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Accomplished Athlete, Award-Winning Journalist to Address Graduates in June
David Magida ’04 and Christina Goldbaum ’10 will share professional insights and growth experiences from their careers in fitness and journalism, respectively, at next month’s Senior Banquet and Commencement.
Magida, founder of Washington, D.C.-based Elevate Interval Fitness and a Spartan Pro Team alumnus, will speak at the Senior Banquet on June 4. The author of “Essentials of Obstacle Race Training,” Magida is collaborating with USA Obstacle Course Racing and the International Olympic Committee to develop obstacle course racing as an Olympic sport. He also serves as host of Spartan Race on Facebook Watch and ESPN.
“The biggest piece of advice I can give to any student at St. Andrew’s is to find out what you’re really passionate about, organize yourself a strong plan around it and just go for it,” Magida said in an interview last fall. “I’m fortunate to go in to work and still love what I do; I love interacting with people and changing their lives. If there’s something you love, pursue that dream relentlessly and don't worry about proving anything to anyone. Do it for yourself.”
Goldbaum, this year’s Commencement speaker, is a reporter for The New York Times who started her journalism career as a foreign correspondent in Africa. Within three years of her first assignment, she won the Livingston Award for International Reporting, the National Press Club’s Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence, and the Frontline Club Print Award.
“I found that I’m very impact-driven and journalism is a place where, while a bit more elusive and less concrete, you can still have a big impact,” Goldbaum said. “As a foreign correspondent, you determine what people are talking about. As an investigative journalist, you truly are holding powers to account. And that’s a thrilling feeling to be chasing all the time in the work that you’re doing.”
Seventy-four students will graduate at the 2019 Commencement, which will take place at 10 a.m. June 7 at Washington National Cathedral.
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“The biggest piece of advice I can give to any student at St. Andrew’s is to find out what you’re really passionate about, organize yourself a strong plan around it and just go for it,” Magida said in an interview last fall. “I’m fortunate to go in to work and still love what I do; I love interacting with people and changing their lives. If there’s something you love, pursue that dream relentlessly and don't worry about proving anything to anyone. Do it for yourself.”
Goldbaum, this year’s Commencement speaker, is a reporter for The New York Times who started her journalism career as a foreign correspondent in Africa. Within three years of her first assignment, she won the Livingston Award for International Reporting, the National Press Club’s Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence, and the Frontline Club Print Award.
“I found that I’m very impact-driven and journalism is a place where, while a bit more elusive and less concrete, you can still have a big impact,” Goldbaum said. “As a foreign correspondent, you determine what people are talking about. As an investigative journalist, you truly are holding powers to account. And that’s a thrilling feeling to be chasing all the time in the work that you’re doing.”
Seventy-four students will graduate at the 2019 Commencement, which will take place at 10 a.m. June 7 at Washington National Cathedral.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School is a private, coeducational college preparatory day school for students in preschool (Age 2) through grade 12, located in Potomac, Maryland.