A Magazine of the Priory · Issue #59
· June/July 2014
TOC
Board of Directors Abbot Mark Cooper, OSB Father Martin Mager, OSB Father Benet Phillips, OSB Father William Sullivan, OSB
Woodside Priory School · Celebrating 56 Years of Benedictine Education
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
10-11 12-19 6-9 Athletics
Spring at a Glance
Upper School graduation
Board of Trustees
20 -23
42- 45
Middle School graduation
Alumni Peter Adams asks ‘So What?’
24 -37 Priory Stewards
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Alumni News & Notes
54 Monastery News
Brian Axe Father Timothy Backous, OSB John Brew Dave Brett Jennie Chiu Monica Corman Laura Cornish Craig Dauchy Eileen DiGiorgio Mark Gainey Sally Harris George Hohnsbeen Peter Kasenchak Andy Koontz Steve Krausz Bob Larson Bob Latta Susan Light Bruce McAuley Bud McElroy ‘83 Tim Molak, ex officio Cecilia Montalvo Jami Nachtsheim Guy Nohra Bill Phelps Peg Phelps Stan Pierson Ray Rothrock Maureen Sansbury Bill Souders Ken Tehaney Keith Van Sickle Lisa Wan
Priorities magazine is published in March/April, June/July, and December/January by Woodside Priory School for its alumni, parents, students, neighbors, and friends. Contact the Communications Office at 650-851-6193 or the school at 650-851-8221. Editor: Sean Mclain Brown Contributing Writers: Sean Mclain Brown, Karen Macklin Design/Production: Jim Kirkland, Copperline Multimedia Photos: Jim Kirkland, Sean Mclain Brown, Father Martin Mager O.S.B., Kelly Sargent Printing: Colorprint, Mark W. Allen Priorities Corrections Policy: Priorities strives to publish accurate information and to acknowledge and correct errors. When factual corrections are made to an article, that fact is noted and the change(s) are detailed here.
Chapel Services
Masses at 7:15 a.m. Monday-Saturday 9:30 a.m. Sunday 11:00 a.m. Sunday Hungarian service All are welcome.
FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
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Dear Priory Community, At the end of May, we said goodbye to the Class of 2014. In the week before graduation, I attended a number of Senior Project presentations. Our seniors investigated 48 impressive topics that urgently need innovative solutions. Some of the project included: · Music and Memory – helping Alzheimer’s patients reconnect thru music therapy. · A one day theater arts project that can be brought to elementary schools so all can experience the performing arts. · 3D printing prosthetic appendages – find a way to create and build low cost functional, durable alternatives to expensive prosthetics. · Replace bulky calculators with a single iPhone app – forgot your calculator for math but have your iPhone? Everything a calculator does on an app. · Californians for Water Conservation – A political action committee for water conservation to save our most prized state resource.
Our seniors are ready for college and the “real world.” I was inspired at the richness of what their minds, hearts and souls presented to us. Best of luck to this senior class. In this issue you will read about the tremendous success of our Athletic program. Our teams and players won a number of awards, championships and honors which are unprecedented in our sports history. Congratulations to the coaches, students and fans who made their hard work and dreams come true – Go Panthers!
In this issue you will read about the tremendous success of our Athletic program. Our teams and players won a number of awards, championships and honors which are unprecedented in our sports history.
Our next building project has started in Benedictine Square (formerly Red Square). This part of the campus will see a total transformation. You can read more in the Development section. The Priory lost another long-time member of our community on May 29th. Pete Kasenchak, alum parent, trustee, and former Board chair died of pancreatic cancer. Pete was part of this community for more than 30-years helping, supporting, and assisting in every facet of making the Priory what it is today. His leadership in the early 1990’s allowed us to move through some difficult times and redirect ourselves into a more viable school for students of the mid-Peninsula. His wife Andrea preceded him in death and he is survived by his two sons Kevin and Kris both Priory grads. May his gentle and joyous spirit rest in peace. The Priory Monks are staying busy; Father Pius is monitoring the progress of the construction on a daily basis as he walks from the Chapel to the Monastery; Father Maurus is on our Trustee Building and Grounds Committee and has been extremely valuable in construction and design meetings about the new classroom building and Father Martin is busy with many summer creative projects. They always love hearing from you so drop them an email, a picture or give them a call anytime. As I complete my 25th year at the Priory, I realize the gift and blessing I have been given to work in such a special place and I know you share that same sentiment. Enjoy your summer days! Always We Begin Again,
Tim Molak Head of School
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AT A GLANCE
SPRING
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DODGEBALL! The competion was fierce, the stakes high. Nobody got away unscathed. Middle School was fearless, but in the end, it was the accuarcy of a senior team that won the day.
Far right: Liz Schilling readies her volly. Immediate right: (L-R) Ilana Skikos and Gracie Hamren
Top Left: (L-R) Charlie Brandon and Emma Jaeger’s look of astonishment in the Middle School Play, Murder on an Island Above Left: Josh Eichbaum as “Big Moe”
Below: J.R. Brandin and Chris Brugger prepare their collective dodgeball assault. Top: The Middle School cast and crew of Murder on an Island had a stellar time! Left: (L-R) Frannie Mejia, Alex Han, and Betty Chen captivated the audience with their spectacular performance.
Beginning Programming and AP Computer Science kids at the Computer History Museum
Priory’s Barn2 Robotics team rose to the challenge and competed admirably at the state championship in Sacramento. Above: (L-R) Kiki Sargent, Maya Blevins, Ava Rust, and Gabby Sanchez at Outdoor Ed.
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AT A GLANCE
GALA!
SPRING
Far Right: Annabelle North screes down a dune! Right: (L-R) Samson Axe and Mark Hughes watch fellow classmates in a zip line confidence course in Outdoor Ed.
Students had a blast at this year’s Midnight in Paris Gala! Right: Riley Gallivan and her signature smile.
Left: Middle School choir and symphonic band at the San Francisco Symphony performance.
Above: Tom Latta on the runway.
Far Left: Stylish Victor Wan strikes a pose. Top Left: (L-R) Kalohee Wiggins, Ameyalli Rocha, Nariko Murillo Ruiz, and Milla Bevens as dancers in this year’s Midnight in Paris gala. Right: (L-R) Gala Chair Patti Turnquist and Regina Saliba
STEAM Science challenge: Students had to design an apparatus in a box with the goal of sustaining a marble inside the box for no more than 60 min.
Gala photos by Sam Linville
Hovey Clark, Environmental Science faculty leads a tour of the garden with middle school students.
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ATHL ETICS
SPRING
Softball: Priory had a great season behind the pitching of Lily Weidhaas (right) and the solid hitting of Grace Hamren (below).
MS Baseball: (top) Catcher, Max Leiter, pulls one down from pitcher, Sam Putney (right).
MS Volleyball: (left) Dominique Robson goes for a kill and Sarah Park (top) returns a serve.
Track & Field: Hana Marsheck wins her heat in the 1600 and Ross Corey takes the lead (below) in a meet held at Bellarmine.
Right: Andrew Naclerio readies his forehand shot.
Carolyn Akers (top) launches from the board at ahead of the competition and Christian Fotre drives hard in the freestyle.
Matthew Patzer winds up to throw the discus.
