boat drops anchor near a patch of sandy shoreline. It’s a little windy, but there’s not a cloud in the sky.

Visitors to this mangrove wetland on the island of Coronado, in Mexico’s desert oasis of Bahia de Los Angeles, are sporting appropriate gear: floppy hats and sunglasses. A group gathers around Dylan Edwards, a director of research for the Ocean Discovery Institute’s Bahia program, eager to learn what participants have been up to for the last several weeks.

“We’re here to better understand the ecosystem,” Edwards explains. “It’s very important for us to do our research because Bahia de Los Angeles is not yet damaged.”

Edwards hands the reins of the discussion over to six Hoover High School students. They discuss the effects of biodiversity in the wetlands area; their short presentations display infectious enthusiasm for what they still hope to find in their research efforts. Two other student groups, dubbed “Pesca” and “Islands,” echo that attitude.

Pesca’s mission is to determine if sea turtles and fisheries can coexist. The Islands group, directed by USD marine science and environmental studies assistant professor Drew Talley, examines the marine ecosystem and its influence on island dynamics. Each project delivers its own unique educational angle, but the staff at the Mission Bay-based Ocean Discovery Institute (formerly Aquatic Adventures), keeps a collective eye on the big picture.

“It’s about transforming our students’ lives through science,” ODI executive director Shara Fisler says.

Fisler, an adjunct marine science and evolutionary biology professor at USD for nine years, started ODI in 1999. Staffed by several USD alumni, as well as Talley, ODI’s programs expose children living in low-income neighborhoods in San Diego’s City Heights to marine science education.

“We actually start engaging youth at preschool age to come to our habitat restoration projects,” Fisler says.

Part of ODI’s Ocean Leaders program, Bahia is geared toward high school students; 15 students from Hoover High attended this year. Students participated in activities and swim lessons in San Diego before heading to Mexico for five weeks of research work. They then spent three weeks finalizing their research before presenting it at The Neurosciences Institute.

The experience is so powerful that former Bahia students return for short visits. Marlem Rivera, a senior at Hoover, came to see her younger brother, Jorge, go through this year’s program. “Every year there’s something different,” Rivera says. “Without this program, I know I’d have been lost.”

Beyond the undeniably life-changing nature of the program, as a marine research destination, Bahia de Los Angeles is ideal. It has diverse terrain, rare sea birds, glow-in-the-dark scorpions and lush ocean life.

It’s a place where University of California, Davis, professor Gary Polis enjoyed spending time. An expert on Baja California scorpions, spiders and food webs, he worked extensively in the area, compiling nearly 20 years of research before a tragic accident claimed his life nearly a decade ago. Polis and eight others were returning from an island research trip when rough waves in the Sea of Cortez capsized their boat. Polis and four other scientists died. The accident was devastating, but it spurred others into action.

Talley, then a UC Davis associate ecologist, along with some of Polis’ postdoctoral researchers, including Gary Huxel, a survivor from the accident, stepped in to keep the project going.

“The process of discovery is a great joy,” Talley says. “I think scientists sometimes shy away from outreach and education because they view it as important but tangential to their academic endeavors. For me, nothing could be farther from the truth.”

“I never met Gary, but we all feel a connection to him because of the work he did,” Fisler says. “We talk about it every year here with our students. Being here means our students have the chance to follow in the footsteps of some great scientists.”

he striking thing is the horn. It’s glossy and threatening and, whoa, is that fur on the underside? This is a beetle, but it’s a menacing specimen, and it’s under the purview of assistant biology professor Geoff Morse.

But his current work involves studying beetles at the other end of the size spectrum, creatures so small most of us wouldn’t even notice them. They’re tiny seed beetles, named for their diet and lair. Morse and the undergraduates he’s overseeing are looking at beetles as small as 2 millimeters long.

“They are rather tiny,” he says, understating it. “But they kill the offspring of trees, so they’re pretty powerful. It’s a pretty horrible relationship for the plant.”

