Lawrentian THE
FALL 2016
INSIDE: HOUSE FOOTBALL: An Oral History
A LINE TO THE WHITE HOUSE Lawrenceville’s historic connection to the presidency
PICTURE THIS Commencement 2016
Reimagining the Future KATIE MCMAHON ’92 IS JUST ONE ALUM KEEPING SILICON VALLEY ON THE MOVE.
9_13 FINISH Fall 2016 Cover.indd 3
9/23/16 10:00 AM
DEPARTMENTS
30 F E AT U R E S 18 COMMENCEMENT 2016 The ranks of Lawrenceville alumni grow by 217. On the Cover: SoundHound Inc.’s Katie McMahon ‘92 sits at the fore of natural language processing technology. Photo by Genevieve Shiffrar
9_13 FINISH SUMMER TOC 2016a.indd 2
22 HOUSE PARTY: AN ORAL HISTORY The story of 125 seasons of House Football by the people who made it happen 30 REIMAGINING THE FUTURE Setting new standards in Silicon Valley, these alumni saw a better way.
2 FROM THE HEAD MASTER 3 E DITOR’S NOTE 4 1,000 WORDS The Class of 2016 leaves Lawrenceville with lifelong friendships.
6 N EWS IN BRIEF ‘The Contour’ Wins for Courage in Journalism, Robotics Wins Botball Competition.
10 GO BIG RED! Isaiah Wingfield ’17 is a leader on and off the football field.
9/23/16 8:10 AM
TA K E T H I S J O B A N D L O V E I T 12 TAKE THIS JOB AND LOVE IT Podcast host Manoush Zomorodi ’91 helps listeners live better lives in the digital age.
14 TABLE TALK Q&A with Performing Arts Chair Derrick Wilder.
16 ASK THE ARCHIVIST Several Lawrentians have enjoyed strong connections to the nation’s chief executive.
76 BY THE NUMBERS
Facilities Services maintains
Lawrenceville’s lush landscape.
77 STUDENT SNAP
A study of curves by Divya Kumar ’17
12 ASK THE ARCHIVIST
16
22 ALUMNI 38 ALUMNI NEWS 39 CLASS NOTES
9_13 FINISH SUMMER TOC 2016a.indd 3
9/23/16 8:10 AM
From the Head Master
I
spent an afternoon this summer with a group of our
farm had seen better days, and what could I learn from this
first-year Hutchins Scholars. Students earn their way
taciturn farmer?
into this highly selective science research program,
First stop was “the smithy.” He had found an old crank
and in their first summer of “Basic Training,” Dr.
bellows in the woods, seized with rust. He took it apart,
Elizabeth Fox doesn’t even give them weekends
cleaned it, and made it work. He had likewise found an iron
off. “Much harder than I thought it would be…” said a
sink, again, in the woods, filled it with concrete and created
participant, “but that’s what we signed up for!”
a shallow depression for the forge.
a messy, roll-up-your-
“What’s the best part?” I asked, and they pounced on
A little further on, Mr. Bloom showed us his sawmill, set
sleeves, hands-on affair
the question. “Doing real science … understanding why
up with a huge old circular blade – that too, “found in the
– but that’s what makes
we’ve been learning all this biochemistry and perfecting
woods.” He had taken an engine from a junked car, got it
it engaging, and that’s
our pipette technique.” They went on to describe a visit to
working, and this powered the saw with a belt drive he had
why this science program
a nearby farm as they were studying the health of the local
rigged.
watershed. They noticed two adjacent small ponds – one
Finally, he showed us a cabin he had built entirely by hand
relatively clean and the other covered in a thick film of
without a single nail. All his own lumber, carefully pegged
bright green algae.
or fitted with dovetail joints. And the metal fittings – door
“Want us to figure out what’s going on here?” they asked
handles and hinges – he had made himself.
new approaches, their
the farmer. “Absolutely!” he responded. “Can’t be good for
In the presence of this man who hadn’t even finished
learning sinks in more
my cows.” And as they fell over each other to tell the story,
junior high, and with a touch of humility working its
deeply."
I heard the excited voices of emerging scientists describing
way into the back of my cocky, college-educated mind, I
different types of algae they had identified and the conditions
suddenly realized how little I really knew, or knew how to
that cause it to flourish. “Oh yeah,” said a peer, “we found
do. Mr. Bloom’s real education had been almost entirely
fecal coliform throughout the water system. You know, cows,
experiential. He’d see a problem, roll up his sleeves, and
geese, aging local septic systems; it’s all part of it.”
figure it out. Where I only saw rusted junk, he saw new
Real science can be a messy, roll-up-your-sleeves, hands-
possibilities, and with a touch of Yankee ingenuity, he
on affair – but that’s what makes it engaging, and that’s why
brought discarded items back to life, often with a new
this science program has been so successful. When we let
purpose.
students ask the questions and test new approaches, their
This experience stayed with me as a reminder of what
learning sinks in more deeply.
matters in education. So we will be expanding on some
We’ve been crafting a new strategic plan over the course
already excellent programming with our engaged, dynamic
of the past twelve months, and expanding the experiential
faculty. Generations of Lawrentians have learned to ask
learning side of our vaunted curriculum – developing both
the right question, to see from a new angle in a Harkness
head and hands – has emerged as a key initiative.
environment, and now, we’ll be extending that environment
I received a lesson on the value of hands-on learning
even further into the experiential realm. This is, of course,
early on, a lesson that has stayed with me as an educator
what education should be all about – and smart old Mr.
throughout my adult life. Back when I was in college, my
Bloom got his for free!
“Real science can be
has been so successful. When we let students ask the questions and test
roommate and I made a road trip to Vermont to visit an area where his late father had once owned some land. We
Sincerely,
pulled up to an old farmhouse to call on Mr. Bloom, a spry Vermonter in his 80s. Mr. Bloom, who had quit school after
Stephen S. Murray H’55 ’65 ’16 P’16
the sixth grade, proceeded to take us “flatlanders” on an
The Shelby Cullom Davis ’26 Head Master
ambling walk about his property. I was skeptical at first; the
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 2
9/23/16 9:33 AM
Lawrentian THE
FA L L 2 0 1 6
|
VO LU M E 8 0 N U M B E R 4
PUBLISHER JENNIFER SZWALEK EDITOR SEAN RAMSDEN ART DIRECTOR PHYLLIS LERNER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER PALOMA TORRES
PROOFREADERS ROB REINALDA ’76 LINDA HLAVACEK SILVER H’59 ’61 ’62 ’63 ’64 GP’06 ’08
From the Editor
W
hen I asked you in the spring to share your impressions of House Football for the story in this issue of The Lawrentian, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Surely, the subject evokes strong emotions, such as when waning numbers prompted the School to play the 2013 season under a flag-football format. As you know, tackle football returned
the following year, but the sport remains – at least by sheer numbers – a shadow of what it once was.
But those numbers also don’t tell the complete story of House Football. That story is layered with fond memories, tradition, gratitude, perseverance, triumphant victories, and
CONTRIBUTORS
gracious defeats. You told me, in your own words, what an impression this experience had
AKASH BAGARIA ’16
on you across the generations, and it was profound. I was moved.
SACHIN BILLAKANTI ’18
At the same time, I spoke to some of the professionals who work to support our House
KATHERINE BIRKENSTOCK HADLEY COPELAND ’18 KARLA GUIDO
Football League, and am equally impressed with their devotion to maintaining this cherished tradition, even as their challenges seems to be mounting. And to be clear: the reasons for the
LISA M. GILLARD HANSON
declining numbers of House Football players are not apparent at a glance. Just as we have
JACQUELINE HAUN
seen the explosion of on-demand content and the power of choice chip away at the ratings
BARBARA HORN
of the four major television networks, so too has the expansive range of opportunities for
RICKY WILLIAMS ’17
students at Lawrenceville diverted their attention from some traditional options. More accurately, the nation’s two-headed relationship with youth sports – on one hand,
The Lawrentian (USPS #306-700) is published quarterly (winter, spring, summer, and fall) by The Lawrenceville School, P.O. Box 6008, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, for alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends. Periodical postage paid at Trenton, NJ, and additional mailing offices.
The Lawrentian welcomes letters from readers. Please send all correspondence to sramsden@lawrenceville.org or to the above address, care of The Lawrentian Editor. Letters may be edited for publication. The Lawrentian welcomes submissions and suggestions for magazine departments. If you have an idea for a feature story, please query first to The Lawrentian Editor.
our eagerness to immerse children in more year-round, organized sports than ever before, while at the same time, approaching the risk of traumatic head injury with unprecedented caution – seems to be feasting on football at the secondary-school level. Specialized stars are flocking to marquee high-school football programs as a means to an end: The high-exposure route to a college scholarship. For the rest, the thrill is gone. There are just too many other extracurricular choices. And it’s not a Lawrenceville problem; it can be seen all throughout New Jersey and beyond. That it rears itself in an intramural football program is not surprising, however lamentable. Still, it is clear to me that the School is determined to provide every opportunity for House Football to continue. And whether you hold tightly to tradition or simply want to see the game endure for its own sake, that’s worth rooting for.
Visit us on the web at www.lawrenceville.org. www.lawrenceville.org/alumni/the-lawrentian
All the best,
POSTMASTER
Sean Ramsden Editor sramsden@lawrenceville.org
Please send address corrections to: The Lawrentian The Lawrenceville School P.O. Box 6008 Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 ©The Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Setting the Record Straight: The Lawrentian neglected to credit Jim Inverso for the fine photography he contributed to our coverage of Alumni Weekend in the summer issue, as well as to the feature “A Public Purpose” in the spring. The editor regrets this oversight. Eagle-eyed alumnus Paul Wittreich ’50 points out that Fulgencio Ruben Batista ’52, the son of the deposed Cuban dictator, also attended Lawrenceville for two years (“Sometimes It’s Not Just a Cigar,” Summer 2016).
FA L L
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 3
2016
3
9/23/16 9:33 AM
1,000 Words
I’ll Be
Seeing You
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 4
9/23/16 9:33 AM
The Class of 2016 bade farewell to Lawrenceville on May 29, but took with them friendships that will span the generations. “We came here for knowledge,” Sophie Garrett ’16 said in her valedictory address, “but we leave with something infinitely more valuable: Companionship, the type that reaches for our hands and tells us that we don’t have to write our poems alone.”
