Thank you for joining us for Alumnae Weekend on March 10-11!
A time to return to campus to celebrate Westridge ties and lifelong
friendships with classmates and fellow alumnae
Schedule of Events
Friday, March 10
1:45 pm Gathering of the 50th Reunion Class of 1973
2:15 pm Meet & Greet for the Classes of 1973 and 2031,
Ranney House
3:30-4 pm Campus tour
4-5 pm Coffee and Cookies with Andrea Kassar
Join our new Head of School to share stories about Westridge.
5-7 pm "Twilight at Westridge" Cocktail Reception
Spouses or significant others welcome
Saturday, March 11
9:30 am Madeline Society coffee with Andrea Kassar,
Pitcairn Living Room
10 am Coffee & registration for all alumnae
10:05 am Gathering for Asian American, Black/African American, Latinx, and more affinities hosted by the Alumnae DEIJ Committee (more information below)
11 am Q&A with Sarah Beshir '10, 2023 Distinguished Young Alumna Recipient
12 pm Lunch and program honoring award recipients and Q&A with Thembisa S. Mshaka '88, 2023 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient
2 pm Campus tour + Tiger Tail Boutique open
Westridge Theatre Presents:
Matilda The Musical
A limited number of complimentary tickets to the spring play are available to alumnae on a first-to-reply basis.
PERFORMANCES:
- Friday, March 10, 7 pm
- Saturday, March 11, 7 pm
- Sunday, March 12, 2 pm
Performances will be held in the Fran Norris Scoble Performing Arts Center.
About the Alumnae Affinity Gathering
The affinity gathering is a special session where Asian American, Black/African American, and Latinx alumnae will have a conversation facilitated by Westridge Director of Equity Ian Tatum. Alumnae will then have the opportunity to break out into groups, should you choose. In addition, we hope to learn more about how you might like to gather with one another or engage with Westridge throughout the year. Coffee and a light breakfast will be provided.
The above affinity groups have shown interest in this gathering. If you are interested in a different affinity, please reach out to Fan Wang, director of alumnae engagement, at fwang@westridge.org.
Honoring Distinguished Westridge Alumnae
Each year Distinguished Alumnae are nominated by fellow alumnae to be honored at Alumnae Weekend. The first recipients were chosen in 1988 and were two members of the Westridge student body from its founding in 1913. Today, two alumnae are selected—the Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient and the Distinguished Young Alumna Award Recipient. These alumnae embody the spirit of the Westridge motto Surgere Tentamus, have made meaningful impact in their community and notable strides in their chosen fields, and are an inspiration to the Westridge community. Learn more about these awards here.
2023 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished
Alumna Award Recipient
Thembisa Mshaka ’88
Thembisa Mshaka ’88 is an award-winning multi-hyphenate, with experience as a creative executive, author, producer, filmmaker, voice actor, activist, and entertainment branding specialist. An LA native and founder of Mshaka Media, Thembisa’s career includes tenures at BET Networks and Sony Music. Her creative work has supported artists including Beyoncé and her voiceover talent has been tapped for the WNBA and Women of Team USA for NBC’s Peacock. In 2021, she was part of the inaugural Black Muslim TV Screenwriters cohort from the Hollywood Bureau, Muslim Public Affairs Council, and The Blackhouse Foundation. She sits on the advisory boards of the Universal Hip Hop Museum and the nonprofit GiveLyrics.
2023 Distinguished Young Alumna Award Recipient
Sarah Beshir ’10
Sarah Beshir '10 is a systems engineer at Northrop Grumman, where she leads teams creating satellite system architecture models. She has developed command products and software tools and worked for the test and launch of satellites. In 2020, Sarah founded the social & racial justice working group at her company’s campus to drive awareness and solutions for racial justice by improving employee recruitment, retention, education, and communication. She supports the national nonprofit Eritrean Muslims Council as treasurer, and student STEM conferences in various roles. Sarah holds a bachelor’s in political science and environmental studies from the University of Southern California, and a master’s in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University. She also holds a certificate in model-based systems engineering from Caltech and was a polymathic fellow at USC.
Nominate the next Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award recipient!
Alumnae Weekend 2022 Recap
It was wonderful to have so many alumnae return home to Westridge for Alumnae Weekend 2022—our first back on campus since 2020!
Together, we celebrated the 50th reunion class of 1972; 2022 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient Vicki Vlachakis von Holzhausen '90 and 2022 Distinguished Young Alumna Award Recipient Bianca Mabute-Louie '08; and retired Ceramics Teacher Juanita Jimenez for her 50 remarkable years at Westridge.
Click here to view our photo album from the weekend.
Questions? Contact us at alumnae@westridge.org.
