USD Magazine Spring 2008

18-month-old adopted Chinese daughter, Jusie. “Through caring for Jusie, I fell in love with international adoptions and sought a job with an adoption agency upon returning home to California,” she says. She now works for the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program at Night- light Christian Adoptions in Fullerton, Calif. In her spare time, she enjoys country line dancing and building houses with Habitat for Humanity. In January 2007, she worked with Habitat to help with the rebuilding after Katrina, and she expected to trav- el to Malaysia in November 2007 to build houses in the city of Kuching. LT. BRANDON FLORES (B.A.) and Lt. Melissa (Feldmeier) Flores ’03 are happy to finally call San Diego home again after three years away with the Navy. Brandon is a supply officer serving on the USS Peleliu and Melissa is a surface warfare offi- cer trained in nuclear engineering and serving aboard the USS Ronald Reagan. Both Brandon and Melissa completed deployments to the Persian Gulf in 2006, and Brandon was deployed to Asia in 2007 for the Peleliu Pacific Partnership. AMIE GARCIA (B.B.A.) married Ryan Cort on Aug. 4, 2007. Ryan is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder. They live in Dublin, Calif. DENIS GRASSKA (B.A.) is a jour- nalist at The Southern Cross, the newspaper for the Catholic Diocese of San Diego. He has written a chil- dren’s book, illustrated by his col- league, Lucas Turnbloom, and hopes to publish it. JEREMY HORN (B.A.) earned a J.D. degree from American University in Washington, D.C., in May 2006. He was admitted to the Arizona Bar in October 2006 and was named an assistant county attorney for Marico- pa County, Ariz., in January 2007. LORA MCBAY (B.A.) and Tim Marconi ’03 were married on Oct. 27, 2006, at St. Mary Magdalene parish in San Diego. Alumni in the wedding party were: Andrea Bonnano, Alison Mosley, Beth Rabel, Laura Hayes, Eliz- abeth Eichelberger, Bryan O’Neill, Carlos Dominguez and Dillon Mills.

COURTESY OF JEFF MANKEY

aura (Berwager) Mankey was a woman with a plan, but in her case, that plan A LIFE LIVED IN SERVICE Endowed s cho l ar shi p fund to honor fa l l en Nava l Reser ve of f i cer by Ryan T. Blystone [ i n h e r p r i m e ] L

ters and two brothers. She’d also derived great pleasure from her husband and the memorable events she experienced during her time at USD and through NROTC. In honor of her life, Jeff recently started the Lt. J.G. Laura J. Mankey Endowed Scholarship Fund to benefit an NROTC stu- dent while at USD. “I hope people think about what she had to offer, and what she did,” Jeff says. “I hope people look at themselves and make changes without having to go through something horrific.” To learn more, call John Phillips in the Office of Planned Giving at (619) 260-4523.

“She put it together while going to school,” says Jeff, 28. “She planned it while I was in Florida (at Officer Candidate School). We had 115 people. It was perfect.” Nothing could have prepared the young couple for the Jan. 26, 2007, Navy helicopter train- ing crash off the California coast that killed all four of the crew members, including Laura. Jeff, working on a submarine in Washington, had been away from his wife for nearly two months, due to both of their naval commitments. Jeff says that Laura’s life was filled with joy and a big family, made up in part of her three sis-

was always flexible. “Laura was one of those peo- ple everybody wishes they were,” recalls her husband, Navy Lieutenant Jeff Mankey. “She was always trying to find ways to help others.” A 2003 USD and Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps graduate, Mankey, who reached the rank of Navy lieutenant junior grade, was well-respect- ed. She talked to Girl Scouts about being a pilot, and organ- ized community service proj- ects. And she planned her Jan- uary 2003 wedding herself.

MY-LINH NGUYEN (M.A.) com- pleted a Ph.D. in human services, spe-

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USD MAGAZINE