Kent Place Magazine - Fall 2021

Kent Place FALL 2021

26

TO KENT PLACE FOREVER

32

ADVANCING GIRLS TO ADVANCE THE WORLD

36

A CONVERSATION ABOUT DEIB

40

THE PROJECT THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING Jenna Smith ’21 was awarded the Citizenship Cup, the school’s highest honor, at Commencement 2021.

CONTENTS

“ We want you to live uncompromising lives, unafraid of the challenges that you may face.”

—SENIOR CLASS REMARKS BY JENNA SMITH ’21 AND AYA MTUME ’21 DURING COMMENCEMENT 2021

2

From Mabie House

3

In Her View

4

Commons Room

26

To Kent Place Forever

32

Advancing Girls to Advance the World

36 A Conversation about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging 40 The Project That Changes Everything

Class of 2021

48

Keeping Pace

55

Class Notes

68

With Wisdom

FROM MABIE HOUSE

Kent Place EDITOR Rachel Naggar P ’25 Director of Communications

Brave and Brilliant 2.0

ADVANCEMENT EDITOR Coral Butler Brooks Director of Advancement

Years ago, when we presented “Brave and Brilliant Girls” for our admission materials, the Kent Place community embraced the concept, and it’s been part of our vernacular ever since. The magic of Brave and Brilliant is that students can define the words for themselves: There are myriad ways to bravely show up and brilliantly shine.

It’s been nine months since we unveiled our updated mission statement, “Kent Place School empowers girls to be confident, intellectual, and ethical leaders who advance the world.” Those 16 words have given rise to an equally powerful concept that in a short time has been proudly displayed on car magnets, flown on light-pole banners across campus, and woven into speeches by students, by alumnae, and by faculty and staff.

Empower Girls. Advance the World.

This concept is a bold declaration of what we stand for and where we’re going. In this issue, you’ll read about how it’s been brought to life. We celebrate our recent graduates, who weathered the pandemic with resiliency to achieve this wonderful milestone. We explore what it means to create a community where every student feels a strong sense of belonging. We take a look at classroom projects that spark students’ imagination and expand their sense of possibilities. And we make a case that the community created in schools for girls is transformative.

I recently hosted The Co-Co’s “Women and Work Post-COVID” webinar.

The Co-Co, cofounded by alumna Christine Gilfillan ’84, is a women-led local business that supports women at all stages of life and career. One of the panelists was Michaela Markels ’19, who’s already making waves to advance the world.

Read her story on page 51.

I’m proud of all we’ve accomplished during such a challenging time. As we approach Kent Place’s 127th year, our mission endures, the empowerment of women matters, and I’m overjoyed to lead our remarkable school.

Yours for Kent Place,

Jennifer C. Galambos Head of School

2 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

ALUMNAE EDITOR Aimee Bousquet Singer ’88 P ’25 Advancement Communications Manager CONTRIBUTORS Lori L. Ferguson Julie Gentile Grace Kennedy Bobbi Moran Alison Odze Erin Peterson Lainey Segear P ’34 Edel Thomas Doris Troy, Copy Editor Julia Wall CREATIVE DIRECTION & DESIGN 2COMMUNIQUÉ COVER ARTIST John Jay PHOTOGRAPHERS Will Hauser John O’Boyle Michael Rubenstein Mark Wyville PRINTING J.S. McCarthy Printers Kent Place is the official magazine of Kent Place School and is published twice a year by the Communications Office, in partnership with the Advancement Office, for alumnae, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends of the school.

Kent Place School 42 Norwood Avenue Summit, NJ 07901 (908) 273-0900 kentplace.org We welcome your input: communications@kentplace.org

IN HER VIEW

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR 15-YEAR-OLD SELF? “ Find joy wherever and whenever you can, and get used to

“ You don’t have to be excellent at everything — follow your passions and find teammates who have complementary passions and skills.”

—O’NELL STARKEY ’00

“ There’s nothing wrong with you. Anyone who implies otherwise is wrong.”

“Mr. Darcy isn’t real.”

—NANCY DALVA ’68

—BETSY FRANZ ’06

“ Believe in yourself and trust your instincts. Find something you’re passionate about and follow it fearlessly.

But remember . . . all actions have consequences. Look before you leap.”

—HARTY (PLATT) DU PONT ’70

when you can’t.”

—SUSAN (SAVAGE) SPEERS ’47

“ Keep doing what you’re doing — follow the path you’ve made for yourself.”

“ Despite all the difficulty learning French, Latin, or chemistry, your struggle will help you tackle more-difficult problems later.”

—GIOVANNA (MANCUSI-UNGARO) BREU ’47

“ Be kinder to everybody; ask your elders more questions about history; and exercise more and play.”

—LISA (BROWN) LANGLEY ’82

“ Work hard to develop KPS friendships that will last for more than 50 years.”

—LINDA (BURNS) JONES ’66

—EVELYN (FRANCE) KALAGHER ’47

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 3

COMMONS ROOM NEWS AND VIEWS FROM KENT PLACE

A BRAVE AND BRILLIANT SHOWING

THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO BE A CHAMPION The Upper School Ethics Bowl team took part in the National Finals in April. Competing behind their screens instead of in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the KPS students made it to the final competition round and finished second overall in the nation. “The competitions were on Zoom,” said Sahana Kapoor ’24, “which required us to adapt and adjust to technological barriers.

Not being able to sit among my teammates and discuss the cases while eating dinner together was definitely tougher than I thought it would be.”

Dr. Karen Rezach, the founder of the Kent Place Ethics Institute and the team’s coach, was proud of the students’ showing: “They accomplished more than any second- or first-place finish could have given them,” she said: “the dignity of standing up for what you know and believe, maintaining decorum and respect in the face of adversity, and always giving 100 percent.”

4 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

The 2020–21 Upper School Ethics Bowl team: Anaika Tyagi ’22, Tara Ghose ’23, Nupur Ballal ’23, Sahana Kapoor ’24, Caroline Johnson ’21, Annabelle Walter ’24, Catherine Paris ’23, Anyra Kapoor ’22, Elizabeth Mastrangelo ’21, Jenna Smith ’21, and Miranda Lorsbach ’22. Not pictured: Courtney Crowder ’23, Sami Sharp ’22, and Miranda Wang ’24

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 5

COMMONS ROOM

Emma Chan ’22

BRAVE & BRILLIANT

Emma Chan ’22 Emma Chan is a young woman driven by a love of learning. From piano and percussion to poetry and philosophy, her talents are expansive. A Kent Place student since Grade 6, she credits the school with fostering her intellectual curiosity. “I love the atmosphere of learning and exploration that’s supported here,” she says. “We’re allowed to interact with ideas in our own way and encouraged to be confident in expressing our thoughts.”

Emma’s main vehicle for expressing her thoughts is writing, a creative skill that has

garnered her recognition both in and out of the classroom. She has won numerous scholastic arts and writing awards for her fiction and poetry and has already had work published in literary magazines. She has also pursued her passion as staffer, copy editor, and now editor in chief for Ballast, the school newspaper, and as a member of Baggywrinkle, Kent Place’s literary- and art-sharing circle.

“Emma’s creative writing is exceptional,” says English teacher Mike Schwartz. “Her

work demonstrates a great mix of humility and heart, and she always wants to improve.

She’s open to revision and very mature in the ways she approaches her craft; she’s motivated not merely by the urge to ‘put things out there’ for the world to admire; she’s intrinsically dedicated to improving her craft and is creating art for art’s sake.”

Emma has been Senate representative for her grade and president of the Philosophy Club and is media coordinator for Active Minds, the school’s mental-health activism group. “I love my extracurricular activities,” she says. “I can explore my interests and foster a sense of creativity, which I then bring to bear in my studies. Rather than just being performative, I approach my classwork with curiosity.”

“Emma is intelligence and kindness personified,” says her advisor, Dr. Evelyn Hanna P ’30. “Her inquisitive nature and her remarkable ability to define and pursue independent work are outstanding. Not only is she driven and focused on curricular and cocurricular pursuits, but she also takes time to engage meaningfully with her peers. Emma is a well-respected leader and a trusted friend among classmates.”

Emma says she’s grateful for the growth she’s experienced in her time at Kent Place and confident that it will serve her well as she continues her education — she hopes to take up studies that incorporate her love of English, literature, history, and philosophy. “I’ve discovered the importance of being fearless in what you want to pursue,” she says. “I’ve learned that I should never be afraid to express who I am or what I believe in.”

MORNING MEETING

TREP$ TIMES TWO. Postponed

presented their projects in the

dia apps, and video streaming for

GROW UP. Kent Place alumnae

by the lockdown in 2020, our

annual STEM Sisterhood event

one school day. A post–No Phone

and special guests participated in

seventh-graders sold their TREP$

during National Engineers Week.

Day survey indicated that 49 per-

Future Forward, a brand-new Middle

merchandise during a virtual

HOW LONG WOULD YOU LAST?

cent of those who responded didn’t

School career-exploration program.

vendor fair, and a few months

The Upper School Social Media Task

miss their phone as much as they

IMPARTING EXPERTISE. The Parent/

later, our sixth-graders caught the

Force sponsored a “No Phone Day

thought they would and 66 percent

Guardian STEM Think Tank was

entrepreneurial spirit. KPS FOR

Challenge,” encouraging students to

said they’d been able to connect

launched this year with more than

LIFE. Students across divisions

take a break from texting, social-me-

more with their friends. WHEN I

20 parents

6 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

[continued on p. 8]

MAKING MEANING

CREATIVITY IN THE AGE OF COVID-19 The visual arts are where creativity, innovation, analysis, and problem-solving come together. They stimulate the emotional and psychological aspects of the human mind and bring satisfaction and pleasure. To invest in something beautiful or of aesthetic intensity has benefits for the artist and for the rest of us. The crisis of the pandemic proved to be a catalyst for making meaning of all that was occurring outside the classroom, as Ken Weathersby, Upper School visual arts teacher, explains and is shown here through Julia Gerbino ’21’s AP Portfolio work.

“ When it’s not about dealing explicitly with outer circumstances, art-making can be a contemplative, restorative activity. It can be a focusing experience of immersion in process.”

“ It can be a way of experiencing our own deeper reactions to things. Art moves us away from stereotyped and conventional responses and allows space for deeper processes. In that sense, it’s about expression, including expression of difficult emotions, such as anxiety.”

Julia Gerbino ’21’s works each depict a different action in motion, connecting as a series of subjects being freed from constriction. Top piece: Escape (canvas stretchers, paper, and Sharpie); middle piece: Leak (canvas stretchers, paper, and Sharpie); right: Fall (wooden board, paper, and Sharpie)

“ Art is a means of dialogue about issues. It can create a personal form and context to say things that are important to say, not just to ourselves, and to affirm a position or identity in relation to the world.”

“ Art is a way of creatively grappling with the sense of rapid change and novel circumstances, a crucial way of processing the unknown and the open-ended.”

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 7

COMMONS ROOM

Using Multiple Lenses: Counternarratives in Black Studies Nupur Ballal ’23 working in her lab

STUDENT-DESIGNED SUCCESS Nupur Ballal ’23 remembers how rewarding it felt to finally extract a DNA sample after staying at school every day for hours past dismissal. She had spent months studying genetic barcoding to detect harmful algal blooms for the Student-Designed Research class offered by the Upper School Computer Science & Engineering and Science Departments. The yearlong course provides the scaffolding and resources for students to independently follow their STEM passions.

For Nupur, that passion was biology, and her research was inspired by a summer project analyzing bee DNA, combined with her knowledge of harmful algal blooms. “This project is the point of intersection between my genetics research and a real-world application of it,” says Nupur.

Middle and Upper School Science Department Chair Wendy Hall P ’25 appreciates the value of this course not only for the knowledge, but also for the life skills, “Eighty percent of the time, students’ ideas don’t go the way they anticipated. They learn resilience when they can say, ‘There’s no failure here; I’m just learning.’”

“Choosing and designing my own project enabled me to grow as a scientist,” says Nupur, “because I could experience and be responsible for all my struggles and successes while researching.”

In winter 2020, Dr. Rashied McCreary P ’29 ‘34 saw his first Black studies course approved for the 2020–21 academic year. One component was for his students to write alternative accounts of current events, inspired by a project by artist Alexandra Bell. “I thought it would be cool to understand how young adults would rewrite and craft a more balanced narrative on national or international topics than what had been presented by professionals,” Dr. McCreary said.

Said Caroline Johnson ’21, “This project is important because the media have so much control over what the general public thinks.

Consumers need to be critical and notice coded language.”

With topics ranging from the police shooting of Daunte Wright and antisemitism in the Women’s March to the French government’s ban on burqas and hijabs, students were able to explore media bias regarding topics important to them. “It’s been a joy teaching this course,” says Dr. McCreary.

Dr. Rashied McCreary P ’29 ’34, in his Black studies classroom

representing each division. Par-

providing the best level of care,

COVID-19.” KPS Middle Schoolers

shops for staff and parents. “Writing

ticipants shared their personal

injury prevention, and treatment.

joined peers from across the United

to Repair” featured guest poet

journeys with STEM and identified

Go Dragons! COMING TOGETHER.

States, as well as sixth-, seventh-,

Thomas Dooley. BETTER THAN MA-

ways to collaborate that would

Seventh- and eighth-grade students

and eighth-graders from as far away

DAME TUSSAUDS. Our third-graders

help extend STEM beyond the

participated in the Global Education

as India and the Netherlands. POET-

held their annual Wax Museum — a

classroom. SAFETY FIRST. KPS was

Benchmark Group’s Middle School

RY IN MOTION. The Ethics Institute

crowd favorite — where parents and

named a National Athletic Trainers’

Dialogue program in a session titled

partnered with Overlook Medical

students could get to know the likes

Association Safe Sports School for

“Ethical Leadership in the Time of

Center to hold ethics wellness work-

of Helen Keller [continued on p. 10]

8 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

FIVE THINGS . . .

THAT ARE HERE TO STAY AFTER COVID-19 Whereas many of us would be happy never to see another mask or hear the words quarantine and contact tracing ever again, the last several months saw some real bright spots. “The spirit and courage and curiosity of the Kent Place community couldn’t be deterred by this pandemic,” said Nicole Hager, Director of the Upper School, during this year’s Commencement remarks. Most of what transpired during the pandemic we will gladly say goodbye to, but there are a few things that might just stick around — you know, along with that recipe for sourdough bread . . .

1

A GREATER OPENNESS TO CHANGE Change at an institutional level is generally slow paced, but COVID-19 required us to move quickly and make decisions, large and small, almost by the day. Collaboration, teamwork, and trust were fundamental and it was affirming to see how much we accomplished in a relatively short time.

It proved how adaptable a community we are.

2

5

AN INNOVATIVE SPIRIT From changing our educational technology infrastructure, to creating a comprehensive hybrid-learning environment, to looking at our campus spaces in whole new ways, we embraced our innovative spirit and have been energized to think outside the box as we look to the future.

A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN A COMMUNITY One of our guiding principles during the pandemic was maintaining our strong sense of community. An emphasis on flexibility, mindfulness, patience, and understanding as we navigated each new scenario made it possible for us to face challenges head-on and keep our community spirit whether we were on campus or off. Kent Place has always been about community, but COVID reminded us how appreciative we are for one another.

4

RUVNA AND HAND SANITIZER We said goodbye to plexiglass (and are finding creative uses for it!) this summer; certain safety measures, however, are now just part of everyday life at KPS. We’re still using RUVNA, our online school safety app, and handsanitizer stations throughout campus are the norm. We’ll continue to offer outside dining, as it was probably the most popular COVID measure we instituted.

3

RETHINKING PROGRAMMING The pandemic certainly turned almost all our events, activities, and programming upside down, but the positive side was realizing that we could connect with even more of our community through virtual events and live streaming.

We’re thrilled to be able to offer in-person events again this academic year, but we’ll certainly provide more virtual options to involve our wider community.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 9

COMMONS ROOM

ADAPTING CURRICULUM

Teaching in a Pandemic Last summer, when the Kent Place Leadership Team established the hybrid model for teaching, they had no idea what the 2020–21 academic year would ultimately look like. The school’s learning-management system, MyKPS, offered teachers a basic infrastructure for remote learning, but much remained unknown. “We knew the hybrid model would prove challenging for teachers when trying to plan day to day,” says Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning Julie Gentile, “but we wanted to implement a plan that would provide maximum flexibility for students and parents in the face of so much uncertainty.”

Happily, the school could respond with some confidence to the challenges raised by the pandemic, thanks in part to an existing grant. “The Curriculum Innovation and Collaboration Grant was given by an anonymous donor several years ago to facilitate deep curricular change, and it turned out to be incredibly helpful,” says Ms. Gentile.

“By having the monies already on hand, we were able to decide very quickly to mandate that 100 percent of the faculty take the same professional-development course on teaching in a virtual environment, which really set us up for success.”

Faculty members took their newfound knowledge and ran with it. Middle School math teacher Cheryl Kaplun, for example, immediately evaluated her curriculum and asked herself, What tools can I use to maintain consistency for students and keep everyone connected, no matter the circumstances? The

answer included such technology as virtual white boards, which enabled students to upload their work, then share it and save it for review sessions. “As we move back to normal, all-in-person learning, I’ll continue to use some of these digital tools, because they offered me greater flexibility in delivery, practice, review, and collaboration methods,” says Ms. Kaplun. “I’ve become more intentional in my teaching — every day I think carefully about how I’m teaching math to my students to make sure I reach all of them, whether they’re learning remotely or in person. It’s been a challenging year, but our kids are learning nonetheless, which is incredibly rewarding.”

Performing Arts Chair Edel Thomas also made a positive assessment of the past year’s activities. She admits that the hybrid model has proved challenging for students in choral, orchestral, theatrical, and dance classes: “We had to get information out to the students and back again, so those working remotely had to become adept at creating audio and video recordings of themselves to submit for the creation of virtual performances.” Given the array of environments, skill sets, and devices — from iPads to Android phones — procuring consistent, high-quality recordings was time consuming, but persistence won the day. “Despite the circumstances, we created a number of amazing virtual performances,” says Ms. Thomas.

Performing arts faculty also learned.

“We realized that it’s important to lay out expectations for the completed work in clear

steps, so students would understand both the scope and the goal for a creative work,” says Ms. Thomas. “We were able to accomplish this using well-constructed topic pages on MyKPS. I foresee us using this technology for future independent skill development, which will give us more rehearsal time to be spent on developing artistry.”

Ms. Gentile has nothing but praise for both faculty and students: “Our teachers really rose to the occasion,” she says. “They showed an openness to innovating and wanted to enhance their technological skills. They already had a strong foundation, but I think now they feel as if they can learn anything. And our students were inherently adaptable.”

For example, when they were permitted to return to campus, students eagerly embraced the school’s beautiful outdoor spaces as open-air classrooms, and those in Primary School, who were confined to indoor classrooms throughout the year, personalized their plexiglass cubbies, making the most of their required safe personal spaces.

