Dong Joo Namgung ’09
Antoinette “Toni” Johnson ’09
Sean Bemand ’10
Antoinette “Toni” Johnson ’09
passion for teaching and who brought their material to life. Toni graduated from Pace University in 2013 with a degree in education and is currently a fourth grade teacher at Achievement First Charter School through Teach For America; she works to provide public school students with the quality of education that she received.
Emelia Lartey ’10
During her junior year at Pace University, Toni became acutely aware of educational inequities and decided to go into education. While studying abroad in Caracas, Venezuela, Toni taught English in highly impoverished neighborhoods, or ’barrios,’ where classrooms were overcrowded and lacked basic supplies like books and paper. Children went to school for just a few hours a day and had little opportunity for advancement. When Toni returned home, she saw similar disparities in the United States, where students in low-income areas simply did not receive the educational tools necessary to succeed. Toni points to her experience in the New York City public system prior to coming to Marvelwood. As a Marvelwood student, she had teachers who were deeply invested in her, both in and out of the classroom. In particular, Toni remembers Craig and Melanie Ough, Glenn Sanchez P’18, ’19, Mike Cuff, and Ed Banach as teachers with a
2010s Sean Bemand ’10 Sean graduated from Western Connecticut State University in Danbury in May 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in photography. He continues to enjoy guitar, listen to live music, and play soccer. Sean says he misses bird banding with Laurie Doss, playing tennis, and even the winters on Skiff Mountain!
Emelia writes: “I am the CEO of a creative marketing firm. I’ve come to understand that marketing is more than a just way of doing—it’s a way of thinking, and being. It begins with the basic understanding of the distinctive characteristics of human nature, and the understanding of people’s stories, their sometimes illogical ways of decision-making, and most importantly, their drives and needs. Marketing is about understanding people and the complexity of the human experience. I learned about people, and most importantly my love and passion for helping people express themselves in unique ways, at Marvelwood. After transferring from Choate Rosemary Hall, I found my lifelong family and home on Skiff Mountain Road. Being on Skiff Mountain allowed me to learn one of life’s greatest lessons: Everyone has a story, everyone has a purpose, and it is an injustice to humanity if we ignore or disregard our layered complexities. At Marvelwood, there has and always will be a strong sense of community and family. Just like any family, we are made up of many amazing souls, thinkers, and intellectuals. Marvelwood gave me a space to cultivate my passion, and mirrored what it means to work in the name of protecting individuality and promoting self love.”
Tom Lee ’10
Amanda Sceusa Walter ’06 with Michael Juster ’09, David Mogle ’09, Zach Maizel ’04, Sam Bainbridge ’09, Jon Durke ’06 and Clay Evans ’08 at Reunion 2016.
Tom graduated from UC Berkeley in May 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. As a student, he was a Senator in the ASUC (an elected official in the student government at Cal), a brother of Sigma Nu Fraternity, and a co-founder of a consulting club, and he also held officer positions in various student groups. After graduation, he began work as an account development representative with MuleSoft, a software company, in San Francisco. Last February, Tom attended the gathering in San Francisco, and he visited Marvelwood in May. After four years of college and two years in the military service for Korea, he was happy to reconnect with his favorite faculty and fellow alumni. While visiting Marvelwood,
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