How Your Life Will Change

Exeter is a place where opportunity and interest intersect, in seemingly endless ways. Meet Exonians whose unique life experiences share a common thread: the ability to ask, “What if?” while they are at Exeter, and the resources and support to explore the answers.

Scroll through the timelines below (from before Exeter, to Exeter and after) and discover how these Exonians are making a mark on the world. On your computer, select a phase – BEFORE, EXETER, AFTER – to synchronize timelines.

BEFORE
EXETER
AFTER
Jameel Mohammed '13
Jameel Young
Budding Designer

Growing up in Chicago, Jameel drew everything from realistic drawings, to Japanese manga comics and graffiti.

Jameel Teen
“As a kid, I would just draw women and design different outfits for them. I guess I’ve been designing my whole life.”
Fall Dance Concert
“I’ve never been so committed to dance as I’ve been at Exeter … the thing that struck me when I got here was the innovative nature of the work.”
Beauty and the Beast
Fashion Immersion

Internships at Nicole Miller and Narciso Rodriguez provided insider access, and Jameel designed garments that went into production.

Jameel Work
The internships “really helped clarify that there was nothing like fashion that I would work so hard for. I work harder and harder every day.”
“Modern Subversion”

For his senior project, Jameel designed and created a fashion collection, capped off by a runway show with Exonian models.

Play VideoJameel Video
“It all started at Exeter, with being empowered to go for it.”
Jameel Graduation
Penn Bound

Majors in philosophy, political science and economics, and a minor in business “inform his practice as an artist.”

Photo of Jameel Mohammed
New York, New York

Barneys New York Fashion Director Tomoko Ogura mentors Jameel, encouraging him to focus on jewelry.

Jameel Senior Project Necklace

This rope necklace designed for his senior project at Exeter, “started it all.”

KHIRY Debuts

He launches his jewelry line, KHIRY (Swahili for “extremes in fortune and health” and also his middle name), from his dorm room.

KHIRY
“There was a void in the culture for someone to really champion the black aesthetic as being beautiful and culturally grounded.”
Kick-started!

Crowdfunding campaign raises $25,000 in 48 hours. Paper Magazine and Man Repeller fashion blog herald KHIRY, now poised for its spring line.

Photo of Jameel Mohammed
In Vogue Paris

KHIRY Khartoum bracelet featured in piece on tribal-themed jewelry.

At New York Fashion Week

The spring ’17 collection is a hit. Essence magazine showcases KHIRY and Jameel in a video interview.

“To see that KHIRY has become bigger than just me, and grown into something significant to other people, has been truly humbling.”
Khiry ring
New York Times Gift Guide

KHIRY makes the cut: ring in the shape of cattle horns shines in the 2017 holiday buying guide.

Vogue

KHIRY gets a full-page feature in the September 2018 issue (with Beyoncé on the cover).

2018 New York Times Profile

Jameel announces plans for a digital journal called Négritude, named after the movement founded by Aimé Césaire.

Forbes 30 Under 30 2021 Art & Style

Jameel joins a select group of leaders designing “the future of fashion and the arts.”

Jason Kang '12
Jason Kang Bicycle
“I was the type of kid who collected caterpillars and watched them become butterflies, and looked at everything I could under a toy microscope.”
Jason Kang Soccer
Outside Guy

Days spent with an “insane amount of time outdoors” included soccer, bicycle riding and fort building.

All in the Family

Jason had fun watching his inventor/professor dad design and draw things, and play with “cool gadgets” in the lab.

Jason Kang Lab
Endless Ideas

By middle school, Jason was drawing an invention every day. “Some were ridiculous, but it was a good exercise regardless.”

“I had a stack of papers with hundreds of ideas drawn out. That helped expand my view of what can and can’t be done. And what makes sense.”
Jason Kang and friends Wentworth
“Exeter was where I really grew up.”
Four-year Volunteer

Exeter Social Service Organization “opened our eyes to how powerful service is,” Including a service trip to Costa Rica.

Costa Rica Trip
Furthering Invention

To create more avenues for idea exploration, Jason founded two student clubs: Invention and Biology Research.

track with friends and Hilary Coder
“Harkness forces you to articulate and learn how to listen, and being in such a diverse student body opens your mind to different modes of thought.”
Jason Kang and friends Wentworth
“At Exeter, I became a more optimistic person, and I learned to put others before myself.”
Columbia Bound

While majoring in biomedical engineering, Jason becomes close friends with two freshmen, Katherine and Kevin, who will later join him for the Ebola Challenge.

Global Startup #1

He co-invents a device for managing postpartum hemorrhage in low-resource areas, and pursues clinical trials in Bangladesh.

“My interest in global health and startups that have a tangible benefit on other people’s lives stems from my experience doing community service at Exeter.”
Play VideoHighlight spray in action.
Columbia Ebola Design Challenge

Jason and his friends develop Highlight, a powder that mixes with bleach to improve decontamination in the field.

Highlight Takes Off

Acclaim leads to news coverage and product validation. The New York Fire Department adds Highlight to decontamination protocols.

“At that point we realized that this was not just a project but a viable business.”
Play VideoKang Kinnos Video
Kinnos is Born

As juniors, the trio creates a company to refine and commercialize Highlight.

“Our goal is to get Highlight to as many people as possible as quickly as we can.”
Play VideoKang Columbia Video
Big Win

Kinnos wins the 2015 USAID Fighting Ebola Grand Challenge, from a pool of 1,500 entries. Their $500,000 grant enables testing in Liberia.

