Professional Community Notes
Professional Community Emeritus
St. Margaret’s honored two retiring members of the professional community in June by bestowing the status of Faculty Emeritus for historic records of exceptional, meritorious service to the school.
The administration changed the eligibility of Emeritus status to encompass all members of the faculty or staff that have worked at St. Margaret’s for a minimum of 25 years.
Jan Connon was the first staff member honored under the new eligibility requirements. She retired in June 2020 after 33 years at St. Margaret’s in a variety of roles. She served in recent years as the Upper School registrar, overseeing all aspects of records management and scheduling for Upper School students.
“I can’t think of a better person who brought about a change in the policy for Emeritus status,” Head of School Will Moseley said. “Jan has shown her unconditional love and commitment to this school over the years in so many ways, and it brings me great pleasure to bestow this high honor upon this incredible individual.”
Also honored was Diane Adamson, Upper School history teacher, who retired after 30 years at St. Margaret’s. She taught a variety of classes and hundreds of students over the years in both the Upper School and Middle School.
Both Mrs. Adamson and Mrs. Connon received an emeritus certificate as well as the traditional emeritus gift of a college chair with the St. Margaret’s crest and engraved with their respective years of service.
Honors and Accolades
Jeannine Clarke Wins Inaugural Susan A. Remsberg Award
Middle School Principal Jeannine Clarke received the first-ever Susan A. Remsberg Award, given to a member of the St. Margaret’s professional community for outstanding contributions that have had significant impact on the school community.
Mrs. Clarke was one of many professional community members nominated, and was chosen by Head of School Will Moseley in concertation with the academic and administrative leadership teams.
The Susan A. Remsberg Award was created in 2019 upon the retirement of Mrs. Remsberg after 40 years of exemplary and loyal professional service to St. Margaret’s.
Breakthrough SJC Director Alex Serna Honored With Prestigious HEEF Alumnus Scholar Award
St. Margaret’s Breakthrough SJC Executive Director Alex Serna was honored by the Hispanic Education Endowment Fund with the 2019 Scholar Alumnus Award.
The Scholar Alumnus Award is presented annually to a past HEEF scholarship recipient who is a pillar of the community dedicating themselves to the shared mission of building bridges to educational opportunities for underserved youth.
Mr. Serna received a HEEF scholarship in 2007 when he was a student at Santa Ana College. Inspired and supported by mentors and organizations like HEEF, he successfully transferred to University of California, Berkeley where he became the first in his family to graduate college, earning a Bachelor of Arts in American studies. Later, he earned a master’s degree in urban education and secondary social studies at University of California, Los Angeles.
Click here to read more about Mr. Serna’s honor.
2019-2020 Anniversaries
20 Years
Jeremy Dailey, School Counselor
Rob Lakeman, Middle School
Rian Otto, Middle School
Hope Petrozzi, Early Childhood School
Blake Reemtsma, Upper School
Darcy Rice, The Arts
15 Years
Pete Clark, Upper School
Eric Harrington, Middle School
Leigha Long, Wee Tartans
Kim Quon, Campus Services
10 Years
Stefani Baker, Technology
Theresa Bouchard, Upper School
Dana Freeman, Security
The Reverend Earl Gibson, Church
Edmund Herlihy, Upper School
Esther Hsu, Upper School
Phoebe Larson, Admission
Daniel Miranda Gonzales, Buildings & Grounds
Mick Vollmer, Lower School
Amy Warren, College Counseling
Kristina Wright, Lower School
5 Years
Rachel Beauchene, Lower School
Owen Beitner, Middle School
Patrick Bendzick, Athletics
Andrea Chou, Upper School
Kathleen Clasen, Lower School Extensions
Victor Cota, Equity and Inclusion
Tracy Engel, St. Margaret’s Church
Jillian Gray, Alumni Relations
Heather Harney, Student Services
Caryl Hostetter, Human Resources
Alexandra Jennings, Upper School
Spencer Keane, The Arts
Dareon Keetch, Security
Karen McCollum, Admission
Monica Quiroga, Wee Tartans
Ashley Ricart, Middle School
Corinne Samskey, Middle School
Cheri Santora, Advancement
Meredith Schumacher, Upper School
Terri Shams, Business Office
Noelle Snavely, The Arts
Thomas Spellmire, Upper School
Rachel Stephens, Lower School
Bryan Sullivan, Upper School
Tartan Transitions
Retirements
Carol Keith, Health Center (20 years)
Farewells
Dick Oswald, Upper School (1 year)
Donovan Trumble, Upper School (3 years)
Carole Magaldi, Early Childhood School (4 years)
Lauren Geach, Lower School (9 years)
Nancy Lopez, Middle School (10 years)
Andrew Johnson, Upper School (12 years)
Gene Wie, Arts (14 years)
Billy Assaf, Middle School (23 years)