The Journey Home: Why De La Salle Alumni Keep Returning to 1130 Winton Drive

For many De La Salle students, graduation is not really a goodbye.

Years after receiving their diplomas and walking off campus as young men ready for college, careers, and life beyond 1130 Winton Drive, many Spartans find themselves drawn back to the place that helped shape them. Some return to coach. Others come back to teach, counsel, mentor, or serve in entirely new capacities. Today, 29 De La Salle alumni serve as faculty and staff members, a remarkable number for any school, let alone a private high school.

Their return speaks to something deeper than employment opportunities or nostalgia. It speaks to the enduring power of the De La Salle experience itself.

Across generations, alumni consistently describe De La Salle not simply as a school, but as a community that formed them, challenged them, supported them, and ultimately changed the course of their lives. And now, many feel called to provide that same experience for today’s Spartans.

For Nick Pelosi ’91, that realization came only after seeing other school environments firsthand.

“I realized I needed to come back after working at four other high schools where the cultures paled in comparison to 1130 Winton Dr.,” Pelosi said. “At my previous schools, there was no concept, nor the desire to be a community where every day, you believe in the team goal, you work for the team goal, you give all of yourself for the team goal.”

Pelosi’s reflection captures a theme that emerged repeatedly among alumni: De La Salle’s culture is difficult to replicate because it is built on something larger than academics or athletics alone. There is an expectation of service, sacrifice, and shared responsibility that many alumni say continues to define them long after graduation.

For Cris Rosales ’76, returning to campus decades later felt both surreal and deeply familiar. After moving back to the Bay Area and applying for a teaching position, he soon found himself back on the same campus he had once roamed as a student.

“I loved being back at DLS, and it took some time to realize that I was walking the same ground as I did back from 1972-76,” Rosales said. “This year marks the 50th anniversary of my graduation, and I still enjoy being part of the Spartan family!”

Rosales remembers a smaller, simpler De La Salle, one filled with Christian Brothers whose enthusiasm and Lasallian spirit left a lasting impression on him. Today, he sees part of his role as carrying that spirit forward for a new generation.

That passing down of care and mentorship appears throughout nearly every alumni story.

Sean Bristol ’97 remembers arriving at De La Salle after struggling in a different school environment and finally encountering educators who truly saw him as an individual.

“The help and support I received from Mr. Andriotti and my biology teacher changed my life,” Bristol said. “I do what I do because of the help, support, and educators who actually saw me as a student who needed help.”

Now working with students himself, Bristol carries those experiences into his daily interactions with Spartans.

“Knowing that I was no longer a number at a public school, and was a person that just needed someone to see me while at DLS, helps me remember that the students I work with also have their own experiences and journeys that have formed them,” he said.

For many alumni, returning to De La Salle did not begin with a job opening. It began with remaining connected long after graduation.

Justin Alumbaugh ’98 first returned to campus as a coach shortly after finishing his own time as a student.

“Coach Lad and Coach Eidson asked me to help out soon after I graduated,” Alumbaugh said. “I immediately loved being back in a different role and capacity.”

That experience eventually changed the direction of his career.

“To be honest, I had never thought much about being a teacher until being on campus as a coach brought me back to working with our student-athletes, and I was immediately drawn in,” he said.

As an alum, Alumbaugh believes there is something uniquely meaningful about serving students while sharing many of the same experiences they are currently living through.

“Having walked the same halls as our students, and sat in many of the same desks, I think we have a unique perspective on what it means to be a Spartan,” he said.

Kevin Fordon ’00 described a similar feeling when he eventually returned to campus after years of teaching elsewhere.

“1130 Winton Drive felt like my teaching profession was coming full circle,” Fordon said, describing the opportunity as “a homecoming of sorts.”

That word, “home,” surfaced again and again in alumni reflections.

“In the back of my head, I have always considered De La Salle my home because this is the place where I feel I can be the best version of myself,” said Garth Adlao ’93.

Adlao’s experience at De La Salle shaped not only his career path, but his philosophy of working with students. Reflecting on the teachers and coaches who influenced him most, he developed what he calls the “3x15 approach.”

“The teachers who changed my life only had to connect with me three times for 15 minutes in a way where I felt seen and valued as an individual,” Adlao said. “These were real ‘heart’ moments.”

Today, he intentionally tries to create those same moments for students.

“So today I try and see the students and meet them where they are on their journey,” he said. “The impact of these efforts go so much further than we think.”

Dan Murphy ’09 believes many of the most important moments at De La Salle happen in similarly small, personal interactions.

“It was honestly the little things that stood out most to me during my own time at De La Salle,” Murphy said.

Now back on campus himself, he works intentionally to create those moments for students.

“I make it a point to carve out time for small, genuine conversations with students, because I want each of them to know that I am truly here for them,” Murphy said. “Whether they are having the best day of their freshman year or a really difficult one, I want them to feel that I care about their experience here.”

For Travis Pacos ’11, the desire to return grew out of the realization that the culture he experienced at De La Salle was rare.