Photos by Jim Kirkland
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Presenting the
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GRAD UATES Priory Class of 2014 ‘caring, compassionate, kind’
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Senior Class President Chris Gregory led the Class of 2014 procession to the tent on Father Christopher field in honor of Brother Edward who passed earlier this year. Gregory carried Brother Edward’s beret on a silver platter and placed it on an empty chair where he would have sat. “I am inspired and humbled by the richness of your minds, hearts, and souls,” said Head of School, Tim Molak “may you carry the five Benedictine values with you, live well, laugh often, and remember to eat your vegetables.” “I think that the ‘All Are Welcome’ spirit attracts the best kind of people who are the most worth learning from,” said student speaker Non Kuramoto. Kuramoto challenged her classmates to take risks and challenges and to recognize how every choice, even failures, build on each other and to remember to “take in the now…no matter how many ‘What If’s’ stand in the way.” Venture Capital guru, co-executive producer of Pandora’s Promise, and alumni parent Ray Rothrock encouraged graduates to ‘Always Begin Again’ in that life will offer many opportunities to “remake” themselves. After MIT, Rothrock landed his “dream job” as a nuclear engineer. Then Three Mile Island happened. All that he had come to believe about nuclear energy was called into question and he realized that his “life as a nuclear engineer was about to end.” Rothrock said that he “remade himself” by moving to Silicon Valley when the PC boom began and ended up “remaking” himself several more times before moving into venture capital. Rothrock said that remaking himself took him in wonderful directions he never would have imagined. “Last year I retired from Venrock after 25 years as a venture capitalist. I helped 53 entrepreneurs ‘begin again’. I was selected by my industry as its chairman, and I discovered the Priory.” In concluding, Rothrock said, “They say that all commencement speeches are required to provide advice. Here’s my commencement advice: a. Don’t be afraid. b. You will hit speed bumps. c. You may hit a wall. d. When you do, DO NOT CONSIDER IT A FAILURE. e. You have a chance to begin again. f. And if it all works out for you, someday you too may have a chance to look back and say, it was “UP and TO THE RIGHT.”
By Sean McLain Brown Photos by Jim Kirkland
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The Class of 2014
L-R: Seniors Rachel Leiter, Andrew Christensen, and Clayton Young ready to graduate!
Alice Alvarez readies her phone for a selfie with fellow graduates.
Pre-ceremony preparations. L-R: Howard Mu, William Xu, and Victor Wan.
Alice Alvarez Leo Americo Berez Charlotte Grace Beriker Melanie Katherine Biles * Conor John Bonfiglio Sarah Kathleen Brown Conrad Thomas Casente Paolo Castro Andrew Jordan Christensen ** Shivani Amanda Dayal * Riley Jayne Gallivan William Greer Galloway Alexandra Grace Garrity Max Christos Goumas Christopher James Gregory Michael Lessley Guthrie Marine Hall Poirier Dianne Briggs Hamren Madison Perry Hughes Sophie Emily Charlotte Hulme Lingbo Jin ** Sabina Shanti Kariat Alexander Joseph Klein Sasha Paulina Korey Michaela Katherine Koval Non Kuramoto Thomas Palmer Latta William Gordon Latta * Katherine Terumi Laubscher Huu Minh Le Amanda Lauren Lee **
Rachel Gabriella Leiter Hayden Sinclair MacArthur Sarah Joycelyn Macpherson * James Anthony McDaniel Jr. Mara Christina McLean * Austin Steven Mirabella Emily Woodward Moreton Sihao Mu * Andrew Edward Naclerio * Camille Diane Nohra Kira Lee Patterson ** Juan Damian Perez Jeffrey Perez Bianca Neva Rapp David McElroy Reichert * Sarah Nicole Reid * Aaron Peter Reiss Margaret Butler Shields Erin Rae Simpson Ilana Samawi Skikos Christopher Robert Stiles Matthew Tyler Surber * Caitlin Elizabeth Teoman David Joseph Theis George Charles Tidmarsh John Nicholas Trudelle Victor Wan Christian James Wookey Laura Elizabeth Wu Yuan Xu * Clayton Leigh Young Brandon Babak Zarringhalam
Academic Honors at Commencement
Academic honors at Commencement are awarded to graduates who have earned a cumulative grade point average by the end of the first semester of the Senior year: ** Benedictine Honors - GPA of 4.0 plus * Head of School Honors - GPA of 3.81 to 3.99
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College and UniversiTy aCCepTanCes As of May 22, 2014 Schools noted in bold are those where Priory graduates of the class of 2014 will be attending in the fall. American University Boston College Boston University Bowdoin College Brandeis University Bucknell University California Lutheran University California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California State University, Chico California State University, Monterey Bay California State University, Sacramento Carleton College Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University Central Saint Martins College of Design Chapman University Colby College Colgate University Dartmouth College Drew University Drexel University Eckerd College Emerson College Emory University Foothill College Fordham University Georgia Institute of Technology Gonzaga University Hartpury College Hofstra University Humboldt State University Ithaca College Kings College, London Lewis and Clark College Loyola Marymount University Marist College Marymount California University Marymount Manhattan College Marymount University of Virginia McGill University Menlo College Myerscough College New York University Nichols College Northeastern University Oberlin College Occidental College Oregon State University Pace University, New York City Pennsylvania State University Pomona College
Princeton University Reed College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rhode Island School of Design Rochester Institute of Technology Saint Louis University San Jose State University Santa Clara University Sarah Lawrence College Scripps College Seattle University Skidmore College Sonoma State University Southern Oregon University St. Edward’s University St. John’s University - Queens Campus The American University of Paris Tulane University University of British Columbia University of California at Berkeley University of California at Davis University of California at Irvine University of California at Los Angeles University of California at Riverside University of California at San Diego University of California at Santa Barbara University of California at Santa Cruz University of Colorado at Boulder University of Denver University of Edinburgh University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign University of La Verne University of Miami University of Michigan, Ann Arbor University of Oregon University of Portland University of Puget Sound University of Redlands University of Rochester University of San Francisco University of Southern California University of St. Andrews University of Toronto, St. George University of Washington University of Wisconsin, Madison Vanderbilt University Wellesley College Wesleyan University Whitman College Worcester Polytechnic Institute Xavier University of Louisiana
L-R: David Theis and Conor Bonfiglio.
Katey Laubscher adjusts her cap before the grand procession.
L-R: James McDaniel and Hayden MacArthur
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Academic Honors and Awards For Class of 2014 Valedictorians Andrew Christensen Lingbo Mary Jin Amanda Lee Kira Patterson Salutatorian Sarah Reid
Commencement speaker, VC Guru Ray Rothrock
Dean of Students Award Christopher Gregory Father Benignus F. Barat Citizenship Award Shivani Dayal Academic Dean’s Award Melanie Biles
Department Awards Theology Melanie Biles A. Vernon Sohlberg Award for English Katherine Laubscher Mathematics Andrew Christensen Computer Science Lingbo Jin Science Andrew Christensen Performing Arts Christopher Gregory Visual Arts Non Kuramoto
Saint Elizabeth Service Award World Languages Conrad Casente Matthew Surber
Student speaker Non Kuramoto
Head of School Award David Reichert Kira Patterson
Social Studies Kira Patterson
Saint Benedict Award Bianca Rapp
Residential Life Amanda Lee Athletes of the Year Marine Hall Poirer William Latta
Five Priory alumni, the Trudelle clan, congratulate their last to graduate, John Trudelle.
The Seven Year Club Melanie Biles Conor Bonfiglio Paolo Castro Andrew Christensen Shivani Dayal Christopher Gregory Marine Hall Poirier Dianne Hamren Michaela Koval Thomas Latta William Latta Austin Mirabella Camille Nohra Juan Damian Perez Margaret Shields David Theis Christian Wookey Laura Wu Brandon Zarringhalam Residential Life Four Year Club Sihao Mu Jeffrey Perez Victor Wan Yuan Xu National Merit Society King St. Stephen Chapter Melanie Biles Shivani Dayal, Co-President Lingbo Jin Non Kuramoto, Co-President Katie Laubscher Sarah MacPherson Sihao Mu Andrew Naclerio Kira Patterson Sarah Reid Yuan Xu
19 National Merit Scholars Melanie Biles Sarah Reid Commended Students Shivani Dayal Thomas Latta William Latta Sarah MacPherson Mara McLean Emily Moreton Kira Patterson David Reichert Christopher Stiles Matthew Surber George Tidmarsh Victor Wan Christian Wookey
Collegiate Scholarship Awards As reported by our families, the following colleges, universities and foundations have awarded scholarship offers and grants to members of the Class of 2014.
