John Alexander '70
John and his Chapman Sweetheart just celebrated 50 years of marriage. They were married by Dr. Carpenter, Chapman chaplain, in the little chapel on June 11,1970. Lyn and John retired from teaching careers. They have one son, Jared and have five grandchildren. "I still get a glow when I look at my Lyn. She is even more beautiful than the night I met her in Cheverton Hall."
Don Hurzeler '70
Don Hurzeler just published his fifth book, What's Left of Don. The book is a memoir of a Chapman graduate who has run through life with scissors in hand, made CEO, retired and started three more careers, At age 73, Don is most happy when he is in his home town surf of Kona, Hawaii with a camera housing in his hand doing surf photography, or off shore in the water with big sharks or WAY off shore in Mexico facing down 15 foot long salt water crocodiles as he tried to take a close up photo. Don's book debuted number one on Amazon in two categories and is available on Amazon and Kindle.
Karyn Planett '70
Karyn Published a book entitled, How To Capture Your Travel Stories In Words & Pictures, available on Amazon. The book is about becoming a better storyteller with more compelling photographs and captivating descriptions. I've visited nearly 200 countries and spent 23 years at sea.
Karyn also managed a large cattle ranch in California, have published 1200 travel pieces on Crystal Cruises, produced two coffee table books for Crystal Cruises, one coffee table book for the residential ship The World (my home for 13 years), have contributed articles and photographs to many other cruise lines, as well. Am a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and one of my photographs appeared on the cover of Chapman Magazine. My husband and I also are commissioned to photograph and write about trophy homes including ones in Mongolia, South Africa, Hong Kong, France, Mexico, Nantucket, Florida, Napa Valley, etc. I've lectured and Chapman and have sailed twice on Semester At Sea lecturing on travel writing and photography.
Emma Salahuddin '71
In spite of the great and uncertain challenges that we are facing in the world today, the year 2021 was still very special to Emma. This was the year of both her 50th wedding anniversary and her 50th Chapman class reunion! Both of these events were very much tied to her Chapman history because like so many others, her and her husband Ronald were married by Dr. William Carpenter. Most couples married by the Chaplain back then, were married in the Chapman College Chapel located on the corner of Grand and Maple Street near the Chapman campus. However, Dr. Carpenter married Ronald and Emma in Irvine Park at a wonderful and very large gathering of Chapman family and friends that the Chapel couldn't accommodate. Needless to say her wedding day, August 23, 1971 was a beautiful and unforgettable day. In August 2021, Emma and Ronald celebrated a very special 50th wedding anniversary, and in November 2021 at the Chapman Family Homecoming celebration, they celebrated a very special 50th class reunion. It was another beautiful and unforgettable day for her and classmates from the classes of 1970 and 71, as they were all inducted into the Chapman University 50 Year Club.
Joe Zuckerman '72Retired to Henderson, Nevada after practicing law in Southern California for 44 years with my fiancee Bobbie Charles
Phillip Wickliff '75
Phillip retired from a position as Idaho State approver for GI Bill programs. Phillip and his wife split their time between Boise Idaho and Palm Desert California. Prior to Idaho position, Phillip retired from a career as a Naval Aviator.
Carolyn Broe ’79
Carolyn Broe has had many accomplishments since graduating in 1979. In 2001, she got her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Music at Arizona State University. Fast forward 20 years, in June of 2021, she published a book called Fifty Famous Composers for Kids of All Ages which consists of biographies of both male and female classical composers. In the same year, Carolyn won the Gold Award at the Mom’s Choice Awards in November. She is currently the Conductor of the Four Seasons Orchestra and the Principal Violist of the Scottsdale Philharmonic.
Myron Feinstein (MBA '84)
Myron has now retired from consulting and teaching graduate courses at North Carolina State University. Myron and his wife are spending their time rock climbing and scuba diving. To see their adventures, follow their blog: https://adventureimages.blogspot.com
Wayne Bethanis '88
Bethanis' song RETURN OF THE CHEROKEE won Piano Single of the Year at the One World Music Awards. The OWMA is the European equivalent of the Grammy. Click here to listen to the Return of the Cherokee. He also won the Solo Piano Album of the Year in January 2022 by New Age Music Guide. His album, Measures of Light was also ranked #3 in Best Performing of 2021 by NAMG. The album spent 2 months at #1 worldwide on the New Age Music Charts.
Echo Baker '93
Echo was greatly honored to be commissioned to paint the portrait of Ms.Libby Pankey, a donor of Chapman University, by Clare Bruce Luce, an organization that Ms.Libby supports in Virginia. The painting will be hanging in the building of the organization.
Echo as an artist member of California Art Club, is honored and especially excited to have her art work included in the CAC 110th Gold Medal Exhibit at Hilbert Museum Chapman University, from July 10 to August 10, 2021. She is also an exhibitor of Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach this summer, from July 5 to September 3. Her booth is in section D, #101. She is welcoming everyone to come the Festival this summer!
Brent Hunt '96
Brent was promoted to Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the Westinghouse brand.
Marshall Fulbright '98
Dr. Marshall T. Fulbright III, Chapman University Class of 1998 (Bachelors of Music - Instrumental Conducting and Instrumental Music Education), was recently named Vice President of Academic Affairs at Grossmont College (East San Diego County). Prior to his appointment at Grossmont, he served as the Dean of Instruction at Norco College (Riverside County), as an Academic Dean at College of the Sequoias (Central Valley, CA), and as a full-time tenured music faculty member at Long Beach City College (CA).
