Culver Summer/Fall 2018
Alumni Magazine
The Ripple Effect…
FR O M THE E D I T O R
“Making Ripples into Waves of Difference” At key touchpoints in our lives, we stop and wonder what impact we have had on other people and who has had the most impact on us. Sometimes the people are obvious, but in other cases, less so, more like multiple people whose presence and words stir us to act or think differently. Our actions, like stones that are cast into the water, create ripples whose boundaries are infinite — who knows where they will end? Mother Teresa captured this sentiment when she said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” The theme for this issue focuses on that ripple effect, reflected in the lead article on merit or distinguished scholarships, the first of which was established in 1999 by Frank Batten ’45. He had a vision of what this kind of scholarship could do to transform young lives, first by giving them access to a Culver education and then paying that forward and making the world a better place by becoming responsible global citizens. Taking Batten’s lead, other merit scholarships followed in 2007 with the Duchossois Family
Scholars, the George Roberts ‘62 Leadership scholarship in 2008 and the Huffington Scholars in 2010 literally covering the United States from coast to coast with unique merit scholarship opportunities. No other independent school can lay claim to that feat. I had the privilege of serving on both the original Batten Committee from 1999-2007 and then chairing the newly established Duchossois Committee from 2007-2016. It was a transformative experience for all involved—faculty, staff, students, candidates and parents. It provided an opportunity for: • faculty from various academic and staff departments to represent their discipline and be collegially involved together in shaping the student body through close study of candidate files, lively discussion and consensus. • current student scholars to assist in conducting the strengths activities with candidates, sitting with them at dinner, engaging them and their parents in conversation, welcoming candidates and their families on interview day and giving their verbal and written feedback on whom they thought should join their ranks as new scholars.
• two junior students each year to become full voting committee members on the Duchossois and Roberts committees • parents learning more about how a Culver education can literally transform their child’s life — and their own — for a lifetime But what I remember most is the ripple effect that happened with each distinguished scholarship, beginning with the donor’s generous gift, the stone that dropped into the water and began the first concentric circle. The selection process, witnessing the trajectory of growth in all scholars, tracking their careers, visiting with them at reunions and keeping in touch. In each scholar, the ripple has grown wider and more expansive, but not just in what career they chose or how much money they earn. It is the Culver education that they carry within them as their moral compass: the integrated development of mind, body and spirit which prepared them for the 21st century world as leaders and global citizens. They are comfortable in a world of flux and can navigate their way without fear. Failure is not an endpoint but rather just another chance to learn. Their optimism keeps the
“spirit of Culver” alive. The scholarship article focuses on the nearly 20 years of the distinguished scholarships and the lasting impact they have had and continue to have on the scholars. But impact is not limited to those who earn scholarships. The Class of 2018 has cast their collective stone in the water and are heading off to colleges around the U.S. and the world, some pursuing gap years to explore other cultures or passions before going to college and other attending service academies. Tom Thornburg, one of Culver’s most respected faculty members and mentors, retired after 40 years of service to Culver, leaving an enduring legacy of leadership and teaching for his Spanish students, colleagues and faculty interns. The re-christening of the R H. Ledbetter this July has had an important impact on hundreds of sailing students, who credit it with teaching them leadership and life lessons. It is all of these collective stones that are cast into the water, creating the ripples that become the waves that change lives. — Kathy Lintner
Culver Alumni Magazine
HEAD OF SCHOOLS Jim Power, Ed.D.
CONTENTS
ADVANCEMENT OFFICE Chief Advancement Officer Holly Johnson
ALUMNI RELATIONS Director Alan Loehr Jr. Legion President Lara Smith Nicholson ‘86 Delray Beach, Florida CSSAA President N. Merritt Becker N ’83 Zionsville, Indiana Culver Clubs International President Charles Osborne ‘88 Atlanta, Georgia
COMMUNICATIONS Editor/Culver Alumni Magazine Kathy Lintner Asst. Director/Publications Jan Garrison Advancement Communications Manager Mike Petrucelli Digital Media Manager Trent Miles Museum Curator Jeff Kenney
A World of Difference One Scholarship at a Time
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Four distinguished scholarship donors have created a ripple effect on the next generation of leaders, who are making a difference in the world by riding those ripples as they become waves.
DEVELOPMENT Director/Annual Fund K. Megan MacNab Bekker ‘87
INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR Tony Giraldi ’75
MAGAZINE DESIGN & EDITORIAL CONSULTING Scott Adams Design Associates
PHOTOGRAPHY
Our Next Wave — Class of 2018 The Culver Legion welcomed 214 more members when the Class of 2018 passed through the Graduation Arch and the Iron Gate. Find out where they are going to college and who picked up the top senior awards.
Lew Kopp ‘71 W’66, Mo Morales, Jan Garrison, Trent Miles, iStock
PRINTING AND MAILING West-Camp Press
Culver (USPS 139-740) is published by The Culver Educational Foundation, 1300 Academy Road, Culver, Indiana 46511-1291. Opinions are those of the authors, and no material may be reproduced without the editor’s written consent. Postmaster, please send change of address notice to Culver Alumni Office, 1300 Academy Road #132, Culver, Indiana 46511-1291.
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Volume 94 / Issue 3 / Summer / Fall 2018
Ledbetter re-christening, 75th Moonlight Serenade highlights of summer This summer saw two touchstone events: the re-christening of the newly-overhauled and remodeled Ledbetter, and the 75th anniversary of the beloved event to which it’s integral: the Moonlight Serenade.
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Graduate of the Year, Brian Reichart ’68 Brian Reichart ‘68 and his family have grown Red Gold from a small tomato canning plant in central Indiana into one of the largest food processing businesses in the country.
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Departments
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i From the Editor 42 Sporting News 46 Alumni Class News 50 Culver Clubs International 54 In Memoriam
A Joyfully Fulfilled Career Tom Thornburg, the lone faculty member retiring in 2018 after spending his entire 40-year career at Culver, reflects on his journey.
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THE
MISSION
Culver educates its students for leadership and responsible citizenship in society by developing and nurturing the whole individual – mind, spirit, body – through an integrated curriculum that emphasizes the cultivation of character.
Early signs visible of a campus growth spurt
Construction crews will be working through the fall installing new steam lines.
Culver Academies is in the early stages of a major growth spurt. With the addition of two new barracks, a new lakeside Shack, leadership center and student services center, you can anticipate seeing the campus landscape change quite a bit over the next several months. The first piece of the puzzle is underway right now. Modernizing the old steam heating system is the first step Culver is taking this fall. The new steam pipes are being installed throughout campus, starting from the powerhouse and running to the Uniform Department to the Music & Arts Building, Lay Dining Hall, and the barracks, dorms, and academic buildings on Manuel Green.
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With the existing pipes showing their age, it has become necessary to replace them as soon as possible. The pipes are not small and the trenches to install them are not either. This work will mean temporarily losing parking, closing sections of Academy Road and blocking off campus sidewalks periodically. While there is no definite timetable yet, preparations are also underway for a series of new building projects. This will include the Lauridsen Barrack for Band, the Roberts Barrack for Troop, the Reichart Shack along the lake, the Schrage Leadership Center near Eppley Auditorium, and the Student Services Center.
This period of impressive growth is due to the generosity of our dedicated alumni.The work has been discussed for years, and now it is close to becoming a reality.
• The Brian L. Reichart ’68 Shack will include a dining room, serving counter, and an outdoor patio overlooking Lake Maxinkuckee. It will be located near the lake between the Huffington Library and the Dicke Hall of Mathematics. This period of impressive growth is due to the generosity of our dedicated alumni. The work has been discussed for years, and now it is close to becoming a reality. But, as everyone knows, this work will also be messy. Officials hope everyone will be patient and understanding. – Jan Garrison Highlights will include: • The new two-story Lauridsen Barrack that will house 72 bandsmen and be located next to the Music & Arts Building, which will be renovated in the future. The barrack will be built on the site of the current Post Office, which will move to a new addition as part of the Student Services Center. • The student services center will be located in the lower level of the Lay Dining Center. It will include a new barber shop, The Rubin Café, Information Technologies help center and Creative Services. The Campus Store will remain. • The three-story Roberts Barrack will provide housing for up to 56 Troopers in Troop A and Troop B. It will be constructed between North Barrack and Fleet Gymnasium.
CULVER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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DEV EL O PM E N T N E W S
Culver’s Energized Day of Giving Exceeds all Expectations Trying something new, even when it’s well and confidently planned, still carries with it an element of risk and uncertainty. But in the case of Culver’s first Day of Giving on April 18, it was a risk that turned out to be well worth taking. “The response exceeded expectations on so many levels,” said Megan MacNab Bekker ’87, director of the Culver Fund. “Not only in the number of gifts — where we almost doubled our goal — but also the financial and affinity side. It was a wonderful representation of the love of our school, the belief in the Culver mission and what we do here for the kids.” Culver’s Day of Giving tallied 2,824 gifts, nearly twice the original goal of 1,550. It raised more than $1.31 million from those gifts, with an average gift of $265. Of those gifts, 327 were from new donors. The number of gifts beat many private schools and several small colleges. Bekker added that the total dollar amount is second only to Exeter in amount given for a secondary school. While parent giving posted a record participation rate of 87 percent, the success of the day is shared equally by alumni, faculty and staff, students, parents and friends of Culver. “It was amazing to see the campus come together — the staff, the faculty, the students, our volunteers,” Bekker said. “They made this happen and executed flawlessly.” As morning turned to afternoon, the Senior Class of 2018 delivered a Ziploc bag full of money collected from 100 percent of its class members to the command post in the Naval Building. That total number of gifts put the day over the initial goal of 1,550 gifts. Parents, faculty and staff also played a major role throughout the day, from making phone calls, engaging with the students to sign “Thank A Giver” postcards and contributing their own financial support. The facilities department deserves a special nod, Bekker added, with its 100 percent participation encouraged by a match from the department’s director.
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Bekker also credited the heavy use of social media with building awareness about the Day of Giving and the engagement of the Culver community to its success. The short features on current instructors and retired faculty showed the importance of giving to those who make the impressions on our students for years to come. “The excitement building throughout the day on social media and with the volunteers on the phone creating buzz — and having fun! — was outstanding,” Bekker said. The enthusiasm was infectious, energizing everyone connected with Culver, no matter their role. “Many thanks are due to the Trustees and our Senior Leadership Staff for having faith in the team and supporting this new endeavor, particularly our Chief Advancement Officer, Holly Johnson. We chose Day of Giving to replace three other appeals. We didn’t know what the outcome would be and they all supported this trial direction.” Bekker had an especially warm thank you for the students who wrote, directed and produced a special Day of Giving video. The student-created video was a service project led by second classman Kenneth Ezeaduigwu (Frisco, Texas) and junior Chase Cortes (Chicago, Illinois). From the original lyrics, the directing, filming and editing, “This was a vessel for the kids to share their passion, talent and voice about Culver in their own words as well as expand their personal development,” Bekker said. Bekker thanked the lead donors, the alumni ambassadors, faculty, staff, and student volunteers who worked the day of the event and assisted in the seven months of planning leading up to April 18, 2018. Given the results of the event, Bekker says, “Stay tuned for DOG19!”
— Mike Petrucelli
Day of Giving by the Numbers Total gifts:
2,824
(goal 1,550)
Total dollars:
$1,310,495 Average gift:
$265
(Does not include lead donor gifts.)
New donors:
327 Parent giving achieved a record
87% participation.
Smart Planning Helps Class of 1968’s Reunion Gift Set Record Culver parades often feature something known as “officers center,” with the explanation that this particular portion of a review was used for the commander to pass information to the officers in the corps for further distribution as needed. While it often appears ceremonial now, the underlying principle was not lost on the Class of 1968 for its 50th Reunion. The Reunion giving for the class set a record at $25,094,602. That is second only to the Class of 1962’s record of $33 million, and the highest Reunion gift total for a class that did not receive a Batten Leadership Challenge match during Culver’s By Example campaign.
The leadership team supported the fundraising efforts for the Gordon Delk Scholarship with a matching challenge. Doug Scholz was the impetus behind the original scholarship to honor Delk, establishing it at the class’s 25th reunion. When word of the plans to expand the scholarship began to circulate, that first matching goal of $50,000 was reached almost immediately, Mayo said, with a larger, $250,000 goal reached soon after. In the end, the class raised just over $1 million for the scholarship in its reunion year.
it also topped by a significant amount, marking a total of nearly $690,000 for the Culver Fund. “These guys accomplished something by not only raising a significant amount for their class scholarship, but also the Culver Fund,” Mayo said. “When the 50th class makes its Culver Fund goal, it puts the school in a good place to make its overall Culver Fund goals and accomplish the Culver Mission.”
And one of the main reasons the class achieved this mark goes back to that purpose of an officers center. Early on in the planning for the 50th (in fact, right after the 45th class reunion concluded), the leadership among the class — president Platt Hill; reunion chair John Chipman; communications chair Marshall Alworth; special gift chair Ron Rubin; gift chair Michael Spensley; Paul Much; and Kent Woodard — began discussing a plan for the 50th. “They started early,” said Thomas Mayo ’75, the class liaison for 1968. “They began to plan and build their organization four years ago.” When those talks started, it was clear that the motivation was not simply dollars and cents or breaking a record. The leadership focused on getting as many people back to Culver as they could. In the end, 79 classmates made the trip — not the record but very close — to Culver for the 50th. On the fundraising front, an early focal point was the Class of 1968’s scholarship, established in memory of classmate Gordon Delk, who died of cancer in 1972. The decision was made early on that the scholarship would be expanded to not only continue to honor Delk’s memory, but also to memorialize all deceased classmates from 1968.
Culver’s Class of 1968 at their fiftieth reunion.
“I think they really came together on that out of a desire to honor the memory of their deceased classmates,” Mayo said, “but they also decided ‘We’d really like to have a lasting memory of the class as a whole at Culver.’ “As a result, there were a lot of gifts where people stepped up more than they had in the past because they wanted to honor their deceased classmates.” Annual giving was another focus for the class, which set a $500,000 goal, which
And when the final count was made, it was clear that having those commitments from the class early in the process was key. “That was due in part to the person to person conversations,” Mayo said. “They had a leadership group that was invested in the whole process. As the conversations accelerated, and the success continued happening, it just built on itself.”
— Mike Petrucelli
CULVER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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75th & Ledb high
h Moonlight Serenade better re-christening hlight Culver Summer. Two separate touchstone sailing events celebrate both a well-loved Culver tradition and the refurbishing of that tradition’s classic sailing vessel.
The R.H. Ledbetter is the focus of the Ann M. Smitson Moonlight Serenade.
I
f there’s one iconic visual for campers, staff, and visitors to Culver Summer Schools & Camps alike, it’s the majestic sight of the R.H. Ledbetter, the largest three-masted schooner on inland waters in the U.S. and the flagship of the Culver Summer Naval School. This summer saw two touchstone events in the life of the great boat: the re-christening of the newly-overhauled and remodeled Ledbetter, and the 75th anniversary of the beloved event to which it’s integral: the Moonlight Serenade. The initial inspiration for the boat came from its namesake, U.S. Navy Commander Orie W. Fowler, head of the Naval School until his death in 1942. After its construction by master builder Bud Craft in Culver’s boat house, the original, wood-hulled schooner hit Maxinkuckee waters in 1941. Left: Betty Ledbetter walks out to the R.H. Ledbetter with Rev. Dr. Sam Boys and Commander Joe Hanko.
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…the event struck an especially poignant tone as Betty Ledbetter, the late Bob Sr.’s wife, christened the schooner just as she had done 34 years earlier.
From left, Culver Superintendent Ralph Manuel, Betty Ledbetter and her son David at the 1984 christening of the ship.
Betty Ledbetter took the first swing during the re-christening. She then received help from her grandson, Bob III.
Deck 4 counselor, attended the Ledbetter rechristening and recalled their respective mothers attending the 1984 christening. They were Margaret (Hess) Greg SS’82 and Kim Green SS’77. At the rechristening, Hannah and Gwen even recreated their mothers’ photo from 34 years earlier, one more example of the ever-present blend of the growth and evolution of Culver with its continuity of cherished traditions and legacies.
Two years later, Culver Band Director Col. Edward Payson ’22 initiated what would become a statewide phenomenon with the debut of the Moonlight Serenade (today the Ann M. Smitson Moonlight Serenade), during which the Fowler hosted the Naval Band as the ship cruised along the lake’s shores. The family of R.H. Ledbetter N’51 ‘54 came to the rescue. This time, the ship’s hull would be made of steel and it boasted a new Cummins diesel engine. In July, 1984, the Ledbetter family was on hand to christen the queen of the Maxinkuckee fleet. In 2017, the Ledbetter’s hull was once again in need of an overhaul, and its namesake family stepped up. The boat was overhauled and returned in time for a gala rechristening July 13, this time with 16 Ledbetter family members — including nine grandchildren — present. Bittersweet in the absence of Bob Sr., who died last year, the event struck an especially poignant tone as Betty Ledbetter, the late Bob Sr.’s wife, christened the schooner just as she had done 34 years earlier. Two multi-generational Culver families also shared the bridge between two landmark moments in the life of CSSC. Hannah Bartholomew SS’11, a senior counselor in Deck 7, and Gwen Gregg SS’15, an assistant
Betty Ledbetter aboard the Ledbetter with twin granddaughters, Harper and Virginia.
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CULVER CLASS OF
52
SPRING 2018
2018 GRADUATION
CULVER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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BURNS, McCABE NAMED TOP SCHOLARS Benjamin Burns (New Carlisle, Ind.) was named the valedictorian and Sarina McCabe (South Bend, Ind.) the salutatorian for the Class of 2018. Burns and McCabe each received the Jonas Weil Award, a monetary award established by the 1954 alumnus, which honors the top two academic students of each graduating class. A Batten Scholar while at Culver, Burns will be attending Purdue University on The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, which is administered by the St. Joseph Sarina McCabe County Community Foundation. The four-year, full-tuition scholarships are presented to Indiana students who will be attending any accredited public or private college or university in Indiana. Burns was also a National Merit Scholarship winner and received the Scholarship Medal for maintaining the highest cumulative grade point average (4.00) in Culver Military during his first and second class years at Culver, as well as the Excellence in Chinese Award and Science Medal. McCabe will be attending Emory University on an academic full scholarship. She received the Mary Frances England Humanitarian Award and the C.S.Young Award. She was a co-winner of the Alfred J. Donnelly Scholastic Award for maintaining highest grade point average (3.99) in Culver Girls Academy over the past two years. She shared the honor with Shuning Chen (Zhengzhou, China). Other students recognized for their scholastic achievements included: Charles Mahoney (Cumming, Ga.) received the McDonald Award. Established by E.C. McDonald (1915), the award is given to the graduating cadet who by his individual work, example, and inspiration has contributed most to the betterment of cultural life at Culver. Charlotte Root (Indianapolis) received the Hughes Award. The award is given in honor of Arthur G. Hughes, the first chairman of the Fine Arts Department, to the graduating CGA senior who has revealed exceptional concern for cultural life on campus.
