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With your permission, we will reprint your note in the Fall 2020 issue of The Review.
Back to School In spring 2019, LFA introduced an entrepreneurship class to its History and Social Science Department curriculum. Taught by longtime faculty member Matt Vaughn, one of the key components of the course is interaction with alumni entrepreneurs. Since the class’ debut, Vaughn has invited a host of local alumni back to the classroom to speak to students about their businesses, including their successes, failures and best practices. Below is a list of alumni who have returned to LFA to share their knowledge with LFA students.
Former LFA arts faculty member Ryan Fowler, whose wife, Lauren Fowler, currently teaches in LFA’s Fine & Performing Arts Department, spoke to Matt’s class in February about his local art business.
Johnnie Johnson ’01, a real estate investor in Chicago, is a regular speaker in Vaughn’s entrepreneurship class. He was on campus on February 13. Here, he is pictured with History and Social Science Teachers Suzy and Matt Vaughn.
Matt Vaughn with Noah Cohen ’16, a senior at Brandeis University. Noah spoke to students on January 8 about his efforts with a pharma start-up in Boston.
Cecilia Lanyon ’06 spoke to students on February 25. Cecilia is the owner of The Gallery in Lake Forest as well as the Peanut Gallery, two businesses that combine her interests in art and food.
Henry Cowie ’08 spoke via Zoom with students during LFA’s distance-learning period about how he transitioned from working at a major corporation (Beam Suntory) to being on the ground floor of Bartesian, where is he head of commercial partnerships.
Jake Elperin ’04, president of Everest Transportation Systems in Evanston, with Matt Vaughn (left) and Associate Head of School, History and Social Science Teacher, and recipient of the Ned and Lynn Jessen Chair in the Humanities Bill Dolbee P’04, P’10 on January 22. Jake spoke to students about starting his own logistics company.
Mimi Moses ’13 with History and Social Science Teacher Chris Dozois ’84, P’17, P’21 and Matt Vaughn. Mimi is the founder of Notam Branding, LLC. She spoke with students on February 21, and returned to campus to serve as an alumni representative at the annual alumni-student networking night on March 4.
Charlie Waddell ’03 with Matt Vaughn on March 9. Charlie is founding partner at Faircourt Partners, LLC, and a regular speaker in the LFA entrepreneurship classroom.
During the distance-learning months at LFA, Head Basketball Coach Kyle Koncz arranged for current LFA boys basketball players to interact online with alumni players. In April 2020, Matey Juric ’18 and Dylan Ennis ’11 spoke to the boys about how their LFA experience prepared them for their next steps in playing basketball in college and in the professional leagues. Matey is a current sophomore at Drexel University; Dylan graduated from Villanova and earned a master’s degree from Oregon. He plays professional basketball in Europe for Basket Zaragoza. The alumni shared insight and advice about the recruiting process, their experiences as college athletes, and how they worked toward their goals. Also in April, alumnus Todd Zafirovski ’09 spoke to the boys about his experience on the LFA basketball team as well as playing for Duke University, where he was a member of the 2010 National Championship Team.
Dylan Ennis ’11
Todd Zafirovski ’09 Matey Juric ’18
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