Class Notes
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February 2025
Heidi (Joos) Sivonen, ’00, and her husband Mikko have been serving the Great Commission in Finland under the
auspices of the International Mission Board for almost 19 years. She and Mikko have
been married for more than 25 years. They have an oldest son at Masters University,
another son about to graduate High School, and are homeschooling three children this
spring state-side until May 2025.
In November of 2024, Christa (Ereksen) Banton, ’04, published research in the American Journal of Qualitative Research on how women are treated in the computer technology field. She found that many still feel lack of belonging as the field is heavily dominated by men. Her work is titled, “Examining the Retention and Exodus of Women in Technology.”
Robyn (Glessner) Luna, ’05, and her husband, Michael, have a little Lancer, Luke Luna, who was born July 5th.
He is their first child. He is five months old in the included photo.
Deana (Hodgeson) Kahle, ’09, was recently promoted to Executive Director at The Counseling Team International.
They serve first responders and are "dedicated to serving those who serve" by providing
short-term term counseling, training, and critical incident stress management to over
300 public safety agencies.
On January 31, 2025, Sarah (Olvera) Willis, ’10, and her husband, Kevin, welcomed their baby boy, Isaac, via embryo adoption.
Annabel (Zandi) Koher, ’15, and her husband, Ryan, are blessed to share that they welcomed their first daughter, Abigail Lee Koher,
on December 10th. She joins her two older brothers, Elias (five) & Hezekiah (four).
They are now preparing to return their family to their mission field in Mozambique,
following Ryan’s wrongful detainment in 2022/2023 and the closure of the case with
no charges in October 2024.
Mark Sigman II, ’19, adopted a loving pooch named Ash, who is his new companion in his path moving forward.
He also turned 32 and got fully vested in RUHS Riverside County.
Janet (Alvarez) Calva, ’21, married her husband Emmanuel in 2021 during her last Semester of Nursing School. She
also started a podcast named "The Emman & Jan Show" in 2022 as well as a brand business
in 2023 called "Physically Fit Mentally Insane" that promotes physical and mental
health. In 2024, she began a baking journey and initiated a baking page called "Sourdoughbeningins"
on Instagram. She and her husband are always up to something, and it has not always
been easy but, with God by their side, they have been able to enjoy the journey so
far.
Analy (Garcia) Jarboe, ’21, and Kyle Jarboe, ’18, welcomed Hudson Barrett Jarboe on December 17, 2024.
Zara Melcher, ’22, and her husband, Michael, welcomed their first baby, Remi Louise, on January 25, 2025.
Justine Bentley, ’23, is in her second year of teaching, and is clearing her credential in a few months. Since she has joined her current school, her work and efforts have been greatly valued. Her department officials loved some of her implemented strategies so much that they have decided to incorporate them into the curriculum for the English 4 course next school year.
Kinika Hesterly, ’23, and her husband, David, have started a mentorship company, Professional Success Mentorship,
to assist aspiring professionals with career development resources and small business
owners with content creation. Her mother, Lorean, passed away from cancer a few months
shy of her graduation in 2023. She was a dedicated Christian and an alumna of the
same Public Administration program at CBU. She is greatly missed.
Kelli M. Hicks, ’24, is very thankful to receive the Honor Society Induction Certificate during her undergrad studies online in CBU’s Graphic Design & Digital Media program. She is now continuing her studies in one of the graduate level programs. “Thank you to all of the staff and professors who helped me with my work.” She says, “Ms. Grace has been a great support! Also, there are many great professors there, Professor Park and others who really help the students in those programs! Thanks, CBU!”
Joseph Lindstrom, ’24, graduated with his Master’s in Education and received a pay raise in his role as an Adapted Physical Education Teacher at Pacific Coast Academy.
Alayna Isabel (Flores) Roland, ’24, and her husband, Sean, were married while she was in the midst of her final semester
of the Online MSCP program. Their wedding day was Friday, November 8, 2024.
January 2025
Mildred Wier-Jarvis, ’55, passed into spirit on July 11, 2024. Following a 23-year career with Bank of America, she and her husband of 68 years, Bruce Jarvis, ’60, moved to the Oregon coast. Until her death, much of her time was spent in volunteer service to the community.
Lesleigh J. Tolin, ’93, began her work in graduate school in her early 40's and graduated with her MS in Counseling Psychology. Today, she’s enjoying her solo private practice as a Grief/Loss Specialist in the Woodland Hills/Encino area of Southern CA.