Heather Barfield '98
Heather Robertson married Justin Barfield on Oahu, HI on July 14, 2019. Heather is an ordained pastor serving as Associate Pastor at UCC Judd Street since April 2019. She graduated in 1998 with a BA in Psychology with a minor in Religion. Heather has lived in Hawaii since early 2016. July 14, 2019 also marked Heather’s 17th year as an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Lori Johnson '02 (MBA '11)
Lori started as Communications and Digital Strategy Manager at Prime Healthcare, located in Ontario, CA. She is the first to hold this position in the company's 20 year history.
Diana Todaro '03
In 2020, Diana Todaro published, "If Grandma Lived Next Door" by
Covenant Books. The book is about the whimsical ways three grandchildren might get to their grandma's house if she lived right next door. Diana also published The Ghost House together with John Vorsheck III. These books were written together with her three grandchildren.
Sean Naughton '04
Sean earned his Master of Fine Arts in Acting and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Arts from Ohio State University.
Devin Chang '05
Devin and his wife (Michelle Medeiros Chang, '09) welcomed twin boys, Carter and Dylan, to the world on November 21, 2019.
Vanessa King ’05
Published a book called A Certain Appeal. It’s a sparkling contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in the tantalizing world of New York City burlesque, perfect for fans of The Kiss Quotient and The Roommate. It was published by Putnam Books and released November 2nd, 2021. Vanessa’s book received starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly and Bookpage. Upon its release, it became one of PopSugar's 12 Enticing New Romance Reads, one of Life Savvy's Best New Books, one of The Nerd Daily's November 2021 Book Releases, and one of Buzzfeed's Best Books of November.
Carly Heath ’05
Wrote a book called The Reckless Kind, published by Soho Teen and released November 2, 2021. It’s about Three misfits defy the expectations of their rural village by living on their own and challenging the town's patriarch in the region's annual horse race.
Rebecca Kirsch ’05
Rebecca was the Co-Executive Producer for a television series for Marvel Studios and Disney+ called “Moon Knight”. The series was released in March 2022, and she is currently on the writing team for a new Freeform series that will premiere in Autumn 2022. Pictured in the photo above is Rebecca with her Chapman Sweetheart husband, Paul Sweeney, who is also a Chapman alumnus from the class of 2005, just like her!
Mitch Miller '06
Co-founder of CirQ Technologies, Miller was featured by the World Economic Forum for sustainable innovation: breathtech.io
Layce Johnson '07
Layce was awarded the Council of State Archivists Ancestry Leadership Award on August 13, 2020. She served as the project manager for the documentary , "Idaho's Constitution Revealed," March 8, 2020.
Hunter Johnson '07
Hunter and his production company Xpedition Media produced their first Super Bowl Commercial. The commercial featured veteran and former NFL player, Nate Boyer and was made for YouTube.
Stephen Dao '07
Stephen started a new job at Yext as Senior Client Success Manager. Yext is a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for businesses looking to manage online data about their locations available across online search engines, apps, and maps (including Google, Apple Maps, Bing, Facebook, Yelp, and more) on one platform.
Kelly Huddleston ’07
Kelly created and now owns three cooking schools in Texas named The Cookery Dallas, The Cookery Fort Worth, and The Cookery Houston. Her schools offer dinner party style cooking classes. She has been featured on Good Morning Texas, NBC Texas Today, USA Today, and written up in Dallas Morning News for a special Sunday feature. She is grateful for her time at Chapman for teaching business management, and her Theater degree.
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Leah McKendrick and Danielle Beckmann decided to begin work on Liza Anonymous in 2018. The short dark comedy was shot in November 2019, just before COVID-19 put everyone into lockdown. Post-production took place over the course of 2020, and Liza Anonymous had its premiere in June of 2021 in New York City to a sold out audience of 600 people at the 20th Annual Tribeca Film Festival. |
Ashley Faatoalia '08
Chapman alum Ashley Faatoalia '08 has showcased his tenor tones at opera houses around the world - and released a pop album.
JC Del Barco '08
JC is a line producer for the new Netflix unscripted TV show, Bling Empire. Released on 1/15/21, Bling Empire is currently in the top 10 Netflix shows viewed internationally and in US.
Jamie Martin '08
Jamie was awarded a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program on September 14, 2020. Jamie is the lead editor on RuPaul's Drag Race and this is her second Primetime Emmy win.
Anna Keizer '08
Anna produced and is now in post-production on a supernatural dark comedy short she wrote called She Had It Coming. The short is an excerpt from the feature version of the script, which was a Second Rounder in the 2018 Austin Film Festival. She Had It Coming is the directorial debut of Gedde Watanabe (SIXTEEN CANDLES) and highlights a diverse cast and female lead, including Skylar Schock (THEATER CLASS), Kurt Kanazawa (GREY'S ANATOMY), Jeanne Sakata (DR. KEN) and Krishna Smitha (SILICON VALLEY).
Ashley Levering '08
Ashley (Mayer) started her own LLC. Communication studies major, she’s using her education in her new business as a personal development coach. ABL Life Coaching, focusing on major life changes and transitions. Fulfilling a long time passion, Ashley is now helping people discover their strengths and happiness.
Anil Bhartia ’08
Anil Bhartia graduated from the Fowler School of Law in 2008. Recently, she partnered with two other Chapman Law alumni, Andrew Phan '14 and Stephan Brown '14, to form a new personal injury/accident law firm serving all of California. Their new firm's name is Accident Pros LLP and they're excited to share the news as they continue to grow their practice!
Annamarie Sucher '09
Annamarie Sucher (alumni 2009) and Paul Jones (2011) were married on Friday, April 17th at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Chapman is where they met as students many years ago in 2007, and they've been in a relationship for over 10 years.
