Gael Glimpses, 2000-2007
2007
 Rebecca Almanza graduated in three years, but because of the many great friends she made at SMC, she has stayed in the area for what would be her senior year. While her friends are occupied with classes and homework, Rebecca enjoys work in San Francisco as an administrative assistant for a private equity firm. The future remains unpaved, but she is happy with where her goals and dreams have taken her. |
Sylvia (Corona) Alvarez is seeking leadership roles and programs. On April 5, 2008, she was to receive her certificate of completion for the Personnel Administrators Academy through the Association of California School Administrators. Sylvia was also nominated as treasurer for the San Benito County Educational Leaders. |
| James Applegate works for Mass-Mutual Financial Group specializing in financial restructuring and strategies, and wealth creation. |
Mikaila Coats and boyfriend, Adam Riedel ’06, moved from Lafayette to Carmel-by-the-Sea in October 2007. Mikaila works at Coats Consulting, an environmental planning and real estate development firm where she is director of marketing and project manager. |
Debra Eberhart EE found out recently how much her SMC degree means to her. After being director of adolescent programs in a Pleasanton community agency, she is director of program services at Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco. She reaches out to children in disadvantaged circumstances — what a privilege! Debra thanks her professors and friends in her cohort who inspired and challenged her. |
Hannah Gibson began working as membership coordinator at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento after graduation, and loves being a part of such a wonderful organization. She and her fiancé, Jeff, were to marry on Feb. 23, 2008, and are expecting a baby girl in June. They are also buying their first home. |
 Ray Ju MA is traveling the globe evangelizing 21st-century leadership at project management conferences in Hungary, Singapore, Taiwan and the U.S. He has written articles for the Project Management Institute and is an instructor in UC Berkeley Extension’s project management certificate program. |
Jason Milleree believes his degree in management degree has blessed him with a new job with the Department of Energy in Livermore. |
Kara N. Wattoo is pursuing a master’s in marriage and family therapy at Santa Clara University and works as an academic tutor and an assistant in the Jesuit community. |
2006
| Bruce L. Bowman ML is involved in anti-violence work in Oakland. He is in the process of putting together a program that will reflect the knowledge he gained as a member of cohort VIII in Saint Mary’s online master’s in leadership program. |
Jenny Gosselin teaches fifth grade at DeMarillac Academy in San Francisco and lives in Walnut Creek. |
| Erin Healy was promoted to administrative division chief at the California Conservation Corps in Sacramento. |
| Adam P. Hicks is a first-year English teacher at Central High School in Phoenix, Ariz. He should receive his master’s in education in May 2008. Adam married Abra Amwake in June 2006. He coaches a high school baseball team. |
| June Kirske ECR is a fourth-grade teacher at Walnut Acres Elementary School in Walnut Creek and loves it. |
 Allison Landa MFA is a freelance writer and editor who has performed on stages in San Francisco, New York City and Austin, Tex. In December 2006, she was a resident at the David and Julia White Artists’ Colony in Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica. In Summer 2008, she was to marry Adam Sandler in a small ceremony in Berkeley. |
| Charla J. McPherson is passionate about neonatal intensive care nursing. She works at John Muir Medical Center, which obtained magnet status, the highest honor for nursing excellence. Charla looks forward to incorporating public health into her career portfolio next. Her family has been so supportive that she cannot thank them enough. |
| Erica Pottorff worked at an archaeology firm in Petaluma until December 2006, participating in an excavation at the Carrillo Adobe in Santa Rosa. She went to Cape Town in January and worked on finding a full-time job. She now lives in Petaluma and works at Fireman’s Fund in Novato. She enjoys being a successful woman in the working world. |
 Rick Rodriguez EE is a real estate broker in Danville. He lives with his wife, Donna, and children, Amanda, 8, and Justin, 4, who attend the Meher School in Lafayette. Rick’s passions are SMC basketball, golf, running and fine wines. In the winter, he visited Christchurch and Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand. Along with sightseeing, he planned to compete in two amateur golf tournaments. |
 Antonio Taruc is a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand with the Teacher Collaboration and Community Outreach Program. He lives in a rural village in northeastern Thailand and is absolutely enjoying the experience. |
