The new year is progressing quite fast, it seems... planning is already underway on four different reunion events for 2009, plus many other exciting programs throughout the year. This year, we'll have our first ever all-years full Alumni Association BBQ at the school. We'll have our first 20-year reunion, thanks to the class of 1989, TJ's first full four-year graduating class. 2009 looks to be a great year for TJ and our Alumni Association, so I'd like to share our plans with you in this newsletter. However, we won't be able to do it without the generous support of our alumni volunteers, like Mark Feghali '98, Daniel Odio '94, Jon Wilkenfeld '95, or Micah Boster '99 - all of whom have been helping shape the Alumni Association in a positive manner over the past few months. But we still need your help! Please read on to find out how you can give back to the school that gave you so much, and have some fun in the process.
Best,
Dan Soschin, Class of 1995
It's about time! Thanks to the support of the TJ Partnership Fund and the Alumni Association IT Committee (Daniel Odio '94, Mark Feghali '98, Micah Boster '99, Karin Bryant-Nova '95, John Blair '95), our site is receiving a much needed makeover. The new site will include an updated skin and interface, an expanded database that's easier to search, and a host of enhancements long over due. While much of the work is underway, we could use a web designer to help out with the new skin. If you are interested, please contact Daniel Odio '94 . The new site will be rolled out in several phases over the coming months, beginning with phase one in early March.
Join us for the Alumni Association's annual meeting. This year's meeting will take place on March 29th from 10 AM - 2 PM at Reston Regional Library. We'll be reviewing all of the events for the year, class reunions, electing new officers, and more. Please let us know you'll be in attendance so we can plan accordingly, as the date, time and location are subject to change.
TJ is conducting a Research Symposium at the school's facilities on May 28th and needs approximately 30 alumni to participate in panel discussions, career displays and design challenge competitions. This is a great opportunity for you and your company to give back to TJ and support science and engineering initiatives at the school. Download the event flyer for additional information. The Alumni Association's liaison for this event is Nikhil Sinha '01. Here are some details:
WHAT: An opportunity to share your company’s expertise and interact with our nation’s future leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
WHERE: The nation’s #1 public high school (US News & World Report) and Northern Virginia region’s leading STEM high school.
TJHSST, 6560 Braddock Road, Alexandria, VA
HOW: Participate in a day-long school-wide science symposium intended to facilitate the sharing of student research projects at TJ, explore future research options, and discuss the research aspects of potential careers.
WHEN: May 28, 2009, 8:30 am-4:00 pm.
How can you participate?
PANEL DISCUSSIONS ON SELECTED SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY TOPICS
We seek research professionals to share their views and expertise with TJ students in a series of one-hour sessions
Contact: Andrea.Cobb@fcps.edu (703-750-8359)
DISPLAY/DEMONSTRATION
We invite you to exhibit or demonstrate current research projects or products
Contact: Koji.Otani@fcps.edu (703-750-8369)
PROVIDE DESIGN CHALLENGES
We encourage you to create a science or technology related challenge and provide materials or supplies for small groups of 3-4 students to solve within an hour or so.
Contact: Mary.Stetson@fcps.edu (703-750-8354)
Conference operation
We welcome financial support in creating this first-ever event.
Contact: Gary.Bottorff@fcps.edu (703-750-8316)
General Inquiries and Interest:
Betsy Sandstrom: Betsy.Sandstrom@fcps.edu (703-750-8369)
Share your professional or graduate-level success with TJ students! Be a part of the THIRD ANNUAL Spring Career Fair!
The Career Fair provides a unique opportunity for alumni to connect with students one-on-one in a booth-style format, and to interact with students about the path you took towards landing your current job or industry field (e.g. major, college, daily work life, TJ background, influences, etc.)
TJ students will sign-up for an 8th period block (juniors/seniors in one block, underclassmen in another) to walk around the career fair, picking up information and speaking with alumni at each booth.
We are looking for alumni participation from all career fields and disciplines (including, but not limited to: medicine, science, technology, business, entrepreneurship, journalism, liberal arts, education, government, law, etc.)
