Durham Academy Magazine - Summer 2016

DURHAM ACADEMY

M AG A Z I N E

| SUMMER

A Blueprint for the Future

| 2016

Melody Guyton Butts

F ROM THE HEAD OF SC HOOL

A

ngela Duckworth’s father reminded her often that she was “no genius.” As luck, pluck and irony would have it, Duckworth earned degrees from Harvard, Oxford and the University of Pennsylvania and was named a 2013 Fellow by the MacArthur Foundation — a distinction better known as a “genius grant.”

Having proven her father wrong, Duckworth now tries to prove him right.

She studies “grit,” which she defines as a combination of perseverance and passion for especially challenging long-term goals. In her TED talk and recent book, Duckworth argues that grit is a better predictor of long-term success than our traditional understanding of innate traits and talents.

Grit is hot. As a reviewer in The Atlantic put it, “If you have recently bumped into that word, grit, Duckworth is the reason. … In education and parenting circles, [Duckworth’s] research has provided a much needed antipode to hovering, by which children are systematically deprived of the opportunity to experience setbacks, much less overcome them.” Wrote another in the Wall Street Journal: “To be gritty, an individual doesn’t need to have an obsessive infatuation with a goal. Rather, he needs to show ‘consistency over time.’ The grittiest people have developed long-term goals and are constantly working toward them.”

Duckworth’s ideas, like those of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck about “growth mindset,” have radically altered the way teachers and parents think about individual children and the futures they build.

As Durham Academy leans into the hard work of implementing our 2015 Strategic Plan, I have wondered: how can an institution show grit?

Duckworth might remind us that DA would need a) clear long-term goals, b) passion and c) persistence.

Last summer in this magazine, we made our goals clear and public. The 2015 Strategic Plan, borne of a full year of community input and deliberation, aims at targets in five key categories: • A faculty full of life-changers • A cohesive, connected and collaborative student learning experience • A broader experience of diversity and a renewed commitment to accessibility • A unified and welcoming community • A school connected to Durham, the Triangle and the world Passion has never been lacking at Durham Academy. Ours is a community of energetic strivers — families dedicated to learning, teachers passionate about their fields of study, students eager to throw themselves into their classes. This issue of the magazine is brimming with evidence of people young and old pursuing their passions with vigor.

We have also shown remarkable institutional persistence. Our trustees have succeeded in focusing not just on this school year or the next one, but rather on the Durham Academy of five to 50 years hence. Faculty excellence has remained our No. 1 priority for eight decades.

Diversity and inclusion have been top-shelf goals for four consecutive Strategic Plans.

Our progress in this and so many other areas has been incremental and relentless.

In this issue of the magazine, we share several important decisions that will help us pursue our goals, focus our passions and test our institutional persistence.

This is big news.

• In “Durham Academy’s Next Generation” (p. 6), Admissions Director Victoria Muradi explains how carefully planned enrollment growth will help us keep families intact, attract the nation’s best teachers, honor the legacies of our

alumni and recruit the strongest students in the Triangle. Preserving the DA student experience remains paramount. We have pledged to protect or reduce class and advisory sizes while creating points of entry for new families to keep DA vibrant, diverse and accessible.

• In “DA 2030: The Landscape of Excellence,” (p. 9) Communications Director Leslie King explains how two years of deliberation and discernment led to a comprehensive facilities plan that will transform our Middle School and Upper School over the next decade. Why have we recommitted to our Academy Road campus? Why will we begin construction on the Ridge Road campus? How will these new facilities enrich and expand the experience of our students?

• In our “Strategic Plan Report Card,” (p. 57) we show the specific steps taken in year one of our five-year plan. If the five areas listed are our guiding stars, these pages show the nitty-gritty of progress and programmatic change.

Whether through incremental enrollment growth, our tireless work with diversity and inclusion or our broad commitments to community engagement, Durham Academy is striving to reflect our community in every way possible.

Like the city of Durham itself (enjoying a most spectacular economic and creative renaissance), we are recommitting to DA’s core values, capitalizing on our key strengths and reinventing some aspects our school with imagination.

As with Durham itself, our ability to blend passionate imagination and persistent work — the lofty goals and the nitty-gritty progress — will determine just how far we go as a school and community.

Michael Ulku-Steiner, Head of School @ MrUlkuSteiner

13 F EATURES

16

DA 2030: A VISION FOR THE FUTURE The Next Generation | Page 6 The Landscape of Excellence | Page 9 Recommitting to Academy Road | Page 13

Ken and Colin Huth

6 |

16 | COMMENCEMENT UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt encourages the Class of 2016 to soar into college 28 | FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: WILLIAM EDWARDS World traveler, father figure and family man on his dozen years at DA ABOUT THE COVER: The cover for the DA 2030 issue of Durham Academy Magazine was created by 1990 Distinguished Alumni Award winner Alexander Isley ’80. This marks the fifth collaboration between DA and Isley, who also designed the school’s new admissions viewbook, the current school logo, the previous admissions viewbook, and the logo and development materials for DA’s Evergreen Campaign. In 2014, Isley was awarded the AIGA medal, the design industry’s highest honor.

DURHAM ACADEMY

28 |

SUMMER 2016

Kathy McPherson

Michael Barley

CONTENTS

|

WWW .D A .OR G

1

CON TENTS

DA ON THE GO Read the Durham Academy magazine on your tablet.

Visit www. da.org/ magazine for links to the current and previous issues.

•

SUMMER 2016

|

VOLUME 43, NO. 2

DURHAM ACADEMY Michael Ulku-Steiner, Head of School

DURHAM ACADEMY

M AG A Z I N E | W I N T E R | 2 0 1 6

Brendan Moylan ’85, Chair, Board of Trustees John Lindsey ’08, President, Alumni Board DURHAM ACADEMY MAGAZINE Kathy McPherson, Editor Linda Noble, Designer COMMUNICATIONS Leslie King, Director of Communications

Let’s go, Cavs!

Cheering for DA at the first all-school pep rally

leslie.king@da.org Kathy McPherson, Associate Director of Communications kathy.mcpherson@da.org

ALSO IN TH IS ISSUE : Music video goes viral | Life-changing faculty | New Upper School director

Melody Butts, Assistant Director of Communications melody.butts@da.org Send news and story ideas to communications@da.org.

•

Download the DA App for news, athletics schedules, calendars and directories. Search for “Durham Academy” in the Apple App Store.

www.da.org/ magazine

DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI AFFAIRS Leslie Holdsworth, Director of Development leslie.holdsworth@da.org Tim McKenna, Associate Director of Alumni Affairs tim.mckenna@da.org DURHAM ACADEMY MISSION STATEMENT: The purpose of Durham Academy is to provide each student an education that will enable him or her to live a moral, happy and productive life. The development of intellect is central to such a life and thus, intellectual endeavor and growth are the primary work of the school. The acquisition of knowledge; the development of skills, critical judgment and intellectual curiosity; and increased understanding are the goals of the school’s academic program.

2

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W .DA.OR G

CO NT ENTS A D D I TI O N A L F E ATU R E S

26 | FINDING THE PERFECT FIT FOR COLLEGE

How DA helps seniors find their dream school

Kathy McPherson

35 | MEET UPPER SCHOOL DIRECTOR LANIS WILSON

Get to know the Durham native and food truck aficionado

38

38 | DA’S DEEPENING PARTNERSHIP WITH URBAN MINISTRIES OF DURHAM Upper School launches new community service club to support Durham nonprofit 40 | PRIVATE-PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP PROMOTES LOVE OF READING New service-learning elective pairs DA seniors with Creekside third-graders 42 | TRADITION!

DA’s production of Fiddler on the Roof earns two Triangle Rising Star nods

Colin Huth

44 | DA’S REAL-LIFE CIVIL RIGHTS ROOTS Middle School parent Wendell McCain’s family ties to Greensboro Four civil rights legend

42

50 | GIB FITZPATRICK WINS HERSHEY DISTINGUISHED FACULTY AWARD Recognized for nearly 20 years as a life-changing teacher, coach, mentor and leader

I N EACH I SS U E

4 | THE BIG PICTURE 60 | FROM THE GREEN

85

61 | ALUMNI NEWS

Alumni honor Barb Kanoy, Patrick Nevins ’03 | Page 62

Regional Events | Page 64

Class Notes | Page 66

Alumni Profiles | Page 68, 72, 83, 84, 85 inside back cover | THE LAST LOOK

Connect with DA • DA on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DurhamAcademy • DA Alumni on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DACavsAlumni • DA on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DurhamAcademy • DA Alumni on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DurhamAcademyAl • DA on Vimeo: www.bit.ly/VimeoDA • DA on LinkedIn: www.bit.ly/LinkedInDA • DA on Instagram: www.instagram.com/DurhamAcademy • DA on Flickr: www.flickr.com/DurhamAcademy

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

3

Kathy McPherson

T HE BIG P ICTUR E

4

D U R H A M A C A D EM Y

|

SU M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W .DA.OR G

Meet Julia Squeezer

Dan the Animal Man takes hands-on learning to a whole new level when Julia Squeezer, a 13-foot, 120-pound Burmese python, visits the Preschool. Teachers Elizabeth Allan, Elizabeth Lyle, Allison Schenck, Nikki Graves, Bobbie Dahlgren, Denise Shaw and Jack Mishra ’16 lend a hand.

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW .D A .OR G

5

DA 2030

Durham Academy’s Next Generation

By Victoria Muradi, Director of Admissions

wonderful children and families who want to be here!

The confluence of high admissions interest and low attrition has led to the most selective admission cycle in the school’s history and an all-time high enrollment of 1,200 students for 2016-2017. Eight years ago, when I started at DA, enrollment was 1,135 students. We have incrementally increased the student body by 65 students. This growth gave us security during the financial crisis, but was not the result of a specific plan to increase our population. Given that interest in DA is at an all-time high and that we are in the midst of a strategic plan, this seems an important time to plan for the years ahead.

In September 2015, the Optimal School Size Task Force was formed to “Determine the optimal size of the school considering financial, cultural, pedagogical, facility and admissions factors.” The members of the task force were as follows: hen I meet Durham Academy • Jerry Benson, Director of Business alumni, their first question to me is often Services, current parent, parent of alumni about size. “So, how many are in a graduating • Teresa Engebretsen, Middle School class?” Their eyes widen and they cannot French Teacher, parent of alumni fathom a school of this size. “Wow, we only • Christian Hairston-Randleman, had 50 in our whole senior class!” Despite Preschool Director, current parent their history and love for DA, what alums • Lee Hark, Associate Head of School and often don’t know is how we got to be where Upper School Director, current parent we are today.

• Leslie Holdsworth, Director of In fact, until just last year, I myself (the Development, current parent Admissions Director for the last eight years) • Edith Keene, Upper School Latin Teacher, didn’t quite understand how today’s Durham parent of alumna Academy evolved to its current configuration. • Kyle Lewis, Controller What I was intimately aware of is Durham • Anne Lloyd ’82, Chair of the Board of Academy’s demand. I face families at the Trustees, current parent, parent of alumnus grocery store, in the gym and even at the • Karen Lovelace, Lower School Teacher, playground when I’m with my own children. parent of alumna Parents ask about the chances of admission • Jon Meredith, Middle School Director, and recount stories of friends whose brilliant current parent children were placed on the waitlist. As a • Victoria Muradi, Director of Admissions mother, I feel their anxiety in a very real way. • Kemi Nonez, Director of Diversity and If only the school could accommodate all the Multicultural Affairs, Admissions EDITOR’S NOTE: Over the course of the 2015-2016 school year, nearly all faculty and staff members, as well as dozens of other Durham Academy constituents, have played roles in determining how the goals outlined in the 2015 Strategic Plan will take shape and transform Durham Academy over the next decade.

A key goal of the 2015 Strategic Plan outlines what Durham Academy will accomplish by 2030 to “ensure that our enrollment and capital structure enable our ambitions.” The demand for the DA experience has never been greater, and the school is in an unprecedented position of strength. It is one of the most exciting times in the school’s history. What follows here is a glimpse of remarkable plans on the horizon and a preview of the school DA will be.

W

6

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W .DA.OR G

Counselor, current parent • Lori Reade, Associate Director of Admissions, current parent • Carolyn Ronco, Lower School Director, parent of alumni • Michael Ulku-Steiner, Head of School, current parent • Jessica Whilden ’00, Preschool Teacher Our group first explored the larger demographic trends in the Triangle.

According to the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau, Durham and its surrounding counties are expecting a 20 percent increase in job creation over the next 10 years. More families are moving to the Triangle.

Next, we considered enrollment and admissions data over the last 25 years.

Durham Academy has grown from 941 students in 1991 to 1,185 in the 2015-2016 school year. How did that happen when there was only one planned expansion: the building of the current Preschool/Lower School campus in 2002?

In digging through the archives, we found that the school has a history of

LEFT: When this year’s kindergartners graduate from high school in 2028, Durham Academy will likely have grown to more than 1,400 students.

Kathy McPherson

makes DA so special are the people and our relationships with one another. How could we preserve the “feel” of our community? Would a bigger school mean that we wouldn’t really know our students?

Could we meet the educational and developmental needs of our full pre-k to grade 12 population on a larger scale? Several conversations led the task force to endorse the following short and long-term enrollment models for growth.

In the short-term, the Optimum School Size task force endorsed a slightly larger school for 2016-2017.

With a few additional staff positions and sections, we are able to preserve (or even enhance) the core of the student experience. We will retain a low incremental growth. Before leaving Durham average student who will not win National student-teacher ratio and the relationships Academy in 1995, Headmaster Don North Merit recognition but who is just a great kid between those two by adding faculty and told the DA Board of Trustees that the and would add immeasurably to the life of slightly decreasing class size. school’s No. 1 challenge was enrollment. the school.”

Considering the benefits that a larger “The second reason I think we —Don North, Headmaster, May 1995 should consider incremental growth has to In 1995, Durham Academy was feeling student body can bring to the community, our task force then went on to plan for long-term do with the collection of application and similar admission pressure to what we face admission issues. today. Beginning in October 1996, the Board growth. By the year 2030, the school could be as large as 1,440 students, with the majority First, we are not able to serve as fully of Trustees spent nearly a year and a half of the growth in the Upper School. In order to as we would like current families seeking discussing the issue of school size. In May make the 2030 model work, we must address admission for additional children. There are 1997, the board adopted the resolution that facilities needs in ways that keep the student a least a dozen qualified siblings on wait lists split DA’s Preschool, Lower School and experience intact by adding sections, not now.

Middle School, which was then located on students, to existing classrooms.

Second, I spoke earlier about the goal Academy Road, building a new Preschool/ The Optimum School Size Task Force of increasing diversity; the growing applicant Lower School on Ridge Road and renovating delivered its recommendations to the Board demand also generates pressure on this goal. the existing Middle School on Academy Third, we are just now beginning to Road. This resolution also stated, “Flexibility of Trustees in November 2015. The board see applicants of high school graduates of should prevail not only in the construction of approved the incremental growth plan in February. The next phase is for Durham Durham Academy, and this group will also facilities but in the attitude about enrollment increase applicant pressure. growth. A dynamic strategic planning process Academy to work on expanding and enhancing our facilities. After months of hard Finally, with limited spots and four should include the possibility of a larger work and discussion, we hope that the next groups receiving some consideration in school in the future.” the admissions process, we diminish our As were our predecessors, the Optimum generation of graduates can look back and wonder how the school ever managed with ability to admit students not connected with School Size Task Force members were also just 100 in a graduating class. the school whom I characterize as the high initially wary of significant growth. What DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW .D A .OR G

7

Michael Barley

Durham Academy will preserve or even shrink student-teacher ratios as the school increases enrollment. Harrison Haynes, above, works with students in the photography lab.

DA 2030

FAQs: WHY AND HOW WE ARE GROWING families than ever before, not because students were not qualified, but because the school simply did not have room.

Why was the optimal size of school decision such a priority?

Over the last several years, demand for the Durham Academy experience has outpaced the school’s ability to accommodate the number of talented, qualified students and families who want to join our community. Attrition rates are at an all-time low (2 percent this year compared with the National Association of Independent Schools average of 9 percent). While that is a fantastic testament to our families’ satisfaction rates, it also means DA has less space than ever for new students. As a result, the DA admissions office is increasingly having to choose between recruiting the Triangle’s best and brightest, honoring legacies and siblings, and maintaining our commitment to diversity. This year, the school was forced to split up more •

8

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

How will this affect my child?

DA is committed to preserving the core of the student experience: small class size and low student-teacher ratios.

We pride ourselves on truly knowing every student, and on the life-changing relationships that occur when students can work one-on-one with teachers, coaches and mentors who inspire them.

The initial model calls for small growth in each grade for the 2016-2017 school year — and by 2030 adding one classroom at each grade level in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, increasing the number of entry points at fifth and sixth grades, and increasing the size of each Upper School grade level. By adding •

|

W W W .DA.OR G

classrooms and sections at each grade level, rather than adding more students to each class, DA will be able to preserve or even shrink student-teacher ratios while maintaining priorities of preserving the school’s intimate culture, student-teacher, faculty and school-family relationships.

The Upper School will absorb the majority of the growth because it has the most elasticity in terms of scheduling, which also dictates its prioritization in the comprehensive facilities plan (more on page 9).

When will this begin?

DA will grow slightly in 2016-2017, with enrollment around 1,200 students.

The admissions director and administrative team will determine the timeline and scale of future growth as part of their strategic planning work this summer.

•

DA 2030

The Landscape of Excellence

By Leslie King, Director of Communications

projects and the use of land acquisitions to renovate the Middle School campus and redesign or rebuild the Upper School science building.”

In April 2016, after months of research, reflection and dialogue between those committees, DA administration and the full board, the Board of Trustees approved DA

2030, which plans for enrollment and facilities growth over the next decade. The board also approved a construction and financing plan that calls for renovating or replacing the Upper School’s two main classroom buildings — the current science/physics buildings and the classroom building known as “the doubledecker” — with a campus-wide renovation of the Middle School to follow, maintaining DA’s reputation as the top independent school in the region.

The Optimal School Size Task Force recommendations target the Upper School as the most logical division for the largest increase in enrollment — growing incrementally by about 35 students per grade to an Upper School of about 560 students by 2030. Upper School Director and Associate Head of School Lee Hark served on the task force, and points to several important philosophical drivers behind the decision to grow the Upper School first.

“We have a moral imperative to open up the school to as many deserving families as we can,” Hark said. “To me, it’s about sharing what I think is the best educational option by far in a wide geographical area with missionappropriate families and kids who want to take part in it.”

The admissions pressure in the Upper School is intense, and has become even more so in the last three to five years. Ninth grade is a built-in entry point at DA, but beyond that, openings for new students are created based solely on attrition. For the 2015-2016 school year, school-wide attrition was only 2 percent.

DA received more than 100 applications for fewer than 10 openings in ninth grade.

“We’re turning away kids we’d really want to have in the school. It’s a good problem to have, but at the same time [by growing], continued on the next page

Michael Barley

W

hen the Optimal School Size Task Force shared its recommendations with Durham Academy’s Board of Trustees in November, a team of representatives from the board’s development, finance, and buildings and grounds committees set out to “develop a comprehensive construction, fundraising and financing plan to support … key facilities

LEFT: The Upper School would be the school division with the largest increase in enrollment, growing incrementally to about 560 students by 2030.

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW .D A .OR G

9

we can easily bring in new students to enrich the community as long as we keep class size the same and keep advisory size the same,” Hark said. “Growth within reason will actually improve all of our programs. We’ll have deeper pools of kids to draw from. It’ll have an effect — it’ll feel different — but I think in a lot of ways it will feel better, it will be more exciting, there will be more people and experiences to blend into the mix.”

While some families and faculty might be surprised to learn that the Upper School would come first from a facilities standpoint, there are strategic reasons for that decision: • 1. Research and careful analysis conducted during the 2015 strategic planning process determined DA was committed to the Academy Road location for the Middle School and a comprehensive renovation of that campus. (see page 13 for more on the Middle School).

• 2. Enrollment of around 1,200 students for the 2016-2017 school year puts DA at capacity in all current facilities.

• 3. The Upper School construction projects are more urgent and less expensive, and new construction can be completed in a much shorter time frame than the comprehensive renovation required at the Middle School. The age and stage of the Middle School buildings (many of them built in the mid to late 1960s and intended for use by children ages 4 to 14 when Academy Road was DA’s only campus) dictates the necessity of a major, multi-stage, multi-year renovation of that campus.

• 4. The Upper School classroom buildings are a chokehold on growth. Their deteriorated state and the high cost of renovations, instructional space limitations and inflexible layout restrict growth and programming in the Upper School. In addition, the current Upper School science/ physics and “double-decker” buildings cannot accommodate an increase in student population for capacity and safety reasons.

They are the most outdated in age and condition.

Preserving the DA student experience — student/teacher relationships, small class size and a culture where teachers know their students, and faculty and families know each other — remains at the center of any strategic growth and comprehensive continued on page 12

10

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

11

facilities planning. Hark says planning for growth allows the school to respond to market demand for the DA experience in a way that continues the school’s commitment to keeping families together, honors legacies, recruits the Triangle’s best and brightest, and prioritizes diversity.

“DA has always been a school that’s valued connections and relationships — that’s always going to be the way we are,” said Hark. “So if we have to work harder to make those connections and make sure those relationships stay strong, we will. And we’ll create the logistical and architectural

structures that make that easier instead of harder.”

State-of-the-art facilities attract the very best students and faculty to DA and promote and inspire innovative teaching and learning.

It is important to remember that this plan represents the aspirational version of what DA hopes to accomplish. This summer, the school will submit the initial Upper School site plan to the City of Durham, which has the potential to influence the exact size and scale of the Upper School project.

Durham Academy is working with award-winning Cannon Architects (see page

15 for more on Cannon’s plans), a firm with a successful history of working with DA. The firm designed the Upper School Learning Commons (completed in 2012), the renovated and expanded Upper School Kirby Gym (completed in 2013) and DA’s new directional signs (completed in fall 2015). Principal Roger Cannon made several visits to campus this spring to collect input from faculty and students in planning and designing the new Upper School facilities. The collaboration represents a long-standing tradition of ensuring faculty input is an integral part of the process in DA construction projects.

DA 2030

FAQs: UPPER SCHOOL/MIDDLE SCHOOL IMPACT Why do the Upper School facilities need to be addressed?

DA 2030 calls for the Upper School to grow incrementally from its current enrollment of 420 students to about 560 students by 2030. Durham Academy is in an exceptional position of financial strength thanks to unprecedented market demand (especially in the Upper School) but all-time-high retention levels severely limit the school’s ability to admit new students. The current facilities restrict even modest growth in the Upper School. By adding instructional space, sections and faculty, we will preserve (or even reduce) student-teacher ratios and class sizes.

•

What does the initial plan for the Upper School look like?

The current science and physics labs/classrooms and “double-decker” classrooms would become part of a new facility built on the Upper School property where the science/physics buildings are now.

•

What is the timeline for the Upper School and Middle School projects?

DA plans to submit a site plan to the city in late summer 2016, and the school should have an idea of the potential construction timetable by this fall. Ideally, •

12

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

the new Upper School facility would be completed in two phases over a two-year period with minimal student displacement.

A capital campaign would follow to support the Middle School renovation. The campuswide Middle School renovation would be phased over six years.

DA will support the Upper School construction with internal financing ahead of a more comprehensive capital campaign to support the Middle School renovation.

Part of the purpose of prioritizing the Upper School project is to use revenue from enrollment growth to help finance the Middle School project. DA’s most • Where will Upper School science and recent capital campaign, which financed humanities students and classes be the construction of the Upper School housed during construction?

Learning Commons and the renovation Because the Upper School and expansion of Kirby Gym, concluded in construction can be completed in phases 2013, and many donors are still paying off and classes shifted to existing space during their pledges. each phase, it will not be necessary to use temporary trailers.

• When did DA last plan for the incremental growth of enrollment and • Why is the focus on the Upper School facilities on this scale? classroom buildings, specifically?

In 1997, DA developed a campus Our parents, students and faculty master plan that called for growth. The expect the highest possible caliber school secured a bond and began programming. The science/physics construction of the current Preschool/ and “double-decker” buildings restrict Lower School campus in 2000. The coursework, extracurricular pursuits and Preschool/Lower School opened in 2002. individual research projects. The buildings Then, as now, the school’s investment are not flexible enough to be responsive in buildings has always been driven by and adaptable in relation to the creativity DA’s educational program and guided by and innovation of students and faculty. Lab the wisdom of our faculty. State-of-theand maker space is particularly limited. art facilities attract the best of the best students and teachers. They promote and • How will we pay for the Upper School inspire talented teaching and expanded and Middle School projects? extracurricular offerings.

|

W W W.DA.ORG

Michael Barley

There are more benefits to keeping the Middle School on a separate campus, where faculty can focus on a specific age group at a very transitional time in these students’ lives.

DA 2030

Recommitting to Academy Road

By Jon Meredith, Middle School Director

It seems fitting to be talking about the future of the Middle School during our

50th anniversary on this campus. Academy Road represents more than just a collection of classroom buildings and athletic fields.

It represents an emotional and historical connection for the school. It is, in a sense, Durham Academy’s first home because it’s the first place we built from the ground up.

And Durham grew up around it.

That’s one of the reasons why it was so important to figure out Academy Road’s future during our strategic planning discussions. We did a lot of soul-searching and a lot of research and took a good, long look around this island for early adolescence and realized that the Middle School is truly unique. And in the end, there were far more benefits in recommitting to Academy Road than there were advantages to moving mostly for the sake of convenience. It’s not that we didn’t want to move, it’s that we wanted to stay. And with DA 2030, we have the chance to write a whole new chapter in the Middle School’s story.

Durham Academy moved from Duke Street to Academy Road in 1966, and many people may not know that Academy Road housed all DA students (pre-k to grade 10) until 1973, when the Upper School was

completed on Ridge Road. It continued to house the Preschool, Lower School and Middle School until 2002, when DA built the current Preschool/Lower School on Ridge Road. Academy Road has been solely a middle school for just the last 14 years. The campus was designed for a very different purpose, but it has evolved to serve our specific students’ needs.

“This is Durham Academy, this is where everything kind of started,” says eighth-grader Abby Hulka, who is also daughter of a DA alumnus. “So if you move it, you lose that — you take that away.”

“If we moved, it wouldn’t be the same because we’d leave behind all of these dedications like the one to Mrs. Saffo,” says sixth-grader Cohen French. “When you mean something you only do it once and you don’t repeat. I’m glad we’re staying to keep the history of where it all started.”

When you talk to faculty, several of whom have been here long enough to witness Academy Road’s evolution, they’ll tell you the best part about having a separate campus is being able to focus on a very specific age group at a very transitional time in children’s lives.

“It’s a time when some kids need a push to become more independent, less reliant DUR HAM ACADEMY

on their parents and more confident in their abilities to make decisions,” seventh-grade science teacher Barb Kanoy says. “They all need time to play out their tween years and learn from mistakes before the stakes become higher. Middle School teachers understand how to help these kids develop boundaries within which they can learn to be comfortable.”

You can look around and literally see the developmental leaps our students make academically, socially, emotionally and physically in four short years. We’re so lucky to have a faculty that loves working with this age group!

There’s a lot to be said about the learning experience that comes from having a separate Middle School campus.

Programmatically, it allows us to structure the school day entirely around our students — everything from a rotating subject schedule, to multiple advisory periods each day, to intramural and interscholastic sports, to extracurricular clubs and activities. We can do what we want, when we want, with a lot of flexibility.

“I love how close we are to restaurants and museums,” sixth-grader Nicole Romach says. “We can just decide to take the mini continued on the next page

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

13

bus and go off campus to eat as an advisory.

It’s easy to take field trips.”

A separate campus also allows us to support some of the key developmental milestones of our students in a safe space.

Here our students can grow up, gain confidence, take risks and lead. As fifth-grade teacher Virginia Hall ’91, herself an alumna of the Middle School, puts it: “They don’t have to worry about the impression they might be making on younger kids or being intimidated by older kids.”

And students say they like the freedom from scrutiny and the security in knowing they’re in a community that’s all going through the same kinds of changes together.

“We’re going through emotions and stuff like that, and it would be a little bit harder with little kids around and older kids saying hi to you when you’re doing stuff,” fifth-grader Ellie Galvez says. “I would feel more self-conscious.”

“I’m not sure that the eighth-grade class would feel as much ownership of their experience if they were part of the Ridge Road campus,” eighth-grade language arts teacher Ben Michelman says. “They are the kings and queens of the Middle School, and with this comes leadership opportunities — both formal and informal.”

A lot of that ownership is centered around space. And sometimes even we take that for granted. The Middle School sits on 22 expansive acres, nestled in nature. As Virginia puts it, “even in the midst of a busy 14

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

Durham intersection — we have an oasis of learning and privacy.”

Students and faculty will tell you that the emphasis on and accessibility to the outdoor aspect of our campus really defines the Middle School experience. “I came from an elementary school where we only had recess outside. When I came to DA [in sixth grade] I was like ‘Whoa, this is so cool!’ I get to walk to my classes, and I have more chances to see my friends and be like ‘Hey, how was your last class?’” seventh-grader Elle Gross says. “I really like being outside between classes. That’s really important to me.”

Our classrooms open to the outdoors, we don’t have students squeezing by each other in confined hallways, and kids are constantly moving across campus in the sunshine and fresh air. “I really like the freedom we have and the open campus with lockers outside,” seventh-grader Gavin Schulz says.

Our youngest students feel the same way. “It feels like I have a lot of freedom here,” fifth-grader Kai Perentis says. “It feels really awesome.”

“You don’t have to wait until 3:02 p.m. to leave and go outside,” says eighth-grader Crosby Williams, whose parents are also DA alumni. “You’re outside all the time.”

There is no parcel of land near the Ridge Road campus that would be comparable to the outdoor environment we enjoy here every day. We don’t have to fight for space, and that’s a luxury. The athletics |

W W W.DA.ORG

logistics alone of moving from a separate campus to sharing space would force us to make compromises that could affect a highquality program.

Because we have space, freedom and flexibility, we’re also able to use this campus as a classroom. In fact, some of the most admired improvements (landscaping efforts in the center of campus) came from our seventh-grade science students applying their knowledge to solve a practical problem — design and drainage issues that made the center of our campus look like a barren wasteland. Whether students want to spontaneously conduct a science experiment, landscape a pristine garden or perform outside for their peers, we can just do it.

“In fifth grade when we were studying poetry, Mrs. Parry had us go outside and take photos of different things and then write a poem about it,” Romach says.

“I think the big thing is not being in a classroom to have to do everything,” Hulka says. “You can sit outside with your friends and have lunch, you can sit outside and study, you can step outside and be in the garden.”

You can’t judge the quality of an education by a school’s exterior. And yes, while the Middle School’s façade might show its age, the educational space has been invested in and reinvested in to the tune of more than a million dollars over the last 10 years. Those investments made sure all teachers had their own classrooms, added computer and science labs, renovated the gym, expanded classroom

Michael Barley

LEFT: Middle School students like being outdoors between classes and having their lockers outside. FACING PAGE: The Middle School sits on 22 expansive acres, where students can learn while nestled in nature.

Michael Barley

space by 30 percent, expanded and improved Taylor Hall — all in order to eventually be able to make a strategic decision about the long-term future of the campus.

