CLASS OF 2012 | 2016 | ISSUE 2
We are officially “graduating” out of being the “new” kids on the block and have made New York, Chicago, Boston, India, D.C., Maryland, Vermont and California our homes (just to name a few).
The class 2012 can find their fellow Cardinals embarking on the prestigious road of post-graduate degrees. Tess Minter will begin a MBA program at the University of San Francisco this fall. For the past four years, Tess has been working in data at Goodwill’s career services. Kenny Feder has just completed the first year of his PhD in public health at John Hopkins, and Robert Echeverria will also be pursuing a PhD this fall in cultural studies—critical theory at UC Davis, respectively.
It comes to no surprise that the class of 2012 is continuing to change the landscape of technology, social entrepreneurial, and the arts. In 2012 Connor Larkin moved to Bangalore, India, on a social entrepreneurship fellowship to work for a South Indian medical technology startup. For two-and-a-half years, he rode 36-hour trains up to Delhi on marketing trips, sampled dosas in 10 different Indian states, and led product launch and expansion in China. In early 2015, he (rather happily) landed back in Washington, D.C., to lead business development for the same company in Mexico, Canada, Central and South America, and most recently to oversee product FDA approval and launch in the U.S. Connor would love to connect with any Wes grads in the DC area!
Zach Valenti is well on his way to leaving his mark: He presented a TEDx talk last spring at the National University of Singapore to share his “insane” mental health awareness campaign—Project Uplift, uplift.is. In May, Zach announced his official Open Source launch at the annual conference of the National Alliance on Mental Illness’s Southwestern Pennsylvanian’s chapter. Zach is also involved in a few voiceover projects, one being Wolf 359 with writer/creator Gabriel Urbina ’13. Wolf 359 is a science fiction audio drama podcast, with cast and crew including: Sarah Shachat, Alan Rodi, Emma Sherr-Ziarko ’11, Michaela Swee, Scotty Shoemaker ’13, Cecilia Lynn-Jacobs ’11, Zach Libresco ’13, Noah Masur ’15, Michelle Agresti ’14, Ariela Rotenberg ’10, and Jared Paul ’11. With more than 400,000 downloads, you may want to give it a listen yourself: wolf359.fm.
Transferring his skills to the tech world, Zach also lends his voice to the App Pillow Play and also serves as the director of video production at a Y-Combinator backed startup, One Month, where he works with Noah Masur ’15 producing online courses for the next generation of tech entrepreneur. To follow along on Zach’s many adventures subscribe to his YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/zvalent1.
Zach Dixon has also been making his mark on the tech sphere, with his social gaming company, Players’ Lounge. Collaborating with Austin Woolridge ’11 and Mark Murphy ’10, Players’ Lounge lets gamers play their favorite sports video games for money. Zach and his team recently placed third in UC Berkeley’s LAUNCH accelerator. Strauss Zelnick ’79 is an investor in the company and serves as an advisor.
Abaye Steinmetz-Silber is volunteering as a work leader on a residential therapeutic community in the Berkshires called Gould Farm.
Sarah Wolfe will join the East Coast alumni: She’s moving back to Vermont from Oakland, Calif., after traveling across the country and abroad to Iceland and Norway. Sarah is excited to start working as a clean energy advocate at VPIRG.
Lila Becker is leaving us Northeasters for Louisville, Ky.! Lila will be directing at Actors Theatre of Louisville and would love to connect with any Wesleyan folks in the area.
Tasmiha Khan is continuing her tremendous work with Brighter Dawns in Bangladesh. She recently was invited to have dinner with President Obama and reports that the meeting went really well and President Obama acknowledged the need for Tasmiha’s work with Brighter Dawns. When she is not busy making the world a better place, Tasmiha is planning her wedding and will be married this summer. Standing beside her with be Kim Muellers and Alejandra Olvera, who will be bridesmaids. Speaking of wedding bells, Hannah Berkman and Luke Erickson have recently announced their engagement! I know I speak for the entire class when I send a huge congratulations to Hannah, Luke and Tasmiha!
As for me, I am still working and living in the best city in the world, New York! Wishing continued success and even brighter futures to the entire class of 2012!
Daisey Perez | deperez@wesleyan.edu