18 TAKING ROOT 20 RAINY RETURN 36 AT LONG LAST LawrentianISSUESPECIAL 2022SUMMER THE Hatch ’22 The newest graduates leave the nest, tested by tumult but ready to fly.
Fun Bubbling Over Lawrenceville welcomed nearly 300 local children to its annual Springfest carnival through the School’s community service program in May. This year’s Distinguished Alumnus Award winner, Leigh Lockwood ’65 P’97 ’02, has sponsored the event since its 1994 inception. See Page 28 for more.
After a scuffle in which Pops gave better than he got, the man came after him with a crowbar, and he had to jump back in the car. Mavis, drive! he said. A few miles down the road, they were pulled over by men with dogs and shotguns and handcuffed. The gas station attendant had called the sheriff, claiming he’d been robbed. “I thought they were taking us into the woods to lynch us,” Mavis said. “I’ve never been so happy to see a jail.” Eventually, the Stapleses were able to show they had paid for the gas and they were allowed to leave. In spite of that experience and others, no amount of Jim Crow intimidation could silence her, or accept the humiliating conditions imposed upon people of color at that time. On tour, they would make sandwiches and eat in the car, rather than dine in segregated restaurants. With her trademark rich, deep bass tones, at a time of profound racial divisions and hatreds, she sang out hopefully, forcefully, and justly. As Mavis Staples shows us, courage comes in manyCourageforms.is also my father-in-law parachuting behind enemy lines with the 101st Airborne in the early hours before the D-Day invasion, June 6, 1944. The guy was afraid of heights, and still he volunteered. One practice jump, and off he went to help change the course of the deadliest war in human history. Of course, he had misgivings, and certainly had to contain his fear. In the late afternoon of June 5, 1944, as he walked out onto the airfield in England, a lieutenant leading his platoon, he described in letters home to my mother-in-law how puny he felt walking toward the plane, under “dull leaden clouds,” feeling the crushing weight of world events spinning out of control. For sure, that was courage – and I cannot begin to imagine his nerves as he got ready to jump out of the plane into the darkness.
– Adapted from the Baccalaureate address to the Class of 2022
The Shelby Cullom Davis ’26 Head of School
OFFLEADING
Dr. Anne Hallward of Harvard Medical School and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Tufts University, talks about courage in interesting ways. “Bravery,” she says, “involves the suppression of fear,” so acts of bravery are done in the absence of fear, perhaps sometimes recklessly. Demonstrating “courage,” on the other hand, is “doing something in spite of your fear.” She points out that the word is derived from the French coeur, or heart. Being courageous then is to be full of heart or wholehearted. You are not suppressing your emotions in taking action – you are acting with emotion, with “heart.” Mavis Staples and my fatherin-law certainly experienced their fears, and still they acted.Iam inspired by these stories of courage, and I deeply admire these individuals who rose to the occasion, not even though – but, precisely because – I imagine their hearts racing and their knees trembling as they acted on their convictions. Today, however, I want to talk about a different, quieter form of courage – in this case, courage that I have witnessed up close, and that I also deeply admire. Your courage. In coping with the challenges of these past two years, you have acquired resilience and a kind of wisdom that many adults never quite attain. You have quietly demonstrated determination to prevail during your time here, and having shown it here, it becomes part of who you are, part of what you take with you as you prepare to leave. The wisdom you have acquired is the acceptance that there will be challenges, but you also bring the faith and confidence to confront such difficulties with the courage each of you will always carry within. Knowing that about you gives me hope and fills my heart.
SCHOOLOFHEADTHEFROM ON COURAGE
W ith her deeply resonant vocals, Mavis Staples of the Staples Singers is one of the truly great voices of R&B. She was also a civil rights activist. In part because of the family’s fame in gospel music circles, they met and became a favorite of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They toured with Dr. King and gave concerts concerts to raise money for the cause, and their music became closely associated with the Civil Rights Movement.
During an interview, Mavis told a harrowing story of touring in Mississippi in the 1960s. It was late at night, and she was driving; her father, sister, and brother were all sleeping. She stopped to get gas and asked the young attendant if he wouldn’t mind wiping the windshield and then if she could get a receipt. He stared at her for quite some time, then said, “If you want a cash receipt,” addressing her with the n-word, “…you come over to the office.” Her father heard this exchange, and got out of the car to confront him: Why would you call my daughter that word? “And Pops,” as she called her father, “clocked him.”
StephenSincerely,S. Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21
On the Cover: Clutch Moment: This year’s graduates and their teachers faced a lot during the past few years. (Photo by Paloma Torres)
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Having had their mettle tested during their time at Lawrenceville, the Class of 2022 arrived at Commencement having left an indelible mark on their alma mater. ‘Unfinished Business’ Taking delayed gratification to the extreme, the Class of 2020 finally walked across the Commencement stage, bringing closure to their disrupted Fifth Form year. rain was no match for the warmth of old rekindled during Alumni Weekend 2022. Photo by Paloma Torres
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20 FEATURES Rainy Day People � Chilly
20 Alumni Weekend 2022
friendships
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Despite wind-blown rain and the date’s coldest temperatures in 55 years, Lawrenceville alumni proved they are more than just fair-weather friends. How Can I Help? Leigh Lockwood ’65 P’97 ’02, this year's Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient, makes Lawrenceville better in a variety of ways. ‘Grit and Gratitude, Strength and Resilience’
) 4 A Thousand Words 6 In Brief 12 On the Arts 18 Ask the Archivist 44 Old School DEPARTMENTS
Lisa M. Gillard H’17 Staff Photographer Paloma Torres Contributors Andrea Fereshteh Nichole Jin ’24 Sarah Mezzino
SPECIAL ISSUE – SUMMER 2022 VOLUME 86 | NUMBER 3
Stephen S. Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 Assistant Head of School, DIrector of Advancement Mary Kate Barnes H’59 ’77 P’11 ’13 ’19
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Jessica Welsh
Class
I also want to note here that Phyllis Lerner, Lawrenceville’s art director and graphic designer, retired on July 31. You may not have met Phyllis, but as you’ve thumbed through these pages for the past 17 years, you have seen her fine work on every one through the previous issue. I’m gratified she’s going out on top: In the past year, she earned a Communicators Award of Excellence for her creative work on the Admission Office’s “L Yeah” campaign, and The Lawrentian also won a CASE Circle of Excellence Silver Award for independent school magazines. She also completed one of her most prideful projects: a refresh of the School’s wordmark that appears on campus banners and School stationery. So even as Phyllis enjoys the spoils of retirement, her talent will remain evident and active at Lawrenceville for some time.
Photography by Highpoint Pictures Pamela Kelsey GP’25 Illustration by Joel VectorvexelartKimmel Notes Design Selena Smith Proofreaders
The Lawrentian (USPS #306-700) is published quarterly (winter, spring, summer, and fall) by The Lawrenceville School, P.O. Box 6008, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, for alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends. Periodical postage paid at Trenton, NJ, and additional mailing offices. The Lawrentian welcomes letters from readers. Please send all correspondence to sramsden@lawrenceville.org or to the above address, care of The Lawrentian Editor. Letters may be edited for publication.
Director of Communications and External Relations
I suppose in this scenario, Leigh is the egg. But he’s a good one. •
FROM BASEMENTTHE OF POP HALL
Rob Reinalda ’76 Head of School
• •
L’chaim, my friend. I’ve enjoyed it all.
As you can easily imagine, I’ve met all sorts of alumni since I first sat at this desk seven years ago and began bringing you stories of Lawrenceville’s past, present, and sometimes, even the future. These are often stories focused on our people – Lawrentians –and I always appreciate how generous and forthcoming they can be in our interviews. It’s the nature of the job, but it’s also an odd thing to reach out to someone you’ve never met and ask them to tell you, candidly, all about themselves – including their struggles, disappointments, and frustrations – without necessarily having formed much of a rapport beforehand. I’m sure it can be just as peculiar to them, and I never take for granted just how generous our subjects so often are in these moments, sharing some truly remarkable and personal anecdotes. I’m always so grateful for their trust and the candor that often results. It’s no small thing.
All the best, Sean sramsden@lawrenceville.orgEditorRamsden
POSTMASTER Please send address corrections to: The Lawrentian The Lawrenceville School P.O. Box Lawrenceville,6008 NJ 08648
Editor Sean Ramsden Art Director Phyllis Lerner Design Bruce Hanson News Editor
©The Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville, New Jersey All rights reserved.
