A Publication for the Alumni, Parents and Friends of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, CA Annual Report Edition

Fall 2015TheKnight Letter

PRE

SID

EN

T’S

ME

SSA

GE “Our high schOOl has

never been strOnger in its hOly crOss spirit.”

Brett A. LowArt

ear Notre Dame High School Alumni, Parents and Friends:

Pope Francis is traveling around the world warning about the dramatic escalation of a “throwaway culture” in developed countries. He has struck a universal chord. Throwing “things” away sparks consumerism and materialism. Throwing things away is having an increasingly dangerous effect on our environment and planet. The throwaway mentality or attitude may also contribute to a decline in humanity. Can you throw-away family/friends and get new ones? Pope Francis fears our throwaway culture impacts how abortion is viewed, how the elderly and disenfranchised are treated, etc.

As a Catholic, Holy Cross high school, Notre Dame must be counter-cultural. We will have monumentally failed if our graduates are materialistic, self-centered and worried more about wealth than their families and society. Easier said than done in a world with devices in every pocket and when texting seems more important than conversation. Someone recently challenged me to count the number of times I checked my phone and said that any “honest” tabulation would require me to admit an addiction. I fear that technology is leading us to a humanistic abyss and contributing to the throwaway culture. As each student now carries an iPad with all their text books now digitally therein, it is a challenge to get students to appreciate the value of good old-fashioned conversation. I thought it important to mention in this letter that we recognize these challenges and spend an enormous amount of energy encouraging our students to be counter-cultural.

Looking back on 2014-15, I am profoundly grateful to everyone who gave of their time, talent and treasure to Notre Dame High School. Your investments have contributed to the growth of our students and the growth of our school institution. Our high school has never been stronger in its Holy Cross spirit, in col-lege matriculation, in its ability to assist deserving students (financial aid), in the experience of our faculty, in the depth of our programs and in the quality of our facilities. Thank you!

As we begin the 2015-16 school year, we are again blessed by capacity enrollment and an abundance of applications. It is a continuing reflection of our dedicated faculty, coaches and staff. The fact that we are purposely personal and counter-cultural contributes to our success. We will complete our new gym lobby and fitness center in December. In so doing, we will complete our Light the Way Campaign. This five-year endeavor has been an extraordinary journey. Notre Dame’s ability to educate the hearts and minds of its students has been greatly enhanced by this campaign. I welcome anyone interested to visit our campus to see our improvements and encourage your continued support through the end of the calendar year (there are still many naming opportunities available at reasonable donor levels). This year we also will begin our accreditation process with the Western Catholic Education Association (WCEA). It is an opportunity for our entire community to reflect upon our past and plan our future. We embrace the hope to improve and look forward to reporting our accreditation progress.

Please know of our continued prayers for all of our alumni, parents and friends. Thank you for caring about Notre Dame High School and sharing in our mission, one which is more important today than ever before.

Sincerely,

Brett A. LowartPresident

D

The Knight Letter is published by theAlumni/Development Office of Notre Dame High School for the alumni, parents and friends of the school.

EDitor in ChiEf Brett A. Lowart, PresidentAssistAnt EDitorSkylar Osovski, Coordinator, Website & Publications

BoArD of DirECtorsJoseph Allegretti ’82, ChairDaniel McCarthy, Vice Chair Mission & Governance Committee ChairJustin Rawlins ’91, Secretary Advancement Committee ChairChris Lucas, Treasurer Finance Committee ChairBr. Regan Chapman ’67, OFMJohn CombesStephanie Connelly, NDHS PrincipalDavid Damus ’83Jeri Dye Lynch Joe Ellias ’75Br. Joel Giallanza, C.S.C.Lynne LeporeBrett Lowart, NDHS PresidentLenny McNeillDonald MossAnthoney Mudy ’83Kathy NikolaiCharlie Perkins ’69Ron Renaud ’64Ryan Stromsborg ’93Ronald ViolaJamie Wagenbach ’83Fr. Michael WakefieldChris Wilson ’78Julie Zastrow

ADministrAtionBrett A. Lowart, PresidentStephanie Connelly, PrincipalReese Abbene, Director of Campus MinistryGeorgia Capell, Vice Principal of Academic AffairsTom Dill, Dean of MenTracey Hughes, Director of AdvancementRichard Klee, Vice Principal of InstructionAnn McClung, Dean of WomenTerry McGaha, Director of Mission Outreach & Parent/Volunteer ProgramsAlec Moss ’00, Director of AdmissionsMary Oyler, Director of FacilitiesKevin Rooney, Director of AthleticsRobert Thomas, Vice Principal of Student LifeRichard Ysasi, Director of FinanceLouis Weiss, Director of Technology

Notre Dame High School13645 Riverside Drive

Sherman Oaks, CA 91423www.ndhs.org

What’s Inside This Issue3 President’s MessageBrett Lowart discusses outlook for 2015-16 school year.

14-15 Greg DietelGreg Dietel ’66 discusses his patents for Softlets.

