Westover Magazine Summer 2017 by Julia

SUMMER 2017

THE POWER OF WOMEN

Members of the student body formed the Graduation Circle on May 27, as the Class of 2017 joined the ranks of Westover’s alumnae who are making a difference in today’s world. COVER STORY PAGE 3

WestoverConnect works! The School’s online tool is bringing alumnae together in a productive, effective, and inspirational network; there are now more than 85 Alumnae Advisors available for fellow alumnae. Sierra Blazer ’13, who graduated from Franklin & Marshall College this spring, recently connected with Alumnae Advisor Izukanne Emeagweli ’01, an attorney.

SIERRA SAID,

“I was struggling with the law school decision process and looking for someone who had been through it and could give me some advice. Reaching out to a fellow Westover woman was perfect because I knew we’d had the same educational foundation and share the core values that tie Westover women together. Izu and I talked on the phone about law school, and she offered to read my cover letter for a paralegal position I was considering (I ended up deciding to go straight through to law school). She was so helpful and had so much wisdom to share with me about both law school and the legal profession.” IZUKANNE SAID,

“It was truly a great experience to meet another Westover alumna and share my educational and career path to potentially help her see herself in me. I look forward to connecting with other students or alumna in the future. I recommend that other students and alumnae use WestoverConnect to stay connected with each other and ask for advice.”

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14 THEME YEAR

Reverence for the Earth

â&#x20AC;&#x2030;Assistant Head of School Ben Hildebrand lends a hand during the all-school planting day on May 2.

SUMMER MAGAZINE 2017

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LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

COVER STORY

WESTOVER NEWS

GRADUATION

The Power of Women

From the Quad

Congratulations Class of 2017!

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Thoughts on... Changing the World

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Julie Faulstich, Head of School

Caleb Portfolio Cover photograph and additional photography Mara Lavitt Additional photography The Westover Magazine is a publication of the Advancement Communications Office in conjunction with the Alumnae & Development Office. Please direct comments, corrections, and suggestions to Rich Beebe at rbeebe@ westoverschool.org. Westover School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, or national or ethnic origin in administrations of its admissions, financial assistance, educational, or other school policies. Every Westover student is admitted to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

ALUMNAE NEWS

ARCHIVES

We Are Westover

A Westover Etching Finds Its Way Home

Class Reunions Alumnae Weekend Friday & Saturday Events Alumnae Assembly

A Banner Year for the Arts

Orchard Ceremony

The 2016 Lantern

Graduation Chapel Service

Student Wins National Gold Medal for Poetry

Commencement Ceremonies

Food Chemistry Class Visits Perdue Farms

College List

Records Broken on the Court and in the Pool Italy Wins Over Students on 2017 Concert Tour

52 CLASS NOTES

LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

THOUGHTS ON… CHANGING THE WORLD Dear Friends, When I spoke at Graduation this year, my charge to the Class of 2017 was to go forth and make your mark on the world. There are two essential things to remember as you make your mark: Nothing in the world changes without your bravery. And nothing in the world that is lasting changes without an element of kindness and compassion for your fellow human. You have all done brave things. Call upon those moments when the task in front of you seems overwhelming or insurmountable, but is completely worth doing. Do the brave thing. You have all shown kindness and compassion to others. You have learned something about living in a community with all aspects of diversity. You have likely also learned something about the times when the bravest thing you can do is to show compassion to others. We can’t all be brave all the time. And there are certainly moments when our capacity for compassion is tested. But I can assure you that Westover has given you the skills to go on to your next adventure well-equipped to engage, to connect, and to change. In the articles on the following pages are examples of confident Westover alumnae who are finding ways to make this world a better place through their talent, intelligence, compassion, and courage. Warmly,

Julie Faulstich, Head of School

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

COVER STORY Tea Psorn ’08 (standing) spoke at this year’s Amnesty International Chapel about her work resettling refugees. With her are Amnesty International Heads (from left): Briana Jones ’17, Gracey Greco ’17, and Sarah Marr ’17.

the power of

women We cannot measure our humanity, but we can act on it. Our humanity is that glowing center in all of us. It is what makes us speak up about an injustice, even when that injustice does not personally affect us. It is what makes us aware that we are better off if our fellow human beings are better off. Chimananda Ngozi Adichie From remarks given by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie, in her speech during World Humanitarian Day observances at the United Nations on August 19, 2016. She is a Nigerian writer of novels, short stories, and nonfiction; she was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant in 2008.

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COVER STORY

More than ever before, Westover women are echoing Adichie’s stirring words by acting on their humanity: in politics and government, in the cause of humanitarian concerns, on behalf of social justice, and environmental concerns. Not surprisingly, the political and social issues stirred by recent national and international events have been felt throughout the Westover community, not only sparking powerful discussions — and occasionally debates — among students, faculty, and staff within the School and beyond, but also inspiring a growing number of Westover women — students and alumnae — to take action. At Westover, the theme for the 2017-2018 academic year — The Power of Women — will be reflected within classroom discussions, events sponsored by the School’s Rasin Center for Global Justice, and in other school programs and activities. On the following pages, we will share just some of the ways that members of the Westover community — both within the borders of the School campus and stretching outward across the United States and beyond — are (as the writer Chimananda Ngozi Adichie said) finding “that glowing center” of humanity within us while demonstrating the Power of Women that informs the Westover experience for students, alumnae, and other members of the community.

once refugees two themselves, two sisters now work with refugees

For most of us, the challenges that face refugees are only known secondhand from what we view on the Internet or read in newspapers. For Mia Psorn ’03 and Tea Psorn ’08, however, the challenges are an all-too-real part of their childhood memories. “My family arrived in the United States as war refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1994,” Tea told the Westover community at an Amnesty International Chapel in March. “My family had endured living in war conditions for over two years, and had caught one of the very last buses leaving my hometown of Banja Luka. Then, for almost three weeks, we were kept in a UN-sanctioned camp on the border between Bosnia and Croatia before finally being given passage into Croatia to escape the atrocities that were happening all around us.

“With four suitcases,” Tea recalled, “we arrived in New Milford, CT, where we were reunited with my aunt’s family. At the time,” she added, “I was too young to process the severity of our situation, but growing up and realizing you can become a target overnight for simply being born with the wrong name is overwhelmingly shattering because, in my culture, you can generally identify a person’s religious background simply by their name. Now Refugees live in a divided pair that self-realization with the world, between countries in challenges of acclimating to a new way of life, a new language, and a which they cannot live and limited community, whether Bosnian countries which they may or American. Those were obstacles not enter. that were very real and present in my household.” Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Both Tea and Mia overcame those very real and present obstacles, and though they have taken different paths, both have found careers that affect the lives of refugees seeking asylum or resettlement in the United States today.

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Mia Psorn ’03 — 'We Literally change people's lives' For Mia, “It feels as if my personal and professional life have come full circle” in her new role as a Supervisory Asylum Officer in the US Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security. Despite the challenges that come with her job, Mia said, “What keeps me going back each day is the knowledge that when we are able to grant asylum, we literally change people’s lives.” Because she herself came to the U.S. as a 10-year-old refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mia said, “I know firsthand what asylum means for these individuals in practice. They are able to remain safe, often to reunite with their families, and gain legal status in the United States, if they didn’t have it already.” Having started her current position in October 2016, Mia said, “My primary responsibility is to review the decision that an asylum officer makes after interviewing an individual who has applied for asylum in the United States. To be granted asylum, the individual must prove that she was either persecuted or fears that she will be persecuted in her native country on account of her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group,

or political opinion. Under asylum law, these are called the five protected grounds. “Most decisions that I review,” Mia explained, “are either grants of asylum — in which case the individual is allowed to stay in the United States legally and may later apply for a green card and even citizenship — or referrals to an immigration court, in which case the individual will have another chance to prove to the immigration judge that she is eligible for asylum or some other benefit that may allow her to stay in the United States. “My job is to verify that the asylum officer conducted a fair and professional interview, reached a legally sufficient decision, and properly vetted the applicant by conducting security checks. To do that, I have to be up to date on the latest changes in asylum law and country conditions in the countries from which our applicants came.” Noting that the opinions she was expressing in the interview were her own and not those of the Department of Homeland Security, Mia said, “one of the biggest challenges always is resources. Given

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COVER STORY

the number of conflicts in the world and the resulting human rights violations, there are always going to be more people in need of protection than we can protect. As a result, we receive more applications than we can immediately process. This requires asylum officers to conduct multiple interviews each day and supervisors to review even more. Another challenge is that we may encounter individuals, even children, who have faced extreme hardship in their country, but if they were not harmed based on one of the five protected grounds recognized under asylum law, we cannot grant them asylum, no matter how sympathetic their case may be.” After Mia graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 2014, she was hired through the Department of Justice’s Attorney General’s Honors Program to work as an Attorney Advisor at the Miami Immigration Court. “In that position, I assisted immigration judges by drafting decisions. I had to determine whether an individual was inadmissible to, or removable from, the United States under our immigration laws, and, if so, whether the individual was eligible for a benefit that would allow her to stay in the United States.” It was not until Mia went to Brown University that she explored what it meant to have been a refugee from Bosnia. “I had the opportunity to take classes related to international human rights and conflict,” she explained. “This interest continued beyond college and eventually led me to decide to go to law school. I realized that my interest was more than just an intellectual pursuit; I felt driven to help improve the lives of other immigrants.”

“I realized that my interest was more than just an intellectual pursuit; I felt driven to help improve the lives of other immigrants.” Mia said her years at Westover “were really formative ones on so many different levels. To begin with, it was the first time that I was in an intellectually stimulating environment. My teachers helped me discover a love of learning for the sake of learning. I also really came into my own as a person and learned to be a confident woman while there. Finally, at Westover I met my closest four friends who have become my family. With them and the Westover community more widely, I felt for the first time like I belonged in the United States.”

tea Psorn ’08 an activist, not activist, not a bystander Tea acknowledges that her choice of a career was in response to her family’s experiences as refugees. “I pursued this field because I was frustrated with the challenges my parents and family had faced,” Tea said. “I wanted to improve even one family’s experience.” Early this year, Tea began working for Catholic Charities in Yonkers, NY, serving as a Resettlement Supervisor for the Lower Hudson Valley counties of New York State. Previously she had worked for more than four years with the International Institute of New England, most recently as its Refugee Resettlement Manager. “Each refugee, whether it is an individual or a family, comes in with their own complexities and barriers,” Tea said. “We want to empower and support the refugees who come through our doors.” Before refugees are allowed to resettle in the United States, Tea explained, they must go through a vetting process that can take from 18 to 24 months, if not longer. The challenges can be formidable. “Most of my clients coming from Africa,” she noted, “have waited on average 10 to 15 years for resettlement; most of their children were born and raised in camps with limited medical care and no formal system of education.” During her time with the International Institute, Tea said she and her team resettled 240 individuals in one fiscal year. “Even though that may seem like a large number of people,” she added, “I can recall each of their stories and the journeys they had to take to

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“Advocacy is pivotal to the resettlement of refugees. Advocacy will generate awareness around refugee issues, but will also serve as a driving force for comprehensive policies.”

get to safety. I can also recall my firsts — in the first apartment I set up, I actually stayed until midnight cleaning, making the beds, and frantically trying to make the apartment feel like a home. Or my first airport pick-up — the flight got delayed until 1 in the morning, and when the two Syrian families of eight finally arrived, they had 14 bags between them (let me tell you, four cars were not enough). But… the reality was that the two families had fled Aleppo and were in Turkey for four years barely making ends meet, waiting to see if they would be chosen for relocation; their entire lives were in those suitcases.” For Tea, “Each case begins with just biographic information on a piece of paper and the decision whether our resettlement agency can provide them adequate services,” she reflected. “Then they arrive and you meet these individuals and families and they become your neighbors. They have an impact on you and your perspective.” In her new position with Catholic Charities, Tea said she has the opportunity to establish partnerships with ad-hoc coalitions and interfaith groups who co-sponsor incoming refugees. “These are people who have been compelled to step up and unify with other members of their community to welcome arriving refugees and provide them with much-needed services,” she explained.

refugee issues, but will also serve as a driving force for comprehensive policies. At a time when there have already been two Executive Orders that have targeted specific refugee populations and put an already vulnerable set of people at even further risk, at a time when the pre-determined refugee admission number of 110,000 has been halved, and at a time when resettlement agencies are bracing for loss of funding, this is the time to act.” Tea said a Westover history class, Resistance and Rescue: The Fight Against Genocide, taught by Jill Freeland, “Jumpstarted my own advocacy.” For the final project, she recalled, the students chose a cause that was important to them to explore and take action on. “I remember reaching out to the International Rescue Committee to participate in a program that was geared toward refugee women and children. Since that class and Westover, I have made it a personal goal to not be a bystander but rather an activist, to let my voice be heard, especially for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

“Now more than ever,” Tea said, “advocacy is pivotal to the resettlement of refugees. Advocacy will generate awareness around

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anowara aana aana aman '01 “It seemed like the whole world around us was falling apart,” said Anowara Aana Aman ’01. Anowara was recalling what it felt like when she and her husband, Tahrin Aman, were first given the news that their young son, Shavaan, was diagnosed with autism. Like many parents, they were stunned at first. But after Anowara and Tahrin came to terms with the diagnosis and learned more about the condition, they decided they needed to do more, not just for their own son, but for all children, youth, and adults with special needs in their home country of Bangladesh. They co-founded CHILD (Countrywide Health Initiative for Learning and Development) Foundation “to help individuals find their strengths, overcome their weaknesses, and give them equal opportunity, not only in schools, but also in the workplace and society in general.” CHILD Foundation offers programs in Bangladesh to support individuals with learning disabilities, educational delays, autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, behavioral disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and neurological disorders. The foundation’s programs promote greater awareness of the needs of individuals with special needs, offer workshops and forums for parents and primary caregivers, and network with international and local organizations to share resources. It also offers parent counseling programs and training, lifestyle modification programs for individuals with special needs, early intervention programs, training for practitioners, and vocational training for youth and adults.

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“individuals with special needs are the superheroes, as their hurdles in every step of their lives require them to bring out the courage inside them.”

“Our foundation’s slogan is ‘Empowering everyday superheroes,’” Anowara said. “Who are these superheroes? To us, individuals with special needs are the superheroes, as their hurdles in every step of their lives require them to bring out the courage inside them. They must overcome adversities and defy their limits. Parents are also superheroes, as they must put their child’s needs first. Special educators, therapists, and health care providers are superheroes as they selflessly dedicate their lives to helping these children reach their goals.” Anowara and her husband came to Westover in April to speak at the School’s weekly chapel service. She spoke about both the work of CHILD Foundation and about the impact that Westover had on her life. Anowara recalled that, thanks to a supportive faculty and helpful classmates, she was able to overcome the challenges she faced with limited English skills when she first came to Westover as a 12-year-old freshman. “For any child to succeed, with or without a disability, it’s important that they have a supportive community. It is said that “it takes a village to raise a child,” she added. “Westover was my village. My four years here are the foundation of who I am today.”

“Our streets are lined with homeless youths. Beautiful, historic buildings are being torn down to make way for vacant skyscrapers.”

candidate erin zyko hussein hussein '88 '88 Describing herself as “a deeply committed activist,” Erin is one of six candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the September primary for New York City’s District 2 Council seat. A former commercial and real estate finance lawyer, Erin notes that she is an “expert in working with regulations” and currently serves as the president of her 360-unit co-op, the Stewart House. She also is a co-founder of NYC Indivisible, a grassroots political action group that has grown to more than 2,000 members since it was started in January. “There is a crisis in our neighborhood,” Erin said in a campaign statement. “Our streets are lined with homeless youths. Beautiful, historic buildings are being torn down to make way for vacant skyscrapers. Our small businessResponding to a request made by students from her daughter’s es are closing, leaving behind empty high school, Erin is setting up a volunteer/internship program storefronts. Our public schools are at for high-school-age students to work on her campaign — including best overcrowded and at worst the first “any Westover girls who live in the city and will be here for any stop on the school-to-prison pipeline. part of the summer.” Our local laws are antique or drawn up by special interests or in many cases “One of my main campaign issues has to do with the struggles non-existent. They are failing us.” of the small businesses in our neighborhood,” Erin explained, “and so I will be conducting a full survey of all the small businesses in my district.” She also is “pushing for a complete comprehensive revision of the city's land-use laws, to include zoning, city planning, and landmarks preservation. It would make a pretty fascinating experience for anyone who wants to spend even just a week or two in the trenches with me.” Erin is a member of Westover’s Alumnae Association Board of Governors. She and her husband, Samir, are the parents of two children and reside in lower Manhattan.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

Catherine Scribner ’85: A Fierce Activist

for the Earth Editor’s note: One of the major news stories of the past year has centered on opposition that arose to the planned construction of a portion of the underground Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Southeastern North Dakota. The pipeline would link the oil-rich Bakken Formation (which includes much of Eastern Montana and Western North Dakota) with Pakota, IL. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their supporters contend that the proposed pipeline would threaten the safety of the tribe’s water supply. The tribe’s opposition to the pipeline plan led to national and international news coverage as the tribe and its supporters mounted an ongoing protest, which became known as NoDAPL, that focused on environmental concerns, Native American sovereignty, and the role of corporations on government policies. As the protests continued over time, hundreds of supporters joined the demonstrations. Catherine Scribner ’85 was one of those who traveled to North Dakota to show support for the Standing Rock Sioux. Cathy serves as Chaplain at the Community Medical Center in Missoula, MT. In the following Q&A, Cathy described how she became a part of the NoDAPL protests and talks about her long-standing commitment to community activism.

What were some of the activities you took part in during your time spent at the NoDAPL protests? I spent nearly a week at Oceti Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock in early November 2016. I went in response to the call for clergy and other faith leaders from around the nation to stand in solidarity with Standing Rock/NoDAPL. I stayed in camp for several days and had the privilege of taking part in many ceremonies. I also participated in the Forgiveness Walk in Mandan, in which hundreds of water protectors encircled the Morton County courthouse in a spirit of peace and forgiveness. I fell in love with camp life at Oceti Sakowin. People were expected to jump in and help out wherever they could. I ended up chopping a lot of firewood — and taught a group of young girls how to use an axe and maul — helped out in the various kitchens 10

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around camp, and learned how to make traditional fry bread. In between ceremonies, we sat and listened to each other’s stories for hours at a time. We were all there for reasons that were much bigger than ourselves, which created an atmosphere of trust and vulnerability in ways I’ve never experienced in any other community setting. We spent our evenings listening to traditional singers and drummers, and dancing under an explosion of stars, accompanied by the never-ceasing drone of DAPL’s planes that circled above the camps all night long.

COVER STORY

“when we question our own assumptions, we automatically bring a sense of humility, respect, and curiosity into our conversations with real people from real cultures and faith perspectives.”

What inspired you to first join the NoDAPL protests and what has drawn you over the years to be an activist on other issues of concern?

Has your participation in NoDAPL inspired you to continue to take action on this issue or other forms of activism?

I first learned about NoDAPL protests in late May of last year. After dealing with the horrible results of coalbed methane extraction in the early 90s while ranching in Wyoming, and then witnessing the 2011 oil spill on the Yellowstone River here in Montana, I was determined to join the protests at Standing Rock.

I’ve continued my involvement as a water protector by helping to form a new organization in Missoula, called LINC (Local Indigenous Network Collective). Our organization grew out of our combined experiences at Standing Rock, and is primarily indigenous-driven. LINC will serve as a logistics/information prototype for pipeline protests across Montana and the nation regarding legal issues, medical support, media involvement, non-violence trainings, counseling support, etc. Pretty exciting stuff.

As far back as I can remember, I’ve been a fierce advocate for the earth and indigenous cultures who acknowledge the inherent value of all forms of life. I was first introduced to Iroquois (specifically Onondaga) cultures when growing up in upstate New York. Their cultural/spiritual beliefs concerning the sacredness of land, plants, and animals made a heck of a lot more sense to me than the Christian beliefs I was supposed to be learning as a child. I think these early spiritual leanings inspired my interest in environmental philosophy/ethics, as well as my decision to work as a backcountry instructor with Outward Bound. Over the past 30 years, my environmental activism has taken many shapes and forms, from delivering sermons about environmental stewardship to writing environmental ethics curriculum, to infiltrating anti-wolf websites, and facilitating conversations about trapping. I suppose that underlying my work as an activist is my penchant for questioning the status quo. The seeds of any activism reside in one’s questioning of reality. This questioning impels us to face assumptions we make about other people, cultures, and religions, etc. And when we question our own assumptions, we automatically bring a sense of humility, respect, and curiosity into our conversations with real people from real cultures and faith perspectives. Because many of us entered the community at Standing Rock with a willingness to learn and listen to the indigenous voices who were leading the protest, we were able to better recognize and identify our settler or colonialist tendencies, which show up in how we tend to dominate conversations and take up physical space.

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Jill verzino '12 Opportunities for learning

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” For Jill Verzino ’12, that quotation by Lilla Watson — an Indigenous Australian visual artist, activist, and academic — equally applies to many of the experiences that Jill had when, as a Fordham University student, she sought to learn more about Native culture through a series of visits in the American West.

workshops for the kids in a day camp there with a goal of indigenous food sovereignty in mind.” This year, Jill returned to Westover as the School’s Environmental Sustainability Coordinator in the Rasin Center for Global Justice, and as an Instructor in Visual Arts. “I tried to tie the year’s theme, Reverence for the Earth, to the presence of social injustice.” Throughout the year, she helped to coordinate a range of

While there, Jill never felt she really helped anyone. Instead, she explained, “I feel as though I was there to learn. People shared with me. Those I met really helped me, not vice versa.” Through Fordham’s Global Outreach program, Jill joined other students who participate in some aspects of Navajo culture. Working with Via International, they engage in service around the farmland and community of Shiprock, NM. During her sophomore year at Fordham, Jill again journeyed out West. This time, she worked with La Puente Home, a program that serves the needs of the homeless and people living in poverty in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado. The program operates homeless shelters, food banks, thrift stores, and other services for those in need, as well as assistance for those seeking jobs. “There are many seasonal farm workers in the San Luis Valley who don’t have options for work in the winter,” Jill explained, so they need the services offered through La Puente Home to sustain themselves. After Jill graduated from Fordham in 2016, she volunteered for two months that summer with Simply Smiles, an organization that works with Native communities in both the American West and Oaxaca, Mexico. “I was in La Plant, South Dakota, on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, working as an assistant to the manager of the community garden,” Jill explained. “We held

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“My experiences with community service at Westover definitely influenced my participation in service beyond high school.” activities within the School community that focused on recycling, energy conservation, the construction of community garden beds on campus, and other sustainability projects. Jill credits her time at Westover as nurturing her commitment to social justice and activism. “My experiences with community service at Westover definitely influenced my participation in service beyond high school,” Jill said.

