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Growing up with a Muslim father and a Christian mother, Jamal Habibi ’07 was fascinated by both religion and politics. From the time he was in middle school, Habibi knew exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up – a U.S. Ambassador. “I’ve always wanted to bridge the divide people have had on political and religious grounds while representing my country.” Today, Habibi is actively working towards his career goal. He is currently the outreach director for the my RA program – a starter retirement savings account developed by the United States Department of the Treasury for people without access to a retirement savings plan at work. President Obama authorized the U.S. Treasury to create my RA during the 2014 State of the Union speech. “Millions of Americans aren’t saving-or aren’t saving enough-for their retirement. myRA offers a simple, safe, and affordable way for people, especially those who don’t have access to a retirement savings plan at work, to get started,” he said. Habibi earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and languages/cultures of Asia at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned an athletic scholarship for soccer. He was a four year recipient of the Academic All-Big Ten Award. Habibi joined the David Chiu for Mayor of San Francisco campaign as a campaign fellow during the summer of 2011. That political experience led Habibi to a position as a field organizer in Miami for President Obama’s re-election campaign. “Since I was organizing in a predominantly Democratic voter area, my job was to lead teams of volunteers to register voters, knock doors, and increase voter turnout at the polls. We won the state of Florida by less than 1% of the vote, so our work in the field made a big impact on the results,” he said. After the election, Habibi moved to Washington, DC, and landed a position as confidential assistant to the Undersecretary (Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services) at the Department of Agriculture. After a year, he was promoted to special assistant to the Undersecretary and worked in that capacity until February 2016 when he was named outreach director for the my RA program. Habibi says it was challenging to get up to speed on the intricacies of agriculture and finance initially. “While there was a learning curve for new issues, I had great access to wonderful people with years of experience who I could learn from and enhance my own skills and expertise,” he said. Still, 10-12 hour work days are the norm for Habibi. “I spend one to two hours each day reading and digesting briefing materials and information,” he said. Having the opportunity to meet and talk with people who have benefitted from the programs he’s worked on is rewarding, Habibi said. “For example, when I was with the Department of Agriculture, farmers would tell me that our department’s work to increase market access for exports helped their business grow and allowed them to provide more jobs,” he said. Looking ahead, Habibi plans to go to business school in the next year or two, and study international business/trade, and would also like to expand his resume to include private sector work. “Having government experience, getting an MBA, and having private sector experience will help me achieve my long-term goal of creating new opportunities for Americans and representing my country abroad as a US Ambassador,” he said.

O’Dowd also saw strong performances from Sanah Basrai ’17 and Meade Jacobsen ’20 & McKenzie Taffe ’19. Basrai, debating as a hybrid team with Prospect High School’s Meera Keskar, turned in a 4-1 record in preliminary rounds and held the #7 seed before dropping to Clovis North in the octafinal round. Jacobsen & Taffe, debating in a 40-team novice parliamentary debate field, finished prelims 4-1 and held the #6 seed but dropped in the first round to Mission San Jose. Taffe was named top speaker in the novice division, coming in first out of 80 debaters. O’Dowd Debate will be competing this weekend at the Vassar College.

The weather did not deter 100+ alumni from attending O’Dowd’s 4th annual Alumni Beer Garden on Friday, October 28. Alums spanning seven decades enjoyed good beer, food, and even better company! Then the alumni made their way to the football game to cheer on the varsity team against Berkeley High. The 2001 varsity women’s volleyball team was honored during halftime, recognized for the 15th anniversary of the team’s 1st place HAAL finish. The night ended perfectly when the Dragons beat the Jackets by a landslide, 49-12. The next night, classes from 1956, 1961, and 1981 were welcomed back to campus for their reunions. The sun shined as another 100+ alumni received campus tours by O’Dowd president Steve Phelps, reminisced over cocktails and dinner, and then danced the night away. We also want to congratulate 1986 which held their 30th reunion off campus the same evening. Congratulations to all the reunion years and we look forward to seeing your classes in five years. Alumni Beer Garden photos by Dennis Mockel Reunion photos by Roy Manzaneres Pictured Above: Class of 1956 Pictured Above: Class of 1961 Pictured Above: Class of 1981

O’Dowd Debate turned in a superb performance at the November 5 Vassar College Invitational in Poughkeepsie, New York with the tournament collapsing a two-day tournament into a single, grueling day of debate. The tournament featured only parliamentary debate and attracted teams from across the Northeast. O’Dowd entered two teams into the 42-team varsity field: Claudia Hester ’18 & Sophia Yau-Weeks ’17 and Sanah Basrai ’18 & Alden O’Rafferty ’19.

