De Young named coordinator for Fresno State's favorite furry friend

Gina De Young’s “Bulldog Spirit” landed her the position of managing the social calendar for Fresno State’s beloved mascot Victor E. Bulldog effective this school year. Selected as Live Mascot Program Coordinator by the Fresno State Alumni Association, De Young (SJM Class of 2014) is the full-time go-to person for all things associated with Fresno State’s favorite furry friend!

“My role as Live Mascot Program Coordinator definitely keeps me on my toes!” exclaims De Young. “I get to be the point of contact for all things having to do with Victor E. Bulldog. It’s definitely a unique experience to cater to the needs of Fresno State’s favorite furry friend - I manage his social media, schedule all of his appearances, and help him spread smiles throughout the Central Valley with community partnerships.”

De Young saw the job posting, which was covered by many media outlets, and went for it. “It was understandable that a lot of people would be interested in the details... get paid to hang out with a dog? A famous dog? Sign me up!” 
SJM Weddings and Anniversaries
The Franzell's Celebrate 50 years of Marriage in Hawaii
Walter Franzell '65 and Cathy Henry Franzell '66 have been sweethearts since their days at SJM. At the time, SJM separated boys and girls for classes but they still found a way to hang out before and after school. They celebrated the sacrament of marriage on Valentine's Day in 1970 at St. Helen's church. Cathy was an elementary school teacher for 35 years and Walter served in the Air Force before being a Business Tax Auditor for 34 years. They now enjoy their time with their son, daughter-in-law and three granddaughters.

They just recently renewed their vows in Hawaii to celebrate their 50th Weeding Anniversary! Congratulations to Walter and Cathy!
The Gilio's Tie the Knot in Paradise
Josh Gilio '09 married Madison Gilio on
February 21, 2020 on Kualoa Ranch in Oahu, Hawaii. Madison is the daughter of Joe Phillips '80 who is also an SJM alumni.

The De Fronseka's get Married in Greece
Seth De Fronseka married Alexis Abrahamson De Fronseka '07 on October 2, 2019. They had an intimate wedding in Mykonos, Greece where they stayed in an oceanside villa and sailed to different islands.
The Dicicco's join in matrimony at Mission San Juan Capistrano
Rocco Dicicco '08 married Alexandra Gourdikian Dicicco on February 22, 2020. The wedding was officiated by the Most Reverand Bishop Armando Ochoa at Mission San Juan Capistrano.

The groomsmen included SJM alumni Dante Dicicco '07, Matt Mazzoni '08, Daniel Whittemore '09, Nick Youpel '08, Ryan Horn '04 and Santino Reynolds '04.
On-site interviews underway for Strategic Planning Process

The Directed Strategic Planning Process for San Joaquin Memorial is well underway with constituent on-site interviews and focus group meetings held at the end of last month.

Led by Catholic School Management’s Senior Executive Consultant Maria Ribera and Lead Consultant Greg Dhuyvetter, interviews were held with administration, faculty, staff, students, current and prospective parents, alumni, board members and planning committee members. Information gathered from the interviews and focus groups will serve as the foundation and roadmap for future steps in how SJM will carry out its mission and reach its vision.

“We are excited to be gathering this all important information from our SJM stakeholders and constituents,” said Head of School Michael Burke. “Strategic Planning is the process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between SJM’s goals and capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities. As a result of this process, we will be able to develop a clear institutional mission, supporting goals and objectives, a sound strategy and appropriate implementation that will take our school to the next level of excellence.”

Catholic School Management consultants in partnership with the SJM Planning Committee members will prepare a report of their findings/recommendations. A preliminary review of the report for the Planning Committee, which includes Online Survey results and Focus Group interviews, will be completed in April 2020. Further timeline dates include Goal and Objective Review Session and Prioritization in May 2020; Finalization, Community Consultation, Publication, and Celebration in June 2020; and Action Plan Development in Summer 2020.
Girls and Boys Basketball win Valley Championships!

