2020-21 Administration
Make a Winning Splash With Bolles… …on our official social media channels! You can also find many affiliated athletic, arts and activities and accounts that we love to share by
Tyler Hodges President and Head of School Mike Drew Associate Head of School Carol Nimitz, CFRE Chief Advancement Officer
searching @Bolles on Instagram and Twitter. Instagram: @BollesSchool and @BollesResLife Twitter: @BollesSchool Facebook: @TheBollesSchool
Jeff Role Chief Finance and Operations Officer Paul Sollee ’88 Chief Technology Officer Kila McCann Dean of Admission & Financial Aid
About Bolles Staff Jan R. Olson, APR Editor-in-Chief Senior Director/Communications & Marketing Susanna Barton Executive Editor Communications Associate John D. Curran Managing Editor Web Design & Communications Associate Dana Bussiere Assistant Editor Communications Associate Sandy Catanese Director of The Bolles Fund and Parent Programs Janet S. Frampton Director of Advancement Services Alumni Notes Linda Boyett Advancement Services Coordinator Rahul Sharma ’03 Leadership Giving Officer
Bolles Mission Statement The Bolles School prepares students for college and life by inspiring excellence, courage, integrity and compassion in an academic community dedicated to nurturing mind, body and soul.
Ed Martin Leadership Giving Officer Contributing Photographers: Jeff Adams — Official Bolles Sports Photographer Cady & Cady Mark Krancer
From the
President and Head of School It goes without saying, this has been an unprecedented year and one that we will never forget. I want to start by thanking each of you for your diligence, patience and resiliency. At Bolles, we take pride in facing adversity and battling through to the best of our ability. Each of us can think back to times where we faced challenges — some big, some small — and persevered. We cannot pick where and when we will be tested, but we can be sure we build our characters carefully with this in mind. And while it is certainly natural for each of us to hyper-focus on our own inconveniences, I believe it is important for us to remember that those who came before us also navigated paths of adversity. This is one of the ways Bolles has in the past and continues to separate itself from other schools. We simply refuse to give up or give anything less than our best. I am proud that as a community we have done this this year, and I have no doubt we will bravely continue to do so in the years ahead. At Bolles, we are tethered by The Bolles Way, respect and kindness. As discord and division whirl around us, our collective and non-negotiable emphasis on pursuing excellence through courage, integrity and compassion joins us together and anchors us to the Bolles past, present and future. We are a community of many voices, talents, perspectives and personalities who all strive for excellence. This makes us an incredibly strong team. At the same time, we share the common bond of the Bolles experience. This is more important than ever.
2
Looking ahead, I believe Bolles is at a crucial moment in its storied history. As we demask ourselves, both figuratively and metaphorically, we have a distinct opportunity to reemphasize and show ourselves and the larger Jacksonville community what it means to be a member of the Bolles family. When considering this within our community, I believe it is essential we bring a renewed focus to ensuring the permanence of a culture where every member of the family is known and valued. This is the very foundation of the Bolles experience. I believe our behavior, and especially how we interact with those who might think, look, or be different from ourselves, must reflect this priority. In the end, it all comes down to respect. In this area, we must work together with one mind and purpose, caring for the problems of others as if they were our problems, and seeking to shine like bright lights in a dark and selfish world. We must prioritize kindness for all and thereby be judged by who we include and not who we exclude. Unborn generations of Bolles students are dependent on the culture we cultivate today. Our goal will be to let Jacksonville and the world see our unity and strength. Anchored in our commonality and strengthened by our differences, we will continue to carry on The Bolles Way through inclusion rather than division. During the past 15 months, we have demonstrated endurance and patience. Now we must purposely seek the joy that comes with pursuing excellence, living honorably and valuing community. Bolles cannot solely be a location for the accumulation of knowledge but must represent who we are and what we value. Excellence, courage, integrity, compassion, respect. Jacksonville should see us as different and unique. We have a responsibility to set the standard for others. Looking forward from today, it is impossible to argue that we are not setting that standard. Let me cite just a couple of examples to help put this standard in perspective. We are set to open school in the fall with our highest enrollment in nearly 10 years. Our annual giving is at the highest it has been in almost 15 years, and we have increased the number of donors to Bolles by nearly 40%. We increased our student financial support significantly and now award over $5 million dollars each year to those in need. We have created multiple new faculty positions, have expanded course offerings, are implementing a new global learning and engagement program, and let’s not forget the remarkable colleges and universities that our seniors will attend. No other school in our area can compete with any of these accomplishments, and I have never been prouder to be your head of school. Thank you to each member of the Bolles community for playing such important roles in our collective success. The future is bright for our seniors, and it is indeed bright for Bolles.
Tyler Hodges
From the
Bolles Board of Trustees Chair While we still have much hard work to do, Bolles is on a continued path of greatness. It would be easy to just focus on the many challenges the pandemic and other events presented us this year, but our Board, along with the School’s administrative team, continued to pursue excellence in all areas, create new opportunities and reimagine activities and events. This determination, drive and focus has not only delivered a successful school year on so many levels, but it has also given us tremendous momentum heading into the future. And that future looks brighter than ever. We are starting the 2021–22 school year with the highest enrollment since 2010 and our Bolles Annual Fund has surpassed its original goal of $1.3 million and is at $1.7 million with an approximate 40% increase in donors. New construction across the campus included the opening of the Tarver Pool, a new chapter in our legendary Bolles swimming program, and major renovations being done to the second floor of Bolles Hall. And this is just the beginning — we are already setting
our sights on more to come. We are planning for the second phase of the Aquatic Center that will bring a new venue, coaches offices and an enhanced fitness room. Additionally, at our last Board of Trustees meeting of the year in May, the Board approved the start of the Architectural and Engineering phase for a new Center for Innovation, Math and Science on the upper school River Campus. This stateof-the-art building will allow us to expand our curriculum and provide a new collaborative learning environment for math, science, engineering, and technology — including robotics — all under one roof. This will be the only program of its kind in our region. In addition, with the Math Department moving into the new building, it allows our boarding program to expand in Bolles Hall offering more dormitory space for students from around the globe. It is for these many reasons and so many more that I am so optimistic about the future of our great school. We are committed to continuing to strengthen and improve our institution and our Board and I appreciate your support. Regards,
Fernando Acosta-Rua ’85
summer 2021
3
2020-21 Bolles Board
of Trustees
Fernando Acosta-Rua ’85 Chair
John Schickel Jr. ’88
Trustees Emeriti
Allison Korman Shelton ’94
Russell Newton III Vice Chair
A. Chester Skinner IV ’98
Preeti Swani Secretary
Karen Stone
Tyler J. Hodges President/Head of School
Mark Travis ’80
Trustees
Ex-Officio Members
Charles Arnold III ’86
Adam Edgecombe ’98 Alumni Board, Chair
Quinn R. Barton Jr. ’46 James V. Bent Sr. ’53 John W. Connolly Jr. Deceased William K. Hatcher ’48 Deceased Ann C. Hicks ’55 Bartram Beverley W. Hirsig ’46 Deceased Helen M. Lane ’42 Bartram Hal Lynch Robert H. Paul III ’52 Deceased Frederick H. Schultz ’46 Deceased A. Chester Skinner Jr. ’40 Deceased Herman Ulmer Jr. ’37 Deceased George W. Varn ’38 W. Lester Varn Jr. ’42 E. Ellis Zahra Jr. ’64
Ali Chahlavi Anika Goel Comar Robert Crosby Rahul Deshmukh ’89 Aubrey Edge Steven Gold ’95 Brittany Groover
George Stelljes III ’80 John Surface ’90 A. Rodney VanPelt ’73
Marcia Howard ’83 Board of Visitors, Chair Jacque McGraw Parent Association, Co-Chair John McGraw Parent Association, Co-Chair
Michael Meyers Ricardo Morales III ’81 Kathryn Pearson Peyton C. Daniel Rice ’80 Tatiana Salvador ’86
4
President Emeritus Harry M. deMontmollin Jr. ’56
New Members of the Bolles Board of Trustees Our Board of Trustees is vital to our school. Its members serve as the governing board of our organization and make sure the School stays consistent with its mission. They give their time, talent and treasure to the Bolles community faithfully and selflessly and we are grateful for their service and dedication. While they are often behind the
scenes, their hard work is not. They steer our Bolles ship into the future and always prepare us for what lies ahead.
DeCovan “Dee” Brown ’86 Bolles alumnus Dee Brown ’86 recently returned to Jacksonville and his college alma mater Jacksonville University as Executive Director of University and Athletic Relations, tasked with helping prepare coaches and student-athletes for leadership and success in athletics and life. Brown was drafted in the first round of the 1990 NBA draft, selected 19th by the Boston Celtics. He played 12 seasons in the NBA, before retiring with the Orlando Magic. He went on to serve as a head coach in the WNBA and NBA G-League, an assistant coach in the NBA and general manager in the G-League.
Jamie Dwyer, MD ’92 Jamie P. Dwyer, M.D. ’92 is currently Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. Dr. Dwyer is the Director of the Nephrology Clinical Trials Center and directs the overall clinical trials research agenda. After graduating from Bolles, he earned an Sc.B degree in Mathematics and Latin from Brown University and an M.D. with Distinction from Brown University Medical School in 2000.
DeWayne Terry ’84 DeWayne Terry ’84 is currently an attorney with Rubenstein Law in Miami-Dade County where he leads the firm’s Personal Injury Protection Litigation Division. After graduating from Bolles, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Duke University. Then, following a brief professional sports career, pursued his law degree at St. Thomas School of Law. He has earned a distinguished reputation as a skilled trial attorney in the South Florida community.
Matthew Wotiz Matt Wotiz is an active healthcare and life sciences investor, entrepreneur and operator. He is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Field Investment Holdings, serves as Vice President of Business Development for NovaBone Products LLC and Vice President of Business Development for QOL Medical LLC. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and the J.L. Kellogg Center for Biotechnology at Northwestern University (M.S.).
Please welcome our newest members to the Board of Trustees. The following new members begin their term August 1:
summer 2021
5
Congrat u Class o 6
t ulations of 2021
summer 2021
7
Class of 2021 2021 CLASS FACTS Graduates were offered or qualified for over $3 million in merit-based scholarships for their first year of college — over $12 million for their four-year college careers.
8
Eleanor Somerset Acosta-Rua ~
Sofia Lynn Caron &
Ekaterina Adamovich # ^ ~
Caio Ferret Cavarsan
David Olufemi Adewale ^ ~
Justin Quincy Cayenne # ^ ~
Carissa Montesa Aldana # ^ ~
Matthew Karsten Chaffin # ^ ~
Katrina Montesa Aldana # ^
Bryan McLean Chamberlain ^
Fapianey Joeysa Alexandre # > ^
Marqez Reynaldo Chavez ~
Haley Jade Anderson ^ ~ % &
Alice Je Chen # ^ %
Matthew Bruce Anderson # ~ &
Shuoyu Chen # ^
Adarsh Aratikatla # ^
Wenyi Chen #
Ashmitha Arun # * ^
Nicolas Pascal Comte
Ethan Thomas Asbury ^ ~
Kathleen Caldwell Connolly # ^ ~ %
Adnan Rami Jehad Atwan #
Ryan Daniel Cook # ^
Parker Lawrence Balotin %
Valentina Correa
Avani Makker Bansal # ^
Sarah Alice Craddock ^ %
Gul Bansal #
Katherine Paige Creveling ^
Connor McEachern Batten # ^ ~
Robert Paul Crouch Jr. ^ ~
Jackson Joseph Baumeister ~
Ethan James Dano # ^
Meghan Rose Bengermino # ^ ~
Bianca de Toledo Piza ~
Emma Holland Bole # ^ % &
Frank Jimmy Dedmon ^ ~
John Gunner Boree # ^ ~
Christina Deeb %
Samuel Dodd Boyd
Bianca Kelly DeGrado # ^ ~ %
Caitlyn Marie Boyer # ^ ~ &
Jiani Dong # %
Michael Edward Bumpus Jr # ^
Meagan Dianne Donovan # ^ ~
Amaya Nicole Bunch ^ ~
Jiaju Du # %
William Gray Camp # * ^ ~ &
George Gavan Duffy # ^ ~
Davis Lloyd Ellis # ^ ~
Jiajun He #
Avery Ray Epstein ~
Aiden Matthew Hellein
Nihar Dinesh Ettigi # ^ %
Sara Isabel Herranz Redondo
Griffin Bear Fender ^ ~
Jade Hollander ~
Katherine Elizabeth Fites # %
Hayden Elizabeth Homburger ~
2021 CLASS FACTS 24 graduates have parents who graduated, 1 has a grandparent who graduated and 1 has a parent and grandparent who graduated from Bolles or Bartram.
Jaden Michael Flowers
Aynslee Olivia Hopkins % &
Anneliese Marie Foltz ~
Brenna Kathryn Hughes # ^ %
Parks Taylor Ford
Charles Donald Hume # ^ ~
Mingyang Gao #
Rachel Ella Jacob &
Natalie Kamilych Garcia # ^
Ylliah Jin # ^
Tyler Davison Gesek &
Prabhath Jonnavithula
Ryan Patrick Gibbons # ^
Azeh-Tanwi Moma Kani
Maya Shefali Gopal # ^ %
Militsa Aphrodite Kavalieros ^ ~
Brody Fitzgerald Grasher # ^
Thomas Rohan Keaveny ^ ~ &
2021 CLASS FACTS The Class of 2021 graduates are attending 93 colleges and universities and were accepted to 209 different colleges & universities.
Kristin Dyani Greene # ^ ~
Matthew James Keller # ^ ~ &
Kurt Wolfgang Greiner Jr.
Abigail Lauren Kent ^
Yash Gupta # ** ^
Ozair Rehan Khawaja # ^ ~ &
Dalia Alexandria Handoush # ^
Isabel Suzanne Kimberly ^ ~ &
Reed Scott Hanigan ^ ~
Dahlia Georgi Kirov # ^ %
Helena Nabil Hanna
Catherine Kelly Kunz # ^ ~
Aidin Syed Hasan # ^ ~
Satvik Kuravi # ^ ~
Kate Elizabeth Hastings ~ &
Olivia August Landolfo # ^ %
summer 2021
9
Jena Jia Grace Leighton ^
Jafet Morales Hermosillo ~
Emily Grace Lekas # ^ &
Jared Morales Hermosillo
Samantha Flora Lesser # ^
Lara Morello # *** ** ^
Samuel Aquino Lesser # ^ ~
Jack Ryan Mulvey ^ ~ &
Tiffany Vera Lewis # ^ ~
Finnigan Chi Thanh Murphy # * ^ ~ &
Xiang Li #
Mackenzie Eve Murphy ^ ~
Joseph Ryan Libby # ^ ~
Cameron Alfonzo Neal ~
Jose Carlos Lopez ~
Joseph Mitchell Nemetz ^ ~ &
Abigail Victoria Lynch # ^ ~
Javier Andres Neret ^ ~
Chase William Lytle ~ %
Daniel Aaron Christopher Nesmith * ^ %
Emily Christina Alessandra MacDonald # ~ Nadia Adji Niang # ~ %
Zacharia Darush Makari ~
Mayank Nikhil Nihalani # ^ ~
William Hunt Mann ^ ~
Sairah Nabilah O’Brien-Forde ^ ~
Sophia Allena Mantegari # ^ ~ &
Devi Priya Patcha # ** ^ &
Grace Elizabeth Maroon # ^ % &
Akhil Samir Patel ^
Mack Donnelly Douglas Marrone#^~
Nia Anand Patel # ^
Lovan Thomas Mayo ~
Merrel Christopher Rudolph Payne
Mark Jackson Mayo ~
Gabriel Alexander Pearson
Stuart Delaney McAfee ~
Kathryn McGill Pearson ^ &
Kristen Nicole Lacerna McGrath # ^ ~ Gregory Peter Peiris # ^ Jake Robert McGraw # ^ % &
Thearika Phat #
Caulder Elizabeth McGriff
Donya Z Pordeli %
Grayson Arteaga McGuire ^
Parsa H Pordeli ~
Ansen Shan-Ping Meyer # ~
Douglas Powers, III ~
Ford Harrell Milne # ^ ~
Grace Elizabeth Pyburn ~
Vincent Ciro Mirarchi
XiaoYang Qu ^ ~
Sophia Riley Mitchell # ^ ~
Sasha Marie Ramey # ~
Maxine Montoya # ^ ~ &
Ella Elizabeth Richardson # ^
Arthur Nicholi Moody
Marliese Rui Fang Rittenhouse
2021 CLASS FACTS 31 graduates are “Lifers” — attending Bolles since Pre-Kindergarten or Kindergarten.
10
Class of 2021 — Colleges Attending List Of the 195 students in the Bolles Class of 2021, 188 students are attending the following 93 colleges and universities (five students are undecided and two students are taking gap years): American University
1
Auburn University
7
Babson College
1
Belmont Abbey College
1
Brandeis University
1
Brown University
3
Bucknell University
1
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute
1
Carnegie Mellon University
1
Case Western Reserve University
2
Clemson University
2
Colgate University
1
Colorado State University (Fort Collins)
2
Columbia University
1
Davidson College
1
Eckerd College
2
Elon University
2
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach)
1
Emory University
2
Florida Atlantic University
1
Florida Gulf Coast University
2
Florida International University
2
Florida State University
25
George Washington University
2
Georgetown University
2
2021 CLASS FACTS 65% of Bolles 2021 graduating students residing in Florida qualified for Florida Bright Futures Scholarships.
12
2021 CLASS FACTS
University of California (Davis)
2
The Class of 2021 graduates will be attending
University of California (Los Angeles)
1
colleges in 27 different states, the District of
University of Central Florida
1
University of Colorado Boulder
1
University of Delaware
1
Columbia, Canada, Scotland and Spain.
