The Exeter Bulletin, summer 2011

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Here’s to the class of 2011.

And here’s to you.

Your support of the 2010-11 Annual Giving Fund had a direct impact on the education of preps, lowers, uppers and this year’s graduating seniors.

Gifts to the Annual Fund enable the Academy to sustain the hallmarks of an Exeter education, including small class sizes, an outstanding faculty and facilities and programs that allow students to achieve at a high level.

Once again, you helped keep Exeter extraordinary.

The Exeter Annual Giving Fund

Photos, top to bottom: Nicole Pellaton, Brian Crowley, Zig Wronsky ‘08, Brian Crowley

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Thank you.

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Contents

Principal ThomasE.Hassan’56,’66,’70,’06(Hon.);P’11 Director of Communications Julie Quinn Editor Karen Ingraham Staff Writers Mike Catano, Alice Gray, Nicole Pellaton, Famebridge Witherspoon Class Notes Editor Janice M. Reiter Editorial Assistant Susan Goraczkowski Creative Director/Design David Nelson, Nelson Design Contributing Editor Edouard L. Desrochers ’45, ’62 (Hon.) Communications Advisory Committee Daniel G. Brown ’82, Robert C. Burtman ’74, Dorinda Elliott ’76, Alison Freeland ’72, Keith Johnson ’52, Yvonne M. Lopez ’93 TRUSTEES President G. Thompson Hutton ’73 Vice President Eunice Johnson Panetta ’84 David O. Beim ’58, Flobelle Burden Davis ’87, Marc C. de La Bruyère ’77, Walter C. Donovan ’81, John A. Downer ’75, Jonathan W. Galassi ’67, Thomas E. Hassan ’56, ’66, ’70, ’06 (Hon.); P’11, Jenny Holleran ’86, David R. Horn ’85, Alan R. Jones ’72, Sally Jutabha Michaels ’82, William K. Rawson ’71, Dr. Nina D. Russell ’82, Robert S. Silberman ’76, J. Douglas Smith ’83, Remy White Trafelet ’88, Morrison DeSoto Webb ’65 The Exeter Bulletin (ISSN No. 01950207) is published four times each year: fall, winter, spring, and summer, by Phillips Exeter Academy, 20 Main Street, Exeter NH 03833-2460, 603-772-4311.

Periodicals postage paid at Exeter, NH, and at additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA by Cummings Printing.

The Exeter Bulletin is printed on recycled paper and sent free of charge to alumni/ae, parents, grandparents, friends, and educational institutions by Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH. Communications may be addressed to the editor; email bulletin@exeter.edu.

Copyright 2011 by the Trustees of Phillips Exeter Academy.

ISSN-0195-0207 Postmasters: Send address changes to: Phillips Exeter Academy, Records Office, 20 Main Street, Exeter, NH 03833-2460.

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Features 22 | COLLECTING LIFE’S IMAGES 2011 Commencement address

By Principal Thomas E. Hassan

30 | CANDY BARS IN THE MAILBOX International students and their second families

By Karen Ingraham

Departments

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2 Around the Table: New faculty appointments, campus life at a glance, a first in math competitions, travels to India, and more.

12 Table Talk with Betsy Dolan, director of college counseling 16 Exoniana 19 Exonians in Review: A Thousand Times More Fair by Kenji Yoshino ’87. Reviewed by Matthew W. Miller

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34 Sports: Resolute Rebound: Josh Owens’ Return to Basketball by Craig Morgan ’84. Plus, spring sports roundup.

38 Connections: News and Notes from the Alumni/ae Community 40 Profiles: Clyde F. Barker ’50, Wick Sloane ’71, and Pauline Chiou ’88 112 Finis Origine Pendet: Where One Exonian’s Lifelong Bird List Began

by Eddie Williams ’08

12 Visit Exeter on the web at www. exeter.edu / Email us at bulletin@ exeter.edu

THE EXETER BULLETIN IS PRINTED ON PAPER WITH 10% POST-CONSUMER CONTENT, USING SOY-BASED INKS.

COVER: THEODORE MOTZKIN ’11 HOLDS HIS DIPLOMA HIGH AT THE CONCLUSION OF COMMENCEMENT. PHOTO BY BRIAN CROWLEY

SUMMER 2011

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Glamour on the Quad Decked out for prom, seniors Thomas Guthrie, Jocelyn Bohn, Valerie Zhao and Connor Clerkin strike a pose before boarding buses bound for the gala. —Photo by Cheryl Senter

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The View from Here

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Around the Table

What’s new and notable at the Academy

Rick Mahoney ’61 Receives 2011 Founder’s Day Award A L U M N U S A N D B E L OV E D P E A C OAC H , M E N T O R A N D A D M I N I S T R AT O R H O N O R E D

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Rick Mahoney ’61 is flanked by former award winners (left to right) Emeritus Dean of Faculty Jack Herney (2010 recipient), Emeritus Dean of Students Bob Brownell and Shirley Brownell (1999 recipients), Nat Butler ’64 (2005 recipient), and Emeritus Dean of Faculty Donald Cole (1992 recipient).

t a special assembly on May 20, a grateful and at times emotional Paul R. “Rick” Mahoney ’61; ’74, ’95 (Hon.); P’88, P’92 accepted the 2011 Founder’s Day Award.

Exeter’s emeritus director of financial aid began his remarks by praising past award recipients—several of whom were in attendance—for the impact they had on him and his wife, Linda P’88, P’92, during his 42 years of service to the Academy.

While his audience included fellow members of the class of 1961, who were on campus for their 50th reunion, Mahoney addressed his remarks primarily to current students: “The world is full of young folks who are as intelligent and as highly motivated as you,” he said. “And over the course of your lifetimes, you are going to have to learn to compete with them and, more importantly, to collaborate with them.”

Mahoney, who attended the school on a scholarship, used the occasion to Watch excerpts express appreciation to the Academy, reflecting that he owed his Exeter educafrom Mahoney’s tion to the generosity of others. At the conclusion of his talk, he recalled that speech at near the end of his lower year, poor grades put him in danger of losing his scholwww.exeter.edu/ arship. The faculty instead chose to give him another chance, and he remained bulletinextras. at Exeter to complete his degree.

“It is a great testimony to this school that it had in its heart the patience and generosity of spirit to allow a boy, whom some must have considered to have promise, to have the time to begin to discover himself here,” he said, “and that 52 years later, it finds again the kindness and thoughtfulness to at least imply that some of that promise was fulfilled. I am grateful indeed.”

Between 1967 and his retirement in 2009, Mahoney held leadership administrative positions in financial aid, admissions, alumni/ae affairs, annual giving and college placement.Through these experiences— and his years of teaching, advising, coaching and serving as dorm head in Cilley Hall—he earned the respect and friendship of thousands of Exeter students, alumni/ae, faculty and staff.

Each year, Exeter bestows the Founder’s Day Award on an alumnus/a, faculty emeritus/a, retired staff member, parent or friend who has demonstrated exceptional service to the Academy.

The Deans’ List T H R E E N E W F AC U LT Y A P P O I N T M E N T S

BRIAN CROWLEY

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NICOLE PELLATON

Kim

Cosgrove

Salcedo

BRIAN CROWLEY

he first floor of Jeremiah Smith Hall has undergone a changing of the guard, of sort. On July 1, History Instructor Ron Kim became the new dean of faculty, after Science Instructor Kathleen Curwen’s five-year appointment concluded.

Modern Languages Instructor Rosanna Salcedo also joined that office as the newly appointed associate dean of faculty.

Across the marble floor, in the Dean of Students Office, Science Instructor A.J. Cosgrove P’10 began his new role as dean of residential life, a post previously filled by Religion Instructor Russell Weatherspoon ’01, ’03, ’08 (Hon.); P’92, P’95, P’97, P’01, who had also completed his term.

Three separate search committees were formed for these important positions, led by Principal Tom Hassan ’56, ’66, ’70, ’06 (Hon.); P’11, who says of Kim, “Those who have worked with Ron cite his devotion to the faculty and students, as well as his keen intellect, thoroughness, and full engagement to do the best for PEA and its community.”

Kim came to the Academy in 1994. In addition to teaching the United States History sequence and several courses on the history of modern and pre-modern Asian nations, he chaired the departmental committee that created the non-Western history requirement. In recognition of his teaching, Kim was the recipient of the Rupert Radford Faculty Fellowship in 2009 and the Charles E. Ryberg Teaching Award in 1998.

As associate dean of faculty from 2004–09, Kim implemented new strategies for faculty recruitment that resulted in doubling the number of people of color on the faculty in just two years. He oversaw the school’s 12 domestic and international off-campus programs and the Academy’s adult and student summer programs. Kim also saw firsthand “the amount of time, energy and personal sacrifice required” for the dean of faculty position.

“The people who most influenced me at Exeter—Steve Smith, Bruce Pruitt, Jack Herney, Rick Mahoney, and others—were all committed to serving the school and did whatever was asked of them,” Kim says. “Their service shaped the Exeter that I have known and have benefited from, and thus it seemed only fitting that I do the same. I [also] believe in Tom Hassan. No one cares about the school more or works harder. It’s hard to say no to that.”

Kim has also served as a dormitory faculty member and dorm head, coincidentally in the same dorms and at the same times as Cosgrove, who came to Exeter in 1993.

Cosgrove lived in Peabody and Abbot halls until 1998 and then served as dorm head in Ewald Hall from 1999–05. Hassan says it is “A.J.’s involvement with students both in and out of the classroom [that] has effectively prepared him to assume this student-centered position” of dean of residential life.

Cosgrove served as associate dean of students for PEA’s Summer School, where he dealt with disciplinary matters while teaching in and chairing the Science Department.

In 1999 he developed a Robotics course that he continues to teach during the regular session. For his work at the Academy, he has been honored with both the Brown Family and the Charles E. Ryberg Teaching awards.

Cosgrove’s coaching experience dates back to his earliest days at the school, and he has coached golf, hockey, basketball and soccer during his tenure. A longtime member of the Exeter community and parent of a recent Exeter graduate, Cosgrove, Hassan says, “will bring to the job a distinct knowledge of Exeter’s student culture and an informed view of the school’s responsibility to the young people in our charge.”

Like Cosgrove, Salcedo’s experience includes being a dorm head and holding leadership positions within the Summer School, where she was the dean of students and director of admissions. In the latter role, Salcedo traveled around the country to recruit students and increase awareness about the Academy among other schools and organizations. Similarly, her role as associate dean of faculty will focus largely on faculty recruitment and support, including assisting with orientation and mentoring both interns and first-year faculty members as they learn to negotiate a residential school setting. Salcedo brings 10 years of experience as a faculty member to bear on her new position.

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Around the Table

Faculty Wire Faculty and Staff Awards and Prizes This spring, the following Exeter faculty and staff members were recognized for the quality of their work and their contributions to the life of the school.

SUSAN L. GORACZKOWSKI

George S. Heyer Jr. ’48 Teacher Awards Don Foster Anthropology David Swift ’64 Mathematics Rupert Radford ’15 Awards Kathleen Curwen Dean of Faculty, Science

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Edouard “Ed” Desrochers, Academy archivist, was presented with the New England Archivists’ (NEA) Distinguished Service Award at the association’s annual spring meeting, held at Brown University.

Desrochers ’45, ’62 (Hon.); P’94, P’97 joined the Academy in 1975 as assistant catalog librarian. In 1977, he became PEA’s fourth archivist. He has been an active member of NEA ever since and was recognized with the organization’s highest honor because of his “outstanding contributions” and his “championship of secondary school archives in New England and nationally,” according to the citation.

A former president of NEA, Desrochers was also honored for his work in promoting the creation and development of secondary school archives and for being a mentor to those in his field. n early April,

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Brooks Moriarty ’87 English Jonathan Wang English

Ed Desrochers Class of 1945 Library

The Class of 1964 Fund Awards Monica Torrisi Dining Services

Betsey Farnham Religion

Susan Goraczkowski Communications

Christine Knapp Office of Multicultural Affairs

Cheryl McGregor Annual Giving, Alumni/ae Affairs and Development

Scott Saltman Science Russell Weatherspoon Dean of Residential Life, Religion Charles E. Ryberg ’63 Fund Awards Nathaniel Hawkins English Idris McClain ’03 Admissions Paolo Reichlin Modern Languages Tom Simpson Religion Dr. Daniel E. Koshland Jr. ’37 Awards Hilary Coder Physical Education Jackie Flores Modern Languages

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Dormitory Adviser Awards David Gulick Science

Rose Dotson Dining Services Joseph Belanger Campus Safety Blair Brown ’58 and Borden Brown ’56 Staff Excellence Awards Heather Stuber Admissions Sarah Herrick College Counseling Andrew Gatto Class of 1945 Library Jennifer Norton Information Services, Alumni/ae Affairs and Development Paul Willett Facilities Management

Around the Table

Trustee Roundup

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he Trustees of the Academy met on campus Wednesday, May 18 through Friday, May 20. On Wednesday, several trustees met with members of the Principal’s Staff and the academic department heads as part of an annual evaluation of the principal. Later that evening, trustees gathered at Saltonstall House for dinner and conversation.

The Trustees began their official meetings Thursday morning with a report from the principal, who provided an update on various appointments to several key roles within the Academy and on controlled hiring.

The Trustees heard reports from members of the Alumni/ae Affairs and Development (AA&D) staff, including recently appointed AA&D Director Ted Probert P’12. It was noted that attendance by graduates at reunions this spring has been higher than in the past several years and that communications with our alums include a new alumni/ae portal on our website and “Exeter Now,” a monthly electronic newsletter.

The meeting then turned to discussion of facilities planning.

