Alec aims for a college education in computer programming and graphic design. He’ll use those skills to land his dream job of designing video games. Onyero would also love to combine those abilities into one fantastic career. He too, is interested in programming and the arts. Kayla would love to play golf professionally in the LPGA. She has her sights on Brown or Stanford for college. If she doesn’t rule the Links, Kayla is also interested in a career in medicine—particularly cardiovascular surgery, obstetrics, or plastic surgery.

Sam loves studying the visual arts. He can see himself mastering photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Or maybe, he thinks, a business management degree would be practical. In that case, he’d love to go to college on the West Coast and explore a new horizon. Asia believes that her best bet right now is to become a children’s psychologist. She loves kids and talking and listening to people. Asia thinks Stanford sounds like an amazing place to study, but she’s also interested in Sarah Lawrence College because she loves to write and read.

We know that Ryan’s future is bright, but it’s also still a bit hazy. Right now though, he can really see himself being a teacher. Neer wants to be a doctor or a lawyer. She enjoys biology; so studying medicine makes sense to her. Princeton, Harvard, or Brown would be Neer’s top choices for schools. Maybe she will share some classes with Allie, who intends to play basketball at Brown and major in biology. That academic background will help her reach her goal of becoming a surgeon or a veterinarian.

Zaid’s aspirations are less concrete, but they reflect the ambitions and hopes of all of our students. Zaid says, “I want to be a successful person. Whatever job I have, I want to be the best at it.”

Maybe blogs will be obsolete by the year 2023, but our Rutgers Prep tradition of personal excellence and fulfillment won’t be. Hopefully, one of our alums will have invented a new form of social media so that we can all stay informed and connected. We will be sure to keep you updated!

As a staff scientist at CDC, I perform research which contributes towards a greater understanding of influenza virus pathogenesis (how the virus makes you sick) and transmission (why some viruses spread by the air). The 2009 H1N1 pandemic has kept me and my colleagues exceedingly busy as we have worked to explain how this new virus is different from other viruses with the potential to cause a pandemic, and to develop vaccines and antiviral treatments to reduce illness and death from H1N1 and related viruses. While most of my time is spent doing bench research (not necessarily foretold from AP Bio, as my most vivid lab memory from that class features blenders and chopped liver), I draw upon a diverse range of skill sets on a daily basis which I first learned at Prep. I have written several published review articles pertaining to influenza, immersing myself in “primary literature” which was so extolled as a source of information in Mr. Ackerman’s US History class. I am frequently asked to edit research articles from co-workers as I am a stickler for good grammar, something I never spent a lot of time thinking about but must have picked up along the way in Dr. Riley’s classroom. And while I have yet to use a day of calculus, years of algebra nonetheless prepared me for the near-constant math I must perform to conduct my research.

As hokey as it may sound, I frequently think of Jay Golon’s poem from the 1996 yearbook: “…my foundation, radiant and invisible, will answer every question and quell every doubt.” I draw upon my Prep foundation unconsciously and often. Years of hard work since leaving school grounds have afforded me professional opportunities I never thought possible: representing CDC across the globe to share research and training with my peers, pursuing a career that I am good at and that I love. And all of it rests and relies on the foundation of Elm Farm, skunks under the floorboards and all.

I’ve been writing about sports since my junior year at Rutgers Prep. Gene Bratek, a history teacher, got me started. Gene was the faculty adviser to the Argo. At the time, the Argo needed a sports editor. He approached me and insisted that I take the job. I resisted. He insisted. I took the job. I owe a lot to Gene Bratek. (Amy Borrus was Argo editor-in-chief that year. She went on to become a wonderful reporter for BusinessWeek).

I learned a lot about writing and reporting at a terrific student newspaper at the University of Pennsylvania. My first paying job was as a reporter at a newspaper in Norfolk, Virginia. That was 1978. Since then I’ve written sports articles for newspapers and magazines including, in the last year, the New York Times, Sports Illustrated and BusinessWeek. I’m lucky. I like my job.

Almost everyone I meet asks me what a city planner does. There are many answers to this question, but I think a planner is someone who helps communities to articulate their visions for how their neighborhoods, towns or cities should develop and change in the future, and then helps them to identify strategies or projects that will achieve those changes. Planners rely on technical knowledge related to urban design, infrastructure, transportation, and real estate. Equally important are skills related to communicating complicated concepts to lay audiences, and understanding the responses of those audiences in a way that translates them into action. I have spent the last five years forming relationships with people within Greenpoint and Williamsburg, and helping to advance their interests and concerns as well as the City’s overall land use and development policies.

After graduating from RPS, I went on to pursue my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The College of New Jersey. My interest in Psychology motivated me to continue my education in the field. Later I earned a Master’s Degree in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology from Montclair State University; and a Ph.D in the same discipline from Alliant International University (AIU) formerly the California School of Professional Psychology.

I was introduced to the field of I/O psychology during my undergraduate education. Industrial/Organizational psychology is the scientific study of the workplace. Common areas of research include, but are not limited to: job attitudes, organizational development, group/team performance, and training evaluation. Most people who pursue I/O psychology are employed in: consulting firms, government agencies, healthcare organizations, research institutions, business organizations, and universities.