AAmerican Century Investments American University University Scholarship Bowdoin College Faculty Scholar Bucknell University Arts Merit Scholarship Chapman University Presidential Scholarship Colby College Presidential Scholar Davidson College Presidential Scholarship Drexel University A.J. Drexel Scholarship Drexel Dragon Award Northeastern University University Excellence Scholarship
Oberlin College Occidental College Honors Scholar Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselear Leadership Award Rochester Institute of Technology Merit Scholarship Sarah Lawrence College SLC Scholarship Seattle University Aruppe Scholarship Tulane University University Merit Scholarship TulaneUniversity Presidential Scholarship University of British Columbia International Major Entrance Scholarship University of Denver Centennial Scholar University of Miami President’s Scholarship University of Portland Holy Cross Scholarship University of Puget Sound Deans Scholarship University of San Diego Trustee Scholarship Wheaton College Centennial Award Whitman College Alexander Anderson Scholarship Worcester Polytechnic Institute University Award
2014 graduates go on “to serve a world in need of their gifts.”
David Theis embraces faculty member Damian Cohen.
Faculty Ben Owens congratulates graduate Andrew Naclerio
Head of Upper School Brian Schlaak exuberantly announces graduate awards.
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Class of 2018 Millennials ‘Supportive, Good-natured, and Persevering’
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Head of Upper School Brian Schlaak said that the Class of 2018 “will go forward as the most educated, most diverse and most embracing of change of any generation in American history.” In addition, Schlaak encouraged graduates to dedicate their lives “toward the welfare of others,” and said that our hope was they would “’productively serve a world in need of their gifts.” “Teachers at the Priory are amazing… it takes a special type of person to want to spend every day with a bunch of loud teenagers. In addition to teaching us, teachers still have the time to smile, and be our friends,” said student speaker David Quezada. The second student speaker, Zoey Weiss, touted her classmates “strange and diverse” natures and encouraged them to carry with them the memories they made together. The Middle School selected English faculty Amanda Bolsinger as the commencement speaker. Bolsinger said, “please, in life, don’t stop wandering. We were gifted with one of the greatest examples of this in Brother Edward. He was always seen wandering slowly and thoughtfully around campus.” Bolsinger said that life “is a lovely meandering stroll…pause and soak it all in.” In conclusion, Head of Middle School Caitha Ambler said, “All those special moments, events, games, inside jokes, friendships, teachers, coaches, family trips, lessons, practical jokes, field trips. These are your gold, your treasure. Hold these close to your heart.”
By Sean McLain Brown Photos by Jim Kirkland
The Class of 2018*
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1. Adrian LaValle, Erik Larson, Lauren King, and Lucas Harris. 2. Betty Chen and Sergio Calderon. 3. Jane Roberts, Isaac Roybal, Tatiana Reese. 4. Student speaker David Quezada
Jack Reynolds Brandin Christopher Aragon Brugger Joseph Aguilar Calderon Sergio Aguilar Calderon Betty Chen Charis Magdalene Chiu Mackenzie Fairn Cornish Vincent Alexander Cullinan Eva Marie El Fishawy Eric Maxamillian Fairon Armando Gonzalez Zaragoza Anna Elisabeth Gutow Grace Kennedy Hammond Alexander Stephen Han Lucas Quarmby Harris Lauren Elizabeth King Erik Robert Larson Adrian Mario LaValle Hannah Amy Lazarus Maxwell Robert Leiter Francesca Bedolla Mejia Jack Roger Nash Samuel Freewill Putney Katia Carlos Queener David Robert Quezada Tatiana Marie Reese Jane Alexa Robertson Isaac Roybal Claire Kelton Ryland Mikhail Drew Saliba Samantha Tee Sargent Morgan Kuikeaopa’apono Serughetti Raychel Roark Sweidy Stata Jasmine Arianna Tang Mark Edward Theis Jenna Lauren Tonogai Zoe Skylar Weiss *The Priory identifies the class year of its students as the year they would normally graduate from high school. This is done in order to place emphasis on the school’s seven year college preparatory program, grades six through twelve.
Awards
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Recognized at the Academic Awards Assembly May 27, 2014 Valedictorian Max Fairon Salutatorian Mark Theis Leadership Award David Quezada
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Academic Achievement Award Betty Chen Middle School Head’s Award Joseph Calderon St. Benedict Award Mikhail Saliba Saint Ambrose: Patron of Learning Award for Humanities Jenna Tonogai Saint Albert: Patron of Science Award for Sciences and Mathematics Anna Gutow
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Saint Catherine of Bologna Award for Fine and Performing Arts Maxwell Leiter Scholar Athlete Award Samantha Sargent Erik Larson Athlete of the Year Tatiana Reese David Quezada
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5. English faculty Amanda Bolsinger was selected as the faculty speaker. 6. Student speaker Zoe Weiss. 7. Middle School graduates walk the faculty/staff gauntlet of applause.
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Others By Karen Macklin Photos by Jim Kirkland
There are few things in this world as rewarding as helping those in need. Whether it’s a plate of food for someone hungry or a simple hand when someone has fallen down, our efforts can make a huge difference in people’s lives. At the very heart of the Priory’s mission is this concept of service to others. Our hope is that our students will become “stewards who will productively serve a world in need of their gifts.” Many of our students are doing amazing service work that goes unnoticed by those around them. We cheer for success on the playing field and give standing ovations in the Performing Arts Center, but we rarely hear about the things that are arguably even more important – the students who spend their Saturdays working with disabled children, students who teach citizenship classes to adults every week, or those who spend month after month volunteering at a homeless shelter. Each month at Chapel, the Steward of the Month award was presented to one student in front of the whole school. The next few pages will tell you more about their stories. We hope their passion for helping others inspires our community as we all strive to become stewards productively serving a world in need of our gifts. Matthew Lai Dean of Students
Riley “What’s cool about travel is that it takes you out of your comfort zone,” says Riley Cantwell, a sophomore at Woodside Priory. “That’s what really opens your eyes and allows you to grow as a person.” And Cantwell would know. His passion for service has taken him from California all the way to Louisiana. Now, this coming summer, he’s heading to Nicaragua. But he isn’t traveling simply to see the world; Cantwell wants to gain a deeper understanding of people across cultures and do what he can to make their lives better. “To quote Martin Sheen, ‘Service is what I do to stay alive’,” says Cantwell. “It’s quintessential for my own true happiness.” Cantwell—whose hobbies also include cross country and track, cycling, skiing, and painting—was first introduced to the idea of community service by his mother when he was in the 6th grade. But, he says, he was resistant. Over time, however, through her continued encouragement, he began to see the value in giving his time to others. In the 9th grade, he attended We Day at Oracle Arena. We Day is a major annual event put on in various locations by the international youth nonprofit organization, Free the Children, to celebrate and encourage youth service leaders throughout the world. Going to We Day inspired Cantwell to sign up Priory as a “We Act School”, which means Priory is now responsible for committing to at least one local and one global action of service annually. Then, last fall, Cantwell assisted Priory in repositioning its annual food drive to be part of Free the Children’s “We Scare Hunger” campaign, an initiative in which students trick-or-treat for canned goods instead of candy, and then donate the canned goods to someplace local (for Priory’s drive, it was the local chapter of Second Harvest Food Drive in San Jose). Priory’s numbers for the drive—including how much was raised and how many students participated— were then folded into the overall numbers of the larger “We Scare Hunger” campaign. “In the past, the parents would just come in and drop food off and it didn’t mean
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anything to the kids,” says Cantwell. “Now Priory students can play a greater role in the drive, and see how much they’re contributing to ending hunger.” Cantwell has also raised $1000 by selling bracelets that he bought through the Free the Children website, the proceeds of which go to providing water, food, and income solutions to underprivileged kids and their parents throughout the world. This initial work with Free the Children inspired Cantwell to branch out, and that’s when he discovered his passion for travel. This past February, he went to New Orleans to help with the rebuilding process as people still recover from the damage of Hurricane Katrina. The trip was developed by an organization called Rustic Pathways, but it was through two Priory teachers—Dean of Students Matt Lai and English Teacher Corinne Fogg—that he found out about the opportunity. Along with these teachers and some other students, Cantwell spent a week in New Orleans working in a community garden in a food desert (a region or area with no access to fresh and healthy produce), sorting and packaging food at a food bank, and helping to rebuild homes. “The New Orleans trip really opened my eyes to the world that I don’t see living in Palo Alto and going to school in Portola Valley,” says Cantwell. “Before that trip, I thought I was ‘on it’. But I really wasn’t. I wasn’t realizing my full potential to change the world.” Cantwell recently signed up for a trip with Free the Children to go to Nicaragua this summer and help build schools, and do other service projects to alleviate poverty. Cantwell thinks Priory offers some fantastic opportunities for students to get involved in local service projects, and he wants to be part of a movement at the school that increases the opportunities to do more globally, perhaps adding service opportunities for students that combine travel and personal interests. “It would be a cool project I’d like to pioneer at the school,” he says. What’s the most valuable thing Cantwell has learned from his volunteer experiences? The importance of human connection. In New Orleans, he says, he met a woman whose house was destroyed in the hurricane, and who was then robbed by the contractor who was supposed to be repairing her home. He got to spend time with her while he, and other volunteers, helped to rebuild her house. “While I was there, I saw that, when we are surrounded by wealth and material possessions, it’s easy to overlook what really matters in life,” he says. “What this woman provided for me was the view that material things are much less important than human connection.”
