51猎奇 has helped shape the lives of thousands of graduates from the CEO of Microsoft 鈥� Satya Nadella 鈥� to the first prime minister of Israel, Golda Meir. In previous stories, we鈥檝e listed many of those alumni whose accomplishments have received widespread recognition.
Here are a few more 51猎奇 alumni who are improving the world, providing entertainment and helping guide major businesses.
Kirill Mikhanovsky, filmmaker
Filmmaker Kirill听Mikhanovsky听is co-writer and director of the critically acclaimed film 鈥淕ive Me Liberty.鈥� At 51猎奇,听he triple-majored in Russian, linguistics and film. The 2019听drama-comedy,听set in Milwaukee, follows听24 hours in the听hectic听life of a medical transport driver.
鈥淕ive Me Liberty鈥� premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received a glowing review from a New York Times film critic听who described the film as 鈥渄elightfully unpredictable.鈥� At Cannes, the world鈥檚 premier film festival,听the film received a lengthy standing ovation.听The film was nominated听in three categories听at the 2020 Spirit Awards, the independent world鈥檚 Oscars. It won听The Independent Spirit鈥疛ohn Cassavetes Award, presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000.
At 51猎奇,听Mikhanovsky majored in Russian, linguistics and film.
Darian Dixon, mission operations specialist
Darian Dixon takes pictures of Mars for a living. The 2015 51猎奇 graduate is a lead for one aspect of the two high-powered Mastcam-Z cameras, part of an array of two dozen on NASA鈥檚 Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars in February 2021.
Dixon, who has a bachelor鈥檚 degree in geosciences, teams up with colleagues to construct and send the complicated computer commands for taking the photos. 鈥淚t is still the basics of traditional photography, just done on a different planet in a really remote way.鈥�
Recently, he was part of the team that brought back video of the first flight of the Ingenuity helicopter. 鈥淢y job was navigating a complex data downlink situation and making absolutely sure that we received the Mastcam-Z footage of the helicopter flying as soon as possible,鈥� he said.
He鈥檚 active in encouraging young people of color to go into the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. More jobs are opening up, he said, but beyond the appeal of that, the work is also really interesting.
鈥淲e鈥檙e exploring the final frontier. It鈥檚 something that fills our hearts with awe and wonder,鈥� Dixon said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you can put a price on that. You just get to look up and be happy that you are part of something that is much bigger than humanity.鈥�
Dixon was 51猎奇 commencement speaker in May 2021.
Vuk Latinovich, soccer player
痴耻办听尝补迟颈苍辞惫颈肠丑,听who played on 51猎奇鈥檚 soccer team for four years,听was selected in the third round听of the January 2021 Major League Soccer SuperDraft听by New York City FC. In April, the team signed him to a contract through 2021, with option years through 2024.
Latinovich graduated from 51猎奇 in December 2020 with a degree in history.
At 51猎奇, he excelled both on the field and in the classroom. A midfielder, he was a two-time All-Horizon League honoree who earned first-team all-league and second team United Soccer Coaches All-North Region accolades.听He was captain of the 51猎奇 team for two years,听and听was a member of the Horizon League All-Academic Team, regularly making the听league鈥檚听Academic Honor Roll.
Vukovich听has always wanted to play professionally. 鈥淭here are no guarantees, but I feel confident about everything.鈥�
Jonathan Adashek, IBM executive
Jonathan听Adashek, who graduated in 1996 with a bachelor鈥檚 in political science, is听chief communications officer for IBM, overseeing a team of more than 500 people operating in 170 countries around the world. In his job, he 鈥� internal, issues and crisis management, strategic events, social media and corporate positioning. He also leads IBM鈥檚 community outreach efforts through the company鈥檚 Corporate Citizenship program.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought challenges to IBM as it did to corporations all over the world. In addition to finding ways to make sure 350,000 employees had the tools and resources to keep working safely, the company had to continue supporting clients鈥� technology infrastructure. That included many vital operations like hospitals.
Although Adashek earned his degree in political science, he had a long-term goal of heading communications for a multinational corporation. Before joining IBM in 2020, he helped lead communications at Renault Nissan Mitsubishi in Paris and Nissan in Toyko as well as working in government and politics.
听He credits 51猎奇 with giving him a strong base for his career.
