EC Magazine Winter 2018

WINTER 2018

EC Magazine

I N S I D E E A ST S I D E C AT H O LI C

EC MAGAZINE Inside Eastside Catholic WINTER

2018

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From Our Middle School Principal

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Servant Leadership

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Alumni Feature

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In The Classroom

10 Alumni Feature 12 In The Community 14 Scholarships 16 We Are EC 18 Class Notes

OUR MISSION Eastside Catholic School is a Catholic faith-based educational community where students learn to integrate their thinking and believing in ways that encourage intellectual excellence, nurture relationships and inspire a life of leadership and service to others.

ON THE COVER In 2008, we added grades six through eight to Eastside Catholic School as we opened the doors at our new home on the Sammamish Plateau. Join us in celebrating our 10 year milestone! Read more on page 4.

Sammamish Campus Construction in Progress J U N E

2 0 0 7

‘‘

The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.

— CHARLES DICKENS —

’’

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From Our Middle School Principal

Dear Eastside Catholic Community, THIS YEAR WE CELEBRATE a milestone as a school community—10 years on our beautiful Sammamish campus and 10 years of Eastside Catholic Middle School.

When the doors opened for the middle school in 2008, 163 students were enrolled, classes were held in one section of the building, start and stop times were different from the high school and the curriculum was newly established and independent of the high school.

The early years of the middle school were marked by the dedication and perseverance of our teachers, staff and administration to establish the strong foundation on which we are built today. We were extremely fortunate in the clear vision carried out by dedicated teachers and staff—including Erin Vickers, Karen Mathewson, Leslie Meier, Christopher Fraley and Teri Anderson—who have been with us since the doors opened. Over the past 10 years, the middle school has captured the spirit and legacy of the high school while also maintaining the unique character and closeness of a six through eight experience. The backbone of the middle school is united with the high school in our commitment to the Touchstones of Academic Excellence, Relationships and Servant Leadership, along with our Catholic faith and traditions.

It has been my honor to teach all three grades here at ECMS, each with its own magic and distinctive nature. As a religion and humanities teacher, the most important thing I could teach my students was to be kind and love themselves.

As a teacher, you are able to see your students on their best and worst days. Being there for each child, every day is a constant reminder of how important our roles as educators are in a child’s life.

Fast forward to today—middle school wing is filled with the laughter and learning of 234 students. Gone are the days of occupying one small section of the building as our middle schoolers have established a presence throughout the building, from the Black Box Theatre to the Athletic Pavilion to our classrooms on the second floor. Departments work together collectively grades six through twelve to facilitate our middle schoolers smooth transition into high school. Middle school students benefit from high school mentors through programs like Finding Kind and high school students are offered character education that was introduced initially as part of the middle school program.

The campus has also undergone significant changes in the last 10 years.

Landscaping has matured along with numerous enhancements including the installation of beautiful stained-glass windows in the Chapel, religious statuary, a multipurpose turf field used by all, a track surrounding the athletic field and a reflective garden that honors St. Francis of Assisi. Students, parents and benefactors have been instrumental in many of the transformations we enjoy today and we are grateful for their time, participation and contributions.

In May, we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Sammamish campus and Eastside Catholic Middle School in a special way over the course of 10 days. Watch for details in the coming weeks. We look forward to sharing this opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments with our community and consider the endless possibilities for our future.

A shley H ylton Middle School Principal

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Servant Leadership

SERVICE

BY THE NUMBERS Our students are committed to servant leadership as shown in these highlights from the 2016-17 school year.

77

#

of high school students who earned a varsity letter for service

27,975

#

of combined service hours completed

by EC students in one year

934 #

of local organizations on campus for the Middle School Service Fair

#

of students who volunteered time

15 $14,200 funds raised through Advent Giving Tree and Lenten Bamba Bowl programs

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Alumni Feature

Along for the Ride

with BROOKE BACHESTA ’10

A year ago,

I was sitting in my tiny studio apartment in First Hill, scrolling through Instagram when a friend pointed me towards a #VanLife account. I saw pictures of wide open van doors with mountains in the background, picturesque views of valleys, rivers and forests and the freedom that the open road provided. I was enamored. Six months later I bought a van. Seven months after that I quit my fancy technology sales job, gave away my belongings and moved into the van for good—I haven’t looked back!