Cantwell wants to gain a deeper understanding of people across cultures and do what he can to make their lives better. “To quote Martin Sheen, ‘Service is what I do to stay alive’,” says Cantwell. “It’s quintessential for my own true happiness.”
James February
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“It’s all about going out into the world, and helping the world in need of our gifts,” says Phelps. “That’s the mission of the school. And I have the gift of service, so I’m going to show the world I’m here if you need me.”
“I always have been a history geek,” says Priory junior James Phelps, “so I love it that I can pass on what I know to people who can use it to help themselves.” Phelps, a junior at Priory, is a volunteer teacher at the International Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA), a nonprofit organization in Redwood City that helps legal United States immigrants from Latin America prepare for citizenship through the instruction of civics, national history, and the English language, as well as offering general test preparation for the exams required for naturalization. Phelps—who also plays baseball and the trumpet at Priory, and enjoys doing woodworking projects in the drama department’s scene shop—has become an important figure at the IIBA since he began working there last August. He started off simply helping out with practice interviews, but is now teaching the advanced class. His students already know basic United States history, so Phelps is there to make sure they’re ready to ace the test. “My job is to refine their listening skills and help them get the questions right as quick as they can so that they can have more confidence and less difficulty during the test,” he says. ”I get to play a big part in their lives—it’s exciting. I’ve actually heard a couple of my students say the pledge of allegiance at their naturalization ceremony, and they come off the stage all teary eyed. Sometimes they come back to the Institute, and they’re so excited, they’ll give me a big handshake or a hug.” But Phelps’ work at the IIBA isn’t the only volunteer work he‘s done to serve the local and global communities. His passion for volunteering was ignited during the summer of 2011, when he went on a service trip down to Los Angeles that was organized by his church, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. While there, his group of church leaders and volunteers cooked and served meals at food banks, and worked in conjunction with various nonprofit organizations. “After that, I came home and really wanted to get into volunteering in other ways,” he says. “I got excited for my next experience.” Phelps went on to help out a few times at the Second Harvest Food Bank in San Carlos, and then, during spring break of 2013, attended another church service trip—this time to Mexicali, a region that lies just south of the Mexican border. His group went to a village named Nuevo Léon, and participated in a construction project to help improve the unreliable electricity situation at the local church. The group also led Bible study and spent time with the locals in the area, playing sports and taking part in other recreational activities. Phelps loved
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Phelps
it so much that he returned the following spring break, to the same village. The pastor from the Nuevo Léon church, Pastor Eli, remembered Phelps and the others who had been there the prior year, and voiced tremendous gratitude for their return, saying the church had been praying every week that his group would come back for another visit. The gratitude of the local village touched Phelps. “Even though I was so far from home, I felt completely at home in this community,” he says, adding that it was meaningful to return to a community where he’d been able to have some impact. “I got to see the result of the project we had done the year before. You get to see your own mark on the community.” In 2013, Phelps also volunteered for Rebuilding Together, a local organization that identifies people who are struggling financially, and assists in refurbishing their home interiors, or even completely rebuilding their houses. Phelps’ work included home construction and clean-up, and yard beautification. And he took part in the junior retreat this past year to the Tenderloin, where he worked with organizations such as San Francisco City Impact, Glide Memorial, Project Open Hand, and the Tenderloin Recreation Center. Phelps believes everyone should do service in some kind of way, and that the best way to get started is to think about something you feel passionate about—whether it be art, teaching, sports, or, in his case, history—and go volunteer for an organization that you allows you to somehow transfer your passions and skills into volunteer work. Phelps says he has a special place in his heart for Priory, which he calls a second home, and sees his volunteer work to be an extension of the school’s Benedictine values. “It’s all about going out into the world, and helping the world in need of our gifts,” says Phelps. “That’s the mission of the school. And I have the gift of service, so I’m going to show the world I’m here if you need me.”
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“Helping other people has always been something that’s been a big part of my life,” says Rachel Wolff, a sophomore at Priory who is passionately committed to service and political activism. “I truly believe my purpose is to leave the world a better place than it was when I came into it.” Wolff’s parents have been lifelong examples of people who care for their community, frequently donating money to charitable causes and delivering canned food to local food drives. As Wolff got older, however, she became inspired to have more direct contact with the organizations she was helping. “I have learned how exciting it is to do hands-on stuff that goes beyond just typing in your credit card number and pressing submit,” she says. “That’s great, but I like really having the opportunity to work closely with organizations, and see the results of what I’m doing. It’s something I’ve just fallen in love with.”
“I love being a Jewish student at Priory,” she says. “I think the Jewish values and Benedictine values are very similar: They’re both focused on creating students who are lifelong stewards to serve the word in need of our gifts.“
Wolff
Wolff’s first foray into hands-on activism was through the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), a large national Jewish organization that advocates justice and human rights for all people. Through this organization, in 2013, she attended a Jewish summer camp in Santa Rosa called Camp Newman, part of which is a monthlong social action program for teens. Participants were educated on the restrictions of the current immigration laws, and taught how to best take actions to make these laws more favorable to incoming immigrants. They spent the month learning about the history of immigration in in the United States, talking to undocumented workers (and their children), and studying immigration bills. Then they went to Capitol Hill in Sacramento to pass out flyers, create flash mobs, and raise awareness of the issue. In January of this year, through the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (the Washington, DC office of the URJ, which is devoted to activism), Wolff took part in a program called the L’Taken Seminar. It’s a three-day trip to Washington, DC, for Jewish teenagers to learn about a variety of political issues. Each participant then chooses one topic he or she feels strongly about, writes a speech on that topic, and delivers it to a member of Congress. On the trip, Wolff learned about issues such as environmental laws, LGBTQ rights, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She chose to give her speech on immigration reform, which she’d become impassioned about the summer before at Camp Newman. Wolff says it was an amazing experience. “I was with a bunch of people who were passionate about the same stuff as me and also wanted to take time out of their lives, and leave school, to express what we believe is right,” she says. Wolff is passionate about advocating for reform in all areas of life where there is injustice, but her biggest passion at the moment is the education of girls throughout the world. Last year in the fall, the organiza-
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tion Girls Learn International (GLI) heard about Wolff, and asked if she’d like to start a local chapter at Priory. GLI is an organization devoted to ensuring that all girls have equal access to education and the ability to support themselves. Wolff is now starting the new GLI chapter with a fellow Priory student, Arisa Herman. “It’s about raising awareness,” says Wolff. “We’re trying to give a voice to women who are silenced.” Wolff has enjoyed the activism work she’s done here in the US, but she’s feeling a call to visit other countries, including Africa and India, in her efforts to call for better education access for girls. In recent years, Priory has been a founding supporter of a girls school in Africa called the Daraja Academy. Wolff is hoping to create a connection between that school and the new GLI chapter. “Our school offers trips to Daraja. I think we could further our relationship with the school through Girls Learn International. It would be an incredible experience,” she says. Wolff and Herman have bigger dreams, too: They’d like to combine Wolff’s passion for women’s education rights, and Herman’s passion for women’s health rights to one day start a new international nonprofit organization together. Though there are many student change-makers at Priory, Wolff stands out—not only because she’s so impassioned about activism, but also because she’s one of the few Jewish students at the Benedictine school, a role she’s come to appreciate. “I love being a Jewish student at Priory,” she says. “I think the Jewish values and Benedictine values are very similar: They’re both focused on creating students who are ‘lifelong stewards’ to serve the world in need of our gifts. When I first came to Priory, I was unsure how, as a Jewish student in a Benedictine school, I was going to fit in. But I feel like I’ve been able to offer a similar perspective from a different religion, which is amazing.”