Although Ms. Gentile concedes that there were many hurdles to overcome, she believes the opportunities they brought will remain. “The kids saw their teachers learning in real time and saw that everyone can grow from their mistakes,” she says. “I feel much appreciation for our faculty and for the people who had faith in our school and generously provided us with funds,” she says, “so that when we needed to act quickly, we could. We’re extremely fortunate.”

and Misty Copeland. CELEBRATING

GIRLS ALL FOUR SEASONS. The

Task Force, a group sponsored by

cultural and wilderness educator

COMMUNITY. COVID-19 didn’t stop

Girls’ Leadership Institute, now in its

the Ethics Institute whose focus is to

James Bruchac met with students

the Diversity Council from hosting

26th year, over the summer expand-

discuss and research healthy prac-

in third grade, Kindergarten,

FACTS (Founding Alliances and

ed its offerings with a program for

tices related to technology. Its first

Pre-Kindergarten, and Junior Pre-K.

Connections Through Solidarity)

rising sixth-graders and extended

task was to collect community data

The children were entertained by

Night for virtual discussions about

the Upper School program to two

regarding digital usage. SURVIVOR

cautionary tales and educated in

solidarity, intersectionality, and

weeks. TIME TO UNPLUG? Interest-

SKILLS BROUGHT TO LIFE. Native

ways to survive in the wilderness

fostering community. EMPOWERING

ed parents joined the Digital Health

American author, storyteller, and

using natural resources.

10 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Amanda Freiler, Middle School English teacher, brings her class outside.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 11

COMMONS ROOM

“ I got into ethics just by being surrounded by it, and therefore grew to love it. As there have been more opportunities to take part in ethics-related events, I’ve had a lot of fun participating in them. From the Ethics in Action competition to doing some of the ethics social media, I’ve enjoyed it all immensely and I’ve learned so much from the awesome teachers and my fellow students.”

—CLAIRE CHERILL ’26 Claire has been very involved with the Ethics Institute during her Middle School years: She was a member of the winning Ethics in Action Middle School team and writes posts for the Ethics Institute social-media platforms. This year, Claire will be a student representative on the National/New Jersey MS Ethics Bowl Advisory Committee, helping to create the cases for the Middle School Ethics Bowl, as well as providing insights into the format of the program.

Leah Zeng ’33 creates her own ethics bee in class.

All a-Buzz about Ethics In the spring, Assistant Director of the Ethics Institute Ariel Sykes brought ethics into Kindergarten with the help of Beatrice the Ethical Bee and her friends as part of the new BEE (Be Ethical Everywhere) program. “Ethics is a field of philosophy that’s interested in understanding what’s important in our lives and how core principles and values should inform how we live,” says Ms. Sykes. “This curriculum has the children take part in ethical thinking and decision-making by learning with Beatrice how to identify and apply values in everyday situations.”

Starting with a catchy theme song and an exuberant dance, the students dove headfirst into ethics and quickly learned how to give reasons and examples to explain how they worked through the dilemmas presented. “Our hope is that this curriculum will help students learn how to think and navigate the gray areas in life,” says Ms. Sykes. “We hope that ethics will become integrated into the entire classroom climate, popping up in science, art, and social studies and on the playground.”

For more information about the Ethics Institute, please visit kentplace.org/ethics.

12 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Engineering (and Computer Science) Is Elementary At Kent Place, “women in STEM” is not a one-day lesson — it’s a lived experience. Just look at our Kindergartners, who are on a first-name basis with renowned female computer scientists. The robots used by Primary School computer science and engineering instructor Sue Tracy P ’29 are named after women such as Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani and the late NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson.

Computer science and engineering (CS&E) are now embedded in the Primary School with a new department devoted to the subjects. STEM Innovation and CS&E Department Chair Dr. Evelyn Hanna P ’30 worked with Mrs. Tracy to design a program to equip young learners with the skills and habits of mind required for their future careers.

“We wanted to build on the strength of our curriculum by getting students

excited about engineering as a helping profession, using a human-centered, Kent Place mission–aligned framework,” says Dr. Hanna.

Mrs. Tracy immerses her CS&E students in hands-on, inquiry-based learning around fundamental skills for the jobs of the future. According to a United Nations study, more than 60 percent of incoming primary school students could end up in jobs that don’t yet exist. Meanwhile, the 2021 UNESCO Science Report states that women remain underrepresented in the fastest-growing STEM fields, among them computing and engineering.

The good news is that children are natural engineers, says Mrs. Tracy. “Preschoolers are always building and exploring. We need to present elementary students with those same opportunities to explore and ask questions about the world around them.”

The world around them is an essential part of the Primary School CS&E curriculum, Engineering Is Elementary, which comes from the Museum of Science, Boston.

Every unit begins with a story featuring a character from a different culture. For example, the first-grade package-engineering unit tells the story of a child in Jordan who wants to give her sister a plant for her wedding. Students are instantly attached to the characters and feel compelled to learn about packaging to preserve greenery, using what they learn to build packages for plants they have grown in science class. The unit ends with girls bringing their packaged plants home for Mother’s Day. “We want these subjects to be accessible in students’ lives so they can immediately find meaning and use for them,” says Mrs. Tracy.

At this rate, don’t be surprised when the classroom robots of the future are named after the KPS Primary students of today!

Olivia Denis ’33 and Caroline Manning ’33 program their robot.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 13

COMMONS ROOM SCORECARD

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN

Zoe Campbell ’21

What makes a great team captain?

Jeff Janssen helps answer this question. KPS uses his Team Captain’s Leadership Manual: The Complete Guide to Developing Team Leaders Whom Coaches Respect and Teammates Trust to help student-athletes discover the traits that make a great team captain. Spoiler alert: The characteristics may surprise you.

The most effective captains may not be the top scorers; instead, they’re the ones who come early and stay late, shoulder the equipment bag, and pick up cones. They also model respect for coaches, teammates, officials, and opponents.

Kent Place has adopted Janssen’s “Top Three Leaders List” to help both athletes and coaches identify who will be the best captains for our interscholastic teams. The process works like this: (1) Student-athletes receive a form with a complete team roster and a series of statements about leadership; (2) They fill in the names of one, two, or three of their teammates who embody the qualities outlined in each statement; and (3) The athletes who rank at the top are encouraged by their coaches to continue to build upon their leadership skills.

“The Leaders List helps inform the coaching staff’s decisions when selecting captains,” says Bobbi Moran, Director of Athletics. “It’s a great tool for building strong, confident, individuals.”

MIDDLE SCHOOL IS DRAGON STRONG! Our Middle School teams may have taken a hiatus during the fall and winter seasons due to COVID-19, but our spring teams came back with a vengeance. Softball (pictured) finished the season undefeated with a record of 4–0. Our pitching and catching team of Emma Geppel ’26 and Maya Hardy ’26 was outstanding, and was backed by an exceptional infield and a stellar outfield. Lacrosse (3–0) defeated three strong and competitive teams this spring: Newark Academy, Oak Knoll, and Montclair Kimberly Academy.

Track, once again, placed first, beating out seven schools at the Gill St. Bernard Silver Spike Invitational.

60 SECONDS WITH . . .

SOPHIA MILLER ’23 What do you like most about the sports you play?

I like being a part of a team where I can support others to achieve greatness. It’s taught me to think of others first so that we can work together for the greater good.

How has playing sports at KPS shaped you?

It’s given me an extended family of sisters I can trust and rely on to have my back.

Sophia Miller ’23

14 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Sophia Miller is the quintessential student-athlete. She excels in the classroom and leads in several sports arenas.

She’s captain of the Varsity Golf team, ranked as one of the top 25 players in the state, but golf isn’t Sophia’s “main” sport. She’s the leading scorer on the varsity Field Hockey team and was named All-County and All-Conference last fall — Sophia had a hand in 27 of the team’s 39 goals. In winter, you’ll find her running varsity track, on the lacrosse field, or on the basketball court.

BEHIND THE WHISTLE . . .

MEET COACH ASHLEY QUINN P ’24 ’26 ’28 Head Lacrosse Coach Ashley Quinn P ’24 ’26 ’28 joined the Dragons in spring 2016. She played Division I lacrosse for Loyola College and helped lead her team to an NCAA championship. She was inducted into the Greyhounds Hall of Fame in 2020.

What drew you to coach at Kent Place?

I was attracted by the school’s culture of achievement — carefully curated in the classroom and on the field. Kent Place encourages students to lead, boldly stepping outside of what’s comfortable, in order to build confidence, self-assurance, and character.

What is your coaching philosophy?

It’s simple — to develop leaders and prepare students for what lies beyond the lacrosse field. We’re guided by principles of consistency and clarity, integrity and respect, effort and execution. I demand much from my student-athletes, setting high (but attainable) expectations, and hold myself accountable to these same standards. We model behavior daily that creates an environment of trust and achievement.

Who has been your greatest influence as a coach?

Diane Aikens, my lacrosse coach at Loyola College. A decorated athlete, Diane played football and soccer in her youth, only one of two girls on the local boys teams. She was a three-sport athlete in high school; although recruited to play volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse, she settled on volleyball and lacrosse at Loyola. She earned All-American honors in lacrosse, went on to play for Team USA (earning two gold medals), and was inducted into the Loyola College Athletic Hall of Fame. She was a model of hard work, determination, and the belief that anything is possible.

If you could sit down to dinner with any three athletes in history, whom would you invite?

Shalane Flanagan, former American long-distance runner, Olympic medalist, and New York City Marathon champion.

Serena Williams, professional tennis player, former world #1, wife, and mom.

Misty Copeland, first African American principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 15

COMMONS ROOM SCORECARD

Ms. Benthien coaching Cece Reali ’23 as a Middle Schooler

Learning from a Legend: A Tribute to Tizzie Benthien My first interaction with physical education teacher and coach Elizabeth “Tizzie” Benthien P ’10 came via text message in June 2016. Tizzie had sent a short video clip of how she spent her 60th birthday — jumping out of an airplane! I remember thinking: She’s a legend . . .

Tizzie jumped from an airplane because she was afraid of heights, and at 60 she wanted to conquer that fear.

That July, I started my job as Director of Athletics, and Tizzie and physical education teacher Sheila Dunne helped me tackle the basement in the Field House. It took three eight-hour days to haul, sweep, toss, and stack equipment, sports records, gear, and decades-old memorabilia. I’m fairly certain we didn’t stop for lunch, but Tizzie never flagged. We exchanged stories and laughed, but dug deep and did what had to be done.

Tizzie was intent on organizing the facility, and that’s what we accomplished.

My colleagues and I came to rely on Tizzie for her ability to spot what needed fixing and get right to it. For 44 years, Tizzie

16 KENT PLACE FALL WINTER/SPRING 2021 2020

was the go-to for projects big and small; she embodies passion and teamwork.

A brief primer: • She and Bob were married on the Mabie House lawn.

• She shies away from the limelight.

• She believes in gratitude, kindness, optimism, and Dragon Spirit.

• She’s about commitment, dedication, and sacrifice for the good of the team.

• She can still hold a handstand for 60 seconds.

Tizzie was Athletic Director for almost 10 years. She coached field hockey, gymnastics, swimming, track, and other sports. And in 2019, she was inducted into the inaugural KPS Athletics Hall of Fame.

In June, during the eighth-grade awards ceremony, Aila Kennedy ’25 said this: “Whether you’ve been here since Junior Pre-K or just came this year, Ms. Benthien is always in everyone’s corner, cheering us on. She reminds us to be courteous. She brings a very high-spirited, energetic, and optimistic attitude to everything and has

helped many of us achieve our goals. Ms. Benthien brings our school of individuals into a community of brave, bold, and brilliant minds. She has touched the lives of so many of us and the campus won’t be the same without her.”

Tizzie, thank you for inspiring countless Kent Place students, faculty, and staff. And to show our appreciation, the Eighth-Grade Athletic Award will now be called the Tizzie Benthien Award for Excellence in Athletics, with this citation: “The Tizzie Benthien Award for Excellence in Athletics is awarded each year by the Athletic Department and Middle School coaching staff in honor of Elizabeth ‘Tizzie’ Benthien, who consistently led by example.

The recipients of this award, like Coach Benthien, are dedicated to true Dragon Spirit and demonstrate courtesy, teamwork, leadership, sportsmanship, and a sincere desire to help others.”

Tizzie, we wish you much happiness in your retirement.

—BOBBI MORAN, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Volleyball’s season didn’t begin until March due to COVID-19 regulations.

Lacrosse posted its best season in recent years behind great leadership from senior and junior team captains.

Taylor Sieg ’24 (left) and team captain Sophia Miller ’23 discuss strategy on the green.

The future of KPS Track looks bright as underclassmen post impressive results.

Co-captain Elizabeth Wyshner ’21 was solid behind the plate.

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS • L acrosse finished the season as Union County Tournament Semifinal-

• •

ists with five student-athletes earning NJIGLL Academic and All-Team Honors. Team captain Skylar Lienhardt ’21 also earned the prestigious USA Lacrosse: Academic All-American Honors.

V olleyball wrapped up an unprecedented season with four student-athletes — Elizabeth Miller ’21, Iman Handy ’22, Margeaux Morial ’24, and Lauren Osuala ’24 — posting stats that rank them among the top in the state.

Golf finished its season with a 26–0 record, winning the Millburn Tournament and boasting two student-athletes, Taylor Sieg ’24 and team captain Sophia Miller ’23, who rank among the top 50 in New Jersey.

• Softball had an amazing comeback victory over crosstown rivals Oak

Knoll. After losing to OKS 16–1 in April, the team turned it around in May and defeated the Royals, at KPS, 4–3.

• I n Track and Field, Lindsay Hausman ’23 won the UCIAC Championship in the 1600 meter and broke the meet record in the 3200 (11:00).

She’s the first athlete from KPS to win the 1600m at the Union County meet. Lindsay also earned a photo-finish second at the NJ Meet of Champions in the 3200 meter. Christiana Nwachuku ’22 took home first-place honors in the 100m, 200m, and 400m at the Union County Conference Championships.

DRAGONS ON THE MOVE

Audrey Alix

Mia Kintiroglou

Peyton Nichols

Congratulations to these

Division III field hockey,

Division III tennis,

Division I soccer,

college-bound athletes.

Hamilton College

Amherst College

Cornell University

Mia Chimenti

Skylar Lienhardt

Anna Peterson

Division I equestrian team,

Division III lacrosse,

Division III lacrosse,

Baylor University

University of Chicago

Hamilton College

KENT PLACEKENT WINTER/SPRING PLACE FALL 2020 17 2021 17

COMMONS ROOM

Iman Handy ’22

BRAVE & BRILLIANT

Iman Handy ’22 Spend but a few minutes chatting with Iman Handy and the word that springs to mind to describe her is dynamo. Vivacious and warm, she has emerged as a leader among her peers. Eleventh-grade class president, captain of the volleyball team, and a leader in campus student diversity initia-

tives, Iman comes across as confident and capable. One would never guess that this young woman arrived at Kent Place School as a quiet, shy ninth-grader.

Iman credits much of her growth to her advisor, Michelle Stevenson. “Ms. Stevenson has played a huge role in encouraging me

to be independent and use my own voice,” she says. “She believes in my abilities and is always in my corner. As I advocate for myself, I know I’m supported.”

Ms. Stevenson is equally enthusiastic in her assessment of this student. “Iman is a strong, courageous leader who’s willing to face her own fears in order to meet the expectations she sets for herself, and she brings out the best in others,” she says.

When she arrived at Kent Place, Iman says, she saw lots of junior and senior girls in leadership positions and quickly aspired to be a Kent Place girl as well. “I decided I wanted to be a leader who’s brave and brilliant, so when opportunities to lead presented themselves, I stepped up.

“When I was a freshman, I remember Ms. Woodall, the former Director of the Upper School, saying that Kent Place girls should ‘unapologetically take up space,’” Iman says. The advice made a lasting impact. The senior says she no longer backs down at the first sign of a challenge and doesn’t apologize reflexively, as she once did.

Looking to the future, Iman envisions a career in marketing, something that melds her love of socializing and her fascination with human nature. Wherever she’s headed, Iman will step forward with a strong belief in herself. “Since coming to Kent Place,” she says, “I’ve changed little things and those changes have enhanced my presence. My confidence has definitely grown.”

Drawing Connections Across Time Upper School English teacher Lisa Cohen wanted to breathe new life into teaching classic literature. By partnering contemporary novels with the books that have been staples in English classes for decades, she’s helping her students to draw connections across time, whether it’s the hundreds of years separating Homer’s The Odyssey from Madeline Miller’s Circe or rereading texts in the English 12 Revisionist Literature elective.

“It’s important to continue reading the classics because those books enable us to listen to the conversations people have been having for thousands of years,” says Ms. Cohen. “Reading the canon with a critical lens for the ways literature replicates injustice in history means we can form a reimagination in our own work.”

To apply that critical lens, she has her English 9 students re-create dramatic monologues by contemporizing characters, and her English 12 students apply classical poetic forms to investigate modern news topics. For example (left), Jocelyn Ameo ’24 reinterprets Atwood’s The Penelopiad. “I hope that students doing this kind of work — revising the canon, reading revisions to the canon, and questioning the canon in general — feel liberated to make their own written compositions that offer new perspectives and experiences,” she says.

18 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

WITH COURAGE AND CONNECTION, WE BLAZE THE WAY. Trailblazer Day, a new annual tradition for the Kent Place Upper School, is when students and faculty take a break from their academic work and hit various mountain trails in the gorgeous Garden State. By the time a student graduates from Kent Place, she will have hiked the full length of the Lenape Trail (from Millburn to Mayapple Hill), as well as the Turtle Back Trail. The program encourages students to learn about themselves and others, live a life of balance and joy, and lead others to do the same.

The Class of 2022 hikes the Lenape Trail on South Mountain.

STUDENTS ADVOCATE FOR MORE INCLUSION IN DIVERSITY CONFERENCES When Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Walidah Justice first joined Kent Place, in 2018, Upper School students approached her and expressed their interest in a regional student of color conference. Annually, only six students per institution may attend the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), and Kent Place students wanted more opportunity to get together with their peers in other schools. In 2020, they got their wish: Kent Place cohosted the New Jersey Students of Color Conference (njscc.org) with Newark Academy, and in 2021 we joined Dwight-Englewood, with Francesca Callejas ’22, Jannat Chaudry ’21, and Karla Perdomo ’22 as cochairs. This new conference enables students of color from both independent and public schools to connect and further social dialogue in both their own schools and across institutions.

“I hope students come away understanding the importance of creating time and space to discuss topics that resonate with their generation,” says Ms. Justice. “With peer-led workshops and discussions, students can build trust, affirm each other, engage in dialogue, and educate one another on their own terms.”

Upper School Film Festival Looks on the Bright Side When the Upper School Film Club was brainstorming themes for the 13th-Annual Kent Place Film Festival, all agreed that “Silver Linings” was perfect. What better occasion to turn struggles into art while looking through a hopeful lens?

Usually held in the Hyde and Watson Theater, last year the festival was live-streamed, hosted by the Film Club board and coordinated by Middle and Upper School Head Librarian and Film Club Advisor John Walz. Although the dry run had its glitches — “the number of things that could go wrong was exponentially larger than I had anticipated,” Mr. Walz says — he was pleased with how smoothly the festival went: “The students were having a wonderful time hosting, and I was so impressed.”

Fourteen of 43 submissions representing eight high schools were shown at the festival, and they ran the gamut from drama to comedy, from black-and-white to animation.