I am also thankful for those who, from my earliest days at Lawrenceville, have been generous in other ways: sending me an encouraging email or thoughtfully including me in a fun event not demanded by my role. It always makes me feel valued, like I’m a part of this community, too. I always appreciate it. So I was gratified this spring to learn that Leigh Lockwood ’65 P’97 ’02 had been selected as the Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient for 2022. Leigh is one of the people I mean when I talk about being welcomed kindly into this community, even though I’ve hardly written a word about him – until this issue, anyway. You’ll read more about him on page 28, but when I was talking to John Kelsey ’65 GP’25, who supported Leigh for the honor, I mentioned to him how his friend and classmate had offered such a gracious welcome to me and how his intrinsic worth would be obvious to anyone from any school. “You don’t have to be an alumnus,” John said. “You don’t have to be a chicken to recognize an egg. To me, somebody like that just sticks out.”
BigWORDSTHOUSANDATop by Pop
Photo by Paloma Torres
Never before in its 90-year history had the Bowl been anything but sun-drenched on a clear spring day. But on just such a morning in late May, a massive 320-by-100-foot pole tent featuring sixteen peaks hooded the traditional site of the School’s annual Commencement, providing cool shade for the Class of 2022 and their families.
6 THE LAWRENTIAN BRIEFINCELEBRATINGUNDERFORMERS'ACHIEVEMENT Lawrenceville gathered to honor Second, Third, and Fourth Form students at the Underform Prize Ceremony in May. Recipients of the various honors excelled in academics, athletics, the arts, and community service. Below are all underform awards; prizes awarded to graduating Fifth Form students are listed in the Commencement 2022 coverage on page 32. The Visual DepartmentArtPrize Rania Shah ’23 Stephanie Xu ’23 The Performing Arts Department Prize Lily Hooge ’23 The John H. EnglishHumanities/ImbriePrize Sabrina Ottaway ’25 The English Department Prize for Excellence/ThirdGeneral Form Ava Hamilton ’24 The English Department Prize for Excellence/FourthGeneral Form Rory Murphy ’23 The DepartmentHistory Prize Bhushan Mohanraj ’24 The John H. StudiesHumanities/CulturalImbriePrize Xizi Yao ’25 The Richard C. Smith Physics Prize Alexander B. Noviello ’23 Andrew C. Noviello ’23 The Lever F. Stewart Prize Satvik Dasariraju ’23 Mr. and Mrs. W.R. Niblock Award Tristan Wan ’23 The John T. O’Neil III Mathematics Team Award Su-Yeon Lee ’23 Mid-Atlantic Prep League Lawrencevilleand Athletics All-Academic Team Fall Benjamin Cavanagh ’23 Satvik Dasariraju ’23 Ria Patel ’23 Ashley Wang ’23 Lilly Gessner ’23 Emma Kim ’23 George Northup ’23 Kyle Park ’23 Lindsay Lee ’23 AnushkaChintamaneni ’23 Christabelle Sutter ’23 Jack Patel ’23 Maddy Laws ’23 Winter Ely Hahami ’23 Jeb Williams ’23 Ashley Wang ’23 Lindsay Lee ’23 Debanshi Misra ’23 Jack Patel ’23 Maddy Laws ’23 Satvik Dasariraju ’23 Kyle Park ’23 Iris Wu ’23 Liam Dennehy ’23 Lilly Gessner ’23 Spring Jackson Lee ’23 Charles Rossman ’23 Grant Shueh ’23 Maddy Laws ’23 Christabelle Sutter ’23 Amanda Park ’23 George Northup ’23 Robert Simone ’23 Anna Gill ’23 Rory Murphy ’23 Mia Bocian ’23 Julia Chiang ’23 Jimmy Zhang ’23 Satvik Dasariraju ’23 Kyle Park ’23 Iris Wu ’23 The Lawrence L. Hlavacek Bowl Jacqueline Courtney ’23 George McCain ’23 The Dwight D. LeadershipEisenhowerAward Hampton Sanders ’23 The Peter W. Dart Prize Kyle Kyungwon Park ’23 The Class of ’95 Journalism Award Autri Basu ’23 The Beverly Whiting Anderson Prize Cira Sar ’25 Reed Cloninger ’25 The Marcus D. French Memorial Prize Elijah Miller ’25 Alexa Lewis ’25 The Smith College Book Award Maddy Laws ’23 The Brown University Alumni Book Award Grant Shueh ’23 The Rutgers University Book Award Kyle Park ’23 Wellesley Club of Central Jersey Iris Wu ’23 The Williams College Book Award Satvik Dasariraju ’23 Dartmouth Club of Princeton Award Alistair Lam ’23 The Yale Club Book Award Yewon Chang ’23 George McCain ’23 Harvard Club of Boston Prize Book Award Jack H. Patel ’23 Eglin Society Pins Bradley Barrett ’23 Andrew Boanoh ’23 Praachi Chakraborty ’23 AnushkaChintamanen ’23 Peyton Cosover ’23 Jacqueline LilyLillyEricMichelleCourtneyPaley’23Egu’23Frankel’23Gessner’23LynnHooge ’23 Barbara Odae ’23 Caroline Park ’23 Kyle Park ’23 Jack Patel ’23 Grant Shueh ’23 Victor Zhu ’23 The Reuben T. and Charlotte Boykin Carlson Scholarship Tran Tran ’24 Jeremy K. Mario ’88 Award Drew Davis ’23 Barbara Odae ’23 The Katherine W. Dresdner Cup Stephens House The Foresman Trophy Cleve House
WELL READ: TAKES TWO SCHOLASTIC NEWSPAPER AWARDS
Tristan Wan ’23 earned high honors on the 2022 National Chemistry Olympiad exam, a multi-tiered competition, sponsored by the American Chemical Society, to stimulate and promote high school chemistry. Thousands of students across the United States take a local exam with only the top performers moving on to the rigorous, 60-question national exam created by both high school and college chemistry teachers.
The 141st editorial board of The Lawrence won two Scholastic Newspaper Awards in June for its work over the past year. The student-led newspaper received First Place with Special Merit and Most Outstanding High School Newspaper honors. These awards are presented by the American Scholastic Press Association.
The Lawrentian received the 2022 CASE Circle of Excellence Silver Award for alumni magazines for independent and international schools in June.
The annual worldwide competition, organized by the Council for the Support and Advancement of Education, received more than 4,500 submissions from 28 countries. The magazine also earned two Communicator Awards for Excellence, hosted by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA), in May. The winter 2021 issue was recognized in the corporate communications category and the winter 2021 feature “Last Call, Y’all,” detailing the efforts of Jim Birch ’98 to lead Dixie Brewing’s rebranding transition into Faubourg Brewing Co., was honored for writing. “Last Call, Y’all” won a Communicators Award for Excellence from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts.
THE EXCELS
HIGH HONORS IN
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The 141st editorial board of The Lawrence celebrates its wins.
NATIONALOLYMPIADCHEMISTRY
“The newspaper has served the student body as a medium to voice individual and collective thoughts, start discussion, and as a way to bring people closer together through journalism,” Joshua Cigoianu ’22, editor-in-chief of the 141st Lawrence board, said. “That’s what makes The Lawrence so special.” English teachers Elizabeth Buckles and Maggie Ray serve as faculty advisers.
The course, led by History teacher Larry Filippone, examines Canadian history, culture, and current events. Asked about the guiding principles of Canada’s Progressive Conservative Party under his leadership, Mulroney said the party was “progressive on social issues and conservative on economic issues and trade policy. … I tended to try to find the center.” Mulroney lamented the current “highly polarized” economic and political situation in the U.S. and Canada. “I don’t think it is very healthy, nor as productive, as it could be.”
8 THE LAWRENTIAN Andrew Boanoh ’23 was elected in April by the student body as its president for the 2022-23 school year. During his campaign, he presented initiatives aimed at improving all aspects of Lawrenceville student life –academic, social, and co-curricular. After communicating with a variety of students and faculty members on the changes they would like to see at the School, Boanoh came up with a platform he felt encapsulated the most important aspects of life at Lawrenceville and highlighted areas that most needed change. “It’s one thing to get ideas from your own head and put them down,” he said. “I’m not representing me, I’m representing Lawrenceville.” Boanoh proposed the establishment of an on-campus social center within Tsai Field House. Additionally, rather than just having a singular Hill Day, Boanoh brought up the idea of a Hill Week, which would be entirely dedicated to increasing school spirit and organizing social gatherings. Another strategy to boost school spirit was to have House Olympics in both the fall and the spring. He also advocated for extending the amount of time in the evening that students have access to Wi-Fi and proposed that College Counseling begin reaching out to Fourth Formers starting in the fall term rather than the winterFormerterm.president Annie Katz ’22 passed the torch to Boanoh at the Commencement ceremony in May. – Nichole Jin ’24/The Lawrence BOANOHPRESIDENTELECTED
“So I went on and had a conversation with Mandela. And he said, ‘Prime Minister, when I heard of you, you were a young conservative prime minister who had just assumed power in Ottawa, and you said that you want my liberation and the destruction of apartheid. So here I am. And I want to tell you that because of Canada’s efforts on my behalf, and the efforts of your government, if you agree, I want to make my first speech as a free man, to a free parliament, in a free country: in Canada.’”
