The Vector | Spring/Summer 2022

Spring/Summer 2022

FOR THE MOREAU CATHOLIC COMMUNITY

MISSION STATEMENT Moreau Catholic High School is dedicated to the legacy and values of the Congregation of Holy Cross and its founder Blessed Basil Moreau.

We are a college-preparatory school committed to outstanding achievement.

As a community of faith, we prepare our students through academic, social and spiritual learning experiences that form and transform them as they become responsible citizens of our global community.

Faculty Pictured Above, Left to Right: Amos Hodgson, Colleen Galloway ’77, Mary McInerney, Nichole McGowan, Kaia Richards ’99, Toni West, Gary Gongwer, Frank Knight, and Jerico Abanico

6 SCHOOL NEWS

22 VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS

25 ATHLETICS

28 ALUMNI

FEATURES

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TEDX REINVENT

PROVING GOD RIGHT

PEACE & FRIENDSHIP

TEDxMoreauCatholicHS returned with 15 powerful talks by 16 inspiring seniors.

Valedictorian, Joseph Ibalio ’22, and Salutatorian, Ofure Ologbosele ’22, share a common message about self-love.

Kadija Samura ’16 and Colin de Guzman ’14 reflect on their experiences as Fulbright Scholars.

COVER STORY 16

COMMENCEMENT 2022 Congratulations to the graduates! Their resilience and hard work shone brightly throughout the year, and with God within them, they did not fail.

EDITOR Elizabeth (Morales) Zepeda ’03

FOR THE MOREAU CATHOLIC COMMUNITY

MOREAUCATHOLIC.ORG

Comments or suggestions for The Vector are welcome. Email us at communications@moreaucatholic.org

DESIGN Matthew Tominaga

CONTRIBUTORS Gary Gongwer James Hannon ’02 Monica Heuer Nichole McGowan Corinna Sanding ’14 Toni West

PHOTOGRAPHY Dominic Earney ’22 Marcus Rivera ’22 Gurshan Singh ’23 Matthew Tominaga Zachary Vo ’24 THE VECTOR is published two times per year by Moreau Catholic High School | 27170 Mission Boulevard | Hayward, CA 94544 510.881.4300

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Greeting Mariners!

As the school year closes, we reflect on all we have accomplished with gratitude and hope. With the enduring support, tenacity, and courage of our Mariner family, we were thrilled to have a full year on campus responding to Blessed Basil Moreau’s call to us as Holy Cross educators to cultivate the minds AND hearts of our beloved students. As we navigated the continually evolving conditions of the pandemic, we found ourselves doing what Mariners do best. We created the calm waters we wish to sail. We created the waves our world needs. Together, we took care of each other and empowered our students to demonstrate outstanding achievement in the classrooms, on the athletic fields, in performance spaces, and in a community that desperately needs their gifts. I am so proud of the way we have lived out our Holy Cross values, and we are excited to share some stories in this Vector about the transformational impact that our students, faculty, and alumni continue to make in our world.

We are so proud of the extraordinary Class of 2022, and of all of the change making that begins on Mission Boulevard. We have exciting moves on deck to enhance our phenomenal band, music, athletics, community outreach and social justice programming, and we look forward to sharing more details in the days ahead.

For now, please know we will always welcome you home and we invite you to reach out anytime to share your stories and to learn more about the latest happenings on campus.

I am humbled and honored to be part of this family and to have the support of a dedicated team of colleagues who help our young people develop the competence to see and the courage to act. Your continued engagement inspires all of us to keep letting our light shine.

With gratitude and hope,

Dr. Liz Guneratne President

Dr. Liz Guneratne with Ella Murchison ’22, one of our phenomenal Mariners headed to Stanford University as a student athlete for softball.

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TEDX REINVENT On March 3rd, our Social Justice Program hosted the annual TEDxMoreauCatholicHS. This year’s event, REINVENT, featured talks about personal identities, mental health, loss and grief, and much more. Our students found it necessary to call this year’s TEDx REINVENT, because of the new ways we have had to navigate through our lives during this pandemic and uncertain times.

With the support of their Moreau Catholic faculty and staff mentors, our student speakers proudly lifted their experiences and voices through the powerful platform that is TEDx. TEDxMoreauCatholicHS is a unique experience that gives students a platform to use their voices and send a message out into the world. The program’s hope is to inspire, empower, and move our audiences in the work of advancing social justice. Moreau Catholic is proud to have hosted 5 annual TEDx events and to be a pioneer and innovator with amplifying student voices to bring hope to our world.

The day-long event happened in three day time sessions and one evening session. The 16 seniors who presented were Matthew Quiambao, Kale Sinay, Kendal Kibanoff, Karina Ratra, Keena Srikrishnan, Ahmad Price, Ishan Kollipara, Khushi Bhalla, Zafirah Doss, Rohan Karunaratne, Jordan Ismael, Twesha Ghosh, Zoe Ramos, Ofure Ologbosele, Kamara Pitts, and Fatema Bhaiji.