COVER STORY

The Power of Women Around Campus and Beyond Focusing on Ideas during a Dramatic Election Year In the fall of 2016, the History Department offered a class on the Presidential election, entitled “Voice of the People: The U.S. Electoral Process.” Under the guidance of History teacher Carolyn Brunelle, students in the class not only followed the drama of the election process, but also researched issues, examined campaign tactics, held debates, and organized a school-wide mock election. “In an incredibly contentious election year that focused on the personalities of candidates,” Carolyn said, “the students in our election class were able to educate their fellow students about the underlying policy issues that have been and remain important in our country during this divisive time. In a debate that we presented to the entire school community, we wanted to focus on the ideas that were at stake in this election, ideas that are deeper than the personalities of the candidates. Our purpose was not to deny the great importance of the candidates’ personalities, but to ensure that the School was educated on other crucial aspects of the election as well. “On both sides during the debate, there were girls who agreed with the ideas that they were presenting and girls who disagreed with the ideas they were presenting, but they had the maturity to put their individual feelings to the side and to present positions on policy from the perspective of educators.”

Working on Campaigns Both as Staff Members and as Volunteers Students, faculty, staff, and alumnae individually took part in campaign activities leading up to the fall election on behalf of local, state, and national candidates. Kayla Howell ’06, for example, worked for Hillary for America, where she scheduled campaign appearances for President William J. Clinton. She has since returned to the

New York City government to serve as Director of Scheduling and Advance for City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. Other alumnae volunteered on behalf of candidates. Lolly McMurray-Cooper ’63, for example, campaigned for Maggie Hassan in her winning bid for a U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire, while Bobby West Waddell ’52 made 11 bus trips with other Democratic volunteers, traveling from her home in New York City to communities in Eastern Pennsylvania to urge voters to support Hillary Clinton for President.

Taking Part in Post-Election Events and Grassroots Organizing Dozens of members of the greater Westover community either attended local, state, and national inauguration events in January or took part in a number of the Women’s March events held on January 21. Others took part in March for Science activities across the U.S. on April 22, including Karimah Gottschalk ’03, who helped as a volunteer to organize and publicize the March for Science in New York City through social media and other formats. A number of alumnae have been taking part in grassroots political organizing. Both Cynthia Marsland Zinser ’80 and Erin Zyko Hussein ’88, for example, have helped organize Indivisible groups. Created by a group of former congressional staffers, the Indivisible Guide is being used by local community organizers “to resist Trump’s agenda, focus on local, defensive congressional advocacy, and embrace progressive values.” Cynthia is now the secretary for WeCAN (the Western Connecticut Action Network), while Erin is the co-founder of NYC Indivisible, which held its first meeting in late January, drawing about 100 attendees. It has since grown to more than 2,000 members.

1. Westover students in the Invest in Girls (IIG) program stopped by during a field trip to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York this spring to visit the Fearless Girl statue that has been facing off against the Charging Bull statue near New York City’s Wall Street. The goal of IIG is to give young women a good basis of financial knowledge, an understanding of how budgeting works, and an introduction to the role of philanthropy. 1

2. Some of the Westover faculty and students who took part in pre- and post-election political activities during the past academic year 3. History teacher Carolyn Brunelle

4. On February 2, an all-school field trip sponsored by the Mathematics Department brought the entire student body and most of the faculty and staff to a special screening of the Oscar-nominated movie Hidden Figures, a movie that celebrated the overlooked contributions of a group of black women during the early years of the U.S. space program.

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WESTOVER NEWS

Community Service Coordinator Christopher Sweeney oversees Jessica Gelfand ’17 planting during the final “Reverence for the Earth” theme year event in May.

REVERENCE FOR THE EARTH An overcast but warm day was the setting on May 2nd for the culminating event of the theme year, “Reverence for the Earth.” Led by the Rasin Center for Global Justice and Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Jill Verzino, members of the Westover community walked to the old tennis courts where raised bed gardens now reside, as students and faculty reflected about the earth and its resources. The ceremony concluded with the opportunity to plant radishes, kale, tomatoes, and other vegetables. Reverence for the Earth was celebrated in the curriculum in a myriad of ways this academic year. Susan Loyd-Turner’s Spanish class made posters in Spanish about the earth that were displayed in the Language Corridor, while Community Service Coordinator Christopher Sweeney led a series of Sunday hikes, giving students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. Looking ahead, the theme for the 2017-18 academic year will be “the Power of Women.” We will be sharing more about the coming year’s theme through social media and future publications.

From the Quad WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

WESTOVER NEWS

Among the works receiving Gold Key Awards were a painting, Dancer, by Jenny Zhang ’17; a letterpress/ lino cut of Joseph May’s Tiger poem by Bridget Gattinoni ’19; and a portfolio of photographs, entitled Racism, by Allie Hawley ’17.

A BANNER YEAR FOR THE ARTS Eleven Westover students received a total of 12 awards — including seven Gold Keys — at this year's Connecticut Regional Scholastic Art Awards Program. “The 12 awards Westover students received this year are among the largest number our students have ever been given in the Connecticut Scholastic Art Awards program,” said Sara Poskas, Associate Chair of the Arts Department. “We are especially proud that seven students received Gold Key awards for their work, which then competed on the national level of the Scholastic Arts Awards.” In addition to Seven Gold Keys, two students received Silver Keys, and three students received Honorable Mentions. The awards were for photography, painting, drawing, and printmaking.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM FILLED WITH COMEDY, SONGS, DANCE, AND BELLS

2016 LANTERN EARNS FIRST PLACE AWARD IN MAGAZINE COMPETITION

Westover’s Performing Arts program presented an interdisciplinary production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in April that drew on the talents of 84 students who participated in 113 different ways, some in two or three different capacities. In addition to a talented cast of actors and technical crew bringing the characters from Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy to life, students from other aspects of the Performing Arts program — the Glee Club, the Dance Ensemble, and Handbell and String Ensembles — were featured throughout the evening’s production.

The 2016 Lantern earned a First Place Award from the American Scholastic Press Association in its annual magazine competition. The Lantern is a collection of the best student poems and some of the best pieces of student artwork of the year. In the competition, the association’s judges evaluated the magazine’s content, organization, design, presentation, and creativity. In both the design and presentation categories, The Lantern was awarded the maximum number of points that could be allocated. The Lantern has been a Westover publication since the School’s founding in 1909. The 2016 Lantern marked the first time it was printed in full-color. Its editors-in-chief were Erin Bottino ’16 and Joscie Norris ’16. Online versions of both the 2016 and 2017 Lanterns are available on Westover’s website at westoverschool.org/arts/ visual-arts.

The cast and crew from the spring production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

STUDENT WINS NATIONAL GOLD MEDAL FOR POETRY Joli Brown ’17 was awarded a Gold Medal for Poetry on the national level by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards program under the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Joli is one of only 20 students from the region to receive national gold medals, and one of only five to be recognized in the poetry category. Joli had submitted four poems in the competition. Her work was considered at the national level after receiving a Gold Key at the regional level earlier this year. All four of the poems that Joli submitted were written during her junior year for an English elective, Craft of Poetry, that, she noted, “was taught by my favorite English teacher, Tom Juvan. My inspiration for poems usually comes at random from images or scenes in my head that conjure up a feeling strong enough to demand its own celebration through poetry.” Abby Hodson ’17 and Isabella Wang ’18, received Honorable Mentions in the competition.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

Joli Brown '17 Awarded National Gold Medal for Poetry

WESTOVER NEWS

A DIFFERENT KIND OF FIELD TRIP: FOOD CHEMISTRY CLASS VISITS PERDUE FARMS

Thirteen students in one of Westover’s more unusual science electives — Food Chemistry — were given a chance to see firsthand how closely the culinary arts interact with the world of science and research, thanks to a field trip to Perdue Farms’ Innovation Center in Salisbury, Maryland. The one-term elective, taught by science teacher Maggie Nuñez-Fernandez ’98, analyzes “a variety of chemical aspects involved with everyday food,” as Maggie noted in her course description in the curriculum guide. The students, accompanied by Maggie and by Science Department Chair Jana Dunbar, spent March 31st working with the staff of the Innovation Center. “Our students had a day filled with both lectures and activities in which they learned the importance of specifications, the process of par-frying, the functionality of certain chemicals in the quality of meats, and what it entails to be a sensory analyst. This was a day filled with eating and taste-testing,’ Maggie noted with a laugh, “so afterwards some may have felt they were done with having cookies or chicken for a bit.”

Plans for the field trip to Perdue Farms took shape after it was announced last year that Food Chemistry was being offered as a spring term science elective. Jana was approached by Ali Hildebrand, the Art History and Humanities instructor. Ali, who is the daughter of Jan and James Perdue, the chairman of Perdue Farms, suggested that there might be the possibility of offering a field trip for the class to the company’s Innovation Center.

Westover seniors Sarah Navias, Mariah Pelaez, and Joana Pacheco were among the 13 students who went on the field trip to the Perdue Farms' Innovation Center in Maryland.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

WESTOVER NEWS

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WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

RECORDS BROKEN ON THE COURT AND IN THE POOL Varsity basketball player Gabbie Dunn ’18 made history this winter as she became the first student-athlete in Westover history to reach 1,000 career points. With one minute, 21 seconds remaining in the first half of Westover’s seasonopening basketball game against Chase Collegiate in the Tip Off Classic on Dec. 2, Gabbie drilled a 3-pointer from the left side of the court to put her over the 1,000-point mark. With friends and family in attendance, the game was stopped briefly as Dunn was presented with a trophy to honor her achievement. She was also surprised by her older sister, Zulie Dunn ’16, who made the trip from Providence, Rhode Island, and hid in the Westover Wildcat costume during the first half. Over in the pool, Westover’s swim team came away with many successes at the 2017 New England Prep School Swimming and Diving Division III Championships on March 4. Morgan Foltz ’20 became Westover’s first New England Champion (50 freestyle), and the Wildcats earned 20 new lifetime-best times and broke two School relay records. Two of the most exciting events of the day were the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. The 200 freestyle relay of Bella Chen ’20, Sophia Andrew ’18, Sarah Pino ’20, and Morgan Foltz ’20, earned the Silver Medal and touched at 1:47.34, dropping two seconds off their seed time and best time of the season. In addition, on February 15, the swim team came home with the Connecticut Independent School Athletic Conference for the first time in program history. Outside of the pool, for the second year in a row, the Wildcats earned the Silver Level of the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association. To qualify for the honor, the 13 swimmers on the varsity team earned an unweighted GPA average of above a 3.5.

Morgan Foltz ’20 became Westover's first New England Champion in March as she won the 50 freestyle. Head varsity basketball coach Marty Pelosi and Westover Athletic Director Tiz Mulligan pose with Gabbie Dunn ’18 after she scored her 1,000th career point in December of 2016.

WESTOVER NEWS

ITALY WINS OVER STUDENTS ON 2017 CONCERT TOUR

Twenty-eight Glee Club members and 11 Handbell Ensemble ringers charmed their audiences while performing at three concerts and one mass during their 12-day tour of Italy from March 5-16. In return, the students and their faculty chaperones, along with several sets of parents and other guests, were charmed by Italy as they explored the breathtaking scenery of the Mediterranean coastline, the historic ruins of Pompeii and Paestem, and the splendors of Rome, Vatican City, Florence, Siena, and Venice. And, as chaperone Corky Beaulieu noted, they still found time in their busy schedules to make ‘our daily pilgrimage to find the best gelato.” The choir and ringers performed concerts in Sorrento’s town hall, the International School of Florence, and St. Mark’s Church in Florence. The touring choir sang at a mass at the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome.

Westover’s Glee Club and Handbell Ensemble enjoying Venice. Westover’s Glee Club and Handbell Ensemble performs at the ISF International School of Florence on the terrace in March. Westover seniors Maya Neuhoff, Allie Hawley, Sophie Ackert, and Chloe Kirk enjoy the sights and sounds of Italy.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

“Westover has taught me so much and helped me learn a lot about myself... I have learned how to compromise, how to be independent, how to be more empathetic, and how to be a leader while also being part of a group.” Sarah Navias ’17, Class Speaker

Congratulations Class of 2017!

GRADUATION

“ Your talents, your insight, your work ethic, your humor, your compassion, your curiosity — everyday you contributed these things to this school, to this ‘thick’ culture, and every one of you made it thicker, leaving your mark on the institution and on each other.” Julie Faulstich, Head of School

“ Thinking deeply about who we are, doing what we believe in, and being connected to whom we are and confident in ourselves, that is where comfort lives. As Westover graduates, that is how you will thrive in this chaotic world that awaits you.” Kip Hawley, former Administrator for the Transportation Security Administration and author of Permanent Emergency (He is the uncle to graduate Allie Hawley).

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

GRADUATION

ORCHARD CEREMONY Traditionally held outside, the Orchard Ceremony was moved indoors to the Louise Bulkley Dillingham (LBD) Performing Arts Center on May 26, due to weather. But that did not dampen the spirit of the ceremony. Students were recognized for their work in academics, athletics, arts, and for their personal qualities.

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WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

“ The friendships you have made over your years at Westover are probably the most meaningful things you will take with you when you leave. Friends are far and away more important than the A in Calculus, the lead in the play, the position of captain on your athletic team. Friendships are what have made this journey interesting and life-changing.” Beth Wirsul, Senior Associate Director of Admission of the Ethel Walker School and former Director of Financial Aid & Senior Associate Director of Admission at Westover

GRADUATION CHAPEL SERVICE The 108th Graduation ceremonies began on the morning of May 27 with the Graduation Chapel Service. Chapel Speaker Beth Wirsul, Senior Associate Director of Admission of the Ethel Walker School and former Director of Financial Aid and Senior Associate Director of Admission at Westover, spoke to the Class of 2017 and their parents.

COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES Members of the Class of 2017 received their diplomas and celebrated their graduation with family members, fellow students, faculty, and staff on a gorgeous day outside in the Westover Quad on May 27.

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GRADUATION

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COLLEGE LIST The members of the Class of 2017 were accepted at 114 colleges and universities, a diverse list that includes some of the best schools in the world. Here is a list of the schools that offered admission to the members of the Class of 2017.

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WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

GRADUATION

Adelphi University School of Nursing

Denison University

University of Maine at Presque Isle

Saint Leo University

Dickinson College (2)

Manhattanville College

Salve Regina University

University of Alabama

Drexel University

Marymount Manhattan College

Santa Clara University

Alfred University

Elmira College

Seton Hall University

Allegheny College

Elon University (2)

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

American University

Emmanuel College

McDaniel College

Sewanee: The University of the South

Arizona State University

Endicott College (2)

University of Miami

Skidmore College

Fairfield University

University of Mississippi

Southern Methodist University

Florida Southern College

Monmouth University

St. Lawrence University

Bard College Bentley University

Fordham University

Montclair State University

Boston University

Franklin & Marshall College

Mount Holyoke College

State University of New York, Albany

Bryant University

Franklin Pierce University

Muhlenberg College

Stetson University

Bucknell University

Furman University (3)

Stonehill College

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Gettysburg College

University of New Hampshire, Durham New York University (3)

Texas Tech University

Northeastern University (2)

The University of Texas, Dallas

Boston College

University of California, Davis Carnegie Mellon University (3)

Goucher College Grinnell College

Texas Christian University

Ohio Wesleyan University

The New School — All Divisions

Pace University, New York City

Trinity College

Pacific University

Union College (New York)

Pennsylvania State University

University of Vermont (4)

Hofstra University

Providence College

University of Virginia

College of the Holy Cross

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Washington College Washington University, St. Louis

Clark University

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Rhode Island College University of Rhode Island

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Colby College

Indiana University at Bloomington

Rhodes College

Colby-Sawyer College

Lafayette College

Rider University

Western Connecticut State University

University of Colorado, Boulder

Lasell College

University of Rochester

Connecticut College

Lesley University

Roger Williams University

University of Connecticut

Loyola University Maryland

Cornell University (2)

Lynchburg College

Rutgers University, New Brunswick

Dean College

University of Maine at Farmington

Sacred Heart University

Central Connecticut State University University of Central Florida Champlain College College of Charleston University of Cincinnati

University of Hartford High Point University Hobart and William Smith Colleges

University of Delaware

Graduation petal toss photo: David Frost Photography

Saint Anselm College

Wheaton College (Massachusetts) (2) College of William and Mary Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2) Yale-NUS College The schools that are bolded are where our graduates plan to matriculate.

e r A e W r e v o t s e W ON ALUMNAE WEEKEND MORE THAN 250 ALUMNAE AND GUESTS CELEBRATED REUNIONS THIS MAY!

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ALUMNAE NEWS Katie Marages Schank â&#x20AC;&#x2122;97 takes a moment during her 20th Reunion to blow bubbles with her son Elliot in the Quad.

ALUMNAE NEWS

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CLASS REUNIONS

1957

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1967

1972

1977

1982

Although she was the only member of her class to attend the Class of 1982’s 35th Reunion, Jeannette Matheson Lussi — one of this year’s inductees into Westover’s Athletic Hall of Fame — decided it would be fitting to have her class photo taken on Westover’s Climbing Wall. Cheering her on are Trustees Lisa Detwiler ’80 (left) and Elizabeth Spencer ’79.

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1992

1997

2002

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ALUMNAE NEWS

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2012

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ALUMNAE NEWS

FRIDAY EVENTS

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WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

1. Keelin Sweeney ’12 embraces a classmate. 2. Members of the Class of 2002 share a moment of laughter. 3. Governors and alumnae walk down the Arcade to attend the Friday evening reception. 4 & 5. Alumnae gather at the reception in the Schumacher Gallery.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

ALUMNAE NEWS

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6. Artist Jacqueline Siefert '07 (left) talks with Associate Director of Development Nancy Aordkian Pelaez ’86; Jacqueline's works were on exhibit in the Schumacher Gallery during Alumnae Weekend. 7. Dean of Faculty Tom Hungerford with Nora Lovotti ’07 8. Head of School Julie Faulstich with Megan Boucher ’12 9. Members of the Alumnae Association Board of Governors at an appreciation luncheon on Friday for volunteers and past and current Trustees and Governors 10. The Gospel Choir under the direction of Michael Brown performs at the Friday evening concert. 12

11. Past members of the Glee Club join this year’s Glee Club in song during the Friday evening concert. 12. Board of Trustees President Susan Clark '71 (center) leads a Friday afternoon tour previewing upcoming campus renovations. 13. WISE students talk about their class projects with alumnae in the new WISE Center that opened in March.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

ALUMNAE NEWS

SATURDAY EVENTS

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1. A number of members from the Class of 1976 gathered together for a special lunch on Saturday of Alumnae Weekend, one year after celebrating their 40th Reunion. 2. Head of School Julie Faulstich (left) talks with alumnae about the new WISE Center during an open house in the recently renovated building. 3. Rosa Gatling Williams ’77 (right) greets a classmate as they join Chapel Line before the Alumnae Weekend Chapel service. 4. Alumnae prepare to follow the 2017 Chapel Heads into Chapel Line. 3

5. English teacher Jo Dexter, the Alumnae Weekend Chapel Speaker

“… You all survive here, even now when you are no longer here at Westover physically: just as you helped shape all the interactions around you when you were here as students, you have and will continue to shape the interactions that will happen in the future, your psychological and moral fingerprints so to speak will be all over them, ripples of your actions and echoes of your words will still remain, shaping and informing, even if no names are attached. Just as it is here in Chapel, so it is at Westover at large: everyone who has passed through here is with us still, they’re still here, all around us, even if our ears and eyes are too limited to trace the complex DNA that connects us to all of them. That connects us to all of you.” Jo Dexter, English teacher, Alumnae Weekend Chapel Speaker

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

ALUMNAE NEWS

6. Members of the Class of 2012 hear a presentation about WestoverConnect. 7. Former English teacher Bruce Coffin presents a poetry reading to a gathering of alumnae and other guests. 8. Director of Athletics Tiz Mulligan tries her hand at fly casting at a workshop offered by Mari Hill Harpur ’67. 9. At a printing press workshop, alumnae could pull their own copies of a print designed by Pam Markham Heller '67. 10. Leigh Keyser Phillips ’68 (center) with her daughter Hally Phillips Trementozzi ’97 and grandchildren Clara and Lucas

11. Governor Greta Atchinson ’02 encouraged fellow alumnae to support the School during a Toast to Westover reception. 12. Alumnae at a Center for WISE open house 13. Alumnae take part in a "Toast to Westover" during a Saturday afternoon reception. 14. A number of members of the Class of 1976 returned one year after their 40th Reunion for a special lunch to celebrate their lifelong friendships.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

ALUMNAE NEWS

ALUMNAE ASSEMBLY

“We owe it to [Westover students] to be as confident in the School as they are in themselves. And in order for us to do that we need to brag a little bit more than we’re doing now. We need to talk about Westover. Make sure that people know that when they are talking with you — when they are talking with a thoughtful, intelligent woman who thinks that women should have an equal voice throughout the world — that they know they are talking to a Westover woman.”

Once again, the Westover Alumnae Association recognized distinguished careers, athletes, fundraisers, and volunteers during the Alumnae Weekend Alumnae Assembly. 1. Director of Athletics Tiz Mulligan (left) congratulates Jeannette Matheson Lussi ’82, one of this year’s four inductees into Westover’s Athletic Hall of Fame. 2. Alumnae Association President Maura Tansley ’00 welcomes alumnae to the Alumnae Assembly. 3. Mari Hill Harpur ’67 (center), the recipient of the 2017 Westover Award, with her classmates during their 50th Reunion celebration. 4. Governor Alyssa Siefert ’05 (left) presents the Distinguished Young Alumna Award to Esam Trabulsi, the father of this year’s recipient, Amanda Trabulsi ’12.

