“I feel like SAAS prepared me for college and life by providing a very challenging, yet fun curriculum and—with the focus on the arts and sciences—paved the way for me to be able to succeed in a variety of environments. From the classroom to out on the soccer field to hiking in the Southwest Desert, I was given the opportunity to learn how to deal with, and overcome, many obstacles that I don’t think I would have been able to, as well as I have, had I not been a SAAS student.”
-Annika ZumBrunnen '99
Welcome to the Seattle Academy Alumni Association website. As an alumni, alumni parent, or alumni grandparent, this is your hub to stay connected or reconnect with the SAAS alumni community. From as nearby as Seattle or as far away as Italy, we have opportunities for you to stay connected with SAAS in a way that excites you and fits your lifestyle. The tabs above will help you navigate the website so you can tell us what's new with you, see what fellow classmates are up to, learn about engagement opportunities and so much more.
SAAS provides its students the opportunity to learn within an inclusive community where students are taught to question, imagine, and create, to best prepare them for both college and life. Now as an alumni, alumni parent, or alumni grandparent, we ask you to create and maintain a community of inclusive and geographically diverse alumni and alumni families who continue to support, live, and contribute boldly to a changing world in their life after SAAS.
As a Seattle Academy alumni, your opportunities are limitless. Our alumni live and work around the globe in more than 33 states, 4 countries and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tell us where you live by updating your contact information here or using our Alumni Directory.
Rachel attended Seattle Academy (SAAS) for her freshman through senior years and recently opened up about her battle with an eating disorder, one that has deeply impacted her life to this day.
Like in Rachel’s case, eating disorders commonly appear in the middle school, high school, and college years, though many individuals develop eating disorders later in life and often go untreated because of the stereotype that they only affect teens and young adults.
Morris Vasser, a Seattle Academy alumnus from the Class of 2020, is doing several cool things in the adventure sports community. He works as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Lead at Sweetlines, a mountain bike coaching organization. He is getting out onto trails and mentoring youth in mountain biking. He is advocating for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to take up mountain biking.
After suffering a basketball-related injury at college, former Cardinal basketball player and Seattle Academy alumnus Jujaar Singh ’18 saw the opportunity to tell a meaningful story that was close at heart. He came home for winter break and decided to chronicle the SAAS Boys’ Basketball team on film.
Whether you have moved, changed jobs, gotten married or have a personal success story to share, be sure to stay in touch with SAAS. By updating your contact information you will:
By updating your contact information, you will not:
* Required
The QTBIPOC Voices for Change Committee continues to receive feedback and recommendations from our alumni to help improve our overall school culture and community. Your willingness to share with us continues to help put in place systems to better support current QTBIPOC students, to coordinate with other committees working with current students and parents, and to repair the relationships between our alumni and Seattle Academy where they have been fractured. To read the full entry from the Committee, please continue to our website.
Should you wish to come forward and report previous incidents of witnessed or experienced racism and other forms of discrimination, or simply want to share your broader experience while at SAAS, please reach out to any of the members listed below. Please note that the Committee continues to follow a formal process for reporting concerns and incidents, and those incidents that are legally reportable will be referred to the proper authorities.
This committee will write a report for the Head of School which will share themes, concerns and make recommendations for student and faculty training and support.
Thank you.
Members
Erin Aitchison, ’98, Director of Safety, Trips, & Travel
Mike Haykin, Assistant Head of School-Options
Nicole Higgins, Director of Major Gifts
Did you miss our recent Mental Health Awareness Week? We recorded everything so that you can still partake!
The SAAS Alumni Association partnered with mental health writer and alumna Rachel Havekost`07 to promote safe and effective exercises that support mental health. Each day throughout the week, we hosted simple, quick and convenient activities to participate in. Find the links to each video below.
Bio: Rachel is an NYU trained actress, former primary school educator, and graduate-level trained mental health therapist--though she believes the core of her education has come from life experience.
After a decade of eating disorder recovery, depression, anxiety, and deep therapeutic work, Rachel has made it her mission to create safe spaces off and online for people to connect, heal, and find peace.
Using honest storytelling, Rachel destigmatizes topics like suicide, eating disorders, and divorce. She offers tangible tools for coping with life’s stressors, as well as free and affordable resources for healing from trauma and navigating depression/anxiety. She believes these tools should be accessible to all, and until they are, aims to use her social media platform and privilege to provide ethical support.
With nearly 5,000 members of the Alumni Community spread across the world, it’s important to stay connected. No matter where you are located, you can remain virtually connected to SAAS and to your fellow Cardinals by following the Seattle Academy Alumni Association on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. By following the Seattle Academy Alumni Association on LinkedIn, you will be part of the Seattle Academy Alumni Directory where you can connect with past classmates, faculty, and staff. See below to learn more about using LinkedIn as an Alumni Directory.
