2005 Class Notes for 2014-2015
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Dear Class of 2005,
I am so happy we had such a great response this year from our classmates. It is amazing to see all the accomplishments everyone has achieved.
We begin our update in DC with Denise Sharvell Patterson. After eight years of teaching at the elementary-school level, Denise was promoted to reading specialist with the DC Public Schools and had a successful year. She also completed a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction in reading from Grand Canyon U., located AZ in 2011. Denise’s son also just completed his first year of kindergarten in a bilingual classroom. She is so excited about the amount of Spanish he picked up in one year. Currently, Denise is in the process of writing a children’s book inspired by her son and soon hopes to self-publish.
Another classmate of ours had one eventful year. On October 19, 2014, Kisha Kantasingh Rusek got married to her loving partner, Benjamin, and as she stated, “gained a wonderful extended family, including two special sisters-in-law.” Her best friend from college, Dawn Sperrazza ’04 served as one of her bridesmaids. Kisha and her husband also became homeowners when they purchased their DC rowhouse in Brookland, only steps away from Trinity. Professionally, Kisha is living her professional dream serving as a senior federal grant writer for DC Public Schools, which is made up of 125 education campuses across Washington. She continues to write proposals to raise money for various educational services and enrichment programs. She has officially garnered more than $200 million in federal funding. This is a professional milestone which has helped the schools and students in DC. As a Trinity athlete, Kisha has continued her passions by swimming on a masters swim team, practicing conversational and written Mandarin, doing organic gardening, and traveling the world with her husband. This year, Ben and Kisha plan to celebrate their first wedding anniversary with trips to Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Moving north to MD, Danielle Mitchell Gordon and her husband, Dan, have recently moved into their home in Upper Marlboro with their two-year-old son, Darren. Danielle has embarked on a new adventure in opening a day care program in Upper Marlboro as she transitions from her career as an analyst in the federal government for the past twelve years. More information about their day care program can be found at www.precioussproutschildcare.com. Danielle received her master’s of philosophy degree in economics in 2008 from the GWU, and continues to teach as an assistant adjunct professor of economics at the U. of MD U. College. Danielle and her husband will celebrate six years of marriage in September.
We now move to the south and where Leslie Gayden Hall has returned to Sweet Home AL. After college Leslie spent 2006 studying for and taking the GRE; in 2007 she studied Spanish and completed more post-BA work at Trinity. In 2008 Leslie studied music and Spanish at Prince George’s Community College. In 2009 she moved back to AL amidst the recession but in January 2014 she had her “big break” and joined the state of AL government as a civil servant working as a scribe. This position helped her to be located in the U. of AL’s home-town, Tuscaloosa, where she stated she might further her studies. She lives the quiet life with her two cats and enjoys the serene walking paths and parks one can find in Alabama.
As for me, I am still located in Austin, TX, where my husband and I enjoy the summer heat and cool winters. I just accepted a new position as a computer science teacher at KIPP Austin Collegiate, a charter high school in east Austin. I continue to play soccer with the Austin Coed Soccer Association and recently took my hobby of photography to the next level. My new photography website can be found at http://alaraphotography.smugmug.com. We also were very fortunate to return to Chile to visit family and celebrate the holidays. So far 2014 has been a great and blessed year.
Please feel free to update your news and photos anytime for the next edition of TRINITYmagazine. I want to thank those who provided an update and encourage everyone else to in the future.
Angelica Lara