10 minute read
ALUMNI WAVES
’71 Gary Waples (A), his wife, his sister-in-law, and a college friend completed walking the Camino Frances route for the Camino De Santiago de Compostela. They walked about 500 miles on the Camino, plus all the walking around the cities they visited, including Burgos, Leon, Santiago and Barcelona. “It was quite a ‘feet’ and I recommend it to all. If you need any tips, don’t hesitate to contact me.”
’73 Chris Borden (B) is in his sixth month as a brain cancer survivor, doing his best to stay healthy and cherishing each and every waking moment. He recently completed a most inspirational pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Perryville, MO to pray for continued survival. “So far, so good, despite having endured a nasty round of chemotherapy and radiation. Looking forward to being alive for our 50th reunion in October. See you then.”
’76 Joi Grabowski (C) is now living in beautiful Oregon for going on 8 years now. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Social Science and a Minor in Sociology last year. She survived breast cancer and had surgery right before the pandemic. She has her step daughter in her life and has been sober and drug free for 13+ years. “My life is blessed.”
’85 Erica Montgomery (D) is excited to announce that her full-service digital marketing agency, Three Girls Media, Inc. (www. ThreeGirlsMedia.com) celebrated 18 years in business in June! They offer a wide range of services including social media management, blogging, search engine optimization, website design/ build, graphic design, email marketing and more! She is the proud employer of a team of eight remarkable employees and is honored to work with clients locally in Washington state as well as throughout the U.S. and internationally.
’96 Dr. Kevin Nadal is a professor at the Teacher’s College at Columbia University. He is the recipient of the Teacher’s College Medal for Distinguished Service. He is the President of the Filipino American National Historical Society, located in Seattle, Washington. In 2014, he founded the LGBTQ Scholars of Color, which is a national network for LGTBQ people of color in academia. Kevin also is a producer for a musical called Larry the Musical, based on the biography, Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong by Dr. Mabalon and Gayle Romasanta. The musical tells the story of the workers’ rights icon.
’04 Rondy Lazaro (E) was a Lead Venue Physician for the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games. He led one of the venue medical teams providing care for athletes and delegates throughout the 11-day competition. The World University Games is the largest multisport collegiate athletic event in the world. The 2023 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York consisted of over 1,400 student-athletes from 540 universities across 46 countries competing for medals in 12 winter sports.
’06 Tiffany Lockett (F) received her Doctor of Philosophy in Social Psychology with a secondary concentration in Quantitative Social Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz in June 2022. Prior to graduation, she was selected as the recipient of the 2022 Milam-McGintyKaun Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Division of Social Sciences at UC Santa Cruz.
’13 Michael Pacheco
This June, Moreau Catholic welcomed home Michael Pacheco as the Associate Director of Admissions. After graduating from Moreau Catholic ten years ago, he had the most amazing opportunity to continue his Holy Cross education at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, for five years. He graduated from St. Edward’s with a degree in History with a minor in Secondary Education.
“St. Edward’s helped prepare me to return to Moreau Catholic for the 2018-2019 school year as a Moreau Fellow, where I worked as a Theology co-teacher for the Saint Andre Program and as an assistant to the Admissions office. After that school year ended, I accepted a position as a Religious Studies teacher at Saint Mary’s College High School in Berkeley. I spent the next four years connecting and guiding a diverse student population in their spiritual journeys, planning and organizing daily lessons and activities for my students, and providing clear and concise communication with my students and their parents. Through the transformative experience of teaching, I found a new love for education and an appreciation for all the teachers who have taught me. I am blessed to have this new opportunity to return to my home as a Mariner, where I can hone my leadership gifts in the Admissions office and welcome the next generation of Mariners onto our campus.”
’06 Dr. Thomas Wilcoxon, MD, son of Rick Wilcoxon ’75, started a 5-year orthopedic surgery residency at Harvard University in June. He has completed his service in the Navy. He and his wife, Alison Dana are living in Boston, MA.
’11 Jessica King (G) graduated from San Francisco State in 2015 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology. From there she continued her education at Azusa Pacific University with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2021. She moved back to the Bay Area to be closer to family and is currently working as a physical therapist at Washington Hospital in Fremont.
’12 Sophia (Aguirre) Ragasa (H) and Chris met freshmen year when Sofia was campaigning to be freshmen council VP, but it wasn’t until senior year they began dating after Chris asked Sofia to Homecoming. Chris is now pursuing his Master’s in Computer Science while working full time as a Software Engineer and Sofia has been working as an Emergency Room Registered Nurse for the past 6 years. On September 25, 2022 Chris and Sofia got married. They now live in the Bay Area with their golden retriever puppy Mayo.
’15 Brianna King (G) graduated from Roseman University of Health Sciences in Utah in February 2020. There she got her Bachelor of Sciences in Nursing. She started her career as a new grad nurse during the pandemic and worked as a Covid nurse. She is now a Pediatric RN working at Stanford’s Children Hospital.