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Adam Davis (Granger, Ind.) received the VanZandt Key, named in honor of Richard K.VanZandt ’28. The award recognizes the cadet who has increased awareness among the Corps of the importance of moral and spiritual values. Will LeVan (Newton, Kan.) received the YMCA Cup, which is presented to the cadet who best exemplifies the ideals of Culver, as chosen by the faculty. Molly Kubaszyk (LaPorte, Ind.) received the Superintendent’s Bowl, which is presented to a CGA graduate whose leadership example, influence, and total record of achievement has brought honor to Culver and herself. Burns, McCabe, Root, LeVan and 19 other graduates were inducted into the Culver Academies chapter of The Cum Laude Society, a national honorary academic society founded in 1906. The Culver chapter was chartered in 1925. Others inducted include Theodore Batson, Michael Bocker, Kyle Dane, Jiayi Fan, Helen Johnston, Sean Kim, Tanner Koch, Georgiy Kozak, William Benjamin Burns Kuhl, Chaeyeong Lee,Yuchen Li,Ved Mehta, Della McDougal, Uchechukwu Nnate, Brock Paul, Rory Sever, Hang Shi, Himanshu Umare, and Kazybek Yermegiyayev. Also recognized were 14 seniors and first classmen who received a service academy appointment. Attending the United States Military Academy at West Point are Ethan Barangan, Carson Bellman (via Hotchkiss), Brennan Coulson, Rachael Dodson, Thomas Polhamus, and Molly Statczar. Going to the United States Naval Academy are Adam Davis and Ryker Knight. Kyle Dane, Tanner Koch, Colin Mone, and Timothy Perea will be attending the U.S. Air Force Academy. Hali Hanley will attend the U.S. Coast Guard Academy via the prep school; and Benjamin Mathews will be attending the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. The Brian M. Barefoot Social Entrepreneurship Awards were presented to Harrison Steck (The Durfee Playground Project) and Mahoney (Culver Food Sustainability Program). The awards are presented to Senior Practicum projects that are creative, unique, visionary, and promise long term benefit to a disadvantaged community.
Our Next Wave – The Class of 2018 Lukac, Lauren
Adrian College
Omilian, Jackson
Colorado State University
Reinhold, Reilly
American University
Uzelac, Leanne
Columbia College Chicago
LaBarr, Margaret
Arizona State University
Kahale, Riad
Concordia University - Montreal
Miller, Cecilia
Auburn University Montgomery
Batson, Theodore
Cornell University
Ditmire, Brooke
Ave Maria University
Moore, Patrick
Cornell University
Hetzel, William
Babson College
Schott, Hayden
Cypress College (2-yr.)
Richterman, Zachary
Babson College
Kim, Sean
Dartmouth College
Lewandowski, Dylan
Ball State University
Lipsett, Emily
Dartmouth College
Woempner, Luke
Ball State University
Hitchcock, Carter
Denison University
Blemaster, Sierra
Baylor University
Harten, Natalie
DePaul University
Pitera, David
Bentley University
Bird, Callaway
DePauw University
Cross, Emily
Bethel College-Ind.
Genenbacher, Lake
DePauw University
Kephart, Logan
Bethel College-Ind.
Umare, Himanshu
Drexel University
Carroll, Lucas
Boston College
Baumgartner, Forrest
Eastern Illinois University
Houston, John
Boston College
Wu,Yilin
Boston College
Moreno, Jose
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach
Kang, Kweon Mook
Boston University
McCabe, Sarina
Emory University
Steck, Harrison
Boston University
McDougal, Della
English Speaking Union
Vidoli, Dominic
Boston University
Smith, Tegan
Florida State University
Behshid, Michelle
Bowdoin College
Murphy, Paige
Georgetown University
Stacy, Kara
Bowling Green State University
Slykas, Gabrielle
Gustavus Adolphus College
Youngs, Jonathan
Brigham Young University
Bocker, Michael
Harvard University
Alles, Alexandria
Brigham Young University, Idaho
Madronic, Austin
Harvard University
Collins, Megan
Butler University
Chupp, Lauren
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Kubaszyk, Molly
Butler University
Driscoll, Kyle
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
McColly-Fleener, Rylee
Butler University
Pursch, Shane
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Li,Yutao
Carnegie Mellon University
Willie, Leela
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Green, Thomas
Carthage College
Norville, Malyka
Howard University
Darmesh, Ilyas
Case Western Reserve University
Ellert, Pierce
Indiana University at Bloomington
DeVries, George
Case Western Reserve University
Ericson, Abby
Indiana University at Bloomington
Quintana Braun, Ana Paula
Centro Escolar Universitario
Hittle, Hannah
Indiana University at Bloomington
Ellison, Erik
Chapman University
Key, Alexander
Indiana University at Bloomington
Loudermilk, Brian
Claremont McKenna College
Penrose, Spencer
Indiana University at Bloomington
Sheng,Yuming
Claremont McKenna College
Prieto, Elena
Indiana University at Bloomington
Uwajeh, Sobechukwu
Claremont McKenna College
Regan, Adam
Indiana University at Bloomington
Hutchins, Rachel
Colorado College
Spear ’17, Brianna
Indiana University at Bloomington
Cruickshank, George
Colorado State University
Zrelak, Cade
Indiana University at Bloomington
Dunlap, Zoe
Colorado State University
Lenig, Elizabeth
Indiana University South Bend
Hernandez, Sebastian
Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo De Mexico
CULVER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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Perez, Edgar
Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo De Mexico
Padilla, Juan Pablo
Instituto Tecnologico y deEstudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Santa Fe
Boydston, Austin
Woo, Juongwoo
Northeastern University
Knowlton, Collin
Norwich University
Armstrong, James
Oklahoma State University
Bankston, Bryson
Oklahoma State University
Interim Year
Kim ’17,Young Seo
Pennsylvania State University
Mozer, Alexandra
Interim Year
Rodgers, Jake
Princeton University
LeVan, William
Interim Year (Washington University of St. Louis)
Root, Charlotte
Princeton University
Stevens, Jake
Princeton University
Ortega Ocampo, Nicolas
Interim Year
Boland, Michael
Purdue University
Park, Jungwoo “Kevin”
Interim Year
Brooke, Aaron
Purdue University
Brandeburg, Taylor
Interim Year - Junior Hockey
Burns, Benjamin
Purdue University
Wisco, Alexander
Interim Year - Junior Hockey
Crowell, Andrew
Purdue University
Paul, Brock
Interim Year - Junior Hockey (Dartmouth Commit)
Fields, Elyse
Purdue University
Welch, Alexis
Interim Year - Semester at Sea
Isom, Caleb
Purdue University
Schenck, Alexander
Iowa State University
Jin, Jerry
Purdue University
Li,Yuchen
Johns Hopkins University
Kerr, Nicholas
Purdue University
Caponi, Connor
Junior Hockey (Yale Commit)
Kiewitt, Emma
Purdue University
Long, Genna
Kent State University
Nnate, Uchechukwu
Purdue University
Yermegiyayev, Kazybek
King’s College London
Rhinehart, Isabel
Purdue University
Johnson, Jasmine
Lake Forest College
Spiros, Alex
Purdue University
Oliver, Claire Marin
Loyola University Chicago
Spiros, Evan
Purdue University
Trube, Ashley
Macalester College
Freeman, Brooks
Rollins College
Kuhl, William
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mahoney, Charles
Rollins College
Dauer, Cecilia
Miami University, Oxford
Gadlage, Caroline
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Neal, Landon
Miami University, Oxford
Leslie, Morgan
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Schutjer, Elyse
Miami University, Oxford
Ungar, Brennah
Saint Mary’s College
Chapdelaine, Reece
Michigan State University
Turnquest, Jack
Savannah College of Art and Design
Scharfenberg, Chloe
Millikin University
Brown, Landon
Savannah State University
Wilde, Skyler Michael
Nassau Community College (2-yr.)
Barry, Sloane
Southern Methodist University
Robison, Macie
New College of Florida
Blendonohy, Michael
Southern Methodist University
Lai, Jiaxin
New York University
Terhune, Andrew
St. Lawrence University
de la Vega, Andrea
Non-US College
Pumarejo Manzur, Daniel
Technologico de Monterrey
Mazon, Diego
Non-US College
Salazar Rodriguez, Nicole
Technologico de Monterrey
Peraza, Jose Santiago
Non-US College
Rabbitt, Alexandra
Texas Christian University
Mitchell, Mary Ann
North Carolina State University
Szymusiak, Catherine
The Culinary Institute of America-NY (Main Campus)
Henderson, Conner
Northeastern University
Chang,Yu-Lin
The George Washington University
Kozak, Georgiy
Northeastern University
Shi, Zhenming
The George Washington University
Valdez, Alena
Northeastern University
SUMMER / FALL 2018
Bellman, Carson
The Hotchkiss School (PG), United States Military Academy
Wang, Zhanyi
The New School - All Divisions
Olivarez, Alexis
The University of Alabama
Suttle, Grant
The University of Alabama
Heer, Tyler
The University of Arizona
Nierenberg, Rockwell
The University of Arizona
Tucker, Hunter
The University of Iowa
Woempner, Gabrielle
The University of Iowa
Johnston, Helen
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Sem, Caroline
The University of Oklahoma
Wakeland, William
The University of Texas, Austin
Nair, Shaan
The University of Texas, Dallas
Xu,Yifan
Trinity College
Dane, Kyle
United States Air Force Academy
Koch, Tanner
United States Air Force Academy
Mone, Colin
Peralta Barros, Luis
University of Colorado at Boulder
Rivera, Joseph
University of Colorado at Boulder
Warnholtz Deck, Alexia
University of Colorado at Boulder
Walsh, Shamus
University of Connecticut
Hutchison, Joseph
University of Delaware
Brennan, Owen
University of Denver
Clayton, William
University of Denver
Merrill, Connor
University of Denver
Simmons, Alexander
University of Denver
Turner, Jessica
University of Detroit Mercy
Murphy, Regan University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Blackson, Goldie
University of Kentucky
Baltazar, Claire
University of Louisville
Ellert ’17, Elizabeth Betse
University of Mississippi
Wald, Robert
University of Missouri Columbia
United States Air Force Academy
Pierson, Jackson
University of New Hampshire at Durham
Perea, Timothy
United States Air Force Academy
Vacendak, Kaden
University of North Dakota
Hanley, Hali
United States Coast Guard Academy Prep School
Bieri, Ashton
University of Notre Dame
Kelly, Grace
University of Notre Dame
Smith, Ian
University of Notre Dame
Pei,Yu
University of Rochester
Wilson, Patrick
University of San Diego
Oeschger, Jacqueline
University of San Francisco
Sever, Rory
University of Southern California
Yang, Donghao
University of Southern California
Zehner, Henry
University of Southern California
Zhu, Fiona
University of Southern California
Sims, Audrey
University of St Andrews
Mathews, Benjamin United States Merchant Marine Academy Barangan, Ethan
United States Military Academy
Coulson, Brennan
United States Military Academy
Dodson, Rachael
United States Military Academy
Polhamus, Thomas
United States Military Academy
Statczar, Molly
United States Military Academy
Davis, Adam
United States Naval Academy
Knight, Ryker
United States Naval Academy
Servin Mosqueda, Miriam Edith
Universidad Anahuac
Whyte, Gerald
University of Utah
Lee, Chaeyeong
University of California, Berkeley
Popowski, Sarah
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Shi, Hang
University of California, San Diego
Mehta,Ved
Vanderbilt University
Xu ’17, Chuxiong “Jake”
University of California, San Diego
Sun, Rebecca
Vanderbilt University
Xu, Zhiyang
University of California, San Diego
Jones, Kathryn
Virginia Tech
Chen, Shuning
University of Chicago
Donsbach, Alexa
Washington and Lee University
Fan, Jiayi
University of Chicago
Chen ’17, Haomin
Wellesley College
Gregg, Ellazan
University of Colorado at Boulder
Katterhenry, Kaylee
Xavier University
Lerman, Ari
University of Colorado at Boulder
CULVER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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A World of Difference One Scholarship at a Time
Culver has been fortunate to have alumni who recognize the importance of making Culver accessible for future generations. The donors behind four of Culver’s distinguished scholarships have cast their stone into the water to create a ripple effect on the next generation of leaders. Now these scholars’ collective gratitude is taking the shape of action, not just words, as they are already setting their own ripple effects in motion. Certainly distinguished scholarships, or merit as they are often called, are a common fixture in many U.S. independent schools, colleges and universities. They are typically awarded on the basis of academic, athletic or artistic merit, or a combination of these. Most of them require a minimum grade point average for annual renewal or to be in “good standing.” But Culver’s distinguished scholarships exceed the minimum standard of simply making financial resources possible for those in need. There is also the expectation that the Culver mission statement will become part of who they are, guiding them as they develop from followers to leaders, instilling in them a sense of honor, service, and engagement with the world. Their lives become part of the Culver story, a new generation of students who lead by example.
Editor’s Note: John Buxton, head of schools from 19992016, was a key figure in working with all four donors to establish the distinguished scholarships program for Culver. This is his reflection on the evolution of those programs.
Paying Back
“I am not giving to Culver; I am paying Culver back for what it did for me.” — Frank Batten ’45
Frank Batten ’45, had only one pressing question when I met him during the search process when Pam and I were being interviewed by a group of trustees who had come to New Hampshire to meet with us in 1999. His question came as something of a surprise to me. “Do you know anything about merit scholarships?” “Yes,” I responded, “I have been managing two of them at our current school, and Pam and I have taken the lead on the recruiting for both of them.” “Good.” he said. “I have been thinking about making a gift to the Academy to fund a merit scholarship program that I hope will help make the classes even more exciting and raise the level of all the classes these scholars take. Would you be able to help make that happen?” Most of the questions had been about the endowment, the faculty, the campus, and the leadership programs. Here was a person asking if it was possible for him to do something he believed would benefit the students and support what he had heard needed to be done. As Frank would say a few years later, “I am not giving to Culver; I am paying Culver back for what it did for me.” This Batten Scholars’ initiative would serve two important purposes: it would replicate the Emily Jane Hand Culver Scholarship that had served Culver so well as an admissions “igniter” early in the school’s history and was responsible for bringing so many distinguished alumni to the Academy as young people. Second, it inspired all alumni to consider what they could do to support Culver through a personal commitment for financial aid and scholarship programs. Not long after Frank’s groundbreaking commitment, Craig Duchossois ’62, literally called me out of the blue to ask if I would approach Mr. Batten to inquire whether he would give Craig his blessing in carving out the Midwest from Frank’s national scholarship program to establish the Duchossois Scholars Program. I said I would contact Frank immediately, but I was certain Frank would be honored to share his merit program initiative with another alumnus. Frank agreed immediately and was proud that someone else had wanted to follow his lead. Craig and his family determined that their interest in funding the program was to bring young men and women to Culver who would emerge as “leaders in the public square.” They certainly hoped for the
academic lift these students would undoubtedly provide, but student leadership outcomes were equally important to them. The Duchossois’ initiative did not end there. Craig was bursting with excitement as he explained his plan to invite one of his classmates, George Roberts ’62, into this special partnership. He was certain that George would be interested in participating in a program that would benefit both Culver and the young people who would attend. Mr. Roberts’ geographic area would be the West Coast and the Northwest, and after some important discussion, George said he hoped Culver would support candidates who would not be able to afford a Culver education without the scholarship and who would benefit as much from being at Culver (as he had) as the school would benefit from having them as students. The momentum that began during that first interview carried forward and throughout the By Example Campaign. Ironically, but not surprisingly, another Frank Batten initiative inspired another alumnus, Mike Huffington ’65, to impact a set of programs with a merit scholarship of his own. Mike had interpreted Mr. Batten’s offer to match every gift to the endowment or the Culver Fund for a period of one year (up to $50 million) as many good Culver alumni had: it was both a challenge and an opportunity. Mike seized the opportunity to support the Arts program by helping Culver attract talented young actors, artists, and musicians who would enrich Culver’s fine arts offerings and be enriched by their Culver experience. When one puts this in perspective, the merit scholar programs not only bolstered Culver’s student profile immediately but also proved to be the much-needed anchor for the By Example Campaign. This was the ultimate demonstration of “by example leadership and service to one’s school.” It was both inspirational and aspirational, and led to other commitments from many Culver alumni who had their own ideas about supporting the aspects of Culver that had been highlighted in the campaign as those most needed by Culver and most meaningful to them: the international experience, the horsemanship and cavalry program, and the Summer Schools and Camps. These alumni were passionate about giving back to their school and making a difference in an area that would ensure the sustainability of an institution they loved. A healthy financial aid and scholarship endowment is essential in assuring that the best and the brightest will continue to be able to experience all aspects of a Culver education.
Most distinguished scholarships cover full tuition, room and board, books and laptop, a Global Pathways Spring Program, and a summer enrichment experience in the U.S. or abroad. Incoming 9th and 10th grade boys and girls are eligible.
BATTEN SCHOLARS 1999: LEADING THE EXAMINED LIFE
Editor’s Note: All 204 scholars are worthy of a spotlight. In consultation with the chairs of the scholarship committees, we highlighted an underclassman, graduating senior, and a graduate for each scholarship, to show the ripple effect that the scholarship creates.
F
rank ’45 and Jane Batten began the ripple effect when they endowed the Batten Scholars program in 1999. He stated that “Culver was a very positive influence in my life at an impressionable age with its unique emphasis on individual responsibility, ethical decision-making, and student leadership. Jane and I are pleased to give back to present and future students what was given to me.” Will LeVan ’18 Initially the territory covered the East Coast and Southeast in the United States, but has expanded to cover the entire world. The traits of a Batten Scholar include previously demonstrated excellence in academics, citizenship and character; a history of active involvement within their school and community; and a demonstration of significant promise to contribute to Culver, both inside and outside of the classroom.