Georgia Institute of Technology (Main Campus)
3
University of Florida
6
Indiana University (Bloomington)
2
University of Georgia
3
Iowa State University
1
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2
Jacksonville University
5
University of Louisville
1
Louisiana State University
1
University of Mary Washington
1
Loyola Marymount University
1
University of Maryland (College Park)
1
Mississippi State University
1
University of Miami
6
New College of Florida
1
University of Mississippi
2
New York University
3
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1
Northeastern University
1
University of North Florida
2
Oxford College of Emory University
1
University of Notre Dame
1
Presbyterian College
1
University of Pennsylvania
2
Princeton University
2
University of Richmond
2
Purdue University (Main Campus)
1
University of South Carolina
4
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
1
University of South Florida (Main Campus)
10
Rhode Island School of Design
1
University of Southern California
1
Rice University
1
Samford University
1
Santa Fe College
1
Southern Methodist University
2
Stanford University
1
Stetson University
2
Stevens Institute of Technology
1
Syracuse University
2
University of Toronto
1
Tallahassee Community College
3
University of Virginia (Main Campus)
1
Texas Christian University
1
University of Washington (Seattle Campus)
1
The University of Alabama
2
Vanderbilt University
2
The University of Edinburgh
1
Villanova University
1
Trinity College
2
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
1
United States Air Force Academy
1
Wabash College
1
United States Naval Academy
2
Wake Forest University
3
Universidad CEU San Pablo
1
Wartburg College
1
University of Arizona
1
Washington and Lee University
1
University of British Columbia
1
Wellesley College
3
University of California (Berkeley)
1
William and Mary
1
2021 CLASS FACTS 70% qualified for some form of merit-based awards such as academic, leadership, athletic scholarships or service academy appointments.
summer 2021
13
Bolles for Life The following seniors have attended Bolles since they were in Pre-Kindergarten or Kindergarten. Congratulations to the 2021 Bolles Lifers and a big thank you to you and your families for such dedication to the Bolles educational experience. Pre-K Haley Jade Anderson Matthew Bruce Anderson Caitlyn Marie Boyer William Gray Camp Sofia Lynn Caron Tyler Davison Gesek Kate Elizabeth Hastings Aynslee Olivia Hopkins Rachel Ella Jacob
14
Ozair Rehan Khawaja Grace Elizabeth Maroon Maxine Montoya Jack Ryan Mulvey Eryn Elizabeth Saye Makenna Elise Toomey Kally Shae Vause Andrew Philip Wild
Kindergarten Emma Holland Bole Thomas Rohan Keaveny Matthew James Keller Isabel Suzanne Kimberly Emily Grace Lekas Sophia Allena Mantegari Jake Robert McGraw
Finnigan Chi Thanh Murphy Joseph Mitchell Nemetz Devi Priya Patcha Kathryn McGill Pearson Leila Alexandria Roberts Lauren Grace Thomas Anna Marie Vohs
2021 Legacy Seniors These seniors followed in the Bolles tradition of their parents and/or grandparents. Congratulations to our 2021 Legacy Seniors and thank you to these families for making a commitment to educational excellence generation after generation. Eleanor Somerset Acosta-Rua ’21, daughter of Fernando J. Acosta-Rua ’85 and Brooke Johnson Acosta-Rua ’84 Ethan Thomas Asbury ’21, son of Thomas F. Asbury ’90 Avani Makker Bansal ’21, daughter of Manisha Makker Bansal ’90 John Gunner Boree ’21, son of Gregory G. Boree ’92 William Gray Camp ’21, son of Gray A. Camp ’91 Matthew Karsten Chaffin ’21, son of Carol Boling Chaffin ’87 Bartram Sarah Alice Craddock ’21, daughter of Margaret Fish Craddock ’87 Bartram Meagan Dianne Donovan ’21, daughter of Celeste Rice Green ’85 Griffin Bear Fender ’21, son of David V. Fender ’90 Reed Scott Hanigan ’21, son of Jennifer Atkins Hanigan ’80 Aynslee Olivia Hopkins ’21, daughter of Thomas Couper Hopkins ’79 Militsa Aphrodite Kavalieros ’21 , daughter of Nikolaos T. Kavalieros ’90 Emily Grace Lekas ’21, daughter of Bryan James Lekas ’92 and Melinda Washington Lekas ’92 Tiffany Vera Lewis ’21, daughter of Christopher Scott Lewis II ’81 Stuart Delaney McAfee ’21, son of Matthew Stuart McAfee ’85 Caulder Elizabeth McGriff ’21, daughter of Andrea Hope McGriff ’91 Ford Harrell Milne ’21, son of Stephanie Risley Milne ’87 Leila Alexandria Roberts ’21, daughter of Matthew Alan Roberts ’95 Richard Anthony Rosenblum ’21, son of Richard Miller Rosenblum ’80 Zachary Eli Rosin-Borrousch ’21, son of Marala Jo Rosin-Borrousch ’82 Jacob Benjamin Selevan ’21, son of Andrew Selevan ’89 Carlton Reese Skinner ’21, son of David Godfrey Skinner ’88 and grandson of A. Chester Skinner Jr. ’40 Kristopher Mathew Stam ’21, son of Bryan Andrew Stam ’91 Akshay Dev Swani ’21, son of Sanjay Swani ’83 Isha Janaki Swani ’21, daughter of Sanjay Swani ’83 Max Harrison Zauke ’21, son of Nicole Colbert Zauke ’96 Samantha Morgan Zimmerman ’21, daughter of Bradley Darien Zimmerman ’89
summer 2021
15
Jessica Zeng ’21
Lara Morello ’21
Class of 2021 Valedictorian, Salutatorian On behalf of the Bolles academic community, we are pleased to announce the Bolles Class of 2021 Valedictorian and Salutatorian. This year’s Valedictorian is Jessica Zeng ’21. The 2021 Salutatorian is Lara Morello ’21
Daniel Nesmith ’21
The Bolles community congratulates these students on reaching this high academic achievement and being the top academic performers in the Class of 2021. Congratulations!
Ashley Thompkins ’21
Nesmith ’21, Thompkins ’21 PA Award Recipients The Bolles Parent Association announced the 2021 Parent Association Award for Citizen and Community Service award winners in late-May. This year’s recipients are Daniel Nesmith ’21 and Ashley Thompkins ’21.
16
The students, who were nominated by the Bolles College Counseling staff, each received $2,000 to assist with their college expenses. Congratulations to these outstanding students and thank you to the Bolles PA for its continued generosity toward our School community!
Daniel Austin
Anne Fallon
Piper Moyer Shad ’91
Jackie Willingham
The Winning Team: New Leadership In Position On All Four Campuses The 2021–22 school year will be on track moving full steam ahead with the addition of key leaders — and leadership positions — on all four campuses. During the 2020–21 school year, Bolles administrators added new assistant head positions for each campus with the intent of offering new opportunities for school leadership and providing needed administrative assistance at all levels. Response was robust and within months, campus heads announced newly named assistant heads for the next school year. Those faculty members are: Piper Moyer-Shad ’91, Assistant Head of Upper School Jackie Willingham, Assistant Head of Middle School Daniel Austin, Assistant Head of Lower School Whitehurst Campus Anne Fallon, Assistant Head of Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus The teachers will maintain their everyday teaching duties in addition to taking on new responsibilities in the assistant head roles. In other news, the school also created important leadership positions in the areas of global learning and Bolles Resident Life staff that will redefine how students learn and live at Bolles next year. Bolles Associate Head of School Mike Drew announced Natalia Aycart as Bolles’ Director for Global Learning and Engagement (GLE). The creation of this position has long been part of the School’s strategic initiatives and Bolles leaders look forward to seeing this program continue to grow. In this new academic role at Bolles, Aycart will teach some classes and implement, supervise and direct GLE programs and operations in grades Pre-K through 12. The addition of this position promises to strengthen the educational experience for all Bolles students.
“At the core, Global Learning is about promoting within our students the skills and knowledge they need to be prepared for our increasingly interconnected world. This is especially relevant for Bolles — an independent day and boarding school educating Natalia Aycart students from all over the world,” Drew said. “GLE will be the hub for local, national and international community engagement efforts, provide oversight for our travel programs and contribute to such mainstay events as World Cultures and Countries Day, International Education Week, among others.” Aycart’s many professional highlights made her a standout for the role as GLE’s founding director. Fluent in English and Spanish, Aycart worked as the Global Learning and Multicultural Affairs Coordinator and Foreign Language Educator at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Day School in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to that, she worked for the Foreign Language Academy as a Foreign Visiting Teacher, a program endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education and sponsored by the Ministry of Education of Spain. In this role, she supported students to become global citizens by developing skills in problem-solving, analysis and creative-thinking. Aycart also monitored student performance through the use of data while implementing curriculum in a second language. She has lived in Madrid, Spain; Orebro, Sweden; Bradford, England; and Rome, Italy in addition to the U.S.
summer 2021
17
“We are exceedingly pleased to welcome Josh to Bolles and have every confidence he is the right person for this very special role in our community,” Hodges said.
The Foley Family
Meanwhile, Bolles administrators created a Bolles Director of Residential Life position and appointed Mike Foley to the role. Foley has been the Head of Student Life and International Programming, as well as Director of Campus Life, at Hilton Head Preparatory School in South Carolina for the past six years. While there, he managed middle and upper school discipline, created and implemented the prefect/student leadership program, supervised six house parents and 35 boarding students, created a boarding and day student orientation program at the School and managed and grew summer and enrichment programs among many other initiatives. Independent school life has been at the heart of his career and his varied experiences reflect his enthusiasm for the work. He has been Director of Residential Life at Ross School in East Hampton, New York, the Director of Advancement at Real Life Christian Academy in Clermont, Florida, Dean of International and Domestic Student Services at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida and Director of Athletics and Summer Day Camp at Windermere Preparatory School in Windermere, Florida. Additional roles and experiences at these institutions include athletic director, Dean of English as a Second Language and Pre-K–12 art teacher. Early in his career, Foley worked as an education facilitator, ambassador finalist and broadcast production professional at the Walt Disney World Co. Foley has a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Denison University in Granville, Ohio and a master’s degree in education in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Phoenix.
Bauman comes to the community long on critical strengths, experiences and competencies that will add richly to his work as Middle School Head. For the past 16 years, he worked in various leadership roles at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Virginia, most recently as the institution’s Associate Director of Middle School. In that position, Bauman worked on key initiatives including a redesign of the School’s schedule, formalizing a professional growth plan, conducting faculty hiring focused on attaining talented educators with diverse experiences, and adding Chinese to the school’s World & Classical Languages offerings. Josh believes in nurturing a commitment to service in middle school students. He coordinated a Special Olympics Young Athletes program as well as a service-learning trip in which students assisted families in rebuilding their homes from hurricane devastation in Puerto Rico. Prior to this role, Bauman served as 8th Grade Dean and a middle school Spanish teacher. Additionally, he coached middle school and varsity boys’ soccer. As a boys’ varsity soccer assistant coach, Bauman is proud to have helped guide the program to its first Virginia Independent School state championship and first two Interstate Athletic Conference titles. Before joining St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes, Bauman worked as a Spanish teacher, coach and dorm parent at Cardigan Mountain School in Canaan, New Hampshire. He earned an MS in Educational Studies from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in International Studies and Spanish at Kenyon College in Ohio. “My family and I are thrilled and honored to join the Bolles community, and I cannot wait to spend my days with the students on the beautiful Bartram Campus,” Bauman said. “I am inspired by the breadth of opportunities offered at Bolles as well as the commitment to character development and inclusivity. I look forward to supporting the thoughtful, dedicated faculty and staff who bring this incredible program to life and to partnering with parents to guide their children through these formative years.”
Foley has been a guest speaker and presenter at numerous events. Ivy International Group invited him to present on “The Art of Cultural Transition in China” and GE International asked him to present on “The Top 5 Reasons to Attend a U.S. Boarding School” during a European visit to Germany, Ukraine, Hungary, Turkey, Portugal and Spain in 2019. “I am thankful for the opportunity to join the team,” Foley said. “I look forward to continuing the tradition of excellence at The Bolles School.” And while not a new role, one of the other key announcements for leadership changes next school years is the addition of Joshua Bauman as new Middle School Head.
18
| courage, integrity & compassion |
The Bauman Family
Academic Triumphs Setting the pace for independent school academics and character development requires a constant fine-tuning of instruction, offerings and top educational resources — and Bolles continues to maintain its lead using this winning strategy. Additional programming in multiple areas of study is broadening the Bolles educational experience and launching it toward new points of excellence. The study of health and wellness has been gaining new ground at Bolles. What began as a middle school course that addressed myriad social, mental and physical wellness topics is now a more comprehensive area of study. At the middle school level, the Health and Wellness course includes topics ranging from diversity, equity and inclusion to social media use and friendship. Administrators on that campus have been using programming from The Social Institute as a platform for discussing current events, issues of wellness and hard topics. “We want to provide students with the resources and education they need to be a more empathetic, understanding and engaged person, and social issues fall squarely in this discussion in addition to the more traditional topics of health,” said Associate Head of School Mike Drew.
This focus has extended to the Bolles Upper School San Jose Campus. The traditional Life Management required course for freshman is being refined to include more issues of social consequence and will be renamed the Bolles Wellness Seminar. The course is designed to help students learn and understand themselves better in the four dimensions of health: mental, physical, social and emotional. More robust character development programming also is permeating the Bolles curriculum at all levels. The advisory program, which has been a successful mainstay on the Bolles Middle School Bartram Campus for the past two years, is a prototype for the upper school campus. The advisory program at Bolles works to ensure every child is known well so their academic, emotional and social needs are met. The program strives to build more meaningful personal relationships between students and faculty by working in small groups and to create a stronger partnership between home and school. Students briefly check in with their advisor Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings before the first period of the day. On Thursdays, the middle school has a 30-minute “advisory period.” Some of these
summer 2021
19
meetings are used for age- and grade level-appropriate lessons organized by theme. Past lessons have focused on tenets of The Bolles Way, Digital Citizenship, the Honor Code and kindness, to name a few. Students also use this time to practice skills or characteristics necessary for success at Bolles including best practices for goal-setting, self-advocacy, organization, planning, perseverance and time management. Some advisors choose to use this time for fun- or relationship-building activities. Last year, freshmen met in advisory groups and this is expected to grow to include more grade levels. Other academic refinements have been occurring at a record pace and more on the horizon. Plans are underway for the 47,000square-foot Center for Innovation, Math and Science building on the River Campus bluff at the south end of Bolles Hall. This building will accommodate leading edge classrooms and resources for science, technology, robotics and math and will include spaces for collaboration and discovery. Fundraising efforts are underway for this important project and interest has been growing. Bolles leaders expect construction of the building to begin next year. School leaders also are looking for more ways to prepare students for academic success at global levels. This spring, Drew announced the Global Learning and Engagement, GLE, initiative, which will be headed by Natalia Aycart. This department will touch all grade levels, Pre-K to 12.
GLE will be the hub for local, national and international community engagement efforts by School service clubs, campus-wide drives and international service trips. In addition, GLE leadership will oversee and support Bolles’ Coordinator of Travel Programs to develop a template for curriculum for all international experiences and domestic trips — including faculty exchange programs for teachers at all levels. GLE will work closely with the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, as well as the Bolles Multicultural Leadership Team, to direct such mainstay events as World Cultures and Countries Day, International Education Week, among others. Together, they will also review the Profile of a Bolles Graduate to incorporate intercultural competence. This exciting, transformative work begins with meaningful conversation. The first step to program success includes GLE leadership working with department heads and faculty to determine the best way to identify professional development opportunities for faculty members and to incorporate global learning into the curriculum. Along those lines, the School’s partnership with Global Online Academy has been well received by students and continues to evolve. GOA offers a broad array of online courses taught by teachers around the world that would not be available to Bolles students otherwise. 20
| courage, integrity & compassion |
Undefeated: Strengthening the Way Students Learn Both Bolles lower school campuses offer learning resources that help students realize and strengthen their differences — an opportunity that was not always part of the Bolles academic experience. Today’s dedicated approach is changing lives and measures for success — thanks in large part to the professional approach learning specialists on both campuses take to this specialized area of teaching. Traci Salari, learning specialist on the Bolles Lower School Whitehurst Campus, moved into the fulltime position this school year following a successful tenure as a fifth-grade writing teacher on that campus. Salari has both professional and personal experience with dyslexia and has been pursuing a doctorate degree in special education from the University of Florida. Salari earned a Dyslexia Graduate Certificate last spring while pursuing her doctorate degree. A college magazine article pointed to Salari as an example of teachers who have participated in the certificate program, which the college launched in 2017 to “empower educators, other related service professionals and even parents to foster the success of students with dyslexia.” The program’s goal is “to ensure all children are given the literacy tools to realize their full potential.” In the article, Salari says, “We’re at an exciting time in education right now where brain science, researchers and educators are finally coming together and we can see the positive effects of this collaboration on our readers in the classroom. We as teachers finally have the science at our disposal and are no longer left wondering how science relates into the regular classroom to the people on the frontline.” On the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus, Kathy Rawlins provides this important role for students. As the learning specialist for students on that campus, Rawlins meets with students and interacts with them to help them discover new tools and resources for classroom success. Learning specialists support continues on the Bolles Middle School Bartram Campus and Upper School San Jose Campus.
Natural Ability: Outdoor Resources Set Bolles Apart All four Bolles campuses have long been known for their stunning outdoor spaces. But Bolles’ natural resources took on new dimension this school year as they provided healthy new stages for students to learn, play, socialize and shine. On the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus, for example, faculty put added emphasis on the campus raised bed gardens. In addition to tending to the gardens and applying science concepts to their “field work,” students were exposed to concepts in farm-to-table dining and local food-sourcing. Their garden harvests were often used in the Ponte Vedra Hall kitchen meal preparation during the school day. George Hall’s newly built outdoor amphitheater also provided safe space for campus convocations and the athletic fields were fresh spaces to learn new athletic skills. Service trips to area beaches this spring also were fantastic opportunities for students to get outside and learn.
Similar activities were ongoing on the Bolles Lower School Whitehurst Campus. One of the most popular new events of the school year were River Day activities on the St. Johns River. Part of the PE curriculum, River Day activities included canoeing, kayaking, fishing and peddle-boating from the School’s waterfront facilities. Additionally, swimming is a popular PE course that kept students at all grade levels outdoors and healthy. The Treehouse Outdoor Learning Center — and spaces in K-Cove and on the Pre-K riverfront porch — also provided a healthy venue to learn outdoors.
summer 2021
21
On the Bolles Middle School Bartram Campus, students continued to enjoy outdoor activities that they have been used to pursuing in years past including outdoor ping-pong, basketball and field sports as well as socializing on campus swings and play equipment. An eighth-grade science lesson this spring brought students to the baseball field to practice safe rocket-launching. Gardening science lessons took students outdoors, as did many advisory and classroom activities — including the first-ever Grade 7 Literary Food Truck festival, which was held outdoors at the flagpole in mid-May. Upper school students at Bolles continued to enjoy riverfront patio lunches and ping-pong this school year. Music and chorus classes often took to the outdoors as did the spring play, “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which was staged outdoors near the Class of ’46 bandshell on the St. Johns River bluff.
22
| courage, integrity & compassion |
was deemed optional when students are outside with three-feet of physical distancing and interactions under 15 minutes.
• B E A T I N G
C O V I D •
“Throughout the school year, we relied on experts and their recommendations — and this was a winning strategy for Bolles,” Hodges said. The task force recently released expectations for the 2021–22 school year and much to everyone’s delight, the prediction looks as close to normal as ever before. Assuming there are no new variants or any other unforeseen challenges — and because the majority of people in the Bolles community are vaccinated — the Covid Task Force decided to implement the following protocols for Bolles campuses for the start of the 2021–22 school year:
1. Wearing masks indoors will be optional for all students, faculty/ staff and guests. 2. Vaccinations are optional and not required for any member of our community. 3. We will return to on-campus learning and no longer offer at-home learning as an option unless a student is in quarantine. We will work individually with anyone living abroad who is having difficulties arriving by the start of school. Our students learn best when personal interactions can take place in our classrooms. This is critical to our teaching and learning and it is these exchanges that make Bolles shine as an institution. 4. We will no longer require a daily health screening through Magnus. 5. We will continue to base our contact tracing protocols and procedures on local and state health departments. 6. There will no longer be limits to the size of gatherings on campuses. 7. Our boarders will be allowed more flexibility and off-campus trips. 8. Plexiglass dividers will be removed from all common areas and classrooms. 9. Parents and guests are permitted back on campus. “We are thankful that Covid has evolved to the point that we can now make these needed changes and we so appreciate the enjoyment of things returning to a more normal learning environment,” Hodges said in a community letter this spring.
