Young alums: Where are they now?

It takes courage to start an ice cream business in Harrisburg, where ice cream giants such as Hershey’s and Turkey Hill reign. Luckily, marketing grad Adam Brackbill has a strong faith and good business sense. His thriving homemade ice cream start-up named Urban Churn is proof.

With two degrees from Messiah, Elizabeth Brake has dreams for her future, and she’s working hard to align them with God’s plan. Brake has long envisioned a career in the disability services realm of higher education. Born with cerebral palsy, she earned a degree in education and family services from Messiah, where she interned at the Office of Disability Services. As a result, she created the Disability Services Fund, to help pay for needed resources for those with disabilities at the College.

As a high school literature teacher who majored in music, Jonathan Desmarais works daily to make an impact on the next generation.

“One of the biggest parts of my teaching career has been defined by the pursuit of social justice, and that manifests itself in my teaching,” said Desmarais of his job at Logos Academy in York, Pennsylvania.

In the year since she earned her degree in social work from Messiah, Melissa Veras completed a master’s in social work, wrapped up an internship at the nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York and held down a part-time job at the New York Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing. It’s no wonder the time has flown by.

A biochemistry and molecular biology major at Messiah, Dr. Jonathan Lorgunpai is completing his third and final year of internal medicine residency at Boston University Medical Center. After seven years of countless hours of studying and extra-long shifts, the first four of which took place at Yale Medical School, he says he definitely found his calling.

If your favorite band releases singles one by one, or stopped dropping new albums right before the holidays, Ryan Faus might be behind it.

As the director of global research and analysis for the major music company Warner New York, Faus works in the Big Apple studying endless data from streaming services such as Spotify to come up with strategies on which artists to sign along with how and when to release new material.

Only two weeks after earning a degree in public relations, Rachel Scarborough received an offer from friend Darris Sneed, a Gospel and pop artist, to be his manager for a three-week tour around Florida.

“It was brutal. It was stressful,” said Scarborough of her first post-graduation job. “I came off the tour thinking, ‘I never want to do this again.’”