WELCOME BACK MHS Drama Alumni!!! Please let us know what you are doing these days. Let us know if and when you are coming back to see our shows, and don't forget your THESPIAN discount! Hope to see you soon!
The annual ALUMNI RECEPTION will be held in conjunction with the Saturday performance of the spring musical!
If any of the following information is inaccurate, please drop us a line and let us know what needs to be corrected (including the spelling of your name).
Also, when you send news, let us know what year you graduated from MHS!
AND SEND PHOTOS!!!!! WE LOVE PHOTOS!!!!
Autumn Strass (Class of 2005) - I graduated in 2005 from MHS, performing for the last time on the MHS Drama stage as "Marty" in GREASE! I am majoring in Advertising/Public Relations (PR focus) with a minor in Business at Penn State University in State College, PA. I am currently the Vice President of Chapter Development and National Conference Committtee Chair for the Public Relations Student Society of America and will be PRSSA's Director of Communications and Alumni Relations in Fall '07. I've spent the past two summers in State College, taking classes in business and mentoring incoming freshmen during the 6 week Learning Edge Academic Program, more specifically as the mentor for the theater students. I will be interning in Washington D.C. this summer for Public Relations and living back in the area for the first time in 2 years! My graduation date is scheduled for December 2008.
Lauren Young (Class of 2005) - I am a sophomore at the University of Maryland- College Park majoring in Vocal Music Education. I am currently pledging Sigma Alpha Iota- Gamma Epsilon chapter and I am the Secretary of the Music Educators National Convention collegiate chapter on campus. I work with a boy choir on Wednesday nights with one of my professors and intern for the choral department. Commuting to school from Waldorf does make life hectic, especially with 22 credits this spring, but I still manage to find time to work at Red Robin on the weekends.
Jesi (Shambaugh) Wyche (Class of 1997) - I am married as of October 22, 2005. No kids yet, but maybe soon. In 2001, I moved all the way to Waldorf into my first house. I have a great job as a Pediatric Dental Asst. The best part of my job is going to schools and daycares, dressed as the tooth fairy, to talk to kids about their teeth. My improv skills are tested when the kids start asking questions like, "What do you do with the teeth?" and "If you are really the tooth fairy, do I have Spongebob or Spiderman sheets?" Well, I think that's it for me, for now.
Hayley (Heath) Brown (Class of 2001) - Dear MHS Drama- It's an update from Hayley Heath (class of 2001 & Hayley Brown since January of '04). Things are well. My husband and I live in Ranson, West Virginia and thankfully have still managed to not relate to any West Virginia jokes. I graduated from Shenandoah University last May (2006) with a Bachelor's in Respiratory Therapy. I am employed at National Naval Medical Center, but don't work very much. Thankfully my husband just finished recruit school and is now a fire fighter for Loudoun County Fire and Rescue in Virginia. We are expecting our first child in May of this year, so we don't have too long until our baby girl makes her debut! We're really excited. Other than that we're just busy getting things ready for a new baby. Hope all is still well at good old MHS!
Amy Parochetti -(Class of 2002) "I graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in 2004. While at AMDA I was invited to perform a stage combat broad sword scene from Henry IV (Part One) for the artistic director of AMDA! I just completed my BS degree at The New School University in January 2007 - NSU is the home of The Actors Studio (as seen on Bravo's Inside The Actors Studio) and Parsons School of Design (as seen on Project Runway). I'm getting married April 21, 2007. While in NYC I worked on a few student films, filmed a few scenes for Spike TVs now retired 'Midnight Spike' and did an original play reading, 'Make-up Story'. I'm currently putting acting on the side burner and am working as an assistant manager for the Limited, Too! in Bel Air, MD - where Andrew and I bought a townhouse. But I plan on getting back into auditions in the fall. My first major motion picture 'Across The Universe' directed by Julie Taymor will be out this fall. I worked as a puppeteer in a scene with Eddie Izzard. I MISS YOU GUYS!!" OH and she got Married this summer in a Beautiful ceremony in Bel Air , Maryland which Mrs Heyl/Whit and her family attended. Many other drama faces were present like Seema, Aurora, Kate, Mary, and Jenna.
Viktoria Schofield - (Class of 2002) "Getting ready to finish up my undergraduate degree in psychology/family studies at Towson University. I'm the secretary of the Psi-Chi chapter of Towson and will be participating in the implementation of a youth program for at-risk youth in Baltimore city this spring with some professors and graduate students at Towson. I'm still involved with theatre; I enjoy taking the theatre classes for fun and to buffer the psyc class load of each semester. I plan on auditioning for a play in the fall, so we'll see how that goes."
Austin Rick (Class of 2004) - Austin's career in country music is going strong... check out his website and even sign up for emails announcing his upcoming events at www.austincody.com!