Morse talks with ease and enthusiasm about beetles, chatting with students about this one that takes on the shape of the sunflower seeds it feeds on or that one that cuts its way out of a tough palm fruit seed. The interesting facts he sprinkles into conversation make you want to know more — much more — about these beetles.

He’s always been somewhat of a scientist, owing to his upbringing in the natural environs of Utah, where his scientist parents bought him his first microscope at age 6, sent him to science camps and let him explore the “phenomenal” natural history that was all around him.

“I think a lot about the things that people don’t notice, like the microscopic majority,” he says. “It opened my eyes to things that I was lucky to see. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love it. It is really exciting for me.”

The aforementioned menacing rhinoceros beetle — the one with the glossy, 10-centimeter horn that’s as long as its body — is part of the private beetle collection of David Rockefeller, which is curated by Morse. These are special because many were collected in the 1930s through 1960s in Brazil’s Atlantic lowland rainforest — now largely nonexistent — and many may now be extinct.

“Who knows how many have relatives still alive today?” Morse asks. “To think that they don’t, to me, says something about our stewardship of the planet and where we might be going wrong.”

His research — he’s collected just under 50,000 seed beetles in his career — concerns the diversity of insects that feed on plants. They make up about a quarter of all species found on land, and Morse aims to add to the knowledge about why they’re so prevalent.

This past summer and this fall, Morse and his students are studying the co-evolution between seed beetles and plants. Undergraduate research has played a huge role in Morse’s career, and he’s eager to pass on his enthusiasm. His first research job came during the summer between his freshman and sophomore years in college, when he spent his time researching, yes, seed beetles. “Hands-on experience is just so incredibly important,” he says.

He leads a visitor to an “animal care room,” in the basement of the Donald P. Shiley Center for Science and Technology that contains a refrigerator, some tables and several clear boxes filled with seeds and the tiny beetles that are his subject.

“Having access to this room makes doing my research possible,” he says. It was part of what impressed him about USD and its facilities for undergraduate research. Doing the research makes him a better teacher, too, he says.

The one-on-one interaction with faculty out of the classroom setting is invaluable for learning science, Morse says. “You learn what success means and what failure means. To do something that no one’s ever done before, and if it doesn’t work it’s OK — those kind of experiences can’t be undervalued.”

nsistent beeping is interrupted by sustained clanging, then overshadowed by a loud “ker-thunk” before being drowned out by the shriek of power tools. Ladders and cords, tools and materials, stacks of finished walnut, pallets of tile are all abundantly scattered about. Everything smells, ever so faintly, of newness and metal. It’s a seeming chaotic jumble, a site where everything is happening everywhere at once. Loudly.

But in fact, the frenetic, incredibly noisy scene, populated over the life of the project by hundreds of workers representing 35 trades, is the exact opposite of chaos. All of those disparate sounds are a symphony of sorts, a cacophony of sustained effort. Because this is exactly what a huge project looks and sounds like when it comes down to the wire, just a few weeks before USD’s Student Life Pavilion is scheduled to open.

“This is the fun time. This is what you like to see, when it really changes every single day,” says Andy Rogers ‘02. “This is when we have to have the most amount of tradesmen on site. We’re really at our peak of manpower right now.”

He’s in his element, gesturing towards key architectural features, leading the way up stairs and around workers, pointing with pride to intricate tile-work here, precast concrete there.

Rogers admits to enjoying being in the thick of the action on-site more than sitting at his desk. He’s got a lot on his plate: As general contractor Rudolph & Sletten’s project manager for the SLP, he and his team have been charged with keeping the 53,000-square-foot project on track.

Pretty big responsibility for a guy who originally came on board when he was a USD student by simply walking up to a trailer parked alongside the then-under-construction Donald P. Shiley Center for Science and Technology and knocking on the door.

