THE NEWSLETTER
FALL 2022
headmaster
Kerry P. Brennan
associate headmaster
Michael T. Pojman director of external relations
Erin E. Berg
assistant headmaster for advancement Thomas R. Guden ’96
photography Marcus Miller, Mike Pojman, Adam Richins, Evan Scales
editorial & design Erin E. Berg, Marcus C. Miller
the newsletter
The Roxbury Latin School publishes The Newsletter quarterly for alumni, current and former parents, and friends of the school.
contact information
The Roxbury Latin School 101 St. Theresa Avenue West Roxbury, MA 02132 Phone: 617-325-4920 change of address? Send updated information to julie.garvey@roxburylatin.org.
alumni news Send notes and correspondence to alumni@roxburylatin.org
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Photo by Marcus Miller
©2022 The Trustees of The Roxbury Latin School
The Newsletter FALL 2022 | VOLUME 96 | NUMBER 1
On October 11, Class III boys in Physics tested their knowledge of 2D motion by launching rockets on O’Keeffe Field. Each boy was given a launch angle and had to calculate how far the rocket should go. They then tested their predictions by launching the rockets and measuring where they landed. Some went the entire length of the football field!
Features 12 Welcome, New Faculty and Staff 16 RL’s New Trustees 18 Let’s Live Our Lives Wide Awake Kerry Brennan Delivers the Opening of Fall Term Address 24 Back Abroad Roxbury Latin Resumes Summer Immersion Programs in France, Spain, and Costa Rica 30 “To Expect Much We Must Give” Emmanuel Nwodo of Class I, and Elizabeth Carroll of the Science Department, help Roxbury Latin kick off the Annual Fund 36 An Interview with Matt Golden In His First Year as Head Football Coach | by Erin E. Berg 40 Faculty Flashback: Brad Perham Nearly Four Decades of Leading RL Athletics 4 RL News & Hall Highlights 44 Class Notes 46 In Memoriam Departments
Photo by Marcus Miller
Opening of Roxbury Latin’s 378th Year
“Teachers and scholars of the oldest school in continuous existence in North America, good morning and welcome back,” said Headmaster Kerry Brennan from the Rousmaniere Hall stage on Monday, August 29. That morning, the traditional Opening of Fall Term Hall began The Roxbury Latin School’s 378th academic year, as Mr. Brennan welcomed the 310 students, along with new and returning faculty and staff, to the start of the school year.
Prior to the Headmaster’s opening address, Class I president Tait Oberg read Dr. Maxine Greene’s “Toward Wide-Awakeness” and the entire school sang together lively renditions of America the Beautiful, For the Splendor of Creation, Commemoration Hymn, and The Founder’s Song, with senior Mathias Why accompanying on the organ. Mr. Brennan honored those in our community who are new, or long-serving, or taking on new roles in the school. He honored the members of Class I seated in the front rows, and he welcomed the sixies perched in the balcony.
After the Hall’s closing prayer, and the school community “passed the peace” to those around them, the entire school moved outside under sunny skies. Students, faculty, and staff gathered around the Senior Grass for the traditional opening day all-school handshake, which serves to welcome people new to the RL community—boys and adults—and for all to wish one another a happy and strong start to the academic year. //
Read Headmaster Brennan’s full remarks on page 18.
How to Raise—and Become— an Adult: Three Sessions with Julie Lythcott-Haims
“A parent’s job is to put oneself out of a job,” exhorted Julie Lythcott-Haims, who visited Roxbury Latin on August 31. Presenting three sessions over the course of the day—in a workshop with faculty and staff, in Hall with students, and in an evening session with parents in the Smith Theater—Ms. Lythcott-Haims had a consistent message: Young people must develop agency, resilience, and character in order to thrive as adults, and the American trend of overparenting is preventing them from doing so. And the harm that causes is significant.
Ms. Lythcott-Haims is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult, which gave rise to a popular TED Talk that has been viewed millions of times. Her second book is the critically-acclaimed and award-winning prose poetry memoir Real American, which illustrates >>>
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her experience as a Black and biracial person in white spaces; and her third book, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult, has been called a “groundbreakingly frank” guide to adulthood.
Ms. Lythcott-Haims served as the Dean of Freshmen and Undergraduate Advising at Stanford University for over a decade, and many of the observations, stories, and insights she writes about—and shared with the RL community—stem from that work, in addition to her experience parenting her own son and daughter.
In sessions with the adults, Ms. Lythcott-Haims described three styles of overparenting that undermine young people’s ability to be, do, give, and feel their best: The overprotective parent—who prevents their children from having to do or deal with hard things, who curates their life experiences for them; the fierce director parent—who dictates what choices (classes, activities, careers) are acceptable and which aren’t; and the concierge parent—who caters to their child’s every logistical and personal need, from managing their schedules to doing their homework.
“I saw that more and more students were arriving at Stanford’s campus fragile, brittle, and exhausted,” Ms. Lythcott-Haims described. “They didn’t know how to do any of the things that we have traditionally expected college students to be capable of— from waking themselves up on time for class, to advocating for themselves, to choosing classes, activities and majors that excited them.” She went on to describe how conversations with some of her Stanford students woke her up to these same mistakes she was making in her own parenting, and the negative effects they were having on her children.
In her books—and in her presentations—Ms. Lythcott-Haims offers practical advice about how to break free from the overparenting trap, and how to support young people as they develop the agency to know that their actions have meaning and outcomes; the resilience to know that they can cope and handle hard things when hard things inevitably come their way; and the character to know that other people matter as much as they matter, and to treat others with the kindness and dignity they deserve. //
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The Beaver Brook Tradition Continues for RL’s Sixies
On September 9, 43 new sixies—along with intrepid Class I leaders and faculty chaperones—trekked to Beaver Brook in Hollis, New Hampshire, for a tradition that dates back nearly sixty years. Upon arriving, Class VI boys were immediately met with their first challenge: a test of their knowledge of “the oldest school in continuous existence in North America.” Charged with successfully separating Roxbury Latin fact from fiction and producing the most correct answers in the questionnaire, sixies face an uphill battle: Those well-versed seniors and teachers may purposefully throw them off track with bogus answers, allowing for the single time all year when our watchwords “honesty is expected in all dealings” go out the window.
The day, organized by Class VI Dean Elizabeth Carroll, continued with team building activities (including a low ropes course, communication and leadership games, and an orienteering challenge that required a crash course in terrain maps and compasses). After dinner, sixies gathered in the barn for the annual viewing of the 1957 film Twelve Angry Men, with small group discussions to follow; these were animated but decidedly more civil than the ones depicted on screen. The evening ended around the fire, where Mr. Opdycke taught new boys The Founder’s Song before it was time for Flip Flop—the famously fun and tricky numbers game—and s’mores. The boys then retreated to their tents for a short night’s sleep after a full and exciting day.
The following morning, after breakfast, each sixie addressed a letter to himself, to be opened at his senior retreat five years from now. As they closed their notebooks, packed up their gear, and boarded the bus home, the Class of 2028 joined a brotherhood of RL men and boys who have sat around the campfire at Beaver Brook, singing about Roundheads and eating s’mores. It is a brotherhood that spans generations. //
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Permanent Boston Mural Designed
by Bobby Zabin (I)
For the past two summers, senior Bobby Zabin has worked as part of the Mayor’s Mural Crew—a City of Boston Parks and Recreation program, whose goal is to enhance the style and visual landscape of Boston neighborhoods. This summer, Bobby was commissioned by the program’s leadership to design and execute a large-scale, permanent mural—15 feet tall by 60 feet long—intended to promote National Geographic’s Beyond King Tut immersive exhibit, which ran all summer at the SoWa Power Station on Harrison Avenue. Bobby is the first high school student invited to design a mural for the program in the Crew’s recent history.
Bobby’s charge was to design and lead the execution of a mural in the Ancient Egyptian style that would draw interest in the adjacent King Tut exhibit. Drawing upon his love of art, his knowledge gained from Dr. Sue McCrory’s AP Art History class, and his experience with the Mural Crew, Bobby was up to the task.
“The first thing I did was look at the actual murals in King Tut’s tomb, which are more than 3,000 years old,” Bobby says. “Some of the research took me a while, because the material is not in English.”
“The story that the mural depicts is really similar to the one in King Tut’s actual tomb,” explains Bobby. “It’s essentially him being welcomed into the afterlife by various Ancient
Egyptian gods. Once we sketched out the major figures, the majority of the work became filling in the lines."
The realities of painting outdoors all day, on scaffolding, in the hot, summer sun present logistical challenges, but Bobby claimed that the biggest challenge was being in charge.
“I wasn’t really expecting all these people to be asking me what to do—even though I designed the mural! Every minute I was painting, someone would inevitably come up and ask, ‘Bobby, is this the right color?’ or ‘Should this go there?’”
“Stepping back and looking at the completed mural—with everyone looking at it, taking pictures, asking their parents and relatives to come look at it—made me feel really proud, of myself and of everyone who worked on it. It was such a hard thing to do, and we did it.”
Bobby’s mural lives at 471 Harrison Avenue in Boston. The Mayor’s Mural Crew began in 1991 as a summer initiative to cover graffiti with murals painted and designed by high school students from the City of Boston. //
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Dr. Peniel Joseph on the Power and Importance of History
On September 30, Dr. Peniel Joseph delivered a memorable Hall, discussing his lifelong work as a historian, author, and activist, focused on race and democracy, justice and equity. “The stories we tell ourselves are important,” Dr. Joseph began, “because they become the way in which we understand ourselves and others, and that becomes the way we act, and our actions shape the reality in which we live.”
Professor of public affairs, ethics, and political values at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Joseph teaches courses in social and political policy; is the founding director of the University’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy; and serves as Associate Dean for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. His career focus has been on “Black Power Studies,” which encompasses interdisciplinary fields such as Africana studies, law and society, women’s and ethnic studies, and political science.
In Hall, Dr. Joseph shared insights from his most recently published book, The Third Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century. In it, Dr. Joseph claims that this particular moment in American history—from when Barack Obama was elected president, to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, to the killing of George Floyd in 2020—is poised to be the third period of Reconstruction in the United States. The first period of Reconstruction—America’s head-on reckoning with racial discrimination and segregation—followed
the Civil War in the 1860s and 1870s; the second is said to have been during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Dr. Joseph shared with students some of the connections he’s drawn across centuries as a historian, and insights he has gleaned from his own journey as a scholar-activist.
“History is our most important teacher and, I would argue, the most important discipline, because it gives context and meaning to all of our other disciplines of study and research,” Dr. Joseph contends. He stressed with students the importance of understanding the full and complete history of the United States, learning the truth about slavery and its lasting legacy of racism in America. He also underscored that history—and the people featured throughout it—are nuanced and complex, that no one person or group of people is entirely heroic or entirely villainous. “History becomes the fuel we use to justify what we want to believe, about ourselves and about our country,” he said, “so we have to work to understand the complete and rounded story.”
In addition to being a frequent commentator on issues of race, democracy, and civil rights, Dr. Joseph is the author of many acclaimed and award-winning books, including The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. (which is currently being made into a television streaming series) and also Stokely: A Life, which has been called the definitive biography of Stokely >>>
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Prior to joining the UT faculty, Dr. Joseph was a professor at Tufts University, where he founded the school’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy in order to promote engaged research and scholarship focused on the ways issues of race and democracy affect people’s lives. Dr. Joseph earned his bachelor’s degree in Africana studies and history at Stony Brook University, and his PhD in philosophy at Temple University.
After Hall, Dr. Joseph continued the discussion in Mr. Heaton’s U.S. History class, and then met over lunch in an open session with students and faculty who wanted to speak with him further about his work, life, and insights. In Hall he both began and closed with a quotation by W.E.B. Du Bois, about “a land of poignant beauty, streaked with hate and blood and shame,” and, ultimately, he hoped that students and adults would leave with this optimistic takeaway: “We have before us now a precious opportunity to choose love over fear.” //
Twenty-Two RL Boys Recognized in National Merit Scholar Competition
This fall, the National Merit Scholarship Program announced the names of students in the Class of 2023 earning recognition for academic achievement. This year, 22 Roxbury Latin boys have been recognized—10 named National Merit Scholar semifinalists, and 12 others earning commendations. In this 68th annual National Merit Scholarship competition, semifinalists have the opportunity to become finalists and compete for some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships.
Juniors from across the United States entered the 2023 National Merit Scholarship program by taking the 2021 PSAT, which serves as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. From the approximately 16,000 semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to become finalists. Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for academic success at the college level.
