D. Leanarduzzi

The class of 1990 Senior Photo.

Dowling Catholic opened up in 1972 and is still a private Catholic School located in West Des Moines, Iowa today in 2025. I have been attending Dowling since I was a freshman and I’m now in my final year here. My father, Dario Lenarduzzi, graduated from Dowling in 1990. This has given me the opportunity to hear many stories from both my dad and his friends about my school leading all the way back to 1986. Jennifer Trower class of ’91, one of those friends, says “I remember sharing my gym clothes with so many girls, who knows how often I washed them.” I laughed as I compared this to how my friends and I always forget our clothes for yoga class and pray others have some to share. Carri O’Connor- Simonini, a former Dowling student, mentioned how students would have to attend Saturday school if they had too many JUGs. I thought this was insane when I found out because I’ve been going here for almost four years and it seems students don’t get JUGs nearly as often as they used to.

Trower also mentioned how she loved adopting a family for Christmas in her years at Dowling. This was amazing to hear as I am a senior this year and we are in charge of running Christmas Baskets- a Dowling tradition. Reminiscing on things that are no longer at Dowling, O’Connor says, “Yes, the shake shop! The salad bar was my favorite.” Johnny Strako mentioned how the Starbucks down the street used to be a Dotty’s Donuts.

Uniforms have always been required at Dowling but over the years they have adapted to more modern clothes. The alumni I have listed remember wearing grey and navy skirts and pants with a polo shirt that had to be tucked in and a belt worn. Now in 2025, students are mostly wearing black slacks (sometimes khaki colored) with polos untucked and no belt worn. Lenarduzzi mentioned how nuns were present in school and handled a lot rather than teachers having to. This is a big difference now as we only have priests present at Dowling and they aren’t usually in charge of punishment or discipline. Trower mentioned how Greg Gladfelder was one of the only students that had a cell phone and how it was one of the first big brick phones to come out. Now, you look at students during passing period and nearly every student has a cell phone in their hand.

“Myself and your dad along with others started a group called the Fan Clan. We were quite loud and maybe a little obnoxious,” Kurt Harris said. He had a lot more stories to tell but some I probably shouldn’t mention. The class of ’90 certainly had their fun just in different ways than we now do. Back then a lot of things were more relaxed and consequences were different. After describing all of the inappropriate and immature moments Lenarduzzi and Harris had together, Harris followed his message up with, “We all want more for our kids and what we learned and went through at Dowling has guided us all hopefully in the right direction today for our kids.” Darren Marasco only had one response, “I’ll meet any of you in the pit- Marasco”. Apparently there was a  gravel pit that the class of ’90 used to host bonfires and fights at. I can just tell the class of ’90 was a riot. Dowling truly is an unforgettable experience, it is a lot different than all other schools. Here at Dowling, we are truly one family and the memories will forever be cherished.

Since the 2000s, Dowling has had many renovations and still plans for a lot of potential changes. From 2007-2010 Dowling renovated the academic wings, the student service center, the kitchen, the weight room, and the media center. The science wing, boardroom, and parking lot near 17th street were also new additions in the early 2000s. In 2015, the Coppola Family St. Joseph Chapel opened up here on campus, the field turf was installed, and the admins office area was also remodeled. Dowling has many plans for the future for renovations with the new Capital Campaign. Aside from the looks of Dowling, rules and experiences have changed since the ’90s as well. If you ever get the chance to attend Dowling Catholic, the only advice I have for you is to ENJOY the Dowling Experience!