Brandeis Magazine

Alex Bernstein has moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to pursue an MBA at the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, where he’s in the class of 2020. Previously, he lived in Miami for nearly three years. Margo Kolenda was married on Sept. 30 to Alexx Mason, whom she met as a 4-year-old in a local play group. Margo is finishing up her PhD in English literature at the University of Michigan and spends her free time playing fetch with her dog, Nora. Corrie Legge writes she got engaged to her best friend and business partner, Benjamin Algar, at the premiere of their directorial-debut film, “Self Portrait,” which was produced by their production company, Lyricy Films. The film, which Corrie wrote, co-directed and stars in, is on the festival circuit. Alexandra Zelle Rettman and Omri Nimni got engaged on June 21. She works at marketing consulting firm Middle of Six, which specializes in architecture, engineering and construction in Seattle. Sam Shankland won the $50,000 first prize at the 2018 U.S. Chess Championships last spring and followed that up with a convincing win at the annual Capablanca Memorial, in Havana, Cuba. Sam then won his third tournament in a row with a victory at the 13th American Continental Open, in Montevideo, Uruguay, in June. This string of successes meant he played 60 tournament games without a defeat and pushed his rating to 2727, making him the No. 27 chess player in the world.