Gilmour Magazine Summer 2009

A Sense of City Page 21

Staff Editor Kathleen C. Kenny Associate Editor Kathleen McDermott

Kindred Campers Page 14

Courage on the Court Page 55

Contributing Writers Nicolene Emerson James C. Farrar ’59 Mary Kate Farrar Vega ’93 Kathleen C. Kenny Kathleen McDermott Bridget McGinty ’02 William Seetch Arlene Smith Thomas Zeit ’88 Editorial Assistants Bernadette Coffey Corinne Dodero ’02 Norm Friedman Colleen F. Kiely ’96 Matthew LaWell Bridget McGinty '02 Arlene Smith Holly Yotter Photography John Bashian ’78 Neal Busch Nicolene Emerson James C. Farrar ’59 Mark Most Kevin Reeves Michael Spear

Breaking Bread for Honduras Page 34

Design/Production Canale Studio, Inc. Printing Oliver Printing

Digital Music Page 26

Director of Institutional Advancement Colleen F. Kiely ’96 Director of Development James C. Farrar ’59 Director of Annual Fund and Constituent Relations Mary Kate Farrar Vega ’93

Harnessing Cleveland’s Future Page 28 Dear Parents, We send this magazine to college-age graduates at their parents’ homes. Please forward this to keep your son or daughter informed about GA.

Sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross Notre Dame, Indiana

Gilmour Magazine

CONTENTS Features Wish You Were Here Alumni Junction . . . .

Get Set – Go! . . . . . .

Kindred Campers . . .

Alumni . . . .

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AlumNews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Lancer Spotlights . . . . . . .36, 37, 39, 41, 44, 46 Alumni of the Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Lancer Athletics Speaker Series Confronting Eating Disorders A Lesson of Forgiveness . . . .

Child Soldier . . . . . . . . . . . .

Unmasking Motherhood . . . .

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.16 .17 .18 .19

Time Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A Sense of City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

District Dynamo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Picture Perfect; Mathematically Sound Interpreting Science through the Arts Research Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . .

Surfing the Science Waves . . . . . . . .

Best Laid Plans . . . ............

Delving into Digital Music Making . .

Mastering Mandarin . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Harnessing Cleveland’s Future . . . . . .

Beam Me Up, Scotty . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Family Folklore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BioBlitz Marks Earth Day . . . . . . . . .

Caring for Young Kenyans . . . . . . . .

Headed to History Day Finals . . . . . .

Breaking Bread for Honduras . . . . . .

Connecting the Dots . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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.20 .21 .22 .23 .23 .24 .24 .25 .26 .27 .28 .29 .30 .31 .32 .33 .34 .35

Campus

Spicer Retires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Career Capstone: 500 Wins . . . . . . .

Changing of the Guard . . . . . . . . . .

Simon to Coach Varsity Football . . .

Media Favorite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Courage on the Court . . . . . . . . . . .

On the Fast Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Urban Recognized as Scholar-Athlete

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.49 .51 .51 .52 .53 .55 .56 .56

Brother Anthony Jorae, C.S.C. . . . . . . .

Murlan J. Murphy, Sr. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

James Riccardi ’51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Anne O’Donnell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Robert Spisak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gilmour Extends Sympathy to Families

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Memorial

Featur e

Wish You Were Here Gilmour alumni living and working abroad are making their mark all over the globe – and furthering their lifelong education along the way.

by Tom Zeit ’88

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ublin, Moscow, Cairo, Hong Kong, Melbourne – did you know how far GA is extending its influence? Gilmour has always attracted students from all over, but the school has also been sending its graduates to all corners of the world as professional success and personal adventure drive them to faraway locations.

Leaving the comforts of home can be a daunting and risky move, but it’s a mark of distinction for many of our alumni.

There’s a lot to be learned from such a bold move, and here’s the opportunity to absorb a little of the experience secondhand and vicariously enjoy the journey at the same time.

Tom Berry ’88 and family Treviso, Italy

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A sense of adventure Although most of these alumni were lured abroad by specific work opportunities, they see the attractions of living outside the U.S. as abundant. For many, the

cultural experience alone is irresistible. Take Paul Gismondi ’73, an investment banker who moved to London, England, “on a bit of a whim” in 1986 and took advantage of the booming financial services industry there. “I marvel at the sense of permanence and resilience one feels here, despite all the wars and disasters, especially in the British countryside,” he says. “In our village medieval church, for example, you can almost touch the generations of people who have lived in this place.”

“So much energy, so much going on,” says Ken Winter ’89, another Londoner (since 2004) and a development manager for a software company.

Ken Winter ’89 and wife Shannon “So many different cultures London, England living here – with every kind of market, food, restaurant, music, and theater – all so densely packed and easily accessible.”

Fun facts We asked these alumni about the biggest surprises – and the things they still don’t understand – about their adopted foreign locations. Some of the results could form a bizarre, but handy, travel guide.

“The Irish seem impervious to cold. Just this weekend it was 50 degrees and people were out in flip-flops and short sleeves. It’s shocking. Also, it’s a challenge to remember that, in general, if an Irish person is making fun of you, that means he or she likes you.”

—Sara Ruiz-Ware, Dublin, Ireland

Tom Berry ’88, who recently moved to Treviso, Italy, to be a vice president for Tecnica Marta Lewandowska ’97 Group outdoor Basel, Switzerland goods, loves “la dolce vita – the gracious people and their fantastic food and wine,” in addition to the diversity of the region. “There’s no single Italy,” he says, “but rather a collection of unique regions, each with their own customs, cuisine, and dialect.

People here are Trevisani first and Italians second.”

“I love that Europe is so small (relative to the U.S.), diverse, and easy to travel around,” comments Marta Lewandowska ’97, a doctoral student in Basel, Switzerland.

“Switzerland is a gorgeous country that’s very well-placed, and I really enjoy that although people here work hard, they take their vacation seriously.”

Business consultant Liz Watts Lee GO ’80 finds something similar in Melbourne, Australia, where she’s been since

“I’m always baffled by how clean and pretty it is everywhere.

Certainly this is due to various laws; following any sort of public event the streets are quickly cleaned and all trash disappears without a trace.

Marta Lewandowska And there are flowers everywhere! and Sara Ruiz-Ware ’97 I’ve never seen cities and towns plant and maintain so many flowers as I’ve seen in France and Switzerland.”

—Marta Lewandowska, Basel, Switzerland “Separate hot and cold water faucets.

Why would you ever want to have a hot stream and a cold stream at the same time, when with a combined tap you could have it cold, hot, or even warm?”

—Ken Winter, London, England Ken and Shannon Winter

“I don’t know why people here think I shouldn’t have an American accent anymore. Australians say I sound American, and Americans say I sound Australian.”

—Liz Watts Lee, Melbourne, Australia

Tom Berry and family

“Radicchio di Treviso. Our town is preoccupied with this bitter, red-leafed vegetable.

When it’s in season, it’s all radicchio all the time, and it provides for the town’s most important celebration: the Radicchio Festival.”

—Tom Berry, Treviso, Italy

Liz Watts Lee GO ’80 with family Melbourne, Australia 5

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Wish You Were Here (continued)

1996. “The quality of life here is fantastic,” she says. “There’s a great life-work balance.”

One of the greatest benefits of submerging yourself in another culture is the sense of discovery it provides, especially Lee Mazanec ’81 Cairo, Egypt when it upsets your preconceived notions, according to Chris Rhode ’93. A director of business development for News Corp. who moved to Moscow with trepidation in 2006, he reports, “Moscow is an incredibly vibrant and electric city. The quality of life is quite high and very comfortable – people don’t wait in lines for bread. It’s an expensive city, and Russia is experiencing growing pains as it tries to evolve from its communist legacy, but I feel privileged to be here while it’s going through this transition.”

Last fall, Lee Mazanec ’81, a senior manager for an HR firm, moved to Cairo, Egypt, “a 24-hour city that combines the activity of New York, L.A., and Chicago all in one.” He says, “The population bulges to 20 million during the day, but the everyday pace of work is much more relaxed than in the West. It’s the constant buzz of the call to prayer and the mishmash of traffic – with taxis, donkey carts, and scooters – that gets your blood pumping. I’m still wary of driving a car on my own in this city.”

Energy and diversity . . . they’re common discoveries.

“Everything moves so fast here, both in and out of the

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workplace,” says Diana Sankovic ’94 of Hong Kong, where she moved in 2006 as a vice president with Deutsche Bank AG. “People living here really need to readjust from this pace whenever they leave the city. But the ‘expat’ community is so vibrant and enjoyable that many people never return to their home countries.”

No place like home Although a few of these alumni have made their permanent home in a new country, most plan on moving back to the U.S. before long.

Family and friends are typically the strongest draws, but you might be surprised at the other things people really miss about their homeland.

“Good customer service,” says Winter. “The relative lack of air pollution,” says Sankovic. “Cavs basketball,” says Berry – and Mazanec Chris Rhode ’93 similarly misses following Cleveland Moscow, Russia and Ohio sports. “Snow,” says Gismondi, “not just a few sprinkles, but a real storm.”

But many of the most sorely missed items have to do with the incredible abundance in America that most of us take for granted: thousands of choices in grocery stores (Rhode); big breakfasts with pancakes, eggs, and bacon (Berry); good Mexican food and the ability to get things at almost any hour of the day (Lewandowska); and our wide variety of microbrewed beers (Winter).

Despite the diversity found in many of the world’s metropolises, the diversity found right here at home – an American abundance of a different kind – can also be missed. That’s what happened to Fred Cheney ’91, who has been in Calgary, Canada, for almost a decade. “There’s much other diversity here,” he says, “but I really miss Black American culture. There’s none like it anywhere else in the world, with its own culture, language, history, and identity, and it’s something Americans should be proud of.”

Separation can have other surprising effects. Says Sara Ruiz-Ware ’97, a strategist for Google who moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 2007: “It’s strange to be away from the cutting edge of what’s going on. More and more of the inside jokes of popular culture are going over my head. I’ve always been so informed culturally, and although I’m in an Englishspeaking country that’s close to the East Coast, I feel like I’m on another planet sometimes.”

A different view When these adventurous folks went abroad to learn about the rest of the world, it’s unlikely that many of them thought they’d learn something new about the United States. But sometimes a little distance can give you a surprisingly clear view – both good and bad – of our society.

“Cleveland is such a beautiful landscape to live and play in,” says Mazanec. “You forget how easy it is to drive 15 minutes to the Metroparks, play a round of golf, and then dash into Little Italy for a heaping bowl of homemade pasta.”

Adds Gismondi: “I really appreciate how lucky, Fred Cheney ’91 resourceful, Calgary, Canada

and optimistic my American compatriots are – doubly so for Clevelanders.”

Echoing that sentiment, Rhode says his new awareness of the hardships Diana Sankovic ’94 endured by the Hong Kong average Russian helped him to realize that the U.S. is “really one of the greatest countries in the world,” something he took for granted while living here.

Sankovic adds, “I deeply appreciate the concept of civil liberties and the relative openness of the U.S. “I always did appreciate what we have, but even more so as I travel to other countries and see how the majority of women in the world are imprisoned by their societies or religions in so many ways and dimensions.”

But like anyplace else, America’s flaws become just as apparent as its strengths. The stereotype of “The Ugly American” is alive and well outside our borders, reports Cheney. “I’m always proud to be an American first,” he says, “but I’ve seen these stereotypes – the arrogance and sense of entitlement, the lack of respect for other cultures – come to life right before my eyes, and it’s appalling.”

“The U.S. is really ignorant about the rest of the world,” Lewandowska concurs, “and this becomes more apparent each time I return to the U.S. The rest of the world knows so much about American society and culture, but Americans barely realize there’s more of a world out there.”

Winter suggests that the average Brit seems to know more about America than we ourselves do. “A couple of weeks ago, a random guy in a pub started a debate with me on whether or not allowing a filibuster in the Senate is a good idea. And I have many similar stories.”

“At the same time,” Lewandowska adds, “I’ve come to appreciate, even if I don’t condone it, the American attitude of doing whatever you want whenever you want.

Sometimes you have to break the rules. I may be doing everything wrong here in Switzerland, but that’s okay with me.”

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The Gilmour Legacy

Wish You Were Here (continued)

These graduates cited a wide variety of benefits of their experiences at Gilmour and Glen Oak as being particularly valuable to them in their international adventures.

“Intellectual curiosity,” offers Tom Berry ’88. “Gilmour does a great job of exposing its students to a wide variety of subjects and influences, and the classical liberal arts education, in turn, fosters both curiosity for, and appreciation of, the larger world and all its diversity.”

Liz Watts Lee

“Glen Oak exposed me to lots of people with different views and upbringing,” according to Liz Watts Lee ’80, “all of which have held me in good stead in such a culturally diverse place.”

“There’s no question that the sheer depth and quality of the teachers I had made all the difference,” says Diana Sankovic ’94.

“I was a boarder, and that certainly helped me to learn how to sink or swim in an independent and self-reliant way,” claims Paul Gismondi ’73.

“I’m still friends with a number of people from my class who are also travelers and whose adventures push me to explore more,” says Marta Lewandowska ’97.

Diana Sankovic

And Lee Mazanec ’81 believes that “a solid perspective on the world comes from your faith, which was reinforced by the curriculum and the stewardship of the Brothers of Holy Cross.

The formative years at Gilmour gave me an open mind and heart to enjoy every minute of my journey in life.”

Lee Mazanec

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Ruiz-Ware has learned a lot about the importance of strong social benefits. “Before leaving the U.S., I was fairly content with my social protection, but after five years in Europe I feel like I was truly naïve. It’s not perfect here by any means, but when I look to the future I realize that I’d rather live in a place where I can go to a doctor no matter what, where I’ll be protected if I lose my job, and where my kids can go to university and I don’t have to start saving for it now!

There are great things about living in the States, but we’re so business-centered that I don’t think people are cared for well enough.”

Perhaps Winter sums it up best: “People throughout the world admire the ideals America stands for, especially the idea that you can achieve anything with enough hard work and determination. But at the same time, we can learn heaps from the rest of the world.”

As Gilmour alumni continue to spread out across a shrinking globe, it’s worth acknowledging what valuable ambassadors they are, for they represent all of us, at the Academy, in the Cleveland area, and across the nation. And we’d be wise to remember how everything we do – from educating students, to conducting business, to maintaining personal relationships – can have an effect we can’t possibly foresee or even measure.

“It’s become apparent to me,” Winter concludes, “that in the U.S., across the board, we do most things right, and we do a lot of things very well. But we don’t do anything perfectly, so we should at least examine – and hopefully learn from and implement – the good things that others are doing.”

Alumni Junction “Get back. Get back. Get back to where you once belonged.”

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econnect with classmates, seek new career opportunities, post resumes, and get the inside track about working in a given company or profession.

Alumni, take heed of the famous Beatles refrain.

Gilmour has just launched a tool to help you do all of this and more.

Gilmour Connect, the Academy’s new alumni online community, will amp up alumni’s chances to network and mine new resources in today’s struggling economy. They will be able to upload resumes and share ideas about professional development.

College students searching for internships and summer jobs or new graduates entering the job market can interact with alumni for leads. By now, Gilmour graduates have already been deluged with postcards, email blasts, and other notifications about this new opportunity. “The online community will capture all 4,500 alumni in one place so they can search, find, and connect with one another,” notes Mary Kate Farrar Vega ’93, Gilmour director of alumni and constituent relations.

Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, Twitter – there’s a whole new world of social networking sites alumni frequent.

When Gilmour was scouting for a designer for Gilmour Connect, it selected a company that could tie the Gilmour site to Facebook. “This allows users in through a backdoor,” says Holly Yotter, Gilmour database and web communications officer. Facebook and Gilmour Connect work in tandem to create a seamless transition from the Facebook pages to Gilmour’s alumni online community, says Assistant Headmaster Todd Sweda.

“Hopefully, it will become second nature when alumni are communicating with their friends on Facebook to

jump over to our online community site,” he says.

Gilmour gains too, by keeping apprised of alumni’s whereabouts. “Our younger alums are much more transient, so this alumni online community will provide a constantly updated profile page, home address, and email address, so alums can be in touch with each other – and Gilmour can remain in contact with them,” Farrar Vega says. Alums can post class notes to share information about families and careers, upload photos, check the online directory to reach classmates, sign up for alumni association events, and make plans with those attending Gilmour events.

