Alumni News

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.

“We are student-athletes and we have a responsibility to stand up for trans athletes now and in the future,” says Aliya Schenck, Seattle Academy Class of 2018. 

This was was the sentiment behind the letter and petition that Aliya Schenck, Alana Bojar, and Athlete Ally sent to the NCAA Board and President, signed by 550 collegiate athletes, and calling for the organization to respond to recent bill proposals banning transgender women in sports. 

With less than two years of disc golf under her belt, alumna Ella Hansen ’14 has already ranked first in two small disc golf tournaments and achieved third place at the U.S. Women's National Championship in May 2021 — as well as the Portland Open in June 2021.

When kids are asked what they want to be when they grow up, a popular answer since the late 1950s is astronaut. For alumnus Nate Lee ’15, he has been proclaiming his dream of building the space vehicle, rather than being in it, from the time he had an understanding of what an aerospace engineer is. 

Many of the elements that are in our everyday lives are things we each take for granted. We flip the switch on and have lights to help us see, turn on the stove to cook a meal, and crank up the heat to keep us warm on cold days. Where the electricity comes from is something that we generally don’t have to worry about, in fact, it’s often something we overlook in our busy lives.

Bagels are a notorious food item that many American towns and cities like to claim they are known for. Whether you prefer your bagel smeared thick with cream cheese or topped with loxs, the process behind creating a delicious bagel is not as simple as you might think. Alumnus Roan Hartzog `04 gives us a deep dive into his bagels and his business. 

Music plays such an important and impactful role in each of us, even if we are unaware of it. It has the power to change our moods, increase our motivation, reduce stress, improve our memory, and so much more. One Seattle Academy alumnus is making his mark in the world of music, and it is clear the world is his oyster. 

In a recent effort to support productive discussion, analysis, and activism in the fight for racial justice, Pitzer College, a nationally top-ranked undergraduate liberal arts and sciences institution, created a Racial Justice Initiative. Seattle Academy is proud to congratulate our very own Ben Sievers ’18 on receiving the award. 

Among this year’s new faculty, Seattle Academy welcomes back Francesca Rosati ’15. After SAAS, Francesca attended Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and in 2019, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting with a minor in art history. Francesca went on to complete RISD’s Master of Arts in Teaching. 

This past spring, SAAS TV hosted a presentation about our Innovations program. The evening included a panel discussion with alumni who had gone through the program at Seattle Academy, developed a business plan in that class, and have since successfully launched their own business based on the work they completed in the innovations courses.

Eight years ago Seattle Academy alumni, Conor Byrne '05, met Jen Altschul in a Seattle climbing gym. Jen had moved to Hood River in 2007. Since then, she has thought of the Columbia River Gorge as home and the people in it as family. Once Conor joined her there, he grew to feel the same way. 

My name is Sierra Lorenzini and I graduated from Seattle Academy in 2015, which feels like both a lifetime and a blink of an eye ago. After SAAS, I attended Duke University from which I graduated this past May with a major in Visual and Media Studies, a minor in Computer Science, and a certificate in Information Science.

The Seattle Art Museum and the Betty Bowen Committee, recently announced that filmmaker Lynne Siefert '04 is the winner of the 2019 Betty Bowen Award.

Jackson Gode '14, a Senior Research Assistant-Governance Studies with the Brookings Institution has seen many of his articles published online. 

Margaret Garrison '14 is a recent graduate from the Maryland Institue College of Art (MICA). Upcoming this September 7th, Margaret's newest collection, Halftime, will be showcased during New York Fashion Week (NYFW) at Pier 59 in NYC.

On September 15, Joel Gamoran ’03 will be presenting at SEAJAM 2019 as part of the Stroum Jewish Community Center’s 50^th Anniversary Celebration. Joel is the National Chef of Sur La Table and hosts the hit A&E show Scraps.

Conner Pierce '18 is preparing to compete in the 2019 Parapan American Games, officially the VI Pan American Games. Read about Conner's journey and "this road from Palsy to Paralympian."

We recently reported that Seattle Academy had earned a fourth place finish in the Washington State High School Photography Competition. Aaron Greenstein ’19, who won second place in the Architectural category for the photo above, was also recently chosen as a potential Jones Soda Choice Award winner having been selected as a Jones Soda staff favorite.

Rachel Liddell '11, visited Seattle Academy on May 30th to share her experiences in the liberal arts and working at IBM. Rachel shared how she went from being Speech Team Captain, to an English Major. Now living in San Francisco, California and is a product manager at IBM Watson.

Seven Seattle Academy alumni shared their time, wisdom, and life-after-high-school experiences with our seniors on Friday, May 17. They collectively urged our future Seattle Academy graduates to follow their passions and visions while seeking fun and joy. 

Tyler Cordy ‘03 visited Seattle Academy to speak to the graduating class of 2019 in Rick Dupree’s, Senior Project Class. Tyler shared his story and journey of his professional career in the music industry.

Read Guy Hutchison's profile covering where he attended college earning a Computer Science Engineering degree and his career path as an engineer and entrepreneur.

