Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin | Fall '17

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BULLETIN THE MAG A ZINE OF CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL

FALL ’17

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In this issue:

A GRAND PRIX FOR GOOD: Choate Alumni Pursue a Public Purpose

A MOVEMENT IN THE MAKING: Choate's Lin i.d.Lab

END NOTE: Dismantling the Forces That Undermine Community

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What a remarkable place to be…

Grateful.

In 2016-17, more than 4,500 alumni, parents, and friends came together to support Choate Rosemary Hall, including contributing $6.3 million to the Annual Fund. The lifeblood of the School, the Annual Fund infuses resources into every aspect of student life and allows the School to address its most pressing needs. Put simply, every student, every coach, and every teacher is the beneficiary of the generous individuals who loyally support the Annual Fund each year.

Thank you to all who came together to support our School!

ON THE COVER: Sebi Barquin Sanchez ’18 engages in open-ended explorations and discoveries at the Lin Family P ’19, P ’21, i.d.Lab.

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ABOVE: Matriculation speaker Edward F. Kelly ’74, P ’07, ’12 and Dr. Alex D. Curtis P ’17, ’20, Head of School, take a selfie at the Matriculation Ceremony on September 4 that welcomed 271 students from 35 states, the District of Columbia, and 28 countries.

ANNUAL FUND

www.choate.edu/donate

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CONTENTS | Fall 2017 departments

2 3 4 26 30

Letters

54 58 60

In Memoriam Remembering Those We Have Lost

64

End Note Dismantling the Forces That Undermine Community Mpilo Norris ’18

Remarks from the Head of School On Christian & Elm News about the School Alumni Association News Classnotes Profile of Brooks Yeager ’67, climate activist; Q&A with Lee Hockstader ’77, Washington Post Editorial Board member; Q&A with Ben Feldman ’86, Annabel Fan ’86, and Jin Ha ’08: M. Butterfly Comes to Broadway; and profile of Dr. Allison Kessler Vear ’03, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

Scoreboard Spring Sports Wrap-up Bookshelf Reviews of works by James Kasson ’60, Gloria Winquist ’89, Ryan Williams ’96, and Alexandra Stafford ’99

features

10 18

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A Grand Prix for Good Choate Alumni Pursue a Public Purpose A Movement in the Making: Choate’s i.d.Lab The Second in a Series of Articles Highlighting Choate’s Curriculum

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Letters

BULLETIN THE MAG A ZINE OF CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL

FALL ’17

A REFRESHING READ

Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin is published fall, winter, and spring for alumni, students and their parents, and friends of the School. Please send change of address to Alumni Records and all other correspondence to the Communications Office, 333 Christian Street, Wallingford, CT 06492-3800.

Choate Rosemary Hall does not discriminate in the administration of its educational policies, athletics, other school-administered programs, or in the administration of its hiring and employment practices on the basis of age, gender, race, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetic predisposition, ancestry, or other categories protected by Connecticut and federal law. Printed in U.S.A. CRH170811/17.5M

Editorial Offices T: (203) 697-2252 F: (203) 697-2380 Email: alumline@choate.edu Website: www.choate.edu Director of Strategic Planning & Communications Alison J. Cady Editor Lorraine S. Connelly Design and Production David C. Nesdale Classnotes Editor Henry McNulty ’65 Communications Assistant Brianna St. John Contributors Diana Beste James Bigwood ’72 Lorraine S. Connelly P ’03, ’05 Samuel Doak Connie Gelb ’78 Kim Hastings P ’15, ‘18 Kate Lemay ’97 G. Jeffrey MacDonald ’87 Mpilo Norris ’18 Ruth Walker Ian Wolterstorff ’17

Photography Aram Boghosian Julia Discenza ’10 Al Ferreira Photography Cristy M. Lytal Ross Mortensen Choate Rosemary Hall Board of Trustees 2017-2018 Alexandra B. Airth P ’18 Kenneth G. Bartels ’69, P ’04 Samuel P. Bartlett ’91 Peggy Brim Bewkes ’69 Michael J. Carr ’76 George F. Colony ’72 Alex D. Curtis P ’17, ’20 Borje E. Ekholm P ’17, ’20 Gunther S. Hamm ’98 Linda J. Hodge ’73, P ’12 Ryan Jungwook Hong ’89, P ’19 Parisa N. Jaffer ’89 Brett M. Johnson ’88 Daniel G. Kelly, Jr. ’69, P ’03 Vanessa Kong Kerzner P ’16, ’19 Cecelia M. Kurzman ’87 Gretchen Cooper Leach ’57 James A. Lebovitz ’75, P ’06, ’10 Takashi Murata ’93 Tal H. Nazer P ’17 Peter B. Orthwein ’64, P ’94, ’06, ’11 M. Anne Sa’adah

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Life Trustees Bruce S. Gelb ’45, P ’72, ’74, ’76, ’78 Edwin A. Goodman ’58 Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. ’57, P ’84 Cary L. Neiman ’64 Stephen J. Schulte ’56, P ’86 William G. Spears ’56, P ’81, ’90 Editorial Advisory Board Judy Donald ’66 Howard R. Greene P ’82, ’05 Dorothy Heyl ’71, P ’07 Seth Hoyt ’61 Henry McNulty ’65 Michelle Judd Rittler ’98 John Steinbreder ’74 Monica St. James P ’06 Francesca Vietor ’82 Heather Zavod P ’87, ’90

Leafing through the Winter 2017 Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the interview with Dr. Bregman on the gap year. When our girls were going through Choate and navigating the college admission process, a quite thorough one, the gap year was rarely encouraged by college counseling. Therefore, I’m glad that Choate is talking more openly about it. Dean Bill Fitzsimmons at Harvard has published insightfully about gap years. If you haven’t already read his essay, I recommend his work to you. Incidentally, both our daughter Sophia ’13 and Malia Obama will have entered Harvard after a gap year. Sophia is a junior now, majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Global Health. Caroline ’10 graduated from Pratt Institute and is a fashion designer in New York.

Sophia was one of those students who was “excited to learn something new and challenged herself” in the process of her gap year. Your article was most refreshing to read.

Judge Tod J. Kaufman P ‘ 10, ‘13 Charleston, West Virginia

POSITIVE IMPRESSION I wanted to briefly add a memory to the thoroughly enjoyable reflection Kenneth Bartels ‘69 wrote in the winter issue of the Bulletin about Edward Albee’s incomparable ”Zoo Story.”

I remember wandering into the Arts Center as a newly hatched third former and finding my way to the theater where I took up residence in the balcony. Below, on an otherwise vast but empty stage, stood Ralph Symonds who was rehearsing the 1972 production of ”Zoo Story.”

I sat there both quietly and unnoticed completely captivated by what I saw. As a 13-year-old, I’d never seen anything like it.

Near the end of the one act something caused Mr. Symonds to notice my presence, and he was not pleased.

Those who remember Ralph will recall he could be as intimidating as he was short – a figure not to be trifled with.

I, in my ignorance, was unaware of his ability to shred a student with his cutting remarks, as I was of a tradition called ”closed rehearsal.” I ended up beating a very hasty retreat with my tail firmly between my legs.

Nevertheless, that day made a positive impression on me, one I’ve carried for 50 years. Two years later, I found myself cast in one of Ralph’s musical productions, where I enjoyed learning from him on much better terms.

Only later did I realize I had another connection with Mr. Albee. It turned out my father was the publisher of his plays, though I had not known that at the time.

Nevertheless, it was Choate that first introduced me to his work, and like a lot of things about the school, I remain forever grateful.

John J. Geoghegan ‘75 Novato, California

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Remarks from the Head of School

Dear Alumni and Friends of Choate Rosemary Hall, A few weeks ago, at Choate Rosemary Hall’s 128th Convocation, I had the opportunity to share with students, faculty, and staff my own experiences coming to the United States in the 1980s for college, seeking an environment that inspired educational excellence, that stood for equality and fairness, that embraced change, and that fostered ambition and rewarded achievement. I am grateful to be at a school like Choate Rosemary Hall that stands for and nourishes all of those qualities. No matter from where our students come, we all find ourselves here, sharing in an amazing, unparalleled learning community. And each of us, with our unique story, enriches the experience for the rest.

This, of course, holds true for our alumni community as well. I hope you will be uplifted by the stories in the pages of this issue of the Bulletin, most notably Jeffrey MacDonald’s feature (p. 10) on those alumni who are fulfilling a moral obligation – not only for themselves, but also for their alma mater. Leading by example, these individuals are devoting their talents and efforts to serving the greater “public purpose” in the fields of medicine, education, and law. As former Trustee John Green ’77 notes, “Choate alumni know their responsibilities to the greater good because they learned them on campus.” I marvel at the resilience and resolve of Dr. Allison Kessler Vear ’03 (p. 51), who, after suffering a spinal cord injury, pursued a fulfilling career in spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

In the feature on the Lin i.d.Lab (p. 18), you will read how our curriculum is affording students and faculty opportunities for project-based learning and practical application. Notes Dr. Feldman, Director of the i.d.Lab, “Learning-by-doing involves making things as well as the telling of the story of what is made.” Besides being a space for making meaning, it is also a creative hub, teaching students to harness the intricacies of new technology and readying them for the work world that awaits them. Says Shanti Mathew ’05, “Just like the invention of the printing press and the computer chip, the future will be invented by those who are willing to see the world differently and push forward for a new way.”

Shanti has it exactly right. As a community of learners, we are constantly inventing and shaping our personal, as well as our institutional, futures, identifying new and better ways to move forward. To that end, we remain committed to following up on the promises we made to the community last year. We welcome the appointment of our new Wellness Coordinator, Dr. Holly Hinderlie, who is charged with overseeing the School’s sexual misconduct prevention and response efforts, including education and awareness. As I mentioned in our September 5 letter to the community, I urge all of you to go to our website and read our Community Wellness & Resources page where you can find updated policies.

We hope you feel enriched by the many shared stories from our unparalleled learning community. Thank you, as always, for your unwavering support and confidence in Choate Rosemary Hall – its mission, programs, and priorities.

With all best wishes from campus,

Alex D. Curtis Head of School

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ON CHRISTIAN & ELM | NEWSWORTHY 2017 YEAR END CELEBRATION On June 7, Dr. Curtis and the entire Choate community gathered to celebrate the retirement of 10 members of the community. Honorees were Rose M. Camire, Athletics Office; Thomas S. Foster, history, philosophy, religion, and social sciences teacher; Dale G. Freeman, Community Safety; Douglas S. James, English teacher; Cynthia H. Meehan and Gail M. Morse, Andrew Mellon Library; Alex R. Murenia, Development and Alumni Relations; Lawrence G. Stowe, science teacher; David J. Terrell, Facilities and Craig M. Warren, librarian. The program also recognized faculty members for their 25-year milestones: Joel D. Backon, Director of Academic Technology and history, philosophy, religion, and social sciences teacher; and Edward S. McCatty, English teacher.

FACULTY CHAIRS AWARDED AT 128TH CONVOCATION

127 Prize Day and Commencement th

At the 127th Commencement Exercises on May 28, Dr. Alex D. Curtis, Head of School, and the Board of Trustees bestowed diplomas and certificates to the sixth form class of 255. Former astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman, Colonel USAF (ret) delivered the Commencement address. During her career with NASA, Dr. Coleman traveled into space three times, including one mission that had her living on the International Space Station for six months.

In her address, Coleman encouraged students to take risks and stressed the importance of not fearing failure. In his valedictory remarks, Dr. Curtis shared a quote from an address on the nation’s space effort that President John F. Kennedy ’35 delivered at Rice University in September 1962: For space science, like nuclear science and technology, has no conscience of its own.

Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man...

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Dr. Curtis told graduates that a Choate education “with its emphasis on dynamic balance has prepared you well to pursue not only knowledge, but also to use that knowledge for the good of humanity. In whatever field you endeavor, learn all that you can, question the status quo, and make new contributions – but always balance all your work with thoughtfulness, ethics, and morality.”

During the ceremony, 12 sixth form prizes were awarded. The 2017 School Seal Prize winners are Amir Alam Idris, of South Euclid, Ohio; Larisa Owusu, of Bronx, N.Y.; Jonathan Bryce Wachtell, of Boise, Idaho, and Cecilia Yuyan Zhou, of Ontario, Canada.

On September 5, students and faculty gathered for the School’s 128th Convocation. At the ceremony, Dean of Faculty Katie Levesque announced the awarding of three faculty chairs to veteran teachers: the Independence Foundation Chair to math teacher Kristin Schaefer Chin; the Alan and Margaret Kempner Chair to Joseph M.V. Scanio, Director of the Kohler Environmental Center; and the Thomas ’46 and Esther Wachtell Chair to Head Athletic Trainer Brian E. Holloway, Jr. Student Council President Mpilo Norris spoke on behalf of the Class of 2018. In his Convocation remarks, Alex D. Curtis, Head of School, urged new and returning students and faculty members “to celebrate diversity, equality, and fairness in our community; to pride ourselves on our honesty, transparency, and integrity; to use our voices to support our peers and to spread kindness; to embrace change and lead by example.”

2017 Faculty Chair winners (from left): Brian Holloway, Jr., Joseph M.V. Scanio, and Kristin Schaefer Chin. Pictured here with Katie Levesque, Dean of Faculty, and Dr. Alex D. Curtis, Head of School.

ABOVE: Class President Amir Idris ’17 gives remarks on behalf of the Class of 2017 at Commencement.

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BULLETIN | FALL 2017 5

HOLLY HINDERLIE, PH.D. – Appointed Wellness

Coordinator

Holly Hinderlie, Ph.D. has been appointed Wellness Coordinator at Choate Rosemary Hall. In this newly created position, Dr. Hinderlie will be responsible for overseeing Choate’s sexual misconduct prevention and response efforts, including education and awareness efforts as well as compliance with School policy and federal and state laws. The Wellness Coordinator also serves as a part-time member of Choate’s Counseling Team.

Last October, in a letter to the Choate community, Dr. Alex D. Curtis, Head of School, and Michael J. Carr ’76, Board Chairman, announced that the School had engaged RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), a nationally recognized team of experts, to review Choate’s policies and procedures regarding sexual or other misconduct from both a clinical and legal perspective, and to make further recommendations to build upon the responsive policies for survivor support already in place at Choate. Since the completion of the policy review, the School has implemented RAINN’s recommendations, including the development of a Sexual Misconduct Policy and the creation of the Wellness Coordinator position. Go to: www.choate.edu/ community-wellness-resources to read more.

Dr. Hinderlie comes to Choate from Maret School, a K-12 independent day school in Washington, D.C., where she served for the past 12 years as Director of Counseling. A licensed psychologist, she holds a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology from Tufts University, a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Lesley College, and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Boston College. She was a postdoctoral psychology fellow at M.I.T. Health Services department, and an appointed faculty member at Harvard University, Department of Psychiatry, from 2000 to 2002.

Says Associate Head of School Kathleen Wallace, “Holly is knowledgeable about social emotional learning, boundary issues, wellness, mindfulness, and equity and inclusion work, and each of her areas of expertise informs the others. We are incredibly fortunate to have someone as talented, knowledgeable, and caring as she is to serve as our first Wellness Coordinator.” Notes Dr. Hinderlie, “As an independent school educator, I am excited to be part of the implementation plan set forth by Choate’s leadership in the area of student wellness, particularly prevention education and awareness. I look forward to playing a part in the School’s efforts to promote a healthy community and campus culture, and a safe environment for our students.”

Dr. Hinderlie lives on campus with her husband, Keith, Choate’s Director of Equity and Inclusion, son Jaden, and daughter, Kayla.

Dr. Alex D. Curtis Joins TABS Board of Directors Dr. Alex D. Curtis, Head of School, officially began his service as a new member of The Association of Boarding Schools’ Board of Directors at this past summer’s annual meeting in Asheville, N.C. TABS serves collegepreparatory boarding schools in the U.S., Canada, and around the globe. The Association leads a domestic and international effort to promote awareness and understanding of boarding schools and to expand the applicant pool for member institutions.

“I’m thrilled to join the Board as it embarks on the important work set forth by the North American Boarding Initiative (NABI), to increase the number of students from U.S. and Canadian families attending boarding schools by 2020.”

– DR. ALEX D. CURTIS, HEAD OF SCHOOL

Since 2011, Dr. Curtis has shepherded a number of innovative initiatives at Choate, with a focus on technology and multidisciplinary education (including faculty and administration visits to corporate headquarters at Apple Inc., Google, and Pixar Feature Films) to develop programming for Choate’s i.d.Lab. He has presented numerous times at NAIS (National Association of Boarding Schools) meetings, and most recently at the Online Education Symposium for Independent Schools (OESIS) Shanghai. Dr. Curtis is President of the Eight Schools Association and serves as a Council Member of The Heads Network.

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ON CHRISTIAN & ELM | NEWSWORTHY

New Auditorium Coming Soon!

In late fall 2017, Choate Rosemary Hall will break ground on a new 50,000-square-foot auditorium and classroom building designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. An architectural and programmatic complement to the adjacent Paul Mellon Arts Center, it will also be the realization of a longtime goal of the School’s 2013 Strategic Plan – to allocate appropriate resources so that the entire school can gather to share, celebrate, and reflect.

The new building’s form follows the architectural cues of I.M. Pei, who designed the PMAC in 1972.

Walls of board-formed concrete and an aluminum and a glass curtain wall continue the PMAC’s materials palette. Built deeply into the hillside slope, the building is sited so as to preserve most of the wooded hillside that encloses the Great Lawn.

The Great Lawn also serves as the central view from the two-story main lobby. To the left, the lobby opens into a series of music practice rooms and classrooms. To the right is the main auditorium.

With more than 1,000 seats, the auditorium serves not only as the venue for weekly all-school meetings, but as a performance hall that can accommodate both large and small audiences. Clerestories on three sides provide the auditorium with abundant natural light.

Open stairs in the lobby lead both to the auditorium’s balcony and to a dance studio, with changing rooms and an office for the dance program. At the top of the building, a third-level entrance leads from the top rows of the balcony to a woodland path along the hillside.

The new 50,000-square-foot auditorium and classroom building, designed by RAMSA, is an architectural and programmatic complement to the iconic Paul Mellon Arts Center. With more than 1,000 seats, it will be the ideal location to bring the entire school community together.

SCIENCE RESEARCH PROGRAM – 15th Anniversary Richard Lopez ’18 was one of 16 Science Research Program students interning at research laboratories this summer. Richard was an intern at the lab of Andy McMahon, kidney researcher and director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of Southern California.

Now celebrating its 15th anniversary, this intensive program has offered motivated and independent science students the chance to step beyond the traditional classroom structure. Working under the guidance of a mentor scientist at a research facility during the summer of their junior year, students engage in cutting-edge research. SRP alumni are encouraged to share their reflections on the program and the paths it opened for them. Contact Lorraine Connelly, Bulletin Editor, at lconnelly@choate.edu.

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BULLETIN | FALL 2017 7

Choate

WALLINGFORD

KINDERWOODS PROGRAM KICKS OFF WITH MOSES Y. BEACH ELEMENTARY

“The Kinderwoods Program is yet another example of working together to provide a unique educational experience for our students.”– DR. SAL MENZO, SUPERINTENDENT, WALLINGFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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This fall, the Wallingford Board of Education and the Kohler Environmental Center at Choate Rosemary Hall formalized a pilot program called Kinderwoods that kicked off last year.

Once a month, kindergarteners from Moses Y. Beach Elementary School and accompanying teachers, and volunteer parents are bussed to the Kohler Environmental Center for a 3-hour forest stay. After a short walk on a streamside trail, the group conducts morning meetings in the woods, quiets down for forest listening, and shares a naturethemed story or poem. Each visit includes time for observation and discovery, drawing in notebooks, snack time, and of course free play. Over the course of the year, the children familiarize themselves with a place in the woods and become aware of seasonal changes. After eight visits to the Kohler Environmental Center during the 2016-17 academic year, the children in the pilot program fondly named their spot in the woods “Nature’s Playscape.”

The program was initiated by Adrienne Ferretti and Anne Porier of Moses Y. Beach and was supported

by Lena Nicolai at the Kohler Environmental Center.

Funding for the pilot program was provided by a grant from the Wallingford Education Foundation to cover the costs of transportation and teaching supplies. The student experience last year proved to be meaningful, and this year each of six kindergarten classes will visit the Kohler Environmental Center for Kinderwoods once a month. The expansion of the program this year is supported by fundraising efforts of the Moses Y. Beach PTO. Says Dr. Sal Menzo, Superintendent of Wallingford Public Schools, “We continue to appreciate the many partnerships with Choate Rosemary Hall.

The Kinderwoods Program is yet another example of working together to provide a unique educational experience for our students. With the support of the Wallingford Education Foundation, this program promises to be a very exciting opportunity for our students and staff.”

In appreciation, kindergarten teachers created a video for the Wallingford Education Foundation: youtu.be/4UxQgEE1BZc

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ON CHRISTIAN & ELM | Opening Days

Opening Days WELCOME BACK The 2017-18 school year welcomed 271 new students from 35 states and the District of Columbia, and 28 countries. The School has long had pre-orientation programs for student-athletes, student prefects, and international students. This year, the Office of Equity and Inclusion introduced a new initiative called Choate Pathways, a preorientation program for new students of color and their parents. More than 43 attendees participated in this community-building event on September 2–3. During Pathways, each new student of color was matched with a “Pathways Mentor,” a fifth or sixth form student of color who will serve as a guide and resource to help new students navigate their first year at Choate. During Opening Days, members of the Class of 2018 donned yellow “May I Help You?” shirts to assist new students in moving in their belongings or just finding their way around campus.

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Feature

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Nikki Bowen ’04, principal of Excellence Girls Elementary Academy in Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant. Last year, the U.S. Department of Education honored Excellence Girls Charter School as a National Blue Ribbon School, recognizing the elementary and middle schools for academic excellence.

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A Grand Prix for Good Choate Alumni Pursue a Public Purpose

b y g . j e f f r e y m a c d o n a l d ’ 8 7 Choate Rosemary Hall has a responsibility

to impact the world for the better. That point reverberated last spring when a Trustee panel discussed the School’s “public purpose,” that which justifies concentrating an abundance of educational resources for fewer than 860 students in Wallingford.

Preparing students to be leaders in their fields begins to fulfill that purpose, panelist John Green ’77 said. But the School’s alums do the rest by looking beyond traditional definitions of success. When they expand opportunities for those who’ve faced innumerable hurdles, they deliver on Choate’s promise to give more than it receives.

“To open up every September [at Choate] and continue to distance ourselves from what most people experience – what is the justification for that?” Green asked rhetorically in an interview with the Bulletin. “I’m convinced there are people coming out of Choate who are doing special things and having a disproportionate impact.”

Stories shared by a broad cross-section of graduates across generations suggest he’s right. Many profess a sense of moral duty that stems, at least in part, from what they received at Choate.

How alums work out their public purpose is as varied as their vocations. Some fulfill it as part of their careers. Others find it through pro bono work, service on nonprofit boards, volunteering, or philanthropy.

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Green, for instance, serves as executive director of the TEAK Fellowship, a nonprofit that prepares low-income middle schoolers for selective high schools and colleges.

He notes that others, including his board members, make contributions in their own ways.

“My ability to help kids is helpless without the support of people who say, ‘I may not have the time to work directly with kids, but I like what you’re doing and feel good about it, so I’m going to find another way to make it possible’,” Green said.

“That’s a way to contribute. That’s trying to improve things.”

ACCESS FOR ALL Jessy Trejo ’02, a child of first-generation, immigrant factory workers from the Dominican Republic, grew up in Washington Heights. His family knew the importance of upward mobility. During his commute to a Goya Foods factory in New Jersey, Trejo’s father taught himself English using cassette tapes in the car. With help from an Icahn Scholarship, Jesse attended Choate before matriculating at Boston College, where he got another scholar-

ship and played football. He figured he’d eventually work in the business of sports management and dreamed of being an agent for top athletes.

But after working in public relations and advertising, even with A-list clients such as Major League Baseball, he still wanted more.

“It was fun, but I felt that there was something that was unfulfilled,” Trejo said.

To find what would fulfill his professional and public purpose, Trejo returned to the same New York nonprofit sector that had launched his Choate career. He went to work for Prep for Prep, where he helped find promising prospects in the city’s middle schools. From there, he went on to his current role as associate director of admissions at New York’s Speyer Legacy School.

