The Waverly School is a progressive school in Pasadena, California, spanning young kindergarten through high school.

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.”

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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.”

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Waverly Parents on Waverly: I Love Kindergarten

February 15, 2013

I want to go to kindergarten again but this time, I want to go to Waverly. In just one week my kindergartner, Murray, began the first book of The Boxcar Children, learned about the inventions of Benjamin Franklin, performed with the new class microphone on the classroom stage, practiced money skills in Minute Math, investigated [...]

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Earth’s Eye

December 12, 2012

“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.” ~Thomas Fuller, 1732 Maybe Eli (dad of Hannah, 1st grade) was thinking along these lines last summer, when he decided to adopt our poor, forlorn, empty farm pond.  Eli single-handedly hauled several tons (literally) of rock, concrete and brick out of the pond, [...]

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Jen: Shout Out to Reading, Books, & Literacy Night

October 22, 2012

Every so often I find a book of non-fiction that speaks to me so loudly, I carry it around in my purse, to reread, to cite from, and to recommend to others. The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time by David Ulin was one such book. Recently, I was delighted [...]

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A New Waverly Family: The First Days

October 1, 2012

The first week of school at Waverly our eyes were wide open, and we could feel our hearts pounding as we stood taking everything in: children laughing, digging, climbing, drawing, hugging the legs of parents, and waiting for the sweet school bell to be rung by an eager child.  How lovely the sound of this [...]

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Jennifer’s Third Day of School

September 7, 2012

On the third day of school, I entered the elementary playground and noticed two girls on the swings in the young kindergarten yard. The day before I had spent a little time with these same girls, encouraging them to get the swings moving on their own. Each one tried, but it isn’t easy to swing [...]

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Heidi’s First Day of School

September 5, 2012

The morning of the first day of school is always filled with animated conversation as students connect with one another and their teachers through sharing; this year was no exception. As I walked through the playground and visited classrooms yesterday, I listened to students from young kindergarten through twelfth grade share about summer travel, past [...]

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George Celebrates Waverly

June 13, 2012

During our Sixth Grade Celebration last week,  George, who came to Waverly in the middle of the year, spoke emotionally and eloquently about his transition from public school and what Waverly has come to mean to him.  Please enjoy his heartfelt words! I first arrived at Waverly Elementary School 7 months ago, fresh from [a] [...]

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The Waverly School Class of 2012

May 24, 2012

The Waverly School Congratulates the Class of 2012 * The 27 members of the Class of 2012 earned 153 acceptances to 86 colleges and universities. 100% of the Class of 2012 were admitted to four year colleges and universities. Click on picture for full-size

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