Area High School Alumni Take on the World
These graduates have accomplished incredible things and enjoyed great successes since their high school years. Their talents and passions have taken them to the country’s most prestigious universities, across the globe, and in some cases, right back to the Scenic City.
So what’s putting them on the map? Read about it here.
Hunter Parker began his college career at Chattanooga State before transferring to East Tennessee State University, where he graduated in 2018 and earned all-conference honors in baseball at both schools. He later completed his master’s degree at ETSU, serving as a graduate assistant for the football team in operations, recruiting, and video. After an internship in football operations at the University of Georgia, Parker rose to coordinator of football administration, focusing on team operations, fundraising, and navigating the evolving NIL landscape.
A 2023 graduate of Collegedale Academy, Laurissa Mancía is a current junior majoring in graphic design at Southern Adventist University. Earlier this year, Mancía won first prize in the City of Collegedale’s branding and design competition, earning a $2,500 prize for the new logo. Inspired by her “marathon across Collegedale,” Mancía used a neutral color palette, clean and classic fonts, and visuals of iconic Collegedale landmarks to create a logo that blends the city’s history with a modern identity.
Photo by Laura Mancía
When the Athletics selected Nick Kurtz with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, few could have predicted what followed. On November 10, 2025, Kurtz was named American League Rookie of the Year after a historic debut season that also earned him a Silver Slugger Award at first base. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound first baseman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, played his final three high school seasons at Baylor, helping the Red Raiders win TSSAA Division II-AA state championships his sophomore and senior years, and he went on to play for Wake Forest. His 2025 highlights included his MLB debut (April 23), first home run (May 13), and a record-setting 6-for-6, four-home-run game on July 25.
Photo by Michaela Schumacher
Berkay Dean, a graduate of Boyd-Buchanan School in 2018, received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He then earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Vanderbilt University. Currently, he works as an avionics radiation hardness assurance engineer for the NASA JSC Engineering, Technology, and Science II contract, under the Amentum, supporting the Artemis program.
Malone Howley is a 2019 graduate from Signal Mountain High School, where he served as president of his senior class. He went on to graduate magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. While attending university, he played football and won the Bagnell Award for character both on and off the field. He volunteers at Be the Match, a global nonprofit that facilitates blood stem cell and marrow transplants. He currently works in New York City as an investment banking analyst at JP Morgan in their Capital Advisory and Solutions group.
After graduating from St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School, Charlie Barron explored the connections between education systems and children’s neurological development while studying cognitive and linguistic sciences and education at Wellesley College. She applied this passion through pre-K teaching, nonprofit work, and conducting early literacy research at MIT’s McGovern Institute. Committed to serving her home region, her work focuses on labor and learning equity in rural Southern Appalachia. Through collaboration with Southern Education Leadership Initiative and National Rural Education Association, Barron developed early-education networks for low-income families. She continues this work through the Zaentz Fellowship at Stanford University.
Founded by alumni John Hall, Local Roofer is a Chattanooga-based company built on integrity, hard work, and a commitment to serving others well. Specializing in roofing, repairs, inspections, and emergency tarping, the company is known for quality craftsmanship and honest communication. Hall’s approach begins with a thorough inspection, clear documentation, and a thoughtful explanation of options – empowering homeowners to make informed decisions without pressure. His dedication to doing what’s right has earned the trust of homeowners across the community.
Sophia Perry’s academic and civic leadership began early. In high school, Tennessee House Joint Resolution No. 399 recognized her engagement. She founded Red Bank High School’s current civics club, graduated as salutatorian, and published articles in “The Hechinger Report” and “Chalkbeat.” After graduating, she attended Howard University, where she graduated summa cum laude as a Target Scholar and HU Achievement Scholarship recipient. During her time at Howard, she completed three internships and helped spearhead mental health research at Rising Solutions. Today, she works as a risk analyst at Lockton Companies and mentors Howard students from Chattanooga.
Anthony Philip Raffa is president and CEO of Leadership Ministries Worldwide (LMW), a faith-based nonprofit dedicated to equipping pastors globally with Gospel-centered resources. With a background in advertising and marketing, Raffa combines ministry vision with business excellence to address the needs of pastors and leaders, particularly those lacking adequate training and resources. A graduate of Grace Baptist Academy and Biola University (2019), where he earned a degree in business with a minor in Bible, Raffa joined LMW in 2022. He and his wife, Katherine, live in Chattanooga with their daughter, Amelia Messina.
Kenzie Hammond is an active teacher and performer in the Chattanooga area and currently serves as the director of orchestras at Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences (CSAS), where she teaches middle and high school orchestra. Since her arrival at CSAS, Hammond’s orchestras have consistently earned Superior and Excellent ratings at concert festivals throughout the Southeast. Hammond earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Tennessee Technological University (TTU), where she served as head orchestra librarian for the University Orchestra and the Bryan Symphony Orchestra. During her time at TTU, she taught in the Tennessee Tech University String Project – part of the National String Project Consortium – and regularly performed with the Promethea String Quartet, University Orchestra, and Bryan Symphony Orchestra.
Mimi Vance graduated from GPS in 2017 and Lipscomb University in 2021, where she served as president of the Student Government Association. She now lives in Washington, D.C., and manages federal government affairs for the Campbell’s Company, a Fortune 500 company known for their iconic foods and snacks. She joined Campbell’s after spending four years working on Capitol Hill. Most recently, she served as the primary policy advisor for the agriculture, food, nutrition, and education portfolios for U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). Prior to Senator Capito’s office, Vance worked for the Senate HELP Committee and for former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE). In her free time, she enjoys involvement with her church, baking, and needlepoint.
Abigail Laster is a Chattanooga native now based in New York City, where she serves as chief of staff at Axonic Insurance, one of the fastest-growing retirement and insurance platforms in the country. Laster works closely with executive leadership to drive company-wide strategic initiatives across investments, product development, operations, and partnerships as the firm scales nationally. Known for aligning teams and executing complex initiatives, she helps lead key growth initiatives and organizational milestones in the financial services industry.
Jase Moses began mowing lawns in middle school and continued building his landscaping business while attending Hixson High School. Today, he owns Moses Landscaping, a company that employs
10 full-time team members. His work focuses on backyard redesigns and hardscape projects, including patios, retaining walls, and outdoor living spaces. Moses also earned an associate’s degree in business management while growing his company. Recently married, he continues to expand the business and take on challenging outdoor projects.
Emma Sprayberry, a graduate of Chattanooga Christian School in 2020, is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where she is pursuing a Master of Arts in International Relations with a concentration in Asia. She is currently studying in Bologna, Italy. Recently, she led a student trek to Bosnia and Herzegovina focused on constitutional development in the Balkans. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, she double majored in international relations (East Asia concentration) and Spanish language, with a minor in anthropology, and co-founded the Asian Student Association. She later served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Taichung, Taiwan, and is a Thomas R. Pickering fellow preparing for a career in the U.S. Foreign Service.
