The Alumni Life | Whitby School

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Whitby provided me with a big playground to explore and see what I liked...this created my passion for the arts and performing.

Annelise Cepero, Whitby Class of '09

Annelise Cepero, currently starring in the HBO Max movie Holiday Harmony, joined Whitby as a 5th grader and discovered a love for performing. Annelise was encouraged by many of the Whitby faculty to explore singing, acting, podcasting, set design, and other aspects of performing. Annelise recalled, "It was like Whitby provided me with a big playground to explore and see what I like...this created my passion for the arts." Annelise is especially appreciative of former Whitby teacher Jennifer Jenkins. "She's the one that taught me to sing. She is the reason for everything, and it happened at Whitby."

After graduating in 2009, Annelise attended the Harvey School and then Montclair State University, where she could perform professionally in the summers while attending school during the year. Montclair helped her get her first agent, which led to parts on TV shows including Pose, Chicago PD, Law & Order: SVU, and Blue Bloods. Her first feature film was Stephen Spielberg's West Side Story, in which she played Provi.

Whitby hopes to welcome Annelise back to the school in 2023 to meet with theater students and staff. While here, Annelise also plans to spend time in the Stepping Stones wing of the school, where she and her best friend Kimiki used to help out every lunchtime in Mrs. Troya's classroom.

Emma Hardwick

I vividly remember Model UN conferences, and the inspiration gained from Mr. Green's Individuals and Societies classes that drove me to continue my involvement with Model UN in high and college.

Emma Hardwick, Whitby Class of '15

Emma Hardwick, '15, started at Whitby in 3rd grade as a precocious 8-year-old who, while from Portugal, had just moved from Switzerland. As the daughter of a Portuguese mother and an English dad, Emma brought her unique international perspectives to Whitby, where she felt "everyone was very welcoming" and that she had the "exact same IB textbooks" as in Switzerland.

Emma has many vivid memories of Whitby, ranging from drawing hexagons to making beehives in math class to trying to disentangle the ribbons during the Mayfair Maypole dance. Most of all, Emma remembers how Model UN conferences, inspired by current Individuals and Societies (INS) teacher Andy Greene, "changed my life." Emma continued with Model UN in high school in Poland, as well as college, even becoming the President of the Model UN Society at Lancaster University. Emma graduated from the University in 3 years, at which point, as a 20-year-old, she had lived in six countries.

As a result of teachers like Mr. Green and others who "cared so much", Emma's interest in diplomacy was sparked at Whitby. Emma is currently studying for a Master's Degree in International Trade Finance in Korea, graduating in 2023. Emma is an impressive young woman, and we are eager to see where her extraordinary journey takes her next.

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Whitby self-directed projects gave me the confidence and the skills (research, writing, presentation, and public speaking) that translated to my college years, and are skills I use today in the boardroom with c-suite executives.

Elise Tropin , Whitby Class of '04

Whitby had a wonderful opportunity to catch up with Elise Tropin (nee Sarda), Whitby class of 2004. Despite the intervening years, Elise has clear memories of her sixth and eighth-grade projects. These self-directed projects culminated in presenting material and research to large audiences (at age 11 and 13!). These projects helped Elise hone her research and writing skills, but she also believes it was key to developing the skills and confidence to present and connect with an audience. The skills learned while at Whitby continue to be used by her in college lecture halls and board rooms with c-suite executives.

Elise explored a variety of topics. In sixth grade, Elise completed a year-long project studying dolphins and how they can support children with learning disabilities.

Elise developed an interest in acting, as an eighth-grader, and used that as the foundation for another year-long research project. An exciting part of the project was landing a Broadway internship that beloved Whitby teacher, Chandra Mann, helped her secure. Her final presentation was a self-produced video that captured her experience. Elise continued her love of acting in high school at Rye Country Day, playing roles in several musicals.

After attending Rye Country Day School, Elise received a BA (cum laude) from Vanderbilt University. Upon graduating, Elise joined a healthcare consulting firm and recently formed a new consultancy firm with other principals. She is a minority shareholder. We are thrilled to learn about Elise’s journey since leaving Whitby, and we look forward to engaging her in the Whitby community even more!

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The skills we learned at Whitby - teamwork, problem-solving, structure, focus - definitely helped us through the the succesful development of our video game Mini-Golf RPG.

Tyler Chapman & Stefan Marshall, Whitby Class of '12

Whitby's Office of Alumni sat down with Tyler Chapman '12 and Stefan Marshall '12 who met in the 7th grade at Whitby, bonding over a shared love of video games.