While attending AIU I interned at the Naval Health Research Center as a Program Coordinator for the Military International HIV/AIDS Training Program. The program was a 30-day mini-residency program for international military physicians. Physicians were trained in the US with the expectation that they would share the knowledge and skills learned during training with colleagues in their respective country. During this internship I had the opportunity to assess learning before and after training, and measure the program’s short-term and long-term effectiveness. Moreover, I had the opportunity to establish lasting friendships with military personnel from around the world. Upon graduating from AIU I was hired as a full-time staff. I worked at the Naval Health Research Center for two years. It was this experience that shaped my career in the field of learning and education.

Presently, I am employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as a Manager in the Learning & Education – Evaluations & Assessments team. My primary responsibility is to measure the overall effectiveness of the Firm’s internal training programs. This includes: working with leadership to identify program evaluation needs, measuring knowledge and skills gained, identifying enablers and barriers to applying knowledge and skills gained, and determining the business impact of training initiatives. I have gained valuable skills while working at PwC. In addition to gaining and applying technical expertise, I have developed relationships with global clients. Currently, I am working on projects with clients based in Asia, Europe, and North America. It is a rewarding experience because I have the opportunity to share my knowledge, as well as learn from my clients.

Outside of work, I enjoy traveling and spending time with family and friends. In addition, I enjoy supporting events and programs aimed to advance brain cancer research. For the past three years, I have served as Team Captain of the Milton Febles Team in the Race for Hope – DC, a 5K walk/run to benefit the National Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure.

If you are interested in speaking with me about my educational background and career path, please feel free to contact me at feblesm@yahoo.com.

Marisol Febles, Ph.D.

After Prep I went to Stanford University. I majored in theater & communications and founded a student theater troupe which earned me the Sherifa Omade Edoga Prize for mounting culturally diverse theater. I was also showered with love and support from Prep (students, faculty, & staff) when I took time off from my freshman year to recover from an anuerysm which left me partially paralyzed. In spite of the anuerysm, I graduated in 96 with my incoming class.

After Stanford I went down to LA & interned at Dreamworks, Miramax, Warner Brothers, & Fox before working as an editorial assistant on the New Orleans season of the MTV reality show, The Real World.

Then I got my MFA in film from Columbia University where I was accepted into the top 1% of my class and awarded the Dean’s fellowship. I became a 2 time Tribeca All Access winner (1st for a stageplay & then for a screenplay). That same screenplay also won the 2005 Columbia Screenplay competition.

After Columbia I did 2 years on the Obama campaign. I was a co-founder of NJ for Obama, an officer of Barack the Youth vote, and community organizer for New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, & Texas. I am published in a book, The Obama Movement – in which I wrote chapter 5.

I was a member of the Public Theater’s Inaugural Emerging Writer’s Group funded by Time Warner. My play, I STAND CORRECTED, about four paralyzed men in rehab enjoyed a wildly successful reading at the Public Theater directed by David Esbjornson (Angels in America) and starring Joe Morton (Terminator 2), Daphne Rubin-Vega (the original Broadway Mimi in RENT), Rafael Sardina (The Brave One), & Piter Marek (Ugly Betty & Sex and the City 2).

I presently work as a web producer for a progressive think tank in Manhattan.

Please keep reading for more of their stories.

Between five and eight PM, students, faculty, and alumni will gather in our gallery space to mark the closing of the Faculty Art Exhibition. For weeks, our community has had the opportunity to walk by and enjoy the stunning works of Circe Dunnell, Makiko Highton, Charles Lid, Laura McClanahan, Susan McCloskey, and Scot J. Wittman. Although we missed celebrating the opening of the show because of snowy weather on February 5th, we will mark the achievement of our art faculty with food, drink, music, and many awed gazes.

At that point, many Upper School students will move the festivities down the street, to the Imperia on Easton Avenue, where they’ll dance one of our last winter nights away at the Upper School Winter Ball. For the high-spirited attendees, this bash will wrap up a busy, productive week at Rutgers Prep, full of academic, artistic, and social opportunities. It’s a good thing we rested up during our recent spring break—if this Friday is any indication; we’re moving full steam ahead toward June!

Jeffrey Schwartz, Zain Haq, and Adam Taylor, all leaders for the team, wrote the letter and made the request. Ms. McMillen sent the letter along with payment for the flag, funded through our maintenance department. A few weeks after the competition, Representative Pallone sent Rutgers Prep a carefully wrapped package. It included a certificate verifying that our flag flew over Congress in honor of the RPS Model Congress team on November 20th. As Ms. McMillen points out, “This year’s Model Congress team earned 4 gavels in committee and an honorable mention at the competition; the team certainly regards it as our good luck flag!”

Ms. Snukis explains why she pressed Rutgers Prep to order a flag with such special roots. “Every day I feel honored to help lower the American flag flying in front of the Upper School. We all just pass it by everyday, without really giving it a second thought. It is my hope that because the members of Model Congress purchased the flag that flew over Congress while they were in Washington DC, it will have more meaning for them and they’ll think about what this flag represents.”

Ms. Snukis adds, “The flag represents not only our freedom, but serves as a symbol of all the men and women who have made personal sacrifices to keep our nation free. I have several members of my own family currently serving our country. I felt I had to take part in this tradition to honor them.”

It seems that Jane’s efforts are already affecting the way our community views our new set of stars and stripes. As Rutgers Prep School Council Vice-President, Obi Nkwonta takes responsibility for raising the flag each morning. Obi says, “I think that it’s truly an honor to hoist the same flag that has flown over Congress. I feel proud to be American when I see it flying in the wind.”