La Salle Catholic College Preparatory Spring 2018

28 Pages·2017·3.34 MB·English

La Salle Catholic College Preparatory Spring 2018
calendar contents
4
Changing Perceptions
JUNE
6
1 Changing Landscape
St. La Salle Day
8
Changing of the Guard
16
Commencement
12
On Campus
22
14
Alumni Volleyball Red & Blue Review
Tournament
16
Falcons in Flight
JULY
18
With Gratitude: Financial
13
Summary, Volunteers, and
Alumni Golf
Alumni Giving by Class
Tournament
22
With Gratitude: Foundation
AUGUST
Giving and Honor Roll of
22 Donors
Red & Blue BBQ
Editor: Lisa Daniels
SEPTEMBER
Designer: Lauren Craven ‘05
Contributors: Andrea Burns ‘97, Steve Day,
COVER PHOTO: Denise L. Jones, The La Salle Falconer,
5 President Denise L. Jones
Brigid Hanley '19, Anastasia Mickelson
Photo by Lauren Craven '05
First Day of School
SUBSCRIPTIONS
INSIDE COVER PHOTOS:
Eight of today's Lasallians Please send address updates to [email protected]
or 503.353.1439. To activate an electronic subscription
via email, please send your email address.
22
La Salle Leadership
MAY 2018
I have been changed for good
Denise L. Jones, President
Andrew Kuffner, Principal
I’m finally graduating from La Salle.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Most students do it in four years. I’m not sure if Mark Auxier, Chair
Lorcan Barnes
it was due to a plan that was too fluid, a lack of
William Bloudek
focus, or simply taking my time learning, but it
Br. Stanislaus Campbell, FSC
took me 17 years.
Josephine Crenshaw
Thomas Greene, EdD.
As I prepare to leave with the Class of 2018, I
Matt Hainley
recall the advice a commencement speaker gave
John M. Keller '73
a graduating class years ago: “As you go, take
Shelley Larkins
nothing.” The words make sense now more than
Ron Larson
ever. I’ve purged files, both paper and electronic.
Myra Parrott
I’ve tied up loose ends. I’ve transferred leadership
Sharon Feltz Schlechter '77
to the team that will carry on our Lasallian mission.
Magali Sosa-Tirado
Sue Unfred-Hays ‘81
I sit in my office and ask myself, “What IS important to take with me?” And
I keep ending with the same answer: Nothing. Not a single THING needs to FOUNDATION BOA RD OF DIRECTORS
be packed up because the power of this place is how it formed and shaped me. John Beem ‘73, Chair
How the witness of the goodness of others infused me with hope, gratitude, and Lindsey Hammond Charlet ‘94
compassion. This place allowed me to BELIEVE in a more profound way. Katie Benski Dunham ‘98
Karen Garrison
So what I take with me is the person I am now because of this holy and Bill Hays
sacred community. You taught me how to pray. You taught me the power Gretchen Hibler
of providence. You demonstrated grace through your service to others. You Alex Jansen
showed me that relationships can become core to unconditional love, and that Jeffrey Keeney
education can serve as a vehicle of social justice. Bryan Leslie ‘05
Bryan Redmond
When I graduate I will take nothing but leave with everything. And I will Steve Storlie
live forever with an embrace that whispers, “Remember, you are in the holy Raphael Toku
Greg Veasy
presence of God.”
Steve Weber ‘80
Live Jesus in our hearts,
ALUMNI BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jennifer Farnsworth Wright ‘88, President
Annie Hunt Anderson ‘08
Mark Baker ‘84
Lisa Weaver Bergeson ‘86
Brian Bergquist ‘75
Denise L. Jones
Debbie Stuckey Carter ‘90
President
Ryan Cochrane ‘01
Stephanie Redhouse Gottsch ‘85
Joy Barta Hunt ‘78
Michael Orth ‘73
Jon Pienovi ‘00
Laura Sweet Spirlin ‘78
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changing perceptions
Learning by Immersion this human dignity, my group affirms human dignity by
serving these migrants. After days, maybe weeks in the
brutal desert sun, the loss of a family member, a life’s
Thirteen students traveled to Arizona for a border
savings, or all of their hope — after rape, drugs, murder,
immersion. Brigid Hanley '19 reflects on the trip:
fear, hope, prayers, and tears — their meal is carried to
them, someone smiles in their direction, and someone
NOGALES, SONORA, MEXICO -- The Comedor is
offers to bandage their bleeding wounds.
