Young alums: Where are they now?

Armed with the tools to excel in their chosen fields and the passion to spread Christ’s love while doing it, Messiah graduates get right to work in communities all over the world. We caught up with a handful of recent grads pursuing varied careers to see how they are using their talents to achieve their goals – and making the College proud in the process.

Adam Brackbill ’12

It takes courage to start an ice cream business in Harrisburg, where ice cream giants such as Hershey’s and Turkey Hill reign. Luckily, marketing grad Adam Brackbill has a strong faith and good business sense. His thriving homemade ice cream start-up named Urban Churn is proof.

“When I graduated college, I would never have thought I’d be making ice cream,” said Brackbill.

Taking note of the blossoming farm-to-table movement a few years ago, however, Brackbill noticed local chefs expanding their menus with more creative, locally sourced options. So in 2014, he started Urban Churn, concocting unusual flavors – a fan favorite is mango habanero – and using local ingredients whenever possible.

While Urban Churn can be found at a booth in Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market, Brackbill mostly focuses on filling wholesale orders for the several local establishments that sell his brand.

“They’re all original recipes,” he said. “That’s the most enjoyable part: coming up with something real crazy and seeing people enjoying it. Like ‘lemon, feta and thyme.’ People think the feta won’t be good in ice cream, but everyone loves it.”

Elizabeth Brake ’08, M.Ed. ’16

With two degrees from Messiah, Elizabeth Brake has dreams for her future, and she’s working hard to align them with God’s plan. Brake has long envisioned a career in the disability services realm of higher education. Born with cerebral palsy, she earned a degree in education and family services from Messiah, where she interned at the Office of Disability Services. As a result, she created the Disability Services Fund, to help pay for needed resources for those with disabilities at the College.

Brake has also earned two master’s degrees, one in rehabilitation counseling from Edinboro University and another in special education from Messiah. Yet the accomplished student has found it challenging to find her niche in education.

“Statistically, the odds of people with disabilities becoming employed full-time is only 20 percent,” said Brake. “I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would be a statistic. I thought that I would be one of the lucky ones because I’m very high functioning.”

Instead of focusing on the doors that have been difficult for Brake to open, however, she began the process to become a licensed pastor. In July, she will serve as the part-time pastor at Roxbury and Upper Strasburg United Methodist Churches.

“I’ve found a passion for ministry,” she said.

Jonathan Desmarais ’07

As a high school literature teacher who majored in music, Jonathan Desmarais works daily to make an impact on the next generation.

“One of the biggest parts of my teaching career has been defined by the pursuit of social justice, and that manifests itself in my teaching,” said Desmarais of his job at Logos Academy in York, Pennsylvania.

It’s a passion that was sparked on Messiah’s campus.

“I grew up in a Christian household, but I didn’t get my faith challenged until I was at Messiah,” he explained. “Then I got to see how the Gospel was actually lived out in the real world.”

Logos, a private Christian school, uses a sliding scale for tuition. As a result, every family contributes financially, but many students also receive scholarships annually.

To boost the scholarship fund, Desmarais hiked a section of the Appalachian Trail during summer vacation last year to raise money for Logos. He walked 832 miles and raised almost $5,000.

“I love hiking,” he said, “and it was a good way to spread the word about Logos.”

Melissa Veras ’17

In the year since she earned her degree in social work from Messiah, Melissa Veras completed a master’s in social work, wrapped up an internship at the nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York and held down a part-time job at the New York Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing. It’s no wonder the time has flown by.

“I’m super blessed,” Veras said of the opportunities she has been offered due to her hard work and potential. A Lloyd and Lois Martin Multicultural Scholarship recipient at Messiah, Veras also minored in business administration. She says her internship and her part-time job have given her experience in two very different sides of the profession.

“I definitely like the medical component more, but I also like the legal advocacy side of it,” she said. “I would love to do them both.”

She’ll get part of her wish soon. The hospital already has a full-time job waiting for her.

“They created a position for me,” she said. “I’m very happy and fortunate that they would do that for me.” 

Dr. Jonathan Lorgunpai ’11

A biochemistry and molecular biology major at Messiah, Dr. Jonathan Lorgunpai is completing his third and final year of internal medicine residency at Boston University Medical Center. After seven years of countless hours of studying and extra-long shifts, the first four of which took place at Yale Medical School, he says he definitely found his calling.

Messiah’s first student from Thailand, he graduated with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. He says one of his most memorable professional experiences came in his third year of med school, when he treated a patient who had just attempted suicide. After Lorgunpai offered compassion and quiet counsel, the patient thanked the young doctor for saving his life and his marriage.

“Getting to play a small part in helping someone reconcile with his spouse and with God and to find hope for the future again was very rewarding and humbling,” Lorgunpai said. “It definitely confirmed my calling in medicine.”

In July, Lorgunpai begins a fellowship at the Harvard Medical School Multi-Campus Geriatrics Medicine Fellowship Program. Next summer, however, he plans to return to Grantham for Commencement to watch his younger brother Joseph ’19, an accounting major, receive a degree from Messiah.

Ryan Faus ’11

If your favorite band releases singles one by one, or stopped dropping new albums right before the holidays, Ryan Faus might be behind it.

As the director of global research and analysis for the major music company Warner New York, Faus works in the Big Apple studying endless data from streaming services such as Spotify to come up with strategies on which artists to sign along with how and when to release new material.

“I was a business administration major, but I had the equivalent of a dual major in economics and a music minor,” explained Faus, who ran the B-Sides concerts during his time at Messiah. “I loved music and being close to it, and I loved business.”

When he landed the position at Warner the summer after he graduated, it was a perfect fit. And it still is, seven years later.

“I’m still learning new things, I get to work with great people and I’m excited to go into work every day,” Faus said.

Rachel Scarborough '14

Only two weeks after earning a degree in public relations, Rachel Scarborough received an offer from friend Darris Sneed, a Gospel and pop artist, to be his manager for a three-week tour around Florida.

“It was brutal. It was stressful,” said Scarborough of her first post-graduation job. “I came off the tour thinking, ‘I never want to do this again.’”

Four years later, Scarborough has kept her word while still carving out a career in the music industry. She has her own personal management business, On Beat Management, through which she manages Sneed and other artists bent on making their music dreams come true. The two friends also run the nonprofit DS Collective, which connects, supports and ministers to creatives from around the world.

“It’s definitely been a journey, and I feel like I’m right in the thick of it,” said the alum, who spent a semester at the Contemporary Music Center in Nashville. That’s where she met Sneed, and her professional trajectory took shape.

“God has blessed me with amazing connections and amazing favor,” she said.