Recent Events

Virtual UK and Ireland Alumni Gathering

Some of the Highlights:

Sean Stevens '00 explained how he lost 56 pounds (25.4 kilos) during 2020 and competed in a Men's Physique Competition August. Professionally, Sean is a cyber security manager with Western Union.

Rosalind Stewart '10 shared her experiences as part of the opening team of (French sporting goods retailer) Decathlon in the Republic of Ireland.

Upper School Director Aaron Hubbard provided alums with an update on school news.

A lively conversation flowed throughout this Zoom reunion, held one year after we met up in person at the home of Zoom participant Nikki Brenninkmeijer and family.

Alumni participants ranged from Class of 1970 to Class of 2010!

Kelly Morrison '11 with ASP Women in STEM

Kelly Morrison '11 joined several dozen of our Upper School students via Zoom recently to talk about her path from ASP to a career in STEM as a product developer and eventual product manager.

Kelly shared a bit about her six years at ASP, as well as her experience of taking Physics with Ms. Schupack. Kelly shared that her Computer Science class at ASP inspired a passion in her that opened the door to her future studies. Now, she lives in North Carolina, where she works remotely in account management and sales for a custom software development company which is based in Texas.

Kelly spoke from her experience about trying new things, and working with one's skill set and an open mind to find out which facet of STEM is the right fit. She encouraged diversity in STEM, particularly for women, people of color, and historically underrepresented groups. Kelly highlighted some of her ASP classmates who she has stayed in close contact with over the years, and the various paths they took after their shared time at ASP. Many have gone into STEM fields!

You can read the article covering Kelly's virtual visit on the front page of our ASP news!

Alumni in the News

Sarah Noble '98 has dedicated her career to contributing to a better world. She has held leadership positions at a number of international organizations focused on peace-building, humanitarian issues, and media. She currently serves as Director of External Relations at The New Humanitarian, a non profit newsroom that puts quality, independent journalism at the service of the millions of people affected by humanitarian crises around the world. She led the rebrand of the organization from IRIN News to The New Humanitarian and oversees its donor relations and marketing portfolio.

Passionate about international relations, peace promotion, and story-telling, she is also co-founder and Curator of the Peace Talks at Interpeace, where she has held a number of positions including Special Assistant, Chief of Staff, and Director of Global Engagement. She has overseen the 17 editions of the Peace Talks, an event platform co-founded by the United Nations, the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, and Interpeace, that showcases the inspiring stories of people making a positive contribution to peace. These have taken place in more than 7 countries with over 6,200 attendees and 140 speakers, ranging from elementary students to the former United Nations Secretary-General.

Sarah's passion for international relations was spurred by the multiple Model United Nations conferences she attended while at ASP most notably THIMUN. Following graduation in 1998, she went to university in Canada and holds an MA in International Affairs from Norman Paterson School of International Affairs Originally from Ottawa, Canada, Sarah lives in Geneva, Switzerland, with her three-year-old son and Californian husband.

Sarah still keeps in daily contact with friends from the class of 1998 including Erum Hasan, Nicola Sarn, Flavia Thome, and Ingrid Johansen.

Yann Green '06 (photographed above with wife Joanna Marie), recounts his post-ASP path:

After graduating ASP in 2006 I received an MA in Film Making from the London Film School. I have since been a freelance video editor and, for the last four years, a VFX artist in London. I recently got the opportunity to work on the 'behind the scenes' on Netflix's The Witcher TV show which became a huge success. I was delighted to be a part of it as it's a franchise I'm particularly fond of.

Late last year, I got to edit character featurettes for the show's three main characters which can be viewed on YouTube and Netflix. The edits were a mix of show footage and behind-the-scenes footage. There was so much great footage and interviews left that hadn't been used, that I suggested creating a Making Of Season 1 to get an in-depth understanding of how it came together and the motivations behind some creative decisions of the show. I worked on it from home during the first few months of the summer lock down. I was incredibly pleased with the result and now look forward to working on Season 2 very soon.

I want to thank Laura Schupack and the Film Class for getting me on my path to where I am today. The class was a great way to express myself and experiment with film techniques.

Brian Lee '08 recently invited Upper School science teacher Laura Schupack to his virtual Doctoral Thesis presentation. Brian attended Cornell for undergraduate and completed his doctorate in Engineering studying Photonics at Columbia University. Laura shares:

"I was so thrilled, and Brian's presentation was very impressive We had a follow up zoom the weekend afterwards and I was able to catch up with him. He has a new baby and he and his family will be moving to Pasadena California to work on Photonic research - this is a key strategy for bringing down heat production at servers - Google, Apple and Facebook are all interested in circuitry based upon light instead of heat producing electricity. Brian is working hard and meeting with success."

Alyssa Kaser '16 received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Neuroscience from Baylor University while conducting research at the VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans. During this time, she explored interventions for veterans suffering from TBI and related changes in resting-state functional connectivity. Additionally, she collaborated with neuropsychologists at Baylor Scott & White to improve the clinical staging and diagnosis of pre-clinical Alzheimer's disease through advanced statistical techniques.

She is currently a research assistant at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she investigates multi-modal interventions for individuals at risk for dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and individuals diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. Her main goals involve detecting cognitive decline in aging individuals at an earlier rate through novel methods and refined neuropsychological assessments, and developing interventions to delay pathological changes in cognition.

Alyssa attended ASP from 2010 to 2014, where her love for science was first inspired by Joseph Scanlon. "As my science teacher for three years, Mr. Scanlon demonstrated the joy and fascination of scientific exploration." During her time at ASP, Alyssa was also actively involved in music, theatre arts, and Model United Nations. Under the guidance of Hal Halvorsen, Neal Yocom, and David Lynn, she was given the opportunity to travel across Europe for International Honor Choir Festivals and MUN conferences. "These teachers, and experiences, have continued to shape my personal and professional journey."

Recent Passings

Suzanne Obenshain, past ASP parent and Board of Trustees President (2015–17). Read about the Suzanne Michels Obenshain Fund for Triple Negative Breast Cancer Research.

Krysha Papillon, Upper School librarian from 1974 to 2007

Shirley Robinson, former Grade Four teacher, and an interim Lower School Director, who joined ASP in the 1970s.

Steve Shirk, Lower and Middle School teacher, and then Upper School guidance counselor, at ASP from the 1960s until 2003.

Lars Björck '72, international film executive who also produced the 2005 drama Havoc, starring Anne Hathaway.

Rob Maher '70, retired commodities operations executive.