Hun Today 2024

HUN TODAY

SPRING 2024

The Magazine for Alums, Families, and Friends of The Hun School of Princeton

Hunʼs STEM Department Chairs

Lead by Example

Back to School for Bart Bronk How do you really get to know the Hun experience? If you’re Head of School Bart Bronk, you jump right in — by shadowing one student from each grade for a full day of classes and activities, including lunch and free periods.

Mr. Bronk wants to know what the experience is really like for current students. That’s why on a sunny autumn day, he has taken a vocabulary test, completed a physics lab on velocity, prepped for a pre-calculus quiz, suited up for soccer practice, and was even reprimanded for improper phone usage in the hallway. To date, Mr. Bronk has lived The Hun School experience through the eyes of Tikoyane (Tiko) C. ’24, Azure M. ’25, Alina X. ’26, Riley S. ’27, Umay S. ’28, Aaryan P. ’29, and Charlotte K. ’30.

His shadowing days have been an exercise of affirmation.

“All of the things that I thought about Hun students and teachers have been proven true through this process,” he says. “The classrooms are active and hands-on; students are driving their own learning experience; and teachers have a deep understanding of their students’ needs.

The students I’ve shadowed so far are deeply connected to the community here, and most importantly, they are happy.”

In his days with Hun students, Mr. Bronk has witnessed many moments, both big and small. “Everything that I have experienced has been very heartwarming. The day I shadowed Charlie, it was her birthday; she was celebrated in every class we went to [with a lot of sugar].

When I spent the day with Azure, we never went directly from classroom to classroom since she used the four minutes of time between classes to check in with her friends.

Tiko likes to spend his free time playing guitar in his dorm room with fellow boarders. I shared one, sometimes two meals a day with these students and that’s when we had some of our best conversations and connections.”

HUN TODAY

Editor Nancy DePalma ’92

Board of Trustees

Alumni Association Board

Susan McGlory Michel, Board Chair

Jonathan Begg ’05, Vice President

Danner Riebe ’79, Board Vice Chair

Connor Cahill ’13

Bart Bronk, Head of School

Gabrielle Cifelli ’16, Young Alum Chair

Rolando Acosta

Sean Corwen ’08, Hun Fund Chair

Nikki Alpert

Rashawn Glenn ’92

Edward Breen

Gabrielle Graff ’98

Michael Diverio ’01

Rob Kuchar ’01

Christiana Foglio

Johnny Law ’10

Peter Fonseca ’04

Arnold Lewis ’79

Johnny T.Y. Fung ’77

Dana Hughes Moorhead ’95, Volunteer Co-chair

Xavier Goss ’99

Kat Geiger Perry ’99

Meghan K. Hayes, Parents’ Association Chair

Leigh Ann Peterson ’86, President

Kerry Kandel

Pat Quirk ’02, Volunteer Co-chair

Alex Lloyd, Faculty Representative to the Board

Jen Phillips Raics ’89

Brian C. Logue ’75

Nick Scozzari ’77

Herman Penner ’64

Jen Stone ’93, Faculty Chair

Leigh Ann Peterson ’86, Alumni Association President

Ivy Urken ’68

Ralph Pisani ’88

Tyler Veth ’11

Editorial Board

Michael J. Renna

Rebecca Barus ’15 Associate Director for Content and Brand Identity

Wayne Slappy ’95

Robert Siegel ’88 Felicia Spitz Alicia Tillman ’93 Thomas J. Barton, Esq.,

Bart Bronk Head of School

Corporate Secretary and Counsel

Parents’ Association Executive Board Nikki Alpert, Treasurer Kanishika Bhargava Jennifer DeSimone Tara Destribats Michelle Emerson Eve Gelade Secretary Meghan Hayes, Chair

Katelyn Cassell Director of Enrollment Management Sarah Dileo Craig ’07 Director of Alumni Engagement Maureen Scannapieco Leming ’95 Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Thomas Monfiletto ’04 Associate Director of Marketing and Communications Alyssa Onisick Director of Marketing and Communications for Digital Media Tara Strickland Associate Director of Communications for Publications Bridget Tavani Schaible Director of Donor Relations and Events

Trustee Emeriti

Heather Kamnitsis Aranka Kim

Helen Boehm*

Audrey Lloyd

Raymond Bowers*

Chunmei “Kelly” Lyu

Lynn Breen

Susie McCoy

Alexander Buck, Sr. ’49*

Andrea Mecray

Richard Challener ’44*

Kathleen Mitchell-D’Aulerio

Paul Chesebro*

Cathy Morgan

G. Gerald Donaldson H’14

Courtney Newman, Vice Chair

Leslie Florio

Harlan Tenenbaum

Thomas P. Gallagher

Rob Trotta

Thomas Gorrie

Nita Velanki

Arthur Holland ’41*

Heather Williams

A.C. Reeves Hicks*

Dominique Wolfe

Thomas Horwich ’59*

Penny Wolfe

Hugh Hurley

Qihao “Leslie” Xu

John Y. Keffer ’60 Alan Landis ’61*

ON THE COVER

Daniel Lieblich ’34* Ralph Mason, Sr.*

Hun School faculty

Ralph Mason III ’69

members: Mrs. Amy Wright,

Antonio Pirone ’56*

chair, computer science and

Louis Pyle*

engineering; Mrs. Julie Davis,

Patrick Ryan

chair, mathematics; and

Perry Sellon ’34*

Mrs. Jacqueline OʼGorman,

John Stoddard*

chair, science.

Lucy Stretch* George F. Tidey ’51*

Hun Today is published by the Office of Marketing and

F. Kevin Tylus ’73*

Communications for the alums, families, and friends of

*In Memoriam

The Hun School of Princeton 176 Edgerstoune Road, Princeton, NJ 08540 Volume 44, Number 1 / Copyright ©2024 All rights reserved

C ntents 3 A Message from the

18 Leadership Lessons in STEM

Head of School

20 Student Artists from

4 When the Teacher

AP Studio Art Share Their Work

Becomes the Student

Renowned Psychology Researcher Collaborates with Hun Faculty on New Book

24 Flooded with Support Hannah S. ’25 was Swept Up by The Hun School Boarding Experience

6 Fifty Years of

The Hun Middle School

28 Navigating the AI Revolution at Hun

10 From ASL to IOT

30 Artificial Intelligence

Hun’s New Trimester System Allows

How Hun Alums are Building a Better Future Through AI

More Opportunities to Explore Interests

12 Who’s that on the Bench?

Counseling and Wellness Join the Team

14 Meet Three Hun Students Stepping up to the Challenge

35 Back on Campus: Hun’s New Director of Alumni Engagement, Sarah Dileo Craig ’07

37 Class Notes 50 In Memoriam

Find your heart at Hun.

The Hun School of Princeton is an all-gender, private day and boarding school in Princeton, New Jersey. Innovative, high-powered academics, student mentorship, and a joyful learning environment are the hallmarks of the School.

On the 50-acre campus between Philadelphia and New York City, creative coursework and cutting edge programs like NextTerm prepare students for the global community in which they will live and work. The Hun School has 650 students in its Middle School, Upper School, and Postgraduate Program.

Our campus is home to students from twenty-two countries and thirteen states.

To a p p l y or l e a r n m ore, v i s i t h u n sc h o o l .o rg o r cal l (6 0 9) 9 2 1-76 0 0

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HUN TODAY

A Message from the

HEAD OF SCHOOL Dear Raiders, Greetings from Russell Hall!

As I write this letter, I have just marked my six-month anniversary as the new head of The Hun School of Princeton. It is an incredible honor and a privilege to serve such an outstanding educational community in my home state of New Jersey. The sense of community and kindness, for which Hun is so well known, has been readily apparent in the warm welcome my family and I have received from students, families, colleagues, and the many Raider alums and friends who have reached out to say hello. One of my first goals as head has been to connect with the wonderful people who live the Hun mission and who love this special School, and I will continue to do so as my first year concludes. If we haven’t met yet, know that I look forward to doing so soon!

A second, and perhaps even more important goal, has been to learn. Effective school leadership requires a deep understanding of history and traditions, mission and core values, and programmatic depth and breadth. It has been a wonderful exercise to immerse myself in the Hun community, to learn to speak the Hun language, and to witness Hun’s incredible mission of joyful and dynamic learning play out in classrooms, laboratories and studios, on the stage, and on the athletic courts and fields.

You can read more about my adventures in shadowing a student in each grade level in this issue of Hun Today, but it suffices to say that Hun remains a place where students are appropriately challenged, strongly supported, and deeply seen, heard, and known.

One of the elements of today’s Hun School that has been particularly impressive to me is the School’s posture of innovation. From the incredible NextTerm initiative, to the rigorous Scholars Program, to cutting-edge curricular offerings in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer science, Hun is focused on preparing students for a world in which the only guarantee is change. In our focus on core skills, rather than fixed content, we are giving students the tools to navigate that complexity

“

EFFECTIVE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP REQUIRES A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF HISTORY AND

and from it derive opportunity and purpose.

TRADITIONS,

As the stories contained within these pages indicate, this is not just a phenomenon,

MISSION AND

but a tradition. The Hun Raiders of yesterday, today and tomorrow are creating lives and careers of impact in cutting edge fields. They do so because they have been, and continue to be, guided by an expert faculty who are dedicated to preparing students

CORE VALUES, AND

not for a predictable past, but rather an unpredictable future.

PROGRAMMATIC

Sincerely,

DEPTH AND

BART BRONK

BREADTH.”

SPRING 2024

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When the Teacher Becomes the Student R E N OW N E D P SYC H O LO GY R E S E A R C H E R CO L L A B O R AT E S W I T H H U N FAC U LT Y O N N E W B O O K

How do you motivate a student? Do adolescents respond better to an “old-school” authoritarian approach or does a softer, more passive style reap rewards? It’s these very questions that were put forth to The Hun School faculty by renowned psychology researcher, David S. Yeager, Ph.D., the keynote speaker at this year’s back to school faculty meeting in August.

The University of Texas at Austin professor has distilled eighty years of research to answer those questions (surprise: the answer is both—but in conjunction with each other).

He believes in the power of something he has termed the mentor mindset, where support

“Nurture the soil by creating a

and expectations are equally high. While teachers and parents are often inclined to ease

supportive environment where

up when a student is struggling personally or

students are encouraged to take risks,

more harm than good. In essence, eliminating

make mistakes and learn from them.”

worsening the problem.

academically, the research proves that’s doing tasks is akin to eliminating purpose, often

“Dr. Yeager’s argument that we must ‘nurture the soil by creating a supportive environment where students are encouraged to take risks,

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HUN TODAY

three times, with each session proving more effective than the last. “As I was writing, I wondered if maybe I said things too ‘research-y’ and if I would need to say it in a more practical way,” he says. “These teachers helped me see how I might push away some readers or where my blind spots were as a researcher. I’m not working with teenagers every day, but they are and they know what it’s like.”

The focus group was as beneficial for Dr. Yeager as it was for the faculty members involved. “I was thrilled to participate in the faculty focus group with Dr. Yeager,” says Rory Hart, chair, history and global studies. “Having the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues has been a great experience for us to share our best practices and ideas and improve our craft together.”

Mr. Hart also found Dr. Yeager’s clear directives particularly beneficial. “I have long make mistakes and learn from them’ made

stress,” he shares. “I was there to share the

him the ideal opening speaker for our School,

new science about how we can get teenagers to

where the culture of kindness, positivity, and

harness their stress. The purpose was to equip

intellectual curiosity makes such a profound

teachers with the vocabulary to help them

difference for our students,” says Upper School

apply the latest science to their students.”

