Oceanside High School Foundation/Alumni Association

Academics

Doctor Louann Brizendine learned the value of education from her mother Louise, a longtime teacher at South Oceanside Elementary School.  In the same manner she took the fast track on the road to higher education, (graduating one semester early as part of the Class of 1971), she would soon add titles of  M.D., professor, clinician and writer to her name.  In 1976, Dr. Brizendine completed her B. A. in Neurobiology at UC Berkeley.  She continued her medical studies at Yale, graduating from Yale School of Medicine in 1981, before moving on to complete her residency in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.  Considered an expert in women’s moods and hormones, Dr. Brizendine is board certified in Psychiatry and Neurology and is an endowed clinical professor.  In 1988, she joined the faculty of the University of California San Francisco Medical School at the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute.  Six years later, she founded the UCSF Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic, where today she continues to serve as its director.  The clinic aims to treat women experiencing disruption of mood, energy, anxiety, sexual function and well-being due to hormonal influences on the brain.  In 2006, Dr. Brizendine joined the New York Times Best-Seller list with her publication, “The Female Brain.”  The book is dedicated to her mother, and since going to print, has been translated in more than 29 languages.  Soon after, Dr. Brizendine followed up her success with her second book, “The Male Brain,” which aims to demystify the “puzzling male thought process.”  Throughout her distinguished career, she has been featured by a number of national media outlets as an expert in her field.  Dr. Brizendine’s broadcast media credits include:  The Today Show, 20/20, Good Morning America, NPR, Fox News and CNN.  Her writings have been published in a variety of print media outlets, including Time Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, Newsweek, New York Times Magazine, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times Magazine, and the London Free Press, to name a few.

Arts

A member of the 1994 OHS graduating class, Ben Aquillon quickly developed his love for both art and computers upon his enrollment as a new sophomore at Oceanside High School.  The courses in which he took part provided what his mother refers to as “the vision for what he could achieve in life.”  Well on his way to a career in the visual arts, Ben parlayed his education at OHS into a B.A. in Studio Arts at the University of California, Irvine in 1998.  Six years later he added a Master’s of Fine Arts degree, department of computer art, animation, to his resume from New York’s School of Visual Arts.  He also received an ArtsBridge Scholarship, as part of the University of California Academic Honors, and the State of California Governor’s Medallion for Excellence in the Visual Arts.  Throughout his career, Ben has produced animation for broadcast public relations campaigns, developed corporate websites and designed support materials for corporate annual reports that garnered national design awards.  As a computer graphic artist, he has created animation design for large-scale corporations such as Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and AT&T.  While working in computer design for QuietMan, Ben produced visual effects and animation for broadcast commercials.  Since January 2006, he has worked as a Senior Color and Lighting Technical Director for Sony Pictures Imageworks.  His role includes serving as a Lead Sequence Lighter and Compositor for feature animation films leading teams of visual effects artists and compositors, and Senior Look Developer, defining the look and feel of characters and environments in animated films.  During the past few years, Ben’s artistic talent and technical expertise have helped legendary directors and producers realize their vision onto the screen in films like Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” Steven Spielberg’s “Monster House,” Jerry Bruckheimer’s “G-Force” and Robert Zemeckis’ “Beowulf.”

Community Service

Selected as a “Women of Merit” by the North County Times in 2001, Roberta “Bobbie” Thill was described in a feature article by the publication as a woman who “has brought quality to her hometown by going above and beyond what is expected of her.”  Since obtaining her OHS diploma in 1946, Bobbie has devoted her life to serving the Oceanside community.  She grew up in a household that emphasized the importance of community service, watching and learning from her father, Ray Wilcox, who served as mayor of Oceanside during the 1940s.  Bobbie’s work on behalf of the citizens of Oceanside include her prominent roles in the city’s Bicentennial Celebration, the creation of Heritage Park, and constant fundraising efforts to help launch, benefit and sustain the Oceanside Museum of Art.  A former chair of the city’s Bicentennial Committee from 1975-1977, Bobbie expanded her service to play a vital part in the development of Heritage Park.  The landmark project depicts and portrays the lives of Oceanside’s earliest residents.  Today, the park continues to serve area students and remains a popular site for social functions.  Bobbie’s instrumental role in this project led to a city proclamation and a plague at the park recognizing her selection as a “Woman of the Year” by the local Elks Club.  She was also a key figure in the development of the Meet the Americans program, a project aimed at bringing together people from foreign countries in the North County as a means to helping foster “international understanding.”  Another of her major projects was her involvement with the Oceanside City Library.  An avid reader, Bobbie initiated the library’s Book Memorial Program, which allows people to donate books to the library in the name of a loved one.  As the 2001 Times article noted, “It’s more than the social scene that interests her.  Like her father before her, she wants to leave a lasting mark on the lives of others in her community.”

