LFS Alumni

We are proud of all the students that come through our doors, from the first class of 1902 to our active learners today. We would love to hear from you!  Please let us know what you are doing.

 

Tommy Giaccone | 2020

Tommy is finishing up his seventh grade year at Delaware Valley Friends School.  He is loving DVFS!

Nia Curry | 2018

Nia is about to move on to 10th grade at Friends' Central.  She is successfully completing Advanced Geometry and is planning to take Advanced Algebra and Advanced Chemistry next year!

Xander Giaccone | 2015

Xander is graduating from Friends' Central this year (2021) and is heading to the University of Wisconsin - Madison this fall.  His intended major is math but he is open to changing that if he falls in love with another subject.

Isabelle Hills | 2015

Isabelle is graduating from Friends Select (2021) and will be a freshman at Emory Univeristy in Atlanta in the fall.

Jordyn Curry | 2015

Jordyn will be attending Spelman in the fall as a member of the Class of 2025.  She also runs her own photography business on the side.

Olivia Shuman | 2015

Congratulations to Olivia Shuman for earning the 2021 Friends-Select School Phi Beta Kappa Award, “given to the member of the graduating class who excels in their scholastic record and who possesses inherent character and integrity," described as the "pinnacle" in academic achievement, leadership, and service to the school community. It is the highest honor the school has to offer.  Olivia is heading to Columbia University.

Cameryn Roach | 2015

Cameryn graduated from Science Leadership Academy and will be attending Rosemont College in the fall to major in Criminology. 

Monica Bunch | 2013

Monica Bunch '13 visited LFS to volunteer for Field Day 2017.  Monica is finishing her sophomore year at Abington High School.  Thank you, Monica! 

Gia Matika | 2012

Gia Matika traveled to Brooklyn, NY last week with five other students to represent Friends Central School at the 2017 Quaker Youth Leadership Conference held at Brooklyn Friends School. The theme this year was Bridging Communities. Close to 200 students participated in workshops, activities and listened to guest speaker, Niyonu Spann. The best way to bring different communities together is to learn about people who have had different experiences and about their communities in order to foster a healthy curiosity for unfamiliar cultures, celebrate differences and help bridge the gap!( 2/17)

Gia Matika spent three weeks in Peru this summer with classmates from Friends Central School!  During the trip students stay with a host Peruvian family for two weeks. They also volunteer daily for two hours in a clinic for children with disabilities. In addition, they attend Spanish classes for four hours everyday. In the last four days of the trip, the group hikes the Inca trail and they stay in campsites and rustic conditions.(6/18) 

Zach Dainton | 2012

Zach is a senior at Archmere, planning to study nursing in college, and a top player in Delaware's Diamond State Conference and all-state Delaware soccer team! (11/2017)

 

Gabrielle Wilkinson | 2012

Congratulations to Gabrielle Wilkinson '12, now at Florida University, who was crowned SEC champion in the 1,500 meters during the final day of 2021 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships!   

Theo Kocher | 2012

Theo is enjoying Syracuse University.  He has just been accepted into the Invent@SU program which helps transform undergraduate students into inventors as they design, prototype and pitch original devices.

Jayquan Fears | 2011

Jayquan visited LFS (12/5/16 ) and was greeted warmly by teachers and students.  Jayquan is now a junior at Academy Park.

Class of 2011 | 2011

 The LFS Class of 2011 and friends gathered at LFS on Saturday to visit and reconnect with each other, former classmates and former teachers. We were thrilled to see Kyra Stetler, Emma Miller, Kennedy Whitfield, Zuri Duckett, Miko Allen and Jack Mason. We wish them well as they head off to Tyler School of Art, University of Chicago, Centenary University, American University, and Penn State!

Iris Hills | 2011

Iris just graduated from American Univeristy, double majoring in graphic arts and public relations,  with a minor in psychology. Congratulations, Iris!

Jack Mason | 2011

 Jack graduated from American University with his BS in Neuroscience. Congratulations, Jack!

Jared Lazorko | 2010

Congratulations to Jared who graduated Magna Cum Laude from Lasalle University.  (2021)

Sam Dainton | 2009

Sam is now a junior at Mount Saint Mary's University double majoring in Spanish and Environmental Science. (11/2017)

Maya Bogle | 2009

Maya recently took an account executive position with Sloane and Company in NYC and works in the New World Trade Center.  She handles diverse accounts - healthcare, mortgage help, green energy, etc. She graduated BU in 2019 in International Relations with a Mandarin minor.  

Chris Lumsden | 2008

I am currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies and Production at Temple University's Klein College of Media and Communication. I aspire to become an Executive Producer for a national television news organization after first becoming an Investigative News Reporter. 

Currently I play a leadership role for two Temple Television (TUTV) shows. These episodes air throughout the Philadelphia region via Comcast 50 and Verizon 45. In addition, I've interned with WPVI 6abc and PBS WHYY-TV. Outside of the television studio, I am committed to working with individuals to fulfill their needs. In the fall of 2016, I co-founded CLC Productions, a freelance videography business where I work with clients to produce videos for advertising purposes.

 

Allison O'Connor | 2007

Allison earlned her MPH from Boston University's School of Public Health!  Congratulations.

