The Raider - Summer 2018

SUMMER 2018

A PUBLICATION FOR ALUMNI, STUDENTS, PARENTS & FRIENDS OF REGIS JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL

THE FUTURE is looking up

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE • • • •

Regis Jesuit 2020: Our New Administrative Structure Meet the Next Principal: Jimmy Tricco The History of Regis Jesuit Part III: The Campbell Campus Years 1 2017-18 Review SUMMERYear 2018 in TH E RAIDER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRESIDENT David Card '87

ON THE COVER

PRINCIPAL Jimmy Tricco

Photo of Gretchen Kessler, founding principal of the Girls Division, with members of the class of 2018 by Charisse Broderick King

SCHOOL NEWS

Message from the President 3 FEATURE: 140 Years of History Part III 4 Campbell Campus Comes to Be Regis Jesuit 2020: A Sharper Vision Two Divisions, One Principal 8 Our New Administrative Structure 9 Meet Our New Principal: Jimmy Tricco 10 2017-18 Year in Review Class of 2018 Overview 12 Athletics and Activities Wrap Up 14 LARK 2018: Their Vision…Our Future Event Report 18

THE ALUMNI RAIDER

Rooted in Mission: The Activities that Set Us Apart 20 Class Notes 22 Where Are They Now: Gretchen Kessler 31

COMMUNITY NEWS

Fond Farewells 33 Faculty Notes 37 Raider Journeys 38 In Memoriam 39 Upcoming Events Back Cover M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T Regis Jesuit High School, —a Catholic educational community— engages the gifts of young men and women in a single-gender environment, fosters faith in Jesus Christ and promotes justice and mercy, develops critical minds and nurtures compassionate hearts to serve others – all for the greater glory of God.

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Rhonda Morroni VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS Rick Sullivan VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVANCEMENT Mindae Russell DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Charisse J. Broderick King CONTRIBUTORS Helen Bingham Oliva Bachmann '20 Bethany Carmellini Adam Dawkins '98 Will Dennen '18 Kevin Dong '18 Nick Faber '18 Gustavo Flores Gomez '20 Katie Haley Caroline Linton '21 Conor Lyford '18 Kyle MacDonald '18 Leo McCabe '19 Paul Miller '04 RJ Media Program Mindae Russell Trina Sandler Amanda Shepherd Colin St. John '01 Mary Zimmerman DESIGN: ChopBlock Collective, Ltd. PRINT COORDINATION: Unique Litho, Inc. at American Web Printing Printed on environmentally-friendly paper using sustainable production methods.

The Raider and Alumni Raider are published by Regis Jesuit High School twice a year [summer and winter]. Your comments, opinions, inquiries about the magazine, Regis Jesuit High School, its programs or community members including alumni are welcome to communications@regisjesuit.com. Story ideas and submissions are welcome as well.

Regis Jesuit High 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 and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

MESSAGE F ROM THE PRE S I D E N T

Dear Regis Jesuit Community, I hope you will join me in extending a warm welcome to Regis Jesuit’s new Principal, Mr. Jimmy Tricco.

Mr. Tricco comes to us from Xavier College Preparatory, a Jesuit-endorsed, lay-run, co-ed high school in Palm Desert, California, where he has served as principal for the past four years.

He will officially arrive on campus on August 1. You can get to know a little more about Mr. Tricco on page 9.

As we conclude one academic year and prepare for the next, we begin a new chapter in our 140-year history with a vision toward how we can make what has been undoubtedly good even better. When Mr. Tricco joins us as the sole principal of Regis Jesuit, he will become the most visible sign of the results of a nearly year-long discernment on how we might improve our organizational structure.

The essential question taken up in this discernment by a steering committee representing a broad cross-section of the Regis Jesuit community was this: “Are the current organizational structure and decision-making processes of RJHS optimal for accomplishing the school’s mission and if not, how can they be improved?”

As we make these changes to our organizational structure, we will strengthen and clarify leadership and decision-making processes. We will strengthen teaching and elevate single gender teaching excellence. Moreover, we will better ensure the equity, quality and integrity of our programs on a campus-wide basis. More about the move toward our new structure, an effort we have dubbed Regis Jesuit 2020: A Sharper Vision, can be found in this issue.

In the end, we expect to be the best Regis Jesuit for our students that we have ever been, and we are delighted to have Mr. Tricco joining us as principal as we make this transition.

The year ahead promises to be one of change, discovery and growth, and we look forward to sharing the journey with you.

Welcome to the summer edition of The Raider.

Blessings,

David Card '87 President

The steering committee made several recommendations for changes. While our single gender focus and environment will not change, our administrative structure will. Most notably, we will have a single administrative team and a single principal for the entire school (instead of two). The goals of this change are clear: to make the identity of Regis Jesuit overall stronger than that of its divisions, and to streamline our staffing to enable clear communications and sound, timely decision-making.

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From the Archives:

140 YEARS OF REGIS JESUIT HISTORY – PART THREE

This is the final installment in a look back at Regis Jesuit’s 140-year history on the occasion of that anniversary.

Read the first two installments at www.regisjesuit.com/TheRaider.

Campbell Campus Comes to Be

BY COLIN ST. JOHN '01

T

he date goes down as August 17, 1990. That’s when Regis Jesuit officially vacated Regis University’s Lowell campus to make the move across town to Aurora.

Classes began in September of that year. In November of 1985, Richard Campbell '54 offered the high school 27 acres of land at Parker and Arapahoe Roads. The offer was too good to pass up, so President Ralph Houlihan, SJ and the school packed its proverbial bags. The move was controversial, to say the least, but how did things pan out once the chalk hit the board?

“Our class started at Regis Jesuit knowing the school was moving after sophomore year,” says Sean Coughlin '92, one of the few and proud who spent two years on each campus. “Our class size was considerably smaller. Students in North Denver didn’t want to start school in 1988 knowing that junior and senior year would be very far away in South Denver. Students from the south part of town didn’t want a long commute to North Denver for the first

The groundbreaking of the new boys building in April 2003

two years. At first, we thought the whole thing was a bad idea.

Why mess with tradition?”

Coughlin goes on, “There was nothing out there. Where would we go during the 40 minutes we had for off-campus lunch when the nearest place was 20 minutes away? We liked sharing the North Denver campus with Regis College. It was cool to use some of their sports facilities jointly. We felt very grown-up sharing a campus with college kids.” Still, Coughlin says, the boys adjusted to the new building just fine. “We quickly learned that the traditions and school spirit did follow us to the Campbell Campus.

One thing we only learned from the benefit of hindsight is that the decision to attend Regis Jesuit would forever change our lives for the better.”

HI T T I NG PAY DI RT Fr. Walter “Wally” Sidney, SJ followed Houlihan, assuming the office of the Regis Jesuit presidency in 1995. His first major concern became spreading out a little bit more. “We needed more land,” Fr. Sidney says when reached from his current post as rector of the Jesuit community at Jesuit Dallas. “The big talk when I first got there was trying to purchase the land out in front, to the west. It was like 34 or 35 acres. There was a consortium of

God smiles down on Campbell Campus in this shot from the 1995 yearbook

people who owned it. We weren’t in any rush to develop it. We just needed more space, for parking and playing fields.” The deal was finalized in January of 1997.

“If you remember, we didn’t have enough parking space so guys were parking down there on the dirt,” Sidney says. I, myself, remember it well. As a sophomore in the late 1990s, that’s where I attempted to steer a 1984 diesel Mercedes over bumpy terrain, getting it stuck often. Sidney goes on to describe it well. “It was great. It wasn’t anything. It was just prairie. And when it rained, it was muddy. That was it: the sophomore lot.”

“The overriding purpose for buying the land is because there is no more land. And it was right adjacent to the property,” Bud Laber, who was chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1998 until 2006 says, “And I think that’s the land that we ended up putting our tennis courts on.”

GI R L TA LK Then, in 1998, the seeds were planted for what is arguably the biggest change in Regis Jesuit’s history. “Families of young Catholic girls came to us because they were underserved: There weren’t enough seats for all of the Catholic girls in the area high schools,” Sidney recalls. “They asked us if we would consider going co-ed. And we said, ‘No, we’re really not interested in that.

Our tradition and our beliefs are in single-sex education.’” Laber remembers, “We were approached by parents and principals from

some of the surrounding Catholic grade schools who said, ‘Our girls are graduating with A’s and they can’t get into a Catholic high school because there’s no room.’ They went to St. Mary’s and St. Mary’s said, ‘No, we’re at the right size of enrollment.

We don’t want to change that.’ They went Mullen and Mullen said, ‘No, we don’t have any plans to expand.’ They went to the archdiocese and the archdiocese said, ‘No we don’t have plans to build any more high schools at the moment.’ So, then they came to us and they said, ‘We know you have this extra land that you acquired, can you sell or rent the land to us and we’ll put a building on it for a girls school?’ And we said, ‘Well, we’ll take that under consideration.’ That was the first time it had ever been brought up. Later the group came back and said, ‘Actually we want a Jesuit education for girls; we want to be part of Regis. So, we began to deliberate as to how that could happen."

Fr. Sidney recalls that the group proposed raising its own money for building this new school. “We talked about it and said, ‘If we’re going to have another school on this campus, we want to have say and control over that school,’” he recalls from his office in Dallas. “The Christian Brothers used to do something like that. They weren’t allowed to teach women. So they would build a school with a central section. Then, they’d have a boys wing where they worked and they’d have a girls wing where they’d have religious sisters. We finally got to the point where we said: This would be a real service. This might be something that the Lord is providing us the opportunity to do something different.”

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St. Catherine’s Greek Orthodox Church and School – first home for the girls of Regis Jesuit

The Board of Trustees engaged in discernment. “What are the pros? What are the cons? Where is God leading us in all of this?” Sidney remembers. “The decision was: We will go forward with the idea of creating a separate girls school unless there is something that would nix the idea, like we couldn’t raise enough money or we couldn’t get the approval of the diocese.

Or we couldn’t get the approval of the Father General in Rome. I wouldn’t say it easily fell into place, but it all worked out so we kept moving forward with it.”

“The Board wrestled with that idea quite a while,” Laber says.

“But, at the end of the day, Fr. Sidney and I said, ‘Look, if we are here under the mantra of Men for Others, here’s an opportunity for us to show that because what these people are asking us to do is provide a Regis Jesuit education for women. At that time we had been in business for 125 years; we were committed to being an allboys school. So we said, ‘Okay, we can do this but we are going to have to maintain the single-sex education model. We’ll have to add a building to the campus for girls.’” The Board voted to approve the co-divisional model in 2001, a first for Jesuit schools in the United States.

Sidney and Laber quickly realized that the biggest hurdle would be the expense. “So we considered that and went back and forth on how that might happen,” Laber says. “And then one day, one of the board members said, ‘Well the school building right now where the boys are attending is too small.’ Well, it’d be big enough for the girls. So if we just put the girls in that building and refurbish and remodel the bathrooms and so forth, and then build a building that’s big enough to handle the boys enrollment, wouldn’t

that be the answer?” On April 11, 2003, ground was broken for a new Boys Division building.

“On the finance side, I think I should make it clear to you that this was no slam dunk from the beginning. We had to go through all kinds of machinations to convince the province that we could do this financially,” Laber says. When asked about pushback from alums, both Sidney and Laber say that the alumni weren’t a huge opposition group. It was some of the current students and their parents. “And, then, especially the mothers of the boys who all of a sudden didn’t want their boys tempted by these girls who were going to be on campus,” Sidney says, laughing a bit.