| Jean-Arellia Tolentino lives in Vallejo and works for Filipinos for Affirmative Action and Asian Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy & Leadership. Jean works with Alameda County high school students on social justice issues and campaign mobilization. |
2005
 Sami Abusaad says that “Saint Mary’s was the best place he’s been to.” |
| Stephanie (Boele) Patin celebrated her second anniversary in March with husband, Fred Patin. Stephanie was recently accepted into the master’s of occupational therapy program at Samuel Merritt College and will start in fall 2008. |
 Stephanie Burns recently completed her CELTA certificate for teaching English to adults in Sevilla, Spain, and is working at the Caledonian School in Prague, Czech Republic. |
| Christopher R. Cole works in business development with project management for Roncelli Plastics, Inc. He works with companies such as Boeing and LAM Research to build solutions for nonmetallic components. Chris spent two weeks in Thailand over New Year’s and is planning a trip to South America. |
| Gina Fazio-siu EE is carrying on the SMC tradition of Catholic education by working in the first-grade classroom of her children’s elementary school, St. Paul’s, in San Francisco. She loves working with children and hopes to earn her teaching credential in the near future. |
 Karen Fulton Holine ML is a regional vice president for the American Lung Association and is on the national Public AdvisoryRoundtable Board for the American Thoracic Society. She and her husband, Rich Holine, live in Piedmont Pines and have two daughters (UCSD grads) getting married in 2008. They are active at Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church with a young married couples’ ministry. |
 Jeff Haskins proposed to Linde Waite ’05 on March 9. They will marry in spring 2009. Jeff proposed in the same location of their first kiss four years ago. Linde is an admissions officer at SMC, and Jeff is a senior project manager for AT&T in San Ramon. |
 Elizabeth (Kolstad) Areshenko married Lt. Raymond Areshenko in the SMC Chapel on Feb. 16, 2008. Friends and fellow alums Heather Showalter , Sean Morrow, Colleen Kendregan and Corinne Devin ’03 were in the wedding party. Ray is a Blackhawk helicopter pilot for the Army and will begin his second tour of Iraq in the summer. They live in Harker Heights, Tex., but look forward to returning to the Bay Area. |
| Everett Lebherz began EVCO Insurance Services, Inc., two years ago. EVCO specializes in strategic employee benefits for small businesses with a focus on health insurance, life settlement and personal estate planning. He recently opened his new headquarters on North Broadway in Walnut Creek. |
| Stephanie Perret lives in Danville. She and her sister own women’s clothing boutiques, in Merced, Fresno and Danville, named “Christina’s Fine Clothing.” |
| Christopher Quiery studied counseling with a marriage and family therapy emphasis at CSU East Bay. He received his master’s in spring 2007, and is an intern in Santa Clara County working with emotionally disturbed youths in school settings. |
 Robin Robinson EE will have her first novel published by XYP in 2009. Look for Chocolate Lemons and Peppermint Tears — The Bittersweet Life of Xena in less than a year. Feel free to e-mail the author at rrrobinaugust15@yahoo.com. |
 Stephanie Sandbergen MS and Mark have a daughter, Lulu, who turned 2 in October. The three are happily awaiting the birth of a little boy, due July 4. |
| Brian Soller won the California Sociological Association’s award for outstanding graduate student in late 2007. He plans to further his education beyond his master’s in sociology. |
 Claudia Williams has studied at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento since retiring from the softball team. She is in her second year and all is well. |
2004
 Christian Amsberry lives in Walnut Creek and works in the Wells Fargo Orinda branch as a premier banker. He enjoys working with his clients and likes to travel and spend time with his dog, Molly, a half golden retriever, half poodle that loves the dog park. |
Christine Catabay is earning a master’s in counseling at SMC and is expected to graduate in May 2008. She works as a marriage and family therapist trainee at a nonprofit agency in Fremont. |
 Kathryn (Flood) Yourkin is finishing her master’s in speech pathology and communicative disorders in Summer 2008. Matt Yourkin ’03 is enjoying a successful baseball career with the Florida Marlins. Last season he played with the AAA-level Albuquerque Isotopes. |
 Mike Gibbons EE, who is pursuing a master’s of public administration at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, married his longtime fiancée Denise Monroe on St. Patrick’s Day 2007 at Twin Pines Park in Belmont. Denise must be a good influence on Mike because he was recently promoted to public works superintendent in Redwood City. (His time in the EE management program also helped quite a bit.) The couple honeymooned in Maui and lives in San Carlos. |
