For James Evangelista ’94, the process of healing and helping others — including naming SI as a beneficiary of his IRA — has guided his trajectory from his high school days to his work today as CFO of a venture capital firm focused on building companies targeting novel breakthrough cures for cancers and other significant diseases.

当他的父母在他大一的时候离婚了，他的母亲回到了菲律宾，他和他的父亲留在了湾区，因为他刚刚开始上高中。

他在大二的时候参加了JV橄榄球比赛，在大三的时候成为了校队的后卫和跑卫。 大四那年，他的手腕严重骨折，需要做手术，他的职业生涯也因此中断，他不得不缺席自己的最后一个赛季。

That’s when he found mentors in coaches Joe Vollert ’84 and Steve Bluford ’84 and in John Murphy, S.J. ’59, his philosophy teacher and team chaplain.

“Fr. Murphy knew how much I was hurting not being able to play, and we spent a lot of time on the sidelines talking. He was great at cheering me up and helping me see the big picture.”

SI, he added, “is where I built my foundation of being a man for and with others and where I learned the value of service. My wife, Aimee, and I now raise our children to have that same spirit.”

Evangelista第一次遇见他的未婚妻是在加州大学戴维斯分校的一门课上。 Four years after he received his bachelor’s degree in economics, the two reconnected at a wedding and married in 2006. 一年后，他们的女儿麦迪（Maddie）出生了，她将于今年秋天进入SI，成为2025届的一员。 Both James and Aimee hope their two sons, Jack (12) and Mason (9), will follow in her footsteps after they graduate from St. Matthew’s Episcopal Day School in San Mateo.

SI also played a large role in Evangelista’s career path. “After college, I got call-backs for job interviews from other alums just because I had graduated from SI — even for jobs I wasn’t qualified for. Also, because of the values instilled in me at SI, I found myself working for venture capital firms interested in making the world a better place.”

这些公司希望快速开发新的医疗设备和医疗保健服务。 现在，作为The Column Group的首席财务官，他正在帮助基金公司开发突破性疗法，以治疗癌症、代谢紊乱和神经系统疾病等严重疾病。 “The work is both cutting edge and fast paced, as I get to work with colleagues who are world-class scientific experts in drug discovery. I have the luxury of sitting in on meetings where I learn about medications that aren’t yet on the market and that hold great promise. I’m also able to watch companies develop novel drugs from inception through clinical trials and then finally make these drugs available to people in desperate need of help and healing.”

尽管工作繁忙，Evangelista还是会花时间帮助那些刚刚开始职业生涯的人。 “As a CFO in a position to help others, I try to pay it forward. I’ll get calls from young people just wanting to pick my brain. I’ll always take those calls, especially if they are from SI grads. 我对他们有一种亲切感。 I’m not sure if that’s how it works with other high schools, but there’s definitely a bond with SI grads. I find myself pitching the school all the time.”

作为另一种传承的方式，Evangelistas夫妇决定将SI纳入他们今年的遗产计划。 “We had created a revocable trust after Maddie was born, and we review it every few years. Last year, we received information from Annie Reilly, SI’s planned giving coordinator, and after I reached out to her, we had a great conversation. I told her this was an opportune time, as we were just updating our trust.”

Adding SI as a beneficiary of James’ IRA proved a quick and easy process. “I called my IRA’s asset manager (Brian Murphy ’94), and he sent the paperwork to me. 我和妻子签了名，寄了回去。 就是这么简单。 Down the road, we’ll review it again to see if we are in a position to add more, especially as our assets grow. It’s great knowing that the money in our IRA, after I’m no longer here, will help young people attend a great school. I just wish I could do more, as I feel I owe SI so much.”

If you are interested in joining SI’s Father Carlin Heritage Society and following Neil’s example of generosity, call Annie Reilly, SI’s planned giving coordinator, at (415) 731 - 7500, ext. 5122 or at areilly@siprep.org.