The Middle School’s hardiness is a testament to the hard work of our facilities crew: Gary Brichford, Scott Stancil, Steve Suggs and Rob Walker. A visiting alumnus (now prospective parent) I recently took on a campus tour noted, “You’ve taken great care of this place.”

But if we’re going to commit to this campus for the next half-century, we need to create a Middle School by design, not by default. There’s a real need to reinvent the Middle School to support the best student experience imaginable, incorporating innovative ideas and best practices. The Middle School renovation will be a huge undertaking that will transform the entire campus. It’s more costly and complicated, and that’s why the Upper School project will come first.

Taking the time to craft a comprehensive renovation plan for the Middle School campus will be critical, because we don’t want to compromise instruction during construction.

We want to make sure students and faculty are involved in the planning. And of course, we’ll need to raise the money to make our dreams a reality. The biggest advantage of staying on Academy Road is we have a giant canvas to work with. We can’t wait — although the best things in life are worth waiting for.

DA 2030

Cannon Architects T

he design of DA 2030 will be driven by award-winning Cannon Architects, an architectural firm with a successful history of partnering with Durham Academy. Cannon knows the school’s culture, community and campuses. The firm designed the Upper School Learning Commons (completed in 2012) and the renovated and expanded Upper School Kirby Gymnasium (completed in 2013), which together transformed the heart of the Upper School.

The firm also recently designed DA’s new directional signs (completed in fall 2015).

Principals Roger and Susan Cannon and the design team visited the Upper School campus several times this spring to collect input from faculty and students in planning the new Upper School facilities. As a result of their initial research, the Cannon team has already identified several priorities.

“We’re going to look for every opportunity for interaction and collaborative space — it shouldn’t be just a corridor going to a room any longer … Every square foot is important in an educational environment and buildings should reflect that,” Roger Cannon said. “Sustainability should be important, and will be important, and that is an educational device as well as a real opportunity, especially with sciences and engineering.

So how buildings can demonstrate sustainable ideas and LEED concepts will be a big part of what we’re doing.”

The architect-faculty collaboration represents a long-standing tradition of ensuring that faculty input is an integral part of the process in DA construction projects.

“What we’ve got right now is teachers competing for space. We want to make it so that you can reconfigure space, create DUR HAM ACADEMY

a new semester project or create a new curriculum for a while or whatever it might be,” Cannon said. “A couple of spaces might be completely undefined initially and then completely configurable to whatever creativity the instructor or the group has.

The other thing to think about is safety, especially with some of the equipment. So that’s an important component. We have to build a space that is a safe environment.

We couldn’t be more excited. This is just a great project for us.”

Cannon Architects’ attention to and prioritization of client needs and preservation of institutional character earned them the 2015 Firm of the Year award from the North Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

The award is the highest honor AIA North Carolina can bestow on a firm.

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

15

G RA DUATION 2016

UNC Chancellor Urges DA Grads to

By Melody Guyton Butts, Assistant Director of Communications

I

t was a biologist’s dream, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt recalled, describing the moment the newly fledged giant albatross leapt off the southern New Zealand cliff, spreading its 12-foot wingspan as it departed for a yearlong journey over the sea. Speaking to the 100 members of Durham Academy’s Class of 2016 on May 27, she likened the giant seabird’s brave leap to the graduates’ own impending journeys, as they prepare to take flight to college.

“I want you to really think about the exuberance that could be associated with taking flight, and about the new perspective that is gained, soaring over those clouds,” Folt said from the stage of UNC’s Memorial Hall. “That’s what going to college is all about.

It’s about taking a giant leap into the unknown and soaring.”

In her work as a biologist, Folt said she’s learned that it’s in such periods of transition that the important things in life are determined. She advised the graduates to view life’s transitions, with all their uncertainties, as not reasons for worry but instead “as your moments of greatest possibility.”

In opening her remarks, Folt reflected on the many connections that tie together UNC and DA, from George Watts Hill’s and Frank Kenan’s fervent support of both educational institutions in their lifetimes; to DA Head of School Michael Ulku-Steiner’s work to help create the university’s APPLES service-learning program as a UNC undergraduate; to DA alumnus and UNC physician Dr. Billy Fischer’s leadership in the fight against Ebola.

Further strengthening those ties are the nearly two dozen members of DA’s Class of 2016 who will attend UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall. Other DA graduates will attend 49 colleges and universities around the country and overseas, from nearby Duke University to schools farther from home, like Yale University, Colorado College and University of Chicago.

As she prepares to leave for Stanford University in the fall, saying goodbye to the classmates and teachers who have become so dear is difficult, senior speaker Veronica Kim said.

She’s counted the miles that will separate her from some of the people she cares about most — 2,175, 2,788 and 3,003.

As her time has wound down with these people, Kim said she’s found herself reflecting on their times together, intentionally picking out what she wants to remember in the years to come.

“I want to remember high school in the moments when it

1

continued on page 18

1. UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt reflected on the many connections that tie together Durham Academy and UNC. 2. Edie Evans and Emma Edwards share a laugh during the ceremony. 3. UNC’s Memorial Hall was nearly filled to capacity with graduates’ family members and friends. 4. Victoria Quiett, Maddy Samet and Lexi Kadis smile for a photo before donning their gowns. 5. Jack Isaksson flashes a smile in the direction of Upper School faculty on his way to the Memorial Hall stage.

P H OTO S B Y K E N A N D C O L I N H U T H

16

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

2

Use College as Opportunity to Soar “That’s what going to college is all about. It’s about taking a giant leap into the unknown and soaring.”

3

4

5

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

17

G RA DUATION 2016

surpassed its stereotypes,” she said. “In the first time I realized, I really, really like this class. In the first time I finished a crosscountry race. In the first time I heard ITP perform and realized, holy mother of God, these are some of the most talented humans I have ever seen. In the first time a teacher became a role model, a mentor, a friend. In the first time I realized an English classroom or a history office could feel like home.”

Kim said she’s found comfort in the realization that a few thousands miles “are nothing if you care about these people in the way you know you do.

“Because if I am certain about anything,” she continued, “it is that even the largest of people must have, at some point, realized that fearing the world is no way to affect it. And I can think of no better time to begin than now.”

For Lee Hark, the ceremony served as a farewell to his role as Upper School director. After serving at the helm of the Upper School for eight years, Hark will fully transition to his role as associate head of school over the summer.

“I believe in this school with all my heart. This happened quickly, and it came as something of a surprise. I’ve worked at several world-class prep schools, and I’ve never felt that feeling before,” Hark said.

That’s partly due to the fact that his three children are “literally growing up before my eyes at DA,” he said, with their lives having been shaped by teachers in the Preschool, Lower School and Middle School — and the promise of the “fantastic Upper School faculty” awaiting them in a few years.

But his love for DA stems from much more than his family’s experiences, Hark said.

“Our school is also the result of unique blend of variables including the families in this unique school community and the best head of school working in independent schools today, and I think that makes DA very special.”

1

2

At www.da.org/graduation: • Watch graduates’ reflections on their time at DA. • View a video of the commencement exercises.

• Learn more about the Class of 2016’s accomplishments.

1. Hannah Lang and Pryce Sinclair cheese for the camera before the big event. 2. Scott Carsanaro accepts his diploma from Head of School Michael Ulku-Steiner. 3. Anna Baker, Arman Aydemir and Allyssa Althaus pause for a photo before the processional.

4. The 100 members of the Class of 2016 will scatter to 50 colleges and universities around the country and overseas in the fall. 5. With her diploma in hand, Liz Roberts exits Memorial Hall as a DA alumna. 6. Matt Sale and Nash Wilhelm-Hilkey pause for a selfie after the ceremony. 7. Lauren Hunt was among several seniors who rose from their seats to perform solos in the senior class’s performance of Sara Bareilles’ Many the Miles.

P H OTO S B Y K E N A N D C O L I N H U T H

18

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

3

4

6

5

7

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

19

G RA DUATION 2016

by Veronica Kim, Class of 2016

22

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

A

nd here I am, practice AP Physics exams spread out in front of me in a familiar, mindless routine, a jumble of papers so unorganized that the arrangement surpasses inefficiency and becomes, inexplicably, productive. It is warm and 65 degrees outside on the last weekend before my last high school exam, on the first Saturday after my last day of classes. Here I am, at the most terrifying and simultaneously underwhelming tipping point of my life.

Even my handwriting has changed, I realize, as I stare down at the formula for rotational kinetic energy jotted down on the page in front of me and wonder if my fourth-grade self ever imagined her 12th-grade self with handwriting like this, penmanship that leans right, loops largely. Then again, I can’t imagine my fourth-grade self thinking of much else than the minutes left until recess or whichever elementary-school crush consumed her thoughts at the time, those same thoughts pervaded by a certainty realer than anything my mind can conjure up now.

I re-watched High School Musical this winter instead of doing my art history homework (sorry, Mr. Adair) and felt avidly disappointed by its plot, burdened, finally, by firsthand experience with teenage romance (or lack thereof), prom drama, college, the future — understanding just how much that movie got wrong.

At the same time, High School Musical 3 resonates with me in a way that not many films can, especially when Gabriella, after the basketball team wins Melody Guyton Butts

Making Time Stand Still to Say Goodbye

|

W W W.DA.ORG

the championship, surveys the afterparty and says to Troy, “I wish it would all just stop. At least just slow down.”

But I’m not here to quote Disney clichés at you — may this be the last one I ever use — rather, as I sit in the same café in which I wrote every single one of my college essays this fall, I begin to wonder at the distinct lack of goodbye marking the end of my high school career. Of course, commencement still serves as our final hurrah, our official ending, but the artificiality of the balloons and the speeches and the diplomas makes that ceremony, however nostalgic, feel concurrently overblown, as if our lives are delineated by academic transitions rather than everything else encompassed by this umbrella term of high school.

Because there is no goodbye strong enough, for example, for my best friends, or for every single Durham Academy teacher who has truly changed me for the better, or for my family, or my favorite classes, or the countless little moments, which, upon experiencing, I have realized, I am happy. I love being alive, and being here. I am sitting in a café that holds more of my words than any other place, in which I dedicated myself to paper, computer keyboard, online application, my inescapable future. Here, in October, I wrote a poem about the table I frequent, which is tucked into a corner, invisible from the door. There is a dent in the wall behind the chair from the hundreds of times someone must have pushed backward too hard, and a Sharpied star by my right hip when I’m sitting, and you can people-watch from behind your laptop screen, the customers tapping out messages on their phones and waiting for their drinks while you wonder how fiercely their lives must differ from your own.

It is one of the flaws of language, my first and truest love, that it cannot capture every single piece of a memory, no matter how hard I try — like the floating

dust particles you can only see sometimes, when the light catches them just right — blink, and something’s gone. And yet I have spent what is really only two or three years (but feels like forever) memorizing my memories, turning them over in my hands and exploring their undersides, their corners, their rounded edges, their inside-outs and in-betweens. I have spent the same time discovering the beauty of stories, and practicing selflessness, and lying out in the quad with the sky opening up thousands of miles above me and marveling at just how lovely it is to be with people you care about in a place you care about in a world that you think you are beginning to understand. It astounds me how these moments can lift me into a smile, as quickly and unapologetically as a hug.

...how lovely it is to be with people you care about in a place you care about...

Earlier this year, I taped a post-it note to my desk with a list of all the people I have to say goodbye to. I am planning to write them letters, despite how inadequately my words will be able to convey every single thank-you I want them to hear. Thank you for the advice, and the squeezes, and the shared jackets, and the music recommendations, and the support. Thank you for laughing, because your smiles make me lighter.

Thank you for listening.

It continues to terrify me that people, trapped as we are by the relentless passage of time, forget things as quickly as they occur. Already, DA prepares for its next senior class; juniors start to realize that they have colleges to visit and essays to write; our advisors brace themselves, mentally, for their incoming freshman advisories. Our beginnings and endings remain meaningful only to us.

I once read an essay by Maya Lin, who designed the Vietnam Veterans DUR HAM ACADEMY

Memorial in Washington, D.C., and she articulated what has since become one of my favorite ideas in the world: “The use of names was a way to bring back everything someone could remember about a person … much more comprehensive than a still photograph, which captures a specific moment in time or a single event or a generalized image that may or may not be moving for all who have connections to that time.”

In this same way, I am comforted every time someone turns to me and says, Hey, remember when …? Because it triggers something deep inside of me, a warmth at being remembered, at having made, however small, a change in another life beyond my own.

Perhaps my goodbyes, as my final year of high school draws quietly and unobtrusively to a close, will hold the same possibility for memory. Because I want to remember every single time that I said to myself, I don’t want this to end. I want to remember the debates with friends that were so silly everyone forgot which side they were arguing on, or the classes I would have stayed in all day just to continue the discussion at hand, or the little gestures — a happy birthday, communal brownies brought to accompany lunch, a complimented outfit, a hello — that reminded me, there are some people that just fit into place, as if they were always meant to become a part of you. And here they are.

I just find it rather beautiful that each of us, on our own, will choose to hold onto a particular story or image or word in our minds, and that in 20 weeks or 20 years, it will return, fleetingly but surely, in the most improbable of moments.

We will be picking up our coffee mugs, or brushing our teeth, or changing the world, and we will remember, and we will pause, and we will smile. And our days will become a little bit brighter.

And there is no goodbye strong enough for that.

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

23

G RA DUATION 2016

Senior Reflections Whether they came in Lower School or Upper School, members of the Class of 2016 were changed by their time at Durham Academy.

Eight seniors reflect on their DA experience and its impact on their lives.

I don’t see myself forgetting the many

experiences I’ve had in DA’s physics building. Since my sophomore year, roughly 20 other students and I have called Ms. McNall’s classroom our home. My experience at DA wouldn’t have been the same without the laughter we shared and without the tremendous support for everything from Tarika Iyer’s awesome role as Fruma-Sarah in Fiddler on the Roof to Meredith Cox’s spot as a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search. I can safely say that being surrounded by all these brilliant and talented people has made me a better and more well-rounded person. To anyone considering DA: there isn’t any other high school that is as committed to your academic and personal growth than DA.

My all-too-short four years at Durham The most valuable lesson I have learned Academy have not only been the well-rounded high school experience that I had hoped they’d be — they’ve also been a transformative, inspiring, rigorous and rewarding journey in which I’ve been able to discover and embrace the person I want to be. The faculty and administration have created an environment that encourages all students to take part in all sorts of activities outside the classroom. Through my four years on the lacrosse field, four winter musicals, two years in XIV Hours, and two years in In The Pocket, I have built relationships with friends, teachers, coaches and mentors that I will hold close for years to come. I will greatly miss my time at Durham Academy.

at Durham Academy has been to take advantage of opportunities given to me in order to better myself and those around me. The paramount experience I have had while at DA is having known both William Edwards and Thomas Phu. They consistently have made me a better person. I have never been a more inquisitive or caring person than after I spend time with them. They have been my guides in high school, regardless of their immediate presence. I would never have become involved in SOCK Camp without Mr. Edwards’ encouragement. My work ethic and uncompromising will to find an answer are due to Mr. Phu and my interactions with him. Their impact is bar none. I am who I am because I know them.

— Braden Saba

— Jack Mishra

— Rielle Quiambao

As I reflect on my years spent here at

Durham Academy I am eternally grateful for the lessons that have been instilled in me along the way. What I love about attending an independent school is that it encourages independent thinking. As a student, I was challenged to not accept solutions to problems that were on the surface, but to dig deeper. I was taught to think critically and seriously analyze different situations. After that deep analysis, Durham Academy provided me with a safe space to let my voice be heard.

I am leaving DA still curious and equipped with the tools to challenge others around me. I feel genuinely prepared to take on this next chapter in my life, and I owe it to my time here at DA.

What stands out to me about DA above My greatest takeaway from DA is all else is how exceptional the faculty members are. Many of the teachers I’ve had exhibit an unrelenting passion both for teaching and for the course material. In every subject from Spanish literature to calculus, they have demonstrated a deep commitment to fostering inclusive learning environments and encouraging students to take intellectual risks. A handful of teachers from my time at the Upper School have become some of my biggest role models, from the consistent example of the value of respect and hard work set by Mr. Spatola to the intellectual curiosity encouraged by Mr. Parry inside and outside of the classroom every day.

— Serena Walker 24

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

— Rowan Gossett

|

W W W.DA.ORG

coming to recognize the value of strong relationships. The school’s faculty strives to make connections with students that transcend the expected studentteacher relationship and extend beyond class. While other schools have strong academics, the zeitgeist of Durham Academy creates unique opportunities outside the traditional walls of education to develop relationships and learn.

Whether it be going fly fishing with my homeroom adviser, attending lectures on incarceration with my independent study adviser, or having discussions with my European history teacher during freeperiod on esoteric topics like a letter Karl Marx wrote to Abraham Lincoln, the experiences I have had with my teachers

Serena Walker

Braden Saba

Rowan Gossett

Jack Mishra

Loften Deprez

MacKenzi Simpson

Cha’Mia Rothwell

Photos by Mary Moore McLean

Rielle Quiambao

beyond the classroom have invaluably improved my education and broadened my horizons.

Most importantly, thanks to him, I found my love for music, which is a gift I will never be able to repay. It is an honor to be — Loften Deprez graduating from a place where teachers truly care about their students and can honestly say I would not be the genuinely want to see them succeed, and student, performer or human being that I think that is something that sets DA apart I am today without Durham Academy. from other high schools.

The main reason DA has had such a — MacKenzi Simpson profound impact on me is Mr. Meyer. I have had the privilege of working closely ne of the most valuable concepts that with Mr. Meyer over the past four years in I have learned during my time at DA many aspects of the performing arts. His is that learning is a continual process. dedication to the music program stems Durham Academy has pushed me to think solely from his desire to help students outside the boundaries of a classroom find and pursue whatever makes them about global and ethical issues that we passionate. Thanks to him, the performing are currently facing. I have learned that it arts have shaped my DA experience. is not about acing every test and having Thanks to him, I learned the lessons of the highest GPA, but rather taking the respect, patience, humility and courage. skills that I have gained during my time at

I

O

DUR HAM ACADEMY

Durham Academy and applying them in my everyday life. As I reflect on my time at Durham Academy, two major events stick out to me: Senior Challenge and the Nicaragua trip. Each of these experiences pushed me outside of my comfort zone and they have ultimately shaped me into a better individual. Senior Challenge taught me how to adjust with minimal resources with people that I don’t normally interact with on a daily basis and in a completely different environment. The Nicaragua trip taught me to appreciate all of the luxuries and resources that I have in my life because my circumstances could be completely different. To anyone considering attending DA, my advice to them would be don’t be afraid to push your boundaries and try new things.

— Cha’Mia Rothwell

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

25

Seniors pose with college counselor Kathy Cleaver for a class photo in May, wearing T-shirts that represent the colleges the seniors will attend in the fall.

By Melody Guyton Butts, Assistant Director of Communications

Finding Perfect-Fit Schools is at the Heart of College Counseling Program G

athered on the Upper School quad for a group photo, the 100 members of Durham Academy’s Class of 2016 wear T-shirts representing the next chapter in their lives, the 50 different colleges and universities they will attend in the fall. After a few snaps of the camera, a woman emerges from the crowd, and the soon-to-be alumni erupt into wild cheers for Kathy Cleaver. As co-director of college counseling, Cleaver helped ensure that each shirt was just the right fit, just the right shade of red, blue, purple or orange. Finding the perfect-fit school for each student is the mission of DA’s college counseling program, and the wide smiles of graduating seniors are proof of the program’s success.

“The fit part is pretty important to a students’ overall happiness once they’re on a 26

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

SU M M ER 2 0 1 6

college campus,” said Jazmin Garcia Smith, who serves as co-director of the program along with Cleaver. “Half of our job is advising students on the actual application process, but the other part of it is trying to understand where that student is now, where they want to be and what is the right school to get them there.”

Some students might want to continue their education in a setting similar to Durham Academy, where class size is small and it’s easy to get to know their professors.

Others seek a big-time athletics atmosphere, with ESPN trucks regularly on campus and bountiful school spirit. Some want opportunities to work in a research lab as an undergraduate or an environment in which professional connections are easily forged.

“Those might intersect in some places, |

W W W.DA.OR G

but they might not,” Cleaver said. “…

Ideally, in having conversations with us, in completing their junior questionnaires, in doing some explorations of colleges and trying to picture themselves on a college campus, they’ll eventually get their heart, their head and their gut in concert with one another and say is this a place where I can be happy and challenged for the next four years.”

The 50 institutions to which the Class of 2016 will matriculate run the gamut from far-flung schools like the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, and Stanford, to those closer to home like UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke. There are women’s colleges like Spelman and Smith, Ivy Leagues like Dartmouth and Brown, small liberal arts colleges like Pomona and Gettsyburg, and

“... they’ll eventually get their heart, their head and their gut in concert with one another and say is this a place where I can be happy and challenged for the next four years.”

Melody Guyton Butts

art-centric schools like the Savannah College of Art and Design.

The fact that the sign outside the suite shared

by Cleaver, Garcia Smith and administrative assistant Nancy Swain reads “College Counseling,” rather than “College Guidance,” is no accident, Cleaver said. So much of what they do is helping students to not just go through the steps to earn admission to their dream schools, but to determine what their dream schools are.

For graduating senior Caroline Ghio, who describes the college counseling program as the best part of her DA experience, that was certainly the case.

After getting help from Garcia Smith and Cleaver on identifying schools to apply to, choosing senior course selections, critiquing scholarship applications and mock interviews, Ghio found herself back in Cleaver’s office in late April with a weighty decision on her hands — which do I choose?

“Mrs. Cleaver helped me realize that I wanted to go to Northeastern University as a part of a program that includes a fulltuition scholarship along with opportunities for mentorship, research and travel,” Ghio said. “Mrs. Cleaver did not push me to enroll at one of my Ivy League acceptances that would have probably looked better for DA

in a list of colleges at the end of the school year. She genuinely cared about where I would be most happy and successful.”

The importance of happiness and success in college is something Cleaver and Garcia Smith work to convey to parents as their children navigate the college admission process. Cleaver and Garcia Smith urge parents against trying to mold their children into what they might believe is the perfect candidate for a particular school, but rather to allow students to discover themselves first, and then find a school that fits them.

“Sometimes what’s lacking, and yet what a college really wants to see, is why do you think this school is such a good fit? They have many straight-A students with terrific SAT scores, but why is it a strong fit for you?” Cleaver said. “… It may completely shock you as a parent, what your child is going to gravitate toward and what they’re going to discover, a teacher that might inspire them or a discipline that might get them interested.”

Garcia Smith has just concluded her first year at DA after having worked in admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill for five years and prior to that in the admissions offices of DePaul University and the University of Notre Dame. Cleaver has served as a DA college counselor for 24 years. Before joining the DA faculty, she worked in college counseling at HarvardWestlake School in Los Angeles and in university admissions at Southern Methodist University and Duke.

While Garcia Smith transitioned into her role at DA this year, Cleaver served as primary college counselor for the Class of 2016. Going forward, each class will be split evenly between the two counselors. That means that each of the counselors will be responsible for helping about 50 students navigate what can be a pretty stressful process.

DUR HAM ACADEMY

“I tell students that there are a lot of steps that you have to take to get through the college admission process and there are a lot of unknowns, and that in and of itself can be scary,” Garcia Smith said. “But the steps are broken down into small chunks, and Kathy and I are working to get students started now as juniors so that they’re not so overwhelmed in the fall of their senior year. … I tell students that I know it may seem painful, but it will all go by so fast. In 12 months, you will know where you’re going to school. It’s fascinating to think that in 12 months you can get through all of that and get to such an exciting place.”

The college counseling program begins in ninth grade with yearly college nights for parents of freshmen and sophomores.

Student and family involvement with college counseling intensifies as students progress in the Upper School, with an additional college night added junior year, when there are also individual meetings with students and parents.

And, of course, during the fall of students’ senior year, students and college counselors spend a great deal of time together as students dive into the application process.

Cleaver and Garcia Smith provide assistance with every detail of the application process, from helping students to find the best order for their extracurricular activities (yes, it does make a difference), to offering essay critiques, to writing letters of recommendation — and, of course, making sure everything is submitted on time.

“The most helpful aspect of college counseling in my experience was essay editing,” said graduating senior MacKenzi Simpson. “The first draft of my college essay was not Common App worthy and I owe a lot to Mrs. Cleaver for sitting with me and helping me figure out a new topic and throw together an essay in just a few weeks before the deadline. She truly cares about each individual student, and the amount of time and energy she spends on her job is truly amazing and inspirational.” |

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

27

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: Selfless World Traveler Creates a Sense of Family No Matter Where He Calls Home Upper School biology teacher William Edwards

Edwards went to McCallie School, an independent school that reminds him of DA except that it was all male. “I was influenced by the teachers

By Kathy McPherson, I had there. I had teachers Associate Director of Communications I really resonated with and teachers I struggled with. My own experience, especially illiam Edwards is shaped by a deep with teachers I really felt sense of family, a love of nature and a spirit of fondly for, has led me to want inquisitiveness, and all three happily converge to be that same sort of teacher in his life as a teacher. in the classroom as well.”

Edwards’ extended family encompasses The summer after his the villagers he worked with in the Peace sophomore year of high school, Corps in the 1980s and the students he teaches Edwards and a cousin visited at Durham Academy. His “great outdoors” an older cousin who was extends from Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula studying at Cambridge. “We (and a summer job salmon fishing) to North spent a week-and-a-half hiking Carolina’s Black Mountains and Linville and camping through the Lake Gorge (and DA’s Senior Challenge with his District of England. That was senior advisory). His spirit of inquisitiveness really my first taste of overseas led him to pursue an apprenticeship with travel. It kind of lit a fire under a log cabin builder, and DA’s culture of me in terms of the beauty of inquisitiveness keeps him curious even as a this area. I knew there was a lot veteran teacher. more to see in the world, knew The oldest of three brothers, Edwards that later in life I was going grew up in Tennessee on seven acres of woods to want to branch out and see with a huge creek that backed up to a nature more.” preserve and a 110-foot waterfall. “From the Edwards didn’t have time I was in grammar school until literally I to wait long, traveling to left home, my afternoons and summers were Costa Rica the following summer with an spent traipsing through the woods, fishing and Episcopal youth group. “We spent three being outside. I was really kind of blessed in weeks there, working with other youth my environment and my upbringing.” groups helping to rebuild a school and a Both sets of grandparents lived nearby, church. That was really an eye-opening as did uncles, aunts and 13 cousins. “It was a experience, too. It was the first time I had really tight-knit family, we did a lot of things traveled to an area of the world where I together. I grew up with this sense of peace for saw so much need. … I was taken by how home and a real strong sense of family. I think simplistic people’s lives were, but how at ease that has fed into some of the things that I’ve they were with their lifestyle. These became carried into the classroom.” big images to me later in life.”

W

28

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

When it was time for college, Edwards chose Sewanee, graduating in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences and a minor in political science. “It felt so much like home because of the 10,000 acres of wooded domain [campus]. I really felt like this is where I needed to be. Something about it was peaceful for me.”

Edwards worked with the forest service near Sewanee his first two college summers, but by his final summer, he wanted to travel.

Kathy McPherson

“I knew there was a lot more to see in the world, knew that later in life I was going to want to branch out and see more.”

ABOVE: Before he became a teacher, William Edwards served in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa, and worked with UNICEF and the United Nations High Commission on Refugees in Turkey. LEFT: As a Peace Corps volunteer, Edwards lived in Mbam, a village of 300 people, and says, “The people I worked with I think so fondly of, they are so dear in my heart.” BELOW: Edward spent four years in Turkey, and says his work with refugees fleeing from Iran “was just devastating work, families that were coming in had walked days through these mountain passes in snow.”

He spent $25 for a round-trip Greyhound bus ticket from Chattanooga to Seattle and told his parents he was heading to Alaska. After a four-day bus trip to Seattle, a friend helped him get to Anchorage on a small plane. He spent three months hiking, camping and working his way down the Kenai Peninsula, including a two-and-a-half-month stint working with a small independent fishing company.

Edwards and two other men in their 20s lived in a small trailer on the Kenai Fjords, taking fishing nets about a half mile into the water at 4 a.m. and bringing them back at 4 p.m. so heavy with fish they had to use a bulldozer to move the haul. On his two days off each week, Edwards would travel to the Moose River range to fish, hike and commune with nature.

DUR HAM ACADEMY

“I saw my first live black and brown bears up on the ridges, had my first experience with a moose and saws lots of waterfowl. It was a real defining moment for me. I like to think of it was my Thoreau time. I was very reflective on what it would be like to be a young man and be able to move around and see some of the world.”

More travel would come, but not until Edwards heeded advice from his grandfather.

“My grandfather on my dad’s side had always been a real heavy influence on me. He was the one who got me interested in nature. …

He said at some point in your life, learn a trade. Because being able to use your hands to support yourself is going to be one of the best things you ever do.” continued on the next page

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.DA .OR G

29

So Edwards moved home after he graduated from college and apprenticed himself to a log cabin builder for a year-and-ahalf. “He would literally build a cabin from the ground up. We would take the yellow poplar trees down and slab them. We used chain saws to take them down and axes to slab them. We cut dovetails and notches so we could stack them to build walls. I learned about chinking to close the gaps between logs. It was really, really hard work. I learned a lot about this aspect of building and have used it to my advantage in other aspects of my life.”

The apprenticeship complete, Edwards began thinking about graduate school or travel. “Many of my friends were in grad school, but I decided to take this opportunity to travel. … The ensuing 12 years became my Odyssean adventures.”

First came Senegal, West Africa, with the Peace Corps. Edwards was assigned to Mbam, a village of 300 people. “I was living with people who literally have nothing.

They live in mud brick huts, the roofs were thatched, weather affects everything, there’s no electricity, no running water. It’s a subsistence society, subsistence economy, people living off millet and groundnuts, growing a few vegetables. A few families had goats or chickens or a horse to pull a plow. We rarely ate meat. I lived with a family but had my own hut. I took on their last name while I was there.

“It was probably the most formative period of my life in terms of learning about people and learning about myself and realizing you can go a long way on a little and can still be really, really happy. The people I worked with I think so fondly of, they are so dear in my heart. … This was my graduate school experience.”

Edwards’ time in Mbam included “a locust infestation of almost biblical proportions. All the groundnuts were decimated, the crop that was sold to the government so the family could make extra money.” He saw children die of malaria and saw infections lead to amputations and even death. When his two-year assignment was up and it was time to go home, he felt like he was just getting started. The Peace Corps asked him to expand the scope of his work and stay for two more years, and he said yes.

When Edwards left Senegal, he headed to the San Francisco Bay area to visit Peace 30

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

Corps buddies. He liked the area and stayed there four years working with the East Bay Conservation Corps.

“It was my first foray into education that was a little more formal. I was running a crew of 12 young adults, 14 to 17 years old, males and females. They were working under the National Park Service, doing erosion control, maintaining flood channels, planting trees. The secondary scope was to help these young adults who were coming from really bad home situations. Many of them had been in prison. One 17-year-old had spent a year in San Quentin. They were wonderful and I formed such a conducive camaraderie with them. I was the head of our crew, but we had to work together to get the job done. An evening component was working on getting their GEDs.” Edwards took a leave from the California job to accept a three-month contract with the Peace Corps in the Solomon Islands. His task was to access elementary school programs that were receiving funding from the U.S. government and also from UNICEF. It wasn’t long before UNICEF asked Edwards to do the same kind of work in Turkey, and he was off to Turkey for four years. UNICEF’s programs were on the eastern Kurdish edge of Turkey, where there had been armed conflict and there was a lack of basic education for children in those villages.