Anne McClintic '09
Anne received her Ph.D. in Musicology from Claremont Graduate University in the Spring 2019.
Jacob Vogel '09
Chapman University's alumnus and former band director, Jacob Vogel '09, is appointed as USC's newest band director leading The Spirit of Troy, USC's Trojan Marching Band.
Chris Redrich ’09
Chris (Goodrich) Redrich ’09 studied Business with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship at Chapman. He launched a new startup focused on helping software product managers advance their careers. It’s called Product Manager Jobs [https://productmanagerjobs.com] and it’s the most comprehensive job board focused on product management. Along with job listings, the site features rich content for people who are interested in breaking into the product management field.
Sarah Nicole Smetana ’09
Sarah published a book called Battle of the Bands, released September 7, 2021, and published by Candlewick Press. Sarah is one of sixteen authors featured in this interconnected anthology. In advance of its publication, the book received two starred reviews, and it's been selected as one of Amazon's Best Books of the Month in YA for September.
Hugo Sierra '10 (MA '15)
Hugo graduated in May 2020 with a Doctoral of Education in Leadership Organization in the College of Education from Concordia University Irvine. Due to the pandemic, his graduation was postponed for a later date.
Signe Hilton-Engle '10
Signe Engle was recently promoted to Vice President, Client Services at Aquarius Sports and Entertainment in the Washington, D.C. market. She had previously served as one of the agency Directors since 2016, when joining Aquarius after seven seasons with the Washington Redskins.
Jessica Hooper Anthony '10
After six years of dating, Jessica finally tied the knot with her now husband, Mike Anthony, in the Russian River in June 2019! Her Phi Sigma Sigma sorority sister, Michelle Medeiros Chang '09, joined them with lots of other Chapman alumni.
Al Raitt ’10
Tyler Hadzinsky '11
Upon the conclusion of the St. Louis Cardinals Postseason run and earning his MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, Tyler was promoted to Asst. Director of Scouting for the St. Louis Cardinals. Tyler also helped draft fellow Chapman Baseball Alumni RHP Tyler Peck to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 28th Round of the 2019 MLB Draft. https://www.ktlo.com/2019/11/05/cardinals-announce-contract-extensions-for-mozeliak-girsch-and-shildt/
Jamie Martin ’11
Jamie won her third Emmy for editing RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Christina Trocco ’11
In Salt Lake City, Utah on February 23rd, 2022, Christina was bestowed the Utah Business 40 Under 40 award by Utah Business.
Sarah Faulkner '12
Sarah Faulkner recently completed her Ph.D. in English with a Certificate in Textual and Digital Studies at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Jeff Kuhns (LLM '13)
Jeff was accepted as a member of the Leadership Florida Connect Class XI, the premier statewide leadership institute for educating, engaging, and inspiring Florida’s top emerging leaders under age 40 with a goal of addressing key issues and opportunities that are specific to Florida.
Amanda Witte '12
Derek Witte '12 & Amanda Nieto '12 were married at Belmond Villa San Michele in Florence, Italy on 10/10/16 in front of 30 of their closest family and friends. Ashley Nieto '15 was in the wedding party. The couple now live in Boca Raton, Florida
Sarah Faulkner '12
Sarah wrote the intoduction to a collectors editon of Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstien that will be released May 11, 2021 (in the U.S.). Sarah also finished her PhD in English from the University of Washington in June 2020. Sarah thanks the English faculty at Chapman greatly for their contibution to her current successes!
Megan Demshki ‘12 (JD ‘15)
Paolo Leon '13
Architectural services firm AO announced the bolstering of its leadership team with the addition of Paolo Leon, AIA, NCARB, principal and director of AO’s Global Design studio which specializes in planning and designing international and domestic retail outlets. Paolo Leon is a licensed architect with experience that spans across retail, mixed-use, residential, education and civic projects. Notably, he worked on the renovation of the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine, Calif., modernizing and breathing new life into the outdoor retail center through place making amenities and entertainment uses.
Leon sits on the board of directors of the Orange County chapter of The American Institute of Architects (AIAOC), where he also serves as director of emerging professionals. Outside of the office, Leon has a passion for promoting positive changes in the community through education. He sits on the board of directors of Think Together, a nonprofit that works with school districts and local communities to implement and scale innovative academic solutions that address the needs of children throughout California and is co-chair of Think Together’s Friends of Shalimar Committee. Leon earned his Bachelor of Architecture from University of Southern California and holds a Master of Business Administration from Chapman University.
Anthony Jacobsmeyer '13
On September 21, 2019, Jacob married his Chapman Sweetheart, Wendy Acquazzino ('15) at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC! In the wedding party were fellow Chapman alum Hannah Roberts ('15), Doug McDaniel ('13), Sam Knee ('11), and Travis Culver ('11). In attendance were 23 Chapman alums who helped them dance the night away.
Cameron Chittok '13
Cameron signed a three-book publishing deal with Random House Graphic for a middle-grade graphic novel series titled Mapmakers. The series will be illustrated by artist Amanda Castillo and publication is planned for 2022.
Lyz Reblin-Renshaw '13
Started while at Chapman, "Ludonarrative Synchronicity in the BioShock Trilogy," published in November 2020, presents a new methodology, ludonarrative synchronicity, to analyze the interplay between narrative and gameplay in video games.
Meera Kharbanda’13
Meera started a private school in San Clemente, California in 2021 with two other Chapman Alumni!
Cameron Chittock ’13
Cameron recently published a book called Mapmakers and the Lost Magic. The book is the first in a trilogy of middle grade graphic novels with the next installments set to debut in 2023 and 2024!
