Here at Furtah Prep, we value the lives of our students, not only while here at school, but also what they accomplish beyond our walls. Some have shared their stories via Facebook and email. If you have a story to tell, please send information to office@furtahprep.org. Lorenzo Natoli (2015) - Lorenzo went back to his home country, Italy, and studied Mechanical Engineering. In 2017-2018, he moved to Shanghai, China for a double degree program. When he finished his bachelor's degree, he looked for an internship to experience the working world and enrolled in an Automotive Engineering course. The internship became a job as a process engineer, but after a year he moved on to finish his Master's degree. In 2022, he'll move to Austria to work on his Thesis. In his words, "In all these years, since I went back home for the first time from the U.S., home from Furtah and away from the Bates (The AMAZING FAMILY that hosted me during my time there) I have been chasing the experience that I first lived at only 15-16 years old, traveling and living abroad. Everything I did and that I am doing in life is because I want to travel and meet new people; living in Georgia for a year made me discover that people around the world are amazing, and I am proud to be part of the Furtah Family." JJ Shepherd (2010) - JJ went on to Disney World in Florida after having a successful first season at Six Flags Over Georgia in the entertainment industry. JJ won many awards in his short time at Six Flags, and then joined the "big leagues". Matt Medina (2010) - Matt received a drama scholarship for Columbus State University. James Adams (2010) - After receiving the National Yes I Can Award from the CEC (one of only 27 in the nation to receive this award and one of only 3 in GA!), James obtained a scholarship to the University of Alabama to play wheelchair basketball. Erik Dedrickson (2010) - Erik received a baseball scholarship to play at Chattahoochee Tech. JiYea Roh (2010) - Back in her native Korea, JiYea was able to obtain scholarships to colleges. Ashton Rivers (2009) - Ashton attended Georgia Highlands College, maintaining a B average. She sells Avon and is managing a new band in her "spare" time. Ashton planned to transfer to UGA and finish her Psychology degree there. Richard Stargel (2008) - Richard joined the US Marine Corps upon exiting high school. He graduated from boot camp as a Private 1st Class because of his 2 years in ROTC (over a Private) and was also awarded "Expert Rifleman" pin, which they all strive for. After a month of MCT (or Marine Combat Training) he was assigned to his MOS (or Military Occupational Specialty) for about 4 months of training as a Motor Transport Mechanic. During his MOS training or shortly thereafter he was promoted to Lance Corporal. He was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineering Battalion as a mechanic. Richard was chosen out of his entire unit to go to Texas with 2 Non-Commissioned Officers (both in their 30s) to train on MRAPs for 3 weeks. He was the youngest ever to go for this training, where he was certified to return to Camp LeJuene to train his fellow mechanics. Prior to his Battalion's deployment they were sent to AP Hill, VA, where they furthered their combat skills and learned life-saving skills. He was deployed on October 15, 2009, and 1 week after his deployment, he was again promoted, this time to Corporal, one of the youngest, if not THE youngest corporal at Camp Dwyer. Richard was in over 25 missions in just 4 months of deployment. Kevin Nezamabadi (2008) - Kevin joined the Marines not long after high school. He is currently stationed at Camp Lejeune in NC, and is a Lance Corporal. He is attached to the Headquarters Unit. Chase Perry (2008) - Chase is yet another one of our graduates who joined the US Marine Corps. Chalon Courturier (2008) - Chalon studied Studio Art at Kennesaw State University. Lauren Coleman (2008) - Lauren studied at Reinhardt College and was one of the first Theater Majors as Theater was a new addition to the school's major programs. Lauren was involved in two productions her sophomore year. She made the Dean's List several times as well. Brad Gandy (2008) - Our resident drummer, Brad, gave typical college a shot and attended Georgia Highlands College for two semesters. Though he did extremely well, Brad always knew music was what made him tick. Brad committed to his band with his friends, and their band became popular enough that they recently finished a tour of the East Coast and New England areas. They have opened shows for nationally and world touring bands. Brad is also now in college studying to be a nurse. Jessica Craven, Valedictorian (2007) - Jessica attended Georgia Southern University majoring in Psychology. Megann Sallinger (2007) - Having received her Associate's degree and playing Fast Pitch softball on a scholarship, Megann moved to attend Francis Marion in South Carolina, also on a softball scholarship. Josh Reynolds (2007) - Josh, originally from Latvia, graduated from KSU with a commission in the Army. Ashley Heinen, Valedictorian (2005) - Ashley graduated Cum Laude from Kennesaw State University with a B.S. in Political Science and currently works for a law firm in Marietta.
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