The key-note speaker for the evening session was Dr. Farima Pour-Khorshid.

She is a proud Bay Area educatororganizer-scholar who has taught at elementary through collegiate levels.

She spoke to the audience about why healing and abolition can break cycles of harm at the individual, interpersonal, and institutional levels.

For more information about TEDxMoreauCatholicHS and our Social Justice Program, please visit our school website. Scan the QR code to watch our TEDx Talks.

Rising Above Gender Stereotypes Zoe Ramos ’22 6

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Using Capital Markets to Solve Social Challenges Rohan Karunaratne ’22

The Price of Life Twesha Ghosh ’22

Representation of People of Color in Writing and Media Fatema Bhaiji ’22

Redefining the Path to Success Jordan Ismael ’22 moreaucatholic.org

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For A Black Girl Ofure Ologbosele ’22 and Kamara Pitts ’22

Session 1: Kendal Kibanoff ’22, Kale Sinay ’22, Matthew Quiambao ’22

Session 2: Keena Srikrishnan ’22, Karina Ratra ’22, Ahmad Price ’22

Session 3: Zafirah Doss ’22, Khushi Bhalla ’22, Ishan Kollipara ’22 8

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Guest Speaker Dr. Farima Pour-Khorshid

DIVERSITY ON DISPLAY During the first week of April, we welcomed the return of one of our most beloved annual events: Culture Week.

We started the week with our Interfaith Service. Students and faculty shared explanations and traditions of the various religious backgrounds of our Mariner family. We heard teachers Ben Greenbaum ’00 and Michael Tsan reflect on their Jewish and Buddhist upbringings, respectively. Students shared Hindu and Sikh prayers, important tenets of Islam, and music and dance from Catholicism and Christianity (below left). Leila Khairetdinova ’24 even shared how agnosticism keeps her open to exploring the moral teachings of all religions, which guide her in living a good life.

Our social justice and club leaders added an exciting new event to this year’s festivities—a Night Market that coincided with Spring Welcome night (below center). Baz the Mariner Man greeted incoming families from the class of 2026 (left) before they enjoyed food, drinks, and activities alongside current families at this fun, casual event. We look forward to making the Night Market an annual tradition.

At the Cuture Fest on Thursday, several culture clubs performed traditional folk and contemporary dances. From impressively large groups like the Taiwanese Club and Chinese Program’s collaborative Tai Chi Fan Performance to the energetic trio of the South Asian Student Association’s Bollywood performance (below right), dances ran the gamut of cultural music and dance expression.

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COLLEGE BOUND This spring, 14 sophomores and juniors enrolled in a pilot program called College BouND through fellow Holy Cross school, the University of Notre Dame. Moreau Catholic was one of only three schools in the United States selected to participate in this innovative partnership. The other participating schools were All Hallows High School in New York and Cristo Rey Atlanta High School in Georgia. This special partnership was facilitated by Kristin Hannon ’02 who is also an alumna of Notre Dame.

The six-week college philosophy course on Technology and Innovation Ethics explored several philosophical frameworks and applied them to real-world case studies of technology use, such as self-driving cars and facial recognition software. The students participated in college-style seminar discussions led in person by MCHS faculty members Gary Gongwer and Mary McInerney, with guidance from Notre Dame professors and TAs over Zoom.

In the unique structure of the class, students “enrolled” in a hypothetical college that uses technology in ethically questionable ways. Gongwer stated, “it was modeled on the kind of seminar course our students will actually experience in college.” For example, at 10

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this college, students would have a chip implanted for professors to ostensibly take attendance, but it would also allow them to track students’ whereabouts.

Students were expected to have done the readings before class and then participate in the group discussion, sharing both their opinions of the material and how it related to them in real life. This lead to some truly heartfelt discussions and revelations. McInerney summarized the overarching thematic question of the class succinctly: Where do we draw the line? For the closing symposium, students from all three schools presented research projects

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At Moreau we do try to emphasize to our students the implications of technology use; this course was entirely about specific examples of the things that both inventors and users of technology need to keep in mind.

—Gary Gongwer

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to the group. These projects explored ethical questions around topics such as autonomous vehicles, data and privacy, and “care bots” used in the health industry, to name a few.

To students who are hesitant about or intimidated by taking a college course while still in high school, program participant Adrian Fellers ’24 reassures that “There’s hardly any risk involved.

From my experience, the benefits of learning about a topic not covered much in high school and participating in something larger are definitely worth the hour a week or so needed to complete the course.” Saniya Sran ’24 agrees that the benefits outweigh the risk, adding that she “was able to ace an interview for an organization [she] wanted to join because [she has] become really knowledgeable about current technology” through this course. For their efforts, the participants received an official transcript from Notre Dame with this course credit that they can put on their college applications.

AU REVOIR, MON AMIE. BONNE RETRAITE! Audrey Schroeder is not one to seek the spotlight. Ever humble, she would rather praise her students than herself. So, to celebrate her well-earned retirement after 28 years with Moreau Catholic, we asked her students and colleagues, past and present, to praise her for us.

