooke, Cal State University, San Marcos 

Christyn N Rowatt, Sonoma State University 

Alyssa A Rutherford, Boston College 

David T Salazar, Duke University 

Stephen P Sales, Chapman University 

Lauren Mary Sanvido, Xavier University 

Aria Tavakoli Sarraf, UC Irvine 

Skye A Schmidt, San Jose State University 

Nolan William Seles, University of Colorado at 

Boulder 

Jaime Alejandro Serna, UC Santa Barbara 

Michael Robert Shaffer, UC Berkeley 

Asal Nicole Shahindoust, San Francisco State 

University 

Meghan Maura Shain, Boston College 

Steven Shandrick, University of Southern 

California 

Kayla Nicole Shears, Santiago Canyon College 

Kristen Buckner Sheeran, University of Arizona 

Steven Alexander Shipley, UCLA 

Derek Louis Shutler, San Diego State University 

Olivia M Sibley, Cal State University, San Marcos 

Shane A Sicro, UC Santa Cruz 

Mason Thomas Silber, UCLA 

Tyler L Simmons, Concordia University 

Stephanie R Sirianni, University of Notre Dame 

Nicholas Sisto, Santa Barbara City College 

Kirk T Skierski, UC Davis 

David Alexander Slater, Saddleback College 

Simone Brigitte Slykhous, Northwestern 

University 

Natalia G Sole Almodovar, Fullerton College 

John Ihab Soliman, UCLA 

Katherine Lauren Solis, University of Oregon 

Danica F Solomon, Santa Monica College 

Michelle N Sperry, Santiago Canyon College 

Justin M Spillers, Ohio Wesleyan University 

Sophia Christina Stamos, University of San Diego 

Rachel Khrystyne Steinbach, Northern Arizona 

University 

Dane Michael Stewart, Cal State Fullerton 

Andrius J Streit, University of Arizona 

Matthew P Suckel, Saddleback College 

Timothy J Sullivan, Cal Poly State University, San 

Luis Obispo 

Brianna L Summers, California State University, 

Chico 

Ryann Kathleen Sweenie, Arizona State University 

Kaelie Jordon Sweet, San Francisco State 

University 

Kimberly Joy Swenson, University of San Francisco 

Omair Syed, UCLA 

Ramy Tall, Cal Poly State University, San Luis 

Obispo 

Janelayne P Tan, Cal Poly State University, San Luis 

Obispo 

Jonathan Edward Telles, UC Santa Barbara 

Klay A Thompson, Washington State University 

Shannon C Tierney, Fordham University 

Julie A Tobia, UC Merced 

Erin R Toohey, Loyola Marymount University 

Avazeh Towhidian, Cal State Fullerton 

Christopher R Towles, Saddleback College 

Lauren M Traino, Santa Barbara City College 

Andrew N Tran, UC Riverside 

Ashley Annette Tran, Cal State Fullerton 

Jared D Turk, Saddleback College 

Woonjong Um, UC Santa Barbara 

Lauren M Urratio, University of Arizona 

Garrett Michael Van Ruiten, Cal Poly, San Luis 

Obispo 

Megan Melody Vass, Tulane University 

Lauren Rebecca Velasquez, College of William 

and Mary 

Alex S Visconti, University of Arizona 

Crystal Vu, Azusa Pacific University 

Angela C Vuona, University of San Francisco 

Michael John Weiler, University of San Diego 

Jared J Wendell, Orange Coast College 

Jenna Marion Wendell, University of Oregon 

Wilson Cary Whitaker III, Cal State University, San 

Marcos 

Megan B White, Rice University 

Jaclyn E Wickham, Cal Poly State University, San 

Luis Obispo 

Brandon Stuart Wight, Arizona State University 

Elizabeth Wildermuth, University of Notre Dame 

Mallory Wilhelms, University of San Diego 

Megan Wilhelms, University of San Diego 

Anna E Wilson, Master’s College and Seminary 

Grant Winslow Windes, Purdue University 

Colin B Wingate, University of Arizona 

Megan Marie Woods, UC Irvine 

Casey James Wootan, Cal State University, San 

Marcos 

Cameron Clay Wright, Sonoma State University 

Michael Warren Wright, San Jose State University 

Samira Yaganeh, Saddleback College 

Alexandra A Zakett, University of Oregon 

Ramon Zaragoza, Northern Arizona University 

17

Wings 

09 


SMCHS 

Celebrated Two 

Valedictorians 

in 2008 

For the first time in school 

history, the title of Valedictorian 

was awarded to two students. 

Congratulations to Anna Patej 

and Sophia Richter who were 

named the two Valedictorians 

for the class of 2008. 

Anna Patej Scores a 

Perfect 2400 on the SAT 

Anna Patej achieved something 

only .0003% of college bound 

students manage to do. 

Anna scored a 2400 out of 2400 on 

the SAT, in other words, a perfect score. 

After having only taken the SAT once 

before, Anna said she was “shocked” 

when she found out that she had 

gotten a perfect score. This amazing 

feat has only been achieved once 

before by an SM student, Christina 

Von Der Ahe who graduated in the 

class of 2000 (Two other SM graduates 

achieved perfect ACT scores; Kevin 

Papay ’03 and Teresa Hennissey ’07). 

SMCHS Seniors Earn Over 

$12.9 Million in Scholarships! 

The Class of 2008 earned $12.9 million in scholarships over four years, 

almost doubling the amount of scholarships received by the Class of 

2007 which earned $6.7 million. Over 35% of the senior class reported 

receiving some kind of scholarship. Michael McLain topped the list 

receiving $931,500. 

Congratulations Top 10 Scholarship Recipients: 

Anna Patej, Princeton University 

and Sophia Richter, UC Berkeley 

Jennifer Flynn 

Rebecca Lowe 

Jaclyn Anderson 

Christina Giudice 

Sara Manley 

Dominic Chaklos 

Luke Connor 

Lauryn Ciszek 

Krista Reuland 

Gerald Espinosa 

CLASS OF 2008 

18

WINGS | 2009 

Eagle Alumni 

Association 

Scholarship 

Winners 

SMCHS continued its tradition of 

presenting the Eagle Alumni Association 

Scholarship award to two dedicated 

students. 

Scott Fullerton and Megan Woods 

carry on the tradition of the eighth 

year of this distinctive award. These 

two unique students were selected 

from over 30 applicants and each 

received $1,000 and individual plaques. 

Their names are also engraved on 

the Eagle Alumni Award perpetual 

plaque that hangs in the Alumni 

Office. Both Scott and Megan 

were selected for their outstanding 

all-around personal achievements 

and amazing “Eagle Spirit.” 

Past Eagle Alumni 

Association Scholarship 

Winners: 

Jennifer Abalos and Heather 

Casey (2001) 

Tai Baird and Megan Moen (2002) 

Nathan Imperiale and Brad 

Mielke (2003) 

Ashley Kalimada and 

Thomas Sabin (2004) 

Jessica Defilippo and Deirdre 

Dolan (2005) 

Brandon Golob and Diana 

Hunt (2006) 

Caitlin Ferraro and Teresa 

Henisey (2007) 

Caritas Award 

Megan Woods was named the 2008 

Caritas Award winner at Senior 

Awards Night. Among Megan’s 

many accomplishments, she was a 

member of the California Scholarship 

Federation (CSF) and Model United 

Nations (MUN) program. “Santa 

Margarita has been the biggest 

impact on my life thus far,” Megan 

said. “I have never been so passionate 

about something other than SM. Not 

only does SM resemble an amazing 

learning institution I am proud to call 

my own, it really is a second home 

to me.” Megan attends the University 

of California Irvine and will always 

be proud to call herself an “Eagle.” 

As a tradition each year, SMCHS 

presents the Caritas award 

awarded by the entire faculty. This 

award recognizes the individual 

Megan Woods and Scott Fullerton 

student who has achieved success 

academically, in the arts, and most 

importantly in service to others. 

Past Caritas Award 

Winners: 

Tommy Mina (2007) 

John Maltese(2006) 

Matthew Steinbach (2005) 

Mark Khouzam (2004) 

Nathaniel Imperiale (2003) 

Tai Baird (2002) 

Bridget McEvoy-Hein (2001) 

Vincent Prietto (2000) 

Stacey Fikert (1999) 

Natalie Atkins (1998) 

Patrick Fisher (1997) 

Brian Meihaus (1996) 

Nikki Buffa (1995) 

Jeff McGuire (1994) 

19

Wings 

09 


k 

2008 Athletes 

of the Year 

Klay Thompson – Boys Basketball 

Kacey Anderson – Girls Water Polo 

Beth Wildermuth – Girls Volleyball 

2008 Coaches 

of the Year 

Eric Michaut – Girls’ Tennis 

Jerry DeBusk – Boys’ Basketball 

Curt Bauer – Boys’ Soccer 

k 

CLASS OF 2008 

20

Alumni Highlights 

WINGS | 2009

Wings 

09 


Alumni Around Town 

Close friends from the Class of 2003 gathered in Denton, Texas 

to celebrate the wedding of Jaime (Hosner) Lopez ’03 and her 

new husband, Russell. Pictured from left to right: Kimberly Richter, 

Shannon Mandich, Jennifer Horwath, Jaime (Hosner) Lopez, 

Nicole Deblieux, Jessica Cunningham, and Stacey Manista. 

Julian de Rubira ’06 and 

Mike Powers ’03 both ran 

cross country and track at 

SMCHS and now they are 

both running for UCSB. 

Gabby de Rubira ’04 is with Serena 

Chan ’05 at Notre Dame. They were 

both on Dance Team together at 

SMCHS. They are both currently on 

the Pom Squad at Notre Dame. 

Dierdre Dolan ’05 came back to the SMCHS campus last winter 

campus as a representative for Boston University. 

“When we said friends forever, we meant it!” Six friends from the 

Class of 1992 still get together once a year for an annual girls trip. 

Heidi (Garmon) Sualua, married to Leie, with one daughter, Josephina; 

Tammy Galvanoni, engaged to Fredrick Peatry, and has one son, Jalen; 

Gina (Rodarte) Peebles, married to Rusty, with one son, Dylan; Amy 

(Renzihausen) Mensch, married to Eric, with one son, Jake; Leigh 

(Capobianco) Devlin, married to Sean, with one son, Brock; Beth 

(Blasdel) George, married to Sam, with three daughters, Machaela, 

Gwyneth and Faith. 

ALUMNI 

22

WINGS | 2009 

Alumni Profiles 

Katie Nuanes and 

“The Little Black Apron” 

On a running scholarship for Cross 

Country and studying Sociology at 

UCLA, Katie felt unfulfilled at school 

and was unsure of what she wanted 

to do with her life. Although she 

was a top varsity runner at SMCHS 

and UCLA who competed in several prestigious meets, Katie knew that 

running wasn’t going to open many career doors for her in the future. 

