IN OUR COMMUNITY: ALUMNI
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Spartan Alumni,
We’ ve had an incredible start to the 2016-17 academic year! At Convocation at the beginning of September, we proudly presented the third annual Alumni Achievement Award to Lee Kallman’ 91 for his leadership in bringing the UCI Road World Championships to Richmond.
In October, a group of alumni came together to take on current Steward student-athletes in a soccer game at SpartaFest, Steward’ s annual fall community festival, and several alums contributed original artwork for the Community Art Show and Sale in the Carolyn R. Brandt Art Gallery. Two days later, we had more alumni come together to hit the links at Hermitage Country Club for the Ray Tate Spartan Golf Classic, which raised $ 37,000 for the Spartan Club!
In November, we had a record turnout of alumni at the first ever Trucks & Shucks Oyster Roast at Historic Tredegar in downtown Richmond. Alumni with class years ending in“ 1” or“ 6” had access to a VIP reunion reception, and everyone enjoyed a night of food truck delicacies with local wine and beer, local oysters, and live bluegrass music under the comfort of an enormous lighted tent. Jonathan Wauford ' 07 designed an original image that was printed on the event t-shirts.
I am thrilled to have been part of these amazing experiences, and I can’ t wait to see what the future holds as we continue to support alumni engagement and unique experiences at Steward. I encourage you to reach out if you are interested in becoming involved with Steward alumni. Whether you’ re an artist, an athlete, or just want to spend time with friends, The Alumni Association has something for you!
Jennifer Cronk ' 88 President, 2016-17 Steward Alumni Association Board
From left to right: Alumni Board members Jennifer Cronk’ 88( president), Keith Murphy’ 09, Dani Fraizer’ 09( vice president), and Aaron Messner’ 11 at Trucks & Shucks in November
Read more about Mr. Kallman’ s achievement by scanning here!
We are currently accepting nominations for the 2017 Steward Alumni Achievement Award. Go to stewardschool. org / alumni-achievement-award to make your nomination today!
Building on Her Roots
When Robin Brown Kocen’ 85 graduated from Steward, little did she know that her relationship with the school would come full circle through her career.
Since 2012, Mrs. Kocen has been owner and co-director of Richmond’ s Bricks 4 Kidz, a creative learning program that teaches elementary school-aged children the principles of STEM( science, technology, engineering, and math) using LEGO ® components. The program began hosting afterschool enrichment classes and theme-based summer camps at Steward four years ago.
“ The goal of Bricks 4 Kidz is to be able to teach as many children as possible in the Richmond area the importance of science, math, engineering, and technology, and that they can be and do anything they dream of,” she said.“ It’ s amazing to watch children turn on the battery pack after they have completed a LEGO ® model and see what they created on their own— it inspires me every day.”
A graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in retail and marketing, Mrs. Kocen owned children’ s gift store Babystuff & Kidz 2 for 18 years before selling the business and purchasing Bricks 4 Kidz. She said the nurturing attitude from Steward teachers and the lifelong friendships she made contributed to the development of her entrepreneurial spirit.
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