A Few Words About Mr. Robert Andrew Suarez

Mr. Suarez was my mentor during my 4 years at Bellarmine. He was also Kim-Son's, Kurtis's and Bborie's mentor. Through the various retreats we went on with Mr. Suarez, I got to know him pretty well. He was a man who had experienced a lot of pain in his life, and yet with a tenacity rarely matched, he managed to thrive despite his adversities. Mr. Suarez, perhaps because of the pain he experienced himself, had a profound comprehension of the pain and suffering of others. He spent much of his time and efforts towards improving the lives of the downtrodden, including working to help the poor of El Salvador. He was very much "a man for others."

Mr. Suarez passed away on Feb 12th of 1999. He will be dearly missed.

A Few Words About Drew Mayen

I first met Drew freshman year; he sat further back in my row in Biology. However, I did not really talk to him very much.  I spent more time talking to Jeff and Kim-Son.  In fact, it was not until senior year that I began to get to know Drew. I began to spend more time with him playing RPGs. Oddly, our group' RPGs days  lead to social integration, not isolation.  Mick was actually our mutual friend, and I am rather thankful to him for reintroducing us.

Of the people I have met at Bellarmine, Drew is only one of the funniest, and yet he is also one of the most sincere. Drew has really "been there" as a friend, offering both sympathy and criticism in the right proportions. He is currently residing with Bborie, and despite the years of therapy he will need later in life, Ethan continues to live with him. 

A Few Words About Jay Yamanaga

I think I met Jay though James, but I am not quite sure during freshman year. Jay (or Chip as some of his friends call him...) is a very nice guy. He was also an Eagle Scout, doing the normal Eagle Scout things: helping old ladies across the street, making solar calculators out of tinsel and toilet paper, and just generally being too multi-talented. Jay is also one of my few Bellarmine friends who has come with me to my temple in Livermore, and I have been to his in Sunnyvale-Mountain View a few times as well.

Jay is currently attending UC Davis, along with Bborie, James, and Drew, as well as his girl friend.

A Few Words About Kim-Son Nguyen

Kim-Son was also in my mentoring group and my freshman biology class. He is one of the brightest people I have ever met, but he does not have a big head about it. I have gotten a chance to meet his girlfriend, Lan, both at his house and at Berkeley. (We were in a Molecular and Cellular Bio class together in 1999.) During our time at Bellarmine, Kim-Son and the others in my mentoring group would waste time when Mr. Suarez and Mr. Urhausen were late.  That occurred practically every week. Kim-Son and I once bet on whom would be later: Suarez or Urhausen, and I won!  It was Mr. Suarez, who came in about 5 minutes late.

Sadly, I didn't get to see that much of Kim-Son during the summer of 1999, because of his very busy schedule. Kim-Son is currently at Harvard, killing himself with an unholy schedule.

A Few Words About Josh Peck

Josh was also in my mentoring group.  We became acquainted there and in yearbook. Josh was rather involved in the yearbook, and eventually become an editor-in-chief, along with Shane and Steve Tamekuni senior year. For a project in Comparative Religious Studies (senior year), we had to visit a house of worship of a person of another religion. Josh was kind enough to offer me a chance to visit his synagogue. It was a beautiful building and the service was rather interesting. Josh really helped by making the visit very comfortable and getting a chance to quickly speak to the rabbi.

Josh is currently at Brandeis and is the Webmaster for the Justice Online, an online newspaper at Brandeis.