Carlos Sanchez (Class of 2003)- Carlos got married... November 7, 2006!
Lehi Sanchez (Class of 2002)--Getting married in June 2008 at the Port Tobacco Theatre--very cool!!
Jamelle Thomas - (Class of 2004) Jamelle has secured major funding for a short feature film that she will be producing this summer (2007). The film's working title is "English" and is scheduled to shoot in late June and early July 2007.
James Hobby (Class of 2006) - James has been cast in the Savannah College of Art and Design production.... "Holy Ghosts and Story Theatre!". He is currently a sophomore there.
Kelly Colburn (Class of 2007)--Has completed her freshman year at Ithaca college. Is transferring to NYU in the fall where she will be majoring in Drama.
Amber Payne -(Class of 2001) Amber is employed as a Production Assistant for NBC Nightly News in New York.
Betsy Gardiner - (Class of 2002) Betsy is teaching English at (drum roll please).... McDonough High School!
Brandie Horstkamp - (Class of 2002) Brandie is now working for Total Training in NY producing Software Training Series; Brandie wss employed as a Production Assistant for "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and Discovery Channel's "Da Vinci Code" series.
Karen Reidy-- (Class of 2002) "So, I am no longer at the NIH/NCI. Instead, I am getting my PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will resume 'having a life' in 5 years or so." Mrs Whit says "Wow, Fievel is such a smarty pants. rock on Girl "
Terrence Bennett-- (Class of 2004) Hey it's Terrence! Graduate of MHS Class of 2004. While in MHS Drama, he was Drama Club President for 2003-2004 and finished with the club as "Jack" in "Into The Woods". Since leaving he's working towards a BA in Theater Arts with a concentration in Performance as well as a minor in Musical Theater at Marymount Manhattan College in Manhattan, NYC. He's done many productions there as well as performing at Six Flags America in MD. He recently was offered a performing job in San Francisco, California with Encore International Productions doing a winter show. He sets out for that November 9th to Christmas Eve. "Definitely excited for that!" Other than performing, TJ has been actively auditioning for film and theater in NYC and has been modeling in runway, print, and commercial with different companies for almost 2 years now. His work has been seen in and around NYC and found on several websites. TJ will always hold a special place for MHS drama, good luck to all! "Hopefully I'll! get to check out some of the shows for years to come!"
Angel Bennett --(Class of 2003) I'm getting ready to compete in the Miss America Miss Maryland pageant. As a contestant, I need your help to raise money for Children's Miracle Network and the Miss America Scholarship Fund. Please help me reach my goal of $500.00 by clicking on the link below. Your donation will be considered a charitable donation for tax purposes and a receipt will be provided at the end of the year. http://www.missamerica4kids.org/m.aspx?i=5033A2FD+A+85F&e=51A8FB+45E Once you have completed a secure on-line donation, your donation will be included in my fund raising total on my personal page. To help even further you can forward this message on to other friends and family to help me in my fund raising efforts. My personal page will track my results and provide a comparison to other contestants. This year the Miss America Organization has teamed up with Children's Miracle Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children's hospitals. This new partnership gives each contestant the opportunity to raise awareness and funds for two great organizations ? Miss America Organization and Children's Miracle Network.If you have any questions, please email me at a.marie.bennett@gmail.com. Thanks for your support Angel Bennett
Viktoria Schofield (Class
of 2004) vschofield7@hotmail.com
I graduated in 2004 from McDonough. Here is my most recent update. I'm
graduating from Towson University in May with a B.S. in psychology and a minor
in family studies. I'm taking a year off to work at either Shepherd Pratt or
Kennedy Krieger with autistic children and emotionally disturbed children. I
will be applying to graduate school to earn a master's degree in school
psychology, and I hope to work in Baltimore County as a school psychologist
following my certification. I've been doing research with a grad school psyc
professor that I'm very excited about on classroom safety and the factors that
promote or discourage participation in classroom discussions about taboo
topics. We are currently finishing up the construction of the survey and will
be submitting it to the IRB soon. If our study gets published, I will be a
published undergraduate researcher! I have also been able to as Psi Chi
secretary, with the support of the Psi Chi faculty advisor and other Psi Chi
executive board officers, plan a diversity event at Towson. I've been emailing
all of the student organizations and neighboring university Psi Chi chapters to
join Towson Psi Chi in celebrating diversity. We're contacting a guest speaker,
a student dance team, and we're having lots of food! If anyone is interested in
coming, it's April 30, 2008 at 3pm-6pm outside of the University Union! I'm so
excited to have had this idea put into action. Life is busy, but I love keeping
in touch and going back to see the plays at McDonough. Hope to see everyone
soon!