Millbrook, Spring/Summer 2012

a magazine for alumni, parents and friends of millbrook school

spring 2012

Living the Tradition of Non Sibi Sed Cunctis up front 3 Introduction from Headmaster Drew Casertano

On Campus 4 Millbrook Snapshot: A Pictorial Year in Review

9 T he Big Picture Academics Arts Athletics Student Life

12 Physics First The Rationale for Re-Sequencing the Disciplines

Page

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Features

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Living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

Student & Alumni Profiles In Their Own Words

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Leading by Example

Drew Casertano’s dedication and service ethic has stretched well beyond the boundaries of the schools he has served to positively impact other non-profit organizations, both nationally and internationally.

42 The Chaplaincy and Service Learning:

14 Facilities: New Spaces for Living and Learning

17 Community Service Today

Alumni 50 Millbrook Alumni Gatherings

55 Development Office News 56 Class Notes 67 In Memoriam On the Cover

Connecting Education, Service, and Reflection

Trevor Zoo curator Holland Harvard ’13 works with William Reese Veterinary Fellow Dr. Leina Aguillar to care for 3-week-old red wolf pups.

46 Outreach

Service to support local communities

48 Serving Our Nation

Photo by Daniel Cohen ‘86

Millbrook’s Military Members Working for the Greater Good

Spring 2012 •

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Introduction from

Headmaster Drew Casertano:

T

his Celebration of Service recognizes the ethos of service at the heart of Mr. Pulling’s vision for Millbrook, which permeates our campus today. Indeed, never has community service been more important to our school, our students and our society.

As he told me in May 1990, Mr. Pulling believed that the only way to teach a boy responsibility was to give him real responsibility with logical consequences imposed by student leaders for responsibilities unfulfilled. He also aspired to educate his students to be responsible to something larger than themselves - hence, Non Sibi Sed Cunctis - and to become productive, contributing citizens in a democratic society. Today, those aspirations, along with academic excellence, character and environmental stewardship, are the bedrock of the Millbrook experience.

Since 1972, girls have been given these responsibilities and the opportunities to fulfill Mr. Pulling’s aspirations. Further, the community service is now much larger for a school of 275 students and, alas, some services have come and gone. Many graduates have fond and justifiably proud memories of running the Milk Bar or the Strong Box. These services, and others, have long and important histories at Millbrook, but as our needs have changed, they have been replaced with the likes of recycling, now our second largest service, the website community service, and more. The zoo remains a constant, although its growth and AZA accreditation have created greater and more complicated demands for today’s zooies. For 2011-12, Walker Zeiser, community service coordinator, and Jono Meigs ’65, zoo director, created a IIIrd form community service curriculum with all of our first-year students rotating through the zoo, recycling, and general services. We introduce them to the community service ethic through our three largest – and some might say, most demanding – services.

Whatever the service, the work needs to be done for the community to function safely and effectively. And Vth and VIth formers are responsible for the performance of their services. Whether at the zoo, or in dormitories, or with student activities, or at the athletic association, or in any of our 35 services, students hold their peers accountable. They “own” the responsibilities of their service and the culture of our community. Consequently, the community service program is at the center of our leadership training.

All of this requires a deep commitment from the faculty in many ways. Each full-time faculty member has supervision of a service as part of his or her job description. Many who are part-time do as well.

They must exercise their supervision with judgment and restraint to allow for leadership development and learning through logical consequences. In addition, they embrace our dedicating time in the academic day to community service.

My ambitious and generous colleagues also contribute a great deal of energy to outreach activities, both through managing the Outreach community service directly and by initiating and leading service trips to places like Guatemala and New Orleans during Intersession or to Ghana and India over the summer.

Our Outreach community service is an ideal blend of faculty support (from Barbara Gatski, Robin Herow, and Cam Hardy) and student initiative. Kinley McCracken ’04 brought the idea of Midnight Runs to us, having been involved in them herself through her church.

Ms. Gatski and Ms. Herow helped Kinley find the necessary support, with the result that we now do three to five runs per year to New York City and Poughkeepsie. The annual trip to Guatemala City is another excellent example. During the first week of the spring holiday, we travel to Guatemala City to serve, through Safe Passage (www. safepasage.org), poor and disadvantaged children whose parents provide from what they scavenge from the dump, the largest in Central America. This year, the seniors in the group were especially impressive as they made all the travel arrangements, coordinated plans with Safe Passage, raised thousands of dollars to help fund the trip, and then worked enthusiastically and effectively with Guatemalan children from ages two to seventeen.

Now that Millbrook has established external service programs in places like Guatemala and New Orleans, we anticipate complementing our on-campus community service with a formal program of service learning. Several faculty members are committed to the development of this program including Cam Hardy and Nancy Keller-Coffey, who are leading the charge, and Barbara Gatski, Robin Herow, Liz Duhoski and Walker Zeiser. In many ways, service learning is already woven into the curriculum across all academic departments, and this developing program will simply provide time for more formal reflection, identification of deficiencies or injustices, and long-term planning of solutions.

I hope you enjoy reading more about service learning and community service at Millbrook today as you explore this inaugural issue of Millbrook. I anticipate that you will find much herein that is interesting, impressive and, perhaps, inspirational. I also hope that you enjoy reading the notes and viewing the photos shared by your classmates and friends within the Class Notes section, which is brimming with good reports. Please continue to provide your news by logging in to www.millbrook.org.

With best regards and every good wish, Yours,

Drew Casertano Headmaster

Spring 2012 •

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ACROSS CAMPUS

THE BIG PICTURE Athletics: Mustang athletics are giving Millbrook faithful plenty of reason to be proud. Last spring the softball team won the Class C New England championship and the boys varsity lacrosse team won the Division II championship. In the fall of 2011, boys varsity soccer kept that winning tradition going with a championship of their own in New England Class C. Tori Trovato ’12 and Morgan Davis ’13 represented Millbrook’s girls varsity soccer program at the WWNEPSSA All-Star Game, and Davis tied the school record for points with 24 (11 goals and 13 assists).

Winter athletics got off to a powerful start. Boys varsity basketball, in particular, was perfect in the fall with an 8-0 record.

Royce Paris ’12 led the team to its first Rivers School Holiday Invitational Tournament title and earned MVP honors. Meanwhile, the girls varsity basketball team earned the sportsmanship award as voted by coaches in New England. Boys varsity squash also hit its stride early, emerging as the champions of the Hopkins Invitational Tournament. They also defeated rival Canterbury twice during the season. The boys varsity hockey team finished at a respectable 13-14-5 in what proved to be the most competitive league in New England. They battled in over nine games that went into extra periods. Highlights included two thrilling overtime victories over Canterbury and Brunswick.

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Student Life: Student life at Millbrook has been as good as ever. CeeCee O’Connor ’12 won Best Delegate honors at a Model United Nations conference at Dartmouth College. We are participating in our first ever Recycling Green Cup Challenge.

The Robotics Club successfully launched pumpkins from a catapult they designed and created. But perhaps no single event captures the essence of life at Millbrook like Winter Weekend.

Winter Weekend 2012 was one of the most memorable to date. The campus trembled with school spirit as all

students marched in groups from their respective dorms into Wray Gymnasium to commence the weekend’s festivities with the pep rally. Each dorm proceeded proudly chanting and sporting their dorm colors – green for Harris, orange for Abbott, yellow for Prum/Guest, black for Burton, and red for Case. Filled with hope, ebullience, and determination, the dorms ignited the weekend spirit by cheering uproariously for one another.

From the Pep Rally to the free throw

contest to the sledding contest to the College Bowl, Air Band, and everything in between, each dorm put forth tremendous energy and creativity that contributed to the spirited ethos of the weekend.

Teddy Menard ’12, Chase Schoonmaker ’12, and Will Belheumer ’14 represented Harris Hall at the College Bowl, where, for extended stretches, they were the only contestants answering questions.

