Over the course of its, 65 years, many students have returned after graduation to work at Mater Dei. From coaches and teachers, to deans and administrators, many positions have been held by Mater Dei alumni. Here are a few more monarchs that have come back home to carry on the tradition.

Bruce Rollinson is the Head Coach of the Football Team at Mater Dei as well as a Special Assistant to the President, Patrick Murphy. During his time at school, he focused mainly on getting to college and being able to play football at the next level after graduating from Mater Dei’s class of ’67. He did not suspect that his future would hold a position at Mater Dei again after playing for USC with some of the greatest players the school has seen. However, after college Rollinson found himself teaching and coaching at a small high school in Los Angeles, where he was soon notified of an open position at Mater Dei. Rollinson applied for the job of assistant football coach and has been here for 40 years since.

He continues to be friends with a large number of teammates he played football with at Mater Dei, and hopes to pass down that lesson to current athletes, as he helps mold them into closer friends and true brothers. Another valuable experience he had, was learning under the direction of Coach Richard Coury, a man he considers to have been one of his greatest mentors. The memory of winning the championship under Coury was topped only by the memory of becoming head coach.

Throughout the years, one of Rollinson’s greatest satisfactions is receiving calls or letters from former players, telling him about achievements in their lives, whether it is the birth of a child or a job promotion. These calls and letters assure Rollinson that the values and morals he bestowed on them during their time in football have stayed with them. Most recently, when 142 former Monarchs returned for the Thanksgiving break practice to cheer on the current varsity players, Rollinson was moved with a sense of connection and brotherhood.

Tim O’Hara is the current Dean of Students for the boys at Mater Dei in addition to being an assistant coach for the varsity football team. O’Hara graduated in the class of ’78 after a full high school career that involved serving on ASB and playing on the football and golf teams. Though he maintained a healthy relationship with the deans’ office during his attendance, he never foresaw the possibility that he would come back and work as a dean.

After coaching and teaching at various other schools, the opportunity arose to become a dean at Mater Dei, something he feels was “God’s intervention.” After serving some time as a dean, he also took on the role of an assistant football coach. Mater Dei was not a hard place to come back to for O’Hara, who was one of the eight children in his family who attended this school. In fact, it is this association of Mater Dei with family that O’Hara cites as one of the biggest impressions that has been left on him. He states that Campus Ministry and the further involvement of alumni on campus has strengthen this family aspect.

While many things have stayed the same, but grown, O’Hara notes the changes in diversity and technology on the campus. To him, there are many great characteristics that come to mind when thinking of the concept of being a Monarch, and this is why he is proud to help shape current Monarchs’ morals for the lives they have ahead of them.

Lydiette Kubik is a teacher for regular Spanish and AP Spanish classes at Mater Dei. After graduating in the class of ’72, Kubik attended UC Irvine, where she got her teaching credentials and subsequently taught at Santa Ana High School. She then came to Mater Dei where she has taught nearly every level of Spanish, from bilingual classes to AP Spanish Culture.

Over the years, she says the Spanish department has grown in a positive way and has grown with the introduction of the newest technology. Besides the courses changing, Kubik is astounded by the physical changes that the campus has undergone, from the relocation of lunch areas, to the addition of entire wings of classrooms.

One aspect of Mater Dei that she especially values is the fact that Mater Dei has offered her a place to practice her religion as a Catholic Christian with like minded people around her. It has also allowed her to grow in her knowledge and teaching abilities. In Kubik’s opinion, being a monarch is about using what we’ve learned and experienced at Mater Dei in order to make lifelong decisions while using our life experiences to face problems we encounter.