Spring 2012
Lowell Alumni Association
Page 5
Nine Faculty Retirees Include Three Alums
Tribute To A Great Lowell Counselor (And Alumna) By Jessica Yap ’11 Editor’s Note: May Choi ’68 retired last June after 17 years of dedicated service as a counselor to thousands of Lowellites. It was sometime during the first few weeks of freshman year, and I remember trekking down to the T’s to talk to my newly assigned counselor: Ms. Choi the Great. This title does not go unwarranted. Ms. Choi is truly an amazing counselor. She’s not afraid to tell it to her students straight, grounding them in the facts and realities for what lies ahead at Lowell and beyond. But she also pushes students to challenge themselves. And this doesn’t necessarily mean telling her kids to pile up on APs and honors. It means challenging her kids to perhaps forgo a weighted course to pursue something interesting or character building, like photography or peer resources. Ms. Choi is an advocate for holistic, big-picture education, which tickles my insides so pink that I’m at a loss of words. She has been a support system too,
scouting out scholarship, internship, and myriad opportunities and duly updating her Lowellites with personal notes in Reg. or the occasional weekend email (which often comes late on a Saturday night!). Ms. Choi has added some sanity to Lowell’s frequent mayhem, continuously going the extra mile. She doesn’t hand-hold, but she sure doesn’t discourage, and if you seek her out, she’ll help you mold for yourself a strengthening Lowell experience. Ms. Choi has been a vital part in making sure Lowell teaches its students how to deal with life and how to excel because of it. Lowell really has been graced with someone as amazing as Ms. Choi, and we will most definitely miss her. Perhaps you should write a guidebook on counseling in your retirement, Ms. Choi, and be the impetus for education reform. Enjoy your retirement Ms. Choi, but please, please, please be sure to come and visit! Jessica Yap Lowell class of 2011 Harvard University class of 2015 (to which I would have probably not applied if Ms. Choi didn’t tell me to).
Caught In The Headlines by Terry Abad ’76 Just when you thought that Lowell alumni had earned just about every honor possible over the previous century and a half, 2011 saw some notable firsts. Jennifer Egan ’80 became the first Lowell grad to win the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her inventive, time-bending novel, “A Visit from the Goon Squad.” (Cartoonist Reuben “Rube” Goldberg from the Lowell class of 1900 won the Pulitzer for political cartooning in 1948.) And the second time around was the charm for Charles Ferguson ’72 as he won the 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for writing, directing and producing “Inside Job”, dealing with the 2008 global financial meltdown. Ferguson had previously been nominated for an Academy Award for “No End in Sight,” his documentary about the Iraq war. Current Lowell students have also been making the news lately for various creative endeavors. Junior Francesco Trogu hit it big by authoring the New York Times crossword puzzle that appeared on Monday, January 30th. And sophomore Lori Chinn became the first student artist in seven years to be selected to decorate a fiberglass heart as part of SF General Hospital’s annual Heroes & Hearts fundraiser. Lori’s heart was auctioned off earlier this year at a gala event held at AT&T Park. (Ellen Magnin Newman ’45 co-founded the annual heartthemed fundraiser for SFGH and Pam Baer, wife of SF Giants President Larry Baer ’75, is on the SFGH Foundation’s board of directors.) Southern California alums take note – Mario Trujillo ’86 is mounting a serious campaign to be elected District Attorney in Los Angeles and is currently considered the front-runner in the race. More info at www. mariotrujilloforda.com.
Interesting coincidence recently as TIME magazine ran a cover story, titled “Russia’s New Guard,” co-written by correspondents Nathan Thornburgh ’93 and Simon Shuster ’01. According to Thornburgh, it wasn’t until they worked together on the story that they learned they had both attended Lowell. Nathan was good enough to take time out from a recent family visit to San Francisco to meet with Lowell journalism students. The indomitable Carol Channing ’38 is in the news with regard to the new biographical documentary, “Carol Channing: Larger Than Life.” By all accounts, it’s a great window on the life of one of America’s favorite entertainers. Lowell alums might also want to join the online petition effort to have Carol recognized with the Kennedy Center Honors. Sad news is that Channing’s husband, Harry Kullijian, passed away late last year. Another new documentary, “California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown,” highlights the life of California Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown ’23, renowned Lowell debater, President of the Lowell Forensic Society and, of course, father of current California Governor Jerry Brown. The Lowell Alumni Association was proud to support the documentary’s producers by providing access to materials from our archives. And don’t forget to mark your calendar for the 50th anniversary celebration and campus-wide open house to be held Saturday, October 13 at the “new” Lowell. Especially for those of you who graduated from the “old” Lowell, this will be a unique opportunity to meet today’s students and experience first-hand the excitement and energy that courses throughout the campus every day.