Sarah When Woodside Priory sophomore Sarah Halabe was in the eighth grade, she felt a calling to reach out and help people in the community but she didn’t know how to get involved. So, along with her mother, she joined the National Charity League [NCL], a transformative women-based nonprofit organization that helps find the perfect volunteer opportunities for mothers and their daughters (in grades 6-12), to which they offer their time either separately or together. Today, Halabe is the co-president of her class at the Orchard Valley Chapter of the NCL. “I joined the Charity League out of curiosity,” says Halabe, “but once I started volunteering, it was much more meaningful and exciting than I expected.” The NCL makes volunteering easy because it researches a wide variety of charitable organizations, and helps its members choose the right places for them to spend their time. The NCL also takes care of the application process and paperwork for its members, adds Halabe, which makes signing up to volunteer a simple, efficient process. For Halabe, the choice of where to volunteer was easy. As soon as she learned about the Creative Learning Center in Los Altos, a year-round school for children with autism, she knew it would be a good fit. “I am interested in psychology and teaching,” says Halabe. “Mentoring kids with autism combines both of those interests.” Halabe, who also runs (cross country and track), and writes (short stories and poetry) devoted last summer to volunteering at the Creative Learning Center’s summer camp. The program, which combines academics, musical therapy, and physical therapy, is specifically designed to help children with autism to prepare for the upcoming school year. Each summer, volunteers like Halabe act as an advocate and mentor for a student assigned to them. Halabe’s mentee last summer was 11 years old. “It’s fun to bond with the kids and to relate to them in a way that can only happen in this environment,” says Halabe. “It’s really rewarding to see your help making an impact on how a student socializes and how they are learning to solve conflicts on their own.”
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Halabe Halabe’s passion for service hasn’t, however, been limited to the Creative Learning center. She also volunteers at the emergency InnVision Shelter in Redwood City. Along with other volunteers, she helps to cook meals, set them up in the shelter’s cafeteria, and serve them to those in need. The people she’s helping to feed include those who are homeless and temporarily living at the shelter, as well as others who come in for a meal now and then because they are struggling financially. “I feel good about what I am doing there,” she says. “You don’t usually think of receiving a meal as something special—or something you need to be thankful for. But when you see someone in a much less fortunate position and you’re able to give them a meal and they’re so thankful, it puts things in perspective and makes it very meaningful for you.” While working at the Creative Learning Center has taught Halabe how to connect on a personal level with a few school age kids with special needs, she says, volunteering at the homeless shelter has offered her the opportunity to connect on a less intimate but equally rewarding level with many people of all ages and from all kinds of backgrounds. Halabe has also spent time working with Sunday Friends, an organization that helps break the cycle of poverty by teaching essential life skills to parents and children, and Health Trust, an organization that teaches healthy eating and lifestyle to people in the local community. All of the places Halabe has volunteered have been located close to home: in Los Altos, Palo Alto, and San Jose. One thing that surprised Halabe was how many people are living in poverty right in her own backyard. “We live in a very wealthy area, but there are still a lot of people in need,” she says. “Through volunteering, I am participating in something that I perceive to be more important than myself.” Halabe says that the Priory mission of “serving a world in need of our gifts” has been a tremendous inspiration. Priory encourages students, she says, to always use the privilege they’ve been given to try and improve someone else’s situation. Volunteering also connects, of course, to Priory’s value of community. “We have a strong sense of community within Priory,” she says, “but you can also find that in other places—and really unexpected places—like a kitchen at a shelter where two people who never met each other might share a piece of food if there’s not enough. This is something that I’ve seen. And my efforts to cook and serve food to people I don’t know also creates a sense of community.”
April
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“You don’t usually think of receiving a meal as something special—or something you need to be thankful for. But when you see someone in a much less fortunate position and you’re able to give them a meal and they’re so thankful, it puts things in perspective and makes it very meaningful for you.”
Conrad
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November
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In the eyes of Priory senior Conrad Casente, volunteering to help out other people is the most natural thing in the world. An athlete, martial artist, and marine biology enthusiast, Casente says that he always offers a hand when needed, simply because he likes to. “I’ll help clean up the class with the teachers or if someone needs help with schoolwork, I’m the one to step in,” he says. “It’s sometimes to the deficit of my own schoolwork, but that’s just how it goes.” With a view like this, it makes perfect sense that Casente received Priory’s very first Steward of the Month Award this past November. A student of Aikido since he was in the sixth grade, Casente loves the martial art. He was drawn to it, he says, because it is a form of exercise in which there is no winner or loser—everyone participates for the shared goal of self-improvement. A few years ago, he found out about an opportunity to teach Aikido at his Mountain View dojo, Sierra Aikido, in a special Friday night class that caters to kids with autism and similar learning disabilities. The class was developed because the focus, discipline, and body awareness that’s taught in Aikido is thought to these special learners with motor skills, memory, ability to relate to others, and self-confidence. “I didn’t think it would be that difficult,” he says about teaching. “But it turned out to be a lot more difficult than I thought.” His first student struggled a lot with the learning process, and wound up dropping out, as sometimes happens. But Casente did not get discouraged. He kept teaching and he has since seen many of his students excel. Now one of his very own students is receiving a yellow belt—and he’s the first student in this special program to do that. Casente, who says he has seen Aikido help his students to become more focused and in tune with their bodies, is enthusiastic about the program. “In the first week, you’ll get maybe five minutes of focus and discipline out of your new student,” he says, “but over time the students will get more focused and disciplined. It feels really good to see their success. I feel like I’ve been able
Casente to accomplish something to help someone to have a better life.” He adds that the students with autism are starting to become advanced enough in Aikido to go into the regular teen program. When Casente isn’t teaching at the dojo—or participating in soccer, baseball, and track—he can be found teaching Sunday school to first graders at his local church, St. Charles Parish, in San Carlos. “I teach the kids about church doctrine, but also about tolerance, accessibility, and [how to] love thy neighbor,” he says. He started teaching there a few years ago after watching his mother, Alison Spong, volunteer teach in the same program throughout his childhood. In fact, Casente says that his mother is his biggest influence when it comes to offering up time to the community. The weekly chapel talks at Priory, he says, also help keep him on track with his values and responsibilities. Interested in a future career in marine biology, Casente, who’s heading to the University of Miami in the fall, has also been devoting his time to the world of science. Two summers ago, he worked as a data collector for the Marine Science Institute (MSI) in Redwood City, collecting, measuring, and categorizing fish—before throwing them back in the water. He also worked as a junior leader at the MSI summer camp, teaching marine biology to children ranging in school age from kindergartners to fifth graders. This past May, Casente volunteered as an intern at San Francisco State University’s Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, as part of his senior project. During this time, he assisted on a study regarding the diminishing delta smelt population by measuring and cataloguing jellyfish. Not only did he learn important skills in regard to lab equipment and lab safety protocol, but he was also able to get a better sense of how scientists obtain funding for research projects and how they defend their hypotheses in the lab. “Since I hope to work as a marine biologist,” he says, “this experience will be relevant to my future studies and work.” Though Casente admits to being a born helper, he believes that anyone, even people who aren’t so oriented toward service, can find volunteer work that they love. It may just take a little investigating, and patience. “From what I’ve experienced, there’s always some service opportunity you’re going to enjoy, whether that’s teaching or helping to build a house,” he says. “If you don’t like community service, you probably just haven’t found the right fit yet.”
