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2024 Alumni Award Recipients

At this year's Fall Alumni Social, we proudly celebrated the 2024 Independence Alumni Award recipients at Tyler’s restaurant, surrounded by their peers. These awards honor graduates who exemplify exceptional achievement, leadership, or innovation—whether in their professional endeavors, volunteer work, or personal commitment to a cause. The Rising Star Alumni Award highlights alums who graduated within the past 20 years, while the Outstanding Alumni Award recognizes those who graduated over 20 years ago.

This year's recipients are:

Outstanding Alumni Award: Andy Tarburton '84
Andy exemplifies Independence pride through his role as a class agent, alumni advocate, and event supporter. A former state champion soccer player turned coach, he now balances his passion for sports with his career as an MRI Tech at WellSpan Health. Andy also enjoys spending time with his family, including his wife whom he met while she was working as an Extended Day employee at Independence. His oldest daughter, Kylie, is also a Communications Specialist at the school.

Rising Star Alumni Award: Ryan Dunphy '10
As secretary of the Delaware State Senate, Ryan oversees its budget, records official transactions, and manages inquiries about legislative processes, while also driving initiatives like downtown Dover revitalization and technology upgrades in Legislative Hall. He also serves as the chairperson for the Senate’s arm of the State Employees’ Charitable Campaign, an initiative for state employees to support local charities. 

Outstanding Alumni Award 2024

Pictured: Tim Costello (Head of School), Andy Tarburton '84, Laura Bianco ’94, Travis McKay ’98. Not pictured: Ryan Dunphy '10.