The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/65892
In many ways, WPI was the perfect incubator for Parent's "WPI is not just about getting your math done. You have to go out and make yourself well-rounded. And that means getting out of your comfort zone." wide-ranging interests. While studying computer science, he competed on the wrestling and rugby teams, acted in WPI's main theatre group, Masque, and performed with Chain Link Fence, the university's improv group. He also was inducted into the theatrical honor society Alpha Psi Omega and earned his tattooing license while an undergrad. "What WPI really gave me was the knowledge that the hu- manities do matter. You can be a nerdy guy and still have art in your life," he says. "WPI is not just about getting your math done. You have to go out and make yourself well-rounded. And that means getting out of your comfort zone." In addition to an excellent education, one the best things to come out of his WPI experience, says Parent, was his mar- riage. He met his wife, Julia Moench, when they were under- grads. She later transferred to the University of Utah to study art. When they reconnected a few years later, Parent says the light when on immediately. "I was sitting there with my best friend in the whole world, which is Julia, and that's when it hit me. I should just ask her to marry me." Which he did, and today he and Julia are the proud parents of three kids, Alec 12, Jasmine 10, and Kai 3. The couple moved to Salt Lake City 15 years ago when Parent landed a job writing software. Now he's a director at Sorenson Communications, a company that makes video phones and provides American Sign Language translation services and live captioning for the deaf and hearing-impaired. "It's a pret- ty neat position," he says. "We create video phones and give them away to our customers who use them to talk to each other using sign language, which is a language quite different from English." Sorenson Communications' efforts are funded by the government, so the company is able to provide these services at no charge to their customers. Parent jokes, "It's almost like altruism, except we get paid a lot of money." The Playbook Parent dabbled with improv (which he calls "mental athletics") while a student, but says he began to really take it seriously ZKHQ -XOLD ZDV SUHJQDQW ZLWK WKHLU ƂUVW FKLOG DQG KH QHHGHG an activity to replace Ultimate Fighting. A perpetual class clown, he took a free workshop with Knock Your Socks Off, a Salt Lake City improv group, and soon was performing with the group for pay. He traveled to the Chicago Improv Festival in 2002, an eye-opening experience that led to his full immersion in the craft. When the group dissolved, Parent formed a duo with the group's director, Joseph Kyle Rogan. 52 Spring 2012