In his gatekeeper roles, Trejo has helped families discover avenues that they never knew existed. At a school fair last year, for instance, he met a pair of suburban parents who hadn’t considered sending their child to Speyer.

Former Choate Rosemary Hall Trustee John Green ’77 serves as Executive Director of the TEAK Fellowship, a nonprofit that prepares lowincome middle schoolers for selective high schools and colleges.

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BULLETIN | FALL 2017 13

“At Choate, I lived with a lot of my teachers and my coaches. That makes me extend myself to my students beyond what I would have done if I had not had that experience.”

—NIKKI BOWEN ’04

“This was a family that, before our meeting, never thought that this was possibly an opportunity for their child,” Trejo said. “Now we’ve been able to open the door for their son to be joining us this fall.”

But alums in education aren’t just broadening access to private schools. They’re also innovating in public schools to make them more effective springboards to success.

Example: Nikki Bowen ’04, principal of Excellence Girls Elementary Academy in Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood. One of 52 charter schools in the Uncommon Schools network, Excellence Girls emphasizes character, reading, math, college readiness, and confidence. Some students don’t have college-educated parents, but all are expected to go to college themselves.

The 450 girls (mostly African Americans and Latinas) see in Bowen a role model to point the way. She’s African American and grew up just a few blocks away in Crown Heights.

If they think traveling the world is beyond their reach, she shows them a picture from her days studying abroad at Choate and traveling as a Princeton student. She’s living proof of what’s doable.

“I’m able to share with the kids the opportunities that I’ve had, but they also see I’m a regular person like them,” Bowen said.

She also shows devotion in ways that local families don’t often get from school administrators. When a student has a birthday party, for example, she drops by to celebrate. When parents have concerns, they call her cell phone. That level of attentiveness comes directly from what she observed and experienced as an Icahn Scholar at Choate.

“At Choate, I lived with a lot of my teachers and my coaches,” Bowen said. “That makes me extend myself to my students beyond what I would have done if I had not had that experience.”

What these alums have in common is a two-part commitment to (1) broadening access to opportunity, and (2) scaling impact to have a broad reach. In fields as diverse as education, health care, and law, they’re demonstrating what the moral duty to give back means to them.

Associate Director of Admissions at New York’s Speyer Legacy School Jessy Trejo ’02 talks with students.

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TACKLING NATIONAL AND GLOBAL HEALTH ISSUES As an internist practicing in Massachusetts and

New Hampshire, Dr. Abigail Zavod ’87 found herself on the front lines of America’s opioid epidemic. In the 2000s, she saw growing numbers of new patients in her office complaining of pain and requesting opioids for treatment.

“They would say, ‘This is what my doctor always gives me’,” Zavod said.

Her approach to pain management – to try to find the cause, not just write a script – ran contrary to many patients’ expectations. But not all physicians were as careful about choosing medications for pain. By the mid-2010s, New Hampshire was second in the nation in opioid-related deaths per capita and 49th in funding to confront the problem.

“In New Hampshire, this was just kind of the perfect storm happening,” Zavod said. “It appeared that physicians and practitioners needed some education on the history of the crisis and on prescribing.”

That’s when Zavod, inspired by her grandfather, Dr. William Zavod, began scaling up her knowledge and disseminating what she had been learning.

“There were days during which I felt powerless to help my patients struggling with addiction. …The lack of self-efficacy I experienced while trying to treat patients with substance use disorder led to frustration, and the sense that I wanted to do more to help people in this area.” —DR. ABIGAIL ZAVOD ’87 She recalled how her grandfather had leveraged his medical background to serve the public good as Commissioner of Public Health for New Rochelle, N.Y. Resolving to confront the public health crisis of her time, Zavod began lecturing at health centers, public forums and at the New Hampshire State House. Her outreach efforts and public speaking led to an appointment on the N.H. Board of Medicine’s Opioid Task Force.

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“I just tried to immerse myself in everything I could read about the crisis,” Zavod said. “I also had patients coming in who were suffering. That was direct. So I was trying to deal with it at the individual level, and on a more global level, do the educational piece and raise awareness.”

However, as time went on, “there were days during which I felt powerless to help my patients struggling with addiction,” Zavod said. “Waiting lists for treatment programs, lack of resources for childcare, inability to take time off from work, and a system overburdened with too many in need of services combined to create gridlock. Most physicians strive for self-efficacy, the feeling that one can actually help a patient. The lack of self-efficacy I experienced while trying to treat patients with substance use disorder led to frustration, and the sense that I wanted to do more to help people in this area.”

Hoping to have more impact on the crisis, she made a career move last year. She became associate medical director of clinical research at Alkermes, maker of VIVITROL® (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension), which prevents relapse to opioid dependence, following opioid detoxification, and treats alcohol dependence as well.

Zavod now supervises clinical trials involving patients with opioid dependence.

“It felt like a way to have a greater impact on the crisis than just being a doctor in an office with limited resources,” Zavod said.

Dr. Sarah Bagley ’97 has seen firsthand the impact of opioids on teens. Addiction is also a pediatric illness, and it’s important to intervene early. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the drug overdose rate increased 19 percent for teens from 2014 to 2015 – more than doubling the rate since 1999.

When young people who’ve overdosed on fentanyl or similar opioids claw back from the brink of death at Boston Medical Center, one of the first faces they see on the long road to rebuilding their lives is that of Dr. Bagley. A pediatrician, addiction medicine specialist, and director of the BMC’s CATALYST Clinic, Bagley tends to patients who seem far too young to feel hopeless. All are under age 25; many are the same age as Choate students. Yet their dreams have often been derailed by drugs, mental illness, financial tailspins, estrangement from family, or some combination of tumultuous factors.

Bagley’s team administers medication to ease their cravings and arranges social services to address a host of contributing issues. Seeing signs of progress motivates her even on the toughest days. “When you see someone do well and accomplish their goals, after you’ve known how hard it is for them, there’s just nothing better,” Bagley said. But helping dozens of patients a year is only one slice of Bagley’s impact on America’s opioid epidemic, which has created 2.6 million addicts and has made drug overdose the leading cause of death in people under age 50.

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Research is a top priority. With funding from the National Institutes of Health, insights gleaned from CATALYST get shared with health workers nationwide. When Bagley’s not doing intake or writing grant proposals, she’s apt to be on a conference call with health pros in other regions. She encourages them, for instance, to get to know what their patients value most in life. Then, she says, discuss it often so they’ll keep coming back and stay on their programs.

“The clinical work is really interesting and important, but I’ve always been interested in public health questions and how can we do the greatest good for the greatest number of people,” Bagley said. “It would seem like a waste to not take this opportunity to study what we’re doing.” In tackling a big problem and sharing insight as widely as possible, Bagley is one of countless alums who are fulfilling a moral obligation – not only for themselves but also for their alma mater.

Another doctor, Dan Carucci ’76, began imagining the impact he could have soon after an unlikely door opened in his own life. A grandson of Italian immigrants with no formal education, Carucci never expected to attend boarding

school, but that changed when Choate offered him a scholarship. While at Choate, he did immunology research at Yale New Haven Hospital and realized he could dream as big as he wanted.

Rather than stick to a rigid plan for his career, Carucci has made a point to say “yes” to unexpected pathways.

That approach took him from the U.S. Navy, where he led a program to seek a vaccine for malaria, to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, where he oversaw research programs to leverage technology and improve health initiatives around the world. In 2012, Dr. Carucci received a Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Award, recognition for his impact on public health.

Consider an award-winning project Carucci recently led in his current role as Senior Medical Advisor at McCann Health and co-creator of The Immunity Charm™. As a consultant who helps organizations strategize for better health outcomes, he teamed up with advertising agency McCann Health and its client, the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health, to tackle the vexing issue of high infant mortality rates in Afghanistan.

“The clinical work is really interesting and important, but I’ve always been interested in public health questions and how can we do the greatest good for the greatest number of people.”

—DR. SARAH BAGLEY ’97

Dr. Sarah Bagley ’97 is a pediatrician, addiction medicine specialist, and director of the Boston Medical Center’s CATALYST Clinic. The program helps teens and young adults who are struggling with addiction. In November Dr. Bagley will be celebrated by the Boston Chamber of Commerce as one of its Ten Outstanding Young Leaders.

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The problem: Afghan mothers weren’t getting vaccines for their children to protect against illness, but they would don traditional bracelets that are thought to ward off evil spirits. Yet rather than wage war on traditional beliefs, Carucci saw their traditionalism as an asset to be leveraged.

“We needed to turn this belief in protection against evil spirits into protection against disease,” Carucci said. “It was in that moment that we came up with this idea for The Immunity Charm™.”

Carucci proposed giving an immunity charm or bracelet to mothers to place on their child’s wrist. Then every time they get one of the essential vaccines for young children, they receive a corresponding colored bead. McCann helped promote the practice, which is gaining popularity with young Afghan mothers. Wanting to protect their kids and collect more beads, they keep going for vaccines until all are complete. Mothers are talking about vaccines and their importance in ways like never before. The program is still

Dr. Daniel Carucci ’76, right, is a Senior Medical Advisor for McCann Health, and co-creator of The Immunity Charm™ along with Harshit Jain. The team won a prestigious Grand Prix for Good at the 2017 Cannes Lions Health Festival for Creativity.

young, but it’s already a highly honored health campaign, having won a prestigious Grand Prix for Good at the 2017 Cannes Lions Health Festival for Creativity, the “Black Pencil” at the 2017 D&AD Awards, and a Grand Clio at the 2017 Clio Awards. “What we did through this process was to make vaccines important for moms so they would make the extra effort to have their children vaccinated,” Carucci said.

“Anything we can do to encourage and incentivize moms to take the vaccine is helpful.”

A MORAL IMPERATIVE Like Carucci, Kristen Clarke

’93 feels a moral compulsion that stems from the education that began for her at Choate. Born to Jamaican immigrants and raised in Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood, she entered the workforce with a Columbia Law School degree and a sea of opportunities. But she was acutely aware of how unusual her situation was.

“I feel a duty, an obligation, to use the educational opportunity that I’ve received to commit to a career that’s helping to address inequality and discrimination.” —KRISTEN CLARKE ’93

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“It’s weighed on me. It’s weighed on my conscience,” Clarke said. “But it has also placed me very firmly on a path in which I feel a duty, an obligation, to use the educational opportunity that I’ve received to commit to a career that’s helping to address inequality and discrimination.”

Clarke is president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a Washington, D.C.based nonprofit that represents victims of discrimination and advocates for civil rights legislation. She challenges voter ID laws, takes on “debtors’ prisons” that slap inmates and families with high fees, and works to increase racial diversity in federal judgeships.

She loves her job despite the long hours, she said, and doesn’t regret having passed up more lucrative career paths.

“At some point, a light bulb went on,” Clarke said. “I realized how outcome-determinative a quality education is in someone’s life. I just realized at a very early age that there is a gross unfairness about that reality.” Clarke sees her work as helping to reduce and undo the long repercussions of that unfairness. For her work, she received the School’s 2017 Alumni Award last May. Attorney Sheila Adams ’01 takes a different approach. She earns her living as a litigator for New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardell LLP, where she represents clients in a diverse range of complex civil matters, including commercial disputes and securities litigation. But it’s the pro bono work she does on behalf of those with humble backgrounds, not unlike her own, that rounds out her professional life and makes her a celebrated local figure.

Adams grew up in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood in a family of six children. Neither of her parents graduated from high school. Her mother was a token collector for the New York City transit system. Her father worked as a security guard and used his time off to relentlessly pursue free opportunities for his kids. That’s how Adams ended up in Prep 9, a program that finds promising middle schoolers of color and gets them ready for private high schools.

Going to Choate on a full Icahn Scholarship would change her life, though at first she didn’t feel that she belonged there. Because her mother couldn’t afford two train tickets to Wallingford, Adams arrived alone, carrying only a small red suitcase packed with three pants and three shirts that satisfied the dress code.

“I was very intimidated,” she said. “I had no money. I didn’t come from a family of money, which was in contrast to the vast majority of my peers.… The disparities in wealth were more prevalent to me than other factors, such as being an African American woman at a white-majority school.”

By the time she graduated, she had been president of her Choate class and was en route to Harvard. In college, she studied abroad in Brazil, where she volunteered among people worse off than she’d ever been. Lessons she’d learned through Prep for Prep were becoming more ingrained.

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“You have a responsibility and an obligation to chart the course, trailblaze, and help other people along the way.” — SHEILA ADAMS ’01 “In my leadership training at Prep, they were basically saying: ‘This is called upward mobility. This is what you’re doing’,” Adams said. “Before, I had no idea what the American dream meant or that concept of ‘you came from this, and you’re going to be in this.’ As a result, you have a responsibility and an obligation to chart the course, trailblaze and help other people along the way.”

Now Adams takes on a full docket of pro bono cases, in addition to her substantial billable work, she said, because they keep her grounded and fulfill her sense of public purpose. She represents veterans in claims processes for disability benefits. One case involves a client pursuing damages for assault by corrections officers while in custody.

Her biggest pro bono win came January 17 when thenPresident Barack Obama granted clemency for her client, a low-level drug dealer now in his mid-50s. He has served 16 years of a life sentence in accordance with mandatory sentencing rules that have since been lifted.

“Instead of serving his life in prison, he will get out in January 2019,” Adams said. “You can’t beat that as a lawyer – getting someone off who inappropriately received a draconian life sentence.”

For her pro bono work, Adams received a Champion of Justice Award this year from the Brooklyn Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project. She also believes there’s a social justice dimension to the racial, gender, and economic background diversity that she brings to the firm of Davis Polk.

These stories from education, health care, and law only begin to convey how Choate graduates put their advantages to use for a public purpose and the common good. When Green hears them, he’s moved but he’s not surprised. “Choate alumni know their responsibilities because they learned them on campus,” he said.

“If somehow,” Green said, “you were to discover that it was a rare alumnus who was making a significant impact beyond their own personal success, then I’d say: gee, I’m not sure what Choate’s for.”

G. Jeffrey MacDonald ’87 is an author and journalist who has reported on religion, ethics, and social responsibility. His stories have appeared in TIME, Condé Nast Traveler, the Washington Post, USA Today, the Boston Globe, and the Christian Science Monitor among many other national outlets.

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Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending . . .

—THE ODYSSEY, TRANSLATED BY ROBERT FITZGERALD ’29

or generations, Choate third formers have been assigned The Odyssey, a core text of the English curriculum. Now imagine a current freshman reading the text and using software to draw a map of Odysseus’ voyage; or using a 3-D printer to create a model of the boat that Odysseus builds after he is stranded on Calypso’s island; or using an Arduino Piezo buzzer to evoke the music of the Sirens. While the pedagogical goals of a class – whether it is a required English course or an elective in another department – have different priorities, they can all be enhanced by the Muse of project-based learning, the type of learning that is at the heart of Choate’s Lin i.d.Lab. by l o r r a i n e s. c o n n e l ly

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With its wide array of tools and resources, including woodcutters, 3-D printers, sewing machines, circuit boards, and laser cutters, the i.d.Lab empowers students to make these kinds of open-ended explorations and discoveries. In the two years since the i.d.Lab opened in the Cameron and Edward Lanphier Center for Mathematics and Computer Science, it has become a catalyst for Choate’s 21st-century curriculum, taking students beyond the traditional STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – and equipping them with the necessary skills to contend with a rapidly changing world. Like Odysseus, today’s students will need both a cunning intelligence and a sense of invention to succeed in the throes of a new economy.

THE MAKER MOVEMENT COMES TO CHOATE

her ed ign rd at s e d oa ’17 eyb Xie mic k a n ri no Sab ergo .Lab. n d ow Lin i. the

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In 2015, Dr. Travis Feldman, an adjunct professor in the Creative Media & Digital Culture Program at Washington State University, was hired as director of the i.d.Lab. Feldman, who has taught at the K-12 and university levels, is also founder and CEO of Molecule Synth, funded through a Kickstarter campaign he began before his arrival at Choate.

With Lego-like hexes and physical sensors, Molecule Synth allows one to build a stand-alone musical instrument that is easy to hack and modify, and that is D.I.Y. to the core.

Feldman, a bona fide member of the Maker community, hopes that the i.d.Lab, with its ever-evolving curriculum that encourages project-based learning and practical application, can be an incubator for future student projects.

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“The i.d.Lab is preeminently a place where everyone in the Choate community (students and faculty) is invited to learn by doing and by thinking about what is done,” says Feldman. He is emphatic that “learning-by-doing involves making things as well as the telling of the story of what is made, which is making meaning.”

Last June, the White House held its second Maker Faire, a testament to the fact that despite bitter partisanship, our nation’s leaders are committed to American ingenuity and the revolution that is taking place in American manufacturing. “A revolution,” President Obama acknowledged last year, “that can help us create new jobs and industries for decades to come.” Choate is doing its part to celebrate the innovation, ingenuity, and creativity of its Makers. Last October, 25 students and four faculty members traveled to New York City to participate in the World Maker Faire held at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing. Design projects from Choate’s i.d.Lab were featured at the event. Says Feldman, “The Maker Faire trip was a two-day opportunity for Choate students to grow into a mindset of creative confidence and to forge their own identities as makers. Students were inspired, discovered new things, and stretched their understanding of the world and themselves in just the way I had hoped they would. All of our participants were energetic and positive spokespersons for Choate academics, and each of them led dozens of walk-up soldering tutorials at our booth.”

Kristen Andonie ’17 of Miami, Fla., says, “Each of us had a small station equipped with a soldering iron, and we guided visitors through the process step-by-step. While our target audience was children, there were a lot of adults who were eager to learn how to solder, too.” A member of Choate’s robotics team, Andonie was attending her first Maker Faire. “I didn’t know what to expect,” she says, “but I found it refreshing to see people using science just for the sake of having fun, like holding drone races or building robots that make perfect grilled cheese sandwiches.”

Andonie hopes to ply her new skills this fall as an engineering major at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She notes, “I definitely think making connections with people and learning cool new skills is far more significant than the actual physical project. In Robotics Team, for example, the best part isn’t winning a bunch of awards; the meaningful parts are interacting with students and coaches who share a common interest, learning how to work in a group, and gaining knowledge about how robots work and how one can program them.”

For Huong Pham ’19, a rising junior from Hanoi, last fall’s event was also her first Maker Faire. She notes, “I find engineering fascinating, especially in terms of maximizing the product’s functions and simplicity at the same time. I would definitely want to learn more about circuit boards, Arduino, and how to make elegant, modern industrial design.”

The White House held its second Maker Faire, a testament to the fact that our nation’s leaders are committed to American ingenuity and the revolution that is taking place in American manufacturing.

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MAKING THINGS – SUNDAYS AT THE I.D.LAB

Sunday afternoons have a more relaxed feel on campus.

It is a welcome respite from the hectic week of scheduled classes, and the perfect time for thumb-typing to give way to hands-on tinkering. These lazy afternoons in the i.d.Lab bring all sorts of students together for all sorts of projects. Several clubs use the space, such as electronics, and computer programming groups, including Start-Up Club, Comic Book Club, and Games and Change.

Besides being a meeting and study space, the Lin i.d.Lab is a creative hub for students. Max Nobel ’17, now at Yale University, invented a pulley system with pencils, zip ties, wood scraps, duct tape, and rubber bands. Says Feldman, “It was all about the process; he embraced a ‘thinking with materials’ approach that is at the heart of the i.d.Lab.” Mckynzie Romer ’17, who is studying at Harvard, spontaneously decided to make a Pink Floyd–inspired design on the side of her eyeglasses with an X-ACTO blade and aluminum tape. Watch out, Kate Spade!

get into the mindset of Werner and experience the setbacks and hardships he might have had when assembling his own radio; it made us see why he was so excited when he got his own radio working. The overall idea of being connected by all the light we cannot see – which includes radio waves – held greater meaning for me after getting a better understanding of the inner workings of a radio.”

Notes Doak, “Werner’s struggle was part of his maturation process and it was certainly part of our radio projects as well.”

Feldman agrees, “There is a new way of feeling time in the learning process that is not necessarily product-oriented.

There are built-in moments when we stop and think, ‘Why would we want to do that?’”

Fundamental to the i.d.Lab’s mission is to make education more powerful. Max Fine ’17, now a freshman at Claremont McKenna, built a Model T for his U.S. History class in Virtual Reality using the HTC Vive and Google Tilt Brush. He reflects, “The addition of the i.d.Lab gives students more interesting options to utilize when faced with an assignment.”

”Learning-by-doing involves making things as well as the telling of the story of what is made, which is making meaning.”

—DR. TRAVIS FELDMAN

Sabrina Xie ’17, who headed to Skidmore College after Choate, decided to make her own ergonomic keyboard.

She bought a standard PC board online, and soldered the electronic components together in the i.d.Lab. Says Feldman, “Not only did she manage an impressively sophisticated design and build process on her own, but she showed remarkable patience and dexterity in soldering the more than 70 microscopically small SMT diodes that the keyboard required.”

Another student, Alan Luo ’18, who is doing a directed study with Dr. Feldman, is learning to make his own CAD design for circuits that will be included in a prototype for a robot swarm that will enable students to study and experiment with programming emergent behaviors.

Kate Doak assigned her English 100 class a radio project in connection with Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, All the Light We Cannot See. Says Doak, “Students loved the project. At first, it was initially going to be an extra credit project, but so many kids wanted to do it that I let them all do it. The only problem was the radios, made from not much more than wire and the cardboard of paper towel rolls, didn’t really work. So, we ended up talking about the nature of scientific discovery and failure as a part of that process, and we gained an understanding of how amazing Werner, the main character, was as a radio technician.” Says Sam Curtis ’20, “This project helped us

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For another project, in his Classical Tradition course, Fine and a classmate built a Rube Goldberg machine representing Dante’s Inferno. Says Fine, “For this project, we looked deeply at freedom within the Inferno, and how that could translate into kinetic motion. For example, the first real ring of the Inferno is a whirlwind, while in the last ring, everything is frozen. Within each intermediate ring, there is also some sort of movement associated with it. Each machine that we built represented that kinetic movement. One challenge in particular was figuring out how to fit it all together. One key to the beauty of Dante’s book is how each circle connects to one another. To be successful in our minds, we needed to replicate this. To do it, we had to analyze the Inferno with incredible scrutiny.”

Fine admits there were issues with this project, mainly due to time constraints, but adds, “the process was more fun than writing a paper on kinetic motion. I will say that I consider it one of my best projects at Choate because it caused me to truly understand more about Dante’s Inferno than I would have otherwise. That is the huge thing the i.d.Lab brings to Choate: not only does it provide another way for students to learn, but it provides an opportunity to explore topics that students might have shied away from.”

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TOP LEFT Charlie Schlager ’19 reaches into virtual reality using the Oculus Rift DK-2 with Leap Motion sensors that track his hand movements.

TOP RIGHT Sebi Barquin

Sanchez ‘18, Tess Friedman ’18, and Michael Li ’18 tinker with electronic circuits and create interactive devices in Dr. Feldman’s Introduction to Design class.

BOTTOM Dr. Travis Feldman

presented a paper at the second annual International Symposium on Academic Makerspaces (ISAM-2017) held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in late September. His topic: “Towards an Epistemology of Making: 21st-Century ‘Hands-On’ Projects in Engineering and Humanities Classrooms.”

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TOP A woodworking class

at the Dodge Shops, circa 1950s.

BOTTOM Mathematics &

Computer Science teacher Kyle Di Tieri observes student projects in the Shattuck Robotics Laboratory.

For many years, a staple of a Choate education included the basics of engineering.

Today, students are regaining a physical sense of life and tinkering is encouraged.

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BACK TO THE FUTURE

For years, classes in the Dodge Shops were a staple of a Choate education, where young boys were taught the art of wood-making and older boys the art of auto (and motorcycle) maintenance and the basics of engineering. Recalls Henry McNulty ’65: “I took woodworking and still have two small tables I made under the instruction of Stanley Lyndes. I enjoyed it ... it was the only time I have ever used a lathe!” By the 1970s, however, the Dodge Shops were torn down to make way for the Paul Mellon Arts Center and a Mechanics Prize was no longer given at Prize Day. The loss of manual skills has been a major blow to the nation’s collective knowledge base, according to Jack Beuth, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. In a 2014 interview with The Christian Science Monitor, he observed that even engineering students do not have the same level of physical reasoning that their predecessors once had, partly because they have less opportunity for hands-on learning in schools, and also because kids are less likely to spend their free time tinkering on their own. “Twenty years ago, engineering students would have naturally worked on their cars, rebuilt things, and just had a very good physical sense of life,” he says. “They just don’t have that anymore.”