The two buildings—a renovated one for the girls and a new one for the boys—wouldn’t both be ready for a year. “So then the question was do we delay a year in opening the Girls Division and possibly lose the support that we had?” Sidney recalls. “And that’s where St. Catherine’s, all of a sudden, entered the picture. St. Catherine’s Greek Orthodox had built a grade school but weren’t ready to start. So they had an empty school. So we talked with them and ended up renting their space for a year while the building on the campus was finally completed.”

DY NAMI C DUO “I think one of the key points here is that there was not another school like this in the U.S. No one had ever done this before, so every decision that came across Gretchen’s desk was the first time a decision like that had to be made,” Laber says. He’s speaking, of course, about Gretchen Kessler, the founding principal of the Girls Division, who stepped down at the end of the 2017-18 school

year after 16 years at the helm. “One day I got in an envelope that was addressed to me and it was from Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado. I opened it up and they announced that they were going to create a Girls Division,” Kessler says of receiving that fateful letter in her native Buffalo, New York. “And I thought: How cool. It's about time we do for girls what we've been doing for boys for all these years. I put the letter aside, but kept thinking about it. About two weeks later I got another copy of the letter with a little note on it saying that they hoped that I would consider applying. And I thought: ‘Okay, God, I really had never thought about this but it was too exciting not to consider seriously.’”

Kessler’s Jesuit roots run deep, as her father went to Canisius High School in Buffalo before heading to Canisius College. He ended up teaching at Canisius High for 42 years, where her mother was a secretary and they met. Gretchen taught Spanish at Canisius for 24 years, was admissions director for a year and then assistant principal for five years. She landed the job at Regis Jesuit and brought her then 80-year-old mother (who helped to create the first Girls Division library collection) to Colorado with her.

“There was no P.A. system in the building so we actually gathered together in the morning and in the afternoon for prayer and for announcements with the original 171 students and our faculty,” Kessler recalls of the St. Catherine’s days. There were 40 sophomores, who had mostly come from area public schools and 131 freshman. “It was it was a beautiful experience, and it was a great time I think for us to create ourselves as a division of Regis Jesuit. We got to know each other very well and it turned out to be a wonderful way to start.”

“St. Catherine’s was a beautiful building,” Jill Dann '06 recalls.

“The church had amazing stained glass and was so ornate. It was not designed to be a high school, so we had to be flexible and creative. There were no lockers, no overhead announcements, no bells—as far as I remember—no chemistry lab and so forth.

The student body was a small group at that point, much smaller than the enrollment now, but the building felt full.” The girls moved into their new digs the following year and Kessler recalls that many thought the building too large and wanted to go back.

They’ve stuck around.

Sidney, for his part, believes the model has “taken off” and has been “really successful.” He was there for the first graduation of girls in 2006, before handing the reins to Fr. Phil Steele, SJ '66 that fall. Since then, Regis Jesuit has continued an evolution that is readily apparent to anyone who steps on campus. The Steele Center—a building focused on the performing arts and communications that also serves as a student commons and named for Fr. Steele—opened in 2014 and has become the “heart of campus” Fr. Steele envisioned it could be as a place where the boys and girls come together. David Card '87, Regis Jesuit’s first lay president, took office in 2016. And in April of 2017, Regis Jesuit purchased an additional 18 acres of land adjacent to campus, so there is more growth to come. It’s a long way from Lowell Boulevard and even farther than from Las Vegas, New Mexico, but it’s still Regis Jesuit—unmistakably so.

Founding Principal Gretchen Kessler with John Apel, SJ and class of 2006 alumnae Andrea Hendee and Jill Dann at the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Girls Division in 2013

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Regis Jesuit 2020: A Sharper Vision TWO DIVISIONS, ONE PRINCIPAL

BY CHARISSE BRODERICK KING, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

I

n December 2017, President David Card '87 announced a reorganization of the school’s administrative structure following recommendations developed by a special steering committee that had spent nearly a year considered this question: “Are the current organizational structure and decision-making processes of RJHS optimal for accomplishing the school’s mission and if not, how can they be improved?”

The desire to conduct an organizational assessment originated with Regis Jesuit’s strategic planning effort. The steering committee comprised of faculty, staff, trustees, Jesuits, parents and alumni—18 members in all—began meeting in fall 2016 to prepare a response to the essential question above. Over a tenmonth period, the group reviewed large quantities of community input, hosted several listening sessions, engaged in prayerful discernment and ultimately developed a set of recommendations for the Board of Trustees that was approved at the Board’s November 2017 meeting.

R E C O MM ENDATIONS • The optimal structure will have an overall, cross-divisional principal reporting to the president • Each division will also have a single, identifiable division head • Academic departments will be unified under one crossdivisional administrator • Athletics and Student Activities will be organized under one cross-divisional administrator • Adult Formation, Pastoral, Service and Diversity departments will be organized under one cross-divisional administrator

Early in 2018, Card identified a transition team to advise him through the restructure and named people into acting roles. This group, comprised of the cross-divisional administrators, division heads, assistant division heads and deans, will work with the principal to lead the institution forward. At the same time, the search for the principal was launched and successfully concluded with the hiring of Jimmy Tricco, who will begin his tenure on August 1, 2018. (Read an interview with him on pages 10-11).

According to Card, the restructure presents opportunities for the school to continue to improve the ways Regis Jesuit serves students. He states, “It’s been 15 years since the Girls Division was established. Having separate administrative teams allowed the Boys Division to continue to thrive while the Girls Division established itself; that structure has served our students extremely well. Today, we have the opportunity to become an even better Regis Jesuit—to streamline ourselves and to strengthen the identity of Regis Jesuit overall without changing our single-gender focus. We are already reaping benefits from this restructure.”

The new organizational structure went into effect at the beginning of June. Full implementation of all the recommendations and stabilization will occur over the next two to three years, ensuring that the mission to educate Men and Women with and for Others endures for another 140 years.

G O A L S O F THE RE S TRUCTURE • Streamline the organizational structure to enable clear communications and sound, timely decision-making • Ensure that the individual learning and development needs of girls and boys will be protected and fostered • Ensure that students have primarily a single-gender educational experience • Ensure that the quality of education students receive will be sustained or improved

LEARN MORE about Regis Jesuit’s new organizational structure, including regular updates from the transition team. Visit www.regisjesuit.com/RJ2020.

Meet the Team

REGIS JESUIT’S NEW ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE MR. JIMMY TRICCO Principal • Begins at Regis Jesuit on August 1, 2018 • 15 years in Catholic education • Bachelor of arts degree in psychology with a minor in theology from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh; master of education degree in counseling psychology emphasizing human relations from Northern Arizona University; certificate in Catholic school leadership from Loyola Marymount University in California, graduate of the Jesuit Schools Network (JSN) Seminars in Ignatian Leadership • Primary subject areas: theology • Alumnus of Brophy Prep in Phoenix

(In order from left to right) DR. SAJIT KABADI Assistant Principal for Mission, Ministry & Diversity • 14 years at Regis Jesuit with another four as a member of the Board of Trustees; 20 years in Catholic education • Bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Saint Louis University, master’s degrees in religious education from Loyola University – Chicago and intercultural/international communications from the University of Denver and a doctorate in educational leadership and innovation from the University of Colorado – Denver • Primary subject areas: theology, diversity issues, educational leadership, justice issues in education • Adjunct professor in secondary education at Metropolitan State University MR. CRAIG ROGERS Assistant Principal for Faculty & Curriculum • 18 years at Regis Jesuit; 20 years in Catholic education • Bachelor of arts from Notre Dame, master of arts in religious studies from University of Denver and master in theology ABD from Fordham University • Primary subject areas: theology • Coaches the boys golf team and moderates the Regis Christian Life Community MR. BRYAN TIMME Assistant Principal for Student Life • 22 years at Regis Jesuit; 22 years in Catholic education • Bachelor of arts in communication from Saint Louis University, master of arts in educational technology from Lesley University • Primary subject areas: graphic art, video production and yearbook; has also taught speech, theology and film history • Has served activities director, pastoral director, interim athletic director and interim academic assistant principal; has also been the athletic game manager for the last 18 years • Came to Regis Jesuit as an Alum Service Corps volunteer

MR. TIM BAUER '88 Girls Division Head • 19 years at Regis Jesuit; 23 years in Catholic education • Bachelor of arts in English from the University of Colorado at Boulder and master of arts in American studies from George Washington University • Primary subject areas: English and social studies • Was a member of the first group of Alum Service Corps (ASC) volunteers in 1991-92 MS. KAREN WUERTZ Boys Division Head • Seven years at Regis Jesuit; 19 years in Catholic and 26 years total in education, having worked at all levels K-12 in both all-boys and all-girls, as well as co-ed schools and in both the public and private sectors • Bachelor and master degrees in music education from the University of Colorado at Boulder; certification in K-12 education; graduate certificate in leadership • Primary subject areas: music and leadership • Graduate of the JSN Seminars in Ignatian Leadership and completed a NAIS fellowship for aspiring school heads In addition to the individuals profiled above, the administrative team will also be supported by: • Mr. Ryan Williamson – Assistant Girls Division Head • Ms. Kelli Lotito – Girls Dean of Students • Ms. Dana Bauer – Assistant Boys Division Head • Mr. Mike Doherty – Boys Dean of Students • Ms. Annie Etling – Faculty & Curriculum Coordinator

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Meet Jimmy Tricco REGIS JESUIT’S NEXT PRINCIPAL

BY LEO MCCABE '19, MAXINE FUSILIER '19, SOPIA MARCINEK '20 AND OLIVIA BACHMANN '20, RJ MEDIA

RJ MEDIA: What are you most excited for about coming to RJ? MR. TRICCO: I think the energy and love of the community was infectious when I was up there meeting everybody. People are so excited about the educational experience that Regis provides, and I think that especially the relationships are something I value; those were evident when I made my trip up there. So I think just the experience of the community and the relationships that are built at Regis Jesuit.

RJ MEDIA: What impression did Regis leave on you when came for your first visit?

MR. TRICCO: I am grateful for the community’s appreciation of one another, especially the students. I think that everything at Regis is aimed to give the students the best experience possible, nudging them closer and closer to God. That is something that needs to be true of all Jesuit schools for them to live out their mission and vision. It [is] a school with a lot of amazing traditions, with obviously some areas for growth. I look forward to shaping the trajectory of school and working with the current staff there next year and hopefully long into the future.

RJ MEDIA: How have your past experiences benefited you in your career, and how is your Ignatian experience going to benefit you being RJ’s next principal?

MR. TRICCO: Being a Jesuit high school grad myself, I am completely formed and so deeply in love with the Jesuit tradition in high school. If I could preface this with saying I am a big fan of the Jesuit saints, especially our founder St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier.

One thing I think Xavier did with the early Jesuits that was really cool was when they went out in the world to spread the good news. Wherever they went, they tried to take on the cultures, speak the languages, and learn the customs of the people they were visiting. They spoke the dialect of the people and dressed like the people. I feel like

Jimmy Tricco with his wife Jacqui and their children, Lucy (10), Cyril (8) and Quinn (3)

EDITOR’S NOTE: A longer version of this interview originally appeared in Vol. 3 Issue 3 of Elevate, the student newsmagazine. See the announcement of Jimmy Tricco as principal at www.regisjesuit.com/principal. He will assume his new role on August 1, 2018.

