00
Kenta Asakura received her Master of Social Work degree from Smith College in 2004. She practiced psychotherapy in
Seattle, specializing in LGBTQ youth and families, and started doctoral studies in social work at the University of Toronto in the fall.
Emily Michelle Blue competed in the 2010 Texas Plus America pageant May 30, 2010, and received a special crowning as Texas Plus America Ambassador 2010. In July she competed in the Miss Plus America pageant in Monroe, LA, and currently promotes wellness and nutrition as spokesperson for the Texas Plus America pageant.
Katy Bennett Little and her husband, Todd, celebrated the birth of their first child, Caden Claire, in April 2010.
Allison Mooney joined the National Council on Aging in August as campaign manager of the Atlantic Philanthropies Elder Voices for Economic Security Advocacy Initiative.
01
Kevin F. Bruce is a government relations advisor at Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. in Dallas. Previously he was an attorney at Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr & Smith in New Orleans.
Walter J. Buzzetta and his wife, Monica, welcomed their first child, Alexis Riley, May 16, 2010.
Bernard M. Jones is dean of admission at Oklahoma City University School of Law. Last spring he was named chair of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Leadership Committee for Oklahoma and in 2009 was recognized by the Journal Record as one of Oklahoma’s Achievers Under 40.
David Malcolm was accepted into the Doctor of Ministry program at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC. He currently serves as a U.S. Army chaplain at Ft. Bragg, NC.
David Ninh is an account executive and publicist at PMK-BNC in New York, an entertainment and talent agency working with celebrity clientele and high profile brands.
Teneese Kalesha Thomas married Damon A. Williams May 29, 2010, in Jacksonville, FL, where they live following a honeymoon to Grand Turk and the Bahamas.
02
Jessica Carroll played Amelia Ainsley in the world premiere of Auctioning the Ainsleys last summer at Theatreworks in Palo Alto, CA. She is engaged to Brandon Hemmig of San Jose.
Sonya Cole-Hamilton earned a second Master’s degree, this one in education administration, May 15, 2010, from Lamar University. She passed the Texas state exam and received her principal’s certification.
Erik Grohmann is a business litigation attorney at Strasburger & Price LLP recognized by Texas Monthly magazine as a 2010 Texas Rising Star.
Joseph Medlin and his wife, Galyn, welcomed daughter Kayla Christine last February. He is manager of employee communication at Dart Entities in Los Angeles.
Daria Neidre earned a Master of Arts degree in clinical exercise physiology from The University of Texas at Austin and is a doctoral candidate for December 2010 graduation. Her research focuses on autologous adult stem cells that are isolated from various tissues in the body and their use and applications clinically in the orthopaedic field, with a specialty in spinal fusions.
Kimberly Pasca Nyhus is an event producer at High Noon Entertainment in Denver for the television show Food Network Challenge. She and her husband, Dustin, welcomed twin boys Liam and Landon March 4, 2010.
Chris Weaver and his wife, Allison, announce the birth of their first child, Andrew Charles, May 2, 2010. Chris has won two Emmy awards as associate producer at NFL Films.
03
Dodee Frost Crockett is a Merrill Lynch financial advisor in Dallas recognized for the fourth consecutive time on Barron’s list of America’s Top 100 Women Financial Advisors in the June 7, 2010, issue.
John Foley has joined Austin Industries in Dallas as vice president of human resources. He is a global human resources executive with more than 25 years of experience in the high tech and manufacturing industries.
James M. Hays II graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School and will clerk in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York before joining the New York office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as corporate associate.
Brandon Hicks and Heidi Hicks ’05, ’ 06 welcomed a daughter, Katherine Eleanor, July 14, 2010.
Ed Igrisan was recently promoted to vice president of distribution for the western U.S. and Canada for Henry Schein Inc., the largest distributor of health care products and services to office-based practitioners. He joined the company in 2002.
Korey Kent was a stage manager at Shakespeare Dallas 2010.
Carl Pankratz (J.D. ’06) chairs Texas Ballet Theater’s 2010 Leadership Ballet Class. He is senior vice president/legal counsel of Capital Title of Texas LLC, serves on the city of Rowlett (TX) Board of Adjustment and is vice president of the board of directors for the Rockwall County Boys and Girls Club.