Today’s curriculum is taking steps to redress this lack of knowledge with the introduction of such courses as Intro to Design: How to Make Almost Anything; Reverse Engineering: How Things Work; and Intro to Robotics. In these courses especially, students are regaining a physical sense of life and tinkering is encouraged. According to Dr. Katharine Jewett, Director of Curricular Initiatives, 21st-century education means “not just showing what you know, but showing what you can do with what you know.

That’s where making comes in to offer a way for students to better know themselves. They, too, are learning to define themselves by what they can do.”

Mathematics, physics, and robotics teacher Kyle Di Tieri has a ringside seat to students flexing their intellectual muscle in the Shattuck Robotics Laboratory, where students work openly using creative and inventive methods to solve any given challenge. He says, “Students learn from each other through group work and reflect on both their growth and frustrations.” One example was having students build a robot within a two-hour period.

There are opportunities beyond the classroom for students to show what they can do with what they know.

During a robotics team event, recalls Di Tieri, “One of our members was given an arduous task to write several versions of autonomous code for a robot slated for the VEX Worlds Tournament. This achievement was especially heartbreaking since the team made changes to the robot which rendered her programs inoperable. But she was not fazed by this decision since she knew it was the best choice for the team.”

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That lesson is invaluable preparation for the real world.

In her present job, Shanti Mathew ’05, Strategy Director for Public Policy Lab, helps government design programs and policies from the bottom-up – no small task given the complexity of systems. Trial and error is key to her work. She notes, “We employ as many methods as we can, especially those of human-centered design. At its core, my work is a constant exercise of making meaning out of constraints.” She adds, “Our world needs people who can navigate the intricacies of new technology, as well as the massive scale of our institutions. The skills that Choate students are learning in the i.d.Lab – those of reframing problems, experimentation as a discovery-process, and seeking acceptable solutions rather than absolute right answers – are the skills that will not only fuel innovation at personal and organizational levels, but they are also the skills that will disrupt industries and stimulate national economies.”

MAKING MEANING

Because the very act of making draws its inspiration from like-minded communities, Dr. Feldman was eager to take a group of Choate students to an open house last April at the Yale Social Robotics Lab. Students met the lab’s director, Dr. Brian Scassellati, as well as several grad students and post-doctoral students who were enthusiastic about sharing their research on how socially interactive robots can affect the study of human behavior. They were introduced to Nao, a robot tutor, and Maki, a robot assistant for autistic children.

Says Feldman, “Our trip’s theme might be summarized by the question, ‘What is social?’”

Feldman wants students to think about the social implications beyond what they code or create. After an hour at the Robotics Lab, experiencing some of the new ways robots are being used as tools for observing or engaging human social and psychological behaviors, the group then viewed two Gutenberg Bibles on display at the Beinecke Library. The introduction of movable type in the 15th century was the precursor of a mass production process that centuries later became the model for the Industrial Revolution.

Says Feldman, “While standing in the ambience of these two monuments of human civilization, we discussed the historical details, technological processes, and social significance of the first European letter-press book, and wondered at the construction of the Library itself.”

Back at the i.d.Lab, Choate students and faculty have the opportunity to make new meaning at the cusp of yet another revolution. Says Shanti Mathew, “Just like the invention of the printing press and the computer chip, the future will be invented by those who are willing to see the world differently and push forward for a new way. I have no doubt those individuals are sitting in the i.d.Lab right now.”

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ALUMNI ASSOCIATION The Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Association’s mission is to create, perpetuate, and enhance relationships among Choate Rosemary Hall alumni, current and prospective students, faculty, staff, and friends in order to foster loyalty, interest, and support for the School and for one another, and to build pride, spirit, and community.

OFFICERS Parisa Jaffer ’89 President David Hang ’94 Chris Hodgson ’78 John Smyth ’83 Vice Presidents ADDITIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS Dan Courcey ’86 Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations Mari Jones Director of Development and Alumni Relations Monica St. James Director of Alumni Relations ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PAST PRESIDENTS Susan Barclay ’85 Chris Hodgson ’78 Woody Laikind ’53 Patrick McCurdy ’98 REGIONAL CLUB LEADERSHIP Boston Lovey Oliff ’97 Sarah Strang ’07 Chicago Maria Del Favero ’83 Jacqueline Salamack ’06 Connecticut David Aversa ’91 Katie Vitali Childs ’95

London Ian Chan ’10 Los Angeles Alexa Platt ’95 Wesley Hansen ’98 New York Sheila Adams ’01 Jason Kasper ’05

REUNION ’17 For more class photos and highlights from the weekend go to: flickr.com/photos/gochoate/albums

Rosemary Hall Volunteer Needed

Jack Houx ’52 and Tom Yankus ’52 reminisce San Francisco Kevin Kassover ’87 Tara Elwell Henning ’99 Washington, D.C. Dan Carucci ’76 Tillie Fowler ’92 Olivia Bee ’10

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Beijing Gunther Hamm ’98 Hong Kong Sandy Wan ’90 Lambert Lau ’97 Jennifer Yu ’99

Bob Gaines ’56 Distinguished Service Award

Hal

Seoul Ryan Jungwook Hong ’89, P ‘19 Shanghai Tienmann Chau ’97 Michael ’88 and Peggy Moh P ’18

3

Thailand Pirapol Sethbhakdi ’85 Isa Chirathivat ’96 Tokyo Robert Morimoto ’89 Miki Ito Yoshida ’07

Alumni pulled out a victory in the final seconds of the annual Alumni v. Boys Varsity Lacrosse Game

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Summer Events

rh

Alumni enjoy late night s’mores on the Great Lawn

LONDON INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS

minisce ANNUAL RED SOX OUTING AT FENWAY

Hall of Fame Recipients – Jan Flaska ’92 (left), and Anne Hardy Boris ’87 coach Bob Burns (right)

CLASSES OF ’97 AND ’02 AT THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC IN THE PARK SERIES

MEMBERS OF THE CLASSES OF ’88 AND ’89 AT THE ALUMNI CLUB OF CONNECTICUT SUMMER SOCIAL Rosemary Hall Class of 1967

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ALUMNI ASSOCIATION | A Message from our President

’89

PARISA JAFFER

As the new President of the Alumni Association, I am deeply honored to lead this dynamic organization and look forward to building on the legacy of those who served before me. I want to thank in particular outgoing president Patrick McCurdy ’98, whose guidance and friendship over the years have been invaluable.

The Alumni Association works to extend the richness of our Choate Rosemary Hall experiences. Just as we celebrated teammates’ goals, classmates’ performances, and friends’ successes, Choate alumni also share each other’s successes. Through both professional and personal support, we build the power of the Choate network and ensure that Choate continues to be a vibrant force in our lives.

The refrain we heard at graduation, “Choate is not where you are, it is who you are,” is true now more than ever.

One of my goals for the Alumni Association is to actively promote and support professional networking as well as mentoring and internship opportunities.

The officers of the Alumni Association are pleased to share with all alumni some exciting new ways to connect with each other and the School.

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· Get ready: ChoateConnect – our new alumni app will encourage alumni to stay in touch and will make networking and socializing easy · Get involved: we are continuing to expand our volunteer opportunities, which include Reunion Class efforts, Volunteer Admission Network (VAN), and serving as a resource for a student club · Get going: attend a Choate event in your area – or organize one – ChoateConnect will make that easy And as always, we ask you to promote Choate in your local area and on your social media channels. The Choate network includes all of us, and we have the power to continue to strengthen that network and the Choate brand. Be forever true to gold and blue!

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Be part of it!

OCTOBER 2017 21 – NY / Alumni Service Day 25 – NY / M. Butterfly Performance and Talkback 30 – DC / Gathering with API students

NOVEMBER 2017 8 – San Francisco / Head of School Reception 10 – Alumni Association Meeting 11 – MA / Deerfield Day, away 29 – MA / Head of School Reception

DECEMBER 2017 13 – NY / Alumni Holiday Party

MARCH 2018, TBD NY / Women in Leadership LA / Career Networking event San Francisco / Career Networking and StartUp//Choate event Boston / Career Networking event Chicago Career Networking event DC / Museum event

APRIL 2018 23 – Sixth-Form Alumni Dinner 24 – Alumni Award

MAY 2018 11 – Alumni Association Meeting To learn more about our upcoming events, visit WWW.CHOATE.EDU/ALUMNI

S AV E T H E D AT E m ay 1 1 - 1 3 , 2 0 1 8

COME JOIN US An exclusive, pre-opening night performance of David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly, a story of mystery, romance, and espionage. Our very own Jin Ha ’08 stars opposite Clive Owen in the Broadway revival of this Tony Award-winning play.

Join lead producer Benjamin Feldman ’86, along with investor Annabel Fan ’86, and Jonathan Rebell ’93, for a pre-show reception and talkback.

Seating is limited.

OCTOBER 25 RECEPTION 5:30 P.M., Langan’s, 150 West 47th Street, New York, NY

Classes ending in 3s and 8s & all post 50th alumni

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PERFORMANCE AND TALKBACK 7:00 P.M., Cort Theatre, 138 West 48th Street, New York, NY

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30

CLASSNOTES | News from our Alumni SEND US YOUR NOTES! We welcome your submission of classnotes or photos electronically in a .jpg format to alumline@choate.edu. When submitting photos, please make sure the resolution is high enough for print publication – 300 dpi preferred. If your note or photograph does not appear in this issue, it may appear in a subsequent issue, or be posted online to Alumni News on www.choate.edu. To update your alumni records, email: alumnirelations@choate.edu or contact Christine Bennett at (203) 697-2228.

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BULLETIN | FALL 2017 31

’72 From the Archives TOAD OF TOAD HALL A ”Junior Play” was a venerable Choate tradition since 1911. It was never repeated after 1969. In March of that year, under the direction of 5th Former Joe Loewenstein, a production of A.A. Milne’s Toad of Toad Hall – based on Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows – was mounted with a cast consisting entirely of first year students and faculty children.

One of the pleasures of the recent 45th reunion of the Choate Class of 1972 was the reuniting of three of the four main characters in the production (photo above): John Beardsworth (Badger), Bob Weeden (Rat), and Jim Bigwood (Toad). The fourth lead, Jeffrey Townsend (Mole) – who, judging by the photo of the show in rehearsal (left), gave the best performance of the quartet – was unfortunately prevented at the last minute from joining us.

At one point in the show there is a brief respite from our various adventures as several fieldmice arrive at Rat’s house singing Christmas carols. The mice were played by faculty children, boys and girls of seven, eight, and nine. Each of them had a length of clothesline tied to the back of his or her belt to act as a tail. At one performance, one of the mice accidentally stepped on the “tail” of one of his fellows: the nine-year-old Mark Waters, son of David Waters of the English Department. Mark, remaining completely in character, picked up and gently stroked his wounded tail – a beautiful piece of improvisation.

I have never forgotten it.

I should perhaps mention that Mark’s full name was (and still is) David Mark Rylance Waters. Under his professional name, Mark Rylance, he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his 2015 performance in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies to go along with his three Tonys and his Knighthood.

—Jim Bigwood ’72

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32 CLASSNOTES

’47 C

Bill Kirby had a great time at his 70th reunion. His daughter, Ellen Kirby, and son-in-law, Brian McKeon, were his guests.

’48 C

GO CHOATE! Bruce Littman recently celebrated his 90th birthday in style.

’45

1940s ’46 C

Cliff Cowles writes, “I joined my kids this summer for vacation in the San Diego-Mission Bay area. Lots of sun, the Pacific waves rolling in and beaches for miles both ways. Great treat. By some good luck the Carl Vinson, CV-70 was in port for refurbishing and with my Retired Navy status I was able to get the family aboard for a tour. What a ship!

Years ago, I served on the USS Essex, CV-9 carrier. Love San Diego. Used to RV there for years in the 90s.”

Bill Crutcher and his wife, Hope, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on July 17. Bill also has served as Secretary of the Middlebury Land Trust in Middlebury, Conn., since 1995. Upon his retirement from that office, Bill and Hope were honored by the land trust to name its latest acquisition as the Crutcher Preserve. This was because of Bill’s efforts to acquire it for the purpose of linking together two separate parcels owned by the land trust into an integrated open space covering almost 50 acres of mountainous land and ecosystems in their natural state, thus protecting waters draining into historic Lake Quassapaug.

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Eric Javits writes, “My wife, Dr. Margaretha Espersson, and I again spent the summer months at our second home in Stigtomta, a rural farming area in Sweden’s ’castle countryside’ where the weather is cool and comfortable, and the landscape is verdant and lush. We return to our Palm Beach domicile every October. Here we spend time with friends, occasionally going up to Stockholm, read voraciously and play tennis and croquet on friends’ courts in the area. The midsummer festivals are over and the midnight sun is now setting before 10 p.m. My memoir that I wrote after serving eight years as an arms control ambassador in Geneva and The Hague, Twists and Turns, is still selling in soft cover and digital editions on Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s websites; and there is much on the years I spent at Choate from 1945-48 before going on to Stanford and Columbia. I regret that my wife and I have not visited Choate alumni events lately since I credit Choate for whatever writing and public speaking ability I have. Nor have I missed a year since graduating that I have not contributed to the Choate Fund.”

’48 RH Edie Thurlow Keasbey writes, “I am still alive, still busy, … with the flower gardens, vegetable gardens, but mostly with Friends of the Great Swamp (it is part of the NYC Water supply).” ’49 C Dr. Lynn A. Parry writes, “Had a wonderful long weekend with John and Nancy Baay on the beautiful ”Golden Pond,” Squam Lake, in New Hampshire. Both doing very well, quite active on the lake, sailing, etc. Good fun!”

1950s ’53 C Ben Heckscher was elected to the U.S. National Squash Hall of Fame. There are only 62 inductees in the HOF. Ben is also a member of Choate’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

Woody Laikind has been appointed to the newly formed Governing Board of the College Squash Association. The Board oversees all activities relating to intercollegiate Squash competition. He chairs the committee on sport development, and has appointed Ned Gallagher, former Director of Athletics at Choate, and Ross Freiman-Mendel ’11, a past Captain of the Choate Squash team, to be on his Committee.

’54 C

Bob McIntyre writes, “While playing on my latest USTA 7.0 doubles tennis team, I happened to be paired with David Hopkins ’60, who was friends with my brother Shelby ’61. Dave and I were successful partners in most of our matches. This October my wife and I were in NYC for a week-long fall color river cruise up the Hudson and had an opportunity to visit with classmates Tom Schwarz and Jack Nordeman and wives (some of you may recall that Jack married Choate Assistant Headmaster Gordon Stillman’s daughter Anne in Wallingford 47 years ago). Enjoying my third marriage now (Sook and I met at a tennis club 16 years ago) and find we love taking river trips. Have done six Viking Cruises, primarily in Europe, and four in the U.S. with American Cruise Lines. Heartily recommend that small boat mode of travel. Lately we’ve been spending every November and February in Mazatlan, Mexico, where we bought a condo several years ago. Amazing how inexpensive things are there. Been living in Palo Alto 70 years now and remarkable what it’s like here now compared to when we were at Choate (and I had to travel three days to and from school by train the first year including both winter and spring breaks).”

’55 C Barry Thors had knee replacement surgery in August.

Jack Winkler lives in London, where he is Emeritus Professor of Nutrition Policy at London Metropolitan University. He writes, “In my final year at Choate, I won (along with three other of my classmates) an English Speaking Union Exchange Scholarship. I was sent to Highgate School in north London, not far from where I live now. After returning to the U.S. for university at Stanford, I returned to London as a journalist for McGraw-Hill World News in 1961, and have stayed ever since. Most of my career has been as an academic. Formally, I have retired, but I continue working in a fascinating, important and topical area. I would welcome the chance to exchange life histories with classmates.” ’55 RH Cinda Paddock Day writes, “My project for the past two years is changing my beloved perennial beds to a shrub border. Very hard to part with my old friends, but it’s getting hard to get down on my knees to plant and weed. Even harder to get up! I’ve had fun going through the catalogs and designing the new plan.”

Maude Dorr writes, “Took a trip to Australia to see a newborn baby who qualifies as a grandson.

I have spent a lot of time in France, and recently went to Monet’s Giverney, which was in splendid springtime bloom. I have been handling the estate of a friend who passed away last August and if you know of anyone who wishes to buy a country place, 1½ hours south of Paris, please let me know. It has

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BULLETIN | FALL 2017 33

two beautifully restored houses, and a ’dependence’ – a building with garage, small stable, tool shed. All sitting on the edge of a plateau with a view of the canal and the Loire in the distance.”

Lu Fields writes, “Everything is OK on the eastern front. I had a wonderful Mother’s Day. It is not required, but nice to be appreciated, especially when your grandnephew of 3 years shares his M&Ms with you, one by one!”

Landa Montague Freeman writes, “Each of us is just fine. Jeff is doing lots of singing; I am doing lots of ’greeting’ at the new Meigs Point Nature Center at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Connecticut.”

Debbie Day Leeming writes, “El and I are having a grand time … celebrating our 50th anniversary … pretty good for the second time around.”

Lyn Foster McNaught writes, “We had a wonderful Christmas with the whole family, including Carter (8) and Charlotte (4). We are taking a two-week trip around the Baltic with our dear friends Pam and Bruce. We are going via Iceland.”

Francie Abbott Miller writes, “A lot of peaks and valleys since last November. The election was a huge downer. Took a while to start coming back. The Democratic Club and I then got a grip and took 72 people to Washington for the Women’s March; giant lift to the spirits. We got ready for the opening of our booth in the Saturday Farmer’s market, and made plans for a West Coast visit. All systems go, until the doctor called to tell me that my dear sister Martha RH ’49, who had gone into the hospital for a ’routine’ angioplasty, had suffered something like a stroke and was in a coma. Her family was there when she died on April 1. We had 11 wonderful years of living across the street from each other. Surrounded by family and friends, I don’t lack for companionship. But I will miss her, every single day.”

Dottie McGowan Myles writes, “Survived last winter without going south! It really was a relatively easy winter and all remains calm at least for the time being. Went to the Block Island race week in June and that started the beginning of the season’s Regattas.”

Sally Soper Neenan writes, “Traveled with three friends on a 17-day trip to Spain. We did the Madrid sights briefly, and then traveled by train to Barcelona for a week in a nice large apartment.

Finally, we drove to a charming cortijo, or farmhouse, surrounded by olive groves in the center of the Sierra Subotica Natural Park in the Andalusian Mountains.

From this remote location, we took day trips. Among the many wonderful sights we saw: Alhambra in Granada, the huge cathedral in Seville, and the amazing mosque or La Mezquita in Cordoba. We also explored the small picturesque towns around our rural accommodations.”

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Verena Topke Rasch writes, “Arriving in Tahiti, I went on a wonderful 15-day cruise from Tahiti to Fiji with Barbara, a dear friend. We had a wonderful time and it was very interesting and beautiful.”

Liz Pathy Salett writes, “We continue to live a bifurcated life – part of our time in Brooklyn and the other in Chestertown, Md. I am still spending a good bit of time working on our web portal and related activities (www.humantraffickingsearch.net).

Fortunately, Stan has recovered from his knee surgery of last year, and in September we are planning for the first time, a river trip on the Danube starting in Budapest and ending at Nuremburg. This has historical meaning for me as I was born in Budapest and one of my uncles was an Assistant Prosecutor at the Nuremburg trials.”

Pam Bisbee Simonds writes, “Bruce and I went to Panama last winter – on a cruise with Tauck along the Costa Rican coast and through the Canal.

Fascinating! We spent another week on Isla de San Jose then home, where we both suddenly broke out in a rash. Officially diagnosed by CDC as Zika! Not serious for us elders, and all clear after a week, but a first!”

Alibel Wood Thompson writes, “In April, we took off for a trip to Panama and Mexico. The end of the trip was spent in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico which was a perfect stay with some friends. But – we had to fool around for 10 days before Mexico and so a travel agent booked us for a 10-day stay in various parts of Panama. We were to fly up to a small island run by the Kuna Indians on the Caribbean. It sounded

rather intriguing staying in a thatched hut over the water and a hammock on the tiny deck … but we didn’t know anything about the place. We met two other French couples (I used my rusty RH French to converse with them). There was another couple from Panama and the wife spoke English. She asked if I had any mosquito repellent (I said no) and she said there were lots of mosquitos. I found out later that our mosquito netting had 3 big holes in it. I went to bed with a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and socks.

This is only a small piece of our 2-day adventure and I will skip the rest. We eventually got back to Panama and took off for Mexico the next day.”

Betsy Angle Webster writes, “Peter got the idea that we should celebrate my 80th birthday by going on a cruise on the Royal Clipper. We went last February and cruised through the Windward Islands.

That boat is the largest sailing ship in the world, and seeing as I grew up sailing, this sounded just fine to me! We met a lot of very nice people – mostly Europeans – and had a lovely, warm and relaxing time. We also went to Kiawah Island, S.C. for a couple of weeks. That, too, was very nice – again, warm and relaxing. We went into Charleston a number of times.

Our son, Chris, and daughter-in-law, Robin, came down for a few days. He has spent several spring breaks chaperoning one child or another on a mission trip to that area, so he delighted in showing us where they had worked. This included the Charleston Tea Plantation. I didn’t know that tea grew in the U.S. – it does, but only in that one spot. We headed north to Kennebunk for the summer.”

LEFT Pitcher Jacob ”Bear” Stevens of the Cape Cod League in

RIGHT Summer Programs students, from left, Armani Taylor

Chatham, Mass., at a game this summer with Tom Yankus ’52.

On November 8, Tom will be inducted into the 2017 Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame at The Chatham Bars Inn.

(Raquet Up Detroit); Woody Laikind ’53; Blessing Hunter (MetroSquash, Chicago); Kyndall Johnson (SquashSmarts, Philadelphia); and Ta’Niya Nored (Racquet Up Detroit). All students belong to organizations that are part of the National Urban Squash + Education Association (NUSEA). Woody is on the NUSEA Board of Overseers.

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34 CLASSNOTES

“I am forever grateful for the years I spent around that beautiful architecture which influenced my interest in art and travel to this day and the fine and unique genre of education inspired by the founder of R.H. Altiora Peto!”

–ANN RIPPIN RAE

Anne Warner Whiting writes, “We’ve had quite a year, as Tim’s been diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. It’s manageable, but not curable.

Once they got his chemo pill at the right strength, he’s been doing great. He managed to ski 60-70 days and now is playing and walking 9-plus holes on the golf course. Kids have been wonderful, and he has an amazing attitude – that really helps, I think.”

’56 C Bob Ackerman writes, “In August I traveled to Siberia for two weeks to see Lake Baikal and Tuva Providence, in part to see one of the environmental treasures of this world and in part to understand a bit more of Russian history and the role Siberia played in it (the Decembrists and all that).” He adds his wife “Meg sat this one out, waiting for the next plane to Paris. “ Jack Belles writes, “I’m going to Nashville with my local seniors in October. My oldest grandson graduated high school last year as Valedictorian and is now going into his sophomore year at college with a 4.0 average in engineering. My granddaughter is going to a fine arts academy. She is mostly a singer, but also acts, dances etc. This spring she won the $1,000 first prize in a major local talent contest here in Morristown, N.J. and with a small group she sang backup for a couple of songs with Kristin Chenoweth at her show in the Lunt Fontaine Theater on Broadway. My younger grandson is into sports; baseball and football in high school and the youngest granddaughter is taking gymnastics but hasn’t developed any specialty yet. I’m still marching in a Colonial Fife & Drum Corps and I pass through Wallingford twice a year on the way to parades in Westbrook in August and Old Saybrook in December.

I’m a fifer, not that good because I don’t practice, but good enough to get along marching in parades with a group. I belong to two corps at the present time – The New Jersey Colonial Militia and the Colonial Musketeers of Hackettstown, N.J. With that group, we wear full dress long coats etc.”