Roxbury Latin boys earning recognition this year include semifinalists John Austin, Arjun Bose, Will Grossman, Akshay Kumar, James McCurley, Alex Nahirny, Tait Oberg, Justin Shaw, Michael Thomas, and Kevin Wang; and commendation recipients David Albrechtskirchinger, Ethan Dhadly, Will Hutter, Adam Kuechler, Teddy Lee, Matt O’Connor, Eddy Pan, Marc Quintanar, Tommy Reichard, Thomas Savage, Evren Uluer, and Luke Wilkinson. //
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Carmichael, the man who popularized the phrase “Black Power.”
Mahsa Khanbabai on Immigration, Past and Present
“Every day, all around the world, people are moving,” began Mahsa Khanbabai in Hall on October 4. “They’re making the most difficult decisions of their lives: to leave behind their families, their friends, everything they’ve known, for a better life, or a safer life. Each of them does it for different reasons—maybe for a student visa, or a work visa, for family, or because they’re seeking refuge.”
Ms. Khanbabai, an immigration attorney, was the first speaker in the year’s Hall series on immigration. In Hall, Ms. Khanbabai walked students through the definitions of the terms migrant, refugee, asylum seeker, and parolee. She explained some of the critical issues related to immigration today—the humanitarian, legal, and climate crisis realities that accompany migrants. Ms. Khanbabai also described how Congress’s increasing the numbers of work visas available to immigrants in the United States would help to address the troubling labor shortage of doctors, nurses, farmers, and hospitality and manufacturing professionals that has come into sharper focus since the pandemic.
“The United States has the ability to again be a welcoming country, for people seeking to move here for humanitarian reasons... Our own rich history as a country was built upon the backs of hard-working immigrants, so I hope that you have a chance to explore your own family’s immigration history, and to be a catalyst for positive change in our immigration laws.”
Ms. Khanbabai has been a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association for more than 20 years, and is a director of the Association’s Board of Governors. She frequently lectures on immigration issues and appears regularly on MSNBC and NPR, and in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Born in Iran and raised in Western Massachusetts, Ms. Khanbabai is a first-generation immigrant whose father was a J-1 physician. //
Celebrating Frederick Law Olmsted’s Bicentennial
Frederick Law Olmsted, born in 1822, was a preeminent landscape architect, journalist, and social critic. Considered to be the father of landscape architecture, he was also the father of Roxbury Latin alumnus Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., Class of 1890. Olmsted Sr. is famous for co-designing many well-known urban parks throughout the United States and Canada, including Central Park in New York City and the Emerald Necklace here in Boston. His legacy is not just as someone who designed beautiful, natural spaces for the public to enjoy, but also as a visionary who helped shape American progress as it pertains to social and environmental challenges—someone who understood the powerful interplay between thoughtful and sustainable design, democratic spaces, and social justice.
On October 13, two individuals playing key roles in the national bicentennial celebration of the birth of Olmsted—Jen Mergel, Director of Experience and >>>
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“Frederick Law Olmsted was of his time and ahead of his time,” began Ms. Mergel, “launching ideas about open space, health, and truth through the lens of justice that we can still build on today.”
Ms. Mergel and Ms. Cassetta talked about Olmsted’s home and relevance in Boston, during his time and still today. One of his culminating, visionary projects was Boston’s Emerald Necklace— the string of greenspaces that connect neighborhoods across the city. He knew the capacity for Boston to grow outward, and he knew that in order to support that growth, and still maintain the City’s cohesion, he and his contemporaries had to remember that “it is practically certain that the Boston of today is the mere nucleus of the Boston that is to be.”
Ms. Cassetta and Ms. Mergel showed how Olmsted’s work prioritized shared use, shared health, and shared power. They described his founding of national organizations that are part of the fabric of American life today, like the American Red Cross and the National Park Service. They discussed his pivotal piece of writing, The Cotton Kingdom, which chronicled what Olmsted observed, and maligned, related to slavery in the southern United States. They emphasized that, as stewards of those priorities today, we have to work in partnership to support those ideals, seeded by Olmsted, 200 years later. Ms. Mergel and Ms. Cassetta—even in the format of their co-presenting—underscored that the nature of this ongoing work relies on partnerships.
Ms. Mergel, for over 20 years, has promoted inclusive engagement with contemporary art in museums, on campuses, and in the public realm, including exhibitions and programs at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Institute of Contemporary Art, and, today, with Olmsted Now. Boston-born and based, Ms. Mergel aims to initiate, innovate, and collaborate on projects that foster curiosity, connection, and equity through the intersection of the arts with a wide range of disciplines.
In her role as a federal ranger of the National Park Service, Ms. Cassetta helps to protect and preserve areas of the National Park system, which includes making public lands inviting, inspiring, safe, and accessible. Her role also includes conducting educational programs for visitors of all ages and backgrounds about historical, natural, or scientific treasures protected by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Olmsted 200 is the year-long celebration of the bicentennial of Olmsted’s birth, as well as a multi-faceted exploration of his living legacy. We were grateful to have had with us two individuals who have been integral parts of the Olmsted 200 celebration, and who shared insight about Olmsted’s work—during his own time, and how it continues to resonate in important ways, including in the City of Boston, 200 years later.
“Olmsted reflected a powerful concern for ensuring our natural life supported and enhanced our quality of life,” concluded Headmaster Brennan in the morning’s Hall. “And like the air we breathe, everyone, regardless of his or her social standing or economic status, should have equal access to spaces and places that delighted, restored, and inspired them.” //
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Cultural Partnerships for Boston’s Emerald Necklace Conservancy, and Brianne Cassetta, Supervisory Ranger at Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site—joined together to deliver an informative, energizing Hall in the Smith Theater.
New Faculty and Staff
Pictured, left to right: Eric Tran, Wasib Hayat, Matt Golden, Jack Colavita ’17, Monika Wilkinson, Geoff Theobald, Kristen Gibbons, Alex Pellegrini ’10, Rachel Korotkin, David Smith, Alec Bleday.
Part of Roxbury Latin’s continuity is that we are always welcoming new people to our ranks—students, faculty, and staff. This year, a record eleven new members of the faculty and staff joined RL as teachers and administrators, coaches and advisors.
Alec Bleday joins the Alumni and Development Office as a Major Gifts Officer. A seasoned development professional, Mr. Bleday has served The Pantry, Xaverian Brothers High School, the Celebrity Series of Boston, as well as the Salvation Army in various fundraising roles, including directing annual giving and major gifts. He also founded ECH Outreach, which served through podcasts to share information about cancer research. Mr. Bleday graduated from Xaverian Brothers High school, where he was a cross country and track standout. (His coaches included RL faculty members Bryan Dunn and Chris Heaton.) Mr. Bleday went on to the University of Pennsylvania from which he received a BA in Classical Studies and competed for the track and field team. He earned his MBA from Babson in 2016. In addition to his development work, Mr. Bleday is teaching a section of Latin and is assisting with Class IV soccer.
Jack Colavita ’17 had an outstanding career as a Roxbury Latin student. Elected president both his junior and senior years, Mr. Colavita also served as editor-in-chief of the Yearbook, as well as captain of the varsity soccer team. A superb student, he extended himself on behalf of the varsity lacrosse team as well, and earned both the publications prize and the Berenberg Prize at graduation. He was known for his talent, leadership, and ability to galvanize members of whatever community he was serving. Mr. Colavita went on to Georgetown from which he graduated in 2021 with a degree in Classics. He was a student assistant in the Classics Department, a writer for the student newspaper The Hoya, and co-founded a record label that featured two score student musicians. Over his college summers, Mr. Colavita worked at Fidelity Investments. During this past year, he worked as a lead tutor for SoFlo SAT Tutoring, helping to train fellow tutors, and expanded the training skills to several communities that might not otherwise afford such test preparation. Mr. Colavita is one of two new Penn Fellows this year—teaching, coaching, and advising while also earning a master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania. He is teaching English 7, as well as a section of Latin 1. He is also serving as head Class IV soccer coach, and assisting with junior varsity lacrosse.
Kristen Gibbons began her new career this summer as Assistant to the Headmaster. Mrs. Gibbons boasts similar
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connections to RL as her two predecessors: Both Mrs. Joan Regan, and, most recently, Mrs. Elaine Driscoll, had boys who attended the school. So, too, have Mrs. Gibbons’s boys, Brendan ’19 and Aidan ’23, been RL students. Like Mrs. Driscoll, Mrs. Gibbons is married to an RL alumnus (Paul ’86), and with her husband served as a co-president of the Parents’ Auxiliary. She knows Roxbury Latin well, and from various angles. Mrs. Gibbons is a Milton native and earned her degree in economics at Holy Cross. She had an early career with Fidelity Investments at which she served in customer service, as well as in marketing, and investment resources. Her family spent 13 years in Chicago where she was active as a school volunteer and helped as both a fundraiser and a liaison for parents. Mrs. Gibbons has worked similarly on behalf of the Dover-Sherborn School District and the Dover Education Fund. Most recently, she has run her own successful floral business.
Matthew Golden joins the faculty after a successful stint at another boys’ school, Trinity-Pawling, in downstate New York. Mr. Golden graduated from Bates College in 2020. He was a sociology major and educational studies minor. Mr. Golden was also the quarterback and captain of the varsity football team. He was named to the NESCAC AllAcademic Team and received the Harward Center Award for community volunteerism and leadership. Mr. Golden was also famous as the public address announcer for various other sports. He attended Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and was elected by his classmates as their class president three years running. He played three varsity sports: football, basketball, and track and field. He captained the football team which was the conference champion, as well as the basketball team which won the state championship. Mr. Golden was a three-time Eastern Athletic Conference AllStar. He has had various jobs in schools and camps, and has extensive experience connecting the Lewiston Middle School with Bates students. At RL, Mr. Golden is serving as Assistant Director of Athletics, teaching in the Health and Wellness program, assisting with the junior varsity basketball team, and leading the football program as the head varsity coach.
A native of Pakistan, Wasib Hayat joins RL as Director of Information Services. A graduate of Lahore American School, Mr. Hayat came to Boston to study at Northeastern, from
which he received his bachelor’s in computer engineering technology. That launched a career in systems, programming, and leadership in various companies, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Hocoma North America, and, most recently, Atos at which he was the Information Technology Manager. Mr. Hayat has capitalized on his broad experience and talent by enrolling in the Harvard Master’s in Information Systems program; he will receive his advanced degree in 2024. At RL, Mr. Hayat is supervising all technological features of our instructional and administrative programs and serving as a worthy collaborator to colleagues who will be advancing technology to enhance and to help us realize our evolving, more modern mission.
Rachel Korotkin joins RL as a teacher of visual arts and Chair of the Arts Department. A Michigan native, Ms. Korotkin earned her BFA in photography and lighting design for theater from the University of Miami; she minored in art history. Her career began with various stints working in museums as a curator and educator. She began her teaching pursuit in earnest at Hamlin School in the Chicago area, at which she taught all types of art as well as social studies. Most recently, Ms. Korotkin has served as the art teacher at one of the area’s foremost charter schools, the Match Charter School. Ms. Korotkin attended the Tufts University/Museum of Fine Arts program and earned her MAT in art education in 2017. She has worked in various settings, including camps, and has an eclectic repertoire in ceramics, drawing, glass blowing, graphic design, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. She has also worked for various theaters as chief lighting designer. Ms. Korotkin is teaching art across the grades and is also serving as the chief lighting designer for our Smith Theater. She will work closely with Mr. Nelson on all productions and train a cadre of boys to design and execute theatrical lighting. In part, her new course as part of the Arts 10 electives on theater tech will launch them.
Alex Pellegrini ’10, one of the most respected and beloved members of his Roxbury Latin class, returns to Alma Mater to take on a newly created position. (He was an RL boy after all, and, therefore, taking on responsibilities that are challenging and varied is nothing new for him.) Mr. Pellegrini is serving as Assistant Director of Admission, Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs, teaching two sections of graphic design to
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members of Classes VI and V, coaching hockey and baseball, and helping as an advisor. Mr. Pellegrini comes to us most recently from a promising career as a graphic designer. He worked both in-house and as a consultant for a handful of forward-leaning companies in Boston as well as Colorado. He currently runs his own company, Grayfield LLC. Mr. Pellegrini helped us out over the past year as a teaching assistant and also coached hockey and track at Park School. A committed scholar and three sport varsity athlete (football, hockey, baseball) during his time as a student, Mr. Pellegrini also sang in the Glee Club and helped lead Tripod as its business manager. One Founder’s Day, we were serenaded into the festivities by Mr. Pellegrini playing the bagpipes—a remarkable cross-cultural achievement! He was also the inaugural member of an exchange with Scotch College in Melbourne, Australia. Mr. Pellegrini also went on schoolsponsored trips to France and Peru. He graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in creative advertising and a minor in economics.
