Santa Clara Magazine

Emily (Moody) Wilcox '03, MBA'09 and husband Lee had their first child, Abigail Wilcox, on August 18, 2011. Abby was born 9 pounds, 8 ounces and is a Bronco through and through. The family lives in San Jose.

Freshman Dorm: Swig

Emily (Moody) Wilcox ’03, MBA ’09 and husband Lee celebrated the birth of their first child, Abigail, on Aug. 18, 2011. The family lives in San Jose, Calif., where Emily works as the alumni and external relations director for the Leavey School of Business at SCU.

Matt Wendt J.D. ’09, real estate attorney, is running for a seat on the Morgan Hill City Council in this year's election. He wants "to serve the community and build a better and safer city."

Andrew Vu '09 was named the Community Champion Winner at the 2012 Best Bay Area Corporate Counsel Awards. He was one of 27 lawyers, from some of the world's most recognized companies, honored by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal and the San Francisco Business Times.

Vu is assistant general counsel for SAP AG in Palo Alto, where he guides engineers through legal thickets as they develop and launch innovative new products.

Although his corporate work is speeding the product cycle and bolstering SAP’s position in on-demand, cloud and mobile software, he is known throughout the Bay Area as an important advocate in Asian American and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. He cofounded the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California, one of the largest minority bar associations in the country.

As an award recipient, he was profiled in the San Francisco Business Times article “Refugee past helped shape minority community advocate."

John Van Metre MBA ’09 is running in the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon, a 26.2-mile race that is held on a point-to-point course from Calistoga to Napa, in March. He has not run a marathon since 2009 and has only done three in his lifetime. He has a personal record time of 2 hours, 59 minutes at the Boston Marathon. His best finish was 380th in a field of 6,000 runners at the California International Marathon in Sacramento in 2008. 

Annie Selak '05, M.Div. '09 is serving as a Rector at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN. Annie graduated with her Master of Divinity degree in 2009 from the Jesuit School and Theology and worked for a year in Los Angeles as Director of Campus Ministry at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy.

Jason Tola '04 and Lindsey Scott-Florez '04, JD '09 were married October 2, 2010 in a small ceremony in Palo Alto. Several fellow Broncos were on hand to celebrate with the happy couple including maid of honor Missy Scott-Lorentz '06, Danielle Fontaine '04, Nariman Shariat '04, Michael LaPeter '04, Hendrick Pohl '04, Lindsay Westby '04, and Laurie (Millar) Altchul '04, Naomi Pease JD '08, and Jason Stimac JD '09. The couple lives in San Francisco.

John Reyes '09, a second-year Master of Divinity student at Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara, has been recognized by The Fund for Theological Education (FTE) as a young leader who demonstrates exceptional gifts for ministry. As a recipient of the 2011 FTE Ministry Fellowship, Reyes will receive $10,000 for educational expenses and a self-designated project to enrich his formation as a ministerial leader.

Michael Pittman ’04, J.D. ’08 and Alexandra Perazzelli ’05, M.A. ’09 were married on July 9, 2011, at St. Monica’s Catholic Church in Santa Monica, Calif. Members of the wedding party included fellow Broncos Josh Griffin ’03, Ryan Auffenberg ’03, Justin Little ’06, Christopher Garber ’04, Bruce Martinez ’04, Greg Flanagan ’03, John Hinman ’06, Jessica Frank ’05, Katy Shumm Tuttle ’05, Kristin Belanger ’05, Tara Bussiere Salcido ’04, and Katie Carlson ’03. The happy couple lives in Long Beach, Calif.

Grace Nixon '09 joyously married Bobby Peterson, whom she met while studying abroad, in Rapid City, South Dakota on June 23, 2012. The wedding party included Rochelle Rock '07 and Annie Rovzar '09. Other Broncos in attendance were Christopher Foster '08 and Renee Lucas-Foster '08, Sam Baker '08, Krystal Wu '09, and Karen (Mulcahy) Ingalls '89. The couple lives in New Orleans.

Garren Michael Pedemonte J.D. '09 and Jessica Rose Baracker on Sept. 17, 2011, at Bybee's Historic Inn in Jacksonville.

The groom is the son of Michael and Gayle Pedemonte of Gaston, Ore. He is a 2001 graduate of Gaston High School. He earned his bachelor's degree in 2006 from the University of Oregon, and his law degree from Santa Clara University Law School in Santa Clara, Calif. He works as an attorney for Southern Oregon Public Defenders Inc. in Medford.

The bride is the daughter of Ron and Ann Baracker of Eagle Point. She is a 2002 graduate of Eagle Point High School. She earned her bachelor's degree in 2006 from the University of Oregon and her law degree in 2011 from the University of Oregon School of Law. She works as an attorney for Jamie L. Hazlett, LLC, in Medford.

Landon Berger of the Universal Life Church, a friend of the couple, officiated the ceremony.

Maid of honor was the bride's friend, Jessica Brandes, of Portland. Bridesmaids were the bride's friends, Kristina Edmunson of Washington, D.C., and Kristen Lynam of Portland, and friend to both the bride and groom, Erin Hisano of Honolulu, Hawaii. Junior bridesmaid was the bride's niece, Krystal Baracker of Shady Cove.

