YOU CAN TURN BACK TIME

Former running back Jonah Hodges ’16 (BA) knows that timing is everything

by Kelsey Grey ’15 (BA)

Former running back

Jonah Hodges ’16 (BA) knows that timing is everything.

The success of running backs depends on their ability to wait for a play to develop and to look for lanes to sprint through. This is also a metaphor for Jonah Hodges’ life.

His first lesson in waiting came as a child growing up in

Santa Cruz, California. Hodges wanted to play Pop Warner football, but his parents weren’t exactly on board.

“I remember begging my dad and mom,” Hodges laughs. “They didn’t want me to do it because of safety concerns, so I played all the other sports.”

That included flag football. After a few seasons of the non- contact sport —and a bit of patience — Hodges convinced his parents to let him play Pop Warner football in middle school. From that moment on, he made it his life’s goal to play in the National Football League.

Hodges was initially recruited by the University of San Diego during his senior year of high school, but as a cornerback.

He wanted to continue his career as a running back and committed to the University of California, Berkeley. After two years with the Golden Bears, Hodges considered transferring.

“I wasn’t getting much playing time, so I looked at transferring and USD popped up again,” he says. “It was a different coach and they were looking for a running back, so I decided to transfer. It was one of the best decisions of my life.”

Hodges saw his lane open up and came to USD in 2014, where he played for the Toreros for two years under head coach Dale Lindsey. He earned several prestigious titles, including Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)

Second Team All-American Running Back and Male Torero

Athlete of the Year in 2016.

Beyond the well-deserved accolades, Hodges distinctly remembers the first-round FCS playoff game against California Polytechnic State University.

“We lost to Cal Poly earlier that season, so that game was about getting revenge.”

And revenge he got. Hodges touched the ball 42 times for 208 total yards — including 37 receiving — and three touchdowns. He also set the pace of the game by running for a 45-yard gain on the game’s first play. USD shocked Cal Poly fans by winning, 35–21, making it the Toreros’ first-ever playoff victory.

Hodges says he was proud to be a part of a great team, but the glue was Coach Lindsey.

“He taught us about the ‘USD Man,’ which is a man that has his nose to the grindstone, is a hard worker and goes the extra mile for his teammates.”

That mentality helped carry Hodges through the ups and downs of life after graduation.

He wasn’t selected during the NFL draft, but received an invitation to take part in the Detroit Lions’ minicamp. In the end, Hodges didn’t make the roster.

Shortly after, he was signed to the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. He fractured his ankle during a game against the Toronto Argonauts, ending his stint in the league.

As he sat in limbo, he received an unexpected call.

The Asahi Beer Silver Stars, a team in Japan’s X League, wanted Hodges as a running back. He was recommended to them by former Torero quarterback Mason Mills, who played for the Silver Stars from 2015 to 2016.

Hodges took the job, moved overseas and played for two years. By 2019, he was ready to hang up his cleats and begin a new venture in e-commerce.

Toward the end of 2019, Hodges and a few of his friends from high school started a wholesale e-commerce business. Most of their sales now come through the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program.

Having an FBA account allows businesses to add their products to Amazon's Marketplace and prepare the products for transportation to an Amazon fulfillment center. From there, Amazon packs and ships the order to the customer and handles returns.

The small start-up between high school friends quickly evolved as the demand for online shopping increased at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

The company, Prime Retail Solution, has expanded to two warehouses in Orange County, California, and employs five warehouse employees and eight remote workers. Prime Retail Solution processes about 1,000 orders each day, entirely fulfilled by its own warehouses or by Amazon.

“USD definitely had a big impact on my entrepreneurship journey, especially as a studentathlete,” says Hodges. “Although it’s a totally different feeling, I still have very much the same mindset toward business as I did toward sports. I’ve carried the same leadership aspect I had from USD into leading a team of employees.”

MICHAEL SMYTH (BBA), ’91 (JD) writes, “In January 2022, after being elected to the position by my fellow judges, I began a two-year term as presiding judge of the San Diego Superior Court. My son, Fred, is a third-year at USD’s School of Law.”

[1989]

KAREN CADIERO-KAPLAN (BA) completed an elementary education certification in 1990. “I retired from San Diego State University in 2017, where I was a professor and department chair of Dual Language and English Learner Education. Since retiring, I founded the Wisdom Collective, which is a space to nurture authentic voices and to tap into our collective wisdom for healing, personal growth and transformation.”

MELISSA CLIFFORD (BSN) says, “I’m enjoying retirement in New Mexico. Doing a lot of traveling every year.”

JOEL G. SELIK (LLM) has been appointed to the State Bar of Nevada’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

1990s

[1990]

CATHY BORGMAN (BA) joined LPL Financial as vice president of distribution. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, Bob, and two kids, Rachel and Michael.

CHRISTINE LATHAM (PhD) was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. The purpose of the academy is to create and execute evidence-based and policy-related initiatives to advance health care. Dr. Latham is the lead of the Acute and Critical Care Expert Panel Group of the academy, working to secure sustainable funding for clinical placements and preceptors for nursing students.

CHRISTOPHE ROSENSTIEL (BBA), ’94 (MBA) writes that five years ago he created a new bike brand, KIFFY.

[1991]

CHRIS (HESTER) JANSSEN (BA) received her master’s in counseling psychology from Loyola Marymount University. She then received a coaching credential and now works as a board-certified coach. Chris writes, “I just published my first book, Living All In: How to Show Up for the Life You Want,” and says that it’s available on Amazon. Find her Amazon profile online as well as her website. She adds, “Go Toreros!”

HELEN KELLY (BA) has been living in the Seattle area since 2012. “Raising two kids plus an Italian exchange student this semester,” she says. “Currently planning our annual USD reunion with seven of us from around the country. Always a highlight to connect with my besties from USD!”

[1992]

JoANN VALLESE (BA), ’94 (MEd) writes, “I am currently the assistant director of scholar-athlete development at USD. I am so grateful to be ‘home!’ ”

[1994]

MARJORIE McCABE (JD) writes, “I retired from the Navajo Nation government after 21 years of service. I earned my Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous peoples law and completed an unpublished manuscript, a biography of William McCabe, First 29 Navajo Code Talker Proud grandmother.”

JACK YEH (JD) was named the Century City Bar Association’s 2022 Trial Lawyer of the Year. Additionally, he was named to Los Angeles Business Journal ’s 2022 list of minority leaders of influence and was named to Benchmark’s 2022 list of California Stars.

[1996]

ENEDILIA MEDINA (BA) provided this update: “It has been a year of transition and accomplishments. My son, Diego Castillo, graduated from high school and is a freshman at USD. I began the school year as an assistant principal in Alvord Unified School District and my husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary this October.”

[1997]

JEFFREY PICKERING (MA) has worked in philanthropy since graduating from USD. “I am currently the CEO of a community foundation in a coastal resort and agricultural community in Florida and am privileged to

[security]