Head Ryan Hews. “We promise vigorous and

Instead, Dr. Yeager got a lesson himself.

joyful learning in a nurturing environment at Hun and Dr. Yeager’s message is particularly meaningful here. We were lucky to partner

Having just finished his first draft of a book on the mentor mindset, he realized there was a perfect opportunity for synergy. “I could

with him,” he adds.

see that Hun hires great people who are at the

If Dr. Yeager’s name sounds familiar, it’s

forefront of education,” says Dr. Yeager. “They

because it is. He is a well-known researcher

are the kinds of readers I would care about.

in child and adolescent psychology, best

These teachers have a hunger for making

known for a groundbreaking study published

things better for the kids.”

in Nature on the growth mindset, a research-

It sparked an idea. Why not workshop the

backed principle proving intelligence is far

book with Hun’s faculty? “The idea was to

from fixed. His study showed that patience

give the faculty early access to the completed

and perseverance do pay off. In other words,

manuscript and then have a personal book club

you’re not doomed to low grades in math.

with the author—me.” It would be a win-win,

You just need to put in time, effort, and try

with teachers learning new techniques and

different learning methods to achieve success.

Dr. Yeager getting real-world feedback. “It’s

Some may call it inspiring, but Dr. Yeager calls

like meeting with the director of a movie and

something else: science. It’s what brought him to Hun in August, to lead a series of workshops with faculty. “I came to Hun to speak about

been an adherent to the theory of a growth mindset from Dr. Yeager’s mentor, Carol Dweck, and I appreciated Angela Duckworth’s concept of grit, but never quite found how the two could weave together,” he explains. “Dr. Yeager’s upcoming book does exactly that in an accessible and understandable way—I have learned ways that I can still offer students high levels of support and encouragement while maintaining high standards that challenge students to grow. The simple methods of communicating

with

students

that

Dr.

Yeager highlights have significant effects on their mindsets and willingness to challenge themselves and be uncomfortable.”

With each chapter presenting a “big idea” followed by practical two-page scripts about how to talk to teens, the book, with a working title of 10 to 25: The New Science of Motivating Young People, is set to be published by Simon & Schuster in August 2024.

influencing the finale,” he says excitedly. “How many times do you get to do that?”

The group of Hun faculty met with Dr. Yeager

SPRING 2024

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Y E A R S OF THE HUN MIDDLE SCHOOL

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HUN TODAY

S P E N D A D AY W I T H H U N MIDDLE SCHOOLERS AND YO U ’ L L N O T I C E T H E Y ’ R E A LWAY S O N T H E M O V E .

Running to the Dining Hall during their break to grab a snack. Scrambling to finish their lunch and get soft serve for the walk back to class. Hurrying to get down to the fields for sports.

But there’s one thing they’re not in a rush to do: Leave campus.

You’re familiar with the term ASAP, but have you heard of ALAP? As in, “As Late As Possible?”

“This is just a happy place to be. Kids feel that way, and teachers feel that way,” Middle School Spanish teacher Kahlee Schobert says. “They’re texting their parents, ‘ALAP — Pick me up as late as possible.’ The kids are excited to be here, and they want to stay as late as they can.”

Middle School Head Ken Weinstein says that feeling is intentional, and in the fifty years since its founding, cultivating that kind of culture in The Hun Middle School has always been a priority.

“There’s this idea that when adults look at school, we see a place of learning where socializing also takes place, but kids look at school as their clubhouse they’re at all day, and learning happens to take place,” Mr. Weinstein says. “So the learning has to be engaging and fun and social. That culture is created by having teachers who love working with kids this age and who enjoy working as a team.”

Mr. Weinstein joined The Hun School community in 2012. A history of individual mentorship and a feeling of belonging existed, but there wasn’t much actual programming in place to support it. He worked with his team to develop a curriculum that includes making advisory more meaningful, organizing all-faculty reads to stay abreast of the latest brain-based research, and implementing The Hun Way orientation program to connect with students in the first weeks of school.

SPRING 2024

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7

worked with students one-on-one after school, helping them to improve their comprehension. After just a couple of years she moved into a full-time role as an English teacher, but still she regularly stayed after school to offer extra help to her students.

“Extra help has always been a big part of Hun,” Mrs. Moses said recently. “All of us Middle School teachers had kids coming after school. It wasn’t a condition of our employment then; we all just cared a lot about the kids because when you’re in a classroom with so few students, you really get to know each child and what

She found innovative ways to inspire learning in her students, and many of the tactics she employed are still used

huge feeling of community. Roberta King was the Middle School head and she just

H A P PY P L AC E TO B E . K I D S F E E L T H AT WAY, A N D T E A C H E R S F E E L T H AT WAY. THEY’RE TEXTING

they can do.”

“From the very beginning, there was a

THIS IS JUST A

at the School today. She collaborated

T H E I R PA R E N T S , ‘A L A P — P I C K M E

with other departments whenever she

U P A S L AT E A S

could, she assigned projects that gave

loved the kids and the kids loved her, and

her students a choice in topics, and she

it was a great environment. We’ve kept

would bring in outside equipment or

a lot of that environment going,” Middle

technology when she thought it could

School History Department Chair Joan

help her students learn better or just

Nuse says. Mrs. Nuse started at The

have more fun doing it.

Hun School in 1987. “Everybody was

One of her favorite projects was the

really supportive when I started, and

banned book report; students had to

we did a lot of collaborating amongst

select a book that had been banned,

classes, and that continues.”

somewhere at some point, and then

Sally Moses started working as a part-

give a presentation to the class about

time reading teacher in the Middle

the book. The class had to guess why

School not long after it opened. She

the book had been banned.

P O S S I B L E .’ T H E K I D S A R E E XC I T E D T O B E HERE, AND THEY WA N T T O S TAY A S L AT E A S T H E Y C A N .”

T Y P I C A L D AY O F A H U N M I D D L E S C H O O L S T U D E N T: M S B D AY

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8:20 A.M.

8:35 A.M.

9:25 A.M.

10:05 A.M.

10:20 A.M.

MS MORNING MEETING

AMERICAN HISTORY 7 WITH MRS. NUSE

SCIENCE 7 WITH MR. BARLETTA

BREAK

PRE ALGEBRA 2 WITH MS. SKELLY

HUN TODAY

“I think the thing that helped students

exciting as it should be in the

the most was knowing there was

twenty-first century.

somebody there who cared about them and could help them,” Mrs. Moses said.

Math classrooms have desks with whiteboard tops so students can

Fifty years on, the faculty in the Middle

use dry-erase markers on them to

School still really care about all of the

solve equations. Classes have TV

students entrusted to them.

screens and Smart Boards where

“The

more

we

learn

about

the

intellectual, emotional, and social lives of teenagers, the better we are at our jobs,” Mr. Weinstein says. “One of the things I love about our team is that everybody is a voracious learner and

teachers can show YouTube clips or students can AirPlay presentations.

Tables can be raised so students can stand; desks can be pushed together to allow for Harkness discussions; and every student brings an iPad to school.

loves to learn more about how we can

“When I first started, there was more

be better.”

lecturing, and obviously that’s not our

Middle School faculty are constantly passing around articles and books on the latest research, meeting to talk about supporting specific students, and brainstorming creative ways to engage their students.

focus anymore,” Mrs. Nuse says. “This place is different in so many ways, but the same in so many ways. Kids are kids, right? So it’s still that feeling of community, but the building is different and the technology is different.”

“Bringing out the excitement in my kids is my favorite thing about teaching,” Mrs. Schobert says. “I like to have fun!

I don’t love taking notes, so I look for other ways to stimulate the memory.

We play games and have fun; that’s the way I get them excited and make it memorable.”

These days, the Middle School building — which was completely renovated and reopened in 2017 — is outfitted with all of the equipment necessary to make learning as engaging and

•••

11:05 A.M.

11:41 A.M.

12:20 P.M.

1:10 P.M.

2:00 P.M.

LUNCH

ADVISORY WITH MS. SKELLY

ENGLISH 7 WITH MS. BEATRICE

CODING AI 7

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PRACTICE

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A Sampling of

NEW CLASSES American Sign Language AP Precalculus Asian Revolutions Behavior and Physiology of Substance Abuse Drawing III - Studio Art the Extended Practice

FROM ASL TO IOT

Genetics and Biotechnology Graphic Novels History of Public Health Humans and the Marine Environment Immigration and Ethnicity in the United States Inside the Performing Arts Industry Integrative Nutrition: Behavior, Chemistry, and Culture Introduction to Artificial Intelligence Engineering Smart Solutions Kinesiology “La Dolce Vita”: Italian Language and Culture Labor and Employment in U.S. History

Hun’s New Trimester System Allows More Opportunities to Explore Interests

Latin I Intensive Marine Biology Oceanography Poetry: Vision and Voice Science Fiction and Dystopia Sociology of Sports Spanish for Travel Web Design and Development

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HUN TODAY

                        

Sophia C. ’24 has taken a wide variety of art

to offer a breadth of courses to students.

Many students, like Kaia, have noticed the

classes during her four years in The Hun Upper

Whereas the former semester system gave

faster pace of trimesters, compared to

School: Photography, Introduction to Visual

faculty members more time to really dive

the previous semesters. For her, it’s been a

Arts, Ceramics, and Painting (her favorite).

into course material, trimesters have opened

positive adjustment, and one that she hopes

With so many included on her transcript, it

up new possibilities, including coordinating

will prepare her for future college courses.

might be a natural assumption that Sophia

trimester courses over the span of a year.

is planning to study art in college.

One example is microeconomics followed

She isn’t. She plans to study accounting.

by macroeconomics, which can now be

Last year, The Hun Upper School switched

followed by economic development.

“When it all comes out, it

to a trimester system, allowing students

Kaia D. ’24 took a required coding course

makes us better educators,

to fit six electives into their schedules each

her ninth grade year, and was surprised by

because we’re compelled to

year (instead of four), to better balance the

how much she enjoyed it. She shares that

workload of both faculty and students. One

she didn’t realize how much creativity was

positive result has been a rise in the number

involved. During her eleventh grade year,

and to think critically

of students like Sophia, who are choosing

with the switch to trimesters, she was able

about what and how we are

classes based on genuine interest, and not

to fit CAD1 and CAD2 into her schedule.

just future academic goals.

delivering learning, how we

“I didn’t know the whole design aspect, but

“This has allowed us to energize the trimester

I love being creative and I love art, and I

electives,” Upper School Head Ryan Hews

still wanted the technology aspect. Before,

says. For the 2023-2024 academic year, The

I never would have thought to take CAD,

Upper School introduced more than twenty

but I took those two courses and they are

“The teachers still zone in on a lot of

new courses to the curriculum, including

still my favorites,” Kaia explains. In college,

information, but in a shorter amount of

ones in oceanography, constitutional law,

she plans to study information systems,

time,” Kaia explains. “Overall, I prefer the

and artificial intelligence. “It’s allowing

business technology, and web design, and

schedule we have now. I feel like my schedule

students to pursue their interests.”

maybe minor in graphic design.

is lighter; I’m taking more classes, but it

The trimester system has also alleviated

And, it’s not just students who are cultivating

opens me up to trying new things, with all

some of the crunch points – the moments

their interests: The shorter classes give

the different classes offered.”

during the academic year when a lot of

teachers the opportunity to dream up

Mr. Hews likens the trimester switch to the

student work tends to come due around the

more passion projects, but it requires some

NextTerm mini-semester, which is celebrating

same time, often before School breaks. Each

creative thinking about how to capture

its fifth anniversary this spring. Both changes

trimester is ten weeks long; the first ends at

the students’ curiosity while delivering the

allowed for students to experience more

Thanksgiving break, the second ends in mid-

curriculum in a digestible and relatable way.

breadth in their learning, and will be reflected

February, and the third ends at NextTerm.

“When it all comes out, it makes us better

in a well-rounded transcript.

But more than that, it’s given students and

educators, because we’re compelled to stop

“Overwhelmingly, when I think of all the

faculty alike the opportunity to try new

being content driven and to think critically

changes we’ve made over the past few

things and flex their creativity. Rory Hart,

about what and how we are delivering

years, this one has more universal acclaim

chair of the History and Global Studies

learning, how we are mobilizing skills, and

than anything else we’ve done,” Mr. Hews

Department, says he’s thrilled to be able

what is essential,” Mr. Hart explains.

says. “I wish we’d done it earlier.”

stop being content driven

are mobilizing skills, and what is essential.”

