2017 Dragon Fall

tes
2008
Jordan Turner graduated from the
University of San Diego School of
Law in May.
2009
Brianna Benedetto graduated from
UC Davis School of Veterinary
Medicine in May.
2012
Daniel (DJ) Jones signed as a free
agent with the Canadian Football
League’s Edmonton Eskimos
in May. A two-year standout for
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
(he transferred to SWOSU
from Menlo College after Menlo
eliminated its football program),
DJ earned All-Great American
Conference honors in both seasons.
As a senior, he was named a
First Team All-GAC choice at wide
receiver after setting a new single-season
school record with 968
yards on 69 receptions. As a junior,
DJ earned several All-American
honors as an All-Purpose Player
and Kick Returner and he was also
named SWOSU’s Male Athlete of
the Year for 2015-16.
Immediately upon graduating from
Santa Clara University in 2016,
where he was a four-year starter on
the men’s soccer team, Max
Ornstil joined the Portland Timbers
U-23 Premier Development
League team where he was named
“Player of the Year.” Upon completion
of the PDL season, Max was
asked to train with the Portland
Timbers T2 team which is the Portland
Timbers’ entry in the United
Soccer League (“USL”), the second
highest level professional soccer
league in the United States. At the
completion of the 2016 USL season,
Max was asked attend the T2 training
camp in February 2017 and was
thereafter signed to a professional
soccer contract later that month
with T2.
2013
Duke’s Oderah Chidom was
selected 31st overall by the Atlanta
Dream in the third round of
the Women’s National Basketball
Association (WNBA) Draft held in
April. She is the first O’Dowd women’s
basketball player to be drafted.
The University of Washington’s
Kevin King was selected first in
the second round of April’s 2017
NFL Draft (33rd overall) by the
Green Bay Packers.
2015
On June 22, Ivan Rabb was selected
35th in the second round of the
2017 NBA Draft by the Memphis
Grizzlies. Ivan starred at UC Berkeley
for two years before declaring
for the draft last spring.
Jennifer Schoendorf ’06 and
Kristin Schoendorf ’09 both
earned a Master’s degree in Social
Work, as well as Pupil Personnel
Services Credentials, from California
State University, Long Beach,
in May, and are beginning their
careers in social work.
Over the course of the two-year
program, Jennifer and Kristin
worked with various client populations
through internships, advocated
for policy at the State Capitol in
Sacramento, and traveled to South
Africa as part of a study abroad
program.
Jennifer completed her undergraduate
work at the University of
Southern California, while Kristin
completed her undergraduate work
at UC Santa Cruz. Kristin subsequently
worked as an Applied
Behavioral Analysis (ABA) Therapist
and Jennifer worked as a Case
Manager for a non-profit foster care
agency in Texas. The sisters said
these experiences guided them to
their true passion: social work.
Said Jennifer “O’Dowd not only instilled
the work ethic and skills we
needed to be successful in our pursuit
of higher education but also
a deeper understanding of what
it means to ‘give back’ to those in
the community who have less. And
we were raised in a family where
finding your passion was a core
value along with making a positive
difference in the lives of others.”
Fall/Winter Magazine 2017 // 27