Remembering and Celebrating, Sister Kathy Lang, CSJ and Her Crown Jewel

On April 18, 2026, I returned to my alma mater for the Memorial of Sister Kathy Lang, CSJ. A Sister of Saint Joseph of Carondelet for 70 years, she served 26 of those years as principal and as the first president of Carondelet High School in Concord, California. It was a gift to gather for Mass, a shared meal, and a storytelling session honoring such an extraordinary leader. I sat with classmates, former teachers, alumnae, and parents representing five different decades.

As I reflected on Sister Kathy’s life and legacy, two words stayed with me—words that captured what she believed Carondelet to be and what we, as alumnae, were made to feel: crown and jewel. Let me explain...

When my friends and classmates got word of Sister Kathy's passing on January 25, 2026, we shared a slew of text messages —each one echoing the same sense of loss, gratitude, and appreciation for her many gifts. More importantly, the messages were consistent. "She was a caring and strong presence" and "She set a great example as a female leader." One friend wrote, "It's impressive how she knew something about every student and knew them by name." Sister Kathy's qualities then and now were never taken for granted. Her memory is indeed a blessing.

My memories of Sister Kathy are many—and blessed. She had the most piercing, beautiful blue eyes. She listened with them and was ever present on campus. She also had a lovely speaking voice, and I give her great credit for never raising it—even when she needed to. Perhaps that was her superpower: when things got heated, Sister Kathy remained calm. Temperatures might rise, but her voice stayed low. I graduated in 1992, long before chemical peels or Hydrafacials were commonplace. Otherwise, you might have thought she indulged—her skin was that radiant. She smiled often. But Sister Kathy was firm and she also kept a professional distance. She was not one to be fooled. 

Her obituary states that "Being a San Franciscan was an important piece of her identity." In her poignant eulogy tribute, former CHS teacher, Elizabeth Clemente-House recalled how much Sister Kathy loved to tell people she was from "The City." She was a proud graduate of St. Cecilia's and Star of the Sea Academy.

I have always held onto that detail because my mom is no different. A San Francisco native, she, too, attended “Star”—a connection they both recognized in one another. There was an unspoken understanding between them, rooted in a shared formation in the same sacred place. Both my mom and Sister Kathy carried a deep love for Stella Maris.

I have no doubt this is a key reason my mom enjoyed her tenure as the Parent's Guild president. In that role she worked with Sister Kathy, and my mom was the one to tell me how much Sister Kathy loved Carondelet. "Anne, she believes it is the crown jewel of all their schools." I never forgot those words. 

Toward the end of  my senior year, my parents invited Sister Kathy and her great friend, Sister Eleanor to our home for dinner. My Dad, whom Sister E always called "Stan the Man," attended public school and was not as familiar with religious sisters. I know at the conclusion of that evening he was a little surprised by these deeply progressive female leaders. Meanwhile, my mom loved every minute of it.

Sister Kathy and Sister Eleanor who never wore the habit made a habit of walking after school. Together, they would get outside, exercise and converse with others in the community. Thinking about that now, I am certain it was part of their ministry. They met others where they were. It sounds a whole lot like Pope Francis' Theology of Encounter to me. I'd like to think Sister Eleanor and Sister Kathy walked with God—and God with them. 

The Celebration of Life for Sister Kathy made me aware of her great gift for fundraising. On some level, I wasn't surprised to hear that confirmation. Today, Carondelet—ever a beautiful campus—has new and outstanding facilities. But as someone whose athletic interests were given great opportunity at CHS, I see the as the Carondelet Athletics Complex crown jewel of her fundraising efforts. 

It is a six-acre, modern sports facility located in nearby Walnut Creek that serves as the primary home for many of the school’s outdoor athletic programs. It was developed to give Carondelet student-athletes a true “home field,” replacing decades of off-site practices and competitions.