6-9 School NewsCatch up on news from the cam-pus of Notre Dame High School.

16-17 Class NotesRead updates on Notre Dame alumni and current students.

12 Athletic CommitsTwenty-six students committed to university level athletics.

18-19 Calendar Save the dates for upcoming events throughout 2015-16.

10-11

20134-5

PAGE 5School NewsPAGE 4 School News

Baseball• Mission League Champions• CIF Div. 1 Playoffs

Boys Volleyball• 3rd in Mission League• CIF Div. 1 Playoffs

Boys Track• Mission League Champions• CIF Div. 3 Champions

Girls Swimming• 2nd in Mission League

Girls Track• 2nd in Mission League• 12 athletes competed at the

CIF Finals at Cerritos Col-lege

Softball• 2nd in Mission League• CIF Div. 3 Playoffs

Boys Swimming• 2nd in Mission League

Boys Golf• 3rd in Mission League• 8th at CIF Team Finals

Boys Tennis• 4th in Mission League

Spring Sports Wrap Up

Above: University of Notre Dame-bound CJ Sanders sprints during a track meet.

At left: Taylor Carnevale takes a breath during her swimming race. Both the boys and girls swim teams finished second in Mission League.

Top page 4: Julia Scorupco-Czerka brings the ball up the court during a basketball game against Louisville.

Bottom page 4: Christin Hirn gets ready to shoot in a water polo match.

Winter Sports Wrap Up

Girls Soccer• Division I commits (2)• Division III commit (1)• Two players named to

All-Mission League Team

• One player Honorable Mention in Mission League

• Cami Nwokedi named Most Valuable Defen-sive Player in Mission League

Girls Water Polo • 19-10 overall• 10-2 Mission League• 2nd in Mission League• CIF Div. 3 playoffs• JV 1st in Mission

LeagueBoys Soccer

• 5th in Mission League

Boys Basketball• Chibueze Jacobs ’16

All-Tournament at Simi Valley Classic Tip-Off

• Gabe Rishwain ’15 2nd team All-Mission League

• Chibueze Jacobs ’16 1st team All-Mission League

• Div. 4AA Playoffs

Girls Basketball• Div. 4AA Playoffs• JV 1st in Mission

League

PAGE 7School NewsPAGE 6 School News

“Godspell” Musical

The Notre Dame High School class of 2016 started off its school year strong by attending the senior exclusive beach trip on Aug. 4, 2015.

The students met at the Holy Cross Center and took buses to

Dockweiler State Beach for an afternoon that was full of food, fun and class pride. Students also took part in volleyball and football tournaments.

Above: Students from the class of 2016 wait for their bus. At right: A prayer service is held at the beach.

Last spring, Notre Dame High School theater students put on their rendition of the musical “Godspell.”

The show is a retelling of the Gospel of Matthew, as Jesus Christ recruits a group of

followers and teaches them through song and dance.

At right: Jan Patrick Aquino leads the ensemble in “All Good Gifts.”

Below: Razel Zapanta belts out “O, Bless the Lord My Soul.”

The Notre Dame High School debate team had another successful season.

It won the varsity division of the Golden Desert Invitational in Las Vegas and was represented by the teams of Harry Aar-

onson/Ryan Powell and Zane Dille/Vivienne Pis-marov at the 2015 Tour-nament of Champions in Lexington, Kentucky.

Above: The debate team pos-es after winning the varsity division of the Golden Desert Invitational in Las Vegas.

Irish Knight Band CampDebate Team Season Recap

The American Legion California Boys State selected seven Notre Dame High School juniors as delegates for its June 2015 program at California State University, Sacramento.

Through this experience, the students became part of the operation of local, county and state government.

The Notre Dame students were Jason Thomas, Will Ev-ans, Sean Kallal, Taylor Mata-lon, Aidan Rattigan, Greyson Taylor and Matt Arias.

This was the first year the American Legion chose so

many students from one school.

From the 12 boys that were nominated by the junior social studies teachers and coun-selors, nine actually submit-ted the application and were interviewed.

California Boys State

The Irish Knight Band has been a part of the Notre Dame High School tradi-tion since 1947. Since that time, the band has earned a stellar reputation for its standard of excellence.

The Irish Knight Band performs in numerous band review competitions

throughout Southern Cali-fornia.

To help keep the standard high, students participated in band camp this past Au-gust at Notre Dame High School.

At left: Juniors and seniors participate in the Irish Knight Band Camp.

’16 Senior Beach Trip

PAGE 9School NewsPAGE 8 School News

Notre Dame High School English teacher Greg Beckman was one of eight educators who received the Singer Family Prize for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching from the University of Rochester last May.

Beckman was nominated by Notre Dame alumna Lily Camp ’11, who is a student at the university.

Below: Greg Beckman (front row, second from left) was nominated by Lily Camp ’11 (back row, second from left).

’15 Service Awards

Special Santa Clara Honor

Beckman Receives Singer PrizeInternational Soccer Play

Santa Clara University’s Los Angeles Alumni Association Chapter chose four of ND’s own as its Santa Claran of the Year Award recipients last March.