Brendan Le '14
Brendan was named an Honors Attorney at the USPS in Long Beach, CA. Brendan earned his JD from Loyola Law School Los Angeles in 2019.
Jessica Belz '14
This past Super Bowl marked a huge accomplishment in Jessica's career being part of the making of the NFL's Next 100 Super Bowl LIV Commercial. From pitch to delivery, it's been an entire year seeing this project come to life. This was the most ambitious commercial the NFL has taken on while also including a live integration portion into the broadcast. It has resulted in such a remarkable success. This commercial is historic with it highlighting the 100 years of the NFL and looking forward to the future of the next 100 years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbkafMhmvMo
Michelle (Lanthier) Nahmias '14
Michelle married Brendan Nahmias ('12) on February 22, 2020 in Pacific Palisades, CA. They met through an on-campus club at Chapman in 2010. Their bridal party included Chapman alumni Derek Dolechek ('12), Dan Duran ('13), Carly Juarez ('14) and Samantha Morgenstern (JD '14).
Erin Wainwright '14
On May 1st, 2020, Dr. Erin Wainwright earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Florida Atlantic University. She begins pediatric residency training at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, next month
Matt Landsman '14
Matt was awarded a screenwriting grant from The Moving Picture Institute for his screenplay which he began at Chapman, "The Right Hand of God." Afterwards he founded a production company, Sweet Nightmares, with his friend and noted multi-media artist Polaris Castillo through which they produced several award winning short films which screened at festivals nationwide. His nautical short film "Sea Monsters" took home best short film at a number of intentional fests. While working on his own films, Matt also served as 2nd AD/Unit Production Manager for In Searching (Lionsgate, 2019) and second unit director for the award-winning Florida produced feature, Monty Comes Back. Matt managed the behind the scenes editorial production for major films such as Blade Runner 2049, Logan, X-Men Apocalypse and the second season of Stranger Things. He also grew his digital marketing skillset for film and television projects working on major campaigns for Redbull, Petco, Netflix, HBO and more. Currently Matt is the lead editor and creative executive at the Loop Club marketing agency after working as a full-time unionized editor for the last 3 years. He is still actively pursuing genre-based screenwriting and pitching projects to networks including AMC and Amazon.
Erika Talbott’14
The year 2021 was a busy one for alumna, Erika Talbott. She achieved a new milestone by graduating from Palo Alto University in the fall of 2021, earning her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Erika is working as a Psychology Resident at the Boise VA Medical Center in Idaho serving veterans. She would like to extend her sincerest gratitude to Dr. Steven Schandler and her Chapman professors for their guidance along her journey towards earning a PhD.
Erika also got married in October to Nathan Talbott and had a couple of Chapman alumni, Bridget Naiman and Kenneth Schneider, in her wedding party. The photo above is of Erika and her Maid of Honor, Bridget Naiman, both from the Chapman class of 2014!
Marie Cheng '15
Marie is a participant in the Producers Guild of America Master of Diversity Workshop 2020 with her adult-animated TV project EVERYBODY SCREAMS AT ME.
Raag Seshi '15
Raag was recently nominated for the best pop production track for an album i had produced in London
Samantha Summers '15
Samantha recently started a new job at Whirlpool Corporation on their Government Relations team, where she will be analyzing state and federal policy and how it impacts the company.
Miranda Wall '15
Miranda is working for the County of San Luis Obispo as a Disaster Service Worker, utilizing my communications degree to work on a team to recruit, onboard and train over 400 medical and non-medical volunteers to staff the Cal Poly Alternate Care Site (CPACS). The CPACS is currently set up to take with 165 beds to for COVID positive patients once hospitals are full and is one best facilities in the state. It has been a challenging, but awesome experience.
Daniel (Shipley) Emmet '15
Powerhouse tenor Daniel Emmet, whose meteoric rise from finalist on the NBC series, has led to Las Vegas headliner performances, to solo concerts with prestigious orchestras, to numerous national TV appearances, will release a new single, “The People,” Oct. 30. As a finalist on season 13 of “America’s Got Talent (AGT),” Emmet is best known for taking on the “impossible challenge,” levied by judge Simon Cowell --- to learn a new song in Italian in one hour, then perform it live on national television.
Emmet’s first single, a cover of Il Divo’s “Passerà,” debuted at #2 on the iTunes classical chart. He headlined his own show, “All That I Am,” for an exclusive run at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. He appeared on the first season of the CW network’s hit summer series, “The Big Stage;” debuted his solo symphonic concert tour with the Irving Symphony Orchestra and performed the National Anthem for Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon Series and the Top Rank Heavyweight Boxing Championship on ESPN+.
www.danielemmet.com Facebook.com/DanielEmmetMusic Twitter:@danielemmet Instagram: @Danielemmet
Samantha Sullivan '15
Samantha Sullivan ('15), daughter of trustee Stan Sullivan, welcomed her first child, Maclane Robert Sullivan, with her husband, Brandon. Maclane was born on November 30 in Billings, MT.
Chris Watkins '15 (MS '19, PHD '20)
Chris was promoted to Junior Data Scientist for Farmer's Insurance, publishing his first paper on "Pitcher Effectiveness: A step forward for in game analytics and pitcher evaluation." http://libjournals.unca.edu/OJS/index.php/mas/article/view/10
Jillian Strong '16
Jillian earned her Master of Arts- Higher Education, Student Affairs from University of Redlands in 2020.
Holeka Inaba '16
Holeka was elected in the 2020 primary election as council member for Hawaii County Council, District 8. https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2020/08/09/hawaii-news/incumbent-rebecca-villegas-easily-defeats-challenger-to-retain-county-council-seat/
Marina Petrich '16
Marina was promoted to Occupational Therapist in the Santee School District.
