ASD Alumnae have taken the world by storm, many of whom are pursuing careers and higher education programs in the realm of science and technology. The positive experiences they had as students at ASD, as well as the strong foundation their ASD education provided, had led to a strong and continuing relationship with our school.
Below are a few updates from recent ASD Alumns:
Fiona, Class of 2017
I am going into my junior year at WPI, which will start with me studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark! I'll be learning about how social entrepreneurs are reducing their environmental impact to prevent climate change.
At school, I'm studying Electrical and Computer Engineering, with a minor in Theater and a Masters in Management. I'm involved in Chi Omega, Improv (add our Snapchat @GIatWPI!!), theater (both musical and regular), an a capella group called the Technichords, and Alpha Psi Omega theater honors society. I also emcee robotics competitions when I have time!
This year, I've been working at AutoGuide Mobile Robotics as an Electrical Engineering intern. I'm assisting with research and development for robotic warehouse management. Last year, I was with Arrow Electronics as a Field Applications Engineer.
Andrew, Class of 2018
I have grown immensely since I have graduated from the Academy for Science and Design. Much of my life has changed, and I expect it to change even more so in the coming years.
After I graduated from ASD, I left in January of 2019 for my first semester at Brigham Young University in Rexburg, Idaho. At BYU-I, I am currently pursuing an Associates of General Studies. After I earn my Associate degree, I will transfer to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where I will then pursue a Bachelor's in Media Arts Studies. With all this education, I hope to someday produce and direct my own major films. Some films I hope to produce are patriotic films, romantic films, patriotic musical films, romantic musical films, you get the idea. The main dream is to produce a familiar happiness and optimism through these films that I think has been long lost since the mid-20th century. My films will most likely be reminiscent of old films from the 20th century, as I hope to use some of the film and cinematography techniques from that golden-age era of film and incorporate them into modern-day film techniques. It's a big ambition, and I'm sure it'll be a long while before I actually achieve that dream, but I know with hard work and determination, I can get there.
I have just finished two semesters at Brigham Young University in Idaho, and I am now preparing to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for two years. I was assigned to Sapporo, Japan, so that is where I will be for the next two years, starting in November. LDS missions are a big step of life for Latter-Day Saints, and it's certainly a big step for me. These missions help teach young men and women who serve them very important skills, values, and provides them opportunities to give service to people all around the world. LDS missions have been known to produce the finest and steadfast young men and women who grow to become effective citizens and loving fathers and mothers because of the things they learn on their missions. I am excited to pursue my own mission in November. Even more, I am so excited to represent the Academy for Science and Design in the film industry. I love ASD, and I will always visit as often as I can to show my appreciation to the school and its wonderful faculty and to inspire the young kids who would follow in the ASD alumni's footsteps of pursuing their dreams of making the world a better, brighter place.
Vedin, Class of 2018
In my year since graduating ASD, I have been attending college at the United States Military Academy at West Point. I am majoring in Applied Statistics and Data Science with a Cyber Security minor. College life has certainly been a different lifestyle than high school, and being at a military academy makes it even more different. It's been a challenging road in the one year I've been gone but has nevertheless been very rewarding. I miss ASD but continue to hold excitement for my future as a professional. Go Army Beat Navy!
Hannah, Class of 2015
University of Massachusetts Lowell honors Biology graduate Hannah presented her Honors Thesis in April "Analyzing Transposable Element Mutations in D. Pulex After Exposure to Heavy Metals," and who said during her presentation "Thanks to the Honors College for making me do this." Thank you to her mentor Frederic Chain and committee member Jessica Garb. Hannah went into the project without any bioinformatics experience and learned throughout the project.
Tyler, Class of 2016
I've been rather busy of late! Since graduating, I have gone on to additional schooling and am in my senior year at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, with a Criminal Justice/Political Science double major and a Homeland Security minor. Further, I took a semester off from school to join the New Hampshire Army National Guard, applying many of the technical and procedural skills adopted from the ASD curriculum to not only graduate as an Air Defense Battle Management Systems Operator, but as the dual Honor Graduate and History Award awardee. Further, professional development well underway, I am in the process of finalizing an internship with the US Marshal Service, with whom I hope to gain employment from after my graduation.