Karla Kane is married and works as an editorial assistant and writer at The Palo Alto Weekly. She is the lead singer, ukulele player and songwriter in The Corner Laughers, an indie-pop band, with Angela Silletto ’03. They are working on their second album and perform frequently throughout the Bay Area. Karla is also enrolled in a master’s program in environmental anthro pology through the University of Wales, Lampeter. |
Ted Lew EE was receiving his master’s of science degree in risk management from Florida State University in May, while his son, Kevin, and daughter, Brittany, were receiving their bachelor’s degrees from UCLA in June. Ted continues to work for Allstate Insurance Company when not paying for tuition bills. |
| Lindsay (Lopez) Wisely and Nick Wisely ’03 celebrated their third anniversary on Feb. 26. They have a 7-month-old, Kylie Elise Wisely, and live in Oakley where they teach and coach at the high-school level. The Deer Valley High basketball team they coach went 25–5, made it to the section finals in Oracle Arena and appeared in the Northern California tournament. |
| Cecilia Sandoval lives in San Francisco and is works full-time for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. She is pursuing her master’s in public health with a concentration in environmental health and is due to complete it in February 2009. |
 Karen Vickers has joined Prudential California Realty as a Realtor in the St. Francis Wood office in San Francisco. |
2003
 Blaire Cleveland took a year off to travel; the highlight was sailing around the East Coast and throughout the Caribbean. She attended law school at Seattle University, took the California Bar Exam last July and then went backpacking in South America. She works at a labor and employment law firm in San Jose, and is looking forward to the five-year reunion. |
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| Chad O. Dickens lives in Oakland and is a sales consultant with Corporate Express in San Francisco. He had a great time cruising in the Bahamas, and would like to hear from fellow classmates. |
 Julie Kolch Olson is assistant dean of students and assistant director of student activities at Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento. Julie received a master’s in higher educational leadership and policy from Sacramento State. On Sept. 15, 2006, she married Justin Olson. She is running in her first half-marathon and her first triathlon this year. |
| Katie (Maloof) and Matt Alden ’04 were married at Lake Tahoe in September 2006. Susanne Schweitzer and Alison Bianchetti were in attendance. Katie and Matt recently purchased a condo in the South of Market District. They love calling San Francisco home and recently enjoyed watching the Gaels’ victorious triumph over USF! |
| Lesley McPherson and Nick Luppino ’02 are getting married in July in Sacramento. Nick teaches at Jesuit High School in Sacramento, and Lesley is coordinator of student services at the University of Sacramento. |
| Ankeny Minoux is president of the Foundation for Health Coverage Education, a nonprofit organization based in California working to simplify public and private health insurance eligibility information. She and her husband, Marshall Minoux, live in the Bay Area and do community service with the Junior League of San Francisco. |
 Christina (Rodriquez) Roybal ’03 and Edward Roybal ’01 welcomed their daughter, Nicolette Marie, into the world on Feb. 18, 2008. Bailey Edward, 5, enjoys being a big brother. |
Chad Cochran ECR has taught video production at San Ramon Valley High in Danville since graduating from SMC. He is married to Vicki, and with daughter Tori they welcomed their second child, Elijah, into the family on June 16, 2007.
2002
 Shaunte Adams is getting married in August 2009, two months after she will have graduated with her master’s in counseling psychology from JFK University in Pleasant Hill. Shaunte is earning hours toward her marriage and family therapy license at a Walnut Creek–based company and as a trainee at JFK’s Pittsburg Community Counseling Center. Shaunte and her fiancé, Aaron, met while employed at a Berkeley community center. |
| Eleanor (Alfaro) and Josh Lobue ’02 were married on June 10, 2006 at Saint Mary’s Church in Los Gatos. Eleanor works as an advocate promoting the rights of people with developmental disabilities. Josh is a real estate developer. The couple was awaiting the birth of their first child in April. They live in Los Gatos. |
 Kelsey (Barnum) Bonilla and her husband, Dennis, welcomed their daughter, Sienna Cathleen, on Jan. 2, 2008. She’s the answer to many prayers, and the new parents are enjoying all the challenges and joy of this phase of life. |
| Carrie Beidelman was engaged to Roger Ridley on Nov. 21, 2007 and will be married on July 12 at Saint Mary’s. They live in Petaluma. |
