Alumni Spotlight

Jan Holland-Malcom, ’86, Recreation and Tourism Management, is busy having fun! She owns her own business—Paid 2 Play Productions LLC—where she helps organizations manage trade shows. In addition to being an entrepreneur, a wife and a mother of two young children, she also serves as the secretary for the newly-formed Recreation and Tourism Management alumni chapter of the ASU Alumni Association!

Anna Olibarria '06, landed a great job after graduating from the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences with a life sciences degree. She is working as a research assistant for TGen (Translational Genomics Research Institute). In addition, she and her fiancee, ASU student Alex Moore are getting married in May, just a few days after Alex graduates with a degree in finance from the School of Global Management and Leadership. Find out how they landed their "Dream Wedding." 

Max Ankrapp '04
After working nearly two decades in the newspaper industry and going to school part-time, Max Ankrapp graduated from ASU so he could do what he had always wanted…teach high school. Today he teaches advanced placement United States history at Paradise Valley High School. “I love history and I love kids, so what better job is there than teaching history?” he asks. “As I see new teachers begin their careers, I realize how prepared I was. I would not be where I am today without the faculty at ASU's College of Teacher Education and Leadership.”

When she was a student, Denisse Leon participated in an ASU video series  that is featured on ASU's Web site and You Tube. After graduating from ASU’s New College in May 2007, Leon didn’t waste any time before making her mark on the world. She spent her summer serving AmeriCorps at the National Farm Workers Center in El Mirage. Now she is serving a second AmeriCorps term as a youth development liaison for Anytown Arizona, a nonprofit organization that develops young leaders in grades 7-12. In addition, she works as a freelance Web graphic designer. “Art has become part of everything I do in one way or another,” says Leon. “I realized that one thing most nonprofit organizations lack is good design in their marketing materials because of funding or time. I would like to start my own nonprofit to help other nonprofits by designing functional yet creative marketing materials for their organizations.” This is a lofty goal she intends to fulfill by going back to school to earn a master’s degree in the arts.