’18 Katrina King (G) graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in Microbiology and a minor in Chemistry in December 2022. She is currently working as a clinical lab associate where her job includes isolating plasma, extracting DNA, and dissecting miscarriages. She hopes to become a clinical lab scientist in the near future.
’19 Melanie Salas (I) graduated from Saint Mary’s College of California, majoring in Justice, Community and Leadership, and Ethnic Studies and furthering her work in social justice. In the fall of 2022, Melanie completed her senior thesis on researching the impacts of culturally responsive pedagogy on marginalized identities in higher education. In addition to her studies, she flourished in her role as social justice advocate at the Intercultural Center, creating programs and events that center intersectional identities. Melanie is the recipient of the Paulo Freire Senior Thesis Award which is given to a graduating senior in recognition of a research project that most exemplifies the Freirian values of action, reflection, and humanization. She also is the recipient of the Justice, Community, and Leadership Martin Luther King Jr. “World House’’ Award, which recognizes a graduating senior who best exemplifies the values of the Justice, Community, and Leadership program and college through their work in communities, the classroom, scholarship and as active citizens. Next semester, Melanie will begin the Master’s program in Public Health with a Community Health Promotion concentration.
’19 Clifford Vuong (J) recently graduated with merit from the great United States Naval Academy Class of 2023 with a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering. On that same day, he was simultaneously commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy. He has been selected to serve in the submarine warfare community after graduation and will report in August to Charleston, SC for Navy Nuclear Power School. “My time at USNA has been chock full with memories, learning experiences, and most importantly people I am proud to call my shipmates and who I wouldn’t trade the world for.” Shoutouts to Mr. Parker, Mr. Tobler, and the entire MCHS Cross Country and Track and Field coaching staff past and present for pushing Clifford to be the best person he could be and always believing in him even when he didn’t believe in himself. Moreau Catholic taught him valuable lessons in humility, integrity, treating others with dignity and respect, and refusing to settle for mediocre performance. There is no question that Clifford will apply the lessons he learned from his teachers and coaches at Moreau Catholic in his Navy career and beyond. “Imua, and Beat Army!”
’20 Alessandria “Alex” Carpio (K) will be finishing her third official year in the WPSL, the largest semi-professional soccer league in the world as she waits to start her senior year at University of San Francisco to complete her degree in Nursing. In 2021, Alex played for San Ramon FC, and this summer will be her second year playing for the San Francisco Nighthawks. As a founding team within the WPSL, the Nighthawks will be celebrating their 25th anniversary. Alex is excited to have the opportunity to continue to play soccer at a high level, while finishing her degree.
’21 Victoria Cava (L) is a Junior at Arizona State University majoring in Astrophysics. She recently returned from a Study Abroad trip to Antarctica. Since returning, she has been on the ASU homepage and on the local Phoenix news being interviewed about her extraordinary experience. You can see the interview here.
’20 Kaleb Elarms-Orr received the Jonathan & Judy Hoff Scholar-Athlete of the Week recognition in the first week of April for his personal academic development and achievements on and off the football field. As Dr. Kasra Sotudeh, Ph.D., Academic Discovery & Curriculum Design Coordinator at UC Berkeley stated, “We are very proud of Kaleb and acknowledge the role that the Moreau Catholic community has played in preparing him both academically and athletically.”
Upcoming Class Reunions
Class of 1973 50th Reunion
Sunday, October 8, 2023
Bobbie (Gasson) Valladon ’73
bvalladon@gmail.com
Class of 1983 40th Reunion
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Michele (Craft) Burkett ’83
michelecraft1@gmail.com
Class of 1993 30th Reunion
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Haydee Mayorquin ’93
haydee.may@yahoo.com
Class of 1998 25th Reunion TBA
Tiffany (Johnston) Wittmer ’98
tiffanywittmer@comcast.com
Class of 2002 21st Reunion TBA
Marilyn McCarthy ’02
marilynmccarthy@gmail.com
In Loving Memory
Brother Donald Blauvelt, C.S.C.
Barbara Ann Bouterious
Grandmother of Dominic Marinai ’22, Guiliana Marinai ’23
Patricia Burnside
Mother of John ’69, Robert ’73, Don ’74 Ray Hall ’71
Arlene Hood
Past Faculty Member
Dorothy Libby
Past MCHS Registrar; Mother of Kristina (Libby) Mew ’82, Mark Libby ’84, Steven Libby ’87; Grandmother of Daniel Mew ’04, Jacob Mew ’09
Larry Long
Past Faculty Member
Gerald (Kookie) Nasario
Father of Gerald ’79, Dereck ’82; Grandfather of Tony ’07, Kiani ’10 Joe Ochoa ’81
Laura Pessagno
Mother of Janet ’03†, Joan Lopez; Grandmother of Tony Avila ’83, Tim Avila ’87, Gina Avila ’91
Mary Pult
James Redmond
Carolyn (Hansen) Roach ’73
Robert Lee Rubino
Father of Bob ’80, Janeen ’82
