MVP Awards, Championships, and All-League Nominations personified the two Kellenberg Memorial athletes who were named to Newsday’s Top 100 Male Athletes of the past decade. From thousands of high school athletes to choose from, Chris Cappas ’17 and Matt Sluka ’19 were obvious choices to make the list. 

Chris Cappas was integral to leading the Varsity Baseball Team to consecutive championships in 2016 and 2017. In 2017 Chris was the first player in NSCHSAA history to win both Player and Pitcher of the Year.  At the plate, Chris batted .438 with 3 home runs, 2 triples, and 2 doubles and batted in a league-leading 22 runs.  Maybe his most impressive statistic was that Chris struck out only once in 68 plate appearances. On the mound, Chris was a dominant pitcher posting an ERA of .18 (allowing only one earned run the entire season) with 53 strikeouts in 39 innings.  Chris ended the 2017 season not allowing a run in 25 consecutive innings. Coach Chris Alfalla had this to say about Chris when he was chosen to be the MVP of the 2017 championship. “One of the best players not only in Kellenberg history but in NSCHSAA history.  Often times a student-athlete is able to dominate as a pitcher or a position player. Chris Cappas was both. His numbers are unreal! Chris Cappas was a league leader in EVERY STATISTICAL CATEGORY!  The crazy thing is that he is one of the best teammates a person could ask for! Chris Cappas is our MVP.” Chris is currently a junior at the University of Pittsburgh on their baseball team.

Matt Sluka was one of the most dominant football players Kellenberg Memorial has ever seen. The Kellenberg football team went a perfect 22-0 under his leadership and won two consecutive “AA” NYSCHFL Championships. Coach Kevin Hanifan had this to say about Matt when he won the MVP at the 2018 Fall Sports Awards Banquet, “This player is the returning MVP for the Varsity football team. He led the Firebirds to a second perfect 11- 0 record and a second straight CHSFL “AA” Championship.  He was an offensive machine, rushing for 1,131 yards with 22 touchdowns. In the passing game, he was 74 for 101 for 1,203 yards, 14 touchdowns, and only 1 interception. He is a two-time CHSFL “AA” Offensive Player of the Year and a two-time first-team All-Long Island selection.  During his senior year, Matt was also chosen as All-State! Matt is currently at the Peddie College Preparatory School.

Two great Firebirds who will forever leave a mark on the Kellenberg Memorial Athletics legacy!

We are pleased to invite all alumni to participate in the upcoming meeting of the Alumni Book Club!

On Monday, February 10th, we will gather at Kellenberg Memorial at 7 PM to discuss our next selection, The Huntress, by Kate Quinn. Please RSVP below.

For those who are unable to attend the meeting in person, we will be live-streaming fully interactive coverage of the event. Please register using the link below by Friday, February 7th Any questions may be directed towards the Alumni Office at (516) 292-0200 x396 or alumni@kellenberg.org.

Mrs. Cathy vonSchoenermarck, moderator of the Alumni Book Club, provides a synopsis below:

The Huntress is Kate Quinn’s gripping post-WWII novel, involving an English journalist (Ian Graham) and a former Soviet pilot (Nina Markova) who join forces to find and capture a notorious war criminal called “The Huntress.” Lorelei Vogt, the cold-blooded killer who committed unspeakable crimes before escaping authorities at the war’s conclusion, is their target, but Vogt seems to have slipped through their fingers as their journey brings them across the Atlantic to Boston, MA.

The book incorporates three different storylines–Graham’s, Markova’s, and that of Jordan McBride, a young, aspiring photographer and only child of single-parent father, Daniel McBride. Throughout the course of the story, readers are immersed in both past and present as Quinn’s descriptions of hunter and prey form a continuous motif within nearly every chapter.

The author herself comments, “I loved writing my three leading ladies, for very different reasons! Nina, the Night Witch pilot nearly ran away with the book on me…Jordan is the American-as-apple-pie Girl Friday by comparison…[and] my villainess was fun to write because she’s contradictory: a murderer of innocents, but also a generous, loving friend…”

A riveting page-turner, The Huntress–with its haunting descriptions and powerful characterization–will remain with you long after you finish the final sentence!

