Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2022

23 SOUTHWESTERN After graduating with a B.S. in biology from Southwestern, Weinstein earned his D.D.S. from the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at the University of Southern California. He served as a dental officer in the U.S. Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, before joining Landmark Dental Studio in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Weinstein—known as Dr. J.A.W. to his patients—has traveled to Kenya numerous times as a volunteer dentist. In 2012, he spearheaded the largest dental mission in the country to date. He and his team provided dental care to more than 200 people in Nairobi’s Mathare slum. Weinstein recommends that Southwestern students take the time to explore their interests. “You won’t know what your true passion is until you have tried it all,” he says. Joshua A. Weinstein ’07 A classics and communication studies double major at Southwestern, Vasquez received his J.D. from Stanford Law School. He currently is a law clerk for Justice James Blacklock of the Supreme Court of Texas. At the end of his one- year clerkship, he plans on clerking for Judge Don R. Willet of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit before joining the Office of the Solicitor General of Texas as a Gregory S. Coleman fellow. Vasquez also has served as a consultant for a number of companies in the emerging sector of water technologies. He encourages students to remember that time is the most valuable resource they will ever have: “Every hour misspent is lost forever. Future years cannot compensate for lost days at this period of your life.” Bear Vasquez ’17 AdamWinkler ’04 A communication studies major and sociology minor at Southwestern, Winkler is a sports and news reporter/anchor at ABC13 Houston. He previously served as sports director and weekend morning news anchor at WTKR News 3 in Norfolk, Virginia, where he played a leading role in relaunching the sports department. Winkler has worked at five stations in three states, won 19 Associated Press Broadcasters awards, and been nominated for 10 Emmys. He has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the 2013 deadly fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas. Winkler appreciates the educational foundation Southwestern provided. “Southwestern challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and truly engage in my education,” he says. “To put it plainly: at Southwestern, I learned how to learn.” A political science major and anthropology minor, Weedn earned his J.D. from the Oklahoma City University School of Law. He currently is deputy general counsel at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. In this role, he serves as lead attorney for the Petroleum Storage Tank Division, which enforces state and federal regulations to protect the environment and prevent the release of petroleum products from storage tanks. Weedn, who serves as president of the Kiwanis Club of Oklahoma City and as a board member for numerous other organizations, believes strongly in giving back to the community. “If you do that in your profession, fantastic, but even if you don’t, always dedicate time to making your community a better place than it was when you arrived,” he recommends. TravisWeedn ’05 Williams majored in religion and minored in English and feminist studies at Southwestern before beginning her career as an alcohol and drugs prevention instructor and elementary school teacher. Today, she is a coach and consultant who works to educate individuals and professional teams on how to make principles of diversity, equity, justice, and liberation an intrinsic part of their daily work and lives. In 2017, she cofounded Conscious Roots, a professional development firm dedicated to helping people understand who they are and what changes they must make to create a more socially just world. Williams encourages students to think about their privileges: “What can you do to share them with those around you? How can you reflect the best of yourself and your community to others?” PorschaWilliams ’09