Alumni Stories

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Our students have pursued careers across many fields, from journalism to politics to law to technology startups and beyond. This page shares news of their work and lives beyond Stanford. To submit a Class Note or join our mailing list, please contact our Student Services Officer. 

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After working as a Biotech Analyst on Wall Street for  12 years, I left to pursue my life's dream - to start an anti-aging skin care  line. It's called PHACE BIOACTIVE® - the first line of pH Optimized Skin  Care®. Sales have exploded! We sell at Saks Fifth Avenue stores across the  country, Amazon Luxury Beauty, and you can see me every month on ...
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  Martha Callison Horst, BA/BS (1989) PhD (UC Davis) (1996) is a Professor of Music in Theory and Composition at Illinois State University.  Recent orchestral works of hers were premiered by Symphony Number One in Baltimore, MD and the Chicago Composers Orchestra in Chicago, IL.  She also currently serves as the Secretary of the Academic Senate ...
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  After graduating, I worked in management at  McMaster-Carr for 3 years in their Chicago and Los Angeles offices.  I left  the company to start my own nomadic movie theatre in Papua New Guinea, where  I ran an outdoor cinema that traveled around Karkar Island for a year sharing  movies with locals and recording stories from native communities ...
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Matt Buchanan is the President of Buchanan Automotive Group which employs about 350 people and he is also the Co-Founder of Dealers United.  He started Dealers United in 2012 on the principle of giving all dealerships the same access to discounts from vendors, which would provide family-run dealerships with the same competitive edge as large dealer ...
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   Nikita Desai manages clinical and employer partnerships at Lantern, an SF-based startup that designs engaging, accessible, evidence-based mobile app programs for anxiety, stress, depression, and eating disorders. She is fortunate to have landed this dream gig, helping to create a new standard of mental healthcare, after spending a  year and a ...
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  In an attempt to spend as much time as possible  outside while receiving a PhD, I've been attending the University of Utah in  Salt Lake City for the past two years. After Stanford graduation, I spent a  summer working in the Yosemite Museum while running valley trails, climbing  granite, and swimming in the Merced River. In the fall I ...
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  I currently work in the healing arts as a shamanic healing practitioner, yoga teacher, and tarot card reader. I never would have imagine that life would take me down this path. I am welcoming ways to combine science and technology into my field, and believe that will hold great potential.
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  Currently driving social strategy for a variety of clients in advertising. My STS background has been critical to my success in this particular industry as I focus on behaviors and emotions that ultimately lead to purchase across digital and social media.
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  Christen Linke Young ('04) is currently the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services for the state of North Carolina.  She relocated to North Carolina this past January after serving in the Obama Administration in a variety of health care policymaking roles, including as a senior policy advisor in the White House and as the Deputy ...