After graduating from Kellenberg in 2002, Matthew went on to Stony Brook University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 2006.  The next two years were spent in Boston, working in clinical research at Tufts New England Medical Center while attending Harvard’s Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Health Careers Program. The research project at that time was later published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  

After completing the pre-med program, Matthew returned to New York and worked as a global project manager for a research laboratory coordinating multiple pharmaceutical and biotech clinical trials.  In 2009, he enrolled in medical school at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury. After graduating from medical school in 2013, Matthew completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, followed by a fellowship in cardiology at NYU Winthrop Hospital.  

Since completing training, Matthew has remained at NYU Winthrop Hospital and has been working in private practice at Island Cardiac Specialists in Garden City. He is fully licensed, with board certifications in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and Nuclear Cardiology, and specializes in coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, congestive heart failure, valvular heart disease, arrhythmia, vascular disease, stress testing, and echocardiography.  While in medical school, Matthew met Ilana, his wife and best friend. The couple was married in 2014 and have two beautiful daughters, Emily (2 ½) and Sophia (1).

Dr. Matthew Wright ’02 with his wife, Ilana, and two daughters, Sophia (1) and Emily (2 ½)

How did your high school experience at Kellenberg shape who you are today?

My experience at Kellenberg extends back to my time in the Latin School beginning in 1996. I was fortunate to have met several classmates with whom I’ve developed lifelong friendships.  The rigorous academics at Kellenberg certainly prepared me for my subsequent medical training, though the Marianist education extended well beyond just academics. They fostered a work ethic, as well as a sense of social responsibility and empathy which I feel are vital to a career in medicine. 

What has been the most fulfilling part of your professional journey thus far?

The relationships I have formed and developed with patients over the years are without question the most fulfilling part of a career in medicine.  In the field of cardiology, we often first meet patients in the hospital when they are acutely and critically ill, and it is a privilege to help return them to health and sustain it moving forward.  After graduating from college, I spent four years in medical school, thee years in residency, and another three years in fellowship, and completing that decade of training is fulfilling in and of itself.  

Do you have any advice for students or alumni who are interested in pursuing a career in the field of medicine?
There was never any doubt in my mind that this was the career I wanted.  You have to make extraordinary sacrifices, dedicate several years of your life to the training process, routinely put the needs of others ahead of your own, and possibly accrue significant educational debt throughout the process.  That being said, I believe there is no better job out there. If you know early on that you want to go into medicine, study hard but ensure you remain well-rounded, and seek out opportunities for research while in college. I spent three years between college and medical school working in various fields of research while completing pre-med classes, which helped strengthen my application.  If you decide later on in life to change your path and pursue a medical career, don’t get discouraged and remember that your unique experiences help set you apart from your peers. It is a long journey with significant sacrifices, but if you’re certain about pursuing a life and career in medicine, it is undoubtedly the most fulfilling profession. 

Who was your favorite teacher or club moderator from your time as a student here, and why?

Father Philip Eichner was, without hesitation, the finest educator I’ve encountered in my academic career.  His wealth of knowledge extended far beyond the prescribed curriculum and he inspired me to continue growing throughout life both scholarly and spiritually.  Brother Nigel Pratt was one of my science teachers, as well as the moderator of Academic Quiz Bowl and Science Olympiad. Those early experiences were instrumental in forging my eventual career path in science and medicine.  Though Ed Solosky coached many teams, my experiences with him were as a teacher and occasionally as Dean of Students. He was always able to make people laugh while also teaching them at the same time. This is a useful skill that I learned from him that helps to put patients at ease.  I observed how much joy, passion, and energy he brought to life and work every day, and I try to do the same.  

We are pleased to invite all alumni to participate in the upcoming meeting of the Alumni Book Club!

On Monday, March 30th, we will gather at Kellenberg Memorial at 7 PM to discuss our next selection, American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins.  Please RSVP below.

For those who are unable to attend the meeting in person, we will be live-streaming fully interactive coverage of the event. Please register using the link below by Friday, March 27th.  Any questions may be directed towards the Alumni Office at (516) 292-0200 x396 or alumni@kellenberg.org.

Mrs. Cathy vonSchoenermarck, moderator of the Alumni Book Club, provides a synopsis below:

WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT CUMMINS’ NOVEL???