Gilmour expects this new online experience will be popular with its graduates. Last year, Kathy Kenny, Upper School English instructor and director of public relations and marketing, set up a group page for alumni on Facebook. More than 1,500 Gilmour alumni have joined the page so far.

Alumni, who want to register for Gilmour’s online community, can visit www.gilmour.org, click on “Alumni” then “Alumni Community” click on “Register Now,” and follow the simple instructions on the page.

“It’s up to alumni now,” Farrar Vega says, “to activate Gilmour Connect to take advantage of its benefits and tools.”

Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Incorporated

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Featur e

GET SET–GO!

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hile families stock up for Thanksgiving, Gilmour Academy’s bold new Athletic Center will be open for business as winter sports return to campus in a big way. November 13 is the scheduled completion date for Gilmour’s spectacular gymnasium and natatorium.

“I had the opportunity to walk through our new Athletic Center and the view one gets in the gymnasium is awesome,” says Gilmour Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. “It is shaping up as an exciting structure and it will enhance the programs Gilmour has to offer.”

The project is part of the $20 million PROMISE AND RENEWAL: The Capital and Endowment Campaign for Gilmour Academy. To date, 68 percent of the capital campaign funds have been raised to support the Athletic Center and to increase endowment.

Gilmour is gearing up for its dazzling new Athletic Center that depicts the dynamics and energy of the Gilmour athlete. Its state-of-the-art gymnasium will feature a basketball/volleyball court, which will accommodate two practice cross-courts and seating for 600 fans. The eight-lane concrete-and-tile natatorium will be a faster pool for competition and include a special instructional pool shallow enough for smaller children. Both the gym and pool will make it easier for one-on-one coaching.

For a while, it seemed that Panzica Construction just couldn’t catch a break. For starters, January was “the second snowiest month ever recorded” in Cleveland, according to the National Weather Service as reported in The Plain Dealer. “We got snow early in the season and it kept snowing,” says Brother Charles Smith, C.S.C., Gilmour’s physical plant coordinator. “We also had some of the coldest weather we have ever had.” It was -13 degrees on January 16, the coldest day in Cleveland in 15 years.

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Enclosing the building in this kind of weather was no small feat. Getting the walls up, the windows in, and the roof on was a huge job. “There were many days when it would have been treacherous to try to do any roof work,” Brother Charles says. “The temperatures were freezing, yet the workers were installing windows and the cold made it difficult to set heavy mortar properly,” he adds.

The workers used tents and heaters, so they could continue to set the mortar.

Panzica faced other formidable construction challenges, such as joining many diverse materials at different angles and curves. “While the design of the Athletic Center creates a unique and magnificent building, we faced more obstacles working out the details of how everything fits together than we would with a more basic structure,” says Ashley Lanphear, Panzica project manager. Problems with the foundation also needed to be addressed, Brother Charles says. Some of the foundation from the original gym and pool were inadequate for the new Athletic Center, and workers had to do additional excavation with the old Rockne Gym foundation.

After the gymnasium was enclosed and the slabs were poured for the concrete floors, the natatorium was enclosed so the pool could be excavated. Workers waited to dig the hole for the pool, so that it would not inadvertently fill with water that would have to be pumped out, Lanphear explained. “Logistically we needed to fill in the old pool to allow a flat and stable surface for the cranes to set the steel,” she says.

To stay on schedule, more crews have been added.

While construction is being finalized, the finish work – painting and installing floors, doors, hardware, and interior glass – is under way. In the coming months, the crew will outfit the building with sports equipment, window treatments, shower fixtures, and other accessories. They

Architect’s Notes also will complete the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work. During the summer, the Rockne locker rooms will be renovated, with landscaping and paving around the Athletic Center to follow.

“The furniture and carpeting have been selected as well as the linoleum for the corridors for the lobby,” Brother Charles says. The flooring is durable and easy to clean and the fabric for the upholstery in the student lounge will wear well.

Brother Charles has been working with Development Director Jim Farrar ’59 to select historic photos of Gilmour for Heritage Hall. This area will be used to display the trophies and memorabilia of winning athletes, teams, and distinguished alumni, and to recognize victors in speech and debate, drama, and other competitions. The Athletic Center will feature athletes in action.

“It will be a very functional and attractive building,” Brother Robert says, “without being extravagant.”

Jim Farrar ’59 and Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C., lead hard hat tours for the Class of 2009

A gateway into Gilmour’s campus – that’s how Peter Bolek views Gilmour Academy’s new Athletic Center. The gymnasium reflects the dynamics of basketball players in motion. With its curving roofs that move back and forth in a linear motion, the natatorium evokes swimming laps in a pool. Bolek is principal of Holzheimer Bolek + Meehan Architects, the firm that designed Gilmour’s Athletic Center.

From Bolek’s vantage point, the clean lines of the Athletic Center’s exterior metal panels and the smooth face of the masonry embody the athletic action inside. At 12,000 square feet, the new natatorium is almost double the size of the original and at 16,400 square feet, the gymnasium also is almost twice the size as its predecessor.

Bolek points out some other key features: • The gymnasium’s arena-style seating with unobstructed site lines • Gym bleachers that retract to create a performance stage • Ample bleacher seating for the natatorium with views from lobby • Multi-functional lobby to accommodate crowds and events • New lockers for the natatorium; refurbished locker rooms in the Rockne Building • Concession area with accessibility from main lobby and gym • Café-style seating in the gym’s east concourse on a deck above the bleachers • Glass walls throughout that let visitors see activity in all three venues – gym, natatorium, and fieldhouse • Dividable classroom with room-darkening shades and projection • Aerobic workout space with stationary bikes and elliptical and rowing machines above the coaches’ offices • Enhanced Wi-Fi technology throughout for communication, display and presentation, game record keeping, lighting and building systems, and sound systems • Heritage Hall that showcases Gilmour teams and school history.

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“The Lennon challenge is an incredible example of faithful and generous giving that has been set for all of Gilmour’s alumni and friends,” says Ness.

Scott and Deanna Carlson Ness ’95 with Elanna, Ethan, and Emery Elizabeth

A Rousing Endorsement

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eanna Carlson Ness ’95 knows firsthand how important athletics can be in shaping students’ lives. As a Gilmour senior, she captained the Girls Varsity Basketball team, of which she was a member for four years. Ness also played volleyball two years, taught swimming lessons at Gilmour’s Day Camp, and was a Gilmour lifeguard.

“Basketball and swimming have been integral parts of my life,” Ness says. “To see Gilmour updating to state-of-the-art facilities is exciting to students, alumni, and the community,” says Ness. Married to Scott Ness, a Lutheran minister, the couple lives near Columbus and has three children – Ethan, Elanna, and Emery Elizabeth.

Ness has fond memories of Gilmour – Vern Weber leading the pep rallies and the packed stands for Lancer basketball games against Hawken. “Gilmour is a place that formed much of who I am today,” she says. “It is where I married and it is a place where I still visit when we come back to town. It is a special place that I want to continue to see succeed for many years to come.” By supporting Gilmour financially, Ness feels that she is able to reconnect to these experiences and ensure that current and future students will have those opportunities.

The alum has contributed to the new Athletic Center because she believes her Gilmour education helped her to gain knowledge and wisdom and prepared her for life. The Academy also is where she learned the value of teamwork, cooperation, and hard work. “It is these lessons that have led me to contribute to this project,” Ness says. “Updating the athletic complex will enhance Gilmour’s ability to

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continue to mold and form student-athletes.” This support also coincides with her belief that education and learning are not just reserved for the classroom, and that athletics enhance student life by involving students in a world beyond themselves.

Contributing to Gilmour is her way of saying thank you, Ness notes. The amount one gives – whether it is a little or a lot – makes no real difference, she believes.

“What is important is that the alumni are able and willing to join together and support our school,” she says.

Ness is enthusiastic that her gift will be stretched further by matching funds. Last year, the Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust began to match campaign gifts dollar-fordollar up to $250,000 from graduates of Gilmour Classes 1988-2008. “The Lennon challenge is an incredible example of faithful and generous giving that has been set for all of Gilmour’s alumni and friends,” says Ness.

Even though 14 years have passed since Ness graduated from Gilmour, she is still committed to its mission, which she regards as a holistic pursuit of excellence that makes Gilmour shine as a place of learning and education.

Straight Talk from a Donor Gary Schambs, Skylar Schambs ’14, and Faith Pescatore

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eading west on Cedar Road toward Gilmour, Faith Pescatore looks to the right at the light dancing off the reflective roof of the Academy’s bold new athletic complex. “You can see the sprawling Athletic Center and a cool view of the rest of the school,” Pescatore says. “Sports and physical fitness are a huge part of a child’s education.”

Part of the Parent Division Committee for PROMISE AND RENEWAL: The Capital and Endowment Campaign for Gilmour Academy, Pescatore and her husband, Gary Schambs, are longtime supporters of the Gilmour Community. “We believe in giving back locally because that is where you see the most results. When you give to a local nonprofit organization, you can meet its leaders and see its mission accomplishments right in your own back yard,” Pescatore says. “We could see the facility and knew where our dollars were going and that they would not only support our daughter, but the other students who will use the complex.”

The Gilmour parent thinks that the new Athletic Center will increase student pride and may attract children to participate in sports who aren’t ordinarily interested. She also is enthusiastic about the new gymnasium, Heritage Hall, and the student lounge.

“It will be great to have a gathering place for students when they finish practice,” Pescatore says.

Her daughter, Skylar Schambs ’14, who was 3 years old when she began Gilmour’s Montessori program, swims competitively, so the whole family was excited at the prospect of a new natatorium.

Her husband practiced in Gilmour’s old natatorium as an Orange High School student in the late 1960s, so they both knew the old pool needed to be replaced.

The natatorium’s special instruction pool for younger children is a plus, Pescatore notes. “The earlier you can get kids in the water the better,” she says. “Swimming

is something you can do your entire life to promote fitness and health.” It also offers life lessons about teamwork, time management, and competition and helps children face their fears, she maintains.

The Gilmour mom is impressed that the Academy is always looking to be at the cutting edge and that it is committed to offering students the finest education available. She accepted a role with the capital campaign wholeheartedly. “When you really believe in something, you want to send the message to other parents and encourage them to give back,” she says.

Pescatore understands that in the current economic climate people are careful about making investments and in considering where their money will best be spent. “I believe it is in the school, the education it offers, and in the endowment, which the capital campaign supports. It is really the best investment you could ever spend,” she says. “I used to tell everyone that Gilmour was a top-notch school even before the athletic complex was being built. The new Athletic Center puts it over the top.”

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Featur e

Kindred Campers W

hen erstwhile students salt away their textbooks for the summer and put aside their thirst for learning, wouldn’t it be great to offer them exciting camp experiences that challenge their minds? Enter Gilmour’s Weekly Camps, targeting specific interests. This year, several favorites like the Harry Potter film class and the digital music camp were back, and new theme camps were added.

So your child wants to be the next Rachel Carson or Al Gore? “Calling All Nature Lovers” was just the ticket as campers immersed themselves in studying plants and animals. Their daily excursions took them to Holden Arboretum, Cleveland Metroparks North Chagrin Reservation, Euclid Creek Quarry, the Mayfield Village Wetlands, and the Great Blue Heron Rookery in Chardon.

Campers collected specimens and created art pieces from them; plant vegetables, herbs, and flowers; and even made a Japanese Ikebana sculpture. They also went bird-watching and kept nature journals. Says Mary Beth Hayes-Zatko, camp instructor and Gilmour Montessori directress, “More and more research indicates the need to reacquaint children with nature and outdoor activity.”

At “Black Holes, Time Warps, and T. Rex” camp, grade school youth learned faux science from the

14

real thing as they explored the future of the universe and the bombardment of asteroids. They researched, designed, and built starships; constructed a Mars habitat; and investigated the cataclysm that ended the reign of the dinosaurs.

For those with an artistic or literary bent, several other new camps suited their fancy. Dancing the day away kept campers fit as they developed body rhythm, balance, flexibility, body alignment, and kinesthetic awareness. The children practiced yoga and did daily Pilates as they encountered jazz, hip-hop, ballet, and modern dance. Future media moguls thrived at “What’s the Scoop?” camp and created their own news magazines. With Gilmour camp as their

So your child wants to be the next Rachel Carson or Al Gore? “Calling all Nature Lovers” was just the ticket as campers immersed themselves in studying plants and animals.

“Harry Potter: The Missing Scene.” Other moviemakers explored Cleveland destinations and made a video of their excursions. Stage performers learned to act in ensembles and individually at theater camp as they also made costumes and sets. And youngsters made their own cameras, took photos, and discovered the magic of the darkroom process in photography camp.

What does it take to “Be a Digital Rock Star”?

Campers found out firsthand when they composed and performed original music using the latest software.

According to Gilmour Music Instructor David Kilkenney, who talked with teachers from similar digital music camps, “they said that ours was way more advanced and fun.” beat, they reported on events and prepared articles for publication while honing journalistic skills – writing, reporting, editing, photographing, even using computers for layout.

Move over Batman and Spiderman – competition is coming from campers who enrolled in “The Art of Action Figures” when they designed and built their own toys as they sculpted in polymer clay, made flexible joints, and created expressive features for their characters. Those interested in documenting family vacations, athletic feats, or school events signed on for a digital scrapbooking camp where they learned to frame images, arrange them on pages, and apply special effects and techniques.

“Creators, Characters and Conflict in Movies” developing an original storyline and characters in film production – was a continuation of last year’s

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Speaker Series

Educating the Heart:

A Moral Compass Gilmour Academy Speaker Series

CONFRONTING EATING DISORDERS O

ne veteran in the battle against eating disorders in young people refers to their mindset as “magical thinking.” The rationale is “I can control what I eat and what I don’t eat,” says Trisha Gura, a science writer and specialist on eating disorders. “They feel like they have control over everything even though they don’t.”

Gura has firsthand experience with eating disorders. As a teen, she was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (refusal to eat, resulting in severe weight loss) when her weight dropped below 90 pounds. With therapy, she has “recovered and gone on with life.”

Gura, who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Northwestern University, says her interest in the issue is both personal and professional. She is the author of “Lying in Weight: the Hidden Epidemic of Eating Disorders in Adult Women.”

When she visited Gilmour Academy, Gura met with students, faculty, and parents. With the students, Gura focused on body image and self-esteem, including behaviors such as dieting and exercising to achieve body image ideals touted by the media. Through workshops, she engaged students in deconstructing media images of celebrities and athletes, role playing, and exploring the value of physical activities such as sports, dancing, and breathing exercises.

The author met with faculty to help make them more aware of eating disorders as they emerge and ways to prevent them. She described who is at risk and behaviors that characterize eating disorders, which in addition to anorexia include bulimia nervosa (binging and purging). Gura also discussed binge eating disorder, which is related to compulsive eating behavior.

In talking with parents, she presented a primer of what eating disorders are and why some children are prone to them, reassuring parents that they are not at fault, but that “biology, culture, and circumstance all intersect to create a problem.”

Formerly a reporter for the Chicago Tribune covering medicine and science, Gura emphasizes

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that “Eating disorders are not about eating or weight.

You have to be born a certain way to get an eating disorder,” she says. A profile of someone at risk would be a perfectionist and overachiever who does not like to make mistakes, and who works hard and worries a lot, notes Gura. She pointed out that researchers are searching for a gene that might be linked with eating disorders and have found mutations, or differences in the brain, that might be a clue.

As part of her presentation, Gura highlighted warning signs – concealing eating habits, refusing to eat with others, and making frequent trips to the bathroom after eating. She urged parents to “have an open dialogue with your kids even if they ask you personal questions about yourself. You need to be willing to open up about yourself and discuss your own attitude about weight and body images.” She warned against nagging and badgering children about what they eat, and how much they exercise and compromising their privacy.

“Don’t try to fix their problems,” she says, pointing out that part of self-esteem and turning away from negative coping behaviors requires parents to step aside and let children fix problems while perhaps brainstorming with them about strategies. Parents who are concerned that their child might have an eating disorder should “do something sooner rather than later,” Gura says, “because successful treatment is much harder with adults. Make them feel good not just about their bodies, but the kind of creative endeavors they might want to undertake.” She recommends focusing instead on who they are and what they are doing that is positive.

