The second piece in a series of occasional reports on Waverly graduates.
Iris Helle takes to the skies whenever she can.
Iris Helle, class of 2007, always came to school on Halloween dressed as Lara Croft, Tomb Raider. She said she wanted to fly and she pursued her dream. She received a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics, (majored in Aeronautics, minored in Aviation Safety) from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Right now she works as a Flight Coordinator at Van Nuys Airport for a company called Jet Edge International. Her future plans are to “stay with the company and see if I can climb the corporate ladder – if not, I plan to move to Europe to start working in aviation there.” When asked if she gets to fly, Iris explained that her job is to “arrange flights and arrangements for crew members (i.e, hotels, rental cars, etc.) – no flying at work, unfortunately. But,” she added, “I do get to fly for pleasure!”
Max Libbrecht’s dream job is waiting at the end of his PhD program.
Max Libbrecht, class of 2007, did his undergrad work at Stanford in Computer Science. And now, Max says, “I’m in the Computer Science PhD program at University of Washington. I’m doing research in Computational Biology with my advisor, Bill Noble. I’ll be at UW for a few more years. PhDs usually take between 4-7 years, and I’m currently in my second year. After that I’m hoping to get a job as a professor at a university.”
Marly Young found the job of her dreams after a few months slinging coffee. 
Marly Young, class of 2005, graduated from University of California, Davis with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in English Literature. After college, she, like many others, looked for a job. Marly explained, “When I graduated I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life so I worked in the café of a local art gallery where I started writing their press releases during the café’s lulls. That experience helped me obtain an unpaid internship, which turned into a career.” From there, Marly began working at Paschal Roth, a boutique public affairs firm in Sacramento. Paschal Roth managed the communications and day-to-day operations of the campaign to pass Proposition 30, the Governor’s tax initiative. Marly said, “That was the most challenging and rewarding moment in my career.” And now, Marly lives in Sacramento and when asked what she is doing now, she said, “This February, I started a new job as a Communications Specialist with the California State Assembly Democratic Caucus. I love what I’m doing now. I get to work on a wide variety of state policy issues that interest me, like high-speed rail and education funding.” Asked about her goals, plans and dreams for the future, she said, “I’m not sure about my future plans yet. I love working in public affairs so I suppose I will continue working in State Government and see where it takes me.”
Vivian Sullivan took advantage of a variety of opportunities to find her way into interesting jobs.
Vivian Sullivan , class of 2005, (pictured left with Laramie Bowron, ’03) graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism & Public Relations. Vivian reports that, “After three years at The Atlantic magazine and website, I accepted an offer to join Twitter in San Francisco. I currently work on Twitter’s Mid Market Sales team and am loving every minute of it.” She went on to talk about her time after high school. “My journey from high school graduation to Twitter has required a TON of hard work, but I’ve had a little fun too. At one point, in college, I served as a hand model for a national line of bath products. And through my professional work experiences, I’ve been lucky enough to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend and have had the pleasure of front row seating at a variety of conversations featuring some very influential people including Katie Couric, Deepak Chopra, Chris Mathews, Nancy Pelosi and most recently, Gordon Brown.”
Iris Helle takes to the skies whenever she can.
