Notre Notes Winter 2016-17 Issue

NEWSLETTER - WINTER 2017

IN THIS ISSUE...

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Notre Dame Celebrates Foundress Day, Hosts She Started It

Student News Dipashreya Sur ’18 Recognized by Siemens

Innovative Expeditionary Learning

Celebrating Donors

S he S tarted I t - C elebrating F oundress D ay

Principal Mary Beth Riley, Director Nora Poggi, Ashvin Patel (Sonali '18)

Katalin Bartfai-Walcott '84, Nora Poggi, Coreen Salamanca '03 Ketterer

February 2nd marked the 213th anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. On that date in 1804, St. Julie Billiart and Françoise Blin de Bourdon dedicated themselves to the education of the poor, and girls in particular. In celebration of St. Julie, her life's work and Catholic education, Bishop Patrick McGrath, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and local clergy attended a community lunch on campus, as students shared some of their Notre Dame experiences. Donors were also invited to support the work that St. Julie started through an online giving campaign that was doubled through a dollar for dollar match up to $10,000 by Pierre Brulé and Notre Dame faculty member Pamela Anderson Brulé.

In the evening, more than 100 guests, including current and past parents, students and alumnae, enjoyed a premier screening of She Started It. This movie, a celebration of female entrepreneurship, follows five passionate, trailblazing young women who strive to compete and thrive in the ruthlessly competitive 'boys’ club' of high-tech start-ups. She Started It takes viewers on a global roller coaster ride from San Francisco to Mississippi, France and Vietnam. Along the way, it weaves in big-picture perspectives from women like investor Joanne Wilson, White House CTO Megan Smith, GoldieBlox CEO Debbie Sterling, and Ruchi Sanghvi, the first female engineer at Facebook.

Following the screening, the director of She Started It, Nora Poggi, joined a talented panel of Notre Dame alumnae committed to encouraging women to take risks to find career and business success. The panel, which included Katalin Bartfai-Walcott '84 (Intel engineer), Tasnia Khan '08 (Oracle solutions consultant) and Coreen Salamanca '03 Ketterer (Wilshire Group financial services advisor and planner) encouraged women in the audience, Bishop Patrick McGrath, Principal Mary Beth Riley especially students, to never give up on their dreams.

Bishop McGrath, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur & Notre Dame Students

Principal’s Message - The Rally Since the presidential elections in November, the national and regional landscape has been charged with community gatherings and action-oriented responses to social concerns. The atmosphere at Notre Dame is no different and we continue to fan the flames of respectful dialogue around social justice issues.

The Sisters of Notre Dame respond unequivocally to issues of justice in the world, from their work in third world countries to their voice at the table as an NGO (non-governmental organization) at the United Nations. Sister Margaret Hoffman writes: “With a reverence for human life, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur take action on issues that we believe violate basic human needs and rights. Our actions include education, advocacy and prayer.” Those issues include advocating for stricter gun control, care of the Earth, abolishing human trafficking and promoting just laws for immigrants, among many others.

These are all issues that students study throughout their four years at Notre Dame through the Education for Justice & Leadership curriculum. They are especially touched upon in the junior year course, Peace and Social Justice, that focuses on Catholic Social Teachings.

In October, when our performing arts department presented The Rally, a montage of drama, poems and songs from the women's suffragette movement, we all learned about the root movement of activists who earned women the right to vote. ND actors, dressed in

suffragette sashes, spoke their words, sang their songs and felt their passion for change. After a successful stage run at City Lights Theater, the students took their show on the road and spent a week performing various scenes downtown.

At the state of the school assembly in January, our student leaders took up the ‘sash’ as they revisited

their chosen theme of the year - respect. I spoke to the students about respectful discourse and how important it is, especially at this point in time. We may find ourselves in a bubble of like thinkers in the Bay Area, but we should not assume that everyone holds the same positions. We need to invite perspective and try to understand differences and being silent or strident are not the right options. I shared with them that I was traveling to Washington, D.C. to join my three sisters at the women’s march and that I would hold them in my thoughts and prayers. I rarely share personal information with our students, and thought hard about sharing this, but decided that my message could be inspiring for them.

Women's education, women's rights and leadership have been at the center of the work we do at Notre Dame and I was aligned with the mission of the march: We stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families - recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country. The students gave me a suffragette sash to wear, which I did, proudly.

At the end of the assembly, as a school community, we went on a march of respect. Quietly, all 637 students walked around the block behind banners of community, environment, self and diversity. This was one of the most serene times I've experienced in my more than 30 years at Notre Dame - 637 students walking together in silence and returning to the gym to sing the alma mater. I invite you into that moment of power and hope of our Notre Dame students.

The 2016-17 theme of respect and The Rally set a right tone for this year. Our young women, impacted by their Catholic and Notre Dame education, are on a journey to becoming thoughtful leaders in this complex world.