President Brett Lowart (SCU ’80), Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Kevin Rooney (SCU ’72), Vice Principal for Student Life Rob Thomas (SCU ’81) and Instructor/Head Track/

Assistant Football Coach Joe McNab (SCU ’81) were hon-ored as outstanding Bronco alumni at the California Club in downtown L.A.

They have collective service of over 100 years at Notre Dame and have been key in its growth and success.

Below: Rob Thomas (from left), Brett Lowart, Joe McNab and Kevin Rooney pose for a photo.

Notre Dame’s Harper Gold-farb ’18 and Victoria Ashkinos (Mayfield ’18) traveled to The Netherlands in June to repre-sent the USA in beach volleyball at the International Children’s Games.

The duo brought home the gold medal in this multi-sport event for children under the age of 16.

The event is sponsored by the International Olympics commit-tee and has been taking place since 1968.

June’s event was held in Alkmaar, The Netherlands, and hosted over 1,500 athletes from over 40 countries in nine sports: soccer, track and field, gymnastics, golf, judo, swimming, tennis, indoor volleyball and beach volleyball.

In addition to the girls team, the USA sent a boys team: Dane Johnson (Mira Costa) and Luke Grafton (Loyola).

The girls team went undefeated in the two-day tournament, only giving up one set in the best-of-three FIVB format.

The girls beat the host team, The Netherlands, in the finals.

The boys team fought back from a pool play loss to Thailand and avenged its loss in the finals, tak-ing home the gold.

It was a gold medal sweep for the USA.

At right: Harper Goldfarb ’18 (right) and Victoria Ashkinos represented the USA in beach volleyball at the International Children’s Games.

Beach Volleyball Gold

Notre Dame High School’s Callum Stretch ’17 was named to the Under-18 Men’s National Team by head coach Ja-vier Perez.

Stretch made the 20-man roster that played in the 2015 Open Nordic Cup Tournament in Sweden July 30-Aug. 10.

In addition to Stretch, two other Notre Dame soccer players had the opportu-nity to play overseas.

Phillipe Zamignani ’16 and Cameron deOliveria ’16 attended the pres-tigious Mediterranean

International Cup at the Palamòs stadium in Barcelona, Spain, March 31-April 5. The annual Mediterranean Cup is counted as one of the most competitive spring tournaments in Europe. Famous international soccer clubs like Benfica (Portugal), Sevilla (Spain), Ferencvaros (Hungary), Liverpool (England) and Paris St. Germain (France) participated.

At left: Callum Stretch ’17 sports his Under-18 Men’s National Team jersey.

Each year, Notre Dame celebrates a senior parent or families who have exempli-fied the volunteer spirit with the Christy Hamilton Out-standing Volunteer Award.

This past year, we celebrated two such families: David and Jeanie Burke, and Anthoney ’83 and Christina Mudy.

David and Jeanie helped create and chair the Student Walk-a-thon, which has be-come a major fundraiser for student programs. They also have served as leaders in the Parent Association Execu-tive Board, most recently as co-presidents.

David and Jeanie helped with the Auction & Gala, and Da-vid has served as the emcee for the Holy Cross Mothers Guild Luncheon & Fashion Show, and the Auction & Gala. Jeanie also has served in HCMG for six years.

Anthoney has been involved in Athletic Boosters since 2008, serving as president the past two years. Christina Mudy has served in HCMG for eight years and has been in leadership positions for the Fashion Show through-out her tenure.

Notre Dame congratulates these two families and cel-ebrates their leadership.

Recipients of the Moreau Award for Spiritual Service were Mary Campion and Kathy Nikolai.

This award was created to acknowledge exemplary par-ent service given in support of the spiritual growth of both the Notre Dame com-munity and its students.

No senior parents were more deserving than our winners, Mary and Kathy, who shared their time and talents with the Immersion Program, an intensive three-day outreach retreat for juniors.

Mary and Kathy also served in HCMG leadership roles.

Notre Dame congratulates and thanks these volunteers for their leadership and generosity.

Above: President Brett Lowart (from left), Anthoney ’83 and Christina Mudy, Mary Cam-pion (Brendan ’10 and Ciaran ’15), David and Jeanie Burke, and Principal Stevie Connelly. Not pictured: Kathy Nikolai (Danny ’15).

