Alumni Notes

1970s

Dominic Miller ’78, guitarist for Sting, appeared on Good Morning America on October 14th alongside Sting and Melody Gardot. They played their new single, Little Things.

1990s

Eden (Bradshaw) Kaiser ’99 started her own copyediting business and finally feels like she may have found her dream job. “It all started with those Upper School grammar lessons, courtesy of the inimitable Diane Breach.”

2000s

In December, John Tate ’03, Chair of the State Parole Commission, was named one of Wisconsin’s 51 Most Influential Black Leaders by Madison365. Prior to his appointment by Governor Tony Evers, Tate served as Third District Alderman in Racine.

Amanda (Sta Romana) Von Horn ’03

and Steven Von Horn ’03 live in Boston with their two daughters. Upon finishing her training in General Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, she accepted a position at Tufts University Medical Center as an Addiction Psychiatrist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry. Amanda was recently featured in an Alumni Catch-Up segment on the Carthage College athletics website. At Carthage, Amanda was named first-team All-CCIW three straight years from 2005 to 2007.

Paolo Pahm ’09 is currently pursuing his MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Pahm is also an Operations Officer with the U.S. Army National Guard. He served as a battle captain while deployed to the United States Capitol Building in the wake of the civil unrest following the riot at the Capitol in January. Pahm and his story were profiled in the story “After Defending US Capital, UVA Darden Student Balancing Classes, Recruiting, National Guard Duties,” which ran in the Feb. 22nd issue of The Darden Report.

The story reads, “Pahm was able to draw on his military and professional experience in balancing obligations. A Wisconsin native, Pahm enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after graduating from Michigan State. After basic training and infantry school, he returned to Michigan State for a master’s degree and accepted a full scholarship with the school’s ROTC program.

Pahm said he decided to pursue an MBA out of a desire to round out his skillset and learn the technical side of business following his experience training to be a human resources partner with Dow. The Darden MBA program seemed to promise what he sought.”

At Michigan State, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and his Master of Science in Human Resources and Labor Relations.

Bobby Schuessler ’06 is the Senior Fashion Editor for Who What Wear, an international online fashion company. His content is regularly featured on Yahoo.com. In early February, Molly Lofquist Johnson, Prairie’s Senior Director of Admission, happened to come across his story on winter boot trends. It made her week!

2010s

Justina Stern ’10 earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. Olaf College in 2014 and her Master Of Education Degree from Augsburg University in 2020.

Taylor Goelz ’16 earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Information and Analytics and a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the University of Denver. She is a Tax Technology Associate at KPMG in Denver.

Courtney (Owsley) Ketterer ’12, a 1st Grade teacher at Anthony Elementary School in Anthony, Texas, was named Teacher of the Year – her first in the district – for 2020.

2020s

Rebecca Kann ’21 is pursuing Environmental Health in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. As a Student Ambassador in Rollins’ Earn and Learn (REAL) program, she is a research assistant for the domestic WASH epidemiology branch at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her current work includes a COVID sewage surveillance study in the Center for Global Safe Wash. [A]

IN THEIR OWN WORDS ABBY LINLEY ’11

In September of 2020, I passed my final Architect Registration Exam (ARE) to become a licensed Architect!

I graduated from the University of WisconsinMilwaukee in 2014 and started my profession as a Project Specialist I at Plunkett Raysich Architects, LLP in March of 2015. I began studying for the exams and recording my Architectural Experience Program (AXP) shortly after. In July of 2019 I passed my first test, and after fourteen months of studying I finally passed all six exams. I am currently an Architect at PRA working on education projects in the Madison area.

The experience I had at Prairie from Kindergarten through 12th Grade completely made me the student and employee I am today. The care from the teachers, the work ethic they instilled, and the love for learning they kept strong is why I am who I am. I obtained the job I still currently hold less than two-and-a-half months from graduation, and I have received three promotions because of the drive I have to do better every day. The faculty at Prairie was a huge part of pushing me to be better and work as hard as I can.

Being at Prairie for thirteen years, there are many memories I cherish. The one I often look back on is the 2010 Girls’ Soccer State playoffs. Our team was so young and we had three comeback wins that went into overtime or a shootout to reach the final. We lost in double overtime, which was heartbreaking, but the camaraderie, our love for the game, and keeping the season alive... it was an amazing experience. I still get chills thinking about riding the bus to away games and singing loudly in the team room. Coach Oakland and soccer will always be a favorite memory from my time at Prairie.

TAYLOR STEPIEN ’05

In April I earned my Ph.D. from the Pathobiology Program in the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington. My dissertation, “Mechanisms of Salmonella Typhi Persistence,” was completed under the guidance of Dr. Ferric Fang, and looked at the immune response to typhoid fever.

The personalized support I received from the educators at Prairie gave me the confidence to set high goals for myself. The outstanding education I received gave me the foundation to meet those goals. I will always look back on my time at Prairie with fondness and gratitude.

STAY IN TOUCH AND SHARE YOUR NEWS

You, our Prairie School alumni, are an inspiration to all of us. We would love to hear from you!

Send-us your special news, whether it is a new job, a promotion, an award you’ve received or some other accomplishment –– we would love to share it with others.

Please take a minute to fill us in on what is happening in your life so we can print it in the Class Notes section of our alumni publication. Items of interest include:

• A degree earned • A move to a new city

• A marriage (please include exact wedding date and the full name of your spouse)

• A new family member (please include child’s full name and date of birth)

• An honor received

• Your volunteer work

• Other news about you or your life

Class notes are published as space permits. The editors of this magazine reserve the right to revise and rewrite items for content and length.

Update your address, phone number, email address, profession, family information and anything else you would like to share. To do so, email Brendan O’Brien, Director of Communication, at bobrien@prairieschool.com or use the Update Your Information form in the Alumni section of our website.