The Triccos hiking the Grand Canyon

at Jesuit schools like Regis, like Xavier, faculty and staff learn the dialect of the students, just like the early Jesuits did. In that relationship is where they find Jesus, where they find God. I think in Jesuit education, that is where I’ve encountered God. It revolves around the people who have drawn me closer to Christ. We discover God in these moments and in those relationships. I have been through the Spiritual Exercises, and I firmly believe God knows me exactly where I am. He is calling me to share myself so we can better follow his will. I am really excited to grow in relationships with students, faculty and staff at Regis.

RJ MEDIA: What is your vision for the future advancement of RJHS? MR. TRICCO: I think the very structure of what is happening, going to a one principal for a school community, I think that speaks volumes. One thing that resurfaced time and time again was this need to bridge or almost help build the relationships between the two divisions. This was mentioned in almost every conversation that I had with students, parents, faculty and staff, department chairs, the board. There is this desire to be more aligned with the entire community. That is one area of growth that I think will be important. This goes for any school I think, having everyone on the same page

and having all the teachers feeling that everyone knows the mission and vision and that everyone is dedicated to that. One of the other things that surfaced repeatedly was diversity among the students, faculty and staff. So that sounds like an area of growth. Again that’s a common area of growth for all our Jesuit schools. I think there is a lot of mention about STEM and how to better integrate technology to not only prepare students for the future, but to integrate to improve the student experience in the classroom. So those are the three things that popped up again and again, and those are areas I’m excited to be a part of.

RJ MEDIA: What do you think is going to be the most challenging adjustment for you?

MR. TRICCO: I think one of the first things someone sent me after I got the job was a quote saying “We are proud of you” and I don’t know if I’m supposed to know what that means, but I think you all know what that means. I look at this not as a challenge, but as an opportunity. I am new to the community, I am new to the traditions, I am new to the school and new to the way Regis has been in the past.

So I think learning the lingo, the structure and new roles, just immersing myself in the place, seems like a great opportunity more than a challenge.

MORE ABOUT JIMMY FAVORITE MOVIE–Forrest Gump with The Shawshank Redemption as a close second FAVORITE COLOR–Green FAVORITE BOOK–The Return of the Prodigal Son FAVORITE FOOD–My wife’s lasagna FAVORITE PASTIME–Read, go to the movies, hike DREAM DESTINATION–Walk the Camino de Santiago FAVORITE HIGH SCHOOL MEMORY–Kairos

With daughter Lucy showing their silly sides

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Year in Review 2017-18 ACADEMICS: CLASS OF 2018

Boys Division Valedictorian

Girls Division Valedictorian

University of Oklahoma

University of Pennsylvania

ETHAN JOSEPH CLOCK

Boys Division Salutatorian

JACOB ROUGET PENDERGAST

University of Colorado at Boulder

LAUREN NOELLE CAHILL

Girls Division Salutatorian

THERESA ELIZABETH NELSON

Stanford University

ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

UNITED STATES MILITARY SERVICE

National Merit Commended Students Madeline Broderick King, Steven Breuning, Srikar Chava, Abby Kassal, Bryan Kent, Veronica Lennert, Molly Moran, Matthew Nguyen, Grae Patterson, Lucas Schaaf, John Schiavone, Tyler Tomlin

Cole Blake – United States Merchant Marine Academy Thomas Cassidy – United States Military Academy Prep School Austin Layne – United States Air Force Academy Caspar Placke – United States Military Academy Tamatane Tuitele – United States Naval Academy

National Merit Hispanic Scholars Philip Bortz, Sebastian Sanchez, Collin Van Horn

ROTC Programs

Daniels Fund Scholars Eliseo Esparza, Austin Layne

Ben Coffey – University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Tyler Gayle – Texas Christian University Veronica Lennert – University of Notre Dame Evan Schwarz – University of St. Thomas

COLLEGE ATHLETIC SIGNINGS BOYS Sam Bornhorst – football, John Carroll University Sam Bannec – basketball, Colorado State University Florenzo Bauer – cross country, Central Wyoming College Ty Coen – swimming, University of Arizona Sean Dunnington – football, Colorado State University – Pueblo Anders Erickson – lacrosse, Furman University Brooks Hauge – swimming, Lasalle University Jake Heimlicher – football, University of Pennsylvania Justin Lamb – football, Drake University Charlie Maly – lacrosse, Drexel University Brodie Marino – baseball, South Mountain Community College Aubrey Marschel Parker – football, University of Nebraska – Kearney Elijah Martinez – basketball, Hawaii Pacific University Dom Mata – lacrosse, University of Utah Cal McCoy – golf, University of Denver Cade Mendenhall – football, Colorado Mesa University Joey Salazar – baseball, Knox College Nathan Schraeder – baseball, University of St. Thomas – Minnesota Hunter Sherrard – baseball, Doane University

AJ Smallwood – football, Colorado Mesa University Elliot Steinberg – swimming, Xavier University Tamatane Tuitele – football, United States Navy Elijah Warren – swimming, Arizona State University GIRLS Mia Albery – soccer, Wake Forrest University Olivia Ayers – basketball, Loyola University – New Orleans Noelle Cahill – basketball, University of Pennsylvania Kayla Carman – soccer, Union University Dani Carr – swimming, Lafayette College Mariah Daley – lacrosse, Sacred Heart College Kylie Davis – track, University of Colorado Mara Driver – soccer, University of Nebraska - Omaha Maya Fair – lacrosse, Kenyon College Jasmine Gaines – basketball, University of Illinois, Chicago Abby Kassal –soccer, North Carolina State University Ann Marie Kenny – diving, Tulane University Hannah Lester – field hockey, Denison University Elizabeth Koch – volleyball – Briar Cliff University Katelyn Martin – soccer, Regis University Lauren Olczak – swimming, Fairfield University Erin Pendleton – softball, West Texas A & M University Hadley Templin – swimming, Colorado State University

COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES The 405 members of the Regis Jesuit class of 2018 (230 boys and 175 girls) were accepted into more than 300 colleges and universities. Of the 97% heading directly to college, 67% of them were awarded scholarships and grants from the schools to which they were accepted totaling more than $38 million.

More than 24% of the class of 2018 will matriculate to Catholic colleges and universities, and of those 16% will continue their Ignatian education at 22 of the 28 Jesuit universities. To see the full list of schools these #GreatRaiders will be attending, please visit www.regisjesuit.com/Classof2018Colleges.

We list only the names of Regis Jesuit students who receive national level or full-ride scholarships. Annually, Regis Jesuit students receive numerous competitive monetary awards totaling tens of millions of dollars in academic scholarships.

Every effort has been made to record accurately those who have been awarded scholarships or have signed to play sports in college. We sincerely regret any errors or omissions.

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Year in Review 2017-18 ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES FALL SPORTS GIRLS

BOYS

CROSS COUNTRY Had a successful season finishing in fourth place in the Continental League Championship meet! Congrats to Isalina Colsman '20 on her seventh place finish at State and for securing a place on the All-State Second Team.

CROSS COUNTRY Cross Country had a strong season finishing in sixth place at Continental League Championship meet. Congrats to Owen Buehler '20 on his State showing!

FIELD HOCKEY For the first time in RJ Field Hockey history, the team made it to the Final Four! They had an impressive season finishing 12-3-2.

Reagan Cadieux '18 and Hannah Lester '18 both made the First Team All-State; Bridget Kennedy '18 secured a Second Team spot.

FOOTBALL Coach Danny Filleman led the Raiders to an impressive 10-2 season record with only one regular season loss to Mullen, vindicated with a victory in the first round of the playoffs.

The team fell 28-18 in second round of the playoffs to No. 3 Columbine in a rainy matchup.

Photo Credit: Paul Soriano

RUGBY The girls had a very competitive season despite being the smallest team in competition. Captain Caitlyn Burke '18 was inspirational and kept the team motivated during the three-month season. The team finished the year as third seed for the DII Championships. Due to injury, they competed a player down for most of the tournament. With a large number of returning juniors, next year promises a successful turnout.

GOLF STATE CHAMPS! The Raiders repeated as State Champions, their seventh 5A State Team Championship in eight seasons!

Craig Rogers was named Coach of the Year and two golfers secured All-State nominations: Calvin McCoy '18, First Team and Cameron Kirke '18, Second Team.

SOFTBALL Under the direction of Coach Merideth Feik the team finished their season at 8-11. Catcher Izzy Macias '19 was selected to the All-Continental League first Team and pitcher Jackie Cal '19 and shortstop Chloe Valdez '21 were chosen for the second team.

VOLLEYBALL Coach Ellen Miks continues to build the program here at RJ. Volleyball had a challenging regular season, but saved their strength and beat both Smoky Hill and Grand Junction during their final tournament of the season. They ended the season 2-21.

SOCCER The boys ended season with a 2-0 loss in the quarterfinals to Grandview. Five Raiders were named to the Continental League All-League First Team: Cole Blake '18, Colin Giardino '18, Dean Maloney '18, Grayson Lombardo, '18 and Zach Robertson '18. Blake was also named Player of the Year and Rick Wolf was Coach of the Year.

TENNIS Third place team finish at State! Will Dennen '18 and Patrick Seby '18 (No. 1 Doubles team) and Emilio Gonzalez-Cruz '20 and Evan Nuss '19 (No. 2 Doubles team) captured State titles!

These same four made First Team All-State.

WINTER SPORTS GIRLS BASKETBALL Girls Basketball had an exciting season. They advanced to the State Finals, but unfortunately fell to Grandview in a nail-biter of a game. Fran Fran Belibi '19 secured a spot on First Team All-State and Jada Moore '20 received an honorable mention.

In May, Fran verbally committed to Stanford over Harvard, Notre Dame and Princeton.

BOYS BASKETBALL Coach Ken Shaw’s Raiders had an impressive season finishing 19-6. Elijah Martinez '18 received an All-State Honorable Mention.

HOCKEY STATE CHAMPS! Hockey had an undefeated regular season and headed into the playoffs the No. 1 seed. They took home the State Championships after a 2-0 win over Valor Christian in the title game! In the National Tournament in Minneapolis, Regis Jesuit was matched up with Stoneman Douglass High school in the first round, where they presented them with a signed banner and jersey showing our support for their recent school tragedy.

CHEER Cheer had a very successful competitive season placing fifth in the Continental League Championships. They then went on to place fourth in UCA Mile High Championship and earned a bid to the UCA Nationals in Florida.

POMS Poms for placed fourth in Pom and fifth in Jazz at the NDA Regional competition. They then went on the Continental League Championships where varsity placed second and JV placed sixth. They had a strong showing at State with a fifth place finish and earned a bid to UDA Nationals in Florida where they made it to the semifinals.

WRESTLING Antonio Segura '21 was the sole RJ qualifier for State this year. He won his first-round match, but didn’t continue beyond the second round. We look forward to watching Coach Brent Bieshaar’s Raiders next season!

SPRING SPORTS GIRLS GOLF Had an impressive third place finish at the Spring Valley Tournament hosted by Legend High School and sent four players on to State play. Katie Berrian '20, as well as the combined team, was in the lead after day one of the tournament.

Unfortunately, day two proved to be more challenging. Berrian tied for third and Skylar Cain '20 tied for 30th bringing the team score in at fourth.

