April 21, 2015

1) Samantha Stratton (Seminar class of 2011) was just named a Distinguished Scholar for the 2015 graduating class of Salem High School. This award is given to students who show exceptional character and will graduate with above a 4.0 GPA. Sam is an International Baccalaureate student, has been in the National Honor Society all four years, and was invited to the Spanish Honor Society her junior and senior years. Samantha will be attending the University of Virginia in the fall. She was also accepted at Virginia Tech, Tulane University, Roanoke College and Lynchburg College. Samantha ran Cross Country all four years and was team captain her junior and senior years. She also played lacrosse all four years, making the All Valley and All District teams three of those years.

2) Ciara Peacock (Seminar class of 2007) is graduating from the University of Mary Washington with Honors in May. She is completing majors in political science, government, and film studies and is a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha and Pi Gamma Mu honor societies. She plans to pursue a career in media and politics. Ciara is the Director of The Undeniably Adjacent Improv Troupe at UMW and studied improve theater at The Groundlings, jO West, and Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles, CA. She studied abroad in Buenos Aires, focusing on Spanish literature and Argentine politics.

3) Erin Coogan (Seminar class of 2005) is working as the Coordinator of the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation. She is also working as an Administrative Assistant at Community High School. Erin graduated from Goucher College in 2013 with a B.A. in history, with concentrations in European and public history.

4) Sarah Murphy (Seminar class of 2007) is graduating from Goucher College with a B.A. in history and secondary education. She is a Research Fellow with Bk International Education Consultancy.

5) Alex Bentley (Seminar class of 2008), a sophomore at Wofford College, recently made a documentary film entitled “Flow.” The film is based on the fifteen days that Alex and another Wofford student spent hiking 225 miles on the Appalachian Trail this past January. It includes interviews with 25 other hikers and trail experts that the students encountered and addresses the history and culture of the trail, the natural beauty, the solitude, and what hiking the trail means to each of the individuals they interviewed. “Flow” was shown at Wofford College on April 19 and will be posted on YouTube. This was not Alex’s first experience on the AT—he previously completed a 700-mile trek. Alex will be working at the Copperhead Institute in Spartanburg, S.C., this summer researching copperheads and rattlesnakes.