The Benjamin School Buccaneer magazine 2006

THE

BUCCANEER The Magazine Of The Benjamin School

Volume IV No. 1 – 2006

Matt Godown ‘09

Chris Kah ‘08

Nick Provenzo ‘07

Jackie Espy ‘09 Nicole Alevizos ‘08 Lexi Rieck ‘07

HONORING A

OUR

COMMITMENT

TO

STEWARDSHIP FOR

A

SUSTAINABLE

“OUR

THEME

THREE —

L E G A C Y:

FUTURE.

DRAWS

IMPORTANT

L E G A C Y,

AND

UPON

WORDS

STEWARDSHIP

SUSTAINABILITY—

T H AT

H AV E

BEEN

AN

IMPORTANT

PA R T

OF

BENJAMIN’S PRESENT TO

AND

OUR

PA S T

AND

CONNECT

US

FUTURE.”

-Gene Gross, Head of School

THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 1

N OTE F ROM T HE E DITOR “Make new friends, But keep the old, One is silver and the other, gold.”

THE BENJAMIN SCHOOL EUGENE GROSS HEAD OF SCHOOL STAFF OF THE BUCCANEER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KATHY AIELLO, ED. D. MANAGING EDITOR KINCH CATO ALUMNI EDITOR JANNA Scarola BISCHOFF ’94

Kathy Aiello, Ed. D.

MARIA VAZQUEZ DEVELOPMENT OFFICE COORDINATOR

Some members of the school family may soon find themselves humming this familiar childhood stanza still sung alongside the camaraderie of evening campfires by eager troops of Girl Scouts as they peruse this 2006 edition of The Buccaneer.

A look at some of the recent and moving changes transforming The Benjamin School since our students, faculty and staff, parents, grandparents, and alumni welcomed a new Head of School are imparted in this magazine issue. Gene Gross describes accomplishments and modifications implemented on campus since he came aboard last July in the opening article A Recap of the First Year. Our TBS leader also outlines particular challenges facing the school community in planning ahead for a sustainable future.

Also featured in our annual magazine are highlights of the year’s golden moments captured in the time-honored traditions of The Benjamin School’s revered academic, athletic, and fine arts programs and community service contributions.

Once again, TBS students distinguished themselves throughout the school year with a talented mix of on-stage performances, stellar athletic achievements, and notable school and community volunteer efforts presented in the trio of articles entitled Twelfth Night Culminates School-wide Shakespeare Week, Bucs State Qualifiers, and Learning Life’s Lessons through Community Service Participation. The lively display of visual art exhibited in Creative Works Capture Distinctive Images and the striking photography gracing our magazine’s outside back and inside front covers further render a collective portrait of our student artists’ timeless descriptions.

Divulged, also, in the forthcoming pages is a brief preview of the exciting and challenging academic opportunities three TBS faculty members avail to Lower, Middle, and Upper School students within their respective division classrooms as each one tenders a personal peek of themselves and their honored thoughts on teaching in this issue’s Faculty Profiles.

Finally, the treasured memories of Benjamin alumni and the impact of distinctive TBS experiences our select graduates encountered at their beloved alma mater are unveiled in our 2006 Alumni Spotlight and Report from the Field. A Benjamin “lifer” also helps to advance an understanding of the school’s history in her intimate account nostalgically disclosed in Reflections of the School’s Early Years.

In closing this Note from the Editor, I invite you to recall the scant plain lines of our Girl Scout melody as you turn the pages of our Buccaneer magazine. The commonality sustained in these simple congenial lyrics can only help to reaffirm the heart of a school – one bound in the celebrated wisdom of times past and guided by the fresh and vibrant leadership of a visionary future.

LARAINE MONTGOMERY DEVELOPMENT OFFICE ASSISTANT

“…One is silver and the other, gold.”

SPORTS EDITOR LARA PANSOLLI EDITOR ASSISTANT LARA PANSOLLI CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER CHRIS OAKES COVER PHOTO LAURIE NUGENT-SUTTER FACULTY PROFILES MICHAEL PRICE PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO SUBMISSIONS KATHY AIELLO, JANNA BISCHOFF ’94, BEN MYERS, KELLEY MOLLO, CHRIS OAKES, LARA PANSOLLI, MONICA SWEENEY, RHONDA THOMAS GRAPHIC DESIGN KALL GRAPHICS, INC. DEVELOPMENT OFFICE STAFF KINCH CATO DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT KATHY AIELLO, ED. D. DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS JANNA BISCHOFF ’94 DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI CAROL BRUNO DIRECTOR OF ANNUAL AND MAJOR GIFTS DENNIS CHAPMAN DIRECTOR OF EVENT FUNDRAISING AND SPECIAL EVENTS LARA PANSOLLI DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT

VOLUME IV NO. 1

2 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

TABLE

OF

CONTENTS

4

A Recap of the First Year Head of School Looks to the Future

7

Learning Life Lessons through Community Service Participation Helping Hands Lending a Difference - a sample glimpse of the year’s community service

10

Twelfth Night Culminates School-wide Shakespeare Week 2005-2006: A Talented Mix of Student Performances

14

Faculty Profiles A Portrait of Those Who Teach LeeAnne Sampson: Lower School Marci York: Middle School David Spielberg: Upper School

17

Bucs State Qualifiers Athletes Raising the Bar in TBS Sports

20

Alumni Spotlight Tom Rooney ’89: Serving Country and Community With Character Allison Berry 98x: Exploring the Lights of Broadway in the Magic of Disney Tokyo Ryan Craft ’02: Making the Mark at Georgetown

24

Reflections of the School’s Early Years Benjamin Lifer Alumna Lisa Arline (NPBPS ’68) Recalls the Past

27

Alumni Report from the Field A View from Entrepreneur Noah Weiss ‘03 A View from University Newspaper Editor Marissa Newhall ‘03 A View from College Transfer Student Tracy Randall ‘04 A View from Hollywood Movie Asst. Director Anneke Scott ‘98 A View from Philosophy Professor Christian Miller ‘98

32

THE BENJAMIN SCHOOL BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2005 – 2006 Marianne P. Gold, Chairman Rudy E. Schupp,Vice-Chairman William F. Callahan III, Secretary John R. Purcell,Treasurer Molly Apple Rory Brown Llwyd E. Ecclestone III ‘80 Thomas C. Frankel Gregory Gozzo Lewis Hay III Lynda Jacobs S.Tucker S. Johnson Kenneth R. Kennerly Robert A. McIntosh Jack W. Nicklaus II ‘80 John E. Pew Morris Propp Hal Reed James T. Ritenour Susan B. Sachs Daniel W. Stanton Eugene Gross (ex-officio) Trustee Emeriti Nancy Benjamin Kevin Kenny Martha Kenny Jack Nicklaus Barbara Nicklaus

Creative Works Capture Distinctive Images A Student Display of Visual Art T HE B ENJAMIN S CHOOL Lower/Middle School Campus 11000 Ellison Road North Palm Beach, Florida 33408 Phone: 561.472.3452 Upper School Campus 4875 Grandiflora Road Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33418 Phone: 561.472.5998

Savannah Logan ‘15

Sabrina Goodwin ‘16

Fax: 561.691.9017 E-mail: Support-TBS@BenjaminSchool.com www.benjaminschool.com/support-tbs THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 3

A Recap of the First Year

Head of School Looks to the Future

by Gene Gross

(Above) Gene Gross addresses Upper School students during morning assembly in the Healey Athletic Complex gymnasium.