Prior to its 2020 public release, American Dirt was being heralded as a “Grapes of Wrath for our times” and a “new American classic.” Soon after, Oprah Winfrey jumped onboard and named it to her Book Club selection list.  American Dirt also received glowing reviews from Mexican-American writer, Sandra Cisneros, who called it “the great novel of las Americas” and “the international story of our time.”  And then the firestorm hit…

Claims were made that Cummins–of Caucasian descent–had no business penning a novel about the experiences of Mexican immigrants.  Eighty-two writers signed an open letter to Oprah, asking her to reconsider her endorsement of the book, and critic Daniel Olivas of The Guardian called the book “an insult to Latinx writers who have toiled–some of us for decades–to little notice of major publishers…”

Interestingly enough, Adam Kirsch in his article, “What We Should Read,” observes:  “An obvious danger in this debate is that it threatens to deny the basic truth that makes literature possible:  that we are capable of understanding lives and worlds very different from our own. If the old saying, ‘write what you know’ is taken too literally, the writer can only tell stories about people who share his or her exact biography.  But Henry James wasn’t an 8-year-old girl when he wrote ‘What Maisie Knew,’ any more than Ursula Le Guin was a wizard when she wrote ‘A Wizard of Earthsea.’”

So let’s do it.  Let’s read American Dirt.

This is the story of Lydia Quixano Perez who enjoys a comfortable life in Acapulco, Mexico with her journalist husband, Sebastian, and her eight-year-old son, Luca.  Lydia runs a bookstore and befriends a charming customer, Javier, who seems to have a deep and abiding appreciation for great literature. However, Javier turns out to be extremely different from what and who he appears to be, initiating Lydia’s frantic and dangerous escape from Mexico to America.  With her little boy at her side, Lydia becomes one of the thousands of undocumented immigrants attempting to find freedom in her quest to reach el norte.  

Come join us then for the next Alumni Book Club meeting!!

Andrew Ammazzalorso ’17 is an Exercise Science major at Nassau Community College, where he is also a member of the baseball team.  Following graduation, Andrew plans to continue playing baseball, or possibly serve as a baseball coach or strength coach.   Andrew is also the founder of The Keep Smiling Foundation, which he established to raise awareness and funds in support of fighting pancreatic cancer.  The foundation is in memory of Andrew’s father, Michael, who lost his battle with the disease in 2015.  Andrew says, “I can credit Kellenberg for giving me four years of strong faith and friendships and I’m beyond thankful for that.” 

How did your high school experience at Kellenberg shape who you are today?

The Kellenberg Memorial High School experience for me revolves around faith.  If it wasn’t for all the religious activities and retreats we took part in, I wouldn’t be where I am today in my faith life. Through baseball with Coach Aflalla and Coach Kirk, I felt that I was part of not just a team, but a family.  We had faith as a team in God and in one another. So if it wasn’t for Kellenberg and Coach Aflalla and Coach Kirk, I wouldn’t be where I am today in accordance with my faith life. 

You founded The Keep Smiling Foundation to raise awareness and funds in support of fighting pancreatic cancer.  The foundation is in memory of your father, who lost his battle with the disease in 2015. What do you hope to achieve through The Keep Smiling Foundation?  

With The Keep Smiling Foundation, I hope to help people gain a bigger understanding of pancreatic cancer and raise awareness around it.  I’d like for it to almost serve as a support group for followers who know or are battling pancreatic cancer. I just would like to be there to help others fight this cancer, not alone but as a “Keep Smiling” family because we all are going through it together.

What has been the most fulfilling part of your involvement with the foundation so far?

The most fulfilling part of my foundation involvement would probably seeing all the feedback from friends and family supporting me.  I’ve even gone on the field at Citi Field and some of the players recognize who I am through the foundation. I appreciate knowing I have a positive impact on people and getting the word out there about the foundation is constantly bringing awareness to Pancreatic Cancer. 

Who was your favorite teacher/class, moderator/club, or coach/team from your time as a student here, and why?

I can’t pick just one!  My favorite teacher (even though I didn’t have him for class) is Brother Michael Gillen.  He is a great mentor and a father-like figure for me. We had great times together throughout my four years at Kellenberg.  Also, as I mentioned earlier, Coach Aflalla and Coach Kirk. They made baseball fun, competitive, and faith-driven. They made the teams I was on feel like more like giant families who I still keep in touch with today.  I’ll never forget the pre-game speeches, the team BBQs, our team retreat, and, most importantly, our 2017 championship win over St. John the Baptist.

