Headlines for Alumni – March 3, 2025
Cory Colijn ’06 Headlines Career Day with Keynote Remarks
Cory Colijn ’06 is the Executive Director of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. She provided remarks for juniors and seniors at the annual MFS Career Day on February 20. Cory leads the Kleinman Center’s strategy, manages a team of faculty, staff, and students, administers a multimillion-dollar annual research budget, and has primary responsibility for connecting the Center’s work to measurable and impactful public policy outcomes regarding sustainable energy. She holds a master of science in applied geoscience and a bachelor’s degree in earth and environmental science, both from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in higher education at Rutgers University.
During her remarks, Cory shared three of her personal guiding mottos with students and encouraged them to apply these to their own unique journeys upon graduation:
- “Find your North Star:” Figure out the guiding principle that motivates you and will shape the direction of your life and career.
- “Find a way to be comfortable with being uncomfortable:” The biggest personal growth often comes from embracing discomfort – not just professionally, but personally, too.
- “Surround yourself with people who make you a better version of yourself:” It’s important to not only look to people who support you, but to also find people who challenge you and who have different points of view.
Sarah Lynn Gieger ’05, Clerk of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association, also spoke with students about the resources available to them within the alumni community. In addition to Cory, there were a number of alumni presenters who met in small groups with juniors and seniors to talk about their career paths including: Julian Austin ’91, Patricia Tucker Brennan ’94, Wilbur Briones ’96, Colleen Coleman ’91, Julie Dunnigan ’12, Carl Durkow ’14, Ron Heigler ’89, Alexandra Hovatter Wilkins ’11, Kaitlyn Koste ’13, F. Deming Love ’83, Brian Turner ’98, current parent Sean Rodwell-Simon, and Ilana Radkowski of Fulton Bank.
Boys’ Basketball Captures BCSL Division Crown; Zak Bah ’25 Reaches 1,000-Point Milestone
It was a banner season for the Boys’ Basketball team, which captured the BCSL Independence Division championship with a record of 7-1. The team finished 16-10 overall and fell to Holy Spirit in the first round of the NJSIAA Non-Public B South tournament. The season included several big wins over traditionally strong programs such as Burlington City and Medford Tech.
In addition, the Athletics Department celebrated Zak Bah ’25 reaching the 1,000-point milestone for his career on February 21 during the Foxes exciting 49-46 victory over Burlington City. He had reached the mark during a previous road game. Four members of the MFS 1,000-point club were also on campus February 20 during Upper School Career Day to welcome Zak to the group: Julian Austin ’91, MFS Prekindergarten Teacher Kate Vecchio Hilgen ’85, MFS English Teacher Katie Stutz ’09, and Brian Turner ’98.
David Martinez ‘00 Honored with Deloitte’s US Purpose MVP Award
Congratulations to David Martinez ‘00, a solution consultant with Deloitte, who received the company’s 2024 US Purpose MVP Award for their outstanding contributions to inclusivity and accessibility across the firm. Deloitte is the world’s largest accounting firm. David co-leads Deloitte’s National Neurodivergent and Allies community, with over 700 professionals involved and representing all of Deloitte’s 140,000 professionals. David also represented Deloitte on a panel with Disability:IN, the world’s largest Disability nonprofit for workers, joining a few executives from other Fortune 500 companies. David noted, “I have especially enjoyed being able to bring my full, authentic self to everything I do, and enabling others to do the same.”
A Camden Scholar and a Marine Corps veteran living in Kansas, David learned about Deloitte from a veterans’ organization while completing a degree in business analysis through the GI Bill at American Military University. David, who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, is autistic, and was able to connect through a recruiter with the Neurodiversity@Deloitte program. To tell David’s story and mark this achievement, Deloitte produced this video about David.