small for a soup kitchen, but feels cozy and alive with
color. The back wall is adorned with a mural of the Last
The woman gestures to our group. She calls for one of us
Supper, unique in that all the disciples are immigrants with
to give an introduction. I feel a nudge and a few people
bulging backpacks and, like Jesus himself, have brown skin.
give me the eye like, “you go.” Despite my nerves, I have
a sense that if I don’t take the mic, I’ll regret it. So I make
The tables in the center of the room have bench seating;
myself travel the aisle between two tables, still unwilling
the plates, cups, and bowls are made of plastic
in rainbow shades. Though it doesn’t look like
much, this place will give the men, women,
teenagers, and children who pass through
something that the rest of their quest for a better
life through illegal immigration will deny them:
Human dignity.
I had so many expectations about coming to
this town between the United States and Mexico
and being face-to-face with the “illegals” that
until now I had only known as fragments of
news, radio, and movies. I had wondered how
they would react to our group from La Salle
Preparatory, to me, and my white, American
privilege.
As the Comedor opens for the evening meal,
which I am supposed to help serve, I feel out of
place. “They don’t really need us,” I’m thinking.
It seems as though we’re just here to insert
ourselves into something we have no right to be
a part of: The pain of these people. I remove my
hat, scrambling for a way to convey to the line
The writer, fourth from the right, stands with fellow Lasallians during their trip.
of haggard people that I respect them. My eyes
dart to the floor, trying not to stare.
to look to at the migrant faces, to the woman before me,
holding the mic.
A hush falls over the diners as a middle-aged woman with
silver-streaked hair takes a microphone in the back of the
I had been frantically practicing Spanish sentences in my
room. She addresses the crowd in Spanish, welcoming
head, but as my fingers close around the mic my mind goes
them and reviewing the rules of the Comedor. Then, she
blank and all I can spit out is “Hola.”
asks everyone a question:.
And 20 voices respond: “Hola.”
“Can anyone tell me about your rights?”
I stand in shock, looking at all the faces looking at me.
This is part of the routine of meals at the Comedor. Some
Some are smiling encouragingly. Some are old, with
of the people who have been through this before begin to
whitening hair and deep wrinkles. Some look my age –
call out answers.
or younger – and blink curiously. Some stare without
expression. But all of them are looking at me.
“Yes, you have rights, guaranteed, on any soil. Not because
you are a citizen of a country, but because you are human.”
I said ”hello,” but wasn’t expecting a response. I expected
I feel floored, but this reminder -- that as a human being
these men and women to resent me. Who was I to stand in
every person has inherent worth and undeniable claims --
front of them? They had been through so much I couldn’t
is immensely powerful. And as the Comedor acts to affirm
hope to understand.
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"I expected these men and derived from our inherent human dignity. I can serve these
deserving people a hot meal, but more importantly, I can
women to resent me. Who
listen, care, learn, and hopefully work to make a change
was I to stand in front of
that will alleviate the suffering of migrants. They can grant
them? They had been through me the honor of a small window into their dreams for a
better life and their sorrows.
so much I couldn't hope to
understand."
One man I talk to is preparing to cross the border
by trudging through the desert at age 83, but needs
medical care for his high blood pressure. Another will
The strength of their voices together in hello filled me with take his chances by train, and, though he has recently
awe. And now I find that I can look at them, and that they been deported and trying again could mean years in an
too, are giving me the respect of their gaze. American prison, he tells me he has always dreamed of
travelling the world, and will make this next attempt “an
Then I launch into my speech. Hello. Um, yes. We are here adventure.” He asks me how old I am, and smiles wistfully
from La Salle Preparatoria in Portland, Oregon. when I say I am 16.
I pause again.
I came to the Comedor prepared to serve people in need.
