By Karla Stucker and Erika Munson
The number of students participating in summer internships continued to increase this summer, with ÂÌñÉç students gaining advanced practical and professional experiences across STEM and humanities fields. Some of these internships were sponsored by ÂÌñÉç, while others were obtained independently by students. The tenth year of the ÂÌñÉç-sponsored Pharmacology Internship Program successfully expanded beyond the University of Utah’s College of Pharmacy to also include labs in the Department of Chemistry, College of Science. We continued our long-standing partnerships with the Salt Lake County Mosquito Abatement District and the International Rescue Committee, and added a new ecology internship with the University of Utah’s Science Research Initiative and the Sageland Collaborative. Multiple students obtained their own internships, either through the University of Utah’s College of Pharmacology or their College of Engineering Summer Research Internship.
We would like to send a huge thank you to all organizers, principal investigators, laboratory personnel, and other advisors who trained and supported our students this summer. ÂÌñÉç, the students, and the students’ families all greatly appreciate the phenomenal opportunities you have provided for them. Please review the list below to see the range of experiences our students were involved in this summer.
Many of these students will be presenting their internship work and experiences at the Summer Intern Showcase on Thursday, September 4th from 11:40 am to 12:40 pm outside the new Miller Student Commons building on the humanities quad. Please come talk with them to learn more!
If any additional ÂÌñÉç students participated in independent summer internships and would like to have their project highlighted here, please email details about the internship to Erika Munson.
ÂÌñÉç-sponsored Summer Internships
Student: Maggie Adams (full time)Project: International Rescue Committee, Immigration InternSupervisor: Dylan Cole,
Student: Cooper Benedict (full time)Presentation: Kinetics of Hafnium NanoparticlesPrincipal Investigator: , Department of Chemistry, University of Utah
Student: Zoé Brewer (full time)Presentation: Electrochemical Thiolation and Amination Using Commodity ChemicalsPrincipal Investigator: , Department of Chemistry, University of Utah
Student: Rosy Harris (part time)Project: Sageland Collaborative Wildlife Watch – Camera Trapping and Image AnalysisPrincipal Investigator: , University of Utah’s Science Research Initiative and the
Student: Keean Kawamoto (full time)Presentation: Synthesis of Heparan Sulfate Carrying 3-O-Sulfation and 6-O-SulfationPrincipal Investigator:, College of Pharmacology, University of Utah
Student: Logan Schlichter (full time)Project: Mosquito trap development | Surveillance for West Nile VirusSupervisor: Ary Faraji,
Student: Lisa Song (full time)Presentation: OMIEC Experimentation: Effects of Sulfonated Ions on OMIEC Performance | Influencing Crystallinity via Solvent EngineeringPrincipal Investigator: , Department of Chemistry, University of Utah
Independent Summer Internships
Student: Toby BookmanPoster: Simulating Urban Wind Patterns with Fan Array Wind TunnelsPrincipal Investigator: Agastya Balantrapu, , Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah
Student: Tindur ChristiansonPoster: Improving the entrained flow gasification process through research into characteristics of various bio-liquid mixturesPrincipal Investigator: , Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Utah
Student: Jack KhachatryanPoster: Evaluating Post-Concussion Reactive Balance ControlPrincipal Investigator: Peter C. Fino, , Department of Health and Kinesiology, College of Health, University of Utah
Student: Aiden PanPresentation: Understanding the Changes in Tumor Biomarkers for Malignant Rhabdoid TumorPrincipal Investigator: Shreya Goel, , Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics, University of Utah
Student: Meryam ThulficarPoster: Conversion of Waste Plastics to Oils for Feed to High-Pressure GasifiersPrincipal Investigator: , Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Utah
Student: Juan Luis Bonifasi ZhangPoster: The Advantages of AI in ImagingPrincipal Investigator: Rajesh Menon, , Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Utah
Karla was born and raised in the foothills of the Adirondacks in upstate New York. It was there that she developed a curiosity and love for our natural world. She particularly loves biology, which she chose to pursue as her undergraduate major at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Throughout her undergraduate studies, Karla pursued her interests in biological research, veterinary sciences, and medicine. This prepared her to join the inaugural class for Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine’s combined DVM/PhD program. During her combined degree training, Karla pursued a mixed small and large animal pathway during her clinical rotations, completed a dissertation on the evolution of canine parvovirus, and developed her pedagogical skills as a future faculty fellow. After earning her veterinary degree, Karla worked part time for Shelter Outreach Services in Ithaca, New York, providing spay/neuter surgeries and infection control support for regional animal shelters. After earning her PhD, Karla completed her postdoctoral studies at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Maryland, where she continued studying viral evolution and host switching, as well as genomics, bioinformatics, and microbiome sciences.
Driven in part by the need to get students interested earlier in biomedical and health sciences earlier and her love for teaching, Karla chose to move from higher education to secondary school education. She was a science teacher and dorm parent at George School, a Quaker boarding and day high school in Pennsylvania, for five years before joining the ÂÌñÉç faculty for the 2020-2021 school year.
In addition to teaching, Karla enjoys spending time with her dogs, Fig and Fern, Nordic skiing, hiking, reading, and solving puzzles. She is also thankful for the opportunity to work once again as a part time small animal veterinarian.