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WHO’S THAT on the

BENCH? COUNSELING AND WELLNESS JOIN THE TEAM

If the mountain won’t come to you, you must go to the mountain. It’s a sentiment that Eva Ostrowsky, director of counseling and wellness at The Hun School, takes to heart.

“What we are trying to do with our wellness programming at Hun is to be a little more proactive so that our students don’t think of our counselors as the folks to go to when

WITH THIS PROGRAM, WE’VE NORMALIZED TALKING ABOUT STRESS, SELF-ADVOCACY, AND GROWTH MINDSET.

they only have a big problem. It’s more about creating an institutional philosophy and an office centered around wellness and peak performance,” she says.

To that end, she and her colleagues considered the population of students who came through their doors and realized one group was missing — student-athletes. “So many of our students participate in athletics, and yet we weren’t seeing them. It seemed like a disconnect.”

Rather than wait for them to come, she and her team created a program to pair each

WE’RE SEEING MORE

team with a dedicated counselor. “If we created a program at lunch time on a Wednesday,

KIDS TALKING ABOUT

boost wellness at Hun by creating programs where students are spending their time

THOSE THINGS.”

nobody is going to show up,” she says. Instead, this program’s goals were two-fold: help and energy, and infuse wellness into their daily lives.

“Our goal was to mirror the collegiate model. Most Division I programs have sports psychologists matched with their athletic teams,” she adds. Hun’s program is nimble, however, adjusting to the individual needs of each team.

“We will be there for whatever that team and coach feel they need. And that is going to be different for every team. For some, it’s support after a tough loss. For others, it may be

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HUN TODAY

mediating arguments and team dynamics. With other teams, we’ve

“By breaking down the areas they could control and shifting focus,

had more of a focus on nutrition. We’ve also done conversations

even changing where they put their emotional energy, we saw an

around sleep and how that correlates to their performance.”

immediate impact. This particular student even began highlighting

The wellness/athletics partnership is in its second year, but positive signs of the partnership’s success are everywhere. “It has increased

a different team member’s successes each day. It completely changed their outlook and perspective.”

our connection with students. We’ve seen more student-athletes

“That person was not outwardly suffering, but the coach had heard

than ever.”

they were under a lot of pressure and thought it might be a good idea

The partnership has also made an impact on individual players. “We worked with a student who felt a lot of pressure around their sport,” she says. “Their identity was wrapped up in it, and they felt intense pressure around college prospects, and maybe even turning pro.

The work we did was around what they can control with their sport.

Athletes can’t control whether they get hurt, but they can control how much they lift and what their nutrition looks like. They can manage communication with their coach. We also determined where

to talk it out,” she says. “If you want to be a collegiate athlete, our counselors can help you build some mental fortitude.”

For Ms. Ostrowsky, the program’s success isn’t only measured in conversations with students — it’s about destigmatizing wellness as a whole. “With this program, we’ve normalized talking about stress, self-advocacy, and growth mindset. We’re seeing more kids talking about those things.”

Now, that’s a win for her and her team.

the perceived pressure was coming from – and it wasn’t the athlete’s parents or coach. Through our conversations and observations, we could also see that this student-athlete was disciplined and a hard worker, but they weren’t developing positive relationships; they weren’t doing what they could to lift others up on their team.”

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Standing in front of a crowd, making a difference a world away, or leading by example.

Meet Three Hun Students Stepping Up to the Challenge

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HUN TODAY

CROWN PRINCE SCHOLAR SHEREEN A. ’24

On Bahrain to Princeton As a middle school student, Shereen A. ’24 sat in her bedroom

States for two years. The scholars attend schools like Phillips

in Salmabad, Bahrain, daydreaming about her future studies,

Academy, Tabor Academy, and The Hun School of Princeton.

university, and life abroad. From a young age she envisioned a

Hun has had a relationship with the Crown Prince Scholarship

life for herself that stretched across the world; how she would

Program since its inception in 1999.

get there was yet to be determined.

After completing the application process at Hun, Shereen

She knew that university in Bahrain or abroad wouldn’t

arrived as an eleventh grader in August of 2022, eager to

be financially feasible for her, but she was intent on finding

experience education and life in America. She is the first to

a solution. Her research led her to the Bahrain Ministry of

admit her transition was a difficult one, and she spent much

Education. While the scholarships she found looked promising,

of her first year on campus grappling with what she thought

she wanted to expand her horizons outside of the Gulf

America was versus what she was experiencing.

Cooperation Council. Eventually, she found the Crown Prince Scholarship Program.

“Whatever I saw on television about America was very inaccurate,” she chuckles. “This culture is very different from

“I didn’t want to burden my family financially in any way, and

mine, particularly regarding the nuances of relationships and

I wanted to experience education beyond my neighboring

social status. It wasn’t easy for me at first, and I spent a lot of

countries,” she explains. “The Crown Prince Scholarship was

time really contemplating who I wanted to be here and what

perfect because it requires students to go abroad.”

impression I wanted to leave.”

The initial research

“I’ve realized that

may

have

been

easy,

but

earning

being a leader is a

the

Crown

Prince

passion of mine.”

another matter. To

Scholarship would be

Eventually, she not only found her footing but became a leader. This year, Shereen is focusing her energy on cultivating her own garden; she has spent most of her time looking for opportunities to be a leader within the many different groups she participates in.

be considered for the

“I’ve realized that being a leader is a passion of mine,” she

candidacy

program,

says. “I got involved in our international student association

applicants must be citizens of Bahrain and obtain a GPA of

because I wanted to be the person that I needed when I arrived.

ninety-seven or above starting from their first year of high

I want to meet all of our new students, encourage them to put

school. If those requirements are met, students are then invited

themselves out there, and show them all of the meaningful

into the candidacy process, where they must take multiple

connections that exist here.”

interdisciplinary courses at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and

The lessons Shereen has learned and the moments she has

Finance and complete multiple rounds of standardized testing.

experienced, both at The Hun School and in America, are

Shereen was undeterred; she took courses in English

possible because of the Crown Prince Scholarship Program, and

proficiency, data and information management, critical

she has an overwhelming amount of gratitude for the program.

thinking, and personal and professional development. Every

“I come from a family that couldn’t afford any educational

test, assignment, and presentation in the program carries a

experiences, and through the Crown Prince Scholarship, I

numerical weight value. Ultimately, students who cumulate

will be financially supported to study anywhere and get any

scores within the top ten are offered a scholarship.

degree I want up to a Ph.D. That is almost unbelievable to me,”

Crown Prince Scholars, as these high-achieving students are

she says. “The scholarship and my experience here is one of my

known, are required to attend boarding school in the United

biggest blessings.”

SPRING 2024

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All the World’s a Stage: ANDREW W. ’25 It was Andrew’s first week of classes at Hun

practices what they preach,” Andrew says. “It

when Co-Director of Athletics Tracey Arndt

was the first week of school, no one knew who I

learned that his ability to perform went way

was, but it didn’t matter at that moment, every

beyond the football field. As it turned out,

single person in that gym was behind me. For

Andrew was also an exceptional violinist. Ms.

weeks after, people stopped to congratulate me

Arndt asked him to play the national anthem

and even thank me. It didn’t matter whether I

at the next home game, which he did to

was a student at Hun for five minutes or five

resounding applause. Coincidentally, it was the

years, this place welcomed me like I was family.”

“I’d like to leave all of my options open as to where the next chapter of my life will take me.”

This community moment was certainly one for the books, but for Andrew it was just another opportunity to step on stage and do what he loves to do. As kicker on the football team, Andrew’s role is an incredibly mental one, but his confidence and poise come from his years of experience playing the violin.

“I can actually draw a lot of comparisons between the two; you get a lot of leeway in both

same week that The Hun School would welcome the musical violinist group, Sons of MyStro, to campus to kick off the Centennial Speakers Series. Arranging for an encore was a no brainer. Maureen Leming ’95, chief marketing

to get used to doing things in front of people because it makes you comfortable.”

And you might not meet a football-playing violinist every day, but for Andrew, the driving force for both commitments is expanding his opportunities and worldview.

“We set up a meeting so they could learn more

“I only started playing football three years ago

about Andrew’s repertoire, chose a song, and

when all my friends were doing it; I’ve played

invited Andrew to rehearsal two days later.”

the violin since the second grade as a tribute

The Sons of MyStro performed for the entire student body on a Tuesday in September. Just before the end of their set, SOM frontman Umoja McNeish called Andrew to the stage.

As a newcomer to the Hun community, Andrew had no idea what to expect. When he played the first unmistakable chords of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida,” the crowd jumped to their feet.

Before the end of the song, the entire student body was chanting his name. It was a poignant moment for Andrew.

HUN TODAY

myself opportunities to experience it. You have

chair, called the group’s manager immediately.

enthusiastic about the idea,” said Mrs. Leming.

|

I’m so comfortable with it because I have given

and communications officer and committee

“Sons of MyStro could not have been more

16

spaces to practice and figure things out and

to my grandfather, who was the musician in my family,” he says. “I continue to do both because I never want to limit myself or lessen my worldview.

Building other skills while I still have all of these opportunities is really important to me.”

In true Andrew fashion, he has no plans of slowing down: “I want to continue to get better at both the violin and kicking. It would be nice to play football in college, but it’s not my end goal; I recognize that there are so many more opportunities out there that I haven’t yet explored. I love English, history, and Spanish, and

“Every school says they value community

I’d like to leave all of my options open as to where

and support, but I quickly realized that Hun

the next chapter of my life will take me.”

TIKO C. ’24

On a Summer Internship That Changed His Life While spending last summer in Zambia with his mom, Tiko C. ’24

When Tiko’s summer internship came to an end, he knew his work

found an internship that would influence him profoundly. He

was just beginning. He quickly started conceptualizing Unleashing

worked with Advocacy for Child Justice (ACJ), an organization

Greatness, an organization centered around life coaching and

that advocates and promotes best practices for children who come

career development for the teenage population of Malawi. The

in contact with the law. His work with ACJ, as well as time spent

program would comprise academic and athletic camps as well

getting to know children in the Zambian court system, solidified his

as workshops on community-building, identifying passions, and

desire to help people. Carrying out the work from this internship,

making their dreams a reality

Tiko plans to launch his own nonprofit called Unleashing Greatness

while also maintaining a stable

in his home country of Malawi.

lifestyle.

“I want every

“I met a lot of children who were not only wronged by a justice

“I’ve come to realize that

system, but who really weren’t raised in an environment where they

helping people succeed is a big

conversation

could succeed,” Tiko says. “It opened my eyes a lot to the work that

part of my identity,” Tiko says.

I could be doing to help others.”

“And I know I could do this

Tiko spent his first few days shadowing other counselors and seeing how they interacted with the children. Within two weeks, he was given the opportunity to lead his own sessions and work on his own cases. In his role, Tiko suggested that ACJ begin focusing more on the individual passions of the children; he believed wholeheartedly that this would lead to deeper connections and more open conversations.

“I really wanted the work I was doing to not only revolve around community but the kids’ interests as well,” he says. “Because I think when kids identify a passion that they can work toward, it keeps them moving in the right direction. During my time there, I met this group of three boys: one was really interested in farming while the other two wanted to be entrepreneurs – I worked with them to start a garden and create a farm stand. It brought them, and me, a lot of

kind of work anywhere, but I believe that you have to fix the problems at home before you can go out and help others. My home is Africa, which is why I want a lot of my work and even career after college to be

I have with someone to leave them feeling confident and comfortable.”

based there.”

“I’m not sure where I want to go to school or what I want my career to be, but I do know that I want to figure out a way for my work to help people. I want every conversation I have with someone to leave them feeling confident and comfortable. I’ve realized I’m actually pretty good at working with people and I hope to continue to do that.”

happiness, the ability to feel like they have had a real purpose.”

