Alumni return to learn and mentor 

With most colleges on winter break, it was the perfect time to welcome young Marksmen back for a visit. More than 50 alumni from the Classes of 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 returned to campus on Thursday, Jan. 5, for College-Age Marksmen Day. 

After lunch with classmates and former teachers, the young alumni had the opportunity to attend panel discussions with established alumni mentors across four industries. The mentors shared their experiences with and offered career advice to the younger men. 

The discussions included: 

  • Business and Finance 
    • Ricky Rees ’85 – founder and managing partner at R2R Capital 
    • Drew Nicholas ’09 – vice president of mergers and acquisitions at Acrosa 
  • Medicine and Health Care 
    • Dr. Lowell Ku ’89 – reproductive endocrinology, infertility and reproductive surgeon at Dallas IVF 
    • Victor Chen ’90 – COO at GCi Technologies   
  • Law and Government 
    • Joe Zopolsky ’92 – attorney at Glast, Phillips & Murray, P.C. 
    • Fry Wernick ’95 – partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP 
    • David Ortigoza ’97 – counsel at Greenberg Traurig, LLP  
  • Tech and Entrepreneurship 
    • Akhil Kara ’02 – president of M.A.N.S. Distributors, Inc. and chair of the Alumni Association's Mentoring and Networking Committee
    • Dean Itani ’11 – general manager at IntelliSurvey 
 
In the afternoon, several college-age alumni took their turn as mentors, sharing their college experiences with upper school students in the Student Alumni Association. The discussion, led by current seniors, centered on the admission application process and what to expect in the first few years of college. 

“My main advice is not to worry because St. Mark's has more than prepared you,” said Taylor Hopkin ’20, a sophomore at Davidson College. “The admission process can be stressful but trust your teachers and the college counselors here. You’ll end up exactly where you need to be.” 

The college-age panel included: 
  • Parker Davis ’19 – Duke University 
  • Taylor Hopkin ’20 – Davidson College 
  • Robert Pou ’21 – Georgetown University 
  • Ekansh Tambe ’22 – Harvard University 
View sample pages from the Path to Manhood Handbook.

    • College-age alumni speak to upper school students.

    • Alumni mentors share career advice with college-age Marksmen.

    • Ekansh Tambe ’22 reconnects with Mr. Leneau.

    • Eugene McDermott Headmaster David Dini welcomes back college-age alumni.


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