Clark dorm shook up the gym with a turbulent pep rally when the lights went out and they continued dancing to the music with their glow sticks illuminating their path. Sam Jaffe ’12 wrote and performed original lyrics for Case’s air band performance, incorporating the theme of environmental stewardship and school spirit throughout.

Prum/Guest blew everyone away as they sang and danced to Greased Lightning during the air band competition. Their performance yielded the only standing ovation of the evening and was a fitting culminating event. This marked the first time in Winter Weekend history that the IIIrd form usurped the ultimate Winter Weekend title from the upperclassmen.

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On Campus

faculty and administrators agreed upon two primary reasons to commit to making the switch.

The first has to do with the changes in biology since the discovery of the structure and function of DNA in the 1950’s. Essentially, up to that point biology was devoted to understanding the natural world on the ecological, organismal and cellular levels. This new knowledge at the molecular level is the foundation for understanding all of the levels above. It became a mandate for biology classes to teach students about the “secret of life,” as Francis Crick so famously called their discovery. Understanding life at all of these levels at once was called the Modern Synthesis and required students to be familiar with chemistry.

The second line of logic connects to the first and deals with the growing body of brain research as it pertains to teenagers. New brain imaging techniques show that human brains do not become

fully interconnected until the age of 25. This lends credence to something teachers already know: younger students struggle with the task of making abstract connections. Though not all, many students are improved in this area in their latter years of high school. Moving biology to the V form year increases the likelihood that students will understand and appreciate the relationships in the information they study.

Connected to this transition is the department’s commitment to teaching science using a pedagogy called the Modeling Approach. This approach incorporates so much of the accumulated findings of educational research, emphasizing critical thinking over memorization, depth over breadth, a student-centered classroom over a teachercentered one, and, most importantly, that we should be teaching in as many modes as possible in order to reach as many different learners as possible. Thus, science faculty

using the Modeling Approach attempt to represent every concept in the following modes: verbal/written, graphical, pictorial, diagrammatic, and mathematical.

Traditional physics classes tended to emphasize only the mathematical mode and ignore the others. With the shift in the science curriculum this year, we have had parents report how surprised they were to have their (often artistically inclined) son or daughter announce PHYSICS as his or her favorite subject.

Now, science is becoming an area of confidence and competence that can even be integrated into their work in other, seemingly unrelated, disciplines.

It is clear that the tangible nature of physics coupled with this curricular approach is working quite well right now with the III formers, and we anticipate a marked improvement in scientific literacy among our V formers once the new science sequence is complete for the first time in the 2013-2014 school year.

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On Campus

Facilities:

New Spaces for Living and Learning Clark’s Lively Lower Level Millbrook’s enrollment is healthier than ever before, with 274 students in attendance for the 2011-2012 school year. The growing numbers have provided recent challenges in dorm and room placements for the dorm parents and Dean of Students Liz Duhoski. In considering possible solutions, the basement of Clark Hall had great potential. Since the Silo room was moved to Schoolhouse several years back, the old Silo room in Clark’s

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basement was largely unused space. Warm and dry, however, it was agreed that converting part of the basement space to new dormitory rooms was an excellent idea.

Renovations began in the summer of 2011, in order to have new dorms spaces ready for the opening of school in September. In addition to the conversion of the former meeting space to dorm rooms, the basement lounge was given a complete makeover in the process. All renovations were done under the direction of school

On Campus

And while there is plenty of new activity downstairs, one thing has not changed: Mr. Rene Clark’s refrigerator is still keeping snacks and drinks cool. Donated to the dorm on July 1, 1973, the 1932 GE fridge still bears the sign Mr. Clark created, which reads, “This Monitor-Top GE refrigerator has been running continuously since 1932. It is the property of the Clarks, who fear that any attempt to move it from its present position would bring its long period of faithful service to an end. For this reason they are giving it to Millbrook School for the express use of the occupants of Clark Hall, whoever they may be, until such time as it ceases to function. The gift is made and received with the understanding that it will not be moved. Note: defrosting has always been done by unplugging the cord.”

•D orm Head Martha Clizbe with Clark residents, including Emily Hoffman ‘14 (far right), in a spacious new room.

architects Voith & Mactavish, who worked in conjunction with Clark Dorm Head Martha Clizbe, Director of the Physical Plant Barry Schnoor, and other faculty & staff at Millbrook to ensure that the plans truly met the needs of the students and faculty.

In order to maximize use of the space, Daniella Voith’s plans included one new triple room (to accommodate two boarders and one day student), two new doubles (with boarding girls only) and a new locker area for day students, providing extra storage for their belongings. The plans also expanded the lounge slightly, as walls, which originally defined an outside hallway, came down, and the entire area was redefined as a warm, comfortable place to lounge or study. Colorful new lounge furniture, the generous donation of a current parent, completed the space along with wall art originally created by alumni Alice Bergen and Sarah Thaler, both from the class of 2005.

The David Holbrook Library, A Reference Room and Listening Library for the Arts Art is as integral to life at Millbrook as are academics, athletics, and community service. Students and faculty have enjoyed every square foot of the Holbrook Arts Center and it’s many exceptional facilities within since its completion in 2001. While the building houses a 300-seat theater, art gallery, dance studio, ceramics studio, photography suite, artists’ loft, music room, drawing and painting studio, and more, something has been missing.

The school has amassed a considerable collection of art books, which have not had a home in the very building where students learn about fine arts, performing arts, music and dance, and photographic arts. Until now…

Students, and especially day students, really like to work in the new space, which includes a large table with chairs, a kitchenette area, and an open lounge with couches, chairs, tables, and a large flat-screen television. In fact, use of the lounge has become a motivating factor. Head Dorm Parent Martha Clizbe instituted a new rule once it became clear how popular the area was becoming—on a person-by-person basis, no clean room, no access to the lounge. Those who pass muster have the option to work quietly during study hall, under the watchful eye of the dorm parent on duty. The new downstairs digs have actually caused somewhat of a turnaround and interesting dynamic in the dorm—the action is moving downstairs, whereas before it was mostly well above ground.

Two sophomores, two juniors, and three seniors reside in the new dorm rooms downstairs, including Emily Hoffman ’14, who loves her new room: “The rooms are large, simple, and clean.”

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On Campus

Over the years Millbrook’s special collections of art reference books have resided on many different shelves in buildings all across campus. Trustee, alumnus, and current parent Chris Holbrook (’82, P ’11, ’12, ’14) was inspired to create an art library in his father’s name in the very building that his father helped build.

The classroom on the lower level of the Holbrook Arts Center, although put to very good use, was rather spartan. Chris worked with Art Department Chair Bill Hardy and architect Daniella Voith to create a room that is both a gorgeous library and a state-ofthe-art classroom. This space looks out on the incredible expanse of lawn and lower athletic fields and is warmed in the afternoon by the southern sunlight. It’s a room with a view, to be sure, and now it has also become an inviting source of information and a comfortable place to research and to listen.

Working with master carpenter Rick Lusskin, Daniella designed shelves to house not only books, but collections of vinyl albums, which date back to Nat Abbott’s time at Millbrook. While turntables are not yet in place, the library will ultimately be both a reference library and a listening library with a hefty collection of music from a broad range of genres.

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Since the room continues to serve as a classroom – for both history and art – and a meeting place for a variety of both faculty and student groups, much thought went into the design of the desks. Bill Hardy loves the flexibility that the new design affords teachers, “We had looked into the possibility of putting in a Harkness table, but that would have considerably restricted teachers’ options. Desks can now be moved around, depending on the needs and desires of the individual teachers.”

In addition to the physical additions and improvements, considerable enhancements were made to the multi-media resources. A new screen and high-definition projector in conjunction with new audio equipment and a new sound system provide for superior presentations. Two listening stations at the back of the room are in the works, and while the books are currently not cataloged, a catalog system is being developed.

Stop in to the new David Holbrook Library to browse through books on the visual arts, dance, theater, art history, and even poetry, and you’ll find that it’s a place you won’t want to leave.