Batten Scholars now number 113 and hail from 20 states and 2 countries. They have attended Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Dartmouth, Stanford and Georgetown, as well as M.I.T., the University of Notre Dame, Northwestern, the University of North Carolina (Morehead Scholar Program), Duke, the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, and Oxford University, as well as other top colleges and universities. From the minute the scholars step on campus, their lives begin to change and their world view expands. When Elena Vona ’21, a rising sophomore from Perrineville, New Jersey, visited campus, she was impressed by the number of unique opportunities: The Equestriennes, fencing, drill team and flying lessons; the wide course selections and especially the Honor Code and the trust the school gives students to abide by it. After initially feeling overwhelmed, she took that “first, faith-filled step” and learned to be comfortable with discomfort when she tried new things. She immersed herself in fencing, the CGA Drill Team, Latin Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and class treasurer. She sees herself as a builder, someone who strives to do good and create positive connections among her peers. Will LeVan, a 2018 graduate from Newton, Kansas, followed in the Culver footsteps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, so the campus felt like the right place for him. He excelled in all aspects of Culver, serving as unit commander, batallion sergeant major,
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SUMMER / FALL 2018
regimental sergeant major; taking multiple AP courses; as captain of the tennis and baseball teams; commander of Four Gun Drill, Model UN president and guitar player. But for him, the Batten scholarship has been an integral piece of his Culver journey, one that allowed him to forge lifelong friendships. These friends motivated him to do his best. The scholarship also provided travel opportunities that took him to Mayan caves, coral reefs off the coast of Belize, the Shipibo tribe in the heart of the Amazon forest, Spanish homestays in Peru’s Sacred Valley, Macchu Picchu and the Peruvian Andes. These experiences reinforced the value of humility, empathy and what it means to be a global citizen, influencing his decision to do a gap year before heading to Washington University in the fall of 2019. After his summer in Woodcraft as a military mentor and basketball coach, Will is going to Nepal with the “Where There Be Dragons” organization from September to December, then to Spain from January through March to volunteer with WWOOF (World Wide Organization of Organic Farms) at a variety of farms. In the spring, he will hike the El Camino in Spain with Sean Kim ’18 and backpack around Europe in May. Matt Gethers ’05 graduated from MIT with a degree in biological engineering, followed by the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford (he was Culver’s first Rhodes Scholar since William Alexander Fleet in 1898). He recently earned his Ph.D. in biological engineering from Caltech. Matt Gethers ’05 Matt reflected on how the Batten scholarship still impacts him almost 13 years after leaving Culver: “The most important impact of the Batten Scholarship is that it started me on the road to the examined life,” he says. “Initially, I worked hard in school because people who cared about me told me it would benefit me. My time at Culver is where I began to think critically about my place in the world and the contributions I would like to make. “At MIT, as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, and as a graduate student at Caltech, I saw that the metrics that people normally use to gauge success started to lose meaning, and a sense that my work was uniquely my own and directed toward problems that were important to me became the most important factors. Culver’s curriculum, the opportunities for leadership, and exposure to different people and cultures were key in helping me find this sense of self.”
DUCHOSSOIS FAMILY SCHOLARS 2007: BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH LEADERSHIP
C
raig Duchossois ’62 and his family have been steadfast supporters of Culver for more than 50 years. In 2007, they formalized an even larger commitment by creating the Duchossois Family Scholars Program. Their focus was on nurturing future leaders by developing their minds, bodies and spirits to prepare them for the finest colleges and universities and a life of principled leadership. As Craig puts it, “Our family wants to develop the next generation of leaders who have demonstrated responsible citizenship and commit their energy and sense of caring to improve the community in which they live.” All scholars are from midwestern states, which include Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. The qualities that define a Duchossois Scholar include a high level of academic aptitude and enthusiasm for learning; evidence of responsible citizenship and community service; a sense of caring that reaches beyond self; communications skills; capacity for original thought; and mental and physical vitality. They have graduated from Washington University, Wabash College, University of Michigan, Duke, Northwestern, University of Chicago, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Emory, Hamilton College, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy and U.S. Naval Academy, as well as other top schools in the country. The Duchossois Selection Committee includes a junior boy and girl, both of whom are full voting members of the committee. It gives them the opportunity to answer questions about Culver life directly with candidates and to engage with the committee in selecting the best new scholars to join their ranks. Lucie Diatta ’21 from Marshall, Michigan, marvels at how fast her first year went by. She “can’t get enough of Culver” and feels like the girls who were once strangers to her are now her family away from home. She chose Culver over other schools because of its emphasis on unity and all-inclusiveness. A sports fan, Lucie immediately made the JV soccer team as a starter but was injured and couldn’t Lucie Diatta ’21 play basketball in the winter, but she still went to every practice and game to support the team. She also discovered lacrosse and loved it. A talented violinist, Lucie is a member of the Performing Caring Collaborative Orchestra and string trio. A second violin section leader in orchestra, she won three gold medals in district competition and went to state competition in violin solo and string trio. Lucie reflected on what happiness has meant to her this first year. It includes “meeting prospective students touring campus from all over the world and realizing how much I’ve changed since I was in their
position; passing by Logansport Gate, recalling the sense of pride and confidence I felt during Matriculation; and putting on the Culver logo every day, clasping the nametag through the ‘U’ and the ‘E,’ and thinking, “I belong here.” Molly Kubaszyk ’18 from LaPorte, Indiana, has her own Culver story that evolved as she connected the pieces to create its meaning. It began when she was on the Culver campus in fifth grade for a funeral and told her parents she would be coming to Culver for high school, a fact they forgot until she applied for Culver admission. But the reality of living away from home made her extremely homesick, causing her to Molly Kubaszyk ’18 question whether she belonged at Culver. All that changed as she realized that the scholarship was the biggest opportunity of her life and could literally change the course of her future if she embraced it. She never looked back and joined several clubs, became sophomore class president and discovered the Leadership Committee for Africa, which led to her South Africa trip and exposure to a different culture, followed by a summer service and enrichment trip to Fiji. Entering her senior year, Molly earned the title of senior prefect, a confirmation of all the maturity and leadership experiences that had shaped her. The final lesson of her story is that “Culver believes in you, and in turn, makes you believe in yourself.” Molly is attending Butler University this fall. When Joel Florek ’11, originally from Marquette, Michigan, was 13, his mother opened the letter with the Duchossois Joel Florek ’11 Scholarship information, and just as she was about to throw it away, he got curious and took it out of her hands. He used her computer to research the Duchossois family and Culver Academies, found the nearest SSAT test center, filled out the application and persuaded his parents to let him apply. His signature trait of being “optimistically curious about the world” earned him a unanimous committee vote to become a Duchossois Scholar. He maximized every opportunity at Culver during his four-year career, including Model UN, the sailing team, traveling to China, the British Virgin Islands and Spoleto, Italy. But the Ron Rubin School for the Entrepreneur was his biggest passion and led to his creative thinking of ways to earn money. He started his own business during college and has continued to diversify. He is the owner of JF Holdings: Residential Multifamily Properties and the founder of General Ledger: Cash Basis Accounting, which will launch next month. He believes that “Culver is life changing. It challenges you, forces you to grow, and helps you to stand more confidently as an individual. The community helps to code a moral compass into your DNA. Being a part of a community means helping to move it forward, which takes work. Be the person who is stepping up to do the work!” Joel’s biggest hope is to create a scholarship fund to give the gift of Culver to others, just as the Duchossois family has done for him.
CULVER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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THE ROBERTS LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 2008: OPPORTUNITY AWAITS
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eorge Roberts ’62 established a distinguished scholarship that covered the Western states (California, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, North and South Dakota, Alaska and Hawaii). He explained his motivation this way: “From the time I was 15 years old, Culver has played and will continue to be one of the most important experiences in my life. My years at Culver laid the foundation that helped me in so many ways: I gained self-confidence, leadership skills, the ability to adapt in any situation and a high quality education, all of which enabled me to be successful in college, in law school and in life. My family and I want to give hard working students who can’t afford Culver a chance to live the Culver experience. We want our scholarship to find those students and give them a chance. I know those who come to Culver on this scholarship will change the trajectory of their lives, just as Culver changed mine.” Fifteen Roberts Scholars have graduated since 2008, and have attended Cornell,Vanderbilt, Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado, University of Washington, the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy, as well as other top schools. The Roberts Committee also includes two junior students as full voting members in the selection process. Stephany Aparicio ’21 of Los Angeles, California, is the eldest from a family of five and is a first generation American. She sets the example for her brothers so they strive to work hard and develop their talents. In the area where she grew up, there is very little expectation of getting any quality education. Coming to Culver was her pathway to developing her potential to the fullest and pursuing a career of her choice. What “sold” Stephany Aparicio ’21 her on Culver was the diversity of students from all over the world and the opportunities to choose classes, explore her interests and find her own way forward. She is always mindful of her parents’ many sacrifices for the family and their goal for a better future for their children. Stephany is the first person in her family to reach high school, which motivates her to set the bar high and challenge herself to maximize the Culver experience. In addition to her classes, she takes piano lessons, is involved in the Leadership Committee for Africa, and sails. George Cruickshank ’18, of Anchorage, Alaska, couldn’t have foreseen the memories he has made at Culver when he was in eighth grade. He credits the character-building and leadership skills he has learned at Culver as helping him “develop the unfinished masterpiece.”
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He learned to be studious inside and outside of the classroom, the importance of respect, diligence to detail and the problems that arise through procrastination. George challenged himself to explore the world through the GPS trip to Belize to learn about global warming and the resulting environmental damage, and traveled to Nepal to rebuild schools destroyed by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake. George Cruickshank ’18 He pursued his passion for science and entrepreneurial studies, which he will develop further at Colorado State University. He also learned that the team dynamic lessons he learned from fencing, rowing, sailing, and trap-and-skeet shooting are also applicable off the field as well. He stated, “Without the scholarship, the people I see from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep would not be in my life. This opportunity has allowed me to become the brother, friend, student and leader I am today.” As a 10-year-old girl growing up on a South Dakota reservation, Alena Valdez ’18, of Denver, Colorado, had one goal: work at Walmart. Poverty was everywhere and education was not a priority: surviving and protecting her seven siblings was her life, and Walmart seemed like the only option out. Moving to Denver made her aware of the importance of education and the possibilities for a different future, which led to her becoming a Roberts finalist. It took time at Culver for her to emerge from her shyness and gain the confidence to help others and become a leader. In her words, she slowly “found the infrastructure of Alena Valdez” by understanding what her strengths were and how to leverage them. She expanded her world and was exposed to new cultures, ideas, events and resources that allowed her “to become my own masterpiece.” Alena Valdez ’18 She shared her story with the Culver community, which was the first time she had publicly spoken about her life and Culver’s important role in it. To her, the Roberts scholarship “gave me the opportunity to become the successful person my family can be proud of. I have always wanted to help others and show people in similar situations to my own that they can become successful.” She is attending Northeastern University this fall.
THE HUFFINGTON SCHOLARS 2010: CREATING AN OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME
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ichael Huffington ’65, who has provided financial support for Culver students since 2000, established the Huffington Scholars Program in 2010. He stated, “I believe in focused giving and so my goal over the past two decades has been to help propel Culver Academies to the top echelon of American prep schools when it comes to the creative arts. The Huffington Scholars program was initiated to recruit to Culver the most talented students available for our theater program. My future hope is that these scholars when they graduate will enter the finest drama schools, such as Julliard and Yale School of Drama, and then go on to become highly acclaimed actors. Because actors are highly visible, they also could be great ambassadors for Culver.” There have been 13 Huffington Scholars from seven states, the first of whom just graduated from the University of North Carolina. Six others are still enrolled in college at Bath Spa University in England, University of Chicago, Georgetown University, New York University, Lake Forest College and the U.S. Naval Academy. The three 2018 graduates are: Lucas Carroll (Boston College), Charles Mahoney (Rollins College) and William Wakeland (University of Texas). The criteria for being a Huffington Scholar include: previously demonstrated excellence in academics, citizenship and character; a commitment to, and talent in, theatre; and demonstration of significant promise to contribute to overall life at Culver Academies, both inside the classroom and out. Incoming 9th and 10th grade boys who are U.S. citizens are eligible for the scholarship, with priority consideration given to prospective students residing in the southern states.
Matt Dwyer ’20 of Monee, Illinois, attended Woodcraft Camp for three summers, where he grew to love Culver, and graduated with the rank of drum major. He completed his second class year in Culver Summer Naval School this past summer. Devoted to the arts, he did community and professional theater around Chicago at the Goodman Theatre,The Chicago Symphony and Pritzker Pavilion in Millennial Matt Dwyer ’20 Park. His transition to boarding school was eased by the help of two other Huffington Scholars in his Band unit, Tommy Maly and Charles Mahoney. Matt has come into his own his sophomore year, playing roles in “As You Like It” and the lead role in the spring musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”; taking trumpet lessons in preparation to be the regimental bugler this year; taking voice lessons, which led to his earning a gold medal at state competition; and singing at Carnegie Hall in February. Matt also placed in the top eight in a fencing tournament, a first for him, and served as a squad leader in Band. He credits the scholarship as the opportunity of a lifetime, one that has allowed him to “make my dreams come true and give me a reason to push myself to be the best version of me that I can.”
Charles Mahoney ’18 of Cumming, Georgia, immersed himself in robotics, pep band, theatre, concert band, exhibition drill team and cello lessons his freshman year, as well as the fall play and spring musical, wanting to experience everything. Each year was incrementally better than the previous one in terms of Charles Mahoney ’18 tailoring those activities his sophomore year by balancing his leadership role as acting team leader and color guard with his theatre commitment, fencing, a challenging AP course and Model UN. His junior year was the defining one for him in his role as operations sergeant, where he created an atmosphere that enabled the cadets to lead themselves and work as a team. His senior year, Charles launched the Culver Food Sustainability Program to provide hot meals to local families in Marshall County, using the excess food from the Academies’ Dining Hall. He earned national recognition for his work, as well as significant scholarships for college. Charles appeared in “You Can’t Take It With You,” “Exhibit This,” “Les Miserables,” “Shrek,” “Hamilton,” “Working,” “As You Like It” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” He continued his research through an internship at Peking University this summer before enrolling at Rollins College to study international business and development. He wants to make people’s lives better by working on food sustainability in developing countries. Suraag Srinivas ’16 of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, believes that “being grateful for the scholarship opportunity isn’t enough; the only way to thank Michael Huffington is by taking full advantage of everything that Culver has to offer.” And he did. His main passions were theatre and music. Suraag appeared in several theatre productions, including “Avenue Q,” “Gnit,” “Blood Brothers,” “You Can’t Take it With You,” “Exhibit This,” and “Les Miserables.” Whether it was playing saxophone, piano or singing, Suraag Srinivas ’16 and Michael Huffington he immersed himself in them. He played in Lancer Band and jazz band and sang in the Culver a cappella club. Suraag joined the Vedette staff and wrote a column on world or political events. He also worked on the Quill, Culver’s creative writing magazine, and was 1st Sergeant on the exhibition drill team. Joining the Model UN channeled his passion for global issues, which ultimately led him to study international affairs at Georgetown University. — Kathy Lintner
CULVER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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Merit Scholarships by the Numbers
54
Distinguished Scholars enrolled for 2018-2019
19 14 New Scholars for 2018-19
States represented and 1 country (Saudi Arabia)
Andrew Kilbourne ’13: When I stepped on campus for the first time, I knew this was where I belonged. I had never been more sure of something in my entire life. This is a special place where special things happen. Although it certainly wasn’t easy, you will fall asleep each night a better person than when you woke up. For me, knowing that has always been enough.
Total value of each scholarship over four years:
$200,000
Cricket Gullickson ’09: The most fundamental way Culver changed my life was by helping me create a future for myself — an Ivy League education, a career in medicine, a life of adventure and exploration — that I had never even imagined before, let alone dreamed of reaching.
More Than
$31,000,000 awarded to Scholars since the start of the scholarship program in 1999
21 26 Troy Shen ’17: Culver has challenged me to meet people I would not have met otherwise, pushed me to travel to places I would not have expected and helped me find the genuine version of Culver that will never truly leave me.
countries visited by Scholars on GPS (Global Pathways Spring) trips
Makenna Coulson ’20: I came to Culver because I wanted to be part of a school where kids try hard and care about their education. I call it a community of “try hards.”We learn to be polite and accountable to ourselves for our actions.We have students from all over the world who live and study together in a cohesive environment.
countries on 6 continents visited by Scholars on junior year summer enrichment trips
Andrea R. Simon 2011 Caleb N. Jadrich 2013
Nolan D.Walker 2017
John
Joseph R.Ward 2019
Caitlin S. Schwartz 2014
Diego D.W. Gordon 2020
L
Anthony T. McHugh 2013 Elizabeth A. Strogilos 2021 Anuj A. Devatha 2017 Joy Shen 2013 Emma L. Sexton 2016 Catherine S. Bevil 2016 Christine L. Hannon 2005 Molly B.Walker 2012 Shane A. Halfenber Troy L. Shen 2017 Lujie Zhang 2007 Katherine E. Ives 2019 Catherine A. Green 2003 Alexander B. Simkins 2015 Alexandria C. Hilgefort 2017 A Daniel M.Tuerff 2011 Katy K. Arkell 2016 Peter J.Talbot II 2017 Malcolm-Robert B. Snyder 2013 Crawford J. Frutkin T 20 Claire H. Lee 2011 Jennah M. Janney 2014
Lucas F. M. Carroll 2018
Misikupa D. Sele 2019
Tyler A. Ortman 2017 Katarina G. Hone 2019 Hallie R. DeWulf 2019 Erin E. Lopez Vine 2015 Kirsten A. Elliott 2010 Khyrstyn R. McGarry 2007
Katherine D. Hansen 2015 Kyle Dane 2018 Lucie L. Diatta 2021
David S.
From Ripples into Waves…
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here have been 204 scholars who have earned a distinguished scholarship at Culver since 1999.