The well-known group of faculty members and true “legends in their own minds” known as Fritz and the Bloomers made up of Mr. Blume on vocals, Mr. Lederer on Harmonica, Mr. Beeby on drums, Mr. Henri on bass, and Mr. Randolph on guitar, at a special fundraising event before the school year started. Needless to say, a fun time was had by all!

The first annual Fall Equinox Festival took place on the baseball field and the jazz combo provided the entertainment. O’Dowd jazz band alum Justin Hawkins sat on guitar adding to the great vibe throughout the event

O’Dowd’s Advanced Jazz Band has made it a tradition to perform at the Castro Valley High School Fall Festival. This year’s set was especially exciting with lots of solos by O’Dowd’s talented musicians!

Jazz Combo played for the children and parents at St. Vincent’s Day Home in Oakland.  Everyone stretched out on the tunes played climaxing with a rousing version of “When the Saints Go Marching In”

O’Dowd’s String Orchestra and Jazz Bands played their first-ever fundraising concert at the wonderful music venue in Oakland known as the Sound Room.  Special guest artists Fritz and The Bloomers opened the show to rousing applause.  Overall it was an amazing event and the group truly “rocked the joint”.   The room was so crowded that we will have to find a larger venue for next year.  Fortunately, the owners (Karen and Robert Bradsby) already have access to a larger venue so next year should be an even bigger event!

This year’s Open House was an exciting school-wide event introducing prospective new students to the many exciting departments and activities at O’Dowd. Performances included String Orchestra, Symphonic Band, Jazz Workshop, Combo, and Advanced Jazz Band.

Alumni hoopsters returned to the Bishop O’Dowd High School campus on Friday, Nov. 25, to participate in the annual alumni basketball game. Those participating in the alumni game included (first row) Tommy Arnold ’04, James (JT) Thomas Jr. ’10, David Brower ’04, Sebastian Flowers ’14, Justin Brue ’09, Brandon Walker ’07, Nick Capiti ’10, Emmett Seymour ’05, Austin Walker ’15; (second row) Tim Kees ’05, BJ Breaux ’04, Lou Richie ’89, Jake Crudo 14, Josh Crum ’12, Chris Domin ’02, Austin Anderson ’07; (third row) Cameron Patterson ’16, Dom Gomes ’13, Jelani Baines ’14, Jim Frei ’77 and Donrick Sanderson ’07.

Trey Miller ’17 kicked a 42-yard field goal with three seconds left to lift the Dragons to a 37-34 victory at home over Rancho Cotate last Saturday night in the North Coast Section D3 playoffs. Read about the game » The Dragons take on No. 4 seed Marin Catholic on Saturday, December 3, at 7 p.m., at Diablo Valley College. See playoff bracket »

Many thanks to all the alumni and current players that showed up last Saturday at Holy Names University to play in the Annual Alumni Water Polo game. The weather didn’t dampen anyone spirits. It was a close game, but in the end the alumni clinched the win, 16-11! All players, family members and friends enjoyed a fun time of polo, pizza and treats. Thanks to all!