“From what I’ve experienced, there’s always some service opportunity you’re going to enjoy, whether that’s teaching or helping to build a house,” he says. “If you don’t like community service, you probably just haven’t found the right fit yet.”
October
Caroline Every year, more than 26,000 people become homeless in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Many people don’t realize the severity of the homeless crisis here because this area, which is where Priory is located, has a reputation for being wealthy. But Caroline Hickman, a Priory junior, is not only aware of the situation—she’s working hard to help people involved, especially children. Hickman, whose main interests at school are biology and theater, was introduced to the concept of service through her mother, Rebecca Hickman, who is on the Los Altos Hill Town Council, and helps assign volunteer activities to people in the community. But the 11th-grader’s first actual volunteering job came through Priory when Hickman was in the 6th grade. That’s when Priory Director of Campus Ministry and Campus Community Involvement Coordinator Molly Buccola told her about an opportunity to work at the InnVision Shelter Network’s Redwood Family House. Hickman volunteered here throughout the 6th grade before she took a break for a few years. But then, in the beginning of her sophomore year, she got more serious about her commitment. She started working at a different InnVision Shelter, the Haven Family Shelter in Menlo Park, where she’s since gone every Monday after school to volunteer at the evening children’s program. As a volunteer in this program, Hickman plays games and does crafts with children from 4-12 years of age at the shelter while their parents go to educational classes and financial counseling. The families have different needs and situations, she says. Some families have just moved here from a foreign country and need assistance getting adjusted, while others have a parent who’s lost a job. In some cases, the families simply can no longer pay the increasingly unreasonable rents in the area. “I started babysitting when I was 11,” says Hickman. “I’ve always liked working with kids and I just wanted to help out in the community around me.” She admits that she was nervous when she first began volunteering at the shelter because she knew the children had been through difficult experiences—including bullying from their peers—and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to help them.
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Hickman But Hickman learned that just being kind and willing to listen was enough to help the kids at Haven House feel more at ease in their lives. The families are only at the shelter for a maximum of three months, so the children are always changing, says Hickman. That makes her job all the more engaging because she’s always meeting new people with different stories and experiences. “I really like meeting all the different kids,” she adds. “It’s been rewarding because I feel I’m helping out in some small way and I feel a connection to a lot of these kids and it makes me happy that I can make them feel more comfortable or confident.” Last summer, the dedicated teenager decided to step up her volunteering commitment, and work as a camp counselor for the shelter’s summer camp, which caters to youth ages 13 and under, and offers an interactive educational experience, including many day trips to places like water parks and the Tech Museum of Innovation. In this environment, Hickman helps out in any way she’s needed. Though most of the children that Hickman meets through these programs are younger than she is, there are occasions where girls her age are present— often because they want to be with a younger sibling who is in one of the programs. When asked if that feels awkward, she answers: Not at all. “I remember this one girl and she was really into anime, and I am as well,” she says, “so she would draw these characters and we would talk about it and it was a completely normal interaction. It’s just fun to make new friends.” Hickman says that teachers at Priory have always encouraged her to serve the community. For the junior retreat this past year, in which she participated, the students went to the Tenderloin to help out in a soup kitchen, as well as partake in activities with Meals on Wheels and the Boys and Girls Club. There are also counselors at Priory who can help you find a volunteer opportunity that will work for you. “A lot of people at Priory are affluent and it’s important to realize that even in our community there is poverty and there are things you can do to help,” she says, adding that she’ll be continuing her work with the InnVision Shelters throughout high school—and will search out more service experiences after she graduates. “When I’m looking at colleges, one of the things I look for is what kind of volunteer opportunities there are in the area of that college. I want to continue volunteering through my college career and through my adult life.”
“I really like meeting all the different kids,” she adds. “It’s been rewarding because I feel I’m helping out in some small way and I feel a connection to a lot of these kids and it makes me happy that I can make them feel more comfortable or confident.”
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Happy summer Priory Community, “Always we begin again” was the topic of our graduation speech this year by Priory trustee and alumni parent Ray Rothrock. This has been a Benedictine motto for over a thousand years and is as pertinent today as it was when it originated. As we wind up our school year we are busily making plans so we can begin again next year to build a community of support for Priory. To begin our Fall 2013 Annual Fund we had six families step forward to create a Triple Challenge: if 100% of our school made a gift to the Annual Fund within 100 days then they would make a combined contribution of $150,000. For the first time in Priory history we were able to reach 100% participation in 100 days--a record breaking time! We are so grateful for everyone who made this a huge success: for the leadership of this group of six families for creating the incentive; for all our families, trustees and staff for participating in this challenge and for all the volunteers who gave of their time to ensure we achieved our goal. The Triple Challenge was not only a success here at Priory but it has also received international recognition. Priory was recently awarded the Gold Award for our Matching Gift Program through the CASE Circle of Excellence, Development’s premier international awards program. Priory came in ahead of both Vanderbilt University and Temple University in this recognition for epitomizing the profession’s best practices.
While the Annual Fund garners support for the day to day operating costs of the school, our Capital Campaign goals are an investment in our future. Our goal is to improve our learning environments to allow students to reach their maximum potential. Our calendar for completion of these improvements is as follows: • Summer 2013: we renovated all our existing classroom buildings. • Summer 2014: we begin construction on a new 9,300 square foot classroom building on Benedictine Square containing 10 classrooms and a faculty lounge. Construction is estimated to take approximately 14 months and we plan to begin teaching in the new classrooms for the Fall of 2015. • Fall of 2015: we will begin construction of the new Science and Art Building at the top of campus, which will create four additional science labs, an art studio and room for our robotics team.
Priory was recently awarded the Gold Award for our Matching Gift Program through the CASE Circle of Excellence, Development’s premier international awards
Finally, we say a very fond farewell to our very dear friend, Dr. Peter Kasenchak, Priory alum parent and former Trustee. Pete came to mass at Priory every day for years and, along with Jane Yates, was the driving force behind our chapel renovation and annual chapel appeal. Pete was best known for his graceful manner, warm smile, and willingness to give a helping hand. In Pete’s honor we have begun the Pete Kasenchak Scholarship Fund to be awarded each year for a deserving Priory student who clearly represents the Benedictine values that Pete so naturally embodied. We wish you a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing you at the start of the school year when we will begin again. Regards, Siobhan Lawlor Director of Development
40 PHASE 3 Athletic Facilities · 2017
MASTER PLAN Building Ingenuity
PHASE 2 Classroom Renovations · 2013 Benedictine Square Classroom Building · 2014 Science and Art Center · 2015
PHASE 1 Performing Arts Center and Housing Completed 2006
PHASE 4 Housing · 2018
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Alumni Q&A
“So What?” Peter Adams, Class of 1996, Asked
and it Changed His Life
Peter left a successful career at Google to help the disenfranchised of San Francisco. Some people may think that’s crazy, but for Peter, making a difference in the lives of others is paramount and a value he learned while at the Priory. By Sean McLain Brown Photo by Jim Kirkland
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“Still, however big or ambitious the projects I worked on, some part of me was unmoved by my career. Some part of me was always saying ‘so what?’” SMB: Can you tell us a little about the work that you do with HealthRight360? PA: HealthRight360 offers substance abuse counseling, psychotherapy and medical care to low-income adults throughout San Francisco. I work in an outpatient clinic on Mission Street, providing therapy and case management, and running process groups for clients. The core of the job is sitting with clients and talking to them about their lives, their goals, and their struggles - with chemical dependency, and with the rest of it - with all the things that keep people busy. SMB: I understand that you formerly worked for Google, can you tell us a little what you did for Google and why you left to pursue counseling? PA: I worked in Google’s Consumer Operations division from 2005 to 2009, providing technical support for Gmail users and running the Gmail Help Center for two years. Google is a great company - supportive, rewarding, and demanding - and an experience I would recommend to anyone with any interest in tech. Still, however big or ambitious the projects I worked on, some part of me was unmoved by my career. Some part of me was always saying “so what?” Ignoring that voice, reasoning with it, and pleading with it got me nowhere, and led to me to feel increasingly burnt out and hopeless. If you can’t be happy working at Google, you should probably try something else. I chose counseling because it had helped me. My dad died in 2001 when I was just out of college, and counseling really saved my life. As I talked to my counselor about my life, and what might work for me, I began to see the process of therapy itself as something that engaged my heart and my mind - that had a meaning beyond the delivery of an incrementally better user experience. In 2009, I was desperate, and, needing a big change, quit Google, enrolled in a master’s program, and got working on doing the right things for myself. SMB: What is it that you appreciate most about the work that you do? PA: The more I listen, the simpler things get. The surface conversation in my office often focuses on knocking one thing off and trying the other thing instead, how that almost worked in the past but didn’t, or did work in the past but won’t now, and how everything would be easier if people weren’t so much like people. The surface conversation is very alluring. But when you sit with one person week after week, and when your week is full of client after client, group after group, family after family, the stories begin to cohere and simplify. People end up in my office because they want more peace, more ease, more calm, more joy, relief and love. It’s clarifying for me. People are doing the best they can under the very real pressure of their lives, and I can be of service by helping them turn again toward their happiness.
