From the first years of coeducation to today, Gonzaga Prep has formed men and women who would one day stand at the front of classrooms themselves. This is the story of how being known, challenged, and trusted became a call to teach.
There is a clear throughline among Gonzaga Prep graduates whose experience as Bullpups led them into Catholic education: care, relationships, and a belief that teaching is more than a profession. It is a calling.
Last summer, we gathered a group of teachers and administrators now serving in Spokane Catholic Schools—women whose Prep years span decades, from the early years of coeducation to the present. What began as a casual reunion became a shared reflection on the teachers who shaped them, and on the values they now carry into their own classrooms.
Names of Prep teachers poured out easily. Kathy Hicks. Ron Long. Phil Kuder. Al Falkner. Cindy Riopelle. Señora O’Grady. Denise Schlepp. Joelle Traynor. Sister Marita Bos. Dennis Dougherty. Each name held a memory of being challenged, noticed, or trusted—often for the first time.
For Elizabeth Schultheis `85, now a teacher at All Saints Catholic School, that trust came through rigor. Sr. Bos “demanded excellence and accepted nothing less,” she said. “You had to be early to class, or you were locked out. Tests were unforgiving and expectations were clear.” But in that structure, Schultheis discovered her love of math—and her belief that students rise when teachers believe they can.
Sara (Schmidlkofer) Raske `91, now a math teacher at Cataldo Catholic School, points to Kathy Hicks as both model and mentor. In the classroom, Hicks was patient and precise; outside it, she showed what leadership looked like through coaching and steady presence. Jenny Valley Dufresne `85, a second-grade teacher at All Saints, remembers Hicks as the kind of educator who made time for her when she was struggling, “She wasn’t even my teacher, I went in and she helped me with [geometry] proofs.” Hicks welcomed questions as many times as it took—a practical picture of what it means to teach with both rigor and care.
That trust multiplied beyond a single classroom. Dufresne recalls seeing the Catholic school pipeline at work even as a freshman, when younger All Saints students came up to sit in Prep classes because they were ready. Later, Hicks carried that same trust into leadership as principal at All Saints, hiring Prep graduates and placing responsibility in their hands before they had much experience. Schultheis `85 remembers being brand-new and still being trusted to rise—guided, supported, and given room to grow. For many, that vote of confidence turned teaching from a possibility into a path.
For current All Saints Principal Jen (Austin) Lewis `96, the influence of Prep’s teachers was relational. Joelle Traynor and Dennis Dougherty modeled cura personalis long before students knew the words. They were present, they paid attention, and they created classrooms where students felt known and loved.
Without hesitation, Gonzaga Prep social studies teacher Molly McFarland `94, recalls the impact of beloved teacher and coach Denise Schlepp. Though Schlepp was not her coach, she was her PE teacher—and a visible leader for women in a coeducational environment still finding its footing. As a teacher who helped shape athletics and leadership for young women at Prep, Schlepp modeled strength, honesty, and accountability. She knew when to challenge, when to step back, and when to speak plainly, and those lessons now shape how McFarland leads and teaches students herself.
The call to teach for Monica (Steilen) Eugenio `85 took shape through honest redirection. For her, math was not easy. Hicks and Eugenio’s now husband, Eddie “would try and try to get me to understand math,” she says. And she was putting in the effort—with little to show for it. When teacher Phil Kuder named that truth, Eugenio recalls, ”He said to me, ‘Steilen, I've never seen anybody work harder in their entire life, and you're never going to get there. So here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to give you a C- in this class, and I need you to walk away and I want you to become an English major.’” That pivot led her to Al Falkner’s English classroom, where learning became passion—and where friendship and accompaniment showed her what teaching could be for a lifetime. Recently retired, Eugenio spent many years as a reading resource teacher at All Saints.
Now, these women teach in a landscape shaped by screens, shortened attention spans, and constant distraction. They see the challenges clearly. But they also see signs of hope—in children rediscovering play, in families seeking connection, and in classrooms where presence still matters. The pendulum, they believe, is slowly swinging back.
For many, the call to teach began in service. Raske remembers volunteering at Longfellow Elementary as a requirement—and realizing she loved it. What began as obligation became vocation. For Lewis, service at Prep and later at Santa Clara formed habits of attention she still relies on. Jesuit education taught them that service is not extra. It is essential.
Schultheis brings the point home, sharing the story of watching her public-school-educated husband drive a van full of food with Prep students, including her sons, during the annual food drive. Seeing their seriousness, their care, and the families they served changed him. In that moment, he understood what Catholic education forms—and why it matters.
For Kristine (McKenna) Allbery `93, teaching in Catholic schools was never a decision. It was an inheritance. She grew up inside the community, watching faith and service woven into daily life, even when money was tight. Teaching was simply how she would give back.
Across every story, the same truth emerges: Gonzaga Prep teachers did more than teach content. They formed people. And those people became educators who now do the same.
What McFarland names, in the end, is something these women all recognize: Gonzaga Prep gave them places to try on leadership before they knew what to call it. Sometimes it came through service, sometimes by accident, sometimes simply because someone needed to step forward. “You don't have to be the person who is comfortable with public speaking,” She says. “You could be the quiet kid and be the leader in your classroom's food drive.” Those small, early chances to lead mattered. They taught students that leadership is less about the spotlight and more about responsibility—and they help explain why so many Prep graduates eventually find themselves standing at the front of a classroom, doing the same for others.
The women who gathered for this story represent just a handful of Prep graduates who are Catholic educators in Spokane, and the roster of alumni who teach extends far beyond Catholic education. We are grateful for their impact in the classroom and out in the world.
There are dozens of Gonzaga Prep alumni teaching in Spokane area Catholic schools. If we missed you, please
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