High Notes

To follow are highlights of recent professional, volunteer, and personal accomplishments submitted by Ursuline alumnae, students, and faculty. To read more, visit www.ursulinedallas.org/highnotes.

ALUMNAE

Alessandra Comini ’52, University Distinguished Professor of Art History Emerita at SMU and Ursuline Academy of Dallas Distinguished Alumna, recently received the Dallas Historical Society’s Award for Excellence in Community Service, Humanities Category.

Rita Ransdell ’69, Vice President of Human Resources at American Airlines Center, was named by her undergraduate university, Texas A&M Commerce, as one of its Distinguished Alumni for 2020.

Shaunna Green LaCroix Fuller ’73, Director of Music and Worship at White’s Chapel UMC in Southlake, and her 137-member choir performed virtually for Easter.

Meg Cadigan Frainey ’82 received the Remarkable Volunteer Award from Camp Summit. She has served as Board Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Boots and Bandanas Event Co-Chair, Capital Committee Member, and more.

Melodie Matthews Cottingham ’83, Media Market Specialist at Camelot Strategic Marketing & Media, received the 2019 Mary Henry Humanitarian Award. Established by DREAM Fund in 2005, this award is to honor Mary’s unselfish commitment to volunteerism. Mary C. Kelly ’83 was recognized by Texas A&M University as an “Aggie 100,” which honors the 100 fastest growing Aggie-owned businesses in the world. She also released her new book, “5 Minutes Per Week – 52 Weeks to a Better Business” and was named one of 2020’s Top 50 Keynote Speakers.

Tracey Bates Leone ’85 was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame for coaching soccer. She was Clemson’s first women’s soccer coach when the program began in 1994.

Nancy Hairston ’86, CEO of MedCAD, was featured in Dallas Innovates, “A Custom Medical Device Company in Deep Ellum is Protoyping Better PPE to Fight COVID-19.”

Taili Song Roth ’86 photographed the 2020 Writers Guild Award Recipient Portraits for the 6th year in a row.

Carrie Nelms Edwards ’90, Director of Nursing at Forensic Nurse Staffing of West Texas, was elected to serve on the Commission for Forensic Nursing Certification for the International Association of Forensic Nurses. Christie Tate ’91 wrote “Group: How one Therapist and a circle of strangers saved my life.” which Reese Witherspoon chose as her November 2020 Book Club selection.

Michelle Robertson Hannah ’94 served as the Joint Task Force (JTF) Ready Guardian Commander at the Armed Force Reserve Center in Topeka, Kansas, supporting COVID-19. The JTF Ready Guardian is a historic event for the Kansas National Guard. While Guardsmen are routinely called upon to help domestic operations in support of natural disasters, this is the first response of this magnitude that has required the activation of a Joint Task Force.

Catia Ojeda ’97, actress, guest starred on Episode 3 of the new Netflix series, Selena: The Series. It aired on December 4, 2020.

Hillary Dunn Deck ’98, Austin-based realtor, and her clients were featured on HGTV’s House Hunters.

Megan Sleeper ’98 cast the Nickelodeon show, The Crystal Maze, which premiered January 24, 2020.

Alex Huffman ’00, LCSW, OSW-C, Support Services Manager at UT Southwestern, is a recipient of the 40 Under 40 in Cancer Award. This award recognizes contributions being made in the field by rising stars and emerging leaders. She was selected by a panel of reviewers from across diverse roles in oncology.

Erin Trieb ’00, Director at The Homecoming Project and Photojournalist and Filmmaker at Erin Trieb Photography, produced one of the photographs featured in The Wall Street Journal’s, “The Year in Photos.”

Alice Ann Spurgin Holland ’04, Pediatric Neurologist at Children’s Medical Center Dallas and Ursuline Academy Young Alumna Award recipient, was featured in People Newspapers, “20 Under 40.”

Elisa Ringholm ’04, Chief of Staff at The Story of Stuff Project and Ursuline Academy Young Alumna Award Recipient, announced the release of The Story of Plastic, a full-length documentary about plastic pollution’s impact on communities around the world. It is available to the public via streaming services (iTunes and Amazon Prime) and anyone can access virtual screenings anywhere in the world for free.