Cristina Hernandez, MD ’05 attended medical school at the Stony Brook University School of Medicine. She also completed her Emergency Medicine residency and served as attending for three years at Stony Brook University Hospital.  Recently, she accepted an exciting job opportunity at the University of California San Diego, where she serves as an emergency medicine physician at the university’s major academic center, as well as area hospitals.  

Cristina is heavily involved in medical education and has completed international work through a nonprofit organization she founded called the Posibilidad Project: MSOP Incorporated (Medical Spanish Outreach Program).  MSOP collects and donates medical and educational supplies to underserved clinics, nursing homes, and orphanages in Latin America. Cristina also started a culturally immersive language course for medical students and residents with the hopes of improving communication and providing better care for Hispanic patients in the United States.

What is the inspiration behind the founding of your nonprofit, Posibilidad Project: MSOP Incorporated (Medical Spanish Outreach Program)?

I started doing international work during my last year of residency.  I worked in a clinic in the middle of the Andes in Peru for a month.  The “ambulance” was a pickup truck with a stick attached that they would hang IV fluids off of.  When I became an attending and started supervising resident physicians, I realized there was a problem with medical Spanish.  People relied too heavily on partial fluency and symptoms weren’t communicated properly.  I created an at-home medical Spanish language course that I did through the university and then I started an immersive course in Costa Rica.  Participants would travel to Costa Rica to work in different hospitals or clinics and volunteer in nursing homes and orphanages.  In addition, they lived with a host family and took three hours of medical Spanish per day.  About 70 students have participated in the program thus far.  I was then looking at the facilities we were working at and realized how great the health care disparity was.  So, I started the nonprofit to get them some resources.  I collected medical supplies, educational supplies, and money for medical services.  I was able to purchase an online medical database for them.  I’ve also taught ultrasound in St. Lucia and Fiji.  Over Easter, I was actually supposed to be volunteering in the Galápagos Islands and Ecuador but obviously wasn’t able to travel due to Covid-19.  

What is your work like at UCSD right now with Covid-19 impacting so many people?   

With UCSD, I work at several different facilities. One of the hospitals I work at is a small, single coverage facility right on the Mexico/California border, essentially at the wall.  Covid-19 is not nearly as prevalent as it has been in NY but we did have to add extra units to care for everyone.  It’s challenging because this disease is very new to everyone.  For example, the other day I did three shifts at the hospital on the Mexican border and we were told that we had 26 ventilators.  But that was not correct – we actually had 11, and 8 of them were already being used for Covid-19 patients. The math didn’t work out.  I had six people who were in respiratory distress and potentially needed to be intubated but we were forced to predict who could maybe do okay without it.  We’ve never had a lack of resources before.  I had a shift two weeks ago that I had to put three people on ventilators the first hour I was there.  We have been treating people in their cars as well as in a tent set up outside the hospital just to split people up and decrease exposure.  The lack of protective equipment is challenging.  We are using the same N95 masks all week.  We store them in paper bags.  The case numbers right now are lower than actuality since we aren’t testing everyone because there aren’t enough tests yet.  While we don’t have all the protective equipment we need, I feel like people are TRYING to get it for us.  It’s a challenging time to practice medicine, but everyone is remaining so positive.  I give so much credit to my co-workers and my residents.  

You are so positive during such a challenging time.  Where do you get the strength to keep your spirits up?  

I think a lot of my positivity comes from my family.  They came from Cuba with nothing and they did everything they could to help me reach the American dream.  They actually used my college money to send me to Kellenberg.  Kellenberg has been pivotal in my career.  The teachers there taught me accountability, responsibility, and how to have a positive outlook on life.  Even though churches are closed, I watched the Papal Mass on Easter.  Kellenberg is like my little family and it’s so nice to feel supported and loved.  I felt that when I was a student there and I feel the same way now.  There’s a lot of negativity in life and I see a lot of it in the ER.  I think some people can take it and think, “Wow, the world is an awful place.”  But for me I view it as, “I’m so lucky.  I have my family.  I live in a beautiful place.  I’m healthy.  I am so incredibly lucky right now.”  Right now I’m an attending physician so I have a lot of residents and nurses that I work with and I want to be a strong leader and lead by example with a positive outlook.  I also believe that my international work helps me realize how lucky I am.  

Do you have any favorite teachers from your time at Kellenberg who impacted you positively?