Life has been hectic, but through it all there remains no shortage of opportunity. In all, I'd really commend ASD for not only giving me the skills necessary to advance my education and push the envelope of contemporary education, but for giving me the confidence and drive to know what sets me apart from my peers and strike out for what I know I wanted. After all, I only graduated from the best STEM charter school in the state, why now go for a pair of liberal arts degrees, join the Army and go for a federal law enforcement track? Though I may be the black sheep of the ASD community, I insist that the focus on science and technology does not limit the ability for you to go where your heart takes you, but makes it all the easier to do so.
Jack, Class of 2016
I'm completing my BS in Computer Science at Northeastern at the end of this year and am currently on my second co-op.
I'm finding that I most enjoy myself when given a lot of responsibility and freedom in my work, so I'm drawn to small companies and startups. I'm employee #1 at an esports technology company in Seattle called Metascouter. We create computer vision solutions for data gathering in fighting games. It's been really fulfilling work for me and I get to see a brand new industry grow! I've been working with them for over a year now and just started now for my co-op -- I'm living in Seattle now!
ASD let me learn to be independent and chase my own learning opportunities, of which I'm very appreciative!
Lizzie, Class of 2013
I graduated from Clarkson University in May 2017 with a B.S. in Global Supply Chain Management with minors in Human Resource Management and Project Management. After I graduated from Clarkson, I uprooted from the Northeast and relocated to Virginia Beach/Norfolk, VA. I work as a Business Process Analyst and Quality Process Manager at CMA CGM (America) LLC, a French-based container shipping company. In my free time, I can be found playing kickball, running with my dog, Kona, or writing research papers with one of my college professors.
Hannah, Class of 2015
I am currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree at the University of Rhode Island, double majoring in Environmental Science & Management and Wildlife & Conservation Biology. The past two summers I have had incredible internships which has led me to want to conduct research with reptiles and amphibians (herpetology) post graduation. Last summer I took part in an REU (Research Experience for Undergrads) at Georgia Tech which had me working at Zoo Atlanta, conducting research with sidewinder rattlesnakes. This having sparked my interest in herpetology, I began taking classes such as vertebrate biology and herpetology to learn more about these creatures, and spent most of my free time outside looking for reptiles and amphibians just for fun.
This summer I had the pleasure of working with my adviser at the University of Rhode Island, studying a RI state-endangered turtle: the diamondback terrapin. Under the supervision of my adviser, myself and another student led the project in which we monitored for nesting females, protected any nests with cages, as well as conducted population surveys via kayaks. We also visited multiple other known nesting sites of terrapins within the North East to gather information about the species. In the picture, I can be seen cleaning a small male diamondback terrapin after we caught him (and many others) in Cape Cod. We helped capture the terrapins, take their measurements, and tag them in order to help get an estimate of population size in Cape Cod!
As for the future, I will spend my senior year taking classes as well as working on my honors project which is a stem off of my summer research with the terrapins; I am also currently looking into grad school to get PhD in Wildlife Conservation, and conduct my research in herpetology.
Dom, Class of 2014
I graduated from Dartmouth College having completed the pre-medical track, a major in Anthropology, and a minor in Hispanic Studies this past June. I just relocated to Chicago to begin a two-year commitment as a Teach for America (TFA) corps member. Through TFA, I will be working as a special education teacher for 10th grade math students at Intrinsic Schools. Intrinsic is a relatively new charter school network in the city that focuses on personalized learning, where a 1:1 student-to-technology ratio and a team-teaching "pod" classroom model allow students to engage in independent work, collaborative work, and direct instruction according to their individual needs each day in order to help them each reach their post-secondary goals. In addition to teaching, I will also be pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching program through the Relay Graduate School of Education with a major in Special Education and a content concentration in Mathematics. Outside of school, I am excited to get involved with one of my favorite extracurriculars that I participated in at ASD and start a high school National Science Bowl team with my students at Intrinsic!
