Eagle Ridge Academy graduated the first class of seniors in June 2008. The foundation Eagle Ridge alumni built during their time at the Academy with the values of truth, beauty, and goodness will continue to serve them well.
The Eagle Ridge Academy Alumni Association was established in 2022 as a way to build community and connect Eagle Ridge Academy alumni with our community and each other. We also provide ways for alumni to give back to the Academy through our volunteer program, annual events, and giving opportunities.
All Eagle Ridge Academy graduates, non-graduates who attended Eagle Ridge Academy School of Rhetoric for at least one year, and all present and former members of the faculty, administration, and the School Board are included in the Eagle Ridge Academy Alumni Association.
The Link Alumni Newsletter
Current Issue
School alumni, alumni families, and friends of ERA are encouraged to provide us with their updated personal contact information. Please complete this form and we will update our records. Updating your contact information will allow us to share information with you. Questions? Contact us at abrady@eagleridgeacademy.org.
Opportunities to Make an Impact
Share Your Experience
ERA Academic & College Counselor Mrs. Kaiser has weekly opportunities available for guest speakers (in-person or remote) to share career and education experience with students as they prepare for graduation. Contact Linda Kaiser to learn more.
Click here to check out other volunteer opportunities at Eagle Ridge Academy.
Who Do You Know?
As we build our alumni association, we are still trying to reach your fellow graduates. Can you help? Please forward The Link newsletter and ask your former classmates to participate in the Alumni Survey.
Help Alumni Connect
If you or someone you know is interested in bringing the alumni of Eagle Ridge Academy together, we have low-commitment ways to get involved on the steering committee. Contact Kelly Schiffman or Allison Brady to learn more.
Pass It Down
Are you sports-minded or have a talent you’d like to share with others? We are looking for coaches for 3rd and 4th grade Boys Basketball, as well as a JV or Varsity Assistant for Boys Basketball (starts in March).
If you are interested in starting a club that we don’t currently have, we’d love your ideas. Click here for a full list of our clubs and activities. If interested, Pplease email activities@eagleridgeacademy.org.
Upcoming Alumni Events
Gala for the Gryphons: Friday, November 22
At the 12th Annual Gala for the Gryphons Prom: A Night to Remember, we invite you to go back to your high school dance days and enjoy prom… as an adult! The event will once again take place at Hazeltine National Club (1900 Hazeltine Boulevard, Chaska, MN) on Friday, November 22, 6:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. A gala ticket includes social hour, plated dinner, Dessert Dash, silent and live auctions, meaningful program, and dancing the night away with Midwest Sound DJ Entertainment. The event keynote speaker is Principal Erin Johnson, and Karen Sorbo will return as emcee and auctioneer. Learn more and purchase tickets here.
Class Notes
Samantha Anderson went on to study elementary education at UWRF after graduating from ERA. She then did her student teaching in Mandee Gordon’s 2nd grade classroom at ERA and has been teaching 3rd grade at ERA for the past seven years. The students and traditional education are what she loves about teaching here. Some highlights over the past ten years include her trip to Tanzania to visit the classroom her cousin taught in and to take a safari, as well as meeting and getting engaged to her fiancé, Lincoln, and planning for her upcoming wedding this December.
Jessa (Veldhuizen) Dieter is married to her husband, Baylor, and has a one year old named Kruz. Also, see Spotlight.
Elsa Duclos is in her freshman year at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD.
Jacob Larson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nutrition & Dietetics at the University of Minnesota, completed a 9-month dietetic internship at the VA Hospital in Chicago, and is currently an Inpatient Clinical Dietitian at the VA Hospital in Orlando, FL.
Lucy Bixby started her own freelance copy-editing business.
Gretchen Holland is currently attending the Business Honors Academy at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. During her first semester, she joined a student-led venture capital firm on campus and won first place with a team in a business plan competition against other universities. She has recently secured an entrepreneurial internship with Nelnet.
Jay (Samantha) Erickson is a History and Ancient Greek double major with an English minor at Gustavus Adolphus College. They work in the Theatre department helping to make costumes for the plays and dance concerts.
Grace (Conner) Spears graduated from the University of Minnesota. She does administrative work for a local HVAC and maintenance company. She lives with her husband and two kids – Graham (6) and Simon (1) in Minneapolis in the Victory Memorial Parkway neighborhood. Graham is currently a first grader at Eagle Ridge Academy.
Ashlyn Cory recently graduated with honors, magna cum laude and a Senior Merit Award in the school of Arts and Sciences from the University of Wisconsin- River Falls with a double major in Marketing Communications and Communication Studies with a minor in Spanish.
Sam Sindelar enlisted in North Dakota Air National Guard after high school and served as Cyber Operations Craftsman for 11 years, earning degrees in IT and Computer Science. He is currently a front-end web developer for Be The Match, working remotely from Fargo.