Acquired in 2015, Carondelet was forward thinking in securing this place and space. Though she was retired, this sports gem would have never been possible without Sister Kathy's vision, foundation and prior success in fundraising.

I have taught at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in “The City” for 20 years now. When I interviewed for the position, the school’s president, Father Tony Sauer, SJ, asked where I had gone to high school. When I told him “Carondelet,” he smiled.“Ah.Then you know Sister Kathy Lang.”

“She was my principal,” I replied.

He laughed, then added, “I took her to a dance her first year of college. She left for the convent after that. My loss was the Sisters’ gain.”

I’ve never forgotten that story. Both Sister Kathy and Father Tony gave their lives in service to countless young men and women in Catholic education. They both had great social capital, power and poise. Still, there is a distinction in their styles that I’ve come to appreciate.

So many graduates of S.I. speak of it as the crown jewel of Bay Area schools—I know Tony felt that way. I’m genuinely glad they do, and I’m often amused by how eager they are to make sure others know it. People frequently ask if I went to St. Ignatius as well.

I never have to hesitate. I didn’t—and I’ve never felt badly about that. Why? Because I went to Carondelet High School. Under Sister Kathy’s leadership, and guided by her conviction, I came to understand that I was already part of something extraordinary. Like her, it wasn’t flashy or bold. It was a quiet confidence.

I have also always felt connected to De La Salle High School, even when others don’t fully understand the relationship between the two schools. Sister Kathy’s leadership extended beyond 800 young women; she collaborated with the Christian Brothers and helped shape a shared vision that included nearly 900 young men as well. Two jewels for the price of one. Lucky Cougars, lucky Spartans.

I remain deeply proud that my diploma, my yearbooks, and my experience all trace back to 1133 Winton Drive. Thank you, Sister Kathy for your commitment to Carondelet. The love and vision you shared as principal and president lives on. It shines so brightly.

Photo Credits
Principals
purple
Memorial Service

This I Believe: Thank you Kory Lamet

You want patience? life will throw you tests.
You want empathy, life will break you.
You want humility? try playing a new sport as an adult.

I recently heard someone complain about the fact that they picked up soccer too late in life. If only they had competed in the sport when they were much younger, their skill set, understanding of the game, and technique would be refined in such a way that they could be an elite athlete. 
"How old were you when you started playing?" I asked.
 "Eleven," she said.

I do not support this mindset. Though I understand that confidence is born from experience and competition is important, we should never feel as though we start something too late. I think of the many opportunities, friendships, life lessons and talents I would have missed had I not taken up a given sport by a certain age. 

I learned to row like many college freshman do my first year at Notre Dame. I rowed competitively for four years on the club team; women's crew became a varsity sport but a year after I graduated. I have a sense of what D-1 varsity athletes do because of that I experience. I know all that they give and what they gain.

I returned to playing basketball, a game I played in CYO in third through seventh grade in my late 20s. It was ugly, it was raw, I'm not sure you would ever want me on your team, but I enjoyed it. I watch the game much differently after having returned to it as an adult. My appreciation for some of the complexities of basketball and the demands it puts on athletes is much different because I had the courage to lace up my shoes for the hardwood.

And but three years ago, I didn't really play golf. Now it's a regular part of my weekend and summer activities!

Playing with a friend on Saturday I went straight for the pin, which was to the right side of the green on a slope. After I hit the ball, it faded to the right, demanding a chip shot to get on. I said "I should have hit for the middle of the green. I'm just not that good. I can't afford to be going for it." John turned and looked at me incredulous. "That's a great attitude. Most people don't talk like that,"  he said. I told him "I know where I have been and I know where I want to be. I'm a long way from that, but I also know I won't be going back." Every golfer knows the sport keeps you humble. For those of us who joined the ranks later in life, we know that truth cubed.

I first read about the "This I Believe" series from an article in Catholic San Francisco, a free publication created by the Archdiocese of San Francisco. In recent years, it has resurfaced as a popular podcast series on NPR.