– Lisa M. Gillard H’17
PRIME MINISTER MULRONEY ZOOMS IN
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney invited Lawrentians to ask him “anything at all” during a Zoom meeting with Canadian Studies students this spring. Mulroney, head of the Progressive Conservative Party and who led Canada from 1984-93, fielded questions on a range of topics, including current and past events, relationships with other nations, his thoughts on current conservative politics, and his legacy as Canada’s “greenest” prime minister.
Students were eager to hear about Mulroney’s role in dismantling South African apartheid and securing Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. After being convinced by African National Congress President Oliver Tambo that Canada could play an important role in ending governmental oppression in South Africa, Mulroney took action.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, seen here at the University of Toronto, visited Lawrenceville’s Canadian Studies students this spring via Zoom (Photo Courtesy: Richard Lautens/Toronto Star)
“I went to the Cabinet and I told them that from now on, the liberation of Nelson Mandela and the destruction of the apartheid system in South Africa was going to be a top priority at all times,” he said. The day after Mandela’s release, Mulroney received word of a call for him at his residence. “And I said, ‘Oh, hell, that’s not Mandela, that’s friends of mine from my hometown who’re drinking beer in the tavern having a good time. And they’re just having fun.’ [The switchboard operator] said, ‘Well, he sounds an awful lot like the man I heard on television last night.’
DASARIRAJU THIRD WORLDWIDE AT ISEF
Stanford University’s Dr. Seung Kim, who heads the eponymous Seung Kim Laboratory in the Stanford University School of Medicine’s Department of Developmental Biology, visited Lawrenceville in March. He attended Projects in Molecular Genetics classes, spoke to all Second Formers about his lab’s diabetes research, and met with the Lawrenceville Hutchins Scholars in Science Research. The Hutchins Science program has partnered with Kim’s Stanford Lab on medical research for several years.
TOP STANFORD BIOLOGIST OBSERVES LAWRENTIAN PROJECTS
Bhushan Mohanraj ’24 also took a first-place award and Antonia Comaniciu ’25 and Anushka Chintamaneni ’23 claimed second prizes in their categories.
HER POETRY IS GOLD
Satvik Dasariraju ’23 won third place in the Computational Biology & Bioinformatics Category of the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Atlanta in May. His project, “RARE: Machine Learning Approach for Binning Rare Variant Features to Detect Association with Disease,” was among 50 international finalists in that category. More than 7 million participants had entered regional fairs worldwide. Dasariraju’s project used machine-learning and artificial intelligence to detect rare variant genetic irregularities associated with a wide range of diseases and disorders, including rejection of transplanted organs. His algorithm, which he named RARE (Relevant Association of RareVariant-Bin Evolver), simplifies and improves the analysis, making it more widely available.
The work can help
March,SciencePrizeAtlantaandimmunosuppressioninformstrategiesbetterdonor-recipientpairing.DasarirajuearnedhiswaytobycapturingtheGrandatthe2022MercerCountyandEngineeringFairinwhere
Ashley Wang ’23 earned a Gold Medal in April for her work, “Rewind,” in the Poetry category of the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, sponsored by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. More than 100,000 teens from across the United States and Canada entered more than 260,000 works of art and writing in the 2022 Scholastic Awards. Also in April, Wang placed third in the 2022 Young Writers Competition (poetry division), sponsored by Bennington College. The contest, open to ninth- through twelfth-graders, promotes and recognizes the writing excellence of high school students.
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10 THE LAWRENTIAN
Qureshi also applied concepts she took from her experience with the Lawrenceville Merrill Scholars, focused on translation theory and studies to preserve an author’s original words and their connotations. “I kept the children’s original Arabic words alongside their English translations to ensure that the children were truly represented the way they desired” she said.
The William Welles Award was established in memory of William Bouton Welles ’71, Class of 1971. Third and Fourth Form students submit proposals for summer projects, research, and writing, and the amount of the award depends on the proposal submitted, up to $3,000.
Qureshi began as an English teacher to the children. During her first class, she asked her students to write about themselves so they could know each other better. Though she expected to hear about their favorite sports or games, Qureshi learned much more than she had anticipated.“Somechildren at the GiveLight home shared how much they valued family after losing a parent during the war, while others wanted to return to Syria and fight for human rights despite being blinded during the war,” Qureshi said. “They really embodied the resilient spirit of the person I hoped to become, yet people rarely hear their voices. Through our book, we wanted to change the power dynamics of who should be heard.”
With support from a William Welles Award, Summer Qureshi ’22 edited and illustrated a new book, Unsilenced: Voices of Refugee Children, featuring the stories of displaced youth whom Qureshi met through volunteer work. “I got involved with the GiveLight Foundation before my junior year during COVID,” she said, adding that the pandemic provided her the time to support the communities around her. “GiveLight values meaningful connections with the children and gives every child the chance to explore their interests through art or singing.”
Qureshi joined as an intern, hoping to work directly with the children around the world. She worked with displaced young refugees from Syria and Iraq who were living in Turkey, though pandemic restrictions during her Fourth Form limited her counsel to interactions via Zoom. Nonetheless, Qureshi said they were invaluable. “Their synergy and passion truly bridged the gap between our physical distances,” she said. “Beyond our storytelling workshops, the kids and I just wanted to interact and bond as people. The point of our storytelling workshops was for the children to speak and feel heard.”
Unsilenced: Voices of Refugee Children came to life after Qureshi compiled and edited their firsthand perspectives. “One of the biggest challenges was capturing the personality of each child through the book’s images and the children’s names,” she explained. “Because the children still had relatives in Syria or Iraq, I could not use the children’s real names or their pictures, so instead I chose a name whose meaning captured their personality and created illustrations for each child that captured his/her dreams and goals.”
– Adapted from an interview by Lisa M. Gillard H’17
Summer Qureshi ’22 adapted the stories she heard from Syrian and Iraqi child refugees for a book she edited and illustrated.
GIVING VOICE TO REFUGEE CHILDREN
Her experience teaching Syrian and Iraqi children displaced by war moved Summer Qureshi ’22 to compile their harrowing tales into a new book.
The experience moved Qureshi deeply, and its lessons are transferable to anywhere in the world. “As I wrote at the end of my introduction to the book, ‘We are linked not only by our history, but also by our choice to interact and listen to one another’s experiences. By reading their stories, you are linking part of your identity with these brave, young refugee children,’” she said. “The book is truly just a stepping stone to changing diverse representation, one that can only exist when we give marginalized groups the platform to represent themselves.”
John Cleve Ad
12 THE LAWRENTIAN April Dance Series: Spring in Their Steps ARTSTHEON
‘Our StillTown’Renowned
Some years after he left the Lawrenceville faculty, Thornton Wilder penned Our Town, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938. A century after Wilder came to the School, the Periwig Club brought Our Town back to the stage this spring at the Kirby Arts Center, introducing a new generation of Lawrentians to tiny Grover’s Corners, N.H.
A Day to Plié with Philly Ballet
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Philadelphia Ballet demi-soloist Pau Pujol leads Lawrenceville’s advanced dance class.
Lawrenceville’s advanced dance class stepped up to the barre in April for a master class taught by Pau Pujol, a demisoloist with the Philadelphia Ballet, and dancers Ashley Lewis and Ana Perez of Philadelphia Ballet II, a company of young professional dancers who perform at Philadelphia-area schools and other community venues. The class was “a good way to bring people together” and give Lawrentians a “realistic view of what it is like to be a professional dancer,” according to Randy Benedict, Philadelphia Ballet II program manager in school partnerships. Pujol, Lewis and Perez answered students’ questions about the experience of dedicating their lives at such a young age to their art. The class was part of a growing partnership between Lawrenceville and the Philadelphia Ballet. Last December, Lawrenceville dancers watched the troupe perform The Nutcracker at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, then met the evening’s stars backstage.
in April.
14 THE LAWRENTIAN Backed by the girls’ and boys’ lacrosse teams, Tripp Welborne H’58 P’21 ’24, dean of athletics and co-curricular education, welcomed everyone to the Getz Sports Complex. FIELDDAY
Lawrenceville debuted its refurbished Getz Sports Complex
“All of this fits into a vision for the campus for a unified community, unified by its spirit and by its healthy pursuits,” said Jonathan G. Weiss ’75, chair of the Board of Trustees, who later cut the ribbon officially marking the opening of the complex.