The festival was the silver lining in a challenging year.

“The celebration of creativity and expression is what keeps the festival going,” says Ayana McMillan ’22, who is the club’s vice president. Her I’m Doing Amazing premiered at the event, which was started by Jessica Myers ’09.

“The festival encourages students to show and be proud of their work, which is also what makes it so special,” Ayana says.

A shot from Ayana McMillan ’22’s student film

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 19

COMMONS ROOM

TRANSITIONS

Why Did You Choose to Be a Teacher?

Retiring Teachers Look Back

“ Teaching has enriched my life in many ways. I decided to become a teacher because it was so much fun teaching my younger siblings. It was an easy decision to make because I love learning

This spring, Kent Place honored and bade farewell to four special teachers who have devoted their lives to educating students — mostly KPS students. If you tally up their experience, their careers amount to more than 150 years of service, and one can only estimate the number of students who have benefited from the guidance and wisdom of these consummate educators. Elizabeth “Tizzie” Benthien P ’10, Carol Gordon, Richard Morey, and Edee Zabriskie P ’04 leave a legacy of excellence that has come to define our community. We could go on for pages with testimonials and memories, but we thought you’d like to hear from them why they chose to be a teacher. Please join us in wishing them all a retirement filled with relaxation, fulfillment, and joy.

and I love young children. I wanted to share my enthusiasm and passion for discovering new ideas and mastering skills. It’s wonderful to see the spark of excitement in a child’s eye when something that may have been challenging becomes a new understanding of a skill or concept. With positive reinforcement and encouragement, I believe that every child has the potential to love learning and be successful. I enjoy seeing former

“ I worked in the business world for 20 years before coming to Kent Place.

What took me so long? After I got my undergraduate degree, I was a teaching assistant while working on my master’s in English, and I loved teaching more than my own studies.

Helping students communicate effectively was demanding but fulfilling. Looking back on why I then chose business, I admit I was scared to teach. To me, teaching is like being a doctor or a nurse; it’s vitally important to do it well. After two decades in marketing, however, I felt my life would be wasted if I didn’t teach. I convinced myself that I couldn’t fail if I worked hard and cared about my students.

Kent Place gave me the opportunity to realize my dream. Helping students master a text or skill, grow into confident leaders and learners, and succeed beyond their own expectations — this has been one of the great joys of my life.”

—CAROL GORDON UPPER SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHER, 19 YEARS AT KPS

20 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

students and hearing about the risks they’ve taken and the successes they’ve enjoyed. As I retire, my hope is that I’ve helped develop a love of learning and made a positive difference in my young students’ lives.”

—EDEE ZABRISKIE P ’04 FIRST-GRADE TEACHER 39 YEARS AT KPS (40 TOTAL)

“ In my senior year in college, I had been given a lot to think about: the Vietnam War, graduate school, Selective Service (‘the draft’), making a living, and, not coincidentally, college loans.

Temporarily lost in the background was growing up with parents who included historical sites in New England as an expected part of our vacation agenda. A Spanish professor whom I admire suggested that I think about teaching as a career — not a time-filler, but a true career. As I completed my work toward a master’s degree, I was inspired by another scholar, this time my thesis advisor in American history. He suggested teaching as a commitment that could help me combine my love of inquiry and research with my talent (as he perceived it) in sharing that passion with others. And so I began a dedication to teaching that over the years has only grown.”

—RICHARD MOREY UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER 17 YEARS AT KPS (51 TOTAL)

“ Even when I was a little girl, I always enjoyed being physically active. In junior high and high school, I had some stellar PE teachers and coaches whom I greatly admired.

Their positive approach to training young people to be their best selves on and off the field made a huge impact on me. During those same years, my summer job as a lifeguard gave me the opportunity to teach swimming.

I loved watching smiles spread across children’s faces when they were able to paddle across the pool with confidence. I found teaching very rewarding. What occupation would enable me to share my passion for physical activity and all the benefits that being a confident physical mover accrue? Teaching PE.” —ELIZABETH “TIZZIE” BENTHIEN P ’10 PRIMARY SCHOOL PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER AND MIDDLE SCHOOL COACH 44 YEARS AT KPS (47 TOTAL)

A THANK-YOU TO RETIRING STAFF Kent Place extends its warm wishes to two admirable, dedicated staff members, Sharon Rich, Middle/Upper School Nurse (14 years) and Debbie Wilson, Transportation Coordinator (10 years), on their retirements.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 21

COMMONS ROOM MARQUEE

Eden Ekong-Reid ’25

Abby Samson ’22

On the Way to Our First Arts Committee Last fall, two students approached me with a “great idea” to start an Arts Committee at Kent Place. It was not the first time I’d heard this request, so I probed a little deeper. What was driving this, in the midst of a pandemic, when there was no singing or playing wind instruments indoors, no live audiences, no in-person theater productions or dance performances due to spacing limitations?

Lily Gabriel ’23 and Arabella Hubbauer ’23 had thought long and hard about what they saw as a need for representation and the development of a community of people who are passionate about the arts. They likened a student’s artistic passion to an athletic passion. They wanted to organize and mobilize so that this passion could be recognized and nurtured throughout our community, not just in a class. Together, we examined the KPS Constitution as written in the handbook. It clearly stated that there are six committees: Senate, Judiciary, Student Affairs, Athletic Association, Community Service, and Social. They discovered that they’d have to propose an amendment to the Constitution. Thus began the work of preparing their proposal for the Upper School Senate.

Lily (at right, top) and Arabella (bottom) initiated conversations with students in the arts, both performing and visual. They discussed ways they could support one another within the arts pursuits at school and also in activities off campus. The idea of an arts

22 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

committee came together. I started hearing snippets of these conversations in my classes, in the hallways, and, in the next step, the Upper School Senate.

The students gave a well-organized presentation. I admired Lily and Arabella’s tenacity and also their creativity in answering the questions that followed — and the Senate liked the proposal. The discussion turned to leadership, and the group even considered Arabella and Lily’s request for a joint leadership position when they became seniors. This would require a rider to the proposal for the year 2022–2023.

On May 18, an Upper School Town Hall was convened (via Zoom) and the proposal was presented to the Upper School community. The vote was in favor of making the change to the Constitution — and in the fall, a committee of Upper School students and faculty who are interested in supporting our visual and performing artists will be piloted. The following year, the Upper School student body will elect joint presidents and the other leadership positions to complete the committee.

This was quite an illuminating process and one I can’t recall watching unfold in

my previous years at Kent Place. It’s surely a shining example of how our students use their confidence to effect change. I’m very impressed at how these young artists moved from step to step in a considered manner to achieve their goal. Lily attributes the outcome to the overwhelming support from students and the school. “I’ve learned that passion drives motivation,” she told me.

When she was working on the Arts Committee meetings, she says, she was “excited about all the planning sessions.”

Once the girls had summoned the courage to follow up on their idea, the project hit the ground running, and they held firm to their belief in the need for this committee. Says Arabella, “One of the reasons I’m passionate about this integration is that more people in our community will feel represented and proud of their talents.”

My colleague Mr. Gates, Chair of Visual Art, and I look forward to supporting Arabella and Lily in their roles as leaders for the new seventh committee, which will be behind all of the artistic activities of our students.

Tutti brava!

—EDEL THOMAS, CHAIR OF THE PERFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENT

DANCING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Cadence Rice ’22 and Paulina Kachalova ’21

LeAnn Yannelli’s Upper School dance students were in the zone — literally — when in-person learning resumed. Faced with the challenge of teaching dance while keeping students socially distanced in individually marked zones, Ms. Yannelli decided to try something new: personal dance histories.

Students began by writing about early memories around dance, then turned those memories into motifs (short movement ideas), which they choreographed into solos. The project culminated with trios of students merging their solos into one dance.

It was a summer workshop through the internationally acclaimed dance center Jacob’s Pillow that inspired Ms. Yannelli to embark on this project: “I wanted to get students creating again, sharing their stories, saying, ‘This is who I am,’ learning one another’s movements and trying them on,” she says.

Junior Emmy Wheatley saw the project as a chance to remember the origin of her love for dance and learn more about her colleagues. “It was nice to be able to have such an interactive and collaborative experience after so much isolation,” she says. “Working together for the last part of the assignment enabled us to interact with each other, have fun, learn more about each other’s experiences and styles, and learn new original pieces.”

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 23

COMMONS ROOM MARQUEE

Students and Their Teacher Participate in Opera Documentary Primary School music teacher and mezzo-soprano Lori Mirabal is coproducing — and performing in — a documentary about Clara Brown, the subject of the opera Gabriel’s Daughter. Clara Brown was a formerly enslaved African American who grew wealthy in gold-rush Colorado and became a philanthropist. In one of the highlights, the film will feature some Kent Place Upper School voice students. To enhance the storytelling, all performers were individually interviewed on camera after their recording sessions. Ms. Mirabal talks about the experience.

What made you interested in producing this film?

I’m currently producing legacy projects: performances that I strongly believe will be meaningful to the community and gratifying for me as a performer.

Gabriel’s Daughter is a wonderful project for these goals. When I mentioned that I was singing the role of Clara in an opera, one of my colleagues, video producer/director Sharon Shepard Levine, was interested in producing a filmed version. Sharon’s background includes coproducing Metropolitan Opera broadcasts for PBS. This documentary represents an ideal match for our mutual goals.

Why was it important to include Kent Place students?

Students stretch and grow faster when they have an extraordinary project to work on, one with an imminent deadline. This type of project also seems to inspire them to think beyond the ordinary and set extraordinary goals for themselves. I constantly seek out-of-

24 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Jaileen Portorreal ’22

the-box experiences for my students who are ready for such opportunities. I enjoy seeing the gleeful expressions on their faces during the preparation phase and seeing their self-esteem grow as a project nears completion.

What do you hope people will get when they view the film?

One of my overarching goals as an opera singer and music educator is to find ways to make opera relevant to the lived experiences of young people and families. Retelling the life of the legendary pioneer Clara Brown is one way to explore opera in a meaningful way. By including the multigenerational and multiethnic voices of the recording artists, there’s the potential to broaden interest in this art form even further. Most important, Clara Brown’s life exemplifies the promise of American ideals. Her legacy is her demonstration that given the right set of circumstances, with faith, tenacity, and courage, it’s possible to achieve what seems impossible.

What’s been your favorite part of

60 SECONDS WITH . . .

JAILEEN PORTORREAL ’22 What music-making inspires you most of all?

Singing in choir and any opportunity to make music with other people are what’s most inspiring to me.

Are there special memories you have of great performing experiences at KPS?

When I was in sixth grade, I had a big choir solo called “Cuckoo” that meant a lot to me. Also, listening to the orchestra perform “Jupiter,” by Gustav Holst, at STAR during my freshman year was really spectacular.

this project?

My favorite part has been going into the recording studio with the different artists and my students to give them a chance to sing and express their ideas about how Clara’s life and times intersect with their own experiences.

The video/recording sessions began in January, and some of the artists had been out of work for many months because of COVID. They were especially excited to be performing again. As both coproducer and a performing artist, it was particularly rewarding to help facilitate jobs for them.

What aspirations for performance do you have for your senior year?

I’m really excited to possibly have STAR again and to be able to sing at Morning Meeting with the Chamber Singers and the Treblemakers.

Jaileen Portorreal has been at Kent Place since sixth grade. Throughout Middle and Upper School, her love for music has grown and her dedication to developing high-level skills is impressive. Jaileen is a member of Chamber Singers and a co-president of Chorale. This year, she attended a Summer Vocal Institute at the Eastman School of Music, in Rochester, New York.

MIDDLE SCHOOL PRESENTS FANTASY IN OUTDOOR PRODUCTION

The “Postage Stamp” becomes the Middle School’s outdoor stage

After seeing a workshop performance of Finder and the North Star, Middle School Theater Director Keri Lesnik P ’27 knew it would be a perfect choice for Kent Place.

After getting in touch with the playwright, Erica Berman, Ms. Lesnik received a copy of the play and worked on bringing it to the Middle School. Originally planned as a prerecorded Zoom show, enough COVID-19 restrictions were lifted that a live, outdoor performance could be presented to a limited audience.

“The play speaks directly to the struggles many of today’s middle schoolers face,” Ms. Lesnik said, “and everyone can learn from the advice that North Star and all of the characters give to Finder. All of our Middle School plays are entertaining, but this one makes you think, and that’s what makes it so special.”

1.

2.

3.

4.

THE CURTAIN NEVER CLOSES. Spring brought warm weather and a welcome change in COVID-19 protocols, which allowed our students to sing, dance, play, and act for our community once more. 1. US Orchestra Concert 2. US Choral Concert 3. Third-Grade Sneetches Opera 4. MS Music Concert

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 25

To Kent Place Forever Brave and brilliant, the 76 graduating seniors sat together as a class for the final time on Saturday, June 5.

26 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Sophia Paris, Samara Grannum, Skylar Lienhardt, and Paulina Kachalova

“ And now, Class of 2021, I want you to know one thing: You are already enough. If your whole contribution to humankind consisted of those things you’ve already done, that would be more than enough. You have made someone happier. You have made a place better. You are already so much more than enough.

No diploma, no degree, no award or job title or honor will ever measure up to the purity of your hearts. Nothing remains to be done with your lives except to live them.”

—DR. AUBREY PORTERFIELD, ENGLISH TEACHER AND CLASS OF 2021 DEAN

Ellie Hegeman ’22

Dr. Aubrey Porterfield

Jenna Smith and Aya Mtume

28 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

THE CITIZENSHIP CUP

Considered the school’s highest honor, the Citizenship Cup is awarded to that member of the senior class who, during her time at KPS, by vote of all the faculty and students in the Upper School, has shown herself to be an outstanding example of student citizenship. Over the years, it has come to mean that the recipient has evinced the traits of loyalty, pride in the school, courage in the face of unpopular decisions, and friendliness and helpfulness to classmates, to younger students, and to faculty. This year’s Citizenship Cup was presented to Jenna Smith.

Chair of the Board Alex Crispo, Head of School Dr. Jennifer Galambos, and Upper School Director Nicole Hager

Claire Bryant

“ THE TRUE MEASURE OF OUR YEARS HAS BEEN THE SMALL MOMENTS — THE UNEXPECTED LOUNGE CONVERSATIONS, LIFE-CHANGING TEACHERS MET, AND FRIENDS MADE. THESE THINGS CANNOT BE TIED UP INTO A BOW OR SUMMED UP ON A PAGE. IT WAS OUR HIGHS AND LOWS THAT MADE US STUDENTS, AND, MORE IMPORTANT, THE PEOPLE WE’VE BECOME.” —AYA MTUME ’21 AND JENNA SMITH ’21, SENIOR ADDRESS

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 29

“Lifers” on the Primary School playground

Natasha Wan and Dr. Galambos

“ You’ve had to work harder than most to summon courage, to stay connected, to face vulnerabilities, and to challenge the frames that threatened to confine you and to define your experience.

You’ve blazed trails for others and — without a doubt — you are deeper, stronger people as a result of all you’ve faced. You are — individually and collectively — extraordinary.”

—NICOLE HAGER, DIRECTOR OF THE UPPER SCHOOL

30 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

“ THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC AND THE CRY FOR RACIAL EQUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES AND ON OUR OWN CAMPUS HAVE MADE THIS AN INCREDIBLY COMPLICATED TIME. YOU, OUR 76 BRAVE AND BRILLIANT LEADERS, HAVE THE EDUCATION, THE SKILLS, AND THE FLEXIBILITY TO BE ON THE FOREFRONT OF GREAT CHANGE IN INDUSTRY AND IN SOCIETY. RESILIENCE AND FLEXIBILITY ARE SKILLS YOU WERE CALLED ON TO HONE OVER THE PAST 15 MONTHS, AND THEY WILL LEAD YOU WELL.” —DR. JENNIFER GALAMBOS, HEAD OF SCHOOL

Eliza Lox with Nicole Hager, Director of the Upper School, and Alex Crispo, President of the Board of Trustees

THANK YOU, ALEX In addition to wishing bon voyage to the Class of 2021, we recognized Kent Place Board of Trustees President Alex Crispo P ’14, who after 11 years of exemplary service to our community announced his retirement.

“For a head of school, there’s no relationship more important than the one with the chair of the board,” said Dr. Galambos. “With Alex, I’ve had the great good fortune to work with a fully engaged, committed, thoughtful, and supportive leader.”

During his tenure, Alex served on every committee, attended hundreds of meetings, cochaired the Head of School Search Committee in 2017, and worked tirelessly on the development of the updated mission statement and our new strategic plan, Empower Girls.

Advance the World.

The values we at Kent Place uphold must be esteemed by all. The qualities of integrity, compassion, intellectual curiosity, and commitment to our students have always been evident in Alex’s leadership. He has also championed transparency and discussion. His ability to meet unprecedented challenges, especially within the last 15 months, with a clear head and an eye to both the present and the future, has been unsurpassed. He has been an advocate for all of us — the school, our students, our faculty and staff, and the other members of the Board.

We thank Alex for his extraordinary contributions.

At the invitation of Mr. Crispo and the Committee on Trustees, Anne Grissinger P ’25 will now serve as Kent Place’s Chair of the Board. Learn more about Anne and the new slate of trustees in our Report of Gifts, which will be mailed later this fall.

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2021 31

32 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING FALL 2021 2021

ADVANCING GIRLS TO ADVANCE THE WORLD COMMUNITY POWERS A TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION

BY JULIE GENTILE AND JULIA BREEN WALL P ’23 ’27 ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREA D’AQUINO

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 33

Claire Chou ’21 makes herself comfortable in the big green chair, visibly exhausted but quietly elated. She had just submitted her final assignment of her final year at Kent Place and can now take a deep breath. With the workload in the rearview mirror, she’s ready to reflect on her experience during her senior exit interview.

“What will you miss most?” she is asked.

“I know it’s a cliché,” she replies, “but this community. It shaped how I want to operate in the world.”

IN JUNE, AS OUR Leadership Team members listened to all of our seniors, a theme quickly emerged, one that corroborated what we’ve experienced as committed educators in girls schools: The community we create is transformative for our students and for the world.

For some years now, studies conducted by the National Coalition of Girls Schools (ncgs.org) and other organizations have indicated that schools for girls create an environment in which attendees excel compared to their peers at coed schools. Research also suggests that girls schools excel at building community. Our 2021 graduates confirmed those findings when they were asked to describe a highlight of their KPS experience. What’s compelling about their responses is that they indicated a sense of belonging, and that when students felt connected to their peers and teachers, their capacity to learn, to live in a healthy, balanced way, and ultimately to reach their leadership potential increased significantly.

On the heels of a global pandemic in which typical patterns of socializing and relationships were disrupted, this student-voiced value placed on community caused us to ponder: What does community mean to our students? And how does their experience within a learning community for girls uniquely prepare them for brave leadership that will advance the world?

How girls schools across the globe have defined community merits promotion, because it bucks the trend of traditional school community models. Resonating for our recent graduates and decades of graduates who came before them is their belief that their success in our challenging academic program was directly connected to their engagement within the supportive Kent Place community. This community bolstered their capacity to grow academically, socially, and emotionally.

