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Featured Alumni Stories

Alumni Spotlight

Seaver Alum Stephanie Riggs
Stephanie Riggs ('85)

Stephanie Riggs is driven by her passion for giving a voice “to people the world forgot,” which she credits with her accomplishment of winning dozens of Emmys, awards and accolades. She approaches her work with the goal of giving people a glimpse into parts of the world few will ever see.Stephanie’s faith, character, integrity and perspective on life was strengthened through her experience attending convocation at Pepperdine. Her meaningful experiences on the Malibu campus and abroad. in Heidelberg, also motivated her to make daily prayer a part of her life and nourished her strong faith. After more than 20 years in broadcast news, Stephanie now loves to use her skills today to curate original content on Divine Calling with Stephanie Riggs YouTube. As an advocate for getting out of one’s comfort zone, Stephanie began her news career in Kearney, Nebraska, and went on to work in Fresno, Sacramento, Cincinnati and Denver. During her time in Denver, she contributed to 48 Hours and CBS Sunday Morning. Pepperdine developed her faith in Jesus, and encouraged her to pursue and learn from the road less traveled. Most recently, she produced a documentary about a Colorado grandma who built a school following the genocide in Rwanda. Stephanie cites her most important and favorite assignment in her life as adopting and raising her now 23-year-old son.

Seaver Alum Neal Turnage
Neal Turnage ('84)

Neal Turnage (SC, 84) is celebrating a new career accomplishment with his recently published novel, Another Time Another Peace. Neal says the novel “is a story of faith and perseverance and in the end Jesus, which speaks to Pepperdine's spirit." His time at Pepperdine taught him to approach things from a perspective that was wide in scope and continues to guide him in looking at stories from both sides, recognizing that each is valid and important. Reflecting on his best college memory of Songfest, Neal says it provided him with an increased sense of camaraderie, adventure and creativity. He also remembers the most important lesson he learned during his time at Pepperdine was to be a peacemaker. Neal's advice for students hoping to have their best Pepperdine experience is “don't discount what looks like the least. It may be the most.” Neal resides in Malibu, Ca, and continues to tell interesting stories while using his passion for creativity as a successful professional writer.

Seaver Alum Deidre Powell
Deidre Powell ('83)

Deidre’s connection with Pepperdine began when her mother attended the university at the original George Pepperdine College campus. In 1983, following in her mother's footsteps as a Pepperdine alumna, she graduated from Seaver College with a degree in English. In 1998, she added the title of Self-Published Author of nonfiction children’s books to her long list of accomplishments. Deidre started her career as a Customer Service Representative, later moving into the field of education as an elementary and middle school teacher. Her work in education expanded further, as she gained experience in several roles, working as a Librarian; Tutor/Reading Specialist; Author/Publisher; High School English Teacher; and English Learners Coordinator. Deidre cites Dr. Lydia Wilburn (Reineck) and Dr. Calvin Bowers as her greatest influences during her time at Pepperdine, and credits Dr. Bowers for helping her discover a passion for Genealogy. Her time at Pepperdine helped her build special bonds with a diverse group of friends, and has impacted how she is able to make connections with her students and families. Deidre is currently a teacher for California Connections Academy, and resides in Gardena, Ca.

Seaver Alum Sharlette Hambrick
Sharlette Hambrick ('83)

Sharlette Hambrick is making waves as the newly appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Sharlette’s experience as a newscaster at the Waves television and radio station fueled her love for television broadcasting in both News and Entertainment. Her impressive body of work began at WRC-TV, where she practiced a strong work-ethic, taking every opportunity to work towards her career goals. This led her to the Today Show, Nightly News and Meet The Press. Later, she was offered a job with Entertainment Tonight where she worked her way up to Sr. Producer of the entire show. Sharlette’s next goal is to produce original content for film, TV and streaming outlets. In her new position as an Independent Board member on the HFPA board, Sharlette is also dedicated to her mission of bringing Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Mentorship to young journalists wanting to work in an International space.

Seaver Alum Claire Armstrong
Claire Bloxom Armstrong ('04)

Claire Bloxom Armstrong has a lot to be #pepperdineproud of. She is now in her 11th year with PAVLOV Advertising, LLC, currently the Director of Public relations and Social Media. She is the former President of the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (2017), and serving on the board as the professional development chair. Claire was also named a 40 under 40 by the Fort Worth Business Press in 2013. During her time at Pepperdine 2000-2004, Claire recognized Pepperdine President Dr. Andrew Benton as her biggest influence as he helped her recognize her talent and passion for PR.