Artistic Reflection: Finding Beauty, Joy in Change For Bolles artists, the pandemic school year was an opportunity to look at life through an enhanced lens. They gained new perspectives on life and redefined joy — and shared some of these lessons learned through a menagerie of mediums including visual art, sculpture,
“Three Illustrative Portraits” By Asha Gopal
24
| courage, integrity & compassion |
poetry and prose. However life in a time of COVID affected them, students found inspiring ways to explain and express the beauty in it. Here are a few interpretations and thought-provoking angles:
“Little Things” by Liza Rose Dickson ’27 Sitting with Oakley in the pasture The frogs that croak And lull me to sleep The fresh air The little bugs That land on my arm During lunch Little doodles On my arm Smiley Faces Lines Hearts Bones Little snickers During class Little Things It’s hard to explain The Joy “Scraffito Plate” By Lucas Nian ’23 “Nian is from Wuhan China. On the plate, he carved a spider lily, a well-known symbol of reincarnation in China and Buddhism. His image is referencing death and optimism.” — Tiffany Gonzalez, 3D Arts Instructor
First, I measure and cut the watercolor paper. 14 inches by 18 inches, always.
But then, I came to the azalea bush, still in the mode of the fine watercolor work from the jasmines. I then found myself using a paintbrush to draw the henna designs. It took me at least 5 minutes to realize that what I was doing was totally wrong and would ruin my piece since those flowers were meant to be filled with henna ink, not watercolor designs. I have never made henna designs in watercolor before.
Second, I transfer my pencil drawing onto the final watercolor paper. Finally, I go through the whole piece and fill the leaves and flowers with vibrant watercolor and intricate henna designs.
Once I realized my mistake, I stepped back to observe my error. When I stared at that little part, I thought to myself that I had destroyed my final piece.
On every piece, I draw the henna designs in colored ink pens and color the flowers/leaves with watercolor paint. Most of the floral elements are filled with watercolor and occasionally some are filled with henna ink designs.
But, when I looked at the part as a section of the piece as a whole, I realized that it did not look all that bad. I learned that changing my ways from what I am accustomed to can have a positive effect in the end.
On my 13th and final piece, I created a garden with hundreds of jasmine flowers and a bush of azaleas. I was working on the small details of the hundreds of jasmine flowers. I had the finest paint brush, it was almost like a needle. I had such a regimented sequence of steps to paint each of those tiny flowers.
I am going to move forward with an open mind to make changes to things I am so used to. I will ultimately benefit from this undertaking.
I have completed 13 watercolor floral design pieces over the last year and a half for my AP Portfolio. For every piece, I know exactly what to do, I have every step engrained in my mind.
summer 2021
25
C O V I D •
“Henna in Watercolor” By Avani Bansal ’21
• B E A T I N G
The sticky tac I stole from, Angelina, My five silver rings One matching with a friend my dog looks at me His blue eyes Soft ears Like only a hound’s can be As I hold his head in my lap The rocks that skip under my Feet As I walk Around campus The little smiles As someone tells a joke And we burst out laughing My music helping me focus Happy Those little things Buttons Flowers
C O V I D • • B E A T I N G
Pandemic Lessons Learned From 1918 By Fapianey Alexandre ’21 Winner of the 2021 International Rotary Oratory Competition In March of 2020, the world fell silent. The Sydney Opera House and Madison Square Garden were deserted. The Great Wall of China and the Golden Gate Bridge attracted no tourists, and the promenade under the Eiffel Tower was empty. That moment, frozen in time, was echoed by a moment 102 years ago. 17 miles south of that same Eiffel Tower, in a quiet room in the Palace of Versailles, a conflict more gruesome than any previous war in history came to an official end. World War 1, with all its civilian casualties and geopolitical consequences, was over, but [there was] little motivation to celebrate. Life in countries such as America, Spain, Great Britain, Germany was far from “back to normal.” Before the war had even officially ended, a highly contagious respiratory virus had begun ravaging army camps and emptying cities. Time had come to another standstill.
26
| courage, integrity & compassion |
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the 1918 Influenza Pandemic was, to date, the most severe public health crisis in modern history, infecting an estimated 500 million people and killing over 50 million. Mistakenly called the Spanish Flu, its fatalities outnumbered the 20 million who lost their lives in the Great War. The Influenza virus and all of its mutations were so deadly that the life expectancy in the United States dropped by 12 years, as recorded by the U.S. National Archives. The average age of death from the flu was just twenty-eight years old. When discussing a global crisis of this magnitude it seems insensitive to discuss positive outcomes. However, with the gift of hindsight, we are able to appreciate the lessons learned from 1918 and recognize that since then more lives have been saved than were lost in the post war pandemic. 500 million cases and 50 million deaths worldwide. These numbers are horrific, and the conditions were horrific. So terrible, in fact, that they beg the question, “Where did we go wrong?”
What could we, as humans, have possibly done to prevent at least some of that carnage? Was it inevitable? Modern epidemiology research confirms “no.” It was not inevitable. Hundreds of thousands of those deaths were preventable. We just didn’t know it at the time. We didn’t know the importance of point of access private and public healthcare programs. We had no idea of the effectiveness of preventative measures that would have slowed down the virus’ advances.
And that is the greatest tragedy of all. In her book, British science journalist Laura Spinney explores the impact, in the early 20th century, of overburdened healthcare systems and a global shortage of trained medical professionals “In industrialized countries, most doctors either worked for themselves or were funded by charities or religious institutions, and many people had no access to them at all... when the flu arrived medics were almost helpless.” This accelerated the pandemic.
A cross-border collaborative unified response to the battle against the disease is a lesson we have learned from our forebearers. Tensions remained high as WW1 came to a close, the barriers of war, with censorship and suppression of information, was a direct hindrance to the halt of the pandemic. The misnomer Spanish Flu was attributed because due to its neutrality in the war, Spain was the only country that publicized statistics on transmission and deaths. In 1918 the world almost unanimously rejected any semblance of an international response to the flu. We quickly learned that that approach was at its least unsustainable and at its worst deadly. Instead, global infrastructure supporting the sharing of information, therapies, resources, and treatment plans is the most effective way to stop a virus in its tracks. And the greatest proof is the intercontinental health alliance we know today as the World Health Organization. A year on and the Champs Elysée is still silent, Times Square has no tourists and the theatres across the world are dark. We are still in the fight, the war is not yet won, but the ‘Publix’ mantra of ‘we are in this together’ has never been more true. As the United Nations unify to combat this greatest threat of the 21st we have the echo in our hearts that— “No one is safe until everyone is safe”
However, back then there were no vaccines, no research, no therapies, and no specialized drugs. In 1918, there was nothing in place to help fight influenza. Alexander Fleming did not even discover antibiotics until 1928. With today’s pharmaceutical capacity, you and I can’t even imagine facing a pandemic with little more than hospital beds, masks, and stethoscopes, as they did in 1918. Many of medicine’s advancements that we take for granted today stem in part from the 1918 flu pandemic: not just vaccines, but according to Dr. Cara Christ, director of Arizona’s Department of Health Services,
summer 2021
27
C O V I D •
Developed nations learned the cost of non-consolidated healthcare far too well. So, they adapted. Over time, Germany, Russia, UK, the US, and France all revolutionized their public health systems. As a direct result of the 1918 pandemic, today we can rely on free coronavirus testing, vaccines, research, and an adaptive medical community.
The word “pandemic” is derived from the Greek words “pan” meaning “all,” and “demos,” meaning “people.” It denotes an illness that descends upon all people, indiscriminate of national borders, economic prowess or political stance.
• B E A T I N G
And we, as a nation and a world, failed to consider the benefits of sharing research and resources across international borders for the common good.
“Countries, states, and counties have developed preparedness plans detailing dissemination of stockpiles of antivirals and vaccines, and implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions such as closing schools, preventing travel...More recent measures to prevent and mitigate an influenza pandemic include a network of laboratories around the globe that test thousands of influenza and other specimens and genetically characterize them to monitor unusual changes in the virus.”
Students Bring Culture, Diversity Showcase to New Heights For the first time in Bolles Culture Fair history, students were able to experience the Bolles community’s rich culture and heritage virtually — and poetically. The Bolles Culture Fair expanded to Culture Week and took to new platforms this year. This year’s festivities included an International Poetry Video Anthology and an informative, well managed Instagram page that highlighted students’ many backgrounds and cultural identities.
@BollesCultureFair was launched on Instagram weeks before Bolles Culture Week and featured vibrant photos, commentary and contributions from students of many experiences and communities. The page became the primary platform for showcasing the depth of Bolles’ diverse community.
This year’s weeklong event was managed by the Student Diversity Committee. Beginning in January, students met remotely to plan fair activities and content. They split into committees to plan work efficiently and the results were professional and distinctive. The Culture Fair committee leaders were: Aditi Ranjan ’23, Instagram Committee Max Frohman ’22, Poster Committee Su Ertekin-Taner ’22, Poetry Committee Avani Bansal ’21, Cooking Video Committee Ava Sickler ’22, Music Committee
summer 2021
28
Student committee members also made infographics and stories about pop culture, music, traditions and holidays from around 60 different cultures represented at Bolles. One of the major additions to Culture Week was the International Poetry Video Anthology, a project that included representatives from the upper school English and World Languages department. Students and families were asked to send in videos of their readings of poems in a language or their heritage or in a language they studied. The result was a stunning collection of poetry expression representing cultures and countries from all over the world. The 2021 Bolles Culture Week also included a few campus activities such as the Amazing Race Scavenger Hunt, an Indian Bollywood Dance class and Cultural Dress Day, which provided students the opportunity to wear clothing representative of their culture or country. The bell schedule featured music from all over the world.
summer 2021
29
Bolles Robotics Teams Have Designs on Community Service Through Competition All Bolles robotics teams from the Ponte Vedra Beach, Whitehurst, and Bartram campuses advanced to the FIRST Lego League Regional Championship for the second consecutive year. At stake were various awards and advancement to the state championship and a special bid to an international tournament in Australia. The teams worked all school year to build and program autonomous robots and research and present a project on how to keep people more active.
Even more consequential, however, are the community service and innovation components of the competition. As part of their challenges, student teams were tasked with delivering real world solutions to complex social and community problems. And their plans are pretty inspiring. The Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus Future Bolles Innovators (FBI) team redesigned the flags commonly used in flag football so individuals in wheelchairs can have an easier time playing flag football without the traditional clip on the belt digging into their back. “Their prototypes were economical, produced using duct tape and Velcro,” Coach Andrew Nation said. “Their prototypes were sent over to Brooks Adaptive Sports where their younger wheelchair basketball team played sharks and minnows using the flags.” As part of their team training, they researched the Paralympic Games, a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. FBI teammates learned there are many sports available for differently abled persons, however “very
30
| courage, integrity & compassion |
few schools include these sports in their activities,” explained team coach and science teacher Carolyn Houston. To further their knowledge and experience of adaptive sports, Houston invited son Timothy Houston and Dan Caldwell from the Brooks Rehabilitation Adaptive Sports Program to campus to offer the team a hands-on demonstration. They brought six youth sports chairs for the team to try during a game of basketball in George Hall. The guests led a game of wheelchair basketball and wheelchair flag football. Students said the game was amazing and fun, but admitted it is hard to play, move and shoot in a wheelchair. The Council of Intellectual Aliens (CIA), the fifth-grade robotics team on the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus, worked on a playground redesign for local nonprofit Hope Haven, an organization serving children with special needs. “Our team has partnered with Hope Haven, a center whose mission it is to ensure that children and families realize their full potential by providing specialized services and individualized educational opportunities,” said team coach and Bolles Instructional Technology Specialist Andrew Nation. The team met Hope Haven Director of Development Nancy Weaver in mid-February for a tour of the existing playground space and her vision of the new playground. “Through this partnership, our team had the opportunity to help redesign the playground at Hope Haven to create a universally inclusive play space,” Nation said. “Our team wanted to create a space that is accessible by kids of all abilities.” Students also met with Bolles Assistant Middle School Head Jackie Willingham to get her feedback on their designs. As the parent of a special needs child, Willingham shared her concerns about certain types of playground equipment and worked with the team to identify inclusive playground equipment that is developmentally appropriate for kids of all kinds of abilities, Nation said. The Grade 5 robotics team from the Bolles Lower School Whitehurst Campus was nominated as one of the nominees from the Northeast Florida region to compete for the FIRST Lego League Global Innovation Award. The contest could yield a $20,000 prize for the winning team.
To enter, teams were asked to identify a relevant problem and propose a solution. The Whitehurst Bolles robotics team outlined an issue many families face: young people are less active because of their addiction to technology and gaming. The team proposed a fitness tracker that combines parental controls and activity rewards. Their idea gives parent the ability to lock access to technology or WiFi until a certain level of physical activity is achieved. Under their plan, young people could set goals and receive in-game prizes from EA Sports and Epic Games when fitness goals are reached. “The eventual goal would be to partner with a gaming company like EA Sports or Epic Games to produce licensed watches and fitness trackers,” said teacher and coach Beth Zerkowski. The Bolles Middle School Bartram Campus robotics teams raised $430 for the Sulzbacher Center for the homeless in downtown Jacksonville during a recent fundraiser. Team members sold small bundt cakes to peers and faculty last month and made deliveries last week. Team coaches and teachers Mark Meyers and Gabrielle Fudge helped students organize the service initiative, which was by all computations a tremendous success.
summer 2021
31
View from the Top: Tarver Pool, Bolles Hall Projects Take School to New Levels Between the completion of the new Tarver Pool and the transformation of Bolles Halls’ second floor, The Bolles School is winning at taking campus facilities to new levels. Both projects are fueling excitement over long-term plans to redefine the Bolles campus experience. The Bolles Office of Advancement hosted a celebratory opening of Tarver Pool April 30 honoring the contributions and vision of the many generous donors, professionals and supporters who made the School’s new Myrtha pool a reality. Guests enjoyed an up-close look at the pool, its new signage and setting including the Murphy Olympic Walk, the Gold Scoreboard, Zorn Stadium, the Meyers-Labenz Family Pool Deck, swim lanes and blocks given by various donors and Tarver Pool itself. Members of the Tarver family and their friends enjoyed a “first splash” in the pool several days prior to the official opening. The Bolles swim team jumped in for the first time soon thereafter. “Our goal is to offer a program to develop people of excellence and elite performances and Tarver Pool takes us to the next level,” Bolles Head Coach and Aquatics Director Peter Verhoef said. Meanwhile, construction continues on a complete renovation to Bolles Hall’s second floor — a project that expands the School’s residential life capacity and enables girl boarders to move from their current dorm on the Bolles Middle School Bartram Campus to Bolles Hall with their male peers. This work follows a historic gift from American businessman, philanthropist and professional sports owner Gordon Gund, whose wife, Lulie, attended Bartram.
32
| courage, integrity & compassion |
“This gift fulfills our community’s longtime vision of locating our Girls Residential Life program on the Bolles Upper School San Jose Campus and allows the program to grow and expand in its experience,” Chief Advancement Officer Carol Nimitz said. Female boarders at Bolles have been living in a residence hall on the Bolles Middle School Bartram Campus while their male peers call the third floor of Bolles Hall home. “Girls will soon be able to live on the campus where they learn and — along with boy boarder and day student peers — flourish in an environmentally friendly facility.”
Bolles Boarders Demonstrate Resilience, Community The Bolles Residential Life program made the best of an unusual school year, marking new measures of success and community both on-campus and off. Despite challenging COVID protocols, boarding students enjoyed meaningful dorm family activities and celebrations as well as outings to nearby destinations including horseback riding and Jekyll Island. This year, Bolles was home to students from 20 countries and 10 states including, China, Mexico, Brazil, Germany and Turkey. Next school year, both male and female boarding students will be living together on separate halls in their updated Bolles Hall dormitories.
Called the Llura “Lulie” Liggett Gund ’58 Bartram Residence Hall for Girls, the project encompasses the entire second floor of Bolles Hall and will double Bolles’ female boarding capacity from 30 to 60 students — positioning the program to meet increasing admission demand. The work includes notable environmental enhancements to the entire building, originally developed in the mid-1920s as a posh hotel before its founding as a school in 1933. Bolles Hall will be 100 percent solar energy dependent once the new residence hall opens in July 2021. The work, considered the most expansive new construction undertaking since the school opened, includes a new elevator for the building, a historic event. Local architecture firm Luke Architecture P.A. has designed plans for the new spaces and Bent Construction is contractor. The full scope of work hinges on future completion of the Center for Innovation, Math and Science building planned for the Upper School San Jose Campus bluff. This building, expected to house the School’s science, math, robotics and technology offerings, adds classroom space displaced by the residence hall expansion — another exciting project that will take the Bolles experience to new heights and beyond. Crews recently completed renovations to the Cain Gymnasium. Many other projects are underway on all four campuses this summer including: Renovations to Gooding Gallery Enhancements to the Ponte Vedra Library Changes to Verlander Hall and Staman Lobby Beautification and landscaping
Zero Sum Game for Bolles Residential Life in COVID It may have been a doozy of a school year for Bolles Resident Life, but diligence and hard work by the boarding staff resulted in a best-case scenario for all — zero COVID cases for dorm students. Here’s the math it took to get there: Daily Screenings Masks Worn Days in Quarantine Continuous days open Total COVID tests given Continuous weeks open Student Vaccinations Dorm Student COVID cases
25,000 16,000 945 322 223 46 35 0
summer 2021
33
State Title Count Climbs to 145, Athletic Teams from Middle to Upper School Shine Bolles Athletics shined at all levels in 2020–21, adding four state championships, two state runner-up finishes, 16 district titles, four middle school conference titles and numerous individual accolades. The School’s state title count climbed to 145, along with 96 state runner-up finishes, 503 district titles and 55 middle school conference titles. During the fall, the boys’ and girls’ swimming and diving teams as well as girls’ cross country won state championships. Football and boys’ cross country finished as state runners-up. Boys’ and girls’ swimming and diving, boys’ and girls’ cross country and girls’ golf won district titles. Bolles won another middle school conference title in volleyball as well. The winter sports season was highlighted by both the girls’ and boys’ soccer teams advancing to the state semifinals, the girls for the 24th time and boys for the 20th time. Both teams won district titles along with boys’ basketball. Two wrestlers, Ethan Asbury ’21 and Jack Pyburn ’22 advanced to the state tournament, with Pyburn placing third in his weight class. The middle school girls’ soccer team and boys’ basketball team won conference titles. The spring season welcomed another state title from the girls’ track & field team, the fourth in program history. The state title was the
34
| courage, integrity & compassion |
first for Head Coach Mike Rivera in track and field and third overall including boys' cross country. The boys’ team placed fourth at state and several athletes from both teams posted strong individual finishes including state titles from the girls’ 4x800-meter relay (Catherine Kunz ’21, Hadley Ropp ’22, Leila Bata ’24 and Layne Rivera ’21) and Audrey Wuerffel ’21 in the pole vault. George Duffy ’21 led the boys’ scoring effort with a state runner-up finish in the shot put. Two boys’ crew boats, the 4th varsity 5 and 3rd varsity 8, won sweep scholastic state titles, the baseball team advanced to the program’s 22nd State Final Four, the boys’ lacrosse team played in the program’s third-ever state semifinal and both tennis teams advanced to the state tournament. Spring sports won several team district titles including baseball, boys’ and girls’ crew, boys’ lacrosse, boys’ and girls’ tennis, weightlifting and boys’ and girls’ track and field. The middle school baseball squad won the IMSC tournament for the sixth time. Numerous Bolles athletes and coaches earned individual honors (with many for spring sports yet to announced prior to this publication). In addition to Peter Verhoef (boy’s swimming) and Tony Ryan (girls’ cross country) Florida Dairy Farmers Coach-ofthe-Year honors in the fall, Verhoef was also named the NFHS
2019–20 Florida Girls’ Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year. Thirteen Bolles football players were named Class 4A All-State by FloridaHSFootball.com. Bobby Crouch’21 earned both All-State and Academic All-State honors in boys’ basketball. Jillian Candelino ’23 (girls’ cross country) and Andres Dupont Cabrera ’22 (boys’ swimming) were named area player-of-the-year in their respective sports by News4Jax. A total of 69 Bulldogs were named to the Florida Times-Union’s fall and winter All-First Coast teams and 60 were named to the News4Jax teams. The Florida Times-Union will announce the athletes of the year in each sport during the Greater Jacksonville High School Sports Awards on June 24, 2021.
