NSU University School Viewpoint Spring 2018

ALUMNI RELATIONS NSU University School’s Office of Alumni Relations has begun an initiative to travel around the nation to connect with USchool alumni and friends. This January, USchool’s Parent andAlumni Relationsdirector, Wynne Avellanet, took the office on the road and met up with alumni in Los Angeles, California, to share the latest updates from back home and learn what they’ve been up to since graduating from USchool. For Avellanet, each coffee visit, lunch, and dinner with alumni felt rewarding and inspiring. Avellanet also visited their places of work, including a trip to Nickelodeon Studios, where she got a behind- the-scenes tour from Mandel Ilagan (‘95), who serves as the vice president of unscripted television. She also had an opportunity to meet up with Josh Gad (‘99) and personally present him with his Alumni Hall of Fame Award, since he was unable to attend the event in November due to scheduling conflicts. Alumni Relations ON THE ROAD WITH Equally rewarding was spending timewithsomeof theyoungeralumni who are attending college in the Los Angeles area, such as Grant Besner (‘15). Besner attendsDukeUniversity, but through its institutional transfer credit program, he is spending a semester at the University of Southern California (USC). When Want to have a deeper connection with USchool? It’s easy to get involved. Just send an email to Wynne Avellanet at wynnea@nova.edu and let us know what you’ve been up to since graduating. Besner is not attending class at USC, he splits his time between two internships in the entertainment industry. He is an intern at Happy Madison Productions, an American film and television production company founded by AdamSandler, and also serves as an intern with late-night talk show Conan , starring ConanO’Brien. “Every day I learn of exciting endeavors our alumni are involved in,” Avellanet said. “I am just astounded at the number of successful alumni who have graduated from our school. I could not be more proud to play a role in alumni relations and represent such remarkablepeople. Entrepreneurs, authors, athletes, artists, actors, career military women and men, engineers, doctors—their achievements are outstanding.” This initial visit to California underscored all the important work the Office of Alumni Relations is doing to engage and connect alumni (and current students alike) to create a strong USchool alumni community on campus, around the nation, and even around the world. “We realize that we have alumni everywhere, and in an effort to engage them, we’re going to have to go to them so they feel connected to their alma mater,” said Avellanet. 22 Next Stop... New York City 2019 From left, Mandel Ilagan (‘95); Wynne Avellanet, director of Parent and Alumni Relations; Scott Kelrick (‘04); and Ross Auerbach (‘98) Josh Gad (‘99) accepts his Alumni Hall of Fame Award. Class of 2015 alumni Kirsten Laursen, Tristen Macklin, and Grant Besner in Los Angeles