Mater Dei High School

Mr. and Mrs. David Ralph Engstrom of Newport Beach are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Dana Jennifer Engstrom, to James Cornelius McCarthy. The bride-to-be graduated with honors from Monte Vista High School and graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in business from the University of Arizona. She works as a career counselor for the University of Phoenix in Arizona. The groom-to-be is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Bernard McCarthy of Corona del Mar, graduated from Mater Dei High School and will graduate from the University of Arizona in May with a degree in history.

Newport Beach's Andrew Rath, a 2004 Mater Dei High School graduate currently attending Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., was named a National Advanced Placement Scholar and an Advanced Placement Scholar with distinction. Rath was honored for passing 11 Advanced Placement exams, which can be taken by high school students at the conclusion of advance placement courses, and some colleges accept passing scores for class credit. His mother is Elizabeth Rath of Newport Beach ... Page Keys, 9, of Costa Mesa was honored on Friday for being the top seller of Kaiser Elementary School's fundraiser.

Saunders, John F. Beloved son, brother, uncle and friend, John F. Saunders died on Thursday Feb. 19 after skiing in Mammoth. Born on October 15, 1960, John graduated from Mater Dei High School and attended Carroll College in Montana for just one year after deciding that the Jesuits were not his cup of tea. Back home in SoCal, he graduated from USC where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. John was full of life and a wonderful friend and he will be deeply missed by his extended family and friends from age 11 to 85!

Brother and sister Lindsay and Michael Brown enlisted their friends and family for a daunting task that began bright and early Saturday morning. The siblings, both students at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, set out to canvass their entire Balboa Island neighborhood ? all 1,400 houses ? collecting food and other items for a local charity. "It's just ? a direct way to help people," Michael said. Lindsay, 15, and Michael, 16, solicited donations on behalf of Friends in Service of Humanity, a charity that works to prevent hunger and homelessness in the community.

Newport Beach resident Karen Bayless Frankel was the keynote speaker at her commencement ceremony at UC Berkeley. Frankel, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, earned a degree in woman's studies. ... Catherine J. Rasch of Costa Mesa was on the dean's list during her spring semester at Bucknell University. ... Shannon Leigh Swafford of Costa Mesa graduated in May from Saint Mary's College in Indiana with a bachelor's degree. Swafford is a graduate of Mater Dei High School and is the daughter of Leslie Swafford of Costa Mesa.

C. Hopkins Citizen Correspondent  Newport Harbor boys’ 18U water polo team takes second at inaugural Ironman League Water Polo Championship game Sunday evening. Newport lost 10-9 by shootout in the championship game to Mater Dei High School boys’ 18U team which includes Newport Beach residents Casey Connors, David Guibord, Patch O’Brien, Neal O’Hara and Peter Russell. Long Beach Shore defeated Corona Del Mar in overtime in the third place game.  The Ironman League was created in honor of water polo legend Klaus Barth, who died of brain cancer in 2006.

The 2009 Golden State Spirit All-State Team Was announced November 22, 2008. These 15 girls were chosen from the best of the best from the state of California based on Cheerleading skills, Academics and outstanding Community Service. The following girls were chosen to the California All-State Team: From Granite Bay High School                                                      Allison Grace From Hart High School                                                                   Stephanie Harris From Magic All Stars                                                                      Lauren Loos From Victory Cheer Company                                                       Natalie Corwin From Riptides                                                                                 Brittany Scholl From Mater Dei High School                                                         Kendall Bullock        From Costa Mesa High School                                                     Allison  Krikorian...

Porter-Jackson Mr. and Mrs. James Porter of Costa Mesa announce the engagement of their daughter, Keri Lynn Porter of Costa Mesa, to Timothy Bryan Jackson of Scottsdale, Ariz. The bride-elect graduated from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana and Cal State Long Beach. The future bridegroom, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Jackson of LaPorte, Ind., graduated from LaPorte High School and Purdue University in Ind. A March 29 wedding is planned in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, with a reception at Strawberry Farms Golf Club in Irvine.