Director of Facilities Management Roger Wakeman P’09, P’11 updated the Trustees on projects under construction, including the steam distribution system upgrade, now in its third year. This summer, Elm Street Dining Hall and the areas around the gym and Elliot Street will be affected.Wakeman also noted that a twoyear renovation of Phillips Hall will begin this summer, with most of the construction occurring in the summer of 2012. At that time, the building will be offline.

In relation to that project and others in the vicinity,Wakeman outlined the plan to install a geothermal system for heating and cooling, based on the environmental and financial benefits of this alternative. Trustees also heard that preliminary steps are being taken to develop a program statement related to a new performing arts center and for dormitory renovations, with the first of many projects being renovations to Williams House in the summer of 2012 and Webster Hall in 2013. A program committee will be engaging in more long-term planning efforts to determine the sequence and scope of dormitory renovations over the next 10 years.

In addition,Trustees discussed the health and wellness project.

The Exeter Initiatives’ fundraising campaign sought to raise funds for a new health center that would be physically and programmatically connected to our gymnasium. Given that the school has been unable to raise the $15.4 million required to finance the building and that fundraising prospects continue to be dim for this particular project, the Trustees decided to use the money already raised to renovate and upgrade the existing Lamont Health and Wellness Center.

Later on Thursday, Trustees and Principal’s Staff members heard some preliminary data from the comprehensive survey that

was administered this year to a range of Exeter constituencies.

Among those polled, it is clear that Exeter continues to have an exceptionally strong hold of the academic high ground. Current students and parents reinforced the alumni/ae perspective that Exeter’s educational excellence is paramount. The essential factors cited most often were outstanding teaching, overall academic reputation, and exceptionally bright and serious students. Also ranked at the top were the Harkness pedagogy and collaborative learning. This data provides us with a strong foundation on which to build our future efforts. Some areas of student life— advising in particular—were seen as less strong and will present ongoing challenges for us to address.

Thursday evening was devoted to the retirement dinner for Trustee Robert Ho ’73, who leaves the Trustees after nine years of service.

Several trustees began Friday morning by meeting with outgoing and newly elected leaders of the Student Council. Among the topics discussed with the students were the increased discipline cases this academic year around marijuana use. Later in the morning, Chief Financial Officer Chris Wejchert reviewed both this year’s and next year’s Academy budgets, and an operating budget of $83,295,000 was approved for the 2011–12 academic year.

The Trustees interrupted their meetings to attend a special assembly in which Founder’s Day Award recipient Rick Mahoney ’61 delivered a moving talk to the students as well as to members of his class assembled on campus for their 50th reunion.

Trustees also elected two new trustees to begin their terms this summer: John “Tony” Downer ’75; P’06, P’07 and Jenny Holleran ’86; P’11. In addition, Laura Marshall, director of studies and Harlan M. Ellis Instructor in Mathematics, was elected to be the clerk of the Trustees.

Most of Friday afternoon was devoted to reports from faculty during the education and appointments session.Trustees heard reports concerning admissions, college counseling, faculty hiring, and discipline cases. Dean of Faculty Kathleen Curwen P’99, P’03 reflected on her five years of service as dean, and the Trustees thanked her for her dedication and her accomplishments.

The spring meeting ended with a dinner at Saltonstall House where the Trustees honored retiring faculty members for their service to the Academy.

Trustees appreciated the warm welcome they received from staff, faculty and students and look forward to returning to campus in October for their next meeting.

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Campus Life at a Glance Snapshots from spring term (A) Exonians competed against groups from Brooks School, Deerfield Academy, Phillips Andover and Pingree School in the first Interscholastic A Cappella Competition, held in the Assembly Hall.

(B) Students folded hundreds of origaG mi cranes as part of the Million Crane Project, an effort launched by students at Princeton and Stanford universities to increase awareness in the U.S. about the March earthquake that struck Japan. (C) The Students of Caribbean Ancestry Club held its first Caribbean Carnival, featuring food from six countries along with music and dance. (D) An overcast day didn’t dampen the spirits of the students who participated in PEA’s annual Community Action Day. (E) The Senior Acting Ensemble performed Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” to packed audiences at Fisher Theater. (F) Students rejoiced to learn the following day would be Principal’s Day. This year, a video clue from Dan Brown ’82 was posted on PEA’s website, F which led to an encrypted puzzle on Brown’s Facebook page.

Once solved, the encryption read “No School Tomorrow.” (G) Seniors opened the time capsules they created during their prep year and read missives from their younger selves.

(H) Bancroft girls offered massages as part of the Academy’s Relay for Life, an annual event that raises money for the American Cancer Society.

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A, C, E, H: VALENTÍN HERNÁNDEZ ’11; B, F, G: NICOLE PELLATON; D: MIKE CATANO

Around the Table

Math Team Makes History S T U D E N T S E A R N TO P F I V E S C O R E S AT N AT I O N A L O LY M P I A D

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he pre-eminence of Exeter’s math program is well established, but

VIVAN CHEN/THE EXONIAN

this spring PEA students achieved a first in the history of the school’s participation in math competitions.

At the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) held in April, members of PEA’s Math Team earned five of the top 12 highest-ranking scores in the nation, including one perfect score. The top-place finishers included Ravi Jagadeesan ’14,Yong Wook “Spencer” Kwon ’12, Ray Y. Li ’13, David H.Yang ’13 (one of two winners who tied with a perfect score) and Shijie “Joy” Zheng ’11. Upper

PEA Places Sixth in National Science Bowl From April 28 through May 2, PEA’s National Science Bowl Team of In Young Cho ’11, Jonathon Cai ’12,Alan W. Dong ’12 and Abraham Shin ’12 competed against 68 other regional

Jonathon Cai, In Young Cho, Abraham Shin, Alan Dong and club adviser Hunter Farnham in D.C. Joy Zheng, Spencer Kwon, Ray Li, Ravi Jagadeesan, and David Yang.

Dai Yang also placed high in the rankings, earning an honorable mention.

Exeter’s six winners were among only 293 high school students who qualified for the USAMO out of an initial pool of more than 220,000 students worldwide who competed in a sequence of increasingly difficult math contests that led up to the prestigious olympiad. The USAMO challenge was a sixquestion, two-day, nine-hour essay/proof examination and required pre-calculus methods. The top 12 winners were honored on June 6 at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. PEA math instructor, Math Team adviser and Math Olympiad Coach Zuming Feng P’14 was surprised and very pleased with the outcome. “This year’s results are definitely the most [USAMO] winners and honorable mentions that Exeter has had in a single year,” he says. “More typical results from previous years for PEA were one or sometimes two winners and/or honorable mentions in a year. This is wonderful, wonderful news. I’m very happy for the students.”

Steve Dunbar, director of the American Mathematics Competitions, located in Lincoln, NE, agrees: “For at least the last 20 years, I don’t ever recall having this number of students from any one school to have this number of participants win,” he says. “Usually each year, it’s two or three winners per school.This is a really big win for Phillips Exeter.”

All six Exonians are eligible to participate in the AMC’s Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program, a three-week, invitation-only training camp that helps prepare the top scorers for the rigorous Team Selection Test (TST) for a chance to qualify for a seat on the U.S. team. This national team will compete in this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad in Amsterdam July 16-24, 2011. The combined TST and USAMO scores will determine which six students compete in the IMO.

tournament-winning National Science Bowl teams from around the country, Puerto Rico and the U.S.Virgin Islands. The team ultimately finished sixth in the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Championship Science Bowl, held in Washington, D.C., and won $1,000 for PEA, which they presented to Principal Tom Hassan.

“It’s pretty thrilling,” says an excited Alan Dong of the Science Bowl experience. “Toward the later rounds, especially, the match often comes down to the last question. Since the questions get progressively harder, the scores become lower, and the game can turn around in a matter of seconds.”

All 69 teams at the national championship earned their place by winning a regional qualifying tournament.

PEA’s team triumphed over 23 regional teams, including the Academy’s second team, at the Northern New England (Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont) regional qualifying tournament held in March.

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Around the Table

Bringing India Home F A C U LT Y M E M B E R S T O U R S O U T H A S I A F O R N E W H I S T O RY C O U R S E

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hen History Instructors Meg Foley and Leah Merrill ’93 began planning a new course entitled

Modern India, they left the country. Through the generosity of Stacey L. Goel and David E. Goel ’89, Foley and Merrill were able to travel to India during spring break in order to experience firsthand the diverse culture and history of the world’s largest democratic country.

The course, which nearly 50 lowers registered to take this fall, will start with the Mughal Empire in the 1700s before spanning the long history of British influence and rule, culminating in an exploration of Indian nationalism and post-colonial independence.

In a letter of thanks to the Goels, Merrill and Foley wrote, “Being in India was instrumental in shaping our understanding of the place, of its history, of its people, of its future. When reading The Wall Street Journal’s Flawed Miracle series on India or [Joseph] Lelyveld’s new biography on Gandhi our understanding is more than purely academic. Because of the trip we have a personal and emotional connection to the places and people of India that bring with it deeper understanding of, as well as commitment to, India.”

Foley maintained a blog while in India, and portions of it are excerpted below. For a full account of their travels, go to http://exetergoestoindia.blogspot.com.

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(A) Delhi. Our first stop in India was so appropriate— the home where Gandhi lived. It was actually the home of a big industrialist and Gandhi lived in a small room off the back with only the simplest of possessions.

The grounds were incredibly peaceful, and many people there seemed to be seeking that. For us, it was the perfect landing point after even just the car ride from the airport and from the hotel—our initiation to the stimulating Indian traffic! (Pictured: Merrill learns to spin at Gandhi’s wheel.)

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(B) Dehradun – The Doon School, a boys’ boarding school. The highlight

of the Doon visit was a trip with one teacher and one student to two of their social service projects. The first was in a village just outside of town.

Doon School has set up an after-school program for little kids (for many, it’s their only school).The Doon boys teach English, Hindi and math. [Their students] are from very, very disadvantaged backgrounds. They were spectacularly interested in seeing us and saying the alphabet and doing math problems for us. The school basically takes place on the dirt, some of it under a roof, some outside.

We went to a second program run by an NGO and there were some Doon boys there working.This serves a slum community that is in a riverbed, which is currently dry.This is literally outside of the gate of the Doon School.The juxtaposition was gut-wrenching.(Pictured: Foley with children in the after-school program.)

(C) Old Delhi. Today was Old Delhi in the morning. This is the main tourist point for good reason. We took

a bicycle rickshaw ride through tiny alleyways with incense in the air, horns honking, rickshaw drivers yelling, and colorful wares—saris, fabrics, limes, brass statues, oils, jewels. I couldn’t stop smiling. It was a total sensory experience. I could have stayed all day and I’m glad we did it this far into the trip after we’d become 10

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Around the Table

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acclimated somewhat to regular India (whatever that is). This was India on espresso.

Also, a noteworthy visit to the main city mosque and a fascinating stop at a Sikh temple, which makes free meals for a thousand people a day.This was really a highlight.

(D) Agra, Taj Mahal. The white Indian mar-

ble against the hazy morning sky was just stunning. It was exactly as it has been in every picture I’ve ever seen and it was entirely new all at the same time.

This day was a great immersion in Mughal era history for us.The Taj is the famous mausoleum, but there is also an incredible palace outside of Agra where the Mughal emperor kept 5,000 women in his harem.There is also a fort right in Agra with a moat, a second dry moat for tigers (happily, not there any longer!), and many interesting nooks and crannies.

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Read the entire blog at http:// exetergoestoindia. blogspot.com.

(E) Varanasi, the holiest city for Hindus and one of India’s oldest cultural centers. All Hindus hope in their life-

times, apparently, to make a pilgrimage to Varanasi. On any given night, thousands of pilgrims, and quite a few voyeuristic tourists, take to the streets. The shops and vendors are ready to sell new outfits and souvenirs to the pilgrims. The horns are honking as motorbikes zip within the bodies, bicycles and bike rickshaws. Cows aimlessly mill [about], and the traffic parts for them.

(F) Varanasi, the next morning. With virtually empty streets, we went

back to the same spot at sunrise to take a boat ride and watch the morning ritual of bathing in the Ganges.This was one of my favorite experiences of the trip: the peace of the river, the routine patterns of F folks walking to the river, washing themselves, their clothes, taking a pot of holy water to use elsewhere. Our guide talked about his efforts with local groups to work on cleaning up the river, but to the people we were watching, it was holy water and they were clearly unencumbered by its pollution.

(G) Santiniketan and villages. Yesterday we visited a group of women in a tiny village

who have started a microfinance group and use those loans to finance sewing and textile projects. [We] went to another village and learned the economy and reality of rice production. We also saw some sustainable agriculture projects and met craftspeople.

The realities of no bathrooms in most of the villages, long days over fires for the women, changing climate conditions making agriculture unpredictable, and fluctuations in market prices for their commodities made it seem impossible for these people to make it.

We have felt more than ever that the future of this country is in its women.Their literacy in the villages seems to be under 20 percent.Arranged marriage and dowry are the absolute norm.Yet the women who are the team leaders and entrepreneurs are resourceful and, as Leah said, the hardest working people in India. Everything will depend on them.

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Around the Table

On the Path to Young Adulthood TABLE TALK WITH BETSY DOLAN, DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING

By Karen Ingraham

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t’s the last Thursday in April, two days after the annual

Changing Landscapes

The college application process, on a national level, has undergone its own transformation since the term “college placement” was en vogue at PEA. One of the biggest game changers is the Common Application, a standardized first-year application form

FRED CARLSON

Spring College Fair, where more than 160 colleges and universities exhibited for students. For PEA seniors, it’s two days before May 1, the deadline by which they must formally select and notify the colleges they will be attending.

