IN THE NEWS

In the quest to find the top swimmers in the world, a blueribbon panel of judges from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) sifted through nearly 3,000 athletes from the last century. From those 3,000 nominations, the panel winnowed the pool down to the top 100. Among the finalists, there are 87 swimmers and 13 divers. Twelve are members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, and 59 are Olympians. The athletes hail from 13 countries, 28 states and one small town in scenic Warren County, New Jersey. Blair’s Senior Associate Dean of Admission and Director of Financial Aid Caroline Wilson has been selected as one of the CSCAA’s top 100 swimmers of the last century.

As a member of Williams College’s varsity swim team, Caroline rose to national prominence and was named NCAA Division III swimmer of the year in 2013. She is a 13-time Division III National Champion and a seven-time Division III NCAA national record holder. Swimming World Magazine describes her as “a multi-event threat, capturing individual NCAA Division III titles in eleven of twelve opportunities.”

While retired from national competition now, Caroline continues to share her passion for swimming at Blair, where she coaches the varsity swim team. “I love that swimming continues to be a big part of my life, even though the context has changed tremendously,” she says. “I was fortunate to have wonderful, dedicated coaches throughout my swimming career, and I strive to offer that same dedication to the swimmers I coach.”

Caroline hopes that Blair students will take away several lessons from her swimming career. “I hope boarding school students appreciate the balance these environments provide. Athletes can improve in their sport while also receiving a high-level education and making lifelong friends. The boarding school campus really allows students to ‘have it all,’ and I am so grateful for the opportunities I had as a boarding student growing up.”

When they learn of the honor from the CSCAA, Caroline hopes that students understand that “Everyone leaves a legacy behind. I have been hearing from coaches and teammates I had in college, high school, and even from youth programs growing up as a result of this award….It has made me realize that I had an impact on these communities. I know our students carry similar qualities throughout their day-to-day lives, but I hope they know that their impact at Blair will last far beyond their days on campus!”

The Blair community takes great pride in its long tradition of athletic excellence, and we are delighted to congratulate Caroline on this tremendous achievement. ■

Batouly Camara ’15 (right) under the Blair Arch and (above) with her WAKE protégées.

In early December, Blair college counselor and head varsity basketball coach Batouly Camara ’15 was profiled by Yahoo as part of its “In the Know: Next Gen” series on changemakers positively impacting the world. A Yahoo camera crew spent a full day on campus filming Batouly, ultimately creating a video that shows her working as a Blair counselor and coach and mentoring young girls in Guinea, West Africa, in her role as CEO and founder of the nonprofit WAKE (which stands for Women and Kids Empowerment).

During the interview, Batouly talks about her journey as a young girl in Guinea and becoming a standout basketball player at the University of Connecticut and, later, a professional basketball player in Spain. She founded WAKE in 2017 when she traveled with her parents to their native Guinea, where she ran a basketball clinic for youths. There, she met a girl who opened her eyes to the lack of resources these kids had. “I started WAKE because of one girl,” Batouly said in the video. “I felt it was so irresponsible of me to instill hope in young girls and not give them the resources, the opportunities or the access to fight for their dreams. I felt a personal responsibility at that point to do something.”

Today, more than 700 kids have participated in WAKE programs, and the nonprofit’s offerings have grown to include two basketball courts, a speaker series and workshops. Despite Blair’s busy pace of life, Batouly is still actively involved in growing the organization and plans to expand WAKE’s basketball camps to five-day-a-week, six-week-long programs focused on the intersection of leadership, sports and education. She and her team hope to enroll up to 50 girls while continuing to run the camps for which WAKE has become known. Future plans also include building an all-girls boarding school on five acres in Guinea and reinforcing the importance of secondary education, as well as developing more partnerships in New York City that would allow Batouly and her colleagues to host after-school programs for girls in all five boroughs.

Batouly’s own mentor and her former Blair coach, longtime history teacher

Quint Clarke ’87, makes a cameo in the Yahoo video to touch on what makes Batouly such a special person and player, noting she is inclusive, caring and has a gift for connecting with people. The two have known each other for 11 years, and they remain close. Not only is Batouly proud to carry on Quint’s legacy as girls’ varsity head basketball coach, but she has also benefited from his advice as the founder of the independent nonprofit “Blair in Kenya,” which has been doing similar work in another part of Africa for many years.

Ending the Yahoo interview with her characteristic optimism, Batouly noted that she is proud of her generation. “I think it is filled with fearless changemakers who see something that is not right and feel like they have everything they need to make a difference,” she said. Part of making a difference, Batouly concluded, is dreaming big and developing in the next generation the confidence and education to foster agency in and access for others— and, as she has shown, the basketball court is a great place to start. ■

Watch the video & read the article in full at www.blair.edu/batouly.

What would George Washington have eaten? Thanks to her starring role in the television series “Drive By History: Eats,” Melissa F. Clark ’05 knows the answer. This fall, the Blair alum secured the role of chef on PBS’ new series that dives into New Jersey’s culinary past, recreating recipes from renowned moments in Garden State history. In the first episode, Melissa and historian Dr. Libby O’Connell explore a meal designed to curry George Washington’s favor at The Hermitage in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. Using ingredients that would have been on hand during the summer of 1778 and employing the food trends popular during the period, Melissa dishes up a delectable fried breaded chicken with sorrel sauce and raspberry fool for dessert.

In subsequent episodes, Melissa prepares recipes from World War I that reflect the war effort to go meatless and wheatless, and she examines the culinary legacy of the Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Melissa says that she especially enjoys teasing out the flavors of fresh, local ingredients when she is preparing mouthwatering cuisine from past eras. “[Farm to table] happens to be what I was trained in. I’m very passionate about getting into those seasonal moments,” she told the cameras in the first episode about George Washington.

Be sure to join Melissa for “Drive By History: Eats,” airing on PBS. The second season is currently being filmed and is expected to debut in 2022. ■