(Left) Benjamin’s Head of School joins Lower School instrumentalists for band class on the Kehl campus.

A

s I reflect upon the school year that will have concluded by the time you read this, I am pleased by the many things that we, The Benjamin School community, do well and I am also well aware of the significant challenges that we face. We are fortunate to have many individuals who are a part of the school community: students, faculty, parents, grandparents, alumni, board members, and other friends of the school, who care deeply about the school, who share their skills with the school, and who are generous in their support of the school. However, we are confronted with a number of difficulties, not the least of which is making certain that Benjamin is attractive to and accessible to a talented and diverse group of students.

In order to have the strongest possible student body, we need to more broadly market our school and make certain that new children and their families are warmly received during the admissions process and after they enroll in our school. All of you are part of the admissions office at Benjamin. Your advocacy for the school

and your embracing of new families is critical if we are to be the school of choice for families in Palm Beach and Martin Counties.

There are many reasons why Benjamin should be the school of choice in this area. We have a nearly 50 year history of outstanding teaching, strength in the arts, and athletic excellence. In addition, there have been exciting recent and forthcoming changes and improvements in our program at Benjamin.

One of the attributes of a good school is that it understands current best educational practices and works to implement them in its classrooms. This understanding led Benjamin to implement selfcontained kindergarten last year and to implement a fully selfcontained pre-kindergarten next year. Early childhood educators, guided by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, know that the best practice in this area is to ensure that classrooms function as caring communities with no more than 20 students with two adults.

A self-contained classroom helps young children form THE BUCCANEER 2005 â?˜ 5

culture. This year’s activities centered on Shakespeare’s Twelfth meaningful relationships with adults and each other. It allows teachNight involved all of the students and many of the parents. The outers to understand each child’s strengths and weaknesses and to door performances at the upper school campus were a highlight of develop a curriculum which responds to each child’s needs within the year. The opening of Barker Family Performing Arts Center, on a group setting. Self-containment provides an environment where the lower/middle school campus, will provide us, beginning in the the most able students can be challenged. In addition to selffall, with a space that does justice to our drama, dance, and musical containment, we are committed to a smaller class size next year productions. in pre-kindergarten which will foster greater connectivity within Next year we will examine the Everglades as a school-wide curthe classroom. ricular endeavor which will build one culture and support our longThe ability to communicate with individuals who do not speak term sustainability theme: “Honoring our legacy: a commitment to English is becoming increasingly important as the world shrinks. stewardship for a sustainable future.” This theme, launched during Since the school’s founding in 1960, it has recognized the efficacy the current academic year, has five areas of focus: programmatic, of teaching a second language in addition to a strong foundation in global, demographic, English. Next year, we environmental, and will offer Spanish, as economic. well as French, beginDemographic susning in kindergarten. tainability is a major This will enhance our challenge for Benability to communicate jamin. The school age with and gain a greater population of Palm appreciation of the Beach County is not growing Hispanic popgrowing at the anticiulation within our pated rate and the school, the region, and diversity of the populaour country. tion is increasing. We Physical education have a wonderful was introduced as part opportunity to create a of the upper school school that draws the curriculum two years most talented students ago and will become from throughout the part of the middle area and that represchool curriculum next sents its rich diversity. year. Health and physiWe have increased our cal fitness are an imporoutreach this year and tant part of developing will do more in the future. We healthy, productive lives. are committed to being the The school is increasingly focused, particularly in the “Our greatest strength remains best school in the area.

We have made strides middle school, on challenging environmentally with green the most talented students our faculty and staff who work technology lights at the while we support students every day to inspire, nurture, guide, upper school soccer/football/ who might struggle in a particlacrosse field, with improved ular area. The best schools difand support our students.” recycling, and with the enviferentiate instruction at all age ronmentally sensitive lower levels in order to attend to the school playground equipment individual needs of children which will be installed this within a demanding curricusummer. However, we need to do more, both individually and as lum. Benjamin recognizes that all children do not develop at a unia school community. form rate, and that students who initially struggle in a subject may Economic sustainability presents daunting obstacles. We canover time, with hard work and skillful teaching, achieve a high level not continue to be so tuition driven if we want to be accessible and of success. fully enrolled. We may well have grown too large, but it is hard for One opportunity for acceleration, remediation, and the explous to decrease in size, as some schools have done, because we carry ration of new ideas is our summer program. This summer we are a significant debt. Our annual fund and endowment lag behind expanding our offerings to attend to all of these needs. comparable schools, or at least behind schools with which we We have begun the process of creating a new strategic plan for should aspire to be comparable.

The Benjamin School. Under the able leadership of Ken Kennerly, Overall, our strengths far outweigh our weaknesses. Our greatboard member and parent, and Ken Didsbury, our Academic Dean, est strength remains our faculty and staff who work every day to I am confident that we will create a meaningful and action oriented inspire, nurture, guide, and support our students. We are a fortunate document. school, much has been accomplished this year, and with our One of the key goals of the current plan, which is scheduled combined efforts an even brighter future awaits us. for completion in December 2006, is enhancing the single school 6 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

The multiplicity of service activities students undertake throughout their span of experience at The Benjamin School is as diverse as the individuals, organizations, and communities they assist.

The 2005 - 2006 school year has been no exception. A sampling of community service projects implemented both school-wide and through divisions, organizations, grade levels, individual classes, and faculty advisor/student advisee groups is noted in Helping Hands Lending a Difference.

Learning Life Lessons through Community Service Participation

by Kathleen H.Aiello, Ed. D.

There could be, too, a few life lessons gained in serving the community.

“Young people learn more and gain a greater degree of personal maturity when they apply their developing skills to meaningful and real-life situations,” explained Susan Poncy, TBS Director of Student Services (pre-kindergarten through grade eight).

“Numerous research studies support the concept of community service involvement,” she said.

Team the research with a mission statement affirming “concern for others and a desire to serve society,” and partner with a guiding goal encouraging “all students to strive toward moral and intellectual leadership in society,” and the purpose of community service participation becomes unmistakably apparent.

The wisdom acquired when students from all three of the school’s divisions apply their academic knowledge and interactive skills to address important school and community issues while lending a helping hand may also be worthy of enduring value.

They learn to discover new interests and abilities.

Students learn to work cooperatively and take on leadership roles.

And they learn the value of caring about others…

They learn, too, to help others.

They understand they can make a difference.

What better life lessons for students to experience before exiting through those TBS doors!

Proceeds from December’s poinsettia sales led by National Honor Society members help to purchase toys for the annual school-wide Toys for Tots drive.

Helping Hands Lending a Difference — a sample glimpse of the year’s community service Fundraising Projects for American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief Football ticket sale proceeds, a benefit dance, cash donations, and sales from baked goods and lemon-aid stands all helped to raise a $55,133 school-wide donation in the fall for the American Red Cross to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region.

Students and parents also deposited hundreds of school supplies in Katrina’s Kidz collection boxes located on both campuses to aid student evacuees relocated to Texas and Florida schools.

THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 7

Thanksgiving Food Collection for Food for Families Students contributed 5000 pounds of canned goods and nonperishable food items during the annual Thanksgiving food drive held on both campuses in November. The school-wide collection was donated to St. George’s Soup Kitchen in Riviera Beach and Food for Families organizers for distribution to area charitable organizations located throughout the community.