Maura Tansley ’00, President of the Alumnae Association, speaking to alumnae at the Alumnae Weekend “Call to Action”

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

“All the Westover girls I know have one thing in common, and that is: Never giving up on their passions.” Mari Hill Harpur ’67, Recipient of the 2017 Westover Award

“I’ve tried to create an environment that inspires the intellectual, the artist, and philosopher in each of my students across classes… One piece of advice that I would like to offer current Westover students is to pursue doing what you actually enjoy. I am a true proponent of passion being the key to success.” Amanda Trabulsi ’12, Recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Young Alumna Award She was speaking via video from Kyrgyzstan, where she is completing a year as an English teaching assistant under the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

“If you look at the post-it notes from the Class of 2017, the recurring theme is one of voice. ‘I found my voice.’ ‘I have a voice.’ ‘I have enough confidence to pursue my voice and enough independence to continue to follow that when I leave here.’ And I think that’s important because we really need their voices.” Joan Gerster ’72, Recipient of the 2017 Maria Randall Allen ’42 Volunteer Service Award At the Senior/Governor Dinner on May 11, when the members of the Class of 2017 were formerly welcomed into the Alumnae Association, the seniors were asked to write down their response to the question, “How has Westover empowered you?” on post-it notes. During Alumnae Weekend, the responses were put on boards throughout the School. Alumnae were asked to share their responses to the same question.

ALUMNAE NEWS

5. Joan Gerster ’72 (left), the recipient of the 2017 Maria Randall Allen ’42 Volunteer Service Award, with Life Governor Susan Silliman Tracy Addiss ’47 6. Abby Mason Browne ’61 (center) receives a round of applause after she was named a Life Governor of the Alumnae Association in recognition of her longtime service to Westover.

7. Director of Athletics Tiz Mulligan (left) with the family of Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, the late Dale MacDonald Jensen ’57, including her husband Dick, her daughter Wendy, and her grandson Cooper 8. Director of Athletics Tiz Mulligan (center) with the sisters of Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, the late Elizabeth “Wibby” Ritchey ’52 9. Former Director of Athletics Anneke Rothman (left) with Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Aimee Gough ’02 10. Board of Trustees President Susan Clark ’71 at the Alumnae Assembly

MORE ALUMNAE WEEKEND PHOTOS Alumnae Weekend Slideshow: westoverschool.org/alumnae/reunion Photographs from Alumnae Weekend may be ordered from Mara Lavitt. To order photos from Friday’s events: maralavitt.com/portfolio/G0000xdSTZlXggtY To order photos from Saturday’s events: maralavitt.com/portfolio/G0000C6z2D01fv9g

LIVESTREAM RECORDINGS Alumnae Weekend Alumnae Assembly Meeting & Awards Presentation livestream.com/accounts/3949198/events/7357372 Alumnae Weekend Chapel livestream.com/accounts/3949198/events/7357447 Alumnae Weekend Student Musical Showcase livestream.com/accounts/3949198/events/7354305 10

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

ARCHIVES

“I noticed that the church scene looked familiar — familiar because I walk by that exact ‘interior church scene’ every day when I walk to breakfast.”

Westover School Archivist Muffie Clement Green ’65 (left) and Westover Senior Lauren Stebbins with an etching of the School’s Chapel created almost a century ago by Westover Art Teacher Helen F. Andrews. Lauren and her mother, Catherine, discovered the etching among half a dozen prints and etchings they had purchased at an auction.

As the evening wore on, Lauren said, dozens of lots came up for bid, mixtures of paintings, furniture, clothing, jewelry, and other items. Eventually, “a set of six small etchings and prints from a variety of American artists showed up on the screen. They were too small to make out from the audience and the starting bid was $125. The auctioneer called for $125, then $100, and finally for $75. A paddle shot up next to me and my mother, without an excuse for buying the set, shrugged her shoulders. ‘Sold to bidder 314,’” the auctioneer said. The auction house fees and taxes brought the total cost for the set to around $95. It was only when they picked up the six etchings and prints that Lauren and her mother had a chance to look more closely at their purchase. The works, Lauren said, “had generic titles like ‘Winter Sunset’ and ‘Vermont Bridge,’ or simple descriptions like ‘woodblock print depicting sailboat’ and ‘interior church scene.”’ While examining the church etching, Lauren recalled, “I noticed that the church scene looked familiar — familiar because I walk by that exact ‘interior church scene’ every day when I walk to breakfast. The etching was undeniably of Westover’s chapel.” Turning to her mother, Lauren said, “Mom, this looks a lot like the chapel, it even has the same chairs and ceiling.” However, her mother “took a split-second look and brushed off the similarities by saying that a lot of churches had that kind of ceiling. It was too coincidental for me. I studied the etching further and saw that the side windows were the same, the floor tiles were the same, and the sheet music stand was there, too.” When Lauren and her mother stopped for dinner, Lauren pulled up images of the chapel on her phone and was finally able to “convince my mom that this had to be from Westover.”

When they arrived home, Lauren was able to find the artist’s signature in pencil at the bottom of the print — H. F. Andrews. Lauren soon contacted Muffie Clement Green ’65, Westover’s archivist, and told her about their discovery. After doing some research in the Archives, Muffie informed Lauren that the etching’s H. F. Andrews was, in fact, “Helen Andrews, a very popular studio art teacher who taught at Westover in the 1920s and 1930s.” The School had several other works by Andrews in its collection, including a painting of a snow-covered Crossways Cottage. When Lauren brought in the etching to show her, Muffie said, “I recognized it immediately as our Chapel.” Lauren’s family soon donated the etching to Westover. The etching and Helen Andrews — along with Lauren’s story of the unexpected discovery — became the subject of Muffie’s 2016 Founders Day talk. The etching is now on display in the office of Thomas Hungerford, Westover’s chaplain and English Department chair. This year’s Second Head of School, Lauren is still struck by the series of coincidences that brought the etching back to Westover after so many years. “I have no idea what possessed my mother to raise her paddle at the auction,” she said, “but I know I was the only person in that building who could have known what that interior church scene was actually of. Somehow through time and space and everything in between, this ended up in the hands of another Westover student. Maybe this was a coincidence, but I think special coincidences are worthy of being called serendipity.”

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

Thank you to our Class Secretaries for submitting news to the magazine. Notes published in this magazine were received as of April 15th.

GUIDELINES FOR PHOTOGRAPH SUBMISSIONS: Please provide the full names of every alumna in the photo (identified from left to right), the date taken (if possible), the location, and the occasion (i.e. graduation, wedding).

s e t o NY Photographs will be published as space and photo quality permit. Please send digital photographs as email attachments to cloyd@westoverschool.org.

It is preferable, for printing purposes, that photographs have a minimum dpi of 300. We also can reproduce photographs submitted as traditional prints on photo quality paper. Thank you and we look forward to seeing more photographs!

DEADLINE:

Please submit your news for Class Notes to your Class Secretary or the Alumnae Office by September 1 to be included in our next magazine.

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CLASS NOTES

Passages

1. Nicole Lowe ’09 (center) celebrated her wedding to Matthew Arnold with fellow alumnae (from left) Alyssa Smith Cochran ’06, Liz Finnegan ’09, Molly Hubbard ’09, Helena Tiedmann ’09, and Meg North ’06.

WEDDINGS

Yesenia Rios ’90

Jennifer Jankowski Persico ’95

to Armando Lara October 2016

Salvatore Edward Persico May 2017

Nicole Lowe ’09

Marissa Famiglietti Apland ’00

to Matthew Arnold September 2016

Courtney Fennell ’12 to Martin Lewis August 2016 BIRTHS

Sara Barley ’90 George Barley September 2016

Alice Roche Winthrop ’90 Rose Winthrop August 2016

Larissa Crane ’91 Peighton & Nyah March 2017

Melanie Lazenby ’91 Tennyson Grey McLennan February 2017

Nico Apland September 2016

Rebecca Gregory Friedman ’00 Maxwell Friedman November 2016

2. Courtney Fennell ’12 (center) married Martin Lewis (Woodhall School, Class of 2012) August 6, 2016. Among the guests were Courtney’s classmates (from left) Amber Chausse, Sarah CassidySeyoum, Nicollete Santoro, and Katie Hedberg.

Lille Thompson Craig ’00

Elizabeth Schenk Trapp ’56

Owain Robert Craig February 2017

June 20, 2016

Frances “Fraffie” Welch ’56 March 13, 2017

FACULTY BIRTHS

Sarah Mannella, Director of Residential Life, & Dak Mannella, Assistant Director of Technology, Sadie Mannella April 2017 DEATHS

Mary “Molly” Edmonson White ’69 January 12, 2017

Maryellen Bedell Andrzejewski ’78 February 24, 2017

Talaria Haast Andemicael ’00

Mavis Moore Leyer ’38

FORMER FACULTY & STAFF — DEATHS

Valhalla Andemicael April 2016

January 15, 2017

Charles L. "Sandy” Larkin III

Marian Vilas Reid ’42

Former Head Squash Coach, 2002-2004 May 22, 2017

KK Hamner Cooper ’00

March 23, 2017

Shaw Matthew Cooper July 2016

Patricia Kirkman Colton ’48

Karsten Solberg Jamieson ’00

Esther Spaulding ’53

Alice Eliza Jamieson December 2016

Sarah Schipul Swift ’00 Cleo Swift October 2016

Kenneth J. Relihan

June 29, 2016 March 25, 2017

Eve Naramore Skerritt ’55 March 6, 2017

Former History Instructor & Chair, 1983-1990 April 29, 2017 This list reflects weddings, births, and deaths reported to the Alumnae Office as of May 31, 2017

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

Class Notes

FORMER FACULTY Joan Anthony enjoys retirement. As Chair of the Flanders Art Committee, she is an active volunteer in Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust. A trip to Costa Rica was a highlight this past February. Daughter Kate Anthony ’95 lives nearby in Ridgefield, CT, and is an RN for the local Visiting Nurse Association. In the Winter, Joan and her husband Bill actively enjoy Florida by bike and kayak, and particularly love Key West.

1939 Jean Van Sinderen Henry writes, “Almost 96 and it shows! I’m deafer and blinder, but still able to function (sort of). I still live in Pomperaug Woods which is a good place for me. I see Kay Clarkson McDonald rarely, but don’t get to our school. My best to all, ‘Jeanie Van’”

1943 Alison Barbour Fox reports great news, “My husband Joe celebrated his 100th birthday last February. Today, he walks three miles a week on the treadmill. My other news is that, as of this moment, my three grandchildren and their spouses are all employed!”

1946 BEATRICE BRONSON GARVAN

beagarvan@gmail.com

It is so reassuring to hear from Teenie (Justine Upson Arnold), confidently ensconced in her 1800 house on Tranquility Road in Middlebury. She writes that she and her house are old and probably needing repair. However, she is gardening, reading,

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

cross-wording, and leading what she calls “a simple life — and I am happy.” Lovely! Then we have Ricky (Sue Colket Rakestraw) in a jolly email who also says, “life continues to be good to me and I pretty much keep the schedule I have been on for years.” Home for her is supposed to be Devon, PA, but Kiawah Island in South Carolina beckons for at least three months in the Fall, Christmas, and Spring. “We had an addition to the family in November, a baby girl named Macklee. Such excitement, the first girl in the family since my daughter Trudy (the grandmother). I can’t wait to have a baby in the house again. I’m still playing golf, out of a cart which, years ago, I said I would never do. Now that I am old, I realize how lucky I have been and just hope those goofballs in Washington don’t destroy our country.”

My plea for news included the suggestion of some thoughts and Peggy Evans Dennis in California responded generously in her email: “First, I need to say that we who are still writing are lucky indeed to still be here and I am appreciative. I’m still doing good stuff and enjoying family… My husband Reid and I are horrified at the recent turn our government has taken. We raised our four children to be concerned for the environment, including giving up on grass and planting strawberries which don’t require so much water, to do what they can to help build a peaceful world, to respect others, etc., and now absolutely everything seems to have been turned upside down. All our kids are democrats, as is now, finally, Reid who is hoping for some liberal Republicans to step up. Our democratic values are not as secure as we had thought. Three children with

Class Notes

3. Sue Tracy Addiss '47, Andie Baker Carroll '47, and Anne Farquhar Griffin '47 celebrate their 70th Reunion!

varying political affiliations, one Libertarian, live close with one in Scotland running a B&B on Gigha Island. The 11 grands keep up with us and with each other on Facebook.” Drought is over Peggy, back to grass? Roxy Shulke Kauffmann reports from Bermuda! Her home overlooks the Great Sound and the starting line of the America’s Cup, so she is gearing up for a whole lot of activity in May and June of this year. Roxy’s daughter Cecelia remarried Richard Armstrong in October 2016. They live in Westport, MA. Son Mark lives in San Rafael, CA, with his wife Suzanne and son John Clay, 17. As for their Outerbridge boys, Alex is windsurfing in Costa Rica defying his age of 68, Graeme recently completed a three-year term as Mayor of Hamilton and is recovering nicely. Douglas is restoring old properties around the island and Andrew in Princeton New Jersey is practicing architecture and writing a book based on growing up in Bermuda. Your correspondent, Bea Bronson Garvan, enjoys being on the receiving end of your emails. I am also extremely lucky, comfortable, and keeping up a routine. The Hill at Whitemarsh, a retirement community, is a fine launching pad from which I embark into the AM commuting fray to the Art Museum. The long project of the Museum’s four-volume American silver catalogue will go on long after my tenure. It turns out that the biographies of the 18th and 19th century silversmiths, the little guys who plied their skills with hammer and fire, has been all absorbing. There is just so much you can say about a pot, but the person who made it has been intriguing. I spend many hours in archives (not nearly enough data online), twirling microfilms, adapting to institutional and government hours and foibles.

If an historical timeline could be visualized as the warp, and the details of daily occurrences and the lives of the crafts community woven across as a weft, interesting and changing patterns of community life do emerge.

enjoy our farm in South Carolina, only a 45-minute drive. I do not travel any more, but keep up with some Westover friends and enjoy lunch with friends and family here at home. All is well! Best wishes, Emma”

Family is fun. Daughters in LA, Pittsburgh, Princeton, and Philadelphia (Debby Lippincott ’72). Grands also in NYC, Tucson, DC, Oregon, LA (check out “Josh Rosen” UCLA on Google), Denver, and Aspen. Togetherness happens at weddings, and the Adirondack camp. Their lives seem to be in free flow. I’m lucky when they drop by. Happy year to all.

Suzanne Spencer Garvin writes, “After my husband passed away in late November, I moved to the Presbyterian Home where I have a first floor apartment with patio. It’s a welcoming and lovely place. I already have several friends.”

1947 Mary Wells Jencks writes, “Bless you, Sue and Ethel, for being agents for our class. Sadly, I cannot join you [for reunion]. I use a walker all the time and am not as up to traveling. I now live in Valverde, a beautiful situation in Santa Barbara. I have children nearby. Love to all!” Margaret Adams Ferguson reports, “Norman and I are still motoring along very nicely for our age. He had his 90th birthday — best party this year — and still shoots. Our son Thomas and family came back to NI to live, for which we are very grateful. Our loss, of dear friend Anne Northrop Ott, has left a big hole in our lives. Sorry not to be with you, but won’t come alone. My regards to all.”

1948 Sylvia Handy Bowman tells us, “I’m writing 4-8 hours a day. My poems still get published and won third place in Pacific New Writers contest last year. Novel in progress. Such a blessing to have this occupation.” Emma Morrel Adler reports, “My two grandchildren live within walking distance of my house so I see them often. My son John lives in Fernandina Beach, FL and is here twice a week. We

1949 Pamela Jayne Miller writes, “We were fortunate to have all nine grandchildren and most parents come to Maine at various times during August 2016 for brief (and longer) visits accompanied by remarkably sunny weather for most of the month. With two houses, hence two kitchens, the feeding routine runs amazingly well. I have “retired” from being “chef” which is a major plus! Buying the food is much easier than cooking it!

1952 Miram DeCosta-Willis received the “Be the Dream” award from Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland on January 16, 2017, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, at historic Masonic Temple, where Dr. King gave his famous “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” speech. Congratulations, Miriam! Angelica Spykman Harter reports, “My husband and I moved in August to the Evergreen Woods CCR in North Branford, CT. We are happily settled in a lovely apartment and enjoying the amenities. At least two other Westover grads live here!”

1951

Diana Tench Stovall writes, “still living in Guilford, CT, a beautiful small town on the Long Island Sound, about 25 minutes Northeast of New Haven. I am involved in the library, for 25 years, and at Christ Episcopal Church. A daughter, Marcy Stovall, an attorney, lives in NH with her husband, Jim. Son Zachary married in September 2015 and daughter is at Choate. Gavin, my second daughter, is a psychoanalyst and lives outside of Chicago. Her last child left for U. of Wisconsin in September and she has two in graduate school and one working in Chicago. Louise, my youngest, is also a lawyer, and she lives in Wichita, KS. She and Mark have four children, two in graduate school, one at BC, and one working. She and Mark are living in Washington, DC at the present time as Mark is very involved in Criminal Justice Reform. I see my sister, Marcy Tench Crimmins ’56, often! We’ve done great trips — spend March in Delray Bay and meet in NYC often. I am blessed with a good life, wonderful children, and hope to be around a good deal longer!

Adeline Bradlee Polese writes, “I was so sorry to have missed the memorial service for our beloved Ann Pollina, but I had just had a total reversal shoulder replacement. It is no fun, but had to be done. A very, very slow recovery.”

Barbara Farwell Bayley reports from Arizona, “This Summer I spent two weeks in Maine. I really miss New England! Wish I could get back this next year and see some classmates [at Reunion]. Hopefully there will be some pictures!”

Gayle Nin Rosenkrantz reports, “My husband David Rosenkrantz died on March 2, 2016. We were together for 65 years. I am planning to sell our home of the past 54 years and to move to the Sequoias in San Francisco in December or January 2017.” Judith Blair Green writes, “I was happy to celebrate my 85th birthday with all four of my kids, three of my four grandkids, and all four of my greatgrands — expecting one more in January. Tom and I are still thriving and enjoying life — didn’t expect to live this long!”

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ALUMNA GIVEN ‘BE THE DREAM’ AWARD Dr. Miriam DeCosta-Willis ’52, the first African-American student to attend Westover, was among the 2017 recipients of the Be The Dream Awards, which were presented by Jim Strickland, the mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, on January 15 as part of the city’s Martin Luther King Day observances. Miriam was honored for her prestigious life in education, writing, and civil rights. Miriam came to Westover in 1950; following her graduation two years later, she attended Wellesley College. She went on to receive an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Romance Languages from Johns Hopkins University. A college professor and administrator for more than 40 years, Miriam began her career in 1957, teaching French at LeMoyne College. She later taught French and English at Owen Junior College. In 1966 she became the first black faculty member at Memphis State University, first as assistant professor and later as an associate professor of Spanish. She joined the faculty of Howard University in 1970 and was elected chair of the Department of Romance Languages four years later. From 1979 to 1989, she served as professor of Romance Languages at LeMoyne-Owen College, where she founded and directed the Du Bois Scholars Program. In 1989 she was appointed Commonwealth Professor of Spanish at George Mason University. She completed her career as a professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of African-American Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She retired in 1999. Miriam has authored, edited, or co-edited 14 books, including Blacks in Hispanic Literature: A Collection of Critical Essays (1977), Erotique Noire / Black Erotica (1992), The Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells (1995), Daughters of the Diaspora: Afra-Hispanic Writers (2003), Notable Black Memphians (2008), and Black Memphis Landmarks (2010). She has published 36 articles and 18 reviews in scholarly journals, as well as 17 book

chapters. She served as associate editor of two journals: SAGE: A Scholarly Journal of Black Women and the Afro-Hispanic Review. She also has presented 70 papers at conferences, seminars, and symposia. Her research has taken her to more than 50 countries, including Cuba, Guyana, Haiti, Ghana, Spain, and the Dominican Republic. Over the course of her career, Miriam received several fellowships and awards, including a Johns Hopkins Fellowship, Wellesley College Fellowship for Graduate Study, Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year Award, Prominent Black Woman Award, Torchbearer of Afro-Hispanic Studies, Carter G. Woodson Award, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award. An activist throughout her life, Miriam organized a student protest at Wilkinson High School, joined her mother in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and was jailed in Memphis for participating in civil rights demonstrations. She served as advisor to the Black Students Association, campaigned for Black political candidates, and, as chair of the Memphis NAACP’s Education Committee, led a boycott of local public schools in the 1960s; in the 1990s, she joined protest marches in Washington. Miriam is a life member of the NAACP, chaired the Tennessee Humanities Council, and served on the boards of the Federation of State Humanities Councils, Shelby County Historical Commission, and MSU Center for Research on Women. As co-founder and chair of the Memphis Black Writers’ Workshop, she organized symposia, such as “The Memphis Story… Lest We Forget: 1950-1980,” put together a Black History series for WHBQ-TV Channel 13, and co-edited Homespun Images: An Anthology of Black Memphis Writers and Artists. Miriam DeCosta-Willis '52 (far left in photo), with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and other recipients of the “Be The Dream” Award at this year’s Martin Luther King Day observances.

Class Notes

4. Margaret Velie Kinney '54 and family visiting her daughter in Capetown, South Africa

1953 Katrina Dicka Delude writes, “Difficult year, lost our oldest son, David, to bone and lung cancer in August. Only bright spot, we celebrated our 60th anniversary in April!”

