Alumni News
Here is some of the latest news from our wonderful alumni! If you have news you would like to share, please click here.
1990s
Valerie Maclay '96 is very proud to have earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Development - Child Development from Cal State University in San Bernardino, CA. She graduated in June 202. She was married over Zoom last March, and is expecting a child this July. Valerie has been working at a pre-school; she loves working with kids, and is looking forward to being a mom as well. She is pictured here with her husband, Robert.
Brian Haher ’98 wrote with a “back to school present” for Ms. Miller and Ms. Thorne, saying “Here are some pictures I scanned from my first year at West 100th Street and my Kindergarten year at the new school on 74th Street. I hope you enjoy them!”
2000s
Jack Rubin ’09 is a sophomore at Pace University, taking it slow and majoring in Film. His mom says, “Thank you to Parkside for believing in our boy!”
2010s
Erica Brandwein ’13 launched her own lifestyle brand in December! It’s called Life With Erica, and features handmade self-care products for everyone. Check it out at lifewitherica.net or follow her on IG @life.with_erica.
Nick Roker ’14 and his dad, Al, started producing a series on IGTV called “What We’re Cooking.” It started out with Al Roker posting videos about life around the house during quarantine. Nick began running the camera, then started to comment on the episodes from the wings. Before he knew it, Nick was the star of the show. Check out the episodes on IGTV, to learn what the Rokers like to do with their Sunday leftovers, some of the favorite recipes like their brown-rice-and-dark-beer shrimp boil, and even new habits they’ve started, like composting!
Teddy Ryan ’14 will be attending Syracuse University in the fall. He and his family attribute much of his success to his participation in the annual musicals during his time at Parkside.
Owen Barbagallo ’16 will be taking Critical Thinking and Math as Art from Stanford and the University of Michigan pre collegiate programs this summer. He also looks forward to turning 16 in July and being able to use Citibikes, an NYC right of passage!
Cameron Cox ’18 is graduating from middle school in June and will be attending Aaron High School for 9th grade this fall!
Alex Sun ’18 and Matthew Sun ’18 write to say that they are graduating middle school, and are co-valedictorians! They plan to continue at Lowell for high school.
Conor O’Dea ’19 is doing great at Winston Prep, where he is attending remotely, but has started to go back to school in person some days. Living upstate, he has become an avid outdoor enthusiast. He and his dad made maple syrup for the 2nd year in a row, and they do plenty of fishing. This photo show’s Conor’s first catch of the year! Conor is also ecstatic that sports are back, and he's playing doubleheaders every Sunday with his travel baseball team.
2020s
Olivia Renta ’20 writes to say that she is happy to have chosen to attend the Community School after Parkside, where she is making new friends. She misses her Parkside friends, though, saying “I would like to visit Parkside and say hi and hug all my old teachers.” Olivia also started taking guitar lessons back in November, and says “It’s been fun and interesting learning guitar notes.”