Eric Wong '16
Eric wrote and directed a podcast, which was co-produced and stars over a dozen Chapman grads from both Masters and Bachelors programs. It’s a true crime/comedy podcast called “THE HUNT?” and it is best described as “like Serial, but funny, and you actually find out who did it in the end.” Here are links to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher. The first four episodes are up now with new episodes every Tuesday until the season is completed at the end of the month.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hunt/id1527022731
https://open.spotify.com/show/3GBwyVgLd7IUMmm029ueuY
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-hunt-4
Morgan Holcomb '16
Morgan has joined The Arts & Learning Conservatory as a Marketing Strategist to help Orange County students gain access to high-quality arts education. She is so excited to combine the training she received at the Argyros School of Business & Economics as well as the Chapman Theatre and English departments to show students how performing arts education can provide an important foundation for any professional career.
Evan Inglis '16
From August 2019, Evan deployed as a United States Peace Corps volunteer. He will be serving in Ukrainian-speaking and Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine. This is a two-year program to teach English and bring community development.
Jacob Moncrief '16
Jacob is proud to represent Chapman in the Forbes List of 30 under 30 for Social Media as the Senior Vice President for Mythical Entertainment. https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30/2021/social-media/?profile=jacob-moncrief
James Wimberley '16 (M.S. '19)
Wimberley Bluegrass Band, four siblings who are all Chapman alumni: Danielle Wimberley '16, James Wimberley '16 (M.S. '19), Mark Wimberley '16, and Michael Wimberley '16 (J.D. '20), released their sixth album "Where the West Begins" this month. Keeping it in the Chapman family, alumni Adam Borecki '12 and Scout Engbring '21 recorded, mixed, and mastered the album.
Melanie Duke '17
Melanie started a new job as Script and Story Coordinator at Sony Pictures Animation for "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse 2"
Francisco Lugo '17
When Francisco graduated from CU with a B.F.A in Graphic Design, he immediately started to pursue his life goal of writing and illustrating children's books. He recently launched his website "kikotales.com" and published the second edition of his first children's book, "Raya The Skunk." Raya is a little critter that dreams of being a circus clown one day.
Robert Schumaker '17
Robert, writing as Robert Julius, published his first poetry chapbook with Seven Kitchens Press. As a graduate of the Creative Writing BFA program, he would like to thank his many mentors: Dr. Anna Leahy, Prof. Mildred Lewis, Prof. Lisa Cupolo, and the Wilkinson English faculty.
Joshua Sarsfield '17 (M.A. '20)
Joshua Sarsfield '17 ( M.A. '20) & Danielle Pomeroy '18 (M.A. '19) were married on November 14, 2020 at St. Norbert Church in Orange. In attendance were alumni: Remy Bessolo '17, Katie Gilmour '17, Adlai Nissen '17, Matt Mead '20, Danielle Potop '17, and Charlie Werman '17.
Kerri Polizzi JD '17
On July 25, Kerri got engaged to boyfriend, Scott Kramer, at the Downtown Disney District. They are planning a wedding for 2022.
Joanna Nelius (MFA '17)
Joanna Nelius started a new job as a Staff Reporter with Gizmodo. Previously, she was a Hardware Writer with PC Gamer.
Sofia Seikaly '17
June 2020 Emmy Award for Newscast - Weekend - Larger Markets by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences - Pacific Southwest Region
Madilyn Crossland ’17
Madilyn Crossland ‘17 (BM, Vocal Performance) sang during the Half Time Show for a New York Giants game. As a Musician 1st Class in the United States Navy Band, she has had the opportunity to sing for the MLB World Series, Kennedy Center Honors, PBS Holiday specials, and more. She regularly performs around the National Capital Region at locations such as the White House and the Pentagon, and has sung for the President and Vice President, as well as the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, and many other national and international dignitaries.
Zelie Dember-Slack ’17
Zelie was the producer and co-director of the film, Stratton Castle: The Tale of Jessie Golden Heart. It was released in November 2021. The film has been widely released on streaming platforms and was available in the theaters. Please watch the end credits for additional Chapman Alumni who worked on this feature film.
Nieman Gatus ’17
Nieman released an album and worked on a film in 2021. He was a songwriter for album 100, released in 2022 of January, and got over 40 million streams and 200K+ monthly listeners. He plans to release more music than ever in 2022. Nieman kicked off 2022 with a headlining show at The Constellation Room in the iconic Orange County music venue, The Observatory. The last time he performed there was at the end of 2018, and he made his comeback show in 2022 at this legendary venue favorite. The show was on January 14th, 2022.
Elissa Title '18
After two years in the making, Elissa has written, designed, and published a photography book of her travels. NEXT STOP EVERYWHERE
View online here: https://www.blurb.com/b/10151952-next-stop-everywhere
Scott Prusko '18
Scott was named Account Executive at Westbound Communications, a Public Relations and Advertising firm in Orange, CA
Noah Feinberg '18
Noah Feinberg '18 recently premiered a feature-length film he wrote at the Austin Film Festival this month—"Into The Dark: Pilgrim." It is a Thanksgiving horror film produced by Blumhouse Productions, where he began as an intern and currently works as an assistant, in partnership with Hulu as a part of their Into the Dark anthology series and will be available to view on Hulu November 1st.
Talia Fishbine '18
In December 2019, Talia graduated from University of Maryland, College Park with a master’s degree in English Language and Literature. She has also become the Assistant Director of Communications at an Independent school in Washington, DC suburbs in 2021.
