OVS Outdoor Education Tackles

New Adventures

Three teachers and 13 high schoolers traversed a portion of the Trans Catalina Trail this spring, stopping to surf, snorkel and kayak in the secluded harbors of Catalina’s windward side along the way. The group explored the geologic and natural history of the island, and visited the soapstone quarry that the Tongva people used to craft bowls and vessels. In between, they threw a double birthday party in a wind-sheltered palm tree alcove — complete with live music and salvaged balloons from their beach clean up. “With sore legs, full hearts and minds, we return to the real world,” said Outdoor Education Coordinator Zach Byars after the trip. Catalina is one of five islands that OVS students in grades 4-12 have explored this year, the others being Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel. They have also hiked in the Sespe Wilderness, studied environmental science at Carrizo Plain National Monument, rock climbed at Joshua Tree National Park, and rafted down the Lower Colorado River.

At left: Senior Carlton Hsu, at Catalina. Bottom row, from left: Middle schoolers mountain biking in the Chumash Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest; AP Environmental Science students in Carrizo Plain National Monument; middle schoolers skiing and snowboarding at Mammoth Mountain in the Eastern Sierra Nevada; middle schooler Kian Rothwell in Joshua Tree National Park; and high school Honors students paddling on the Lower Colorado River.

Lower 1955

Tony Thacher (L55) is still working the family business, selling Ojai citrus at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market this spring and working alongside his children and grandchildren (also OVS alumni) at the Friend’s Ranches packing house, which sells many varieties of citrus with a focus on great tasting tangerines!

Lower 1987

Sally (McClenahan) Dyer (L87, U91) See Upper 1991

Roger Wang (L87, U91) See Upper 1991

Peter Orgolini (L87, U91) See Upper 1991

Lower 2003

Alex Hall-Mounsey (L03) married Leah Berman in March at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu. Alex and Leah attended OVS summer camp together, where they met in 2001.

They attended each summer together from ages 12 to 15. Alex and Leah stayed in contact over the years, and started dating again in January 2017. They bought a home in Oak View together in July 2018, where they now have three cats, a dog, and five chickens. Leah is a Senior Interior Designer at House of Honey in Montecito and Alex is an agricultural specialist, helping to design commercial greenhouses with organic farming methods.

Lower 2004

Benjamin Malkin (L04) and his spouse, Amanda Erickson, welcomed the birth of their son, Oliver Robert Malkin, who was born on December 15, 2021. Ben has been working at the Lower Campus since 2013 in a variety of teaching and coaching roles, including middle school math teacher and sixth-grade advisor. Ben is also taking the reins from Eleanora Burright as the new OVS Summer Camp Director.

Lower 2011

Matt Gustafson (L11, U15) See Upper 2015

Lower 2014

Emma Gustafson (L14, U18) See Upper 2018

Lower 2015

Mattie White (L15) was recently hired at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Kentucky, as an ambulatory veterinary assistant. Hagyard is the oldest and one of the largest private equine veterinary practices in the world. Mattie is a recent graduate of Colorado State University with a degree in equine science.

Lower 2018

Beckett McDowell (L18) See page 24

Upper 1987

Scott Gould (U87) and John Cook exchanged wedding vows after 17 years together on February 14, 2022. The nuptials took place outside the United States Supreme Court building in Washington D.C., the city in which Scott and his husband reside.

Upper 1991

Sally (McClenahan) Dyer (L87, U91) and husband Patrick Dyer (U91) recently connected with classmates Roger Wang (L87, U91) and Peter Orgolini (L87, U91) in Colorado. Sally and Patrick took a break from the snow in Colorado for a fun trip to Mexico. They will be headed to Ojai in April for the Gala and the 26th Annual Pons Dinner, where Sally will be the guest speaker. She was recently appointed to the OVS Board of Trustees (See page 7).

Upper 2007

Blake Estes (U07) just had his first image published on the cover of a magazine – and it is on the cover of none other than the prestigious Sky & Telescope Magazine! Blake is currently living in Australia and working as the Global Observatory Manager at itelescope.net. In addition to his spectacular photo of Comet Leonard making the cover of the magazine, Blake’s work was also featured as the Astronomy Picture of the Day on a website hosted by NASA and shared as a lesson in the Astronomy class at Upper Campus. (See story on page 17). Blake’s mom, Anna Marie Estes, said, “Every dream he ever dreamed came true. I’m so proud and happy for him.”