Both Tyler and Stefan talked about how Whitby influenced their high school and college education. At the King School, Tyler, who started Whitby as an infant and graduated in 2012 (what we call a Whitby lifer), recounts that his education helped him approach and think through problems in "an orderly and structured way, especially when working in groups." For Stefan, who joined in 7th grade, Whitby was really "where I found myself. I found focus. Going to Whitby allowed me to succeed in high school at Iona Prep and college."

Tyler and Stefan stayed in touch during high school, again bonded by their love of video games. They both ended up at Champlain College in Vermont, where Stefan wanted to pursue Game Art, and Tyler was interested in Game Programming and Math. At the end of their four years at the College, they connected with a classmate, and the trio decided to create their own game. Together they created Mini-Golf RPG available on the iOS and Android marketplaces. Stefan created all of the art for the project while Tyler handled the programming and design. They tell us that the skills they learned at Whitby - teamwork, problem-solving, structure, focus - definitely helped them through development. In fact, the product is so successful that two publishers are eager to purchase their application. We can't wait to learn how far this dynamic duo can go with their ideas! See the most recent article about them in USA Today here.

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I consider the math program at Whitby to have been the foundation for the next five years of my math studies.

Belle Behring, Whitby Class of '18

Belle Behring joined Whitby as a Primary 3 student and graduated in 2018. Now a student at the International School at Curitiba in Brazil, Belle plans to attend Harvard in the Fall.

Belle fondly remembers her Whitby teachers and tells us, "I built connections with my teachers. I visit them when I am back in town."

Her Math teachers left a lasting mark on her time at Whitby. Belle considers the math program at Whitby to have been the foundation for the next five years of her math studies. Belle is even considering majoring in math or economics at Harvard.

The music program at Whitby holds special memories for Belle. She participated in as many musicals as she could and even took on the role of Assistant Director one year. Another year she participated in an art production of "Midsummer Night's Dream" that was projected throughout the school. The program was "very creative, very cool, very memorable."

We wish Belle great success at Harvard in the Fall! We really enjoyed catching up with this bright star.

emily teall

I remember being in music class and the teacher bringing in Ngawang Choephel, a well-known Tibetan activist. Choephel and other speakers left quite the impression on me and recently we got in touch - all of this was because of Whitby.

Emily Teall, Whitby Class of '08

Emily Teall's best memories of Whitby are of the teachers and faculty. In particular, Emily has such respect for Whitby's former science teacher Blake Glaeser, who recently passed. Mr. Glaeser's support and enthusiasm contributed to her overall well-being and art practice, drawing on ecology and biology.

Emily joined Whitby as a Primary 1 student and graduated in 2008. She went on to Hackley for high school, Cornell for undergrad, and Columbia for her MA in Human Rights Studies. Emily currently teaches art at Fusion Academy and was recently selected as a resident artist at the Norwalk Art Space. Much of Emily's interest in human rights was spurred by a Whitby experience: "I remember being in music class and the teacher bringing in Ngawang Choephel, a well-known Tibetan activist. Choephel and other speakers left quite the impression on me, and recently we got in touch - all of this was because of Whitby."

To learn more about Emily's post-Whitby journey, click here: www.emilyteall.com.

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"Whitby fosters resilience, creativity, and compassion inside and outside of the classroom. I will be forever thankful to the school for affording me the unique opportunity to build skills as both a mentor and mentee at just 7 years old."
Samantha Sandler, Whitby Class of '05

Samantha Sandler (nee Hilson) started Whitby at just two and a half years old in Stepping Stones and spent 14 years at the school. Samantha considers her years at Whitby to be the "foundation of my education, where I developed both intellectually and personally," which is appreciated praise for the school.

At Whitby, Samantha thrived, as she "learned to love learning" at the school and even earned a Busch Gardens award in 2004. According to Samantha, “Whitby fosters resilience, creativity, and compassion inside and outside of the classroom. I will be forever thankful to the school for affording me the unique opportunity to build skills as both a mentor and mentee at just 7 years old.”

After matriculating with just four other students (one was her cousin!) Samantha attended Deerfield Academy and then Northwestern University. Samantha started her career in Healthcare Corporate and Investment Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. After four-plus years in Investor Relations and Business Development at The Blackstone Group, Samantha recently took on an exciting role as Director of Investor Relations at SpringWorks Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in Connecticut that is focused on unlocking opportunities for patients living with severe rare diseases and cancer. Whitby is thrilled to have connected with Samantha this past year and looks forward to her future involvement in the school.

