Peter Tragos (B.S. ’10, J.D. ’13) was named a partner in the Law Offices of Tragos, Sartes & Tragos. Madison VanVeelen (B.A. ’10) was elected to the board of Pal Craftaid, which sells fair trade goods and redirects profits to support health and education ministries in Palestine/Israel. Patrick Gines (B.F.A. ’11), partner and creative director at Frame production company, Bryan Zhang (B.F.A. ’11), Frame director/editor, Peter K. LeVake (M.F.A. ’13), Frame production manager, and Ines Michelena (B.F.A. ’15), Frame production assistant, produced “Raise the Torch: The Campaign for Florida State,” which received a Bronze 2015 CASE Circle of Excellence Award for Fundraising–Long Videos. Elvaro Jimenez (B.S. ’11), Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles application systems programmer, is co-owner, general manager and COO of Isabella’s Pizzeria, which opened in Tallahassee this summer. Melanie Leitman (J.D. ’11), Messer Caparello P.A. attorney, was named a 2015 Florida Super Lawyers Rising Star.
Christian Stewart (B.S. ’11), former FSU basketball player, earned her doctorate of audiology from the University of Tennessee and completed a clinical externship at Veterans Administration Hospital in Decatur, Georgia. Pradiip Alvarez (B.S. ’12, M.S. ’14), 2015 Thirty Under 30 Award recipient (see page 44), was named one of 30 finalists for the Kruger Cowne Rising Star program, which will send a young global leader into space. Christina Campagnola (B.F.A. ’12) was promoted to coordinator in the Independent Film Group at the Agency for the Performing Arts in New York. Jessica Goldbaum (B.M. ’12) was selected as one of five American musicians to participate in the International Cultural Exchange for Classical Musicians and will be placed in a 10-month residency performance program with the Sarajevo Philharmonic in Bosnia. Beau Moultrie (B.S. ’12), Crossman & Co. associate, represented Wells Fargo Bank in the $1.2 million property transfer of New London Professional Park in Snellville, Georgia, to Shalom New London LLC. Michael Simpson (M.D. ’12) joined Baptist Medical Group’s hospitalist program and physician network; he will care for patients at Baptist and Gulf Breeze hospitals. Rebekah Suellau (M.S. ’12, M.F.A. ’12) attended the Dramatists Guild National Conference as one of 10 recipients of the Dramatists Guild Fund #WriteChange Scholarship based on essays.
CLASS NOTES
C. Tyler Capo (B.F.A. ’13) joined Falcon’s Treehouse in Orlando as an editing assistant. Ritisha K. Chhaganlal (J.D. ’14) joined The Health Law Firm as an attorney in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Amanda Jansen, Helen Kraus, Brittany McEwen and Sonja Townsend (B.S. ’14, M.S. ’14), graduates of FSU’s Exceptional Student Education combined bachelor’s and master’s degree program, spent the summer in India to train volunteer teachers to work with special-needs students. Stephanie DeLorenzo (M.S.P. ’15) was hired as the disaster program manager of the Northern South Carolina chapter of the American Red Cross. Colleen Quigley (B.S. ’15), former FSU track and field athlete, was honored as one of 57 Division I female student-athletes to be named 2015 Woman of the Year by the Atlantic Coast Conference. Brad Stoddard (Ph.D. ’15) was named an assistant professor of religious studies at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.
FRIENDS Lucy Ho, FSU Opera’s costumer for 45 years until retirement in 2014, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from FSU in recognition of her service to FSU and Tallahassee, where she owns AZU and MASA restaurants.
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JOE STRECHAY (M.S. ’11) Like the fictional superhero he mentored, Joe Strechay knows the challenges of being visually impaired. Earlier this year, Strechay was a “blindness tech” for “Marvel’s Daredevil,” a Netflix program about a blind superhero. On set, he taught actor Charlie Cox how to accurately portray a blind character. At 11, Strechay started losing his eyesight to a genetic disorder that affects the retina. By 19, he was legally blind. But the condition emboldened him to be a resource for the more than 7.3 million visually impaired Americans. Recently, Strechay became director of the Bureau on Blindness and Vision Services for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. From 2009–15, he worked for the American Foundation for the Blind’s CareerConnect, which offers advice on navigating the employment process. “You want to make sure you sell yourself first, and then also address your disability in a tactful and practical way,” he says. Strechay credits his master’s degree in education with a focus on visual disabilities with providing the foundation for his career. “The FSU program was definitely about making a difference in the lives of children and adults.” Vires 59
Photo courtesy of the American Foundation for the Blind
Tansy Michaud (B.F.A. ’11) launched a boutique camp and travel brand for women, Village and Wild.
Lee Warwick (B.S. ’12) was designated an information professional in the U.S. Navy, a position that accounts for only 1 percent of naval officers, after earning his master’s degree in information systems management from American Sentinel University.