Betsy Dolan, Exeter’s director of college counseling, sits in her office in the old Alumni Hall building. She leans slightly forward as she speaks, her energy unmistakable. For Dolan and the nine people in her office, it’s about more than slick brochures on a table or what schools Exonians will ultimately attend in the fall. It’s about, Dolan says, growing up.

The Journey

In 1987, the Academy renamed the College Placement Office to College Counseling to better reflect the office’s role in the lives of Exeter students. “We’re transitioning adolescents into becoming young adults and helping them learn the responsibilities associated with being a young adult,” says Dolan.

Shepherding students through the college admissions process involves more than “placement”— a term that rankles Dolan. “The smallest part of it is the outcome,” she explains. “It’s the process of getting there and [the students] recognizing who they are and the gifts they have to share that’s important.”

“Getting there” for a student means having a growing sense of empowerment and self-reliance in order to not only make “the big decision” but also be equipped for what comes after the decision is made.

“One of the pieces of our job that people don’t see is how often we teach [students] how to deal with their emotions, their parents’ emotions, or expectations from parents, grandparents or faculty,” Dolan says. “We also try to give them the tools that will allow them to manage the additional pressures that go with very sophisticated college settings.”

Dolan and her staff also help students cope with the stress and tension that come from impending change. “That’s part of transitioning into becoming a young adult,” she explains. “We talk about how to celebrate change and celebrate transition rather than fear it.”

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used by member institutions.

“The Common Application has been adopted by so many more schools that it has increased the competition for spaces because the volume of applicants is so high,” Dolan says.

Formed by 15 private colleges in 1975, the Common Application membership association began with a print application form. Now, more than 400 colleges and universities have adopted the “Common App,” which is available to students online.

According to the organization, records were set during this admissions season, with more than 100,000 applications processed online on a single day in December. By January 1, 2011, nearly 2 million applications had been submitted, almost surpassing the total number processed for the entirety of the 2009–10 admissions season.

Simply put, high school seniors can now submit to several colleges at once with little more than a click or two, and colleges have reported record application numbers for the 2010–11 sea-

Around the Table

son. Harvard announced in March that it had received a record of nearly 35,000 applicants, accepting only 2,158, or 6.2 percent.

Dolan has also noted a growing trend in “special interest admissions” among institutions. A college, for instance, may choose to bolster numbers within particular majors, or seek out more local or legacy students.

The work Dolan and her staff does isn’t driven by institutional agendas though. Rather, the focus remains on the students and ensuring they have the support and tools they need to decide which colleges and universities are ideally suited for them.

“We are not McDonald’s,” Dolan says, in terms of how her office responds to students’ inquiries or needs. “We are thoughtful and deliberate. We build on the advice we give to our students—we don’t try to tell them everything all at once. Right now, seniors should have a wealth of information and knowledge to guide their decision-making. They know what resonates with them, what’s a good match.”

Graduate Named Gates Scholar

A

bigail Avila’s quest to become an army officer began when she was in the sixth grade and saw the movie Cadet Kelly. By the time she was a teen, she had convinced her parents to let her attend the Chicago Military Academy for high school.

This spring, Avila ’11 received news that she will have even more support toward reaching her goal.The

Determining which school you wish to attend, and gaining acceptance, would seem to mark the journey’s end, but more often than not, a hurdle remains.

In 2010–11, in-state tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities increased by an average of 7.9 percent, according to the College Board. At private nonprofit four-year schools, the rate of increase was about 4.5 percent.Yearly tuition hikes have become the norm at most post-secondary schools.

“More schools are [also] gapping,” Dolan says, “because they just don’t have the financial aid dollars to spread across the entire admitted applicant pool.” If a student’s demonstrated financial need is $10,000, for example, a school may only provide $5,000 in various forms of aid, leaving the student’s family to fill the gap.

With 79.5 percent of full-time undergraduates receiving some form of aid in 2007–08 (the most recent figures from the U.S. Department of Education), it may not come as a surprise that student loan debt in this country outpaced credit card debt for the first time last year.

“Students can find the right school [but their] mom and dad say, ‘We can’t afford it,’ ” Dolan says. “Our biggest challenge right now is working with families struggling with how to pay for college. When is it too much debt and when is it OK? And it’s very different for each family.”

Despite the trials inherent in the college application process, the College Counseling Office ensures Exeter students find their way more often than not. Members of the class of 2010 attend 108 different colleges and universities—a number that speaks to the depth and diversity of interests and talents within Exeter’s student population. But Dolan isn’t thinking about the numbers, not right now. Her attention has shifted to the young man sitting in the lobby, patiently waiting to meet with her.

“My greatest reward is watching these students grow up from 11th grade to 12th grade,” she says. “[It] feels like they’re our kids. It has so little to do with where they go to school. ”

NICOLE PELLATON

The Destination

Exonian, who entered PEA last fall as a postgraduate, is one of only 1,000 high school graduates in the United States to be named a Gates Millennium Scholar, which entitles her to a “good-through-graduation scholarship” at the undergraduate institution of her choice.

“I can’t believe this has happened to me; it hasn’t really dawned on me yet. I’m still in a state of shock,” Avila says. The scholars program, administered by the United Negro College Fund, is available to students of color and is the nation’s largest educational aid program, formed in 1999 from a $1.6 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Avila will be attending Case Western Reserve University this fall. Once she earns her undergraduate degree, Avila says, “I want to go to graduate school— possibly at MIT—and afterward join the military as a commissioned officer.” Her “dream come true” would be to focus her studies on biomedical engineering and then serve as an engineer in the Army.

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Around the Table

In the Assembly Hall A S A M P L I N G O F S P E A K E R S W H O C A M E TO C A M P U S April 4: Dan R. Hunter ’71

MAXINE WEED

Director of the Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities During his assembly talk, Hunter wove together humorous anecdotes and passionate pleas for greater support of the creative arts in education, inspired largely by his own Exeter experience. He told the story of his first breakfast at the Academy. Hunter had selected half a grapefruit to go with his meal, then sat down in the dining hall.

“Directly across the table from me was a man I’d never met, a student named Kevin Brown, who was from Detroit. I began to cut my grapefruit when Kevin looked at me and said, ‘That’s not how you cut a grapefruit, you dope.’

“I had no idea how to cut a grapefruit. I had no idea there was a right way to cut a grapefruit.”

Hunter related this exchange to the Harkness pedagogy where students come to the table with an understanding that each person in the class has a responsibility to share their vision, and that each has a unique way of experiencing the world.

April 11: Eric Teasdale and Ruth Vaughan

MIKE CATANO

The Ashraya Initiative for Children (AIC) Teasdale began his assembly presentation with the story of a 15-year-old girl who had arrived in his office in Pune, India, distraught and upset at her imminent marriage to her older uncle.

She was one of the original 12 children in the initiative’s Education Outreach program, and the forced marriage would prevent the girl from graduating from her high school studies.

“It would be equivalent to seniors in this room being taken out of school today and being told they would have to be married instead of receiving their high school diploma,” said Teasdale. “Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon example and just one of many challenges our organization and India at large face on a regular basis.”

Teasdale and Vaughan spoke at the Robbins Memorial Symposium student assembly, an annual event established in honor of the late David C. Robbins ’78.This year’s theme was titled “Women Hold Up Half the Sky” (a Chinese proverb) and focused on the lives of women and girls who are frequently the subject of discrimination and abuse in many parts of the world, including the U.S.

April 12: Dr. Jim Yong Kim

NICOLE PELLATON

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17th president of Dartmouth College Launching with a quotation from John Sloan Dickey, the 12th president of Dartmouth College, “The world’s troubles are your troubles . . . and there is nothing wrong with the world that better human beings cannot fix,” Kim told Exeter students, “I want you to know that those better human beings who are going to fix the world are you.”

He then talked about his work at Partners In Health, a not-for-profit organization that supports a range of health programs in poor communities around the world, where he is a founding trustee and former executive director, and his activities as former director of the HIV/AIDS Department at the World Health Organization (WHO).

Kim described efforts to bring drugs to treat tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS to poor areas, including Haiti and Africa. He recounted his role at WHO, where he spearheaded a campaign to bring HIV/AIDS drugs to 3 million Africans by 2005.The campaign was perceived by many to be unattainable. “This is the kind of thing that happens when the rich and the powerful are feckless and unfocused in the way they talk about the lives and the destinies of the poor,” he said.

“We knew as medical doctors that there was no mystery about treating people in Africa, it was just a question of justice,” Kim added.To critics he responded, if we do nothing, “we will be remembered as the generation who saw 30 million people in Africa suffering from a treat-

Around the Table

able disease and put up our hands because it was too difficult.”

Kim showed Exeter students how the campaign used pictures of HIV/AIDS sufferers—before they had access to drugs and afterward—to humanize the message. “It gave Africans a sense of what was possible in their countries.” Ultimately, the campaign attained its goal in 2007.

MIT professor emeritus of physics Sparks flew, quite literally, when King spoke at an assembly.The retired physics professor, who taught at MIT for 43 years, shared examples of scientific and mathematical precision, and showed students how knowledge of physics could shape their worldview. “If you understand numbers, you can better understand politics, economics and a number of other fields,” King said. He concluded his lecture by connecting two live electrical wires and shooting a flurry of sparks into the air as a simple demonstration of how physics can shed light on the world.

MAXINE WEED

April 19: Dr. John G. King ’43

The Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan Pulling from his latest book, The Victor’s Crown: A History of Ancient Sport from Homer to Byzantium, Potter drew comparisons between modern enthusiasm for sports with ancient Greek and Roman passion for athletics. Using period art depicting athletes in the heat of competition, he explained that the spectacle of “athletes challenged to the extreme” was central to the popularity of the games. “The unfettered competition for a prize is what set athletics apart from physical entertainment and what sets the games of ancient Greece apart from the entertainments in even more ancient Greece,” he said.

MAXINE WEED

April 26: David S. Potter ’75

Internationally published poet, playwright and novelist Drawing on lessons and anecdotes collected over his lifetime, Ribalow offered students advice on grades, money, success, failure and other topics. He interspersed his maxims with colorful stories that met with frequent laughter and a standing ovation from the crowd of students, faculty, staff, and his own classmates who were on campus for their 45th reunion.

One of Ribalow’s maxims addressed wisdom: “Most of you are smart. Some of you are even smarter than that. Congratulations—and get over it. Being smart is useful, but it doesn’t mean much unless it evolves into wisdom. Think of it this way: A smart person knows how to get out of a situation that a wise person would never have gotten into in the first place.”

DAN COURTER

May 6: Meir Z. Ribalow ’66

New York state director of The Nature Conservancy On campus for his 25th reunion, Ulfelder drew on his 16 years at The Nature Conservancy to map out the challenges taken on by conservation agencies. “We live in an age of unprecedented threats to our natural world.The U.N. projects world population may reach 10 billion by 2100. Increased demands for food, water and energy have accelerated the impact on the Earth’s natural systems.”

He added, “We now know that enduring prosperity for people depends on the health of nature.The scale of our solutions must match the complexity of the problems we face.

Our solutions must work for people and nature.”

Ulfelder closed with a theme familiar to Exonians: “We can change the course of our lives and in changing the course of our lives, we can change the course of our planet. So be the person you imagine yourself to be—non sibi.”

MIKE CATANO

May 13: Bill H. Ulfelder II ’86

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Exoniana

E

D O YO U R E M E M B E R ?

Each decade seems to have dance moves that symbolize the era: The Bop, the Twist, the Hustle and the Running Man are just some of the moves Exonians have undoubtedly performed over the years. Formal dances, especially in the springtime, have been a part of student life for generations. Can you identify any of the people in the images, and/or share memories of your own experiences cutting a rug or kicking up your heels?

Email us at Exoniana@exeter.edu. Or, send your responses to Exoniana, c/o The Exeter Bulletin, Phillips Exeter Academy, Communications Office, 20 Main Street, Exeter, NH 038332460. Entries may be edited for length and clarity.

A

Answers to the Spring 2011 Issue:

E

xonians correctly identified the Barrett House (now the Lamont House), which was built in 1810 and later owned by Earl Barrett, instructor in French from 1917 to 1951.The house is currently next to the Lamont Health and Wellness Center on Tan Lane but was

originally located farther up the street next to Phillips Church. It was moved to make room for the For restal-Bowld Music Center. Romance and str ife, impending war, and memor ies of a beloved instructor unfold in the letters that follow.

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C

B Our two randomly selected winners are: Robert C. Bacon Jr. ’39, Falmouth, MA, who received an Exeter pen.

“[The] house pictured was, in my time, called Barrett House as owner was Earl Barrett, late of Cleveland, OH, and not just a French instructor as you so loosely term him but to me possibly the best of that myriad group of Harkness appointees whose numbers betimes lowered previously guarded standards.

Mr. Barrett, an original, treated his classes like university postgrads: For example, it was understood that if the instructor was not in his chair by five past the hour there would be no class. Believe me, in those evening classes—4 p.m. and 5 p.m.—after a long morning and afternoon athletics, a cut class was a treasure.

During the school year 1937–38, Mr. Barrett, on his sabbatical, sailed to South America, flew across the Andes, sailed to Dakar and then to France: an inspiration to those of us, coming from this perennial

bachelor of means.

I recall on a visit to the Academy during the war that Wells Kerr maintained the dean’s office in the building but whether he had moved there from his previous residence in Dunbar I do not know.

Comparisons are odious I realize, but in my time, Exeter had shone brightly: The combination of Lewis Per r y ’20/Wells Kerr/Earl Barrett was never again equaled. Not so, said father (class of 1912): Pop [Harlan] Amen (class of 1875) was the best headmaster ever. Not so, said grandfather (class of 1874): Replacements for [George] ‘Bull’ Wentworth and [Bradbury] Cilley (class of 1851) were never found.”