Molly Wilkinson ’05, pastry chef, is writing a cookbook set to be published in the spring of 2021 by Macmillan. It is available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble.

Becky Wade ’07 came in 16th overall at the Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta. She sported a time of 2:35:12.

Kathrina Macalanda ’10 is featured in a permanent exhibit in the Engineering and Innovation Hall of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. She is the highlight of the Electrical Engineering Exhibit which is interactive and inspires kids to pursue a career in STEM.

Ally Ryder ’12 and her team won second place at the Georgetown University Global Social Innovation Lab pitch competition. They designed a tablet-based user interface for illiterate individuals in Benin to be able to conduct mobile banking transactions.

Jacqueline Gibson ’15 was featured in The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts Annual Impact Report. The article talks about the intersection of her degrees, her work in accessibility at Microsoft, and how each of us can make the most impact in our communities.

Madison Haley ’15, senior soccer player at Stanford University, and her Stanford Cardinals won the NCAA National Soccer Championship. Madison was drafted in the 1st round (7th overall pick) and will play for the Chicago Red Stars.

Mara Papakostas ’15, recent graduate from the University of North Carolina, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. From January to June 2021, she will be an English Teaching Assistant in Taipei, Taiwan.

Jordyn Wedell ’16, recent graduate of Loyola Marymount University, was selected as a 2020 recipient of an Academic Achievement Award from the University’s Department of History.

Anjali Sebastian ’19, Songwriter and Creative Marketer, published her debut poetry and lyric collection, “Dunes: musings from 40 days in our desert.”

High Notes(continued)

STUDENTS

Cecilia O’Brien ’20, violinist, was selected as one of 110 musicians nationwide to participate in the National Youth Orchestra of the United States (NYOUSA), in conjunction with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. The orchestra will train with top players from American orchestras and will perform under the direction of Carlos Miguel Prieto. The program will include Stravinsky’s, “The Rite of Spring” and feature guest violinist Midori.

Michaela Coulter ’20, a member of the Dallas Bears Rugby Team, was featured in The Preston Hollow Advocate, “Dallas Bears petite rugby star: ‘Yeah, I tackle people.’ Why rugby? ‘It’s down and dirty.’”

Lizzie Housson ’20 was featured in Texas Monthly, “Dallas-Area High School Seniors Cope With a Semester – and Rites of Passage – Cut Short.”

Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth ‘01

Angelina Velis ’20 and Grace Risinger ’20 were featured on WFAA Channel 8 for raising awareness on teen dating violence for young women in high school.

Marissa Ovenshire ’20 and Ryan Luedtke ’22 joined a virtual choir made up of 500 singers from all over the world. Sponsored by the Lorenz Publishing Company, the piece is composed by Victor Johnson, Music Director at the Fort Worth Fine Arts Academy.

Megan Sickler ’21 received the Positive Coaching Alliance Scholarship. Studentathletes who receive this award “have shown how they positively impacted sport on three levels: by making themselves, their teammates, and their community better, however, they have done so while navigating a worldwide pandemic that put a complete halt to the sports they love.”

Somto Unini ’21 was recognized with an Honorable Mention by The National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) 2020 NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing (AiC). This award honors 400 high school women from 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and all U.S. overseas military bases.

Montserrat Spencer-Ortiz ’22 took a trip to Chihuahua, Mexico in the fall of 2019. She was moved by the young Tarahumara girls (a group of indigenous people living in The Copper Canyon) asking for KORIMA (food or charity) at a streetlight. Through a prize raffle, Montserrat raised $1,900 to send food to the Tarahumaras and with the help of a Catholic Priest in Chihuahua City, dry food and grains was delivered to the Tarahumara community of Cusararé.

Montserrat named this Project “Korima” – a word from the Tarahumara language that has a wide and complex meaning. It designates a tradition of social commitment, based on assistance and mutual support in trouble/crisis situations. Milena Gandara ’22 was elected as a delegate to represent GS-TOP at the National Council Meeting to be held in October 2020. The council delegate role is a three-year term that represents GSTOP issues and interests at the national GSUSA level. She has additionally been creating cards for the United Way of Tarrant County Notecard Project, which provides uplifting cards for homebound seniors and residents of long-term care facilities that are experiencing social isolation.