This I Believe is an international organization engaging people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives. Over 125,000 of these essays, written by people from all walks of life, have been archived here on our website, heard on public radio, chronicled through our books, and featured in weekly podcasts. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow.

Since encountering this treasure trove, I have come to realize I believe many things, but pressing on is that it is never too late to find a passion in life. After his presidency, George W. Bush has found solace in painting. My mom has taken to Bridge with a vengeance. I'm just glad it's something she can play with old friends and new ones and with my dad! And I loved reading about fellow Carondelet alumna Kory Lamet '11, who found one on the sand volleyball court. In "A Beautiful Game," Jonathan O'Kanes writes 

Lamet, after finishing her career on Cal’s women’s soccer team, decided she wasn’t ready to put away her athletic shoes quite yet and decided to make a run at Cal’s beach volleyball team. She’s still running, helping the Bears’ No. 2 pair to a 17-5 record this season and the team to a No. 14 national ranking.

Reading Kory's story not only affirmed my belief—she hadn't even played competitive volleyball since sophomore year of high school, let alone beach volleyball—it reminded me that we all bring our unique self to what we do. 

Her natural athletic ability and mental make-up made up for any shortcomings related to the lack of playing time, Her partner teammate added “She kind of started with a clean slate. She didn’t have any bad habits or anything like that,”  

Lamet said, “It was humbling and frustrating, and it’s still that way,I still come out here and it’s kind of the same. I had indoor experience, but my body and mind just weren’t on the same page. On top of that, skills from indoor aren’t nearly the same as sand. It was frustrating, but it’s gotten better.”

In spite of her lack of playing experience, Kory was voted captain by her new teammates, I'm not sure she needed the humility that is born by playing a sport as an adult athlete; sounds to me like she has it. 

Lamet knew she was joining a team full of student-athletes with much more experience on sand. Once she was added to the roster, she asked her new teammates to trust her. 

I can't believe how badly I want to play this hole. #17 at TPC Sawgrass 

Watching all five hours of The Players Championship on Sunday, I found myself imagining a few times about improving so much that I could play on the LPGA tour. I did. As completely, utterly and laughably ridiculous as that is, it was fun to recognize that crazy dream even popped into my head. And perhaps that's why I hold such a conviction that it's never too late to find a new passion. They will makes demands of us, test us, teach us about ourselves, stretch us and make us patient, empathetic and humble. Sounds a lot like a great way of becoming human...more human.

Photo Credits
Hole #17
This I Believe

Advice for Coaches of a Common Sport, Common Season

There is a shared experience between graduates on both sides of Winton Drive in Concord, California that can sometimes be difficult to explain. Having graduated from Carondelet High School, I hold the same amount of school pride for my alma mater as I do for De La Salle. When either team succeeds, I savor the victory—without distinction. Call me a glutton for glory. Who knows. Furthermore, having taught at St. Ignatius College Prep for the past 12 years, I delight in the success of my own students' accomplishments in sports. Looking at photos from the NCS and CCS boys and girls basketball championships, I am reminded of what athletes can learn and gain from sharing a common season. 

Congratulations to Carondelet for winning the D-2 NCS title!

Coaching junior varsity girls golf for the first time was not only more worthwhile than I anticipated, it was more fun too. But, it would have been even more fun had our season included one thing—the boys' team. Last spring, I drove the varsity boys to the CCS championship and played with them during their practice round. They pulled all kinds of pranks that only boys do. They hit for sheer power off the tee in the way their egos need them to. They trash talk and yet they help one another in subtle ways. It was different than what I encountered with the girls' team. My girls await psyche buddy gifts on game day. They get stronger and even more flexible than you might think. Their putting is totally up and down (that works for everyone). The uniqueness of each team could easily add to a great mix.

I love the team photo because it reveals something about this Spartan family. Again, if you didn't know what the head coach, AJ Kuhle looks like, I don't think you would from this either...