“Like in the Peace Corps, it was so eyeopening to see people — living in a much colder environment — who took care of each other and seemed to be very satisfied with their life. They were subsistence farmers. I saw how the schools worked. They had next to nothing in terms of resources. Children were writing in the dirt with their fingers while they have someone reciting for them to copy.”

Edwards’ UNICEF work parlayed into a job with the United Nations High Commission on Refugees.

“The Gulf War was ensuing while I was in Turkey. Refugees from Iran were flooding into Turkey on a regular basis. They needed to be repatriated. They needed food, housing, clothing, safety and security. The High Commission was working 24/7 to try to accommodate them. … That was just devastating work, families that were coming in that had walked days through these mountain passes in snow, fathers who lost their fingers |

W W W.DA.ORG

due to frostbite while carrying their children.

“I had never seen the amount of human devastation. I had never seen the vestiges of a war. There were nights I couldn’t sleep because of images I had in my mind of things I was seeing. There is so much we can do to help out, but how thankful I was because of where I had come from and what I had. This was a common theme in my travels.

“I stayed with High Commission for a year. The refugee situation, they were getting a handle on it, work was slowing down and I was at the point where I needed to be with family.

I had had enough of that.”

Edwards came back to the States in 1999, spent time with family in Tennessee and then came to Chapel Hill to visit one of his best friends from high school, WRAL newscaster Cullen Browder. He stayed a week with Browder and his family, fell in love with the area and began researching the job situation.

“I had never formally taught in a classroom setting and had been thinking it might be something I would really enjoy. St. Thomas More had a job opening for a science teacher, which was a natural area for me. I had been thinking science or history. They needed a life and physical science teacher at the seventhand eighth-grade level for a teacher who was going on maternity leave at Christmas time.

I interviewed, and two days later they offered me the job. … I fell in love with the classroom.

I fell in love with the idea of teaching.

“It was so invigorating to be around students who were asking questions and wanting to know more. It forced me to learn more. One part of teaching that I’ve always enjoyed is the fact that I’ve never felt I had enough knowledge to adequately answer a student’s question. I’m always looking for more information and a way to make ideas simpler, to simplify the learning process for them when you’re dealing with things that can be kind of technical.”

After four years teaching middle school, Edwards wanted to teach at the high school level. DA was looking for a ninth-grade biology teacher, and Edwards got the job.

“Moving to DA in 2004 is something I will never look back on. This is one of the best fits. I have thoroughly enjoyed the classroom, and I’m so enthralled by the peers I work with.”

Respect and family are bedrocks of Edwards’ teaching.

Kathy McPherson

formation as a student and as a person. It’s so rewarding to see that other people share the same vision you have. You’re not crafting the individual, they craft themselves, but you help guide them through that process.”

Edwards’ three children are the apple of his eye. Stella is a rising fourth-grader at DA, and Edwards walks her into the Lower School most mornings. Jed, 18, and Zeke, 16, live in Vietnam with their mother and have been attending the United Nations International School in Hanoi for five years. Edwards and his wife, Anna, a teacher at The Hill Center, welcome ABOVE: At the end of each biology class, ninth-graders them to North Carolina each line up and shake Edwards’ hand as he thanks them summer, and Stella chats with for being there. He wants his students to feel they are respected, like they belong and are comfortable. her brothers via Skype daily when they are in Vietnam. Jed “Every child that walks through a and Zeke are a part of DA Summer Programs, classroom where I’m teaching is going to first as campers and now as staff. “You have feel like they are respected, like they belong to work to be a nuclear family when you’re not and are comfortable. Those are really strong always a nuclear family.” tenets. That goes back to how I was raised.

Edwards thinks teaching has changed My travels just kind of instilled more of those since he was in school and even since he began ideas. The work that I do with SOCK Camp, teaching 16 years ago. the work that I do with the ASSIST Team, the “At one time I felt like I was imparting work that I do in the classroom, all of that is information. Now I feel like that’s not really really just a simplified way of trying to create what I’m supposed to do. I’m supposed to secure spaces and safe spaces for students to help them to think about something a little know they can come, seek out information. I bit differently and help them to ask questions. can’t always provide all the information they I think that’s become much more the focus need but I can certainly be a teaching source of teaching, how to think and how to ask or a big brother or a father figure to them.” questions, what types of questions to ask. My Edwards has been teaching biology to hope is that you don’t necessarily walk out of ninth-graders for 12 years, has been assistant biology with a lot of knowledge about biology, director of DA Summer Programs for 11 but you walk out with the knowledge about years and also coaches JV boys tennis. His how to think, how to write and how to ask work with summer camps and tennis gives questions about anything. It doesn’t have to be him an opportunity to get to know many DA about biology. I think that there’s a real kind students before they come to ninth grade. of an art that you learn about asking questions “I get to see them as they progress and over time. You have to be inquisitive to learn. move through. I feel like I’m more a part of If you’re not inquisitive then you just kind of their life. Now that I have Stella, my own stagnate.” daughter, I’m so aware of how much time Serving as an Upper School advisor is and energy is placed at every level into these an important part of Edwards’ school life. students. I know what I put into teaching. Now Students and advisor stay together from the I’m seeing all that Stella’s teachers put into her time that they’re freshmen until they graduate, DUR HAM ACADEMY

and this year was Edwards’ third round with a senior-year advisory.

“Having a senior advisory group is highly rewarding, but you begin to take on a parental mindset toward the end. You realize how much they have changed in four years.

You appreciate them for the young adults they have become. You sense this loss you’re going to go through. It’s hard. It’s hard enough when they are your own true children, I begin to think of them more as my children that I’m beginning to say goodbye to as they step out and graduate.

“This year is a little bit bittersweet from the aspect that my own son is graduating and I’m going to be there for his graduation. I’m leaving on the Tuesday prior to graduation on Friday. I’ll stay in Vietnam for 10 days. Jed will graduate the same day as DA and then he, Zeke and I will spend a week touring different areas of Vietnam. They are setting all that up. I’ll fly back in time for final exams and Summer Programs. I think as a father that’s where I need to be. I’m doing my best now to recognize all of my 10 advisees and to let them know how much I appreciate them for different qualities, one-on-one individually.”

It’s a little like what Edwards does every day at the end of each biology class. Ninthgraders learn the first day of classes that they will shake hands with Edwards at the end of each class.

“I could be teaching any subject. It’s about learning about life, the idea of walking out of a classroom and respecting the person who is teaching you and knowing that that teacher respects you.

“When students leave my classroom, they line up. Whether they want to or not, they have to shake my hand on the way out of the classroom. I stand at the door and I thank them for being there. The things I’m looking for, I want eye contact and a solid handshake.

“It’s interesting because students are kind of timid at the outset. A month or two in they’ll stand there, they may stand there awkwardly but they are still responding to me telling them I’m really glad you’re here today, saying you asked good questions today, you did a really good job today, have a great day today.

“At this stage of the game, if I’m in the middle of a presentation or something, they will wait for me to walk over and open the door. It means so much to me.” |

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

31

Kathy McPherson

“My background is appreciated, it is valued to the rest, but to me, too.

I am very proud of who I am, of Peru, our food, our music.”

ABOVE: Liliana Simón grew up in Lima, Peru, with no running water or electricity. She faced an arduous path to learning English and moved to the United States where she knew no one, but earned a graduate degree at UNC and has become a U.S. citizen. RIGHT: Simón led DA-student trips to Peru, hiking with them to Machu Picchu, assisting them with service work at a Peruvian orphanage and introducing them to her family.

‘Teach What’s Mine’ a Joy for ‘Profe’

By Kathy McPherson, Associate Director of Communications

L

iliana Simón wants to cultivate curious students, and she hopes her Upper School Spanish classes will help them have the confidence to satisfy their curiosity.

32

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

It’s a journey Simón has taken herself.

From growing up in Lima, Peru, with no running water or electricity, to an arduous path to learning English, to moving to the United States where she knew no one, to earning a graduate degree, to teaching her native language, to becoming a U.S. citizen, “I have been very lucky.” She thought she would teach English in Lima, but she likes teaching Spanish at Durham Academy because “it’s more fun to teach what’s mine.”

The oldest of five children, Simón’s family moved from her grandmother’s house to a lot of their own when their fourth baby was born. “There was nothing, no construction. We put up walls of bamboo. …

We built our house, and when my parents had extra money they would build a column, then a wall. One big room was our bedroom and kitchen. We sat on bricks, and a large bench was our table for homework and eating. We |

W W W.DA.ORG

slept on a bunk bed. Three of us [ages 7, 6 and 5] slept on top, and our parents and new baby sister slept below.”

As for education, “there was not a model to follow, but there was always my mother’s encouragement.” Simón’s father finished fifth grade, and her mother completed her junior year of high school. Her father worked in a bank, while her mother stayed home to cook and take care of the family, washing diapers by hand for three children under the age of 3.

“Mama is my hero. Mama said ‘Study, study, study. It is bad to depend on a man. Go to college, work, travel and then marry.’ ” Simón listened to her mother’s advice and set her sights on college.

“It is very hard to enter college in Peru.

All that matters is one exam, like the SAT but harder. When you apply to the university you declare your major and apply to that major.

At 16 or 17 you decide your major. … Only

the top 50 get in. There is a lot of competition because college is kind of free in Peru. It costs $50 a year at the 54 public universities.

Only the very, very smart get into college.”

On her first try, Simón listed “dentist” as her major, a career she was not interested in but one that would help provide money for her family. She barely missed the cut — she was number 51, and 50 were admitted. She found success on her second try when she applied with “education” as her major, wanting to be an English teacher.

English made no sense to Simón when she was in elementary school and had English class once a week, but it clicked when she was 14 and began taking English every day. “After my high school classes, I went to an English academy for two hours. With taking the bus, it would add four hours to my day, every day. … It usually takes three years to become fluent, but because my parents couldn’t [always] pay monthly for those three years,

it took me eight years. By then I was in college and studying to become a teacher.”

Simón earned her bachelor’s degree in 1997 from Instituto Pedagogico Nacional de Monterrico, and began her career teaching 500 students in public and private schools in Lima. A newspaper ad caught her eye: “Do you want to teach your mother tongue in the United States?” She worried it might be a scam but applied, was accepted to the Amity International program and was placed at Grinnell College, a prestigious liberal arts college in Iowa.

Grinnell College told Simón she would be a cultural ambassador for Peru. So before leaving Lima, she took two Peruvian folk dance classes and a class on self-defense.

“I watched Miami Vice, so I knew I needed to be prepared because there was so much crime in the United States!” Her plans came to a halt when she found out she would have to pay for her plane ticket to Iowa and

realized what that would cost.

“My mother gave me money for the ticket. I said I cannot take that, I am the oldest of five. My mother said, ‘This is your chance.

I give you this, I give you my heart and my trust, this is your chance.’ ” Simón remembers crying at the airport when she said goodbye to her mother and baby brother. “I was coming for one year, but I knew I was going to stay. Even having two jobs [in Lima], I was making $300 a month.

I knew I had to come here and earn money and send money home.”

Grinnell was a fantastic experience for her, a small and supportive community. When Simón arrived at the college, she “saw a bunch of brown boys talking outside a dorm, and I thought, this is like Peru, my neighborhood.

They were from India and Pakistan, but from far away they looked like me. One of them was on a bike, and the one on the bike [Suri Dhungana] is now my husband!”

She was the same age as the college’s seniors, and the college treated her like an international student, even giving her host parents. She was in charge of a Spanish conversation class and social events like the Spanish table and Spanish movie nights.

Understanding English proved more of a challenge, as she had been taught English by Peruvians, not native English speakers.

Room and board were provided by Grinnell College, as well as a small salary.

“My salary was $50 every other week, so I wasn’t making a lot of money. I would put $10 in a letter and send it to my mother every Monday. And they made it, all the letters made it! I was very surprised.”

The college asked Simón to stay for a second year, and when that year was up, Suri, who was already pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry at Duke, suggested she also go to grad school. “Even the terminology — grad school — was not clear in my mind.

I had to really understand what that meant.

Suri explained that if you get a teaching assistantship, you get paid. I was, wait a minute, I get paid for getting a degree? What, I get paid, in the U.S.?”

She was accepted at UNC-Chapel Hill, taught two classes while getting her M.A. in Spanish, and began teaching Spanish at Durham Academy in 2003. continued on the next page

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

33

ABOVE: Simón with her husband, Suri Dhungana, and their children, Sol and Diego, several years ago on a visit to Peru.

“I was an English teacher in Peru, and when I came here I flipped that. I’m applying what I’ve learned for English back to Spanish.

I prefer to teach Spanish because it is more ‘me.’ … It makes me a better teacher, too. My background is appreciated, it is valued to the rest, but to me, too. I am very proud of who I am, of Peru, our food, our music.”

Simón and Dhungana, a native of Nepal, are raising their children [Sol, a rising fourthgrader, and Diego, a rising third-grader] to be tri-lingual. “My husband and I speak English 34

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

to each other. The kids and I speak Spanish to each other. My husband speaks Nepali to them but they respond to him in Spanish.”

Simón said her husband’s Spanish is fluent enough to have a conversation when they are visiting in Peru. “He rescues me in English and I rescue him in Spanish!”

Simón and Dhungana applied for Green Cards when Sol was born. After having Green Cards for five years, they were able to apply for citizenship. It took two more years to get citizenship, and in February |

W W W.DA.ORG

2014, they became American citizens.

Simón has taken Sol and Diego to Peru for month-long visits during DA’s summer vacation. She enrolled them in a private school when they spent time in Peru, and the experience made them “appreciate more what they have here. They said ‘Mommy, you have to bring your own pen. There are no books, you have to bring your own books.’ They got some flashes of what I grew up with, but I didn’t go to a private school.”

Simón led DA-student trips to Peru in 2009, 2011 and 2013. The DA students did service work in a Peruvian orphanage, hiked to Machu Picchu and spent time with her family in Lima.

Teaching at DA is “day and night” compared to Simón’s experience teaching in Peru. She marvels at having her own classroom — in Peru, the students stay in the classroom and the teachers rotate — at having carpet on the floor, a projector and markers for the white board. “In Peru, I would get two chalks per day and I had to carry my own eraser.” She taught 500 students each week, and hoped to remember the names of a few of them.

“I really, really enjoy DA. This is my only teaching experience in the U.S. beside UNC, but I cannot imagine anything better than this. … I am so happy with the support, the relationship I have with the students, how much they share with me and come to me for advice. The faculty, everybody is so nice.”

Simón is proud to be called “Profe” by her students.

“In Peru we call our teachers ‘teacher.’

Profesora is a teacher. Don’t call me ‘senora,’ that’s a translation from English. I told my students, ‘Call me Profesora Simón or Profesora Liliana. Back home, when you really like a teacher, know a teacher — it’s not usual — your teacher becomes Profe.

When we like each other, you can call me Profe.’ And everybody calls me Profe. I got a car, and Profe is my license plate. That’s my identity here. I am Profe. I love something that is so common in Peru: I am ‘teacher.’ ” Simón turned to the bulletin board that is next to her desk, and removed a postcard.

“These are my treasures: my postcards from my students, many in Spanish. This one is from Nambia but it’s in Spanish.

“Seeing the world, that’s what I want them to do. That’s my trophy.”

MEET LANIS WILSON, DA’s New Upper School Director

Kathy McPherson

LANIS WILSON – 15 THINGS ABOUT ME

L

anis Wilson began his tenure as Durham Academy’s Upper School Director on July 1. He was selected from more than 125 applicants, and DA administrators, Upper School faculty, parents and students, trustees and alumni participated in the selection process. Wilson follows Lee Hark, who served as Upper School Director for eight years, and now assumes full-time duties as DA’s Associate Head of School.

Wilson earned a bachelor's degree in English and Philosophy from Duke University and a master's degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. He served as a lecturer at Yale University and later taught and served as English Department chair at The Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut.

Since arriving at DA in 2002, Wilson has taught various AP English literature and composition classes, as well as AP Psychology and Ethics. His talents as a teacher have earned him repeated recognition as an outstanding educator.

Beyond the classroom, Wilson’s administrative responsibilities have included academics, advising, admissions, student wellness and discipline. He was appointed Upper School Dean of Students in 2012.

His commitment to and love for both Durham and DA are evident through the many connections he fosters. Since 2004, he has coordinated DA’s annual collaboration with Special Olympics and has a strong commitment to community service.

Wilson’s priorities include connecting DA students to their responsibilities in Durham and the larger world, and working to create a community within the school where all students feel they belong.

• 1. I was born and raised in Durham. Many generations of my family lived in East Durham. I actually was born and went to high school in the same building (Watts Hospital/N.C. School of Science and Math). That is the definition of local. I bring a lot of Durham to Durham Academy.

• 2. I attended Durham public schools before Science and Math, then Duke as an undergrad and UNC as a grad student in English. I have been in school as a student or teacher for 47 years. (I consider the first four years of my life wasted.)

• 3. I am the first in my family to earn a college degree.

• 4. I met my wife, Mary, on the first day of graduate school, and we have been married for 27 years. We have two kids, Claude (18) and Maddie (13).

• 5. My wife is a Shakespeare scholar at UNC and the wisest person I know. She also is an amazing chef and infinitely patient … qualities I greatly appreciate.

• 6. My son starts UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall. He is on the autism spectrum, a freemason and a stand-up comic. He is the most unique individual I have ever met.

• 7. My daughter is a rising eighth-grader at Culbreth Middle School. She is a flautist and a basketball player and the funniest person I know.

• 8. We have four cats (Rex, Lilith, Pepper and Cheddar), and I usually have one about my person for 2+ hours each day.

(It is not always my choice.) This is what happens when your son completes 60+ hours of community service at the animal shelter.

• 9. I have voted in every election (local, state and national) since I turned 18. To date I have a low return on my investment.

• 10. I wear a monocle. Not just because it bespeaks my genteel nature, but I need it to read my phone.

• 11. I am an avid foodie, which is why I love bringing the food trucks to DA. My favorite meal took place at a roadside restaurant outside of Sienna. It lasted six hours and I still have dreams about the wild boar pici.

• 12. Duke basketball!

• 13. UNC most else.

• 14. No Facebook. I find it confusing.

• 15. Last summer I read all 21 novels in the Master and Commander series by Patrick O’Brian. I wish there were more.

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

35

Beck has been a part of Durham Academy’s Technology Support office since 2002, where he will continue to serve in his role as network manager while adding teaching responsibilities. Beck, who holds a Bachelor of Science from East Carolina University, worked at N.C. State University prior to coming to DA. Ellen Brown, Middle School, drama –

Brown is an honors graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and earned an M.A.T. from RELAY Graduate School of Education and an M.A. in Applied Theatre from City University of New York.

She was theater director and performing arts teacher at Harlem Prep Academy in East Harlem, New York.

Teri Burrus, Lower School, teaching

assistant – Burrus is a magna cum laude graduate of Temple University, where she was named Most Outstanding Senior in Therapeutic Recreation. She has been a developmental therapist/lead teacher at The Aspen Center in Cary.

Ryan Burton, Technology and Systems

has taught fourth grade at Alston Ridge Elementary School in Cary.

Amanda Dolan, Lower

School, third grade – Dolan is a graduate of Dartmouth College and earned certification in Bilingual, Crosscultural, Language and Academic Development (BCLAD) from Cal State Northridge and certification in college counseling from UCLA. She taught in the Durham Public Schools system for 16 years and for the last two years has been a third grade teaching assistant at Durham Academy.

Lori Evans, Lower School,

Kathy McPherson

Forrest Beck, Upper School, robotics –

Kathy McPherson

New Faculty and Staff Appointments, June 2016

TOP: After 36 years of keeping DA's campuses looking spiffy and lifting the spirits of everyone he encounters, groundsman EC Taylor is retiring and moving into a part-time role at DA. BOTTOM: Students surprise Preschool science teacher Freya Cohen with a goodbye celebration to honor her 34 years at DA.

science teaching assistant – Evans earned a B.S. from Ohio State University and an M.S. from Medical College of Ohio. She has taught school in Ohio, and since 2011 she has been a third grade teaching assistant at Durham Academy.

Support Specialist – Burton is a graduate of the University of Virginia and studied advanced web programming at The Iron Yard. He has several years of experience doing information technology work for The National Institutes of Health and Red Light Management/ATO Records.

Mike Harris, Middle School, language

Abby Butler, Lower School, second grade

Luke Hoffman, Lower School, music –

– Butler is a summa cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she also earned an M.Ed. in English Language Learners.

She taught second grade in the Nashville, Tennessee, public schools and this past year 36

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

arts and history – Harris is a graduate of the University of California at Davis. He has taught social studies at Guy B. Phillips Middle School in Chapel Hill, and was the 2013-2014 Teacher of the Year in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district.

Hoffman graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Music with an emphasis in education and performance, and also earned an M.A.T. at UNC-Chapel Hill. He taught music at Peabody Elementary School |

W W W.DA.ORG

in Washington, D.C., and has been a piano and guitar instructor in Chapel Hill and Washington.

Jake Kavanagh, Upper School, theater

tech director – Kavanagh is a graduate of the theater school at DePaul University and is an M.F.A. candidate in theater design at Florida Atlantic University. He is president and founder of JKDesigns, Inc., a design and fabrication company, and has worked at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts.

Josh Klein, Upper School, dean of students

– Klein is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a double major in history and French, and also a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law. He has taught history, French and was dean of students at Severn School in Severna Park,

School of Beijing in China and served as an interim science teacher at Durham Academy Middle School in the 2015-2016 school year.

Nicole Morris, Preschool, teaching assistant

– Morris is a graduate of Cleveland State University. She has been a lead teacher at University United Methodist Preschool in Chapel Hill, has taught at Chapel of the Cross Preschool and was a Durham Academy Lower School teaching assistant from 2009 to 2011.

Kathy McPherson

Duncan Murrell, Upper School, English

(interim for Jeff Biersach, first semester) – Murrell earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and an M.S. in journalism from Northwestern University. He is a candidate for an M.F.A. in fiction from Bennington College. He has been writer in residence at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies.

Sloan Nuernberger, Lower School,

teaching assistant – Nuernberger is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in elementary education. She has been director of children’s ministries at Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church and has taught first grade in Jamestown and third grade in Charlotte.

Punk is a graduate of Pfeiffer University and earned a master’s degree in chemistry from UNC-Wilmington. She has been enrolled in NC TEACH, a program that helps professionals in other fields transition into teaching.

She has worked in the sciences at Research Triangle Park and taught a section of science with Randy Bryson at the Middle School in the 2015-2016 school year.

Melody Guyton Butts

TOP: Third-grade teacher Richard Meyer smiles for a photo with fourthgrader Sarah Muir at a farewell popsicle party held to celebrate his 23 years of teaching at DA. BOTTOM: Sixth-grade history and language arts teacher Marian Saffo-Cogswell, who taught at DA for 33 years, stands by the fountain dedicated in her honor.

Maryland, and was a fellow in Columbia University’s Klingenstein Summer Institute.

Melissa Mack, Middle School, language

arts and history – Mack earned a B.S. from the University of Illinois ChampaignUrbana and an M.Ed. from Benedictine University. She has taught at the International

Molly Punk, Middle School, science –

Amie Schwartz, Lower School, teaching

assistant – Schwartz is a graduate of Tufts University and holds an M.Ed. from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has served as a language arts and history teacher at Durham Academy Middle School, and has taught at Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Denise Shaw, Preschool, science and math

– Shaw is a cum laude graduate of St. Mary’s DUR HAM ACADEMY

College, holds an M.Ed. from Marymount University and Academically/Intellectually Gifted Licensure from Duke University. She has more than 20 years of teaching experience, including teaching kindergarten at Durham Academy Preschool from 2014 to 2016.

Leyf Peirce Starling, Upper School, robotics

– Starling, a 1999 graduate of Durham Academy, has a degree in engineering from the University of Virginia and an M.A.T. from UNC-Charlotte. She has taught at N.C. School of Science and Math and N.C. State University.

Kelly Teagarden, Upper School, history

and Augustine Literacy Project elective – Teagarden is a 2004 graduate of Durham Academy and a graduate of Duke University, and she attended Columbia University’s Klingenstein Summer Institute. She has taught at Severn School in Severna Park, Maryland.

Betsy Ward-Hutchinson, Upper School,

dance (interim for Laci McDonald, first semester) – Ward-Hutchinson holds bachelor’s degrees in dance from Meredith College and dance education from UNC-Charlotte, and a master’s in dance education from UNC-Greensboro. She has served as a dance instructor and director of dance at Cary Academy.

Departing Faculty and Staff, June 2016 • John Bacsik – Lower School,

second grade • John Byrd – Security • Freya Cohen – Preschool, science • Gretchen Houghton – Lower School, teaching assistant • Sherry Laupert – Lower School, teaching assistant • Elaine Malone – Middle School, drama • Richard Meyer – Lower School, third grade • Beth Roberts – Preschool and Lower School, physical education • Marian Saffo-Cogswell – Middle School, language arts and history • EC Taylor – Maintenance • Clinton Wright – Lower School, music |

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

37

Kathy McPherson

ABOVE: Bohan Gao, Allison Hall and their fourth-grade classmates assemble hundreds of sandwiches for Urban Ministries of Durham on Unity Day. FACING PAGE: After serving breakfast at UMD, members of the Upper School's UMD Club make lunches for individuals served by the nonprofit to take away with them.

DA’s Partnership with Urban Ministries of Durham Grows

By Melody Guyton Butts, Assistant Director of Communications

T

he nine-month stretch from February through October can be dangerously bare-shelved for the Urban Ministries of Durham food pantry. The bounty of cans and boxes collected during holiday food drives has dwindled. Yet the need only grows, as winter weather keeps children out of school — and away from the nourishment of school-provided meals.

Sometimes, the wooden shelves of the pantry are completely empty.

So when a group of Durham Academy Upper Schoolers hauled in 452 pounds of canned and dried foods in early March, the delight and relief on the face of Gin Jackson, 38

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

UMD’s director of community engagement, was plain to see.

The food drive is but one example of the growing partnership between DA and Urban Ministries, a downtown Durham nonprofit that provides food, shelter, clothing and support to people in need. The collective impact at UMD of students, faculty and families across all divisions of DA is “just huge,” Jackson said. From Lower Schoolers making hundreds of sandwiches for the UMD Community Café on Unity Day and conducting a massive clothing drive; to the majority of Middle School advisories dedicating their fall service day to various |

W W W.DA.ORG

UMD projects; to the Upper School’s UMD Club helping children living at the shelter to select holiday gifts for their parents; to teachers collecting household items for resident “move-out kits,” DA has a schoolwide commitment to serving Urban Ministries.

Jackson recalled her astonishment at seeing third-grade teacher Richard Meyer drive up to UMD in a school bus that was “absolutely jam-packed” with food donations from the Lower School community last spring.

“It took us hours to unpack it, weigh it, sort it and put it up,” she said. “Each child had been sent home with a brown shopping bag and a list of what we needed — and I think almost

her responsibility to be a good neighbor.

“It’s just seeing people in our community who are our neighbors and knowing that if I were in that situation, I’d want someone to do the same for me, to help me out,” she said.

“The things that we’ve done there are really personal. We get to know the people and see the difference we can make.”

That’s how McNamara hopes all students experience community service — as helping to lift their neighbors up, not reaching a hand down.

“I think about it more as being a part of a community, a civic engagement. When we help people who are down on their luck, that raises the whole community, it makes all of us better,” she said. “We are joining with them to bring their lives up and give them a interest and commitment has been strong break and help them get on their feet.” this year. Club members typically take on Middle School language arts teacher one project per month, from sorting clothing Ben Michelman, who serves on UMD’s or stocking pantry shelves, to organizing the community engagement board and is a recent food drive, to volunteering at Empty frequent volunteer, is committed to making Bowls, UMD’s big yearly fundraiser. community service a mutual exchange for The most memorable experience with students. Before the Middle School’s October UMD for many club members has also been community service day, he asked each student the most personal. Just before Christmas, in his eighth-grade advisory to bring in a each DA student was paired with a child piece of clothing to donate, and then to write living with his or her family in the UMD a fictionalized story or poem about the article shelter, and together, they selected and of clothing to be tucked into the item’s pocket. wrapped holiday gifts from a “Parent Shop” With luck, the next owner of the clothing of donated items for the children’s parents. would find the story.

“They were just so ecstatic about It wasn’t much later when an UMD everything,” recalled Ellie George, a rising client felt a little something in the pocket of a senior. “My little girl wanted to give her mom white sweater she’d selected and went running a present on that day. So after we picked out to find Jackson. “Someone left this in their her gifts, we cut up little heart shapes, and pocket, and they’re going to want it back!” put them in a box and gave them to her mom. she recalled the client exclaiming.

And that was her little mini present before With Caroline Sapir’s story tucked inside, Christmas. It was like getting to spend a day the sweater was no longer just a sweater. It had with a baby sister.” become so much more — a source of hope.

Isaac Arocha, also a rising senior, was “… this sweater has been through a lot. paired with someone closer to his own age, It all started in a boutique in Montclair, New a 15-year-old boy. Initially, Arocha was Jersey, and since then it has been watching disappointed since he’d hoped to spend time memories in the making with each and with a younger child, but the pairing turned every handmade stitch of cotton filled with out to be a great match: “We could have captivating memories. The sweater now substantive conversations about what was needs to begin a new life with a new owner, going on,” he said. which is you. I hope you will make many Rising senior Liza Aldridge sees her memories with this sweater. It is now your volunteerism with UMD as helping to fulfill turn to fill the stitches.”

Harry Thomas

every kid brought a bag back. It was enough to carry us for a month.”

The need for the services that UMD and other poverty-fighting organizations provide is real, Jackson said at an Upper School assembly in January, when she delivered some sobering statistics. Nearly 20 percent of Durham’s residents live at or below the poverty line. Children account for nearly 25 percent of North Carolina’s homeless population. One in four Durham children go hungry each day.

“What is poverty?” she asked.

“In my world, and in the people I see every day, what we mean by poverty is having to make decisions: Do I have housing or do I have food? Do I have clothing or do I pay for day care?

What about toothpaste and soap?

Those things aren’t covered by food stamps, folks. Medical expenses. Forget about things like going to the movies or doing fun things. And how about transportation to get to work? These are people who can’t do all of those things that I consider basic needs.

They have to choose.”

Each year, one Upper School advisory typically devotes its quarterly community service days to helping UMD with whatever projects are on hand — usually stocking food pantry shelves or sorting clothing donations.

Last year, Dr. Harry Thomas’ advisees were assigned to UMD, where they were asked to help assemble hygiene kits — plastic bags filled with travel-sized toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant and the like — for distribution to people who are homeless.

“That just helped knock me out of my me-me-me-me-me [mentality],” said Thomas, who teaches English in the Upper School. “…

If I run out of deodorant, it’s a pain. I have to get in my car, go to the store, use money that I have in my bank account to buy more. It’s an aggravation. But I can get more. For the people receiving these kits, that’s not the case.”

