2023 Candidates

IMSA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Annual Meeting

July 15, 2023, 12:30pm

IN2 - Steve and Jamie Chen Center for Imagination and Inquiry

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

1500 West Sullivan Road

Aurora, Illinois

CANDIDATES

During the IMSA Alumni Association Annual Meeting, the association is to elect Officers and At-Large Members for the upcoming service year. At our 2023 meeting, the following positions are up for election, along with statements from each candidate:

1. President (2-year term: August 31, 2023-August 31, 2025) [select up to one]

SONIA WISNIEWSKI, 1999

IMSA was a transformative place for me and allowed me to grow more than my college or graduate schools experiences did. The relationships I made as an IMSA student (Party like it’s 1999!), the ones I’ve made with current students as an alumna, and the relationships I continue to form as I meet fellow alumni, have all been twinkling beacons in the dreariness that adult life can sometimes be.

During my term on the cabinet of IAA this past year I collaborated with officers and other at-large members to coordinate several activities in the Chicagoland area and support IMSA alumni in other areas to do the same. I also volunteered to act as a mentor for current IMSA students in various capacities including Med4Minorities, the Annual Career Fair, and being chosen as speaker for Girls IN2 STEM's conference.

If elected president, I want to promote IAA’s purpose of creating connections, primarily with fellow alumni, but also to better inform alumni of opportunities to contribute current students. I’ve witnessed the smallest of time investments, mentoring and networking, make a tremendous impact on both current students’ and alumni’s lives.

I believe wholeheartedly that IMSA alumni can work together to build a tight knit community that serves both alumni and current students, and that is why I am offering myself as tribute.

2. Secretary (2-year term: August 31, 2023-August 31, 2025) [select up to one]

DANIEL COLLINS, 2015

Like so many alumni, the further I have gone from IMSA, the more I have come to appreciate its impact. After graduating in 2015, I attended Boston University and earned bachelor's degrees in Composition & Music Theory and Physics, continuing a trend of dual-concentration study that I had begun at IMSA. I then narrowed my focus to music, pursuing my master’s in Composition & Music Theory Pedagogy at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Graduating in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and facing scant musical prospects, I turned my attention back to STEM, teaching high school math in and around Baltimore for two years. Though the work ethic and penchant for interdisciplinary study I acquired at IMSA were immensely helpful during my own education, it was not until I was charged with the education of others that I realized just how solid an academic foundation IMSA had helped me to build. Time and again, I found myself extolling the values IMSA had instilled, and now, as I return once more to music, I hope to recommit myself to IMSA’s mission by continuing to serve on IAA.

Last year, at the end of my first term as an At-Large Member, I was asked by the IAA Officers to step into the role of Secretary following the resignation of the previous officeholder. As the youngest member of IAA at the time, I was heartened by this endorsement of my involvement in and commitment to IAA. Serving as Secretary over the past year, I have enjoyed learning the inner workings of the organization and participating in discussions about our school’s past, present, and future. Though I am unable to attend this year’s Annual Meeting in person, I ask for your support to continue serving IMSA’s alumni as either Secretary or At-Large Member.

3. At-Large Member (up to eleven may be elected; 1-year term: August 31, 2023-August 31, 2024) [select up to eleven]

ANGEL ALVAREZ, 1998

My time at IMSA was foundational in creating the life I have today. As a low-income student of color, the opportunities I was afforded for personal and educational growth were invaluable. However, I witnessed and experienced discrimination at IMSA and have a vested interest to improve the educational experience offered to all students. Now, as a scientist, I use my knowledge and passion for issues of equity and excellence in education to serve as a member in several outreach programs, volunteer at IMSA career events, and mentor past and current IMSA students. I want to continue to give back by contributing my perspective to the Alumni Association and be a positive force in the lives of students who, like me, can be uniquely supported by IMSA.

BRITTNEY ANDRES-ROSSI, 2004

As a 2004 graduate, I understand how critical and influential IMSA can be. Like other alumni, I am passionate about helping IMSA and seeking a way to give back, which is why I am running for the IAA cabinet again.

My background is in hospitality and as an event coordinator with non-profit experience I’d like to help organize opportunities for alumni to connect with one another and re-connect with IMSA, as well as events for current students.

Serving as an At-Large member the past two years has been informative and I hope to use this experience to become more involved and better assist IAA and IMSA.

Thank you, Brittney Andres-Rossi

DANIEL COLLINS, 2015

STEPHEN PAIGE, 2000

Having served on IAA for six years as both treasurer and at-large rep, I would like to continue supporting IMSA, it's students, and alumni. I believe the alumni base has many ways it can support current students and the institution itself, and I would like to continue supporting such initiatives.

CASIE PERRY PEZZAROSSI, 1996

I'm an alumna of IMSA's Class of 96! I have served on the IMSA Admissions Committee three times and 2023 was my first year being an evaluator for IMSA's Leadership Exchange.

After graduating, I received a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois in music education, and a master's degree from the University of Missouri - Columbia in journalism. I've worked in multiple countries across a wide range of scientific, educational, and artistic endeavors in the fields of publishing, journalism, and advertising, and I attended the State of the Union address as a member of the press corps in 2003. In 2015, I had my daughter, who stimulated my interest into integrative medicine, the sensory system in children, and the shared experience of motherhood.

The longer I'm away from IMSA, the more appreciative I am of how unique the experience was and how special the alumni are. There's been no match for the relationships that I built during that time, and I didn't fully appreciate it at the time. I'd like to continue building my own relationships with other alumni and create experiences where we can all continue bonding!

SONIA WISNIEWSKI, 1999

If I am not elected president I wish to continue to serve as an at-large cabinet member. I would gladly accept this role if it is asked of me.

MATT ZANON, 1997

I enjoyed helping bring alums together at events this year and would love the chance to help more.

Please direct any questions to Brian Cudiamat, Class of 1996, of the 2023 IAA Elections Committee. These should be emailed to election@imsaalum.org.