Meet the committee bringing you Oktoberfifth on May 29-June 1, 2014!
At a glance
| Jackie Thomas | Reunions Co-Chair |
| Maria Salciccioli | Reunions Co-Chair |
| Jade Faugno | Publicity Co-Chair |
| Julia Osellame | Publicity Co-Chair |
| Shekida Smith | Headquarters Chair |
| Sean Rubin | Art Chair |
| Julie Rubinger | Housing Chair |
| Sara Hastings | Alumni-Faculty Forums Chair |
| Dan Hayes-Patterson | Technology Chair |
| Angela Cai | Treasurer |
| Drew Maliniak | Co-Beverage Chair |
| Katie Giarra | Student Crew Liason |
| Holly McGarvie Reilly | Food Committee Co-Chair |
| Whitney White | Programs Chair |
| Ralph Schaefer | Costumes Co-Chair |
| Rachel Kupferschmidt | P-Rade Chair |
| Stephanie Burset | Entertainment Chair |
Jackie Thomas
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Reunions Co-Chair
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Current City: New York, NY Major: Art History Eating Club: Tower Residential College: Wilson |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
I worked at the Art Museum all four years, and it was a great way to get outside of the “Orange Bubble” without actually leaving campus. I still go back and visit the security guards and my old boss (as well as the Museum itself!).
What have you been up to since graduation?
Spent a year teaching in Thailand with PiA, then got my Master’s in Art History at Oxford, and for the past two years I’ve been working at Reed Elsevier in New York.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Obviously REUNIONS!
What has been your craziest Princeton-related purchase?
I have a large, ostentatious tiger ring that I found on eBay. I break it out only for Reunions events.
Who is your favorite Princeton alumnus/alumna, real or fictional?
Currently Olivia Pope
Maria Salciccioli
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Reunions Co-Chair
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Current City: Washington, DC Major: History Eating Club: Terrace Residential College: Rockefeller |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
I loved being an RCA. It was a great way to connect with underclassmen and stay in touch with events on campus. We’ve had an informal zee group reunion or two!
What have you been up to since graduation?
I spent two years teaching elementary school in DC, worked at a math education nonprofit in Dallas for a year, and just got my Master’s degree in Urban Education Policy this spring. Now I’m back in DC doing education research.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Reunions! It’s wonderful to see old friends, cheer on alumni in the P-Rade, and check out the new buildings.
Who is your favorite Princeton alumnus/alumna, real or fictional?
Jack Donaghy!
What was your favorite class and why?
History 383: The United States Since 1920 with Kevin Kruse. The lectures were so engaging! After I took that class, I knew I wanted to major in History.
Jade Faugno
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Publicity Co-Chair
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Current City: New York, NY Major: English (certificate in Italian) Eating Club: Quad Residential College: Rockefeller |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
While I spent a ton of time at my eating club, my favorite activity was dancing with Raks Odalisque, Princeton’s Middle Eastern dance troupe. I gained so much confidence and so many new friends as I learned how to belly dance.
What have you been up to since graduation?
I moved to New York to start a grad program at NYU, but I’ve been working in financial public relations since the start of 2010. I also do a lot of volunteer work in my spare time, as well as some blogging for sites like PolicyMic.
What is your favorite Princeton tradition?
Reunions, of course! I especially love the P-rade.
What’s your craziest Princeton-related purchase?
I bought a tiger-striped hair dryer a couple of years ago, and it’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made.
Who’s your favorite Princeton alum, real or fictional?
It’s tough to choose just one, but I really admire Michelle Obama. Jack Donaghy is a close second.
Julia Osellame
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Publicity Co-Chair
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Current City: Washington, DC Major: English (certificate in American Studies) Eating Club: Tower Residential College: Rockefeller |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
Writing for Princeton Alumni Weekly, the Princeton Environmental Institute, and The Daily Princetonian. It made me learn so much about different Princeton activities and I got the opportunity to meet so many new people who were doing great things around campus all the time. I still love reading the On the Campus section of PAW.
What have you been up to since graduation?
Went to graduate school at The School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University and have been working in social media marketing and online advertising for the past three years.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Reunions! It’s a part of Princeton that I can look forward to for the rest of my life.
What has been your craziest Princeton-related purchase?
Large tiger earrings that dangle down to nearly my shoulders. I can absolutely only wear at reunions.
What’s your favorite place to eat in Princeton (Wawa, somewhere on Nassau Street or Route 1, an eating club, Frist, a dining hall)?
Not necessarily my favorite for its culinary variety, but I do have great memories of U-Store runs late at night for after-the-street snacks and/or midnight Olives cookie runs to get me through studying.
Shekida Smith
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Headquarters Chair
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Current City: Miami, FL Major: French & Italian/African-American Studies Residential College: Butler/Whitman |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
Track practice – as not fun as it could sometimes be, it was always a time to spend with teammates who became great friends.