2011 saw the retirement of nine members of the Lowell faculty who served thousands of Lowell students over a combined tenure of more than 170 years. Hardest hit was the World Languages department that lost Dorothy Ong (Department Head and Chinese teacher, 1984-2011); Annie Puretz (French, 1989-2011); John Ryland (Spanish, 1990-2011); and Kiyoko Takemoto (Japanese; 1982-2011). In the English department, Department Head Svein Arber (1998-2011) and Wendy Beck (2003-2011) stepped down. Also retiring were three Lowell alumnae: Janet Lee Tse ’68, who joined the staff as a Dean in 2000 and then, after a brief stint with the central school district administration, returned to Lowell as Assistant Principal for Student Services/Counseling; May Choi ’68, one of Lowell’s finest counselors (1994-2011); and Jerilyn Keyak ’65,
who taught various subjects including science, physical education and health education (1984-2011). For four of these retirees, their Lowell roots run even deeper because they have children who are Lowell alumni. May Choi’s daughter, Lauren Choi-Dea Marshman ’97, follows in her mother’s footsteps as a counselor at Galileo High School. Janet Tse’s son, Alex, graduated from Lowell in 1994. Annie Puretz’s daughter, Claire, is a member of the Lowell class of 2000 and teaches in the Special Education program at Lowell. And Svein Arber’s daughter, Gyda, graduated from Lowell in 1997. We hope to bring you updates on these and many other former faculty and staff members in future issues of the alumni newsletter. In the meantime, we wish all of these dedicated professionals a very happy and productive retirement!
Karpenstein Scholars —Addendum [Editor’s Note: In our last newsletter, we endeavored to provide capsule updates on the post-Lowell lives of recipients of the Henry Karpenstein Award, presented at commencement since 1962 to the students earning the highest grade point average. We apologize for having omitted Dr. Ellen Pichey’s biography, which appears below. You can find the rest of the biographies by downloading the Winter 2010 newsletter at www.lowellalumni.org]
Ellen Pichey ’71
After graduation from Lowell, I travelled by myself in Europe for two months, and started college at UC Santa Cruz. I later transferred to and subsequently graduated from Wellesley College in 1975. I obtained my M.D. degree from Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, in 1981. I have been back in the Bay Area since 1984, after I completed my Family Practice residency at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. I became board certified in family practice, and after
several years of practice and additional experience and training in occupational medicine, also obtained a second board certification in occupational medicine in 1993. Since 1994, I have been the District Medical Consultant for the Department of Labor Office of Workers Compensation Western Regional Office, based in San Francisco. This position has allowed me flexibility to raise my family. I live in Mill Valley with my husband of 21 years, Stuart Pickel, a forensic psychiatrist in private practice in San Francisco, and our daughters. The youngest, Julia, is in high school while her older sister Andrea is enrolled at Carnegie Mellon in the School of Engineering. Rachel, my stepdaughter, graduated from UCLA and American University School of Law and does international relations work with agencies such as the I.L.O and Global Fund. In between, I keep up with my father, family and friends, swim, walk, travel, read and try to preserve my sanity.
Prep Hall Of Fame Taps Baseball Coach Donohue
Lowell’s long-time varsity baseball coach, John “JD” Donohue, has been selected for induction into the San Francisco Prep Hall of Fame in recognition of his outstanding record of success and mentorship to so many Lowell athletes. This year will mark JD’s 30th season coaching Lowell baseball, during which time he has compiled a record of 640 wins, 359 losses and 4 ties, placing him among the 15 California high school baseball coaches in terms of all-time wins. During his tenure at Lowell, Donohue’s teams have won 10 Academic Athletic Association city titles, all occurring during a 14-year period (1995-2008) that Lowell baseball dominated the sport. The Cardinals also won three Transbay titles during those years, besting the Oakland public schools champions. Perhaps most impressive is that, except for his first year at Lowell, every one of Donohue’s teams have made it to the AAA playoffs. A graduate of Saint Ignatius College Prep and the University of San Francisco,
JD’s baseball coaching career began with St. Brendan’s CYO teams in 1967 and included Pony and Bronco level teams before arriving at Lowell in 1983. Coach Donohue has previously been honored as 2006 Baseball Coach of the Year by the California Coaches Association and 2007 Regional Coach of the Year (Western States) by the American Baseball Coaches Association. Although JD plans to retire from teaching at the end of the current school year, there are hopes he can be enticed into coaching Lowell baseball for the 2013 season and beyond. The Prep Hall of Fame dinner will be held on Saturday, May 19, at the Spanish Cultural Center in San Francisco. The Lowell Alumni Association has reserved several tables and is making tickets available to Lowell alumni and friends. For more information, please contact LAA Executive Director Terry Abad at 415.759.7830 or terry.abad@lowellalumni.org.