R Michael Wenkart, B.S. business administration ’07, recently earned a J.D. from the University of San Diego. He is also the girls varsity tennis coach for Orange High School, which finished the regular season undefeated and won its third consecutive Golden West League championship.
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Jason Wise, BFA film production ’05, has finished his documentary SOMM, which was set to premiere Nov. 7 at the Napa Valley Film Festival. The documentary focuses on the master sommelier test, “the hardest test you’ve never heard of.” Jason was inspired to make the film by his friend Brian McClintic, who was spending countless hours studying for the wine-expert test.
2010s U
S Casey Adler, B.A. theatre performance ’11, has a recurring role on the new ABC Family show Bunheads.
Katie Barnum, B.A. dance ’11, is a member of the 2012 Charger Girls cheerleading dance team for the San Diego Chargers.
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Emily Bejach, B.A. business administration ’11, has returned from an international adventure of the world, traveling to 53 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Through her experience she was able to discover all kinds of exciting, tragic and beautiful things the world has to offer. Brent Chow, B.S. business administration ’12, and Sean Kitamura, B.S. accounting ’12, have a company called Yapay that won a $10,000 technology makeover, besting 123 other businesses to capture the category “Powering Innovation” in The Big Reboot contest.
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Liz Fiacco ’12 helped lead a team of alumni to first place in an international showcase of computer games. Joining her in creating the game called “Axle” are Lauren Gragg ’12 – producer, Jessica Kernan ’12 – art director, Bryson Thill ’12 – programmer, Alex Solano ’12 – programmer, David Housky ’12 – programmer, Billy Peaker ’12 – sound designer, and Adam Borecki ’12 – composer. After graduation, the team was accepted into Chapman’s eVillage business incubator entrepreneurship program, which has helped it craft a business plan and structure for its new Fallstreak Studio. Learn more about the studio at www.axle.fallstreakstudio.com. T Alexis Garcia, B.S. psychology ’12, is the intensive behavioral instruction assistant at Garden Grove Unified School District.
Katie Kroko, B.M. music performance ’10, recently won the concerto competition at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where she is a master’s candidate. She will be performing the Rozsa Concerto in December. Katie is also developing a teaching studio, working with American String Teachers Association President Steven Benham to assist inner-city string players. Victoria Leach, B.A. music ’12, has been hired by Santa Barbara’s Camerata Pacifica as operations manager. Victoria, who was a cello student of Professor Roger Lebow at Chapman, joins a growing number of recent Chapman graduates finding success in arts administration. Rena Nishijima, B.A. public relations/ advertising, BFA dance ’12, recently started as public relations coordinator for the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.
An Endeavour of Her Own
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ebecca Hall ’96 is the kind of public relations professional who moves heaven and earth to serve her clients. So who better to promote the story of how engineering and construction firms helped transport an 85-ton space shuttle through the streets of Los Angeles? As the shuttle Endeavour made its October trip from LAX to its final home at the California Science Center, Hall and her colleagues matched its journey step for step. In their hard hats and fluorescent vests, they helped the media understand the role played by Plump Engineering and Encon Construction. “Beyond ‘the shuttle is coming,’ this was a story about how you meet such a challenge with the least amount of impact on streets and residents,” said Hall, a past president of the Chapman Alumni Association Board whose firm, Idea Hall, is among the largest and most respected in Orange County. Stories on the logistical effort appeared on nine TV outlets, including national newscasts on CBS, CNN and Fox, as well as the cover of the L.A. Times. The project is among the most rewarding of Hall’s career. “It’s very special just to see the shuttle, but it’s even better to share it with a community of people who have this American pride of ownership,” she said. “Families of all sizes, shapes and colors came out, and there was this mass conversation that included people’s memories of the shuttle. “It was just a beautiful moment of shared pride in this national treasure.”
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