So “struck by the need,” Thomas reached out to Upper School community service director Anne McNamara to talk about deepening DA’s service through UMD. They decided to help students establish a new UMD Club at the Upper School, with Thomas and Upper School science teacher Meg McNall serving as advisors, and students’

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

39

New DA Elective Inspires a Love of Reading in Seniors and Their Public School ‘Buddies’

By Melody Guyton Butts, Assistant Director of Communications

E

ven with the global literacy rate at an all-time high, one form of reading — curling up with a good book to relax at the end of the day, or losing oneself in the pages of a thick novel for an afternoon — is waning. In part thanks to the ever-present pull of distractions like social media and messaging apps, readership of literature has taken sharp declines in recent years, especially among adults.

With disheartening figures — like the nearly 40 percent of college freshmen who don’t read books for pleasure at all — in mind, Durham Academy Upper School English teacher Fran Wittman sought to help combat the trend. Why Reading Matters, a fall senior English elective, aimed to inspire a love of reading in both the DA students taking the course and in a classroom of thirdgraders at Durham Public Schools’ Creekside Elementary. With the first year of the fall service-learning course having concluded in December, Wittman’s experiment appears to have achieved its goal for both the DA and Creekside students.

Senior Caroline Sanguily and her 40

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

classmates — joined on the stage of Kenan Auditorium by their Creekside “reading buddies” during an Upper School morning meeting in early March — spoke to fellow Upper Schoolers about the course.

“Personally, I’m not a big reader, but working with these kids and seeing them get excited and learning how to make them get more excited about reading, made me more enthusiastic about reading,” Sanguily said.

Once a week during the fall semester course, the 12 Why Reading Matters students visited Creekside, where they each read and discussed books with two third-graders. The objective wasn’t to teach students how to read, but rather simply to discover a love of reading.

In that way, the program differs from DA’s Augustine Literacy Project service-learning course, through which DA students teach struggling students at Creekside and Hope Valley elementary schools how to read using a phonetic teaching approach.

Creekside third-grader Hailey Chilausky said she’s enjoyed discovering some new books, like Judy Blume’s Freckle Juice, |

W W W.DA.OR G

with Sanguily, whom she described as “nice and awesome and always helping me with reading.” They have not only had fun reading together, but Hailey has seen a measurable increase in her reading ability.

“I think because of her, I’ve been doing well because I was an L [on a reading fluency scale] and I went all the way up to an O,” Hailey said.

Creekside teacher Whitney Blalock has seen similar growth in a number of her students.

“Kids are more successful when they feel like they have someone on their team,” she said. “Specifically having a high schooler on their team has just lifted their spirits. I have students who have grown two or three grade levels in reading since the beginning of the year. I think a lot of that is because they have people on their team, cheering for them.”

Reading ability ranges widely in Blalock’s third-grade class, from students reading on a first-grade level all the way to those reading on a sixth-grade level. She said it’s been helpful to be able to match pairs of

Photos by Melody Guyton Butts

Senior Caroline Sanguily and her Creekside Elementary School reading buddy, Hailey Chilausky, smile for a photo during the Creekside students' visit to Durham Academy.

her students who read on similar levels during the DA student visits. In addition, the Why Reading Matters students have helped stock her classroom with a variety of books suitable for students’ range of reading levels.

On the days that the DA students didn’t visit Creekside, they spent some time preparing for their visits, but the majority of their time was spent discovering the love of reading for themselves. Wittman assigned a few popular fiction titles for reading as a class, and the group discussed strategies for engaging others in literature. Students also selected two books to read on their own and posted recommendations on the Upper School Learning Commons website. Before long, the students — many of whom wouldn’t have described themselves as big readers at the start of the course — were recommending books to one another without prompting. The evidence of a blossoming enthusiasm for reading was there.

Wittman, who is studying literacy as part of an N.C. State University graduate program, sees it as critically important that students and adults find time to read for pleasure, citing a

Harvard Business Review article that touts the connection between reading habits and effective leadership.

“I love TV, and I love movies. I just love stories. So I’ll park myself in front of Netflix and binge-watch The Walking Dead just like everyone else,” she said. “But I think being able to bring yourself to a book, being able to bring your context, your imagination — it’s different when it’s not somebody else’s interpretation of a character. It’s your interpretation that you’re able to put on the characters and really get into the why the character is acting that way. I think you invest more of yourself in a book.”

In her graduate work, Wittman learned that third grade is when many students begin to “give up on reading” — a statistic that led to her reaching out to Blalock about working with her third grade class for Why Reading Matters. From all accounts, it’s been a productive and enjoyable partnership, and it was tough for this year’s students to part ways at the conclusion of the course in December.

So in the 2016-2017 school year,

Wittman will offer a complementary elective course in the spring called Escapist Fiction.

Students enrolled in that course will also work with the Creekside students, with a focus during the DA classroom work on “escaping into literature and communities of readers.”

Like many of his classmates, senior Davis Morgan was sad to say goodbye to his reading buddies when they visited DA, and his buddies Ryan Jackson and Kahaan Khati expressed similar sentiments, noting how much they’ve enjoyed their chats about the Boston Red Sox before and after reading sessions.

“It’s been fun because we get to read,” Ryan said. “It’s just cool to be with high school reading buddies. And we like to know that we’re helping them.”

Morgan said that he did indeed gain a lot from the partnership.

“Going into it, my job was to try to help them learn to love to read, and when I got there, they were already terrific readers,” he said. “So one thing I learned from them is how dedicated you can be when you like to do something.”

Senior Davis Morgan works with Creekside third-grader Kahaan Khati to create activity books for Duke Children's Hospital patients.

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

41

42

D U R H A M A C A D EM Y

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W .DA.OR G

MAKE ME A MATCH Durham Academy’s production of Fiddler on the Roof brought together the talents of more than 65 Upper Schoolers, earning a spot as one of just four finalists for Best Musical in the 2016 Triangle Rising Stars musical theater awards program. In addition, rising senior Lily Tendler — who played one of Tevye’s daughters in the DA production (facing page, bottom-left photo in orange apron) — was a finalist for Best Actress. Among 20 high school performers from the Triangle area to earn finalist nods, she performed in the Triangle Rising Stars awards show on the Durham Performing Arts Center stage in June.

P H OTO S B Y C O L I N H U T H

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

43

Melody Guyton Butts

Durham Academy parent Wendell McCain speaks to DA Middle Schoolers about the legacy of his father, Greensboro Four member Franklin McCain.

DA’s Real-Life Civil Rights Roots: Passing on the Wisdom of One of the Greensboro Four

By Melody Guyton Butts, Assistant Director of Communications

I

“ have some hot coffee here. If you guys don’t get off these stools, I’m going to pour it on you!” bellowed the man, as he loomed over the sitting students. “You’re not supposed to be on these stools — these stools are only for white people.”

The scene, recreated on the stage of Durham Academy Middle School’s Taylor Hall, was one that the man, Wendell McCain, knew well. A son of the late civil rights legend Franklin McCain, he heard often about his father’s experience as one of the Greensboro Four — the brave college students who launched the sit-in movement that resulted in the desegregation of lunch counters across the nation.

44

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

Wendell McCain — father of two DA students, rising freshman Davis and rising seventh-grader Charles — addressed his sons’ classmates on Feb. 1, exactly 56 years after his father and three other North Carolina A&T State University students took their seats at the F.W. Woolworth five-and-dime store in Greensboro. In a video shown to students before McCain’s talk, they heard from the elder McCain, who died in 2014.

He described the shock clear on the faces of fellow patrons as he and the other three students sat down at the store’s “whites only” lunch counter. After ordering coffee, they were denied service and implored to leave. And then a police officer made his presence known. |

W W W.DA.ORG

“He started to pace the counter back and forth, and as he walked back and forth, he started to pound his nightstick in his hand,” Franklin McCain recalled in the video. “But after he paced three times with his nightstick, I said to myself, we’ve got him. He really doesn’t know what to do.”

The students endured threats and insults from store workers and bystanders, yet they returned day after day, bringing more protesters with them each day. Their persistence was finally rewarded on July 25, 1960, when the Woolworth corporate office ordered the Greensboro store to give in.

“As time went on, it ceased to matter because you could come in around lunchtime

“So my father always told us to never judge someone based on what you see.

You have to judge them by their heart, the content of their character and the actions that they express toward you and others.” express toward you and others.”

Another lesson that his father imparted was to be willing to stand up for what’s right and to be unafraid of starting a revolution in the process. He encouraged the students to think about how they might take a stand against injustices they see in our present world.

Even after meeting such towering figures as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Malcom X, “the thing that excited my father the most was the optimism, the excitement, the drive and the lack of fear that people like you in this room have,” McCain said. “He would say that in no other generation I’ve ever seen, there’s a level of inclusiveness and a desire to actually make a difference in this world.”

It’s a desire that DA sixth-grader Charles McCain feels deeply. He became aware of his grandfather’s place in history when he was 7 or 8.

“It makes me feel like I should do

Jack Moebes / Greensboro News & Record

and you could see alternating, almost, blackwhite-black-white patrons, and nobody paid much attention to it,” McCain continued in the video. “And you’d ask yourself — I did quite often — what was all of the fuss about, what was all of the mistreatment about, what was this thing that people were so afraid of?”

In his talk at the Middle School, Wendell McCain passed on a few lessons from his father, including to “never, ever pre-judge people.” One thing that wasn’t included in the video, he said, was that on the very first day of the sit-in, an older white woman was among the first people to voice her support for their efforts.

“Most of us would say, who would expect a 60-year-old white woman who grew up in the Jim Crow South with racial segregation to be supportive?” McCain said.

“So my father always told us to never judge someone based on what you see. You have to judge them by their heart, the content of their character and the actions that they

ABOVE: Franklin McCain (second from left) was among four African-American college students who helped launch the sit-in movement of the 1960s that resulted in the desegregation of lunch counters across the nation.

DUR HAM ACADEMY

something great, like he did,” the sixth-grader said, “whether it’s related to racial things or to stop people from bullying or doing other things that make people feel bad.”

Rising eighth-grader Grace Brooks said it was meaningful to hear about Franklin McCain’s life from someone who knew him well. She spoke of Ruby Bridges, the first African-American child to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana after courtordered integration in New Orleans.

“She’s a long-time-ago historical figure that I’ve always looked up to but will probably never meet,” Brooks said. “But it’s another thing to meet even just one of their relatives.

It makes it more real. This is an actual person, not just a hero in a story.”

Cecilia Moore, a rising seventh-grader, had the opportunity to meet Franklin McCain when he delivered what she described as a “really inspiring” speech on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill a few years ago. She said she was grateful that Wendell McCain was able to share his father’s message with the Middle School student body.

“I think that was a real inspiration for the students who were listening,” she said. “I think it could be something that inspires them to do great things one day.”

And there’s a real need for young people to do great things, Wendell McCain said as he wrapped up his talk. The country still has a ways to go before his father’s vision of equal treatment for all people is realized. He’s experienced discrimination in his own life, he said, recounting his experience of being pulled over by a policeman for no discernible reason and treated unfairly.

“When there are people who have a preference for a different sexual orientation [who are treated unfairly], when there are young people getting killed by folks who are supposed to protect us, when there are young people who are being bullied by their classmates and committing suicide — we still don’t have an inclusive world, where we’re all able to express ourselves and be comfortable,” he said. “Until we get to that day, I think he [Franklin McCain] would feel like we have a long way to go.” |

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

45

Kathy McPherson

ABOVE: Lower School librarian Michelle Rosen reads The Great Fuzz Frenzy to fourth-graders, mimicking the prairie dogs’ bewilderment when a tennis ball rolls into their hole.

Lower Schoolers’ Quest to Solve Riddle of Mystery Object

By Michelle Rosen, Lower School Librarian

I

“ t’s a practice golf ball.”

“No, it’s the inside of a microphone.”

“I know, it’s an Australian cork hat bug terrorizer.”

These are just a few of the guesses to the Lower School’s best kept-secret this year: the identity of a pair of gray balls. Now, you may wonder why the library wanted its Lower School students to spend the year figuring out such a mystery, so let’s go back to the very beginning.

It all started when we read a book by this year’s visiting authors, Susan Stevens 46

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

Crummel and her sister, Janet Stevens. Their work, The Great Fuzz Frenzy, is a story about what happens when a tennis ball rolls into a prairie dog hole. Of course the prairie dogs have no idea what has entered their world, and as they experiment with the ball, chaos ensues. This made librarians wonder what would happen if a foreign object showed up at the Lower School? How would the students react? And, more importantly, would they be able to figure out what IT was?

So the search began for a mystery item.

After spending a great deal of time online |

W W W.DA.ORG

looking for items that would be hard to identify, we came up with four items to test out on the faculty. We figured if one of the items stumped them, then it would likely be hard for students to identify as well. Not one teacher or administrator could identify the pair of gray balls we had purchased, so we knew we had a winner!

Each class was introduced to the pair of gray balls and told they could do whatever they needed to them to help determine their identity. So classes started burning them, cutting them, putting them in water and the

Kathy McPherson

Kathy McPherson

to me, ‘You know, like, while taking notes I still think those are on what they gleaned horse earplugs,’ and she from each experiment. walked away. I couldn’t Science teacher Lyn believe it! She guessed Streck believed the it and she didn’t even project allowed students know it.” to put their science skills When asked why to work outside of the she didn’t submit her classroom. answer, Neppl said “In the science lab, she had discussed the when we perform an idea with her friends, inquiry, we are looking but they had decided for new knowledge, it was too far-fetched. proof and evidence to “But I had been looking find out the answer to at the balls for a long our question,” she said. time because they were “This project allowed floating in water in our the students to see how classroom. It really their scientific skills can looked like something be applied to every day we use at the barn,” problem-solving.” she said. Neppl, who Second-grade has ridden horses teacher Ashley Hinton since she was 6 or 7 was excited for the years old, explained project to begin. “The that horse earplugs are first thing the class did used in horse shows to was to investigate all of help keep the animal the object’s properties,” focused. “They will she said. “They TOP LEFT: Rosen gives a group of Lower School students their first look at the listen better if they don’t measured it, weighed mystery object they would be asked to identify. TOP RIGHT: Fourth-grader hear all the outside it and wrote down all Theo Satterfield gives the mystery object the sniff test to determine if it had any noise.” of its characteristics, odor. BOTTOM: Students wanted to see what would happen when the mystery object was set on fire, so maintenance foreman Randy Baker obliged them.

While Lower comparing it to other School students were balls.” eager to learn the identity of the mystery item, Hinton added, “They were really excited deodorizer to a surgical replacement for when Mrs. Rosen brought around a smaller cartilage to a practice golf ball — the answer teachers were just as curious. “Five months version of the balls, which they started calling came in the form of a video. Students viewed is a long time to go without knowing what something is,” said Spanish teacher Mercedes ‘duh-thing’ since they didn’t know what it a commercial with a horse trainer holding Almodovar. “I begged Mrs. Rosen and Mrs. was.” In addition to the smaller version of the a set of horse earplugs! An audible gasp Haynie to tell me before the assembly, but balls, students also investigated a set that was of realization and excitement swept the they kept the secret well. It was killing me.” attached to a thin string. Hinton’s secondauditorium.

Lower School Director Carolyn Ronco graders tracked their progress with a timeline “There was no way I could have was a little more patient, but was still very on large butcher paper. Other classes hung guessed that the balls were earplugs excited to learn the truth. “What fun we had charts in their rooms and made graphs to keep for horses!” exclaimed third-grader Sol putting our imaginations to work! Ear plugs track of their progress.

Dhungana. “I thought it might be some sort for horses — who would have thought?!”

After months of experimentation, “the of sponge or part of a ball-in-cup game. But Ronco said this year’s visiting author big reveal” finally came on May 11. horse earplugs?” project was one of her favorites. “Not Third-grader Gage Rogers couldn’t While none of the classes actually only did the project prepare our children contain his excitement. “I was really excited guessed correctly, librarians knew that to get the most out of our authors’ visit, it to finally learn what it was,” Rogers said. “We one student had figured it out on her own. promoted critical thinking skills and rigorous had done so many experiments and had so Librarian Letizia Haynie recalled an conversation. It also fostered a warm sense of many guesses that we just wanted to know!” afternoon when second-grader Samantha community as children and teachers worked After a list of all the guesses was Neppl was looking at the mystery item together to figure out the mystery object.” presented — everything from a shoe bulletin board outside the library. “She said DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

47

Faculty Find Empathy and Courage in Dance Performance

By Melody Guyton Butts, Assistant Director of Communications

“…it doesn’t matter what I do, it’s just the fact that I’m doing it, that I’m trying.”

LEFT: Twelve faculty members took a turn on the stage of Kenan Auditorium during the Upper School's spring dance concert in April.

RIGHT: Library assistant Katherine Spruill laughs as she and her colleagues dance to the beat of Pharrell Williams’ Freedom.

W

aiting to take the stage of Kenan Auditorium, the 12 Durham Academy Upper School faculty members felt butterflies in a way that they don’t often feel when standing before their students.

The difference: Rather than displaying their mastery of U.S. history, or the French language, or American literature, the focus was on their moves. Their dance moves, that is.

“As soon as we got on stage and before we even had a chance to make a mistake or goof up, you could hear the kids laughing, and there was a sense that they were being with us and supportive,” French teacher Kevin Schroedter said after the student assembly performance. “… And that, to me, was like, it doesn’t matter what I do, it’s just the fact that I’m doing it, that I’m trying.”

48

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

And all of the nerves melted away.

After an unforgettable 2 minutes, 45 seconds of shimmying, spinning and raise-the-roofs to Pharrell Williams’ Freedom, the educators’ willingness to step outside their comfort zone was rewarded with thunderous applause and cheering from all corners of the auditorium.

Looking for a new way to connect with fellow faculty across disciplines, dance teacher Laci McDonald emailed her colleagues in late January with an idea that she’d been considering all year: an all-faculty number in the spring dance concert — something “fun, upbeat, exciting,” she promised.

The response was overwhelming, with close to 30 faculty members expressing interest. A few had to bow

|

W W W.DA.ORG

out due to conflicts with the rehearsal schedule, so the final cast list was set at 12: McDonald, Schroedter; history teacher Owen Bryant; English teachers Dr. Lauren Garrett, Dr. Harry Thomas and Fran Wittman; librarian Shannon Harris and library assistant Katherine Spruill; music teacher Michael Meyer; French and Spanish teacher Constanza de Radcliffe; Chinese teacher Bonnie Wang; and learning specialist Jennifer Rogers.

McDonald divided the dancers into two groups depending on their availability to attend rehearsals, and each group met about four times separately, then three more times all together. In between group rehearsals, faculty practiced at home with the help of videos: one of McDonald going through the choreography slowly; one of her running through the

Photos by Melody Guyton Butts

LEFT: Music teacher Michael Meyer and French teacher Kevin Schroedter throw up their hands during one of the final rehearsals for the big show. RIGHT: Chinese teacher Bonnie Wang, history teacher Owen Bryant, English teacher Fran Wittman (from left) and their colleagues learned the moves through videos created by dance teacher Laci McDonald and frequent group rehearsals.

choreography to the music; and one of the entire group’s rehearsal performance.

McDonald uses such videos to help students prepare for performances, and Rogers was grateful to have them as tools to help prepare for her turn on the Kenan stage. As one of DA’s learning specialists who is open with students about her own learning differences, Rogers knew that she needed to identify tools to help her learn the moves.

“I told her — ‘OK, Laci, you know that I learn differently. … I’m going to need some extra ways to learn this,” she said. “Since I missed the first few practices, I was able to learn it from the video in my own house, on my own time, without anyone watching, as slowly as I needed to. Then I was totally comfortable.”

For McDonald, the experience of teaching her colleagues was “very interesting.” While her high school students tend to wait until a few classes after she goes over choreography to ask questions about details, the faculty dancers were more likely to ask questions in the moment, and “the level of focus was much more serious” with the faculty dancers.

“It was just nice to see them not comfortable, which was a challenge for me as well because I needed to make them feel comfortable,” McDonald said.

“We had a lot of fun, a lot of laughing, a lot of laughing at ourselves. As serious as they were, coming to rehearsals to learn, they didn’t take themselves too seriously. It was a lot of fun.”

For the dancers, the experience of being put in the position of their own students — stepping into the spotlight and trying something new — was eye-opening.

“We expect kids to take so many risks, but I think as adults we have to remember what it’s like to do something that we’re not good at, or we’re totally afraid of, or where we might make total fools out of ourselves in front of other people,” Rogers said. “I think it helps us be more empathetic for the kids, and it’s good for the kids to see us do.”

The nurturing environment created

by McDonald as an instructor and by his colleagues as fellow dancers is something that Schroedter strives for in his own classroom.

“There was no one who was the rock-star dancer except for Laci. There DUR HAM ACADEMY

were some teachers who were better than others, but we were all in this boat of wow, this is hard, and we have a lot of admiration for dancers now,” he said.

“But I think feeling like we were all in this together was important, and Laci was very supportive and encouraging.”

Performing on stage both at the student assembly and at an evening concert with lots of parents in the audience was especially gratifying for Rogers, given her “baggage” coming into the process. She had danced in middle and high school and had natural dance talent, but, as a teenager, she didn’t put the requisite time into rehearsing choreography.

“My last dance recital that I was supposed to do in high school, I totally skipped it. I just didn’t show up because I didn’t have the choreography down.

And I never went back,” she recalled.

“So, I thought, I have got to do this — I need to finish this. It was so cool this time because I actually practiced. And we did it.”

At www.da.org/magazine: • Watch a video of the Upper School faculty dance performance.

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

49

Gib Fitzpatrick

Kathy McPherson

collaborative spirit who fosters a sense of trust and mutual respect among his colleagues. Gib’s colleagues value his uncanny ability to understand any issue from every possible perspective in the unselfish pursuit of doing what is right for Durham Academy. He regularly demonstrates a willingness to validate the ideas and suggestions of others, even if those ideas and suggestions diametrically oppose his own. This makes him a trusted colleague and confidant of the highest caliber.

There can be no doubt that Gib’s teaching and advising is both effective and inspirational. One of his former students commented that Mr. Fitz is “kind, caring and passionate about what he does. He is an incredible teacher who is understanding and well-rounded.”

F. ROBERTSON HERSHEY Longtime colleague Tim Dahlgren echoes that sentiment. “I have DISTINGUISHED FACULTY AWARD seen him work wonders with kids who have never thought of themselves as math students. His patient, gentle and encouraging manner allows his students to gain confidence in their own ability to be a successful math student. … And, with the added confidence that accompanies success, his students go on to their next level of math with optimism and a can-do attitude.”

In short, as another colleague noted, “Gib does a great job connecting with his students.”

This is especially true of Gib’s role as an advisor; in fact, he has been described as an “absolute all-star advisor.” The effect he has had on untold numbers of students is vast. An Upper School colleague remarked

By Owen Bryant, History, Upper School that Gib’s former advisees, who are members of the current senior class, often gleefully share their reflections of the time they spent with Mr. n nearly two decades at Durham Academy, there is not much that Fitz as eighth-graders. It is abundantly clear, not only to his former and Gib Fitzpatrick, this year’s F. Robertson Hershey Excellence in Teaching current advisees but to all Middle School students, that Gib’s care and Award recipient, has not done. From admissions director, to assistant to support are authentic. He cares about the well-being of his students the head of school, to his current position as an esteemed math teacher enough to share both positive praise and constructive criticism in his in the Middle School, where he also serves as boys soccer coach (he has effort to help them grow into their best selves. Anyone who has ever had more undefeated seasons than any other coach in Durham Academy even a brief conversation with Gib quickly realizes that talking with him history!), “Mr. Fitz,” as he is affectionately called, exemplifies excellent is like talking with an old friend. No matter what, one always leaves his leadership, colleagueship, advising and teaching. presence feeling encouraged, motivated, seen and heard. He is a stranger Arriving at Durham Academy in 1997, Gib Fitzpatrick began his to none and a friend to all. journey as Director of Admissions and shepherded countless families What makes Gib a life-changer? His classroom is an exemplar through the admissions process. Under his leadership, one of the of efficiency and organization. The lesson plans he prepares for his functions of the admissions office was to ensure that every prospective students are both challenging and enjoyable. So enjoyable are his lesfamily who toured this campus should know that Durham Academy sons that many students are known to take on the challenge of “doubleis special place and that each student could thrive here. For prospective homework,” proof positive that somehow Gib manages to make studying families, Gib was the welcoming face of Durham Academy’s faculty mathematics both relevant and fun. Because of his dedication to the art of and staff, helping each family feel supported through the daunting teaching math effectively, Gib has designed a well-constructed bridge that admissions process. leads students safely across from Middle School to Upper School math.

No matter how sensitive the issue, Gib consistently takes More significantly, at his core, Gib realizes that being a life-changing considerable effort to make sensible, thoughtful contributions to a teacher requires something even more substantive than explaining formuvariety of schoolwide initiatives. His work with and leadership of dozens las and equations. Daily, he demonstrates that the best kind of teaching of committees over the years has been invaluable. He was instrumental is about fostering genuine connections with his students. For Gib, every in the inception of Durham Academy’s Diversity Committee. Beyond Durham Academy student is at the heart of his efforts. One colleague said that, Gib coordinated several professional development sessions it best. “He cares about Durham Academy. He cares about our students. for Durham Academy’s faculty. Additionally, he offered many He cares about his colleagues and the overall health of our community.” valuable contributions to Durham Academy’s most recent strategic In its effort to provide each student with an education that will planning steering committee. It seems that no matter what the task enable him or her to live a moral, happy and productive life, Durham — coordinating ERB test administration, ironing out wrinkles in Academy is in good hands with Gib Fitzpatrick, a life-changing teacher, daily schedules, synthesizing data or spearheading the annual Camp colleague and friend, on board.

Kanuga excursion — Gib is always there, ready and willing to lead or EDITOR’S NOTE: Owen Bryant was the 2015 recipient of the to be supportive of his colleagues in their leadership endeavors. He is a F. Robertson Hershey Distinguished Faculty Award.

Excellent Leadership, Colleagueship, Advising and Teaching I

50

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

DA Fund Reaches $1M, a Historic Landmark

By Leslie Holdsworth, Director of Development

T

hanks to more than 1,100 donors,

breaking success, provided slightly more

demonstration of the extraordinary

than 4 percent. This is terrific progress,

generosity of parents, alumni, faculty,

as the long-term goal is to reach that 5

staff, grandparents and parents of alumni.

percent threshold. In previous years, the

More donors than ever made a gift and

annual fund had provided as low as 3

more increased their giving in order to

percent of DA’s operating budget.

ensure the school met its ambitious goal.

Durham Academy’s single largest

Broad participation by the DA

expense is people. More than three-

community is vital, too. This year’s DA

fourths of the operating budget provides

Fund once again has high participation

salaries, benefits and professional

rates, with parents nearing an all-time

development. When compared to peer

high of 80 percent, alumni above 20

schools, DA does a better job than most

percent and faculty and staff at nearly

the Durham Academy Fund reached a

at spending the bulk of its operating

100 percent, an impressive statement of

historic benchmark, raising more than

budget on people. The DA Fund directly

their belief in the school.

$1 million by the close of the fiscal year

supports the operating budget and,

on June 30. This is the most ever raised

therefore, the DA Fund’s most important

community to “enhance Durham Acad-

for the annual fund. The DA Fund has

use is to help fund the school’s most

emy’s culture of philanthropy.” This year’s

seen remarkable growth — a whopping

valuable asset, its faculty.

extraordinary success is a testament to

40 percent — since 2013.

DA prides itself on being a school

The Strategic Plan calls upon the DA

the philanthropic roots, both deep and

The DA Fund has been the top

that says “yes” to its faculty members for

broad, of such a culture. The dollars

fundraising priority for Durham Academy

anything they need in or out of the class-

raised this year made an immediate im-

since the successful close of the most

room. The DA Fund is key to providing

pact on our school, helping us to invest in

recent capital campaign, The Evergreen

that cushion in the budget. Without that

our faculty and to supplement the various

Campaign, in 2013. At most of DA’s peer

4 percent of the budget, the school would

academic and extracurricular programs

schools, the annual fund provides 5

be unable to fund everything that it needs

that distinguish the DA experience. The

percent or more of the operating budgets.

and desires to be its best.

school is deeply grateful to all who played

This year’s DA Fund, even with its record-

Parents Association Establishes First Endowed Fund for Faculty Salaries D

urham Academy has its first endowment fund designated specifically to support the salaries of teachers, who are the very core of the Durham Academy experience. Proceeds from Parents Association’s 2016 Benefit Auction provided seed money for the Parents Association Endowment Fund for Faculty Salaries. Income generated by this permanent fund will be directed to

This year’s success is a

the operating budget for faculty salaries, and Parents Association plans to continue raising dollars every year for the fund through the benefit auction fund-a-need effort.

This year’s fund-a-need effort raised nearly $35,000 from 104 donors for the faculty salaries fund. “We are honored that the auction served as the platform to launch this exciting fundraising initiative,” said auction co-chairs Kemi Nonez, Harriet Putman, Jamie Spatola and Kristin Teer. “This fund serves as a reminder of why parents support our school. It’s about the teachers. They are the ones who so aptly guide our children on their individual educational journeys. It’s why we volunteer. It’s why we are all here at DA.” Durham Academy’s endowment, like those at most independent schools, is a collection of various restricted and DUR HAM ACADEMY

a role in this historic accomplishment.

unrestricted endowment and scholarship funds. As an aggregate, the funds generate annual income for DA that flows into the operation of the school.

An endowment is a permanent, selfsustaining source of funding for the school because its assets are invested.

Between 2 and 4.5 percent of the previous 12 quarter rolling average is spent each year from DA’s endowment.

The Parents Association Endowment Fund for Faculty Salaries is “a forever fund.” The principal will never be spent, only a portion of the income that is generated each year.

The Parents Association Endowment Fund for Faculty Salaries, which represents the broad generosity of the DA community, provides a legacy of support in perpetuity for the Durham Academy faculty, our school’s greatest asset.

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

51

Anna Routh

ABOVE: Beth Crawford with her sons, Andy Crawford ’97 (left) and Matt Crawford ’99.

First-Ever Lower School Scholarship Fund Honors Beth Crawford

By Leslie Holdsworth, Director of Development

T

he first scholarship fund designated to benefit Lower School students was established this spring to honor longtime Lower School administrative assistant Beth Crawford. Beth passed away in February after a courageous nine-month battle with cancer. She joined the Durham Academy community in the 1980s as a parent to Andy Crawford ’97 and Matt Crawford ’99, and then in 1996 became the Lower School’s first administrative assistant. Beth served in that role for 20 years, up until her diagnosis last summer. Beth worked tirelessly behind the scenes to provide support and organization for faculty, students and parents, and she was a beloved member of the Lower School family.

52

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

As a parent, she was a huge supporter of the school and instilled a strong sense of loyalty and community in her sons. Andy Crawford and Matt Crawford chose to create this fund in her memory to honor their mother’s commitment to the Lower School and to demonstrate how much Durham Academy meant to Beth and to them.

Sheri-lyn Carrow served as Lower School director from 1995 to 2004, and worked closely with Beth for those nine years. In reflecting on the meaning of this fund, Sheri-lyn said, “Beth’s dedication and caring approach was far-reaching, and she touched each of our lives on a personal level. Most of all, Beth loved the children |

W W W.DA.ORG

in the Lower School and was a warm and welcoming presence in the daily life of our school. This fund would mean a great deal to Beth, and it honors her memory in a special and perfect way.”

The Beth Crawford Lower School Scholarship Fund is perpetual and will provide aid each year to a deserving Lower School student, beginning this fall.