“I was working in corporate and realized the experience I had at De La Salle was going to be difficult to replicate anywhere else,” Pacos said. “People cared about one another and put their heart and souls into the community to make it special.”

That realization ultimately brought him back to the school’s mission.

“One motto from here that always stuck with me was ‘Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve,’” he said. “I felt called to serve the young people at our school and try to provide them with the same type of experience that I had as a student.”

Marcus Schroeder ’06 expressed a similar appreciation for the relationships and sense of belonging that defined his years at De La Salle.

“My years as a student and my deep love and appreciation for DLS is what drew me back,” Schroeder said. “The relationships/community of Winton Drive and the faith-based, quality education that De La Salle provided me, and all the young men that walk through these halls are what drew me back.”

Now, he hopes to provide students with the same support he once received himself.

“My experience was shaped by all the teachers, coaches, and leaders on campus who treated me with respect, showed a deep level of care for me, and challenged me to be the best version of myself,” Schroeder said.

For Clayton Tanner ’06, De La Salle remained part of his life even while playing professional baseball.

“I never really left DLS,” Tanner said. “Even while playing professional baseball, I would return to campus to work out and spend time around the team.”

After his playing career ended, returning full-time felt natural.

“This school gave me so much, so it felt natural to want to give back and help the next generation of Spartans,” Tanner said.

His reflections also reveal how deeply mentorship can shape a student’s life.

“When I was a student here, my dad wasn’t around, and I often found myself searching for a male role model,” Tanner shared. “Fortunately, there were many people who stepped into that role for me during a very pivotal time in my life.”

Now, Tanner strives to provide that same stability and support for students who may need it most. “You never truly know what someone is going through,” he said. “Having someone they can count on can make a lasting impact.”

Christian Curry ’89 still vividly remembers the people who made him feel like he belonged at De La Salle. “The genuine teachers and coaches who made me feel accepted and part of something special had a huge impact on me,” Curry said.

Today, he tries to reflect that same sense of community back onto his students and athletes.

Scott Drain ’94 perhaps summarized the alumni experience best: the impact of De La Salle is ultimately rooted in the people who dedicate themselves to students every day.

“When I graduated from DLS in 1994, I was surrounded by teachers that I really admired,” Drain said. “The Lasallian charism and values really spoke to me as well.”

Years later, when he returned as a counselor, many of those same mentors helped guide him professionally, continuing a cycle of mentorship that has become part of De La Salle’s identity.

While he acknowledges that today’s students face new challenges, including social media pressures, academic stress, and increasingly demanding schedules, his goal remains simple. “I always try to live up to the example that was set for me,” Drain said.

Taken together, the stories of these alumni reveal something remarkable about De La Salle. Across decades, changing campuses, evolving student experiences, and entirely different career paths, the same themes continue to emerge: brotherhood, mentorship, faith, service, and relationships grounded in genuine care.

The 29 alumni currently serving on De La Salle’s faculty and staff are not simply former students who came back to work at their high school. They are living examples of the school’s mission continuing across generations. Spartans who were once guided by caring adults and now feel called to guide others in return.

At De La Salle, graduation is not always the end of the story. Sometimes, it is the beginning of the journey home.

Name	Class of	De La Salle Position
Father LaSalle Hallissey	'69	Chaplain
Christopher A. Hood-Rosales	'76	Personal Counselor
Robert S. Guelld	'81	Assistant Dean of Students & Director of Campus Security
Scott K. Hirsch	'82	Math Department Chair & Math Instructor
John D. Pelster	'87	English Instructor & WASC Chair
Christian N. Curry	'89	Social Studies Instructor
Richard Graham	'90	English Instructor
Nick V. Pelosi	'91	Math Instructor
Giles D. Thompson	'93	Visual & Performing Arts Instructor
Garth N. Adlao	'93	Bishop Cummins Scholarship Coordinator
Leo C. Lopoz	'94	Vice President for Athletics
Scott J. Drain	'94	Director of Community and Belonging
Sean P. Bristol	'97	Special Needs Coordinator
Brett J. Anderson	'97	English Instructor
Greg G. Brown-Davis	'97	English Instructor
Justin E. Alumbaugh	'98	Social Studies Instructor
Kevin C. Fordon	'00	Social Studies Instructor
Paul A. Guaragna	'01	Health, Physical Education, & Recreation Instructor
Timothy R. Bedford	'03	Visual & Performing Arts Instructor
Gregory D. MacArthur	'03	Health, Physical Education, & Recreation Instructor
Jonathan S. Llama	'04	Information Resource Administrator
Marcus J. Schroeder	'06	Assistant Athletic Director
Clayton E. Tanner	'06	Director of Alumni and Family Engagement
Stephen W. Bennett	'07	Director of Theatre Arts
Marcus A. Chin	'07	Math Instructor
Daniel P. Murphy	'09	Director of Admissions
Travis D. Pacos	'11	Math Instructor
Joey D. Lewis	'15	Health, Physical Education, & Recreation Instructor
Jack H. Smith	'16	Technical Theater Coordinator