SPRING 2024

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17

Clockwise from top left: Color pencil drawing by Eva C. ’24; Digital drawing by Nia C. ’24; Photograph by Alex G.’25; Acrylic painting by Lexi K. ’24.

18

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HUN TODAY

the very best of

AP ART STUDENT ARTISTS FROM AP STUDIO ART SHARE THEIR WORK.

Clockwise from top left: Watercolor and oil pastel graphic by Izzi J. ’24; Chalk pastel image by Sean X. ’26; Digital drawing by Gabby R. ’25.

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LEADERSHIP LESSONS IN

STEM

20 |

HUN TODAY

Science, technology, engineering, and

AMY WRIGHT

math have long been the domain of men.

IS BEING THE CHANGE

It’s no secret that the field lacks female

SHE WANTS TO SEE

representation, and even though recent

IN THE WORLD OF

years have seen a concerted effort to attract more women, they still

COMPUTER SCIENCE Amy Wright’s journey to Computer Science and

account for just under one-third of

Engineering Department chair was not a linear one. She

the industry. Here at The Hun School,

graduated from college with an engineering degree and worked in the corporate world for several years before

we’re flipping that script.

finding her way to education. A driving force behind her

Our science, computer science and

science was to create the exact opposite experience that she

decision to not only enter education but to teach computer

engineering, and mathematics

had growing up.

departments are led by women.

“I hated computer science, I actually despised it and I only had

Though each has a unique story, there’s one common thread— they’re all longtime faculty members who earned their place by putting students’ needs first.

to take it in college as a requirement for my engineering major,” she chuckles. “Throughout my entire educational experience, I didn’t have many women teachers and I certainly didn’t have a lot of girls in any of my classes. I did a lot of self teaching to get to where I needed to be. I’m in this role because I want to be the female role model for our girls here because I didn’t have one.”

Mrs. Wright came to Hun in 2000 and left shortly after to raise her three boys. When her two oldest sons were of middle and high school ages, they decided Hun was the place for them. In 2017, she was hired for a full-time position with the additional role of department head.

MEET OUR STEM

She was determined to not just expand the department’s course offerings,

LEADERS WHO ARE

but to continuously develop courses that pique the interests of current students. Some of the most popular elective courses are Cybersecurity,

SHAPING TOMORROW’S

Web Design and Development, and Introduction to Artificial Intelligence.

CHANGEMAKERS.

“Early on in my career, it took me a while to build up confidence and convince myself and others that I was meant to do this,” she says. “But I am really proud of where we are as a department and where we will continue to go.” Julie Davis

SPRING 2024

| 21

JULIE DAVIS + MATH = ENGAGED STUDENTS joined The Hun School’s Mathematics

a concept in her department where each

Department in 1989 as the only woman in

teacher serves as lead teacher in their

the department; by 1998, she was named

discipline; those teachers are responsible for

department chair and had the freedom to

checking in with the others to be sure that

shape her department however she saw fit.

everyone is getting from point A to point

Her main goals were to attract more gender

B. She explains that she values teacher

diversity to the department, broaden the

autonomy and is always looking for new

curriculum, and encourage every teacher

ways to encourage her department

to be a lead teacher. Fast forward twenty-six

members to be leaders within their field.

years, and she has done all of those things,

“Having

and much more.

important to me,” she says. “I will

“Not only did I want to attract a more diverse pool of teachers to the department, but it was important to me to have both men and women teaching our highest level math classes to really try and destigmatize the higher math levels,” she says. “And I wanted our curriculum to be rigorous. When I first started, we peaked at AP Calculus BC. Now we offer high level math courses including multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and a number of other electives. And our teachers are very skilled in all of these courses.”

Several years ago, Mrs. Davis implemented

22 |

HUN TODAY

autonomy

is

hugely

never tell a teacher how they should teach their class, that’s on them – that is their freedom and that is so important. You need joyful teaching to have joyful learning, so I will never get in the way of that. One of the greatest things about Hun is the freedom to try things, make mistakes, and be able to say, ‘okay, that didn’t work’ and start over; I always want to encourage that type of thinking in the Mathematics Department.”

“Having autonomy is hugely important to me. I will never tell a teacher how they should teach their class, that’s on them – that is their freedom and that is so important. You need joyful teaching to have joyful learning, so I will never get in the way of that. One of the greatest things about Hun is the freedom to try things, make mistakes, and be able to say, ‘okay, that didn’t work’ and start over; I always want to encourage that type of thinking in the Mathematics Department.”

JACKIE O’GORMAN DISCOVERS A PASSION FOR LEADERSHIP Early on in Jackie O’Gorman’s career,

mattered,” she says. “The department has

elective course offerings, noting that in her

everyone around her tried convincing

completely changed since the moment I

time at Hun, she has never been told that she

her that her calling was to be a nurse.

stepped into the role. Women being involved

can’t offer an elective course.

She listened, and pursued nursing until

in STEM is really important to me, so it was

she could no longer convince herself that

a goal of mine to create a department that

it’s what she wanted to do. She did love

was attractive and fulfilling for women. I

science, though, and also loved teaching.

knew what I wanted to do when I accepted

She transitioned to education and had a

this leadership position—I had to carry my

successful early career at Stuart Country

weight as a woman in STEM.”

Day School as K-12 science department

“We have faculty members and students who are really passionate about the environment, so we have made an effort to address it in our classes and offer elective courses on climate change,” she says. “I want our students’ experience in STEM to be one where they

department

leave the classroom feeling like they can be

chair is to tap into her colleagues’ and

leaders in the field. I was never encouraged

students’ passions in any way that she can,

by anyone in my educational career (early

“From the very beginning of my tenure at

and to always stay up to speed on current

on) to be a leader, and I want students

Hun, it has always felt like my opinion has

discoveries. She is also constantly expanding

walking out of my class feeling empowered.”

chair. In 2015, she joined The Hun School as department chair and science teacher.

Mrs.

O’Gorman’s

style

as

SPRING 2024

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FLOODED WITH SUPPORT When Hurricane Ida destroyed her family’s home, Hannah S. ’25 was swept up by The Hun School boarding experience

In late August 2021, Hannah S. ’25 was excited about becoming a new ninth grade day student at The Hun School. Classes would begin in a few weeks, but she was already making new friends during preseason as a member of the field hockey team. While the first few weeks of high school can be challenging, Hannah wasn’t feeling anything but positive. Full of anticipation, she couldn’t wait for September to arrive.

On September 1st, everything changed. The family, who lived in Lambertville, New Jersey, watched as Hurricane Ida lashed their town with torrential rain and wind. Initially, they thought it would be just another bad rainstorm and weren’t concerned. “We’ve lived in Lambertville and been through flooding before,” says Hannah’s mother, Jacqui. However, this storm would be very different indeed.

The rain was intense, and their house, located just a short distance from the canal and the Delaware River, was in a precarious location. “The sewers were bubbling up a bit, but then all of a sudden the water started rising and moving really quickly. It went from, ‘wow that’s a lot of water’ to ‘this is crazy.’” A dumpster floated down the street and when Jacqui’s car started floating away, they knew this wasn’t like anything they’d experienced before. “We knew then that the window for us to leave had closed,” she says.

“I don’t remember when the water started coming in the house,” says Sarah S. ’28. “But we started grabbing things, whatever we could and got upstairs.”

In about three minutes, the water was knee deep. “We went upstairs and waited because the water was rising and the electricity was still on,” says Jacqui. Ultimately the water rose to just below the top of their dining room table, or about 2 ½ to 3 feet. “Our sofas and refrigerator were floating around the first floor,” she adds.

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HUN TODAY

I had not really known much about boarding before I was thrust into it, but boarding at Hun is such a great opportunity. I didn’t realize the amount of things we do together – the community that we build. I thought of it as a place to stay, but it’s so much more. Everyone is really close. The teachers are our friends. It’s an essential part of my experience at Hun.”

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HUN DAY CAMP Designed by campers, for campers!

Swimming, sports, nature walks, field games, crafts, STEM projects, and more • Lunch included (Grades K-7)

HUN ADVENTURES Choose your own brain adventure!

Fun project-based learning in business, STEAM, humanities, or game design • Combine with Day Camp (Grades 4-7)

HUN ACADEMICS Take the next step in your academic journey!

For-credit and enrichment courses in math, science, test prep, writing, and more (Grades 6-11)

HUN SPORTS CAMPS Take your skills to the next level!

Girls’ or boys’ basketball • All-gender soccer or field hockey • Lunch included (Grades 3-9)

REGISTER AT HUNSCHOOL .ORG/SUMMER 26 |

HUN TODAY

As they waited upstairs with the water rising, not yet knowing the extent of the damage, Jacqui texted another mother from the field hockey team to let her know that Hannah wouldn’t be at practice the next day. They went to sleep and woke the next morning to total destruction. Their home was uninhabitable.

The water receded overnight, but everything was covered in a thick mud.

“We knew that we couldn’t live in our house,” says Jacqui. They decamped to Jacqui’s parents’ house more than an hour away.

Overwhelmed and stressed, Jacqui wasn’t sure how she would get Hannah to and from Hun. Then, one phone call changed everything. “One day after the flood, Steve Bristol (former associate head of school), called me and offered to board Hannah until we were settled. It was the first time that I cried after everything that had happened, because I was wondering how we were going to set her up for success in a new school with a challenging curriculum.”

Hannah was also deeply touched by the outpouring of support.

For Jacqui and her husband, Fred, the experience opened their

“Before Mr. Bristol called, Mrs. Arndt (co-athletics director and

eyes too. “I didn’t realize how much it enhances the experience

field hockey head coach) was going to let me stay at her house,”

and opens things up,” says Jacqui. “I used to be that person who

she says. “I thought that was really special because we weren’t

said I’d never think of sending my kid to boarding school, but

even that close yet. It was just the beginning of pre-season.”

now I’m telling everyone, ‘have you ever considered boarding

Hannah moved in as a new boarder a few days later. Despite

because it’s the best thing ever.’”

experiencing so much loss, they felt especially lucky. “We were

Hannah’s experience has been so positive that her younger sister,

brand new. Nobody knew us, but everyone was so lovely. They

Sarah, a current eighth grader in The Hun Middle School, wants

all just said, ‘get her here, and we’ll figure it out,’” says Jacqui.

to board next year. “Of course I do,” she says. “It’s awesome.”

“For her to be in this safe, wonderful environment when we were

flood, the family had a new rental home and a new car but they

As for their home, the family spent many months renovating under the watchful eye of cameras from Rachel Ray’s Rebuild, a new home renovation show spotlighting homes destroyed by natural disasters, available on Hulu (their story is featured in episode 6). In the end, they decided to sell the fully renovated home just one year after the flood. With Hannah happily ensconced at Hun and Sarah hoping to join her next year, Jacqui and Fred chose to keep their options open.

decided Hannah would remain a boarder at Hun. “My mom and

“Of the many positives that came out of our house flooding, our

I started talking, and I really wanted to stay here,” says Hannah.

Hun experience is ranked the highest,” says Jacqui. “It allowed

“It’s very structured, which I like for homework and sports.”

us to send her to an environment with tons of opportunities

“I had not really known much about boarding before I was thrust

with kids her age. We also increased the number of adults

into it,” says Hannah. “But boarding at Hun is such a great

in her life who are actively involved and support her. I think

opportunity. I didn’t realize the amount of things we do together

the boarding experience really sets kids up. It’s increased her

– the community that we build. I thought of it as a place to stay

independence but in an environment with supportive adults

but it’s so much more. Everyone is really close. The teachers are

and a great network of friends that she can rely on.”

going through all of this…it was so much better for Hannah to be at Hun.” Still, the family fully expected it to be temporary. “It was 100 percent our plan for boarding to be temporary until we had a place to live and I got a new car,” Jacqui says. Boarding was never something the family considered for Hannah and Sarah when looking at independent schools. Six weeks after the

our friends. It’s an essential part of my experience at Hun.”