SWIM & DIVE The team started the season off strong with seven State qualifiers in the first meet. They had an undefeated season and finished third at the State Championships. Congrats to Parker Bailey '20, Sophia Bradac '20, Anne Kenney '18, Jada Surrell-Norwood '20 and Meriel Upton '18 who were all named to Second Team All-State.

LACROSSE New Head Coach Kathryn Ames took the RJ lacrosse team to the next level. The team took a winning streak all the way to the quarterfinals round where they fell to Chapparal in overtime, 1211. Ames was named Continental League Coach of the Year.

Sidney Weigand '19 was selected to First Team All-State and Cate Lord '21 to the All-State Second Team.

SOCCER In a bit of a Cinderella story, our 41st-ranked soccer team delivered upset after upset to make it to the quarterfinal round of the State Tournament. Coach Will Cropper’s '98 team played their hearts out, but fell 3-1 to Mountain Vista.

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TENNIS Coach Kollman Gearhart’s Tennis team had a great year and tied for sixth at the State Championships. But the real celebration of the season was the fact that Marie Manassee '20 and Grace Neff '20 brought home the first State Championship since RJ moved up to compete at the 5A level. They are the No. 3 Doubles State Champions!

TRACK & FIELD Kylie Davis '18 brought her all to the State meet, taking third in the 100m hurdles, finishing second in the 300m hurdles and setting a new school record. Isalina Colsman '20 also set a school record in the 1600m at State and finished 10th in the 3200m.

BOYS BASEBALL The Raiders started a new tradition in the 2018 season, Rock the Sox. They collected more than 500 pairs of socks during their game vs. Rock Canyon that will be distributed to people in the Metro are currently experiencing homelessness. The team had a challenging season and fell to Pine Creek in the first round of playoff games.

LACROSSE STATE CHAMPS! Lacrosse had a very successful season with only one loss to Torrey Pines in California. Motivated by this loss, Coach Jim Soran’s team went in blazing to the State Championships! With 10-4 win over Kent Denver, they secured their third State Title since 2014. Four players were appointed to First Team All-State: Reed Babcock '19, Dom Mata '18, Charlie Maly '18, Patrick Roe '18 and Jake Taylor '19.

SWIM & DIVE STATE CHAMPS! Coach Frasersmith’s Raiders had a great regular season and finished undefeated. They went into the State Championships strong with 29 qualifiers and had a top eight finisher in nearly every event. They were behind 1.5 points as they started the final relay of the meet. Elijah Warren '18, named CHSAA Swimmer of the Year, brought it home to win the race and the secure the State Championship. Quinn Henninger '21 was recognized as an All-American diver by the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA).

Photo Credit: Array of Lights Photography

TRACK & FIELD Zion Gordon '19, AJ Smallwood '18 and Tama Tuitele '18 all competed in a rainy State Championship Track & Field Meet.

Gordon had a strong 100m finishing seventh; he also finished sixth in the 110m hurdles. Smallwood finished fourth in the 400m dash.

VOLLEYBALL Under Coach Kurt Thiemann the Raiders were able to field two club teams filled with young volleyball enthusiasts. The White team finished 1-15 and the Black team finished 2-18. This season was a building season and they hope to return in 2019 with more depth and experience.

PERFORMING ARTS ALL-STATE CHOIR Five Regis Jesuit students were selected to sing as part of the All-State Choir Festival that took place February 1-3, 2018 at the Buell. Ethan Clock '18, Rachel Hilbert '19, Donavon Ruiz '19, Sarah Smith '18 and Sadie Wuertz '18 were selected to represent the Raiders at this prestigious showcase.

ALL-STATE BAND Ella Bartt '19 qualified to play with the All-State Band; she also was selected for CU Honor Band.

ALL-STATE ORCHESTRA Four Raiders were selected to the 2018 Colorado All-State Orchestra: Molly Bowers '20, Sebastian Colsman '18, Jade Law '18 and Tom Yoda '18.

RUGBY The RJ Rugby club team had a great year, ending regular season play 6-1. They went full steam into the playoffs and completed against Denver East in the State Championship game.

Unfortunately they fell to East. RJ is proud to have 10 Raiders on the All-State team: Connor Blue '19, Charlie Quinn '19, Hayes Ward '18, Joe Cross '20, Fenton Dowling '20, Jeron Johnson '20, Eddie Maxfield '21, Gordy McKeehan '20, Nolan Sargent '20 and Zach Van Haselen '20.

THEATRE Ten Raider thespians received a superior rating during the State Competition at ThesCon in December 2017, and three were invited to compete at ThesFest, the national thespian competition, held this summer in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Congratulations to Luke Connelly '20, Sydney Fillipi '18, Eli Harvey '19, Rachel Hilbert '19, Abby Mortinsen '19, Mati Rogers '20, Donavon Ruiz '19, Sarah Smith '18, Lila Smith '19 and Kara Toll '19. The RJ troupe also secured their second consecutive Bobby G nomination (Tonys of HS theatre), this year in the category of Outstanding Chorus for the ensemble from Fiddler on the Roof.

VISUAL ARTS CONTINENTAL LEAGUE ART SHOW Regis Jesuit had a huge showing at the Continental League Art Show this year, with 16 participants: Paul Brock '18, Noah Briata '18, Dominic DeVito '19, Lukas Howell '19, Nicholas Hampers '19, Melissa Hillenbrand '19, Megan Rielly '19, Abby Kassal '18 (second place in drawing category), Emma Oakes '19 (pictured with her first place-winning piece in the painting category), Catherine Lynott '18, Audrey Dubler '18, Bailey Whalen '20, Mariana Barrios '21, Chelsea Solita '18, Seleny Banuelos '19 and Riley Parsons '18.

INVESTMENT CLUB The Investment Club studies and invests in the Stock Market using real equities but play money. Students learn how to analyze and determine when to buy and sell a stock. The club took four teams to the Junior Achievement Stock Market Challenge. Nearly 40 teams completed in a live stock market simulation game to see who could grow their initial $500K investment the most. Our own RJ Team 4 took home first place!

MOCK TRAIL Our Mock Trial Teams had great seasons. The A Team won the Regional Championship at the Arapahoe County Courthouse and the B Team also took fourth place. Both teams advanced to compete at the State Mock Trial Tournament where the A Team placed fourth out of 28 teams and B team placed 12th. Sean Zoellner '19 (of A Team) and Peter Lengwin '20 (of B Team) each won a Best Witness Award at the State Tournament.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS CLUB More than 62 students participated in the club’s Project UNIFY program this year that pairs Raiders with athletes from Special Olympics to compete in flag football, basketball or soccer. The annual Shindig event was a huge success raising more than $9300 for Special Olympics Colorado. Several club members participated in the Special Olympics Polar Plunge, a great (FREEZING) time! The final event for the year was the Spread the Word to End the Word Rally. Grandview High School paras, students and teachers were invited to join us for Regis Jesuit and Special Olympics Athletes share how offensive they find the 'R' word. It was a great unifying event!

CLUB HIGHLIGHTS SPEECH & DEBATE Speech & Debate closed out the 2017-18 competitive season winning 120 awards. To top off the season, they won the first place National Speech and Debate Sweepstakes trophy for excellence in speech and debate for the Rocky Mountain South District! The following five students represented Regis Jesuit at the State Meet: Sabrina Jain '19, Lincoln-Douglas Debate; Dahlstan Osman '21, Lincoln-Douglas Debate; Erin Casey '19, Alternate-Poetry; Sofia Maines '21, Alternate-Poetry and Julia Rieth '21, Alternate-Poetry.

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY The National Honor Society worked with Bonfils to host an annual blood drive on campus. This year, our first drive was so successful NHS hosted a second drive! Both events had waiting lists for donation opportunities. Between the two drives, 95 units of blood were collected, which translates into 285 lives being saved.

CADRE CLUB Through the generosity of our students, faculty and staff, the RJ Cadre Club collected more than $39,000 through clubsponsored collections this year. These donations helped service agencies and relief projects including Cristo Rey, Strake Jesuit, Catholic Charities, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Leukemia Lymphoma Society, Victims of the Mexican Earthquake, Victims of the Puerto Rican Hurricane, Men’s Heath Awareness, Kids Hit the Slopes, St. Joseph's Parish Food Bank, Make-A-Wish, Tennyson Center, Challenging Heights, Prairie Preschool Family, Urban Peak and RJ Class Scholarships.

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LARK 2018 Ensures a Bright Future for Regis Jesuit

See photos showing the great spirit of this year’s LARK at www.regisjesuit.com/LARKPics.

W

e are grateful for the generosity of spirit in the Regis Jesuit community in sharing time, talent and treasure to create a fun, western chic atmosphere on April 28 at the Renaissance Denver Stapleton Hotel for Regis Jesuit High School’s 45th annual LARK Dinner-Auction, Their Vision…Our Future.

Under the incredible leadership of Event Chairs Lucy and Bill Cassidy, Helene and Andy Schmidt, the Event Steering Committee and the scores of volunteers, this year’s event raised $340,000 in support of the school’s Inspire & Ignite Fund. This generous support will continue to allow Regis Jesuit the ability to advance the strategic vision of the school to ensure an excellent student body, essential formative programs and a beautiful campus environment.

One of the most memorable moments of the night came in the heartwarming stories shared by student speakers Anna Van Jacobs '18 (pictured below) and Nick Sangalis '18 (pictured right). Their accounts of their Raider experience showed that the Regis Jesuit community—the dedicated faculty and staff, parents, alumni and friends—are at the heart of why this school is celebrating 140 years of educating students in the Jesuit tradition.

LARK 2018 BY THE NUMBERS

710

70

TOTAL ATTENDEES

ALUMNI

65

170

FACULTY/STAFF

$

VOLUNTEERS

555,000

NET RAISED

For our students, including $215,000 for the Paddle Raider in honor of the Gretchen Kessler Family Endowed Scholarship!

The evening was further highlighted by the incredible show of support for Ms. Gretchen Kessler who began her transition from Girls Division principal this summer.

The crowd raised $215,000 towards the Gretchen Kessler Family Endowed Scholarship to support our endowment for financial aid. It was a wonderful way to honor the founding principal of the Girls Division, her parents and her pioneering spirit.

Thank you to everyone who supported Regis Jesuit at LARK 2018!

SAVE THE DATE for LARK 2019 on Saturday, April 27!

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ALUMNI

RAIDER

Rooted in Mission THE ACTIVITIES THAT SET US APART

BY COLIN ST. JOHN '01

REGIS CHRISTIAN LIFE COMMUNITY I attended my first Regis Christian Life Community (RCLC) before I even enrolled at Regis Jesuit: on the day I was shadowing the high school as an eighth grader. It seemed like a fine group of young gentlemen, and, the next year, myself and some friends started showing up to meetings. Joe Lechuga '82 and Br. Joe Gockel, SJ were at the helm. We’d eat lunch together every so often, chatting about the big yearly project: a food drive for St. Joseph’s Parish in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Denver.

Craig Rogers, the current boys RCLC moderator, offers some history. “Br. Joe Gockel, SJ brought the local chapter of CLC to Regis in the 1970s and started the food drive at St. Joseph’s as a part of it in the mid-70s. We have continued that every year and have been assisted greatly by alums such as Lonnie Losh '64.

Alumni assistance has allowed us to give more food to more people than when I first started doing it in 2004.”

