“Then and Now” (l-r) are 2005 classmates Kate Fullenkamp, John Tato and Amanda Bellistri.
04 06 earned a juris doc from Virginia Com monwealth University School of tor degree from New England Nikki Sparks graduated
Sarah V. L. Castleberry
Dentistry in 2008 and practices dentistry with W. Baxter Per kinson & Associates, Ltd., in Powhatan, Va.
Law at Boston in May 2010. ✱ Steven Gaberdiel (’07M) lives in
05 writes, “I recently vis ited Harrisonburg with a group
graduate degrees in account ing and a Masters of Science in Accounting degree at JMU in 2007. ✱ On Oct. 29, 2010, Jennifer Ramsey of Arlington, Va., represented JMU and President Linwood H. Rose at the inauguration celebration for Montgomery College’s ninth president, DeRionne Pollard. “Dr. Pollard outlined her vision of making Montgomery College the most relevant community college in the nation by meeting the needs of both students and the community,” writes Ramsey. “This was a great experience, and I was proud to represent James Madison University.” ✱ Courtney
ClassNotes
Christina Rose Bauer
of alumni for a mini-reunion. We stayed at Massanutten and spent a great weekend visiting campus and the JMU Bookstore. We enjoyed reliv ing Madison memories.” ✱ Shay Cochrane of Wesley Cha pel, Fla., won the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Wedding and Engagement Photography. Cochrane is a frequent con tributor to Madison magazine. WeddingWire is the nation’s leading wedding technology company. Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards is determined by recent customer reviews and extensive surveys from 750,000 newlyweds. Shay Cochrane Photography stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community. ✱ Dan Jensen (’08M) of Reston, Va., competed on the TV game show Jeopardy in January. The marketing major earned his M.B.A. at JMU in 2008. ✱ Three 2005 Dukes took time for some “Then and Now” Madison memories as students in 2005 to current service in the Army: (See above): Kate Fullenkamp, John Tato and Amanda Bellistri.
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M ag a z i n e
Mechanicsville with his wife, Kristin Mimm Gaberdiel (’06, ’07M). Both earned their under
Culbertson Swartzentruber (’12M)
will complete her M.A. in Eng lish at JMU in May 2012.
07 Africa in June 2008 to teach music to children and Erin Frye traveled to
do volunteer work through the Cross Cultural Solutions program. “I have always been involved in volunteer work; prison ministry, playing music at local soup kitchens; but, I really wanted to chal lenge myself and make myself uncomfortable. That is when you grow the most, writes Frye, a communication major with a concentration in public rela tions. “I was placed in a village called Hohoe, four hours from Ghana’s capital, Accra. I used my voice and my guitar to teach the children many songs. I also brought supplies and taught the children how to make their own rhythm instruments. The chil dren blessed me in ways I could never imagine. They showed me what true faith, joy and love look like.” In June 2010, Frye returned to Ghana with her family and a few friends to live and work in the Hohoe Chris tian Orphanage. “We taught English, art and music, and coached the children in soccer. We brought 16 suitcases worth of donations,” adds Frye. “I have fallen in love with the Ghanaian culture.” Stay tuned to a future issue of Madison to read Frye’s incredible story. director of 08 federal business devel opment at Energy Xtreme®, David Starr,
Erin Frye (’07) shares her musical talents and coaches children in Ghana.
visited students in the JMU College of Business on Feb. 7, 2011. The finance major, who
minored in physics, discussed the energy industry, energy usage, entrepreneurship, venture capi talism and the emerging field of clean-tech startups. Starr started his first auto-detailing business in Richmond, Va., when he was 17. After graduation, he joined Strategic Enterprise Solutions, a federal government-consulting firm, in Reston. He currently works in Austin, Texas, for Energy Xtreme®, a new cleantech venture. Rob Anderson won the fifth season of the critically acclaimed Chicago comedy and talent competition Impress These Apes (www. impresstheseapes.com). Ander son has also performed regularly in the Chicago comedy and improv scene with iO (www. chicago.ioimprov.com), Gay Co., pH, and as a contributor for The Paper Machete (www. thepapermacheteshow.com). ✱ Music industry major Ted Beidler moved to Nashville after completing an internship with Red Light Management in Charlottesville after gradua tion. “Red Light set me up with an internship here as well,” says Beidler. “And, I finally got a big break. After working with him on a video shoot in October, JMU alumnus Phil Vassar (’85) offered me a gig on the road for two weeks to film some behind-the-scenes and live foot age to promote his new album. I learned how to film and edit video as I went. I guess I did a good job since I was invited to stay with the tour! I ended up being on the road with his group for about six months. I did a video blog for every show and sold merch on the road. It was a great experience. We toured all over the states and Europe. While on the road I kept up my contacts with every one in the Red Light office, and was offered a full-time position in June. I am the assistant on the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill projects.” ✱ Nicole Jurik completed the Rutgers Acceler ated Nursing Program for sec
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T h e n an d N o w P h o t o g r ap h s c o u r t e s y o f A m an d a B e l l i s t r i (‘ 0 5)