Michelle (Jacobson) Bello, ’96, and her husband Jon Bello, ’96, announce the marriage of Matthew Clegg, ’24, and Abigail Bello, ’24, on May 5, 2024. Many of their CBU friends were there, along with their church family
from Fellowship Baptist Church.
Adaobi Gwacham, ’08, opened her second Chick-fil-A location in June 2023 and celebrated 10 years of her
first location in December 2024.
Stephanie (Atayde) Risinger, ’09, and her husband, Michael Risinger, ’12, moved from California to Kansas 10 years ago. In September of 2024, she began a new
role at MidAmerica Nazarene University as the Director of Student Counseling & Wellness.
Stephanie supervises the graduate students who provide counseling to the undergraduate
students. She also provides training and serves as mental health consultant to staff
and faculty. This semester she was given the opportunity to serve as adjunct faculty
in the Master of Arts in Counseling program.
Ali (Barnes) Bossert, ’15, is an adjunct English professor at CBU and her husband, Jim Bossert, ’16, is the CBU Head Swim/Dive Coach. They met while on the swim team at CBU while graduate
students. On December 22, 2024, they welcomed their second son, Samuel James Bossert.
CAVAD alumni Jordan Singer, ’15, won 6 ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) top shelf book cover awards in 2024.
On December 12, 2024, Joe Pradetto, ’16, was sworn in to the Palm Desert City Council.
Sydney Witt, ’16, completed San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s Emerging Leader Program. This was a one-year
leadership training program where she took classes on how to be a better decision
maker, handle difficult conversations, and more. Sydney ended the program by conducting
a presentation with her cohort to their Executive team about a new team member benefit
initiative which was accepted.
Amber (Korras) Alvarenga, ’18, graduated from CBU with her BS in Criminal Justice in 2016 and her MA in Forensic Psychology in 2018. She recently developed a mentorship program for mental health professionals as well as students working towards entering the field. The program is designed to help mental health professionals overcome self-doubt and imposter feelings.
Since graduating, Harlan Bartlett Kistler II, ’18, has become an English Teacher and the Head Wrestling Coach at John W. North High School
in Riverside, CA. Since taking these roles, he has coached his teams to three League
titles, three CIF Individual Champions, five Master's Place winners including one
Champion, five State Qualifiers, two State medalists (5th and 2nd respectively). His
team holds two Academic Team titles, and they are currently ranked 18th in the state
for wrestling. Harlan has worked as an AP teacher, ELD Teacher, Academy Teacher, English
teacher and a PE teacher.
Nicole Sinesio, ’21, and her husband Kenton McLain, ’22, met at Cal Baptist just two short weeks after their freshman year began in 2018.
They have just closed escrow on their first home in Fallbrook, CA. “We wanted to wait
until we could afford the land, life, and wedding of our dreams,” she says. “We were
not financially stable enough until now to make that happen. Now we are going to be
seeing the fruits of our labor in the avocado capital of the world!”
Jenna (Olson) Napoli, ’22, and her husband, Tim, were married on November 15, 2024.
Alicia Perkins, ’22, became a licensed marriage and family therapist in December 2024. She also got engaged
to a wonderful godly man, Phillip Inzunza, a few days before Christmas. “God has been
blessing me greatly since graduating with a master’s in counseling psychology from
CBU!” She says, “Thank you so much! Go Lancers!”
Tiara Richardson, ’22, is Director of Student Services with San Bernardino City Unified School District and
is wrapping up her Ed.D in Organizational Leadership this month. Additionally, she
was just accepted into Harvard’s Executive Education Leadership program on Behavioral
Insight and Public Policy.
Madison “Madey” Jewel (Liscio) Truman, ’22, is a certified massage therapist and started a travel massage business. She has a
love for pottery and shortly after getting her massage therapy certification, her
pottery business, Madey Made Pottery Co., took off.
Michael Metzler Jr., ’23, co-produced and co-directed his current short film, “Portrait of a Smile,” which won
16 awards out of 18 festival selections, including Best Drama in Reale Film Festival,
and Best Indie Short at the World Film Festival in Cannes. He’s also waiting to hear
back from some significant Oscar-qualifying film festivals. Michael is currently in
the pre-production process for his next project, which will be a feature film.
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