“I’d previously worked as a laborer and loved construction,” he recalls, noting that his dad was in the business. After an attempt to get an internship at an investment firm didn’t pan out, he realized his heart wasn’t in it. “I wondered what I was going to do. I knew I didn’t want to wear a suit and tie every day.”

He kept on working throughout his senior year — moving into a position as a project engineer intern — while carrying a full load of classes. “I came on for a trial period at $10 an hour. I was basically a gopher, but they did a good job of training me.”

Rogers says that his double major — economics and urban design — was priceless. “My classes taught me how to learn, how to ask questions, how to work with people. That’s been invaluable.”

The company has had a hand in several big campus construction projects. In addition to the SLP and the science building, Rudolph and Sletten worked on the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice and the School of Leadership and Education Sciences building, Mother Rosalie Hill Hall.

“Did I expect I’d be on campus so much when I graduated? I hoped. I definitely hoped. Once I started working, I could see that USD was constantly building. The buildings are fun to do because they’re challenging, and the people are great.”

And he’ll get to remain a daily fixture around campus for at least a bit longer. Once the SLP opens for business, the next step is to renovate the Hahn University Center. Rogers will be smack in the middle, coordinating the project.

“This is my favorite time,” he reiterates. “Now, and the time right after this time, when we get to see if we’ve delivered exactly what the client was expecting. Meeting those expectations is very rewarding.”

Description: What is “reality?” Does “evil” exist? Can human beings identify omniscient truths? Pretty heavy stuff for a sunny summer morning.

Angst du Jour: While existential uncertainty can be unnerving, the real cause of the jitters this morning is a looming exam tomorrow. Not to worry. The professor is reassuring: “I think you’ll all do pretty darn well. I’m going to make sure you’re prepared today.”

Believing in Belief: Everything is called into question, even the concept of “nothing.” In fact, in line with Plato’s assertion that all things in existence are good by virtue of existing, and Augustine’s posit that “evil” is therefore turning away from God, one bewildered student is compelled to ask, “So, nothing is evil?” Well, no, because “nothing” is both a noun and a concept. After further mental gymnastics, it’s no wonder another student agrees with the Prophet Isaiah, who said, “To come to any understanding at all, I have to believe in something.”

A Ray of Hope: There is consensus by a show of hands that all of these students believe evil exists, but find the notion that there is a grain of good in even the most corrupt beings comforting.

Back to the Test: Wistful glances at blue skies and golden light beckoning through large classroom windows become few and far between as discussion hones in on Dostoevsky, heartbreak and the human experience.

And, in the End: One student needs a definitive answer. “Are you looking for right answers on the test?” “Yes,” the professor laughs. “There will definitely be right answers.”

— Stefanie Wray

he decision to become a nurse was easy. Figuring out how to make that dream a reality could have been grueling.

While Michelle Chung, Emmalyn Siy and Erin Murphy each came to the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science with different needs and expectations, they shared a common goal. And given the nationwide shortage of nursing professionals, their determination was not only admirable but practical. USD’s Master’s Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN) — an accelerated track for students with a bachelor’s degree in a different subject but who want to get into nursing — looked like a perfect fit. Just one problem: How to pay for it?

Chung and Siy, both with psychology degrees, took different approaches to the dilemma. Chung checked out loan options. Siy had little time to research, as she was working two jobs to support her parents. And Murphy, armed with an art school degree in motion picture and television, was frustrated by scholarship applications that went nowhere.

Enter Anita Hunter, USD’s director of master’s and international nursing programs, a professor and grant writer. In September 2008, Hunter secured $100,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Some of that funding enabled Chung and Siy to each receive a $10,000 RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship.

“I was ecstatic,” Chung says. “I never thought, coming here, they would have somebody who would go out of their way to look for scholarships or grants and help the students. I feel indebted to USD. I want to give back when I graduate.”

