Class Notes - Summer 2025
Received between June 2024 and June 2025.
Class notes are subject to content editing by the Offices of Alumni and Family Relations and Marketing & Communication.
The Centenary Alumni Association seeks news of Centenary alumni. Please send news and information to alumni@centenary.edu.
Office of Alumni and Family Relations
Centenary College of Louisiana • 2911 Centenary Boulevard • Shreveport, LA 71104
318.869.5115 • alumni@centenary.edu
Reem Abo-Zahrah '12 started a new position as Strategic Operations Director at IQVIA in November 2024.
Desiree Boyd '16 started as Project Enablement Global Process Owner manager at Air Products in October 2024.
Emma Viskozki Cortese '15 and Eric Cortese welcomed the newest Centenary legacy to their family, Oliver Gene Cortese, on June 21, 2024.
Leonard Critcher’s '67 newest novel, Shattered Dreams, has been released and is available on Amazon. Shattered Dreams peels back the veil on resort development and exposes the unscrupulous inner workings.
Emily Duet '18 is starting a new position as Longitudinal Course Coordinator at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Bryan Ehricht '02 serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the Non-Profit Professional Association. He is Managing Director with James, Lambert, Riggs and Associates, Inc. in Hammond. A Past President of LCPA’s Northshore Chapter and a current Member at-Large, Bryan is a member of LCPA's Legislative Steering Task Force. He earned a BS in Accounting from Centenary.
Jordan Fong '24 began a marketing internship with Visit Shreveport-Bossier in June 2024.
Luke Groninger '17 is now the District Advisor for the First Command District in Louisiana. This marks a significant milestone in his First Command career, having started there as an advisor.
Cadie Hancock '15 started a new position as an Account Executive at The Walt Disney Company in August 2024.
Sabrina Handal '19 is starting a new position as Senior Graphic Designer at Multiview.
Janae Howe '03 recently accepted a position as Lecturer in the English Department at Pennsylvania State University’s main campus.
Cameron Hughes '15 started a role as the Director of Campus Operations at YES Prep Public Schools in July 2023.
Amir Kaskas '20 completed a research year at the National Cancer Institute of the NIH in Washington, DC. He spent the past year in the NIH Medical Research Scholars Program, a competitive research fellowship for medical students across the country.
Hannah Rachal-Hughes '16 began as Director of Family and Alumni Relations at Centenary College in January 2025. She started a new position as Director of Highland Community Choir at Noel Community Arts Program in October 2024. Rachal-Hughes married Centenry alumni Collin Hughes on April 20, 2024.
Forbes 2025 “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” List names Denis Poljak '94 and Davor Poljak '95 of Poljak Group Wealth Management for Louisiana.
Shreveport author/illustrator Kirk Reedstrom’s '16 third early reader graphic novel, Duck In The Dark!, landed on the USA Today Best-selling Booklist for the week of December 11. Published by Disney-Hyperion on December 3, 2024, Duck In The Dark! has garnered positive reviews, including one from School Library journal which states “These beloved animal friends continue to guide young children through essential life skills by playing on the bonds of friendship and humor.” The book was also called “cute, funny, and relatable” by Booklist. In the last year, Reedstrom has travelled the country to promote the Duck & Moose books, presenting at events in Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Shreveport, and Henderson, NV, as well as online events.
Emily Sander '12 will be joining the Administrative Fellowship Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center after graduating with her Master of Health Administration from the University of North Texas Health Science Center College of Public Health.
Frances Schenkkan’s '68 new book of poems, Whitewash, is available for purchase from Belle Point Press. The collection is about racial tension in Shreveport during the civil rights era.
Rick Sinclair '74, a 73-year-old businessman in Metairie, has spent the past three years developing the Bopper Defense System, a device he says is designed to disorient and incapacitate active shooters without taking lives.
Madelyn Stewart '22 will be attending the University of Wisconsin - Madison this fall to begin her Master of Arts in Arts & Creative Enterprise Leadership.
Dawson Taylor '21 was appointed as the Executive Director of the Turtle Creek Chorale in August 2024. He assumed this new role in November 2024.
Jackie Tisdell '00 was named Communicator of the Year by the Louisiana School Public Relations Association and will represent Louisiana in the National School Public Relations Assocation Communicator of the Year competition.
Sammy Williams '05 began his career at the Arkansas State Crime Lab in July 2005. In October 2023, he was appointed as Deputy Director of the lab and now oversees the administrative operations of the lab and serves as project manager for a new Crime Lab building set to open in 2027.
Tre Washington '24 started new role as the Director of Sales Marketing at the Holiday Inn Shreveport Downtown in June 2024.
Jamie Wright '16 was promoted to Senior Survey Scientist within the Analytics and Data Operations team at Morning Consult.