John R. “Jack” Harrison II ’51, Osprey, FL, who received an Exeter travel bag.

“The house in the spring 2011 Bulletin is, of course, Barrett House. Initially located on Tan Lane next to the church, it was named after the eponymous Earl Barrett.

Messrs. Dick McNutt ’51, Harlan Miller ’51, Charlie Moizeau ’51 and I lived there

Around the Table senior year. Mr. Barrett was an engaging man whose French Five course made the language and the land come alive.

A take-away memory? On a cold, New England night—when darkness fell by 5—Mr. Barrett, sipping vin blanc, related how in the bar of The Ritz-Carlton, Boston, he told the woman he loved he couldn’t marry her because he couldn’t ask her to live in Exeter, NH. Years later, while working in Paris as a director of the International Herald Tribune, I remembered him fondly and gratefully.”

1930s Housemates

I think I am correct in identifying that house as the former Barrett House.

Along with three other seniors, I lived there in 1937–38. In the front half of the house, I roomed downstairs with Joe McKee ’38; Logan Eisele ’38 and Warner Pach ’38 were upstairs. Mr. Barrett was on sabbatical, so Paul Everett, another French instructor, was living in the back half of the house that year to keep the four of us in line.

Hope that, at 91, my memory still serves me well!

Fred D. Sutphen ’38 Santa Barbara, CA Three Middleton Brothers

As one who spent his senior year in Barrett House, as did my older brother, Wib Middleton ’42, and younger brother, Jack ’49, it was not hard for me to recognize Barrett House, despite the picture of it being en route to its new location next to the Lamont Infirmary. The house was, of course, owned by Earl Barrett, instructor in French, aka the “Duke of Tan Lane,” a most genial host and owner of a cat named, as I recall, Alcibiades. My housemates were Charlie Goodrich ’44 (twotime president of the class of 1944), Phil Potter ’44 (my immediate predecessor as class president), and Al Williams ’44 until Al graduated with the AP group in January 1944 and was replaced by Tim Seldes ’44.

Brother Wib’s 1942 housemates were [seniors] Kingman Bassett, Tom Hargrave and Reeves Hicks. Brother Jack’s 1949 housemates were [seniors] Bo Goldman, David Erdman and Birney Grantz. (All three Middletons—plus Bassett, Hargrave, Hicks, Goodrich, Erdman and Goldman—went on to Princeton; the others went elsewhere.) I had a wonderful senior

year in that exclusive little hideaway so small we were all allowed to smoke in our rooms—a privilege unknown elsewhere at Exeter! And I suspect all the other inmates did as well.

B. Jenkins “Jenks” Middleton ’44 Great Falls,VA When War Came

Jenks Middleton’s email to you about his and his brothers’ residence in Barrett House reminded me of a defining moment in my life—as it was to everyone. I was a roommate there, as Jenks ’44 told you, with his older brother Wib ’42, Reeves Hicks ’42 and Kingman Bassett ’42.

On Sunday afternoon, December 7, 1941, we were lounging around the living room when Earl Barrett came into the room from his quarters with tears streaming down his face. He told us the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor. He certainly knew the consequences of that far more than we did. Only later did we realize that day changed our lives.

Thomas J.“Tom” Hargrave Jr. ’42 Pittsford, NY Roll Call for 1944–45

The photograph is of Barrett House, which, until I graduated in ’45, was located on Tan Lane between Phillips Church and the first Academy Building (Dean Wells Kerr House). Barrett House was later moved to make room for the music building which is in the background of the picture. [In] 1944–45, Johnny Abbott ’45, Dave Black ’45, Jacques Levy ’45 and I had the privilege of joining Mr. Barrett and the cat, Alcibiades.

Arthur M. “Art” Boal Jr. ’45 Evergreen, CO Dial 101 for Mr. Barrett

When I was there, Earl A. Barrett, instructor in French and geography, was living there at 2 Tan Lane, phone 101. This is the listing that is in the 1946–47 address book that, believe it or not, I still have in pretty good condition.The location, as I remember it, was across Tan Lane from the side of Alumni Hall, then the location of the Grill on the lowest floor.

Peter W. “Pete” Franck ’47 Hockessin, DE

knew as Wells Kerr House (page 28 of the same Bulletin notes the latter house being so named in 1953; Dean Kerr had already lived in it for many years, but perhaps it wasn’t officially awarded its occupant’s name until the year you’ve cited).

Earl A. Barrett was at one time the owner of your article’s house. He was chair of the French Language Department. It was, of course, known as Barrett House. He surely enjoyed occasional references to himself as the Earl of Tan Lane.

The interior architecture had been revised many decades before EAB’s acquisition. Early in its history, the house belonged to a family. The husband and wife had a serious falling-out. Divorce, neither legal nor physical, resulted. The husband partitioned the house with a wall running at the halfway point from top to bottom. An exit door was added to the south side. Husband and wife could enter, inhabit and exit the house without exchanging glances. The centrally located staircase was divided in two such that it was a tight squeeze for a person on either side of the dividing wall to navigate the much-narrowed stairs.

So divided, Barrett House provided a faculty accommodation in its southern half and it accommodated four students on the north side of the partition—two in the northwest bedroom on the ground floor with an adjoining sitting/study room facing Tan Lane, and two in the same configuration on the floor above.

Sixty years ago, the dormitories all had smoking facilities: “butt rooms” in their basements. Barrett House had no basement and it was the sole dormitory where its resident students could smoke in their rooms, something that was severely punished in dormitories with “butt rooms.”

Charles J. “Charlie” Moizeau ’51 Millington, NJ Father’s Residence

That’s Barrett House, where my father, John Pope ’25, lived his senior year. It was still in the same place on Tan Lane in 1952.

John A. Pope Jr. ’52 New York, NY

A House Divided

I don’t recall where the subject house is presently located, but 60-plus years ago, it was about 40 yards south of what we

Dorm Touch Football Champs

The house in question is surely Barrett House, located right (continued on page 18) SUMMER 2011

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Around the Table

Dorm Touch Football Champs

(continued from page 17)

Before it was Barrett

The house pictured in the spring 2011 Bulletin is officially, I believe, the Shadrach Drew House, which later became known as the Barrett House and also the Lamont House.

It was moved to 10 Tan Lane. The new music building is behind it. In front are, I believe, a 1954 Oldsmobile “88” and also a Peugeot.

Robert R. “Bob” Gambee ’60 Rye, NY

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MIKE CATANO

next to Phillips Church at 2 Tan Lane, and my home away from home for my upper and senior years (1957–59).

Some Barrett House trivia: The dorm touch football tournament in November 1957 had 16 teams of individual dorms and houses. Barrett was combined with two other houses, but none of their residents chose to participate, so our team was drawn from the 11 Barrett House boys.We won our first game against Soule Hall rather easily, 350. Hoyt, with several varsity players (we had none), presented a greater challenge, but we prevailed 7-0. It was a similar story against Webster in the semis as we rediscovered our offense and won by a surprising 28-7 margin. Finally, we beat Wentworth in the championship game by 7-0. My letter home notes only, “We scored early and then played defense for the rest of the game.”

Even though we were undermanned and undersized, the Barrett juggernaut was not to be denied! Key players I remember include John Hoffmann ’58 (our quarterback and my roommate), Charlie Dietrich ’58, Steve Call ’59, [Wendell] “Wendy” Duffield ’59, Dave Sloan ’59 and Charles McCord III ’59.

Douglas P. Hedberg ’59 Wayzata, MN

A Teacher’s Influence

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he five educators recognized in the fifth annual “Honoring Earlier Educators” program reflected upon the joys and struggles that are part of nurturing young minds. During their two-day visit to campus, they also spoke about how they relish their roles as lightkeepers for students who are journeying toward a love of learning.

Described by the six Exonians who honored them not only as teachers but also leaders, supporters, friends, or even second parents, these early mentors were celebrated in May for the positive and lasting impact they have had on the lives of their former students.

Pictured from left to right: KIPP South Fulton Academy Principal Jondré Pryor and Selah Hampton ’13; Bob Hurlbut, Rainier Scholars founder and director of recruitment, with Angelica Clayton ’13 and Victor Garcia ’14; Pentucket Regional Middle School history teacher John Siegfried and Toscane Clarey ’12; Port Jefferson Middle School health and physical education teacher and Science Olympiad coach Nancy Matura with Ja-Hon Wang ’13; and In Young Cho ’11 with Longfellow Middle School math coach Barbara Burnett.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet Visits Students

K

ay Ryan came to campus in May as the visiting Lamont Poet. Ryan, who had just won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry the previous month, read from her recently published collection, The Best of It: New and Selected Poems, to a packed Assembly Hall.

An experienced teacher, Ryan engaged with the Exeter students by playfully asking them questions from the podium.

“Who knows what soi-disant means?” she asked after her reading of “Sheep in Wolves’ Clothing.” “Self-proclaimed,” answered a student, without losing a beat.

Rhyme, and Ryan’s approach to it, was a theme of the evening. When the poet challenged students to find one particularly complex rhyme in the poem “Turtle,” one student yelled it out. Ryan’s response: “Phillips Exeter, you rock!”

Watch clips of During her reading of “The Hinge of Spring,” Ryan, a bit tenRyan’s class sestatively, asked if the students knew heraldic terms. “Do you know sions at www. exeter.edu/ what ‘rampant’ means?” Little did Ryan know what she was in for bulletinextras. as students throughout Assembly Hall took the pose of Exeter’s lion rampant—arms raised to shoulder height. Ryan was given a standing ovation at the end of her reading.

The following day, the poet held informal question-and-answer sessions with more than 100 students. There wasn’t a dull moment as students, clearly thrilled with Ryan’s direct approach, asked many questions.

Exonians in Review

Shakespeare in Law A T H O U S A N D T I M E S M O R E FA I R : W H AT S H A K E S P E A R E ’ S P L AY S T E AC H U S A B O U T J U S T I C E , B Y K E N J I YO S H I N O ’ 8 7 A review by Matthew W. Miller

H

is

contemporary

Ben

Jonson

remarked, in a now well-worn statement, that William Shakespeare was “not of an age, but for all time!” Modern stagings of Shakespeare’s plays—from Richard Loncraine’s circa-WWII Richard III to [Akira] Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood, which sets the Scottish play in feudal Japan, to the gun-slinging, California teenage gangs in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet—demonstrate how the themes of Shakespeare transcend time and place, how the words outlast the transience of costumes, props, and even cultural differences. The plays are timeless because they are universally human and for all its drive toward progress and technological advancement, humanity is still human. In apprehension how like gods we are, and yet, at the same time, what fools we mortals be. In his new book, A Thousand Times More Fair, NYU law professor Kenji Yoshino ’87 throws another spotlight on the timeless nature of Shakespeare, primarily as the Bard concerns, and speaks to, modern considerations of the law and justice.

Yoshino draws on King Lear, Hamlet, Macbeth, the Henriad, The Tempest, Othello, and The Merchant of Venice in his study of Shakespeare’s connection to topics of legal and social justice.Yoshino attempts to offer ocular proof, to borrow a term from his own theory about Othello, of how Shakespeare lives with us today.Yoshino begins his study by discussing how the escalating cycle of revenge in a world of weak central authority, as seen in Titus Andronicus, connects to the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. In looking at The Merchant of Venice,Yoshino demonstrates the corrupting power of legal rhetoric, from an heiress unmasked to reveal a lawyer “so verbally proficient that no law can bind her” in Portia, to the mask of the lawyer’s legalisms thrown on by Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The role of empathy in judgment plays out in an examination of Measure for Measure and its connection to the Justice Sotomayor confirmation hearings. In submitting as evidence Desdemona’s flowered handkerchief in Othello and O.J. Simpson’s bloodied glove, Yoshino attempts to prove the burden and power of ocular proof in a juried system of justice.

Sovereigns and the question of their legitimacy are studied through the Henriad and the presidency of George W. Bush.The existence of natural justice in the real world versus the world of drama is developed through a study of Macbeth, while Hamlet comes to serve notice of the danger of intellectual idealism and wagering all on an impossible poetic justice. Yoshino laments the limits of law and justice in King Lear and discusses their ultimate and necessary abdication to human love.The seduction of power and whether leaders can ever let go of authority is conjured through The Tempest’s Prospero with a parallel not only to George Washington’s presidency, but also to Shakespeare’s own relinquishing of his role as his age’s greatest dramatist.

Yoshino is currently the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at

Kenji Yoshino ’87 is the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at New York University, where he teaches a class entitled Justice in Shakespeare.

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New York University. His legal work focuses on constitutional law, anti-discrimination law, as well as civil and human rights.Yoshino was an undergraduate English major at Harvard and maintained a passion for literature as he pursued his legal profession. In fact, one of his first law review publications, “The Lawyer of Belmont,” drew on The Merchant of Venice.Yoshino teaches a course at NYU entitled Justice in Shakespeare in no small part because he, in his own words, was “struck by how many issues of justice Shakespeare does illuminate” and believes, as he claims his students do, that “literature will complete [a] legal education.” A Thousand Times More Fair would appear to be culled from that course. Indeed, the book reads like a lively and largely engaging lecture.

Anyone with an interest in the law or Shakespeare, or both, will find much to enjoy and think about in Yoshino’s book.Well versed in both the law and the Bard, Yoshino is doing more than giving to airy nothing a local habitation and a name. A Yoshino attempts to show the danger of Thousand Times More Fair is not literary fluff. not seeing the connection between our Yoshino attempts to show the danger of not seeing the connection between our lives and our litlives and our literature, of not looking erature, of not looking into our mirror held up to into our mirror held up to nature. nature. And yet, for all of Yoshino’s literary allusions, the general reader, perhaps not as steeped in the plays as a literary scholar, will not feel left out of the conversation.Yoshino introduces and summarizes enough of each play in his analysis to bring the reader closer to the characters, their relationships, and the major themes of the plays.The plays may even become more tactile and tangible through the connections Yoshino makes to current issues of law and justice.

