The prestigious Catholic high school for girls, located at 2281 Plummer Ave., held a morning Mass Sept. 8 to commemorate the high school's ruby anniversary.

Those honored were Marisa Watts Cozort, class of 1994; Cynthia Lucero, class of 1993; Dr. Marlene Mirassou, class of 1966; Sandi Maida Callahan, class of 1974, and Lon Normandin for their distinguished service.

Inside the school's gymnasium, students and staff were preparing for Mass, communion and the induction ceremony. Outside, a barbecue pit smoldered under the supervision of grill jockeys sporting blue T-shirts and aprons with white lettering reading "Presentation Parents." Nearby, the sports field was being converted into an entertainment area with a stage, booths for boosters of clubs and programs, and a raffle area, with one of the prizes being a five-day "dress free" pass. Presentation requires students to wear uniforms consisting of blue shirts and blue-and-white plaid skirts.

The gymnasium's bleachers, all positioned to one side, filled up quickly, as did the chairs set out on the basketball courts for the honorees and their guests. Father George Aranha led the Mass before several hundred attendees. The gymnasium's high ceiling amplified a fluorescent light's irritating buzz, made all too apparent during moments of prayerful silence.

Aranha opened with a prayer and soon Presentation High School Principal Mary Miller, an alumna from 1972, gave a speech.

Noting the coincidence that the school was celebrating its 40th anniversary just a few days before the one-year anniversary of Sept. 11, Miller said, "And even now our government is preparing to go to war, but we need to remember that the weapon of love is more powerful than an arsenal of hate."

Miller listed some of the school's notable milestones in growth. Between 1962 and 2002, Presentation saw two sports teams develop to eleven, a student body of 73 grow to 747, and a faculty of seven expand to 73. Typewriters have been replaced with computers, and the tuition of $200 has grown to "slightly more," Miller said amid much laughter from the audience. The yearly tuition is now $8,129 per student.

Then, one at a time, the inductees were announced and their accomplishments listed. Each was met with individual applause upon taking their place near the podium, and Normandin received a standing ovation.

Aranha closed the Mass with the help of a few students and a pair of priests to deliver communion and lead everyone in a prayer.

Lucero couldn't attend, as she had a schedule conflict. She is about to start her fourth year of medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Normandin, who is currently on the board of trustees, has been involved with Presentation for 30 years. His three daughters are Presentation alumnae, and his granddaughter is now a junior at the school. He also has three sons who attended Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose.

"I was very excited," Normandin said of his reaction to the news that he'd been inducted. "Very elated."

Normandin graduated from Bellarmine in 1952. He earned a degree in business from Santa Clara University in 1956, and, with his business training, was able to take over his great-grandfather's car dealership. He now runs Normandin Chrysler-Jeep on W. Capitol Expressway.

The school's anniversary program stated that Normandin "is a pillar of Catholic education in the San Jose Diocese and possibly the best friend Presentation has ever known."

Cozort, who currently coaches the school's swim team, was inducted into the athletic Hall of Honor for outstanding swimming. She was a high school All American four times and a Purdue University All American twice. But before her swimming career soared, she injured her neck in a swimming accident when she was 11 years old.

"I was at a team trip in Seattle, and we were fooling around like we shouldn't have been, and I dove in and hit the bottom of the pool," Cozort said. "I broke my neck and when they took me to the hospital they told me I'd probably never walk again. But the next morning I walked onto the airplane to come home and see a specialist, so everything turned out for the best."

Cozort said she's glad that her injury didn't affect her swimming career but she knows the pain will return.

"It's something that will get worse as I get older," she said. "Even now I have nerve damage and have to go see all these doctors ... so now I just have to suffer the consequences."

Those consequences won't keep her out of the water, though. Cozort said that everyone in her family swims and that she even coaches other swim teams besides Presentation.

"I can't imagine chlorine not being on my skin," she jokes.

Mirassou, one of Presentation's first graduates, holds a doctorate in forensic psychiatry and is now a professor at UC-Davis. Every other year she comes to Presentation for the school's career day. In her day-to-day life, however, she works with prisoners.

"Forensic psychiatry is the interface of psychiatry and the law," she said. "That can be either from the point of view of examining people for the law—either for criminal issues or civil issues—or treating people in correctional institutions." She said she works mostly with the latter. Yet with all her understanding of psychiatry, the human mind—particularly the criminal mind—remains a mystery to her.

"People are all different. My work is never the same," Mirassou said. "I suppose some of it is how fixed people can be on ideas that are harmful to them. But I am extraordinarily supportive of improving access to treatment for drug and alcohol problems because that's a big reason why we have overcrowded jails and prisons."

Callahan served on the committee that organized the 40th anniversary celebration. Even though she works closely with the school, she learned of her induction to the Hall of Honor through a letter in the mail.

"I was shocked and amazed and honored, and it was wonderful," she said.

Callahan has actively participated in running the school's annual fashion show, and produced the past two shows.

If Callahan is such a fashion diva, what does she think of the school uniforms?

"I think they're great," she exclaims. "I had nothing to do with them, but I think it's great they can wear the skirts shorter than we could."

When not producing fashion shows, she runs two Card & Party Discount stores in San Jose, which she has owned and operated for 18 years.

For more information on Presentation High School, 2281 Plummer Ave., San Jose, call 408.264.1664 or visit www.pres-net.com.