Alumni News & Notes

Class of 1991

Lars Jefferson '91 has been teaching music professionally for 14 years in California, Oregon, Shanghai, Busan, and currently in Xi-an, China. Lars has bachelor's degrees in Music Education and French, and a single subject credential from CSU Stanislaus.  His travels have taken him to Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Ecuador, Luxembourg, and Germany.

Class of 2010

Aman Agrawal '10 has declined all his IT offers to pursue his passion in the culinary world. He received a great offer and opportunity at Alinea, a three-star Michelin restaurant in Chicago that was featured on Netflix's popular series, Chef's Table. Aman also does standup comedy on the side.

Kathryn Daugherty '10 graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama and will start a full-time position with Nutanix in San Jose as a Sales Development Representative.

Erika Kawaguchi '10 graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University, with a specialization in political science and a concentration in psychologly. She was also a member of Columbia's School of General Studies Honors Society, co-founded anti-slavery student organizations in France and New York, and is an award-winning cosplayer. Erika obtained her first degree at Sciences Po de Paris, majoring in political science research and war history, with a specialization in contemporary diplomacy. 

Jacob Siporen '10 will start the management training program at Lockheed Martin in July at their Palmdale, CA facility.

Tyler Sisley '10 graduated summa cum laude from Cal Poly SLO and in the fall, will begin a PhD program in Chemical Biology at Harvard. Tyler was also awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation.

Andrew Welsh '10 is currently in the Artic doing limestone carbon sequester field research and several job interviews lined up for heavy mineral mining companies when he returns.

Class of 2014

Anya Barrese '14 was awarded Seattle University's Bellarmine merit scholarship. She has competed on equestrian teams throughout middle and high school, held leadership positions at Notre Dame SJ and participated in mission trips to developing countries.

Joe Fordyce '14 will play for Lindenwood University's (St. Charles, MO) roller hockey program. He received both academic merit and sports scholarships for all four years. This summer, Joe will travel to Roana, Asiago, Italy to represent the USA as a member of the Junior Men's National Roller Hockey Team.

Cole Hackett '14 will be competing for Cal Poly SLO on their D1 soccer team. He was voted WCAL Soccer defensive player of the year and Cal-hi sports CCS soccer player of the year for the 2017-18 soccer season.

Cameron King '14 played roller hockey for four years, as skater and goalie, and intends to continue playing in college.

Henrik Larsen '14 played for Bellarmine's roller hockey for four years, performed in various theatre productions, was Junior Class ASB Rep and Senior Class President. During his senior year, Henrik was also manager of Bellarmine Creative Studios. This summer he will be an intern with the City of Fremont doing video production for Public Works communications projects.

Meaghan Schapelhouman '14 was accepted into Marymount Manhattan's (NYC) Musical Theatre Program. Theater has been a mainstay in Meaghan's life since her first-grade play with Mrs. Curtis. She has performed in 42 productions for ACDS, Children's Musical Theater (CMT), Presentation High School, and Archbishop Mitty High School. This summer, she will return to her roots working as a summer drama camp assistant to Mr. Ian Lennard.

Sydney Snyder '14 was very involved in Notre Dame SJ's Tech Theater, held positions of Student Technical Director, Production Manager, and Master Builder. She was involved in all NDSJ's theater productions from sophomore to senior year.

Ellie Spencer '14 was awarded University of Utah's Freshman Academic Achievement Award and the U Tradition Award and Heritage Scholarship.

Carl Tavernise '14 was awarded Gonzaga University's Regents Scholarship.

Class of 2015

Samantha Baron '15 was chosen to represent Presentation High School in the highly selective Enterprise Leadership Conference (ELC), a three-day, business leadership colloquium sponsored by San Jose Rotary and Los Gatos Rotary. ELC is designed to help develop the leadership and presentation skills of 96 industrious high school juniors representing 30 high schools from throughout Silicon Valley. It is an innovative and collaborative experience that provides a strong foundation for college business courses. In this comprehensive introduction to developing a business plan, students are challenged to be visionary, creative, analytical, and competitive as they devise viable business opportunities in a team environment.

Faculty Updates

Congratulations to former ACDS Middle School teacher, Anne (Egan) Hubbard who was conferred with a Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Concordia Chicago on May 5, 2018.  Dr. Hubbard earned her BA at UC Santa Barbara and her Masters at Cal Poly State University.  She began her teaching career at ACDS in 1991, eventually moving into educational leadership positions in Cupertino, Paso Robles, Cayucos and Santa Barbara.  Dr. Hubbard is currently the Superintendent at Hope Elementary School District in Santa Barbara.

The message Dr. Hubbard would like to share with ACDS students is to encourage them to be lifelong learners, stay dedicated to long-term goals, and focus on serving others and making the world a better place. With an aim on those things, everything is possible. She added, “I’d also share that I absolutely LOVED my time teaching at ACDS. The students, faculty, and families were amazing and are still near and dear to me. I remain in touch with several staff and alumni from my time there and truly enjoy seeing what they are doing now. I have many, many fond memories of the times in class, traditions, trips, and shared experiences. That time of my life truly shaped how I lead now. I’m exceptionally grateful that ACDS took a chance on a fresh new teacher so many years ago!”

