The Vermont Academy Way
New Alumni Merit Scholarship
Trustees Returning to Serve
Senior Capstone Projects Spur Innovation
Florence R. Sabin Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 ~ SPRING 2021
Dear Vermont Academy Family, I can’t believe how quickly the time is passing this year on Long Walk! The energy is certainly different – higher, I would say, as our students spend almost all of their time on campus as opposed to on buses heading to athletic events or to off-campus activities. Our faculty and staff are working hard to find new and exciting ways to engage students, as the pandemic has led us to work through spring break. Fortitude will be the word of the year! As you’re reading this, Vermont is heading out of our fifth, unofficial season: mud. Perhaps you remember trudging up Shepard Lane toward the sugar house on a March day, the stone walls still covered by snow and the dirt road threatening to pull your shoes off with each and every step. In some ways mud season is the most spectacular season, as warm afternoons up in the arboretum and on our athletic field turn the snowpack into an ethereal mist. Many things about this beautiful place have not changed. The shortest path to the arboretum requires a climb through our sugar bush. The trees are now connected by modern vacuum pipelines. The web of tubes reminds me of the connections between members of our community, which feel even stronger this year. The articles in this edition of the Vermont Academy Way reflect these connections. Whether it’s alumni bringing new students to their alma mater, students working individually with faculty on capstone projects, or all of us celebrating our most recent Florence R. Sabin Class of 1889 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients, this school creates lifelong, productive, and sweet connections. We are all trees in a large, vibrant, and valuable forest. As you know, we’re running a campaign focused on the future of this wonderful school. We have many exciting things in the works that you can read about here and online. Just as plastic tubing has begun to replace galvanized buckets in the collection of sap, we continue to adjust our vision and curriculum to ensure our students have the skills they need to succeed in college and beyond. We look to a bright future that is informed by the wonderful traditions of the past! Please stay healthy and safe,
Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara, Head of School
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A New Scholarship to Foster Stronger Alumni Connections Like most alumni, Joe Dodi ’84 thinks the world of Vermont Academy. “Academically and athletically, I had some very positive experiences,” he explains. So when he struck up a professional friendship with the Tranquada family and then discovered that their daughter Ella was looking at college preparatory schools, Joe chimed in. “Mr. Dodi helped me to decide that VA was the perfect place for me, and I am truly appreciative of the opportunities this led to,” explains Ella Tranquada ’20. “After Mr. Dodi had learned that I was applying to VA, my dad and I sat down with him over breakfast and he talked about how amazing VA is and the community that surrounds it. He told me stories of playing soccer Ella Tranquada ’20 there and the closeness between Ms. Ella the students and the teachers, which made me realize that this was the kind Tranquada of learning environment that I wanted. He wrote a letter of recommendation ’20 for me, and we kept in touch as I waited to see if I got in.” Joe was thrilled by the entire experience. “I was thinking, it would be great to have someone like her, and a family like the Tranquadas, as part of the community. What an opportunity for me to get someone like Ella to go to Vermont Academy – she’s brilliant!”
Joe Dodi ’84
In order to help more alumni share the experience Joe Dodi had when referring Ella, Vermont Academy has created the Alumni Merit Scholarship. Qualified boarding applicants will receive an annual $10,000 merit scholarship for the duration of enrollment at Vermont Academy. The day student scholarship amount is $2,500 annually. Alumni can refer immediate family, an extended family member, or a friend for the scholarship.
Visit www.vermontacademy.org/scholarship for more information about this opportunity. THE VERMONT ACADEMY WAY
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Artwork by Yiwen “Eva” Wu ’21
Senior Capstone Projects Spur Innovation Independent projects are a tradition for seniors at Vermont Academy. They encapsulate everything the school values in ingenuity and independence: an area of passion and interest to explore; the support of mentors in the field; and an integration of acquired knowledge, real-world application, and analytical, logical, and creative thinking used to solve problems. The Capstone Project, initiated in the spring of 2018, uses these elements and adds structure and high standards to create a rigorous culminating academic experience. Beginning with a proposal in the spring of the junior year which requires an essential question to explore, the student then works with an off-campus field mentor and an on-campus writing mentor to write a 25-page research paper and create a portfolio that that brings real world application to the ideas and discovery from the research paper. The project is then presented to the junior class and to an advisory panel. “Over the past three years, the Capstone students have produced some of the highest levels of scholarly work in Vermont Academy’s history,” explains Laura Frey, World Language Department Chair and coordinator of the Capstone Project. “The rigor and structure of the program provide the balance between independent research and creative design that produces original and compelling results.” Joanne Fuller, English Department Chair and Director of the Writing Center, adds, “Students create work that could not have been imagined before they were given the opportunity to invent it. From radio mystery plays to period fashion studies, to blacksmithing, to service-learning, each student’s proposal is a unique idea born of their individual ideas and interests.” This year, four members of the class of 2021 have been working to complete Capstone Projects.
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Yiwen “Eva” Wu ’21: The Science – and Art – of the Maple Syrup Industry
Vermont Academy’s sugar house and sugar bush show old-fashioned collection methods and modern technology working side-by-side. They are also beautiful to look at every season. Eva’s project combines research and art to help people Yiwen “Eva” Wu ’21 better understand the maple syrup industry. The final product will be both a research paper and an art show, because, as Eva says, “Beauty will pull people in by showing them the clear steps of producing maple syrup in sketches and photography.”
