Happy Holidays and welcome to our latest issue of the UCDS Alumni Newsletter! This month, we're shining a light on UCDS Alumni who have pursued an interest in the amazing world of STEAM. From being a part of a robotics club, to pursuing a career in Biotech, to winning a prestigious mathematical prize at a university. Read on for some highlights from our incredible UCDS Alumni!
Make sure to check out our upcoming events notices at the bottom of the newsletter (12th Grade Reunion and 18+ Holiday Party are this month)!
|
|
|
Matilda Vary, Robotics Captain, UCDS Class of 2013
Matilda is currently a Senior at Holy Names and President of their all-girls robotics team. Matilda's team partnered with Boeing to launch a girls robotics team halfway around the world in Kenya! Matilda is also currently teaching the Robotics Club at UCDS. Watch a short video (click on image below) to learn more! After graduation, Matilda plans to pursue a career in aerospace engineering.
|
|
|
|
Check out Matilda's video about starting a Robotics Club in Kenya!
|
|
Leif Coomer, Performing Artist, UCDS Class of 2019
Leif is making his 5th Avenue Theatre debut this winter in the new Broadway Musical Mrs. Doubtfire! Fresh off of his role in the world premiere of Black Beauty (Seattle Children’s Theatre), Leif will be joining The 5th as part of the Ensemble and Christopher Hillard understudy. Tickets are still available!
|
|
|
Molly Sanderson, Math Major, UCDS Class of 2011
Molly recently cemented her math major at Amherst College in Massachusetts, where she is currently a sophomore. She’s also on track to declare a second major in computer science. Molly relishes the logic and problem-solving aspects of math and computer science. Nine years removed from UCDS, she still credits the school for instilling this passion for puzzles and love of learning.
|
|
|
|
|
Cooper Atkins, Moving On Class of 2009
Senior, George Washington University
Double Major: Mathematics & Statistics
Minor: Economics and French
Notable Accomplishment:
Cooper won the Ruggles Prize in 2019. The Ruggles Prize is awarded annually for excellence in mathematics to a candidate for a bachelor's degree. The prize was initiated in 1859, and consists of two gold medals. It is awarded "upon examination to the best two scholars in Mathematics.”
Q: In 5-10 years where do you see yourself?
I would like to be a data scientist or doing data analytics for a large tech company and making a difference in policies and decisions in the analytical work I’m doing. I’d either like to be somewhere in Europe or back in Seattle.
Q: Do you remember anything from UCDS that inspired your passion for math?
I always loved the Math Vitamin because it broke math out of the mold. A lot of ways math is taught is basically just writing something on a board and you copy it down and reapply it that way; you don’t do a lot of real world examples or messing around and learning math in an interesting and creative way. So being able to start the day and get my brain going with little brain teasers that involved math was something I always really enjoyed.
I talk with my friends about how we learned math and a lot of them talk about memorizing their times tables, decimals, conversions, etc but that was the only way they learned it, so it was nice to reinforce the ideas (with Math Vitamins) in a different way beyond just writing numbers down until you memorize them.
|
|
|
|
Paul Fields, Moving On Class of 1998
Company Name: Adaptive Biotechnologies
Position Title: Senior Computational Biologist
Why did you go into a STEM profession?
Ever since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by puzzles and solving problems. When I got new lego sets, I would try to assemble them first without using the instructions. Working in the biology field is the same kinds of puzzles. We have hypotheses and ideas we are testing but we're figuring out the path to solving them and the answers along the way. This process never ends, in biology there are always new and exciting questions to answer.
What inspires you the most as you work in the STEM field?
Science rarely happens alone, in my field I get to work with an amazing team of scientists, along with clinicians, and engineers across disciplines, to make an impact on patient lives. The ability to see the work I am doing directly translated to a clinical setting makes each day fun to come to work.
|
|
|
Nikolas Ioannou, University of Washington Early Entrance Student, UCDS Class of 2014
“Though I have ambitious goals, I know that I can achieve them through my determination, passion, and the support of my community.” Says Nikolas. We've featured Nikolas before in our newsletter for creating the iOS app Wastify. Since then, he's been busy developing new apps, applying early to college, and being featured as Geek Wire's Geek of the Week. Read the article and check out all he's been up to since last year!
|
|
|
UCDS Alumni, Nikolas Ioannou, shares more about his winning App, Wastify, that uses machine learning to automatically detect how you should dispose of your waste.
|
|
|
Patience Probst, Moving on Class of 2012
Patience spent the last few weeks of high school back at UCDS as part of UPrep's LaunchPad internship program. Patience says "I am interested in possibly going into education or child development, so what better way to look at those fields than to come back to UCDS! Not only did I work in the classrooms of many different age groups, but I was also welcomed to join in different planning and developmental meetings." No surprise, Patience is now attending Wake Forest University and studying psychology, education and child development. We loved having her back on our campus!
Watch a brief video of Patience recapping her time at UCDS here.
|
|
|
|
Welcome New UCDS Alumni Advisory Board Members!
|
|
|
My name is Hadley Delahunty. I am from the UCDS Moving on Class of 2019, and currently in sixth grade at The Bush School. I love playing lacrosse and drawing in my free time. I am super excited to be on the Alumni Board!
|
|
|
|
Finley Riter (Class of 2015) is currently attending The Overlake School as a sophomore. She is the current acting secretary of the Junior State of America club at her school, and is very passionate about political activism and engagement, especially from young people. In her free time she enjoys dancing, singing, and acting. She is so thrilled to have an opportunity to reconnect with the UCDS community.
|
|
|
|
Hello my name is Syndiely and I go to Lakeside Middle School. I enjoy singing and I am in a choir outside of school. In school I am doing band and play the flute. I like to play sports, currently I play basketball but I also enjoy soccer, volleyball, and tennis. I like to read and would love to travel the world someday.
|
|
|
|
Hi! My name is Hannah Saraf, from the Moving On Class of 2016. I went to Seattle Girls’ School for middle school, and I am now a freshman at The Bush School. When I am not at school, doing homework, or reading I like to spend time with my little brother, (who currently goes to UCDS), or go for runs with my dog by the water. A fun fact about me is that I only did cross country at UCDS for one year. However, now I compete for Bush’s cross country team. So, I did eventually end up running in the sun and the rain, but most of all for fun!
|
|
|
12th Grade Reunion @ UCDS
Join us with your family and siblings for a fun dinner event at UCDS.
Wednesday, December 11th
UCDS Interconnection
6:00-8:00pm
RSVP: marisaf@ucds.org
18+ Alumni Holiday Party
Get into the holiday spirit with good friends, your former teachers, and delicious complimentary snacks and beverages.
Monday, December 23rd
Brave Horse Tavern
5:30-7:30pm
RSVP: marisaf@ucds.org
Alumni Board Meetings @ UCDS
Join us for one of our Alumni Advisory Board Meetings this winter!
Email alumni@ucds.org for more information and dates!
|
|
|
UCDS Master of Education Program launching next summer! Become a grad student at UCDS!
We are thrilled to announce that the UCDS College for School Culture, Master of Education program is accepting applications for August 2020 enrollment! We invite all of your questions and inquiries at csc@ucds.org. We also welcome you to share this news with friends and colleagues interested in deepening their practice and passion for teaching and learning!
|
|
|
|
|