S-Corps Waste Initiative Comes to a Close Authors: S-Corps Leadership Team Just before Thanksgiving break, S-Corps wrapped up the last phase of their semester long focus on the theme of waste. Throughout the semester, S-Corps has hosted various awareness campaigns, events and activities, guest speakers, and even built new infrastructure in the Living Lab to help support closed-loop waste efforts. The overall goal of this semester long focus on waste has been to help O’Dowd move closer toward their goal of being a zero-waste community. Below are some highlights from this semester long focus. S-Corps Activities The semester kicked off with S-Corps inviting the the entire student body to attend the Fall Equinox Festival, which was held simultaneously with a home football game. While the event as a whole was aimed at honoring the natural change from summer to Fall, S-Corps also used this as an opportunity to promote zero waste, but declaring it a zero waste football game. S-Corps coordinators and leaders served as “Green Gloves Experts,” helping community members sort their waste. To read more about the full overview of this event, see here . At the close of the semester, S4S and the Living Lab Team joined forces to do one final educational awareness activity, which was an MP event featuring students lead TEDx style mini presentations on the global and local issues of waste and how O’Dowd, S4S, and the Living Lab are active change agents for a zero waste world. The presentation by S4S students covered the environmental, social, and economic aspects of littering and waste, the history of the anti-littering movement in the United States, and what is being done about it on campus. While the The Living Lab’s student presentation discussed organic waste, the effects of waste on global hunger, and the Living Lab Compost System that is in operation right here on our campus. Following the presentations, the audience was asked to put on gloves and dig into O’Dowd’s daily waste stream in the first ever waste audit. The goal of the waste audit was to give the S-Corps, and the student body a baseline measurement of O’Dowd’s daily waste output. The waste audit was a measuring stick for the amount of waste that we produce as a school, and the accuracy with which we sort our waste. The audit also provided an opportunity to observe the items which contribute most to the campus waste stream, as well as the items most commonly misplaced. S-Corps leaders divided students into waste audit teams to tackle the three large piles of waste that was laid out on three tarps – landfill, recycling, and compost – on the quad. Students assisted in analyzing the three tarps, first measuring the volume of the contents, then sorting for accuracy by separating out the items that were incorrectly placed and thus belonged in other bins. The results showed that on a daily basis we are sorting at the following accuracy rates: Landfill: 40% of the items placed in landfill actually belonged there; however, the majority could be placed in other bins Recycling: About 60% of what the student body puts in the recycling bins is accurate Compost: The bin that students are using most accurately is the compost bin, coming in at about a 70% accuracy rate Once the sorting was complete, students used a tape measure to recheck the volume of the contents of the tarp in order to find O’Dowd’s diversion rates. The findings were also quite interesting. About 40% of O’Dowd’s overall waste stream could be considered compost, 30% falls into the recycling category, and another 30% landfill. S-Corps hopes to use these findings to better educate the Bishop O’Dowd community about how to reduce frequently found items from our waste stream, and how to do a better job diverting waste from the Landfill bin and to recycling and compost. It looks like the Green Gloves program in the Spring, an educational partnership between S-Corps and the Religion Department will be a great opportunity to continue these educational efforts. Students for Sustainability (S4S): Division Activities The Students for Sustainability (S4S) division of S-Corps decided early on in the semester to make anti-littering and waste sorting the main focus of the rest of the semester. The leaders and coordinators worked together in October to develop a three week campaign that would take place in the beginning of November. This campaign kicked off with a homeroom video explaining the problems with littering and a brief description of solutions to the problem. The video was followed-up with a lunchtime relay race, which was a fun way to promote anti-littering and proper sorting of waste in each bin. The S4S team also noticed a large amount of litter in certain areas of campus, and therefore decided to enact a cone-of-shame campaign for a two week period in order to locate all the areas of campus with high amounts of litter. This cone of shame activity showed significant success from week one to week two, with a reduction of litter in the most abundant areas. Living Lab: Division Activities O’Dowd’s Living Lab is already providing a solution to waste reduction through its organic compost system. In this 5-box system, green waste such as cafeteria food scraps, plant clippings, and animal waste layered to create an environment suitable for decomposers such as bacteria and earthworms. These organisms break down the organic waste, and help to produce nutrient rich soil used to grow more food. Air is provided by layering wood shavings or other brown matter in order to allow the bacteria undergo aerobic respiration, meaning to breathe with oxygen. The compost system is close-looped, meaning that it is a zero waste system, and is a key proponent in the success of the Living Lab. Recently, the Living Lab leaders have added compost lids to protect the compost from rain and moisture, and are planning to add a vermiculture compost bin, a “cold system” for producing compost which utilizes earthworm casings to provide nutrients. Looking Forward As the close of the semester quickly approaches, S-Corps hopes that the student body’s increased knowledge and awareness of campus littering and waste continues to influence them in the coming future. The hope for a more beautiful, less-littered campus and increased waste-sorting accuracy as a result of their efforts in this semester-long waste initiative remains strong. Even though S-Corps will pursue a different initiative next semester, they will continue to follow up and check in on how O’Dowd has improved its habits surrounding waste. In the second semester, S-Corps coordinators and leaders have voted for the theme to be ENERGY, and the group will focus on how the O’Dowd Community can reduce energy consumption by making smarter choices about renewable vs. nonrenewable energy sources. Additionally, S-Corps will highlight environmental, social justice, and economic problems regarding energy.

