50 years of coeducation
The 2025–26 school year marks 50 years of coeducation at Gonzaga Prep. 50 Stories for 50 Years will honor the women whose presence and leadership have shaped the school—from the first to walk our halls to the young women of today. Throughout the year, we will share stories from campus and beyond and invite you to reflect, engage, and celebrate this journey of growth, inclusion, and transformation.
WEEK 8
T.B.I.Y.T.C.: Going coed inspires Search
When Gonzaga Prep first welcomed young women onto campus in 1975, it was clear that new traditions would be needed to bring students together in meaningful ways. Out of that hope, the first Search retreat was held in the spring of 1976.
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WEEK 7
Pursuit of excellence: `00 Bullpup volleyball
A quarter century after leading Gonzaga Prep volleyball to its first state championship match, co-captains Jill Paras-Stewart `01 and Keva Sonderen `01 are back on the court—this time as coaches. Their story is one of grit, renewed friendship, and the enduring pursuit of excellence that continues to shape Bullpup volleyball today.
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WEEK 6
'Eulogy virtues': Mia Padon `17 pursues the AMDG
Mia Padon embraced the Prep experience—serving through Ancilla, deepening her faith on retreats, and competing in three sports. Salutatorian at graduation, she went on to West Point, where she played Division I soccer and earned a science degree, later completing her master’s from the University of Southampton. Now a U.S. Army captain, she credits Prep with the confidence to thrive in male-dominated fields.
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WEEK 5
New curriculum, lifelong friendship
When Gonzaga Prep went coed, new Practical Arts classes—cooking, sewing, typing, financial literacy, and more—were added. Fr. Bill Hayes, S.J., hired young teacher Claudia (Nelson) Couch to lead them, and one of her first students, Nancy Nizich-Andres `79, became her teaching assistant and lifelong friend. Together they recall how these programs helped shape Prep’s coed experience.
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INTRODUCTION
Becoming coed at Prep: How it began
When 317 young women walked into Gonzaga Preparatory School on Sept. 2, 1975, they were stepping through more than just a doorway; they were crossing a threshold that was about to change the school in the most consequential way since its founding in 1887.
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WEEK 1
The first days of school
Mary Elizabeth “Molly” (Lordan) Schemmel is one of the sixty-nine young women in Gonzaga Prep’s inaugural coed senior class for the 1975-76 school year. To kick off our 50 stories for 50 years series, we offer her reflections about what it was like to be one of the firsts.
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WEEK 2
What makes Jesuit education distinctive
For nearly 90 years, Gonzaga Prep formed only young men in the Jesuit way of educating the mind, body, and spirit. Then came the fall of 1975. The arrival of women reshaped classrooms, student life, and eventually leadership itself—opening a new chapter that still defines the school today.
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WEEK 3
Fit check: What to wear, how to be coed
When Gonzaga Prep opened its doors to young women in 1975, the change wasn’t just felt in the curriculum—it was a HUGE change socially for both the young men and young women. What you wore and how you wore it suddenly mattered.
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WEEK 4
Alumna Q&A: Louise DeFelice `88
We asked alumnae to reflect on their experience at Prep and the paths they’ve taken since. This week, we feature Louise DeFelice `88—a dentist, clinical instructor with the EWU Department of Dental Hygiene, and founder of The Rachel Project. Her story shows how opportunities opened to women at Prep continue to ripple outward in service and leadership.
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Do you have a story to share about the impact of Gonzaga Prep’s move to coed? Firsts, achievements, fun anecdotes? We want to hear about it. Send a note to Kathleen (McKenna) Wilson `80 including "50 years coed" in the subject line.