Sophrona LaVasseur recently moved to Arizona to grow her wedding planning company, Joyful Day Weddings. She currently sits as one of the founding board members of the Mainstreet Foundation with The Hopkins Raspberry Festival.
Sam Lebow graduated summa cum laude from Marymount California University in 2019, gaining academic excellence awards in Philosophy/Religious Studies and in Liberal Arts during his time there and was part of several honors societies such as Psi Chi and Delta Epsilon Sigma. Sam most recently worked in television as a production assistant and researcher in writers’ rooms for Paramount and NBCUniversal/Amazon.
Harshita Kalidindi is a first-year law student at University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, with an expected graduation date in May 2025.
Eric Melendez recently graduated (May 2022) with a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Missouri State University. He now works as a travel physical therapist in Montana and looks forward to traveling the country while working
Hayden Bunn studied law in the Netherlands for his bachelor’s degree before moving to the United Kingdom in 2021 to complete his master’s in diplomacy and international governance. Since completing his master’s program, he has continued to live in London and currently works for the Liberal Democrats, a political party in the UK.
Kaite (Aldana) Pfiffner and Mike Pfiffner (both ‘08 graduates) have a daughter (7), and recently adopted a son (5). Kaite is a middle and high school Latin teacher. Mike is a Sonographer.
Muthu Meenakshisundaram will be interning with Congressman Dean Phillips in his Minnetonka office Summer 2023.
Emma Darula graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities with a BA in Art History and has been accepted into Johns Hopkins University master’s program in Museum Studies.
Sam Twetan graduated from Bethel University with a degree in Marketing and International Business and briefly worked in sports radio. He is now married, living in the Twin Cities area, and working as the Digital Marketing Manager for an audiometric medical device company.
Kali Gerber is following in her mother, Molly Gerber’s (ERA staff, 2008-2017), footsteps and is a School Nurse. She graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Nursing and subsequently moved to Brooklyn, NY to practice. While working in an independent school, Kali is also pursuing certification as a Sex Educator and Counselor.
Kelly Bonde is a physical therapist working at a pain clinic. She is very thankful for the foundational education ERA provided.
Lauren (Osgood) Moede went to ministry school in Detroit after graduation, where she met her husband David. They have three children: Mae (6), Greta (4), and Graeme (6 months). They currently live outside of Detroit, where Lauren is a lead at Target and David is a stay-at-home dad after leaving his role as a chef during the pandemic.
Jessa (Veldhuizen) Dieter is married to her husband, Baylor, and living in Savage. She has a two year old, Kruz, and a second baby boy due later this year! Jessa enjoys being at home with her son every day and often watches other kids as well. Jessa is teaching her son Spanish. She loves to be outside and active with her family. Jessa has spent lots of time in Bolivia since graduating high school. She co-founded a nonprofit called Anchor of Hope that works with kids living on the streets of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. She works as the stateside admin and visits Bolivia for as long as she can every year with her family.
Madelynn (Hollander) Knowles went to Bethel University and got licensed as an elementary and ESL teacher. She is now a 2nd grade teacher at New Millennium Academy in Brooklyn Center. She notes that her academic roots of linguistics from Latin at ERA have served her well, even when teaching beginning reading skills.
Over the last couple of years, she married her high school sweetheart (from another local high school) and obtained a real estate license to do part time on weekends and over summer breaks. She‘s also taken up a love of bouldering and gardening.
John Schwirtz served for six and a half years on the Eagle Ridge Academy Board of Directors, and as Board Chair for the two of those years, until 2021. Married in 2022, he and his wife Hannah currently live in North Minneapolis in the Victory neighborhood. John works in sales and product management at Banner Engineering, an industrial automation company based in Plymouth.
Sophia Pechaty recently graduated cum laude from Wellesley College and is seeking a job in Environmental Justice. She interned and later served as a volunteer organizer at the MN chapter of the Sierra Club, organizing against the Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline in northern MN.
Marisa Wojciechowski is a paralegal on the bond counsel team at a top public finance law firm, Kennedy and Graven, Chartered. She is proud to have been a part of assisting cities in bettering their communities.
Lexi Wuetrich has started a new position at Cokato Elementary as a speech language pathology assistant. She has also gotten involved in her district by being the assistant cheer coach. Go Chargers!
Jacob Larson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nutrition & Dietetics at the University of Minnesota, completed a 9-month dietetic internship at the VA Hospital in Chicago, and is currently an Inpatient Clinical Dietitian at the VA Hospital in Orlando, FL.
SheaAnna Kulus is currently attending Cedarville University, with a major in Elementary Education and a Bible minor. When she’s not busy studying the scribbles of two year-olds or preparing math lessons, she spends her time serving at her local church, talking with friends, sewing, running a couple small businesses out of her dorm room, and writing books.