David Smith joins Roxbury Latin as Dean of Students, teacher of English, history, and health and wellness, and coach. A seasoned school person, Mr. Smith hails from Northern Virginia. He graduated from the College of William and Mary with a degree in religious studies; he earned high honors for his thesis. Subsequently, he earned a master’s in theological studies at the Harvard Divinity School, and has completed all the course work for a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Virginia. Mr. Smith taught for five years at Virginia’s St. Anne’s Belfield School, then headed by RL alumnus David Lourie ’89. At St. Anne’s, Mr. Smith taught all types of history courses, including American and European as well as an innovative, interdisciplinary American studies course to juniors. He was a grade level dean and served as both the assistant varsity and head jv lacrosse coach. As Dean of Students, he was responsible for designing and running various leadership programs as well as overseeing the advisor program. Over the past year, Mr. Smith taught, coached, and ran a boys’ dormitory at Virginia’s fine boys’ boarding school, Woodberry Forest School. He also helped run the outdoor program there. Building on his experience and training, Mr. Smith is serving as RL’s Dean of Students, teaching English 11, offering a new semester course for seniors called
“Creating A Common Good,” helping run and teach the Health and Wellness program for younger boys, running our student leadership program, and serving as the head coach of junior varsity lacrosse.
Geoff Theobald is a giant among Greater Boston independent school educators. For thirty years, he has held critical positions at two prominent brother schools and helped to shape the destinies of those institutions, their faculties, and their students. Mr. Theobald began his teaching career by returning to his Alma Mater, Milton Academy, where he was a “lifer,” having spent 13 years there as a student. In addition to teaching math at all levels, Mr. Theobald, at one time or other, served as Director of Admission, Dean of Students, Director of Community Service, and Academic Dean. In 2010, he became the Upper School Director at BB&N. With more than 500 students in that division, BB&N looked to Mr. Theobald to shape that program and lead the more than 100 adults who taught those students. He also taught math and was the girls’ varsity soccer coach. For six summers, he was the head of Exploration School’s senior program at Yale, serving almost 1,500 domestic and international high school students. Mr. Theobald earned his BA in history cum laude as a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina, to be followed by his earning his master’s of social work, also from UNC. Mr. Theobald is teaching two math courses, Math 7 and Advanced Algebra.
Eric Tran, our second Penn Fellow, will teach, coach, and advise at RL while taking courses toward a master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania. A native of Claremont, California, Mr. Tran graduated with distinction from the local public high school at which he stood out as captain of the varsity wrestling team. Mr. Tran went to Williams College from which he graduated this spring with a BA in Classics and math. Proficient in Vietnamese, Italian, and Spanish, Mr. Tran served as a teaching assistant for the Multivariable Calculus course as well as a research assistant in the chemistry department. He was a member of the math colloquium and spent this past spring in Rome as part of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies. Given this dual expertise and passion, it’s no surprise that Mr. Tran is teaching both AP Calculus and a Latin 1 section. He is also helping coach soccer and wrestling.
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Monika Wilkinson has known RL for many years as the mother of John ’21, Luke ’23, and Paul ’25. She has been a faithful, effective volunteer on behalf of the school, and now she joins us as an interim teacher of English. Mrs. Wilkinson will cover Mrs. Demers’s classes while she is out on maternity leave. A seasoned educator, Mrs. Wilkinson most recently worked for the past seven years at BB&N, at which she taught English and history, provided academic support, led the Writing Center, as well as served on behalf of the admission efforts and community service. Mrs. Wilkinson’s teaching experience has included stints at Westwood’s
Thurston Middle School and in Sudbury’s and Palm Bay, Florida’s middle schools. In addition to being a celebrated practitioner, Mrs. Wilkinson has consistently taught new teachers about the art and craft of teaching as an adjunct professor at Stonehill College, the University of Pittsburgh, and Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She holds a bachelor’s from Florida State University, and a master’s in learning and teaching from Harvard. Mrs. Wilkinson is teaching English 7 and English 9. //
Faculty
First Row: Peter Hyde, Josh Cervas, Stewart Thomsen, John Lieb, Mo Randall, Kerry Brennan, Mike Pojman, Paul Sugg, Ousmane Diop, Hunter White, Tony Teixeira, Rob Opdycke. Second Row: Derek Nelson, Darian Reid, Nate Piper, Ernesto Guerra, Rary Delaney, Ken Hiatt, Tom Walsh, Tom Guden, Erin Dromgoole, Billy Quirk, Jim Ryan, Daniel Bettendorf. Third Row: Bryan Dunn, Andrés Amitai Wilson, Sean Spellman, Greg Sokol, Jamie Morris-Kliment, Chris Heaton, Elizabeth Carroll, George Matthews, Tim Kelly, Arturo Solís, Chris Brown, Arthur Beauregard. Fourth Row: Monika Wilkinson, Geoff Theobald, Alex Pellegrini, Matt Golden, Alec Bleday, Matt McDonald, Michael Beam, Taylor Fitzgerald, Jackie Salas, Jack Colavita, Rachel Korotkin, David Smith, Eric Tran (missing: Sarah Demers). //
Newsletter of The
Latin School 15
Roxbury
New Trustees
Ethan Berman ’79
Ethan Berman took on the role of President of RL’s Board of Trustees this summer; this is Ethan’s second time serving as a Trustee of Roxbury Latin. Ethan founded and ran RiskMetrics Group from a startup to a NYSE publicly traded company until the company was sold in 2010. In 2013 he founded i2 Learning, which he now serves as the organization’s president. i2 Learning provides project-based STEM curriculum, professional development for teachers, and logistical support for educators to engage and inspire their students for a STEM-based world. i2 is a 501(c)3 organization which began as a STEM summer program for 400 middle school children in Boston and New York and has since grown to reach almost 100,000 students in 48 states and 86 countries across the world. Ethan lives in New York with his three children and wife, Fiona Hollands. Before starting RiskMetrics Group, Ethan was a managing director at JPMorgan. He is a graduate of Williams College.
Matt Fruhan ’91
Matt Fruhan is a portfolio manager in the Equity division at Fidelity Investments, where he manages a variety of mutual funds, including the Fidelity Large Cap Stock Fund,
the Fidelity Growth & Income Portfolio, and the Fidelity Mega Cap Stock Fund. He also co-manages Fidelity EquityIncome Strategy. Prior to that, Matt managed Select Defense and Aerospace Portfolio, Select Air Transportation Portfolio, and Select Consumer Staples Portfolio. Additionally, Matt worked as an equity analyst following the food and supermarket industries, and in Fidelity’s High Yield Research department following the specialty retail, automotive supply, and transportation industries. He has been in the financial industry since joining Fidelity in 1995. Matt has been a loyal alumnus and supporter of RL, serving as a member of the Alumni Leadership Giving Committee, a member of the Headmaster’s Council, and as a Class Agent for the Class of 1991. Matt earned his degree in economics from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives in Wellesley with his wife, Greta, and their teenage daughters, Grace, Harper, and Georgia.
Andy McElaney ’96
Andy McElaney is a managing director at The Baupost Group, a Boston-based investment fund. Andy focuses on a broad range of equity and credit investments in their Public Group, with a particular focus on event-driven and special situation investing. He is also a member of the firm’s Risk Committee and leads the Public
16 Fall 2022
Group’s recruiting efforts. Prior to Baupost, Andy was a managing director at Highfields Capital, also an investment firm in Boston. Rounding out his finance background, Andy was an associate for the private equity firm Great Hill Partners, and he began his professional career at Lehman Brothers as an investment banking analyst. Andy earned his degree in economics and history from Dartmouth and his MBA from Harvard. He has been an active alumnus, serving on and co-chairing the RL Alumni Leadership Giving Committee for many years. He also serves as a trustee of Derby Academy, an independent elementary school in Hingham, and on the board of Hingham Youth Hockey. He coaches many different athletic teams for his four sons in Hingham, where he and his wife, Lauren, both grew up and now reside.
Bo Menkiti ’95
Bo Menkiti is the founder and CEO of The Menkiti Group, a real estate company dedicated to transforming lives, careers, and communities through real estate. The Menkiti Group is focused on strengthening neighborhoods through the strategic development, management, and disposition of real estate in urban markets. Bo also serves as CEO and is the founding partner of Keller Williams Capital Properties, a residential real estate brokerage managed by The Menkiti Group. Most recently, Mr. Menkiti founded Mission Mortgage, a double bottom line regional mortgage lender. Prior to forming The Menkiti Group and KWCP, Mr. Menkiti served as COO of College Summit, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the college enrollment rate of low-income students. In this capacity, Bo oversaw the organization’s successful growth into a multi-site national organization. Bo previously served as vice chair of the board of City First Bank and as the 2013 President of the District of Columbia Association of Realtors. In 2014, Bo launched the Capital Properties Menkiti Group Foundation, an organization that focuses its resources on serving the diverse social needs of the community in the areas of housing, youth, education, and entrepreneurship. Bo serves as chair of the board for the Meyer Foundation. He is a graduate of Harvard and
lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Kymber, and four young sons.
Monica Neuman
Monica Neuman is a partner at the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery, LLP, where her practice focuses on corporate transactions in the healthcare sector, including acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, and complex contractual arrangements. Monica represents a wide range of clients, including public and private corporations, nonprofit and for-profit hospitals as well as health systems, physician practices, health insurers and strategic investors. Monica also serves as a member of McDermott’s Diversity/Inclusion Committee and the Racial & Ethnic Diversity & Inclusion Sub-Committee. Her pro bono practice focuses on advocating on behalf of children with special education needs. Monica serves as a member and has several times chaired the Boston Children’s Hospital Trust, Latino Advisory Council, focused on raising funds and funding initiatives benefiting Hispanic patients and families in need. Prior to joining McDermott in 2004, Monica was an associate at the law firm of White & Case, LLP, where she worked for four years across the firm’s Miami, New York, and Mexico City offices. She earned her undergraduate degree from Brandeis and her JD from Northwestern University School of Law. Monica and her husband, William, live in Weston with their three children, including Lucas, Class III, and Thomas, Class V. Monica enjoys spending the summers with family in her hometown of Miami and Southern France, and the winter holidays between Miami and Cartagena in Colombia. //
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 17
Let’s Live Our Lives Wide Awake
18 Fall 2022
Kerry Brennan Delivers the Opening of Fall Term Address
Late in the summer I got to thinking about my favorite grad school professor at Columbia’s Teachers College who had passed away over the past year. She was Maxine Greene, a dynamo and an inspiration. She was as “New York” as one could get, a lifelong New Yorker who lived and breathed the idiosyncrasies of the world’s greatest city. She had strong opinions, and many of them centered on where one could get the best this or that on the island of Manhattan—matzoh ball soup, bargains on clothing, best upcoming dance company— you get the idea. She was also a remarkable example of talent married to determination, for it was unusual in the middle of the twentieth century for a daughter of Jewish immigrants to aspire to make a life as a professor at a top university and to enjoy a career as a thinker, a writer, a raconteur. This was unheard of for a girl and a woman at the time.
While Professor Greene assigned plenty of readings each week, one never knew in a given class what we were going to discuss. Once a week, for two-and-a-half hours, Professor Greene would convene a seminar of thirty or so of us gathered, and talk about how her life had changed since we saw her last. Because we were immersed in New York, at least for the time we were in grad school, we, too, were aware of political trends, and especially what was happening in the arts—music, theater, dance, film. Each week, Professor Greene, pushing 70, would be brimming with her reactions to something she had participated in since last we met— sometimes a play, sometimes a concert, sometimes a dance recital, sometimes a film. Even if few (if any!) of us had had the same experience, she eagerly and effectively brought whatever it was to life for us. And that became the jumping off point for us to wonder: to wonder about an avant garde adaptation of an established classic; to wonder about a revival of a beloved musical, this time with a young, up and comer featured; to wonder about the collection of paintings that had been assembled as an homage to a prominent artist of the 17th century, or an artist who was working now. Not only did she present reports about her most current artistic experiences with enthusiasm and specificity, but she insisted that we have something to say about them. She gave us language to express our feelings and our thoughts. She built on our reactions—often challenging them, sometimes affirming them, always caring about what we thought. And
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she always acknowledged that her own ideas had changed thanks to our dialogue together. The time would fly, and often we would not get to the assigned reading. But in some ways we always did, because at some point Professor Greene would say, “What would John Dewey say about the new production of Death of a Salesman?” “Would Rousseau have thought that the ballet of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring captured our essential quest to be free?” “Did the conflicts in E.T. accurately convey humans’ longing to belong, to be loved?”