We received very positive feedback from both students and alumni in the past years about the success of this high-energy, impactful event. We had 25 volunteers last year, and are looking to expand our alumni presence this year for an even larger fair! Please e-mail Rachana Bhide no later than February 20th if you are able to participate.
A volunteer packet will be sent to you with additional information about the event, including a cover letter to provide to your employer/graduate school informing them of your participation.
Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to connect with students and make a difference!
Initial preparation is underway to continue our annual tradition of tailgating before a National's home game. If you are interested in attending (the data is still being worked out, but will most likely be a day game on Saturday or Sunday in May or June), or volunteering to help plan this great event, please contact the event coordinator, Todd Burner '95.
Remember your all-night graduation party? The sumo wrestling, cotton candy, 2-on-2 basketball and all the yearbook signings? Well, each year the Alumni Association sponsors a table and a contest at this great event to support the graduating class. We need volunteers to staff the table on June 13th. Please contact us if you can join in supporting the grads!
This August, join your fellow alums (over 8000+ of us) for a fun family-friendly BBQ at TJ to celebrate the school's continued ranking as the #1 public high school in the nation. This event is packed full of exciting activities including:
- Keynote Speakers (Alumni & Faculty)
- Distinguished Alumni Presentations
- Food, Food & More Food
- Class Competitions (basketball, relay races, eating contests)
- Class and Club Breakout Sessions
- Tours of TJ and the Labs
Stay tuned for more information about this event. We are currently looking for volunteers to help plan this action-packed event. Time commitment is minimal, so please contact Dan Soschin '95 if you are interested in helping out.
If you are interested in heading up the newsletter committee that produces this newsletter, please let us know! We will be expanding the newsletter over the next several months to include additional articles and features, as well as exploring a print edition. The time commitment is not very intensive, but we could really use some additional help. Would you like to be the one that helps us take the newsletter to the next level? Let us know!
Remember the tjToday? Well, now you can stay up-to-date with all the happenings at TJ from the perspective of students by viewing the online edition of the tjToday. It is available here: http://publications.tjhsst.edu/tjtoday/pdf/tjtoday.pdf
There are hundreds of us who are all milling around in LinkedIn and Facebook, not knowing that everyone else is there too! Here is a new way to catch up and network with old friends! Please follow the link below to request membership in this group. At this time, the group is only open to alumni and teachers. The TJ Alumni Database will be our means of confirming your identity as a former student so please be sure to update your entry in the alumni database before you join! If you aren't already a member of LinkedIn or Facebook, this is the perfect time to sign up! Spread the word, forward this to anyone you know who might not receive the TJAA emails! Here's the link for LinkedIn.com. Thanks to Jenny Cameron '94 for managing this group.
If you're on Facebook, then you probably already know about the TJ group, open to current students and alumni. To join simply search for the group on Facebook and click "join". Or, click here. There are 3000+ members already! The group is administered by board members and fellow alums Rachana Bhide '97 and Nikhil Sinha '01.
Think we should spotlight you or someone you know? Are they worthy? Let us know!
Sonal Goda, TJ class of '95, went to the College of William & Mary and
got a degree in chemistry with aspirations of being pre-med. Very soon
after graduating, however, she realized that she had no interest in
physical medicine. So she proceeded to pursue a career in mental health
and was temping as an admin at a company called MAXIMUS when she got
sucked into a 7 year vortex of systems analysis and database
programming. The good part was that she met her husband, Shawn Adams,
at the company and married him in 2005. She did eventually get burned
out and decided to completely change gears and started her own business
as a real estate agent in Northern VA in April 2007. She hopes to make
a ton of money, use it to save the world, and hopefully even work with
some cool TJ people on their home purchase or sale along the way! If
you have a real estate need, check out her monthly home buyer seminars
and details of her TJ donation program at www.HomesBySonal.com .
