Claire Stephenson

Meet Claire Stephenson! Clair is a 23-year old Bratenahl resident and recent graduate of New York University. Before university, she went to Hathaway Brown School, where she was on the swimming and diving team and did two fellowships in Global Studies and Business and Finance.

Claire moved to the neighborhood in 2018. Before Bratenahl, her and her family lived in Orange, Ohio, about a 30-minute drive away.

"My parents always dreamed about having a house in Bratenahl, so they jumped at the opportunity while driving through the neighborhood to a Guardians game and saw a home for sale," said Claire.

Claire graduated from NYU this May and got her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations with a minor in Spanish. She was also a diver on the varsity swimming and diving team for four years, and was captain her senior year. 

After her graduation, Claire and a group of her friends embarked on an exhilarating journey through Sub-Saharan Africa for roughly a month. 

"We started in the Seychelles for ten days, exploring the Mahe, Praline, and La Digue islands. My favorite part of Seychelles was La Digue. For three days, we stayed with a family that was like our island mom and dad. They would bring us cut-up fruit and help us find all the best spots on the island," said Claire.

Claire said that some of her favorite activities were glass bottom kayaking and seeing the huge tortoises!

"After we flew to Johannesburg, South Africa, for a few days to prepare for our Safari in Kruger National Park (about a six-hour drive away), we went on safari for five days, staying in a safari lodge. We went on multiple game drives to try and see the Big 5. Seeing all of the animals was surreal, but one of the most insane moments was when a lion walked right next to our safari vehicle!"

Lastly, they stayed in Franschhoek, South Africa, a breathtaking wine region. They stayed for four days then drove to Cape Town for nine days. 

"My favorite part about Franschhoek was the wine tram. I also loved the beautiful hike we did," said Claire.

This journey was nothing short of a beautiful adventure after her years of hard work at NYU.