I stand proudly with them.

Mary Beth Riley, Principal WINTER 2017

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Dipashreya Sur ’18 Named Siemens Competition Semifinalist The Siemens Foundation recently honored junior Dipashreya (Dipa) Sur with an elite honor reserved for less than 500 students across the nation — a semifinalist position in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology. Dipa’s project was entitled Geospatial Analysis of Gray Wolf Movement Patterns.

“The gray wolf is the largest surviving member of the Canidae family. Due to hunting and habitat destruction, the animal’s current range is limited to Alaska, Canada and certain parts of Northern Eurasia,” explains Dipa, who came to Notre Dame from St. Simon. “They often hunt in packs, preferring caribou, deer and elk.” For her project, Dipa analyzed data collected in Denali Park. “The purpose of my research was to investigate the links between wolf habitat, movement patterns, and prey thresholds. I created a longitudinal data set from 19862016 to observe the wolf population trends over time. By comparing the three different regions, I found a clear link between the wolf habitat and prey thresholds; the habitat directly influences the types of prey available.”

Bay Area Students & Educators Stand In Solidarity United by a strong desire to create space and time that allows students from diverse backgrounds to come together in support of social justice and community, students and educators from six local schools (Archbishop Mitty, Bellarmine, Leland, Lincoln, Notre Dame, and Presentation) formed San Jose Schools for Justice (SJ2) in December. The group includes both public and private institutions united in a mission to promote student leadership, civic engagement and thoughtful dialogue throughout the community.

In April, SJ2 will host a social justice teach-in covering topics that include media literacy, deliberative dialogue and diversity. Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, Notre Dame's 2016 Woman of Impact community honoree, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address and will be joined by a panel of speakers currently slated to include Milton Reynolds, Facing History & Ourselves, and Megan Doyle '95, clerk of the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors.

Notre Dame faculty Eran DeSilva and Deidre Savino (left) as well as Amanda Williams, Ellen Donlin and Catherine Pandori (right) with students and educators in SJ2

Innovating Education in Our Downtown Neighborhood As we shift our focus on experiential learning in the direction of expeditionary learning, where discussion and engagement in the classroom leads to studentidentified activities and destinations, faculty and staff personally experienced this new innovative approach to education. In self-identified groups, teams visited twelve different organizations, that could serve as future educational partners in our downtown neighborhood, including:

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1. Martin Luther King Jr. Library 2. City of San Jose Human Resources Department 3. Office of Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager 4. Gardner Family Health Network

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5. History San Jose 6. Rotary Club of San Jose & Silicon Valley 7. Office of United States Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren 8. Sacred Heart Nativity Schools 9. Office of the Senior Deputy City Attorney 10. Design in Mind

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N otre D ame C elebrates L eadership D onors

Cindy Gavin ’70 Pond, Marylou Schoone, Suzanne Donovan ’53 Cortese (Roseanne ’76), Randy Pond

Rooney Pfaff ’56 Blach, Laura Aceves ’56 Liccardo

Rosalie Pizzo ’52 SNDdeN, Honoree Laura Aceves ’56 Liccardo, Mayor Sam Liccardo, Honoree Sal Liccardo, Principal Mary Beth Riley

Bill Del Biaggio, Dick Caputo, Fernando Zazueta

Ashvin & Kala Patel (Sonali ’18), Shellie Aguilar (Megan ’16), Gary & Marcella Gulmon (Emily ’14)

Jim & Jenny Woods (Jordan ’14, Olivia ’15)

Louis Tieu (Emily ’20), Akhil Aggrawal (Avni ’20)

Nancy Erba (Caroline ’18), Wendy Ryan (Emma ’18), Jim & D’Arcy Kirkland (Jen ’10, Maddie ’12), Mike Lewis

Cindy Gavin ’70 Pond, John M. Sobrato

Crab-Feasting in Support of Co-Curriculars Funds raised at this year’s popular Crab Fest event support co-curricular programs that include clubs, leadership groups, athletics, speech and debate, robotics and many others. In the fall of this year, 87% of students participated in at least one co-curricular program and they have much to be proud of. Here we share just a few highlights: Robotics - The Janksters finished in first place at this year’s CalGames, earning a System Design Award and Mentor of the Year Award for program director, Marta Carrillo (Adriana '12, Sumaya '14).

Performing Arts - The 123 cast and crew members of this year’s fall play, The Rally, took the show ‘on the road,’ performing scenes from the The Rally in various downtown San Jose locations.

Speech & Debate - Lilly Hackworth ‘17 and her partner, Spencer Dembner, have won eight championships in parliamentary debate this year and have earned the most points of any team in the history of the event. Lilly is currently ranked first in the nation for the event!