What have you been up to since graduation?
I taught first grade with Teach for America in Miami-Dade, FL for two years and then worked as a strategy consultant in Washington D.C. After working as a consultant, I came back to Miami to attend law school – I am now a second-year student.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Reunions (duh) with our bonfire as a close second.
What has been your craziest Princeton-related purchase?
Tiger striped ballet slippers and bright orange running shoes.
Who is your favorite Princeton alumnus/alumna, real or fictional?
Wendy Kopp, Princeton alum and founder of Teach for America and the current head of Teach for All and Michelle Obama, Princeton alum and First Lady of the United States.
I love them both because, despite the fact that their backgrounds and experiences are so different from each other, they are both vibrant and wonderful examples for Princeton alumnae to follow with regards to leadership, initiative, and truly exemplifying Princeton’s commitment to being in the nation’s service and in the service of all nations.
My fictional favorite alumna is Olivia Pope because….well isn’t it obvious?!
What’s your favorite place to eat in Princeton?
Sakura Express – best sushi!
Who was your favorite professor and why?
Eddie Glaude – his lectures were always really engaging and, although challenging, we always managed to both learn a lot and have a great conversation.
What was your favorite class and why?
African Dance – by far the class that required more preparation than any class covering Descartes, Satre, or Proust, but I am still glad I did it.
What’s your best Reunions memory?
Screaming out the lyrics to “Livin’ on A Prayer,” “Don’t Stop Believin’” and ‘Sweet Caroline” under the 5th Reunion tent with my very best friends – can’t wait to do it again!!
Sean Rubin
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Art Chair
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Current City: New York, NY Major: Art and Archaeology Eating Club: Quad Residential College: Forbes |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
Princeton Evangelical Fellowship – most of my closest friendships were made at PEF. They also had some pretty good lemonade.
What have you been up to since graduation?
I taught high school for a year, spent a year working at the Cloisters Museum, and then cofounded a company, MNY Group, with Jonathan Keller ‘09. We make something awesome called Life Floor.
At the same time, I’ve illustrated two books, and right now I’m writing and illustrating a third book, “Bolivar,” which is about a dinosaur that lives in New York City because he doesn’t want anyone to notice him.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Reunions (although I honestly have no idea why my profile picture exists), with the Bonfire being a very close second.
Who was your favorite professor and why?
The best teacher I had was Simone Marchesi, Princeton’s Dante scholar. Despite having almost no talent for learning languages, I kept taking Italian so I could be in his classes. He has an incredible way of not only teaching his subject, but also teaching you how to learn, write, and even teach any subject yourself. When I taught high school, my primary strategy was to copy Simone as best I could.
What’s your favorite beer and why?
New Glarus Spotted Cow. It’s a decent beer, but it’s my favorite because of how difficult it is to find – it’s actually illegal to sell outside of Wisconsin. A bar in New York was raided for serving it back in 2009.
Julie Rubinger
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Housing Chair
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Current City: San Francisco, CA Major: East Asian Studies/Dance/French Eating Club: Terrace Residential College: Butler |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
BodyHype – the best people I’ve ever met!
What have you been up to since graduation?
Working in fundraising and business development for social impact-driven organizations aiming to improve K-12 public education.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Murray Dodge cookies – hope they’re still doing that!
What has been your craziest Princeton-related purchase?
Not a purchase, but my boyfriend’s mom made me a phenomenal tiger-striped stocking for Christmas.
Who is your favorite Princeton alumnus/alumna, real or fictional?
Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock
What’s your favorite place to eat in Princeton?
Ajihei
Who was your favorite professor and why?
Professor Gary Bass – made a lasting impression on me in terms of our duty as Princeton grads to make society better.
What was your favorite class and why?
So many, but if I had to choose it would be POL 380, Human Rights, for the same reason as above!
What’s your best Reunions memory?
Dancing with my best friends in front of the band at the 5th!
What’s your favorite beer and why?
Coedo Japanese Craft Beer – because it is Japanese and it is DELICIOUS
Sara Hastings
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Alumni-Faculty Forums Chair
Dan Hayes-Patterson
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Technology Chair
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Current City: Princeton, NJ Major/Certificate(s): History of Science/French/Spanish (Sara) and Computer Science/Finance (Dan) Eating Club: Colonial (Sara) and Charter (Dan) Residential College: Mathey (Sara) and Forbes (Dan) |
Sara’s Answers:
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
Working for The Daily Princetonian. I spent most of my time there and met many of my closest friends there, including my husband!
What have you been up to since graduation?
I’ve spent the last 4.5 years as an editor for two Princeton-area newspapers that were founded by a Princeton alum.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Reunions! My parents are both alums, so I’ve only missed one year since my first P-Rade at age 9 months in 1988.