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 5
9/23/16 9:33 AM
News in Brief
Big Red Impresses at New Balance Nationals
Freitas Earns Ed-Tech Certification Bill Freitas P’19, Lawrenceville’s director of Information Technology Services, recently earned the Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL) designation, becoming only the third person in the state of New Jersey to do so. The prestigious accreditation, awarded by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), signifies that Freitas has mastered the knowledge and skills needed to bring the latest technology to K-12 school systems. To become certified, each candidate much have demonstrated experience in the education technology field and pass a comprehensive, two-part examination based on the ten skill areas in CoSN’s “Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO.” The framework’s categories encompass ten specific skill areas related to the responsibilities and knowledge required of an educational technology leader. Founded in 1992, the Consortium of School Networking is the premier professional association for school system technology leaders and its mission is to empower educational leaders to leverage technology to realize engaging learning
B
ig Red outdoor track closed out the 2016 season in fine style with strong finishes at the New Balance Outdoor Track and Field Nationals in June in Greensboro, North Carolina. Lawrentians competed in the championship division against some of the nation’s top high school student-athletes. The boys’ 110-meter shuttle relay team of Emile Bamfield ’16, Yonas Shiferaw ’16, Tyler Patterson ’16, and Diassa Diakite ’19 placed 15th in their event with a time of 1:03.27. The girls placed 17th in the 800-meter sprint medley, with Izzy Huang ’19, Irene Ross ’16, Tess Maloney ’18, and Ariel Claxton ’17 blazing across the finish line in 1:48.82. Jared Nelson ’16, Alejandro Roig ’16, Michael Troup ’17, and Meinhardt Rentrup ’18 finished 46th in the 800-meter sprint medley relay.
BioBlitzers Identify Scores of Species on Campus
M
embers of the Lawrenceville community identified 550 plant and animal species on the campus this spring as participants in BioBlitz 2016. More than 100 students, faculty, and staff participated in the event, which focused on finding and identifying as many species as possible. Observations were posted to iNaturalist.com and can be viewed under “The Lawrenceville School BioBlitz.” Brandon Li ’19 topped all participants by identifying 133 species and posting 190 observations.
Science Master Julie Mellor was first among faculty and staff, identifying 123 species and posting 236 observations. BioBlitz is the brainchild of Harvard University scientist E.O. Wilson, who conceived a “treasure hunt designed to find and identify the largest number of species possible in one place.” Lawrentians posted more than 2,800 observations, which were identified by BioBlitzers around the globe. The project was spearheaded by Science Master John L. Clark.
environments.
6 T H E L AW R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 6
9/23/16 9:33 AM
‘The Contour’ Wins Courage in Journalism Award The Contour, a Lawrenceville student publication, was named
the recipient of the Courage in Journalism award from Youth Journalism International (YJI) in May. The award is given to an individual youth journalist, journalism educator, or student newspaper that showed particular courage in pursuing a story despite danger, official roadblocks, or other unusual obstacles. It is one of the organization’s highest honors. Although the award was created seven years ago, this is only the third time YJI decided an entry merited the honor. Founded by Allison Huang ’17, Scott Newman ’17, and Haruka Noishiki ’17, and advised by History Master Erik Chaput, The Contour is a twice-weekly global affairs news magazine. The winning editorial board comprises international students hailing from Bolivia, Brazil, Ghana, Japan, Nigeria,
Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, and Vietnam. Editors are committed to widening the global perspectives of students at Lawrenceville by bringing their own experiences to the table. Jackie Majerus, YJI executive director/master teaching editor, praised the editorial board of The Contour. “It’s so heartwarming to us to know that you are trying to drive your peers’ attention to what’s going on in the rest of the world outside the campus, even though there is a lot going on here,” she said. “It’s really important for you all to be global citizens.” Founded in 1994 by two veteran reporters, the nonprofit YJI works with hundreds of students across the globe ranging from age 12 to 24. Student work is published on online by YJI and sometimes appears in other news outlets, including the PBS NewsHour Extra, on radio shows, and in text books.
SIMKUS EARNS NATIONAL SOCCER TITLE JULIA SIMKUS ’17 AND HER YARDLEY-MAKEFIELD SOCCER (YMS) PREMIER
Schulte is 'Times' Coach of the Year Kris Schulte was selected by The Times of Trenton as the newspaper’s girls’ lacrosse coach of the year. Big Red was 19-3 in the spring and won the NJISAA Prep A championship.
XPLOSION 98 TEAM EARNED THEIR FIRST U.S. YOUTH SOCCER U17 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN JULY. THE ELITE GIRLS’ TRAVEL SOCCER TEAM, BASED IN BUCKS COUNTY, PA., DEFEATED BEACH FC 98 ACADEMY, 3-2, IN DOUBLE OVERTIME. A FOUR-YEAR VARSITY STARTER, SIMKUS ALSO CAPTAINS THE BIG RED GIRLS’ SOCCER SQUAD.
Heely Scholars Dig '60s History
L
awrenceville’s 2015-16 Heely Scholars – Akash Bagaria ’16, Eva Blake ’16, Larry Cummings ’16, Gina Kahng ’16, Anna Milliken ’16, Simran Suri ’16, and Trisha Mukherjee ’16 – presented their research through an exhibit in the Noyes History Center in May. The Heely Scholars conducted archival research in the Stephan Archives during the summer of 2015 under the guidance of History Master Anne Louise B. Smit. Their topic of study was the 1960s, a decade that yielded a dramatic cultural shift as the nonconformist new generation opposed established customs and strove to revolutionize society. “I hadn’t realized just how significant the Sixties were,” Mukherjee said. “As a Heely Scholar, I came to grow fascinated with this decade.” From the role of media in the Vietnam War to the influence of the counterculture movement on student-faculty relations, the Heely Scholars investigated subjects that directly shaped the Lawrenceville community. They also pored over numerous books, scholarly journal articles, and primary sources in order to write individual theses that spanned some 40 pages each. The process of crafting a thesis provided insight into the historical process by exposing Heely Scholars to conflicting view-
points in historiographies, or by stressing the importance of identifying bias. In addition to doing archival research, the Heely Scholars received the opportunity to conduct oral histories, allowing them to listen firsthand to the experiences of alumni who attended Lawrenceville in the 1960s. The group then transcribed the oral histories and donated both the audio files and the transcripts to the Archives as a way to give back and promote future research. – Akash Bagaria ’16
“We thought the key to that was steady work and focus and not taking anything for granted, even when we were winning by large margins early in the season,” Schulte told The Times. “Our slogan for the year was ‘inches,’ from that speech in the movie Any Given Sunday. The idea was that all is possible if you break it down into small, manageable parts.” Schulte, who was the program’s first head coach in the spring of 1987, also earned Coach of the Year honors that year after the team claimed the state title in its inaugural season. She received the prestigious nod from the local daily in 2000, as well. She credited her assistant coaches, Emilie Kosoff, Grace Megaffin, and Trevor Internoscia, for helping steer the team to such a successful season. Big Red’s defense was tough to crack, with goalie Sophie Ochs ’16 holding the opposition to a mere 5.8 goals per game. Reilly Fletcher ’17 was the team’s top scorer, with 74 goals and 30 assists, followed by Annabelle Albert ’18 (61 goals, 59 assists).
FA L L
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 7
2016
7
9/23/16 9:33 AM
ROBOTICS TEAM WINS AT BOTBALL COMPETITION
Penn Teaching Fellows Join Lawrenceville Faculty Lawrenceville welcomes four new Penn Teaching Fellows to its faculty this fall.
A
branch of Lawrenceville’s Science and Robotics Club, the Robotics team, participated in the regional New York/ New Jersey Botball competition for the third time, winning both the Outstanding Documentation and Outstanding Overall Design awards in May. Led this past year by co-presidents Shrey Chowdhary ’17 and Ricky Williams ’17, as well as Science and Robotics Club president Neel Ajjarapu ’16, the Botball Educational Robotics Program helps middle- and high-school students to learn and master engineering and programming concepts through robotics. For
the Botball competition, teams must build and program their own robots from provided kits to complete a variety of tasks on a game board that varies from year to year. The robots are entirely autonomous: Once each round of the contest starts, the robots must be able to operate without any remote controllers, meaning teams must write code to run their robots as well as building them. Tasks this year included having a robot drive up a ramp and attempt to knock pompons off cubes and to return a plush doll to
each team’s starting box on the game table. In addition to performing well on the game board, teams must also complete a lengthy sequence of documentation projects to inform officials about the nature of their strategies and design. “After preparing for several weeks, it was nice to be recognized for some of our efforts,” said Ajjarapu, whose presentation on the team’s design site earned Lawrenceville the maximum number of points given for on-site documentation. – Ricky Williams ’17
The Fellows, novice teachers who work under the direction of Lawrenceville mentors, are completing the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education’s master’s program in teaching and learning. They join Lawrenceville’s faculty for two years as teachers, as well as coaches or assistants in the School’s Community Service Program. Each Fellow receives a House assignment, where he or she learns about (and becomes an important part of) Lawrenceville’s dynamic residential life curriculum. In addition to their Lawrenceville duties, the Fellows are learning – and bringing back to campus – the most current research on best educational practices through their studies at Penn.
Lawrenceville’s newest Penn Teaching Fellows are: • NOELLE NIU, Mathematics Department. M.A., in Classics, Boston College; B.A., double major in Classics and Mathematics, Amherst College.
• STUART ROBERTSON ’11, Visual Arts Department. B.A. in Studio Art, Davidson College.
• LISA SCOTT, Science Department. B.A. in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health, Yale University.
• VICTORIA STITT, English Department. B.A. in Comparative Literature, with honors, and an honors minor in French, Swarthmore College.
A Sound Investment
Truman Semans ’45 P’87, trustee emeritus, hosted current and former members of the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees and representatives of Cambridge Associates, Lawrenceville’s investment advisory firm, for an investment retreat at his Hobby Horse Farm in Hot Springs, Va., in August. Pictured, from left, are Mary Kate Barnes H’59 ’77 P’11 ’13 ’19, director of advancement; Bill Bardel ’57 P’93; Jack Luetkemeyer ’59; Michael Chae ’86, chair, Investment Committee; Darrell Fitzgerald ’68, vice president, Board of Trustees; Jeremy Mario ’88 P’16 ’20; Tom Carter ’70 P’01 ’05, president, Board of Trustees; Dan Tapiero ’86 P’20; John Waldron ’87; Semans; Head Master Steve Murray H’55 ’65 ’16 P’16; and Glenn Hutchins ’73. Not pictured is Seth Waugh ’76.