Christine Hughes '18
I am the writer, producer and actor for the period piece short film, Unwavering. We are currently crowdfunding on Seed and Spark for the film until June 6th and hoping to shoot this summer. The story is inspired by real events and tells the fictional story of a Korean-American college student who fights to start an Ethnic Studies program on her campus in 1968. The themes of the film are very current and mirror recent events in the AAPI community.
Lovely Kaur’18
Lovely graduated from Chapman in 2018, recently got her masters at Pepperdine University in 2021, and is back working at Chapman! She’s working at Dodge College as a Student Support Coordinator!
Elaine Oldford ’18
Elaine graduated from Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in 2022. She graduated with a Doctorate in Medicine (M.D.) degree and will complete her residency training in Internal Medicine at USC starting the summer of 2022!
Dominic Milan ’18
Dominic has been dominating the social media world. He became one of the largest Snapchat show producers reaching 80-100M views per month in May 2022 and won $1 million dollars on Snapchat spotlight for being a top creator. He is a TikTok creator with over 7M followers and has worked with Amazon, Spotify, LG, and Discovery. Dominic is verified on all of his accounts and also has his own online Netflix show that he hosts. The New York Times has published articles about Dominic’s social media success.
Emma Liegler '19
Emma graduated on Sunday, May 19th, 2019 with a degree in Public Relations & Advertising and started her first day as a receptionist at Untitled Entertainment, which represents over one thousand prestigious actors, writers, and directors, that very next day! Within one month, Emma was promoted to be an assistant to two high-ranking Talent Managers. She began attending events with clients, going to premieres, and networking with powerful industry players.
Chloe de Vries '20
Chloe was named the Marketing and Public Relations Manager for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, in Wisconsin Rapids, WI.
Natura De Pinto '20
Following graduation during the impending COVID-19 crisis, Natura decided to turn her love for collecting pre-loved and vintage clothing into a business called Dazed & Delirious. Dazed & Delirious is an e-commerce business that aims to provide a sustainable shopping alternative accessible to consumers worldwide. Since their launch in September 2020, they have more than quadrupled their inventory!
Alexis Hill ’21
Alexis landed her first full-time job out of college with her dream company doing what she loves! She works in Media and Entertainment as a Production Assistant at NBC Universal (E! News) in Los Angeles, California.
Monique Raynaud-Lopez ’21
Monique recently became an Agent for New York Life (insurance company) in Huntington Beach. She helps young entrepreneurs create, build and preserve their wealth! Her favorite part about her new career is that it allows her to really make a real impact in people's lives. Monique is beyond excited for all that's to come at NY Life!
Allie Altman '17
Allie and Tim met on move in day, freshmen year of college and a friendship quickly grew. By the Spring semester, they went on their first official date and were together throughout all of their time at Chapman. In 2019, Tim proposed while they were visiting the Laguna Beach area. While COVID 19 drastically changed their wedding plans, they had a very intimate wedding on June 19th, 2020 and look forward to celebrating with their loved ones for their first wedding anniversary. They often reminisce on their college memories and they are proud to be Chapman Sweethearts!
Jacquelyn Kimbro '13
Jacquelyn and Jonathan had a couple of classes together, but really got to know each other when she became his tutor in the notoriously difficult Compendium of Western Music class. After dating on and off her senior year, they made it through a year of long distance when Jacquelyn moved to Boston after graduation, and Jonathan joined her after he graduated. After a few years in Boston, they flew all the way to Jacquelyn's home of Hawaii to be with family. They were wedding planning in 2020 before COVID and a Stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis happened within a few months, and decided they didn't want to wait any longer. They got married within a month of Jacquelyn's diagnosis and are so happy with their decision to go for it.
Nicole Bigley '14
On May 6th, 2014, Nicole and Eric met for the first time at a mutual friend's 21st birthday party. In getting to know one another over fries and a whiskey sour, they discovered that they both knew many of the same people, but surprisingly their paths had never crossed before at Chapman. After dating for four months, Eric asked Nicole to be his girlfriend via the jumbotron at a rock concert in Irvine. On November 11, 2018, Eric proposed at sunset surrounded by close friends in Silverado. They tied the knot on February 1, 2020 in Laguna Beach and recently celebrated their first anniversary, quarantine style.
Shelby Blueher '16
Joey and Shelby met the first weekend into their sophomore year of college at Chapman University. It is probably a rare example of how meeting someone at a frat party actually turned out well. A week later, he took her out on their first date to go mini-golfing. Joey was so nervous, he accidentally left the lights on in his car, and later they had to ask around to get a jump- very memorable! The rest is history, and they fell happily in love with one another.
In October of 2015, Shelby's dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer, and was given until Christmas to live. Shelby remembers the night, she found out after one of her classes as she was walking back to her house. It’s all sort of a blur for her, but Joey was there within minutes, and held her all night as she cried to him. Over the next few months, Shelby made countless trips to and from Orange County every weekend to help her mom take care of her dad, and spend time with her dad in his last few months. Whether it was driving Shelby to the airport, or coming to Colorado to help, Joey was there literally every step of the way. It was during this time that it became apparent to Shelby that he was her forever. In March of 2016, Shelby's dad passed away, and to no one’s surprise, Joey was there- a steady source of love and comfort through the greatest pain in her life. Shelby believes he was put into her life to be her best friend, and her surest confidant. Joey is Shelby's rock, and her home.
In May of 2016, they both graduated and moved together to the Bay Area to start the adventure called “adulting.” They enjoy their adult lives, and in their free time enjoy traveling the world (pre-COVID), cuddling with their kitty, Phoebe, endlessly binging Netflix, cooking healthy meals, and working out.
