Bulletin | spring 2014 45
2000s ’00
Otessa Ghadar, who founded new media company 20/20 Productions in D.C., was recently interviewed by the Huffington Post, and the article was featured on the site’s front page. During the interview, she talks about her viral web series, Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden; her recently published textbook, The Wild West of Film; the influences of two cherished high school teachers; and more. Nate Stanglein, a Colby College and UPenn Veterinary School grad, is now associated with Stanglein Veterinary Practice in Northampton, Pa., and finding time to play men’s hockey with leagues in the Bethlehem and Philadelphia areas. Khari Stephenson was named one of the top five Division III players to make an impact on Major League Soccer, by mlssoccer.com.
’01 Paul Cebulak writes, “After launching and running BD and partner relations for Yelp Australia since 2011, I accepted a promotion and in February relocated from Melbourne to San Francisco. I’m keen to (re-)connect with Choate grads who are in northern California and who work in tech!” ’02
Kristopher Morlot is finishing up his MBA at the Yale School of Management and will head out west to work in the oil and gas industry. He is also engaged to be married next spring in Austin, Texas. Kate Peters Kiraly and her husband, Drew, welcomed their first child, Madeline Katherine Kiraly, on July 1, 2013, at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center, where Drew is a resident. Maddie is doing wonderfully and enjoys terrifying her parents by climbing on everything in the apartment.
’03 Amanda Esten writes, “I was accepted into the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis and earned a partial scholarship, too. I will be starting veterinary school this fall and will graduate spring of 2018. This July I will marry my long-time fiancé, Malcolm Brown, whom I met while doing Teach For America in Los Angeles.” Austin Igleheart started new job as a Technical Consultant for Schlumberger in Saudi Arabia. Spending the past five years in Houston designing a drilling tool specifically for Saudi Aramco, Austin is now splitting his time between his home in Atlanta and the Middle East, supporting the team and tool, which is being used to increase production and prolong the life of old gas wells. The tool has successfully drilled two wells and completed a number of “firsts” for technology of this type.
’04 Grant Carpenter writes, “I’m the General Counsel for Cyber2Media, a web development and advertising company, and XYZ, the company bringing the new domain extensions .xyz, .College and .Now to the Internet. I’ve been living in LA since 2005.” JB Cholnoky says, “I was hired as the varsity assistant coach of Brown Mens Crew last fall while completing an MA in American History. I recently had lunch in D.C., with three guys I used to coach at Choate (currently rowing at Gtown/GW): Mike Davidson ’11, Gabe Knisely ’13, and Devin Hisarli ’13.” Alessandra Echeverria is still happily working for Teach For America. She recently competed in her first CrossFit competition, Frostbite 2014. Her team came in 9th out of 21 teams in the scaled division. She also completed her fourth 50K race, coming in 2nd in her age division. Alessandra is excited to see her classmates at their 10th reunion this spring. Vanessa K. Goldstein recently moved back to NYC from LA, where she worked in the film and entertainment business for just shy of five years straight after college. Once she realized the entertainment industry was shifting significantly to new media (and LA was no longer the industry’s nucleus), she took a position at YouTube and returned to her favorite city in the world, New York. There, she continues to pursue her passions in creating and curating film and television while having the opportunity to educate and inspire the most influential communities on YouTube. She would love to reconnect with her former classmates in New York and can be reached at vanessa.goldstein@gmail.com. Chris Mazur, a member of the New York Rumble Ultimate Frisbee team, was voted 2013 MLU Eastern Conference MVP. For being voted MVP, Mazur will be awarded $500 as well as an additional $500 by the league to donate to the charity or youth Ultimate program of his choice. Chris has decided to donate his money to the Ultimate program at Choate. Chris says, “During my one year of teaching at the school in 2010-2011, I was fortunate to be around when a few dedicated students, Ed Speyer ’12, Matt Fasano ’12, and Jeff Spivack ’12, got the first varsity Ultimate team started. The program has blossomed over the past 3 years, and has held numerous events for youth Ultimate in the state of Connecticut, including charity events, tournaments, and the Connecticut high school all-star game.” Jane Mosbacher Morris is currently launching a social enterprise called To the Market | Survivormade Goods. To the Market focuses on the promotion of goods made by and stories told by survivors of abuse, conflict, and disease. Many Choate alumni continue to provide valuable feedback, including Liz Mustin Davis and LeAnne Armstead.
’06
Lexi Bohonnon writes, “I returned from the Sochi Olympics where I had an incredible time watching my brother, Mac, compete as the only male for the US in Freestyle Aerial Skiing. He finished 5th, just off the medal round. At only 18, he definitely has a big career ahead of him. My family had a great time catching up with the family of Hilary Knight ’07 at the P&G Family Home while there. So proud of all of the Choate representation in Sochi!” Michael Cecchi received an MBA in Investment Management from Pace University’s Lubin School of Business. He began a career as a consultant at FactSet Research Systems in February 2014. Kari Cholnoky writes, “I’m finishing up my MFA in Painting at Cranbrook Academy of Art. I had two paintings in a show at the Detroit Artist Market opening in February, and my thesis exhibition will open at the Cranbrook Art Museum on April 19.” Rebecca Maddox just joined the Democratic Staff in the U.S. House of Representatives Committee for Oversight and Government Reform as a legal fellow for a year.
’08 Victoria Steffes writes, “After graduating from Barnard College in 2012, I interned at The Molecular Foundry at Berkeley National Lab. I decided to stay in sunny California and am working toward a Ph.D. in chemistry from UC Santa Barbara.” ’11 Rand Monaghan will be working this summer as an analyst for the Citi Investment Banking division in the Healthcare industry group. He will be working in their Manhattan offices. Brandon Sherrod, a junior on the Yale basketball team, was accepted as a member of Yale's renowned singing group, the Whiffenpoofs. Brandon told The Yale Daily News, “Not many people get this chance [to join the Whiffenpoofs]. I’m nervous for a new chapter in my life, but excited at the same time.” Singing is not new for Brandon. He was vocalizing long before he was shooting baskets. Growing up in Bridgeport, he was a member of a church choir and was a soloist in a children’s chorus at the age of nine.