8 T H E L AW R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 8
9/23/16 9:33 AM
Senior Symposium Takes on Real-Life Issues
JSO Celebrates Rabbi Lauren Levy
F
ourth and Fifth Formers presented a variety of research projects at the Senior Project Symposium in the spring. Coming from classes such as molecular biology and honors government, as well as senior project proposals, these efforts aim to identify certain issues within the community and offer solutions to these existing problems. Students took on a wide variety of topics, including classroom help, science, government, and social issues. STUDENTS TOOK ON A WIDE VARIETY OF TOPICS, INCLUDING CLASSROOM HELP, SCIENCE, GOVERNMENT, AND SOCIAL ISSUES. Leon Smith ’16 and Neel Ajjarapu ’16 created a full-size robotic arm controlled by a glove the user can wear, with an arm made of aluminum and a hand created on Lawrenceville’s 3D printer. It features a larger motor controlling the shoulder of the arm, and a pairing of belts that spins the elbow. Katie Leininger ’16 and Christina McGinnis ’16 decided to tutor faculty children in an art class. For the first 15 minutes of the class, they taught the kids basic art skills, such as primary colors, before helping the 18 elementary schoolers work on a project to bring home over the final three-quarters of an hour. For another senior project, Spencer Patten ’16 and Mike Bauman ’16 created a modified beehive that helps extract more honey than a typical hive. As a service to the community, they have donated the hive to the Big Red Farm. Matthew Stein ’17 completed a molecular
biology experiment, in which he looked at quorum sensing and, more specifically, how to inhibit it. According to Stein, due to the increasing prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria, many antibiotics do not properly eradicate all bacteria. Addressing this, Stein’s experiment tested another way to combat the deadly pathogenic bacteria by inhibiting their communication. For the honors government course, Faith Moore ’16, Phillip Arnett ’16, Patten, Michael Kang ’16, and Charlotte Rupp ’16 researched the significance of expiration dates in order to help the public prevent food waste. They found that “Mercer County is ranked 13 out of 21 counties for food waste in New Jersey, with 55 percent of waste coming out of residential areas,” according to Kang. This number could be cut down if people stop throwing out food by the “Best by Date” label, the group found. In the same class, Melissa Marcus ’16, Nick Bongiovanni ’16, Ciana Montero ’16, Andrew Sherwood ’16, Alejandro Roig ’16, and Jamie Corbin ’16 explored “Traffic Safety for Pedestrians in Lawrenceville, N.J.” and “The Influence of Journalism on Local Policy Change.” The findings revealed that the government is less inclined to use taxpayer money for infrastructure, specifically because many people are required to make projects such as a crosswalk on Route 206 function. Because of this, “It is important to try and use journalism to help gain support for these ideas,” Roig said.
Lawrenceville’s Jewish Students Organization (JSO) organized a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the ordination of Rabbi Lauren Levy H’97 ’01 P’01 ’02 ’09, as well as her 27 years of teaching at the School, in May. Levy, Lawrenceville’s school rabbi (on the Joseph S. Gruss Chair in Rabbinical Studies), as well as a religion and philosophy master, is the only full-time rabbi at a non-denominational private school in the world. Levy is responsible for implementing a full spectrum of religious and cultural activities for Lawrenceville’s Jewish community. In addition to teaching and overseeing the JSO, she created and directs the Interfaith Initiative, a program that provides opportunity for substantive interfaith dialogue regularly throughout the year. “We really wanted to celebrate Rabbi for all that she’s accomplished as both a rabbi and as a Lawrenceville teacher,” said Chloe Bausano ’16 who, along with Simon Shore ’16, was a JSO co-president. “Even though it was her event, she made it about everyone else.”
– Sachin Billakanti ’18
FA L L
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 9
2016
9
9/23/16 9:33 AM
Go Big Red
THE ROAD LESS
TRAVELED
Once Isaiah Wingfield ’17 realized he could play with the best, his choice became clear.
L
ike many budding football stars, Isaiah Wingfield ’17 dreamed of playing in major bowl games before cheering throngs, and a late, strong surge in his recruiting profile put those goals within reach. He was, in the parlance of the summer recruiting circuit, “blowing
up.” It was only after proving his ability to others, however, that Wingfield was able to convince himself where he truly wanted to be. “One of the things that made it easier to choose Harvard were the offers that I received at the end,” he says, mentioning several scholarship tenders from higher-profile programs that came his way after performing very well at various summer camps. “I was there to prove to myself that I can play at that level, but once I got those offers, I didn’t really have to battle myself over it anymore.” Wingfield says his search for the right fit was guided all along by what he calls “the best combination between academics and football,” and once the doubts about his athletic talent were silenced, his decision crystalized. “That’s what I told every coach when they recruited me, Wingfield says and honestly I don’t think there was a better option than the one I found at Harvard.” Now free to follow his head and his heart to Cambridge, Wingfield is ready for the next challenge. He knows that the academics at Harvard will be arduous, but that he will arrive battle-tested. “I don’t think any other school could have prepared me for college better than Lawrenceville,”
says Wingfield, who came to the School after two years at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in Pennsauken, New Jersey. “Being a student-athlete at Lawrenceville is very difficult. The time commitment is tough, especially during football season, but the rigorous academics are a lot to tackle, too. So I think with the fact that I’m able to do pretty well here, I’ll be prepared, even for Harvard.” Wingfield’s head coach, Harry Flaherty, agrees that his player is equal to the task, specifically because he never settles for less than his best. “Isaiah is one of those rare young men who presents the complete package,” says Flaherty, now in his second season leading Big Red. “This is not to say that he doesn’t have room to improve, but his desire to pursue excellence spreads to all areas of his life.” During a season in which Flaherty’s program is working hard to get back to the top of the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL), the coach says the foundation of the team’s success depends on players like Wingfield who instinctively know what it takes to set and achieve high standards. “What sets Isaiah apart is his maturity and his quiet leadership. While confident in his own abilities, he is humble enough to submit himself to coaching and embrace the process of improvement,” Flaherty says. “He is also mature enough to value his academic development and is keen on social and political awareness. Isaiah is a leader before he even opens his mouth, and his teammates all look to him for an example on a daily basis.” That leadership extends well beyond Keuffel Stadium, as well. Wingfield, who served as
10 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 10
9/23/16 9:33 AM
president of Hamill House, where he is currently a prefect, staged a very competitive race for School president last year. Though he finished a close second to Yiannis Vandris ’17, Wingfield says the experience was invaluable to his development. “It was an amazing process. I learned so much from it. I definitely became a much better public speaker, a much better leader,’ he says. “I wish I could’ve won – I’m extremely competitive – but I’m still happy with where I am now.” On the field, Wingfield says it’s been easy to buy into the coaching staff’s plan, and he is looking forward to seeing it come together on the field. Coach Flaherty is building something special. I don’t think there is anyone who cares more about what they do than him, and he’s definitely having a great impact on Lawrenceville football,” he says. “He has brought along this notion that we have to do everything bigger and better than every other
program in the nation. He constantly drills into us that we have to do things like we’re the best, so with everything we do, there’s just a greater focus and a greater intensity.” Wingfield says Flaherty and assistant coach Drew Inzer, who starred in the Ivy League for Princeton and Brown, respectively, before stints in the NFL, were also vital in helping him see the value of football in the Ancient 8. “Both hammered into my head that I’m not sacrificing football by making this decision [to go to Harvard], so they were essential for me throughout this whole process,” says Wingfield, who will join a program that captured the 2015 Ivy League title and a head coach, Tim Murphy, who has sent a dozen players to the NFL. “I wanted to go to a winning program, and Harvard’s been doing it pretty well over the last twenty or so years with Coach Murphy.”
Flaherty says Wingfield can play a pivotal role in that success if he upholds his work ethic. “The fact that he brings [major conference] talent to the Ivy League suggests that he has the potential to play early and often, and to be a force in that league,” he says. “The guys who have the most success in any league are those who are able to block out the depth chart, humble themselves, and just compete one day at a time; the cream rises to the top. And Isaiah has both the hunger and the humility to become a great player for the Crimson.” Before he packs his bags, however, Wingfield is focused on this fall and wants to leave Lawrenceville on a high note. “I don’t think a lot of people are expecting us to compete for the MAPL, but I think we’re going to wake some people up,” he says. “I’m really excited to get on the field and let everyone see what we’ve got.”
On the field and off, Isaiah Wingfield (11) rises above the crowd.
FA L L
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 11
2016
11
9/23/16 9:33 AM
Take This Job & Love It
’CASTING A
LIFELINE
POPULAR PODCAST HOST MANOUSH ZOMORODI ’91 HELPS LISTENERS LIVE SIMPLER, HAPPIER LIVES IN THE DIGITAL AGE.