Years after we graduated, a few of my classmates and I, including Danny Murray '01 and Nick Woodward '01, took over an annual Colfax bar crawl from Zack DiUbaldo '94. When Lechuga

RJ students work and athletes from our Special Olympics Project UNIFY teams all pitch in for this worthy event to organize food for distribution during the 2017 RCLC Food Drive for St. Joe’s Parish

passed away in 2003, we knew what we had to do: raise money on the crawl and donate it to St. Joe’s, by way of RCLC, in the name of a teacher we truly loved. “RCLC is an organization near and dear to my heart. Joe Lechuga was my favorite teacher and a true mentor,” Murray says. “Mr. Lechuga truly embodied what it means to be a 'man for others.' The reason we've continued to give to RCLC through the Colfax Crawl fundraiser is to honor the legacy of Mr. Lechuga and to serve the community through the RCLC's role in the St. Joe's food drive.”

“The group has been headed by the late Joe Lechuga, the late Fr. Tom Valiquette, SJ, Jim Boberschmidt '85 and me,” Rogers says. The girls club is led by Jane Whitley. “At a retreat at Cabrini Shrine, we did the stations of the cross up the steep hill there,” Rogers says, invoking a favorite memory. “One of our guys, Frank Kane '10, needed crutches because of his cerebral palsy.

The next thing you know, Pasha Tabatabai '07 says, ‘Come on Frank, hop on my back.” Pasha carried Frank up much of the way; then other guys joined in to take turns. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.”

CADRE An excerpt from the 1987 yearbook reads, “The Cadre, Father Marco’s group that wrings out the change of helpless young underclassmen, has been very successful this year.” Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, sure, but, since that era, Cadre has been asking for donations—large and small—for worthy causes.

Sydney Timme, one of the club’s moderator along with Tracey Dwyre, tells The Raider, “Cadre is a student-led organization that encourages the Regis Jesuit family to give to causes that impact our school, local and world communities. Cadre collects money throughout the school year to assist organizations engaged in helping those in need. While most collections raise funds to support ongoing work, Cadre also responds to urgent needs due to natural disasters.” Monies raised during the 2017-18 school year total a startling $39,000 that went to causes as disparate as Strake Jesuit, Make-A-Wish and aid for the Puerto Rico hurricane.

She fondly recalls “collecting money for Fleece Navidad, an organization that provided new fleece sweat suits to nursing home residents who wouldn’t otherwise receive Christmas gifts.”

Timme continues, “We raised the funds, went and bought the clothing, wrapped the gifts, then delivered them to the nursing home residents. Then we all headed to lunch with Scott 'Scooter' Wenzel '01, Danny Snyder '01, Justin Schumacher '01, Greg Montoya '01 and Ronny O’Dwyer, SJ '01 at My Brother’s Bar.”

MISSION WEEK Fr. Marco, a.k.a Michael Marchlewski, SJ, didn’t just have his hands in Cadre. He helped resurrect Mission Week. In the late 80s, “the money went to purchasing a pick-up truck for our Jesuit school,” according to Mike Doherty, Dean of Students for the boys. Doherty believes it was for the school in Belize, which stands as one of the current locations that students raise money for during Mission Week. This past year, students paid to dress down all Mission Week long and participated in events planned and coordinated by Student Council, with the proceeds going to the various “missions.” In addition to helping our partner organizations in Belize, this year’s event also supported work in Nicaragua, New Orleans and the Tennyson Center in Denver.

CANNONBALL CLUB

thinks that the club truly shines during its days of service and in talking with one another about their faith. “I think the boys especially appreciate the opportunity to hear each other talk about their faith in Christ and how they try to live that faith on a daily basis,” he says.

Members of the Cannonball Club pose during a social in the fall

ESPRIT DE CORPS Not to be outdone by the boys, the girls established this club that, ultimately, raises funds for the senior class legacy scholarship.

“The definition of ‘Esprit de Corps’ is ‘the common spirit existing in members of a group and inspiring enthusiasm, devotion, fellowship, and strong regard for the honor of the group,’” says Jodie Prohira, the club’s moderator. She goes on, “In 2003, a group from the original sophomore class approached me about starting a club for the senior class. It’s a senior leadership club that focuses on enriching the class with various projects during the year. The senior class mentors the sophomore class throughout the year by meeting with them four times. We have four senior class dress down days, and every other year Esprit de Corps sponsors The Power of the Dream, a variety show that raises money that benefits the senior class legacy endowment scholarship, which allows both boys and girls who otherwise couldn’t attend Regis Jesuit to attend. Esprit de Corps also plans a senior class sunrise breakfast and prayer, a senior lock-in, a surprise Christmas lunch and a senior class BBQ.”

“The Cannonball Club was started in the fall of 2015 primarily as a vocation discernment club—an opportunity for guys considering the priesthood and religious life to get together to learn and talk about vocation,” says Chris Kellerman SJ, the founding moderator, who has passed the reins on to Aric Serrano, SJ. “By the spring of 2016, we'd expanded it to more of a faith formation club in which vocation discernment was one of the central aspects, but not the sole one,” he says.

Kellerman sends The Raider the club’s sleek handbook, which contains bits like this: “The Cannonball Club derives its name from the cannonball that hit Ignatius of Loyola’s leg during the Battle of Pamplona in 1521. During his recuperation, Ignatius experienced an interior conversion and was inspired to devote his life to serving the Lord. He continued to grow spiritually after his recuperation and eventually gathered friends around him to share in his way of life in the Society of Jesus.” Kellerman, himself,

Two members of the 2018 Esprit de Corps Club present a check to President Card for their senior class gift SUMMER 2018 T H E R A I D E R

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Class Notes Featuring extended notes from #GreatRaiders who have shared what the Raider experience has meant to them since they graduated. Look for the notes with the tan background to read what they recall.

1940s BELOW: We wish many happy returns to Bill McDonald '45 who recently celebrated his 90th birthday.

1960s Bob Armstrong '62 retired after 38 years serving in law enforcement. He last served as the Colorado Bureau of Investigation as a deputy director. He and his wife Judi have been married for 48 years, are parents to two children, Jill and Patrick and grandparents to five grandchildren. He thanks his Regis High School experience for teaching him to tell the truth.

Mark Vitry '63 earned a Ph.D. in computer science and is currently a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

BELOW: Tom Robinson '64 was recognized with a Joint Effort Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with CHSAA and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance.

Tom Johnson '66 is a genetics professor at CU. David Kasik '66 is a retired engineer from Boeing.

RIGHT: Scott Spinney '66, pictured here in his Raider Man photo from the yearbook, retired from working in the HVAC business.

He is the father to three children and married his wife Betsy in 2001. He recalls his Raider experience was influential in keeping him open to learning throughout his life, noting, “The ability to learn new ideas— Greek for instance—and work in a team atmosphere pushed my adolescent mind to new limits. The ability to write and converse was a big plus in all facets of my professional and personal life. We took a ten-minute vocabulary class my freshman year which required us to subscribe to TIME magazine and learn all the unknown words in an article. That class expanded my vocabulary knowledge beyond anything that I encountered in my life and improved my writing and conversational skills to the next level. And homework: ugh! Always! This made the to-do list manageable for the rest of my life.”

BELOW: Mike Doyle '67, Bruce McIntosh '67, Bernie Clarke '67 and Pocky Marranzino '66 were the champions of the CU Trivia Bowl in 1972. Recently they had a 50th reunion of the Trivia Bowl and the band got back together.

BELOW: Members from the Class of 1968 have begun meeting monthly to plan their 50th reunion weekend scheduled to take place the weekend of October 5-7. If you are a member of the class of 1968 and are interested in joining monthly planning meetings, please let alumnioffice@regisjesuit.com know.

Dr. John Schabron '68 recently retired from his position as chief scientific advisor at the University of Wyoming Research Corporation. He was inducted as an American Chemical Society Fellow in 2014, and is holder of 23 U.S. patents. He thanks his former high school teacher, Rudy Brada for the inspiration to pursue a career in chemistry research. He and his wife of 45 years have eight children and ten grandchildren (so far) and spend time camping and fishing in Wyoming and traveling, mostly to visit family.

Celebrating the Life of Rick O'Dorisio '70 Alumni, family and friends gathered on May 3 to honor the memory of Rick O’Dorisio '70, who passed away on May 10, 1970, just two weeks prior to graduation from what was then named Regis High School. Attendees donated more than $5700 towards the Class of 1970 Scholarship Fund in memory of Rick so that other young men and women can experience a Regis Jesuit education. If you were unable to attend, but would like to make a donation in Rick’s memory, visit www.regisjesuit.com/inmemoriam. His nephew, Steve (pictured below) donated Rick’s letterman jacket, football jersey and Raider Review newspaper to the school. Also pictured is Glenn Churchill '69 and Rick's brother Mike. We are grateful for the O’Dorisio family and friends for organizing this special event and extending Rick’s memory and legacy into the future.

Leon Littlebird '69 is a native Colorado songwriter, performer and recording artist. You may have known him with the last name Desmoineaux, but he changed it to Littlebird.

1970s Stephen DiCroce '75 is currently working as a full-time instructor in the College of Business and Economics at Regis University. He recently retired as an HR executive from Kroger.

Ernie Sanelli '76 recently retired from St. Anthony North Hospital after 34 years as a medical technologist.

BELOW: Eric Nemechek '86 married Katherine Sperry on July 6, 2013, in Katherine’s hometown of Seattle, surrounded and supported by three generations of family and friends. A few months prior to Tommy Nemechek '18 starting his Regis Jesuit career, Eric and Katherine welcomed Tommy’s baby brother, Andrew (RJHS class of 2032 hopeful), on April 17, 2014. The family celebrated Tommy’s recent graduation. He will be attending UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, International Relations program this 2018.

Chris McConnell '78 is the owner of Christopher A McConnell DDS in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

1980s Matt Christensen '84 is a vice president of finance for Cal Atlantic in North Carolina.

Tony DeVito '85 is the point person for CDOT's I-70/ Globeville multi-billion dollar and multi-year project.

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RIGHT: Ed Adams '87 is the General Manager of Warner Bros.

Animation. He recently returned to school to pursue a master's degree in spiritual psychology, with an emphasis in consciousness, health and healing. He and his wife, Renee live in Palos Verdes, California. Ed recalls his experience at Regis Jesuit, “To me, the most impressive thing about Regis is its approach to educating the entire person. Intellectual development and education are clearly important, and I believe education in compassion, respect for self and others, tolerance, morals, spirituality and love are equally, if not more, important. During my recent visit to the campus, I was struck by the high level of maturity and respect displayed by the students. When I was in high school, of course we thought we were mature. I am sure every high school student thinks that. Today, with a much broader perspective, I can see very clearly how much Regis students stand apart from ‘typical’ high school students. This is clearly a result of Regis' approach to educating Men and Women with and for Others. I am proud to be a product of that philosophy and even more proud to be a supporter of the school as it continues to educates the young men and women of today and tomorrow.”

RIGHT: Eric Christensen '87 is the managing editor for sports at CBS4. He has covered multiple national championships, several Super Bowls and many CU Buffs games. He thanks the friends he made at Regis Jesuit for having the biggest influence in his life including Jeff Kochevar '87, Toby Giordano '87, John Knauf '87, David Walsh '87 and Sean Burke '86.