Though they work in completely different fields, Rhonda Jackson Morris ’83 and Tim Sommer ’04 have found a way to work together to benefit local youth. Morris, Corporate Vice President for Human Resources at Chevron, and Sommer, a Corporate Account Manager for the Oakland Athletics*, regularly team together on community and education initiatives that encourage exploring science, technology, engineering and math ( STEM) concepts through baseball. The initiatives include the Science of Baseball Clinic, held annually for Richmond Little League participants, which offers youngsters ages 8-15 an opportunity to rotate through hitting, pitching and fielding stations with current and former A’s players and coaches. Among those who have participated include A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman, who studied mechanical engineering at Mississippi State and is a big proponent of STEM education. “Kendall is great. He talks with the kids about the importance of having a degree and how his educational background has set him up to be successful,” Morris said. Chevron also brings the Chevron STEM Zone to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum during a weekend A’s game each season. This is an interactive exhibit that explores scientific concepts behind the game of baseball. The goal is to get students and others excited about STEM subjects by showing some of the real world applications- such as basic principles of gravity and aerodynamics – and creating awareness of how STEM is connected to everyday lives. This is part of the larger “Science of the Game” program, an educational workbook program that gives students in grades 1-8 the opportunity to earn free ticket vouchers to an A’s game by learning about baseball and its relationship to science. Morris is excited by the opportunity to expose youngsters to STEM curriculum, topics and career paths. “Chevron supports STEM education initiatives because these skills are essential to the success of our company and the vitality of our communities, particularly here in the Bay Area,” Morris said. “By partnering with the Oakland A’s to host the Chevron STEM Zone, we can help bring science to life and show kids its application in the real world.” Sommer understands that small moments can make a big difference in the long run. “It’s within the realm of possibilities that one of the kids that comes to a Science of Baseball Clinic or the STEM Zone might become an engineer or pursue a career in technology and change the world,” he said. Chance Encounter Morris and Sommer initially connected by chance, when Morris was seeking tickets for a group of employees. “We were talking on the phone and within a few minutes I realized she’s probably the biggest A’s fan I know, and that we went to the same high school,” Sommer said. “I think the cool thing about our partnership is that we achieve more together than individually,” he continued. “Working with Rhonda has been incredible.” The two also serve on the board of directors for the East Bay Agency for Children , one of the largest providers of mental health and educational and family support services to children and families in Alameda County, serving over 21,000 individuals annually. The non-profit agency’s offerings include after school programs, child assault prevention, grief and illness support services, elementary and middle school counseling programs, and early childhood programs and youth justice services. Morris has served on the board for a couple of years and when she was asked last summer to help recruit some new, younger board members Sommer immediately came to mind. “I was appreciative in the vote of confidence,” Sommer said. “It came at a time when I was looking to make more of an impact in my community.” Adds Sommer, “I’m very thankful I met Rhonda and the O’Dowd connection was the spark.”

O’Dowd’s talented brass students played a rousing set of holiday music at the annual Montclair Stroll in Montclair Village. This event celebrates the holiday season by having student groups from various schools perform.  The event helps local businesses and showcases emerging talent from the area.

Guest Speakers Panel: John Hake and Dante Rodriguez December 1, 2016 The CES classroom #1 was full as the first semester Sustainability Guest Speaker Series came to a close on December 1, with a rich panel of O’Dowd parent and alumni expertise: Dante Rodriguez (O’Dowd Class of 1984 and O’Dowd parent) of the U.S. EPA, and John Hake (O’Dowd parent), of EBMUD. The panel session provided an engaging informational session on the successful treatment of wastewater, and cleaning up toxic Superfund sites. John Hake kicked off the panel, sharing a great deal of knowledge and expertise from his 30 years of experience in the field of environmental engineering. Most recently, he’s focused on the intersection between sustainable wastewater treatment and renewable energy development, which is what his talk centered on. He introduced his topic by providing attendees with the imperative for why waste water treatment is so crucial to public health. Hake then discussed how EBMUD is using both solid and food waste to produce electricity through a complex anaerobic digester system. He explained how this technology is at the core of creating resilient and sustainable communities, and talked about pathways students could take in college and career to be involved in this industry. Dante Rodriguez led the second half of the panel session, sharing his own experiences with growing up through late 60s and 70s and watching the environmental movement unfold in the United States. He shared how his spark for being involved in engineering began at O’Dowd’s Career Day, and how his interest in the EPA solidified during his studies at Stanford. Rodriguez then guided students through the complexities of identifying hazardous Superfund Sites, and the research and engineering it takes to clean up these sites. He also shared how important political, social and business awareness and careers are to this issue. The panel concluded with great student questions for both guest speakers. Next semester will continue to feature a wealth of guest speakers, including O’Dowd alumni, parents and greater Bay Area community members. All of the O’Dowd community is invited to join us for these talks, and if you or someone you know is interested in speaking please reach out to Director of Sustainability, Andra Yeghoian .

