Fall 2015 Brooks Bulletin

B

BROOKS BULLETIN • FALL 2015

TH E I N AUG URAL A L L-SC HOOL R EAD

BOA R D OF T RU ST E ES

Steven R. Gorham ’85, P’17 Andover, Mass.

Whitney Romoser Savignano ’87 Manchester, Mass.

President William N. Booth ’67, P’05 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Valentine Hollingsworth III ’72, P’17 Dover, Mass.

Lynne A. Sawyer ’83 New York, N.Y.

Vice Presidents W. J. Patrick Curley III ’69 New York, N.Y.

Robert W. Hughes P’16, P’19 Andover, Mass.

Ashley Wightman Scott ’84, P’11, P’14 Manchester, Mass.

Booth D. Kyle ’89 Seattle, Wash.

Ramakrishna R. Sudireddy P’15 Andover, Mass.

Zachary S. Martin P’15, P’17 Wellesley, Mass.

Isabella Speakman Timon ’92 Chadds Ford, Penn.

Zachary J. McCabe ’15 North Andover, Mass.

Alessandro F. Uzielli ’85 Beverly Hills, Calif.

Paul L. Hallingby ’65 New York, N.Y. Treasurer Donald R. Peck P’11, P’14 Lexington, Mass.

TRUSTE E S E M E RITI Henry M. Buhl ’48, P’82 New York, N.Y. Steve Forbes ’66, P’91 Bedminster, N.J. James G. Hellmuth P’78 Lawrence, N.Y. H. Anthony Ittleson ’56, P’84, P’86 Green Pond, S.C. Michael B. Keating ’58, P’97 Boston, Mass.

Frank A. Kissel ’69, P’96, P’99 Far Hills, N.J.

T RU ST E ES Pamela W. Albright P’10, P’16 Topsfield, Mass.

Timothy H. McCoy ’81, P’14, P’15, P’18 Wellesley, Mass.

John R. Barker ’87 Wellesley, Mass.

Albert D. Nascimento ’10 Somerville, Mass.

Peter W. Nash ’51, P’81, P’89 Concord, Mass.

Kamilah M. Briscoe ’96 Queens Village, N.Y.

John R. Packard Jr. P’18 Head of School

Cera B. Robbins P’85, P’90 New York, N.Y.

Anthony H. Everets ’93 New York, N.Y.

Daniel J. Riccio P’17 Los Gatos, Calif.

Jonathan F. Gibbons ’92 Needham, Mass.

Belisario A. Rosas P’15 Andover, Mass.

Eleanor R. Seaman P’86, P’88, P’91 Hobe Sound, Fla.

Peter A. Nadosy ’64 New York, N.Y.

David R. Williams III ’67 Beverly Farms, Mass.

A fall afternoon at Brooks.

2

BROOKS BULLETIN

B CON TEN TS

BU L L E T I N • FA L L 2 0 1 5

Head of School John R. Packard Jr.

24

04

Associate Head for External Affairs Jim Hamilton Director of Development Gage S. Dobbins Director of Alumni and Parent Events Erica Callahan Assistant Director of Alumni Programs Kevin Corkery

51

Director of Admission Bini W. Egertson

Director of Communications and Marketing Dan Callahan Director of Publications Rebecca A. Binder Design Lilly Pereira Alumni Communications Manager Emily Williams Assistant Director of Communications Tom Owen

Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. Opinions expressed in the Bulletin are those of the authors and not necessarily of Brooks School.

Correspondence concerning the Bulletin should be sent to Editor Rebecca A. Binder: mail Editor, Brooks Bulletin 1160 Great Pond Road North Andover, MA 01845 email rbinder@brooksschool.org phone (978) 725-6326 © 2015 Brooks School

FEAT U R ES

24 Food Tastes Better when Shared

Carolina Santos-Neves ’99 takes her restaurant patrons on a whirlwind trip over international borders, all from a cozy restaurant nestled in New York’s Greenwich Village.

32 The Seeds of Inspiration: The Arts at Brooks The arts have always been a part of the pulse of life at Brooks: In this first part of a two-part exploration of the arts at Brooks, the Bulletin introduces Brooksians with careers in the performing arts.

D E PA RT M E N TS 02 Message from the Head of School 03 News + Notes 15 Special Section: The Summit 47 Brooks Connections 54 Class Notes 96 Parting Shot

40 Remembering Anna, Remembering Joe

Brooks suffered a tragic loss in July, when board member Joe Trustey P’13, P’16 and his daughter, Anna Trustey ’16, passed away in a plane crash. This feature-length remembrance explores the unending ways in which Joe and Anna bettered the places around them.

ON THE COVER: Erinn Lee ’16, along with other Brooks students and faculty, spent her summer reading “Enrique’s Journey,” the selection for the school’s first All-School Read. The book follows a Honduran boy’s dangerous trip to the United States.

It was the centerpiece of classroom discussion, guest speakers and extracurricular activities this fall.

Photo: Valerie Nam ’16

A MESSAGE FROM JOHN R. PACKARD JR. HEAD OF SCHOOL

Deepening & Broadening

“ The combination of the two will deepen and broaden the student experience, and move us in the direction of ensuring the school’s future.”

2

If it is true that all of us at Brooks spend September getting acclimated and gradually finding our way to a cruising speed, then it is also true that we spend October and November testing that pace in every way we can. Along the way, I have found myself in the vicinity of deep and broad engagement at every turn.

There are new and returning students discovering and furthering passions in and out of the classroom. Our faculty’s enthusiasm for new courses and new experiences has been palpable. We had a wonderful Parents Weekend with more parents attending than we can ever recall.

Our board of trustees, alumni board, and a number of additional alumni, alumnae and parents shared a day on campus at our second Summit in mid-October. We are enjoying our first full year in the spectacularly renovated Ashburn Chapel. We are excited to be on track for our fifth Winter Term in January. Indeed, the school at the moment is excelling.

During our Summit, we stepped in the direction of launching The Campaign for Brooks. In so doing, we focused on what we need to pursue at this point in the school’s history, and why this combination of projects and initiatives is so critical. We spent the balance of the day making a case for financial aid endowment and an arts facility, including a new theater. This edition of the Bulletin will begin to reveal the progress we have made and continue to make in the arts at Brooks — a deeper and broader program, a revised academic schedule to accommodate that program, and a shift to major courses in music, theater, and visual art. A new arts facility will allow us to

realize the program we are pursuing, and will improve our ability to compete for students interested in the arts. A pronounced shift in our financial aid capacity will make a Brooks School education increasingly accessible to the many talented students interested in our school. The combination of the two will deepen and broaden the student experience, and move us in the direction of ensuring the school’s future.

As this edition of the Bulletin will also note, the beginning to this school year was more challenging than any I can recall, with the loss of Anna ’16 and Joe Trustey P’13, P ’16 still present for all of us. I have been proud of the way the faculty and student body have supported one another since the accident, and this community-wide effort has continued.

We were counseled early on to seek ways to integrate the grief we were feeling into our lives and to try to celebrate all that was so wonderful about Anna and Joe. In dedicating our new turf field Anna K. Trustey Memorial Field, we took a big step in that direction.

In my opening Chapel address in September, I noted that Anna and Joe Trustey loved Brooks School, and that their love had been earned through their own experiences here. Yet, both believed a deeper and broader and better Brooks School was always within reach. We move forward in this spirit, proud of who we are in the moment, excited about what we might still be, and certain that your support and engagement will be crucial to our success. I look forward to seeing you through the year and wish you all a pleasant holiday season.

B RO O KS BULLETIN

N EWS + N OT ES

NEWS + NOTES

Annabelle Leeson ’18 conducts a flame test in chemistry class. Leeson holds a sample of a chemical compound to a flame.

Changes to the color of the flame indicate which elements are present in the compound.

IN THIS SECTION 04 In the Classroom 06 News from Campus 10 Campus Scene 15 Special Section: The Summit 20 Athlete Spotlight 22 Athletics News

N EWS + NOTES

I N T H E C LASS RO O M

All-School Read Spans Brooks Programming Axidi Iglesias ’19

Brooks launched its inaugural All-School Read initiative over the summer. All students and faculty read a book that examines the hot-button issue of immigration: “Enrique’s Journey,” the story of a Honduran teenager’s harrowing journey to the United States, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sonia Nazario (see “Required Reading,” Brooks Bulletin, Summer 2015, page 10).

Over the fall term, Brooks faculty integrated the book into classes ranging in subject matter from physics to history, and two alumni gave chapel speeches on their experiences with immigration.

Nazario visited campus for two days in October. She gave a riveting presentation to the school community, she visited classes and she met with students.

NAZARIO PR ES E N TS

On October 1, Nazario presented to students, faculty and other members of the Brooks community on her reporting, and on the complex political and legal landscape surrounding immigration in the United States. She also engaged in a lively question-and-answer period with students and faculty.

4

Chair of the History Department and Chair of the All-School Read Committee Susanna Waters introduced Nazario. Waters spoke of the power of an individual’s story to humanize a narrative that otherwise represents a faceless mass, and credited Nazario with telling a story “that desperately needed to be told.”

Nazario’s speech touched on many topics related to immigration: Her own experiences growing up in Argentina during the government’s attempts to quell dissent, which inspired her to become a journalist; her experiences riding on the tops of freight trains through Mexico, reporting on unaccompanied minors who make the dangerous trip to the United States that she described as “a modern-day ‘Odyssey’”; the perilous situations in their home countries that push children north; and the American political, legislative and judicial systems that immigrants to the United States are controlled by.

“I love these all-school reads, because kids tell me that the book changed their view,” Nazario told the Bulletin. “I hope that it helps them to see the immigration issue in a new and more complex way.”

A LU M N I S P E A K I N C HA P E L

Two alumni returned to Brooks on September 28 to give Chapel speeches on their experiences with immigration. Albert Nascimento ’10, who was born in Cambridge, Mass., and grew up living with his grandparents in Somerville, Mass., told the audience about his father, who was deported from the United States to Brazil multiple times during Nascimento’s childhood. He also spoke about the family’s financial difficulties, which he attributed largely to the lack of work available for those who speak only rudimentary English.

B RO O KS BULLETIN

N EWS + N OT ES

Diana Valdes ’05, who was brought to the United States as a small child, told the rapt audience about the difficulties her immigration status has created in her life. Although Valdes excelled at Brooks, her immigration status kept her from applying to many colleges. She matriculated to a community college, then transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, but she was ineligible to receive financial aid. Valdes hopes to one day qualify for citizenship.

BROOKS PLAYS FL AT STANL EY

Over the summer, students and faculty took photos of themselves reading “Enrique’s Journey” wherever they were — at the beach, at home or traveling in an exotic locale. These so-called “flat Stanley” photos are available online at www.brooksschoolphotos.com.

A BO O K C LU B

Brooks held a book club during seated dinner on September 22. Students, faculty and staff had a chance to discuss “Enrique’s Journey” around the dinner table, while enjoying themed food and décor.

A F ILM SCR E ENI NG

Students watched a screening of the film “Documented” in midOctober. The film follows Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who revealed himself as an undocumented immigrant in 2011. “Documented” examines Vargas’s childhood journey to America, his work as an immigration reform advocate and his attempts to connect with his mother, whom he has not seen in more than two decades.

N A ZA RI O V I S I TS C L ASS ES

OVERHEARD

ALL-SCHOOL READ EDITION

“I was impressed by the students’ pointed questions and Nazario’s ability to cultivate authentic dialogue in our classroom.”

English teacher STEPH HOLMES

“Meeting Sonia was the first time I have ever been around another Latina who is as successful as she is. I’ve never met another Latino who has the power and opportunity she has. It was a really memorable moment for me.”

Nazario visited three classes on October 2: Axel Galeano’s Spanish II class, Eddie Carson’s AP World History class, and a combined class of Immigration Literature, taught by Leigh Perkins ’81, and English II, taught by Steph Holmes.

Students had the opportunity to ask Nazario detailed questions about everything from immigration policy to how she chooses the subjects she reports on.

M E E T I N G W I T H ST U D E N TS

Nazario interacted with students throughout her time on campus, but she made a special point of eating meals with students. A group of students joined Nazario for dinner in the Frick Dining Hall before her all-school presentation. Nazario also had lunch with student group Alianza Latina the following day.

A VA LUA B L E P RO G RA M

In September, Chair of the History Department and Chair of the All-School Read Committee Susanna Waters presented to the faculty on productive ways to incorporate and discuss the charged issue of immigration in classes.

The faculty discussed co-curricular planning to avoid repetition and oversaturation, and reviewed language and terms to use in order to discuss immigration productively. Dr. Aviva Chomsky, professor of history and coordinator of Latin American, Latino and Caribbean studies at Salem State University, addressed the faculty on the history of American immigration from the 17th century through the present day and on related legislation.

NALIA MEDINA ’18

FALL 2015

5

N EWS + NOTES

NEWS FRO M CAMPUS

NEW ADMISSION PREFECTS

Community Service

The admission office announced the selection of four students as admission prefects this fall. A new prefect position, admission prefects are responsible for training more than 100 student tour guides, ensuring the quality of Brooks admission tours, attending admission receptions, attending local secondary school admission fairs, being leaders at open houses and revisit days, and training the following year’s class of admission prefects. Fifth-formers Bridget Cifuni and James Kim, and sixth-formers Grace Bilodeau and Kevin Barry, took on their new duties enthusiastically. “I’ve enjoyed the work of sharing my love for the school through touring and speaking at open houses,” says Kim. “I’ve learned that Brooks has numerous stories that have yet to be told by the students at Brooks, and being an admission prefect has definitely given me the opportunity to tell those stories.”

Assistant Director of Admission Alex Skinner ’08 says that admission prefects will serve as the face of the school to prospective families, along with tour guides and interviewers. “This is not only a great opportunity for families to get to know more of our kids,” he adds, “but also a great experience for these four students to see Brooks from the perspective of the outside looking in.”

