Kingsley Alumni make us Proud

Profile: Zak Farkes

Zak Farkes has always known the kind of career he wants. From his childhood watching the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park through his years as a slugging infielder for the Harvard baseball team, Zak's goal has been baseball.

Although various setbacks threatened to deny that dream, Zak fulfilled his lifetime desire last summer by signing a professional contract with his hometown Red Sox. Foregoing his senior season of baseball eligibility at Harvard, Zak embarked on what he hopes will be a long professional journey.

“What I want to do in my life is be a pro baseball player,” Zak said before a recent game with the Lowell (MA) Spinners. “A Harvard degree will help me out in the future, but my first commitment is to baseball.”

“It’s a dream come true. To be a part of [the Red Sox] organization is just a huge honor for me,” Zak said. "It’s the best of both worlds — the chance to play pro ball and play for my favorite team.”

With permission from The Harvard Crimson, Caleb W. Peiffer, staff writer

Profile: Anders Jones

Anders Jones founded Teens for Technology, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help children in underserved countries acquire technological skills and training. Working with community schools in Jamaica and Southeast Asia, TFT donates complete computer labs, including hardware, peripherals and educational software. Unlike other organizations offering technology to those in need, Teens For Technology was founded, and is directed, by teenagers.

Partnering with corporations, local communities, educational institutions and committed individuals to obtain technical and financial support, the organization began with a chance conversation in a taxi cab. Anders, then 13, learned from the taxi driver about the impoverished state of computer technology in Jamaican schools. Struck by the disparity between his own school’s wealth of technology assets and what he witnessed in Jamaica, Anders began building a base of support for donated computers and software, starting with several that he found in his own basement.

Since its founding in 2002, Teens for Technology has donated complete computer labs, installed thousands of computers and trained over 100,000 children in Jamaica. Anders has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2005 Brick Award, which honors “Young People Changing Our World.”

Anders is currently at sophomore at Stanford University.