U Magazine, Summer 1989

A L u M N

y

G A L L

R

E

• .. ... ~-------------~-------------~----------------------------~ ...

Corporation. He supervises six stores in Tucson, Ariz.. . Tracey Willfong has opened an antique shop in Los Angeles. She invites friends to come by and say hello at 8407 Melrose Ave. Before opening the store, T.·acey com– pleted two years in the Peace Corps in Zaire, Africa, and traveled for two years in eastern Europe, Turkey and China. of the San Diego chapter of the Alumnae of the Sacred Heart. Veronica, an attorney, recently returned to San Diego after living and working near Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of the UCLA Law School...Maureen (Gavron) Partynski recently was promoted to president of Hemlock Federal Bank in Chicago, Ill. She received her MBA degree from St. Xavier College, graduating with a perfect 4.0 grade point average...Ed McPherson recently joined the entertainment law firm of Lavely & Singer in Century City, Calif. He formerly was with the enter– tainment firm of Cooper, .. Epstein and Hurewitz in .. .. ... .. .. .. Beverly Hills... Margaret (Dostal) Dutcher and her husband,Paul,announcethe birth of their first child, Ryan Gregory, born in April...Capt. John Simmons is a F-111 weapon systems officer in the United States Air Force. He and his wife, Kelly, are expecting their first child in December. John currently is completing a three– year tour at RAF Upper Heyford, England. He will rotate to Mountain Home AFB , Idaho , in the fall ... Michael Bush married Yvonne Ortiz in December. Robert Noriega was best man. Todd Cote, Steve Vasquez '81 and Ed Reilly '85 were grooms– men. There were several USD alums in attendance. Michael is a deputy district attorney in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif. He currently is assigned to prosecute narcotic cases. Yvonne has a master's degree in counsel– ing and is a school counselor. Rita Ann (Salas) Radecki and Joe Radecki were married in Founders Chapel in September 1985. Rita is a financial consultant and runs her .. .. Veronica (Pratt) Longstreth is treasurer

own word processing/art graphics company. Joe is a Georgetown University graduate and works for the investment banking firm of Drexel, Burnham, Lambert in Beverly Hills. The couple reside in Redondo Beach. Eubanks in Washington, D.C., on April 22. Colleen has lived in D.C. for the past three and a half years and is the training coordinator for the First Advantage management training program for First American Bankshares, an East Coast bank holding company. Colleen and her husband live in Arlington, Va ...Karen Weiss is assistant designer at American Film Technologies, Inc., where she handles the color imaging of black and white movies for various movie companies...Roger Haerr graduated magna cum laude from USD Law School in 1988, passed the California bar exam later the same year and now practices general law with Luce, • Forward, Hamilton & • • • • "".,. Scripps in San Diego. ... ... ... ... .,. STEPHAN '-\ ";._ DESALFS '67 ~,,, Background: Criminal defense attorney, Stephan A. DeSales law corpora– tion, Fullerton. Married, three children . Interests: Travel, kids' activities (sports, theater), golf Goals: "To attempt to reach more alumni, especially Orange County alumni, and get them more involved in Alumni Associa– tion activities. " Cyndi (Bartel) Villalobos and Dr. Joe J. Villalobas '83 were married in December 1988. Cyndi teaches high school math while Joe practices dentistry in Downey, Calif. ..Grant Bauer married Karroll Candelaria, who also attended USD, in April. They are planning a trip around the world.. Jimmy Anklesaria and Jennifer Lynn Hart '88 were married March 18 in Ann Arbor, Mich. They live in San Diego, where Jimmy is an instructor in 1 1 1 1 Colleen Delaney married W. Ralph BOARD SPOTLIGHT

This AVID Teacher Motivates Kids to Excel

By John Sutherland

Martina (Graham '68, '73) Caso believes teaching is an art. And that's the very attitude this 20-year veteran of the teaching profession conveys in her classes at Mira Mesa High School. "You really have to work hard to convince kids there is value in what you're teaching," she explains. "You have to make the subject interesting, yet you can't be a know-it-all. You have to be sensitive to outside influences on kids, and you can't ask them to do anything you wouldn't do yourself." The Scripps Ranch resident says teachers have a "tremendous power to influence people. We need to show our students how to be good, moral people. We have to help them see the social value in that kind of behavior." Graham-Caso must be doing something right. She recently was one of two Mira Mesa teachers honored for teaching excellence with an EXCEL award from the Corporation for Excellence in Public Education. That comes on the heels of being named a Mentor Teacher by the state, a designation that rewards excellent teachers with an annual bonus of $4,000 for three years. The current object of much of Graham-Caso's attention is the high school's Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. The program, which the cheerful teacher brought to at Mira Mesa two years ago, targets high school stu– dents from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented at four– year colleges and universities in California and provides them with special courses and tu- toring in order to increase their chances of gaining college admission. Students enrolled in the program - 42 this past school year - take advanced classes and receive tutorial help. They also must agree to study two hours per night, Sunday through Thursday, as part of the overall

..

effort to teach them college study habits.

The mother of three says it is her involvement with

new programs like AVID that

keeps her enthusi– asm level high for teaching. "It helps to keep a sense of humor, too," she quickly adds. "I believe it is a serious business,

but there's no need to have a stroke over it." Martina (Graham '68, '73) Caso

20 U Magazine