Gura’s visit was part of a series of family workshops and lectures called Educating the Heart: A Moral Compass, supported by the family of Michael Pender, a 1990 alumnus who died the following year.

His family established the speaker series in Michael’s memory.

A LESSON

OF

Forgiveness It

might be hard to fathom how a 7-year-old Sudanese and when you are with others, God is boy could be torn from his family and survive the always in between.” atrocities of a 10-year captivity, and still find it in his He believes that it heart to forgive, but Francis Bok is no ordinary man.

The author of “Escape from Slavery” addressed Gilmour was through God’s help that he was able Academy Middle and Upper School students earlier in to finally escape. the school year about his book, a summer reading As a teenager, Bok assignment for the students. Described as a “modern fled to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and spent slave narrative,” the book tells of Bok’s years in three years in prison and refugee camps before captivity at the hands of Muslim farmers and about reaching Cairo. With the help of the United Nations, his escape to freedom. In addressing the Gilmour Bok came to North Dakota in 1999. The following students, “he encouraged the (Gilmour) community year, he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations to keep hope and faith when all seems lost,” notes Committee becoming the first escaped slave ever to do Bobby O’Brien ’10 in The Lance. so. Now an anti-slavery activist in Boston, Bok speaks In 1986, Bok’s Arab captors swept him up during to various groups on behalf of the Sudanese. Despite a raid in the marketplace near his village in southern the horrors and deprivations he has known, he does Sudan while he was selling his mother’s eggs and not hate his captors. “God preaches peanuts. The terrorized child watched about how we should forgive. I am men, women, and children being “Slavery is all the same. more with living peace, reconciliation, slaughtered by the militia including a young girl who was shot in the head It doesn’t matter where it and forgiveness,” he says.

Francis Bok knew nothing of the because she could not stop crying after happened or to whom. slavery that had existed in the United seeing her parents shot.

When you are a slave you States until he had been in this country Bok was taken by horseback to a year and met Civil Rights leader northern Sudan and was forced into don’t have freedom.” slavery. He tended goats and cattle, Francis Bok Coretta Scott King; he cried when he watched “Roots” noting, “Slavery slept with them in a shed, and had is all the same. It doesn’t matter where minimal contact with people. He tried it happened or to whom. When you to escape twice only to be beaten and are a slave you don’t have freedom.” have his master threaten to kill him. “I told myself that The activist met President George W. Bush at the I would rather die than be a slave because I hated the Sudan Peace Act signing ceremony and told him of the way they treated me and the other slaves,” Bok says. plight of his countrymen. “The president is the only In captivity, he recalled the kindness and one to help bring peace in Sudan,” Bok states. The compassion of his parents. “My father used to carry activist is enthusiastic about the historic changes taking me on his shoulders when he would visit friends,” the young man remembers. One of eight children, Bok place in the United States. “This is a great moment for black people all over the world to have the first said that his father called him “tall man.” He told his African-American president of the United States. son that he had to have a dream, and when he grew I hope he will be able to bring peace to Darfur.” up he would “do something a tall man could do.”

His mother, who taught him about religion, used to say, “Francis, when you are alone God is watching you

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Speaker Series

Child Soldier I

nstead of playing dodge ball like many American children, Loung Ung was trained to sidestep strafing bullets as a child soldier in Cambodia during the genocide inflicted

by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979.

Two million Cambodians died including her parents, two siblings, and 20 other family members.

Now a human rights activist living in the Loung Ung and Cindy Sabik United States, Ung recently discussed her experience with Gilmour Academy Middle and Upper School students. She focused on her second book, “Lucky Child,” which contrasts her life in America with that of her older sister, Chou, who remained in Cambodia.

“I’ve had the The book was required reading chance to do for Gilmour students.

When Ung first something that’s returned to Cambodia in 1995, the contrast worth my being between the two sisters’ lives was alive.” dramatic. Chou Loung Ung was in an arranged marriage. She lived in a village with no electricity, running water, or doctors to assist with childbirth, and Ung wanted to tell her sister’s story.

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Daughters of a Chinese mother and Cambodian father, the sisters spent their early years in Phnom Penh, where their father was a government official before Pol Pot. In her memoir, “First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers,” the author narrates what her life was like as her family and country were torn apart. When her family was forced to flee the city, her mother separated from 5-year-old Ung and her other children because as orphans they would have a better chance of survival.

“During those four years, Cambodia was like a prison; we were made to live in villages more akin to labor camps,” she notes on a website called Cambodian Tales. “I had to learn to cheat, steal, fight, and kill to survive.” But it was not the physical training that was so hard; it was the emotional training and brainwashing. Ung explains that for many years she has been on a “journey of learning to trust that people don’t want to harm me.”

When Ung was 10, she fled to Thailand with her brother, Meng, and his wife, Eang, and lived in a refugee camp before coming to the United States. The family had been able to raise funds for only three of them to leave Cambodia. Recalling the day she left Chou in Cambodia, she says, “The last image I had of my sister was her face crumbling into tears. I was on my brother’s bicycle, and as we peddled away, our hands were separated. “I was selected because I would have the most years to take advantage of the U.S. education system.”

Ung lived with Meng and Eang in Vermont and later earned a baccalaureate degree in political science from St. Michael’s College. She and her husband, Mark, Priemer live in Shaker Heights.

“The last image I had of my sister was her face crumbling into tears.

I was on my brother’s bicycle, and as we peddled away, our hands were separated.”

Loung Ung Though Ung once felt her sister led a life of deprivation, she no longer views it that way. “Chou is happy and healthy, and is a grandmother surrounded by sons and daughters, aunts and uncles, and a grandmother,” Ung says. “She lives life fully in her way, has her own business, and lives off the land.”

During her visit to Gilmour, Ung told the students they were attending a phenomenal school. “We all have secrets, pain, and trauma, and it is important to have someone to talk with,” she says. “Being at a school like Gilmour, you have teachers who are there for you, who will listen, and who want to see you succeed.”

As spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine-Free World, Ung travels internationally talking about critical humanitarian issues. She feels that she has the opportunity to “redeem” herself when she talks to others about genocide and says, “I’ve had the chance to do something that’s worth my being alive.”

Loung with Ryan Shepard ’11 and Caton Gomillion ’11

Unmasking Motherhood The world is full of women blindsided by the unceasing demands of motherhood, still flabbergasted by how a job can be terrific and torturous, involving and utterly tedious, all at the same time. The world is full of women made to feel strange because what everyone assumes comes naturally is so difficult to do – never mind to do well.

Anna Quindlen

M

any moms can identify with the thoughts Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Anna Quindlen suggests in her take on motherhood. In February, the Lower School began hosting a five-part series of free one-hour seminars to help mothers develop life management and coping skills geared to the daily challenges of motherhood. The seminars were designed to get mothers to reconnect with who they are and become better mothers. The family of Michael Pender ’90 funds the series.

Lower School moms signed up for the initial seminar, “Renew, Refresh, Rediscover You,” presented by psychologist Sharon Nittinger. It explored ways to balance responsibilities, restore self-worth, and shed destructive attitudes. “Children change you; there is no doubt, and that is good,” she says, adding that women do not need to lose themselves in the process of becoming a mom.

Specializing in training and development, Nittinger combines academic research with real-life solutions in her seminars and workshops. She holds a master’s degree in psychology from Loyola College in Maryland and one in management from the University of Maryland. She sees herself more as a coach than an expert. During her March seminar, she focused on inner dialogue, or self-talk as she calls it, and examined faulty thinking and beliefs that can strip moms of their self-worth. “Self-talk determines how you feel because you feel how you think,” Nittinger says.

Nittinger, who has two children, hopes to help mothers gain understanding and insight. Her motherhood seminars are based on her book, “Rediscovering the Person You Lost: A Workbook for You.” Other discussions featured in the series addressed marriage and communication with spouses, managing guilt and undue expectations, and the importance of time management.

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Campus

“KAIROS.”

Students are encouraged to listen carefully and to talk openly as they seek to find God in their families and in one another.

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In Greek it means “the right or opportune time,” or “God’s time.” To Gilmour Academy students who have completed the four-day KAIROS retreat, it means even more. KAIROS is close to their hearts; it spiritually exposes their core.

Described as intense, individual, mysterious and contemplative, KAIROS is based on Christian theology especially as it relates to Christian community. It centers on prayer, the sacraments, participation in discussions and exercises designed to keep its lessons alive throughout one’s life. The retreat is offered three times during junior year at the Jesuit Retreat House.

KAIROS focuses on the revelation of God’s love for each person through the people and experiences a person encounters in life. It also integrates the idea that through the gift of the Holy Spirit, man is able to “go forth and proclaim this love.” Wayne Lobue, associate in Pastoral Ministry and Student Life, has helped to oversee the development of this special retreat.

During talks and discussions on different themes throughout the retreats, 12 student leaders and nine adults, pose the kind of profound questions to the participants that young people ask themselves about life, God and faith. “For the juniors who make the retreat, the days spent together listening to the talks and sharing allow them to see that they are not alone with their questions on their spiritual journey,” says Bob Beach, a religious studies instructor at Gilmour.

Following each talk, students break into small groups to share their own faith journey as it relates to each topic. Students are encouraged to listen carefully and to talk openly as they seek to find God in their families and in one another.

During one part of the retreat, the group speaks of God’s love, which a young person learns first through his or her parents. This is incorporated into the closing ceremony in Our Lady Chapel, where students share what the KAIROS experience has meant to them and talk about those who have supported them throughout their lives and at the retreat. This reflection correlates with one of the program’s goals for each student: to appreciate not only his or her own value, but also that of parents, relatives, and friends who make the student’s life meaningful.

Although KAIROS retreats are held all over the world now, the first retreat in the United States was in 1976 in Illinois. Since Gilmour began its own KAIROS program during the 2000-2001 school year, it has offered the program 20 times. Beach was part of a collaborative effort made up of members from the religious studies department and the pastoral ministry team that initiated the KAIROS program at Gilmour. “We knew of a KAIROS program at a local Jesuit school and asked if a few of our students could attend their retreat with the idea of having them become the first student leaders for Gilmour’s KAIROS,” he explains.

A Sense of City U Students who complete KAIROS as juniors volunteer to lead the retreat their senior year. Lobue says that it warms him to see the seniors practice talks, help each other as they struggle to pull together their messages, and organize many retreat details.

“The primary responsibility is to have juniors trust us as leaders and trust their peers,” says John King ’09, rector for the February retreat. “Without trust, the retreat doesn’t take full shape.”

Tommy Hallal ’09, also a student leader at that retreat, was intent on sharing what he learned at KAIROS “. . . so that others may gain a new perspective on living and understanding their lives by helping them grow and become more insightful.”

Although the students must make up the work they missed during the retreat, they come away with a feeling that it was a most worthwhile experience, says Brian Horgan, director of the Upper School. He believes that KAIROS fosters a greater peer network.

“I know for a fact that the older students who lead the younger ones through the KAIROS experience become confidants for them,” he says.

Madison Mawby ’09 saw her KAIROS experience as an opportunity to relax and contemplate what is important to her and how she could improve her life.

“My relationship with God was strengthened to a level I didn’t know was possible,” the graduated senior says.

According to Lobue, the faculty who assist with KAIROS also attest to the power and mystique of the retreat.

For one Gilmour teacher, who was part of the first KAIROS retreat as a student, the memory remains vivid.

“I will always remember KAIROS as one of my most defining experiences and one that truly molded my heart,” says Coreen Gorbett Schaefer ’02, now an instructor in English and creative writing at the Academy. “I left the retreat feeling closer to God, my classmates, and my teachers,” she recalls. “It is amazing to me that after almost 10 years, the students still feel that same energy.”

rban Plunge sounds like a dive into frigid waters to usher in the new year. At Gilmour, though, it refers to an immersion experience for juniors who delve into the possibilities and plight of Cleveland’s inner city.

Urban Plunge is part of the junior-level religion curriculum that focuses on social justice.

Some participants spend a portion of the day on a walking tour of historic Ohio City, one of Cleveland’s oldest and most ethnically-diverse neighborhoods, led by a resident of the Catholic Worker house, which is affiliated with the social reform movement.

“The goal is to get students out into our own city to see for themselves some of the issues inner-city residents face,” says Sal Caruso, a Gilmour religious studies instructor.

Poverty, hunger, homelessness, and gentrification are some of the issues the students confront during the Urban Plunge experience.

Caruso notes that Ohio City, on Cleveland’s Near West Side, has a “densely populated set of social service agencies.” Gilmour Trevor Landgraff ’10 students visit several of the agencies to find out how they assist the neighborhood and to explore volunteer possibilities. They also examine how the neighborhood is changing and its impact on some of the poorest citizens who are being displaced.

Another group of the Urban Plunge students spend time at Gilmour’s partner school, St. Adalbert, tutoring elementary school students, working with them on study skills, and assisting with music and gym classes. “The intention,” Caruso says, “is to broaden our students’ horizons and perspectives about Church involvement in promoting social justice in the city.”

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Campus

District Dynamo Brooke Marie Jarvis ’10

Taylor Seay ’10

Natalie Pike ’11

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F

orensics is a perennial Gilmour bright spot over Cleveland’s long, gray winters. This winter, the school’s Speech and Debate Team topped 23 competitors to capture its 21st consecutive Ohio High School Speech League’s Northern Ohio District Championship. Three Gilmour students were named district champions during the competition: Brooke Marie Jarvis ’10 and Taylor Seay ’10 in the Duo Interpretation category, and Natalie Pike ’11 in Humorous Interpretation. Their performances earned them the right to compete at the state tournament in March.

Once again, the team was primed for victory thanks to driving force Gay Janis, Gilmour’s speech and debate coach for 22 years. Inducted into the Ohio High School Speech League Hall of Fame at the state tournament, Janis has been instrumental in Gilmour’s team ranking in the top one percent of National Forensic League (NFL) chapters.

Three Gilmour students qualified for the state competition in the U.S. Extemporaneous category: Alec Janda ’10, Bobby O’Brien ’10, and Lexi Antunez ’10. Alexandria Pilla ’09 earned enough points to compete in Original Oratory; Gilmour’s Speech and Kristin Vaughn ’09 and Pat Fagan ’10 were named alternate qualifiers in Duo Interpretation, and Debate Team captures Ali Lencewicz ’11 was an alternate qualifier in Oratorical Interpretation. Casey Weinfurtner ’11 its 21st consecutive and Liz Coerdt ’11 advanced to state to District Championship. compete in Dramatic Interpretation, while Kenzie Alexander ’11 was named an alternate.

Because of their ranking in the district competition, Nick Pilla ’10 and Peter Neundorfer ’10 qualified for Humorous Interpretation; Chelsea Myles ’11, Marshall Drew ’10, and Antunez advanced in Student Congress. Alternate qualifiers in Congress were Will O’Brien ’09 and Allie Kasuboski ’11.

The Gilmour team made a strong showing at the state tournament and finished fifth in cumulative sweeps out of 70 schools participating. At state, three Gilmour students – Jarvis, Seay, and Pike – merited the right to compete in the National Forensic League National Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama, June 14-19. Antunez took first place at the NFL national Student Congress qualifier and will join them. Seay took second place at the Sons of the American Revolution Oratorical Contest and competed in the state tournament.

Antunez finished second of 148 competitors in Student Congress, and Myles was a semifinalist in that category. Pike and Alexandria Pilla were quarterfinalists in Humorous Interpretation and Original Oratory, respectively.

Based on their performance at state, Alexandria Pilla, Antunez, Myles, and Pike earned the right to compete in the National Catholic Forensic League Grand National Tournament May 23-24 in Albany, New York. Nick Pilla, Neundorfer, and Weinfurtner qualified as alternates.

Picture Perfect; Mathematically Sound M

ove over Ptolemy, Pythagoras, and Euclid. Some pretty heavy competition is headed your way.

Three recent Gilmour Academy seniors walked off with Best of Show in the first Cleveland Clinic eXpressions Math Program and were recognized at a reception at the InterContinental Hotel. Through their projects, students showed the role mathematics plays in scientific research and the art and writing mathematics inspires.

The team of Jamie Bergsman ’09, Brock Raffaele ’09, and Stephen Seliskar ’09 used advanced mathematics to discover why a piece of art is pleasing to the eye.