34 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

WHAT DOES “COMMUNITY” MEAN TO OUR STUDENTS? Connection to, and trust in, faculty. Time spent with faculty members who serve as advisors, mentors, and academic experts.

Sisterhood. Advisory, student groups that encompass various grade levels, athletics teams, performing arts groups, the art studio, and science lab partners.

Cultural competence. Ability to work with peers from various cultural backgrounds and to listen to, value, and incorporate multiple perspectives.

Tradition. Student-centered rally points within the year such as class field trips, Spirit Week, grade-level competitions, morning meetings, and homeroom habits.

Being seen and being heard. Thriving in one’s identity because others listen, include, and seek to understand.

Our students’ voices bear out what we learned in our combined three decades of working within girls schools. The opportunities our students point to as “community builders” are crafted by thoughtful educators who inherently understand that community creates a sense of belonging, and that a sense of belonging provides an environment in which to take risks, to be receptive to deep learning, and to thrive.

HOW MIGHT OUR COMMUNITY PREPARE STUDENTS TO BE LEADERS WHO ADVANCE THE WORLD?

When we consider the power of the Kent Place community for girls today, within this environment, their future leadership will advance the world.

•C onnection with teachers becomes the habit of confidently participating in a professional learning community, critically assessing the context and the data, anticipating what’s around the next bend.

• S isterhood becomes the habit of mentorship, yielding leaders who seek to elevate others as they rise.

•C ultural competence becomes an empathic habit of mind that invites a diversity of perspectives and experiences, thus increasing the potential for true collaboration, effectiveness, and impact for the greatest good.

• T radition becomes a commitment to celebrate the strength and joy in community itself.

• Being seen and being heard instill confidence in being oneself and, in doing so, bolster mental health and activate originality of thought, agency, and advocacy for a cause.

Because our graduates benefit from the incubation of these leadership habits in all facets of their education — classes, activities, and athletics — they know how to step into a space boldly and compassionately and how to step out into the world ready to make an impact.

EMILY MILLER ’11,

a fourth-grade teacher in Harlem, says she thinks about her time at Kent Place every day as she designs the classroom environment she wants for each of her students. At KPS, she says, “students, teachers, and staff were on the same page about what they wanted this place to look like.” There was an intention to the design of our community, she says, that created a strong sense of connection and engagement that inspired her to learn. She cites especially the openness of the Great Room and the lounges; the built-in time for “micro-moments” of community spirit in between classes; the time teachers took to meet and offer support; and the life-changing opportunities that broaden perspective and horizons.

For Emily, her AP English classroom felt democratic. Students did their reading for each class together, because they wanted to be part of the conversation. She remembers speaking to be heard but also listening to understand. “I always knew I belonged here,” she says. “People listened to me. All these people had my back in and out of the classroom. I don’t think that kind of consistent support could have happened in a coed school.” This community framework is the compass by which she leads in her work now.

Claire gets up from the big green chair and gathers her things. She’s heading off to meet an 11th-grader who could use her textbooks next year. She says she leaves Kent Place knowing she’s received an outstanding education. She gives her learning experience a grade of A and speaks with gratitude about her teachers and the friends who encouraged her to keep stretching and expanding, in and out of the classroom. What she walks away with, she says, extends far beyond academic content and skills for her personal benefit and fulfillment.

Claire, like Emily, leaves with a greater purpose of how to use what she learned to build and lead her own community, one in which everyone can thrive.

“ I didn’t fully appreciate the extent of the Kent Place community’s impact on me until I ventured beyond 42 Norwood Avenue. Although it didn’t take long (nor did I have to travel too far) for that to become apparent, I’ve found that the community values instilled in me during my time at Kent Place have been particularly critical to my professional development.

As a lawyer, my primary objective is to zealously advocate on behalf of my clients; however, the ability to do so successfully must start from within. I’ve been able to become my own best advocate because Kent Place cultivates a community where girls can be independent thought leaders, knowing no bounds for their potential or influence, from day one. This is possible because of the school’s uniquely dedicated educators and its endless resources and opportunities.”

—MALINA WELMAN ’11 Malina graduated from Barnard College with a degree in urban studies. She earned her JD from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and editor in chief of the Journal of Law and Social Problems. Malina is now a corporate associate in the Real Estate group at a law firm in New York City.

Julie Gentile is the Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning, and Julia Breen Wall P ’23 ’27 is the Assistant Head of School for Enrollment and Strategy

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 35

“ We’ve made significant strides.

And we’re 36 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

In recent years, Kent Place has accelerated its efforts to create a culture that is more equitable and inclusive, which have entailed a diversity-climate assessment and a comprehensive Anti-Bias/AntiRacism Action Plan. Head of School Jennifer C. Galambos and Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Walidah Justice explain challenges, progress, and what’s to come.

We’re deeply committed to the work.

not done.”

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 37

Kent Place Magazine: Jennifer, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts have been among your top priorities as Head of School since 2017, when you arrived. Why was this an area you wanted to focus on from the outset?

Jennifer Galambos: Making sure that every girl has a welcome seat at the table and that our students graduate as culturally responsive citizens of the world has been important to me throughout my career in education. When I arrived at Kent Place, we engaged in a diversity-climate assessment so I could better understand the degree to which we were already achieving inclusivity and where we had gaps. That assessment became a road map for Walidah’s hiring in 2018 and for the work we did between 2018 and 2020.

KP: It’s easy to assume that cultural competency and diversity are encapsulated in the diversity within the student body. But what’s the difference between that and true equity and inclusion? How does that look and feel different?

“ It was critically important for us, as we created the action plan, that it involve the entire community and that it start at the top.”

—WALIDAH JUSTICE

Walidah Justice: For a lot of schools — Kent Place among them — getting student “numbers” can make it look as if they’re diverse, but increasing the racial diversity in your student body doesn’t really change the infrastructure of a school.

For example, although we’re a school with a diverse group of students, we needed to look at how our classrooms and overall spaces could be more inclusive. It isn’t enough just to have a diverse student body. When you go into classrooms, what’s on the walls and bookshelves? Who is and who isn’t represented in the curriculum?

Are all students seeing themselves represented?

If an event happens in our country and students have been reading things on social media or talking with their friends, do teachers carve out a little time to have a conversation? Students are aware of current events and hot topics. They’re looking for teachers to make the curriculum relevant and applicable to them today.

By giving students the opportunity to discuss difficult topics in class, teachers can provide language, give historical context, and teach them to use our community conversations to create respectful dialogue.¹ JCG: Real success will be in our students’ sense of belonging while they’re here and in their preparation for the world beyond Kent Place.

KP: What is KPS doing to create an inclusive environment?

WJ: For more than 10 years we’ve had a program called Seeking Educational Education and Diversity (SEED), led by fifth-grade teacher Sally Snyder and Department Chair of Physical Education and Health and Wellness Michelle Stevenson. I established a structure for liaisons from each division and for staff to help identify areas to shore ourselves up and consider different training based on any gaps.

1. Community Conversation Norms

Association, the Black Cultural As-

Leadership Conference, the New

Diversity Conference, and the MS

are a set of guidelines to help all

sociation, the Diversity Council, the

Jersey Students of Color Conference,

Equity and Inclusion Summit.

of us be thoughtful and empathic

Latin@ Cultural Association, Gender

Widening the Lens, the Mid-Atlan-

4. View our Anti-Bias/Anti-Racism

speakers and listeners. 2. Among

and Sexuality Alliance, and the Jew-

tic Regional Diversity Conference,

Action Plan and progress at

current affinity and diversity clubs

ish Cultural Society. 3. Students have

the WPC-Youth Action Project, the

kentplace.org/actionplan.

are the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural

attended the NAIS Student Diversity

Leading into Equity and Awareness

38 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

PORTRAITS BY BETH PERKINS

For example, we’ve had seminars on skills teachers need to combat bias that might occur in their classrooms and summer workshops that help teachers think differently about their curriculum.

Students have been passionate participants in groups that focus on social justice and diversity for years.² I’ve also started sending students to different leadership conferences,³ which has given me a pulse of where students are and where there are areas of growth to develop.

process. And we hope to continue to skill-build with our faculty by creating awareness of their blind spots. By having teachers fully participate in dialogue across the lines of difference, with a better understanding of their own social identifiers they can build the capacity to better connect with all of their students.

JCG: Reconnecting with our alumnae is also a top priority, as is ensuring that all of our practices, policies, and procedures support all of our students.

KP: This past year has accelerated and broadened some of your work. In July 2020, the school announced its Anti-Bias/Anti-Racism Action Plan.⁴

KP: What else do you want readers to know about the efforts over the past

Can you talk about some of the things you’ve accomplished?

year or so?

It was critically important for us, as we created the action plan, that it involve the entire community and that it start at the top.

We needed a Board of Trustees DEIB Task Force, and we needed for members to be skilled up to do that. They supported our action plan, actively participated in training, and fully embraced the need for institutional support from the top.

We created a DEIB Alum Council because our alumnae know and love Kent Place and they expect us to provide a welcome seat at the table for every student. They’re also wonderful partners in helping us to build a more inclusive community. In addition, we formed the DEIB Race Equity Committee, which comprises administrators, faculty, staff, parents, alumnae, and representatives from the Board DEIB Task Force and the Alumnae Council.

These three committees are groups that have given us antennae.

We have supporters and influencers who are saying there’s work that we’re accountable for. We have an institutional commitment to creating an equitable and inclusive school culture.

We’re also adding Middle School and Upper School student task forces. We hope they’ll be champions of this work, give us feedback, and challenge us to be better.

JCG: We’ve also reviewed and updated policies in academic areas, financial aid, and college advising to ensure access and equity. We’ve rewritten and clarified our interpersonal misconduct policy for acts of bias and harassment. We’ve begun a multiyear process of evaluating our curriculum and then revising texts, content, and pedagogy to be culturally responsive to all students as they grow in their identities and intellectual endeavors. That doesn’t mean everything will change overnight — we’re deliberate with our changes.

WJ: We want to build up all of the students in ways that will enable them to go out into the world and show up as difference-makers.

JCG: I want people to know that we’ve made significant strides.

We’re deeply committed to the work. And we’re not done. We want to build an inclusive culture in which every student and every adult on our campus feels a sense of belonging.

Students who are more culturally competent will be more successful in college and beyond. And as a leading school for girls, we believe that this is important for them to learn here — how to interact with a broad range of people, how to be confident in those interactions, and how to lead a diverse team.

Institutional change isn’t easy. But if we fully commit to more equitable policies and inclusive practices, everyone gains.

WJ:

“ That doesn’t mean everything will change overnight — we’re deliberate with our changes.”

—JENNIFER GALAMBOS

KP: As you look ahead, what are some of your top priorities?

WJ: Although we do have a diverse student body, our faculty and staff need to be more diverse. Every year I’ve been here, that’s gotten better, but we’re still working on it. We can achieve it, but it’s a

WANT TO SUPPORT KENT PLACE’S DEI EFFORTS? Read more about what we’re doing and contact staff members by visiting kentplace.org/diversity or get in touch with any member of the DEIB office, the Board DEIB Task Force, the DEIB Alum Council, or the DEIB Race Equity Committee to provide feedback or suggestions. Support the cultural and educational parent programs provided by the DEIB Office, the Diversity and Equity Parent Group, and other KPS departments throughout the academic year.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 39

THE PROJECT THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING Creative projects at every level fuel student learning

BY ERIN PETERSON | ILLUSTRATIONS BY DRUE WAGNER

40 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Middle and Upper School visual arts teacher Carey Gates loves to think creatively about how he can use the right projects to teach his students specific skills and concepts, whether that means exploring new software or firing up a 3D printer.

He can always pinpoint exactly when he’s succeeded.

“There’s an ‘aha’ moment when students realize that the work is something they’re excited about,” he says. “It’s a moment when a project transcends something they have to do into something they want to do.”

A single project in a single class can set fire to a student’s imagination and expand her sense of possibilities.

And it’s this work that Kent Place has committed to pursue more vigorously within its strategic plan.

“Learning with Purpose is exciting because it elevates priorities that we’ve had for years, from interdisciplinary learning to STEM learning, while prioritizing anti-bias, anti-racist, and culturally responsive learning,” says Julie Gentile, Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning. “And the outcome we’re hoping for is that every student is a confident, intellectual leader who thinks critically and ethically.”

We asked 11 teachers to talk about the creative projects that inspire the students in their classrooms.

We think they might just make you wish that — for a moment, at least — you could be a student again.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 41

PRIMARY SCHOOL

Make a solar oven What’s better than making s’mores at school? Making s’mores at school in a solar oven you’ve researched, designed, and built yourself!

That’s the task for fourth-grade students in Sue Tracy P ’29’s computer science and engineering class. And they learn about culture, coding, and green engineering along the way.

As part of the two-month project, students learn about a girl from Botswana who uses a solar oven to cook for her family, they design a computer game that nudges players to make environmentally sound decisions in their daily lives, and they build a solar oven.

The weeks of work — carefully testing and applying their learning — culminate with students making s’mores in their ovens. (And of course devouring them.)

Although all of these concepts could be taught on their own, Mrs. Tracy says the cohesiveness is what makes a difference. “Learning in ‘silos’ doesn’t give students the same sense of relevance,” she says. “When students see information that’s connected, that’s what makes it stick.”

Grow a plant At the beginning of the year in science teacher Becky Van Ry’s fifth-grade class, students start to learn about ecology. By the end of the year, students have put their knowledge into practice by growing their own plants, from tomatoes to apple trees.

Mrs. Van Ry encourages her students to test a number of variables: tap water and rainwater, different types of soils, and different temperatures. Day by day, they nurture their seeds. “It’s a lot of responsibility — and it’s a waiting game,” says Mrs. Van Ry, who watches students sprint over to their cups each day to see if anything has sprouted.

The payoff always comes. “Usually, after a weekend, they’ll finally see a seedling coming out from the soil,” she says. “It can take weeks, and sometimes they can’t believe it’s ever going to happen. When it magically does, the whole class pauses to celebrate.”

42 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Keep a notebook to record academic growth Fifth-grade math teacher Sally Snyder expects all of her mathematicians to maintain a dedicated notebook. It’s there that they store handouts, keep notes about mathematical concepts, reflect on the lessons, and make connections among the different ideas they’ve explored.

Students use the notebook almost daily, but they often find its true value when they return to their work months or even years later — it’s a tangible object that verifies their intellectual advancement. “Some of the older students have come back and told me they still have their math notebook and still refer to it,” Mrs. Snyder says. “It can be a really useful tool.”

Craft a Shakespeare-themed Broadway Playbill As part of a collaboration with theater teacher Keri Lesnik, English teacher Susan Mascioli’s fifth-grade students work on an ambitious Shakespeare unit that culminates (during non-pandemic times) with a live Shakespearean performance complete with a custom-designed Playbill. While Ms. Lesnik helps students focus on the acting, Mrs. Mascioli provides context for the challenging material so they can understand the plot, the history, and the language of a centuries-old play.

To create the Playbill, which is distributed to family members at the performance, Mrs. Mascioli’s students provide all the traditional components of the beloved publication with personal twists, such as covers they’ve designed themselves and advertisements written in Elizabethan English. “Our artists can really shine,” Mrs. Mascioli says. “It’s a great complement to the performance.”

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 43

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Turn candy and cups into equations Math might have the reputation as a whiteboard-only subject, but Middle School math teacher Alicia Rodriguez loves to find ways to bring abstract concepts into the real world. Students stack plastic cups as high as they can to internalize how linear equations work; they record themselves hurling candy across a giant sheet of graph paper to study parabolas. “Every crazy lesson is always followed up with the procedures and the application of why,” she says. “I want them to think, to process, and to wonder.”

Write your own “educational utopia” story When the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov dreamed up what school might look like in the year 2157 for his short story “The Fun They Had,” the computer-based homeschooling the author describes turns out to feel surprisingly familiar to pandemic-fatigued students who read the story in Amanda Freiler’s sixth-grade English class.

By the end of the year, Ms. Freiler’s students aren’t just reading about fictional worlds — they’re creating their own. They spend the final few weeks of the year plotting a story set in an educational utopia or dystopia.

Students imagine spy schools and interplanetary classrooms, some of which resemble KPS; characters compete at sports and contemplate gender roles. But no matter the setting, Ms. Freiler says, the stories are often surprisingly revealing. “I want my students to express not only what they’ve learned, but also who they are,” she says.

To help students maintain enthusiasm for the project even beyond the last day of school, Ms. Freiler asks them to end their story on a cliffhanger. She gathers all the projects into a Google Doc, so they can continue writing their story over the summer or read what their classmates have written. “Stories like this give students freedom to follow their creativity and passions, whether they’re about sports, other planets, living underwater, or the future,” she says. “They realize that they’re the experts: they’re the authors now.”

44 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Design an amusement-park ride As part of science teacher Wendy Hall P ’25’s eighth-grade astrophysics unit, students learn about physics concepts ranging from gravity to centripetal force — phenomena that make the planets orbit the sun, for example.

Then she takes those otherworldly concepts and brings them down to Earth quite literally: she has students use these principles — which apply to our home planet, too — to design their own unique amusement-park rides.

They dream up rides that whirl and dip and cars that clunk down peg-filled platforms like Plinko chips. One year, students imagined a ride that would slingshot riders back and forth

through the air. (“We’re a little loose on safety regulations,” Ms. Hall says, joking.)

In teams, the students write up proposals and create scale drawings of their rides. Then Ms. Hall hands them the power tools, such as saws and drills, to turn those drawings into small-scale models. They use PVC pipes and wood blocks and funnels to create mind-bending rides that might seem right at home at Six Flags.

By the end, they’ve covered the equivalent of three units in a textbook — but they haven’t had to sit still for a moment. “They’re out of their seats, and they’re never bored,” Ms. Hall says. “It’s a sixweek unit, but I could probably teach it all year.”

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 45

UPPER SCHOOL

Bring academic insight into front-page news As part of Dr. Rashied McCreary P ’29 ’34’s Black studies class, the students investigate historical documents representative of different viewpoints, then critically analyze them to develop their own opinion.

For example, this past year students read “The 1619 Project,” a work of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalism published in 2019 that reexamines the legacy of slavery, and then read what appeared to be a direct response to the document: a 41-page report released by the Trump White House produced by an advisory committee dubbed the 1776 Commission.

For Dr. McCreary, the report proved to be an unexpected opportunity to bring academic context to the firestorm. “No matter how you feel about it, the 1776 Commission report was a major response: it came out of the White House, and that has a lot of weight,” he says.

Students discussed both, then wrote research papers that compared and contrasted “The 1619 Project” with the 1776 Commission report.

Steeped in those primary documents, students were able to provide their own critical analysis. “This is what academics do: we take in as much information as possible so we can illuminate our understanding of different positions,” Dr. McCreary says.

“This is a project that doesn’t just breathe life into history; it also helps us understand how we live through history.”

46 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Create a custom lock screen Middle and Upper School visual arts teacher Carey Gates wanted his ninth-graders to learn the basics of programs such as Adobe Illustrator and understand some of the intricacies of vector graphics, and as he cast about for ways to make these skills feel relevant to 14-year-olds, he landed on the most irresistible things they own: their smartphones.

