USD Magazine, Spring 2004

ALUMNI GALLERY

Class Notes Please note that Class Notes submitted after Feb. 1, 2004, wi!! appear in the Summer 2004 issue of USO Magazine. Persona! telephone numbers and e-mail addresses cannot be published

1961 UNDERGRADUATE ALUMNI

Mary Dugan enjoys her grandchil– dren, An na, 12, and Ben, 8. She also enjoys opera, piano lessons and living in Manharran. She helps the elderly as director of grants for the Jarvie Commonweal Service founda– rion. ... Elizabeth (Korander) Bradley Helmick continues in the practice of law in general civil lit– igation. She was appointed chair of rhe Beverly Hills Bar Association Solo and Small Practice Section. She serves as volunteer stare counsel fo r the Califo rnia Republican Hispanic National Assembly, and is a lecror ac Sc. Brendan's Church in Los Angeles. ... Sister Deanna Von Bargen in 2000 moved back ro her hometown of Lewisron, Idaho, to care fo r her mother, who is 95. She has a part– rime ministry wirh young adulrs ar Sr. Stanislaus Parish and Lewis- Clark State College. "[ guess nuns never retire, and I am very busy in semi-retirement," she writes. 1962 UNDERGRADUATEALUMNI Herlinda (Rodriquez) Belcher rook a semester off from San Diego Scare University's Imperial Valley campus and traveled to New England and New York. She visited daughter Cathy, son-in-law Jeff and granddaughter Airana, then visited her son in Oakland, Calif. .. . Thomas Gentilella retired from the Department of Defense as Navy Education Coordinaror Overseas as of November 2000. As a hobby, he

19S6 UNDERGRADUATE ALUMNI

Karolee (Kuban) Hampton rerired from rhe Newport-Mesa Unified School Disrricr in 199 I. She lives in Laguna Beach, Cali f. , where she grew up. She heads the art and environment committee and spiriru– a!iry activities at Sr. Catherine's parish, and is a ridewarer docent at the beach's ridepools. 19S7 UNDERGRADUATE ALUMNI Father Louis Meinrad Gunty is a retired priest living in Riverside, Calif., wirh his fa mily. He says he appreciares rhe rime he spent at USO and the contribution his education has had on his vocarion.. .. Sister Joan King is adult education coordi– nator at Sc. Rose of Lima Church in Chula Vista, Calif. She coordinates the RCIA process and works with rhe senior members of the parish. 19S8 UNDERGRADUATE ALUMNI Barbara Pearson is a volunteer doing weekly reading for the blind and dyslexic, and is a Eucharistic minisrer and lecror in her church. She has visited England, Singapore, Borneo, Cambodia and more. She plans to return to USO in 2008 for her 50-year class reunion.

She earned her drag racing license only six months ago and her experience so far is limited to testing Force's car on tracks in Las Vegas and Phoenix, but McKernan already is capturing attention as a potential up and comer in Super Comp drag racing, an amateur racing class sanctioned and over– seen by the National Hot Rod Association. "I always knew I wanted to drive a race car, and the experi– ence was even better than I thought it would be," says McKernan. "Ultimately I'd like to have my own car." That dream isn't out of reach for Super Comp racers, who can buy a used dragster for about $25,000.The cars run on I14 octane gas,and are shorter, smaller and easier to maintain than the Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars most people associate with profes– sional drag racing, which burn nitro-methane and alcohol, reach speeds of 330 miles per hour and

M ore than IO years ago, a shy teen-aged girl approached drag racing legend John Force and asked for his autograph. Three months ago, that same girl drove one of Force's dragsters down a track at more than 170 miles per hour. And after she climbed out of the cockpit, Megan McKernan 'O I was suddenly the one signing autographs. "So many people came up to me and told me they thought it was great to see awoman out on the track," says McKernan, who recently re-connected with Force and was surprised to find her hero remembered the young fan."At the professional level, there are still only a handful of women, but there are a lot more young females coming up."

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US O MAGAZ I NE