The Nickel Siblings

Catching up with the Nickel siblings! Oliver Nickel, ’20, (left) graduated from the University of Denver with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. Oliver is employed by Duininck Golf, a fourth-generation family-owned company that crafts some of the best courses in the nation. He is currently positioned in Utah, working as a golf course construction superintendent and loving his days in the outdoors. "ESA taught me that proper preparation and hard work will always set you up for success," Oliver says. Hiss advice to ESA students: “Keep an open mind and get involved with as much as you can even if it is out of your comfort zone.”  

Catherine Nickel, ’18 graduated from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas where she earned a B.S. in biology and a B.A. in Spanish. She began her career as a trauma tech in the Emergency Department at a Level 1 trauma, burn, and stroke center in downtown Austin, and has served as an educator for orthopedics, teaching new nurses, techs, and ortho residents how to apply, assess, and chart splints. She will graduate this December from an accelerated BSN program and transition into a trauma nurse role while continuing teaching.

"I was ahead of the game when I got to college—it was almost comical," Catherine says. "Not just with the material, but also with how to study, write papers, and approach problems critically. A lot of my friends freshman year were figuring out their study methods, but I had already made it off of that struggle bus in 8th grade at ESA. And a huge shoutout to Mr. Begnaud—his chemistry class was a lifesaver in college. The material was taught so poorly in my upper-level college courses, but I managed to find my ESA notes from his class and used them all semester. I ended up doing very well in the class all thanks to notes I took during his high school chemistry classes. Also, major thanks to Señora Yoly—because of her, I tested out of the first three levels of Spanish and was able to start taking electives. That let me double major in Spanish and biology, which was a game changer. I’m seriously so grateful for everything ESA gave me. "

Catherine has also taken a few medical missions to Haiti, hiked the Tetons in Jackson Hole, explored Yellowstone, checked out a bit of Belize, and hiked Machu Picchu. Catherine encourages ESA students to “1. Call your family every week. 2. Don't be afraid to move away from home; you can always come back. 3. Learn a second language. 4. Don't be afraid to change your mind, nobody cares.”

Riley Nickel, ’16, graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 2020 with a B.A. in economics. After starting his career working in commercial real estate, he recently completed an M.S. in business analytics. Riley is currently based out of Los Angeles, working as a data engineer, which entails designing data pipelines, wrangling large property datasets, and shipping dashboards used by his company's leasing and investment teams. When Riley isn't working hard, he's traveling. Some of his highlights include a monthlong golfing adventure along Ireland’s southwest coast, a trek to Machu Picchu, and a summer studying abroad in Beijing, China.

"ESA prepared me for college and beyond in two big ways: the workload and the teachers," Riley says. "The workload often matched or exceeded what I faced in college, and teachers consistently taught at a college-level and held us to those standards. ESA also taught me how to think, not what to think. A favorite example of this is Mr. Wood’s freshman World History class: instead of memorizing dates, we dug into cause and effect, studying why events occurred so we could reason our way through the past. "

Riley’s advice for future ESA graduates: “Study abroad if you can, and if college isn’t your path, try to travel abroad at least once to widen your perspective.” He also encourages Falcons to "call your parents (or your people) at least once a week. And do something outside of school or work: join a club, play intramurals, volunteer, or make something.”

Thanks, Oliver, Cat, and Riley!