T
hough she was already an established journalist, Manoush Zomorodi ’91 nevertheless found herself at a crossroads just a decade into her career. Over that time, the Georgetown University graduate had distinguished herself as a BBC foreign news producer and reporter, as well as a freelance journalist for Reuters, but Zomorodi was suddenly unsure how to integrate her latest role – motherhood – with work. That’s when personal technology intervened. “Digital media completely transformed journalism, and I became a mother. Those two things kind of happened simultaneously, and I would never have predicted the effect they would have had on me as a journalist,” says Zomorodi, who noted that her first child was born in 2007, the same month Apple unveiled the iPhone. “You were either with your kid or you were working, whereas suddenly, once I got an iPhone, I was like, Oh. I don’t have to be seated by myself in front of a computer,” she explains. “There was this merging of identities in a way that there hadn’t been before because of this mobility.” Simultaneously, the on-demand media revolution was gaining steam. Zomorodi, who debuted an on-air tech-news segment called New Tech City for WNYC Radio in New York in late 2012, was approached shortly thereafter by the station’s chief content officer and CEO about expanding the segment into a long-form, on-demand show with multiregional appeal for the National Public Radio affiliate. “The station was really looking to build out its
12 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 12
9/23/16 9:34 AM
offerings with podcasts,” she recalls. By the time Note to Self, Zomorodi’s groundbreaking podcast, debuted in 2013, personal technology had a stranglehold on the lives of men and women alike, which gave the show’s host her angle: Searching for answers to life’s digital quandaries, and preserving a sense of self in the age of technology. “The sociological implications were what I found fascinating, how it was changing our culture,” she says. “It was changing our relationships. It was changing entire societal structures. I was so fascinated by why a little piece of RAM could change your relationship with your grandma. I thought, Whoa, that’s a cool story to tell!” To both WNYC Studios, which produces Note to Self, and Zomorodi, there was also a dearth of on-demand content told from a woman’s point of view. Shortly before the podcast’s first episode,
Transom.com reported that of the top one hundred podcasts channeled by Stitcher, a podcast-delivery phone app, seventy-one were hosted by men – many by two or three men – while just eleven were hosted by women. Of those, three podcasts were just sixty seconds in length. “The station here has a very strong female CEO, Laura Walker, who has really made it her mission to change that,” Zomorodi explains. “How do you change it? You have to hire someone and understand that she’s a working mom, and working mothers need flexibility, and they’re going to talk about things in different ways. I think that coincides with what is changing in media, this authenticity.” Podcasting isn’t exactly new, but with the rise of on-demand media, the forum has democratized content production, allowing aspiring on-air personalities to craft their own shows and make them available to anyone via download.
“Audiences are smarter. They want you to be honest and real and show your vulnerabilities, because anyone can make media now,” Zomorodi says. “You really have to give them something that
Photograph by Donnelly Marks
they can’t get anywhere else.” Though Zomorodi strongly resists the “techie” label, it is nevertheless the space she occupies, and it is exactly why the format of Note to Self works so well. In fact, she admits that in selecting topics, she is often trying to gain an understanding as much for herself as she is informing her audience. “Oh, all the time. Those two things are not separate,” she says. “If I’m interested in something, then we do a show on it. It’s the best job ever, I really believe that. I get to follow my curiosity. I get to call the preeminent researchers and scientists and technologists to tell me how something works.” Note to Self approaches these topics in an intelligent but accessible way that neither talks above nor down to its audience. Zomorodi understands as well as anyone that staying current with new and ever-evolving technologies can be intimidating, yet it is essential. “I know that if I’m in denial about something, like virtual reality, where for the longest time I
just wanted to put my fingers in my ears and go La, la, la, la, la, la, la, I need to do a show about it because it means that other people don’t understand it, either,” she says. “It means that other people are hearing this buzzword or key phrase and don’t really know what it means.” In turn, Zomorodi also relies on Note to Self listeners to help inform her research. “In 2015, we did a project called Bored and Brilliant, which was a week of challenges where we asked people to rethink their relationships with their phones to activate boredom and see if that would jump-start their creativity,” she says. “We had an enormous response from that. Thousands of people shared their phone data with us and their very personal stories. One guy in Brooklyn said to me, ‘I feel like I’m waking up from a mental hibernation.’” The success of Bored and Brilliant, which earned coverage in The Economist, AdWeek, The Atlantic, and Newsweek, among other outlets, was the impetus for the forthcoming book Bored and Brilliant (St. Martin’s Press, due fall 2017). It also yielded another crowdsourced Note to Self project, Infomagical, earlier this year. This time, Zomorodi focused on information overload. “Again, we asked people to do very small behavior tweaks, and we collected data from them to try and measure effectiveness,” Zomorodi says, noting that more than 30,000 listeners participated over the duration of the project. “I also spoke to neuroscientists and cognitive psychologists about how the brain works, and how we can use that information to affect our own tech habits. It was great. It was even bigger than Bored and Brilliant, which was awesome.” Zomorodi, whose popularity through Note to Self has seen her appear on MSNBC, WNBC-TV in New York, and The Dr. Oz Show, is the recipient of four awards from the New York Press Club and was also named “Outstanding Host” by the Alliance for Women in Media in 2014. She credits her assimilation into podcasting to the friendly warmth she projects when the mic is on. “Podcasting is very intimate. It’s a very one-onone thing. You feel like you’re listening to a friend,” Zomorodi says, adding that she is buoyed by the idea of contributing something important. “I really do feel that when we understand the technology and why it’s changed us, we better understand ourselves, and that’s where we can make those positive changes in our lives.”
FA L L
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 13
2016
13
9/23/16 9:34 AM
Q&A
TableTalk W H AT ’ S H A P P E N I N G I N S I D E T H E C L A S S R O O M AT L A W R E N C E V I L L E ? In just over a decade as the director of dance at Lawrenceville, Derrick Wilder has altered the culture among students at the School. The Atlanta native, who also chairs the Performing Arts Department, has taken what was once a marginal activity and transformed the Spring Dance Concert into a high point of the academic year. Inside the Kirby Arts Center, Wilder told The Lawrentian how he knew years before the building became his professional home that one day, the stage would be his. Much of your background is in ballet. What are
there, but I had a scholarship to the program. Dance
That was a really unexpected move, no?
the origins of your interest in dance?
Theatre of Harlem came to town one year, and my
Yeah, but I had this mindset of always moving for-
Well, that goes back to my fifth-grade teacher, Ethel
then-ballet instructor said I should go audition for
ward. Finally a friend of mine was like, why are you
Rutledge. She started a rudimentary dance program
them. It was the first time I had heard about them.
moving outside of what you do well? And I didn’t
for days when we could not go outside. She taught
have an answer.
these simple folk dances, and she picked up on
It’s a big step from Dunwoody to New York.
how much I enjoyed them. That blossomed into her
Here I am, learning about this all-black, mostly ballet
It was a fair question, though, wasn’t it?
showing me steps, and soon, I was working with
company, what [Dance Theatre of Harlem creator]
Here’s a little crazy story. While dancing here in New
students who picked up the steps more easily. All
Arthur Mitchell had done and about his background,
Jersey with the Princeton Ballet, I performed on this
through my high school years, I worked with her,
so I auditioned for them and got a full scholarship
stage, in this building. I didn’t even know that this
helping her put together these miniature performanc-
again. So, really my formal training started when I
was a high school; I thought it was a college. And
es.
was 18, and I remember telling my family, “I’m not
once I found out, I remember standing on the stage
going to college, I’m moving up to New York.” And
at the KAC, and this is a true story: I said, I’m going
they were like, No you’re not.
to work here someday, and my office will be right
Did you realize you were teaching too? It’s funny because I credit her for me being at Lawrenceville, but I don’t know if I thought about
Well, you can do both.
being a teacher in that moment. I was more attuned
Right, and it was an interesting thing, because I
to the idea of wanting to perform, and at that time, I thought it was Broadway. Growing up, my favorite television show was Fame. I could not miss that show, regardless of what I was doing. Sometimes I’d be outside with my friends, playing a heated
moved to New York to pursue this career. I had the opportunity to dance in several companies all over, and run my own company on several occasions. Then I had a moment where I thought, I’ve done it.
outside this door. You’re kidding!
No, and everyone was like, Oh, you’re crazy. But here I am. In my head, I’m always moving forward. If I was making this decision to step away from dance, it had to be a clean break.
This is great. But I was really deciding whether to
Why did it have to be a clean break?
stay in this field, and keep tracking this way, trying
Even from the very moment that I started with Mrs.
to become an artistic director … or finally do this
Rutledge, I was teaching young people, my class-
When did you begin performing in earnest?
thing that I had sort of put off – go to school. So, I
mates, on a daily basis. When I got to the Dance
In high school, I started to get more performanc-
did. I went to Hunter College for a term and a half,
Theatre of Harlem, to make extra money, I was also
es under my belt with this local dance studio in
and then was accepted into Columbia University, the
a teaching assistant. So all along the way, this other
Dunwoody, Georgia. I had to take three buses to get
general studies program. I went away from dance.
thing is following me, shadowing me, and I’m not
basketball game, and Fame was coming on, and I’d just leave: Sorry, I gotta go, and they knew.
14 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 14
9/23/16 9:34 AM
really paying attention to it. I’m thinking that it’s just this thing that I do… Teaching. Right, it’s just this thing that I do, but it’s not really dance. And then this opportunity here came up, and I said, Yeah, why I am going away from what I do? This is what I do, but I also love teaching young people my art form. It was not until much later that those two things finally aligned, even though they had been running parallel the entire time. Until you noticed it. Right. And it was right there. Now being in the position that I’m in, the joy that I’ve got, I get to see it now when the students are at the Spring Dance Concert, in that moment. I’m thrilled that Mrs. Rutledge recognized that I had the ability to show other students how to pick up movements. The perception is that much of what we have here, in terms of dance, are things that you brought in. Is that fair to say? Definitely dance-wise. The year that I came on board, in 2005, was the first year that music, dance, and theater all fell under one umbrella: performing arts. And so I inherited the dance program, which was a club. There was probably, like, eight people. I had to change the mindset of students and faculty about what it means. Those shifts don’t happen overnight. No, but now the community is buying into it. That’s when Spring Dance comes through, because it’s not the dance program, it’s this opportunity for those who want to try something new to step out onto the stage and take this risk. It’s no longer taboo for boys, but it was in the beginning. So you’re saying the profile of your typical student has changed quite a bit since you’ve been here. And dance is not looked at by the majority of students here as something they can’t try or attempt, though there are always going to be a couple of students like that. How do you go about cultivating that atmo-
picked 16 boys, and I said, “You’re in my dance, my
and said, “I want you to know that I’m still dancing,
Spring Dance Concert.”
and I met my fiancée in dance class after graduat-
You can’t argue with the results.
ing.” Those are the ones that really still shock me, the young men who go on, who write me back and
sphere of accessibility?
What’s nice about it now is young men come to
say, “By the way, you should know, I’m still taking
I’ll tell you how: It was intentional. In my second
me and say, I’ve waited four years, or all I’ve ever
dance. I still do my sport, but I dance, too.”
year, I decided that the only way I was going to get
wanted to be was in the Spring Dance Concert. So,
boys in this concert was if I used the Spring Dance
I don’t have to go seeking. They are actually coming
And a kid like the one in your example, it liter-
program as a vehicle to make it viable. Prior to that,
to me. But if they just ask, they’re in.
ally changes his life, because he met his wife.
were more like props. They really weren’t used. I’ve
Do you get any feedback from kids who were
Right, so if they have a son or daughter, they won’t
been in Upper House my entire time here, so I went
reluctant at first?
be so opposed if they want to do dance. That’s
through and said, “You, you, you, you, and you” – I
One of the earlier boys in boys’ dance came to me,
what’s big for me.
although there were boys in the dance concert, they
That’s incredible.