A Thousand Times More Fair may be less satisfying for those readers already entrenched in Shakespearean scholarship who may be seeking more analysis of the plays and their contemporary parallels. Scholars may raise an eyebrow at some of Yoshino’s readings, the parallels he makes to current events, and question if he has brought any new analysis to Shakespeare’s work.Yoshino readily acknowledges and even depends on theories put forth by other Shakespeare critics, including such contemporaries as Harold Bloom, Stephen Greenblatt and Marjorie Garber. Still, he is willing to disagree with previous scholarship.Yoshino even seems to find puckish delight in this, as when he claims, “It is dangerous to disagree with Freud, Goethe, and Nietzsche on their theories of Hamlet. But their explanations of Hamlet’s delays all seem less plausible than the one offered here.” And while there is often this touch of absolute belief in his own ideas,Yoshino does stay away from the tyranny of final judgment. In fact, his willingness to disagree with established literary scholars implies that he understands that he himself is open to such critique.

There are moments when Yoshino’s readings of passages and connections to current affairs may be more convenient than convincing, but a lot of what one takes away from his theories will depend on what one brings to them. And perhaps one must keep in mind Hamlet’s craven scruple of thinking too much upon the event and simply enjoy Yoshino’s enterprise of great pitch. A Thousand Times More Fair should be lauded for what it is rather than assailed for what it isn’t. Ultimately, it is an engrossing and enjoyable book. Certainly what is most gratifying about the book is Yoshino’s clear love of both the nuances of the law and the plays of Shakespeare. Even where the reader may doubt or disagree with Yoshino, it is hard not to be carried through by the writer’s enthusiasm for how Shakespeare fits into, and even explicates, our own hour upon the stage. His writing is inviting and his joy for reading and exploring these plays is palpable. If not guilty of straight-up Bardolatry,Yoshino is certainly a follower of the faith. He is a believer and hopes to make the reader a believer as well.

Matthew W. Miller is instructor in English and director of The Writers’ Workshop at Phillips Exeter Academy.

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Exonians in Review

Alumni/ae are urged to advise the Exonians in Review editor of their own publications, recordings, films, etc., in any field, and those of classmates. Whenever possible, authors and composers are encouraged to send one copy of their books and original copies of articles to Edouard Desrochers ’45, ’62 (Hon.), the editor of Exonians in Review, Phillips Exeter Academy, 20 Main Street, Exeter, NH 03833.

1963—Bill Schubart.

ALUMNI/AE

“The College Essay: Looking Forward, Looking Back.

If You Could Apply to UVM Again, What Would You Write?” [untitled essay about George Bennett ’23] IN Vermont Quarterly. (The UVM Connection, spring 2011)

1944—Kenneth W. Ford.

101 Quantum Questions: What You Need to Know About the World You Can’t See. (Harvard University Press, 2011) 1968—Tony Seton. Silver Lining: A Novel. (CreateSpace, 2011)

—From Terror to Triumph: The Herma Smith Curtis Story. (CreateSpace, 2011) 1969—Robert Rubin and others. Richard Prince: American Prayer. (Rizzoli, 2011) 1977—Kathleen C. Engel

and Patricia A. McCoy. The Subprime Virus: Reckless Credit, Regulatory Failure, and Next Steps. (Oxford University Press, 2011)

1972—Juliet P. Kostritsky. “Interpretive 1978—Louise Pratt. Eros

at the Banquet: Reviewing Greek With Plato’s Symposium. (University of Oklahoma Press, 2011) —The Essentials of Greek Grammar: A Reference for Intermediate Readers of Attic Greek. (University of Oklahoma Press, 2011) 1989—Edward E. Curtis IV. Encyclopedia of Muslim-

American History. [2 vols.]

(Facts on File, Inc., 2010)

Risk and Contract Interpretation: A Suggested Approach for Maximizing Value.” IN Elon Law Review. (v. 2, no. 2, March 2011) 1987—Robert B. Lim and

others. “Benchmarking Best Practices in Weight Loss Surgery.” IN Current Problems in Surgery. (Elsevier, v. 47, February 2010)

2001—Andrew M. Novick. “Antidepressant

psychopharmacology and the social brain.” IN Psychiatry. (v. 74, no. 1, spring 2011) FACULTY L. Todd Hearon. “Singing

Boy.” [poem] IN Literary Imagination. (v. 13, no. 1, spring 2011) —“Palimpsest.” [poem] IN New Ohio Review. (no. 9, spring 2011) Joseph A. Reiter. “C’est maintenant du passé,” by Marianne Rubinstein. [review] IN The French Review. (v. 84, no. 4, March 2011) Ryan J. Thomson. Fiddling Thomsons, Music for both hands. [CD]. (Captain Fiddle Music, 2011)

Calling all reviewers!

2000—Lauren Davis, edi-

tor. The Comic Book Guide to the Mission. (Skoda Man Press, 2011) BRIEFLY NOTED 1959—Wendell Duffield.

The Tale of a Tail. [novella] IN Curios. (Coconino Community College, 2011)

If you are a book, music or film buff interested in the latest works by fellow Exonians, then consider becoming a reviewer for the Bulletin.You can pick the genre and medium to review. Email edesrochers@ exeter.edu for more information.

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Collecting Life’s Commencement

2 11 O

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Commencement address by Principal Thomas E. Hassan ’56, ’66, ’70, ’06 (Hon.); P’11 Photography by Brian Crowley

Clockwise from bottom left: Suk Hyun Jung ’11, with balloon in hand, and Peter Kalugin ’11 smile for the crowd; proud family members cheer on their graduate; students graduating with a classics degree include (from left to right) Samantha Pellegrino, Isaac Lederman, Adisa Kruayatidee, Christine Kong, Drew Glicker, Connor Clerkin, Woo-Hyun Byun and Tasia Harris; Katrina Coogan ’11 gets a pre-graduation hug from her dad, Mark Coogan; a splash of color is added to a white graduation dress;Ted J. Lee ’11 receives the Kappa Sigma War Memorial Scholarship from Principal Hassan.

Images Good morning, Exeter,

and welcome to this very special occasion marking the Commencement of the 307 members of Phillips Exeter Academy’s class of 2011.

As we celebrate the accomplishments of this graduating class, we should take a moment to appreciate those whose encouragement and sacrifices have sustained and nourished the students who sit here with me today. As Haider [Ghiasuddin ’11] acknowledged, this Commencement also honors the families and friends of our graduates. Seniors, please stand and join me in thanking your supFind more graduation photos at www.exeter.edu/bulletinextras

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PEA ARCHIVES

Top to bottom: Rev. Bob Thompson ’72 stands with Pooja Jayaprakash ’11 (fifth from left) and her family; Commencement on the Academy lawn, circa 1920s, from a window in the Academy Building; graduation day 2011 from roughly the same vantage point more than 80 years later; seniors Rodolfo Baquerizo Queirolo,Akash Badshah, Peter Kalugin and Young Duck Choi peruse the graduation issue of The Exonian.

porters in this audience with a round of applause as an expression of your gratitude and affection.

It feels a little strange to have the senior class sitting next to me. I am so accustomed to looking out at them from the Assembly Hall stage. From our vantage point this morning, the seniors and I can observe hundreds of proud and happy faces, many of them behind a camera. Each click, each recording is an image that will become part of a memory of this milestone in the life of a child, and of a family.

When I was growing up, we took pictures to memorialize these landmarks and to simply remember particularly joyful or important times. Digital technology has, of course, made the taking and sharing of images an almost ubiquitous act.The photographs and videos from today will quickly be shared on Facebook pages, through email, on YouTube, or on smartphones being passed from hand to hand. Some of these photos may never be printed or saved in traditional albums as were graduation photos of the past. But the desire to record and share these images—to memorialize these rites of passage and achievement—remains with us. Markers are important.

I spent some time this spring looking through the Academy’s archives and found several faded black-and-white photographs that commemorate earlier graduations.

• The oldest Commencement photograph I could find dates back to around 1904. Standing in front of the third Academy Building, which preceded the current building behind me, is a circle of young men in caps and gowns. Scattered over the lawn are groups of men and women.The ladies are wearing long gowns and large hats.

There are no chairs lining the expansive lawn for the comfort of the proud parents and friends.

• I found another tattered Commencement photograph from the 1920s. The ceremony is once again taking place on this lawn, but the Academy Building is the one you see behind me.The picture appears to have been taken from that window. There is another circle of young men in caps and gowns, and another scattering of parents. This time the women’s dresses no longer brush the ground and their hats are less ornate. . . . Still, no chairs . . . and aren’t we pleased this morning that this tradition has changed? But what strikes me most forcefully is the fence along Front Street. It is identical to the one behind you right now. Some things at Exeter don’t change.

Ageless moments, places and feelings are the subject matter of

IHNA MANGUNDAYAO ’13

these iconic pictures. And there are more recent images, ones that will live forever in our minds and in our hearts: • The worn marble stairs leading up to the Assembly Hall reminding us of the footsteps—and efforts—that have prepared and shaped this place for each successive graduating class; • Twelve of you and an Academy teacher sitting around an oval table. If the photo had been taken this winter, snow or even ice may be falling outside, but the discussion is always warm or even heated; • Exeter’s traditional Georgian buildings, many of them built at the time of the Harkness gift. Their rich red brick and graceful, practical lines speaking to the substance and longevity of our Harkness method; • The library lawn on a windy spring evening filled with boys in evening finery and girls in prom dresses, reminding us of the importance of personal relationships and celebration in the midst of difficult and important work; • And a sea of hands waving in the air on a perfect day last fall at Andover’s Phelps Stadium where Exeter’s football team beat Andover’s . . . for the third year in a row. Unity in purpose and a sense that you belong to something bigger than yourself can indeed be exhilarating.

I would like to share with you, members of the class of 2011, some of the special pictures I carry in my mind of your time at the Academy.This first set of photos flips by as if on an iPod screen.

They are taken on a cloudless day, September 6, 2007: • 176 of you as entering preps registering at the Phelps Science Center, nervously anticipating a new and big chapter in your lives; • Your proctors and parents struggling up stairs under the weight of heavy boxes as you elect to chat with new friends, exploring how you will find a place here; • Goodbyes being given with some parents looking like they are the ones being left behind—proud of their remarkable children while regretting the kind of separation that marks a parenting job well done; • You blending in with other students in the Assembly Hall for the Opening Assembly. In the sea of new faces, there is one very, very familiar one. . . . Meg Hassan ’11 is now a true Exonian.

I will also admit to carrying with me an image that I especially treasure: Your warm endorsement in October 2008 when the Trustees announced my appointment as the Academy’s 14th principal. Your sustained applause confirmed my feeling that I was, indeed, ready to lead Exeter.

There is another set of photos captured just two months later in December 2008: • The campus looking both beautiful and dangerous as ice encases trees, buildings and electrical wires, and our remarkable facilities and dining services crews, who have left their own families, ensuring that you are fed and safe and the campus functional; • Our iconic Harkness tables still having eager students around them but the overhead lights don’t work.You managing your exams in stride, even helping faculty reproduce a single edition of

Clockwise from above left: Laura Patterson ’11 and William Parker ’11 chat briefly after receiving their diplomas; A very proud dad, Principal Hassan presents his daughter, Meg ’11, with her diploma; seniors Stephen Cobbe, Zoe Clark and Alyx Churchill get a group hug from Math Instructor Joe Wolfson; new alums Tsering Lama and Andrew Stefanelli after the ceremony.

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Top to bottom: senior Nicholas Lima receives his diploma on a picture-perfect day; seniors Ingrid Chen and Andrew Kang with their parents; faculty members retiring this year include Art Instructor Nicholas Dawson, Religion Instructor Betsey Farnham and Mathematics Instructor David Swift ’64; Anthropology Instructor Donald Foster, pictured far right, also retired.

ART DURITY

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an exam on cell phones; • You and your dorm mates spending the evening studying for final exams with flashlights and in front of fireplaces because our campus, as well as 1 million households in New Hampshire, is still without electricity. I toured those dorms that night, wondering if this is what a typical evening looked like here some 200 years ago.

Class of 2011, you certainly have been tested by several of nature’s challenges, from that ice storm during your lower year to the H1N1 virus outbreak last year, and to this fall’s appearance of a few bedbugs. Not to mention the rain this spring! Throughout your time here, you have kept your cool and your sense of humor.

During your final year at the Academy it seems the picture-taking has gained momentum, exponentially it seems, leading to a vast number and array of images for us to sort through and consider.

And your Senior Week activities are sure to add a special spice to any photo collection. Won’t it be fun to explain to others the true meaning of the Ninja Circle shot? And how about all those folks covered with clothespins?

You and I have a wealth of images from your time here, but your lives ahead will produce many more.What will your collection of pictures be like when you return to campus in five, 10, 50 years? What will you have accomplished, experienced and recorded?

For some of you, Exeter has been a place where you have honed an existing vision. You came here with particular, recognized gifts and you will continue to progress along the path of nurturing and sharing these gifts. Your photo collections, at least at your early Exeter reunions, may include images of you reaching one marker or threshold after another in your chosen field.

Others of you came here as budding generalists, demonstrating a significant ability to hold your own in many settings or to ease the interactions of diverse groups of people.You will record markers of your own, perhaps in a series of venues.

