UPCOMING EVENTS

See what's happening this month.

PORTRAIT OF AN OAKCREST GRADUATE

Meet our alumnae

THEN AND NOW

A pictorial history of Oakcrest then and now

ALUMNIFIRE

Network with Oakcrest alumnae

ALUMNAE NEWS

Share your news and update your

contact information

ALUMNAE PRAYER INTENTIONS

Submit your prayer intentions

2023 Alumnae Mother/Daughter Mass and Brunch Attendees

Greetings from

Maritere (Gramatges '91) Crum

Alumnae Relations Coordinator

Dear Oakies,

This year's Alumnae Mother/ Daughter Mass and Brunch welcomed home 61 alumnae, their daughters, moms and grandmothers. A wonderful morning of reminiscing and reconnecting was shared by all in attendance. The event concluded with a tour of the McGowan Family Athletic Center. We hope you will all join us again next year.

At the end of this school year, I will be stepping down as your OAA President and I am happy to announce that your new Oakcrest Alumnae Association Co-Presidents are Tara (Hill '11) Van Zoeren and Katie (McNeish '16) Hill. I will remain in my role as Oakcrest's Alumnae Relations Coordinator and along with Tara and Katie, we will continue to provide our alumnae community with lots of fresh ideas and events during the 2023-2024 academic year. Stay tuned!

Best regards,

Maritere

Maritere '91 with her daughters Emily and Ellie '30 at the 2023 Alumnae Mother/Daughter Brunch

Upcoming Events

Oakcrest Class of 2023 Commencement

Saturday, June 3

10:00 AM

Oakies in Action

Class of 2021 Oakie Domers

Members of the Class of 2021 who are currently attending the University of Notre Dame had a fun visit on campus with Miriam Buono

(Sophie (Buono '14) Martinson and Elena '21), Director of Operations, Media and Journalism and Jessica DeVera, Director of College Counseling.

Oakie Continues with her

Love of the Classics

Alumna, Alexa Lerner '21 was inducted into the Christopher Newport University chapter of Eta Sigma Phi. This is the national honorary collegiate society for students of Latin and/or Greek. Congratulations, Alexa!

Alumna Receives her White Coat

This spring, at the end of her second year

of Physical Therapy school, alumna, Clare

Polis '17 received her white coat. This symbolizes the end of didactic material and the transition into full time clinical work for her final year of school. Congratulations, Clare!

Franciscan University Oakies

Members of the Class of 2021, Maite Talavera, Ava Quaale and Theresa McNulty shared a

fun group picture to commemorate their time together in Austria. All three were in Austria this spring with the Franciscan University's Study Abroad Program.

Alumna shares her inspiring testimony with students

On April 27, Alumna, Suzanne (Fagan '03) Barrera gave an inspiring talk to the Respect Life Club. Her topic, "Keeping close to God During a Crisis", touched on how she handled the difficult period in her life while her husband, Brian, was on an ECMO machine during Covid. The Barrera family attributes his recovery to the prayers of countless people all over the world and the Surrender Novena. Thank you, Suzanne for your powerful testimony!

Alumna Returns for a Tour

Alumna Irene Porres '98 returned to campus for a tour and reunion with fellow classmate and school nurse, Nancy (Williams '98) Miggins.

Alumna Faculty Profile

Anna Cipollone graduated from Oakcrest in 2017 before attending Georgetown University where she studied English and art history.

“In conversations I had with Mary Ortiz when I came back as an alumna to visit Oakcrest, I knew that if I was going to teach, I was going to do it here,” she said. “I was confident in the skills and the preparations that Oakcrest had given me in high school and to be part of this education is a gift.”

Anna joined the Oakcrest faculty last fall! Read her faculty profile here.

Alumna bids Farewell

Meghan Hadley ’06, Oakcrest Dean of Students, will be leaving at the end of June to join the leadership team of Camp Wojtyla, a Catholic outdoor adventure program nestled in the heart of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Thank you, Meghan for your years of dedication to your alma mater!

Miss. Ortiz's letter to Parents

Meet Our Alumnae

Dr. Mary Gasser '08

As Dr. Mary Gasser ‘08 looks back on her years at Oakcrest, she says that her education helped shape the woman she is today, especially through the formation she received from her teachers.

“Every teacher imparted her own touch on my development,” Mary said. “So many were mentors and motivated to drive my success.”

Two teachers in particular, chemistry and physics teacher Dr. Arundhati Jayarao, and history and politics teacher Ms. Mary Quinlan, helped set Mary on the path she is on today.

“Dr. Arundhati Jayarao played a crucial role in fostering my love of the sciences and supporting STEM summer internships, which started me on my path to medicine,” she said. “Ms. Mary Quinlan helped me discover my curiosity about history and politics while making the material engaging.”

After graduation from Oakcrest in 2008, Mary attended the University of Virginia and received a Bachelor of Arts in foreign affairs and chemistry. She then commissioned into the United States Army in 2013 and went on to attend medical school at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. Mary completed her residency in Internal Medicine and was board-certified in 2020.

Read Mary's complete profile here.

Oakcrest Then and Now

Awards Day 2008

Awards Day 2022

Awards Day

At Oakcrest, we love celebrating each of our students and their successes; recognizing those

that go above and beyond with special awards is one of our favorite traditions. For many

decades, an award ceremony at the end of the school year would recognize athletic awardees, academic award and honor recipients, as well as awards in fine arts.

Today, the student body is recognized in an annual awards ceremony that takes place the day before graduation. The Awards Day Ceremony announces the Valedictorian and Salutatorian.

In addition, the Edwina Maksym Senior Thesis Award is presented to seniors who achieved that recognition with their capstone thesis project. Students that have attended Oakcrest since the

sixth grade are recognized as Acorns, having completed the entirety of the Oakcrest experience. The Middle School and Upper School Leadership award recipients are acknowledged, as well

as the recipient of the All-school Service award. The music department selects an honoree to receive the Excellence in Music award, and the faculty votes on the recipient of the Artwork of the Year award, a tradition that has also lasted for many years. The athletics department will then announce the Athlete of the Year, and recognize those receiving any Charger awards for their participation and performance in athletics. Students are also inducted into the honor societies at the Awards Day ceremony.