Holiday Toy Drive for Community Organizations

Cookout for Kenya Students from several Upper School organizations offered their support to help boost funds for Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative at the annual Cookout for Kenya hosted at Ocean Cay Park in Jupiter. Students, faculty, and parent volunteers prepared and served African foods, sold raffle tickets, and purchased a variety of Kenyan handicrafts at the community picnic and artifact display. The $10,000 proceeds from the December fundraiser are helping to refurbish classrooms and improve the educational environment for schools in Kenya. A school-wide sale of beaded bracelets crafted in Kenya was also initiated to fund construction of an underground well for a select Kenyan school.

Dumpster Day to Aid the Homeless

Eighth grade advisees from Ms. Cara Scarola and Ms. Nancy McAllister’s class spent an afternoon in January in a downtown dumpster collecting contributions for The Lord’s Place to aid the area’s homeless population. The Middle School also hosted a Brown Bag Lunch Day and contributed funds to boost the division-wide donation for the area social service agency.

Lower, Middle, and Upper School Student Councils led the annual division toy drives in December, resulting in a school-wide collection of 1500 toys donated to several local charitable organizations, including Wee Care Development Center, New Pines Preschool Hispanic Human Resources Child Development Center, Noah Inc./Building Blocks, the Sickle Cell and Pillar Foundations, and the Pioneer Park Beacon Center.

8 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

Benjamin Team Participants for Komen Race for the Cure

Video Collection for Children’s Hospitals

A Benjamin team of Lower School volunteers secured pledges and walked in January’s annual Komen Race for the Cure in downtown West Palm Beach to help raise funds for the Susan C. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Work Crew for Quantum House The sixth grade work crew from Regina Holmes and Ed Chaplin’s faculty advisor/student advisee class delivered their homemade

freezable desserts in February to residences of Quantum House. The Middle School volunteers also landscaped the home’s front entrance, cleaned the children’s playroom, washed windows, and tidied the facility’s storage closet during their February visit.

Quantum House, located in West Palm Beach on the campus of St. Mary’s Medical Center, serves as a temporary home-away-fromhome for parents and families of hospitalized children during a child’s hospital stay.

Seventh grade advisee members in Susan Kirkman and Toby Harbeck’s Middle School classes led a division-wide drive in February and collected over 500 video tapes and DVDs in addition to toys and craft kits for patients of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, and the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Mrs. Glogower’s second graders also raised funds in April and purchased electronic games and toys for the West Palm Beach hospital.

Jump Rope for Heart Participants for the American Heart Association Faculty member Riordan Cheatham had his head shaved during Lower School lineup in March to celebrate the overwhelming participation and fundraising success of first through fifth graders during the division’s annual Jump Rope for Heart community service event. Students secured Palm Beach County’s top pledged amount of $26,028 in contributions for their jump rope feats to benefit the American Heart Association.

Clothing Drive for Belle Glade Community Members of the Class of 2012 collected and sorted 40 boxes of children’s clothing, baby blankets and sheets, and other youth items during their sixth grade class community service drive held in February and March.

The Middle School collection was distributed to Belle Glade and Pahokee families displaced from their homes following Hurricane Wilma.

THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 9

Twelfth Night Culminates School-wide

Shakespeare Week

by Kathleen H.Aiello, Ed. D.

T

The Upper School Drama Club’s production of Twelfth Night, Or What You Will directed by faculty member Henry Hamilton, opened the annual Talented Mix of Student Performances (p.12) for the 2005 – 2006 school year with a new twist in venue.

For the first dramatic performance at the Palm Beach Gardens campus, cast members staged their fall production beneath the sky at the campus amphitheatre. Armed with folding chairs and blankets, TBS family audiences sprawled across the lawn to view the evening performances and partake in a delightfully entertaining outdoor weekend of Shakespearean comedy on the Upper School campus.

The November production concluded the two-week school-wide celebration of Shakespeare Week. Lower, Middle and Upper School students engaged in the unified study of Shakespeare with a variety of activity.

Professional-in-Residence actor Peter Katona and a 1993 TBS alumnus, returned to both campuses and shared experiences of his beginning acting career with Middle and Upper School students. The award-winning Fox Fellow in ancient fencing and Peking opera sword dancing led handson classroom workshops in stage combat technique. The Master’s graduate from the Yale School of Drama also demonstrated several of the combat maneuvers he delivers for audiences in his professional staged appearances.

Lower School students jumped in the act, too, during Shakespeare Week with their classroom reading of the elementary edition of Twelfth Night. First graders and costumed teachers Chris Anderson ‘86 and Megan Kascak dramatized main character parts in small group classroom settings. Students in the Middle School also read and discussed the student edition of Twelfth Night during their classroom activity period designated as an opportunity to Drop Everything and Read.

10 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

Professional-in-Residence actor Peter Katona, a 1993 Benjamin School alumnus, conducts classroom workshops in stage combat maneuvers during the festivities of Shakespeare Week celebrated on both campuses in November.

Cast members perform Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night beneath the evening sky at the Upper School campus’ first amphitheatre production.

Upper School Players rehearse their fall dramatic performance on the outdoor theatre stage at the Palm Beach Gardens campus.

First grade students and teachers portray character parts from their classroom reading of the elementary edition of Twelfth Night during Shakespeare Week.

Yale School of Drama Master’s graduate Peter Katona ‘93 assembles with students at the conclusion of Shakespeare Week to relay insights into his professional acting career.

THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 11

The Upper School library provided students and faculty Wednesdays With William — an online look into the life and times of William Shakespeare through The Shakespeare Collection. The online global resource of scholarly research, general reference data, full text periodicals, reprinted criticism, and full-text annotated works offers primary resource material from The Arden Shakespeare, the world’s most recognized scholarly edition, to help broaden the classroom study of Shakespeare and his dramatic works.

The week on campus was a united one with three divisions, two campuses, one school. concurrently “on the same page.” The successful school-wide introduction of a shared curricular topic for the entire student body to simultaneously explore is being carried over into next school year.

Strategies are already in the works to integrate a single common topic with a collective central theme into the 2006-2007 academic curriculum plan with a study of the Florida Everglades. As Shakespeare discloses in Act II, Scene V of Twelfth Night, “Some have greatness thrust upon them, and “some [do] achieve greatness!”

If this year’s triumphant undertaking imparts a hint as to what students can expect for the year ahead, the Bard’s wise command from Twelfth Night might relay the clue, “Be not afraid of greatness.”

TBS family audiences amass on the Upper School campus lawn for a delightfully entertaining weekend of Shakespearean comedy.

12 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

2005-2006: A Talented Mix of Student Performances

Pre-K Fall Festival Middle and Upper School Holiday Concert Kindergarten Holiday Moosical & Middle School Band Robin Hood (Middle School) Little Miss Christie (Middle School) Get Up and Grow (2nd Grade Class) South Pacific (Upper School) Middle and Upper School Spring Concerts: Turn the Beat Around - Dance Spring Music Festival - Band, Chorus, Master Singers 3rd Grade Sing-along and Flute Toot 6th Grade Band and Middle School Band Concert 5th Grade Band & Chorus Spring Concert 1st Grade Music Program Let’s Hear It for the Heroes (4th Grade Class) BASH Variety Show 6th Grade Exploratory Arts Wheel Lower School Dream Keeper Band Middle School Benjamin Breakfast Club Upper School Backdoor Café

FA C U LT Y P R O F I L E

LeeAnne Sampson Lower School Third Grade Chair If you make learning enjoyable, you may have changed a student’s life forever, and the opportunity to do that as a teacher exists here at Benjamin.

YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE SCHOOL: Five EDUCATION: West Virginia University – Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education FAVORITE PASTIMES: Running, reading, informal tours of Florida to discover its history, and casual family time with her husband and son TEACHING H IGHLIGHTS: Faculty development training and classroom integration of CRISS teaching strategies PASSIONATE PROJECT: “Implementing CRISS (Creating Independence through Student-owned Strategies) as a teaching philosophy to help students recognize how to be active and independent in their learning by giving them tools they can use to better organize their thoughts, process new information, and become successful learners all through their school years and beyond is a terrific experience.”

14 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

LEEAN

N E

SAM

P SON

FA C U LT Y P R O F I L E

MARCI YOR

K

Marci York Middle School Foreign Language Department Chair After the first six months of teaching at The Benjamin School, I knew this would be the place I would want to be until I retire.

YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE SCHOOL: Four EDUCATION: Florida Atlantic University – Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction Ball State University – Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Language FAVORITE PASTIMES: Travels to France, gardening, reading, creating decoupage and crafts, bike riding, French cooking with her husband, and fun-time with her dog TEACHING H IGHLIGHTS: Interactive traveling foreign language lab, and coordinating French foreign exchange, and French immersion PASSIONATE PROJECT: “Our new Middle School wireless foreign language lab complements our current curriculum, and integrates sounds, voice, text, video and new forms of technology to create an exciting, self-paced, interactive language learning environment for students.”

THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 15

FA C U LT Y P R O F I L E

Dr. David Spielberg Upper School Science Department Chair The freedom to teach outside the box makes Benjamin a wonderful place to help students create a passion for science and relate that learning to the outside world.

YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE SCHOOL: Eight EDUCATION: The Graduate Center - City University of New York Master and Bachelor’s Degrees City University of New York Queens College – Ph. D. FAVORITE PASTIMES: Writing poetry, kayaking, biking with his wife, exploring wildflowers, and reading – especially non-fiction TEACHING H IGHLIGHTS: Developing the advanced course in experimentation strategies for students using sports science context as well as the resurgence of the campus science fair PASSIONATE PROJECT: “The new Advanced Science course takes students beyond the high school experience, introduces them to scientific writing, and will provide learning opportunities in cooperative research with outside mentors in varied research environments.”

16 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

DAVI

D

SP

I ELB ERG

Bucs State Qualifiers

Athletes Raising the Bar in TBS Sports

Team State Qualifiers 2005 - 2006

Boys’ Varsity Basketball Team 2006 FHSAA State Runner-up (Left to Right) (Back row) Coach Greg Schneider, Coach Simon Behan, Matt Worsham, Quinard Jackson, Martin Higgins,Assistant Coach Dave Gatewood, Head Coach Jeff Cavallo. (Middle row) Ian Newhall,Adam Cowie, Brett Bitove, JJ Bitove, Matt Bideau.

(Front row) Ryco Newton-Block, Rajiv Asani, Mike Toback, Kirk Hansen, Brant Peaper.

Girls’ Cross Country Team (Left to right) (Back row) Coach Lynne Feyk, Head Coach Bob Hohnadel, Kelly Klaine, Carmel Cowie, Lyndsay Daubert, Morgan Anderson, Jamie McCluskey, Jackie Daubert, Joey Modica, Nano Anderson, Sophie Jervis, Kelci Thomasco, Brenna McNiff, Coach Erica Lazarus.

(Front row) Paige Espy, Sabina Palmieri, Kim Ricketts, Meredith Anderson, Sydney Smith, Alice McCurdy, Lauren Colclasure,Ashley Witt, Jackie McIntosh.

(Not pictured: Jacquelyn Espy,Ali Colclasure, Catharine Drettman, Gabi Garcia, Carley Zahringer).

Boys’ Varsity Golf Team (Left to Right) Coach Chris Healy, Gabe Costa, Nick Provenzo,Taylor Szyndlar, Johnny DelPrete, Head Coach Toby Harbeck, Billy Bowling, Olin Browne, Connor Barry, Griffin Farris, Brant Peaper.

THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 17

Individual State Qualifiers 2005 - 2006

Mike O’Brien – State Runner-up Wrestling

TJ Strunk – State Runner-up Wrestling

Athletes Raising the Bar

Fran O’Brien – 5th Place Wrestling

Chris Petterson, Jack Nicklaus, Jason Tartaglia, Cory Chaplin (2 mile) 4 x 800 Relay Team Track and Field

Nano Anderson – High Jump Track and Field

Brenna McNiff – mile and 2 mile Track and Field 18 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

in TBS Sports

Kirsten Schooley – High Jump Track and Field

Gabi Garcia – 400M Track and Field

Brett Bitove – High Jump Track and Field JJ Bitove – High Jump Track and Field

Michael Edwards, Dan Stanton, Roy Warren, Oliver Basse (4th Place–200 Individual Medley) 400 Freestyle Relay Team Swimming

Grayson Patten – 13th Place Diving Jonathan Speed – State Diving Champion THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 19

A LUMNI S POTLIGHT

P UBLIC S ERVICE

Tom Rooney ’89: Serving Country and Community with Character

by Kathleen H.Aiello, Ed. D.

I

“I was offered the chance of a lifetime in the Army, teaching If the passion of a man’s ideals is Constitutional and Criminal Law at the United States Military any gauge of the quality of his charAcademy at West Point, New York,” said the military Captain. “There acter, Thomas Rooney ‘89 convincis no better honor than to teach the laws and foundations of our ingly measures top marks. country to the cadets at West Point.”

A staunch allegiance to country, Upon his return to Florida, Tom worked as an Assistant an unwavering dedication to chilAttorney General for Attorney General Charlie Crist. It was there he dren’s rights, a steadfast commitment initiated involvement with The Children’s Place at Home Safe. The to community and civic responsibilchild advocacy organization annually serves over 300 abused, negity, and an endearing regard of famlected, and abandoned children in the Palm Beach County area. ily define the aspirations of this class Despite his inexperience in social work, Tom’s unrelenting of 1989 TBS alumnus. desire to ensure children’s rights and guarantee their welfare led His pursuits thus far are making a him last year to take on the responsibility of leading the organizadifference — in law, the military, edution as its chief executive officer. He transformed the struggling cation, children’s issues, the commuagency into a viable community partner with a budget reflective of nity, and government. its means. Florida Governor Jeb Bush took note of Tom’s efforts and After graduating from The Benjamin School, Tom went on to appointed him to the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach complete his Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from County Board of Directors in Washington and Jefferson College January 2006. near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and “We provide a safe haven and returned to Florida to earn his “I like being part of somecommunity outreach care for chilMaster of Arts degree in Political dren impacted by child abuse, negScience from the University of thing that was a great time in lect, substance abuse, and family Florida. He continued his postmy life. I had a terrific violence,” explained the father of graduate education at the University three. of Miami School of Law where he experience in school. The It was a demanding year in received his J.D. and became a 2005 for the civically active Jupiter member of the Florida Bar in 1999. friends I met in ninth grade resident, with the Republican Club It was in law school, where when I moved here and came to of Jupiter-Tequesta electing him as Tom met his wife, Tara, also an their president. The Jupiter Sunrise attorney. Both served a four year Benjamin are my closest Kiwanis Club member also serves military duty as Captains in the friends today. We still get as the appointed Judge Advocate United States Army. As an for Tequesta’s American Legion appointee to the U.S. Army Judge together quite a bit.”