While they had their own unique individual experiences at Culver, they still use a common vocabulary when describing the scholarship’s impact on them, words like opportunity, transformation, gratitude, perspective, perseverance, leadership, global perspective, and compassion. Whether they are current scholars or graduates, their experience at Culver “codes a moral compass into their DNA” that they carry with them into the world. And as they ride the ripples of the scholarship effect, they become the next waves of change. They are doing what Mark Twain advocated more than 100 years ago, “Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Ana Cristina Pedrajo
Thomas M
Mariah G.
Dhr Cla David Rivas
Jacob B. Page 20
Makenna Coul Logan S. Glickfield 2006
William J. Kuhl 2018
Sarina M. Gounaris 2003 Nathan R.VanDeVelde T Cynthia X. Shi 2007 Angela T. Soli Benjamin H. Burns 2018 Krista M.Trefren 2015 Lori D. Bin 2 Aramonti A. Phillips 2013 Romina E. C. Clarke 2008 Paige A. Murphy 2018 Kenneth Nani Z. Obringer 2005 Matthew R. Dwyer 2020 Alena J.Valdez 2018 Kim J. Asenbeck 2012 Sophie E. Michi 2020 Joseph A. Chandler 2020 Molly M. Kubaszyk 2018 Shane M. Giuliani T 2005 Anjelica L. Collins 2011 Taylor R.Whitsett 20 Kenneth A. Phillips 2011 Benjamin Brummell 2020 Johnny Z.Young 2015 Noah R.Trevino 2015 Brian Tao 2016 Maura F. Hough 2021 Yu Jin Lee 2017 Andrea M. Lin 2012 Sandra G. S Nicolas E. Grandel 2015 Deborah I. Ohiani-Jegede 2010 Victoria H. Styers 2017 Ellazan W. Gregg 2018 Ethan H. Holder 2021 Nelson B. Collet 2012 Hannah R. Luo 2019 Rowan M. Farrell 2014 Andrew M.Van Duyn 2012 Adam J. Davis 2018 Alexis L. Howard 2009
D.Van Duyn 2014
Lex J. Clay 2006
Kord A. Golliher T 2011
William H.Wakeland T 2018
Varun A. Devatha 2015 Alex B. Moser 2017
Edward R.Thompson 2016 Peter S. Bin 2011
Hameedat T. Adeniji 2005
Shadi L. Bakour T 2009 Emily R. Hernandez 2014 Jennifer L. Sawicki 2006 Cole A. Payne 2015
Matthew L. Gethers III 2005 Connor C.Y. Lee 2021 Matthew A. Moody 2014 Uchechukwu E. Nnate 2018 Ryan R. Kolden 2011 Amina Shafeek-Horton 2020 Stephanie H. Sheppard 2002 Cricket C. Gullickson 2011 Max J. Rosenthal 2002 Kristen N.Taglione 2007 019 Adam A. Stathakis 2013 Eric S. Schneider Jr. 2014 Kathryn S. Driscoll 2017 Annie Banfich 2003 Sarah Keesecker Maurrasse 2005 Henry B. Stewart 2019 Hannah C. Schoolmeester 2013 George M. Cruickshank IV 2018 Emma R. Duthie 2014 K. Elizabeth Walsh 2003 Trevor A. Grywatch 2008 Lillian E. Gregorash 2019 Cassandra L. Kaplan 2021 Cole M. Stofflet 2020 Nicholas J. Curtin 2014 . Zaccaria T 2010 Ean M. Anderson 2016 Helen Yu 2003 John M.Wakeland T 2019 2008 Brandon M. Beaver 2010 Channing J. Mitzell 2012 Karen A. Zhu 2015 M. Maly 2017
rg 2016
.Walzer 2013
Maria Paschal 2012
Samuel A.Wyant 2015
Aidan Mahoney 2021
Lauren E. Zurbrugg 2004 Katrina B.Willis 2015 ruva T. Mehta 2016 Jessica N. Greenman 2016 Matthew T. Edwards 2008 Noah H.Tan 2021 ayton J. Lewis 2003 Manzona Bryant 2020 2016 Erik C. Seabolt 2006 Conner J. Henderson 2018 Levi M. Gho 2020 Kit A. K. Sitterley 2009 Alexandra Y. Ding 2013 020 Janet C. Sananixay 2013 Jamarrio V. Rule 2017 Molly Emerson Pratt 2006 lson 2020 Justin C. Matei 2017 Joel T. Florek 2011 Stephany Aparicio 2021 Evan G. Hoese 2007 Nicholas F. Payne 2014 William E. LeVan 2018 T 2015 Anna D. Evans 2017 Kayla R.Trefren 2017 Carson W. Canonie 2012 is de Hinze 2008 Maya L. Panicker 2015 Sihua Qiu 2010 2013 Ryan A. Guthrie T 2003 Matthew D. Janney 2015 Madison K.Tallant 2011 h C. Ezeadiugwu 2019 Elena M.Vona 2021 Barbara Shepard Kim 2005 Corinne A. R. Henning 2010 Shaun K. Devlin 2010 Charles J. Mahoney 2018 Benjamin J. Snyder 2017 Reese C.Wilson 2021 Andrew T. Kilbourne T 2013 Charlotte A. Root 2018 009 Maia T.Tountcheva 2005 Nicholas M. MacNab 2015 Adam J. Shippey 2008 Robson S. Macartney T 2017 McKinley R. Hoff 2020 Smith 2017 Ashley E. Eberhart 2009 Joseph D. Kuhl 2019 Collin Jeffrey Parker 2013 7 Yasong Wang 2009 Suraag S. Srinivas 2016 Andrew A. Parchman 2007 Molly R. McGrane 2020
Richard S. Arriviello 2010
Kaye M. Sitterley 2011
To Serve Them All My Days: A Joyfully Fulfilled Career
Then: Tom Thornburg teaching in his younger days
Tom Thornburg, the lone faculty member retiring in 2018 after spending his entire 40-year career at Culver, reflects on his journey. 30
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Now: Tom relaxing with his intern group
Prologue: A Life Rooted in Midwestern Values I would be hard-pressed to say when my interest in education began. Perhaps the path was set during my adolescence and long before I considered any profession. I recognize now that my parents had significant influence on my career track. My father, a small Indiana farmer with a high school diploma, was a natural teacher. From early on, he would take me on trips of discovery around our farm. He deliberately disassembled machinery just to allow me to reassemble it so I would better understand form and function. He allowed me to work with our livestock when, by today’s standards, I was probably too young. As I remember now, most of the animals towered over me as I learned to care for and work with them. Certainly, it was during those days that I learned so many of life’s lessons, as well as a Midwestern work ethic that continued throughout my adult years. On the farm, once committed to something, you saw it through. My father died when I was 14, leaving my mother and me with the responsibility of the farm. My two sisters were either off to college or married but shared in responsibilities when their personal time and energies allowed. Those early lessons taught by my father and hands-on opportunities to experience real life application suddenly became crucial and essential skills.
My mother, though a housewife by profession, was a natural educator as well. She learned her life skills just like so many other farmwives — through trial and error and out of necessity. Caring for the livestock and tending the farm, Mom and I learned together. Even during hard times and uncertain moments, she remained at her best. She taught me the power of faith, perseverance, and preparation. She allowed me to fail, but never allowed my failure to go by without recognizing the teachable moment. Mom understood that failure and early lessons properly framed would nurture personal growth, independence, and self-assuredness. After finishing high school and heading off to college, teaching was still not on my radar. Medicine, business, or international finance were all possible trajectories. Like many college students, I benefited from summer internships. Mine was at a hometown bank. It was after graduation in 1976 and while settling into a possible career that fate paid a visit. A customer at the bank stopped in to buy travelers checks, and my simple four-word query of personal interest, “Where are you going?” set my life in a new direction. I did not know Brian Minor or that he was a college professor and former Culver Academies language teacher. Our chance meeting that day led to a friendship and mentoring that brought me to Culver. Months later and after many afternoon conversations, Brian said, “Tom, you do not belong in banking. You are destined to be in the classroom.” So, in 1977, after interviewing with deans John Mars and Al Nagy, I was invited to do my student teaching at Culver and then hired on fulltime in August of the following year.
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“…the rapport students and faculty freely and easily maintained and the mutual respect that was so evident to all. It is this spirit of Culver that is a part of the community DNA and is impossibly hard to explain to anyone not familiar with the Academies. It is this spirit that kept me in the Culver classroom for 40 years.”
Community DNA: Rapport Between Faculty and Students During my months of student teaching, I lived in South Barrack. Dean Nagy was a barrack inspector there and oftentimes, after a particularly challenging day, he was understandably weary. It was common that I offered to finish his BI since I was already there. In later years, the dean explained that it was partially due to those occasions that he decided to bring an internship program to Culver. He sometimes referred to me as his “first intern.” Still, it was during that time and subsequent years of living in barracks that so many of my professional skills were honed. I saw students in a different light, and they saw me through a different lens than just a classroom teacher. Still today I refer to students as “my heroes” because they are. I
Tom making a point to a class.
watched students struggle and sometimes panic at the mere thought of conjugating a simple verb in the classroom, yet go out onto the athletic field or onto the theater stage and perform magic. They transformed into true artists before my eyes. These same students then went back to the dormitory or barrack and took on leadership roles, leading their peers, modeling behavior, and exercising authority that left me in awe. It was this experience of participating with the students in all aspects of their lives — classroom, performance, leadership, athletic, and personal — that allowed me to remember my own fears, challenges, struggles, and accomplishments growing up on the farm. I saw myself in them and relived some of my happiest and most rewarding years, but also some of my most frightening. It seems nearly cliché to remark on the relationships that are formed at Culver, but it cannot be overstated. My family members and friends who often visited and toured the Academies always commented on the beautiful and breathtaking campus. But even more surprising to them was the rapport students and faculty freely and
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easily maintained and the mutual respect that was so evident to all. This was initially perplexing and unexpected, but ultimately refreshing to them. It is this spirit of Culver that is a part of the community DNA and is impossibly hard to explain to anyone not familiar with the Academies. It is this spirit that kept me in the Culver classroom for 40 years. The camaraderie with my talented peers across all departments, the forward-thinking administration, the remarkably generous and dedicated Board of Trustees, and the tireless work by staff members all contribute to an extraordinary community ethos. While remarkable buildings frame our daily lives and contribute so richly to our ceremonies filled with pomp and circumstance, ultimately, it is the daily interaction with people and not the brick and mortar that builds such strong and lasting memories. Throughout my career, I was blessed to have a variety of opportunities to serve. No less than the lessons learned by working daily in the classroom with extraordinary students, I was fortunate to have occasional administrative responsibilities that allowed me to see another side of education. It was as department chairman and intern coordinator that I experienced great satisfaction in watching my peers grow and flourish, but it was also there that I learned great empathy for the struggles all professionals discover as they face their professional challenges and personal demons. I quickly discovered that the role of supervisor entailed far more than pushing paper across a desk. There was the intangible human aspect of working with my colleagues that opened doors to some of my longest and richest friendships. Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and to see one another at our strongest as well as our weakest created a sense of family that transcended the mere workplace. It was a home. Where are you going? Home - to Culver Reflecting now on my career, I can think of no other path for me. It all happened so naturally. Looking back at the many roads and crossroads I ventured, I marvel at the ease and the speed with which I arrive at this point in my life. I pause now and question if I truly ever had control of my life choices. Culver provided me an opportunity to build many families, to include one with students and colleagues. Little did I know in 1976 when asking Brian, “Where are you going?” that this very question would resonate with me throughout my career. I now know the answer to this question in my own journey. Tom, you are going to Culver to experience something remarkable. You will find your wife at Culver and build a home and family. You will become an officiant and have the honor to serve in the marriage of four of your colleagues.You are going to make the best friendships of your life, and they will be your students and colleagues. Tom, you are going to have a happy career and a professional life of amazing adventures, and you will be joyfully fulfilled.
John R. Mars Faculty Merit Award
Tom Thornburg says goodbye to graduating senior Rylee McColly-Fleener.
When Dean of Faculty Josh Pretzer presented the John R. Mars Faculty Merit Award to Tom Thornburg, he said the retiring Spanish instructor “is cut from the same cloth as Dean Mars himself. So much so, in fact, that he is wearing Dean Mars’ robes as I speak.” Thornburg’s career started in 1977 through a fall semester student teaching assignment in the German classroom under the guidance of Milton Hughes. Hughes, Dean Alexander D. Nagy and Dean Mars recognized his teaching prowess, noting in an early evaluation, “He actively seeks advice and catches on fast. His personality and his physical and emotional energies are outstanding, and he’d earn popularity ratings for himself and his subject because he is entertaining and service-minded.” The evaluation continued to say, “His punctuality and reliability are beyond reproach, and he is quick to take on extra work, if it may contribute any extra measure to pupil (or school) improvement. He is a mature and unselfish individual, who should be from his first day on the job a highly valuable and productive man.” Pretzer said that evaluation proved prophetic because, since joining the Culver faculty in 1978, Thornburg has not only been productive and valuable, he has become “the heart of our insti-
tution, a trusted mentor to students and faculty alike, and a model of the Culver values and virtues.” In many of his notes of gratitude to the administration throughout his tenure, he shares what a special place Culver is as it became home to him, along with his wife and longtime colleague Julie and son Patrick, who graduated in 2004.
Thornburg has taken on a lot of “extra work,” Pretzer noted, serving in leadership roles such as department chair for Modern and Classical Languages and Faculty Intern, now Fellows, coordinator. “He has always been a voice in key decisions at the school; be that curricular committees, climate and cultural studies, or advisory work for such important tasks as selecting our head of schools.” Thornburg has also served students in the barracks, as a sponsor of clubs and activities, and even as a fencing and rowing coach — “anything he can do to be of support to Culver students,” Pretzer said.
calling Thornburg “energetic,” “passionate,” “patient,” “driven,” “kind,” “supportive,” and “inspirational.” Other comments include “he made me love Spanish” and “he is the best teacher I’ve ever had.” Pretzer added that department chair Cory Barnes said Thornburg’s “impact will be felt for years to come. He has had a huge influence on the lives of students whom he has taught, bringing Spanish alive through his energetic and interactive teaching style. “A valued colleague in the department, he collaborates and shares of himself with those around him, and he always treats others with respect and care. I can honestly say that I have never seen him in a bad mood in all of the years that we have worked together. He will always be remembered — deservedly — as one of the ‘Giants of Culver’.”
Tom with fellow Language instructors Al Paré and John Mars
But for the past 40 years, he has remained centered on the language classroom, first addressed by his student as Herr in German and then Señor in Spanish. In a 2001 interview, Thornburg said, “I’m a teacher first, and I use Spanish as a tool to teach social, academic, intellectual, and civil discipline. I want the student to have respect for themselves and for one another. Of course, I’d like them to be able to conjugate a verb as well!”
Over the years, Thornburg has been recognized and honored by the administration, students, and his colleagues as a Spivey Award recipient, Kaser Scholar, McMillen Family Chair of Foreign Language recipient, and Batten Fellow, Pretzer said. “He has modeled the way for students and colleagues throughout his career by leading with service, humor, and gratitude, always striving to do well and to do good.”
His students through the years have echoed those remarks, Pretzer said,
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Along with Tom Thornburg, two other faculty members were recognized at the Commencement Convocation on June 2. Senior Instructor in Humanities Andy Strati was named a Mark B. Kaser Scholar and Wellness Instructor and athletic trainer Meg Darcy received the Maj. Gen. Delmar T. Spivey Award. Both were honored for their high quality teaching, kindling a zest for learning in their students, and fostering the positive relationships with students, Dean of Faculty Josh Pretzer said while presenting the awards.
Outside the classroom, I notice that he is always willing to stop and talk to me – and he smiles every time I see him in passing and makes a point to say hello. Not only has he helped develop me as a student but he also has helped develop me into a better person.”
Kaser Scholar: Andy Strati
Pretzer said what drives Strati is watching his students — and all Culver students — succeed, whether it comes in his classroom, on the athletic fields, or among the relics, art, and culture of Spoleto, Italy. A fellow instructor wrote, “He cares deeply about his students and his athletes, especially for their health and their overall Culver experience. Laughter is powerful, and his ever-present sense of humor helps him build last relationships with students and colleagues.”
Since the Kaser Scholar is a student award, Pretzer said it was important to let their voices echo through the Strati’s introduction; “and students are not at a loss of words to commend this faculty member — innovative, supportive, engaging, challenging, fun, exciting, and memorable — but it is a layer deeper in their comments where you get at what drives this teacher.” The student comments included: “He always takes extra time to make sure we understand … and help us individually on our writing. He also takes
the time to make sure we are good as people and are doing OK. He is a great person and teacher. He is one of the most inspiring individuals with whom I have interacted. He is truly an exemplary human being.” “I usually have a lot of trouble on writing my papers but he was so helpful to me in giving me examples and direct feedback. It made me feel more confident in my writing and more capable. I really like the way he teaches the class, as everyone is engaged, participating, and having fun.
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His department chair J.D. Uebler adds, “He has an excellent sense of how freshmen think and what they need in order to understand the most complex of ancient literature — and to enjoy that literature and history.” Outside the classroom, Strati “meets the needs of other learners and leaders” with his guidance of cadets serving on the Honor Council and the Fellows he mentors. Both groups have cited him “as modeling the values and virtues of Culver for them as they learn how to be both professionals and adults through challenging situations.”
Spivey Award: Meg Darcy Pretzer said Spivey Award recipient Meg Darcy rarely has a conversation with a student or colleague without asking this simple, essential question “What can I do to help?” Since arriving on campus in 2011, Darcy, an instructor in Wellness and athletic
trainer, has been devoted to making a difference in the lives of others. And in that pursuit, she “has a footprint on campus that extends well beyond her assigned spaces in McMillen or Henderson Ice Arena.”
Pretzer noted that Darcy helps students pursue research, leads colleagues in an exploration of technology, provides voice for her peers through the faculty/staff affairs committee, travels the globe in support of student service and learning, anchors the campus blood mobiles, spends late hours in the office to tend to the details of international travel for student-athletes, or is “even up in the trees guiding students through a leadership and character exercise on the challenge course.” Wellness Chairman Dan Davidge wrote “nothing is beyond her scope or her willingness to learn when she asks how she can help us better realize our Culver mission.” Another colleague wrote that Darcy “works tirelessly to meet our students’ physical and emotional needs. Whether taking care of an injury or having an extended conversation about life with a student, she is always nurturing our students back to health.” And, Pretzer said, students noted she is “passionate,” “supportive,” “challenging,” and “knowledgeable” as she guides them through an exploration of physical, emotional, mental, moral, spiritual, and social wellness.