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’61 Bing Blossom writes, ”I spend most of my time reminiscing of the past, including sharing stories with Mike Clegg over dinner once a month.

Here are three stories: Summer 1981, Perry, my son, attended Choate. Delivering my sister’s Rolls Royce convertible to her in NYC, on the way I drove to Choate for lunch with him. After parking in the Hill House circle and after searching [for him] in vain, upon returning to the circle, I found a dozen students admiring the car, one of which was Perry. I merely said, ”Ready to go?” and he asked where’s the car?

I smiled, ”This is it!” Twenty or so years later, Perry asked me to join him at the opening of The Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair. Yogi would not speak to me wearing a Cleveland Indians cap, but as we were all departing, my new friend Carmen, his wife, put her arms around me and gave me a kiss, on the mouth! In between times I managed a summer 18 and under baseball team, including David, my son.

During a weekend Michigan tournament, the parents of another team were raving about their 17-year-old shortstop as a future major leaguer. Little did they know; His name was Derek Jeter! Now Debbie, my wife, actively and often looks after Perry’s and David’s children, while I merely reflect especially on vicarious thrills.”

Don Freedman writes, “My wife Susan and I were in Vail, Colorado in July for the annual dance festival and visiting our son Derek who lives here and has taught skiing and snowboarding here for the last 30 years. Susan and I were in Sri Lanka and India last February. Derek and I biked in Scandinavia in May. I was sorry to have missed our reunion last year. Bob Graham visited me afterwards and brought news and information.”

Class secretary Bob Gaines rode a private rail car “The Berlin” to watch the solar eclipse in Charlotte S.C, on Aug. 21, then attended the AAPRCO [American Association of Private Rail Car Owners] convention in Rutland VT in September. Ending with a round trip Pittsburgh on the “Steel City Limited” aboard the private rail cars “Alexander Hamilton,” a restored parlor car and “Passiac River,” a restored diner-lounge, both Budd cars built in 1948 and 1952 respectively.”

Looking forward to the next reunion. SAVE THE DATE May 8-10, 2021.

George Gamble writes, “I have almost retired from my Cowboy Life and being a Rancher. It seems my wife Nancy and I are busier than ever! We now are quite involved with Dancing Horses and have a small ranch in Napa, Calif. We have Friesian and Andalusian horses (no more Quarter horses) which perform for schools, charities, shows and parties. If anyone would like to see our horses in action, I invite you to go to our web site www.ranchocenturion.com.”

Harald Hille writes, “As I approach the very high 70s, I find much to be concerned about in our country, in particular the conduct and results of the last presidential election. To understand the mostly white, poor, and working voters who provided the core support for our most unusual President, I have been reading about those who feel left out, left behind, ill-served by the elites, etc. Books I would recommend are: Joe Bageant’s Deer Hunting with Jesus and Arlie Hochschild’s Strangers in their Own Land. I heard recently from classmate Lee Gaillard that his wife Ann has been posted to a church in Eugene, Oregon.”

Dave Nichols writes, “I am happily ensconced in Manchester, Vt., with my dear wife, and visit other local Choaties occasionally. Lunched with Geoff Bullard and Bob Gaines in Albany last month when we spent some time strategizing about our upcoming 65th reunion in 2021 (not that far off!). As our class reaches our four score and (?) birthdays, the expected aches and pains are showing their ugly heads. I am exploring the opportunity for knee surgery (cartilage is shot in both). Fortunately, our small, local hospital in Bennington just affiliated with DartmouthHitchcock, so we have technical services available way above and beyond the typical small Vermont hospital. If that’s not enough incentive to move here there are cultural events in every season from Tanglewood to our South and up to Middlebury, both about an hour away. My son, Charlie ’07, continues to score home runs with his business in Kenya (See SunCulture.com).“ Carolyn and Cam Sheahan are snowbirds of the West spending October through April in Tuscon, Ariz., and April through October in Wilsonville Ore.

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Bob Thompson visited daughter Brett, her husband Aaron, and twins Bryce and Hadley, in Homer, Alaska in July.

From across the pond Fred Vinton writes, “Have had a busy year – starting last February with a round the world trip including Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji and then ending up at our home in Carmel, California. After a summer in the U.K., we headed to the U.S. in August where we attended the wedding of our daughter Isabel, who was married in upstate N.Y. I have finally retired from my private equity role, although still have a couple of non-executive roles in Spain and Brazil. Have quit the tennis circuit a few years ago with a dodgy knee and took up golf, which has given me and my wife Anna great pleasure as we travel to fun places.”

’58 C Ian Bennett, Founder of the Harvest Protection Network, a program to eliminate crop spoilage losses in the sub-Saharan farming community, was the keynote speaker at the Wharton Graduate Emeritus Society luncheon on May 13. He is a 1967 graduate of Wharton.

Bob Harrison writes, “In March a small gathering of ’58 classmates – Bruce Nelson, Dave Rawle, Rich Stetson, Bob Harrison, Chris Norris, Jim Dwinell, Dick Murdock, and Jim Whitters – was held at the home of David and Carol Rawle in Charleston, S.C. It was four days of incessant reveries and reminiscences of joyful and humorous times at Choate.

The focus of most of the conversations was on how important our years at Choate and the teachers who worked with us were to all and in so many varied ways. Bottom line: we were blessed to have our Choate experience.”

’59 “I’m producing The Parisian Woman on Broadway starring Uma Thurman and written by Beau Willimon, the creator of House of Cards for Netflix.”

Bob Knisely taught a Special Studies course entitled Designing Government for the 21st Century during Week One at the Chautauqua Institution in New York in June. The course was based on his 30 years in the Federal government, his interest in computers and cybernetics, and his decade plus as a judge with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Innovations in American Government Awards Program. The course materials can be found on his website, www. government-reform.info. Comments are welcome at bobknisely@gmail.com.

’59 C

Frank Pagliaro writes, “In March of last year, my wife, Bonnie, and I flew to Singapore for a few days and then on to Cambodia. We spent several days at the Angkor Wat complex and then joined a National Geographic group on a boat that sailed down several rivers, including the Mekong.

We stopped along the way and visited small villages, markets and schools. We ended up in Saigon in time for Chinese New Year, which was quite colorful. We stopped for several days in Hong Kong on the way home to San Francisco. I am still practicing law in both California and New York, but this is probably the last year. We now have four grandchildren and it’s time to spend more time with them.”

Tom Viertel writes, “It’s been a great year.

My fourth granddaughter was born in April – Sage Stephens-Viertel – a cutie by any standards! My cabaret/supper club, Feinstein’s 54 Below, celebrated its 5th anniversary in June and has become something of a New York institution. The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Conn., where I’m Chairman of the Board, won the National Medal of Arts last September, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government. We got to meet then-President Obama at a wonderful ceremony in the East Room of the White House. I continue as Executive Director of The Commercial Theater Institute, which teaches commercial producing for the theater. My partner, Patricia Daily, and I divide our time between New York City and Groton, Conn., with side trips to Brooklyn and LA to visit my children, Jessica ’89 and Joel and their wonderful families.

Grandchildren grow up so fast!”

1960s ’60 C

John Henderson and Dave Brownell met for several days in July at The Cedars, the Brownell family’s rustic retreat in the California Sierras. John, his wife Anne, and Dave were hosted by Cary and Mona Kelly in their beautiful northern Idaho town of Sandpoint in May. A highlight was the town’s annual classic car parade and show.

’60 RH Sue Matthes Galvin writes, “You won’t find me at a zoo and I am virtually traveled out. However, recently I went on another African safari. Each one is different with its own special experiences. It also transports me away from this human, turbulent world. I enjoy a quiet, active and meaningful life.

Bible study, church activities, P.E.O. DAR and special friends keep me active.”

’61 C

David Cook was cast as lead in the documentary The Charles Cannon Story. David also played CIA boss Allen Dulles in a Harvard Bay of Pigs historic recreation and was the announcer again for the 2017 Dell Technologies Golf Championship.

Seth Hoyt writes, “How cliché to say: we are getting to that age, but we are! TRY to live abundantly and gratefully, fully present, one day at a time. Our summer here in Minnesota, despite being hot and humid, was a good one. Nancy and I have a pool, thankfully, and kids and grands have been swimming in it. I’ve gone back to work part-time (same small, influential, St. Paul-based, non-profit art magazine as before, Public Art Review – I think this is my third stint!!). My volunteer commitment to Ready for Success in Minneapolis has picked up again, and I’ll write some appeal letters soon. I enjoy being busy – there’s intellectual stimulation and energy in a work environment that I’ve never been able to replicate at the gym or in a coffee shop. C ’61 pals continue to be important, and I stay in touch with: Werbe, Hull, Mohan, Kniffin, Dort, Sordoni, Doyle, Trotman, Silin, Hannock, Phillips, Morrison, Ayres, Ballou and others.

Ain’t we the lucky ones?”

Dick Hull and Bill Mohan, and their wives, Karen and Beth, met for a few days in May on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. They enjoyed great conversation and touring Kill Devil Hills and Nag’s Head.

’61 RH Judith Banzhaf Kruse performed in both a solo recital and several ensemble programs presented by the Classical Guitar Ensemble of Lancaster.

Ann Rippin Rae writes, “I celebrated 48 years of marriage with my husband, Jim. We have two wonderful children and four beautiful grandchildren.

We are enjoying restoring our second 19th century home near the green in Guilford, Conn. We have three spaniels and many visitors here in this unique historic town. We like to spend time in Eleuthera, Bahamas in February. We love to garden, prepare foods from our gardens and have friends dine with us often. We have room in this home for everyone to visit and stay for a while. We are active in the Episcopal church and I am doing quite a bit of pastoral care and lay ministry.

I realized a few years back why I was so happy in the years spent at RH. We had good leaders and teachers at RH and loving discipline, that was special gift. I am in touch with many of my classmates, we all share the great values that were presented to us.”

–TOM VIERTEL

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36 CLASSNOTES

TOP LEFT Doug Bryant ’67

BOTTOM Steve Beste ’64 retired

celebrated his daughter’s April wedding. Joining the festivities from left, Doug Eisenhart ’67, Dan Hunt ’67, Doug, Bill Bryant ’59, and Hank Bryant ’60.

TOP RIGHT Peter Hovey ’66 welcomes first grandchild, Axel Hornsby.

a year and a half ago after 17 years as a software designer at the National Archives. Pictured here with his trike and brother Jay.

Sue Bristoll Sayles writes, “Last August, I left my home state of Connecticut and moved to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. It’s my happy place, and I just love being here. It’s wonderful being among lifelong friends and family.”

’62 C

Walter Tyree and Ani Colt married in Austin, Texas on August 18, 2017. It is a second marriage for both.

John Wilkes writes, “I have put together a short 13-minute video of memories from the Choate Class of ’62’s 55th Reunion that was held this past May in Wallingford on the Internet at dailymotion.com.

Just paste the following link into your computer’s web browser, and it should take you right to the movie: dai.ly/x5pjqq9. Gini and I had a great time attending this year’s Reunion Weekend festivities at Choate. Not only did we enjoy hobnobbing with my 13 classmates who came back to Wallingford for our 55th Reunion, but we also found Jim Lenfestey’s Saturday afternoon presentation about The Journey Inward, his new book, Seeking The Cave, and his recent travels to China mesmerizing. I hope that if you could not make it back to Choate this year, you will pencil in May 13, 2022. Unfortunately, the chances for us to remember the good old days together again will not last forever – think of Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu. And to the 13 of you who did make it back – many thanks! You made the weekend a great one. If you are ever traveling through the Garden State, please come by for a visit at 33 Constitution Way, Jersey City, NJ 07305. The room rates are reasonable.”

’62 RH Muffie Bourne Swan writes, “I live in beautiful Colorado and took some time to go to Sarasota, Fla., last spring to spend time with my sister Lynne ’66. It was fun to take her down to Turtle Beach and take her out to eat. She lives close to her son, Colin VanAntwerp, and his family who also live in the ranch area. She is very happy and loves where she is so it is great. I plan to go back down again this fall or next spring! My daughter and her family have all moved back to Colorado. Just one grandson in his last year at UConn. My oldest granddaughter is about to deliver her first baby – my first great grandchild – so we are all excited.”

’63 RH Rosamond Chubb Davis writes, “My husband, Eddie, had open heart surgery last June at Emory in Atlanta. Quite unexpected, but definitely needed for a man who does 100 push-ups, Cardio Pilates and speed walks 4 miles daily! The best cardio thoracic surgeon in the U.S. cleared his calendar to do it within the week of diagnosis. All is good and he is doing great. All grandchildren are growing and thriving. Our oldest, Preston, was elected to the national honor society last year. He’s doing college

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applications and will be playing football, basketball and soccer during his upcoming senior year, as well as maintaining his 4.0 average. The end of April, we took a two-week cruise through the Panama Canal.

It was spectacular as we were the first cruise ship through the new canal. It is indeed a magnificent homage to man’s ingenuity and engineering skills. I’m still involved with several nonprofits. It will be my 25th year serving on the board of Tall Timbers Research & Land Conservancy and 14th as chair of its regional planning committee. It is difficult to believe next year will mark the class of ’63’s 55th reunion year. I hope many of us will make it to the campus again.”

Donna Dickenson writes, “I’m looking forward to receiving copies of my latest book, the substantially rewritten second edition of my best-known volume, Property in the Body. It was hard work, since I produced about 50,000 words of new material, but very satisfying to be asked by Cambridge to do the second edition, because the topics haven’t become outdated. If anything, they’ve gained in importance.”

Alice Chaffee Freeman had major shoulder surgery the end of June, and she writes “I’ve been sitting in a stupor in a shady part of my garden while I recover from surgery, letting my staff wait on me hand and foot. All went well, and I hope to be back to serious gadding about by the end of the summer.”

Betsy Brown Hawkins writes, “Absolutely I will be at the 55th next May. We are living around the corner from where my Mom lived in Old Greenwich.

It’s a great town! David is an environmental lawyer, still working.”

Margo Melton Nutt and Margo Heun Bradford are planning a two-week trip to England in late September, to Kent and Sussex.

Betsy O’Hara writes, “Clive and I were on the road through England and Scotland until the end of July. Then we returned to Hamburg to stay there until mid-September when we will go to Portugal. We will be living in Lagos in a rental during the winter and house hunting. Septuagenarian gypsies! Very exciting!”

Alma Phipps has left New York and moved to Vero Beach, Fla. on Johns Island and loves it.

Reeve Lindbergh Tripp participated in a July event at Hartness Airport in North Springfield, VT, celebrating her father’s visit to the airport 90 years ago, commemorating his transatlantic flight a few months earlier. Reeve arrived in a glider named the Anne Morrow Lindbergh, flown by the 78-year old owner of the aircraft. Reeve’s mother was the first woman to receive a first-class glider pilot’s license.

’64 C

Steve Beste writes, “I retired a year and a half ago, after 17 years as a software designer at the National Archives. I still live with Linda in our home of 25 years here in Northern Virginia. Always interested in maps, I took a course in geographical

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information systems at George Mason University. A course project led me to create some online maps about dogs in my area. See NoVaDogParks.com. The county accepted my offer so I’ll be turning this into part of the official Fairfax County Park website this fall. Intellectual learning? A beautiful craft project?

Community service? A perfect retirement trifecta! I continue flying my trike and am the president of the Northern Virginia light sport flying club. If you always wanted to fly, it’s never been easier. See my photo essays at sbeste.zenfolio.com.”

’65 C Rob Simpson writes, “In January 2016 I left my job as CEO of the Brattleboro Retreat, a 184-yearold psychiatric hospital, after nearly a decade at the helm. It was a difficult decision and perhaps an even harder transition to a new purpose in life.

But I have not fully left the world of work, as I am now the President of a consulting group (Difference Leadership Group) working with both for profit and non-profit organizations to strengthen their mission, purpose and brand presence. I spend a meaningful portion of my time coaching younger leaders in the rubrics and experience of strategic leadership. I try to control the pace of the work to allow me to balance my needs to spend time with my growing family and grandchildren with time to write, travel and read.

I know from my 48 years of working in the mental health field that transitions are always complex and as my Choate friends from the Class of ’65 and I head into our 8th decade, this may be the most complex period of our lives to navigate. It has been for me. I always had the accelerator on and slowing down to see more of the scenery is now what lies ahead. From my Choate days in the classroom with the gifted teacher Bob Atmore, the gift of Frost poetry lingers: ’What was that whiteness? Truth? A pebble of quartz?

For once, then, something.’ ’Something ’always lingers just ahead’….” ’65 RH Polly MacDougall Oliver writes, “Greetings from Palm Desert. We have sadly left Honolulu after 45 years and now spend 9 months in Ligonier, Pa., and January-May in Palm Desert. Not a bad situation!

My kids and grandkids live in San Diego and Seattle, so we see them more in the winter, although coming to Sky Meadow Farm has a lot of perks. I see Nan Harman here a bit, which is great fun.”

’66 C

Larry DeVan writes that his daughter Elizabeth (Lizzy) DeVan was married to Jason Schumacher on July 14 in Incline Village, Nevada.

Stuart DeVan ’99, brother of the bride, and his wife, Sarah Dunagan DeVan ’00, were in attendance.

Peter Hovey welcomed the arrival of his first grandchild. He reports, “I designed the Class of ’66’s 50th anniversary gift; the Old English Fireplace Bench in the Mellon Library. Among my recent clients are

the past Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry, Robert Trump (uncle to Ivanka Trump ’00), and James Rothschild and Nicky Hilton.”

George “Terry” Hubbard writes, “All is well in the Hostess City of the South … Savannah, Ga. Hurricane Matthew gave us some concern as we had to evacuate for several days. Lost many trees but flooding was a minimal. Finally retired from the divorce/trial practice of law and am filling my days with sporting clays (golf with shotguns) bocce, and traveling: expedition to the Arctic last summer and to the Antarctic this winter. Mary and I are blessed with four great grandkids and good health.”

Rod Walker reports, “Our daughter, Hilary, was married in our back yard here in Virginia. She then quit her job at PwC and she and Kevin moved to Seattle. Our oldest son, Ben, still lives in Chicago and provides counseling services to needy folks in the Uptown area. And our son Alex recently moved to Minneapolis and bought a house there. The nonprofit we founded has been doing very well. If any of you are challenged by invasive plants check out our website at blueridgeprism.org or drop me a line at rwalker@alum.mit.edu.”

’66 RH Gusty Lange writes, “My daughter Chelsea just graduated from Oberlin (Environmental Studies) and found a paralegal job. My son (27) is a drummer (his band Ex-Mothers) and works in acoustics. My husband Steve has gotten into sculpture, Brancusiinfluenced, using fallen trees from our place in Stonington, Maine, and has gotten involved in community issues. My teaching continues at Pratt, Grad ComD. I’d love to hear from others: Thank you Anne Wadsworth Markle, for being such a great friend.” ’67 C John Lee Baringer writes, “I had not planned to come for Reunion Weekend on my class’s 50th year, but the alumni office wouldn’t give up on me. I came to the alumni weekend Saturday, saw the panel discussion and stayed for lunch, afterward visiting St. John Hall. There, I talked to two girls (one a current student, the other graduated last year), and after that I talked to two girls walking outside. I have a girl who is 13 and I asked them all for their input on the school, and they all love(d) it. One of the girls outside said her parents are in South Korea and she had high praise for the Senior Project, in which a student does research on a topic of her or his choice and writes a paper. Great idea. Useful for building a career interest. I later contacted the Summer Program to see if I could get my daughter into a 2-week program and perhaps interest her in admissions the following year.

She didn’t feel ready to try the summer program, and is unsure about boarding school. Returning to Choate got me interested in the future of my daughter, and we will see at the end of the year how she feels then.”

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CLASSNOTES | Profile

Brooks Yeager

CLIMATE CAMPAIGNER For someone whose whole career has focused on preserving the environment and protecting lands and endangered species, especially in the Arctic, Brooks Yeager ’67 evinces a perhaps surprising optimism in the face of climate change – “if we can get the polar bears through the next 25 years,” he says.

’67

That’s how long he expects it will take to get greenhouse gas emissions down to the point where the course of climate change will begin to reverse.

“It will be my grandchildren” who see this turnaround, he predicts. Not that he sugarcoats the situation.

And not that the Arctic will ever be what it was before humanity started sending soot and gases into the atmosphere during the Industrial Revolution. The “ice ecosystem” of the Arctic “will be gone,” he concedes. But he is hopeful that the region can be put on “a road of restoration to some version of what it was.”

Brooks has had a long career both in and out of government.

Public diplomacy has been a hallmark of his work; at one NGO, for instance, he organized a series of presentations to let a longtime Scandinavian ambassador in Washington share his perspective on climate change with average Americans around the country.

Brooks is retired now. But, he says, “I keep getting pulled into the effort to conserve the circumpolar Arctic, and to strengthen international management in the region, through frameworks such as the Arctic Council.”

When he was a boy growing up in Rockland County, N.Y. – “on the wrong side of the Hudson River,” he says with a chuckle – there was a small public forest near his home.

It was only a single square mile, but “a square mile is a lot if you’re an 11-year-old boy.” The forest, full of oak and history gave him a whole world to explore. There was always something new to discover, and he never tired of looking for it.

In the years since, his view has expanded to cover the whole world. After Choate, Brooks majored in political theory and philosophy at Stanford. He then took a job as a congressional staffer and from that perch hopped to the Sierra Club. There he spent most of the Reagan years, focusing on the protection of the newly created Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In 1987, he had an epiphany. “I had been leading some fights on land issues,” he says. At that point, he was focused on protecting endangered species by protecting land.

But then a talk by Stephen H. Schneider of Stanford – climate scientist, MacArthur “genius” fellow, and consultant to every president from Nixon to Obama – left him with a new big idea: Focusing simply on protecting the land would mean “missing the boat,” because “the Yellowstone ecosystem is going to move.”

That is, climate change will push the species now living in Yellowstone – and other sensitive areas – farther north as temperatures rise. In an era of climate change, protecting land won’t suffice to ensure habitat. Brooks returned to his board at the Sierra Club and told them, ‘You’ve got to have a climate campaign.’”

Then came four years as legislative director for the National Audubon Society, where he planned and led the work of several environmental coalitions, protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil development and taking part in international climate negotiations.

During the Clinton years, Brooks was on the inside, dealing with climate and environmental issues, first at the Department of the Interior, and then at the State Department.

During the George W. Bush years, Brooks returned to the world of NGOs, and consulted for a number of years with the eight-nation Arctic Council, made up of the eight countries with Arctic territory – Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the United States – plus observer states.

All these circumpolar peoples take climate change seriously.

“There are no climate change skeptics north of the Arctic Circle,” Brooks observes.

For several years, he was executive vice president for policy at Clean Air – Cool Planet, which he describes as “an organization formed in response to the need for a regional approach to climate change.”

It was in this role that he took part in the outings with Wegger Strommen, Norway’s longtime ambassador to the U.S. Together, they traveled to New Mexico, Montana, Arkansas, Oregon, and Maine. But the ambassador made his own presentation. “We didn’t tell him what to say,” Brooks says. “And we always drew a good crowd.” ruth walker Ruth Walker is a writer and editor in Cambridge, Mass.

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Selby Hinkebein writes, “Wow! Malcolm Manson ’57 was right! I remember two of his speeches during Chapel. Who could forget his WHOOPEE I am ALIVE! But most important, his assertion that if you attended Choate even for just ONE day, you are a Choatie for life. Our 50th reunion proved that he was right. Yes, it was great to see my very best friends again after 45-50 years and the immediate no daylight between us connection we had. What was just as surprising was how good it was to see all my classmates even if we were not the closest of friends while at Choate. In my four years at Choate, not to mention my two tours of duty at Summer School, I figure I spent more time with my classmates than I did with my family. I guess that is why there is such an enduring bond among Choaties.”

Rick Rosenthal attended Roland Garros, the 2017 French Open this summer.

Dick Terry writes, “50th Reunion was a blast!

Met Herb Kohler ’57: What a fun guy. The world makes you compromise on quality every day; Choate just keeps on getting better. I wear my Choate t-shirt to gym class. I get all sorts of people coming up to me and asking: “Did you really go to Choate?” I always say “Yes” with a smile. People know and respect Choate everywhere I go. Keep up the good work!”

