Alumni Profiles

Page 7 Alumni Profiles Meet the 2022 Alumni Award Winners

Kennedy Crowder ’14, Exploring Abroad

A 2022 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, with a major in English and a minor in East Asian languages, Kennedy was named a Marshall Scholar and is now pursuing a master’s degree in Black Humanities at the University of Bristol in the UK. A person with “many branching interests,” from creative writing to community service to a possible career in academia, Kennedy sees her current studies as a chance to explore whether she wants to earn a Ph.D. Whatever her future holds, there’s little doubt it will involve some form of storytelling, a lifelong interest. “I came into middle school with a burning love of reading, and my teachers nurtured and sustained that,” she says. “That taught me the value of staying true to my passions.”

Chris Reynolds ’10, Med School and More

After earning degrees in biochemistry and theology from Boston College, Chris was awarded a 2018 Fulbright research grant, which allowed him to travel extensively through Latin America, exploring interests related to global health equity. Now in his third year at the University of Michigan Medical School on a Dean’s Scholarship, he is working toward both his M.D. and a master’s degree focused on implementing change in health care systems—a credential he hopes will prove useful as he looks forward to a career focused on serving vulnerable and underserved groups. Chris says that Independence taught him lessons that have served him well ever since: “The work ethic, the time management and organizational skills, and the value they clearly placed on education.”

A physician board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases, and interventional cardiology, Erin is working in private practice with a cardiology group in Denver. A political science major at Middlebury College originally planning on a career in law, she explains that she found a new perspective working on HIV education during a trip to Malawi in college. She went on to complete her medical degree at Northwestern University and gravitated to cardiology. “I just find the heart fascinating and appreciate the chance to provide good care to people who are really sick.” What has stayed with her from her middle school days nearly 25 years ago? “All the teachers who fostered excellence and curiosity. I’ve brought that spirit with me through my years of education and into my career.”

Sam Parsons ’08, Life on the Fast Track

A North Carolina State University graduate, Sam is a professional distance runner under contract with Adidas and the cofounder of the Tinman Elite professional running team, based in Boulder, Colorado. Sam recently became the first runner ever to record a sub-4-minute mile on Delaware soil. He is now competing professionally in cross-country in addition to track, and has his sights set on the upcoming World Championships in Budapest and the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he will compete for Germany, his mother’s birth country. Sam remembers his days at Independence clearly. “The seeds of my running career were planted on that gravel track,” he says. “Running those cross-country races is where I really found my fire.”

Dr. Erin Zolnick Unger ’98, Inspired to Heal