Post 271. Tom is also an advisory Advocate General’s Corps, Tom board member for Florida Atlantic served as Special Assistant U.S. University’s Honor College in Attorney in Fort Hood, Texas, prosJupiter. Yet the hard-working Benjamin graduate still finds time to ecuting all civilian crimes on post, gaining hundreds of convictions, serve an active role on the TBS Alumni Council. He also lends a and successfully prosecuting more than 10 trials in just over two hand to the Bucs varsity receivers as an assistant coach for the years. The couple earned Honorable Discharges for their military Buccaneer football squad. service. Tom was also awarded two Commendation Medals and “I like being part of something that was a great time in my life,” remains in the U.S. Army Inactive Ready Reserves.

20 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

explained Tom. “I had a terrific experience in school. The friends I met in ninth grade when I moved here and came to Benjamin are my closest friends today. We still get together quite a bit.”

“Participating on the Alumni Council has given me an opportunity to stay connected with the school,” he said. “I’m enjoying being part of the school’s future. I hope to have my own children attend TBS when they’re old enough.”

But civic involvement and political activity are nothing new to Tom, dating back to 1992 when he worked on the Bush-Quayle presidential campaign, in addition to being named an Eisenhower intern the following year at the Republican National Committee. He continued his political participation in Washington, D.C., working in the press department of Senator Connie Mack.

“There is still so much work to be done on the challenging issues facing our country,” said the determined 35-year old.

The esteem he holds for the legacy of his heritage, may account for the driving force of the dynamic young Rooney. Tom’s grandfather, Arthur J. Rooney Sr., of Pittsburgh was the grandson of Irish immigrants who settled in the rough North Side of Pittsburgh where the elder Rooney and his brothers literally fought their way out of poverty. He and his brother, Dan, were nationally recognized boxers as well as minor league baseball players.

In 1933, Art founded the Pittsburgh Steelers Football Club (originally the Pirates). The Rooney family has owned and operated the team ever since. Tom’s father, Patrick, has been a well-know businessman in Palm Beach County since 1969. He and his wife, Sandy, moved with their seven children from Pennsylvania to Florida full time in 1984.

Like his older brother, 1991 TBS alumnus Brian Rooney is a Captain in the U.S. Armed Services, and has served one tour of duty in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps. Older brother, Chris ’87, also graduated from The Benjamin School.

Their brother, Joe, whose two Middle School sons attend TBS, founded the popular Palm Beach County restaurant chain Rooney’s Public House where Benjamin graduates reconnect each year at Abacoa in Jupiter for their annual Alumni Holiday Party.

Tom was there in December, too, making certain not to miss the chance to celebrate with his fellow upper school classmates. In fact, since leaving his TBS alma mater 16 years ago, the record is clear. The child advocate, attorney, civic leader, and family man tackles each of his undertakings in a big way – with passion, conviction, and the character of Tom Rooney.

Our children, our community, and our school are better because of it. So is our country.

“Participating on the Alumni Council has given me an opportunity to stay connected with the school.

I’m enjoying being part of the school’s future.”

THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 21

A LUMNI S POTLIGHT

T HE A RTS

Allison Berry ’98x: Exploring the Lights of Broadway in the Magic of Disney Tokyo

by Kathleen H.Aiello, Ed. D.

“H

“Her voice is sweet and clear…She moves well, dances well and holds the stage with confidence...She has a winning presence and creates a strong connection with the audience.”

Rave reviews are in for Allison Berry’s ‘98x principal singing performance in the November 2005 production of In the Mood: The 1940s Jukebox presented at the Schoolhouse Theatre in Sanibel, Florida.

“The emotional impact of her White Cliffs of Dover set was powerful and thrilling,” said Karen Nelson, Managing Editor and arts critique for The Islander.

The classical vocalist has recently extended her musical theatre talents to audiences in Japan at the American Waterfront in Tokyo Disney’s Sea Park as a featured soprano in Encore! Allison takes to the Broadway Theatre stage five times daily with her fellow cast of a dozen singers and a 40-member dance troupe who dazzle audiences with a musical spectacle of New York City song and dance.

“I’m having the time of my life,” exclaimed Allison, now in her third of six months entertaining in Tokyo.

“We perform five days a week,” explained Allison. “The show is entirely in English and our Japanese audiences love it. Many are season pass holders and come to see us every day. It’s an exciting and spectacular display of costumes and staging done in Disney-like style so everyone gets the feel of Broadway right here in Tokyo.”

Allison’s mix of performing arts study and wide-range of staged performances has been key to the singer’s aspiring career.

The 26-year old performer earned her Master of Arts degree in classical vocal performance at New York University and went on to receive the university’s Artist Diploma in music theatre, both under the tutelage of voice instructor Jane Olian. She was the recipient of the Jan Peerce Voice Scholarship as well as the Graduate Leadership Award in voice, representing NYU in Florence, Italy in June 2003 at the University Leadership Conference. Allison also studied at Michigan State University as an undergraduate student, earning a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance.

There she performed in three of the university’s operas — Orpheus in the Underworld, The Marriage of Figaro, and Hansel and Gretel. She also played the role of Angelina in the musical theatre production of Trial by Jury. While in New York City, Allison’s professional productions included appearances at Black Box Theatre 22 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

(The Finishing School) and the Frederick Lowe Theatre (Parade and Street Scene). Allison has also performed musical theatre at Michigan’s Bay View Festival.

“I began to consider performing as a profession when I was a student at Benjamin with Mrs. [Sara] Salivar, explained Allison.

“Without a doubt, her one woman show exposed us to every aspect of performance — dancing, singing, acting and musicals. She arranged for me and many of us to get classical voice lessons from Demetra George who introduced me to a whole new level of singing.”

Allison was a familiar face on The Benjamin School Music Center stage, with performing roles in Bye Bye Birdie (Kim MacAfee), Into the Woods (Rapunzel), and West Side Story (Maria).

“The drama club was a great group,” recalled Allison. “Mrs. Salivar showed us how accepting we could be as students interested in performing arts. The productions were so much fun! I loved it!

Mrs. [Lynne] Feyk’s dance classes were terrific, too.”

Although Allison moved to Michigan with her family after her junior year, she hasn’t forgotten her roots, ands remains connected with TBS classmates as a frequent and active visitor on the alumni website. She also had a chance to visit with Mrs. Salivar and some of her former Benjamin theatre crowd in New York City two years ago at a regional reception held for the school’s graduates.

“I will always remember when I first came to Benjamin in eighth grade. Mr. [Richard] Benson taught me so many things in drama and the English class I had with him. He introduced me to acting when he cast me as King Creon in Antigone. Since I was a girl, he renamed me Queen Creon. That’s when my interest in performing began.”

Her interest never waned. Allison will soon leave the magical stardom of Disney Tokyo when she returns to New York this summer and takes up residence in Manhattan to move forward with her career. Just maybe, she may end-up on stage under the lights on Broadway.

A LUMNI S POTLIGHT

ATHLETICS

Ryan Craft ’02: Making the Mark at Georgetown

by Kathleen H.Aiello, Ed. D.

P

Perhaps no single family has been better represented on the Georgetown University athletic fields than the Craft clan from Jupiter, Florida.

While twin brothers, 5-foot-11 sophomores Brent (TBS ’04) and Darren (TBS ’04) Craft completed their second season this year as fixtures on the Blue and Gray football squad, older brother 22-year old Ryan Craft, a First Team Big East first baseman, has been finishing his fourth and final season on the Hoya baseball diamond. The class of 2002 Benjamin alumnus and 14 Year Club member also posted a 3.30 GPA his junior year as a Finance/Management major at the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university located in Washington, D.C. The impressive athletic and academic performance of the 6-foot-4, 220 pound slugger, has not gone unnoticed. ESPN the Magazine named Ryan a District II Academic All-American, selected by CoSida. Big East named Ryan Player of the Week (March 21-27) during the 2005 baseball season after the Dean’s List junior scored six runs and batted .500 with seven RBI and three home runs, including the game winner in the 12 inning victory over Notre Dame that snapped Georgetown’s 24 game losing streak with the Fighting Irish.