Congratulations to both our Girls and Boys Basketball teams on winning Valley Championships. It is the Boys third consecutive section title (DII, DII and Open) and the Girls fourth consecutive title (D5, D4, D4 and D2).

The Girls went into playoffs as the #1 seed. They defeated #6 Mission Prep 79-53 in the DII section finals. They went into the state playoffs as the #5 seed and defeated #12 Lynbrook (San Jose) 71-37. They will travel to play Laguna Creek (Elk Grove) on Thursday, March 5 at 7:00 pm.

The Boys had a hand in Central Section history as they were seeded #3 in the section's first ever Open Division. Open Division is the top four teams in the section and every team is guaranteed a spot in the state playoffs. They defeated #1 Clovis West 51-49 in the section finals. They went into state playoffs ranked #13 and they traveled to play #4
De La Salle and lost 67-52.

Congratulations to the boys on a great season and good luck to the girls in the state playoffs!
SJM students are inspired at Career Day

Last week, SJM hosted over thirty professionals from around the state for Career Day. Many of the guest speakers who participated were SJM alumni. The day started with key note speaker, Ian Tong '90. Tong serves as Chief Medical Officer of Doctor On Demand and adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford University Medical School. Thank you to all who participated in this year's event, especially our beloved alumni!
Student Athletes share Catholic Values

Last week, SJM's Softball and Baseball teams traveled to play Garces. Before the games got underway, the two teams gathered for Mass and lunch!

Baseball won 13-2 and Senior Jayden Jones was the winning pitcher with four hitless innings.

Softball lost 14-4.

We are honored to share our Catholic roots with Garces Memorial!
Crab Feed Wrap Up
Thank you to SJM's Booster Athletic Club for putting on another great event! There were 300 people in attendance at this year's Crab Feed which included a silent auction. It is a valued tradition that coaches from each sport's team serve guests their meal.

Thank you to all who attended and we look forward to next years Crab Feed!
Spring Sports Update

Spring sports are well underway and SJM wishes each of its teams the best of luck this season. Here is how every team is doing this season so far.

Baseball: 7-1
Hosts Turlock on Friday, March 6 at 3:30 pm.

Softball: 0-2
Hosts Monache on Tuesday, March 10 at 4:00 pm.

Girls Lacrosse: 1-0
Play at Hoover on Thursday, March 5 at 3:00 pm.

Swim:
Compete at Hoover on Friday, March 6 at 3:30 pm.

Rugby:
Hosts Bullard on Friday, March 6 at 6:00 pm.

Boys Tennis: 1-3
Play in the California Classic on March 6 and 7.

Track:
Compete in the Simi Valley Invitational on March 13 and 14. 
Join Us For the 75th Annual St. Patrick's Day Golf Tournament

We are close to being sold out, make sure you turn in your reservation!

For more info, please contact Shirley Boujikian at (559) 475-5831 or sboujikian@sjmhs.org
Call for Class Notes

Have you recently gotten married, had a baby or experienced a big life moment that you want to share with your fellow Memorial alumni? Have updates about your reunion? Share them with us! Submit announcements to  advancement@sjmhs.org.
Call for SJM Memorabilia

Do you have SJM memorabilia from the past 75 years? If you have items you would like to share with us for our 75th anniversary, please contact Shirley Boujikian at sboujikian@sjmhs.org
May They Rest in Peace... with God Forever

Charles McCarthy '51 passed away on January 23, 2020. He is the spouse of Donna McClurg McCarthy '51. He is the father of Theresa McCarthy Ellis '75, Kimberly McCarthy Picotti '77 and Michelle McCarthy Ruffino '82. He is the grandfather of Kellie Elis'06.

Kathleen Fraga Porter '66 passed away on February 10, 2020. She is the sister of Edward Fraga '65.

Robert Franco '63 passed away on February 15, 2020.
Alumni Contact Update
Panther Alums, even though your time here at Memorial has passed, this is still your home! Please stay connected with us so that you can be part of our exciting engagement opportunities such as our sporting event pre-game dinners, alumni mixers and so much more! To stay connected,  please  fill out this form .

San Joaquin Memorial High School | sjmhs.org