And some of you find your comfort and confidence in quiet, private moments—and more meditative expressions of your proficiency. Today, your path may still be unclear, at least to you. And your photo collection upon your return to Exeter may be less predictable—and that is what will make it interesting.

Over time, you will all learn to value a varied and extensive collection of images. The set will most likely begin with those that feature you, and then, over time, a spouse or partner, friends, children—your own or someone else’s—other family members, and colleagues.Value these images, not just for the memories they invoke, but also for the lessons that they will come to teach. A moment of valor on the playing field can be a reminder that good health is a great and sometimes fleeting gift; awards for professional achievement can seem diminished in light of a lingering disagreement with a colleague.

And the collection should, over time, include images from the larger world—which will help to shape you, and build or reinforce your vision and goals. Regardless of how or where you choose to engage with the world, the path you travel—the way you travel it—will make a difference. As your collection grows, take the time to review it and learn from it, and vow to add to it or change its composition when you need to—inevitably you will.

Our lives never follow a single or planned trajectory, and our collections will be enriched if we have the courage to step from the established track. World citizen, playwright and former Pres-

G R A D U AT I O N

P R I Z E S

The Yale Cup, awarded each year by the Aurelian Honor Society of Yale University to that member of the senior class who best combines the highest standards of character and leadership with excellence in his studies and in athletics: Nathaniel William Morgan, Hamilton, MA

The Ruth and Paul Sadler ’23 Cup, awarded each year to that member of the senior class who best combines the highest standards of character and leadership with excellence in her studies and in athletics: Jocelyn McLeod Bohn, Shilin,Taipei,Taiwan

The Perry Cup, established by the class of 1945 in honor of Dr. Lewis Perry ’20, eighth principal of the Academy, and given annually to a senior who has shown outstanding qualities of leadership and school spirit: Emily Catherine Hadley, Plainfield, NH

The Williams Cup, established in memory of George Lynde Richardson Jr. ’37, and given annually to a student who, having been in the Academy four years, has, by personal qualities, brought distinction to Phillips Exeter: In Young Cho, Seoul, Republic of Korea

The Eskie Clark Award, given annually to that scholarship student in the graduating class who, through hard work and perseverance, has excelled in both athletics and scholarship in a manner exemplified by Eskie Clark of the class of 1919: Marcel Gerard Brown, Uxbridge, MA

The Thomas H. Cornell Award, decided by the senior class and given annually to that member of the graduating class who exemplifies the Exeter Spirit typified by Thomas Hilary Cornell of the class of 1911: Ted Jae-Won Lee, San Leandro, CA

The Cox Medals, given by Oscar S. Cox Esq., in memory of his father, Jacob Cox, are awarded each year to the five members of the graduating class who, having been two or more years in the Academy, have attained the highest scholastic rank: In Young Cho, Seoul, Republic of Korea Mary Howard Holderness, Greensboro, NC Eu Na Noh, Seoul, Republic of Korea Hillary Armstrong Ryan Jr., Austin,TX Emily Jessica Sun, Needham, MA

The Faculty Prize for Academic Excellence, given to that member of the graduating class who, having been two or more years in the Academy, is recognized on the basis of scholarship as holding the first rank: In Young Cho, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Principal Hassan presents In Young Cho ’11, who holds first rank in the class, with the Williams Cup.

Opposite page: Charles Zuckerman ’11 holds aloft the last diploma to be presented to the class of 2011.

This page, top to bottom: Lori Heden ’11 gives a big cheer with diploma in hand; graduates and their guests picnic on the Class of 1945 Library lawn after the ceremony; senior Parker Henry sings Exeter’s hymn, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”; Benjamin Chick ’11 (middle) with brother, Alexander ’08, mom, Irene, sister, Christina ’03, and dad, Jonathan.

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ident of the Czech Republic Václav Havel advises us, “Vision is not enough; it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up to the step; we must step up the stairs.”

You may also be offered opportunities and possibilities that you have to put aside. Don’t abandon them. As the philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard said, “It is very dangerous to go into eternity with possibilities which one has oneself prevented from becoming realities. A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it.” Review your collections for those unfinished projects, for those untested possibilities, and for the regrets that, unattended, can overwhelm you. In the future, having done so will result in a collection you are pleased to share with your classmates, but most importantly one you will reflect upon with pride.

Now comes the time that I must say farewell to the members of the class of 2011, and, in doing so, I offer you my customary charge. I hope it is as helpful for you to hear it as it is for me to read it: First, you have been given the gift of a Harkness education. Use the voices you have developed around our oval tables to speak up, to speak your own mind and to draw out others around you. But more importantly, help those who cannot speak up for themselves.

In the words of Proverbs 31:8, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.

Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor.”

Second, you have learned well the lesson of uniting knowledge and goodness. Go forth and give of yourself to your communities and to this world, and in the process, do so for others and not for yourself alone.

Remember the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now.

Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

And I add the words of someone with whom you are most familiar, Dr. Seuss [from The Lorax]: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

And, finally, remain connected with each other and to our school. Take the connections and special friendships you have formed at Exeter with you, and nurture them in years to come.

To reinforce that thought, I leave you with the words of the Greek philosopher, mathematician and religious scholar Pythagoras: “Friends are as companions on a journey, who ought to aid each other in persevering on the road to a happier life.”

Goodbye, class of 2011. Godspeed, class of 2011. God bless you, class of 2011.

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Candy Bars International students and their second families

By Karen Ingraham

W

Jamin Liu ’11 with classmate and Embassador brother Edward Meyers ’11, with his parents, Stephen and Amy. 30

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S UMMER 2011

hen Chieh Ming “Jamin” Liu ’11 got off the bus on her first day at Exeter two years ago, she was more than 3,000 miles from her home in British Columbia, and she didn’t know a soul on campus. A first-generation Taiwanese-Canadian who had grown up in a traditional household, Liu wasn’t even that familiar with American culture, but she stood there, two suitcases in hand, ready to learn.

With a warm smile and—like so many Harkness table veterans— an easy way of speaking, Liu eagerly talks about how her time at the Academy was made better by people, strangers at first, who are now familiar and dear. Like the Meyers family, who introduced Liu to her first American Thanksgiving dinner. Or Lois Graham P’13, who took Liu shopping to buy winter boots so she no longer had to wear sneakers in the snow.

International students like Liu make up about 13 percent of Exeter’s student body and, also like Liu, many do not have family members in the Northeast and cannot always travel home when school is not in session. It can make for a challenging existence, despite having the support of friends and teachers on campus.

Christine Knapp P’13, international student coordinator, discovered this a couple of years ago when she drove a senior to Portsmouth to replace his glasses. “He told me it was the first time that he had ever been to Portsmouth,” she says. “I realized then that many of our international students have little opportunity to explore New Hampshire or to experience life beyond campus activities.”

Knapp quickly established the Exeter Embassadors program to match willing international students with adults in the Exeter community, oftentimes staff members or par-

in the Mailbox ents of other students. Though still in its infancy, the program has already served as a lifeline for some international students, sparking bonds between the Exonians and their Embassadors that promise to last long after the students graduate.

Filling In During Parents’ Weekend last October, Shaquille Brown ’14 sat awkwardly through her first three classes that Friday. Many of her classmates’ parents were seated alongside the students to observe the Harkness discussions. Brown had come to Exeter from Jamaica, and she had no close family in the U.S.The young prep says “it was so weird” not to have someone accompany her.

That changed during her three afternoon classes. Aurora DeMelo, a nurse at PEA’s Lamont Health and Wellness Center, joined Brown. The two had been paired together at the start of the school year, after DeMelo had answered an email from Knapp the previous spring looking for volunteers.

“It was so wonderful,” Brown says of having DeMelo by her side. “You can say you have family here to see you at work. I introduced her to class as my American mom. I always refer to her [now] as my American mom. She is the closest thing I have to a mother [here], besides Ms. Knapp.”

More than one international student has also called Linda Safford “mom.” The administrative assistant to the Religion Department and Phillips Church has two children, Geoffrey ’12 and Christina ’14, enrolled at PEA, but she and her husband, David, were eager to become Embassadors two years ago when the program got under way.

“We wanted to get to know people from other countries,” Safford says, “and we thought it would be nice to just be there and get to know somebody well.”

This year, the Saffords are one of three PEA families offering Eszter Sarkozi ’11, from Èrd, Hungary, a support system during her time at Exeter. Sarkozi arrived prior to the start of school and stayed with Director of Admissions Michael Gary P’11 and his wife, Trina P’11, until the dorms opened.The Garys helped Sarkozi acclimate to Exeter, and, Sarkozi says, “treated me like their own daughter. I didn’t feel like a guest.”

Safford says it is also the “little things, putting something in their P.O. box—like a bar of chocolate that says ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’—or sending an email that says, ‘How are you doing?’ ” that can have a big impact.

Sarkozi agrees.The track athlete, who eats a few chocolates and sips from her water bottle after one practice, says “these little things, they are so helpful,” and goes on to describe how Safford helped her with her personal finances. “I had no idea how to open a bank account,” Sarkozi says. “I had no idea how to use my [ATM] card.”

Sarkozi has regularly asked Safford to go shopping or just go to lunch. Sometimes, Sarkozi has also

(Above) Eszter Sarkozi ’11 (second from left) with the Saffords: Christina ’14, Linda, David, and Geoffrey ’12.

(Middle) Shaquille Brown ’14 with her “American mom,” Aurora DeMelo.

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found an unexpected treat left for her. “[Linda] was cooking in the church, and she knew that I was going to be really hungry because I didn’t have time to eat after track, so she left macaroni and cheese for me there in the refrigerator,” she recalls.

“It was so much easier to adjust to know that I had some parents here or some kind of parent here who I can rely on,” Sarkozi adds.

Brown echoes that sentiment: “Everyone should have an Aurora. It’s just good to have someone here who you can count on.”

Safford, who planned to take Sarkozi shopping for her prom dress and throw her a small graduation party, simply says, “It doesn’t take a lot to please these kids.You forget they’re away from home.”

Family Time Once, when returning from Montreal, Liu accidentally got off the bus in Portsmouth, rather than Exeter. She

“Whenever they talk to me, I feel like they are my second every time.” —Eszter Sarkozi ’11

(Top) Sarkozi with the Meyers and Saffords. (Bottom) Liu with good friend Lois Graham.

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had a moment’s panic, unsure of what to do. Then she called Graham, who works as a researcher for the Alumni/ae Affairs and Development Office and lives in nearby Stratham. Graham drove to pick up Liu and bring her back to campus.

Like Safford, Graham is also a PEA parent (Aaron ’13) and says her reason for becoming an Embassador is rooted in her proclivity for helping people.The class of 2013 adviser and Annual Giving Fund phoneathon volunteer also believes it is an opportunity to see a side of Exeter that few staff members are exposed to on a regular basis. “In terms of just learning about what’s going on in the lives of the students, it educates you to what Exeter is about, whether or not you have a kid go here,” she says.

For Liu, the connection goes far beyond surprise cards in the mailbox or warm winter boots, though those things are important. What she’s really valued is the opportunity to step outside of the “Exeter bubble.”

“Sometimes you just want someone to talk [to] about stuff…talk about home, talk about school-related things that you don’t want anyone else to know about,” she says. “[Lois] is a good friend that you can talk to. She’s affiliated with the school, but she’s not affiliated as in [she] knows all about your grades, or all about your classes or teachers. It’s pretty stress-free talking to her.”

According to Knapp, this outlet is an important one for international students. “They may want to discuss an issue going on at school with an adult who is not connected to other students,” she says. “Teachers and advisers deal with many students; Exeter Embassadors are matched with only one or two students.”

And oftentimes, students are matched with more than one Embassador family, so they have additional support systems in place, and the volunteer host families can choose a level of involvement that works within their lifestyles.

During her first year on campus, Liu met the Meyers family through another international student, Theo Motzkin ’11, who is friends with Edward Meyers ’11. An invitation for Liu to join the family for dinner during Parents’ Weekend was soon followed by a written invitation from the Meyers to Liu’s parents asking permission for Liu to join them during the Thanksgiving break.

S UMMER 2011

“That was my first American Thanksgiving ever,” Liu reflects. “I had turkey, and it was a real turkey with pumpkin pie. It was just amazing. I thought, ‘Wow, I’m pretty lucky to have this chance to see what an American family would do in their homes and during the holidays.”

Stephen and Amy Meyers confess they are “kid collectors.” Theirs is the house that Edward, his sister, Lucy, and all their friends congregate in. The rambling structure has been described, according to Amy, as the Weasleys’ house, the Burrow, from the Harry Potter series.

Dinner at the Meyers’ house, Stephen says, is “very important to us” and not unlike a Harkness discussion.

Opening their home to international students makes those meals even more meaningful. “I think it just adds a lot to the intellectual level around the house in terms of discussion,” he adds.

For Sarkozi, who was also paired with the Meyers, the “burrow,” the staying up late and watching movies with her “brother,” Edward, and her “sister,” Lucy, have impacted her very definition of family.

“They gave me examples of how I want my family to be,” she says. “The

whenever they call me . . . family. I can count on them

most important thing is that they really see me as their child.

Whenever they talk to me, whenever they call me…I feel like they are my second family. I can count on them every time. I never thought that people who are not in my own country or who are not my relatives can get so close to me.”

Fitting In High school, whether it be a boarding or day school setting, has its challenges—for both domestic and international students.

Almost everyone struggles at one time or another with fitting in, with—as Liu puts it—looking over one’s shoulder to see if anyone has noticed the new student eating lunch by herself. She was that student when she first arrived at Exeter.

Her Embassador experience, however, helped her not only bridge the cultural gap but also discover a little about how relationships work.

