Tag Archives: alumni

Summer Intern Blog: Shark Intern, Chris Daniell (F’10) & Boathouse Intern, H. Hoell

Chris Daniell

Hello! My name is Chris Daniell, Shark Intern and IS alum, and thank you for reading my blog post!

Being a student at the Island School was the most amazing experience of my life. I was here in the fall of 2010, and I spent the majority of 2011 trying to return. And here I am, living on Eleuthera, and living the dream.

The three months I spent as an Island School student were the best of my life. I loved every aspect of life here, from the more environmentally conscious nature of life, learning new things and meeting new people, and exploring the island of Eleuthera. However, my favorite part of The Island School experience was the connection to the ocean. My life has been dominated by a love for two things: science and the creatures that inhabit the world’s oceans. The Island School gave me my first hands-on experience with marine science, and gave me the opportunity to work with marine biologists. I was placed Continue reading

Knock, Knock…

…Who’s there? It’s Chris Maxey! Last week, Maxey surprised alum Carter Brown (SP’09) with an early morning visit and dragged him out of bed to do a run-swim in Bay Head on the Jersey Shore. Later that night, Maxey went out to dinner with a big crew of alumni: Elizabeth Tell (SP’11), Jane Rew (F’08), and Julia Rew (F’10).

Watch out, Maxey might show up at your home next!

Alumni Spotlight: Maggie Cissel (SP’06)

Since leaving the island 6 years ago Maggie Cissel (SP’06) has been in search of a way to give back what The Island School gave her and an avenue to channel the important lessons she learned here of empowerment, sustainability and community work. Recently, she and her two friends launched a Kickstarter project that aims to fulfill these three things.

Maggie graduated from Elon University in North Carolina this past spring with a degree in Strategic Communications and an emphasis on video production. In January 2012, she had the opportunity to travel to India with Elon’s President, his wife and a professional video producer to film several documentaries for Elon’s Study Abroad office. As a result of her time there, Maggie and her two friends have decided to return to India and start a global community photography project. You can find out more about Maggie’s project on her blog, Facebook, and Twitter pages.

In reflecting upon her Island School experience, she says “I feel indebted to The Island School, Continue reading

Fall 2011 Summer Reunion!

It’s reunion season! Summer is the best time of year to plan reunions and gatherings to bring together your Island School semester. Over the 4th of July holiday, 31 out of 47 members of the Fall 2011 semester traveled from far and wide to celebrate at AJ Wetherald’s home in Bristol, Rhode Island. Alumni traveled from California, Ireland, and even Australia to reunite with their friends from their semester! Yeah Fall 2011!

If your semester is planning a reunion for this summer, let us know so we can blog about it! Please email alumni@islandschool.org and be sure to include a photo!

CEI Welcomes its Summer Interns, Including Six IS Alumni

This week, 16 summer interns arrived on Eleuthera to work at Cape Eleuthera Institute. Of those 16, we were excited to welcome back 6 Island School alumni who spent a semester, summer term, or divemaster course here on the Cape over the last 6 years. Mackey Violich (F’06), Elizabeth Douglas (S’08), Jasmine Wilchcombe (F’08), Grace Dennis (Su’10), Chris Daniell (F’10) and Jake Verter (S’09) will be here supporting the Shark and Aquaponics programs for the next two months! We’re glad to have you back!
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Save the Date: Monster Run-Swim at The Island School September 22!

During the weekend of September 21-23, 2012, The Island School will be hosting its very first Monster Run-Swim. The course has been extended to encompass a more expansive network of land and sea features along the perimeter of Cape Eleuthera. Alumni, families, and friends of The Island School from close and far, please join us on-island to meet the challenge of a new course, designed to be longer, harder, and more intense than ever: more running, more swimming.

For more information about the weekend, the schedule, and course maps, please visit the Monster Run-Swim website (registration and RSVP forms to come soon!). If you have any other questions, please contact Cam Powel at cameronpowel@islandschool.org.

We hope to see you all there!

Jack Burnham (F08) Receives Grant to Write About Asteroid Mining

IS alumnus, Jack Burnham (F08) was recently featured on 60 Minutes for the interesting work he has been doing throughout this past year. Right after completing his senior year at Northfield Mount Hermon, Jack received a Peter Thiel Fellowship, which is a grant that has allowed him to write about mining asteroids, in place of pursuing the traditional college route. You can watch the entire clip on Jack, and other Peter Thiel fellows, here! Congratulations, Jack!

Alumni in Action: Horatio Smith (F02) Gives Back–to the IS Kitchen!

Island School alumnus and Alumni Advisory Board member, Horatio Smith (F02) has returned to The Island School on a number of occasions. Currently, Horatio is providing professional development to the kitchen team to celebrate it as a classroom where students can become more involved with healthy menu choices. Horatio owns Nelly’s Deli, a restaurant and catering business in Nassau and has been helping the kitchen become a place of learning for Island School students and visiting Educational Programs by stressing the importance of using local foods in The Bahamas. In addition, the kitchen has recently begun to cater more and more special events and Horatio is coaching the kitchen team to take these events to the next level by inventing new and creative dishes and menus. Horatio says “The school has done so much for me. And that fact that I even have an opportunity to share my passion speaks volumes to the commitment the school has to its alumni. The passion that I have for life and Culinary Arts is largely part to the experiences of cooking in the kitchen with Mooch and Becca and caramelizing nuts over a camp fire on my 8 day kayak trip. Being able to give back in this way ensures that the veal lives on.”

Thank you, Horatio, for your hard work and dedication to The Island School and especially to the kitchen and its staff!

Lionfish Research in The Bahamas Makes Global Spotlight

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Since its creation just over one year ago, the Lionfish Research and Education Program (LREP) at CEI has strived to become a hub for lionfish work in the Caribbean. Recently, LREP has taken some exciting steps toward reaching this status! Just last week, CEI hosted three producers and videographers from ZED (www.zed.fr), a major French documentary company that is working on gathering footage for an upcoming TV series featuring invasive lionfish. Specifically, the documentary team was interested in learning about Bahamian lionfish research and management initiatives. Luckily, visiting scientist, and partner of LREP, Nicola Smith was able to come over from Nassau to support the week’s activities and be featured in the film! Nicola is the lead coordinator for the Bahamian-wide lionfish research project that operates under the Bahamian Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and partners with CEI.

ZED producer, Jerome Segur, sound engineer, Olivier Pioda, and underwater videographer (and former member of Jacque Cousteau’s prestigious dive team!) Didier Noirot, joined Nicola and LREP researchers in the field to get a closer look at lionfish and to better understand the project’s research objectives. Continue reading

Alumni Mentor Position for Summer Term 2012

Hey all you alums out there! We are still accepting applications for Summer Term 2012 Alumni Mentors. Island School is looking alumni who want to come back to the Cape, gain teaching experience, and support high school students through this intense summer journey. To read more about the job description, responsibilities, and to apply, click here. The application deadline is February 15. If you have any questions, please contact alumni@islandschool.org.