USD Magazine, Spring 2004

Mary Lehman consults with her trainer, Paul Vaden, and spars with a partner at The Boxing Club, owned by her classmate, Bradley Weinreb '91 O.D.).

Hope in Africa If hope is built one person ar a rime, rhe sisters of rhe Society of the Sacred Heart have a big head start. Thanks in large part to Sister Irene Cullen '61 , rhe society lase year opened a girls primary school in Uganda with a class of 88 students. Cullen , who is in charge of fund– raising for the Sacred Heart Primary School and other projects in Uganda and Kenya, says the society plans eventually to expand the school to include a building with meeting and din ing rooms, and to build a dormi– llJ I I

Here Comes the Bridesmaid USD grads wi ll have no problem figuring our where Whitney Lyles '99 found inspiration for rhe setting of the first chapter of her new book, Always the Bridesmaid. As rhe novel opens, a harried bridesmaid acts as bouncer, escorting the bride's intoxi– cated ex-boyfriend our of Founders Chapel and stashing him in a men's room in Camino Hall. The setting was a natural for Lyles' first published book, a roman– tic comedy about the misadventures of a four-rime bridesmaid. Like the main character, Lyles spent many hours of contemplation in the chapel during her student years. In fact, much of the plot, albeit some– what exaggerated, comes from Lyles' experiences as a bridesmaid. "They say ro write about what you know, and I ch ink I really hit my stride with chis story," says the 27-year-old, who signed a rwo-book deal and is working on her second book, a romantic comedy set in San Diego. "I wasn't necessarily crying ro make the srory funny, bur I've been a bridesmaid four times, so I had plenty of srories ro draw upon." Always the Bridesmaid received solid reviews in Publisher's Weekly and Cosmopolitan, and a film agent

heavy bag, maneuvering reactionary drills and perfecting four-, five– and six-punch combinations. Lehman also trained by running, cycling, swimming and practicing yoga. "There were times I had ro slow her down," Vaden says. "I knew right from the start that her boxing career wouldn't end with one amateur fight." That fight, in 2000, was a three-round match in a San Diego tournament. Lehman's opponent was a younger, heavier and more experienced woman. Warming up for rhe fight, Lehman was so nervo us she couldn't concentrate on her drills. Walking to rhe ring, she says, her legs were like lead. "But when the bell sounded, the crowd seemed to fade away and I knew exactly what I was supposed to do," Lehman says. She won the fight. And Vaden was right. That was just the begin– ning. Lehman - who remembers initially feeling sorry about hitting "I got into the sport strictly for fitness. Then I thought it would be fun to spar. Then I thought it would be fun to be in one amateur fight. Once I started, I just kept going. " her sparring partners - now makes no apologies. She's won all of her five professional marches and, after one rough bout, showed up in Washington, D.C., ro accept a national award for legal writing with two black eyes and a broken nose. In the courtroom, Lehman is no less tenacious. A top litigator who has won nearly 100 cases in her career, Lehman last year decided to scale back on boxing and open her own law firm. Right now, there are no fights on her calendar, bur Vaden says he often gets calls from people lining up to fight her. He's confident she'll be back in the ring this summer. "I learned to appreci–

tory for up to 400 resident students. The school, located in a rural farm– ing area, is the first to be owned, operated and financed by the society in Uganda, where only about half the women can read and write. "The United Nations describes clearly the economic, social, moral and political benefits for nations char educate their women," says Cullen, who for 17 years worked in USD's University Min istry pro– grams. "Health practices improve, successful economic enterprises increase, food production stabi lizes and expands, governmental agencies become more humane, and the social fabric of the national and local community is strengthened." CuLlen, currencly based in San Diego, is one of several al umnae who are active in Uganda. Sisters Noellina Namusisi Birungi '95 and Florence Tumukunde '94 (M.Ed. '95) are heads of girls secondary schools there, whi le Sister Ursula Bugembe '88 prepares new Sacred Heart sis– ters for work in Africa. For information, e-mail Sister Irene Cuffen at icuffen@rscj.org.

ate the grace of boxing and I love ir," Lehman says. "Ir's become part of me and has made me better in so many ways. I'm a better lawyer because it taught me to embrace rhe verbal spar– ring, and I'm a better mother because ir taught me infinite patience. Boxing has made me a better person."

Whitney Lyles '99 is shopping the story around

Hollywood. In the meantime, life continues ro imi tate arr - Lyles is slated for bridesmaid duty rwice this summer - but in 2005 she'll walk down the aisle in her own wedding. For information, fog on to www.whitneyfyfes.com.

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SPRI N G 2004