PAGE 11Class of 2015 - College AcceptancesPAGE 10 2015 Graduation

Class of 2015Graduation AwardsThe Blessed Father Basil

Moreau Valedictorian AwardVeronica Hughey

The Brother Rupert PoudrierStudent Body President

AwardTess Apablasa

The Saint André BessetteSchool Service Award

Casey Anderson

The Brother EugenioCassano Musicianship

AwardJames Conroy

The Brother John DoranOratory Award

Harold AaronsonVivienne Pismarov

The Brother Eagan HunterVisual Arts Award

Maya Zohbi

Notre Dame Athletesof the YearZana MunoJanet Yeo

Aaron Haigler

Notre Dame Womanof the YearSarah Tobo

Notre Dame Man of the YearCarlos Alcocer

Academy of Art UniversityAdrian College

Alfred UniversityAllegheny College

AMDA: College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts American University

Arizona State UniversityAssumption College Auburn University

Austin CollegeBard College

Barnard College Barry University Baylor University

Belmont UniversityBennington CollegeBentley University

Boise State UniversityBoston College

Boston UniversityBradley University

Brandeis UniversityBriar Cliff University

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University, IdahoBrigham Young University-Hawaii

Bryn Mawr College Butler University

California Baptist UniversityCalifornia College of the Arts (San Francisco)

California Lutheran UniversityCalifornia Maritime Academy

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis ObispoCalifornia State Polytechnic University, Pomona

California State University, Channel IslandsCalifornia State University, Chico

California State University, Dominguez HillsCalifornia State University, East BayCalifornia State University, Fresno

California State University, FullertonCalifornia State University, Long BeachCalifornia State University, Los Angeles

California State University, Monterey BayCalifornia State University, NorthridgeCalifornia State University, Sacramento

California State University, San BernardinoCalifornia State University, San MarcosCalifornia State University, Stanislaus

Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarroll College (Montana)

Case Western Reserve UniversityChapman University

Clark UniversityClemson UniversityColgate University

College of CharlestonCollege of the Canyons

College of William and Mary Colorado School of Mines Colorado State University

Columbia College ChicagoConcordia University - Irvine

Concordia University - PortlandConnecticut CollegeCornell University

Creighton UniversityCuesta College

Daemen CollegeDePaul UniversityDePauw University

Dominican University of CaliforniaDrake UniversityDrexel UniversityEckerd College Elon University

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona BeachEmerson CollegeEmory UniversityEndicott College

Expression College for Digital ArtsFashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles

Fisk UniversityFlorida Southern College

Fordham UniversityFranklin and Marshall College

Georgia Institute of TechnologyGettysburg CollegeGonzaga University

Goucher CollegeHobart and William Smith Colleges

Hofstra UniversityHope International University

Howard UniversityHumboldt State University

Hunter College of the CUNYIndiana University at BloomingtonInternational Christian University

Iowa State UniversityIthaca College

John Carroll UniversityJohns Hopkins University

Johnson & Wales University (Providence)Juniata College

Kansas State UniversityLa Salle UniversityLafayette College

Lake Forest CollegeLewis & Clark College

Linfield CollegeLos Angeles Valley CollegeLouisiana State University

Loyola Marymount UniversityLoyola University Chicago

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University New Orleans

Lynn UniversityManhattan CollegeMarian University

Marist CollegeMarlboro College

Marquette UniversityMarymount California University

Marymount UniversityMcGill University

Menlo CollegeMercyhurst University

Merrimack CollegeMiami University, OxfordMichigan State University

Mills CollegeMissouri Valley College

Montana State University, BozemanMoorpark College

Mount St. Mary’s College (Chalon)Muhlenberg College

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology New Mexico State University

New York UniversityNichols College

Northeastern UniversityNorthern Arizona University

Northwestern University Notre Dame de Namur University

Occidental CollegeOhio University

Ohio Wesleyan University Oregon Institute of Technology

Oregon State UniversityOtis College of Art and DesignPace University, New York City

Pacific University Pasadena City College

Pennsylvania State University, University ParkPepperdine University

Pierce CollegePoint Loma Nazarene University

Portland State UniversityPratt Institute

Providence College Purdue University

Quinnipiac University Reed College

Regis University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rice University Rochester Institute of Technology

Rockhurst University Rutgers University - New Brunswick

Saint John’s UniversitySaint Louis University

Saint Martin’s University Saint Mary’s College of California

Saint Michael’s College San Diego State UniversitySan Francisco Art Institute

San Francisco State UniversitySan Jose State University

Santa Barbara City CollegeSanta Clara University

Santa Fe University of Art and DesignSanta Monica College

Sarah Lawrence CollegeSavannah College of Art and Design

School of the Art Institute of ChicagoSchool of Visual Arts

Seattle UniversitySeton Hall University

Siena CollegeSimon Fraser University

Skidmore CollegeSonoma State University

Southern Methodist UniversitySouthern Virginia University

Spelman CollegeSpringfield College

St. Bonaventure UniversitySt. Edward’s University

St. John’s University - Queens CampusStephens CollegeStetson University Stonehill CollegeSuffolk University

Syracuse UniversityTemple University

Texas A&M UniversityTexas Christian University

Texas State UniversityThe American University of Paris

The Catholic University of AmericaThe College of Idaho

The George Washington UniversityThe King’s College

The New School - Eugene Lang College The Ohio State UniversityThe University of AlabamaThe University of ArizonaThe University of Georgia

The University of IowaThe University of Montana, Missoula

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of Scranton

The University of Texas, AustinTulane University

United States Naval AcademyUniversity of British Columbia

University of California, Berkeley University of California, DavisUniversity of California, Irvine