The fifth of six children, Junior Seau graduated from OHS in 1987.  A three-sport letterman for the Pirates, Seau’s amazing athletic prowess led Parade magazine to name him to its High School All-American team simply as a “athlete.”  By the time he left the Pirates, his path would lead him to selection as a unanimous first-team All-American at USC, before becoming one of the most highly regarded and respected linebackers to ever play in the NFL.  In 1990, the Chargers selected Seau as their top draft choice, the league’s fifth overall selection.  Seau would spend 13 of his 20 NFL seasons with the Bolts, before moving on to play for the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots.  During his stretch in San Diego, he was regarded as the team’s leader and heart of the Charger’s defense, earning 12 consecutive Pro Bowl appearances.  For two straight seasons (1998-99), he was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.  A six-time AP All-Pro selection, Seau was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade Team for the 90’s.  In 2009, he was named to the Chargers All-Time Greatest Team in celebration of the organization’s 50-year anniversary.  That same year, he was inducted into the USC Hall of Fame.  His numerous accomplishments extend far beyond the sidelines and end lines of the gridiron.  Two years after being drafted by the Chargers, Seau established the Junior Seau Foundation in an effort to provide ongoing support to youth throughout San Diego.  In 1994, Seau was tabbed as the True Value Man of the Year.  During the past decade, his organization has allocated nearly $4 million to organizations providing services to children and adults.  His own establishment “Seau’s,” continues to serve as one of San Diego’s premier sports-themed restaurants.  President George Bush awarded Junior the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2005.  Seau is also a member of the National Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame, a Spirit of Award honoree from the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, and received the JB award which recognizes NFL players for their dedication to building better communities.

An OHS Class of 1936 graduate, Fred Hilton and his family came to Oceanside six years prior, when he enrolled as a seventh grade student at Oceanside Grammar School.  While he describes his four years as “uneventful,” Fred’s future career in the oil industry would prove otherwise.  He developed a sense for the business world from his father, who owned a dry cleaning plant, and his mother, who operated a beauty parlor.  While attending OHS, he began his own path in the working world, delivering the “Blade” newspaper earning one dollar per week, and assisting his father at the plant called Hilton’s Cleaners.  Upon graduation, Fred enrolled at Oceanside Junior College for one year before moving on to the University of California Berkeley in 1937.  There he lived in a co-op, paying $22.50 a month for room and board.  The tuition at UC Berkeley was $35 annually.  Four years later he earned a BS in Petroleum Engineering.  He took his first position with Tidewater Associated Oil Co., and was soon recruited by the Arabian American Oil Co., in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in 1943.  Dhahran was on its way to becoming the major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry after large oil reserves were first identified there in 1931.  Fred refers to his opportunity to work in the oil industry in Saudi Arabia as a “petroleum engineer’s dream.”  Eventually, he moved on to Aramco Oil facility in Manhattan, New York, where he commuted for 25 years from his home in Greenwich, Conn.  Fred’s next move was a transfer to Mobil Oil Corporation, one of the owners of Aramco.  In 1969, he left Mobil to begin a stint working in oil-related positions for a brokerage firm and then a prestigious New York bank.  After the passing of his second wife in 1984, Fred relocated to San Diego County.  Upon his return, he said “It seemed like heaven being back home.”  He has since retired from working as a money manager and manager of oil properties.

Throughout the past four decades, Glen Stettler, OHS Class of 1970, has devoted his life to public service.  Since joining the U.S. Navy in 1971, Glen has embraced a number of opportunities to serve the public and our country, including work performed directly on behalf of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.  From the time he became a naval serviceman in 1971, Glen has established himself as a technical communications expert.  His 28 years of naval service included two complete career paths, seaman to Senior Chief Petty Officer, and Ensign to Commander.   In 2001, Glen returned to the White House Communications Agency as a civilian, specifically requested to engineer and procure the Command and Control communications systems in support of Presidential travel outside of Washington, D.C.  This system is still in use today.  Three years later, he became a member of the staff of the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Networks and Integration, Command and Control Policy.  In this role, he served as the lead integrator for the creation of a national command and control communications system.  In June 2005, Glen received the assignment as the Director of Command and Control, Configuration and Interoperability within the office of the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Joint Coalition & Operations, Defense Research and Engineering.  In January 2009, he became the acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for International Technology Security.  He now serves as the Director of Militarily Critical Technologies.  His educational accomplishments include a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of New York, a master’s in Information Systems and Computer Resources from Webster University, and a Graduate Certificate in Telecommunications Engineering from George Washington University.  His numerous career accomplishments and service to the public are a credit to himself, his family and the institution that formed the educational foundation upon which he has built this admirable career.