As Team MVP in 2005 hitting .335 with a .598 slugging percentage, the Big East Academic All-Star ranked among the team's top-five batters, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI, doubles, home runs and total bases. In Georgetown’s 20-5 game-winning victory over St. Peter’s, Ryan scored five runs to set the single season record. His game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth nailed the Hoya’s come-from-behind victory over Coppin State. Ryan scored three runs, batted 4-4, adding two home runs and four RBI. Ryan finished the year with 13 home runs and 48 RBI for a remarkable 2005 baseball season, more than enough to be named to the Big East preseason team – an honor reserved for only 15 players from the Big East Conference.

Ryan is completing another record-setting season, starting the majority of games in the designated hitter slot and leading the Georgetown team at the plate with game-winning feats, like the Hoya 12-7 win over George Mason in late February. The Georgetown senior pounded two home runs, including a grand slam in the second and a two-run shot in the sixth, to drive in seven runs and a tie for the university record for the most RBI in a Hoya game since 1991.

“It’s amazing in baseball and especially in hitting, if you can make two or three small adjustments, then things just click and you figure it out,” explained Ryan when asked of his batting success.

“I have been devoting all of my time to a single sport at college,” said Ryan, who was a three-sport varsity athlete at TBS in baseball, football, and basketball. He earned seven varsity letters as a Buccaneer, and The Palm Beach Post named him All-Area in both baseball and football.

“I’ve had some good college coaches,” explained Ryan. “But nothing compares to the sense of drive and willingness to sacrifice that I learned from Coach Ron Ream when I played Bucs football. His influence has been a force in my training and conditioning. The dis-

cipline I learned playing football helped me to get up early to study. Coach Ream is one of the most respected men I have ever met. Whenever I come home, I head to the Benjamin weight room to lift and to see him."

“I’m fortunate to have had that experience and to be at Georgetown,” said Ryan. “I decided to go to Georgetown because my father went here, and it’s one of the top 20 university’s in the country academically. I also wanted to see D.C. I was drawn to a separate business school that would get me into finance. I’ve always had a desire to get to Wall Street.”

Plenty of hard work coupled with the right choice has paid off.

Ryan recently accepted an offer from Merrill Lynch in New York City.

He is scheduled to begin his financial career in July as a bond trader, trading mortgage back securities for the international investment firm.

“Baseball is one of those things that you can never predict because of the improbability of making it to the majors,” he said. “But if there’s one thing in life you can predict, it’s going to school, getting a good education and lining up the right job after it.”

Yet Ryan has not ruled out turning away baseball in planning his strategy for the future.

“If I have the kind of season that I did last year and possibly get drafted in June,” he said, “I’ll chase the dream for as long as it makes sense.”

Whatever course he picks, with his combined academic accomplishments and athletic record set thus far, Ryan may have already leaped a stride ahead on the path to reach his dreams - an obvious prediction that plainly heralds nothing but just good old common sense.

Although it may take a few adjustments, as Ryan sees it, “things just click and you figure it out.”

THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 23

Reflections of the School ’s Early Years

by Lisa Arline (NPBPS ’68)

T

The Benjamin School has been a major part of my life since age five when I began attending the school as a kindergartner in 1961.

The school was then named the North Palm Beach Private School and there was only a kindergarten class. The next year, a first grade was added and each year an additional grade until we were sixth graders. The school went up to only the sixth grade for many years until they started to add classes eventually leading to what is now the Middle and Upper Schools.

Mr. Benjamin taught us how to read as kindergarteners in Room 1, which is now the Head of School office. We learned to read using the Carden method just as the students do today. We were awarded diplomas in June after successfully completing the kindergarten program.

I have so many wonderful memories of my elementary school years. We had an orchestra instead of band and I played the violin. I was never very good at reading music, but I would go home and practice and could play the songs by ear. For performances, the girls would wear long dresses and the boys wore jackets and ties. We didn’t wear uniforms to school, and girls wore dresses or skirts every day. Mr. and Mrs. B. (as we affectionately called them) firmly believed that the way a student dressed directly affected how he or she behaved. Back then, all the grades changed classes for the various subjects.

We had different teachers for Carden, math and science, French (at that time Spanish was not offered), geography, music and art. Mrs. Shick, who taught at the 24 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

Upper School, was my art teacher. She would come to our classroom pushing a shopping cart filled with all of her supplies. I remember memorizing Lincoln’s Gettysburg address for history class and memorizing poetry for Mrs. B. My favorite poem was Stopping

by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost.

Since we were the first class of students to come through the school, we were safety patrols for two years – in both 5th and 6th grades. I still have both of my safety patrol pins. We went to Washington D.C. on the train in 6th grade. The trip took 20 hours.

We brought a blanket and slept in our seats. Mr. B. stayed awake all night because people would wander through our train car on their way to the dining car. We stayed at the Harrington Hotel. My favorite patrol duty was morning patrol out in the front of the school where there was a big white fence. There were no condos across the street, only trees and bushes. We would

Freshly planted foliage and tree seedlings surrou of the North Pa nd the marker lm Beach Priva te School (later The Benjamin Sc remained hool) captured in this early im age by the school’s fro nt entrance.

The Palm Beach Post announces the names of 80 four and five-year-old diploma recipients from North Palm Beach Private School at the school’s 1962 awards ceremony.

THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 25

bring bread to feed the scrub jays that would come and eat right out of our hands.

I remember becoming a member of the Audubon Society after going on bird watching expeditions and identifying 100 different species of birds. Mr. B. loved nature and the campus was inviting to all types of wildlife (from a family of red foxes to Pileated woodpeckers). Our science teacher even rescued two baby opossums whose mother had been hit by a car and we took care of them in class. One boy, named Tim Jones, took them home when they got too big for the classroom, house trained them and had them eating dog food out of dog bowls.

We would then proceed to the football field. After the parade, we would go to a nearby neighborhood and trick or treat for UNICEF (a charitable organization for children). We kept our costumes on all day.

At the end of the school year, we would have a beach party.

This has evolved into the 5th grade pool party at the North Palm Beach Country Club. In June, at the end of 6th grade, a graduation ceremony was held in the auditorium at Howell Watkins Jr. High School. It was a proud moment as we all received diplomas as students of the first graduating class of the North Palm Beach Private School.

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin truly cared about each and every student. They instilled in us a love of learning, a sense of respect for ourselves and others and the feeling that each one of us was an important, unique individual.

After attending college, and majoring in Foreign Language Education – French, of course, I came back to see Mr. B about a teaching job. Twenty-five years later, to me, The Benjamin School is still a very special place.

rth s of No ssmate s are la c d n s ft) a g cla from le duatin in this second th grade gra and faculty w o r t ix s in n t o s m r r F rline ( te School’s fi arshall Benja oto. erste A a M ss ph Lisa K ch Priv Co-founder a e ade cla B Palm fifth gr chool 7 S 6 9 h 1 it dw 1966 – picture

We had track and field day after school instead of Olympics.

We trained for a few days before the final competition. My favorite event was the high jump.

Halloween was a special day.

Mr. B. would lead the parade by taking his kindergarten students through each classroom.