Perhaps I should back up. While this transition from stable technology job to freedom on the road was relatively quick (about a year of planning), it was not immediate. It took careful organization, financial planning and the moral support of family and friends to make it happen. Over the course of a year, I began saving aggressively—I stopped buying things that I didn’t need and I got rid of most of the things that I owned. I downsized and sold most of my furniture to save money while living in a micro-studio (220 sq. feet!). I paid off my credit card debt, paid off the van and started to stockpile

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my “fun-employment fund.” I knew that there was no time like the present and wanted to take advantage of my 20’s—after all, it was just me and the dog. If there’s any time to take off, it’s now!

At the beginning of Summer 2017, I purged everything I owned except for what fit in the van. I got rid of my apartment and moved into my car full time. Owning next to nothing never felt better! I traveled for almost six months around the country. I made some amazing friends. Holy moly. I learned a lot. Overall, it seems that humans today don’t like being alone. And I don’t mean like alone on an island, because let’s face it, humans are pack animals and we need interaction. But I mean, alone with our thoughts for more than five minutes. Between Twitter, Instagram, email, Facebook and YouTube, it’s hard to actually unplug. And then when we do, it’s even harder to be by ourselves.

Although no longer “fun-employed,” I bring my work on the road with me and continue to travel as often as I can. I challenge you to do

too hot out, if my car broke down, if I couldn’t get Wi-Fi, I would generally get cranky and look for somewhere to order a bagel and coffee to eat while I stewed in silence and simultaneously called people to help me fix the problem. Now? Ok, yeah, I still eat baked goods with a coffee when I’m in a happy/sad/irritated/elated/anytime mood, and will probably still call someone for help, but once you realize that you’re by yourself and a) no one cares if you’re having a bad day, and b) no one is coming to help you out, you just figure it out. And that, I would argue, is something we could use a lot more of in the world today.

I started a blog to document these travels— a few post titles below. To read more, visit alongfortheride.blog.

it. Not only is it super peaceful, but it is totally worth living the cliché of “finding yourself” and learning how to be OK with being bored, being tired and cranky or being sad.

Additionally, there’s something to be said about learning how to make friends again. Seriously. We go to school as kids and make school friends, you may join clubs or sports teams to meet people too. Then when you get a job, you meet work friends. In Seattle especially, you make a group of friends and then stick with those same five people and complain about how “ugh, we never meet anyone.” No kidding! It’s because we go out in a tightly woven group. Traveling solo on the other hand—not only are you forced to go up to random strangers and do what we were taught to do when we were all five, “Hi! I’m Brooke, what’s your name?” but I’ve been shocked at how many people, groups, couples come up to me and strike up conversation.

I learned to just deal with stuff as it happens. Before, if it was

Blog

March 13, 2017

June 16, 2017

May 25, 2017

December 11, 2017

Camping in the rain: not quite as magical as the Don Kelly classic, but still delightful.

Yes, I too am shocked that I made a reference to a movie from the 1950’s … Moving right along!

Bed Set Up I’m tall, like really tall (6’1”), and I still manage to sleep comfortably in a mini-van conversion.

Choteau, Montana I documented my conversation with a Montana man who claims to have seen Sasquatch, worked on top secret government projects and “seen the truth.”

Enjoying canned corn for lunch and other freedoms of van life Freedom ain’t all about driving, and other useful dirtbag mantras.

After graduating from EC, Brooke went on to play volleyball on a full athletic scholarship at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She graduated with a B.A. in English and a minor in Sociology. She’ll be spending most of Spring 2018 working as a consultant for NW Benefit Advisors, coaching volleyball for Sudden Impact Volleyball Club in Bellevue and adventuring in the Pacific Northwest. Follow her adventures with Chalupa at alongfortheride.blog or on Instagram @BrookeBachesta.

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In The Classroom

Attended St . Anthony School i n Renton and Holy Names Academy in S eattle B. A . from the U n iversi t y of Sa n D iego Favor i te Book : Tattoos on the Hea r t by Fr. Greg Boyle Joi ned EC facu l t y i n 2014 I grew up waitressing in the family restaurant!

Hob bies: I love to h i ke

Living Her Faith Anna Ricci

What teacher inspired you in high school?

What made you choose campus ministry as a career?

What surprises you most about EC students?