You get the idea. She was a masterful maestro. She had an idea about what she might talk about, but she always seemed to be pleasantly surprised by the direction in which the class went, amazed at some comments by us, eager to experience again an event that others might have thought as static, a frozen-in-time endeavor. She reminded us that all kinds of things not only live on but find new life in the imaginations and the careful consideration of each of us. One of the two great admonitions of Professor Greene that I want to share with you today is that all of us should constantly be imagining something as if it could be otherwise. In the foreground we might think that was about artistic expression—pushing the boundaries, experimenting with media, juxtaposing divergent entities. But, in fact, she was talking about most of life. Too often— including, I daresay, when we are part of a school that has been in continuous existence for 378 years—we believe that something is established and immovable. Maxine Greene
wanted to empower each of us as a problem solver, whether in consideration of our solitary, individual life or on behalf of an organization that someone might lead—to be problem solvers with the license to imagine something as if it could be otherwise. How often in my business do I encounter someone who is reluctant to introduce even one variable, to challenge the status quo? And then, when I might suggest that other elements are also potential variables altering the viability of the first, it blows the person’s mind. This, however, is how all of us should approach life—as a set of related, but not dependent, variables. This is usually the mindset when any progress occurs—whether it’s in inventing a new widget, the electric light for example, or it’s determining that one’s tried and true method of studying is just not doing the trick, and all your suppositions need to be blown up. Imagine something as if it could be otherwise.
The other lasting suggestion that Professor Greene constantly offered us is that we approach our “intellectual odysseys,” and, in fact, our lives, wide awake. She insisted that we commit to being wide awake.
There is for some of us the real, practical, physical challenge of staying and being wide awake—the chronic sleep deprivation of teenage life, or attending an event at the end of a long day. Everyone should be mindful of the need for a good amount of sleep, and we should organize our days and will ourselves to ensure that we are able to get
20 Fall 2022
done what we need to do in good time, so we can get to bed at a reasonable hour. I know, however, that sometimes that noble idea seems impossible to realize.
The wide awake that Professor Greene meant, and the one about which I will expand this morning, however, has to do with a different wide awakeness than simply willing ourselves not to fall asleep. It has to do with being alert to our world; to what others are saying or doing; to altered, dissonant data that changes our perceptions, our realities, our truths; to not sleepwalk through life. Today I want to suggest a few instances of wide awakeness as we start a new school year, as we embrace the idea of education as a broad, challenging, satisfying enterprise, and as we make our way in a world that is complex and often delightful.
Be wide awake to opportunity. How often we tend to take for granted what it is we’ve been given, our surroundings, the people who constitute our circle. I submit that each day we should assess what constitutes an opportunity—to learn something we had not known, to befriend a person we thought was strange, to extend ourselves to try something—like a sport or a play—that’s different from our usual pattern and is hard, and in doing so we are exposing a vulnerability. But opportunities exist in even greater abundance beyond school. Do we pay attention when we receive an invitation to apply for an internship, or a research grant, or a scholarship? Do we get excited when there is a chance to travel, or to join a group of new people on a political campaign, on behalf of a social cause, or a service need? Are we willing to travel to another part of the country to assume a new professional position?
Be wide awake to our gifts.
You have heard countless times how essential it is to share what you have been given. Again, within the school, you know the Handbook and our creed admonishes to put one’s talents to good use. That responsibility is linked to our generalist philosophy and the need not only to share what you have been given, but also to do your part. Each of us is capable of being selfish, of guarding our time and our personal priorities, but all of us are better for time and talent freely shared. It seems that there is a twofold suggestion here: First recognize your gifts, your potential, and then, share those freely.
Be wide awake to injustice. We have been reminded over the past few years of the fact that the United States is not as evolved as we would hope, when it comes to ensuring that all people are treated fairly. Again, let’s start here: What happens when a classmate is picked on, when the kidding is relentless, and it’s clear that the boy is no longer taking pleasure in the tone of the peer group? Be wide awake to the fact that you need to do something to change the tone, to defend the offended kid. Be an active, conscientious bystander, and not an apathetic or acquiescing one. You need to be alert when adults, I would hope inadvertently, nonetheless, lay it on too thick. I know personally that sometimes sarcasm, for example, can go too far. Or that causing a boy and his habits to be notorious in a given class or on a given team demeans and discourages. Bother to have a quiet conversation with an adult about what you undoubtedly correctly feel to be too much. Finally, be wide awake to patterns of unfairness or discrimination that tend to treat someone unfairly because of the group to which he or she belongs. Too often race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social class, ableness tend to be easy targets—simplistic ways of categorizing, generalizing, leaving out, and exaggerating differences. Be wide awake to systemic failures that preserve income and lifestyle inequality, and also discriminate against certain people when it comes to the law or social mobility. Work hard to eradicate these instances.
Be wide awake to beauty. Not all of us have broad vocabularies when it comes to beauty. We are in the process of understanding certain formal aspects of beauty in the arts, for example. But beauty is mainly what you feel. In a sense, you know it when you see it. I find that my own sense of beauty is enhanced by my greater understanding of what is at work in the experience—a musical piece, a work of art, a lyrical poem, but also emblems of nature at its best in breathtaking settings that prove memorable. As you know, 54 members of the Glee Club toured Austria and the Czech Republic last spring. We had the chance to visit and come to know lots of interesting places—some historic, some authentically cultural—and some interesting people. Most meaningfully, I think, was that we were able to perform our music in settings and for people that we could not have imagined. After a performance in one of the world’s great churches, a boy came up to me and said, “I can’t explain it,
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but I was really moved by that. I thought we sang ‘O vos’ as well as we ever had. The echo in the church must have been eight seconds long. But when I looked up at the rear window, the rose window, I couldn’t believe that we were there doing that thing, all together. And I couldn’t believe that sometime way back people had joined together to build that place, so beautiful and so resonant. I realized I had experienced something special. And it made me want to do it again. Maybe in some other places like that.” We are often moved by beauty—from exquisitely simple things, to complex monuments, to artistic expression. Look for it everywhere. Cherish it. Remember it. Be wide awake to all the places where beauty makes our lives more meaningful, more pleasurable, and where we are connected to ideas and people in the past and in the present. And where possible, participate in making beauty yourself.
Be wide awake to your authentic self. Many of you have participated in experiences in which you have been reminded of the masks we wear, the ways in which we hope to disguise who we really are, and instead pretend to be some celebrated, homogenized ideal. The beginning of a
school year—or, better yet, the beginning of a career at a new school—affords a real opportunity to recreate yourself. Too often we get stuck in roles and personalities that might seem desirable in how we project to others and make them like us, or respect us. But often we are frauds. We fail to acknowledge to ourselves who we are, and therefore we fail to signal our authentic selves to others. Listen to your inner narratives, dare to project them, and to grow into the person each of you was meant to be.
Be wide awake to the possibility of doing the extraordinary thing. Exhibit kindness in a situation and on behalf of someone who is mainly forgotten. Sit with a different group of people at lunch, or include the boy who is alone. Launch a service initiative that speaks to a deep commitment to helping others and isn’t just a résumé builder. Show bravery in daring to do the unpopular thing. Tell the truth when everybody else is lying. Resist the urge and the fashionable impulse to feel victimized. Imagine what you can do to improve a situation rather than just conveniently blaming someone else. And, if you can get around to it, cure cancer.
Be wide awake to the opportunity to love—first yourself, and then others.
We have all read countless stories about someone falling in love. That, of course, is a wonderful thing, and I wish for all of you the wondrous gift of that kind of love. But I also hope you will act on love more broadly defined, in which your care and your sense of responsibility extend meaningfully to others. Love yourself, love your family, love your friends, love your teachers and coaches. And love the stranger. Even when you don’t yet have the benefit of knowing what makes a person tick, give him or her the benefit of the doubt, and exhibit warmth, and welcome the possibility of a burgeoning relationship.
Remember Maxine Greene’s admonitions. In thinking about how we might imagine something as if it could be otherwise, think of ourselves. Now would be the chance for you to reimagine yourself. Make new priorities. Project a different set of values. Open yourself up to new friends or a different group. Try something new. And especially, be wide awake to the world. Take it all in. Process it robustly. Dare to change your mind. Listen to your head, but, especially, listen to your heart. //
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 23
Back Abroad
Roxbury Latin resumes summer immersion programs
This summer marked the return (after two years) of Roxbury Latin’s long-standing—and often transformative—cultural immersion programs. Shortly after final exams end and the school celebrates its newest graduates, dozens of RL students and their faculty chaperones fly to countries abroad to experience life, language, and learning in other parts of the world. This summer, students again traveled to Caen, France, and to Cádiz, Spain, for month-long visits, which involve homestays with local families and academic work in their elected modern language. This June, eleven RL boys also traveled to Costa Rica for two weeks, where they learned and enjoyed much about the local people and culture, food and language, industry and natural landscape. Read students’ firsthand accounts and view photos from their adventures, as posted in their RL travel blogs.
First Day of Classes
by Lucas Vander Elst | June 7, 2022
Today was our first full day of French immersion, and it was jampacked with lots of activities! After eating a small breakfast with my host family that mainly consisted of a baguette and yogurt, I left the house for the first day of classes at the University of Caen. Many of us arrived by public transport, which is called “Twisto” here. We all met at the University groggy and a little nervous. After learning a little about the three French royal dynasties, we set out with our teacher Romain for L’Abbaye aux Dames, an abbey from the 11th century that housed Benedictine nuns. There, we received a tour and learned all about the abbey’s architecture and the long process of becoming a Benedictine nun in the 11th century. After some lunch at the University Cafeteria—it was really cool to eat surrounded by college students—most of the group played beach volleyball at the University’s courts. It was a tight match, but my team came out with the win!
In the afternoon, we visited L’Abbaye aux Hommes, which is the “brother abbey” of the one we visited in the morning. While the morning’s abbey was strictly for nuns, this one was used by monks. We visited the church, and I can confidently say that we were all stunned by the sheer size and grandeur of the whole building—to think that people would climb 250 feet on ladders and scaffolding and build architectural masterpieces is crazy! Finally, we capped off our day with a scavenger hunt around the city and a pleasant dinner at a small restaurant. In fact, our group of about 20 people had the entire restaurant to ourselves for the night. Overall, I’d say that our first full day of immersion was a success! I was talking with the group earlier today, and I speak for everyone when I say we can’t wait to visit Bayeux tomorrow and see the famous tapestry of Bayeux. //
D-Day Landing Beaches
by Joseph Wang | June 18, 2022
Our trip to France so far has been full of fun and excitement: (daily) trips to the local artisan ice cream spot, dynamic volleyball rallies, and enough beautiful chapels and castles to go around. But this past Saturday gave us a unique opportunity to think more deeply about our own lives and the sacrifices made by those who came before us.
The day began at 9 a.m., as the group piled onto a tour bus. As we sped through the streets of Caen and out of the city, we learned about France’s history in the years before and during World War II, as well as the logistics behind the D-Day (Jour J) landings. Before we knew it, we had arrived at the first of the five landing beaches: Omaha. Contrary to some expectations, it wasn’t a grand scene. In fact, each of the historic landing sites could have passed as just another beach. Yet something about them struck us. As I looked up to the muted blue sky, I couldn’t help but imagine a fatally wounded soldier, perhaps only one or two years older than we are right now, spending his final moments on Earth staring up at that same sky. His silent sacrifice, now almost 80 years in the past, provides each of us an opportunity to live our lives in peace and freedom.
During our tour of the landing sites, we also had the opportunity to explore the bunkers that were used to fend off the Allied landing, which included wreckage of tanks and artillery used in the original battle. According to trip tradition, the whole group (with some help from Mr. Diop) managed to climb on top of a bunker to take a group photo. Everyone made it down, too, although not without the suggestion of remaining on top (where the adults couldn’t reach) until the curfew was pushed 30 minutes later. After enjoying a delicious picnic lunch packed by our host families, it was back onto the bus for the next visit of the day.