With a bright sun signaling its approval, Lawrenceville dedicated its newly refurbished and enhanced Getz Sports Complex on April 2. All-new turf fields for soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey are now joined by upgraded spectator stands and a lighted path from the field house, with additional facilities on the way, including a new track.
The Getz Sports Complex is part of the Emerge Transformed capital campaign, which concludes in 2023. Weiss says such investments in campus only enhance the School’s already considerable appeal. “It’s just one more reason for some of the great young people around the country to be interested in Lawrenceville,” he said, “and then once they get here, to have amazing facilities, coaches, and support, to pursue their athletic dreams and pursue that concept of sound body and sound mind.”
Julia Violich P’25 and Mackey Violich ’08 high-fived as a list of Getz Sports Complex amenities were cited.
Above: Board Chair Jon Weiss ’75 cut the ribbon to officially dedicate the new complex.
The Getz Sports Complex, whose two fields now bear the names of the Violich Family and the Howard Family, resulted from the beneficence of Sandy and Bert Getz ’55 H’56 P’85 GP’18 ’20, Susie and Bert Getz Jr. ’85 P’18 ’20, Samuel G.T Fisher ’07 and Family, Kit and Robert Howard GP’15 ’16 ’19, Michael Tiernan ’68 P’01 ’05 ’09 and Family, and Paul Violich P’87 ’08 GP’25. Tripp Welborne H’58 P’21 ’24, dean of athletics and co-curricular education, and Weiss ’75 were joined by the Big Red teams and coaches who now call the facility home. “I’ve been very fortunate that I experienced Lawrenceville a student, as a trustee, and as a parent, and as a parent, you really get to see what the School means, what a community is,” said Bert Getz Jr., adding that it’s the individuals who constitute that community that make it so valuable. Getz, noting the athletic accomplishments of his father, Bert ’55, who captained the swim team, and his own involvement in several sports, said supporting Big Red felt right.
“Athletics has been a big part of our family and a big part of our fabric, so that was a very natural fit,” he said.
Left: Susie and Bert Getz Jr. ’85 P’18 ’20 and the facility that now bears their family's name.
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“Audrey and Martin, who joined us for the retreat, were particularly inspired and saw the potential for transforming what was already the Gruss Center of Visual Art into a state-of-the-art makerspace and creative design center,” said Jon Weiss ’75, chair of the Board of Trustees. “In the spring of 2018, they made a transformative gift to make this happen.”TheGruss gift also enabled improvements to the adjacent art studios, and support from Debbie and Glenn Hutchins ’73, with help from Jean Fang ’90, funded a renovation of the Hutchins Galleries and collections storage space. “Art and design touch our lives in so many ways. Just look around, and you’ll see that virtually every surface has been touched by art and design,” said Martin Gruss, a trustee emeritus. “I think it’s great that students at Lawrenceville have an opportunity to know about it and learn about it and make about it. So I’m very happy that this GCAD building is here.”
WORTHTHEWAIT
[ Learn more about the Gruss Center for Art and Design at gcad.lawrenceville.org.
Lawrenceville began studying best practices for development of a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) facility and related programming in fall 2016, when the School’s Board of Trustees adopted a strategic plan, Lawrenceville 20/20, which called for “energizing academic culture” through experiential learning. Onsite surveys of corporate innovation hubs and visits to Stanford University’s d.School (the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design).
Once students returned to campus for in-person learning, it didn’t take long for GCAD to quickly be reanimated. “It truly has become a creative hub, which was the vision at the outset,” Head of School Stephen S. Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 assured the Grusses. “It’s located at both the intellectual and physical heart of the campus, and the placement couldn’t be better in terms of drawing kids in and becoming the hub that you envisioned.”
16 THE LAWRENTIAN If, as the old saw says, patience is a virtue, then it marks at least two such qualities we can ascribe to Audrey and Martin Gruss ’60. The other is generosity. More than two years after it first opened in January 2020, only to have students sent home weeks later due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple was finally able to return to campus to tour and then dedicate the Gruss Center for Art and Design, or GCAD, on May 20 of this year. The ambitious expansion and renovation project was made possible through a $17 million gift from the Audrey and Martin Gruss Foundation.
After a two-year delay due to the pandemic, Audrey and Martin Gruss ’60 dedicated the Gruss Center for Art and Design.
GCAD pulls together collaborative energy from all departments, extending the Harkness table by providing space for experiential and project-based learning across disciplines. A community hub for innovation, collaboration, and creativity, the open environment of GCAD was designed to inspire ingenuity and support spontaneity.
Allison Haworth ’22 explains her project to Audrey and Martin Gruss ’60 inside GCAD.
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Left: The Grusses accepted a beautifully intricate wooden box with inlaid wood design made by Rex Brodie, director of design and fabrication, in GCAD. Rex Brodie, director of design and fabrication in the Visual Arts Department, explains GCAD’s implications for robotics.
Above: Martin Gruss ’60 cut the ribbon to formally dedicate the Gruss Center for Art and Design in May.
The seminal landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted turned a spartan schoolyard into the Lawrenceville that most recognize today.
P art of The Lawrenceville School’s historical significance is derived from the distinctive landscape design of Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., whose birth marks its bicentennial in 2022 and whose inventive eye shaped outdoor spaces across North America, with the promise of his vision ensuring that functionality would be beautiful. Olmsted had worked as a merchant, seaman, farmer, investigative journalist, and government employee before submerging himself into landscape architecture, defining the practice in the 19th century.
Brown’s campus was functional – it hardly changed from 1832 to 1883 – but it was not idyllic nor was it sensitive to prevailing 19thcentury educational ideals. It was also small, with just two primary buildings. The limited school capacity hindered financial and academic growth. The legatees sought to address these challenges with Olmsted’s help. A Campus Takes
Frederick Law Olmsted in about 1860. (Photo by Fotosearch/Getty Images)
W hile Olmsted was also notable as a journalist, social critic, and conservationist, he was a man shaped by his time. He insisted his signature work, New York City’s Central Park, be committed to egalitarian ideals, but its creation also ruthlessly demolished and displaced Seneca Village, a predominantly Black community. His approval of this land seizure complicates Olmsted’s legacy of social consciousness and equality. Historians and The Lawrenceville School now explore this legacy in a way that frames Olmsted and his momentous work as part of a much larger American story, in a context that considers the histories of all of its people.
By SARAH MEZZINO
However, Brown’s manipulation of the local landscape also included the creation of the original School buildings – Hamill House in 1814 and Haskell House in 1832 – and the schoolyard that developed between the structures. The yard was surrounded by an icehouse, laundry, rudimentary gymnasium, and, at the far edge of the property, latrines. Roughly south of these buildings were pig farms and, eventually, an apple orchard.
18 THE LAWRENTIAN ARCHIVISTTHEASK
Four years after the legatees of the estate of John Cleve Green, Class of 1816, purchased the School from longtime Head Master Samuel McClintock Hamill in 1879, Olmsted was recommended by the architecture firm Peabody & Stearns to shape the grounds of the newly reorganized Lawrenceville School. Olmsted’s impressive résumé, which included the U.S. Capitol Grounds and Boston’s Emerald Necklace, solidified his employment as lead planner for the design and expansion of the School’s physical plant. Confronted with the philosophical, educational, social, and sanitary needs of this campus’ design, he drew inspiration from England but created the School’s signature space, which became a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The land marshyhardwoodconsistedLawrenceville’sencompassingoriginalcampusofamixed-deciduousforestpunctuatedbypatches,whichchanged as European settlers cleared large swaths of land for various types of farming. Notably, the School’s first head master, Isaac Van Arsdale Brown, planted a thousand mulberry trees on his property in the 1830s to cultivate silkworms. (Although its exact age is unknown, a solitary mulberry tree exists across Main Street in Weeden Park and may be from Brown’s crop.)
designs establishing the locations of buildings and roadways were set, Olmsted began to arrange foliage on the School’s grounds as if it were a pastoral public green, vaguely reminiscent of a British deer park with no distinctive front or back side. Attuned to the differences in climate across the United States, Olmsted incorporated 371 varieties of trees that thrived in Central New Jersey into his plans. Sourcing 235 of those trees from Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum in Boston, he placed them across the 50-acre plot of land to provide both “spaciousness and seclusion,” with artistically blended or contrasting visual textures and hues.
Olmsted’s designs also included the development of thirteen miles of underground piping. Providing engineering services, Olmsted designed intricate systems that supplied water for both consumption and fire suppression, steam heat, and sewage removal. As part of this sanitization endeavor, he created an underground vaulted brick cistern behind Edith Memorial Chapel capable of holding 162,000 gallons of rainwater as a water reserve. As another means of welfare for the community, he also designated “playgrounds” for outdoor athletic activities. In short, Olmsted not only addressed each of the legatees’ concerns but also thoughtfully planned for the School’s future. [ Sarah Mezzino is the curator of decorative arts and design for The Stephan Archives. She organized the exhibit “Frederick Law Olmsted: Landscapes for the Public Good,” which opened during Alumni Weekend and remains on display in Bunn Library until April 2023.