View our step-by-step instructions here.
Take a look at our past and present newsletters to see what the entire alumni community is up to.
Seattle Academy Alumni Newsletter Fall 2021- October 2021
Announcing the Seattle Academy Alumni Association - April 2021
Whether you recently received your diploma, have relocated and are looking for your next career move, or are ready to give back to current students, SAAS is here for you. We are invested in your lifelong growth and professional development, so take full advantage of the tools and resources we provide.
Did you miss our recent webinar?
Job hunting is never an easy feat. It can often be filled with long hours of cover letter creation or repeatedly answering the same generic questions. Then, add a global pandemic to the already challenging process and it can seem nearly impossible. Click above to watch the recording of our recent webinar where moderator, SAAS teacher, and entrepreneur Mariah Gentry interviewed three panelists who have become just short of experts in the job hunting game. The panel covered generalized questions, such as:
The panel also addressed pandemic-specific topics like:
Watch the full webinar to hear additional questions prompted from our audience, answered live. Once you’ve completed the webinar and are ready to get started on your job seeking journey, we recommend utilizing Miro, an online mind-mapping platform that helps you to discover your strengths, passions, connections, and skills.
Senior Vice President of Client Success | Dreambox Learning
Dianna is currently the Senior Vice President of Client Success at Dreambox Learning, a K-8 digital math program available in English and Spanish. Dianna leads Client Experience, Professional Development and Client Support teams that deliver a wide range of services to delight school districts and families.
Dianna brings 20 years of experience from a range of high-growth technology startups to global enterprise companies. Prior to Dreambox, Dianna served as COO for Level Technologies, a Techstars company with a mission to redefine financial services for the gig economy. She has also worked in service and operations leadership roles at Microsoft. Dianna and her family previously lived in London, where she was the Global Client Services and Solutions leader for what is now Investis Digital. Prior to working for technology companies, Dianna was a recruiter at a staffing firm, an English teacher in Japan, and a Residence Director for a university.
Dianna holds a BA in International Relations from Drake University, and an MBA from University of Washington. Dianna is active in the Seattle community, serving as a board member for Ventures and a volunteer for Farestart.
Experience in job Seeking – “I’ve had the unfortunate experience of being suddenly laid off, having to look for a job after a family move, as well as the more general job hunting when it is just time to seek a new challenge.”
Favorite job seeking tactic – “Ask my friends and network to identify the leaders they admire, the ones solving hard problems and find a way to get to know those leaders. I believe that passion to work on big problems is more compelling for employers than someone just looking for a job.”
Budding Entrepreneur
Sydney Parno has traveled a winding path through the working world: first as a program coordinator at a nonprofit theater company, and then an executive assistant to the student government at Portland Community College. Like many others, Sydney wasn’t certain what she wanted to pursue.
A year ago, Sydney graduated from University of Washington’s undergraduate entrepreneurship program. She is currently a long-term financial literacy substitute and classroom assistant to the entrepreneurial leadership class at Seattle Academy. On the side, she is the CEO of Stripped, a size-inclusive women’s underwear brand that she launched during college. Her days consist of lesson planning and teaching while her nights involve fashion design and business meetings.
Sydney intends to lead a fulfilling life by being a lifelong learner. She has big dreams of building businesses, traveling the world, and inspiring students to reach their goals.
Experience in job Seeking – “I’ve recently endured a grueling six-month dry hunt, and finally took on teaching as a way to make ends meet. It has brightened my days!”
Favorite job seeking tactic – “A job hunting tactic that I love is applying for jobs that are outside of my intended career path because you never know what you might stumble upon when you least expect it!”
Senior Client Lead Recruiter | Twitch
Michael Jaffe ‘07 has had many jobs since he left SAAS. Starting in publishing and editorial with Marvel Comics and Fat Beats Records in New York, he broke off to be the founding Editor-in-Chief of Soletron, a sneaker website that was later bought by Karmaloop. After a year of running Soletron, and a brief stint in sales, an opportunity to relocate to San Francisco came up. He took a job working with VonChurch, a recruiting agency that worked with gaming companies like Riot and Niantic. That experience taught him enough skills about the industry to move to Yelp as a University Recruiter for nearly two years. After his time at Yelp, he finally got the call from Twitch to go into lead technical recruitment for their commerce and advertising teams (albeit with a move back to Seattle!) which is where he remains 4.5 years later. Currently, Michael is a Senior Client Lead Recruiter at Twitch and leads all planning and recruitment efforts for commerce, advertising, music and design teams. He partners closely with executives to align headcount and works with a small team of sourcers to go out and find the best candidates in the world to come work for Twitch.