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<NAVIGATING> {the} /AI REVOLUTION/ at #HUN SELF-DRIVING CARS. SMART ASSISTANTS. SOCIAL MEDIA ALGORITHMS. HOW DO HUN FACULTY PREPARE STUDENTS FOR A WORLD FILLED WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND IT? Hun faculty are no strangers to AI use in the

“The more people that we can get to understand

classroom. In 2018, Chris Cooper, computer science

AI, the better,” he says. “AI may seem like magic to

and engineering faculty, purchased several do-it-

most people, but when you start to understand the

yourself AI kits from Google and has been using

physical technology behind it, you realize that this is

them for student projects in his Robotics Engineering

just statistics. It’s using a large body of data to come

course. Projects have included the creation of a robot

up with a prediction, which is not an absolute truth.”

triggered by a voice command to locate a person using

28 |

The new course has proved popular among Hun

facial recognition and drive toward them to deliver an

students — more than fifteen students took the first

item as well as an AI tour guide that could answer

class, which started this fall. In it, students learn to

questions about Hun. However, when ChatGPT

hone their coding skills and gain a better sense of

launched in 2022, Mr. Cooper saw an opportunity to

their place in the world. They also learn about some

expand AI beyond robotics and proposed a new Upper

of AI’s shortcomings, such as ethical biases and

School course, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence,

hallucinations — AI responses that present false or

partially as a way to demystify the field.

misleading information as factual.

HUN TODAY

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Beyond computer science and engineering, Hun

cite their work, and understand AI limitations to be

faculty are learning to integrate broader AI use in

able to critically judge AI-assisted responses. They

classrooms from art to world history. In addition to

are also focusing on ways to limit and check for

ongoing departmental and cohort discussions on

usage by students when these tools are not allowed,

the topic last year, this summer’s faculty orientation

in accordance with the Honor Code.

featured Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Classroom, a workshop led by Jaime Gilligan, educational technology designer, and Ted

"IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE

Shaffner,

HELP STUDENTS LEARN THE

grade-level

dean

and

English

Department faculty, for more than thirty faculty. Attendees tested various tools and

PROPER APPLICATION OF AI."

platforms and learned about the ethical implications of AI use in the classroom.

Going forward, Ms. Gilligan and Mr. Shaffner are also leading an interdisciplinary group of faculty

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in the development of Hun School policies and guidelines for the use of AI. They are focusing on ways for faculty to introduce meaningful use of AI,

“While we won’t be banning the use of AI tools, it is imperative that we help students learn the proper application of AI and set School-wide guidelines for how and when they can assist students with critical thinking skills,” says Upper School Head Ryan Hews.

but also teach students to master skills, show and

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: HOW HUN ALUMS ARE BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE THROUGH AI Artificial intelligence as a field dates back more than half a century, but it’s only been about a decade since the deep learning revolution led to a surge in funding and interest. Today, people all around the world are helping revolutionize and find new ways to use AI to benefit people, while still keeping the human element at the forefront.

Meet four Hun alums who are using AI in different ways to help improve customer experience, increase corporate revenue, and much more.

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analyze information based on both the tone and content of spoken words, employing sophisticated algorithms.

“As a human agent, you are trying to multitask while having a conversation — ensuring you have the right customer, pulling up the history, and worrying about other calls backing up — so you might not be fully sensitive to someone who sounds stressed and says they’re having trouble paying a bill. AI can work in the background to assist the agent by cueing empathy to literally pop up on their screen.”

Another big part of what Ms. Corbanese does — and she is most passionate about — is making sure that companies have the right AI technology, user data, and governance to apply AI ethically. She notes that several recent studies have demonstrated the importance of building diverse

>PEILIN TSAI CORBANESE ’89 DEI CHAMPION FOR GENERATIVE AI When budding violin virtuoso Peilin Tsai Corbanese first arrived at Hun from Taiwan in the 1980s, AI was practically a sci-fi concept. But Hun’s nurturing environment provided her with the support she needed and set her up to pursue her dreams, which turned out to not be in music, but in economics — and later, Generative AI.

skinned women, misidentifying their gender 35% of the time without a diverse data set. Ms. Corbanese often speaks at conferences and other events to promote DEI in Generative AI. “When you assemble a diverse team responsible for creating the products and acquiring data, individuals such as myself would instinctively raise concerns, saying, ‘Wait, that’s incorrect.’ It’s crucial to recognize that not everyone would have the same perspective,” she says, noting that when designing an AI use case, it’s important to have a team “comprised of humans who can govern, audit, and

equity, and inclusion in Generative AI as vice president of

also have a diversity of thought.”

firm for analytics and digital transformation. She leads a team that provides Generative AI solutions for different industries to help them achieve a better customer experience based on a specific company’s needs and any identified gaps.

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facial-analysis systems found it hard to identify dark-

Three decades later, she is a leading champion of diversity, analytics at EXL Services, a global management consulting

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and accurate data sets. As an example, three commercial

Ms. Corbanese, who holds a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from Brown University, hopes that by sharing her message, she will encourage other role models like herself who can ensure ethical AI usage that is reflective of all viewpoints. She works toward gender equity in particular by providing leadership guidance for

“The difference between AI and Generative AI that makes

other senior female executives as a member of Chief, an

it really easy to understand is the word ‘Generative.’

organization designed to help get more women promoted

Generative AI has the capability to grab new data and

to positions of leadership and keep them there, which she

learn by itself,” she says. “But AI only looks at and learns

said helps “the younger generation see that there’s a path

from the existing data.”

and understand that it’s completely doable.”

That can be a text prompt, such as one you give to ChatGPT,

Ms. Corbanese’s next project will continue her work in

or an audio prompt, such as one given to EXL’s Digital

gender equity. She wants to create an ecosystem for a

Virtual Assist (DIVA). DIVA uses EXL’s AI-based digital

group of women — perhaps immigrant women like herself

intelligence platform to augment human intelligence to

— to support them on their career journeys. “I want to

improve customer experience. Imagine a scenario where a

create a community where they feel they belong, and

customer service agent is handling a phone call to address

they believe that they can do anything if we provide them

an insurance claim or respond to a billing inquiry. Ms.

with the support, community, tools, and services that

Corbanese elucidated that AI now has the capability to

they need to advance in the world.”

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as a finance major at NYU, he transferred to Brown University for undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science. There, with a growing public interest in the field of AI, he discovered and pursued quantitative trading, an area of finance that relies heavily on statistics and computer algorithms. But Mr. Choi soon realized that his ultimate goal was to work more closely with AI as a scientist. He took the first step by becoming a machine learning engineer — focusing on the software engineering side of making AI work — at Amazon Web Services. The engineering background not only helped him land his dream job as an AI scientist at Amazon Ads, but also helps him in his current role, since he understands both sides of the AI process.

Learning to work with AI recommendation systems is useful beyond Amazon — think Netflix, Google, YouTube.

Like other types of AI, they allow companies to scale up a project that cannot be easily done by humans, at least not without hiring a lot more workers, which would also affect pricing.

>SEUNGBO “MATT” CHOI ’11

32 |

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“Using the same example of that coffee machine, you have to find probably a maximum of a hundred advertisements out of three billion,” Mr. Choi explains.

“Humans could do that, but I don’t know how many people we’d need to do it right. In the end, AI reduces

IMPROVING YOUR AMAZON EXPERIENCE

cost and maximizes profit.”

Matt Choi is tracking your history at Amazon — or least

However, he was quick to point out that relying on

training the AI he works with to do so. The Hun alum

machines for some tasks does not eliminate the human

works as an applied scientist at Amazon Ads, where

role in companies. Humans are still needed to examine

he uses natural language processing (NLP) — AI that

the relevance of the AI solutions. Using AI also opens

is trained to understand language and then use it to

up “new opportunities for people and allows people to

extract information and insights from documents —

focus on new challenges.”

with a focus on recommendation.

“It’s not about just reducing the human role,” says Mr.

“Let’s say you want to find a coffee machine,” Mr. Choi

Choi. “It’s more about people thinking about how to

says as an example. “There are three different things

open up a new domain in which AI can be applied.”

we can apply. First, we want to show lists of relative

Mr. Choi notes that the AI field is getting increasingly

advertisements for you. Second, we want to guess

competitive, despite the increase in demand. For those

which machine you will want to buy. Third, we want to

who are seeking a career in AI, he offers three areas to

find which advertiser we should pick that is not just

focus on: basic statistics and math — the more math,

relevant, but can also contribute to revenue.”

the better; reading skills and writing, since scientists

He notes that building these recommendations requires

have to write papers about their findings and read

an immense amount of data. That comes from tracking

others to increase their knowledge; and literature-based

that history, which helps train Amazon’s AI to be more

education, for creativity.

accurate.

“Creativeness is quite important for AI scientists,” he

Working as an AI scientist was not the career path Mr. Choi had envisioned when he first came to Hun from Korea in tenth grade. After just one semester

says. “You’re always looking for the area that people have not discovered yet.”

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and prioritization. And while Ms. Anderson is no longer doing the day-to-day development work, her background in data helps her communicate with her team members who do. She also recently completed MIT Professional

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Education’s Applied Data Science Program, which she started when she was working in data science for IKEA. She says that learning to write machine learning algorithms and AI algorithms herself was challenging, but in a good way.

“I had to do that hands-on work and really understand what goes into it and how challenging it can be if something breaks, or the technology doesn’t quite work.

I think that gave me perspective as a product owner,” says Ms. Anderson. “I also learned how to understand other people’s skill sets through group projects, which helps me assign team members to the pieces of work

>BRITTANY ANDERSON ’11

that they find most beneficial.”

MANAGING THE HUMAN SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY

rewards. There are a variety of questions she hopes

Looking to redeem your Chase credit card rewards for a night at a Marriott hotel or a flight on United? There’s a good chance that Hun alum Brittany Anderson ’11 has had a part in making sure the technology used to redeem those points works. Ms. Anderson has parlayed years of experience as a data analyst, scientist, and engineer into a role in technology strategy, and she now leads others in

Once Chase’s modernization project has been completed, Ms. Anderson is looking to implement AI going forward, analyzing why and how people choose to redeem their to answer that will help her strategize technological innovation in the future.

“Who are the customers who only select cash back as a reward, and what are their attributes? Or, how much time are people spending on the website, and which parts of the website are of the most interest or ignored?” she asks. “I think there’s a lot of room for AI in the future.”

those data fields as vice president of product – rewards

Ms. Anderson, who calls herself a lifelong learner, recently

at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Wilmington, Delaware.

started working toward an M.B.A. in Organizational Leadership — learning more about the management and finance side of things

“I THINK THERE’S A LOT OF

— to keep growing as a technology leader.

ROOM FOR AI IN THE FUTURE.”

psychology that she developed at Hun

She credits the interests in journalism and with carving her own path as a technology manager.

“Essentially, I run the product strategy for the back-end

“A lot of technology involves rather black-and-white

system and databases for Chase rewards and points

kind ways of going about things, especially with coding

management,” says Ms. Anderson, who holds a B.S. in

and database management. But when you add the

Information Management and Technology from Syracuse

human perspective to data and people management

University. “Technology is a huge component of rewards,

and technological user experience — there’s a lot of

and because we have so many different card types, all

psychology behind it,” she says. “That’s where I realized

with different point systems, it can get pretty complex.”

that I could jump into a thriving industry and bring a

That’s why Chase brought in Ms. Anderson and others as product leaders to help the developers modernize

unique perspective as someone who is more interested in the human elements of it.”

existing systems while determining project allocation

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6 0 0 3 1 0 “We’re

building

predictive

models

using

machine

learning and AI, which is very similar to the statistics models that you build in economics,” says Mr. Ramsay.

“It’s fairly complicated math that can also be brought back to calculus at a basic level. So it’s all connected in some way.”

And while the machine is learning and creating models, human review is crucial.