On their vacation in fall of 2018 to Bali, Indonesia, Joey popped the big question by asking Shelby to marry him, and she happily said yes! The engagement ring was made with her mom’s diamond given to her mom by Shelby's dad, and it is a reminder that love is endless, and that Joey and her are stronger than ever. They got married in a special, small, ceremony in Telluride, Colorado (Shelby's hometown) in September of 2020, and they were married by Chapman Alum, and Shelby's best friend, Julia Williams.
Pia Lewis '04
It all started at Argyros Forum... Pia met Brandon through a common friend when he used to hang out at the Associated Students Office in 2002 when Pia was working up there as part of A.S. Pia had a cubicle and he often would be up there with friends who also served in AS. Their favorite spot to eat was Watsons and Papa Hassans. They ended up going to the Chapman Formal in 2003 at the Waterfront Hilton and they were in Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity. After graduation, Brandon stayed at Chapman to do his JD/MBA and Pia went to University of La Verne for Law School. Pia knew Brandon was the one because things were easy between them and they could be completely themselves to each other. They had a friendship before the relationship. They both graduated and passed the bar in 2008. Brandon proposed the day before Pia's bar results were released in May 2008. They decided to get married at the Crystal Cathedral as it was a halfway point from his house and her's in Orange County. They had their rehearsal dinner at Watsons and served their favorite meal of patty melt, onion rings and a shake to all of our guests. Their reception was at the Waterfront Hilton in the same ballroom where they had their first date for the Chapman formal in 2003. They are now happily married for 11 years and have two kids, a son and a daughter and they live in North Tustin, California. They both practice law at their own firm The Lewis Law Group, APLC. They are active in their community, Pia am a PTA President and Brandon is a Cub Scout Cub Master.
Erica Collier '01
Erica and Charley first met at the Buisness Office, Charley was registering for classes as Erica was paying a bill. Charley and Erica were just friends throughout Chapman and post Chapman years. They had the same group of friends from him being in Phi Kappa Tau and her in Gamma Phi Beta. Their paths kept crossing after college and it was just meant to be. They just celebrated their 10 year wedding anniversary and are still stronger than ever and have an amazing 6 year old son, Louie.
Lauren Abel '13
Lauren and Jared shared history classes together, then started talking after attending extra curricular programs hosted by the history department. After an author talk Lauren remembers going with Jared to hang out in the student union, where they talked about shared interests like favorite music and movies. A few weeks later, he asked Lauren out for Valentine's Day. They've been together ever since.
Jessica Belz '14
David and Jessica met during Undie Run their Junior year. Jessica ever thought she'd be able to tell their parents that one...They started talking (mainly arguing) about how the Packers are better than the Rams. 5 years later David proposed to Jessica in front of the fountain at the Orange Circle.
Kate Lynch '16
Kate and Zach met junior year at Chapman through mutual friends (shoutout Riley Munks '17). They were both in Greek life and realized they had attended a lot of the same events without meeting each other! They dated for 3.5 years before getting engaged in 2018, and were married during a pandemic in 2020! They have two beautiful fur babies. Kate thanks Chapman for the degree and the husband!
Michelle Nahmias '14
During Michelle's first day at Chapman, Brendan strolled into her FFC to encourage students to join his club, Invisible Children. Michelle couldn't wait to attend the meeting, and when the meeting concluded, Brendan immediately approached Michelle, passing by dozens of other students, to say hello for the first time. They remained great friends, and ran into each other years later at graduation in 2013. Michelle knowing she was heading abroad to Italy for her last semester in the same program Brendan had gone to years prior, decided to meet Brendan for dinner. Cut to their "first date," where they talked about everything but Florence for hours. That was the start of "them." They dated the entire summer, had skype dates while Michelle was abroad, and immediately became official upon her return. Then, in 2018, Brendan proposed at Lighthouse Beach in Marina Del Rey, and they wed on February 22, 2020.
Piyush Choubey '16
Piyush and Shantae met in 2013, started dating by the end of that year. In 2017, Piyush moved back to Kolkata, India and they began their long distance relationship. They met at halfway points to travel the world together. In 2019, Piyush moved back to Los Angeles and moved in with Shantae. In December of the same year, Piyush asked her to marry him and she said yes! They both moved back to India, spent the pandemic together, and finally had their wedding in December 2020.
One fateful evening during our sophomore year in college, Shantae and Piyush crossed paths at an event at Piyush's then college house. Piyush says it was love at first sight, but he'll leave the cheese for the fondue. They started talking about their favorite things and found so much in common right off the bat. From loving the same music, learning they're both dancers, to even how they both liked our coffee in the morning. They lost track of time and Shantae had to run back home but Piyush had to see her again. Luckily, there was a fraternity event the upcoming weekend and Piyush had some charm up my sleeve.
The next weekend, Piyush devised an entire plan including, and not limited to, a party limousine, ice luges, and their favorite chai/coffee. They danced the night away and realised they never wanted to stop. They started meeting at Jazzman's (and then Starbucks) in between classes, which then turned into meeting for lunches, and then quickly followed by dinners together. They officially started dating in the end of 2013 and have been together even since.
In 2017, a year after they graduated from Chapman, Piyush moved back home to grow his family's business in India. And here began the toughest part of the relationship, 'long-distance'. To be honest, it tested both of them to the best of their abilities and they still loved each other enough to stay up at night and go to work late in the morning just so they could make the most of our "FaceTime Dates". They ended up meeting each other for vacations in Thailand, just so they could meet halfway and explore the world together. This lasted one and a half years until...