“Our mother loved Durham Academy. She would be so happy and proud knowing every year an additional Lower School student requiring financial aid will now have the privilege of attending DA,” Andy and Matt said.

“We’re grateful to our family and friends for supporting this worthy scholarship.”

Five Join DA Board of Trustees The Durham

Academy Board of Trustees welcomes five new members: Monica Jenkins, John Lindsey, Enrique Neblett, Jennifer Riley and Ann Smith.

• Monica Jenkins is an

admissions reader for Duke’s Fuqua School of Monica Jenkins Business and program director for DTech, Duke’s program for placing undergraduate women into Silicon Valley technology internships. For more than 20 years, she owned and operated a recruiting and placement firm in California’s Bay Area.

She is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in child psychology, she has been chair of DA’s new family John Lindsey welcome program and a member of the Development Committee.

She is the mother of Spencer, a recent DA graduate; Pierce, a rising sophomore; and Fiona, a rising seventh-grader.

• John Lindsey ’08 is co-founder and presi-

Jennifer Riley

and Brown University, he earned a Master of Science from Pennsylvania State University and a doctorate from the University of Michigan.

At DA, he has served on the Wellness Committee, the Preschool Director Search Committee and on the Preschool and Lower School Diversity Committees. He is the father of Maya, a rising third-grader, and Ella, a rising kindergartner.

• Jennifer Riley is

president of Chandler Rental Properties and is a licensed pharmacy technician. A graduate of Louisburg College, she was employed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina for 15 years. She is president of Parents Council and has served as the Lower School parent representative, Ann Smith Middle School parent representative, chair of Parents Council's Caring Committee and co-chair of the Benefit Auction. She is the mother of Chandler, a rising freshman.

• Ann Smith is a stay-at-home mom who

has worked in the sales and marketing department at Grady-White Boats in Greenville and has been a Realtor education coordinator and office manager in Wilmington. A graduate of East Carolina University, she has served six years on the board of visitors for the UNC Children’s Hospital. She has served as a room parent in Lower School and Middle School, and • Enrique Neblett is an associate professor Enrique Neblett is the mother of rising eighth-grader Blake of psychology and neuroscience and is and rising fifth-grader Maggie, and is the stepmother of Gracie lab director of the African American Youth Wellness Lab at Smith, Sudie Smith and Anna Kate Smith.

UNC-Chapel Hill. A graduate of Montclair Kimberley Academy dent of Lindsey Self Storage Group and a founding member of Storelocal. A graduate of Durham Academy, he graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in business administration with a concentration in commercial real estate development. He is president of the DA Alumni Board.

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

53

STRATEGIC P LA N

DA Faculty Digs in to Strategic Planning

IAdministrative n September 2015, Durham Academy’s Team chartered six task

forces – each with faculty and administrative representation from each school division.

Their charge was to generate targeted recommendations to the Administrative Team for specific long-range Strategic Plan action steps that required change in the hearts and minds of the faculty: action steps that required faculty expertise, input and buy-in to affect meaningful change, with the greater intent of enhancing the student learning experience. More than 50 teachers self-nominated for service on the task forces.

FACULTY CONNECTIONS TASK FORCE (Chaired by Middle School Director Jon Meredith) Goal 1: A faculty full of life-changers.

Task force focus: strengthen faculty connections within and between divisions to encourage faculty professional growth and enhance the way faculty connect to each other.

FACULTY EXCELLENCE TASK FORCE (Chaired by Lower School Director Carolyn Ronco) Goal 1: A faculty full of life-changers.

Task force focus: create a culture of 54

Kathy McPherson

Michael Barley

Melody Guyton Butts

By Karen Rabenau, Chair, Board of Trustees Learning Environment Committee

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

professional growth and foster a culture of expressed gratitude.

structure that enables our ambitions.

Task force focus: determine the optimal CURRICULAR CONSISTENCY size of school in a way that balances the TASK FORCE desire to recruit the Triangle’s best and (Chaired by Associate Head of School/Upper brightest, commitments to connected School Director Lee Hark) families, the school’s prioritization of Goal 2: A cohesive, connected diversity and the preservation of the core DA and collaborative student learning cultural experience – meaningful student/ experience. teacher relationships, small class size and Task force focus: a well-defined curriculum low student/teacher ratios. with curriculum mapping; alignment of teaching practices and student assessment; DIVERSITY TASK FORCE faculty accountability.

(Chair, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs Director Kemi Nonez) SERVICE LEARNING/COMMUNITY Goals 3 and 4: A broader ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE experience of diversity and (Chairs, Middle School teacher a renewed commitment to Ben Michelman and Middle School accessibility, and a unified and Dean of Students Robert Wilson) welcoming community.

Goal 5: A school connected to Task force focus: identifying the quality Durham, the Triangle and the world. and character of our school community; Task force focus: service learning that builds addressing achievement gaps; assessing on programs within curriculum; structured financial blind spots to engagement; and with spiraling pre-k to 12 themes; that is welcoming under-represented students to relevant; and that allows for thoughtful our community. reflection.

The task forces made sure there were OPTIMAL SIZE OF SCHOOL multiple opportunities for the wider DA TASK FORCE faculty to contribute to their work, with the (Chair, Admissions Director Victoria Muradi) Learning Environment Committee serving Goal 6: An enrollment and capital as task force liaison to the Board of Trustees. |

W W W.DA.ORG

TASK FORCE TIMELINE • October/November 2015 – each task force met at least twice, identified areas for research and began crafting a faculty survey.

• December 2015 – first faculty-wide survey to gather tactical suggestions and field test ideas generated by task forces so far.

• January 2016 – task forces presented recommendations to Learning Environment Committee.

• February 2016 – faculty professional development day devoted to vetting and discussing interim recommendations.

• March 2016 – Administrative Team discussed task force recommendations, extracting the most excellent and practical ones.

• April 2016 – Administrative Team revised recommendations into executive summary; Karen Rabenau, Learning Environment Committee Chair, presented task force executive summary to the Board of Trustees.

STRATEGIC PLAN TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS (An Executive Summary)

OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM Create the “Portrait of a DA Graduate” and clarify the school’s philosophy of instruction: • Agree school-wide on the traits and habits of mind that lead to moral, happy, productive lives.

• Identify the non-negotiable elements of a student’s educational experience at Durham Academy.

• Explicitly state areas where teacher autonomy can be maintained and collective pedagogy can be developed and reinforced.

• Optimal beginning and end of academic day.

• Holistic balance among competing needs.

• Simplified daily schedules (fewer transitions, round start/end instructional times).

• Consistency with observances and rational allocation of school holidays.

Note: The bullet points above represent principles that will guide innovative scheduling experiments during the 20162017 school year and faculty discussions that will lead to more significant daily/weekly schedule alterations for 2017-2018 and beyond.

Map the curriculum: • Define what we mean by “curriculum.”

• Identify a process/software (e.g., Rubicon Atlas) through which we will collaboratively map our aspirational curriculum (content and skills) at each grade level; this map will represent what we want our curriculum to be, not what we each currently teach.

• Create teams within and/or across grade levels for curriculum mapping and development.

• Examine our current curricula in the context of national standards, filling in gaps and changing focus/direction as necessary.

• Analyze the results using a specialized team of educational consultants who have curriculum training and the experience to manage and determine what content and skills are not taught.

Develop a school-wide approach to community engagement: • Create a structure to promote service learning within and beyond existing classes and community partnerships.

• Protect and expand the best of our current partnerships. Build new partnerships on those best practice models.

Improve our daily schedule, yearly calendar • Offer ongoing professional development and facilities in ways that prioritize: for faculty in service learning techniques.

• Most effective use of instructional time in each division.

OUR COMMUNITY CULTURE • Student-faculty interactions.

• Flexible/autonomous time for students and Conduct Climate Survey for Diversity teachers (for example: tutorial). and Inclusion: • Collaboration time between teachers within • Conduct an all-school climate survey and across divisions. administered by a third-party DUR HAM ACADEMY

consulting firm. The survey should: • Identify DA’s strengths, weaknesses and areas of growth and change.

• Explore all aspects of difference (including but not limited to ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, political/social belief, learning style, globalism/internationalism).

• Gather both qualitative and quantitative data using focus groups and an online survey (students, alums, parents of alumni, former students, faculty/staff, parents and key DA constituents).

Ensure excellence (at every moment, in every venue, at every level) with diversity and inclusion: • Continue to hire and retain the most diverse faculty possible.

• Continue to hire and train for culturally competent faculty.

• Continue to recruit under-represented groups, with particular focus on AfricanAmerican, Latino and students who expand the socioeconomic and religious diversity of the school.

• Set inclusive classroom goals and curricula that aim for students to gain the knowledge and skill sets to have conversations about culture, diversity and becoming global citizens.

• Provide a cultural calendar for the DA community, allowing awareness for religious and cultural observances to be noted and explained.

• Establish consistency with observances and traditions.

• Require faculty self-assessment of their teaching and curriculum with respect to diversity.

OUR FACULTY CULTURE Aiming to catalyze continuous growth, increase collaboration time between teachers within and across divisions.

Plan ongoing professional development with particular school-wide focus on our strategic goals, specifically: • Instructional improvement.

• Curricular alignment.

• Diversity and inclusion.

• Community engagement. continued on the next page

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

55

Make faculty evaluation more relevant and meaningful with a focus on continuous growth: • Emphasize self-reflection as an essential part of the evaluation.

• Train school directors to conduct more effective observations, evaluation and coaching conversations.

• Set appropriate, specific, individual professional growth goals.

• Make effective teaching models more accessible by setting up peer-to-peer observations within and across grade levels.

• Create annual channels for student and parent feedback.

• Encourage and facilitate teachers’ visiting other schools.

Significantly increase funding for professional development opportunities: • Increase funding for sabbaticals, graduate coursework and professional development.

• Strategically award professional development and leadership opportunities.

• Re-establish a teacher exchange program with INDEX and international schools, as well as other collaborative programs abroad (e.g., Fulbright).

As part of its July retreat, the Administrative Team will update the Strategic Plan implementation grid, incorporating and prioritizing these task force recommendations and identifying next steps, funding needs, responsibility and timelines.

Our thanks to all faculty and staff who served on various task forces and to the Learning Environment Committee!

Learning Environment Committee • Karen Rabenau, chair and parent • Karen Berman, trustee and parent • De Cutshaw, parent • Steve Eason, trustee and parent of alumnae • Mark Hansen, parent • Lee Hark, Associate Head of School, US Director and parent • Leslie Holdsworth, Development Director and parent • Anne Lloyd ’82, Board of Trustees Chair, parent and parent of alumnus • Jean Spaulding, trustee, grandparent and parent of alumnae • Jamie Spatola ’00, trustee, alumna and parent • Michael Ulku-Steiner, Head of School and parent • Lauren Whitehurst, trustee and parent

• • • • • • •

Optimal Size of School Task Force • Jerry Benson (Business Manager) • Teresa Engebretsen (MS) • Christian Hairston-Randleman (PS Director) • Lee Hark (US Director) • Leslie Holdsworth (Development Director) • Seth Jernigan (Alumni Board President) • Edith Keene (US) • Kyle Lewis (Controller) • Anne Lloyd ’82, Board of Trustees Chair • Karen Lovelace (LS) • Jon Meredith (MS Director) • Victoria Muradi (Admissions Director) • Kemi Nonez (Director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs) • Lori Reade (Associate Director of Admissions) • Carolyn Ronco (LS Director) • Michael Ulku-Steiner (Head of School) • Jessica Whilden (PS)

Task force members: Faculty Connections Task Force • Jordan Adair (US) • John Bacsik (LS) • Jeff Boyd (MS) • Dennis Cullen (US) • Tim Dahlgren (MS) • Virginia Hall (MS) • Janet Hampton (PS) • Pamela McKenney (LS) • Jon Meredith (MS Director) • Debbie Suggs (LS) • Jessica Whilden (PS) • Julie Williams (MS) Faculty Excellence Task Force • Jeff Burch (LS) • Gib Fitzpatrick (MS) 56

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

Avery Goldstein (MS) Amy Knowles (US) Elizabeth Lyle (PS) Carolyn Ronco (LS Director) Mike Spatola (US) Jim Speir (US) Margarita Throop (US)

Curricular Consistency Task Force • Amanda Dolan (LS) • Tara Eppinger (US) • Lee Hark (Associate Head of School, US Director) • Trevor Hoyt (Technology Director) • Doreen Johnson (MS) • Jennifer Klaver (LS) • Libby Lang (LS) • Cindy Moore (MS) • Caroline Petrow (LS) • Verle Regnerus (US) • Denise Shaw (PS) • Gerty Ward (MS Associate Director) • Lanis Wilson (US Dean of Students) Service Learning/ Community Engagement Task Force • Sheri-lyn Carrow (PS) • Howard Lineberger (US) • Jennifer Longee (MS) • Laci McDonald (US) • Anne McNamara (US) • Ben Michelman (MS) • Jeff Parkin (MS) • Robert Wilson (MS) • Fran Wittman (US) • Clinton Wright (LS) |

W W W.DA.ORG

Diversity Task Force • Elizabeth Allan (PS) • Constanza de Radcliffe (US) • Jazmin Garcia Smith (College Counseling Co-Director) • Dan Gilson (Extended Day/ Summer Programs Director) • David Glass (MS) • Sarwat Husain (LS) • Paula Marr (US) • Meg McNall (US) • Victoria Muradi (Admissions Director) • Kemi Nonez (Director of Diversity) • Karen Richardson (MS) • Jen Rogers (US) • Kevin Schroedter (US) • Harry Thomas (US)

STRATEGIC P LA N

Strategic Plan Report Card

Goal 1: A faculty full of life-changers Strengthen recruiting and mentoring of new faculty.

• Improved interview and orientation practices, trained search committee members. Expanded faculty and academic leadership input into process.

• Assigned two mentors to each new MS faculty member.

• Collaborated with a consultant to pilot new hiring practices.

Cultivate and celebrate faculty excellence.

• Launched “Faculty Spotlight” series in weekly e-newsletter/social media.

• Hosted first “DA Legends Lunch” celebrating long-serving, retired former faculty and staff.

• Hosted division-wide celebrations of long-serving, retiring faculty.

Reassess, standardize and ensure faculty evaluations and integrate with professional growth. Define clear standards of excellence.

• Division directors completed first faculty evaluations with harmonized format and division-specific standards of excellence.

• All divisions further refined standards, determined how to consistently implement them and set two professional goals for all faculty for 2016-2017.

Melody Guyton Butts

Michael Barley

Kathy McPherson

2015-2016 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Expand and strategically award professional development and leadership opportunities.

• Hired internally for US Director, MS/LS teaching positions.

• Expanded MS/US leadership opportunities by mandating four-year team leader and academic leader rotations.

• Inducted three DA faculty members (LS/ MS/US) to Triangle Heads Leadership Academy.

Examine and revise scope and sequence in all disciplines.

• Created Associate Head of School position dedicated to defining and ensuring curricular consistency across divisions.

• Completed 18-month US Foreign Language department curriculum review. Science department adopted Next Generation Science Standards and reviewed curricular gaps, overlaps.

• Planned MS Foreign Language/English/ Science/Math departmental retreats.

Launched semester model for Fine Arts in seventh grade.

Connect teachers to the community, students and each other.

• Quarterly MS faculty collaboration lunches.

• LS conducted eight training sessions with Incorporate experiential education; critical assistants throughout the school year. and creative thinking; team-based projects; character and service-learning; and Encourage considered experimentation and appropriate, responsible use of technology. innovation in classroom teaching and learn- • Worked to deepen student connection/ ing approaches to help every student reach engagement in US advisories via more his or her highest individual potential. intentional programming.

• Introduced LS design-thinking curriculum • Launched new third grade trip to provide and makerspace planning, new MS context around resources and sustainability “STEAM by Design” elective and related to their United States unit of makerspace planning, two new US sections study. Added new fourth grade trip to of robotics and launch of first US robotics International Civil Rights Museum to team. Added MS robotics team; three MS coincide with Civil Rights unit of study. robotics clubs competed in 2015-2016.

• Added one section per MS grade level and Maintain curriculum at vanguard of created more time for innovation. age-appropriate content and skills.

• Seven new US electives with intensified Goal 2: A cohesive, connected STEM offerings and deeper exposure to and collaborative student learning Latino and African American literature. experience continued on the next page DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

57

Enhance culture of intellectual curiosity.

• Changed US Cum Laude induction policy to promote more curricular curiosity.

• Revised MS student assessment from “effort grades” to “habits of learning” indicative of student success for report cards.

• Emphasis on mindfulness – MS instituted weekly morning sessions for students and faculty. US created workshops for faculty and students. Hosted workshop for area educators.

Confirm appropriate consistency across key elements of the student experience.

• MS Language Arts department will pilot periodic, narrative teacher reports to replace Q1/Q3 comments.

• Kindergarten team met bi-monthly to ensure consistency in teaching and student assessment; adopted the Children’s Progress Academic Assessment for students (also used in first grade).

Create more interdisciplinary opportunities across departments and fields of study.

• New US interdisciplinary seminar on “The Mission-Driven Life” for fall 2016 includes interactive global and service components.

58

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

Kathy McPherson

Kathy McPherson

Melody Guyton Butts

• LS revised math standards to more closely align with and exceed national standards in grades one through four. First grade adopted EnVision math series to provide consistent scope and sequence for curriculum.

• Kindergarten team integrated parts of Writers Workshop (used in first grade).

• Established new US Student Leadership Seminar to intentionally cultivate student leaders. Partnered with Duke, Durham business leaders.

• Launched US Breakfast of Champions series for US student-athletes, partnering with Duke/UNC athletics for personal and professional development workshops.

• US to explore syncing 10th grade Western World History with Literature of Western Europe.

• Two additional MS teachers hired to foster more collaboration between LA/History departments.

Continue to recruit and support a diverse faculty and staff.

• Faculty of color represent 18 percent of faculty – highest percentage in school history.

• Increased prioritization of diversity and inclusion for applicants and finalists. All finalists now interview with Director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.

• Bolstered division Diversity Coordinator compensation, training and responsibilities.

Continue to set the financial aid budget as a percentage of gross tuition revenue Goal 3: A broader experience to meet or exceed the mean of INDEX of diversity and a renewed schools; increase endowed financial aid. commitment to accessibility • Added approximately $200,000 (above regular 3 percent increase) to financial aid Evaluate current diversity initiatives and budget. measure progress toward clearly defined • Established Beth Crawford Lower School objectives.

Scholarship Fund; endowed financial aid • Contracted with NAIS to conduct assessment for LS students. of inclusivity and multiculturalism (AIM) and comprehensive evaluation of school Reassess financial aid to maximize our culture in areas of diversity and equity. potential impact on accessibility.

• Financial aid committee reevaluating Develop programming to reinforce an current FA policy. inclusive and supportive environment.

• Extended Day and Admissions coordinated • Strategic steps to be determined after to reduce fees for after school programs completion of AIM. and summer camps to make them more accessible to families receiving aid.

Continue to recruit, retain and support • Designated Admissions financial aid students who add diversity in all school coordinator for summer camps. divisions, particularly in under-represented • Financial aid and US discretionary dollars populations. used to support student international travel.

• School-wide diversity represented by 33 percent students of color, significantly Ensure that faculty and staff are rigorously higher than peer schools. trained to relate to and support all students, families and colleagues. |

W W W.DA.ORG

• Faculty/staff, administrative team and trustees offered Racial Equity Institute training for 2016-2017.

• Annual diversity and inclusion training instituted for all faculty, including but not limited to: new faculty training, training of current faculty, national and regional diversity conferences.

• Planned 2016-2017 US faculty training on learning differences, LGBTQ/gender identity; 2015-2016 training included autism.

Goal 4: A unified and welcoming community Strengthen our culture of inclusion for every student and family.

• Parents Association Welcoming Committee launched outreach efforts earlier, with spring events held for newly enrolled students/families.

• Piloted INDEX Net Promoter Survey to gauge family satisfaction rates.

• Launched MS affinity groups (GSA, African-American, Asian, Jewish). Upper School groups planned for 2016-2017.

• MS faculty addressed standards for intolerant or offensive student language.

• Revised annual fourth grade play to ensure inclusivity for all families and students.

prevention training sessions offered to all DA faculty/staff, families, enrichment/ summer camp teachers and community partners.

• Guest speaker Richard Light held US parent workshop on student satisfaction, college and student outcomes.

Create new and deeper connections with alumni; recognize and celebrate alumni achievements.

• Grew attendance for Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony and Spring Alumni Reception; increased 2015-2016 DA Fund contributions from alumni; continued growth in alumni reunion and regional event attendance. Events also serve to update alumni on strategic initiatives at the school.

• Consistent celebration of alumni achievements on DA social platforms and magazine; year two of quarterly alumni e-newsletter; planned 2016-2017 alumni college satisfaction survey.

• Live broadcasts of varsity athletics and Spring Alumni Reception.

Goal 5: A school connected to Durham, the Triangle and the world

Establish shared traditions for the entire school and create more opportunities for cross-divisional experiences.

• Held first-ever all-school pep rally.

Provided live broadcast so families and alumni could attend virtually.

• Cross-pollination of US and MS student performance groups performing for younger divisions; US peer educators and other clubs led MS advisory activities.

• Revised MS awards assembly, replacing limited number of awards with more inclusive celebration of entire eighth grade class.

Develop a coherent pre-k through 12 curriculum for service-learning. Engage community stakeholders to help guide the design effort.

• Faculty, administrative team, board of trustees approved integrated “spiraling” thematic organization for service-learning efforts.

• New US faculty member will assist Community Service Coordinator.

• Service-learning task force identified potential improvements in placements, integration.

• New US senior elective “Why Reading Matters” paired reading buddies with Creekside Elementary third-graders.

Identify new opportunities for all families to be active in the dynamic culture and well-being of the school.

• “One Love” relationship abuse prevention workshop offered to all seniors and their parents.

• “Darkness to Light” child sex abuse

Connect DA students to local and global peers using online technologies and creative programming.

• Created new US student-driven/designed Ecuador trip; created new Chinese exchange program.

• New MS Italy spring break trip; first DUR HAM ACADEMY

MS video pen pals club with students in New Delhi, India.

• Hosted second Cavalier Invitational debate tournament, welcoming 195 students and 21 schools from three states.

• Increased student enrollment in Upper School Global Online Academy classes.

Two DA faculty teaching GOA courses.

Develop programming that promotes a culture of broad community participation by engaging students beyond the boundaries of their own education.

• Deeper, stronger school-wide partnership with Urban Ministries of Durham.

• LS Service Club created two sections to accommodate increased demand for membership.

• US Ultimate Frisbee tournament fundraiser seeded 1:1 laptop program at Durham Nativity School.

Goal 6: Support – ensure enrollment and capital structure enable DA’s ambitions Determine the optimal size of school considering financial, cultural, pedagogical, facility and admissions factors.

• Board of Trustees approved comprehensive enrollment, facilities, financing and fundraising plan. Overall enrollment to grow to 1,440 students by 2030.

Develop a comprehensive construction, fundraising and financing plan to support three key facilities (MS campus, US science building, Extended Day/Aftercare): • Board-approved plan calls for new construction in US followed by a comprehensive renovation of MS phased over 10 years.

Enhance Durham Academy’s culture of philanthropy and grow the school’s endowment.

• Set DA Fund goal at highest level ever – $1 million. Reached and surpassed goal before end of fiscal year.

• Received anonymous $1M gift to endowment.

• Created first faculty endowment. |

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

59

F ROM THE GREE N

DA Honors Faculty and Staff, Kudos to Debaters, Diver, Geo Whiz 24 DA Faculty, Staff Honored for Collective 420 Years of Service

Twenty-four Durham Academy faculty, administrators and staff were honored June 9 at DA’s closing faculty/staff meetings for their years of service to the school. All together, they have been a part of the school for 420 years! Karen Triplett, president of Parents Association, presented each with a book to commemorate their 40, 35, 25, 20, 15 or 10 years of employment at DA. Honored for 40 years of service were Dennis Cullen (Upper School) and Tim Dahlgren (Middle School).

Randy Baker (Maintenance) and Steve Engebretsen (Administration) were honored for 35 years of service.

Margarita Throop (Upper School) was recognized for 25 years of service at DA. Gary Brichford (Maintenance), Mary Norkus (Middle School), Fran Savarin (Middle School) and Rob Walker (Maintenance) were honored for 20 years of service.

Owen Bryant (Upper School), Deb Halabis (Lower School) and Steve McKenna (Maintenance) were recognized for 15 years of service at DA. Honored for 10 years of service were Mercedes Almodovar (Lower School), Tom Barry (Lower School), James Bohanek (Upper School), Jean Coene (Lower School), Amy Craig (Upper School), Costen Irons (Lower School), Christy Long (Lower School), Chris Mason (Lower School), Katherine Sherrill (Lower School), Janis Travers (Lower School), Gerty Ward (Middle School) and Jessica Whilden (Preschool).

were named champions of the International Public Forum competition at the late-April tournament. Six DA students qualified to compete in the event, recognized as among the four national championships held each year for the high school speech and debate community.

Qualifying for the University of Kentucky-hosted tournament is a rigorous process, with competitors needing to have reached late elimination rounds in the regular season’s most competitive tournaments — or have placed high enough at one of the national tournaments the previous year.

Also qualifying for the Tournament of Champions were sophomore Bhamini Vellanki (Congressional Debate), juniors Michael Li and Rohan Patel (Public Forum) and junior Collin Brown (quarterfinalist in Extemporaneous Speaking — top 24 in the country).

The International Public Forum event, in which Deprez and Yang competed, pits 50 of the best teams in the world against one other, ensuring a United States vs. international final round. In a 3-0 decision, Deprez and Yang were named champions, earning a trip to China over the summer.

Synchronized Diver Christy Cutshaw Qualifies for U.S. Olympic Team Trials

Rising senior Christy Cutshaw is one step closer to her Olympic-sized dream after earning a spot in this summer’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials for synchronized diving.

Cutshaw and her partner, Emily Bretscher, earned their spot in the Olympic Trials in dramatic fashion — at the final meet during which they could qualify, on the final day of the competition and with their “last Debaters Loften Deprez and chance” five dives. In the preliminary round Eilene Yang Place First at of the USA Diving Synchronized National Tournament of Champions Championships — held in San Antonio In what Durham Academy speech and from April 6 to 10 — the two missed the debate coach Crawford Leavoy calls “the best requisite score by just a few points, despite result of any DA team at the Tournament of their first round putting them at the top of the Champions in the 11 years of the program,” leaderboard. Their nerves had kicked in, and seniors Loften Deprez and Eilene Yang they missed their last, and usually best, dive.

60

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

Then, after a chance to regroup before taking their final five dives, they had “the synchro meet of their lives,” as her mother, De Cutshaw, described it.

“I’m so much closer to my big goal,” Cutshaw said of her dream of competing in the Olympics. “I still have a long way to go, but this is one of the big milestones. I hope to keep progressing.”

The Olympic Trials for diving took place June 18 to 26 in Indianapolis and were nationally televised via NBCSN and NBC. Eighth-grader Carlton zum Brunnen Places Second in State Geo Bee

Each January, fifth-grade history teacher Virginia Hall prefaces the start of the Durham Academy Middle School National Geographic Bee with an admonition for the audience: “No matter how they do today, they have already come far.”

It’s true that to make it to the stage of DA’s Taylor Hall, students must first best their peers in classroom-level bees. And then the winner of DA’s school-wide bee, along with the winners of the hundreds of other school bees around the state, vie for one of just 100 spots in the statewide bee. And then those 100 geography whizzes compete for a spot in the state bee’s finalist round. And then those 10 finalists battle to be among the last students on stage.

So when DA eighth-grader Carlton zum Brunnen was left standing at the conclusion of the North Carolina National Geographic Bee with a second-place trophy in his hand and ribbon around his neck, you could say that he’s come really, really far.

Zum Brunnen advanced farther in the state bee — this year held in Charlotte — than any student in the 15 years that DA has participated in the Geo Bee program, with only one other student (Sam Goldberg in 2008) having ever advanced to the finalist round.

“It felt really good, and I was also proud that I was able to represent DA,” zum Brunnen said of his runner-up finish.

DURHAM ACADEMYAlumni email: alumni@da.org

website: www.da.org/alumni

CALENDAR 2016-2017

Kathy McPherson

Sept. 1 • 5:30 p.m.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Mike Larson ’90, Les Evans ’90, Katie Hyland, Frank Hyland ’90 and Whitby Joyner ’90 celebrate the 25th reunion of the Class of 1990.

SAVE THE DATE

Business After-Hours

Sept. 13 • 5:30 p.m.

Alumni Board Meeting

Sept. 23 • 5 p.m.

Fall Alumni Weekend

Social and BBQ

Sept. 24 • 7 p.m.

Reunion Parties at Tobacco Road

Café (for classes ending in 1s and 6s)

Sept. 29 • 6 p.m.

Alumni Networking Social

in Chicago

Oct. 6 • 6 p.m.

Alumni Networking Social

in Boston

Nov. 7 • 5:30 p.m.

Alumni Board Meeting

Nov. 23 • 8:30 p.m.

Alumni Night at

2016 REUNION WEEKEND • SEPT. 23 AND 24 CELEBRATING CLASSES ENDING IN 1S AND 6S

Alivia’s Durham Bistro

Jan. 17 • 5:30 p.m.

Alumni Board Meeting

Feb. 23 • 6:30 pm

Alumni Networking Social

FRIDAY, SEPT. 23

in San Francisco

March 2 • 6 p.m.

Alumni Networking Social

in Baltimore

March 21 • 5:30 p.m.

Alumni Board Meeting

April 6 • 6 p.m.

Alumni Networking Social

in Charlotte

April 7 • 6:30 p.m.

Benefit Auction

HOMECOMING EVENTS • 5 p.m. – Alumni Pregame Social and BBQ Sponsored by Big Boss Brewery VARSITY ATHLETIC EVENTS • 4:30 p.m. – Field hockey vs. Cary Christian • 5 p.m. – Volleyball vs. Wake Christian • 6 p.m. – Soccer vs. Wake Christian

SATURDAY, SEPT. 24 • 7 p.m. – Reunion Parties Tobacco Road Café, Durham For Classes Ending in 1s and 6s For more information and to register for the reunion parties, visit www.da.org/fallalumniweekend.

Feb. 15 • 7 p.m.

Alumni Book Club

April 13 • 6 p.m.

Alumni Networking Social

in Washington

April 28 • 6 p.m.

Spring Alumni Reception

May 11 • 7 p.m.

Alumni Networking Social

in New York City

May 4 • 1 p.m.

DA Golf Tournament

Visit www.da.org/alumni for updates on venues and additional alumni information.

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

61

Melody Guyton Butts

DA ALUMNI

LEFT: Head of School Michael Ulku-Steiner congratulates Barb Kanoy and Patrick Nevins ’03. MIDDLE: Former volleyball players Lindsey Michel ’06, Jeni Kanoy Brenner Mark, Ben Mark, Tim McCord, Stephen Dauchert and Ben Harris came out to celebrate Patrick Nevins ’03.

