News for O'Dowd alumni, parents, and friends
Finding God in All Things
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THANK YOU, DRAGONS, FOR TRANSFORMING LIVES
On October 29, our community came together for our virtual Transforming Lives Dinner and raised over $330,000 in support of tuition assistance! These funds create opportunities for students, like Selma Louise Apara ’22, to thrive. “I’ve made connections at O’Dowd that I’ll carry through the rest of my life,” she said. Watch the full program!
We are beyond grateful for the power and generosity of our Dragon community. Thank you for continuing to make O’Dowd a place for all students to feel welcome, reach their potential, and leave our campus prepared to make the world a better place. Read more!
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NEXT LEVEL STUDENT-ATHLETES
This month, we celebrated three student-athletes who have committed to play college sports at the next level: Kennedy Johnson ’21 (women’s basketball - UC Santa Barbara), Kenzy Militar ’21 (women's volleyball - UC Riverside), and Marsalis Roberson ’21 (men’s basketball - UC Berkeley).
We are extremely proud of their accomplishment - nationally, less than 5% of high school student-athletes get the opportunity to play in college. They each signed letters of intent with their universities last week, and our Dragon community honored their achievement with a virtual celebration. Stay tuned for more signing days!
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CONGRESSIONAL GOLD
Max Williams ’18 has been honored with the Congressional Award Gold Medal, which offers young people the opportunity to achieve a challenging personal goal. Max completed a difficult backpacking trek in Yosemite. He was one of the first in the season, after a snow-packed winter, to traverse the highest pass in Yosemite National Park. His journey was five days long, a total of 50 miles, with 9,000 ft of elevation change, and he reached the summit of Half Dome on the final day.
Max says his science expedition trips through O'Dowd were instrumental in forming his desire for this big accomplishment, and today, after playing rugby for O'Dowd, he is also the team captain in Ultimate Frisbee at Cal. Thanks for making us Dragons proud, Max!
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O'DOWD LEADERS SHARE HEART AND COMMUNITY
O’Dowd faculty and staff have collaborated to develop a mosaic, made from colored glass, of a heart wrapped in thorns, blazing with fire, with roots spreading into the earth below, and a cross at the heart’s crown. They envision using this artwork as a piece of reflection for students and adults alike.
“Our hearts have been broken by the pandemic, by racial injustice, by economic hardship, by the fires,” says Michael Downs, O’Dowd’s Director of Justice and Kinship, “But a broken heart is an open heart. It’s a wound where grace comes through.” Read more.
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Giving Together
“Cor Unum was my first giving experience,” says Christine Keener ’07, Director of Government and Community Affairs at Verizon. Christine grew up in East Oakland, and knew in seventh grade she wanted to go to O’Dowd. “There are very few places that you can say changed your life,” Christine notes, “but my life changed when I went to O’Dowd.” Christine played on O’Dowd’s softball team and she loves that the new Center will be a place for athletics, arts, and human connections. “Imagine what will happen with these new spaces for creativity and collaboration,” she envisions.
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The Heart of O'Dowd
Through the contributions, large and small, of our current 1,235 families and over 15,000 alumni families, we will bring the O’Dowd Center into being for today and tomorrow’s students. Each individual gift represents not only the brick and mortar for the new Center, but the lives and spirits of students whose personal and professional journeys will be forever shaped by their experience at O’Dowd. Read more.
We invite you to join the heart of our community by contributing to The Cor Unum Campaign. All gifts, no matter the size, make a difference. Your donation will be 100% matched. Special end-of-year tax advantages apply for all giving.
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GETTING OUT THE VOTE
Only one O'Dowd student is of voting age, but that didn't stop anyone from working on the election. Our Solidarity in Action leaders wrote letters to unlikely-to-vote citizens, made a Voter's Guide, and led our Election Dragon Talks. And we want to give special recognition to our student poll workers: Cameron Brown ’22, Lucas Fine ’21, Aaron Johnson ’21, Oliver Lucas ’22, Alejandra Mart ’22, and Cordelia Rauch ’22.
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INSPIRATIONAL ATHLETES WHO AMAZE US!
O’Dowd basketball star Jalen Lewis ’23 lost his mother to breast cancer at only two months old, but with the love and support of his father and grandmothers has received nine Division 1 offers, all while earning a 3.8 GPA. We are proud of you, Jalen! Watch his recent CalHi Sports feature!
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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE!
We are exceptionally proud of our five National Hispanic Scholars and two National African-American Scholars. The National Hispanic and African-American Recognition Programs award juniors who score in the top 2.5% of PSAT takers across the country. Congratulations Paul Hosemann ’21, Abigail Gonzalez ’21, Sebastian Madrigal ’21, Josue Rocha ’21, Lucas Fine ’21, Lewis Bowen ’21, and Morgan Jenkins ’21!
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NOAH VENEKLASEN ’96, co-founder of Muse & Co, shifted his company to respond to the Covid-19 shutdown by creating Sprinter van conversions for year-round camping and adventuring. Originally intended to keep his team employed through the slow down, Noah ended up launching a second company, Muse & Co Outdoors. “We are thrilled to help people escape into the outdoors in these crazy times.”
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DR. KRISTYN JACKSON HARVEY ’01 has been promoted to Chief of Pediatrics at Kaiser Walnut Creek. Her time at O’Dowd strengthened her family values, she said. “O’Dowd prepared me for my first years of college and taught me to lean on my faith through the difficulties of medical school and residency.”
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CHANELLE BELL ’10 is the new Managing Director of Public and Community Affairs for Teach For America, serving Chicago-Northwest Indiana. She earned her M.S. in Education at Dominican University, and is the founder of Positively Melanin, an online community highlighting influential professionals of color in Chicago, to offer support to young professionals of color looking to enter similar career fields.
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REINA BONTA ’17 produced a video capturing the transformative power of the MLK Freedom Center’s summer civic engagement program, hosted on the Merritt College campus, in partnership with the Institute for Community Leadership and the Quinault Indian Nation. The short film, "To Us, You Matter", highlights the four-week self-transformation journey of 40 youth leaders. Watch now!
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THE COR UNUM CAMPAIGN
Every single gift is matched 100%. Gifts of $50 become $100, gifts of $200 become $400. The outpouring of support we have received from our Dragon community is doubled and amplified.
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