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SMB: Can you remember any fond anecdotes of your time at the Priory? PA: Father Maurus used to be a lumberjack. That was well before my time, but it’s important to mention. My favorite memories of Priory involve “wasted” time. Hanging out with Ben Hurlbut and Jeanine Yost waiting for play rehearsals to start, sitting in class when Father William lost the thread of US History and started telling stories from his tenure as a Dean of Students, sitting on the back steps of the faculty lounge with Dr. Bare and talking about teaching English and writing stories and being 16. SMB: Who has made a significant impact in your life and why? PA: Dr. Judy Bare seemed to appear out of nowhere to teach us 10th and 11th grade English. An elfin little woman in oversized coats, she travelled with a cigarette perpetually dangling from her fingers anytime she was outside. She was smart like I wanted to be, with the quick, biting wit that I valued a lot back then, and little filter or distance from her students, which was thrilling. She expected us to write and talk like we meant it. She just wanted us to care about the work, and was willing to stand on her head and say all manner of things if that would help at all. She loved and mentored me, vexed as I was at the time. She reminded me to be alive and pay attention. She passed in 2001, a few years after leaving the Priory, and I regret to this day not thanking her more. SMB: What advice would you give current students at the Priory? PA: When you fall off your path, the path doesn’t disappear. Paths don’t work like that. SMB: What do you believe is one of humankind’s greatest challenges? PA: For me, there’s no rougher road for me than the practice of loving kindness to the local human beings I encounter day to day. Even that guy? But I don’t like that guy. Even her? I hardly even know her and she just interrupted me. Even my mom? What about that thing that started in 1992 and continues to this day? Even that? I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do about that. Working on that seems like the big one to me. SMB: How has the Priory helped shape your worldview and philosophy of “serving a world in need”? PA: Ora et Labora. Prayer and work. Work and prayer. If you can find the thing that allows you to do both, then you won’t have to worry so much about “worklife balance” or “finding the time”. Cause it’s the same. And then it all feels worthwhile.
“When you fall off your path, the path doesn’t disappear. Paths don’t work like that.”
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Dear Alumni, I first want to take the time to congratulate the Class of 2014! It is time to usher you into the next stage of Priory Panther-hood and we welcome you as a Priory Alumni. Wherever this new adventure takes you, you always have the welcoming arms of the Priory through the teachers, Monks, counselors, staff, and the Alumni Office. I encourage the 54th graduating class to stay connected and never lose that bond you have with the Priory. I wish you all the best and will see you again soon. This year we held some great alumni events. Tim Molak, Siobhan Lawlor and Father Martin ventured across the world and visited alumni in the Philippines, China, Japan and Thailand. Father Martin’s time in Japan and Thailand was particularly special as he was able to visit with alumni he hadn’t seen in many years. Thank you to everyone who hosted our Priory travelers and made their trip memorable. This year’s 2014 Reunion Weekend is right around the corner, September 5th-7th. • We will be celebrating with all classes ending in 4’s and 9’s from 1964 to 2009. • The weekend’s festivities start with the popular All Alumni Reception, cocktail party in Founder’s Hall. If this year isn’t your reunion, but you were close with alumni whose reunion it is, this is the time to come and join in the festivities. All are welcome. • Saturday, we will be holding campus tours, led by Tim Molak, Head of School. A lot of exciting changes have happened on campus within the last couple years and we would love to show you around. • Saturday evening, we have a formal dinner in the Performing Arts Center, traditionally the highlight of the weekend with more than 100 alumni returning to campus for their reunion. • The weekend concludes with an Alumni Mass on Sunday performed by Father Martin.
If you want to get the most up-to-date news and invites to the alumni events please be sure to join the Woodside Priory Alumni Association group on Facebook. We also have the alumni blog on the Priory website and a quarterly email-newsletter with all the current alumni networking events and activities. If you are interested in getting more involved with the school as an alumnus please call or email me. I am always up for a talk and want to make your experience with the Priory as beneficial as possible. I wish you all a sun-filled summer and hope to see more of you in the coming year! Sincerely,
Erin Irber Associate Director of Development, Alumni Relations
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has named Woodside Priory School a Gold award winner of its 2013 Circle of Excellence award program, for our Triple Challenge Annual Fund Challenge Grant Campaign. This year, 615 higher education institutions, independent schools and nonprofits from around the world submitted more than 2,900 entries in 45 categories for consideration in the CASE Circle of Excellence award program. Priory received the Gold award in the Challenge Grant/Matching Gift Programs with Temple University and Vanderbilt University receiving the Silver Award. Thank you Priory community for supporting our children’s education and future!
Pride. You’ve got it. You know it. Keep it alive.
prioryca.org/give
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CLASS NOTES
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ALUMNI
Note: If you would like to become a Class Agent, please contact the Alumni Office at alumni@prioryca.org or (650) 851-6138. And remember to check out Woodside Priory Alumni Association on Facebook for additional photos and updates!
Congratulations to all our Priory alumni who graduated college this year! Best of luck on all your future endeavors. Always we begin again.
Reunion Years
1964
50th Reunion
1969
45th Reunion
1982
Victor Cheng was in the states for business from Taiwan. Victor is the President and Chairman of Delta Networks. He is pictured with Tim Molak, Siobhan Lawlor and Al Zappelli.
1985
1974
Mike McCrady graduated from Cal Northern School of Law. At the commencement, he gave the Valedictorian Address. He also received 7 Witkin Awards for Academic Excellence.
1979
1986
1986
40th Reunion 35th Reunion
1984
30th Reunion
1989
28th Reunion
1994
20th Reunion
1999
13th Reunion
2004
10th Reunion
2009
5th Reunion
Jim Nell stopped by Priory with his daughter Caroline. She will be attending Priory in the Fall as an incoming 6th grader. Welcome Caroline! Jim is pictured with his daughter and Al Zappelli.
1982
1998
Bernadette Rose Austin-Bower accepted her appointment and was inducted as the Chair for the City’s Community Planning and Housing Division by the Mayor of West Sacramento, CA. Last winter, Bernadette was also one of the Business Awardees for the State of California Under 40 Entrepreneurs. Bernadette is pictured accepting her appointment and also pictured with her husband Michael and their two children.
2000
Mary Hurlbut is the Middle School Visual and Performing Arts teacher at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, CA. She is pictured with Camille Yost.