On a whim, Katie enrolled in the California School of Culinary Arts in 

Pasadena hoping that her life-long love of cooking could give her the 

direction she needed to pursue a career she was passionate about. 

Katie finally found her niche and excelled in almost every field the 

culinary school had to offer. After graduating with honors and awards 

for excellence, Katie moved to San Francisco and started working at the 

highly acclaimed Greens Restaurant under famed chef Annie Somerville. 

While in a bar in San Francisco, Katie met Melissa Gibson, who has 

worked for various fortune 500 companies and as a writer, came up 

with the idea of writing a cookbook geared towards young and single 

women like themselves. With the help of Jodi Citrin, a registered 

dietitian and nutritionist, “The Little Black Apron” was published 

in 2007 and has been sold nationwide. “The Little Black Apron” is 

a single girl’s guide to simple and healthy cooking done with style 

and grace; an essential for any woman in their 20’s or 30’s. Before 

delving into recipes, the book discusses grocery shopping for the 

single girl, kitchen basics, culinary definitions, and essential utensils. 

Alex Gilchrist ’93 is the Director of Public Relations for the 

Anaheim Ducks. Alex came to SMCHS when the Stanley 

Cup made its visit to all of the students. Alex, a proud 

alumnus and Ducks fan, stood with the Stanley Cup in the 

Moiso Pavilion in front of the Alma Mater. Alex is standing 

with alumna, Nicole Smith ’93, who also attended the 

presentation of the Stanley Cup to the SMCHS students. 

The cookbook has been featured in such publications as People 

magazine and In Touch magazine, as well as on Good Morning America, 

The CW, and many more. The three girls hope to publish a second 

cookbook in the future, an extension of The Little Black Apron, which 

focuses on dating, couples, and marriage. Katie feels that having a 

book published has opened many doors for her and believes that 

being able to attend SMCHS was an integral part to helping her 

realize her full potential. Katie’s persistent drive led her to work 

as a personal chef in Dana Point, where she currently resides. 

23

Wings 

09 


Alumni Profiles 

Christina Scarbo ’99, 

AKA Kit Pistol 

Christina “Kit Pistol” Scarbo hails 

from Los Angeles, California. While 

in Italy, she worked as a trend analyst 

for Mauro Taliani Design Studio in 

Empoli and her fashion is continually 

inspired by Italy. She later moved 

back to Los Angeles to open her 

own line, Kit Pistol, in 2004. Her 

creations have been displayed in 

several shows, as well as on the 4th 

season of Bravo’s “Project Runway.” 

A freelance wardrobe stylist, Kit 

believes that Kit Pistol reflects a 

“continual inspiration from art, travel, 

world affairs, textiles, and a deeply 

rooted passion for self-expression; 

ultimately translating to an aesthetic 

of serious fantasy.” Her other 

appearances at fashion events include 

2006’s GenArt New Guarde, Redbull 

Ascension F05, Beautiful Fighter 

Gallery Instillation S06 and BoxEight 

Collective @ LA Theater F07. 

Q: When did you know that you 

wanted to be a fashion designer? 

A: In high school I actually wanted to 

be a veterinarian! Then one summer, 

I interned at a vet clinic and realized 

that it wasn’t for me! So my senior 

year in high school I took an art 

class for the first time and ended up 

winning a summer scholarship at the 

Art Institute in Laguna Beach. I loved 

it! I loved the life drawing class and 

capturing the human form. It was at 

that time I decided I wanted to do 

fashion design and make clothing. 

Q: What type of clothing 

do you mainly design? 

A: I view the fashion world as a 

place for fun and experimentation 

while still being able to dress for the 

real world. My creative vision tilts 

on the fine line between art and 

fashion. So I design clothing that is 

untraditional, traditional clothing like 

making pieces that are wearable but 

very alternative. I like bringing the 

feel of the runway to the street. 

Q: What inspires you? 

A: I am very inspired by art and current 

affairs. Books, music, and movies also 

inspire me often. Mostly my biggest 

source of inspiration comes from 

textiles. I am really obsessed with 

fabric! Also, I really enjoy research and 

getting my point across, whatever 

that may be for that collection 

or garment. Also, I am inspired by 

other designers like Elsa Schiaparelli, 

Viktor and Rolf, Vivienne Westwood, 

Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Betsey 

Johnson, and Jean Paul Gaultier. 

Q: What are some of your 

goals as a designer? 

A: I think at some point I would like 

to do a ready to wear line. I adore 

making one-of-a-kind clothing, but after 

“Project Runway,” I have received so 

much great feedback. I would love to 

be able to reach a broader clientele. 

Q: What is the hardest part 

of being a designer? 

A: The hardest part is being able 

to stay true to yourself and the 

customer when designing and 

not worrying about what the 

buyers/editors will think. 

Q: What sort of things did you 

take part in here at SMCHS? 

A: I was very involved in high school. I 

was part of ASB, and was an elected 

officer both my junior and senior 

year. Also, I ran Cross Country, finally 

making it to Varsity my senior year, and 

ran Track. And of course, I loved all 

the dances, homecoming, and prom. 

I loved the chance to dress up and 

see what everyone was wearing! 

Q: What advice would you give to any 

future designers? 

A: I suggest just totally immersing 

oneself in fashion and learning about 

fashion history, costumes, art past and 

present, going to museums to see 

fashion exhibits, and reading about the 

lives of other designers. And learning to 

sew! Also, I think the best way to learn 

is to intern for someone in the industry 

when you get to college. I think it was 

fun for me to work in retail stores 

as a teenager because I learned how 

clothes fit different body types which 

helped me as a designer and a stylist. 

ALUMNI 

24

WINGS | 2009 

James Eucherious 

Keefe V ’96 

6’ 9”Center, James Keefe, 

is arguably one of the best 

basketball players that 

SMCHS has ever had in 

the school’s history. He is 

now playing for UCLA. 

Q: When did you know that you 

wanted to play basketball? 

A: It took me awhile for basketball to 

really stick with me. I starting playing 

at a very young age and kept playing 

because I was good, but I enjoyed 

sports like football, hockey and golf 

much more. Around junior high was 

when I started to focus on basketball 

as my primary sport and that is when 

I really thought of it as my passion. 

Q: What inspires you to keep playing? 

A: When I am away from the game 

for a small amount of time, I find 

myself missing the adrenaline of 

playing and competing with other 

players. This energy and excitement of 

basketball is what keeps me playing. 

Q: What sort of things did you 

take part in here at SMCHS? 

(besides basketball) 

A: One of the reasons SMCHS is 

such a great place is because of the 

variety of activities that it has to offer. 

I loved being part of the eagle pack 

and attending other sporting events. 

I also have many fond memories 

of all the dances and rallies that 

were put on by the school. 

Q: What do you miss 

most about SMCHS? 

A: The small class size and attitude 

of the student body really allowed 

people to get to know each other at 

the school. I missed the closeness that 

everyone had with each other which 

is impossible to get at a university. 

Q: What are some of your 

goals in life right now? 

A: Right now I am just focusing on 

finishing up my degree at UCLA 

and preparing myself for life after 

college in every way possible. 

There are so many directions I feel 

I could go in my life and I am just 

trying to get ready for all of them. 

Q: What is the hardest part 

of playing basketball? 

A: The wear and tear on your body is 

the hardest part of basketball for me. 

To play at your best there is so much 

that has to go into it and your body 

takes a beating during the process. 

This was the hardest part for me 

to adjust to at the college level. 

Q: What advice would you give to 

any future basketball players? 

A: To anyone that is serious about 

playing basketball, I would tell them to 

just look at the big picture when times 

are rough. Throughout the course of a 

long season it can be easy to overreact 

when things aren’t going well, but in the 

grand scheme of your career, nothing 

should be able to get you down. 

25

Wings 

09 


Famous Faces 

Amy Rodriguez ’05 celebrated 

with the USA Women’s Soccer Team 

after beating Brazil 1-0 in the gold 

medal match. Amy had an incredible 

experience in the 2008 Beijing Games. 

For more up-to-date information 

go to www.usscoccer.com. 

Ryan Eggold ’02 stars 

as smart and funny Ryan 

Matthews, a teacher at 

West Beverly Hills High 

School, in The CW’s new 

drama “90210.” 

www.eggold.com or 

www.tvguide.com/celebrites/ 

Courtesy: Michael Goulding, The Orange County Register 

Carson Palmer ’98 

is a quarterback for 

the Cincinnati Bengals. 

He was drafted by the 

Bengals first overall in 

the 2003 NFL Draft. He 

played college football 

at USC. Palmer won the 

Heisman Trophy while 

at USC in 2002 and set 

27 school records while 

at SMCHS. 

Erika Figge ’03 was an alternate 

“attacker” on the USA Women’s Water 

Polo Team. The US went on to win 

a Silver medal in Beijing in the 2008 

Summer Olympics. 

ALUMNI 

26

WINGS | 2009 

High School Sweethearts “A Love Story” 

In spring of 2002, the Santa 

Margarita Eagle Regiment 

went on their annual 

band trip, to the beautiful 

island of Oahu, Hawaii. 

How We Met 

Megan Bartel ’04 was a clarinet player, 

and Steven Shaffer ’05 a snare drum 

player. They had never met or spoke 

a word to each other before this trip. 

During the trip a mutual “crush” began 

to form. At different activities they 

would stay close together and others 

soon began to see that a romance 

was in bloom. On the plane ride 

home, Steve officially asked Megan if 

she would like to be his girlfriend. She 

replied, “of course,” and from then 

on, they have remained inseparable. 

Our Engagement 

On July 24th, 2007 Steve took Megan 

out on an extravagant date. They 

drove to Laguna Beach and to Megan’s 

surprise arrived at the Montage 

Resort. They were seated at a special 

reserved table. After dinner, Steve 

suggested that they take a walk during 

the sunset and Megan thought that 

was a great idea. As they walked 

down the cliffs to the beach, Megan 

heard their song playing and knew that 

something important was happening. 

On the beach, Steve knelt down 

in front of Megan, brought out the 

engagement ring and asked Megan if 

she would marry him. Megan shouted 

out an excited, “Yes!” They watched 

the sunset as an engaged couple. 

Our Wedding 

Megan and Steve were married in 

August 2008 at San Francisco Solano 

Catholic Church, with Fr. Craig Butters 

presiding. The reception followed at 

the Marbella Country Club where 

the SMCHS Steel Drum Band played 

during the reception. Many SMCHS 

Alumni attended the wedding 

including, Eugene Disney ’05 as the 

Best Man and Jean Anne Currivan 

’04 as the Maid of Honor. Michael 

Shaffer ’08 and William Shaffer ’09 

were also groomsmen in the wedding. 

Megan and Steven will spend their 

honeymoon, where it all began, in 

Hawaii. After their honeymoon they 

will move to Glendale, California 

where Megan will teach religion at 

Holy Family Catholic High School 

in Glendale. Steve will finish his last 

semester at UCLA, where he will 

receive his BS in Mathematics. 