Colin, Class of 2016
I am entering my senior year at Hampshire College. Hampshire College is very similar to ASD in that I am able to somewhat design my own program to concentrate on based on my interests (after completing the required courses), I am concentrating on Video and Film. My primary interest in film has always been the editing side, but at Hampshire, I have discovered that I also enjoy writing scripts. I am a part of an extracurricular group Infinity Productions that does weekly performances on campus, I film and edit them for our YouTube Channel and run the sound board and lighting. This year I am the manager of the group. I also was a TA for one of my professors last year, helping students learn how to use the video equipment and studio, which I enjoyed a great deal.
This summer I am working as an Intern on a show in Boston, On Stage with Mantis. I direct most of the episodes, which as an intern is a great opportunity.
I still enjoy returning to ASD to visit and I am still very close friends with most of my ASD classmates. We all get together when we are home on break as often as we can.
Colette, Class of 2017
I got to spend my summer in beautiful Sitka Alaska where I manage a gift shop! It has been a very different but welcome experience to see first hand how a business runs. Though I may not want to pursue a career like this, I always want to try new things. The best thing about being here is that it has reminded me how much I love nature and want to be working with wildlife.
The photo is me after I hiked through the woods to the Indian River Waterfall.
Rayla, Class of 2014
I graduated from Colby-Sawyer College in May 2018 with my Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science with a concentration in Conservation Biology and a minor in Studio Art. My senior capstone project won the major-wide capstone award, and compared the effects of monoculture and polyculture environments on the efficiency of the hyper-accumulation of lead and arsenic into amaranth and lupine. Phytoremediation projects are an alternative method of naturally restoring polluted brownfield sites, and is a growing field in other parts of the world but have hardly been explored in New England. It was a great opportunity to develop original project methods, use soil from a local brownfield site in Franklin, NH, and analyze using facilities at Dartmouth College to determine metal concentrations in our plant samples.
This image is from the internship I had last summer, working with the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust in Washington State. During that internship, we maintained 10+ miles of the island's trails, maintained 20 acres of restoration plantings, built and rebuilt trail bridges, built 150 ft of trail puncheons and turnpikes, and oversaw volunteers helping to plant and water native species and remove invasives.
In November, I'll be starting a 10-month corps program with the Student Conservation Association in Massachusetts. The first five months will entail teaching environmental education lessons at elementary schools in the area, and the next five months will be leading and participating in various conservation-related and trail-building projects across the state. I'm excited to strengthen my leadership skills, broaden my conservation knowledge and learn from the other 18 people in the program.
Marie, Class of 2014
I went to St. Catherine University (St. Kate's) in Saint Paul, MN for my undergrad in Exercise and Sports Science and a minor in Coaching. I am doing the 3+3 physical therapy program at St. Kate's where the first three years are undergrad and the last three years are graduate, so I am currently in my first year of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at St. Kate's. I'm a captain of the cross country team, and it is my last year competing in cross country and track and field there. I am also working as a personal trainer and a coach at Pros of the Rope coaching double dutch/jump rope. I also have a border collie mix named Rio who keeps me busy!
Taylor, Class of 2015
I am pursuing a Bachelor's degree at Northeastern University in Bioengineering: Biomedical Devices, expecting to graduate December 2019. Northeastern is well known for its co-op program, and I have already completed two 6-month long co-ops during my first three years, and plan to complete another before graduation. My first co-op was at Liberating Technologies, Inc., where I was a Research and Development Engineer for prosthetic and orthotic devices. My second co-op was at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, a lab affiliated with Harvard Medical School. I was a full-time research associate, working on the "Gut-on-a-Chip" project, modeling the human colon in vitro to test regenerative cancer therapies. I have also had the opportunity to study abroad at Yunan University in Kunming, China and will be going abroad again Fall 2018 to University College in Dublin Ireland!