“You have to understand the assumptions that this model is making, and you have to understand what types of models are more beneficial than others for specific purposes,” says Mr. Ramsay. He adds that part of his job is spent building the data set, cleaning and processing the data to make sure each model can be as accurate as possible.

“Everyone just assumes it’s math, and math can’t be wrong. But people have to build these models, and there can be biases and implications built into these models,” he says, explaining that the data collection process, especially when collected from the Internet, can impact

>THOMAS RAMSAY ’18

how a model learns. “That’s something we always have

HELPING PEOPLE THROUGH DATA SCIENCE

to see if small changes can be made to improve them.

Just over a year ago, Thomas Ramsay completed his B.S.

to have certain benefits, and there are pros and cons to

in Mathematical Economics at Gettysburg College. One

each way you tweak it,” he explains. “So we’re always

might think that math and economics wouldn’t provide

weighing those pros and cons and testing to see what

a clear path to working with AI, but Mr. Ramsay has

has the best output and what predictions are the most

turned his passion for numbers into a data science career.

accurate, based on the data that we have.”

Today, he works as a solution analyst at Deloitte, where

While Mr. Ramsay may focus on the numbers, he never

his current project seeks to improve the way a federal

forgets what the true purpose of his role is and why he

healthcare client is able to provide care for patients.

came to Deloitte in the first place.

to keep in mind whenever we’re building our models for the future. Your model is only as good as its data.”

Once the models are built, Mr. Ramsay helps test them

“There’s different ways that you can tweak the models

“MY MAIN MOTIVATION WAS THAT I WANTED TO BUILD AI AND MACHINE LEARNING MODELS THAT HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT ON PEOPLE.”

34 |

HUN TODAY

Every day, Mr. Ramsay builds machine learning models

“My main motivation was that I wanted to build AI and

by coding in the programming language Python.

machine learning models that had a positive impact on

The models, which he explains “take in data and

people. That’s how I found my way over to this project

output an answer to a problem that we have through

for the federal healthcare client. I’m helping improve

mathematical algorithms and functions,” are thus built

that client’s program through AI and machine learning

upon a foundation of mathematics.

— that’s a real-life impact on millions of people.”

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BACK ON CAMPUS: HUN’S NEW DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

Sarah Dileo Craig ’07 SARAH DILEO CRAIG’S ’07 ENTHUSIASM IS CONTAGIOUS.

Ms. Craig is adamant that she wouldn’t have left NYL for anything other than Hun — another dream job for her.

It’s clear that Hun’s new director of alum engagement absolutely loves The Hun School

“I went from a unicorn to a unicorn because

and is bursting at the seams with ideas for

I get to connect people,” she says, noting

how to engage other alums in her new role.

she’s

But that wasn’t always the case, at least not

programming that will help alums reconnect

as a teenager.

with the School. She is also charged with re-

at large, to make sure their experience is

through eighth grade, and I didn’t really know

meaningful. Ms. Craig will also be working

who I was.”

with Katarina Menze, assistant director of

Luckily, that feeling was temporary.

Ms. Craig explains. “My parents changed my life by sending me here. And then Hun changed my life. I was very prepared for college.”

That preparation, she said, was thanks to “great teachers” like Lynn McNulty, Bill Holup, and Richard Volz; her advisor Jon Stone; and coaches like Julie and Dave Davis and Bill and Kathy Quirk. While she played soccer and softball when she first came to Hun, a coach convinced her to try field hockey before her eleventh grade year. Despite a disastrous start when trying to run in a bulky goalie uniform for the first time — she hit the ground and went “bowling” across the field — she excelled in the sport and was recruited to play at Franklin & Marshall College, where she served as team captain her senior year and earned a B.A. in Public Policy and Sociology.

curating

serve as ambassadors to the association

a culture shock for me. I was in public school

support, the growth, and all that I had felt here,”

in

of Hun’s Alumni Association Board, who

come to Hun,” she recalls. “Hun was definitely

love with the community, the institution, the

interested

engaging with the long standing volunteers

“I was really upset that my parents made me

“By the time I left Hun, I was very much in

specifically

young alumni engagement, to involve young Responsibility

Department.

There,

she

oversaw workforce engagement, including the annual Volunteers for Good and other community engagement programs in more than 100 NYL offices throughout the country.

“I

kind

of

landed

in

the

unicorn

of

opportunities,” Ms. Craig says about working for the Fortune 100 company. But she noted it was not always easy, especially when the pandemic forced everything to shut down.

RECONNECTING WITH HUN In 2018, Ms. Craig and her husband, Logan, moved back to nearby Lawrence, providing ample opportunity for her to volunteer for

alums — those who graduated within the last fifteen years — by ensuring that the School is offering communications, programming, and experiences that appeal to them.

“Sarah’s job is to build bridges, make connections, and celebrate the alums and the School, as well as all of the moments that make it special for everybody,” says chief advancement officer Alexis Brock. “Her time at New York Life was all volunteer management, relationship building, and programming. To be able to take those skills and translate them into making Hun — the place that she loved and still loves — even better? I don’t think you can get a more perfect combination than that.”

Hun. She made calls on Raider Giving Day,

In addition, Ms. Craig will head up Alumni

volunteered at events, and served on the

Weekend, regional events, as well as reunion,

Alumni Association Board, finding it to be a

affinity group, and generational giving. It’s a tall

great opportunity to reconnect with the School

order, but she’s ready and willing to take it on.

and its community.

“My hope is that this School will always be

“I love reconnecting with people. One of the

what it was for me,” Ms. Craig says. “And

benefits of having been at New York Life for

now I get to show off the great work of what

so long and working in different capacities was

everyone has been doing here in the years

Ms. Craig recently returned to Hun after

that I had to have a lot of conversations in which

since my graduation. Hun has definitely taken

spending nearly a decade at New York Life

I reintroduced myself,” she says. “I wanted to

on some really great new ideas to go into the

Insurance Company (NYL), most recently as

meet people where they were. And I think that

future. I see nothing but an upward trajectory,

a senior project manager in the Corporate

is going to translate beautifully here.”

and I’m excited to be a part of that.”

THE “UNICORN OF OPPORTUNITIES”

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ALUMNI WEEKEND April 19 ‑ 21, 2024

We can’t wait to welcome you home on April 19-21, 2024 to share memories, celebrate milestones, and reconnect with the faculty and friends that make you a #RaiderforLife.

Register today!

RAIDER GIVING DAY A 24-HOUR PHILANTHROPIC EVENT

Raider Giving Day is a tradition that brings the Hun community together to support our School and the student experience. When you make a gift to the Hun Fund, you join Hun’s family of donors, helping to make the School a vibrant place that produces confident, successful graduates ready to lead the world. Please join us on this special day!

JOIN US MAY 7, 2024

36 |

HUN TODAY

ClassNotes

ClassNotes

HUN ALUMS Keeping in Touch, Informed, and Up-to-Date

above Former inductees of The Hun School’s Athletic Hall of Fame welcome the newest members at the 2023 ceremony during Homecoming and Family Weekend.

1954

70TH REUNION

1959

65TH REUNION

1961 Congratulations to our Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee – Jim Pietrinferno Firestone ’61 Jim Firestone writes, “I thank you for elevating

me to The Hun School Hall of Fame. Our great

Al Faisal, for setting the national scoring record

defense was finally recognized. With soccer

in goals (38 in 13 games); and Tom Petrone in all

being a defensive game, I, as your sweeper and

four sports, yes, even as our soccer goalie that year.

co-captain, accepted the award for our play. Our 1960 record was 10-1. Chris Eggers, left half, came

As to real class notes, I’m hot on the trail of Igor

as my guest and Bill Quirk did the honors of

Grosdorf, who has had an interesting life story

introducing me. I only wish my best friend Lewis

as an individualist, just as Jack Churchill does by

Wilson, who was fullback, was still with us. Long

looking after the younger folk in Camden, ME, or

ago he wrote the best letter to the committee.

Phil Townley does all year long by cruising the high seas like a man without a country. It warms

Over the years three other classmates of ours were

my heart to see that you are still such ‘rebels

also honored: David Savidge, in football; Khalid

without a cause.’”

above left Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee, Jim Pietrinferno Firestone ’61 right During their recent travels to Morocco, Iris and Sandy Bing H’14, along with Susan and Jim Byer ’62, former head of school, met with Antonieta and Leo Lopez ’63 in Madrid.

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ClassNotes

1964

60TH REUNION

Jonathan Frieman visited Andrew O’Connor at his home in South Princeton. Andrew was recovering from minor surgery. They had a “wonderful time,”

John Taylor writes, “Our family just welcomed our

according to Jonathan. He writes that Andrew is an

eleventh grandchild, Olive Elizabeth.”

“excellent songwriter,” and they’re working together to get his music out to the masses. Jonathan also

Bill Acker writes, “Clare and I celebrated our 55th

ventured up to New York where he met with Steve

wedding anniversary in June! We now have five

Young (from “Bathtubs Over Broadway”) and agreed

grandkids who are all lovely and of whom we can

to serve as Steve’s “roadie” when he takes his show

never see enough. We divide our time between

out to San Francisco (close to Jonathan’s base).

Tunbridge Wells in England and Ponte de Lima in Portugal. Paul Rosenblum and I have very welcome

Mark Taylor reports that his daughter Erin is due

Zoom chats. Hope all my ’64 classmates are well!”

with her first child (and his first grandchild) in January, and that his son Matt is getting married

Fred D’Agostino swims a mile a day, every day; is

in February. He and his wife, Ilene, are getting their

working on the governance documents for the

travel in after the big events with a trip to Morocco

National Learned Academy; and is bringing to

and Norway in March and another trip this fall to

completion, as editor, a 500,000-word, seventy-

Budapest, Prague, and London. Mark has not retired

five author “companion” in the field of social and

yet, but after forty years in real estate, he writes that

political philosophy. He urges classmates to read

the time is coming soon.

Ernie in Kovacsland for a trip down memory lane. above John Taylor’s ’64 eleventh grandchild, Olive Elizabeth. below Lincoln Yung ’64 and his family tee off at the Plantation Course in Maui, HI.

1969

Steve Weiss traveled with his daughters to Ireland 55TH REUNION

1970 Bill Crawford writes, “After retiring in 2022, I

and Norway in May and to England and Scotland in August. It was his first trip to Oxford, where his youngest daughter, Shannon, had just completed an M.A. degree. His middle daughter, Lindsey, was married in October. Earlier in the month, he ran in the Toronto Waterfront 5K, grateful for techniques learned at Hun from Mr. Cubanski fifty-four years

became the Michigan area representative for Links

ago. In January, he will retire after forty-four years

Players. I am a contributing writer to our daily

of teaching business and negotiation at New York

devotionals, which are geared for and subscribed

University and York University (Toronto).

by over 7,500 golfers. I’m also facilitating Links Fellowship groups at country clubs in Southwest Michigan. A recent study shows the biggest need

for

thirty-nine

years

(not

purpose, as well as the fact that we don’t drink

golf for thirty-five years, he has taken it up again. He

enough water.”

and his wife, Beth, spend summers at their beach

Kevin Scott Allen is continuing his long-running working on a horror film. He sent classmates photos demonstrating how well he “got into the role.” The tamest one appears on page 39. Kevin has over

house on Long Beach Island, NJ and are spending a lot of time with their three grandchildren, Heath, 7; Adelyn, 5.5; and Reid, 5.

1973 Greg Rafalski writes, “When we’re in Pawleys Island, we always try to get together with Coach

ninety acting credits listed on IMDb Pro. He also

McQuade and Barb to catch up and have a great

teaches acting, coaches auditioning, and wrote a

meal. Our most recent get-together was at the

mystery novel earlier this year.

Boundary House in Calabash, NC.”