Local sports publication ITG Next honored several Bulldogs during their Fall, Winter and Spring Sports Awards shows including Jillian Candelino ’23 (Top Female Cross Country Athlete), Andres Dupont ’22 (Top Male Swimming Athlete), Caden Fordham ’21 (Top 10 Football Athlete), Kade Frew ’22 (Excellence in Character Award, Top 10 Football Athlete), Lexi Henderson ’26 (cross country/Youth Female Athlete of the Year), Ella Mickler (Top Female Cross Country Athlete), Maxine Montoya ’21 (Top Female Cross Country Athlete), Tori Mouton ’22 (Top Female Golf Athlete), Tomohiro Nozaki ’22 (Top Male Swimming Athlete), Will Moore ’22 (boys’ soccer/Excellence in Character Award), Jackson Baumeister ’21 (Top Baseball Athlete), Meagan Donovan ’21 (Top Girls’ Tennis Athlete) and Rylan Baker ’26 (baseball/Youth Male Athlete of the Year). Baumeister and Donovan were named overall male and female athletes of the year. Other accolades for Bolles athletes include Justin Cayenne’21 and Davis Ellis ’21 being named News4Jax All-Star Athletes, Jack Mulvey ’21 and Kade Frew ’22 being named First Coast News Athletes-ofthe-Week and Mulvey was also named Lax904 Player-of-the-Year.
summer 2021
35
28 Student-athletes Continuing Athletic Careers in College Bolles held ceremonies in November, February and April to honor student-athletes from the Class of 2021 who committed to a particular college or university to continue their athletic and academic careers. The 28 student-athletes are attending 24 different colleges in nine different sports.
2020–21 College Athletic Commitments at Bolles Baseball Matthew Anderson, University of Richmond Jackson Baumeister, Florida State University Gunner Boree, Brown University Jaden Flowers, Tallahassee Community College Jackson Mayo, University of South Florida Burke Steifman, University of Mary Washington
Football David Adewale, United States Air Force Academy Prep School Michael Bumpus, Brown University Justin Cayenne, University of Pennsylvania Davis Ellis, University of Pennsylvania Avery Epstein, Wabash College Mack Marrone, Colgate University Soccer Izzy Kimberly, University of Southern California
Basketball Bobby Crouch, Babson College Richie Rosenblum, Wartburg College
Swimming Krissi Greene, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Jose Lopez, Brandeis University Emily MacDonald, Columbia University Ansen Meyer, Georgetown University Sasha Ramey, Louisiana State University Marlie Rittenhouse, University of Delaware Lauren Thomas, Trinity College (Connecticut)
Crew Bear Fender, Stetson University
Tennis Meagan Donovan, Washington and Lee University
Cross Country/Track & Field Layne Rivera, United States Naval Academy Audrey Wuerffel, University of South Florida (track & field) Maxine Montoya, Brown University
Volleyball Ella Schellenberg, Belmont Abbey College
36
| courage, integrity & compassion |
endowment has far surpassed our initial projections — it stands at more than $25 million today! This tremendous growth has been fueled by the passion of countless Bolles alumni, parents (past and current), grandparents and great grandparents, School leaders, students, faculty and staff who take pride in The Bolles Way: pursuing excellence through courage, integrity and compassion.
From the
Chief Advancement Officer When I started at The Bolles School a little more than four years ago, many big plans for campus advancement were lingering in conceptualization phase. We wondered what a new pool would mean to our aquatic complex, how we could relocate our girls’ residence hall from the Middle School Bartram Campus to historic Bolles Hall and if our $17 million School endowment goal was truly the most attainable high water mark. My how our perspective has changed since that time! This year, Bolles celebrated the grand opening of Tarver Pool in April and anticipates construction of the new Llura “Lulie” Liggett Gund ’58 Bartram Residence Hall for Girls to be complete and ready to accommodate boarding students for the 2021–22 school year. And thanks to our donors, trustees and financial leadership team, our
It has been said people only give to a winning program, and I believe this to be true both in concept and practice. I am happy to announce that as of May 5, 2021, our Bolles Annual Fund has raised more than $1.7 million and our donor participation has increased nearly 40% from this time last year. To put these figures in perspective, the last time the Bolles Annual Fund reached $1.7 million was in 2005! If you have not yet made your annual fund gift, it is not too late. Our fiscal year does not end until July 31! So be sure to make your gift today to be listed in our Bolles Annual Report, which will be published this Fall and features the names of all donors who take pride in being a member of the Bulldog family. For all alumni, be sure to get your annual fund gift in early next year. Alumni who give a gift to the Bolles Annual Fund beginning August 1 will not only become a member of the Bolles Alumni Association, but they will gain access to our new Alumni+ portal launching this Fall! The Alumni+ portal will give you access to insider interactive information from our coaches, the ability to register for master classes throughout the year from your favorite professors and notable alumni, a behind the scenes virtual look at our fine arts programs, the opportunity to review internships and job opportunities posted by your peers and so much more! Thank you to all our supporters who have made Bolles a place of excellence for the last 89 years! Sincerely,
Carol Nimitz Chief Advancement Officer
summer 2021
37
The McGraw Family
From the
Parent Association Co-Chairs As we close on this year like no other, we would like to thank all of McGraw will be taking over as Executive Chairs next year, and The McGraw Family the parents for their patience and support. The Parent Association they will do a fabulous job. has continued to reimagine and to be creative in ways to continue supporting the students, parents, faculty and staff of Bolles. Our During this time of coronavirus, the Parent Association owes a meetings were still held virtually, but we managed to host some debt of gratitude to Sandy Catanese, Director of Bolles Fund events on campus. The Ponte Vedra and Whitehurst Campuses and Parent Programs, for stepping in as our fearless leader. were able to have a Spring Fling with a petting zoo, ice cream truck Sandy has essentially been the Parent Association since March of and dj. We also held Wine and Wisdom events both virtually and 2020. She has made sure that the Parent Association programs in person. Parent Education hosted events for Middle School and could, if possible, still continue in their often much modified both Lower Schools both in person and virtually. Faculty and staff ways. Thank you Sandy! To this year iswere different for to thetake Parent Association is, of course, While Grandparents At-Home Day was a virtual event this year, on say all campuses treated home dinners during teacher aappreciation major understatement. What isn’tSenior different is the was dedication no less went into it as special asthe every other year. week. A reimagined Dinner hosted and by the John anddedication I are very grateful formaking the opportunity to be Executive caring of we thealso Parent Association We started early Prom. in the We will toAssociation work to make future justleave as PA, and provided snacksvolunteers! for the reimagined Senior Chairs forcontinue the Parent for sure the past twoevents years. are As we Summer meetings to discuss what this year would look special as well. Thank you be foreternally your kindness weallnavigate thehas We werewith also ZOOM able to have our first “courageous conversations” Bolles after 16 years, we will gratefulasfor that Bolles like for each campus. changes thisfamily. year has brought. meeting hosted by Parents for Positive Change. meant to our
From the
Parent Association Co-Chairs
With the understandable of having no parents on campuses, The Parent Association policy has been so fortunate to have such the goal has volunteers. been not to Throughout cancel any activities, but totimes, reschedule wonderful these trying theseand volreimagine those events. Wewhatever continue needed to have meetings virtually and it unteers were eager to do to be done, however are constantly make a difference. striving to needed to be working done. Atoheartfelt thank youThis to allincludes of the members fully include at-home learners part of ourElizabeth Bolles community. of the Parentthe Association on all as campuses! and Peter
38
| advancement |
Virtual hugs, All our best, Jacqueand and John John McGraw Jacque McGraw ParentAssociation Association Executive Parent Executive Committee CommitteeCo-Chair Co-Chairs Jane’09 ’09 and and Jake Jane Jake ’21 ’21
summer 2021
39
Bolles Hosts Official Tarver Pool Ribbon-Cutting The Bolles Office of Advancement hosted a celebratory opening of Tarver Pool April 30 honoring the contributions and vision of the many generous donors, professionals and supporters who made the School’s new Myrtha pool a reality. The event included tours of the new facility, an opening ceremony and a reception in the dryland room during a swim meet, which also was underway that evening at Tarver Pool. Guests enjoyed an up close look at the pool, its new signage and setting including the Murphy Olympic Walk, the Gold Scoreboard, Zorn Stadium, the Meyers-Labenz Family Pool Deck, swim lanes and blocks given by various donors and Tarver Pool itself. The highlight of the afternoon festivities was a brief presentation and offering of thanks from Bolles Board of Trustees Chair Fernando Acosta Rua ’85, Bolles President and Head of School Tyler Hodges, Chief Advancement Officer Carol Nimitz and Bolles Head Coach and Aquatics Director Peter Verhoef. Verhoef addressed the donor crowd but also directed remarks toward the Bolles swim team behind him. He reminded everyone that the Bolles swim program is built on an incredible legacy
40
| advancement |
of generous families and athletes that all should remember and appreciate as they move forward in excellence. Construction on the 25-meter by 25-yard pool began more than a year ago following the delivery of an elite Myrtha pool from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The pool was installed there temporarily for a two-day International Swimming League Championship in late-December before it was disassembled and moved to Jacksonville. Myrtha pools boast a patented lamination process of a hard-bond PVC to stainless steel, which promotes lower operational costs through life maintenance and makes it a championship standard in the swimming world. The pool, which was built at the site of the former Lobrano Pool adjacent to Davis Gym, promises to build on Bolles’ six-decade legacy of swimming dominance. It has an 8-foot minimum depth and full springboard diving facilities, which means Bolles coaches now have the resources to prepare student-athletes for the latest evolutions in NCAA-level competitions. Tarver Pool begins the transformation of Bolles’ aquatic facilities and set a new benchmark for developing student-athletic excellence. This project completes Phase I of the redevelopment of Bolles’ pool facilities. Work now enters Phase II of the planned expansion for aquatic excellence — which includes expansion of the dry-land training room, welcome center, coaches offices and new meeting/venue space overlooking both Uible Pool and the track and stadium area.
summer 2021
41
Bolles Retires Jersey of Brown ’86 Bolles basketball legend Dee Brown ’86 was honored with the retirement of his #20 jersey during halftime of the Bolles-Bishop Kenny varsity boys basketball game on January 15. A COVID-limited capacity crowd and fans viewing online enjoyed celebrating the most accomplished basketball player in Bulldog history. During his Bolles career, Brown helped the basketball team to back-to back state finals, earning All-State honors as a senior. He went on to play college basketball locally at Jacksonville University, where he earned All-American Honorable Mention and All-Sun Belt Conference honors as a junior and senior. He was inducted into the JU Hall of Fame in 2008 and is one of just six Dolphins to have their jersey retired. He was drafted in the first round of the 1990 NBA draft,
42
| advancement |
selected 19th by the Boston Celtics. Brown was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team and won the 1991 NBA Slam Dunk Contest with his memorable no-look dunk. He played 12 seasons in the NBA, also playing for the Toronto Raptors and retiring with the Orlando Magic. He went on to serve as a head coach in the WNBA and NBA G-League, an assistant coach in the NBA and general manager in the G-League. He has been an impactful servant-leader as well with involvement in a variety of community service efforts. The ceremony began with an introduction from Bolles Leadership Gift Officer Rahul Sharma ’03, welcoming Brown and his family. Board of Trustees Chair Fernando Acosta-Rua ’85 then shared his memories of Brown along with career highlights. President and Head of School Tyler Hodges invited Brown to address the crowd. “This is a very humbling moment, a very special moment,” Brown shared. He then thanked his parents for providing him the opportunity to attend Bolles, and his wife and kids for their support throughout his career. Of his Bolles Coach Buddy Ward, Brown said, “He cut me two times, in 9th and 10th grade, but he made me work harder, made me understand the importance of hard work…Coach Ward, without you…I would never achieve the things I wanted to achieve. Thank you very much.” Brown also thanked and acknowledged his Bolles teammates and his classmates and how “they made me feel so special, I never felt out of place and always felt apart of everybody’s family…I never want to trade my four years here, even for my four years in college because I grew as a man here. Thank you so for being here to support me.” Brown closed with an anecdote about how he admired Bolles alumnus basketball player Ric Clarson ’75, who played at the University of Florida and whose photo adorned the walls of the former canteen on the San Jose Campus. “I used to say if I ever do one thing before I leave Bolles, I want to get my picture on the wall of the Canteen. That’s all I cared about…If I could do that, I have achieved everything I wanted at Bolles! And I get my jersey retired! Ric sent me a letter. I’m in heaven right now and it’s been the best day of my life! I’ve had my jersey retired at JU, I’ve been given a key to the City by the Mayor, but this here is it! Bolles, thank you so much, I love you all.”
summer 2021
43
The Path to Gold Begins at Bolles! The Olympic tradition at Bolles is well documented and a source of immense pride for the School. Since 1972, Bolles has had swimmers represented at each Olympics. A total of 54 Bolles students or former students have participated in the Olympics, representing a total of 28 countries or territories. Bolles swimming alumni include 13 Olympic medalists, winning a total of 20 medals. Bolles coaches and former coaches have also had at presence at the Olympics since 1988. Nine members of the Bolles Sharks club have swum in the Olympics since the 2004 Games. Although not students or alumni, these swimmers trained at Bolles under the Bolles coaching staff. These Olympians are proudly displayed on the Murphy Olympic Walk, part of the newly constructed Tarver Pool — a 25-meter by 25-yard Myrtha pool that will build on Bolles’ six-decade legacy of swimming dominance and train future Olympians. The Bolles Office of Advancement hosted a celebratory opening of Tarver Pool April 30 honoring the contributions and vision of the many generous donors, professionals and supporters who made the School’s new pool a reality.
After Covid postponed the 2020 Games and doubt had been cast over the new date of 2021, the Olympic Games are set to begin in Tokyo on July 23 with swimming to run from July 24–August 1. The Games will be broadcast by NBC, locally on First Coast News/Ch. 12. For the first time, Bolles is partnering with First Coast News for marketing opportunities during the local television and online coverage. Keep an eye out for Bolles during updates, medal counts and more! While qualifying events and Olympic trials will continue past publication of this issue, some names to watch leading up to and hopefully during the Olympics include defending gold medalists Ryan Murphy ’13 (USA), Joseph Schooling ’14 (Singapore) and Caeleb Dressel (former Sharks club member/USA); 2016 Olympian Santo Condorelli ’13 (Italy), Andrea Vergani ’16 (Italy), Andy Song ’16 (Mexico) and McKenna DeBever (former Sharks club member/Peru). Joining Murphy and Dressel as U.S. Olympic Trials qualifiers are Claire Rasmus’15, Kensey McMahon (former Sharks club member) and Sherridon Dressel (former Sharks club member).
