meet the board

• Simona Vareikaite is a Summer Search alumna from the class of 2007. In the summer after her sophomore year, she got a chance to go to Utah, Arizona and Colorado on a wilderness trip with Deer Hill Expeditions. The next summer she participated in a community service trip with International Doorways in Costa Rica. Currently, she attends Northeastern University where she is a double major in Criminal Justice and Human Services. As a member of the NYC Alumni Board Outreach Committee, her primary goal is to get more alumni involved with Summer Search because of resources available to students.

• Freddie Joyner is a Summer Search Alum from the class of 2006. He spent his first summer in Manchester, NH with Leaders in Action Program. The following summer, he attended Cornell University Summer College in Ithaca, NY. Currently he attends Cornell University, majoring in Applied Economics and Management. Through the Summer Search internship program for alumni, he was an intern in Marketing and Communications Administration at Pfizer Animal Health last summer. He is a member of the Outreach Committee and his goal is to help connect high school Summer Searchers with current Summer Search Alumni.

•Breeana Moore is an alumna from the class of 2006. In the summer of 2004 she went mountaineering with Outward Bound in Colorado. The following summer she was off to Beijing, China with AFS. She attends Brown University where she is a Political Science major. Currently she is studying abroad and interning at Lan Peng Law Firm in Beijing, China. She has also interned at Columbia University Facilities Management Office and Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation. Her goal for the NYC Alumni Board is to help develop a thriving alumni community to build awareness of future opportunities. Her favorite quote is, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." -Henry David Thoreau

• Shirley Wong is a Summer Search alumna from the class of 2007 and is the newest member of the NYC Alumni Board. In 2004, she went to Hurricane Island, Maine with Outward Bound for 21 days. In 2005, she traveled to Argentina and spent five weeks living with a family and doing community service with hearing – impaired children and adults. She currently attends Syracuse University where she is majoring in Business Management and Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises. She has interned at Brinson Patricks an Investment Banking firm and Roundhouse, one of the top EDI service providers. She is part of the Professional Development Committee and hopes to recruit more alumni to be a part of our growing community in NYC.

• Carrie Gonzalez is an alumna from the class of 2005. She spent the summer of 2004, hiking, white water rafting and doing community service on the Hopi Reservation with Deer Hill Expeditions. The following summer, she traveled to France and Spain with The Experiment in International Living. She is a senior at Hunter College where she has a double major in Anthropology and Psychology, and a minor in Spanish. She interned at NYU Child Study Center and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Currently, she is applying to several fellowships such as Teach for America, Peace Corps and Fulbright Grant. As a member of the Outreach Committee and Vice Chair of the Alumni Board, her vision is to help create a network where Alumni gain useful resources to further enhance their careers and lifelong goals and to stay connected to the Summer Search Family.

• Johanna Arenillas is an alumna from the class of 2007. As a Summer Searcher, she embarked on a wilderness expedition from Maine to New Hampshire with Camp Chewonki and then studied abroad in China with Global Routes. She attends Wellesley College with a major in Psychology and a possible minor in Art History. Through Summer Search, she interned at Lehman Brothers and most recently at Pfizer Inc. She is part of the Events and Fundraising Committee on the NYC Alumni Board. Her goal is to build the alumni community by organizing events where our bond as Summer Searchers is strengthened and prolonged. Johanna loves Mexican food and raspberry ice cream.

• Rafael A. Payano is the founder and Chair of the NYC Alumni Board. He is an alum from the first NYC Summer Search class of 2004. He attended Northfield Mt. Hermon in 2002 followed by Global Routes Thailand in 2003. He currently attends State University of New York at Buffalo pursing a degree in Management & Financial Analysis. Through Summer Search, he has been a Financial Analyst intern at Zephyr Management and an Internal Audit Intern at Pfizer Inc. His goal is to make the Alumni Board an integral and vital part of Summer Search NYC. His overall function as chair is to guide the board to successful planning and implementation of goals. He also serves on the Professional Development Committee.

• Anna Lee is an alumna from the class of 2006. Currently she attends SUNY Binghamton pursing a degree in Sociology. She is a member of the Professional Development Committee.

• Samantha Christine Roberts is an alumna from the class of 2006. While in Summer Search, she spent four weeks at Teton Science School Field Ecology and six weeks in China with Where There Be Dragons. She is an Environmental Science major and Education Minor at Barnard College. Through Summer Search, Samantha has been a Public Affairs and Communications intern at Pfizer Animal Health. At Barnard, she has been a Howard Hughes Science Pipeline intern. In addition, she has been an Administrative Assistant at the Earth Institute at Columbia University and an assistant to Executive Director at City Lights Youth Theatre. As a member of the Programming and Fundraising Committee, her goals are to increase funding for Summer Search, provide alumni with more internship opportunities, and promote Summer Search on a more national level.

We would love to hear from you all!
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, concerns please feel free to email us at nycalumniboard@summersearch.org.