On Campus

Community Service Today

W

hen Edward Pulling founded Millbrook School in 1931, his goals were not only to provide a college preparatory education for boys but to also prepare the same young men to become responsible citizens in a democratic society. He believed that to teach responsibility, he had to give real responsibility to the students. That was the very basis of the community service ethic back then, and it remains to this day an integral part of the daily life of Millbrook School. To reflect that ethic and to honor its connection to the past, the Community Service Council established a new mission statement in the fall of 2004, which continues to define the program today: The guiding principle for Millbrook’s Community Service program was established by founding Headmaster Edward Pulling in 1931 and is articulated clearly in the school’s motto, Non Sibi Sed Cunctis (“Not for oneself, but for all”). The Community Service program maintains this focus into the twenty-first century as students, faculty, and staff continue to work together in small groups to serve the common good and to develop leadership skills for our students.

Herb Wilkinson was coordinator of Community Service from 1990 to 2004, at which time Walker Zeiser was appointed to run the program. Among the challenges of the last two decades has been adapting the program to accommodate a growing number of students and faculty. As such, some services have expanded a great deal over the last 20 years, chief among them, recycling, which was initiated in 1990-1991 with four members and now consists of almost 40.

It is through the Community Service program that students share responsibility for much of the daily functioning of the school. In addition to individual members, most services have a student head and all have one or more faculty advisor(s).

•W alker Zeiser and the Community Service Council: Rob Austrian ’13, CeeCee O’Connor ’12, and Haley Harckham ’13.

Program management is the responsibility of the Community Service Council. Unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary, it is expected that IVth, Vth, and VIth form students will remain with a service for the entire year.

In 2011-2012 there are 29 active service areas, as follows: Activities

Library

Admissions

Maintenance Support

Alumni and Development Athletic Association Attendance College Counseling Composting Dorm Leaders Food Service Fire Safety General Services Headwaiters Health Services Holbrook Arts Center Holbrook Tech

Outreach Peer Counselors/ Human Development Post Office Recycling School Store Science Assistants Strong Box Student Council Study Hall Proctors Website Yearbook Zoo

Beginning in the 2011-2012 school year, all IIIrd form students participate in three

different services on a rotating basis.

These students will spend approximately ten weeks in each of the following services: the zoo, recycling, and general services. As part of general services, some IIIrd formers will serve on the Student Council for the term, some will do attendance, some will become part of the composting team, and some will fill in at other community services as needed.

These services range in size from the largest (the zoo, with 50 students plus faculty) to several school office programs, which may have only 3 or 4 members.

The Community Service Council consists of a faculty coordinator, a dedicated student leader, and the two Vth form members of the Student Council.

This year’s student head of the CSC is VIth former CeeCee O’Connor, who has done a superb job helping to execute the day-to-day program while at the same time devoting her efforts to plan for the future of the program. In fact, CeeCee was on the CSC last year as well when she was the Vth form representative to the student council, and in her two years on the council she has been instrumental in implementing the new IIIrd form rotation system.

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Living

NON SIBI SED CUNCTIS: {Responsibility for the Greater Good} Millbrook students learn by doing; by actively participating in a demanding, interactive, and rigorous academic program; by practicing and competing at the highest levels; by trying new things; by finding their voice and expressing it without fear of rejection; and by living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis – not for oneself, but for all – in the classroom, in the dorms, on the athletic fields, and in community service. And when they leave Millbrook, they take with them not only the skills to succeed at the next level, but also real responsibility learned through experience, the knowledge that they have made a difference here because they were truly needed, and the inspiration to go into the world and give back, whether through service work or in their professional work. They can continue to make a difference, down whichever road they choose to travel. continued next page

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Living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

There are so many stories that demonstrate how Millbrook students and alumni are making their mark on the world, we can’t possibly share them all within the confines of these pages. Rather, we hope to share a representation of the incredible breadth of service experiences that are making a difference in the lives of our students and alumni, and in the lives of others involved, across the country and around the world. Their stories motivate us and validate the very essence of a Millbrook education.

Winston Boney, Class of 2012

It’s the little things that make a difference one day at a time…

to travel, meet people, and help those in need, knowing that I’m able to affect them, even if it’s not in such a profound way as

curing a disease, but something as simple as kicking around a soccer ball. Impacting them in little ways. That way, it benefits both of us. For me service isn’t, Let’s go help some sick kids in Africa. Rather, it’s, Let’s become better people while helping others or educating them. It’s a two-way street.”

Her passion led to sustained efforts to make this service opportunity a reality. In July of 2011, nine students and four faculty members flew to Accra, Ghana with duffle bags full of toys, books, and school supplies for nearly 30 orphans. Winston and others shared their experience with the whole school during an extraordinary chapel talk in October.

Being the inspiration and force behind this experience in Ghana is only one

Winston’s idea to get more involved in supporting the orphans at the John Krisdan Orphanage in Ghana had been germinating for some time. She and her brother had become sponsors of two of the orphans, Belinda and Emmanuelle, when they were introduced to the program through a family friend several years ago. Sponsorship involved writing letters and sending pictures and small presents to the children, but Winston had not traveled to the orphanage herself to meet to meet them. While a IIIrd former at Millbrook, Winston hoped to finally meet those children she sponsored by making a service trip to Ghana into an Intersession course. When that plan did not come to fruition, she did not falter, realizing that she would have to put her whole heart into making her plan happen.

“I started off by talking to Mr. Casertano.

Then, [by expressing my] passion I got people to really want to join the trip; Mrs. Keller-Coffey, Mrs. Hardy, and others really helped so much. My passion is being able

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•W inston (on right) met the children in Ghana whom she had known only through letters and photos.

Living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

part of Winston’s story. She makes real efforts to make a difference wherever, whenever the opportunity arises. While in Washington D.C. for Intersession during her sophomore year, Winston happened to overhear a woman on the phone—she was speaking French. Winston took the opportunity to use the French she has learned at Millbrook and struck up a conversation only to find that the woman was in D.C. to lobby for women’s rights in the Congo. Upon her return to campus, Winston initiated a campus fundraiser for the Freedom and Solidarity of Women in the Congo and helped to raise $300 through the sale of jewelry made by Congonese women.

Winston has also spent time volunteering and helping to make a difference in Central America. The summer after her freshman year, she traveled to Guatemala and volunteered for a week, working in orphanages there to help keep adoptions in Guatemala an option for American families. The following summer, clinics in Belize benefited from her passion and energy.

After completing an 80-hour course on wilderness survival, she volunteered and worked in hospitals and clinics all around Belize, doing whatever was needed, for three weeks.

For all of her empathy, courage, and determination, Winston was honored with the Roosevelt Prize for Public Service, which was awarded for the first time in 2011 in honor of Emily Roosevelt, Millbrook class of 1987. What’s next for Winston? She has plans to work this summer – perhaps at a restaurant – in order to pay for gas money for her car.

She will attend Savannah College of Art & Design in the fall to focus on art.

Ultimately, living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis will be an ongoing part of her life, and the organizational skills and follow through she learned at Millbrook will serve her well in all of her future pursuits. “I’m not going to settle for just anything. I’m going

to do something. It may seem ambitious, but all I really, really want to do is to be able to make a difference.”

Grace Fisher, Class of 2011

I don’t know yet what I want to do with my life in general, but I know that at least part of it will have to do with service, no matter what that is.

While growing up, Grace Fisher ’11 assimilated a strong service ethic from both of her parents (The Reverend Doug Fisher and The Reverend Betsy Fisher) and her older siblings (Caragh ’04 and Geoff ’06), which she has never hesitated to put into action. Grace came to Millbrook as a IIIrd former, and in four years she grew to be a true leader in service to others—both within Millbrook and outside in the surrounding local community.

Having parents whose occupations are completely service-driven provided Grace endless opportunities to see service in action and to jump in herself. She has volunteered at soup kitchens with her family since she was four or five years old, including monthly visits to the Lunch Box in Poughkeepsie since 2000, when her family moved to Millbrook from Westchester County. Among other good projects, she volunteered with community programs at Grace Church, wrote Christmas cards to children in other countries, collected donations for the Rural and Migrant Ministry in support of Dutchess County’s Latino community, and babysat for toddlers whose parents were studying English in a local ESL program.