Aaron Roberts appeared in last summer’s Shakespeare Dallas production Comedy of Errors.
Evan Shaver and his wife, Courtney Fox Shaver ’04, announce the birth of Campbell Virginia July 3, 2010.
04
Jane K. Daniels Anabe and her husband welcomed a son, Isaac, Feb. 4, 2010.
Raymon D. Fullerton completed his fourth year conducting a four-week writing workshop for GED students at the Community Enrichment Center in Fort Worth, and last June he and his wife, Lindy, sponsored a weeklong camp in New Mexico for high school students. He is exploring mediation opportunities and adjunct faculty options in New Orleans.
Elizabeth Nabholtz married Justin G. Allen Feb. 8, 2010. Brian Normoyle played Sagot in a Los Angeles production of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile and completed a Palm Springs run of The Little Dog Laughed.
Carah Ronan earned an M.F.A. degree in science and natural history filmmaking in December 2007. Two of her documentaries have played nationally: Before There Were Parks and a film on Korean grandmothers, Forced into Comfort, Fighting for Apology.
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H. Bentsen Falb received an M.B.A. in finance May 17, 2010, from Wake Forest Schools of Business, graduating with honors and academic distinction in the top nine in his class. In August he began work as a financial analyst at Exxon/Mobil in Houston.
Robin Gray-Reed married Diane Gray in 2008. Robin teaches childbirth education classes and works as a labor support professional, lactation consultant and midwives’ assistant in Santa Barbara, CA.
Ryan Lamb celebrated his first-year anniversary in San Francisco and the wine country.
Melinda M. Lim moved to Houston two years ago to work in the oil and gas industry.
Ric Lorilla works for Tenaris, an oil and gas company in Houston.
Megan Masoner recently launched reFINE-style.com, an auction site for high-end fashion consignment with a national reach. She spent 10 years as an executive at EDS running global recruitment before starting her new business.
Valerie Phillips joined the political consulting and corporate affairs firm Casteel, Erwin & Associates as account manager based in Austin.
Kara Torvik appeared in Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare Dallas 2010.
Catherine Bryan Tunks is director of social services and activities at C.C. Young Memorial Home, a Dallas retirement community.
Courtney Underwood has developed two programs to assist rape victims: Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) and Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center (DARCC).
06
Brandon Blaise Brown started the Brangeta Design Group, a sole proprietorship in Dallas offering graphic, packaging, print, advertising and Web design. He has provided design services to SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering since January 2006.
Rupal Dalal received a $10,000 scholarship from the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation at a ceremony in San Antonio Nov. 8, 2010, to apply toward her M.B.A. degree from SMU.
Chip Hiemenz left his SMU position last June working with young alumni to pursue his Master’s degree in business administration at Washington University’s Olin School of Business in St. Louis.
Jean Grumbles Irving and Thomas Daniel Irving ’04 announce the birth of twins Emma Grace and Hannah Claire July 6, 2010.
Raul Magdaleno is special assistant to the dean and assistant director of diversity and outreach engagement at Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. He began volunteering in his community at age 13, mentoring young children at the local learning center and helping women and children who were victims of domestic abuse, as his family had been. He worked with the Dallas police in a youth program and promoted education at elementary schools. In 2002 he received the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian service award from Congress, for his efforts to help the victims of domestic violence.
Michael O’Keefe exhibited his sculpture and drawings, Lady Classical, Mother Metamorphosis, and Other Holy Fables, at Valley House Gallery in Dallas last April 9-May 15. He also has exhibited at Gallery 718 in Brooklyn, NY, the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery at Haverford College, Haverford, PA, and The McKinney Avenue Contemporary in Dallas.
A. Sunshine Prior won a Fulbright fellowship to New Zealand to study and conduct research at Victoria University of Wellington, where she works with the Centre for Applied Cross-Cultural Research. Her goal is to become a mental health counselor and advocate for the deaf.
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Catalina Aguirre and Zac Simmonds ’05 were married June 26, 2010, at Perkins Chapel. She is an orchestra director for Frisco (TX) ISD, and Zac is a football coach at Trinity Christian Academy. They live in Dallas.