One of the campus ministers when I was at Holy Names, Marianne McGah, once told me that she thought I would be a great religion teacher or campus minister. At the time, I never thought that was the path I would take, but I do think it stuck with me in some way. She coordinated the Search Retreat program which is very like EC’s Destiny retreat. When I worked with her as a student leader I was profoundly impacted by her ability to meet students where they were at, share her own faith and bring joy and laughter to spiritual moments.

I have always attended Catholic schools and my own faith has been formed by my experiences with campus ministry programs. While my family was active at our parish, I connected with my school ministry programs in a unique way. In college, I began to take more leadership roles in ministry, leading a small faith sharing group, coordinating retreat programs and leading service and immersion experiences. These opportunities taught me to begin to find God in all things and I wanted to be able to share that with students. They also ignited a passion for social justice and prompted me to always look for different ways I can serve others.

I am consistently amazed by our students’ capacity for love and understanding. The ways that they support one another and practice compassion always remind me to do the same.

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The best part of being at EC is…

Without a doubt the community. The faculty and staff are outstanding individuals. I feel honored to be able to call them friends and colleagues. They constantly motivate me and challenge me to be a better staff member, teacher and better person. The students are wonderful. I love working with them and am

“The informal time I interact with students is absolutely the highlight of any day.”

grateful that they let me be a part of their school experience. The families are also so grateful, supportive and generous.

Has the role of campus ministry changed over the past few years?

As society and technology are constantly shifting, campus ministry is also changing to keep up. Currently, our students have so many external pressures and involvements that it is essential for us to provide a space for them to just be and let go of all those outside expectations. Additionally, we need to constantly be incorporating conversations around current events and ideas that are prominent in the culture of our students lives today because our faith is something that is woven into every aspect of our daily life.

What do you enjoy most about working with students?

The informal time I interact with students is absolutely the highlight of any day—whether it is in a class, planning a retreat, students stopping by my office or at Mass. I enjoy the moments to connect, to hear about what is going on in their lives and to learn from their reflections and thoughts. Students constantly bring a smile to my face and give me energy for the rest of the day.

Any advice for students who are thinking of campus ministry as a career?

with students throughout middle school and high school. I think the advice I have is universal in terms of thinking about their future. When I was in El Salvador on an immersion trip in college, a nun I met defined spirituality as “living out your deepest truth.” I think that is what we all should seek in our lives. Finding what you know to be true and then searching for a way to live that out and incorporate it into what you do every day. For me this is the idea that we were all created to be loved, and everything else was created to facilitate this love. I find that love to be rooted in God, and so I strive to live that out each day.

I would start by sharing that it is an amazing privilege and blessing to be able to journey

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Alumni Feature

ROSLYN BURNS ’04

Alumni Feature: Roslyn Burns ‘XX

Now a professor of linguistics at the Now a professor of linguistics at the University University of California, Los Angeles, Roslyn of shared with us detailsLos aboutAngeles, Roslyn shared with California, her field of study, her influences and us details about her eld of study, her inuences what fascinates her about studying how fascinates her about researching languagesand changewhat over time.

how languages change over time.

COMPLEXITIES of LANGUAGE Can you tell us more about your field of study?

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language as a system.

There are five core areas: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics.

There are a variety of reasons why people study linguistics— mainly we want to know what mental structures are associated with language production and processing (among other things).

In addition to these core areas, some people are interested in how these systems vary across populations, how we learn the properties that are specific to our own language, how we learn properties of other languages, and the history of languages. One of our guiding principles is that there is no such thing as the “right” way to say things other than what native speakers of the language actually produce. Even then, there is valuable information that you can learn from the way that non-native speakers communicate. This is something that stands in contrast to, say, literature studies, where you often find people who want to say “this is the right way” to write or talk. We view this approach as prescriptive and socially guided, but not what language truly is at its core.

What inspired you to pursue a career in linguistics?

Ms. Skoog insisted that if we could, we should take a linguistics course because it's fascinating. We went to the University of Washington for a prospective student college visit day for language and literature studies. The schedule included a demo lecture by the Linguistics Department. The instructor said that he could visually show us the difference between a native Spanish speaker and an English speaker who learned Spanish. I was interested and volunteered as a non10

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native Spanish speaker and a young man volunteered as a native Spanish speaker. The instructor recorded both of us saying the word vaca (cow) and then analyzed our speech. He was just going based on an image that came from the recordings and mixed up who was the native Spanish speaker. It turns out that the guy who was a native speaker is a heritage speaker meaning that there could have been a lot of English influence in his Spanish. Although I am a native English speaker, I mostly learned my pronunciation from Spanish speaking family friends who were recent immigrants from Mexico.