Save the date and join us for the next Crab Fest on February 3, 2018!

14th Annual Crab Fest

Sold Out in

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and raised

$55,000

for co-curricular programs

87%

of students participate in at least one of the core co-curricular programs WINTER 2017

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CLASS NOTES Michelle Rodriguez ’94 is

working for White Ribbon Alliance, an international maternal health organization located in Washington, D.C. Michelle runs a self-care initiative in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, working with international and national organizational members, midwives and health care providers to ensure that maternal, newborn and child health practices are women-centered.

Meghan Ryall ’95 (1) welcomed a son,

Solomon Nelson Ryall Thompson, on December 1 in Whakatane, New Zealand. He joins older brother Atticus.

Felicity JimenezHoward ’96 (2) and husband,

Joshua, welcomed a baby girl, Olivia, on

August 18. Big sister Ava-Grace (5) and brother Brennan (9) are so excited to have a little sister.

After welcoming a daughter in the spring of 2016,

Angela Lumba ’97 Brown (3) and

her husband moved back to the Bay Area where Angela is currently working as a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Stanford.

Rebecca Blanco ’01 Gilbreth (4)

gave birth to a baby boy, David Blanco, on January 6.

Recently named one of Brevard County’s 4 under 40, Stephanie

Benke ’02 McLoughlin (5) is working as director of advertising for Florida Today Communications.

A graduate of St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Stephanie

also holds a master’s degree from San Jose State University.

DianneJoy Hughey ’03 Kelleher married

Kevin Kelleher in November and is currently working as a physical therapist at Quinn Orthopedic.

Rachel Ruiz ’03 graduated

from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and is now a first-year pediatric fellow in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.

On January 11,

Christine Non ’04 Munoz (6)

welcomed a baby boy, Lucas Antonio Munoz.

Janelle Custodio ’05 (7) welcomed

a baby girl, Lana Nicole, into this world on January 8.

On January 14,

Cristina Sanidad ’04 Gallardo (8)

welcomed a daughter, Serenidad (Serenity).

Tiffany Nguyen ’07 (9) is managing a team of hospital consultants for healthcare systems all over the U.S. She is also following her

passion for traveling and has visited 11 countries in the past year.

In May, Nicole

Coddington ’09

graduated from Dominican University with a bachelor's degree in biology.

She is working at Cyagen Biosciences and plans to be married in April.

Having earned a BS in exercise science and a BA in Spanish for health Katie Johnson ’11 is working at Portneuf Medical center as an exercise physiologist in cardiac rehabilitation. She is also working with Idaho State University to create a cooperative undergraduate clinical program.

After graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in international studies, Spanish and religious studies,

Erin Orsley ’13 now attends

the University of Colorado Law School.

Kiki Bartel ’13 is currently

attending Santa Clara University where she is a research assistant, planning and

executing studies, analyzing data and studying emotions (in conjunction with Stanford). She will be graduating in the spring and attending graduate school in the fall.

A student at Loyola University in Chicago,

Sarah Miyahara ’14 (10) studied

abroad in Rabat, Morocco in the fall of 2016. While there, she studied Arabic, gender relations in Muslim countries and the current political climate in North Africa.

Jessica Tanner ’14 (11) began

an internship with Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, who represents the sixth district, at the California State Capital in Sacramento and recently introduced a state assembly bill.

Juliana Mount ’15 broke Oregon

State University’s track record for the 3,000 meter with a time of 9:33.62 at the University of Washington Indoor Track & Field Invitational in January. She broke the old record, set in 2012, by 2.37 seconds.

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Leaving a Legacy - The Ongoing Impact of the Cashman Family When Molly Cashman became a member of the Class of 2012, Notre Dame knew it was receiving the gift of a bright, outgoing, outspoken light that would shine throughout her four years on campus. What wasn’t known was that Notre Dame was also getting the leadership and development experience of her mom, Anne, as well. A long-time St. Christopher’s family, the Cashmans soon became as much a part of the Notre Dame community as their energetic daughter.

Anne, who has a development background and was serving on the Notre Dame development committee, encouraged the school to apply for the legacy incubator program offered through Silicon Valley Planned Giving Council. The two-year program was focused on how to increase planned giving. Following participation in the program, Anne was instrumental in helping to initiate ND’s 1851 Legacy Committee, on which she still serves.

“At the time we started this at Notre Dame, Jim was serving on the board of Catholic Charities,” explains Anne. “We chose to use part of our life insurance policy for our gift. There are many different ways to donate to a planned giving program. Some choose to leave property, designations of cash, or stock, for instance.”

Planned giving is an opportunity for most people to make a bigger single gift than they could make during their lifetime – a gift with impact. “You should look at your giving plan as an additional child – something that always makes our own children laugh,” says Anne. “But if the work of an organization is important to you, it needs to be given that consideration. It’s important to both Jim and me, as it also was to our parents.”

