5 Questions with...
Alumni interviews as featured in our email newsletter News from Simon’s Rock.
Donald McClelland ’00
MAY 2024 — Donald McClelland received his AA and BA from Simon’s Rock, and later earned
his PhD and MPhil from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and
the New York Botanical Garden. He is now an Associate Professor of Environmental Science
at Simon’s Rock.
Shahzad Ismaily ’89
SEPTEMBER 2023 — Shahzad Ismaily ‘89 received his AA from Simon’s Rock and studied
biochemistry at Arizona State University. He is an accomplished and multi-instrumental
musician, composer, producer and improviser.
Megan DiFurio ’90
JULY 2023 — Megan graduated from Simon’s Rock with her BA in Chemistry and later attended
the Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where she received her
MD.
Jacob Gerstein ’01
MAY 2023 — Jacob received his AA from Simon’s Rock in 2003. He went on to attend the
University of Tulsa for his BS and MS and later received a second MS from Northeastern
University. He serves as a Principal Cyber Capacity Engineer at MITRE and is a Region
Director of Recruiting for Civil Air Patrol.
Victoria K. L. Bokaer ’14
MARCH 2023 — Victoria received their BA from Simon’s Rock in 2018 and is part way
through a master’s degree program at King’s College London in Shakespeare studies
with a primary focus on trans and nonbinary gender expression in Elizabethan theatre.
Shani Ferguson ’85 and Lionel Artom-Ginzburg ’88
FEBRUARY 2023 — Shani received her BA from Simon’s Rock and attended Drexel University
for her MBA. She serves as an associate and the marketing manager for EwingCole, an
architecture and engineering firm. Lionel also graduated with his BA from Simon’s
Rock and went to Temple University, where he received both his JD and LLM and currently
works as an attorney.
Patty “Pid” Swahn McIlreavy ’85
DECEMBER 2022 — Patty received her AA from Simon’s Rock and later attended the University at Albany,
SUNY for her BA and the American University School of International Service for her
MA.
Aung Wai Yan Hein ’17
NOVEMBER 2022 — Aung Wai Yan Hein received his BA from Simon’s Rock in 2021 and later worked as a
staff member in the Information Technology Services Department on campus.
Valerie Collura ’84
OCTOBER 2022 — Valerie received her BA from Simon’s Rock and is a second grade English Language Arts
teacher in Pinole, California where she has taught for over 25 years and lives with
her dog, Aziraphale.
Ada Palmer ’97
SEPTEMBER 2022 — Ada holds an AA from Simon’s Rock and later received her BA from Bryn Mawr College
and PhD from Harvard University. She is a Science Fiction and Fantasy author, professor
of History, and a composer.
Josh Muskovitz ’82
AUGUST 2022 — Josh is a software engineer at Cisco Systems and is married to fellow
Simon’s Rock Alum, Marley Mills ’84. They live in Chatham, NY.
Allyson Sgro ’01
JULY 2022 — Allyson received her BA from Simon’s Rock and PhD in Chemistry from the
University of Washington. She lives in Virginia and works as a research Group Leader
for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute where she focuses on how cells integrate information
to work together.
Adam Miller ’97
MAY 2022 — Adam is an independent carpenter, consultant, and editor specializing in
timber and log framing. He researches, publishes, teaches, and presents on this subject
and has a particular interest in l'art du trait, the stereotomical drawing tradition
of the French compagnon carpenters.
Tom Coote ’86
APRIL 2022 — Tom is Coordinator of Sustainability Programming and Visiting Faculty
in Environmental Science at Simon’s Rock. He runs the Tropical Ecology and Sustainability
program in Montserrat, and is the director of the Berkshire Environmental Research
Center based on the Simon’s Rock campus.
Glenn Peacock ’83
MARCH 2022 — Glenn received his AA from Simon’s Rock and went on to attend the University
of California Santa Cruz for his BA.
Maneesh Modi ’94
FEBRUARY 2022 — Maneesh received his AA from Simon’s Rock in 1996. He earned a BS
in Economics from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard.
Anne Thalheimer ’91
DECEMBER 2021 — Anne has a BA from Simon’s Rock in Literary Studies. She holds an
MA and PhD in English from the University of Delaware. Based in Western Massachusetts,
she is an educator, artist, and activist supporting survivors of gun violence.
Erik Elbieh ’10
OCTOBER 2021 — Erik is a cybersecurity researcher and consultant with Palindrome Technologies,
a small New York City-area company.
Mary Baine Campbell ’71
NOVEMBER 2021 — Mary is a poet, climate activist and Professor Emerita of English
in Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Brandeis University.
Jamieson Webster ’96
SEPTEMBER 2021 — Jamieson is a psychoanalyst and writer. She works in private practice
and teaches at The New School, Princeton, and City University of New York. She has
written for the Guardian, Playboy, the Huffington Post, the New York Times, and many psychoanalytic publications.
David Segil ’00
AUGUST 2021 — David is a Financial Advisor for Westpoint Financial Group. He lives
with his wife, Heather, in Chicago.