“Congratulations, Mrs. Schroeder, on your retirement! I can only imagine how many kids you’ve made an impression on.

All I can do is give the story of this kid.

You were one of the first teachers I got to know thanks to cross-country and Spanish 1. I’ve had the privilege to see you do your best work both in the classroom and out. I’ll never forget meeting you at Lake Chabot at my first cross-country event and you staying with me until my parents picked me up.

I was shocked that a Norwegian lady could speak Spanish and French and run cross-country. Thank you for supporting me and pushing me out on runs. The

mental fortitude I built in those days has helped me get to where I am today.

Enjoy the well-earned retirement, but I can only imagine how sad running camp will be without your coffee on those cold foggy mornings. I don’t think I’ve ever had better coffee than from your little french press. Like that coffee, Mrs. Schroeder, you were there when I most needed someone to believe in me and keep me going.” -Carl Basbas ’13 “She was always so motivating during cross-country and always ran from group to group to make sure everyone was doing okay. She is so sweet. Tell her I said congratulations and enjoy!”

-Kelsey Lowe ’14 “I never had Mrs. Schroeder as a teacher or coach, but she put together the French exchange my junior year, and my exchange student and I keep in touch to this day! I just saw Lya (my exchange student) a month ago and hung out with her family in Paris. Without her, I would never have had that opportunity, and am forever grateful.” -Jenna Den Bleyker ’19 “Oh my gosh, Mrs. Schroeder LITERALLY saved my life! She was one of my crosscountry coaches and during a run in the Garin hills, I had an asthma attack.

She helped me to her car, where I sat in the shade of her trunk, and gave me her water until my mom arrived to take me to the hospital. I’m forever grateful for her quick thinking and kindness.” -Emily “I’ll always remember Señora Schroeder for pounding the basics of the Spanish language into my brain. That truly helped me later in life when I worked at a taqueria where some of my co-workers only spoke Spanish!” -Nate Bernardo “Retiring?! So sad for all those students that won’t benefit from knowing her, but for us that did have the pleasure of being her student or coaching alongside her, we are the lucky ones. One of my favorite memories with Audrey was traveling to Hawaii for a cross-country invitational. We roomed together with two other female coaches and

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She is the best of the best no matter what language one speaks, it is hard to find the words that measure all she has done and the joy and spirit she brings wherever she goes!

—Phil Wilder

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had such a blast getting to know each other. During one of our down days, we took the runners to the beach.

Mama Schroeder, as the runners would call her, got cozy in the sand and took out her crocheting! I have this image cemented in my memory, Audrey sitting on the beach and creating a crochet masterpiece! As most do, we moved on from our time coaching together and life moved us into different places.

It had been about fifteen years since we saw each other, when one day in the meat section of Costco, I heard a familiar voice, ‘T is that you?’ She gave me the biggest Mama Schroeder hug!

Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement, Audrey!” -Teresa Araujo “Mrs. Schroeder is the best!! In the classroom, she encouraged and inspired my love for language (to the point that I have continued that course of study as an aspiring double major in college). In cross country, she was always supportive on both my good days and my bad ones. Whether it was Just Dance parties in her classroom during lunch or being the best running (and ultimately conversation) buddy, she always had something positive to say and an amazing, impactful memory to share. Mrs. Schroeder was a steady rock throughout my high school experience and I couldn’t have asked for a better constant. Although it’ll be sad to see her leave, I also know that this will be an amazing new chapter in her life, and I couldn’t be more excited for her!”

-Judi Bosl ’21

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THE SUNNY SIDE OF SCIENCE

To learn more about We Share Solar and WISEe, visit wesharesolar.org and wiseeafrica.org.

Dr. Cheryl Perry has made a huge impact in the short time she’s been at Moreau Catholic. Over the last two years, she has led Mariners in building solar suitcases for the We Share Solar program, which brings solar power to areas with little to no access to electricity. This year’s suitcase was installed by Women in Sustainable Energy and entrepreneurship (WISEe) at a school in Kilgoris, Kenya. Kilgoris is very close to the Maasai Mara Game reserve and home to the Maasai tribe.

The Mariner-built suitcase, along with five other suitcases, will provide clean electricity for six schools, 1,335 students, and 104 teachers in 12 classrooms, allowing many students to safely continue their education into high school and beyond.

EXCELLENCE IN ACTION

Mock Trial became Alameda County Champions for the 7th time since 2013 and they went on to place 7th in the state! Congratulations to the following team members who earned awards for their performance in the state competition: • Poorvi Thairani ’24—Best Defense Pretrial Attorney • Joycelyn Hutchinson ’23—Best Defendant • Sharon Kaur ’24—Best Bailiff The team is led by Glenn Davis ’15 who follows in the tradition of excellence set by retired Head Coach, Phil Wilder, when Davis was on the team.

We thank her for bringing this ray of sunshine and hope, and we wish Dr. Perry a happy retirement!

