John ‘80 and Helen ‘81 (Kasperick) Finneran
What is your Torero love story?
John and Helen: We met in the parking lot between the Immaculata and Founders Hall in the fall of 1977. Helen wasn’t paying attention and John nearly ran her over! We chatted and realized we were both on our way to the cafeteria for dinner. While dining, we discovered we were from the same home town but our paths had never crossed since John was an older man, having just come to USD as a junior college transfer student, while Helen was a freshman. We ate together that day and decided we’d like to see each other again. Our first date was at the San Diego Zoo and we were soon dating each other exclusively, with Helen cheering at John’s football games and John trying to figure out Helen’s musicals and choral performances. John proposed shortly after he graduated in 1980 after moving to northern CA to begin work at Lockheed. Helen graduated in December of 1980 and we were married in January of 1981 by Father Larry Dolan. It was quite fun to return to USD for Helen’s graduation in 1981 as a married couple.
What have you been up to since graduation?
John and Helen: Once we got married, Helen moved up to the Bay Area and was also hired at Lockheed but we always loved San Diego and dreamed of returning one day. When we started working, our plan was to return to San Diego in three years. Before kids, we attended graduate school together in the evenings and earned our MBAs in 1984. We then raised three amazing children while living in Santa Clara. We made many vacation trips to San Diego and visited friends and family, often planned around USD events like homecoming or a graduation. Helen, along with five of her siblings attended USD, so our kids have had many opportunities to visit USD and check it out over the years. Our oldest son, also named John, is a 2008 USD alumnus while our daughter Katie, and youngest son David, attended other California universities. All our children have recognized the importance of education and have advanced degrees. Our son David is married to his amazing wife Taylor and our daughter Katie was just married in July to Maziar, a wonderful guy she met in NYC, extending our immediate family even further.
We never dreamed we would both spend our entire careers at Lockheed but we were blessed with amazing opportunities to grow and develop as the company grew and became Lockheed Martin. John leveraged his Business degree with a career in Finance and Supply Chain Management while Helen used her same degree and focused on Human Resources. While we had multiple opportunities to move to other companies over the 38+ years we were employed, we always seemed to find a new role which challenged us appropriately when the time came for a change. In 2018 we both decided to retire and began looking for a home back near San Diego. We found the perfect place in Carlsbad, helped by a couple of John’s football buddies who were in real estate! We bought and did a major remodel before we moved in, retiring in early 2019. It has been great to re-connect with many other USD alumni still in the San Diego area.
What is your fondest memory of USD?
Helen: There are so many but one fond memory is being an RA in Camino/Founders. I became an RA for the room and board as I was on a lot of scholarship and financial aid but once I did I discovered I loved leadership, helping others and being part of a great community, all things which carried over into my career. Sister Helen Lorch was responsible for the RA team in Camino/Founders and she was such a great mentor and example of a life well lived.
John: Playing football and representing USD on the athletic field at various colleges across California is a very fond memory for me. The team camaraderie as well as the lessons learned about sportsmanship and teamwork have benefited me a great deal. I am so glad to have remained in contact with many of the guys I played with and still enjoy watching USD sports. We try to make as many of the football games as we can and can’t wait until we get to enjoy sports in person again! Another fond memory was going to dances in the Lark and attending the Homecoming dances which were held off campus at one of the downtown hotels.
What is your favorite place on campus, why?
John and Helen: Founders Chapel – we both loved attending the student Mass on Sunday nights. Over the years we have enjoyed going back for an alumni or homecoming Mass and always try to sit on the raised sides and hold hands, just like we did when we were students. We can’t wait for the chapel to be open again as it is always so energizing to attend mass and see the students worshiping together.
Who was your favorite USD professor or class?
Helen: Some of my favorite professors were Dr. Otte for Western Civilization, Dr. Ryland for Religion and Nick Reveles for Choir. The summer before my senior year, Dr. Otte took a group of students on a 13 country European tour. It was my first trip to Europe and it was literally like a wonderful history class but in real life. He made everything so interesting! Dr. Ryland fascinated me because he made me think very hard about being Catholic and what that meant to me. For the first time, I felt like it was a choice and not something that had been decided for me. And Nick Reveles was just so passionate about music and performance but also could be a total crack up and made singing both beautiful and fun.
John: One of my favorite professors was Dr. Swanke for Ethics. His class discussions were always challenging as we applied our Christian concepts to the issues of the day. Another favorite professor was Dr. Dugan for Religion. Her lectures were so interesting and engaging as we discussed the concept of community as church. One more professor who stands out is Dr. O’Neil for Business Ethics. I found the various business cases to be insightful and took many of those lessons with me in my career.
How have you remained involved with USD since graduation?
John and Helen: We have attended and volunteered at USD functions like Homecoming and the Wine Classic as well as watching sporting events since we graduated. We also volunteered by calling students to welcome them upon acceptance to USD and participated in Bay Area Torero events over the years. Additionally, we have always donated annually since both of us were the recipients of financial aid and scholarships. Neither of us would have been able to afford USD without the assistance we received, so we have always wanted to pay it forward to other USD students. Now that we are back in the San Diego area, we are fortunate to be even more directly involved. Helen is on the Alumni Board, John is active in the Torero Football Club and on the Sports Banquet committee. We have enjoyed many of the virtual events but can’t wait to get back on campus!
If you could offer a current USD student advice, what would it be?
John and Helen: Try everything! Spend time on campus and get involved in activities as well as academics. Once you leave college, your life will be very different so work hard but also have fun.
What would be your advice to fellow Toreros for a happy marriage?
John and Helen: We both really believed we wanted to be married for the rest of our lives to each other so we made sure up front to talk about and be sure we shared the same values and life goals. Family and faith have always been very important to us as well as being able to support each other both personally and professionally. Transitioning from single to married life was an adjustment but early on we realized a successful marriage is about partnership, give and take, putting the other person’s needs ahead of your own and both giving 110% which enabled us to make the commitment and it has been an amazing ride during the 40+ years since we met at USD in 1977.
Interested in connecting with John and Helen? Email them at johnf3dr@aol.com
Would you and your spouse like to be a part of the Torero Love Story? Submit your own answers to the questions above, along with a photo, by filling out our questionnaire.