27

Wings 

09 


Reunions 

The Class of 1998 Celebrates 

their Ten Year Reunion 

The ten year reunion for the class of 

1998 had a record breaking attendance 

of 210. The reunion was held at 

Disney’s Grand California. A delicious 

California Cuisine buffet was served 

in “Grand Style.” The Reunion Chair 

was Kyndell (Gaglio) Paine ’98. 

A wonderful DVD montage created 

by Michelle (Kallen) Goold ’98 gave 

alumni the chance reflect on the past 

and see photos of themselves as well 

as fellow classmates they haven’t seen 

in 10 years. Many chatted about 

recent marriages or their new babies. 

The infamous “DJ Chris” provided 

such great music; many alumni did 

not want the evening to end. 

Students came from as far away as 

England and Columbia. Several other 

students flew in from Washington, D.C., 

Minneapolis and Illinois to reconnect 

with their classmates. Everyone 

that attended the event received a 

Memory Book, filled with class updates, 

pictures and a directory which will 

allow alumni to stay connected. 

ALUMNI 

28

WINGS | 2009 

The Class of 2003 Celebrates 

their Five Year Reunion 

On Saturday, July 12, SMCHS held its 

annual Five Year Reunion of the class 

of 2003. Over 140 Eagles and their 

guests attended the event held at Dave 

and Buster’s in the Irvine Spectrum. 

The alumni enjoyed a light-hearted 

evening, munching on Mexican 

food while sharing stories about 

where they have been and what 

they have been doing. They 

danced, played pool, and celebrated 

until midnight. The event was an 

incredible success and some alumni 

were already talking about getting 

together at their 10 year reunion 

which will be held in July of 2013. 

29

Wings 

09 


Class Updates 

NOTE: These updates were 

gathered during the summer 

of 2008. We look forward to 

being filled in on your recent 

milestones, accomplishments 

and family news. Send updates to 

wings@smhs.org. Stay tuned for 

the next issue of Wings to stay 

connected with alumni! 

Class of 1991 

Marc Mosman ’91 lives in Encinitas, 

California. He married his wife, 

Denean, on September 1, 2005. 

They welcomed their son, Logan 

Patrick, on January 26, 2007. Marc is 

now working in the finance industry 

with aspirations to pursue golf. 

Andrea Avdeef ’91 currently lives in 

the bay area of California and works as 

an Executive Assistant for the CEO of a 

graphic design firm (www.liquidagency. 

com). She is married to Craig Firpo 

and they have a 10-year- old daughter, 

Alexis. Craig works for a commercial 

real estate firm which allows the family 

to travel. Most recently, her family 

traveled to Seattle. They also like to 

visit their timeshare in the Caribbean. 

Her family loves the outdoors and they 

usually spend their weekends camping 

and hiking up and down California’s 

coast. Her most recent trip was to 

Pismo Beach, where her family rented 

ATV’s and played in the sand for hours! 

In the fall, Andrea and her family intend 

to hike to the top of Half Dome in 

Yosemite. In 2009, she would like to 

travel to Mt. Kilimanjaroas a family. 

Matt Cottonaro ’91 has been in the 

Army Infantry for 12 years. He served 

eight years enlisted and four years as 

an Officer. He is with the 1st Infantry 

Division, stationed in Germany. Matt 

is the Platoon Leader for the RECON 

Platoon, and his rank is Captain. Matt 

returned from Iraq not too long ago 

and is doing well. Matt states, “Iraq 

was difficult: lots of IED’s (improvised 

explosive devices, aka roadside bombs) 

and lots of firefights. Some of my men 

were wounded, but thank God none 

of them were killed. Being deployed 

to Germany and especially Iraq really 

gives you a better appreciation for 

just how lucky we are to live in such 

a great country.” The photo of Matt 

was taken atop a roof in Iraq while he 

was setting up an OP (observation 

point). Matt leaves SMCHS with 

these words, “Win SMCHS – Our 

Lady Queen of Victory, pray for us.” 

Ryan Mummert ’91 is proud to 

call Albuquerque, New Mexico his 

home. Ryan played football and 

graduated from the University of New 

Mexico. He is a First Vice President 

with Morgan Stanley, specializing in 

corporate retiree and small business 

planning. He has two sons, William 

(five-years-old) and Brayden (threeyears-old), 

who are both very 

involved in athletic activities. During 

the summer Ryan takes his family 

to Huntington Beach and to visit 

Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. Ryan 

says that he misses Orange County’s 

beaches and enjoys relaxing at the 

beach whenever he visits California. 

ALUMNI 

30

WINGS | 2009 

David Nix ’91 was enshrined into 

the UC Davis Baseball Hall of Fame 

in October. David was a two time 

NCAA All-American and holds the 

highest single season batting average in 

school history at .401. In 1995, David 

led the UC Davis Aggies to their first 

ever Division II College World Series 

appearance, earning Regional MVP 

honors and collecting a record 95 hits. 

In 1996, David was the NCAC Player 

of the Year and finished his career 

at UC Davis with a .372 average, 94 

runs and 37 doubles. David and his 

wife Sarah live in Danville, California 

with their two daughters, Meghan and 

Shannon, and newly born son, Ryan. 

Casey (Wilson) O’Roarty ’91 lives 

in Monroe, Washington, outside of 

Seattle with her husband, Ben, and 

their two children, Rowan (five-yearsold) 

and Ian (one-year-old). Casey 

and Ben have resided in the North 

West for 12 years. They celebrated 

nine years of marriage on August 

14, 2008. Casey is currently teaching 

Parenting Classes at a local YMCA 

and she keeps busy with her two 

kids. She recently spent a “Girls Night 

Out” in Portland with fellow SMCHS 

alumnae, Allie (Werve) Koleno ’91 

and Megan (Morse) Malo ’91. 

Class of 1992 

Casey (Van Meter) Cook ’92 has 

been married to her husband, Abraham 

Cook, since 2001. Their son Cole 

was born March 11, 2007. Abe is a real 

estate attorney at Jackson DeMarco 

in Irvine. Casey works part-time 

as the event coordinator at St. Michael’s 

Abbey, Seminary & Prep School in 

Silverado Canyon and spends the 

rest of her time with their little boy. 

Erika (Blinn) Geisler ’92 and her 

husband, Bill, have two kids, Olivia 

Belle Geisler (5-3-06) and Andrew 

David Geisler (3-7-08). In May of 

2008, the family moved to Wilmington, 

North Carolina. In July of 2007, 

Erika retired from her psychology 

practice to be a “house cat” 

(stay-at-home mom). 

Heather (Blackinton) Herd ’92 

graduated from UC Irvine in 1996 and 

then went to live in London, England. 

While in England, she met Stephen 

Herd, a native of Scotland, whom 

she married in May of 1997. She 

graduated from UCLA School of Law 

in 2001. The couple moved back to 

Orange County in 2005 and now 

resides in Ladera Ranch with their 

boys, Ewan Nathanael (9-04) and Liam 

Derek (4-08). Stephen is currently 

practicing commercial litigation at 

Rutan & Tucker in Costa Mesa. 

Dana (Woods) Maas ’92 and Brian 

Maas are the proud parents of their 

daughter, Brenna Grace Maas, who was 

born on October 28, 2007. Dana and 

Brian’s two sons, Dean and Davin, are 

equally excited about the birth of 

their baby sister! 

James McGrath ’92 graduated from 

UC Berkeley in 1997 and taught 

Algebra at SMCHS from 1997 to 1999. 

He received a Master’s Degree in 

Philosophy from UC Irvine and taught 

at Long Beach City College for several 

years before attending UCLA. He 

graduated from UCLA School of 

Law in May 2008. He was the class 

president, chief managing editor of 

the Women’s Law Journal, president of 

the UCLA Sports Law Federation, 

and he has a Business Law Specialization. 

31

Wings 

09 


Class Updates 

Class of 1993 

Travis (Moody) Azous ’93 and her 

husband, Neil, recently welcomed their 

second daughter, Lilah Paula. Lilah joins 

big sister Talia (two-years-old). The 

family lives in Connecticut. Travis and 

her sister, Tracy (Moody) Skenandore 

’96, delivered their babies on July 3, 

2008. The baby girls were born within 

one and a half hours of each other. 

Ken Clark ‘93 is working as writer 

for About.com (a New York Times 

company). His new book: The 

Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting 

out of Debt (similar to the chain of 

“Dummies” books) will be hitting 

the stores in January 2009. 

Michael “Mishi” Burke ’93 graduated 

from the USC School of Business, 

with a degree in real-estate finance. 

He married Megan Megonigal, also 

a USC alumna, in August of 2006 in 

Dana Point, California. Both Mishi 

and Megan have successful careers in 

the field of real estate. Recently they 

moved into their new home in the 

Talega Development in San Clemente. 

Bridget Flynn ’93 had her second 

child, Kieran Joseph Linn, on May 

19, 2008. She is currently living in 

San Jose, California and working 

as an art therapist and Director of 

Bereavement at Hospice of the Valley. 

Mark Foster ’93 and his wife, Karly 

(Farris) Foster ’98, welcomed their 

third child, Eleanor, on May 20, 2008. 

For more information, read Karly’s 

update in the Class of 1998 section. 

Michael Gillissie ’93 recently 

received his Master’s Degree from 

Chapman and is now a fireman 

in Los Angeles and resides in 

Pasadena with his wife Sara. 

Ryan Hart ’93 is currently serving in 

Afghanistan with the 24 MEU and 

was recently promoted to the rank 

of Major in the Marine Corps. The 

MEU’s tour was extended so Ryan will 

most likely return home sometime 

in November. Ryan is doing well 

in the Middle East and works very 

hard. He and the other Marines 

work seven days a week, usually 

for 12 or more hours a day. Once 

back at home in Jacksonville, North 

Carolina, he will be stationed at the 

New River Marine Corps Air Station. 

Britt (Farwick) Strottman ’93 and 

her husband, Chuck (Mater Dei 

Alumni ’93), are the proud parents of 

Dashiell Benjamin Strottman, born 

on July 30, 2007. Britt and her family 

now reside in Columbus, Ohio. 

ALUMNI 

32

WINGS | 2009 

Katie (Fracisco) Taft ’93 and her 

husband, Ben, welcomed their first 

son, Andrew (Drew) Michael Taft, on 

September 7, 2007. The family still 

resides in Redwood City, California, 

where Ben works for Foundry 

Networks as the Vice President of 

Marketing Communications. Katie 

works for eBay as a Project Manager. 

an emphasis in spirituality. Charleen 

resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico 

with her husband of eight years, Tim, 

and their two sons, Adrian (sevenyears-old) 

and Tyler (four-years-old). 