“Drum and Bugle Corps, Sir!” Save the Date: July 19-21, 2019 for the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the Culver Woodcraft Camp Drum and Bugle Corps
More information coming soon! To get involved, call 574-842-7200 or email alumni@culver.org.
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Alumni Reunion 2018
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1. The Class of 1998 celebrated in style. 2. The Class of 2008 passing the reviewing line. 3. The One Culver reception on Friday evening. 4. Paul Much ’68 rode a horse in the parade. 5. The 1968 crew team took a spin around Lake Maxinkuckee. 6. Renewing old friendships.
8. Chris Hamm ’08 and Sara Sardina ’07 got engaged during the parade. 9. Being a mom doesn’t stop even for a parade. 10. The Class of ’68 crosses the James A. Henderson Parade Field. 11. Legion President Anna Kantzer Wildermuth ’83 shakes hands with Jim Chandler ’68 at the Iron Gate ceremony. 12. Vicki Helber ’68 poses with members of CGA after the Iron Gate Ceremony.
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Brian, Colt and Beau Reichart on the Red Gold canning line.
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Graduate of the Year, Brian Reichart ’68
A Competitive Spirit Rooted in Compassion “I’ve always been competitive.” Brian Reichart ’68, Culver Academies’ Graduate of the Year for 2018, freely admits it. Sometimes that competitiveness has caused problems, like his first experience at the National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming. Most of the time, though, it has paid big dividends. When he came to Culver as a new second classman, his grades dropped slightly from mostly A’s he was used to receiving at Elwood (Indiana) High School. While most people would have been happy with the B+ average, especially with all the other obligations new cadets face, Reichart wasn’t. “It took a lot of work but I got my grades back up,” he said. In the process, he also learned that he didn’t have to be “the valedictorian or the regimental commander. But I had to be my personal best to be successful.” Now, 50 years later, that philosophy runs his family’s business, Red Gold. “I never wanted to be the biggest, I just wanted to be best,” he explained. And it certainly has worked. Red Gold
is now the largest family-owned food processing business in the country. More than 100 truckloads of Red Gold products leave the Orestes, Indiana, distribution center every day. Chances are you have tasted Red Gold’s products. Several chain restaurants use Red Gold to create their in-house brands. The company also produces house brands for several grocery store chains. The business is large enough to employ 1,300 full-time workers in Orestes, Elwood, and Geneva. Another 600 workers are hired during the growing season. In 2004, Ernst & Young named Reichart the Entrepreneur of the Year. The business was started in 1942 by Reichart’s grandfather, Grover C. Hutcherson, and his mother, Fran. They purchased and rebuilt an abandoned Orestes canning factory in response to a federal government plea asking citizens to help the war effort by supplying food for the troops. In 1948 Fran and her new husband, Ernest Reichart, started expanding the operation. Growing up, Brian worked nearly every job there was. “That’s what you do when your family owns the business,” he explained. “I
always had a summer job. So did Beau (Class of 1999) and Colt (Class of 2001).” And Selita, his wife of 39 years, soon found herself running one of the plants shortly after they were married. She now handles the company’s public relations. Growing up, Reichart did everything. And when the family business involves tomatoes, you literally learn it from the ground up. He learned about tomato plants; learned how the machinery, in the fields and on the floor, worked; and how the employees worked, especially since Red Gold was a seasonal business. But it wasn’t always about work. Reichart enjoyed the outdoors and his family found him a new camp to attend every summer. That’s how they found Culver Woodcraft Camp. “I loved it,” he said. He enjoyed all the classes and especially loved watching the black horses on the parade field. Reichart knew immediately he wanted to attend Culver Military Academy, but also understood it would be a sacrifice for his family. When he returned as a new second classman, he chose Troop as his unit.
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During his first class year, wilderness expert Paul Petzoldt came to speak. He talked about his National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming. Three weeks after graduation, Reichart was on his way to Wyoming. “It was about leadership, mountaineering, backpacking, and cooking over a campfire, basically surviving in and enjoying the wilderness.”
Gold’s Orestes processing plant. When he left to go home, he decided to take a different route. When he reached the junction of P Street and State Road 37, he was flagged down by a 10-year-old boy. At the bottom of the muddy pond was his 6-year-old friend. Reichart quickly jumped in and saved Willard Miller II. The local newspaper, the Elwood Call-Leader,
tomatoes are coming into the plants from mid-August through mid-October. Of course, Mother Nature always has something to say about the schedule. And the cyclical price of corn and soybeans can impact the acreage. That is why Red Gold pays more than the industry standard. Reichart understands it is part of the price you pay for staying in the Midwest. The same goes for maintaining a solid employee base. Red Gold used to shut down production during the winter and start back up in the spring. But Reichart knew that model was not sustainable if he wanted to maintain an experienced workforce. By shipping in concentrated tomato paste from California, Red Gold is now in production around the clock all year. Ketchup, sauces, and juice run all year and the canning of fresh tomatoes begins as soon as they arrive from the fields.
Head of Schools Jim Power with Brian, Selita, Colt, and Beau Reichart at the Graduate of the Year Ceremony
The 30-day camp included an opportunity to climb “Sharkstooth,” a mountain in the Wind River Range. The climb up the mountain was steep and icy. The climb down was even worse as the group ran into a sleet and lightning storm. Reichart said he might have given up if there hadn’t been two girls on the trip. His competitiveness kicked in. He learned to never underestimate women after that episode. “Not only can they be great leaders under stress,” he said. “They can be tough as nails.” Still, he enjoyed the adventure camp enough to return two more times. Beau and Colt also attended the camp. Shortly after returning from Petzoldt’s camp, Reichart was working late at Red
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wrote a story about the incident, and — 50 years later — highlighted it again. Reichart said it was a case of everything simply falling into place. Circumstances put him where he had to be at the moment he was needed. “Everything just happened to fall right.” But it is moments like this that define Reichart and his family. While other processing plants closed their Midwestern plants and moved to California, Red Gold stayed and adapted. It now has contracts with more than 46 farmers covering approximately 10,300 acres in three states — Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. Transplanting the seedlings begins in April and is staggered based on the variety and length of growing season, so
The company has expanded so many times, the original plant now serves as the break area for the Orestes employees and returning seasonal employees from Brownsville, Texas, stay in air-conditioned apartments built off to one side of the plant. Other summer employees include interns from Purdue University, Reichart’s alma mater, which is home to a nationally recognized food science department. The Red Gold jobs give those students valuable practical experience. Reichart graduated from Purdue’s Krannert School of Business, but he also took food science and engineering classes. Over the years, Red Gold has adapted mechanical pickers used in California to Midwestern soil, developed a method for washing the skins off the fruit without harming the color, and found a way to automatically sort tomatoes by color. The tomato skins are then shipped to a regional dog food manufacturer, which uses them as a natural binder in its products.
And, like the tomatoes they work with, the Reicharts understand you must continue to grow or die on the vine. In recent years, they have introduced new products — including sriracha and jalapeno ketchup — and redesigned their labels for a more modern look. The latter was actually a recommendation that came from Red Gold’s challenge session with The Ron Rubin School for the Entrepreneur students. Brand names include Red Gold, Sacramento, Redpack, Tuttorosso, and Vine Ripe, plus the Huy Fong partnership. Mama Selita’s Ketchup is actually a family recipe they decided to put in production. The company also does the co-packing for many grocery stores and chain restaurants. Red Gold is served in the Lay Dining Hall and will also be featured at the Brian L. Reichart ’68 Shack, which will be constructed near Lake Maxinkuckee between the Huffington Library and the Dicke Hall of Mathematics. Reichart said the old Shack was an important place for him and other students who wanted to get away from the daily grind without leaving campus and grab a burger, fries and a shake. “We had so much fun,” he said. “I hope the students will find it to be that way, too.”
Brian Reichart catching up with friends during the alumni reunion parade.
When the Shack is completed, a covered patio overlooking the lake will be an important feature. “It’s such a beautiful lake, why not enjoy it?” Reichart asked. The construction of the new Shack is just one of many philanthropic endeavors taken up by the Reicharts and Red Gold employees. Red Gold hosts the annual 5-kilometer Run to Crush Hunger and chili cook-off in Elwood during the second weekend of October, which raises thousands of dollars for local food banks.
Brian, Colt and Beau all wrestled for coach Colin Stetson (second from right).
For the past seven years, Red Gold employees have gone to Indianapolis to work with Habitat for Humanity and the Indiana State Fair on the construction of two modular homes. When they are completed, the homes are then moved to their designated locations. The company also has worked with Feeding America to prepare more than 1.7 million meals.
When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005 and the three hurricanes hit the Gulf States in 2017, Red Gold donated more than 400 tons of tomato products, sending trucks to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida. And, in 2012, Red Gold purchased an empty Elwood elementary school and turned it into its new corporate headquarters. The building had just been renovated by the local school board before the 2008 recession hit. When the nearby automotive plant in Madison County closed, families left the area. The newly remodeled school sat empty. The company, cramped for office space, purchased the building, relieving the local taxpayers of that burden. There is no doubt, Reichart is competitive. But it is competitiveness based on compassion. It’s foundational. Remember, the business was started in 1942 to feed the troops and provide local jobs. And it is why Red Gold is thriving today.
— Jan Garrison
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SPRI NG SE A S O N C O N T I N U ES CU LV ER’ S W I N N I N G WAY S Culver Academies’ student-athletes closed out the 2018 spring season with the top-ranked lacrosse team in the nation; national champions in rowing; three state tournament appearances; four lacrosse All-Americans; a sectional championship; and one Indiana baseball all-star. The spring college signing period also saw 15 more seniors/first-classmen announce their decisions, bringing the total number of commitments for the school year to 38. — Compiled by Jan Garrison
Football players honored Brian Loudermilk ’18 (Redondo Beach, Calif.) was selected to play in the Indiana Football Coaches Association’s NorthSouth All-Star Game in July. CMA coach Andy Dorrel also served as an assistant coach for the North squad. Loudermilk was unable to play after injuring his knee during practice. He has committed to play NCAA Division III ball at Claremont McKenna College. Amari Curtis ’19 (Bellwood, Ill.) appeared on the cover of the 2018-2019 Indiana Football Digest. Curtis was selected as one of the magazine’s “Prime Time 25” during the spring. The magazine previews the upcoming season and selected players. Varsity returns to championship game
CMA Prep lacrosse No. 1 Culver Military Academy’s Prep lacrosse team finished the season as the top team in the nation in one poll and fourth in another. It is the second time the Eagles have been named the top team by one of the national polls. The first time was in 2016. It is also the first time that both the prep lacrosse and hockey programs have finished their respective seasons as the top team in the nation. The Nike/U.S. Lacrosse poll ranked the Eagles No. 1 while the Under Armour/Inside Lacrosse poll had them at No. 4. CMA finished the season 24-2. Alex Simmons ’18 (photo, Smithville, Ontario) was named an Under Armour All-American and played in the North-South All-American Game at Johns Hopkins University in late June. All 11 seniors will be playing at the collegiate level with 10 going to NCAA Division I schools and one going DIII.
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The CMA varsity lacrosse team lost to Hamilton Southeastern, 15-14, in the state championship game. That came after the No. 4 seeded Eagles beat No. 1 Carmel, 10-9 (OT), in the semifinals. Michael Bocker ’18 was named a U.S. Lacrosse All-American and Rory Sever ’18 was selected as an Academic All-American representing Indiana.
Turner honored CGA lacrosse midfielder Jessica Turner ’18 (Evansville, Ind.) was also named an All-American by U.S. Lacrosse. Turner will be playing at the University of Detroit Mercy next season.
First national rowing title The CMA Junior 4 rowers, comprised of Corbin Steck ’20 (Decatur, Ill.), Charlie Jones ’20 (Bloomington, Ind.), Jacob Page ’20 (Granger, Ind.) and Nathan Cesarski ’19 (Columbus, Ind.), captured the first scholastic national title in Culver rowing history. After winning the Midwest Scholastic Regatta, they advanced to the U.S. and Canadian Scholastic National Championships in New Jersey, where they captured the gold medal.
CGA wins tennis sectional The CGA tennis team picked up its 15th tennis sectional crown with victories over North Judson (5-0) and Rochester (3-2). The Eagles lost to Plymouth in the first round of the regional. Culver was the host site for the sectional, regional and northern semi-state rounds of the tournament.
Five qualify for state track meets CMA golfers advance to state The CMA golf team advanced to the state tournament at the Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, finishing 15th after the twoday tournament. The Eagles advanced with a second place finish at the Warsaw Regional. It was the team’s first state tournament appearance since 2004. The CGA golf team advanced to the state tournament in the fall, finishing ninth. It was the first time in school history that both CGA and CMA have qualified for the state tournament in the same school year. CMA has made five state tournament appearances and CGA has made six.
Two runners from CGA and three from CMA qualified for the state track and field meets over graduation weekend. Erin Anderson and Marissa Rivera advanced for CGA. Callaway Bird, Shane Pursch, and Jordan Freeman represented CMA. Rivera ’20 (Columbus, Ind.) finished ninth in the 800 meters in 2 minutes, 15.64 seconds, a personal best and good enough for a podium spot. Anderson ’19 (Elmhurst, Ill.) finished 19th in the 400 with a 58.75. Bird ’18 (Sturgis, Mich.) also finished on the podium, placing ninth in the 800 with a time of 1:56.28. Pursch ’18 (Tippecanoe, Ind.) finished 11th in the 1600 at 4:17.36. Freeman ’19 (Indianapolis) finished 21st in the 200 at 22.62 and 20th in the 100 at 11.21.
Rugby travels Rugby coach Darrell Knowlton traveled to Ireland and player Jack Etheridge ’21 (Mequon, Wis.) went to Ontario during July as part of separate all-stars playing for the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy. They were part of a total of 20 players and two coaches traveling internationally for the program.
Schott named All-Star Hayden Schott ’18 (with mom Darcie Dodds Schott ‘83) was named to the North roster for the Indiana North-South All-Star Baseball Series by the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association. An outfielder, Schott led the state with a .650 batting average during April. He is the first CMA player named to the allstar roster since David Lower in 1999. Mitch Henderson ’94 was the first CMA player to make an all-star series appearance. Schott (Newport Beach, Calif.) was also named to the IHSBCA’s all-academic team, as were fellow seniors Jake Rodgers (Culver), Kyle Dane (Stateline, Nev.), and Will LeVan (Newton, Kan.).
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OUR SPO RT I N G A L U MN I
Three Yale success stories
3. DeVries makes podium
1. National champion
Rowing on the second varsity eight, Bryan DeVries ’15 helped Yale secure a bronze medal at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta on June 3. The Bulldogs finished behind Washington and California.
Colin Courtney ’16 picked up a national championship ring after the Yale men’s lacrosse team defeated Duke, 13-11, on May 28. Courtney is an attackman for the Bulldogs. It was Yale’s first national title in men’s lacrosse. It is the second straight year that a former CMA player has been a member of the national championship squad. Matt Neufeldt ’14 won a title with Maryland last season. 2. Hurdles champion Addison Coy ’17 won the 400 meter hurdles title at the Ivy League Track and Field Championships on May 6. The firstyear at Yale University ran the fastest time in the trial round to guarantee herself a spot in the finals. She set a personal best time of 58.77 to win the championship. Coy was also a member of the 4x400 meter relay team. She was later named first-team All-Ivy for her hurdles victory.
Addison Coy
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Yale finished second overall in the team competition with 199 points. Washington took the team title with 211 points.
Both scored a goal in the first quarter to help the All-Stars to a 15-14 overtime win. Currier was also named to the Canadian national team that played in the FIL World Lacrosse Championship in Netanya, Israel.
First pro victory
National polo champion Ally Vaughn ’16 was a member of the Texas A&M women’s polo team that won the national Intercollegiate Championship in April. Vaughn scored in all three games against University of Virginia, Cornell, and Cal Poly.
More lacrosse news Zach Currier ’13 and Joel Tinney ’14 have been making news this spring and summer.
Waverly Neer
Currier completed his first season for the Calgary Roughnecks in the indoor National Lacrosse league and was named the Rookie of the Year by Inside Lacrosse magazine. Currier led the NLL in ground balls with 200, and added 9 goals and 13 assists “to prove his effectiveness as an all-around threat,” IL writer Bob Chavez wrote.
Waverly Neer ’11 won her first professional race in April, taking the women’s 5,000 meter run at the Larry Ellis Invitational in 16:39.76. Two weeks later, she raced on the streets of Pittsburgh to win the women’s division of UPMC Sports Medicine 5K Run in 17:16, coming in fourth overall.
Currier then won the Major League Lacrosse championship with the Denver Outlaws. One person he played against was Joel Tinney ‘14. After finishing his collegiate career at Johns Hopkins, Tinney was the fourth overall pick in the MLL spring draft, going to the New York Lizards.
Neer is a member of the professional New Jersey/New York Track Club, based in New York City. The team includes 12 men, 12 women and coaches. The team is sponsored by Hoka Shoes. She also represents USA Track and Field, speaking at numerous races. She conducted a clinic and spoke in Pittsburgh prior to the race on May 5.
Currier and Tinney were also teammates when the MLL All-Stars played Team USA in an exhibition game on June 28.
— Compiled by Jan Garrison
Return to Culver brings a return to form Twenty years after thinking he was finished pole vaulting, Scott Johnson ’94 is now one of the best in the world for his age group. It seems everything has come full circle. And it happened by accident. When he competed for Culver, Johnson finished eighth in the state both his second- and first-class years. He then took what he learned from Coach Mike Chastain to Indiana University for four years, where he competed under legendary coach Sam Bell. He also met his wife, Holly, a high jumper on the IU team. After graduation, he put his poles down to get on with his life. Scott Johnson with coach Mike Chastain
But now he is coaching the pole vaulters at Culver Academies and practicing what he preaches with Chastain serving as his coach once again. Johnson competes in the United States Track & Field (USATF) masters division in the 40-44 age group. He goes to three or four sanctioned meets a year. The meet officials then enter each competitor’s results into the USATF’s database. When Johnson cleared 14 feet, 6 inches at the Three Rivers Festival competition in Fort Wayne, Indiana in July, it moved him into second place in the world. The coaching started while Johnson was living and working in the Indianapolis area. A friend asked him if he would coach his daughter at Carmel High School. Johnson worked with her and her teammates. She went to the state meet twice and set a school record. When she graduated, he decided to help the pole vaulters at Center Grove High School, which was closer to home. A boy on the team was having trouble grasping a phase of the vault Johnson was describing, so he decided to show the junior how to do it. “I just grabbed
the pole,” Johnson said. He made the vault but “I’m surprised I didn’t hurt myself.” But Johnson had made his point. The vaulter understood. The athlete ended the season jumping nearly 16 feet, setting a school record, and finishing seventh at the state meet. Though he was injured his senior year, the boy went on to pole vault at IU.