Above: Olmsted’s 1886 “Plan for Planting a Collection of Native and Foreign Trees on the Grounds of The Lawrenceville School” also imagines a layout of buildings similar to but not quite the same as today’s Circle. (Map courtesy of The United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmstead Historic Site.)
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Olmsted also grouped trees by genus as an educational resource, thus creating what he termed a “Library and Museum of Botany and Dendrology” on the School’s grounds. Some of these groupings still exist on campus – oak behind Edith Memorial Chapel, linden in front of Hamill House, elm to the side of Cleve House, and falsecypress near Dickinson House. Not surprisingly, the School expanded its science offerings in 1894 to include botany.
Campus development hinged on prevailing philosophies. When the School employed Olmsted, not only did the Green legatees wish to add approximately thirteen buildings on a 50-acre plot of land but they were also influenced by the notion of shaping and instilling character in the country’s youth. Many educators believed a means to achieving this goal was to increase the presence of women, whose domesticity transferred moral and social refinement to traditionally male-dominated academic spaces. The British boarding school system where students resided in houses with employees’ families – favored by the School’s legatees – reinforced this burgeoning concept. The British boarding school system was also thought to combat “Frontierism,” or the “coarseness of manners [found at the frontier]” they believed was fostered as the geographical boundaries of the United States stretched. Olmsted manipulated the School’s landscape in his designs to address these concerns. He created a “village green,” or a space for impromptu meetings among community members to forge social interactions in the center of campus, surrounded by an academic building, chapel, head master’s residence, and British-style dormitories. Dubbed “The Circle,” this asymmetrical plot of land embodied trending 19thcentury thought but was also an innovative twist on an existing campus style seen at Dartmouth College: the “Traditional Village Green” where a main street traverses a commons surrounded by buildings.Oncerough
20 THE LAWRENTIAN weekendalumni2022 ‘Not Fair-WeatherJustFriends’
Rows of tents along Green Field and behind the Kirby Arts Center kept gatherings dry –aside from runs to one of eight food trucks and a popular beer garden for a bevy of food and drink choices – as the classes of the 2s and 7s were joined by alumni from across all years, including many who missed in-person reunions in 2020 and 2021. Twenty-eight new honorary classmates were welcomed, and the Alumni Association also bestowed its prestigious Distinguished Alumnus Award upon Leigh Lockwood ’65 P’97 ’02 for his longtime commitment and service to the School. The robust program saw Harkness Awards presented to cherished former teachers John P. Sauerman H’84 ’02 ’14 and Kenneth S. Mills H’86 P’05, and the Lawrenceville debut of a new exhibition, Frederick Law Olmsted: Landscapes for the Public Good, in Bunn Library. On a day that also saw an 80-1 colt become the second-biggest longshot ever to win the 148th Kentucky Derby, it was Lawrentians who defied the odds to create warm, lasting memories despite the unlikely damp May chill.
The temperature peaked at 50 degrees Fahrenheit at 9:53 a.m. on Saturday, May 7, and proceeded to tumble throughout the day, bottoming out at a bracing 43 during the 8 p.m. hour. Gusty winds ranging from 25 to 35 mph also blew a steady rain that made the day seem even chillier than it was – and it was indeed the coldest high temperature on that date in Lawrenceville in 55 years. Sounds like a washout, right? No way. Yes, the weather was inhospitable, to say the least, but it takes more than some rain to dampen the spirits of over a thousand alumni and guests who, eager to see each other in person again, made the trek back to campus. Smiles, laughter, and camaraderie were as ubiquitous as rain gear, umbrellas, and duck boots. “We had a great reunion under trying circumstances,” said Paul Fitzgerald ’67 P’03. “We are not just fair-weather friends.”
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2019, LAWRENCEVILLE was set to welcome graduates and families back to campus for Alumni Weekend in May, but not before Mother Nature threw one last curveball at the long-awaited gathering.
Join us for Alumni Weekend 2023, June 2-4!
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NEW
22 THE LAWRENTIAN NEW HONORARY ALUMNI/AE THE CLASS OF 1962 A. Graham Down H’60 ’63 ’64 ’67 Lawrence L. Hlavacek H’55 ’61 GP’06 ’08 Julian F. Thompson ’45 H’52 ’57 THE CLASS OF 1966 Elizabeth C. Casey H’92 P’21 ’24 THE CLASS OF 1967 Samuel Back Betsy Conley Fitzgerald W’67 P’99 ’03 Theodore K. Graham H’65 ’66 ’68 ’72 P’85 Barbara K. Graham H’72 P’85 Virginia Chambers H’54 ’58 ’59 ’60 ’61 ’62 ’66 ’71 ’73 ’80 ’89 P’77 Edward A. Robbins H’68 ’69 ’71 ’72 ’11 THE CLASS OF 1972 Wesley R. Brooks ’71 H’59 ’09 P’03 ’05 Max A. Maxwell H’74 ’79 ’80 ’81 ’91 ’00 ’01 James C. Waugh H’67 ’68 ’74 ’81 ’85 ’88 P’68 ’70 ’72 ’74 ’76 GP’12 ’14 ’16 THE CLASS OF 1982 Charise Hall P’12 Catherine Boczkowski H’80 ’89 ’92 ’93 ’11 P’89 ’91 THE CLASS OF 1992 Elizabeth C. Casey H’66 P’21 ’24 Kristina Schulte P’15
• Worked on council to draft antiharassment policies for School community in 1992 and helped advise The Hill School on its first year of coeducation.
• Earned the Princeton U. Outstanding Teacher Award for high school teaching in 1996; at the time, just the second Lawrenceville faculty member to earn this honor.
• Director of prestigious New Jersey Scholars Program from 1989-2016.
• Forty years at Lawrenceville, 1977-2017, during which he served as chair of the History department, head of Haskell House, director of day students.
Jim Gidicsin ’82 P’17, David Goldberg ’72, and Etienne Bilodeau H’01 received the Big Red Award. (Not pictured: fellow recipient Caroline Nype Parker ’07) Ken Mills H’86 P’05 receives his Harkness Award from Alumni Association President Charlie Keller ’95. RED AWARDS
BIG
GEORGE W. “TRES” ARNETT III ’79 P’16 • KALIFA Z. WAUGH ’04
James M. Gidicsin ’82 P’17 David A. Goldberg ’72 Caroline Nype Parker ’07 Etienne Bilodeau H’01
THE CLASS OF 2012 Rabbi Lauren Levy H’97 ’01 P’01 ’02 ’09
• Came to Lawrenceville in 1982, chaired Science Department from 1990-97, served as director of the Circle and head of house in Dickinson, Kennedy, and Upper.
• Published a partial gene sequence for a rare palm species, co-founded the Summer Science Institute, recognized by Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, for his dedication to the teaching of science.
THE CLASS OF 1997 Christopher B. Maxey H’94 ’95 P’07 ’09 ’13 Leita’14Hamill H’65 ’88 ’99 S’65 P’96 ’99
THE CLASS OF 2022 Brian DeborahJacobsMiliaresis
THE CLASS OF 2017 Yanhong Zhang Lisa M. Gillard
HARKNESS AWARDS
John P. Sauerman H’84 ’02 ’14 History Teacher Posthumously
• Deeply involved in Periwig as an adviser who also directed and starred in many productions.
THE CLASS OF 2002 John Sauerman H’84 ’14 Kelley Nicholson-Flynn
• In 1995, became first holder of the James Merrill ’43 Chair in Distinguished Teaching.
Kenneth S. Mills H’86 P’05 Science Teacher Former Head Football Coach
THE CLASS OF 2007 Peter W.E. Becker H’08 Kevin Mattingly H’05 ’13 P’99 ’01
• Assistant coach for wrestling team and served as a coach of the football program for 30 years, including time as varsity head coach.