Before moving to New Mexico from 

Bay City, Texas, Charleen worked as 

a drug counselor intern and ran the 

female facility after graduating from 

Tarleton State University in 2004 with 

a Bachelor of Science in Sociology. She 

states that her two sons are learning to 

adjust to the “city life” in Albuquerque, 

and that this has caused them to 

become more aware of a larger and 

more culturally diverse population. She 

sends her blessings to all of the current 

students and alumni of SMCHS! 

Class of 1994 

Kim Farris-Berg ‘94 and her 

husband, Brian, recently welcomed 

son, Mitchell James Berg, into their 

family on September 9, 2007. Kim 

and Brian are also the proud parents 

of daughter, Ruby Berg, who is 

now two-years-old. Kim works 

part-time as an independent public 

policy professional and she states 

that she “loves being a mother.” 

Charleen (Lest) York ‘93 received 

her Master’s Degree of Science in 

Psychology from the University of 

Phoenix in August 2008. With an 

interest in continuing her education, 

she looks forward to earning a PsyD 

Doctoral degree Psychology with 

Robert Craven ’94 married his wife, 

Kelley, in March 2007. They welcomed 

son, Jacob Ryan Craven, into the 

world on October 1, 2007. Robert is 

working as a Software Administrator 

at a rapidly growing Financial Services 

company in San Juan Capistrano, along 

with John McKeehan ’91. His wife, 

Kelley, is a personal trainer operating 

out of a private gym in Foothill Ranch. 

One thing Robert has learned as a 

father is, “Truly cherish every single 

day as you never know what may 

happen, don’t take life for granted!” 

Paul Ferguson ’94 was deployed 

to Afghanistan late last year. Once 

Paul returns home, he will serve one 

more year with the Defense Contract 

Management Agency at Boeing in 

Seattle. He will serve his final year as 

Chief of Business Operations before 

returning to the Air Force in 2009. 

Erica (Selvaggio) Ferrari ’94 and 

her husband, Fred Ferrari, welcomed 

daughter, Isabella Ferrari, on July 18, 

2007. Isabella was born in Huntington 

Beach, California. 

33

Wings 

09 


Class Updates 

Class of 1994 

Stacy Heavican ’94 married her 

best friend and soul mate, Bilal 

Azam, in March 2007. The couple 

met at Stacy’s work, where Bilal 

was a Software Engineer and while 

she worked in Quality Assurance. 

They are currently living in South 

Pasadena, with her daughter Alana. 

Hadley (Blinn) Iacovelli ’94 

gave birth to Eleanor Erika 

Iacovelli on July 8, 2007. 

Dr. Mike Moodian ’94 had a very 

busy year completing his first book 

titled Contemporary Leadership and 

Intercultural Competence, which will 

be released worldwide through 

Sage Publications in October 2008. 

His book features an opening 

introduction by former presidential 

candidate and Massachusetts 

Governor, Michael Dukakis. 

Kelly (Van Meter) Latini ’95 and 

Drea Latini ’95 welcomed son, 

Massimo Cristiano Latini, born on 

March 29, 2008. Massimo was born 

three and a half weeks early. Both 

Kelly and Drea state that Massimo 

is doing great and that he is an 

angel! Their daughter, Roma, adores 

her little brother very much. 

Stacey Isaacson ’94 currently resides 

in Flower Mound, Texas and couldn’t 

be happier. She recently married 

the man of her dreams, JD Huff. The 

couple was married at The Hilton in 

Las Vegas in December 2007, with 

their family and close friends 

present to support them. 

Class of 1995 

Nikki Buffa ’95 (sister of Matt 

Schumacher ’09) joined the Barack 

Obama Campaign as Assistant Staff 

Counsel. After graduating from 

UCLA School of Law, she has been 

an associate in the Washington, D.C. 

office of Latham & Watkins, from 

which she will be taking a leave of 

absence. Working with her at Latham 

& Watkins are two fellow SMCHS 

alumni, Colleen Guilford ’96 and 

Wes Holmes ’94. Nikki is thrilled to 

be taking part in the campaign and 

is looking forward to November. 

Jennifer (Dunn) McCrea ’95 married 

Kevin McCrea on November 20, 

2007 at the Mauna Kea Resort in 

Hawaii. The couple stayed on the Big 

Island for their honeymoon and then 

returned to their home in Alexandria, 

Virginia. They have spent time traveling 

to Germany and the Bahamas. They 

are looking forward to spending 

their first anniversary in Brazil. 

ALUMNI 

34

WINGS | 2009 

Alexander Rodriguez ’95 has been 

serving the Commercial Banking 

industry for over 10 years, despite 

a bachelor’s degree from Chapman 

University in Theatre Performance/ 

Directing. Most recently, he joined the 

Premier Banking Group at National 

Bank of California as Vice President 

to develop and grow their middle 

market business sector. In addition 

to his business banking, he serves as 

a member of the Board for Lifeworks 

Mentoring in West Hollywood. 

Most recently, Alexander has been 

inducted as a member of the Young 

Professional Council for the Gay & 

Lesbian Center. He also serves as an 

Advisory Council Member for the 

Valley Resource Center, as well as the 

Gay Youth Leadership Program for the 

National Teen Leadership Program. 

In addition to community work and 

business development, Alexander 

has enjoyed numerous successes 

as a performer and director in the 

southern Californian theater world.. 

Bobbi (Abbriano) Snow ’95 was 

married in 2003 to Christian Snow. 

Christian had just come from a horrific 

tragedy. His wife and daughter were 

killed in a car accident and his only 

surviving family member was his son 

who was left with traumatic brain 

injury. When Bobbi married Christian 

she knew her life would be a little 

harder than normal because she 

would be raising a child who would 

need help for the rest of his life. In 

2005 and 2006 Bobbi and Christian 

had two boys, Josh and Blake. They 

were so excited about having more 

kids and having a “typical family.” 

Class of 1996 

G. Eric Brown ’96 recently married 

fellow SMCHS alumna Melissa 

(Walker) Brown ’99. For more 

information about their wedding, 

please refer to Melissa’s update located 

in the “Class of 1999” section. 

Erica (Landon) Delperdang ’96 and 

Vince Delperdang ’96 welcomed 

their second daughter, Elizabeth, on 

March 19, 2008. Big sister Catherine 

turned two in August 2008 and is 

adjusting well and enjoying being the 

“big sister.” Vince works as the Senior 

Systems Manager for Presidio Financial 

(a debt management firm) in Anaheim. 

He also attends the University of 

Redlands in their MBA program and 

is scheduled to graduate in August 

2009. Erica enjoys being a stay-athome 

mom, raising their daughters. She 

also works part-time as a substitute 

teacher in Lake Elsinore and Menifee. 

Alyssa (Wenda) Finkelstein ’96 and 

her husband moved their family to 

Austin, Texas, and they love it! Her 

husband is a paramedic with the City 

of Austin and she is currently teaching 

summer school math at an inner city 

middle school. Alyssa will continue 

teaching middle school and high 

school math in the fall. The couple is 

expecting their fourth child in October. 

They feel very blessed that their family 

will be complete with two boys and 

two girls. Alyssa and her husband 

celebrated their 10-year wedding 

anniversary in December 2008. 

35

Wings 

09 


Class Updates 

Class of 1996 

Anika (Tysinger) Garcia ’96 and her 

husband, Aaron, were married in 2002. 

They moved to Morristown, New 

Jersey in 2007 and welcomed son, 

Jayden Aaron, into the world on July 24, 

2007. The family lived in New Jersey 

until June 2008. They recently moved 

back to California and live in Carlsbad. 

Anika has enjoyed the last two years 

off from work to be mommy. 

Anne (Mares) Hesler ’96 was 

married in 2001. She and her husband 

have two little boys, Andre Diego 

(threeyears-old) and James Santiago 

(one-year-old). Her husband is a 

lawyer and she works as a special 

education teacher. They live in 

Spokane, Washington, where they 

both attended Gonzaga University. 

Brian Meihaus ’96 is a proud new 

dad! He and his wife, Megan (Strader) 

Meihaus ’97, welcomed their daughter, 

Erin Mary, on July 30, 2008. For more 

details, please refer to Megan’s update 

located in the Class of 1997 section. 

anesthesiologist at the University of 

Chicago. The couple was married 

in June of 2005 in Chicago and 

had several SMCHS alumni in the 

wedding party: Kelly Craig ’97, 

Jimmy Pittenger ’98, Sean Lim ’95 

and Steve Wagner ’96. They are still 

dealing with Chicago winters, but 

during the summer, they find that it’s 

tough to beat everything Chicago 

has to offer. Greg and Sara live in 

Wicker Park and recently welcomed 

their first child, Charles (Charlie) 

Declan Pittenger in February 2008. 

Daniel B. Rego ’96 received his Ph.D. 

in Chemistry in June 2008 from UC 

Irvine, while working under Professor 

William J. Evans. His dissertation 

was entitled: Lanthanide Reduction 

Chemistry of the LnZ3 and LnZ2Z’ 

Reduction Systems and Related 

Coordination Chemistry. He is 

now in a Post-Doctoral position at 

the Harry Reid Center at UNLV, 

working on nuclear fuel synthesis. 

Ryan Hart ’96 and his wife, Jackie, 

welcomed their baby boy, Charles 

(Charlie) Ryan Hart, on June 23, 2008. 

Charlie weighed 6 lbs. 13 ounces 

and 17-3/4 inches long. He was 

born at Hoag Hospital in Newport 

Beach. Jackie and Ryan say, “He 

is our little miracle boy!” 

Greg Pittenger ’96 is working 

for JPMorgan Institutional Asset 

Management as a Vice President 

of Sales. His wife, Sara, is an 

Tracy (Moody) Skenandore ’96 and 

her husband, Mike, recently welcomed 

their first child, Aubrey Anna. Tracy and 

Mike live in Herderson, Nevada. Tracy 

and her sister, Travis (Moody) Azous 

’93, delivered their babies on July 3, 

2008. The baby girls were born within 

one and a half hours of each other. 

ALUMNI 

36

WINGS | 2009 

Lia (Carreon) Vaca ‘96 gave 

birth to twin boys, Anthony and 

Robert, on August 19, 2007 at 

UC Irvine. The twins joined their 

older siblings Daniel (three-yearsold) 

and Joelle (eight-years-old). 

another son on the way. Nate 

works for his family’s consulting firm 

(www.barberassociates.com). Nate 

is enrolled in the Executive MBA 

program at the University of Texas at 

San Antonio (UTSA). As a part of the 

MBA program, Nate and Marisa will 

be travelling to London and Brussels in 

late October, which should prove to be 

very interesting as they will be taking 

their six-week-old son with them! 

Christina (Copes) Tortomasi ’96 

received her Master’s Degree in 

Education in May, 2005 from Vanguard 

University. She also recently finished 

her fifth year as a kindergarten 

teacher in the Newport-Mesa school 

district. Monika Burke ’96 and Joe 

Dedic ’96 introduced Christina to 

her husband, Jeff Tortomasi, four years 

ago. Christina and Jeff were married 

over Memorial Day weekend (May 

24, 2008) in Santa Barbara, California. 

