Alumni Updates: Class Years 2000-2009
Archive
Below are archived updates for alumni graduating from 2000-2009. Visit the main Alumni Updates page for more updates received this year.
JJ Regan '09 (Classical Civilization): "It's been awhile since I've sent any updates so there's a lot to catch up on. I got married in 2013 to my long-time girlfriend. We both finished master's degrees this year, hers was in education at George Mason and mine was in interactive journalism at American University. I am also happy to announce I have accepted a job at Comcast SportsNet as a digital media producer. It's not classics, but still very exciting!" (6/15)
William Burghart '05 (Classical Studies): "I defended my dissertation "How Things Fall Apart: Pleonexia, Parasitic Greed, and Decline in Greek thought from Thucydides to Polybius" in the fall of 2014, graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a Doctorate in History in May 2015, and have accepted a position as a lecturer at the University of Washington, Tacoma, which will begin in September, 2015." (6/15)
Brett Wilson Davis '05 (Latin): After teaching Latin in Chesterfield County, Virginia for three years, she attended the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia for a Master of Divinity degree, received in '12. In seminary she met and married Evan Davis (W&M '07). They now live in Harrisonburg, Virginia and are both Lutheran pastors. She is a pastor of Muhlenberg Lutheran Church - where she occasionally still gets to use her Latin & Greek for tutoring & biblical studies. (10/13)
Whitney Slough Campbell '09 (Classical Studies: Latin): "I'm in my 9th year of teaching Latin, currently in a small-town community in south-central Indiana, where my husband is from. I'm very active in my school, sponsoring Latin Club & Latin Honor Society (of course), coaching Quiz Bowl and also girls' cross country. In early 2016 I was accepted into University of Florida's distance master's program in Latin, and hope to graduate next summer! A special shout out is due to Dr. Spaeth, whose book on Ceres is invaluable to me right now for a paper I am writing!" (11/17)
Vernon Liechti '08 (Classical Studies) is teaching Latin and Social Studies at Albemarle High School and Western Albemarle High School in Charlottesville Virginia. (10/13)
Amelia Mathias '08 (Greek): "I joined the Foreign Service in 2012 and am now living in Muscat, Oman, working as a Political Officer." (9/12)
Scott Holcomb '02 (Latin): "My wife, Jamie '01 and I live in Pottstown, PA with our two children Robbie (1 1/2 yrs. old) and Gus (4 months old). I am teaching Latin at The Hill School, while Jamie is working on her master's in Library Science. I spent the summer participating in the Italy Educational Seminars Program funded by Fulbright (6 weeks in Rome at the American Academy/Centro, 2 in Cuma at the Villa Vergiliana)." (9/12)
Ariel Baska '05 (Classical Civilization) currently teaches five levels of Latin, including AP at Woodson High School. She recently finished her Master's Degree in Gifted Education at George Mason University, and will present at the 12th Asia Pacific Conference in Dubai this summer on the benefits of Latin for gifted students internationally. (6/12)
Al Morrow '04 (Classical Civilization): Al graduated a second time from GMU in 2007 with a BFA in graphic design. Specializing in book design, she has worked on over fifty books for clients such as National Geographic, Scholastic, and the American Red Cross, as well as self-publishing authors. If you have a manuscript you'd like some design help with, please visit her website at www.almorrow.com or email her directly at al@almorrow.com. (11/11).
Monica Davis '02 (Classics/Philosophy): "Hi everyone, I now work for the State Department and am currently posted to Juba, Sudan for six months. I got to witness the making of a history on July 9, 2011 as the south broke away into the new Republic of South Sudan. It was an amazing moment in time." (7/11).
Ann Glennie '09 (Anthropology and Classical Civilization) Will be attending Florida State University for a fully funded M.A. in Classical Archaeology. Thanks to all the great help from my undergrad professors! (4/11)
Jenna Farah '05 (Classical Studies): "After graduating in 2005, I pursued a Masters of Science in Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania. I am currently employed at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia" (3/11).
Erica Denman '06 (Classical Studies): "I was married to my best friend Sean on October 31, 2010 in Nelson, NV. We had a beautiful and small ceremony in the old mining town with a backdrop of mountains and fields of cactus. It was made known to us on the day of the ceremony that our minister was also a William & Mary Alumi! She was wonderful, and it was a day I will never forget. I am now Mrs. Erika Lynn Steed" (3/11).
