USD Magazine, Summer 2000

ALUMNI ~ GALLERY

CLASS CORRESPONDENT Eric Ludwig 2240 Eucalyptus Avenue Escondido, CA 92029 e-mail: cmtc7 1b@prodigy.com UNDERGRADUATE ALUMNI Rae Lynn Alvarado is a second grade teacher in Al cadena, Calif., and just fi nished a master's in education . She also teaches a graduate children's literature class at the University of LaVerne.... Kimberly (Curto) Athans is a high school English teacher in Vista, Calif., and just bought a home in nearby San Marcos. She's completing a master's in education.. .. Kevin Barrett started his own CPA busi ness in San D iego and loves to travel. ... Douglas Barry is a controller with Golden Hills Broadcasting

Kerri (Harlin) Gonzalez Q.D. '97) and husband Roberto Gonzalez '98 ran their first marathon together in March and bought a house in Lakewood, moved from San D iego to Oak Harbor, Wa., and is an office manager and planner for a con– sulting firm there. She and her husband, David, have a son, Adam, 1.... Jonathan Sackett fi nished work on a master's in health admin istration and busi– ness admin istration from Saint Louis University. He and wife Sonji live in Sc. Louis.. .. Jay Vigeland fo unded an Internet start-up company, Efinity, Inc. H e and wife Kristin Chapman '95 live in Newport Beach, Calif. Calif., last August. .. . Lori (Hone) Martinez recently

UNDERGRADUATE ALUMNI Michaela Anoche is an English as a second language and history reacher at Bell Jr. High in San D iego. ... Andrea (Myers) Cabrera left her job at the San D iego Zoo to "pursue a mother– ing career." She and husband Humbert live in Spri ng Valley, Calif. , with their three girls. ... Susan Collins is working on a master's in Spanish from Middlebury College and is study– ing in Madrid, Spain. She will return to her teaching job at Foothill High in Santa Ana chis fall. ... Capt. Jeff Ertwine flies FA- 18 jets fo r the Marine Corps and spent rwo months in H ungary flying missions over Kosovo. He and wife Meeghan live in South Carolina with their 2-year-old son, Colby, but plan a move soon to Q uantico, Va.... Brent Hodges is the tax manag– er fo r Franchise Finance Corp. of America in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he lives with his 4-year-old son, T.J., and flies planes in his spare time. ... Peter J. T hompson is an equity trader fo r a hedge fund in Minneapolis and is busy keeping up with his I-year-old son, Adam. CLASS CORRESPONDENT Lauren (Riaski) Young 7948 E. Vassar Drive Denver, CO 80231 UNDERGRADUATE ALUMNI Valerie Attisha is an associate director for special programs at the San Diego Foundation. She reporcs that she and Jennifer Smith went to South Africa in December fo r a safari and sight– seeing. "We were about a foot away from lions, leopards and elephants." ... Donna (Wright) Cook and husband Shane live in Springfield, Mo., where she is starting a career in medical tran– scription. T he couple have a daughter, Madelline Marie, 2. ... •1994• CLASS CHAIR Tom Vertetis

.. . Michelle Walters is a third grade teacher at Richard Crane Elementary in Rohnert Park, Calif. ... Eddie Williams is an eighth grade math teacher in Chula Vista, Calif. , and shapes surfboards fo r Wet W ill i Surfboards. H e travels and surfs Northern Baja California frequently. Kelli Williamson (M.A.) is a marriage and fan1ily therap ist in Seattle. II • 1995• Reunion Celebration October 6-8 CLASS CHAIR Jennifer McCann Vertetis GRADUATE AND LAW SCHOOL ALUMNI

•CLASS OF '83•

A Life-Changing Vision

A n eye doctor in San Diego, Chris Gualtieri was looking for inspiration earlier this year. The 1983 Alcala Park graduate had put together a comfortable little practice in the Banker's Hill area of San Diego, yet something was missing. He wanted to find a way to use his talents that not only would change other's lives, but change his life as well. His search ended south of the border. "I guess it was simply a desire to do something that probably would not happen otherwise," says Gualtieri of his monthly travels to Tecate, Mexico, to perform eye surgeries on residents who cannot afford health care. "Some of these people can barely see their hands in front of their faces," he says of his patients, who primarily suffer from cataracts."It's a wonderful, life– changing experience for them." Gualtieri is one of a handful of San Diego eye surgeons who travel to poor areas of Baja as part of the Flying Samaritans project. He first heard about the project at a San Diego Ophthalmology Society meeting, and something clicked. "It was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to do something like this," says Gualtieri. "It's not that I don't enjoy my work here - I do. But sometimes it's rewarding to see your work make such a tremendous impact on not just one person, but that person's whole family." The Flying Samaritans also travel to Ensenada, Rosarito, El Fiorito and Erendira. Most of the eye

doctors' patients are senior citizens. Occasionally, one of the doctors will correct a child's crossed eyes. After earning his medical degree from the University of Arizona in

1990, Gualtieri worked as an urgent care

physician in San Diego. He then did a three– year ophthalmology residency at

Wake Forest University's School of Medicine, and spent another three years in private practice in North Carolina. His return to San Diego last July gave him the opportunity to expand his professional life into something much more personal. "It's like giving a gift to someone for whom it real– ly, really means something," says Gualtieri, who typi– cally sees 20 to 30 patients a day while in Mexico. "These people have never seen an eye doctor and they would be blind for the last years of their lives. It's everything to them."

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S U MM E R 2 000