Valerie So ’22 was a finalist for the National Merit Scholarship. She is one of the top 1% of the 1.5 million entrants for this national scholarship, an incredible accomplishment. Valerie was also awarded highest GPA at graduation.

Congratulations Valerie!

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HOLY CROSS HAPPENINGS

staff, administration, and especially, our students. They recognized the commitment we have to building relationships with our students, educating their hearts, not just their minds, working to meet our students where they are, and helping move them toward completeness. A few committee members shared that they want to live in the world our students are creating, which is a testament to the hard work of everyone in the community.

In May, six faculty and staff members joined faculty and staff from Notre Dame High School Sherman Oaks and Saint Francis High School at Mater Dolorosa retreat center in Sierra Madre (Top Photo). At this Holy Cross retreat, they reflected on their vocation as Holy Cross educators and spent much-needed time in community with others. They also toured the beautiful Notre Dame High School campus.

In early June, we hosted student leaders from the five other Holy Cross high schools in the Moreau Province: Saint Francis Mountain View, Holy Cross New Orleans, Holy Cross San Antonio, Notre Dame Sherman Oaks, and San Juan Austin. The students spent several nights on campus in prayer, working together (Bottom Photo), and preparing for the upcoming school year.

The return of in-person events brought many opportunities to celebrate our Holy Cross heritage. Our Mission assessment, which had been postponed since 2020, took place in late March.

We hosted a visiting committee of Holy Cross affiliated guests to observe how we live out our mission daily. The committee included Teresa Billings, Mission and Academic Provost of Holy Cross High School in New Orleans; Brother Donald Blauvelt, C.S.C., Moreau Catholic board member and Assistant Provincial, Moreau Province in Austin; Sal Chavez, retired administrator and educator at Saint Francis High School, Menlo Park; and Brother Michael Winslow, C.S.C., Director of Mission Integration at Holy Cross of San Antonio.

The Visiting Committee summarized their findings and shared how impressed they were by our faculty and

Most recently, eight rising Seniors attended the Holy Cross Conference for Student Leaders at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas: Kaylani Lin, ASB President; Vic Anthony, ASB VP, Bryce Thomas, ASB Activities Commissioner; Reimius Aceret, ASB Public Relations; CMT leaders Alex Villegas and Ana Paredes; and Link Crew leaders Christopher Diaz and Gabrielle Diroll.

Students met other leadership students from our Moreau Province high schools.

They learned about the Heritage of Holy Cross from Dr. Marco Clark and Miegs Turgeon, Inclusion in Schools from Erica Zamora, Director of Student Diversity and Inclusion at St. Edward’s University, and shared their favorite activities from their schools. Students also served the Austin community at Community First Village, Healing with Horses, and St. Ignatius Church and School. They met with MCHS faculty member Karen Thomas to tour her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin (Center Photo), before flying back to the Bay Area.

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PROVING GOD RIGHT

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We’re told from a young age that God put us on this earth for a reason.

And self-love is realizing that we’ve spent the last 18 years proving Him right.

—Joseph “Jojo” Ibalio

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Ofure Ologbosele and Joseph Ibalio are both bright, tenacious, fun-loving, thoughtful, and compassionate. It’s no surprise that these two were selected to represent the class of 2022 as salutatorian and valedictorian, respectively.

A Social Justice Leader, co-president of the Black Student Union (BSU), and Link Crew leader, Ofure Ologbosele is a humble and hard-working student leader.

That hard work paid off this year when BSU won Club of the Year, and Ofure herself won the Cross & Anchors Award at graduation. But Ofure doesn’t do any of it for recognition. What she aims to do is use her voice to make good noise, make the world more equitable, and educate others about important social issues, as she did with fellow BSU co-president Kamara Pitts ’22 in their TEDx talk called “For a Black Girl.”

She credits the strength and sacrifices of her family for giving her the push to be the best version of herself. Throughout her high school career, she also had a special mentor in AP of Climate and Culture, Toni West, who encouraged her to become the leader she could be. With all this support, Ofure ultimately learned that she is “the only person who can stop [herself] from doing something” and that her “opinions of [herself] and things [she wants] to do are the most important.”

Joseph—Jojo to his friends—also values the importance of self-love. Despite being a self-described people-person, Joseph says that he is his own biggest inspiration, specifically reflecting on his past self and seeing how far he has come. An accomplished musician, Joseph is most proud of “making it to the National Catholic Honor Band, and

even writing and composing and performing [his] own song at the first band concert this year.”

Describing the gist of his valedictorian speech, he shares, “Self-love is really simple… [it’s] realizing how we’re all survivors. Self-love is realizing that other people love us. And self-love is understanding how much we mean to other people.” Joseph adds that self-love also comes from “understanding that people in this world are not just some one-dimensional beings. These are people that go through their own experiences, they wake up in different houses, they have different cultures and believe in different things. I think that’s one of the most important things to understand, especially in high school.”

appreciate the small moments in life because “​​ Life brings tears, smiles, and memories. The tears dry, the smiles fade, but the memories last forever.” Those memories are proof of purpose that Joseph spoke of in his speech: “We’re told from a young age that God put us on this earth for a reason. And self-love is realizing that we’ve spent the last 18 years proving Him right.”

