In-person alumni events are currently on hold until Clairbourn is notified by health and safety officials that gatherings are allowed.
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List of 20 news stories.

  • Justin will be attending Boston College.

    Clairbourn graduates are LEADERS who are not afraid to speak up, listen, question and make a difference in the world.

  • Clairbourn graduates have HEART, full of compassion, resilience, and gratitude. They are lifelong learners with a growth mindset. 

    Bennett was part of the Clairbourn class of 2017. He knew music was his passion and followed it at a young age. Over the years, Bennett has performed as an artist at the Whiskey A GoGo, the Troubadour, the Federal, and Universal Studios, as well as in Europe. He has also worked with many well known artists and producers.
  • Clairbourn graduates are SCHOLARS who are grounded in the values of honesty, respect, responsibility, spirituality, and citizenship.

    Nicole Lam was a part of the Clairbourn Class of 2017. She recently graduated from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) as valedictorian. This fall, she will be attending Yale University, majoring in applied mathematics while continuing her piano studies.
  • Clairbourn Connections: Class of 2017

    It has been a long Clairbourn tradition to invite the alumni class graduating from high school back to campus for a reunion breakfast the morning of our graduation. It’s not only a celebration before sending them off to college, but it also gives the alumni a chance to make Clairbourn connections with current students and share their insights. This year is no exception!

    We reached out to our class of 2017 and asked for their reflections! Let’s see what they have to say!
  • Nina Luo and Caroline Kwan, creators of the Dishcovery app. Both young women are Clairbourn School alumnae.

    Exploring Mobile App Design: Alumnae Caroline Kwan & Nina Luo “Dishcover” a Great Idea

    For elementary school students, early technology training, a growth mindset, and teamwork skills can help them make the most of opportunities that come later in life. Former Clairbourn School students Nina Luo and Caroline Kwan, from the Class of 2018, exemplify this perfectly. The following article describes their new app, “Dishcovery,” and how Clairbourn School provided early educational advantages that helped them to take on a technology challenge as high-schoolers.
     
    Anytime an interactive tool or device is created, there is a lot to learn and accomplish. Having an ability to think conceptually as well analytically is key to generating the initial idea, the plan, and the steps for development and deployment. When busy high school students Nina Luo and Caroline Kwan set out to create an app for their summer computer class at Coding Minds Academy, they didn’t flinch when faced with the mountain of work involved. They chose to invest their precious free time, both in and outside of class, to make an app that had meaning and value for their everyday life.

  • Allison Knight Morrissey, Class of 1998

    Allison Knight Morrissey, Class of 1998 - Passionate Development Director for an Afterschool Youth Program

    Allison Knight Morrissey, Class of 1998, attended Glendora High School and graduated from UC Irvine with a double major in dance and drama. After working at Clairbourn for three years in the finance office, she moved to New York to pursue musical theater and arts administration. Subsequently, she and her husband moved to San Diego, where she currently works for A Step Beyond, an afterschool youth development program as the Development Director. She is passionate about providing services for families in need and having humility in leadership and the nonprofit sector. Read her inspiring interview here.
  • Sinziana Velicescu, class of 2003

    Sinziana Velicescu, Class of 2003 - Award-Winning Photographer Tells Stories of Place

    Sinziana Velicescu, class of 2003, is a photographer based in Los Angeles, California. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Comparative Literature and Film. Her photography explores human intervention with nature in landscapes that have undergone political, social, or environmental change. Appropriating architectural vocabulary, Velicescu disrupts everyday topography via careful composition to develop an elegant and humorous narrative to tell the story of place. Velicescu's award winning series, “On The Periphery,” has been shown in galleries internationally and is now available as a hardcover book, published by Aint-Bad.
  • Evan Robinson, Class of 2006, Visual Storyteller