Why ND? For Anne and Jim, seeing Molly develop the friendships she did while at Notre Dame was important.

“Molly was surrounded by strong, independent women within her class and strong women leaders and global thinkers in the faculty and staff. Molly has remained close friends with several of her 2012 sisters and they are all still on that path.”

Molly graduated from Pennsylvania State University on May 8, 2016 (which made Anne’s Mother’s Day even more special than usual) with a bachelor’s degree in animal science and minors in international agriculture and equine science.

Molly has spent some time working at the Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado, Molly '12 at which spans the Pennsylvania State University Continental Divide and encompasses protected mountains, forests and alpine tundra. Molly is currently exploring the world on a trip that will span several continents. Part of her experience has included free room and board on a sheep farm! Joining her in May will be her ND classmate Chrissy Mitchell. Together they’ll take on Vietnam and Europe!

James Cashman, Molly's brother, graduated from Bellarmine in 2011 and went on to earn his bachelor’s at Seattle University. It was such a good fit that he is now working in their admissions department!

Anne and Jim still enjoy spending time every few months in Home, Washington, located in the heart of the Pacific Northwest on Joe’s Bay in Puget Sound, where they own their own little peaceful getaway.

James, Jim, Molly '12 and Anne Cashman

To become a lifelong Notre Dame 1851 Legacy Society member, include Notre Dame in your estate plan. For more information, contact Leah Schnoor, executive director of advancement at lschnoor@ndsj.org or 408294-1113 extension 2125.

Class of 2003 Creates Circle of Flames Alumna Laura Seaman wanted an opportunity to give back to the school that helped shape her into who she is now and engage her classmates to do the same. When she met with school administrators in 2015 and proposed her idea, little did she know how successful it would be.

Laura immediately started a social media and email campaign to her 2003 classmates to encourage them to donate $25 per month for four years — funds that would support a young woman’s Notre Dame education. As a result of her persistence, Laura and some of her classmates created a “Circle of Flames,” following the lead of 31 Women and IMPACT ND.

Andrea Nguyen '03, Coreen Salamanca '03 Ketterer, Maria Triana '20, Rachel Ruiz '03, Laura Seaman '03, Nicola Tan '03

Last month, a few members of the Circle of Flames were introduced to the young woman who will benefit from their generosity, Maria Triana '20. Maria’s family shared with us how grateful they are for the amazing support and said that without the generosity of this class, Maria would probably never have been able to afford a Notre Dame education.

The Notre Dame alumnae are continuing to build their lifelong network, and the 2003 circle is an example of a flame that is shedding light onto others willing to participate.

Building Circles of Support for Notre Dame Education ThirtyOne Women Mary Quilici ’75 Aumack and Maria Bellafronto founded ThirtyOne Women in 2011 as a way to help girls from low income families, who attend Our Lady of Grace Nativity School, afford a Notre Dame High School education. The concept is simple — a group of 30 women committed to giving a fixed amount each month for four years. The outcome is four years of a Notre Dame Catholic education for one young woman who then becomes the center of the circle and the thirty-first woman.

IMPACT ND Four Notre Dame fathers — Pat Caldwell (Kelsey ’12), Paul Pashby (Michele ’15), Ashvin Patel (Sonali ’18) and Pete Scanlan (Shelby ’11) — who are passionate about the value of Catholic education, started IMPACT ND in the spring of 2016. With a donation of $75 per month, or $900 per year for four years, each Impact Notre Dame giving circle will cover the tuition, uniform, books and fees for at least one ND student during her enrollment at Notre Dame.

For additional information about ThirtyOne Women or IMPACT ND, please contact Beverley Dunn at bdunn@ndsj.org or 408-294-1113 extension 2123.

Alumnae Circles Alumnae interested in forming a circle to support a young woman with tuition assistance are encouraged to join together. The class of 2003 has already made the commitment to support a young woman over her four years at Notre Dame. This opportunity can be customized for each class. For more information, contact Monica Gomez '90 at mgomez@ndsj.org or 408-294-1113 extension 2153.

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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION 596 S. Second St. San Jose, CA 95112 Address service requested

US POSTAGE PAID SAN JOSE, CA PERMIT NO. 499

SAVE THE DATES!

B E N E F I T & AU C T IO N

SATURDAY, MAY 6, 2017 All proceeds benefit academic programs and tuition assistance at Notre Dame High School.

Tickets - www.ndsj.org/auction

9th Annual Women of Impact Luncheon Thursday, October 5, 2017 Join us as we recognize and celebrate the role women have played in the region’s history, showcasing their contributions to the community and business as well as their leadership.

Watch for your summer issue of Notre Notes, where we will introduce our 2017 honorees.

WOMEN

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I M PA C T

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