Wedding & Birth Announcements

Anna McMaster '05 wed Ben Slease on August 25th at Rancho del Cielo in Malibu, CA. Siblings Keir '09, Scot '11 and Eryn '16 were in the wedding party. After the celebrations, the couple spent their honeymoon in Bora Bora.  Anna and Ben currently live in West Hollywood, CA with their 11 year old pug, Gatsby.

Anna is a licensed physical therapist and owner of Glow PT and Wellness,  a concierge women’s health and therapy company in West Hollywood. She attended Almaden Country Day School from Kindergarten through 8th grade and graduated with a B.A. in Human Development from UC San Diego in 2012. Anna received her Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of Saint Augustine in 2016.

Anna’s favorite ACDS tradition is the Thanksgiving Feast. She says it was “really fun that the whole school contributed to the making of the celebration.” She fondly remembers the pride she felt as she and her class were able to progress from making the cornbread in Kindergarten, to mixing the pumpkin pie filling, kneading the pie crust, and eventually being entrusted to make the fruit salad in 8th grade. Her passion for cooking and baking may have been inspired by the Feast!

Her favorite memory is of meeting Michelle DeRienzo on her first day of kindergarten and how they became fast friends and remained best friends through most of elementary school. Anna says that she always thought it was kismet until she recently found out that the DeRienzo family was our assigned host family. She very much values the enduring friendships she made while at ACDS and says that to this day, even though they haven’t seen each in a while when they do it seems like their friendship hasn’t changed at all.

Aside from the enduring friendships, Anna appreciates that she was able to enjoy her childhood at ACDS without having the weight of the world on her shoulders, especially in middle school. Although she didn’t recognize it immediately, Anna is thankful for the blessings of no-cut sports and clubs, plays that the whole class participated in, a friendly librarian, and the focus on encouragement.

Her message to current students and fellow alumni is “to appreciate how special and uncommon your ACDS experience is. It prepares you for the real world by giving you the confidence to take risks and teaching you to focus on your strengths.”

Claire (Costa) Saphire '94 and her husband Christopher had a busy 2017. In January, they opened the doors to Little Bean Coffee, their specialty coffee shop in New York City at the top of Central Park. Later, on November 18, they welcomed their first son, Theo, to the world. Needless to say, their hands are quite full, but they are loving their life!

Michael Distaso '96 and his wife Courtney welcomed their first child, Boden Richard Distaso, into the world on September 6th, 2018.  Bo weighed in at 8lbs, 7ounces and was 21.5" long. 

It has been a whirlwind of a year for the Distasos, with Michael and Courtney moving back to Phoenix (where they met), buying a new home, having their first child, and Michael taking a new position at EXOS, a company at the forefront of proactive health and performance for elite athletes and Fortune 500 corporations.  

To this day, ACDS holds a special place in Michael's heart.  No other educational institution has meant more to him, and played a more significant role in his development.  "I spent ten years at ACS as a student, and my mom, Lyn Distaso, taught at the school for over fifteen years.  I coached basketball there throughout my high school years, and was even a substitute teacher while I finished my Masters degree.  ACS was a second family to me, and truly helped me learn what a supportive community should be.  While I am beyond elated to be living in Phoenix now, I am a little bummed I won't see my son put on that red cougar sweatshirt".

Megan (Conlin) Eckrich '98 and Alexander "Zandy" Eckrich, Elouise James Eckrich was born on April 10, 2018 to happy parents, at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.  Weighing in at 7 lbs, 1oz and 23 in long, Elouise is full of personality and loves to smile and laugh. Megan is taking some time off from her job as Director of Group Sales for Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills before returning to work full time in August. 

Deborah Anne (Schuster) Gettelman '98 and David Casey Gettelman are happy to announce the arrival of Maribelle Helen, born April 10, 2018, weighing 8 lbs, 9 oz and 20 in long.  

Brittany (Chapman) Lasky '02 and Stephen Lasky were delighted to welcome Marlowe Jean Lasky to the world at 11pm on May 23, 2018, at Kaiser Permanent Hospital in San Francisco.  Marlowe weighed in at 7lbs 8oz, and 20 in long. Brittany is the granddaughter of former ACDS teacher, Mrs. June Chapman.

Jordan (Applegarth) Lautanen '02  and her husband Christopher welcomed their first child, Blake Christopher Lautanen, at 5:43am on June 13th 2018.  Blake weighed in at 6lbs 10oz and was 20.5” long.  

Jordan met Chris in 2012 while obtaining her RVT (registered veterinary technician) license in San Diego. They dated for 5 years, and were married in Solana Beach, CA, in March 2017. They knew they wanted a family soon after getting married, and were delighted with Blake’s arrival the following year! Jordan, Chris and Blake currently live in San Diego with their pack of three dogs.

Jordan attended ACDS from pre-school through 8th grade, where her mom, Debbie Applegarth, taught 1st grade. Jordan still fondly recalls her years at Country School and can tell the names of each of her teachers, while also remembering events from each of her years in school. She has remained close with a handful of friends from her graduating class, and is Facebook friends with an even larger group of classmates. After graduating from ACDS, she attended Monte Vista Christian High School (with fellow ACDS alumna Melissa Meredith) graduating in 2006. She attended UC Davis graduating with a B.S. in Animal Science/Pre-veterinary medicine.