Best man was the groom's brother, Scott Pedemonte of San Francisco. Groomsmen were the groom's friends, Glenn Kaute and Scott Broussard, both of Portland, and the groom's cousin, Steven Olson of Beaverton.

Ring bearers were the bride's nephews, Isaac and Otto Baracker of Berkeley, Calif.

A reception hosted by the bride and groom's parents followed the ceremony.

After a honeymoon in the Northern California wine country, the newlyweds are living in Medford.

Alexandra Pavlidakis J.D. ’09 and Brandon Douglass ’05, J.D. ’10 were married on Oct. 6 at Annunciation Cathedral in San Francisco. The reception was held at the Mark Hopkins InterContinental Hotel in San Francisco and the couple honeymooned in Tahiti.

Babajide Ogunbiyi ’09 joined the soccer club Viborg FF of Denmark this past spring. During his college career, the 6’4” defender appeared in 77 games scoring 11 goals and recording eight assists. He helped Santa Clara to consecutive West Coast Conference titles and three NCAA tournament appearances. Once graduated, Ogunbiyi passed on an invitation to play in the MLS for the New York Red Bulls to play in Europe. Since joining Viborg in March 2010, his performance has been the talk of the division, with a commanding presence in the back and his attacking foray resulting in two goals in nine appearances.

 

Jean-Pierre Luzolo Ndol, S.J., STL ’09 is the director of Parlons SIDA/Kisangani (PSK) in Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sunday Vicar to Christ the King parish in Mongobo. PSK is a work of mercy and hope that brings assistance to the sick, especially those infected and affected by the AIDS epidemic. May 2012 will mark PSK’s tenth year of service and assistance in the battle against HIV/AIDS.  For more information, please visit the website:  www.parlons-sida.org.

Cherie Motobu '09 received her Master of Science in School Psychology from San Francisco State University. She will be interning at the San Mateo Foster City school district this fall.

Cherie Motobu ’09 earned her Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) credentials from the state of California in May 2012, which certified her as a school psychologist. She accepted a full-time position on the school psychology staff of the San Mateo-Foster City (Calif.) school district for the 2012–13 school year.

Fran Mastroianni M.A. '09, a fourth-grade teacher at Blossom Hill Elementary School in Los Gatos, was selected as the 2011 Teacher of the Year for the Los Gatos Union School District for her dedication to students, classroom skill, and commitment to lifelong learning. Born and raised in New Jersey, Mastroianni moved to California in 1987. She has a degree in special education from Trenton State College, a California teaching credential from San Jose State University and a master's degree in education administration from Santa Clara University. She has also been a special education teacher and a substitute teacher. She's taught at Blossom Hill since 2001. Mastroianni said she has special experiences every day while working with her “fabulous fourth-grade teammates” and with an “amazing and inspirational principal” at Blossom Hill. She said that she knew she was making a difference when one of her former students went back to Blossom Hill to thank her for teaching him to stay organized and for challenging him with high expectations. “Being a part of the Los Gatos Elementary School District community is an honor," said Mastroianni. Joe Bloin, a fellow fourth-grade teacher who wrote the nomination letter for Mastroianni, said, “Fran shows all the traits that make us proud to be teachers. She is collegial, caring, professional, involved in the community, creative and passionate about student success.” Bolin said that “Fran has a real empathy for those students who are most difficult to teach. Her involvement on a personal level makes a real difference in the lives of these children.” Bolin added that in addition to being a wonderful teacher, Mastroianni is president of the Los Gatos Elementary Teachers Association and has put in countless hours this year working to ensure that teachers in Los Gatos get a voice in decisions made by the administration. She attends monthly school board meetings and meets frequently with administrators, he said.

Jasmin Llamas ’06, M.A. ’09, a graduate student in the University of California–Santa Barbara Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology, has received two grants to help fund her research: a Chicano Studies Institute (CSI) Grant and a Graduate Research Award for Social Science Surveys. This is Llamas’s second CSI grant.

Claire Linney '09 is working as the head coach for the Salinas High School water polo team.

TJ  Leising '09, 2008 honors graduate in mechanical engineering, competed in the Summer World University Games in TaeKwonDo in Belgrade in July.

Alison B Kwan J.D. '09 joined Bradshaw and Associates law firm in July 2010. While attending Santa Clara Law School, Kwan was a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Socrates P. Manoukian of the Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County. Alison also interned for the County Counsel of San Mateo, and the Asian Law Alliance in San Jose, Calif. She was an active member of the Computer and High TechTechnology Law Journal and the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association. She has also been active in the Katherine and George Alexander Community Law Center's Worker's Rights Clinic.

Brian Kozel '09 and Ashley Wells '09 were married at the Santa Clara Mission Church on July 14, 2012. Several SCU alumni were in the wedding party, including Joseph Wattoo '09, Ellis Fenske '09, Lauren Backes '09, Christina Harris '09, Tanner Diggs '09, and Adam Seppala '09; as well as current SCU student and brother of the groom, Kevin Kozel '14. Even more SCU alumni were in attendance as guests of the wedding. The couple honeymooned in France and is enjoying the beginning of their life as newlyweds.