Kalli Ratan ’22 and her family made cards with happy notes and wishes inside to deliver to different nursing homes around the Dallas-area. She also recruited friends and together they delivered more than 300 cards.

“Making the cards has been fun and gives a chance to be really creative while doing so,” she said. “It’s rewarding knowing someone will be so happy receiving it.”

Kate Stark ’22 completed the US Equestrian Athlete Lettering Program, which provides recognition for the accomplishments of young equestrians and encourages their future involvement in equestrian sport.

Ryan Luedtke ’22 will be a part of the NASA Scholars Program.

Biya Cham ’23 was one of 100 high school students around the world selected to participate in the Stanford Asian Liver Center’s 18th annual Youth Leadership Conference on Asian and Pacific Islander Health. She worked with a team to come up with a possible campaign idea to raise awareness for Hepatitis B and encourage people to get tested and vaccinated for it.

Samantha Liao ’23 won two ribbons at the 2020 Texas State Fair for “Best of Show” and “First Place” in the Junior Ceramics Division.

FACULTY

Performing Arts teacher Jane Chambers and Science teacher Matt Lepley both received the University of Chicago Outstanding Educator Award. Each year, newly admitted UChicago students have the opportunity to reflect on their time in school and nominate an educator who played a significant role in their education, made a positive impact in their lives, and whose influence has brought them to where they are today.

English teachers Jessica Bailey, Corby Baxter, and Kyle Lee were featured in The Preston Hollow Advocate, “Three Ursuline teachers get students excited about the spooky corners of gothic literature.”

Their new course, “Reading in the Dark,” explores core themes found in Gothic literature and many of the genres that evolved from its foundation. English teacher Corby Baxter assembled a 2020 Virtual Educator Showcase with Ursuline faculty members. The showcase spotlighted best practices for hybrid/ remote learning. “Our goal was to help teachers manage the new learning environments, spotlight practices that have been effective, and highlight the way(s) our tech platforms can be used,” he said.

A/V Technical Service Coordinator and Performing Arts teacher James Gregory received Ursuline’s 2020 Hal and Joann Tehan Award. The Tehan Award was established by Hal Tehan to honor a teacher whose life and work demonstrates strong integration of the Ursuline mission.

English teacher Allison Hibbitt received Ursuline’s 2020 Teacher of the Year Award. The Teacher of the Year is a peer-nominated award for someone who serves as a role model for students and models 21st century learning skills and teaching tools.

Art teacher Jocelyn Holmes and three fellow Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts students will present at the 2021 College Art Association Annual Conference in February. Their session panel, entitled, “Reframing Aesthetics: Diaspora, Historicity, and The Myth of Truth,” questions traditional Western concepts of aesthetics as they relate to visual representations of African diaspora in historical narratives. Jocelyn will specifically discuss, “Addressing Erasure Through Critical Fabulation: Reimagining Myth, Art, and Truth.” She also participated in the 2020 SECAC Conference as a part of a session entitled, “Diasporic Women Artists in Latin America: Gender and Displacement in the Crafting of Multiple Modernities” presenting a paper, “Track and Trace: Being Written in Body and Blood.”

Science teacher Kirsten Lindsay-Hudak was one of three panelists in an ISAS session on Hybrid Learning for upper schools. The panelists shared their experiences, successes, challenges, and answered questions from attendees.

Math teachers Claudia Mathison and Katelyn Hayes presented virtually at the 2020 National Math Conference. Their presentation, “Self-Assessment in Math? How? (Grades 10-12),” centered on the self-assessment and reflection system they have built in their math classrooms over the past few years. Their system empowers students to embrace the process involved in math learning as opposed to the end result.

Chinese teacher May Shen and her class were featured in China Daily, “Behind the masks: a Confucius Classroom.” The article discusses May’s use of dance in her online class to keep students stimulated.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Send your professional, service, and leadership accomplishments to alumnae@ursulinedallas.org, and we’ll share in our monthly e-newsletter, Connects, and on the Alumnae High Notes page www.ursulinedallas.org/highnotes.