News for O'Dowd alumni, parents, and friends
Finding God in All Things
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LISTENING TO OUR ALUMNI
We love to hear from our Dragon alumni so we can make sure to create meaningful opportunities for you to stay connected to your classmates and our community. In November we sent out a short survey to find out how you want to stay engaged, what events you’re most interested in, and more. Many of you participated and we compiled the survey results and opportunities for engagement HERE. Thank you, Dragons!
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BACK ON CAMPUS, LEADING CHANGE
Dr. Scott Brooks ’90, Professor and Director of Research at the Global Sports Institute at Arizona State University, has led three Advanced Athletics workshops for O’Dowd students and staff, empowering them to “build teams with greater capacity to combat racism and sexism.” He is currently working on a book about sexism and racism in youth sports.
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PRODUCING THE VACCINE FOR MILLIONS
Jack Schilling ’01 has worked for Moderna since 2017. This summer, he stepped up to lead outsourced manufacturing for the COVID-19 vaccine. His team ensures production of critical raw materials and that vaccines are efficiently filled and packaged. Jack took AP science and math at O’Dowd before going on to earn his BS in both Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Engineering at Tufts University, as well as an MBEE from Johns Hopkins University.
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HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE O'DOWD?
To kick off our We Heart O’Dowd Giving Challenge, February 4-14 (more to come!), we are hosting a fun, interactive Trivia Night on February 3 at 7:00pm.
Teams of students, parents, alums and faculty/staff will face off, competing to test their knowledge of O’Dowd and win PRIZES, including on-the-floor seats to the first O'Dowd Center basketball game! Show us your love and
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DRAGON PRIDE:O'DOWD'S NEW HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Athletics are woven into the fabric of O’Dowd community life. That's why we are thrilled that the new O’Dowd Center will include a modern full-court gymnasium to triple our current seating, and a state-of-the-art athletic performance lab to support students at every stage of fitness.
For Elizabeth Kramer ’03, playing sports at O’Dowd helped her focus on her strength and talent as an athlete, instead of the all too common high school pressure to focus on physical appearance. “For women especially, athletics are so important to build confidence and composure,” she reflects. “Everyone feels vulnerable in high school. Athletics help you break loose.”
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“Athletics create incredible growth opportunities for students,” agrees Tom Counts, parent to Peter ’11, Caroline ’12 and Elizabeth ’15. “The beauty of sports is that they can simultaneously provide different life lessons to different people.”
Elizabeth and the Counts family both gave to the Cor Unum Campaign for the O’Dowd Center because they believe that excellent student programs deserve excellent facilities. “Prior generations invested in O’Dowd and my kids benefitted,” says Tom. “I’ll be happy to watch my friend’s kids and even my grandkids play in the new gym,” he declares. “And the excitement of a sold-out home game with triple the seating capacity will be unrivaled!”
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Outstanding Anawim service projects! Grace Navarro ’22 and Sophia Dilworth ’22 both thought of creative ways to fulfill their service hours while observing social distancing. Grace made snack bars for hungry, overworked hospital staff at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland, and Sophia painted and hand wrote over 300 cards for isolated senior citizens living in retirement homes around the Bay Area. We are proud of all the ways our Dragons have found generous, and unique ways to serve during the pandemic. 👏🏽👏🏽
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West Coast Preps wrote a great feature on Gabriel Plascenicia ’21, recognized as one of the country's top kickers! He and the O'Dowd football team are fired up to win the state championship this year! Read the article and Goooooooo Dragons! 🏈🐉
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Before the holiday break, Kaitlyn Chang ’21 wrote an SF Chronicle opinion piece about how the pandemic is affecting teens. Thanks for sharing your perspective with our community Kaitlyn, and shout-out to our fantastic English Department for creating opportunities for our students to broadcast their voices and lead change. Read the article! 📰
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Orthopedic surgeon and consummate pianist, MATT MALERICH ’62, performed two Mozart concertos with the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra. Check out his performance!
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FREDDY BUNKERS ’19 new book No Desk. No Stress. is a guide to using an entrepreneurial mindset to get what you want, based on his experience building his business, HyperGo, which he founded while a student-athlete at O’Dowd.
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MATTS BENSON ’17 was featured in VoyageLA for his sneaker and streetwear business Pretty Boy & Co. Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, sales have skyrocketed 500%. Matts shared, “I’m looking forward to using my platform to better my community and give back to the less fortunate.”
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Let’s do this, Dragons! If you 💛 Dragon basketball, volleyball, rallies, assemblies, Mass, and community traditions like the Crab Feed and the Transforming Lives Dinner, then get your name ON THE COURT!
With a gift or pledge of $10,000 or above to the Cor Unum Campaign, your name (or family name) will be commemorated on the gymnasium floor of the new O’Dowd Center! O’Dowd graduates of the last 15 years (Classes ’05-’20) will be recognized with a gift or pledge of $2,500 or above. To make your commitment, contact Tracey Broadhead Frith ’85 at (510) 553-8625 or tbroadheadfirth@bishopodowd.org.
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