ANTONIO CARBAYO (1978) embodies the classic Mexican-American immigrant success story. Born in Mexico City, the son of a U.S. citizen father and a Mexican mother, he soon became a naturalized U.S. citizen settling in Southern California. He has always been a hard worker; after receiving the Most Improved Senior Award among other recognition he went on to El Camino College where he captured his AA degree. He transferred to UCLA where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in Literature and proceeded to UC Irvine where he obtained his bachelor’s in Biological Science. As a graduate of the highly acclaimed Post Baccalaureate program at UCI, he was invited to attend UCI Medical School where after completing his Medical Doctor degree went on to specialize in family medicine. As a bilingual doctor, he gives back to his community by provid-ing medical services to an underserved population in Santa Ana. A noted authority in family medi-cine, he serves as a frequent medical commentator on Spanish Language television stations. He has mentored and inspired many young aspiring doctors to stay in school and pursue their goals.

KENDRA FLEAGLE GORLITSKY (1969) edited La Vista for three years in high school. She now

practices Family Medicine with underinsured populations including the homeless, immigrants

and others in Central and South LA where she supervises students as Clinical Professor of Medi-

cine at USC and Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA. She has served as an expert

witness for asylum seekers under the auspices of Program for Torture Victims. She chairs Califor-

nia Hospital’s Bioethics Committee Consortium Newsletter, using the skills she learned as a

Mustang reporter. Her biggest current challenge is serving as Scout Master for an inner city boy

scout troop and is eager for any volunteers. She is the mother of three and her youngest,

Garett Gorlitsky, graduated from Costa in ’06.

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EVENT SPONSORED BYA MBEF Supporter for 25 Years

Several Distinguished Alumni nominees cited GARY HARTZELL (1960) as a Costa history teacher whose work inspired and motivated them. He initiated Mira Costa’s AP History program in the early 1980s and taught courses for the College Board regarding AP history program development. Later as principal, Gary led in the development of Scholar Quiz, Pride Day and other innovative programs. Leaving Costa in 1987, he earned a doctorate at UCLA and then became a professor at the Univer-sity of Nebraska at Omaha, where he helped found and then direct a doctoral program in educa-tional administration. Gary is best known for his work in the school library field, speaking nationally and internationally about their importance. He was one of only eight people invited to speak at the White House Conference on School Libraries in 2002 and remains on the advisory board of the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries. Among other honors, the American Library Association in 2005 identified Gary as one of the 100 most influential people in the school library field. A year later the American Association of School Librarians awarded him its highest honor for service to the field. Retired now, Gary serves as one of the library commission members for the City of Manhattan Beach.

Many high school students wear t-shirts emblazoned with their favorite sports team or band, but how many want to advertise their favorite high school subject? ELROY LANG’S 1994 students did. They proudly wore white t-shirts with the word Geography silkscreened on the front to honor the enthusias-tic and innovative teacher who inspired generations of students to love the subject. A member of the first graduating class to attend Mira Costa all four years (1954), Elroy taught for decades in the school’s social studies department and spent evenings teaching at local colleges including El Camino, Loyola Marymount, and Pepperdine. He also coached four freshman baseball teams to league championships. His other classroom was the beach where he pioneered Mira Costa’s first surf team and laid the foundation for the competitive interscholastic surf program (now widely popular across the South Bay). At their fifteenth anniversary event in 2012, the South Bay surf league honored him for his groundbreaking work in establishing the league. Since his MCHS retirement Elroy continues to reside in Newport Beach surfing Mondays thru Fridays, and paddling on the weekends.

M I R A C O S TA H I G H S C H O O LD I S T I N G U I S H E D A L U M N I H A L L O F F A M E

CASEY MINER (1988) has distinguished himself through his service to his country. During his 20 years in the Army, he has served around the world, including an assignment at the Pentagon. His most recent assignment included a deployment to Afghanistan as the Command Inspector General, a position that allowed him to work directly with soldiers and leaders all over the country as the “eyes and ears” of the commander. He developed a resiliency program that helped ensure soldiers learned effective coping skills to avoid high-risk behavior and deal with stress. Casey has been recognized with two Bronze Star Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, four Commendation Medals and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal; he is also a Paul Harris Fellow for Leadership./ Casey has received recognition for his efforts in education that include mentorship programs, school board advisory committees, cub scouts, youth groups and as the UCLA Model UN Faculty Advisor. He’ll return to Los Angeles to serve as an assistant professor at UCLA teaching Leadership and completing his doctorate in educational leadership. He plans to help children in poverty and military children with life skills as he transitions from the military in the near future.

If the definition of a hero is one who runs towards danger rather than from it in order to help other people, MIKE SILVA (1979) certainly qualifies. When the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11, Mike, a former “top gun” naval flight officer, was three blocks away and rushed to the scene to assist others. In a time of national distress, he then worked around the clock for two weeks as part of the Federal Reserve team that stabilized the financial system. In a less immediate, but still significant environment, Mike has served as an attorney and then chief of staff for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, playing an important role in international finance for the U.S. government, including time in Iraq working to stabilize its Central Bank, a contribution that earned him special recognition from the Department of the Treasury. As chief of staff of the New York Fed, Mike worked on the Federal Reserve response to the 2008 financial crisis. Mike currently leads the Federal Reserve team that supervises the Goldman Sachs Group.

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EVENT SPONSORED BYA MBEF Supporter for 25 Years

DANNY STRONG (1992) is an actor and writer who has worked on some of the most well-known films and TV shows of the last 20 years. As an actor he is best known for the five seasons he played Jonathan on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the four seasons he played Doyle on Gilmore Girls. He was most recently seen in the award winning show Mad Men as Danny Siegel. His other credits include such iconic projects as Pleasantville, Seinfeld, Nip/Tuck, Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother and many more. Also an award-winning screenwriter, Danny wrote and produced the highly acclaimed HBO Film Game Change, which won him an Emmy for Outstanding Writing, a Writer’s Guild Award, a Golden Globe, a Peabody and the Pen Award. He also received another Emmy nomination and won the Writer’s Guild Award for his screenplay for Recount, an HBO movie about the 2000 US election. His most recent screenplay for the film The Butler, starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, just opened to rave reviews and is considered the sleeper hit of the summer. His next project is writing the two-part finale of the very popular Hunger Games series. Generous with his knowledge and experience, Danny has returned to Mira Costa on several occasions to talk to drama students about how to break into the movie business.

The word “comeback” is overused, but not for CLIFF MEIDL (1984). In a construction site accident in 1986, three live electrical cables sent 30,000 volts of electricity through his body, causing massive damage to his knees and severe burns to his back and head. Over the next three years, he under-went 17 surgical and medical procedures to save his legs. Not satisfied just to walk again, Cliff took up kayaking. His hard work and determination led him to become one of the best in the world. He qualified for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, and competed again at the 2000 Olym-pics in Sydney, Australia. Cliff’s spirit led the American athletes in Sydney to choose him as the U.S. flag bearer at the Opening Ceremonies, an honor that normally goes to multiple Olympians or gold medalists. Cliff is now a national spokesperson for safety in the construction industry and an interna-tionally known motivational speaker, concentrating on the universal topics of courage, hope, and achievement through adversity.

M I R A C O S TA H I G H S C H O O LD I S T I N G U I S H E D A L U M N I H A L L O F F A M E