Class News: November 2023

Welcome to the November 2023 edition of Class News, our monthly snapshot of the personal and professional milestones and adventures of your fellow Tars.

Each month we’ll share a collection of the most recent submissions, so don’t forget to keep us up to date on your latest news.

Gatherings & Milestones

Lawrence Rachlin ’45 is 100 years old and still working as an aviation insurance broker in New Jersey. He’s been married 68 years and is a licensed pilot. Rachlin took English from Willard A. Wattles who taught at Rollins from 1927 to 1950, and his diploma was signed by Hamilton Holt.

Three generations of Tars—Wally Ramsey ’59, Jim Ramsey ’84, Gus Ramsey ’89, and Jack Ramsey ’23—gathered together in October.

On May 27, 2023, Gary Martoccio ’08 and Kailyn Bresnahan were married in Casa De Campo, Dominican Republic. Martoccio practices employment law in Tampa, holds a law license in eight states, and has been named a Rising Star Attorney on the Super Lawyers website for several years. He holds an MBA from Saint Leo University and a JD from Florida State University College of Law.

Onward & Upward

Kelly Clement ’99 has launched her first educational product, Watermelon Math, an ISEE and SSAT prep kit for ages 9-12 that's now on shelves the Writer’s Block Bookstore on Park Avenue. Clement founded her online community, Mind Mine Education, with the goal of providing exam prep success to students. In addition to being teacher, she has been in the ISEE and SSAT admissions profession for over 10 years.

Neil Otto ’05 has recently accepted a job with the LEGO Group, a part of the company’s LEGO Education U.S. division. He will be consulting with districts, teachers, and sales teams on federal, state, and local funding options for STEM education.

After practicing for 10 years in Central Florida, Kenneth Jainandan ’07 has successfully opened his first boutique dental practice in the heart of Tampa Bay's Seminole Heights neighborhood. Specializing in general and cosmetic dentistry procedures, Heights Dental Tampa recently celebrated its one-year anniversary, treating over 1,750 patients while providing excellent patient care in a modern setting.

Elizabeth (Krebs) Garrison ’18 has accepted a new position as director of stewardship and scholarship at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. She will oversee the comprehensive stewardship program of donor communications, scholarship reporting, proposals, and special events to support the fundraising and donor engagement efforts. For the previous four years, Garrison served as the donor relations coordinator at Rollins.

Honor Roll

At the 68th Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in February 2024, Wendy White Prausa ’82 will be inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. A dominating junior tennis player in the state of Georgia, Prausa earned several No. 1 rankings and won or was a finalist in over 30 junior and amateur tournaments between 1977 and 1978. She was named Georgia Player of the Year in 1978 and ranked a national champion while playing tennis at Rollins. She won the Broderick Award (now Honda Sports Award) in tennis as the nation’s best collegiate female athlete. White Prausa played pro on the WTA tour from 1978 to 1990, playing all grand slams and ranking in the top 100 in singles play for 12 years. She was inducted in the Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001.

Laura (Thompson) McFaden ’87 is an art coach with Artriculate, a college counseling and private art instruction resource for teens planning to study creative arts in college. Her 2023 students had a landmark year, receiving over $4 million in scholarships and acceptance into top art school programs across the country, including Rollins. McFaden coaches her students in portfolio development in areas such as architecture, graphic design, fashion, photography, landscape design, and more.

Ann Marie Varga ’82 ’12MHR P’11 P’12 was inducted into the Public Relations Society of America's College of Fellows, one of the highest recognitions in the field of public relations.

Kirk Nalley ’93 ’01MBA has been promoted to regional vice president of sales at 3CLogic, covering New England, Chicago/Midwest, and Canada, and will celebrate his two-year anniversary with the firm in January. Nalley has been in technology sales for over 16 years and loves the connections he makes with his customers and partners.

Last month, Kate Miller ’97 received her doctoral degree in education from Marymount University. She specializes in coaching introverted leaders and individuals through her business, KM Coaching.

Realtor Cassandra Daniel ’13 ’15MBA was one of 15 distinguished and remarkable Small Business Excellence Awards Entrepreneur of the Year nominees. This annual award ceremony is produced by the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida

Philadelphia Magazine named Ellie Rushing ’19—a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer—one of 150 Most Influential Philadelphians of 2023 for her work covering the city’s devastating gun violence crisis.