Along with the sanctioned meets, Johnson sprinkles in three to four exhibition meets to stay in shape. While they take measurements, they are not as exact and do not count officially, Johnson said. His sanctioned personal record is 16-6 while his unsanctioned best is 17-0, both of which he accomplished during his college years.
Johnson’s demonstration also rekindled his passion for the event. While he has always worked out, he explained, it took him a year to become strong and fast enough to compete again in the USATF events. There are approximately 40 to 50 pole vaulters in the 40-44 age group actively competing worldwide, he said.
His personal goal now is to clear 15 feet again, which would move him into the No. 1 spot in the world in his age group. That is because USA Today ran an article listing “The 10 Hardest Things to Do in Sports.” Third on the list was clearing 15 feet in the pole vault. “I want to know that, even as a 42 year old, I can still do one of the hardest things in sports,” he said.
Now that the Johnsons have moved to Culver, Chastain is working with him again, taping his practices on an iPad and making suggestions. Johnson credits Chastain with suggesting a twist at the peak of his vault that added four more inches and allowed him to move into second place.
This spring, Johnson started working with the Culver pole vaulters. CGA sophomore Isabelle Ahlenius tied the indoor record at 9-0 and finished second at the sectional, with freshman Maggie Bialek taking fourth. CMA’s Aaron Brooke ’18 won the sectional meet with a 13-6 vault.
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Members from the class of 1968 from Culver’s once-thriving canoe team gathered at the Tippecanoe River over Reunion Weekend for a special canoe trip, which was also something of a throwback to a lengthy trip on the same river during spring break of their senior year. The team, whose roots lay in a 1965 visit to campus by Kalman Blaho, a native Hungarian Olympian and coach of the Italian Olympic team, over the following years won championships across the nation, produced an Olympic canoeist (Rob Mitchell ’67), and was among the earliest athletic endeavors available to members of the Culver Academy for Girls in 1971. Team members on the Reunion trip included Steve Kling, Keith Oldham, Casper Martin, Rob Fogel, Ted Frison, Tony Wheeler, Denny Wells, Chris Greenleaf, Don Giacchetti, and FT Eyre (not pictured are Ted Frison, Chris Greenleaf, and Denny Wells). A special exhibit on the team is featured at the Culver Academies Museum in downtown Culver.
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Jack Martin ’46 attained a goal setback in 2005 when he underwent a double knee replacement. That’s when he discovered the TRIKKE, a stand-up roadway device useful for rehab and total-body workout for general conditioning. “My goal was to use it until my 90th birthday,” writes the Bandsman and member of Culver’s Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the U.S. Olympic Pentathlon team in 1952. He adds, “Mission accomplished!”
David Pritchard NB’56 writes that he was the only Naval Bandsman in the first Naval School Drill Team, directed by Dr. Bill Hanning. Says David, who lives with his wife Nancy in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, “I was the alum who urged Dr. Hanning to get Navigation restored to the curriculum, based on my experience as an East Coast cruising sailor and the training I received in 1956 from Culver. In short, I love the place and what I learned...it’s served me well!”
HRH Crown Prince Alexander II N’59,’64 Crown Prince of Serbia, was back in the U.S. with his wife, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Katherine, on Feb. 9 for a fundraiser at the St. Luke Serbian Orthodox Church in Potomac, Maryland. Other guests of honor included His Grace Bishop Irinej, Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Eastern America, and The Honorable Zeljka Cvijanovic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska. Both Crown Prince
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Alexander and his wife have been active in efforts supporting democracy, human rights, and charity relief. They live in Serbia’s capital city of Belgrade. Jon Stuart N ’63, ’67 was awarded an honorary PhD from the University of Oklahoma at its commencement exercises in May and will be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in November, joining his father and grandfather in that distinguished and select group. Jon is chairman of the board and CEO of First Stuart Corp., a Tulsa-based family investment
ALUMNI CLASS NEWS
company; managing partner of Jon R. Stuart Interests LLC, principally focusing on the energy business; and trustee for the Stuart Family Foundation. For more than 30 years, he has served as the Honorary Consul of Norway by royal appointment of His Royal Highness King Harald V of Norway. He also has been the longestserving chairman of the City of Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority and was inducted into the Arkansas River Historical Society Hall of Fame in 2009 as well as the Tulsa Hall of Fame in 2014. Jon and his wife, Mildred, live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Paul Much ’68 has been named to the Dean’s Council at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Brock Brownrigg ’69 was one of seven industry members who received Industry Statesman Awards during the American Coatings Association’s (ACA) Awards Reception & Dinner on April 9 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The honor is given to individuals at or near retirement, in recognition and appreciation of their long and devoted service to the paint and coatings industry. Brock, retired CEO and owner of Sheboygan Paint Company, served multiple terms on ACA’s Board of Directors; he and his wife Lynn live in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Company C friends from the Class of 1968, Paul Hamer and John Cooper, reunited recently in Buenos Aires, where John now lives, drank a toast to classmate John Armbruster, and visited a military school.
1970s Josh Kaiman S’74, ’77 is starting a new position as Global Category Manager for Rexnord Corporation, a $2
billion industrial machinery manufacturer in Milwaukee. He and his wife, Joanne, live in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
Andy Wagner, Company A counselor from 1971 to 1975 and speech coach at Culver, was once again joined by company members at the most recent of many annual gatherings, this year at the home of Terry Smith in Buckeye Lake, Ohio. Pictured, from left, are Steve Kime ’75, Terry Smith ’74, Wagner, Gene Needles ’73, Paul Seel ’72, and Mike Jakubowski ’71.
1980s Aleco Bravo H’82 was recently the subject of a feature story in Middleburg Life of Middleburg,Virginia, which tells of his “living the dream” restoring his family’s Rutledge Farm and its mansion, stables, polo field, and arena. Aleco was born in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico and is a dual Mexican and U.S. citizen. His father was the renowned Mexican matador, Jaime Bravo, and his mother was a showgirl in the legendary Vegas show, The Folies Bergere. Aleco holds graduate degrees from Georgetown University in law and business and is also a founding board member of the Middleburg Film Festival. Nancy Akin Shellhorse S’84,’87 is now a named partner in Dalrymple, Shellhorse, Ellis and Diamond, LLP. Nancy
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Message from Legion, CSSAA, and CCI Presidents Lara Smith Nicholson ’86 was ratified as the 87th President of The Culver Legion on May 18. She welcomed back more than 700 alumni to the 2018 Reunion Weekend. In addition, more than 700 alumni and parents were on campus for the 93rd Summer Homecoming Weekend hosted by the CSSAA. Both The Culver Legion and CSSAA memberships are to be congratulated for their magnanimous support of Culver’s first Day of Giving held last April and highlighted in a feature in this magazine edition. Chuck Osborne ’88 takes over for Meg Burk W ’86, ‘91 as president of Culver Clubs International. On these pages are multiple examples of Culver constituents at gatherings around the world promoting the school and camps, and enjoying the fellowship of alumni, parents, and friends.
Lara Nicholson ’86 President The Culver Legion
N. Merritt Becker N ’83 President The Culver Summer Schools Alumni Association
Charles Osborne ’88 President Culver Clubs International N. Merritt Lara Nicholson ’ 86 Becker N’ 83
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Charles Osborne ’ 88
is an attorney specializing in representing health care providers in regulatory, transactional and litigation matters. She was selected as a Best Lawyer for 2018 by Best Lawyers, a Wall Street Journal publication, for her work in the field of health care law. Nancy and her husband David just celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary and are the proud parents of twins who recently graduated from Baylor University and Texas A&M University. Dennis Young T’84,’87 started the JPL Women in STEM program as part of his 14-year career with NASA so girls could meet and interact with women engineers and scientists. With an original intended audience of 50, the program has greatly expanded. This year more than 3,000 girls are expected to attend. The program has over 18 women engineers and scientist speakers, 35 volunteers and more than 3,000 pounds of NASA equipment going to a school in Los Angeles, says Dennis, who lives in Valencia, California with his wife Diane and their children, Evan (11) and Madelyn (9). He hopes to expand the program next year to reach more than 10,000 high school girls. Speaking of his Culver experience, he says, “We had excellent and dedicated teachers. But I think we pushed each other. I’m very grateful to my roommate, John Kim, who changed the way I think.” After joining the Navy straight out of Culver, Dennis later earned a Business degree at Cal State Long Beach and
studied at the University of Madrid in Spain. He notes he’s a “big believer in giving back. Despite some of the complaining we did in high school, we were all very blessed to get a first-rate education.”
1990s Monica Llorente ’92 is serving on a screening committee tasked with reviewing and vetting federal district court judge candidates in the Northern District of Illinois, assisting U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). Monica teaches at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law and the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences and has served as an advocate for children’s rights in several national campaigns and represented children in need of various judicial and administrative proceedings. She is currently the education cochair of the ABA Children’s Rights Litigation Committee and has also served as a board member of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois. Kelly Raclin Miller W’85,’92 is a therapeutic and educational consultant in academic answers. com’s Dallas office, in addition to helping families in the area with educational and therapeutic placement needs. Holding a bachelor’s in political science and journalism, and master’s in psychology, Kelly’s career has also included CNN’s Larry King Live, CBSTV, PBS, marchFIRST, Inc. and the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.
After she and husband, Jeffrey Miller, had a son diagnosed with mixed receptive/ expressive language disorder and later, ADHD, Kelly made it her mission to become more informed and help educate the public. Three Culver graduates survived a helicopter crash in southern Mexico which killed 13 people and injured 15. Alex Murat Hinojosa ’93, Raul Bolanos Cacho Cue T ’06, and Alvaro Prandini Johnson T ’08 suffered no major injuries in the crash of a military helicopter carrying officials assessing damage from a powerful earthquake. The February 16 crash took place in the city of Jamiltepec, about 19 miles from the area of Pinotepa Nacional. Alex is governor of the state of Oaxaca, and Raul and Alvaro are members of his staff. Dr. Jeremiah Depta ’96 was in the news in June for his role in a “history-making heart surgery” in Webster, New York. Jeremiah was one of the doctors at the Sands-Constellation Heart Institute, where patient John Wood went through a procedure called TAVR, which allowed doctors to replace his aortic heart valve without open heart surgery, using a catheter instead. Wood thus became the first patient in the state and in the country to be able to go home within hours of heart valve replacement. KuanYu Chen ’99 was recently accepted by the UMHS-SK medical school after earning her BA at Purdue,
her dual MA from Calvary Theological Seminary, working at a non-profit organization, and volunteering at KU Medical Center as the chaplain there. KuanYu, who lives in Leawood, Kansas, adds, “Thanks to Culver for all the education and training you gave me when I came to America in 1997 just as a Taiwan teenager who could not even speak any English at the beginning.”
The Culver Academies Museum, located at 102 S. Main Street in Culver, recently underwent a renovation which included new flooring and the addition of a popular new feature: a 1930s era barrack room, complete with vintage furnishings and décor. The museum, with Culver’s archives adjacent, features a host of artifacts, images, and stories of Culver’s past. Hours and contact information are online at culver.org/museum.
2000s Doug Sisson W’99, N’01,T ’03 recently relocated to the Chicago area, where he works for his uncle’s horticulture business in Burr Ridge, McFarlane Douglass. He writes that he’s single but hopes to get a dog soon, and is thrilled to be living in the Chicago area after more than five years in New York City. Emily Thews Baldridge W ’01, ’06 recently had her first baby, Lila, with her husband Anthony Baldridge. Emily is a beloved Spanish teacher and girls’ varsity basketball coach at Western Reserve Academy in Ohio. Ben Nowalk W’02 ’07 and his wife, Anna (Campbell) Nowalk S’04, welcomed baby Harrison Taylor Nowalk on July 17. Baby Harrison’s Culver family also includes several family members from Culver’s faculty and staff, including Ben’s father, Culver Arts Collection curator, Bob Nowalk; aunt Nancy McKinnis, a master instructor in leadership education;
and aunt Beth Schmiedlin, a CGA counselor. New dad Ben serves as Culver Clubs coordinator in the Culver Alumni office. Anna and Ben live in Culver. Nicolas Elizondo ’09 and his wife, Haley, welcomed daughter Asher RaeAnn into the world in December of 2017. The Elizondos live in New Palestine, Indiana.
2010s Davis Schiller W’13 is headed to boot camp at the Air Force Academy to further his athletic and academic careers while serving his country. He will play lacrosse at college (his early endeavors in the sport include elementary school forays under his coach father, Ralph Schiller ’84, who played lacrosse while at Culver, and a successful high school run at Cranbrook Kingswood in Michigan). Davis lives in Bingham Farms, Michigan.
The entrepreneurship of Aaron Marshall ’14 was lauded in the magazine of his college alma mater, Butler University in Indianapolis, recently in a feature story on Aaron’s Naptown Thrift business. While Aaron’s path to Butler began with his passion for producing and recording hip-hop music, family thrifting trips evolved into an Intsagram account which drew worldwide attention and led to a brick and mortar business. Aaron graduated from Butler this spring. As reported in Culver’s news blog (news.culver.org) Meagan Rioux S’11,’14 is moving to Namibia as a member of the Peace Corps, into which she was recently accepted, to begin training as a small enterprise and entrepreneurship development volunteer. The Granville, Ohio native was inspired by her experience as a volunteer last year during the flood crisis in Peru, and credits her Culver experience with leading her to “become
the best version of myself ” and joining the Peace Corps. She graduated from Hollins University in Roanoke,Virginia with a degree in business finance earlier this year. Former Culver Summer Schools & Camps staff member Bill Meridith and his wife Jo celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on June 6. Bill notes that Jo was on the summer staff for 38 summers while Bill himself was on the staff from 1953 through 1983 and again from 2006 through 2015, adding up to 41 summers. “As a matter of fact,” he adds, “Jo and/or I (were) on the staff for 63 consecutive summer sessions.”
We’re Interested! Tell us about memorable events in your life and career at news.culver.org
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Photo by Alex Claney ‘79
C U LV E R C L U B S I N T E R N AT I O N A L
A Culver Club Beijing event included current and incoming students from Beijing and their families. The June 7th event included prospective Boarding School and Summer Camp families, graduates, parents, consultants and current students. At the dinner, all the new students and their parents were introduced.
The 16th Annual Culver Club Shanghai event was held on June 10, sponsored by Culver alumni, current and past parents, current and new students/summer campers and prospective families for Summer and Boarding School. The band Anonymous (all current Culver students) played.
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Night and Day in LA
The Culver Club of Los Angeles/Orange County hosted an event at the Academy of Magical Arts on June 23. As the attendees entered the magic castle, they all mysteriously disappeared since there was no photography permitted inside the facility. Musn’t give away any trade secrets!
A group of LA alumni (organized by Henrietta Conrad ’11) took a Sunday Hike to the Hollywood Sign! A great example of a casual Alumni Outing organized by a CCI Volunteer. (Pictured Left to Right) Jorge Harb W’88, Lucas Wilborg (Guest), Albert Tumpson ’71, Brice Geoffrion ’09,Victor Saponari ’07, Conrad ’11, Riley Scott ’11.
On April 7, the Culver Club of Tampa/St. Pete led by Brian Battaglia W’72 gathered for a St. Petersburg Rowdies soccer game. Even with a little rain, the group had a great time!
Head of Schools Jim Power spoke to a group of alumni, parents, and prospective families at the ONE Culver Chicago event held at the Deer Path Inn in Lake Forest. Jim was accompanied by a panel of Culver boarding school students and summer schoolers who provided the group with an in-depth look at the institution’s programing and leadership development. The Culver Club of Detroit hosted a ONE Culver reception also featuring Jim Power. Guests were treated to the exceptional service and cuisine featured at the Detroit Athletic Club while taking advantage of the opportunity to ask Power in-depth questions regarding his experience at Culver and plans for the future.
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The 16th annual Culver Club Korea event was held on June 16. Jin Lee CMA ’03, the Culver Club Korea president, and current parent ambassadors organized and sponsored the dinner. The three 2018 graduates were celebrated and two new Korean students and their families were welcomed. Several graduates talked about their experiences after Culver.
The Culver Club of Culver went to the races on May 5, hosting more than 100 guests for the annual Derby Day at Arlington Park. The group is looking forward to placing their bets in 2019!
The Culver Club of Indianapolis held its inaugural Connecting Through Culver event. Alumni and Culver supporters were encouraged to attend and meet new contacts in a professional setting. CCI hopes to take this model to other cities with interested alumni. (Pictured left to right) Linda Grider (parent), Kristen Chandler (parent), Molly Quella ’05, Tracy Chandler (parent). Young Alumni enjoying appetizers and drinks at the Culver Club of Indianapolis Connecting Through Culver event. (Pictured left to right) Marin (Barnes) Strong ’12, Willie Strong ’13, Ryan Benczik ’10, Drake D’Ambra ’13.
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May 15, 2018 The Culver Club of Northwest Indiana held its inaugural event this past May. Greg Farrall ’88 was the evening’s emcee, and Director of Enrollment Management, Staci Hundt, and Director of Summer Schools & Camps, Doug Bird, were the featured speakers. Pictured are (Left to Right) Bill Fairchild ’75, Mark Galloway (Admissions), Dean Benson ’75, and Jerry Kisela (Admissions)
Upcoming Culver Events October Culver Club of Culver
2018 Summer Homecoming
Annual Skeet Shoot
Live the Legacy, Culver’s 9th Auction, is just around the corner!