They celebrated their wedding with 

SMCHS alumni: Monika Burke ’96, 

Eleni (Constantine) Bicos ’96, Erin 

(Connolly) Burns ’97, Lia (Carreon) 

Vaca ’96, Nicole (Pierantoni) Munz 

’96, Joe Dedic ’96, Bryce Popko 

’96, and Alli Popko ’97. Jeff and 

Christina honeymooned on the 

islands of Lanai and Kauai in July and 

currently reside in Irvine, California. 

Shannon (Conley) Wilcox ’96 

and husband, Toby, welcomed their 

second child, Aubrey Evelyn, on 

March 7, 2008. Her big brother, Gavin 

Pierce (two-years-old), is excited 

about his sister and offers to help 

with everything. They been living in 

Tri-Cities, Washington for six years. 

Shannon and Toby will celebrate their 

seventh anniversary in October. 

Cameron Wilson ’96 and wife, 

Stephanie, welcomed their first child, 

daughter Taylor Suzanne Wilson, on 

June 3, 2008. They currently live in 

Virginia as Cameron completes his 

residency in urology at Virginia 

Commonwealth University 

School of Medicine. 

Class of 1997 

Nate Barber ’97 recently celebrated 

seven years of marriage to his wife, 

Marisa, who he met through his 

church while attending the University 

of Michigan. Nate and Marisa have 

a 19-month-old son, Tommy, and 

Erin (Connolly) Burns ’97 married 

David Burns on December 9, 2006. 

David is from Houston, Texas and 

graduated from St. Thomas Catholic 

High School in 1996. He attended the 

University of Texas, class of 2000. Their 

wedding took place at St. Catherine 

of Siena Catholic Church in Laguna 

Beach and was followed by a reception 

at Franciscan Gardens in San Juan 

Capistrano. Many SMCHS alumni 

were a part of the wedding, including: 

Erin’s siblings, Brendan Connolly 

’96 and Katie Connolly ’00, and 

friends, Christina (Copes) Tortomasi 

’96, Alyse Gome ’97, Jacqueline 

(Wescombe) Hoppe ’97 and Anna 

Marie (Scutetta) Stouder ’95. Erin 

and David reside in Washington, 

D.C. They both work on Capitol Hill 

where they met and started dating 

five years ago. They are looking 

forward to starting a family soon. 

37

Wings 

09 


Class Updates 

Class of 1997 

Jen (Ansevin) Ceja ’97 and her 

husband, Joe, are expecting a baby boy 

in October. Big sister Gracie Jo will be a 

year and a half when her brother arrives. 

Patrick Fisher ’97 married Jenny 

Nicole (Robinson) Fisher on May 17, 

2008 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 

The couple dated for two years. Fellow 

SMCHS alumni Chris Antenesse 

’97 and Justin DeBlasio ’97 were in 

attendance, with Chris being the best 

man and Patrick’s brother, Mike Fisher 

’94, being a groomsman. Patrick and 

Jenny Nicole spent three weeks in 

Argentina for their honeymoon with 

time in Mendoza (the wine country), 

Buenos Aires, and Iguazu Falls. The 

couple lives in Chicago’s Lincoln 

Square neighborhood, situated on the 

river. Patrick is the CEO of Creation 

Investments, LLC, which he founded 

over a year ago. Creation Investment’s 

mission is to establish investment 

opportunities using market principles 

to fight against global poverty. Patrick 

graduated from JL Kellogg School 

of Management at Northwestern 

University, where he received a MBA 

degree in Finance and Marketing. He 

received his Bachelor of Arts, magna 

cum laude, at the University of Notre 

Dame, where he majored in Philosophy, 

Theology and Computer Applications. 

Mara (Flint) Francis ’97 married 

Lieutenant Commander William 

Francis, Jr. United States Navy, on May 

3, 2008 on the island of Maui, Hawaii. 

SMCHS alumna Kerri Becker ’98 

was a bridesmaid. The couple recently 

moved back to San Diego from 

Virginia and Mara continues to work 

as a Marketing Manager for Pepsi. 

Charlie Gabbert ’97 graduated from 

the University of Notre Dame in 2001 

and then graduated from medical 

school at Oregon Health Science 

University School of Medicine in 2007. 

Charlie is currently doing his residency 

in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics 

(Med-Peds) at UC San Diego. 

Matthew Martin ’97 and his wife, 

Jaclynn, are happy to announce the 

birth of their first born, Colin Rengel 

Martin. Colin was born on May 1, 

2008. The family resides in Ann Arbor, 

Michigan. 

Megan (Strader) Meihaus ’97 and 

Brian Meihaus ’96 are excited to 

welcome the newest red head in their 

family! Erin Mary Meihaus was born 

at Hoag Hospital on July 30, 2008. 

She weighed 8 lbs and measured 

20 inches and was in perfect health! 

Mommy, Daddy and baby are doing 

great and are enjoying living in their 

new house in Aliso Viejo. Erin has a 

record number of aunts and uncles, 

including five SM alumni: Greg Meihaus 

’04, Johnny Meihaus ’03, Meghan 

(Meihaus) van Aarde ’93 and Patrick 

Strader ’94. Erin is excited to be a 

future Eagle in the Class of 2026! 

Kristen (Kreuzer) Nielsen ’97 and 

her husband, Jeppe Broch Nielsen, are 

currently living in Oslo, Norway with 

their two daughters, Hanne (four-yearsold) 

and Julie (one-year-old). Kristen 

has been working as a Montessori 

teacher for the past few years, but is 

currently at home awaiting the arrival 

of identical twin boys, due in August. 

Katie Nuanes ’97 recently finished her 

new book, “The Little Black Apron: 

A Single Girl’s Guide to Cooking 

with Style and Grace.” For more 

information about Katie, please read 

our Alumni Profile section on page 27. 

Nora (Mautner) O’Keefe ’97 and 

her husband, Jamie, and welcomed 

their first child, Caroline Ryan O’Keefe, 

on July 10, 2008. She was 8 lbs., 7 oz., 

21 inches and absolutely beautiful. 

The family lives in Washington, 

D.C., where Nora works for the 

U.S. Department of Education. 

Sara (Heri) Pringle ’97 and her 

husband, Bryan, welcomed their first 

baby, a little girl, in April. Caroline Grace 

Pringle was born on April 30, 2008 

ALUMNI 

38

WINGS | 2009 

Patrick Randall ’97 is a Surface 

Warfare Lieutenant in the US Navy, 

stationed in San Diego, California. 

He is married to Kellie Young and 

they welcomed their first child, 

Riley Mackenzie, in August 2008. 

focused on developing people who 

are dedicated to seeking justice 

and actively engaged in the civic 

process. Ryan has thoroughly enjoyed 

helping people put their faith into 

action and will continue to use his 

powers for good and not evil. 

Katie (Ferguson) Rando ’97 resides 

in Brazil. In June, she and her husband, 

Adu, celebrated their five year wedding 

anniversary. Also in June, her husband 

was promoted and transferred 

from Ribeirão Preto, Sao Paulo to 

Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The 

change was very exciting, but also 

a little crazy since Katie was eight 

months pregnant with their second 

daughter, Julia! Their oldest daughter, 

Isabella, is now two and she can’t 

wait to meet her new baby sister! 

Gabriela (Melendez) Roemhildt 

’97 has been living in Oahu, Hawaii 

for the last two years. She and her 

husband have been married for six 

years and they are expecting a new 

baby in mid-July. The new baby will join 

the couple’s three-year-old daughter, 

Raina Elisabeth. Gabriela graduated 

from California State University, 

Dominguez Hills with her Master’s 

Degree in Humanities in August. 

Graham Ruby ’97 was awarded his 

PhD in biology from MIT. For his 

thesis, he did research in David Bartel’s 

laboratory at MIT’s Whitehead Institute 

studying the biology of small RNAs that 

he was able to publish in the journals 

– Nature, Cell, Molecular Cell, and 

Genome Research. He has enjoyed 

living in Cambridge, but in July, he 

returned to the west coast to start his 

postdoc at UC San Francisco, where 

he will be studying viral genomics 

as a member of Joe Derisi’s lab. 

Ryan Sim ’97 returned from 

Peace Corps (Honduras 2003- 

2005). Ryan has been working as a 

Community Organizer in churches 

and neighborhoods in Costa Mesa 

and Garden Grove for OCCCO, 

the Orange County Congregation 

Community Organization, a faithbased 

non-profit organization 

Lauren Michelle (Haag) Stine ’97 

married Christopher James Stine 

on September 15, 2007 in Dana 

Point at The St. Regis Resort. Lauren 

currently runs a financial services 

company in Orange, California. Chris 

is a Los Angeles City Fire Firefighter, 

along with his entire family. Chris 

and Lauren live in Rancho Santa 

Margarita, California. They enjoyed 

their honeymoon in The Greek Islands, 

Italy and Germany. They look forward 

to having a family in the future. 

39

Wings 

09 


Class Updates 

Class of 1997 

Class of 1998 

Christa (Evans) Walker ’97 gave 

birth to her first child, Eden Alethia 

Walker, on October 29, 2007. At 

the end of May she graduated from 

Westminster Seminary California with 

a Master’s Degree in Christian Studies. 

Mark Zakrzewski ’97 and his wife, 

Sarah, welcomed their first baby on 

May 3, 2008! They are extremely happy 

to have Alexander Tate Zakrzewski in 

their lives, although they describe him 

as a wonderful little devil! In addition, 

Mark graduated from graduate school 

in the middle of May with a Master’s 

of Science in Spacecraft Systems 

Architecture from USC. Mark says 

that things are going great in Los 

Angeles and that life is just peachy! 

Natalie (Pelton) Boyd ’98 married 

Eric Boyd on October 7, 2006 at St. 

Dominic’s Catholic Church in San 

Francisco. Their reception was held 

at The Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco. 

SMCHS alumna Rebekah Bryant 

’98 was in attendance. The couple 

met while living and working in the 

San Francisco area. The couple 

honeymooned in Maui. Just recently, a 

job opportunity for Eric has relocated 

the Boyd’s to Newton, Massachusetts. 

Brianne “Breezy” Wedertz Burke 

’98 and her husband, DJ, are happy 

to announce the birth of their twins, 

Tucker and Taylor, on October 15, 

2007. Baby boy, Tucker, was born at 

3:20 a.m. Baby girl, Taylor, was born at 

3:23 a.m. They joined their proud big 

brother, Tanner, who is six-years-old. 

Mark Fontes ’98 has been reporting 

for WZBN-TV in Trenton, New 

Jersey since March 2008. WZBN-TV 

covers events in the city and around 

central Jersey. He is still covering 

the WNBA and other sports as 

a writer for Suite101.com. Mark 

misses watching the L.A. Sparks 

from his time spent in California. 