 Cynthia Boaz married Gheorghe Dicu in Romania on Jan.19. They met in Spain last March while Cynthia was a guest scholar in Castellon de la Plana. Cynthia will begin teaching in the Political Science Department at Sonoma State University in fall 2008. |
 Garret Deal was sworn in to practice law in June. On July 28, he married his beautiful bride, Lacey, in the SMC Chapel. His groomsmen included Adam Lazarus ’01 and Sean Tierney ’02. The Deals live in Lafayette with their dogs, Spike and Sunny. |
| Heidi (Eimers) Vasarhely announces her beautiful son, Hunter, is finally here, more than five days late. He weighed 9 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 ½ inches long. She hopes everyone is doing well and sends love. |
| Heather Foley was engaged to John Sibley on Nov. 26, 2007, and they plan to marry on Dec. 20 in Southern California. John is from England, and the couple lives in London where they met while Heather was in grad school. |
| Tony and Liz (Roberts) Graziani welcomed their first child, Keeley Adeline Graziani, on March 6, 2008. Liz teaches first grade on the central coast, and Tony has completed his master’s in biology at Cal Poly. He is a part-time lecturer and lab instructor at Cal Poly and a local community college. |
 Bree (Gunsworth) Al-Rashid recently left her five-year career as a financial planner to work with her husband, Laeth, in real estate in the greater Seattle area. |
| David Lindgren recently self-published his first book, Shadows and Stars, a collection of short stories and poems which is available from Amazon.com and other online booksellers. |
 Angela (Martinez) and Jeff Isola ’02 welcomed their daughter, Alessandra Rose (Class of 2030), into the world on Jan. 19, 2008, in San Francisco. |
| Micheline Sabatte spent 2007 finishing her master’s of science in integrated marketing communications at Northwestern University’s Medill School. She received the President’s Award at graduation; was featured in the Medill Mile — a series of wall panels with student quotes and photos to promote the school; served as the style & layout director for the Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications (JIMC); and joined Northwestern’s entrepreneurship and innovation club where she was a semi-finalist for the 2007 InNUvation new venture challenge competition. She lives in Chicago and is a product marketing manager for an SEM company. |
 Rachel (Wihl) Brockett and husband, Kurt, welcomed their daughter, Lauren Rose, on Jan. 8, 2008. She was baptized on Feb. 24 in the company of fellow alums Rebecca Adam, Carrie Beidelman, Christina Fruguglietti, Darran Mazaika, Melissa (Macias) Brennan and Dave Brennan ’99. |
2001
 Nolan Arieta, a registered physical therapist near Walnut Creek, was hired by Hydroworx International, which specializes in revolutionary therapy pools with built-in treadmills. Chris Webber of the Golden State Warriors used one of their pools to ensure a speedy recovery back to the basketball court. |
| Melissa (Camilleri) Magliola teaches at a Sacramento high school, where she is the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) coordinator. As a national staff developer for AVID, she will instruct teachers at the Sacramento and Chicago AVID Summer Institutes. AVID aims to support historically underrepresented student groups on their paths to college, and Melissa is thrilled many of the graduating seniors in her AVID class this year are planning to attend SMC in the fall. |
| Laura Cole returns to California to join KOVR/KMAX in Sacramento as a reporter. Laura was reporting for WBNS in Columbus, Ohio, where her work contributed to the station receiving a National Murrow Award. She began her career at KOLN/KGIN in Lincoln, Neb. You can reach her at lcole@kovr.com. |
 Hilda Ma is an assistant professor of English at SMC. She and her husband, Joseph Zeccardi, were married on June 16, 2007 in Ocean City, N.J. They live in Walnut Creek. |
| Tamara Mann and Phil Gomez ’03 were engaged in Maui in July 2007. They are planning a wedding in the SMC Chapel in October 2008. |
| Meghan (Walsh) Chisholm and husband, Jeff, live in the East Bay and welcomed their daughter, Sarah, in July 2006. They are expecting a son in June 2008. |
2000
 Shawna (Glenney) Heetland is in her second year at the University of the Pacific orthodontic graduate program in San Francisco and will graduate in September 2008. Since June 2002, she has been married to Kelly Heetland, who will graduate from Pacific’s dental school in June. |
 Erik and Erica (Glanz) Kachmarsky ’00 have a daughter, Grace Marie, born Aug. 14, 2007, and a son, Avery John, 2½. The family lives in Redmond, Wash., where Erik is a grant and contract administrator with the University of Washington’s Office of Sponsored Programs. Erica is a senior environmental consultant with ICF Jones & Stokes, a think tank and environmental firm. The family will maintain close ties to Southern California, as Erik and Erica are members of the Tournament of Roses Association. Contact them at: ekachmarsky@hotmail.com. |
