The Branch School Alumni: Favorite Memories and Where are they now?

• Created July 26, 2021 for The Branch School blog as an informative marketing piece to highlight positive experiences of attending The Branch School. The blog's target audience is current and perspective families of the school. This blog was part of a series written from the point of view of an alumni and demonstrates my ability to interact, interview, and report on other people’s points of view.

As an alumni of The Branch School, I reached out to some of my former classmates and asked for their favorite memory of the school, how the school helped them through high school and college, and where they are now. Following are their responses.

Natalie Jennings

Class of 2014

Natalie’s best memory of The Branch School is the class trip to Washington DC. She enjoyed seeing the sites, learning about United States history and being with her friends. Natalie credits The Branch School with helping her get along with other people and helping her figure out what she liked in terms of career and interests. “Like when we did outdoor classroom and went to camp Allen, those helped me learn that I liked science and being outside. The most useful skill I learned at The Branch School was teamwork/leadership. We did a lot of team projects such as Sequoia and that helped me develop leadership skills and how to listen to everybody else and collaborate” says Natalie.

Natalie recently graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a degree in Biology. She will be volunteering at a conservation biology lab in the fall and spring 2021-2022. Afterwards, she plans to either go to a graduate school or get a job in conservation.

Jacqueline Pham

Class of 2014

Jacqueline says, “one of my best memories at The Branch School was going to the Fall Carnival with friends and we played all the games for hours until our feet couldn’t walk anymore.” She credits The Branch School for preparing her technically as well as for developing “strong values to stand for, such as being kind to others and to enjoy learning.” Jacqueline also says, “the years of schooling felt like they flew by and I came out with strong friendships that I have cherished. The most useful skill is learning how to stay organized. Using planners and writing down my assignments and time commitments at The Branch School was a great stepping stone to taking on more responsibilities throughout high school and college.”

Jacqueline is currently studying engineering at Harvey Mudd College of the Claremont Colleges.

Sine Jensen

Class of 2014

Sine’s favorite memories at The Branch School are the exciting events such as 50’s Day, Fall Carnival, Camp Allen and all the field trips. Sine credits The Branch School with preparing her for high level math in high school. Also, “We did a lot of presentations, so I definitely got used to doing those once I got into high school and college,” says Sine.

Sine recently graduated from Lone Star College and now has a job as an American Sign Language interpreter at Dobie High School.

Tristan Crisp

Class of 2016

Tristan’s favorite memory of The Branch School is laughing with his friends. He credits The Branch School with preparing him “for high school and also middle school by doing homework and turning it in at a timely manner. The Branch School also taught me peace-making and presentation skills. It taught me to forgive others and to treat others how you would want to be treated.”

Tristan is currently studying criminal justice at San Jacinto Community College.

Dylan West

Class of 2018

Dylan’s favorite memory of The Branch School is being with his friends on the playground. He credits The Branch School with teaching “me a lot about how to act as a person and how to be a good person. The best skill I learned at The Branch School was peace-making and ‘I messages.’”

Dylan is currently a senior in high school pursuing ballet at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Katie O’Pella

Class of 2014

For my experience at The Branch School, see my blog post My Time At The Branch School: An Alumni’s Perspective. I credit activities at The Branch School for inspiring me to pursue a career writing and illustrating children’s books and graphic novels.

I am currently a senior at St. Edward’s University in Austin majoring in Studio Art with a minor in Writing and Rhetoric.