    Evan Robinson, Class of 2006 - Master Visual Storyteller

    Evan Robinson, Class of 2006, is a visual storyteller with a penchant for telling compelling narratives. In his work, he likes to ask how a product is made, who uses it, and why people love it. He has created images and directed videos for brands around the world. A Renaissance man, he's also a pilot and flies small airplanes around the country. Check out his website and interview...
  • Amanda Adams

    Amanda P. Adams, Class of 1992 - Awe-Inspiring Fine Artist Using Ink and Paint

    Amanda Perrigue Adams, Class of 1992, is a fantastic fine artist who primarily paints with oil on linen, canvas, and wood. At Clairbourn, she was exposed to different kinds of art, which piqued her interest and helped inspire her career in art. Read her inspiring interview here, and  check out her pieces!

    Web address: https://amandaadamsart.com
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aadamsartstudio/
    Instagram: @amandaadams_art
  • Teale Hathaway

    Teale Hatheway, Class of 1992 - Internationally Exhibited Artist based in Los Angeles

    Teale Hatheway, Class of 1992, is a Los Angeles-based artist whose work explores the intersection of observation, recollection, and architecture/infrastructure. Her work has been exhibited all over the world and is featured in corporate, private, and public collections. She mentioned that she had the best memories of her time at Clairbourn School. Read about her latest projects, what inspires her, and her advice for our students or young alums who want to pursue art as a career. Also, check out her websites here: 
     
  • Tiffany Chang, Class of 2018

    An Important Message of Pandemic Hope from Clairbourn Alumna Tiffany Chang

    Tiffany Chang, from Clairbourn’s Class of 2018, sees the opportunities embedded in every crisis. She credits her elementary school, Clairbourn, for the optimistic thoughts that inspired an award-winning video she made for the Center for Future Global Leaders (CFGL) Young Artist Competition. She says, “I will always be grateful to Clairbourn as the school has always taught me to look at the positive side of every situation and to stay optimistic even during the most difficult times. I will never forget the important life lessons Clairbourn instilled in me.”

    Over a period of about 2 weeks, fueled by her positive-outlook habits and motivated by her own optimistic actions while staying at home, she scripted, animated, and recorded an artistic video on the topic of “Hope” for the CFGL competition. Her “Leaders of Tomorrow Video During the Pandemic” project was designed for parents and students, and reveals a path out of hopelessness by making a point of looking at the brighter side of the stay-at-home-order and disruptions to normal routines. 

    After addressing the world-wide toll on health and the derailment of education in the era of COVID-19, she uses the powerful and repeated reframing question, “What if?” “What if this generation is advanced because of this pandemic?” Tiffany’s project presents 18 reframing questions in total that provide ample reasons for optimism in the face of great hardship. As a result, her project not only delivered on the intended inspiration, but it also won her a $300 prize and a top spot as a national finalist in the CFGL competition.

    We invite you to watch her video, read the transcript that follows, and then learn more about Tiffany’s impressive record of philanthropy and community service. 

  • The Zoom meeting with the alumni panelists took place on July 29, 2020.

    College Applications: Clairbourn Alums Share Advice

    Clairbourn School held a virtual panel in July 2020 featuring alums who offered advice on the college application process. Panelists included Kristofer Chang ‘16, who will be attending Harvey Mudd College, Jada Gritton ‘16, who will be attending the University of Pennsylvania, and Salvatore Rego ’15, now attending the College of William and Mary. The panel’s moderator was Mina Kasama, From Clairbourn’s Class of 2011, who attended Dalhousie University for her undergrad and is currently pursuing an MA in International Relations at American University.
     
    Watch the recorded virtual panel here, or read the following notes from the meeting below .
  • Rmax Goodwin, Class of 2008 - Los Angeles Magician Discusses Networking and Mentorship

    While our Clairbourn School alums end up in a multitude of industries, there is a common thread that runs through their stories. They are hardworking, dedicated to making a difference in people’s lives, and they are impressively accomplished. They also understand the importance of giving back, which this featured alum, Rmax Goodwin, demonstrates so well.