Ofure will attend the University of San Diego, majoring in Journalism with hopes of becoming a newscaster. Jojo is going to the University of Southern California to study Civil and Structural Engineering and minoring in Jazz studies, aiming to get involved in acoustic consulting.

In her salutatorian speech, Ofure offered her classmates the same advice she would give her younger self, which is to

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BACCALAUREATE MASS Friday, May 27, 2022 | Al Vermeil Athletic Field

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COMMENCEMENT 2022 Saturday, May 28, 2022 | Al Vermeil Athletic Field

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GRADUATION AWARDS

2ND HIGHEST GPA AWARD

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HIGHEST GPA AWARD

HOLY CROSS EDUCATORS OF THE YEAR

A n d y Wa rd

Rookie Year: 201

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Position: English Teacher, Vietname se Student Associatio n Club Moderator

rd a yW d n A

J e r ic o A b a n ic o

Career Highlight s: “This teacher is a mentor who is not only passion about what they ate teach but actively keeps up with our lives. From as king about our sp orts games, musicals, and da nce shows to alw ays asking us about the new ‘ro ses’ or exciting th ings in our lives .”

-Gabriella Hern andez ’25

2022 Holy Cross Edu cators of the Year

Rookie Year

: 2016

Position: So cial Justice Coordinator, Boys’ Volleyball Head Co ach, Music Ministry Dire ctor

Career Hig hlights: “He uses hi s passion fo r social just inspire and ice teach his st udents duri to captivate, justice clas ng his soci s. He uses al his passion improve ou for volleyb r Mariner co all to mmunity as inspires M ariners to ta a coach...H e ke pride in by not only their cultur moderatin e g the Philipi Association, nx Student but by dem onstrating dancing du his culture ring our cu by lture week him during rallies. You every mass can see conducting the choir.”

-Tyler Maf fei ’22 2022 Holy Cr oss Educators

of the Year

Je r i c

o

ni a b A

co

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VAPA HIGH NOTES The Visual and Performing Arts department presented a complete year of shows including the Spring Musical: Twelfth Night, the choral program’s Mariner Land Talent Showcase, the Jazz Ensembles performing at Yoshi’s Oakland, and Dance NOW, which celebrated twenty years of dance at Moreau Catholic.

To see more VAPA highlights including some amazing visual art pieces, visit the Moreau Catholic Instagram page by scanning the QR code below:

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BEING NEIGHBORLY

Moreau Catholic has always shared a special bond with our neighbors at Saint Clement Catholic School. Over the last four years, 56 of their 8th graders have chosen to come to Moreau for high school. This year, Mariner artists and athletes got to make that bond stronger through some fun collaborations.

Erin Co ’22 and Cadence Saniel ’22 dedicated their Capstone project to working with a dozen Saint Clement students in grades 6 through 8. The two Honors dancers restaged choreography to Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” for the spring dance concert (pictured above). The Saint Clement students got the chance to rehearse on campus in our dance studio and performed twice on the Teves Theatre stage alongside current Moreau students. This was especially fun for some returning dancers who had participated in a similar Capstone project in 2020 when they were in 6th grade.

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Student-athletes James Bell ’22, Joseph Cid ’23, Matthew Villanueva ’22, and Kellen Hampton ’25 visited Saint Clement to talk to students about finding balance with sports and studies and what it means to be a high school studentathlete. They centered their discussions in the principles of the Mariner Mindset, which include ideas such as Leadership, Perseverance, Teamwork, Self-Management, Responsible Decision Making, Self Discipline, Organizational Skills, Pride in Self/School, and Cooperation.

We look forward to continuing this relationship in the years ahead and finding new ways to connect with our Saint Clement School family.

SIGNING ON Every year, several talented Mariners work hard enough in school and on the court or field to take their athletic careers to the next level, and this year was no different.

Congratulations and best of luck to these student-athletes!

FOOTBALL: Jacob Cardoso ’22, Pacific University in Oregon (Not Pictured) VOLLEYBALL: Marcus Donchuanchom ’22, UC Santa Cruz (Not Pictured)

BASEBALL (Left to Right): Shane Aldridge ’22, Colorado State University-Pueblo Marcus Rivera, Jr. ’22, St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn Luis Becerra ’22, California Baptist University

BASKETBALL: Ari Webb ’22, Northeastern University

VOLLEYBALL: Kendal Kibanoff ’22, Dominican University

SOFTBALL: Zafirah Doss ’22, Howard University

NEW HEAD COACHES

Keith Minor has been selected as our next Head Football Coach.

He coached at Encinal High School, St.Mary’s College High School, and Balboa High School, and currently coaches with Gunner Sportz. Additionally, Coach Minor has over 12 years of teaching experience and will continue to teach at Cesar Chavez Middle school. Please join us in welcoming him to the Mariner Family.