Alumni Honor Barb Kanoy, Patrick Nevins ’03 with Faculty Legacy and Service Awards

By Melody Guyton Butts, Assistant Director of Communications

P

atrick Nevins — a 2003 Durham Academy graduate who served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps and launched a nonprofit to support fellow veterans — and Barb Kanoy — who has ignited a passion for science in DA Middle Schoolers since 1982 — have been honored with DA’s Alumni Service Award and Faculty & Staff Legacy Award, respectively. The awards were presented by the DA Alumni Board at the April 15 Spring Alumni Reception.

Nevins addressed Upper Schoolers at an assembly earlier in the day, describing what led to his decision to join the Marines after earning an undergraduate degree from Duke University.

“It was here at DA that I first began thinking about joining the military. I was a junior in Mrs. [Anne] McNamara’s AP U.S. History class the morning of the September 11 attacks. I remember 62

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

walking through these doors,” he said, gesturing toward the entrance of Kenan Auditorium, “and seeing the CNN coverage of the attacks on the projection behind us.”

With the impact of terror attacks ever-present in his mind, Nevins went on to study at Duke. His decision to enlist after graduating was cemented his sophomore year, when he heard the news that recent Duke graduate Matthew Lynch, a Marine, had been killed in Iraq — the first Duke alumnus to die in the War on Terror. Around that time, Nevins was reading a book recommended by DA English teacher Jordan Adair, Flags of Our Fathers. Within the pages of the book was a quote from Thomas Paine: “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.”

“This got me thinking,” Nevins

|

W W W.DA.ORG

recalled. “Why am I exempt? Coming from a DA background, and enjoying the best attributes of this country, why should that exempt me from military service? If this is something that I believe in, if this is a cause that I’m passionate about, I need to do something about it.”

Nevins spent the summer after his junior year at Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marines upon graduation from Duke in 2007 with a degree in public policy studies and history. In 2009, he served as a platoon commander during a six-month deployment to Afghanistan, and he was deployed to Afghanistan again in 2011.

Nevins concluded his service in 2014 and began graduate school at Duke, pursuing a master’s degree in the Sanford School of Public Policy, concentrating on national security policy.

Kathy McPherson

Melody Guyton Butts

DA ALUM NI

Allen ’05, Libby Lang ’89, Laura Zimmerman Whayne ’88 and Cheryl Welsh ’85 gather around their coach, Barb Kanoy. RIGHT: Class of 2003 friends Rebecca

As he explained at both the morning student assembly and the evening alumni reception, moving on to the next chapter of his life wasn’t as simple as he expected.

He was troubled by statistics showing rising rates of substance abuse and mental illness in service men and women returning from war, and he felt a duty to do something.

“I am responsible for the men that I led, both in 2009 and in 2011, and I will be a platoon commander for life,” he said.

“Just as I knew when I showed up in 2008 that I was responsible for their well-being, I am still very much responsible for their well-being now.”

Nevins recently launched the No Better Friend Fund, a nonprofit that aims to prevent substance abuse and suicide by bolstering the bonds that veterans have formed with one another while serving their country. The goal is to ensure that those who have served together can continue to stay in touch and support one another in times of need.

In the time that Nevins has been back in Durham, he has twice shared his story with students in Adair’s Literary and Artistic Responses to War course, and he and Adair have stayed in close

contact since his graduation from DA. In introducing Nevins at the alumni reception, Adair praised his former student and basketball player’s “unquenching desire to make the world a better place.”

“Finding a way to serve his fellow returning veterans seems so appropriate for Patrick,” Adair said. “He saw a need and applied his skills as a leader to the task at hand, and today is launching the No Better Friend Fund as a way to have a direct impact on the lives of his fellow Marines. I can’t think of a better way to define the nature of service.”

Kanoy was introduced at the reception by her daughter, Jenni Kanoy Allen ’05, who lauded her mother’s dedication to advancing her students’ understanding of science through hands-on activities and developing their autonomy.

“The truth is that those of us who have had the privilege of benefiting from science and life skills instruction by Mrs. Kanoy have been truly advantaged, and personally I’m thankful to be one of those few,” said Allen, also now an educator.

In her 34 years at DA, Kanoy has served in a number of roles: as science teacher, seventh-grade advisor, varsity DUR HAM ACADEMY

volleyball coach, Student Council advisor and leader of efforts to establish and maintain the Middle School campus’s two gardens. In 2015, she was named the N.C. Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts Conservation Teacher of the Year for Secondary Education.

In accepting the Faculty & Staff Legacy Award, Kanoy referred to one goal of DA’s 2015 Strategic Plan: nurturing a “faculty full of life-changers.” As she looks around DA’s campuses, Kanoy said she sees “life-changing teachers” all around.

“I don’t think this is a coincidence, and I don’t think that it has a great deal to do with our recruiting policies,” she said. “Rather, I believe the relationships built and fostered by the people who inspire each other, challenge each other, question each other, support each other and care for each other change teachers’ lives — who then in turn become lifechanging teachers. It’s a two-way street, and it happens right here.

“You, the alumni, the students, the administrators and the families, supply the energy, the incentive, the enthusiasm to change the lives of the people who come to join this incredible family.”

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

63

DA ALUMNI

64

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

DA ALUM NI

SPRING 2016

REGIONAL EVENTS Charlotte, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. This spring, Durham Academy’s alumni office hosted regional networking events in Charlotte, San Francisco, New York City and Washington, D.C. It was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends, make new ones and hear about all the exciting new happenings at DA.

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

65

CLASS NOTES ABOVE: San Francisco was among the places Erik France traveled to over this past year.

1978

Erik Donald France efrance23@gmail.com Howard Barlow reports from Connecticut that he is doing well.

His daughters Liza and Lexy are in school, with Liza bound for Tulane University. Ann Dykers: “I have been studying early bonding and attachment with Myrna Martin in British Columbia, helping people resolve imprints from birth and infancy and develop healthier attachment with their partners and children.”

Sherry Bartholomew Holtzclaw: “Our nest is now empty, but we are looking forward to having the girls home for the summer. Lucky for us, they are both at USC in Columbia, only 2.5 hours away. I’m still managing 3 rental properties, doing investments and

66

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

side money to pay for another photography trip. His goal is to go back to the Arctic to photograph polar bears — while they’re still there. Diane Stadler: “For the past year I’ve been working as part of the OHSU SE Asia initiative with the US State Department if that wasn’t enough, I decided and Department of Defense, the to work as a consultant for Rodan Lao PDR Ministry of Health and & Fields. I like to stay busy. We University of Health Sciences have plenty of empty bedrooms to develop the Lao-American if you want to visit Savannah!”

Nutrition Institute. Everything Camille Izlar: “It’s been a fairly from sketching out architectural eventful year in that I got married drawings on napkins to identifying in October to Paul Enquist. We had the most significant nutritional a great small wedding and family, needs, to gaining an understanding friends got together afterward of the cultural practices and beliefs in Durham. I had a total ankle that may lead to maternal and replacement in November and infant malnutrition. I have met am still recuperating but able to incredible people from all over the walk and ride my horse now. I world, Luang Prabang is my new still work at UNC at the diabetes Kauai, peanut sauce and curry are clinic as a diabetes educator.” Judy my panaceas for food-freight and I Krigman ’79 reports from Ohio: definitely recommend taking a slow “Not much is new other than I boat down the Mekong River and now work for LabCorp, helping indulging in Lao fondue! Life is others tackle their laboratory good.” Boleyn Willis-Zeger: “My problems. My older son, Martin, is dance company’s performance a linguist for the Air Force and is of The Little Mermaid is at the stationed in Monterey, California.

Carolina Theatre on May 14, 2016 My younger son, Samuel, lives (two shows). Husband, son, studio with me. Currently working as and dance company doing great! a supervisor in a glue factory — Loved hanging with Cornelia LOL — yeah, glue factory.” Kenny (Lauf) and Laurie Holljes a Randall reports that he is happy month ago.” As for yours truly, I and doing well in Michigan. He am still based in Fort Worth, Texas, coached his son, Cameron’s, soccer and have traveled this past year to team to an undefeated season, and Lisbon, Madrid, San Francisco, also coaches Cameron’s baseball Detroit, New Orleans (Evan Farris team. In the fall of 2015, Kenny was also part of the crew on that served as a faculty member of trip) and Vicksburg. A historical the Michigan Supreme Court’s game I created in high school is Michigan Judicial Institute. He now on display in North Carolina trained the state’s family court at the Bentonville Battlefield State referees on the changes to the Historic Site. And as in 1978, the Michigan Child Support Formula Rolling Stones continue to tour — that will take effect in 2017. He this time making history with a also was exhibited twice as a fine concert in Havana, Cuba! Several art photographer, and was happy of our class caught the ’78 tour and to report that he earned enough it still seems like yesterday.

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

1984

Durann Williams Archer durann.williams@gmail.com This year our class officially hits the half-century mark, and we all seem to be staying busy and active. Jennifer Ching Creger is one of our class’s biggest UNC fans, especially in the New Orleans area. She returned to Chapel Hill to cheer the Tar Heels on from the Dean Dome and was pictured in the local paper. Chris Verwoerdt writes that he and his wife are preparing for their twin boys’ high school graduation in June. The boys plan to attend UNC-CH this fall. Pat Biggs Porcelli was inducted into the DA Athletic Hall of Fame. The ceremony was held at DA and Sarah Warner Burdick, Serena Russoli Hutcheson, Becky Henegar Gould and myself from our class were able to join her for the celebration. Alex Gourley, son of Heather Griffin Gourley, recently signed to play football at Duke and she is trying to learn the Duke fight song after being raised a Tar Heel. As a reminder, our class has a Facebook page — Durham Academy 1984(ish) — that provides an ongoing connection for us all.

1986

Rob Everett rob@teamapartments.com Jon Avery jravery@ravenscroft.org DEAR Tracy Appleton, Melissa Arwood, Elena Beadles-Hay, Susan Behar, Alec Bell, Chris Bennett, Anne Boat, Barbara Bossen, Lisa Bradford, Phillip Brown, Keith Brzenk, Mei Mei

DA ALUM NI

Class of 1986

1987

Clarke, Jacob Reunion Cooley, Chris Craig Powell DURHAM ACADEMY Danford, Alan craigp6891@ FALL ALUMNI WEEKEND Ellis, Rachel SEPT. 23 & 24, 2016 yahoo.com Erickson, Spread the word.

Emma Fortney, Register at www.da.org/alumni.

From David Terry FraserHamilton: Reid, Alison Gunn, Tony Han, “I am currently Stateside after Tommy Hoke, John Hull, Brooke 12 years of living abroad, most Johnson, Joe Kalo, Kate Keese, recently in Nepal. Currently, I am Logan Kendall, Legia Kim, based in Boston doing International Andrew King, Geoff Lamb, Development, which has sent me Mike Loehr, Jamie Lowman, to a number of places including Kristy McAlister, Heather Afghanistan, Ukraine, Macedonia Nathans, Mike Neelon, Mark and Moldova. Unfortunately, I Nievergelt, Teddy Oldham, Phil haven’t been back to NC recently, Oldham, Gabriel Paletz, Rob but hope to soon. I quit Facebook Phay, Jay Rankin, Lara Ryan, several years ago, so best way to Eric Singdahlsen, Brenda Smith, get in touch with me is via email at Becky Sparling, Ginny Spell, daveham@usa.net.” Checking in Annika Stalberg, Joe Taylor, from the UK, Lawrence Warner Didi Tomaro, Edith Toms, Scott ladies and gentlemen! “This year Trotter, Lisa Tulchin, Samantha we learned one of our neighbors Turvey, Dave Whisnant, Thomas here in London has played drums Wicker, Fred Wilson, Amanda with AC/DC while another had Yaggy and Peter Zenge: Just a role on Downton Abbey’s final typing each of those names above, season. Eloise has no time for that as well as such non-graduating boring stuff; she’s a My Little Pony classmates as Maura Moylan, girl. Her brother Sebastian has Lee Barnes, Manjula Jegasothy scored 16 goals for his “football” and Bennett Roberts, has made team and loves the Arsenal. us excited as hell to remind you Genevieve and I saw Agatha that our 30th class reunion is this Christie’s play The Mousetrap in Sept. 23-24! Details forthcoming only its 64th year on stage. I got a elsewhere, but we can promise nice promotion at work this year here that Geoff Lamb will and have had study leave the first provide beverages, Mike half of 2016. I’m writing a book Loehr will provide emergency called On Not Finding Chaucer’s preparedness and Chris Bennett Scribe and serve on the vestry of will explain why his name alone St. Martin-in-the-Fields church (the is in bold above. Face it, this event one at Trafalgar Square).” Now, a will be WAY MORE FUN than little closer to home, Mason Cox … attending high school. So offers: “I am living in Chapel Hill, calendar it now — and GET and working at CLINIPACE. Jenn PSYCHED! Because visiting and I are on the move constantly with your old classmates is a as we raise MacKenzie (16), great way to remind yourself Mason (14), and Mary Scott (11).” that you were once young. We Mark Baunach checks in after a hope and expect to see all of you 10-year update absence! “I’m still in Durham this fall. Hugs and working as the Global Financial tassels, Rob and Jon. Services Industry Executive for

EMC Professional Services (soon to be Dell Professional Services).

My job causes for me to rack up the airline miles due to lots of domestic travel as well as trips to Europe, the Middle East, Asia and South America. When I’m not on the road, I’m at home in the Lake Norman area (just north of Charlotte) with my wife, Shirley, and our youngest son, Zachary, (who recently turned 11). Our daughter, Paige, just graduated from University of North Florida with a degree in American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting and our middle son, James, is completing his first year in the jazz guitar program at the Manhattan School of Music.” Jennifer Phillips (aka Jen Williams Owens) is still in Charleston. Specifically, “Billy and I are still enjoying living in Charleston and enjoying the beach life, Duke basketball and Clemson football. We try to spend as much time as possible out on the boat when the weather is nice. Will is finishing his junior year at Appalachian and Chris is working as an engineer for his dad’s company, PRM.” “Can no news be good news? I only have ‘olds,’” writes Kirsten Vollmer.

Well, thanks for checking in! And for a Left Coast update, we now go to Tom Beischer: “Still living in SF and teaching architectural history at Stanford. Spending a lot of time with Zach (7th) and Anna (2nd). Hoping to make a family trip to Germany this summer. I keep up fairly regularly with Ian (Patrick), whose mom lives in Palo Alto.

Also had a fun DA get together in the city just a few months ago.

A surprising number of alums in the area, though Grace Stanant (’83) is the only other old guy.”

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

A short note from Kevin Stack from Nashville: “I’m still doing well in Nashville, teaching at Vanderbilt Law School. We now have a rising senior, sophomore and sixth grader. I’ve been enjoying hanging out with Jamie Ludington since he moved to town, retelling stories, mainly of defeat, in DA soccer, among other things. A busy and good update that many will probably be able to identify with, Debbie Markland shares “Sending our oldest, Cole, off to college in the fall. He plans to pursue a degree in music education at Georgia College. Jake is a rising junior — on the AJRA varsity rowing team which takes up most of his time, and Emma is a rising eighth grader — playing every sport that time allows — but soccer being her true addiction. And .... Keith and I just run around trying to keep up with them.” Finally, I would like to thank everyone for checking in, it is fun to be the first to see your updates and know that you are doing well.

As for me, Anne and I still live in Virginia Beach and I still work for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

My oldest daughter, Madeline, is a rising junior at Kansas State and is thriving. My youngest, Katherine, is a rising junior in high school and will be student newspaper editor next fall. Very proud father right here. Class of ’87 — be well and safe.

1988

Laura Zimmerman Whayne laurazimmermanwhayne @gmail.com Hello my ’88ers! I am quite disappointed! Twenty-eight years of doing the class notes along with Joey Williams, and we have never

SUMMER 2016

continued on page 6 9

|

WWW.D A .OR G

67

Downtown neighborhoods in Oakland, California, are enjoying a resurgence thanks, in part, to the hard work of Steve Snider ’88.

Steve Snider ’88

Leading Oakland’s Revitalization Efforts If it were not for the six

formative years I spent at Durham Academy between 1982 and 1988, particularly the individual attention I received as a student at The Hill Center and the opportunity to be a leader in a highly competitive basketball program, I am certain my future would have been greatly compromised.

After graduating from Chapel Hill High and The Hill Center in 1988, I attended Prescott College in Arizona. I returned to Chapel Hill and worked as a teacher assistant at Frank Porter Graham Elementary School from 1994 to 1997. Though I enjoyed teaching, it was evident I had yet to discover my career path or my life’s true purpose.

In August of 1997, I embarked on a journey of self-discovery.

I moved to Oakland, California, to attend a unique master’s degree program at New College of California in San Francisco. I enrolled in an Oakland-based satellite program with a focus on the sustainable and equitable revitalization of Downtown Oakland.

After graduating in 1999, I opened a nonprofit, community arts center called the Oakland Box Theater and Gallery in Downtown Oakland. It was through this project that I fell more

68

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

deeply in love with the diverse and creative people of Oakland.

This project solidified my commitment to creating a better world by thinking globally and acting locally.

Between 1999 and 2009, I dedicated myself to creating numerous cultural arts venues in Downtown Oakland. In 2008, I teamed up with Andrew Jones, an Oakland native, and cofounded Oakland Venue Management, Inc. (OVM). We specialize in the management of numerous local special event venues and street festivals. From 2009 to the present, OVM has overseen the day-to-day operations of the Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt-Uptown District Associations. Currently, I am the executive director of these two jointly administered Community Benefit Districts (CBDs).

These two organizations, along the neighboring Jack London Improvement District, which we also manage, are three of the largest CBDs in the East Bay. The CBDs work daily to improve these Downtown Oakland neighborhoods by attracting new businesses, residents and visitors to our downtown. We are also highly committed to supporting and retaining the current Oakland artists, businesses and residents that made Oakland such an amazing community in the first place. This is no easy task in the rapidly gentrifying Bay Area.

I am proud to say that Downtown Oakland is now widely recognized as a great destination for work and for pleasure. I am also very proud to say it is home to the world champion Golden State Warriors! Being a part this community over the last 19 years has been an experience of a lifetime. I have found my passion and my purpose and it is called: Oakland, California.

had such a small response. Have to admit that I am so busy myself … that it is taking effort to get this done this year! How does life get busier every year? Anyway, here goes … Henry Pye gets the award this year! He got me his notes FIRST. His wife, Sybil, had a hard time believing this to be so! He said, “Not too much new … both sons are playing rugby for Chapel Hill Highlanders and I am an assistant coach!” I had the pleasure of seeing some of our classmates at the gala I co-chaired for Chris Rosati’s (’89) Inspire Media Network. It was an event so fun with hundreds of guests — and many classes from DA were present! Enjoyed catching up with fellow ’88ers: Chris Porter, Jory Berson, John Ross, Neal Ellis, Webb Roberts, Henry Pye. Neat to have them all there, as well as friends from many of the classes at DA, to support Rosati and all he is doing. I have been blessed to see Shannon Griffin Blake several times this year. For notes, she said, “All is great in GA. Enjoying my 11th year at CDC. Leading a branch focused on improving the lives of people with mobility limitations and intellectual disabilities through new programs and research. Love my job. Kids busy with sports …” Greg Ehle wrote, “I am married to Meghan Mientka Ehle. We have two boys, 3 and 6 years old. They are awesome even though I feel like a referee in a MMA match, and we live in Colchester, Vermont. I am coaching T-ball, learning to duck and planning on two Dead shows and four Phish shows this summer.

We took the boys to the Phish fest last year and they had a blast.

I have been working at Higher Ground, a local music club, and doing show security for the past

Colin Huth

DA ALUM NI

ABOVE: Alumni parents and their graduating seniors who gathered for a photo before commencement include Tad DeBerry ’81, Walker Harris ’85, Kathryn Moore ’82, Rick Morgan ’80, Elizabeth Oates ’76, Bennett Roberts ’86, Steed Rollins ’78, Louise Few Rollins ’82, Holly Gallagher Samet ’84, Janis Bergman Tillman ’84, John Young ’83, Vincent Quiett ’81 and Joe Walston ’89.

eight years or so. I am going on 17 years of cardiology as a PA for a day job. Life is busy, but not too busy to enjoy! I am hoping to get back in two years for our reunion.

Just out of curiosity PJ Toth and Jason Weinstein seem to be MIA, does anyone know what happened to them?” Greg, PJ is a surgeon in Winston Salem! Speaking of music … Ted Kalo emailed me with such cool information that you won’t find on Facebook! He said, “I am happily living in the D.C. burbs in Alexandria with my wife, Kristy, and son and daughter. We have a lot of fun! My professional focus is as the executive director of the musicFIRST Coalition, a coalition of major and independent record labels and artist advocates like the Grammy and SAGAFTRA. I had the surreal experience of leading a press conference last April about new music reform legislation alongside Elvis Costello, Cyndi Lauper, Rosanne Cash, Martha Reeves and many others in NYC. It was like a really weird dream. As I write this, I am about to do another event again this week in D.C., this time with T Bone Burnett.

Combining music and politics, two of my great interests, is great. Now I just have to figure out how to add Carolina Basketball to the mix.

And, btw … I am still not over the NCAA Final.” Ted … this just makes total sense! Reminds me of when you worked at Record Bar way back when and then politics in D.C. later! You must be in heaven joining these two passions! And regarding UNC bball final … it was awful! Was on Franklin Street and well … it was the quietest I have ever seen it. I had the pleasure of seeing Amy Crill Malone and Rob Christopher Strayhorn and Shannon in Atlanta in November! It was so nice to see them all for a brief time that I was in ATL. And, yes … they are all exactly the same! Laughed so hard, teared up, etc. Kristen Stallings Jupena and I also got to see each other in December when she was home for Thanksgiving.

Her life is great in Wilmington with her husband, Nick, and her kids, Jake and Catherine! Neal Ellis and family doing well — we were recently at the DA Alumni Awards event and I got to spend

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

time with Coach Barb Kanoy, who was one of the honorees! Fellow volleyball teammates … she looks exactly the same, but now has a grandchild! How can that be?

Okay, as promised! If I did not hear from you I was going to pull from your FB timelines! So here goes.

Chris Harp and Nanci still live in Southern Pines and Chris posts a lot about Boxers. Harp was supposed to attend the gala in November, but was unable to last minute! We missed you, Harp! Steve Snider and I communicate fairly regularly.

Steve is still living in Oakland, just celebrated his wife’s birthday, was very sad about Prince dying, still loves all kinds of basketball, completely bummed about UNC final … and kicking it in Oakland doing amazing things for the entire community. Caroline Baty-Barr, Andrew Simpson and I all had our oldest sons attend their freshmen year of college. Andrew Simpson continues to inspire me by running the Boston Marathon. Awesome, Andrew! Speaking of inspiring, Keith is a coach at Guerrilla Fitness CrossFit Morristown and lives in New Jersey. His son, Jett, is

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

69

DA ALUMNI

adorable! Keith’s posts are truly inspiring with how-to’s regarding many fitness needs from stretches to yoga to kettle balls etc. Think you should teach us all a class at our big 30 reunion, Keith! When Jason Stone was in town earlier this year, I was able to spend some quality time catching up with him.

He said, “I am still living in San Francisco with my husband, Eric, and our two kids Stella (5) and Xavier (2). I am sending my kids to French school and know that Mrs. Clegg would be proud.” Jason and Colclough Sanders-Gomez see each other fairly often and love having their kids grow up knowing each other. They recently went on a skiing trip to Tahoe together with both families. Kimberly Shavender is enjoying life and is a physical therapist. Kim takes the most gorgeous photos and recently went on a trip to Cuba. Edwin Bryson, I tried to pull from your FB, but people post on your wall more than you post! But, to answer your question, I think it is perfectly find to pass a bison on a double yellow! Jennifer LaForce is living in Northern California and her daughter, Haley, is a spitting image of her! Kim Singletary and Samirra Wise, I loved seeing you at the Farm in Chapel Hill this year. Kim in an ER doc in Raleigh.

Sam lives in Durham. And Arline Edwards-Joseph always inspires me. Arline received her doctorate so she is now Dr. Arline Edwards-Joseph. Ben Kalayjian is a massage therapist in Post Ranch Inn and a practitioner at Esalen Institute. He is blissfully married and I admire the work he does with children with HIV. Regarding me … my son, Hayden, just completed his freshman year at Virginia Tech and loved it. My daughter, LewLew, will be going

70

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

to East CHHS next year and is a born leader. She has been so inspired by Chris Rosati for the last few years and is happy to be a part of the BIGG Little Butterfly Grant club that Chris and his Inspire Media Network set up at Culbreth Middle School this year. Her BIGG event is May 14 at Southern Village in Chapel Hill to help spread kindness. I continue to work like crazy as a real estate broker at RE/ Max Winning Edge in Chapel Hill.

Life is good. Hugs and smiles to all.

1990

Les Evans les.evans@gmail.com The Class of ’90 had its 25th reunion this past October, and I was fortunate enough to attend.

I’d say about 15 to 20 of our classmates were in attendance and most of us looked pretty great!

Us Evanses are still in Raleigh, still bouncing around this great state often, visiting grandparents and friends. Our 11-year-old’s gymnastics has taken us out of state recently, and thankfully our 7-year-old’s soccer has not. I feel like I write this every year, but we just saw Leigh Kramer LaFalce’s niece and nephews’ band, Delta Rae, a couple weekends ago downtown. Leigh writes in, “Just wrapped up my 10th year as a preschool teacher. Love my work.

Really love my family. And LOVE the job you did as class reporter, Les, all these years. Thank you so much! I’m sure it was something like pulling 66 individual, stubborn teeth every year, but I also know I hungrily flip right to your notes when the mag comes in the mail. #deltarae” Mark Simpson has had a baby boy (well, his lovely

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

wife, Jess, did all the hard work).

He’s written a haiku about it — “First I got married, Then we had a baby boy, In San Diego!” Nice.

“Life is still great!” writes Angela Dowdy Sarvis. “Our eldest graduates from Trinity School this year and will be heading off to Gardner-Webb University this fall on an academic and swimming scholarship. It will be strange with only four men in the house on a regular basis. Changes are difficult and exciting for the Sarvis Crew.” “John McLeod and I,” says John Crumbliss, “relived elements of our lives circa ‘90 last weekend in D.C. while our wives were elsewhere. The fishing, yukking it up and a cold drink were from the past. Having our own towheads tagging along was from the present. I ran the Boston Marathon where I saw Andrew Simpson (’88) from a distance in the holding pen in Hopkinton.”

John is fired up about heading to Marseille to watch the UEFA European championships this June. Keri Ehle Nasenbeny has been in Seattle “now for 20 years which just blows my mind, and means I’m getting old! I’m now the director of critical care at the University of Washington Medical Center and love what I do! When I’m not working, I’m hanging out with my family. My husband and I have 9-year-old twins that keep us super busy and my folks are out in Seattle now, too. Seattle is a great place to visit — tons to do, great hiking/outdoor activities and lots of amazing food.” Juan Fontán Membrives is alive and well in southern Spain. Hope Boykin isn’t standing still — far from it. “Lots of new projects in the works, and I can’t wait to share, but the one I can chat about now is @MomentsByHope. A

new expression of my movement and my thoughts in collaboration!

Follow @MomentsByHope on Instagram and Tumblr and see where it leads.” Eppie Grandis Miller has great news! “I have just graduated from John Carroll University with an M.Ed. Professional Teacher with Initial Early Childhood Teaching Licensure. I will be working as a full time kindergarten teacher at the Mandel School, a private Jewish Day School, in the fall.”

“I was so disappointed to miss the 25th reunion last fall!” says Leigh Taylor Koch. “My husband left that weekend on his seventh deployment. He just returned and we are moving to Newport, Rhode Island, next month where he will attend the Naval War College for a year. In the fall we will have two middle schoolers (fifth and seventh) and a first grader. All three play several sports so we seem to be constantly racing around to practices and games.”

As many of you many know, Katie Moylan Little will be graciously taking over my duties as class recorder starting with the next edition. Thank you all for putting up with me these last years, and thank you, Katie, for taking over!

Please treat her nicely!

1991

Torsie Judkins torsiejudkins@gmail.com Torsie Judkins reports that he is about to start his eighth year in the Tri-State area and excited about his twin daughters beginning their independent school journey this fall.

After a stressful process, they will start kindergarten this fall. Torsie still gets together in the NYC area with Doug Dicconson ’91, Charlie

DA ALUM NI

Class of 1991

DA and I’ll be Kaufman Lynn Reunion back to being Construction/ DURHAM ACADEMY a school mom.

Owner Moonlight FALL ALUMNI WEEKEND Bring it on!”

SEPT. 23 & 24, 2016 Management Cory Johnston Restaurants Spread the word. reports that Register at www.da.org/alumni. operating he is still out Calavera, Oak in Hood River, Oregon, with City Meatball Shoppe, Moonlight his wife Pippa, 2-year-old son, Pizza Company, Esperanza Rocky, and another on the way.

Empanada and Tequila Bar, Cory is working as a general The Shoppe: Bar and Meatball surgeon. “Ski, cycle, sail, paddle, Kitchen; COMING SOON (Bottle dig, burn stuff and try to keep Session and Hokee Pokee)/Travels up with the tykes. That’s about (anywhere with wacky foods). it.” After spending the last 11 Christy Sporleder Rosas is years overseas, Andrea Banes working for State of North Carolina Picon’s family returned after Parks as a parks planner. N.C. a short hiatus to the Charlotte Parks is celebrating a centennial area. They will be moving to year. Sons, Logan and Lucas are Minneapolis in June. She invites playing soccer, swimming and are anyone who likes ice fishing to active boys. “We are planning a trip drop her a line. She hopes to come to Indiana to visit Julie (Pellomback to see everyone in September Sporleder) and attend our 25th class for the 25th reunion! Virginia reunion for Carmel High School Reves Hall says she’s reached near the Colt stadium.” Danielle the point where she has nothing Pedersen Holland reports life’s new to report about herself since been pretty hectic down in New she is still teaching and coaching Zealand. “We have recently moved at DA (since 1998!). “I’m a fullto the family beach house while we ABOVE: Miles Hall ’91 enjoys the sea, sand and sunshine with Bridget, fledged soccer mom to two girls are building our new house. Google Everett and Madeleine.

— including Allison (age 10), who ‘Whangamata’ if you get the chance. beat me in a 5K this fall, and It’s a beautiful part of the world. I’m Shipman ’92, Hilary Carson ’92 fall! After two years living abroad Catherine (age 8), who had Libby still working in sports broadcasting and all the Brodie boys. Happy in Singapore, Laura Horton Lang as her second grade teacher and have started in a new role hours have turned into play dates Virkler is heading back to Durham this year! A highlight this where I’m in charge of all the replay and we are enjoying watching with her family this summer. Her spring was attending the Duran operators (we do the slow motion all the kids grow up. Allison oldest will be attending the Upper Duran concert at the Durham replays on live sporting events) McWilliams continues to enjoy School at DA in the fall! Laura says Performing Arts Center and here in NZ. We are currently in the her work at her alma mater, Wake that Singapore’s been amazing.