“What’s cooler than hanging out with your friends and having one ask where you got your lock screen and to be able to say ‘I didn’t get it anywhere, I made it,’” Mr. Gates says.

Over the course of a handful of classes, Mr. Gates teaches his students how to use colors, shapes, and gradations in Illustrator.

Many students see that there’s a whole world beyond lock screens where they can apply the techniques they’ve just learned. “You can use the software to design the stickers you put on your laptop or design your own T-shirt logo,” says Mr. Gates. “They realize there are all sorts of ways that they can use software and their skills.”

Perform poetry and inspire sisterhood When Poetry Out Loud students take center stage to recite a poem for a school assembly or at a regional competition, they draw on their skills of memorization, breath coordination, presence, and articulation. But to succeed, says advisor and English teacher Kimberly Lee, they must find an emotional connection to the poem. “If it doesn’t move you, there’s no way you can move the audience,” she says.

Since launching the Poetry Out Loud program at KPS, in 2018, our Upper School students have competed at regional and state events, reciting works from poets ranging from Walt Whitman, to Jane Kenyon, to Li-Young Lee. Ms. Lee notes that students don’t just compete at the highest levels — they also bring their carefully honed skills to younger audiences. Poetry Out Loud students have performed and coached younger students through partnerships with fifth-grade teachers Susan Mascioli, Joanne Emery, and Sally Snyder, as well as Kindergarten teacher Maria Diamond.

“Having our Upper School students work with Primary School students — living communal sisterhood — has been really valuable,” Ms. Lee says. “Poetry brings people together.”

Prepare your body for optimal performance Physical education teacher and Health and Wellness Chair Michelle Stevenson knows that some of the most important days for Kent Place students are already marked on the calendar: high-level competitions and performances, big tests and presentations. Mrs. Stevenson believes it’s crucial for students to manage not just their minds at these critical moments, but their bodies as well.

As part of a project she’s building with STEM Innovation, Computer Science, and Mathematics Chair Dr. Evelyn Hanna P ’30, students fabricate their own heart-rate monitor to take regular measurements of their body — from heart rates to simulated EKGs — to understand when their body is stressed, when they can push themselves harder, and when they might need to back off to prevent injury or illness.

After taking baseline numbers, students track a few measurements each morning to determine if their readings fall into a green, yellow, or red category. Mrs. Stevenson says the measurements can help coaches provide more individualized workouts for athletes who need a recovery day or would benefit from a hard training day; other students find it helpful to understand their stress levels as they prepare for a challenging academic moment.

The goal is for students to begin to know themselves so well that they can intuit where their body is, even without the data. “When you start, you can’t always connect the numbers to what your body is feeling,” Mrs. Stevenson says. “But over time, you get to know it — you can actually start to feel it.”

Please tell us about a project you remember from your time at Kent Place and the impact it had on you. Email communications@kentplace.org.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 47

KEEPING PACE CONNECTING THE KENT PLACE FAMILY

1946 Daisy Chain

KEEPING PACE SINCE LAST TIME

Coral Butler Brooks and Chumley celebrate KPS Strong!

Dear Alumnae, In June 2020, Kent Place School completed an incredibly challenging academic year with determination, grit, collaboration, creativity, and enthusiasm. In September, students returned to campus despite mind-boggling challenges and ended the year with wonderful — and well-earned — celebrations, such as Step-Sing, Field Day, the 126th closing exercises, and the Class of 2021’s Commencement. School spirit was off the charts!

Now it’s another September, and what a difference a year makes!

I hope you spent the summer reconnecting with family and friends from whom you’ve been separated. Spending time with loved ones for relaxed gatherings full of laughter is always a summer highlight, but never quite as welcome as this year!

As I begin to travel with Head of School Jennifer Galambos to meet with members of our community north, south, east, and west, I hope you’ll join us. We want to know how you’ve been and what’s new in your lives — we want to shake hands, to give hugs, to chat!

Until we meet again, Kent Place is here to keep you informed. Assistant Heads of School Julie Gentile and Julia Breen Wall P ’23 ’27 write about what an all-girls community has

50 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

meant to both newly minted graduates and seasoned alumnae (starting on page 32).

Our 2nd Athletic Hall of Fame induction is just a few weeks away, and there will be many more opportunities to get together (see the events listing on page 57). And please save the dates for Alumnae Weekend 2022, April 29 and 30 — all are invited!

The Keeping Pace section of the magazine has Q&A’s, Class Notes (beginning on page 55), and more news of our amazing alumnae from around the globe. Happy reading!

With warmest regards,

Coral Butler Brooks Director of Advancement

Michaela Markels ’19

Michaela Markels ’19 Powers a REBOOT Michaela Markels ’19, a Yale sophomore, first learned about Max Stossel, an award-winning storyteller, poet, and youth and education advisor for the Center for Humane Technology (CHT), an organization dedicated to realigning technology with humanity’s best interests, when she and her mother heard him speak at Montclair State University her junior year at KPS. She was intrigued.

Michaela and her mother then watched The Social Dilemma, a Netflix documentary that features the CHT and explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm about their own creations — and they knew they had to connect Stossel with Kent Place.

In 2020, they arranged for Stossel to speak with students about how technology is designed to be addictive and distracting; the impact on our lives; and resources to manage it. Michaela saw the positive response and overwhelming interest in continuing the discussion.

“I realized there was an opportunity for Kent Place to be a leader in the space of youth digital health, and knowing how engaged our students are in passion projects and in bettering their communities, I got excited about bringing that to KPS,” says Michaela.

Working with Dr. Karen Rezach, Director of the Ethics Institute at Kent Place School, Michaela partnered with Stossel to develop a social media empowerment program for students, as well as resources and professional development for staff and parents. The program, REBOOT — Rethinking Ethical Behavior Online for (self )Ownership Together — was born.

The framework for a series of Upper and Middle School REBOOT workshops is in place and has been piloted at area schools.

Michaela believes the success of the program will be in large part a result of peer-to-peer mentoring to support students in navigating their challenging online world while encouraging them to take control of their lives.

“The value for students is to empower them to think critically about the ways and the amount they use technology, and to use social-media platforms more than the platforms use them,” says Michaela. “We hope to get these conversations started in schools where unhealthy usage is often seen as unavoidable.”

Cheers to the Years!

Kent Place couldn’t let another year pass without celebrating our alumnae. Although disappointed that our reunion classes ending in 0, 1, 5, and 6 couldn’t be with us in person, we were determined to carry on the KPS tradition of community, unity, and festivity.

The all-virtual weekend, held in April, kicked off with coffee and conversation for our milestone 50th-reunion classes, who were joined by Head of School Jennifer Galambos. That evening, our Women of Wisdom panel featured three inspiring alumnae who talked about their journeys after Kent Place and how they thrive as leaders. The weekend culminated in a cocktail party for all class years — members gathered as a group and then spent time with their classes in breakout rooms, joined by special faculty guests.

A complimentary box of gifts, to be used during the weekend, was sent to each registrant, to bring the Kent Place community to their homes and add a sense of fun and connection to this memorable occasion.

Celebratory gifts for the weekend

SHARING TRADITION.

Congratulations to alumna Diann Gropp-Roth ’84 P ’21 as she celebrates her daughter Erin’s graduation. Erin attended Kent Place for seven years.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 51

KEEPING PACE

Follow Our Lead Six successful alumnae talk about what makes a good leader.

Empowering girls to be leaders is what Kent Place is all about, from the first day of Primary School until flowers go flying at Commencement. But how do those lessons translate in the world after graduation? KPS recently hosted two virtual panels with six extraordinary alumnae leaders — three at the start of their careers participated in Alumnae on the Rise and three who have decades of experience were part of Women of Wisdom. All credit Kent Place with the foundation that has enabled them to succeed. Here, they return the favor, offering advice from the wisdom they’ve discovered along their journeys that has helped them become not just leaders, but also good leaders.

Don’t Take No for an Answer

Celebrate the Success of Other Women —DANIELA QUINTANILLA ’10

It’s important to realize that if someone else gets the promotion or someone gets that job or someone is doing something I think is really cool, that has nothing to do with me. She can succeed and I can succeed. If she’s succeeding, you’re also succeeding because she’s going to be entering rooms you’re not in, and that will do wonders for other women. You’re on your own path. You’re on your own journey.

Daniela is a vice president at BlackRock in the iShares institutional group, leading relationships with global insurance companies. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and ancient history and is an MBA candidate at Columbia.

—ADRIENNE WOLFF ’15

Everyone we spoke to in May 2020 about starting the G.A.P. Project said, “This can’t be done in this short period of time, there are sites that kind of already do what you’re doing so there’s really no need, young people don’t want to get involved, they’re lazy.” A lot of people were telling us no. We decided to go ahead with it anyway and see what happened . . . We knew we could prove wrong the people who told us no, but we didn’t know to what extent. By November, we had placed more than 800 students on 105 campaigns in 35 states.

Mostly, that was from cold-emailing and cold-calling and not taking no for an answer.

Adrienne graduated magna cum laude from Brown in 2020 with a BA in urban studies and is now the urban and architecture researcher and analyst at the Singapore-based Life as a Service Research Program. She worked on several political campaigns before founding the G.A.P. Project, an online platform that connects Gen Z–ers who would like to volunteer with campaigns that align with their values.

52 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Celebrate Your Achievements —RACHEL HARRISON-GORDON ’08

I might forever struggle with this. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. It went to South by Southwest. It’s my first film. And that’s probably, just now, the most confidently that I’ve ever said that sentence. I think people, especially women, are afraid of coming across as self-absorbed or, I don’t know, something negative. But the chance of that is very slim. I definitely felt like I had to overcompensate for something — because I’m Black or a woman or young. But being confident in what you know or your potential is not a small deal.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering, Rachel switched gears and became a filmmaker. She’s now an MFA/MBA candidate at NYU Tisch/Stern. Her first and highly successful film, Broken Bird, challenges the expectations of race, family, and addiction.

Remember That Change Starts with You — DR. VICKY (MCGHEE) SMITH ’86

In 2016, my boss — one of the first female physician leaders at Ochsner — asked me if I’d go and support a hospital that was having a lot of challenges. She said, “It’s going to be like you’re opening a new hospital but it’s already in existence. You’re going to have to build everything.” It was really difficult. There was opposition, a lot of challenge, and negativity. I remember, after six months, being at home — I’m Buddhist — and I was chanting . . . I just felt so defeated.

As I was chanting, I recognized, “Wow, I’m letting myself be defeated by the environment.” And I just determined, “No! I’m going to influence my environment, not the other way around.” I began to pray, to chant, that this place will be the best place in the universe to receive care and also the best place to work. I spent all my time really encouraging people — “This is going to get better. This is going to be great.” In 2017, we had a banner year, and in 2018, we won a national award for top general hospital.

The change in an environment always starts with a change within us.

Vicky is a family physician and the associate medical director of St. Charles Parish Hospital and primary care for the River Region at Ochsner Health Systems. She graduated from Yale and Harvard Medical School and has been on the frontlines of the pandemic. She was also a participant in the Pfizer vaccine trial. In 2018, she was named New Orleans CityBusiness Woman of the Year.

Find the Right Mentor —TRISH TODD ’75

I’d been at Simon & Schuster for about a week. My boss was on vacation, and one of the projects I was working on was a movie tie-in, which is a book that has the movie art on the cover. I came back from lunch and in my office was what we call a dump — a corrugated display that has art printed on it. Nobody had authorized the use of this art, and I knew it was a very expensive mistake. I was so new; I didn’t know whom to ask to help. Publishing at that time was full of crazy people — “Me Too” men and people who threw things and yelled.

I went to Carolyn Reidy, who was then president of S&S, and explained what had happened. She lit a cigarette, got on the phone with somebody, and then said, “You have three more days.” I said, “You’re not mad?” She said, “Why would I be mad? I assume you’re all adults doing your best.” It was like I was struck by a lightning bolt. I fell in love with her and was loyal to her until the end of time. It framed for me how that approach worked so much better than screaming and yelling and horribleness. She became a role model to me as a leader.

Trish, who’s worked as an editor for more than 40 years, is vice president and executive editor at Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. A Brown grad, she’s published many award-winning novelists, among them #1 bestselling author Philippa Gregory. Her New York Times bestselling nonfiction includes Whiskey in a Teacup, by Reese Witherspoon; The Disaster Artist, by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell (which became a movie directed by and starring James Franco); and Confessions of an Heiress, by Paris Hilton.

Set a Good Example —AMY (WANGGAARD) HAUSMANN ’86

No matter what job you have, at least in the arts, you have to always be willing to sweep the floor, you have to always be willing to break down the cardboard boxes, you have to always be willing to straighten the bathroom if you have to. No matter where you are — in a small gallery or a big museum — the way you set an example for others is the most important thing. You can never ask someone to do something you’re not willing to do yourself.

Amy, curator, art director, and arts administrator, is the director of Olana (a State Historic Site), the 19th-century property of the artist Frederic Church, in Hudson, N.Y. A graduate of Knox College, she spent 22 years working for the MTA overseeing public art commissions and administering art and culture programs. Among her achievements, she earned the Kupferman Award for Excellence in Public Service.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 53

KEEPING PACE IN HER WORDS

At the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska, boarding the plane used to travel between locations

With legendary sports broadcaster Howard Cosell at a boxing match in Puerto Rico

Kathy Cook ’71 Kathy Cook ’71, Emmy Award–winning producer for ABC Sports and ESPN, retired in January 2021 after an epic 43-year career.

People ask, “Did you always want to work in sports television?” And my answer is “Never — I just got off on the wrong floor.”

I knew I wanted my life to be different.

I never saw myself having a 9-to-5 job. I loved spinning the globe in my bedroom and fantasizing about all the places I wanted to see. I had no idea what life had in store.

I graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in communications and hoped

54 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

to find a news job in New York City. My brother set up a meeting with a friend at ABC. I just wanted to get my foot in the door. When I arrived, I accidentally got off the elevator on the wrong floor. I stepped out and saw a huge photo wall of sports figures, including Muhammad Ali, A. J. Foyt, Nadia Comăneci, Billie Jean King, and Mario Andretti. A woman told me I was on the ABC Sports floor. We struck up

a conversation and she said, “You know, they’re looking for a production assistant; wait here.” She returned with several names on a piece of paper and told me to mail in my résumé. I did, and I was hired two weeks later for what would become my dream job.

It was a “coming-of-age” time in sports production and I was one of only a handful of women in the business. Within a few weeks, I was traveling the world for the anthology series Wide World of Sports, working with iconic talent such as Howard Cosell, Al Michaels, Keith Jackson, Peggy Fleming, and Dick Button. One week I was at the Grand Prix of Monaco or the Indianapolis 500 and the next at the Ironman Triathlon or the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. It was an exciting and exhilarating time, but also demanding and stressful. I learned early on that no matter the request, my answer had to be yes. I distinguished myself as a “go-to” person, the one they could call on for any assignment.

I believe my attitude got me as far as my talent did. Over the years, I was promoted from production assistant to associate director to producer and, in 2007, to coordinating producer for ESPN. Some of my fondest memories are working on seven Olympic Games; producing “Nadia Comăneci’s Return to Romania,” documenting the gymnast’s return to Bucharest five years after she defected; “Canvas of Ice,” with Olympic Gold medalists Brian Boitano and Katarina Witt, shot around the world, from a glacier lake in Alaska to Katarina’s home rink in then East Germany; and producing major events such as the World Championships in figure skating, gymnastics, and track and field.

I learned that when a great moment happens, let it play out; document the event in the best possible light; and tell the story well: Give viewers a reason to care and a reason to watch. For this, I was rewarded with nine Emmys.

My advice? Work hard, surround yourself with good people, and treat everyone with respect and kindness.

Oh, and laugh — a lot.

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

1937

Kent Place learned that Cynthia (Drake) Hugli passed away on March 10, 2021 (see below). We offer our sympathy.

1942

Emily (Churchill) Wood emily_wood46@hotmail.com Prue (Sanford) Regan died peacefully

at her home in Westerly, RI, on September 11, 2020. Prue was the sister of the late Jane (Sanford) Ziegler ’42.

She was the beloved wife of the late Jack Regan and matriarch of the Regan family, which grew to include six children, nine grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. We extend our sympathy to Prue’s family.

1943

Kent Place heard from Katherine King that her mother, Mary (Dickason) King, passed away on February 20, 2021. “My mom always remembered her experiences, classes, and friends at Kent Place. Thank you for giving her such wonderful memories” (see below).

1945

passed away on September 21, 2020. We extend our condolences to Sally’s family.

Sally (Fordham) Dietrick

1947

Anne (Campbell) Dowell annedowell@triad.rr.com

This has been such a different and difficult year. I hope we’ve all had our vaccines and will soon see things improving. It was good to find most of us doing okay.

Evelyn (France) Kalagher is doing fine. She can walk around the road out front and up to the clubhouse.

During COVID, the bus drivers shopped for everyone. Now she drives herself for groceries. She loves to cook and eats at home more than at the clubhouse. She shares dinner on Sundays with a compatible friend.

She goes to friends’ houses to Zoom for current events.

Joan (Skelton) Holmes lives in Heritage Village, in Southbury, CT, and is doing okay. She uses a walker and on nice days goes out front to read. She does crossword puzzles, loves to watch Jeopardy!, and reads a lot. Her son Blair lives in Chicago with his wife and three children; son Hunter lives in Boston and is a professional guitarist. Her daughter, Trilby, who lives nearby, is a nurse and has three children.

Nancy Purdy says she’s doing quite well. She still has her little spaniel, Henrietta, who is a great companion. Nancy lives in a ground-floor apartment with a

living room/dining room and three bedrooms. She usually eats at home but goes to the dining room occasionally. She has a helper who shops for her groceries.

Eleanor (Rathbone) Nichols lives in a nice retirement home in Charlotte, NC. She had a brain aneurysm a while ago but is doing well. She does jigsaw puzzles, as her doctor recommended. She hopes physical and mental therapy will help so she won’t need a walker. Her eyesight is good and she likes watching history movies.

Nancy (Vreeland) Waits lives with her husband, Richmond, in Westminster Retirement Home, in Winter Park, FL. They’re on the eighth floor of a large building. They go to different exercise classes and eat all their meals in the dining room.

The whole family gathered at Easter.

Their twin great-grandsons are 11 and they have another great-grandson, who is 2 years old.

Giovanna (Mancusi-Ungaro) Breu

says, “We’re vaccinated but still wearing masks around Chicago.

We’re using Zoom to do yoga and chat with friends. We FaceTime once a week with our 7- and 8-year-old granddaughters in Texas.” Their daughter, Eugenia, is a nurse in a hospital and is also a sergeant in the Texas State Guard. Their son, Christopher, is an English professor

at Illinois State University, teaching classes on Zoom.

Bobbie (MacWhinney) Schneidewind says, “Our family often gets to-

gether on Sunday evenings for supper at our daughter Donna’s home. This gives me a chance to get to know my 3½-year-old grandson and my 7-month-old great-granddaughter.

We continued our 25-year family tradition of gathering at Hilton Head for a week in May. There were 18 of us to celebrate.”

Helen (Preus) Mairs says, “Life at Episcopal Home, in St. Paul, seems to be getting closer to normal.

