Twin Pursuits

Seeing double? Sisters Brittni and Breana Várgas ’16 marry a pair of brothers at the Mission.

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Sisters Brittni and Breana Várgas ’16 could have never guessed that both of their future husbands lived minutes from where they grew up. The young women, after all, have traveled the world—even performing on the stage in Portugal. The sisters got engaged to their partners, and here’s the kicker: They just happened to be brothers.

In a plot that seems as if it were taken out of a Jane Austen novel, the Várgas twins became the respective fiancées of Gonçalo and Rodrigo Correia. “Everyone tells us we need our own show,” Breana says.

Although the quartet had heard about each other over the years through the South Bay’s tight-knit Portuguese-American community, it wasn’t until their double date at SCU that sparks flew.

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“We walked around campus, told them where we had classes, and what our college experience was like. Then we each took time separately to sit down on a bench and talk about life and what we wanted. We all hit it off on day-one,” Brittni says.

After Gonçalo asked Brittni for her hand and Rodrigo for Breana’s, both couples immediately set their sights on Mission Santa Clara de Asís to be the place to exchange their vows.

The pair of couples walked down the Mission’s aisle in January 2020, and will travel to the Azores in Portugal for cultural and family weddings in 2021 or 2022. Also on the list for the trip: Baptisms of their first born—yes, both couples are expecting.

A Crescendo of Achievements

Nicolás Lell Benavides ’10 shares how his Santa Clara experience and passion for composition led to the creation of his largest project to date: “Dolores.”

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“One day, I was at the house very early when no one else was there, and I heard the clearest footsteps treading on the metal roof above me.” Meet Janan Boehme ’81, the first-ever historian of the Winchester Mystery House.

Impact That Lasts

“Steve and I want whatever is left when we die to make a real difference for people and the planet.”

A California Leader

Richard Riordan ’52 leaves a lasting California legacy as a distinguished leader, committed philanthropist, and a visionary innovator.