2006
Brian Combias writes, “Reality has finally set in. We can no longer say that we recently graduated. We can no longer dwell on the woes of entering the ‘real world.’ The year has been a busy one. As we work to establish ourselves within our respective companies, we continue to make a concerted effort to kick back and enjoy the little things. This past year, I have tried to take advantage of being able to experience new places/cultures. I have enjoyed meeting new people through work, travel, and sporting events. Having just moved, I am looking forward to staying more closely connected to my Pingry friends. Even though those in my class no longer recognize the faces that walk the Pingry halls each day, there will always be an unrivaled comfort that I feel each time I walk through the front doors. Times have changed, but the memories linger.” After her May 2011 graduation from Wake Forest University Schools of Business with an M.A. in management, Jodie Francis will be returning to the New York/New Jersey area to job search and reunite with old friends.
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Jeremy Teicher returned to Senegal in July 2011 for the first time since his documentary This Is Us premiered in November 2010 (for background, see “Inside Out” in the Fall/Winter 2010 issue of The Pingry Review). The documentary has earned a national finalist nomination for the 2011 Student Academy Awards. Jeremy spent July 2011 shooting an independent featurelength fiction film (with Chris Collins ’05) inspired by true stories from his documentary. He hopes to complete post-production in early 2012 and is currently editing the movie in New York City. Check out his web site, www.jeremyteicher.com, to learn more and get in touch! After completing her undergraduate degree at The University of Chicago, Katie Tucker was accepted into The University of Chicago’s Ph.D. program in Slavic Languages and Literatures. She plans to specialize in Russian and South Slavic literature and philosophy. Rachel Van Wert and Katie Tucker backpacked through southeastern Europe in the summer of 2010. They drank extremely strong coffee in Sarajevo, got sunburned on the Dalmatian Coast in
Croatia, hunted for truffles on the Istrian Peninsula, slept at a former Soviet prison in Ljubljana, swam in Lake Bled in Slovenia’s Julian Alps, and ran through Venice before collapsing on the Spanish Steps in Rome. In the Croatian fishing village of Bajnice, their Pingry apparel was noticed by a man swimming in the Adriatic, who happened to be from Livingston, N.J. Small world, indeed.
2007
5thReunion
Ishita Bali graduated in May 2011 from Georgetown University, where she majored in economics and minored in mathematics and French. She enjoyed being a part of the Georgetown University Lecture Fund, through which she had the opportunity to invite, listen to, and meet a variety of influential speakers. Ishita spent a summer abroad in Tours, France where she studied at L’Institut de Touraine. She is working in NYC as an analyst at J.P. Morgan and living with Mai-Yin Picard. Scott Davimos writes, “I graduated from the University of Miami in 2011. I majored in
international finance and marketing and am working on starting my own clothing line.” Kate Durnan graduated from Columbia University in May 2011 and is now in her first year at Columbia Law School. Brittany Gildea graduated from Holy Cross in May 2011 and is now working as a sales associate for the New York Yankees. She is living on the Upper East Side in a studio apartment and is having a great time in New York City so far. Max Horlbeck writes, “I graduated from Columbia College with a B.A. in biochemistry and computer science. Last summer, I started the M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of California, San Francisco, to study systems biology. Best of luck to my classmates starting their post-graduate careers!” Hadley Johnson writes, “In May 2011, I graduated from Barnard College with a B.A. in French literature. Last fall, I began to pursue a master’s in clinical psychology at Teachers College of Columbia University. I wish all the best to any other recent college graduates!”
Jen Hetrick writes, “I was offered a position as an elementary school teacher (most likely in Grade 2) at North Star Academy Vailsburg Elementary School in Newark, N.J. North Star is part of the Uncommon Charter School system and is very well respected in the charter school community for its success. I will be working under principal Julie Jackson and am very excited to get started.”
the pingry review
Park Smith III is working as a financial aid advisor and pursuing a graduate degree in Nonprofit Management at the University of North Florida. He lives in Jacksonville. The Annual 2011 edition of New Jersey Baseball Magazine profiled Park, who played first base and pitched at both Pingry and Denison University. The article, “First Love, First Base,” proclaimed that “few [gifted athletes] have as clear a vision of where life will take them as Park Smith III.”
2007
After graduating early from Columbia University with a degree in economics, Michelle Yuan spent several months traveling in Asia and visiting family before starting her job in Hong Kong as an analyst in the Sales and Trading division at J.P. Morgan. Prior to accepting the full-time position, Michelle had an internship in the same department in the summer of 2010.