Notes from the Class of 2008

Creative writer Karim Dimechkie (Engl’08) received a three-year James A. Michener Fellowship in Creative Writing from the University of Texas Michener Center for Writers. His fiction piece was chosen out of more than 900 submissions, enabling him to become one of 11 fellows at the university where he will receive free tuition, an annual stipend and a development fund for travel and research.

Life is busy for Danny Schade (Mus’08). He is a private music teacher, a substitute teacher and a freelance drummer and composer. He released his first album, Predestination and Other Games of Chance . . . the Soundtrack, and composed and produced more than 90 pieces of music in 2010, which are available at dannyschade.com. Danny lives in Boulder.

President Obama named Sasha Reed (PhDEPOBio’08) one of 94 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. Sasha is a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and lives in Moab, Utah.

Denver resident Gil Selinger (Law’08) joined the law firm Fairfield and Woods. He provides full-service advice to corporate clients and counsels clients on state and federal securities laws and raising capital for their businesses. Before studying law, Gil worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York and in federal politics and business management.

Before becoming an environmental engineer in Boulder Eli Weber (MechEngr’08) served in the Peace Corps in a small village in Panama. While there, he developed environmental health systems, served as project manager of a program to train local water management committees, assisted in improving household sanitation systems, helped teachers develop lesson plans and taught children to play soccer. Eli says the experience changed his life.

On June 30 Jessica Amend (Psych’08) and Grant McGilvray (Jour’08) will marry. Jessica continued her education at the University of Denver with a degree in international disaster psychology and Grant works as a broadcast engineer at ROOT Sports in Denver.

On Sept. 15 Carly Stenseth (Soc’08) and Erik Rothschild (Econ, Fin’08) will marry. Carly is a teacher at Golden Gate Guppies in San Francisco and Erik is a trading associate at hedge fund Peak6 Advisors.

In May 2011 Christina Bojanowski (Comm’08) moved to Los Angeles and has worked on multiple national commercials for the Tennis Channel, worked for TV shows broadcast on Bravo, TLC and the Food Network and served as an editor. Christina is a production coordinator for Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. She writes, “I am humbled and blessed to be where I am thus far in my journey here in Hollywood.”

A founder of the Unreasonable Institute, Daniel Epstein (Phil’08) announced in spring a new program called Unreasonable at Sea. The program is for technology entrepreneurs who desire to take their ventures into new international markets. It is made up of teams that use technology to solve social and environmental challenges of this century, all while traveling on a ship to more than 14 countries in 100 days. Daniel lives in Boulder.

Filmmaker Ross Finkel (Film’08) began a documentary project in his senior year at CU-Boulder, spending close to a year and a half in the developmental stage preparing to film the movie in the Dominican Republic. After four years, the film Ballplayer: Pelotero is being released in theaters as well as on Video On Demand and iTunes. The documentary looks inside the world of professional baseball training camps in the Dominican Republic. Ross lives in Boulder.

Former CU student athlete and transgendered filmmaker Lauren Lubin (Soc’08) is making a documentary titled Gender Blender. The film is about nonbinary gender identities, and it follows Lauren as she undergoes surgery to transform her female body to become gender neutral. “This is so much about sharing our pride in ourselves and who we are,” she told the Daily Camera. Lauren resides in Northbrook, Ill., and writes she is happy the Alumni Association’s GLBTA chapter exists.

Reading Village hired Kassia Binkowski (IntPhys’08) as director of communications and development. Reading Village works with residents of impoverished villages in rural Guatemala to develop a culture of reading. Kassia lives in Boulder.

In January nine CU alumni set sail on a 106 day, 25,000-mile journey around the globe with 27 of the world’s most innovative technology entrepreneurs. The nautical journey is part of Unreasonable@Sea, founded by Daniel Epstein (Phil’08) of Boulder. Unreasonable@Sea is an experiment in transnational entrepreneurship and in leveraging startups as a tool for international economic development. Joining Daniel to document the experience were Evan Swinehart (Film’08) of Boulder; Mark Crawford (Film’08) of Broomfield, Colo.; Shawna Riley Schultz(Film’09) of Loveland, Colo.; Jessie Marek (Film, Phil’09) of Fort Morgan, Colo.; Patrick Behan (Film, Hist’09) of Southland, Texas; Matt Schultz(Film’09) of Loveland, Colo.; Matt Corliss (Engl’08, MJour’10) of Lafayette, Colo., and Larissa Rhodes (Film, Span’10) of Boulder. The documentary will capture the 11 tech-centered companies represented by the entrepreneurs to better understand how to bridge new markets and build globally relevant technologies and companies in a rapidly connected world.

Harvey Park Improvement Association president Julia Bourlakov (MFin’08) appeared in The Denver Post in September for her efforts toward building a sense of community in the Harvey Park neighborhood in Denver. Harvey Park is a diverse area with affordable 1950s houses. Julia lives in the neighborhood with her husband and two children.

After serving two years as an office management specialist at the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru, Jessica Mosnik (Ling’08) is working at her second post in Beijing, China. In Peru she served on the Interagency Housing Board, Ambassador’s Technology Working Group and the SharePoint Strategy Team. Jessica is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts of the USA and helped the Girl Scouts of Colorado provide training on a new program model to hundreds of adult volunteers statewide.

Tocci Building Companies announced Kirsten Soderlund (EnvDes’08) joined the firm as a modeler in the virtual design and construction department. Tocci is a Boston-area construction manager and recognized leader in virtual design and construction solutions. Previously Kirsten was a lighting and energy efficiency designer for Cleantech Solutions in Boulder. Since joining Tocci she has gained facility management experience through her work on such projects as the Rodina Federal Building in Newark, N.J.

Boulder’s Frasca restaurant announced its newest staff member, sommelier Carlin Karr (Comm ex’08). Carlin worked in San Francisco where she was the opening general manager and wine director at Sons and Daughters with no prior restaurant experience. Within 18 months of opening, Sons and Daughters received a Michelin Star. In 2011 Forbes Magazine recognized Carlin in a feature representing the food and beverage industry’s best under the age of 30.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck announced that Kyle Blackmer (Mgmt’08, Law’11) joined its real estate group as an associate. Kyle’s focus is on commercial real estate transactions with an emphasis on acquisitions and dispositions. Previously Kyle served as a judicial clerk for the honorable Judge Lewis T. Babcock of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. At law school, he was editor-in-chief of the University of Colorado Law Review. Kyle lives in Greeley, Colo.

Right as Rain by Heather Kailey Cleveland (Thtr, Jour’08) ranked No. 11 out of 14,633 novels in the romantic suspense genre on Amazon. Heather is on the list among legendary authors Nicholas Sparks, Maya Banks, and Janet Evanovich. “I am so honored to be on a list in the company of some of my literary heroes,” she says. Heather lives in Denver.

In November Joshua Malm (Fin’08, MAcct’08) will marry Kelly Tinney in Denver. Before attending CU, Joshua graduated from Centaurus High School in Lafayette, Colo. Kelly and Joshua are both assurance managers with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Joshua lives in Boulder.