In 2019, Piyush moved to LA to pursue another college degree at FIDM, and he moved in with Shantae. Happiest decision he ever made. They made up for all the time lost by travelling the United States and finally being together. By the end of 2019, Piyush asked Shantae to marry him, and she said "YES!". In December of the same year, Shantae decided to move back to India with Piyush so they could plan their big, fat, Indian wedding. Happiest decision she ever made.
In 2020, the year of the pandemic, they had an engagement party in February, got locked up in their house with the rest of the world, got married on paper in July, and FINALLY had their Indian wedding on December 11th, 2020 (Almost 7 years after they started dating). Their both living in Kolkata, India and Shantae has also joined the family business. They will be starting their own division soon, at work and at home, and they can't wait to grow old together :)
Rose Fruci '16
Rose and Tyler met in November 2010 through a mutual friend and became quick friends when they discovered they both had a love of Disneyland and baseball. Their first date was in April 2011 at an Oakland A's vs. Los Angeles Angels game at Angel Stadium (where the A's took the W). Their relationship grew from late night studying together in Leatherby, and long lines at Disneyland. Their favorite Chapman experience was traveling to the Galapagos together during Interterm 2014 with Dr. Caporaso and Dr. Keller.
Adam Schneider '19
Adam and Yuechen arrived at Chapman in the fall of 2016 . They learned that looking through a camera lens is done with the heart as much as it is done with the eye, to quote Johnny E. Jensen, ASC. They married three years later.
Emily Hansberry '16
Mark and Emily met on a college retreat in the mountains with Chapman University’s Disciples on Campus. They dated for four years while getting their bachelors and masters degrees. After graduating, they proposed to each other on Maui in June 2019! A year later they bought a house together in Long Beach and got married in their backyard with just closest family present.
Blake Lukanowski '15
Blake friended Greg on Facebook in 2011 after he caught her eye on the Class of 2015 Facebook page. Blake messaged him and they chatted for a few weeks leading up to the start of school. They quickly bonded as Greg was headed to play football at Chapman and Blake was headed for the women’s soccer team. On the first day of class they were walking opposite directions on the cross walk at Grand & Walnut. Blake freaked out at seeing him for the first time and pretended she was on her phone and didn’t see him. Greg read right through Blake, yelled her name, and walked her to class. They got together at the beginning of sophomore year. They've been together ever since and Greg proposed to Blake on 11.23.2019 at the crosswalk where we first saw each other. They're planning to get married 10.1.2021 in Blake's home town of Park City, Utah!
Rebekah Courpet '08
Rebekah was a resident advisor and Austen was living off campus. They didnt meet until the last semester of senior year. Both film majors and working like crazy to graduate. She asked him to dinner and after 3 dates around good ol' Orange, it was love.
Peggy Grier '73
Peggy and Kent dated on and off their four years at Chapman. They got engaged at Five Crowns, Newport Beach, in the spring of 1972 and were married the week after they graduated in May 1973.
Niki Lorentzen '18
Niki and Michael met freshman year on the first day of move in. They were assigned dorms down the hall from one another but actually met on the field as they were walking out for the opening ceremony. Their parents were seated together in the crowd- Niki pointed up and said "there's my parents!". Michael pointed to the same spot and said, "no, those are MY parents!". Two dodge college acceptances later, the rest is history. They will be married this 2021 Thanksgiving. Chapman not only gave them a great education and amazing careers but a partner for life!
Joshua Sarsfield '17
In a typical Chapman student way, Joshua met Danielle at Disneyland. Since they both had annual passes, they met through mutual friends one day at the park. After briefly talking to her that day, and again at Disneyland that same week, Joshua asked if Danielle wanted to grab dinner sometime at Chapman’s Randall Dining Commons, which Danielle teases Joshua was their first date! He just wanted to get to know her better. Disney has remained a part of their relationship ever since, having traveled together to both Disneyworld and Disneyland Paris. Joshua even proposed to her in the Rose Court Garden at the Disneyland Hotel. They were married on November 14, 2020 and luckily were able to enjoy an outdoor reception between the Orange County shutdowns. Their having a great time being newlyweds – They both work from home and love getting to spend so much time together!
Carly Portillo '15
Nick Portillo '15 and Carly Portillo '15 (formerly Juarez) were married on September 18, 2021! They met on their second day of school, in Professor John Yules' Pre-Calculus class in August 2011. Nick and Carly spent all four years at Chapman together and they are both proud Chapman Alumni. Carly is now a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist working in a private practice in Newport Beach and Nick is the co-owner and President of his own company, Portillo Sales and Marketing.
There were also several Chapman Alumni in their wedding party (from left to right in the group shot below) - Andrew Cox '15, Sara Juarez '12, Jim Byron '15, Michelle Nahmias '14 (formerly Lanthier), Nicole Irwin '15, and Alex Hanono '15.
Niki Roseman ’08
Niki and Michael Roseman met at Chapman during opening ceremonies in 2014! They were neighbors who became friends, dated and are now married! The couple received their degrees from Dodge College in 2018 and currently work full time in Hollywood. Niki is a director/producer for live broadcast and Michael as a non-union Cinematographer and gaffer.
Jessica Rabalis ’14
Jessica and Adam Kalawi (both class of 2014) got married at the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla, California, on April 9th, 2021. Adam and Jessica met at the Segerstrom event during orientation in 2010. They were OAs for most years (Adam was an OC!) and always credit orientation as a place their love blossomed.
Kimberly Powers’15
Kimberly Powers (MFA '15) and Nick Lopez (MFA '14) got married on January 8th, 2022. They both graduated from Dodge College, Nick in the writing program and Kimberly in the producing program. Their beautiful wedding was in Malibu, California and they honeymooned in Hawaii!