RE Log Spring 2022

Duncan McDonald-Korth , see Wifi Fernandez ’05 2007 Class Agents: Danielle Calleja (decalleja@gmail.com ), Jacques Holzmann (jacquesholzmann@gmail.com ), Rebecca Noble (rebnoble11@gmail.com ), Stephanie Peral (stephanie.peral@gmail.com) Tatyana Camejo writes, “I graduated in May 2021 with my MS in Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition researching the effects of ketogenic diets on traumatic brain injury recovery at Tufts University in Boston. I am now continuing my re- search in neurotrauma back home at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, while I pursue a PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Miami.” See photo below. Román Kazakov, Stephen Sullivan , Dustin Thaler , see Wifi Fernandez ’05 Mike Throckmorton , see Karen Peterson Throckmorton ’72 Everglades 2008 Class Agents: Natalie Aguilar (Natalie.aguilar5@gmail.com ), Monica Mengotti (mmengotti1@gmail.com ), Natalia Reina (reinan1989@gmail.com) Jonathan Fisher ’08 dominated Jeopardy! for 11 straight days last October, earning $246,100 in prize money, qualifying for the show’s “Tournament of Champions,” and thrilling family, friends and RE alumni. Fisher’s streak began on October 11 with a defeat of Matt Amodio, who had won $1.5 million and 38 straight games, and it ended on October 26 when he fell short to Nancy Donehower. From beginning to end, he – and those from Ransom Everglades who were watching – enjoyed the ride. Fisher, who grew up in Coral Gables and attended St. Stephen’s Episcopal Day School before arriving to RE, answered a few questions after his 10th victory to re- introduce himself to the RE community. Q: Are you a lifelong Jeopardy! fan – how in the world did you get on the show? My earliest memories of the show were during Ken Jennings’ run in 2004, but I definitely watched before then. I’ve taken the online test every year since 2018, and finally got an in-person audition ... in March 2020, shortly before produc- tion (and the world) shut down. I took the test again early this summer, had a Zoom audition in August and got the call in September to go on the show about a week and half later. It’s been a whirlwind! Q: You knocked off a celebrated champion, and haven’t broken a sweat since: How do you explain your apparent calm and seem- ingly effortless success? Knowing that Matt Amodio [who had a 38-game winning streak] would still be playing on my tape day actually took the pressure off quite a bit – I didn’t think I had any kind of chance to beat him and so I went in with the attitude that I was there to have fun playing and have a great experience. Once that first game SPRING 2022 Ransom Everglades LOG 57 was over, everything else really has been icing on the cake. Q: You went from Ransom Everglades to Northwestern University, where you stud - ied theater and English literature. Can you tell us about your career path since? After Northwestern, my partner and I lived in Providence, R.I., for three years while she completed her MFA through Brown, and I was heavily involved in the local theatre scene there. Once she finished her degree, she booked a role in the live Frozen show at Disney California Adventure, which took us to Southern California, where we’ve been since and where I’ve been working in theatre consistently. Q: Tell us about your experience in drama at Ransom Everglades. What do you most remember? I had a great drama career at RE, pri- marily due to the amount of experience I was able to have performing in plays. In my six years at RE I got to be in 10 fully rehearsed and produced plays – as an actor, the best way I know to learn performance skills is by doing them, over and over and in as many ways as pos- sible … Shout outs to Ms. [Kate] Denson, Mr. [Stephen] Bonnell, Mr. [Sean] Bryan, Ms. [Gina] Montet and Mr. [Eric] Nelson for steering the ship with grace, humor and no shortage of over-the-top theatrics, which in my book is a necessity for drama! Q: Who were your most influential teachers at RE and why? I had so many wonderful teachers at RE that I couldn’t possibly name them all. Dr. [John] King’s (DK!) classes were always informative and a little offbeat, particularly his Latin American Studies class …. I have to shout out Dr. [Tom] Meet Jonathan Fisher ’08 , whose Jeopardy! run captivated friends and family