Cor Unum provides a restaurant-quality meal and experience to its patrons.

The center strives to “offer the best to those in greatest need,” and serves each person with love, dignity and respect. At the meal center, Brooks students join regular volunteers and serve as waitstaff, bussers, kitchen help and more.

They serve dinner and then prepare the dining room for the next morning’s breakfast service.

From left to right: Neil Reddi ’17, Matthew Schelzi ’18 and Abby Zerbey ’19 outside Cor Unum Meal Center in Lawrence, Mass. Community service is an afternoon activity offering at Brooks.

Students who elect to join the community service program devote their weekday afternoons to service at several local organizations, including Cor Unum. Director of Community Service Shaunielle McDonald ’94 credits Brooks’s community service programming with teaching students the impact they have on the world around them. “When you think about the journey that adolescents are on, when they’re so egocentric but they’re also trying to understand the world, it’s really important to give them space to figure out who they are and how they relate to the world,” she says.

OnBrooks Streamlines Student, Faculty, Parent Communication Brooks debuted a new, central information portal, called OnBrooks, this year. OnBrooks offers separate online accounts to each student, faculty, staff and current Brooks parent, and allows for a more efficient The “My Day” tab from a student’s OnBrooks flow of information. account, which shows Through OnBrooks, the student’s schedule students can check their for that day. class schedule, keep abreast of major class assignments, find supplemental class materials and even see at a glance which sports teams have home games

6

that day. Faculty, meanwhile, can track class attendance, check on a student’s courseload or extracurricular schedule, or get a parent’s telephone number. Parents can check their child’s class schedule,

reach out to their child’s advisor or even check out the menu at Wilder Dining Hall.

The OnBrooks system is intended to help students, teachers and parents communicate. Parents were emailed log-in information in early October. If you did not receive log-in information, or if you require assistance in setting up or using your OnBrooks account, please feel free to contact Interim Director of Database Integration Lisa Saunders at (978) 725-6255, or lsaunders@ brooksschool.org.

B RO O KS BULLETIN

N EWS + N OT ES

FA LL PLAY

At The Lehman An exciting slate of artists makes up the 2015–2016 exhibit schedule.

The Robert Lehman Art Center’s mission is to connect high-quality professional artists and their work with the Brooks community.

This year, the Lehman boasts an intriguing list of artists who will exhibit their work in the gallery, participate in formal, public show openings and work with students as visiting artists in residence.

In September, furniture artist Niko Yektai ’88 opened the year with an exhibit of his unique tables, benches, dressers and mirrors.

Asymmetry, intertwined curves and the juxtaposition of different elements are themes in his work, which has previously appeared in Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, New York, and the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, New York. Although Yektai designs his pieces for use in the home, he also designs his pieces as sculpture.

Anne Neely exhibited her paintings beginning in November. Neely is currently an art instructor at Milton Academy, where she is director of the Nesto Gallery. Her paintings evoke a deep connection to nature and explore new configurations of the natural world through space, color and form.

Mobile and stabile artist Mark Davis will open the spring term in late January. Davis finds art in the blending of conflicting images: In his works, soft surfaces, hard edges, large forms and delicate details work together, and the viewer notices a general tension that is the result of subtle movement in different directions. Printmaker Julia Talcott will exhibit her work in April.

Talcott’s experimentation with shapes, patterns and color form the basis of an intriguing, striking collection.

FALL 2015

Now, Fair Hippolyta This year’s fall play was a comedy, but it was no joke: Brooks students tackled William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The iconic work was written between 1590 and 1597. It portrays a series of love triangles, a play-within-a-play and fairy mischief set against the backdrop of the wedding of Theseus, the duke of Athens, and his bride Hippolyta.

Director of Theater Rob Lazar says that he chose “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for its balanced roles, and because he hoped it would challenge the talented cast. “I’ve asked quite a bit from this company, but they’ve risen to the occasion,” he says.

In addition to memorizing lines and learning spots, the cast used rehearsals as a learning opportunity. Lazar arranged for members of the English faculty to work with the students, and called the interdepartmental effort “a great collaboration.”

“We’ve spent more time working with the language and the meaning of the words than we would with other works,” Lazar says. “Many in the cast have asked their teachers what a line means, or how to pronounce a word. Teachers have sat in, and the cast has asked them questions about the text and about sections they’ve had trouble understanding.”

The play ran for three nights in early November to packed houses.

Among a talented cast, Anabelle Acevedo ’16 played Hippolyta and Titania; John Rullo ’16 played Theseus and Oberon; Kate Packard ’18 played Philostrate and Puck; and Colin Khater ’19 played Egeus and Flute.

Hannah Maver ’18, Brian Wright-Kinsey ’18, Omarina Cabrera ’16, Wes D’Alelio ’19, Ritika Kommareddi ’17, Clare Naughton ’18, Emily Choe ’19 and Amolina Bhat ’19 rounded out the company.

John Rullo ’16 (left) and Kate Packard ’18.

7

N EWS + NOTES

NEWS FRO M CAMPUS

1 Coco Sun ’17 shows off her yo-yo skills.

How did you become interested in competitive yo-yo? I picked up my first yo-yo in elementary school, when there was a “yoyo madness” going on in China among kids, and knowing how to do advanced tricks was considered cool. Then, about two years ago, I came into contact wth Yinuo, one of the top female yo-yo players in China. I was introduced to a whole new world of competitive yo-yo. I started to improve and to enjoy yo-yo, and competitions seemed like the natural next step.

2

How long have you been competing? I only started competing this year. As I got better at competitive yo-yo and got to know more and more people in the community, I realized how beneficial competitions are. Going to competitions allows opportunities to meet new friends as well as old ones, and to see the newest and most innovative tricks on stage. I had so much fun at the Massachusetts state contest that I immediately said yes when I was asked to compete at China Nationals and the World Yo-Yo Contest. Being just a few feet away from the best players in the world was a thrilling experience.

Fast 5 // Q+A Coco Sun ’17, Brooks’s ranking scholar, works hard on her studies. However, Sun doesn’t spend all her time hitting the books: She’s taken the international competitive yo-yo world by storm. After winning her age group of the sports ladder competition of the 2015 Massachusetts State Yo-Yo Contest, Sun placed ninth in the women’s freestyle division at the 2015 World Yo-Yo Contest, held this summer in Tokyo, Japan. The Bulletin asked the Shanghai, China native about her unique talent.

8

3

How do you find time for yo-yo outside of your schoolwork and other commitments at Brooks? One thing I love (and hate) about yo-yoing is how easy it is to just pick up a yo-yo and throw.

It sometimes even becomes a gateway for my procrastination! Before the Massachusetts state contest, I spent about a month focusing on my competition routine. However, yo-yoing really isn’t all about practicing the same tricks over and over again. A good player is innovative and comes up with new combinations and tricks.

Creating new combinations is like composing a song: You already know what chords there are and what techniques you could use, but it is about combining the elements. So really,

B RO O KS BULLETIN

N EWS + N OT ES

maintaining skill takes a lot less time than one might think.

4

What do you enjoy most about yo-yo? It’s really the people in the yo-yo community that keep me yo-yoing. The friends I have made are probably one of the most precious things I get from playing yo-yo. People are so welcoming and encouraging to each other. I see people marveling at the newest tricks of the best players while encouraging the beginners as they move through the basic tricks. Even if I give up yo-yo one day, the relationships I have built will last. We have shared the experience of being interested in something so uncommon and helping each other through this process.

5

What’s your favorite trick?

Binds. For a competition-level yo-yo to “come back up,” you cannot simply pull the string. The bearings are designed this way so that the yo-yo can spin longer, which allows for more tricks. To pull the yo-yo back up, you need to bind the string around the bearing so that the friction pulls the yo-yo up. There are basic binds where you simply wrap the string around the bearing, but more complicated ones are constantly being invented. For example, you can pull the yo-yo in the air, and, before the yo-yo drops back to the lowest point, create a loop by swinging the throw hand; the yo-yo will fall into that loop and then bind. There are all kinds of other cool ways to do it, and I love how there are various fascinating ways to just pull the yo-yo up.

SOLVE T H I S : T H E AN SW E R The Bulletin received several correct responses to the math problem printed on page 7 of the summer 2015 issue (“Brooks Math Team Impresses; Solve This”). Ross Elkin P’14 was the first correct respondent. If you’re keeping score at home, the answer is N=144.

FALL 2015

A Mission-Driven Academic Schedule A revamped daily schedule gives more time to arts, advisors and community.

Brooks debuted a new daily academic schedule this fall, one that will more fully support the school’s mission.

The new schedule has three major advantages over the previous schedule. First, it adds additional meeting time for arts classes. Arts classes now meet four times each week and carry as much weight as other academic courses. And, performance ensembles now meet three times each week.

Second, the new schedule allows students more time to use the student support resources Brooks offers. The new schedule includes one period a week dedicated for students to meet with their advisors. And, the new schedule offers increased variation in when students have free periods, which allows students both more independence in structuring their day and more access to other on-campus resources.

Third, all-school events have been rescheduled in a way that allows the week to flow more easily. The second chapel service has been moved to Thursday, which provides students a break from a long day of classes, and school meeting is now scheduled for the end of the day on Friday.

“We created a curriculum that we felt fit Brooks well, and that created a progression of classes,” says Associate Head for Academic Affairs Lance Latham. “Now, we have a music program and a visual arts program, instead of just a limited number of courses that we could offer. This fits our mission, and the new schedule enables us to do it.”

“Arts classes now meet four times each week and carry as much weight as other academic courses.”

TAKING A GOOD LOOK AT BROOKS Brooks’s weekly school meeting has a new video highlight: “Good Looks Brooks,” a satirical news show similar to “The Daily Show” and “Weekend Update,” the iconic “Saturday Night Live” segment. “Good Looks Brooks,” which debuted last year, features two anchors — sixth-formers Harrison Rice and Ford Hatchett — sitting behind a desk, reporting on campus events ranging from a dunk contest between boys 1st basketball star Tamenang Choh ’17 and a toddler, to a discussion of National Haiku Day spoken in — you guessed it — haiku.

Each “Good Looks Brooks” episode, which runs between five and 10 minutes long, brings an irreverent perspective to life on campus.

9

N EWS + NOTES

CAMPUS SC ENE

Brooks running back Jalen Martinez ’16 outruns the defense en route to the 1st football team’s 51-0 rout of The Rivers School on Parents Weekend.

N EWS + N OT ES

N EWS + NOTES

NEWS FRO M CAMPUS

NEW TRUSTEES JOIN BROOKS BOARD

Five dynamic trustees began their terms this summer.

KAMILAH BRISCOE ’96 is the director of the Office of Student Success at the City College of New York’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. She oversees academic advising for the school’s 2,800 undergraduate students, as well as several scholarship programs and academic support services. Briscoe has worked in higher education for more than 15 years, including four years at the Thomas J. Watson Foundation and six years at New York University’s Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy.

JONATHAN GIBBONS ’92 joins the board as the current president of Brooks’s alumni association. He has been a member of the alumni board since 2001, serving as the head of the giving committee. He also serves as a class agent. Gibbons received his A.B. and his MBA from Harvard University, and most recently was a senior member of the investment team at High Vista Strategies, a Boston-based outsourced endowment firm. He previously worked at Goldman Sachs, Pilot House Associates and Adelphia Communications. At Brooks, Gibbons was president of the Phillips Brooks Society, dorm prefect and chapel prefect. He played football and hockey and rowed crew.

ROBERT W. HUGHES P’16, P’19 has been a member of Akamai Technologies’s executive leadership team for more than a decade.

Akamai is the leading cloud platform for business, operating in more than 70 countries and serving the largest amount of Web traffic in the world. Hughes oversees the company’s day-to-day global business operations and is responsible for all aspects of the Akamai customer service experience. Hughes’s two sons are currently students at Brooks: sixth-former Jack is student government president and co-captain of the 1st baseball team, and third-former Michael is happily settling in to life on campus.

ZACHARY MCCABE ’15, the youngest member of the board, is a first-year student at Northeastern University. During his time at Brooks, McCabe was a quintessential campus leader: He served as senior prefect and was heavily involved in the school’s theater program, Model UN team and sustainability efforts. He was a summer intern for the school’s operations department in 2014, during which he assisted with the renovation of Ashburn Chapel. On his graduation, McCabe was awarded the Headmaster’s Prize; in 2014, he received the Leonard S. Perkins Prize for his outstanding contribution to the life of the school.

ALBERT NASCIMENTO ’10 currently teaches English and coaches basketball at Salisbury School. At Brooks, Nascimento played soccer and basketball: He co-captained the boys 1st basketball team as a sixth-former and received the Andrew N. Navoni Sportsmanship Award. He spent his summers coaching and volunteering at the local Boys and Girls Club and at the YMCA in Somerville, Mass. He continued his basketball career at Middlebury College, where he was named to the conference Winter AllAcademic team three times.

12

Third-formers Caitlin Peirce (left) and Jack Murphy enjoy a Saturday night block party at Brooks in October.

A New Student Activities Structure Flag football. A November semiformal dance. Open mic nights. A country-western festival. A holiday-season ugly sweater dance benefitting Toys for Tots. This fall, Brooks shifted its focus on weekend events, and the student body has responded enthusiastically.

Beginning this year, four faculty and 17 students formed the Community Activities Board (CAB), a team charged with planning, publicizing and preparing weekend activities. Student Activities Coordinator Laura Hajdukiewicz, who is also a science teacher and day student advisor, says that the new model allows the CAB to plan events using a variety of perspectives, ideas, talents and energy.

And, Hajdukiewicz says, creating a more formal way for students to be involved in planning weekend events has increased student attendance.

Hajdukiewicz believes that Brooks’s commitment to vibrant and diverse weekend activities doesn’t just benefit the boarding students on campus; it also benefits day students who return to campus to socialize. “The boarders need to have a typical teenage experience of going with your friends somewhere — going to the movies, going to a dance, going to a football game,” she says. “But also, this is our day students’s high school. If we don’t have events that appeal to our day students, they’re spending their Saturday nights at home alone. We want to make sure that the day students have great Saturday nights, too.”