University of California, Los Angeles University of California, Merced

University of California, RiversideUniversity of California, San Diego

University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Santa Cruz

University of CincinnatiUniversity of Colorado at Boulder

University of Colorado at Colorado SpringsUniversity of Connecticut

University of Dallas University of DelawareUniversity of Denver

University of EvansvilleUniversity of Great Falls

University of Hawaii at ManoaUniversity of Illinois at Chicago

University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUniversity of Indianapolis

University of KansasUniversity of La VerneUniversity of Louisiana

University of Maryland, College Park University of Massachusetts, AmherstUniversity of Massachusetts, Boston

University of MiamiUniversity of Michigan

University of Minnesota, Twin CitiesUniversity of Mississippi

University of Missouri ColumbiaUniversity of Nebraska at Lincoln

University of Nevada, RenoUniversity of New Hampshire

University of New MexicoUniversity of Northern Colorado

University of Notre DameUniversity of Oklahoma

University of OregonUniversity of Pennsylvania

University of PittsburghUniversity of Portland

University of Puget SoundUniversity of Redlands

University of Rhode IslandUniversity of San Diego

University of San FranciscoUniversity of South Carolina

University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of the Pacific

University of UtahUniversity of VermontUniversity of Virginia

University of WashingtonUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison

University of WyomingUtah State University Valparaiso UniversityVanderbilt UniversityVillanova University

Walla Walla UniversityWashington College

Washington State UniversityWebster University

Western Oregon UniversityWestern Washington UniversityWestern Washington University

Westminster CollegeWestmont CollegeWhitman CollegeWhittier College

Willamette UniversityWilson College

Woodbury UniversityWorcester Polytechnic Institute

Xavier University

Above: The Notre Dame High School graduating class of 2015 celebrates by tossing their caps in the air.

At left: Fr. Michael Wake-field delivers the benedic-tion during commence-ment. Fr. Wakefield is the pastor at St. Francis de Sales Parish.

Below: Graduates of NDHS are all smiles as the crowd supports and recog-nizes their achievement.

Congratulations to the Class of 2015

PAGE 12 Student-Athlete Commitments PAGE 13Golf Tournament

Notre DAme HigH ScHooL HAD 26 of

itS StuDeNtS commit to uNiverSity LeveL

AtHLeticS. tHeSe ALumNi repreSeNt

eigHt SportS:

University Athletics

Track/Field• Nia Britt (Iowa)• Ary’l Burgoyne (Pacific of Oregon)• Austin Swanson (Colorado)• Kyle Swanson (UCSB)

Golf• Zareh Kaloustian (Pennsylvania)• Josh Krutchik (DePauw)• Sammy Winchester (Cal Poly) • Janet Yeo (Northern Colorado)

Soccer• Camillia Nwokedi (Pennsylvania)• Sara Tadeusiak (Cal Lutheran)• Analyse Talavera (Nevada)Rugby

• Parker Lynch (Fordham)

Baseball• Chris Collins (San Diego State)• Jake A. Gould (St. Edward’s)• Jake Hirabayashi (UCLA)• Jordan Myrow (UCLA)• Hunter Woods (Naval Academy)

Volleyball• Katherine Bloch (Ohio) • Zana Muno (UCLA)

Basketball• Danielle Roumbos (Cal Lutheran)

Football• Jake E. Gould (Cal Lutheran)• Aaron Haigler (Colorado)• Mike Little (Purdue)• Nik Lyons (College of Idaho)• Mike Ramos (Cal Lutheran)• Christopher Sanders (Notre Dame)

The 29th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament contin-ued its tradition of golf and friendship in May at Robin-son Ranch in Santa Clarita as 145 golfers enjoyed the day’s events.

Thank you to all parents who supported this event.

A special thank you goes to the Allegretti family and David Damus ’83, who were generous providing their support in the form of Br. William Nick Holy Cross Heritage Sponsorships.

All proceeds went directly to the tuition assistance pro-gram, enabling deserving students to receive a Holy Cross education.

29th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament

Mountain Top Gross• Scott Eyer ’93• David LaSalle ’93• Roger Steinbeck• Scott Stell ’93•

Mountain Top Net• Arthur Bergmann• Chris Farlow ’93• Ryan Fiege• Brett Twente

Mountain Closest to Pin• No. 4: Dan Nikolai• No. 6: Alec Moss ’00• No. 12: Matt Johnson• No. 14: Chris Nassour ’99

Mountain Long Drive• No. 1: Bryan Nassour ’97

(Men)

• No. 1: Jim Robertson (Senior)

Valley Top Gross• Ryan Bowne ’96• Bret Mersola• David Garfinkle• Jonathan Taylor• Michael Tidik

Valley Top Net• Joe Allegretti ’56• John Christianson• Rich Eidson• Dan Stockton• Bob Fries

Valley Closest to Pin• No. 3: Michael Tidik• No. 7: Tony Castelli• No. 11: Kevin Browne ’71

• No. 14: Joe Seward ’72

Valley Long Drive• No. 13: Jonathan Taylor

(Men)• No. 13: Jim Frear ’67

(Senior)• No. 13: Dawn Hollings-

worth (Women)

240’s Winners• Kevin Browne ’71• Larry Krutchik• Ron Renaud ’64• Eric Stromsborg • Ryan Stromsborg ’93

Putting Contest Winner• Jimmy Tagliere

Congratulations to the winners

f you ask Greg Dietel for a free bottle of wine, he’ll give you one.

