Alumni Stories & Profiles

She is known throughout the world as a famous Broadway star, but everyone has to start somewhere. For Sutton Foster, it was on the Troy High School stage where she began honing her craft. In this TSD Alumni Profile, we discover how good teachers can leave an everlasting impact, and how kindness and respect can go a long way.

What if your passion could truly become your profession? That is exactly what Athens grad Ryan Stegman found when he pursued a career as a comic book artist. In this TSD Alumni Profile, hear how this incredible alum turned his love of drawing into a successful career, and how he found his home at an early age in the art rooms of Troy Schools.

He is a familiar face from the news each night, but Roop Raj's journey into broadcast journalism started long before Fox 2. As a student at Troy High, Roop chased his dream in a big way. In this TSD Alumni Profile, see why this outstanding alum says students shouldn't wait to pursue their passions and how his time in the TSD showed him why perseverance is one of the most important lessons learned.

David Mancini is the thriving owner of a popular restaurant today, but when he was in school, he says he wasn't always as focused as he is now. In this TSD Alumni Profile, see why the lessons this outstanding alum learned as a student in Troy Schools helped him build a successful business, even if he wasn't what he would call an "over-achiever" in the classroom.

What do you do when your passions range from public health and science to art and entrepreneurship? If you are IA East alum Emmen Ahmed, you explore it all, using your talents and hard work to thrive in a multitude of different areas. In this TSD Alumni Profile, learn why this amazing graduate says the International Academy East prepared her for success in many ways, and why she believes it also inspires the way she lives her life every day.

Science was always Rachel Clippard's favorite subject, but it was another type of class in high school that inspired her most. In this TSD Alumni Profile, see why this incredible alum says seeing someone else make a career from their passion made all the difference when it came time to choose her path.

Sharing his love for music is both a passion and a successful career for Josh Ross, but one of the most important lessons he has learned started to become clear during his time at Troy High. In this TSD Alumni Profile, see how this talented alum says he learned to focus on more than just the end goal, and why his mentors at THS helped him enjoy the process along the way.

Her passion for telling great stories has translated into a career of helping clients spread the word about their companies and products across the globe. Nicole spends her days pitching ideas to everyone from local TV stations to major newspapers like the New York Times, a big leap for someone who says she was very shy in her younger years. In this TSD Alumni Profile, see why this outstanding alum says a special teacher helped her build the confidence to find her voice, and how it’s making a difference in the fast-paced world of media, marketing and PR.

Ennis Roberson's career has taken him halfway around the world in service to our country, but his preparation for this high-flying path started long before basic training. In this TSD Alumni Profile, see why this incredible alum says his time in Troy Schools gave him the unique skills and perspective to succeed in the real world, and hear about how an interaction with a high school administrator changed his life forever.

Rich Luzenski has a thriving career in radio, but he says his path to success started long before he stepped into his first audio booth. In our very first TSD Alumni Profile, see what this amazing alum has accomplished, and why he credits his teachers and his time in Troy Schools with planting the seeds that got him started in this unique career.