“The kids are a really big part of this,” she continues. “They help hype the event, they help prepare for the event, they get their friends excited about the event.

They’re the face of student activities, and because we have more kids involved in the planning, I think our entire student body has more invested in what we’re doing.”

B RO O KS BULLETIN

N EWS + N OT ES

A Commitment to DIVERSITY Director of Diversity Initiatives

Shaunielle McDonald ’94 believes in Brooks’s commitment to diversity, and in the power that Brooks’s commitment to diversity gives its students. “The world is big,” she says simply. “A person who steps into the world and wants to experience success will encounter a variety of perspectives. In order to navigate those perspectives, you need to know who you are.”

“That’s what we want to do here, spend time exploring our own identities,” she continues. “Then, try on other people’s perspectives and talk about what it feels like to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. We don’t have to agree, but we do have to live well and work well together in this world. That requires respect, and respect requires understanding.”

McDonald is encouraged by the concrete steps Brooks has taken to enact a strategic plan for diversity.

“I think where we are as a school is that we’re trying to institutionalize that which has been organic,” McDonald says. The Diversity Leadership Council, a committee of faculty and staff, has begun that process: It has planned a series of short-, mid- and long-term targets. The Diversity Leadership Council has also worked with the Brooks faculty to, as McDonald puts it, “move us to a much better practice of culturally responsive teaching. This includes knowing who you are, and how students you engage are likely to see you. This

FALL 2015

includes asking what that requires of you as an educator, and what that requires as you plan and then implement your curriculum.”

McDonald doesn’t just work with faculty and administrative efforts to support diversity, though. She also works directly with student affinity groups to ensure that they have the support they need to accomplish their goals. “I don’t advise the groups,” she says, “but I work with them to let them know that if they want to do something, the administration will help them do it. I’m trying to strengthen opportunities, and I think many of our affinity groups have grown up as a result.”

McDonald, who attended Brooks, is in the unique position of remembering the past while being able to see the future.

“We’ve become more supportive of diversity as a school, but there’s still room for improvement,” she says. “We’re becoming better at acknowledging that prep school may be a completely different paradigm for nontraditional students and their families. We’re doing a better job taking care of these students and their families, and finding ways to support them without requiring them to sacrifice their identity. Our goal is to make sure that a person, whoever they may be, feels whole during the time they’re with us and can take advantage of everything Brooks has to offer. That makes us a stronger school.”

Director of Diversity Initiatives Shaunielle McDonald ’94

“Our goal is to make sure that a person, whoever they may be, feels whole during the time they’re with us and can take advantage of everything Brooks has to offer.

That makes us a stronger school.”

SHAUNIELLE MCDONALD ’94

13

N EWS + NOTES

NEWS FRO M CAMPUS

Welcome New Faculty

Six new faculty members began work at Brooks this fall.

Together, they’re an accomplished group of educators with diverse interests and expertise.

DIANA FIGARELLA-ZAWIL joins the world languages department as a Spanish teacher.

She has a passion for combining visual art and language learning to connect with students of all levels and backgrounds. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Tufts University in affiliation with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from Regis College. She has also traveled extensively internationally, stopping in Cuba while completing her master’s thesis to interview female Cuban artists and their impact on the Cuban economy.

AXEL GALEANO joins the world languages department as a Spanish teacher. He previously taught at the Windward School in Los Angeles and at St. Mark’s School. Galeano also coaches girls 2nd soccer and girls 2nd squash. A native of Guatemala, Galeano is a graduate of St. Lawrence University, where he was a four-year member of the men’s soccer team. He earned his master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College and has spent the last two summers working as a bilingual assistant at the Middlebury Language School.

LUCY HAMILTON joins the faculty as an assistant in the Learning Center and a Spanish teacher. Hamilton has extensive experience in the classroom and in support roles at Pingree School and St. George’s School. Hamilton also brings a passion for multicultural education, having served in a variety of roles helping independent secondary schools fulfill their mission to attract, support and engage a diverse community. A graduate of Amherst College, Lucy holds her M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and has been a Klingenstein Summer Fellow at the Teacher’s College of Columbia University with additional study at Universidad Veritas in San Jose, Costa Rica.

ANDREW MCLEAN teaches AP Art History and World History. He holds a B.A. from Haverford College, a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles and an M.A.T. from Tufts University. McLean enjoys music — especially early Renaissance polyphony — and sings in choirs. He’s also an avid traveler for food, history and the arts, and has traveled as far away as Mongolia. He spends as much time as possible outdoors, sailing or hiking.

TABITHA SHERRELL teaches photography and digital arts. Sherrell holds an MFA in Photography from Lesley University College of Art and Design, and a BFA in Painting from Gordon College. She is the cofounder of a successful commercial photography business, has been a guest speaker at colleges, universities and photo workshops, and has exhibited in galleries throughout the Boston area. Her pastimes are travel, cooking, reading memoirs and hiking in the woods with her family.

Brooks’s new School Minister and Director of Spiritual Life JULIE A. MAVITY MADDALENA earned her B.A. from Abilene Christian University, where she was also a member of the tennis team. She went on to earn her M. Div. from Emory University and is finishing her Ph.D. from Southern Methodist University, where she focuses on Religious Ethics and Women’s and Gender Studies. Mavity Maddalena is ordained in the United Church of Christ, and has held various roles in U.C.C. churches in Atlanta, Dallas and Fort Collins, Colorado. She has also been an adjunct professor at S.M.U. Mavity Maddalena will teach Human Understanding, coach the girls 1st tennis team and serve as an affiliate dorm parent in P.B.A. Hall.

14

B RO O KS BULLETIN

S P EC I A L S ECT I O N : T HE SU M M I T

N EWS + N OT ES

BROOKS SUMMIT AT

BROOKS SC H OO L WE SEEK TO

P ROV IDE the Most

M EA NIN G FUL

Educational Experience OUR ST UDENTS WI L L H AVE IN T H E IR

LI VES FALL 2015

15

B RO O KS SU MMIT

N EWS + NOTES

S P EC I AL S ECT I O N: T H E SU M M I T

Reaching the Top: Introducing The Campaign for Brooks “I feel inspired to be part of a school that has meant so much to so many generations. I want to ensure that we can continue to be exceptional, and in more robust ways, for future generations.”

— HEAD OF SCHOOL JOHN PACKARD

On Friday, October 16, a group of nearly 100 Brooks alumni, parents and friends visited campus and got to talk with school trustees and administration about the vision for the future. During the course of the second annual Summit, Brooks laid out its plan for the near term future of the school and detailed the framework of its $60 million capital campaign, The Campaign for Brooks.

The Campaign for Brooks includes several projects: campus building and grounds renovations; the construction of facilities that represent — and facilitate — the strength of Brooks’s programming; and endowments for student financial aid and faculty support that allow the core of the Brooks experience — talented, accomplished students and dedicated, expert faculty — to flourish and grow.

The goal of the Summit, Mr. Packard said in his opening remarks, was to allow the school to articulate the reasoning behind The Campaign for Brooks’s priorities, and to underline the urgency of the campaign’s projects. The Summit presentations focused on two pillars of the campaign: increased investment in student financial aid, and the construction of

16

a new Visual and Performing Arts Center to complement a renewed focus on the arts as part of the Brooks curriculum.

The first presentation outlined the ways in which increasing Brooks’s financial aid endowment will benefit the school. Associate Head for External Affairs Jim Hamilton said that increasing financial aid is critically important to the school’s mission: Forming a student body with broader cultural, socioeconomic and cultural diversity, and with broader backgrounds and perspectives, will allow for a more meaningful educational

B RO O KS BULLETIN

N EWS + N OT ES

THE CAMPAIGN FOR BROOKS: AN OVERVIEW

Center of Campus — Phase I (pedestrianization) completed Fall 2014

$60

B RO O KS SU MMIT

Frank D. Ashburn Chapel Renovation — Opened December 2014

Brooks Fund

Anna K. Trustey Memorial Field — Opened Fall 2014; Dedicated October 2015

M I L L I O N

Endowment for Faculty Support

Endowment for Financial Aid

Visual and Performing Arts Center

WH AT’S NEXT Visual & Performing Arts Center • New THEATER equipped to serve performing arts programs • The AUDITORIUM will fit the entire school for school meeting and other all-school gatherings Associate Director of Admission John McVeigh addresses the Summit audience.

• A GALLERY that highlights the arts and serves as a multi-purpose meeting space • Ensemble and individual music REHEARSAL SPACES • DIGITAL MEDIA STUDIO for film and music production • VISUAL ARTS STUDIOS • CLASSROOM SPACES for cross-disciplinary collaboration

experience. And, he continued, financial aid packages allow Brooks to attract — and compete for — the most talented students, creating an “aspirational atmosphere” on campus and inspiring the community to grow.

The second presentation made the case for the construction of a new arts building that will support Brooks’s arts programming and serve as a central gathering space for the school community. The new academic schedule gives arts classes instructional time equal to the other major academic disciplines; the new facility will provide classroom, rehearsal and performance space that’s in line with current programming, and that also provides flexibility and support for the department’s future. ...continued page 18

FALL 2015

36% of Brooks’s $3,732,000 annual financial aid budget is funded by endowment restricted for financial aid.

Endowment for Financial Aid • Enables Brooks to attract and ENROLL students who will thrive • Enhances FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY for future generations of students • Opens the door to a Brooks education for students who couldn’t otherwise AFFORD it • Adds DIVERSE backgrounds and perspectives to the community, and creates a student body that reflects the world in which our students will live and work

GET INVOLVED If you would like to become involved with The Campaign for Brooks, please contact Director of Development Gage Dobbins via email at gdobbins@brooksschool.org, or via telephone at (978)725-6288.

17

N EWS + NOTES

S P EC I AL S ECT I O N: T H E SU M M I T

B RO O KS SU MMIT

...continued from page 17

18

In addition, the new building will serve as a purposeful, centrally located space that will underscore one of the school’s hallmarks: the close-knit, familiar, inclusive Brooks community.

School meeting, the weekly all-school gathering of students, faculty and staff, will take place in a new auditorium designed to accommodate the entire campus.

The building will also include an art gallery that will both display student work and serve as a smaller gathering space for students, faculty and staff across academic and extracurricular pursuits. “This is not about what the building does for the arts department,” said Chair of the Arts Department Rob Lazar, “but what it does for the school.”

Director of Development Gage Dobbins concluded the Summit by summarizing the campaign’s tangible progress and palpable forward momentum. Dobbins pointed to several examples of completed campus improvements that provide community space and allow for flexible programming: the renovation of Ashburn Chapel, the construction of Anna K. Trustey Memorial Field, and the reconfiguration of the center of campus to limit vehicle traffic. Dobbins said that, although The Campaign for Brooks is still in its early stages, it is gaining momentum and has been bolstered by the largest financial gifts in Brooks’s history.

“The leadership support in this campaign has been phenomenal,” Dobbins said. “It demonstrates that we are committed to achieving our goals.”

A New President of the Board of Trustees Steve Gorham ’85, P’17 will take the reins from Nick Booth ’67, P’05 this summer.

In what Head of School John Packard calls “an ideal transition,” Steve

Gorham ’85, P’17 is poised to take over the presidency of the Brooks board of trustees this summer. He’ll succeed Nick Booth ’67, P’05, who lent a steady hand and dedicated support to the school over his 11 years as president and 12 years as trustee.

“Nick’s been extraordinary,” Mr. Packard says. “He’s been extraordinary in his support for the school, in his care for the place, in his attention to detail and in his willingness to push through challenges.

He’s been amazing.”

Mr. Packard cites several highlights of Booth’s tenure that, he says, have left Brooks a stronger institution. First, Mr. Packard praises Booth for his leadership of the board and the board’s stewardship of Brooks through the financial crisis. Second, Mr. Packard notes that Booth has been instrumental in expanding Brooks’s reach throughout Asia and Hong Kong, where Booth resided during a stretch of his presidency. He’s played a key role for the school throughout his international travels; Mr. Packard also notes that Booth’s hosted Winter Term students at his home in Ireland.

“The secret to Nick’s success as a leader is that it’s impossible to not like him,” Mr. Packard says. “He’s an unbelievably likable person, he cares about the school and he votes with his feet. I think the world of Nick. He’s been a great mentor to me, and I’ve been lucky to work with him.”

Mr. Packard’s also enthusiastic about Gorham’s impending presidency. “It’s the best of all kinds of transitions,” he says. “Steve’s been on the board for eight years, he knows the school well, and he’s an alumnus and a parent. We have a campaign that we’re in, and I know that Steve’s going to put his whole being into this work. Brooks School is his priority, and the way he shares that will be infectious.”

Gorham says that he considers himself fortunate to have been able to attend Brooks. “I was sixth of seven kids and the first one to go to private school. I was fortunate to get in, and to get financial aid,” he says. “For me, Brooks has been very transformative for my trajectory. My path would have been far different if I had not been able to attend. I’ve always felt blessed, and I’ve always wanted to stay very connected to the school after graduation. I feel humbled and

B RO O KS BULLETIN

N EWS + N OT ES

B RO O KS SU MMIT

Head of School John Packard (center) with incoming board president Steve Gorham ’85, P’17 (left) and outgoing board president Nick Booth ’67, P’05 (right).

“For me, Brooks has been very transformative for my trajectory. My path would have been far different if I had not been able to attend.

I’ve always felt blessed, and I’ve always wanted to stay very connected to the school after graduation. I feel humbled and honored to be asked to serve as the president of the board of trustees.”

STEVE GORHAM ’85, P’17, New president of the board of trustees

FALL 2015

honored to be asked to serve as the president of the board of trustees.”

