O'Dowd in Brief - April 2022: News for alumni, parents, and friends

O'Dowd in Brief

News for O'Dowd alumni, parents, and friends

Finding God in All Things

April 2022

Happy Easter!

“We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!”

Pope John Paul II

TOGETHER AGAIN: O’DOWD CRAB FEED RADIATES JOY

A sold-out crowd of parents, grandparents, alumni and their families, with faculty and staff gathered on the quad for the first Crab Feed in 3 years. Together the community raised over $230,000 to support O’Dowd’s co-curricular programs, including drama, clubs, retreats, and athletics. “The entire evening felt like a welcome back celebration,” said Rebecca Bischoff, Chief Development Officer. Click here to see images of the event!

SENIOR CREATES LASTING IMPACT BY PLANTING TREES

Last month Mary Lee ’22 led over 150 volunteers to plant 326 trees in the East Bay! Mary credits O’Dowd’s science classes and service learning programs with inspiring her to think of ways to care for the environment. She partnered with a student at Oakland Technical High School to offset paper usage and make the Oakland community greener, enlisting over 150 volunteers to make this tree planting day a great success! Click here to read more.

ALUM NAMED DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Last month Malia Vella '02 was sworn in as Deputy Superintendent for the California Department of Education. Malia is dedicated to ensuring a quality education for all children in California. “My lola Oba (grandma) dreamed of being a teacher, but barely finished school,” Malia notes. “My mom was the first in her family to graduate from college and worked as a special educator and speech therapist. I stand on the shoulders of these women and so many others.”

CAREER WEEK AT O'DOWD

Our annual Career Week was a smash, with so many parents, alumni, and friends of O’Dowd offering their time to share with students about their careers. These unique sessions help students imagine the many directions their futures can take them. When Hendrik van Nierkerk ’24 saw the structural engineering talk with O’Dowd parent Bill Bruin, he knew he had to attend. “Mr. Bruin gave great guidance on college classes to take to pursue an engineering degree,” explains Hendrik. “I’m grateful for all of the advice!”

PURCHASE TICKETS TO SPRING MUSICAL: CHICAGO!

And all that jazz! This year’s spring show is the Tony award-winning musical Chicago! Playing April 29 - May 1 and May 5-8, this universal tale of fame, fortune, and all that jazz has one showstopping song after another! Come see why this dark musical comedy holds the record for the longest running American musical in Broadway history! “We have worked so hard to make this an incredible show,” exudes cast member Alijah Brown ’22. “I can’t wait for everyone to see the dance routines!” Purchase tickets here!

CREATE YOUR O'DOWD LEGACY

O’Dowd recently received two generous legacy gifts, one from a will, the other from an IRA. Eva Kastel, a former O’Dowd teacher, left the school in her will for over $100,000. Joseph Ratto, an alumni parent and grandparent, listed O’Dowd as a designated beneficiary for his IRA of over $400,000. Each of these legacy gifts will create named endowment funds which will serve as permanent tributes to their generosity and provide tuition assistance funds for future O’Dowd generations. Click here to learn more about legacy giving.

Campus News

WELCOME NEW DRAGONS!

O’Dowd has a full class of students for the incoming class of 2026. This upcoming weekend, our new Dragons will visit campus with their families to learn the ins and outs of navigating O’Dowd.

DRAGON “OUTSTANDING” MUSICIANS!

Alex Strozier ’24 and Liam Jacobs ’24 won “Outstanding Musicianship" Awards at the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival. O'Dowd's Advanced Jazz Band knocked everyone out with their energized set at the festival. Great job Dragons!

DRAGON NAMED A CONRAD INNOVATOR

Each year the Conrad Foundation, whose programs inspire global sustainability solutions, hosts a prestigious nationwide competition for teens. Over the last nine months, Gisele Brown ’23 and her team were part of Stanford’s School of Medicine Capstone Project and developed a prototype called Neuromatrix, which aims to collect and analyze data to support neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s. Their prototype was named in the top 50 health projects!

SWIM TEAM TRAVELS TO SAN DIEGO

This month our swim team traveled to San Diego for the highly competitive Iron Man/Iron Maiden swim meet. The team finished in 7th and came home with many individual 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place wins in the individual race categories.

O'DOWD ARTS FESTIVAL

Celebrate the arts with us! Join us April 29 to celebrate the visual, musical, and performance arts at O'Dowd. Visit the Dominican Lounge from 4:00-7:00pm for a Gala Reception featuring visual art by students and music by the O’Dowd band. Stay for the opening night of the spring musical: Chicago!

Alumni News

AMANDA HEBERT ELLIOTT '78 is Senior Program Officer and Director at Main Street America, where she helps communities across the country revitalize their downtowns and commercial districts.

MICHAEL FRANDY '90 joined the renowned San Francisco-based brand implementation firm, Kraido, where he will oversee ongoing corporate brand refresh programs for Wells Fargo and Chevron.

ALLYSON CRINER BROWN '02 co-wrote Engagement for Equitable Outcomes, which provides practical suggestions for practitioners to address urgent social problems and reduce inequities in their communities.

DIMETRIUS CASARES '14, a graduate of Lewis & Clark College, is now an Engineering Technician for Battery Cell Prototyping at Tesla.

LIZZY AVERY '19 was recently named Patriot League's Softball Pitcher of the Week. A student-athlete at Boston University, Lizzy’s performance included 35 strikeouts in 25 innings and her first career no-hitter.