Alumni Updates
William Harriman ('04) lives in Spencer, IN and owns a greenhouse and vegetable farm operation. "I currently have 10,000 square feet of greenhouse area under production and grow on about 112 acres. I employ up to 30 seasonal employees." In June of 2013, he married his wife Beth on their farm.
Congratulations to AJ Jennings ('04) on his engagement to Maria Borromeo! Their wedding is August 9 in Philadelphia, PA.
Lydia Lockhart ('04) is living in Orange, CA and is Senior Manager for Relay for Life Southern California for the American Cancer Society. She and Aaron Soellinger will be married in August 2014.
EJ Henricks ('06) graduated from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in May.
Kristen Rowe ('06) is living in South Florida working as a tech in a veterinary clinic. She is deeply involved with greyhound rescue.
Jackie Webster ('06) lives in rural El Salvador and is working as a Youth Development Volunteer with the Peace Corps.
Lindsey Scherer ('06) is living and working in Boston, MA, is helping to launch a women's health website, and will be starting a neuroscience research position at Boston University.
Congratulations to JP Adlam ('07) on his engagement to Emma Hill! Their wedding is July 12 in Cleveland, OH.
Cory Lingner ('09) will be making his Broadway debut in "On the Town" this fall.
Congratulations to Vivian Hinders (Danko) ('10) on her marriage to Chris Hinders! Their wedding was June 29 in New Harmony, IN.
Congratulations to Abbey Spearman ('10) on her engagement!
Congratulations to Henry Johnston ('10) on his engagement to Emily Green! Their wedding is August 23 in Indianapolis, IN.
Lily Tikijan ('12) is a sophomore at Miami University (Ohio). She is an Interactive Media Studies major with a minor in Entrepreneurship. Lily was recently selected for an internship in San Francisco.
Lisa Bowes ('13) is currently a member of the Veterinary Scholars Program at Purdue University in West Lafayette. She is also a member of the Purdue Women's Club Soccer Team and volunteers at Purdue's Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
Karina Casey ('13) competed in and completed the annual Tough Guy race in Staffordshire, England. This race has been called "the toughest race in the world" and claims to be the world's most demanding one-day survival ordeal.
Maggie Smith ('13) was recently named NCAC all-conference for womens soccer. She had a breakout freshman season at Kenyon College with seven goals and one assist, to average just short of one point per match.
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Note: Introducing the new alumni edition of University High School's Blazer Blast! This e-newsletter, which will be emailed 2-3 times each year, will share the latest news from UHS as well as information about what our alumni are doing. If you have updates you'd like to include in a future issue, email Adrianne Glidewell-Smith or visit the alumni section of the UHS website.
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University Gets New Outdoor Classroom
University High School's outdoor classroom, a project designed by then-senior Elizabeth Orians ('14), is coming along, thanks to the hard work of many UHS community members. During the last week of classes, the school held a groundbreaking ceremony during morning meeting, had holes dug during Prize Day, and installed posts over the weekend. Construction continues this month.
Elizabeth says about the classroom, "I started the idea for an outdoor classroom or education facility on our campus back in mid-October. The idea spurred from an independent study course I was taking with Mrs. Summitt-Mann about general science education and ways to teach science in different environments. The plan for the outdoor classroom is to use our campus as an extension of learning. We would use the space as a resource so that in learning, the students could produce a product that can enhance our community as a whole. In order to gain the intensity that spurs from intellectual and environmental encounters, we need to step away from the traditional classroom." The classroom should be completed by the start of the 2014-15 school year. |
Student Leads Indy's First Story Slam
 After a night of watching YouTube videos, then-senior Gabby Krieble ('14) decided that Indianapolis needed a story slam. Similar to a poetry slam, in a story slam participants are given five minutes to tell a story without any notes or paper. The theme for Gabby's event: firsts.