In reflecting on his time at RJ, Eric recalls, “Our 30-year reunion was last summer back at the old high school. Seeing classmates who I have lost contact with was memorable, as was walking around the old campus and reminiscing. It made me think how lucky I was to attend Regis. I know things change in life but I can’t help but think that I had the best high school experience attending an all-boys school back in old North Denver. I may not have realized it then but looking back I have nothing but fond memories.”

Jeff Howard '88 became principal at Mullen High School in June—a wonderful boon for Catholic education in our community.

Henry Sobanet '88 is the director of Office of State Planning & Budgeting in Denver.

1990s Tom Benson '90 was promoted to solutions engineer with Sales Force in Minneapolis. He and wife and four children live in Lakeville, Minn.

Dr. Tobias Guzman '90 is the assistant vice president of enrollment management and student access/academic affairs at the University of Northern Colorado.

John-Paul Maxfield’s '92 band Coal Town Reunion performed at Boulevardia, a unique beer, food and music festival in Kansas City in June.

Joe Grubenhoff '93 is the associate medical director of clinical effectiveness at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

Mark Benson '96 has been promoted to art director with FitBit in San Francisco. He will move with his wife and two children back to Denver in June.

Bernie Sauer '97 was honored by the Archdiocese Office of Catholic Schools for celebrating a milestone anniversary of 15 years of service.

BELOW: Adam Dawkins '98 (top) and some of his RJ Media student journalists visited The Governor's Director of Legislative Affairs, Kurt Morrison '98 (right), during the state legislative session this year. Morrison led a Q&A for students with the governor's press and communications directors and took the students down to the legislative floor to meet and interview Arapahoe County representative and assistant minority house leader Cole Wist.

The Archdiocese Office of Catholic Schools recognized Antonio R. Maes ‘99 for his 15 years of service.

2000s BELOW: Philip Zarlengo '00 is a manager at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. He and his wife Daisy welcomed twins Eva and Xavier in September 2017.

BELOW: Marina Esteban Jarabo, an exchange student from Spain here this past school year, met up with Bryan Weakland '00, who gave her a tour of MSNBC studios where he is a producer for one of the morning news shows.

Marina’s parents taught Bryan when they were on the faculty at RJ.

RIGHT: Pat Treuer '01 is a comedian in Chicago, Illinois. In September 2018, he launched a weekly YouTube series titled PatChat.

He credits his Regis Jesuit High School experience for his inspiration to pursue his dreams, “I was in the video club with Mr. Newton and we made the morning announcement videos and would do short sketches. I remember how much I loved the entire process of creating an idea, writing it out, filming it, editing it, and then seeing people's reactions and hearing their laughter. That has stuck with me my entire life and was a big reason why I decided to start a YouTube channel.”

RIGHT: R.J. Tuchscherer '01 and wife Dana welcomed baby Roxie on December 4, 2017.

Filmmaker Andrew Hyatt’s '01 most recent movie, Paul, Apostle of Christ premiered at the end of March.

Aldo Pantoja '01 was honored for celebrating a milestone anniversary of five years by the Archdiocese Office of Catholic Schools.

Brian J. Davenport '04 was honored for celebrating a milestone anniversary of 10 years by the Archdiocese Office of Catholic Schools.

BELOW: Brendan Love '04 and his wife Alison welcomed their second child, Thomas Hugh on March 16, 2018.

The band Don Chicharrón, which includes Aldo Pantoja '01, Justin Horrigan '01, Tyler Breuer '01, Andre Martinez '01, Michael Walsh '01, and Tim Sauer '06, were nominated by the Westword in the Best Salsa Band category! They have several gigs around Denver planned for this summer. Check out their Facebook page for dates and details.

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JOIN US FOR Regis Jesuit's annual Alumni Homecoming and Raiders Reunion Weekend!

OCTOBER 5-6, 2018 Once a Raider, Always a Raider!

ALUMNI HOMECOMING BBQ - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5 REGIS JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL All alumni are invited to join us for the largest gathering of the RJ alumni community for a BBQ before the RJ Homecoming football game. All proceeds fund the Endowed Alumni Class Scholarships thanks to Sean '92 & Audra McNicholas.

RAIDERS REUNION CELEBRATION - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6 REGIS UNIVERSITY Celebrating the reunion classes of '68, '73, '78, '83, '88, '93, '98, '03, '08 and our Golden Grads!

Information about other class events listed on the website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER VISIT: www.regisjesuit.com/AlumniHomecoming

Classmates Brian Blake '05 and Jon Frechin '05 own the fashion line, B Fresh Gear, a 90s-inspiried line of sustainablymade fanny packs, hats, vests and sunglasses. They were recently featured in 303 Magazine.

BELOW: Zach Anderson '09 (pictured with Rick Sullivan) graduated from the University of Michigan Law School last May and is working as an attorney in NYC.

Klint Kubiak '05 named offensive assistant working with the Broncos quarterbacks.

Nate Mencini '05 is a potter who specializes in service for restaurants. His work was recently featured in Westword.

Taylor (Kannawin) Backes '06 is the director of franchise relationship manager for Streamline Brands. She and her husband Tim have an 18-month old boy named Waylon, whom they can't wait to be a Raider one day!

Tim Sauer '06 debuted his original orchestra piece Interior Castle inspired by the prayer life of St. Teresa of Avila at Regis Jesuit's spring music performance. Visit the RJHS YouTube channel to see the performance.

Brandon '06 and Preston '08 Wheeler are working on the Orion Project at Lockheed Martin and regularly go to NASA at Cape Canaveral and Clear Lake, Texas to work on the project.

Lacey Henderson '07, Paralympian and motivational speaker, was one of the keynote speakers at the 2018 Shine Summit Conference where a group of Regis Jesuit girls were in attendance.

Caitlin Trent '07 currently works for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. She returned to her alma mater to be a guest speaker for the Justice League Club.

Kathleen Durkin '07 married Jeremy Vincent in May 2017.

He is doing his medical residency and Kathleen is doing her clinical counseling fellowship at University of Michigan.

Natalie (Hajnos) Bader ‘08 and her husband Chris Bader '08 welcomed their second child last summer. They are now living outside San Antonio, Texas. Chris is in the oil and gas industry and has been very successful in his career with Halliburton.

Kirstyn Dutton '08 was honored by the Archdiocese Office of Catholic Schools for her five years of service.

Dr. Sam Johnson '08 has joined Glenwood Veterinary Clinic. "Dr. J" moved to Glenwood Springs from Ocala, Florida, where he worked at a large equine referral hospital.

Johnson completed his undergraduate work at Boston College and attended Colorado State University for veterinary school.

Ty Blach '09 was the starting pitcher on Opening Day for the San Francisco Giants this spring. He recently spoke with the National Catholic Register about his love for baseball and Catholicism.

Chase Gabrielson '09 and Joey Crawford '09 founded Star Tutors that offers tutoring for all subjects and ACT/SAT in Los Angeles. The service is available online so is available globally. Chase (pictured right) was one of the featured alumni speakers at LARK 2018.

Lydia (Templin) McPeek '09 works at Colorado State University as a development manager for CSU Athletics. She married MJ McPeek in June 2015.

Levi Rossi '09 was named DU women's soccer assistant coach.

2010s RIGHT: Lauren Hajnos '10 works for Edward Jones as a financial advisor. “In high school I would have never imagined myself as a financial advisor. You can ask Mr. Cropper: I wasn’t the best at math. Life is funny in the ways it opens doors for you and gives you an opportunity to try things you may have never envisioned for yourself. I love what I do because it gives me the opportunity to help others accomplish their dreams.”

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Connor Wist '10 came to campus on Monday, April 16 to do a news story about our Mobilize system we have added as part of our safety and security measures. The story aired on Friday, April 20 on Denver7.

Jacob Zaemes '10 graduated in May with his medical degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

He is now working on his residency in internal medicine at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. Sierra Montoya Barela '11 is one of the artists participating in MCA's "Octopus Initiative" exhibit.

Kelsey Goodwin '11 is a mezzo-soprano currently living and working in Prague, Czech Republic.

BELOW: Marisa LaRouche '12 works as a systems engineer for Raytheon and is currently one of the leads on a new innovation project. She is involved with Raytheon’s commitment to encourage girls to pursue STEM careers and volunteered at the Girls & Science Day at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science this year. “I learned at Regis to always be open to growth, even when that growth takes you in unexpected directions, and that is something I still find myself thinking about five years later. I am especially grateful to Mr. Martin and Mrs. Warren, both of whom were instrumental in preparing me for engineering courses at [Colorado School of] Mines. I also was fortunate to be taught by Mrs. Dawkins, who instilled my love of Shakespeare and creative writing, and Mr. Bernie Sauer who made music a complete joy.”

Emily Witt '11 is in her first year at Harvard Medical School along with RJ classmate Kathleen Koenigs '11.

Liz Engel '11 is also at Harvard pursuing a Ph.D. in economics. Emily completed a degree in medical anthropology at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. She completed her undergraduate degree at Stanford and credits Gretchen Kessler as a mentor who helped her launch a successful academic career.

BELOW: Madeline Cordier '12 graduated in May from the physical therapy program at Saint Louis University.

She plans to become a physical therapist with a focus in neurology and oncology therapy. “Regis taught me how to love. I learned what it meant to love myself, love my family and love the people around me even if I have never met them. For myself, I learned how to respect myself and treat my mind and body with the respect I know I deserve.”

Madeline was also a featured alumni speaker at this year’s LARK.

Raina Cazier '13 will be working in Vicksburg, Mississippi with FEMA Corps for the next 10 months.

Missy Franklin '13 transferred to the University of Georgia. She will complete her degree and train with the University of Georgia swimming coach, Jack Bauerle, whom Missy had as a coach in her teens.

RIGHT: After graduating with a degree in industrial and systems engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Srida Saraogi '13 now works as a technology consultant. She recalls her Raider experience teaching her, “Baby steps in the right direction are the best way to achieve anything.”

Andrew (Drew) Schmidt '13 started his career at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colorado as a mechanical engineer.

Reagan Todd '14, a left-handed pitcher who has played for both Arizona State and Colorado Mesa University since graduating from Regis Jesuit, was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 32nd round of the 2018 MLB First Year Player Draft.

BELOW: Adrienne Jacob '15 is a mechanical engineering student at Villanova University. Adrienne came to visit the RJ Robotics Club this fall and presented what engineering studies look like at the college level. Adrienne is still building robots and shared a video on her latest creation with fellow classmates. Adrienne took a service trip through Villanova to teach students science in India.

Max George '14, is making his presence known at the plate in the Major Leagues for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

CBS Sports Network featured a great profile of Jess Lewis '15, now a junior playing basketball at West Point and looking to fulfill her lifelong aspiration of becoming a doctor.

Nolan Ebel '15 was named to the 2018 D3hoops.com Men’s All-America Team for his basketball prowess at Augustana University.

BELOW: Alyse Harris '15, a junior communication management and design major, ran for student body president at Ithaca College in New York.

Javan Lanier '16 took the silver in long jump at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships, something he never tried while competing for RJ Track & Field.

Alex Higley '17, who just completed her freshman year at the University of Wyoming, was awarded a very competitive grant from NASA to continue her work on Quasar research.