Says Siy: “I was floored. I really was in desperate need of the money, and I think Dr. Hunter saw that I needed it. It meant a lot.”

The Danvera Foundation awarded Murphy a $5,000 scholarship in the spring. The foundation consistently supports USD’s nursing, science and English programs. “I was overwhelmed with joy,” Murphy says. “It was something I really needed. I’d spent so much time away from my studies applying for scholarships.”

Murphy attended USD’s annual spring scholarship luncheon, which pairs recipients with their donors, and thanked Danvera Foundation President Pat Morrin ’83 in person. The scholarship award has so inspired Murphy that she plans to give back to the university in a unique way. “I went to the Dominican Republic in January, and I got to help other people. I brought my video camera and shot 12 hours of documentary footage. I hope to put together a visual piece to promote nursing’s international programs to help them get funding.”

Hunter says securing financial aid for nursing students is critical. “The greatest reward is helping some really qualified applicants who otherwise would not be able to afford USD — to be able to come into our program.”

The MEPN students are beginning their second and final year in the program. Chung, Siy and Murphy are narrowing the path they’d each like to take in the nursing profession.

“The MEPN program opens doors,” Siy says. “You learn how to make connections, you learn how to talk to people and you learn essential skills for being a good nurse. I feel they’re preparing us very well to be good nurses, a good advanced nurse practitioner, nurse manager, flight nurse or any other kind of nurse.”

lumni may vividly recall what a fabulous time they had as students at the University of San Diego, but Josephine Bennett wants to make sure they know what’s so great about USD now.

“They have a very good perception of the university,” says Bennett ’81. “They think of it fondly, but they don’t always connect back.”

As the new president of USD’s National Alumni Board, she’s uniquely positioned to help reawaken that bond. She wants to remind alumni that USD is a dynamic campus that is always changing and growing, not least because of climbing school rankings and a growing international focus.

“The more accomplished the university becomes, the more valuable your diploma is,” says Bennett, a vice president and senior relationship manager with U.S. Bank.

She touts a recent alumni gathering in France, another coming up in October in Mexico City and another in November in Japan.

“We have gone from local to truly international at this point,” she says. “It’s very cool.”

USD is practically in her blood, with both of Bennett’s parents and four of her five siblings also having attended the university. They’re also founding members of The Immaculata. “I grew up at USD. I look at the pride, the traditions,” she reflects. “It’s that home that you can always go back to.”

Having received her education at the University of San Diego influences Bennett all the time.

“It’s an approach as to how you conduct yourself,” she says. “They encourage you to be entrepreneurial, investing in yourself and others.”

For many alumni, attending USD was the first major decision they made in their life. “Most folks choose the university; they don’t just happen to end up there. The private university experience is about more one-on-one attention,” she says. “It’s about adopting the values and traditions of a Catholic university.”

Bennett has been involved in the Alumni Board since 2003.

“I believe in the direction it’s going in, and I believe I can help make a difference.”

Well, the article is SHOCKINGLY beautiful (“Hi Diddle Dee Dee,” Summer 2009). Honestly, just wonderful. You did a remarkable job on the piece in my opinion, and I am FLOORED that it is on the cover! I had no idea! I can’t tell you how much I like it and also appreciate it, and my MOTHER is going to FLIP! She’ll probably cry, actually. Thank you, oh so much.

— Jim Parsons ’01 (MFA)

Memories of Danny

Liz, Jackie and I were pleased to see the article regarding the Daniel L. Burkett III Memorial Scholarship (“Saving Grace,” Summer 2009). Indeed, our son Danny ‘06 was well known for helping others, including his friends on a daily basis and others in need through his philanthropic work.

We want to thank all those who have contributed to perpetuating Danny’s memory and his legacy of giving. Last fall’s golf tournament helped in a major way towards achieving the goal of endowing a scholarship in his name. We are extremely proud of the young men who initiated the scholarship effort and who continue to work hard to make it a reality: Shaun Moothart ‘06, Anthony Pavich ‘06, Matt Pioli ‘06 and Steve Ettlin ‘06.