Nanda is the recipient of the 2018 National Association of Social Workers (NASW) – NYC Chapter “Image Award."

Read about Mycole Brown '11, his volunteerism, and how he found himself reconnecting with Seattle Academy. 

Grace Gedye '14 an associate editor at the Washington Monthly, a policy and politics magazine based in Washington D.C. At the Monthly she writes about voting, regulation, technology, and Congress.

It's baseball season and alumnus Peter Summerville '10 recently joined the San Diego Padres team as their BullPen Catcher Plus. 

This past winter, Megan Barwick ’15 was named to the Google Cloud Women’s Soccer Academic All-Americans, her first time on the list. Megan is a senior at William Smith College, where she is an American studies major.

ParentMap, an online community that informs, engages and inspires Puget Sound parents and families recently sat down with Joel for a Q&A Interview about the Cooking Scrappy Revolution.

In January and February, alumni regional events were held in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. 

Cast Members of the of the first national tour of Dear Evan Hansen visited SAAS for a Q&A. 

Adam Quinn '11 is the Associate Producer working as the Associate Producer for RENT, live on FOX this Sunday, January 27, 2019. 

Conner Pierce '18 was named a 2018 US Paralympic Track & Field All American.

Alumna, Samantha Casne was featured on KING 5 News in November to discuss the "Pink Wave" of women in this years election. 

Seattle Academy Alumna, Megan Barwick '15 was named to the 2018 United Soccer Coaches All-East teams and named All-American Honors for the second straight year. 

Alumnus, Gavriel Staloch '18 highlighted on Geek Wire as their Geek of the Week as he builds his own brand and a business on Instagram. 

Seattle Academy Alumna, Ericka Burke '90 launches Seattle wide event, +TogetherSeattle to benefit the NW Immigrant Rights Project. 

Hadley Hillel '14 has two films premiering at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) this weekend. 

Alumnus, Jordon Bolden '12 appeared in the CBS hit show, Blue Bloods on October 5, 2018. 

Mireya Grey '17 made her first career goal as a Forward for UW's Women Soccer team on September 30, 2018.

American Soprano Alexa Jarvis is a prominent interpreter of operatic, musical theater, concert and contemporary repertoire. Alexa made her debut as a member of the Metropolitan Opera earlier this week on September 24, 2018. 

We are excited to announce Aaron Strauss '03 as our new Alumni Board President.

Seattle Academy Alumnus, Lynne Siefert has her own film, "Ark", to be screened at the Local Sightings Film Fest next week on September 27th.

Seattle Academy Alumnus, Toma Kraft has been named on the Charlotte Agenda 30 Under 30.

Alumna, Jamie Pearl '16 recently attended Amsterdam Fashion Week to photograph the event and attendees. 

Adrian Brandon '11 is creating stunning artwork, from prints to murals and more. 

Alumna, Andi Alhadeff '07 is a Gregory Awards 2018 Nominee for Outstanding Supporting Actress in the musical, Ragtime.

Adam Quinn '11 writes original musical with childhood best friend, Jared Goldsmith.

Joel Gamoran '03 published his first cookbook, Cooking Scrappy to "help you stop wasting food, save money, and love what you eat".

Alumna, Cayman Ilika '03 stars in the musical, Kiss Me Kate at Fifth Avenue Theatre.

Alumna, Sanna James '06 pursued her dream as a Professional Aerialist in a Traditional Touring Circus, Circus Normandie.

Alumnus, Charlie Mohn '09 speaks on Zambia, Cleveland and San Francisco.

Alumnus, Josh Sloan '10 in New York City.

Samantha Casne ’01 was recently elected as the President of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington (NWPC-WA).

Three SAAS alumni from the Class of 2016, George Eitel, Julien Lewin, and Andrew Westhoff, recently launched their own business. The idea for the new company, Manatee Aquatic, originated in their SAAS Innovations class.

Alumna, Isobel recently published her cookbook, Simbahöllin Coffee House.

Last week, GeekWire released their top ten list of hot startups in Seattle. Two SAAS alumni were on the list. 

Alumnus Jordon Bolden '12 releases his new album, SAGA. He premiered the video of Deserve, one of the tracks from SAGA last week. 

Alumna Rebecca Rockefeller's '87 and Liesl Clark's Buy Nothing Project was featured in The Seattle Times.

Alumna, Dhani is the West Coast Editor of Fashionista.com

Alumnus, David writing the first feature film he intends to direct.

It was a paper in Steve Retz’ history class that sparked Samantha’s interest in women’s studies. It was an interest that inspired her to graduate from Agnes Scott College with a double major in Women’s Studies and Music.

Seeing the new STREAM Building before students come pouring in for the first time in September is a bit like previewing an opera set before opening night.

Several of our alumni have recently begun working in the nonprofit world, giving back to their communities through conservation of resources, working with animals, and empowering urban youth to making healthier life-style choices.

Nina Finley ’12 was recently awarded one of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hollings Scholarships. 

Quinton Dowling spends most of his day in a world one billion times too small to be seen by the naked eye.