I had planned to say something like: “We are here to serve
you.” I left the Comedor with more than empty arms and time
spent. I will be forever changed by the lesson those migrant
Instead what comes out of my mouth is: “We are here men and women gifted me with through their stories: A
because we want to hear your stories, and to learn.” lesson of mutual, human respect.
This is the truth. We are offering what each of us can
The graffiti on the fence pictured below translates to: Our
to the others, giving of ourselves out of mutual respect
dreams of justice are not stopped by any wall
Pictured left: Olivia Keepes '19 and other Lasallians worked
alongside L'Arche core members such as Les.
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changing landscape
La Salle Prep receives $1.25 million donation
Gift from Elsie Franz Finley and her late brother, Robert W. Franz, will transform athletics facilities
Vancouver resident and philanthropist Elsie Franz Finley Franz, who was a banking executive, and his sister got to
and her late brother, Robert W. Franz, have donated $1.25 know Father Saalfeld while the latter served as pastor of
million to La Salle Prep. Milwaukie’s St. John the Baptist Catholic Church from
1968-1983. The family got involved with La Salle when
$1 million of the gift will go toward expanding and Saalfeld invited Franz Finley to join him on the school’s
renovating the entrance to La Salle’s athletic facilities to board of trustees.
make the campus safer and more secure. The project,
say school leaders, also will “enhance the overall student “Catholic people, especially in the southeast metro area,
experience” by renovating the locker and training rooms have a responsibility to provide religious education to our
and replacing the floor of the gym affectionately known as youth,” Saalfeld, who died in 2007, once wrote. “La Salle
the "Brick Oven." The project will break ground after the has been and continues to be vital to the Church’s mission
rest of the funds are raised. Architects are developing plans and deserves our full support and that of the community
now. at large.”
When complete, the renovated athletic facility will be The donation came as a result of a letter Saalfeld sent to
named for the late Father Lawrence Saalfeld, a longtime the Franz family about 20 years ago. In the letter, the priest
La Salle trustee and church pastor. asked the siblings to fund a new chapel for the school.
The balance of the gift will establish – as part of the In January – a little more than a year after her brother
La Salle Educational Foundation – the Father Saalfeld died – Franz Finley came across the letter again. Curious,
Endowment Fund, which will award need-based she called La Salle. After learning the chapel campaign had
scholarships so underserved students can attend La Salle. ended, she asked if there was another way her family could
honor Father Saalfeld at the school he loved so much.
“The gift has a special sentimentality because it comes
from Elsie Franz Finley, who served La Salle as the first Yes, she was told. There was.
woman trustee,” said Denise Jones, president of La Salle
Prep. “It also honors two values that Father Saalfeld held “We have much to be thankful for at La Salle,” said
dear: Access to Catholic education for all students and the Andrea Burns, La Salle’s vice president of foundation and
life lessons kids learn through sports.” major gifts. “We continue to realize the many blessings
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from those who came before us – those who believed and
had faith in the Lasallian mission and the school.”
Since growing up in Milwaukie, the Franz siblings have
made significant contributions to many of the Northwest’s
Catholic institutions. Their support of the University
of Portland, for example, led to the construction of a
78,000-square-foot academic building named Franz Hall.
In addition, their gifts to the Providence Portland Medical
Foundation established the Robert W. Franz Cancer
Research Center, which has more than 100 researchers
specializing in immunotherapy.
The siblings’ $1.25 million donation to La Salle – the
second-largest gift the school has received since opening in
1966 – means that Robert Franz, Elsie Franz Finley, and
Father Saalfeld always will be part of the Falcon family.
“We are incredibly grateful for their tremendous gift,” said
Burns. “It will have a lasting impact on our community,
especially our students.”
The Namesake
Father Lawrence Saalfeld Father Lawrence Saalfeld
He loved sports, a good laugh, the church, and people. began parish work with St. Rose and St. Patrick churches.
Father Lawrence Saalfeld, whose name will grace La Salle’s From 1944 to 1960, he taught at Central Catholic High
expanded athletic complex, was just the kind of person the School, helping form the school’s guidance and counseling
new athletic facility should be named for, say those who program. By 1968, Saalfeld had moved to St. John the
knew him. Baptist parish in Milwaukie.