2001
Matthew Neter is a Captain in the Army at Fort Irwin, CA and about to receive his own command. He is pictured next to his class photo with Head of School Tim Molak.
1998 2000
Values. You learned them. They define you. Pass them on.
prioryca.org/give
2001
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2002
Sarah Spanoghe graduated with a 4.0 Grade Point Average from Johns Hopkins University with a Masters in Biotechnology, with a concentration in Bioinformatics. Additionally, she and Cory Morgenthaler, a former Priory student, became engaged on New Year’s Eve. They will be returning to the Bay Area before the end of the year to begin their next chapter in life. Sarah is pictured with fiancé Cory.
2003
2002
2003
Raymond James Austin, Esq. recently passed the California Bar Exams to become a licensed lawyer. Last year he graduated from Northeastern University, receiving leadership honors and the Dennis Carty Bennia Memorial Award. He is working as the Legal Case Manager for a non-profit organization that serves the under-privileged in the City of San Jose, CA and continues to serve as a “Legal Fellow” at the School of Law of Northeastern University. He is pictured at graduation with his brother and sister.
2005
Alex Piper is pictured here with Dean of Students Matt Lai.
2007
Ivy Bilikam-Christensen graduated from Westmont College and is currently working as a Nanny in Seattle. She was married two years ago and is applying to the Design School of San Diego.
2010
Dominic Becker (picture A) is graduating from Stanford with a B.S. in Computer Science. Adrian Dannis graduated from Reed College.
2010 · A
Scott DiGiorgio graduated from Seattle University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
2005
Ricky Dolezalek graduated with a B.S. from Trinity University and is starting a new job with the marketing firm “Series C” in San Francisco. Lizzy Draeger (picture B) graduated from Santa Clara University with a B.A. in Communication. Ali Goodyear graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.S. in Psychology and minor in Public Health. Tristan Herrera graduated from Santa Clara University with a B.S. degree in Economics. Ben Kovachy (picture C) graduated from Harvard, Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude. He works at Massachusetts General Hospital as a Research Assistant and is living in Boston. He is pictured at graduation.
2010 · C 2010 · B
Marisa Martinson (picture D) graduated from Davidson College with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History. She will be spending the next two years with Teach for America as a middle school science teacher in the Charlotte, NC school district.
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Joshua Nimer graduated from Williams College. David Nimer is a current student at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Alex Peyser graduated from University of San Diego with a B.S. in Economics and B.A. in English.
2010 · D
Katie Pfau will be graduating next year - she’s entering into her last year at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena in the Baking and Pastry Arts program. Melissa Perna graduated from Boston College with the Connell School of Nursing. She plans to take the NCLEX for her nursing licensure before starting employment. She will specialize in oncology. Lauren Schilling (picture E) just graduated from Skidmore with a B.S. in Environmental Studies. She is pictured with her sisters, alumnae Alec Schilling ‘08 and Liz Schilling ‘15. Sarah Wookey graduated from the University of Illinois with honors in psychology and leadership. Her post-graduation plans are to get her M.S. at University of Illinois in Technology Management.
2010 · E
2011
Aran Nayebi recently was named a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar for 2014. The award is for undergraduate research. The scholarship is the premier award in the U.S. conferred upon undergraduates studying the sciences.
2012
Kat Gregory is the Junior Class President at Stanford. She has also been hired by WhatsApp a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS.
2013
Haze Hazemach (picture 2012) graduated Bard College of Simon’s Rock with an A.A. in Mathematics and Social Justice. Haze was accepted to the SIT Graduate Institute and plans to get his M.A. in Social Justice, Diversity and Leadership. Haze is commencing his studies starting in the Himalayas from June 6 to July 18, 2014 and then he will study 6 months in South Africa and Uganda. He is pictured with his siblings Raymond Austin and Bernadette Austin-Bower.
2013
Emily Ting is pictured with Tim Molak.
Parting Shots Don’t feed the bears... Guess which future Priory scientist/naturalist, pictured here (center), circa 1960’s, is getting ready to play pattycakes with a bear? Answer: Fr. Maurus
2012
NEWS
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MONASTARY
Catching up with our ‘Men in Black’.
Peter Kasenchak
October 17th, 1934 - May 29th 2014
Father Martin
Father Pius
Father Maurus
Father Martin has just returned from a college reunion at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. It was a very brief weekend visit but a special one because the class of ’57 is exactly 57 years out of the nest. He was invited to preach at the annual Alumni Mass that included graduates from all years.
Father Pius edits a quarterly newsletter for the Hungarian Catholic Mission in the San Francisco Bay Area and, when needed, says the 11 o’clock Hungarian Sunday Mass and preaches at the Priory chapel. Occasionally, on Sundays he sings the 12 o’clock English Gregorian Mass in Latin and gives a homily at the St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Palo Alto. He browses in various British and American Catholic periodicals collecting church related articles of international nature and sharing them with friends, Priory faculty and fellow clergymen in the USA, Austria and Hungary.
Since retiring in 2011 from teaching for 43 years, Father Maurus is busier than ever. Since 1994, he has served as the Pastor of the Hungarian Catholic Mission. The Mission is a vibrant worshipping community, gathers in our Priory Chapel every Sunday for an 11:00AM Mass followed by a social gathering in the Student Dining Room. Father Maurus also coordinates the Hungarian Scout Troops and serves as a board member of their Executive Council as well as on the Hungarian Heritage Foundation. In addition, Father Maurus regularly visits the elderly and the sick members of the community. He takes the sacraments to the house-bound and infirm and provides them with the support they need.
“Peter was one of those people who was always ready to help in any situation without being asked. His involvement with the Priory extends over thirty years and his contributions to the well-being of the school and the students it serves has had a very positive and lasting effect throughout those decades. Pete had a very strong connection to the Priory chapel and attended Mass there daily. He was also instrumental in raising the funds needed to maintain and improve the physical condition of the building. As a personal friend, I had the opportunity of working with Pete on many occasions – usually associated with the school – and his commitment to the Benedictine values was always clearly evident. He is greatly missed as a friend and colleague.” – Father Martin Mager O.S.B. Monastic Superior Peter’s wonderful life came to an end when he passed away in his home on Thursday morning, May 29th, with his two sons Kevin and Kris caring for him. Peter exemplified what it means to have a positive attitude and a commitment to serving others. It was most apparent through the last 14 months, as he did not miss a family function or opportunity to serve others as he fought pancreatic cancer. His most cherished friend, Geralyn Cole, was always by his side during that time. Peter is survived by his two sons, Kevin and Kris, their wives Erin and Liza, and his four grandchildren, whom he adored. Peter grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the only child of an immigrant family from Eastern Europe. He graduated from Hanover High School, put himself through college and graduated from the Temple University School of Dentistry in 1960. He then joined the U.S. Navy as a dentist and was on active duty from 1960 to 1969. During that time, he was stationed on the USS Forrestal and spent a year in Antarctica. He married the love of his life, Andrea Vogler, in New York on April 1, 1967. They created a life for themselves in Palo Alto, where Peter was a dentist for the Palo Alto Dental Group from 1969-2005. He never remarried after losing Andrea to brain cancer on July 2, 1992. After retirement, Peter’s commitment to helping others increased. He was a board member for the Woodside Priory School and he served food for those in need three days a week at the St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room in Menlo Park, as well as acting as the chairman of the advisory council. When Peter was not serving others, he enjoyed pursuing his passion for travel, scuba, and cooking. Peter will be remembered for his kindness, his unselfish service to others, and the love he gave his many friends and family. He will not be forgotten but he will be missed tremendously.
Woodside Priory School 302 Portola Road Portola Valley, CA 94028 (650) 851-8221 fax (650) 851-2839
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Celebrating Our 56th Year
Mark Your Calendar! Alumni Reunion Weekend September 5th-7th, 2014 Join your classmates and former teachers for a weekend of activities: • All Alumni Reception • Campus Tours • Reunion Class Dinner
• Alumni Achievement Award Ceremony • Sunday Mass
Alumni Reunion Classes 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009