What’s your favorite place to eat in Princeton (Wawa, somewhere on Nassau Street or Route 1, an eating club, Frist, a dining hall)?
The Peacock Inn – awesome food and a fun bar.
What was your favorite class and why?
HIS 292: Science in the Modern World with Michael Gordin, whose story-telling skills brought the history and science to life and placed it in a broader context. The class inspired my major.
Dan’s answers:
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
Sports photography for the Prince – it was awesome to be on the field at football and lacrosse games (especially the few times they played lacrosse tournaments at NFL stadiums) and in the penalty box at hockey games.
What have you been up to since graduation?
I spent two and a half years writing various financial software at BlackRock, and have been working in engineering at Google since then.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
I have a feeling that everyone is going to say the same thing — REUNIONS! I got introduced early, as my mom is class of 1975.
What’s your favorite place to eat in Princeton (Wawa, somewhere on Nassau Street or Route 1, an eating club, Frist, a dining hall)?
Agricola — definitely a great new addition to Princeton, with a really nice bar!
What’s your favorite beer and why?
Stone Ruination IPA — if a beer doesn’t punch you in the face with hops and ruin your palate, it’s not a real beer.
Angela Cai
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Treasurer
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Current City: New Haven, CT Major: Woodrow Wilson School (American Studies, Environmental Studies) Eating Club: Tower Residential College: Butler |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
Working at the Prince: because hanging out at the newsroom at 48 University Place with my friends at all hours of day and night was all kinds of crazy and fun. It’s the sort of thing that only a college kid would do because it was so unhealthy and ridiculous. But I would do it all over again in a moment.
What have you been up to since graduation?
Working and then law school.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
The part of the P-Rade where a very old alum gets up from his wheelchair to take one step and chug one beer and sits back down for the next 364 days.
What has been your craziest Princeton-related purchase?
Impulsive, irrational desire to buy orange nail polish at the Duane Reade in Penn Station before Reunions one year, and almost missing the train because of it.
Who is your favorite Princeton alumnus/alumna, real or fictional?
Sam Seaborn from the West Wing (which I never watched until after I graduated!).
What’s your favorite place to eat in Princeton?
A good ol’ 2am Phat Lady from Hoagie Haven beats everything.
Who was your favorite professor and why?
Will Howarth – he’s a great mentor and friend. From Day 1 he made us call him “Will” and never “Professor.” At first I thought that was strange but it made me feel like I could just talk to him about whatever. And to this day, I still consult him on every major life choice.
What was your favorite class and why?
Philosophy of Law with Gideon Rosen. He is the most brilliant lecturer I’ve ever encountered. The class made me want to go to law school and study criminal law.
What’s your best Reunions memory?
Spraining my ankle at the First and having friends/strangers help me all weekend (and being wheeled around in an office chair for much of it because I didn’t want to miss a thing).
Have you ever been to Oktoberfest in Munich? What was it like?
Never been but I’m sure it’s a riot.
What’s your favorite beer and why?
Beast, because I only drink it at Princeton! I’m sort of kidding, but not really.
Drew Maliniak
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Co-Beverage Chair
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Current City: New York, NY Major: English Eating Club: Cap and Gown Residential College: Mathey |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
Lawn parties: They began with mimosas and ended with ice cream. I enjoyed the middle parts too.
What have you been up to since graduation?
Embracing my paleness
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Free t-shirts
Who is your favorite Princeton alumnus/alumna, real or fictional?
Batman (Bruce Wayne, fictional drop-out) and Superman (Dean Caine, real graduate)
What’s your favorite place to eat in Princeton?
Hoagie Haven: Order an Emily’s Special.
Katie Giarra
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Student Crew Liason
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Current City: Charlottesville, VA Major: Politics (Near Eastern Studies) Eating Club: Cloister Residential College: Butler |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
Being a springboard diver on the Swimming and Diving Team – they welcomed me to the family from day 1 and helped define my entire Princeton experience!
What have you been up to since graduation?
I worked in Hawai’i for the DoD for three years, which in a roundabout way helped me figure out that I actually want to become a physician. I now work at UVA Medical Center and medical school begins somewhere a few months after our Fifth.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Reunions – I got to see the mayhem that goes into planning the Fifth when I worked on the student crew. Getting to experience it on the other side is just as crazy in a different and perhaps less sleep-deprived way.
What has been your craziest Princeton-related purchase?
I booked a Honolulu-Newark roundtrip ticket 4 hours before my flight took off to go watch HYP one weekend. I think my teammate / Butler mate, Justina DiFazio, had something to do with this.
Who was your favorite professor and why?
Patricia Kennedy, my writing seminar professor – besides being inspirational and wonderful, she taught me how to write, which made my entire college experience a whole lot more doable!
