Where R.A. Now?

Originally from New Jersey, Casey Farin received a Bachelor of Science in neural science at New York University in 2010, where she was pre-health and also completed a minor in Jewish history and civilizations. She was an RA at Greenwich Hotel from 2008 to 2010. She went on to complete her MD at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in 2014. She completed her internal medicine internship, neurology residency, and clinical fellowship in multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology at Duke University. She now practices general adult neurology with a subspecialty in multiple sclerosis in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she lives with her fiancé and their pets.

Nickie Robinson received her B.A. in Economics from New York University and Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver where her concentration was corporate, securities and tax law. She worked in finance for four years before embarking on a 10-year career in public relations as the owner of GoodGirlPR, establishing herself as a highly sought-after business and marketing consultant.

Janet (Yu) Barik was a RA at Carlyle from 2006-2008. She was one of the first to work with FFIR Anthony Reynolds for exploration halls: Food and Culture. Janet graduated with a major in Communications from the Steinhardt School. She has worked on prominent media companies and is now helping Walmart build their advertising business within their Walmart Media Group division.

Morgan Jay is a first-generation American performer based out of Los Angeles.  Originally from New Jersey, he started his career in NYC where he attended the Tisch School of the Arts (2005-2009).  With over six years of stand up and five years of musical comedy, Morgan has managed to create a unique performance that touches comedy and music fans alike with his melodic tunes derived from his love for classic RnB and Bossanova. 

Most recently he finished as a semi-finalist on NBC’s Bring the funny but has performed at numerous comedy festivals including the SF Sketchfest, Laughing Skull Comedy Fest and was a finalist at the 2019 Big Sky Comedy Fest and 2018 Boston Comedy Festival. Morgan has taken home first prize at the 2012 Westside Comedy Showdown, 2018 Ventura Comedy Festival and 2019 Antelope Valley Comedy Festival.  Morgan also won 1st Prize for best comedy/novelty song in the International Songwriting Competition which received over 16,000 submissions.

Mr. Matt Mazur is the executive director of AutismFriendlyShows.com and Turtle Dance Music. He loves to help kids of all abilities come out  of their shells. He has performed engaging music programs and concerts for thousands of children and families throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. He recently performed for Delaware’s Secretary of Education, Dr. Susan Bunting, First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney and all 33 public libraries throughout the State of Delaware. He and his companies regularly perform at New York Public Library, Queens Public Library, Bergen Performing Arts Center and several major autism centers throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Mr. Matt has trained thousands of teachers, librarians, regional theater administrators and daycare  center  owners  on techniques  for  effective  autism-friendly programming. Mr. Matt received his Bachelor's of Fine Arts from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He received his graduate degrees in Developmental Models of Autism Intervention from the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health and his Master's Degree in Theater Studies focusing on Theater for Young Audiences at Montclair State University.

For the 2020 Spring Development Day for RAs, we invited 48 Alumni RAs to share their "where am I now" and how the role helped me in gaining skills for my next steps in life.  Listen to this special episode that captures the life of our great alums!  Enjoy.  Thanks to our special reporter, Sam O'Donnell, who serves as a student social media intern for Residence Life and Housing Services.

Jake Arky is the Program Manager for The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company 

and an artist in residence for The Geffen Playhouse after serving as the

Associate Director of Education-Playwriting for TheatreWorks | Silicon Valley.

Theatrically trained at the University of Utah’s Youtheatre Conservatory, Jake

began writing and producing original plays before completing his Bachelor of

Fine Arts in dramatic writing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

He is the author of the plays Brothers of Emery, The Green Flash, The Birthday

Girl, Little Perfections, and Erasers. Short stories include Video Tape Sleepover,

The Green Flash, and #deathies, all published by SSWA Press. Jake is a 2014

National Playwriting Conference finalist with The O’Neill Center, as well as a

New American Voices Award recipient at Landing Theatre Company and the

Great Plains Theatre Conference.

Jake has worked with The Cherry Lane Theatre, The La Jolla Playhouse, The

Playwrights Project of San Diego, ’06 Ensemble, Dragon Theater, The 68 Cent

Crew (NYC), PianoFight, and Cat & Owl Theatre. Film work includes production

assistant credits on the films Everything Is Illuminated (2005), Sunshine Cleaning

(2007), and the Academy Award-winning Little Miss Sunshine (2005). His original

comedic television series, Open (2017) and Amateurs (2018), have been

developed by CineStory.

Jake co-founded So Say We All: a non-profits arts production and education

organization specializing in the literary and storytelling arts. He regularly

performs stories on stage with The Moth, RISK!, Fireside Storytelling, Busting

Out, and the Oakland Story Slam.

Ryan Aguirre is a Director of Publicity and Awards at STARZ. Previously, he served as a Publicist at CBS Television Studios, where he worked on the publicity campaigns for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” “Hawaii Five-0,” and “Magnum P.I.,” as well as AMC, where he oversaw the awards campaigns for the final seasons of “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men.” He has also run four marathons (with more to come) and can recite all the Best Picture winners in order. He currently lives in West Hollywood, CA.

Ashley Nickelsen is a tried & true former Res Lifer graduating NYU in 2010 after serving as a Resident Assistant in Third Avenue North for two years. She went on to pursue her Master's degree in Higher Education at Rutgers University where she was a Graduate Residence Hall Director of an all first-year hall. After two years in NJ, Ashley moved to the University of Delaware to oversee an all upperclass apartment complex and then back to her home: New York University as the Residence Hall Director of Founders Hall, followed by The Residential College at Goddard and Broome. Ashley Nickelsen is now the Director of Sales & Marketing at Further Food. Further Food is a women-owned & operated whole food supplement company that creates expert-approved supplements made from real food ingredients. Starting at a young age, Ashley battled with severe IBS-C and had always been overweight. After losing over 50 lbs., becoming a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, and discovering the power of real food to foster a healthy lifestyle, Ashley slowly started the journey to heal her IBS-C naturally. Ashley fell in love with the mission of Further Food, and joined the founding team.

Ashima Talwar graduated from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2013 with a concentration in the Origins of Power and Privilege. She served as an RA at Weinstein Hall and the President of the Gallatin Student Council during her junior and senior years. Upon graduation, Ashima returned home to the DC-metropolitan area to work for then-U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen. She then attended the George Washington University Law School, during which she interned for U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Robert Okun of the D.C. Superior Court, and a law firm. After graduating in 2018, Ashima served as the Corporation Counsel Honors Fellow at the New York City Law Department. She has since relocated to Chicago  with her husband (who she met at NYU!) and is now practicing in the private sector at Sperling and Slater, a boutique complex commercial litigation firm. Ashima continues to be active in local politics and public interest work, serving on the Associate Board of Growing Home, a Chicago-based non-profit.