Alumni Newsletter in Strength | Winter 2020-Spring 2021

2021

APRIL 6–30 Join your fellow alumni in supporting your alma mater from strength to strength by making a gift to All In For Annie. Your support will ensure the strength and stability of Annie Wright Schools now and into the future.

Did you know ?… ?…

ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS’ CURRENT STUDENT ENROLLMENT IS OVER

620

STUDENTS—WITH GROWING WAITLISTS IN SEVERAL GRADES

THE 2021 YELLOW TIE CLASS INCLUDES

3

NATIONAL MERIT® SCHOLARSHIP FINALISTS

AWS INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) CANDIDATES EARN THE IB DIPLOMA AT A RATE OF

88%

(10% BETTER THAN THE INTERNATIONAL AVERAGE)

Make a Gift Make your gift to All In For Annie at aw.org/give

Happy spring, Annie Wright Alumni!

This time of year is always special with so many traditions, from Milk Boats to May Day. This spring, just as the last, will look very different for our community.

Regardless, we hope this finds you safe, healthy and strong. We look forward to hopefully connecting with you in person very soon. Be sure to save the date (see back cover) for our Alumni Weekend in the fall! In the meantime, we hope you’ll join us for an upcoming virtual alumni event.

Watch for details in the monthly Alumni Newsletter or contact us at alumni@aw.org.

Engagement Series

POETRY & LITERATURE Tuesday, April 13 | 6:00 pm HEALTH & WELLNESS Tuesday, May 18 | 6:00 pm ARTS & SOCIAL JUSTICE Tuesday, June 15 | 6:00 pm For more information visit aw.org/alumni

ALUMNI NEWS

Hannah Burdge ’92

Notes

Katherine (Parks) George ’61

I’ve settled in a nice active senior retirement village; just about 10 minutes from my oldest daughter and family.

Seems strange living in the South after so many years. I do miss the mighty mountains of the NW and the rolling wheat fields of the Palouse.

Amy (Nyce) Wildt ’84 It has been difficult here, but we got through it easier than many fellow Houstonians. We have a gas fireplace that keeps us warm and we have plenty of water supply. Things are slowly recovering from immediate weather Amy volunteers at a Houston problems, but it will take hospital with her therapy dog. a while for Houston to get back on its feet. I am off tomorrow to visit my oldest daughter at Colorado State University. I never thought that I would be flying to warmer weather when I planned this trip a month ago!

I specialized in family medicine and did my training at Swedish in Seattle. After graduating I started my practice at Group Health Cooperative which has since become Kaiser Permanente (KP). I was part of a team that helped KP launch two new clinics in the Seattle Area in 2019 and 2020. We launched KP’s Ballard Medical Center, where I currently practice and see patients as a family medicine physician, in January 2020, and the pandemic hit six weeks later. We were able to, almost overnight, take our care to 100% virtual and then, with proper personal protective equipment and distancing, invite patients back into the office setting for in-person care. The pandemic has deeply impacted so many people in our community. We have seen increases in job loss, social isolation, food and financial insecurity. We have seen the challenges families are facing while parents try to work from home while helping to coordinate their children’s online schooling (go teachers!!!).

We have seen spikes in substance use, anxiety, depression and suicide. While our current reality remains challenging, I am filled with hope as we continue to mobilize our pandemic response and work towards getting our communities vaccinated. My husband, John Davison, has been amazing holding down the home front. We have two kids; Oliver is 11 and in 6th grade, and Isabel is 9 and in 4th grade.

For the past five years I have volunteered at Houston Methodist Hospital with my dog doing therapy dog visits.

As a volunteer, I was included in the 1a group and was fully vaccinated by January 14. I volunteered at one of the vaccination sites, guiding people through the lines. It was encouraging to see so many older people getting vaccines in a very well-organized manner. I also work for GoGoGrandma as a driver and drove a 78-year-old woman to the same site where I volunteer for her vaccine. She told me how nervous she was. I was glad I could explain the process to her since I had seen it first-hand. She was relieved that the process went smoothly. I was looking forward to helping out more this past week and then the storm hit. I plan to volunteer when they ask me again.

I celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary in December.

Because Houston is more open in terms of COVID protocols compared to the rest of the country, we were able to enjoy a nice dinner out to celebrate on December 30. I am glad we got married at Christmas time because it is such a festive time of year for celebrations!

Hannah getting her second vaccine dose. She has been working at mass vaccination clinics too, which she's found really rewarding!

CLASS NOTES CON'TD.

Sonia Rodriguez True ’92 Sonia Rodriguez True was appointed as Yakima County Superior Court Commissioner. She is the first Latino to serve in the role. Learn more about Sonia’s work, success and how she’s impacting the Yakima community on page 13.

February in our church. We are excited to be engaged and thinking about a wedding. My Blue Tie classmates voted me senior year the most likely to get married last. I don't know if I am actually last, but I think that was hilarious. Class of 2004—I love you all dearly and miss you constantly.

Learn more about how MaryAlice uses mentorship, hiring and advocacy to work toward gender parity and diversity of all forms in her newsroom on page 13.

Meredith Bennion ’95 Nathaniel Bennion Cassels was born August 21, 2020.

Nate is doing very well, he's a very happy little guy and we couldn't be more proud, or exhausted. Best thing ever!

Kali Davenport, Associate I attended Annie Wright from 1996-1999 for Grades 5-7. As you can see from the photos my car is a Lightning McQueen Dodge Charger.

MaryAlice (left); Covering the 2016 Democratic National Convention alongside two close friends and mentors, Mary Bruce, who is now a Senior White House Correspondent, and Amna Nawaz, now an anchor at PBS.

Mackenzie McQuery MS ’07 I've had the amazing opportunity to compete on Netflix's Sugar Rush Christmas edition. Check it out!

MaryAlice Parks ’04 It’s a new year and a new administration in Washington, DC—and I am privileged to start a new job in the nation’s capital too. After seven years (and about seven different jobs) with ABC News, in January I accepted a role as a White House correspondent for the network. I am excited, totally nervous and deeply honored. In this next role, I hope to bring tough and probing questions to the administration as well as helpful context to our viewers. Wish me luck and send all ideas, please. Also, my long-time partner proposed early

Kyra Mungia ’09 Currently serving as Deputy Director of Education for the Mayor of Oakland, Kyra was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30: Education list for 2021.

Read more about Kyra’s accomplishments and how she’s helping to build a community of belonging in Oakland on page 12.