Alumni Updates

Jed Castro – Class of 1993
Jed Castro and his wife

Jed met his wife of 19 years, Stacie, while they were both students at Virginia Tech, which he says is “the greatest university in all the land.Go Hokies!” They love to travel and have been to all 50 states, and 6 of the 7 continents. Antarctica is going to be a challenge, but they think they’re up for it. They currently live in Christiansburg, VA, where Jed works with Virginia Tech Athletics as Assistant Athletics Director for Productions and Multimedia. Jed shared, “We have no kids, no pets, and no plants, because we are too irresponsible to take care of them.”

Rebekah Eames Deal – Class of 1996
Rebekah Deal and family

Rebekah and her husband, Matt, are both licensed funeral directors and proudly own Morrison Funeral Home, Inc. in Oil City. They are a husband and wife power-team running a business, raising five children (ages 4 to 19), and trying to find time to balance their love of the outdoors all at the same time. Rebekah is an avid runner and in her spare time, she has completed countless 5ks and half marathons, nine marathons, four 50k races, and completed her first 100k race this past October.

Tara Mahoney – Class of 1999
Tara Mahoney and husband

Tara got engaged to Grant Eversmann on August 23, 2019, in Charleston, SC. Tara works as a project manager at an estate management company called Nautilus, and Grant is a civil engineer at ADC. The two are planning an October 2020 wedding.

Jonathan Rios – Class of 1999
Jon Rios and family

Jonathan is married and has four children. They currently live in Jupiter, Florida. He is the
Owner/Licensed Psychotherapist at Thriiv Co and assists clients in overcoming emotional, mental, and relational distress. Jonathan earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology at VMI and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Palm Beach Atlantic University. Jonathan also works as a performance coach primarily with athletes and musicians. For fun, he plays soccer, loves to free dive, and enjoys spearfishing.

Kristen Burns – Class of 2005
Kristen Burns with Micky and Minnie Mouse

Kristen graduated from Regent University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Animation. She is now participating in The Disney College Program in Orlando, Florida.

Kristin (Easler) Miller – Class of 2008

Kristin got her masters at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Illustration and she has been working in Chicago as a freelance designer and illustrator. She has illustrated for Alan Katz’s, “The Day the Mustache Took Over” and “The Day the Mustache Came Back” books. She has been married for 6 years to Daniel Miller, a voice actor. They are in the process of moving to Minneapolis.

Rebecca Easler – Class of 2010

Rebecca got her Masters in Victorian English Lit at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and is just starting her PhD program at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

Caty-Scarlett Coleman – Class of 2014
Caty-Scarlett Coleman and her husband

Caty-Scarlett is working as a Marketing Assistant at Joba, an interior design and communications firm in Blacksburg, VA. She specializes in public speaking coaching and videography/photography content creation. Her fiancé, Ethan O’Connell, is studying Dietetics at Virginia Tech and plans to become a Registered Dietician. His long-term plan is to open a Wellness Center for physical and mental health. The two got engaged on October 5th on the Appalachian Trail at sunrise and are planning a May 23, 2020, wedding.

Gabrielle (Vess) – Class of 2014 and Logan Sharp – Class of 2015
Gabby Vess wedding photo

Gabrielle Vess and Logan Sharp were married on September 7, 2019.

Courtney Jones – Class of 2015
Courtney Jones wearing a hard hat

Graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, located in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 2019. Additionally, she earned her Master of Engineering in Structural Engineering. During her 4 years, Courtney was a varsity swimmer for Stevens Institute. She is currently in a program called Engineers in Operations.

Autumn Swain – Class of 2017
Autumn Swain standing on a rocky beach

Autumn was one of 24 students who signed up for the inaugural year of UVA’s London First
program. Instead of heading to Charlottesville her first semester, she moved into a room at
Regent’s University, which is nestled in a park in the center of London. For her third semester, Autumn studied in Siena, Italy. She is currently in her third year at UVA in the College of Arts and Sciences.