I urge anyone who hasn’t been middle of our rugby season (that Forest, as director of mentoring “We’ve explored 11 countries while back to Durham in a while to tough guy sport with no helmets or and alumni personal and career here and the kids have hopefully come and check out the amazing shoulder pads!), so travelling around development, which also gives her really started to understand how transformation of Downtown a lot. I head to Rio in August for the opportunity to travel to fun others live and the issues they Durham! And be sure to stop by the Olympics where I’ll be working places like N.Y.C., D.C. and Boston may face. We lived out on the DA’s middle school campus to see on the Rugby Sevens, Triathlon to work with great WFU alumni. farm for 10 years, then moved to me.” Nicole Epstein Ramsdell and Ocean Swim so starting to She loves getting to catch up with a high-rise condo in a big city for is still in Charlotte working as get excited with it now being quite Clint Acrey, Jason Lang and two more and now we are going in-house counsel at Dollar Tree/ close! I caught up with Christa Kathy Oakes in Winston-Salem, back and going to try ‘town’ living Family Dollar and trying to (Smith Goldoni) in London while as well as getting back to Durham in Durham — love being parts keep up with her 4-year-old son I was there for the last Olympics. to visit with her family. Looking of each of them. The kids will be and 8-year-old daughter. Hans Unfortunately my work hasn’t forward to seeing everyone in the in ninth, sixth and third grades at Huang is the chief legal officer for c o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 74

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

71

DA ALUMNI

From coaching a team of 9-year-old boys to taking the helm of a Big Ten women’s program, Jonathan Tsipis ’91 has basketball in his blood and is a great teacher of the game.

Jonathan Tsipis ’91

Jonathan Tsipis ’91 Followed Improbable Path to Top Coaching Job at University of Wisconsin

By Dennis Punzel Reprinted with permission from the Wisconsin State Journal

G

rowing up in a basketball-centric family, it might seem only natural that Jonathan Tsipis would end up coaching the sport.

But Tsipis’ path to the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball coach’s office was marked by an improbable series of twists and turns that has taken him from coaching a team of 9-year-old boys to taking control of a program that both he and his boss, UW Athletic Director Barry Alvarez, agree is a “sleeping giant.”

If nothing else, his journey has taught him one important lesson.

“In coaching, you don’t ever know what the future is,” Tsipis said.

Certainly, Tsipis, 43, had no idea what lay ahead for him when, as a young pharmacy student at the University of North Carolina, he agreed to take on the task of coaching 12 9-year-olds who had been playing at a YMCA but wanted to start an AAUtype year-round program. The program was being organized by Dr. Henry Friedman, an internationally renowned neuro-oncologist

72

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

at Duke University Medical Center, who happened to have a son on the team.

Friedman called Steve Engebretsen, Tsipis’ former high school coach at Durham Academy, looking for suggestions for a possible coach.

“I actually remember that phone call very distinctly,” said Engebretsen, who is still athletic director at Durham Academy.

“Jonathan came to mind immediately. Jonathan has basketball in his blood with his family and I knew he’d be great with kids and a great teacher of the game. Luckily, that worked out.”

It worked out well enough that after watching Tsipis operate that youth program for several years, Friedman mentioned to his friend, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, that he knew a young man who loved coaching and was looking for a learning opportunity.

“So Coach K said to come to his office and he’d see what he could do,” Tsipis said.

Tsipis spent the 1995-96 season as an undergraduate assistant at Duke, while finishing up his pharmacy studies at UNC. That created something of an awkward situation with his girlfriend, Leigh, a fellow pharmacy student who eventually would become his wife.

“She did not understand how I could be a student at North

DA ALUM NI

Carolina and work with the Duke program,” Tsipis said. “I had to tread lightly, especially because I had just started to date her.

I had to convince her I was not a traitor. She’s still never going to root for Duke as long as she lives.”

Following graduation, Tsipis faced something of a crossroads. He passed his pharmacy board exam, but yearned to carry on his family’s basketball tradition.

His dad, Lou, played for the Greek National Team at age 15 and after coming to the U.S. he played at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, and coached at the high school and college levels for more than 20 years. He’s a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as an official. His brother, Dean, and sister, LuAnn, also played college basketball.

At the time, LuAnn was living in Kansas, where her nextdoor neighbor just happened to be Scott Thompson, the basketball coach at Wichita State. Thompson was fired from that job but was hired as coach at Cornell and was looking for a No. 3 assistant. When it came to choosing a career path, pharmacy didn’t stand a chance for Tsipis.

“I just never knew if that opportunity was going to present itself again,” he said. “Everybody knew if the offer came where I was going to go.”

So he was off to Ithaca, New York, at age 23, coaching players barely younger than he was making minimal pay and soaking up all the basketball knowledge he could.

He spent three seasons at Cornell, the first of a series of four low-profile, low-paying men’s basketball jobs that would take him to Le Moyne College in Syracuse and Elon (North Carolina) University as an assistant and then to UNC-Greensboro as director of basketball operations.

“It definitely is not a path a lot of people take,” Tsipis said.

“Things just kind of worked out that way.”

Throughout those years he kept in touch with his old high school coach.

“He just learned the game working for a lot of people,” Engebretsen said. “I remember talking to him and he said, ‘I’m young and don’t have a lot of obligations, so I can keep trying it and not make much money and just see where it takes me.’

I think at some point he thought that maybe this basketball coaching thing isn’t going to work out. But finally it did.”

It did because Notre Dame women’s coach Muffet McGraw was looking for somebody to replace Kevin McGuff, the current Ohio State coach, who had left her staff to become head coach at Xavier. She called her old friend Fran McCaffery, now coach at Iowa, who had spent 11 seasons as a men’s assistant at Notre Dame, seeking recommendations for a man to round out her staff.

McCaffery, whose wife Margaret played for McGraw, was head coach at UNC-Greensboro at the time and did indeed have a candidate in mind for her.

“I trusted [McCaffery], and that was enough for me to make the decision,” McGraw said. “Jonathan made a really good impression when he interviewed and I certainly liked all the things he talked about and showed me on the court. It was an easy decision.”

Tsipis had no reservations about transitioning from coaching men to women.

He went to South Bend, Indiana, in his usual role as No. 3 assistant, but was given the important task of leading the scouting of top national competitors Connecticut, Tennessee and Rutgers.

He climbed the coaching ladder and spent the last four of his nine seasons there as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, battling for some of the top players in the country.

McGraw knew that Tsipis had the makings of a good head coach, and after he rebuilt the George Washington program in four years she knew he was ready for an even bigger challenge.

And she told Tsipis as much when he sought her counsel on the UW job.

“I agreed with him that it was definitely a great step up for him to be at a Big Ten school with just unlimited potential,” McGraw said. “I think it’s a place where he can really grow and make a difference.”

Of course, Engebretsen could’ve told anybody that some 25 years ago.

“He was a coach’s dream as a player,” Engebretsen said.

“And he’s worked his way up through the coaching ranks and deserves the chance to be head coach at a major conference school. It’s pretty cool. All of us back here in Durham are proud of him and we’re not surprised.

“There’s a certain satisfaction of having someone I coached who’s continued in basketball and is a coach at the highest level in college. My wife and I have worked in schools for 30 years and we talk about some of our all-time favorite kids. Well, he’s one of my all-time favorites.”

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

73

DA ALUMNI

brought me back to the States so can’t believe it’s been 25 years since I was in Durham! Well if anyone heads ‘down under’ would love to catch up. You might just find you don’t want to leave!”

1993

Rosemary Nye rosemary.nye@da.org In January, Courtney Prentis Glenn started a new job at Emory University as a clinical social worker in counseling and psychological services. The switch to higher education has been an enjoyable and a welcome change and challenge. Her boys are growing up fast — Henry is 4 and Richard is 9. She and her husband spend most weekends cheering on the sidelines of the soccer field.

Leo DiNapoli now lives in the Atlanta area and is a regulatory science lead for the Americas for a pharmaceutical company (UCB). He works mostly on immunological conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis. Leo’s wife, Jessica, is a math and computer teacher at a local school. When she’s not doing that, she’s systematically renovating their house by herself. They have two human kids (Anthony, who is almost 8, and Samantha, who just turned 5) and one cat-type kid.

Raymond Guiteras reports, “Mabel, Liliana and I are very happy to be moving to Raleigh this summer. I’m joining the faculty at N.C. State. We’ll miss DC/MD but it’ll be great to be home again.” Rosemary Nye continues to enjoy teaching first grade at Durham Academy and is thrilled to have an opportunity to spend next spring on sabbatical

74

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

working for Chris Rosati’s (’89) company, Inspire Media Network.

The following updates have been rumored, but not confirmed: Mike Musante has taken up residence in Hollywood and is going to be the next host of America’s Got Talent. He was recently spotted at a Hollywood eatery with Angelina Jolie. Draw your own conclusions.

It’s rumored that he just sold his Silicon Valley startup to Google and is moving to an island off the coast of Malaysia. Jonathan Goldner and his beautiful bride are enjoying life in the Netherlands with their precious baby boy. Jonathan’s career and job assignment in the Netherlands are both highly complicated and highly confidential. Erik Hagan lives three houses down from the class recorder. It’s been observed that he remains a Wolfpack fan, despite his residence in Durham. He also displays the neighborhood’s largest inflatable light up snowman in December.

Word on the street is that he is an incredible father and very supportive husband, despite his questionable choice of athletic allegiance and holiday display.

1994

Bev Foulks bevfoulks@gmail.com I heard back from a few classmates this year and suspect that the others have their hands full between work, family and turning 40! Millie Long Barritt has kids at DA in kindergarten, third and fifth grades, and she enjoys regularly seeing some of the teachers we had growing up.

She has recently been promoted to associate professor of medicine at UNC. Millie and her kids have

SU M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.OR G

ABOVE: Jay Tatum ’95 and Martha Rundles Palmer ’95 both live in New Canaan, Connecticut, and often see each other at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings.

enjoyed triathlons and road races in the area. Kathy Sanders Bekedam reports that her family has officially settled in Livingston, Montana, where they purchased an old Victorian in September and plan to stay for at least 10 years. They are very happy to feel settled, and they find it exciting and fun. In October, she accepted a part-time position as executive director at the Livingston Center for Art and Culture and loves it.

She writes, “For 20 years I’ve wanted a job like this; working for a non-profit arts organization that focuses on representing local artists and teaching a variety of art classes to kids and adults,

like the Durham Arts Council, but MUCH smaller. Things are good for us out here, living the Montana dream!” Betsy Reves Sidebottom reports that life is busy but fun in Charleston, South Carolina. She started a new job at Ashley Hall, a school similar to DA, and is thankful to work in the same building that currently all three of her children attend: Ella (4), Reves (4) and Wesley (3.) She and Richard enjoy life in the Lowcountry and living close to her parents and her sister Christy (class of ’92). Betsy writes, “I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life as we enter the next decade! Let me know if anyone

DA ALUM NI

is ever in Charleston, we’d love to meet up for happy hour!” Blake Ellis reports, “Life is moving along for us. Hamilton turned 10 this year and is finishing up third grade. She continues to amaze us with what she’s accomplished given all the obstacles she’s faced!

Carter and Tyler, our 5½-year-old twins will be starting kindergarten in the fall! Now I really don’t know how that has happened!

I guess it’s because I turned 40 in September, are we really that old? I’ve been substitute teaching at their preschool and plan to do more of that once they’re back in school. Sunny Durack Maxwell, Ryan Hardaker LaForce and Becca North and I have a 40th birthday, long overdue, girls trip planned for the fall! It’s fun to see Harriet and Garrett Putman often, as well as a few other DA grads. I hope everyone enjoys their big 4-0 birthday, it’s really not that bad!” Likewise for those who find themselves in Wilmington or Wrightsville Beach! It’s my sixth year living here, and I continue to enjoy teaching classes on Asian religions as an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. My children — now ages 2 and 4 — are complete goofballs who keep me sane amid what I find to be an increasingly insane state political environment. I hope that all my fellow classmates of ’94 are doing well!

1995

Martha Rundles Palmer marthapalmer76@yahoo.com A little light on the news this go around, I (Martha Rundles Palmer) will report what I have seen or heard throughout my travels this year! I couldn’t have

been more thrilled when Jay Tatum and his lovely wife, Meghan, moved to our tiny town of New Canaan, Connecticut, this fall! Before leaving New York City, their daughter Alice (2) became a very proud big sister of James Moore Tatum IV, born on June 23. It’s so fun to run into the Tatum family at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings! In other baby news, Lyle Ross and wife Lizzie became the proud parents of Alexandra Ruth Ross, born July 13 in Atlanta, Georgia.

She is the third of their three daughters. Amanda McCoy Sachs and husband, Mike, welcomed their second baby girl, Vivian Margaret, on October 8.

“Vivi” joins the Sachs’ daughter Maddie (2½) in their very full and busy life. Amanda is a lawyer for Tory Burch. It is so special to be just a train ride away from my old friend! As for me, my husband, Steve, and I have two children who are growing up fast. Caroline is 6 and Alex is 3. I continue to enjoy my work in development at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a writer and editor. It was great fun catching up with Selby Conrad in Providence, Rhode Island, this April. Our very active boys — my son, Alex, and Selby’s son, Cape (2) — kept us on our toes during our whirlwind visit!

Selby is working as a psychologist, specializing in at-risk adolescents.

Summer Lowe Webbink, Matt Webbink and their sons, Joss and Jakob, met up with my family for our annual walk through Duke Gardens this May. The Webbinks have been DA parents for a few years: Joss is wrapping up second grade and Jakob is a rising fifth-grader! Summer is putting her CPA skills to work at Duke University in the office of

Class of 1996

audit risk and consulting with Reunion compliance.

CGI Federal, DURHAM ACADEMY Matt is director leading the FALL ALUMNI WEEKEND of marketing SEPT. 23 & 24, 2016 development of at Red Hat. Ian cyber security Spread the word. and Suzanne Register at www.da.org/alumni. and cloud Perreault migration Blakely send love from Houston, strategies for customers. Hannah Texas! Their daughter, Emeline Fortune-Greeley Taukobong Michel Blakely, was born Dec. married Pule Ditau Taukobong 30. Suzanne writes, “I was lucky in a beautiful ceremony on Nov. enough to see several DA buddies 5 in Fransschoek, South Africa. already this year, including Congratulations, Hannah! Heather Rheanna Platt, Elizabeth Bast, Foulks Kolakowski writes, “I Austine Mah Chan and Holly have been teaching at the School Frost Stripling.” Liz Kay, of Hotel Administration at Cornell biology teacher and basketball University for a year now, and am coach extraordinaire, reports: loving being back in Ithaca, New “Jeremy and I will be heading York. While it isn’t the same foodie home for a trip down memory heaven as The Culinary Institute lane to see my little brother Adam of America, it is still inspiring (Class of 2016) graduate from DA to be able to teach students at in a few weeks. He is headed to my collegiate alma mater. I just Boston College next year though, recently had a student in my class so he will actually be relatively that was a lifer as well at DA (and close to us. Hoping to see some was born the year we graduated, so familiar faces and to give my that made me feel really old). We husband a taste of my high school were comparing stories of teachers experience!” It’s always so fun to and it was neat to have a connection hear from fellow classmates, so outside of the classroom. Since keep in close touch! my parents and my sister live in Wilmington, NC, I have been able to hit the beach every once in a while, but hope to come back William vonReichbauer to reunion.” Drew Sharma is william@williamvonr.com busy with his TravelInsurance. com business (among others), and Greetings Class of 1996! Hard is enjoying life in Santa Barbara, to believe another decade has California, with his wife and come and gone, so quickly. Loren daughter and their many pets. As Clemens is working as a sock for me, William vonReichbauer, designer in Winston-Salem. She’s I returned to school in the fall of looking forward to a fun summer 2015, and have been dusting off my full of traveling and outdoor mathematics skills while teaching adventures. Sean Curry and guitar at a small private school his wife, Maggie, reside in Falls here in Houston. I remain an active Church, Virginia. They are having performer and am looking forward a fantastic time raising their first to several album releases this year. child, Isla Grace, who recently I hope to see many of you at the celebrated her first birthday. reunion in September!

Sean is a currently a director of

1996

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.DA .OR G

75

DA ALUMNI

1997

Kadi Thompson kadithompson@gmail.com Hillary Witzleben is still loving life in Telluride, Colorado, and welcomed another little boy on May 3! Winder Holeman and his wife, Estefi, welcomed their first child this year, Mateo EliasHoleman. He was born Jan. 25, and they’re hoping that he will handle Chicago winters better than his two parents! Kristin Keagy Hodgson just joined the UNC faculty and is a psychologist at TEACCH in Charlotte, working with children and adults with autism spectrum disorder. Her children, Connor and Anna, are 7 and 4. I, Kadi Thompson, am enjoying spending time with my beautiful niece and nephew in the Bay Area, and am still working at Sephora in inventory strategy. My 6-year-old niece is turning into quite the beauty junkie, much to the chagrin of my sister.

1999

Nina Jacobi nina.jacobi@gmail.com Daniel Raimi and his wife, Kaitlin, moved to Ann Arbor in 2016 to start work at the University of Michigan. Daniel has appointments at the U of M’s Energy Institute and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, where he does research and teaches energy and climate policy. Amar Goli has been working in commercial real estate for 10 years now, with the past seven of them in LA. He is currently working on pad site development for shopping centers and retail investment properties with national tenants. Amar and

76

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

his beautiful fiancée, Naomi Lan, will be getting married in February in Big Sur, California.

Erika Estrada Boden and her husband just announced the birth of their second baby girl — right as their older daughter, Aria, turned 2. They are excited (and nervous) about having two little ones. After seven years on the legal team at Fox International Channels Latin America, Erika recently accepted a position as vice president of business and legal affairs at NBC Telemundo Enterprises. The new job is challenging but Erika could not be happier with the career move.

Margaret Jones is finishing up her fellowship in northern New Jersey. She will be spending July back in North Carolina before road-tripping to Seattle with her two cousins, Claire Burdick and Lily Burdick (both Class of 2015). Margaret starts her job in September at Harborview Medical Center and the University of Washington, specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation and spinal cord injury medicine. Matt Crawford and his wife, Julie, were married in February. Matt is currently wrapping up his third year of orthopedic surgery residency at Duke. April Bullard Beaupain and her husband were married in 2014 and their son, Griffin, was born last summer. April recently left the FBI and is loving her new job with Google’s global security team. She has been in California for six years now and writes, “If anyone visits San Francisco, let me know, I’d love to see you.” My major life update is that my fiancé, Peter, and I will be getting married in September! It’s wonderful to hear from you all. Please keep in touch.

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

ABOVE: April Bullard Beaupain ’99 is the proud mother of Griffin, who was born last summer. April lives in San Francisco and works with Google’s global security team.

2000

Robert Allen robertfallenii@gmail.com Only a few short weeks ago, Mr. Ulku-Steiner and Tim McKenna hosted a DA in NYC happy hour in a sleepy bar in the Upper East Side. Between pours of Guinness, I met and caught up with classmates young and old and was reminded what an impressive institution we called, and still do, home so long ago. Nate Solberg is still building computers in the mountains of North Carolina, but now he’s getting recognized for his building prowess — Nordic PC was recently voted Best of the Best for Computer Repair in Watagua, Co. Jason Kehrl has rooted down in Manhattan. He

recently bought a 1BR Co-Op in, what he calls, the perfect location — “near the gays, the Theater District and Central Park” … and only a 15 minute walk to his new job. As a fellow New Yorker, I can attest that’s a pretty impressive stat sheet. Jason started as a life science management consultant at IMS Consulting Group in February.

Just across the Hudson in New Jersey, Russell Corey has been promoted to regional sales manager in the Eastern U.S. for the Kawasaki Motors Corp, USA. Included in this promotion was a recent trip to Kawasaki’s HQ in Japan, a lifelong dream of his. Between business trips to his best accounts and HQ, his beautiful wife Karina (7 years

DA ALUM NI

and counting) and daughters, Eleanor (4) and Camille (18 months) are keeping him occupied off the clock. Jessica Crowe Whilden and Guy Whilden have completed their “set of four” with the introduction of Michael Richard Whilden, born March 25 — mon congrats, kiddies.

Here’s a crazy twist of DA fate: Jessica taught Hadley Long Fox’s niece and Jamie Krzyzewski Spatola’s nephew this year at DA. Like Jessica, Kyle Lavin has had a baby since the last Record; her name is Kathleen (9 months). He just finished his palliative care fellowship at the University of Washington. With his fellowship completed, he, his wife, Lindsay, and Kathleen will be moving back to North Carolina, to Southpoint Manor specifically, where he will be joining the UNC faculty — congrats to Kyle and the Lavins.

Emily Ballard Williams and her husband welcomed another baby boy in September 2015, bringing the “total” to three children. In her words, “The oldest will turn four this May, so it’s fairly nuts in my house at times.” Emily is still working with service members’ transition out of the Army to prepare them for the civilian workforce. Life seems to have been simpler when they traveled Europe and the Middle East with (only) one kid, but craziness seems to be the norm in El Paso. Stay tuned for where Uncle Sam sends them next!

Mike and Caroline (Amy Sims) Kibsey bought a house in Herndon, Virginia. Their son Michael, now 8, is a third-grader in a Japanese immersion elementary school where he spends half of every day learning math and science in Japanese. Veronika, their youngest (17 months), attends a Department of Defense Child Development

Center next to Caroline’s office in Washington, D.C. Caroline is employed with the Department of Defense as an analyst specializing in East Asian defense and security issues. If any DA alumni are ever in the D.C. or Northern Virginia area, please let Caroline know!

Carrie White Trumbower and her husband, Randy, have two sons, Lyle (3 years) and Luca (1 year), and are living in Durham. Carrie is an aesthetic nurse practitioner at a laser and skincare medical spa in Raleigh. Sarah Graham Motsinger is enjoying life in Durham and has adjusted well to being a family of four after the birth of a son, Jack, in December 2014. This has been an exciting year for Sarah and AJ since their daughter, Lilly, started pre-k at Durham Academy. She’s loved every day of school and gets to spend time with fantastic teachers like Sheri-lyn Carrow, Bobbie Dahlgren, Jessica Whilden, Judy Chandler, Michelle Graham-Freeman and more!

Sarah is wrapping up her 11th year working in the school’s Alumni and Development Office and continues to enjoy working each day with a “fabulous team” and supporting the advancement of DA. For the past three years she has also helped co-chair the Junior League’s new cookbook project, Taste of Tobacco Road — check it out! When Ben Berchuck is not dodging phone calls from me about sports marketing opportunities at Wasserman Media Group, he is chasing his two adorable children, Elena and Jack, around South Durham. Alivia Sholtz is “still” living in Durham as she “cannot get enough.” She has since stopped practicing law at Legal Aid and is now working at Duke Clinical Research Institute drafting and

Class of 2001

negotiating Josh, just had Reunion contracts for their second DURHAM ACADEMY clinical research child, a boy, FALL ALUMNI WEEKEND studies. She SEPT. 23 & 24, 2016 named Lucas really enjoys Bennett born Spread the word. both the job Register at www.da.org/alumni.

May 7, (the itself as well as perfect Mother’s the work-life balance compared to Day gift!). Caroline loves living when she was in litigation — she in Durham and working as a even has enough free time to go research analyst at MDRC. Marion to DA alumni events and catch Penning and her husband, Andy, up with former classmates and welcomed Lucy Patricia Horbal teachers. Alivia will be getting on Nov. 28. Elizabeth Matteson married in a few weeks, which Bechard and her husband, Bart, will be a great way to kick off her live in Hillsborough and welcomed summer. That’s all for now, folks. twins Milo Alexander and Emilia Make sure to keep the updates Sage on March 8. Nearby is Mike coming — it’s not for me, it’s for Munson, who lives in Chapel Hill you … and your mother. Also, just with his wife, Sophia, and works so you know, in case it comes up, for Higgins, Frankstone, Graves & Nav Mahal prefers cucumbers to Morris, practicing estate planning pickles — that’s not a preference, and small business law. He and it’s a F-A-C-T. Sophia are expecting their first child in September. Katie Ballou is living in Salisbury and teaches ESL to kindergarten students.

Allison Kirkland She loves married life and won allison.kirkland@gmail.com teacher of the year at her school this Amelia Ashton Thorn year. Congratulations, Katie, what amelia.ashton@gmail.com an incredible accomplishment!

Allison Kirkland, who is enjoying As usual, it was a treat to hear from reconnecting with Durham, our classmates, who are out doing teaches the other end of the age some pretty amazing, and varied, spectrum … a memoir class at things in the world — coaching, The Forest at Duke. She finds it running, doctoring, starting new extremely rewarding and fun, and jobs, having children and even loves using the skills she acquired appearing in commercials. First, in graduate school. She’s also to celebrate one of the newest working as an editor and writing additions to the DA family — last coach. Justin Paige is also in the August, Jennie Cheesborough and hometown, teaching high school husband Kyle welcomed baby girl math. He’s in his third year at Blake, and Jennie reports that she Southern School of Energy and is loving being her mom. Jennie is Sustainability and also serves as an also finishing her plastic surgery assistant football coach and head residency as chief resident at coach of the school’s new lacrosse Northwestern, and then will head to club. He recently concluded a Stanford for a year-long fellowship two-and-a-half-year stint at the in microsurgery. More DA babies SECU Family House as a Weekend are making their entrances — Manager. And, in his spare time Caroline Mage and her husband, (tough to believe he has any!), he

2001

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

77

DA ALUMNI

tutors students from the Durham/ Chapel Hill area. Also lending his coaching skills is Nick Lehman, who moved to Massachusetts (leaving NC for the first time!) to take a job as an assistant cross country and track coach at Williams College. In the fall, the women’s cross country team won the D-III national championship and the men were runner-up. Not bad for the first year on the job!

Also on the run (not quite as impressively as Nick!) is Amelia Ashton Thorn, who ran her first 10-mile race this year. She and her husband, Evan, recently bought a house in Alexandria, Virginia, and they have enjoyed exploring their new neighborhood.

Amelia works as an associate at Crowell & Moring, a law firm in Washington, D.C. She often sees Anne Gialanella, who is also in the city, and together they reminisce about the old days.

Jessica Streck Ortolano moved from North Carolina to Roland Park in Baltimore, Maryland, and will soon be starting a new job as a librarian in the Baltimore County Public Library system.

Her new favorite exercise activity is running the Patapsco Valley State Park that was featured in the Serial podcast. I’m sure you guys continue to see (and hear!)

Brendan Bradley in his awesome Staples commercials on TV and the radio. He’s often recognized in Los Angeles (as “The Staples Guy”) and just directed his first feature film through a partnership with the Ministry of Tourism in Turkey. Maggie McPherson Weir is still in New York City, but changed law firms and has been doing lots of traveling. Since January, her work with King & Spalding’s white collar practice has taken her to Poland, Mauritius,

78

D U R H A M A C A D EM Y

|

Croatia, Serbia, Portugal, Spain, Mexico and Vietnam. It’s been another exciting year for the Class of 2001. Thanks to everyone who contributed. We hope that you enjoyed reading the updates from our class and look forward to seeing everyone in September for our 15-year reunion!

2003

Andrea Fjeld andreafjeld@gmail.com It’s hard to believe this is my 13th time penning the notes for DA’s Class of 2003, but here we are again. My peers have founded their own companies, climbed up the corporate ranks, created art, earned advanced degrees, tied the knot and started families. It’s always a wild ride. Let’s check in with a few of them. Brienne Letourneau and her husband Richard Bailey (DA Class of ’02) are enjoying life in Chicago. She’s an associate attorney at Jenner & Block, where she’s worked since graduating law school and concentrates her practice on complex commercial litigation.

Perhaps more importantly, her family just got a plus-one: She and Richard welcomed their first child, Connor, last July. In November, Hailey Lacefield Hall married a fellow North Carolinian in a small ceremony at the Half Moon Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica — a far cry from Cleveland, which they currently call home. After her husband finishes a three-year residency in podiatric medicine at University Hospitals, they and their cavapoo puppy, Douglas, plan to move back South. Emily Luger Siegel married Ed one year ago.

The live with their dog, Sasha, in Detroit, where Emily has been

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

working for Team Detroit/Ford Motor Company for the past few years. Ad Age recently recognized her among the 2015 “Women to Watch.” She not only got to speak at that awards luncheon, but she recently was part of a SXSW panel on content marketing, too. Julia Lacy Gaylord is the proud mama of a 1-year-old, Lily.

When she’s not looking after her own daughter, she’s teaching others at The Field School in Washington, D.C. Back in North Carolina, Nancy Mountcastle Wall is expecting identical twin girls in July. She and her husband moved to a neighborhood called Brackenridge to be closer to his garbage, demolition and trucking company in Apex. Mykas Degesys also has a move coming up. He and his wife are excited to head back to the Triangle after a stint in Nashville, Tennessee. A ways up the interstate, Abby Friedman works as an assistant professor of health policy and management at the Yale School of Public Health.

She, her husband Scott and their dog Rashi moved to New Haven from Boston two years ago and recently finished renovating their house. (“Word of advice,” she warns, “Don’t do that. Just buy a finished house.”) Across the pond, Kyle Black is far away from New Haven and Yale, his alma mater, now based in London. He recently finished a year with GSK’s in-house biotech fund. Next up: a role in the office of the CEO. In his spare time, he explores the city and enjoys life as an expat, from the galleries to the parks to the pubs.

We’ll end back stateside. After nine years in New York (Brooklyn, of course), I still haven’t thrown in the towel, but I have started wearing glasses. Professionally, I’m an in-house copywriter and content

producer for a tech company called LivePerson. What I didn’t realize is how much ghostwriting that requires. When I’m not trying to figure out this industry, I’m working on a children’s book and tinkering with short stories. Thanks to everyone who took the time to write me this year. Good luck on all of your journeys through adulthood.

2004

Stephen Barlow Barlow.stephen@gmail.com Christina Serafin married former DA student Alex Pearce on April 23. Fellow ’04ers Kari Riggle, Cameron Granger Aukerman and Brittany Bussian Birch were in the wedding. As Brittany recounts, “The four of us have been best friends since high school graduation pretty much, and we have all been in each other’s weddings, so it was really special.”

Christina also graduated from the UNC School of Education on May 7 with a master’s degree in literacy.

Brittany will move to Charlotte in August with her husband, Tyler.

She reports, “Happy to be staying in North Carolina! ” Emerich Gutter is living in the Old Town neighborhood in Chicago with his wife, Cate. Cate started a baking business in February, Whisked by Cate, and Emerich is still practicing corporate law at Sidley Austin LLP. Their oldest child, Mark Timmins, will turn 3 in July, and Emerich has almost taught him to be a Tar Heel fan. Their second child, Wallace Rowe, turned 1 in May and is crawling and starting to talk.

Needless to say, they have their hands full! Stephen Thompson moved to San Diego in July 2015, and as he reports, “So far, so

good!” Krishinda Lee is enjoying helping people as a physical therapist and is adjusting to her new role as the clinic director for Pivot Physical Therapy in Greensboro.

She continues to coach, travel and perform with the Bouncing Bulldogs jump rope team.

2005

Andrew Weinhold andrew.weinhold@gmail.com As the DA family grows in size and accomplishment, exciting news continues to roll in. Anne Stevens Cable, along with her husband, Andy, and son, Prescott, proudly welcomed baby Davis in April.

In addition to this exciting new addition, they are enjoying being nearby in Raleigh while Anne continues to work for Dell, just like classmate and current Texan Andrew Juer. David Hutchings is also enjoying life in Raleigh after recently moving from Virginia with his wife, Lauren. He has been busy teaching, coaching cross country and lacrosse, and spending time with his dog, Scout. Another new returnee, Jenny Drucker Varner finished her MS in medical science at Boston University in May 2015.