Our destination was the Normandy American Cemetery, where we were welcomed into a luscious courtyard surrounded by a sprawling wall inscribed with the names of American soldiers who went MIA during combat in Normandy during WWII. As we walked past exhibits of maps detailing the liberation of Normandy, there was a collective aura of shock as rows and rows of crosses emerged, all neatly organized in columns against the backdrop of the flowing greenery. To me, that was the moment where the casualties suffered in WWII became more than just a statistic. As the rows of crosses continued it dawned on me that each one of
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 25
France
them marked the loss of a unique soldier. I’m reminded now of the inscription on the graves of those whose bodies could not be identified: HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY A COMRADE IN ARMS KNOWN BUT TO GOD.” John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Even though their lives may be unnamed and unrecognized, their sacrifice will be marked within the gates of heaven. //
La Traversée et Le Mont-Saint Michel by Mark Anderson | June 24, 2022
We woke up early this morning to a small farewell from our host families at Vissol, after spending yesterday with them buying souvenirs and packing for Paris and the flight home. We slept through a long bus ride from Vissol to the start of the walk to Mont Saint-Michel. When we finally got there, we could see Mont Saint-Michel in the distance. We met up with our guide, who explained the trek and that we would all have to be barefoot because of the terrain.
As we took our first steps, we realized that the ground was mostly mud… it was going to be a long walk. Along the way, our guide described the history of Mont Saint-Michel. It was a destination for pilgrimages dedicated to the Archangel Michael, the leader of heaven’s army who is also the final judge between good and evil. The ground squelched under our feet. Half of the boys hated it and the others found it nice, like a spa experience! One of the main things that had us intrigued was the special shells that came with a backstory. Our guide explained that if you pick up one of these shells and touch it to the rocks of Mont Saint-Michel, you will have good luck for the next seven years. On the other hand, if you broke your shell, you would be cursed for all eternity. With this gamble in mind, many of us chose to take shells and try our best to keep them safe for the rest of our journey.
When we finally made it to Mont Saint-Michel, we split up to eat, and I enjoyed a homemade sandwich and a jus de pomme. We then climbed to the top for a guided tour of the Abbaye. We took in the beautiful view of the surrounding land from the top, and our guide taught us about the old traps, the history, the crypt, and even the prison. Even though I could have explored this place for hours, it was time
to take the bus to Saint-Malo, where we would stay the night. On arrival, we had dinner together at a crêperie. The ham, egg, and cheese crêpe was absolutely delicious, and a dessert of either a crêpe caramel or assorted ice cream was divine. Even though this day was really long and eventful, it was one of the most enjoyable days of the trip, and our first day in a while being together for dinner instead of with our host families. //
Spain
Sábado 11 de Junio by Ammar Elawad
Our first night in Granada was behind us, and the day started with breakfast and a walk toward the fortress of La Alhambra. It was about a 20-minute walk, and it was very hilly. (La Alhambra is at the top of the city). We toured the fortress, and it was easily my favorite tour of the trip.
The Alhambra is a man-made fortress built by the Muslims in the time when they were conquering Spain. I recall studying about it in middle school, so I was familiar with some of the history we were told during the tour. Last night I saw the fortress from afar, and I was curious about how it would look inside… my expectations were exceeded. The fortress was so large and beautiful, and our tour guide emphasized the greatness of the building and what it symbolized. He talked to us about the things Muslims at that time brought to the world that are still used, like algebra, counting systems, and more.
After our tour and some free time, we went to an Arabian restaurant where we were served Arabian tea and pastries. Then we continued toward a restaurant where we had a great
26 Fall 2022
three course dinner followed by a flamenco show. The show consisted of exotic tap dancing with upbeat cultural Spanish music. It was in a man made cave, which made it a more intimate environment. The cave echoed whenever the crowd clapped while yelling “Olé!!” //
Jueves 16 de Junio
by Dror Ko
Today in school, we discussed the topic that we had been assigned to ask our Spanish host families about: What the city of Cádiz does to protect or to harm the environment, and its efforts (or lack thereof) against climate change. In small groups we worked on making our own non-government organizations dedicated to fighting climate change in some unique way. My group’s organization was called Los Salvabosques, meaning “the forest protectors.” Each group made a decorative poster for their project and presented the details of their organization to the group. During recess we played basketball in the schoolyard—again in front of many interested spectators.
Later we went on a small field trip to a nearby market where we saw new types of seafood and produce that we had talked about in class. One particular fish is called “Bienmesabe” which literally means “it tastes good.” We picked up some of the food and had a midday snack as a group. Caracoles (snails), camarónes (shrimp), and choco (squid) were among the types of seafood that we tried.
We had some free time to explore the city before lunch with our families and our fishing activity. I went to the Santa María beach, which is practically adjacent to the school.
At 3:30, we met on the pier where we fished over the railing into the bay. The methods of the fishermen of Cádiz were different from those that some of us were accustomed to. The fishermen used a piece of moist white bread as bait and lured fish toward the area by throwing a type of moist flour and cheese mixture into the water. While Matt Bastardi and I didn’t see a single fish, Jed Dougherty and Abe Jacoby each caught multiple. Matt and I struck up a conversation with a local passerby who was convinced that we were not only using the wrong method but also fishing in the wrong place.
The rest of the day was ours to hang out and explore the city. Some people went to the gym, some people went for ice cream, and some did both. We each coordinated our plans for dinner with our families and eventually dispersed to our homes by Bonobús (the T) or by foot. //
Jueves 20 de Junio by
Ryan Lin
Today officially marks the halfway point of our ever-eventful and colorful stay in Cádiz. So far, the trip has flown by in a whirlwind of beach time, ice cream, and occasional Spanishlanguage challenges. But all in all, it has been an incredible experience full of personal growth and enriched friendships. I’m especially grateful for my host family, a loving pair of grandparents who’ve accepted and cared for me wholeheartedly despite some of my quirky habits. They particularly don’t understand why I love going to the gym, and they believe my daily cold showers are a “barbaridad.”
Today was a little special because school was being conducted in the streets of the Casco Antiguo (the old part of Cádiz). When we met up at the Cathedral, everyone was buzzing to talk about his day spent with his host family. It was quite a surprise to see such a lively bunch, especially for a Monday. The lesson today involved a tour of different historical monuments throughout the city. We started at the Arco de la Rosa. It’s a fragment of the city’s ancient fortress wall, which I personally thought was super cool because it was a defensive trap. It had holes that were camouflaged from a distance. Through these holes the people of Cádiz used to drop rocks on unprepared enemy heads. What a nasty surprise! Next, we visited La Casa de Almirante, the house of an admiral that used to serve as a lookout.
After reconvening and sharing our newfound knowledge with the rest of the group, we set out for the Teatro Romano de Cádiz, one of the most important historic sites in all the city. I was especially excited to see this one because I gave a presentation about it in Sr. Ryan’s 9th grade class. (Shoutout that class for being great, and shoutout Sr. Ryan for being even greater!) This Roman Theater was commissioned by Julius Caesar himself, with the help of the extremely wealthy Bilbao family. It was also the first Roman Theater in all of Spain to be built of stone. It was an awesome time.
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 27
After a great lunch with our host families, which for me was roast chicken (the people of Cádiz sure can cook!) our little army of Americans joined forces once again to take on the most important challenge of the whole trip: painting!!! With the help of master instructor Cecilio Chaves, the most celebrated painter in contemporary Cádiz, we each attempted to paint our own classic Cádiz watchtower. Sr. Chaves was genuinely unbelievable. We tried to keep up with him to no avail, but we all ended up with works we were proud of. Thank you so much, Sr. Chaves!
Today was one of my favorite days in Cádiz so far. I learned a lot about the city, and I got to spend time with my friends doing fun activities. Mom, Dad, and Jeff, Love you all. To all the other parents, love you all too. Thanks for having such awesome kids! //
pajarera), a white-nosed coati, a giant red-winged grasshopper (at its nymph stage), and a green basilisk lizard, also known as “the Jesus Christ lizard,” for its ability to “walk” on water. After finding them with his naked eye, Josué would set up his telescope on his tripod and would give us a chance to see them and to take pictures of them through the telescope.
After the tour, we had a quick swim at Playa Manuel Antonio, then boarded a bus to get to our zip-lining canopy tour. We got there and ate lunch, which was arroz con pollo, plantains, and tortillas. Then we put on our harnesses and began to zip line. There were fast ones, long ones, and scary ones… some scarier than others! At the end of the canopy tour there was a dunk into water: we jumped from a platform while linked to a harness, as one of the instructors pulled us into the water. It felt great! Then we had a three-hour bus ride back to our respective houses. Some of us went to eat at a restaurant and others went home and ate there. This was a full day of activities, and we had a blast! //
June 15, 2022
by Michael Thomas
Costa RICA
June 12, 2022
by Emmanuel Nwodo
Today we woke up and ate breakfast at our hotel in Manuel Antonio National Park. Most of us had gallo pinto (rice and beans with eggs). After breakfast, we got on our bathing suits and went to the main part of the National Park, where we saw many animals in their natural habitats. Right before the entrance, we saw a sloth in a tree and got some great photos. We also saw many different types of monkeys: the Central American squirrel monkey, the white-faced capuchin monkey, and the howler monkey. Later, we encountered several deer, and even got an arm’s length away from a group of them. This part of the day was amazing and was made better because Josué, our tour guide, was highly knowledgeable and had an amazing eye for finding small lizards, spiders, crabs, birds, and even frog eggs hidden in the jungle. We also saw hummingbirds, a bird snake (or mica
The agenda today was to go to “Flor de abril” finca and learn about coffee plantations. Fernando, the owner of the finca, took us to see the seedlings of coffee, which were barely sprouted in the soil. We walked into a little greenhouse made of mesh that provides shade to the plants. He showed us the many different types of coffee growing, and explained how he uses the mutations in the coffee to take advantage of good characteristics and breed a better product. There are hybrid coffee plants, he told us, but it takes a long time to breed for certain genes, because the process of growing the coffee takes years. He walked us through the process of weeding out the bad coffee seeds before they grew into mature plants. He told us that roots straight down into the dirt were favorable, while twisted, wild roots were not.
Unhealthy roots could be caused by insects, Fernando told us. The finca had various, impressive ways of dealing with insects in a safe and healthy way. They don’t use pesticides or any chemical toxins to keep bugs away. Instead they take advantage of certain plants’ natural ability to repel bugs and worms. Some bugs, however, are important because once the flowers of the coffee plant bloom, it no longer self-pollinates, and it needs to
28 Fall 2022
be pollinated by bees and other insects. To strike a balance, the finca uses plants like the higuerilla, or castor bean plant (which, in addition to providing shade, has leaves that are toxic but don’t harm the coffee plants), basil (which attracts pollinators), and the Carolina Reaper (which keeps insects at bay).
At one point along the tour we encountered a bush of Carolina Reaper peppers. Here I made what was probably the worst decision of the trip. Fernando picked a few peppers and said that, although he didn’t recommend eating them because of the spice, they were perfectly edible. I, and a few other unsuspecting classmates, ignored his advice and tasted the peppers. I cannot even describe the spice of that pepper except by saying that I thought my tongue was going to burn off and that my life was going to end on that Costa Rican finca. Eventually, he brought us a whole bottle of yogurt, which we finished immediately, and we continued the tour, still feeling the effects of the hottest pepper in the world.
He showed us the rest of the plantation, and as we walked we tried different fruits like guava, beans, jocote, and unripe coffee right off the branch. When the tour ended and we arrived back in San Joaquín, we had free time until 10 p.m. All went to their tica houses to rest after the long day and to interview their padres ticos to prepare for our presentations tomorrow. Some ate dinner with their tica families and some went out with friends. A bunch of us ended up watching the Stanley Cup Finals at an open-air restaurant.
Today, when I learned that it was my day to write the blog, I was shocked at how this trip has flown by. We have really enjoyed it, and these last few days are bittersweet. We all wish that we could stay here in this incredible place for longer, but we also miss our non-tica families and are excited to go home. //
June 16, 2022
by Bobby Zabin
Our presentations began at 10:30 a.m. Each of us was assigned to speak for seven minutes about one member of our host family. Most of us, including me, chose to present on our mamá tica (Costa Rican mother). We orally painted a portrait of them through descriptions of their childhoods, educations, careers, hobbies, favorite Costa Rican traditions, and, of course, their
favorite dishes. Will Hutter’s host mother told him her preferred traditional tico dish was plantains marinated in vinegar, a combination most of us had tried a few nights earlier. To put it politely, we gringos could not find the same richness of flavor that delighted Hutter’s mom. These presentations gave us a deeper understanding and a deeper connection with our host families.