Bolles Olympians Fred Tyler ’72, USA 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist, 800 Freestyle Relay David Zubero ’77, Spain 1976 Olympian 1980 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 100 Butterfly 1984 Olympian
44
| alumni |
David Larson ’77, USA 1984 Gold Medalist, 800 Freestyle Relay Anthony Nesty ’87, Suriname 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist, 100 Butterfly 1992 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 100 Butterfly
Patrick Sagisi ’89, Guam 1988 Olympian 1992 Olympian 1996 Olympian Martin Zubero ’87, Spain 1988 Olympian 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist, 200 Backstroke 1996 Olympian
Nick Neckles ’98, Barbados 2000 Olympian
Greg Burgess ’90, USA 1992 Olympic Silver Medalist, 200 Individual Medley 1996 Olympian
Alex Lopez ’97, Puerto Rico 1996 Olympian 2000 Olympian 2004 Olympian
Gustavo Borges ’91, Brazil 1992 Olympic Silver Medalist, 100 Freestyle 1996 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 100 Freestyle; Silver Medalist, 200 Freestyle 2000 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 400 Freestyle Relay
Ashley Whitney ’98, USA 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist, 800 Freestyle Relay
Jose De Souza ’89, Brazil 1992 Olympian
Janelle Atkinson ’00, Jamaica 2000 Olympian 2004 Olympian
Enrico Linscheer ’92, Suriname 1992 Olympian 1996 Olympian Giovanni Linscheer ’90, Suriname 1992 Olympian 1996 Olympian Waen Minpraphal ’96, Thailand 1992 Olympian 1996 Olympian 2000 Olympian Nuk Sirisanont ’96, Thailand 1992 Olympian 1996 Olympian 2000 Olympian 2004 Olympian
Leonard Ngoma ’99, Zambia 2000 Olympian Kenny Roberts ’98, Seychelles 2000 Olympian
Damian Alleyne ’02, Barbados 2000 Olympian
Talia Barrios ’00, Peru 2000 Olympian
Yi-Ting Siow ’05, Malaysia 2000 Olympian 2004 Olympian 2008 Olympian Paty Villarreal ’02, Mexico 2000 Olympian Jevon Atkinson ’01, Jamaica 2004 Olympian
George Bovell ’02, Trinidad & Tobago 2000 Olympian 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 200 Individual Medley 2008 Olympian 2012 Olympian 2016 Olympain
Anja Carman ’04, Slovenia 2004 Olympian 2008 Olympian 2012 Olympian
Jorge Carral ’02, Mexico 2000 Olympian
Shaune Fraser ’06, Cayman Islands 2004 Olympian 2008 Olympian 2012 Olympian
Elvin Chia ’98, Malaysia 2000 Olympian
Heather Roffey ’04, Cayman Islands 2004 Olympian
Carolyn Adel ’96, Suriname 1996 Olympian 2000 Olympian Casey Barrett ’93, Canada 1996 Olympian Carlos Bodega ’94, Puerto Rico 1996 Olympian Claudia Franco ’93, Spain 1996 Olympian Dominik Galic ’94, Croatia 1996 Olympian Cerian Gibbes ’00, Trinidad and Tobago 1996 Olympian Niti Intharapichai ’96, Thailand 1996 Olympian Trina Jackson ’95, USA 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist, 800 Freestyle Relay
Ryan Murphy ’13 Alex Lim ’00, Malaysia 2000 Olympian 2004 Olympian Miguel Mendoza ’01, Philippines 2000 Olympian
Yi-Khy Saw ’05, Malaysia 2004 Olympian Omar Pinzon (Bolles Sharks), Colombia 2004 Olympian 2008 Olympian 2012 Olympian 2016 Olympian
summer 2021
45
Ryan Murphy ’13
Joseph Schooling ’14
Ryan Arabejo ’09, Philippines 2008 Olympian
Talita Baqlah (Bolles Sharks), Jordan 2012 Olympian
Danielle Beaubrun ’09, St. Lucia 2008 Olympian 2012 Olympian
Kareem Ennab (Bolles Sharks), Jordan 2012 Olympian
Nick Bovell ’04, Trinidad and Tobago 2008 Olympian
Megan Fonteno ’11, American Samoa 2012 Olympian
Rodion Davelaar ’08, Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao) 2008 Olympian
Charlie Houchin (Bolles Sharks), USA 2012 Olympian
Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or ’08, Israel 2008 Olympian 2012 Olympian Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace ’08, Bahamas 2008 Olympian 2012 Olympian 2016 Olympian Daniel Coakly (Bolles Sharks), Philippines 2008 Olympian
46
| alumni |
Ariana Kukors (Bolles Sharks), USA 2012 Olympian Anderson Lim ’13, Brunei 2012 Olympian Fabiola Molina (Bolles Sharks), Brazil 2012 Olympian Zach Payne (Bolles Sharks), Cook Islands 2012 Olympian
Branden Whitehurst ’08, U.S. Virgin Islands 2012 Olympian Santo Condorelli ’13, Canada 2016 Olympian Caeleb Dressel (Bolles Sharks), USA 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist, 400 Freestyle Relay, 400 Medley Relay Ryan Murphy ’13, USA 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist, 100 Backstroke, 200 Backstroke, 400 Medley Relay Joseph Schooling ’14, Singapore 2012 Olympian 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist, 100 Butterfly
Board of Visitors 2020–21 Judge Marcia Morales Howard ’83 Chair
Dr. Peter Bream ’86 C. Clayton Bromberg Jr. ’00 Carole Ann Coplan ’84 Allison Dewan ’07
Dr. Jamie Dwyer ’92 Marion George ’75 Bartram Caitlin Hayes ’07 Kate Newton Jones ’05 Jake Lee ’11 Ryan Murphy ’13
Dennis Pash ’99 Ron Patrick ’90 George Pilcher III ’00 Ruth Calvin Scharf ’76 Heidi Schauer ’97 Michael Verlander ’98
Alumni Board 2020–21 Adam Edgecombe ’98 Chair
David Cohen ’98 Heather Lane Courtney ’02 David Dunn ’03 Justin Hart ’00
Roland Johnson ’16 Carla Jones ’03 Harry Kenning ’04 Steve Kurosko ’97 John Langley ’03 Ashley Rawlins ’06
Carson Vandergriff Richardson ’02 Lauren Bacalis Scheible ’01 Hunter Walker ’14 Jerry Hurst ’76
summer 2021
47
Bartram
Alumnae Notes
Bartram Class of 1968 friends attend a service for classmate Adair Bryant Simon ’68
’40s
1942 Class Representative: Helen Murchison Lane Helen3790@aol.com
Trustee Emerita: Helen Murchison Lane 1945 Class Representative: Marion Whatley Cowart (850) 385-1911 1949 Class Representative: Anne Monroe Poidevant (904) 264-8977
’50s
1951 Class Representative: Frances Watts McCurry fmccurry@comcast.net
1953 Class Representative: Jane Howard Chadbourne jachadbourne@aol.com 1955 Class Representative: Beverly Brett Warren bbrettw@hotmail.com
48
| alumni |
Bartram.
Trustee Emerita: Ann Curry Hicks Patricia Bent won an alumni award during the 2021 Commencement ceremony this spring. See photo on page 54. 1956 Class Representative: Louise Adams Ropp weezier@comcast.net 1959 Class Representative: Linda Burbridge Knight lbksr@comcast.net
’60s
1961 Class Representative: Meriel Traylor Rucker (843) 881-7939
1964 Class Representative: Missie Graham Sarra LePrell Missie@missiesold.com 1966 Class Representative: Marcia Caribaltes Hughes marciachughes@yahoo.com 1968 Class Representative: Judy Goins Quick jgquick@bellsouth.net
Marian Adams McClelland continues her work with the Aruna Partnership in support of schools and women in South India. She writes: “I’ve been working on pandemic relief for India and filling handcraft orders for the Indian widows our nonprofit supports. Stores here love their beautiful handwoven kitchen accessories, block print robes, and other handcrafted products. Even through the worst of the pandemic, they’ve been placing orders steadily, a lifeline for the women in India.” What a year this has been for so many. The Bartram ’68 class is no exception. The class experienced sorrows and joys, deaths of loved ones and new life for many families. Monthly Zooms have kept the class connected, even when Jackie was in Nairobi! During the past few years, the class bid farewell to beloved family members and friends. Mary Jane Scott Trimble’s mother Jane Champion McRae Scott died in July 2018. Class member Adair Bryant Simon died suddenly and way too soon in November 2018. Martha Phillips Gordin’s husband Clay died in July 2019.
Chair of the Swaim County Caring Corner (NC). Donna reports that daughter Claire ran her first marathon in Chicago (2020) and will run the Boston Marathon in October 2021 — Claire is also the granddaughter of Claire Tucker Ennis Bartram ’41. Jackie Masterson Stradley serves as Executive Director of the Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation in Georgia. Judy Goins Quick continues ministry with the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama and serves on the Standing Commission for World Mission for the Episcopal Church. Diann Smith Catlin writes that she and husband Bodie enjoy life in Highlands, NC and have ventured into the home rental business. Jeannette Adams Broome reports that the oldest grandson Josh earned a national ROTC scholarship and plans to attend The Citadel. 1969 Class Representative: Virginia Conley Pappas virginiacpappas@gmail.com
’70s
1971 Class Representative: Kerry Lee Byron Ehrlich klehrlich@cox.net
Cindy Lane’s father Dr. John G. Lane died at 98 in March 2020. Daphne Drennon Gatlin’s (deceased) mother, JoAnn Drennon Mullen, died in May 2020.
1973 Class Representative: Barbara Arnold Pickett bsap00@comcast.net
Jane Jeter Arnold’s mother Ann Carrell Jeter, died of Covid 19 at 103 in July 2020 within weeks of the death of her contemporary Olivia deHavilland, whom she had the privilege of meeting in Paris.
1974 Class Representative: Joann Ferguson Purdie jpurdie@springfieldcapital.com
Anne Davis Baker’s mother Susan Palmer Davis died at 91 in September 2020.
1975 Class Representative: Marnie Law George marnie@thegeorgegroup.com
The circle of life continued with several new grandchildren in the past year. Mary Jane Scott Trimble and husband Jay welcomed granddaughter Jane Carson, daughter of Sarah Jo (Bolles ’06) and Kyle Luby. Sue Eliot Clineburg and husband Bill welcomed a grandson, son of Tricia and her husband, Alec Asbridge. Jane Jeter Arnold will welcome a granddaughter in August, daughter of Sabré and her husband. Class members report civic engagement and proud family moments. Jane Jeter Arnold is President of the Colonial Dames of Florida. Dorothy Ulmer Marsh is an active member of the Colonial Dames, is President of the Garden Circle, and remains active in her support of ALS. Donna Knauer Ennis remained near daughter Claire Ennis Cashio in Baton Rouge during the pandemic but continues her responsibility as
Board of Visitors: Marnie Law George 1976 Class Representative: Virginia Ferguson McNulty virginia@mcnulty.tv 1979 Class Representative: Jennifer Williams Wiegand 1980 Class Representative: Hilda Pendleton Fenton mafenton@hotmail.com
’80s
1981 Class Representative: Susan Williams Brodeur brodboys@bellsouth.net
Our 40th Class Reunion will be at Tracy Seay Raymond’s house in Atlantic Beach on Friday, October 22, 2021. We have reached 16 of the 23 people in our class about the reunion. If you have not
summer 2021
49
received an email about the get together, please contact Susan Williams Brodeur at brodboys@bellsouth.net for details. Eileen Bianchi O’Brien is back at work at as an Outpatient Case Manager at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Jacksonville. She and husband, Ozzie, are ‘almost’ empty nesters as Austin, the youngest of their six children, is a rising senior at Stanton. Megan, a nurse in Raleigh, specializes in patient care assistance in the surgical department, Nathan is graduating from UCF with an industrial engineering degree and working at Lockheed Martin this summer, Zack is in the Roland George Investments Program at Stetson, Abi is a Pre-nursing major at FSU, and Ian is working full time at The Brick, and will be back at UNF this fall. Whew! Eileen will be getting an award at our reunion!! If this update ‘whetted’ your appetite to catch up with everyone, please plan to attend our reunion. If you can’t attend, please email me and give me an update of what you have been up to for the last 40 years! 1982 Class Representative: Carmen Crenshaw-Hovey carmencrenshaw@msn.com 1983 Class Representative: Rebecca Faircloth McNeil marvmcneil@bellsouth.net 1986 Class Representative: A. Patricia (Tricia) Helwig Todd phtodd@helwigandtodd.com
Carol Chaffin ’87 1988 Class Representative: Rebecca (Becky) Martin Forbes rmf2ya@bellsouth net 1989 Class Representatives: S. Courtney McCranie Mccranie2222@gmail.com Class Representatives: Josephine (Josie) Bryan jbryan@stmarksdayschool.org
’90s
1990 Class Representative: Grace Herzog Bryan bryan.grace@mayo.edu
1991 Class Representative: Jennifer Purino Hensley
Maggie Craddock ’87 1987 Sarah Alice “Sadie” Craddock, daughter of Margaret Fish Craddock, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus. Matthew Karsten Chaffin, son of Carol Boling Chaffin, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
50
| alumni |
Bartram Classmates from 1968
Bolles
Alumni Notes
’30s
1938 Trustee Emeritus: George W. Varn
1939 Major General DeWitt “Dick” Searles passed away at his home in Northern Virginia on February 27, 2021, at the age of 100. Major General Searles proudly served in the United States Air Force for more than three decades. Prior to his passing Dick participated in this year’s Veterans Day program and also established the DeWitt R. Searles ’39 Endowed Fund in support of Computer Science and Techology.
’40s
1940 Carlton Reese Skinner ’21, son of David Godfrey Skinner ’77 and grandson of A. Chester Skinner Jr., graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
1948 Class Representative: Robert (Bob) W. Brack Jr. (904) 744-2759 1949 Class Representative: Jerry (Jerry) S. Foley III (904) 389-6460
’50s
1953 Class Representative: James (Jim) M. Barker IV jmbchb@aol.com
Trustee Emeritus: James V.E. Bent Sr.
Skip Benolken ’53 Alumni Dedication Filming A. Chester Skinner ’40 1942 Trustee Emeritus: W. Lester Varn Jr. 1945 Robert “Bob” Mills passed away on April 20, 2021, in Jacksonville, Florida. 1946 Class Representative: Fitzhugh (Hugh) Powell Hpowell@cwpowellins.com
1954 Class Representative: Hayes (Butch) L. Basford Jr. hbasford@icloud.com 1955 Class Representative: William (Bill) C. Hallowes bhallowes@aol.com 1956 Class Representative: Harry M. deMontmollin Jr. hmdem@aol.com President Emeritus: Harry M. deMontmollin Jr.
Trustee Emeritus: Quinn R. Barton Jr.
summer 2021
51
On the evening of April 14, Chris Stubbs attended a special Bolles Spring Dance Concert performance in the Betsy Lovett Center’s Parker Auditorium at the Middle School Bartram Campus and visited with fellow community members in a post event reception held in the Miller Room. 1969 Class Representative: James (Jim) R. McCain Jr. Jrmjr1951@gmail.com
During the construction of the Bolles elevator, crews discovered these wooden planks and names in the old elevator shaft. Kirk Jones passed away at his home in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on February 19, 2021. Kirk came to Bolles from Biloxi, Mississippi, and was a boarding student for three years. He was in Company B, and a letterman in football and basketball. Charles Rousseau passed away on February 4, 2021. 1957 Class Representative: Albert (Ted) T. Quantz tedquantz@gmail.com
Steve Milberg passed away on December 1, 2020. 1968 Kee Eng passed away on May 31, 2021 at the age of 70. While at Bolles, Eng was co-captain of the football team and winner of the Golden Helmet Award his senior year. He served as assistant state attorney in Broward County and later retired as assistant director, budget and financial services for the city of Hollywood in South Florida.
’70s
1970 Class Representative: F. William (Bill) Borg bill_borg@vanguard.org
Class Representative: Chester (Chip) Skinner III chip@skinnerrealty.com
1958 Donald Trednick passed away on February 12, 2021, following a short illness.
Chip Skinner was presented with a ‘Paul Harris Fellow’ recognition April 21 at Timuquana Country Club, as part of the weekly assembly for the Rotary Club of West Jacksonville. (See sidebar on the right.)
1959 Class Representative: Barry P. Sales bpsrnr@aol.com
1972 Class Representative: James (Jim) F. Bailey Jr. jbailey@baileypub.com
1961 Class Representative: Ben T. Franklin Jr. bfranklin@southbankgroup.net
’60s
1963 Class Representative: C. McNeill (Neill) Baker
neill46@aol.com 1964 Class Representative: Gregory (Greg) W. Blackmer gregblackmer@yahoo.com Trustee Emeritus: E. Ellis Zahra, Jr. On Sunday, April 25 Greg Blackmer was invited to participate in the Class of 1976 Reunion alongside some of his former students. 1965 Class Representative: Charles (Chuck) P. Torrey Jr. Charlestorrey1@gmail.com 1966 Class Representative: Shepherd (Shep) E. Colledge Shepherdc904@aol.com 1967 Class Representative: Christopher (Chris) B. Stubbs CBStubbs@snelling.com 52
| alumni |
1973 Class Representative: Mary Allen Howe msah29926@gmail.com Board of Trustees: Rodney VanPelt 1974 Class Representative: Jan K. Reeder jreeder@rpds.com Jay Chase passed away on March 19, 2021, at his home in Franklin, Indiana, after a 14-year battle with cancer. 1975 Class Representative: Mark McGowan mark.mcgowan@bcbsfl.com On Tuesday March 30, Stanley Fidanque returned to campus, toured the facilities and visited with Alumni Officers Rahul Sharma ’03 and Ryan Trevett ’99. William Kemp passed away on March 21, 2021, in Jacksonville, Florida. 1976 Class Representative: Nathan H. Slaff Nathan.Slaff@HorizonActuarial.com Class Representative: Kevin T. Gay kgay@operationnewhope.com
Alumni Board: Jerry F. Hurst Board of Visitors: Ruth Calvin Scharf Nathan Slaff writes: During the fall of 2020, with the nation coping with COVID, elections and many additional important issues, a group of classmates from the Class of 1976 and Ryan Trevett ’99, agreed to work on a virtual 45th Reunion. Although we all wished to be together, we realized an in-person gathering may be a challenge. The Reunion Committee (Gordon, Cindy, Susan, Dale, Karen, Jerry, Claire, Emmet, Cathy, Don, Lawrence, Leslie, Sid, Kevin, Ted, Ryan and me) met several times virtually and focused on finding our classmates and creating interesting programming for all.
Skinner ’70 Named Paul Harris Fellow
On the evening of Sunday, April 25 the Class of ’76 held its virtual reunion which was attended by more than 55 classmates, former faculty and Head of School Tyler Hodges. Due to such incredible attendance, the event lasted more than three hours.
Chip Skinner ’70 was presented with a ‘Paul Harris Fellow’ recognition April 21 at Timuquana Country Club, as part of the weekly assembly for the Rotary Club of West Jacksonville. Past Rotary Club of West Jacksonville President Ken Baker introduced the program and founding club member Clayton F. Riley, Skinner’s father-in-law, provided complimentary remarks, detailing his exemplary service to the greater Jacksonville community. Skinner received an honorary lapel pin following the program.
Coach Barrett - 1976 Zoom Reunion
Other Bolles patrons in the audience included William “Bill” Howey and Shep Colledge ’66, Past Chairman of the Bolles Board of Trustees.
Dave Kenson - 1976 Zoom Reunion
Greg Blackmer - 1976 Zoom Reunion
summer 2021
53
Most classmates remained on the virtual call the entire evening. “I always knew my classmates were smart and creative, so it was no surprise that it was an incredible and enjoyable experience to plan the Reunion with our talented Reunion Committee. The Reunion was so much fun as we were able to hear from almost everyone except, regretfully, a few who had to depart early. The two musical performances, slide show of the Class, and Tour of Bolles, all provided by classmates, had me smiling and crying. The reunion felt like a wonderful family gathering for a festive occasion, as if we were chatting in the Bolles canteen, interested to learn more about what our friends have done over time. It will be a Reunion I fondly remember for a long time. Football legacy runs deep at The Bolles School. Former players from the classes of ’76 and ’77 – including Dave Dent, Dan DeKay and Gordon Terry – were on campus May 20 to motivate the Bolles football team and coaches. (See photos below.)
Tom Hopkins ’79 1979 Class Representative: Karen Ibach Bowden Kbowden61@comcast.net John Poidevant recently completed his first adventure novel, titled, “Into the Vortex…A Tale of Resiliency.” The books pays tribute to the life lessons that Bolles Football coach Mike Barrett inspired many years ago. (See sidebar on the right.) Aynslee Olivia Hopkins ’21, daughter of Thomas Couper Hopkins, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus. Aynslee was one of four legacy graduates from the Class of 2021 who also was a Bolles “Lifer.”
’80s
1980 Class Representative: George (Chip) Stelljes III chip@gstelljes.net
Board of Trustees: C. Daniel (Dan) Rice, George (Chip) Stelljes III, Mark F. Travis Reed Scott Hanigan ’21, son of Jennifer Atkins Hanigan, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus. Mark Travis was presented with the Sidney W. Register Sr. ’33 Alumnus of the Year Award during Bolles Awards Day on Friday, May 28. 1977 Class Representative: Catherine Randle Hurst Catherine.hurst10@yahoo.com Carlton Reese Skinner ’21, son of David Godfrey Skinner and grandson of A. Chester Skinner Jr. ’40, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus. 1978 Class Representative: Jeff L. Evans jevans5152@gmail.com
Tyler Hodges with award winners Mark Travis and Patricia Bent ’55 Bartram 54
| alumni |
his own life inspired resilience — most importantly, he thought on how these positive experiences might help young people today. “Over the course of my career, I learned that goal-setting, planning and a willingness to take risks are key components of resiliency,” Poidevant said. “In essence, goal-setting provides hope, which is a key component of living a full life. Sadly, youth today are losing hope at an astonishing rate, and the results are tragic. Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death for students 10–19 years of age. These numbers are even worse after the Coronavirus this year.”