Mr. Packard points out that the Booth-Gorham transition illustrates what he calls a generational shift. “We’ve had three consecutive board chairs from the 1960s classes, and we’ve never had a board chair from a later class than Nick,” Mr. Packard says. “We’re getting into the wheelhouse of our 1980s graduates. If we’re doing well, that’s the group that’s going to carry increasing amounts of responsibility going forward. We’re trying to build a leadership team at the board level that reflects that constituency’s importance and that gives us an opportunity to work with them closely.”

Gorham stresses that he has a strong team behind him. “In addition to my transition, John Barker ’87 and Whitney Savignano ’87 have stepped up to be vice presidents of the board,” he says. “I think of this transition as a team transition, not an individual one.”

Gorham plans to mobilize and

engage all of Brooks’s constituencies. “We need the great classes of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s to join the great constituents from the 1960s and prior generations that have given so robustly to the school,” Gorham says. “The school has fantastic history, great resources in terms of its campus, its faculty and its head of school, and it’s delivering a fantastic product in the moment. But, the challenges and needs are equally great, and are only getting more difficult.

We need to add to the stable and expand the tent.”

Both Booth and Gorham share a quality that Mr. Packard appreciates: “They work from the heart,” he says. “They speak about Brooks with an authenticity and a belief in the school. Those are the best kind of people to work with in this way. We’re deeply appreciative of what Nick has done and will continue to do for the school, and we’re very excited about all that lies ahead for Steve.”

19

N EWS + NOTES

AT H L E T E S POT L I G H T

Anna Slingerland ’16 The ranking scholar in the sixth form and captain of the 1st field hockey team learns to lead following serious injury.

It was supposed to be smooth sailing for Anna Slingerland ’16. The

Beverly, Mass. native came to Brooks as an effortless athlete who played soccer, field hockey and lacrosse prior to her arrival on campus.

Her family emphasizes sports: Her two older brothers have played soccer and lacrosse for Georgetown University and Harvard University.

“My family’s all athletes,” Slingerland says. “I expected myself to be an athlete, because that’s how I was raised.”

Slingerland had a solid season on the 1st field hockey team her thirdform year, and she nabbed a spot on the girls 1st lacrosse team a few months later. The Brooks athletic career she planned, the career she expected, was taking shape. So, when Slingerland suddenly injured her knee, tearing her anterior cruciate ligament and her meniscus during one of the last lacrosse practices of her third-form year, it’s understandable that the word she’d use to describe the incident is “unexpected.” Her plan listed off course, and she found herself relegated to watching her fourth-form field hockey season from the bench during a long recovery.

Slingerland’s path may have changed, but she was able to find a silver lining in her sidelining. “That season was a transition for me,” she says. “I realized how important it is to support your teammates. Until then, sports had been all about

1st field hockey captain and sixth form ranking scholar Anna Slingerland.

20

B RO O KS BULLETIN

N EWS + N OT ES

scoring goals and wining and losing.

All of a sudden, I was sitting on the bench for an entire season. It was really hard at first. But, I started to take that time as an opportunity to go out of my way to talk to my teammates who were frustrated, or who were having a hard time, and tell them that I understood and that they should keep at it. That was a season where I think I grew more as a person and a teammate.”

When she finally returned to the field for her fourth-form lacrosse season, Slingerland had to make another transition. She quickly learned that she wasn’t the same athlete she had been before her injury. She was slower, she says, and her knee hurt inside its brace.

She lost her starting spot. “It was frustrating,” she says. “I had to learn, again, that it’s not about me.

It’s about my team. By the end of the season, I was able to have fun, and I didn’t care about starting as much as I cared about helping my team.”

Slingerland’s since focused on field hockey, even as she’s continued to play lacrosse. Field hockey is a slower game, she says, with less pivoting, and it suits her knee better. This fall, she captained the team, and was named an All-ISL selection and a National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-Academic honoree. Head 1st field hockey coach Ali Mattison sings Slingerland’s praises. “Anna leads by her work ethic,” Mattison says. “The girls look up to her as a scholar-athlete and as someone

FALL 2015

“Looking back on the moment I tore my ACL, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. The lessons I learned were more valuable than how I performed as an athlete.”

ANNA SLINGERLAND ’16

who prides herself on doing the best she can at every moment. She’s funny, lighthearted and caring of her teammates, and she’s respected by everyone who plays with her or coaches her.”

“I haven’t felt this good, this normal in terms of sports, in a while,” Slingerland says. “It feels great.

But, everything I’ve gone through has made me more empathetic to everyone else on the team. I understand the teammate who has an injury; I understand the frustration of not starting. My mom always says that everything happens for a reason. Looking back on the moment I tore my ACL, I wouldn’t

have changed a thing. The lessons I learned were more valuable than how I performed as an athlete.”

Slingerland hasn’t just learned lessons from playing sports at Brooks; she’s also an outstanding student and the sixth form’s ranking scholar. “I’m a science person,” she says. “I’ve known that since the eighth grade. I want to go to medical school and be a doctor.” Slingerland acknowledges the challenge of balancing her athletic commitments and her academic commitments, but also says that she’s benefitted from being able to focus on one area of her life at a time. “When I’m at practice, I don’t let anything about my academics enter my head,” she explains. “Then, when I focus on my work, I just focus on my work.

I think that being able to separate those two areas of my life has really helped me.”

Although she has much to be proud of, Slingerland is humble in her accomplishments. She credits Brooks with giving her an opportunity for academic and athletic success. “My favorite part of Brooks is definitely my teachers and my coaches,” she says. “I can’t describe how grateful I am to them. Everything’s so interconnected here — one of my lacrosse coaches also taught my history class, for example — that it feels like it’s one big family.

And,” she laughs, “it’s certainly comforting, and a good thing, when your coach knows you have a big test the next morning!”

21

N EWS + NOTES

AT H L E T I CS N EWS

A Solid Fall Season FOOTBALL BUILDS ON PAST SUCCESS

Last year, the Brooks 1st football team finished the season with a win when it stormed through Westminster School in the Sean Brennan Bowl, its first postseason berth since 2009. This year’s squad built on its past success, posting a 5–3 record that includes a dramatic win over The Governor’s Academy.

“The 2015 season was a really successful one for us,” says head coach Pat Foley. “We went over .500 for the second year in a row, which was a goal of ours, and beating Governor’s in a fantastic game was a great experience that I know our players will remember for a long time.”

Brooks showed up at Governor’s with a two-game win streak under its belt: Brooks beat St. Mark’s School 49–6 and put up a lopsided 51–0 win up over The Rivers School on Parents Weekend before heading to Byfield for its matchup with the then-undefeated Gov’s. The game was a defensive battle from the start; Brooks came away with a hard-fought 7–6 win. Brooks struck first in the third quarter, when sixth-former running back Jalen Martinez found the endzone and kicker Kyle Sherman ’16 added a crucial PAT. With three minutes left to play, Gov’s scored a touchdown, and then attempted to win the game on a two-point conversion. The Brooks defense stepped up again, and Jack

22

Hughes ’16, Kyle Neyman ’17 and Owen Rosenberger ’17 combined to stop the Gov’s ball carrier just short of the goal line.

“We played great defensively in almost every game,” Foley says.

“That allowed us to be in every game, and we’ll need to continue to do that in the future.”

On defense, newcomer Pat Freiermuth ’18 led the way. The outside linebacker notched two forced fumbles, two recovered fumbles, two interceptions and one touchdown. Meanwhile, cornerback Jaylen Cromwell ’18 posted two forced fumbles and two interceptions. Freiermuth also made a mark on the Brooks

B RO O KS BULLETIN

N EWS + N OT ES

offense: As tight end, he led all receivers with 188 yards and three touchdowns on nine receptions.

Martinez shouldered the load for the Brooks running game, rushing for 1,038 yards and 16 touchdowns on 152 carries. Quarterback Jake Hesse ’16 went 31–63, amassing 462 passing yards and seven touchdowns.

Foley credits a strong sixthform class. “We’ll miss the 12 sixth-formers that we’re losing,” he says. “That class is the winningest class that we’ve had at Brooks in a long time. That said, we have a great group of returners that I know are already anxious for next fall.”

LEADING THE PACK

Girls 1st cross-country runner

Caroline O’Shea ’17 introduced herself in style this fall. The newcomer stormed her way through the competition and consistently led Brooks to the finish line.

O’Shea took a commanding lead and a first place, 20:13 finish at St. George’s School in early October, and followed that up with a 20:29, first-place performance on the storied Brooks course ten days later.

And, O’Shea topped off her first season as a Brooks harrier with a ninth-place finish at the ISL CrossCountry Championships in November.

“Caroline’s not only a great athlete, she’s also a great person,” says head coach Ryan Dobbins. “She had a knockout first year in the ISL, and I expect her to be a contender for best female runner in the ISL next year.”

FALL 2015

Left: Newcomer Pat Freiermuth ’18 turned heads playing offense and defense for Brooks this fall. Above: Mia Karras ’17 controls the action during a 2-1 win over Buckingham Browne & Nichols. Below: Caroline O’Shea ’17 took ninth place at the ISL Championships.

GIRLS 1ST SOCCER LANDS POSTSEASON BERTH

The girls 1st soccer team put together a 7–5–5

season en route to a spot in the NEPSAC Class A tournament. Although eighth-seeded Brooks fell to top-seeded Choate Rosemary Hall in first-round tourney action, the team showed its resiliency and strength over the course of a season that featured a comeback win over nonleague powerhouse opponent Brewster Academy and an emotional Senior Day win over St. Paul’s School. Brooks has made the postseason every year W MORE ONLINE: since winning the Class A Please visit the Brooks athletics website at championship in 2012. brooksschool.org/athletics “This team thrived for more information on because of everyone your favorite Brooks team, including schedules, game involved,” says head coach recaps and up-to-date news.

Jaime Gilbert ’04. “Without all 28 members of this team — the players, the managers and my assistants — we would not have accomplished what we did.

I’m really excited about our future. The sixthformers that led this team — Olivia Papapetros, Jinx Charman, Anna Trustey, Sophie Bymark, Megan Neal and Andrea Scarfo — are irreplaceable and have left big shoes to fill. My hope is that the example they set on and off the field as both players and leaders will carry into next year for the eight rising sixth-formers.”

23

FOOD TASTES BETTER WHEN SHARED T

STORY BY TOM OWEN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNIFER LISEO

he Latin American-inspired restaurant Cómodo is tucked away on Macdougal Street in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. With its whitewashed brick walls, exposed beams and burly wooden tables, the restaurant’s interior echoes the repurposed industrial buildings common in lower Manhattan, but its small size and the cozy banquette window seating make the space feel warm and inviting. Menus rest on a table near the entrance, and at the bottom of each menu, a sentence is printed in Spanish: Cuando la comida es compartida sabe mejor — food tastes better when shared. It’s a philosophy that guides Carolina Santos-Neves ’99 in her work at Cómodo, where she is both a partner and the chef de cuisine.

24

BRO OKS BULLETIN

Carolina Santos-Neves ’99 at Cómodo, the New York restaurant of which she is partner and chef de cuisine.

FALL 2015

25

S

antos-Neves is assertively friendly and cracks jokes with her staff as they prepare for the night’s service. It is midmorning, and while there are many hours before dinner, the restaurant is already bustling and noisy. The repeated thunk of chopping vegetables emanates from the kitchen, along with the music on the radio. The tinkle of sorting glassware echoes from the front of the house. Somebody periodically signs for deliveries, and the phone rings, seemingly without pause, as people make dinner reservations.

These logistical duties are just a few of Santos-Neves’s many responsibilities. As chef de cuisine, she oversees the daily kitchen operations and takes charge of the appetizers and desserts. But as a partner, she also has her hands in a wide variety of business-related projects, from brand management to event planning. In addition to her work at Cómodo, Santos-Neves and her partners — Felipe Donnelly, Tamy Rofe and Mac Osborne — also run a companion restaurant in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, called Colonia Verde, which has a similar Latin-inspired menu but a more casual atmosphere.

The team also recently started a catering service, Compartí Catering, which has partnered with brands such as Etsy and Warby Parker, and hosted an album launch event for neo-soul singer Janelle Monáe. Future projects tentatively include creating farmto-office catered lunches.

“I love business development, I love collaborating with people, I love creating and keeping things interesting and staying relevant,” Santos-Neves says. “And that’s part of being in New York — you can’t be complacent here.”

But although these projects are rewarding and exciting for Santos-Neves, food remains her primary passion, and her love for cooking is evident in the creativity of the menu. Santos-Neves playfully combines ingredients and dishes from all over Latin America

26

in unconventional ways and occasionally adds flavors from other culinary traditions — an approach that she describes as a “mix and match.” Cómodo’s trademark lamb sliders, for example, are served on Brazilian cheese bread, but the accompanying creamy chipotle sauce has a Mexican flavor profile. Similarly, Cómodo’s ceviche is inspired by the Mexican preparation of the dish, but with the addition of Peruvian aji amarillo chile and topped off Brazilian-style with crunchy cashews.

Restaurant patrons unfamiliar with Latin cuisine may not have experienced some of these flavor combinations before visiting Cómodo. Some of the ingredients may be completely unfamiliar words on the menu. For SantosNeves and Donnelly, however, these dishes recall comfort food from their childhood.

“We draw from nostalgic moments in our life,” Santos-Neves says. “We think of a dish we had when we were younger, but we make it a little more refined.”

BRO OKS BULLETIN

< Clockwise: Carolina Santos-Neves ’99 outside Cómodo. Santos-Neves combines Latin American ingredients and ingredients from other culinary traditions in unconventional ways. Carolina SantosNeves ’99 at work in the kitchen. Carolina SantosNeves ’99 prepares a dish at Cómodo.

“We draw from NOSTALGIC MOMENTS in our life. We think of a dish we had when we were younger, but we make it a little more refined.”