FA L L
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 15
2016
15
9/23/16 9:34 AM
Ask the Archivist
A Line to the
A
lthough of the forty-three men who have served as president of the United States have been graduates of The Lawrenceville School, several presidents have had intimate ties with the School, whether through working relationships, close friendships, or family relations. The earliest known connections between Lawrenceville and the American presidency were rooted in the Civil War. Horace Porter, the son of Pennsylvania Gov. David Rittenhouse Porter, graduated from Lawrenceville in 1854 and West Point in 1860. As a Union officer, he served as aide-de-camp to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant during the war, was awarded a Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Chickamauga, and was present at Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865. When Grant, riding the wave of his popularity as the man who had led the Union to victory was elected president in 1868, Porter followed his former commander to the White House as his personal secretary (the equivalent of today’s presidential chief of staff), a position he shared with another former Grant aide, Orville E. Babcock. Though he was a skilled general, Grant was a novice politician and, wary of traditional political leaders, he surrounded himself with men he had
Over the years, Lawrenceville has enjoyed strong connections to the nation’s chief executive BY JACQUELINE HAUN
White House
Jay Carney ’83 served as President Barack Obama’s press secretary from 2011 until 2014.
learned to trust on the battlefield. Unfortunately, many of those men – Porter being a notable exception – proved unworthy of Grant’s loyalty. Grant’s administration would ultimately come to be known as the “most corrupt presidential administration” in U.S. history due to a series of scandals concerning
financial mismanagement, stock manipulation, bribery, embezzlement, and money laundering on the part of several of his closest allies, including Babcock. Porter was exposed early to the corruption only a few months into his new role in 1869 when Wall Street financier Jay Gould attempted to
16 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 16
9/23/16 9:34 AM
bribe him as part of an attempt to corner the gold market. Porter alerted Grant about the bribe offer, but when Gould’s stock manipulation ultimately resulted in the first American stock market collapse, both Porter and Grant were accused of complicity due to their knowledge of Gould’s plan. Both were ultimately cleared following investigation, but following Grant’s reelection to the presidency in 1872, Porter, discomfited by the numerous scandals, opted to step down from his position. Following his departure from the White House, Porter remained a close friend and staunch supporter of Grant and following the president’s death in 1885, Porter would dedicate much of his later life to honoring the tainted leader. His Civil War memoir, Campaigning with Grant, was written in part to bolster Grant’s character with the American populace who had grown disillusioned with the former war hero following the scandals. Porter would also be a central figure in the effort to construct the General Grant National Monument (Grant’s Tomb) in New York City in 1897. Another Lawrenceville connection to the presidency began during the Civil War, but was not revealed until the early 20th century. Simon J. McPherson, head master of the School from 1899 until his death in 1919, was married to Lucy Harmon McPherson, the daughter of Oscar F. Harmon, a fellow lawyer and close friend of President Abraham Lincoln. The families were close enough that Lincoln’s niece, Julia Edwards Baker, took a lock of the late president’s hair and sent a portion of it to the Harmon family as a keepsake in honor of the “warm and intimate friendship” that had existed between the two families. Housed in a mourning locket, the lock of hair was given to the School in 1949 by the McPhersons’ daughter, Jeannette McPherson Raymond. With the locket was a piece of presidential correspondence – a letter from President Warren G. Harding dated 1921 thanking Lucy Harmon McPherson for arranging to let him have a portion of the lock of hair. Some of the presidential connections with Lawrenceville have been more fleeting – Grover Cleveland spoke at the 1898 Commencement and William Howard Taft reputedly spoke at Commencement at some unspecified date – but at least
two presidents have had family who attended Lawrenceville. Woodrow Wilson, while still a professor at Princeton University, arranged for his wife’s orphaned brother, Edward William Axson of Rome, Georgia, to attend Lawrenceville in the 1892-93 school year as a Fifth Former. Axson was one of the first students to live in the newly built Upper House at a time when senior boys were experimentally given permission to live in the house with minimal adult supervision as a preparation for college life. Though it was only his first year at Lawrenceville, Axson possessed enough personal magnetism to be elected one of the eight “Associate Directors of Upper” who were responsi-
Adams Delano, Class of 1891, also attended Lawrenceville and would go on to become a wellknown architect in the firm Delano & Aldrich. In addition to designing buildings for elite New York families such as the Rockefellers, Astors, Vanderbilts, and Whitneys, Delano & Aldrich is perhaps best known by Lawrentians for having designed Lawrenceville’s own campus buildings around – and including – the Bowl. Delano was not FDR’s only connection to Lawrenceville, however. When he was a young student at the Groton School in Massachusetts, he became close to his Latin master and crew coach, Mather Almon Abbott. When Abbott was named head master of the Lawrenceville School in 1919, he
▶ Left to right: Two decades before being elected president, Woodrow Wilson arranged for his young brother-in-law, Edward William Axson of Georgia, to enroll at Lawrenceville. Horace Porter, Class of 1854, served as aide-de-camp to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War, and later, as President Grant’s personal secretary. As a young student at the Groton School, Franklin Delano Roosevelt forged a relationship with his Latin master, Mather Abbott, who would be named head master at Lawrenceville in 1919. Later, FDR’s grandson, Frank Roosevelt ’57, attended the School.
ble for the establishment and enforcement of rules in the House. (The experiment in such unrestricted freedom was not long-lived.) Following his graduation in 1893, Axson attended Princeton before accepting a position as the superintendent of the Franklin-Creighton Gold Mine, located near the Etowah River in Georgia. Axson, his wife, and his son died tragically in 1905 when their runaway horse plunged into the river, causing the young family to drown. Wilson nonetheless remained a friend to Lawrenceville, even speaking at the 1910 Centennial celebration, before being elected president two years later. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s cousin, William
occasionally entertained his former student, by then a rising political star, at Foundation House. More recently, Glenn Hutchins ’73 served on President Bill Clinton’s transition team following the 1992 election, and later, advised the White House on economic and health-care policy. In the 21st century, the most recent Lawrentian to claim close association with the presidency is Jay Carney ’83, who served as President Barack Obama’s press secretary from 2011 until 2014. Given the numerous Lawrentians currently in public service, perhaps this will finally be the century in which Lawrenceville will be able to claim its first presidential alumnus – or alumna.
FA L L
9_22 MAG Revisions.indd 17
2016
17
9/23/16 9:56 AM
COMMENCEMENT 2016!
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 18
9/23/16 9:34 AM
FIFTH FORM PRIZES Valedictorian Sophie Garrett The John King Prize for Photography Bea Elizalde The James E. Blake Prize Brandon Radcliffe The Peter Candler Periwig Award Nicole Lee The Addison H. Gery Jr. Jazz Prize Neel Ajjarapu
The English Department Prize for Achievement in Creative Writing Mariel Tang
The Independence Foundation Prize Matt Branman
The Benjamin H. Trask Classics Prize Sarah Milby
The Colin Sullivan Award Jinwan Cho
The Frederick P. King Prize Elizabeth Paasche The John P. Phelps Jr. Prize Sabrina Li
The Richard H. Robinson Prize Anna Milliken The William M. Dickey ’64 Prize Eva Blake
The John W. Gartner Prize Paola del Toro
The Aurelian Honor Society Award Connor Duwan
The Matthew Dominy Prize Andrew Damian
The Owen C. Smith Poetry Prize Sabrina Li
The Deans’ Award James Stevenson
The Henry C. Woods Jr. Critical Writing Award Matthew Katz
The Chinese Language Prize A.J. Ryan
The Visual Art Department Faculty Award Juliana Kim Chelsea Peart
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 19
9/23/16 9:34 AM
UNDERFORM AWARDS The Reuben T. and Charlotte Boykin Carlson Scholarship Alan Lin ’18 Tiffany Thomas ’18 The John H. Imbrie Humanities/Cultural Studies Award Haaris Mian ’19 The John H. Imbrie Humanities/English Prize Katherine Xiong ’19 Mr. and Mrs. W.R. Niblock Award Darren Shum ’17 The Lawrence L. Hlavacek Bowl Yiannis Vandris ’17 Crystal Nieves Garcia ’17 The Peter W. Dart Prize Ghael Fobes Mora ’17 The Eisenhower Leadership Award Isaiah Wingfield ’17 The Semans Family Merit Scholarship Crystal Nieves Garcia ’17 Panos Vandris ’17 Isaiah Wingfield ’17 The Beverly Whiting Anderson Prize David Hernandez ’19 Linda Li ’19 The Marcus D. French Memorial Prize Owen Bird ’19 Annie Hait ’19 Dartmouth Club of Princeton Award Claudia Beller ’17 Matt Kim ’17 The Yale Book Club Award Cathy Wu ’17 The Harvard Club of Boston Prize Book Award Injil Muhammad ’17 The Brown University Alumni Book Award Program Charlotte Palmer ’17 The Rutgers University Book Award Katie Santamaria ’17 Wellesley Club of Central Jersey Nikki Pallat ’17 The Williams College Book Award Michael Zhao ’17 The Katherine W. Dresdner Cup Stephens House The Foresman Trophy Kennedy House
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 20
9/23/16 9:34 AM
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY MATRICULATION CLASS OF 2016 Thirteen to Princeton University Seven to New York University Harvard University Yale University Six to Columbia University University of Pennsylvania Georgetown University Five to Boston College Davidson College Duke University University of Virginia Four to University of Chicago Cornell University Villanova University Amherst College Trinity College Three to Northwestern University University of Michigan Vanderbilt University Boston University Brown University Dartmouth College University of Southern California The George Washington University Johns Hopkins University Southern Methodist University The University of Texas at Austin
Two to Queen’s University Bard College Carnegie Mellon University Dickinson College Franklin & Marshall College Haverford College Hobart and William Smith Colleges Lehigh University Syracuse University Babson College Colby University Middlebury College Colorado College Pomona College College of William & Mary Loyola University Maryland University of Richmond Washington and Lee University University of St Andrews One Each to The American University of Paris Concordia University – Montreal University of British Columbia Case Western Reserve University Northern Michigan University Oberlin College University of Notre Dame Sewanee: The University of the South Barnard College Colgate University Hamilton College Lafayette College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Saint Francis University Skidmore College Purchase College, The State University of New York
Union College United States Merchant Marine Academy United States Military Academy – West Point Bates College Bowdoin College College of the Holy Cross Endicott College Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mount Holyoke College Northeastern University Quinnipiac University Tufts University University of Massachusetts, Amherst Wellesley College Wesleyan University Williams College Claremont McKenna College Harvey Mudd College Occidental College Pepperdine University Scripps College University of California, Berkeley University of California, San Diego University of Colorado, Boulder Elon University Emory University Georgia Institute of Technology United States Naval Academy University of Miami The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Wake Forest University Carleton College Rice University Tulane University Tecnológico de Monterrey University of London
FA L L
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 21
2016
21
9/23/16 9:35 AM
House Party
THE STORY OF 125 SEASONS OF HOUSE FOOTBALL BY THE PEOPLE WHO MADE IT HAPPEN
An Oral History EDITED BY SEAN RAMSDEN
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 22
9/23/16 9:35 AM
The construction of the Circle houses in 1885 breathed life into a potent amalgam of next-door proximity, teenage energy, and an unmistakable es-
prit de house, forging the ferocious rivalries that would become the nation’s oldest intramural football league. Since 1892, when these houses first competed against each other in a five-game season, House Football has endured in the hearts of the Lawrentians who buckled up their helmets – whether leather or plastic – for the honor of house. This is the story of House Football at Lawrenceville, as told by just a handful of the thousands who have sustained it over the years. About this story: The Lawrentian solicited reflections from any and all readers about the 125th season of House Football in the spring 2016 issue, and again in May via email. Every effort was made to include portions of all shared recollections in this oral history. The Lawrentian is grateful to everyone who contributed their thoughts.