Experience in job Seeking – “I've had many jobs in various fields in my life and wouldn't give up any of them, because even the worst job I've had taught me skills that got me to where I am today. I got to recruiting because getting other people to their happy place was important to me. Recruiting is problem-solving and trying to make people happy; it's essentially customer service that pays really well.”
Favorite job seeking tactic – “My favorite and easiest trick to getting in the door has always been to include pieces of the job description that best describe me and include them in my resume. Companies will connect with you quicker if they see you using their language to describe the work you've done.”
Alumni support matters more than you may realize! As a graduate of Seattle Academy, you know the value of a SAAS education better than anyone. You were once a student at Seattle Academy and had the invaluable experience to learn, take chances and grow in a supportive and empowering environment. Now as an alumni, your support speaks volumes about the school and the SAAS experience you had when you were a student here. Whether it’s a donation of $10, $100 or $1,000, no matter the size, your participation creates opportunities for SAAS students and faculty today.
Tuition covers the operating cost of the school. New programs, outdoor trips and travel, Financial Aid and even the Alumni Program are made possible by donations to the Annual Fund. Gifts to the school support and continue to grow these programs as our school continues to grow each year. You can make a gift or pledge today with the form below.
Thank you for supporting Seattle Academy!
Seattle Academy Alumni are located everywhere from New York, to Italy, to right here in Seattle. In fact, we have many alumni who have continued their SAAS journey as a current faculty or staff member. We are honored that these alumni have chosen to continue their journey with us and we are proud of their work with current SAAS students.
I was grateful for the opportunities afforded me and the relationships I formed with faculty and staff while a student at SAAS. I think that's a part of why most of us come back - a way to say, "thanks," as well as a chance to give back and provide additional opportunities and relationships to current students. - Erin Aitchison '98
My favorite part of teaching at SAAS is... the ‘ah-ha’ moment ramped up to 100 - seeing a student start to believe in themselves, in their own abilities and actions, no matter how big or small. Witnessing and in some cases, being a part of these moments, this is the highlight of my job.
I had an amazing group of faculty and staff that supported me at SAAS. I was excited to be able to provide that support and help create a positive experience for students the same way it was created for me. - Achijah Berry '10
Knowing the Kid is important because... each student is different in some way. It helps us know when to push a student just a bit further and when to take a step back. It helps us help kids become their best selves.
My favorite part of teaching at SAAS is... building relationships, and watching students grow and discover their own path.
My most memorable day at SAAS was... sea kayaking through icebergs in Southeast Alaska with 6th graders who were pushing themselves far outside of their comfort zone.
Culture of Performance is important because... no matter how much book learning you do, you will eventually have to get up and Do the Thing.
Being a coach at SAAS is... one of the best parts of working at SAAS! I get the opportunity to work with kids that are just starting a sport for the very first time and kids that play a sport year round. It allows them to be in a non-academic environment and sometimes I get to see a different side of them!
SAAS taught me that my individual strengths and my unique story are to be celebrated. This was the best preparation for life. - Maggie Leuzzi '08
SAAS has been a wonderful place to maintain my creativity while sharing and molding the creativity of students. Every day I get to make art and direct creative projects, and that is a win for me. - Annalise Olson '09
Knowing the Kid is important because... every individual approaches a creation, situation or problem from a different angle. Understanding where a student is coming from helps me push them to succeed.
SAAS taught me it was okay to try new things, to be open to all people, and to believe in yourself. - Kelly Aitchison Rettenmier '95
My favorite part of working at SAAS is... I love the people I work with. The faculty and staff here are awesome, talented, funny, dedicated people.
I have always been a cheerleader of SAAS and the community. I had a really incredible experience at SAAS as a student and hold my time here very close to my heart. I knew coming back to SAAS would be a very likely possibility for me - especially as an art educator!
- Francesca Rosati '15
![Photo of Seattle Academy's Rachel Havkost 07]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1633986658/seattleacademyorg/r0vmqxgkx9lcs5ojvpki/RHNewsBlogRollFeedPhoto470X246.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1633986658/seattleacademyorg/r0vmqxgkx9lcs5ojvpki/RHNewsBlogRollFeedPhoto470X246.png","width":470}])
![Photo of Seattle Academy Alumni Morris Vasser 2020 on bicycle]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1630444752/seattleacademyorg/rmwcxhxj9d32w19jfjtw/Vasser20ArticleBannerFeedPhoto470X246.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1630444752/seattleacademyorg/rmwcxhxj9d32w19jfjtw/Vasser20ArticleBannerFeedPhoto470X246.png","width":470}])
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