CAROLINA SANTOS-NEVES ’99

FALL 2015

FINDING HER PLACE This nostalgic aspect might seem slightly incongruous with the diversity of cuisines represented at the restaurant, but the transnational menu is a natural outgrowth of Santos-Neves’s cosmopolitan upbringing. Born in Geneva to a Brazilian father and American mother, she spent her earliest years in Brasilia. The family later moved to Manhattan, then Westchester County and later Mexico City.

Her parents continued to move around the world while she was at Brooks and Brown University, and Santos-Neves would visit them (and sample the local cuisine) during school vacations.

27

< A finished dish awaiting service at Cómodo.

Despite the shifts in location, food was always a stable element in her familial life. Her family would have dinner together almost every night, and Santos-Neves would often help her mother in the kitchen. They would also plan the week’s meals together (“Okay mom, what’s for lunch today? Tomorrow?

The day after that?”) and talk about the recipes they discovered in her mother’s food magazines.

Food was a major part of her life at Brooks as well, although with limited kitchen access she was primarily focused on visiting restaurants — an activity that she jokes was her hobby during her time at the school.

Visitors to Cómodo would probably be surprised to learn of her favorite places to eat while she was at Brooks, including Orzo Trattoria, Bertucci’s, Joe’s American Bar and Grill and The Cheesecake Factory, but for Santos-Neves these restaurants were a chance to enjoy more variety than the dining hall could offer. She also has fond memories of the region’s many ice cream places, praise shared by many members of the school community.

After she graduated from Brown, Santos-Neves worked at Special Ops Media, an early entry into online advertising. Although she enjoyed thinking about branding, which has considerably aided her work at the restaurant, she soon realized that she wanted to be working in “the food world.” But without a strong culinary background, she wasn’t sure of the steps she needed to take in order to get there.

28

“It’s unbelievable, the amount of different INGREDIENTS and dishes out there. Each one of these countries has so many different ingredients, and I wish they were all accessible here.”

CAROLINA SANTOS-NEVES ’99

“I had to sort of start telling people that I wanted to do things with food, and then I started getting introduced to people,” SantosNeves says.

She discovered that Epicurious, a Condé Nast food website, was in the middle of a platform relaunch, and they were hiring freelancers to transfer data to the new system.

This sort of work wasn’t exactly what Santos-Neves had hoped for — a friend whom she excitedly told about the opportunity bluntly said “this sounds terrible” — but she reasoned that it was an opportunity that she couldn’t pass up. Plus, she reasoned, even if it wasn’t very much fun, the position was only for a month.

Santos-Neves ended up staying at Epicurious for five years in various editorial positions. Again, it was a slow start: She remembered an email asking if she was interested in an assistant editor position. “You’ll eventually get to blog, you’ll eventually get to do all these things, but right now it’s basically inputting recipes into a database,” Santos-Neves laughs, remembering the email. “So I reply, ‘Sounds fantastic!’”

Despite the initial drudgery, Santos-Neves did eventually get to start writing for the website. The first section that she worked on

was the “taste test” column, which she helped plan and to which she contributed her own pieces. Quickly her work became eclectic, including stories on everything from Cinco de Mayo to the centennial celebration of Julia Child’s birth. Her favorite pieces were the travel stories, visiting places such as Austin, Texas, and Charleston, S.C., and compiling a short list of restaurant recommendations.

When she wasn’t writing, SantosNeves was also hosting frequent dinner parties at her apartment.

A recurring thematic foundation for the dinners was something Santos-Neves called “the cookbook club,” where she would assign each guest a recipe from the same cookbook. But the small size of the apartment, coupled with SantosNeves’s enthusiasm for bringing people together, led to some unexpected logistical scenarios.

“I wouldn’t really create a list,” Santos-Neves says. “I would be like, ‘Hey you! Hey you! Hey you!’ and all of a sudden there would be like 40 people in my apartment. It was always a lot of fun and a little bit of a disaster.”

During this time, Santos-Neves reconnected with a middle school classmate from her time in Mexico City, who suggested that SantosNeves attend the dinner parties of

BRO OKS BULLETIN

FIRST PERSON: TOM OWEN

An Evening at Cómodo The warm Brussels sprout Caesar salad combines sautéed and shredded Brussels sprouts with a creamy dressing of avocado and Parmesan. There’s also some slight anchovy flavor present, an ingredient which Santos-Neves enthusiastically evangelizes. The acidity of the mustard and lime help cut through the richness of the other components, and the anchovy and Parmesan provide a pleasantly funky tanginess.

The small lamb sliders are served on Brazilian cheese bread, or pão de queijo.

Following the traditional recipe, the bread is made of yuca flour instead of wheat. The bun is springy and flavorful, and I didn’t realize that it wasn’t “real” bread before Santos-Neves described its composition. While the flavors in the sliders differ significantly from those in the salad, there is a similar balancing act in play between the various components. The overall taste is complex, and some of the individual ingredients are difficult to discern until Santos-Neves mentions that cranberries, marjoram and shallots compose the backbone of the flavor profile.

To eat the sliders, I dip them into the creamy chipotle sauce that comes in a small ramekin. The chipotle in the sauce doesn’t dominate; rather, it contributes to a sort of afterburn effect that leaves my mouth tingling pleasantly after every bite. The playful act of picking up this tiny sandwich and dunking it into sauce may seem to be at odds with the “refined” nature of the menu, but the pairing suggests that Santos-Neves and her partners don’t take themselves too seriously.

FALL 2015

The steak is served on a bed of farofa, the toasted yuca dish that Santos-Neves describes as a new experience for most visitors despite its omnipresence in Brazilian cuisine. When I bite into it, there’s a bit of a crunch, but the grains quickly melt in my mouth and take on a more velvety mouthfeel.

The texture of the farofa provides a dynamic contrast with the soft richness of the caramelized shallots and sauteed spinach, and the steak is flavorful with a crispy crust.

I have to catch the train back to Boston, and I’ve spent so much time savoring the earlier courses that I don’t have time for dessert. But Santos-Neves insists on boxing up the café con leches cake anyway, which I accept with gratitude before running towards the subway. Somewhere in Connecticut, I take the box out of my bag and dip my finger in the slightly squashed cake.

It’s moist, fluffy and full of coffee and dark chocolate flavor. It is delicious. I am miles away from New York, but I still feel like a guest at her table.

Carolina SantosNeves ’99 jots down ideas for a new dish during a quiet moment at Cómodo.

29

“You’ll eventually get to blog, you’ll eventually get to do all these things, but RIGHT NOW it’s basically inputting recipes into a database. So I reply, ‘Sounds fantastic!’”

CAROLINA SANTOS-NEVES ’99

another classmate, Felipe Donnelly.

Donnelly and his wife, Tamy Rofe, were advertising executives, but they were passionate about food, and they had recently started hosting a Thursday “supper club” in their Tribeca apartment. Each week, Donnelly would cook and Rofe would blog about the food and the experience. Originally, they invited friends, but it evolved into gatherings of 40 to 50 people who heard about it through past visitors or the blog and purchased tickets for the evening.

Santos-Neves and Donnelly quickly became close through all these dinners, and when Donnelly was asked to host dinners at a space called City Grit in Nolita, he asked Santos-Neves if she wanted to help. They worked together to design a menu for 35, and in the process the pair learned that they made a good team.

Moreover, their culinary backgrounds complemented each other well. Donnelly, who also moved frequently growing up, introduced Santos-Neves to Peruvian and Colombian cuisine.

Similarly, working together allowed them to balance out their personal flavor preferences.

“I’m more on the healthy side and he’s like… not unhealthy, but he’s definitely taught me things like ‘add some cream to this,’ or ‘add

30

some butter,’ or ‘how about some pork,’” Santos-Neves says.

Donnelly and Rofe decided to go into cooking full-time and open a restaurant, which became Cómodo. By the time the restaurant was in its planning stage, Santos-Neves had entered the Chef’s Training Program at Natural Gourmet Institute in order to learn more about recipe development and sharpen her skills in the kitchen, so Felipe asked her to help develop the Cómodo menu.

It was a busy time for Santos-Neves: On top of culinary school and her work for the restaurant, she was still writing for Epicurious as her day job. But as her passion for the kitchen grew, she realized that her heart wasn’t in writing anymore, and she left Epicurious to work full time at Cómodo.

CULINARY EXPRESSION Although Santos-Neves isn’t currently writing, her work in the restaurant has a line of continuity with the website: her desire to share her passion for food and introduce people to new flavors.

This educational aspect is particularly evident in the context of regional food.

“It’s unbelievable, the amount of different ingredients and dishes out there,” Santos-Neves says.

“Each one of these countries has so

Carolina Santos-Neves ’99 is serious and focused in the Cómodo kitchen. >

many different ingredients, and I wish they were all accessible here.”

She speaks about one side dish in particular: farofa, a Brazilian preparation of toasted yuca flour, which many visitors to the restaurant have never tried before. (Yuca, also known as cassava, is a plant with a starchy tuber; it is not to be confused with the geographically and nominally similar yucca plant.)

The grains are similar in size and texture to raw couscous and have a sort of salty crunch.

“People are always fascinated by it,” she says. “They’re like, ‘this is really… dry.’”

The divergent responses to the farofa underline one of the challenges of restaurant cooking: trying to accommodate a wide range of preferences, especially when they differ from your own.

Santos-Neves describes a dessert that she invented with Donnelly: Inspired by bread pudding, but skewed toward her love for salty and sweet, it combined their trademark Brazilian cheese bread with chocolate. The chefs thought it was delicious, but it ended up being the dish that was sent back the most at both restaurants. But the dessert also boasts a devoted fan club who were sad to learn that they removed it from the menu.

“There’s this couple who calls ahead and says, ‘We’re coming tonight, is there any way that Carolina can make that dessert?’

People have different palates, but we try to make it accessible and please people.”

The Cómodo kitchen, which occupies the breadth of the back wall, opens up directly onto the dining room. Because of this, there is somewhat of a performative aspect to the dinner service; the

BRO OKS BULLETIN

A TASTING MENU

Brooksians in the Food World WILFRED SHRIGLEY III ’64 Owner, The Rhumb Line Restaurant, Gloucester, Mass.

Fred Shrigley has run The Rhumb Line Restaurant since 1978. Its pub-style atmosphere and nightly live entertainment has made it a favorite with locals for decades.

RICHARD PFEFFER ’81 Owner, Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Company, Portland, Freeport and Auburn, Maine Gritty McDuff’s opened in Portland in 1988 as the first brew pub in Maine, serving traditional pub fare with beer brewed on the premises. Now expanded to three locations, Gritty’s is widely credited with jumpstarting the state’s thriving craft brewing scene.

KATHY SCALERA SANTORO ’85 Owner, Good Day Café, North Andover, Mass.

Located just a few minutes away from campus, Good Day Café is a beloved breakfast and lunch spot for the Brooks community. The café is known for its baked goods, sandwiches and coffee and its commitment to fresh and organic food.

kitchen serves as a stage for Santos-Neves and her staff, who are visibly hard at work preparing dishes. In contrast to her usual bright smile, in the kitchen Santos-Neves has a serious expression, and her gaze is intensely focused on her work. But when she looks up from the cutting board to survey the restaurant, or when she occasionally emerges to talk to customers, her demeanor is animated and welcoming.

There are few large lighting fixtures in the restaurant, and as the sun begins to set, the interior of the space becomes

FALL 2015

dark. Voices bounce off the brick walls and cumulatively amplify, and the small space rumbles with the quiet thunder of conversation.

At one table, three friends are deciding what to order.

One of the women has visited Cómodo before, and she excitedly makes recommendations to her companions. Echoing Santos-Neves’s philosophy on food, the return customer urges her friends to order dishes that are “shareable.”

They nix the soup in favor of arepas, and when they arrive, they all dig in together.

WHITNEY ROMOSER SAVIGNANO ’87 Owner, Tenuta Santo Pietro, Siena, Italy Tenuta Santo Pietro is an inn (which dates back to the 13th century) and 72-acre working farm in the heart of Tuscany. The inn’s restaurant prepares classic regional dishes using seasonal ingredients that are grown on the farm or locally sourced.

NICK MARCKWALD ’99 Owner, Hen Of The Woods, Cincinnati, Ohio Nick Marckwald currently sells goods such as potato chips, jams and cultured butter at local retailers under the Hen Of The Woods brand, but this winter he plans to open a two-story brick-and-mortar outpost. The first floor will be a market selling house-created goods, and the second floor will be a restaurant with an emphasis on seasonal, locally grown ingredients.

JESS KAPADIA ’04 Senior Editor, Food Republic Food Republic is a website that explores the culture of food through stories, interviews and recipes. Kapadia writes articles for the website and has served in a number of additional roles, including recipes editor and test kitchen chef.

31

D E SES THE

32

INSPI-

A .

B I N D E R

33 AUDREY RYAN ’97

R E B E C C A

I N THIS FI RST PART of a two-part series, the Bulletin explores the impact that Brooks had on the careers of seven alumni artists who work in the performing arts. You’ll meet an aspiring filmmaker, an established musician, a Hollywood writer and a Wall Street lawyer who changed course to pursue his dream. Some of these alumni took every arts class Brooks offered; some of them formed bands with their friends; all of them say that their time at Brooks played a formidable role in their careers. The second part of the series, scheduled to run in the spring 2016 Bulletin, will profile several alumni who have careers in the visual arts.

RAT ION

B Y

T HE

ARTS

AT B ROO KS

of

34 OLUFUNMILAYO GITTENS ’91 35 GREG MATSES ’80 36 TIA NAPOLITANO ’02 37 BEN THORON ’85 38 JEEP MACNICHOL ’85 39 CHRIS WOOD ’85

BRO OKS BULLETIN

Audrey Ryan ’97

PHOTO CO URTESY O F AUDREY RYAN ’97

THE SINGERSONGWRITER Audrey Ryan believes in the importance of grassroots music: Music that’s different, spontaneous, performed by bands and musicians who get together after music class ends, who seek out small performance spaces, who fight for space and a voice in an industry that tends to overlook the little guy.

