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ALUMNI NEWS
V ICTORI A GA RCI A '01 has striven not
only to overcome her own obstacles, but to
inspire others to do the same. An incredibly
impressive woman, Victoria is Lead Systems
Engineer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Alabama—and she earned
that prestigious title while profoundly deaf.
Understanding her circumstances were uniquely challenging,
Victoria has made it her mission to remind people that, if they
work for it, they can make their wildest dreams come true. For
that reason, she chose to come back to Palmer Trinity School and
speak to our students. During her presentation, Victoria spoke
honestly about how her hearing impairment caused a hindrance
when she was looking for jobs, from interviewing for positions all
the way to communicating at work. Nevertheless, she persisted,
and Victoria ultimately landed her dream job at NASA.
The lesson she pressed upon our students? Keep pushing
through their obstacles, and always, ALWAYS reach for
the stars.
Reaching to the Stars and Beyond
By Ashley Valentin
Alumni Mentoring Program
By Alex Cartaya
THE GOAL OF THE PTS ALUMNI MENTORING PROGRAM is to connect current students and recent graduates with successful
Alumni in different professions to help them learn, grow, and prepare for their future career(s). While we normally host a summer
internship program, due to COVID-19, we were forced to cancel it. Thank you to all Alumni who served as guest speakers during
the school year, as well as those who connected with students through Zoom to mentor them both individually and as a group.
Dax Tejera '03 zooming with students about reporting the pandemic; Doug Rothfeldt '10 mentoring the Investment Club; Richard Befeler '10, on a Zoom with the AP
Computer Science classes; Jordan DeWitt '11 mentoring PTS students about the Fairchild Tropical Garden "Growing Beyond Earth" project with NASA; Annabel Danon '14
and Duncan Stoner '18 Zooming with religion classes about choosing a life of service.