Mr. Huggard is one of my favorite humans in this entire world!  I had him for homeroom and English and it’s the first time I ever realized that I liked English.  In college, I was pre-med and also double-majored in European History and minored in Medieval Studies mostly because I enjoyed so much of Mr. Huggard’s class.  Mr. Huggard taught me how to write, and I felt so ahead of everyone else in my English-based college classes because of it.  Brother Mike was always a huge help whenever I needed him.  Mrs. Klimkowski as well!  She was so wonderful to me.  She really sparked my love of science.  Mr. Buckley was so amazing too.  Obviously, I could go on and on!

Article by Céili Donnelly ’20

The whole thing started because of an idea Sarah Killian ’20 and her mom came up with after seeing various birthday drive-bys and then the one organized by parents and students past Kellenberg back in April. She asked some of the seniors on the girl’s varsity track team what we thought.  We had done a few virtual hangouts as a team with the coaches, but we still missed seeing each other in person and running together so much, and we knew Mr. Brown missed the team and coaching us a lot, so we thought it would be a nice idea to help cheer him up. So, Sarah and I talked about it and then I contacted Mr. Moncada, who contacted Mrs. Brown to make sure she could have Mr. Brown home when we came by. We then got the word out to the rest of the team and a lot of the alumni from the past couple of years. 

Then I saw the success of the food drive that fellow classmate Ally Goldsmith ’20 had put together for Island Harvest. I thought it might be nice for each person to bring some food and toiletries to the drive-by for us to donate to Island Harvest. We usually do a Service-Over-Self (SOS) project as a team each season, but since our season was canceled, we never got to do one for Spring Track, so I thought this would be a good way to do something like that and also help keep the team spirit alive. 

The current team and alumni all met at the Best Market parking lot in Franklin Square, about 5 minutes from Mr. Brown’s house in Malverne, at 4:00 on Friday, May 15th. The girls dropped off their donations in my car for Island Harvest. Then it was parade time!  Many of us had our cars decorated with balloons and window paint for KMHS track and thanking Mr. Brown. Then, we drove out of the parking lot in a line to Mr. Brown’s house and drove past him honking and yelling “Thank you.” A few of the girls left right after they drove-by while a few of us stayed and talked to Mr. and Mrs. Brown and the other coaches and each other for an hour or so albeit while social distancing. 

It was so nice to see Mr. and Mrs. Brown and to see the smile we were able to bring to their faces by doing such a simple and fun activity. And seeing all of our teammates come together despite all that’s been going on was amazing. Things like this remind us why we love our team so much and why we’ve done track and cross country all four years. It’s hard not having our last season, but we’ll always be grateful for times like those and all the other times our coaches and teammates have been there for us and given us some of the best days of our lives.

Christian Pettinato ’16 is currently completing his Security Systems degree at Farmingdale State College and plans to start a master’s degree in Applied Business Analytics this fall.  Christian is an infantryman with the New York Army National Guard.  In this role, he serves in a variety of jobs, including hazmat certifier and platoon level radio operator.  He is currently serving on Joint Task Force Empire Shield COVID-19 Response in the NYC metro area.  He has been working for both task force Long Island and task force NYC by providing both security and logistical support at the various testing sites.

Why did you decide to serve our country by joining the Army National Guard?

Ever since I was a little kid I had wanted to serve in some capacity.  I remember being a freshman in Mr. Weavers’ homeroom during Hurricane Sandy when he was put on orders with the Army National Guard to help the community.  I thought that was the coolest thing.  Now every once in a while I’ll run into Mr.Weavers during training.

What kind of projects have you been involved with lately as our country is fighting the Covid-19 pandemic? 

I have worked on two different task forces since being activated on March 18th, both on Long Island and in New York City.  They have us working alongside many different federal and state agencies providing a presence and logistical support to aid the doctors and nurses administering the tests.

How do you think Kellenberg prepared you for the challenges you’ve surely encountered as a service member during this unprecedented time?

Kellenberg taught me that with the right work ethic anything can be achieved, as well as that we should never lose sight of our end goals.

Do you have any favorite teachers from your time here at Kellenberg? 

Mrs. Finn (’98) was my favorite faculty member.  She always believed in me and would always encourage me to strive for what I wanted in life. 