They would wind their way around the room, with everyone admiring one another’s costumes and then that class would join the end of the parade and they would continue on to the next room until they had been through all the classrooms.

Successful completion of North Palm Beach Private School’s first kindergarten class program is documented in Lisa Anne Kerste’s 1962 Certificate of Promotion.

Editor’s Note: The author, a Benjamin School Master Teacher, is now in her 28th teaching year at the school. She composed this account for TBS fourth graders and relayed it to them at their 2002 Founder’s Day class assembly.

The traditional ringing of the school bell signals the start of classes on the campus of North Palm Beach Private School.

26 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

ALUMNI REPORT FROM THE FIELD

A View from: An Entrepreneur

by Noah Weiss ’03

C

urrently I am studying at the Goizueta another employee, who else but a fellow Benjamin alum applied to Business School at Emory University, but work, not for pay but for his zest to gain experience in an entrepreI have been an entrepreneur all my life. neurial setting. These are the kind of students that attend The Unfortunately, for the majority of my academic Benjamin School. career I was sent to the wrong school. I have Academically, Benjamin was a wake up call. Prior to Benjamin, I always challenged the status quo, and it wasn’t took AP English and received mostly A’s. When I transferred to until I was sent to Benjamin that I was able to Benjamin, I decided to take regular English and, to my surprise, put my ideas into action. Benjamin fostered my received a D on my first paper. Benjamin’s high standards helped me entrepreneurial spirit, prepared me for the academic rigor of college, grow as a writer and, more generally, as a student. I would say that and gave me abundant networking opportunities. my senior year at Benjamin was more academically rigorous than my I entered Benjamin my secfreshman year at Emory, which ond semester junior year and is ranked in the top 20 of all found a quality of character and “I have always challenged the national universities. ambition that I never knew In addition, Benjamin prostatus quo, and it wasn’t until existed outside of myself. The vided me with the opportunity students were far more mature to network with top professionI was sent to Benjamin that I was als in their respective fields and and intellectual than the students at my previous school. As a chance to see them in a perable to put my ideas into action. a result, I formed stronger, more sonal setting. Through meeting meaningful relationships with new friends and speaking with Benjamin fostered my these students in my brief tenure their parents, I gained a better entrepreneurial spirit, prepared understanding of what career at Benjamin than with my friends I had since second choices I wanted to make. me for the academic rigor of grade. With the school’s supBecause of these networking port and the help of my new opportunities, I realized I college, and gave me abundant friends, we created the Benjamin wanted to concentrate in Real School crew team. The venture Estate, Finance, and New networking opportunities.” was short lived, but that is not Venture Management at the the point. We created someGoizueta Business School. thing new, and Benjamin didn’t hold us down, it supported us.

In ten years, I feel that I will look at my time at Benjamin as one Currently I own a company called I Need Groceries! Inc. It is a of the most valuable experiences of my life and one from which I will start-up and we aren’t making much money, but it is an amazing still benefit. I hope that one day my children will share that same experience. When my business partner and I decided to take on experience.

THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 27

A View from: A University Newspaper Editor

by Marissa Newhall ‘03

“Taking initiative and not being afraid to seize opportunities, things I’ve learned again and again at TBS and beyond, have been two of my most crucial keys to success.”

T

he best part of being in a city is the opportunity to have front-row tickets to history in the making — even if you’re not on the lookout for it. Such has been the theme of my experiences in Washington, D.C., since graduating from TBS in 2003. Although I wasn’t sure what to major in when I came to American University, I eventually gravitated toward communication, specifically journalism, photography and social documentary production. At the end of my sophomore year, I was hired as managing editor for arts and features at my school newspaper, The Eagle, and spent the summer writing freelance articles for local D.C. newspapers to make some extra cash while taking classes. I also spent a semester interning at USA Today, where I wrote nine articles that were published in the paper’s Life section, and have won a handful of awards and scholarships for my writing and active participation in both student and local media.

It was when I returned to classes this past fall that the largest campus news story in AU’s recent history broke — the university president, Benjamin Ladner, was being investigated by the board of trustees for allegedly spending hundreds of thousands of university dollars on personal expenses. The issue polarized our campus, driving students to protest and pointing out glaring inefficiencies in the university’s governance.

Along with reporters from The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Associated Press and The Chronicle of Higher Education, I staked out the board meeting that would decide Ladner’s fate in early October 2005. Even more exhilarating was the press conference that followed, where board members announced that Ladner had been fired. My resulting article made The Eagle’s front page and earned a Mark of Excellence award from the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Taking initiative and not being afraid to seize opportunities, things I’ve learned again and again at TBS and beyond, have been two of my most crucial keys to success. Covering breaking news, like the Ladner firing, or writing in-depth profiles of ordinary, everyday people both appeal to me because I love the feeling that I’ve told someone’s story well, so other people may learn from it or be moved to affect change in their own lives. As next year’s editor-in-chief of The Eagle, I hope to share the satisfaction of writing for justice and change with a new crop of aspiring freshmen, in the hopes they, too, can learn the merit of covering history in the making.

“I hope to share the satisfaction of writing for justice and change with a new crop of aspiring freshmen, in the hopes they, too, can learn the merit of covering history in the making.”

28 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

A View from: A College Transfer Student

by Tracy Randall ‘04

T

hey say what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

Unfortunately, I had to learn this the hard way in 2005. When I graduated from Benjamin in May 2004, I thought I had it all figured out. I was leaving for Bloomington, Indiana, in August on a partial academic scholarship to attend Indiana University and its well known Kelley School of Business. Coincidentally, my best friend, Jourdan Levy ‘04, would be meeting me in Bloomington just a few days after I arrived.

Being from the Midwest (I moved to South Florida my junior year in high school), Indiana was a taste of “home” or what it used to be. Before I left for IU, I made a list of important insights that I had learned in the past few years (keep that competitive drive that Benjamin taught me; make sure to call home; don't fail out of school, etc.), knowing the importance of remembering the lessons I had learned.

For a number of reasons, Indiana turned out to not be the fabulous college experience I had hoped for. Don't get me wrong, I made some great friends in my first semester there and really great contacts through the business school that will continue to help me throughout my college career and beyond. I made a few mistakes, ones that I hadn’t foreseen. Being a 12-hour traveling day away from home didn’t turn out to be as fun as it sounds. Also, trying to get way too involved your first semester freshman year doesn’t always work out. These mistakes, along with a few situations that were out of my control, ultimately were the reason that in January 2005, I made the decision to move back to Jupiter.

Leaving Indiana was by far the hardest decision I have made thus far in my life. I didn't know if the positives outweighed the negatives or vice versa. I just knew that I wasn’t happy and didn’t know if I ever would be in Bloomington. My biggest fear in life is feeling that I have failed and succumbing to this unhappiness and deciding to come home was failure in my eyes. Had it not been for some real advice from family and friends, I’m still not sure I would have been strong enough to leave.

See, here’s what people don’t understand. When someone leaves college the way I did, they think that I took the easy way out.

Far from it. Deciding to leave was MUCH harder than deciding to stay. Not only did I have to deal with my fear of failing, I left my new friends to spend a semester at home by myself, not knowing where I would be in the fall. Hardest of all was telling Jourdan my decision, knowing that she strongly disagreed. What I didn’t know then was that sometimes you have to be miserable for a short while to be happy in the long run.

