Christ Church Congratulates Its 2013 High School and College Graduates

mills — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:14:20 +0000

Christ Church congratulates its 2013 high school and college graduates! They are:

Henry Whitfield Christian—Henry was born in Savannah and is a lifelong member of Christ Church and a lifelong student of Savannah Country Day School. Henry has two brothers , Robert and James. He enjoys art and music, and has received many awards and scholarships for his drawings and paintings. Henry will attend Loyola University New Orleans in the fall.

Karl “Dane” Bohnstedt, Jr.—Dane is a lifelong Episcopalian who was baptized and confirmed at Christ Church and has served as one of our acolytes and a Lay Eucharistic Minister. He is a 2009 graduate of Savannah Christian Preparatory School and was awarded an academic scholarship to attend Presbyterian College. While at PC Dane was active in numerous student organizations to include membership on the PC Honor Court, the Leadership Team for Blue Hose Leaders (Freshman Orientation Committee), the Order of Omega (Greek Honorary Society), and the Student Government Committee. He also served as the Alumnae Liaison/ House Manager for the Mu Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. Dane graduated Cum Laude from PC on May 10, 2013 with a B.S. degree in Psychology and a Minor in Business Administration. He has been hired to participate in a two year Management Training Program by Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Inc. in Daytona Beach, Fla. and will begin work on June 3, 2013.

Iain Crampton—Iain began playing the violin in Kindergarten at Gadsden Fine and Performing Arts Magnet. He studied with Keri Sellman and later Tomas Kocsis, musicians with the former Savannah Symphony, and played with the Savannah Youth Orchestra. Iain was concertmaster of the Georgia Allstate Orchestra his Junior Year at Savannah Arts Academy and made the Governor’s Honors Program. He graduated from Savannah Arts Academy in 2005, and the Schwob School of Music, Columbus, Georgia, in 2009. Iain received his Masters in Music Performance from Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, in May 2013. He has played professionally with several local orchestras while attending college, and with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. For the past six years he has attended or been invited to play at summer music festivals in North Carolina and Maine. Iain’s goal is to be a member of a top orchestra.

Rebecca Nelson—Rebecca is originally from North Carolina and was baptized and confirmed at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Wake Forest. She was a member there until she transferred her membership to Christ Church several years ago. A graduate of Sweet Briar College in Virginia, Rebecca worked in college admissions before spending six years working at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School in Sewanee, TN. As a high school and middle school math and history teacher, Rebecca was head of a girls’ dorm, director of student activities and director of diversity. In 2003 Rebecca moved to Savannah where she taught middle school math and was Director of Diversity at the Savannah Country Day School. For a decade, she has also served as a summer faculty member for the National Association of Independent School’s Diversity Leadership Institute. Earlier this month, Rebecca graduated from Columbia University with a Masters of Arts in Education. More specifically, she was a Klingenstein Fellow of Teachers’ College, earning a Masters in Private School Leadership. As of July, Rebecca will be the Head of Middle School at St. John’s Episcopal School in Dallas, Texas.

Emily Rhodes—Emily will graduate from Bluffton High School (Bluffton, SC) on June 4. While at Bluffton High, she played tennis and soccer, and was active in a number of extracurricular organizations including Youth in Government, DECA, and student council. This summer she will be part of the Athletics staff at Camp Seafarer in Arapahoe, NC, before heading to Columbia College (Columbia, SC) in the fall, where she will play tennis. Emily is one of 14 young women chosen from hundreds of nominees and 50 finalists to be part of the inaugural class of Momentum Scholars at Columbia College. She is planning to major in business.

Annika Bockius-Suwyn—Annie graduated from the Boston University School of Law on May 19 and is pursuing a career in family law in the Boston area. While at BU, Annie served as the president of the Family Law Association. She received her undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College in 2010 and is a 2006 graduate of Hershel V. Jenkins High School.

Wallis Tosi—Wallis is originally from Memphis, TN and has been a resident of Savannah for the past four years while she pursued an undergraduate degree in fashion marketing and management from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Before coming to Savannah, Wallis attended Saint Mary’s Episcopal School whence she graduated in 2009. She is pursuing a job in the fashion industry and will be moving to NYC at the end of the summer.

Courtney Valentine—A member of Christ Church since 2008, Courtney Valentine was born in Sharon, Connecticut. She was baptized at the First Congregational Old Parish Church of Sheffield Town in Massachusetts. After her family moved to Savannah, she was confirmed at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and began attending Savannah Country Day School from which she graduated in 2005. Courtney earned her Bachelor of Arts at Dartmouth College where she graduated cum laude with high honors as a French major and music minor. She then moved to a small town in Southwest France to teach English through the French Ministry of Education. Courtney recently received her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law where she served as a board member of the North Carolina Law Review. She will begin work as an associate at HunterMaclean this coming fall.

Gaudeamus Igitur! (“So let us rejoice!”)