TJ Alumni Conversation Series

Providing in-depth conversations with TJ alumni throughout the school's 75-year history. Since 1946, TJ has committed to providing students with the strongest possible academic background. With a mission to create a desire to lift up the world with beauty and intellect, TJ's alumni go into the world curious to learn and eager to contribute to their communities. New interviews come out every two weeks.

Conversation Courses History Education Stories

Update frequency: every 16 days
Average duration: 35 minutes
Episodes: 14
Years Active: 2020 - 2022

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Harrison Yan - STEM after TJ

Harrison Yan graduated from TJ in 2015. Since then, he has used his talents to become an emerging leader in the tech and robotics industry. As of this recording, Harrison works as an Infotainment Pro…

00:34:36 | Fri 21 Jan 2022

Rayman Solomon-Dean Emeritus at Rutgers Law School

Rayman Solomon is a current professor and Dean Emeritus at Rutgers Law School in Camden, NJ. He also served as Dean of the Law School for 16 years working to hire faculty, expand programs, and reconn…

00:41:19 | Wed 05 May 2021

Loni Mahanta - Tech and Policy in a Changing World

In an incredibly fun and interesting conversation, we catch up with Loni Mahanta to discuss her time at and after TJ. She shares advice to a younger self and talks about some of the interesting topic…

00:44:13 | Wed 21 Apr 2021

Beverly "Porky" Pitts - TJ's Reunion Attendance Leader

In an enjoyable conversation, we sit down to hear the story of Beverly "Porky" Pitts. Mr. Pitts is a TJ alumnus and went on to Harvard with a number of other TJ grads. He came back to connect with hi…

00:27:10 | Wed 07 Apr 2021

Michelle Ermatinger-Salas - Resilience, Service, "Dig In" Mindset

Michelle Ermatinger-Salas graduated from Thomas Jefferson in 2008. She was a three-sport Varsity athlete and awarded the Arete Award her senior year. She attended Ursinus College and designed her maj…

00:33:48 | Wed 10 Mar 2021

Paul Messina - Helping Humanity with Science and Computing

Dr. Paul Messina, just like me, is a math and science geek. Paul is also an amazing example of a TJ graduate. He's very modest, but he has done incredible work in the field of computing and science r…

00:40:49 | Wed 17 Feb 2021

Liat Roth - Dancing Through a Pandemic

All TJ graduates have an interesting story. Liat Roth ('17) is no exception. As the daughter of a faculty member, Liat has an interesting "road to TJ." After graduating, she went to UMKC to study dan…

00:35:16 | Wed 03 Feb 2021

Hall McAdams - A Unique Career Path After TJ

Hall, a graduate of TJ from the 60s, has had an interesting career after graduation. An alumnus and former board member, he has stayed connected to TJ for decades. Hall is a great example of someone …

00:39:32 | Wed 20 Jan 2021

Sara Halili - An Unusual Way to Find TJ, then Paying it Forward

Sara is an amazing example of a younger alumna who is starting the first steps into an amazing career. A junior at Smith College during recording, Sara is already able to reflect back at how TJ shape…

00:38:52 | Wed 06 Jan 2021

Art Vibulakaopun - Find Who You Admire, Follow Them, Then Pay it Forward

You can find out more about Art at his website: https://artvibulakaopun.com/

00:39:58 | Wed 16 Dec 2020

Jimmy Holloran - The Lasting Impact of TJ's Community Culture

Joined by Jimmy Holloran, we discuss the impact of TJ's community post-graduation. We know what the strongest possible academic background means for someone's career, but in this conversation we expl…

00:47:41 | Wed 02 Dec 2020

Jim Pesek - The Global Perspective of a TJ Alumnus and Teacher

In this episode we hear from Jim Pesek, an alumnus and current faculty member and the Director of Service Learning and Global Citizenship. With a unique experience at and after TJ, we're so lucky to …

00:31:10 | Wed 18 Nov 2020

Jane Roth - Guiding the TJ Curriculum

This conversation with Jane Roth, Director of Academics at TJ is wide ranging. From how she found TJ to how we think about educating high-ability students, there is a lot covered in this conversation…

00:43:56 | Wed 11 Nov 2020