Penguin Postcards
Let's keep in touch! Send details of your adventures and accomplishments to alumni@dominican.edu and we’ll spread the word to your close-knit community of Penguins. Once a month, we’ll reach out with the latest Dominican news and alumni updates, along with information about exciting upcoming events.
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Class Notes
Did you get married? Land a promotion? Travel the world? Let us know and we’ll share the news with the Dominican family through the Class Notes section of The Torch magazine.
To send us a Class Note, just complete the submission form. You’ll find Class Notes in the bi-annual alumni magazine, The Torch, as well as to the most recent notes listed below.
Recent Class Notes
Karlene Lowe Ryan ’61 goes by Karlene Kay Ryan as an author. She published a children's Christian picture book through Halo Publishing: “Curious Li'l Lilli, The Lamb With Amazing Grace.” Karlene has also recently received certification as an art therapy practitioner.
Sara (Sally Marr) Cornelison, ’62 shares that her son Matthew and his wife, Marianna, are the proud parents of Matthew Louis Cornelison, who turned 6 years old in July 2022. He attends kindergarten at The Learning Experience and loves numbers, drawing and his trampoline.
Sandy (Mugford) Overton ’65 had a lovely visit from Sheila Gillespie McCune ’65 and Karen Page Hastings ’65. They spent a few days pooling their memories.
- Heather Steil ’03 a foreign service officer with the U.S. State Department, completed her three-year assignment as a foreign policy advisor to the commander of U.S. Central Command in May 2022. In June, she began her next adventure as the chief of staff and advisor to the ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.
After working in Dominican's Office of Financial Aid for more than seven years, Kevin Ow '05, MBA ’18 is now working at Menlo College as the director of financial aid. Kevin utilizes everything he learned as a Dominican student and employee as he navigates his new role.
Valerie Jane Chua ’08 joined the Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) Board of Directors in July 2022. WiCyS is a global organization with a mission to help build a strong gender-diverse cybersecurity workforce by facilitating recruitment, retention and advancement for women in the field.
Lisa Chase-Rubio ’09 says, “Graduating from DU is no small thing, especially with debilitating ADHD. It’s easy to get wound up and tangled in distractions, but having been so well supported by Harlan, my advisor, and Evril, my counselor, I learned I could do anything.” Lisa has survived cancer, cared for folks in need and is a working artist. She believes that everything about her is better since achieving her BA. “I can discern information more effectively, support others more ardently, and I have a pretty fancy calling card that validates my opinions: a BA from the Big D.” She is the first person in her family to graduate from college.
Zahra Paikar ’14 will soon publish a nursing book as a Dominican University of California alumna. As a member of the first public health cohort, Zahra credits her success to the love and support of her friends and faculty at the University. She is forever a proud Penguin. The book is titled, The ABCs of NCLEX-RN and Exit Hesi Test Success.