By middle school, she was helping to plan food drives and volunteered for local projects, like planting flowers in a school beautification program, through the Junior Interact Club.

“I had done community service my whole life, but it was more things that I had sought out for myself. In coming to Millbrook, I was excited to be in a community where everyone would

•G race (middle) with sister Caragh ’05 and brother Geoff ’07

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Living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

• P repping walls in a house being rebuilt in New Orleans.

be doing service together, and it was something that would be stressed.”

In the beginning, Grace was happy to be helping wherever she was needed—her first year, that turned out to be recycling.

Elected a class representative her IV form year, Grace enjoyed a productive year serving on the Student Council, but she had her sights set on more responsibility in the long run. Both Geoff and Caragh had served as peer counselors, and Grace wanted to continue the family tradition, which she did for her V and VI form years at Millbrook. As a junior living in Guest House with 25 freshman girls, Grace had no idea being a peer counselor would be as rewarding as it was.

“About 75% of the III form girls came to me individually during the year needing assistance with something—a teacher, school work, a girl in the dorm, or a home issue.

I was able to literally see the results from September to June, how the girls changed and really grew into life at Millbrook. And I became friends with all of them!”

In Abbott Dorm her senior year, Grace spent time not only mentoring girls in the dorm, but she also led a Human Development group of IV formers

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twice a week. After bonding as much as possible during three days at nearby Camp Jewell, the students began their Hum Dev meetings in a somewhat quiet discomfort. Grace led lessons on units of self-acceptance, eating disorders, drug and alcohol use, sex and wellness, and violence, encouraging students to be open and share their thoughts, while directing conversations to remain productive.

Working with her faculty leader, Director of College Counseling Mrs. KellerCoffey, Grace learned from her how to let conversations happen and make the students feel comfortable talking about any subject without fear of being judged.

Grace continued her efforts but focused instead on raising money to buy the 300 children who frequented the food pantry toys for Christmas. These families might not be homeless, but they were financially strapped, and if food was short, Christmas presents would be even scarcer. The toy drive led by Grace raised enough money to buy 350 children each a toy. Volunteers wrapped and distributed the presents just before Christmas, making the holiday brighter for so many families.

“Assertive, cheerful, patient, insightful, and open” are just some of the words faculty members who worked closely with Grace used to describe her in the dorm.

But those attributes were obvious in all that Grace chose to do, both in and outside the Millbrook community. In addition to participating in three service-related Intersessions—Salvation Army, Saving Grace (working with the Grace Center in New York City, and NOLA (rebuilding in New Orleans)—Grace led projects to raise funds and awareness of hunger in Dutchess County, NY. Her mother had started the Food Pantry of Life at St. Thomas Church in Amenia in 2009, and they were in need of food for homeless and disadvantaged families throughout Dutchess County. Grace knew that Millbrook families would be responsive:

“One of the reasons I picked Dickinson is because they have a really strong community service program. I don’t know yet what I want to do with my life in general, but I know that at least part of it will have to do with service, no matter what that is.”

“[The food pantry] needed help getting supplies and getting the word out, and I couldn’t think of a better community than Millbrook to get that started. We ended up collecting just over 2,000 pounds of food, just from the Millbrook community alone.”

The success of this food drive was due in great part to Grace’s constant efforts to spread the word and gather donations just before Thanksgiving that year. By 2010, word about the food pantry had spread so well, their shelves were fully stocked. So,

Now in her freshman year at Dickinson College, Grace remains committed to service opportunities, wherever they might be found.

We expect that Dickinson and the town of Carlisle have already experienced Grace’s drive to give and contribute wherever she is needed. And we know they’re lucky to have her.

Xan Duhoski & Jane Pfeffer, Class of 2010

It gives you a whole new perspective… They were so loving… you’d turn the corner and 50 kids would sprint at you, and they would fight to hold your hand. You’d hold 8 hands at all times. They would just love you.

Just over three months after their graduation from Millbrook, Jane Pfeffer

Living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

weekdays, their afternoons were spent playing with the children, while Saturdays and Sundays afforded more time for play and activities.

During their first week or two at the orphanage, the kids asked to go on a walk.

• J ane (on left) and Xan with children from the Sherra Orphanage

and Xan Duhoski were heading to Nairobi, Kenya on a three-month service trip they organized entirely themselves. Jane’s mother had a long-time friendship with a couple who had moved to Kenya from New York. Native Kenyan Mark and his wife, Yassa, put the girls in touch with the Sherra Orphanage in Nairobi, where Yassa often volunteered. Having made housing arrangements at a hostel, on September 16, 2010, Xan and Jane began a journey that would be initially terrifying yet ultimately incredibly fulfilling.

Terror was bred in the unknown.

Living in a very complex city of over 3 million people more than 7,000 miles from home, Xan and Jane had to jump into their experience with complete faith. Six days of the week, the girls would travel an hour and a half each way from the hostel where they stayed to the orphanage where they volunteered.

The preferred method of transportation was by matatu, a vehicle, slightly bigger than a mini-van, packed with up to 25 people at a time. Not knowing the many different matatu routes, where to get on, and where to get off, they were initially

“We were thinking it would be 30 minutes. Four hours later Jane and I hiked down a mountain! We had the four-yearolds on our backs because they could not make it. They were all laying on the ground because it was so hot, and it had been such a long trip uphill. But we couldn’t turn around because there were 50 kids and just Jane and I! So then, they looked forward to that walk every week. They didn’t really get outside the orphanage unless we took them. Only when other volunteers would come to the orphanage, but there were not many.”

terrified – of the matatu drivers, of the passengers, and of the city life, in general, particularly after dark. Thus, the majority of their experience in Nairobi happened during daylight hours, as they made certain they arrived back at the hostel before nightfall.

While the nights were quiet, their days were filled with activity, which centered around the 50 children and 8 housemothers at the orphanage. With primary responsibilities to prepare meals for the children, the housemothers cooked all day and did little else. As a result, the children, ages 4-14, were very independent.

While all of the children attended school, which was within walking distance from the orphanage, the youngest children (those in pre-k through 2nd or 3rd grade) would often come back for lunch and not return to school in the afternoons.

Xan and Jane spent mornings helping the house mothers sort beans and rice and take corn off the cob. On Wednesdays and Saturdays they spent four hours making chapatti, the Kenyan version of a fried tortilla, mixing the dough, rolling it out, and cooking it on the fire. On

• E njoying a long hike in the hills just outside the orphanage

They spent the rest of their time doing what made the children happy. They loved to color—with three pieces of paper, they could color for four hours.

They also made friendship bracelets, played soccer and other games including “Red Light, Green Light”. Focusing on what could benefit the kids right there in the present, Xan and Jane also worked with Yassi to fundraise and organize a fun day trip to a local water park.

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and Girls Club provided academic support and recreational activities in a summer camp program for kids ranging in age from three to fourteen-years-old. A very poor community, Green River is a pit-stop between Grand Junction and Salt Lake City.

Residents work at fast food restaurants, gas stations, motels, or, during the summer months, rafting businesses. The summer program gives the children living here the opportunity to catch up on skills they might not be developing in school.

The work and the people with whom he interacted truly touched Geoff, who taught reading to 4th graders in the mornings and led activities with the children every afternoon. Geoff spoke emotionally about a gifted young boy who attended the camp during the day and lived at home with 13 brothers and sisters and his mom, a single parent.

“He wasn’t getting what he needed out of the school there. Even if by some miracle he got into a good college, he’s still always going to be responsible for those other 13 people and his mom. He won’t leave—he can’t leave. For him, it was feasible that he’d grow up and get a job at the restaurant working the cash register—the “dream job” because that person got to work with technology.”