1954 NANCY WATSON KING

Nkminniemo29@gmail.com

As our revered Louisa Jones Palmer declared, the highlight of 2016 was the class gathering in New York at her apartment and elsewhere. Those of us who were there know who we are and hold the precious memory in our hearts, and lest those who were absent be made envious (a sin), I’ll not describe the weekend except to note that Louisa and Mary Maier Walker in particular were major organizers and the Palmers, including dear Peter, were hosts extraordinaire! They are both retired and serving on various commissions and boards and luxuriating in the time (and ability) to read whatever they want to read! Yay! Those of us from whom I’ve heard (thank you, Miss Newton) seem to be content with new venues and despite losses of husbands and other family members, are fighting the good fight and carrying on with great spirit. And here I give kudos

and so many thanks to Priscilla “Prilla” Cunningham who has held us all together and kept us in touch with each other for lo, these many years. Footprints I shall never fill. The main plaint I see is the far distances children seem to live from their Westover parents. The Little House on the Prairie is no more. Ann Twadelle Whitall has written a long and amusing letter, despite the death of her beloved husband David last March, of her change of abode and her renewed contentment in being in a place to which she dreaded moving, but which turns out to be exciting and filled with good things to do, and of course she is forever being the artist she has always been. I will email a copy of her response to me which is long and lovely and so Ann! Joy Peterkin Rasin has moved to a retirement community in Naples, FL, and goes to Lake Geneva in the Summer where she’s kept a beach condo for visitors. She is happy and healthy, despite her husband Rudy’s death two and a half years ago. Joy noted that there is a lot of Westover student participation in the Rudolph S. Rasin Center for Global Justice, which she founded. Her Summers are “filled with flowers,” her own and at an historical site in Lake Geneva. Bourne Gafill Morris-Buss writes, “With the publication of The Red Queen Rules, the Red Queen trilogy is completed and I’m moving onto another story

I have always wanted to write.” Stay tuned! She was honored by her university journalism school with a scholarship in her name, which she will present to the first recipient this Spring. She also reported that she has a new hip, Bob a new knee, and after 30 years they have bought a smaller, newer house with only a terrace to cultivate. Thank goodness! Lane Fryberger Smith also has another new knee (robotic class of ’54!). She said she and daughter Lanie took a trip to Nova Scotia and Quebec City and then both went to the Westover New York weekend (where her absolutely wonderful Lanie hailed taxis, helped the lame and the halt, and was a joy to be with!). Mary Maier Walker visited with Joy Peterkin Rasin in Wisconsin and also had another lovely visit with Lane Fryberger Smith at her Summer home on the Brule River in Northern Wisconsin. She is working on getting to Charleston to visit Patsy Evans Humphreys. Mary and Bill are fine and enjoying Hilton Head in the Winter. Wendy Hill Merriman sent a Christmas/New Year’s card with a picture of all of her children and grandchildren gathered together in one spot. Oh, happiness! Suzanne Scoble Macklin downsized two years ago to a gated community in Glen Head, Long Island, which she loves and for which she has no outside responsibility. In the Winter she lives in Jupiter, FL, and would love to see any Westover friends. She says, “life is good.” Priscilla Cunningham says she’s sending a big class letter with pictures. Anne Richardson Johnson reports that grandchildren (four) are “all good” and that she and Ted spent the Winter in Boca Grande and will go to

Blue Hill, ME, in May and invites anyone nearby to visit. She remarked on Westover’s plan to bring its wonderful building into the 21st Century, the plans for which she has seen, and says they look great. Barbara Ringe Ritter moved to the Willow Valley retirement community in Pennsylvania 12 years ago and is delighted with the decision to have done so, and with the accessible medical care which is becoming more and more necessary. Husband Phil is still healing from a November fall resulting in a spinal fracture. Otherwise, all’s well with her children and three grandchildren. Margaret Velie Kinney traveled to South Africa to visit Elizabeth, who was spending a semester there. Elizabeth is a Junior at Trinity. Margaret also writes, “took all family (plus: Paul Thatcher!) to Nassau for week over Thanksgiving. Moving from my beloved house of 37 years, built by Bob and me, into condominium very close, also Wayzata. Much smaller so big job consolidating past life into half the space. All is well otherwise.” Mary Anne Langdon Almquist reports from Wyoming, “As in many parts of the country, we have had many storms which have brought below zero temperatures, wind, snow, and icy conditions. It has been tough on livestock and especially the wild life and deer. I am doing well and have made a complete recovery from my horse accident a year and a half ago. Amy is a nurse in Riverton and loves working in the intensive care unit. Annie is busy on her ranch and she and I still have a herd of cows together. Deborah Cook Siegel reports, “Son Alexander married a lady from Manila, Philippines. She is an architect and sweet as rhubarb pie (her favorite!). Ned is blowing the doors off BNY Mellon with his “do my best” attitude, which he does so beautifully! I’m at home with my black lab Molly and longhaired kitty-cat Emmy Rose! I am painting like mad and now and then sleeping late! Lovely!”

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Class Notes

Me (Nancy Watson King): I’m fine, laugh a lot, keep busy volunteering, etc., read, love my children, grandchildren, and my “baby” sisters who took me to New Orleans for my big fat birthday, where I saw Wendy Griswold Reily at Galatoire’s Restaurant — la di da. Adored our rendezvous in New York and hope Louisa (our Puss) and Peter will do it again in 10 years.

1956 Leila Patterson Peck reports, “We have been at Dunwoody for two years and Bob still plays tennis and I garden. Both my girls live nearby so I get to see my six grandchildren as often as I can. They’re into sports and riding. We feel lucky to have lots of friends there, plus we’re still healthy! Yea! I loved our 60th Reunion, so glad so many made it back, wonderful to see everyone again.” Lucille Rundin Evans writes, “Bob and I are well. We enjoy living in Williamsburg, VA. There is lots to do with William and Mary College offering lots of classes available to ‘seniors’ (us), as well as concerts and theatre. As a teacher for 30 years, I am a perpetual student. We spend Summers on Little Bear Island in Late Winnipesaukee, NH. If you saw On Golden Pond, that’s it. Forty-five families live on that island — lots of swimming, canoeing, hiking, and kayaking. Grandchildren love it as well as their parents. Life is good.” Joan Dominick O’Brien tells us, “Jon and I just returned from an amazing trip with OAT to Jordan and Israel. We were in a small, relatively congenial group of 15 with a fantastic guide. It was a very busy trip with a lot of walking and driving. We went all over Israel for two weeks, stayed in a luxury kibbutz, went to the Syrian border, and swam in the Dead Sea. We also spent four nights in Jerusalem, wrote notes at the Wailing Wall, and crept thru the tunnels under the wall and church. We learned a lot and had a very good trip.”

1957 POLLY MERRILL HOFFMAN

pthoff@yahoo.com LAVINIA MEEKS

Laviniameeks@gmail.com

in Pompano Beach, FL, near my two grandsons, Chad, age ten, and Blake, age seven. Bethany and her girls, Nina, 15, and Skye, 13, are still loving Fairbanks, AK, where I visit every Summer and more often if I can.”

her family and my niece with her five kids. Hope you all had happy birthdays, too!”

1960 PRISCILLA WHITE GIVAN

Georgia Kendall Sisson writes, “After my husband passed away in December 2009, I moved to Dallas to be near my son Frank and his wife and child. About two weeks after I moved, my son passed away. I have been bringing my grandson home from school and staying with him until his mother gets home. We usually have dinner together. I live at a senior facility in Dallas and it is a great place. I’m involved with the conservation committee and I sing in the Christmas Chorus. I have a few memory problems, but so far I am doing ok.” Florence Lincoln Short sends news, “Woodstock, VT, is a perfect place for me to live. My daughter Polly and her family are a five-minute walk away — over the bridge and through the woods for the grandchildren to visit.” Janet Haskell Spalding reports, “No new news. Still loving living

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1959

pwgivan@gmail.com

LAURIE BLAKE SAWYER

Sawyerj003@hawaii.rr.com

Mimi Dubois Neff writes, “I continue to live in the beautiful state of Vermont with my two Labradors who do therapy with me at nursing homes and many other facilities. I also spend a great deal of time doing flower arrangements for my church and other community venues. Westover taught me a lot about giving back to the community you live in.” Judith Swanson Redway reports, “I don’t think I was the only one in our class who turned 75 this year… actually even more staggering, my daughter Phebe and step-son Will turned 50! We had the best reunion in Buck Hill Falls, PA. Almost all grandchildren were there — my sister and

Sara Belcher Wardell has lived in the NW hills of CT for many years with her husband Richard and several Labradors. As a blended family, they have four grown children and six grandchildren. Sara continues with her choral singing, volunteer work, kayaking, gardening, and travel. She served on the Westover board for seven years and comments that Westover women are smart and that good things are happening at the school! Still living in Sausalito, CA with her husband David and their two children and grandchildren nearby, Jan Bicknell Sargent reports that she is recently retired from her career counseling job, but still does some work with women who are reentering the business world. Five gals from our class live nearby and we get together every few months. Jan

Class Notes

5. Barbara Edwards Hicks '54 and family on Paul's 80th birthday, July 2016. 6. Derry Healy Henderson '60 enjoying her travels

thanks Penny Pinkham Janeway for our class motto, “To Thine Own Self Be True.” Never more true than now! Barrett Brady Frelinghuysen comments that everything about Westover is so bright in her mind; the uniform, the belt, the collar, the bow, sweet singing, and Chapel! She worked at the Commission for Sustainable Development at the UN and is now retired and lives in NYC. She and Peter have had 52 years together and celebrate their ten grandchildren.

Reevee Bright moved to Rockland, ME in 2008 to a house right on the water where she can watch all the water fowl, foxes, deer, bald eagles, and osprey. She has children and grandchildren on both coasts and visits each family twice a year. Tragically, her son Peter died last Fall. Her trips to the West Coast allow her to visit Ann Digiorgio Costigan once in a while.

in 2011 to be near her son who was dying. She loves the mountains and is only 45 minutes away from Aspen (skiers take note!). She now spends her time reading, painting, and visiting her two children whenever possible. Since breaking her hip last year, she has had to slow down a bit! Westover is frequently on her mind and she looks forward to seeing classmates again.

Tayne Clement Cutler is having a tough time right now after losing her son Edward in October. With Spring close on the heels of a rough Winter in Boothbay, ME, Tayne and Tony are headed to Salida, CO, to be with their grown children and granddaughters for some family fun.

Diana Delafield Muir reports that life revolves around “my creative life with my beloved clay!” She enjoys teaching in her studio, tending her garden, and life of the Spirit. Her family includes four children and five grandchildren. Two years ago, she walked “El Camino” for 34 days across Northern Spain, starting in France. Wow, grandma!

Clara Combs Moore lives in Carbondale, CO, where she moved

Life is good in Ojai, CA, for Anne DiGiorgio Costigan! She and husband Peter moved there in 2003 on a lark. They have become very involved in their community and enjoy visiting their family as often as time permits. Rancho Las Cruces in Baja is a favorite place they have visited for over 40 years. They travel less now than they have in the past, but enjoy their children and grandchildren. Derry Healy Henderson, living in San Francisco, reports that she and her suitcase have skied in Utah and Colorado, boated in Kashmir, motor-scooted in Vietnam, participated in wallaby viewing in Tasmania, sailed in Australia, cruised in the Coral Sea, and patted Koala bears in the Blue Mountains outside of

Class Notes

Sydney, Australia. Wow! Can I become one of your bags? Not an old bag… a new bag! Time for new luggage! Sally Hoover Zeckhauser lives in the same house that she has shared with the same husband for 45 years in Cambridge, MA! Her daughter, daughter’s husband and two granddaughters live down the street. Her artist son lives in Providence, RI. She is building a house on her mother’s property on Jupiter Island. Tennis, travel, and fun with friends takes up her leisure time. Jennifer Jones is 99% retired and has a real passion for travel. After a week of wedding celebration in Bishkek, she traveled for a week along the silk routes, up 10,000 ft. to Tash Rabat, a 10th century caravan stop near the China border. She has just returned from a five-week trip to six countries in SE Asia. Penny Pinkham Janeway and Debbie Roberts Watson are occasional lunch pals. Tonia Lapham Wheeler writes from Sydney, Australia where

she and Whit have been for six weeks. They have traveled to Tasmania and Melbourne. They enjoy exploring, hiking, and visiting beaches and museums. She and Whit enjoy their two daughters, one son and grandkids. She plays tennis and pickleball as often as possible! Whit loves to garden and cook fantastic meals. Dottie Mason Damon and husband Renny spend most of their time in Harwich, MA. They have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their five granddaughters, daughter, and son. She occasionally sees Sara Wardell and Derry Henderson. She is looking forward to seeing us all at our 60th reunion in 2020! Babs Mallery writes that she retired from her private practice in 2015, which she began in 2000 in Greenwich Village after 17 years at a clinic on Staten Island. Now, her time is taken up with painting and bridge in NYC as well as spending time at her camp in Pocono Lake Preserve. She loves to travel and

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celebrates her good health and living in NYC. Lawrie Perry Diack-Wilson and husband Bob live in Boulder, CO; Ixapa, Mexico; and Manzanita, OR. Lawrie volunteers as an edible gardener and pollinator. She is a “lifetime reader, thanks to Westover.” Leezee Scott Porter is living part-time in Washington, DC, but because of the current political climate, is spending more time in Portland, OR, where her daughter Erin and family live. She summers on Salt Spring Island, BC. She is offering up a really good idea for an impromptu reunion and offers a venue in VA for the gathering! Jenny Sommerhoff Haviland lives in rural England and has been in the same house for 47 years. She claims to be living an “unexceptional” life, but who really believes that? I am sure it is full of fun, happiness, and creativity! Jody Johnson Olson reports that all is well in Western Washington. She still has lots of clean-up

to do in Eastern Washington and misses the wide-open spaces and lack of traffic. Meanwhile, Pris White Givan has “moved out of New England after 70 years of living in Connecticut and Rhode Island! I have found a home close to ‘heaven,’ and in 2012 bought a house in Laguna Woods, CA. I really marvel at my courage to do so… if I might say! But, it just felt right and I never looked back. I love sports and being outside. With this fantastic weather, I sail every week, play golf, pickleball, and hike. I have so many new and wonderful friends out here and we have such fun together. Much to my delight, my daughter and granddaughter live a few miles away from me. My grandson lives in Maryland and we really miss him! My son and his family are back in RI, but they come out here for a week’s visit two times a year. So, all is good! As an aside, the class of 1960 is absolutely fantastic! So accomplished, well-traveled, and educated! Let’s celebrate each other!”

7. Priscilla White Givan '60 enjoying a boat ride 8. Ann DiGiorgio Costigan '70 with her husband Peter 9. Lawrie Perry Diack-Wilson '60 with her husband Bob Wilson 10. Babs Mallery '60 on horseback 11. Tonia Lapham Wheeler '60 and her husband Whit

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017â&#x20AC;&#x192;

1962 SUZANNE DYER WISE

Suzanne.dyer@verizon.net CYNTHIA THORNE AYRES

Cyn518@gmail.com

Gretsie Kroll Ames would love to come to our 55th but she can’t because she has been “slowed down” by 12 years of trekking each weekend from Canada to St. Augustine, FL, while at the same time working and caring for her family. She is hoping to one day meet up with Titus in Savannah and Trino in DC. She sends love to all.

but still doing agility dog sports. She still guides possible Poodle owners to responsible breeders. After putting up with one too many grim winters, Eve bought a “tiny house” in Pine Island, FL, near Naples, where she spends the winter gardening, getting back to pottery making, and, of course, competing in agility dog sports.

Muffin Ramsing Zoubek will be celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary with her family on May 13, so no reunion for her, but she lets us know that she’s busy with grandchildren and volunteering in Greenwich. She serves on several boards; chairing the Wrightson-Ramsing Foundation, editing the exhibition catalogs of the Bruce Museum, while serving as Board Secretary, and being introduced to cancer research while serving with the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy. She also helps with programming for her local Smith Club and sings in the church choir. She’s also a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood, which can use all of our help at the moment.

Irene Sedgewick Briedis is busy with her three grandchildren and three, soon to be four, great grandchildren. Wow Rene, how can you be old enough for great grands? They own a place in Bozeman, MT, where the whole family can get together.

Eve Baltzell is doing less breeding of Janeva Standard Poodles (they are gorgeous. I see them often on Facebook!),

Judy Sterling Plunkett has recently retired after 10 years of working at the Huntington Library. Now she spends her free time with family and friends when she’s not traveling to Guatemala, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and soon to Mexico City. She has joined an art group, the Pasadena Garden Club, and has even found time to write a book. “The photo I’m sending along was from a recent trip to Washington, DC, when I toured the PBS NewsHour soundstage. No, I am not trying out for Judy Woodruff’s spot!”

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Cynthia Titus Powers has had a year of changes. She lost her two horses, “One kicked it and the other went bananas,” and her “rent-a-dog” ran out of gas so she found a Westie puppy at a rescue site. “She hates men, loves me, and is terrified of the outdoors.” Unfortunately, one of Cynthia’s sisters died, but her step-family is wonderful and her husband is still shoveling snow at 79. Titus is still working getting grants for programs in public schools, preschools, and in-school health. Carole Hayes Williams has moved to a Senior Living Facility in California to accommodate her husband’s Ataxia, a disease with no treatment and no cure. Because he can hardly walk and has difficulty speaking, this arrangement has made life a little easier for Carole. Our thoughts are with you Carole! Louise Hill Davis also has health issues with her charming husband, David. Her active, very healthy, thin, non-smoking husband had a severe stroke the day before Christmas and is recuperating “very, very slowly.” He’s lucky to have someone as full of life and love as our Louise to take care of him. Louise has four adorable granddaughters,

12. Judith Sterling Plunkett '62 on a tour of the PBS NewsHour soundstage

the newest one, Maeve, born on July 1, 2016. I’m sure these girls keep Grandma’s spirits up! Penn Willets Mullins continues to meet in Boston every Fall with Judy Lawrence Carmany and Pam Shepardson Coleman, as well as seeing Carole Hayes Williams in California. She still loves Western living, especially their little cabin in the Sierras near Yosemite (sounds like heaven!). Fly fishing is one of the main attractions for both Penn and her husband, George, plus the proximity of her kids and grandkids. Penn is teaching Creative Writing part-time at the local high school while working on her own creative endeavor, a picture book. Sounds like a lovely existence! Ruth Barnes Fiordalis and her husband, Vin, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last Summer. We knew they would always be together! Ruth’s oldest son and his wife live in Cleveland with Ruth’s grandchildren, Ruthie, a senior in high school and Tim, a sophomore. Her younger son and his wife

Class Notes

live in Orlando, FL, with Claire and Jack, 11, her other two grandchildren. She and Vin spend a lot of the Winter in Florida with the family. Ruth has “lots and lots of memories of Westover and our wonderful class.” Right back at you Ruthie! Cynthia Thorne Ayres, that’s me, is still living happily in the Adirondacks, although currently recovering from breaking my ankle when I slipped on the ice. I am still on the board of the North Country SPCA which is mostly fundraising, and of course, we have acquired two dogs and three cats from the shelter. I am also a grandmother at our local pre-school. I go in once a week and hang with the little ones. It is such a joy! My grandkids are growing up way too fast, the oldest graduates from the U. of Alabama this May, the next oldest got married last July, and the twins, Lily and Sarah, graduate from high school in June. My one and only grandson, Michael, is a sophomore who, if I do say so myself, is a skilled lacrosse player. Thanks to Cindy for splitting the work of class notes with me, Suzanne Dyer Wise. I had a wonderful trip to the Bay Area in February and saw Carole Hayes Williams at her beautiful new residence. Missed seeing Penn Willets Fullerton this time, but saw her last February, when the three of us had a great lunch. I am proud to be a founding member of the new Cape Cod Women’s Association, and I’ve joined the Philanthropy Partners of the Cape and Islands. I am enjoying networking with both groups as I “find my people” here on Cape Cod. Amanda “Ba” Mortimer Burden was disappointed to miss Reunion but says “my new job has me traveling almost nonstop, helping mayors around the world. It’s incredibly fun and rewarding, as are my gaggle of grandchildren (five). I [was] in the air flying home while you [were] reminiscing and dishing. Will be thinking of you a lot. Love to all, xx”

Catharine “Trino” Hollister Ecton says: “I am really looking forward to seeing my dear pals from 1962. While it was years ago, my memories of Westover are rich and vivid. The quote under my senior photo was “forth she went, independent and undaunted.” I am amazed at how appropriate that statement was then and now! My husband’s Foreign Service career was perfect for me. I loved our travels, challenges, and exposure to different cultures and languages. Once Stephen retired, I took on a new adventure of starting a career as a life coach. I had just begun that work at our last reunion. I have learned a lot in my work about myself and about emotions we all share. Most emotions are not culturally bound, but how we communicate them is different. Washington, DC, is a wonderful place for us. Our condo is five miles from the White House but overlooks a National Park. I feel as though I am in New Hampshire when I look out our windows! Our children (one in New Orleans the other in Raleigh, NC) and seven grandchildren also give me tremendous joy. That independent streak is still there and happily I am healthy enough to enjoy it! I am a master swimmer and love it, swimming three times a week at 5 am. At Westover, the best I could do was walk, play field hockey, and ice skate. It took a while to find my athletic niche. See you soon! Judy Lawrence Carmany reports she and her husband are just back from a quick trip to LA to visit their son and daughter-in-law. Judy is hoping to get to at least part of Reunion and would love to see one and all. She enjoyed seeing Suzanne Dyer Wise at the Vassar 50th Reunion in 2016 and having Penn Willets Fullerton stay with them in Beacon Hill last October. She stays in touch with Pam Shepardson Coleman. Ann Dugdale Wick reports: “I just returned home from a Grandparents Day weekend in Charlottesville. In fact, Cal and I have been racing from one trip

to another — all family-related and great (five families with 11 grandchildren). The time we are home seems to fill up quickly, particularly since Cal is still working and I am currently head of a local non-profit Board of Directors. We went off to Greece in April with our London-based daughter, her husband and their two children, to experience Greek Easter with our son-in-law’s family. Having just gotten back from Greece, we packed our bags for Atlanta to care for three little grandchildren while their parents went to Rome — and then our oldest grandson [graduated] from St. Christopher’s in Richmond at the end of the month. All this is to say that I’m afraid Westover was not a possibility in May. I will truly miss seeing Westover and our classmates. Hopefully by the 60th I will have a little more control of my calendar.” Marty Talbot Oberlander, who lives in California, is sorry she can’t come for the Reunion and will miss us all. Maybe we can get a mini-reunion going for all our West Coast classmates! Judy Carr Hutton, who lives in Argentina, sent a photo taken in Chicago in early Spring 2015 of Titus and Trino. She says “It was a really great moment and I had a marvelous few days. Sadly, I missed Lecia Harbison by a hair during her mega-trip around Argentina. How I wish I could join you all but it is just a tad too far!” Barrie Hogan Landry, who lives in Boston, will be attending reunion and is looking forward to seeing everyone. Thanks to Lecia Harbison for organizing a pre-reunion gathering at a newly rented “adorable” ranch house in Old Lyme, CT. We’re sure it’s going to be a wonderful addition to Reunion weekend. In December, Lecia sold her family home in Old Black Point, CT, where she has hosted similar class dinners in past years. We are glad her move hasn’t changed her ability to be the “hostess with the mostest!”