A beloved faculty member who already wears many hats, Mary McInerney bravely steps in as the new Head Girls’ Lacrosse Coach. She is most excited about leading the girls’ to more victories and continuing to build this relatively new program. She’s looking forward to welcoming girls to this sport for the first time and growing the popularity of Lacrosse in this part of the Bay Area.

We are excited and fortunate to have Juanita Castillo as our new Head Rally Squad Coach.

Juanita has worked with Knight Cheer Academy as a cheer coach and has supported head and student coaches during instructional periods. She has also served as secretary on the Athletic Booster Board. She is excited to work with our Rally Squad, teams, and student body while embracing the Mariner spirit. moreaucatholic.org

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SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS We had a full year of uninterrupted sports this year and our Mariners competed fiercer than ever!

In the Fall, our Girls’ Volleyball made the first round NorCal Section (NCS) playoffs. Girls’ Golf placed 6th in NCS and standout, Netra Kumar ’25, represented Moreau at the NCS Championship and headed to the State tournament. Girls’ Water Polo made it to the semi-finals of the Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) playoffs and received a bid to the NCS playoffs for the first time in the girls’ program’s history!

The Winter was equally impressive. Boys’ Basketball was the MVAL Champion and went to NCS playoffs.

Girls’ Basketball became the NCS Division 3 Champion making it to State.

With the Spring sunshine came more shining moments in Mariner sports. Baseball earned 1st place in the MVAL and returned to the NCS playoffs. Softball finished 2nd in MVAL and moved on to the first round of NCS playoffs. Badminton won NCS Division 2, while Lacrosse Boys’ & Girls’ had the most wins in a season in their 3rd year of being in a league. Boys’ Volleyball made it to NCS Division 3 runners-up, receiving an automatic qualifier for NorCal. Rounding out the year were some standout Track & Field performances. Jacob Hupke ’23 made the finals and Alexa Chan ’23 finished 4th in pole vault at the Meet of Champions. Bryce Thomas ’23 now has the school record in the 400 meter and the 200 meter and finished 9th in State.

We are proud of all our student-athletes and as alway, Go Mariners!

SAVE THE DATE

2022 Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday, October 15, 2022

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PEACE & FRIENDSHIP With a 20% average acceptance rate, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is selective and prestigious, making the fact that two Mariner Alumni were in the program this last year all the more impressive.

Kadija Samura ’16 and Colin de Guzman ’14 spent the last year teaching English in Côte d’Ivoire and South Korea, respectively.

Samura took full advantage of her time at St. Edward’s University. While there, she interned at Reach a Hand Uganda for two months, then became a Boren Scholar to study at the University of Ghana for 9 months, where she learned Asante Twi—an Akan dialect spoken in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Her globe-trotting was stalled, however, when she, like so many other graduates in the class of 2020, had an anticlimactic end to her undergraduate studies.

Having fallen in love with “education structures in different African countries,” Samura felt that Fulbright was the next logical adventure.

As an English Teaching assistant at Lycee Saint Marie in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Samura taught 6th to 12th grades at an all-girls institution of about 1,500 students. To her teaching she applied her thesis research which examined the importance of reintroducing “indigenous pedagogy and knowledge systems [into] the formal education system” that had been extinguished due to the legacy of colonialism.

Inspired by her students’ enthusiastic response to Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o, Samura organized a cultural book exchange between Lycee and her alma maters Moreau Catholic and All Saints Catholic School. The students from all three schools collected over 600 books in English and French to build libraries at each location for language learning and cultural immersion.

“While I did not recognize it until later, Moreau prepared me for college. I walked into most of my classes, such as writing, well prepared.

More importantly, I learned to take risks while at Moreau. I did this through student government, mock trial and track and field. I am grateful for the resources Moreau provided, the opportunity to participate in various activities, and that I received constructive feedback from dedicated educators which helped build a solid foundation and respect for educational institutions.”

During her time in the Fulbright program, Samura had to step out of her comfort zone and take in the world around her with eyes of nonjudgment. She shares that cultural exchange “requires respect, patience, and a genuine will to learn from the culture,” and reflects on her experience through a critical lens: “Living in a different culture and language 28

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can be challenging and often requires constant reflection on one’s interaction with the space around them. While teaching English allowed me to have a great impact on my student’s lives, I had to dedicate a significant amount of time navigating the weight that can sometimes come with it in an African country like Côte d’Ivoire, where the impacts of colonialism are blaring…

Oftentimes when working in a space of cultural exchange, you are not only transmitting language but also the culture that comes with that language. As I shared my American perspective, I also pushed myself to understand the Ivorian perspective.”

Samura is now back in the United States and after earning acceptance to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Columbia, Samura has chosen to pursue a master’s degree in International Comparative Education and Policy in the Stanford Graduate school of Education. *** Also a St. Edward’s graduate, Colin de Guzman is halfway through his Fulbright program and spoke to MCHS classmate Corinna Sanding ’14 about his experience in South Korea.