I was apparently able to manipulate my pronunciation just enough to affect a native accent for that sample that I gave. After that, I was really interested and wanted to learn more about linguistics and share what I knew about it with others.

What is your area of expertise? What are you hoping to do with your research work?

I have two areas: socio-historical linguistics and phonology. I study how languages change over time, physical or perceptual motivations for certain sound changes, how change spreads thoughout a population, and I do a little bit of reconstruction of dead languages.

I work in this area because we can learn interesting stories about our own history that we ourselves may not know.

When languages change, people don’t go to sleep one night talking one way and wake up speaking in a completely different manner. It’s more gradual and needs to spread through a population. When changes spread, they have pathways that rely on our interactions with others and how we want to be perceived.

We understand quite a bit about age variation, gender variation, and social class variation (in populations that have social class like

the U.S.), but we’re just coming to understand how other social variables provide pathways for change. I look at religion as a social variable.

In my studies, I find that people can control things like word choice fairly well if they want to signal affiliations and affinities to certain groups, but they don’t have as much conscious control over the production of sounds (maybe they’ll pick up on one sound, but not others). In one population that I work with, I found that denominations, each with different degrees of selfimposed distancing from others, still interact quite a bit. The various denominations would use different words as an outward expression of their affiliations, but their pronunciation had a lot of new developments that didn’t exist before their communities settled together in the same region (meaning that they interacted with each other in spite of their differences).

The particular sounds that I investigate tend to be vowels. I am interested in something called chain shifting which is when vowels get up and play musical chairs. No one really knows why it happens, but it’s frequent in some languages but not others.

Right now in the U.S., the three main active chain shift areas are the Great Lakes region, California and the South. In addition to studying what is happening in these regions, I also analyze vowel shifts in languages other than English and actively visit communities to collect data.

Which teachers inspired you at Eastside Catholic?

There were many of them but above all Gary Culbert (Doc). He had standards for us and he held us to those standards. I liked that he could really talk with us and relate to us. It didn’t matter that he had a Ph.D and used to teach college students; he enjoyed working with us and truly cared about the students, our ability to learn, and our ability to reach our dreams. He insisted that as high school students, we could learn Middle English. When we first started Young Mennonite; fieldwork drawing by Roslyn Burns

reading Chaucer in his class, I was dumbstruck by the similarity that Middle English had to both Spanish (that I studied with Karen Skoog) and German (that I studied with Gina Smith and Adam Schmidt). There were some words where I looked and thought, “this one is from Romance” and others where I looked and thought, “this one has to be related to the same word in German.” Above all, I wanted to know why the vowels of German and Spanish were so close to Middle English vowels, but the modern English vowels were different (hint: it was a vowel chain shift).

What do you enjoy most about being a college professor?

I love information and knowledge exchange. Someone with the title “professor” generally has a lot of jobs, teaching is only one of them and research/publication is one of the others. There are some people who really like research and don’t like teaching, but I absolutely love teaching, mentoring my students, and helping my colleagues learn (whether they’re in my department or not).

Writing reviews for articles is also something that is interesting.

You have the chance to learn a lot during the process. I also like working with the communities whose languages I study. I feel like I have made quite a few friends in the process and learn about a new worldview every time. In exchange, they get to learn different things about their own history that I may have had knowledge of that they didn’t.

Did the experiences you had at EC shape your career?

Absolutely. I think for me, it was important to work with students in the Options Program as a part of my work for National Honors Society. I didn’t understand the variety of different approaches and modalities to learning and teaching before that. Some of the openness that I saw was towards people of different religions. I had interacted with Buddhists before, but I had never really interacted with Muslim or Jewish communities and had never really interacted with people from different countries before. We learned that being from somewhere else wasn’t their defining characteristic. All of these things are important for me to know as an instructor and as someone who actively does research in communities other than my own. It was high school though, so I am not going to pretend like everything was rainbows and sunshine. There is always room for improvement in the area of openness (especially racial and religious), but some of that just comes with growing older and experiencing new things outside of what you know.