Matt Cairo '02 (Classical Studies): " I recently joined the firm of Peter Pennoyer Architects, a well-known architectural practice in New York City specializing in classical and traditional western architecture, and a leading member of the Institute of Classical Architects and Classical America. I will shortly be taking my licensing exams and hope to be a registered architect in New York State by the end of the year. The building industry is recovering quickly and demand for designers with an education in Greek and Roman civilization is very high, so if anyone asks what you "do" with a Classics degree, well, this is it!" (3/11).
Beth Block '08 (Latin): "I am now teaching ninth and tenth grade Latin at my alma mater, North Allegheny Intermediate High School, in Pittsburgh, PA. I also co-sponsor our school's Junior Classical League chapter" (3/11).
Alison Hight '09 (Classical Studies) will be attending Emory University for a PhD in classical art history (3/11).
Ariel Baska '05 (Latin) married Andrew Howard in August, and enjoyed her honeymoon in Barcelona. She currently enjoys her new (exclusively) Latin teaching assignment at Woodson High School in Fairfax, VA, where she just recently hosted her first VJCL Certamen. While she misses teaching theatre, she finds it exciting to rediscover Latin literature with her students. She is finishing up her Master's Degree in Gifted Education and presented on the topic of the importance of Latin for gifted middle schoolers at the National Association for Gifted Children conference in Atlanta this year. She will present at the World Conference for Gifted Children in Prague in August. She is also under contract to write a book series introducing world languages (ancient and modern) to gifted elementary students. Ariel just recently suffered the loss of her father, Leland Baska, and is in the process of writing a memoir of his years as a musician (3/11).
Caitlin DeMarco '09 (Classical Studies) graduated in December 2010 from the University of Maryland with a Master of Library Science, concentrating on archives and records management. She is now an archives technician at the National Arboretum (3/11).
Scott Holcomb '02 (Latin) and his wife, Jamie '01, welcomed their son, Robert Eugene, on January 21, and will celebrate their tenth anniversary this summer. Scott completed his M.A. in Latin at the University of Georgia last year, and is currently teaching in Stafford County, VA (3/11).
Vernon Liechti '08 (Classical Studies): "I have been taking classes at the University of Virginia the past year in order to gain enough college credit to be eligible to teach Latin in the state of Virginia. I am hoping to get accepted into a master's of teaching program in order to gain full teaching certification in the upcoming fall. If I am unable, I will attempt to teach Latin through a temporary teaching license while in the evenings I will take classes to earn my full teaching license over the course of a three year period. I want to thank all my professors in the classics department for cultivating my interest in the classics to such a degree that I want to embark in a profession that allow me to do the same for others." (3/11).
Daniel Souleles '08 (Greek): "I'm a Ph.D. student at Teachers College, Columbia University in Applied Anthropology. I'm preparing to do a summer of field work at a Zen Buddhist monastery and farm" (3/11).
William Joyner '07 (Classical Studies) is currently a second year student at Louisiana State University Law School (3/11).
Amelia Mathias '08 is going to Belgium this summer to research organized crime and terrorism and how they relate (and how laws can work against them) at the Institute for European Studies. (04/10)
Jessica Raskin '05 writes: " I'm still living it up in sunny Los Angeles. While pursuing my career as an actress and screenwriter, I work as a Production Accountant for the show Robot Chicken, which airs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. I made four TV appearances this year, guest starring on CBS's hit show Criminal Minds, and I'm a 3-time winner of Trivial Pursuit: America Plays. I also wrote 5 feature-length screenplays, one of which placed in the quarterfinals of three screenwriting competitions, including the prestigious Nicholl's Fellowship. If that wasn't fun enough, I had a great time exploring abandoned gold mines in the California wilderness. For more info check out my website: www.JessicaRaskin.com (04/10)
Stephen Santelli '02 (Classical Civilization): This fall (2009) he will be starting work on a PhD in History at West Virginia University. His major field will be modern British intellectual history. At least one of his minor fields will be in Classics. (04/10)
Ariel Baska '05 (Classical Civilization) has her dream job - teaching both Latin and Drama in Fairfax County while pursuing her Master's in Gifted Education at George Mason University. She recently co-authored a chapter in the book, Social and Emotional Curriculum for Gifted Students (Prufrock Press), and more recently contributed to her mother's Festschrift. (02/09)