Karly (Farris) Foster ’98 and her 

husband, Mark Foster ’93, welcomed 

their third child, Eleanor, on May 20, 

2008. Eleanor joins big sister Molly 

and big brother Griffin. The family 

lives in Rancho Santa Margarita. 

Gina Gajdos ’98 and Nick Mosich 

’98 became engaged in March 2008. 

The couple started dating when Nick 

was in law school at the University 

of Southern California and Gina was 

in medical school at the UC Irvine. 

Immediately following law school, Nick 

clerked for a judge on the United 

States Court of Appeals for the Tenth 

Circuit. He is currently an associate 

at Latham & Watkins, LLP in Orange 

County. Gina is in the third year of 

her residency at UCI Medical Center 

and is planning to pursue a fellowship 

in child and adolescent psychiatry. 

They will be married in 2009. 

ALUMNI 

40

WINGS | 2009 

Class of 1999 

Elisa (Huefner) King ’98 married 

Jeremy King on July 7, 2007 at 

Marbella Country Club in San Juan 

Capistrano, California. Their reception 

was on the terrace at the country 

club. Elisa met Jeremy through a 

sorority sister from college and had 

met him four times over five years 

before they started dating! Elisa’s 

best friend, Allie (Moffatt) Brennan 

’98, was the matron of honor at her 

wedding. Also from her class, Jessica 

(Casper) Capek ’98 and Amanda 

Strindberg ’98 were readers in the 

ceremony. There were about 20 other 

good friends of Elisa’s from Class of 

1998 in attendance! Elisa and Jeremy 

honeymooned in Punta Mita and 

Zihuatanejo, Mexico for two weeks. 

They currently live in San Francisco, 

where Jeremy sells residential real 

estate in Sonoma County and Elisa is a 

high school English & Reading teacher. 

Jimmie Lopez ’98 and Brandi 

(Morales) Lopez ’98 recently 

welcomed a new baby girl! Olivia 

Lynn was born on January 16, 2008 at 

Mission Hospital. Olivia and their son, 

J.T., are having lots of fun together and 

especially love play dates with their best 

friends Tanner, Tucker, and Taylor Burke! 

Denise Shumway ’98 graduated from 

Columbia Business School with an 

MBA in Marketing and Management. 

While in school, she pursued her 

passion for wine, serving as a Co- 

President of the Wine Society and 

by taking outside classes to earn the 

WSET Intermediate and Advanced 

Certificates in Wine & Spirits. She 

now works as a Marketing Manager 

at Kobrand, a privately-held importer/ 

marketer of fine wines. Denise lives 

in New York City with her boyfriend 

of five years, cellist Alistair MacRae. 

Jared Barker ’99 and Michelle 

Barker ’00 welcomed twin boys, 

Brady William and Logan John, to 

their family on March 28, 2008. Both 

Jared and Michelle were thrilled to 

be blessed with two babies at once. 

Jared currently works as a sales 

representative. Michelle is a special 

education teacher in the Saddleback 

Valley Unified School District. The 

family lives in Ladera Ranch. 

41

Wings 

09 


Class Updates 

Class of 1999 

Melissa (Walker) Brown ’99 married 

fellow SMCHS alumnus G. Eric Brown 

’96, on June 21, 2008 at San Francisco 

Solano Church and the reception was 

held in Melissa’s parent’s backyard 

in Coto de Caza. Melissa and Eric’s 

wedding party was mostly made up 

of SMCHS alumni! The bridal party 

included Sarah (Walker) Ollenburger 

’96, Jessica Walker ’04, Maritza 

(Perez) Bernard ’99, Jenny (Kaszton) 

Hayes ’99, Cammy Brown ’01, Tiffany 

(Smith) Jaeger ’99, Grant Brown 

’98, Dennis Keane ’96, Matt Nickels 

’96, Matt Pohlson ’96, Johnnie 

Walker ’02, Kevin McNeil ’96, Scott 

Balo ’96, and Sean Redfern ’96. 

Tiffany (Keller) Mackovic ’99 

graduated from The University of 

Arizona in 2003. During her time 

in Tucson she worked with the 

Wildcats football program and Fox 

Sports Arizona. She also met her 

husband-to-be, Johnny Mackovic. 

They lived in Austin, Texas for a few 

years before returning to California 

to start their own business. They 

purchased a home in Rancho Santa 

Margarita and were married on June 

14, 2008 right in the heart of town at 

The Bell Tower Foundation. Tiffany’s 

sister Krystle Lord-Keller ’03 was 

the Maid of Honor, Erin Moch ’99 

was a bridesmaid, Katie Loudy ’99 

officiated the ceremony and Sean 

Crawford ’99 was an attendant. 

Dozens of other SM alumni were 

in attendance for the celebration! 

Heather (Powers) Malk ’99 and 

Manny Malk ’99 were married on 

November 24, 2007. The wedding 

was set on their eight year anniversary. 

Many SMCHS alumni were present 

to celebrate their marriage. Lisa 

Shortley ’99, Diane Pansioan ’99, 

Kelley Rozo ’99, Chanda (Malk) 

Copple ’93, Rick Lester ’99 and Brian 

Powers ’97 were among those in the 

bridal party. Heather is a production 

artist in book publishing and Manny 

is working in computer software. 

The couple lives in Lake Forest. 

Christina Scarbo ’99 works in the 

fashion world as the designer of her 

own line, Kit Pistol TM . Her creations 

have been displayed in several shows, 

as well as on the fifth season of 

Bravo’s Project Runway. For more 

information about Christina, please 

read our Alumni Profile section. 

ALUMNI 

42

WINGS | 2009 

Michael J. Farrell IV ’00 married 

Jennifer Haubenschild in Sundance, 

Utah on December 18, 2006. 

Following the wedding, Michael and 

Jennifer honeymooned in Bora Bora 

and Moorea. The couple has known 

each other since middle school and 

dated throughout most of high school. 

After attending Loyola Marymount 

University together in Los Angeles, 

Jennifer went to law school at 

Chapman University and is currently 

practicing law. Michael is presently in 

medical school in the San Francisco 

area following a brief teaching career 

at another Catholic high school in the 

southern Orange County area. The 

following Santa Margarita alumni were 

also in attendance: Chris Tradeau 

’00 and R.J. King ’00 served as 

groomsmen, while Casey Brogdon ’00 

was a bridesmaid. The wedding party 

would also like to extend their heartfelt 

gratitude to the following Santa 

Margarita graduates in attendance: 

Stephanie Stone ’00, David 

Schweitzer ’00, Kelly Moran ’00, Ben 

Gott ’00, Jacque Adams ’00, Jessica 

Fisher ’00, Christina Fuji ’00 and 

Megan Cargile ’97. The couple states 

that they are blessed to have kept such 

wonderful company over the years. 

Bryan Kretzmer ’00 married Annie 

Pierini on January 5, 2008 at St. Edward 

the Confessor Catholic Church. Both 

Bryan and Annie work at SMCHS. 

Bryan is the Activities Director and 

Annie is an English teacher. Many SM 

alumni attended the wedding and Craig 

Smith ’00 and Vince Prietto ’00 

were two of Bryan’s groomsmen. The 

couple honeymooned in Bora Bora and 

currently live in Rancho Santa Margarita. 

Jessica (Baker) Lyle ’00 and Owen 

Lyle ’00 welcomed their new 

baby, Connor Ethan Lyle, into their 

family on February 13, 2007. 

Alex de Rubira ’00 currently lives 

in Peru where she is working for the 

Peace Corps in Youth Development, 

teaching English and computer 

skills to children in her village. 

Matthew Shearon ’00 recently 

married his wife, Megan, at St. Timothy’s 

Catholic Church in Mesa, Arizona. 

Matthew and Megan met each other 

while volunteering through campus 

ministry for “Campus Connections,” 

which is a University of San Diego 

service organization. SMCHS 

groomsmen included Brandon Smith 

’00, Paul Barrett ’00, Bahman 

Safari ’00 and Bobby Arshi ’00. 

43

Wings 

09 


Class Updates 

Class of 2001 

Ashley Crabtree ’01 became engaged 

to her boyfriend of five years, Jose 

Gonzalez, in October 2007. Their 

wedding is scheduled on November 

1, 2008 in Tustin, California. The 

couple looks forward to starting the 

next chapter of their lives together. 

Manny Cueto ’01 graduated from 

the California Maritime Academy 

in May 2008. Some of his fellow 

SMCHS friends, such as Angela 

Ordaz ’01, Eddie Bixler ’01, Dan 

Russo ’01 and Nicole Kono ’01, 

were there to help him celebrate. 

Michelle (Keating) Leach ’01 married 

Kevin on July 4, 2008 at Thunderbird 

Chapel in Norman, Oklahoma. The 

couple honeymooned in Jamaica, and 

then returned home to buy a house in 

Norman. Kevin is working full time in 

the Air Force and Michelle is pursuing 

a Master’s Degree in Education and will 

be teaching history in the fall of 2008. 

Laurie Park ’01 graduated from 

Tulane University Law School in New 

Orleans on May 17, 2008. After her 

first year of law school was interrupted 

by Hurricane Katrina and having to 

evacuate up to Baton Rouge, then 

Shreveport, and ultimately Washington, 

D.C. Laurie was able to return to 

New Orleans in December 2005. 

The city was still in a state of chaos; 

rubble and debris filled the streets, 

the National Guard patrolled the area 

in Camouflaged Hummers and only 

one grocery store was open. Laurie 

and 220 other Tulane Law students 

returned and took classes six days a 

week for six months straight in order 

to finish their first year of law school 

by the end of June 2006. Laurie 

served as the student organizer 

for “Second Wind” – a grass roots 

organization helping small businesses 

that had been devastated by the 

storm. She also served as the Vice 

President of the Business Law Society, 

taught an undergraduate business law 

class, and worked in the consumer 

fraud division of the New Orleans 

Legal Assistance Corporation. 

Katherine (Katie) Pugh ’01 attended 

Villanova University and received her 

Bachelor of Arts in Art History (minor 

in Communication) in 2005. She 

later received her Master’s degree 

in Museum Studies from New York 

University in 2007. Katie currently 

works at the Philadelphia Museum of 

Art as a Corporate Relations Assistant 

in the development department. 

Blake Robinson ’01 is currently 

at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper 

School of Business. After business 

school, Blake hopes to enter the 

executive search industry. 

ALUMNI 

44

WINGS | 2009 

Brittany McDonald ’02 is an up and 

coming country/pop artist now living 

in Nashville, Tennessee. She released 

her first EP this spring, and her song, 

“Another Wanna Be” is on the new 

Sony Walkman which came out late 

this summer. To stay updated with her 

and her music, visit her Myspace page 

or check out the new EP on iTunes 

or anywhere that digital music is sold. 