Holly McGarvie Reilly
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Food Co-Chair
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Current City: San Clemente, CA Major: Anthropology (Environmental Studies) Eating Club: TI Residential College: Butler |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
Playing field hockey and lacrosse on 1952. I loved getting after it against my best friends and playing the two sports I love at a competitive level .
What have you been up to since graduation?
I taught for one year in England before teaching with Teach For America in Southeast D.C. I now reside in San Clemente where I teach, coach, and work in business.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
REUNIONS!!!!
What has been your craziest Princeton-related purchase?
Tiger striped dress.
What’s your favorite place to eat in Princeton (Wawa, somewhere on Nassau Street or Route 1, an eating club, Frist, a dining hall)?
Sunday brunch in wilson, butler, or rocky dining hall after a crazy Saturday night. Good to rehash the events from Saturday evening.
Whitney White / Programs Chair
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Current City: Chapel Hill, NC Major: Psychology Eating Club: Independent/Wilson RCA Residential College: Wilson |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
The Triangle Club! Who doesn’t love all-male kick lines and throwing paper airplanes? I also met some of my best friends and my husband through Triangle.
What have you been up to since graduation?
Since graduation, I’ve gotten married to another Princeton Alum (Class of ’08) and worked as an events coordinator in the theatre and entertainment industry.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
The P-rade!! I was 13 when I witnessed my first P-rade and it shaped my entire perception of college. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing…
What’s your favorite place to eat in Princeton (Wawa, somewhere on Nassau Street or Route 1, an eating club, Frist, a dining hall)?
Bent Spoon. Their cupcakes are life changing.
What was your favorite class and why?
Professor Litchman’s Abnormal Psychology, particularly the lecture on abnormal sexual behaviors. Also life changing, but in a very different way.
Ralph Schaefer / Costumes Co-Chair
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Current City: Philadelphia, PA Major: History/Finance Eating Club: Independent Residential College: Mathey |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
Houseparties! I loved the three days of madness.
What have you been up to since graduation?
I was a Buyer at Michael Kors for over three years, and am currently a first-year MBA student at Wharton.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Reunions! I love catching up with friends and re-living the glory days of Princeton.
What has been your craziest Princeton-related purchase?
An orange and black man bag I had custom made from Michael Kors before I left
What’s your favorite place to eat in Princeton (Wawa, somewhere on Nassau Street or Route 1, an eating club, Frist, a dining hall)?
Hooter’s on Route 1 for Wing Wednesday’s.
Rachel Kupferschmidt (Orland) / P-rade Chair
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Current City: Newtown, PA Major: Philosophy Eating Club: Cloister Inn Residential College: Rockefeller |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
The Daily Princetonian. Freshman year, I walked into the Prince Office and signed up to write for the Sports section. During my junior year, I was an editor and spent a lot of time in the Prince Office. I really liked writing for The Prince because I met a lot of great people and got to combine writing and sports, two of my passions in life.
What have you been up to since graduation?
I am enrolled in graduate school, working toward my Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. I am also a Hebrew School teacher at a synagogue by my house. Oh, and on October 12, 2013, I got married. My husband graduated from Penn. I don’t usually hold that against him. Except when Penn and Princeton play each other in basketball.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Reunions! My dad is Class of ’77, and my family has always lived near campus. I’ve been going to Reunions since I could barely walk. Now that I am a Princeton graduate, I feel a great sense of pride coming back every year to march in the P-Rade.
What has been your craziest Princeton-related purchase?
My husband and I go on a lot of college football road trips. Last summer, we were in Clemson, South Carolina, and I saw a sweater in a boutique window. The sweater had a huge tiger face on the front of it. I knew I had to have it, and I was overly excited when they had my size.
What’s your favorite place to eat in Princeton (Wawa, somewhere on Nassau Street or Route 1, an eating club, Frist, a dining hall)?
Hoagie Haven. I have been going to Hoagie Haven since my high school years. I went to school right down Route 206 at The Hun School of Princeton. I’m pretty sure their prices haven’t changed in years, and The Fat Lady is an epic sandwich.
Stephanie Burset / Entertainment Chair
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Current City: Philadelphia, PA Major: History Eating Club: Tower Residential College: Mathey |
What was your favorite on-campus activity and why?
Being an officer of Tower – living in a four-story mansion with a kegerator in my basement wasn’t bad.
What have you been up to since graduation?
Teach for America corps member in Bridgeport, CT, executive director of a nonprofit in New Haven, CT, and most recently b-school at Wharton.
What’s your favorite Princeton tradition?
Lawnparties – semi-annual best day of the year!
What has been your craziest Princeton-related purchase?
I purchased an orange and black tiger-striped Michael Kors dress (which has now been adopted by Angela Cai and makes an appearance at Reunions every year).
Who is your favorite Princeton alumnus/alumna, real or fictional?
Amory Blaine, duh!