James Wu, Class of '96, went to Virginia Tech majoring in Economics. He
is currently living in New York City and working for the Acumen Fund as
their Knowledge and Communications Associate focused on interactive
marketing and social media. Acumen Fund is a non-profit global venture
fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of
global poverty. Their investments focus on delivering affordable,
critical goods and services - like health, water, housing and energy -
through innovative, market-oriented approaches in South Asia and East
Africa. (www.acumenfund.org) James has continued some of the activities
that he did at TJ. He has formed a recreational soccer team that
happens to include some other TJ soccer alums in NY. He also was a
member of the orchestra while at TJ and is now actively involved in the
arts, film, and music.
Di Johnston, Class of '98, went to UVA majoring in English. She moved
to New York where she began her performing career. Within months of
arrival, Di began to establish herself as a voice-over actor in NYC. She
became the voice of many commercial campaigns. In 2006, she was selected
as the announcer for the Miss America Pageant. She enjoyed
re-connecting with old classmates at their 10 year reunion last year.
She has released her own album (www.dijohnston.com).
Got yourself hitched? Now a parent? Became the CEO of xyz.com? Phd? Got a high score on Tetris? Tell us about it... your classmates want to know! Please send us an e-mail.
Seamus O'Connor '03 and Kirstin (Kerr) O'Connor '03 were married on October 28, 2007. They've since moved to New York City, where Kirstin is in law school at NYU and Seamus has joined the New York City Teaching Fellows and is teaching high school in Brooklyn.
Mark D. Otley '91 and his wife, Stephanie, celebrated their fifth anniversary in October, then welcomed Isaac Jeremiah into the world on November 2, 2008. Big sister Lydia and big brother Benaiah live with them in Alexandria.
Greg DuBoff '04 and Hannah Peterson '04 were engaged over Christmas. They currently live in Boston and are planning a Virginia wedding for 2010.
Katie Lawless '96 and her husband, Nick Turner '96, will be moving to San Antonio in June. Katie was just accepted into the Army-Baylor Masters in Health Administration program and will be getting paid by VA to go to school.
Emily Weed '92, her husband De, and their daughter Cora welcomed new baby Miriya Allegra on March 9, 2008. They live in Manassas.
Matthew Mueller '97 moved to Dubai last year and has begun a networking & social club at www.DubaiSocial.org. He is interested in knowing if there are any other TJ grads abroad in the area.
Tess (Blackmer) Hortin '91 and her husband, Ryan, welcomed a new baby on September 1, 2008. Their oldest, William Noah, now has a little sister, Amelie Marie.
Alexander Clark Eagle '97 married Eva Howe of Crowley TX May 31, 2008 on the Appalachian Trail at PenMar Park MD one of their favorite hiking trails. They now live in Sunnyvale CA where Alex is working for Google.
Gazal (Kolia) Modhera '91 and her husband, Prufesh, celebrated 10 years of marriage. They live in Ashburn, VA, with their five-year old twin sons, Kieran and Jaden. Gazal is currently working as an attorney advisor to the Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission where she has been since 1999. Prufesh is also an attorney and partner at Stradley, Ronan, Stevens, and Young.
Anindo Mukherjee '01 and Karen Hu '03 got married in December 2007. They currently reside in Falls Church, VA with their two cats.
Nicholas Shelly '03 married Jacinda Knoll on August 7, 2008 in Oxford, England. Following his Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University, where he is completing an MBA, Nicholas will return to the US Air Force as a First Lieutenant.
Jennifer (Krahulec) Gorter '89 and her husband, Fred, welcomed their daughter, Lily Cadence Gorter, into the world on August 8, 2008, 08-08-08. Jennifer and family live in Oak Hill, VA where she works for Fairfax County.
Kristine (Mendoza) Daniels '91 and her husband, Jarad, welcomed their son Joseph Rudy, born April 2, 2008. Joseph has a big brother, Jacob, who is three years old. The family lives in McLean, VA.
Kassie (Dove) McMahon '90 and her husband, Matt, recently became parents. Matthew Taylor McMahon was born on October 21, 2008.
Chester Markwalter '08, a chemical engineering major at the University of Delaware, won the 1743 Distinguished Scholars award at Delaware.