After a quick lunch, we headed to Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, (the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity). There, we learned about Costa Rica’s vanguard electrical coverage program, which supplies electricity to 99.4% of the population, the secondmost coverage for a country in Latin America. Additionally, 99% of their energy comes from renewable sources. Our presenter, Alejandro, was an electrical engineer and professor who has worked at the Institute for more than 30 years. He continually stressed the truth that all energy comes from nature. This includes renewable sources, such as solar or wind power, oil which comes from ancient biomass, and nuclear power. It is no surprise that Costa Rica, a tiny country with incredible biodiversity, has such a profound network of electricity supplied to nearly all its citizens. We learned (to a very technical level) how the country harnesses its volcanic sites for geothermal energy, its powerful rivers and lakes for hydroelectric power, and the winds of both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. And since Costa Rica is also home to many sugarcane plants, the bagazos (the residual dry fibers of the sugar cane) are burned as another source of energy.
After our tour of the institute, we headed to a sports restaurant to watch game six of the Celtics in the NBA finals. Dr. Guerra granted us un día de excepción (an exceptional day), so we stayed out until 11 watching the game and enjoying each other’s company on our second-to-last night in Costa Rica. Although the Celtics lost, the food was good enough to be worth the unfortunate experience.
Each day we immerse ourselves in a new activity that allows us to learn about this different, complicated, diverse, and beautiful country that we have called home for the past two weeks. I know I am sad to be leaving so soon. There is so much that can only be learned from traveling and engaging with a place in such an intense, hands-on way. We want to thank Dr. Guerra for his vision, Shawn for chaperoning us, Mónica for accompanying us to most sites, and Francy Orozco for organizing an incredible and unforgettable trip to this rainy paradise in Central America. //
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 29
“To Expect Much We Must Give”
Roxbury Latin kicks off the annual fund
On October 6, more than 350 Roxbury Latin alumni and faculty, parents, and friends gathered in the Gordon Fieldhouse—hoping that, together, we could again achieve another record year in fundraising on behalf of the students, faculty, and staff of Roxbury Latin. Elizabeth Carroll, science faculty and Class VI dean, and her longtime advisee, Emmanuel Nwodo of Class I, shared their stories that evening—examples of the transformative opportunities that Roxbury Latin provides through its advising program, which your gifts help to preserve. Read excerpts from their remarks here.
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Nwodo Class I
One of RL’s best assets is all of the opportunities students have here. I knew right away that I should take advantage of these opportunities, and even when I was too nervous to go out and get them, they were offered to me. Roxbury Latin encouraged me to take risks and step out of my comfort zone. I was pushed to participate in Junior Chorus even before anyone knew that I liked to sing. In eighth grade, during a range check, Mr. Opdycke told me I had Latonics potential. There was no way I thought I would join the Latonics, even though I was mesmerized by the Latonics Hall hearing Ben Lawlor ’18 perform with the great singers behind him. Later on, a few of my classmates found out that I could sing a little bit, and they told me that I should audition for a solo. That experience opened a whole new door into music as I eventually did make the Latonics, elected to take Music Theory, and am now vice-president of the Glee Club. My involvement in Glee Club allowed me to go to Austria in March of this year, and I got to sing in beautiful churches, with architecture that made our voices sound fuller and brighter. While in Vienna, some other Latonics wanted to busk in the city center. Covid and an expired passport meant two of our main soloists had not
yet joined the trip, so we decided to only perform two songs. But as the crowd started to grow, we wanted to keep it going, and the president asked for volunteers to sing solos. I volunteered without much hesitation—knowing the songs, but never having sung the solos. This isn’t a story about my singing abilities—this is a story about my confidence. It would have been impossible for me to even imagine myself being in this situation six years ago, and even more farfetched to think I would have reacted to it the way that I did. Not to mention, we also made a little bit of cash. At RL opportunity presents itself in unexpected ways. You simply need to take advantage of it.
From music came my interest in theater. I reluctantly started acting on stage last year when Mrs. Carroll said I should try out for the play. I had done Twilight during the pandemic, but that was me alone in front of a camera— this was me on stage, in front of a room full of people. My reluctance turned into me being involved in three plays last year, including Frankenstein, Catch Me If You Can, and The Actors, a student-directed play. These plays helped me to figure out that I love to perform. The rush you get right before a show, which I used to think of as nerves, became excitement. I learned that the experience of acting is only worthwhile if everyone puts his best foot forward. We
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 31
Emmanuel
“We all know about the quotation,‘From those to whom much has been given much will be expected.’
I make a similar statement, worded a little differently: To expect much we must give.”
rely on each other, and experiencing that community was rewarding. From chanting “yes” before a show, to singing Jerusalem at the end of one, we share an excitement that makes being at RL until 9 p.m. for a week worth it.
There are many more opportunities RL has given me: going to Camp Becket for two summers where I made some great friends and hiked the largest mountain in Massachusetts for three days; participating in the Harvard Med-Science summer program, where students from all over the country come and learn what it’s like to be a medical student; and summer jobs including interning at Mass Community Health Centers and working at Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center Camp at RL. Did I mention that in addition to heading to Europe over spring break, I spent the first few weeks of this summer on another school trip in Costa Rica? Throughout my time here, I have never had to think about the cost of participating in any school activity—or even about how I was going to afford to buy my own computer. I am grateful for what RL and the greater RL community have given me. I will be forever thankful.
We all know about the quotation, “From those to whom much has been given much will be expected.” I make a similar statement worded a little differently: To expect much we must give. I am a hard worker, and I get that from my amazing family, but what would my work be if I wasn’t allowed to explore new things and find out who I am through them? Through my RL experience, I have made friends, learned a lot, and had some fun along the way. In my opinion, the reason why giving to RL is so important is because it opens doors for students like me — students who will take advantage of the opportunities put in front of them and find ways to contribute to the world. One day I plan to sit in your seats, having given back to a school that has given so much to me. Thank you. //
internships, I work in admissions, I serve as a faculty advisor on the Yearbook and ECOS, I plan the Prom….And while Kerry was right, as teaching sixies is definitely high on my list, the role at RL that holds the greatest meaning for me, as it does for so many of us, is advising, and that is what I want to spend the remainder of my time speaking to you about tonight.
I believe that Roxbury Latin’s advisor system is the foundation of what makes every other aspect of this school tick as well as it does. The consultant in me would call it an “elegant solution” for its simplicity and effectiveness. Having one person who is truly “on” each boy means that things don’t easily slip through the cracks. If I, or any of my colleagues, is concerned about a student, or sees something worth celebrating, we all know exactly who to talk to. Our advisor system, and the accountability that comes with it, helps us all be better teachers and coaches.
I always knew there was some great advising going on here, but stepping into the Class Dean role, I now have a front row seat to some serious varsity advising. It is remarkable to see the hours that my colleagues spend tutoring, counseling, and nurturing the boys in their care, making sure they have what they need to thrive here, cheering for them from the sidelines, and being there when the going gets tough. Just when I was starting to feel confident about my own advising, this past year taught me that I still have so much to learn. From the weekly check-in sheets that Josh Cervas customizes to help keep scattered advisees on track, to the almost poetic, multiparagraph emails that Sarah Demers writes on a random Tuesday afternoon to update parents on recent progress their son has made, to Erin Dromgoole’s unwavering commitment to ensure that all of her senior advisees know how to properly iron a collared shirt before they graduate, I am constantly amazed by the level of “above and beyond” that happens here every day.
Elizabeth Carroll Science Department; Class VI Dean
Like all of my colleagues, I wear several other hats here at RL—I run the ISP Program, I help our boys secure summer
Given that it is the Annual Fund Kick-off Dinner, I want to note that your generosity makes one particular aspect of advising so much better for all of us. When we are working with a boy, we never once have to consider whether or not to recommend a particular school activity or trip out
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of concern that the student might not be able to afford it. Think about that for a minute. It was clear that Emmanuel had a powerful voice and stage presence, and from the time he set foot at RL I did not have to hesitate for one second to enthusiastically recommend that he audition for Glee Club and consider participating in the March break trips. Nor did I have to tiptoe around whether it made sense for him to consider the language immersion trip to Costa Rica. I knew that if he wanted to do it and needed some assistance, RL would be there for him—you would be there for him. I have had dozens of advisees over the years, and I am not privy to their families’ financial circumstances. I don’t need to be. What I know is that whether a family needs modest assistance to fund some portion of their son’s education or extracurricular activities, or needs the school to cover close to the full amount, it happens. So, thank you for the important role you continue to play in making that possible. It makes a world of difference for all of us. //
Kerry Brennan Headmaster
By enrolling your sons at Roxbury Latin, you expect to receive a set of goods and services. And my colleagues and
I deliver on that expectation. Without fail? I would like that to be the case, but occasionally the pudding is less lumpless than we would want it to be. We do try, however, especially through our advisor system, which you saw highlighted in the remarks and relationship of Emmanuel and Elizabeth, to ensure that no boy falls through the cracks. I often suggest that there is a promise implicit in your applying your son, our accepting him, and then your enrolling him. We promise to know and love him. And as was true so vividly during the pandemic, you trust us. You trust us to do our best to deliver on our mission: to hold school and to keep school in such a way that each boy’s potential and idiosyncrasies are honored. You trust us to poke, prod, cajole, criticize, praise, and love each boy into becoming his best self. We are honored to have the chance to do our good work on behalf of such a crop of promising, committed, interesting, good, full-hearted boys.
But the promise is not just our promise to you; it’s your promise to us as well. We will take care of your boys. And you take care of us. Certainly that happens personally in the way you esteem and befriend us. But, given the reason for our gathering here tonight, you support us financially, as well, to the extent that we can be the school we aspire to be—inclusive, rigorous, supportive, ambitious. We
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 33
“Whether a family needs modest assistance to fund some portion of their son’s education or extracurricular activities, or needs the school to cover close to the full amount, it happens. So, thank you for the important role you continue to play in making that possible.”
true so vividly during the pandemic,
trust
You trust us to do our best to deliver on our mission... You trust us to poke, prod, cajole, criticize, praise, and love each boy into becoming his best self. We are honored to have the chance to do our good work on behalf of such a crop of promising, committed, interesting, good, fullhearted boys.”
could not be all that, and do all that we do, were it not for a unique financial model in which only 40 percent of our revenue comes from tuition. As you have heard this is a model that ensures that even “full-tuition” is nearly $20,000 less than the tuition of our fellow Boston schools, and that every boy who qualifies for admission is given the opportunity to come here regardless of his family’s financial circumstances. Alas, that is a tall order. And year after year, support for the Annual Fund, in particular, makes our quirky model possible. It helps to ensure that our supply chain is fluid and reliable. I sometimes speak of our covenant: you do all that you can, and we will do the same. Even as we celebrate the accomplishments of the year just past—and they were tremendous—we beseech you to do it all again. Please continue to make RL a philanthropic priority; please continue to support a revolutionary vision for a school that promises to be countercultural and true to its mission; and, as we have loved you and especially the boys you entrust to our care, please continue to love us back. Thank you. //
34 Fall 2022
“There is a promise implicit in your applying your son, our accepting him, and then your enrolling him. We promise to know and love him. And as was
you
us.
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 35 reunion 2 02 3 friday & saturday, may 5–6 Save the Date
Goden
In His First Year As Head Football Coach | by Erin E. Berg
Matt Golden, who joined RL this year as Assistant Director of Athletics and head coach of Varsity Football, graduated from Bates College in 2020, where he was a sociology major and educational studies minor. There Mr. Golden was a quarterback, running back, and captain of the varsity football team. He was named to the NESCAC AllAcademic Team and received the Harward Center Award for community volunteerism and leadership. He attended Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and was elected by his classmates as their class president three years running. He played three varsity sports: football, basketball, and track and field. He captained the football team, which was the conference champion, as well as the basketball team which won the state championship. At RL, in addition to his roles in the Athletics Department, he is also teaching in the Health and Wellness program.
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When did you realize that you wanted to coach football?
I think it started even before I became a football player myself. I grew up in a family where my dad was a head high school football coach and where my grandfather was a head college football coach, so every week each fall my siblings, my mom, and I would make pizza on Friday night and then go watch my dad's games.
I remember really looking up to those guys who were high school players at New Bedford High and wanting to be like them. And I knew I wanted to be like my dad, just like every young kid wants to be. Then I grew a little bit older, and by the time I went to middle school and high school I was able to see what the role of coach can mean for a young person, especially in the context of football, where there are so many moving parts. It's such an emotional game, and there are so many ups and downs, and I was able to see ways in which my dad was there for some of his players.