She began medical school at Duke in August before marrying Luke Varner in October. Also at Duke Med, Sarah Goldstein will soon begin her fellowship in cardiology alongside fellow doctor and fiancé Marc Samsky. Their wedding will take place this May in Pittsboro, and the couple’s new labradoodle, Wallace, wishes he could come along to chase the cows. Still in a tie with Sarah for biggest Duke basketball fan to attend UNC Medical School, Jake Stein made the move to Seattle in 2015 to begin his residency in internal medicine

at the University of Washington.

He still has time to decide on a specialty, but is considering a career in oncology (when he isn’t busy playing acoustic grunge sets at local coffee shops). Jake was especially excited to learn recently that he will have the opportunity to do a rotation in Kenya early next year, where he will work at the Naivasha District Hospital for one month.

After much hard work, Adrienne Swanstrom finished her Ph.D. in microbiology at UPenn last November and immediately moved to Maryland, where she started a postdoctoral fellowship in the AIDS and Cancer Virus Program within the National Cancer Institute at Fort Detrick. She and her fiancé, Josh, are enjoying the chance to explore the D.C. area, although their hearts are still very much in Philly — especially since they have been busy planning their wedding there for the end of May. To the surprise of few, Rich Preyer remains loyal to states founded in the late 1780s that share the brook trout as their state fish. He will finish his master’s in environmental science at Antioch University in New Hampshire before returning to Asheville this summer to work as an environmental education specialist at the North Carolina Arboretum. He could not be more thrilled for the opportunity to spread his knowledge of the great outdoors. After finishing law school in Oregon, Jeff Speir accepted a job as an attorney with the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. While Rich teaches about the environment, Jeff’s work focuses on enforcing the nation’s clean water laws. Upon making the trek back to the East Coast, Jeff is excited to again be close to hometown friends and family. The District of Columbia

Class of 2006

to report many is becoming a Reunion great things popular spot DURHAM ACADEMY for the ladies for the Class FALL ALUMNI WEEKEND and gentlemen of 2005, as SEPT. 23 & 24, 2016 of OH-SIX. Jamihlia Spread the word.

(I’ll try to only Johnson Register at www.da.org/alumni. type-shout that graduated from on our reunion years).

I wrote last Northwestern’s Tax LLM program year from the Taipei airport at the and is now working for Price start of a three-month Southeast Waterhouse Cooper’s national office in Washington. She works in Asia adventure. About a month international tax planning, advising later, LaQuesa Gaillard joined me for another two amazing months, multinational corporations about and we returned just in time for their taxes and staying abreast Kyle Sloate’s bachelorette in of newly issued tax laws and regulations (like the Treasury’s new Wilmington. Except we don’t call proposed regulations on companies her Kyle Sloate anymore, because she married Rob Kirkland (’07) moving headquarters offshore). on October 24! Kyle is now a After spending time in windy physician assistant in foot and ankle Chicago at Northwestern and surgery and she loves her job, both working at Holland and Knight, the clinic and operating sides. She Jamihlia is thrilled to be back on wrote from Miami, where she was the East Coast. She hopes to work visiting Holly Gleason with Eliza on building her career while having Sholtz and LaQuesa Gaillard.

The fun and connecting with other DA wedding bells continue with Rachel alums in the D.C. area. Catherine Pea, who married Michael Blake Harrell is also starting to make waves in the business world. After on March 5. Nico Bollerslev and Happi Adams were bridesmaids. a few years managing a design Rachel is currently teaching AP team at Amazon Web Services, Catherine joined an MBA program World History at Uncommon at Stanford in the fall. This summer Preparatory Charter High School in Brooklyn, and “really loving she will intern at Foundation life in the quieter, cooler borough.”

Capital, a Silicon Valley venture Drew Sutton is enjoying his last capital firm, searching for the few months in Chicago with his next big thing in tech. From wife while he finishes business coast to coast (and beyond), this school at the University of Chicago. class continues to build families, resumés, networks, reputations and Drew and Fran were married on passports. Thanks to all who made Sept. 19, and they’ll be moving back to North Carolina in June the 10-year reunion a success, and after his graduation. He says that here’s to many more. once he returns “to the real world,” he’ll be working for a real estate investment firm. Speaking of the real world, Logan Roberts is a Imani Hamilton model for Chubbies Shorts (out of imani.hamilton@gmail.com San Francisco) and was recently It’s been 10 years, y’all. Ten whole given a two-year contract. No, I’m years since that sweaty graduation not kidding. You also may have seen him dancing in the Macy’s on the quad. In 2016, I’m happy

2006

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

79

DA ALUMNI

Thanksgiving Day parade amongst his all-male dance krewe called the 610 Stompers. Did you really?

Yes, you did. Still the real world, I promise. More believable, perhaps, for those of us who remember Logan’s sixth-grade cafepress days, he has been running InkMule. com full-time for three years now. I saw some of his operation when I was in New Orleans last spring. And to top it all off, Logan recently became engaged to Camy Todd, a classmate at Colorado College. Their wedding will be in New Orleans in 2017. My congratulations also to Caroline Stubbs who married Seth Jones, whom she met while in dental school at UNC Chapel Hill, on April 23 at Highlands Country Club in Highlands. They bought a house, and will be residing in Durham. Meredith Hall has also had a good year. She was awarded a Charlotte Teaching Fellow, and this spring she will receive her master’s of science in education degree from Johns Hopkins. She and her husband bought a house in Charlotte, where she loves living.

Nicholas Thomas is living large in downtown Durham, leading product marketing at TouchCare, a health care technology company.

He is also loving the recent growth of restaurants, museums, coffee shops, specialty stores, music festivals and things to do downtown and in the surrounding areas. I also couldn’t believe how much Durham has gotten its metropolis on when I was back in April. I am also happy to report that I see Jordan Schiff, Tarun Wadhwa and Parker Preyer on a regular basis. We find ourselves spending evenings at bars pontificating about the world’s greatest challenges.

Still real. All are not only well, but thriving. I’m feeling that way this

80

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

Vann Davidsson was married in Durham on New Year’s and shortly thereafter, moved to Stockholm, Sweden. Also across the pond, Chloe Rousseau is a third-year medical student in London. She shares a hometown with Edward Ohman, who still enjoys his time working for LEK Consulting.

He’s planning to attend business school within the next year and may be making a return to the States. Already working toward his MBA, Robert Brazer is finishing his first year at Wharton and will be starting an internship Brooke Hartley Moy this summer at Amazon. Up in allisonbrookehartley@gmail.com N.Y.C., Natalie Sutton is close to finishing a dual MBA/MPH Greetings from the class of 2007! at Columbia and will be getting For this group, it’s been a year of married in Manhattan this coming moves, marriages, graduations August. Similarly, Michelle Sutton and grad school. Not too far from is about to graduate with an MBA Durham, Margie Gudaitis has from the University of Texas at continued to work for Davidson as Austin and plans to pursue brand an associate director for reunion management. As another recent giving. She’s been able to stay grad, Pat McLendon is finishing in touch with fellow Charlotte medical school at the Philadelphia resident, Stephani Tindall, who College of Osteopathic Medicine currently works as an online and will soon start his residency promotions specialist for Lowe’s at Columbus Regional Health in and recently adopted a new bulldog Georgia, where he was accepted puppy! Closer to our former as the sole DO in the program. He campus, Julianne Hoell lives also published a research paper as and works in Chapel Hill running a first author in the International a sports publishing company, Journal of Cancer Immunology producing content for universities. and Immunotherapy and somehow Also nearby, Rob Kirkland works still found the time to compete as an account executive for Tibco in his first ever CrossFit Open Software and recently married Games. Another newly minted fellow DA alum Kyle Sloate ’06! doctor, Kendall Bradley graduated Their wedding reception was held from Duke School of Medicine at Hope Valley Country Club, also last year and now works for Duke the site of our class’ senior prom, as a resident physician in the and was attended by a large number Department of Orthopedics. Cathy of DA alums. Another TriangleBryson works nearby as a senior area newlywed, Alex Hearsey clinical research associate for Barker married at the Barn at Quintiles and will soon be walking Fearrington last December. She and down the aisle. Also planning a her husband are now expecting a wedding, Taylor Diamond is baby girl in September! Cameron engaged and just finished her law spring too, after one of the more formative years of my life, striking out on my own to travel, and then to returning to San Francisco to do design consulting in architecture, interior design and product design.

My boyfriend and I just moved to an apartment I adore overlooking the lake in Oakland, down the street from Jordan Schiff, and with a guest room. So come visit, all!

I’m looking forward to what stories next year’s column will tell.

2007

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

degree at UNC. Lewis McCorkle earned his JD this year from the University of Virginia, while Alison Dame-Boyle will be starting her second year at Harvard Law and Harrison Stark is on to year two of Yale Law. Clearly no shortage of lawyers in the class of 2007! In the political arena, Patrick Toomey has risen through the ranks at Benenson Strategy Group and lives in New York. Christine Hardman recently left D.C. and her position on the Hill to start work as an account supervisor for ICR in New York. Similarly, Becki Feinglos Planchard left Teach for America in Dallas-Fort Worth and moved to Chicago to study for her master’s degree in public policy at the University of Chicago.

Becki was married in Montreal, Quebec, last summer with myself, Brooke Hartley Moy as her maid of honor and several DA alums as guests. I got married last summer in Chicago and after a great two years in the Midwest, I’ll now be moving to Melbourne, Australia, in June. With another year on the books, I’m still impressed with the accomplishments of my fellow DA classmates and can’t wait to hear what they do next!

2008

Samantha Leder leder.samantha@gmail.com Another great year for the class of 2008, enjoy! Ashley Brasier works at a startup in San Francisco called Thumbtack. She enjoys exploring the city and taking weekend trips to Napa and Carmel. Raj Sundar is getting married on May 28 in Rougemont. His fiancé works for the CDC, is stationed at a local health department in Richmond and was also deployed for the

DA ALUM NI

Ebola outbreak last year. They will honeymoon in Greece. In June, Raj will be starting his family medicine residency in Seattle, Washington, with Group Health Cooperative. He is excited to work in the West Coast and in an integrated health system to learn about managing individual patients as well as populations to work on improving our health system. Leslie Ogden started Georgetown’s evening MBA program at the McDonough School of Business, and used her experience in policy and politics to pivot from advocacy to focus on corporate social responsibility.

At her new job as an account manager with Global Prairie, she is working with global Fortune 500 companies with a focus on social impact clients, to develop their marketing campaigns and strategy.

She is looking forward to more time traveling overseas, both with her new job, and in Georgetown’s global business experience this year and next. Thomas Davidson is living in Brooklyn/working in Manhattan and is still at Morgan Stanley. He passed the level 1 exam for CFA in December 2015 (and will take level 2 in June 2017).

Lauren Bronec worked closely over the past year to develop Accenture’s Fashion and Apparel Strategy practice with a focus on product development and omni channel operations. While she has enjoyed her fourth year in DC, she is excited to announce that she will be packing up this summer to move to Boston in order to pursue her MBA at MIT Sloan this fall! Before starting school, she is looking forward to taking some time off and traveling for two months from Scotland to Madagascar. At MIT she plans to focus her studies on supply chain sustainability for global apparel

companies. In her free time last year, between studying for the GMAT and applying to MBA programs, Lauren traveled to Budapest, Vienna and Vancouver in her pursuit of visiting 50 countries by 30! Alexander Daly is currently thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, and is about 640 miles in. He started in Georgia but is now in Virginia and going all the way to Maine. Follow his adventure on Instagram @ADontheAT. Gabrielle LaForce moved back to Chapel Hill in March from Austin, Texas, and will be starting the full time MBA program at UNC Kenan-Flagler in August.

Michael Conners is about to graduate from the University of Chicago Law School in June and will take the North Carolina Bar exam in July, after which he will be moving to Charlotte to work as a securities and finance lawyer at an international firm’s office there. Alexandra DavidsonPalmer is enjoying being back in the neighborhood and is working at The Hill Center! Pier Bynum finally decided she could put up with Grant Fowler, and the two decided to get married.

Their wedding is in Durham in October. They bought their first house together close to downtown Durham in the spring and are excited to be living in the Bull City once again. In addition to dealing with Grant, Pier also deals with first graders all day at Adams Elementary School in Cary, while Grant spends his days staring at a computer screen for a small software company in Durham. Peter Larson and Hillary Rosen (’09) were married in April in Orlando, Florida. He is also continuing his career with Disney Golf, with intentions to become PGA certified. Will

Ramsey transitioned out of the jazz education space and began work at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he fundraises for the Washington National Opera. The opera is in the midst of its first full production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle to close out the 2015-2016 season.

will be attending the Fuqua School of Business next year pursuing entrepreneurship and finance.

Meanwhile, Kevin Ji is teaching math at a high school in the Bay Area and spending time with fellow DA classmates in the area, including Peter Gudaitis. Carmen Augustine is living and working in New York City, as is Andrew Herington, who is working at Matiz Architecture and Design.

Collin Burks Andrew says he is always impressed collin.burks@gmail.com by how much Durham is changing when he makes it back to visit. Also Hi from the class of ’09! Our class in NYC, Gargi Bansal is working continues to work, study and play for a student loan refinance startup all around the country and the and is loving being back on the world. Natalie Gallo graduated East Coast. Rachel Dunn moved this May from the University to Philadelphia in March after of Oklahoma with her master’s spending the previous two years in in professional counseling, and Atlanta. She is enjoying her new job moved to Oklahoma City to work in marketing at GlaxoSmithKline, as a staff clinician and research working on the brand team for the coordinator at the child trauma company’s diabetes medication. She services program at the University is very excited to have finally joined of Oklahoma Health Science Luca Tomasi in Philadelphia, Center. Almost eight years have who is working at Susquehanna passed, and Alexis Noel is still International Group. Hillary Rosen in the South! She is in her fourth married Peter Larson ’08 this year of the Ph.D. program in April in Orlando, Florida. She also mechanical engineering at Georgia recently started a new job with Walt Tech, hoping to graduate within Disney Creative Entertainment, the next year or so. She studies working on Animal Kingdom’s biomechanics and microfluidics, new nighttime spectacular. Around with her most recent paper on the Triangle, Michael Eggleston how frogs catch insects using their is in the physics Ph.D. program sticky tongues. Most recently, she at Duke, living in the downtown started a new business selling 3D area, enjoying running into others printers and accessories, with the from our class who are around. In goal of developing a novel 3D addition to her job as teen court scanning technology. Across the coordinator, Katie Giduz pond, Claire Burridge completed now serves as youth programs her masters at Cambridge last year administrator for the new Orange and has stayed on for a Ph.D. — she County Misdemeanor Diversion might remain a student forever.

Program (MDP). Similar to Teen She loves visits from fellow DA Court, the MDP aims to divert alumni! Mitchel Gorecki was an eligible 16- and 17-year-old firstengineer for a startup, which is time misdemeanor offenders from now a publicly traded company. He District Court. Katie also serves recently founded a hedge fund and as board member and co-chair of

2009

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

81

DA ALUMNI

Westrate has moved to Shanghai, China, to work in a business English language company teaching adults.

She’s enjoying the Chinese lifestyle and picking up some Mandarin along the way.

She has moved from Brazil to China now and she’ll be looking forward to her ABOVE: Brooke Joynes ’15 is known for having a powerhouse voice, and Brooke (back row, second from left) took her strong voice to Washington to sing for the president this spring. In honor of National Women’s Day, Brooke and the next destination Spelman College Glee Club performed at the White House for President Barack Obama. in the world soon! Need a various organizations that support hiking. Your editor, Collin Burks, September, she will start a dual place to visit? Come to Shanghai! at-risk and court-involved youth is also enjoying medical school master’s program in Middle Maggie Ramsey just graduated in the community. Outside of at UNC. Eastern political history at with a master’s degree in vocal work, Katie enjoys volunteering Columbia and the London School performance from UT-Knoxville. with Paws4People and recently of Economics. Jon Chamberlin She’s spending the summer got to bring three assistance is in his second year as a singing with the local company puppies in training to DA Upper Caitlin Cleaver software engineer with Garmin Marble City Opera, and hopes School to help students de-stress caitlinhcleaver@gmail.com International, and is slowly to start building her career during exams. Noah Katz is warming up to life in Minnesota. around teaching and performing. also still living in the Triangle Sam Jones is living in Dallas In his spare time, he does freelance Upon graduation from Carolina area and working hard in the 3D and going into his third year at theatrical lighting design and in 2014, Elise Hartley joined printing industry. After building The Boston Consulting Group, volunteers at the local hospital.

GlaxoSmithKline as a member of and supporting the 3D printer at where he still loves his job. He Ariel Blackshear-Tvrdy is their Future Leaders Program, a Durham Academy, and learning is preparing for his last project serving as a Peace Corps volunteer three-year graduate development even more about 3D modeling, (based in Australia) before in Indonesia. Currently she’s in program in US Pharmaceuticals.

Noah started another business heading off to Stanford for MBA the middle of pre-service training, Elise is preparing for her next in 2015, Artesian 3D Printing, school in the fall of 2017. Caitlin learning Indonesian and Javanese role as a manager in research focusing on design and production Cleaver is going into her third language. She will be teaching development and strategy this of physical objects such as year full-time at Chong + Koster English at an Islamic high school June. She has lived in Arlington, medical models, engineering in D.C., and still loving the job in East Java for the next two Virginia, for the past two years, prototypes, media replicas and and the city. She’s settling into a years. Tevin Wilson successfully but will be returning to company much more. His clients can be new apartment in the Northeast wrote and defended his thesis, headquarters in RTP shortly. found around the country and part of the District and enjoying “Congressional Decision-Making: Alongside work, Elise chairs the around the world. Also in the the chance to explore a new Testing Constituent Interest Washington, D.C., chapter of area, Adrianne Soo is finishing neighborhood. After two years Versus The National Interest” and Young Women in Bio, the national up medical school at UNC, working in crisis PR at Weber graduated from the University of nonprofit dedicated to encouraging applying to emergency medicine Shandwick, Abby Schoenfeld Georgia with a Master of Arts in women’s leadership in healthcare residencies. In her spare time, will be returning to work in Political Science and International and the life sciences. She is thrilled she is powerlifting, dancing and Durham for the summer. In Affairs. Ansilta DeLucato be returning to her home state.

2010

82

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

TOP: Lauren Blazing ’11 (orange jersey) stands at attention before the U.S. Women’s National field hockey team took the field against Chile in May. RIGHT: Blazing (bottom row, second from left) and her teammates on Twitter during their April 27 appearance on the Today Show.

Lauren Blazing ’11

On the Road to Rio with U.S. Field Hockey With less than two months to go until the start of the 2016

Olympic Games, Lauren Blazing ’11 is on the road to Rio as a goalkeeper with the U.S. Women’s National field hockey team.

In addition to international competition leading up to the Olympics in Brazil, the team has made appearances on NBC’s “Today Show” and with First Lady Michelle Obama.

Blazing graduated from Duke University in May, where she racked up academic and athletic honors. She guided the Blue Devil field hockey team to the NCAA semifinals for the second time in three seasons and was chosen first team All-America by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Blazing was a first-team Academic All-America pick for three consecutive years, and graduated from Duke with a 3.99 GPA while earning degrees in cultural anthropology and political science. She was one of Duke’s ACC Senior Scholar Athletes of the Year. During her time at Duke, she played alongside her sister, Robin Blazing ’13.

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

83

DA ALUMNI

Derek Rhodes ’11

that took community engagement seriously.

This was evidenced by our community service days, in which students were put in teams and assigned to work with different local Reprinted with the permission of the organizations.

National Network of Schools in Partnership.

The community service days at Durham Academy made for a natural erek Rhodes wrote Jimmy for transition when I got to Duke. I was familiar the City with the hopes of inspiring young with service organizations, needs in the people to consider careers in public community, and had a solid network of service. A graduate of both Durham clubs and groups to whom I could easily Academy and Duke University, Rhodes has reach out. College, itself, is a tough place been exposed for much of his life to to be engaged with what I’ll refer to as opportunities of service and community the ‘real world,’ because you become so engagement. He believes that these involved in the myriad of opportunities experiences were invaluable to his character available. For example, it’s hard to block ABOVE: Derek Rhodes’ parents development and wishes that more children out time in your day to get off campus to challenged him to help others, and he were exposed to these opportunities and a local homeless shelter when you have a hopes his book, Jimmy for the City, encouraged to pursue their passions in cappella club, class, tutoring and a dorm will encourage young people to serve service and community. meeting all in the same day. Durham their community.

Academy really provided me with a • What was your inspiration for Jimmy? Growing up, blueprint for how to structure my day — or month — around just I loved reading. I read everything. My favorite books were a one service opportunity. series written by Bill Cosby, The Little Bill series, and all of the Dr. This is all great; but, of course I have to point out the need for Seuss books. These books really taught me things and they had more curriculum-based work around community engagement. meaning. The authors disguised these “lessons” by making the While at Duke, there was a push for more authentic engagement books very short, engaging and to the point. I think we’ve seen a in our history, public policy and political science classes. We decline in these types of books and I wanted to fill a void. wanted more academic opportunities to explore the history I was also inspired by our recent political climate. I think it’s of Durham, the issues facing North Carolina, etc. We even more important than ever that we remind children that the most suggested that Duke create a required first-year course on one significant service takes place at the local level. Also, leadership of these subjects, just as a writing course is required for all firstand public service are not always what you see on television. year students. I think this is something that all colleges and high There are plenty of ways to go about serving your community or schools can very easily, and should, do. your country and that is what this book aims to demonstrate.

• What would you tell kids is the best part about • What experiences in your youth influenced the being involved in the local community? I tell everyone, being notion that contributing and engaging in the community involved in your community just makes you feel good. That›s the is valuable and essential? My parents always challenged me best part to me. It›s nothing super profound. It›s the simple fact to help others. From an early age, I was volunteering with my that at the end of the day, you are happy, the person, group, church, cleaning up the public park on Saturday mornings or or city you helped is happy, and you are knowledgeable about even sitting in on a city council meeting. These experiences, in something other than yourself and your immediate world. That addition to the books I was reading, helped me see the value in pays enormous dividends. Everyone wants to be happy in life. community service. I watched change happen in front of my eyes I›ve found that I›m most happy when I›m doing things for others. and I saw what was possible when people are selfless.

I think that›s something everyone can get on board with — no matter how old — children to adults.

• How did your schools (DA and Duke) help you Jimmy for the City is on sale on Amazon, with all proceeds learn about your community or provide experiences going to supporting young men interested in participating in for engagement? I was pretty fortunate to attend a school internships with a focus on community engagement and service.

Inspiring the Next Generation of Young Volunteers D

84

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

When Jared Anderson ’12 isn’t in the recording studio as an engineer at OmniSound Studios, he’s busy playing guitar and writing with other Nashville musicians.

Jared Anderson ’12

Making a Career on Nashville’s Music Row After graduating from Durham Academy, I attended

Berklee College of Music for three-and-a-half years with a double major in Music Production & Engineering and Songwriting.

I graduated a semester early, in December 2015, and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to take a staff engineering job at OmniSound Studios. Omni has a long history in Nashville and has recorded artists such as Luke Bryan, Jewel, Randy Houser and Miranda Lambert, to name a few.

Often I get asked what I actually do as an “engineer,” so for anyone wondering, I’ll outline it briefly. When a band or artist comes into the studio there are two main leadership roles: producer and engineer. The producer’s job is to work with the musicians to arrange the song and decide what parts each person will play or sing so that the song can reach its greatest potential. The engineer’s job revolves more around making whatever music happens sound better to our ears. I choose the microphones I want to use, place them in front of the instruments, and then use EQ, compression and other tools to make everything glue together. Very simplified, the producer is the

musical leader and the engineer is the technical leader.

Besides working in the studio, I’ve been playing guitar and writing with other Nashville musicians. The songwriting community is very strong and close knit in Nashville, so the sooner you can become a part of it, the better career you’ll have in the long run.

Also, this summer I’ll be playing shows with fellow DA alum Erin McLendon throughout Tennessee and Kentucky. It was a nice bonus to have some connections from DA in Nashville when moving here, especially in the music scene.

Attending DA for high school prepared me more for college and the real world than I could have ever imagined. Arriving at Berklee, I came in a step ahead of most of my peers, which led the way to many opportunities such as advanced level classes, freedom with electives and perks like the MP&E London Recording trip. I traveled with 10 other students and three teachers to London for a week to tour classic studios as well as record at Real World (Peter Gabriel) and Abbey Road (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, U2, Foo Fighters, etc).

I’d like to give a big thank you to all my teachers from DA, especially Michael Meyer and Trevor Hoyt, for always pushing me to be the best student and person I could be. I would not be doing the things I’m able to do today without all of you!

If you want to stay up-to-date on past and future music I’ve worked on, follow Evergreen Productions on Facebook and Soundcloud.

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

85

DA ALUMNI

ALUMNI WEDDINGS

1

2

3

4

1. Lilia Larson '18, Mike Larson '90, Ben Larson '01, Stephanie Rosen '15, Carmen Augustine '09, Hillary Rosen '09, Peter Larson '08, Mary-Gray Southern '11, Ken Larson '87, Oceana Deluca-Westrate '13, Erin McLendon '08, Drew Nickerson, Worth Newman '09.

2. Peter Larson ’08 and Hillary Rosen ’09. 3. Jane and Andrew Yarbrough ’02. 4. Fran and Drew Sutton ’06.

• Drew Sutton '06 and Fran Pfrimmer • September 19, 2015 • Charlotte • Jane Royall and Andrew Yarbrough ’02 • November 14, 2015 • Durham • Peter Larson ’08 and Hillary Rosen ’09 • April 22, 2016 • Orlando, Florida • Seth Jones and Caroline Stubbs ’06 • April 23, 2016 • Highlands

86

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

DA ALUM NI

ALUMNI BABIES 1. James, son of Chris Kanoy ’07 2. Lucas and Nora, children of Caroline Mage ’01 3. Lucy, daughter of Marion Penning Horbal ’01 4. Milo and Emilia, children of Beth Matteson Bechard ’01

1

5. Stone, son of Jenny Denton Bodnar ’08

2

3

4

5

DUR HAM ACADEMY

|

SUMMER 2016

|

WWW.D A .OR G

87

DA ALUMNI

in memoriam • William Thomas Epperson, Jr. ’68 of Durham died Dec. 13, 2015, from complications of cancer. He attended N.C. State University and was retired from Fitch Lumber Company.

He was known as one who could turn the darkest cloud to sunshine with his wit and humor, and his compassion and caring for others poured forth from his heart. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Jacki Amyette Epperson; two sons, Will Epperson of Hampstead and Dan Epperson of Efland; and his brother, Jess Epperson ’74 of Madison.

NCISAA Names Championship Trophy in Honor of Coach Cullen

D

ennis Cullen, Durham Academy’s venerable track

and cross country coach, retired from his coaching duties in spring 2015, but he will be a presence in track and field for years to come. The North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association made certain of that when it named the girls 3A track and field championship trophy the Dennis M. Cullen 3A Girls Track and Field Championship Trophy.

In naming the trophy in Cullen’s honor, the NCISAA noted, “A humble and dedicated teacher and coach, Dennis has always stood for what is best for the student/ athletes and continues to effect and support track and cross country athletes … .”

Cullen coached DA boys and girls track and cross country from 1976 to 2015 and became one of the most respected high school coaches in North Carolina. He won 39 NCISAA state championships in boys and girls track and cross country, including a streak of 13 straight state championships in boys cross country. He coached 193 individual champions in track and cross country, and organized and hosted over 15 NCISAA state championship track and cross country events.

88

DURHAM ACADEMY

|

S U M M ER 2 0 1 6

|

W W W.DA.ORG

• Beth Vereeke Crawford died Feb. 20, 2016, in Durham after a courageous nine-month battle with lung cancer. She was hired in 1996 as the Lower School’s first administrative assistant, a position she held until her retirement in June 2015, and she was beloved by faculty and students. She is survived by her sons, Andy Crawford ’97 of New York, New York, and Matt Crawford ’99 of Durham; and a sister, Catherine Vereeke McLaughlin.

• John Camden Hundley, Jr. ’53 of Durham died March 27 in Raleigh. A graduate of Duke University, he spent the first half of his career as an accountant with Duke University and for the last 20 years had worked at Sports Endeavors. He was known as the epitome of a true Southern Gentleman. He is survived by two daughters, Page Hundley Gorback and Maggie Hundley Ingram; and a son, John Camden Hundley IV. • Spencer Garrett Harrision ’12 died April 4 in Durham.

He is survived by his mother, Muriel Carter Harrison; his father, Gary B. Harrison; and a host of family and friends.

• Charles Harris “Nick” Livengood III ’68 died May 9 in Hillsborough. A graduate of Davidson College and Duke University School of Medicine, he was a specialist in infectious diseases in obstetrics and gynecology at Duke Medical Center.

He is survived by a son, Nicholas Livengood ’08, and the hours they spent together on baseball fields, fishing in the ocean, walking on the beach and just playing together, were the finest hours of his life.

• Ralph Nichols Strayhorn, Jr. died June 4, 2016, in Winston-Salem. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Law School, he practiced law in Durham for many years before becoming general counsel of Wachovia Corporation.

He served on the Durham Academy Board of Trustees from 1957 to 1963. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Donleen MacDonald Strayhorn, of Winston-Salem; a daughter, Carol Strayhorn Rose ’69 of Atlanta, Georgia; and a son, Ralph Nichols Strayhorn III ’73 of Charlotte.

TH E L AST LO O K

A Day Worth Celebrating A beaming Kyla Newkirk posed recently at City Hall with Durham Mayor Bill Bell, right, and Mayor Pro Tempore Cora Cole-McFadden, left. Earlier this spring, Bell and Cole-McFadden praised the Durham Academy fourth-grader at a City Council meeting, calling her “a role model for our youth and a treasured asset to our community,” and proclaiming March 22 as Kyla Newkirk Day in Durham. An active member of DA’s Lower School Service Club, Kyla often spends her weekends volunteering to help people who are homeless.

Kyla also received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from U.S. Rep. G. K. Butterfield.

P H OTO B Y K AT H Y M C P H E R S O N

DURHAM ACADEMY 3601 RIDGE ROAD DURHAM, NC 27705-5599

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID DURHAM, NC 27701 PERMIT #1083

LEFT: Oliver Key, Spencer Jenkins, Mason Harris and fellow members of the Class of 2016 toss their mortarboards after the ceremony. RIGHT: Cam Brown poses for a photo with his aunt Michelle Brown and sister Amani Brown.

P H OTO S B Y K E N A N D C O L I N H U T H

Congratulations, Durham Academy Class of 2016!

We wish you continued success at the following colleges: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Barnard College Boston College Brown University Clemson University College of Charleston Colorado College Columbia University Cornell University Dartmouth College Davidson College Denison University Duke University Emerson College Emory University Furman University George Mason University Georgetown University Gettysburg College

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Hampden-Sydney College North Carolina State University Northeastern University Northwestern University Oberlin College Pomona College Princeton University Savannah College of Art & Design Sewanee: The University of the South Smith College Spelman College Stanford University Syracuse University Tulane University University of Alabama University of California, Santa Barbara University of Chicago University of Colorado, Boulder

University of Maryland, College Park University of Miami • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • University of North Carolina at Charlotte • University of North Carolina at Wilmington • University of Pennsylvania • University of Sussex • University of Virginia • University of Washington • University of Wisconsin, Madison • Wake Forest University • Washington University in St. Louis • Williams College • Yale University • •