4 minute read
ALUMNI WEEKEND
Get ready to celebrate a significant milestone! Delphian School is excited to announce its 50th anniversary this upcoming school year. Join us in commemorating five decades of excellence!
To leverage Delphian alumni’s wealth of knowledge, perspectives, and experiences, Alumni Weekend 2024 introduced two new events designed to strengthen connections and share insights among alumni.
Lee Rector, the Delphian Alumni Association’s volunteer communications coordinator, explained the importance of using our community’s resources, stating, “When you encounter a challenge or feel uncertain about how to reach a goal, let your first thought be, ‘There’s a Delphian who can help.’” This sentiment captures the essence of our Alumni Association: an interconnected group of Delphians ready to support one another in their personal and professional journeys.
On Friday afternoon of Alumni Weekend, the first new seminar, titled “Financial Planning & Investment,” was moderated by Lee Rector (Class of 2009) and co-hosted by Anthony Parker (Class of 1990) and Austin Carroll (Class of 2001).
In this seminar, Anthony led a discussion from his experience as an investor and retirement counselor for the US Army. He discussed the basic building blocks of financial stability and how they relate to retirement goals and lasting wealth. Austin, who has a degree in finance from USC and specializes in mergers and acquisitions, shared his experience in real estate investing and investment fund management. The lively discussion ranged from what to do with the cash in your pocket, to long-term investment and money management strategies for building long-term wealth.
The second seminar on Friday afternoon, titled “Successful Actions of Entrepreneurs,” was moderated by Erica (Rodgers) Koenig (Class of 2014) and co-hosted by Jeff Kathrein (Class of 1999), Ryan Kugler (Class of 1990), and Korbin Springer (Class of 2014), each of whom has created a successful business from the ground up.
Jeff and his wife Ana (Class of 1999) founded K&K Photography in Florida, where they grew their business into a highly respected photography studio. Then, they founded Spade To Fork, a family-owned organic seed and garden supply company on their 65-acre farm in Oregon. They discussed how their business began as a side business in 2018 and grew in 2020 when the demand for home gardening supplies skyrocketed.
After graduating from the University of Texas, Korbin Springer founded the New Leaf Academy, a private elementary school in Austin, TX, that uses the Delphi Program and Heron Books curriculum.
Ryan Kugler who resides in Los Angeles is the owner and president of Kugler Group, which includes an event management, marketing, and overstock management company. Ryan has also been the executive director of the Say No to Drugs Race for twelve years and serves on the Toluca Lake City Council.
This inspiring seminar took a deep dive into the unpolished realities of owning your own business, including how to start, the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, and how to make lemonade when the inevitable but unexpected lemons catch you off guard.
Each seminar could have taken up the rest of the afternoon as the room was alive with conversation and follow-up conversations. Carson Wagner (class of 2022) summed up the experience, saying, “Both seminars I attended were fun and informative. They also made it rather easy to meet alumni from other classes, to make connections, and get advice.”
As we approach Alumni Weekend 2025 and Delphian’s 50th anniversary, we are eager to create even more opportunities for connection and collaboration as we come together to honor our shared history and help empower one another to build a bigger, brighter fifty years to come.
To achieve this, we are seeking volunteers to help plan, present, and manage this year’s agenda of alumni-to-alumni activities. If you are interested, please contact twydro@delphian.org to get started.
Let’s make this year’s Alumni Weekend unforgettable!