November Culver Club of Chicago
On October 5th, 1,000 parents, alumni, faculty, staff, students, campers, and friends will come together in Henderson Ice Arena to celebrate Culver and generate critical dollars for the Culver Fund. This year’s auction also honors Jan and George DeVries ’77 as Honorary Auction Co-Chairs.
ONE Culver Reception
Culver Club of Houston ONE Culver Reception
Culver Club of Southwest Florida Cocktail Reception
December Culver Club of Indianapolis Holiday Reception
Culver Club of Chicago Holiday Reception at Casino Club
January Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and Luncheon with the Lancers and Equestriennes. February Culver Club of South Florida Reception
Culver Club of Southwest Florida Reception
It promises to be another exciting evening, featuring student performers and phenomenal items such as a new boat, a Culver-themed Club Car golf cart, a stay in private beach cabanas at Costa Palmas on the East Cape in Mexico, a beach vacation in La Jolla, and an assortment of Culver memorabilia, including vintage Culver plates.Visit the auction website at culver.org/auction to donate an item (by 9/7), sponsor a table, or buy your tickets today!
Another packed house for the Homecoming Parade.
If tickets have sold out or you cannot get to campus that weekend, there’s still a chance to participate. This year, we will offer online bidding* for items in the Super Silent section, a special group of highly desirable items. By signing up for our online bidding option, you can compete from afar for items in that section with bidders attending the auction that evening. You may also purchase a special edition Culver Academies or Culver Summer Schools & Camps marble lazy susan for $100. Or get involved by purchasing tickets for the cash raffle! You do not need to be present to win, and the three prizes are $5,000, $2,500, and $1,250. Ticket prices are one for $100 or 6 for $500. For more information, visit the auction website at culver.org/auction or contact Julie Crews Barger (574.842.8272 or julie.barger@culver.org) or Mary Szymusiak (574.842.8321 or mary.szymusiak@culver.org). *In the event of technical difficulties with online bidding the night of the auction, the Super Silent section will revert to paper bid sheets and onsite bidding only.
Jon Wampler N’68 led the Homecoming Parade.
Woodcraft badges remain treasured items.
March 17, 2018 Al and Blair Clark (faculty emeritus) joined more than 50 guests for a spring training game with the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, Arizona. Attendees enjoyed a group ball-park luncheon and received a commemorative Culver hat.
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All photos by Mo Morales.
IN MEMORIAM Robert L. Blanke, Jr. W’27, H’29 died September 30, 2017, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marjorie, and is survived by his daughter, Alice Blanke Boeschenstein, two grand- children and two great-grandchildren. Dr. John R. McWilliams ’40 (Company C) died June 9, 2018, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he earned BS, MS and M.D. degrees from the University of Michigan and completed a residency training in ophthalmology there as well. Following a two-year tour in the U.S. Army at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, during the Korean conflict, he returned to Ann Arbor and made it his permanent home. Though he was No. 1 in his medical school class, Dr. McWilliams chose private clinical practice over an academic career, establishing a 48-year one-on-one relationship with hundreds of patients. He was appointed clinical professor in the opthamology department of the medical school and enjoyed teaching residents at the Kellogg Eye Center for more than 50 years. He authored a manual of refraction, which is still used in national residency programs. After his retirement, he was given the lifetime service award by the opthamology department for only the second time in its history. Dr. McWilliams and his wife, Annabel, were avid travelers, driving through the British Isles, France and Portugal, and
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The obituary dates are from May 1-July 25. later re-visiting by train. He was an ardent golfer and for more than 80 years felt he was on the verge of discovering the perfect golf swing. He insisted on carrying his own golf bag, with the help of two metal hips and one metal knee, until he was 95. He was also a fierce Michigan football and basketball fan all of his life. He and his wife were inveterate patrons of music, dance and theater. Dr. McWilliams was preceded in death by two daughters, Beth and Deborah. He is survived by his wife of 69 years; one daughter, one son, five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Bruce Hopping ’42 (Troop I) H’41 died May 17, 2018, in Laguna Beach, California. Born in Saigon, he spent his early years in the Pacific Islands, where he developed a love for the ocean. After graduating from Culver, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was transferred to several stateside bases, ultimately landing at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. He became a medical evacuation pilot who retrieved wounded soldiers from Pacific theatres of battle. One day, while searching for a downed C-47 in typhoon conditions, his plane was blown several miles off course and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. For the next two weeks, he and his spotter battled storms, waves, sharks and sunburn, floating on a leaky raft, enduring violent storms, tumultuous waves, and shark-infested waters, before washing ashore in the eastern Philippines. They survived on
seagulls that roosted there. With the help of locals in canoes, they eventually made it back safely to Manila, despite the presence of Japanese soldiers in the area. After WWII Bruce taught at Bainbridge Air Base in Maryland, and when the Korean War broke out, he was transferred to Barbers Point in Hawaii, where he was put on a minesweeper bound for the Korean Peninsula. When his parents died, he used his inheritance to create the New Jersey Foundation in 1953, and over the next 15 years sponsored numerous aqua-athletic events and commissioned works of art. He relocated to Laguna Beach, California, in 1960, where he met Dr. Ted Bruner in 1966, a founder of the classics department at UC Irvine, who introduced Bruce to the Greek concept of Kalos Kagathos, an ideal of personal conduct that emphasizes physical distinction and nobility of mind. Bruce renamed his foundation with this Greek name in 1968. For fifty years, the foundation became known for its contributions to water sports, arts and the environment. His cultural exchanges for swim, surf and water polo teams took place on every continent except Antarctica. He was a patron of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the Amateur Athletic Union, the international swimming federation, FINA, and was a two-time Olympic swimming judge. To honor the Class of ’42 Back Horse Troop members, Kalos Kagathos sponsors the annual
Fort Riley Commandant’s Leadership Award, given to the best all around CMA Trooper. Bruce received numerous accolades from governors, ambassadors, diplomats, tribal chiefs and local officials for his work, most recently in his tireless efforts to ensure that Laguna Beach retained its legacy as an international destination for water sports, arts and the environment. Stuart Leeb W’42, N’45 died January 25, 2017, at The Sequoias, Portola Valley, California. Born in Cleveland Ohio, he graduated from Western Reserve Academy before attending Amherst College and then Harvard Business School. Stuart moved to the San Francisco Bay area, where he established himself as a real estate market broker. In the 1960s he became a developer, building several research and office buildings. He was one of the last users of the slide rule in his business dealings. Stuart was very active in state and local Republican politics in the 1960s and 1970s, being elected vice president and then president of the Alliance Peninsula. He also served as chairman of the San Mateo County Human Relations Commission and board member of the Cedars at Marin, a facility for the developmentally disabled, where his daughter Betsy was a longtime resident. He enjoyed flying small aircraft, skiing, swimming and cycling. Jazz music was also a passion for him. He will be remembered for his warmth, wit, and generosity.
Stuart was preceded in death by his daughter Betsy. He is survived by one son and one daughter, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. William C. Lighthall ’43 (Battery A), a lifelong Ann Arbor, Michigan resident, died April 29, 2018. He attended Albion College and furthered his education through various graduate programs at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. He went to work at Hoover Ball and Bearing and held various positions, including setting up operations in Japan and Europe. His final position was risk manager. After his retirement at 65, he continued to consult as a risk manager for the next five years. Bill and his wife, Carol, lived on a farm outside of Ann Arbor, where he enjoyed horseback riding, golf, and “puttering” around the farm. He was preceded in death by his wife, and two sons: Charles N ’68 and James N ’70, and is survived by one son, Cone N ’67, six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Charles F. Vorm ’43 (Company C) W’39, died May 24, 2018, in Valparaiso, Indiana. He graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1946. He retired as president of the American Oak Preserving Company, Inc. in 1985. He was a member of the North Judson Lodge #438 F & AM, the Scottish Rite in South Bend and the Ancient Order of the Mystic Shrine-Orak in Michigan City. Fred was preceded in death by his first wife, Arlowa,
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and second wife, Daisy. He is survived by two sons, two daughters, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. William “Bill” C. Milstead ’43 (Battery B) died June 23, 2018, in Austin, Texas. He attended Austin High School and later graduated from Culver. He was a proud graduate of Rice University as part of the Navy’s V12 program. Bill embarked on a 72 year business career that included his role as president/chairman of Milstead Industries (1975-1983), a conglomerate of Milstead Company and Calcasieu Lumber Company. He was an astute businessman known for integrity, honor, core values and hard work. Bill had many passions, among them rowing, snow skiing, sailing, hunting with his dogs and his favorite, fly fishing. He and his wife traveled the world fly fishing. He also loved American history. Bill was preceded in death by one son, Matthew’83. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Jacqueline; one son, Mark ’78 and three grandchildren. Henry P. Forbes ’45 (Company B) of Hammond, Louisiana, died May 22, 2018. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy and served for five years in the Navy as captain of two minesweepers, the Osprey and the Swallow. He retired from active service in 1954 and moved to Hammond, where he was the proprietor of Forbes, Furniture, Inc., and maintained his service in the Louisiana National Guard until his retirement as a colonel.
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Henry was involved in several community organizations, including the Hammond Airport Authority, Downtown Historic District, Town & Gown Players, and Kiwanis and Rotary. He was also a private pilot, avid cook, amateur radio operator and lay minister and elder at the First Presbyterian Church. After retiring from the furniture business, Henry earned an associate’s degree in computer science at Southeastern Louisiana University and then worked at the Hammond State School to computerize their office management system. Henry was preceded in death by his first wife, Nancy. He is survived by his wife of 15 years, Patricia, two daughters, one son, Harold ’72, three stepchildren, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. James C. Stover NB’46 died February 7, 2018, of complications from pneumonia. Jim grew up in Robinson, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia, where he was a drummer in the university band and orchestra and drum major for the marching band for two years. He met his wife, Ann, there and they married in 1950. After moving to Wilmington, Delaware, to begin a career with DuPont Company, Jim was drafted and served as a U.S. Army combat engineer in Korea until his discharge in 1952. His 35-year career with DuPont as the national account manager and special services
supervisor for the chemical division, southern region, took his family to Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas. He retired to Houston in 1984 and quickly became involved in community service with the Methodist church, Memorial City Hospital and Little League team. In 1991 he and his wife moved to New Braunfels, Texas, where Jim began assisting friends with financial advice and became a skilled adviser. He was also a generous contributor to the Comal Senior Center, charities, scholarship programs, and support for groups in the South Congo and Zambia. Jim was preceded in death by his wife, and daughter, Susan. He is survived by one daughter, one son, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. William H. Kyle, Jr.’47 (Company A) died February 25, 2018, in Bend, Oregon. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1951, after which he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. After spending three years in Japan with his wife, he began a long career in business. He returned to Japan in 1965, where he spent the next 24 years, establishing his own business of representing numerous U.S. companies in Asia, including Hong Kong and Singapore. In 1991 he was offered a chair in International Business at Montana State University, which he accepted and held until his retirement in 1996. He and his wife moved to Couer d’Alene Idaho, where they enjoyed golf, and then
followed their passion to Palm Desert, California, and then to Bend, Oregon. Bill is survived by his wife of 67 years, Nancy, one daughter, Lisa SS’74, one son William III W’73 and four grandchildren. Richard Barron Doyle ’47 (Troop I) died April 27, 2018, in Miami, Florida. Born in Norwalk, Ohio, he attended Culver but graduated from Lake Worth High School in Florida. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Miami, as well as a Law degree. He served in the U.S. Army in the Korean conflict as a lieutenant, then continued in the family business as owner and president of Gulfstream Press and Rotary Business Forms and Rotarying Company in Norwalk, Ohio. Richard was a lifelong member of the Elks, Rotary Club, American Legion and Emerald Society. A devout Catholic, he was a 3rd degree Knight of Columbus and Knight of the Holy Sepulcher. He was an avid sports fan and season ticket holder for both the Miami Dolphins and the University of Miami Hurricanes. He was also a car aficionado and racing fan, being a founder of the Edsel Racing Team and an annual attendee of the Daytona 500 race from 1958-1999. His other passion was golf, which he played at multiple clubs. Richard was preceded in death by his son, Theodore. He is survived by his wife, Faith, two sons, one daughter, and two grandchildren.
Quay M. Nicklow ’47 (Company C) of Coldspring, Texas, died May 7, 2018. He owned and operated Nicklow Ford in Cleveland, Texas and was the former mayor of the city and very active in community service. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary; son, Steve; one stepson and one granddaughter. Survivors include two daughters, two sons, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Vicksburg, where he became interested in anesthesiology. He began his residency at the University of Mississippi Medical School and completed it at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. While he served his two years of service as chief of anesthesia at the U.S Army Hospital at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, he was offered the position of chief of anesthesiology at Mercy Hospital Clinic in Vicksburg, which he accepted.
advice to coach them. He also coached the Vicksburg High School golf team and was team doctor for the St. Aloysius football team. He also enjoyed hunting, collecting Civil War artifacts and taxidermy. He is survived by his wife, Joan, daughters Susan ’79 and Jacqueline and four grandchildren. His oldest daughter, JoAnn, died shortly after him and her service was held jointly with his.
residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. In 1962 he entered a urology practice in Corpus Christi, which expanded to become Urology Associates, and embarked on a 45-year career as a boardcertified urologist and member of the Nueces County Medical Society. He met his wife, Kathryn, a Corpus Christi native, and married in 1964, a union that lasted 54 years and produced three daughters. Ray loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter and cattle rancher on the side. He was also passionate about fine wines and gourmet cooking and could often be found in the kitchen perfecting his recipes for gumbo, French bread and crepes suzette. He delighted in telling his grandchildren stories about his past in that trademark Texas drawl. Ray is survived by his wife, Kathy; three daughters and eight grandchildren. Martin E. Staples, Sr.’48 (Company D) W’42 died July 5, 2016. He was preceded in death by his only daughter, Linda SS’75 and is survived by his wife, Irma; one son, Martin N’74 and four grandchildren.
Dr. Richmond Sharbrough ’48 (Troop II) H’46 died March 10, 2018, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He attended Tulane University for his pre-med studies. He graduated from medical school at the University of Mississippi in the accelerated program. After graduation he served his internship at Mercy Hospital Street Clinic in
During his long career, he became a fellow of the American Board of Anesthesiologists and served locally as president of the West Mississippi Medical Association and chief of staff at Mercy Hospital. He was passionate about sports, especially swimming when his children were younger and he sought out the best
Dr. Ray Gilbert Hooper ’48 (Company A) died April 2, 2018, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Born in Houston, he attended Culver, graduated from Tulane University and then the Tulane School of Medicine. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard as the ship’s doctor at the North Pole and Antarctica and returned to complete his internship and
Richard Loring Flumerfelt ’49 (Band) died March 27, 2018 in Edina, Minnesota. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1956. He was preceded in death by his wife, Joan. He is survived by one daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. A private service will be held at Fort Snelling National Cemetery to be scheduled at a future date.