The first person I turned to when I got back to Jupiter was Mr. Lewis (TBS College Counselor). He welcomed me with open arms and promised that we would sort this mess out. After a few meetings, he suggested that I take a look at Florida State. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about FSU. From my two years at Benjamin,

I always had the impression that if you were to stay in Florida, UF was where you went. For some reason FSU had a lower status in my mind and I didn’t want to settle for just any school. As fate would have it, I ran into the president of Crafts & Stuff while at the doctor one day, a visit that truly changed everything for me.

She told me that unless I was going to an Ivy League school, it really didn’t matter where I received my Bachelor’s degree. She also let me know that from an employer’s perspective, Florida State was an excellent school, one that I would be mistaken to overlook.

Along with her great advice, she offered me an internship at Crafts & Stuff's corporate office for my time at home, an experience that I will never forget.

I have learned that things have a funny way of working out.

Had I not left Indiana, I wouldn’t have had the semester to intern in advertising at Crafts & Stuff. As a result of the money I made from this internship, I was able to spend a month backpacking through Europe with some of my best friends, Christina Vopal ‘04, Mike Iannotti ‘04, and Steve Kittrell ‘04 (all Benjamin alums). I moved to Tallahassee a few days after returning from Europe. Not only did my best friend since the age of four decide to transfer to FSU as well, she is now my roommate and sorority sister.

The moral of the story is that I’m still only 19 years old, and while I may think that I know everything, sometimes it’s ok to make mistakes. My advice to the class of 2006 is to learn from your mistakes, and if, like me, you think that you may have made the wrong decision in your college choice, it is ok to transfer.

In the end, I couldn’t imagine spending my college years anywhere else but Tallahassee. I can’t imagine my life without the amazing people I have met at FSU and the irreplaceable experiences that I've had. I am truly happy at FSU and it feels great. Go Noles!

THE BUCCANEER 2005 ❘ 29

A View from: A Hollywood Movie Assistant Director

by Anneke Scott ‘98

L

ife as an Assistant Director on any Hollywood set is not the typical job nor did I know it existed from my days at TBS. A simple page could not describe the training I must put in to become an Assistant Director (which has nothing to do with being a director). I work at least 14 hours a day and it can sometimes go to 20 hours or more on my feet.

There are different aspects to the ‘AD’ department on set. We are in charge of the actors, the background, safety, keeping to schedule, keeping on budget, passing updates around to other departments, and basically making sure that everyone else is doing their job to capture the director’s vision on the screen. Without getting into another language, there is a hierarchy and everyone is in charge of a particular aspect. Some shows I run the background, which can be two or three stand-ins on a soundstage (like for Spiderman Three), or 900 people for raining/outside/night scenes like in War of the Worlds. I could run basecamp (trailers for actors, hair/make-up, and wardrobe) where I greet the actors when they arrive and make sure they put on their costumes and get hair/make-up ready for camera.

It all is in preparation for becoming a 1st AD who stays by the director’s side in order to help him capture the shot. From my 14 years at TBS I was involved in so many activities I can’t count on hands and feet, but my favorite was the dance, Odyssey of the Mind, and drama programs. I knew I was made to be in the entertainment industry from teachers like Glenda Lovell and Sara Salivar believing in me. They pushed me so far knowing that I could do something before I knew I could. It just turns out that I was made to be right behind the camera instead of in front.

Becoming a good and wanted 1st AD in the town of Hollywood takes luck and a lot of brains. You have to think of everything that goes into that shot before that day happens. For example, I have to plan on telling special effects to bring the smoke machines, asking camera to order a Libra head Tech, schedule around an actor’s availability, cast 20 extras to be nuns for the interior police station, and tell the greenery department to hide the electric department’s generator for the single shot I am about to shoot, and those are just a few.

It will take me some years to get into the union and become a 1st AD, but the preparations have all been worth it. TBS prepared

30 ❘ THE BUCCANEER 2005

me for Vanderbilt University where I majored in Geology and minored in Economics and Music History. Nothing really to do with the Entertainment Industry but it helped coach me to become awesome at what I do and not just be someone who sits at a computer with a 9-5 job. I am on my feet all day and love every second. I have been so fortunate to have not only followed my dream but to be living the dream.

A View from: A Philosophy Professor

by Dr. Christian B. Miller ‘98

W

ow! It is amazing how the had hoped to focus on. I will spare you the details of graduate time has flown by since I seminars, philosophy conferences, teaching successes and failures, graduated from Benjamin in oral exams, publications, and the dissertation itself (roughly 400 1995! Currently I am a Professor of pages on morality and whether it is objective or merely created by Philosophy at Wake Forest University in human beings). But let me say that Notre Dame also proved to be Winston-Salem, North Carolina. But let a wonderful place, and not only did I come away with a much betme backtrack first and try to briefly ter understanding of philosophy, but I am also now a devoted summarize the past few years. (some would say fanatical) fan of the football team. Go Irish!

My experience at Benjamin was As luck (or perhaps providence) would have it, I was able to certainly non-traditional. I entered the school in the tenth grade, find a wonderful position as a professor of philosophy here at Wake and by my senior year was taking most of my classes at Palm Beach Forest University, which is only three hours away from where my Atlantic College. It was there that I first became exposed to philosparents now live in the mountains. My main concern these days ophy as I took three courses with a wonderful professor named is getting tenure, which requires excellence in the classroom as Dana Bible. Yet when I went off to Princeton for college, I still well as success publishing in philosophy. Fortunately I’ve been thought that I was going to be a biology major. But my experience able to get several papers accepted in good philosophy journals, in the lab and my continued attraction and an edited collection of papers in towards philosophy led me to change philosophy of religion by one of my my major by sophomore year.

“The great teachers I had former mentors will be published this The great teachers I had at year by Oxford University Press. at Benjamin, especially Benjamin, especially Mr. Fitch and Mr. One of the great things about and Mrs. Wissner, prepared me very being a philosophy professor is that Mr. Fitch and Mr. and well for the demands of Princeton. But each day is filled with highly stimulatsurprisingly, it wasn’t the academic Mrs. Wissner, prepared me ing ideas and people. Just to give you experience that I cherish the most from a sense of what an average Tuesday is my time there, but rather the friends I very well for the demands like this semester, I will come into the made and the wonderful times we had office at 9 a.m. or so in order to check of Princeton.” together. Contrary to the stereotypes I e-mail and print out my handouts for know everyone has heard, the people the day. Then I will go from there to I met at Princeton tended to be very my regular meeting with my independdown to earth, friendly, sociable, and caring. Admittedly, everyone ent study students who are working on religious ethics (sample worked really hard (one of my roommates was an extreme examtopic for the day: just-war theory versus pacifism), and then to a sesple; a physics major, he was up at 8 a.m. only to return home from sion of introduction to philosophy (on, say, the meaning of life), folthe lab at 5 a.m. the next morning!), but we also had lots of fun lowed by my class on ethical theory (we just finished up playing pool or talking late into the night. I never really appreciutilitarianism), and finally to a meeting with my honor thesis student ated college until it was over, but my four years at Princeton were who is writing on the death penalty. After that, there might be a certainly the best years of my life. faculty discussion group, or myself and some philosophy majors If someone wants to continue doing philosophy after college, might play bughouse, a variant of chess using two boards and four then there is only one option, and that is graduate school. Early on people. as a philosophy major I knew that I wanted to become a professor, After more e-mail, some perusing of Notre Dame football weband by my senior year I had my heart set on Notre Dame. Not only sites, and a little research, I will head home and unwind with is it one of the best places to study philosophy in general, but it is dinner and American Idol. Not a bad day! ranked first in the world for philosophy of religion, which is what I

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