Catherine Martsolf | 2007

Congratulations to Catherine Martsolf '07 who was recently awarded two major American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) awards. Catherine was selected by the ASCE Committee on Younger Members to receive the 2021 Daniel W. Mead Prize for Younger Members for her paper "COVID-19: Redesigning Our Built Environment." She also received the Outstanding Younger Member in Community Activities Award!

Clay Fairbanks | 2006

Clay is a product manager at Peloton, building award-winning apps on mobile devices, and TV.

Dominique Smith | 2005

Dominique Smith '05 visited LFS in June 2016 and bumped into former classmate, Alexander Sena '05.  Dominique is beginning her senior year at Cheyney University, a political science major. 

Osareme Ekhator | 2005

Trs. Regina and Susie enjoyed seeing Osa on a recent visit to LFS.  Osa is now working at Lincoln Financial Group. 

Cameron Hilaire | 2005

Cameron visited the school today (11/30/16) and brought a smile to all of our faces.  "From being a munchkin walking through these halls, to reminiscing about Teacher Al throwing super-bouncy balls. This is what has made me the kind soul I am. As a musician/producer, it is important to accept differences in the world.  LFS taught me that." 

Nolan Borgman | 2002

Nolan is Metro Fellow, Office of Extraordinary Innovation at Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.  

12/2018  Delighted to share 
Alumni Spotlight: Nolan V. Borgman - Coro Southern California

Renata Aráuz-Destefano | 2001

In 4/5/17  #HumansofWharton story for Social Impact Week, Renata Aráuz-DeStefano  (LFS '01)(WG ‘17) discusses why opportunity must be made universal.
**
You could say social impact is in my blood. My mom was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the early 80s, and my dad has spent most of his adult life both as a family therapist in low-income, Spanish-speaking North Philly and as a volunteer with the Alternatives to Violence Project in prisons from Philadelphia to Bolivia.

Prior to business school, I spent my entire career in this space, concentrating on microfinance. As a college student, I was mesmerized by the empowering nature of this sector – it wasn’t a “hand-out,” it was a hand up.

As a Product Manager with a microfinance institution in Malawi, my role was to design and implement a new credit product to serve entrepreneurs at the base of the pyramid. By definition, this meant that – on an almost daily basis – I interacted with struggling business owners, most of whom were women, who aspired for more.

I’ll never forget seeing this young woman, maybe 13 or 14 years old, sitting in the sandy dirt outside the home in which her mother was meeting with me and my colleague. She sat there for hours, while our meeting went on, fidgeting with an empty water bottle: she filled it with dirt, emptied it, and refilled it.

This moment, among all others during my four years in the field, struck me. I thought of what I was doing at 14 – playing soccer, getting paid to babysit, reading The Catcher in the Rye. I thought of the opportunities that I had, that my sister had, that she didn’t. That my cousins and god-brothers and sisters in Ecuador didn’t have. This unequal distribution of opportunity, the belief that talent is universal, but opportunity is not, was what had originally led me to microfinance.

Seeing this young woman spending her afternoon in this way, I made several assumptions. One of which was that she lacked stimulating, enriching activities to occupy her time. For me, this was an illustration of some facts: first, female youth (15-24) unemployment stands at 14.8% in Malawi (over 3x the overall US rate); and second, over 70% of Malawians live on less than $2/day. The scene also reminded me that microfinance was not a panacea. Social impact, which has been defined as “a significant, positive change that addresses a pressing social challenge,” requires combined and coordinated efforts by governments, non-profits, and for-profits. Microfinance, albeit reaching further than commercial banks, still leaves many behind. To get a loan, applicants needed to have a business. To start a business, one needs capital and a marketable skillset. This is what this young woman lacked.

That was when I knew I had to build a sustainable social enterprise in Malawi. I had to bridge this gap between potential and opportunity, between unskilled workers and microfinance clients. The question that remained was how…

Throughout the rest of my stay in Malawi, I became enchanted by the fabrics of the region. I loved their bold, bright patterns. I found a tailor who would soon become my trusted go-to seamstress. Once back in the US, I noticed that strangers would approach me to compliment me on my handmade Malawian clothing.

Finally, during a summer project in Ghana with Wharton’s Global Impact Consulting Club, the pieces started to come together. Through my experience consulting for a social enterprise, surrounded by like-minded and inspiringly passionate people, my path began to become clearer. An idea began to take shape over the summer, and I returned to campus in September determined to launch a venture that would match unskilled labor in Malawi with an unmet market need in the US for handmade, made-to-measure African print apparel.

I named my company Mwayi - the word for “opportunity” in the Malawian language of Chichewa - because I believe more than anything else that opportunity must be made universal. To me, Mwayi represents that opportunity - for young women like the one in this story to empower themselves, and for consumers like you and me to be a part of the solution.

Skyler Borgman | 2000

Skyler graduated from Temple University with a Masters of Science in Financial Analysis and Risk Management. He was awarded his CFA charter by the CFA Institute. The CFA charter is one of the premier designations in the finance industry. It requires passing 3 tests, each of which is 6 hours long with a pass rate of approximately 50%. It also requires 48 months of qualified work experience. 

Skyler just started the Financial Advisor Associate program with Morgan Stanley in Chapel Hill, NC.