Deirdre Newman Orange Coast College pulled out all the stops Tuesday to entice high school seniors to attend the school next year. More than 3,500 seniors from around the county descended on the Costa Mesa campus and were treated to an array of attractions and activities, including cheerleader performances, salsa lessons and tours of the campus. The 19th High School Day enables the college to reach out to seniors in a personal way and show them the diverse flavor of the campus, officials said.

The stereotype for athletes from a private school might sometimes be that they're privileged, or even pampered. The Mater Dei High School boys' water polo team shatters that stereotype in the short film "What It Takes. " The movie, which runs 14 minutes, 17 seconds, is about the Mater Dei team that went through an intense four-day U.S. Navy SEAL training last June amid its quest to capture its fifth straight CIF Southern Section championship. "What It Takes" will have its screening before "Touchdown Newport," the 60-minute documentary about the 1970 Newport Harbor High School football team.

Rachel Pupiromrat is 17. Before coming across Boys Hope Girls Hope of Southern California, she had moved 20 times and attended a dozen schools. The teen had struggled at school. But the Costa Mesa- based non- profit has transformed her life. Now, she’s been accepted to De Paul University, in Chicago. “I’ve lived here all of my life, and I want something different and a fresh start,” Rachel said. “I want to meet new people, who haven’t grown up where I have grown up.” Boys Hope Girls Hope of Southern California is a place where children can get an education and a chance at hope for better possibilities in life.

The 2009 Golden State Spirit All-State Team Was announced November 22, 2008. These 15 girls were chosen from the best of the best from the state of California based on Cheerleading skills, Academics and outstanding Community Service. The following girls were chosen to the California All-State Team: From Granite Bay High School                                                      Allison Grace From Hart High School                                                                   Stephanie Harris From Magic All Stars                                                                      Lauren Loos From Victory Cheer Company                                                       Natalie Corwin From Riptides                                                                                 Brittany Scholl From Mater Dei High School                                                         Kendall Bullock        From Costa Mesa High School                                                     Allison  Krikorian ...

C. Hopkins Citizen Correspondent  Newport Harbor boys’ 18U water polo team takes second at inaugural Ironman League Water Polo Championship game Sunday evening. Newport lost 10-9 by shootout in the championship game to Mater Dei High School boys’ 18U team which includes Newport Beach residents Casey Connors, David Guibord, Patch O’Brien, Neal O’Hara and Peter Russell. Long Beach Shore defeated Corona Del Mar in overtime in the third place game.  The Ironman League was created in honor of water polo legend Klaus Barth, who died of brain cancer in 2006.

Saunders, John F. Beloved son, brother, uncle and friend, John F. Saunders died on Thursday Feb. 19 after skiing in Mammoth. Born on October 15, 1960, John graduated from Mater Dei High School and attended Carroll College in Montana for just one year after deciding that the Jesuits were not his cup of tea. Back home in SoCal, he graduated from USC where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. John was full of life and a wonderful friend and he will be deeply missed by his extended family and friends from age 11 to 85!

Here we go again. MTV’s back scouring our backyard for “characters” for another one of the network’s so-called reality shows. This time it appears the casting director was looking for Jeff Spicoli. They found Tommy Bradley Gatewood, a recent Mater Dei High School graduate who lives in Newport Beach. Oh, and his buddies, too. “We’re all good guys with great-looking bodies, and we’re just fresh,” Gatewood said. We’re sure he’ll fit right in with the rest of the navel-gazers on MTV who obsess on their clothes, their hair, money, girlfriends and boyfriends, but not necessarily always in that order.

When Newport Beach resident Gloria Follico turned 70 in January, her two daughters made her a poster covered in old photographs including a snapshot of a young Gloria in a short skirt and a black-and-white portrait showing an athletic woman in her 20s. At the bottom of the poster is a more recent photograph of Gloria. The grandmother of six and mother of three flexes at the gym with her back turned to the camera in the photograph, showing off her toned and tanned deltoid muscles and triceps.

Colin Keith turned his love of running into a fundraising event for the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa last year. Colin ran with his friend Garrett McRoberts in the 2007 race, and the boys raised more than $8,000 for Someone Cares. “It’s more fun to support a cause if you really enjoy what you’re doing. Then you can help at the same time,” Colin said. On Sunday, the Mater Dei High School junior will again participate in the Carlsbad Marathon, joined by family members inspired by the teen’s commitment to helping others.