1963 LOLLY MACMURRAY-COOPER

adelaidemacmurraycooper@ gmail.com NANCY REEDER EL-BOUHALI

nancyb@cyburban.com

Rosie Aguilar checks in from Mexico, the home base from which she travels to see her three sons, Jorge, Mauricios, and Ernesto. Her granddaughter, Camilla, lives in Miami, providing the excuse for a cruise she took last March from Florida to Spain. Weezie Bailey Connor is selling the house they built fifteen years ago, and moving to a smaller more flexible space. She is staying in Denver to be near son Bailey. Sissy Ferguson Buller reports from Bull Frog Bog Farm in Clinton, CT, where she and husband Bill are raising bees, vegetables, flowers, and occasionally, local grandchildren! She is in her final term of being Deacon at their church, and is much enjoying teaching the Gospel according to Dr. Seuss in Sunday school. She also writes that “Our biggest and most exciting news is that after 17 years living in New Hampshire, daughter Anna Belle, husband Matt, and their kids Avery, Emmit, and Ethan, will be living in Connecticut by May 1! Anna Belle will be the Rehab Director of a private 60-bed facility in Cromwell, CT, about half an hour away from us. We can’t wait to have them nearby. Sissy’s son Lee is a high school Resource Officer and a member of the SWAT team in Middletown, CT. His wife Kori is a firefighter, and their son Quintin is an active 1-year-old. Sissy and Bill’s beloved Jack Russell, Chloe, died early this year, but now they are the proud parents of a new pup, Mattie.” Enid Fraser Robinson, our London representative, says life “rolls merrily along” for her and husband George, though the winters make her yearn for

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

a warmer climate! Son Fraser and his family live nearby, as he works for Uber. Grandson Xander, 5, is about to meet a new sibling! Son Lauder and family live in LA, where his new business, Dragon Fly, is “taking drone technology to new levels of skilled unmanned aerial service.” Grandson Lochlan communicates with his grandparents regularly via FaceTime. Enid and her singing group Treblemakers performed in Florida in January for the Mangrove Action Group, and after joining the Women’s March, sang for over three thousand people in the park. Polly Hayward Griffith reports in her wonderful Christmas letter that the highlight of 2016 was the wedding of daughter Nina to Tim, in York, on the best kind of English Summer day! Other news included abandoning Northern England (which was badly flooded at the beginning of 2016) to explore Costa Rica, where they loved

the birds, the jungles, and the spirit of egalitarianism. She and Jon were shocked by the Brexit vote in June, but continued their worldwide adventures with a trip to India last January where they revisited some of the places they worked together in the distant past. Nicky Johnson Weaver Cheek, with husband Jim, took “a fabulous three-week trip to Asia” last Fall. They visited Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Bali, and one highlight was a cooking class in Myanmar. It took place in 90-degree heat, but was “yummy just the same.” She and Jim are in the midst of renovating a house in Ponte Vedra, FL. They call it “The Folly,” but are still excited about creating a new space for themselves and also their extended family. Beth Markham Nicholson reports from Colorado that she is in the long recovery mode from her second knee surgery, which

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

she considers “an investment in my future.” She and husband Phil had a big scare recently when large fires broke out in March of this year, very near their house in Boulder. Thankfully, they were spared, but she is now “fixated on what to take if we had to evacuate for flood or fire, since both are possible to some degree.” In the good news department from Colorado, Beth also says the Polly Turner Tackett had both knees done at the same time and that Polly is doing well. Excellent! Margie McClave Snowden, now farming in Voorheesville, NY, delights in the company of her two granddaughters, though they live in Seattle most of the time. Marg’s husband Frank, a retired professor of Italian history, travels often to Rome, and so does she! Her Mom, now 93, needs a lot of care, but luckily Marg and her siblings are nearby. See the adorable pix of Marg, the girls, and sons Hans and Noah.

On a very sad note, Gay Morgan’s husband Paul Guglietti, died in March in Massachusetts after a long illness. We send our love and condolences to Gaylen and her daughter Sophia. And we send the same to Robin Reath Graves, whose daughter Nellie suddenly lost her husband Nathan Savage. He died suddenly in July, leaving three darling triplet daughters. Robin and husband Sid are luckily nearby, since Nellie lives in Maine, and we send them love and strength in this very sad time. Lee Gardner Shult sends a picture of grandson Rhys Langdon, eight days old. “So now we have three grandsons and one granddaughter — lucky us!” Julie Slocum Dahlgren went to Guatemala with daughter Tess last Summer and helped build schools out of empty plastic bottles. What an experience with one’s child!

Nancy Reeder El Bouhali, who collects all the news and keeps us all connected, is now enjoying the joys of having a nearby grandchild, Elise, happily provided by daughter Leyla and her husband. And she’s a bonny girl! One last note: both Alison Wardrop and Belinda Winslow lost their mothers in 2016, and both ladies were over 100 years old! Many of us have happy memories of Mrs. Wardrop and Mrs. Burling, and we know they both lived full lives and were proud of their daughters. Congratulations seem to be in order, and fond remembrance. Margaret Butler Miles writes, “I’m very grateful that my husband Elwood is still active in his many interests. Last Summer, he planted a huge vegetable garden and put up a lot of vegetables in the freezer and the pantry. Then he had surgery on his shoulder and is recovering through therapy. I am still active in my

church and garden club, but am getting forgetful. This big house is a lot of work, but Elwood is not willing to move out any time soon. We get away periodically to our trailer down in Punta Gorda, FL, during the Winter and have made some friends there, too. We are so grateful for the cousins and friends we still have and send our very best wishes.” As for your scribe, Lolly McMurray-Cooper, I can report that the past year included a number of pleasures: visiting the White House for a private tour with niece Annie, who has been working there to help modernize the government’s communications; taking grandson Gavin on a Road Scholar trip to Yellowstone (his cousin Gabe is next in line, so we’re taking him to Yosemite in June); working for Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire (she won!) and for Hillary on election night with calls to Ohio (she did not...); walking in the Women’s March in Tucson; camping in

Death Valley with David and brother Mac for a week to take pictures; Thanksgiving in New Hampshire with sons Alex and James and their lovable families. I continue with hospice volunteering, prison visiting, poetry, photography, book clubs, travel, etc. Life is rich, and sometimes overfull.

13. Enid Fraser Robinson '63 with her singing group, The Treblemakers, in Naples, FL, Jan 2017 14. Nicky Johnson Weaver Cheek '63 arriving in Cambodia, Fall 2017.

18. Martha Ferguson Buller '63 with new puppy, Mattie Buller, adopted February 2017 19. Martha Ferguson Buller'63 and Nancy Reeder El Bouhali '63 at a flower show in Hartford 20. Margaret McClave Snowden '63 with granddaughters 21. Rhys and Dylan Langdon, grandsons of Lee Gardner Shult '63, March 2017 22. Nancy Reeder El Bouhali '63 with granddaughter Elise Swanson, March 2017 23. Rosie Aguilar '63 at her birthday lunch with sons Mauricios and Jorge.

15. Margaret McClave Snowden '63 and family celebrate her son's 40th birthday 16. Beth Markham Nicholson '63 having tea in Tuscon, March 2017 17. Deborah Howell Kurd' 65, with husband Jos, sister Lucia Howell '61 and Sophia Loren.

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Class Notes

1964

more time in the garden, with husband Larry and of course extra time with the family dog.

POLLY FRANCHOT

Pam Whittemore Bell has been making regular trips to Oregon to welcome grandchild number three, a boy. When at home Pam volunteers at the local historical society and a nearby hospice home. Amazingly she has been in the same book group for twenty-four years. This group not only reads together but they go on trips to places like Compobello Island and Seneca Falls.

Polly6468@icloud.com

Two themes from the class of ’64: We survived turning 70 and we love to read. For the latter, thank you to Miss Newton and Miss Kellogg. It would be interesting to compile a recommended reading list for our classmates. Next time I will ask. As for news, Libby Joy Oberdorf’s busy life includes helping with her two grandsons, a third on the way, gardening, traveling, reading, and staying fit.

Nancy Kent Henry, happily residing in Jupiter, Florida with husband Tom, will be celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary in the coming year. She and Tom have a son living in Ohio, a daughter in Connecticut and five wonderful grandchildren. The whole family is in awe of Nancy’s mother, Betty Blodget Kent ’38, who currently is living in Essex, CT.

Anne Wiggelsworth Walker and husband Mac took a cruise around New Zealand with a brief stop in Sydney. Wig and Mac continue to avoid the steamy Summers in Kansas by going to Scotland for a month. A golfer, a gymnast, and a scientist are emerging from Wig’s grandchildren. Thanks to cataract surgery Happy Clement Spongberg has laser vision which she uses to read, read, read, tutor reading in school, and help out at the local library. Walking a mile a day and regular yoga classes keep her healthy and balanced.

24. Pam Whittemore Bell '64 and Anne Templeton Macaskill '64 catching up! 25. Wally Savory, husband of late Charlotte Macy Savory '64, with grandchildren.

Pam Whitman retired from teaching middle school science and moved to Florida where she sails three times a week and regularly visits marsh wildlife habitats. Pam’s Labrador, Lila, takes Pam on daily walks on the beach.

27. Ginny Wagensellar '65 with her grandson Cameron

Alison Wickwire Olivieri reports that she and Michael recently made a life-changing journey to southern Africa. Alison says, “Everyone should be force-marched through the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.” Charlene Claypool Hansen will be retiring from her many years in the financial world. With visions of silver airstreams dancing in her head, Char’s next chapter also includes

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

26. Carol Cameron Von Kaenel '64, Ned Grandin, Happy Clement Spongberg '64, Pierre Von Kaenel, and Deb Lawrence '64 together for lunch!

Class Notes

1965 GINNY FOX WAGGENSELLAR

Ginny.wagenseller@gmail.com LAURA MAXWELL SEAMAN

Laurasea7747@aol.com

This being our septuagenarian year, we contribute some of our news, and significantly our plans to be with Polly Wingfield in Montana to celebrate in October! Much appreciation to Polly for her wonderful invitation to the class. Charlotte Beyer is “deep in the throes of revising and expanding my 2014 book, Wealth Management Unwrapped, planning a Fall publication. I’ve added a chapter on women as investors, where I cite Westover, and Ann’s wonderful comment that we don’t need to teach girls ‘remedial masculinity.’” If you haven't seen Hidden Figures, do; it’s great! Our condolences to Rebecca Finnell, whose husband, Francois Vuilleumier, died in January. She sees Spring as a time of preparation for the coming of the Farmers Market season, and looks to planting seeds as an act of hope and optimism. “As Thoreau said, ‘I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders!’” Beth Smith Golden writes, “Arthur faced mandatory retirement last year, but they asked him to stay — and he was more than happy to oblige — somewhat derailing my retirement plans. He has been at the same firm for 47 years and still loves it, so I guess that’s hard to ignore. We are not Florida people and really have no other place we want to go, so we are, for now, staying put in New Canaan. It is a nice town where we were happy to raise our children, but it is a young person’s game and most of our friends have moved on. Home maintenance is getting old. We do have Tucker and his family 20 minutes away

and spend as much time as possible interfering in their lives — the six- and ten-yearold boys being a big draw! Alex and his husband Will are still in NYC, both comfortably employed, and Alex manages to be a fulltime artist and a part-time tutor and still pay the rent, so whatever works. Will is a psychologist, so our crazy family gets free shrinking — a big bonus. They will have been married three years in September, and NYC is the perfect place for them to be. They and their Westie-mix rescue dog are very happy there. Eliza is also in NYC, having switched jobs to be counsel at a social investment fund. She rejected the possibility of being a career law-firm person (singing the ‘work/life balance’ song of millennials) and is collecting skills as she becomes closer to the perfect mix of law and finance and philanthropy. I am fighting the trend to put over-65s out to pasture, not being ‘the face of’ most of the organizations I have volunteered for (and raised money for!) for many years. I have resisted offers to put me on Advisory Committees so am everyone’s worst nightmare, I suspect. That said, while trying to re-engage with town organizations, I am still enjoying work with schools — particularly Westover which still hasn’t fired me. I finished my term as a Trustee two years ago, ending my 15-year run as Governor and Trustee. The last few years were challenging and heartbreaking, as Ann became sick and retired. After successfully finishing the Inspiring Women Campaign, the school is embarking on a new one — this time to shore up the 100-plus year old infrastructure of the main building, as well as adding some 21st century amenities. Our new Head seems very much up to the task as she tries to propel us forward. We are healthy and happy enough and quake to think how many of our friends are now showing the vulnerabilities of age — so far, we’re ok. So looking forward to

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Class Notes

68â&#x20AC;&#x192;

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

Class Notes

28. Ginny Fox Wagenseller '65 and family 29. Bronwyn Black '65 and family 30. Jeannette Stone Reynolds '63, Gretchen Rogers Colby '65, and Ellie Ladd Craver '65 skiing together 31. Eliza, granddaughter of Charlotte Beyer '65, fake-reading fake news 32. Martha Bacon Martin '65 and family

our 70th celebration at Polly’s in Montana — what a gift to us all! For those who have been frightened off in the past, you’re too old to be scared, so come. You’ll not regret it for a minute — nothing but love and laughter!” Edie Glassmeyer Heilman’s news is that she and her husband are in the process of moving from Oakland to Sonoma and will make Sonoma their California home. The plan is to be there from November through May and to spend the rest of the year in their “new” 210-year-old home in Thetford, VT. Edie says, “Having lived in California since ’78, there is a bit of a ‘coming home’ feeling to spending part of the year in New England. At the moment, we are tired from the work of moving and setting up two household in two new places. We look forward to a relaxing Summer. Hope to see many of you in Montana!” Martha Bacon Martin and Davey really get around, having a grandchild birthday every month, save three, keeps them hopping. Fortunately, one child lives near Beth, Minda, Ellie, and Ginny, in Connecticut, and Martha seems to find time to have some laughs with them during her visits. In her DC/Virginia area she has initiated a Westover Book Club, with an expanding group! Members currently are Eldie Acheson ’65, Josephine Mailliard Fleming ’77, Annie Mulgrew Goldsmith ’65, Hae-Soon Hahn ’78, Neil Patterson King ’88, Gussie Off Moravec ’68, Man-

dy Roberts ’81, Meg Thayer ’81, and Elsie Kilborne Walker ’65. Martha continues to be involved in the Smithsonian Women’s Committee which produces the Smithsonian Craft Show and she finds time to play a lot of bridge! She and David had a nice escape to Nevis to celebrate their 70ths this Winter. Marty Hickok Mauzy retired February 2017 from her position in Cambridge, MA, at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School. Elsie Kilborne Walker writes that she is “still peddling her machines that compress earth into blocks for eco-friendly self-help housing for displaced or otherwise dissatisfied people wishing to rebuild their communities — as in Juarez, Mexico or Pine Ridge, SD, where Lakota trainees have built two houses so far (www.earthinblocks. com). I am looking for an angel investor or two in case any classmate knows people who zoom around heaven. Daughter Rebecca and her husband Colin now reside in DC, and son John will graduate from UNC business school in May. Husband Al just got a hearing aid and says he can see better...” Ginny Fox Wagenseller and husband Joe have happily moved one town east to Southport, CT, a mere five miles from middle child, Andrew, and his family in Fairfield. Blessed to be able to see them frequently and snuggle with grandson, Cameron. Joe continues his practice of psychotherapy; Ginny hers in Faith Community (Parish) Nursing. She says, “What would have come in handy would have been a child with plumbing or electrical skills, but what happened was Amy (nurse practitioner) married Andrew (social worker), a marriage and family therapist, and Nicholas is about to graduate from Pacifica Graduate Institute with a Master’s in Counseling Psychology. I love them, am so proud of them all, but now I need to go to plumbing school...”

Caroline Thompson Benson writes, “Working hard to keep our little church alive and well. I had a wonderful and successful historical boat cruise to raise money in August. Busy with our new Priest and new Bishop. Since then I was co-chair for our 100th celebration of the Talbot County Garden Club which included a luncheon, planting 13,000 daffodils and banners around Easton. Still raising canaries although not so many. Looking forward to getting together with everyone in Montana in October.” Deborah Howell Kurd reports on a fun 2016. Her brother Busser lives in NYC, is a fabulous artist and is blind. You can visit his website at busserhowell.com. Deborah’s husband Jos turned 70 and all of their family came from Amsterdam and all around the US to celebrate for a week in Michigan. Deborah and Jos also traveled to Las Vegas and saw Elton John (front row seats!) and then saw Sophia Loren in Sarasota. Deborah’s sister Lucia Howell ’61 joined them. Deborah bought Jos an English Cream Golden Retriever puppy named Bentley for his birthday and will receive half-brother Bosley for her birthday in July! Deborah also saw Celine Dion twice, once with daughter Natasha and once with granddaughter Skylar. She says it was a great Las Vegas show!

1966 Class Secretary needed!

1967 BEVERLY CUTLER

bevcut@gmail.com

Amy Shepard Knight reports, “It is hard to believe that 50 years have gone by since I graduated from Westover and almost 30 years since I took over the role of Class Agent! My best friends are still the ones that I met at Westover and we always stay on touch. I have one son, Travis, who just turned 30, and my husband, Ed, and I are about to celebrate our 32nd anniversary. I have had MS for over 23 years and it has never stopped me! Be happy! Be healthy! Xoxo, Amy”

1969 Class Secretary needed

Toni Walker Hamner writes, “We have had so many Westover visitors this year! Penny Scholle, Barbara Fearey West, Linsley Pietsch have all come to Vero. I hosted a great event for Julie Faulstich to meet Vero alumnae. My daughter KK Hamner ’00 had a baby boy! He is my fifth grandchild (seventh if you count Emily Overholser Gruber ’03’s kids)! Also, went to South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia! Wow!”

1970 KATHERINE PRATT

Cary Campbell Edwards tells us, “I now have two grandchildren who live in Tahoe City, CA (Lake Tahoe). Sam Gaines, age 4, and new baby Wyatt Gaines born June 2016. I also have a daughter in Portland, ME. I still volunteer as an art guide at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and as a Trustee at Wheaton College and at Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, CT.”

katrinmd@gmail.com

Ellen “El” Pease Sole: My life consists of traveling in big chunks of time to visit our kids and grandkids. We primarily live in Cincinnati for six months of the year, off and on. We spend the Summer in Martha’s Vineyard and some of the Winter out West. In two of these three places, I spend my time volunteering

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Class Notes

and being on some boards; my husband as well. I love to keep up with the news (more obsessive this year), read, play Mahjong, walk with my friends, learn golf, and fiddle around the house organizing “our world.” Lately, I have gone back to yoga and I am trying to focus better by using an app called “Headspace.” I’m quite content. Sometimes I cook dinner; sometimes we go out with friends. Friends are a big part of our life, but as you say — times are changing. They are all moving around as much as we are! All of our contact info is the same. We have no pets. Our children do, and that seems enough for us. Cheers, Ellen Valerie “Val” Clark McNeely: I am now sitting in our house of 40 years in Pennsylvania, which is on the market, and preparing to go back to Florida, our real home for the last few years. The one consistent part of my life has been Pete; plus my husbands’ and my work, which is the Equivine Farm. I still manage a thoroughbred operation, which is a never-ending process of highs and lows. Our oldest son Dave is approaching 40-years-old. We have two granddaughters Tess and Helen four- and six-yearsold respectively. This time next week, I will be visiting with my middle daughter, Andrea, and my grandson who still lives in Ocala. I will be heading there on Monday, as she will be induced on Wednesday due to a large baby.

[Update: Healthy new 8 lb., 4 oz. grandson!] Our youngest, Frances, is now 32 and also living in Florida, training horses. She is the wild spirit in the family. Pete and I are definitely looking our age and we have had gray hair for many years! We have few complaints though, as we are still wobbling around, and I even keep a tennis racket nearby. I just received my Medicare card, which is definitely a wakeup call. Do we call this our Medicare year! Although Westover has become a blur of history, there are a few things that bring me back: The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, roasted pumpkin seeds, and organ music. I still love things that I did there, art, horses, and tennis. All of that does not sound bad, and I do always count my blessings. If you ever get to Florida, look me up and we can reminisce some more.

every Summer... I suppose you saw that I saw Suzie Petersen Anderson while in Hawaii last Spring... Also, I see Thea Moore somewhat regularly.