Lucille (Francois) McFall ’02 and 

husband Shawn lived in Sasebo, 

Japan for the last three years. While 

in Japan, Shawn was stationed on a 

minesweeper. They had a baby girl, 

Cailin Louise McFall, on June 29, 2007. 

They moved back to the Naval Base 

in San Diego in April 2008. Lucille 

is so glad to be back in the states 

again, close to family and friends. 

Jade Salata ’02 graduated from 

Chapman University in 2006 with a 

Bachelor of Arts in Communication 

Studies with an emphasis in Mass 

Media. For the last eight months, she 

has been running the internet sales 

and marketing division at Black Fly’s 

Eyewear in Irvine, California. She 

enjoys the casual work environment 

and is able to wear sweats to the 

office! Jade also coaches club volleyball 

at Saddleback Valley. In her free time, 

she plays competitive beach volleyball, 

enjoys training for a half marathon, 

and is trying to take up ballet and hip 

hop. Jade loves life and says that things 

have been great! She hopes she will 

be able to afford grad school soon! 

Nicole Sobaski ’02 recently received 

her diploma after three years at 

the Parisian Haute Couture School, 

L’Ecole de la Chambre Syndical de 

la Couture Parisienne. Nicole plans 

to continue her education in Paris. 

Amber (Duguay) Stavros ’02 met and 

fell in love with Andy Stavros through 

mutual friends in college. The couple 

was married on July 7, 2007 at the 

beautiful Assumption Greek Orthodox 

Church, followed by a reception at the 

St. Regis Resort in Laguna Beach. Many 

SM alumni attended their wedding and 

were also a part of the bridal party 

including Lisa Costigan ’02, Bethanie 

Harsh ’02, Carly Horsley ’02, Emily 

Reenders ’04 and Andy’s best man 

Gavin Tatum ’01. After almost a 

year of enjoying the married life, the 

couple decided to start a self-serve 

frozen yogurt business called Berry 

Swirl. They currently have three 

locations (Santa Margarita, Foothill 

Ranch and Oceanside). If you are 

ever in the area, feel free to stop by 

for some amazing frozen yogurt! 

45

Wings 

09 


Class Updates 

Class of 2003 

Stephen Britt ’03 graduated from 

University of San Diego and worked 

as a Legislative Aide in the State 

Capitol. After working in the State 

Capitol, he worked as a Community 

Representative for a San Diego 

area congressman. Stephen plans 

to begin law school in the fall. 

Jenn Brown ’03 is currently working 

for Mediaegde:cia, a global media 

advertising agency, out of their Irvine 

office. Her position title is Online 

Media Planner, and she works for the 

office’s Toshiba Laptops client. Jenn 

lives in Newport Beach in a house 

that is really close to the beach (she 

can even hear the ocean at night!). 

Work keeps her very busy most of 

the time, but when she does have 

downtime, she loves to travel, go to 

the beach, and cook. Her Chihuahua, 

Jameson, is her constant companion. 

James Harvey ’03 graduated 

with honors from Embry-Riddle 

Aeronautical University in December 

2006. He earned his Bachelor of 

Science in Aeronautics and a Minor in 

Aviation Safety in three and a half years. 

While in undergrad, James served as an 

officer on the Inter Fraternity Council, 

as Student Government Treasurer 

and a Campus Volunteer. He also 

worked as a Campus Mentor and was 

President of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon 

Fraternity. After his junior year, he 

interned with US Airways Flight Safety 

Department, where he was one of 35 

nationally trained “first responders” 

for aircraft accidents. In January 2007, 

James began ERAU’s Master’s Program 

in Safety Science with an emphasis 

on Aircraft Accident Investigation and 

earned his commercial pilot’s license. 

James achieved his life’s dream of 

becoming an airline pilot when he 

was hired by Mesaba Airlines (part of 

Northwest Airlines) in August 2007, 

and became a First Officer on the Saab 

340 Turboprop at 22. In July of 2008, he 

finished First Officer training in Denver 

to pilot the 76 seat next-generation 

CRJ900 Jet. James enjoys living in Ann 

Arbor, Michigan, while flying out of his 

Detroit base. He’s looking forward to 

attending the Airline Pilot’s Association 

Safety School this fall, and continues 

to work on his Master’s Degree 

while expanding his world travels! 

Jennifer Hebets ’03 graduated with 

a degree in International Affairs 

from George Washington University 

in Washington, D.C. in May 2007. 

She previously worked for the US 

Development Agency, the Millennium 

Challenge Corporation in Washington, 

D.C. After graduation, she was 

awarded the Rotary Ambassadorial 

Scholarship. For the past year, she 

has been living in Quito, studying 

her Master’s Degree in International 

Development at the Facultad 

Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales. 

She is currently working on a thesis 

focused on helping poor rural farmers 

gain to markets in Ecuador. She is also 

the Ecuador Country Coordinator 

for Language Corps, a company 

which coordinates the placement of 

Americans seeking to go abroad to 

teach English. In March of 2009, she 

plans to return to the US for the 

purpose of continuing to work in the 

International Development field. 

Nathan Imperiale ’03 has started 

his own company called NJI Media 

Group. NJI Media Group is a full 

service creative marketing firm 

that provides web development, 

communications strategy, television 

production, and graphic design services. 

Torrey Kaddatz ’03 graduated on May 

19, 2008 from Cal State San Marcos 

and received a Bachelor of Arts in 

History. Torrey was married to Alana 

Brazelton on June 29, 2008. Torrey is 

now back at home, where he will get 

his teaching credential at Concordia. 

ALUMNI 

46

WINGS | 2009 

Ashlee Riddle ’03 graduated from 

Loyola Marymount University from 

the College of Science and Engineering 

on May 5, 2007. She received 

her Bachelor of Science degree 

in Biology and is currently doing a 

pharmacy internship this summer 

and fall. She is planning to attend 

Pharmacy school in fall of 2008. 

Bianca A. Solé Almodóvar ’03 earned 

a Liberal Studies Associate in Arts 

degree from Fullerton College in May 

2007. Along with 48 students from 

Cypress and Fullerton Colleges, she 

spent her last semester in Barcelona 

as part of the study abroad program. 

While in Spain, Bianca traveled to 

Amsterdam, London, and to various 

cities in Germany and Italy. She came 

back with countless memories and with 

a boyfriend, David, who was also in the 

study abroad program. This fall quarter 

Bianca transferred into the Television, 

Film and Media Studies major (option 

in Broadcast Journalism) at California 

State University, Los Angeles as a junior. 

Greg Weiler ’03 graduated from 

Loyola Marymount University in May 

2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 

Classical Studies, which consists of the 

study of the Latin and Ancient Greek 

languages, two subjects he studied 

at Santa Margarita. After graduation, 

Greg chose to advance in his studying 

of Jiu-Jitsu, an art he has been learning 

for eight years, by moving to Japan 

to further his craft. He was recently 

featured in Black Belt Magazine and 

was seen in multiple martial arts 

tournaments both in the United 

States and Japan as a contestant, as 

well as a coach. He currently resides 

on the island of Kyushu with his 

fiancée, Machiko, where he teaches 

English and Latin, as well as Jiu-Jitsu, 

to Japanese and exchange students. 

Class of 2004 

Megan (Bartel) Shaffer ’04 recently 

graduated Cum Laude from The 

Franciscan University of Steubenville 

in May 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts 

degree in Catechetics. This August 

she will be working at Holy Family 

Catholic High School in Glendale as 

a religion teacher. For more exciting 

news about Megan, please refer 

to Steven Shaffer’s ’05 update. 

Kristin (Torok) Ellsworth ‘04 married 

Second Lieutenant Evan Ellsworth, 

an officer of the US Army, on May 

31, 2008. Kristin graduated from 

Wheaton College with a degree in 

Political Science. She interned in the 

White House for First Lady Laura 

Bush in the fall of 2007, and will 

begin law school in the fall of 2009. 

47

Wings 

09 


Class Updates 

Class of 2004 

emergency medical technician. He 

is a member of the Army National 

Guard’s 185th Armored Division and 

recently received his commission as 

a Second Lieutenant in July 2008. 

Michelle Hull ’04 graduated Magna 

Cum Laude from Harvard University 

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 

Government Honors. While at 

Harvard, she competed for four years 

in Division I varsity sports, including 

soccer and indoor track. She also 

taught government to fifth graders 

in public schools in Cambridge and 

Boston. At the Harvard Varsity Club’s 

Senior Letterwinner’s Dinner, Michelle 

was named as one of a handful of 

nominees for The Harvard-Radcliffe 

Foundation for Women’s Athletics 

Prize as the top Harvard female 

scholar-athlete. She continues her Ivy 

League education this fall at Columbia 

Law School in New York City. 

Anne Markel ’04 graduated Cuma 

Sum Laude with a degree in Theology 

from Loyola Marymount University 

in May 2008. Anne will be traveling 

to El Salvador in August for a year of 

ministry work. 

Emily Neubert ’04 graduated Phi 

Betta Kappa from San Diego State and 

will attend law school at Florida State 

in the fall. 

Lindsay Smith ’04 graduated with 

honors from San Diego State 

University with a Bachelor of Arts in 

Journalism and Media Studies with 

an emphasis in Advertising. She 

thoroughly enjoyed her four years at 

SDSU, especially her experiences as 

an officer for the American Marketing 

Association. Her outside activities 

included dancing for the San Diego 

Gulls Ice Hockey Team and the San 

Diego Wildcats Basketball Team. This 

past summer, she studied abroad in 

Barcelona, Spain and toured Ireland. 

After working for a few years, Lindsay 

aspires to attend graduate school to 

obtain a degree in Sports Marketing. 

Brian Shumway ’04 graduated from 

Santa Clara University with a Bachelor 

of Arts degree in Philosophy, emphasis 

in pre-law. While in school, Brian 

was an Army ROTC cadet and was 

also certified as both a lifeguard and 

Ashley Yergler ’04 graduated from 

the University of San Diego in May 

2008 with degrees in English and 

Sociology. Beyond the classroom, 

she also graduated as a four-year 

Division I Varsity Athlete on the 

Women’s Rowing team, where she 

was the captain for the past two 

seasons. Her successes in athletics 

and in the classroom prepared 

her for her most recent endeavor, 

graduate school at the University of 

Washington in Seattle. The Master’s 

of Education in Intercollegiate 

Athletic Leadership is the catalyst 

towards a career within collegiate and 

professional athletics. She is looking 

forward to continuing her expertise 

at a competitive NCAA Division I 

University in the upcoming months. 

ALUMNI 

48

WINGS | 2009 

Class of 2005 Class of 2006 

Chris Eagan ’05 recently traveled to 

Cambodia on a service trip through 

Loyola Marymount Univeristy’s 

Alternative Breaks program. Chris 

stayed within the country for two 

weeks and worked with the nonprofit 

organization, “Journey’s Within Our 

Community.” There were a number of 

different projects, but he spent his time 

working on a micro finance project 

for the community. Chris is looking 

forward to his senior year at LMU. 