We have a singing group, a writing group, and many movies. Daughter Julia will be returning from a winter in Indian Wells, CA. Heidi, my Houston daughter, will come soon for her first visit since Labor Day.” Elizabeth lives nearby and hosted a lovely Easter brunch on her porch with help from Preusy’s son, Rob. Kathanne (Harter) Webster says their restaurants are now open to residents only. She’ll return soon to working at their library. She’s been ordering books and having them delivered but she prefers going to the library. “I’m well,” she says, “though I can’t take long walks due to my spinal compression fracture, for which there is no safe cure.” Her Wellesley roommate died recently. They lived

Brave and Brilliant Then and Now In a time when postsecondary education was reserved primarily for men, Kent Place was preparing its graduates not only to earn college degrees, but also to advance the world.

Cynthia (Drake) Hugli ’37 went on to graduate from Wellesley College with a BA in political science. During World War II, Cynthia worked at the Towing Tank at Stevens Institute of Technology, a facility where scale models of maritime vessels could be evaluated and which contributed to the history of America in the 1940s when work at the lab was devoted almost entirely to supporting the war effort. She passed away on March 10, 2021, at the age of 101.

Dr. Mary (Dickason) King ’43 passed away on February 20, 2021, following an illustrious career in medicine. She had always wanted to be a doctor, and started working in a hospital laboratory in Newark at age 14. She worked there every summer until graduating magna cum laude from Smith College, and then earned her MD at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University.

She was a postdoctoral fellow in biochemistry at the University of

Chicago and pursued a fellowship at the University of Copenhagen; spent five years in the pharmacology and biochemistry department at Yale; and then served as associate clinical professor of pathology at the University of Colorado. When her children grew up, Mary took a residency in surgical pathology at Cornell and became a specialist in GYN-surgical pathology. After moving again, Mary pursued her work at Rush Medical Center and the University of Illinois. To keep up with her husband’s medical career, Mary moved eight times in 40 years, always managing to balance her pathology practice, teaching, and raising three children. Mary viewed it as a privilege to serve in the medical profession during a time of almost miraculous advances in both treatment and basic science. Source: The U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Changing the Face of Medicine: Dr. Mary Elizabeth Dickason King” Kent Place has a long history of empowering girls to be confident, intellectual, and ethical leaders. KPS graduates were brave and brilliant eight decades ago, just as they are today.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 55

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

near each other outside Boston and had stayed close all these years. Kathy is missing her terribly.

Sue (Savage) Speers is happy to have a new great-grandson, whose name is Mateo. He and his parents live in Dublin, NH, and she hopes to get a ride there soon. Sue now lives in a retirement home in Hanover but still has her house in Center Sandwich, just a mile from Squam Lake.

Her son, Will, lives in Center Sandwich. Her children share a house on the lake, and they and the grandchildren come and go all summer.

I, Anne, am fine at Homestead Hills Community, in WinstonSalem, NC. I love my brick cottage backing up to big woods. I have bird feeders on my deck and can see birds right outside my kitchen window. I go to our saltwater pool to exercise, and to line-dancing classes. We now have archery outside and small bands playing in the gazebo. I’m lucky to have two daughters who live nearby and do so much for me.

Kent Place received the sad news that Anne (Haon) Cook passed away on May 24, 2021, at her home in Lancaster, PA, and that Ruth (Mace) Prime passed away peacefully at her beloved home in Lake Placid, NY, on January 13, 2021. Our condolences to Anne’s and Ruth’s families.

1949

Joan (Lanston) McKeown jlmckeown@icloud.com

I have exciting news — Anne Frances McKeown, youngest child of Bob and Sara McKeown, was inducted into Iota Gamma Chi, Endicott College’s honor society for liberal studies majors.

1950

Liz (Dun) Colton lizcolton@aol.com Penny (Burley) Thomas mbtedt@gmail.com Liz (Dun) Colton and I, Penny (Burley) Thomas, took it upon ourselves to

become co–class secretaries since our class notes have been nonexistent for quite a while. Here’s what we’ve come up with as a debut.

Liz reports that she, Mabel (Depue) O’Brien, and Karla (Hofmeister) Williams got together for a mini-reunion at a picnic last summer in Waterfront Park, in Bath, Maine. They hope that Aileen (Black) Robertson, who lives in Florida, can join them next time.

56 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Ann (Reeves) Reed lives a quiet life in Virginia. Her two sons live nearby; her daughter, who lives in Connecticut, visits often. Ann and Charlie have seven grandchildren, one at Wake Forest, another a rower at Southern Methodist.

Karla (Hofmeister) Williams lives in her same apartment in New York City, keeping a low profile, but will soon escape to Maine, where her children and grandchildren will visit.

Ted and I (Penny) are living in Princeton, downsized into a condominium located near town and the university. We’re excited to be adding a fourth great-grandchild to the family collection this summer. We drive back and forth to Idaho, where we spend a lot of time. Our children and their children like to visit — and to hike and ski.

1951

Mary-Carey (Bachmann) Churchill mcchurchill@gmail.com

Spring was filled with family reunions after a year and a half of pandemic isolation and finally vaccinations! As I write this, in May, the snowbirds are leaving Florida and heading north to beautiful spring weather, attending long-postponed weddings and either real or virtual graduations of our grandchildren.

Pat (Clarke) Seeger writes from Vista, CA, that she lives near the ocean, which attracts grandchildren and other family from Arizona. If you build it, they will come! Nice to hear from her. Pat keeps in touch with Alvene (Farrell) Carpenter, who reports that she and Larry are doing well and spend the summers in their Nantucket digs.

Joyce (Cudlipp) Wiggin and Mitch (age 95, God bless!) love independent living in Adamstown, MD, especially the daily physical and occupational exercises. She says the difference in their bodies is amazing.

No substitute for exercising, stretching, and strengthening at whatever level you can. Daughter Darby just retired after 30 years at Wells Fargo, as vice president of home mortgage, in Maryland. Children retiring: what does that tell us? Hmmm.

MJ (Cabrera) Shaw made her annual trip in April from Stowe to Florida, where they had a family reunion at daughter Dani’s home on the ocean. She’s amazing, starting the golf season again with great

enthusiasm, even after breaking her femur last winter stepping backwards over her granddaughter’s dog. Watch those little dogs. Go MJ! Jim and Sally (Needles) Toffey made their annual trek north to Kennebunkport, ME, from Vero Beach. They sent a video shot off the coast of Maine showing two sharks near and then under the boat of their daughter, Debby, and son-in-law.

Here in West Palm Beach, sharks have been fairly close to shore, too.

I (Mary-Carey) went fishing for smaller fish, and sharks bit big pieces of them as I reeled in. The fishing industry is furious. Yours truly was able to pull together a March family reunion with three kids, Carey, Charlie, and Chris (Mass., N.J., Calif.). Serious exercising during the day — biking (not me), swimming, and tennis — followed by raucous evening hilarity. I’ve become a croquet nut at the National Croquet Center here, though not your backyard croquet. Wickets are really tight. Lots of fun, strategy, and challenges, and let’s face it: It would be really hard to get injured! Lucky me, gratitude, gratitude.

Oh, and about the escapade with Miss Sampson. Here’s a teaser that will keep you glued to your seat till next time. Do you remember Connie Caulkins? I think she attended only for freshman year, lived out by McGee Marshall. A hilarious bird, Connie, she and I loved Miss Sampson and particularly how she sat on the desk running her hands through that great shock of gray hair while teaching us everything anybody would ever want to know about Egypt. As a token of our appreciation, we left a hot-water bottle on the chair. Why? I can’t possibly answer that. Idiocy might come close. We thought it was hilarious. Stay tuned for the next episode. In the meantime, stay as healthy and safe as you can.

Kent Place heard from Beth Stewart that her mother, Mary (Kler) Heisinger, passed away on April 5, 2021, after a short illness. Mary shared many fond memories of Kent Place with her family throughout her life. Our condolences to Mary’s family.

Kent Place also learned that Janice (Netland) Fenner passed away several years ago, on October 3, 2015. Our condolences to Janice’s family as well.

1954

Marianna (Ruprecht) Mitchell mariannarmitchell@gmail.com

1955

I’m sorry to report that Jim, my husband of 53 years, died on January 22, a victim of pulmonary fibrosis. Living alone is hard, but Maisy (dog) and I are getting used to it. Good friends in Maine and elsewhere are most helpful, and it’s great to be with my children and grandchildren as time allows. Best wishes to all our classmates!

Kent Place heard from Amy Ashton that her mother, Betsy (Cumming) Dartt, passed away peacefully at Brookdale Senior Living in Sarasota, FL, on February 13, 2021. Our condolences to Betsy’s family.

Joy (Pattison) Wheeler passed away peacefully at her home in Post Falls, Idaho, on January 21, 2021.

Our thoughts are with Joy’s family.

Doreen (Crawford) Dun:

1957

Thank you to Virginia (Tansey) for compiling notes from her class.

Thanks to the remarkable “chain letter” started by Lucy (Gale) Gaven, we’re incredibly together almost 65 years after graduation! As we emerge from the pandemic, Cheryl (Cushing) Campbell, in Chatham, NJ, describes the “thrill of being able to open our doors and venture out,” Molly (Harding) Nye writes from New Hampshire lake country, “Three cheers to Zoom for keeping us sane, socialized, and connected,” and Bee (Newman) Thayer, from her mountain in northern New Hampshire, writes “ .”

Cheryl adds, “Think positive as we deal with the gains as well as the losses of the pandemic year.”

She and Rob have sold their Florida winter get-away to divide their time between Chatham and Lake Winnipesaukee, NH. Molly and Joe spent the year in New Hampshire, where, she says, “we have a farm and have lived in isolation surrounded by meadows and forests.”

They gave up their “cherished twomonth stay in Palo Alto for the last three years,” but they did manage to catch a week in Florida after their two vaccines, and a trip to New York City to visit their son, plus a few quick trips to their home in Lexington, MA, Wilkinson

🌳🐿🌻🙏😄

🐝🌷🐞

AROUND THE COUNTRY AND THE CAMPUS

Reconnect and Refresh with Kent Place!

The Kent Place Advancement Office is delighted to announce the return of Green and Gold on the Road, along with exciting virtual and in-person programming. Please be on the lookout for invitations; we’ll be adding programs and events throughout the year.

GREEN AND GOLD ON THE ROAD* • PHILADELPHIA, PA: Monday, October 4 • WASHINGTON, D.C.: Thursday and Friday, October 21 and 22 • GREENWICH, CT: Monday, November 8 • FLORIDA: Tuesday, February 22–Friday, February 25 Delray Beach, Miami, Naples, Ocean Reef, Vero Beach • BOSTON, MA: Thursday, March 3 • CALIFORNIA: TBD Los Angeles, San Francisco

Alumnae Visiting Day 2020

ALUMNAE PROGRAMS ON CAMPUS* • 2ND ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTION: Saturday, October 2 • ALUMNAE VISITING DAY: Tuesday, February 8 • ALUMNAE WEEKEND: Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30

For details, please contact Lainey Segear P ’34, Senior Director of Community Engagement, at segearl@kentplace.org or (908) 273-0900, ext. 335. *Dates are subject to change.

Please visit kentplace.org/alumnae events for more information.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 57

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

THEN & NOW: WINDOW SEAT

Window seats have always been a staple of Kent Place buildings, but none is as iconic as the stained-glass window seat, which is still in the Main Classroom Building (now formally known as the Middle School). Although the stained glass is difficult to see in this ’70s archival photo (left), it showcases our school’s historic motto: Manners Maketh Man. In the summer of 2019, the bench (right) got a bright and cheerful redesign, renewing it as a popular place to hang out between classes.

We’d love to learn more about your memories of this space; please email your story to communications@kentplace.org.

preparing to move to a retirement community there.

Barbara (Biddulph) Preston and husband Dave retreated to their summer home in Squam Lake, NH, for four months, returning to Old Lyme, CT, for visits from their son, Chris, and daughter, Liz. Chris and his wife came from Washington state with their twin daughters for three weeks. Liz and her husband and son came from Oregon to surprise Dave on his 87th birthday. All three grandchildren are 17. Barbara continues to play golf and tennis and to “walk over a thousand miles.”

Also in their New Hampshire summer retreat for the year were Ellie (Nye) Ernst and her husband, Fred. Ellie has been valiantly battling Parkinson’s disease, as she is gradually losing her ability to paint, draw, and cook. Fred now helps with cooking and also with her daily walks. Refusing to be discouraged, she says, “I’ve been blessed with a great husband and family and many years of good health.”

Home base for Kathie (Daly) Stone has been Londonderry, VT, when she isn’t working for the Rotary Club, mostly in Vermont or New Hampshire, facilitating its Youth Exchange Program, or traveling the world for

58 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

her own pleasure. She makes trips to Westport, CT, to care for grandchildren while their parents are away. She has three great-grandchildren, ages 1, 2, and 4; two live in Kenya and one in Key West. Her latest adventure is selling her home and moving in with her brother in Chesterfield, VT, a challenging adjustment. Among the challenges, “Who might want my Latin texts: Livy, Ovid, Catullus, Horace — Miss Patterson would be proud. Or perhaps Socratics, Husserl, Hobbes, Leibniz, et al. I Kant imagine who would not.”

After many years in Arlington and Fairhaven, MA, Jeanne Van Orman moved to Pennington, NJ. She volunteers at a Washington Crossing sheep farm, across the river in Pennsylvania, serves on a planning board for affordable housing, shares her home with a cat and a dog “who runs my daily schedule,” and continues her connection with a Buddhist community.

Carol (Spaulding) Bulkeley and John celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in September. “We both have all our shoulders, hips, and knees, though the originals do ache periodically. I still walk 18 holes of golf,” she says. Having traveled extensively in the last 20 years, they found the past year

at home in Mountainview, CA, challenging at times, but they’ll head to Idaho and Montana for the summer.

With another view of changes this year, Judy (Miller) Colie says she finds it “comforting to wake up each morning without a self-made government crisis.” Since being vaccinated, she has seen her Colorado children for the first time in two years and hopes soon to see her five grandkids, now in college. Her granddaughter at Ohio Wesleyan University is ranked 10th in the country as a volleyball setter. Judy continues to play tennis three times a week, takes two courses via Zoom, and has reconnected with the Episcopal church from her New Jersey years.

Louise Mackie, who was until recently head of the Islamic Art Department and curator of the Department of Textiles and Costume at the Cleveland Museum of Art, received the Wells College Alumnae Award this spring. Before going to Cleveland, Louise was the department head and curator of the Textile and Costume Department at the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto. The Textile Society of America, of which she was founding director and a past president, describes her as having “contributed

enormously to the textile field.”

(Do look her up online.)

The pandemic crippled Sally (Mathiasen) Prince’s brainchild, the Lemon Twist stores. Conceived as a boutique in Bethesda for women, men, and children 42 years ago, Lemon Twist grew to 11 stores in Maryland and one each in New Hampshire and Florida. Due to the business losses from the pandemic, Sally will close Lemon Twist in June, but will continue to sell stylish clothes, jewelry, and trinkets online and at bazaars.

(Look up Lemon Twist online.)

From the horse farm near Bedford, NY, that she has managed for years, Judy (Hofmann) Richter writes, “Dogs and horses punctuate the days with demands for room service, mostly food at the accustomed hours.” There are no lessons, but clients still come to ride. Both clients and staff members have freed her from grocery trips in the past year.

Judy had a scare after her second Pfizer vaccination, from a blood clot in her lung and congestive heart failure. After three hospital trips, she has managed to bounce back.

Emily (Reeves) Sloan, whose family moved from Summit before she could graduate from Kent Place,

has been lost to our class for years, but Lucy found her, living in North Carolina. Emily has joined our chain and we can expect to hear from her from now on. Also in the chain are Karlan (Sloan) McCarthy, Susan (Pyle) Smith, Margherita (Lindsay) Ramsay, and Marjorie (Mallard) Potvin.

Lucy (Gale) Gaven still chirps from her perch in Chicago, discusses books online with sixth-graders, finds fun old KP pictures in dusty boxes that haven’t been opened in 45 years, and longs for the good old days when she could last longer than an hour or so in her garden.

Sadly, we lost two active members in the last year, Edith “Skip” Wolff and Barbara “Bobbie” (Reid) Hecklinger.

Kent Place heard from Susan Reid ’61 that her sister, Bobbie, passed away at her home in Annapolis, MD, the place she moved to decades ago when she realized her love of sailing and all things nautical, on December 4, 2020. Our condolences to Bobbie’s and Skip’s families.

1960

Anne (Sonnekalb) Iskrant anne@iskrant.com Sandy (Fiore) Roy reports from

Bethesda, MD. At the time of her writing, boarded-up shops and offices (because of marches and protests) and a huge fence around the Capitol were “disheartening.” She and Stape, her husband of 53 years, survived the pandemic, but have missed seeing their seven grandchildren in St. Paul, Oakland, and Sacramento. Sandy lives in a village for seniors. They were the first in the country to set up a vaccination clinic in their neighborhood, which was wildly successful, and went on to set up similar clinics in churches and schools before the state took over.

Sandy (Lee) Simmers, in Purcellville, VA, had a stressful few months this winter trying to get vaccinated. She knew she couldn’t get sick because of her home and farm responsibilities. Grassroots Farm lost a mama cow in January, and Sandy took over feeding an orphan 3-month-old calf. And there were repair and improvement projects. She played pickleball and paddle tennis outside all winter, which gave some normalcy. She and Bob are feeling more hopeful with vaccinations and a visit from son Taylor and family in April, after 16 months of not seeing the grandchildren.

Jeanie (Blackmar) McLerie, of Silver City, AZ, reports that she and husband Ken (of Bayou Seco, “traditional music of the SW from SW Louisiana to Arizona”) didn’t travel last year but stayed on Fiddle Hill, continuing their weekly radio show.

They play live and invite listeners here and abroad to jam with them.

Perhaps a return to Europe in 2022.

Sue Hand is moving to a retirement community in Bedford, MA, the “Whaling City.” She is sorry to give up the seashore but tired of house maintenance. She’ll have a “cluster home” with lots of sun coming through its windows and people around to do things with, especially during the long winters.

Lillian (Eken) Najarian missed being away from New York in Sanibel and St. Lucia. She kept in touch by FaceTime and Zoom calls with family, friends, and multiple organizations; had food delivered by various websites; used Amazon for birthdays and holidays; and had virtual doctor visits.

She reads a lot, belongs to the Mount Holyoke Book Club, and does an enormous amount of genealogy. She says the last few years have created a tremendous amount of anxiety because of the anger and hatred promoted by politics. She’s looking forward to more compassion and concern for individuals and society as a whole.

Just like the Lilian I remember, she ended upbeat. Recently on an extended visit with their son and family at a new beach house on the North Fork of Long Island, she woke early each morning to a 2-year-old banging on the bedroom door yelling, “Grandma, come out!” A welcome and loving experience.

Lilian wrote, “I like to hear about what classmates are doing or experiencing, but understand that some don’t feel up to contributing for many different reasons.” So to those of you who read this, next time, please tell us your stories.

Pat (Downs) Ramsay, in Yarmouth, ME, writes, “My quick advice to 15-year-olds, especially if other pandemics come along: Pursue hobbies and wide-ranging interests; they help fight off feelings of isolation.”