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Alumni Mentorship Series Success Thank you our alums listed below who participated in the March Alumni Mentorship Series. If you are interested in sharing your professional experience with today’s Raiders, please contact the Alumni Relations Office at alumnioffice@regisjesuit.com.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Jim DeFrancia '59 - Commercial Real Estate Tom Dunn '70 - Lawyer Chris McConnell '78 - Dentist Rob McGregor '87 - Police Officer Ed Adams '87 - Operational Executive Andrew Hyatt '01 - Film Director & Writer Michael Zoellner '05 - Commercial Real Estate & Senior Financial Analyst Bryan Zerr '05 - Residential Real Estate Broker & Investor Emily Keller '08 - Account Manager (PICTURED) Chris Milinazzo '09 - Financial Advisor Will Beasley '11 - Construction Alexandra Todd '11 - Registered Nurse Madeline Cordier '12 - Physical Therapist Maddie Maguire '12 - Project Manager Srida Saraogi '13 - Technology Consultant

Thursday, September 20, 2018 The Ridge at Castle Pines

REGIS JESUIT’S

ANNUAL COMMUNITY GOLF TOURNAMENT

For alumni, parents and friends of RJ Benefitting the Rudy Brada Memorial Scholarship

Single player $160 | foursome $640 Underwriting starting at $500 Sponsorships starting at $1000

REGISTER TODAY: www.regisjesuit.com/TheRudyCup

Where Are They Now? Gretchen Kessler INSPIRATION BEYOND MEASURE

BY CAROLINE LINTON '21 WITH OLIVIA BACHMANN '20, RJ MEDIA

F

ifteen years, 5745 days, 137,880 hours, 8,272,800 minutes, 496,368,000 seconds. These are the measurements in time that Ms. Kessler has served at Regis Jesuit. However, they don’t come close to representing the amount of effort she has put into making the Girls Division the inviting place it is today.

Before Ms. Kessler began working at Regis Jesuit, she worked at Canisius High School, another Jesuit school in Buffalo, New York. She worked there for several years as a Spanish teacher and eventually became the assistant principal. When Ms. Kessler found out that there was a Denver Jesuit school opening a division for girls only, she felt ecstatic, believing it was time the Jesuits do the same thing for young women as they had been doing for boys for hundreds of years. She immediately knew it was something she wanted to be a part of and applied for the job as principal. Lucky for us, Ms. Kessler was hired.

When the 2003-04 school year began, the first year of the Girls Division, the freshman class had 131 girls and the sophomore class only 40. The first year of classes were

held off-campus at St. Catherine’s Greek Orthodox Church in a grammar school building they weren’t ready to use.

Ms. Kessler shared that one of her fondest memories of her time here was of that first year at St. Catherine’s. There wasn’t a PA system, so the whole school would gather outside or in the gym for morning and afternoon prayer and announcements. Throughout these years, there has been much change and lots of learning, but as theology teacher Mary Muldoon says, “You get better as you go.” Now, 15 years later, the RJ Girls Division is as successful as ever with more than 730 young women currently attending.

Many challenges came with establishing the Girls Division, but there are also many opportunities. “There are so many neat things, starting with traditions,” says Ms. Kessler.

She has loved seeing so many important moments of the girls lives including retreats and service days, but her “ultimate favorite” memories are of graduation. At this time, Ms. Kessler is able to see so many women with “bright features ahead of them” and being a part of their growth is something she is proud of.

Above: Gretchen Kessler at a “Meet the New Principal” event in September 2002

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Those who began the Girls Division with Ms. Kessler have wonderful things to say about her—the one description everyone used is that she is not only a caring principal, but a compassionate woman. When asked what her fondest memory is, Jodie Prohira, the girls office manager, mentioned the very first day of classes, recalling, “After all of the days and nights and hard work, we were [the] Regis Jesuit High School Girls Division. For Ms. Kessler and me, it was a very proud moment and it has been an amazing journey.” Muldoon also recalled numerous memories of RJ, but her top one was being given the chance work alongside Ms. Kessler while participating in so many lives and having a positive influence on young women. That is the most beloved part of her job.

Dean of Students Kelli Lotito states that Ms. Kessler is a “female role model.” She has led from the very beginning and has made the Girls Division into the incredible school it is today. Katie Mihalco '06, a member of the first graduating class of girls and now a colleague, calls Ms. Kessler a “pioneer” and an “inspiration to be a great teacher.”

Another member of the early graduating classes, now also a colleague, Emily Glenn '08 relates that Ms. Kessler is an “important leader in showing girls how to be women with and for others. Ms. Kessler leads by example with her compassion. "[She is] always supportive and takes the time to get to know you,” shares Glenn.

Kessler at her desk this year; photo by Natalie Christiansen '19

Fortunately, Ms. Kessler isn’t leaving us for good. She will return to the classroom next year to teach Spanish and will help in the Advancement Office with outreach to the school’s alumni. She recalls that the most challenging part of her 15 years at the helm has been the “schedule of a principal,” which is a never-ending series of meetings and events, some requiring bi-location. Leaving her position was not an easy decision. She will miss not getting to “see the faculty the same way,” noting that they are such great people whom she will miss saying hello to and having side conversations with in the hallways as regularly. However, she saw an opportunity to serve the school in a different capacity. She muses, “I would love to know what’s happening with all of our alumni,”—a curiosity that led her to her new position. Ms. Kessler will be meeting with them to talk about where Regis Jesuit is now and how they can stay connected.

In everything she has done, Gretchen Kessler has encouraged and motivated us all to do our best. Through her leadership and compassion, she has led the Regis Jesuit High School Girls Division to greatness. She describes her time at RJ in three words: “faith-filled, joyful and fulfilling.”

Words that will continue to inspire her as she transitions from her role as founding principal and should inspire us to make the most of our Regis Jesuit experience and carry it with us as we move on.

Fond Farewells

BY RJ MEDIA STAFF

Saying goodbye is never easy. This year we will be saying goodbye to seven fantastic teachers who are prime embodiments of the spirit of Regis Jesuit High School. Some are retiring and others moving on to other opportunities.

Regardless of where they are heading, their legacy at Regis Jesuit will live on.

Tim Newton

BY GUSTAVO FLORES GOMEZ '20

Forty-two years. Thousands of students. Countless tubes of paint. The messy artist’s apron, the mug of coffee and starting class everyday with his iconic everlasting smile. Mr. Newton’s love for fine art, the process of creation and teaching students to take pride in their work has had a lasting impact on many.

“I first met Mr. Newton my sophomore year at Regis in the Art II course,” said former student Michael Gordon '08, “I remember him walking in every morning with that cup of coffee that used to change colors, sitting down at his desk and starting class with a beaming smile.” Gordon is now a world-renowned mixed media artist, and he credits those early days in Newton’s art room as being the foundation of his future in art.

“He taught me how to paint, not by forcing me to complete monotonous exercises, but by giving me the basic tools and then stepping back. He would open the door and then let me walk through it,” Gordon recalled, continuing, “That room was a sanctuary for us, and Mr. Newton was the abbot.”

Daniel Hernandez '99 is a journalist and essayist living in Nevada whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Vice, The Atlantic and The Guardian. He credits his work ethic and creativity in part to the way Mr. Newton pushed him to take pride in his efforts and work at it. “He acknowledged my ability but made it clear, too, that in order to succeed I'd have to work hard,” Hernandez said.

Newton’s ability to give constructive criticism and applaud on strengths is something all of his students remember. “What I thought I was the best painting I'd ever done only earned a B,” Hernandez remembered. “I couldn't believe it. But I've been looking more closely at it again (my mom has it hanging in her condo), I see where it could be better. I've decided to do it over again. I think that's his legacy—teaching kids to take pride in their work and always strive to improve.”

Tim Newton is retiring after a 42-year teaching career at Regis Jesuit and hopes to walk the Camino de Santiago again soon.

Photo Credit: Max Rizzi '19 SUMMER 2018 T H E R A I D E R

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Alan Carruthers

BY KYLE MACDONALD '18

When reflecting on his time here, Mr. Alan Carruthers said, “Regis Jesuit has helped me grow in who I am as a person. This school and community is something special and I will never forget the impact it made on me.”

When reflecting on Mr. Carruthers’ impact, I would use the word strong to describe him. A significant action from someone is required to be inspired. A motivational statement is required from a person to gain commitment. And more importantly, support from those around you is required to build confidence. All of these simple actions gain and show virtue—to me, that's Mr. Carruthers. The commitment and effort he has put into this school has been more than a blessing. The compassion he has shown in doing justice is only a small aspect of the myriad of other great things he has done. Whether it is a simple greeting in the hallway or a small gesture at a football game, Mr. Carruthers created a positive environment for the students beyond measure.

During his six years here, Mr. Carruthers has impacted the boys and helped them become the young men they are today. Beyond enjoying my quirky comments on the announcements, there was one thing he told me that I will cherish: “The biggest journey of your life is how you’re going to be yourself.” I have tried to live by that mantra ever since. Mr. Carruthers’ example showed me how I can do the things I find inspiring and truly be myself. I can’t thank him enough for that and wish him the best for the future.

Alan Carruthers has moved on to become president of St. Louis University High School.

Steve Cavnar

BY NICK FABER '18

Here are some numbers for you—73%, 76%, 75%, 74%—the grades I earned in math up until junior year.

Obviously, I am not a math whiz.

As could be expected, I walked into Algebra 2 junior year with a negative attitude. My year started off terribly as I had developed a math aversion due to my previous experiences (to make matters worse, the air conditioner wasn’t working). But fortunately these first few days did not reflect my year as a whole. In fact, my experience ended up being the complete opposite. Mr. Steve Cavnar was a huge reason as to why. With a smile, he inspired every class he had and every student he taught.

Photo Credit: Leo McCabe '19

I particularly felt inspired by his optimism.

Mr. Cavnar is soft spoken yet demanding at the same time. Although the vibe was generally laid-back, I never worked harder in any other class. He encouraged all of my classmates and me to do our very best in our mathematical endeavors.

Beyond math, Mr. Cavnar embodies the Jesuit concept of magis—striving for the qualitative more. He inspired us in every other aspect of our growth, not just the intellectual. Every class started with a prayer and he pushed us not only to pray for the obvious, but to pray from our hearts.

Steve Cavnar is retiring after a full career in the public schools and another 13 years teaching and coaching at Regis Jesuit.

Charlotte Jackson

BY WILL DENNEN '18

Mrs. Charlotte Jackson is a fantastic school nurse, but she is involved in so much more. Whether it is working with Special Olympics, serving as a retreat leader or helping students feel better every day, Mrs. Jackson is always there to greet you with her warm smile, kind words and gentle demeanor. Going to see her because of a sore throat, headache, stomachache, fever, cough or just a hard day, it is a guarantee that Mrs. Jackson made it better.

I had the opportunity to lead a Kairos with Mrs. Jackson, so saw up close her kind soul, leadership qualities and warmth that made it easy for kids to reach Photo Credit: Caden Wagner '19 out to and inspired those around her. I don’t have one memory where she was not kind, gentle and caring, and I am confident no one at the school does either. Goodbye and thank you Mrs. Jackson!

After 11 years at Regis Jesuit, Charlotte Jackson is returning to her native Louisiana with her husband John.

Chris Kellerman, SJ

BY KYLE MACDONALD '18

The impression Mr. Chris Kellerman, SJ has made in just three years here is beyond compare. He came to Regis Jesuit to teach theology, but has done so much more than that. He's not just a teacher. He's a colleague, a mentor and, above all, a friend—one who never puts himself above others, one willing to help anyone and everyone who needs it. He has gone out of his way to connect with not only the students in his classroom, but those he didn't have in class as well. When asked what Mr. Kellerman meant to him, Devin Llorente '18 said, “Just seeing the way he can relate and really show his love for his students has just been amazing.”