Stephanie Augustin, Ed.D, LBA, BCBA ’04 is a Licensed and Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 10 years of experience in the field of developmental disabilities and autism. She began working in group home settings as a behavior specialist after completing a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Adelphi University. She has worked in academia as an ABA instructor at the graduate school level and has worked in K-12 school settings as a behavioral consultant. Her post-master’s clinical training in behavior analysis training was completed at FIT.

Stephanie is the co-founder and Director of Operations of Blossoming Behavior Applied Behavior Analysts. She was awarded a doctor of education in March 2019 from Northeastern University for her dissertation entitled “A phenomenological analysis of autistic children receiving applied behavior analytic services: A culturally and linguistically diverse parents’ perspective.” Her research and practice interests include disseminating applied behavior analysis to under-served groups and culturally diverse populations.

What inspired you to dedicate yourself to a life of improving the mental health of those with developmental disabilities and autism?

I fell into the field because my younger brother was diagnosed with a developmental disability, and later autism, when I was in high school at KMHS. At that point, I knew that I wanted to become an advocate for children like him who were from culturally diverse backgrounds. It was difficult for my mother to understand what was happening to him because of her cultural background (we come from Haiti), and I thought it was so important for me to be able to bridge that gap for her and other families like us.

How do you think your time at Kellenberg Memorial helped to prepare you for your career in behavioral health?

I don’t think Kellenberg positioned me to enter this field specifically, but I do remember during career day one year a medical doctor came in to discuss what she did in her job. I was incredibly motivated at that point to also be a woman in science. 

Our country is experiencing unprecedented turmoil due to the global pandemic and the appalling realities of deeply embedded systemic racism.  Do you have any advice for current students or alumni who are internalizing their emotions during these deeply troubling times? 

As a woman of color, this has been a very triggering time for me. I’ve had to do a great deal of self-reflection to get to an understanding of what this means for me as a human as well as how this impacts my place in the world. I think that ultimately, it is important to have these incredibly difficult conversations in the workplace, at school, at home, and with friends, because only through dissecting our own deeply embedded belief systems and biases will we be able to break through to the other side. 

Do you have any favorite teachers/club moderators/coaches from your time at Kellenberg Memorial? 

I have a lot of great memories of my teachers and coaches at Kellenberg. I have especially fond thoughts of Mrs. Korzekwinski (she was the first teacher I met when I arrived in the 6th grade). I also often laugh at the words that I remember from PSAT prep with Mrs. von Schoenermarck (e.g. when I say “circumlocution” or “loquacious” during a conversation.) My favorite classes ever taught were with Mr. and Mrs. Dugal! And I can’t forget Mrs. Villani – she was super funny and we made a time capsule in the 7th grade. 

The Honorable Jennifer Chung ’00 was appointed by Attorney General Barr on December 20, 2019, as Immigration Judge in New York’s Broadway Immigration Court and began hearing cases in January 2020.  Judge Chung earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2004 from St. John’s University and a Juris Doctor in 2007 from Hofstra University School of Law.  From 2008 to 2019, she worked as a managing attorney at Christophe Law Group P.C., in New York.  Judge Chung is a member of the New York State Bar. The following responses are being answered in her personal capacity and not on behalf of the Executive Office for Immigration Review or the Immigration Court.

What inspired you to dedicate yourself to a life of law and the deliverance of justice to those facing immigration obstacles? 

I started my career in immigration law with a desire to ensure that individuals applying for relief were provided with an opportunity to present their best case possible. I carry over that desire in my current position by aiming to ensure that any individual appearing before me feels that they have had a fair and complete opportunity to present their claim and be heard. 

How do you think your time at Kellenberg Memorial helped to prepare you for your legal career?

My time at Kellenberg Memorial helped me tremendously in time management, completing multiple accomplishments effectively and efficiently. I still carry the motto of civility, order, and respect with me in everything I do. 

Do you have any advice for current students or young alumni who are interested in pursuing careers in the field of law? 

If you are interested in a career in the field of law, make sure it is in an area that you are passionate about. The job can be stressful, but if you are passionate about what you are doing, it will make the hard work worth it every day. 

Do you have any favorite teachers/club moderators/coaches from your time at Kellenberg Memorial?

My favorite teachers were Mrs. Villani and Mr. Huggard. They fed my passion for dissecting and analyzing the written word. This was a huge advantage when pursuing my career. 