Beth Palkovic ’05 studied abroad 

in Spain this past summer. After she 

completed her studies, Beth and her 

friend traveled around Europe for a 

couple weeks and visited the United 

Nations in Geneva. 

Steven Shaffer’s ’05 and Megan 

(Bartel) Shaffer ’04 were recently 

married on August 9, 2008 at San 

Francisco Solano Church. The two 

met while attending SMCHS. 

Adam Stout ’05 will be a senior at 

Marquette this fall with one year left 

before he student teaches in the 

Milwaukee Public School District. 

Adam has been busy working in 

research with the school of education, 

tracking the reading progress of 

African-American children who live 

in households below the poverty 

line, while also giving tours to 

prospective Marquette students as a 

University tour guide. He travelled 

to Tanzania (east Africa) for three 

weeks and worked in schools, HIV/ 

AIDS clinics, and orphanages, and 

he will lead the group back to the 

village of Morogoro this upcoming 

Christmas break. The group’s mission 

is to bring knowledge, supplies, and 

hope to those who need it most. 

Thomas Hull ’06 earned his Harvard 

varsity letter last year as a starter on 

the football team and received Ivy 

League Honors for his performance 

against Cornell. Thomas and his 

teammates won the Ivy League 

Championship last season in the 124th 

playing of the historic Harvard-Yale 

rivalry, marking only the second time 

in Ivy League history that Harvard and 

Yale met undefeated in League play. 

He is a junior this fall concentrating 

in biology/pre-med after spending 

the summer in a preceptorship with 

an orthopedic surgery group. 

James Keefe ’06 is a starting player 

on the UCLA’s Men’s Basketball 

Team. James had an experience of a 

lifetime last March as UCLA played in 

the NCAA Final Four Tournament. 

49

Wings 

09 


SMCHS Married Alumni 

Shannon (Lyle) Arguello ’98 

and Frank Arguello ’95 

Michelle (Nann) Barker ’00 

and Jared Barker ’99 

Laura (Baggott) Bender ’95 

and Michael Bender ’95 

Jennifer (Rodarte) Berard ’95 

and Brian Berard ’95 

Lauren (Owens) Bordages ’97 

and Drew Bordages ’97 

Allison (Moffatt) Brennan ’98 

and Daniel Brennan ’98 

Melissa (Walker) Brown ’99 

and Eric Brown ’96 

Erin (Lyle) Brunner ’93 

and Matthew Brunner ’93 

Shauna (Hoffman) Carabba ’95 

and Nicholas Carabba ’95 

Meri (Riley) Carrillo ’96 

and Adam Carrillo ’96 

Monica (Vanden Dries) Caulfield ’98 

and Christopher Caulfield ’98 

Jodie (Julian) Cerruti ’94 

and Robb Cerruti ’93 

Christine (Ferraro) Curran ’98 

and Jarlath Curran ’98 

Jennifer (Johnson) Daniels ’00 

and Devin Daniels ’00 

Erica (Landon) Delperdang ’96 

and Vince Delperdang ’96 

Erin (Smead) Duffy ’94 

and Kevin Duffy ’93 

Adam Dzierzynski ’93 

and Jenna (Zanotti) Dzierzynski ’95 

Elizabeth (Foster) Farris ’95 

and Kristofer Farris ’95 

Clara (Song) Feeney ’91 

and Stephen Feeney ’91 

Erin (Fallon) Finneran ’94 

and Brian Finneran ’94 

Karly (Farris) Foster ’98 

and Mark Foster ’93 

Michelle (Kallen) Goold ’98 

and Jeff Goold ’98 

Meagan (Lingo) Hurst ’96 

and Steve Hurst ’96 

Kelly (Van Meter) Latini ’95 

and Andrea Latini ’95 

Brandi (Morales) Lopez ’98 

and James Lopez ’98 

Krissy (Lux) Luster ’96 

and James Luster ’96 

Jessica (Baker) Lyle ’00 

and Owen Lyle ’00 

Julie (Morin) McDonald ’99 

and Sean Mc Donald ’99 

Megan (Strader) Meihaus ’97 

and Brian Meihaus ’96 

Katie (Ledingham) Minardi ’98 

and John Minardi ’98 

Greg Mulato ’92 

and Jill (Heneghan) Mulato ’93 

Nicole (Pierantoni) Munz ’96 

and West Munz ’95 

Amanda (Guilford) Murray ’00 

and Lee Murray ’00 

Gina (Gajdos) Mosich ’98 

and Nick Mosich ’98 

Mary Katherine (Heim) Patterson ’99 

and Rory Patterson ’98 

Shanell (Moffatt) Pierce ’94 

and Jerome Pierce ’92 

Erica (Perrotta) Rahall ’99 

and Timothy Rahall ’99 

Jennifer (Fritz) Redwitz ’92 

and Eric Redwitz ’92 

Lisa (Kneisel) Reightley ’95 

and Ryan Reightley ’95 

Jaime (Kaufold) Rochon ’96 

and Christopher Rochon ’94 

Katie (Gentner) Sanders ’98 

and Timothy Sanders ’98 

Shannon (Redfern) Santoni ’97 

and Timothy Santoni ’96 

Megan (Bartell) Shaffer ’04 

and Stephen Shaffer ’05 

Alison (Gilchrist) Speranzo ’98 

and Jim Speranzo ’98 

Melissa (Baggott) Stadler ’97 

and Adam Stadler ’97 

Tracy (McCroskey) Stiegler ’96 

and Justin Stiegler ’96 

Megan (McMillan) Stube ’99 

and Jeff Stube ’92 

Julie (Savant) Sulick ’93 

and Andy Sulick ’91 

Courtenay (Lauer) Taylor ’98 

and Robert M. Taylor ’96 

Tamara (Turnage) Trask ’91 

and Keone Trask ’91 

Jolene (Shurlock) Vartanian ’96 

and Marco Vartanian ’96 

Stephanie (Burke) Wagner ’96 

and Stephen Wagner ’96 

ALUMNI 

50

WINGS | 2009 

Donor List 

Our alumni are such an important 

part of Santa Margarita Catholics 

High School’s past, but also its future. 

By giving back to Santa Margarita 

we celebrate our own experience 

and accomplishments but we 

ensure that the tradition of lifelong 

friendships and academic excellence 

continue for generations to come. 

SMCHS wishes to thank the 

following alumni for their 

generous donations made in 

2008. We are confident that in 

the coming year we will see an 

ever increasing cooperation. 

Bachelors: $1,000–$2,499 

Brian ’96 and 

Megan (Strader) Meihaus ’97 

Patrick ’94 and Dana Strader 

Neill Sullivan ’92 

Marco ’96 and 

Jolene (Shurlock) Vartanian ’96 

Senior: $500–$999 

Drew ’97 and 

Lauren (Owens) Bordages ’97 

Timothy S. Renden ’05 

Junior: $250–$499 

Patrick Brand ’02 

Michael R. Guevara ’91 

Sophomore: $100–$249 

James (Barry) Hawkins ’95 

Freshman: $1–$99 

Sabrina G. Bitmayl ’94 

Laura A. Hayman ’97 

Nora Jans ’95 

John ’98 and 

Kathryn (Led ingham) Minardi ’98 

Asaiah S. Passwater ’07 

“We make a living by 

what we get but we 

make a life by what we 

give.” – Winston Churchill 

If you are interested in making a 

donation and joining other alumni in 

supporting your Alma Mater, please 

contact the Alumni Office 

at 949-766-6000 ext 1530 or 

email alumni@smhs.org 

If you have donated and we missed you, 

we apologize and would like to hear from 

you so we can correct our records. 

Thank you! 

51

Wings 

09 


“On Eagles Wings” 

Santa Margarita would like to extend its deepest sympathy 

to the family and friends of the following SMCHS Alumni. 

We will always hold you close to our hearts. 

“… he will raise you up on eagle’s wings, 

Bear you on the breath of dawn, 

Make you to shine like the sun, 

And hold you in the palm of His hand.” 

Brad 

Dillahunty ’02 

Valerie 

Feyka ’99 

Thomas 

Flynn ’04 

Jordan 

Korinke ’99 

Yesenia 

Orozco ’99 

Kaydee 

Campbell ’06 

52

WINGS | 2009 

Save the Date 

Reunions 

Class of 1999 – Ten year reunion to be 

held Saturday, July 25, 2009 at Park Prive, 

7:00 pm. 

Class of 2004 – Five year reunion to be 

held Saturday, July 11, 2009 at Dave & 

Buster’s in the Irvine Spectrum, 6:30 pm. 

If you or your child has recently moved, 

please e-mail alumni@smhs.org with 

a current mailing address. For more 

information call the Alumni Office at 

949-766-6000, ext 1511. 

Gift of the Heart 

Tournament 

The “Gift of Heart” Flag Football fundraiser 

has become somewhat of a reunion with 

hundreds of SMCHS friends, family and 

alumni showing up to raise funds for Damien 

Minna. This annual event is held the Friday 

after Thanksgiving. Minna, a former SMCHS 

football star, was injured in a 2004 accident 

that left him a quadriplegic. The support of 

this event has helped Damien immensely. 

Alumni Connect! 

Our alumni share a unique bond: 

The SMCHS experience. Your 

education, experiences, and 

friendships are the foundation of 

your life-long connection with the 

SMCHS community. 

Our goal is to help you continue 

your life-long connection 

with SMCHS, maintain open 

communication with you, keep 

you informed of school news and 

developments and to hear what 

you are up to. 

We need your help to reach 

these goals. Here is what you 

can do to make your Alumni 

Association strong and effective: 

Update your contact 

information regularly – 

Be sure to let us know whenever 

your contact information changes 

(i.e. your mailing address, e-mail 

address, or telephone number). 

Updating your contact 

information is easy! Just visit 

www.smhs.org/alumni/register 

or email alumni@smhs.org. 

Get involved – We need your 

help planning and coordinating 

events, such as your Reunions, 

Alumni Career Day, and Valentasia. 

It is with your help that these 

events are successful. There are 

many opportunities for our alumni 

to get involved at SMCHS. 

Let us know what you are 

up to – Whatever you are up to, 

we’d love to hear about it. Alumni 

are by far the most powerful 

voice for prospective students. 

We encourage you to share your 

experiences. You are part of a very 

special community. We are here 

to help you and support you in 

whatever ways we can. 

SMCHS has an Online Store for 

your shopping convenience! New items 

have been added this year for SMCHS 

moms, dads, youth, toddlers and babies! 

Visit us at www.smhs.org! 

Parents 

If your son or daughter has moved 

from your home, please call the Alumni 

Office at 949-766-6000, ext. 1511 or 

e-mail alumni@smhs.org with his/her 

current address. Thank you! 

53


22062 Antonio Parkway 

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 

www.smhs.org

Santa Margarita Catholic High School

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