Green River and the students there inspired Geoff to focus on education and study to become a teacher, not an attorney as he had originally planned. After graduating from college this spring, he plans to teach in a rural district, in hopes of making a difference and bringing attention to the lack of quality in rural education.

“City schools get attention and money.

It’s okay to ignore 200 kids in one town.

But when it’s 200 kids in hundreds of towns, it gets to be millions of kids. That’s why I want to work in a rural environment, and I have to make that work. That’s the difficult part about community service.

When I have kids, am I still going to work in that poor district and send my kids to that school? Or am I going to move into a better

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neighborhood with better schools… I have some time to think about it.”

Jed Diemond, Class of 1987

I think I was able to, in small ways, teach a few things, and an opportunity I gave to one gardener, in particular, gave him a way to expand his garden… In the end, however, I realized I got more out of it than I was able to give back.

During his time as a student at Millbrook, Jed Diemond’s experience of service was extensive, much broader than simply the community service period built into the academic schedule. While he was a member of the Eco Hut community service under Alan Tate’s leadership, for Jed service meant being an integral part of the community, helping the school to function on many levels, and realizing the importance of giving back. He found himself helping out at the Trevor Zoo as a member of zoo squad and working on special projects like chopping wood and clearing downed trees as a member of FLIP (Forest Land Improvement Project).

It was a combination of the culture of service at Millbrook and the encouragement of faculty to think globally and broaden perspectives that contributed to Jed Diemond’s decision to eventually join the Peace Corps. During his VI form year Jed elected to take John Rorke’s global history course, which linked the ideas of service and global initiatives.

“We kept a journal that year. We would read articles and write about our

initial reactions. It’s what made me start thinking I might want to do something internationally.”

Following an on-and-off internship with CARE (a leading humanitarian organization then based in New York City that works to end global poverty) during his college years, Jed applied to be a Peace Corp volunteer. Having developed an interest in Francophone West Africa while studying French at Millbrook and in college, Jed indicated this interest on his application.

Five days after graduation from Columbia University, Jed was notified he would be spending the next two years of his life in Mali, a landlocked country in West Africa.

He spent a whirlwind summer preparing to leave his family and friends for two years, and by August he had landed in Mali’s capital city of Bamako to begin three months of training and what would be some of the most uniquely educational years of his life.

Jed’s Peace Corps application had also included mention of his participation in zoo squad and FLIP at Millbrook, in addition to time spent in his mother’s garden. These activities undoubtedly contributed to their decision to train him as a forester, and in this position he would be responsible for teaching residents in the small village of Tandiama (pronounced

Living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

Tanjima) about soil conservation, identifying trees, planting trees, and grafting mangoes. After being sworn in, Jed traveled to Tandiama, about 600 km north of the capital city, and settled in with the people he would be living with for the next two years. There were 400 villagers during the harvest season, but when dry season arrived, half of the relatively nomadic group that lived here would take their herd to the watering area. Jed remained in the village, spending much of his time the first year figuring out just how he could be most helpful and learning the language of the village, Fulani; very few people outside of the larger towns spoke French.

Jed worked with a lot of individuals on forestry projects, and one particularly dynamic community gardener named Sidiki was grateful for the intensive mango grafting training that Jed helped to arrange.

Eventually, Sidiki and Jed went on to establish a small-scale community training program to work with other local gardeners and spread the wealth. The more fruit the villagers could grow, the more money they could make and the more food they had for their families. The grafting technique Sidiki and Jed were teaching assisted the farmers in growing larger mangoes and producing more copious amounts of this staple fruit.

Forestry work was really only possible five months out of the year, as the ground in the dry season was much too hard and dry for planting. But as he had first learned at Millbrook, he could contribute to the greater good of the community in many different ways. Volunteering to assist a nurse who ran a small clinic in the village, Jed became involved in public health projects there, providing health textbooks to children in a nearby school to teach some basic hygiene and healthrelated lessons. He also joined forces with other Peace Corps volunteers who lived within 15-20 km of Tandiama to work on projects that required teamwork, including applying for funds to build wells for clean water.

By the time his service commitment was up in October of 1993, Jed was feeling isolated from his life in the U.S. and made the difficult decision to return home. The hardest part about leaving was that he would not be able to stay in touch with anyone in the village, as they did not read or write, and it was well before the days of cell phones and the internet. He had arrived believing that he could make some real changes, and he left knowing that he had actually learned more from the people that he lived and worked with.

“I think I was able to, in small ways, teach a few things, and an opportunity I gave to one gardener, in particular, gave him a way to expand his garden… In the end, however, I realized I got more out of it than I was able to give back. It’s not a bad thing—it was a growing experience. I knew then that I could be independent and succeed, expand my thoughts about what work was and what development was. They made me feel a part of the community in ways I’m not sure I fully expected. I’m never going to forget the experience.”

What Jed learned through the Peace Corps and the people of Mali, and what he learned from his experiences within Millbrook’s community, he carries with him in his professional life today. After working for an economic consulting firm providing analysis for mainly domestic financial transactions, he attended graduate school to focus on public policy and development, graduating from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University with a master’s degree in public affairs. Having a renewed interest and focus on development projects worldwide, Jed went to work within a small division of a consulting company, which contracted with the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank. In this position he had a wide range of responsibilities managing and implementing projects aimed at developing private enterprises

• J ed worked with Goura, a farmer in Tandiama, to begin a tree nursery and build a live fence around his garden.

in developing countries: everything from training business managers to helping write business plans to exposing businesses to growth opportunities in the U.S. Utilizing what he had learned from his Peace Corps service, development work, and international perspective first discovered at Millbrook, Jed came full circle and landed a position within the Africa Office at the Department of Commerce, which pulled him back into government service to focus on trade issues in South Africa. After spending eight years helping to knock down barriers between the South African and U.S. markets and developing opportunities for growth, he became the Deputy Director of the Office of South Asia in 2010, focusing mainly on India. A challenging experience, he feels like he still has a lot to learn. And we can’t wait to hear about this next leg of his inspiring journey.

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In Their Own Words Students and alumni share their thoughts on service & how “community” is the fabric of their lives

Student Volunteers in Ghana During a fall chapel talk with the entire school, current students Winston, Elena, Lena, Taigh and others shared their reflections on their service trip to Ghana last summer.

Winston Boney, Class of 2012 The man who began the orphanage in Ghana, John Moritz, is the founder of Hearts of the Father and one of kindest people I know. His story is inspirational

and is one of the reasons why I decided to start the trip. It took three years to finally get to Ghana—three years of hard work.

Trying to get people involved. Trying to get the school to approve it. And finally, it

happened. It’s hard in one chapel talk to describe the feeling of landing in Accra, let alone to describe the entire trip. For me there was one experience that was most important.

The most important moment for me, and a moment I know I’ll never forget, is when I met my sponsor children, Emmanuel and Belinda. Belinda and I, in particular, had an instant bond. She’s the most beautiful and charismatic girl I’ve ever met. I’ve been sponsoring her for almost six years, and we sent each other letters and gifts and pictures. She kept every single picture I ever sent her, and those eight or so pictures of my family and me were on the wall in the kitchen.

What I found so amazing was the fact that these people, whom I had known for only a couple of days, embraced me as family.

Our bus driver, Teddy, treated me as his little sister, holding my hand every time we were in public and not letting go.

Even though we were only there for 11 days, leaving Teddy and Belinda was heart breaking. I know, however, that it wasn’t goodbye forever because I’m totally going back.

Elena Kikis, Class of 2012 As we headed under the arch of the slave castle, the dynamics of the group changed. The walls around us were painted a stark white, and the ocean

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As I was standing in the eerie silence, I felt transported back through time. I remember reading about the slave trade in Middle Passage, and I did a book report on the triangular trade in 8th grade, resorting to Google to guide me along my tedious task. But to see the slave castle in all its glory and misery and experience it first-hand was mesmerizing. The fact that I was actually standing in the cells where the slaves had been chained made everything feel so real.

breeze misted across our sun burnt faces. The tale of the slave castle began to unravel before our very eyes.

