Santa Clara University

Garrett S. Yee '87 was recently promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Army Reserve. Garrett, who just returned from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan, lives in Fremont with his wife, Maria and their three children.

Michael Williams ’87 and his wife Heidi Huhn adopted their eight year-old son Justin on November 16. They live in Alameda, Calif. and have two children from Michael's first marriage, Eli (21) and Hannah (18).

Freshman Dorm: Swig

Anne Weldon ’87 received her teaching credential from UC Berkeley in 1988 in K-8 education with endorsements in English, French. She taught Language Arts/Social Studies at Sequoia Middle School in Pleasant Hill, Calif. for two years before moving to the Northwest. She substitute taught in Seattle and Gig Harbor and worked as a tour guide in Alaska before joining World Teach where she taught English at the University of Loja in Ecuador for one year and stayed an extra year living in Vilcambamba, Ecuador in the Southern Highlands of the Andes. She returned to Gig Harbor where she taught Spanish at Peninsula High School for 4 years before moving to Olympia, Wash.—the land of water, mountains, rainforests, volcanos, where she now resides with her two children, Allie-18 and Casey-13. This will be her 12th year teaching Spanish at Nova Middle School, a private school for gifted and talented students.

Kathleen (Mitchell) Simpson ’87, M.A. ’90 married Robert Simpson on October 2, 2010, at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Pleasanton, CA. Kathy and Bob were second-grade friends and classmates in Pleasanton. They currently reside in Brentwood, Calif. SCU alums in attendance were bridesmaid Christine Fierro ’88, Wes Bliven ’88, Brendan Lewis ’88, Michelle Matsumoto ’88, Diane Zilliotto ’88, John Scardamaglia J.D. ’09, and Jim Mitchell ’83.

Shannon Potts ’87, the coordinator of assessment in the Santa Clara Unified School District for the last seven years, is La Entrada Middle School's new principal. Her earlier work in the Santa Clara district office included a stint as the instructional, materials, library and technology specialist at the middle school and high school levels, according to a press release issued by the district. Ms. Potts, who has also taught first and sixth grades, has technology and bilingual credentials, according to the district. She served as a summer principal at both the middle school and high school levels for several years, working closely with the Stanford Teacher Education Program, or STEP, the district said. She received her bachelor's degrees in history and Spanish from Santa Clara University and her master of arts degree in educational leadership from San Jose State University.

After departing from the Rose Garden, I headed straight to Belize, Central America, for a year-long stint as a PE coach to 750 primary schoolkids. Had no idea what I was getting into, but it was a hoot. Upon re-entry, driving back to the Bay Area for an indoor job, I stopped by a friend's house in LA and never quite made it any farther north. Through a course of unpredictable events, I eventually acquired my wonderful wife (Paula), two fantastic boys (Andy, Kevin), a hefty mortgage, and a dog (which I tried to get rid of). Along the way, I kept moving south and currently live in the Los Alamitos/Seal Beach area. Someday I might find myself in Central America again--who knows?Education, with the exception of UCLA grad school, has been all Jesuit training since kindergarten--I kid you not. So I've been conditioned to always ask why. Why am I here? Why not? How did I get here?, somewhat like that Talking Heads song, "Once in a Lifetime." This is probably more than you need to know. Perhaps I'll find answers at the 25th Reunion. Perhaps not. Either way, I'm excited about attending with Paula. For work, I'm currently with a company, DealerTrack, none of you have heard of unless you're in the automotive industry. I've been on the client side, the agency side, and the marketing partner side. When asked which I liked best, I tell people they all have their up sides. My interests: At this moment, I'm interested in figuring out how not to forget to wind up the cuckoo clock. Due to the fact that kite boarding was no longer conducive to my lower back, I've become an avid stand-up paddleboarder (what's SUP?), and one can frequently find me on the water at 7:00 am. The key to all of this is trying to keep a balance in life. If you know how, please share (cmcycle@gmail.com).  Music-wise: Still living in the '80s. For favorite movies there are four: Field of Dreams; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly; How to Train Your Dragon; and Dumb and Dumber because I can't believe something so stupid could be so entertaining.

Michael Krupa ’87 joined Mercer as the technology strategist for its global talent business. In this role, based in Portland, Ore., he will be responsible for further enhancing the vision and strategy for client-facing technology solutions that support product and consulting offerings across Mercer's Talent business. He will also advise senior leadership on all aspects of technology-driven market changes that can meet the needs of clients and support business growth.

He has more than 20 years of experience in all facets of HR and IT applications and is a well-known speaker and blogger regarding HR technology. He joins Mercer from Knowledge Infusion, where he was director of technology, responsible for designing the technical architecture and planning service offering for the firm's deployment practice as well as consulting in this area for numerous clients.

Prior to Knowledge Infusion, he held a number of technology-related senior management positions of increasing responsibility at such leading organizations as Charles Schwab, InfoBox, Inc. (where he was the founder and CEO) and Kaiser Permanente.

Freshman Dorm: McLaughlin

Steven "Blue" Jay ’87 has been living in Chicago since 2010 where he works as a Consultant/Project Manager for Infor Global Solutions. Married to Laura, whom he met at fellow alum Jay Holmes' ’87 wedding, Steven and Laura have three children, Sarah(9), Margaret(8) and Griffin (5). Steven still cant believe the hockey team he followed since his youth, the LA Kings, are Stanley Cup Champions!

Kelley Handshaw (Sessions) ’87 received her MBA from Averett University in December 2011 and was inducted in the Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society. She lives with her husband, Harry, and daughter Emily in Richmond, Va.

Dan Ferguson ’87 was named president and CEO of AdvanTel Networks, a leading communications integrator. Prior, Ferguson was chief financial officer and vice president of sales for AdvanTel Networks.

Ferguson brings over 25 years of sales, finance and overall industry experience to his new role at AdvanTel Networks. He joined AdvanTel Networks as their first bookkeeper during an internship in 1986. He has remained at AdvanTel Networks since graduating in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce, Finance from Santa Clara University.

Eric Barrett ’87 will be celebrating his 25th year anniversary as President of Barrett Insurance Services in San Mateo, Calif. He volunteer coaches at Sequoia High School in Redwood City on the JV boys basketball team. 

Freshman Dorm: Swig

Scot Asher ’87 and Sheila (Ward) Asher ’86 have lived in Scottsdale, Ariz., since 1997 with their two daughters. Scot is the director of Global Alliances for First Advantage Corp., where he has worked since 2000. The Ashers are looking forward to being back on campus this fall, when their daughter Maggie '16 will be joining the Bronco family.

Hap Albers '87 writes: "We live in the Salinas City foothills. My wife, Kathryn, and I have been together for 14 years and have two awesome little kids, Rhiannon 9.5, and Brenndon, 8. My work consists of real estate brokerage—mostly apartment buildings in the Central Coast area and residential real estate. My wife and I own our own growing firm, Albers Real Estate. She is the brains, and I talk a lot. Call if you are in the Monterey or Salinas areas."