Class Notes

CLASS NOTES 70’s

1975

Elizabeth Robbins Turk’s art installation project, LOOK UP, was on exhibition at The Claremont Museum of Art over the summer. The project involved the residents of Mt. San Antonio Gardens retirement community, whose movements (captured on film throughout the gardens) carrying brightly colored umbrellas sent a message of hope and resilience.

[http://claremontmuseum.org/look-up]

1978

Jason Keyes is living in La Jolla and is a partner at Keyes and Fox LLP.

1984

Classmates Leslie Cashion Montgomery, Tricia Moreno Jefferson, and Anne Marie Moiso Leonard, are still close friends who like to cowgirl around at the Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo!

1987

Danny and Kerri Sonenshine (far right) with their son Tobey, standing with Chris'96 and Brooke Smith'93 Shepherdson (far left) with their daughter Lily on the first day of kindergarten 2020.

ALUMNI PARENT SPRING FIESTA 2021 The annual celebration included current alumni parents, incoming alumni families, the Alumni Advisory Council, and our special guest of honor, Mrs. Pam Coleman, who retired this year after 42 years at Harbor Day. We enjoyed toasting her and celebrating the end of the school year together in person.

80’s

1981

Alex Bertea published his first novel, The Speed Merchant, this spring. Alex, his wife Katrin, and their daughter, Aria, live in Switzerland but visited California in June for his book-signing event. Many HDS alumni friends and families attended. Alex also sent in this photo with his (still) overdue HDS Library book from 1980, aptly entitled Alexander the Great.

1

3 4

5 6

90’s

1990

Kimberly Coleman is living in Newport Beach and is the owner of Newport Coast Volleyball Club.

Eric '90, Adriana, and Dempsey Olsen in 2020 on Dempsey’s first day of first grade.

1993

Brooke Smith

Shepherdson lent daughter Lily her vintage 90’s HDS cardigan Cabbage Patch Doll for the first day of kindergarten.

1994

Beth Godber Root

and son Grady on his first day of school 2020.

00’s

2000

Danielle Drucker Korpman is currently the Vice President of Strikepoint Media, a marketing and advertising company in Laguna Beach that specializes in the financial industry.

2005

Alexandra Magliarditi lives in Orange County where she is the executive director of a Montessori preschool company.

2006

Mackenzi Burke married Cameron Stuart on July 10, 2021 in Newport Beach. Hayden Furey married Rob Stuhr in a Zoom wedding celebration, which was officiated by her father, Jim. The couple exchanged personalized vows they wrote for each other, and then each of the attendees—including brothers Chase'13 and Hale'10 gave a toast. The couple resides in Greenwich, Connecticut and works for JP Morgan in Manhattan.

Former HDS faculty member

Margo Sorenson

has a new picture book called Little Calabash, published in Hawaii by Island Heritage, December 2020

[www.welcometothe islands.com]. Alumnus Craig Savage'90 wrote a wonderful homage to his former teacher Mrs. Sorenson on our HDS Alumni Facebook page:

I blame Margo (a-hem!) “Mrs.” Sorenson for introducing me to journalism in sixth grade. My punishment as a result has been a journalism degree and more than 20 years in the journalism career field. I have dabbled or been immersed in something related to journalism for every year of my life since sixth grade, except for one. I took a shot at being an Air Force fighter pilot in 2003. I partially blame Mrs. Sorenson for that too because she gave me the confidence to achieve things I never thought I could. I’ve been fortunate to tell the heroic and sad, exhilarating and grim stories about the NFL, Hollywood stars, Presidential G20 summits, U.S. security operations during the Winter Olympics, U.S. special operations including coalition special operations in Iraq (up close), the demise of ISIS, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and much more. When I’m asked about my favorite teacher, the answer is always clear. It’s her. Thank you for the career path you put me on and congratulations on your NYT book review. I am not shocked. You. Are. The. Best.

2007

Kate Donahue and Iggy D’Anna were married in October 2019 in St. George, Bermuda. Kate earned her master’s in Elementary Education at Loyola Marymount University and has been teaching for six years. She is currently at St. Edwards School in Dana Point, where she teaches first grade.

Nikki Magliarditi lives in Los Angeles and works in luxury real estate.

Kaylie Spitzer and Chase Russell were married in Tulum, Mexico, on January 30, 2021.

Classmate Kati Burke attended the Mexico wedding.