So, I transitioned from this idea of “I want to coach because I want to be like dad,” to “I want to coach because I want to help kids and I know this is a way I can do it.” I knew the positive impact that some of my coaches had made on me, and I realized that being able to coach football meant being around football and having fun every day, but also making a real difference in people's lives.
Do you have a coaching philosophy, or an overarching approach, that you enlist?
First and foremost, I think it’s important to understand
that—especially at the high school level—football is a sport, and sports are supposed to be fun. But second, they’re also great tools for learning about life: You learn how to succeed; you learn how to fail; you learn how to deal with adversity when the ref makes a call that you don't agree with. Do you let that hold you up, or can you line up and play the next play?
I approach coaching football as a teaching tool. I’ve always looked at athletics and the arts as co-curricular rather than an extracurricular, because it’s part of the mission of Roxbury Latin to help these boys grow into good people, and I think that sports and the arts are a massive part of that, and a massive part of learning about yourself in different ways.
So, use football as a tool to teach these boys how to become great young men, and how to deal with challenges, and how to deal with success. That’s number one. Maintaining respect for our opponents and the officials and for each other at all times is also critical. I think sports and the arts can teach you self-confidence, as well. Football is definitely a challenging sport, but when you work at it you can see that hard work makes a difference, and you can get better, and that’s a really important lesson.
When something clicks for a player, and I can see that light go on in his head—when he realizes, “Oh, this makes sense now”—that’s an awesome moment. He’s learning, “I can do this.” Seeing someone make his first tackle and seeing someone throw his first touchdown, those are awesome experiences, because those things don’t happen accidentally. They had to work for it.
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 37
What are the benefits to being a coach who is also a full-time member of the faculty?
The value of that is something I prioritize as a team value, as well. Football is something that we all do. It’s something that I quite literally do for my job, but it’s part of a larger context here at RL and at any school. There’s a lot more going on than just football, and football helps support that.
In the same way that we hope our classmates and co-workers will come out and cheer us on, it’s just as important that we are aware of everything else that’s going on in the school, because we’re not the only show in town. There are lots of other things going on, and I think the fact that I have other roles in the school helps model that for the players. If my expectation is that our players show up and support their classmates in other contexts, and that they participate in the school in other contexts, I have to model that, too.
The fact that I have the opportunity to teach and advise and be a member of the community, allows me, first, to see the studentathletes throughout the day and maintain contact with them, but, second, to model for the students that there is a lot more to life than football. I think football is fantastic. It’s my favorite thing in the world to do, but that’s because it helps prepare you for life and there’s a bigger picture that we’re working toward.
What have you enjoyed most about coaching RL boys this season?
Roxbury Latin boys are some of the most polite, friendly people I have ever met. They’re funny; they’re smart; they’re kind; and they make showing up to practice every day really easy. They teach me new lessons every day. I love getting to know each kid, and
his personality, individually. Being only a couple of months, I’m still getting to know each kid and his quirks and his tendencies and his sense of humor, but I’m starting to pick up on all of that, and those differences bring value to practice. It’s a place where everyone can feel like he’s part of something. I’m looking forward to continuing to get to know these boys personally; I enjoy just being around these young people and seeing their energy and enthusiasm for what they’re doing.
What are your hopes for next year’s football season? I’m not looking to poach players from any other sport, but I'm hoping that next year some new kids will come out for football because they hear what a great experience it is. We want to support all the other teams—the soccer team and Coach McDonald are awesome. The cross country team and Coach Dunn and Coach Heaton have it going on in the ISL right now, and we’re going to cheer them on. But if you’re not a fall sport athlete right now, and you think you might have some free time, my hope is that you hear enough good things from our players about how fun football is at RL that you want to come out and give it a shot.
Do you have a pre-game ritual either personally or for the team? Personally, I run sprints across the field before every game, before the kids show up. Then I go in and shower and drink my iced coffee and come out ready to go.
As a team, something that I picked up in college was just taking a pause right before we head out to the field, and expressing gratitude for everything that we’re lucky enough to have been given, and gratitude for the opportunity to be together that day
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and to play that game. And then we just take a couple of deep breaths as a team, and kind of hear each other breathing, and just have a moment of appreciation for how lucky we are to be there in that moment, to be around each other.
What else inspires you, in this work? To be honest with you, I probably couldn’t do anything today that I learned in Pre-Calc as a senior in high school. But I remember how every teacher I ever had made me feel, and I remember how every coach I ever had made me feel, and I tell myself on a daily basis that I want to be somebody who makes these kids feel good. I want to make them feel challenged. I want to make them feel safe. I want to make them feel appreciated. I want this to be a good experience for them, and that’s what drives me every day.
Is there anything else we should know about you? Well, I’m kind of a nerd.
How are you a nerd? Tell me about your nerdiness. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan. I’m currently listening to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on audiobook. I’m a big Marvel MCU fan. We talked a little bit in Health and Wellness this year about feeling stress versus feeling overwhelmed, and in that conversation about healthy stress we talked about something called “flow state.” I never quite had a word for it before now, but there are two places in the world where I’m in flow state: One, when I'm out on the field or on the basketball court. I’m just going out and competing without any thought. The second is when I’m building with LEGOs. I lose track of time, and I could go for hours and hours. It just occupies my brain and entertains me. I love Harry Potter; I love Marvel; and I love building with LEGOs. //
Arts Calendar
Glee Club Holiday Concerts
Friday, December 16, at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Rousmaniere Hall
Winter Art Exhibit
Woodworking and Carpentry: Four Alumni Perspectives
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 12, at 6 p.m.
The Great Hall
The exhibit will be available for viewing through February 9.
Junior Play: The Little Prince
by
Adapted
Friday, February 24, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 25, at 7:30 p.m. Smith Theater
Rick Cummins and John Scoullar
from the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Fall Varsity Teams
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 41
Varsity Cross Country — Front row: Bryan Dunn (Head Coach), Owen Butler (Manager), Tommy Reichard, Mathias Why, Michael Allen, Kofi Fordjour (Captain), Michael Thomas (Captain), Thomas Savage, Akshay Kumar, Eddy Pan (Manager), Chris Heaton (Coach); Back Row: Raj Saha, Lucas Connors, Nathan Zhang, Quinn Thomson, Darian Estrada, Eric Diop, Akhilsai Damera, Jack Tompros, Levi Harrison, Jake Popeo, Brendan Reichard, Ezra Klauber, Eric Zhu, Zach Heaton, Calvin Reid (Missing: Matt O'Connor, Manager).
Varsity Soccer — Front Row: Arturo Solís (Coach), Luke Wilkinson, Nick Frumkin, Justin Shaw, Carter Crowley (Captain), Arjun Bose (Captain), Adam Kuechler (Captain), Thomas Connolly, Ryan Frigerio, Ethan Dhadly, Tyler Duarte, Matt McDonald (Head Coach); Second Row: Patrick Schultz (Manager), Will Matthews (Manager), Drew Anderson, Dominic Landry, Alejandro Rincon, Jaden Barack-Anidi, Ian Herrera, Christo Velikin, Ian Fuller, Oliver van den Bosch, Devan Rajagopalan, Aydin Hodjat, Dovany Estimphile, Jed Dougherty, Luca Bene, Dillan Akinc, Will Hutter (Manager), Alex Sanzone (Manager).
Varsity Football — Kneeling: JP Ward, Ryan Lin, Jon Cerullo, Nick Consigli, Khiomany Ortiz, Mark McGuire; Front Row: Gavin Lane, Nitin Muniappan, Nick Martin (Manager), Teddy Lee (Manager), Krystian Reese, David Sullivan (Captain), Harry Lonergan (Captain), TK Ghapontsang (Captain), Aidan Gibbons (Captain), Harry Brennan, Riley Stanton, Johnny Price, James Gibbons (Manager), Matt Golden (Head Coach), Nico Papas (Coach); Second row: Tony Teixeira (Coach), John Lieb (Coach), Robby O'Shaughnessy, Michael DiLallo, Noah Abdur-Rahim, Reid Spence, Justin Loo, Matt Golden, Marc Albrechtskirchinger, Timmy Ryan, Tom Pender, Jonathan Loo, Nick Galdo; Third Row: Braden Place, Finn Leary, Ben O'Keeffe, Tucker Rose, Ryan Conneely, Andrew Bingham, Peter DeVito, Danny Tobin, Caleb Meredith, Mo Randall (Coach), Taylor Fitzgerald (Coach); Fourth Row: Declan Bligh, Auden Duda, Ben McVane, Logan McLaughlin, Michael Strojny, Lucas Numa, Matt Bastardi, Shane Bernazzani; Back Row: Michael Rimas, Jacob Strojny, Habo Baaj, Sam DiFiore, Sam Seaton, John Thomas, Camden Carr, Liam Russell, Chris Vlahos.
Brad Perham: Nearly Four Decades of Leading RL Athletics
A legendary athlete and member of the Chelmsford High School Athletic Hall of Fame, Brad Perham taught physical education and coached in three public school districts before arriving at RL in the fall of 1973. As Director of Athletics for the next 36 years, Mr. Perham taught physical education and coached varsity basketball, modeling qualities of discipline, hard work, sportsmanship, fair play, and accountability for generations of RL boys. In 2003, Mr. Perham stepped down as the head varsity basketball coach after amassing more than 300 wins during his career and being named Coach of the Year on three occasions. More consequential than the x’s and o’s of his basketball strategy, Mr. Perham taught his players the importance of doing their best and respecting their opponents. In his role as AD, he led by example, as there was no job he was unwilling to do—from taping ankles to washing towels— in order ensure that the athletic program ran smoothly and the RL boys were able to live out the Classical precept Mens Sana In Corpore Sano. He understood the critical role that athletics plays in the development of the students (whether they considered themselves athletes or not), and he worked tirelessly to ensure that RL boys learned life lessons that lasted well beyond their years at the school. A dozen years after his retirement from RL, he reflects on his career here.
What would you say were the most appealing qualities of the RL boys you coached?
Without a doubt, RL students have an eagerness to learn, and they were a pleasure to coach. Because they came from so many different backgrounds, it made the student body interesting, and I enjoyed that dynamic. I really didn’t see much difference in the
students from 1973 to 2009. All RL boys have goals, work hard at sports, and are coachable.
What are some of your fondest memories of Roxbury Latin?
• My first child, Abby, was born during the first game of the 1979-1980 basketball season, and I missed the game; my assistant Ed Sprissler got the win against PCD. Fast forward to five years later when Abby’s birthday fell on the first game of the season. That was the first (and last) year that RL had cheerleaders, because Abby and her friends came to the game dressed as cheerleaders, complete with pom poms and cheers.
• I am forever grateful for Jack Brennan’s support and dedication to RL basketball. JV players had a very positive experience with Coach Brennan, and his record as a JV coach will never be duplicated. Jack was always with me on the bench during varsity games and was an asset for strategy and player encouragement. He was a major factor in our teams’ successes through the years.
• Parental support during my 36 years was outstanding! Parents put on the teas after home games, and even if we didn’t win the game, we always “won the teas.” That the other players, families, and fans could mingle after the game was a wonderful aspect of the game day. Thank you, parents.
• Construction projects were challenging, but also rewarding. The development of Rappaport Field and Whittemore Diamond was a summer project (1990) and my daughter Hannah, at age two, was my summer assistant. When the Gordon Field House was built (2000), I enjoyed working with the architect and construction contractor to assure that the gym would meet the
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needs of the athletic program. My particular interests were the flooring, acoustics, lighting, and having twelve glass backboards in the gym.
• Bringing athletic trainers to RL was an important enhancement to the athletic program. When I came to RL in 1973, we did not have an athletic trainer, and there were times when I was taping ankles and applying ice packs to injuries. We have had some great athletic trainers, providing both treatment and prevention of injuries.
Did you have a favorite team at RL that you coached, or any favorite moments on the court?
I can’t say that I had a favorite team, because each year it was a new group of boys, and the current team was always my favorite. You can look at win-loss records and championships, but there are other successes that count such as teamwork, team spirit, and sportsmanship. Learning to win with humility and to lose gracefully are life lessons that I was glad to help impart to the boys I coached.
There were three teams that I remember for their successes: Two of these teams won the ISL Championship (1990 and 1992), and the 1991 team won the New England Championship, beating the undefeated Rivers School. Jimmy Hamilton ’91 had a career game, shooting six for eight from beyond the three-point line, and Geoff Chapin ’92 had 22 rebounds.
