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Alumni News | 09/01/2022
By: Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation

August 2022 Connections

Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast hosted 2022 Scholars from their territory at Fenway Park for a Red Sox game!

Virtual LDI

This year, 2022 Coke Scholars are participating in the Coca-Cola Scholars Leadership Development Institute (LDI) virtually. 30 seasoned Scholars have volunteered as facilitators to lead them through a curriculum that teaches an inside-out perspective of leadership focusing on 4 pillars: empathy, self-awareness, vision, and inspiration.

Alumni facilitator Liz Howell (1996, bottom right) with 2022 Scholars Layla Dawit, Bernadette Nwokeji, Emily Shaw, Hita Gupta, and Shivani Srikanth.
Facilitator Jacqueline Roman (2015, top middle) and 2022 Scholars Siddhartha Javvaji, Cordelia Van der Veer, Wesley Peng, and Alexandra Collins.
Jenny Kim (2009, top middle) facilitates LDI for 2022 Scholars McKenna Sun, Rebekah Hong, Sreeya Pittala, Sophie Kudler, and Vicky Vo.
Facilitator Courtney Lynn (1996, top middle) gets a thumbs up from her 2022 Scholars, David Dzul, Brooke Bothner, Lena Kalandjian, Fardouza Farah, and Kingson Wills.
Alumni facilitator Taylor Fogg (2013) and 2022 Scholars Jackson Moody, Grant Baxter, Rishika Kartik, and Riley Rane.
Reshini Premaratne (2016, top right) facilitates LDI for 2022 Scholars Stella Kwon, Elizabeth Zheng, Madeleine Cotter, and Kalina Kulig,
Alum Paul Negron (1999, top right) leads LDI for 2022 Scholars Skylar Walters, Mariajose Morales, Maxwell Wenzel, and Victoria Ren.
LDI facilitator Nicki Lehrer (2003, top right) with 2022 Scholars Cameron Pokorny, Tarini Mutreja, and Edgar Arteaga.

Summer Refresh Series

The Coke Scholars Summer Refresh Series is an opportunity for Coke Scholars to nourish their souls and strengthen their leadership and business skills courtesy of fellow Scholar experts.

Michael Solomon (1992, top left) led an inspirational discussion on recognizing our “dividing days.” He told his story of losing his leg and the importance of remaining positive and hopeful in the midst of hard times.
Dr. Laura Froyen (2002) led an informative discussion on “Widening Your Window” and knowing your nervous system when stress and distractions get in the way of balance in your life.

Scholar Meet Ups

Kathleen Julca (2021), David Spicer (2019), Vanesa Carrillo (2019), Wylie Chang (2014), and John Lowrey (2010) had dinner in Boston.
Jany Brown (1992) and her son, Alice Park (1999) and her son, Jane Hopkins (CCSF), Carolyn Norton (CCSF) and some mutual friends volunteered together at Our House in Atlanta.
Justin Kawaguchi (2017) and Sophia Wang (2018) are both Fulbright ETAs this year in Taiwan and met up at a training conference.
2022 Scholars Abel Dagne, Milo Golding, Agnes Liang, Tarini Mutreja, Edgar Arteaga, and Alexandra Collins connected while attending a summer engineering program at Stanford University.
Albert Lawrence (2003, left) and Tara Haelle (1996, right) dined with Ryan Rodriguez (former CCSF staff), Jane Hopkins (CCSF President) and Carolyn Norton (CCSF Alumni Relations Manager).
Albert and Carolyn also saw Alice Park (1999) when Albert used her studio for work while in Atlanta.
Chris Biehn (2014) and Jenny Kim (2009) met up for coffee in Philadelphia.
LaToya Franklyn (2003) and Neha Devineni (2020) attended the CHRIStal Ball in Atlanta for the Chris180 organization on behalf of The Coca-Cola Company.
Kevin Chung (1990) met up with Rosalyn Kennedy (1997) and Jorge Casimiro (1994) while he was visiting Portland.
Jamie Williams (CCSF Director of Scholarships) caught up with Sophie Kudler (2022) and gave her family a tour of The Coca-Cola Company building while they were in Atlanta.
Carolyn Norton (CCSF) ran into Hunter Snowden (2015) at a Coca-Cola Company event in Atlanta. Hunter is a legal intern at The Coca-Cola Company.
Carolyn also stopped for lunch with Carrie Regan (1989) in Knoxville while on a road trip.

Podcast

The SIP, The Coke Scholars Ignite Podcast, is back for season 3! The SIP shares a taste of the Coke Scholars around the world who are igniting positive change.

The second episode of The SIP features incredibly talented artists, storytellers, and creative entrepreneurs: 

Listen as they discuss starting a career in storytelling and the arts, growing as an artist, and the importance of creating for people who really need stories right now. 

The episode is introduced by Aisha Chebbi (2020).

Watch a video of Nicole, Adam, and Jared recording this episode here with captions on YouTube.

In the third episode of The SIP, 3 Coke Scholars have a candid conversation about the twists and turns of raising children and teenagers:

  • Samuel Wakefield (2001) – Leadership Director, The Organizer Zero Project; Partner, DEI Works; & father of 4
  • Nelda Brown (1989) – School Board Staff Aide, Fairfax County School Board & cousin-mommy to teenager Eric
  • Dr. Laura Froyen (2002) – Early Childhood and Parenting Specialist & mother of 2

The trio discuss the challenges of parenting in the age of covid, cell phones, and social media; the importance of having an open mind; and their unique parenting journeys.

The episode is introduced by Aisha Chebbi (2020).

Watch a video of Samuel, Nelda, and Laura recording this episode here with captions on YouTube.

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