“It comes with time,” she says. “Making friends comes with time and it comes with reaching out to the community as well. . . . Having met the Meyers, Edward, Theo, Lois…it taught me how to reach out to the community [which] leads to reaching out toward Exeter, toward friends. Then you make friends.”

Liu considers herself “one of the lucky people” because of the support she’s received and feels indebtedness for the confident person she’s become. “I try to do a lot of other international student work because I owe it to this community for what they’ve helped me with.You have to pass it forward.”

Her work has included forming a student version of Exeter Embassadors with two other students. The new club pairs returning students with new international students, who connect via email over the summer.

When the fall term begins, the club hosts informal events—like baking cookies and watching “Saturday Night Live”—to give new students a chance to meet, according to Liu, “people who are open to making new friends.”

Fitting in for Sarkozi has included fully embracing a country and its culture. “I feel like America is my second home now,” she says. “It’s not only because of Exeter and my friends but because of these families.” She believes her year at Exeter formed “a lifelong relationship” with her Embassadors and the country.

Brown, in the middle of packing for summer vacation, pauses to reflect on her first year. “For me, Exeter is a very challenging environment,” she says, “academically and, in some sense, socially, especially when you are an international student with no family in the States.” Being far from home, she says, “shouldn’t mean you don’t have the support you would have back home.” Luckily, she’s found that support in DeMelo and looks forward to reconnecting with her when she returns as a lower in September.

Sarkozi and Safford “siblings,” Christina and Geoffrey, have fun while hunting for Easter eggs.

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Sports

Resolute Rebound J O S H OW E N S ’ R E T U R N T O B A S K E T B A L L

By Craig Morgan ’84

I

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S UMMER 2011

BRIAN CROWLEY

Josh Owens ’07 listens to mentor and PEA Basketball Coach Jay Tilton during a practice his senior year.

t was a typical Saturday morning for the Owens family. Josh, his father, Darrell, his brothers, Jerryck and Jhamed, and his sister, Jeanovan, were at a suburban Atlanta track running stadium steps and laps when Josh decided he had had enough.

“He didn’t want to run the last lap,” Darrell Owens says. “He was going to rebel.”

Instead of forcing his son to finish, Darrell chose another approach.

“I said, ‘OK, you don’t have to finish; you’ll have to run all the way home,’ ” Darrell says. “I think he thought he was going to get back at me, but he didn’t realize just how far we drove every Saturday to get to that track.”

It was at least 5 miles.

“They left. I waited. They didn’t come back,” Josh ’07 recalls. “After an hour or so alone at the track with no cell phone to call my mom to pick me up, I started walking.

“By this time, the sun’s high in the sky and the refreshing 6 a.m. coolness has been replaced by Georgia’s thick summer humidity. I’m sweating, not even halfway home and already realizing why we wake up so early to run.

“I learned a lot that day, and each time I look back I take something else away. It’s not always about why we were running and how difficult it could be, or the athletic aspect at all. It’s about my family, love, respect, independence and maturing.”

And another ingredient: resolve.

“He may have walked part of the way home,” Darrell says, laughing, “but he made it.”

Owens, now at Stanford, needed all of the aforementioned ingredients during a nightmarish 2009–10 school year. During preseason practice for the Cardinal men’s basketball team, he experienced what he called “a one-time medical event” that halted his workout.

Owens hasn’t publicly disclosed what went wrong that day, but it put such a scare into his family, the coaching staff and the university that he was forced to sit out the entire season while undergoing a battery of tests.

“It came in stages,” he says of the diagnosis. “Initially, I thought it wouldn’t take long—maybe a couple weeks, maybe a month—before I got back on the court. But as the process got more and more drawn-out and I found out I was shut down and couldn’t do anything athletically, the emotional toll really started to set in.”

That’s when Owens reached out. He called his siblings. He talked to Exeter Basketball Coach Jay Tilton, who had shepherded him through life in Cilley Hall and helped transform, according to Owens, “a gawky, 6-foot4-inch kid who couldn’t do anything outside 5 feet” into a Division I starter in a major college conference.

And he reached out for his dad and mom, Tanna, who both flew across the country to be with him when the news hit home.

“I was hurt because I saw the hurt and fear in him,” Darrell says. “I remember sitting with him in the hospital and you could see the water welling up in his eyes. Joshua has had a heart for basketball since he was

COURTESY OF STANFORD ATHLETICS

young. To have it dashed after making so much progress and working so hard was difficult on all of us.”

Owens tried to maintain a sense of normalcy. Despite an array of ongoing tests, he still traveled with the basketball team and focused on his schoolwork.

“The funny thing is I registered one of my better GPAs that year,” he quips.

But he couldn’t help wondering what kind of team Stanford would have been if he had been able to join Landry Fields, now with the New York Knicks, and Jeremy Green on the court. He couldn’t help wondering if he’d ever play basketball again. He couldn’t help wondering if something worse was around the medical corner.

“You can’t avoid those thoughts,” Owens says. “You have a lot of time to think. But as the process got longer and longer, all I could do was be patient, keep hoping and praying, and be ready when they finally said those words: ‘You’re fine. You can play.’ ” Despite seven months of testing, specialists never found much more than an anomaly. Owens was cleared to play in July 2010 and was granted a medical redshirt year. He was an All-Pac-10 honorable mention selection in 2010–11, his junior season, after averaging 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while posting a team high of 29 blocks and 25 steals.

“He was rusty but his desire to play never left him,” Stanford Coach Johnny Dawkins says. “His energy is infectious and he was definitely an inspiration. It took him some time to shake off the cobwebs but he eventually had some terrific games for us and really made an impact on our younger players.”

Owens will enter his senior season as the Cardinal’s top returning scorer since Green declared for the 2011 NBA Draft. By the time Owens takes the court in November he will have earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and enrolled in graduate school at Stanford to study civil engineering.

If his path takes him in that direction, Owens says he’ll be happy, but there is one itch he’d still like to scratch: the chance to play in the NBA or abroad, like his older brother Jerryck, who played pro ball in Portugal.

“He can use that year off to his advantage,” Tilton says. “If he were graduating this year, he wouldn’t be considered for the NBA but now he has a shot, and with his work ethic he won’t leave anything undone.”

NBA scouts currently view the 6-foot-8-inch Owens as a “tweener”—neither a full-fledged power forward nor a small forward. One scout, who requested anonymity, said Owens will likely play power forward so he’ll need to stretch his range as a face-up shooter, add more muscle weight and develop a more complete lowpost game during his senior season at Stanford if he hopes to elevate his NBA stock.

“He has to learn to put the pieces of his game together, and he’s still in the process of doing that,” Dawkins says. “But he’s an elite athlete. On the strength of that alone, he has a chance.”

If Owens realizes his NBA dream, he would join rare company: Brandon Williams ’92 is believed to be the only Exeter graduate to play in the NBA. Williams, now the NBA’s director of basketball operations, played a total of 18 games between Golden State, San Antonio and Atlanta.

Owens hopes to take it a step further.

“The NBA is definitely a dream that I’m still working toward and I still think I can get a lot better,” he says.

“I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to feel comfortable with everything that happened, but in retrospect I’m happy the medical process was thorough because I can step on the court now with total confidence.

“I would imagine it’s hard for anybody, whether it’s scouts or teams, to determine what I’m capable of doing after that year off. I don’t even know yet. I’m still learning. I’m kind of this mysterious player that just showed up, but I love the challenge.”

Owens has one more season as a Stanford Cardinal and may have a chance at an NBA career.

Craig Morgan’84 is a freelance journalist and marketing writer who covers the NFL, NBA, NHL, college football and college basketball for cbssports.com and foxsportsarizona.com.

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Sports

B

D

C A

Spring Sports E

F

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(A) Baseball

Record: 8-8 Head Coach: Bill Dennehy Assistant Coach: Dana Barbin Captain: Charles Nutter ’11 MVP: Charles Nutter (B) Boys Crew Record: 3-9 Head Coach: Lawrence Smith Assistant Coach: David Swift ’64 Captains: Franco Aiello ’11, Benjamin Chick ’11 MVP: Clancey Stahr ’11

I

Captains: Caroline Hayes ’11, Caroline Jankowski ’11, Rebecca Ryan ’11 MVP: Rebecca Ryan (H) Softball

Record: 10-7 Head Coach: Nancy Thompson Assistant Coaches: Christine Fitzgerald, Rick Parris Captains: Cortney Fletcher ’11, Tiffany Hood ’11, Karalyn Sommers ’11 MVP: Cortney Fletcher (I) Boys A Tennis

(C) Girls Crew

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Record: 12-0 New England Champions Head Coach: Sally Morris Assistant Coach: Becky Moore Captains: Blair Baker ’11, Jocelyn Bohn ’11 MVPs: Christine Devlin ’11, Holly Stevens ’11 (D) Boys and Girls Cycling

Second-place finish in NERCL series championship Head Coach: Don Mills Assistant Coaches:Vicki Baggia, Steve Wilson Captains: Marc Gazda ’11, Marcus Wetlaufer ’11 MVP: Marc Gazda

K

(E) Boys and Girls Golf Record: 7-5 Head Coach: Bob Bailey Assistant Coach: Joanna Ro Captains: Simon Allan ’11, Austin Cheng ’11 MVP: Simon Allan

L

M

(F) Boys Lacrosse

Record: 18-2 Head Coach: Eric Bergofsky Assistant Coach: Bill Glennon Captains: Patrick Johnson ’11, Tyler Williams ’11 MVP:Tyler Williams (G) Girls Lacrosse Record: 10-5 Head Coach: Mercy Carbonell Assistant Coaches: Christina Breen, Shane LaPointe

D, XI CHEN ’12; E, BOB BAILEY; G, MIKE RYAN; K, L, IHNA MANGUNDAYAO ’13; ALL OTHERS BY MIKE CATANO

Record: 4-7 Head Coach:Tony Greene Captain: Eli Egan-Anderson ’11 MVP: Kelvin Lee ’13 (J) Girls A Tennis

Record: 2-6 Head Coach: Jean Farnum Captains: Kathleen Larkin ’12, Lauren Lee ’12 MVP: Lauren Lee (K) Boys Track

Record: 6-1 Head Coach: Hilary Coder Assistant Coaches: Gwyn Coogan ’83, Ted Davis, Mark Hiza, Brandon Newbould, Francis Ronan, Bruce Shang Captains: Jabari Johnson ’12, Arjun Nukal ’11 MVP: Jabari Johnson (L) Girls Track

Record: 6-1 Head Coach: Hilary Coder Assistant Coaches: Gwyn Coogan,Ted Davis, Mark Hiza, Brandon Newbould, Francis Ronan, Bruce Shang Captains: Katrina Coogan ’11, Ashley Ifeadike ’11 MVP: Katrina Coogan (M) Girls Water Polo Record: 7-4 Head Coach: Melissa Pacific Assistant Coach: Erika Cooper Captains:Tammara Gary ’11, Virginia McMahon ’11 MVPs:Tammara Gary, Virginia McMahon

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Reunions provide alumni/ae a host of opportunities to experience Exeter today, engage in spirited Harkness discussions and, of course, have fun with classmates. Evidence: the photo booth sessions of ’61, ’96 and ’06. For more 2011 reunion pictures, turn to page 53 or visit www.exeter.edu/reunionphotos.

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Connections News & Notes from the Alumni/ae Community

Enduring Bonds T I M E A N D E V E N T S S H OW THE DEPTH OF OUR COMMON EXETER CONNECTION

By Jonathan Spangler Bean ’81

R

ecently I marked two Exeter milestones: In April I attend-

ed my class reunion—our 30th and the sixth in the series— and on June 30 I completed my three-year term as national alumni/ae chair for the Annual Giving Fund. I am hoping I can make at least six more reunions and that Exeter will call on me again to help out in some way.

Reflecting on the last three years assisting with the Annual Fund, I am struck by how much Exeter means to our alumni/ae.We represent virtually every walk of life, range in age from 18 to 100, and span the globe. Despite what has turned out to be one of the great economic crises of our time, our alumni/ae have continued to support the Academy in fine fashion and in many cases more thoughtfully as they consider how their Exeter experiences have helped them navigate what has indeed turned out to be the perfect storm.

Thank you for your support.

Which leads me back to reunions and the unique opportunities they offer for sharing knowledge, strengthening our support network and fostering lifelong friendships. We had an amazing 30th reunion on a gorgeous late April weekend. The programming that the folks in Gilman House provided—ranging from early morning bird-watching to Harkness table discussions, to late-night cocktails—offered something, if not everything, for all in attendance.

When our program needs are being met, the class can focus on the things that really matter: the relationships that have endured, the ones that have been rekindled and the new ones made at these events. I am reminded of a wonderful insight our class’s intrepid leader, Ann (Warren) Lockwood, shared with us recently: “Oddly, there is something very nice about approaching middle age—we are all comfortable in our own ‘shoes’ and interested in each other as real people. Refreshing!” And indeed it was.

Reflecting on the last three years, I am struck by how much Exeter means to our alumni/ae.

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Connections

EXONIAN PROFILE

C LY D E F. B A R K E R ’ 5 0

Pioneer in Organ Transplantation

COURTESY OF CLYDE BARKER ’50

I

n 1966, Dr. Clyde F. Barker ’50 brought brothers Joe and Howard Mehl together in a profound and lasting way. He performed one of the earliest kidney transplant operations, and the first ever performed at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The 33-yearold Barker replaced Howard’s diseased kidney with Joe’s healthy one. Both the kidney and the relationship between Barker and the Mehl brothers have lasted through the years.

“Howard Mehl is probably one of only about a dozen patients in the world who have survived longer than 45 years on the same transplanted kidney,” Barker says. “I continue to see the Mehls several times a year. They are very important to me as friends as well as patients.”

