C’10
On April 11, 2025, Brian Merry G’08,’12 proposed to Erin Carroll, and she ecstatically said “yes”! They are planning their wedding for summer 2026 in Morristown, a place they’ve come to cherish not only from their Drew days but also where they have built their life together. See photo gallery.
Raven Brockriede and husband, Dylan Hedmark, welcomed their first daughter in March 2025 in Boston, MA. See photo gallery.
C’15
PHOTO GALLERY
Enlarge
Dr. Morissa Schwartz C’15, G’20 is overjoyed to announce the arrival of her daughter, Maven, born June 20 and weighing in at a mighty 4.7 pounds. Maven was lovingly adopted and is already dazzling the world with her smarts, beauty, and charm. She’s healthy, thriving, and keeping her mom on her toes! Morissa hopes Maven will one day be a future Drewid—Class of 20-something, start prepping the tree tour!
C’17
Michelle (Taliento) C’16, G’18 and Bobby DeMarco welcomed a daughter, Quinn Marigold DeMarco, in September 2024. Michelle is a high school English teacher in Cresskill, NJ, where she has been employed since finishing her MAT at Drew in 2018. She won the 2024 High School Teacher of the Year! Bobby finished law school at CU Boulder in 2020 and started a new job with Mercer Advisors as an Estate Planning Strategist this past year.
Shafer Ward shares, “My favorite thing I did at Drew was that I, alongside my dear friend Philipe Abiyouness, founded the Drew Football Team, and it charms me to no end that the legacy of the Drew Football Team is alive and well. May it live long and continue to confuse prospective students. Outside of my favorite pastime (rest), I love staying artistically engaged, not only in my own projects, but in the projects of the many Drew alums I still keep in touch with. If you are a Drew alum and need people at your show/gala/whatever, let me know! My current pet project is developing a game show with C’17 alum Jessica Sroczynski, following our most recent trip to the Edinburgh Fringe, which we hope to debut in Brooklyn this spring. I live in Brooklyn now with my girlfriend of several years and a 13-year-old Pomeranian with somewhere in the neighborhood of 3–6 teeth. I cannot speak to where I’ll go next, but my heart will always belong to Jersey!”
Philipe Abiyouness shares, “I just moved back to New Jersey after living in Philadelphia, where I worked at a non-profit focused on the teaching and celebration of Arab art and culture. I’ve been working in arts education in one way or another since graduating!”
Alexander Slotkin shares, “I’m an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition at Florida Atlantic University. I earned my PhD from the University of Florida in May 2024. I married Shira Newman C’16 in December 2020. We had some Drewids—writing that makes me think of Lord of the Rings—at our party (which was delayed due to COVID-19). Three of these Drewids (Jonathan Van Dongen, Saif Yasin, and Jal Trivedi) were my groomsmen. Shira and I now live in South Florida.”
Jonathan Van Dongen and Jordan Burnett C’19 married in Fall 2025. Jonathan completed a full-time MBA at the Duke University – Fuqua School of Business. “We adopted a wonderful stray a few years ago (Loki, insta: @deer_loki), and I’m hoping for another pup soon! We miss the beautiful fall in the Forest and are trying to get a small taste of it here in Raleigh, NC.”
Cara Anan shares, “As a proud Drew alumnus and current adjunct professor at Drew, I wanted to share an exciting update about my professional journey. Founding my own law firm, Cornerstone Legal LLC, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. One of the best decisions I made while growing the firm was bringing on a fellow Drew alumnus, Alessandro Amato, to serve as a mediator. Though not an attorney, Alessandro offers a unique blend of skills in client care, communication, and conflict resolution.”
Dr. Katie Annarelli won her race for Garwood Council in November. See more here. Katie is married to alum Richard D. Poland and daughter of alum Dr. James Annarelli, Ph.D. G’84, P’17.
C’22
From Sierra Joy Williams, “After graduating from Drew, I drove across the entire country to move to a small town in eastern Washington called Walla Walla to go to graduate school. In June 2024, I graduated with my MS in Biology from Walla Walla University, and in June 2025, my master’s thesis, ‘Genetic Sex Determination in O. rubescens,’ was made available to the public. At WWU, I studied the octopus species O. rubescens, commonly referred to as ruby octopuses, with the goal of being one of the first people in the world to discover what sex determination methods octopuses use. By using genetic information from 28 individual wild-caught (and released!) ruby octopuses, and doing a lot of bioinformatics, I helped discover that octopuses have a ZZ-ZO chromosomal system, which up until 2025 was a complete mystery. While doing research and teaching, I fell deeply in love with traveling, and my partner of two years and I have camped and hiked throughout most of Washington, Oregon, and northern California. We have seen sights that I only dreamed of seeing growing up—the northern lights, night skies so clear that you can see the Milky Way, awe-inspiring mountain ranges and plains, plenty of national and state parks, and plenty of lil’ (and big) critters! I am incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities I have been given that have allowed me to create a life full of adventure in the most pristine environments in the US. Currently, I live in Oregon and will be starting my first full-time instructor role in cellular biology at a local community college for the upcoming winter term and will likely be applying to PhD programs within the next one to two years. I am very excited to see what amazing new opportunities are in store for me!” See photo gallery.
PHOTO GALLERY
C’24
Maura Kelly shares, “I am currently in my second year of my master’s program at Rutgers. I am earning a Master of Information with a concentration in Archives and Preservation and am on track to graduate in spring 2026! I have been working at Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives for almost a year. I also volunteer and work at an equine-assisted therapy barn, where I have met some of the most amazing people and animals!”
C’25
Benjamin Castro: “After graduating, I was promoted to Full-Time Assistant Store Manager at GameStop. In my first quarter, I helped lead my store and team to rank among the top 500 locations company-wide. Additionally, I was appointed to the College Alumni Association and elected as Class Secretary for the Drew University Class of 2025.”
Jared Simonetti: “I began my work at the company ACTi.AI as a Frontend Developer on September 21. At this job, I have worked to build a web application with a small group of developers to allow people to message different AI agents with the purpose of accelerating professional development. I have been working with the company on a part-time basis, and I plan to continue working with them for the duration of my time in graduate school. I am also completing my master’s in Software Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology through the 4+1 program with Drew University. At Stevens, I have been learning about all parts of the software development process. Each class I am taking requires creating a complete software product, which has greatly improved my understanding of the professional world of software development. I have been very satisfied with the career and graduate school opportunities that I have had since graduating from Drew University. I am arguably busier now than I have ever been in my life, and it is to be expected when going to graduate school. Nevertheless, I am lucky to be where I am and to be doing what I enjoy.”
Enlarge
Ashley Rogers: “In the course of five months, I was privileged to work at the New Jersey School of Conservation, a leader in environmental education. I was also fortunate to assist a Cornell postdoctoral fellow with her research focused on how human-caused barriers, like the Corn Belt, impact bird migration. Next fall, I plan to participate in an ecological graduate school program to advance my career. I can’t thank Drew enough for helping me to satisfy my personal and professional ambitions.”