They analyzed how different frequencies affect the way a graph is viewed, converted the information into binary language, and created a mathematical model for their project called “Interpreting Mathematical Data in Different Mediums.”

A second group of Gilmour students earned a Red Ribbon award for their project entitled “The Hidden Beats of Life.” They applied math to literature by linking it to the rhyme scheme of a poem, and tied math to art by designing a piece based on the amount of time a child spends in the womb. The students in the group were Hannah O’Donnell ’09, Raysa Sylvester ’09, Lana Azem ’09, and Kelsey Rodgers ’09.

The award-winning projects were featured in an eXpressions Math Program booklet and each group received a monetary award. Gilmour students have won Best of Show in all three categories – art, writing, and mathematics – since the first eXpressions program three years ago.

Interpreting Science Through the Arts W

hen it comes to interpreting research, Gilmour Academy students have a proven flair for expressing science through art and writing. Elizabeth Beam ’09 won the Best of Show Award in the literary category in the Cleveland Clinic’s “eXpressions: the Intersection of Art and Science” exhibit. The student earned three blue ribbons for her poems titled “Collecting Echoes” (also Best of Show), “The Heart of the Matter,” and “Seeing Via Sound.” Out of six blue ribbons given for writing, she won three, plus a monetary award.

“The intersection of science and creative writing is fascinating because writers have to make decisions about the balance of logic and art, making sure to give proper credit to both,” says Coreen Gorbett Schaefer ’02, Gilmour English instructor. “Usually students see non-fiction and fiction as two separate genres, and here we see them working together.” In describing Beam’s entry, Schaefer says Beam wrote about high-resolution ultrasound “using poignant metaphors, fresh imagery, and high-level lyrical strategies to describe the procedure, not only as a scientific breakthrough, but also as medical art.”

More than 40 schools from across Ohio and Florida submitted nearly 600 works of art and writing for the

competition. Beam’s work was exhibited at the InterContinental Hotel along with other honorees.

The exhibit showcasing the artistic and literary interpretations of research relates to a summer internship in which students Elizabeth Beam ’09 worked alongside renowned Clinic physicians and researchers. Then other students created artwork and literature based on the interns’ projects.

Blue ribbon entries received $100; red ribbons, $75; white ribbons, $50; and honorable mentions, $25.

Three Gilmour students were honored for works on the same theme: Samantha Klonaris ’10 received a blue ribbon for a photograph showing the value of consuming less animal fat in reducing cholesterol; Rachel Noall ’10 won a red ribbon for her short story and honorable mention for a photograph on the topic; and Samantha Johnson ’09 won honorable mention for her painting, “The Transparent Reality of Cholesterol.”

Paige Kepich ’10 received honorable mention for her journal entry of a woman with kidney cancer, while a mixed media sculpture depicting the interior of coronary arteries earned Alyssa Trebilcock ’10 a red ribbon.

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Campus

Research Recognition H

er pursuit of germs has earned recognition for Kelly Hurless ’07, who will be a named researcher in an upcoming issue of Biochemistry. Now a rising junior at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, she participated in research to investigate the mechanism of resistance to antibiotics at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in 2006 and 2007 as a Gilmour student and graduate.

Hurless was part of Gilmour’s Catalyst Program, which unites students with professional mentors from industry, academia, hospitals, and government to gain real-world research experience. Through the onesemester science elective, Catalyst students spend at least four hours per week doing authentic research that culminates in a symposium emphasizing the importance of disseminating results.

“Catalyst prompted my urge to continue my involvement in research during college,” Hurless says.

“I learned complex processes and procedures and the importance of dedication and perseverance.”

Hurless continues to work with Robert Bonomo, a physician and section chief of infectious diseases at the VA Center, during the summer. He has offered the intern the opportunity to work on his research at St. Edward’s under the guidance of a microbiology professor who will serve as her mentor. She is majoring in biology and premed at St. Edward’s, and plans to attend medical school.

Surfing the Science Waves I

nstead of squandering the summer before his senior year with frivolous pastimes, Gilmour Academy’s John Coyne ’09 toiled away in a chemistry lab at Cleveland State University analyzing alpha particles in the atmosphere. It paid off in January when he saw his name published in The Journal of Molecular Modeling, a peer-reviewed science journal.

“I wanted to learn if alpha particles could form bonds with other molecules during their short lifetimes,” the Gilmour graduate says. Coyne used molecular modeling for the task. The work is basic research – knowledge for its own sake – as opposed to applied research, which could lead to new products or inventions. “It was pure research to help us understand the world better and could potentially help scientists in the future,” he says.

Coyne was part of Gilmour’s Catalyst Program, which unites students with professional mentors from

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industry, academia, hospitals, and government to gain real-world research experience. David W. Ball, a CSU chemistry professor and Coyne’s mentor, explains that the student’s work indicates that it is possible for an alpha particle to make a chemical bond with small molecules. Even though the research may only have limited implications in our own atmosphere because of its abundance of gas molecules, it could be significant in interstellar space.

“An alpha particle can bond to a molecule and create a long-lived species,” Ball says adding that astronomers might be able to detect properties of the species. The scientist praised Coyne for his “very high level of aptitude, confidence, independence, and maturity in his work.”

The graduated senior lettered three years on Gilmour’s Varsity Golf team and finished ninth in the state tournament last fall. He also played on the Lancers Varsity Basketball team, was National Honor Society president at Gilmour, and was a writer for the school yearbook. Coyne intends to study finance at Boston College.

Best Laid Plans ... the program for the United States in 1992, the Cleveland ll dressed up with no place effort would have been its first urban expedition. to go. That sums up the Senior class president Billy Urban ’09 notes that the Class of 2009’s service project students were dedicating their final community service for their last day as Gilmour project to Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C., students. Team Gilmour was and Brother Ken Kane, C.S.C., Upper School science all set to team up with the instructor.

They are celebrating their 50th Jubilee as Remote Area Medical (RAM) Brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Ohio brigade “The seniors agreed that this to provide free “The seniors agreed that this extraordinary community collaboration health care would be a wonderful way to finish for thousands extraordinary community their days at Gilmour,” says Senior of uninsured and underinsured people collaboration would be a Advisor Kathy Kenny, an English in the community at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds on May 2 and wonderful way to finish their instructor in Gilmour’s Upper School.

“They were honored to be a small May 3. The historic event would days at Gilmour.” part of this project.” emulate the hectic pace of “M*A*S*H,” Kate Madden, coordinator of Hands with doctors, nurses, dentists, X-ray Kathy Kenny on Northeast Ohio, addressed Gilmour technicians, pharmacists, optometrists, students at convocation in April. She EMTs, social workers, and lawyers all asked them to raise their hands as high as they could uniting to offer their services. and then a little bit higher.

“This just shows that there is The Class of 2009 was excited to be the only always a little bit more that you can give,” pre-event volunteers not part of the health care/social Madden said. She added, “This is what service network. With their special Gilmour t-shirts, the senior class decided to do. They they were all prepared to provide labor and set up are giving up part of their last day of the day before the event. school to help us in this huge effort.”

Then the swine flu outbreak foiled the plans.

Urban presented Madden with a $500 Government health officials feared that the virus donation earned by the graduating might spread to the mass of people, many with health seniors from Gilmour’s football problems, gathering for the event. concessions.

For several months, Gilmour students and teachers At commencement on May 24, had been working with Hands On Northeast Ohio, a Zac Ponsky, executive director of nonprofit action center, which managed the volunteers MobileMed1 RAM Ohio, again and arranged the logistics for the RAM Ohio event. recognized the Class of 2009 for their For the relief organization RAM, which began bringing commitment to the medical brigade and the community. emergency clinics to the Amazon jungle and adapted

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Campus

Delving into Digital Music Making It

is hard to imagine what Mozart would have made of David Kilkenney’s music courses. They are paperless, with everything composed on computers. Now in their fourth year, Computer Music I and II are open to Upper School students, and in the catacombs of the Kelley Middle School, digital reigns.

A dead giveaway: The Yamaha digital keyboards.

Kilkenney, a music instructor for all three Gilmour schools, explains that the electric keyboards can be connected to software. When he assigns projects, he is able to work with students by placing the information on his computer screen on top of theirs to exchange ideas. Students who have never read music are reading and composing in their very first class, and all projects and assessments are done on computers.

“Usually, music classes start with three notes and build from there over several weeks,” says Kilkenney, “but we start with the basics of how to read and write music.”

Kilkenney began playing trumpet in fifth grade and has been passionate about music ever since. The Gilmour teacher earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Cleveland State University and is working on a master’s degree in music technology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

The computer music sequence is so hot that it has a waiting list. Currently, 27 Upper School students are enrolled in the courses, which cover all types of music – classical, electronic, live recording, soundtracks, and popular music. “It is an exceptionally popular course,” says Brian Horgan, Upper School director.

Speculating on reasons for the courses’ popularity, Kilkenney says, “Students are so involved with technology that they can easily relate to the courses,” adding that current students have heard compositions from previous students and that word of mouth has driven them to the digital music program.

“I took the course as an introduction to the computerized recording and live audio aspects of music production,” states Leo Sideras ’10.

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Each 90-minute class devotes a half-hour to theory – musical notes, rhythm notation, chord structure, and musical terms and symbols. Students work on projects and assignments the rest of the time. They compose theme music for Gilmour’s digital documentary class, create compositions based on a single word that describes the composer, develop music for jokes with sound effects, and complete an original composition – their choice of genre – using everything they have worked on in class.

Producing a musical score might be the order of the day as students digitally record and edit their own music tracks using the keyboards. “It’s a different kind of music course that goes beyond just note names and time signatures,” says Matt Stouffer ’10. “We learn how to build a song from the ground up, composing our own unique scores and expressing ourselves in ways that I didn’t know were possible.”

The courses offer students a way to express their creative ideas, Kilkenney says, and for technically savvy students to get involved with music and the arts. “I learned to use many techniques and tools, and to use complex programs,” Sideras says. “It is an exciting, fun, and interactive course and is great for learning to produce music.”

The equipment is top-notch too. The computers are equipped with a double monitor, allowing composers to use multiple programs simultaneously and creating countless advantages of the software.

Students apply M-Audio preamplifiers with condenser microphones to boost sound, and they use professional studio headphones and speakers. The major pieces of software are Musician and Aurila for theory, Sibelius for notation, Audition for live sound, and Reason for digital instrument sound creation.

“Computer music has probably been the most influential course I have taken,” says Stouffer. “It has turned music from a hobby into something that I am considering for a career.”

Kilkenney wants his students to take away a solid understanding of different techniques, strategies, and ways to compose. He says, “My hope is that they will gain a stronger appreciation for music and the process it takes to create it.”

MASTERING MANDARIN G

ilmour students are heeding the Chinese proverb, Pinyin, a system to write Chinese signs and symbols “Be the first to the field and the last to the couch,” using the English alphabet, has made it easier for those as they wrestle with more than 3,000 Chinese symbols who speak English to learn Chinese. Zhang uses this in their endeavor to learn Mandarin Chinese. One of tool when she begins teaching a class. By the end of the world’s oldest languages, it is tough to learn, but the school year, the Gilmour students were able to the students are persevering to prepare for what has recognize 200 to 300 Chinese characters. They were been dubbed the “Chinese Century.” Gilmour began able to understand all phonetics, the four basic offering Mandarin Chinese at the beginning of the Mandarin tones, the sounds and structures of daily academic year. The idea originated with Upper School vocabulary, and grammar.

Director Brian Horgan, who says, “We are sure the During the two-semester class, Zhang covers program will grow in the next two years.” the basics of language and culture, and works with Mandarin Chinese is the official students to increase their language proficiency and language on mainland China, explains Hong cultural understanding through a variety of Zhang, instructor in Mandarin Chinese at “Be the first to the activities. She employs audio and video Gilmour’s Upper School. She has taught field and the last aids and integrates Chinese traditions such languages for 20 years – Mandarin for 12 – as eating moon cakes for the Moon Festival to the couch.” in the United States, China, Japan, and in autumn and dumplings, which are thought Canada. “Most Chinese only speak Mandarin Chinese Proverb to bring good luck, for the Chinese New with outsiders,” says Zhang, who is from Year. The students study the Chinese Zodiac Harbin, China. Mandarin is her native and write essays on The Great Wall and language; she also speaks English and Japanese. the Forbidden City, and share them in PowerPoint Unlike English, which uses an alphabet, Mandarin presentations. relies on ideographs. “The writing characters are Zhang also incorporates the “5 Cs” in her class – derived from many different signs, symbols, and communication, culture, the connection between drawings,” she says, adding that variations in tones Mandarin and other disciplines, a comparison of can alter the meaning of a word. similarities and differences between Mandarin and About 50,000 students are learning to speak English, and community – expanding Mandarin beyond Chinese in U.S. schools, compared to 110 million the classroom.

Chinese students who are learning English, according Zhang is intent on guiding her students in ways to the People’s Republic to bridge their lives at school with the real world. of China Ministry of If Gilmour students are to compete successfully in Education. a global market and cope with diversity in their own Zhang believes that country, they will need to learn a second and even a anyone who is prepared third language, Zhang believes. With four out of five to invest the time and new jobs linked to foreign trade, today’s students effort can master will need skills that will allow them to connect with Mandarin. She contends those who do not speak English, and the U.S. State that students can learn 900 Department views Mandarin as a crucial language to Chinese characters in two learn. “In the 21st century, we must interact more than to three years of intensive ever with other countries and cultures,” Zhang says. study – enough to read a “Multi-language skills are a key condition for our Chinese newspaper. nation’s success.”

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Campus

Harnessing Cleveland’s Future W

hen 12 students from Gilmour Academy’s Class of 2009 called on Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson at City Hall late last year to learn what they can do to help stem Northeast Ohio’s brain drain, the mayor made his case for Cleveland’s future. Following his remarks on “What Cleveland Has to Encourage Youth to Stay – Cleveland’s Potential Growth and Development,” he fielded questions from the Gilmour students. Hannah O’Donnell says that the meeting with the mayor “allowed us to find out what’s good about Cleveland from the source.”

The students had prepared questions that focused primarily on the challenges Cleveland faces in its current economic situation, and steps that can begin to help the workforce and to foster economic development, according to Gilmour Social Studies Instructor Arin Tait. They also toured the mayor’s office and the City Council chambers.

“I think the students were surprised how much of a politician the mayor is and were not sure that their questions were really answered, but I found him to be pretty direct for someone in his position,” she states.

“I think they were able to use some of his insights as they developed their website.”

The Gilmour students created a multimedia website on “Why Cleveland, Why Now?” It promotes the city’s assets to thwart the exodus of collegeeducated young people from the city. The students studied dynamic areas like Tremont, Ohio City, University Circle, and East Fourth Street.

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Tait says the students learned to integrate research, collaboration, and communication skills with theories of urban geography and location theory, economics, and political science. “Understanding the field of urban studies engenders civic engagement, which makes for better democracy,” she says. “The students are preparing themselves to be consumers of local current events and active participants in their communities.”

The meeting with Cleveland’s CEO is part of a $2,500 grant from the Ohio Historical Society through a program called Congressional Academy for Local History and Civics. Tait applied for the grant and, along with three members of the Class of 2009, participated in a five-day seminar at Ohio University on the state’s history and the development of democracy.

“The grant money is to create a lasting historical or civics-related resource on a local topic,” the teacher says. “We chose to focus on civic engagement in Cleveland.”

According to a 2007 report by the U.S. Census Bureau, Ohio is below the national average in people 25 and older with baccalaureate degrees. As noted

by Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown in a recent op ed published in The Plain Dealer, “Nearly one-third of graduates leave the state to find work. This brain drain leaves Ohio employers struggling to fill thousands of jobs each year.” Retaining educated youth could be the key to securing tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and creative talent for the area.

Beam Me Up, Scotty free-standing tower assembly on the roof. The tower t’s up and running! Gilmour Academy now boasts a does not penetrate the roof and can be raised when new radio antenna on top of a 27-foot tower over the roof is being refinished, according to Brother Ken. the student center in the science building. The 30 The galvanized steel antenna has three long, members of Gilmour’s Amateur Radio Club, call sign carefully-spaced poles mounted ND8GA, can transmit and receive messages three times parallel to each other, but as far as they could before. “This directional beam attached perpendicularly to a antenna has tripled our ability to hear other stations central 12-foot beam. and to transmit to other stations,” says Brother Ken “The longest of the three Kane, C.S.C., Upper School instructional support and elements is almost 27 feet and club moderator. the entire array has a rotating Since Gilmour alum Matt Loretitsch ’96 used the diameter of about 30 feet,” he initial contact with the new antenna to contact a station says. The tri-band in Germany earlier in the school year, beam antenna is Gilmour students have transmitted “This directional beam directional and directly over the air to Greenland and antenna has about tripled rotatable, and can stations in the United States, including transmit on three Stanford University in California. our ability to hear other different parts of the radio spectrum.

