2018 Alumni Awards

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Congratulations to our 2018 honorees! Learn more about each winner below. Learn more about each award and view past recipients.

Rand Morimoto

Rand Morimoto, Ph.D. is a tech industry pioneer with his career spanning over four decades with the past 32 years as the founder and President of Convergent Computing, a San Francisco Bay Area based technology and strategy consulting firm whose consultants serve some of the largest enterprises in the United States and Asia.  Rand has written over 60 bestselling books on technology, business strategy, and regulatory compliance, and speaks at a conference or convention somewhere in the world every month.

Dr Morimoto has served the Clinton, Bush, and Obama Administrations as Y2K, Cybersecurity, and Cyberterrorism advisor to develop federal and international standards on consumer and business security and protection.

Rand completed his Master of Business Administration at Saint Mary’s College, served as a Regent of the College, was a member of the School of Science advisory board, and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees serving as the Chair of the Academic Affairs and Enrollment Committee, and member of the Governance Committee for the College.

In addition to his work in tech and academics, Rand furthers his interest in sciences and education being a Research Council Board member for the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University and has served on the Board for the Chabot Space and Science Center as well as on the Advisory Board for the Institute of International Education (IIE) that administers the Fulbright Scholarships.

Marilyn Paquette '97

Marilyn Paquette has been passionately working in Lasallian Mission for nearly 20 years. After graduating from Saint Mary's in 1997, Marilyn began her teaching credential at the School of Education.

Soon after, Marilyn became a Lasallian Volunteer. She served for two years as the 8th grade teacher at San Miguel School in Providence, Rhode Island - a middle school focused on serving students from low-income families.  

Marilyn completed her teaching credential at SMC in 2001 and was then hired as a history teacher and campus minister at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco, where she was introduced to student programs run by the District for Lasallian High Schools and participated in the Lasallian Leadership Institute.  

From 2006-2011 Marilyn worked as the Director of Student Programs for Lasallian schools. Working in the Office of Education for Lasallian schools she Lasallian formation opportunities for students and adults that helped her gained a sense of the larger scale of Lasallian work.

In 2011 Marilyn accepted a position at Justin-Siena High School as Dean of Women.

While serving on the Board of Trustees for De La Salle High School she learned of a position at a Miguel school serving boys from low-income families. After three years as Dean at Justin-Siena, Marilyn left to open De La Salle Academy in 2014 and was honored to be named as the founding principal.

PAST WINNERS

De La Salle Award

Christopher Sindt, PhD

Christopher Sindt is a professor of English and currently serves as the vice provost for academic affairs. He has worked at Saint Mary’s since 2000. 

During his seventeen years at Saint Mary’s, Sindt has developed an exemplary record of academic leadership and administration, serving as program director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing, the associate dean of the School of Liberal Arts, the dean of the Kalmanovitz School of Education, the vice provost for graduate and professional studies, and currently, the vice provost for academic affairs. His current portfolio includes a wide range of areas, such as career and professional development, community engagement, educational effectiveness, faculty development, institutional research, international studies, sponsored research, and student success. In 2011-2012, he was selected as an American Council of Education Fellow, the nation’s premier training program for university administrators.   He currently serves as chair-elect of the Board of Directors of the Council of Graduates and Vice President of the Board of the Directors of the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley.

Sindt earned his MA and PhD in English from the University of California, Davis, and a BA in English from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships for his poetry, including the James D. Phelan award and fellowships at the Macdowell Colony and the Blue Mountain Center. He is the author of two collections of poetry, The Bodies, and most recently, System and Population. In addition to poetry, his research interests include the literature of California, and environmental literature. He is the co-director of SMC’s Center for Environmental Literacy.