James Lasker ’10 holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania.  He was a graduate student in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago.  In September 2020, James defended his thesis entitled, “Determination of the Volumetric Type Ia Supernova Rate Using the Full 5 Year Dark Energy Survey Photometrically Classified Sample.” This month he started a postdoctoral research position on the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas.

What inspired you to pursue a graduate degree in astronomy and astrophysics?

My first exposure to real astronomy was in Science Olympiad at Kellenberg. I was very interested in the deep space objects we had to study (V838 Monocerotis and SN 2006gy are both beautiful). Then during a summer course outside of Kellenberg I had to read the book “The Extravagant Universe” by the Ph.D. advisor of two of the winners of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the accelerating expansion of the Universe. The framing of that discovery as almost an adventure story was very inspirational.

How do you think your time at Kellenberg Memorial helped to prepare you for your success in your academic pursuits?

I was able to explore a large number of scientific subjects as part of Science Olympiad and that helped point me on the path towards astronomy and astrophysics. The rigorous coursework at Kellenberg developed my work ethic which was highly tested during both undergrad and grad school, and the emphasis on producing many papers like the family history paper and author papers in English developed my technical writing ability.

James (center) poses with his advisor and a fellow grad student in front of the telescope that gathered much of the data used in his thesis.

Do you have any advice for current students or young alumni who are interested in pursuing careers in STEM? 

Make sure you take the highest level of STEM courses that you can at Kellenberg, especially the calculus course. My transition to college coursework would have been much harder if I didn’t have a basic understanding of derivatives and integrals before starting. Also (notice a theme here?) participate in Science Olympiad. Not only will you learn a lot but it’s a lot of fun and I’m still in contact with the friends I made there. For young alumni and older students, learn to code and find a way to get experience doing research. The two are interconnected since nearly all modern research requires you to have a basic working knowledge of a programming language like Python or C++. While ideally you would be able to do research in your desired field, any research experience will be helpful since it will develop the same set of general skills which will be important in graduate school and academia.

Do you have any favorite teachers or club moderators from your time at Kellenberg Memorial?

All of my Science Olympiad coaches were amazing. Especially Bro. Nigel and Mrs. Kenefick who were the head coaches of the Latin School and High School teams. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to be where I am today if it weren’t for them.

Outside of Science Olympiad, I loved caring for the animals in the zoo with Mrs. Moschella and Mrs. Klimkowski and taking care of the birds with Bro. Roger. Playing Mr. Flood and Mr. Mauser in Chess Club was a lot of fun as was traveling to compete with other schools’ chess teams. Also, I carried on playing jazz into college thanks to Mr. Vegas’s leadership of the Jazz Band.

While I appreciated all of my teachers at Kellenberg (and have tried to mention as many here as I could without taking over the entire website), Mr. Buckley’s and Mr. Ward’s (RIP) classes were definitely my favorite non-science classes.

Shanna Grafeld ’05 is an ecological economist currently serving as a corporate responsibility analyst at Regency Centers in Jacksonville, FL. Prior to joining Regency Centers, she was a freelance academic researcher focusing on small-scale fisheries valuation, fisheries value chain tracing, and assessing the ecological, social, and cultural values of coral reef fisheries. During that time, Shanna worked with a wide variety of partners from the private sector, non-profits, academia, and inter-governmental organizations. Shanna holds a bachelor’s degree in the study of natural resources from Oregon State University, as well as a master’s degree in natural resources and environmental management from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

What inspired you to pursue a career dedicated to ecological sustainability?

I was always interested in environmental issues as a kid. My family spent a lot of time hiking and camping each summer and when I was a girl scout I completed every nature-related badge available. Sustainability has really been a lifelong interest of mine.

How do you think your time at Kellenberg Memorial helped to prepare you for your success in your academic and professional pursuits?

Kellenberg absolutely helped to prepare me for success in my academic and professional career. When I started as an undergrad I was so thankful for how well prepared I was. In academia, most of your success is dependent not on your inherent intelligence but on your work ethic, resourcefulness, and organizational skills. I’ve seen some highly intelligent but otherwise unprepared students struggle in basic coursework. Intelligence will get you through the door but work ethic will make you successful. Kellenberg didn’t just give me a good foundation academically, but also made sure I was prepared for college with the tools necessary to succeed at that level. 

Do you have any advice for current students or young alumni who are interested in pursuing careers in the field of environmental science and sustainability?  