Loretitsch, a technician with Bird A rotator controller similar to that used Electronics, was active in Gilmour’s stations and to transmit with a rooftop home antenna can turn Amateur Radio Club as a student. the new beam antenna 360 degrees.

Gilmour students who participate in to other stations.”

“We can point it in the direction we the club learn the technical aspects of Brother Ken Kane, C.S.C. want,” the Gilmour moderator states. radio communications, participate in “This both focuses our own signal and contacting stations, and prepare as allows us to hear better in that direction.” radio communicators in the event of an emergency.

Several local amateur radio operators were Those taking physics benefit from live demonstrations instrumental in getting the antenna up and operating. of amateur radio Bob Winston, an attorney, donated the antenna; communications Bob Leskovec, a retired commercial broadcast engineer, when they study constructed the tower; Jeff Covelli, a retired radio waves and manager with Dominion East Ohio, mounted the beam electromagnetic on the tower; and Gary Zimmet, a supervisor with the radiation.

Federal Aviation Administration in Oberlin, which Talk about oversees air traffic control, lent the rotator controller. recycling – 10 Other adult volunteers provided similar assistance. bleacher boards Delighted with the new antenna, Brother Ken says, salvaged from “Our students have never worked the world on a beam the old Lancer before, so things certainly will become more exciting Gymnasium now thanks to the generosity of our club benefactors.” support the

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Jamie Austin ’09, Brittany Gazdag ’09 and Megan Schaefer ’09

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Campus

Family Folklore G

Gilmour’s young sleuths sought birth, marriage, ilmour Middle Schoolers took a cue from President religious, military, and death records; report cards; Barack Obama in connecting with their family diplomas; newspaper clippings; and personal history. Obama tracked his own path from his father’s belongings such as medals and badges from wars, life in Kenya and his mother’s youth in Kansas in his clothing, and pictures. The rationale was that the historic address in 2004 at the Democratic National artifacts would support a profile that Convention. Although the students are “Students often forget that identifies family values, culture, not writing their memoirs yet, it is not just famous world language, religion, education, marriage and children, military service, they discovered figures who shape history, career, travel, and death and burial. how to use Students tapped into “the census records, but they, themselves, and institutional memory” of different neighborhood their families.” generations in the family to discover maps, and Rachel Handy if the subject was involved in major newspapers to U.S. historical events, for example, research their natural disasters, wars, migration, or important past in a project called “My discoveries. One of the most important aspects of the Personal History.” assignment required them to analyze why they admired “Students often forget that their subject, cite life lessons they had learned, and it is not just famous world address the person’s legacy. “The goal is to help bring figures who shape history, but history alive, to find out how their relative participated they, themselves, and their families,” in real history, and to understand how events in history says Social Studies Instructor Rachel Handy. “At this relate to their own lives,” Handy says. point in their lives, they are looking for something to The individual projects were showcased through keep them grounded and searching for a sense of who documentaries, computer-based presentations, film they are and where they come from.” and video presentations, or three-panel displays at The students did a lot of genealogy and census an exhibit in the Middle School in May. legwork at the Western Reserve Historical Society as Handy recognizes that Middle School is a crucial they learned to use primary and secondary sources. time for students. “They are coming to an age when Before selecting a relative to study, they had to they are experiencing changes socially and emotionally, ascertain that the subject was available to interview, and are constantly looking for reassurance from adults or that someone else could and each other,” the teacher provide insight into that person. notes. “This project helps Handy noticed early on that the them find out who they project made students more are, where they come willing to talk with relatives they from, and why they do might not speak with on a regular what they do. Most basis. The project engaged them important, it gives them in a greater dialogue with their a sense of self, which parents and siblings, and led to can reassure them when more discussion around the times get tough.” dinner table, she says.

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BioBlitz Marks Earth Day E

cosystems, erosion, biospheres, and ecology are now more than catchphrases for 31 Gilmour Academy seventh graders who swarmed over Orange Community Park getting up close and personal with flora, fauna, and fungus. Their mission was to create a database of everything that moves or grows in the park for the Middle School’s inaugural BioBlitz, a bio-survey of a defined area over a specific time span. The students spent the school day identifying birds, worms, trees, shrubs, aquatic invertebrates, and amphibians to enhance a nature trail in the park.

“Their work is part of an effort to create trail signage with brief, easy-to-read information and possible posters for the park’s kiosks,” says Jennifer Ault, a science instructor in Gilmour’s Middle School.

Experts from Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Botanical Gardens helped students identify and collect specimens, and community volunteers assisted with feeding birds and insects. Once the Gilmour students collected data and gathered samples, they prepared a report suggesting how to present the information to the public. The Gilmour students planned to make this an annual Earth Day project.

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Campus

CARING FOR YOUNG KENYANS Volunteers stay in a family eredith Panzica will be putting compound that includes the school her money where her mouth is, and eat meals with Kenyan teachers. both literally and figuratively, when it “The students eat lunch with us,” comes to teaching children in Kenya Panzica says.

“For some it is their the fundamentals of reading, writing only guaranteed meal of the day.” and arithmetic. More important, she Westerners are often challenged will be showing those children that by the country’s casual pace. people on the other side of the world Why is Panzica doing this? “I feel care about them. that I have been very blessed and that Panzica, a Lower School religion I should use these blessings to help instructor at Gilmour Academy, will others,” says Panzica, who has worked spend 12 weeks in Western Kenya, Meredith Panzica ’99 strives for spirituality as a teacher at Gilmour since 2005. She with her students at Gilmour living and teaching in the rural village is no stranger to working with “children of Kabula at her own expense as part who go without” as she calls them.

After receiving her of a program called Volunteer Kenya. The grassroots undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, organization pairs volunteers from the United States and Panzica signed on for Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Canada with local teachers in Kenya. It also includes Education program.

The university’s graduates teach for other projects that focus on health care and enterprise two years at Catholic schools with minimal resources development for women. “Any time you are exposed to while they earn a master’s degree. Her first teaching diversity,” Panzica says, “it helps you grow as a person.” position was in Brownsville, Texas. Despite language A 1999 Gilmour graduate, Panzica will live in a mud differences – the native English and the increasingly hut and sleep on a bunk bed. She will spend her days more and more native Spanish – people there were and nights without running water and electricity. From welcoming, she says. “It is a very close culture and October through January, they accepted me as one of their own.” she will teach at Epico As a graduate of Gilmour and Notre Dame, Panzica Jahns Academy, a local is grounded in the Holy Cross tradition to create “a more school near the border humane and just society.” While she is in Kenya, she of Uganda that enrolls hopes to visit the Holy Cross mission in Nairobi, which is about 320 students. eight hours away by bus. She says she might try to go Kenyans are eager to on safari and do a little white water rafting on the Nile learn about Western toward the end of her stay. But education remains the culture, she says. “When purpose of her journey.

“From what others tell me, someone tried to teach volunteering them to make pizza, in Kenya gets they were enthralled.” under your Kenyan students at skin and the school learn English from the time they are in Kindergarten, which means that, becomes a part of who other than having to pick up a few phrases in Swahili, you are,” language barriers shouldn’t be a problem. The culture, she says. however, might differ from that in the United States.

“You become “I cannot wear anything sleeveless or above my knees, connected to and if I travel to a Muslim area, I must cover my head,” it and you Panzica says. Kenya is primarily Catholic, though always want Panzica will be teaching in a Christian community. to go back.”

An Episcopalian minister runs the school.

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History Day Finalists

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documentary on evolutionist Charles Darwin and an exhibit on aviator Bessie Coleman earned two Gilmour Academy sixth graders a spot at the National History Day finals in College Park, Maryland, June 14-18.

Ryan Seibert’s documentary “Charles Darwin: Reluctant Revolutionary” was one of two finalists selected out of 22 from the junior category.

Janae Johnson advanced to finals for her exhibit on “Bessie Coleman: Amounting to Something.” Her project was one of 70 individual exhibits in the junior category.

The students Ryan Seibert ’15 competed in the National History Day state competition in Columbus in April.

Gilmour student Jack Gallagher was named an alternate in the individual documentary area for work on anti-crime activist John Walsh. Ryan Dyke and Tom Negrelli received honorable mention for their group exhibit “Jackie Robinson: Grand Slam for Civil Rights.”

The 2009 participants focused on the theme “The Individual in History: Actions and Legacies” in their documentaries, exhibits, and performances that showcased a historical topic and its significance to society and history.

“The theme this year explored individuals who are passionate about a cause and who nudge history forward through their actions,” says Carmel Fantelli, Lower School humanities instructor. “Their fervor and life’s work become a catalyst for events to unfold in history and ignite change.”

Eleven other Gilmour students earned the right to compete at the National History Day state competition in Columbus: Sami Ascha and Max Hanson, Les Paul; James Herten and Joseph Young, John Glenn; Melissa Bilitz and Lauren Massaad, Ruby Bridges; Andrew Gallagher, Eugene Odenbrett, and William Velotta, Thomas Edison; and Nia Everett and Megan Porter, Florence Allen.

Janae Johnson ’15

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Campus

Breaking Bread for Honduras

Natalie Hunt ’04 with her angels

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eveloping a flair for global fundraising might be a plus as Natalie Hunt ’04 revs up for a career in international administration. Although Hunt will soon be off to graduate school at the University of Miami in Florida, she has been focused on planning a benefit to aid the Honduran Children’s Rescue Fund. Hunt and her mother Maria are co-chairpersons of the Benefit for Sociedad Amigos De Los Ninos scheduled for Friday, August 28, at the home of Umberto and Maryellen Fedeli. Their daughter Diana is a 2005 Gilmour graduate and a “regular” with Gilmour’s Honduran missions.

Hunt found that she and Diana Fedeli, who just earned her bachelor’s degree from Loyola University in Chicago, share a passion for the plight of Honduran children when they volunteered while still Gilmour students for the

school’s humanitarian mission to Honduras.

Both have returned to that country several times as students Vanessa Vacante ’05 and Diana Fedeli ’05 with new friends and as part of the Academy’s Alumni Honduras Mission. Since 2001, when Gilmour first sent volunteers to Honduras, the school’s participation has grown from seven people to 230.

“I think Mr. and Mrs. Fedeli have also become passionate about the Honduran project seeing Diana’s enthusiasm,” Hunt says. “Through their generosity in supporting the ministries of Sociedad Amigos, the program has been able to grow significantly.”

This will be the third year that insurance executive Umberto Fedeli has hosted the benefit at his Gates Mills home, which features a trattoria that seats 100 people.

The event will feature top-notch cuisine and fine wines.

All proceeds from the dinner will benefit the Honduran poverty relief program for Sociedad Amigos. Last year, the Fedeli benefit raised almost $100,000 for the Reyes Irene Valenzuela Training Center for teenage girls to prepare them for work and college. Funds from his previous benefits have aided the Santa Rose de Lima Medical Center, which serves 60,000 people in the community.

Those interested in learning more about the event can contact Natalie Hunt at novanatalie@gmail.com.

Tiho!

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Connecting the Dots in a K-12 Curriculum I

nstead of immediately returning to school following Thanksgiving and Christmas break, Gilmour students remain out an extra day so faculty can attend Gilmour professional development days – now called Mission Integration Days to reflect on a new paradigm. What is that all about?

Ask Yvonne Saunders, director of the Middle School and assistant director of the Upper School, who is part of a vanguard movement to reshape Catholic schools. Saunders is helping Gilmour faculty rethink their teaching practices to improve student learning.

Highly invested in learning to become a top-flight Catholic school administrator, Saunders earned a master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame through its ACE (Alliance for Catholic Education) Leadership Program. Instead of a thesis, the ACE program requires an Action Research project, designed to advance teaching and learning practices. For hers, Saunders collected and analyzed data to write a case study of “Issues that Impact a Cohesive K-12 Curriculum at Gilmour Academy.” Her work was selected for inclusion in “Research, Action, and Change: Leaders Reshaping Catholic Schools,” published last year by Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education Press. In her research, she found that the common threads of effective schools are coherency, clarity of purpose, and consistency of effort.

“Yvonne spent some time reviewing Gilmour’s curriculum in preparation for the publication, and she helped identify ways in which we could strengthen the fluidity and cohesiveness of the curriculum,” says Gilmour Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. “Through her involvement in the ACE program at Notre Dame, she brought a fresh insight to our efforts and helped us look at ways we might make our program stronger.”

Saunders has been dedicated to Catholic education for 25 years, eight as a Gilmour administrator. She notes that the Academy is intent on fostering a cohesive K-12 program and this requires a collaborative process between teachers within the same grade level and K-12 academic department. It promotes an interdisciplinary flow of ideas from subject to subject rather than fragmented learning, and assures students matriculate successfully through the curriculum.

One of the ways this happens is through professional development, that integrates the Gilmour/Holy Cross mission more intensely. “At Gilmour, professional development is not seen as an avenue for an individual teacher’s improvement, but as a way for teachers to work together to improve learning for all students and advance the mission of the school,” Saunders says.

To enhance collaboration between the Academy’s three divisions, Gilmour administrators decided to focus on curriculum coherency, and the teachers prepare and follow curriculum maps that align the K-12 curriculum.

A coherent curriculum requires that a collaborative process occurs between teachers within the same grade level and K-12 academic department, Saunders explains. This implies Gilmour’s commitment to a common framework across and within all grade levels that guides curriculum, instruction, and assessment strategies to create a seamless K-12 educational experience for students.

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1950s Lancer Spotlight B

eing a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, James Poth ’56 might have bumped up against a few diehard Cleveland Browns fans when he was a Gilmour student, but it did not keep him from being elected senior class president. Currently a hematologist at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, California, Poth was formerly chief of staff there and directed the outpatient oncology unit.

The physician claims that his interest in science was roused his sophomore year at Gilmour while studying physics. Back then, the National Honor Society student, known as “Puffer,” was a speech medalist too.

Poth earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and his M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. After his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology at Stanford University, he spent two years in the U.S. Air Force.

“In those days doctors were drafted,” Poth points out. The alum was a clinical professor of medicine at Stanford until 2003.

In almost five decades in medicine, Poth has seen the field change dramatically. “The greatest challenge now is caring for patients under a profit-driven insurance system, and many times it is difficult to get the drugs and care patients need because of this problem,” he says. On the bright side, he adds, “Computer technology has made the latest advances in medicine and the information needed to treat patients as accessible as a few clicks on the keyboard.” Poth enjoys hiking, running, and water activities. He and his wife Mary Ellen returned to Gilmour in 2006 for his 50th Reunion. He expresses Gilmour’s greatest gift as learning. “Whatever task you undertake, stick with it until it is done right.”

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A l u m n i

N e w s

1960s

Lancer Spotlight R

emember playing with an Etch-a-Sketch when you were a kid and directing a stylus to create a line drawing? Fast-forward to 21st-century technology and the Theory Garden of Richard Boland ’63, Professor of Information Systems at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management. Boland and an associate have developed the software tool to quickly draw diagrams of theories and demonstrate the effect of causal relationships.

“The software is about taking representations or drawings of a system’s elements and relationships that are too complex for the human mind to follow,” Boland says. According to the website www.theorygarden.com, the software can construct theories of complex systems and simulate behavior.

It can demonstrate how a change in one element of a system creates a pattern of changes in other elements. The software constructs models without the need for writing equations.

Boland, who is committed to strengthening the skills of complex reasoning, served as chairman of Information Systems at CWRU from 1994–2001 and is a fellow at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. He has lectured around the world and has been a visiting professor at the University of California, Los Angeles; Cambridge; Gothenburg University; and Oxford University. Before joining the CWRU faculty in 1989, Boland was professor of accountancy at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign for 13 years. He also is founder and editor of Information and Organization and is on the editorial boards of several prestigious journals in his field. He holds a bachelor’s degree and an

Richard Boland ’63

M.B.A. from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. from CWRU. Boland teaches in the university’s executive doctorate in management program, guiding students through a one-year qualitative research project. He also teaches a research seminar for undergraduates on systems thinking.

