Here’s what some of our alumni have been up to… 1988 Nelson Ryland recently won a News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Newscast for his work at Vice News Tonight, a nightly news show produced by Vice Media Group. 2001
MS history teacher Sheila Marks has been invaluable in helping to collect Class Notes for many issues of The Bridge. In a conversation with Leslie Feldman, Director of Alumni Relations, Sheila shared why she so enjoys reaching out to alumni. Q: How many students have you taught in your time at PCDS? Ashleigh Levison is currently living in Denver, CO, while working as a vitreoretinal surgeon and uveitis specialist. In a small ceremony in April 2020, she married her husband, Tony Kaprive, a commercial airline pilot. In December 2020, they welcomed their daughter, Adalynn Harper Kaprive. TJ Blandford graduated from Furman University in 2006, and Harvard Business School in 2013. He is currently CEO of Woodbine Manufacturing Company. Before returning to Arizona a few years ago, he had lived in 10 states and explored a couple different careers, including as a high school math teacher. He now lives in Scottsdale with his wife, Nakeesia, and daughter, Sedona, and is loving every minute of raising a family in the desert where he grew up.
A: At this point, I have taught over 1,300 students at PCDS. Q: Why do you enjoy reaching out to alumni to collect Class Notes? A: I love reaching out to alums because I love to see where they are in their lives. I also love to reconnect with my former students. Q: What makes a “good” Class Note? Does it have to be something really big that has happened in someone’s life? A: A good class note can be a big event in one’s life, like a wedding, birth of a child, or a new job or it can be a small event, such as a group of alums getting together for someone’s birthday or a trip they did together. Q: How do you feel when you learn about all the things your former students are doing out in the world? A: I love learning what my former students are doing now because I love to see how much they have changed since 8th grade. I am always blown away by the paths that these alumni are on. I hope that I have had a teensy, tiny impact on their lives, just as they have had on mine. Would you like to submit a Class Note for the next issue of The Bridge? You can do so at pcds.org/alumniupdate.
We collect many Class Notes each year and cannot guarantee that all submissions will be printed. Class Notes are written in an individual’s own words.
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