    Rmax (pronounced Ar-Max) Goodwin became interested in magic when he was six years old, and at Clairbourn School, he was encouraged by his teacher, Mrs. Wreede, to audition at the Magic Castle. His life changed at this point when the Magic Castle became a resource for him to network and learn from some of the modern-day masters. His pursuit of excellence in his craft also made him keenly aware of the intellectual and academic parts of performing. He recognized that the audience-performer relationship is quite complex and that his mentalism, which is punctuated by unique presentations, had to be well-researched and practiced over and over again. This was where he put his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Pitzer College to use, as he applies his ability to think persuasively and logically to his unique and sophisticated form of entertainment.
  • Erin Price, Class of 2012 - Community Service Leader and Educator with Purpose and Heart

    Erin Price, Class of 2012, radiates maturity, poise, and purpose. She embodies the qualities of an outstanding Clairbourn alum. Just this May, she graduated from Smith College with a degree in Psychology and Education & Child Study and plans to co-teach at an elementary school in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Being a community builder with a heart for service and helping others has always been a core value in Erin’s life.

    It started at Clairbourn School where she was taught by excellent educators, like Mrs. Laurie Corwin, who inspired her to pursue teaching and showed her that it was possible to make the classroom “exciting, comfortable and interactive.” In college, Erin mentored and tutored students at an international school for English Language Learners and Refugeesa life-defining experience that affirmed her sense of purpose in building relationships and being of service to others.

    Service is so ingrained as a part of Erin’s life that she was recently honored with the Rita Wilkins Prize from the Jandon Center for Community Engagement for her leadership and involvement with community service. She has been involved in projects such as working in urban gardens, collecting produce for local food banks, and organizing an annual winter gifts drive.

    When asked whether she had any words of wisdom accumulated over her years to impart, she remarked, “I wish I knew that you don’t need everybody to like you; just be nice and be yourself. Also, you don’t have to be perfect at everything you try.” These are profound words coming from someone who has already positively impacted the lives of so many around her and will continue to transform the lives of many more to come.
    See what else Erin has to share in the following interview:

  • Alumni Legacy Family: Anne Gifford Ewing, Class of 1992 - Trusts and Estates Lawyer

    Possessing an Audrey Hepburn elegance coupled with the intelligence of Madeleine Albright, Anne Gifford Ewing from the Class of 1992 speaks with an arresting precision and poise. One could point to her training and current profession as a trusts and estates lawyer as the key ingredient for her competence as a wordsmith. One could also note her passion for literature, writing, foreign language, history, music, and theater as influential in shaping her career interests and encouraging her to lead a reflective and well-examined life. While all of these factors played integral roles in honing Anne’s skills, what stands out the most is her time at Clairbourn, which laid the foundation for her future and cultivated a love of learning.
     
    Her daughter, a current Clairbourn student, represents the third generation at Clairbourn. Both Anne’s parents were active in the school, with her late father, G. Grant Gifford serving as a Trustee for several years, and helping to fundraise to update the campus, and her mother, Carolyn Gifford, volunteering with the CFA, doing carpools, and contributing in countless ways to the community at Clairbourn. We are so thankful for legacy families, and new ones as well, because they bring a much-needed perspective and history that bridges the past to the present day.
     
    Anne also offers useful and inspiring advice for our students – advice that has served her well in her profession and in her personal life. Speaking on the virtues of Clairbourn, Anne adds: “It has a real sense of optimism, energy and freshness, while thoughtfully preserving so much of what was good about the past. The school is better than ever and we feel lucky to be a part of it.” Read her full interview here.
  • COVID-19 Reflections: Alum Nina Luo, Technologist and Humanitarian

    A deep thinker, with a thirst for knowledge and an agent of change, Nina Luo from the Class of 2018 is determined to improve our world through journalism and technology. Her motivation, which was nurtured and shaped at Clairbourn school, is to help others and save lives. She wants to make a positive impact on our society and world. After becoming aware that Nina recently published several COVID-19 related articles on WeChat and was starting a website featuring overlooked and under-reported news, we caught up with her to ask about her current projects and future endeavors.
     