An avid sailor, the Gilmour graduate says, “I am like most sailors; it is something I always wish I were doing.” He and his wife, Nora, have a lake cabin in Idaho “with the elk, moose, eagles, and the occasional bear at the front door.” They founded the Hannah Boland Pediatric Renal Fund at the Cleveland Clinic to aid chronic renal pediatric patients after their daughter Hannah died in 1992. The fund makes it possible for children with chronic illnesses to engage in normal childhood experiences. Their daughter Kate is a veterinarian and is working on her Ph.D. In 2003, Boland received Gilmour’s Alumni of the Year Award for his service to the school’s academic affairs and Alumni Reunion committees.

He believes that his Gilmour education has had a lifelong effect on him – from the social and political thinkers like John Locke to whom he was exposed by Brother Richard Sitar, C.S.C., to the importance of revising one’s writing emphasized

by Brother Ivo Regan, C.S.C. “While I don’t remember every word the Brothers said,” Boland admits, “they had a way of getting to the core with ideas that become a part of the mental apparatus you could use.”

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A l u m n i

1970s

N e w s

Lancer Spotlight ary Ann Lasch ’72 was in the first graduating class at Glen Oak, entering as a sophomore because the school did not exist her freshman year.

“There was a real sense of pioneering,” Lasch recalls.

“Glen Oak had no classrooms; it had moveable furniture. We were able to create our environment from the ground up.”

Noting that the school had evaluations instead of grades, she says, “A lot of it was experimental and we were trying to figure it out. Maybe everything was not successful, but it was worth doing. It gave us a sense of being able to take risks and succeed.”

And Lasch has been succeeding ever since.

Director of planning and urban design for Gensler, a global architecture, design, planning, and consulting firm, she is an accomplished landscape architect.

Projects range from her involvement in a financial district in Malaysia and the National Air & Space Museum expansion to development of master plans for projects in Azerbaijan and for the Cleveland Institute of Art. After graduating from Glen Oak, Lasch earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Wisconsin, where she received an outstanding alumna award, and then a master’s degree from Harvard University. Both degrees are in landscape architecture. She also is a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

As a high school student, Lasch traveled by bus to Gilmour for calculus, physics, and logic, which were interspersed with her Glen Oak classes. “We were encouraged to think independently and to examine issues from many points of view,” Lasch says. She also credits her alma mater with fostering analytical skills, and believes that she has benefited from Glen Oak’s commitment to freedom and

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Mary Ann Lasch ’72

flexibility. “We were encouraged to take control of our learning goals and to implement them,” she says.

Before Gensler, where Lasch has worked nine years, she held management positions with HLW International, LLP in New York City, working on GM projects; Scenic America; and an Exxon USA development company subsidiary. In addition, Lasch was deputy project director on an urban design project for the State of Qatar.

Now that Lasch is back in Cleveland, she enjoys spending more time with family and friends. Her sister, Susan Lasch Daher ’87, is an obstetrician/ gynecologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and director of resident programs. Her other sister, Carol Lasch Schlinke ’79, teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design. Lasch likes scuba diving, gardening, reading, and walking Westie, (her West Highland white terrier), and spent Christmas in Beijing, China, with her niece, a student there. Two years ago, she returned to Gilmour for her 35th class Reunion and remains in touch with several high school classmates.

Learning to function in both the Glen Oak and Gilmour environments has been beneficial, she says.

“I learned to look at things from multiple points of view. I really try to be collaborative and to bring others’ thoughts and ideas into any effort.”

39

A l u m n i

1980s

N e w s

Lancer Spotlight If

you want to know something about international relations – trade, war crime tribunals, and/or world politics – just ask Kathy Powers ’89. Assistant professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, Powers teaches both graduate and undergraduate students. In her research, she examines the role of institutional design in international relations.

Powers traces her interest in international relations to her history and government classes at Gilmour, and her interaction with students from around the world. “It was conversations with teachers that showed me there was a world of possibility outside Gilmour’s walls,” she says, adding that she misses Gilmour’s beautiful campus and is impressed with the additions made since she graduated.

The National Honor Society student notes that her participation in the Foreign Language Club, the Art Club, The Lance, and basketball at the Academy challenged her to learn how to manage multiple interests.

“My sisters and I were involved in many activities at Gilmour, and I think the education there produces well-rounded students,” she says.

Her sister Adrienne ’86 now works in design management for Kraft Foods in Chicago, Illinois, and Tara ’90 is a regional vice president for Chubb Insurance Company in Detroit, Michigan.

After graduating from Gilmour, Powers majored in political science and international studies at Northwestern University, earning her bachelor’s degree. She holds master’s degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and The Ohio State University, where she also obtained a Ph.D. She has taught at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Arizona, where she received several teaching awards and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Leadership Award. Powers has served on review panels for the National Science Foundation, The American Journal of Political Science, and The Journal of Politics, among others.

Living in Albuquerque has been enjoyable for Powers, who names movies, reading, running, and playing basketball as her pastimes.

Over the years, she has learned that balance is important and difficult to achieve. “I enjoy my career, and working hard is very important,” she says, “but other aspects of life are equally important.” In early July Kathy married Sheldon Jordon.

continued on page 44 41

Gilmour Honors Two Alumni Edward W. Rybka ’73 and Michelle Brennan Stefan ’84

G

ilmour Academy’s Alumni Association honored a City of Cleveland official and a community activist as its 2008 Alumni of the Year. Edward W. Rybka, director of the City of Cleveland Department of Building and Housing, and Michelle Brennan Stefan, a Gilmour volunteer and former board member of the Lower School Parents Organization, were honored at the Headmaster’s Christmas Party.

The award honors Gilmour graduates who have distinguished themselves in their personal lives and careers, and who have demonstrated leadership and service to the Academy.

Rybka served nearly five terms on the Cleveland City Council and represented the Broadway-Slavic Village community. In 2006, Mayor Frank Jackson appointed Rybka building and housing director with the responsibility of overseeing 165 employees and an operating budget of almost $11 million. Rybka was assistant director of the Cleveland Department of City Planning and served on the Cleveland Community Relations Board and the Governing Board of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.

The 1973 Gilmour graduate received his undergraduate degree from John Carroll University and his juris doctorate from Cleveland State University’s Marshall College of Law. He is active in Gilmour’s Alumni Parents Organization and is co-chair of the alumni parents subcommittee for Promise and Renewal: The Capital and Endowment Campaign for Gilmour Academy. A past trustee of St. Alexis Hospital and president of two nonprofits focusing on housing and the environment, Rybka has received numerous civic awards. He and his wife Jan, district administrator of the Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District, are the parents of two Gilmour alums. Their son Keith graduated from Gilmour in 2005 and is a student at Niagara University; daughter Hallie is at Loyola College of Maryland in Baltimore and graduated from the Academy in 2008.

Michelle Stefan was recording secretary of the Lower School Parents Organization during the 20072008 school year. She was co-chair of the Lower School magazine drive and volunteered on the silent auction committee for its Lunch with Santa event.

Stefan has served as a class representative for Alumni Reunion Weekend, a sponsor of Gilmour’s Golf Classic, a member of Gilmour’s Blue & Gray Society, and a first grade homeroom coordinator.

A 1984 Gilmour graduate, Stefan earned a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Florida International University and plans to pursue a master’s degree in counseling. The alum was vice president of operations for Brennan Industries, which supplies hydraulic tube fixtures and adapters to industry. She is a member of the Chagrin Valley Women’s League and schedules Santa visits in her community. Stefan raised $5,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund when she and her mother Marilyn Brennan walked 60 miles in the 3-Day walk.

Stefan and her husband Michael, president of Marketing Foundations, Inc., have two sons who are Gilmour Lower School students, Matthew and Dylan.

PLANNED GIVING For those of you who are considering making a planned gift to Gilmour Academy, keep in mind the following benefits.

• Our accountants have indicated that 86.5 cents of every dollar donated to Gilmour Academy goes to the education of our students.

• Gilmour Academy always complies with requests for anonymity.

• You can boost your retirement income with a planned gift to Gilmour Academy.

• It is never too early to establish a will and include Gilmour Academy as a beneficiary.

• With a planned gift you get to enjoy watching the benefits of your generosity to Gilmour Academy.

Please contact Jim Farrar ’59, Director of Development, for more information about how you can help Gilmour Academy at (440) 473-8013 or farrarj@gilmour.org.

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A l u m n i

N e w s

1990s

Lancer Spotlight On

Thanksgiving, Mark Schneider ’93 was playing in a turkey bowl football game with former Gilmour classmates, but he was all business on New Year’s Day. That’s when he was sworn in to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he now represents eastern Lake County in the 63rd House District.

Access to health care, education, jobs, and economic development are Schneider’s key interests. The Democrat is vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee and serves on Ways and Means, Commerce and Mark Schneider ’93 Labor, Criminal Justice, and Insurance committees.

Schneider played varsity football, baseball, and basketball at Gilmour and says, “I learned the value of competition and teamwork through participation in sports.” An avid football and baseball fan, he attends Indians, Browns, and Cavaliers games and plays flag football and softball. He also is active with the Rotary Club of Mentor, the Chamber of Commerce, and other civic groups.

After graduating from Gilmour, the legislator earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from the University of Michigan and received his law degree from The Ohio State University, where he was president of the College of Law’s student body.

As a former county prosecutor for eight years, Schneider tried murder, sexual assault, and child support cases. His brother Bill ’95 points out that Mark was the youngest person ever promoted to Cuyahoga County’s Major Crimes Unit.

Currently a partner with The DiCello Firm, Schneider says he made lifelong friends at Gilmour and keeps in touch with classmates John Papesh, Chuck Mendolera, Rob Liotta, Dave Barr, Connor Dowd, and Dominic and Rocco ’92 DiPierro. He says, “I draw on the lessons I learned about teamwork at Gilmour in working with others to accomplish common goals in politics and law.”

44

A l u m n i

N e w s

2000s

Lancer Spotlight W

hen he wasn’t much taller than a countertop, Josh Greene ’00 knew golden arches were in his future. At four years old, he had begun hanging out at the two McDonald’s restaurants his father Jed owns. “I would go in and clean the lobby for him.

It was the coolest thing in the world,” Greene says.

“Each day I worked, either he paid me a dollar or I got to go to Big Lots to pick out a toy.”

Growing up, Greene loved to spend time with his Dad learning to work the counter and the grill area. Now he owns two McDonald’s restaurants himself. “Ever since I can remember, I wanted to own a McDonald’s,” he says, noting that the company seldom sells more than one franchise to a person at one time.

After Gilmour, Greene majored in operations management and business management at Kent State University, graduating in 2004. He learned a lot about accounting, employee management, and inventories – all useful in his career. At one point, Greene owned a landscaping and maintenance company and booked rental property.

He says that Gilmour taught him how to write – a considerable benefit when writing policies, communicating with government boards, and preparing documents for hearings. “I think I received a better education at Gilmour than I did in college,” he says.

Greene attended his sister Amy’s ’08 graduation from Gilmour and was part of the traditional alumni-sibling photo session. Amy Greene is now a sophomore at the University of Indiana.

Greene puts in between 75 and 80 hours each week. He is active at co-op meetings with other

46

Josh Greene ’00

McDonald’s operators in Northeast Ohio and is service chair of the company’s leadership board service committee for the Ohio region. McDonald’s has more than 360 restaurants in Northeast Ohio.

His years at Gilmour taught Greene the importance of consistency. He employs 180 people and strives to treat everyone fairly. Even though he is a restaurant owner, the alum has no problem working the grill or cleaning the restrooms. “My challenge is to constantly try to improve service,” he says.

Even in a struggling economy, his business is improving as customers opt for more economic meals. He believes that McDonald’s has lasted more than 50 years because it has been willing to change.

“People wanted salads and specialty coffee, and we provided it. We keep adjusting to what our customers want.”

The Gilmour graduate lives in a century home in Ohio City with fellow alum Doug Tayek ’00, who does community outreach for nurses at the Cleveland Clinic. When he does have some downtime, Greene likes to travel. He visited friends in Denver over Thanksgiving, spent time in Sarasota, Florida, in January, and flies to Las Vegas frequently.

Asserting that Wrestling and playing Varsity Football at Gilmour taught him mind over matter, Greene says, “Football taught me to be a team player; cutting my weight and running extra miles for wrestling taught me discipline.”

Lancer Athletics

Spicer Retires

B

ob Spicer, who led Gilmour Academy’s Varsity Football Team to the Division V state playoffs six out of seven years, has resigned as head coach effective at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. Spicer accepted the Gilmour coaching position in 2002 to build a competitive football program, and his presence was felt immediately. In his first season, the team advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

During his years at Gilmour, he compiled a 63-17 record, and two of his teams were undefeated during the regular season. Spicer attributes the team’s turnaround to support from the school’s administration, a strong coaching staff, Gilmour’s family environment, and his dedicated players.

“It is probably the right time for me to step aside, as I will turn 65 this year,” Spicer says. “Gilmour is a wonderful place to coach. Once the new gymnasium and pool are completed, it will begin a new era and present a great opportunity for a younger coach.”

Spicer told The Plain Dealer that he has been wrestling with the decision for several months saying, “I feel I’m leaving the program in good shape because there’s a decent group of players returning next year.”

Spicer was named 2003 Coach of the Year by the Greater Cleveland Football Coaches Association. In building a premier football program at Gilmour, he put into play his philosophy of “faith, family, friends, and football – in that order.” The coach said of his Lancer team, “We do as much as we can to help one another, and try to practice the fundamentals of football and give it our best.”

In 23 years of coaching, Spicer has coached locally at John Carroll University, Hawken, St. Ignatius, and St. Peter Chanel, as well as in Tampa Bay, Florida. He earned a bachelor’s degree in teacher education from John Carroll in 1967 and captained its football team his senior year. He is a member of the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame and was named to John Carroll’s All-Time Football Team.

“Bob was really able to integrate our Holy Cross mission of educating the mind and heart into the spirit of Gilmour athletics,” says Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. “I am grateful for his years of service to our students and his example as a Christian gentleman.

He is highly respected for his knowledge of the game and for being very adept at helping players reach their potential.”

49

Lancer Athletics Fall Review

Boys Cross Country

The Lancers took to the course in 2008 with tremendous team spirit, which translated into another successful season. They were district runners-up, qualifying for the regional championship for the 10th consecutive year. Other top finishes included the team championship at University School’s George Clements Invitational and the runner-up title at the Avon Lake Early Bird Bart Merkel ’10 Invitational. With six of the seven varsity runners returning in 2009, the Lancers look to continue their successful ways.

Girls Cross Country

The difference between a good program and an outstanding program is success year in and year out.

By this definition, the Lancers are a top program as our girls once again were among the elite teams in the Buckeye State.

They continued their string of team championships with their fourth regional and district Maggie Grant ’09 championships – a streak tied for the longest in the state. Other impressive accomplishments include winning their 10th consecutive conference championship and placing first or second at five major invitationals. The girls qualified for their fourth consecutive state meet, finishing fifth. The Lancers 50

return five of the seven runners from the state meet squad, so look for the girls to be highly competitive again in the fall of 2009.

Boys Golf

It was another special year for Gilmour Varsity Golf.

The team has competed three of the last four years in the state championships. Led by co-captains Len DeFino ’09 and John Coyne ’09, the Lancers finished third at state. They smashed a tournament record low at the Edison Invitational, and had a one-loss regularseason record. Gilmour had two All-Ohio players from the state championships – Alex Andrews ’11 and Coyne. Next season holds great promise as six of the top eight golfers return.

Boys Varsity Soccer

The Boys Varsity Soccer team had a promising season with only five returning lettermen.

The Lancers finished the season with a record of 4-11-2. According to Coach Rob Norris, the best-played match was a 2-0 victory against St. Peter Chanel and the team had a strong 7-2 showing against Bedford.

The Lancers advanced Kevin Gleason ’12 to Division III sectional semifinals but lost to Kirtland.

The young, solid soccer team has high hopes for the future with 16 returning lettermen.

