Brandeis Magazine

I recently visited campus to take a morning walk with Lori Ann Smith, who was in Boston for a brief stay. We walked the peripheral road and wandered by the art, theater and music buildings. We passed the vegetable gardens next to Deroy — nice basil and tomatoes! It’s inspiring to witness the continual growth and development on campus, while also feeling that you could go back into the dorms and feel at home there. While traveling to London and Paris with my family this summer, I spoke with some parents from Kansas City whose daughter is 15 and has her heart set on attending Brandeis. I was so glad to share my love of our alma mater and memories of professors and activities on campus. It’s these nuggets that make us all smile, so please continue to share your stories via email. Then people will wonder what we’re all smiling about.

Alan Carr joined the board of directors of Midstates Petroleum Company. He had been with Drivetrain Advisors, a fiduciary-services firm for the investment community he founded. He also serves on the boards of multiple companies. Derek Cohen and his 16-year-old son, Adrian, released a full-length album of original songs. Derek wrote the lyrics, and Adrian composed the music, sang and played most of the instruments. The family’s musical adventures continued this summer, when they spent a day in Liverpool and went to the home where Paul McCartney lived most of his young life. Adrian played a few Beatles songs on a piano in the same living room where Paul played and wrote some early Beatles songs. Scott Kessler is an equity analyst with S&P Capital IQ, a multinational financial-information provider in New York City. In June, during an interview on Bloomberg Radio, he shared his views on Yahoo, Alibaba and Netflix. Daniel Korschun is an assistant marketing professor at Drexel University. He is the co-author of “We Are Market Basket: The Story of the Unlikely Grassroots Movement That Saved a Beloved Business,” which chronicles the long fight over the ownership of the New England grocery chain, a stalemate eventually broken by a united group of employees, vendors and customers. Gloria Liu, coordinator for the Center for Promoting STEM at Oakton Community College in suburban Chicago, was named to INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine’s list of 100 Inspiring Women in STEM. The award recognizes women across the nation whose work encourages young women to pursue science, technology, engineering or mathematics careers. Gloria is featured in the magazine’s September issue. Jason Paris is a founding member of Paris & Chaikin, where he litigates motor-vehicle, construction, municipal and premises cases. A member of the executive board of directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, he was named a Super Lawyer by his peers in 2014. Amanda Trigg, a partner at Lesnevich, Marzano-Lesnevich & Trigg, is serving as chair of the Family Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association for 2015-16. She is a fellow of both the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.