We look forward to this fall’s golf tournament and fulfilling the endowment.

— Daniel L. Burkett II

Cover to Cover

Thanks so much for the opportunity to write my story for USD Magazine (“Solving the Puzzle,” Summer 2009). I recently went straight from work to a dinner gala held by LEAD San Diego and did not know that the new issues had been arriving in people’s mailboxes throughout the day. When I got to the dinner, many USD alums and employees — including President Mary Lyons — said that they had already read the article and were pleased to see it in the magazine. It sounded like they all read the magazine from cover to cover as soon as they get it, even the president!

— Christopher Yanov, Executive Director, Reality Changers

Keep on Rocking

I read the editorial in the a recent issue of USD Magazine (“Light My Fire,” Spring 2009) and wanted to write in with some thoughts. I attended USD Law School from 1979-1981, and I can tell you that there was lots of great new music coming out during that time; it played a big role in getting us through law school. The “new” groups at the time included the Talking Heads, the Cars, Dire Straits and Elvis Costello.

Now — pushing 30 years down the road — I am still fueled by music. As an aside from my legal career, I have recently taken a participatory role in music production, as one of my daughters is pursuing a professional career in the music field. The industry is currently rather dysfunctional and is groping for a new model, yet music gets made in spite of all the turmoil.

So as a family, we have grabbed the bull by the horns and have self-produced some albums by the group White Roses, which feature my daughter, some of her classmates at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and some other musicians. Our most recent CD (Spark the Chain) is a group of primarily acoustic songs, so not necessarily a real “rocker.” The biggest challenge these days is not making the music, but getting it out to the world. Those interested in hearing it should go to www.whiterosesrock.com.

Thanks for your time and consideration. And may you continue to rock on.

— Ron Rose ’81 (J.D.)

London, Redux

Thank you for sending me the copy of the USD Magazine with the story that included mention of the tour I led at Canterbury for students of your university (“London Calling,” Fall 2008). I also enjoyed the copy of the photo you sent that showed me addressing the students; thanks too for your generous comments about the tour. I am just pleased that you all enjoyed visiting our wonderful cathedral, and I hope that I may see you again, with another group, sometime in the future. I also enjoyed your magazine — you have done a good editorial job.

— Bill Charlton, Docent, Canterbury Cathedral

We welcome letters to the editor about articles in the magazine. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and must include a daytime phone number. Write: Editor, USD Magazine, 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110.
E-mail: letters@sandiego.edu.

n animal rights activist for years, Elizabeth Olinger never thought she would become a dog breeder.

But circumstances led her to import the first breeding pair of Eyjahunda Icelandic sheepdogs into New Zealand. In the case of this particular type of dog, it’s all about conservation of a breed that was nearly extinct in the 1960s.

“I was able to have a wonderful dog, and I was able to participate in its conservation, which I felt was a good cause,” she says. “It would be a real tragedy if they were lost from the world.”

Olinger ’89 (MSN ’93) is one of just over 50 nurse practitioners in the country of New Zealand, where she moved from California in 2008, and is helping to promote the burgeoning specialty there.

In a way, this new beginning in New Zealand helps Olinger get back to her roots.

“I grew up in England, and I had been wanting to get back to the green countryside and the slower place of life,” she says. “England is not the place I left. We thought about New Zealand, and it turned out to be the right place.”

She and her teenage daughter live in Hawkes Bay, kind of a “Napa on the sea,” with “lovely restaurants and wineries and countryside.” Each day, she rises with the sun, feeds her horses, dogs and cats, and drives the 45 minutes to work.

She is an educator, lecturing and teaching graduate students advanced assessment and diagnostic reasoning at Eastern Institute of Technology Hawkes Bay, but also sees patients twice a week.

