USD Magazine Spring 2007

Twice the Impact You can double your gift to USD without doubling the amount on your check. If your employer participates in a matching gift program, please contact your company’s human resources department to find out how you can fulfill a match- ing gift. To check if your company participates in this program, go to www.sandiego.edu/giving/ makeagift and enter your company’s name. THIS A N D T H A T Get On Board Looking for e-mail continuity and a lifelong link to USD? Sign up to get your very own permanent e-mail address that reads “your- name@alumni.sandiego.edu,” by becoming a member of the online community. Other benefits include the ability to search for fellow alums, share milestones or get the latest news from classmates through Alumni eNotes. You can also begin or advance your career by taking advantage of the Alumni Career Network. While there, feel free to share products and services with fellow alumni in the Torero Blue Pages. Sign up at http://alumni.sandiego.edu. Right Around the Corner From sea to shining sea, USD alumni are banding together to make a difference in their com- munities, hang out with fellow Toreros and take advantage of local networking opportunities. Regional chapters of the Alumni Association can be found in Arizona, Chicago, Colorado, Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Orange County, Las Vegas, Oregon, San Diego, San Francisco, Texas, Washington and Washington, D.C. From football games to art openings to community service, alums are making a difference, in major ways. For further information about national and regional alumni news and events, call (619) 260-4819 or go to alumni.sandiego.edu.

WORTHY LEARNERS Trio of recipients recognized for their achievements with two new scholarships [ g o - g e t t e r s ] S enior Michelle Liebrand thrives on challenge. As a freshman, she got a chem-

Liebrand plans to pursue a Ph.D. in marine biomedicine and ultimately end up with a career in natural products chemistry doing cancer research. Sophomore Allison Christian and senior Rhett Buttle are proud recipients of scholarships from the USD Alumni Association’s Terry Whitcomb ’53 Alumni Scholarship. Christian, who’s car- rying a double major (Communi- cations/Spanish) wrote a heart- felt essay about her experiences working in Tijuana on communi- ty service-learning projects through the Oscar Romero Cen- ter for Faith in Action. “I feel no greater joy than when I am serv- ing others,” she wrote, “because I am so passionate about making a difference in others’ lives.” Buttle, of course, is the president of the Associated Students. “I am a student who has truly embraced the University of San Diego,” he wrote in his application essay. “I live and breathe USD!”

istry examback fromher professor with the question“why?”written all over it.“She expectedmore than had ever been asked of me before,” recalls Liebrand.“And I grew to love the challenge.” It’s that sort of attitude that made Liebrand the first recipient of the Kyle O’Connell Memorial Scholarship, created in honor of Kyle O’Connell, the son of Michael O’Connell ’87 and Julie (Belfiore) O’Connell ‘88. The scholarship is given to a junior, senior or graduate student who’s pursuing studies in the field of health sciences. “It is our hope that one of the recipients one day might find a cure, develop new treatments or provide help to ease the suffer- ing of patients and their families affected by cancer,” the O’Con- nells said when setting up the criteria for the scholarship.

ANDREW CAMPBELL

Gamecube, karaoke machine, ping-pong table, board games and a reading nook. They also put up a college board to inspire the kids about their future. David Stephens, associate director of alumni relations, calls Partynski a living example of USD’s commitment to service. “She totally understands the alumni volunteer perspective and leads by example.” As a mother of two teenagers, Partynski recognizes the impor- tance of entering adulthood with solid values. “That’s why I like to affiliate myself with USD. I’m still inspired by what I learned there,” she says. “I don’t think every school has that effect.” MAUREEN PARTYNSKI ’82, third from the left, organized a group of USD alums in Illinois to paint, renovate and decorate a room at Chicago’s Boys & Girls Club in Torero colors.

ERIC DROTTER

MICHELLE LIEBRAND ’07 loves challenges; that’s one reason why she’s the first recipient of the Kyle O’Connell Memorial Scholarship.

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SPRING 2007