Think we should highlight someone you know? Did you get married, have a child or do you have other significant news? Just drop us a line and let us know! Please send us an e-mail.
We recently sat down with Tom Goodwin, outgoing chairmen of the TJ Partnership Fund to share some insight about the Fund and how it has positively impacted the school over the years.
TOM: TJ is a place of great expectations for all of us – but it never would have been created in the first place without generous private contributions to supplement the school’s original public funding. From the outset, school and community leaders always anticipated that TJ would receive additional support beyond the public’s tax contribution. A private foundation was established for that purpose. However, over the years, the foundation’s support shifted to all Fairfax County schools, and as a result, TJ’s funding gaps grew.
In 1999 the TJ PTSA decided to create a foundation that would be dedicated to TJ’s needs. The TJ Partnership Fund, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, is a volunteer-directed organization that solicits and manages gifts of cash, stock, equipment and technologies, and professional expertise for the school.
The Partnership Fund supports TJ’s academic needs across the board, but as a matter of priority we encourage donors to support student research, re-tooling the school’s aging laboratories, adding instructional resources to classrooms, sponsoring distinguished guest lecturers, and advancing character development and ethics education.
The Fund welcomes the support of all members of the TJ community: parents, alumni and alumni parents -- and students! In 2008 two TJ seniors generated a gift of technology to the school valued at nearly $400,000!
TJ AA : I've heard that the lab directors compiled something called a wish list, is this true?
Tom: Yes! Many people often ask us, “how can I help TJ?” After years of simply asking for a check, the TJ Partnership Fund realized that many donors, individuals and organizations alike, often desire to support our school in a specific way.
TJ faculty members, together with the school administration, created a list of items ranging from the most sophisticated equipment to the simplest laboratory or classroom supplies, and prioritized them so that prospective donors can see, at a glance, the needs of the school as determined by those who will most immediately benefit from a gift.
Donors often select an item from the “wish list” and fund it directly, through the TJ Partnership Fund, which also manages the transaction and helps facilitate delivery, installation and record keeping. You can access the wish list here.
TJ AA : How can alumni get involved in the Partnership Fund?
Tom: The Fund is eager to work with TJ alumni who now are in a position to support their alma mater in various ways. Please contact the Fund’s director, Gary Bottorff, at 703-750-8316 or at gary.bottorff@fcps.edu. Of course if you cannot volunteer and would like to donate, please visit our web site: http://www.tjpartnershipfund.org/
If you are a member of one of the above classes and would like to be a part of your class's reunion committee or would like more information about your reunion, visit the reunion's page online. The events are currently being planned, so stay tuned for additional information. We are currently assembling planning committees for each class listed above. Please let us know if you can help plan your class's big event!
Please note that there is a commercial organization that has no affiliation with TJ and is not sanctioned by the school or the Alumni Association. They operate a for-profit ".com". While you are certainly welcome to leverage that web site, there's only one place to receive important class news, reunion information, event information, and locate the most comprehensive list of alumni - http://www.tjhsstalumni.org. Bookmark us today!
In 1999, parents and community business leaders founded the TJHSST Partnership Fund, Inc., a private non–profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization to forge strategic partnerships and foster long-term community, alumni, and family commitments to our school. The mission of the Partnership Fund is to build an Endowment for Excellence to provide a stable and permanent funding source to protect TJ's world-class student research laboratories from the unpredictable fiscal challenges of state and local government funding. The Partnership Fund keeps an on-campus TJHSST Partnership Fund office and Mr. Gary Bottorff serves as the Director, Corporate and Community Relations. www.TJpartnershipfund.org.
Visit the TJ Alumni web site for more news and information, updated regularly!
- Discussion boards
- Catch up on news and information related to the school
- Update your contact information in the database
- Search for classmates
President - Dan Soschin '95
Past-President - Jay Briar '94
Treasurer - Suzzette Rodriguez Hurley '94
Secretary - Nikhil Sinha '01
At-Large - Todd Burner '95
At-Large - Rachana Bhide '97
At-Large - Steven Cereghino '91
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