’67

’69 C

Pat Crandall writes from Jacksonville, Fla., “No retirement in sight - teaching Psychology, Philosophy, and Film Analysis. Tenth grandchild on the way, Isla Skye! Been here 24 years after my 20 in the Navy as a Naval Flight Officer (P-3s, now obsolete!).

I cannot believe it’ll be 50 years in just two years!! I may be old, but they still can’t make me grow up.”

Robert Snyder and his brother, Phil ’68, received news that their 2016 film, “The Bag,” which combines horror and comedy to address the issue of plastic bag pollution, won the Best Science Fiction category at the 15 Minutes of Fame Film Festival in Palm Bay, Fla. Condolences to Peter Stanton who writes, “My father died a year ago last January and my mother died this past April. They were 98 and 96 years old.”

tion organization on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. During his tenure, the Trust’s holdings of historic properties increased more than three-fold, from seven to 25 landmarks, with annual revenues of $5 million. He leaves a legacy of a unique collection of buildings and landscapes, all open to the public, with annual visitation of more than two million per year. In his retirement, he is serving on the executive board of several island non-profit organizations as well as participating in town government in Edgartown. Much of his free time is spent following the tennis career of his daughter, Victoria, a junior at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, whose team recently won the state championship for the third consecutive year! Chris and his wife, Pam, will continue to reside on Martha’s Vineyard, year-round.

Geoffrey R. Smith writes, “After living on top of a mountain in beautiful rural Vermont for 30 years, my wife and I decided to move to San Francisco in late 1999. Our home is on one of those stereotypically steep SF hills not far from the geographic center of the city, in an area called Buena Vista. The crosscountry transition was surprisingly easy – I cleaned out my office at Vermont Law School on Saturday, we climbed on a plane out of Burlington airport on Sunday morning, and I reported to my new

“Wow! Malcolm Manson ’57 was right! … if you attended Choate even for just ONE day, you are a Choatie for life.” –SELBY HINKEBEIN

Brooks Yeager writes, “My wife Cindy and I have finally both retired, and are spending most our time on the small island of Chincoteague, on the Atlantic side of Virginia’s eastern shore. We bought a small waterman’s cottage here some years back, and have just traded up to a more substantial house where we intend to spend our retirement. A very quiet and pleasant place on the water, looking across Chincoteague Bay to the west, so great sunsets. My daughter Hannah brought her family up. We had a rollicking time with the two sweetest, funniest, and most creative little gremlins east of the Mississippi, Eva, who’s one and a half, and her older brother Dylan, who’s almost four. Despite my retirement, I keep getting pulled into the effort to conserve the circumpolar Arctic.”

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’68 C Jack Crews writes, “Wrapping up a two-year term as President of the Sea Island (Georgia) Property Owners Association. Looking forward to more time on the water, though the fish seem to be unconcerned about my return. Scott McCombe, if you are reading this I want you to know that I am restoring my Model A after all these years and all the memories of working with you on yours in the barn at Choate.”

Philip Tiedtke writes, “Sigi, my wife of 37 years, and I are watching daughter Liz run the Florida Film Festival, which I founded in 1992. After a long ride, I am on a holding company for Domino Foods, where I compete with myself in the U.S. as a grower.

We spend June to September on Edgartown Harbor.

Come visit!”

’69 RH Helen Halpin was on the West Coast visiting her daughter and two grandchildren and caught up with classmate Vickie Spang ’69 who is still the CMO at her 780-attorney law firm in Los Angeles.

1970s ’70 C Christopher Scott retired this June after 25 years as President of the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust, a non-profit landmark conserva-

position in downtown SF on Monday morning; by the end of that first week, we felt we had lived in San Francisco for years. After spending 25 years in college and university admissions, in 2004 I was contacted by a local private high school to be their dean of college and gap-year advising, which ended up being a true joy. I spent 12 years at the high school, retiring in July 2016. I recommend retirement to everyone I meet: I’m better rested than I’ve been in years, have lost 25 pounds, and am enjoying San Francisco’s arts and cultural opportunities every week. My wife and I consider ourselves very fortunate.”

Charles Weeden is delighted to have finally published Poems of Yosemite. He writes, “After graduation, I spent six months in Yosemite and have tried to hike there every year or two since. Just some reflections upon nature and time.”

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40 CLASSNOTES

’70 RH Nancy Musser Sutton is currently in private practice in Park City, Utah, working with children, adolescents, and their families. She does animal assisted therapy with her dog Luke, and his young assistant, Ziggy. ’71

C Condolences to Terry Maguire whose father, Walter L. Maguire ’40 passed away in December 2016. Says Terry, “Walter was a great enthusiast of Choate and donated funds to create the Robert Maguire fields in honor of his brother who also attended Choate, but passed away before graduating. A joyful note is that my son Angus Maguire ’09 married Tingxiao Zhang in May of this year.”

Alex Murenia retired in June after serving as a Choate Rosemary Hall major gifts and annual fund officer since April 2007. Prior to returning ”home” in 2007, he served at a number of other independent schools (including a 4-year stint as Headmaster of Andover (MA) Montessori School covering a private school career journey of almost four decades). Alex writes, ”My late mother worked at Choate for 22 years from 1971-1993; Mom was hired by thenHeadmaster Seymour St. John in 1971, and she loved working at Choate. I have had the awesome privilege of serving the School’s alumnae and alumni for the past 10 years. Our family has an attitude of gratitude to all things related to CRH. I will continue to reside in Wallingford and hope to see classmates and fellow alums at future PMAC events and CRH athletic contests.”

’72 RH Celina Munkenbeck Kersh writes, “It’s been many years since I’ve sent in any updates, so I’ll just do the highlights. I am still living in the Northeast, where I continue to sail, ski and play tennis as often as possible. After a 20-year marriage, which provided three lovely children, I was divorced from my first husband in 2001 but remarried in 2011 to a lovely person. My daughters, Kristen, Genevieve and Lydia all now grown, live in or around NYC working as user experience designer, stage manager on Broadway

shows and in the medical field (currently awaiting response from medical schools) respectively. I recently retired in 2016 from the UN. My husband and I traveled to Sanibel, Fla., last March, then we toured Sardinia and the Amalfi coast in Italy. I hope to be at our next big reunion as retirement has provided more leisure time. Best wishes to all my 1972 classmates.”

James Prudden traveled to Memphis last May on business as editorial director of a medical publishing company, and met up with classmate Mike Hagan, who had recently moved back to Memphis after having spent many years working as a top lawyer for Federal Express. James writes, “We had some highly satisfying ribs and then even more delicious beer.”

’74 C Dr. John de Jong is President Elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association for 20172018. He also was reelected to a second five-year term as a trustee of Tufts University. John and his wife, Carole, are most proud of their two sons. Jack will be a freshman at LSU this fall and Sam will be a junior at Avon Old Farms.

Tony Lopez grew up on Choate campus next to the Cushman family. George Cushman, language department head and faculty member for 32 years, mentored Tony when he taught at CRH as a student teacher. Faculty wife Dr. Mary F. Cushman had a very strong influence on Tony while he was growing up on campus. Tony returned to military service after 9/11.

He spent several years overseas with the Navy and later as Officer in Charge of an elite group of sailors assigned to N.C.I.S. One of his team’s primary missions was undercover work, investigating sexual assault and child trafficking. Tony was recognized and decorated not only by the U.S. Navy but also foreign nations for his relentless work protecting children. He was able to recently introduce his wife, Poksun, to Dr. Cushman.

Both families live in the Knoxville, Tenn., area.

’77

’76 C Chris Carrozzella started a new career flying a Pilatus PC-12 turboprop for Tradewind Aviation in the past year. In his free time, he manages to practice law in his hometown of Wallingford and partners with two other friends running a local flight school at the Meriden airport. His 13-year-old son, John, and wife, MJ, keep him young.

Tara Reilly has been living in the D.C. area since 1996 when she moved from Connecticut after marrying her husband, Jeff Levin, an attorney practicing international trade law. They have one daughter, Elea, who is a senior in high school. Tara has been teaching at Norwood School, a K-8 school, in Bethesda, Maryland since 1996.

’78

Pamela D’Arc writes, “I am Director of Sales for new condominiums at 252 East 57th Street in addition to my ongoing business of selling co-ops, townhouses and condos at Stribling in NYC. Connie Gelb, Ileana Patrichi Wachtel, Georgette Culucundis Mallory, Sissy Wentworth Yates and I are all planning to come to our reunion in 2018! Hope we will have a great turn out!”

James Isaacs writes, ”Last year, I celebrated my 30th wedding anniversary with Page Mailliard, and we are happily entering the ’empty nester’ phase with our third child entering college last year. The two older boys are out in the work force, off our payroll.

For work, I am running a software company in Silicon Valley. For fun, I am now cycling and looking forward to a cycling trip in Europe. Feeling blessed and lucky and looking forward to seeing people at our next reunion!”

Geoffrey Knauth writes, “In July I appeared on a Today Show news segment in a story about how the Air National Guard protects presidential airspace.”

’71 “Our family has an attitude of gratitude to all things related to CRH. I will continue to reside in Wallingford and hope to see classmates and fellow alums at future PMAC events and CRH athletic contests.” –ALEX MURENIA

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TOP LEFT Peter Robinson ’70 and his four

TOP RIGHT Class of 1980 members were at a

grandchildren.

TOP CENTER Jim Sherman ’80 celebrated his 55th birthday in St. Petersburg, Russia with 22 friends and family members. Pictured here with his aunt Sara Matzkin.

guest squash tournament at The New Canaan Country Club on April 1. From left, Heidi Farrish Laub, Liz Goulian Kahle, Chris Craig, and Jeff Kahle.

Allison Murray writes, “I had a two-week dream bike trip cycling the Romantic Road through Germany and then challenging mountain passes in northern Italy (Passo Stelvio and Passo Galvia). The weather was outstanding the entire time, with five inches of snow falling on top of the mountains only four days after I left! My daughter, attending an art program in France, just happened to be staying in a village along the Tour de France route and watched the cyclists race by.”

’79 Caroline Arlen writes, “My husband and I have moved to San Luis Obispo, Calif. It was difficult leaving breathtaking Durango, Colo, our home for more than 20 years; however, we’d also become fond of breathing oxygen and that had become difficult for me to do in the mountains. Besides, I am putting the finishing touches on my historical fiction mystery novel, set just post WWII in SW Colorado and

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BOTTOM LEFT Former faculty spouse Dr. Mary Cushman and Poksun Lopez, wife of Tony Lopez ’74.

Dr. Cushman and the Lopezes live in the Knoxville, Tenn., area.

Germany, so it was time to change set locations. And now I am closer to Gina Funaro ’78 in Cupertino and Alicia Hoge Adams ’81 in L.A.” Terry McClenahan writes, “In March, I took an architect position at Watts Architecture & Engineering, primarily working on a NY State-funded Workforce Training Center in an unused E. Buffalo steelwork building. In early June, I joined a Masters rowing program at the Buffalo Scholastic Rowing Association, my first time in a shell since October 2011. I’ve lost 20+ pounds in four weeks. BSRA is near numerous historic grain silos along the Buffalo River … some of our biggest obstacles are rental kayaks!

Canisius High School also rows there. From August to March, I was an assistant freshmen crew coach, which included my son, Rory. And at the Darwin Martin House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1907, I’m nearly done training to be a docent.”

BOTTOM CENTER Dr. John de Jong ’74 was elected President of the American Veterinary Medical Association for 2017-2018. Pictured here with his wife, Carole, and sons Jack and Sam. BOTTOM RIGHT 40th Reunion of the Class of ’77.

From left, Gail Hearn Capelovitch, Laurie Stichter and Lili Ruane.

1980s ’80 Brian Harris writes that he has published a short humorous science-fiction novel, Calling Mr. Beige.

Michael Lewyn’s recent book, Government Intervention and Suburban Sprawl, was published by Palgrave Macmillan. In addition, he has published ”The Criminalization of Walking” in the University of Illinois Law Review (available at works.bepress.com/ lewyn) and continues to blog at marketurbanism.com and planetizen.com. He was also named Professor of the Year by the graduating class of the University of Missouri at Kansas City, where he was a visiting professor in 2014-15. He now teaches at Touro Law Center, where he directs that school’s Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Institute.

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42

CLASSNOTES |

Q&A

Lee Hockstader ’77, left, and colleague David Filipov, former Boston Globe Moscow bureau chief (now The Post’s Moscow bureau chief), stand in front of Grozny’s bombed-out government headquarters during the first Chechen war.

CG: Who was your most influential teacher at Choate and why?

LH: Burr Johnson, a gifted English teacher whose quirky, self-effacing, offbeat

humor – he often lectured while pacing around on top of a big table, as students sitting around it craned their necks to watch him – charmed his unwitting classes into loving books.

CG: Did you have any mentors at Choate?

LH: Jere Packard, a true leader, a role model, and a charismatic, steady, grounded

educator who showed students what it meant to be strong and ethical.

CG: How did you get your start in journalism?

LH: In college, I was the editor of The Brown Daily Herald, which led to a summer

internship at The Hartford Courant newspaper – my godparents lived in Hartford and I had a free place to stay. Hartford Courant features editor Henry McNulty ’65 interviewed me and gave me the job. I also got internships at the Boston Globe, The Economist of London and The Washington Post.

CG: What are some reporting highlights during your 15 years as a foreign correspondent?

LH: I wasn’t one of those journalists who liked the ‘bang bang,’ but I got shot at quite a bit when I was posted to Central America and the Caribbean and Chechnya, a uniquely terrifying place. I was posted to Jerusalem soon after the Oslo Accords and covered the second Intifada, the Palestinian uprising against Israel. When I was in Russia, I wrote Boris Yeltsin’s obituary before he died.

Facts Matter Lee Hockstader ’77

Lee Hockstader ’77 has been a member of The Washington Post’s Editorial Board since 2004. His areas of focus are immigration, politics, voting rights, state and local issues, and foreign affairs. Before joining the board, Lee served for 15 years as a foreign correspondent at The Post. In that role, he was based in Jerusalem during the Palestinian uprising, in Central America during the invasion of Panama, and in Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union (1993-1997).

Born in New York, Lee graduated in 1981 from Brown, where he majored in American Studies and was a Henry Luce Scholar in Southeast Asia. He has held year-long fellowships at Harvard and Stanford universities, and in 2014 received The Post’s Eugene Meyer Award for journalistic excellence.

CG: Your colleague, David Filipov, wrote that you were the kind of foreign correspondent who managed to “keep your wits, and wit, when everything was going to hell around you.” How did you pull this off?

LH: Well, like most foreign correspondents, I had close calls and harrowing experiences overseas, and was often terrified and shaken by what I saw and experienced while covering conflicts, especially in Chechnya. At one point in Chechnya, with a British colleague, the car we were riding in was targeted and hit by Russian artillery, which forced us to dive out the doors while we were still rolling. Not fun. I lost a good pair of sunglasses doing that. It did occur to me that getting killed in Chechnya would be a career setback.

CG: What is the role of journalism and the media in U.S. society today?

LH: There used to be a narrow array of mainstream news sources. The media

has become atomized. Now there is an infinite variety, and people can pick their own truths. In a broader dialogue, in the blizzard of blogs and Twitter, people are desperate for rigorous, honest, fact-checked reporting.

CG: What is it like covering a chaotic presidency?

LH: Stimulating! There’s a lot of adrenalin when untruths are flying around at

a furious pace. Facts matter. As Washington Post Editor Marty Baron views it, “We’re not at war with the administration, we’re at work.” The First Amendment is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

CG: What’s coming down the pike for you?

LH: I miss being out in the field. I plan to travel around the United States next

year to report on voter suppression and other issues.

CONNIE GELB ’78: What drew you to journalism?

LEE HOCKSTADER ’77: When I was at Choate in the 1970s, the Watergate

CG: What advice would you give a young journalist in the digital age?

LH: The same advice I would have given in the analog age: Know your craft.

scandal was happening all around us. The Washington Post had been lionized

by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the 1976 movie All the President’s Men. I was working on the Choate News surrounded by really smart and charismatic editors like Josh Wall ’77 and Bill Peattie ’77. It was a very inspiring time. We had little adult supervision on the News, and just figured it out by ourselves.

Understand how to report and write. Storytelling has taken new forms, which is exciting and cool. But learn the meat-and-potatoes stuff of reporting and writing. That stuff is all unchanged. connie gelb ’78 Connie Gelb ’78 is an English teacher and freelance writer based in Washington, DC.

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BULLETIN | FALL 2017 43

Gordon St. John writes, “I was fortunate enough to return to Choate for the rededication of St. John Hall this spring. My sister, Susan St. John Amorello ’84, P ’15, and I were joined by our spouses and my daughter, Ashley. It was thoughtful for the Choate community to host our family for the event.

The Board and major contributors deserve all the thanks and credit. It is a magnificent space - very different from when it hosted Sunday detention.

Unfortunately, the investigator’s report was released the next day. I would like to think that my great grandfather George and grandfather Seymour (consecutive Choate headmasters from 1908–1973) would have been progressive advocates standing up to protect Choate students and holding anyone and everyone accountable for any inappropriate behavior.

On the home front, our youngest son, Alex, recently graduated from UVM and is working in Boston.”

’81

Corina Alvarezdelugo writes, “I’m very excited to share that I’ll be teaching art, grades 6 through 12, at Ethel Walker School. I will also have the role as the school’s gallery curator, for which I’ll have the opportunity to work with professional artists to showcase their works at our beautiful spaces. As a professional artist myself, this opens up a whole world of new possibilities.”

Tom Colt writes, “I moved to China in August, where I have taken a job as a college counselor at the Shanghai American School. Megan and I were sad to leave Pittsburgh (a GREAT city), but the opportunity was too good to turn down. Shanghai has a population of 20 million people overall, with 107,000 expats, so there will be plenty of people to meet and lots of things to do there!”

Patrick H. Gaughan writes, “In connection with my role as the Assistant Dean for Global Engagement at the University of Akron School of Law, I recently returned from a five-week trip to Vietnam.

During the trip, I met with law and business faculty from six Vietnamese universities in Da Nang and Hanoi. My wife and I also managed to visit several world heritage sites. I am now trying to schedule a scooter or motorcycle trip for next summer in Vietnam and Laos with Peyton Gaughan (Choate ’18) – assuming her father continues to cooperate!

Steffi Miller is still working/teaching for The Music Class in Atlanta (for two decades). She writes, “We are looking forward to (daughter) Rachel Miller’s Class of 2012, arrival back in Atlanta. I enjoyed an extended visit from classmate Debbie Racaniello Reed this last year but I miss her smile terribly since she went back to work in NYC.”

LEFT Jackie Koo’s ’82 latest architectural design from KOO Architecture.

BOTTOM RIGHT Gavin Galiardo ’20, son of Gardenia Cucci Galiardo

EMC2 is the newest member of the Marriott portfolio, a 21-story, 195-room hotel located in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. The hotel opened in May. Michael Kleinberg Photography/SMASH hotels.

TOP RIGHT Tricia Maher-Miller ’86 and Mark Leydorf ’86 were happy to reconnect for the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., on January 21, 2017.

‘86, finished up his freshman year at Choate. Says Gardenia, “This brought back many memories…packing him into Mem House, sitting in the Paul Mellon auditorium and of course seeing all the amazing new facilities that Choate has built over the years makes me look at this place with fresh, proud eyes .... Very happy to have my son live his high school years at Choate. Go Choate!”

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’84 Peter Gardner writes, “I have a new book out, Pearl Diving - Haiku, Longer Poems, and Short Stories, available on amazon.com. Next book coming out soon.” ’85 Lynn Grant Beck writes, “I was recently hired as Vice President of Production for Kopelson Productions.”

Will Polese writes, “My eldest daughter, Samantha, is now at Elon University.”

Elyse Singer is in her third year of the Theatre and Performance Ph.D. Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. Clips from her play ”Frequency Hopping” are included in the upcoming American Masters (PBS) program about Hedy Lamarr. She lives in Sunnyside Gardens, N.Y., a block from Sharmeela Mediratta, and her daughter Sophie is about to enter high school. Elyse had the pleasure of celebrating a big birthday recently with classmate Carey Bertini and ’86ers Ben Feldman and Mark Leydorf. ’86

Holly Folk writes, “My book, The Religion of Chiropractic: Populist Healing from the American Heartland (University of North Carolina Press), was published in May. It’s a cultural study of the early chiropractic movement, and the roots of the profession in vital magnetic healing and metaphysical spirituality. A milestone for me, though I’m eager to move on to other projects. My current research is taking a very different direction: comparing new, heterodox Christianities in the United States and Asia.” Holly is an Associate Professor of Liberal Studies at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.

Kern Konwiser lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Gina, son Avery, age 13, and daughter Addison, age 10, where he makes films with his brother, Kip. The Konwiser Brothers just completed a documentary series for Legendary Pictures called Make It Work, following young disrupters in science and technology around the country. Kern’s other recent documentary credits include The Fighting Season for DirecTV and World of Warcraft: Looking for Group for Blizzard Entertainment. Kern is still tap dancing, but not as often as he’d like. He keeps in touch with Tom Conway and hopes to see his other Choate friends and their families more often!

Tricia Maher-Miller and Mark Leydorf were happy to reconnect for the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., on January 21. While the reasons for the march were sad for both of them, they had a lovely weekend together. Tricia, her husband Paul Miller, and their daughter Hannah hosted Mark and fellow members of GAG (Gays Against Guns). Check them and Mark’s sassy protest songs out online: www.gaysagainstguns.net. Tricia marched with Moms Demand Action, of which she is a member. You can check them out online: momsdemandaction.org.

They invite you to join them for a rally or march in New York City, where Mark lives, or in Washington, D.C., where Tricia lives, any time! #resist #notonemore

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44 CLASSNOTES

Dennis Wurst returned to the NYC area, guest lecturing at Yale School of Management and creating a snarky financial analyst/teacher character named ”Jimney Credit” on both YouTube and Twitter #JimneyCredit. He also wrote a web-series treatment called ”The Floor,” about life on N.Y., trading desks and is open to input and guidance from entertainment folks! Check them out www.youtube.com/ channel/UCtPcHFoNnplSmbuyabPhB0Q and twitter. com/JimneyCredit .

’87 Christina Cook writes, “Just a quick bit of news from me – I have a new job, working as Director of Strategic Writing in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations’ Marketing and Communications department at the University of Pennsylvania.”

Kathryn Good writes, “My role at the United Nations is to raise awareness about the work of the organization by connecting audiences with staff in the UN Speakers Bureau and teaching students about the UN’s priorities: peace, development, and human rights. If anyone in the Choate community would like to invite a UN speaker to their location or if alums who are educators want to bring student groups to visit the Headquarters in NYC, please let me know.

My interest in the UN comes directly from my Choate days so I would be happy to assist in connecting others to the organization. My email is good@un.org.”

Pebble Kranz, M.D. writes, “In addition to my work with the University of Rochester’s Primary Care Network, I am launching a new private consultation practice in Sexual Medicine. It’s the medical aspects of sexual problems and the sexual aspects of medical problems. The Rochester Center for Sexual Wellness provides care for individuals, couples, families, and groups of all genders and ages. This is the only practice of this kind in Western New York State. In addition to sexual medicine consultation we have two certified sex therapists (one of whom is my husband Daniel Rosen, LCSW-R, CST). Life is full – with a new practice and Dan’s three wonderful kids (Lilly 25, Maggie 22, and Gabe 16). Missed seeing everyone at reunion, but was so happy for the Facebook group pictures!” ’88 Kate Byrnes moved to Greece in September to serve as Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Athens.

Emily Weymar Van Dixhoorn recently wrote a book called Confessing the Faith Study Guide. It accompanies her husband Chad’s book Confessing the Faith: A Reader’s Guide to the Westminster Assembly. It covers 33 chapters of theology from the Westminster Assembly. The study guide can be found on Amazon.

Emily is the mother of five. She and her family live in Vienna, Virginia where she serves as a Bible study leader and speaker. She still loves math and tennis.

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TOP LEFT Amy Talkington ’88 with LA

Mayor Eric Garcetti, who visited the set of Amy’s screenplay Valley Girl, a musical reimagining of the 80s cult classic, shot last summer in Los Angeles for MGM. The movie stars up-and-comers Jessica Rothe and Joshua Whitehouse.

