Submitted by Destinee Cordeiro ’09
Carondelet means so much to me and is still ever present in my life 12 years after graduating in 2009. The bonds that I made at Carondelet and following graduation with fellow alumnae remain so important to me. If I could tell the graduating senior class of 2021 one thing, it would be that the spirit of Carondelet stays with you forever!
The fall after I graduated from Carondelet, I moved to Los Angeles on my eighteenth birthday to pursue my B.A. in Television, Film and Media Studies with an emphasis in Broadcast Journalism from Cal State Los Angeles. I was inspired to go after a career in journalism by my favorite English teacher, Ms. Ditzel, who would always say that I wrote my assignments as if they would be in a magazine.
It was my time at Carondelet that gave me confidence and was a motivating factor to follow my dreams. Throughout college, I hustled on commercial productions for brands like Target and Jet Blue, and the shows “Entertainment Tonight” and “OMG! Insider” at CBS Studios. My background on the red carpet led me to NBCUniversal following graduation as a Producer for “E! News” overseeing 5 different teams that translated our US show into French, Polish, Arabic and German daily. I also took advantage of the opportunity to chase my Master of Communication Management degree during this time at the University of Southern California. From a colleague at NBC, I was then offered a role on the ABC-Disney Freeform show, “The Fosters” (available on Hulu), and am currently the Post Production Supervisor on its spin-off program, “Good Trouble”. Season 3 is currently airing on Freeform, Wednesdays at 10P and streaming the next day on Hulu – it’s always a bit surreal to see my name run in the credits!
Though I am proud of these accomplishments, much of this journey would not have been possible without my powerhouse support system of women who also attended Carondelet and who propel me to keep going - Laura Griffin ’09, Katelyn O’Neil ’09, Jillian Rodrigo ’09, Sarah Walsh ’09, Amanda Rabbit (Vierthaler) ’09, Kristen Merino ’09, Brianna Nicholson ’09, and Shannon (Troyer) Atkins ’09, Jeannette Bowler ’09 and Catherine Azzopardi ’09.
All of these Carondelet women have gone on to do amazing things themselves like becoming nurses, social workers, vet techs, marketers, scientists, US Navy and more. This past year of social distancing would have been dramatically different without our fun Zoom hangouts and game nights. These ladies are always there to lean on and it’s like our conversations never skip a beat!
While I work from home in Los Angeles and my mom whips up some cookies to donate to the Carondelet Crab Feed (Old Towne Danville Bakery), I have been reflecting fondly on the memories that I made at Carondelet and how my experiences in high school prepared me to be “all of which woman is capable.” And though I would totally go back in a heartbeat to walk those echoed halls and dance in the quad on one of our wacky spirit days just one more time, I am proud to stay in touch and delight in the achievements of my fellow Carondelet sisterhood. I will always be a Carondelet woman in spirit everywhere I go!