Olivia Pennock ’91 notified Kent Place that her mother, Virginia (Lada-Mocarski) Pennock, passed away on April 6, 2020. Our condolences to Olivia and the rest of the family.

Dale McKendry informed the school that his wife, Mary (Loblein) McKendry, passed away on November 7, 2020. Our thoughts are with Dale and his family.

1961

Marianne (Schwarz) Bentley m.s.bentley@comcast.net

Kent Place extends its gratitude to Marianne for her 22 years as your Class Secretary! She’s done a wonderful job of keeping the Class of 1961 connected. If you’re interested in serving as secretary, please contact Aimee Singer ’88, at singera@kentplace.org.

Susan (Pilchik) Lyons: We’ve been at home for a full year and just received our second vaccines.

It’s been peaceful and interesting.

I took two online courses at the local college, gardened a lot, and gratefully stayed healthy.

1962

Joan (Lockhart) Gardner: We still live in Minnesota (with some Florida in the post-Christmas months) and always welcome visitors. I’m still a community volunteer, so nothing has changed over the past six decades.

I’m president and cofounder of Friends of IPWSO (the International Prader-Willi Syndrome Organisation), which raises money to support children who have PWS, their families, and caregivers in countries where diagnosis, knowledge, and resources are limited. Our middle son, who has PWS, is now 52 years old and certainly enriches our lives!

1963

Louise (Hall) Grauer louise.a.grauer@gmail.com

1964

Gail (Giblin) Flynn gailgiblin29@gmail.com Nanie (Walsh) Flaherty:

Like many of us and like our country, Jay and I, our three children, our in-laws, and our six grandsons (ages 3–10) have had a challenging year. Now double vaccinated, we’re slowly venturing out, and thrilled to hug kids and grandsons! Jay and I are both happily retired. With time on our hands, we expect to be as supportive and involved as we can with our daughter Jamie’s campaign to run for New York State senator in the 41st Senate District. The election is in November 2022. Would love to

hear from any classmates in or near that district.

Katie (Bode) Darlington recounted her experience with February’s ice storm in Texas: “Single-digit temperatures outside and 40s indoors.

Our house was without power and internet for 24 hours, no heat for two days, and no water for four days. We wore lots of layers and did without showers and hot coffee. We gathered snow to flush toilets. Then we had to boil water to drink, and the grocery-store shelves remained empty. Other Texans were without power and heat far longer, and a few thousand remained without water.”

In Memoriam Cynthia (Drake) Hugli ’37

March 10, 2021

Prue (Sanford) Regan ’42

September 11, 2020

Mary (Dickason) King ’43

February 20, 2021

Sally (Fordham) Dietrick ’45

September 21, 2020

Anne (Haon) Cook ’47

May 24, 2021

Ruth (Mace) Prime ’47

January 13, 2021

Margery (Follinger) Davies ‘48

July 24, 2021

Mary (Kler) Heisinger ’51

April 5, 2021

Elizabeth (Cumming) Dartt ’55

February 13, 2021

Joy (Pattison) Wheeler ’55

January 21, 2021

Barbara (Reid) Heckerling ’57

December 4, 2020

Mary (Loblein) McKendry ’60

November 7, 2020

Virginia (Lada-Mocarski) Pennock ’60

April 6, 2020

Ann (Butterworth) Feakins ’69

May 13, 2021

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 59

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

Candace (Connor) Eardley: Back in New Jersey (Wayne) after a very brief sojourn in Manhattan. It was exciting to be a New Yorker, if only for a little while. Happy and busy life with volunteering and working with women in a 12-step recovery program. Marc is actively working and just waiting for Broadway to reopen.

Lots of great new stuff is coming!

1965

Dr. Janet B. W. Williams jbwwny@gmail.com

It’s been quite a year — challenging for many of us. We’re sad to have lost Sara (Kidwell) Swann Miller, a classmate well remembered. Thanks to all of you for writing in.

Candy Cushing: Big thanks again to Janet and Jane for organizing a Zoom mini-reunion. What fun — I’m still smiling! Throughout COVID I was able to continue my business of college counseling via Zoom, which allowed for social separation while helping kids plan for a future chapter of a life in current disruption. Now we’re focused on a new normal. I’m blessed that family and friends remain healthy. Hoping the same for you.

Marjorie (Lange) Sportes: Lucien and I still live in Montauban (southwest France) but in a new house as of September 2020, so we have lots of work to keep us busy even in lockdown. We’ve managed to avoid COVID-19 and get vaccinated.

And that’s about it for this last, very strange year. A recent bright spot was the “class reunion” in Jane (Kolarsey) Kusterer’s Zoom room on May 6. We did our best to exchange 56 years’ worth of news in one hour!

Janet Williams: Still in my houseboat in Seattle. This year has been full of reading, spinning, knitting, canning, baking bread, and playing with my two new kittens. I had major rotator cuff surgery in December, but am hoping to be kayaking by the fall.

Two of my kids and both grandsons are in California, and the restaurateur son lives in Rhode Island. I’m happily busy with some new volunteer programs, a little consulting, and work with my co-op and the Floating Home Association, so I have plenty to do!

1966

Linda “Lindy” (Burns) Jones finallylbj@gmail.com Fran (Griffith) Laserson: My

daughter, Galen, and her husband, Matt

60 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Bussmann, welcomed daughter Ellis Ladd, aka Ellie, in the spring. I was able to be in San Francisco for a week to see them start their life as a young family. Big changes were also in store for me. After 40 years, I sold my New York City apartment and bought a villa in Vero Beach, where my sister, Laura ’68, lives. It’s located at The Moorings, the same community where Nicki (Dugan) Doggett lives and on the same street as Betsy (Busch) Crosby.

Judy Small: In March I was honored to visit, via Zoom, the Upper School French class of Madame Françoise Moreau to read poems from my recent book, Second Tongue, which draws on my experiences as an interpreter for French-speaking asylum seekers from North and West Africa. Because the book begins with my earliest recollections of learning French, when I started at Kent Place in the seventh grade, it was very moving to share poems with students, even virtually, in this space where so much began for me.

1967

Lisa (Wilson) Hetman: As with most other people, this past year has been quiet. I’m am looking forward to heading to the United States in June and meeting Patty English, Lianne (Gerhardt) LaVoy, Pandora Jacoubs, Jeanne (Hammond) Daraio, and Phyllis (Arbesman) Berger in Montana for a “safe” reunion. We hope to restart our regular reunion in 2022 with a trip to Ireland.

Jeanne (Hammond) Daraio: Some of the 1967 boarders have managed to get together on several occasions.

In 2019, it was in Vilano Beach, FL.

1968

Barbara Wiss barbarawiss@gmail.com Jackie (Baird) Fiala: In March

2021, my husband, Jim, and I moved to Lancaster, SC, to a beautiful 55+ neighborhood called Treetops, just 30 minutes south of our daughter, Carolyn, who lives in Charlotte.

Carolyn, husband Aaron, and 3-yearold daughter, Sage, are expecting another little girl in May. Our son, Brad, is working for USA Archery in Colorado Springs. His son, Michael, will soon be 14 years old.

Nancy (Kaufman) Dalva: Being in touch with classmates through social media and directly during this long

pandemic year has been sustaining.

We dream together.

Kathryn (Van Cleve) Kuhns: Oh, what a year it’s been. Our family, God bless, has been relatively unscathed by the pandemic. Here, I’ll put the spotlight on our son Dylan, who is now a LTJG in the Navy.

He’s headed to the Naval Air Base in Lemoore, CA, where he’ll be in the second cockpit in an F18 Super Hornet. John and I and our new black Lab puppy went to New Jersey on Mother’s Day to visit my 95-year-old mother. Wishing all happiness and good health.

Anne (Hawley) Morgan: Life in the north woods is good — and busy.

The grandkids are getting bigger.

My soup business needs another employee. I’m helping my son market-garden. I really should do the final edit of my romantic suspense novel, but I’m taking an inner-conflict workshop using my time travel work in progress.

1969

Gay (Garth) Legg gaylegg@gmail.com

Dear Class of 69: A hard, sad year has passed and with it some sad, hard losses. We have lost a great friend and class leader in Ann (Butterworth) Feakins, who passed away on May 13, 2021, after a valiant struggle with cancer (see tribute on page 61).

On a happy note, and a reminder that “life goes on,” I heard from Zoe Kontes, Laura (Staehle) Johnson’s daughter, a professor at Kenyon College in Ohio (my alma mater!), who sent a picture of her daughter Poppy, whom Laura had a chance to meet before she died, holding Laura’s favorite stuffed animal.

Becky (Chamberlain) Revelle wrote from St. Louis: In this past year our family managed to have two weddings. Our daughter, Hannah, was married in September 2020 and our youngest son, Matthew, in February 2021. The guest lists for both were cut to around 50 people, all wearing masks. My sister, Judy, and her family were able to attend Hannah’s but not Matthew’s, and many of the guests watched via Facebook. We’re all fine and everyone in our family, except the grandkids, has been vaccinated. My husband and I have spent time with our grandkids at local parks and have discovered a lot of parks in the St. Louis area that we never knew about.

I concur — this is a year of park discovery. I’m working on a park photography research project with the Garden Club of America, documenting landscape designs of Frederick Law Olmsted in honor of the celebration of his 200th birthday. A story I wrote about the founding of Central Park and Prospect Park was published on the Olmsted200 website. This year has made me thoroughly appreciate the miracle of FaceTime. My youngest daughter is living in Greenwich Village and my older son and daughter and three granddaughters are in the Boston area. I measure the length of the pandemic by the fact that my youngest, a COVID baby born March 2020, is now walking and talking.

Chris and I are still happily living in Baltimore and have been lucky to spend a lot of time at our house in Brewster, MA. I’m also working part time as a floral designer.

Carol Cowan is happily living in Madison, NJ, and joined a group Zoom call this spring with Comfort (Halsey) Cope, who has continued to enjoy being a docent for the Arnold Arboretum, in Boston. It’s a beautiful place, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and Comfort would be happy to show you around. Also in the Boston area are Patricia Williams and Mary Robinson, who writes that she doesn’t have real news, but she does . . .

“Gratitude that my wife had a successful knee replacement, and can walk enthusiastically now. Gratitude that our older daughter, Sarah, got great care at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and is recovering well from Hodgkin’s. Gratitude that I’m retired from hospital chaplaincy now and didn’t have to be on the front line for ICU staff, patients, and distraught families during COVID-19. Hope you all endured the pandemic, are well, and have things for which you are grateful, too!”

And in case any of our class needed to be reminded of the fact that many of us have a very big birthday this year, Lucy Weiger, who is happily married and living in the California wine district, sent pictures of her birthday in Cabo with her sister Barbara ’71. Lucy obviously knows how to celebrate and clearly has not lost a step!

Hope you all have happy celebrations. Keep in touch and let me know. I hope our paths will cross!

Cheers, Gay

1970

Harty (Platt) du Pont hartleydupont@aol.com Lisa Schmucki lisaschmucki@gmail.com Harty (Platt) du Pont: I was

recently promoted from ambassador to chair of the 1754 Society for the School of the Arts at Columbia University.

I’ll be the first graduate to hold that position, for which I feel honored.

I’m also chair of the Arts Committee for honorary degrees. I serve on the Committee of Alumnae/i Relations and on the Committee for Events and Programs. I keep in touch with Halli, Buff, Lynn, Butter, Chrys, and Lis . . . and miss you all!

Lisa Schmucki: I joined the grandparents club! My daughter, Eleanor Oakes, gave birth to a boy, Seneca Oakes Stanton, in November 2020.

She and husband Hal live in Detroit, and I’m so thankful that they’ve all been healthy during the pregnancy and birth. I spent Thanksgiving through Christmas with them, and it was wonderful. Can’t wait for a return visit soon!

Tricia Tunstall: It’s spring 2021, and I’m not sick with COVID, as I was this time last year. Full of gratitude about that and many other things. I spent the year teaching piano on FaceTime, writing and editing newsletters about music education for

social change, and taking care of my 97-year-old mother. I married Eric in a socially distanced family ceremony on October 3, on a sunny lawn in the Hudson Valley. His sister was the officiant; my sons sang a duet; a puppy was the ring-bearer. Hoping to see you all in person someday!

Betzi (Ulrich) Powers: Although I miss getting together in person, our class has been able to take advantage of Zoom and Facebook to keep in touch. John and I miss all the travel we used to do and are hoping that the world opens up by the time this is published. We have a new camping trailer and maybe my next note will talk about classmates I’ve visited!

Patricia Kummel: After five months of online therapy with the elderly, I returned in person, in full PPE. Very hot, but more satisfying.

Still doing teletherapy with private patients. I just finished organizing an international virtual Group Relations conference — 34 presenters and 150 attendees across multiple time zones — rewarding but exhausting!

Charlotte’s finishing her first year of college, in person but no social life, very weird. Les loves teaching remotely and never wants to return to the school. My joy is walking Jasper and taking photos in Riverside Park.

Judy Chamberlain: I’m a happily retired family physician. Karen and

I spend our winters in Windsor, SC, and summers in Maine. We’re busy with our horses, gardening, and various building projects. We’ve both received our coronavirus vaccines and are thrilled to be able to be out and about more.

Emmy (Perina) Katz: COVID-19 put a damper on our international hiking this past fall and winter. Bruce and I were able to go cross-country skiing several times at the Rangeley Lakes Trail Center, in Rangeley, Maine. Once vaccinated, we were allowed to ski in Vermont at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. When not skiing, we were hiking. We treated the grandchildren and their parents to a trip to Disney in April. Playtime is over and it’s time to start gardening.

Liv Eltvik: As with everywhere else, COVID had a great impact on life in Norway, but we’ve been able to keep the number of deaths very low. We’ve experienced various local close-downs, and Oslo has been totally closed for longer periods. But Norway is fortunate and has plenty of open space, so outdoor activities such as hiking and sleeping in tents or hammocks have become even more popular than before. Erik and I have done what we normally do, being active outside. But we’re looking forward to being able to see friends and family again.

1971

Deborah Besch debvettx@gmail.com Kathy Cook: I retired

in January after a 43-year career with ABC Sports and ESPN. On the horizon, renovating a home in Truro, MA, overlooking Cape Cod Bay, with my partner of 25 years. Life is good!

(For more about Kathy, see “In Her Words,” page 54.)

Barbara (Weiger) Lepke-Sims:

During the pandemic, I worked on my new website: www.sacredspaceharp.com. It reflects the many “hats” I wear as a professional harpist and educator, with emphasis on my recent interest in playing therapeutic music for patients, families, and staff in Denver-area hospitals. My family are well and as of the summer we have two additional grandchildren, for a total of five. It was wonderful reconnecting by Zoom for our 50th reunion. We were recently in Cabo to celebrate my sister Lucy’s birthday.

1972

Lili (White) Durling lilidurling@gmail.com

1974

Cathy Slichter cathy.slichter@gmail.com

Tribute to Ann (Butterworth) Feakins ’69 From Liz Feakins Welburn, daughter of Ann (Butterworth) Feakins, and Comfort (Halsey) Cope ’69: We’re sad to share that Ann (Butterworth) Feakins passed away on May 13, 2021, surrounded by her family at her home in Virginia Beach. Ann was a serious student and an accomplished, competitive athlete. She enjoyed the lighter side of school life as well, and was a master of the heart-to-heart talk.

From Kent Place, Ann went to Smith College, where she majored in economics and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She began her banking career in New Orleans as the first female loan officer in the city.

It was her husband, Paul (Delbarton ’69), their three children, and later six

grandchildren, however, who were the focus of Ann’s devoted attention. When she took time for herself, she enjoyed her Bible study, book club, ballroom dancing, card-making classes, and travel. Committed to community service, Ann was for many years a regular driver for Lee’s Friends, an organization providing free services to cancer patients.

The Class of 1969 extends our deepest sympathy to Paul, Ann’s husband of 47 years; their three children, Liz Feakins Welburn, Susan Feakins Masry, and Nicholas Paul Feakins; and her siblings, Susan (Butterworth) Lord ’66, Caroline (Butterworth) Forsman ’71, and John Butterworth.

Anne, with husband Paul

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 61

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

THEN & NOW: VISUAL ARTS CLASSROOMS

From the beginning, Kent Place knew that students need spaces where they’re motivated to imagine, explore, and create. We love this archive photo (below, top) of a late-1800s, early-1900s art classroom, although we aren’t sure which building it was in. In 2018, the STEAM-focused Center for Innovation opened with three light-filled art studios (at bottom), providing two arts learning spaces for the Upper School and one for the Middle School.

We’d love to hear what these images recall for you; please email your story to communications@kentplace.org. Photo of new art studio by Ines Long.

1975

Patti Neale-Schulz pattischulz1919@gmail.com

1977

Jerome J. Graham Jr., the father of Victoria (Graham) Chadick and Kirkland (Graham) DeLaney ’78, passed away on March 20, 2020. We send our condolences to Victoria, Kirkland, and their families.

1978

Patricia (Friedman) Marcus balibliss@yahoo.com

Jerome J. Graham Jr., the father of Kirkland (Graham) DeLaney and Victoria (Graham) Chadick ’77, passed away on March 20, 2020. Our condolences to Kirkland, Victoria, and their families.

1981

Kathryn (McDaniel) Nenning kathryn@nenning.com Ellen McAfee: I sold my house

in Long Beach, CA, in 2018. After 24 years on the West Coast, my cats and I came east, ending up in Oxford, OH. Quite a change! My new house, bought in 2019, butts up against some beautiful woods. I’m surrounded by wild critters and green once again. I spend my time updating my home, delivering for Meals on Wheels, and recovering from some recent health challenges. If you’re passing through Oxford, please come for a visit. I wish all of you health, happiness, and peace.

1982

Tracey (San Filippo) Henick tahenick@aol.com Vikki (Pollock) Underwood: I’ve

been married to Chris for 28 years.

Our son, who is 22, completed his master’s degree in divinity in May. Twenty years ago, we moved to the coast of Georgia, where I spent my childhood summers. I’m retired now, enjoying the beaches, exercising, and traveling when possible. I met Diana Lynch in Savannah several years ago and we had a great time. I went to New Jersey a few years back and spent three days with my oldest friend, Carol Cronheim. We visited our old homes in Short Hills.

Lisa (Brown) Langley: In April, my niece Gareth and I opened a store in Edgartown, MA, on Martha’s Vineyard. The name of the store is KIN. We’re selling my fine-art photogra-

62 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

phy (L. A. Brown) and Gareth’s incredibly beautiful, custom-designed clothing from her own company, Rooey Knots. Come see us!

Katherine Bailey: My retirement living on the Gulf near Sarasota, FL, is wonderful. I consult in early childhood education and am pondering doctoral studies. My sister, Alison Bailey, a professor at Illinois State University, has just published a book on the philosophy of race, The Weight of Whiteness: A Feminist Engagement with Privilege, Race, and Ignorance.

Megan (Rocks) Jackson: I celebrated Mother’s Day with my daughters, Rebecca (28) and Samantha (26), and my mom, who is doing great.