Doug Bunch '02 (Latin) recently graduated from William & Mary Law School (May 2006) and joined the Washington, D.C. law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. He is still heavily involved in the nonprofit he founded as an undergraduate to teach Latin to elementary school students -- Ascanius: The Youth Classics Institute (www.ascaniusyci.org) -- and serves on the Board of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Doug also recently created another nonprofit -- Global Playground (www.theglobalplayground.org) -- to fund school construction and other educational projects in developing countries. (02/09)
Matt Cairo '02 (Classical Civilization) writes: "I received my M.Arch degree from the University of Miami in 2007, and have since left the UM faculty to go into private practice with the firm of Hilton-VanderHorn Architects in Greenwich, Connecticut as an Intern Architect and Master Draftsman. I'm currently preparing to take the architectural licensing examinations. (03/09)
Deborah Kory-Fabule '01 writes: "We welcomed our second son, Jonathan Olubunmi Fabule on December 12, 2008 in Cape Town South Africa. I am continuing my Masters in Ancient Studies part time at the University of Stellenbosch." (02/09)
Laura Landon '02 (Classical Civilization) is currently in her first year of doctoral studies at the University of London, Institute of Education and completed an MEd in Multilingual Education at GMU (2007) and an MSc Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics (2003). Prior to this she taught Latin, History, Spanish and ESOL in DC and Northern Virginia, and received a Fulbright Scholarship for research on multilingual education in Japan. She is currently living in London and was recently engaged to Dionisios Favatas ("Yes, he's Greek... can't get away from the Classics! We have a home in Greece as well, alum are always welcome to visit!"). They are planning to get married next spring in the UK. (02/09)
Julie Mills '05 (Latin) writes: "This summer I had the opportunity to study with Latinist Reginald Foster in Rome. After returning to the States, I began my third year at Westminster in pursuit of the ever-elusive Master of Divinity degree (I hope to graduate in May 2010). I am also teaching an intensive Ecclesiastical Latin course to fellow seminary students as well as keeping up with my new husband Tim Ricci (May, 2007) and our "children" Jammy & Cringer. Life is good, but busy!" (02/09)
Robert Schwieger '05 (Latin) is currently in his second year as a graduate student in the Classics Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is working towards a Master's degree in Classics with an emphasis in ancient history. His main area of interest is the Roman Republic. In addition to his coursework, Robert is employed as a teaching assistant for the undergraduate course in Greek Mythology. (02/09)
John Henkel '02 (Latin) got married to Frances Higgins on 9 Sept 2007. They are spending this year in Rome, where John is working in the library at the American Academy in Rome, supported by a Berthe Marti Affiliated fellowship from UNC/Bryn Mawr. (04/08)
Jason Swartwood '06 (Classical Civilization minor) is in the PhD program in Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, studying the role of Socrates' daimonion in his philosophizing. He married Ruth Stenson in May of 2007. They both miss Williamsburg, and hope to visit again someday. (02/08)
Rebecca Westgate '04 (Classical Civilization) is currently teaching Latin and Mythology at her alma mater, St. Vincent's Academy, in Savannah, GA. St. Vincent's is an all-girls Catholic high school, and she teaches four levels of Latin, including AP Vergil. Rebecca also started work in Summer 2006 on a Masters in Latin at the University of Georgia and will be returning there this summer to continue her studies. (02/08)
Pete Kain '00 writes: "After graduating in 2000, I immersed myself into the financial services world. Between Citigroup (my first employer) and Regulus Group (my current employer), I've had the opportunity to work as far afield as India and Ireland and as close to home as Delaware. At the moment I'm living in the suburbs of Chicago as the site manager for our payment processing facility here. On a more important topic, I married Nora Kain (née Clancy) in summer 2001. We have a beautiful (I might be slightly biased, but it's still true) 18 month-old girl and another girl who is expected to arrive in January 2008." (12/07)
Valerie Lambert '00 died in a tragic accident in Williamsburg on December 8, 2006. Valerie was a Classical Civilization major and an officer of the Classics Club during her 4 years at the College, and she also worked as the student assistant in our department. After graduation she pursued graduate work at Florida International University in Miami, and earned her Master's in Comparative Sociology. She was particularly interested in the culture of Haiti. Valerie was a sweet and caring young woman, and all of us in the Department of Classical Studies are deeply saddened by her loss. (12/06)