Any hidden talents?

Nothing about me is “hidden.” I am very open about the things that I do and interests that I have. I guess students are generally surprised by my Halloween endeavors (I always wear a costume and try to remember to give students candy).

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In The Community

Living Our Mission Reflections from Nicaragua

BY ANNA RICCI,

CAMPUS MINISTRY DIRECTOR

Over the summer, Karen Skoog and A.J. Hostak joined me and seven high school students on a mission trip to Nicaragua to serve with Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) Nicaragua.

The NPH program began in 1954 and has now helped over 18,000 homeless children in nine countries. Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos is Spanish for “our little brothers and sisters” and provides shelter and care for these children.

Through our experiences, we learned that we were not there to save the children or make major changes to the orphanage environment. We were there to build relationships. And we did.

We played, laughed, prayed and shifted our perspective. We were challenged, accepted, welcomed and loved unconditionally. We built many relationships that we will never forget, and we will

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cherish this experience always.

During our time with our NPH family, we helped both inside and outside of the orphanage. In the kitchen, we cleaned chickens, sorted rice and beans and washed windows. On the farm, we helped plant crops, washed and fed the pigs, herded cows away from the watermelon patch and picked up trash. We pitched in on construction projects around the orphanage and even helped build a concrete patio and lay tiles in the church!

Each member of our mission team, students and adults, sponsored a godchild at the orphanage and had the opportunity to meet and engage deeper in each child’s life during the time we spent there. We are excited to continue those relationships through letters, photos and hopefully a visit again in the future.

BY EMILY DURRELL,

CLASS OF 2018

I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) in Nicaragua alongside several other Eastside students and teachers.

As we stepped outside the airport into the warm humid weather and pouring rain, we were greeted by the directors of NPH. When we arrived at the orphanage, I was amazed at the sight of the children eagerly waiting to greet us. The duration of our time was spent working in the greenhouse, the kitchen and interacting with all the children. My godchild was abandoned by her father before she was born and her mother left her when she was only two weeks old. NPH has given her a loving family that I am very grateful to now be a part of. Despite all the hardship and adversity these children have gone through, they never failed to put a smile on each other’s faces.

When I first met my godchild, she took my hand to come sit with her and from there my week changed. I would teach her and her friends English games—their favorite one was Quack Diddly

Oso. I couldn’t help but smile everytime I saw her that week because I realized I was now a part of the pequeño (little) family.

There was the constant sound of laughter and greetings of “hola” as we passed a pequeño. From playing soccer with some of the boys who were much better than we were, to the little girls who always took Owen and Alex’s water bottles, to jumping rope and playing frisbee, the children were always so happy.

As we celebrated Mass with the children on our final night, I took time to remind myself of what I am grateful for. NPH is loving. NPH is accepting. NPH is a home. NPH is a family. I am grateful for everyone in the NPH home that has impacted my life. I am grateful for the relationships that were built with all the pequeño and with all the other EC students and teachers. I am grateful for all of you and the welcoming community Eastside Catholic is. I hope that all of you take this time to think about what you are grateful for and reflect on the special opportunities you have been a part of.

What did a typical day look like in Nicaragua?

Sunday, June 25—from our Mission Trip Diary: 7:30 a.m.

9 a.m.

12 p.m.

2 p.m.

6 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

9 p.m.

Woke up and had breakfast together. Go to workstations—construction and kitchen, carrying tile and sorting beans with children Toured the grounds and visited the school, workshops, farm, greenhouses and children’s homes Had lunch with the girls and spent time playing games with them We cheered on the boys at their soccer game. They won and we had ice cream with the team!

Enjoyed dinner and playtime with the little boys’ house—they have endless energy!

Our group played a relay game together and some of us danced with their dancers as well!

Group reflection time EC MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

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Scholarships

Roberta Farmer believed in a Catholic school and science. Peter Dorratcague loved the spirit a strongly in EC and left a lasting legacy that is be We thank their families and others for co

The 2017-18 scholarship recipients embody the charac

Mason Leach PAT R I C K J . D E V I N Y S C H O L A R S H I P

What did receiving the scholarship mean to you? Receiving the Peter Dorratcague Scholarship made me feel even more enthusiastic in math and sciences. It felt good to be noticed for my hard work over all these years.