Poidevant ’79 Releases ‘Resiliency’ Book Inspired by Barrett Dr. John Poidevant ’79 recently completed his first adventure novel called “Into the Vortex…A Tale of Resiliency,” a book that pays homage to the life lessons Bolles football Coach Mike Barrett inspired many years ago. Published by Greenleaf Book Club division River Grove Press, the book will be out for distribution in July. Poidevant said the idea to write a book came after he retired from his life work as a school psychologist in Georgia. He started a consulting business, Resilient Horizons, to inspire and empower youth to be more resilient. During this time he reflected on the youths he served during his career and how adult role models in
Poidevant decided to write the book to help young people build these essential resiliency skills. The book is an adventure novel form with a resiliency framework that empowers readers to “persevere, maintain hope, solve problems, develop friendships and most of all, never give up,” he said. Poidevant integrated examples from his own experience, including lessons learned in the Bolles football program under Barrett. He describes Barret as having a “strong influence during his formative years.” “Now, at age 60, I can see clearly the importance that key role models have in your life and for this I am grateful,” Poitevant said. The 12-year-old main character, Kayden Barrett, is named in honor of Coach Barrett. Barrett also is listed on the book’s dedication page. “I want to make [Barrett] aware of how much I appreciate his efforts in my life and the lives of others,” Poitevant said. “As an author, I want him to know that his positive impact on my life now has the potential to impact thousands of other students. His ‘ripple effect’ may extend further than he realizes.”
Mike Puldy ’80, CEO and founder of Los Angeles-based Puldy Resiliency Partners and author of “The Millennial’s Guide to Business Travel: Lessons for the Next Generation of Road Warriors” and “Zack Be Nimble,” released a third book showcasing his travel photography in mid-April. Titled “Himalaya Memories,” the book is Puldy’s once-in-a-lifetime creation commemorating his travels to one of the most beautiful and least visited locations on the planet. (See sidebar on page 56.) Richard Anthony Rosenblum ’21, son of Richard Miller Rosenblum, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
Richard Rosenblum ’80
summer 2021
55
covering all critical business operations in 1,200 locations across 170 countries. Puldy led IBM’s internal and client business continuity response related to the COVID-19 pandemic. During his tenure at IBM, he focused on technical and business continuity, disaster recovery, crisis management, cyber security, and computer storage and data center management. Puldy’s experience includes executive leadership positions in both IBM’s Services and Storage Systems divisions, and four global assignments including a multi-year international assignment based in Singapore.
Puldy ’80 To Release Third Book Mike Puldy ’80, CEO and founder of Los Angeles-based Puldy Resiliency Partners and author of “The Millennial’s Guide to Business Travel: Lessons for the Next Generation of Road Warriors” and “Zack Be Nimble,” is releasing a third book showcasing his travel photography in mid-April. Titled “Himalaya Memories,” the book is Puldy’s once-in-alifetime creation commemorating his travels to one of the most beautiful and least visited locations on the planet. Puldy said the project evolved over a 35-year period. He is in now in the process of printing 300 hardbound, cloth-covered books at a specialty printing house outside of Bologna, Italy. Each book will be hand-numbered and signed and will be available through his website, www.puldy.com. “During the 1980s, when I was in my 20s, I never thought visiting the Himalayas was remotely possible,” Puldy explained. “Yet, one summer, I met fellow classmate Ben Blustein’s Uncle Harold on Jacksonville Beach. Out of the blue, Uncle Harold asked me if I trekked to Mt. Everest. I laughed thinking that was a crazy thing to say, so I asked him if he had been there. To my surprise, he said, yes! Over the next 25 years, I have been fortunate enough to visit six of the seven continents and to see some of the greatest wonders of the natural and man-made world: the Egyptian Pyramids; the Great Barrier Reef; the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal; and the Glaciers of the Patagonia. It was inevitable the trajectory of my international travels would ultimately take me to the Himalayas and to visual line of sight of Mount Everest. I arrived at Mount Everest Base Camp two weeks shy of my 50th birthday.” Overlayed with his travel experiences has been his passion for photography. “Everyone in my Bolles class knew me for my camera and my photographs,” Puldy said. “In tandem with my travels and my photographs is my writings, Over time, I wanted to create a museum grade, high quality publication of my works done my way without having to accommodate an outside editor or the demands of publisher.” Professionally, Puldy is focused on ways companies can improve their offensive and defensive posture towards internal and external threats. Prior to starting his own firm, Puldy was responsible for strategy, tactical implementation, and regulatory reporting for IBM’s global corporate business continuity programs,
56
| alumni |
Puldy was named a Ponemon Fellow by the Ponemon Institute and is an award-winning author of professional and peer reviewed papers and blogs in addition to his three books. He has a patent pending with the United States Trademark and Patent Office, and he is currently writing a book called “The Renaissance of Resiliency,” which discusses the evolution from data center centric IT disaster recovery to business continuity to a future where total resiliency is a way of life. Puldy also is the president of a California nonprofit and co-facilitates support groups for those who have lost a loved one to suicide. He received his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Clemson University and an MBA from the University of North Florida.
Jennifer Atkins Hanigan ’80
Christopher Scott Lewis ’81 1981 Class Representative: Ricardo (Rick) Morales III rick@moralesgroup.com Board of Trustees: Ricardo (Rick) Morales III Tiffany Vera Lewis ’21, daughter of Christopher Scott Lewis II, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
Celeste Rice Green ’85, Meagan Donovan ’21 and Dan Rice ’80 Dan Rice and sister Celeste Rice Green ’85 were on campus this spring at a tennis event for Green’s daughter and Bolles tennis senior, Meagan Donovan ’21. Sports photographer Jeff Adams captured this photo featuring two generations of Rice tennis alumni! Meagan will be playing tennis for Washington & Lee University this fall.
Marla Jo Rosin-Borrousch ’82 1982 Class Representative: Virginia (Ginny) Jones Charest gcharest1@verizon.net Zachary Eli Rosin-Borrousch ’21, son of Marla Jo Rosin-Borrousch, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
summer 2021
57
Sanjay Swani ’83 1983 Class Representative: Erin O’Dell O’Brien Erin_OBrien@csx.com Class Representative: R. Dean Scott rdeanscott@msn.com Board of Visitors: Marcia (Ia) Morales Howard, Chair Akshay Dev Swani ’21 and Isha Janaki Swani ’21, son and daughter of Sanjay Swani, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
Raymond ’80 Referenced in New Book Bolles alumnus and walk-on University of Florida football player Robert “Bobby” J. Raymond ’80 shares the lessons he learned through his football experience in Jim Roddy’s newly released book, “The Walk-on Method.” Raymond, who owns Brightway Fort Caroline, articulates how lessons he learned as a walk-on football player parlayed into a successful career as a business owner. His story is referenced in Chapter 30, which is titled “Focus Every Day.” Raymond walked on to the University of Florida football team in 1981 and worked his way up the roster to become the starting kicker his junior and senior years. In 1983, he led the Southeastern Conference in field goals made, field goal percentage and points beating out legendary player, Bo Jackson, as the top scorer in the conference. In 1984, he built on this success and again led the conference in field goals made, field goal percentage and points. “My experiences at Florida play a special role in my life and how I run my insurance agency, so when Jim approached me about sharing my story for his book, I was ecstatic to talk with him,” said Raymond. “It really was an exciting time in my life and to be able to share those memories in a book that can help others succeed in their own lives and businesses is truly rewarding.”
Fernando Acosta-Rua ’85 and Brooke Johnson Acosta-Rua ’84 1984 Board of Visitors: Carole Ann Coplan Greg Evans passed away unexpectedly on March 21, 2021.
58
| alumni |
In the book, Raymond says the focus he learned at Florida remains today, and he uses it to do the best job possible for his clients. He has been helping families in Northeast Florida protect their homes, vehicles and more since opening Brightway, Fort Caroline 11 years ago.
Dewayne Ferry was named to the Bolles Board of Trustees effective August 1, 2021. Seth Movsovitz is currently living in Ponte Vedra Beach with his wife, Kaki, and their four children. Kaki teaches 5th Grade at the Bolles Ponte Vedra Campus and Seth owns Ponte Vedra Home Care. Eleanor Somerset Acosta-Rua ’21, daughter of Fernando Acosta-Rua ’85 and Brooke Acosta-Rua, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
1986 Class Representative: Jeanine Gulliford jeaninegull@yahoo.com Board of Visitors: Peter R. Bream Jr. Board of Trustees: Charles (Charlie) Arnold III, Tatiana Radi Salvador Dee Brown will be returning to Jacksonville to take on the position of Executive Director of University and Athletic Relations at his college alma mater, Jacksonville University. In his new role, Dee will be helping to prepare coaches and student-athletes for leadership and success in athletics and life. Brown also was named to the Bolles Board of Trustees effective August 1, 2021. (See sidebar on page 60.) On Saturday, February 20, Richard Fannin helped host the inaugural Ribault River 5K in coordination with 1st Place Sports. Richard, the son of Buck Fannin founder of the River Run, decided to help coordinate this race to give back in support of longtime friend Anthony Stinson Sr. who started the Anthony Stinson Jr. Association for Change after the tragic passing of Anthony Stinson Jr. Proceeds from the community 5k race were directed toward helping those in need in the greater Ribault community and Fannin has plans to continue the Ribault River 5K tradition for many years to come. Members from the Class of ’86 along with Jane Pedrick and Nancy Pedrick Cusimano met on May 12, to interview David O. Pedrick ’86 Memorial Scholarship finalists in the Varn Boardroom on the Bolles Upper School San Jose Campus.
Matthew McAfee ’85 1985 Class Representative: Beth Rosenbaum Angelo bethangelo@aol.com Class Representative: Kimberly (Kim) Tucker Price kimtprice@gmail.com Board of Trustees: Fernando J. Acosta-Rua
Justin Cayenne is this year’s winner of the David O. Pedrick ’86 Memorial Scholarship Award. The award is presented each year at Commencement. Criteria for the award include: proven leadership ability; athletic achievement; artistic ability; promotion of Bolles through the exhibition of school spirit; a strong sense of compassion for all persons and the ability to form lasting bonds with a broad spectrum of persons, regardless of age or background; and a creative and distinctive sense of humor. Congratulations to this year’s winner, shown below with John Newman at graduation on May 29, 2021.
Board of Visitors: Terri Arnold Terri Arnold’s daughter, Jenna Mulligan, and the University of Michigan Women’s Gymnastic Team became NCAA National Champions in Fort Worth, TX on Saturday, April 17. Eleanor Somerset Acosta-Rua ’21, daughter of Fernando Acosta-Rua and Brooke Acosta-Rua ’84, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus. Meagan Dianne Donovan ’21, daughter of Celeste Rice Green, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus. Stuart Delaney McAfee ’21, son of Matthew Stuart McAfee, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
John Newman ’86 and Justin Cayenne ’21
summer 2021
59
After 21 years as Upper School Dean of Students, John Newman is moving to a new position in the Bolles Office of Advancement. Newman assumes the important role of Stewardship and Alumni Officer for the 2021–22 school year. (See sidebar on the right.) 1987 Class Representative: Michael (Mike) S. Wachholz Mwachholz02@comcast.net Class Representative: Ellis Barton ellis@moralesgroup.com Ford Harrell Milne ’21, son of Stephanie Risley Milne, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
Brown ’86 Returns to JU in Leadership Role Bolles alumnus Dee Brown ’86 is returning to Jacksonville and his college alma mater Jacksonville University as Executive Director of University and Athletic Relations, announced April 1 by JU Athletic Director Alex Ricker-Gilbert. Brown will be tasked with helping prepare coaches and student-athletes for leadership and success in athletics and life.
Stephanie Milne ’87 1988 Class Representative: Karen Rinaman Barakat karenbarakat@comcast.net Class Representative: Monica Bernhardt mburns92@comcast.net Class Representative: W. Scott Hudmon sargescott@aol.com Board of Trustees: John J. Schickel Lynda Leffler Gridley writes, “I am co-owner of Mandarin Reading Clinic, which I founded in 2014 to help students with dyslexia and reading comprehension deficits. We were named Best Tutoring Service in the Bold City Best contest.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Dee back to Jacksonville University,” Ricker-Gilbert said. “I have had the great fortune of getting to know Dee over the last several years and we are getting an absolute superstar in the industry. His arrival furthers our mission of putting our students at the forefront of everything we do. Dee will work with all of our student-athletes, coaches and staff to assist with their growth and development. He’s the exact fit that we needed for a role like this. He will be a leader on campus and beyond as we enhance our profile as a preeminent institution in the southeast. Welcome home, Dee!” During his Bolles career, Dee Brown helped the basketball team to back-to back state finals, earning All-State honors as a senior. At JU, he earned All-American Honorable Mention and All-Sun Belt Conference honors as a junior and senior. Brown was inducted into the JU Hall of Fame in 2008 and is one of just six Dolphins to have their jersey retired. He was drafted in the first round of the 1990 NBA draft, selected 19th by the Boston Celtics. He was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team and won the 1991 NBA Slam Dunk Contest with his memorable no-look dunk. Brown played 12 seasons in the NBA, also playing for the Toronto Raptors and retiring with the Orlando Magic. He went on to serve as a head coach in the WNBA and NBA G-League, an assistant coach in the NBA and general manager in the G-League. He has been an impactful servant-leader as well with involvement in a variety of community service efforts. In addition to his new role at JU, Brown was named to the Bolles Board of Trustees, effective August 1, 2021. Brown also returned to the San Jose Campus in January as the School honored him with the retirement of his #20 jersey during halftime of the Bolles-Bishop Kenny varsity boys basketball game on January 15.
60
| alumni |
Newman ’86 Joins Advancement Team
Andrew Selevan ’89
After 21 years as Upper School Dean of Students, John Newman is moving to a new position in the Bolles Office of Advancement. Newman assumes the important role of Stewardship and Alumni Officer for the 2021–22 school year. It will be his responsibility to expand the School’s efforts stewarding donors and engaging with alumni. A Vanderbilt University football alumnus and longtime Bolles baseball and football coach, Newman has been active and engaged in many facets of campus life during the past two decades. He and Kathy Newman ’86 have been on the Bolles faculty for many years and their three children are Bolles graduates.
Bradley Zimmerman ’89 1989 Class Representative: M. Laurie Shumer Gelman lsgelman@comcast.net Class Representative: K. (Megan) Mickler Ira megira@me.com Board of Trustees: Rahul V. Deshmukh Jacob Benjamin Selevan ’21, son of Andrew Selevan, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus. Samantha Morgan Zimmerman ’21, daughter of Bradley Darien Zimmerman, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
’90s
1990 Class Representative: Amy Hightower Beaver azbeaver@bellsouth.net
Class Representative: David A. Barton davidabarton@yahoo.com
summer 2021
61
Class Representative: Betsy Lande Givens betgivens@yahoo.com Board of Trustees: John S. Surface Board of Visitors: Ron T. Patrick Kip Stone passed away on January 31, 2021, in Roswell, Georgia. The Bolles Class of 1990 had a bumper crop of graduates in the Class of 2021. Those students and their alumni parents include: Ethan Asbury ’21, son of Thomas F. Asbury Avani Bansal ’21, daughter of Manisha Makker Bansal Griffin Bear Fender ’21, son of David V. Fender Militsa Aphrodite Kavalieros ’21, daughter of Nikolaos T. Kavalieros Caulder Elizabeth McGriff ’21, daughter of Andrea Hope McGriff ’91 and David Edwards McGriff
Manisha Bansal ’90
David McGriff ’90 and Andrea McGriff ’91
Nikolaos Kavalieros ’90
David Fender ’90
Thomas Asbury ’90
62
| alumni |
Nesty ’87 Named SEC Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year, Adds Women’s Team Duties
Bryan Andrew Stam ’91
Bolles alumnus Anthony Nesty ’87, now head coach of the University men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs, was named the Southeastern Conference Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year for the third straight season in 2021. Nesty led the Gators to their ninth SEC title in a row and 42nd title overall. The Gators placed third at the 2021 NCAA Championships, the program’s best finish since 2017. Nesty completed his third season as the Gators’ men’s head coach in 2021 and added women’s head coaching duties in April as Jeff Poppell, a former Bolles coach, left UF to become head coach at the University of South Carolina. Nesty, who swam at Florida and was a gold medalist in the 1988 Olympics, joined the UF staff as an assistant coach in 1999 and was promoted to associate head coach in 2006. He was named men's head coach in 2018 following the retirement of Gregg Troy, Nesty’s coach at Bolles.
Gray Camp ’91 1991 Class Representative: Elizabeth (Liz) Kilgore Mundin mundinl@bolles.org Class Representative: Norianne Wright noriannewright@yahoo.com Four members from the Class of 1991 held a mini 30-year reunion in Long Boat Key, Florida. (See photo below.)
Mike Riffe ’91, Chris Sweeney ’91, Dr. Kevin Barrett ’91 and Brian Dolan ’91 summer 2021
63
Caulder Elizabeth McGriff ’21, daughter of Andrea Hope McGriff and David Edwards McGriff ’90, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
1993 Class Representative: Matthew (Matt) T. Berquist mberquist@intrepidcapitalfunds.com
William Gray Camp ’21, son of Gray A. Camp, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus. Will was one of four legacy graduates from the Class of 2021 who also was a Bolles “Lifer.”
1994 Class Representative: Jason M. Winkler jasonwinkler@earthlink.net
Kristopher Mathew Stam ’21, son of Bryan Andrew Stam, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
Board of Trustees: Allison Korman Shelton
1992 Board of Visitors: Jamie P. Dwyer John Gunner Boree ’21, son of Gregory G. Boree, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus. Emily Grace Lekas ’21, daughter of Melinda Washington Lekas and Bryan James Lekas, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus. Emily was one of four legacy graduates from the Bolles Class of 2021 who also was a Bolles “Lifer.”
The Shelton and Downer Families Ali Shelton, husband Jamie and son Camp enjoyed pre-ballgame snacks before the Bolles baseball team took on the Bishop Kenny Crusaders on Thursday, March 25. (See photo above.) 1995 Class Representative: Leed Silverfield lsilverfield@yahoo.com Board of Trustees: Steven T. Gold Kevin Gillett passed away on February 15, 2021, from complications following a cardiac event. (See photo above.)
64
Gregory Boree ’92
Leila Alexandria Roberts ’21, daughter of Matthew Alan Roberts, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus. Leila is one of four legacy graduates from the Class of 2021 who also was a Bolles “Lifer.”
Bryan James Lekas ’92 and Melinda Washington Lekas ’92
Mathew Alan Roberts ’95
| alumni |
Shivani Shah Batra and Paritosh Batra welcomed their third child Veer Arjun Batra on February 16. Curtis and Sarah Rutherford welcomed twins Nora Lane Rutherford and Callum “Cal” Vincent Rutherford on March 6.
’00s
2000 Class Representative: Faye Hedrick fayemhedrick@gmail.com
Class Representative: Keri Kanehl Trevett trevettk@gmail.com Alumni Board: Justin Hart Board of Visitors: C. Clayton Bromberg Jr. George S. Pilcher III
Nicole Colbert Zauke ’96 1996 Class Representative: Fontaine LeMaistre IV fontainelemaistre@comcast.net Mark Arrowsmith is the tennis pro at Eagle Landing and also works in the nutritional field as co-founder of ArrowBar, an all-natural energy bar designed to provide supplemental support to athletes on the tennis court.
Emily Tanzler Myers married John Myers on December 12 at the Greyfield Inn in Cumberland Island, GA. 2001 Class Representative: Katie Skinner Farrar katie.s.farrar@gmail.com Class Representative: William O. Inman IV woinman4@gmail.com
Antanius Fields is the owner of Next Level Cleaning in Jacksonville, Florida.