NEW ALUMNI TRUSTEE T. ROBERT ZOCHOWSKI JR.’82 P’13 ALUMNI TRUSTEE SELECTORS
2.02 Inches of rain that fell on Friday and Saturday, May 6 and 7. 67 Average LawrencevilledegreestemperaturehighinFahrenheitinonMay 7. 47 Outdoor temperature in Lawrenceville between 2:30 and 5 p.m. on May 7. 26 THE LAWRENTIAN ALUMNI WEEKEND 2022 F rom temperaturesandrainfallchilly to a record number of returning classes and a memorablelongshot,KentuckyhistoricDerbyAlumniWeekendinMayproducedmanyunprecedentedfigurestomarkthejoyouslyevent. 80-1 Odds to win the Kentucky Derby for Rich Strike, the longest by any winning horse since 1913. The chestnut colt’s upset win delighted a cheering crowd inside the KAC Lounge. Total number of byrepresentedclassesattendees.Foodtrucks at the picnic lunch, ranging from tacos to surf and turf to cupcakes. Three Classes celebrating their 50th reunion: 1970, ’71, and ’72. 20 Tents erected in the Hogate parking lot, Green Field, and at Foundation House. 31,850 Combined square footage inside tents. Tours of Tsai HouseFieldgivenoverAlumniWeekend. Number AlumnitraveledwhichcountriesoffromLawrentiansforWeekend. F By the Numbers viawhoVaughnGeorgeoldestweekend’syearGraduationoftheattendee,“Arky”’45,joinedZoom.
Leigh Lockwood ’65 P’97 ’02, the 2022 Distinguished Alumnus Award winner, has been a fixture at the School’s annual Springfest celebration for local children for nearly thirty years. (Photo by Pamela Kelsey GP’25)
how can I
“How nice it is to see a laughing child riding a real horse, dunking an older child, or staining a T-shirt with neon, cotton candy colors,” he says of Springfest’s appeal to him Springfesttoday.is hardly the sum of Lockwood’s active involvement with the School, all of which made him the recipient of Lawrenceville’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2022. The prestigious accolade is conferred annually by the Lawrenceville School Alumni Association Executive Committee to a Lawrentian in recognition of exceptional efforts to promote the best interests of the School. Lockwood received the award at Alumni Weekend in May. “He was looking for something to do [to get involved], and I suggested he come and see Springfest,” says Joanne Adams Rafferty H’65 ’81 ’03 W’65 P’93, the School’s former director of community service, who first organized the event. “It captured his imagination.”
“I always feel a thrill seeing a youngster riding for the first time what must seem like a towering steed,” he says. The children who come to Springfest are typically from disadvantaged communities. It takes Lockwood back to growing up in Mexico, where he lived for nearly thirty years, often adjacent to poverty. He recalls being about 10 years old when his family stopped in a town along the eastern Sierra Madre range.
Lockwood’s affectionate ribbing reflects the joyous way Lisa and Ryan’s enrollment activated their father’s Big Red zeal, creating a dynamo bent on bettering the School and its student and alumni experience. Lockwood’s résumé of Big Red volunteerism: He chaired the Alumni Association Executive Committee for three years; served as an alumni trustee on the School’s Board of Trustees; founded the Lawrenceville Club of Mexico; served as class president; and has been a prolific class secretary, chronicling the comings and goings of the Class of 1965 for Class Notes in The Lawrentian A history buff, he was also a driving force behind The Lawrenceville Lexicon, a compendium of School terms, people, and traditions now in its third edition. Relentlessly friendly and outgoing, Lockwood also been known to spontaneously organize smaller, unofficial alumni outings. “He’ll just see something and say, ‘That looks like it might be fun,’ says John Kelsey ’65 GP’25, adding that before business trips, Lockwood would routinely check in with the Alumni Office first to see if there were people near his destination to whom he might pay a visit for the benefit of the School. Kelsey, who once chaired the Distinguished Alumni Award nomination committee, says Lockwood’s often understated or unseen efforts speak clearly to the spirit of the honor. “We wanted people who didn’t necessarily call attention to themselves,” he says, “but just were all about, what can I do to make this school better?”
help?
Leigh Lockwood ’65 P’97 ’02, this year’s Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient, makes Lawrenceville better in a variety of ways.
BY SEAN RAMSDEN
Nearby, Leigh Lockwood ’65 P’97 ’02 surveys the scene from the roadway in front of Cleve House. His presence is unassuming, and his straw hat, circled by a ribbon reading “Lawrenceville Legend” in red, seems incongruous with the selfdeprecating man on whose head it rests. Though he makes his way through the bustle of fun, Lockwood always seems to wind up near this spot, where tentative children queue up to ride ponies in a ring. The look in their eyes registers with Lockwood, who along with his wife, Carol Ann Lockwood P’97 ’02, has underwritten the cost of Springfest for nearly thirty years.
E
VERY YEAR, JUST DAYS BEFORE COMMENCEMENT, A TRAIN OF YELLOW SCHOOL BUSES PULLS TO a stop along the Circle before disgorging a few hundred eager and excited small children, their eyes widening as they scan the landscape to apprehend the possibilities. Bouncy houses, dunk tanks, cotton candy, and face painting, all staffed by Lawrenceville students, are just a few of the opportunities that await the children, who have come from local communities to spend a final day of fun with their Lawrentian buddies. It’s Springfest, an annual rite of the School’s active community service program, and it always seems to make the sun shine just a little bit brighter on these young folks.
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Both Lockwood and Rafferty tell the story of how Rafferty’s late husband, Jim Adams ’65 H’80 ’82 ’93 ’96 ’01 P’93, got Lisa Lockwood ’97, then Ryan Lockwood ’02, excited about the possibility of coming to “ThatLawrenceville.darnAdams family cost us a fortune!” Lockwood says with a laugh. “Jim drafted our daughter, Lisa [to enroll], and then came Joanne and Springfest!”
Confused, Lockwood appealed to his mother, who explained that the boy, likely unable to afford a real balloon, was happily “floating” his pretend balloon around the zócalo.
“All towns had a zócalo, a town square at which much of the social and political life took place,” he says. “I remember seeing a much younger child dressed in rags holding up a broomstick with a battered, cowboystyle straw hat at the top.”
30 THE LAWRENTIAN 2022COMMENCEMENT Having their mettle tested during their time at Lawrenceville, the Class of 2022 arrived at Commencement in May having left an indelible mark on their alma mater. BY SEAN RAMSDEN • PHOTOGRAPHY BY PALOMA TORRES 'Grit andResilience'Gratitude,Strength
Gratitude,Strength andResilience' SPECIAL ISSUE / SUMMER 2022 31
Their return to Lawrenceville in August 2020 hardly resembled their freer pre-pandemic experience, with hybrid classes, no interscholastic athletics, twiceweekly testing, and mandatory masking everywhere but in their own rooms. Dining was done outside under tented covers, at least until the winter term saw a planned temporary return to distance learning in order to mitigate the risks of all-indoor gatherings during the coldest months. By the time their Fifth Form year ended in May, their student experience had begun to look much like it had during their earliest days at the School before the sudden loss of a schoolmate cast a pall over the spring. Still, the Class of 2022 steeled its collective self and forged its way to Commencement on May 29 – an event, fittingly enough, that was held under the cover of a massive, 300-foot-long tent that spanned the length of the Bowl, larger than any ever erected there.Unprecedented?
IT’S DIFFICULT TO KNOW YET FOR SURE, BUT IT’S LIKELY THAT LAWRENCEVILLE’S CLASS OF 2022 will ultimately be the one that spent the greatest amount of its time as students affected by the tumult and restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Third Formers, they never returned to campus following spring break, pivoting instead to all-distance learning. Close friends and housemates were reduced to tiles on a Zoom screen for the spring term.
Amid the post-ceremony revelry around the Bowl, outgoing School President Annie Katz ’22 was asked about the difficulties of shepherding a student council and those who elected her to the office amid such uncertain times. “Out of all of that came a stronger community than I ever could’ve asked for. On a daily basis, I saw everyone around me picking each other up,” said Katz, who is bound for Georgetown University. “Time after time, hit after hit, again – this community picked each other up. I didn’t shepherd anyone; they shepherded me.”
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In her valedictory address, Rebecca Chou ’22 explained how her successes and failures at the School have influenced her and prepared her for the future, and how the lesson is transferrable to every member of the “Whenclass.Lawrenceville tells us we have a responsibility to change the world, we are not bound to perfection,” said Chou, who will attend Harvard University. “We are bound to bravery. We are bound to initiative. And above all, we are bound to using what we’ve learned here to begin somewhere new.”
Head of School Stephen S. Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 greeted the assemblage — the graduating class, their faculty and family members, all cooled by the shade of the tent — and called his customary attention to the members of the class who will serve the United States the following year by enrolling in military academies. Kajal Dongre ’22 accepted an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, and Mona Shetye ’22 will attend the U.S. Air Force Academy.Murray also commended the class for the resilience it showed as they, along with the entire School, wrestled with the uncertain course of the pandemic. Ultimately, he insisted, that resolve will be their legacy at Lawrenceville.“Thisquality within that you take with you is also a piece of what you leave behind,” said Murray, presiding over his seventh Commencement. “Your quiet leadership, your refusal to give in when confronted with challenges, your insistence on making every moment count – in a word, your courage – has left an imprint on this school, and we are better for it. In this way, you will always be a part of this place.”
