USD Magazine Summer 2006

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now in the second year of a two-year vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Southern California. CASSIE (PAULSON) JACOBSON (B.A.) and her husband had a beauti- ful baby girl in November 2003 and a wonderful son in August 2005. She is enjoying being a momwhile continu- ing her career in clinical research at 3M. MITCHELL WILLET (B.B.A.) has two kids, Chase, 3, and Delaney, 5, and is working hard. [ 1 9 9 3 ] RAQUEL HICKS CRAVEN (B.A.) is very happily married and recently joined Hawaii Pacific Health as direc- tor of organizational effectiveness. GABRIELLE (BRANT) FREEMAN (B.A.) and husband David wel- comed Aurora Gabrielle on July 31, 2005. “She is our first child and is doing well,” Gabrielle says. Gabrielle is still teaching English and humanities at Edgecombe Community College in Tarboro, N.C. 2ND LT. JAY JANAVICE (B.B.A.) is serving at Fort Dix, N.J., in the U.S. Army National Guard as a platoon leader with the 505th Engineer Battalion. The 505th was to deploy to Iraq in October 2005 for a one-year tour of duty. SARAH KELLOGG PLOCHER (B.A.) and husband Barry had a daughter, Caroline, on Aug. 25, 2005. She joins older brother Tyler, 3. They are living in Portland Ore., where Sarah is a stay-at-home mom and Barry is a product developer for Nike. She would love to hear from any alumni in the area. CARRIE (LAURITSEN) KRAMBECK (B.A.) and husband Scott had their first baby, Lucas Ryan, on March 30, 2005. They live in Denver and have their own com- pany, KRAMCO, which is contracted with furniture manufacturers for wholesale sales. RANDELL LEACH (B.B.A.) and wife Cary (Casey) Leach (B.A. ‘93) had an exciting 2005. They welcomed their son, Milo James, on May 30, 2005. He surprised them by arriving seven weeks early and spent four weeks in the intensive care unit. “He’s healthy, happy and growing fast,” Randell says. Cary is enjoying staying home with

AUTHENTIC TALENT Ma k i n g o r i g i n a l mu s i c i s K e l l y D a v i s ’ p a s s i o n

by Kelly Knufken

W

ith three original folk CDs already under her belt,

Kelly Davis ‘99 wanted to get out of her comfort zone for her next project. While her earlier CDs were just Kelly and the guitar featuring original music, her latest venture is a marked departure. After all, what could be farther from folk than techno? She describes her new sound as “Club Kelly,”with fewer per- sonal lyrics than she’s written for past efforts. In fact, this time out, her collaborator gave her strict instructions: “He said, ‘You can’t write about God and society, or racism or politics,’” she recalls. “It was the most challenging proj- ect to write, because I couldn’t write about my typical things. These lyrics are about love and heartache. It’s dance music.” A business major at USD, after graduation Davis began working as a buyer. But her outsized personality has always gravitated toward more creative projects. It didn’t take long for her to decide she needed to find a way she could work with children and stretch her artis- tic wings. She found that outlet by becoming a junior high school teacher. “I don’t think anyone I went to school with at USD would be surprised that I’m an English and drama teacher,” says Davis, whose teen years were spent singing and acting

FRED GREAVES

Teacher and musician Kelly Davis revels in connecting to people through her music. In recent months, she’s been in search of a record label, so she can share her vision.

The techno CD — which isn’t yet finished but may be made commercially available when it is — is certainly a departure from theater and her other songs, which explore themes such as how she feels about racism or what it means to her to pray. Davis is philo- sophical about the ways her musical endeavors have evolved thus far. “Now I’m trying to communi- cate something about myself,” she says. “Being Dorothy is about entertaining people. Being Kelly is about enlightenment and honesty and reality.”

in musical theater all over San Diego and Europe. Davis says that she started writing her own music while an undergraduate and that she once performed at the on- campus Aromas coffeehouse. Since graduating, she's played her music at various venues around San Diego. She’s found those to be the sort of gigs she enjoys the most. “I had played Dorothy numerous times in the ‘Wizard of Oz,’ I was Sandy in a produc- tion of ‘Grease’” she says. “I didn’t want to be a pretend person anymore.”

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