“Father Saalfeld had a love of human connection,” said Saalfeld took his job as a La Salle Trustee seriously. He
Andrea Burns, La Salle’s vice president of foundation & often visited campus, serving as the Falcons' unofficial
major gifts. chaplain. He saw the school as a way to reach students.
The avuncular priest was serving as pastor of Milwaukie’s “La Salle is the best asset we have to touch the minds and
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church when he was asked to hearts of our youth who are the church of tomorrow,” he
become a member of La Salle’s Board of Trustees. once wrote in the school’s magazine.
Once he joined the La Salle community, he immersed Andrew Kuffner, La Salle's current principal, said he was
himself in Falcon life. impressed by Saalfeld's ability to draw people in.
He often came to basketball and volleyball games and “No one was a stranger to him," said Kuffner. "He
stood in the upper reaches of the Brick Oven bleachers to immediately set a comfortable environment... because
hoot and holler with a devoted posse of parents from his he made the effort...because he made himself present to
parish. people."
Near Christmas, he dressed up as Kris Kringle and walked
through the school hallways to give candy to students and join the challenge
teachers.
You can do twice as much good at La Salle Prep thanks
“Once he met you,” says La Salle President Denise L. Jones, to matching grants from Maybelle Clark Macdonald
“you were a forever friend.” Fund, the Storms Family Foundation, and MJ Murdock
Charitable Trust.
One of 11 children, Saalfeld found his first community of
Donate at www.lsprep.org/doubleyourdollars/
faith in Mount Angel, where he was ordained in 1994 and
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changing of the guard
A Lasallian Legacy later sold and marketed luxury cars.
President Denise L. Jones looks toward retirement When her older son, Robert, entered La Salle, Jones
started volunteering at the school. She was organized and
enthusiastic – just the kind of person La Salle needed,
One day, Rory Collins ’18 stayed after school to help set thought Greg VanderZanden, who was president of the
up for an event. As he was moving tables and chairs, one of school at the time.
the school’s administrators happened by.
“She brought an intensity…” said VanderZanden. “She’s
“Hello, Rory,” she said with a smile. “Thank you for not going to let life happen to her. She’s going to go out
helping.” and get something done. She should’ve been a middle
linebacker.”
As a student leader, Collins had met a lot of La Salle’s
bigwigs before. In 2001, VanderZanden hired Jones as the school’s
first foundation director. She worked the phones, met
Still, he was impressed that Denise Leahy Jones – the prospective donors, and lobbied for the school’s students.
PRESIDENT of La Salle Prep – knew who he was and Jones did so well that when VanderZanden left La Salle
went out of her way to talk to him. to work for the Christian Brothers, he encouraged her to
apply for the presidency.
“What struck me was seeing how regal she was, exuding a
certain air of professionalism,” he said. “I’m taller than she The school was at a critical juncture. Though its leaders had
is, but I felt I was looking up to her at the same time.” just raised $6 million to build a science wing and library,
the 1960s-era campus was showing its age. The stadium’s
The meeting illustrates how Jones has led the La Salle grandstand creaked so much no one dared sit on it. Some
community as the school’s president for 15 years. classrooms were so cold that students kept their coats on all
day.
She smiles to students and staff as she walks down the
school hallways. She cheers Falcon athletes from the
sidelines. She walks prospective donors through campus. "She brought an intensity.... she's not
Every Christmas, she and Principal Andrew Kuffner write a going to let life happen to her. She's
personal note to each member of the staff. going to go out and get something
done.”
“It’s important that you let people know that you see
them,” said Jones, who will retire this year. “Everyone
counts…everyone has a role and a purpose.” At the time, most of the world’s approximately 1,000
Lasallian schools were led by academics who had worked
their way up from the classroom. Nearly every Lasallian
A critical time school on the West Coast had a Christian Brother at the
helm.
