Two-time Olympic gold medalist, Mariel Zagunis ’03, was honored Sunday, Jan. 31 at The 58th Annual Oregon Sports Awards at the Nike World Campus in Beaverton. Mariel, who won gold in women’s saber fencing at the Athens Olympics in 2006 and at Beijing in 2010, took home Harry Glickman Professional Athlete of the Year award for women at the sold-out event.

Trail Blazers guard Roy took the Harry Glickman professional athlete honor for men for the third consecutive year. Other winners included Heisman Trophy finalist and Ndamukong Suh who won the Bill Hayward Amateur Athlete award for men, and Paul Allen, who is in his 21st year as owner of the Trail Blazers, who won the Merit award for longtime service.

The two-hour event at the Tiger Woods Center honors the Oregon’s top athletes, coaches and teams for their performances in 2009 or lifetime achievements. Bill Schonely, the Portland Trail Blazers’ founding broadcaster/ambassador, served as show ambassador.
Featured categories include the Bill Hayward Amateur Athletes of the Year (male and female), the Harry Glickman Professional Athletes of the Year (male and female) and the Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year.

The Oregon Sports Awards began in 1948 as the Hayward Banquet of Champions. The event was discontinued after 1996 but returned in 2002 and has been held as the Oregon Sports Awards for the past nine years, with a new, stage-show format and many added award categories. The event is sponsored by Nike, the Portland Tribune, Comcast SportsNet, Les Schwab Tires, Jeld-Wen Windows & Doors, Portland Trail Blazers, Dick’s Sporting Goods and SportsOne.

All Valley Catholic, K-12 students got themselves pumped up at a recent assembly to sell raffle tickets for the new Toyota Prius donated by Beaverton Toyota. Owen Jones, president of the high school’s student body association, helped kick off ticket sales with a great video created by all the Student Body Officers from their visit to Beaverton Toyota. Thanks Student Body Officers for all your hard work!

• Owen Jones, President
• Pua Black, Vice President
• Emily Anctil, Secretary
• Devon Bathon, Treasurer
• Michaela Hanson, Publicity Manager
• Melissa Lynn, Publicity Manager
• Katie McAuliffe, Publicity Manager
• Emily Tait, Publicity Manager

Download the Raffle Ticket Form here. You can see the video below.

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Nicole Krieger Libal ‘97, a senior research assistant in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (APOM) laboratories, was recently honored as “Technician of the Year” by the Oregon branch of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (OAALAS). The annual award recognizes a technician from Oregon for “leadership, showing initiative, having good problem-solving skills, being a reliable and hard worker, going above and beyond his or her duties, being mature, trusted and well-liked as well as being a good team player.”

As a senior research assistant in APOM for over three years, Nicole (pictured at left in her senior yearbook) manages the department’s mouse breeding colonies and provides surgical and technical support for ongoing pre-clinical research. Investigators regularly comment on her “professionalism, productivity, communication and [her] sensitivity to their research needs.” Her research and work have resulted in system changes that have improved efficiency and information and protocols for grants. According to her nomination form, “Nicole learns and applies technical skills while subsequently improving animal care and research outcomes.”

Nicole was also awarded the Dan Wilkins Travel Award at the annual OAALAS banquet on Jan. 22. The travel award covers expenses for her to attend the District 8 AALAS meeting in Arizona this May.

Prior to coming to APOM, Libal worked at the OHSU-Oregon National Primate Research Center as a laboratory animal research technician II. She has a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University in animal sciences.

OAALAS is one of nearly 50 regional and branch groups of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS). AALAS is the premier forum for the exchange of information and expertise in the care and use of laboratory animals. Since 1950, the organization has been dedicated to the humane care and treatment of laboratory animals and the quality research that leads to scientific gains that benefit people and animals.

This Wednesday, February 3rd, join us before the All School Mass for a hot beverage and pastries with the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon Foundation to learn more about the Capital Campaign. This event will take place in the covered play area located on 148th near the Elementary school drop off area. The event goes from 7:15 – 9:00 a.m. before the all-school Mass at 9:25 am.

View the invite here!

