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2017 Hall of Fame Inductees

Donna Parton Garaventa was born and raised in Salem, Oregon.  She attended St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School and, after graduating from Sacred Heart Academy, went to the University of San Francisco where she studied Psychology and Education and met her future husband, Jim Garaventa.  After teaching mid high English and math for six years, she entered Willamette College of Law where she earned a Law Degree.  She practiced law for a short period of time, got married, and then became a Workers’ Compensation Administrative Law Judge, where she held hearings, decided cases, and started mediating to assist parties in settling their cases.  

 

Four boys and two girls were born to Jim and Donna during the first 10 years of their marriage.  The children attended St. Vincent’s, St. Joseph’s and then Blanchet Catholic School.  They are Kevin ’03, Karen ’05, Tim ’07, Paul ’09, Ryan ’11, Gina ’13.  Donna served on the Blanchet School Board and the Salem Catholic Schools Foundation.  She is currently a member of the Blanchet Catholic School Foundation Board of Directors. 

Tygh Gianella attended Blanchet Catholic School starting in 9th grade in 2005. He was involved in numerous school clubs and activities including: Spirituality Team, Earth Club, Prom Committee, and National Honor Society. He played varsity football, basketball, and baseball throughout his time at Blanchet and joined the list of Blanchet 12-sport athletes. Tygh graduated from Blanchet in 2009 and continued his education at Gonzaga University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2013.  He continued his education at Oregon State University where he received a fellowship to perform research focusing on ground improvement techniques and mitigation of liquefaction with a full-scale project based in South Carolina.  He completed his thesis at Oregon State University where he received a Master of Science in Geotechnical Engineering in 2015.  Following graduation from OSU in 2015, Tygh joined Geoengineers where he works on a variety of projects throughout the state of Oregon. Most important to Tygh is his family. He met his wife, Mindy, in Spokane while at Gonzaga, and they were married in 2015 and had their first child, Hazel Page in December of 2018. He has a great relationship with his parents, Phil and Page Gianella, and his brothers, Tevin, Trey and Trent who all also attended Blanchet.

Mary Hollinger graduated from Chemeketa Community College with an Associate’s degree and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Linfield College in Business Administration.  Mary was Blanchet Catholic School’s first employee, initially serving as the school’s Executive Secretary and went on to support the school in nearly every capacity.  She helped organize Blanchet as a corporate entity, registered students, and setup a business system of bookkeeping.  Over the years, Mary continued to help with the financial administration of the school and became Business Manager while still helping with discipline, strategic planning, and the growth of the school.  Mary has been awarded Blanchet’s President’s Award, Volunteer of the Year and was also a Crystal Apple nominee.  Mary officially retired from Blanchet in 2016; however, she has returned often to help train new office staff, transition new leadership and ensure the integrity of the financial tracking and reporting.   Mary is married to Chuck Hollinger and together they have two sons, Michael (’99) and Kevin (’02), who both graduated from Blanchet Catholic School. 

Barb Schreiber grew up in New Holland, PA and attended Westminster College in New Wilmington where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in mathematics, a minor in French and teaching certificates in both subjects. She taught for five years in public school in West Chester, PA while she completed her Masters in mathematics at West Chester State.  Her love for cycling and exploring the outdoors eventually led her to the West Coast.  She taught at two community colleges and two high schools in California before finally settling in Oregon. After teaching for one year at Central High School in Independence, Ms. Schreiber accepted a position to teach upper level math at Blanchet Catholic School where she taught for sixteen years.  Her commitment to teaching and to her students is legendary.  She was instrumental in developing the Math Department in her tenure at Blanchet and was so admired that she was asked to deliver the commencement address at the Class of 2013 graduation ceremony.  Barb is married to Mike Smolin and they live in Salem, Oregon and winter in Oro Valley, Arizona.

After moving to Salem from Indiana, Gretchen attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School in 6th grade and then Blanchet Catholic School for grades 7-12. While at Blanchet, Gretchen was involved in drama, choir, Friends of Benedictine service club, Blanchet International Program, Peer Helpers, National Honor Society, and Student Council. She graduated as valedictorian of Blanchet's Class of 2003 and was awarded the Thomas Aquinas Award for Academic Excellence. She was also a 2003 Statesman Journal Academic All-Star. Gretchen attended Sarah Lawrence College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in 2007, and then proceeded to get her master’s degree and Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia.

Gretchen has served in the United States Peace Corps as a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Volunteer in Ukraine. She is currently a Postdoctoral Preceptor in the English Department at the University of Virginia. She and her partner, Dr. David Reznik, live in Charlottesville, Virginia.