Year of Graduation: '11

Jamie Ducharme

Author and journalist, Jamie Ducharme, graduated from Derryfield in 2011 and then attended Northeastern University to pursue a degree in journalism. In January of 2013, Ducharme secured an internship as a health reporter at Boston Health Magazine. Eventually she transitioned to working for the magazine full time. Despite her demanding schedule as a journalist, Ducharme took college courses at night. She then moved to New York City to work for Time Magazine as a news reporter, staff writer, and most recently, health correspondent. Through her reporting at Time, she began writing about the dangerous rise of Juuling and vaping. This work led to Ducharme’s first book, Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul, published in May of 2021. Macmillan Publishers describes the book: “With rigorous reporting and clear-eyed prose that reads like a nonfiction thriller, Big Vape uses the dramatic rise of Juul to tell a larger story of big business, Big Tobacco, and the high cost of a product that was too good to be true.” When asked how her time at Derryfield shaped her journalistic career, Ducharme recounted hours spent with beloved librarian Betty Jipson, and the rigor of Mr. Anthony’s English class. She remembered her days as a writer for Lamplighter and said that while she did not know what form her literary skills would take when she left DS, the foundation she built here carried her through her career. Ducharme’s book is now being turned into a Netflix Documentary Series. “The docuseries happened totally by chance,” she says. “Amblin, the production company I’m working with, was interested in doing a project about Juul and they happened to learn last year that I had signed a book deal with Henry Holt, my [book] publisher”. Big Vape was sent to the production company who felt enthusiastic about making the story fit into a television format. Ducharme and filmmaker, RJ Cutler, recently signed a deal with Netflix. Ducharme says she is excited to have the opportunity to be a consulting producer on the show, which means she will be able to guide the production team’s research and interviews to ensure that the show matches her book. We don’t yet have an air date, but we’ll keep you posted!

“Derryfield was very much a place where you could do anything. You didn’t need any experience, DS would help you do it. They instilled a confidence and willingness to try new things that was scary, but necessary” – Jamie Ducharme ‘11

Mackenzie Logan

MacKenzie Logan graduated from Derryfield in 2011 with a dream of one day starting her own business. She furthered her education at the University of New Hampshire and left there with a degree in Business and Economics. For the past few years, her career has been mainly focused on marketing. During the pandemic, she was working from home as a marketing coordinator, and although she enjoyed what she was doing, she felt like she wanted to be doing something more. While working full time from home, she organized a book drive for community organizations on the seacoast. The drive brought in 5,000 books that Logan then donated back to her community. She also started an Etsy account for her handcrafted seashell ornaments and sold over 1,000 of them. Yet the dream of starting her own bricks and mortar business still remained in the back of her mind. So when Logan stumbled upon a building for rent and realized it would be a perfect place for a coffee shop, she was able to make her dream a reality. She renovated a beachfront storefront in Hampton, NH and called it Flamingos Coffee Bar. From the fun wallpaper to the vivacious furniture to the heavenly drinks and food, this place has it all.

“Derryfield instilled in me a really hard work ethic and prepared me for working through things. Once you start something, you finish it! That is the Derryfield way!”

Firas Omer

Firas Omer graduated from Derryfield in 2011 and went on to attend Middlebury College for a degree in neuroscience. After that, he landed an internship in Burlington, VT for a startup called Faraday. This internship is where he found his passion for tech and data. Once his internship ended, Omer moved to Oakland, CA to work at Plaid. He loved the job but his role was mostly in customer service, which is not exactly what he wanted to be doing. Omer left Plaid after a year and started a new job at ValueStream Ventures as an investment associate. ValueStream Ventures helps and supports other small data companies by investing and growing them. Omer’s responsibility is to find these small data companies and get them connected with ValueStream Ventures. Omer enjoys his job and appreciates that his role allows him to meet new people everyday.

Omer was also nominated to be a part of the HBCUvc Group, and recently was named one of their 2021 Emerging Venture Leaders. HBCUvc is a non-profit organization that helps educate students studying venture capital and technology entrepreneurship while attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Omer wants to help increase the diversity and inclusion within his field as well as become a mentor to those who want to one day have a career in his line of work. Omer noted he was given a lot to help him succeed, which is why he wants to “pay it forward.”

“Derryfield was the reason that I could survive at Middlebury. DS instilled in me responsibility, leadership and maturity. It is also the reason I am a great writer, because the teachers at DS really set the standard and I have continued to carry that standard ever since.” – Firas Omer ‘11