2016 Forbes 30 Under 30

Kinnos gets the nod. The college seniors look forward to 2017, with planned sales to NGOs and pilot testing in hospitals.

Kang, Jin and Tyan at Forbes 30 Under 30.
Patently Excellent

Kinnos is a 2018 Patents for Humanity winner for its ongoing work in fighting Ebola contamination.

Jason in Liberia testing Highlight
Impressive Fellow

2018 Bluhm/Helfand Social Innovation award given to Jason for “building solutions that positively impact the world.”

Jason Kang in a PEA science classroom.
Bringing it Home

Targeted for use in U.S. hospitals, Kinnos announces development of second product, Highlight Wipes, set to launch in 2019.

Sarah Milkovich '96
photo of Sarah Milkovich
“A natural interest in science surrounded me growing up.”
Stargazing: A Family Pastime

Sarah watched the sky avidly from her home in Ithaca, NY, and on vacations.

Meteor Shower
“The sky was amazing. There was always a meteor shower in August around my birthday.”
“On the TV show NOVA, I would see the team of scientists that operated spacecraft and I wanted to do those same things.”
Rocks on the Go

Family car trips included frequent stops to study natural formations, using the Roadside Guide to Geology.

Cover of Roadside Geology
“We’d talk about how the rocks are telling you a story: a mystery, a puzzle with half the pieces missing, and it’s in a different language.”
Bancroft 1995
“Exeter taught me how to buckle down and get work done, and to have enough self-confidence to speak up and defend my ideas in class.”
Sarah Yearbook Page
“Along the way, I discovered that I had ideas, and they were good ones.”
First NASA Liftoff

Internships with the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous mission at Cornell provided hands-on experience and a front-row seat to a liftoff.

NEAR Launch
“When you put astronomy and geology together, you get the planets and planetary geology. I think that’s where my interest in planets comes from.”
Exeter Graduation Milkovich
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

After a B.A. at Caltech and a Ph.D. in planetary geology from Brown, Sarah has been at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab ever since.

NASA logo
“I started graduate school thinking, ‘I’m interested in any kind of planets, as long as they have solid surfaces.’ It turned into Mars.”
Mars
The Red Planet

At JPL, Sarah has worked on the Mars Phoenix landing craft, Cassini, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and two rovers: Curiosity and the current Mars 2020.

Carnegie Hall

Mars Phoenix, her first big project, landed the same weekend Sarah played trombone with the JPL/Occidental orchestra in New York.

Sarah doing an interview on CBS News
“Our culture likes to portray a line between science, math, engineering and art. To be a good scientist, you need creativity. They all work together.”
Curiosity Rover
Her First Rover: Curiosity

The investigation scientist for high-resolution imaging, Sarah helps Curiosity set new standards for planetary images.

Bridging the Gap on Mars 2020

Sarah presents the science requirements to engineers, ensuring they build solutions that meet the research needs.

Diagram of the Mars 2020 Rover.
“Once Mars 2020 is done – if another project came along and NASA said, ‘We’re trying to land a boat on Titan,’ I’d say, ‘That’s awesome, I’m in!’”

Sharing this planet with her husband and son, Sarah is still looking skyward, part of a global team making progress toward human life on Mars.

Sarah Milkovich Family
Peter Chinburg '17
Exeter student Peter Chinburg with flying instructor.
"My mom pushed me to be curious. My dad gave me practical knowledge."
Call of the Wild

Growing up in New England, Peter loves hiking, camping, water skiing and being in nature.

Eager to Build

His father and grandfather mentor Peter in the art and science of building, and teach him to use tools.

Way Things Work
The Sound of Music

Everyone in the family plays at least one instrument. Peter is drawn to guitar and voice.

Learning to Soar

He starts flying lessons in 7th grade and develops an early interest in cars and engines.

Sports for Fun and Leadership

He leads the middle school football team as captain and plays lacrosse.

Exeter student Peter Chinburg in class.
“The diversity at Exeter is huge, something I love.”
Three-Season Athlete

At Exeter, Peter joins the football and lacrosse teams, and adds winter track.

Exeter student Peter Chinburg playing football.
A Cappella and Dancing

Peter sings in PEADs his first year, joins Exeteras the next. By senior year, he is co-head of both. He also dances.

Play VideoExeter student Peter Chinburg at singing rehearsal.
Flying Solo at 16

Peter passes his flying exam, and thrills to the “thinking on your feet” required in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk.

Exeter student Peter Chinburg received flying license.
“Physics set me on the engineering mindset.”
Self-Taught Inventor

For fun he tests his problem-solving skills with tough design projects, like a self-irrigating garden box that holds 1,200 pounds of dirt.

2016 Social Venture Innovation Challenge

The youngest to make it to the finals, Peter’s team presents “Care Card,” which distributes unused balances from gift cards to people in need.

Design Thinking

Peter and his team create a water dispensing “Hydrodesk” during Exeter’s 48-hour Maker Fest.

Play VideoExeter student Peter Chinburg at Maker Fest.
“Problem-solving gives you a rush.”
Ending on a High Note

As a senior project, he builds a full-scale acoustic guitar, working with his PEA guitar teacher of four years and local guitar makers.

India Beckons

Peter travels to Delhi for an entrepreneurship summer program where he works on solving real-world problems.

“You want to surround yourself with people who will push you.”
Engineering, Here I Come

Peter attends Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he’s focused on entrepreneurship and mechanical engineering.

“I’ll always sing a cappella and play the guitar, wherever I go.”
The Natural Life

After college, he hopes to live in New Hampshire, where he loves easy access to the outdoors, both on the ground and in the air.

Change with purpose.