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Almaden Country Day SchoolLoving The Now. Ready For Next.

Alumni Spotlight

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Jackson Bordelon '11

Jackson Bordelon '11 has always loved building things, and throughout his life he’s found ways to direct that love towards helping solve real world problems. As a freshman in high school, he participated in house-building trips to Tijuana, Mexico with his church, Presbyterian Church of Los Gatos. He’s currently preparing for his thirteenth trip to Mexico this summer. Jackson has sought out church leadership roles, first as a Caring Ministries Deacon and now as an Elder overseeing mission trips.

 Last year, Jackson’s interest in helping others led him to Amboseli, Kenya where he helped to teach the Maasai people how to retrofit their huts and install chimneys and solar panels. Rewarding experiences like these led to him to pursue a degree in Civil Engineering at Santa Clara University.

 Jackson BordelonWhile at Santa Clara University, Jackson continued to find ways to use construction to help bring about positive change. Jackson served as Building Chairperson for the SCU Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. In addition, he joined the SCU Chapter of Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), and competed for three years at the Associated Schools of Construction Competition in Reno, Nevada as a member of the Heavy Civil team. Jackson also served as President of the SCU AGC Chapter during his senior year.

Jackson recently completed his year-long Senior Design Project. It consisted of working with the City of San Jose on their Bridge Housing Community (BHC) Project. The BHC constructs “tiny home” cabins to provide temporary housing for temporarily homeless citizens of San Jose. Jackson and his project partner helped to design and construct a prototype that is far more versatile and mobile than the type currently in use. It uses panelized wall sections to allow for customizable cabins that can house not just individuals, but families as well.

 After graduation on June 15, 2019, Jackson will start work as a Project Engineer at Blach Construction Company in San Jose, California, where he worked the past four summers. He will continue to pursue his love of building while directing that passion towards helping the people who need it most.

ACDS is proud of our alumni and their accomplishments. Below are a few more alumni spotlights that show just a small sample of the exciting paths they forged after graduating from ACDS.  Please contact us to share your ACDS alumni story.

More Alumni Spotlights...

Anya Barrese ‘14
Anya Barrese ‘14

After graduating cum laude from Seattle University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a minor in philosophy, Anya is currently the Lifestyles Coordinator at Parkshore Senior Living in Seattle, Washington. She shares that working at an incredibly rewarding job, living in a beautiful city, and having wonderful friends and family makes her happy and is more than a person can ask for.

Lisa Ricchio'04
Tucker (Lisa) Ricchio '04

We've been following Tucker (Lisa) Ricchio '04 very closely these past few months, and Chef Tucker has written in to keep us up to date. Read on to hear all about how she started her journey as a Chef, what her Italian grandparents taught her about food and cooking, and her experience on Gordon Ramsay's show, Next Level Chef.

Matt Hunt '12
Jake Heindel '08

After graduating from Leland High School in 2012, Jake Heindel '08 completed a bachelor's degree in Film Production at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. As a Video Producer for the San Jose Sharks, Jakes says that one of his most significant accomplishments is "making the opening hype videos that play on the big screen before the players take the ice." They are an impactful way to energize the crowd before the game starts. If you're a Sharks fan, you've probably enjoyed one of his four opening hype videos. His favorite is the Stealth Jersey open video from the 2021-2022 season. 

Matt Hunt '12
Meaghan Schapelhouman '14

Meaghan Schapelhouman ’14 attended ACDS from Begindergarten through 8th grade. Upon graduation from Presentation High School, she next enrolled at Marymount Manhattan College, New York City, where she pursued and obtained a degree in musical theater. To the delight of all who know her, Meaghan completed the circle and recently returned to Almaden Country Day School to join the staff as a teacher in the arts.

Matt Hunt '12
Matt Hunt '12

Matt Hunt attended Almaden Country Day School from Kindergarten through 8th grade and is a member of the Class of 2012. He attended Archbishop Mitty High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Motorsports Engineering with a minor in mathematics from Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in 2021.

Matt’s proudest professional accomplishment is being part of the Indianapolis 500 Car Race this year (2022) and winning the IndyCar championship in 2021 with Chip Ganassi Racing. He worked on each car as a mechanic and engineer. 

Deena Shakir '00 and Laith Shakir '04
Deena Shakir '00

Deena Shakir is a successful business professional. She and her husband Mehdi have two children, 6-year-old Lana and 4-year-old Adam. She earned a joint BA in Social Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard, and an MA from Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, funding her education through a variety of merit scholarships and side ventures, including co-founding her first company while in college. She is currently a partner at Lux Capital, a venture capital company focusing on emerging, futuristic ideas in science and technology investments. In addition, she is a lecturer in management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.