USD uniquely prepared her for this role, giving her a taste for continual learning and an appreciation for the rigors of academics.

“I think USD had very high academic standards,” Olinger says. “The students were really enthusiastic compared to what I’ve seen since then. I think we were encouraged to be individually motivated learners. It really established a lifelong educational habit.”

As she settles into her teaching role after years as a nurse practitioner in the United States, she also is seeing the value of the “solid theoretical foundation” she received at USD.

“I think it’s given me a great framework for how nursing education should be taught. And it’s given me a great appreciation for why it’s done that way.” She also plans to pursue her doctorate.

This nurse, who has fostered hundreds of cats, hedgehogs, birds, possums and other injured animals, now aims to shore up the numbers of Eyjahunda sheepdogs while helping to introduce them to a country that puts its dogs to work.

“I think it’s very exciting to introduce a new breed to a country like New Zealand, especially because they’re a working dog,” she says. “The topography of New Zealand is very much like Iceland.”

Olinger’s work in animal rights over the years — working against cruelty and experimentations — cemented her belief that people should not buy animals that were bred and shouldn’t encourage the breeding or the mistreatment that sometimes accompanies the practice. But when she learned that this breed’s numbers had fallen to just nine animals in the 1960s, she reconsidered.

With the limited gene pool, breeding guidelines for the 4,000 Eyjahunda Icelandic sheepdogs now in the world are very strict to avoid bringing in any defective genes and minimize inbreeding.

Olinger aims for her pair — Gala and Thorri — to be part of a worldwide movement to re-establish the breed.

She became acquainted with the Icelandic sheepdogs on a pair of trips she took to Iceland with her daughter, when they would spend eight hours a day in the saddle for eight or nine days at a time.

“They were just the sweetest dogs. They would run with us for hours and swim across rivers to meet us. They’re very intelligent; they’re a working dog that wants to be with you all the time,” she enthuses.

You don’t have to see her face-to-face to tell that Olinger lights up when she talks about the dogs. She calls them clean, gentle and loving, and even touts their “sense of humor.”

“They actually smile,” she says. “Their little faces go up at the corners.”

Olinger’s zeal for animals actually intersects with her passion for advanced-practice nursing.

“I think I do use animals and the joy that animals can bring in my practice where it’s appropriate,” she says. “Sometimes people’s (need to care for their) animals have stopped them seeking treatment, and there have been times when I’ve taken animals in until a family member can come. I think that’s a commonality among people who love animals, that the welfare of our animals is as important as our own health.”

n adorable black pug, an impossibly photogenic 3-year-old and a gentle story about kindness populate the pages of Nico and Lola, a new children’s book written by Meggan Hill ‘94.

When Aunt Sue has to go out of town, she asks Nico if he would be so kind as to take care of her dog. Of course he agrees in a heartbeat, but wonders, “How will I be so kind?”

We wanted to do a book that had some meaning to it,” says Hill, who explains that the pug in Nico and Lola belongs to the book’s photographer, Susan Graunke. “I wanted it to be a book that would strike a chord not just with children, but with parents, grandparents, teachers, for readers across the board.”

Hill manages a horse farm, Kickapoo Farms, in Barrington, Ill. When it came to books for her son, she saw a need and decided to fill it. “I noticed that he gravitated toward photographic picture books, and that the ones that were out there were either board books for babies or were educational. I wanted to do a fictional storybook that would be photographed.”

Once she’d written the story — which explores the ways that Nico exemplifies kindness to his four-legged buddy — thousands of photographs had to be sifted through to choose just the right ones. Clearly the collaborative process between writer and photographer has paid off: The book recently took first prize in the category of children’s books at the 2009 New York Book Festival.

As for Nico, at the ripe old age of “almost 4,” he’s enjoying the modest acclaim that comes with being on the cover of a book. “He thinks it’s fun,” Hill says with a laugh. “One of the first places I read it was to his preschool class, and he’d heard so many different versions of it that he was ending the sentences for me.”