Graeffn Anderson ’21: The Sociology of Old Buildings
Why are buildings and their landscapes discarded even when they continue to be useful and appreciated? Why have people, throughout time, destroyed and replaced valuable architecture without conserving or recycling a building’s use? Graeffn’s project focuses on architecture and its stylistic role in society. This is timely as the re-use and recycling of buildings is slowly gaining prominence and there are ways that structures have been preserved and recycled for use.
Matt Sorensen ’21: Turning Out the Vote
While Vermont, and specifically Windham County, have reliably been Democratic strongholds, enthusiasm and voter turnout have varied year to year. The possibility Graeffn Anderson ’21 for personal gain, hope for major change, and fear are the main factors in turning out votes nationally. How can those tactics be utilized to maximize Democratic turnout in Windham County? Matt’s project explores the most effective strategies in turning out voters and lays out an in-depth strategy for local Democrats to maximize voter turnout in the next presidential election cycle.
Trevor Palmiotto ’21: Using a Computer Game to Teach Cellular Systems
How can students better observe atomic behavior in biological organisms and compounds and understand how those biological organisms and compounds function and operate? Through a biologically-focused educational video game that science teachers and professors can use as an assistive tool in their classroom curriculum! This game that Trevor is creating for his project teaches students about cellular systems through an accessible interface, visual aids, and hands-on activities while also helping Trevor develop a stronger understanding of coding and a deep understanding of game engines.
THE VERMONT ACADEMY WAY
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“It Was Time to Re-Engage”: Two Parents and Former Trustees on Returning to Serve Anne Herbert P ’99 served as a Vermont Academy Trustee from 1998 to 2011, starting as a parent representative. She founded the Vermont Academy Parent Association and was a considerable fundraiser for the school. Her son Jeremy joined the Vermont Academy Board of Trustees in January. When members of the board recently asked her to serve on the leadership committee for the Campaign for Vermont Academy’s Future, she didn’t hesitate to say yes. “My heart is always with Vermont Academy because I believe my son’s success as a person and a businessman is directly related to his experience at VA,” explains Anne. “It had a direct impact on his life and his success. The school became an extension of our family – so many people were watching over our son.”
Ann Herbert P ’99
“That we’re willing to come back says something,” she continues. “I’m very excited about Dr. Zaccara’s goals and the school’s success during COVID-19, the direction the board is going in, bringing in younger alumni, and the direction the school is going in – changes that were long overdue. The Center for Learning, which was called ATOMS (Attention Time & Organization Management Skills) when Jeremy was there, I was pleased to see the focus on that. It was time to re-engage.” Marv Neuman P ’03 followed a similar path. Marv joined the board in 2003 as a parent representative and then served until 2015 during the construction of Horowitz Performing Arts Hall and the renovation of the Great Room. He also joined the campaign leadership committee this past year.
Marv Neuman P ’03
“I came back for the survival of the school and the wonderful things Vermont Academy does. To have a spot in America where students can be their best selves – it’s a place of citizenship building and character building. I want to pass something on to the future.”
“Vermont Academy is a jewel of the State of Vermont,” Marv explains. “Not because of the buildings, but because of the way it creates good citizens for the future, especially in the troubled times right now. People have to help to make sure this institution survives and prospers.” Dr. Zaccara has enjoyed reconnecting with these two important community members. “Every time I speak to an alum or a former parent, I hear the most amazing stories about how this small school transformed a life. So many people from our history are willing to offer their time and talent to ensure the future of Vermont Academy – it’s not something I’ve experienced elsewhere. Continued parent engagement is so wonderful and part of the special equation of what we do so well in partnership with families.”
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Florence R. Sabin Class of 1889 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients Vermont Academy honors its most distinguished alumni with the Florence Sabin Class of 1889 Distinguished Alumni Award, named in honor of health pioneer Florence Sabin.
Richard “Dick” Whitcomb ’55
Educational Leader and Philanthropist In his twenty-four years as headmaster of St. Luke’s School in Norwalk, CT, Dick Whitcomb built a community known for its warmth and devotion to every student. Enrollment increased from 190 students to 300 students in just three years. The school’s endowment drastically increased, and he helped grow the Richard M. Whitcomb St. Luke’s Scholarship Endowment Foundation, devoted to students in need, to $6.5 million. “I loved my experience at Vermont Academy! It gave me the opportunity to pursue a college education on a full athletic scholarship and ultimately two master’s degrees, all fully paid – finally ending up as headmaster at St. Luke’s School for 24 years. Who would have guessed! If I have attained any success along the way, I can attribute a good deal of it to Vermont Academy.” Read more about Dick’s legacy here: www.vermontacademy.org/whitcomb
Chris Sinclair ’67 Business Leader
Chris is a global business leader with a career spanning Newsweek, PepsiCo, Caribiner International, Cambridge Solutions Ltd, and Mattel. In his current position as the chairman of Reckitt Benckiser, the global producer of cleaning products including Lysol, he has provided critical guidance for the company during the COVID-19 pandemic. He served on the Vermont Academy Board of Trustees from 2002 to 2005. Vermont Academy offered a much higher caliber of teacher than Chris was accustomed to. He found that headmaster Mr. Michael Choukas Jr. ’46 provided strong leadership for the academic team and, with his wife Nita, created a family-like peer environment that had an indelible impact on his life. “We built a very close-knit group of friends, and I’m still very close with a number of them.” Read more about Chris’s legacy here: www.vermontacademy.org/sinclair THE VERMONT ACADEMY WAY
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