Environmental science and sustainability is a large and rapidly growing field that spans academia, government, nonprofit, private sectors, and inter-governmental organizations. I’ve had the opportunity to work with each of these sectors and my research has brought me around the world. One of my best pieces of advice would be to learn statistics early. The more comfortable you are analyzing data and statistical models the better. Also if you’re interested in a career in academic science, it’s very important that you develop good writing and storytelling abilities. It will make a world of difference in how impactful your research articles are. Being successful in science is 60% your ability to conduct good science and 40% your ability to communicate your science to others. 

Do you have any favorite teachers, coaches, or club moderators from your time at Kellenberg Memorial?

I have so many! This is a very difficult question because I was also in Brother Fox Latin School so I really grew up at Kellenberg. In high school, I had such a huge range of interests (I still do) and I’m very grateful that I had so many positive influences. The entire cheerleading coaching staff, Mr. Blanton in chorus, and all of my homeroom teachers were very influential. Mrs. Klimkowski stands out because she was an unbelievably supportive teacher and really encouraged me to pursue environmental science as a career. I also am very appreciative of Brother Nigel who continued to encourage me to live up to my academic potential and pursue science even when I wasn’t sure about that direction. 

Above is Brett recording a rustling leaf sound effect for an audiobook about nature.

Brett Barry ’94 is a SAG-AFTRA voiceover performer and audio producer based in New York’s Catskill Mountains. He is also a lecturer in the Department of Digital Media and Journalism at SUNY New Paltz, where he teaches classes in audio, broadcast performance, digital storytelling, and TV production. Barry’s credits include Subaru, Verizon, Kodak, Late Show with David Letterman, PBS, Procter & Gamble Productions, and Air Wick; as well as hundreds of audiobooks for publishers including Hachette, HarperAudio, and Audible. He is the daily voice of Zee Café (India), and also the host of public radio’s Sound Beat, a daily show on the history of recorded sound. Barry, along with his wife, Rebecca, is co-owner of Silver Hollow Audio, publisher of award-winning audiobooks about nature and place. 

What inspired you to pursue a career in voiceover performance and audio production?

From an early age, I really enjoyed “vocal performance,” and pairing narration with music and effects. As a young kid, I loved experimenting with my Fisher-Price cassette recorder, and then in high school, I tried some “real” announcing –– morning announcements or a sports match here and there —  and then reported for a public radio station in college. After college, I worked in documentary production, which led me back to voice-over work and an eventual career voicing and producing promos, audiobooks, radio shows, and commercials. Thanks to advances in the industry, I record mostly from my home studio in the Catskills, in some cases sending files halfway around the world for broadcast just moments later. And I still love pairing words with music, ambiance, and sounds for radio documentaries, audio tours, and now… podcasts!

How do you think your time at Kellenberg Memorial helped to prepare you for your success in your professional pursuits?

Kellenberg pushed me to learn, understand, and appreciate a wide range of subjects, and it offered opportunities for “testing out” my early interests in storytelling (on the staff of The Phoenix) and performance (Drama Club). I don’t have to dress up for audio production, but thanks to years of uniforms, tie tying is a lifelong skill.

Do you have any advice for current students or young alumni who are interested in pursuing a career in performing arts?  

Take advantage of clubs like Drama and Speech & Debate (or sign up for your amazing podcast!) –– all great places to push past performance anxieties and develop improvisational skills. Indulge your non-performance interests, too, because those are what make you unique and interesting. There is ever-growing space in this business for every conceivable voice, body type, and character. Embrace those things that differentiate you from the crowd, and be authentic to yourself. From a technical standpoint, performers today are almost expected to have at least some basic audio/video recording and editing ability, so take a course or two, and practice.

Do you have any favorite teachers, coaches, or club moderators from your time at Kellenberg Memorial?

Current students know her as Mrs. von Schoenermarck, but when she started at Kellenberg (the same year I did!) we knew her as Miss Hughes. I can’t think of another teacher who could foster that level of excitement for Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales. If I’m not mistaken, she even inspired me to recite from memory a portion of one of these works (for extra credit). There were other teachers whose passion for the subjects they taught permeated the class. Mrs. von’s brother, Mr. Hughes, was one of them. So was Mr. Buckley (European History). And thanks to AP Calculus, I was exempted from college math. I still have nightmares about calculus, though! Seriously.