Photo Credit: RJ Media

Through his actions, Mr. Kellerman let this community know very early on that teaching was only part of his mission at Regis Jesuit, and spent his time here making a positive difference. Whether it be through Cannonball Club, Kairos leadership or his role in revamping the boys sophomore retreat, Mr. Kellerman changed so many lives.

The RJ community is so fortunate that he was missioned here. As he moves on to a new chapter in his life, he will be missed; however, anyone fortunate enough to encounter him can attest that his legacy in our halls will live on. On behalf of the Regis Jesuit community, thank you for everything you did in such a short time here. We wish you the best of luck wherever your journey next takes you.

The Regency phase of his formation as a Jesuit now completed, Chris Kellerman, SJ is moving on to theology studies at the University of Toronto.

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Andrew Carroll

BY LEO MCCABE '19

When asked what Mr. Carroll hopes his legacy will be at Regis Jesuit, he laughs. “Besides being the number one JUG teacher in the school? I don’t know.

Seriously, I hope that I brought a new vitality to the Latin program. I hope that I made people passionate about Latin and learning.”

His students seem to share that passion. “I think about how Mr. Carroll made a difference in my life,” Alex Occhionero '18 said. “He pushed me to have a passion for language. That didn’t just occur for me but for most of the kids who had him. His passion is contagious. No class is ever just a boring lecture. He teaches Latin in a ways that’s approachable and fun. We might both be leaving Regis Jesuit after this year, but I will never forget the laughs or the lessons. I will never forget him or his class.”

Following six years teaching Latin, Andrew Carroll is moving with his fiancée to Durango to pursue new adventures.

Dan Sage

BY CONOR LYFORD '18

His sweater, a garage sale gem, displays a large, somewhat faded world map. Dr. Daniel Sage (or “Doc Sage,” as his students call him), wears this sweater almost every day. If you know him, you know the sweater.

Doc Sage brings a vibrant energy to the classroom, his teaching is both engaging and fun. He allows for creative discussion amongst his students and listens intently to what each person in his class has to say. More importantly, Doc Sage is a friend to his students. He makes connections and helps kids when they are struggling. He is passionate about those around him and the classes he teaches. Though his time at the school was relatively brief, he made a deep impact and his presence at Regis Jesuit will be missed.

Dan Sage worked at Regis Jesuit for five years. Though he is retiring from teaching, he will continue his work with his counseling practice.

Joe Lagan

BY RAIDER STAFF

Joe Lagan’s theology lessons come with a deep understanding of spirituality, compassion and love and are delivered with a sense of humor, air of humility and just a hint of Boston or Bronx accent depending on the day. Kaylyn Buehler '18 remarked, “Mr. Lagan combined education, fun and love into one exciting and beautiful experience in and out of the classroom.” Mr. Lagan’s care for students— those in his classes, the boys and girls he coached on the rugby pitch or any he encountered casually in the hallways—never waivers. He is deeply interested in how they are doing and what impassions them—both excited by their triumphs and impacted by their challenges. Sadie Wuertz '18 noted that Mr. Lagan “epitomizes cura personalis for students. Both classes I’ve been in with him turned into a family.”

After 11 years at Regis Jesuit, Joe Lagan is taking some time to spend with his family, study a little and to consider where God is calling him next.

Faculty & Staff Notes BABY BOOMLET

On January 24, 2018, theology teacher Sarah McKernan and her husband Matthew welcomed Lucy Marie, their second daughter.

Girls Service Director Brendan Love '04 and his wife Alison welcomed their second child, Thomas Hugh, on March 16, 2018.

In this feature of The Raider, we list milestone occasions and awards or events for members of the faculty and staff.

Social studies teacher Alison Blanc, her husband Matt '02 and big sister Meredith welcomed Evelyn Claire to their family on March 26, 2018.

On March 27, 2018, Sophia Lee arrived as the first child of Spanish and PE teacher Lindsay Cummings and her husband Matt.

TIED THE KNOT

Science teacher Tyler Robbins and his wife Katelyn welcomed Clark Alan on April 19, 2018.

On May 13, 2018, Christina Vela, boys Diversity Director and Spanish teacher, and her husband Bart Rose celebrated the arrival of Ana Lucille Noland Rose, nicknamed Lucy.

English teacher Mary Claire O'Banion married Brent Modak on September 16, 2017 at Holy Ghost Church in Denver.

HONORS & AWARDS

LEFT: Social studies teacher Skip Jensen garnered two separate awards for his outstanding teaching of American history – one from the Daughters of the American Revolution and the other from the State of Colorado.

The Classical Association of the Middle West and South awarded the Benario Award to Latin teacher Andrew Carroll.

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Raider Journeys

A recurring feature in The Raider , where we share photos from members of the globetrotting community of Regis Jesuit.

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1. Anna Bonner '18 and Shelby Wiggs '18 sporting their RJ pride on the trails in Aspen

2. The Cuba siblings—Taylor '16, future Raider hopeful Andrew and Geoffrey '21—take in a Tapeface show at Harrah’s in Las Vegas 3. Eddie Custy '19 (right) with his dad, Kevin, and uncle, Dennis, enjoy a day at Sandia Golf Course in Albuquerque, New Mexico over Spring Break 4. Tommy '16 and Michael '18 Gaessler enjoying Spring Break in Monument Valley, Utah 5. Sporting Raider pride for all to see, Miriam Skari '20 overlooks Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France last summer 6. Tyler Oldham '19 standing on top of Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska in June 2017 7. [L-R] Nathan Schraeder '18, Tyler Gayle '18, Kendra Schraeder '14, Orlando Trujillo '18 and Jake Heimlicher '18 enjoying some fish & chips in Oceanside, California during Spring Break 8. It was an #RJREDOUT when the Boys Rugby team traveled to Ireland over Spring Break To submit a photo for inclusion in Raider Journeys, send your picture(s) [resolution of 300 dpi or better – standard for most digital cameras and smart phones] to communications@regisjesuit.com.

In Memoriam

The entire community of Regis Jesuit extends its sincere sympathy to the family and friends of loved ones who have died recently. The following are remembered in our prayers:

Alumni

Listed in ascending order by year of graduation

Michael Smaldone '38, father of Gerard '69, Philip '75 and Matthew '80 Smaldone William B. Taylor '43

Rev. Daniel J. Flaherty '44 Thomas J. Danahey '53 Paul J. Toner '72, brother of Terry '76, Timothy '81 and father of Paul '99 and Tyler '01 Toner

Patrick D. Buchanan '90, brother of Michael '84 and uncle to Ryan '15 Buchanan Connor D. Murphy '15, brother of Sean Murphy '12

Family & Friends Listed alphabetically by last name

Kenneth Bostdorff, boys assistant principal Catherine 'Kay' Ballard Capstick, mother of Business Office controller Robert Capstick Frederick John 'Trey' Dindinger III, son of English teacher Kristi Dindinger Mary (Pizzini) Dunn, mother of Joseph Dunn '69 John J. Gaudio, Sr., father of John '72 and David '80 and grandfather of John '11 Gaudio Virginia ‘Jiggs’ Raymond Lyda, mother of Bruce Raymond, librarian, and grandmother of Sarah Raymond '12

Shirley Muldoon, mother of theology teacher Mary Muldoon and grandmother of John '13 and Kathleen '16 Weis Patricia J. O'Hayre, mother of Sean '71, Michael '77 and Dennis O'Hayre '82 Lori J. Passerella, wife of Dan Passerella '69 Jennie N. Sanchez, wife of John '44, mother of John '64, David '69, Gordon '72 and grandmother of Tate '86, Corey '89 and B.J. '94 Sanchez Sam Sheehan, father of Greggory Sheehan '84

Robert E. Snow, father of Darrell '69 and Ronald '70 Snow Mary Jo Tynan, mother of Michael J. Tynan '62 and grandmother of James '06 and Mary Katherine '07 Spierings Gregg Vanderhart, father of Brent '09, Claire '20 and Christopher '21 Vanderhart Ann C. Vifquain, wife of J. Victor Vifquain '50 Joan Wucherer, mother of Jean Bordewyk, girls admissions assistant, and grandmother of William '14 and Katherine '15 Donahue

We have also been informed recently of the deaths of the following alumni and extend our sympathies and prayers to their loved ones.

Listed in ascending order by year of graduation

John E. Dumbauld '46 Donald F. Burns '47 William F. Hoover '47 Garth J. Norris '51 Rev. Richard M. Patrick '56

Robert B. Baumgartner '56, brother of Dennis '60 and uncle of David '94, John '99 and Andrew '06 Baumgartner Robert T. Girardo '57

† Also deceased

The names recorded in this section represent those made known to us between November 1, 2017 and April 30, 2018. Any deaths occurring after that date will be listed in the winter 2019 issue.

We make every effort to account accurately for the passing of any alumnus/a, student, faculty or staff member as well as that of any of their parents, spouses, siblings or children. If we are aware of other relationships the deceased had to members of our community, we do our best to list them as well. We also share news of the deaths of all members of our extended community on the In Memoriam page of our website (www.regisjesuit.com/inmemoriam).We sincerely regret any oversights or errors that may occur.

SUMMER 2018 T H E R A I D E R

39

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PARENTS OF ALUMNI: If you are still receiving your son’s or daughter’s Raider even though he/she no longer lives with you, please let us know.

We will update our database and send the magazine directly to him/her. Also if you are not receiving our monthly e-magazine, The Raider Connection, and would like to, please update your email address with us. Contact the Advancement Office at advancementoffice@regisjesuit.com or 303.269.8029.

Calendar Highlights Fall 2018 Thursday, August 16.................................................................................................................................. First Day of Classes Saturday, August 18............................................................................................... 29th Annual Pig Roast at the Jesuit Residence Thursday, August 30............................................................................................................................. Mass of the Holy Spirit Friday, September 7.....................................................................................................................................First Friday Mass Saturday, September 8 �����������������������������������������������������������������������7th Annual RJ Day for Others All-community Day of Service Saturday, September 15....................................................................................................The Power of the Dream Variety Show Thursday, September 20......................................................... The Rudy Cup Golf Tournament at Ridge Golf Course, Castle Pines Friday, October 5......................................................................................................................................... First Friday Mass October 5-6......................................................................................................................................... Homecoming Weekend Friday, October 5 Raiders Reunion Homecoming Football Tailgate – All Alumni RAIDERS

Homecoming Football Game REUNION

Raider Raffle Drawing – Halftime at the Homecoming Game Saturday, October 6 Raiders Reunion – Reunion Year Alumni

2018

October 26-27 and November 2-4............................................................................................ RJHS Theatre presents Sister Act Friday, November 2..................................................................................................................................Remembrance Mass Sunday, November 11......................................................................................................................... Admissions Open House Sunday, November 18................................................................................................................................. Grandparents Day Saturday, December 1 ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2023 Entrance Exam Friday, December 7..................................................................................................................................... First Friday Mass Late December TBA ���������������������������������������������������������Red & White Christmas: Reunion for the Class of 2013 at the Irish Snug Monday, December 24......................................................................................................... Young Alumni Christmas Eve Mass

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.regisjesuit.com 303.269.8000

For full details on all upcoming events at Regis Jesuit, visit www.regisjesuit.com/calendar.

All events are held at the school unless otherwise noted.

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