As far as he’s concerned, it’s just an-other part of his retirement.

“I have 12 different varieties in the vineyard, and I like to give it away,” Dietel, a 1966 graduate of Notre Dame High School, said.

Right by his side in Paso Robles, Cali-fornia, is his wife of 31 years, Sharon.

“We have the vineyard, and we have

the farm,” Dietel said. “We also keep busy with travel.”

Travel was something Dietel became an expert at while he was an engineer.

His time spent around the country and world meeting new people cre-ated the opportunity for him to invent Softlets – gel-coated capsules fre-quently found in pharmaceuticals like DayQuil and NyQuil.

Dietel took the time to discuss his ac-complishments, education and family in a recent phone interview.

PAGE 15PAGE 14 Alumni News Alumni News

A BRIGHT IDEANotre Dame graduate Greg Dietel talks about his

patents on Softlet gel capsules

I

At left: Images taken from a Banner Pharmaceuticals publication illustrate a highlighted tour of the encapsulating process. The steps include gelatin preparation, compounding/blending, encapsulation, drying, inspection and packaging/warehousing.

Above: Greg Dietel ’66 (from left), Bill Hochstrasser ’66 and Tim Foutz ’66 are shown in this 1988 photo. They have been friends for 62 years.

Top page 15: Greg Dietel and his wife, Sharon, display wine at the Olive Festival in Paso Robles, California.

Q: What is your educational background?I graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1966. I got my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from California State Univer-sity, Northridge in 1972. I received my master’s degree in industrial engineering from Northridge in 1979.

Q: What are your other ties to Notre Dame?I have three brothers who all graduated from Notre Dame. Allan was the class of 1964, Gary was in the class of 1968 and Christopher was the class of 1975.

Q: What were your interests in high school?I played football and was a pole-vaulter. I also was at Notre Dame to get an educa-tion. I tended to do a lot bet-ter in the sciences, and those tests that they have you take all said I should try science. So, I decided to challenge my-self and go into engineering when I went off to college.

Q: What was your college experience like?To be honest, it was miserable at first. My friends were all away, and I was this geek of an engineer. But, I got lucky and ended up meeting some rugby players. From there, college became a great time with good people and friends.

Q: What was your first em-ployment opportunity? I worked for WED Enter-prises, helping them with design work for Walt Disney World in Florida. Eventually, I left that Disney job and got involved with films and hour-long features. I did grip work, acted and things in between.

Q: How did you become involved in pharmaceutical work? I participated in rugby until I blew out my knee. I was living by Northridge dur-ing that time, and the staff there helped me find a great engineering job with Banner Pharmacaps, Inc. I stayed there for almost 31 years.

Q: What brought about the Softlet? Around 1988, a doctor asked me to help put a gelatin skin around a core, if possible. So, I experimented a bit and placed a core inside of this ma-chine that put this coating of gelatin around it. From there, we developed a fueling mecha-nism and tweaked things until we had a soft, elastic gelatin capsule. We had an excellent crew who came together for the whole process.

Q: How many patents are under your name? I have five. Three of them are related to the Softlet. The first two were issued in the early 1990s, and they are for a method and an apparatus that help make the product. The third was around 2004, and it was for the Softlet product. The other two patents involve the manufacturing of NyQuil and non-animal gel.

Q: Did work take you any-where interesting? Well, I had to travel a lot to

build facilities and monitor plants. I went to Australia, India, Canada, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Ger-many. I had correspondence with The Netherlands, and then did work in New Jersey and North Carolina. During that time, I became the vice president of manufacturing and engineering. And now, I’m enjoying retirement.

Q: What did Notre Dame do for you?One of my favorite stories to tell is when I was taking the placement test at Northridge. I told the guy there that I had a B-average. He looked at me a little skeptical and asked where I went to high school. I told him Notre Dame, and he instantly said, “you’re in.” So, yes, Notre Dame gave me a great education. And, it also gave me lifelong friends through extracurricular activi-ties. Extracurricular activities are important, and the positive social aspect I got from them is something I have carried with me throughout my career.

“Extracurricularactivities are important, and the positive social aspect I got from them is something I have car-ried with me throughout my career.”