Girls Soccer

Led by first-year father and son coaching duo Joe Ciuni ’77 and Joe, Jr. ’03, the Girls Soccer team enjoyed a successful 11-6-1 season. The team played all of the better Division II teams in Northeast Ohio, almost knocking off Hathaway Brown and Beaumont at their

Caitlin Finelli ’09

Lancer Athletics Fall Review home fields. The Lancers also were very competitive against Division I teams they countered, including a close loss to state semifinalist Shaker Heights and a thrilling victory over a strong Aurora squad. Eight players were named to All-Greater Cleveland teams. Looking to next fall, the Lancers should advance deep into the state playoffs.

Girls Tennis

Girls Varsity Tennis had its most successful year in Gilmour’s history.

In addition to Lauren Davis ’12 capturing the state Division II title without dropping a single set in 27 matches, the team finished third in the state in its division.

The road to state was clinched with a Leigh Richards ’10 4-1 victory over rival Hawken, a comeback from a previous 4-1 loss in dual match play. The girls fell in the first round of state competition to powerhouse Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy 3-2, but captured third by defeating the previous two-year state champion Lexington. The 18-6 overall record was amazing since the team was composed of five freshman, two sophomores, two juniors, and a senior.

Career Capstone: 500 Wins

R

ay Sharnsky, Gilmour’s longtime Varsity Baseball coach, hit a milestone April 23. He notched the 500th victory of his long career in high school baseball. Painesville Harvey fell 11-3 at the hands and legs, bats and gloves of a Lancer squad determined to set a record for their coach.

Deflecting accolades when asked to comment on this record, Sharnsky thanked the 177 seniors who had played for him during his time at Gilmour. “They set the tone, provided the leadership, and the example for younger players,” he says. “This could not have happened without those quality kind of guys.”

As the Lancers edged toward the end of Sharnsky’s 31st season coaching Gilmour baseball, his 510-218 record in late May placed him 12th on the all-time win list for the state of Ohio with his team posed for a run deep into the state playoffs.

Sharnsky’s red letter day marking his 500th win also was his 60th birthday.

Changing of the Guard

J

ay Fowler, who has been an assistant coach for Gilmour Academy’s Varsity Baseball team the last four years, will be the new head coach for the Lancers next spring. He replaces Ray Sharnsky, who retired as Lancer coach after 31 years.

Fowler graduated from Gilmour in 2000 and played Varsity Baseball four years as a Gilmour student, lettering three years. He also ran cross country and played soccer. Following high school, Fowler played baseball four years at John Carroll University and was team captain his senior year. The Gilmour alum earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from John Carroll and teaches seventh- and eighthgrade history at St. Francis of Assisi School in Gates Mills.

“We are excited Jay accepted the position of head baseball coach at Gilmour,” says Gilmour Athletic Director Tom Bryan. “With his knowledge and experience coaching baseball here he will be a strong leader in that position.”

Fowler was effective in helping the Lancers advance to the Division IV state finals last year and to the regional semifinals this year.

As a Lancer, he played in the regional semifinals in 1997 and 1999.

“I not only learned the fundamentals of baseball from Coach Sharnsky, but how to keep my composure and what it means to get the best out of players,” Fowler says.

The new coach states that this opportunity was something he dreamed of after high school and that Gilmour was the team he has always wanted to coach.

51

Lancer Athletics Fall Review Simon to Coach Varsity Football

T

he Lancers will kick off their 2009 Varsity Football season with a new head coach – Matt Simon.

The Akron native has 30 years of top-notch experience coaching football at all levels. He will fill the vacancy left by Bob Spicer, who announced his retirement as head coach of Gilmour’s Varsity Football Team. Simon inherits a Lancers team that has competed in the playoffs six of the last seven seasons.

Gilmour’s new coach is a proponent of detailed game planning, play design, and play calling. Most recently, Simon assisted the director of NFL International with developing former NFL European players. From 2007 to 2008, he worked under Norv Turner as running backs coach of the San Diego Chargers and from 1999 to 2006 he coached under Brian Billick of the Baltimore Ravens. Simon has two Super Bowl rings – from the Ravens championship in 2000 and from the Denver Broncos in 1998, when he was an NFL intern under Mike Shanahan.

As assistant football coach, Simon helped lead the University of Washington Huskies to win nine out of 10 bowl games. While there, he coached three All-Americans, six All-Conference players, and an MVP in both the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl. In 1991, the Huskies tied for the NCAA national championship and Simon was later inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.

Returning to his alma mater, Eastern New Mexico University, in 1992, Simon joined the coaching staff as offensive coordinator. He played linebacker there and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physical education. Simon became head coach of the University of North Texas Eagles in 1994 gaining the distinction of only being the 10th African American to coach a Division I-A football team. The Eagles won the conference championship that year and Simon was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year. He also coached at the University of Texas at El Paso.

At the high school level, Simon was offensive coordinator at Mt. Hebron High School in Ellicott City, Maryland, and assistant coach at Borger High School in Borger, Texas. “As a former player, I understand the challenges student-athletes must face, therefore, I am committed to their academic and personal growth, as well as their athletic development,” he says.

Among his honors, Simon was named Region 4 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association and Coach of the Year by the Black Coaches Association. He also was inducted into the Hall of Honors at Eastern New Mexico University.

“We are delighted that Matt Simon will join Gilmour to coach our Lancers Varsity Football team, and will contribute to our effort to hone scholar-athletes who excel individually and as team players on and off the field,” says Gilmour Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. “Matt will be a great addition to Gilmour’s coaching staff and inspire our players to seek their personal best in our Holy Cross tradition of educating the mind, heart, and body.”

52

Lancer Athletics Winter Review

Volleyball

Media Favorite

From the start of preseason camp in Youngstown all the way to the finish in Dayton, high expectations were the norm for this team. Participating in last year’s state semifinals left the Lancers hungry for more. Tough matches in districts against Chagrin Falls and Berkshire readied them for regional play, where they beat West Salem North in a five-game match advancing to the state semifinals. Defeating Lima Central Catholic in three straight games seemed to portend a state title for Gilmour, but a tough loss to Albany Alexander thwarted that dream. It was a wonderful season for players, parents, and fans.

VarsityFootball

As the 2008 Lancer football season began, hopes were high for a successful campaign. A talented class of seniors led the way to an eventual 12-week season for the squad as Gilmour played in two postseason contests, losing to eventual state champion Youngstown Ursuline. Gilmour accomplished much by reaching the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. Led by returning starters, quarterback Billy Urban ’09 and tailback Tommy Hallal ’09, both of whom were eventual first team All-State, the Lancers went 9-1 during the regular season. The offense averaged more than 30 points per game while the defense achieved a No. 1 ranking in total defense for East Side teams.

BoysVarsity Basketball

With five seniors, the Lancers began this season with promise and high hopes for a successful campaign. As the weeks progressed, the team improved in each game. Though the 9-13 record did not always show the quality of the team, these cagers

Evan Richard ’09

W

ith her precocious tennis skills making a sweeping impression on Greater Cleveland media, Gilmour’s Lauren Davis ’12 was the top pick for Outstanding High School Athlete by the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission in January.

The award is based on voting by The Plain Dealer, The Akron Beacon Journal, The News-Herald, Sun Newspapers and all the local television stations from a seven-county area.

Davis was surprised when her name was called during the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards Banquet at the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel.

“All I knew was that I was one of three candidates, but I didn’t think I was going to win,” she told The News-Herald.

Gilmour Tennis Coach Cyndi Smith, can’t say enough about her stellar athlete – the 2008 Division II singles state champion and winner of four straight Lauren Davis ’12 and matches. “Lauren did not Cavaliers General Manager drop a single set along Danny Ferry the way,” Smith says.

Last summer, Davis qualified for the U.S. Open Junior Tournament after winning the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Championship for players 16 and under.

She was named Most Valuable Player at the Independent School League Championship.

Davis is ranked No. 1 among Midwest players, defeated the nation’s top-ranked player at the USTA championship and is considered one of the country’s better young tennis players.

She now plays in the 16-to-18-year-old division.

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Lancer Athletics Winter Review

wouldn’t accept anything less than perfection. In the end, the Lancers lost the district semifinal game against Villa Angela-St. Joseph, the No. 3 seed. In a previous game, the Lancers defeated the Kirtland Hornets, the state’s sixth-ranked team in Division III.

Girls Varsity Basketball

The girls basketball team finished strong after a 4-4 start. The Lancers finished with a 19-6 record, winning 15 of their last 17 games. Coach Bob Beutel’s squad played a smothering type of defense that frustrated opponents.

This plus an opportunistic offense placed the Bekka Simko ’10 team in a position to beat Richmond Heights in the district semifinals and Berkshire in the district finals for that local crown. The great season came to an end as Gilmour lost to state champion Regina in the regional finals. With many talented players in the wings, girls basketball has a bright future.

Swimming

Jamie Bergsman ’09

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Even though practice time was cut in half with the new natatorium under construction, the Lancers had their moments. The girls finished with a dual meet record of 3-4 and the boys 1-2. Combined, they won the Notre Dame Cathedral Latin Invitational. By season’s end,

the girls had seven swimmers advance to districts, finishing 16th out of 56 teams.

The boys had a successful season in that everyone dropped significant time in his events.

The boys finished seventh at sectionals with four swimmers Steve Greco ’11 qualifying for districts.

Alec Janda ’10 was a top-12 finisher in both the 200 and 500 freestyle, setting personal bests in both events at districts. The relay team entered the district meet seeded 16th and finished 10th dropping two seconds and improving six places. Overall, the boys team finished 13th in the district. The Lancers are looking forward to next season – and to moving into the new natatorium.

Girls Prep Hockey

The Girls Prep team won 23 games during the 2008-09 season. A team highlight came when the Lancers defeated perennial powerhouse Cushing Academy for the first time in school history. Gilmour also had impressive wins over Culver Academy, Nichols School, and Wyoming Seminary. The team, led by the line of Kayla Ross ’09, Taylor Volpe ’10, and Camille Corbin ’11, produced more than 100 points. Goalie Alana Marcinko ’09 posted 18 wins and will attend Division I Union College. Since only four players graduated, high hopes for next season abound.

Boys Varsity Hockey

The year started with a 2-1 loss to Vianney High School (Montana) and ended with a 3-2 overtime loss to Lake Catholic. But as with most seasons, it is what happens in between that matters most. Those other games allowed this group to come together, forge an identity, and achieve a 23-11-3 record with a nine-game

Courage on the Court

A

modern profile in courage looks a lot like Gilmour Academy’s Eric Anderson ’12. Though Anderson credits three Cleveland Clinic specialists for allowing him to live “a richer, more meaningful life,” the Gilmour student has a can-do attitude that sets him apart. He competes in various sports and played on Gilmour’s Freshman Basketball team – despite an amputated leg. Anderson received the Cleveland Clinic Courage Award at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards ceremony in January.

The award, given annually by Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, recognizes a student-athlete who has faced a medical challenge and has approached it with courage and determination. Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton presented the award.

At Gilmour, Anderson plays three different positions in basketball – shooting guard, small forward, and power forward. Freshman Basketball Coach Kenny Grant views him as an outstanding leader on and off the court. “Eric is a great example of how an individual can turn an obstacle into a steppingstone,” Grant says. “When asked to play more than one position, he eagerly accepts the challenge with no complaints. He is a role model who should be an inspiration to us all.”

Anderson’s left leg was shorter than his right when he was born, and he underwent various leg lengthening procedures at the Cleveland Clinic.

From the time he was 10 months old, the Gilmour Lancer wore an orthotic, a special mechanical device to help him walk, and he spent years in physical

therapy. He was 10 years old when he elected to have his left leg amputated and began using a custom prosthetic requiring more physical therapy followed by periodic length adjustments and fittings. Despite all of this, the Gilmour student was determined to participate in sports and was able to do so using specific foot prostheses for different activities.

He praises orthopedic surgeon Alan Gurd, and prosthetists Kirsten Richards and Chris Piel saying they “collectively made an impact on my life and made it possible for me to Eric Anderson ’12 and participate competitively in sports, Scott Hamilton which I dearly love.” He adds, “I always challenged Chris to deliver an orthotic that was lighter and had greater flexibility and durability – always better, faster, cheaper.”

Prior to Gilmour, Anderson attended the Lillian and Betty Ratner School, where he was on the honor roll from 2000 to 2007, and was a participant in the Midwest Academic Talent Search in 2005. He was team captain of Wickliffe’s Midget Football League for two seasons, and played recreational baseball in Richmond Heights and was on its All-Star Tournament Team in 2005 and 2007. During the last two summers, Eric attended a sports camp in addition to working for his father’s bike business.

winning streak that tied a school record. The Lancers played fast, hard, and with class. Next season is filled with promise.

Boys Prep Hockey

The Boys Prep Hockey team finished their best season ever with a record of 41-11-4. In November, the Lancers took home the gold medal at the Northeast Showcase hosted by The Tilton School in New Hampshire. The Lancers then traveled to Canada, successfully defending their title at the MacPherson Tournament hosted by St. Andrew’s College. The team won the regular-season championship in the Midwest Prep Hockey League going 8-0-2. It was a great and successful season.

Mac Converse ’09

55

On the Fast Track

G

ilmour Academy track star Tim Vala ’09 was awarded a Division I athletic scholarship by DePaul University in Chicago and has signed a National Letter of Intent with the school.

Vala runs legs on the 400- and 800-meter relays and throws shot put and discus. During his junior year, he was MVP at the Northeast Ohio Division III track meet, setting school records for discus with a throw of 166 feet, 9 inches. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound athlete placed sixth in the state in the discus and 13th at nationals. In February, he placed 10th in the nation with a weight throw of 57 feet, the track and field event in which an athlete hurls a 25-pound ball.

Vala plans to major in pre-med at DePaul and would like to train to become an Olympic

hammer thrower. In addition to track and field, he has played Varsity Football and Basketball at the Academy. Vala was a member of the school’s Amateur Radio Club, and helped found its Work Out Club. He also received scholarship offers from the University of Cincinnati, Kent State University, and Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.

Urban Recognized as Scholar-Athlete

H

e might be playing Division I baseball next year at St. Bonaventure University, but that hasn’t stopped Billy Urban ’09 from being recognized outside of the batter’s box. Along with 27 other students in the Greater Cleveland area, Urban received a 2009 Scholar-Athlete Award from the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the National Football Foundation on May 11. The award is given to seniors in good standing who maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average, are first-team all-league or all-conference performers, and are active in school or community extracurricular activities.

With the support of family, friends, and coaches looking on, Urban was presented the award by Ohio State University Football Coach Jim Tressel. “It’s truly an honor to be thought of as a student and as an athlete. It’s definitely one of the coolest things I have ever received.

I’m a really lucky guy,” the Gilmour quarterback says. Urban was also the first Gilmour student to ever receive this award. “Unbelievable

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student-athletes have come through the Academy and for me to be recognized among them is unreal,” he says.

Retired Gilmour Varsity Head Football Coach Bob Spicer nominated Urban for the Scholar-Athlete Award earlier this year. “Billy is a superior athlete and a leader – a true representation of the quality of students Gilmour produces,” Spicer says. “Based on his efforts in the classroom and on the field over the past four years, it was clear that Billy deserved this honor.”

In addition to Varsity Football, Urban played Varsity Basketball and Baseball for four years at Gilmour. He was also the senior class president and wrote for The Lance. Urban received a Division I baseball scholarship to St. Bonaventure University and plans to study business, but also is looking into prelaw and education.

A Gilmour athlete through and through, Urban will miss his days of putting on a Lancer jersey. “I’ll miss the incredible support from everyone, the student sections, and the L-L-L-A-N...C-C-C-E-R cheers,” he says. “Gilmour is a place unlike any other, where you feel as if you are on top of the world, with the people around you showing so much support.”

M e m o r i a l

Brother Anthony Jorae, C.S.C. rother Anthony Jorae, C.S.C., associate in technology at Gilmour Academy, died at Hospice of the Western Reserve on March 10.

He was 67. The son of Eugene and Bernice Jorae (both deceased), he joined the faculty of Holy Cross High School in River Grove, Illinois, in 1964 and taught science there for 40 years. As computer use in education increased, Brother Anthony became adept at adapting computer technology to science classes. A quiet and exceptionally capable teacher, Brother Anthony loved the outdoors and led Holy Cross High School faculty and student groups on camping and canoeing trips. When the River Grove school closed, he joined the staff at Gilmour, employing his electronic and computer skills in the classroom and for administrative needs.

