CLASS NOTES AND ALUMNI UPDATES

ALUMNI UPDATES

LETTER FROM THE TARTAN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

Dear Tartan Alumni,

The events of the past year and a half have allowed our alumni community to consider what really matters: connection with one another, unwavering support in the face of challenges, and a common bond that unites us as Tartans. As a new school year begins, the Tartan Alumni Association (TAA) remains committed to representing all alumni (and their families) and ensuring our bond with St. Margaret’s remains stronger than ever.

In this issue of the Highlander, you’ll read about the work of the Tartan Alumni Council, which we both have the privilege of serving on, in addition to updates from fellow alumni in the following pages. Our goal at the TAA is to show you the multitude of ways to become involved in the work of St. Margaret’s: from planning our annual social gatherings, to supporting Upper School students in their career goals, to engaging in service work with fellow alumni around the country. Our hope is that you’ll consider joining us in any one of these. There is no better time than now.

This year, the TAA is focusing on strengthening our relationship with an important segment of the alumni family: Parents of Alumni. We know that a thriving alumni community doesn’t focus exclusively on students, but also includes the families that provided the support and encouragement during their St. Margaret’s journey and contributed to the life of our campus. Be on the lookout this year for programming announcements aimed at bringing our Parents of Alumni into the fold even more.

Even in the most uncertain of times, our alumni community continues to rise to the occasion. The Tartan Alumni Legacy Endowment (T.A.L.E.) continues to grow, supporting the overall mission of St. Margaret’s and giving alumni an opportunity to continue their own family legacies at the school. Speaking of legacies—we would like to thank Jennifer Ramsey Risner ’87 and Mark Risner ’86 for their recent gift to the Sillers Legacy Society from their estate. These alumni are inspiring to us all. You can read more about the Sillers Legacy Society in the following section.

We hope to see you around. Wherever alumni are, the Tartan Alumni Association will be there, too.

Tartans Forever,

Mattingly Messina ’13 President, Tartan Alumni Association

Marina Goffredo Parent of Alumni

Ways to get involved with the Tartan Alumni Association

• Join the Alumni Council • Participate as a career mentor or

ISP host for students • Hire a Tartan! • Host a summer internship • Support T.A.L.E.: Give on

Venmo @tartanalumni • Recommend your family, friends, neighbors and colleagues to St. Margaret’s

Upcoming Alumni Events

Please note that due to the pandemic, all events and dates are subject to change. For the most updated list of alumni events, reunions and more, visit www.smes.org/ alumni or email alumni@smes.org. HOMECOMING October 15, 2021

FOREVER PLAID ALLSCHOOL FUNDRAISER November 13, 2021

ALUMNI CHRISTMAS PARTY December 17, 2021

TARTAN OPEN May 2, 2022

Connect With Us!

Follow, like and post to enjoy the latest alumni and campus news, events and nostalgic flashbacks!

 @TartanAlumni  Tartan Alumni Association  St. Margaret's Tartan

Alumni Association  Make a Donation: @tartanalumni  @TartanAlumni

'86 David Westendorf and his wife, Mishelle, recently opened the Jettywave Distillery in Half Moon Bay and invites all Tartans to check it out. David also works as a Stanford Research Institute entrepreneur, co-founding the foodintelligence company Passio.

'91 Stephanie Scott lives in Irvine and works for Salesforce as its Global Alliance Director.

'92 Jeffrey Flores lives in Mission Viejo with his wife and three daughters, and is the CEO of Rancho Dental Studio.

'01 Maggie Shipstead is an author whose latest book, Great Circle, was a New York Times bestseller and the May 2021 selection for the book club of Jenna Bush Hager, host of the Today show and the daughter of president George W. Bush. Great Circle was also named the “#1 Best Book of the Year So Far” by Amazon editors in June.

'02 Anna Remsberg Marquez works as a senior coordinator for The Global Center for Women and Justice, a nonprofit which equips students to address the global status of women and vulnerable populations.

Courtesy jettywave.com '05 Kristina Hoopis Taylor and her husband, Michael, welcomed their third child, Betty, who was born June 8, 2020. Betty joins her big siblings Lois (6) and Gavin (11), who are both students at St. Margaret’s.

'08 Tain Lee placed 14th at the PGA Palmetto Championship in June at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, S.C. Lee, a week-of qualifier for the event, finished 7-under in his third career PGA Tour start.

'09 Kira Cahill launched BeBoldBox, a company which offers a solution for busy individuals to incorporate a sustainable lifestyle into their everyday habits. Check it out at beboldbox.com!

NOTABLE: SILLERS LEGACY SOCIETY

Named after our founder, the Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Society has been established to recognize those whose commitment to St. Margaret’s extends into the future. Members of the society have made provisions for the school in their estate planning. We are very grateful to this special group of people for their commitment, vision and generosity.

If you are interested in learning more about this legacy society, or for sample bequest language, please contact Jonathan Tufo in the Office of Advancement at (949) 661-0108 ext. 1318. If you have already arranged for a planned gift to St. Margaret’s, please notify us to include you in the Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Society.

Parents of Alumni!

If your Tartan Alumni are no longer maintaining an address at your home, please notify the Office of Alumni Relations at alumni@smes.org of their new address. Thank you!

