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2024 Homecoming | Alumni Spotlights: Molly Prentis Richey ’99, Julie D’Amico ’14, Spencer Hallyburton ’14 & Michiko Haynie ’19

2024 Homecoming | Alumni Spotlights: Molly Prentis Richey ’99, Julie D’Amico ’14, Spencer Hallyburton ’14 & Michiko Haynie ’19

by Dylan Howlett

3,239 words | 12-minute read

 

Homecoming at Durham Academy is upon us, and multiple generations of Cavaliers will reconnect in the coming days with Durham, the DA campus and each other. Amid the festivities, the classes that end in 4s and 9s will celebrate their reunions Saturday afternoon with a social at Tobacco Road Cafe.

We caught up with four alumni from three of this year’s reunion classes to learn about their moral, happy and productive lives — all of which have unmistakable roots at DA. Hear from:

  • A dual language program manager who discovered her love for the Spanish language in eighth grade.
  • A psychotherapist who started her own mental health practice thanks, in part, to her positive experience with the Upper School peer education program.
  • A Ph.D. candidate who specializes in autonomous vehicles and cybersecurity — and who owes a piece of his enduring perseverance to a late DA classmate.
  • And a technology consulting associate whose passion for problem-solving began in an Upper School math class.

They are grateful, as you will read, that their singular journeys began at DA.

The following conversations have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

 

Molly Prentis Richey ’99

Program Manager

Participate Learning

Durham, NC

 


 

Julie D’Amico ’14

Owner & Psychotherapist

Free to Be PLLC

Raleigh, NC

 


 

Spencer Hallyburton ’14

Ph.D. Candidate

Duke University Pratt School of Engineering

Durham, NC

 


 

Michiko Haynie ’19

Microsoft 365 Technology Consulting Associate

RSM US LLP

Chicago, IL