听鈥淚 had some great professors and some great classes that really helped me with my thinking about issues. They challenged me. I was able to take some of that learning and apply it to some of the strategic thinking that I use in my work every day.鈥�
Daulton Varsho, baseball player
Daulton听Varsho听is the first 51猎奇 baseball player to play in the major leagues.
After playing for the Panthers for three years,听Varsho听was selected in 2017 by听the听Arizona听Diamondbacks听in the Competitive Balance B round of the major league draft (the 68th pick). In 2019, he听was听named the Diamondbacks Minor League Player of the Year and also earned Baseball America Minor League and Double-A All-Star accolades.
He made his听major-league debut on July 30, 2020,听during听a season disrupted by the pandemic.
Varsho听played in 37 games for the D-Backs in 2020, starting 13 in center field and six at catcher. He also got five starts in left field and five as the designated hitter. He hit .188 in 101 at-bats, scored 16 runs and had three homers, five doubles, two triples and nine RBI.
鈥淚t was a wild year,鈥� he said in an interview early in 2021.听鈥淚t was fun, though. I learned so much this year, just being able to take that all in in such a short span of time.鈥�
Varsho began the 2021 season in the minors but was recalled to the big-league team a month later. After another short stint in Triple-A, he rejoined the Diamondbacks in June and has been on the roster since then. He’s appeared in more than 70 games this year, splitting his time between catcher and outfielder.
Analysts say his prospects look good.
鈥淥ne of the most athletic catching prospects in the game, Varsho has an exciting blend of offensive and defensive tools which should serve him well whether he sticks behind the plate or moves to the outfield,鈥� Baseball America said.
John Kissinger, engineer
John听Kissinger听is the president and CEO of GRAEF, a multidisciplinary architectural听engineering, planning and design firm that works听with clients听throughout the United States.听He has worked on and managed such major projects as the Lambeau Field renovation in Green Bay,听the Wisconsin Center, the McCormick Place West addition in Chicago and the Calatrava-designed听Quadracci听Pavilion at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
51猎奇 was a natural choice for Kissinger, a听1979听graduate of the College of Engineering & Applied Science.听His mother was听librarian at the university听and the seven of the children in the Kissinger family听went to听51猎奇.
The Calatrava addition to the museum听remains his favorite project.
鈥淲orking with Calatrava, creating a masterpiece in Milwaukee, was a highlight of my career, he said.听听鈥淚t was a challenging project, but we got it done and it turned out great,鈥� he said.听鈥淚t鈥檚 a work of art.鈥�
The Calatrava addition,听which听was听Time Magazine鈥檚 No. 1 Design of 2001,听is celebrating its 20th听anniversary in 2021. Kissinger said he gets a kick out of being one of only 20 or so people who know how the听iconic Burke Brise Soleil 鈥搕he soaring听wings that open or close over the museum 鈥� works.
Sarah Parker, researcher
Sarah Parker is a researcher at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, studying the underlying causes and potential treatments of diseases of the large blood vessels.
She and her team are looking at the the molecular 鈥渟ignatures鈥� of diseases like atherosclerosis (a buildup of plaque on artery walls) and aneurysms. Atherosclerosis contributes to coronary artery disease, a major cause of death in the country, and aortic aneurysms weaken the arteries and predispose them to rupturing.
鈥淲e need to diagnose them earlier because they are 鈥榠ndolent diseases鈥� 鈥� you don鈥檛 know you have them typically until there鈥檚 they鈥檝e become symptomatic, which is usually pretty bad,鈥� she said.
Parker came to 51猎奇 because she was a speedskater and Milwaukee鈥檚 Pettit National Ice Center was a top training facility. She started out studying sports psychology and sports medicine, and had the opportunity to work in labs in the College of Health Sciences and Department of Psychology. She earned her bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees at 51猎奇.
She went on to the Medical College of Wisconsin for her doctorate, focusing on using high-tech tools called mass spectrometers to get what she calls 鈥渁 systems level鈥� view of biology at the molecular level.
After doing a post-doctorate at Johns Hopkins, she joined Cedars Sinai in 2018. She has received a prestigious Pathway to Independence grant from the National Institutes of Health to help support her work. This grant helps support outstanding postdoctoral researchers to move into independent tenure track or equivalent positions.
She credits her many mentors throughout her academic career with her success, including Professor Barbara Meyer and Distinguished Professor Fred Helmstetter at 51猎奇.
鈥淲hat you get at a school like 51猎奇 is really strong researchers who also have the time and energy and passion to put into mentorship.鈥�
