The John Cooper School Alumni Association

The Alumni Office has seen many alumni visitors over the last few weeks. Thanks to all the alumni those pictured and not pictured, for stopping by to see us! Always remember that Cooper is your home! Keep an eye out for some amazing stories about these alumni in the next edition of the Cooper Alumni magazine, IGNITE. 🐉

Attention Classes of 1998, 2003, & 2008 - Registration is NOW OPEN for JCS Reunion Weekend! Click the link below to register for one or all events! https://johncooper.myschoolapp.com/page/alumnievent2

The fun starts Friday, September 29, at the Alumni Association Homecoming Tailgate from 5 - 7 p.m. on the 3rd floor of The Rock Math + Science Center. Join us for fun, food, catching up with teachers and classmates, and an abundance of Cooper Spirit! Kid-friendly games and activities will take place at the Alumni Tailgate and at Booster Club activities close to Pugh field.

Join us back on campus the next day for a tour of the Cooper facilities given by Upper School students on Saturday, September 30. Bring the family and meet in the Mitchell Lower School at 11 a.m.

Celebrate your reunion that evening, Saturday, September 30 at Mahoney's Texish Bar and Restaurant in the Waterway from 6 - 8 p.m. Email [email protected] with any questions or to help with your reunion.

Click this link to register. https://johncooper.myschoolapp.com/page/alumnievent2. We look forward to celebrating with you on September 29 - 30!

Alumna Ellen Teuscher ’16 returned to Cooper today during Upper School lunch to speak to seniors interested in politics and law. Ellen is currently enrolled at Harvard Law School. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2020, where she double majored in Government and Humanities with a concentration in Media, Economics, and Social Change. For over two years, she worked as an advertising and public affairs strategist at the intersection of business, politics, and policy, including on multiple 2020 political campaigns. The seniors in attendance asked questions about applying to college, opportunities to get involved in government, how to find internships, and how to make the most of senior year at Cooper. After speaking to students, Ellen walked around campus and found some familiar faces. Thank you, Ellen, for sharing your experiences with the Class of 2024! 🐉

Starting off the week with another Alumni Legacy Family! Happy Monday, ! 🐉

Finishing the first week of school with another Alumni Legacy Family - The Pates. The 2023-2024 school year is going to be amazing with all these Alumni Legacies on campus! 🐉

More first day of school pictures of Cooper Alumni Legacies! We hope everyone had a great first day of school. Stay tuned for even more alumni legacy photos.

Look at all the Cooper Alumni with their own Cooper Dragons! Take a peek at our stories on IG to see their grad years!

Happy first day of school to these Alumni Legacy Families! This year, The John Cooper School has 27 alumni legacies enrolled in Lower, Middle, and Upper School. Check back to see more of our Legacy Dragons! 🐉

It was wonderful seeing so many alumni families today at Cooper! Alumni family and local business owners, Rachael Compofelice and Anthony Compofelice, Class of 1994 welcomed new middle school families with Fajita Pete’s after their orientation. Thanks to Parents Forum, Vy Stone, and Rachael Compofelice for a wonderful New Middle School Family Event! 🐉

On Friday, Eshani Meta Sheth ‘00 visited the Cooper campus too see the many changes since her senior year and show off her school to her daughter. Eshani was at Cooper for 12 years and said she “has alot of great memories from that era.” Thanks for stopping by to visit! If you are an alum or alumni parent and haven’t been back to Cooper in a while, email [email protected] to schedule a visit! Cooper is always your home. 🐉

Alumni Sighting!! Gerald Caraway ‘19 was back at Cooper to watch sister’s varsity volleyball game. 🐉

What an incredible night seeing the Classes of 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 at the Cooper Alumni College Send-Off. Alumni board member Anthony Compofelice ’94 welcomed the Class of 2023 to the Alumni Association and wished all alumni a wonderful Fall 2023 semester. Thank you to the amazing Cooper faculty, staff, administrators, and counselors that stopped by to say a word of encouragement to these alumni. Thank you to Foreign Policy Food Truck and Berry Ices, LLC for the delicious food and the talented Atirela, Inc. for the spirited decor! Cooper Alumni, you make us proud!

The Cooper Alumni College Send-Off for the Classes of 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 is this Thursday, August 10, at 4 p.m. in the Rock Math + Science Center. Check out these college-themed baskets that you could win – gift cards, chargers, Bluetooth speakers, snacks, and dorm room décor, are just a few items in these baskets! Stop by, grab food, pick up some Cooper Alumni swag, and see your classmates and teachers before the Fall semester. Refreshments will be provided by Houston-famous food Truck “Foreign Policy” and “Berry Ices” Italian Ice and fun is guaranteed! This event is free for all! RSVP using this link TODAY https://johncooper.myschoolapp.com/page/alumnievent1! Go Dragons! The John Cooper School

Throwback to last year's Cooper Alumni College Send-Off! Don't miss out on the food, fun, swag, and seeing your favorite Dragons before the Fall semester at this year's event - Thursday, August 10 at 4 p.m. in The Rock Math + Science Center. Watch for a sneak peek of this year's door prizes! RSVP so we know you will be there! https://johncooper.myschoolapp.com/page/alumnievent1

Congrats to alumna Samantha Sardina '21 for being a featured student profile on her university's website. Click to read below about her experiences going back to 3rd grade, then classes at Cooper, and now her journey at college that led her to find her passion.

Samantha Sardina Samantha Sardina, BBA ‘25, traces her interest in business back to third grade, selling cookies for her Girl Scout troop. Even at a young age, she thought strategically about her goals.

Alumni Association Board Member Dr. Paulraj Samuel '97 was featured on the Hope Pieced Together" podcast, sharing the importance of integrating mental and physical health.

"Samuel reveals the importance of offering patients access to mental health support alongside medical treatment, emphasizing that addressing both aspects is vital for maximizing overall health and quality of life." Take a listen here https://open.spotify.com/show/1TTxczvGg7uCJpDgm363qL

The Classes of 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 are invited Back to Cooper for a Cooper Alumni College Send-Off! Join us on Thursday, August 10 at 4 p.m. in the Rock Math + Science Center, 1st floor, to celebrate with all your favorite Dragons. Enjoy seeing Cooper faculty members once more before heading to college for the Fall 2023 semester. Refreshments will be provided by HTX famous food Truck, Foreign Policy, Berry Ices Italian Ice, and fun is guaranteed! This event is free for all! RSVP by August 8 using this link https://johncooper.myschoolapp.com/page/alumnievent1. Go Dragons! The John Cooper School

Attention JCS Classes of 1998, 2003, and 2008- Save the date for Friday, September 29, and Saturday, September 30, for The John Cooper School Reunion Weekend. Join us for the Alumni Tailgate and fun Homecoming festivities for kids and adults on Friday night, September 29, at Cooper. Go on a tour of campus given by Upper School students on Saturday, September 30, and celebrate your reunion that evening, Saturday, September 30! Registration will be open soon as venues are finalized so watch the JCS Alumni Association Facebook, Instagram, and CooperAlumniONE for the most up-to-date information. Go Dragons! **The Class of 2013 and 2018 will celebrate their reunion in December 2023**

It was great seeing these alumni today for a game of pick up! Thanks to Charlie Pyle ‘23, Vaughn McKeever ‘23, Mac Macaul ‘22, Kyle Dove ‘21, Jack Wilson ‘21, Coach Wilson ‘06, Bear Golden ‘23, and Justin Kelly ‘23 for coming back! Should we do alumni basketball games this year? Answer in the comments! 🐉

Congrats to Cody Bohan ’15 and his wife, Emma, on their new addition, Augie, who was born on April 20. Thanks to Granddad Matt Bohan for sharing this picture of the newest addition to the Bohan family.

A great reminder for Cooper Alumni to send in your exciting life updates, accomplishments, and celebrations to include in the next edition of the Cooper alumni magazine, IGNITE! Email [email protected] or DM us with a picture and a few sentences by August 1 so we can include your news in the Class Notes section.

Thank you to these Alumni Board members and those not pictured for another successful year of service on The John Cooper School Alumni Board. The group celebrated last night at in . Big things on the horizon for The John Cooper School Alumni Association! 🐉

Alumni guests from the Classes of 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2016 at today’s Retirement Luncheon honoring Susan Child, Brenda Early, Bob Mosier, Marilyn Prine, and Jimmy Vess. 🐉

On Friday, The John Cooper School Alumni Association welcomed 126 new members to the alumni community. Cooper Alumni now number 2,365! Congrats to the Class of 2023, now Cooper Alumni! The John Cooper School

Thank you to the families that joined us to celebrate the Class of 2023 at Senior Dinner on Tuesday. Among the many awards given, five students were awarded alumni scholarships presented by Dr. Arti Allam Thangudu ‘03, Alumni Board Member and Cooper parent, and Laura Schroeder, Director of College Counseling. Congrats to Alumni Association Scholarship recipients Chloe Smith, Medhansh Bhagchandani, and Vijay Davis. Congrats to Varsha Karthikeyan, The Dr. Joohee Mo**at Honorary Scholarship recipient, and to Lani Liang, The Anne Aresty Naman Memorial Scholarship recipient. We look forward to celebrating with the Class of 2023 tonight at Senior Tea and tomorrow at Graduation. Photos by Tara Flannery Photography The John Cooper School

Yesterday, Cooper Alumnus Joe Lindley ‘14 surprised Mr. Mosier to visit and capture his story on campus. Joe says Bob shaped his life, and he wanted to have the memories recorded forever.
He also found some of the artwork he crafted during his time at Cooper! You can also read about one of Joe’s latest adventures biking across the country when a catastrophe happens in the Cooper Alumni magazine, IGNITE. 🐉

When sophomore Zach Diaz reached out to the Alumni Office for advice on engineering and STEM opportunities, we connected him with alumni in the field who expressed interest in helping Cooper students and alumni. After email and phone exchanges with Dillon Hudson ’09 about his career in engineering, Zach was invited to tour the facilities at Baker Hughes. All of this was possible because of the supportive Cooper Community and Cooper Alumni ONE, the networking platform for Cooper Alumni. If you haven’t already, make sure to join and use your LinkedIn credentials to log in. If you have joined using just an email, make sure to go to your profile and sync your LinkedIn account. Thank you to Dillon Hudson ’09 for giving back to the Cooper Community! 🐉

Thanks for stopping by today, Travis Birdsall ‘21! It was so great to catch up and Go Gators! 🐉

It was an amazing group of Cooper faculty members together again at Catherine Devore Johnson’s book club event last night! 🐉

Alumni parents and former faculty members joined together with current parents, and current faculty members last night for the first Alumni Book Club featuring alumna author Catherine Devore Johnson ’96. Former Chair of the Upper School English Department, Shannon Wiley, interviewed Catherine about her debut novel, The Panacea Project, followed by questions from the audience and a book signing. Seeing many familiar faces that hadn’t returned to campus in a while was wonderful. Thank you, Catherine for sharing your time and talent with the Cooper Community! Cooper is always your home!

RSVP to see Catherine Devore Johnson '96 talk about her debut novel, The Panacea Project, this Thursday, May 4, at 6 p.m. at The John Cooper School. https://one.bidpal.net/thepanaceaprojectbookclub/welcome

Today is the DEADLINE to RSVP: Cooper Alumna Cathy Devore Johnson, Class of 1996 recently published The Panacea Project. Join us for a Book Club – Thursday, May 4 at 6 p.m. in The Rock Math + Science Center. RSVP at https://one.bidpal.net/thepanaceaprojectbookclub/ticketing(details:ticketing-summary)

ABOUT THE BOOK: The Panacea Project is a timely exploration of bodily autonomy set in a classic medical thriller. Calla Hammond has always been a loner – a project of the foster system and avoided by others because of a skin condition. When doctors discover her immune system holds the key to curing cancer, she struggles to advance lifesaving research in a world that sees her only as a means to an end. Yet along the way, Calla gains the one thing she has always longed for: a chosen family. When a group of unscrupulous people join forces to sell Calla’s blood to the highest bidder, she digs deep to regain control of her life, body, and story.

The Alumni Association is hosting a book club event with wine and cheese from 6 – 6:30 p.m. and a book chat with Catherine and the former Upper School English Dept. Chair, Shannon Wiley. All parents, alumni parents, and alumni are invited to this free event! Buy The Panacea Project on Amazon or anywhere books are sold and bring your book to be signed by Catherine Devore Johnson ’96.

Great night with H-town Dragons! Thank you to all the Houston Cooper Alumni that came out to catch up with their classmates! Don’t miss the next alumni event. Stay up to date on the next alumni gathering on CooperAlumniONE.com.

Houston Alumni - See you tonight, Wednesday, April 26, at Pour Behavior from 6 – 8 p.m. It has been too long, H-town Dragons! Throwback to the last Cooper Alumni Houston City Gathering in 2019! Don’t miss the fun - join us tonight!
RSVP http://bidpal.net/jcshoustongathering

Don’t forget to RSVP for The John Cooper School Alumni Association’s author event with alumna, Catherine Devore Johnson ’96. Alumni, alumni parents, Cooper parents, and community members are invited to join us on May 4 for a wine and cheese reception followed by a conversation with author and alumna Catherine Devore Johnson ’96 about her debut novel, The Panacea Project. Longtime former faculty member, Shannon Wiley, returns to Cooper for a conversation with Catherine about her first novel, followed by audience Q & A and a book signing. Purchase The Panacea Project anywhere books are sold and bring your copy to be signed by the author. Go to https://one.bidpal.net/thepanaceaprojectbookclub/welcome for more information and to RSVP by Monday, May 1.

What a great visit today with alumna Susan Taylor ‘04 and alumni parent Richard Taylor. Thanks for stopping by to see campus and some familiar faces. If you haven’t been back to campus in a while, we would love to host you for a visit. DM us or email [email protected]. 🐉

This year Bob Mosier, beloved artist and teacher at The John Cooper School, is retiring after 23 years! You are invited to join Mr. Mosier in a special virtual event to visit with him, share memories, and send him well wishes as he says farewell to Cooper. All alumni and alumni parents are invited to join us on Tuesday, April 18 at 6:30 p.m. CST to create a special memory for Mr. Mosier or provide him, as he describes this event, "Closure with Mosier!" Click this link to RSVP. https://bit.ly/3zTeJnT The Zoom link will be provided next week. Alumni are also invited to share memories of lessons Mr. Mosier taught them, a funny story, artwork from your time as his student, a fond memory, picture of you with Mr. Mosier. Click this link to upload photos and written messages. http://bit.ly/3MA8I7d See you on April 18!

What a special John Cooper Day it has been! Please join me in giving some love to Mrs. Early for her 21 years involved in the Kindergarten-Senior program at Cooper. Mrs. Early is retiring at the end of this school year. Thank you for all you’ve done for Cooper, Mrs. Early! 🐉

Happy John Cooper Day! In honor of today, we are sharing throwbacks from past John Cooper Days. Share your favorite John Cooper Day memories and make a legacy gift to honor your alma mater. Tag your friends and their graduation years in the comments! https://annualfund.jcsgiving.org/pages/home-2372

Tomorrow, April 6, 2023, is John Cooper Day. Remember being a Senior or Kindergartener on John Cooper Day? What other memories are your favorite from your time at Cooper? As an alumni parent, do you think back about your alum’s performances, sports games, and accomplishments from their time at Cooper? Tomorrow, we invite alumni and alumni parents to think back on their fondest memories of Cooper and make a legacy gift in honor of John Cooper Day. https://annualfund.jcsgiving.org/pages/home-2372

Attention Houston Alumni Dragons! Join us for the Houston City Gathering on Wednesday, April 26, at Pour Behavior from 6-8 p.m. for food, fun, and catching up with your favorite Dragons! Click here to RSVP. http://bidpal.net/jcshoustongathering The first 5 alumni dragons to RSVP will receive a prize. See you soon, Houston Dragons! 🐉