- Greg DietelClass of 1966

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PAGE 16 Alumni News PAGE 17Alumni News

In M

emor

iam

• Tamara Alcocer, mother of Carlos ’15• Mark E. Ashburn ’64• Rich Bertolucci, father of Juliet ’10• Denis K. Callaghan, father of Robert ’18• Ray Ceresino, father of Gordon ’75• Jane Cooper, mother of Ellen ’16 and Audrey ’19• Alfred A. Corradi ’78• Christopher D. Kelly ’16• Michael J. Kelly ’87• Leonard M. Garcia ’66• James M. Ghezzi ’61, father of Danielle ’97• Bradley H. Goodhart ’64• Richard J. Gravois ’65• James Lee ’65• M. M. Lerner ’59• Gilbert F. Lukosky ’54• Michael J. Murphy ’75

• Irene Najera, mother of Josue ’12 and Isaias ’14• Paul Napier, father of Mark ’77; grandfather of Bryce ’10• David Remington ’68• Michael R. Palmer ’65• Stanley V. Pirkl ’54• John Poyer, father of Doug ’70, Joe ’72, John ’73, Mike ’75,

Jim ’76, Matt ’80 and employee Paula Sheehan; grandfather of Christopher ’11 and Kaitlyn ’11 (Poyer), and Kevin ’00, Meghan ’02 and Kimberly ’04 (Sheehan)

• Joseph R. Shaffer, grandfather of Sheila J. ’07 and Victoria L. ’10 (Cadenas)

• Paul F. Salamunovich, father of Stephen ’76• Robert A. Sprigel ’53• Sarah T. Stegman-Wise ’08, sister of Kate ’04• Ralph J. Terry ’65• Shari Washington, mother of Miles ’18• Flor Zeballos, mother of Hector ’84

Eric Babajanian’s short animation video re-ceived first prize for the Holy Cross Brothers’ creative competition “Project Hope.” The theme was “The Year of Consecrated Life: Wake Up the World!” There were about 600 submissions total.

’15

Hunter Greene made the USA 18U baseball team, which played in the WBSC 18U World Cup in Japan from Aug. 28-Sept. 6.

’17

Darcy (Anderson) Gassel has become part-ner in IBM’s Ecosystem Development. ’90

Chris Turkmany has returned to the Ad-vancement Office at Notre Dame as the associate director of advancement/director of alumni. His responsibilities will include alumni relations, fundraising and events. He previously served as director of alumni and annual giving from 1999-2003 and has a son, Chance ’19, who is a freshman.

’83

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first “Back to the Future” movie. Academy Award-winning editor Arthur Schmidt ’55 edited all three “BTTF” films. Claudia Wells, parent of Sebastian Wells ’13, played Jennifer Parker (girlfriend to Michael J. Fox) in the first movie. Thomas F. Wilson, parent of Tommy Wilson ’14, played Biff in “BTTF,” then Griff in “BTTF Part II” and Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen in “BTTF Part III.”

’55

Michael Drachkovitch graduated from USC in 2009 with a BA in International Relations & Affairs. He is finishing a Masters of Busi-ness Administration at MIT – Sloan School of Management. He worked for Bono’s ONE project from 2009-14 and opened Ovrture, a new virtual reality content studio.

’05

Thomas Drachkovitch worked as a produc-tion assistant for FoxSports and Lifetime Movie networks. He is now an agent trainee at United Talent Agency.

’09

Christopher Drachkovitch received his BA in advertising from the University of Oregon. He is now a junior strategist with Deutsch.

’11

Marly Kluge was included in Fashion Week El Paseo 2015. The event showcased the recent graduates of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and the future stars of tomorrow’s fashion industry.

’12

’06 Jasmin Scott-Hawkins was one of 13 medi-cal students to receive the 12th annual Oliver Goldsmith, M.D. Scholarship for the Promo-tion and Advancement of Culturally Respon-sive Care. Scott-Hawkins is in her final year at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio.

’91 Mary Strong-Sullivan gave birth to her first baby girl, Finn Sullivan.

’72 Rev. Msgr. Joseph Brennan was appointed as an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

’81 Stuart Rosebrook wrote “At Work in Ari-zona,” which is a photographic chronicle of Arizona’s first 100 years of business.

’13 Khalfani Muhammad participates in football and track for the California Golden Bears. In 2015, Muhammad recorded a double at the Cal-Michigan-Virginia Tri-Meet, winning both the 100-meters and 200-meters.

’12 University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish walk-on running back Josh Anderson earned scholarship status. In a video that was fea-tured on ESPN, Anderson was modeling an alternate uniform for the Irish when Head Coach Brian Kelly surprised him with the scholarship.

Class

Top left: Rev. Msgr. Joseph Brennan ’72. Above: Josh Anderson ’12 and University of Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly.

Top right: Hunter Greene ’17. Above: Jasmin Scott-Hawkins ’06 (back row, second from right) and other Oliver Goldsmith, M.D. scholars.

’07 Casey Linsey ’07 and Travis Wells celebrated their wedding ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., in front of their families and friends on April 18, 2015. The reception was held at the Crowne Plaza in Arlington, Virginia. Sheel Jagani ’07 was a member of the wed-ding party. Lindsey Fonacier ’05 was also in attendance for the joyous occasion.