She’s still as much fun as she was in our high school days. My son graduated from Auburn University in June. David and I are still living in Westfield and staying healthy. I hope to see my local KPS friends soon, after a long year.

1983

Clara A. Porter claraportermaine@gmail.com

1984

Jennifer Thomas meezertee@gmail.com

1985

Courtney (Mead) Nagle courtney.a.mead@gmail.com Susanne (Santola) Mulligan:

Laura (Ketcham) Coccimiglio: I’m involved in Houston-area professional and regional theater productions and appeared in two local film productions. Spent the pandemic working via Zoom with theater companies in Houston, New York, and Great Britain, improving my costume and makeup skills. Returned to live theater in August in the title role of Medea for Harris County Precinct 4 as part of its Arts in the Park series. Oldest child moved to Fort Worth with his partner. Husband celebrated five years at Rice University in October 2020.

1990

1986

It’s been a quiet year as we come out of quarantine and resume what’s now the new normal. It was wonderful to see so many of you at our virtual reunion this year, as well as catch up with Mrs. Faber and Mrs. Schwartz. I’m hopeful that STAR will be held again this winter and I’ll get the opportunity to see many of you. Stay healthy and safe and I hope to see you soon — be it in person or virtually.

Audrey (Pukash) Bilsborrow: Was so much fun serving as cochair of the Kent Place Hall of Fame Committee with my little sis, Diana D’Alessio ’93. We’re excited for the second class to be announced. Kent Place athletics are on fire — do follow on Instagram. It’s an honor to know that KP remembers us from days ago and launched the Hall of Fame. We stay present in pandemic living and are thankful for our health and extra time together. I feel lucky to be part of this alumna class. Love you!

1987

Ginny (Boyer) Losito glosito@me.com Erika Amato: My beloved

husband, Jeffrey Calamusa (aka Jeff Stacy), passed away suddenly on August 15, 2020. The photo above was taken on our 25th-anniversary trip to Taormina, Sicily, just 10 months earlier. I’m extremely grateful to all my KPS friends who’ve helped me through this terrible time, especially Kim (Kanner) Meisner, Virginia (Boyer) Losito, and Jennifer (Hull) Dorsey.

1988

Melissa (McCarthy) Madden melissamccarthy@me.com

1989

Vanessa E. King squamlake@gmail.com

Kathy O’Connell mko320@gmail.com

1993

Karen Little rucr8tive@aol.com

Lauren J. Harrison omlauren@gmail.com

1992

Erika Amato ’87 and her late husband, Jeff Stacy, in Sicily for their 25th wedding anniversary

Maren (Eisenstat) Vitali mevitali@comcast.net

Sue (Alley) Franzino: After last year, happy that Alexandra was able to get on campus for the second half of her freshman year at the University of Vermont, and we’re enjoying getting to know Burlington. Teddy (10th grade) is not enjoying the extra time we have to monitor his homework and grades.

I’m still at Princeton 19 years later!

We adopted a kitten during the pandemic and she’s joined many Zoom calls, along with our other cat and our dog.

Maren (Eisenstat) Vitali: My younger son, Kelan, turned 14 and this fall started high school, where he was accepted into the Science and Medical Academy program.

He’ll be taking specific classes and apprenticing in different hospital, doctor, and staff positions for the next four years. And I can’t believe it but my older son, Aidan, went off to Gettysburg College this fall. Where did the time go? I’m still working as a library media specialist at a 5–6 intermediate school.

1991

Andrea (Carson) Tanner acarsontanner@gmail.com Bayne Gibby: I was overjoyed

to “see” my classmates at our virtual 30th reunion. It was a flood of wonderful memories. I’m still living in Los Angeles, acting and writing for a living. You should see me pop up on your television soon. Already looking forward to the next reunion!

Olivia Pennock notified Kent Place that her mother, Virginia (LadaMocarski) Pennock ’60, passed away on April 6, 2020. Our condolences to Olivia and her family.

Our world is slowly starting to feel normal-ish again. We hosted a party (gasp) for our daughter Finley’s ice hockey team in our backyard.

There was something invigorating about party prep that I’d missed so much! That being said, I also enjoyed spending the summer at our beach house in Manasquan and not commuting to New York City. This was likely the last summer that this will be a possibility, so Greg and I are thankful for the extra time with our daughters, Finley and Hayden, and our quarantine pup, Parker.

LaRaye Brown: The pandemic has stirred lots of emotions, but the light at the end of the tunnel is that my baby started high school, at Bergen Catholic.

Marriages Elizabeth (Wilson) Hetman ’67

to Michael Hetman April 18, 2020 Corey Szumski ’09

to Ryan Link September 6, 2020 Caroline Lynott ’11

to Jack Markham May 1, 2021 Births

Alexandra (Raymond) Schulman ’03

a son, Ryan Schulman September 15, 2020

Emily (Abramowitz) Adam ’06

a son, Christopher Ryan Adam May 11, 2021 Katherine (O’Donnell) Lynch ’06

a daughter, Margot Campbell Lynch October 6, 2020 Maggie (Black) Mauro ’09

a daughter, Susie James Mauro March 17, 2021

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 63

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

Kamilah (Ross) Heartwell: I moved back to New Jersey in 2019 and work at a small charter school in Jersey City. I finished my master’s in educational leadership at Montclair State University in summer 2021.

This is my second master’s degree and the first major accomplishment since returning to New Jersey.

New York City after 20-plus years.

We’ve moved to Princeton and are close to downtown Princeton and family, including my sister Kranthi Yarlagadda ’90. We’re happy here, and my son loves having a backyard and neighbors!

1996

Christina (Dughi) Tonzola ctonzola@gmail.com

Rachel Platt racheldplatt@gmail.com Amy (Zucker) Kohen amykohen@gmail.com

1995

1998

1994

Enjoyed our “virtual” class reunion on May 22, 2020, via Zoom and reconnecting with classmates. Still a practicing physician in Austin and survived the “snowcalypse” in February.

Santhi Yarlagadda: We decided to make the big move out of

Ai Mukai:

KC (Anthony) Artemenko kcartemenko@gmail.com

1999

Iris Blasi iris.blasi@gmail.com Cynthia Keenan cindy.keenan@gmail.com

2000

have had on my life. Mrs. Clemens, we treasure you!

I hope everyone enjoyed a more normal summer. After last year, we all deserved it! I had a good time catching up with Heidi Milton, O’Nell Starkey, Ashley (Pinakiewicz) Smallwood, Michelle (Mohr) Nash, and Katie (Del Guercio) Walmsley at our virtual 20th (+1) reunion at the beginning of May. Katie (Del Guercio) Walmsley: It was a pleasure to Zoom into our “21st” reunion get-together, which was a smaller virtual gathering than we had last year, but it was lovely to hear updates from you ladies! It was incredibly special to have Mrs. Clemens join us for the entire hour.

We were so lucky to have quality time with her, and it reminded me of the lasting impact that KP educators

After a few years running my consulting practice, I started a new job as director of TC NEXT, the career center at Teachers College, Columbia University. I love being in higher ed full time, even though I was a pandemic hire and have yet to meet my team in person. In personal news, I’m thrilled to be expecting a baby girl with my partner, Lee, this October.

I’m lucky to have so many amazing mom friends from KPS who are sharing their wisdom with this newbie!

Christine Ryan: I recently changed jobs. I’m now corporate real estate counsel with Ashton Woods Homes, a luxury-home builder based in Alpharetta, GA. My family purchased a home in May and relocated to Peachtree Corners. This was my

Christine Ryan ceryan@gmail.com

Ashley (Pinakiewicz) Smallwood:

Kris Juncker ’93

I Am. . . Contemporary Women Artists of Africa exhibit, Brad Simpson, 2019

Bridging Art Across the World From 2015 to 2017, I worked as a speechwriter for Johnnetta Betsch Cole, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art. I supported her extensive advocacy work on diversity and inclusion. Dr. Cole also had several speaking engagements to promote awareness of the contemporary illegal international ivory trade.

In 2018, I became special assistant to the director. Every day in the director’s office is different. There are meetings to coordinate across oceans and time zones, for example, and currently we’re having an exhibition, Caravans of Gold, with medieval-period artifacts generously loaned from Nigerian and Malian institutions. During

64 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

the pandemic, we needed to extend these loans. We also have an exhibition on Nollywood portraiture coming up.

There’s quite a lot of diplomacy involved in day-to-day outreach.

We’re part of a larger Smithsonian working group writing up policy on restitution of art objects internationally, especially African art.

Although we spend a great deal of time seeking to right historical wrongs, there are also run-of-the-mill human errors to resolve; I once had to search the central mailroom for a shipment of shark’s teeth meant for the Natural History Museum.

—KRIS JUNCKER ’93, PHD COLUMBIA ’07

13th move since graduating college, so I’m hopeful to be settling into our forever home. COVID derailed a planned girls trip with Danielle (Mulligan) Kinney and Ashley (Pinakiewicz) Smallwood last year, so the countdown is on for 2022!

2007

2001

2008

Kimberly (Frye) Alula kfrye05@gmail.com Sara Pickett-Tucker saralizpickett@gmail.com

2002

Erin Sauchelli e.sauchelli@gmail.com

2003

Gina Ferraioli ginaferraioli@gmail.com Katherine Kalaris: After

more than 10 years working in global health, during nine of which I was based in sub-Saharan Africa, in October 2020, I started a PhD at the University of Oxford. I’m researching how clinical networks may help solve problems of poor service delivery in low- and middle-income country health systems, focusing on neonatal service delivery networks in Kenya.

Alexandra (Raymond) Schulman:

My family moved to Scotch Plains in winter 2019. I still teach special education at a middle school here.

My second son, Ryan, was born September 15, 2020. His older brother, Evan, turned 4 in May. Taylor Barry: See “15 Minutes With” on page 68.

2004

Laura Kleinbaum lkkleinbaum@gmail.com

2005

Cara Manket cara.manket@gmail.com

2006

Danielle Auriemma dvauriemma@gmail.com Lydia Deutsch lydia.deutsch@gmail.com Katherine (O’Donnell) Lynch: My

husband, Joe, and I welcomed a new baby! Margot Campbell Lynch, born October 6, 2020, joins big sister Lucy.

Emily (Abramowitz) Adam: Justin and I welcomed our third child, Christopher Ryan, on May 11, 2021. His siblings, Brooke (9) and Trevor (4), are so excited about the newest addition!

Nida Abdulla nida.11.abdulla@gmail.com Caitlin Black cblack@fandm.edu Sara Santos sarajosantos@gmail.com

Abby Espiritu ’15 as the “empanada worker” alongside her costar, Grover Monster (of Sesame Street fame)

Allison Oberlander oberlander.allison@gmail.com

2009

Courtney (Alpaugh) Simmons courtney.simmons513@gmail.com Allison Goldberg afg813@gmail.com Nicole Coscolluela: I’m pleased

to have started a new position in community impact with United Way of the Greater Triangle, based out of the Research Triangle Park, NC. I’ve also been busy starting an urban homestead in Durham.

Maggie (Black) Mauro: On St. Patrick’s Day this year, husband Andrew and I welcomed our second daughter, Susie James, into the world! She is so loved, especially by her older sister, Emma.

Corey Szumski: My husband and I got married on September 6, 2020, in Rochester, VT. Despite our wedding taking place during the pandemic, we were able to have a small gathering of our close friends and family and we thoroughly enjoyed the day.

2010

Sara Firkser (973) 379-5347 Rachel Landau rachelroselandau@gmail.com

2011

Lizzy Miggins lizzymiggins@gmail.com Malina Welman malinawelman@gmail.com

2012

Victoria Criscione victoriaacriscione@gmail.com Drew Silverman: After five years

at Trewstar, a firm that specializes in placing women on corporate boards, I’m a full-time student in the MBA program of Berkeley Haas.

2013

Janeen Browne jb4628@nyu.edu

2014

2016

2015

2017

Caroline Lewis caroline.lewis915@gmail.com Isabella Smith Isabella.smith411@gmail.com

Sarah Pavlak scp61@georgetown.edu Victoria Lynott: My sister, Caroline Lynott ’11, got married on May 1,

2021. I started medical school at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in July 2021.

Abby Espiritu ’15 made her professional on-camera acting debut in February 2021 in a national Super Bowl commercial that was seen by almost 100 million viewers.

She starred in the DoorDash commercial alongside Tony Award– winner Daveed Diggs (Hamilton, Snowpiercer) and the cast of Sesame Street. She is represented by Innovative Artists NY and managed by Mara Entertainment.

Claire Eckles cmeckles7@gmail.com Bailey Mikytuck bmikytuc@skidmore.edu

Julia McKay mckayjj11@gmail.com

2018

Deanna Hanchuk dchanchuk@gmail.com

CLASS NOTES DETAILS

•N otes will be collected via Google Form. You will receive a link to this form from your Class Secretary or, if your class doesn’t have a secretary, directly from the school.

•D igital photos should be a high-resolution JPEG image (1M or larger) with a caption. We request that photos include alumnae (with the exception of newborn photos).

•E ditorial staff will edit, format, and select all content based on space constraints and will work to incorporate as many notes and photos as possible.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 65

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

MOMENTS

1.

1. 1942 classmates: The late

14. Class of 1970’s AFS

Prue (Sanford) Regan and

student, Liv Eltvik, joined their

Jane (Sanford) Ziegler, with

virtual gathering from her

Boots (Allsopp) Hickok

sailboat trip in Norway.

2. Kathanne (Harter)

15. Lucy Weiger ’69 and

Webster ’47

Barbara (Weiger) Lepke-Sims

2.

3.

’71 celebrating Lucy’s birthday 3. Candace (Connor) Eardley

in Cabo

’64 is still a rabid Mets fan — opening day at Citifield!

16. Kathy Cook ’71 and her

4.

5.

partner renovating a home in 4. Candy Cushing ’65 shows

Truro, MA

how car trunks looked during COVID.

17. Ellen McAfee ’81 in front of her house in Oxford, OH

5. Fran (Griffith) Laserson ’66 with new granddaughter, Ellie

18. Lisa (Brown) Langley ’82 and niece Gareth

6. Lisa (Wilson) Hetman ’67

Brown outside their store,

and Michael at Peggy’s Cove,

KIN, in Edgartown, MA, on

Nova Scotia

Martha’s Vineyard 6.

7. 1967 boarders in Vilano

19. Megan (Rocks) Jackson

Beach, FL: Jane (Penber-

’82 with her daughters and

thy) Deland, Lisa (Wilson)

mom on Mother’s Day

7.

Hetman, Patty English, Lianne (Gerhardt) LaVoy, Jeanne

20. Amie (Quivey) Quickstad

(Hammond) Daraio, Phyllis

’90 and husband Jim married

(Arbesman) Berger, and

on October 4, 2019.

Pandora Jacoubs 21. Sue (Alley) Franzino ’90 8. Poppy, granddaughter of

with her daughter, Alexandra,

Laura (Staehle) Johnson ’69

in Burlington, VT

9. Tricia Tunstall ’70 and

22. Audrey (Pukash)

Eric Booth

Bilsborrow ’90 and husband

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

Sean celebrating “sweet 16” 10. Bruce and Emmy (Perina)

years of marriage 26. Sarah Lynott ’09, Caroline

Katz ’70, May 2021 23. Kamilah (Ross) Heartwell

Lynott ’11, and Victoria Lynott

11. Judy Chamberlain ’70 driv-

’93 in beautiful San Juan for

’15 at Caroline’s marriage to

ing her mini horse, Twinkle

New Year’s Day 2021

Jack Markham

12. Lis Bensley ’70 and Harty

24. Alex (Raymond) Schulman

27. New family of four! Mag-

(Platt) du Pont ’70, who went

’03 with husband Rory and

gie (Black) Mauro ’09 wel-

to both Peck and Kent Place

sons Ryan and Evan

comed her second daughter, Susie James.

together, at their 25th KPS reunion in 1995 13. Class of 1970 virtual gathering

66 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

25. Christopher Ryan, newborn son of Emily (Abramow-

28. Corey Szumski ’09 and

itz) Adam ’06

Ryan Link at their wedding in Vermont

13.

16.

21.

25.

14.

17.

15.

18.

22.

26.

19.

23.

20.

24.

27.

28.

KENT PLACE FALL 2021 67

WITH WISDOM

15 MINUTES WITH . . .

TAYLOR BARRY ’03 Taylor Barry ’03 graduated from L’Academie de Cuisine and earned a certificate at the Institute of Culinary Education. A pastry chef for a decade, she was founder and CEO of Morsl, a vegan, gluten-free cookie-dough company; cofounder of Culinary Commons, a forum for the culinary community to share experiences; and is now the founder and CEO of Rising Tide Botanicals, a flower farm and florist.

What was life like before the pandemic? I was on maternity leave and running Morsl, manufacturing and selling allergen-free cookies to schools. It was the culmination of 10 years of hard work as a pastry chef in New York, the toughest food city in the world. Morsl was my dream realized.

Did you have to pivot during the last year? Life stopped . . . and so did Morsl. With the hospitality industry shuttered, my family and I moved to New Jersey to start over. I had dabbled in flower farming and always thought it was something I’d do once I retired from cooking. No time like the present! I left my career at its peak to reinvent myself. We’re never too old to have a new dream and to cultivate that dream into a meaningful, exciting, and thriving business.

In the span of two months I registered a company, built a website, ordered supplies, created branding, planted a 500-square-foot garden, and seeded 85 varieties of cut flowers — Rising Tide Botanicals was born.

What did you learn from this experience? Your dreams are important and you can make them tangible. I asked for help, put in sweat equity, and put my idea out there without fear of rejection. Remember, failure is a part of success; you’ll make mistakes and they’ll make you better.

What’s different about being your own boss? When you run your own company, you can build it better. Our wedding arrangements are donated to local nursing homes. We’re a proud member of 1% for the Planet. But what I’m most excited about is our Flowers & Feminists program, through which we donate a portion of our proceeds to female-led organizations across the country, supporting issues such as farmworkers rights, helping urban farming projects, and providing sustainable food systems for Indigenous people.

What advice would you give to fellow KPS alums? Sit back, dream a little, and put that once-forgotten idea out on the table. Invest in yourself, because nothing suits a KPS girl better than the title “CEO.”

68 KENT PLACE FALL 2021

Thanks to support of the Kent Place Fund

OUR STUDENTS…

CREATE

MAKE MUSIC LEAD READ

ACT SILLY

LEARN BUILD

COLLABORATE

Please make a gift to the Kent Place Fund.

Your support provides the resources necessary for all of this and much more for our students.

Make a gift online at www.kentplace.org/give, or contact Coral Butler Brooks, Director of Advancement, at brooksc@kentplace.org, or (908) 273-0900, ext. 213.

42 NORWOOD AVENUE SUMMIT, NJ 07901 KENTPLACE.ORG Please forward any address changes to the Kent Place School Advancement Office: updateinfo@kentplace.org

“ WE WANT TO BUILD UP ALL OF THE STUDENTS IN WAYS THAT WILL ALLOW THEM TO GO OUT INTO THE WORLD AS

DIFFERENCE-MAKERS.”

—WALIDAH JUSTICE, DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING (DEIB)

Ms. Justice participated in a conversation about DEIB at Kent Place with Head of School Jennifer Galambos.

See their full conversation starting on page 36