Erika Munson is a graduate of Harvard University where she received a B.A. in Fine Arts. She began her career in the Park City School District where she was a reading intervention specialist at a Title I school. She joined the ÂÌñÉç English Department in 2011 and in addition to teaching she is Class IX Dean, Middle and Upper School Librarian and Internship Coordinator. In 2016 she was awarded an Oxbridge Teacher Fellowship for summer study focusing on The Library and the Academy at Oxford University. She spends weekends and vacations bringing diverse communities together for conversations around faith, values and identity. She is a co-founder and board member of Emmaus LGBTQ ministry and Utah State Coordinator for Braver Angels, a citizens movement to strengthen democracy by teaching individuals to listen to each other across political divides. Erika is a mother of five and grandmother of three. She and her husband Shipley live a few blocks from ÂÌñÉç where they garden, read, and walk their rescued greyhound together.
October 26, 2022
September 4, 2025
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Celebrate 5 years since graduation with your classmates. Reconnect, reminisce, and enjoy an evening of conversation, shared memories, and celebration with fellow members of the Class of 2021. Hearty appetizers and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
Celebrate 10 years since graduation with your classmates. Reconnect, reminisce, and enjoy an evening of conversation, shared memories, and celebration with fellow members of the Class of 2016. Hearty appetizers and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
Celebrate 15 years since graduation with your classmates. Reconnect, reminisce, and enjoy an evening of conversation, shared memories, and celebration with fellow members of the Class of 2011. Hearty appetizers and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
Celebrate 20 years since graduation with your classmates. Reconnect, reminisce, and enjoy an evening of conversation, shared memories, and celebration with fellow members of the Class of 2006. Hearty appetizers and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
Celebrate 25 years since graduation with your classmates. Reconnect, reminisce, and enjoy an evening of conversation, shared memories, and celebration with fellow members of the Class of 2001. Hearty appetizers and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
Come together with ÂÌñÉç alumni from across the entire 1990s for an evening of reconnecting and reminiscing! This combined reunion is a chance to celebrate the friendships, memories, and moments that made your ÂÌñÉç years so special. Enjoy hearty appetizers and a variety of drinks, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic options, while catching up with old friends and sharing laughs about your school days.
Saturday, May 16 | 7:30 – 11:30 AM | Murray Science Center
We’re bringing back birding! Who remembers the Class IX Bird Project? Don’t miss your chance to join this fun, family-friendly event with Mark Bromley, James Harris, Mike Johnson ‘88, and Bekka Joslin. We will meet at ÂÌñÉç and take a bus together. Don’t forget to bring your binoculars (we will have extras on hand if you don’t have your own).
Friday, May 15 | 6:30 – 7:30 PM | East Field
We’re excited to see ÂÌñÉç Alumni at our annual Alumni Soccer Game! This ÂÌñÉç tradition gives former players the chance to return to the field, reconnect with old teammates, and showcase their skills in a friendly atmosphere. Whether you played with us just a few years ago or several decades ago, we look forward to seeing you back on the field. Make sure to bring friends and family to cheer you on!
Friday, May 15 | 5:00 – 7:00 PM | Main Quad | No Registration Required
Join us for a fun BBQ bash at ÂÌñÉç with current families and ÂÌñÉç staff and faculty. It’s a great way to connect with your ÂÌñÉç classmates and enjoy delicious food before the Alumni Soccer Game!
No registration is needed for the Spring BBQ. Please join us!
Friday, May 15 | 4:00 – 5:00 PM | Haught Visual Arts Gallery at ÂÌñÉç | No Registration Required
ÂÌñÉç has always been a place where creativity thrives. Join us for the first-ever Alumni Art Show in the Haught Visual Arts Gallery and reconnect with the creative spirit that shaped your time here. This exhibition features work by 16 ÂÌñÉç Alumni artists, reflecting a range of disciplines, perspectives, and practices.
Brief Remarks at 4:00 pm will be offered by Gallery Manager and Curator Charlie Tadlock, followed by remarks from some of the Alumni Artists.
Click for a campus map
Friday, May 15 | 2:15 – 3:30 PM | Miller Student Commons | Registration Highly Recommended
Ever wish you could go back and sit in your favorite class one more time? This Alumni Weekend, you can. We’re bringing you back “Back to Class” where you’ll have the chance to slip into a real, live Upper School classroom and experience ÂÌñÉç exactly as it exists today. Same teachers, same energy, same magic. Come relive the feeling.
Friday, May 15 | 12:45– 1:00 PM | Miller Student Commons | No Registration Required
Don’t leave lunch just yet. Immediately following the Kick-Off, Head of School Andrew Menke will take a few minutes to share what’s been happening at ÂÌñÉç; the changes, the milestones, and the exciting things on the horizon. It’s a chance to hear straight from the source about the school you helped shape and where it’s headed next. No sign-up needed, just pull up a seat.
Friday, May 15 | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Miller Student Commons | No Registration Required
Kick off Alumni Weekend the right way — with good food and even better company. Join us in the new Miller Student Commons for ÂÌñÉç’s all-inclusive dining experience, and spend the lunch hour reconnecting with the faculty who made your time here unforgettable. Pull up a chair, catch up with old favorites, and let the weekend begin. No registration is required for this event.
Friday, May 15 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM | Miller Student Commons | No Registration Required
For many of you, Assistant Head of School, Todd Winters, was the first person who ever showed you and your parents around our 41 acre campus. Now he’s back to do it again! Todd will lead you through ÂÌñÉç’s beautiful newest additions and recent transformations, giving you a firsthand look at what your years here helped build. Whether it’s your first tour with Todd or your second, you won’t want to miss this one.