After graduating from St. Edward’s with a degree in Behavioral Neuroscience, de Guzman participated in the Moreau Fellowship program. This experience ignited his interest in teaching. Before long, he earned a teaching credential and a master’s degree in education from Notre Dame University as an Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Fellow. Approaching the end of his ACE Fellowship and after spending half his teaching career in the unsatisfying world of hybrid learning, de Guzman wasn’t even sure if being a teacher was what he wanted to do anymore.

Unlike Samura, de Guzman had never studied abroad when he decided to apply to Fulbright. Taking a big risk—a thing he says he learned to do at Moreau— he chose placement in South Korea, where he now works in an all-boys private school in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, South Korea. There he teaches conversational English and American culture.

One of the simultaneously exciting and daunting things about his work is the lack of codified standards or curriculum. This leaves de Guzman free to respond to students’ needs and wants, meeting them where they are, in true Fr. Moreau pedagogical fashion.

De Guzman works hard to eliminate neocolonialist

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“The Fulbright Program’s mission is to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship.”

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— Senator J. William Fulbright

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thinking from his work, reminding himself that “I’m not saving anyone.” He emphasizes the need for “Fulbright grantees to realize that we’re not coming into these countries as saviors, we’re just coming into this country to be a cultural ambassador,” a role he finds tremendously enjoyable.

This experience has renewed de Guzman’s love of teaching.

With the same humility as most educators, he says, “I’m not doing anything special for these kids. If anything, they’re doing something special for me because they’re allowing me to be in their lives and be just be their teacher.” Paraphrasing a social media post by MCHS math teacher Gary Gongwer, he reflects on the cycle of meeting new students and saying goodbye to them a

few years later: “​​The hardest part is letting go, but we know that we’ve been preparing to let [them] go since we met [them].”

De Guzman says he’s done with his own educational pursuits for now (though he doesn’t rule out an educational doctorate down the road), but he does want to continue teaching. He also shares that his journey in Korea isn’t yet over. He hopes to stay another year, either renewing with Fulbright, finding work at an international school, or possibly teaching at a North Korea Defector (NKD) school. No matter where his journey takes him, de Guzman hopes to be remembered as “the person that made you feel important regardless of where you’re at or what we were doing.”

ALUMNI WAVES

Gregory Hannon ’76: After completing seven years in the U.S. Marines right after high school, and after working 36 years for Tillamook County and the cities of Kelso and Longview, I have retired on 2/24/22. I intend to spend my retirement working in the yard, visiting our grandchildren, working in my wood shop and traveling with my bride of 34 years, Pattie.

Kevin Dowling ’80 sits on the Advancement Committee for Moreau Catholic High School and was recently elected to the Santa Clara University Alumni Board of Trustees.

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A. Donna Binkiewicz ’81: published her book Between the Sea and Sky: My Portuguese American Family in Upcountry Maui, 1881-1941 last fall. The book follows an immigrant family from the Azores Islands of Portugal to Maui, Hawaii, during the 1880s and covers three generations up to the beginning of World War II. It presents details about Portuguese immigration to and life in Hawaii, specifically community development on Maui, religious institutions, labor and social mobility, gender issues, and political involvement.

Paul Maguire ’82: “Vibin & Thrivin... still passionate and high spirited in life.

Some highlights; Invited and spoke internationally in Dubai and Bahrain, Thailand and The Philippines before Covid. Developed marketing & niche program models for Doctors in Canada and the USA for many years. Still very active in Real Estate Development and Investing, from new construction to renovation and love teaching on my youtube channel to give back to others.

Living the past 14 years in Las Vegas, but often in the Bay Area too. Recently working on new homes builds in Az, and apartment value add projects in Colorado Oregon and California. Still chill, simple and easy going. Most of my siblings still around and everyone is doing ok. Got lots of nieces and nephews and even next generation too. All cute.

Lifes good.”

Kathleen Radecke ’85 has returned home starting her new role as the Director of External Relations. President Liz Guneratne shared, “We are beyond blessed to have Kathleen officially rejoining the Mariner team! Her energy, charisma, and executive leadership experience are exactly what we need to build on Moreau Catholic’s tradition of outstanding achievement while elevating our profile and increasing our community’s engagement and support.”

Vicki Breves ’87 and 32 other women lawyers were awarded the 2021 Women in Law Awards. Vicki works at Revance Therapeutics as an Intellectual Property Lawyer. The winners have gone to exceptional lengths to overcome the challenges of the past year and their achievements are on behalf of themselves and their clients.

B. Amy Higgins (Gubera) ’91 was a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, airing nationally on ABC on May 19th, 2022, as part of the “Great Outdoors” week. Amy is a long-time Wheel of Fortune fan and was thrilled to be a part of the show and to meet Pat & Vanna in person.

C. Christina (Larsen) Toy ’03 presents her debut book, a children’s story called Going to the Phlebotomist. It’s about his trip to the laboratory to have blood drawn—with a little twist at the end!

