Miles tones
25 Recipients, 26 Prominent Americans Former Newman Prize recipients return to campus to mark the prize’s 25th anniversary. If you could meet any prominent American, whom would you choose? For the past 25 years, juniors have been asked the question, and the Newman Prize has given one of them the opportunity to meet a person on his or her list. Winners have met with musicians, a mountain-climbing photographer, an Egyptologist, entrepreneurs with game-changing ideas, media personalities and physicians, one of whom later ran for president. One Newman Prize recipient met with two of the people on his list. In all cases, the person chosen was simply someone the student wanted to meet, and the experience left a lasting impression. The Newman Prize was established in 1992 in honor of Eric Newman ’28, who was a student on the opening day of the school in 1923. Mr. Newman, an attorney and internationally renowned numismatist, is a longstanding member of the Explorers Club. He and his late wife, Evelyn Edison Newman ’37, traveled to more than 150 countries throughout the world. His desire to explore everything, along with his passionate interests, boundless energy and inquiring mind, model the characteristics the prize is intended to honor. About the Process
Each fall, juniors who choose to participate explain their choices in a brief essay and then meet individually with the Newman Prize selection committee. Mark Vittert ’65, who came up with the idea, and Eric Newman’s son, Andy ’62, comprised the first selection committee. They interviewed applicants and agreed that Julia Macias ’93 was a “fantastic choice, something special,” according to Vittert. Julia had chicken pox and was absent from school on the day her prize was announced, but several months later she met with Maya Angelou — author, poet, dancer, actor and singer. In a note about her experience, Julia wrote, “Meeting Maya Angelou was transformative; it gave me the feeling that anything is possible. She was an amazing person — generous, dynamic, larger than life and yet willing to open her home to a 17-year-old girl from St. Louis. That experience still impacts me today.”
“Meeting Maya Angelou was transformative. ... That experience still impacts me today.” The next year, Vittert and the younger Newman invited Ibby Gray Danforth ’46 (now deceased) to join the committee. “Ibby brought a new perspective and solidified the purpose of the prize,” says Vittert. “She said the prize should not go to the star of the class because so many people are magnificent after high school. She said the prize should be about seeing different qualities in people.” Lisa Greenman Kraner ’71; Vittert’s daughter, Liberty ’06; and Andy Newman comprise today’s Newman Prize committee. Kraner firmly believes the process is as important as actually meeting the prominent American. She says, “The Newman Prize is intended to give students an opportunity
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to think about what’s important to them. We’re looking for a junior who is interesting, engaged and passionate about his or her interests. Finding the student with the sparkle makes for a long, fun weekend for the selection committee.” A special assembly on October 28 marked the prize’s 25 years and honored the now 105-year-old alumnus for whom the prize is named. With the elder Newman and 12 of the 25 Newman Prize recipients in attendance, Head of School Andy Abbott introduced all recipients — those who were at assembly and those who weren’t.
Eric Newman ’28 and 12 former Newman Prize recipients attended an assembly in recognition of the prize’s 25th anniversary. Three of the recipients — Julia Macias ’93, Tom Sly ’96 and Annessa Blackmun ’98 — spoke at the assembly. From left (in front) are Madeleine Johnson ’16, Stella Dee ’08, Mr. Newman and Cory Rothschild ’04; and (in back) Macias, Nick Evens ’09, Abby McCay ’17, Keaton Wetzel ’11, Josh Jacobs-Velde ’94, Blackmun, Sly, Matt Scherrer ’97 and Cari Joyce Walcott ’01.
Julia Macias ’93 met Maya Angelou — author, poet, dancer, actress and singer — in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
David Sanders ’06 met Dr. Ben Carson, director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland
Josh Jacobs-Velde ’94 met Galen Rowell, mountain photographer, in Berkeley, California
Jenny Kurz ’07 met Margaret Lloyd, cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota
Bryan Hill ’95 met Andrew Vachss, attorney, author and children’s advocate, in New York, New York
Stella Dee ’08 met Temple Grandin, professor at Colorado State University, animal scientist and autism expert, in Kirksville, Missouri
Tom Sly ’96 met Maestro Gilbert Levine, conductor, in Baltimore, Maryland Matt Scherrer ’97 met Dr. Robert Burpee, director of the National Hurricane Center, in Miami, Florida
Nick Evens ’09 met Marie Wright, flavorist at International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., in South Brunswick, New Jersey
Annessa Blackmun ’98 met Myrlie Evers-Williams, chairman of the NAACP, in Baltimore, Maryland
Alex Goel ’10 met Dr. Maria Zuber, astrophysicist at MIT, in Cambridge, Massachusetts
E.B. Little ’99 met Dr. Christine Lilyquist, Lila Acheson Wallace Curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, New York
Keaton Wetzel ’11 met Dr. William Evans, director and CEO of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in Memphis, Tennessee; and Alec Lee ’76, founder of Aim High San Francisco, in St. Louis, Missouri
Todd Schulte ’00 met Dr. Frank von Hippel, professor of public and international affairs at Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey Cari Joyce Walcott ’01 met Martha Stewart, entrepreneur and media personality, in Westport, Connecticut Shannon Murphy ’02 met Chris Monteiro, creator of the “Priceless” campaign for MasterCard International, in New York, New York Matt Naunheim ’03 met Jesse Ventura, governor of Minnesota, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota Cory Rothschild ’04 met Itzhak Perlman, violinist, in St. Louis, Missouri Sameer Bhalla ’05 met Amar Bose, founder and CEO of Bose, in Framingham, Massachusetts
Eileen Williams ’12 met Krista Tippett, author and NPR host, in St. Paul, Minnesota Brad Riew ’13 met David Eagleman, professor, neuroscientist and author, in Stanford, California Nicholas Kram Mendelsohn ’14 met Theodore Olson, attorney who argued Bush v. Gore before the U.S. Supreme Court, in Washington, D.C. Rose Sciortino ’15 met Tavi Gevinson, magazine editor, actress and singer, in New York, New York Madeleine Johnson ’16 met Nina Totenberg, NPR legal affairs correspondent, in Washington, D.C. Abby McCay ’17 will meet one of the people she chose sometime this winter.