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"Whitby had an enormous impact on my life such as my desire to learn."
Joe Carvin , Whitby Class of '64

When Joe Carvin's parents first visited the school, they were "enthralled" by what Whitby could offer. They promptly enrolled Joe and his three brothers, all of whom graduated. In fact, while Joe graduated in 1964, his brother, David, was a member of the school's first graduating class.

Joe has very positive memories of the school, saying that Whitby "had an enormous impact on my life, such as my desire to learn." Joe remembers so much about Whitby - learning photography from former Whitby Headmaster, Paul Czaja; dissecting fetal pigs in the basement; a field trip to the Natural History Museum in New York City.

It was this last experience that inspired Joe to explore his passion and write a book, "It's Been Four Billion Years" This book, published last year, is a history of life on earth, written in iambic pentameter. According to Joe, the book is about "not collapsing the scale of human history." Joe presented his book and his perspective to 7th-grade science this past year.

Between Whitby and the current day, Joe had a successful educational career at Philips Exeter and the University of Pennsylvania, then studied law at night school while working in a seatbelt factory. As a long-time lawyer for Publix, Joe retired in 2003, and his writing career flourished. Whitby is thrilled to have received copies of Joe's books that are available in the library for students to read at any time.

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".. part of my interest in business early on and my exposure to the financial markets was at Whitby."
Carl Jean-Pierre, Whitby Class of '12

When considering schools to join in the 5th grade, Carl visited Whitby and knew instantly "that's where I wanted to go." Carl spent four years at Whitby and remembers so much that he liked about the school, from the IB curriculum to the students "from all areas of the world."

What Carl seemed to recall the best about Whitby were the classes and the teachers. Carl is currently a Business Analyst at Credit Suisse and states that "part of my interest in business early on and my exposure to the financial markets was at Whitby." While studying under the likes of Kurt Putnam, who was tough but "made sure you were on top of everything," Carl also connected with a Whitby family who was influential on his career choices. The family exposed Carl to finance and investing, and after this, Carl was hooked! Through this family, Carl saw his first trading floor at age 16 and is still very close with the family today.

After Whitby, Carl went to the King School with two other Whitby alums, then on to Fordham to study finance. After interning at Credit Suisse, Carl obtained a position in Capital Markets, where he works today.

Carl told Whitby that "he had a great time" at the school but upon speaking with teachers at the school, it's clear that teachers really enjoyed having Carl in class too.

"Have you ever been fearful of doing something only for it to change your life years later? The action sport Parkour did that for me. And the confidence I have is rooted in my formative years at Whitby."
Seneca Schwartz, Whitby Class of '18

Since graduating from Whitby School in 2018, Seneca Schwartz has been excelling at John Jay High school in Cross River NY. Recently, Seneca gave a TED Talk entitled " Why Don't More Girls like Jumping Off Walls? Three Observations from a Female Parkour Athlete." In this talk, Seneca takes you on her journey in the male-dominated world of Parkour. Seneca discusses strategies in dismantling stereotypes to create a more inclusive environment. Seneca exhibits many of the IB profile traits Whitby instills in students and also shows great courage and confidence in her presentation.

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"The one thing I took away from my Whitby education is the independence of knowing yourself, not following into a norm, and having the ability to try new things."
Cora Thomas, Whitby Class of '99

Cora Thomas started at Whitby in Stepping Stones and went on to graduate in 1999. Cora recalls the middle school years as being " such an amazing and unique experience" where students got to "grow lettuce in a fish tank" and that those years "were really defining for a lot of people." After Whitby, Cora matriculated from Greenwich High School and Parsons School of Design.

Cora then impressively worked at J. Crew, Club Monaco, and Madewell, where she was the Director of Jewelry overseeing and designing every item. Six years ago she started her own consulting company, Cora Thomas Designs, as she "realized I was ready for it. I've always been entrepreneurial." That's one of Cora's jewelry piece to the left of her photo.

Cora works with many different companies, conceptualizing, designing and manufacturing the jewelry under those companies' labels. Cora enjoys the challenge of working with a variety of different brands and welcomes the independence of running her own company. In fact, Cora told us that "The one thing I took away from my Whitby education is the independence of knowing yourself, not following into a norm, and having the ability to try new things."

"After Whitby, I felt ready to manage a challenge and had the confidence to take it on." Liam Junkermann, Entrepreneur and Sophomore at Trinity College, Dublin, Whitby Class of '15

In the photo above, Liam is on a product development call for start-up, L1nkup, a fintech startup looking to create better way for students to pay for things on campus, starting with wristbands to pay for all items at school, and moving onto mobile technology for this use. Read more about Liam's journey from a Whitby student to his latest accomplishmentmore about Liam and his new venture capital fund.