What are your favorite classes? Why? My favorite class right now is advanced projects (Computer Science) because that class gives me the freedom to learn about what I am interested in learning about. I also think it is a good skill to know how to work on big projects that span over multiple weeks.

What are your plans after high school? I plan to go to college and major in engineering.

I am looking forward to continued learning about math and science in college.

What are your favorite things about EC? I really like the accepting community and how passionate the teachers are about their subjects.

What teachers have inspired you? Mr. Henderson, Mrs. Rachubo and Mr. Brown.

Lily Lockhart R O B E RTA FA R M E R S C H O L A R S H I P

What did receiving the scholarship mean to you? The Roberta Farmer Scholarship validated my religious work as a Youth Leadership Team member at my parish and encouraged me to continue with the leadership team and become a small group leader at middle school youth group.

What are your favorite classes? Why? My favorite class is AP Government because Mr. Matthews is a really engaging, fun teacher and we get to do relay races on ELOs. What are your plans after high school? After high school, I plan to go to college (hopefully on the east coast) and major in biochemistry then go on to graduate school to become a pharmacist.

What are your favorite things about EC? My favorite thing about EC is the classroom environment because students are excited to learn and I have access to quality teachers who give me personalized help when needed.

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on the Eastside. Patrick Deviny enjoyed math and activities at Eastside Catholic. They believed enefiting EC students today and into the future. ontinuing to support these scholarships.

cteristics that these scholarships were meant to honor.

Ryan Marrow P E T E R E . D O R R AT C A G U E S C H O L A R S H I P

What did receiving the scholarship mean to you? Receiving the Peter Dorratcague Scholarship meant the world to me, and I really appreciated it.

What are your favorite classes? Why? My favorite classes are all the Options classes because I have such a good time with the teacher and the Options students.

What are your plans after high school? I want to go to Bellevue College for two years, then move on to Foster School of Business for 4 years, then I want to build my own company.

What are your favorite things about EC? I love everything about EC, it’s a great school and I don’t want to graduate.

What teachers have inspired you? Mr. O’Rourke, Mr. Odem, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Hostak, Mr. Roberts, Mrs. Foreman, Keitzer, Ms. Larsen, Daniel, Cameron, Coach T, Ms. Johnson, Kwan and Mr. Rodenburg.

Peyton Wright PAT R I C K J . D E V I N Y S C H O L A R S H I P

What did receiving the scholarship mean to you? It was an honor to receive an award from an Eastside Catholic family recognizing their son and his success in the Math/Sciences. I’m very proud to be associated with Patrick J. Deviny’s legacy.

What are your favorite classes? Why? My favorite classes at Eastside Catholic have been biology because of its holistic approach to life and its systems and chemistry because the investigation of properties and their different reactions fascinates me.

What are your plans after high school? I am planning on attending a university next year and pursuing a career in pediatric nursing.

What are your favorite things about EC? EC feels like a family. I have formed a close bond with my classmates, especially on the retreats—Destiny and the Senior Pilgrimage.

What teachers have inspired you? Mr. Henderson inspired me the most. He is passionate about the subject matter and is determined to ensure that students learn the content.

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We Are EC

Making History This year, the girls cross country team grabbed headlines and made history. The fall athletic season is often filled with volleyball and football highlights and again this year both went to state. But, after a 33-year hiatus, the 2017-18 girls cross country team qualified for the 3A WIAA State Championship Meet. A relatively young group—two seniors, three sophomores and one freshman—the team placed third at districts which qualified them for a state berth. Not since 1984 has EC been represented at the state tournament, and members of the 1984 team took the time to write and send letters of inspiration and encouragement to the 2017 team. The letters were read as the girls traveled to Eastern Washington for the state meet.

FAST FACTS 1/2 of the team is named Kate or Cate 1/3 of the team members are identical twins (Ashlyn and Kyleigh Ramos) 2/3 of the team are underclassmen 1/3 are All-League runners 5/6 of the team participated in the Middle School CYO cross country program 1 team member is a track and field state champion and named to All-State team (Kate Jendrezak) 1 team member has never run competitively before and reached a personal record in every race she ran (Cate Stoutt)

“We had tremendous senior leadership with Ashlyn and Kyleigh Ramos—the younger girls rallied around them to achieve something great,” said Cross Country Coach Brandi Faith. “As the season came to an end, these girls just kept getting better. Their dedication strengthened, their bond grew and they began to believe in something greater than their individual goals. These girls were running for each other and that is powerful.”