Notes

PAGE 19CalendarPAGE 18 Calendar

FEB7

MAR19

JAN28

APR16

MAY14

MAY9

MAY27

MAY28

JUN4

Student Walk-a-thonThursday, Jan. 28, 2016

Notre Dame High School

Holy Cross Mass/Bandcake BreakfastSunday, Feb. 7, 2016

Notre Dame High School

Hall of Fame DinnerSaturday, Mar. 19, 2016

Notre Dame High School

HCMG Luncheon & Fashion ShowSaturday, Apr. 16, 2016

Notre Dame High School

1950’s Reunion/Hall of Fame EventSaturday, May 14, 2016

Site TBD

Annual Alumni Golf TournamentMonday, May 9, 2016

Robinson Ranch

Baccalaureate MassFriday, May 27, 2016

Notre Dame High School

GraduationSaturday, May 28, 2016

Notre Dame High School

Alumni Band GatheringSaturday, June 4, 2016

Notre Dame High School

8th Grade Open HouseSunday, Nov. 15, 2015Notre Dame High School

OCT

OCT

2-3

10

OCT12-16

OCT14

OCT

NOV

16-17

15

DEC14-17

Class of 1965 Reunion WeekendFriday-Saturday, Oct. 2-3, 2015Notre Dame High School

Country Knights Auction & GalaSaturday, Oct. 10, 2015Notre Dame High School

Spirit WeekMonday-Friday, Oct. 12-16, 2015Notre Dame High School

Senior College WorkshopWednesday, Oct. 14, 2015Notre Dame High School

Class of 2005 Reunion WeekendFriday-Saturday, Oct. 16-17, 2015Notre Dame High School

DEC5

DEC7

Winter WonderlandSaturday, Dec. 5, 2015Notre Dame High School

Fall Sports AwardsMonday, Dec. 7, 2015Notre Dame High School

First Semester FinalsMonday-Thursday, Dec. 14-17, 2015Notre Dame High School

Notre Dame High School cordially invites you to

Mosey on over and join the shindig!

Auction & GalaSaturday, October 10, 2015Six o’clock in the evening

Notre Dame High School Campus13645 Riverside Drive Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

Kindly RSVP on or before September 25, 2015Country Attire Encouraged

Notre Dame Campus and Westfield Parking Available

Don’t MissHomecoming!

NDHS vs. Chaminade

Friday, October 16

7:00 p.m. Kick-off

Alumni social after the game.

All alumni and their families

are invited.

2015-2016-

PAGE 20Light the Way

On Saturday, May 30, NDHS celebrated the graduation of the class of 2015. On Monday, June 1, construction commenced on a new gym lobby and fitness center.

The $2.7 million project will add nearly 9,000 square feet to the existing gym. It is expected to be completed before Christ-mas for occupancy at the beginning of the second semester in January.

The gym projects were made possible by a $1 million grant from the Fritz B. Burns Foundation. Thus, the new name of the gym will be the Fritz B. Burns Gymna-sium.

Similarly, the new fitness center will benamed the Donahue Family Fitness Centerin recognition of the support of the Do-nahue family in memory of their parents,Dr. D.W. “Doc” and Betty, who had five boys graduate from Notre Dame (Dan ’59 (Dec.), Terry ’62, Timothy ’66, Michael ’68 and Pat ’73).

The new fitness center will include a weight room with nine newly equipped

weight stations, an outdoor training court-yard and athletic coaches offices with a conference room.

The new lobby will serve multi-purpose functions, including a ticket-taking area, concessions/clothing sales and trophy cases (with a Hall of Fame recognition area). The lobby can also be used for cheerleading and dance class practice space, and as a special event room. It will have hardwood flooring, high ceilings and a specially designed stained glass ND logo

will be mounted above the entry.

Completion of the gym projects will mark the end of the Light the Way Campaign. Light the Way began in 2010 as a five-year, $7.5 million effort to improve facilities, technology and the scholarship endow-ment, and has grown to a $13 million effort.

The campaign has generated support for the addition of air conditioning in the gym, a new gym floor and doors, a com-plete renovation of the library and Alle-gretti Building (with classroom additions), a new swimming pool, new Riverside Annex parking lot, new maintenance build-ing, new baseball stadium, installation of campus-wide wi-fi and network enhance-ments, and the establishment of 16 new endowed scholarship funds. Fundraising has surpassed the $12 million mark to date.

Several naming opportunities are available through the end of December for anyone interested in supporting the campaign.

Thank you to all who have supported this historic campaign.

Light the Way Campaign Continues

Top photo: The outside of the Fritz B. Burns Gymnasium continues to develop. Above: Construction progress on the Donahue Fam-ily Fitness Center is shown.

v

annualreport2014-2015

mission stAtEmEnt

Notre Dame High School, a Catholic college preparatory school in the Holy Cross tradition, educates the hearts and minds of students who are diverse in talent, ethnicity and society. As a faith community, Notre Dame strives to provide each student with a rich academic background, an appropriate sense of self, an opportunity for growth, a commitment to family, community, nation and world, and a respect for spiritual dig-nity of all persons.