Unfortunately, local golf courses cannot manage boys' and girls' programs during a singular season. Consequently, girls play in the fall and boys in the spring. The same can be said for tennis and for volleyball. Indeed, some things are lost in this separation, but I know other things are gained, too. Regardless, I appreciate what develops between athletes, teams and programs when they share space, time and common goals. In many cases, it's similar to a sibling rivalry. One competes for attention and glory. Resentment and jealousy can breed. But I would like to think at their best, like brothers and sisters, a rich bond can develop. I do not believe however this is the norm. 

I offer a challenge and some humble advice to those coaches who work with a single sex team that is "in season" with another: enhance that relationship as best you can. Here are but a few suggestions of what you can do.

St. Ignatius girls' win the CCS title at Santa Clara University

Make a point of attending the other team's game at some point during the season. It will generate a different type of conversation between the athletes. They will raise questions, they will appreciate what they do, they will pick up on nuance and fine tune their own. Good stuff. A loftier goal might be to attend a preseason, regular and postseason game if/as possible!

Play with and against one another. Competition between the sexes can be ridiculously fun. There are ways to handicap the contest so as to equalize the playing field; this need not be viewed as a negative thing. Be creative! Invite your athletes' input. 

I think "play" in practice is under-utilized and under-appreciated by my fellow coaches. I will never forget the cross country runner who wrote on coaching evaluations that "practice is boring. All we do it run." While we wondered if this student athlete had totally missed the memo about our sport, I understood what he/she was talking about. Make time for recreation within your sport.

Coach the other team's practice. Why not? Run your workout as you would with your own team. Share your unique skills and drills. A different point of view can add a lot.

Attend a collegiate or professional game together. Take both teams to see how it's done on the next level. It's possible that this contest will favor the men's sport over women's, but the shared experience can help all student athletes see with new eyes.

Pray for one another. I cannot stress this enough. I think teachers should pray for their students everyday. I believe that coaches ought to pray for their athletes everyday. Teams are no different. Pray for each other regularly, and invite prayers for the boys or girls team. It's a shared endeavor—competing in a sport. Ultimately, athletes are working toward a common goal. Pray in a way that invites God's blessing on both communities.

Serve together. Our teams love to be known for who they are and what they do. This point of pride is a wonderful thing but best when coupled with humility. Sometimes it's harder to be served than to serve. I've never participated in a corporal work of mercy when the ones I thought I would be serving didn't end of serving me and teaching me more than I could have anticipated.

The day after our big rivalry game, the Bruce Mahoney, the SI girls team came to school still upset by their performance. The boys' team didn't. They held their heads high and reveled in the praise that echoed throughout the halls. At CCS, the tables turned. Our girls beheld the winner's trophy and the boys were deflated by a loss in a very close game. That contest didn't end with handshakes on the court. No, they looked up to find their fans offering a standing ovation; many who were leading that cheer were the same varsity girls who played a few hours before.

Our athletic programs have the inherent ability to cultivate so much of what a family can: shared joy and agony, winning and losing, friendship and faithfulness. I think the choice is...the coach's.

Photo Credits
All from Twitter @Carondelet_HS, @dlsathletics and @SIScores

Carondelet—Much more than the "school across the street"

My blog has been relegated to the back burner due to the fact it is “back to school time.” My fellow workers in the vineyard are always excited that we finish the school year in late May/early June. Come August 1, however, we are singing a different song, my favorite being “shouldn’t school start after Labor Day?!” Here here! Regardless, a new school year brings the excitement of new students, school supplies, challenges, and opportunities. It also brings back memories and as a high school teacher, most of those memories are a compare and contrast of what I studied and learned at Carondelet High school in Concord, California.
I think it’s fair to say that many a Carondelet Cougar is familiar with the following dialogue.

“What high school did you go to?” 

“Carondelet.” 