PAST WINNERS

HONORARY ALUMNA

Millicent Lenore McCormack

- Active member of the Saint Mary's College Guild

- Served as publicity chair for several years

- Helped secured donations for a number of Saint Mary's causes

 

PAST WINNERS

Meritorious Service Award

Karl Beutner '71 MD, PhD

Karl R. Beutner ’71 was a founding member and first Chairperson of the Saint Mary’s College School of Science Advisory Board. He and his wife Mary have strongly supported efforts to purchase much needed equipment for the School of Science.

After graduation Karl went on to earn MA and PhD in microbiology and immunology as well as an MD from the State University of New York at Buffalo. This was followed by internship and residency at UCLA, a fellowship in immunology and infectious diseases and a residency in dermatology at the University of Rochester.

He then returned to his hometown of Vallejo, CA to practice dermatology. In addition to building a clinical practice he started a clinical trials group that conducted hundreds of clinical trials resulting in the development of new treatments and vaccines for a variety of skin diseases.

Over time he gravitated toward working in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical sector. He was Chief Medical Officer of Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences which was acquired by Valent Pharmaceuticals and Anacor Pharmaceuticals which was acquired by Pfizer.  Currently along with his clinical practice he is co-founder CEO and CMO of DermBiont a company focused on the cutaneous microbiome to better understand and treat skin diseases.

Karl and Mary are also very proud of their Gael children Karl R. Beutner III ’06 a computational biologist with Amgen, his wife Emily Robbins Beutner ’08 Dean of Students La Reina High School, Katherine R. Beutner ’07 a nurse practitioner at Stanford, and Matthew R. Beutner M.D. ’11 an internal medicine resident at UCSF Fresno and his wife Sara Cardoso Beutner ’11, teacher Clovis Unified School District. Sara and Emily are currently on maternity leave with future Gaels Adeline and Elizabeth.

PAST WINNERS

Emerging Leader Award

Yusuf Nessary '13

Yusuf Nessary is the proud son of two Afghan refugees who emigrated to Los Angeles in 1980. He graduated from Saint Mary's with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Yusuf was deeply committed to CILSA and Jumpstart during his tenure at SMC, and was recognized nationally for his leadership with the organization.  While attaining his post-baccalaureate at Northwestern University, he founded Zam Zam Water; a global humanitarian organization working to eradicate poverty by increasing communities' access to clean water, quality education, and sustainable farming. Since its inception on July 26, 2014, Zam Zam has raised over $1,000,000 through grassroots funding and impacted the lives of over 25,000 people around the world. Earlier this year, Yusuf spoke at the Vatican at the inaugural Watershed conference, facilitated by the Pope and the Club of Rome. As the only millennial on the panel, he spoke of the importance of water and what it means to future generations. 

PAST WINNERS

 

Mandy Bible '07 - Hall of Fame Inductee

A three-time all-West Coast Conference honoree, Bible graduated as one of the most accomplished players in the history of the women's volleyball program.

She ended her career as a Gael first in total assists with 5,362, first in assists per game with 12.47, first in service aces (128), first in service attempts (1980), second in block assists (400) and ninth in digs (939). During her sophomore campaign Bible and the Gaels made an impressive run into the NCAA Tournament, falling to the University of Washington in the Sweet 16. The Gaels defeated the future national champions, Stanford, twice that season. Bible also earned two National Player of the Week honors. 

From 2009 to 2015, Bible continued her playing career in several parts of Europe. She began her career as a member of the OK Luka Koper Volleyball Club in Slovenia, winning a bronze medal in the 2010-11 season. In 2011, she signed with ASKO Linz Steg Volleyball Club and competed in the CEV Cup, Middle European League and Austrian League. She helped the club finish second in the Austrian League both seasons, and advanced to the CEV Cup quarterfinals during the 2012-13 season. After taking 2013-14 off, Bible re-signed with OK Luka Koper and earned an award for best setter in Slovenia while helping the club reach the finals of the Slovenian Cup. While overseas, she met her husband, Uros. They had their first son, Kai, last March. 

She returned to Saint Mary's to begin her coaching career and currently serves an assistant women's volleyball coach. 

HALL OF FAME MEMBERS