Robin Tilp McManus: My mother is 98 and in a health facility in Old Saybrook, CT. I usually go up to see her every other weekend. I am still designing the socks. I seem to be doing a lot of Christmas designs, and now also getting more into fun men’s patterns! At the moment, since it’s a reasonably new job, and I am not sure which stores the designs will end up at, but for sure the Christmas socks will be at Sam’s Club this coming holiday. I have been working steadily in this field since I started in 1988. I do go to Martha’s Vineyard

Marjorie “GiGi” Bradford Stanford: I’ve been traveling and am just now catching up to emails. I am on six boards of directors, and about as many committees. I teach three classes a year, and am about to host our daughter Thea’s wedding on April 1, so am full up at this point! My news is that this year both of our kids will have gotten married. Our son Andy will wed Anna Mirzayan a graduate student from the U. of Western Ontario in Theory and Criticism with a focus on feminism and Marxism. Her writing uses the idea of the-

Margot Trotter Davis: I am still at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University where I conduct health policy research. The question regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and if it impacted behavioral health treatment disparities has kept us very busy. Now I am doing a lot of work with military groups and on the opioid crisis. I also have a clinical practice so am busy, busy, busy! We are all delighted to hear Terri Connors Johnson’s son is getting married in Colorado. I can’t wait to go to Hilton Head Island, SC next month for a visit and to hear all about it.

ory-poems! Our daughter Thea will marry Ken Linge. Thea participated in the Penguin Plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics, an organization and field of education in which I worked for years. We are so happy about both these unions, and will give them both a big party in Stonington, CT, in early September. I enjoyed hosting for dinner Sallie Deans Lake, Pam Crimi Fantini, and Nancy LeSage Hellmuth before the Women’s March on Washington in January. It was great to see everyone feisty and fit and funny as ever. Many people are coming to Washington these days, and if any Westover folks come between October and May I’d love to see them when we are in residence here and not in Stonington, CT. Shielagh “Sunny” McNutt Shusta-Hochberg: Stephen and I sold our Brooklyn apartment and have moved to PA. We are both continuing our active sports schedule at the local YMCA. I have also closed my New York office and I am now providing psychotherapy from my East Stroudsburg, PA office during the temperate months of the year. In the winter months, I provide hi-tech support to my clients using video and phone, from Naples, FL. Daisy, the younger of our two daughters loves our lanai (the Hawaiian term for balcony or patio) as our new condo overlooks a lake replete with delightful birds. 33. Beppie Huidekoper '70, Susan Handy Stover '70, Sallie Deans Lake '70 and BZ Reily '70 together in New Hampshire. 34. Beppie Huidekoper '70 and Annie Conant Schlafly '70 together before attending the presidential debates.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

Class Notes

Pamela Gordon DuPont: I am trying to slow down in my work but I just can’t bring myself to retire yet. I really do enjoy most parts of my work in Occupational Audiology consulting. For now, Bix and I both are in good health and trying to get in our 10,000 steps a day (not always easy!). I was on vacation in Captiva Island, FL, in February and had fun getting to know Susan Lloyd ’69 who was staying at the same Inn. My Mom is still hanging in there but has severe “vascular dementia” and I am not sure she even recognizes me on some days. She is in a nursing home not far from me, so at least I get to see her. Elizabeth “Beppie” Cazenove Huidekoper: I retired two years ago, and then went to Thailand to visit my niece and her adorable family, whereupon I ruptured my Achilles while running on the beach. Then, I was operated on in Bangkok but I still got to see Vietnam and Cambodia! I came back home, and then a month later, my Dad died. My Mom had died the year before. And I’m barely hanging on to their 15-year-old springer spaniel, Spencer.... and when he goes, I’ll collapse. In spite of all that is going on, I built a house in South Dartmouth, MA, last year and moved in last October. I am loving it! It’s a wonderful yearround community and I would love to have any and all visitors! I went to the presidential debates in St. Louis with Annie Conant Schlafly; we had a blast! She knew everyone in St. Louis. Then, I also had a wonderful visit with Susan Handy Stover in New Hampshire, including Sallie Deans Lake and BZ Reily Stocker. I will forward picture of that too. I am looking forward to seeing Terri Connor Johnson next month. Nancy LeSage Helmuth Before I board the plane, here is my news: I am the super happy, first-time grandmother to a lovely young man, Chase, who is now 13 months young at this writing. He resides in NYC, but he spends every weekend during the Summer in Watch Hill with

both his parents and us. Life is good! We got in a Fall trip with husband, Bill to Madrid (I did my Junior year abroad there) and then on to Marrakesh. We had a blast shopping the souks, and haggling away. We enjoyed a trip to Florida to see friends and get in some winter golf time. Politics aside, Washington, DC, is still a wonderful town to live in. Bill is still spanning the globe for his architecture work. I am slowing down on volunteer stuff. Instead, I had a wonderful dinner chez Gigi Sanford on the night before The Women’s March. No one ended up in slammer, thereby requiring my lawyer son, William’s assistance! Hoping for good health and much love to our Class of ’70. Carlyle “Carky” Claypool Conrad: My update is that life is good! I am grateful for Tom, and our four children with their “significants” and also our six wonderful grandkids: three girls and three boys, now residing in MT and IN, so we have to travel to see them. FaceTime is very necessary! Come visit us in Duluth! Mother lives right next door, which is wonderful! I also hope to continue enjoying yearly visits with Lee Conklin in Florida until 2020, at which time I hope to be able to attend our 50th! Katherine “Kate” Pratt: Carky is so right — only 3 more years to go until it is time for our 50th anniversary graduating from Westover School! This school has been a go-to place for many young women in our family for many generations before I attended. This year, Westover students participated in a “Hackathon — Coding for a Cause” working with local younger students in grades 4-8 introducing them to technology and showing them how to create solutions. It is these kinds of generous outpourings of time and resources that change a person’s focus and broaden the culture of both the givers and the receivers. Westover also encouraged the students to participate in a penguin plunge to benefit the Special Olympics. My first jobs were working in areas that benefited the spe-

cial-needs kids in the inner city of Washington, DC. In fact, as you may recall, we were challenged by the school during our senior year to take on volunteer work and write about it, as part of our curriculum. I met many people who were influential in helping me to grow and mature into the person I am today through the forward thinking and policies of Westover School. My daughter Kirsten is busy getting her MS in Geology in San Jose, CA. She is also teaching the Freshman classes. I suspect she has inherited my work ethics — fortunately, she also got my stamina, too! I am still publishing articles while also supporting the Reliability, Maintainability and Supportability Organization. Part One of my latest article is on page 17 of the RMSP Winter 2016 Professional Journal: https://www.rmspartnership. org/Journal.html The second half is due to be published in the Spring RMSP Journal in June 2017. As I read all of what we all are doing as the Class of 1970, I feel very privileged to have a chance to know you all, even if it is a sharing of feelings, thoughts, and actions expressly through our words. If you do not see your information above with the rest of the class, it is because I do not have your email address. I realize many of our class are busy downsizing and moving to be closer to family; or moving to more temperate locations to “retire.” This is good; but please do not forget to keep all of us in the loop! I wish you all a wonderful year, and hope you get to be with those your love and care about, be it family, pet, or friends.

1972 ROBIN TILGHMAN STEVENS

Ladyhawke.stevens@gmail.com

Sarah Hartigan writes, “I continue to teach music and movement classes as well as care for my elderly mother with memory loss. We now spend winters in

Vero Beach, FL. Looking forward to our 45th Reunion!”

1973 NANCY HANDY GROGAN

nphgrogan@gmail.com

Lisa Hay Morrin writes, “Hello all, I am still selling residential real estate in Pacific Palisades, CA, and loving it! Doing very well. Happy and healthy with my two golden retrievers. Love and good wishes to all!”

1975 SUSAN O’SHAUGNESSY WARREN

susan@warrenclan.com

Pamela Handy Shepley writes to say that her oldest daughter, Ellie, got engaged to a man from England and South Africa, which took the whole family to South Africa this Christmas. Cape Town is gorgeous and full of history. The wedding is May 20th in NYC. Both Handy parents died this Summer within four weeks of one another, very sad, but it was a beautiful thing to be part of their passing with all five sisters all in attendance for days at a time. They sang to both of them. Mr. Havery would have been proud. Some Westover from our class, Lilo Smith Cunnningham and her husband Tom were at the service. She also saw them in Nantucket this Summer when they came in by sailboat for a few nights. Pam has been taking advantage of having her younger daughter, Julia, in Jackson Hole, by skiing as much as they can out there. Roger retired in June from 35 years of building and running an Architecture firm in Boston. He is one happy fellow. He is sailing “one-handed” in the Newport to Bermuda Race in June. If he makes it there, Pam will meet him for some Bermuda fun and sun! Like all

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

Class Notes

of you, she turned 60 this year. Oh well, a few more wrinkles and jiggly skin, (thank goodness for spandex) but for now feeling healthy and hoping it stays that way! Love to everyone! Kristi McCarthy Robertson is still running her garden business, Covered Bridge Gardens, and working in the Winter for Stowe Mountain Resort as the Adult Program Supervisor and staff trainer. She just celebrated her 40th year at the resort. They are excited here at the resort because they have recently been purchased by Vail. Her personal life consists of renovations on her 100-year-old farmhouse and finding time to bike and ski. She finds time to go visit her two grandchildren, which is one of her favorite activities. Playing with a 3½-year-old and an 18-month-old is a sport in itself, it will keep you young for sure.

1976 BETH LUBRANO DWYER

Beth_dwyer@verizon.net

Thank you to everyone who responded to my call for class notes. I apologize for missing the boat these last few magazines. When you become an empty nester life is supposed to calm down, but mine seems to have gotten even busier! Deirdre Sullivan writes that both of her boys are doing great. Mac is working and Owen is trying to decide what to do with his Summa Cum Laude Cell Biology Major. Wow! Ed’s daughter, Emily is graduating from Penn State and will be heading to Boston for work. Deirdre has been busy with her own marketing consultancy, Right Hand Marketing. She even attended the Women’s March in NYC. She sees Candy White Sweeney as often as possible. Annette Hall Quezada is now making regular treks to Colorado after becoming a grandmother! Rafael Edward Quezada arrived

and is his grandmother’s pride and joy, in addition to having the cutest dimples ever! Annette has started two new businesses; on top of her other endeavors. Annette is now a Notary Public and is making handmade custom signs. I had the pleasure of a visit this March from Annette and her parents to our place in Bridgton. Mrs. Hall and I skied Shawnee peak while Annette and her Dad tooled around Bridgton and took care of my dog. Mrs. Hall is amazing! She kept on going after I called it a day. We were blessed with gorgeous sunny day on the slopes. It was a lot of fun. Annette says to mark your calendars for Spring 2018 60th birthdays reunion in Kennebunkport! Yeah, I’ll be 61 by then. Marianne Barbino Dubuque says that all is well with her family. Marianne received the 2016 Waterbury Bar Association Award from the Young Lawyers Division. She was recognized for her outstanding service to the community and perpetuating a positive image of the legal profession! Way to go, Marianne. We are proud of you. Marianne has been traveling with her daughter Erin to New Orleans and DC. They have run in a couple of half marathons in Connecticut and Maine. Paul and I just had a great evening in Boston with Cathy Stewart and Tom Bourgeois. It is always a lot of fun when we get together. Cathy is finishing up her second term on the Board of Governors. She really enjoyed her six years working for WO. Cathy serves on boards for the town of Manchester, VT, and GNAT-TV. Her dream of designing and building her own home has finally become a reality. As we have all been able to watch via Facebook, Cathy is building a beautiful new home on property in Manchester, VT. She is keeping her fingers crossed that the August move-in plan stays the course. Cathy and Tom are each awaiting the arrival of new grandchildren (Cathy’s daughter, Emily Pomeroy Schneider ’03,

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

and Tom’s daughter). Exciting days ahead. Anne Edmonson Kerr and her family are well. They sold their home in Lyme, NH, and bought a new one in Wilmot, NH. Funny thing is that Lynn Sheldon ’78 bought their house in Lyme! Small world for sure. Anne is still busy selling Real Estate on Long Island, so she and Coe commute between New Hampshire and New York. Their girls are both in San Francisco where they live and work. As for the Dwyer clan, Paul and I were surprised by our children with a joint 60th birthday (me in March, Paul in November) bash in Bridgton, ME. The weather really threw a curveball with a February blizzard which made it hard for guests to get there. We were overjoyed to see so many friends and family there and totally surprised. We are loving being grandparents to Asher. He is growing like a weed and brings us nothing but joy. We are planning for the big “R” in the next three or four years. Getting the house ready for the market and planning a move to Charlottesville, VA area. My car will be on autopilot between Maine and Virginia. Thank goodness for Facebook and Instagram so we can stay in touch with each other and share in the exciting times in our lives and support each other during the difficult moments as well! I send you all love and strength.

1978 SHOTSIE BISSELL WILSON

shotsiew@yahoo.com

On February 24, 2017, the class of ’78 tragically lost a beloved member unexpectedly. Maryellen Bedell Andrzejewski passed away after being taken off of life support. Her memorial service was held on March 5, 2017, and in attendance were Shotsie Bissell Wilson, Emily Renz Barron, Debra James Case, Deidre

Sullivan ’76, and Rosa Gatling Williams ’77, as well as Maryellen’s sister, Kathy Bedell Weitzel ’77. The class sent flowers which beautifully surrounded her urn on the altar. Maryellen is survived by her husband Tony, daughter Laura, son Nick, and three grandchildren. Jennie Lamonte writes, “I enjoyed a fabulous afternoon with Westover alum at the Folger Shakespeare Library hosted by Westover Trustee Carol Goldburg ’80 and her wife, Kristina Straub, who was the curator of the Will & Jane exhibition. Carrie Loyd ’05 was on hand from Westover. The most amazing treat was an afternoon with Cynthia Bellamy, Rosa Gatling Williams ’77, MJ Mitchell Hemmings ’77, and other Westover alumnae. It was a terrific reunion! Mark and I are wrapping up our time in DC. We were here for the Obama years. They have been rewarding, and, well, we tried to help change the world — yes, I recognize how silly, arrogant, and idealistic that sounds! Mark worked on energy, climate change, and advanced manufacturing, and I have addressed student engagement, scholarship, and mentoring. We’ll continue these efforts, so we’ll be taking them and our two elderly poodles with us to our next destination. As we explore options, we’ve been grateful for the warm welcomes of Westover alum in those cities. Many thanks to all who have supported us along the way.” Lynn Sheldon and Dan moved to New Hampshire last Summer and enjoy abundant wildlife on their wooded hillside (bear, deer, coyote, fisher, porcupine and raccoon, among others). Their eldest son is now studying aerospace engineering in college and the youngest is finishing high school and looking toward his own college experience. Dan continues to work in forest management and investment, and Lynn is trying to work more fulltime on her art. They hope someday to be worthy of the intense loyalty and unconditional affection of our new-ish dog.

Class Notes

Teddy Burr Zeleznik is still a diplomatic courier in Frankfurt, leaving in Aug for another three-year posting to Bangkok. Before going to Bangkok, she’ll be in Connecticut for three weeks in late August to mid-September. Teddy is hoping that she’ll get to see some old classmates and friends. In the meantime, stay well, and be well to all of us increasingly late-middle-aged-but-still-girls at heart and in thought. As for me, I have loads of fun connecting with my classmates thru Facebook and Messenger as well as thru email. Some I hear from are Christine Gamble Brooks, Clare Westerfield Evans, Ivette Caldera Esserman, Lori Bellini Cannistra, Emily Renz Barron. This has been a year of personal transformation for me which has included losing 90 pounds and coaching runners for a local running store. They started with a 5K and are now up to the Half Marathon Distance which they will complete this Fall. I am still competing in running races — PR’s so far this year for 5K, 10K, and 10-mile distances and as always still playing volleyball. We just won the Volleyball League Championship for this season. On top of that it has been 17 years and I am still with General Mills.

1980

daughter, is in 3rd grade… going on 7th grade! Time flies! I am Director of an Early Enrichment program at our local art museum, Academy Art Museum. It’s great to be back in the classroom especially now as a museum educator. When I’m not teaching, I’m planning playdates, sleepovers, and driving to riding and piano lessons. We love to travel and spend time in Maine. Hmm....not much else going on! Take care everyone and lots of love to all my Westover pals!” Su DeSimone writes, “In spite of all the craziness in the world, 2016 was a very good year for us. My youngest, Kira ’16, graduated from Westover in June. My middle child, Genna ’12, earned her master’s in November, and my oldest, Devon ’11, got a job and an apartment in Brooklyn! Devon and Anna Dydzuhn ’11 recently bumped into Bruce Coffin at a Manhattan bookstore. Small world! We all also bumped into Krystalina Tom ’10 after a Korean BBQ binge on 32nd Street. I myself have been meeting Gabrielle Gerstein Kalis at the Traveler’s Restaurant on the Massachusetts border. Free books and great pie! My kind of place! I see a lot of Cynthia Marsland Zinser. She’s an amazing artist, and she painted fabulous portraits of my children. We go often to see her husband, Alan, play with

his bluegrass band in Westport, CT. I’ve also seen Marge Molder Cook around campus because her daughter Elizabeth ’19 is a Westover girl. Marge has done a wonderful job with her kids and Elizabeth is proof! Because Genna attended the University of Durham, England, and Edinburgh University, Scotland, for her college studies, we’ve made many visits in the last few years to the UK. Now that Sal’s Rock Barn is complete, everyone can come and jam (even if you just play the kazoo). We hope this note finds classmates and their families well, and we hope to see you at the next reunion!” Sarah Knowles Dent continues to work in the Dana Hall Advancement Office while husband Dan manages Media Relations for Draper Labs in Cambridge. Daughter Sally is a sophomore at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, daughter Caroline (C.C.) is a junior at Dana, and youngest Alex will attend Dana in the Fall as a freshman. Sarah says they love life in Holliston and welcome any local alums! Carol Goldburg writes, “I am now on the Board of Trustees at Westover and am thrilled to be able to give back. I feel it is critical that we support women and girls — and the best way to empower is through education and access to quality health providers. If anyone is ever in

Pittsburgh, I hope they will look me up.” Wendy Schaus Brown still lives in Rumford, RI, where she has raised her four kids. She will have her 30th wedding anniversary this September with her husband Otis Brown. Her youngest child, Isabel, is graduating from high school and hopefully heading to Tulane University. Her other three kids are scattered about: Trevor, 27, in LA, Madison, 25, in NYC, and Charlotte, 22, in RI. Wendy still operates her store, Wendy Brown Home in Providence, and hopes to launch her website by this Summer! Cynthia Marsland Zinser reports that she is alive and well and living back in Woodbury after 30 years in New York! She is painting and showing locally and I had the good fortune of seeing her work which was on temporary exhibit during our last big reunion. Cynthia has such talent. One of her paintings was given by our class as a gift to Ann Pollina! Please check out her website: www.cynthiazinser.com. Judi Herdeg Wilson reports, “I am still in Pennsylvania with husband Bill. I still run a horse-boarding business and run my flock of sheep. We

35. Kira '16, Devon '11, and Su Desimone '80 in NYC.

SANDY NICHOLS NASH

sandy@cliffjump.com

Ann Shettle Hansen sends greetings from beautiful Easton, MD! She tells us, “my family and I are doing well! Kate, our

Class Notes

finished lambing this year with a record number of no problems thanks to a lovely warm Winter! (First decent Winter in five years!) Eldest daughter Molly ’08 is at UVA doing a doctoral fellowship in modern American history. We are thrilled she is back from Russia after two years abroad! Younger daughter Abigail has graduated and is figuring out life and staying in the horse field for now. She and I picked up a couple of off-the-track thoroughbreds to repurpose and sell to new careers. Life on the farm seems to change little year to year, but it is wonderful, especially this time of year with Spring expectations!” Cynthia Brown writes, “I’m now living in Los Barriles, Mexico, for the Winter/Spring, and Hood River, OR, for the Summer/Fall. My life still revolves around the sport of kite surfing. I am currently one of the top female kite, hydrofoil racers in the world, as well as the top female strapless, freestyle rider. When I’m not flying above the water, I do still do graphic design and photo retouching. Most excitedly, I am engaged to be married to the most wonderful guy this coming August!”

Gabrielle Kalis reports, “The Kalis family has experienced lots of changes in 2016, as has our country. Luckily, our changes seem to be in the positive direction, for the most part, despite the country being in the Trumps. I did attend the Women’s March in Boston, and I want to believe that I have classmates out there who participated in that event in their own cities. My oldest daughter graduated Tulane Law School in May, with a job, passed the Louisiana State Bar, and is now some high-falutin attorney down in New Orleans. She has been nominated to be one of the top 30 under 30 in that city. My youngest graduates from Texas Christian next month, with a major in Fashion Merchandising and a minor in Spanish Business. Anyone need a bi-lingual fashion merchandising coordinator? I was promoted, pretty much against my will, to the role of Clinical Director of my little program — a 90-day residential treatment facility for adolescent females struggling with addiction. Then my darn Program Director got knocked up, so I’ve been filling in for her for the last few months while she was out on maternity leave. Amazingly, the program is not

yet defunct. Tom continues to do whatever electrical engineers do for Motorola, but has managed to get a transfer down south because in March, Tom and I went down to Asheville NC, a tiny dot of blue in a sea of red. We bought a piece of land, and should start building this Spring. The move is planned for the end of the Summer. All are welcome! Asheville has more breweries per capita than anywhere else in the US, apparently. Hope everyone else is happy and healthy!” Melissa Silver-Ward reports that both sons are working diligently, exploring career paths, and living at home. She is still focused on HR initiatives, living in Maryland, and has extended her branches towards a new start-up venture called “Operation We Are One.” The mission is to provide support services, employment referrals, soft skills training, and re-entry assistance for our military personnel. It’s an exciting venture that Melissa and her partners expect to be very successful in helping this underserved population transition from combat to a life of normalcy and productivity. She has spent the last 20 years as an HR director in the retail, service, and healthcare industries. Each

sector has been most rewarding and has led the pathway to the next. She has also served as a pro bono HR Consultant with the Taproot Foundation working on an array of HR projects for nonprofit groups. Her social life and other interests have included volunteer fundraising activities with the local VFW — Chapter #9619 in Morningside, MD, DIY home projects, and gardening (her new hobby). Let’s hope her herb garden is a success. The starter seeds are now blooming! No grandchildren to report at this time, although that would be a nice addition to the family. She lost her husband to illness in 2010 so life continues to be an adjustment that she approaches with strong faith and a commitment to helping others. Lynne Carpenter writes, “I’m keeping busy with work and family. Living in West Hartford, CT, and still working at United Health Group, 33 years in July. I have three boys that keep me busy. My oldest, Andrew, attends medical school in St. Louis. My middle son, Nicholas, just completed an underwriting training program at CIGNA and is now part of the working world. After a year of living at home and saving a few bucks, he’s moved

36. Sandy Nichols Nash '80 with her family. 37. Sarah Knowles Dent '80 and family at her daughter's dance performance at Hobart and William Smith College. 36

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

38. Cynthia Brown '80 kite surfing

out on his own. My youngest, William, is a high school junior, and we have begun the college search. One more year and yikes, it will just be my husband Rob and me at home!” Koo Schadler reports, “My husband Jeff and I continue to share our time between New Hampshire in the sunny months and Michoacan, Mexico, in winters. My Spanish is still muy malo, nonetheless every year we are more at home in our small pueblo (Zirahuen), and feel lucky to have a place in both worlds. I continue to paint, teach painting workshops, and write about painting and the old masters, so my obsession continues. Jeff grows organic veggies for a nearby coop and feeds us well. I’ve finally been disciplined by my increasingly stiff body to do yoga regularly; along with biking and swimming, I’m doing okay for a middle-aged gal. Life is pretty good. Hope the same for all my classmates.” As for your Class Secretary, Sandy Nash Nichols: Where to begin? So much to be thankful for. Our lives feel very busy! Kids are getting older by the second — just hoping and believing Peter and I aren’t on that same trajectory! Gardner,

our son, is a sophomore at the University of Richmond, which he loves! He will be trading warm, sunny weather next Fall for the promise of grey skies at the University of Edinburgh. We are totally on board with that plan since semester abroad programs offer the built-in bonus of parent visits — right? Here’s hoping! Whitney, our daughter, is finishing up her Senior year at Concord-Carlisle High School and will be attending Colby College next Fall. Her plan is to study Environmental Sciences and Sustainability — notice the emphasis on the word “study!” That better be a major ingredient for the next four years! Again, here’s hoping! Anyway, she is beyond thrilled to become a “Mule” —and in an honest moment, I would have to say we are even more thrilled this whole College arms race is behind us!

