Founded by alumnae, the Oakcrest Alumnae Association facilitates opportunities for fellow alumnae to maintain the friendships and bonds they established with each other and the Oakcrest family during their years at Oakcrest. Through social, professional, spiritual, educational, volunteer and philanthropic events and programs, the Association helps alumnae stay connected and actively involved in the life and work of Oakcrest. In this way, the Association supports the School’s mission and affirms the unique identity of all alumnae as Oakcrest women.
The Association recognizes the talents, achievements, generosity and experiences of all Oakcrest alumnae, and encourages alumnae to support their alma mater as volunteers, speakers, donors, and advocates. The Association welcomes all alumnae, and is always looking for alums interested in serving Oakcrest and in helping their fellow alumnae stay connected!
LEADERSHIP BOARD
Ann (Royals) Vitz, Class of 2001. Ann is happy to be serving as President of the Oakcrest Alumnae Association Leadership Board. As an Oakcrest student, Ann was the Student Council President and involved in the Oakcrest shows. Ann earned a BA in American Studies from Providence College. During college, she was the student assistant director and stage manager for Blackfriars Theater, and also wrote the script for three Oakcrest shows. After graduation, Ann worked as the Director of Youth Leadership Foundation’s Elementary Program for Academic and Leadership Skills. She recently returned to Oakcrest as a long term substitute teacher for the 2011 spring semester, and is currently a character workshop lecturer for the Middle School. She lives in Rockville, MD with her husband, Peter, and their three children, Simon, Isaac and Martha.
Mary Louise (Metzger) Rhodes, Class of 1983. Bio and photo coming soon.
Laura (Rowell) O’Neill, Class of 1996. While at Oakcrest, Laura played Varsity Tennis and had lead dancing and acting roles in the Oakcrest musicals. She graduated from Villanova University in 2000 with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing, and was commissioned as an Army Nurse at Walter Reed Medical Center for 4 years. She then worked in Pediatrics and Critical Care, rotating through all of the major Northern Virginia Hospitals. She continues to work as a school nurse at John Paul the Great High School. This is especially meaningful for her, because during her Freshman year at Oakcrest, she traveled to Rome and met Pope John Paul II. In addition to nursing, Laura has also operated her own business as a Sales Director for Mary Kay Cosmetics for the last five years. She is married to Major Mark O’Neill, an Army Officer stationed at Fort Belvoir.
Cara (Tarone) Bocek, Class of 2000. Cara graduated from Georgetown University in 2004 with a BA in American Studies and English. Cara was awarded the 2010-2011 Best Teacher of the Year Award from the Archdiocese of Washington for her work teaching World and AP U.S. History at Georgetown Visitation. A former Oakcrest history teacher, Cara also directed/choreographed threeOakcrest shows. Cara and her husband, former Lt. U.S. Navy SEAL Robert Ray Bocek, Jr., welcomed their son, Jack, in March 2011.
Mary Gabriel, Class of 2001. Mary comes from a family of Oakies. She joins 3 sisters and 4 cousins as an Oakcrest alumna. Mary graduated from Oakcrest in the Class of 2001, the first class to graduate from the McLean building. While at Oakcrest, Mary held various student council positions, played Varsity basketball and softball, starred in the Oakcrest musicals, and was a member of the National Honor Society. Mary graduated from James Madison University with a BA in History and is currently a conference planner for BMT Designers & Planners.
ADVISORY
Lisa Coyne, Class of 1980. Lisa Coyne is now living and teaching in Pittsburgh, after spending most of her life at Oakcrest. A member of the first graduating class, she did her undergraduate at Simmons College in Boston, majoring in Government and Communications Media. She then did her Masters in Teaching at Rice University and returned to her alma mater, Oakcrest. There she did Admissions and then enjoyed teaching full time from 1994 to 2007. She moved to Pittsburgh and has been teaching coed at St. Edmund’s Academy for four years. However, she says there is nothing like teaching Oakies!! She still gets back to the DC area each summer to help run Camp Kittimaquundi and loves keeping up with current Oakies and alumnae. In her spare time, she rollerblades with the Pittsburgh Three Rivers Inline Skating Club and tries to make friends with people who own horses. She is still a dedicated member of the Green Team. (Go, Green!) Lisa is one of four Coyne sisters who graduated from Oakcrest.
Dr. Susan Hanssen, Class of 1992. Sue is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Dallas where she teaches American and Western civilization as part of the liberal arts core curriculum. After graduating from Oakcrest in 1992, Dr. Hanssen earned her B.A. from Boston University and her Ph.D. from Rice University. Sue has published on the development of the idea of “the English-speaking peoples” during the two World Wars, including “G. K. Chesterton and British national identity in World War I,” in The Human Tradition in Modern Britain, and “Dumb Ox at the Crossroads of English Catholicism: G. K. Chesterton, Newman, and Pascendi,” in theRenaissance Quarterly. Sue is currently a Garwood Visiting Fellow for the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. At Princeton, she is working on a book onThe Education of Henry Adams and the role of education in maintaining cultural identity in America. In April 2011, Sue visited Oakcrest and gave a lecture to parents, alumnae, students, faculty, staff and friends entitled, “Educating the American Girl”.
Caroline Heeter, Class of 1997. Caroline was a member of the Varsity Basketball and Softball Teams during her high school years at Oakcrest (including a brief stint on the Varsity Soccer Team). She is one of three Heeter sisters who graduated from Oakcrest. After graduating from the University of Dallas, Caroline returned to Oakcrest as the Athletic Director. Thanks to Caroline’s leadership, the Chargers won the PVAC Directors Cup in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011! The Cup is awarded to the school with the most total points for regular season finishes and tournament finishes in all PVAC sports for the entire year. This is a tremendous achievement for Oakcrest and the Chargers! Photo coming soon.
Anne-Marie (Fagan) Maginnis, Class of 1999. Anne-Marie graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Literature in 2003. She received the Thomas Merrin Thesis Award for Literature for her thesis on Gerard Manley Hopkins. After college, she returned to the DC area to pursue her love of interior design, working for 6 years in one of DC's top interior design firms. She lives with her husband, Vytas, and their two children in Silver Spring, MD.
CLASS AGENTS