Class Representative: Lloyd Regas lregas2@yahoo.com
Max Harrison Zauke ’21, son of Nicole Colbert Zauke, graduated from The Bolles School on Saturday, May 29, 2021 on the Bolles River Campus.
Alumni Board: Lauren Bacalis Scheible
1997 Alumni Board: Steve Kurosko Board of Visitors: Heidi S. Schauer 1998 Class Representative: Lindsay Skinner Eyrick lindsayeyrick@yahoo.com Board of Trustees: A. Chester Skinner IV Alumni Board: Adam Edgecombe, David Cohen Board of Visitors: Michael J. Verlander
Rose “Rosie” Elizabeth Longenecker After 13 years of working for Stewart-Haas Racing, Michael Verlander excitedly made the decision in May to join Kyle Busch Motorsports and the Kyle Busch Group. 1999 Class Representative: Christopher (Chris) C. Dostie ccdostie@hotmail.com
Lizzie Colledge Longenecker and her husband, Stanton Longenecker, have announced the birth of their daughter, Rose “Rosie” Elizabeth Longenecker, born on March 4, 2021. Matt Terry and Audrey Richardson Terry welcomed their second son Beau William Terry to the world on January 28.
Board of Visitors: Dennis E. Pash
summer 2021
65
2002 Class Representative: Elizabeth Brotman Daniel eabrotman@yahoo.com
2005 Class Representative: Gracie Williams Register c.gracie.williams@gmail.com
Class Representative: Margaret (Meg) Cheney Coleman meggie2431@aol.com
Board of Visitors: Kate Newton Jones
Class Representative: Carson Vandergriff Richardson carson.vandergriff@gmail.com Alumni Board: Carson Vandergriff Richardson, Heather Lane Courtney Terah E. Edwards is engaged to Irv Anthony. Natalie Soud Cobb and James Cobb welcomed daughter Clementine Alice Laurie Cobb on Wednesday, April 21. 2003 Class Representative: Rahul Sharma sharmar@bolles.org
On January 31, 2021, Kate Newton Jones married Kyle Jones at the Duke Mansion in Charlotte, NC. Gracie Williams Register and husband Brian Register ’03 welcomed the addition of Margaret “Rosie” Rhodes Register on April 28 to their family. John Russell and wife Hope welcomed daughter Emma Grace Russell on May 1. 2006 Class Representative: Ashley K. Rawlins akrawlins@gmail.com Alumni Board: Ashley K. Rawlins
Alumni Board: David Dunn, Carla M. Jones, John Langley Helen Sollee Kirk and husband Tommy Kirk welcomed their third child, Reagan Everly Kirk on New Years Day. Shannon Schott and her law firm, Plata Schott Attorneys & Counselors at Law, have been named to the Gator 100 for 2021 by the University of Florida. The Gator 100 celebrates the world’s fastestgrowing University of Florida alumni businesses. Platt Schott is a small Criminal and Personal Injury trial law firm in Jacksonville and have been honored for their legal work, as well as their dedication to mentorship and service of others both personally professionally and are recognized as leaders in Jacksonville and throughout Florida. Brett Wilson writes, “I currently work for Johnson Controls leading Commercial Finance for their North America Division and my wife, Ashley, is selling real estate in Palm Beach County. We spend our time boating and enjoying the beautiful waterways of Jupiter. We have two children, son Maclain, age 7, and daughter Chandler, age five. My wife Ashley and I have been married 11 years in November.” Brian Register and wife Gracie Williams Register ’05 welcomed the addition of Margaret “Rosie” Rhodes Register on April 28 to their family. 2004 Class Representative: Harry A. Kenning III harry.kenning@beeline.com
Hunter William Brim Melissa Bridy Brim and William Brim have announced the birth of the first child, a son, Hunter William Brim, born on November 19, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. Both Melissa and William are practicing dentists in Jacksonville, Florida. Taylore Solem Stokes and her husband, Chet Stokes, have announced the birth of their son, Chester “Chet” Stokes IV. Ryan Williams was promoted to Associate Director–Enterprise Sales at Swan Global Investments in January 2021 and is currently living in Central Florida. Sarah Jo Trimble Luby and her husband, Kyle, welcomed a new daughter to their family this year — Jane Carson Trimble.
Alumni Board: Harry Kenning Cannon Gaskin and wife Carolyn welcomed their first child, a baby girl. On April 16, Jon Kanak and fiancée Madison toured the Bolles Upper School Campus while Jon was in town visiting his mother and sister from California. Misha Khona Anand and husband Amit Anand welcomed their second child, daughter Ishara Riya Anand, on April 8.
2007 Class Representative: Michelle Risley Baker michelle.e.risley@gmail.com Class Representative: Allison Dewan allisondewan@gmail.com Board of Visitors: Allison T. Dewan, Caitlin Hayes
66
| alumni |
organization’s mission is to normalize conversations about these topics “making the experience more social and less shameful,” Magid said. “We had to make it cool to talk about your mental health,” she said. STS is branded “for millennials by millennials” with an emphasis on college students and young professionals. While colleges have counseling options available to students, those who have already graduated are likely to have a harder time finding guidance. “We’ve been told to believe we have to figure it all out by the time we graduate college and that’s what we’re going to do for the rest of our lives, when really that’s not true at all,” Magid said.
Magid ’11 Launches Mental Health Nonprofit By Sara Wasserman ’24 The Bugle Staff “We had to change the campus culture around asking for help,” said Gabrielle Magid ’11. Magid graduated from Bolles in 2011. Teachers remember her as always radiating a bubbly personality around campus including Pamela Clubb who recalled how “people could not help but notice her bright smile, sparkling eyes and warm spirit when she entered a classroom.” Through her experiences at the University of Florida and a trip to Israel, Magid founded Stronger Than Stigma, an organization that works to dismantle the stigma and misinformation surrounding mental health and create a community that brings people together. The
Tyler Hodges, Eric Stupski ’07 and Cathy Stupski Eric Stupski, mother Cathy and Head of School Tyler Hodges enjoy a night at the ballpark on March 25.
STS hosted comedy events that established a sense of relatability in viewers. In 2018, Magid took STS on an east coast comedy tour. The “Nobody’s Happy Comedy Tour” let people share their experiences through laughter in a comfortable and friendly environment. “Basically, we use improv comedy games and techniques to teach people coping skills,” Magid said. In 2019, the nonprofit created the first pop-up shop around mental health awareness. Located in downtown Jacksonville, “The Living Room” was a space Magid and her team created for people to gather for interactive and thoughtful conversations. Before the pandemic, Magid hoped to take “The Living Room” on the road. Now, they have created a stronger online presence by introducing weekly Un-Meetups over Zoom where people can discuss whatever they want and host a 31-day virtual event marathon. Magid is eager to continue with in-person events once it is safe to do so. The nonprofit’s mission is sharing the value of knowing you are not alone, something that is difficult to convey via Zoom. The STS organization includes an 8-person board and an advisory council that includes licensed clinicians, a psychiatrist, a lawyer and a finance executive.
Patrick Orman ’07 Patrick Orman and Abigail Shidel Orman were married on April 24, at the Courtyard Marriot in Marathon Key, Florida.
summer 2021
67
2008 Class Representative: Catharine A. Brown catharineabrown@gmail.com Class Representative: Christina H. Prewitt christyp@knights.ucf.edu Garrett Faircloth and his wife, Kyndal, announced the birth of their daughter, Faith Heidi Faircloth, born on July 14, 2020. On February 18, Dr. Todd Leibowitz returned to campus to visit Bolles’ Anatomage Table and received an hour long demonstration from Piper Moyer-Shad ’91. Recently, Leibowitz returned back home to Jacksponville and is a DO in the Emergency Room at Baptist Downtown among other local area hospitals. 2009 Class Representative: Mandana (Mandy) Fatemi mandyfatemi@yahoo.com Board of Visitors: T. Edward Salem Luke McGurrin and his firm, Greek House, have been named to the Gator 100 for 2021 by the University of Florida. The Gator 100 celebrates the world’s fastest-growing University of Florida alumni businesses. Greek House provides promotional apparel and accessories to businesses, fundraisers, student groups and organizations of all sizes. Their technology allows for professional design, vast product options and quick delivery. Ley Ley Francis ’09 and Charlie Griffin are engaged.
’10s
2010 Class Representative: Morgan O’Hare mohareaffair@gmail.com
Class Representative: William Hartje william.hartje@gmail.com
Hurst ’12 Receives NFLPA Community Award Bolles alumnus and Atlanta Falcons tight end Hayden Hurst ’12 was named the 2021 recipient of the NFL Players Association’s Alan Page Community Award, announced February 4. As the NFLPA’s highest honor, the Alan Page Community Award annually recognizes one player who demonstrates a profound dedication to positively impacting his team’s city and communities across the country, following in the spirit of the Pro Football Hall of Famer and social pioneer for whom the honor is named. In recognition, the NFLPA will donate $100,000 to The Hayden Hurst Family Foundation. “It is truly an honor to receive the 2021 Alan Page Community Award,” Hurst said. “I cannot begin to explain how much this means to me, my family and to all the people that we will now be able to help through the use of these funds.” The Hayden Hurst Family Foundation’s mission is to raise awareness of mental health issues in children and adolescents by funding mental health services and programs through donations and fundraising events.
Carolyn Alexander McLeod and her husband, Ryan McLeod, welcomed baby daughter Ladson Ann McLeod to their family on February 14, 2021. Jennifer Neal Fligor and her husband, Craig Fligor, have announced the birth of their son, John David “Jack” Fligor, on August 31, 2020. Students in Bolles Fine and Performing Arts Director Laura Rippel’s Production class enjoyed an hour-long Zoom conference with Bolles alumni and professional actors Will Ropp ’12 and Eric Vega. (See sidebar on page 78.) Annie Ungrady has earned her MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Virginia, where she studied undergrad as a Jefferson and Echols scholar. 2011 Class Representative: Ruth Curry Clements clements.curry@gmail.com
68
| alumni |
Board of Visitors: Lewis (Jake) S. Lee III Eilis Ryan graduated on May 25, 2021, from Johns Hopkins University with a Masters’ degree in Nursing. She will start work in the Pediatric ICU unit at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, in July. Ellie (Skinner) Reninger, Bolles Class of 2011, gave birth to Thomas Christopher Reninger on May 6th, 2021. ‘We feel so blessed to all be healthy,’ Ellie wrote. This is Ellie and husband, Aaron’s, third child. Gabrielle Magid founded Stronger Than Stigma, an organization that works to dismantle the stigma and misinformation surrounding mental health and create a community that brings people together. The organization’s mission is to normalize conversations about these topics “making the experience more social and less shameful,” Magid said. (See sidebar on page 67.)
Gaitantzis ’14 Guest Speaker in Robotics Class By Ian Wilkinson ’22 The Bugle Staff The daily rush-hour-like aerial activity at Naval Air Station Jacksonville had just begun and this nerdy, adventurous Bolles junior’s soul was soaring. “I’d sit out there during my free period and visualize myself doing that one day,” said Christine Gaitantzis ’14. Fast-forward seven years and she is flying the T-6 to NAS Jacksonville, right over Bolles, practicing landing and taking off on that runaway across the river. Her journey to piloting was not without turbulence. “My motto was always ‘if there’s a will, there’s a way,’” Gaitantzis said. “It turns out, that was false.” Gaitantzis began to fulfill her dream at the U.S. Naval Academy, where she dreamed of becoming a pilot. During junior year, students are measured physically as part of their medical exam. “I found out my arms were too short to be a pilot, so I was completely disqualified from aviation,” Gaitantzis said. “It rocked my world. I had the will, and I did everything humanly possible to become a pilot — all for that dream to be crushed over the length of my arms.” She persisted by hanging from a pull-up bar each day and refraining from weightlifting in hopes of lengthening her arms. Her last chance to make the arm length quota at a Pensacola measuring appointment rendered heartbreaking news, “still too short.” “Getting told I’d never fly, after making my life decisions around being a pilot was a huge obstacle to overcome,” Gaitantzis said. So, she changed direction — starting her summer training on water in preparation to serve as a Surface Warfare Officer. “In that time, I did a lot of soul-searching asking myself why was I at the Naval Academy if I wasn’t meant to be a pilot? That is when I realized that the Naval Academy is not about making my personal dreams come true,” she said. “It’s about becoming a leader and serving this country.”
She said she was finally able to come to terms with her new reality that she wanted to serve wherever she would make the most difference. Other plans, including a two-month sea training in California and Hawaii and obligations to attend the French Naval Academy for a semester began to take shape. Just days before she was to board a plane to France for her semester experience, she checked in with the “measuring lady” at the U.S. Naval Academy one last time — a friend had seen Gaitantzis’ name on a sticky note while she was in the office. “I emailed the measuring lady just to check in and see if the rule had in fact changed, and she said it did and that I was qualified!” Gaitantzis said. She did not get on the plane to France. Instead, she hustled to change course. “I gave up those six months for the chance to get measured in one day, which didn’t even mean I’d be selected to fly anyway. I had spent a whole summer on a ship after all, instead of training with aviators, so I wasn’t exactly high priority to be selected for a pilot.” She said the experience helped her understand even if someone has a will, it might not be what is meant for them. “It’s about serving in whatever way I’m needed. I feel I needed to learn that lesson, as well as fully lose my identity as a pilot, to have it given back to me by God or the universe or whatever you want to call it. Now I know that what I do does not make me who I am,” Gaitantzis said. “Once I got to the point where I was just so grateful to be attending college for free and to be on the path to serve as an officer, then the opportunity to fly presented itself to me again. And I chased it again. Except this time, becoming a pilot was not the end all be all. I was finally grounded in who I was as a person that I was ready and excited to accept whatever service selection I was given. Even now, one of her favorite flying memories occurred close to home — with her flying one of the planes she saw almost eight years ago from the Bolles River Campus.
summer 2021
69
Austin Knight ’18
Max Ferguson ’18
Clemente Inclan ’17
Five Bolles Alumni in NCAA Baseball Tournament Five Bolles alumni played in the 2021 NCAA Baseball tournament which began June 4 in regional sites across the country. This impressive number of Bulldog Baseball alums enjoyed success both individually and with their respective teams.
Austin Knight ’18 is a sophomore infielder on the UNC-Charlotte baseball team, the second seed in the Greenville, North Carolina regional. Knight earned Conference USA Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Conference USA honors. Knight transferred to Charlotte after a season at the University of Tennessee. Knight hit .342 with 11 home runs and 63 RBIs. He led the nation with 29 doubles and ranked second in C-USA with 79 hits. He was named a semifinalist for USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award, given to the top amateur baseball player in the country. Knight was also named a semifinalist by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) for the prestigious Dick Howser Trophy given to the top player in collegiate baseball. Clemente Inclan ’17 is a redshirt junior on the University of North Carolina baseball team, the third seed in the Lubbock, Texas regional. Entering the NCAA tournament, Inclan played in 31 games, starting 18, hitting .203 with six home runs and 13 RBIs. He was named ACC Player of the Week on March 15 after he became the first Tar Heel to homer in four-straight games since 2019. Hamp Skinner ’16 is a senior pitcher on the Samford University baseball team, the fourth seed in the Starkville, Mississippi regional. Through the Southern Conference tournament, Skinner appeared in 16 games, starting three, with a 5.95 ERA, 4–2 record and 35 strikeouts. He helped Samford to the Southern Conference tournament title, starting the final against Western Carolina where he pitched 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts, two earned runs and five hits with no walks in an 8–6 win. Skinner graduated this spring from Samford.
Max Ferguson ’18 is a junior infielder on the University of Tennessee baseball team, the third overall seed in the NCAA tournament and a regional host as a national seed. Through the Southeastern Conference Tournament Final, Ferguson started 60 games for the Vols, hitting .262 with 11 home runs, 10 doubles, 45 RBIs, a team-leading 15 stolen bases, a walk-off home run and walk-off single. He was named to the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list given annually to the top amateur baseball player as well as preseason All-America and All-SEC lists. Hunter Barco ’19 is a freshman pitcher on the University of Florida baseball team, the 15th overall seed in the NCAA tournament and a regional host as a national seed. Barco finished the regular season tied for third in the SEC in wins with a 9–2 record. Pitching in his first full season of collegiate play, Barco posted a 4.04 ERA through 14 regular season starts with a .242 batting average against and 92 strikeouts in 75.2 innings pitched. Barco earned his 10th win of the season in the SEC tournament on May 26, pitching all seven innings in the run-rule shortened 13–1 Gator victory. He allowed one run on four hits with two strikeouts. He was named to the All-Southeastern Conference Newcomer Team, announced by the SEC on May 24. Barco competed for the Gators at the start of the 2020 season before the remainder of the season was canceled last March, resetting his eligibility as a freshman in 2021.
70
| alumni |
Hunter Barco ’19
Hamp Skinner ’16
Bryce Newman ’16 ran into Hamp Skinner '16 in Greenville.
Travis Tyre ’11
Julianne Walker Gillis, MD ’13
Travis Allen Tyre III married Breanna Henry from Lake Mary, FL on March 21, 2021 in St. Augustine, FL. W. Alex Tyre ’17 and West Tyre ’20 were groomsmen. Talented photography student, Tucker Sharp ’23, photographed the rehearsal dinner. Travis and Breanna will reside in Tampa, FL.
Julianne Walker Gillis, MD earned her Bachelors of Science in Biology from The University of Georgia in 2017 and later earned her Medical Doctorate in May from The Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Gillis has accepted a residency in Orthopedic Surgery with Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
2012 Class Representative: Parker Wilf phwilf@aol.com Sarah Hamilton Cameron and her husband, Mike, welcomed their baby girl - Emma Rae Cameron, on March 21, 2021.
Ryan Murphy ’13
On March 19, 2021, the Hayden Hurst Family Foundation donated $43,000 to the Youth Crisis Center of Jacksonville following their second Annual Golf Tournament.
While gold medalist Ryan Murphy looks forward to defending his Olympic titles, he continues to advocate for water safety education and help prevent drowning deaths of children. Murphy partnered with Goldfish Swim School in 2019 and makes appearances, helps with fund raising, participates in virtual meet-and-greets, writes or shares information for blogs and articles and promotes water safety and Goldfish through social media. He wrote an Op-Ed published in USA Today on May 6, sharing his strong belief in the importance of swim lessons for children to prevent drownings.
Atlanta Falcons tight end Hayden Hurst was named the 2021 recipient of the NFL Players Association’s Alan Page Community Award, announced February 4. (See sidebar on page 68.)
Aurelio Muzaurieta, a Harvard graduate and medical student at the University of Michigan, was selected as one of the Chinese American Physicians Society’s four scholarship recipients this year.
Hayden Hurst Family Foundation
Students in Bolles Fine and Performing Arts Director Laura Rippel’s Production class enjoyed an hour-long Zoom conference with Bolles alumni and professional actors Will Ropp and Eric Vega ’10. (See sidebar on page 78.) Molly Ungrady graduated from Washington and Lee University and is currently a PhD doctoral candidate in clinical neuro psychology. 2013 Board of Visitors: Ryan F. Murphy Hunter Geddes and Jenna McLeod Geddes were married on Saturday, May 8 in Amelia Island, FL.
