Japhet School

Profiles

CAMILLE PRIMEAU – XJ’10

Camille attended Japhet School from Pre-kindergarten through 4th grade. Camille graduated from Royal Oak High School in 2014 and is currently attending the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance as a voice performance major. Camille’s accomplishments while in high school were numerous including achieving Cum Laude, NHS, and Phi Beta Kappa status. She was awarded several major U of M scholarships for both her performance work as well as for her academics. Camille also received scholarships from several Royal Oak organizations and performed the National Anthem at her graduation ceremony; you can find it on YouTube! Camille and her parents say that she first began to find her stage voice and confidence in Spring Sharing performances at Japhet and truly found her extraordinary singing voice in high school. Camille hopes to assist in the preparations for Spring Sharing in years to come.

SCOTT MAZURKIEWICZ – J’04

After graduating from Japhet, Scott attended DeLaSalle Collegiate where he played football at the varsity level. Scott then enrolled at Michigan State University graduating in 2012 with a BS in Criminal Justice with a specialization in security management. The School of Criminal Justice at MSU is the oldest in the U.S. and offers great opportunities for job placement through internships and the program’s reputation. Scott then worked for the company for which he had interned as a private investigator for two years before moving on to his current position as an Auto Damage Adjuster for an insurance company in Chicago. Scott is enjoying life in the big city (except for the parking) and is taking advantage of all of the new places to go and things to do. Scott says that one of Japhet’s greatest lessons for him was the importance of integrity. He has worked in positions that have little or no direct supervision and feels that being honest and doing his best at all times is what has gotten him to where he is today. Scott plans to utilize the tuition reimbursement program offered by his company to begin taking some additional business classes.

REILLY ANKERS – J’10

Congratulations to Reilly who graduated from Ferndale High School. Reilly stayed busy throughout his high school career by playing league hockey for Royal Oak and volunteering as a member of the National Honor Society. He graduated with special honors and commendations in math, science, and social studies. Reilly will be attending the University of Michigan in fall. He has many interests and has not yet chosen a major. U of M awarded Reilly the Jean Fairfax Scholarship which recognizes scholarly potential and leadership, particularly community service. Ms. Fairfax was a 1941 U of M graduate and civil rights champion. Congratulations, Reilly!

Melissa Clark – J’82

Melissa Clark sends her greetings! Melissa spent years as a Japhet student and has fond memories of her Japhet connections and family. After graduating from Japhet and high school, Melissa came back to work in Japhet’s Daycare for several years, caring for the children of several current Japhet faculty and staff members when they were young. Melissa enjoys traveling when she has the opportunity. Her travel destinations have included Alaska and Germany. Melissa has worked in the corporate travel industry for 20+ years. She especially enjoys the relationships she has built with clients over the years and the opportunity to work with people daily. Looking back, she appreciates the close-knit Japhet family and remembers a team effort where everybody helped each other. Melissa tells us that recently she has connected with several former Japhet schoolmates via social media and has enjoyed catching up with them.

Joey White – J’10

Joey graduated from Royal Oak High School. Beyond the usual class requirements, he also took engineering and mechanical shop classes at the Oakland Schools Technical Campus. Joey hopes to make these classes a stepping stone to a degree and career in engineering. Joey was involved with the Royal Oak FIRST Robotics Team and played varsity lacrosse for the Ravens. In summer Joey is a camp counselor at Camp Leelanau. Japhet students attending the Leelanau Outdoor Center (LOC) had an opportunity to see and utilize the Human Foosball court built by Joey’s CT group. Joey has always enjoyed the camp and sees its lessons as an extension of the Japhet character qualities. He feels the positive lessons learned at Japhet, LOC, and at Camp Leelanau made him who he is. Joey says that it is always great to get reinforcement of the good ideas and actions you believe in. He currently attends Principia College.

Abigail Strub – J’08

Abby has thoroughly settled into college life at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois. Abby is majoring in English and Political Science with an eye toward a career in law down the road. She is in the choir and holds the position of choral assistant while continuing her study of piano and voice. Abby also writes for The Principia Pilot newspaper as the conservative political columnist. She hosts the campus’ only political radio show, “We the People,” on Principia Internet Radio. She has been accepted for a semester abroad to England to study Shakespeare. She has some sage advice for Japhet’s Upper Class students: “Don’t slack off during your freshman year of high school. That will require you to work twice as hard to achieve the same level in grades and accomplishments in the other years.” She adds that high school students should try a variety of subjects and extra-curriculars to be sure that they really know what they want to pursue. “Explore your options!” she implores. Abby feels that the high level of trust between the faculty and students at Prin is a validation of the importance of all of those character lessons at Japhet.