Lauren Cook married Christopher Brooks in Perkins Chapel Dec. 19, 2009. She teaches Latin and coaches cheerleaders at a private school, and he is finishing his medical doctorate with Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. They live in San Antonio with their cat and two dogs.
Pavielle Chriss was promoted to assistant director of student success programs at SMU, where she will coordinate academic support services and resources for students in the Mustang Scholars and Fall Academic Bridge Programs. She was previously senior admission counselor and coordinator of diversity initiatives.
Jeff Hale is the assistant football coach at Highland Park (TX) High School. He lives in Dallas with his wife, Marsha, and daughters Casey and Kathryn.
Michael Tarwater received his M.B.A. in sports marketing and management from The University of North Carolina-Charlotte in 2009 and is a second-year law student at The Charlotte School of Law.
08
Katie Dean was the media librarian, closed captioner and assistant editor of the television show Gator 911, which aired nationally on the CMT network last spring.
Lanie DeLay had the inaugural exhibition last August at the Reading Room, a new project space in Dallas. Double Trouble featured finely drawn and laser-printed self portraits and portraits of friends. She is working toward an M.F.A. degree at the School of Visual Art in New York.
Michelle Gonzales Pierce and Alan Randall Pierce announce the birth of daughter Isabella Marie Dec. 27, 2009.
Christopher Smith is a new associate in the intellectual property litigation group at global law firm Fish & Richardson. Previously he was a global commodity quality manager at Dell and a development engineer.
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Brian Badillo is a sales representative at Etheridge Printing Company in Dallas. He enjoys time with his wife, Kathy, and daughter, Olivia Kasia, and bowls competitively in league and tournaments.
Meg Bell (a.k.a. Meg Frances) will have her first book published by Desperanto in spring 2011. FFing: Poetic Psychosexual Landscapes and Power Struggles is a poetry and prose collection based on her high school and college years.
Ben Briscoe was named the 2009-10 “Best Reporter” by the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters.
Elizabeth Carlock launched her own jewelry line, Elizabeth Carlock Designs. She recently traveled to Uganda, Africa, for five weeks, where she partnered with the organization The Akola Project to teach 12 Ugandan women to make jewelry; in turn, the women will teach 150 more Ugandan women so they can sustain themselves and their families and community. Elizabeth plans to visit Uganda twice a year to work on new designs and help the women strengthen their skills. Last summer she marketed the jewelry to U.S. stores with all proceeds going to the Ugandan women.
Dan Carrillo Levy formed Creative Capital Funds, a company that funds, allocates and produces several films a year. He returned to Dallas last April to present Sin Ella, his first feature film, at the 2010 Dallas International Film Festival. He is currently executive producer of a short film and preparing to direct two films: an epic and a mockumentary.
Ben Manthey was pictured on Princeton University’s Princeton-in-Asia Web site. He is a language student studying abroad in Beijing in his second year as an oral English teacher at China Foreign Affairs University. He also works with the Dandelion School, an institution that educates the children of migrant workers.
Morgan Parmet works behind the scenes for NBC Network News in Washington, DC, and describes her work as a “heart-pounding, action-packed thrill.”
Callan E. Patterson turned a paper she wrote for an SMU class into a 55-page children’s book, The Girl Who Learned Differently, an autobiographical story written from the perspective of a character who finds she is bright despite learning challenges. Callan has become an advocate for learning differences awareness.
Marcus Stimac performed in last summer’s Shakespeare Dallas production Cymbeline.
Martin Thornthwaite was named by Texas Monthly magazine a 2010 Texas Rising Star. He is a labor and employment attorney at Strasburger & Price LLP.
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Juan José de León was chosen one of 38 singers from more than 600 applicants to participate in Glimmerglass Opera’s Young American Artists Program, an internationally recognized apprentice program. During the 2010 festival, he performed in Tosca, understudied two roles in The Marriage of Figaro and sang an individual recital for the public.
Ryan Glenn had a role in Cymbeline at the Shakespeare Dallas last summer.
Natalie Brown Stephens is in the mission field in the Philippines teaching English at an orphanage.