“Since coming to Gilmour three and a half years ago, Brother Anthony was an important member of our technology department,” says Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. “Although he was a part of the Academy for only a short time, he certainly made an impact.”

Brother Anthony loved his new home, the Holy Cross House, which he moved into last year with the other Holy Cross Religious at Gilmour.

“I think the best part of moving from Tudor House to Holy Cross House will be an increase in the feeling of religious community living,” he told Gilmour Magazine.

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Brother Anthony graduated in 1960 from St. Joseph Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and then entered the Brothers of Holy Cross Sacred Heart Juniorate in Watertown, Wisconsin. In 1961, he began his religious training at St. Joseph Novitiate in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, and made his first vows as a Brother of Holy Cross in 1962. He earned a bachelor of science degree in 1967 from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, and earned grants to study at the University of Oklahoma in Norman and the Illinois Institute of Technology and Roosevelt University, both in Chicago. The following year, he pronounced his final vows. Br. Anthony would have celebrated his 50th Jubilee in three years.

He is survived by sisters Gail and Mary Jorae; Ruth Babcock (Charles); Rita Engardio (Richard); Edna Martin; Jane Hilden (Mark); and four brothers, Michael, Pat, John, and Dennis Jorae.

Two sisters Gloria and Margaret are deceased.

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M e m o r i a l

Murlan J. Murphy, Sr. F

or more than four decades, Murlan (Jerry) Murphy, Sr., was a steadfast supporter of Gilmour Academy, and he left a permanent mark on philanthropy in Greater Cleveland. Murphy died April 11 at the Hospice of the Western Reserve.

Former president of the Gilmour Men’s Club, he led his family in supporting the community’s churches, schools, foodbanks, and senior citizens homes, and programs that minister to the poor, the sick, the unemployed, the elderly, and the homeless. The Murphys generously lent their expertise to advancing many area organizations.

“Through their commitment and generosity, Mr. Murphy and his entire family have enhanced Gilmour’s mission,” says Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. “They are a significant part of Gilmour’s history and tradition, and through their leadership, have been crucial in helping our students achieve their potential.”

Murphy and his wife, Margaret, have four sons who graduated from the Academy – Murlan (Jerry) Murphy, Jr., ’64, Chair of Gilmour’s Board of Trustees; Ray ’65; Paul ’68; and Brian ’73. They also have a daughter, Rita Murphy Carfagna. Grandchildren Emily Murphy Maksoudian ’92 and John ’97 also are Gilmour alums.

Former president and chairman of the Murphy-Phoenix Company, Murphy headed the firm that manufactured Murphy Oil Soap, a staple commonly found in households. His grandfather, Jeremiah, founded the company in 1890. The Murphy Family Foundation was established in 1986 to address the human service needs of the disadvantaged. Murphy-Phoenix was sold to Colgate-Palmolive in 1991.

Murphy earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, and once worked for Ferro Corporation. An avid golfer, he served as chairman of the Jennings Center for Older Adults. CWRU awarded him its President’s Award for Distinguished Alumni, and in 1999, the Murlan J. Murphy, Sr. Family won the Leadership Award from the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

In recognizing his parents’ commitment to instilling service in their children, Ray remarked, “What we inherited from our Mom is thoughtfulness and a sensitivity toward others; from Dad, confidence and a comfort level with leadership positions.”

Murphy is survived by his wife and five children, 17 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

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James Riccardi ’51 A

Renaissance man at Gilmour Academy, Jim Riccardi’s activities ranged from Press Club, Student Band, and Prep art editor to Varsity Football and Basketball. The Emmy-award winning cinematographer and videographer’s broad range of interests included performing as a professional musician. Riccardi died of cancer January 2 at Bradley Bay Health Center in Bay Village. He was 75.

Following his graduation from Gilmour, the alum earned a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from John Carroll University in 1955. He studied radio and television at Kent State University and painting and illustration at the Cleveland Institute of Art. As a member of the 8th Division Army Band, Riccardi performed throughout Europe and was a versatile musician playing piano, harmonica, accordion, and harpsichord.

In the early 1970s, Riccardi began working for WVIZ-TV. He produced a children’s series called “Inside/Out,” which won an Emmy. During his career he worked for HBO, BBC, ABC, MTV, and Nickelodeon.

His work was featured on HBO’s concert for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, “Seinfeld,” “The Drew Carey Show,” and “The Daily Show,” and he shot more than 2,000 commercials, including Mr. Coffee commercials with Joe DiMaggio. In 2001, the Gilmour graduate was a freelance cameraman for a segment of the Discovery Channel’s “The New Detectives,” which explored modern techniques in criminal investigations.

Steven Spielberg and the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation honored Riccardi in 1998 for documenting Holocaust survivors’ stories.

Ricccardi returned to Gilmour in 2001 for his 50th Reunion. He is survived by his wife Martha, 10 children, and five grandchildren.

Anne O’Donnell A

nne O’Donnell was both a teacher and administrator at Gilmour between 1998 and 2001. She served the Academy as an advisor, coordinated convocation, and directed senior programs, including the senior project. A strong believer in student community service, O’Donnell was director of Gilmour’s Christian Service Program. As an associate in development, she was involved in Gilmour’s Faith in Our Future Campaign. O’Donnell died March 9 at her home.

“Anne O’Donnell was a gracious lady and had a great deal of care and concern for other people,” says Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. “Whether it was the former students and children she counseled, colleagues, or community leaders, people genuinely appreciated the part of her life which she shared with them.”

O’Donnell was known throughout Greater Cleveland as a leader in education. For the last six years, she served as executive director of Boys Hope Girls Hope in Garfield Heights, which provides long-term care for at-risk teens in non-institutional homes guided by residential counselors. Students in the homes attend Catholic schools. O’Donnell raised funds for fitness and convocation centers for the children and initiated an academic program for students in middle school.

The Gilmour teacher earned an undergraduate degree from Manhattanville College in New York and a master’s degree in school administration from John Carroll University. She taught history, math, and English at several Catholic schools in the area, as well as at University School, and she was the first female chair of Walsh Jesuit High School and one of the original trustees of St. Martin de Pores High School.

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M e m o r i a l

Robert Spisak aster of phone connections, utility lines, and every construction project at Gilmour Academy for the last quarter-century, Bob Spisak literally fit the description “jack of all trades.”

He died February 11. Gilmour’s maintenance technician “had an uncanny recall for details,” says Dan Kohn, maintenance director. “He knew the history of every piece of equipment, who installed it, and when.” Spisak taught himself how to be a locksmith and Kohn says his colleague could repair any lock at Gilmour.

From the time Spisak was a student at Orange High School, he was fascinated with computers and was a member of the school’s computer club.

He was so adept that he tested Windows 95 and several other software packages for Microsoft over a 15-year period. “Bob could open up a computer and change out a circuit board or a CD or DVD as easy as if he were tying his shoes,” Kohn remarked in his eulogy at his friend’s funeral.

Before joining Gilmour, Spisak rebuilt telephones for Western Electric. He worked for an outside maintenance firm Gilmour used as a contractor before the Academy established its own maintenance department and Spisak came onboard in 1984.

Kohn relied on Spisak as his liaison with outside contractors. He always was connected with Gilmour even on vacations in Myrtle Beach,

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South Carolina, or New England with his wife, Leah.

“On weekends, Bob would monitor campus events from home via a laptop computer and would always take the laptop along on vacations to keep an eye on things,” Kohn says. Brother Charles Smith, C.S.C., Gilmour’s physical plant coordinator, says Spisak “was full of wisdom and experience.

I always turned to Bob when my own troubleshooting resulted in frustration,” he says.

“He liked to be kept informed, and in turn, shared whatever he knew to keep Gilmour Academy moving ahead.”

An active member of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Chesterland, Spisak was even willing to share his knowledge with Gilmour’s work study students like Chris Kearney ’09. “Mr. Spisak always made me feel like I could ask him any question,” Kearney wrote in The Lance. “The Gilmour Community needs to remember so many of these great people that are behind the scenes at Gilmour. They are the ones who really make sure it all happens every day for us.”

M e m o r i a l

MEMORIAL

LOUIS C. BURROUGHS, SR., grandfather of Brian ’92

Gilmour Academy expresses sympathy to the families of the following:

ROSE CARBONE, grandmother of Jason ’92 ANTHONY CARR, great uncle of Annalise ’16 and Sophia ’19 Minello

WILLIAM M. CAHILL ’56 JOHN M. ERB, JR. ’75 GREGORY P. KUZMA ’68 ANTHONY J. LAVALLE, JR. ’50 SANDRA McINTOSH McLAUGHLIN GO ’80 JAMES D. RICCARDI ’51

MARILYN A. CARTWRIGHT, mother of Thomas ’67, Timothy ’71, and Terence ’76; grandmother of Richard ’09, Kelly ’11, and Kristen ’13 Kertis DOMENICK J. CATANESE, grandfather of James ’04, Ryan ’07, and Robert ’12 ERMELINDA CENTRACCHIO, grandmother of Mark Chiacchiari ’94

RICHARD M. DiLISI, husband of Business Office Staff Member Mary; father of Richard ’82, Gregory ’83, and Jennifer DiLisi Newton ’96, and Carla DiLisi Solomon, former Lower School teacher; uncle of Christopher ’80 and Darren ’83 Frate DONNA C. DiPIERRO, mother of Francis ’83, Rocco ’92, Dominic ’93, and Angelo ’95 TIMOTHY B. DuCHEZ, uncle of Elizabeth DuChez Turk ’94, Cheryl DuChez Pawlowski ’96, and Neil ’99 LAVELLE ESGAR, former substitute teacher at Gilmour and grandmother of Andrew Guenther ’02 RITA FARONA, grandmother of Kenneth ’11

Our sympathy also is extended to the alumni and families of the following:

AGNES H. CHASSER, grandmother of Yvonne ’05 and Veronica ’06

PRESTON FISHER, cousin of Morgan Osborne ’08

MARY ANTENUCCI, aunt of Dino ’91 and Amanda ’93

WILLIAM CHISHOLM, grandfather of Meara ’10, father-in-law of Colleen Erb Chisholm ’73

JUNE M. FUERST, grandmother of Mara ’07, John ’09, and Kurt ’11 Wilber

TOM CLARKE, great uncle of Corey ’06 and Hannah ’11 Newcomb

JAMES GALLAGHER, uncle and godfather of Upper School English Instructor William Seetch

ALAN BAUDET, father of Upper School French Teacher Marion GINA BENENATI, sister-in-law of Daniel DiCillo ’88 ROGER BOHNEN, grandfather of Gabrielle ’18 and Luke ’21 Vaccaro MARY ANN CROWTHER BRENNAN, mother of Catherine Crowther Doyle GO ’72, Herbert ’74, Lawrence ’76, and Stephen ’79 Crowther; mother-in-law of Kathleen Hackman Crowther GO ’75 MARJORIE A. BRIGEMAN, grandmother of Scott ’07, Alyssa ’09, and Matthew ’10 JOHN BRONOLD, grandfather of Ryan ’11 and John ’12 Tobbe

JENNIFER COLAO, aunt of Hallie Turner ’11 MARY COSETTI, mother of Dr. Elizabeth Fesler, consultant for curriculum and staff development DIANA CUNNEEN, wife of Patrick ’71 VIRGINIA L. DELBENE, mother of Ronald ’59 INEZ B. DiCESARE, grandmother of John ’94 and Michael ’96 Pawlowski and Jacqueline Pawlowski Coletta ’96

MAX PIERRE GAUJEAN, father of Max ’81 JOHN G. HABA, father of John, Jr. ’85 DAVID J. HACKMAN, father of Kathleen Hackman Crowther ’75, Elizabeth Hackman Heer ’77, and David, Jr. ’80; father-in-law of Herbert Crowther ’74 EDWARD CONRY HAWKINS, grandfather of Claire ’09; father-in-law of Ernest DeFoy ’79; uncle of Mary Ann Lasch GO ’72, Carol Lasch Schlinke GO ’79, and Susan Lasch Daher ’87

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M e m o r i a l ANGELA D. HERGENROEDER, mother of Paul ’66 and Patrick ‘66 BOB HOUDESCHELL, uncle of Matthew ’11, Kaitlyn ’12, Joseph ’17, Christopher ’19, and Mitchell ’22 Lamosek EBONY HOWARD, stepmother of Brandi Lawrence ’09 BR. ANTHONY E. JORAE, C.S.C., Associate in Technology

JOHN J. MENOSKY III, brother of Anne Menosky Cummons ’83 VERA MUENSTER, grandmother of George ’88 MURLAN J. MURPHY, SR., father of Murlan, Jr. ’64, Raymond ’65, Paul ’68, Brian ’73, and Rita Murphy Carfagna; grandfather of Emily ’92 and John ’97

JAMES KALISTA, father of Michael ’96 and Julie ’98

VIRGINIA and DONALD MYERS, great aunt and uncle of Connor ’14, Kelly ’16, and Brian ’20 Davis

MARILYN KINNA, grandmother of Molly ’05 and Samantha ’07 DiIorio

DAN NORTON, uncle of Eric ’09 and Peter ’10 Neundorfer

FRANK J. KONKOLY, uncle of Anthony ’78 and John ’85

MERCEDES M. NORTON, grandmother of Eric ’09 and Peter ’10 Neundorfer

WILLIAM KOVASS, grandfather of Madeline ’19 and Elliose ’22 Lynch MONSIGNOR CONRAD KRAUS, cousin of John Klumph ’73 MADELEINE LaPRADE, great-grandmother of Brooklyn Napolitano ’22 MATTHEW LEKSON, son of former Gilmour Library Associate Linda YOLANDA LIOTTA, grandmother of Robert ’93 BRUCE LIPART, grandfather of Dennis ’08 and Sarah ’10 Siedlak TEO MARCONI, great uncle of Jared ’07 and Leigh ’10 Richards JOANNE McDANIEL, sister of Frank ’76 and aunt of Jenna ’03 Gruttadauria JACK and JANET McDONALD, grandparents of Mark ’09 CALOGERO MENDOLERA, grandfather of Charles ’93

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ANNE B. O’DONNELL, former Upper School and Development Staff Member HELEN ONDI, grandmother of Martha Ligas ’09

WILLIAM SEMINSKI, grandfather of Ryan Hephner ’10 MARGARET KAY SETTLEMIRE, daughter of Thaddeus ’81; niece of William ’79 and Robert ’88 PATRICIA S. SIMS, mother of John ’80 ROBERT SPISAK, Gilmour Academy Maintenance Technician MARY DORSCH STERLE, mother of Dennis Dorsch ’70 JEAN A. THOMAS, grandmother of John Toller ’06 TIMOTHY TIGHE THOMPSON, uncle of Brian ’05, Gavin ’07, and Evan ’11 Stefanski BRIAN E. URSEM, son of Richard ’50 CHARLES VAUGHN, brother of Lower School Physical Education Instructor Barbara

JOHN ARTHUR OVERMAN, father of Upper School English Instructor John

TOM VISCONSI, father of Thomas ’60 and Anthony ’75; grandfather of Michelle ’91 and Katharine ’01 Poklar, and Marissa Visconsi ’06

MARTIN J. PFUNDSTEIN, uncle of Joseph ’84, Patricia Pfundstein Miller ’85, Thomas ’88, and David ’93, Lower and Middle School Guidance Counselor

WILLIAM VOORHEES, grandfather of Brock ’09 and Chase ’11 Raffaele

KATHY PLANK, former Food Service Director

JOHN VOROBEL, father of Jessica ’09

MELVIN RAMAGE, grandfather of Mitchell ’21

BLAIR WHITE, uncle of Upper School Director of Instructional Technology Cathleen

GRACE RENNER, grandmother of John ’12

DONN A. WOLFSON, father of Stephen ’97

DAVID RIFFLE, uncle of Eric ’04, Nicole ’05, Ryan ’08, and Katrina ’10 Caraboolad

GUERINO ZAVARELLA, great-grandfather of Diana Fedeli ’05

GEORGE SAMPAR, father of Darryl ’74

HELEN ZELAZNY, grandmother of Kaitlin Gill ’09

Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C., on a hard hat tour of the new athletic complex with members of the Class of 2009

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