1 | Jadin O’Brien, DSHA ’20, won the NCAA Indoor Pentathlon Championship on March 10. Finishing the day with 4512 points, the total earned makes her the number ten collegian of all-time in the pentathlon. Previously, O’Brien has collected personal records in the ACC for the women’s heptathlon, Javelin, high jump, and more.

2 | The biennial Young Playwrights Festival Showcase competition is the culminating event in a series of workshops for several Milwaukee-area students. It provides an opportunity for young playwrights to see their works read and directed by local professional actors and directors. Rocket Baby, written by Anna Nelson, DSHA ’22, received honorable mention in the competition, along with a professional stage reading at the showcase which ran from March 26–27 at the Broadway Theatre Center Studio.

3 | On March 22, Rachel Fronk Idso, DSHA ’02, was invited to speak at a TEDxUWMadison event. The theme was "Defining the New Normal," and highlighted how organizations have grown from the lessons learned during the height of COVID-19. An experienced sales and operations leader, Idso is currently serving as the Senior Management of Talent Acquisition at Amazon. She focused her talk on virtual work, self-development, and professional growth. Her full talk can be found at bit.ly/3zU4Vdq.

4 | Maura Reardon, DSHA ’20, is currently skating for Miami (of Ohio) University’s Senior Varsity Synchronized Skating Team. This team is the highest level at which a synchronized skater can compete. In early March, Reardon and her team earned the silver medal at U.S. Nationals where they were named to the World Team. They competed as Team USA in the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships in Lake Placid March 31–April 1 and placed 6th overall. U.S. Figure Skating selects two teams to represent the United States at Worlds, where they then compete against 23 teams, representing 19 countries.

 

5 | In April, Madeleine Keane, DSHA ’19, performed in the Manhattan School of Music's (MSM) Undergraduate Opera Theatre's production of Dido & Aeneas. An opera that contains three acts, and follows the love story of Dido and Aeneas, Keane played the role of Dido's sister Belinda. In an interview, Keane described her experience performing the role, choosing to study voice at MSM, why she chose to go to school in New York, and more. Her full interview can be found at bit.ly/3LhZlYs.

6 | Liz Machi, DSHA ’15, was named the April 2023 Grand Slam Teacher of the Month by the Milwaukee Brewers. This program honors educators from all grade levels and disciplines who are improving student achievement, using innovative strategies in the classroom, and making a difference in the lives of their students. Machi teaches 2nd grade at St. Mary Parish School in Hales Corners, WI.

7 | In 2013, Beth Pollard Hartwig, DSHA ’03, was running the Boston Marathon with several members of her family. Finishing the race before the bombings started, she was physically safe as were the other members of her family. In the years following, Hartwig felt inspired by other survivors and their stories. On April 17, 10 years after the bombings, Hartwig went back to run the Boston Marathon in support of Rebekah's Angels, a non-profit organization that was established to provide mental health treatment to children and families suffering from trauma. The organization was founded by Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor Rebekah Gregory, whose journey Hartwig found particularly inspiring. She raised $11,926 for the organization.

 

8 | Tamia Fowlkes, DSHA ’18, graduated from Columbia University with a Master of Science in Journalism, where she studied audio and video storytelling, healthcare and climate reporting, business, ethics, and more. Upon graduation Fowles received the Richard J. Blood Reporting Award for writing the best investigative, news feature, or hard-news story for her piece called Beat the Heat which analyzed legislation aimed at protecting workers endangered by climate change. This summer she began working at the Washington Post

as a general assignment reporting intern.

9 | On May 21, Clarissa Ramos, DSHA ’05, and Sam Erschen Thurner, DSHA ’05, graduated together again—this time from Cardinal Stritch University with their doctorate degrees in Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service. 

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We want to know what’s happening in your (or fellow alumna’s) life: a degree earned, a new job or promotion, a book written, an honor received, or volunteer work. Let us know about get-togethers, memories and other adventures! Please share with Alumnae Director Danielle Jerominski Rabe, DSHA ’08, at 414.616.2808.