One play that I remember well was during a regular season game at BB&N. It came down to the last seconds; the score was tied, and we had the ball, out of bounds under the basket. John Powell ’89 did a pick and roll, block to block, pinned his man, and then bullied up to the basket for the score to win the game. My players may also remember the “Ralph” play, against a zone that was a screen on the baseline for a weak side cutter, as the ball was swung around to the cutter who could then shoot or pass to the screener on the post. The play was named for Ralph Taylor ’79 who suggested the move during a practice. In games, it was fun to hear the players yell, “Ralph, Ralph!”
At RL we value athletics as a critical element of a boy’s development and education. As AD for so many years, what role would you say that athletics played in students’ lives?
Participation in athletics promotes both physical and mental health. Athletics is a great break from the rigors of the classroom, and it promotes physical fitness and personal
development. Athletic participation at RL introduced many of our students to lifelong interests in sports. I celebrate that RL boys are able to participate in a wide variety of activities, and my players were not just athletes. They wrote for Tripod, sang in Glee Club, acted in plays. For example, in 1991 after winning the New England Championship, captain Jimmy Hamilton ’91 literally had to change in the car so that he could make it to his performance that night in a play.
What was your relationship with your colleagues at RL? Having such positive and collaborative relationships with the RL faculty made my work less of a “job.” I appreciated the work that the faculty members did to coach our many teams, and I made it a priority to support my coaches so that they could be successful. There are so many details to a successful athletic program: having the schedule arranged, the transportation in place, uniforms and equipment ready, officials assigned. I think that the coaches appreciated my efforts.
Any final reflections on your long RL career? My goal was to make the athletic program the best possible, supporting the educational goals of the school. My responsibility as AD was to be mindful of the many details necessary to keep the program running smoothly. I hope that my work made a difference for the RL students.
It’s not unusual for me to wear an RL jacket, hat, or shirt—and through the years the RL apparel has been a great conversation starter. My wife, Ann, and I were canoeing on the river in Kennebunkport when President George H.W. Bush came along in his speedboat, Fidelity III. Seeing “Roxbury Latin” on my shirt, he called out, “I’ve been there,” to which I responded, “And we enjoyed hearing you speak!” I treasure my photo taken with President Bush when he spoke at Roxbury Latin at the celebration of the school’s 350th anniversary. Note that there are no pictures of our meeting in Maine, but I can still say that I was boating on the Kennebunk River with President Bush!
In my retirement, I have been fortunate to travel. I have enjoyed learning about our world and conversing with fellow travelers. When asked what I did during my working career, I have been so proud to talk about Roxbury Latin. I was privileged to work with the outstanding young men at RL and to count as friends the educators of the Roxbury Latin faculty. //
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Class Notes
1953
1 Bob MacDonald received a visit this summer from Auden Duda ’26 and several of his Roxbury Latin friends in Rockport, while the boys were visiting Auden’s grandparents. Pictured are Peter DeVito ’24, Aidan D’Alessandro ’24, Nick Consigli ’24, Bob MacDonald ’53, Auden Duda ’26, and Finn Leary ’26.
1966
Stuart Cohen married Janet Sanders in August, at beautiful Museum Hill in Santa Fe, where they live.
1977
Bruce Rosengard shared “It was a big summer for our family. Michael (Rosengard ’11) married Sarah Sassoon in June at the Finger Lakes in New York, and we welcomed our first grandchild, Henry Milbar (RLS 2040?), in July.”
1982
Dr. Bill Carlezon was celebrated in October by the Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation, at a dinner in his honor. Bill is chief of the Rappaport Center of Excellence in Basic Neuroscience and holds the Rappaport Chair in Psychiatry. He is director of the Behavioral Genetics Laboratory at McLean Hospital and a professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport are the parents of Jim Rappaport ’74 and the grandparents of Joshua Rappaport ’10.
The OSS Society held a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on October 22, to dedicate a memorial to Office of Strategic Services (OSS) personnel killed
and missing in action in World War II. OSS Society President Charles Pinck was in attendance at the ceremony, along with several other dignitaries from the military and from the CIA.
This summer, Jeffrey Weaver was named to Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America list. An executive vice president of KeyCorp, Jeff “brings experience, commitment, and leadership that make us a better company,” says KeyCorp’s chairman and CEO.
1984
Dan Cloherty was recently appointed by the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts to serve a two-year term as chair of the state’s Criminal Justice Act Board. Dan is a partner at Todd & Weld LLP.
1991
Dr. Todd Davis, chair of the Classics department at Belmont Hill School, was named the school’s Maggie and John Ryan Family Teacher/Coach Chair this fall. Todd joined the Belmont Hill faculty in 2014. In addition to teaching Latin, Greek, and history, he coaches middle school football and varsity wrestling.
1997
2 Chris Song and his family— including his wife, Sharon, and their sons, Silas and Paul—went fly fishing this summer in Washington state.
2005
3 Mike Ryan married Molly Bierman on July 30, near Lake Tahoe in California. Attendees included RL classmates Garrett Spitzer, Steve Hepburn, Adam Solomon, Sam Bourneuf, Zack Ciccolo, Patrick Costello, Jared Rosenberg, and Chris Iannella. Molly and Mike met in
San Francisco, where they still live.
2006
4 Jeff Kirchick married Julianne Parker on September 3 at the Newbury Hotel in Boston. Many RL alumni were in attendance, including Dan Settel, Frank Kanin, Jamie Kirchick ’02 (who served as best man), Robert Hamlin, Alex Coburn, Julian Patterson, Larry Ampadu, and Pete Walkingshaw.
5 Fernando Rodriguez-Villa and his wife, Emma, recently welcomed their son, Luis. (Fernando credits his experience as RL’s Hennessy Scholar for his meeting Emma all those years ago!)
2007
Sam Klug recently began a new role as assistant teaching professor in the history department at Loyola University Maryland. “Maddy and I are living in DC, after a brief stint in Atlanta last year, when I had a postdoc at Emory. I’ve been hopping around rather more than I’d like since finishing my PhD in spring 2020, which I suppose is the norm for juniorlevel professors these days. I’m enjoying the department, and I hope this will be a place I can stay for a while!”
2018
6 Eoghan Downey (second from left) celebrates with his Tufts Varsity Crew teammates after placing second in the IRA National Division III Championships. A freshman walk-on, Eoghan was elected to co-captain in his senior year. Eoghan graduated from Tufts summa cum laude with highest thesis honors and a degree in physics. He was a Laidlaw Research Fellow and was elected to both Sigma Pi Sigma (the National Physics Honor Society) and Phi Beta
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Kappa. Eoghan will begin his PhD studies in physics at the University of Michigan this fall.
2020
7 Joey Ryan—who played for the Falmouth Commodores and made the All-Star team in the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer—worked with seniors Will Anderson ’23 and Aidan Gibbons ’23 for the Falmouth Men’s Club Baseball Program.
2022
8 Eli Bailit performed as Johnny Tremain this spring, at the Bloomberg Medford Public Library dedication event that also honored former NYC Mayor and Medford native, Mike Bloomberg. The performance was produced by Doug Bernstein, a staple of New York City theater. Headmaster Brennan recommended Eli for the role.
9 On October 1, several of RL’s Hennessy/Eton Scholars from over the years had dinner at Headmaster Brennan’s house with their benefactors, Jack ’54 and Margarita Hennessy. Pictured from left are Jake Carroll ’21, Collin Epstein ’13, Brendan Hanrahan ’09, Mr. and Mrs. Hennessy, Fernando RodriguezVilla ’06, Oliver Booth ’17, Matthew Wang ’05, Kevin Zhu ’16, and Quito Sanchez ’19. //
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In Memoriam
The Rev. Dr. Reed Freeman ’57 died at the age of 82 on October 26, 2022. He was born on February 6, 1940, in New England and has spent the last 25 years in ministry serving congregations in the southern United States with his wife, Nancy.
After graduating from MIT with multiple degrees in chemical
engineering, Reed enjoyed a career in the chemicals industry both in the United States and in Europe. He graduated from the School of Theology at the University of the South in 1996, and he and Nancy have gone on to serve numerous parishes in five different dioceses of The Episcopal Church. Reed was ordained to the priesthood in 1996 and most recently served St. James Lake City; St. Paul’s in Albany, Georgia; and St. Paul’s in East Palatka.
Reed and Nancy made their permanent home in Jacksonville, Florida, and have maintained their avid support of Roxbury Latin. The Freemans have three beloved children: Debbie in Virginia, Reed in Mississippi, and William in Georgia. Their seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren are scattered across Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and Georgia. Reed was predeceased by one grandchild, Reed Savaria Freeman.
Barry Michael Murphy ’60 died on October 19, 2022, in his home of Pleasant Ridge, Michigan. Barry was born on February 23, 1942, and grew up in Roslindale, son of Bernard and Althea Murphy.
Barry graduated from Stonehill College in 1967. His professional career began in the automotive industry and progressed
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to Director of Investor Relations at Federal Mogul and at Autoliv. His corporate retirement resulted in a Batteries Plus ownership until the age of 78. During his career, Barry became president of the National Investor Relations Institute, a member of the Corporate Advisory Council, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Michigan Chapter of Economics America, as well as an advisor for Junior Achievement. He attributed his success in the business world—“particularly dealing with people honestly and ethically”—to the education he received at RL.
He enjoyed his participation in Pleasant Ridge with the school board, the Pleasant Ridge Foundation, the Pleasant Ridge Recreation Commision, and especially the Pleasant Ridge Auction, in addition to coaching youth soccer. Barry recalled cherished memories with his children, including “family swim nights” in the summer at the community pool. He loved visiting with family and friends in the Boston area and taking vacations to Cape Cod and Nantucket. He looked forward to spending time with his grandchildren, hearing about their achievements, and watching their athletic events. Barry will be remembered for his generosity to his family, his kindness to his friends and employees, his humility, and his significant contributions to his community of Pleasant Ridge.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Catherine, to whom he was married for 52 years; children Jennifer (husband, Tim) and Michael Murphy (wife, Cassandra); grandchildren John, Charlotte, Emma, Ben, Jane, Isabella and Julianna; brothers Brian Murphy
(wife, Katharine) of South Easton, Massachusetts, and the late Richard Murphy of New York City; extended family Noel Garcia and Asia Washington of D.C., and dear friend Dr. Nancy Pearson Clifton of West Roxbury.
which spanned from sports to world history and geography and everything in between. He always enjoyed a lively debate on any topic.
Tony was an expert skier and reveled in teaching his daughters to love the sport. A diehard Boston sports fan, he basked in the glory of the wins of his beloved Patriots, Red Sox, and Bruins. He loved to travel, and his family will cherish their memories of trips to Europe, Mexico, Canada, and throughout the U.S.
Anthony Korosi ’85 died September 19, 2022, at the age of 55. After graduating from RL, Anthony earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell. He went on to medical school at the University of Pittsburgh and completed his residency in internal medicine and his fellowship in nephrology at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. A truly brilliant nephrologist, Tony possessed an exceptionally keen clinical acumen and helped countless patients over the years. Caring and kind, he always put the patient’s needs first and continued to do so even after his colorectal cancer diagnosis in December of 2018.
A self-proclaimed lifelong political junkie, Tony was an avid news reader. Endlessly curious, he continuously built on his immense knowledge base,
Tony had an infectious smile and found true joy in things large and small. His homegrown tomatoes; quoting lines from movies that he loved; a passion for music; discovering a new beer; riding roller coasters with his girls; long walks with the family dog, Darcy; making the perfect cortado, homemade pizza, or chicken paprikash; these things “were not just good, they were great!” To be around someone with that kind of joy was a gift to everyone.
Tony was so special to so many and had adoring friends from every facet of his life. A loving and gentle soul, he cherished the time he spent with his family. His face would beam with delight when watching his daughters perform on stage or on the tennis court. Tony was also extremely funny, with a sharp, selfdeprecating wit and perfect timing, he would have you in stitches in an instant.
Tony is survived by his loving wife, Laura; and their daughters, Rachel and Sarah; his sister, Alexa and her husband, Gregg; nephews, Charlie and Jack; and brother-in-law, David. He was predeceased by his mother, Agnes Korosi, and his father, Alexander. //
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 47
The Roxbury Latin School
101 St. Theresa Avenue
West Roxbury, MA 02132-3496 www.roxburylatin.org Change Service Requested
On September 10, Roxbury Latin’s Habitat for Humanity chapter kicked off its school year on a build in Mission Hill, where students installed drywall in a house that will soon be ready for move-in.
Photo by Marcus Miller