Although she says she expected, "like five people -- all of them my friends," around 25 students and adults attended the event, telling stories about topics ranging from awkward first kisses to first children being born. In fact, the event was such a success that the Indianapolis Star wrote an article about it.
More story slams will be held at IndyReads throughout the summer, before Gabby moves to Portland, Oregon to attend Lewis & Clark. For details about the events, visit the IndyReads calendar. |
Alumni, Current Student Share the Stage
Alumni JT Wood ('14), Elise Lockwood ('10), and current student Katharine Ruegger ('16), will all appear in Q Artistry's production of ZirkusGrimm later this summer.
Both JT and Elise were extremely involved in theatre during their time at University. JT will attend Otterbein University this fall to pursue a degree in musical theatre. Elise graduated from DePauw University in December 2013 with a degree in English Writing and Theatre.
ZirkusGrimm is a German inspired musical fantasy set in a macabre off-center circus and featuring many of the Grimm Brothers' most popular stories, including Snow White, The Robber Bridegroom, and Hansel and Gretel. The original 2013 production of ZirkusGrimm was nominated for NUVO's Best of Indy award.
Performances are July 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 25, and 26 at 8 p.m. and July 20 at 6 p.m. at Q Artistry in Indianapolis. More information on dates and tickets can be found here.
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Alumni Spotlight: Ashley Conard ('10)
 Ashley was always a high-achieving student at University High School, and her accomplishments during her time at DePauw University only emphasize her hardworking, trailblazer spirit. Ashley was recently named a recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Student Scholarship and will conduct research and study in Belgium. The Fulbright Award will help Ashley continue her computational biology project: deducing protein design rules for domain-peptide interactions. In her application for the award, Ashley wrote, "The Fulbright experience will provide an otherwise unattainable opportunity to sharpen my analytical skills and focus my interests prior to the pursuit of my Ph.D. Moreover, it provides me with the means to make a significant impact in computational biology and pursue my passion. My ultimate goal is to understand biological systems to improve the human condition." As well as conducting research in Belgium, Ashley will also be taking courses in Flemish, statistics of machine learning, and bioinformatics.
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Alumni Spotlight: Chris Lingner ('08)
 Even at University High School, Chris Lingner knew he wanted to be a professional dancer. Immediately after graduating from UHS, he danced on a national tour of the Broadway show "Movin' Out," the youngest performer to ever play the main roles of Eddie and James. Then he went on to dance on cruise ships and in New York, and he eventually studied ballet at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
Now, Chris has found a home at Cincinnati Ballet.
"I dance because it is what I love to do. It's my purest form of expressing myself. In a way, I also feel safe in the world I help create on stage. No worries, no pain, no drama, from the real world at least! All there is, is the music and a story to tell, which is both thrilling and therapeutic," Chris told Examiner.com for a recent article about his career. |
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Note from an Alumnus: Survivalists
This past January, Maddy MacAllister ('05) and I had the opportunity to co-teach a January Term class at University High School about survival. The focus of the class ranged from specific wilderness survival skills to dissecting the practice of doomsday prepping. While we did some work inside the classroom, especially around assigned readings that included The Hunger Games and selections from Laurence Gonzales' Deep Survival, most of the class was highly experiential. This meant that nearly every day, Maddy, myself, and our class of 20 students went outside to practice fire-building techniques, prepare jerky, collect food, purify water, and, with the help of fellow alum Chris Thompson, build a wigwam big enough to house our entire class. The class culminated with an "overnight" (which only ended up lasting until 11 p.m. due to double-digit temperatures below zero and blizzard conditions), and on our final day Maddy was able to bring Survivor's Rupert Boneham to the classroom to share his experiences.
January Term was always my favorite time of year as a University student so to be able to help share this experience as a teacher this time was an absolute blast. And I know I can speak for Maddy too in saying that it certainly helped that we had an outstanding group of kids to work with during our three weeks.
- Taylor Newell ('07)
Check out the video made by a student in the class! |
UHS Welcomes Two New Teachers
University High School is excited to announce the addition of a new history teacher and a new PE and health teacher!