BOTTOM LEFT Adam Orman opened L’Oca d’Oro in June 2016 with Chef Fiore Tedesco in Austin, Texas. Adam hosted an event at his restaurant on Sept. 13 for alumni in the Austin area.

RIGHT Brett johnson ’88 and Rob Goergen

’89 met up in Greenwich for a spirited three set match against some local talent on the tennis court.

1990s ’89

Liz Kelley writes, “After 10 years as in-house counsel at HP, I am excited to return to private law practice with several former clients and colleagues at Bortstein Legal Group, a tech law boutique based in NYC. I work from D.C., and will also focus on privacy and cybersecurity issues. As most of my clients are in NYC, I also look forward to spending more time there and would love to re-connect with folks still in the city. Otherwise all is well in D.C., and happy to hear from anyone visiting the capital. Certainly, an interesting place to be these days.”

Kate Lesher traveled from San Francisco to NYC on a work trip and had a fun lunch with some of her greatest friends from Choate- Nicole Clark Eades, Liz Fogarty Foote, and Peter Worth.

Adam Wallach writes, “After working in public education for the past 17 years, the past six years as an administrator, on July 1 I became Executive Director of Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria, Va. BEHC is the oldest congregation in Virginia, dating back to 1859.”

’90 Jenny Lloyd practices business litigation with her husband and law partner, Jeff Miller, in Austin, Texas. They are the parents of two girls, age 7 and 10.

Jenny welcomes any classmates from New England who want to visit Austin in February, when the temperature can be in the 70’s.”

David Wood, Professor of English at Northern Michigan University, recently won the 2017 Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year Award.

A Shakespeare scholar, David leads regular student trips to England and Stratford, Ontario. Along with Hannah Lintner Hickey, Kathleen McGee, and Ben Sinnamon, he also serves as Trustee of the Tyler Rigg Foundation, a philanthropic organization celebrating the life of Choate student Tyler Rigg, which marks its 20th anniversary in 2018. For more information, see tylerriggfoundation.org. ’91

Anne Glass was recently appointed Associate Head of School at the Purnell School in Pottersville, N.J. Writes Anne, “We are a small day and boarding

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“After nearly three years as Executive Producer of ABC News Nightline, I have traded the late night for the early morning with a move to become Executive Producer of Good Morning America.” – ROXANNA SHERWOOD

’91 school for girls with learning differences. I was a learning specialist at Chapin School in NYC for several years before joining Purnell as Academic Dean. I have always been a strong advocate for students with learning differences, and have worked to optimize access to curriculum and engagement for all learners.

In addition, I have been an ardent supporter of single-sex education for young women and girls for many years. It is gratifying to me to play a role in creating an environment in which our students are encouraged to grow and wonder and find their unique voices.”

Zen Honeycutt aka Mignon Zen LaBossiere writes, “I hope all alumni and CRH students are staying healthy! I am happy to share the debut of my first documentary, Communities Rising: A Story of Courage, Creativity, and Contribution Across America. It can be seen on our website, www.momsacrossamerica.org.”

Dana Pounds celebrated the 10th anniversary of Nature’s Academy, the non-profit environmental education company based in Bradenton, Fla., that she co-founded with her husband, Jim. She received the National Wetlands Award for Education, given by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) on May 18 in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Botanic Garden. The next morning, Dana boarded the first flight for Boston where she received the Lifetime Achievement Award for a Hero Who has Dedicated his/her Life to Green Education, given by Project Green Schools. The award ceremony took place at the Massachusetts State House. Dana has also been awarded the EPA’s Gulf Guardian Award for an Individual. The citizen science database which Nature’s Academy co-launched will receive the 2nd place Gulf Guardian Award for a Partnership. You are invited to visit Nature’s Academy’s Facebook page to watch video clips from the ELI and Project Green Schools award ceremonies.

You can follow Dana’s personal story on her blog, www.danapounds.com.

Righteous Ghost (facebook.com/witchghost), with my boyfriend, Niveous. After singing all my life and years of performing covers, I’m so excited to finally be writing my own music for the band. As for my instrument, I play the Omnichord, which is essentially an electronic autoharp. Lucky Witch put out our debut album on Valentine’s Day of this year, entitled Spiderdust. You can find it at lwrg.bandcamp.com or anywhere music is sold online. The band also appears at open mics in the East Village, Mondays at Sidewalk Cafe and Tuesdays at Under St. Marks Theatre. Would love to see NYC Choaties stop by sometime! I am still writing poetry, which I publish at brookesmckenzie.com. Finally, I write music reviews for a bimonthly arts newsletter out of Staten Island called Boog City (boogcity.com).”

Adam Orman opened L’Oca d’Oro in June 2016 with Chef Fiore Tedesco in Austin, Texas. He says, “The restaurant is doing well, as is my family.

Sarah is a lawyer for the Texas Association of School Boards and both my children, Sander (8) and Lyla (6) are in the public school system, where they are lucky to be a part of a Vietnamese dual-language program.”

Garrett Soden was recently appointed President and CEO of Africa Energy Corp., a Canadian oil and gas exploration company listed in Toronto.

Africa Energy is part of the Lundin Group of Companies where Garrett has worked for the past decade. He is a board member of several publiclytraded natural resource companies, including Etrion Corporation, Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd., Panoro Energy ASA, and Petropavlovsk PLC. Garrett lives in Madrid with his wife and three children.

’92

Brookes McKenzie writes, “A lot has happened in 25 years! I had a 13-year career designing software for Medicare HMOs, but that’s all behind me now. Currently I am very happy living with my two cats and playing music in my band, Lucky Witch & the Jonathan Rebell ’93 married Noah Levine on March 11, 2017. In attendance from Choate were Dan Zalcman and his wife Laura, Sameer Khaliq, Susan Kurien, Kristen Clarke, NT Etuk, Tak Murata, and Jinho Yim and his wife Loretta.

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46

CLASSNOTES |

Q&A

M. Butterfly Comes to Broadway As a new production of M. Butterfly premieres this fall on Broadway, three Choate alumni – producers Ben Feldman ’86 and Annabel Fan ’86, and actor Jin Ha ’08 – find themselves engaged in a creative process of collaboration and trust.

BULLETIN: Ben, how did you make the leap from entertainment lawyer, protecting

your clients in the entertainment industry from excessive risk, to taking on the personal financial risk involved as Tony-award winning producer of Broadway shows?

BEN FELDMAN: You know, when Diane Paulus was introducing her ideas for

the Pippin revival up at A.R.T., they invited some investors. I was working on the show, from a legal perspective, but wanted to see it – and my family was up in Gloucester. So I invited them to join me. There were also cousins of mine there – Boston people that I did not even realize were related to me until then.

Many people seemed to want to invest through me so I kind of caught the bug.

This was in 2011. As it turns out, not a single person from that day put in a dime, but it was too late, I was already on board for at least a million dollars.

Also as one of the Pippin producers is known for saying, “A smart producer does not take a financial risk – he or she raises the money.”

B: Do you get involved in the creative side of a production as well?

BF: I am actually someone who has strong creative passions. I love to read

plays, for example, and consider myself an expert on dramatists and dramaturgy. My uncle was the great, Worcester Mass., playwright, S.N. Behrman.

Sometimes I just lie and say he was my grandfather. But no – I love to let the director and writers follow their vision … for whatever reason I am much more into the money aspects. Thank goodness no one listened to me at the M. Butterfly advertising meetings. We ended up with the greatest key art, but the initial poster that I preferred, I realize now, looked like an ad for a West Elm furniture store in Phoenix.

B: Ben, how did you get Annabel to invest in the production?

BF: Annabel was my classmate at Choate, and I bumped into her a couple

years ago in the city. I was really impressed with how successful she was, and in addition she had this great family and was the same pragmatic Annabel. I admired her. When I started with M. Butterfly, I was like, I wish I knew someone who understood China, and me – and then it was like a eureka moment. I think, especially today, it is racist, inappropriate, and unfair to assume certain qualities apply to a certain race, but there are things about Annabel I admire that I think of as Chinese. Likewise, there are things about me that she loves from my heritage.

The important thing to know is, she exceeded any hope I could have, and we get each other’s humor, which may be because we went to Choate together.

B: Annabel, you were a two-year student at Choate, wrote for The News, and earned varsity letters in field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse. Your sixth form dean, Art Goodearl, noted that you were “highly motivated and intellectually curious” and said you were a “unique social catalyst.” M. Butterfly deconstructs some preconceptions of race, gender, and sexuality. Is this what attracted you to the production?

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Actor Clive Owen and newcomer Jin Ha ’08. Photo credit: M. Butterfly, Josef Astor

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BULLETIN | FALL 2017 47

ANNABEL FAN: I remember seeing M. Butterfly when I was a lit major in

college in 1988. At the time, there were very few Asian American writers and David Henry Hwang’s success was groundbreaking. It wasn’t just the play’s internal narrative that was compelling in its deconstruction of what love can be – for me, it was also M. Butterfly’s external narrative that was equally powerful – about representation of Asian Americans in the arts and reframing preconceptions about race. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with Ben. I really consider it a project of passion to be able to support this revival. I think the idea of reintroducing this story to a new audience, a different generation experiencing their own narratives, is so exciting.

B: After Choate, you earned an MBA from Wharton and a law degree from Columbia.

orbits. It’s not so cut and dry as Song the spy or Song the deceptive lover. It’s about what attracts two people to each other. It’s about what keeps two people attracted. It’s about what seemingly insurmountable barriers keep two people apart and how infinitely simple but complicated love can render those physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual obstacles completely powerless.

B: One of the themes of Hamilton is captured in the second-act song “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story.” In your view is M. Butterfly Gallimard’s story, or Song Liling’s?

JH: Haha. I bet you can guess what my answer is. Let’s say it’s Gallimard’s story in that he is technically our narrator. But it would be impossible for him to tell his story successfully without mine.

What are you doing now?

AF: I’ve had a fairly non-linear career – I was an M&A lawyer for several years,

ran my own start-up, and more recently, I’ve been in in fintech.

B: Annabel, having known Ben as a classmate, did this create an immediate bond of trust? Have you stayed in touch with Ben through the years?

AF: Most definitely. I keep in touch with quite a few of our classmates and found the bond that we have very difficult to replicate with the people you meet later in life. Ben and I have kept in and out of touch over the years and then ran into each other at a furniture store. What I love about the friendships I have from Choate is that you pick up right where you left off – there’s a certain trust you develop with your friends because you grow up together in an environment independent of your family.

B: Jin, a four-year student at Choate, you were elected class president every year, and you were the first Asian American elected Student Council president. A 2016 graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, you were also the first Asian American to be cast as Aaron Burr in the Chicago Cast of Hamilton. On your opening night, you proudly noted on your Instagram #firstasianBurr. Did you feel the import of breaking these barriers? David Henry Hwang was also the first Asian American playwright to win a Tony. Do you feel a connection to the playwright as you are getting into character?

JIN HA: I was cast as an understudy of Aaron Burr in the original Chicago company of Hamilton. To answer your question, yes. A resounding yes. As a person of color in the performing arts, my body is, whether I like it or not, political. By that, I mean the dearth of performance opportunities and of stories in mainstream American entertainment that artists of Asian descent can easily participate in makes it so that whenever an audience sees an Asian/Pacific Islander actor onstage or onscreen – it’s hard not to notice that person’s race, and notice how that person’s racial identity fits or doesn’t fit into our expectations of the character before the actor utters a single word. That’s been my experience both as an actor and as an avid viewer. Consequently, I feel a profound responsibility to highlight, uplift, and support wider representation of API people and our lived experiences – as the lighthouses before me, such as David Henry Hwang, have and continue to do in art today.

B: Director of the Arts Paul Tines said that you were a triple threat in musical theater: “he sings, he acts, he dances,” and noted, “Jin understands how to break down a character, and how to analyze dialogue, looking for character motivation.”

What is your approach to the character motivation of Song Liling in M. Butterfly, who is a spy extracting state secrets as well as a deceptive lover?

JH: I’d first of all like to acknowledge that Paul Tines is a god of a director and was an overflowing beacon of inspiration, joy, and love for the hundreds of students who had the privilege to work with him at Choate – including both Ha siblings. My sister Jeein graduated in 2000. In regards to my approach to Song – without giving anything away – I think our production will provide an even more complex and enthralling central relationship around which the play 1986 classmates Annabel Fan and Ben Feldman.

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48 CLASSNOTES

Jeffrey Wiener has opened his own lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., with business partner, John Milne. M & W Government Affairs is a full-service, bipartisan lobbying firm helping clients, such as trade associations, labor unions, defense and aerospace companies, and financial services companies, work with Congress and the Administration to develop, enact, and implement sound federal policies. Last July, he hosted Choate summer students enrolled at the John F. Kennedy ’35 Institute in Government program for a Q&A session at his new offices.

’93 Hannah True Sears has been employed at Sterling & Burke Ltd. and Christ Child Society Opportunity Shop, both stores located in Historic Georgetown, Washington, D.C. for more than two and half years. Hannah is using her Simmons College Information Science MS degree to full potential by working with transactional computer systems Shopify and ConsignPro within a local market area. ’94

David B. Auerbach will publish Bitwise: A Life in Code with Pantheon Books next year. It is a memoir on his time working as a software engineer at Google and Microsoft, as well as a meditation on how computation is altering our lives. Auerbach has also been a technology columnist and literary critic.

He wrote the book on a New America fellowship.

Abdi Nazemian, a young adult author, has published The Authentics – a thought-provoking novel about a proud Persian-American girl named Daria, and what happens when she discovers she was adopted and her biological mother is actually Mexican. Abdi is an alumnus of the Sundance Writer’s Lab, a mentor at the Outfest Screenwriter’s Lab, and has taught screenwriting at UCLA Extension. He holds a BA from Columbia and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. He can be found online at abdaddy.com/.

Anne Schluter and her husband have left their faculty positions in Istanbul and relocated to Hong Kong. Anne is excited to be joining The European Studies Program housed in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s Department of English. She’s also excited about exploring the local jungles and beaches while she is not working.

’98

Genevieve Croteau welcomed her second child, Grant Wallace Bechtel, in June.

Bianca Ferro is renovating a bungalow in L.A. in between running the art departments for several popular TV shows.

Christen Eddy Hadfield lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, Tom, her two-year-old daughter, Keira and her four-year-old son, Elliot. She just finished editing a family memoir and is now ghostwriting a book.

Amanda Lucier has been busy on photo assignments for the ACLU, the New York Times and the Washington Post.

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1 9

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3

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Amy Subach displayed her quilts in an exhibition in July entitled ”Erotic Selfies & Negative Affirmations.”

Cait Unites joined the Foreign Service and moved to Bangladesh in September to work on public health programs with USAID.

’99

Justin Karush completed his Fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery and will join the faculty at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

1 Trillium Rose ’96 was award-

5 Dana Pounds ’91 received

ed the 2017 Teacher of the Year for the PGA of Americas Middle Atlantic. Trillium is the Head Director of Instruction at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland.

2 Karyn Barr ’96 and husband, Daniel Amin welcomed son Wyatt James Wallace Amin on February 27, 2017. Wyatt is pictured with his big sister Dylan Leighan. Karyn works in PR and oversees Allison+Partners’ global HQ in San Francisco.

3 Tenor Kevin N. Traugott ’98 is excited to be back on the operatic stage, having spent the summer making his role debut as Don Ramiro in Rossini’s ”La Cenerentola” in Munich, Germany. (Photo courtesy of Stefan Weber Photo Art).

4 Michelle Judd Rittler ’98 and her husband, Stephen, welcomed a son, Jonathan Walter, on July 2, 2017. Jonathan joins big sister Caroline, who turned 2 in March. The family resides in Bethlehem, Pa., with their dachshund Monty.

the National Wetlands Award for Education, given by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) on May 18th in Washington, D.C. 6 Gene Nogi ’88 and his, wife Ali, welcomed Nicholas Peter Nogi, on July, 11, 2017. Big sister Brett is acclimating to her new reality.

7 Ashley & Chris Holinger, ’96, were married in San Francisco surrounded by family and friends, including classmates from Choate. They currently reside in San Francisco full-time and recently returned from their honeymoon during which they skied in Austria, climbed Mt. Kilimajaro with NOLS and went on safari in the Serengeti.

8 Kelly DeGostin Marchand ’95 and her husband welcomed their second daughter, Sylvia Claire Marchand, on August 29, 2016. Big sister Adele thinks her little sister is ”so adorable.”

9 Sean Robertson ’99 and his wife Rachel welcomed future Choatie, Cecily Anya Robertson, on May 6, 2017 in Boston, Mass.

The family couldn’t be happier!

A Community of Leaders inspired by our School’s founding and traditions, the 1890 Society recognizes Choate Rosemary Hall’s most generous and dedicated alumni, parents, and friends.

The support of 1890 Society members is vital to ensuring the high quality of today’s educational experience for our students and helps fulfill some of the School’s most immediate needs.

Members of the 1890 Society individually contribute $2,500 or more each year and collectively comprised 87 percent of the $6.3 million raised by the Annual Fund last year.

A leadership gift to Choate Rosemary Hall honors our traditions of excellence and innovation while securing the School’s future.

For more information or to join the 1890 Society, please contact Heather Cordes, Director of the Annual Fund, at (203) 697-2446 or hcordes@choate.edu.

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Melissa Haury Herrin earned her M.D. from the Yale School of Medicine in May, and is pursuing her residency in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her career interests include surgical management for advanced heart failure, improving surgical access in underserved areas, and mentoring women interested in cardiac surgery. She moved to Seattle with her husband, Brad Herrin, M.D., who completed his residency at Yale in pediatrics and worked as a general pediatrician at Yale Health, and son David, 11, who is interested in economics, computer science, and marine biology and aspires to play baseball for Choate.

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Sheila Adams received the Champion of Justice Award from the Brooklyn Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project in May for her pro bono work. Sheila works for Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, a private law firm, where she dedicates some of her time to pro bono matters (See page 17).

Jaques Clariond and wife Kimberly celebrated Jaques’ completion of his graduate work at Yale School of Management with Stephen ’01 and Rebecca Baldassarri in Rowayton, Conn. Jaques is an investment banker at UBS in NYC. Stephen and Rebecca are doctors at Yale.

Elizabeth DeSantis writes, “I am working as the lead Speech Pathologist at Norwalk (Conn.)

Hospital’s Pediatric Assessment and Development Center. I recently moved back to Connecticut with my family, where I am once again enjoying the cold New England winters. If anyone else is in the field, please reach out! I would love to hear from you.”

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’02 Yaminette Diaz-Linhart is starting a PhD at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University this fall.

1 Melissa Haury Herrin ’00 pictured

4 Erica Melief ’01 and husband, Ben

8 Lucie Patching Bruckner ’03 and

with her husband, Brad, and son David, 11, at the Yale School of Medicine commencement ceremony. She will pursue residency training in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash.

2 Ryan Tveter ’12, in his second GP3 series event, recorded a fifth- and a fourth-place finish in an international field of future F1 hopefuls at Austria’s Red Bull Ring in July.

3 Sally Lindsay, Jack Katzenstein, and Matt Bee (all Class of 2013) in Providence, R.I., for Venture for America Training Camp. VFA is a fellowship that encourages entrepreneurship by working for startups in 16 different cities throughout the U.S.

Slusser, welcomed their third child, Evan David Slusser, on May 17.

5 Lauren Olson Montgomery ’02 received her MBA from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2017. She will be moving to Boston to work for Microsoft.

6 Matt DeSantis ’03, left, and Richard Hubbell ’02 in Bhutan. Matt has been living in Bhutan since 2013 and operating MyBhutan (www.mybhutan.com) – a travel, technology, and consulting service.

7 Yext veterans Liz Walton ’06 and Lexi Bohonnon ’06 celebrated Yext’s IPO in April at the New York Stock Exchange.

husband Matthew Bruckner welcomed their first child, Jack Matthew Bruckner, in London on July 4, 2017. The family is doing well and excited to start this new chapter together.

9 Catherine Cano ’05 was recently promoted to Director of Operations, liveBooks.

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’03 Matt DeSantis has been living in Bhutan since 2013 and operating MyBhutan (www.mybhutan. com) – a travel, technology and consulting service – with classmate Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck to sustain the philanthropic activities of its nonprofit partner, Tarayana Foundation. This past year, MyBhutan hosted 12 former Choaties in Bhutan. Matt has also been assigned as the U.S. Warden to Bhutan by the U.S. State Department. ’04 Allie Echeverria recently received a promotion and is now the Director of AmeriCorps Residency Programs at the Relay Graduate School of Education.

She writes, “I love my job and I am thrilled to have this opportunity. I am still in Atlanta, in the Inman Park. My apartment complex has a dog park and my two dachshunds are so happy they now have their very own yard that they share with their neighbors.”

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CLASSNOTES | Profile

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Allison Kessler Vear

RESILIENCE AND RESOLVE by kim hastings p ’15, ’18

At age 13, Allison Kessler knew Choate Rosemary Hall was the school for her.

She recalls, “Choate had a nice balance: it was big enough to have a diverse population of students, so I would have a chance to engage with and get to know students from a lot of different backgrounds, yet small enough to feel like a true community and a home.”

That initial sense of connection and the belief that she can accomplish whatever she sets her mind to have come to define Allison’s journey.

Always a sports aficionado, Allison got involved with athletics from the get-go, joining Choate’s soccer, diving, and lacrosse teams. But over winter break of her fourth form year, she was thrown a curveball. She suffered a skiing accident that damaged her spinal cord and required her to use a wheelchair.

The daughter of two physicians and the youngest of four children, Allison grew up in a nurturing family environment. When her father, a neurologist and stem cell researcher, took a new position in Chicago, her mother remained east, in Connecticut, an additional six months so Allison could stay in her childhood home until she matriculated at Choate. Her parents’ support was instrumental in Allison’s recovery, as were her own resilience and resolve.

Determined to return not only to Choate but as a member of her class (not graduating with the community of peers she had built was “unfathomable,” she says), she arranged to complete coursework remotely as she underwent intensive outpatient therapy at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now called the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab). “I read all the same books, wrote papers about them, and had discussions with the teachers over the phone, to do some more of the in-depth critical thinking. Math I returned to campus to take during the summer.”

By fall of her fifth form year, she was settled in Archbold and navigating new ground at Choate. For her, there was never a question of whether she’d be back; the School had made it clear that if that was her goal, Choate would support her.

Adamant that she continue to meet all expectations (and then some!), Allison declined waiver of the athletic requirement. An avid equestrian preChoate, she resumed horseback riding, because hippotherapy was deemed beneficial for both her physical and mental well-being. Although the facility was 30 minutes away, a faculty member volunteered to drive her each week.

In the winter, Allison managed the girls ice hockey team – a positive experience, but one that went against her nature: she’s not one to sit on the sidelines. A friend who rowed suggested becoming a coxswain. Allison knew little about crew (“What is this coxswain you speak of?”) but description of this key role piqued her interest: “My friend said, ‘A coxswain doesn’t have to be able to walk; you sit in the boat. Your job is really to be a team leader and steer the boat, to help us all work together. The coxswain is integral to the sport itself.’”

Allison made first boat her first season and competed with Choate at the Head of the Charles. She was cox of the men’s team at Harvard, where she did her undergraduate work, and later met Ben Vear, her future husband (St. Paul’s ’00, now an entrepreneur and partner at The Chicago Group, which works with universities and companies to commercialize intellectual property), on a Chicago club rowing team.

Allison went on to earn a master’s degree in biomedicine, bioscience, and society from the London School of Economics and an M.D. from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Today, she is an attending physiatrist, specializing in spinal cord injuries, at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, the same facility where she herself underwent rehabilitation.

Allison’s injury provided her with perspective and a sense of direction: “Not only did I have the drive and interest in science and medicine, but I was in the unique position of being on both sides of the coin, both a physician and a patient,” she says. “It’s something I have that other people may not have experienced so I knew I should do something good with that rather than squander it.”

Although she has little time to participate in competitive sports these days, Allison continues to rely on skills she honed as a cox in her work as a physician: “You have to able to connect with [people], impart information and … motivate them to either change or fix something, but you can’t do it in a way that crushes their will to want to do it,” she says. “So, just like with crew, I can’t say, ‘Well, that boat’s 10 strokes ahead,’ because then you’re sitting there going, ‘There’s no way I can make that up,’ the same way you don’t tell someone, ‘You’re 20 pounds overweight, you need to do something about it’; that’s not how it works.”