  • Sarah Soza, Class of 2015 - Extraordinary Viola Player

    For anyone who’s had the privilege of watching Sarah Soza perform, there is no doubt about her extraordinary talent and her passion for music. Many of her memories from Clairbourn relate to the music program, where she loved music class and loved playing for the school ensemble. Currently, Sarah is a first year student at the University of California, Irvine, majoring in music, with a specialization in viola performance. Originally a violin player, Sarah switched over to viola at the beginning of her senior year in high school. 

    The following video of her performing three viola pieces, as well as her video interview update, offer ample evidence of her talent and passion for music studies:
     
  • COVID-19 Reflections: Alumna Mei-Tung Chen on Living in the Moment

    Our wise and deep-thinking alumna Mei-Tung Chen, from the Class of 2017, is currently a junior at Flintridge Preparatory School. Not only is she passionate about math and science, but she is also huge fan of literature—an enthusiasm first nurtured at Clairbourn, where she regularly submitted short stories and poetry to the award-winning, student-produced, literary magazine Paw Prints. Her interest in writing is most evident in her role as the Editor-in-Chief of the satire literary magazine at Prep called The Yell at Prep. 

    She also enjoys combining her love of writing with humor, and holds the position of co-captain for a performance improv team—Comedy Sportz. As busy as she is, Mei-Tung also finds time to indulge her love of baking. As the president of the Baking Club, she is particularly proud of the chocolate souffle she baked during this quarantine period. She also makes time to develop her musical talents and share them with others. Having learned to play the piano at a young age, as well as violin in 4th grade with Ms. Mize at Clairbourn, she now enjoys performing on the violin at hospitals and retirement homes for an initiative she runs.

    In the following interview, we caught up with Mei-Tung to ask about her reflections on this period of social distancing. She responded by sharing the lessons she’s learned and the wisdom that she’s accumulated from reflecting on her past and examining the kind of life she wants to lead in the present and future. With resolve, she remarks, “I think it’s the wrong idea to want to return to the way we were before, I think we should want our lives to return to something better.”
     
  • Christian Yeghnazar, Class of 2013 - Social Entrepreneur Paving the Way for Change

    Christian Yeghnazar is mature, reflective, and thoughtful—a paragon of excellence that is representative of our Clairbourn students and alumni. Currently a junior at USC, Christian is majoring in Business Administration with minors in Computer Programming and Applied Analytics. He attended Clairbourn from 2004 to 2013 paving the way for both his younger brothers Luca and Matteo who attend Clairbourn as well. He is currently pursuing a career in the entrepreneurial world by starting his own venture. Most recently, he launched a new website called College Connect, which pairs high school students with current college students and guides them in making informed decisions about college. His mission is to help make a positive social impact through his endeavors. We are so inspired by Christian. Read about his story and experiences here.
  • Paige Dyrek, Class of 2006 - Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine

    For the men and women who dedicate themselves to the medical profession, it is truly a calling. Paige Dyrek, Class of 2006, is no exception. She has chosen this career in medicine because she was passionate about helping people who have overcome traumatic and life-altering injuries. 

    She received her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree form Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona and is completing her Preliminary Medicine year at UCSF-Fresno. In June, she will head to Stanford to complete her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, a specialty that deals with the acute rehabilitation of traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, neurodegenerative diseases, and sports-related injuries. 

    Paige credits Clairbourn School with providing her the knowledge and skills to succeed, as well as a positive learning environment that instilled in her a passion for learning. To learn more, Clairbourn's Alumni Director Dr. Janny Chang conducted the following interview with Paige about her journey from Clairbourn to a promising career in medicine:
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Private School Education for Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary School & Middle School. Serving Families in the Pasadena Area and San Gabriel Valley. Clairbourn is a 501(c)3 charitable organization (K-12 Private Schools) and accredited by CAIS and WASC.