House, House, House! DAVE SCHORR P’80 ’82 ’88 H’02, House Football coach, 1986 to 2002: What separates Lawrenceville from its peer schools is the House system. An integral part of the House system is House sports, and for the Circle Houses, House Football helps to set the tone for the upcoming year.
JEFFREY DURSO-FINLEY P’13 ’14 ’19, Director of College Counseling, Woodhull coach: It bonds a house together when it’s working well, both participants and housemates. As the season is in the fall, when houses begin to form personalities and friendships, House Football contributes to that in an emotional, visceral way. Schorr: When a football coach is asked what the three most important words in football are, he will respond: “Team, Team, TEAM!” When a House Football coach is asked the same question, the response will be: “House, House, HOUSE!”
BRUCE KRAUT ’75, Director of Medical Services: It’s part of our newly proposed mission statement, which begins “Through House and Harkness…” – the house is that important. House sports really effectively create the camaraderie and closeness among students assigned to particular houses.
PAUL MOTT ’47: House Football – maybe the greatest bonding experience of my life. We fourteen or fifteen Kennedy House footballers suited up together, got down in the mud together, blocked and tackled (ineptly) together, and celebrated in the locker room when we won!
MARY ELIZABETH MCCLELLAN H’50 ’52 ’57 ’59 ’65 ’79 GP’10: Bruce McClellan, housemaster and therefore coach of Hamill, would say, “I only chewed gum twice in my life. Once was flying over Berlin, and the other was the [1954] Hamill-Dawes championship game.”
BILL MCINTYRE ’57: We had a good [Hamill] team in 1954, and I vaguely remember the championship game. Since we had Bruce for a coach, my guess is that we won.
FA L L
9_22 MAG Revisions.indd 23
2016
23
9/23/16 9:57 AM
MIKE GRABIS ’97: One memory of 1996 was the pregame rallies held the night before game days. Guys from every house would come out to the front steps and proceed to cheer and shout at the other houses. Needless to say, the language was colorful. The night before the Griswold-Dickinson game, several Dickinson boys snuck up on Griswold and sprayed us with fire extinguishers. We punished their team the next day.
JOHN SCHIEL H’78 P’97 ’08 ’10, Assistant coach, varsity football team from 1974 until 1991, has coached House Football since then: One thing I say to my team on the first day is that Ohio State-Michigan, Army-Navy, USC-UCLA – you name the rivalry – they’re all intense, but the loser doesn’t have to live next door to the winner for the rest of the year.
BOB LETTIERI ’56: The core of my experience was our housemaster in Dawes House, Dave Wicks. He was a crafty guy who wanted to win. But we had loads of fun – and the spirit! You’d win a game and you’d go to the housemaster’s apartment and have pizza and stuff – they called it a “feed” – and hoagies from Pete’s Hoagies, across the street,
behind The Jigger Shop. The game was fun, but the house spirt and the sense of camaraderie was very important.
er honor to Kennedy House through my academic, rather than athletic, achievements, and we parted on good terms.
DAVID SOLOSKO ’61: In those days, Kennedy
STEVE S. KUNI ’70: I played House Football for
ran a single-wing offense, and I was installed as the tailback. On the first play from scrimmage, I took the snap from center and headed around right end, where I promptly ran into a very large wall of Fourth-Formers. When I emerged from under the resultant pile of bodies, I realized that I had accumulated a large mouthful of dirt and grass. Several subsequent plays led to remarkably similar results.
Dawes in the late ’60s, the era of real football. The rivalries were pervasive and real. Every House fielded a good team. We had some decent players, but the most feared of all was Vic Schrager ’68. His technique cannot be translated into print.
DAVID OESTREICH ’50: I played for the Hamill House Eleven. I really enjoyed it and believe that I learned a great deal about team sports and my housemates. I remember those cold afternoons playing on the muddy fields and am very glad that I had that experience. Solosko: Later that evening I slowly climbed the main staircase of Kennedy House for what I anticipated would be a very awkward interview with my housemaster, Lew Brewster. After some discussion, we agreed that it seemed likely I would bring great-
“You will note the seriousness of this group of Cleve House Football players,” says Tad Hammond ’52 P’16, No. 12 in the front row. Coaches were (right) Dr. Hitchcock and (left,) Mr. Barnhouse.
JACK CANTLAY ’09: I was the quarterback of the Hamill team in 2007. We had about fifteen players. A lot of heart, but definitely a thrown-together crew. Eventually, an 0-5 season ended with us losing the Crutch. But as the last seconds ticked off in the fourth quarter of that game, I handed the ball off to William Brody ’08, who ran 40 yards for the touchdown. Glorious. We almost definitely celebrated too hard, but man, it felt good to watch him run that in.
MYRON GOLDBLATT ’59: I played for Woodhull in the days when Larry Hlavacek was the housemaster and Woodhull was known as the LAC, Larry’s Athletic Club. Mr. Hlavacek took House Football very seriously. While other housemasters might have thought that he was a bit overenthusiastic about his approach to the game, we actually had fun playing. Lettieri: Larry Hlavacek was Dave Wicks’ friendly enemy. I was president of the Press Club, so I would report on the scores of the varsity games to The New York Times. So when Dawes House beat Woodhull, I called the Times and put the score in there: Dawes 27, Woodhull 15, or whatever it was. I had the bay window room right in the front [of Upper House] with John Stephens ’56, and I said, “Mr. Hlavacek is going to see that paper and we’re going to see him coming across that Circle.” Well, sure enough, I said, “Here he comes, John! Here he comes!” He had the paper in his hands and you could see the smoke coming out of his ears! Schiel: In Hamill, we’ve got the crutch hanging on the wall with the scores of all the games going back to the 1940s, and you’re part of that history. The result of that game is going to be [inscribed] on that crutch forever. There is a responsibility to that history.
24 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 24
9/23/16 9:35 AM
Making Lasting Memories MARK S. FOSTER ’57: In the fall of 1954, my Kennedy House team wasn’t very good, but once, one of our linemen blocked an opponent’s punt. I was the only one on the field to see where the ball ended up, so I scooped it up and ran for a touchdown. Instant hero. Next play, we line up for the extra-point try. I’m so excited that I snapped the ball to the wrong back, and the play was snuffed. From hero to goat in one play.
ROBERT F. SHANNON ’63: My roommate from Cleve broke my hand in House Football, but in spite of it, became the best man at my wedding.
PAGE ROOS ’66: I played tailback as a First Former, and loved it! It was great to play tackle with all the pads. We were undefeated, the Perry Ross team of 1961!
BELDEN FREASE ’56: My first days at School were in 1951, the first year of the Field House, at age 12. Not by any means a tough kid and not wise in the ways of the world, I basically was a spoiled brat. There was no need to use the term “tackle” as a preface to “football.” Facemasks were unheard of. Teams were eleven men and we played both ways – defense and offense.
SHELBY DAVIS ’54: I played in 1952 as a 105-
BILL HOWLAND ’59: At our 45th reunion, I was
pound new boy in Kennedy House. Getting on the field with my helmet and uniform made me feel a part of the house and their team. Once in a while I made a few yards, but that was about it. However, the whole experience gave me a great feeling of belonging and accomplishment, which was very important then.
sitting with Bruce and Mary Elizabeth McClellan. Bruce leaned over toward me and discreetly asked me, “Now this is very important: Was I a good coach?” I was laughing, incredulous to hear that our head master, who guided Lawrenceville through one of its most important transitions, was still wrapped up in the passion for House Football!
ARTHUR MCLEAN ’62: One of our two Fifth Form
LLOYD HAMILTON, M.D. ’45: I played House foot-
assistant coaches [in Hamill] was Michael Eisner ’60, who went on become the CEO of Disney. In later years, that, combined with our perfect season, has made me look back on that team as the “Mickey Mouse” team.
ball for Kennedy in the fall of 1943. Our housemaster-coach, “Cactus Jack” Chivers, a very fine man, was not very knowledgeable about football, but we loved him and he was always reasonable and sensible. The camaraderie and shared hardships definitely contributed to House – and School – spirit.
PETER STIFEL ’73: In 1972, Cleve ruled over all other House teams – wasn’t even close. We won every game that season and were even unscored upon up until the very last game against Griswold, when they managed to beat our safety, John Collinson ’73, on a Hail Mary pass in the fourth quarter. My recollection, always suspect, is that we scored over 70 points that season and our opponents accumulated a total of six. John, if you’re out there, I forgive you.