Our tour guide greeted us warmly and led us down a slippery slope, the walls narrowing in on us at every slow and unbalanced step. We entered a room that was dark and moisture-laden. I stood there motionless, looking around frantically as the room closed in on me.

and intolerable soldiers just outside the “door of no return,” where the slaves were brought out to the slave ships, never to see their homeland of Ghana again.

A rush of pure emotion struck me while I was standing on that ancient stone floor.

I realized how much of an impact Ghana and, especially, the slave castle had on me. The reality was that I was in a place where so much history had taken place.

Ghana. That was what this trip has become to be known as. I know I will share my story again and again. I made bonds with teachers and friends that will never be broken. Ghana changed me as a person for the better.

Lena Hardy, Class of 2013 I awoke to the sound of the flight attendant’s excessively pleasant voice, informing us that we were within 15 minutes of landing at JFK. Groggy

We were told to stand there in the defining silence for ten seconds, enveloped by the non-existent air and sweet sour smells coming from the tiny room lit only by three small holes in the wall. It was a chamber of anguish that made it hard for me to breathe; I was gasping for a hint of clean, fresh air.

Now take a moment to imagine, the school store packed with 200 fully grown, physically fit, men crammed shoulder to shoulder for three months. Chained to the ground, chained to the walls, chained to each other. Not able to move a single centimeter.

I could hear the screams that echoed off the walls in bitter taciturnity. As I squinted to see what was around me I saw a single hallowed out mark on the floor left behind by a forgotten soul.

Imprinted in that footstep, I thought, were the hopes and dreams of frightened men, dreams that were thwarted by selfish

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from the extremely dissatisfying and uncomfortable sleep I had drifted in and out of, I began to collect my things.

I then sat, in silence, wondering how I was supposed to immerse myself in a reality that was once so familiar, but had shifted into something intimidating and unknown. Soon after stepping off of the plane, back onto U.S. soil, back into our reality, I sensed a change—something that I could not put my finger on, something that dwelled inside of me for quite sometime after.

It did not take long for the sting of the culture shock to slap me across the face. I had forgotten how much complaining we do on a daily basis, how disenchanted we often are with our perfectly comfortable lives. And each time, this alien discontentment inside of me grew to be more and more obvious.

It wasn’t until someone first asked me, “So, how was Ghana?” that I began to realize what I was experiencing.

A question that was, no doubt, to be expected, and yet, as I opened my mouth to answer, no words came out. I then had a small anxiety attack as I frantically tried to sift through the thousands of memories and emotions, and the silence became increasingly more awkward.

“I don’t….good?” I finally blurted out.

Thankfully, a sympathetic listener, they laughed and said, “I’ll wait a couple of days and ask again.”

As things became more familiar and we fell back into our same routines, I was frustrated by the constant poking and prodding of questions. I wanted to give them a real answer; I wanted to inject them with the feelings that I’d felt, have them see the things that I had seen. Each time, I would try my hardest to formulate some kind of response that in some ways captured what I was trying to say, but in reality…it didn’t.

I eventually realized that the answer

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I was searching for was something that simply did not exist. I’m sure that I speak for all of those who travelled with me when I say that I am incapable of explaining to anyone how I have experienced feelings that I have never felt before, feelings that changed me as a person and changed the way I live my life.

My soul had been altered by every child that we encountered, every smiling face anxious to welcome us into their hearts with a love and happiness that I thought people were unable to articulate.

Taigh Panzer, Class of 2012 Ghana was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. And I’m not exaggerating. I remember the night before I left. I was taking it easy with my friends so as not to think about going to a different continent the next day.

“Why are you going to Africa?” my friend asked me over pizza.

“I’m going for the children,” I responded.

And that was all that was said about that.

I barely slept on the flight over, and all I could think of was that scene in Blood Diamond where people start getting their hands cut off. But that was in Sierra Leone.

Or the Gold Coast. Or something. All that mattered was that I was going somewhere really far away where I wouldn’t know anyone but the people on my trip. I was really excited about that. The thought of running away even crossed my mind a few times on the trip. It was that beautiful.

We saw jungles and plains and swam in the ocean. Yet the most beautiful and inspiring part of the trip were the Ghanians. Especially the children we worked with. They were so happy to see us “Obranis,” although they never called us that. Only the strangers we passed in the bus. But the kids were awesome.

I never entreated as to their history because I knew it couldn’t be very

pleasant—they were all orphans. And you could never have guessed. Everything they had they offered to me; they were amazing to get to know. The kids in Old Ningo made me laugh more than I ever had in my life. Christopher, Roland, Wizdom, Emmanuel, Little Felix, Baby Monica, Richard, Simon, Françesca, Belinda and all of the 22 others.

On a casual walk around the town Françesca showed me the local boarding school, the public high school, and some houses, and she finished by telling me there was a cobra in the grass right next to my foot. Her classic Ghanian sense of humor made my heart stop for about two seconds. But that was the thing about these kids: they played hard but worked

Living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

even harder. They helped us paint the perimeter wall and laid the foundation for their new building among their daily duties that they performed with smiles on their faces. It seemed like nothing could upset them. Except for our departure.

“TAKE US WITH YOU!” they all shouted as we began the second leg of our trip after four days with them. But there was no room on the bus. Now imagine that happening five more times over the course of a few days at the additional homes of refugees we visited, and then again with the first group of kids when we left them for the last time. I had made a real connection to all of the kids we met on the trip: the blind kids, the deaf kids, the kids that were too shy to even talk to me. All of them. Their enthusiasm, cheerfulness, and ready embrace of all life’s hardships serves as a reminder that I need to cherish all that has been given to me and work hard so I can continue to give back to children in need indefinitely.

Zak Kuras, Class of 2009 AmeriCorps and Millbrook define service in very similar ways. AmeriCorps volunteers and students and faculty at Millbrook all clearly establish the relationship between service and a strong sense of community. Also, both look at the opportunity to serve as a reward, not a chore. In my experiences both in school and as an AmeriCorps volunteer, service not only benefited those being helped, but it bettered the community and provided me with a great sense of accomplishment.

In my experience Millbrook always tried to instill a sense of service in its students. With such a strong focus on serving the community, Non Sibi Sed Cunctis, it became second nature to help others, whether through Intersession trips or even through simple courtesies such as holding the door for others (something that is being lost in younger generations.)

After graduating from Millbrook, I knew that I wanted to continue my educational journey and go on to college, but I also wanted to wait, to see the world a bit and to learn in other ways—specifically, by contributing to real-world causes—before heading off to pursue a higher education.

A good friend of mine and a Millbrook alum, Geoff Fisher, had volunteered with AmeriCorps the year before and had nothing but praise for the program. We talked about what it meant to join, and soon after I knew AmeriCorps was for me.

Going in I knew a bit about what I was going to be doing and what would be expected of me. The first couple of weeks were devoted to training and meetings as the volunteers came to understand the inner workings of the AmeriCorps system and hierarchy. These meetings were at first a great introduction to my service year, and they included a lot of the same advice I had learned and applied at Millbrook. My experiences in Outdoor Skills, an alternative I chose in lieu of a sport, taught me a lot about making common sense decisions in real-life situations in the great outdoors.

Once the training was over, our group of 300 volunteers was split into teams, and

all volunteers were given an opportunity to be part of an “elite team” of wild land firefighters. It sounded like a pretty cool thing to me, even with the catch: you had to pass a physical test to make it on the team. Competitive by nature, I decided to take the simple test: get a backpack, put 45lbs. into it, and walk three miles on a track in under 45 minutes. It was, simply, a challenge, but I finished in the top ten with a time of 36:52 minutes, writing my own ticket onto the team.

Once on my new fire team (nicknamed “Oak 6”), I found myself surrounded by like-minded and athletic gentlemen and ladies. I knew that whatever happened, I had a strong team at my back, ready to pick me up when I was down and visa-versa.

