Class Knox AP computer science.
Aram Hong ’10 and Wandi Yang ’11— June 7, 2014
Liesl Pereira ’10 and Ashley Olson ’09—October 18, 2014 LEFT TO RIGHT: Brian Gawor ’98, Susannah Gawor ’99, Valerie Gokhfeld ’10, Jordan Stoune ’10, Heather Kopec ’10, Joy Miller, Liesl Pereira ’10, Ashley Olson ’09, Gloria Feliciano ’10, Professor Kelly Shaw ’91, Professor Mary Crawford ’89, Erica Jaffe ’08, Niki Ruffin ’09, Stephanie Martin ’09, Kate Wrenn Rug ’13, Vince Rug ’12.
October and is happily enjoying both married life and her new job at Geek Bar Chicago, the best bar ever! ❯ Salleha Chaudhry is still in San Francisco, loving her lack of snowfall. She is the regional West Coast director for Girls Who Code. ❯ Rachel Deffenbaugh writes, “As the farm manager of City Seeds Urban Farm, I was declared the 2014 Local Food Hero by St. Louis University and the City of St. Louis.” ❯ This past September, Toshia Zessin became Mrs. Albright by marrying her best friend, Vurtice Albright. They both look forward to completing their Ph.D.s in 2015 and to what the future holds for them. ❯ Ellen Kokontis started in August at Albert Whitman & Co., the children’s publisher, where she acquires illustrators and designs books. ❯ Daniel Hoffman still works in Senegal with the Peace Corps. He plants trees and is learning how to ride a donkey. ❯ Ashley Olson recently got married to Liesl Pereira ’10, and both are happily living and working in Chicago. ❯ Eva Westley loves Seattle! She recently got her M.P.H. from the University of Washington and now works at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She still teaches yoga, too. ❯ Mackenzi Harmon enjoys her fourth year working at State Farm and was promoted to statistician. She also married her college sweetheart, Josh, in the Smoky Mountains. ❯ Iona Cooper writes, “I continue to grow and develop from the challenge of my job as a wilderness therapy guide working with a diverse client population in the Utah desert.” ❯ Stephanie Martin writes, “I graduated from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I am a librarian at Lincoln Library, the public library of Springfield, Illinois.” ❯ Sarah J. Bigus Eagen writes, “I’m working as a professional actress and choreographer in L.A. and have begun writing and producing; currently touring film festivals with my first short film, The Interview.” ❯ Sam Bouman is a baker and serial volunteer in Portland, Oregon. ❯ Kevin Goetsch is now a senior data scientist at Braintree. He’s rock climbing in the winters and ultimate frisbee-ing in the summers. ❯ Aaron
Barnett graduated from Southern Illinois University with a doctor of philosophy in molecular biology and biochemistry on August 2, 2014. He married Anne Heberle ’12 on August 31, 2014, in Lodi, California. ❯ Lucas Leckrone and Whitney Mackie got married in September and were fortunate to have some Knoxies attend! Currently Lucas is working at U.S. Steel in Granite City, while Whitney took a new position as a labor and delivery R.N. in Alton. They are currently living in Alton with their one-year-old, Logan, and their two dogs. A frequent visitor of theirs is Samuel Almohandis, who bought his first home this year and also works at U.S. Steel! ❯ Olivia Engel got hitched! She is also calling all Knoxies to act in this new wave of the civil rights movement and invites you to come witness her St. Louis community’s strength. ❯ Megan Bohi Batt and husband Andrew Batt ’05 are proud parents of a son, Alexander Richard, born on January 9, 2015. ❯ As for me, I am still in Sydney, but enjoyed a trip back to the States last October. In addition to Homecoming, I also got to attend the wedding of Zac Skinner (now Galan-Skinner) and pop by Colorado to see Cameron Burke’s lovely house. ❯ May 2015 bring you many new adventures! Class Correspondent: Brittany N. Leggans knoxclassof2009@gmail.com
2010 Laura Miller and Daniel Dyrda got hitched on May 31 and moved to Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood. ❯ Aram Hong and Wandi Yang ’11 married in June in a beautiful ceremony full of family, friends, and love. They live in San Diego, California. ❯ Ali Hidden Sobczyk married in August at Architectural Artifacts in Chicago. She works at Little Green Tree House as a lead pre-K teacher, and her husband is in graduate school for urban planning. ❯ After five years together, Jen Milius and John Eisemann bought a house in Portland, Oregon, and were married in August by friend and fellow alum Philippe Moore ’08. Life’s beautiful in the
Northwest: Jen is a graphic designer at the science museum, and John is the choir director at his old high school. They still sing in choir together. ❯ Julie Bychowski Horning got married in October. ❯ Liesl Pereira and Ashley Olson ’09 also wed in October in Augusta, Missouri. Liesl just started as the director of development at the Illinois Humanities Council in Chicago. ❯ Ellie Poley is still at Adobe Seattle and volunteerteaches AP computer science. She and Brittany Alsot ’08 officially married with an informal, bike-friendly, dino-themed wedding. ❯ Colleen Harden Aziz and A. Hamed Aziz ’08 welcomed their first child in January! ❯ Sam Flanders and Melati Nungsari are both pursuing doctorates in economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sam has one more year in the program, while Melati will graduate in May. They had their first child, a boy, in early December and are very excited about this year’s 5th Reunion. ❯ After four years of living in Georgia and South Carolina, Michael Yu drove to Seattle and is looking for a job. ❯ Javier Bermudez returned to Barcelona in September after seven years away from home. He reunited with family and friends and couldn’t be happier! ❯ Jessica Baham left Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago after almost five years for New York City, where she will pursue a master’s in international education at NYU’s Steinhardt School. She’s excited to be a student again and to take advantage of all that New York City has to offer! ❯ Alana Ogilvie recently moved to Portland, Oregon, and works with a local, community-based agency that serves high-acuity kids. She is also working to publish an article on the use of family therapy with alternative forms of romantic relationships. ❯ Shane Donegan broke the inside door handle in his truck and hasn’t bothered fixing it yet. #Adult. ❯ Samantha Newport is slowly working her way toward owning and outfitting a homestead. Donations are welcome. Gabby the cat sends her love. ❯ Abby Pardick Clayton started working as a behavior specialist for COIT Creative Arts Academy in September and celebrated her oneyear anniversary with husband Josh in October.
KNOX MAGAZINE Spring 2015
75