BILL HAMILL ’65: In the ’60s, House Football ranged from really great athletes to those who didn’t know a football from a squash ball. Great fun. Great rivalries.
TOM TUCKER ’63: I played for two years at Dawes under Chuck Weeden, and my junior year we were undefeated and unscored upon. I still remember scoring five touchdowns in one game, but The Lawrence thought I was the fullback, John Bohmfalk ’63. Oh well. Sic transit gloria... CHARLIE DICKSON ’58: I was a soccer player, but my housemaster advised me to play House Football, which I did. It was a smart move. It introduced me to my housemates and the other Lower School House members.
Dickinson House, 1901
JIM HUDSON ’61: In a practice scrimmage in 1959, I broke my front tooth making a tackle. The dentist put a cap on it and did a good job of making it look like a real tooth. About ten years later I blew the cap out my snorkel tube while swimming on my honeymoon. My wife didn’t care for the remaining fang look.
MARTIN MATSUI ’76: The highlight of my career was running a kickoff back for a touchdown. I don’t think “spiking” the football had been invented yet; otherwise I would have done that.
CHRIS PERRY ’57: Where else could a tall, skinny and clumsy Third or Fourth Former play quarterback (of all positions) in actual games and with actual uniforms?
FA L L
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 25
2016
25
9/23/16 9:35 AM
RUSS GIBSON ’81: I remember practicing in the waning hours of the day, walking back to Cleve, usually cold, showering and heading off to the Dining Hall and being just a little achy the following day. The games were all played with fun and sportsmanship and despite the posturing before the game, when it was over – regardless of who won – you shook hands and congratulated each other on a game well played. Matsui: The problem with youth, as they say, is that it is wasted on the young: Those leafy fall days do not come back, and I miss the smell of the newly mowed grass and the promise of those years ahead.
Pushing Your Limits BRECK SPEED ’75: When I first arrived at Lawrenceville in the fall of 1973, I was woefully unprepared and struggled academically. Playing on Davis House, 1899
the Kennedy House football team and having some modest success as a “fearsome” 160-pound lineman helped me gain confidence that I could do better elsewhere at school. My Fourth Form year, I was even made captain of the Kennedy team and was named Honorable Mention All-House! Gibson: Not being athletic at all, I was really nervous about being required to play House Football for Cleve, but what I appreciate many years later are the lessons it taught me about fair play, teamwork, dealing with losing, and winning graciously. Getting out of my comfort zone and playing House Football was an invaluable experience I am so grateful for. Schiel: I think coaching at the House level, we’re invested in making sure it’s a good experience for every kid, and I think it turns out that way in a vast majority of cases. They end up having fun, and they also find out that they can do something that they didn’t think, going in, that they were capable of doing.
MORT FULLER ’60: One big reason I came to Lawrenceville was to play organized sports in
general, and football in particular. I played in the backfield for Cromwell House in Lower School in ’56. It was my introduction to the “real” game, and I loved it. My Second Form English teacher was Ken Keuffel, the varsity football coach. He noticed I made All-House, and I was invited to try out for the School team.
EDWARD MURRAY ’62: During a Davidson Lower House football practice, I was dumbfounded to find myself paired off against a Second Former twice my size in a tackle drill. Somehow in a burst of terrified energy, I jumped the “go” whistle and flattened the guy. It was my sports “high point” in five years at Lawrenceville.
LARRY JONES ’67: On my first day as a Third Former, Mr. Hunt was the coach, and he had coached my brother, Jonathan ’64, a far better athlete than I, on the Cleve team. I was expecting to endure another year as center. Mr. Hunt learned who I was and immediately put me in as halfback. I loved that position! I could always get three yards, although the long runs usually eluded me. But Mr. Hunt’s belief that I could be something my brother was just made the next two years of House Football for me.
DANA WEST ’69: I played in Lower School and in Hamill House. I loved it, and at least in this area of life, I was living the dream.
JOHN TASSIE ’62: I arrived at Lawrenceville as a 14-year-old Second Former, and at 5-foot-5 and 145 pounds, I was athletic and competitive, but too small to play with the big boys. I went on to Dickinson College, where I made the varsity football team as a freshman.
ANDREA GOREN ’85: Coming from Italy, I was curious to try something new. My favorite was when the line opened a nice space for me to run through. Now and again, I would break free and there was only field ahead – such a great feeling.
ROB DANZIG ’83: At Hamill, our coaches – Graham Cole in 1980 and Chuck Weeden in 1981 – showed us how to practice, work together, and depend upon one another to compete effectively against our rivals. ANAND SUDHAKAR ’01: I chose to join the Griswold team largely because I hated gym class. As a small, scrawny kid, I was ill-suited for the gridiron,
26 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 26
9/23/16 9:35 AM
but I spent two years as a third-string guard anyway. And I loved it. I learned how to be part of a team. I learned how to lose myself in the game. Griswold taught me to fight, mentally as much as physically, which is a skill I have valued ever since.
JOE MUSCARELLE ’54 P’82 ’83: I was not an A or B-plus student. All the after-school hours, especially playing House Football, with its physical contact, was a relief from the anxiety of my academic performance. I was a pulling guard and can still hear our Fifth Form student coach, Bob O’Grady ’53, yelling at me to “move your butt” and make that block. I always felt that on a running play, if we did not make a substantial gain, it was my fault. With that I grew up and learned what responsibility was … and is.
A Fight to Survive
Due to declining participation, the School made the decision in 2013 to reorganize
to come up with a solution that brings more players out onto the field. There are two reasons you might consider changing House Football from tackle to something else. One is the perceived risk of injury, and the other is simply being able to field the number of players necessary. Fitzpatrick in October 2013: I used to have 20-24 boys at a practice. This allowed us to compete every day […]. With 8-10 players, this can’t be done and we can’t go “live” in the week with other teams, either because you can’t afford injury or you can’t play the games. Schiel: We’re close to not having the numbers. Last year, having to put together the two houses was not a good thing, and I hope we never have to do that again. A real problem is the variable investment by houses.
JACK WOODS ’47: There certainly is a critical minimal level of demand for the sport, and it seems that Lawrenceville may be below it. Football was a wonderful game to play, but I fear that today the pros for the Circle House program are outweighed
by the cons. Kerney: The other thing that gets in the way is this culture of specialization. Kids don’t come here wanting to play three sports anymore. They come here to play the sport that’s going to get them “into college.” A kid who plays lacrosse, for instance, will want to play it in the fall as well as in the spring. And we didn’t have that culture twenty years ago, or even ten years ago. Durso-Finley: We’re watching high schools drop interscholastic football with more frequency, so there’s a simmering cultural issue, but in the end, nostalgia is running up against some powerful forces. Students want to specialize, and parents are concerned about long-term health and safety. Kerney: So we went to flag football, and we had enough players and enough teams, but there was a big outcry, so we’ve gone back to try to make tackle football work. We’ve recrafted it, the rules, and the whole game. Kuni: I don’t know what all the furor is about now. We played with hand-me-down, second- and
House Football as a flag-football league. After much public debate, tackle football was reinstituted in 2014 under a new format
Kennedy House, 1936
of six players per side. For a variety of reasons, however, the number of participating boys continues to wane. REGAN KERNEY H’49 ’95 ’98 ’03 ’11, commissioner of the House Football League: I’m afraid I’m going to die on the job … or the job’s going to die on me.
J. ALLEN FITZPATRICK ’73 H’85 ’89, in an open letter to the Lawrenceville community in October 2013: I have been coaching on Green Field since 1979 and have led teams in Woodhull, Cleve, and Kennedy to championships. Some of my fondest memories and best teaching moments have happened there. All of us here understand and cherish what House Football has offered over time. But things change. Kraut: I think it’s true that fewer students or their parents are opting for House Football, so as numbers dwindle, and this may have been part of the discussion toward going to flag football, one needs
FA L L
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 27
2016
27
9/23/16 9:35 AM
third-hand equipment, often tattered. The starters got the good stuff. But it was real football, in real trenches, with real sweat and blood. It was every bit as competitive as varsity, maybe more so. Kerney: It’s an emotionally very powerful issue because there is so much tradition involved. And it’s so old, and so built in to the very fiber of the institution.
TAD HAMMOND ’52 P’16: I have fond memories of House football. A great Lawrenceville experience. Keep it alive.
WICK WARRICK ’58: I was blessed to play four years for Coach Keuffel, but my housemates from Hamill were great to watch and support. It is more than a tradition. Hamilton: The camaraderie and shared hardships definitely contributed to house and School spirit. So with all the negatives, I still think House Football is a good endeavor and worth keeping. More education for the housemasters about concussion and CTE [Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy] is probably needed.
Kerney: Over the past three or four years, we’ve changed the rules so many times. We’ve eliminated kickoffs. A lot of the injuries that you see in football take place in special-teams situations, when people get a chance to build up a big head of steam. We’ve sort of got the rules down so that ultimately, everybody is an eligible ball-carrier. The new rules are built in there to keep the game fun. There’s a little razzle-dazzle. It’s more competitive, more fun, and nobody’s left out.
MIKE HANNAS ’60: Watching the college and pro games these days means a lot more, knowing what playing it, at least at some level, was really like.
MIKE SAPNAR ’84: For me, it was some of the most fun I have ever had playing sports and it all still lives vividly – if not 100 percent accurately – in my head! Kerney: Do we consolidate it into three teams and have some sort of a league? Well, we could do that, but then it’s not House Football. The whole thing about it is the house. If it’s not going to be House Football, then have it be House ping-pong. It’s house before sport.
Kraut: I would agree with those today who say the house part is more important than the football part, but there is no denying that for 125 seasons, the football part was the athletic manifestation. Hamill: The school has changed, with fewer boys and many more opportunities to participate in interscholastic sports that were not available in my era. If adequate House Football teams cannot be fielded, and the faculty and administration conclude to terminate House Football – so be it. Move on. The Circle Houses still have those rivalries in a whole range of other areas.