Roger Bing and his wife, Melissa, spent two

1974

months last spring traveling in Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. He writes that it was “truly biblical” and

50TH REUNION

educational, but exhausting! In the States, he

Brent Bystrzycki and Greg Rafalski ’73 got

and Melissa split their time between homes in

together for a round of golf in memory of a friend

Atlanta and Florida and see their children often.

lost way too early at Caledonia Golf and Fish Club

Their daughter and her family (four grandkids) live

in Pawleys Island.

in Chattanooga, TN. Their son recently moved to Brevard County, FL, where he is a first responder in the fire department.

HUN TODAY

surgery

counting the years of training). After being away from

acting career in film and television, most recently

38 |

orthopedic

for those of us over sixty-five is relationships and

1971 below Roger Bing ’71 on his travels.

Rick Ziegler retired last April after practicing

ClassNotes

above Brent Bystrzycki ’74 and Greg Rafalski ’73 at Caledonia Fish and Golf Club in Pawleys Island, SC. above right Scott Killary ’73, Paul Creamer ’73, and Mike Seward ’73 sharing stories of the “glory days.” right Carl Christiansen ’74 and his classic car. below Steve Weiss ’71 running a marathon in Toronto.

above Kevin Scott Allen ’71 continues his acting career. below Former Assistant Head of School Bill McQuade and his wife, Barb, having a meal together with Greg Rafalski ’73 and his wife, Faith, at the Boundary House in Calabash, NC.

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ClassNotes

above left Will Christiansen ’07, Mike Christiansen ’09, and their father, Carl Christiansen ’74, with Will’s new son, Liam. above Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Donnie Mitchell ’88. below left Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Sharon Papp ’82 and her family. below Pam Papier Gelbert ’79 in her new home state of Florida.

STAY CONNECTED AND NEVER MISS A THING. @hunalumni FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK!

40 |

HUN TODAY

ClassNotes

Carl Christiansen writes, “I have really been enjoying traveling during retirement and have taken a number of trips in 2023. To escape the winter, we started the year with a trip to the Gulf Coast and Amelia Island. In the spring, we did a cross-country drive to Portland, OR, to visit our son, Will Christiansen ’07; his wife, Sierra; and our new grandson, Liam. Later, we did another road trip to Wichita, KS, for a wedding (and to add a number of states to our growing list — I only have four more to get to fifty!). During the July 4th holiday, we returned to Portland along with our other son, Mike Christiansen ’09, so he could meet his new nephew. After our annual stay on Long Beach Island, this fall, we visited the Outer Banks; took a Mississippi River cruise; and spent a week in San Diego, CA. Another trip to Portland and a Mediterranean cruise are scheduled to close out the year. I’m looking forward to seeing other Class of 1974 members at our fiftieth reunion in April 2024 and hope everyone will make an effort to attend! In case anyone is wondering, I still have the same 1940 Ford I drove to school senior year and am still running (more like jogging) a three-

1984

40TH REUNION

1988 Congratulations to our Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee – Donnie Mitchell ’88

1989

35TH REUNION

Jen Phillips Raics writes, “I hope this finds you all well and planning to find your way back to Hun to celebrate our thirty-fifth! Some fun updates from here … Jen Hinkle Hadland and I had some Marco Island fun for our birthdays last winter and attended a great Florida Hun event. We took in a girls lacrosse game with Patrick Murphy, and his mom shared a bunch of great baseball memories! Let’s get you guys back here. A long overdue catch-up dinner with Alison Hyman Ertel. Chris Kamnintis

mile course about five times a week.”

and I shared some football time at Homecoming

1979

familiar faces, we wished former Head of School

45TH REUNION

Pam Papier Gelbert closed her law practice. Her husband, Mark, retired, and they sold their New Jersey home. They moved to Boca Raton, FL, with

this fall, and last May, along with many longtime Jon Brougham a happy retirement.”

Susan Hendricks

their poodle Styx and took up golf.

Congratulations

1982

Descent into the Double Murder in Delphi. She

Congratulations to our Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee – Sharon Papp ’82

the publication of her new book, Down The Hill: My Descent into the Double Murder in Delphi.

1991 to

above Congratulations to Susan Hendricks ’91 on

on

the

publication of her new book, Down The Hill: My writes, “I have been covering the Delphi double murders for CNN/HLN since it broke in 2017. In 2019, I traveled to Delphi to interview the families and law

from their perspective. Instead, the crime headline usually focuses on the accused or convicted.”

1992

enforcement. Through the years, getting to know the

Congratulations to our Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of

families made me realize stories are not often told

Fame Inductee – Orin Wilf ’92

left Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Orin Wilf ’92. above left Jen Pontani Stone ’93’s sons are now in ninth and seventh grade. above right Rashawn Glenn ’92 and Orin Wilf ’92 share a moment at the Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony.

SPRING 2024

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41

ClassNotes

1993 Math teacher and dorm parent Jen Pontani Stone writes: “Hello Class of ’93! We are well into the new academic year, and I continue to LOVE teaching at Hun! My oldest son is now in ninth grade and enjoys being a part of the Janus Players. My youngest son, Ryan, is a current seventh grader and enjoys playing soccer, basketball, and baseball in the Middle School!”

1994

30TH REUNION

1997 Kelly Camamis Polgar and husband, Richard Polgar, married on July 8, 2023, in Cooperstown, NY. Kelly and Richard were joined by Richard’s son Richie and Kelly’s three children, Maddie ’26, Sawyer ’27, and Charlie Klein ’30.

1999

above Kelly Camamis Polgar ’97 and her husband, Richard Polgar, married in July 2023.

25TH REUNION

Priscilla Connors and Paul Segars exchanged vows in a wedding ceremony at The Gables in Beach Haven on May 20, 2023. The couple, who have been friends for twenty-five years, opted for a whimsical celebration at the Jersey shore, with an Alice in Wonderland-themed event. The couple celebrated their love while enjoying live music from a band.

Priscilla writes, “It was a Victorian inn, which caught our eyes from the moment we stepped into the lobby. We were transported into another world.

There was a baby grand piano, as well as elegant decor and a romantic ambiance, which kept bringing us back to The Gables over and over again.”

2002 Director of Auxilary Programs and varsity boys’ soccer coach Pat Quirk with his wife, Lauren, and daughters Ava, 5; and Ella, 3 had a great time attending Homecoming and Family Weekend

above Priscilla Connors ’99 married Paul Segars in May of 2023. right Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee and associate director of marketing and communications, Tom Monfiletto ’04.

and hanging out with Raider. The girls loved the carnival games and bounce houses!

2004

Lucas Rudnick had the honor of officiating 20

TH

the wedding. Joe and Luke’s friendship thrived

REUNION

after Joe moved to Colorado in 2014, and Luke introduced the couple during his annual Master’s

Congratulations to our Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of

varsity baseball coach.

Joe Pietras

Ben Donati opened a veterinary specialty and

party, where the two hit it off immediately.

emergency hospital in Silver Spring, MD. After

Lauren Williams Farris and husband, John,

Ben worked as an emergency veterinarian and is

Fame Inductee – Tom Monfiletto ’04, associate director of marketing and communications and

2005 graduating from the University of Pennsylvania,

welcomed Jack William Farris to the world in

now the managing partner at Apex Vets, which he

September.

founded with board-certified specialists in surgery,

stunning

neurology, and anesthesia. All four-legged Raiders

backdrop of Steamboat Springs, CO, the love

are welcome! For information on the hospital,

of my life, Kaleigh, and I tied the knot in June.”

please visit www.apex.vet

42 |

wrote,

HUN TODAY

“Beneath

the

ClassNotes

above Director of auxilary programs and varsity boys’ soccer coach Patrick Quirk ’02 with his wife, Lauren, and daughters, Ava, 5; and Ella, 3, at Homecoming. right Lucy DiPastina ’06 and husband welcomed their first daughter, Catherine, in March of 2023.

left Ben Donati ’05 at the grand opening of his veterinary specialty and emergency hospital. below left Co-Athletic Directors Tracy Arndt and Sean Costello, Brian Scanlon ’06, Tom Monfiletto ’04, and Head of School Bart Bronk at the Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony. below Lucas Rudnick ’04 officiated the wedding of Joe Pietras ’04 and his wife, Kaleigh, in June of 2023.

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ClassNotes

above Sarah Appelt Donati ’08 married Ben Donati ’05 this fall. Their wedding was attended by Hun family, friends, and faculty. below left Carrick Porter ’11 and his girlfriend, Yurim. below center Sarah Dileo Craig ’07 is back on campus as a director of alumni engagement. below right Julianne Marino Daly ’07 and her family enjoy the alumni tailgate during Homecoming and Family Weekend.

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ClassNotes

2007 Sarah Dileo Craig returned to Hun as the director of alumni engagement. She is enjoying being back on campus and reconnecting with alum, faculty, staff, and other members of The Hun School community. She is most excited to experience Hun with her family, especially her daughter, Annie, age 3.

2008 Congratulations to our Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee – Emily Gratch Readinger ’08 Sean Corwen recently attended his cousin’s (Mark

Burke ’12) wedding in November and enjoyed reconnecting with fellow Hun alums. In addition to serving as a member of the finance committee, Sean recently joined the Alumni Board and is looking forward to staying involved with the School.

2009

15TH REUNION

2010

above left Christine Heilman Molini ’08 and

Ali Weinroth Bell wrote, “In August, I was appointed

above Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee

to serve in the Biden Administration as the deputy communications director for the White House Office of Management and Budget.” Additionally, she and her husband, Scott, celebrated their oneyear anniversary in October.

2011

her husband, Hector, welcomed their first child, Eleanor “Nellie” Molini, on May 6, 2023.

Emily Gratch Readinger ’08, with her family. left Shane Davis ’07 and former Co-Director of Athletics Bill Quirk H’14 at the Fall 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony. below Dominik Engshuber ’11, Andrew Crawford ’10, Tyler Veth ’11, Maddie Schade ’13, Sam Dauer ’11, and Jason Elefant ’11 got together.

Tyler Veth celebrated a new decade at his shore house in Normandy Beach, NJ with fellow Hun alums representing the classes of 2010 (Andrew Crawford), 2011 (Dominik Engshuber, Sam Dauer and Jason Elefant), and 2013 (Maddie Schade).

Carrick Porter wrote, “I continue to serve in the United States Army, Field Artillery as a captain in South Korea as the aide-de-camp to Major General William “Hank” Taylor. This job entails a wide range of activities which exposes me to the diplomacy of inter-governmental relations and to the mundane aspects of managing the 2nd Division's presence in South Korea. I work sideby-side with our Korean counterparts, which gives me a greater understanding of the joint needs in support of their democracy — and by extension, ours. I hope to take command of my own battery in the spring, which should keep me in the country for another year after that. I am part of an expat hockey league with my girlfriend, Yurim,

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ClassNotes

2020

to keep up my skills for a Hun alum game one

Paris.” Gabby currently works on Wall Street and

day and am improving my Korean language skills.

is required to take two uninterrupted weeks

I am located in the greater Seoul area and will be

off each year. She continued, “I really enjoyed

happy to meet up and tour with any visitors as I

experiencing new cultures through museums

After

did with classmate Tyler Veth this past year.”

and local cuisines, but my favorite part of the trip

was a four-year member of the crew team,

was reconnecting with a friend from college who

Catherine Porter began graduate school at

is from Europe. It was truly an amazing trip, but

UVA for Environmental Science, where she

I’m glad to be back in New York City in time for

studied invasive species migration, and rowed

the holidays.”

in the varsity boat. She graduated in 2023 and is

2012 Jamie Weiner is thrilled to have recently completed her PA-C (Physician Assistant - Certified), which came after successful completion of a PA program, and a passing score for the Physician Assistant

2019

graduating

from

Brown,

where

working on publishing her findings and working 5TH REUNION

on policy and research. She capped off her rowing career this summer competing at Henley in a single and happily made it through to the

National Certifying Examination (PANCE) from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

2013 Connor Cahill writes, “the weekend of October 21st saw the convergence of Hun students, coaches, and alums in Boston for the 58th Head of the Charles Regatta. I was in attendance for this year’s event as a competitor and photographer.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of competing in the men’s alum eights event with Hun’s current head girls’ rowing coach, Parker Nelson. Parker and I were roommates and rowing teammates at Bates College. I also had the opportunity to reconnect with Jason Elefant ’11, now Princeton’s men’s heavyweight assistant coach, and discuss his recent rowing experiences. The highlight of Sunday was cheering on the Hun men’s youth four. Spending time with former Hun rowers and current faculty reminded me of the tremendous passion my former Hun coaches had for the sport of rowing. I am deeply appreciative of the dedication Geoff Evans, Scott Sussman ’03, and William Golden had to the program and the tremendous positive influence they had on the team and wider student body.”