The football team won the North Coast Section Division 3 title on December 3, and will host a regional final this Friday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. O’Dowd (13-1) plays Capital Christian (11-2) in the Division 5-AA North Regional playoff.  If the Dragons win this game, they advance to the state championship game. Read the story on The Mercury News » Photos by Dennis Mockel Photos by Gerome Wright

By Annie Prutzman Nearly 100 people gathered in the Living Lab on December 4 to remember two cherished alumni, Anna Costa ’90 and Greg Schmidt ’65, at the annual Anna Costa Memorial Tree Planting event. Held every year on the first Sunday in December, the event is held in honor of Costa, who died in a car accident on a rainy morning in 1989 on her way to O’Dowd. Costa was known for her love of nature and since 2001 her extended family and friends, known as “Anna’s Tribe,” have gathered annually at the Living Lab to plant trees in her memory. Most of the Living Lab trees, now numbering in the hundreds, were planted at one of these ceremonies. This year, for the first time, the Anna Costa Memorial Tree Planting expanded to include a memorial for Greg Schmidt, ‘65. A close friend of the Costa family, Schmidt died on August 24, 2016. He had been a regular participant in the tree planting event. A former O’Dowd student body president, Schmidt was the 2008 Cor Unum Award winner. This award is presented to select members of the O’Dowd community whose lives and work embody the core values of leadership, service, social justice and intellectual competence expressed in the school’s mission. Schmidt was the former Secretary of the California Senate and Chief Executive Officer of the California Senate Rules Committee. In addition to Schmidt’s family, many of his O’Dowd alumni friends joined in the tree planting. Both families made donations to cover the cost of the trees. “I am blown away by Anna’s dad, Steve Costa. Through his steadfast, humble leadership these many years of planting trees, he’s shown me that it is possible to transform unfathomable loss into something both creative and amazingly productive!”Director of Alumni Engagement and Philanthropy LizaDawn Ramirez said. Meanwhile, the Costa family gives an annual scholarship in Anna’s memory to two junior students who have been active in Living Lab efforts. These scholarships are personally presented by three generations of the Costa family at a student awards ceremony held in May. The most recent winners of the Anna Costa Scholarship are Tyler LeBoa and Zoe Rennie . During the Opening Circle of the tree planting event, held on the terrace of the Center for Environmental Studies, LeBoa and Rennie were introduced by Living Lab co-founder Annie Prutzman and received an enthusiastic welcome. “I’m very proud to receive this acknowledgment of my dedication to the Living Lab,” LeBoa said. “And I’m really happy that I’ve spent so much time in the Living Lab, dating back to when I was in junior high school and my big brother Chris allowed me to tag along!” (Tyler’s brother, Chris LeBoa, was also an Anna Costa Award winner.)  “Over my years in the Lab, I have learned real skills from the adult volunteers – like how to build chicken coops, steps and compost bins – and how to lead a work team.” In addition to providing the scholarships and donating trees, the Costa family recognizes other students active in the Living Lab. This year, juniors Connor Thomas and Dana Angeles, as well as senior Phoebe Lawton, were acknowledged during the Opening Circle. As has been the case with every memorial tree planting event, Living Lab Club students prepared the site and assisted family and friends in planting the trees. They will also continue to help care for the trees. Each year the planting project focuses on a different area of the Living Lab. Last year, the project was the new Mediterranean Garden. Located on the street side of the lower boundary fence of the Living Lab, this area is planted with food that is accessible to neighbors. For this year’s project, a forest of mixed native species was planted next to the Redwood Circle below the Cummins Center parking area. Those redwoods were planted in 2001 at O’Dowd’s first Anna Costa Memorial Tree Planting. Rennie observed that “these memorial events are based on everything that the Living Lab is about –  a community of individuals, connected by their care for each other and for life itself, dedicated to working  towards a living vision that can only be fully realized by generations of individuals each doing their part now, so others can do their part in future years. It’s kind of like the web of life.” Added Ramirez, “We are so blessed to have Steve Costa as part of our community, keeping Anna’s inspiring memory alive for all of us.  And we are also blessed to have the Living Lab, thanks to all the people who envisioned and protected it, and who work so hard to nurture it. It is a spiritual place that inspires prayer and reflection, the perfect place to remember those we have lost.” Meanwhile, the trees planted in memory of Greg and of Anna, are now growing their delicate, translucent roots, spreading out and down into the damp soil of their new home. Click photo thumbnail to view in slideshow THEN images can be right clicked and downloaded at 1024px wide by 768px.

Mr. Gene Yang taught at O’Dowd for 17 years. He currently writes Superman and is the well-known author of “American Born Chinese”. In January 2016, Yang began serving a two-year term as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a program organized by the Children’s Book Council, Every Child a Reader, and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.[19] Yang was named to the 2016 class of the MacArthur Fellows Program, receiving what is commonly called the “Genius Grant”. The MacArthur Foundation that named the fellows said that his “work for young adults demonstrates the potential of comics to broaden our understanding of diverse cultures and people. Read his bio on Wikipedia…