When TJ opened its doors decades ago, it became more than a school, it became a shared experience. At the 40th Alumni Celebration, that experience came alive again. Grads from the earliest classes to the most recent came back, filling the halls with old memories and familiar laughter. This episode isn’t a formal interview, it’s a collection of mini moments as a way to honor the people who built the foundation for what TJ is today.

Isra Satiar, a senior at Georgetown University majoring in Human Science, has already made an incredible impact in healthcare and global health. From receiving the prestigious Davis International Peace Prize to working as a patient care technician in a surgical ICU, Isra’s dedication to serving others is clear. She also led a health education project for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, has been involved in neuroscience research since freshman year, and leads organizations like the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students while serving as president of the School of Health Academic Council. In this episode of She Persists, Isra shares how her TJ roots, research, and leadership experiences shaped her path in healthcare and inspired her mission to make a difference globally.

Amy Medina has spent her life showing students that science isn’t just something you read about, it’s something you experience. As a teacher at Odyssey Academy, she’s led more than sixty student space experiments, some of which have even flown on Zero-G missions. But earlier this year, Amy took her passion for exploration to a whole new level when she became the first Puerto Rican woman astronaut to travel to space aboard Blue Origin’s NS-32 mission. In this episode, she shares what inspired her love for STEM growing up in Puerto Rico, how she overcame career obstacles, how she built a classroom where curiosity and innovation is at the center of everything, and how seeing Earth from above has reshaped her perspective as both an educator and explorer.