Aurelio Muzaurieta ’13 summer 2021
71
2014 Shelby Condron married Jack Magri on Saturday, May 8 in North Carolina.
Patrick Glover recently completed his first year of medical school at Emory University. Morgan Ungrady graduated from the University of Florida and is a NASDAQ senior analyst and evening law student. Hunter Walker was married to Abigail Reddic on March 27, 2021 at the Montage Palmetto Bluffton in Bluffton, South Carolina. Jake Bistrong passed away unexpectedly in Los Angeles in June. 2015 Jake Schwartz writes, “I am very excited to announce that I will be starting as a mechanical engineer at Myomo, Inc. in January. I’m looking forward to being back in Boston, and the opportunity to be a part of such an innovative team!”
Shelby Condron ’14
Daniella Pierson ’16
Pierson ’16, Pierson ’16 Hitting New Heights for Business Success Daniella Pierson ’16 and Alexandra Pierson ’16, who writes under the pen name Alex Aster, are making industry waves in New York City with their savvy and successful media ventures. Alex, the young adult middle grade fiction author of “Curse of the Night Witch” and “Lightlark,” received a Kirkus Star for her works. “Curse of the Night Witch” was listed as one of Amazon’s best children’s books of 2020. She has gained prominence for the smart ways she has utilized social media app TikTok for the spring 2021 promotion of “Lightlark.” A teaser video for the book “racked up 1.2 million views, 278,000 likes and more than 7,000 comments — and it’s just scored Aster a six-figure book deal with Amulet Books” according to a recent article in Bustle.com. She was on a book tour through New York, New Jersey, Washington DC and south through Florida in early summer. Her second book was published June 8.
72
| alumni |
Alexandra Pierson ’16 Read the Bustle.com article here: https://www.bustle.com/ entertainment/alex-aster-lightlark-tiktok-quotes Sister Daniella also has been successful harnessing the monetary power of social media. She launched a daily newsletter for women called “Newsette” in 2015 while she was a sophomore at Boston University. Today, the newsletter reaches more than “500,000 subscribers and…has raked in more than $6 million in revenue for 2021,” according to an article on CNBC.com. She also has partnered with fashion icon and designer Diane von Furstenberg to produce her weekly newsletter, “The Weekly Wrap.” According to the CNBC article, Pierson said the reason her 10-person company has done so well is “because we’ve had such a dead-set focus on growing our audience via email and having an intimate conversation with our readers. I’m so glad that we focused so much on building that community and experience.” Read the CNBC article here: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/29/ how-newsette-founder-turned-a-newsletter-into-a-million-dollarbusiness.html
Jones ’17 Drafted 15th by the Patriots to Cap Incredible Final College Season Mac Jones ’17 was drafted with the 15th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots on April 29. Jones becomes the highest NFL draft pick in Bolles history, above Hayden Hurst ’12 at 25th in 2018. He also will become the 13th NFL player in Bolles history and 20th alumnus in top-level professional sports. Jones will now have played for three of the most successful coaches at their respective levels in Corky Rogers, Nick Saban and Bill Belichick. Jones and his family were in Cleveland for the draft where he walked on stage to greet NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and pose for photos with his new team’s uniform. Fans can already purchase a Jones jersey. Jones’ parents, Holly and Gordon, were interviewed during the draft on ABC as well. Jones declared for the NFL draft following his award-filled and championship-winning redshirt junior season at the University of Alabama. In his first full season as the Alabama starting quarterback, Jones led the Crimson Tide to a perfect 13–0 record, the College Football Playoff National Championship and Southeastern Conference Championship. He led the nation in passing yards (4,500), completion percentage (77.4), passer rating (203.06) and yards per attempt (11.2) and was also second in passing touchdowns (41) and third in passing yards per game (346.2). Jones became the first Alabama quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a single year. He finished the season with a 77.4 completion percentage, a new single-season record in college football. Jones was named a consensus All-American, was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and won the Manning Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and Davey O’Brien Award.
and Saban addressed the crowd and the 2020 national championship flag was raised in the stadium. Prior to the game, Alabama’s annual Walk of Fame Ceremony was held at Denny Chimes where Saban, along with the 2019 and 2020 captains, including Jones, addressed the crowd. The captains then left prints of their hands and cleats in the concrete as they joined a long list of Crimson Tide greats. During his final season at Alabama and into the start of his NFL career, Jones has been the subject of numerous national media stories, many noting his personal and athletic development at Bolles. Prior to the NFL Draft, two of his lower school teachers, Dawn Collins and Jill Bobbitt, were interviewed by NFL.com and First Coast News. They shared stories, videos and images from his time as a student and his frequent visits back to his alma mater to visit them and speak with current students.
Jones and his teammates were honored following the Crimson Tide’s 2021 A-Day Game on April 17. At the conclusion of the game Jones
summer 2021
73
Alex Muzaurieta ’15 Alex Muzaurieta, who graduated from Syracuse University’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management in 2017, completed the two year Financial Management Program at General Electric with postings at Schenectady, New York Power Plant and the Atlanta, Georgia corporate offices. 2016 Alumni Board Member: Roland Johnson
Rivera ’19 Guest Speaker in Robotics Class Bolles alumnus Chase Rivera ’19, while home in Bolles Hall with his dorm parent family on winter break, was a guest speaker in Gloria Wood’s robotics class in January.
Alumni baseball players at Bolles-Providence 4-13 game - Alex Hilf ’13, Austin Henson ’16, Jonathan DeWane ’16 Hamp Skinner married Amanda Kilduff on January 9. A senior pitcher on the Samford University baseball team, Skinner is one of five Bolles alumni who played in the 2021 NCAA Baseball tournament. (See sidebar on page 70.) Joseph King made a visit to campus and caught up with faculty Linda Nettles and Jennifer Gomez (shown in photo below) and many others including John Newman ’86 . King recently graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he studied economics and played football. He is headed to Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia for a year then on to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.
A student at the U.S. Naval Academy, Rivera recently declared his major in robotics. He shared his experiences in the college-level study of robotics with about 20 at-home and on-campus learners. Rivera revealed his passion for technology began during his sophomore robotics class at Bolles and told students how important it is for them to learn how to build and program robots. Wood said his visit was highlighted by a review of some programming scripts he made in college. “The robotics students really benefited from his visit, he was great,” Wood said.
Henry Johnson has earned his Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Florida. He will soon be relocating to Dallas, Texas, to work for Texas Instruments. Joseph King made a visit to campus and caught up with faculty Linda Nettles and Jennifer Gomez (shown in photo to the left) and many others including John Newman ’86 . King recently graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he studied economics and played football. He is headed to Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia for a year then on to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.
Joe King ’16
74
| alumni |
McKinney ’19 Establishes First Black Student-Run Paper at FAU
Mac Jones ’17 and Kevin Kaplan ‘95 Clemente Inclan, a redshirt junior on the University of North Carolina baseball team, is one of five Bolles alumni who played in the 2021 NCAA Baseball tournament. (See sidebar on page 70.)
Kennedy McKinney ’19 has been featured in several publications and platforms lately lauding her founding of The Paradigm Press, Florida Atlantic University’s first Black newspaper. Some are describing the founding as the first Black student-run newspaper at a predominantly white institution. McKinney, who serves as The Paradigm Press’ editor-in-chief, founded the publication March 1, 2020. The press’ mission is to “highlight and tell the stories of the Black community at Florida Atlantic University, where McKinney is majoring in journalism. We believe that our community needs more attention and we plan on being the voice for the Black population,” its website reads. The paper covers everything from student life to sports and highlights problems in the community while advocating for change, it reads. The Paradigm Press can be found at www.theparadigmpress.com. A recent story in an April 18 insert issue of The Sun-Sentinel highlights McKinney’s work in its listing of Legacy South Florida’s Most Powerful and Influential Black Business Leaders of 2021. McKinney is the cover story for the issue.
2017 Bolles alumni Mac Jones and Dr. Kevin Kaplan ’95, Head Team Physician for the Jacksonville Jaguars, visit during the 2021 NFL Combine in March in Indianapolis, Indiana. Alan Perry is graduating from Boston university with a Bachelor of Arts degree in medical science and a minor in economics summa cum laude. He also continues to play the tuba, a lifelong musical ability he sharpened in the Bolles Band!
Andrew Siguler ’16 Andrew Siguler, currently a senior at University of Notre Dame, has been accepted into the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) for the fall of 2021. He will be working towards an MA in International Relations and a Certificate in Chinese Studies. SAIS consistently ranks as one of the top MA in IR programs in the world. The first year of the program will be hosted at the Hopkins Nanjing Center, which is a joint venture between Johns Hopkins and Nanjing University, where Andrew will be taking all of his coursework in Mandarin. The second year of the program will have him in Washington, D.C. at the main SAIS campus, working towards the MA in International Relations. From an early age, Siguler developed and cultivated his passion and talent for the Chinese language and culture. He began taking Chinese courses at the Bolles Middle School Bartram Campus with teacher Chengmei Rothschild. On the Bolles Chinese Exchange program, he spent his sophomore year in a Chinese high school in Beijing. To give back to the community that sparked and grew his love for Chinese learning, Andrew returned to Bolles during his junior year at college as Rothschild’s guest speaker to share his experiences and knowledge about China with current students.
summer 2021
75
Riley Coonan ’17 Riley Coonan earned several accolades in her senior season on the Wofford College volleyball team. Coonan received AVCA East Coast All-Region Honorable Mention, was named to the All-Southern Conference First Team, named to the Southern Conference All-Tournament First Team and named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week for February 16–22. Coonan started all 17 matches for the Terriers, tallying team-highs in points (226.5) and kills (181).
Crosby ’19 Founds ‘Gravity Magazine’ Julian Crosby ’19 is the founder of a recently launched online publication called Gravity Magazine, created last summer by members of the National Association of Black Journalists at the University of Miami. It is the university’s first magazine entirely dedicated to celebrating Black creative essence and spirit. Crosby published the first edition in August 2020. The magazine has been produced online monthly ever since and includes written pieces and photographs by Black journalists, photographers, videographers and writers covering issues and personal experiences related to art, city, voice and culture. The magazine has received acclaim from the greater community and the University of Miami, which showcased Crosby’s efforts in an early-February News@TheU web story titled, “Sophomore launches magazine to amplify Black voices.” In January, “The Conversationalist” recognized Crosby as an “exceptional Gen-Zer for his impact on the community by using his voice to make a difference.”
Graham Ungrady ’17 with sisters Annie Ungrady ’10, Molly Ungrady ’12 and Morgan Ungrady ’14
“For me, this magazine is a reason to be motivated to get up every day,” Crosby said in the University of Miami News@ TheU story. “I feel like a have a story to tell and I won’t be satisfied until I tell it.”
Graham Ungrady recently graduated from The United States Military Academy at West Point as a U.S. Army Second Lieutenant from the John F. Kennedy School of Warfare. While at West Point, Ungrady earned many titles including combat diver, air assault and Army West Point Swim and Dive Captain. He is shown here at graduation with sisters Annie Ungrady ’10, Molly Ungrady ’12 and Morgan Ungrady ’14. Christian Glover recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from the FSU School of Business. Maria Muzaurieta just completed her Masters Degree in Real Estate Development at the University of Florida Graduate School. She received her bachelor’s degree in Economics at the University of Michigan and has begun a career in real estate development with Athens, Georgia-based Landmark Properties.
Maria Muzaurieta ’17
76
| alumni |
2018 Austin Knight, a sophomore on the UNC Charlotte baseball team, earned several individual honors and is one of five Bolles alumni who played in the 2021 NCAA Baseball tournament. (See sidebar on page 70.) Max Ferguson ’18, a junior infielder on the University of Tennessee baseball team, is one of five Bolles alumni who played in the 2021 NCAA Baseball tournament. (See sidebar on page 70.)
Hicks ’19 Exceling for Stanford Cross Country and Track Charles Hicks ’19 is exceling for the Stanford cross country and track teams in his redshirt freshman season. In a COVID-altered cross country season, pushing the postseason into March, Hicks led the Cardinal to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on March 15 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He placed 14th individually to earn All-American honors. He placed second and led Stanford to the team title at the Pac 12 Cross Country Championships held March 5 in University Place, Washington. Hicks placed seventh in the 10K to earn first team All-America honors. He ran a personal best in the 5K, placing 15th and earning second team All-America honors. Hicks earned Pac-12 Conference Men’s Track Athlete of the Week honors on April 21. In his first collegiate 5,000-meter race on the track, Hicks won the event at the West Coast Classic on April 17 in Eugene, Oregon. He qualified in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter runs for the NCAA Championships, held June 9–12 in Eugene, Oregon. Along the way, Hicks is also on the radar of British track and field. Born in London, Hicks already has competed for the United Kingdom, leading the Under-20 team to victory at the European Cross Country Championships in 2019. He qualified for the 2021 UK Olympic trials and will compete in the 5K on June 26 in Manchester, England. Hicks’ 10,000-meter personal record ranks second all-time by less than one second among British athletes under 20 years of age.
James T. Omolor ’18 with sister Hannah Edwards ’23 James T. Omlor graduated from the United States Marine Corps boot-camp on May 14, 2021. He is officially a U.S. Marine and a bulldog for life. Lucianne Rosario spent the month of February in Puerto Rico working as a volunteer at the Puerto Rico School of Medicine vaccinating patients for COVID-19 all while taking a full semester of classes at George Washington University. During her Freshman and Sophomore years of college, Rosario also worked as a paid intern for The National Institute for Health as a volunteer researcher in the neuroscience research lab. 2019 Julian Crosby is the founder of a recently launched online publication called “Gravity Magazine,” created last summer by members of the National Association of Black Journalists at the University of Miami. It is the university’s first magazine entirely dedicated to celebrating Black creative essence and spirit. (See sidebar on page 76.) Chase Rivera ’19 was a guest speaker in Gloria Wood’s robotics class this winter. A student at the U.S. Naval Academy, Rivera recently declared his major in robotics. He shared his experiences in the college-level study of robotics with about 20 at-home and on-campus learners. (See sidebar on page 74.) Julia Butler is a Sophomore Honors Student and Teaching Assistant at William & Mary. She is pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Data Science, but also interested in Chinese language and culture as well.
summer 2021
77
Kennedy McKinney, a sophomore at Florida Atlantic University, has established the first Black student-run newspaper at the university. Founded in March 2020, the mission of the newspaper is to, “highlight and tell the stories of the Black community at Florida Atlantic University, where McKinney is majoring in journalism. We believe that our community needs more attention and we plan on being the voice for the Black population…” (See sidebar on page 75.) Charles Hicks is exceling for the Stanford cross country and track teams in his redshirt freshman season. (See sidebar on page 77.) Hunter Barco, a freshman on the University of Florida baseball team, was named to the All-Southeastern Conference Newcomer Team and is one of five Bolles alumni who played in the 2021 NCAA Baseball tournament. (See sidebar on page 70.)
Professional Actors, Alumni Share Experiences With Students Students in Bolles Fine and Performing Arts Director Laura Rippel’s Production class enjoyed an hour-long Zoom conference with Bolles alumni and professional actors Will Ropp ’12 and Eric Vega ’10.
Chase Rivera ’19 Chase Rivera returned to campus for a visit and to see his sister, Layne, graduate with the Class of 2021 and in the same spot he did two years ago. Chase attends the U.S. Naval Academy and enjoyed being back on campus and catching up with history teachers Cormac O’Riordan and Danton Kostandarithes, along with his Dad and another beloved teacher and coach Mike Rivera. One of the last times Rivera was on campus was during his winter break when he was a guest speaker in Gloria Wood’s robotics class. Rivera recently declared his major in robotics. He shared his experiences in the college-level study of robotics with about 20 at-home and on-campus learners. (See sidebar on page 74.)
’20s
2020 Jenna Mulligan, a freshman on the University of Michigan gymnastics team, joined her teammates in celebrating Michigan’s first-ever gymnastics national title. The Wolverines won the NCAA Championships, held April 16–17 in Fort Worth, Texas, with a program-best score.
78
| alumni |
Both professional actors based in Los Angeles, the alumni guest speakers have achieved successful careers. Ropp has starred in several major motion pictures and projects including “The Way Back” and “Silk Road,” while Vega is a writer and content creator and also starred in award-winning short film, “Postal.” Ropp and Vega talked to students about the differences between acting for the stage and acting for the screen. They stressed the importance of creating individualized content and shared some of their favorite parts of being professional actors. “It was great to see them and the students appreciated them taking time to meet with them,” Rippel said. “I personally think there is no better resource for our students than alumni sharing their experiences post-Bolles.”
Ruperto ’20 Aces Gap Year By Atticus Dickson ’22 The Bugle Staff While most of her peers migrated online for their freshman year of college, Annie Ruperto ’20 went on a gap year in 2020 that included two internships and a service trip to Costa Rica. Ruperto is truly a polymath, as co-valedictorian of the Class of 2020 with plans to double major in physics and classics at Harvard starting in the 2021–22 school year. Over the past year, she has done an internship at the Ackerman Cancer Center “[doing] computer coding.” Ruperto said she will likely go into a similar business via medical physics. To become a medical physicist, you need to either major in applied or theoretical physics. Ruperto also is finishing up her second internship of the 2020–21 school year at a local investment company. Her job there is running fixed income stock reports, as well as doing research into wise investment options for the company.
Jenna Mulligan ’20 Dennis Rao has been named to Wake Forest University’s Dean’s List for the fall 2020 semester. Dennis transferred enough credits to Wake Forest University and became sophomore status before the freshman year.
“Logical thinking skills and research skills [I learned in high school] have been very helpful,” she said. Ruperto has been savoring the freedom of playing recreational hockey over the gap year with the adult league at Jacksonville Ice and Sportsplex. She has been playing hockey for ten years and currently plays left wing. “The best part is the feeling when you get to score,” she said. After her second internship ends, Ruperto plans to go to Costa Rica on a service trip through EF Gap Year. She will be learning Spanish and participating in service and conservation work. As for college in the coming spring, Ruperto said she is excited to return to some semblance of normalcy. “I’m just really looking forward to meeting new people and getting back into classes.” Ruperto plans to continue her study of classics and plans to major in physics. She said she would absolutely recommend a gap year to anyone considering taking one. “I feel like taking a year to do whatever, volunteer, work, travel, spend time with family, helps decompress your mind and takes a lot of the pressure and stress from school and entering a new phase of life off you,” she said.
Olivia Candelino ’20 Olivia Candelino, a forward on the Auburn University soccer team, was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week on March 15. Candelino scored the lone goal in the Tigers’ 1–0 win over Georgia on March 14. Candelino played in 17 of 18 games, starting eight, in her first season with Auburn. She tallied three goals and an assist on the season. While most of her peers migrated online for their freshman year of college, Annie Ruperto went on a gap year in 2020 that included two internships and a service trip to Costa Rica. (See sidebar on the left.) Trey Zaccour made straight A’s during his first year at the University of Central Florida. Zaccour is majoring in Computer Science.
summer 2021
79
November 18
7400 San Jose Boulevard Jacksonville, Florida 32217 Change Service Requested DATED MATERIAL, PLEASE DELIVER ASAP