Ryan took advantage of every musical opportunity that Brooks offered.

She sang in an a cappella group; she enrolled in music classes; she played violin for on-campus and off-campus orchestral groups; she participated in school musicals. Her love of performing continued when she enrolled at the University of Vermont, where she became involved with jazz and bluegrass bands. She moved to Boston, WI NTE R 2015

dedicated herself to a career as a singer-songwriter and toured for 10 years. Now, she focuses on licensing, and on selling songs used in commercials and television shows.

“My music has changed a lot over the years,” Ryan says. “It’s become a little more indie, a little more eclectic. I have a multi-instrumental sound, sort of like a one-man band. I’ve found my own voice and I’ve focused on original music.” One of Ryan’s main collaborators is the singer Will Dailey, who produced and recorded Ryan’s 2014 E.P., “Let’s Go to the Vamp.”

Ryan provides a space for up-and-coming artists to perform in front of small crowds. It’s an urban loft in Somerville, Mass., where Ryan and her all-volunteer crew host local musicians and touring acts for around

10 shows each year. “One problem with the music business is that it’s sometimes not really worth it for a group to play at a club,” she says. “The economics don’t really work out. There’s no overhead at the loft, and this is a chance for a more intimate setting where people will listen instead of talking over the band.”

In 2011, Ryan published a book she wrote, “The Need to be Heard.” She describes it as a book for and about “DIY” musicians: Artists who do not have labels, managers and the support of the corporate music industry.

“Eventually, I did have a manager and a label, but my career has really been from the ground up,” Ryan says. “The book is about my experience trying to do music professionally, which is a tough career. It’s a pretty hard look into the music business, and it includes interviews with a lot of artists and industry people. These voices are important, and I learned a lot about all the different aspects of the industry from writing the book.”

33

ON THE VERGE

she says, “I get to learn about a new community while putting out a quality product every day.”

After graduating from Brooks, Gittens studied modern culture and media at Brown University. She took a film production course at neighboring Rhode Island School of Design, which started her on her career path.

Gittens says that her time at Brooks “made a huge difference.”

“My parents are artists, so my upbringing already included a very analytical approach to watching film,” she says. “Brooks developed that love even further.”

Gittens speaks fondly of former faculty E. Graham Ward’s “scholarly approach to film” and remembers former faculty Michael Walczak’s “play of the month” club and guided theater productions. Gittens started to develop her directorial skills at Brooks, when she directed a one-act play for her sixth-form project.

“Brooks gave me a chance to develop as both a scholar and an artist,” Gittens says. “The high school years are a great time to expand your horizons, and Brooks develops the total person through sports, academics, the Exchange Program — arts is a part of the development of ‘educated people.’ If you study and are exposed to the arts in high school, you become more developed as a person and you’re more able to plug into the world around you.”

PH OTO: KETRIN A HOS KI N

Olufunmilayo Gittens ’91

Olu Gittens is a writer, director and producer in Los Angeles. She founded Oh Gee Productions, her own film production company, to make feature-length narrative films that reflect a diverse African-American experience.

Gittens’s first feature film, “Baby of the Family,” is currently in development.

It’s an ensemble piece that follows a family surprised by an uninvited guest at Thanksgiving. Gittens says she’s looking forward to producing the feature. That accomplishment will come on the heels of a long list of what Gittens calls “mini-successes.” A short film called “Lucky” that Gittens wrote, directed and produced while she was earning her MFA in film production from Boston University garnered awards from numerous film festivals, including the New England Film and Video Festival and the National Black Programming Consortium; “Lucky” was showcased at the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian Institute and the Directors Guild of America before being acquired by distributor Lead Dog Entertainment.

Gittens also enjoys her job at KSCI, a Los Angeles television station that serves the AsianAmerican community. She’s gaining experience in television production and honing her production skills, and,

34

BRO OKS BULLETIN

ARTS

Greg Matses ’80

THE TEACHER Greg Matses has been a professional musician for years, but he’s always found a special joy in teaching teenagers and young adults about music. From 2003 through 2014, Matses was the owner and director of Vermont Rock Music Camp, which gave more than 1,100 teenagers the chance to form over 250 bands and learn from 76 guest artists at summer camp locations across Vermont and New Hampshire.

Did you enjoy giving kids such a unique opportunity to perform and learn? I

absolutely loved it. It was great. I’ve been around musicians that have been playing for 25 or 30 years; we get a little jaded. To see the kids at Vermont Rock Music Camp get excited over the simplest of things —learning a new chord, a new sound, a new part of a tune — made me think back to why I got into music in the first place. That was really important to my staff and me.

PH OTO COURTESY OF GREG MATSES ’80

What was your favorite guest artist performance at camp? I have two favorites.

First, three or four years ago, this band out of Nashville called NEULORE came in. We were running shows out of a ratty old punk rock club, but they were very focused and had amazing sound quality.

I was really impressed with their attention to detail in sound, and how they sonically placed things in the spectrum.

It was unique and well done. We also ran guest artist instructional clinics: Jon Fishman, the drummer from the band Phish, came in and worked with the kids. They were beside themselves to be on stage working with a big rock star.

larger ensemble — more of a rock orchestra, as opposed to traditional bands of four to six kids.

Were you involved with the arts at Brooks? I played in a band. We

played music at the dances that we had with other schools, for example.

I still have tapes of that band somewhere! I remember the music program being pretty small. It’s important for high school students to be involved in the arts, though: Especially in today’s culture, where we’re all buried in devices, kids become so isolated. Culturally, we lose the connection to each other in a lot of ways. The communal properties of music — people playing music together, but also people playing music for other people in a communal setting —is something that we need.

What’s next for you? I’m finishing my master’s degree in music education, and I’m writing a book focused on guitar education. I’m also teaching music for the Vermont state colleges.

My new idea is to work with kids in a

WI NTE R 2015

35

THE ANATOMY OF A TV SHOW

Tia Napolitano ’02

Tia Napolitano graduated from New York University and headed west with a dream. She worked her way up from a job in the mailroom of a Los Angeles talent agency to a job as a writer’s assistant on the long-running hit ABC medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy.” She finally got her big break in the chance to write an episode script; the script was a hit, the episode aired and she got a coveted seat in the “Grey’s Anatomy” writers’ room.

How does the “Grey’s Anatomy” writers’ room work? How do episodes get written? There are about a dozen writers, and

we hold a roundtable meeting every day where we pitch ideas and work as a group. Each episode is assigned to a particular writer who takes the lead. I compare this to the small classroom style at Brooks: When it’s your episode, you act like a teacher leading a group discussion; everyone’s talking, but you’re steering the content. Then, the writer will take all those ideas away and write an outline, and then a script.

Do the writers know what’s going to happen in the long term, or do you only learn the plot episode by episode?

A little bit of both. We do our seasons in two parts, so there’s something called a midseason finale.

We know how the midseason is going to end, and we sometimes know how the season’s going to end. I think Shonda [Rhimes, the show’s creator, head writer, executive producer and showrunner] has the long-term plot in her mind. The writers have an idea of the larger story, but it’s not very specific. The writers focus episode by episode, but there is a sense of the larger story that we’re trying to tell for the characters.

What was your experience with the arts at Brooks? I sched-

PH OTO: RI CK POO N

uled my classes with an eye toward taking as many writing courses as I could as a sixth-former. I think the English program at the time was fantastic. I took a fiction and film class that really inspired me to see that screenwriting was an actual thing. As far as arts, I did an independent study where I directed and staged my own play in the black box theater. I took advantage of everything I could, but there’s always room for more. Arts education is invaluable. In the same way that the school asks kids who normally wouldn’t play sports to play sports — and that’s great; I learned a lot about team building and life lessons through sports at Brooks — I think there are similar lessons to be learned from the arts.

36

BRO OKS BULLETIN

ARTS

Ben Thoron ’85

PH OTO COURTESY OF BE N TH ORON ’85

SETTING THE STAGE Ben Thoron first became involved in community theater when he was in elementary school. At Brooks, he became heavily involved in backstage work with the drama department — he credits the Brooks faculty with “setting the standards for what was possible.” He went on to the University of California – Santa Cruz, and then received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama. Now, he’s technical director at the internationally acclaimed, Tony Award-winning Old Globe Theater in San Diego, Calif., the city’s flagship arts institution.

What are your responsibilities as technical director? My main responsibility is making sure the

scenery goes from design through the construction process and ends up on stage, on time and on budget. That’s the simple part. The rest of my job is about about coordinating everyone else,

and making sure that our other production departments — lighting, properties, sound, projection — are all working together, and that they’ll also end up on stage, on time and on budget.

What effect do you think scenery has on an audience’s perception of a performance? Philosophically,

theater is nothing more than one group of people telling a story to a group of other people. In many respects, to do theater, to tell a story to a room, doesn’t require a lot of scenery or costumes or lighting. But, every element you add to that storytelling can improve the audience’s experience, can tell a more nuanced story. When we do our job right, we’re expanding an actor’s potential capacity for telling a story. We’re filling in details that teach us a little more

about the characters, the place that they’re from, the world that they’re in. One of the things we’re known for at the Globe is filling the stage; we have a high level of quality in every aspect of the production department.

What do you see as the role of arts in a high school? It’s essential.

There’s no two ways about it. You have to give kids an outlet to build and design and think and draw and communicate in ways that aren’t just essays or math problems or a science lab. Having an arts program is critical for a teenager. Craft, and the actual making and doing of things, is a sadly neglected part of the American experience, and the arts is the one place where a teenager can make something real, and can say, look, I did this.

A set at San Diego’s Old Globe Theater.

Jeep MacNichol ’85 & Chris Wood ’85

BROOKS BAND In the early 1980s, four Brooks students — Jeep MacNichol ’85, Chris Wood ’85, Tom Mullarkey ’85 and Chuck Taylor ’86 — got together and formed a band. They did what high school bands do: They struggled to find rehearsal space; they played gigs where they could; they sat in dorm rooms listening to music and dreaming big.

Three decades later, two of the band’s members — MacNichol, the drummer, and Wood, the trombonist (yes, trombonist) — have found successful careers in the arts.

But, they’ve found their success via two very different paths.

A Quick Rise To Fame

38

PH OTO: DOG DAZE PHOTO/LISA SICILIANO

Following his Brooks graduation, MacNichol decamped immediately for Colorado to pursue a career in music: He was one of the founding members of The Samples, a group whose music has been described as “reggae-influenced rock/pop,” a cross between iconic bands The Police and The Grateful Dead. The Samples took off on a national tour in 1988 and found a home in college audiences nationwide.

The Samples released six albums, toured nine months a year and sold more than 1,000,000 records before MacNichol left the group in 1997.

MacNichol continued performing under the name “Mr. Anonymous.” In 2003, he traveled to Kingston, Jamaica, to engage his love of dancehall and reggae music, and has since released two albums, six singles, five music videos and a live E.P. showcasing the raw energy and spontaneity of Jamaican artists. His 2012 album, “Champion Sound,” features The English Beat’s Ranking Roger, and his son, Ranking Jr., on vocals.

MacNichol’s newest project is a band called The Plates, a punk reggae band based in Denver, Colo. The Plates are getting ready to release their second studio album.

MacNichol credits Brooks with igniting his love of music. “I chose Brooks because there was a white Ludwig drum set in the music room,” he says. “I started taking drum lessons at Brooks, and within the first two months, my life plan was set.”

“That’s how music started for me,” he continues. “It was the combination of organized courses that Brooks offered, and also putting

BRO OKS BULLETIN

ARTS bands together with my buddies, listening to a Clash album and trying to figure out how to play a Clash tune.”

MacNichol says that he was small in high school, and he found it difficult to find confidence in sports. “The drums were the one thing I found that I could do and that made me proud of myself. I was always a nervous, shy kid, and this was my way of speaking.”

PH OTO CO URTESY OF CHRIS WOOD ’85

The Long Road Home

Wood calls his decision to go into law “a mistake.” He’d always loved to act, but after graduating from Georgetown University, Wood got a job as a paralegal before enrolling at Columbia Law School. He had spent five years at a powerful Wall Street law firm and three years working in-house for Sony when his mother and sister suggested that he leave the law to become an actor. They weren’t the first people in his life to suggest a career change.

Jeep MacNichol, Wood’s bandmate from Brooks, had visited Wood’s office.

“Jeep came and saw me at my law firm,” Wood says. “He looked at my desk, then looked at me and asked, ‘What are you doing? This isn’t what you do.’”

Wood, finally convinced, left his legal career behind to move to Los Angeles and pursue his passion. Since 2002, he’s racked up dozens of credits as an actor. He’s appeared on the television shows “According to Jim,” “Arrested Development,” “The Office” and “Days of Our Lives,” and he landed a role in the feature film “Friends with Benefits.” He’s also written and starred in “Her First Black Guy” and “Time to Kill,” two short films.

Wood adores his new career as a “middle-class actor,” and he’s found steady work in comedy. “People always say that I’m so brave to have done this. But, it’s not bravery,” he says. “When I was a lawyer, I had to wake up every day and decide not to do what I wanted to do. I had to turn that down every day.”

Former Brooks arts faculty Kristin Sprague kindled Wood’s interest in the arts. “I owe everything to Mrs. Sprague,” Wood says. “She knew that Jeep and I loved music and wanted to perform, and she made it happen. She kept the desire to perform going strong through high school. Those experiences were blissful, and they told me clearly that this is what I want to do.”

Wood’s experience in the corporate world gives him a unique perspective on the place of the arts. “The arts doesn’t work unless you’re willing to jump into darkness and trust that a net will catch you,” he says. “You have to be willing to fail, and that’s not something that’s taught in other academic disciplines. If we don’t teach the arts in schools, we lose the arts, but we also lose the entrepreneurs — the startups, the people coming up with new ideas that are necessary to grow — who have learned how to be willing to fail.”