 Justin Blanding will be joining our faculty as a PE and Health teacher next year. Blanding will begin his teaching responsibilities this summer, as he will teach our new summer PE class. Come fall, Blanding will take over all of the PE and Health classes at UHS.
Blanding comes to UHS with 13 years of experience in education and in athletics. He graduated from Chowan University with a Sport Studies and Physical Education degree, and he has been a coach of the UHS boys basketball team for several years.
Blanding says, "I am very excited for the opportunity to join the faculty and staff at University High School. I feel health and physical education are essential keys to a strong and healthy life, and I am excited for the opportunity to teach the wonderful students at University High School."
 Collin Lawrence will be a history teacher at UHS starting this fall, and he comes to us from the Henry Street School for International Studies in New York, NY. Lawrence has more than ten years of teaching experience, has spent time teaching not only in the U.S. but also in Hong Kong and China, and was selected as a finalist for the Big Apple Awards: Recognizing Teacher Excellence in 2013.
Mr. Lawrence put together a short video to introduce himself and his family to the UHS community. Check out that video by clicking here.
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Students Say Goodbye to Ms. Krieble
University High School said goodbye to history teacher Brett Krieble this spring, as she will be moving on to new adventures this summer. Ms. Krieble has been an integral part of the UHS community in her six years at our school. Along with teaching history, she was also the faculty advisor for the Global Citizens Club and for Stewardship Council. Her creativity and support to students planning fundraisers and other events truly helped foster a sense of service at UHS.
Even before Ms. Krieble was a teacher, she was involved with UHS as a parent to Nick ('06), Jordan ('09), Haley ('12), and Gabby ('14). Ms. Krieble will be moving to Crystal River, Florida and getting married in August, and we wish her all the best as she embarks on this new chapter in her life!
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| Trailblazer Awards Gala is Sat., Aug. 23 |
The 2014 Trailblazers Award Gala is coming up on Saturday, August 23 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. In addition to a silent auction and dinner, the evening will also feature an awards ceremony for the school's seven Trailblazer Awards. Six of these seven awards correspond to the school's core values, and the seventh is the Webster Award, which celebrates innovation in education. We are excited to announce the 2014 honorees:
Trailblazer Award for Commitment to Creativity -- Ellen M. Rosenthal, president and CEO of Conner Prairie Interactive History Park
Trailblazer Award for Commitment to Diversity -- Kathy G. Cabello, multicultural marketing associate and founder of Cabello Associates
Trailblazer Award for Commitment to Excellence -- Ellen K. Annala, first female CEO of United Way of Central Indiana (now retired)
Trailblazer Award for Commitment to Mutual Respect, Support, & Trust -- Martin B. Kleiman, M.D., Ryan White Professor of Pediatrics at IU School of Medicine and pediatric infectious disease specialist
Trailblazer Award for Commitment to Personal Responsibility -- Paula M. Means, program manager at the IU Clinical Translational Science Institute-Community Health Engagement
Trailblazer Award for Commitment to Stewardship -- Charles J. "Chuck" Dietzen, M.D., pediatric rehabilitation specialist and the founder and president of Timmy Global Health
The Webster Award -- UHS Class of 2004, the first graduating class of University High School
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Congratulations to the Class of 2004!
The 28 members of the University High School Class of 2004 were in every sense trailblazers. They chose University High School before there were buildings, before there were hundreds upon hundreds of college acceptances and millions of dollars in merit money, and in some cases before there were even students. They saw promise in the idea of a student-centered high school and helped shape the community that UHS is today.
The Webster Award was created to honor trailblazing individuals (like its namesakes Chuck and Nancy Webster) who represent the principles and values of entrepreneurial thinking, innovation in education, compassion, and respect. The 28 members of the UHS Class of 2004 will be honored with the Webster Award in 2014. |
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Alumni -- Please Keep in Touch!
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