Upper 2015

Matt Gustafson (L11, U15), a veterinary student at the University of Glasgow, will complete the first half of his course of study this May. He is once again spending his spring break lambing in James Herriot country in the north of England. Earlier this year he joined a group of students who volunteered to rehome chickens from a commercial egg producer. Sadly without efforts like these commercial hens are destroyed once they become 18 months old. Matthew still enjoys the outdoors, taking advantage of the beautiful wilderness area just north of Glasgow whenever possible.

Annie Wang (U17), a math major, will graduate this May from Cal State University Long Beach. She is currently interested in pursuing a Masters, and possibly a PhD, in cyber security. Annie had an enjoyable visit in late March with Equestrian Director Stephanie Gustafson and her husband, John. Besides helping at both the Lower and Upper barns, Annie was able to spend time with her school horse, Lana, and enjoyed a tour of the new Upper Campus buildings. She was blown away by the beauty of the view in the new girls lounge and kitchen. Her last evening with the Gustafsons was spent teaching them how to make dumplings.

Upper 2018

Emma Gustafson (L14, U18) will be graduating from New York University this May with a BS from the Steinhardt School. She is majoring in Media, Culture and Communication with a minor in the Business of Entertainment Media and Technology. She has accepted a job offer from Peter Thomas Roth Labs, based in Manhattan, in the Ecomm department.

Ellen Hou (U18) is graduating in May from the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she has competed as a member of the SCAD equestrian team. She presented her senior thesis on “How Weight of the Rider Impacts Horse Performance.” She writes, “This quarter I am taking Competition Design and Instruction classes. My teammate and I will have a mock USEF level 4 dressage competition put together and ready to run by the end of the quarter. Another fun project that I’m working on is a mock Emerging Athlete Program for pre-college athletes at SCAD for participants to bring their own horses. The program will consist of equine management, riding, sports psychology, and braiding workshops. My goal is to attract and to have a welcoming environment for pre-college athletes at both SCAD and the city of Savannah!” Ellen has also been keeping up with her riding. SCAD Equestrian dominated at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Zone 5 finals on April 2 and Ellen placed second in Team Novice equitation. The team is headed to the IHSA National Championship at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on May 5-8. Go Bees!

Upper 2020

Josh Hsu (U20), a current student at Michigan State University, rolled into Ojai in March with fellow alumnus Max Wu (U19). The pair visited Upper Campus and then grabbed some pizza in town.

Upper 2021

Meline Ellwanger (U21) has been traveling the globe photographing wild animals, from the Sahara desert to the African jungles, Antarctica, and Canada. Last November, she traveled to Churchill, Canada, to photograph polar bears just 15 feet from her lens. She then traveled to Antarctica. She writes, “On the north part of Antarctica thousands upon thousands of Penguins nest, live, and raise their chicks. We spent 19 days in Antarctica before heading to South Georgia where we stood on a hill, overlooking the St. Andrews Bay colony where about 200,000 pairs of King Penguins nest. A sight I will never forget!” March brought Meline back north to Churchill, the time polar bear mothers emerge from their dens with their newborn cubs. “I spent nine days at Watchee Lodge in Wapusk National Park hoping to be able to witness and photograph this special moment in -45 degrees … Not only was I able to see a mother and her cubs, but we were able to watch a mother with triplets. It is incredibly rare; the last set of triplets that were able to be observed was in 2015. We spent three entire days with her and it is by far the most amazing trip I have ever done. It was also the toughest trip I have ever done. Sitting in -45 degree weather for hours upon hours without moving, just looking through your camera is not an easy task. Your fingers start freezing, your toes are numb and you can’t feel anything in your face.

Your eyelashes start freezing and suddenly you have icicles hanging from your lashes and eyebrows and it is impossible to see anything. But it is so worth it and all the pain from the cold just vanishes when you watch these little balls of fur emerge. It was a special sight into the life of Earth’s biggest land apex predators.” Last year she was named Young Wilderness Safari’s Photographer of the Year, and a National Geographic Germany Newcomer Photographer.

In April, her work was featured on Nikon USA’s Instagram account.

Derek Mendoza (U21) is taking classes and playing baseball for the Oxnard College Condors. Derek was team co-captain for the OVS Spuds baseball team last year, which won the Omega League Championship. He is now a key left-handed pitcher in the Condors rotation. Derek is interested in majoring in sports broadcasting and baseball journalism.

Save the Date!

Join us for a Bay Area Alumni Gathering in San Francisco! Alumni of all eras are invited to attend a fall hike and picnic at Fort Baker, overlooking the San Francisco Bay, on Saturday, October 1. More details will be shared at Alumni Weekend. Email Wendy Tremiti at alumni@ovs.org if you’re interested in attending!