Joe Trustey P’13, P’16 (left) and his daughter, Anna Trustey ’16, before the Brooks prom in April 2015.

dace

ecad

de

R E M E M B E R I N G

Anna, R E M E M B E R I N G

40

Joe

BY REBECCA A. BINDER

ed

BRO OKS BULLETIN

FALL 2015

PHOTO COURTESY OF KRIS TRUSTEY P’ 13, P’ 16

41

Tragedy struck on the evening of July 29, 2015. Brooks School board member Joe Trustey P’13, P’16 and his daughter, rising sixth-former

[

Anna Trustey, died when their small plane crashed on landing at Timmerman Airport in Milwaukee, Wis., en route to a college visit.

T

he email went out the next morning. “I am sorry to be writing with terribly sad news,” Head of School John Packard wrote, his words reflecting the shock and the overwhelming sense of disbelief that quickly fell over the Brooks community. “Joe was a pillar of support to everyone in his life, and certainly to Brooks School,” Mr. Packard continued. “I cannot overstate what his support has meant to me. Anna was beloved by all who were fortunate enough to know her. She was good to the core. To lose them both is excruciating.”

Out of the midsummer days, the Brooks community found each other. The campus found its footing, having been called on suddenly to receive students, faculty and staff that weren’t due in North Andover for another month. The doors to Ashburn Chapel stood open. Campus parking lots filled up. Grown men cried; teenage boys set their mouths; teenage girls ran to each other, hugged each other, sat in vigil with each other. A group gathered on Cape Cod; a group gathered in Gloucester, Mass.; students called out to each other over social media, Tweeting and Instagramming and texting their way closer together. (Anna, who loved to follow celebrity gossip, had a prolific presence on social media; she would have done the same.)

The following days contained the rituals that, one hopes, provide a space for mourning and for grief: a wake at Shore Country Day School in Beverly, Mass., which Anna attended and of which Joe served as president of the board of trustees; a funeral, attended by thousands, which was held at Gordon College in order to accommodate the large number of attendees. At Brooks, plans, practical buttresses, attempts to care for the students, faculty and staff that would soon begin an ambitious school year took shape: a grief counselor scheduled to work with faculty prior to the opening of school; a revised schedule for opening days to include increased advisory group time; invitations and encouragement to check in, to check on, to check up.

42

ac

Now, some months later, the final, brittle leaves have fallen from trees that were lush in July, the campus hums with the everyday rhythm of high school life and the class of 2016 — Anna’s class — has finally become used to calling itself sixth-formers.

Students are learning, teachers are focused and the school is fulfilling its mission every day. But, there’s a hole. A silence, which you notice sometimes. A girl in Chapel, her shoulders suddenly slumped. A boy in class, staring at the desk next to his, remembering last year’s occupant. A beautiful rainbow stretching over a girls 1st soccer practice, with the refrain echoing: Anna would have loved this; Anna would have absolutely loved to see this.

“Joe’s life was characterized by gratitude and by giving back.”

LOUI S NANNI , vice president for university relations at the University of Notre Dame

BRO OKS BULLETIN

de ************************ Pages 20 and 21 of the Summer 2015 Brooks Bulletin celebrate everything that’s good about Brooks. The two-page spread commemorates last year’s Lawn Ceremony. The spread lists the prizes Brooks awarded to its most outstanding students and faculty, and, running across the bottom of the spread, shows a photo of two classes of school prefects — the outgoing prefects from the class of 2015, and the incoming prefects from the class of 2016 — flanking Mr. Packard as he announces the incoming class of school prefects from the podium.

There, just to the left of the podium, stands Anna. Mr. Packard has just called her name as an incoming school prefect, and she’s just crossed the stage to a chorus of applause, cheers and support.

Anna’s hugging another prefect, who’s beaming; Anna’s back is to the camera, but it’s a given that she’s beaming also. The photo of this moment — a proud moment, a happy moment, a moment where Anna is among friends, celebrating and being celebrated — is a testament to Anna’s life at Brooks.

That photo — a photo so full of potential, of hope, of expectation — is also the last photo Brooks took of Anna. It shouldn’t have been. Anna should have been photographed throughout her sixth-form year: as a school prefect; as captain of the girls 1st soccer team; as captain of the girls 1st lacrosse team; as one of those treasured Brooks students who seems to be everywhere, to know everyone, to do everything.

“Anna was such a big part of this place,” says Associate Director of Admission John McVeigh.

McVeigh was Anna’s advisor

FALL 2015

“In small moments, in big ways, Anna had a humility, a grace and a wisdom beyond her years.”

JOH N M CV E I G H , Anna’s advisor and close family friend

Anna Trustey ’16 (to the left of the podium with her back turned) celebrates her selection as a school prefect at Lawn Ceremony in May 2015.

BRO OKS

beginning in her fifth-form year, and he is close with the Trustey family. “She had this bright personality that shone through no matter where she was. You noticed Anna. When she walked into a room, when she was on the field, if she passed you on campus, she was always smiling, she was always happy, she was always saying hi to people. She connected with people as well as any kid that I’ve ever met here.”

Anna came to Brooks in the footsteps of her older sister, Caroline Trustey ’13. Caroline managed McVeigh’s boys 1st basketball team; when she graduated and headed to college at the University of Notre Dame, Anna took over the managerial duties. McVeigh notes that, even though Anna didn’t

particularly love basketball, she immersed herself in the program enthusiastically. She had individualized, complicated handshakes that she would execute with each member of the team; she was loved

by McVeigh’s assistant coaches (“she was this kid who showed up every day, and who they thought was wonderful to talk to and be around,” McVeigh says); she intently followed Notre Dame’s run into last year’s NCAA basketball tournament, and she would text McVeigh ideas for plays that she had watched the Irish run. (Anna didn’t just scout basketball plays: Following a family trip to Florida, she sent McVeigh a detailed advance report on Disneyworld attractions, for use by McVeigh’s 7-year old daughter.)

43

[

44

de

************************ Anna may have chosen to cheer on Notre Dame’s tournament run because Notre Dame holds a special place in the Trustey heart. Joe put himself through Notre Dame on a ROTC scholarship. He graduated from the university in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. While in college, Joe also met Kristine Anderson, who attended St. Mary’s College, a small all-women’s college and sister school to Notre Dame. Kris and Joe were married on April 25, 1987. Anna, the third of their four children, was born on their 10th wedding anniversary.

Joe spent four years in the Army as an engineer after he graduated from Notre Dame and attained the rank of captain. He went on to receive an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar. At the time of his death, Joe was a managing director and chief operating officer at Summit Partners, a growth equity firm in Boston.

Joe was an exceptionally successful, self-made man. Over his two decades at Summit, he led investments in more than 25 companies, served as a mentor to younger colleagues and became a loyal friend and trusted partner to his business associates. “At Summit and beyond, Joe led by example — with absolute integrity and honesty,” a statement published by Summit shortly after the crash reads. “He committed himself wholeheartedly to the organizations, institutions and individuals he touched, and we at Summit benefited greatly from this dedication.”

“Joe hated to see people suffer and struggle, and he always wanted

“Joe embodied what it is to be a trustee. He was passionate, caring and he wanted things to get done.

He embodies everything that’s good about the role.”

STEVE GORHAM ’85, P’17, president-elect of the Brooks board of trustees

to do everything he could to help people out in difficult times,” says Louis Nanni, Joe’s college classmate and the current vice president for university relations at Notre Dame.

Nanni recalls the Catholic tradition of giving your time, your talent and your resources, and says that Joe gave back to Notre Dame in all of those ways.

He was a member of the Notre Dame Engineering Advisory Council and the Undergraduate Experience Advisory Council. He was also a member of the university’s Campaign Cabinet. Joe and Kris also supported the university’s award-winning Alliance for Catholic Education, a program that has strengthened, sustained and transformed Catholic schools by forming over 2,500 talented and committed young teachers and school leaders to serve in under-resourced Catholic schools across the United States and around the world.

Nanni says that, beyond his formal philanthropy, Joe supported Notre Dame’s neediest students on a more personal level. Joe would routinely supply funds for Notre Dame students from low-income families to buy winter coats, to buy

plane tickets home for the holidays, to afford a dinner at a restaurant with friends. “He told me that he didn’t need any thank you letters, that he didn’t need an accounting,” Nanni says. “Joe said, just make sure it gets to the kids who need it the most. And that epitomizes Joe. He saw a need and he wanted to find a way to help people feel better.”

Joe reportedly had one condition for these gifts: He asked that, if the recipients ever had an opportunity to help others in a similar way, that they would.

Joe loved Notre Dame and treated the campus as a second home. Nanni recalls Joe bringing family members, family friends and colleagues to South Bend. “He loved to run the campus, to take people into the football locker room on game day, to show them Notre Dame and the spirit of this place,” Nanni says “He welcomed people to Notre Dame like you would welcome someone into your home.”

McVeigh, Anna’s advisor, was one of the people Joe welcomed to Notre Dame. “That’s one of my all-time favorite life memories,” McVeigh says. “Joe knew that my dad, who had gone to Catholic school in the

BRO OKS BULLETIN

Anna Trustey ’16 (center) was always surrounded by friends as she walked the Brooks campus, as here with Emily Garrard '16 (left) and Jinx Charman ’16.

1950s and 1960s when Notre Dame was the big thing, had never been to a game there. Joe mentioned that he’d have to come out for a game, and all of a sudden, we were actually doing it. He flew me, my dad and my son out. We got to see the locker room, we got to go out on the field. It was a dream trip for my dad.”

“It was those little things,” McVeigh continues. “The way my dad talks about the Trusteys. Think of how removed my father is from Joe Trustey. He’s the father of someone who works at the school that the daughter of this man went to, and still, Joe found a way to touch him.”

Joe, who majored in chemical engineering, set up the Trustey Family Scholars Program and the Trustey Family STEM fellowships, a series of scholarships for students to study STEM disciplines at Notre Dame. The Trustey family reviews applications and selects scholarship recipients in coordination with Notre Dame administrators. During the most recent round of applications, Anna gleefully filmed a video of herself singing lyrics asking for a scholarship, to the melody of the famous Notre Dame Victory March.

She got four lines in before she flubbed the lyrics and dissolved into a peal of laughter: You should give me the scholarship / I am so deserving of it / I will show up to class / and I will provide all of the sass!” **************************** Anna was, in many ways, a chip off of Joe’s block. They shared a sense of humor, a humility, a confidence and a desire to help those around them. They both had big, gregarious personalities — they were people to whom others gravitated — and they were both loved by those with whom

FALL 2015

they spent time, from teammates to roommates to family to colleagues.

Anna was, like her father, a respected leader who knew how to connect with both the most timid third-former and the most decorated sixth-former. Assistant Director of Admission and girls 1st soccer head coach Jaime Gilbert ’04 gave Anna a spot on the 1st team as a third-former because, she says, she saw that Anna was driven to be the best athlete she could be.

“She brought everybody together,” Gilbert says. “She was the kid who, when you subbed her out, she’d be purple in the face because she gave it everything she had. She set an example for her teammates, and her teammates saw her effort and respected her, and that’s why she was made a captain.”

Randy Hesse, who coaches the girls 1st lacrosse team, calls Anna “a great competitor and a great athlete.” He says that she always encouraged her teammates while holding herself to high standards.

“Anna always thought about and cared about other people,” he says.

“After a tough game, kids would be sitting on the bench with their heads down, and Anna was always the one to go over and put an arm around them. She always looked at her impact on the greater group, whether that was a class, a team or the school.”

Anna was everywhere at Brooks.

Everyone, it seems, has a photo of themselves with Anna, arms around shoulders, smiling into the sun. Everyone has a story about Anna, a time they walked down

“Joe cared deeply about Brooks.

He was forthright in thought and generous in time. He did not aspire to headlines but was generous to friends and causes in which he believed.”

NICK BOOTH ’67, P’05, president of the Brooks board of trustees

45

“In the midst of the pain of our loss, we celebrate that Anna gives her name to this field, knowing that on it we come together as one, and that here and in other places, she is among us. Amen.”

ac

School Minister and Director of Spiritual Life JULIE MAVITY MADDALENA’s invocation at the dedication of Anna K. Trustey Memorial Field

Main Street with Anna, a do-youremember-that-day-when with Anna. “I guess that’s the nice thing,” McVeigh says. “She was so outgoing, and so great about sharing herself, that I think everyone here walks around with a little part of her. That’s what carries on.

She didn’t give us a choice but to remember her, and to carry her with us.”

A LASTING MEMORIAL On October 23, in front of a capacity crowd and prior to the 1st football team’s win over The Rivers School, Brooks’s turf field was formally dedicated Anna K. Trustey Memorial Field. Anna captained the girls 1st soccer team and the girls 1st lacrosse team, two of the teams that use the turf field. “[Anna] was an excellent student, a hard worker, and a person with talents that permeated and energized the school in so many meaningful ways,” Mr. Packard said in his speech dedicating the

field. “There was no community within the larger Brooks School community that was not better by virtue of her leadership, citizenship and always true sense of what was right. When she was a younger student at Brooks, older students admired and respected her grit. Her peers appreciated her integrity and rare ability to befriend anyone and everyone.

As an older student at Brooks, younger students admired and felt her warmth and kindness.

And she was fun; so much fun to be around.

To be sure, we miss our friend, and our student, and our advisee, and our school prefect, and our captain, and our roommate, and our teammate and a citizen like no other at our school. Tonight, we celebrate her life and spirit, all that she was and continues to

be to us, all the ways she reached us and will continue to reach us throughout our lives, and we name this field certain to recall all that was so wonderful about her; certain to be inspired by her example; certain to feel her warmth; certain in the knowledge that visiting here will remind us again and again that she was good to the core.”

Brooks has also received a number of gifts to its Anna Trustey Memorial Fund. These gifts will be used to construct an inspiration garden in a quiet, beautiful courtyard behind the Science Center. “The goal is to activate that space in ways that will allow for reflection, an outdoor class meeting, or any number of small group or individual gatherings,” Mr. Packard said when revealing the plan for the garden to the Brooks community. “The goal is to create a space that honors and remembers all Brooks School students who died young.”