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George F. Steiner ’49 (Battery A) of Los Gatos, California, died May 3, 2018. He entered the U.S. Navy and was stationed on the USS Helena in the western Pacific as a missile launching officer. After the Navy, he entered Northwestern University, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering, and
later, a master’s degree from Santa Clara University. He spent his career at Lockheed as a staff and design engineer and worked on the Poseidon and Trident missiles. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth, and a brother, Richard ’49. He is survived by two sons, two daughters and one grandchild. Richard Hardie ’49 (Battery B) of Agua Dulce, California, died June 20, 2017. After grad-
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uating from Culver, he attended DePauw University for two years and then joined the U.S. Air Force in 1951, where he spent 21 years in aircraft maintenance and logistics. He then worked for Northrop Corp, Aircraft Division in Hawthorne, California, for 23 years in management and master planning, including
work on the F-5, the F-18 and the B-2. After retiring in 1995, he and his second wife, Dottie, moved to Rocking Horse Ranch in Agua Dulce, where they raised miniature horses for many years. Richard is survived by his wife, three daughters and four grandchildren. Robert Clyman Ploughe ’50 (Band) of Carmel, Indiana, died January 22, 2018. After graduating from Culver, he served at Ft. Leonard Wood and
returned to Indiana to work for Delco-Remy, Universal Match and Thomson Electronics. He is survived by his wife, Thelma, one son, one daughter and three grandchildren. Roger M. Gilbert ’51 (Battery A) W’47, died August 20, 2017. He was preceded in death by a grandson
and is survived by his wife, Edythe, two sons, two daughters and seven grandchildren. Other family members who attended Culver are Roger’s father, Russell F. Gilbert N’18; and his brother Russell ’43. Joseph Payne Ansick ’52 (Troop B) died October 3, 2017 in Bridgeview, Illinois. He is survived by his wife, Mary, and a daughter, Debbie. Karl W. Koch ’52 (Battery B) of Fredericksburg and Cor-
pus Christi, Texas, died March 31, 2018. Born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, he attended the local schools before enrolling at Culver and then being accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy. He met his wife, Judy, at a Washington party and they were married in the lower chapel of the Naval Academy the day after Karl graduated. Karl served in the Navy until he was called home to take over the family business. He successfully ran the Lima Pepsi Cola plant, revived a floundering Pepsi Plant in Corpus Christi, and founded the Oneta Company, expanding it to include Everest Water and Coffee and Sunrise Canteen Vending. He served the community by serving on the foundation board of Hill Country Memorial Hospital and supporting the Corpus Christi Food Bank, American Cancer Society and Special Olympics. Karl is survived by his wife, Judy; three daughters, one son, 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Patrick Dennis Heenan W’52, N’55 of Lenoir City, Tennessee, died April 19, 2018. After graduating from the University of Detroit High School, he attended the University of Notre Dame, along with 16 of his high school classmates, and earned a degree in business administration. He played on the football team his senior year. An avid athlete, he went on to play for the Washington Redskins for two years before breaking his clavicle, ending his professional career, but beginning a new passion
RE M EM BE R I N G T H E FA M I LY Alvin C. Coby died April 3, 2018, in Culver, Indiana. He lived most of his life in Fulton County and was a life member of the Western Beagle Club. He worked as an upholsterer in the Canvas Shop at Culver for more than 50 years. Alvin is survived by four brothers and several nephews and nieces. Dr. Robert Butler Whitcomb died April 19, 2018, in Marshall, MN. Born in Scipio, Indiana, he attended the College of Music in Cincinnati before enlisting in the US Army after the Pearl Harbor bombing, serving as a navigator on a B-17 bomber. His plane was shot down on the 20th mission; he was one of two survivors of an 11 man crew. He was captured and held in a German prison near Berlin. After the war, he earned his BA degree and MA in music and taught music at Culver from 1948 through 1949. He later earned his doctorate in music composition through the Eastman School of Music. Robert taught at Western Washington State and then at Southwest State University in Minnesota, where he retired in 1987. His music has been published and performed nationally and internationally, including at the Kennedy Center. He is survived by his wife, Lois, three sons, and two grandchildren. Robert A. Reichley died May 15, 2018, in Providence, Rhode Island, where he had a rich career as the former executive vice president for alumni, public affairs and external relations at Brown University. His public relations career began in 1960 when he was named Director of Public Relations at Culver. As part of a 4-man department, his responsibilities included advising the student newspaper, editing the employee newsletter, writing news releases, conducting journalism workshops during winter and teaching journalism classes during summer school. He was appointed supervisor of student publications and editor of the Culver Alumnus magazine in 1963. For three consecutive years, the student newspaper won the highest ratings from national critical services and, in the spring of 1963, the student editor won the American
Newspaper Publishers Association award for the best news story of the year, presented in connection with the Columbia Scholastic Press Association convention. Bob directed all external relations programs at CMA and the Culver Summer Schools & Camps. He placed cover stories in such targeted national magazines as Boys Life, Look Magazine, the Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine and others to advance the admissions program. Under his direction of the Culver Alumnus, the magazine became the first secondary school magazine ever to rank twice among the top 10 best magazines in direct competition with all of the national college and university magazines. For three years, he also advised an award-winning student newspaper that covered such national events as the Bay of Pigs and the student protests at the University of Mississippi. On the student staffs were such future journalists as Andrew Malcolm ’62, author, staff writer and bureau chief at the New York Times, and now with the LA Times, and the late TV film critic Gene Siskel ’63. Bob left Culver in 1968. He served as chairman of the board for the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and holds honorary doctorates from York College (PA), Ursinus College (PA) and Brown. Bob is survived by his wife, Sara; four children and six grandchildren. Annette Dungey Chism died May 16, 2018, in South Bend, Indiana. She held many titles in her working life, including security at the South Bend airport, usher at the University of Notre Dame and dorm mother at Culver. She was very active in her church, where she served as Sunday School director and Church mother. She also loved to travel and spend time with her family. Annette is survived by her only child, Marlon N. Moore, five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Melvin Dungey. J. Thomas Jackson of Worthington, Indiana, died June 1, 2018, in Indianapolis. After graduation from Worthington-Jefferson
High School, he served in the U.S. Army for three years, with 18 months of that time in Vietnam. During that time, he was a member of the 1st and 5th Special Forces groups. Tom earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph College and a master’s degree from Ball State University. He worked for the State of Indiana Department of Correction Education department for one year; as a PE teacher and cross country coach at Culver from 1980-82, and the University of St. Francis in Ft. Wayne from 1982-2012, where he served as chair of the Health and PE department, basketball coach, and assistant athletic director. He is survived by his significant other of 18 years, Susie Pickard. Elizabeth Davis of Vero Beach, Florida, died June 4, 2018. Liz, as she was known to all, worked at the Culver Inn as a waitress, part-time at Mary’s Shop and retired from the State Exchange Bank. She was preceded in death by her husband, LeRoy, and grandson Jeffrey Robertson. Survivors include one son, one daughter, eleven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Miriam E. “Pud” McKee, 85, of Plymouth, Indiana, died on August 3, 2018 at home. She was a graduate of Culver High School. On July 12, 1953 she married Vern B. McKee in Hibbard, Indiana, followed by a few years in San Diego while Vern served in the Navy. They then returned to Indiana, where they raised their three daughters. Miriam spent 32 years working at the Academy, beginning at Offices Services and then serving as secretary to many past Commandants. She retired in 1994. She was an avid Chicago sports fan, enjoyed golf, playing cards, bowling and softball. Miriam is survived by three daughters: Cindy Riester and Jana McKee, both of Plymouth, Indiana, and Denise (David) Bohm of Mountainview, Missouri; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and sister-in-law Sherry Lowry. She was preceded in death by her husband, Vern, and brother, Larry Lowry.
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for refereeing and coaching. He became an IAABO basketball official, Southern Conference basketball referee, and coached football for Georgetown PR Maryland Junior Varsity. He also served as the Washington Redskins Alumni President and was inducted into the Southern Slow Pitch Hall of Fame. He was also an avid golfer. He also served in the National Guard at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Patrick spent 35 years in the optical business as an outside sales person, working for Bausch and Lomb in Washington D.C. for 20 years and Homer Optical in Silver Springs, Maryland for 15 years before retiring in 1997. He is survived by his wife, Sharon; two sons, two daughters and seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by his father, John ’29. Russell L. Six N’53 of Groveland, Massachusetts, died April 21, 2018. Russell was born in Jacksonville, Illinois. He graduated from Jacksonville High School and then attended Culver. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy for four years and served on the USS Tarawa. After his time in the service, Russell worked at the Daniel Print Company in Boston in his early years and then retired from General Electric in Lynn, Massachusetts, after many years managing field construction. Russell loved playing horseshoes and was also a beekeeper. He also had a passion for drawing, music, animals and nature. He is survived by his wife, Anne; one daughter, Elizabeth; one son, Russ; eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
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Hugh Montgomery Brinkley, Jr. ’54 (Troop A) H’51, of Memphis, Tennessee, died May 12, 2016. He worked as a stockbroker with Walston and Co. in Palm Beach, Florida.
the Columbine High School murders. Jim is survived by one son, John; one daughter, Susan; two grandsons and one granddaughter.
Jim Dubose ’54 (Company D) of Littleton, Colorado, long known for his civic activism, died June 4, 2018. Born in Oklahoma City, he grew up on Rock House Ranch until he entered Culver. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Japan. He went on to attend the University of Arizona and took a part-time job installing television sets, where he met his wife, Sandy. After college, Jim got a job traveling the country selling pre-press equipment, which landed him a position as district manager in Littleton in 1974. After his wife died in 1996, Jim was encouraged to engage in community activities. He met what was then a small group of men working to repeal Littleton’s grocery tax, which they successfully did in 2003. The group grew into the Sunshine Boys, a diverse bunch of men and women, Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and independents, who consider themselves a local government watchdog. Through all those years, Jim was a regular attendee at city council meetings. He is credited with motivating Littleton City Council to say the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each meeting, supporting the Yellow Ribbon suicide prevention effort, and helped create the Greater Littleton Youth Initiative, established in the wake of
Jonas Weil ’54 (Battery B) died April 16, 2018, in Lexington, Kentucky. He was an imagineer and venture capitalist who earned a bachelor’s degree and MBA from Cornell University. He was president of Solarscape Energy LLC, and, with his partner, designed and installed solar systems. He planned to “mine the sky” and “harvest the sun” to generate “clean electricity.” He was also the founder of Office Plus Corporation and a generous supporter of Jewish causes. Jonas was a devoted alumnus of Culver, Cornell and the Cornell Johnson School of Management. He was preceded in death by his father, Herschel ’18. He is survived by two sons, one daughter, three grandchildren and a brother, Walter ’57. Richard M. Hand ’55 (Battery A) of Plymouth, Michigan, died May 24, 2018. He attended Purdue University and was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. He served his country in the U.S. Army and then worked as an engineer for petrochemical companies such as Texaco and Ralph Schrader, Inc., living in Kansas, Ohio, Texas, Florida and Michigan. Richard loved to fish, golf, boat, and play cards and cribbage. His father, Walter M. Hand, Jr. ’24 (Company F) W’19, preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife of 58
years, Sue Ellen; one son, one daughter and five grandchildren. Rodney R. Trahan ’55 (Company C) died May 25, 2018, in Portland, Oregon. Born in Portland, he was a lifelong Oregonian, except for his two years at Culver. He graduated from Scappoose High School and attended the University of Oregon. He served 12 years in the Oregon National Guard and worked for Hoffman Construction for 33 years, retiring in 1997 as their data processing manager. Rod was involved in several community organizations, including the Boy Scouts, the Data Processing Managers’ Association (where he served as president of the local chapter), and the Elks Club. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Sandra; one son, one daughter, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. John G. “Buzz” Mueller ’56 (Company D) W’50, N’53, of Pembroke, Massachusetts, died May 8, 2018. A native of Charleston, West Virginia, he earned a BA in business from West Virginia University. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Martha, two daughters, one son and five grandchildren. He is also survived by a brother, Jim “Ace” Mueller ’51. Michel Addison Jenkins W’57 of Palatine, Illinois, died April 20, 2018. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He was a devoted family man and considered it his proudest accomplishment. His father Richard W’31 and two cousins,
Kenneth Howell H’30 and John Michels W ’57, Culver Summer Schools & Camps. T. Scott Hayden IV ’58 (Troop B) of Denver, Colorado, died May 21, 2018, heading home from his 60th Culver Reunion. He worked in commercial real estate for 25 years. His father, George Kramer Hayden ’29 preceded him in death.
Theodore Winters Legge ’59 (Battery A) W’55, N’58, of Columbus, Indiana, died March 7, 2018, in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from Whitman College and the University of Washington. Ted also earned an MBA from Indiana University. He taught at the University of Montana and Rocky Mountain National Institutes of Health Laboratories, prior to entering active duty with the United States Air Force,
where he served as a captain from 1967-1972, completing a 13-month tour of duty at Thule Air Base, Greenland. He was an employee of Cummins Engine Company, Columbus, Indiana. He was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, Sigma Xi Honorary, Meridian Kiwanis of Columbus, Indiana, and the Columbus Club of Indianapolis, Indiana.
Philip W. Slayton ’59 (Troop B) of Battle Creek, Michigan, died June 7, 2018. While at Culver, he rode in the Inaugural Parade for Dwight D. Eisenhower. While at Michigan State, he won two letters and a Big Ten championship in fencing before receiving his bachelor’s degree in advertising. He served in the U.S. Air Force for four years, serving in Ankara, Turkey, and becoming a captain and chief of internal information
at Stewart Air Force Base in Newburgh, New York. Philip began his career as a Realtor for Slayton Realty, but when the recession hit, he formed a travel-adventure film business for which he traveled, produced and presented films nationwide for more than 20 years, which became part of the National Geographic Society series. He later worked in sales for Spherion Staffing Services,
which his wife owned, as well as maintained his film and video business. He loved camping, canoeing, traveling to national parks and enjoying time at his cottage in Maine. He also loved to read history and science and continue his lifelong learning. Philip is survived by his wife, Tina; two daughters and two grandchildren.
Hilton E. “Hut” Hightower, Jr. ’61 (Company A) of Blakely, Georgia, died May 18, 2018. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism and served in the National Guard. Hilton was a retired farmer and member of the First United Methodist Church. He is survived by his wife, Mary; two daughters, one son and seven grandchildren. Frank Robert Gramling ’64 (Troop B) died March 27, 2018, in Fernandina, Florida, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. A Miami Beach native, he attended Culver and the University of Florida. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard as a lieutenant commander, he completed his law degree at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama. He was a founding member of Fertig and Gramling in Ft. Lauderdale, and was very active in the community, serving on the Committee of One Hundred at Miami Beach, the Gold Coast Jazz Society and Senior Warden at All Souls Episcopal Church. In 2010 he and his wife, K.C. Jackson, moved to Fernandina Beach to be near friends and the ocean. Mark B. Day ’66 (Company B) died June 10, 2018. He was born in Detroit and raised in Birmingham. He graduated from Culver in 1966 and earned a BA degree from the University of Michigan. He worked at an automotive original equipment manufacturer in the sales department. Mark was preceded in death by his parents, Frank S. Day and
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IN MEMORIAM Margaret Day. He is survived by his sister, Leslie Day of La Mesa, California. Donald Franklin Hulbert III ’69 (Battery C) W’64 died unexpectedly of a heart attack on March 5, 2018, in Marblehead, Massachusetts. He was raised in Barrington, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Virginia. He resided in the Marblehead area since the 1980s. He was a chef and worked at The Bohemian Club in San Francisco, Commanders Palace in New Orleans and the Corinthian Yacht Club. Don was an accomplished artist, an intellectual and voracious reader. Don was preceded in death by his father, Don Hulbert ’44, stepfather Bert Martin ’41, and stepbrother Bert Martin, Jr. ’68. He is survived by his sister, Mary Redding, and brother, Regimental Commander James Hulbert ‘74, as well as stepbrothers, Martin ’71 and John Bollman ’75. Sandra Corkins Dawson SS’70 died March 6, 2018. A lifetime resident of Morocco Indiana, she was a 1972 graduate of North Newton High School and subsequently earned an Interior Design degree from Indiana State University in 1976. She maintained incredible college memories, most notably as a Sparkette on the university dance team and receiving “love notes” from her future husband, Richard Dawson, whom she married in 1976. Sandy is survived by her husband; parents Paul ’49 and Muggs Corkins, and a sister, Paula Storey SS ’68. Also surviving are her six
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children; one brother, John ’02, the Regimental Commander of his class, one sister Carla’04 and two grandchildren. William T. Westland ’78 (Battery C) died June 22, 2016, while living in Monte Vista, Colorado.
Joseph L. Sexton W ’81, N’83 died in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 23, 2018. He worked as a machinist for Bob’s Tool and Cutter and Grinding Company. He is survived by his parents; one son, Jordan and his brother and sister. Andrea Elizabeth Kopczynski Peterson ’92 (Benson) of Hermantown, Minnesota, died on Easter, April 2, 2018, from the debilitating effects of scleroderma. She was born in Idaho Falls and raised in Saudi Arabia, but attended Culver
during the school year and spent her summers in Los Angeles and on Lake Mead. She and her husband, Craig, met in Florence, Italy, and lived in Europe before returning to the U.S. so Andrea could complete her education at Gonzaga University. They moved to Duluth, Minnesota,
was “like a shooting star, or maybe a bolt of lightning. Hot, fast and over far too soon.” His energetic personality and laugh were contagious, traits that helped him have a successful medical salesman career at Hear.com. He lived in both Oklahoma and Florida, where he built a strong network of
to work as teachers. Andrea’s area was early childhood special education, as well as middle school math and social studies. She earned a master’s degree in educational technology and became an award-winning graphic designer. She and her husband have six children who survive, as well as one sister, Erica Kopczynski O’Kief ’88, and her parents. A brother preceded her in death.
friends and support. Sam had many interests, including snowboarding, waterskiing, cooking, and watching movies. Sam loved his family, fur friends and friends and was very protective of them. Sam is survived by his parents, Bob W ’68 and Mary Kay; two sisters, Kathryn W ’03, SS’06 and Maggie W ’01, SS’03 and many other family members who attended Culver.
Sam R. Philips W’06, NB ’09 died May 31, 2018, in Valparaiso, Indiana. Sam’s life
Heather L. Baumgartner ’16 of Argos, Indiana, passed away unexpectedly Saturday
morning, on July 21, 2018 at the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center — Plymouth campus. Born in Plymouth, Indiana, she was the eldest of three children. Growing up in Marshall County, she was involved in 4H Crafts and the Plymouth Sharks. Heather loved her time at Culver Academies and was a proud 2016 CGA graduate. She was full of spunk and generally active in jazz bands, tennis, crew, and of course, swimming. She also served on the CGA Honor Council. She had just completed her second year as a business student at Lake Forest College in Illinois, where she was an active member of Tri-Delta Sorority. She is survived by her parents, Cliff and Kelly Baumgartner; one brother, Forrest ’18; and one sister, Autumn ’21, all of Argos.
Elisabeth Davis 1917–2018 A Culver icon, Mrs. Elisabeth Davis passed away peacefully on September 15, 2018. Mrs. Davis worked for Culver Academies for 81 years and 10 of the 13 Heads of Schools. She was 101. Mrs. Davis, as she preferred to be known as, became an internet sensation in 2016 when the story about her 80th work anniversary went viral. One year later she received the Sagamore of the Wabash, the state’s highest civilian honor, from Gov. Eric Holcomb. More on her life and time at Culver will be featured in our next issue. She was a true Culver treasure and will be greatly missed.
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One of the most beautiful buildings on Culver’s campus is the Memorial Chapel. For those who have found solace or insight in the Chapel’s beauty and solemnity, there is a chance to make the Chapel their final resting place.
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n the northeast corner of the Chapel, the Culver Chapel Columbarium has been established. Those who wish to have their ashes inurned in one of the 108 niches at the Columbarium will be able to do so, with their names engraved on a brass plaque. Inurnment in the Columbarium is open to qualified people in good standing with Culver and is limited to: alumni, of both Winter and Summer Schools, past and current Board of Trustees, past and current Heads of School, and faculty and staff with 25 years’ service. In recognition of their loyal service, faculty and staff are able to purchase these burial rights at a discounted rate. Bob Hartman, who served the school faithfully for 55 years, is the first member of the faculty community to be inurned in the Columbarium.
For more information, please contact Rick Tompos at (574) 842-8222 or rick.tompos@culver.org.
CULVER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
63
Under Sail and Oars in the Water The most familiar summer sights on Lake Maxinkuckee still center on Aubbeenaubbee Bay, where the iconic sailboats dot the water close by the Naval Building, sometimes serenely clustered together or scattered like paper sails across the bay. Or the heavier cutters under oars in the open water during drills and competitions. And the stately flagship of the Summer Schools, the R.H. Ledbetter, decked out for the Moonlight Serenade.
Culver Alumni Magazine
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Hear now the names of the Gold Star Men of Culver World War I Centennial A YEAR OF COMMEMORATIVE EVENTS OPENING NOV. 10: Now Hear The Roll Call: Gold Star Men of Culver, World War I An exhibition of Culver’s original Gold Star Portraits at the Crisp Visual Art Center. NOV. 11: Special Veterans Day ceremony at the Legion Memorial Building Attended by representatives of the Allied nations who dedicated the building in 1924, other dignitaries and keynote speaker Col. Al Shine (US Army Retired), former Commandant of CMA. NOV. 13: “Beyond Glory” Starring actor Stephen Lang portraying stories of seven Medal of Honor recipients (Huffington Concert Series at the Eppley Auditorium). ONGOING THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR (dates to be announced): World War I-related seminar series and film series, special exhibits and programs commemorating Culver’s role in “The Great War” and its impact on the Culver campus.