2009

Maddie O’Connor is a Technical Recruiter at SpaceX in Los Angeles. She says, “I specifically am responsible for recruiting engineers and technicians that work on our Dragon Spacecraft. Dragon has been doing cargo missions for NASA since 2010, and in May 2020, we did our first crew launch for NASA to the International Space Station. Working for SpaceX has been challenging, yet so rewarding. I look forward to the day when we make life multi-planetary and step foot on Mars! The work we do has purpose and meaning, which is all I ever wanted out of a job. I’m so grateful to be where I am and contribute this to my parents’ gift of an education—starting with HDS.”

10’s

2010

John O’Connor is enjoying living in Washington, D.C. He is working as Director of Acquisitions for real estate investment firm Avanath Capital Management. John earned a degree in Economics from the University of Michigan. He credits his strong public speaking ability to his days at HDS. His advice to current students as an alumnus is, “Time flies. Make sure to enjoy the moment.”

2012

Derek Pickell is on a unique job assignment as a science technician at Greenland’s Summit Station

[https://www.geo summit.org], one of the most remote research stations in the world. Summit Station is located on the apex of the Greenland ice sheet at an altitude of 10,500 feet. Temperatures range from 40°F to +10°F. Derek supports research teams from universities and organizations such as NASA/JPL and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) studying climate change, astronomy, global weather patterns, and the earth’s magnetic field. After his time in Greenland, Derek will pursue his Master’s in Science degree at Dartmouth. Follow him on Instagram @derekpickell for amazing stories and photos.

2013

Congratulations to the college graduates!

2 1

3

4 5

6

1. Nick Britt (center) and classmates. 2. Chase Hall 3. Ben Hammond 4. T.J. Morton and mom, Deb Devine'81 Lee. 5. Lily Walkow 6. Mackenzie Veal and parents, Tom and Christi Veal.

2014

Garret Nourse is a senior at the University of Southern California, majoring in Applied Mathematics with minors in Philosophy and Finance. He is a Dean’s Merit Scholar, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and received a Half Century Scholarship. He was chosen by the Undergraduate Student Investment Fund to manage $5 million of the USC endowment. His relevant coursework includes Mathematics of Machines Learning, Monte Carlo Simulation, and Decision Models. His internships have been at Credit Suisse, Almitas Capital LLC, The TCW Group, and Boeing. He is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity where he is the treasurer.

Paige Warmington is a senior at Stanford University where she was the coxswain for the Varsity 8 Men’s Rowing team last spring.

2015

Audrey and

Nicole Nourse

are juniors at the University of Southern California and play beach volleyball. They were chosen as Pac 12 pair of the week last season and won the NCAA title. They are members of the U.S. Junior National Team and U21 National Team where they will represent the U.S. in Thailand for the World Championships in September. Both are majoring in Business Administration at the Marshall School of Business and have minors in Sports Media Industries. They are representatives in the Trojan Athletic Summit and are members of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority.

2017

Congratulations to the Class of 2017 on graduating from high school! You have reason to celebrate!

A list of your class’s college choices can be found on p age 23.

The Class of 2017 enjoyed an HDS reunion party to celebrate their high school graduation together.

1

1. Ruby Hammond and Natalia Bryant joined HDS classmate Lily Warmington (center) at the National Charity League Rainbow luncheon.

2. Newport Harbor High School prom pals: Emma Peets, Lily Warmington, Prescott Cook, Nick Richardson, Presley Green, and Jenna McConnaughey

3. Lily Warmington and Prescott Cook.

2

3

Congratulations to Prescott Cook and Jenna McConnaughey for making the list of 2021 valedictorians at Newport Harbor High School.

2018

Lexie Howell and Isabel Gomez are collaborating on a project that began at HDS. “We started Science Scoop in eighth grade after our science teacher, Mrs. Beal (former HDS teacher), opened our eyes to the possibilities of fun and innovative careers in science. We wanted to find a way to share our great experience that we had in middle school with other students who might not have been as exposed or as interested in science as we were. Science Scoop is a nonprofit organization founded to ignite an interest in science among elementary and middle school girls through interactive activities and workshops that identify and cultivate school and career aspirations. We focus on five main categories of science: animals, chemistry, medicine, nature, and technology. We created our own website and our signature ‘career quiz’ and started reaching out to various organizations and schools. Before the pandemic, we did in-person interactive workshops with groups such as Active Kids, various Girl Scout groups, and participated in the Girl Scout STEM Expo. Due to the virus, we transitioned our workshops to online. We created a YouTube channel where we posted experiments and we also hosted virtual workshops with various Girl Scout groups, including a five-week program focused on each category of science. We also participated in the virtual STEM expo and hosted a two-week session to help Girl Scout Cadettes get their STEM Career Exploration badge. We are hoping to start in-person workshops again soon!” Read the full story in the April 2021 edition of Tableau Magazine that can be found

online at www.issuu.com.