Of course. But for this class, what else would it be? “You, our graduating class, have encountered numerous challenges,” said Rabbi Lauren Levy H’97 ’01 ’12 P’01 ’02 ’09 in her invocation. “But you, as a class, have emerged strong. Your grit has transformed itself into gratitude.”
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PrizesFormFifth Valedictorian Rebecca Chou Edward Sutliffe Brainard Prize Joshua Cigoianu Trustees’ Cup Annie Katz The Aurelian Honor Society Award William T. Phillips The Excellence in Leadership –Performing Arts Prize Calli Colvin The Jean S. Stephens Performing Arts Department Prize Quinn Thierfelder The Peter Candler Periwig Award Robert Cloniger The James E. Blake Prize Jamie Nicholson The Excellence in Leadership –Dance Prize Kajal Dongre The Excellence in Leadership –Music Prize Dhruv Khurjekar The Addison H. Gery Jr. Jazz Prize Andrew Lenkowsky The Excellence in Instrumental Performance Prize Allan Zhang The Excellence in Vocal Performance Prize Caroline Bednar Minh Le Tran The Matthew Dominy Prize Katharine Dillard The R. Jack Garver Visual Arts Department Prize Jiajie Zhang Visual Art Department Video Production Prize Federica Sagebien William T. Phillips Visual Art Department Film Making Prize Lauren Kim John R. Rose Jr. Prize Delaney Musgrave The English Department Prize for General Excellence Kajal Dongre The English Department Prize for Achievement in Creative Writing Sophia Sachar The Owen C. Smith Poetry Prize Mary Rose Beeken The Poetry Out Loud Competition School Champion Award Delaney Musgrave The Religion and Philosophy Department Prize Zhiming Tang The James Sipple Award Quinn Thierfelder The Religious Life Prize Dhruv SophiaMeganKhurjekarMaSachar The John W. Gartner Prize Caroline Steib The John P. Phelps Jr. Prize Sophie Guettel The Chinese Language Prize Roderick Atwood The Benjamin H. Trask Classics Prize Victor W. Park The Frederick P. King Prize Quinn Thierfelder The Paul L. Marrow Award Allison Haworth The Wendell Hertig Taylor Prize Layla Shaffer The Benjamin F. Howell Jr. Science Prize Fund Bill Luo The Lawther O. Smith Computer Science Prize Maksym Bondarenko Walker W. Stevenson Jr. Prize Matthew Kutam Free Enterprise Award Houston Holford The Sterling Morton Prize Zoha Khan Parents at CommunityLawrencevilleServiceAward Andrew Paglia Jr. Tesia Thomas The Robert Mammano Frezza Memorial Sophie Guettel The Colin Sullivan Award Joshua Cigoianu Video Journalism Award Caroline Bednar The Richard H. Robinson Prize Carina Li The Henry C. Woods Jr. Critical Writing Award Andrew Lenkowsky Independence Foundation Prize Sara Xu The William Mayhew Dickey ’64 Prize Annie Katz The Thomas F. InterdisciplinarySharpAward Sophia Springer The Mathematics Faculty Award Elizabeth C. FitzHugh The Howard Hill Mathematics Award Rebecca S. Chou The Herman Hollerith Prize Cole Hansen Aldo Leopold Ecology Prize Marlene Guadian The Henry and Janie Woods Prize for Research Science Nikita WilliamCoppisettiT.Phillips Hubert Alyea Chemistry Prize Arthur Z. Li Mid-Atlantic Prep League and Lawrenceville Athletics AllAcademic Teams Fall Carina YendiNicoleHoustonSaraCarolineNikitaMatthewGarrettLiDurso-FinleyKutamCoppisettiSteibXuHolfordChengFoo Winter Carina Beritela Maria CarinaHelenPhilipVictorMatthewLaylaHollyWillKyleHadleyConnorSanmartinKingFlanaganBaekYeeKiernanShafferKutamParkParkLiuLi Spring Arthur HarrisonLi Berger Ben CarinaRahilDhruvAngelGubbayZhangKhurjekarPatelLi The Nick Gusz Best Male Athlete Award Gregory Foster The Melissa Magee Speidel Best Female Athlete Award Charlotte Bednar The Tommy Sullivan Award Emma Fleming The John H. Thompson Jr. Prize Madeline Samaan The Adam and Mackellar Violich Award Joshua Cigoianu Piper Harrell The N.J.I.S.A.A Male Scholar Athlete Tyler Minnino The N.J.I.S.A.A Female Scholar Athlete Kiera Duffy Major L Blankets Hanaway Croddick Isabella Koch L12 Award Kate McCann Kiera AllisonDuffyHaworth The Kathleen Wallace Award Siri Larsson Regnstrom The Director’s Award Robert Cloninger The Boczkowski Award Quinn Thierfelder The Deans’ Award Sophie Guettel The Elizabeth Louise Gray Prize Delaney Musgrave The Andrew T. Goodyear Class of 1983 Award Maksym Bondarenko The Max Maxwell Award Yendi K.N. Foo The Phi Beta Kappa Award Arthur Z. Li Scholar’s Prize William T. Phillips SPECIAL ISSUE / SUMMER 2022 35
By Sean Ramsden
36 THE LAWRENTIAN business
IFTY YEARS AGO, A STANFORD UNIVERSITY PSYCHOLOGIST conducted an experiment about predictive ability and delayed gratification in which children were left alone in a room for fifteen minutes, but not before making a choice: The children could enjoy one marshmallow immediately or be rewarded with two if they waited until the researcher returned.
Photography by Highpoint Pictures
unfinished TAKING DELAYED GRATIFICATION TO THE EXTREME, THE CLASS OF 2020 FINALLY WALKED ACROSS THE COMMENCEMENT STAGE, BRINGING CLOSURE TO THEIR DISRUPTED FIFTH FORM YEAR. f
siness
More than 130 of the 219 members of the class returned to Lawrenceville on June 7 for the “re-graduation” in the Bowl, while others joined via livestream. In many ways, the event resembled a typical Commencement, but was marked by an air of ebullient informality. There was no template for the unprecedented moment; never before had a class waited more than two years to assemble for a ceremony to cap their prep days, and not everyone was sure how to assemble properly to begin the proceedings. In the joy of being together again, however, any ambiguity went largely unnoticed. There were nods to the grim, halting time that marked the earliest days of the pandemic, but the afternoon’s celebratory tone reflected the triumphant resilience of these graduates – many now into their twenties – who responded to their disappointing fate with grace and ingenuity.“Iwillforever have a special respect and admiration for all of you who dealt with that early phase of uncertainty with such
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38 THE LAWRENTIAN Lawrenceville’s Class of 2020 had no such option. When their Fifth Form year was radically disrupted by the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic that March, they were sent home across sixteen time zones to complete their studies via Zoom. With each passing day, it became clearer and clearer that they would not enjoy each other’s company in person again that year. They would not have a chance to go to prom or to wind down the year in all the traditional ways. And they would not experience the capstone event of their time on campus: Commencement. Until this June, that is – two full years later.“So here we are! You did actually graduate from Lawrenceville in 2020, but given the circumstances of the time, you had to wait until today for your second marshmallow,” said School Rabbi Lauren Levy H’97 ’01 ’12 P’01 ’02 ’09 during her invocation, in which she referenced the Stanford study before producing a single white marshmallow and popping it into her mouth. “Enjoy it, savor it, revel in it, have a wonderful celebration back in our Lawrenceville embrace.”
Amanda Mott P’18 ’20, it was all worth the wait. “Coming here tonight gave us this incredible closure,” said Mott, who was there to witness son Tait ’20 finally enjoy his moment. “We were sitting on the wall [of the Bowl] just watching the kids see each other, and being able to witness that was amazing.”
SPECIAL ISSUE / SUMMER 2022 39
poise and courage,” said Head of School Stephen S. Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21. “You put a great face on and made the best of Murrayit.” acknowledged the passage of time and the ways in which the nation has learned to live amid the shadow of the omnipresent coronavirus, grateful that circumstances allowed for this day. “You’ve gotten on with college. Many of you have resumed your athletic and artistic careers, and we are in a far better place,” he said. “But as I say, we have some unfinished business with you, and if we cannot go back in time, we can at least bring you together to campus to thank you for your resilience and hope, and celebrate your courageous spirit.”
Jonathan G. Weiss ’75, chair of the Board of Trustees, read a proclamation that cited the ways in which the Class of 2020 had distinguished itself that spring, including their display of “an admirable sense of justice as they bore witness to a spring of national upheaval and sought changes closer to home.”