Growing up in a big Catholic family in Southwest
Portland, Jones thought her purpose was to be a doctor. In contrast, Jones was a woman whose background
She attended St. John Fisher Catholic School, and Wilson centered around clinical nursing, hospital administration,
High, where she was a dancer, cheerleader, standout nonprofits, and marketing. She'd never even been a
student, and force on the speech and debate team. After classroom teacher.
graduating in 1977, she headed to the University of
Oregon to study pre-med. But Jones loved La Salle, believed in its mission, and
wanted as many students as possible to experience its
By the end of her freshman year she had a 3.65 grade point transformative education.
average. Good – but not good enough, she was told – to
get into medical school. Jones’ passion and faith came through during her interview
for the job, said former La Salle Board of Trustee Joe Feltz
So she changed course and schools to pursue nursing. She ’72, who remembers the afternoon Jones breezed into a
graduated from the University of Portland and worked meeting room, looked in the eyes of everyone on the hiring
her way up from pediatric trauma nurse to management panel, and shared her vision.
at what is now Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy
Emanuel. She took a few years off to raise her three “After she left everyone looked at each other and said
children, then returned to the workforce where she first ‘WOW,’” he said. “She kind of blew us away.”
raised funds for regional Ronald McDonald Houses, then
continued next page
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In 2003, Jones became La Salle’s third president. breakfasts where staff could mingle and exchange ideas.
She rooted for students performing in school plays and
playing soccer. She shared books with fellow administrators
La Salle 101 (most recently “Multipliers,” Liz Wiseman’s book on
leadership), handwrote notes to teachers, and publicly
Aware that she was new to academia, Jones took herself to praised individuals during meetings.
school.
“No matter who you were…she made sure you were
She read education periodicals, boned up on teaching seen,” said Andrea Burns ‘97, vice president of La Salle’s
methods, and studied pedagogy. She talked to foundation and major gifts.
administrators and teachers, and occasionally sat in on
classes, watching Lasallian educators at work. Jones tackled economic challenges too. A short time into
her term, the recession hit, threatening private schools all
“She sits and smiles” during her visits, said Lisa Moran, over the country.
chair of the World Languages Department. “You feel that
affirmation that ‘I must be doing something right.’” But Jones and La Salle defied
the odds. At a time when many
"She recognized what La Salle could Catholic schools struggled,
La Salle grew. During her tenure,
and would be... she wasn't afraid to
the school got a new track and
challenge things...” field, a new chapel, a new fitness
center, a new entrance, and a
grandstand everyone could sit on
The more time she spent at La Salle, the more Jones
without worry.
noticed the similarities between education and nursing.
That was in large part, Jones said,
“You are presented with symptoms and data and you have
because of Chief Financial Officer
to figure it out and you have to do it fast,” she said. “You’re
Matthew Winningham, whom
thinking quickly on your feet to come up with a solution.”
she credits for managing the
school’s budget and developing
She also was quickly learning how La Salle looked to
the financial aid system that helps
everyone else.
more students than ever.
As one of the younger Catholic schools in the Portland
Today La Salle annually educates 700 students, 18 percent
area, La Salle was lesser known, and in some quarters, not
more than when Jones started. Over that same period,
considered as academically rigorous as its counterparts.
the number of students receiving financial assistance grew
from 114 to 399, and total aid rose from $371,320 to $2.3
So Jones set out to polish La Salle’s image, boost its
million.
reputation, and increase its enrollment – all while making
it more accessible.
But not everyone felt seen and heard.
“She recognized what La Salle could and would be,” said
Father William Beauchamp, a former president of the
A letter and a vow
University of Portland and a former member of La Salle’s
Board of Trustees. “She wasn’t afraid to challenge things if
In the spring of 2008, La Salle’s leaders received a letter
she thought there was a better way to make it a better high
from a couple in Vancouver, Wash.
school.”
Their son had not been accepted to La Salle because he had
Jones embraced the Trustees' proposal to change the
learning disabilities. They wondered why an institution
school’s name from La Salle High School to La Salle
dedicated to forming the “whole child” would deny a
Catholic College Preparatory. She wanted the name to
student because of his struggles in the classroom.
reflect that La Salle was both Catholic and a place that
prepared them for the world.
Is academic prowess, they asked, “a prerequisite for
Christian witnessing and service to others?”
She invested in the staff by embedding on-campus
professional development and training days into the
Jones knew she didn't have a good answer. But she knew
workweek.
what she had to do.
She built community by building everyone up. She turned
“We can’t wait for someone else to do it,” she told her staff.
donuts-and-coffee faculty meetings into networking
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