Rondy Michael Lazaro ’04 completed his Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2018, followed by a Sports Medicine fellowship at VCU in 2019.

While in Richmond, VA, he was active as a musician with the Richmond Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony Chorus, VCU Health Orchestra, and Cathedral of the Sacred Heart Schola Cantorum. He has also helped out as an assistant coach with the Mariner Cross Country team while spending time back home in Hayward. Rondy is currently an attending physician and Senior Instructor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Rochester Medical Center. During the pandemic, he has kept busy with virtual races on the trails in Rochester, NY, virtual choir projects with the Richmond Symphony Chorus, and online music classes and workshops.

He hopes to get involved with more inperson activities in the coming year!

D. Emerald Maravilla ’05 was the alumni speaker at this year’s Baccalaureate Mass. She welcomed the class of 2022 to the alumni association of over 13,000 Mariner alumni.

Adam Copeland ’07 hosts a new drive-

time show with Tom Tolbert from 2:00 pm-6:00 pm every Monday - Friday on KNBR 104.5 / 680. Adam previously hosted “The Leadoff Spot” 5:00 am-6:00 am every Monday-Friday while also serving as one of the producers for the Murph and Mac morning show for the past four years. Adam Copeland grew up in the East Bay in San Leandro as a Giants, 49ers, and Warriors fan. Adam majored in broadcast journalism at San Francisco State University. Copeland was named to the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America’s “Top 30 Sportscasters Under 30” list in 2018.

Alejandra Moreno ’15: “Over the summer, I had the opportunity to participate in the MCHC/RISE-UP Internship at the UC Davis MIND Institute. It is a CDCfunded program in collaboration with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Kennedy Krieger Institute. The codirector for the UC Davis program is Moreau alumna Janice (Chan) Enriquez ’93. I traveled to Baltimore to participate in a 3-day Maternal/Child Health seminar series at Johns Hopkins and Kennedy Krieger Institute. At the MIND Institute, I was able to shadow doctors, interact with children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and participate in a telehealth conferencing session. I also interned at the California Department of Public Health, working alongside the Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs Program. In the end, I presented a research poster focusing on addressing the mental health panorama for children with special healthcare needs at the closing ceremony at the CDC Headquarters in Atlanta, GA.” Tiana Cheung ’18: “I’m currently in my senior year at USC, where I’ve been involved in a campus ministry group called Christian Challenge. Through this group, I have the exciting opportunity to serve overseas in Turkey for 8 weeks this summer…my high school years… were such transformative years for my character and the trajectory of my life.”

E. Juliet Varga ’18 (Submitted by Denise Varga): On May 14, 2022 Juliet Arocha Varga ‘18 graduated Magna Cum Laude from Dominican University of California.

She majored in Psychology with Department Honors, Studio Art, Clinical Counseling Science and Cognitive and Experimental Science minors.

Evan Mao ’19, Obinna Anyanwu ’19, and Elijah Gabriel ’19 (submitted by Francis Mao): Snowflake - a data cloud company based in the Bay Area and fastest tech IPO in history last year, employed these three MCHS grads in their creative department as video interns to edit

all Marketing and Sales videos. They were all classmates in Mr. McKenna’s MCTV class, and their excellent MCTV experience enabled them to get and excel in their jobs. Their manager is also MCHS alumna, Nicole Spier-Sanchez ’89.

How cool is that!

F. Iris Gordo ’20: “Raytheon technologies collaborated with the Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) department at USC, where a mix of undergraduates and graduates majoring in ISE can participate and are assigned into groups of 3. We were given 6 hours to redesign and optimize an existing facility layout.

To redesign the layout, we had to use the software Autocad. We also had to research a lot of information regarding facility layout design algorithms and safety hazards. Lastly, our new design needed to be cost-effective. After creating a new layout design, we needed to present our solution to a panel of judges in under 7 minutes! Fortunately, my group and I got 3rd place!

I’ve just been studying at USC, enjoying in-person learning and exploring LA! I am actually a Transfer Spring admit, so this is my first semester at USC. Regarding my current standing, I am a sophomore and plan to graduate in Spring 2024 with a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering! Fight on!”

IN LOVING MEMORY Kevin Afonso ‘82 ​​David Anderson ‘14 Valentin Avila, Sr. Dennis Boegel Jim Bowen Betty Breeding Joyce Bryan Laura Cisneros ‘80 Ratco (Nino) Grgurevic Heidi Daniels ‘91 Juliana Domingo Hazel Duarte Stacy Grimmer ‘79 Robert Grubbs ‘87 Ed Horvath Roslyn (Zen) Kuvados ‘79 Chateston Luca Christine Macasieb ‘04 Joseph Martin ‘80 Celia Montano Shelley Morris Joyce Ogao Nasario Alfredo Ruiz-Bandini Howard Songey Anthony Vincent Souza Betty Montez Straggas Robert Warren ‘86 Kathy Woodall ‘78

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