ALUMNS IN ACTION: Tim Paydos ’85, IBM’s Global General Manager of Government Industry Solutions

Alumni

Tim Paydos’s interest in using the latest technology to solve problems can be traced back to the early 1980’s, when the first computer arrived at Renbrook. He remembers sharing the excitement as Marg Ayres, Head of the Math Department, set up the big, clunky Apple computer in the library and called it “the Computer Lab.” Hooked, Tim continued to explore the possibilities of the new technologies as they evolved through his time at St. Paul’s and then at Harvard, where he majored in Foreign Relations with a specialty in Nuclear Wargaming. Tim’s studies included government and history, sociology and psychology, and statistics and probability. How would he use his varied interests and aptitudes? Would he follow many of his talented peers into investment banking? No, Tim was excited to deliver value to society through innovative, geeky technology.

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ALUMNS IN ACTION: Emma Kagel ’97, Bioethecist

Emma Kagel

“Like many who pursue a career in healthcare, it was my personal experiences as a patient that led me to seek a meaningful way to contribute to the practice of medicine,” explains Emma Kagel ’97. Forging her path in the rapidly evolving field of bioethics, she has drawn on her struggles and triumphs as a profoundly deaf child and an early adopter of cutting-edge medical technology. Now she is making a difference at Beth Israel Lahey Health as a compliance officer, addressing ethical issues in medical research. She is also the founder of Bioethics Alliance, whose goal is “to foster evidence-based insights and best practices to advance bioethical dialogue, therapeutic partnerships, and ethical action for a just society.”

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ALUMS IN ACTION: Morgan Caswell ’06, Manager of Air Quality Practices for the Port of Long Beach, CA

Alumna Morgan Caswell

Renbrook alum, Morgan Caswell, Zoomed in to give seventh and eighth graders a window into how science and technology are at work to solve a complex environmental problem in Southern California. The students were riveted by her clear explanation of how she is coordinating the efforts of industry, government, science, and citizens to clean up some of the dirtiest air in the country. What was Morgan’s path to this critical job?

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Shelley Grant ’21 gives moving chapel talk

Alumni presenting

Last month, Shelley Grant ’21, a Renbrook alumna and current student at Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts, delivered a chapel talk.

A chapel talk is a brief speech written by a student and delivered to their fellow students and faculty. Chapel talks focus on themes that are personally meaningful to the speaker; they are reflective and range from the moving to humorous to motivational.

In her moving chapel talk, Shelley tells her story as a Ghanaian American. She shares her love for poetry as both a bridge and an outlet and recites three of her original poems. You can watch Shelley’s talk here.

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Alums Bring Art Show to Renbrook

Earlier this month, Renbrook hosted its first alumni guest speakers of the school year. Arianna Calabrese ’10 and Megan Lee ’10 met at Renbrook in sixth grade and have been friends ever since. After an exhilarating and successful run of their first collaborative art show, they decided to return to Renbrook, where it all began, and brought their show, Saga, with them.
 
For three days prior to Megan and Arianna’s visit, students, faculty, and staff were invited to visit Saga. To engage with the pieces, visitors used their cell phones to access a special augmented reality (AR) lens. The lens allowed viewers to view Arianna’s poetry in conjunction with Megan’s paintings. Then, on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, Arianna and Megan visited Renbrook as part of our alumni career speakers series. They met with the eighth grade; shared stories about their Renbrook days, educational journey, and career experiences; and led the eighth grade in an inspiring and interactive poetry-writing workshop.
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