USD Magazine, Spring 1999

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UNDERGRADUATE ALUMNI K.C. Gallagher and his wife, Kelly [Bower) Gallagher, moved from Fairfield, Conn., to Denver, Colo., to join K.C.'s family business, Gallagher Enterprises. The couple's second child, Caroline, was born in September 1997.... Karen (delaTorre) Hernandez is in her seventh year teaching and her first year as activities director at Central Union H igh School in El Centro, Calif. ... Monique (DeCoila) Jasper com– pleted law school at Santa Clara Univer– sity in 1996 and was married in 1997 to husband David. The couple live in San Francisco, where Monique is working in the incentive travel business.... Greg Leavey began a new teaching position at Corona del Mar High School in N ewport Beach, Calif., in 1998. Greg also pur– chased a condo in nearby Costa Mesa.... Theresa (Spencer) Maggio is the festival director for La Quinta Arts, a festival in the Palm Springs area. "I love being back in nonprofit and coordinating events full time." Theresa and her husband, Carl, have a 2-year-old son, Carl. GRADUATE AND LAW SCHOOL ALUMNI Pabick Connolly (J.D.) was awarded the Deputy District Attorney of the Month award for outstanding trial work in Sept– ember. Pat works with the Los Angeles County D istrict Attorney.

Rad Phillip• '70 and wil•, Jani THROUGH ROUGH WATERS

5 ome guys own cars or motorcycles for tinkering and getting out on the weekends. Rod Phillips '70 owns a 57- foot, two-masted tallship named Nehemiah. For Phillips, a ferry boat captain with the Red and White Fleet in San Francisco Bay, owning a 34-passenger sailing vessel is not so much a hobby as a calling. He set out I O years ago to buy a ship that he intended to use as a floating classroom for local teen-agers. It was a plan that had its roots in San Diego, where Phillips worked on board the Star of India tallship while attending USD. New himself to the world of sailing, Phillips saw how the responsibili– ty and confidence it takes to captain a boat could be a valuable lesson for kids. After returning to San Pedro, Calif., from a stint in the Air Force, Phillips set up his own commercial diving business and began the search for a tallship. He pur– chased Nehemiah (named for an Old Testament prophet and built in 1971) for its stoutness and because it had circumnav– igated the globe nearly three times. Soon after, Phillips set up a nonprofit organiza– tion to run a sail training program. He targets at-risk youth between 12 and 18 years old. "Those are the formative years, the years no one wants to touch," says Phillips, a devout Catholic who strives also to teach the students strong values and good character. Bay area teen-agers - many of them from Richmond, the city where the tallship

is docked - start the two-day training in the classroom learning maritime laws and sailing techniques from Coast Guard offi– cers. Once on board the Nehemiah, it's up to the students to navigate the busy waters of San Francisco Bay. "We challenge them to practice what they've learned, put them in command of the ship and stand back to watch and just make sure they don't hit anything,'' Phillips says. One of his favorite stories involves a high school boy in the program who rarely listened in class or cared about school. When turbulent seas frightened two of the boy's classmates, the novice sailor gently reassured them and confidently guided the crew of students through the tumult.The boy finished the program by earning top sailor honors. Today, his teacher tells Phillips the young man has a new attitude in the classroom, and Phillips and his stu– dent still keep in touch. The hope of making a difference in kids' lives keeps Phillips focused, even when money sometimes runs short and regulatory paperwork eats away at hours he could be spending aboard ship. It also helps to have eight faithful volunteers and his wife, Joni, who help staff the ship, advertise the pro– gram and write grants for funding. "When things get frustrating, it helps to keep in mind the goal of reaching the kids,'' Phillips says.

1&&2 CLASS CHAIRS Charlie Bush Greg Weaver

CLASS CORRESPONDENT Mike Williams 1020 Honeysuckle Drive San Marcos, CA 92069

UNDERGRADUATE ALUMNI Amy (Hartwig) Anderson is an X-ray technician at Vail Valley Medical Center in Colorado and married her husband, Jim, a contract manager for a nonprofit, in 1997.... Samuel Balk is in family practice in Phoenix, Ariz., and his wife, Kimberly, is in OB/GYN and will gradu– ate in 2000.... Kim (Christopher) Decker is specializing with a consulting company in recruiting, employee relations and training and development. Kim and her husband, Dan, live in St. Louis, Mo., and have two sons, Ryan, 5, and Kyle, 2.

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