May 2015 elert

May 2015 E-Lert About CFS

Admission

Academics

Campus Life

Athletics

Alumni

Giving

In This Issue

"Broadway Bound" Gala: Pictures, Video and

Broadway Bound Gala New Board Member Alumni News College News Spring Choral Concert Athletics CFS Golf Classic SEI Visit

More!

More than 200 friends of Church Farm School gathered at the Wayne Art Center on May 1 to network, indulge in great food and of course, listen to performances by The Tonics and the CFS Choirs. In all, the "Broadway Bound" Gala raised more than $200,000 - all in support of the school's mission to provide a financially accessible education to young men of good character and promise (such as Ced Moise '15, pictured above with Head of School Ned Sherrill and on his way to Princeton University on a full scholarship from QuestBridge).

Steven Yuh '15 recently participated in the prestigious National Association for

Part of the funds will also go toward the Choir's spring 2016 performance at Carnegie Hall, where they have already been accepted to sing Maurice Durufle's Requiem on April 18!

Visit the Gala web page to learn more about our committee, sponsors and patrons, plus access:  

SmugMug photo gallery of pictures from the event!

YouTube video of performances from the evening!

Thank you to everyone who supported the event, whether in person or in spirit. We are especially appreciative of Gala co-chairs Minnie and John Kirwin for their incredible leadership, the 25th Century Foundation for providing a $25,000 match at our auction, Bob Frame for donating his time as auctioneer, The Tonics for entertaining the audience with their unique a cappella music and last, but definitely not least, thanks to Gary Gress and the CFS Choir for bringing their wonderful talents to the stage.

Music Education (NAfME) Eastern Division Conference Festival Chorus.

Steven was the only CFS student to make it to the All East Chorus, and only the third in CFS history to do so.

Stay tuned for the announcement of our next Gala!

Welcome New Board Member Mehul Trivedi

"My goal in life is to return in any form or shape three times what I get or better," says Mehul Trivedi, a CFA and partner at the Philadelphia investment counseling services firm Cooke & Bieler.

Trivedi hopes to pay his gratitude forward in his new role as a Church Farm School board member. He was recommended to the position by outgoing board member and partner at Cooke & Bieler, Kermit Eck. Trivedi came to the United States with his family from India at the age of 11. Shortly thereafter, his father passed away, and the family faced a lot of hardship, especially financial. "I was reminded constantly by my mother that we were here for the educational opportunities, and so it was important for me to maintain good grades and work part-time," Trivedi says. "As I've learned more about Church Farm School's mission, I've really related to it given my own background."

Thanks to funding from a friend, Trivedi was able to attend the University of Pennsylvania without incurring tremendous debt.

There, he earned a B.A. in international relations. He went on to get a B.S. in finance and statistics from Penn's Wharton School of Business, and eventually his MBA. Trivedi started his career at Blackrock in New York City, and has been with Cooke & Bieler for 16 years. He is looking forward to applying what he does professionally on the "other side of the table." "The school has done a tremendous job with its endowment. It has taken a very long-term, conservative

The CFS Relay for Life team, "Team Lunardi" has raised nearly $4,000 for cancer research. On April 25, the team spent 12 straight hours walking for the cause at West Chester University.

We recently hosted Anthony

perspective focused on the school's future," he says. As for impressions of the school, Trivedi concludes, "I continue to be blown away by the diversity of the student body, the mission of the school and the enthusiasm of those engaged in the process."

Welcome to the Church Farm School community, Mehul!

Alumni News: Alumni Weekend Recap, Dagmawi Woubshet Visits, James Tate Ambassadorship Award

Members of the Class of 1965 ring the bell during Alumni Weekend.

Alumni returned to Church Farm School April 24-26 for a full weekend of events. Reunion weekend kicked off with "Career Day," where students were treated to panel discussions of alumni working in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), Business and the Social Sciences. Seniors attended a "College Readiness" panel. The list of participating alumni, along with their bios, can be found here.

Gray, president and CEO at the Institute for Global Ethics of Rockport, Maine.

Following his Chapel presentation, Gray met with the school's Honor Council, their advisors, CFS Ethical Literacy Coordinator Doug Magee, Head of School Ned Sherrill and guest Peter Hamilton of The Hamilton Foundation.

The Classes of '60 and '65, who returned for their 55th and 50th reunions, respectively, gathered at the Head of School residence for a reception on Friday, followed by informal dinners following. There was also a large continent from the Class of 1989 who returned for Saturday's dinner and other events, plus we were pleased to welcome a handful of recent graduates from the Class of 2014 at dinner.

Saturday started with a delightful opportunity to tour Soledad Mansion, the private home of Bob and Maria Hollenshead which used to serve as the middle school dormitory. The home and grounds have been completely renovated, and a few alumni recounted tales of living there when it was known as Swedesford Cottage.

Other highlights of the day included the Alumni Association Annual Meeting in Garrett Cottage, a basketball game vs. current students, an organ performance and tutorial by Gary Gress and a Memorial Service in the Chapel to remember those alumni who passed this year and to give Bibles to the returning members of the Class of '65 Chuck Rogers, Paul Buckley and Dave Foley (pictured above).