'10 Freddy Valencia was awarded a 2021 Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship to continue his postdoctoral research at Stanford University, investigating the chromatin regulatory mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders.

'12 Cole Gennrich lives in New York City, where he works as an associate for Cohen & Steers Capital Management. Brian Vail also lives in New York City, where he works for EquityMultiple in asset and portfolio management. Eden Frost Dougher and Michael Dougher ‘11 celebrate their second wedding anniversary this fall. Eden graduated from the University of San Diego in 2016. The couple lives in Orange County with their two rescue pups.

'16 Shelby Nicholas presented to St. Margaret’s visual arts students last spring on her experience at an art school and her plans to pursue a career in animation. Shelby is a student in the Brown University/Rhode Island School of Design dual-degree program. Frontline medical workers have had a challenging and sometimes exhausting job as the COVID-19 pandemic filled up hospital beds while it rapidly spread around the globe. Yamili Burgos ’14 just finished up her Bachelor of Science in nursing from Biola University and started a new job as a registered nurse in the telemetry sepsis unit at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo when the pandemic’s devastating wave hit Southern California. While taking some muchdeserved downtime this summer, she shared some insight into her first year in a hospital setting.

Eden Frost and Michael Dougher #TARTANTIDBITS WITH YAMILI BURGOS ‘14

As the pandemic took hold, what were some of your roles and responsibilities as it related to COVID response? Did you have to work extra shifts or anything like that to care for the surge in patients? What else changed compared to your traditional role at Mission?

When I was hired last September, I knew I would have to work on the COVID floor. I accepted the responsibility that came with the job knowing that there was a tremendous need for nurses at this time. My first two months of training as a new graduate nurse were hard and overwhelming. In fact, my training ended earlier than expected, right before the second surge of patients filled my unit.

On my last day of training, my preceptor and I had to separate to care for two COVID admissions at the same time. I was nervous for a moment, but I had been trained well.

Obviously it was a difficult year for many people, including frontline medical workers. What did you learn about yourself through all this?

Caring for COVID patients was tough. There was only so much I could do for my patients. Some recovered quickly and others were there for weeks. The environment in my unit was stressful and emotionally and physically exhausting. However, I am so grateful for my coworkers who are not only exceptional nurses but also supportive team players.

What did you learn about frontline medical workers and specifically your coworkers?

Nurses truly are superheroes. They care for the physical needs while simultaneously caring for the emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of multiple patients AND their families. I am honored to have played a small role in my patients’ lives so far and I thank my friends and family for supporting me through this.

Take me back to your initial interest in nursing…did that start at St. Margaret’s? Who were some of your St. Margaret’s teachers that may have inspired you down your path?

The exact moment I knew I wanted to be a nurse was when St. Margaret’s had a career day. I attended a nurse’s presentation and when she said, “Nursing is not just a profession, it is a lifestyle,” I knew exactly what she meant. In that moment, I had found my calling.

All of my St. Margaret’s teachers had an influence on my career, but to name a few, Mrs. Bouchard played a crucial role in my love for science and biology. And, Mrs. Linaweaver inspired my love for human anatomy!

'17 Cameron Manor finished her fourth year on the West Point women’s lacrosse team, tallying 16 goals and a team-high 12 assists as a senior. She has 52 goals and 19 assists in 43 career games for the Cadets.

'18 Daisy Sellas is studying at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. As a singer-songwriter, she recently performed some of her music at St. Margaret’s during a professional community gathering, and did great! Sahar Khashayar spoke to St. Margaret’s English IV: postcolonial science fiction and fantasy class last spring and shared their work as a webcomic creator. Sahar, currently studying physics at Harvard University, created a post-apocalyptic sci-fi webcomic “End Behavior” that the English IV students, taught by Jamie Bunch, read in class as part of their comic/webcomic unit.

'19 Koa Todd, who is playing lacrosse at the University of Utah, was named to the Pac-12 Conference’s Spring 2021 Academic Honor Roll.

'20 Brayden Windes, currently a student at Brown University, shared his expertise in Native American culture with students at St. Margaret’s this spring, creating a video presentation for grade 3 students as part of their annual San Juan Capistrano Day educational activities, and leading a lesson for a grade 6 class on Native American spirituality traditions.

'21 A big congratulations to the Class of 2021 as they join the alumni ranks! Katherine Collier, Sarah Pence and Logan Wojcik are serving as alumni class agents, partnering with the alumni relations office to ensure their classmates’ connection to St. Margaret’s.

Ahead of the 2019-2020 school year, several alumni who are professional community members shared their experiences at St. Margaret’s as both a student and a member of the professional community as part of the school’s 40th anniversary celebration.

Katherine Collier

Sarah Pence

Logan Wojcik

NOTABLE: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Alumni/professional community members included: Jennifer Blount ’87, Jeannine Clarke ’87, Jillian Taylor ’90, Dave Tomlinson ’95, James Harris ’96, Lindsay Eres ’00, Mara Balak ’03, Kristina Taylor ’05, Spencer Keane ’10, Clementine Marcus ’12, and Marina Morales Gonzalez ’12.

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