Grade Level Dean and Dorm Parent Olivia Albanese and Ian Gordon were married in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Kingscourt, Ireland, on June 27, 2023. They were surrounded by friends and family, including several Hun alums, who made the trip to the Emerald Isle to celebrate their big day.

2014

10TH REUNION

2016 Gabrielle Cifelli and Briana Cifelli ’14 recently traveled across Europe. Gabrielle writes: “I started week one of the trip in Milan, Lake Como, and Venice before meeting Briana, where we spent the second week traveling between London and

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HUN TODAY

below Grade Level Dean and Dorm Parent Olivia Albanese ’13 and Ian Gordon married in Ireland in June 2023.

she

ClassNotes

above Gabrielle Cifelli ’16 recently spent time traveling in Europe with her sister, Briana Cifelli ’14. above right Connor Cahill ’13 with his former college roommate and rowing teammate and current Hun head girls’ rowing coach, Parker Nelson. right Conor Cahill ’13 and Jason Elefant ’11 connect at the 58th Head of the Charles Regatta. below Briana Cifelli ’14 recently spent time traveling in Europe with her sister, Gabrielle Cifelli ’16.

above Jack Kearns ’21 and Pepper Kolman ’18 shoot over a wave as they anchor the Surf City Beach Patrol’s surf boat relay on their way to a third place finish. below Catherine Porter ’20 is coaching at Princeton National Rowing Association while finishing graduate school.

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ClassNotes

left Neela Murti ’22, Esha Mogali ’22, and Sofia Valencia ’22 met up in Scotland.

quarter finals. She is currently helping out at Princeton National Rowing Association, coaching with their Outreach Program for students from Trenton-area schools while she finishes her article and seeks employment.

2021 Jack Kearns and Pepper Kolman ’18 anchored the Surf City Beach Patrol’s surf boat relay and celebrated coming in third place. They helped contribute in numerous events to bring Surf City to second place overall at the 2023 Long Beach Island Lifeguard Championship.

2022 Neela Murti, Esha Mogali, and Sofia Valencia met up in Scotland at the University of St Andrews. If any Hun alums are ever in the area, Neela encourages them to reach out!

MEMORIES OF POE What do you remember most about Poe Dormitory?

Do you recall bonding over a movie, the laughter and friendship, cramming for midterms, or playing soccer in the halls? Maybe a dorm parent invited you into their home to bake cookies or cook dinner? Perhaps you even remember what it was like watching Poe’s construction and being one of the first to move into the new dorm after construction.

Whatever your fondest memories of Poe are, we want to hear about them!

Scan the QR code to share your photos and written memories of Poe as we prepare to celebrate its final year.

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HUN TODAY

In Memory of...

Jack Kroese ’44

Paul Greco ’88

Edward Burr ’49

Michael Gavin ’22

Scott Calder ’50

Stuart M. Woody Sr. FORMER FACULTY MEMBER

John Flickinger ’54 Ed Arditte William Rocknak ’54 Leon Tucker ’57

FATHER OF STEPHANIE ARDITTE ’07 AND MIKE ARDITTE ’10

Giovanna Crosson

Harvey Jacob ’63

MOTHER OF ISAIA CROSSON, HUN FACULTY

George Johnson ’63

Johanna Garrison

Stuart Jones ’65

DAUGHTER OF PATRICIA GARRISON, DIRECTOR OF THE JOHN GALE HUN CIVICS PROGRAM, AND SISTER OF STEVENSON GARRISON ’05, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION

James MacLeod ’66 FORMER FACULTY MEMBER

Mark Kolman

Jon Tobish ’71

FORMER FACULTY MEMBER FATHER OF P.J. KOLMAN ’11 AND PEPPER KOLMAN ’18

Paul Pintella ’83

Cristeta Laurente, MD

George Heery ’87

MOTHER OF ROMER LAURENTE ’87 AND CLARISSA LAURENTE ’90

If a member of your family passes away and you would like them to be remembered in our next issue, please email alumni@hunschool.org.

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IN MEMORIAM

Michael Gavin ’22 There was the time he became an Eagle Scout at

And there was the time he attended class just a

donate his tumors, brain stem, and spinal cord to

age twelve – the youngest ever in his troop – with

week before his death.

researchers studying glioblastoma; he donated

sixty-seven merit badges, despite needing less

Michael Gavin ’22 passed away on October 14th

his eyes to restore a patient’s eyesight; and he donated his skin to a burn victim.

than half that number to qualify.

after a fierce sixteen-month battle with brain

And then there was the time he showed up at

cancer. It was a battle, his friends and family say,

“He always put others first,” his father and

his new friend’s house almost two hours late

that he faced with the same determined spirit,

namesake, Michael Gavin, says. Mr. Gavin

because he initially went to a similar address in

quiet confidence, and signature smile that he was

recalled a time the two of them returned home

another state entirely. Undeterred by the error,

known for.

to find a flier on their door, explaining a young

he rerouted and made the second trip, wanting

“He was important to so many people, and he

his friend to see how much he valued their

was many things to many different people,” his

relationship.

mother Wendy Holden Gavin says. “For such

There was the time he tried to donate his kidney

a quiet guy, he made a big difference in a lot of

girl in their neighborhood needed a kidney donor. The younger Mr. Gavin started calling the phone number before his dad stopped him and suggested they first speak with his oncology team, who decided the procedure

to a neighbor – during his own cancer battle, no

peoples’ lives.”

less – and was upset when his doctor told him it

His selflessness wasn’t limited to just his days

expect of him is to help a teammate, but

wasn’t possible.

spent earthside: Michael made the choice to

teammates weren’t just limited to the field; he

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HUN TODAY

wouldn’t be a good option. “What you would

checkerboard top for his mom. He loved being

had teammates from all walks of life.”

outside, especially hunting and fishing with his

Recently, Mr. Gavin’s teammates included the

grandfather.

University of Pennsylvania community, where he maintained a 3.95 GPA and was a member of the football program. The only time he missed class was when he was receiving treatment.

“Being a student is a privilege, and Michael really felt that way,” Dr. Jane Dmochowski says. She taught an Oceanography class that Mr. Gavin took in the Spring 2023 semester. She said he was prepared for every class discussion, and completed all necessary reading and homework assignments without fail. “I called on him every time he raised his hand, and he never had a wrong answer.”

Mr. Gavin learned of his Stage 4 Glioblastoma diagnosis the weekend after graduating from The Hun School in 2022. Facing a terminal diagnosis, he decided to major in religious studies, with Dr. Justin McDaniel as his advisor. Over the course of his three semesters at Penn, Mr. Gavin took six of Dr. McDaniel’s classes.

“HE WAS IMPORTANT TO SO MANY PEOPLE, AND HE WAS MANY THINGS TO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE.”

he died.

“Michael’s dad used to say that ‘he gets his lunchbox and goes to work,’ and that was true,” Dr. McDaniel says. “We can reflect on death all day long, and existentialism, but it’s the business of living we have to get to.”

is to instill in kids the comfort and confidence to face challenges,” Mr. Redmond says of his role as scoutmaster. “Kids like Mike go far because they show the others that it’s cool to do what you’re comfortable with, and you don’t have to worry so much about conforming, that you can become your own person.”

Mr. Gavin remained his own person throughout his life. Christina Volpe met Mr. Gavin during his first semester at Penn, in a class called Living Deliberately. She recalls Mr. Gavin as being a kind and steady force, always intently listening to others and actively welcoming others into his orbit.

“He was just so passionate about learning and community in general,” Ms. Volpe says. “He just had such an accepting and welcoming vibe, and

That sentiment is shared by his Hun community

the most dedicated students he ever taught. In Dr. McDaniel’s Buddhism class the week before

merit badges, that’s one thing. But what you want

I’m so grateful I got to know him.”

Dr. McDaniel remembers Mr. Gavin as one of fact, Mr. Gavin virtually attended a lecture in

“The attainment and achievement and all the

Mr. Gavin’s love of life and learning is nothing new, his former Scoutmaster PJ Redmond says.

He first met Michael when he was in elementary school, and describes him as an active, curious, and confident leader, and always with a crazy hairstyle.

In addition to being the youngest to earn the Eagle Scout rank in his troop, Michael earned

as well.

“Michael had an uncanny ability to connect with people on a deep and meaningful level. His humility, his genuine interest in others, and his willingness to help anyone in need made him a beloved friend and a true role model. He made this world a better place simply by being in it,” Hun’s Varsity Football Coach Todd Smith said in a tribute.

Dr. McDaniel remembers a particular class

more than double the number of merit badges

outing to the Barnes Foundation where Mr.

required. Each badge involves spending five

Mr. Gavin’s family knows the impact he had on

Gavin, who was having mobility issues due to his

to ten hours with a merit badge counselor in

those he encountered, and feel lucky to have had

illness, needed extra time for the tour. The two

areas such as aviation, plumbing, camping,

the time with him that they did. But they also

men sat looking at Picasso’s “The Hermit,” and

architecture, etc. There is also a community

know his legacy will live on.

Dr. McDaniel asked Mr. Gavin his thoughts about

service aspect and required proficiencies in

the nobility of death.

camping and swimming.

“This world was better for having him in it,” his

“He said, ‘No, death isn’t noble. Fighting for life

Mr. Gavin was just naturally curious about

to be felt, but his memory will be cherished and

is noble,’” Dr. McDaniel remembers. “He was the

things and would explore his interests. He

inspire those who had the privilege to know him

one teaching about living to everybody.”

enjoyed woodworking, and built a table with a

and those who are lucky enough to hear his story.”

sister Annabel Gavin says. “His loss will continue

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THE HUN SCHOOL OF PRINCETON

Parents’ Association Planned gifts come in all shapes and sizes, and they are an easy way for you to leave a lasting legacy at Hun.

Lifelong friendships and connections

The Parents’ Association at

were made here. It’s a place that continues to

The Hun School helps to create

provide excellent education and experiences

meaningful connections

for my children and their peers. I chose to

between Hun families while

participate in the John Gale Hun Society

supporting the School through

because Hun has been a special place for my

events, communications,

family and for so many others. My hope is

service, and fundraising.

that Hun continues to provide wonderful

We hope to see you at our events throughout the year!

opportunities for many years to come.”

— Jen Phillips Raics ’89

If you are interested in volunteering, want to learn more about the PA and their initiatives, or simply to connect with other Hun families, please contact: Jeannette Maddalon, assistant director

you, please contact Alexis Brock, chief advancement officer.

of parent engagement and events, at

alexisbrock@hunschool.org | (609) 921-7600, extension 2246

jeannettemaddalon@hunschool.org or scan the QR code.

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HUN TODAY

To learn more about making a planned gift that is right for

H U N S C H O O L . M Y P L A N N E D G I F T.O R G

Katherine Y. ’24, member of The Hun School Dance Company

THE HUN SCHOOL OF PRINCETON 176 Edgerstoune Road Princeton, NJ 08540 176 Edgerstoune Road | Princeton, NJ 08540

DATED MATERIAL

Styles change but some traditions remain.

The Hun School’s twelfth grade class has been photographed on the steps of the Mall for as long as anyone can remember.

Below, Hun’s Class of 2024. Do you still have your class photo?

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PRINCETON, NJ PERMIT NO. 235