[

Joe and Anna Trustey are survived by: Kris Trustey P’13, P’16, Joe’s wife and Anna’s mother; oldest daughter and sister Caroline Trustey ’13; youngest daughter and sister Claire Trustey; Joe’s father; Joe’s sisters, Jeannie Sullivan and Ann Marie Guggenberger, who is a staff member at Brooks; and many other loving relatives. They were preceded in death by A. J. Trustey, son and brother, who had epilepsy and died in his sleep in October 2014 at 22 years old. The Trusteys have made great strides in promoting epilepsy awareness. They have enabled innovative epilepsy research through the endowed A. J. Trustey Epilepsy Research Fund at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

46

BRO OKS BULLETIN

B RO O KS CONNECTIONS

BROOKS CONNECTIONS IN THIS SECTION 48 Alumni News 54 Class Notes 93 In Memoriam

Can you identify these Brooks students participating in a Classics Day chariot race? Email Rebecca A. Binder, editor, at rbinder@ brooksschool.org with your guess.

48

BRO OKS BULLETIN

A LU M N I N EWS

#IAmAnEngineer Nupur Sutaria ’08 drew media attention this summer.

She wrote a piece about her experience as a female engineer in reaction to the social media hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer, which celebrates female engineers in an overwhelmingly male field. Sutaria is a senior designer at Transit Wireless, a New York engineering firm that designs and installs the infrastructure for wi-fi and cellular service in the New York City subway system. Her piece was published on the Transit Wireless website.

Sutaria received both undergraduate and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Columbia University. She wrote that engineering is her “passion,” and continued, << Nupur Sutaria ’08 “I could not, at this point in spoke out about her experience as a my life, imagine myself in any female engineer. other career field.” However, she notices a lack of diversity in engineering. “While they may not always say it, I sense that when I meet seasoned engineers on a jobsite they are thinking, ‘She doesn’t look like an engineer,’” Sutaria wrote.

“They’re wrong. #ILookLikeAnEngineer because #IAmAnEngineer.”

Sutaria credits Transit Wireless with supporting her and other female engineers in their efforts to highlight the work of female engineers. “It’s nice to get that recognition,” she tells the Bulletin. “It’s noticeable when I’m the only female engineer in a room full of male engineers. I think sometimes people are also surprised by how young I am, on top of the fact that I’m also a woman. But after I’ve spoken with people and shown them what I know, that’s all forgotten about.”

B RO O KS CONNECTIONS

News from the Alumni Board The new president of the alumni board introduces four working committees.

The Brooks alumni board, the governing body of the alumni association, recently named a new president: Jon Gibbons ’92 believes that the goal of the alumni board is to strengthen interaction between Brooks alumni and to continue to improve the Brooks experience. In furtherance of this goal, the alumni board recently re-established four working committees: a career advisory committee, an events committee, a nominating committee and a giving committee.

“The career advisory committee is trying to find a way for the Brooks alumni base to be more helpful to each other as they look at careers and change careers,” Gibbons says, citing the strong connections that naturally exist between Brooksians. The committee planned an inaugural career advisory panel in Boston in November.

Gibbons also notes the need for the alumni board to reflect the diversity of the Brooks alumni body. “Historically, the alumni board has been a local group, because we have meetings on campus,” he says. “We’re trying to figure out how to include members of the alumni base who are not local, and who better represent all the different demographics of our alumni.” The events committee, meanwhile, is charged with planning high-profile events that attract a greater cross-section of Brooks alumni.

“Although we are in the early planning stages, I think it is fair to say the Brooks alumni base will be excited about some of the things we are hoping to achieve this year,” Gibbons wrote in a September letter to alumni. “While the day-to-day happenings at the school are dominated by current students, it is our past and future impact on the school that makes Brooks such a special place.”

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

PH OTO COU RTESY OF T RA NSIT WIR ELESS

A LUMNI AWA R DS

We’re already planning for Alumni Weekend, which will take place May 13 – May 15, 2016. A highlight of the weekend is the awarding of three alumni awards: the Distinguished Brooksian award, the Alumni Bowl award and the Alumni Shield award.

Descriptions of each award follow.

If you’d like to nominate a member of a Brooks alumni class year ending in 1 or 6 for one of these awards,

FALL 2015

please contact Assistant Director of Alumni Programs Kevin Corkery at kcorkery@brooksschool.org or (978) 725-6219 by February 1, 2016.

The Alumni Bowl award, given by the Brooks School Alumni Board, recognizes dedicated and thoughtful service to this school.

The Distinguished Brooksian award honors a member of the Brooks community whose life and contributions to society exemplify the nobility of character and usefulness to humanity embodied in the spirit of the school.

The Alumni Shield award recognizes an alumna or alumnus who graduated from Brooks less than 25 years ago and has made significant contributions in the field of his or her endeavor.

A LU M N I BOA RD

The Brooks Alumni Association seeks your nominations to the Alumni Board. All Brooks alumni are eligible to serve on the Alumni Board. For more details about the nomination process and to submit your nomination, please visit www.brooksschool.org/ alumni/association.

49

BRO O KS CONNECTI O NS

ALU MNI NEWS

It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again Brooks alumni reflect on the experience of sending a child to Brooks.

Brooks takes it as a compliment when the same last names show up on class attendance lists from generation to generation. This year, 23 parents of current students are also Brooks alumni. These alumni get to view Brooks from a new perspective. They note that while the pillars of their child’s Brooks experience mirror the pillars of their own time on campus, some aspects of life at Brooks have evolved.

“Some things about Brooks have changed, like the buildings,” says Trish Anderson Sherman ’87, P’16, whose son, Kyle, is a sixth-former. “But

the thing I’ve noticed that hasn’t changed one bit is the relationships between the teachers and the students. I really cherished that, and I still have relationships with teachers from my time at Brooks.

The fact that Kyle’s been in class with some of those same NAMING RIGHTS teachers has really meant a lot, and watching him develop Our records show that at least nine Brooks his own relationships with them has been wonderful.” alumni have named their Karl Arakelian ’83, P’18, who has a daughter, Jordyn, in child either “Brooks” or the fourth form, sees many of his own memories in the way “Brooke.” At least two of those namesakes have gone his daughter has embraced Brooks’s sense of community. on to attend Brooks.

“She’s fostered some wonderful relationships with teachers and coaches, and she’s really come out of her shell,” Arakelian says. Father and daughter both enrolled as day students, and Arakelian believes that playing sports helped them assimilate. “Because I played soccer, I hung out in the dorms with my teammates, and I see Jordyn doing the same thing with her field hockey teammates,” he says.

50

“She spends an awful lot of time on campus — much more than I did! She goes in early to meet her friends for breakfast, and she does most of her studying there.”

Another Brooksian made a similar observation about the integration of day students into the fabric of the campus community. Marianne Augot Fleischman ’87, P’19,enrolled her daughter, Sarah ’19, as a boarding student.

However, Fleischman was a day student at Brooks. “I feel like now, there’s even more integration between the day student population and the boarding population,” she says. “For example, seated dinners are frequent, and the school instituted study halls that day students tend to take advantage of these days. I sense that the line between boarders and day students has blurred quite a bit, and I think that’s a good thing.”

From left to right: Marianne Augot Fleischman ’87, P’19, Sarah Fleischman ’19, Kate Packard ’18, Kim O’Neill Packard ’87, P’18, Trish Anderson Sherman ’87, P’16 and Kyle Sherman ’16.

BRO OKS BULLETIN

B RO O KS CONNECTIONS

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Brooks Works “Torn by War: The Civil War Journal of Mary Adelia Byers.” Edited by SAMUEL R. PHILLIPS ’52 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2013) is a firsthand account of life in Batesville, Ark., during the Civil War. This compelling book describes life on the western border between North and South through the diary of Mary Adelia Byers, a 15-year old girl who begins chronicling her thoughts during the Union occupation of Batesville in 1862. Phillips is Byers’s great-grandson. Byers’s diary The 1953 Brooks first crew. From left to right: Coach Howard T. Kingsbury,

entries focus on the

Richard Pickering ’54, Bill Kellett ’55, Robin Rowland ’56, Carter Harrison ’53

expected day-to-

and Carlo Zezza ’53. Zezza, who stroked the freshman

day concerns of a

crew and the varsity crew at Harvard University, took a

teenager, but also

41-year leave of absence before returning to the sport.

provide fascinating

Please visit the Bulletin website at www.brooks school.org/bulletin to read more about Carlo Zezza’s impressive rowing career, including his thoughts on the secrets to his success.

Since then, he’s proven himself a dominant interna-

insight into her tee-

tional competitor in Masters competition. Zezza’s

tering society in crisis: One entry sees her

won his age group’s singles division at the Head of the

flirting with Confederate soldiers in the

Charles Regatta six times and has medaled consistently

town square; another entry describes her

at prominent regattas around the world. During his

“setting up” through the night with dying

training, Zezza found that nothing about head racing was available in print. This

soldiers; she also catalogs the decline of

led to the publication of his new book, “Winning Head Races,” which covers sub-

her family’s fortunes following emancipa-

jects from pacing to rigging to training, and includes course notes on four of the

tion and profound shifts in the Southern

most prestigious race courses in the world, including the Head of the Charles.

economy. “Torn by War” reveals the resilience of young people and is a valuable contribution to the understanding of civilian life during the Civil War.

SNAPSHOT From left to right: Wit Gan ’12, John Moltz ’11 and Malachy Burke ’13 met up for squash at their old stomping grounds at Brooks in September.

HAVE YOU RECENTLY PUBLISHED A BOOK? Has your album just dropped? Tell us about it. We want to hear about your creative successes, and we want to highlight your work in an upcoming issue of the Bulletin. To have your work considered for inclusion in a future installment of Brooks Works, please send a review copy to:

B TRIVIA ANSWER // Spring 2015 // Faculty emeritus Thomas Burgess H’89, P’89 and his wife, Pieter Burgess P’89, correctly identified the gallant Brooksians pictured in the last issue. They are Parker Gallagher ’79 (left) and Todd Jenkins ’79. Thanks to all who wrote in. Be sure to check out this issue’s trivia photo on page 47.

FALL 2015

Editor, Brooks Bulletin 1160 Great Pond Road North Andover, MA 01845

The magazine does not purchase the materials listed in Brooks Works. The materials we receive will be donated to the Luce Library or another appropriate outlet.

The Bulletin reserves the right to reject works that, in the judgment of the editorial staff, do not promote the mission or values of Brooks School or the Bulletin.

51

BRO O KS CONNECTI O NS

01

02

03

04

06

05

07

09 11 08

10

52

BRO OKS BULLETIN

B RO O KS CONNECTIONS

12 14

NEW YORK

RECEPTION

Brooks alumni, parents, friends and community members attended a reception at Doyle, an auction and appraisal house in New York City, on November 12, 2015. The group was treated to cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and remarks by Head of School John Packard and Steve Gorham ’85, P’17, incoming president of the board of trustees.

13 15

01 Head of School John Packard addresses the group.

02 Kevin Njinga ’08 (left) and Ninna Denny P’06. 03 Ann Gambling Hoffman P’97, P’99 (center). 04 Elliott Jones ’01 (left) and Roz Mays ’02. 05 From left to right: Juliane Gardner Spencer ’93, Andi Fern P’18, and Director of Diversity Initiatives and Director of Community Service Shaunielle McDonald ’94. 06 Charlie Stewart ’90 (left) and Sandra Contreras ’89. 07 Noah Levine ’94 (left) and Jonathan Rebell. 08 Assistant Director of Alumni Programs Kevin Corkery (left) and Associate Director of Development Kim Fox. 09 Liz Munson P’17 (left) and Tom Mahoney P’16.

10 From left to right: David Patterson ’86, Carolyn Clark and Hamilton Potter ’74. 11 Brendan Baker P’18 (left) and Steven Fern P’18. 12 From left to right: Alex Carey ’86, P’19, Whitney Romoser Savignano ’87 and Andrea Botur ’86.

13 Associate Director of Admission and science and English faculty John McVeigh (left) and Marquis Daisy ’01.

14 Jack Greata ’00 (left) and Steve Gorham ’85, P’17.

15 Associate Head for Student Affairs and mathematics faculty Andrea Heinze (left) and Kamilah Briscoe ’96.

16 From left to right: Jean Burden P’94, Peggy Emy and Chris Abbott ’75, P’10, P’14. 17 Eliot Choy P’13, P’18 (center).

17

FALL 2015

16

53

PARTING SHOT

Brooks runners Blaise Harmange ’16 (left) and David Crosby ’16 run down Main Street.

Brooks hosted three meets this fall, including this one on October 31.

96

B RO O KS BULLETIN

$40,000 The annual cost of Internet service to the Brooks campus. Students, faculty and staff use the Internet for everything from researching a term paper, to videoconferencing with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, to checking the menu at Wilder Dining Hall.

65%

of Winter Term classes are team-taught.

The Brooks Fund supports our ability to teach in non-traditional ways that allow our students to dive deep into a single topic, exposing them to education in a different way.

100%

Brooks faculty that contributed to the Brooks Fund last year. The faculty is witness to the critical role the Brooks Fund plays in daily life at Brooks. The full participation of the faculty is a testament to the Brooks Fund’s importance.

BROOKS S CHOOL BROOKS FUND

Three easy ways to give: Credit Card — Check — Stock. Visit www.brooksschool.org to make your gift.

Brooks Bulletin Brooks School 1160 Great Pond Road North Andover, MA 01845-1298

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage P AID Permit No. 36 Lawrence, MA

Address service requested

SAVE THE DATE! Alumni Weekend will take place May 13 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; May 15, 2016.

We look forward to welcoming all alumni back to campus, and especially those alumni from class years ending in 1 or 6. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be able to relive the past while visiting classes, checking out athletic contests and a Lehman exhibit, and meeting the Brooksians of today.