DOC HOTCHKISS ’47: Even at the college and professional levels, harsh contact has been banned during practice. No wonder then that House Football is now played with six-member teams and only four Circle Houses are able – or willing – to field a team. Kerney: For the last couple years, we had teams that were down to seven people. We don’t like them to start the game with fewer than eight, because you want to have subs. But these teams insisted on playing, and they were gutsy, and they gutted it out. Sudhakar: No matter who you are, you can get a taste of glory, as long as you join the team.
“The best football players in Lower School played on the ‘Junior Team,’ but tackle House Football was alive and well and hotly contested in Lower School,” says Pete Dow ’50.
Kerney: We’re trying like hell to make this baby go. We’re trying so hard. And the kids who are out there are playing their hearts out. Kraut: As long as the community wants there to be House Football, very thoughtful people will continue to make adjustments to the game to make it as safe as possible. Like so many of the other things that we empower students to do here, we try to set the parameters to make it work for them, but it’s in their hands. I think it’s very Harkness-like. Kerney: So it’s just a matter of how long we can keep doing this, how long the student body will support us.
TRES ARNETT ’79: I have wonderful memories of Woodhull House football. I hope this tradition continues in whatever form it must take. Kraut: As long as they’re saying “We want to do this; we’re here to play,” we’re here to make it work for them.
28 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
9_22 MAG Revisions.indd 28
9/23/16 9:57 AM
Leave a
Lawrenceville Legacy
John Cleve Green and his heirs left a legacy that still resonates more than a century later. Try, for example, to imagine Lawrenceville without the Circle Houses. Planned gifts, large and small, continue to provide critical support for present and future needs, from student financial aid to teaching chairs. These include charitable bequests, the easiest way to leave a lasting legacy, and life income gifts, which can provide current financial and tax benefits to you and your family. Please consider what your own Lawrenceville legacy will be. For further information, contact Jerry Muntz at 609-620-6064 or jmuntz@lawrenceville.org, or visit our website at www.lawrenceville.planyourlegacy.org.
“…only by giving can we affirm our own small but meaningful place in the scheme of things, and without someone to benefit from our gift, our own life has no meaning.” – Anonymous Donor
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 29
9/23/16 9:35 AM
the BY SEAN RAMSDEN I PHOTOGRAPHY BY GENEVIEVE SHIFFRAR
SETTING NEW STANDARDS IN SILICON VALLEY, THESE LAWRENCEVILLE ALUMNI SAW A BETTER WAY. Silicon Valley may be nearly three-thousand miles from Lawrenceville, but the School’s alumni are making their presence felt in the cradle of technology. Across disciplines, their innovations impact our lives in ways that are as practical as smarter interaction with our phones, as methodical as removing human ambiguity from molecular research, and as supportive as paving a clearer path to college for prospective students. These are just a few of the Lawrenceville alumni harnessing the power of technology to reveal a better way to live, from the Valley all the way to your living room.
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 30
9/23/16 9:35 AM
Debon Lewis ’99 (left) and Perry Kalmus ’99 participated in the Google Launchpad accelerator program this summer, fine-tuning their innovative AKALA virtual college counselor app.
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 31
9/23/16 9:35 AM
Childhood friends and neighbors Brian Frezza ’01 (right) and D.J. Kleinbaum are the co-founders and co-CEOs of Emerald Cloud Lab, a San Francisco-based virtual laboratory.
32 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 32
9/23/16 9:35 AM
WINTER
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 33
2016
33
9/23/16 9:35 AM
34 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 34
9/23/16 9:35 AM
Katie McMahon ’92, vice president and general manager for SoundHound Inc., says that the company’s free search app, Hound, combines groundbreaking speech recognition and natural language understanding in one engine – the “holy grail for speed and accuracy.”
FA L L
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 35
2016
35
9/23/16 9:35 AM
36 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 36
9/23/16 9:35 AM
Hand-Held Lawrenceville! Lawrenceville has made it easier than ever for alumni to connect and network worldwide. The Lawrenceville Alumni Network, accessed through the EverTrue app for your Apple or Android smart phone or tablet, combines the scope of the School’s alumni database and the power of LinkedIn to connect you with your fellow Lawrentians wherever you – and they – may be. Search by name, class year, profession, company, college, location, and more. Traveling to Los Angeles? Moving to New York City? Use the app to map Lawrentians in the area. You can refine your search to include only alumni working in certain industries, those who graduated during certain years, alumni who share your collegiate alma mater, or any combination of defined attributes. Then connect and network with other Lawrentians on LinkedIn directly through the app. Downloading the Lawrenceville Alumni Network is easy. If you’re using an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, download the EverTrue app from the App Store. Android device users can download from Google Play. From the EverTrue app, simply type “Lawrenceville” in the search bar. Perry Kalmus ’99 (left, with co-founder Debon Lewis ’99) says founding AKALA was a matter of solving a key “pain point" in education: the dearth of guidance counselors per student in American high schools.
– Barbara Horn
FA L L
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 37
2016
37
9/23/16 9:35 AM
Dear Lawrentians,
THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2016/2017 PRESIDENT
Jennifer Ridley Staikos ’91 FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
Ian S. Rice ’95 SECOND VICE PRESIDENT
David B. Stephens ’78 P’06 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Vincent J. “Biff” Cahill, Jr. ’68 P’09 Frederick “Fritz” E. Cammerzell ’68 P’18 Morgan Dever ’06 Bruce L. Hager ’72 Kevin Huang ’05 Charlie C. Keller ’95 Neil Mehta ’02 Greg G. Melconian ’87 Brockett Muir III ’80 ALUMNI TRUSTEES
Kathleen W. McMahon ’92 Leigh Lockwood ’65 P’97 ’02 Jonathan G. Weiss ’75 Tim Wojciechowitz ’78 P’06 ’10 ’12 SELECTORS
George Arnett ’79
It has been a busy spring and summer at Lawrenceville. The Class of 2016 has officially joined our ranks as the newest members of the Alumni Association. Congratulations and welcome! I look forward to meeting you at a future Lawrenceville event. Speaking of spring activities, I am happy to report that Alumni Weekend was again a great success. Alumni with class years ending in 1 and 6 celebrated reunions, joined by family members and friends. A total of 719 alumni, along with 457 guests, returned to campus May 6-8; a little rain did not deter these Lawrentians! This year was particularly special for me, as I returned to campus for my 25th reunion. During the weekend, I was honored to announce several awards and distinctions during the annual Alumni Association Ceremony. Joining a long list of honorary classmates are this year’s Distinguished Alumnus, Loyal W. Wilson ’66 P’05 ’12; Admirable Achievement Award recipient, Trustee Sandra C. Allen P’14 ’16 ’17; Selectors Martha “Perry” Nelson ’96 and John C. Walsh ’99; Alumni Trustee Michael T. “Tim” Wojciechowicz ’78 P’06 ’10 ’12; and Meritorious Service Award winner Albert D. Brown ’71. Congratulations to these deserving Lawrentians! Also during Alumni Weekend, the School launched its Lawrenceville Alumni Network app. This is an important tool for our community, and every Lawrentian should take a few minutes to download it. With the app, you are able to quickly get in touch with old friends, network with alumni in similar industries, and catch up on all Lawrenceville news. You won’t want to miss out! It can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play – search for “Evertrue,” type “Lawrenceville” in the search bar of the Evertrue app, and follow the instructions. Additional help navigating the app is available on our School website, Lawrenceville.org. Finally, I’d like to take a moment to thank our many alumni volunteers for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of our School. The Lawrenceville community is a strong one due in large part to all you do. Thank you, to all 736 of you! With your help, The Lawrenceville Fund had another record-breaking year in 2015-16, with $6,484,518 raised! Please don’t hesitate to be in touch with me with any questions or suggestions you may have. I look forward to another successful year.
Heather Elliott Hoover ’91 Patricia Gadsden Hill ’01 Mark Larsen ’72 John C. Walsh ’99 Martha “Perry” Nelson ’96
Sincerely, Jennifer Ridley Staikos ’91 President, Alumni Association jstaikos@gmail.com
FACULTY LIAISON
Timothy C. Doyle ’69 H’79 P’99
P.S. Don’t forget to check our events list periodically to see if Lawrenceville is coming to your area – www.lawrenceville.org/alumnievents.
38 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 38
9/23/16 9:35 AM
By the Numbers
Lush
Landscape Acres spanned by the School’s nine-hole Golf Course.
26
Original Frederick Law Olmsted plantings
371
remaining on campus, two of which have been noted
COMPOST TEA WITH MOLASSES, KELP, AND NEEM OIL EXTRACT, ALONG WITH AN ORGANIC MICRONUTRIENT AND A SUPPLEMENTAL POTASSIUM, APPLIED TO GRASS SURFACES EVERY WEEK FOR FERTILIZATION.
125 A C R E S O F L A W N O N C A M P U S
as state champions.
GALLONS OF IN-HOUSE
Square feet of shrub beds on campus.
As Kermit the Frog famously crooned, it’s not that easy being green. Nevertheless, over 250 ACRES OF THE SCHOOL’S CAMPUS require regular landscape maintenance in order to look their best. For Lawrenceville’s Facilities Services, it’s all in a day’s work.
50
1,600
76,230
13
Off-campus properties
Trees, mostly seedlings from Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum, planted by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1883 to create a parklike campus.
maintained by Facilities
2,000
Approximate weight, in pounds, of red beet juice solution spread on campus roadways in each winter storm. The organic brine reduces corrosion to equipment and melts ice even at very low temperatures.
Services, including Weeden Park.
18
Full- and part-time employees who maintain all grounds and fields, collect waste and recycling, set up and move furniture for events, and work as mechanics
75
A C R E S O F G R A S S AT H L E T I C F I E L D S , I N C L U D I N G T H E G R E E N F I E L D
0.9
Miles of frontage property along Main Street (Route 206) maintained by Facilities Services.
451
Eastern white pines, the most common species of tree on Lawrenceville’s campus per a 2015 survey.
137 SPECIES OF TREES ON CAMPUS
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 76
9/23/16 9:35 AM
Student Snap
by Divya Kumar '17
ELD
9_13 FINISH FALL LAWR 2017MASTER.indd 3
9/23/16 9:35 AM
Lawrentian THE
usps no. 306-700 the Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648 Parents of alumni: If this magazine is addressed to a son or daughter who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please email us at vavanisko@lawrenceville.org with his or her new address. Thank you!
9_13 FINISH Fall 2016 Cover.indd 2
9/23/16 10:00 AM