I have been teaching snowshoe and hiking classes throughout the school year and also substitute teaching in our local elementary school. I just love teaching! Peter is still working in technology at a local University here in Boston. Even though, as I mentioned before, we are not getting older, our antique farmhouse is! To that end, there is always a project to

tackle on weekends. Lucky for me, Peter enjoys doing most of the many things that inevitably need fixing! On the travel front, we have just returned from a trip to Antigua, Guatemala. Our dream is to someday spend a good amount of the year down there. You could say, most people would find sleeping in a city located in the foothills of an active volcano — unsettling. To the contrary, we are quite comfortable dodging mudslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and sinkholes. Keeps things interesting! We are fortunate to have plenty of family (parents, cousins, siblings) living nearby. Our parents are in reasonably good health and we feel so fortunate that they enjoy our company as much as we enjoy theirs! One of the highlights of my year was an impromptu dinner last month with Emmy Ward Nielson ’81, Beth Walker Mecke ’81, and Faith Thomson Chandler ’81. Emmy was in town and it was her second 21st birthday! At least that is what she told the waiter. Can you believe he only carded her! Clearly, she has aged better than the rest of us — no wrinkles whatsoever to count on her face! Must be that

foggy, Seattle air! What a hoot it was to see her. We closed the restaurant down and ruined the quiet ambience for anyone sitting anywhere near our table. Emmy’s warmth, smile, silliness, and compassion are qualities I most admired about her from our Westover days. She hasn’t changed a bit! Old friends are indeed gold friends! So, my message to all is cheers to staying connected with Westover friends!

1982 LEE HAMMETT PETERSON

Lhp111@aol.com CAROLYN SCOTT

Cashr001@yahoo.com

Adela Pierson-Eguilor reports, “Still working as an architect in Miami designing high-rise residential buildings. My daughter Karina got engaged to her boyfriend. I went to Nicaragua for Christmas. My family lives in different countries and we all meet in Nicaragua for Christmas every year.”

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

1984 EMILY COOKE NOLAN

emilypnolan@gmail.com HILARY RICE

Gr8tful2b@me.com 39

Lida Cook Fay writes, “Love living in Chapel Hill. Daughter Catherine is at U. Alabama Honors College studying PreMed/biology and chemistry. Son Brad is a Junior at Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill. He loves robotics and Mechanical Engineering. I substitute teach grades 5-8 at Trinity and volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill.”

1985 HEATHER LUNDY MACDONALD

Hmac3@msn.com

It’s that time of year again, and although I only received a few responses, here is what I have to report — short but sweet. Sandra Parra, living in Chicago with daughter, Vika, continues working for Abbott Laboratories. She enjoys the Westover friends Facebook posts, so keep them coming! Elizabeth Preston DeVos experienced many changes in ’16-’17 after divorcing and moving to Litchfield, CT, with her 3 boys. Liz works as Development Director at the Oliver Wolcott Library, and is grateful to be part of such a wonderful organization. “Life is good.” Hilary Carpenter Lynch is busy with son Sean’s college

application process, and says with both boys away at boarding school she feels the “empty nest.” Keeping busy with duties on Boards, she also loves volunteering for Meals on Wheels. Hilary splits her time between Asheville, NC, and West Palm Beach, FL. Tamara James-Wyachai writes all the way from Jakarta, Indonesia, with son Dylan, 11, where she is a K12 Curriculum Coordinator at an international school. Daughter Tanika, 22, is freelancing in web designing and branding and also starting up a health tea business. Tamara continues to enjoy life in southeast Asia, traveling and keeping in touch with friends on Facebook. What would we do without it? As for myself, I am happy to report that I am joining the Westover Board of Governors in Fall 2017 with Molly Walker Allen, which was a nice surprise as neither of us knew we would be serving together. Our nest will also be emptying as son Jack, 18, heads off to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. During the start of Emily’s (Class of 2019) college tour, we had a couple of fun meetups over Spring Break ’17 with Lisa Detwiler ’80 in Philly and Madeline Gelfand ’14 at UPenn. I am also enjoying volunteering for Girls, Inc. of Sarasota and traveling as much as possible.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

1988 NICOLE CINTAS

ncintas@nvcc.edu NEIL PATTERSON KING

npking@hotmail.com

Hello Folks! It was good to hear from some of you. I look forward to getting a few more responses to share next time. Erin Zyko Hussein wrote “I hope everyone is doing well. My big news is (apologies to everyone who is already bored with this) that I am running for City Council in NYC. The primary is September 12, 2017. And—I have an actual website. Erinhusseinnyc2.com” Terri Cook wrote, “I’ve been really busy with my business, Down to Earth Science; I work as a freelance science and travel writer and just completed the new edition of the Moon Colorado guidebook for Avalon Travel (same publisher as Rick Steves). I was just accepted into the Society of American Travel Writers and also recently won a science journalism fellowship from the European Geosciences Union, so I’ve been busy globetrotting to write articles about far-flung places like Bolivia’s Uyuni salt flats and Easter Island!” Matilda Cantwell writes, “I am living in Northampton, MA, with

my beloved spouse Angela and our two boys, Olin, age 9, and Haical, age 6. Angela works for Counseling Services at Hampshire College and I am the acting Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at Smith College. We try to get outdoors and enjoy the natural world in between work and children’s activities and we enjoy being next to my mom, Marion Griswold, and sister Madeline Cantwell Miller ’94 and her family who live half an hour North of us in Greenfield.” Neil Patterson King wrote, “David is in his first year of college at the University of Virginia. Thayer is a junior in high school. Both are thriving and enjoying where they are. Roger and I are enjoying our work and enjoying living in Virginia. We can’t believe we’ve been here for almost five years. I am looking forward to our reunion next Spring and enjoy seeing classmates from time to time between reunions.” Neil Patterson King, Morgan Birtwell Bau, and I got together in the Fall at Neil’s house in Ashburn, VA. Neil and Morgan had run a half marathon the day before! What a delight it was to catch up over brunch and visit with Neil’s husband and daughter as well. I am enjoying my 14th Spring season in the Washington, DC area. My daugh-

Class Notes

ters, Emma and Ildiko, are now 8 and nearly 10 (going on 16). They continue to keep me on my toes, as they should.

1990 MARRA FRANCIS CLIFTON

marrafrancis1234@yahoo.com

I want to start off these class notes by saying that it always amazes me how we can be 27 years post-graduation, and when we get together it feels like no time has passed! This past October, a group of us met up in St. Petersburg, FL, for a weekend of laughs, love, and

new memories. It is always so nice to see everyone at Reunion, but I have to say that this trip was somehow much more relaxing and enjoyable for different reasons. For those of you who could not make it, we missed you. Ladies — Please save the date for this year’s trip: October 12-15… details to follow. Join us on the Facebook Group “Westover School Class of 1990” to get more information. From marriages to babies to kids heading off to college, it has been an exciting year for our classmates. In August, Alice Roche Winthrop welcomed baby #3 to her beautiful family: Rose Winthrop joins big brother Kevin and big sister Agnes.

In September Sara Barley welcomed her first child, George, into the world. In October Yesenia (Anna) Rios married her longtime sweetheart Armando Lara in a beautiful ceremony in Mexico. Her daughter, Savannah, continues to excel at swimming and is affectionately known to the world as “my Stinky.” I love that she is nicknamed after me — HA! Yesenia and Savannah have participated in a mission called “Homes for Hope” based in Rosarito, Mexico where they build homes for families in need. This year, Yesenia has been asked to lead the group, and she is very excited to share her passion for this very needed service with others.

39. Cathy Strong Mitchell ’84, Ellie Ladd Craver ’65, Beth Walker Mecke ‘81 playing Paddle Tennis. All three were on Westover's Paddle Tennis team during their time here! 40. Lisa Detwiler '80, Heather Lundy Macdonald '85 and Emily Macdonald '19 in Philly. 41. Emily Macdonald '19 & Madeline Gelfand ’14, a junior at Penn (on college tour) 42. Terri Cook '88 kids visiting salt flats 43. Elana Wertkin ’93, Erin Zyko Hussein ’88, Barbara Rands Valente '88, Lizzie Coffin '92, and Chay Costello Sosin ’93 celebrate Erin's campaign kickoff.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

Class Notes

44. Astrid Rapp '91, a Level I Alpine Ski Instructor

Eliza Wolcott Brown writes that Lily is turning 11 this year and is very involved with theater and tennis, and Alexander is turning eight and is into every sport! In January, she and her family moved into a new house in Wilton that they love. They can’t wait to get back to Watch Hill this Summer and asks that anyone who will be in the area please let her know. Diana Jones Greenberg is still happily married with four beautiful girls: Devyn, 17; Logan, 16; Taryn, 14; and Quinlan, 8, and excited to share the news that her eldest has been accepted to James Madison University Class of 2021! Jennifer Geoghan is about to become an empty nester. Her daughter, Lola Finnegan, is a junior at Westover and Fiona is a senior at Princeton high school. Jennifer writes, “Lucky me, I get to start the college search process in earnest before we’ve even made a final decision for kid number one.” Jennifer Brent and her family sold their home in Connecticut and became Texans! They moved to North Dallas in May, and are settling in nicely… except for getting used to the sometimes crazy weather with hailstorms and tornado watches. Shonda Murray-Link writes that her daughter, Bryel, is graduating from high school and headed to

college this year, but not before she gets to take her family to Cancun for a last family getaway. Shonda and her husband, Russ, are doing well despite having a long and sometimes rough year. She is running her family’s ranch and watching over her mom since her father sadly passed away last year. Every year she sells cows in the Fall and is proud that her beef is 99% organic, completely hormone free, and field to freezer in 30 days! She has also started a cleaning business and hired her first employee. Jillian Evans-Beauchamp Franciscovich and family are doing great. Trips this past year included Rhode Island, Vermont, Canada, and Montauk, to name a few. She and Daniel will be celebrating 19 years of marriage this year. All the kids are healthy and well — the girls, Aisy and Wynne, are busy acting, skiing, and cooking, and Ethan, who became a teenager this year, is wrestling for his school. Sarah Garcia Jones is still loving her life in England with her beautiful family. She spends time every Summer in Spain, and is the master planner of our now annual Westover Weekend Getaway! Erica Watkins and family made the move out of Washington, DC, to a nearby suburb. The twins will be six this year — where does the time go? She and husband, Kit, are both doing well and really enjoying their busy life. Tracy James has finally put down roots after eight years of travel. She has bought a home in the forest of Marin County outside of San Francisco with her partner Robin, who is the most amazing man and perfect match for Tracy. She continues to work as a life coach with a spiritual shamanic focus. She loves living so close to Alice and her family and watching the kids grow. Recently, she was able to see Alice and her sister Anne Roche Perrine ’87 and meet Anne’s daughter Clara Perrine, who is Westover Class of 2018! I was also fortunate to catch up with Tracy in San Francisco this past January while I was there for a conference — we enjoyed food

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

and laughter in Chinatown and cherished our brief time together. As for me, I am still in San Antonio balancing life with five girls aged 10-17 and two jobs. It has been a year of big changes for us: In May of 2016, my husband started a new business called Kalypso Wellness Centers while still working full-time as an anesthesiologist. I have kept a very small clinical practice, but I also started two new jobs: I am the Chief Medical Officer for Vermillion Inc., and I am also Medical Director for EverlyWell. Thankfully, the jobs are remote with minimal travel — a nice change from the past nine years. Our son, Cannon, is in his senior year of college at University of Wisconsin and will graduate with eight school swimming records. The twins, Maddie and Sydney, will be seniors next school year, so I will be doing the college hunt x 2 (any advice is welcome!). The “littles” as they are affectionately referred to, Avery, Britton, and Emerson, are all doing well in school and their respective sports. I will do a mom brag and tell that Emerson won Texas State Championships for sparring in Tae Kwon Do which qualified her for USA Nationals this Summer. On a sad note, by the time this will be published, my father will have passed away from his battle with colon cancer. I plan on burying his ashes next to mom in Middlebury this June, and I know he would be tickled to have as many of his “girls” there as possible… I will pass along details later. I wish all of you the most amazing year in life, love, work, and family.

1991 ELIZABETH KOSTOJOHN

e.kostojohn@gmail.com

As I write these notes, Spring has not yet sprung in the Northeast. I’m looking forward to a little sunshine to remind me why I live in New England. In the meantime, our class has some great updates!

Melanie Lazenby is so happy to announce the birth of her baby girl, Tennyson Grey McLennan, who arrived on Valentine’s Day at eight pounds, five ounces. Congratulations, Melanie! Melanie says that she and Matt are so thrilled with the arrival of “notso-little” Tenny and that she is certainly giving her middle-aged parents a crash course on a new meaning for complete and utter sleep deprivation. Melanie tells us that she has literally never been so tired in her life. Melanie has been back selling apartments for Douglas Elliman since Tenny turned one month old. The family has plans to take Tenny to Milan and Paris later in the year, so her passport is in the works. In the meantime, Melanie and Matt have been making the most of their new life, expanded by one, between Manhattan and Greenwich, and Melanie can’t wait for everyone to meet Tenny soon. Astrid Rapp tells us that despite the lack of significant snowfall in the Mid-Atlantic for the second year in a row, she has diligently headed to the local ski slopes on weekends to teach ski lessons. Last Spring, Astrid was certified by PSIA-AASI (Professional Ski Instructors of America & American Association of Snowboard Instructors) as a Level I Alpine instructor. Astrid recently returned from a week at Elk Mountain in Northeastern Pennsylvania where the PSIA-AASI East held Level II Alpine tests and where she passed Level II Alpine skiing, which is the first step in Level II Alpine certification. She hopes to hit the slopes out West over the next month or two. Astrid plans to be both skiing and teaching on the East Coast next year. Well done, Astrid! Larissa Crane says that she was so sorry to miss the reunion in May. She really wanted to come, but she was still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the birth of her twin girls, Peighton and Nyah, in March. Congratulations, Larissa! Although she was overjoyed and so grateful for their arrival, it also felt a bit like a tornado hit her life. Larissa says that things

Class Notes

have settled down now. She has finally moved out of Boston to the suburbs in Wellesley, MA, with the girls and their dad. Larissa is seeing clients part-time at her office, which feels like a good balance. Larissa says that she has so much more respect for all the moms out there! It reminded her how important it is for us women to stick together and support each other. Helena Riesenfeld D’Arcy says that she has no phenomenal news in Sweden. Helena is still trying to juggle one husband, one job, six children, two pigs, six sheep, four goats, two cats, twelve hens, and three ducks. Most days, she says that she and her family succeed. Helena can’t believe where the time has gone as her oldest child will soon be turning 17, which is the age that Helena went to Westover! Helena, your skill set makes me think that you’d be helpful as a member of Congress over here… any interest? Heather Manella Nuzzo says that she has not much new to report. Heather is still teaching at Westover, and her family is great! Heather’s daughter has just turned four, which seems just crazy. Heather is looking forward to Summer vacation and to her family’s first trip to Disney World. Heidi Bioski says that she is still living in San Francisco and working at Citi’s investment bank. Heidi’s family enjoys serving in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and working with the diverse community to assist others. For her family’s fifth move in five years, their new home is right off twisty Lombard Street. She says that they moved there for the beautiful flowers and breathtaking Bay views, but they also really enjoy seeing all the happy tourists and appreciate their generous contributions to their children’s school fundraising lemonade stands! Heidi says that they enjoyed a lot of skiing this year with record snowfall across the West, and that she and her husband are thrilled that the kids love skiing as much as they do. Heidi tells us the most

exciting development is that after 6 ½ years of being a mother, she changed her last diaper in February! It’s a new life now that her youngest child is three-years-old, and the family is looking forward to their first international travel this Summer with all three kids. I don’t have any dramatic new developments to report. My family went to St. John for February break this year. We had a great time snorkeling, kayaking, and absorbing much-needed sunshine. My nine-year-old son was happy to have seen a sea turtle, while I was mostly thrilled not to have to cook for a week. Thanks so much to everyone who submitted their news!

1993 DINA MADHANI

Dina.madhani@gmail.com

Katherine Parker Grossman has been keeping busy teaching English as a second language and raising two kids with her husband. Their son Asher is 10, and their daughter Maya is 7. Last Summer she saw Alex MacKenzie Doan ’92 when she came to DC from Maine with her husband and little girl. They had a great time catching up over dinner. Last Spring, Katherine and her husband attended Jennie Sabatini’s beautiful wedding in Providence, RI. She also had a chance to catch up with Christy Baecker Castleberry and Susanne Charbonneau Carpenter. Christy writes in that all is well at the Castleberry household. The kids are growing fast and are into many activities. She still teaches second grade at a local elementary school and has seen Jennie Sabatini many times throughout the year including a great trip to the Boston Ballet. They are also still in Falmouth, MA, and are anxiously awaiting Summer beach days.

A REALTOR ON THE MOVE Katie Witry ’94 was named one of “30 Greater New Orleans Business People on the Move” in the New Orleans Business News section of The Times-Picayune in February 2017. Katie, who works with Gardner Realtors, was honored after the New Orleans Metropolitan Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors named her the 2016 Member of the Year. Katie was also featured as the Editor’s Spotlight in the April issue of Preservation in Print, an award-winning magazine of the Preservation Resource Center. Katie prides herself on the systems she’s put in place to help her clients make the smartest real estate acquisitions or sales in the local market. She has also developed a group of like-minded realtors called the Witry Collective. Katie’s success in the New Orleans real estate market is nothing new. She was voted by Gambit readers as one of the Top Three Best Realtors in the New Orleans Metro area from 2011-2016. She was also named one of the 20 Top Real Estate Producers by CityBusiness Magazine in 2016, and was in the top 25 from 2007 through 2015. Katie and her husband, Todd, reside in New Orleans’ Garden District with their two children.

Paige Haley is kind enough to remind us how old we all are, that she recently celebrated her

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

42nd birthday, and it reminded her that it was 25 years ago that Brenda Cleary-Williams and Chay Costello Sosin were nice enough to come in over Spring Break and give her a tour of Westover a week after her 17th birthday. She says it’s hard to believe it’s been a quarter of a century, with our 25th reunion around the corner. Her life remains the same as when she last wrote — happily married, still at her great law firm, owned and run by women, spending time with friends and family, traveling, planning a remodel, etc. She’s glad to live in the city and state she does considering the turbulent times we’re facing. Abby Pope visited Paige in Seattle in October ’16 on the way to visiting her brother and planning her next adventure. They had a great time catching up over several days and celebrating some of the joys of the PNW, such as oysters and legal weed. They sent Wendy Leavenworth Halpert selfies and told her to come visit them, but she was doing that responsible parenting thing. ;) Paige enjoys following everyone on Facebook and looks forward to catching up in person at our reunion next year! I guess it’s good it’s around the corner because clearly we all missed out on some fun adventures in Seattle! Aimee Knorr has been at Boston Children’s Hospital working as a neonatologist for the last 10 years as of July ’17. She likes to garden in her free time and is waiting for the snow to melt

so she and her husband can put together their new greenhouse. Last Summer they canned at least 40 quarts of tomatoes! Wow that’s impressive! This past Fall they also bottled 2 cases of Nero d’Avola that they made in their wine cellar. They are also very lucky to have peach trees, a pear tree, and apple trees. Aimee — I think we all now know what your contribution to reunion next year will be! Caroline Demirs Calio is still practicing law in West Hartford, CT, and recently moved with her family to Farmington, CT. Her son Jack is four and her son Luke is three — she cannot believe how fast it goes by. They are so much fun but tireless. She is on the Board of Trustees of Westover and it’s been a great way to meet other strong Westover women and support girls’ education. Annie Salsich, Gabe, and her son Louie are still in Bloomington, IN, for the end of Gabe’s visiting professor position at Indiana University. Annie continues to consult full-time for the Annie E. Casey Foundation on national juvenile justice reform issues and loves both the topic and the flexibility of the work. Louie is five! and a total spitfire. He has started going to youth open-mic nights, singing whatever comes to mind free of any fear or embarrassment and Annie says how she wishes that would never leave him! Mady Dersch received her MFA in Graphic Design and Visual Experience from SCAD. Her

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

thesis is titled Setting the Course: Instilling Comprehension, Curation, and Implementation of Research in Four-year, College Graphic Design Programs. Congratulations! It’s great so many of us are still continuing our education and earning further degrees. Elana Wertkin and other NYC book club members Chay and Lizzie Coffin ’92 went to Erin Zyko Hussein’s (Class of 1988) campaign kickoff. She is running for City Council in my NYC neighborhood and we are all so proud of her. She obviously has my vote! While I’m in San Francisco right now, I dearly miss bookclub and the fab ladies who attend and I’m looking forward to skyping in at the next one. I’m also always happy to see Christine D’Angelo and Hilary Peterson Klug on our annual lake visits in the Summer. I would not have known next year is 25 years so Paige thanks for the reminder I think! See you all then. xo

2000 NICOLE SIELLER WARNEK

Nicole.sieller@gmail.com SUSAN BROOMHEAD TAYLOR

sbroomhead@gmail.com

Hi Class of 2000! Thanks to everyone who sent in notes this year, and thanks to everyone else for taking the time to read them! About a year ago, KK Hamner Cooper and family moved to

Chicago from Baltimore (FYI for anyone considering it, she doesn’t recommend moving at 8 months pregnant!). She gave birth to their son, Shaw Matthew Cooper, on July 5, 2016. Karsten Solberg Jamieson welcomed her second child, Alice Eliza, born Dec. 5, 2016. She works fulltime as an architect in upstate NY, and her current project is the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls. This year Shelby Mastroianni Neal took on a new position at Westover as Director of Academic Services. Ethan will be seven in June, and Eliza is four and will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall. For those who missed it, Rhiannon Rhodes published her first book, Drinking at Disney: A Tipsy Travel Guide to Walt Disney World’s Bars, Lounges & Glow Cubes. Per Rhiannon, “It quickly became the #1 bestselling book in Amazon’s Travel — Spas category, despite not being about spas nor once mentioning the word throughout the 300+ page tome, but whatever, I’ll take it.” Rhiannon is already working on the second edition, so you can find her most weekends at Disney World, “researching.” Rhiannon met up with Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Amelia Sutton, Katie Aldrich, Caitlin Lampman, and Maura Tansley in Cape Coral, FL, in Oct. 2016 to celebrate their 20th “friendiversary!” In this year’s version of “Where in the World is Lynda?” Lynda Erbs sent in her notes from Mexico

Class Notes

45. Former Dean of Students Jan Gilley (left) and her husband Roy got a chance to see Katia Allexi Passari ’96 during a trip to Germany in Fall 2016 46. Nikki Sieller Warnek '00 and Sarah Schipul Swift '00 with their daughters at Nikki's CrossFit gym in PA, Dec 2016 47. Rie Kawana Hiraguri Boisvert '00 and Pam Hansiripongsakul Kaitfuengfoo '00 with their daughters, Dec 2016 48. Ophelia, daughter of Taylor Donato Molyneaux '02, sporting her Westover t-shirt

where she was working on a televised tourism project. Her year also included producing the anchor stations for convention and election coverage for CNN, producing the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, and continuing her work at Lincoln Center. Lynda admits to working too much, and misses everyone! As for me, Nikki Sieller Warnek, not much has changed. I’ve gotten to see Sarah Schipul Swift and Tina Shields Fink a bunch over the last year, and every year that passes I am more grateful for the love and connection we share as Westover classmates. Schipul welcomed daughter Cleo into the world on Oct. 28, 2016. Cleo is a happy baby and Schipul is exploring a whole new side of Brooklyn with her new sidekick. Raising a baby in a third-story walkup apartment is a whole different ball game than what I experienced… but Schips is rocking it! I also got to see Maura Tansley and Vicki Viera briefly when I stopped by Westover during a Governor’s meeting in April 2017. Vicki moved from DC to New Orleans last August, and she is enjoying being near her friends and family. She welcomes anyone to come down and visit! Never one to miss an opportunity to make a plug for WestoverConnect, Maura encourages everyone to create your WestoverConnect profiles and help build the network of Westover women! Also, for those of you who missed it, Maura served as the commencement speaker at the 2016 Westover graduation, and she gave a great speech!