If her full-time job at a teaching hospital and ongoing research weren’t enough, Allison is also a new mom. Brooke Taylor Vear was born last Easter Sunday and, by her proud parents’ account, is “the happiest, smiliest, most easygoing baby.”

The family also has a 100-pound rescue dog, Bruce Wayne Vear.

Fifteen years after graduating from Choate, Allison acknowledges that her life is “nothing that I would have pictured, but everything I could hope for.” To today’s students, she says: “Be accepting. Things don’t always turn out the way we plan or envision, but continue along the path, keep going. Be open to new experiences, and new things.… Although I wouldn’t have wished for a spinal cord injury, it has led me to where I am now. Had it not been for my injury, and had I not joined the crew team, I would never have met my husband, and I wouldn’t have my amazing daughter.”

Kim Hastings P ’15, ’18 is a freelance writer, editor, and translator.

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’05 Catherine Cano was recently promoted to Director of Operations, liveBooks. She has played many roles during her nine-plus years at WeddingWire. Under her leadership at liveBooks, the business was stabilized and transitioned to a new technology platform. Catherine says, “I’m very excited to see what we are able to accomplish next.”

Ming Ong launched a sunglasses brand called Rocket in September. ’06 Basie Gitlin ran into classmate Frank Hamilton and his brother, Grant ’14 while exploring Edinburgh Castle in March. Basie writes, “Choaties are everywhere!”

’11 Chris Aguiar finished his Master’s in Education from Boston College in 2016 and is now a high school biology and environmental science teacher in Milford, Conn. ’13 Andrea Cordova-McCadney and Ginger Holmes, two members of Brown’s Class of 2017, have earned Fulbright Scholarships to conduct research or teach abroad. Andrea and Ginger are going to Portugal and Germany, respectively.

Sally Lindsay, Jack Katzenstein, and Matt Bee were in Providence, R.I., this summer attending Venture for America Training Camp. VFA is a fellow-

Betsy Lippitt ’05 and Libby Applebaum Harrison ’87 are colleagues at Miramax in LA and recently discovered that they both went to Choate. ’08 Emily MacLeod writes, “I just finished two years teaching drama at The Bement School in Deerfield (I know, enemy territory!) and was ecstatic when three students of mine got accepted to Choate this year! Now moving to D.C., to pursue a PhD at George Washington University in Shakespeare and early modern drama.” ’09 Britta Roosendahl is entering her final year of law school has joined the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Preliminary Hearing Unit as a Certified Law Clerk for the fall semester. She spent this summer at the New York County District Attorney’s Office.

Taylor Visoski married Brendan Cusack on her family’s ranch in Stanley, N.M., on June 3, 2017.

Choate classmates Jenny Jang (bridesmaid) and Will Hedley were also in attendance. Taylor recently finished her MBA and works in Corporate Finance in the Washington D.C., area. Brendan is a Materials Science Engineer and also owns a tutoring business.

The couple resides in Bethesda, Maryland.

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ship that encourages entrepreneurship by working for startups in 16 different cities throughout the U.S. Sally and Jack will be working in New Orleans for New Orleans Business Alliance and Lucid respectively. Matt will be in Baltimore working for Snag-A-Slip. Fun fact: Matt, Sally, and Jack all served on Choate’s Freshman Student Council together.

Andrew Rondinone writes, “This past spring I began a new position as a Special Events Coordinator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C., a museum I’m honored to be a part of.”

LET’S CELEBRATE! 1 Edward Stowe ’03 married Kelly Peterson

on April 8, 2017 in Athens, GA. In attendance: Diego Long ’01, Nick Cobbett ’03, Eric Wolff ’01, Andrew Stowe ’01 (best man) and David Morris ’02.

2 Lauren Provini ’08 married Nate Robinson on April 29 at OceanCliff in Newport, R.I. Choate classmates in attendance were Jack Fallon, Marla Spivack, and Michael Wysolmerski, as well as faculty members Marq Tisdale and Robin Sellati.

3 Allison Mead ’06 married Teddy Talbot on July 22, 2017 at the Wentworth by the Sea Country Club in N.H. From left, Ryan and Jeffrey Mead ’08, Cody Hyman, Bradford Mead ’70, Allison, Robert Wright ’70, Teddy Talbot, Conor Bozzi ’03, and Hadley Dalton Walsh ’02.

4 Rachel Attias ’03 married Chris Senio in New York City on October 29, 2016. Choate bridesmaids included Christine Leach Anderson, Catherine Tarasoff Burroughs, Dr. Shannon DeVore, and Julia Fraser Washington.

5 Megan Blunden ’06 married Casey Stoecklin of Windsor, Conn., on June 25, 2016. The wedding party included maids of honor, Ashley Bairos and Sydney Lapeyrolerie, and groomsman, Karl Blunden ’04.

6 Lane Carpenter and Dr. Shannon DeVore both ’03, married on July 29 at Amagansett, N.Y. From left, Colin Pagnam ’02, Christine Leach Anderson, Grant Carpenter ’04, Catherine Tarasoff Burroughs, Lane Carpenter, Shannon DeVore, Wes Carpenter ’02, Julia Fraser Washington, Case Carpenter ’06, Rachel Attias Senio.

7 Lawrence Coassin Jr. ’06 married Jennifer Rappaport on August 27, 2016 at the Four Seasons in Boston. Choaties in attendance: classmates Frank Hamilton, Case Carpenter, Alec Murphy, Brianna Kastukevich, Eliot Jia, Geoff Anderson, Emily Ackerman, Mike Migliaro ’05, Ryan Corcoran ’07, Joe Montini ’07, and Scott Jenks ’07.

8 Dr. Regina Heyl DePietro ‘07 married Benjamin Casterline at Basilica in Hudson, N.Y., on May 28, 2017. Choate family and friends in attendance, from left, Julia Mellon ‘07, bridesmaid Madeline Ruskin ‘06, Regina, Mary Hinojosa ‘07, and Regina’s mother, Dorothy Heyl ‘71.

9 K.C. Maloney and Will Nowak both ’06 were married June 17 in Nantucket, Mass. Front row, from left, Sophie Benson ’14, Isabel Aguirre-Kelly ’08, Sterling Kouri, Rana Searfoss, Rachel Levenson, Kate Deming, Maggie Boissard. Middle row, from left, Meg Blitzer, Emily Dodwell, Nick Molnar, Phil Kalikman, K.C. Maloney, Will Nowak, John Goods, Gwen Nero, Andrea Solomon. Back row, from left, Cullen Roberts, Drew Maniglia ’05.

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IN MEMORIAM | Remembering Those We Have Lost Alumni and Alumnae

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William P. Snyder III, 96, the retired chairman of a steel firm, died February 9, 2015. Bill came to Choate in 1934; he played league tennis and squash. For many years, he was an executive with the Shenango Furnace Co. in Sharpsville, Pa., which had been founded by his grandfather.

He later worked in various other areas of his family’s steel business.

During World War II he was in the Navy, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Bill was on the Board of the Allegheny General Hospital, which named an inpatient wing after him. He leaves his wife, Verna Snyder; a son; five grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

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Walter L. Maguire Sr., 94, the retired owner of an oil and gas company, died December 12, 2016 in Branford, Conn. Walter came to Choate in 1936; he was in the Cum Laude

accident in the early 1940s, and in the 1960s Walter worked with Choate to dedicate the Maguire Fields in Robert’s memory. In the 1970s, he also helped fund the first computers for student use at Choate. He leaves three children, including Walter L. “Terry” Maguire Jr. ’71, 160 Uncas Point Rd., Guilford, CT 06437; eight grandchildren, including Angus Maguire ’09; and 10 great-grandchildren.

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Millens W. Taft Jr., 94, a retired executive of the Milton Bradley game company, died March 6, 2017 in East Longmeadow, Mass. Born in Worcester, Mass., Mel came to Choate in 1939; he was in the Glee Club and the Ski Club, and played league football, basketball, and baseball. He entered Amherst, but left to join the Army Air Corps, flying missions over Europe during World War II and earning the Purple Heart and Air Medal. Afterward, he earned degrees from Amherst and Harvard Business School, then joined Milton Bradley.

Mel became Senior Vice President in

leaves four children, including Millens W. “Ted” Taft III ’69, 3 West Wind Lane, Wilton, CT 06897; 11 grandchildren; and a sister.

’43 C Clarence H. Davis, 91, a retired municipal employee, died May 16, 2016 in Elizabeth City, N.C. Born in West Haven, Conn., Clarence was at Choate for one year; he played league tennis and baseball. He was a retired plant superintendent for the city of Elizabeth City. Clarence leaves his wife, Ann Davis, 2008 Shady Dr., Elizabeth City, NC 27909; two daughters; and five grandchildren. ’44 C

Richard C. Barker, 90, a retired professor of electrical engineering, died February 23, 2017. Born in Bridgeport, Conn., Dick came to Choate in 1942. He lettered in track; played drums in the Band, the Orchestra, and the Golden Blues; was on the Student Council and the Board of the Brief; and was a campus cop. After serving in the Navy in Panama in World War II, he

He leaves two children and four grandchildren. A brother, G. Robinson Barker ’48, also attended Choate.

John R. Hardie, 90, a retired banker, died March 5, 2017 in Concord, N.H. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., John came to Choate in 1941; he was manager of varsity football, was on the Student Council and in St. Andrew’s Cabinet, and won a School award for practical mechanics. After graduating from Yale, he moved to New Hampshire, where he worked at Franklin Savings Bank and then at New Hampshire Savings Bank, where he rose to be Chairman of the Board. He retired in 1988. Active in the community, John was Chairman of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests; a Trustee of the Trust for New Hampshire Lands; President of the New Hampshire Business Development Corp., campaign chair of the United Way of Greater Concord, a Director of the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, President of Family Financial Counseling Services, and a

’40 In the 1960s Walter Maguire, Sr., worked with Choate to dedicate the Maguire Fields in memory of his late brother, Robert C. Maguire ’44.

In the 1970s, he also helped fund the first computers for student use at Choate.

Society and twice won Honorable Mention for a School prize in piano.

After Choate, he went to Yale, then was in the Navy until 1946, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade.

He subsequently earned a master’s degree at Columbia. For many years he was President of the Associated Oil & Gas Co. Walter enjoyed the ocean and fishing, and owned a business that harvested and sold whelks and oysters. His brother, the late Robert C. Maguire ’44, had died in a swimming

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charge of research and development, served on the Board of Directors, and helped oversee MB’s growth. He retired in 1984 to start his own company, Mel Taft & Associates, to develop and license products for the international game industry. He later was a Director of Radica Games. He was a President and Director of the Springfield Sales and Marketing Executives Club and Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts. He enjoyed world travel, photography, and reading. He

went to Yale, earning undergraduate and doctoral degrees there. For many years he was a professor in Yale’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Science, and in 1984 he founded the Yale Center for Microelectric Metals and Structures.

After having received many awards and honors, he retired in 2000. Dick traveled widely, and was a consultant to government agencies in China and Japan. In his spare time, he enjoyed cartooning and writing limericks.

Director of Yankee Publishing Inc. He was also involved in several banking organizations. He enjoyed skiing, hiking, sailing, canoeing, and tennis. He leaves his partner, Michelle Jones, and several nieces and nephews. A brother, the late Allan Hardie ’39, also attended Choate.

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Active in the community, Henry Hooker was honored

by Nashville magazine for having had the greatest impact on the city from 1965 to 1985.

’50 Ellsworth R. “Bud” Littler Jr., 90, a retired physician, died May 27, 2017 in Alpena, Mich. Born in Tarrytown, N.Y., Bud came to Choate in 1942; he played league football, hockey, and tennis. After graduation from Yale, he served in the Navy, then earned a medical degree from McGill University College of Medicine.

He completed his residency at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, and for many years practiced pathology at the university, where he was on the faculty, and at Wayne County Hospital. In 1977, he took a position at Alpena General Hospital, retiring in 1991. Bud enjoyed music, reading, hiking, canoeing, kayaking and sailing; he also coached hockey and played in local leagues. He leaves his wife, Elizabeth Anne Littler, 9501 Indian Rd., Alpena, MI 49707; three daughters; six grandchildren; and a sister. His father, the late Ellsworth Littler Sr. ’20, also attended Choate.

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Herbert H. “Pete” Axford, 88, the retired president of a photo laboratory, died April 28, 2017 in Charlotte, N.C. Born in Scranton, Pa., Pete came to Choate in 1945; he was in the Choral Club, was a Campus Cop, and won a School prize for excellence in forestry. After graduating from Penn State, he was president of Hensel Photo Laboratory in Scranton for many years. Pete was a longtime president of the Greater Scranton YMCA. He enjoyed sailing and racquetball. He leaves his wife, Eleanor Axford, 6903 Shannopin Dr., Apartment 1415, Charlotte, NC 28270; five children; 12 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and two sisters.

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’49 C duVal Radford Goldthwaite Jr., 86, a retired metallurgical entrepreneur, died April 17, 2017.

Born in New York City, Val came to Choate in 1944. He played league soccer, hockey, and tennis, and won a School photography prize.

After serving four years in the Navy, he studied engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology and Lehigh University. He then worked at General Ceramics Corp., where he invented the memory core used in early IBM computers. In 1962 he started Metem Corp. in East Hanover, N.J., a firm that specialized in pioneering metalwork techniques. Val enjoyed riflery, boating, fishing, and raising English Pointers.

He leaves three sons, including Scott Goldthwaite, 91 Crestview Rd., Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046; eight grandchildren; a brother; and a sister.

Peter B. Marshall, 86, a retired executive of plastics and ceramics companies, died June 5, 2017 in Worcester, Mass. Born in Boston, Peter came to Choate in 1945. He was President of St. Andrew’s Cabinet, was an Associate Editor of the News; lettered in football, hockey, and baseball, and was baseball captain for two years; he also won a School baseball award. He then graduated from Middlebury and Harvard Business School and served in the Army for two years. Peter spent 20 years with the Norton Co. in Milford, Mass., rising to Director of Personnel. He then joined Nylon Products Co. (now Nypro) in Clinton, Mass., as Director of Human Resources. Much of his work involved business development, operations, and external affairs in foreign countries.

He retired in 2001. Active in the community, Peter was President of the Clinton Rotary Club, Chair of the Wachusett Chamber of Commerce, and a coach with Worcester pee wee hockey. He also belonged to several plastics-industry trade associations.

He leaves his wife, Margaret Marshall, 101 Barry Rd., Unit 1330, Worcester, MA 01606; three children; 15 grandchildren; a sister; and a brother.

Another brother, the late Harold Marshall Jr. ’46, also attended Choate.

’49 RH Martha Abbott Holland, 85, a retired teacher and store owner, died April 1, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Born in New York City, Martha came to Rosemary Hall in 1946. She was Treasurer of the Latin Club and in the Kindly Club, the Dramatic Club, the Music Club, the Choir, and Philomel; she was also on the first hockey team, manager of the Athletic Association, and on the board of the Question Mark.

After earning degrees from Wellesley and the University of Pennsylvania, she was the assistant director of an orphanage in Newfoundland, Canada.

She then taught at elementary schools in Pennsylvania and New York, opened Martha’s Studio of Fine Miniatures in Concord, Mass., and was head of shipping at the Concord Bookshop.

After receiving a master’s degree in historical archaeology from UMass, Martha did field work at historical sites in the United States and abroad. She and her family moved to Chestertown, Md., where the local United Way selected her as Volunteer of the Year.

She enjoyed quilting, knitting, sailing, and painting. She leaves her husband,

Frederick Holland, 212 Birch Run Rd., Chestertown, MD 21620; four children; nine grandchildren; and a sister, Frances Abbott ’55. Another sister, the late Frederica Abbott Davis ’51, also attended Rosemary Hall.

’50 C Robert D. Armstrong, 84, a retired banker and executive recruiter, died June 12, 2017. Born in Omaha, Neb., Bob came to Choate in 1948; he was on the Board of the Brief, in the History Club and Camera Club, and was Drum Major for the Band. After graduating from Penn’s Wharton School, he was in the Navy Reserve, then began his career with the American Bankers Association; in the 1960s, he was on the team that established the CUSIP alphanumeric code that identifies financial securities.

He then was an executive recruiter for Boyden Executive Search, and later founded his own search firm. Bob enjoyed fishing, boating, shooting, camping and golf; he was also a longtime Boy Scouts volunteer.

He leaves four children and five grandchildren.

Henry Hooker, 84, a retired attorney, died April 24, 2017 in Nashville, Tenn. Born in Nashville, Henry came to Choate in 1946, where he played league tennis, basketball, and baseball. After graduating from Vanderbilt and serving two years in the Army, he earned a law degree from Tulane Law School, where he was editor of the Tulane Review. In 1960, he joined the family law firm, Hooker and Hooker, of Nashville. Active in the community, Henry was honored by Nashville magazine for having had the

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56 IN MEMORIAM

greatest impact on the city from 1965 to 1985. He was on the boards of Fisk University, Montgomery Bell Academy, and the Ensworth School, and was a director of STP Corp., Susquehanna Corp., and other firms. He enjoyed fox hunting and horseback riding; in 2015, he and his wife were inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame for their work on the Iroquois Steeplechase. He also excelled at tennis, constructing an indoor tennis court at his home.

He leaves his wife, Alice Hooker, 370 Vaughn Rd., Nashville, TN 37221; three children; and eight grandchildren.

’52 RH Meredith McLaughlin Knowlton, 82, a retired money manager, died June 24, 2017 in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Merry came to Rosemary Hall in 1949. She was Vice President of the VI form, captain of the junior hockey team, Business Manager of the Answer Book, on the Grounds Committee and Tea House Committee, and a Prize Day Marshal. After graduating from Bryn Mawr, she worked with the Aerophysics Department at Princeton before starting a career in money management with Paine Webber.

She was on the Board of the YMCA, volunteered for the Red Cross, and enjoyed world travel, needlework, reading, music, and tennis. She leaves her husband, Marcus P. Knowlton, 5 Bayberry Ln., Southport, ME 04576; two children; two grandchildren; and a brother. ’53 RH Orient H. Nichols, 82, died March 21, 2017. Born in New York City, Orie spent a year at Rosemary Hall; she was a cheerleader and on the Yearbook Committee and the Dance Committee.

After graduating from Bradford Junior College in Haverhill, Mass., she worked in advertising in New York, and later in the healthcare field in Phoenix and Atlanta. In retirement, Orie moved to Orleans, Mass., to pursue watercolor painting. She also worked for the Visiting Nurse Association on Cape Cod. She leaves two sisters.

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’55 C Philip V. Riggio, 79, a retired securities investment executive, died June 29, 2017 in Aventura, Fla. Born in New York City, Phil and his twin brother came to Choate in 1952. Phil was in the Glee Club and on the board of the Choate News; he also was in the Spanish National Honor Society and won a School prize for excellence in Spanish. After serving in the Navy for two years, he earned a B.A. from Yale and an M.A. from Columbia. He worked in advertising for Young & Rubicam in New York, and was later a securities officer for Alla Corp., mostly dealing with international investment. A noted socio-political writer, mostly in Spanish, he was published frequently in El Nuevo Herald in Miami and in Spanish-language magazines. He was also a published critic of jazz and Latin American music. He leaves his brother, Louis Riggio ’55, 4027 Taylor St., Hollywood, FL 33021, and a cousin, Vincent Riggio ’54.

Roland C. Sherrer Jr., 79, a retired stock broker, died March 16, 2017, in Oyster Bay, L.I., N.Y. Born in Garden City, L.I., Roddy came to Choate in 1951; he was in the Auto Club and the Choral Club and played league football and baseball. After earning degrees from Babson College and the New York Institute of Finance, he began his Wall Street career with Marine Midland Bank in New York. He then joined Spear Leeds and Kellogg, where he spent 30 years. In the 1990s, he was a member of the board of Spar Trust III. Roddy enjoyed travel, skiing, gardening, boating, and car racing. He leaves his wife, Thelma Sherrer, 93 Cove Neck Rd., Oyster Bay, NY 11771; three children; two stepchildren; five grandchildren, and three step-grandchildren. ’60 C

Lewis Jefferson Moorman III, 74, a retired securities broker, died April 29, 2017 in San Antonio, Texas.

Born in Washington, D.C., Jeff came to Choate in 1958; he played percussion in the Band, the Orchestra, and the Golden Blues, and was in the Dramatic Club and on the rifle and skeet teams.

After graduating from Trinity University in San Antonio, he had a 35-year career in the securities industry in San

Antonio. For 28 years he was a trustee of the Texas Biomedical Research Institute; he also served on the Board of Governors of the Argyle Club, a nonprofit organization founded by his mother. Jeff enjoyed golf, hunting, and fishing. He leaves his wife, Nancy Moorman, 340 Argyle Ave., San Antonio, TX 78209; a son, three grandchildren; a brother; and a sister.

’63 RH Charlotte C. “Holly” Smith, 71, who worked in the fabric and interior design industry, died of cancer May 13, 2017 in Vero Beach, Fla. Born in New York City, Holly came to Rosemary Hall in 1960. She was a member of the Current Events Club, the Art Club, and the Shakespeare Crew, and was Mistress of the Robes.

In recommending her to colleges, administrators noted her “great artistic ability.” After graduation, Holly attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence and had a career in fabrics and interior design in New York City. She leaves a sister and a brother. Her stepmother, the late Gertrude Scribner Smith ’39, also attended Rosemary Hall.

’67 RH Janet K. Beaty, 68, a doctor of naturopathic medicine, died July 18, 2017 in Elizabethtown, N.Y. Born in New York City, Nootsie, as she was known, came to Rosemary Hall in 1963; she was in the Current Events Club and on the Recreation Committee. Her father, Dr. John T. Beaty, was for a time Rosemary Hall’s school physician. She attended Bradford Junior College in Haverhill, Mass., then earned degrees from Lake Forest College and San Francisco State University. After working in the field of special education, she earned an N.D. degree from Bastyr University in Kenmore, Wash., and completed her residency at the Tyringham Clinic in Buckinghamshire, England. She then had a private practice of naturopathic medicine in Concord, Mass., for more than 25 years. Janet was active in causes that involve extending medical insurance benefits to those receiving naturopathic and other alternative medicine treatments. Active in

naturopathic societies, she enjoyed gardening. She leaves three brothers, including John T. “Terry” Beaty ’62, 5312 Allandale Rd., Bethesda, MD 20816 and James M. Beaty ’63. Several relations also attended Choate or Rosemary Hall, including an uncle, David Beaty ‘46 and cousins Frances B. Perry ‘68, Richard R. Beaty ’70, and Alexander M. Young ’88.

’83 Roger S. Korfmann, 52, a computer software developer, died February 23, 2017 in Radnor, Pa. Born in Lexington, Va., and raised in Switzerland, Roger came to Choate Rosemary Hall in 1979; he was on league tennis and skiing teams. After attending the University of South Carolina, he worked as a software developer for firms in Switzerland, and most recently with AlignAlytics in Wayne, Pa. Roger enjoyed tennis and paddle tennis, winning several awards in Switzerland; he also liked technology, travel, music, photography, and skiing. He leaves three daughters; his mother; and a sister. ’96 Andrew J. Lockhart, 39, a lawyer, died of cancer September 30, 2016 in Richmond, Va. Born in Boston, A.J., as he was known, came to Choate in 1993; he was in the Marine Club. He then earned degrees from the University of Virginia and its School of Law. He was an associate with Clifford Chance LLP, specializing in international transportation and development projects, and then with Hunton & Williams LLP in their Richmond and London offices. He moved to London in 2015, where he specialized in international energy, infrastructure, and project development law. A.J. enjoyed music, reading, and sports. He leaves his wife, Ashley Lockhart, P. O. Box 489, Keswick, VA 22947; two daughters; three sisters; and his parents. ’04 Luc-John Pentz, 30, who worked in the insurance industry, died May 23, 2017 in Wallingford. Born in Princeton, N.J., Luc came to Choate Rosemary Hall in 2000. He was a math tutor and in Gold Key and the Theater Club, but his special talent lay in swimming. Co-captain of the varsity

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swim team, he also lettered in water polo and spent many hours working with the Adaptive Swim program; he won two School swimming awards.

After Choate, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Quinnipiac University.