The evening culminated with the Reunion Dinner in Alumni Hall, where student Elijah Hernandez '15 (below) was honored with the James Tate Award for Ambassadorship. Dinner also included appeals for the Earl Wilkins Scholarship Fund (read Stu Brackney '62's blog about why we need to donate by May 31), the Annual Fund by Chimdi Mbonu '87, Quizzo-style trivia, a silent auction of student art and a raffle!

Elijah Hernandez '15 won the James Tate (pictured left) Award for Ambassadorship at the Alumni Reunion Dinner on April 25.

Finally, a few days after Alumni Weekend on April 29, Dagmawi Woubshet '94 (pictured below with his former teacher Art Smith) spent the day at CFS, dropping in on various classes, having a "fishbowl" discussion with Doug Magee's "Great Ideas" class and having a Q&A reception with students, faculty and staff at the end of the day.

A scholar of African American literature and culture, Woubshet currently is an associate professor at Cornell University. He has been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and received a faculty fellowship at the Institute of Ethiopia Studies at Addis Ababa University and the Robert A. & Donna B. Paul Award for Excellence in Advising in 2012. In 2014, he was named one of "The 10 Best Professors at Cornell." He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and his B.A. from Duke University.

College Bound! Mohammed Bappe Gets Gates Millennium Scholarship and Nkosi Pile Receives Full Athletic Scholarship to Saint Peter's University

All 39 of our seniors have been accepted into four-year colleges and universities and are eligible for a combined $2M+ in scholarships and grants. We are so proud of their achievements and hope you will join us on Saturday, June 6 at 10:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Atonement for their Commencement.

Mohammed Bappe '15 (above) recently received the Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund's (APIASF) Gates Millennium Scholarship (GMS). Through the GMS, 1,000 nationwide high school students are awarded a scholarship that can be used to pursue a degree in any undergraduate major and selected graduate programs at accredited colleges or universities. Bappe, a resident of Lansdowne, PA, has been boarding at CFS since 7th grade and is the Student Council President. He will attend Swarthmore College

next year, where he hopes to study international relations, along with film and media.

In other great news, Nkosi Pile '15 (pictured above with Track & Field coaches Rohan Grant and Tony Wrice, teacher Dave Stout and Director of Athletics Greg Thompson) has been awarded a full athletic scholarship to Saint Peter's University, a Jesuit institution in Jersey City, NJ. Pile, originally from Atlanta, GA, has had an incredible track career at CFS. He holds the school's record in the 100m dash with 10.74 seconds, and was the anchor of the school's 4x100 relay team that finished 2nd in the state competition in spring 2014. He finished 4th in the 60m indoor state championships this winter and was part of the 4x200 relay team that finished 6th in the spring 2015 state competition. At the Bicentennial Athletic League (BAL) Championships on May 8 and 9 at Holy Ghost Prep, Pile finished first in the 100m, 200m and 400m dash and was named Meet MVP. He hopes to major in physical therapy at Saint Peter's.

Spring Choral Concert Features Returning Alumni

Mother's Day was extra special this year, with many current and past parents, plus families and friends, attending the spring choral concert. In addition to more than a dozen songs by the CFS Choir, the Middle School Choir and the CFS Singers, nearly 30 choral alumni returned to sing two songs with the choirs. A reception followed at the Head of School residence in honor of Gary Gress, who is celebrating 25 years at Church Farm School.

Stay tuned to the website for video from the evening, or contact Gary Gress to order a CD.

Spring Athletics News It's hard to believe that we are in the final week of regular season for spring sports! The Track and Field team finished 2nd at the BAL Championships this past weekend and will be at the PIAA District 1-AA Championships at Coatesville High School this weekend.

Want to catch one of the final games? The following resources will keep you apprised of what's upcoming, and where.

1. Subscribe to Athletic Director Greg Thompson's "This week in CFS Athletics" email newsletter.

2. Visit Schedule Star for upcoming competitions.

3. Follow @cfsathletics on Twitter.

Save the Date for the 14th CFS Golf Classic

Mark your calendars for September 25, when the 14th Annual CFS Golf Classic returns to Coatesville Country Club.

Contact Peter Corrado at pcorrado@gocfs.net if you are interested in learning more about partnership opportunities. Online registration will be opening in the next few weeks!

CFS Art Students Visit SEI Art Gallery

Art Department Chair Aaron Schnittman, Development Director Peter Corrado and a group of art students visited financial services firm SEI in Oaks recently to view its private art collection: The West Collection. According to Schnittman, the collection of contemporary and emerging artists was a "demanding collection where every piece forces you to think and readjust your assumptions." The tour included a huge motorcycle made from a cow skeleton, busts of famous composers sculpted from books and a wall covered in handpainted mushrooms cast from resin. You can learn more about it at http://westcollection.org/.

Look for future E-Lerts to arrive on a monthly basis. Please share the email addresses of friends and/or fellow classmates who might also wish to receive these updates. As always, thanks for your time and interest.

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