June 17, 2019
During its June 2019 meeting, the MPA Alumni Association unanimously approved the following new board members.
Cathryn Camacho ’04: Following graduation from MPA, Catie moved to California to attend Pomona College. Catie graduated with a BA in Economics and worked as an analyst for a litigation consulting firm before switching gears and pursuing a Masters of Interior Architecture from UCLA/Cal Poly Pomona. In 2015 she returned home to Minnesota to run her family business and enroll in the Carlson School of Management for her Masters of Business Administration. Catie now serves as the President of Camacho Contractors and is involved with MPA in a variety of ways.
Christopher Staral ’06: Chris Staral graduated Mounds Park Academy in 2006 and attended Carleton College, where he majored in Chemistry and minored in Biochemistry while also performing medical research at the University of Minnesota’s Lillehei Heart Institute. After graduating in 2010, he enrolled in the University of Minnesota Medical School where, during his studies, he discovered a passion for investing in biotechnology companies. He moved to New York City where he worked initially as a Biotech and Specialty Pharmaceuticals analyst at Canaccord Genuity, and then in a similar role at Goldman Sachs. Chris is now an investment analyst at Mangrove Partners, a long/short hedge fund based in New York City, where he focuses on small and mid-cap biotech and pharma investments for the fund. He is still very involved with life at MPA and is particularly excited about expanding unique mentorship opportunities for students that can help guide their self-discovery process while at MPA and beyond. Read More
Meet Lauren Drake, who is joining MPA’s faculty as an Upper School English teacher! A veteran English teacher, she has taught in both Northern California and in Colorado and recently relocated back to Minnesota. After graduating from Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., Ms. Drake matriculated to Carlton College where she received a Bachelor of Arts in English (magna cum laude) and then received a Master of Arts in British and American literature from Mills College. Learn more about her below!
In May 2018, Middle School faculty members Ms. Meras, Ms. Powell, and Ms. Nagle first began thinking of ways to better utilize the food waste in the cafeteria. With the help of a Ramsey County grant and members of EcoConsilium, MPA was able to purchase a food recycling system and larger waste bins. MPA’s food waste is now sent to a pig farm, where it can be recycled as feed. There are two other bins available at lunch–one for trash and one for recyclable materials. While this was a significant change from simply dumping all lunch waste into one bin, our community adapted quickly and the student body has been enthusiastically cooperating. MPA has received positive feedback and high remarks that we are doing an excellent job of sorting our food waste and the impact has been positive.
MPA senior Parker Law entered the 2019 Class A Singles State Tennis Tournament as the #1 seed. Parker’s path to the State Championship included four matches, in which he defeated Worthington High School’s Blaine Doeden in the opening round of 16, St. Paul Academy and Summit School’s Kai Sih, the #4 ranked player from the Breck School Ishan Nadkarni in the final four, and the #2 ranked player from Redwood Valley Rikard Wilkens in the Championship match. After these crucial wins, Parker finished as the 2019 MSHSL State Class A Singles Champion!
The Mounds Park Academy Panthers defeated the St. Paul Academy Spartans 4-3 in the Class A State Tennis Tournament at the Reed-Sweatt Indoor tennis facility in Minneapolis Wednesday. MPA secured wins in first singles, second singles, first doubles, and the deciding win came in a three hour and 30+ minute marathon match in fourth singles. Vlad Vutov (Nova Classical Academy) secured a Panther victory with a 6-4 third set win. This was MPA’s second State Boys Tennis Championship—the last time was in 2006. Congratulations, Panthers!
Congratulations to Claire Porter ’00! The MPA Alumni Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce this year’s recipient of the MPA Alumni Association Award. This award is intended to honor alumni of outstanding talent pursuing their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations, while embracing the spirit of MPA’s commitment to community and social outreach.
As the 2018–19 school year comes to an end, we’re sharing the college choice stories of several members of the Class of 2019!
Ann Frances Gregg, MPA’s Upper School theatre teacher and director, is currently directing “Two Gentlemen of Verona” for Shakespeare & Company in White Bear Lake. S&C, founded by MPA parent of alum George Wade, is an outdoor theatre company, which produces three shows ‘in rep’ each summer. It is the oldest outdoor Shakespeare company in Minnesota. This summer marks the company’s 44th season!
As the 2018–19 school year comes to an end, we’re sharing the college choice stories of several members of the Class of 2019!