Seaver Alum Nathan Rix
Nathan Rix ('08)

Nathan leads with inclusion, authenticity, and integrity at the forefront of his decisions. In doing so, he has founded an inclusive organization and strives to become allies with Black, Indigenous, and Latinx folks to make our world a better place for all people.

Seaver Alum Clark Souers
Clark Souers ('94)

Clark has led with excellence and passion since organizing Project College during his time at Pepperdine. His career has led to starting Life Revolution and his current entrepreneurial venture, Expert Effect, click to learn more about Clark's intentional advice for the Pepperdine community.

Seaver Alum Montell Jordan
Montell Jordan ('20)

Montell's exodus from Pepperdine led him to a career in advertising followed by a record deal as he became a Grammy nominated R&B recording artist and songwriter of the year. After pursuing music, he retired to enter full-time ministry and returned to Pepperdine while simultaneously launching a 501c3 nonprofit, Marriage Masterpiece, with his wife.

Seaver alumnus Andy Canales
Andy Canales ('08)

Andy's upbringing and background led him to discovering Pepperdine as his dream school. Fast forward to graduating with a degree in Political Science and Religion, as a first-generation college graduate, he has made it a priority to instill in young people the importance of building and managing relationships, just as Dr. Runnels had shown him.

Seaver alumna Katherine Sexton Steck
Katherine Sexton Steck ('11)

Katherine graduated Pepperdine as class of 2011 with a degree in Liberal Arts and took many life long lessons with her along the way. Katherine attributes many of her experiences at Pepperdine to her successes as a Thoughtful Consumption Advocate.

Seaver alumna Jordana Moore
Jordana Moore ('14)

Jordan's love for Pepperdine has only grown since attending her mother's graduate school graduation (at the age of 8). Since graduating, she has attended Fuller Theological Seminary to pursue a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy to become an LMFT.

Seaver alumna Shaina Russo
Shaina Russo ('13)

Shaina attended Pepperdine because it had always been her dream school. Since graduating in 2013, she has become an artist and published several books, it's safe to say plenty more of her dreams have turned to reality.

Seaver alumna Miriam McSpadden
Miram McSpadden ('10)

During her time at Pepperdine, Miriam learned that her talent and dedication would lead to a successful career in the Television and Film industry. The Emmy Award-winner is a champion for following one’s “vocational calling,” and believes in finding your passion in every career opportunity . She also volunteers alongside her husband with The Kefa Project, based in Rwanda.

Anthony Precourt ('93)
Anthony Precourt ('93)

During his time at Pepperdine, Anthony found his favorite experience to be participating in the international program in London, England. Pepperdine taught him that discipline, and making authentic personal choices related to his career would lead to long term success. The alumnus is a proud Investor/Operator for Major League Soccer (MLS) - most recently starting the first MLS expansion team in Austin, Texas.

Flora Ekpe-Idang holding Corage Dolls.
Flora Ekpe-Idang ('11)

While attending Pepperdine, Flora participated in a number of initiatives, clubs, and events focusing on diversity, inclusion, and social justice. Currently, she mentors young girls of color, supports initiatives around economic development, leads the African American marketing strategy at Target, and manages the Corage Dolls line that she launched.

Shannon Cella painting on the harbor
Shannon Celia ('98)

Shannon credits Pepperdine for helping her build a foundation as a professional artist. As founder of the Pepperdine Alumni Art Showcase, she regularly meets with artists who either grew their artistic wings on campus or discovered them later on. Shannon's pieces encourage community compassion and involvement.

Alum Sarah Ketelhut
Sarah Ketelhut ('13)

During her time at Pepperdine, Sarah learned how to put her goals into practice and the tools needed to achieve them. As the manager of development and community relations at Caruso, she manages community relations strategy and implementation while also managing the Caurso Family Foundation.

Seaver alum Eric Stoen
Eric Stoen ('93)

Eric realized that the world is small and accessible while studying in the Florence program his sophomore year. Regarded as Travel Babbo, he has been named the fourth most influential traveler in the world by Forbes magazine.

Seaver alum Ben Holcomb
Ben Holcomb ('14)

Ben always had a love for telling stories and was determined to pursue his passion. Loving Seaver's proximity to Hollywood, he decided Pepperdine would be the perfect fit. Now, as author of The Pursuit, and assistant director of marketing and digital media in Seaver College Enrollment Management, he helps others share their stories while producing docuseries like Rising Tide.

Seaver alum David Sheftell
David Sheftell ('09)

While studying theatre at Pepperdine, David learned the importance of kindness and service in everything you do. Since graduating, he has pursued and succeed in two diverse career paths: actor and realtor.

 

 

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