---
name: apex-alumni
description: Notable APEX alumni and their outcomes — useful for grounding artifact card prompts in real program impact
metadata: 
  node_type: memory
  type: project
  originSessionId: a7c21f3f-80cb-4099-9fc9-4faecc86bcc5
---

From the 2025 Alumni LookBook (Issue 01):

**Financial & Insurance:**
- Alex Hoffman — Foundations of Insurance & Actuarial Science → Simpson College (Actuarial Science + Economics) → Farm Bureau Financial Services
- Sheldon Fox — Finance, Banking & Investments (instructor: Jesse Hunt) → U of Iowa → PIMCO (NYC) → Capital Group (senior role, NYC). Quote: "APEX really gave me the chance to see what working in the finance world is really like at a young age."

**Business, Technology & Communication:**
- Ella Titus — DCS + DWT + BSU (one of first WILC students, 2017) → independent fashion designer in LA. Collaborated with Hy-Vee on packaging, built web pages for Adel boutique. Quote: "Even basic skills, like writing a professional email, made a huge difference."
- Vivian Le — DCS + DWT (early CAPS/APEX era) → photo editor & photographer at NBC Select and TODAY. She and peers pitched the name "APEX" to the school board. APEX was previously called CAPS.
- Ian Keiderling — DCS + Exercise Science → assistant basketball coach at Grandview University. In DCS, photographed Tim Cook (Apple CEO) for headshots. Helped launch Iowa Girl Program with Iowa High School Athletic Union.

**Engineering:**
- Queenie Wong — Engineering Technology & Robotics + Construction Leadership (instructor: Tyler Wright) → first Waukee APEX student to secure a full-time position through IowaLearns™ at Accumold (Quality Technician). Projects: designed/built bench for City of Waukee, shed for Habitat for Humanity.
- Jack Sieleman — Next Generation Energy + Engineering Technology & Robotics (instructor: Tyler Wright) → NASA Artemis Mission Team. 2018 graduate.

**Human Services:**
- Meaghan Greteman — Exploration of Health Sciences & Medicine → Des Moines University (4th-year med student, emergency medicine residency). Project: sensory garden and wayfinding graphics for On With Life (brain rehab center).

**Bioscience:**
- Brandon Beall — 5th-year graduate student in plant biology at Michigan State.

**Why:** These stories ground what APEX actually produces. When writing artifact prompts or portfolio content, referencing the types of real projects (Hy-Vee packaging, City of Waukee bench, Iowa Girl Program) makes the work feel authentic rather than hypothetical.