This sentiment, a reference to the national outcry for social justice in the wake of the George Floyd murder days before the end of the spring 2020 term, was echoed by Philip Jordan ’85 P’24, teacher in the Religion and Philosophy Department and leader for Buddhism in the Office of Religious Life. “You showed special strength through right action and speech when racial justice calls roused a troubled nation,” Jordan said in his closing there,parentsfocusedtunes.playedgroupscigarImmediatelybenediction.afterward,celebratorysmokebegantowaftabovebuoyantintheBowlwhilethebrassbandamedleyofupbeatYachtRockThoughtheeventwasexpresslyonthebelatedgraduates,somemadealast-minutedecisiontobetoo.For
Her husband, Andy Mott ’85 P’18 ’20, was moved by the sight of Tait picking up right where he’d left off with his friends.
As he and his classmates headed toward dinner and dancing in Abbott Dining Hall, Nick Koca ’20 was glad to see so many familiar faces.
Just feet away, Reghan Funderburk ’20 said that although hopes for her Harkness Abroad trip were dashed early that March, she still didn’t allow herself to believe it was the end of her days on campus. “But I was like, ‘I’m sure we’ll come back eventually, right? How big is this pandemic thing? They’ll get it controlled,” recalled Funderburk, who now studies organic chemistry at Rutgers. “And my mom said, It’s not gonna happen. You’re not going to go backBut.” they did. At long last, the Class of 2020 got to enjoy their second marshmallow, and it was sweet. had to wait until today for your celebrationarevelEnjoymarshmallow.second...it,savorit,init,havewonderfulback in our embrace.”Lawrenceville – Rabbi Lauren Levy H’97 ’01 ’12 P’01 ’02 ’09
“...You
“I thought I didn’t have any sense of closure when I left,” said Koca, now at Lehigh, “and now, seeing everybody, seeing where they’ve gone, it’s just nice and it makes me look forward to my reunion.”
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“That brought a tear to my eye … to see them have such a rough time, not get a chance to say goodbye, do an online Commencement, and then go off to college and kind of have difficulties there … and then to finally reunite was a beautiful moment,” he said. “I’m really thrilled, as I know a lot of the other parents are, too.”
Thank you! Thank you to the over 1,000 alumni and guests who attended Alumni Weekend 2022. We also thank our loyal volunteers and donors who supported The Lawrenceville Fund in Fiscal Year 2022!
As each school year comes to a close, it is a time for reflection and celebration of what just finished, and what is to come in the future. Alumni Weekend 2022 was no exception, giving our alumni a long awaited opportunity to get back on campus to celebrate with our graduating students, rediscover traditions, and reconnect with old friends and classmates.
. The Harkness table tradition is one of the unique Lawrenceville teaching methods that sets our School apart from others, and our dedicated faculty should be recognized for their commitment to teaching students and preparing them for a bright future. Being back on campus with so many Lawrentians from so many generations gave me renewed faith in the willingness of our alumni to help shape the future of the School for generations to come. I encourage all alumni to come back and visit Lawrenceville and see for yourself the growth of the campus and how we are prepared for a bright future.
Kind regards, Charlie C. Keller ’95 President, Alumni charliekeller2001@yahoo.comAssociation
For those of us who were able to make it back to campus for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started, it was amazing to see the resilience of the students, faculty, and staff, and to see how much they were able to accomplish in the face of adversity. Not only did the School make it through COVID, it came out of it even stronger and more committed to the future.
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One of the highlights of the weekend was having alumni tour the new Gruss Center for Art and Design, or GCAD, as well as the reopened Hutchins Art Galleries in the old John Dixon Library. Having these new facilities open for students to learn and explore visual and fine arts, as well as the practical side of woodworking, metallurgy, and robotics, is an amazing resource for years to come. Alumni also had the opportunity to see the construction progress on the new Tsai Field House and dining center. This new state-of-the-art facility is truly breathtaking and will help the next generation of Lawrentians attain athletic excellence and bond with classmates in a new community hub. While the weather on Alumni Weekend forced some of the scheduled events indoors, it was my honor to help welcome our graduating Fifth Formers into the Alumni Association with the traditional rosette pinning ceremony. These bright young students are headed on to the next phase of their academic careers with the foundation of a Lawrenceville education firmly beneath them. Tradition continued as the Alumni Association honored two former faculty members with our highest academic award, the Harkness Award for teaching, presented this year to Ken Mills H’86 P’05 and John Sauerman H’84 ’02 ’14
PRESIDENTASSOCIATIONALUMNITHEFROMCharlie C. Keller Elliott Hoover P’20
PRESIDENT
’91
’23 ’24 SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Gregory G. Melconian ’87 EXECUTIVEFACULTYCOMMITTEELIAISON Emilie Kosoff H’88 ’96 ’00 ’18 P’19 EX OFFICIO Catherine E. Bramhall ’88 (Lawrenciana) ALUMNI TRUSTEES Jennifer Ridley Staikos ’91 Vincent J. “Biff” Cahill ’68 P’09 Porter Braswell ’07 T. Robert Zochowski Jr.’82 P’13 SELECTORS Maine Huang Park ’88 P’22 ’23 ’23 Emily Starkey ’03 Kevin Huang ’05 Donna Rizzo ’04 George W. “Tres” Arnett III ’79 P’16 Kalifa Z. Waugh ’04 THE ASSOCIATIONALUMNI2022-23 42 THE LAWRENTIAN
’95 FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Heather
SPECIAL ISSUE / SUMMER 2022 43 @LvilleAlumniFollowonInstagram! #LIFELONGLAWRENTIAN Don’t worry! We know your favorite part of The Lawrentian is Class Notes, and they’re not going anywhere. The section will return in its regular format in the fall issue in October. Be sure to share your news with your class secretaries or at classnotes@lawrenceville.org. CLASSNOTES? Where are the
When go-getting Fourth Former Blake Hornick ’73 found himself in the same Tokyo hotel as the former heavyweight champion of the world during spring vacation, he walked right up and introduced himself. Voilà, in no time at all Muhammad Ali had agreed to come to Lawrenceville. And so on April 15, under the joint sponsorship of the Political Club, the Debating Club, the Black Students Society, and the Heely Lecture Series, Mr. Ali dined with a select group of students and lectured to the School community. Later, in an interview with Lawrence reporter John Hersh ’73, he explained his continuing interest in boxing: “This is a game where many end up broke. … I’m trying to be the one who gets out with at least two million dollars. Two million in the bank so I can live on interest the rest of my life.”
As his daughter Cydney’s graduation approached, actor, comedian, and jazz pianist Chevy Chase took the Kirby Arts Center stage to entertain his daughter’s class. Word got out, and virtually the entire School community packed into Kirby. Mr. Chase played piano, answered students’ questions, and talked about his life experiences. A bonus highlight of the evening came when Mr. Chase coaxed Cydney onto the stage to sing and play for the assemblage – an outstanding performance which drew explosive applause. The evening ended with a standing ovation for Mr. Chase.
— From an “Echoes of the Campus” news item by Thomas J. Johnston H’65 P’74
— From an “Around the Campus” news item. Chevy Chase P’02 ’07 and daughter Cydney Chase in 2002. Muhammad Ali toys with the finely combed hair of ABC Sports’ Howard Cosell before the start of the Olympic boxing trials in August 1972. (AP Photo) years ago in Lawrentian JULY 1972 years ago in The Lawrentian SUMMER
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A Moment Reflectionof A lantern lighting on May 11, hosted on behalf of Dickinson House by the Pan Asian Alliance, provided a beautiful and powerful tribute to Jack Reid ’23.
Students gathered at the Pond with lanterns and messages to Jack, and at sunset the lanterns were lit and released onto the pond, symbolizing the guiding of soul and spirit.
usps no. 306-700 the Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648 Parents of alumni: If this magazine is addressed to a son or daughter who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please email us at cdorsett@lawrenceville.org with his or her new address. Thank you! Lawrentian THE CALLING ALL LAWRENTIANS: Come #HomeforHill on Saturday, November 5, for the 135th anniversary of the Lawrenceville-Hill rivalry! Enjoy a day of food, fun, and friendly competition as we cheer on our Big Red athletes! For more information or with any questions, please contact alumni@lawrenceville.org. Enjoy an afternoon of fun for all ages! C O M E H O M E F O R H I L L ! HOME FOR THE HILL CELEBRATION Food • Fall Drinks • Treats Music • Lawn Games Kids Activities • and more! Sample beer, wine, and cocktails andbreweries,alumni-ownedfromwineries,distilleries! Carolina Brewery Rob Poitras ’90 Greenvale Vineyards Bill Wilson ’09 Sourland Mountain Distillery Sage Disch ’09 Stateside Urbancraft Vodka Clement Pappas ’92 Cocktail Courier – The Goldman Family Ryan ’94, Curt ’96, Scott ’97, & Billie ’98 BIG RED TASTING TENT