As a team we lived together in very tight quarters throughout our service year; at one point the eleven of us were living in a 2-bedroom house in the middle of the South Dakota Cheyenne Sioux Indian Reservation, a tight squeeze to be sure.

Some of my teammates found this difficult at times, but being a boarding student prepared me for times just like these. I knew that if I could survive the craziness of Case Hall, I could handle most things that living in close quarters could throw at me.

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My ten months of service with AmeriCorps were incredibly fulfilling and challenging. I traveled across the middle and southern United States, and I assisted seniors in Omaha, helping them sign up for Medicare Part D. I worked with Habitat for Humanity on the Cheyenne Sioux reservation in South Dakota, and I fought and started fires working for the nature conservancy in western Iowa. I worked with Habitat again in Mobile, Alabama, building houses, and I helped organize and facilitate workers responding to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Mississippi.

I wouldn’t change a minute of any part of these experiences, which gave me a taste of the “real” world. I got to see the country from many different perspectives, including viewing life through the eyes of those much less fortunate. It was a sort of a wake up call, showing me the possibilities and outcomes different life choices make.

All in all, AmeriCorps was a very beneficial choice for me, although it is definitely not for everyone since it requires a lot of mental toughness and adaptability. I would recommend AmeriCorps to any brave soul who wants a fulfilling experience of service with the opportunity to travel across the county.

Wallis Suda, Class of 2004 Millbrook, a place where you learn to live and work together, paved the way for my future. My way of thinking and dayto-day problem solving and relationships wouldn’t have been as strong if I had not lived within such a strong, productive community before. A community, in other words, that does not stifle individuality, but cultivates, challenges, and refines it so that it is a benefit to both the person and larger culture in the course of a lifetime.

Being shuttled in and out of NYC weekly on a private jet to design not so original camouflage and floral prints for a lingerie

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company was getting boring. In fact, even with VIP status at the Hilton and first class flight service, my job and life seemed to be missing a little rock and roll. When I described to my friends my job as a freelance textile artist working for different companies, I realized it was inarguably one of the best jobs ever. Textile design, after all, is my love.

However, during the summer of 2010, my older sister Elizabeth and I were feeling rather bored and defeated, lounging on the hammock in the sweltering heat of our parents’ house on Long Island. We decided we needed to get our hands dirty and rock out. For us there were only two options: starting a band (because that’s what all the cool kids do) or getting out of New York, our routine, and our comfort zone to see more of the world. That very day we wrote our first single, Love Punch, and booked tickets to Laos. It would be Elizabeth’s third time going and my first.

Why Laos? Two years before Elizabeth had a similar dissatisfied-with-life-moment

and quit her job as a merchandiser at Coach.

She next found herself in northern Laos, consulting for the Swiss non-governmental organization (NGO) Helvetas in rural villages near the Laos-Vietnam border.

Helvetas had just brought sustainable energy to the village, and Elizabeth’s job was to research how the farmer-artisans could generate more income through hand weaving and handicrafts thanks to the new hydro-generator. In one particular village there were thirteen families that produced hand cast spoons. They melted metal in homemade earthen kilns built in their back yards and poured the molten metal into wood and ash molds. They could produce 800 a day and, in fact, supplied the entire region’s noodle shops with these spoons. As it turned out, these were no ordinary spoons but utensils made from aluminum bomb casings and shrapnel from the Vietnam War. My sister immediately shared the story with me, knowing that she wanted to find another use for the war scrap metal that litters Lao farms and fields. In fact,

Living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

Laos is the most heavily bombed country per capita. Of the two million tons of US bombs dropped between 1964 and 1973, 30% failed to detonate, leaving the land scarred with around 80 million unexploded ordnances (UXO) that prevent communities from cultivating crops and endanger the lives of farmers and school children alike. Clearly, this continues to have a gravely negative impact on the economic and day to day lives of the Lao people!

With backgrounds in fashion, we conceived the idea to create a simple bangle.

When I finally got into the field in Laos, we met the families and spoke to the artisans, their wives, and their children (through our amazing translator, Lorvang, the Hmong field director who worked for Helvetas, our partners). It was then that I realized how significant our project really was. Certainly, the tragedy of war was hideous, but we found incredible beauty in the community, the day-to-day lives of these people. The first phrase they ever taught me was “Beau penyang,” meaning, “No worries, no problems.” For them, life is simply about being in the moment and surviving. They take care of their children, their elderly, their neighbors, and together they enjoy many celebratory festivals. When we discussed the war, you could sense they had much emotion about it but very little to say, except that they have let go and now focus on their present priorities, taking care of their loved ones, their animals, their crops and their very divine homemade Lao-Lao whiskey. It’s truly amazing that we were welcomed so warmly into their community. While we weren’t interested in changing their means of production or style of living, we were asking to use their skills to create the bangle we envisioned. We weren’t offering anything other than the opportunity to tell their story through a product in hopes of generating a profit that would further enrich their community so that

they themselves could repair their houses, afford electricity, build a school house.

During those first three weeks in Laos, Elizabeth and I filmed and interviewed the villagers and attended the first Cluster Munitions Conference, which was hosted in the capitol, Vientiane. We talked with activists and Americans who had either fought in Vietnam or lived in Laos during the war. When Elizabeth left for home, I remained in Laos for 2 months, researching other types of metal from which the bombs were made and what we could potentially do with the metal. I visited a privately owned metal foundry with an ex-airforce bomb expert, and as we toured through fields of piled shards and bomb waste, he explained the history of its use in war.

This was a moment where imagery of camouflage prints danced in my head and had some sort of context and true meaning rather than on some “sexy” lingerie.

the current rate of removal, it would take an estimated 800 years to clear all of the communities. Today, for each bracelet purchased, we pay artisans 4x the local market rate, and, for each bracelet sold, we donate the equivalent of the cost of clearing UXO from three square meters of land.

PeaceBOMB started with the simple idea of supporting a community through economic development but has grown in dimension to also raise awareness about and funds for clearing UXO in Laos. At

I don’t believe having a sense of community is something naturally ingrained in people. I believe love and the desire to relate to others is, but to know how to work and communicate

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with others is something you have to experience and learn. At 15-years-old, I was the poster child for the existential individual. Even when I was at Millbrook, I defiantly came back my senior year with a nose piercing, just because it was against dress code (and I thought it was cool). Frankly, the point really was that I was no rebel, that I could be me and perfectly relate to my friends, professors, and mentors at school. I was, in fact, a peer counselor and had very trusting relationships with students of all ages.

Millbrook School really fostered that sensibility of finding my individual voice, while contributing to the community. I don’t believe I would be successful in my work today if I couldn’t listen to people, couldn’t understand not only their perspectives, but the context from which they are speaking. Whether it is just a singular design client I am working with to produce original artwork or a large village of artisans with whom I speak via a translator, coming from Millbrook, a place where you learn to live and work together, paved the way for my future. My way of thinking and day-to-day problem solving and relationships wouldn’t have been as strong if I had not lived within such a strong, productive community before. A community, in other words, that does not stifle individuality, but cultivates, challenges, and refines it so that it is a benefit to both the person and larger culture in the course of a lifetime.

Molly Ogden, Class of 2002 It was my years at Millbrook that gave me the confidence to volunteer abroad with Somali families and the sense of adventure to step onto the airplane for Sudan in the first place. I am grateful to Millbrook for the confidence and fortitude to explore the world and give back as a teacher.

My first introduction to people who spoke a variety of languages and who came from different countries was when

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next flight home.” Defying all odds, I was there for two years.

Flying alone, I looked out the window of the plane as we flew over a green, lush landscape, and my heart filled with excitement. Suddenly the color changed, and all I could see was a dusty, arid dessert for the next two hours. Only then did it start to settle in that I was moving to a foreign world. When the plane landed, I stood up and saw that I was one of the few passengers not continuing on to Ethiopia.

I forged on with courage, confidence, and an open mind.