Barker is recognized as one of the leading U.S. researchers in the field of transplantation. He not only initiated the University of Pennsylvania’s transplant program, but—in 35 years as its leader—he has built it into one of the largest and most successful programs in the nation. He has authored more than 400 scientific papers and served as president of many national surgical societies. He was recently elected president of the American

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Philosophical Society, a scholarly organization founded

by Benjamin Franklin in 1743.

In the long run, it may be Barker’s devotion to his trainees—a trait modeled for him early in his career— that makes his story unique. Upon finishing his surgical residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Barker began working with Professor Rupert Billingham, a noted biologist considered to be one of the founders of transplantation science.

“I was really just looking for a job when I learned that Billingham had moved to Penn as chairman of the Department of Genetics,” Barker says. “I asked him if I could spend a year working in his laboratory. Since organ transplantation was a new field and not being performed in Philadelphia, I thought it was an area in which I might catch on,” Barker remembers.

After Barker’s year as a research fellow, Billingham invited his young associate to become a member of his department. “I actually did that first kidney transplant while I was a fellow in Billingham’s laboratory and before I had a faculty appointment in surgery, in fact probably before I had malpractice insurance or the credentials that would be necessary today,” Barker says. “Since I was a trained vascular surgeon and had done animal transplants while working with Billingham, it was not a big trick for me to do a human kidney transplant. It was, however, a political accomplishment requiring Billingham’s help to persuade the conservative University of Pennsylvania to let such a junior person start an important program like transplantation. Fortunately for me, it worked.”

The support Barker received from his mentor has been the basis for the relationships he has formed with the physicians who have studied under him. It is said that Barker’s young trainees remain fiercely devoted to him.

The vast majority of doctors who finished their residency or fellowship programs during Barker’s 18 years as chairman of Penn’s Surgery Department have gone on to academic positions. Nine of them have become chairs of their own surgery departments in U.S. medical schools, and 30 others are division chiefs.

In a fitting chain of events, Barker is this year’s recipient of the Medawar Prize, the world’s highest award for outstanding contributions in the field of transplantation, named after Sir Peter Medawar. In 1994 the winner of this award was Billingham, who had been Medawar’s first graduate student.

—Julie Quinn

Connections

EXONIAN PROFILE

W I C K S L OA N E ’ 7 1

Tireless Champion for Community Colleges

W

COURTESY OF BOSTON ATHENAEUM

ick Sloane ’71; P’03, an adjunct English professor at Boston’s Bunker Hill Community College, will bring homework to students in jail cells or hospital beds, if needed. He will teach Expository Writing classes at midnight or 7 a.m.—or even during spring break—if it helps serve the needs of a burgeoning student body. Sometimes, he will even track down a student who disappeared from school to find out the reason why and if he can help.

Each term, students from nearby Roxbury, Dorchester, Medford, Everett, and countries in Africa and Southeast Asia enroll in Sloane’s writing classes.

They bring “more motivation than anyone I have ever seen,” Sloane says, “and every day the forces of the world conspire against their education. Students have two or three jobs often, and families to care for and long commutes, and still they come to school.

“These students have been through some of the worst K–12 education the U.S. has to offer.

Somehow, [they] know that education is the path to a solid life. I have found ways to help [many] of my students. I try everything I can think of, and I pray for better ideas every day.”

Sloane’s devotion stems in part from his instructors at Exeter. “[They] showed me a relatively simple formula: A teacher who cares and who has high enforceable expectations will make a difference,” he says. “This works for all students.”

It worked for John Around Him, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota and an Iraq War veteran. Sloane knew his student belonged in a four-year college, so he encouraged Around Him to apply to one college in particular.

“It took 10 months for John to believe he could succeed at Dartmouth and apply,” Sloane says. “He’s there now.”

Sloane became captivated by community colleges in the early 2000s when he was chief financial officer for the University of Hawaii’s system, which includes seven two-year institutions. “I discovered that federal funding is gamed against these amazing students, and they have no effective

advocate,” he says. “I decided to see what I could do.”

The primary federal aid available to low-income students at public post-secondary schools is the Pell Grant. Awards are currently capped at $5,500 per academic year, with lesser amounts given to part-time students. An inequity often arises between students at a two-year public college and those at a four-year private school in part, Sloane says, because of federal tax rules.

“My quarrel is that federal policy provides additional subsidies to students at wealthy colleges,” he says.

“Endowments are untaxed and federal rules allow institutions to decide on their own how they want to spend their tax-free money.”

Sloane draws attention to the discrepancy and advocates for the nearly 1,200 community colleges in the U.S. through a column he began in 2005, entitled “The Devil’s Workshop,” for the website Inside Higher Ed. In 2008, he won a fellowship from the Hechinger Institute to write about equity issues for the 6 million people who are enrolled at these two-year institutions—accounting for about half of all students enrolled at colleges nationwide.

Sloane came to Exeter as a lower, and locked horns with his first English teacher, Alan Vrooman, whom he says taught him how to write. Other instructors—like Bob Grey, David Walker, Ted Gleason ’51 and Tim Buxton—demonstrated that there are different ways to learning, that compassion and toughness can accompany each other, and “the spirit and the soul figure into education, too.”

“One day in Peter Greer’s English class,” Sloane recalls, “the hammer and tong of Alan Vrooman linked to my own soul and mind. In the famous reporter-at-large assignment, I wrote the first piece of nonfiction that worked. That started me on my way to writing about education as an advocate.”

Fostering beneficial, lasting change for community colleges is no small undertaking, but, Sloane remarks, “[former Principal] Dick Day said once that he hoped we all learned ‘to treat onerous tasks as routine.’ That has served me well.”

—Famebridge Witherspoon

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Connections

EXONIAN PROFILE

PAU L I N E C H I O U ’ 8 8

An ‘All Platform’ Journalist in the Digital Age

COURTESY OF CNN INTERNATIONAL

C

NN International can be seen in more than 275 million households and hotel rooms around the globe, and you can find Pauline Chiou ’88 explaining the latest market trends and economic developments on “World Business Today.” Chiou is unfazed that hundreds of thousands of people watch her every morning: “I see a camera in front of me and feel like I’m talking to one person,” she says.

Whether reporting live from the scene of an earthquake or from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, that ability to focus, stay calm, and “roll with the punches” has served Chiou in good stead.With stints at CBS in Boston, NBC in Houston and CNN in Atlanta, she established herself as an accomplished business journalist and global reporter. Chiou credits discussions around Exeter’s Harkness tables with providing “the first strands of confidence in speaking out and asking ‘Why?’ or ‘What exactly do you mean?’ ” A promotion two years ago made Chiou anchor and correspondent for CNN International in Hong Kong.

Growing up speaking Taiwanese—her parents are from Taiwan—and studying Chinese at Exeter and Yale eased Chiou’s transition to life in Asia.

Glance at Chiou’s Twitter feed and you realize that

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her job with CNN International can mean putting together a story on teenage drug abuse in Hong Kong, then going to the mountains of Taiwan to cover a typhoon mudslide, then heading back to the studio to do a live inter view with CNN’s Nic Robertson in Afghanistan. “Sometimes there isn’t very much time to prepare,” says Chiou. “I try to have a very Zen approach to this by accepting the fact that I don’t know everything, and that my job is to be curious and ask questions.”

Chiou’s CNN tweets and blog also illustrate “there is no such thing as a 6 p.m. deadline anymore. It’s update, update all the time.” The evolution of digital media has plunged journalists of Chiou’s generation—who once worked either in print, radio or television—into becoming “all platform” journalists.

“I remember the old days of filing one or two stories a day,” she says. “Now, we’re tweeting, blogging, uploading photos, filing traditional stories and doing ‘phoners’ (live reports by phone).” Mobile media means the news is always breaking. A few months ago, Chiou was anchoring a newscast when a newswire alert reported that a Qantas Airways flight had made an emergency landing in Singapore after part of the fuselage had fallen off.

Within minutes, Chiou’s colleague found a photo on Twitter from a businessman on the flight who had photographed the plane’s damaged wing and uploaded it.

Chiou was able to get the picture on air almost immediately. By contrast, she says, “In the old days, we would have had to wait for a camera crew to get to the airport, shoot the video and feed it to us.”

With a multimedia life and travels worldwide, Chiou—a varsity ice hockey player at Exeter and Yale— isn’t on the ice much these days.Weekends relaxing with her husband and 1-year-old daughter offer a welcome respite from work, along with dim sum brunch in Hong Kong. And, living in a country with a rich tradition of charms and amulets, it seems appropriate that she has a special one of her own, procured while covering the 2004 World Series win by the Boston Red Sox. Reporting live from St. Louis for WBZ-TV in Boston, Chiou spoke to fans in the stands, then rushed onto the field to interview the players and their families after the team’s first world championship in 86 years. Caught up in the celebration, Chiou scooped up dirt from the pitcher’s mound, wrapped it in plastic she found on the ground, and stuffed it into her pocket. “To this day,” she says, “I have that dirt in a small jar and I figure it holds some sort of good luck.”

—Wendy Vanasselt ’87

Finis Origine Pendet

Where One Exonian’s Lifelong Bird List Began

By Eddie Williams ’08

I

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FRED CARLSON

Editor’s Note: Science Instructors Rich Aaronian and Chris Matlack will be leading a student field trip to Costa Rica this summer.

grew up outside Milwaukee, WI, and every summer my family would spend some time at my grandparents’ cottage on a lake in northern Wisconsin. We would fish, hike, canoe, and do most activities one would expect in the wilderness. But I had a special eye for my natural surroundings and did activities on my own, such as snorkeling, frog catching and insect collecting. I have always been fascinated by the natural world and its wildlife. It is tough to explain what exactly makes nature lovers like myself so drawn to the call of a tree frog or the sight of an eagle soaring overhead—we just love it.

After being on an Exonian expedition to the Amazon with Science Instructors Richard Aaronian and Chris Matlack during my junior year, I knew there was no turning back on my dream of becoming a field biologist. In my senior year, I enrolled in almost every biology elective that Exeter had to offer, all of which continued to feed my interest. One class, however, truly changed me forever, and I could not imagine myself right now if I had not taken it: Ornithology.

Birding (or bird-watching) is a fast-growing hobby in the United States. There is a whole world of people who are addicted to the activity and keep lists of species they have seen. Some people even “twitch” to see new species. In these cases, birders will slap down $500 for a plane ticket to get across the country the moment they hear that a rare or vagrant species has shown up.

I first discovered the world of birding when I took Ornithology with Mr. Aaronian. It was the most fun I have ever had in a class, as we took a field trip every week to see living specimens of what we learned in class. Not only was Mr. Aaronian leading us, but we had a whole crew to help us, including Mr. Matlack, Mr. Buddington, Mr. Campbell and Mrs. Tingley. We kept a list of all the species we saw that semester, and this started my lifelong bird list. Wherever I go in the world, I now keep a special eye out for birds, and I make sure to scribble down whatever species I see. My hobby has just two rules: I have to see it in order to count it (just hearing the bird does not count), and I have to be 100 percent sure about the species, otherwise I will not count it.

Now I am in tropical Queensland, Australia, on a junior year semester abroad, studying zoology at James Cook University. You bet that I have gone birding every chance I get. I know I have limited time and need to see as many species as possible because I do not know when I will be back. This mentality has developed me into a bit of a twitcher. There are about 750 species usually seen in Australia. My list is at 176 right now. We will see how large that list grows. Whenever I return to my dorm from a morning birding session, with my binoculars and bird guide in hand, my new Australian friends either laugh or are really curious. They ask me if all 20-year-olds in America go bird-watching like I do.They ask me why I do it and what is so great about it. They just don’t understand.

Meanwhile my friend Clare Durkin ’08 is doing a semester abroad in Brisbane, hundreds of miles south. While at Exeter we were both day students, and we live only 10 minutes away from one another in New Hampshire. We decided to meet up in the tropical tourist town of Cairns, Queensland, and we reminisced from sunup to sundown. Revisiting Exeter memories on practically the other side of the world was uplifting and surreal at the same time. Some memories from Exeter never get old, no matter what kind of foreign setting you are in.

Between all the laughs and stories about Elm Street Dining Hall or Exeter Lax, we managed to venture into the surrounding wilderness.We snorkeled and saw the Great Barrier Reef; we went into the small bit of ancient tropical rainforest in Australia; and thank goodness Clare (continued on page 111) understands the world of birding, as she was enrolled in

Ornithology at Exeter with me.

So we dedicated a whole day to the birds.

I found a retired elder who was happy to take us into the foothills surrounding the town of Cairns. It was a beautiful day, with the low morning sun above the distant bay, and lush green eucalyptus forest carpeting the landscape.The Rainbow Bee-eater, the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, the Wompoo Pigeon . . . the list went on. In one day we racked up more than 50 species.

As a biologist who has been stuck in the temperate zone his entire life, I found the exponentially more biologically diverse tropics a treat. But what made that day so special was that it made me remember the fun we had that senior spring—whether it was walking the boardwalk at Plum Island in hopes of warbler sightings or wander ing Seabrook Beach in search of plovers. Being in the presence of someone who started her lifelong passion in the same way [I did] made me reflect on how it all happened.

It helped me realize how much my teachers, like Mr. Aaronian and Mr. Matlack, affected who I am, and it reminded me that Exeter is a special place. With its cohesive environment and Harkness style, Exeter is one of those places where one person can have a large impact on another person’s life. I don’t think I realized how much people affected me and helped me grow when I was there. But as I grow older and look back, I am starting to better understand how the people at Exeter changed me, and I am sure I will understand even more in the future, wherever I am. Who knows where I will end up, studying what kind of exotic creature, birding with which Exonian? ­