These student-athletes were also successful in the classroom—they held the highest GPA of all the fall season athletic teams with an impressive average of 3.895.

Congratulations Crusaders!

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1 team member will continue her running career at the collegiate level (Ashlyn Ramos, Bucknell University) 100% of the team improved their time from districts to place third as a team and advance to the state meet 100% of the team improved their times at the State Championship meet to achieve 7th place overall

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This past August, on a perfect sunny Northwest afternoon, Eastside Catholic alumni, parents and friends hit the links for the Crusader Golf Classic at The Plateau Club in Sammamish. One hundred and four golfers enjoyed lunch, eighteen holes of golf and a delicious catered reception. Golfers participated in a putting contest, “closest to the pin,” and had a chance to win a car with a hole-inone, courtesy of Honda Auto Center of Bellevue. EC Golf Coach Matt O’Rourke was on hand for the “Coach’s Drive” to assist players wanting help from the “Pro.” Proceeds raised by Matt went towards the EC golf team. A post-event reception recognized teams with the best scores. Thank you golfers, volunteers and sponsors for joining us at this community-building event!

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Nearly 70 members of the Class of 1987 attended the 30 year reunion on September 23 at the Overlake Golf and Country Club in Bellevue. Many traveled from across the country and globe to attend with one alum joining from Japan!

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A fun-loving group from the Class of 1997 gathered August 19 at the Marco Polo Bar and Grill owned by Matt Miera ’98 and located in the Georgetown neighborhood in Seattle.

Join Us

Upcoming Eastside Catholic School Events

Visit eastsidecatholic.org/calendar for details.

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Classmates reconnected at the Third Annual Alumni BBQ held on the EC campus this past July.

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The Class of 2007 reunion was held November 22 at the Flatstick Pub located in Seattle’s Pioneer Square.

February 28 March 8 March 16 March 17 March 25 April 18-22 April 28 May 22 June 1 June 4 June 6 June-August July 19 July 20-22

2018

Choir Candlelight Serenade Spring Band and Choir Concert March Madness Father Son Event 33rd Annual STARS Gala Auction Alumni Easter Egg Hunt Spring Musical: Seussical the Musical Grandparents and Special Friends Day Final Band Concert Baccalaureate Class of 2018 Graduation Eighth Grade Promotion Summer Camps Alumni BBQ Reunion Weekend

—Class of 1988, 1998 and 2008 Reunions— Details will be posted on the EC Alumni Facebook page.

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Class Notes

Alia Pappas ’13

Jarrod Roberts ’00

1993 Tyler Runnells joined Eastside Catholic in 2017 as the director of technology. He returns to EC after 17 years of working in IT in the health and education sectors. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and holds several IT professional certifications.

2000

share your news Do you have a new job?

A new address?

A new child?

Want to get involved?

Send an email with any updates to alumni@ eastsidecatholic.org.

Jarrod Roberts and Andrea Roberts welcomed their son Roland on December 31, 2017. He weighed 8 lbs. and 12 oz. and was 21 inches long.

Roland is in good company with his three older siblings Patrick (1), Kennedy (5) and Olivia (8).

2003 Edward Dindinger married Rori Stokes in March. Edward graduated in 2017 from the University of Idaho, College of Law. He passed the state bar exam and is working as a licensed insurance producer for Farmers Insurance in Ketchum, Idaho.

2004 Roslyn Burns and Bill Lundberg were married in the Cathedral in Aachen Germany on January 16, 2018. Fr. Heric presided. See Alumni Profile on page 10.

2006 Corey Galvagno and Melissa Feeney were married on August 26 in the chapel at Holy Names Academy in Seattle.

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eastsidecatholic.org

Roslyn Burns ’04

Marlena Norwood ’12 and Johnny Bannick ’12

Kate [Hein] Hirschler and Ryan Hirschler were married on April 29 at Holy Names Cathedral in Chicago.

Mary [Schwed] Stevenson wed Chris Stevenson on September 16 at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum surrounded by family and friends.

The newlyweds currently reside on the Eastside. Mary now works for Fidelity National Title.