An avid athlete, Luc enjoyed tennis, running, cycling, skiing, and rowing. He also was a key person in revitalizing the Wallingford Community Gardens. He leaves his mother, Vanessa Pentz, 16 Shore Grove Rd., Clinton, CT 06413; his father, Frans Tholenaar of Ocala, Fla.; his stepfather, Martin Adamo of New London, Conn., two sisters, including Natalie P. Ellwagner ’05; and a brother.

Faculty and Staff F. Thomas Dooley, who in the 1980s was a School assistant football coach and in the 2000s was an assistant basketball coach, died July 17, 2017 of a neurological disease. He was 59. Born in New Haven, Tom graduated from Fairfield Prep and earned degrees from the University of New Hampshire and Southern Connecticut State University.

He then served in the National Guard.

He was a residential counselor in Burlington, Vt., and a therapist at Elmcrest Psychiatric Institute in Portland, Conn., before coming to Choate Rosemary Hall in 1981. At School he was Assistant to the Director of Student Activities, an assistant varsity and head junior varsity football coach, and a house adviser in dorms.

For many years Tom was Director of the Wallingford Parks and Recreation Department, and from 2000 to 2004 returned to Choate as an assistant boys basketball coach. He leaves his wife, Patricia Dooley; three children; and two grandsons.

Looking to the future, Leaving a legacy For more than 125 years, Choate Rosemary Hall has been building upon traditions of excellence and innovation both in and out of the classroom. Thanks to the strong commitment and generous support of our alumni, parents, and friends, our School looks forward to a bright future.

You can be a part of that future and Choate Rosemary Hall’s continued excellence.

Planned giving empowers donors to give to the School in ways that are satisfying, tax-wise, and tailored to fit each individual’s unique circumstances.

More importantly, by making a planned gift, you are connecting your experience, life, and legacy with the School’s future. Your gift will benefit students in perpetuity.

Join the Choate Society today.

Our sympathy to the families of the following alumni, whose deaths are reported with sorrow: Edward G. Veasey ’50 January 7, 2017 Sunao Thomas Yamada ’81 September 10, 2017

The William Gardner & Mary Atwater Choate Society, named for the founders of both Rosemary Hall and The Choate School, honors individuals who have remembered the School in their estate plans. With more than 500 members, the Choate Society represents a substantial investment in future generations.

For more information, please contact us at (203) 697-2071 or visit www.choate.edu/plannedgiving

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58

SCOREBOARD | Spring Sports Wrap-up

Tyler Daly ’17 prepares to pitch against a league opponent.

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Varsity baseball had another strong finish under the final season of Coach Doug James, winning the Walker Cup Tournament for the fifth straight year over Cushing and Deerfield.

Girls varsity water polo earned a playoff berth against Williston Northampton in the New England Tournament. Girls track and field captured 2nd at Founders and 3rd at the New Englands. Boys tennis made a significant run at the New Englands, taking out Exeter but losing to Taft in the Semifinals. Girls varsity lacrosse had a strong season, defeating perennial powerhouses Deerfield, Greenwich, Loomis, Sacred Heart, and Williston. Sailing missed the Herreshoff Championships but got their wind back to place 2nd in the Connecticut Fleet Race Championships.

BASEBALL Varsity Season Record: 14–6 Captains: Jack Hodgson ’17, Jake Mackenzie ’17 Highlights: Victories over league champ Loomis and 2nd place finish against Avon Old Farms. Jake Mackenzie ’17 and Jack Hodgson ’17 helped the team secure a final win over Avon. An outstanding group of 10 seniors, with a 4-year overall record of 61–24.

BOYS CREW Varsity Season Record: 5–2 Captains: Ross Moseley ’17, David Herman ’17, Alex Overmeer ’17 Highlights: Had many boats qualify for the Grands races, but no medals were won.

GIRLS CREW Varsity Season Record: 5–2 Captains: Amira Nazer ’17, Alyssa Zhou ’17 Highlight: Won lower boat regatta.

BOYS GOLF Varsity Season Record: 10–9 Captain: Lawson Buhl ’17 Highlights: Placed 3rd at Founders League and 9th at the Kingswood Oxford Invitational Tournament.

GIRLS GOLF Varsity Season Record: 10–4 Captain: Anne Miles DeMott ’17 Highlights: Finished 7th at Founders League; beat NMH.

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BOYS LACROSSE Varsity Season Record: 9–8 Captains: Jack Hutchinson ’17, Selden Leonard ’17, George Uppgren ’17 Highlights: Finished above .500; wins over Andover and Salisbury to close the season.

GIRLS LACROSSE Varsity Season Record: 13–4 Captains: Claire C. Marshall ’17, Alexandra Jarvis ’17 Highlights: Led by All-Americans Kate Cronin ’17 and Claire Marshall ’17, finished strong, with wins against Deerfield, Greenwich, Loomis, Sacred Heart and Williston.

SAILING Varsity Season Record: 8–2 Captain: Olivia M. van den Born ’17 Highlight: Ended the season on high note, placing 2nd in the CT Fleet Race Championships.

SOFTBALL Varsity Season Record: 2–9 Captains: Emma Griffith ’17, Claudia Horvath-Diano ’17 Highlights: Beat Loomis and Hotchkiss. Emma Griffith ’17 was named to the league All-Star team.

BOYS TENNIS Varsity Season Record: 8–7 Captain: Charles Bellemare ’17 Highlights: Made a significant run in the New Englands, taking out Exeter and losing to Taft in the Semifinals. In addition, Alex Coletti ’20 and Parth Mody ’19 won the New Englands doubles championship.

GIRLS TENNIS Varsity Season Record: 3–10 Captains: Angelina Heyler ’18, Madison Mandell ’18, Caroline Quinn ’18 Highlights: Beat NMH, Miss Porter’s, and Kent.

BOYS TRACK Varsity Season Record: 8–2 Captains: Austin Huang ’17, Jackson Elkins’17 Highlights: 5th place at Founders; 7th place in the New Englands.

GIRLS TRACK Varsity Season Record: 10–0 Captains: Abby Blair ’17, Maya Birney ’17, Lauren Lamb ’17 Highlights: Undefeated regular season; finished 2nd at Founders and 3rd at New Englands.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL Varsity Season Record: 6–4 Captain: Chanin Kitjatanapan ’17 Highlight: Made it to the Semifinals of Founding Four Tournament.

GIRLS WATERPOLO Varsity Season Record: 8–11 Captains: Virginia Stanley ’17, Nicole Sellew ’17 Highlight: Won a playoff berth for the New England Tournament.

ULTIMATE FRISBEE Varsity Season Record: 2–6 Captains: Amir Idris ’17, Ausar Mundra ’17 Highlight: Beat Deerfield!

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BOOKSHELF

In this issue, a start-up entrepreneur creates a field manual for young aspirants; a food writer shares her mother’s peasant bread recipe in a new cookbook; a beautifully illustrated monograph explores one photographer’s use of synesthesia, the invoking of sound through contour, line, rhythm, and color in a composition; and a recent graduate reviews a book geared to middle-schoolers learning to program.

The Influencer Economy Ryan Williams ’96 | Reviewed by Sam Doak

THE INFLUENCER ECONOMY: HOW TO LAUNCH YOUR IDEA, SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD, AND THRIVE IN THE DIGITAL AGE Author: Ryan Williams ’96 Publisher: Ryno Lab About the Reviewer: Sam Doak teaches economics, world history, and entrepreneurship and is the Dean of the Class of 2019.

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Education specialist Tony Wagner calls Millennials the “innovation generation,” and while Baby Boomers today may struggle to manage and motivate younger employees in conventional work environments, we are reminded that there really is a generational gap in outlook and incentives. Ryan Williams’s book, The Influencer Economy, speaks to this, and serves as a field manual for young aspirants towards their independent success. The book provides abundant case studies for the Digital Age, detailing ways entrepreneurs create value today, often through grassroots means. A delightfully interesting read, the book lays out a trajectory of advice following the prescription of its subtitle: How to Launch Your Idea, Share It with the World, and Thrive in the Digital Age. At heart, Williams is updating us on the universal impulse to create meaning in our lives for self-fulfillment, and so at the core of his work is the imperative “to thrive” in its many human manifestations.

Williams draws nicely on traditional themes from management literature, often indirectly and with a focus on today’s Internet environment, youth culture, and notable business successes from the past 15 or so years. In each instance, the theme of “authenticity yielding influence and success over time” is developed.

The work is positively shaped by his own early background in improvisational standup comedy, and there is vibrancy, joy, and mission in his writing that will inspire young entrepreneurs. Perhaps most fun for me was the insights I gained into the world of my own teenage sons, as Williams’s examples – including Minecraft, Red & Blue, The Jay-Z Effect, RockJump Studios, Rooster Teeth, and many others – seemed to constantly resonate with the conversations from the back of the station wagon I overheard this past

summer, to my pleasant surprise. I read this book with an Internet browser at the ready, and followed his examples into YouTube, podcasts, social media, and basically wherever they would take me on the Internet to punctuate my reading. I got turned on to a few new comedians along with way, only to find out that my children were already quite familiar with these Internet stars, and I am reminded that the nectar of our future is already actively fermenting in the minds of our youth, who will launch, share, and thrive.

Williams’s book blossomed from his years of podcast interviews inspired by interactions at Vid-Con, Comic-Con, South by Southwest, TechCrunch, and other Digital Age intersections. It’s supported by his website, www.influencereconomy.com, and so is an example of the multimedia world he helps elucidate in this book, one based on sociability and synchronicity across various platforms. His own path to success, described throughout the book, exemplifies the Lean Startup Movement described by Eric Ries, as do his various subjects. This is a recommended read for its combination of self-help, business insight, and cultural journalism, and it’s a book that leaves me with a lot of optimism for the values and methods that underpin today’s influencers. Well worth the time at any age.

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Bread Toast Crumbs

By Alexandra Stafford ’99 | Reviewed by Diana L. Beste

BREAD TOAST CRUMBS: RECIPES FOR NO-KNEAD LOAVES & MEALS TO SAVOR EVERY SLICE Author: Alexandra Stafford ’99 Publisher: Clarkson Potter About the Reviewer: Diana L. Beste is head of the languages department at Choate Rosemary Hall and is also a bread baker.

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Food writer Alexandra Stafford’s website, Alexandra’s Kitchen, is my go-to when I try to branch out into new territory, or if I simply want to change up an old favorite, such as eggplant parmigiana, which is now much tastier and more attractive, thanks to Ali’s technique of roasting the vegetables, then baking the dish in a red pepper sauce, and leaving the crumbs until the very end. Time after time, Stafford’s recipes achieve the alchemy of bold, bright flavors, rich silky textures, and a clean taste. Furthermore, the tableaux that Ali creates with her stunning photography and her relentlessly witty writing never fail to make cooking at Alexandra’s Kitchen inspiring and endlessly entertaining.

And because she is invested in her audience’s success, the writing is lucid, secrets are shared generously – and the happy result is that the recipes yield terrific food every time.

Some courses at Choate no longer use traditional textbooks when students can access the same content online. In the case of the long-awaited Bread Toast Crumbs, not only is this treasure a very different experience from Alexandra’s Kitchen, but don’t be surprised if you will want two copies, one for constant use in the kitchen and one for your favorite reading nook. It’s that great a read, and even more edifying than its charming digital sibling.

The structure of the book is elegant. After her mother finally consented to the publication of her famous peasant bread recipe, this “master recipe” becomes the springboard for all the creations that follow in the book, comprising a section on breads, sweet and savory, a section on how to build meals with slices of bread, and then my favorite new spinoff, crumbs. Here Stafford’s creative resourcefulness is utter genius, and once you see how she makes and uses them, you will never use a store-bought crumb again.

The “master recipe” is as easy as she promises, and the bread has a consistently superior flavor and texture. No machines, no kneading, very little mess. A slower bake at a lower temperature than I’d

been using all my bread-making life creates a multilayered, complex, and crunchy crust. Cutting the bread unleashed a spray of crumbs, initially maddening, until I realized with glee that I had a head start on the accumulation of those precious morsels to embellish something fabulous later in the week.

The reader will also benefit from the steady repetition in the early bread recipes. Though ingredients vary, many of the techniques, tools, and temperatures are the same, reinforcing the importance of practice that eventually (and deliciously) evolves into second nature. I wondered whether this approach was intentionally warming us up for the more complex creations to come, which also reminded me of the author’s earlier days as a tri-varsity athlete at Choate, another lifestyle that required her tenacity and joyful sense of adventure.

In preparation for this review I tried a few more recipes: anadama bread, which makes delicious French toast; crispy tarragon cutlets – another liberation from the labor-intensive breading process and accompanying heaviness. Next on my list are coffee gelato with cocoa crumbs and fried custard cream (a recipe that seems to defy both chemistry and physics).

As one would expect, there is not a morsel of tedious carb phobia in Bread Toast Crumbs. The book is a refreshing celebration of this timeless, universal food, to be eaten often and guilt-free.

For the past two decades, Stafford has acquired a treasure trove of knowledge about food and her experience in both professional and home kitchens is vast. I once heard her talk about her career on a radio show, where she said simply, “I love making people happy with my food.” She has given us so much more than her recipes, beautifully depicted with entertaining text. With the peasant bread recipe in hand, and Bread Toast Crumbs within reach, we can try to emulate her for years to come.

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62 BOOKSHELF

Staccato

By Jim Kasson ’60 | Reviewed by Kate C. Lemay ’97

STACCATO Author: Jim Kasson ’60 Publisher: Available at Amazon.com About the Reviewer: Kate C. Lemay ‘97 is a historian at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.

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In Staccato, a beautifully illustrated monograph exploring the most recent body of work of Californiabased photographer Jim Kasson, almost 100 images present urban landscapes of New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, and Las Vegas. Lights and shadows seem to spin with lines of color, illustrating the unique specificity of place in time. Over a period of two or three nights, Kasson photographed a single urban location with eleven frames per second – hence, Staccato – resulting in a set of visual impressions.

He then composed the final image by overlaying a selection of his initial photographs. Making a single image from a series of shots, Kasson explains, is like building a musical phrase from a series of short notes. Indeed, the idea of synesthesia, or the invoking of sound through contour, line, rhythm, and color in a composition, informs Kasson’s work. He accomplishes a musical result, albeit visually, hinting at both movement and time through his frames. The series is a painterly musing on how remembrance is collected by its own set of staccato images, achieving a kaleidoscopic effect through its layering of memory and deeply felt experiences.

Although the nighttime urbanscapes have their own architectural character, the use of blurred lines unites the series and creates a formal language of energy, showing how no big city ever sleeps. The lines also create a sense of a time warp as their aesthetic captures movement. There is the sense of a moment having just passed us by, one tinged with nostalgia and perhaps time travel in that we can still see the echo of the experience. The nod to science fiction may be familiar to those who have seen the groundbreaking 1982 neo-noir film Blade Runner, which at the time accomplished stunning visual effects through choreographed contours and endlessly moving lines.

Moreover, the series relates to the history of art.

The illustration of movement through a layering of frames directly relates to Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, (1912), as Kasson points out in the preface. His photographs are also in line

with the works of California School artists Robert Bechtle (b. 1932) and Richard Diebenkorn (19221993). Bechtle caught the mundane moments of western life through photographs, from which he created large, hyper-realistic paintings. Diebenkorn painted with such a distinct palette and perspective that he inimitably realized the distinct, bleached California light on the earth after it has bounced off the Pacific Ocean. Both mid-century artists felt inspired by the scenes of their environment, and each communicated a moment specific to his experience. In a similar vein, Kasson creates a world that is equally site-specific as it is personal to his perceptions.

Kasson is aware of his own sponge-like capacity to soak in lessons of the visual world. He writes in his concluding statement, “The world has much to teach me if I let it.” Staccato’s “world” is defined by life’s experiences specific to a place. In her study of site specificity, scholar Miwon Kwon analyzes the intersection of experience and remembrance. She defines site specificity as ”singularly experienced in the here-and-now through the bodily presence of each viewing subject, in a sensorial immediacy of spatial extension.” The passage of time depicted in Kasson’s work makes us wonder about the intersection of the now-moment, place, and individual. In Kasson’s 2010 photograph of the Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), for example, one can’t help but question: how many individuals have stood at that window, looking in from the outside? What about the countless conversations of those inside, talking and walking by? Of what were they speaking? The performances, or something else? Through photography’s flexible and fluid medium, notes of both remembrance and nostalgia relate and define the human experience.

For the questions it poses – and doesn’t answer – Staccato captures the reader’s attention. The artist, who describes his works as responding to a need to seek out problems to work through and learn from, presents the reader with a thoughtful opportunity to do the same.

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Coding iPhone Apps for Kids

By Gloria Winquist ’89 and Matt McCarthy | Reviewed by Ian Wolterstorff ’17 At some point, many people dream of creating the next great app and riding the wave of innovation to wealth. Maybe you had a brilliant idea you knew could top the App Store charts. The barrier between you and that success was the technical knowhow needed to turn your vision into a reality. Coding iPhone Apps for Kids: A Playful Introduction to Swift will help curious and ambitious young adults get ahead of the curve. Written by Gloria Winquist ’89 and Matt McCarthy, two professional iOS developers, the book is in a style accessible to middle-schoolers (and some precocious elementary-schoolers), but not so simple as to obscure important information. It includes a general overview of the Swift programming language, now the industry standard for coding iOS apps, and walkthroughs for creating two example applications: a birthday tracking utility and a simple platforming game. Along the way, the book covers the basics of programming, before moving on to some finer points of the Swift language, iOS, and object-oriented programming. The progression of topics is intelligently developed, building up gradually, but never advancing too fast. Children with short attention spans will likely be stimulated by the instant gratification of completing each section and watching new things happen onscreen.

Though some prior programming experience would, of course, be useful, this book does such a good job covering the basics that one could comfortably follow along with little or no other training. However, there is nothing the book can do to remedy the fact that there are much higher restrictions for entry with iOS than there are with other platforms. Apple requires that you do your coding on Mac computers only, and if you don’t have an iPhone or other iOS

CODING IPHONE APPS FOR KIDS: A PLAYFUL INTRODUCTION TO SWIFT Authors: Gloria Winquist ’89 and Matt McCarthy Publisher: No Starch Press About the Reviewer: Ian Wolterstorff ’17, a member of Choate’s Programming Club, will attend Northeastern University this fall.

ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY Author: Charlie Jane Anders Publisher: Tor Books

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THE AUTHENTICS Author: Abdi Nazemian ’94 Publisher: HarperCollins

device you’ll be confined to using the clunky emulator that is included in Xcode, Apple’s integrated development environment available free from the Mac App Store. If getting one of your creations on the App Store is your objective, there are even more hurdles to overcome: submissions to Apple require membership in the Apple Developer Program, which demands a yearly fee of $99. The process sounds daunting, but a committed developer with an app worthy of merit would likely be able to get it published.

Now is truly a great time to be starting iOS development. Apple has been doubling down on efforts to improve the App Store since a few tech media outlets reported last year on a perceived decline in the general app economy. In a June 2016 interview with The Verge, Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller stated that Apple was beginning to have a ”renewed focus and energy” on the App Store, and the tech giant has since made good on that claim. Just this year, Apple has introduced many improvements to the App Store, such as developer responses to users’ reviews. Last June, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference brought the announcement that the App Store will receive a huge visual overhaul in the forthcoming iOS 11. The Store’s interface will be changed to better reflect Apple’s new design language that can already be found in Apple Music and Apple News. With all these improvements, the App Store is sure to be seeing an influx of attention over the next few months.

Even though I did not learn how to program from a book, there is a strong case to be made for reading books on programming. I learned some useful things from this book, and I very well may find myself referring to it in the future.

THE FAR AWAY BROTHERS Author: Lauren Markham ’01 Publisher: Crown/Archetype

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64

END NOTE | The opportunity afforded us at this moment, to be students of Choate Rosemary Hall, is immense, and the fine, successful men and women we will become will soon serve as testament to the magnificence of a Choate education.

So the question that should be on everyone’s mind is, “How am I going to give back?”

This is not just a question for alumni, nor is it only relevant for the sixth form class. Even the third former who’s been a Choate student for less than 72 hours should be thinking, “What can I do to benefit and improve the community around me?” Our focus should be on where we should give back and how we should we give back.

One of the challenges of being a high school is that we too are susceptible to the development of unwritten rules and norms that negatively influence our social atmosphere. Some may still affect us today even though they may be the product of individuals who graduated many years ago: • Norms that decide who and who not to associate with.

• Norms that govern how we treat certain individuals.

• Norms that seek to categorize us and develop some sense of social hierarchy, causing us to do a whole host of nonsense simply to navigate some social “game.”

These pernicious, divisive elements of our culture, and those who try to promote them, simply have no place in our school because: • Anything that does not elevate your humanity is not worth adhering to.

• Anything that compromises your identity is not worth subscribing to.

Dismantling the Forces That Undermine Community by mpilo norris ’18

I am extremely excited to start my sixth form year here at Choate Rosemary Hall. I don’t know a finer group of people to end my high school career with. Many of you I know personally and others I have yet to get to know, but nonetheless, it is a true blessing to be part of this community.

Reflecting on my time at Choate inspires me to share one of my favorite passages from the New Testament: “To whom much is given, much is required.”

Essentially, this means that if you are blessed with talent, fortuitous circumstances, or resources, you are expected to use those assets for the benefit of others. This is important because it suggests that if we are not engaged in cultivating those talents we are denying our community an opportunity to progress and be better.

Therefore, our top priority, and the way we will give back, ought to be dismantling those forces among us that undermine our sense of community. It is not an easy task, but it is a task I believe this community especially is capable of completing.

It will require leadership from each of us, which doesn’t just mean heading a club, but having the moral courage to lead others towards empathy and compassion even when others don’t have the courage to do so. And we ought not look solely to the example of upperclassmen, but develop within each of ourselves the moral integrity to treat everyone with dignity, regardless of what social pressures arise.

What the world needs today are individuals who will give back to communities by standing for what is right. There are too few people, even in leadership, with any sense of moral courage. Rather, they just go with the flow.

• We see it in our government.

• We see it in corporate organizations.

• We see it in religious institutions.

I don’t want that for us. I don’t want that for our school, because we in this community have the potential to recommit our world to values of integrity, respect, and compassion.

The truth is I’m proud to consider myself a Choate student because I have faith in the kindness, integrity, and leadership that students here have. I believe this school year, we can be the type of people that the world needs today. I, as your Student Council President, will wake up every day thinking about how we can make our School greater than it already is. I hope you can do the same.

Mpilo Norris ’18, of Baltimore, is this year’s Student Council President.

This is excerpted from his address to students and faculty at Convocation in September.

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What a remarkable place to be…

Grateful.

In 2016-17, more than 4,500 alumni, parents, and friends came together to support Choate Rosemary Hall, including contributing $6.3 million to the Annual Fund. The lifeblood of the School, the Annual Fund infuses resources into every aspect of student life and allows the School to address its most pressing needs. Put simply, every student, every coach, and every teacher is the beneficiary of the generous individuals who loyally support the Annual Fund each year.

Thank you to all who came together to support our School!

ON THE COVER: Sebi Barquin Sanchez ’18 engages in open-ended explorations and discoveries at the Lin Family P ’19, P ’21, i.d.Lab.

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ABOVE: Matriculation speaker Edward F. Kelly ’74, P ’07, ’12 and Dr. Alex D. Curtis P ’17, ’20, Head of School, take a selfie at the Matriculation Ceremony on September 4 that welcomed 271 students from 35 states, the District of Columbia, and 28 countries.

ANNUAL FUND

www.choate.edu/donate

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BULLETIN THE MAG A ZINE OF CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL

FALL ’17

Change Service Requested

coming soon…

Stay connected with the School and each other with our new alumni app.

Look for more details in the coming weeks!

The Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin is printed using vegetable-based inks on FSC-certified, 100% post consumer recycled paper. This issue saved 101 trees, 42,000 gallons of wastewater, 291 lbs of waterborne waste, and 9,300 lbs of greenhouse gases from being emitted.

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In this issue:

A GRAND PRIX FOR GOOD: Choate Alumni Pursue a Public Purpose

A MOVEMENT IN THE MAKING: Choate's Lin i.d.Lab

END NOTE: Dismantling the Forces That Undermine Community

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