For more information about Nico and Lola, go to www.nicoandlola.com.

ennifer Petrie has a coaching résumé brimming with success. Her USD volleyball triumphs are on prominent display in her office: Hanging on the walls and perched on most available surfaces are plaques, photos and other tokens of glory representing West Coast Conference titles, coaching accolades and NCAA postseason appearances.

While the display evokes many fond memories, it also serves as the answer to any questions Petrie may have had when she was elevated from assistant to head coach, replacing Sue Snyder after the 1998 season.

“I don’t know if anyone is really ready for the first year as a head coach,” Petrie says. “I was eager and excited. I felt I’d been exposed to enough different coaching styles and enough different backgrounds as an assistant in different places that I was ready. But these were pretty big shoes for me to fill. I didn’t want to be the one to bring down the empire.”

The Toreros put that fear to rest quickly, compiling a 23-6 record and reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament. Her head coaching career record is 192-74 overall, and Petrie has built upon the foundation set by USD’s only other volleyball coaches, Snyder and John Martin.

“Working with Jen has been a great experience,” associate head coach Brent Hilliard says. “Coming in to coach with her — when playing volleyball was most of my background in the sport, for the first time at the Division I level — well, I can’t imagine being in a better situation.”

Petrie’s best season was 2004. The team went 14-0 in conference play and reached the Sweet 16 in the postseason, earning a No. 11 national ranking by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, a school record. Players Devon Forster, Jackie Bernardin, Lindsey Sherburne and Kristen Hurst received special recognition, and Petrie was named WCC Coach of the Year for the first time.

Another of the program’s memorable seasons took place in 2006 — without Petrie. She took a six-month leave to be with her family, following the birth of her second child, son Charles. Hilliard, serving as interim head coach, directed the team to another WCC title, another Sweet 16 appearance and he was named WCC Coach of the Year.

“I missed (coaching) a lot, but I could not have taken that time off without having Brent in place,” Petrie says.

In 2007, Hilliard returned as an assistant, Petrie resumed head coach duties and the team continued its winning ways. The program entered 2009 as a three-time defending WCC champion with a streak of eight consecutive NCAA postseason tournament appearances.

“Consistency is a rarity in athletics these days,” Hilliard says. “We’ve been coaches together for an eight-year period, and we’ve been on the same page. Knowing what the expectations are makes a difference.”

A club and college coach, respectively, aided in Petrie’s coaching development. A Mt. Carmel High School graduate, Petrie played club volleyball for current University of Nebraska coach John Cook, a 1979 USD alumnus. “He was a very good technical and goal-oriented coach; he taught me a lot about discipline and setting really high goals.”

At the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., Petrie played for Debbie Hill, who retired in 2007 after 30 years and more than 500 wins. “Debbie was more nurturing. She made sure the team’s chemistry was good and everyone was on the same page.”

Petrie compliments both Cook and Hill for contributing to her coaching style. She says her ideal player comes from Cook: one that “really hates to lose; a true competitor.” Conversely, from Hill she got a different goal: “When my players leave USD after four years, I want them to still love playing the sport as much as when they arrived.”

She says several alumni have followed her advice and continue to play; some are now coaches. Many of her players believe Petrie’s best trait is how she handles life.

“Jen’s a great role model,” says senior outside hitter Amy Mahinalani DeGroot. “Outside of volleyball, she has a great family and she balances her life really well. I think it’s very important for the players to see that volleyball isn’t everything. Jen takes good care of us. She’s a wonderful person to have in our lives on and off the court.”

That’s the kind of validation that makes Petrie know she’s on the right track. “I’m fair and I’m approachable. The girls feel comfortable discussing volleyball and school and more. There’s so much change that happens when the girls come here at 17 and leave at 21. I want to be sure they leave not just as better volleyball players, but as better people.”