2008 David Dingler, an EC high school social studies teacher, was awarded a James Madison Fellowship by the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. The fellowship will help to fund David’s pursuit of a master’s degree.

Christy Kolwitz graduated in April 2017 from the Pacific Northwest University Medical School. She is pursuing her residency in general surgery at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, New York.

2009 Matt Boyd and his wife Ashley welcomed their first child, a daughter, Meira Joy Boyd, on July 27.

Lauren Rambaldini and Riley Maris were engaged this past summer and are looking forward to their wedding in the summer of 2018.

2010 Brooke Bachesta embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. After purchasing a van and turning it into a camper, she

Lauren Rambaldini ’09 and Riley Maris ’09

took six months off to travel around the country with her puppy. See Alumni Profile on page 6.

2012 Malia [Bachesta] Eley wed Rob Eley on October 7 at St. Peter’s Church in Washington, D.C. Fr. Heric presided.

Malia and Rob met while they were attending Northeastern University. Malia is enjoying her work on the finance team of a non-profit in Washington, D.C. and she and Rob live in Virginia.

Johnny Bannick and Marlena Norwood wed on July 15 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Seattle. Johnny and Marlena met at Eastside Catholic and both attended the University of Washington. Johnny earned his B.A. in business administration and Marlena earned her B.S. in public health with a minor in mathematics. Johnny is working at Deloitte as a business analyst.

Marlena is pursuing a graduate degree in biostatistics at the UW and working as a post-bachelor fellow at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle.

Serena [Vanderwark] Quinn and Brandan Quinn were married on December 16 at Holy Family Church in Kirkland. Fr. Heric presided.

Kristina Boswell graduated from Gonzaga University on May 14 with a master’s degree in accountancy. She is now working at Moss Adams LLP in Seattle.

Corey Galvagno ’06

Anna Kate Hard ’13

Matt Boyd ’09

2013

2017

Anna Kate Hard graduated

Caroline Sonnen is loving her

cum laude in May from St. John’s University in New York with a B.S. in physics. Over the summer, Anna traveled to Ghana with the Global Brigades medical and dental team. The previous two summers she worked as a research intern at Harvard’s School of Public Health in Boston and is a published writer for her research articles. Anna will soon begin a research position at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York while studying for the MCAT.

college experience at Gonzaga University and was accepted to the prestigious Comprehensive Leadership Program (CLP). Caroline is continuing to be a servant leader at Gonzaga and will be working towards a minor in leadership studies.

Sarah Lewis graduated from Gonzaga University in May 2017 with a B.A. in history. After graduation, she moved to New York to attend St. John’s University and is currently pursuing her master’s in teaching literacy for grades 1-6.

Alia Pappas earned her B.S. degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara in June.

2015 Juliana Beauchene received a grant from the Institute on Ecosystems at Montana State to study Thermophiles this summer.

She was also awarded the Presidential Emerging Scholars grant which culminated with a presentation of her research findings at the International Conference on Thermophiles in Kruger National Park, South Africa at the end of August 2017.

Mallie Floresca and Madeline Iem volunteered two weeks of their

Mary [Schwed] Stevenson ’06

Sarah Lewis ’13

Malia [Bachesta] Eley ’12 along with Fr. Heric and fellow EC alums

college winter break at EC as trained facilitators for the One Love Program.

Speaking to current juniors and seniors, they shared the program’s message which stresses the importance of healthy relationships and offers strategies to accomplish that goal.

IN MEMORIAM To the following members of our EC community who have died, but whose spirit lives on always in our hearts.

Juliana Beauchene ’15

Kate [Heflin] Hirschler ’06

Serena [Vanderwark] Quinn ’12 and Brandan Quinn

Kristina Boswell ’12

Mary Beaver Parent

Mark Groven Alumni Parent

Brendan Evasick

Former Faculty Member

Bill Green

Former Faculty Member

Jack Kerstetter Parent

Jason Palm ’95 Alumni

Kenneth Robinson

Former Faculty Member

Wendi Traynor ’10 Alumni

Denise Webber ’88 Alumni

EC MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

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EASTSIDE CATHOLIC Eastside Catholic School 232 228th Avenue SE Sammamish, WA 98074 eastsidecatholic.org

Eastside Catholic School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship, tuition assistance and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.