“Carondelet? Is that the all-girls’ high school across the street from De La Salle?”

As a sports fan, I understand this question is not without merit. As “Spartanhood.com” a website dedicated to De La Salle football reports, “The Spartans are perhaps the greatest dynasty in sports history, having amassed a 151-game winning streak that spanned more than a decade.” Their success is legitimate; their fame deserved. But, those same Spartans are literally and figuratively the brothers of a number of tremendous athletes at a school that may be “across the street” but isn’t totally separate.The infrastructure, as well as the dynamic of the two schools, is unique. According to the “History” of Carondelet “In September 1969 Carondelet also established a cooperative program with De La Salle High School whereby juniors and seniors attend selected classes on either campus. This cooperation also extends to a common calendar and schedule, joint faculty committees, student activities, and a sharing of facilities.” It is true; CHS and DLS share a great deal but reputation is not one of them. I wonder how many Spartans have been asked if their alma mater is the school "across the street" from Carondelet. I hope they have—for such a question is well deserved, as the most recent edition of the Carondeletter, the alumnae magazine of Carondelet proves is true.

The theme of the Summer 2010 Carondeletter is “Woman of Heart, Woman of Faith, Woman of Courage. Celebrating the women of the Carondelet community, especially the class of 2010." It features fourteen athletes including Jayne Appel ’06, a recent Stanford graduate who now plays in the WNBA, Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak ’95, a member of the first gold medal women’s soccer team in the 1996 Olympics and eleven-time gold medalist, Natalie Coughlin ’00. Coughlin is training for the 2012 Olympics in London and may become the most decorated American female swimmer of all time. Fifteen graduates from the Class of 2010 will be collegiate athletes.

Carondelet’s athletic achievements can be further appreciated in the context of what is a "seismic shift" in women's sports.

According to the article A Sporting Chance, "In 1971, fewer than 300,000 high school girls participated in athletics. Today that number is close to three million, with almost half of all female high school students on a team. In 1972 about 16,000 young women participated in college athletics, a number that has grown to over 180,000. The number of women’s teams per campus has increased from an average of 2.5 before 1972 to 8.5 in 2006."

From its beginning in 1965, Carondelet has itself committed to providing athletic opportunities for young women, often ahead of the curve. The trend continues today. 

Carondelet has twelve varsity sports teams, two of which have been added since I graduated in 1992—Lacrosse and Golf. (Dance and Cheer are listed as year-round sports which makes the total fourteen sports programs) To its credit, De La Salle has fifteen, two of which have been added—Lacrosse and Rugby.

Then as now, sports are a microcosm of society and it isn’t difficult to realize that opportunities for women, especially in athletics, have come a long way. The Carondeletter is a testimony to that truth. Reading “Carondelet Athletes Hit Great Heights” helped me appreciate that Carondelet has always been bringing young women to the starting line. And these are athletes who live up to the theme of the issue; they are women of heart, faith, and courage. Athletics demands all three whether or not you are a Spartan or a Cougar.

Carondelet’s motto is “God, my light!” and De La Salle’s is “Hommes de Foi”—Men of Faith. I look at my brother, Mark ’89, and I know what a profound influence his experience as a student and an athlete at De La Salle had on him and the same is true for me. 

I strive to be a "woman of faith" and be in a deepening relationship with "God, my light." I appreciated running on De La Salle’s track, seeing my friends compete in De La Salle’s pool, I had some great teachers and made good friends “across the street.” I don’t, however, appreciate being in De La Salle’s shadow. We brought our own spirit and grit to the hardwood, our own flair for victory and class in defeat. 

We are more than the school "across the street"—we are the BVAL, NCS, NorCal and State Champions; champions with heart, faith, and courage! Ever onward alma mater, with our colors red and white!

Photo Credits
Carondelet
DLS Football
Natalie Coughlin
CHS on the DLS track
DLS Logo
CHS Logo