Some other updates that I didn’t receive “officially” but I’ve picked up on through social media and other avenues… If you missed it in last Fall’s magazine, Sarah Cugini gave birth to a daughter, Emma, in early 2016. Talaria Haaast Andemicael had a daughter, Valhalla, in April 2016. Megan Murray Dickerson had a son, Sawyer, in June 2016. After a very difficult start and a few months in the NICU, he came home in August to a loving and patiently waiting mom and dad! Marissa Famiglietti Apland had a second son, Nico, in Sept 2016. Becky Gregory Friedman had son, Maxwell, in Nov 2016. Lille Thompson Craig had a son, Owain, in Feb 2017. And Barbara Hungerford got engaged in December 2016! Congratulations to all and welcome to the new members of our Class of 2000 family. If I missed any big updates, I apologize…but next time send me notes and I won’t have to stalk you all on Facebook. (hehe) Although I hate to end on a sad note, I wanted to send our collective condolences to Emily Pollina, Jacqueline Rowland Talbot, Tina Shields Fink, and Megan Murray Dickerson for difficult losses they experienced this year. Jackie sent in a note that, weeks after the devastating loss of Ann Pollina, she lost her own father. She will remember him for his humor, renegade tendencies, and dedication to his family. Lots of love to all of you; you are in our thoughts and prayers.

2001 COURTNEY YADOUGA MCDONNELL

cmyadouga@gmail.com

Alexandra Thayer writes that she is recently engaged! She and her fiancé live in San Francisco and plan to marry in June 2017. Alexandra is teaching high school civics, current events, and AP Art History.

2003

is almost done becoming a diagnostic medical sonographer.

KARIAMAH GOTTSHALCK

Sarah Welinsky Hoffman and her husband Charlie traveled to France, Brussels, and the Netherlands in September before moving back to NOLA from Gualala, CA, in November. They took their time driving back to NOLA and stopped at Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Arches, Denver, and finally Austin, TX. When visiting NY and CT in December, they decided to elope at City Hall in NYC and couldn’t be happier. They were thrilled that Elizabeth Kveton was able to be a part of their special day. They currently are renovating their 100-year-old NOLA home and are looking forward to whatever adventures life brings next.

Karimah2@hottschalck.com DANIELLE STEWART KNOPE

Danielle.s.knope@gmail.com ALISON MILLS

Mills.ali@gmail.com

Elise Drew Leon is finishing her 7th year with the Limón Dance Company and looks forward to their NYC season at the Joyce Theater in May. Touring has been one of her favorite parts of the performing life, most notably, Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. Change is on the horizon for her. Elise reunited with Rachel Hermann Katzmann who is in the dance world at Pennsylvania Ballet and saw Elise’s name in an Alvin Ailey performance program. Rachel and her wife Betsy attended a Limón performance in Reading, PA. Elise’s husband Ivan joined the three for some beers and burgers in one of the strangest hangout spots in Reading. Let’s just say that they stood out. Elise sees Amma Osei ’01 on occasion and stays in touch with Nefertari Adams ’04 and Kate Walker ’00. Kate’s dance students are phenomenal and Elise has had the pleasure of working with them in Dallas and NYC. Elise also looks forward to humor and hilarity over lunch with Shamus Weber this Spring. Married life is awesome, despite being apart at times for work. Ivan ran the NYC marathon earlier in Nov and has been tackling an Officer Leadership Course in Fort Benning, Georgia since then. She was looking forward to his April graduation. She hopes to be more in touch with her other classmates despite her lack of being on social media. She wears her Westover blazer, designed by Karimah Gottschalck, all the time and takes pride in sharing the story behind it whenever she is asked. Daisy Smith is loving life with her husband in Bangor, ME. She

Lauren Brady East and husband Joel still love living in Fort Worth, TX, where she continues her career in banking. Their son James turned one in March and they recently added a chicken coop and vegetable planters to their home. Lauren loved seeing Karimah Gottschalck and Amanda Newberg Thomas during a recent trip to NYC! I, Karimah Gottschalck, very happily still live in NYC where my new career as an advertising copywriter continues to excite me. I firmly believe I have the Westover English Department to credit for my success. (Despite that I was not asked to be in AP. Nope, not bitter at all.) I took time off for a New Mexico road trip in October and enjoyed a quick birthday trip to Martinique. I’ve been very active politically, participating in the Women’s March DC and now on the writing team for March for Science NY. With 5-plus years of pole training under my belt, I perform almost monthly now and look forward to some cool dance collaborations this year. I’m also really excited to be playing women’s division flag football on NYGFL and love my company kickball/flipcup tournament team. It’s a sporty year! I see and talk to too many of my beloved Westover classmates to mention here, so I’ll just say that I cannot wait for our 15 year reunion!

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

2004 CRYSTAL VELEZ

Velezcr860@gmail.com HEATHER PYTEL

hpytel@snet.net LIZ NORTH BOUCHER

eliztaber@gmail.com

Sarah Poulin recently completed her Doctorate of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM) from her alma mater, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (where she got her Master’s of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine in 2012). She is currently in private practice in a wellness center in Middlebury. She was also recently published in Acupuncture Today with an article about Chinese Medicine and the caregiving population. Crystal Velez is still working as a Physics teacher at John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury, CT. She was recognized in March 2017 by the National Science Teachers Association and Shell Oil Company with the Shell Urban Science Development Award for dedicated commitment to quality science education and positive impact on her school community. Cathy Morales continues to live in Los Angeles (and would love to catch up if anyone happens to be in the area!). She now lives with her two indoor rabbits named Rocko and Betty. In the last year, she passed her licensure exam and became a licensed clinical social worker. She also continues to work at a community-based non-profit providing therapy to children and teens. Molly Avila will be starting a fulltime position in September as a writing teacher at Avenues, a high

school in NYC. She is continuing work on her PhD in Russian literature, and during Spring Break she enjoyed a mini-reunion in Southern California with Taber Lightbourne, Willa Baumann, and Sarah Cave! Taber is in her final year of medical school and recently found out that she will be going to NYC to complete residency at Columbia for psychiatry. She was lucky enough to celebrate with Molly, Scave, and Willa in San Diego a few weeks ago.

Meg North: I have been working for The Women’s Bakery, a social-enterprise started by Markey Culver ’04, in Rwanda since 2015. However, I’m excited to spend more time working out of the organization’s Denver office in 2017. What I’ve enjoyed most about living in Kigali has been seeing all the Westover alumnae including Isabelle Byusa ’09, Noella Museminali ’13, Alexia Byusa ’13, Nicole Masozera ’15, and Jovial Karenzi ’17.

Amanda Durand has taken a position as an equine veterinarian at a mixed animal practice in Northwest Ohio.

Melissa Nalband continues to work in graduate admissions at Lesley University and has begun her fifth course toward her MS in Business Management. She planned to run in her fifth half marathon in April in Central Park and, though she and her boyfriend have not yet achieved their dream of becoming dog parents, they have rescued a cat named Theo, who is an absolute prince (except when he knocks Mel’s lunch off the counter).

2006 ALISA FORNEY

Forney.alis@gmail.com ANN CASCELLA

ajcascella@gmail.com MELISSA ARSENIE

melarsenie@gmail.com

Alisa Forney: I am still enjoying living and working in Boston. I was recently promoted to Team Leader, where I will be managing a team in India. I still try to travel as much as possible. I just returned from London and Lisbon and plan to visit Austin, Nashville, New Orleans, and Montreal this year with my boyfriend. Brittany Williams: I’m finishing my first year of surgical residency at UNC Chapel Hill. Lyndsay Churchill Judkins: I’ve been married for six years to my husband, Erik, and we have two sons; Dylan is seven and Cole is three. I am working as a realtor and my husband is a detective; we live in Watertown.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

Sarah Milnor: Sarah is still living in Portland, ME, where she has lived for the past several years. She recently graduated with her Master’s in Social Work, and is working as a clinician at a preschool for children with autism, where she mostly cuddles the kids all day. She is still a breakfast sandwich aficionado, but has recently expanded into the delightful world of breakfast pizza. She recently enjoyed spending a lazy Saturday with Melissa Nalband binging 5 episodes of The Wire in a row, and will celebrate with Ann Cascella next month, as she turns the big 2-9. Sierra Ryan: I just moved from Philadelphia to suburban Massachusetts. I’m in love with having a garage and all the other perks of country living. I’m still married to my wonderful husband and we just got back from

a Winter vacation to Hungary and the Czech Republic. Exciting news is that I am going to be an aunt in May. Stephanie Roussel: No updates to share here. Just hanging out in Albuquerque and putting to use in the mountains of Northern New Mexico camping and climbing lessons from Outdoor. Victoria Gibson: I am actually finishing up my 3rd year as a bookkeeper for Princeton Day School here in Princeton. Also, I’m super excited to be traveling to Iceland with my boyfriend for a week in July!

2009 CATHERINE AHKONG

inkpaper@gmail.com

Christine Callahan is nearing the end of her Peace Corps tour where she has been working at a hospital in Namibia. In Namibia she runs programs, such as nurse trainings, health clubs, exercise classes, and community campaigns to promote healthy lifestyles. She planned to return to Boston following the end of her tour in May. Between her many travels Nyambeka Bosire has been busy working as an RN. She is thrilled to have recently begun a Doctorate in Nursing Practice program. Joana Compere, a certified dentist, graduated from dental school this May, and will be doing her residency at NYU. Molly Griffin McKenna lives in rural Maine with her partner Bill. They own an organic pick-your-own-fruit farm that also offers a café and store and which hosts weddings and events. Molly and Bill are also co-directors of the Ossipee

Valley Music Festival and the Ossipee Valley String Camp. Rachel Hickcox spent two months last year in South Africa studying African penguins and last Summer working at Mystic Aquarium as a penguin husbandry intern. She remains a volunteer there. Currently, she is a substitute teacher looking to start her career. Jenna Littmann is in her second year of medical school in Scranton, PA. She is considering going into emergency medicine upon graduating. Nicole Lowe married Matthew Arnold at Beach Point Club in Mamaroneck, NY, on September 17, 2016. They met while she was a student at Mount Holyoke and he was at Amherst. Her sister, Alyssa Smith Cochran ’06, was her maid of honor. Liz Flanagan, Molly Hubbard, and Helena Tiedmann were all bridesmaids. Meg North ’06 was also in attendance. Molly Hubbard is living in San Francisco and working in Renewable Energy. She works for ForeFront Power as a senior manager on their Project Finance team. Kayla Howell worked at Hillary for America where she scheduled for President William J. Clinton. She has since returned to New York City government to serve as Director of Scheduling and Advance for City Council

Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. She lives in Manhattan with her cat, Allie, whom she adopted in 2016. Alex Sutter recently relocated from Boston and continues to work in a marketing manager role in Phoenix, AZ. Kate Truini is living abroad and pursuing a master’s degree in Sustainable Food Systems at the American University of Rome. Hillary Zeiss will be marrying Eric Young this August in a ceremony in Washington, CT.

49. Sarah Welinsky Hoffman '03 marrying Charlie Hoffman at City Hall in NYC. 50. From left: Markey Culver ’04, Sheena Hill ’04, and Sheena’s aunt, Mari Hill Harpur ’67 51. Devon DeSimone '11, Genna DeSimone '12, and Kira DeSimone '16 with their father Sal in Scotland 52. Sarah Bliss Seamans '79 and Stephanie Crudele'14 recently caught up over lunch at Bentley College!

CARING FOR THE CAREGIVERS Sarah Poulin ’04, a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist with a private practice in Middlebury, published an article entitled, “TCM & the Caregiving Population,” in the March 2017 edition of Acupuncture Today (TCM is the abbreviation for Traditional Chinese Medicine). In the article, Sarah addressed the physical and health burdens facing family members and friends who serve as caregivers for loved ones or relatives who are in long-term care. “Not only is the caregiver taxed from taking care of someone else… but they also face the stressors of their ‘regular’ life,” Sarah wrote, noting that she experienced firsthand the struggles she and her mother faced in caring for Sarah’s father before his passing in 2013. Following her father’s death, Sarah was able to start a weekly low/no cost clinic that focused on providing acupuncture services to unpaid caregivers for such conditions as depression, grief, anxiety, stress, and fatigue. “As TCM practitioners,” she wrote, “we have much to offer this population.” Sarah received her M.S. in Traditional Oriental Medicine and her Doctorate of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. She also holds a B.A. in History with a minor in Religious Studies from the College of William and Mary.

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

The Elisabeth Smith Golden ’65 Financial Aid Fund Arthur F. Golden wanted to give his wife, Elisabeth Smith Golden, a member of the Class of 1965, a special gift to celebrate her 70th birthday, so he reached out to Westover’s Alumnae & Development Office to establish the Elisabeth Smith Golden ’65 Financial Aid Fund in Beth’s honor.

grateful that Arthur has subscribed to a more contemporary model. That Arthur has acknowledged and supported my lifelong attachment to Westover is very significant to me. This gift is to celebrate a big birthday, and I hope other spouses will be inspired to consider following suit.

The fund’s income will support the School’s financial aid program annually, except when the School’s Glee Club undertakes a concert tour in Europe. In those years, the fund’s income will aid students who need assistance to participate in the trip.

Arthur, knowing Beth’s devotion to Westover over the years and all the connections she has had as a Trustee, Alumnae Association Governor, and volunteer for her class, what is your impression of Westover and the impact it has had on the lives of Beth and her contemporaries, as well as the lives of young women in succeeding years?

We recently interviewed Beth and Arthur about his gift and about their shared commitment to education and Westover.

Arthur, was there a particular reason, or set of reasons, why you selected Westover as the recipient of this generous gift? I selected Westover as the recipient of the fund because Westover has been very important to Beth for many years and because we both support its mission of educating young women and preparing them for college and to assume an increasingly competitive place in the world after college. Beth has devoted major, long-term efforts to Westover and in particular to its fundraising — most significantly as a member of the Board of Trustees for seven years.

Beth, what was your reaction when you found out about the fund that Arthur had established in your honor? Of course, I was touched and thrilled. I had forgotten that I had capriciously drawn Arthur’s attention to a couple of gifts from spouses, in honor of their wives, which were made during our “Inspiring Women” Campaign. Apparently, it planted a seed! Such gifts are especially meaningful to a development effort in an all-girls school. There is a generational history of difficulty in raising significant gifts from many of our women alumnae — particularly of a “certain age” — who are not the family’s primary wage earners. Often the priority in a couple’s philanthropy is weighted heavily towards the primary wage-earner’s interests and alma maters. I am 84

WESTOVER SCHOOL MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017

Westover has had a major and continuous impact on Beth through the years, and has continued to earn her unwavering support and loyalty. I have been impressed with the quality and dedication of the faculty I have met over the years, and with the intellectual curiosity and drive of the students and alumnae I have met.

Both of you have had extensive experience as volunteers on behalf of other independent schools. How do independent schools like Westover remain important and relevant today? Beth’s response: That’s a great question. We discuss this a lot, especially since we have two grandchildren in independent elementary schools and, given the increased expenses of independent schools at the next level, we try to analyze the merit of the additional expense going forward. We invested in all three of our children’s educations in the private school sector. At the time, it was somewhat less expensive, but still, times three, a significant financial burden. Our decision was made despite the fact that we are fortunate to live in a place where the public school system is excellent, so there was a choice to consider. For us, and for many who make the same decision, it mostly comes down to the commitment of faculty and staff. We believe that the faculty — especially at private schools — teach because

Arthur F. Golden and his wife, Elisabeth Smith Golden '65, with their children, their children's spouses, and Beth and Arthur’s grandchildren.

they love it and are dedicated to their students and to inspiring lifetime learners. Our children are known by their teachers, who can tailor their teaching approaches to individual styles and interests. The relatively smaller class sizes allow teachers to encourage creativity and spend time plumbing the depth of a subject. This helps teachers to foster an individual student’s learning process and achievement. Achievement fosters self-confidence at a time in a child’s life when self-confidence is a hard fought-after commodity. In addition, the opportunity to experience a true sense of community, where everyone is included, valued, necessary, and cared for, strengthens independence and a sense of worth going forward. Caring adults make the time to foster individual talents and passions. Arthur’s response: But, despite all of the positives, independent school education is very expensive and we feel that by providing funds to Westover we can do something to enable those families who conclude that Westover is the best choice for their daughters to afford the cost of the School (hopefully reduced adequately by our fund and others like it).

Beth, what do you hope will be the impact of Arthur’s gift for Westover’s future? This gift to Westover is designated to provide unrestricted financial aid. This is a crucial resource for independent schools, as the cost of each education soars. Westover is dedicated to educating talented, committed girls, regardless of their financial resources, and dollars contributed to financial aid will guarantee that Westover can honor that commitment into the future. In addition, the gift will spin off a contribution to allay expenses for the Glee Spring Break Trips to Europe. The trips have afforded an enriching global experience and perspective to so many of the students. Most would never have had the opportunity at this early age. Many have chosen colleges and career interests based on experiences from these trips. We gain pleasure in knowing that we can play a small part in broadening these girls’ horizons. For more information about how you can support Westover, please contact Barbara Sabia, Director of Development, at bsabia@westoverschool.org or 203.577.4540.

Raise Now to Westover Voices Loud and Clear… For more than 100 years, Westover has been helping generations of young women raise their voices “loud and clear” as they find their places in this world. Over this May’s Alumnae Weekend, Westover’s Governors invited the newest members of the Alumnae Association — the Class of 2017 — to respond to the question “How Has Westover Empowered You?” on Post-It Notes. They then invited alumnae who came to the weekend celebrations to share their responses to the same question. Here are just some of their responses… and, not surprisingly, they echo a common theme.

“Westover empowered me to speak up for what I believe in.” – Sarah ’17 “Westover is where I found my voice.” – Susanne ’93 “Westover empowered me to become a stronger voice.” – MB ’12 “Westover has helped me find my voice.” – Joana ’17 “Westover empowered me to find my voice and to think, to do, to be!” – Gretchen ’72 “Even though it took me four years to get into Glee, I am still singing 55 years later!” – Cynthia ’62 “Westover gave me confidence and helped me find my voice.” – FB ’17 One way to use your voice is to help empower other young women to find their voices. When you participate by giving to the Westover Fund, you are helping to give a voice to smart, motivated girls who will grow to become confident, connected women — today and for generations to come.

Did you know … Westover’s Hillard Society was created in 1992 to honor Westover Friends and Alumnae who have made planned gifts of any kind to Westover. There were 92 charter members in 1992. There are currently 319 members of The Hillard Society who have made collective gifts of over $25 million to Westover. Many of our planned gifts are in the form of bequests in amounts of less than $25,000. We encourage everyone to consider a planned gift!

If you would like to have a conversation about Planned Giving, or receive more information, please contact Barbara Sabia, Director of Development, at 203.577.4541, or by email at bsabia@westoverschool.org.

To make a gift to the Westover Fund, go to www.alumnae-westoverschool.org/giving

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Save the date! May 18-20, 2018 Westover Reunion Weekend Come celebrate Westover! • Classes ending in 3 and 8 celebrate their milestone reunions • Saturday, May 19, 2018, is Alumnae Day • Mark your calendar now! • To volunteer, please contact Carrie Loyd in the Alumnae Development Office: cloyd@westoverschool.org or 203.577.4539

In the months ahead, we will share more details about the weekend directly with classes celebrating reunions in 2018; reunion information also will be posted on www.westoverschool.org

COGITARE, AGERE, ESSE — TO THINK, TO DO, TO BE