Alumni News & Notes

ACDS alums cross paths at the local theater! Cypress Bordelon ’09 and Adam Griffith ’04 are part of the cast and crew of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s production of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, a romantic prequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Cypress has been the Lead Scenic Artist for TheatreWorks for the past three years and is currently working on the set of this production. Adam will play the role of Fitzwilliam Darcy. The show will run from December 4-29, 2024. Grab your tickets now!

Jake Heindel ‘08 married Emma Miller Heindel on May 24, 2024, at Nella Terra in Sunol, California. Nora (Heindel) Cepin ‘11 was Jake’s best woman in the ceremony. ACDS graduate Keir McMaster ‘08 attended the wedding. Jake and Emma first met in early 2017 at a trivia night in downtown San Jose. After having a wonderful time at the bar, Emma asked Jake out shortly after (yes, she asked him out first), and they went on their first official date on April 14, 2017. They hit it off immediately, connecting on their shared love of aquatic sports, sense of humor, and goals in life. After many more dates and wonderful adventures, they both realized they could envision a life of travel, fun, and family together. Then, on May 25, 2023, Jake asked Emma to marry him on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Croatia. Emma ecstatically said, "Yes!" Jake was successfully able to photograph the proposal (and not drop the ring into the sea), and the shared lives of Emma and Jake began right then and there. The couple honeymooned in Japan this past June. Emma grew up in Palo Alto, California, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. Jake is a Producer for the San Jose Sharks, and Emma is a Senior Brand Strategy Manager at Shockwave Medical, Inc. Jake and Emma live in San Jose with two of their favorite people, Nora and Marcos Cepin. 

Ashley (Ahlgren) Lessing  ’09 and her husband, Andrew, welcomed Laura Michelle Lessing on August 4, 2024. Laura’s big brother, Damon (5), sister, Elena (2), and grandparents, Michelle and Ralph Ahlgren, are very excited. Ashley and her family live in Fort Riley, Kansas.

Brian Huhn ’10 and his wife, Maddy, recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary.  They were married on August 4, 2023, at Nestldown in the Los Gatos mountains.  Brian met his best man, Karan Motreja ’10, and two groomsmen, Jacob Siporen ’09 and Logan Whiting ’09, at ACDS.  The officiant at the wedding was our own Dr. Jorgenson, who has continued to be an incredible mentor to Brian. After leaving ACDS, Brian attended Saint Francis High School and Santa Clara University, where he met Maddy Walsh in the acapella group.  Brian and Maddy are ideally suited to each other as they are both intelligent, high-energy, and fun-loving. Brian is a Senior Product Marketing Manager at NetScaler, and Maddy is a recruiter for Palo Alto Networks and a yoga instructor. They have just moved into their new home in Almaden with their adorable dog, Pickle.

Evan Schultz ’10 started at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania this fall. He completed his undergrad at Villanova University on an Army ROTC scholarship and served four years as an intelligence officer stationed in Hawaii. Evan is fluent in Mandarin.

Jacob Spikes ’10 married Cayleigh Coester on October 13, 2024, at Eagle Ridge in Gilroy, CA. They were high school sweethearts who met during a play rehearsal freshman year at University Preparatory Academy. Cayleigh now works for UPA directing their school plays, and Jacob has just started a new position at SAP software company as a Broadcast Engineer. 

Ryan Schultz ‘10 served four years in the Army as a Ranger, and is currently a California firefighter.

Nora (Heindel) Cepin ‘11 wed Marcos Cepin in San Jose on October 4, 2024. The couple had a family-only ceremony with a bigger reception the next day. Nora's brother, Jake Heindel ’08, was her best man. The couple were originally introduced by Jake, who met Marcos as a freshman in college at Loyola Marymount University. They really didn’t get to know one another until the fall of 2017, when Marcos was living in Barcelona, Spain, and Nora was studying abroad in Brussels, Belgium. Jake planned a visit to meet up with both Nora and Marcos in Budapest, Hungary, in October. After Jake returned to the States, Nora and Marcos made plans to meet in Brussels. After a few days together, the relationship officially began on Dec. 3, 2017.

Nora and Marcos love visiting breweries and wineries together, hiking, playing games, going on adventures, and sometimes doing absolutely nothing. Nora is the general manager of HOTWORX infrared fitness studio (owned and operated by the Heindel family). Marcos is an adjunct instructor at San Jose State and the Strength and Conditioning Coach for DeAnza Baseball. Marcos grew up in Coronado, California, and received his bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University and his master’s degree in kinesiology from San Jose State University. Nora earned her bachelor’s degree in exercise science from the University of Mississippi. The couple lives in San Jose and shares a house with two of their favorite people, Jake and Emma Heindel.

Meilani (Makhni) Kain ’11 married Robert "Bobby" Kain on June 29, 2024, at Roaring Camp and Big Trees in the Santa Cruz mountains. Bobby was born and raised in Los Gatos, where he attended Los Gatos High School. The couple met at Chapman University in their freshman year and started dating as sophomores.  They live in Denver, Colorado, where Meilani is a Physical Therapist at St. Andrews Village Retirement Community, and Bobby is a Network Administrator at Tri-State Generation and Transmission. Meilani’s brother, Devin Makhni ’15, officiated the ceremony. Devin lives in Denver and works as an Investment Analyst at Galway Sustainable Capital. The Praturu family (Anusha ‘08, Anoop ‘11 and parents Anita and Ram) and the Kaul family (Arjun ‘07, Maya ’09 and  parents Sudha and Sanjiv) also attended the wedding.

Matt Remaker ’11 and Caryn Rickert married on February 17, 2024, at the Providence Athenaeum, the 19th-century New England library that helped inspire Caryn's career as a librarian and educator. Matt’s sister, Valerie Remaker ’13 and Scotty McMaster ’11, were in the wedding party, while Connor Voydat ’11 and Caitlyn Cuneen ’11 made the cross-country trek to celebrate the joyous occasion with them. Matt and Caryn currently live in Quincy, MA, with their cat, Vampire. Matt works at Action Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to making older residences more energy efficient, and Caryn works at the Boston Day and Evening Academy, a Boston charter high school supporting students who need non-traditional academic environments.

Alyvia McIntyre ‘17 set the all-time career assist record for Husson University volleyball. Alyvia ran the ACDS summer volleyball camp and is the coach of many of our current volleyball players.

Kara Namimatsu '22, a junior at Bishop Montgomery High School in LA, has verbally committed to play for USC’s D1 women’s beach volleyball team. Kara has been a top beach volleyball player since she was at ACDS, where she competed in volleyball, basketball, and track.  Her parents, Ken and Saundra, were long-time ACDS coaches and helped start the Cougar Booster Club.