United We Thrive Capital Campaign Chair Bonnie Choruby recently announced a generous gift of $177,156 from the Estate of Sr. Rose Dolores Costello who died in June 2009. Sr. Rose Dolores taught at St. Mary of the Valley (now Valley Catholic School) for 27 years and served as principal for 11 years. While serving as principal, Sr. Rose Dolores formed the first school board, started an endowment fund and admitted the first boys to the student body. “All of us are extremely grateful to Sr. Rose Dolores for her many years of dedicated service to our school and for her generosity toward future generations of teachers and students. The new K-8 Education Center was something Sr. Rose Dolores really wanted to happen,” said Choruby.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Alumni Reception
1 p.m. - Cafeteria

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
2 p.m. - Kelly Auditorium

Please R.S.V.P. by Feb. 19 to join us and include the names of guests.
Alumni Relations Office: alumni@ssmoministries.org or 503.906.1145

Tickets are free for alumni and their immediate family or a special guest. Seating is limited.

Valley Catholic Drama presents one of the world’s most popular musicals and the biggest production in campus history - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Joining middle and high school students playing the iconic roles of Joseph, the Narrator, the Pharaoh, Joseph’s brothers and many others, will be the Valley Catholic Elementary School chorus, bringing together the entire K-12 school in a fresh and exciting production!

What is the most important thing to bring with you to college?

     A) Shower shoes
     B) Duct Tape
     C) Easy Mac
     D) Laundry quarters

The answer, as you might expect, depends on YOU.

The 17th Annual Young Alumni Day was a record-breaking event as 24 alumni from the classes of 2008 and 2009 returned to campus Thursday, December 17 to participate in this highly anticipated panel discussion with Valley Catholic seniors. A tradition developed by the Alumni Relations Office and the College Counseling Office, Young Alumni Day provides a unique opportunity for recent graduates to return to campus and share their university experiences with seniors and provide current relevant information about leaving high school in pursuit of higher education. The discussion, which covered a wide range of topics, was led by College Counselor, Joe Bernard. Strategies for living with roommates, balancing academics and social life and selecting the best professors were among the topics discussed.

Cancelled due to weather in 2008, this year’s Young Alumni Day panel included two years of graduates and a more in-depth look into collegiate life. The diverse university experiences of young alumni also added to the discussion; panel members are attending universities ranging from private to public to international.

After the presentation, young alumni and Valley Catholic faculty reconnected over a lunch reception hosted by the Alumni Relations Office. The class of 2010 boasts 98 members and will graduate June 5, 2010.

On the evening of Friday, December 11, nearly 80 alumni and guests gathered in the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel for the 2nd Annual Alumni Christmas Mass and Reception.  For the first time, Father Jeff Meeuwsen ’95 presided over Mass at his alma mater.  His classmate and violinist, Christine Wilson Goodner ’95, lead five future alumni on violin, while Laurie Coleman Litmer ’87 cantored the Mass.  Also participating in the mass were Dawn Turney Weinbender ’82, Ann Bielke Duyck ’87, Jana Iwasaki ’98 and Sisters Charlene Herinckx ’66, Josephine Pelster ’65 and Angeline Sohler ’43. The reception was a unique experience as alumni from 1943 to 2003 shared Christmas greetings and campus memories with one another.

Many alumni gathered in 2009 in celebration their class reunions. See pictures and read about reunions here. Alumni who graduated in a year ending in “0″ or “5,” 2010 is the year for your class reunion. To get started planning, request your class roster and to set a time to meet with your Alumni Manager call 503-906-1145 or email alumni@ssmoministries.org. We’re excited to help you get started!

Michelle Castano Garcia was named chair of the Board of Directors Nov. 1 for the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon Foundation. Michelle has two children, a 6th grader and a sophomore, attending school on the Valley Catholic campus and has served on the Foundation board since Sept. 2006.

Michelle is Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager for Washington Trust Bank’s Wealth Management and Advisory Services department in Portland, Ore. With Michelle’s significant experience in trust and estate planning, financial planning and investment management, her expertise to the board is highly valued as a counselor on financial matters and an active participant in fundraising efforts.

Michelle entered the banking industry in 1986 working in a variety of Sales, Marketing and Management positions. Throughout her extensive banking career she has worked for U.S. Bank, Bank of the Northwest and Northern Bank of Commerce.

Michelle is an award winner of the Portland Business Journal’s “Forty under Forty” award. She is very active in the community working on various charitable boards and committees. Michelle earned her Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric and Communications with an emphasis in Economics from the University of Oregon.

The Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon Foundation was established in 1998 to encourage financial aid and community support for the education, health care, and community service ministries of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon, including Valley Catholic School and Maryville Nursing Home in Beaverton, Ore. The Foundation supports these organizations through relationship-building, fundraising, stewardship, and marketing.