I arrived as a freshman at Millbrook School in 1995. I instantly loved meeting new friends from far away places and enjoyed the fresh perspective they brought to campus life. The diversity of experiences available to me at Millbrook also expanded my world and provided a larger perspective on life. At Millbrook I learned to bird band in the canopy walkway, tend remarkable animals at the zoo, explore acres of forest, marsh muck, and play ice hockey in Harlem.

I enjoyed winter camping, cooking classes, drama productions, and learning astronomy under the evening stars. I am grateful to Millbrook for introducing me to a rich tapestry of experiences and challenging me to be a risk-taker and to try new and exciting things; I also learned the importance of giving back to others. Looking back, I can see that it was my years at Millbrook that gave me the confidence to volunteer abroad with Somali families and the sense of adventure to step onto the airplane for Sudan in the first place.

Less than six weeks after college graduation in Vermont I was on a plane to Khartoum, Sudan. “Why are you going here?” scoffed the stewardess. “To be a teacher,” I cheerfully replied. She rolled her eyes and cautioned, “You’ll be on the

My interest in Africa had been sparked by volunteer work during my senior year at the University of Vermont. I first met the children of newly immigrated Somali families who were students in the elementary schools where I was doing my student teaching internship and after school activities. I began to volunteer at a center to teach basic conversational English skills to new immigrant families and instantly fell in love with their laughter and outgoing, humble personalities.

One family in particular welcomed me into their home and shared what little they had with me, and I did the same for them. Seynab, Hussein, and their six children were refugees in Somalia and Kenya for ten years before they arrived in Vermont. I drove them to the grocery store showing them how to use automatic doors and check prices for the best food.

I helped them apply for library cards, signed them up for sports teams, and drove them to and from practice. I was shocked when I saw they had put all their winter clothes into garbage bags because they had not realized the cyclical nature of seasons and that cold weather would be back again next year. In return they shared their personal family stories, introduced me to extended family members, and taught me how to cook Somali foods adapted with American ingredients.

Living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

made a great attempt to be green. They watered the grass often but there was never more than a hint of a green poking through the dusty soil. There were 230 students with 35 nationalities represented in the small school, ranging from 3-year-olds to 18-year-olds. Most students spoke several languages, were global-minded, and could count the countries they had visited on two hands. Casual conversations between my kindergarten students involved discussions about riding camels, camping in the desert, or snorkeling in the red sea.

In 2009, after two years in the Khartoum desert I interviewed with 10 different schools around the world and settled on the Frankfurt International School in Germany, where I currently teach first grade. Moving directly from Sudan to Germany was like moving across the spectrum from one extreme to the other, oil to vinegar, chalk to cheese.

It was a shock to everyone when I accepted a teaching position at the Khartoum American School in Sudan, Africa, but I was thrilled. I knew very little about Sudan, and not a single Arabic word. I remember vividly the first few months in Khartoum, struggling to adjust to the enormous culture shock. Very quickly I learned the delicate art of hand gestures, body language, and essential Arabic phrases. Every time I left my house I was required by Sudanese law to dress very conservatively with skirts below the

knee, shoulders covered at all times with loose fitting clothing, and sometimes a scarf covering my head. The drivers of the buses, rickshaws, or ambjads (taxi’s) spoke only Arabic and required bargaining to get a half-decent price. I also found what I had been looking for—a deeper understanding of what life had been like at one time for my Somali refugee friends back in Vermont.

Khartoum American School was located on a little oasis within the desert city and

Last April I traveled back to Africa, spending two weeks in Tanzania. It was my first time back to Africa since I moved from Sudan two years before. A part of me felt like I had returned home and everything seemed natural and easy. During my four years at Millbrook, I tended almost every animal at the zoo. So, while on a safari in Tanzania, my days at Millbrook and experience at the zoo came in handy when a huge Baboon climbed into my car. I reacted calmly (something I learned first hand to do at Millbrook when I was confronted by a charging Rhea protecting her eggs) and firmly pushed him out of the car. He was as surprised as I was! In Moshi, a town at the base of Kilimanjaro I stayed at an eco-friendly lodge run by a Tanzanian-British couple that supports a school and gives students a second chance for an education. I didn’t have time during my short two-week holiday, but I plan to go back and volunteer at their school.

Reflecting on all that I received from my education, I know how important a good high school education can be as a tool for life

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Living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

long learning. I am grateful to Millbrook for the confidence and fortitude to explore the world and give back as a teacher.

Erin Stuckey, Class of 2001 Living a life of service depends on how you view yourself in your particular place in the world. Every job can be considered to be a service in some respect; it’s all about approaching the world with an open mind and an open heart.

The concept of service is not something I remember specifically hearing or learning about at a particular time. In some ways it was always there as I grew up and became aware of myself in the wider world. Looking back at my time at Millbrook I honestly cannot claim that I chose activities based on a criterion of whether they could be considered community service or not; my choices were simply things I was interested in. It felt as natural as breathing for me to try and be involved in as many things as possible where I could devote my time and energy. Perhaps that is the beauty of it all – Millbrook is able to make all the pieces fit together within the framework of every day life without it feeling forced in any way.

In addition to educating well-rounded students, it is clear that at Millbrook service is a philosophy deeply ingrained in the daily life of the community; anything that contributes to the functioning, growth and stewardship of the community is valued

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as service. Activities I was naturally drawn to as being fun things to do or leadership opportunities to pursue were all part of service to the community and continue to be so today. Captaining an athletic team motivates the team to reach their full potential. The dorm leaders, together with prefects and peer counselors, create a structured, self-monitored support system within campus life. An editing position with the Silo is a way to nurture creativity while providing communication and information.

Serving on the Disciplinary Committee, which happened to be one of the biggest learning experiences of my life, allows for a fair and transparent way to uphold Millbrook’s honor code. And many of these roles, which serve the Millbrook community, operate outside the scheduled community service time built into the academic day.

How has Millbrook impacted what I have done with my life since graduation? In a word, immensely. Millbrook (along with my extremely supportive parents) provided me the flexibility to study both Spanish and French as well as the opportunity to travel to the Peruvian Amazon with the biology department. This helped me turn my love of travel, languages and different cultures

into a college experience that included an International Leadership Program and two different study abroad semesters, and the confidence and passion to take an 8-month trip around the world after graduation.

When it came time to find a job, I naturally gravitated towards joining an international non-profit organization dealing with the inequalities that exist in health care and education. That career choice has taken me far: to 10 countries in East and Southern Africa, two years each in Washington, DC and South Sudan, and now graduate school in London and Switzerland. Even though I may no longer directly manage public health programs in developing countries, the research I now conduct on malaria epidemiology and control will hopefully assist policy makers to practice evidencebased decision-making which will in turn result in better health for their communities.

Yes, my career thus far has been exclusively with not-for-profit, nongovernmental organizations, but I feel that the labels “aid worker,” ”humanitarian worker” and “charity worker” do not describe what I do. The line between development and aid is sometimes obvious, sometimes very blurry, but never includes swooping in from the outside to “help” or “save” people that we in Western countries deem are somehow in “need” without involvement from the communities themselves. The goal is to ensure people can exercise their right to access products, services, and information to keep them healthy from preventable diseases regardless of where they live or the amount of money in their wallet.

Over the long run I believe that working with countries and communities, all of which have the desire and ability to drive improvement themselves, is far more important than providing temporary, stop-gap solutions to the substantial challenges our world faces in public health, education and governance.

The truth is that it seems unnatural to me for our society to view this occupation

Living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

and unstable electrical supply (cue witty remark about the massive ice storm my freshman year at Millbrook which cut off power on campus for several days).

as something exceptional and outside the mainstream - it is just as necessary to the fabric of the world as plumbers, lawyers, bankers, teachers, artists, or anything else for that matter. For-profit companies cannot exist without not-for-profit work in their communities, and not-for-profits cannot exist without the funding that for-profit companies provide. Everything works toward balance. It should not then come as a surprise that I think those of us who work in the areas traditionally associated with sacrifice and service are just people in an industry like any other trying to find meaningful work that makes us happy, and any claim that we are answering to a “higher calling” or “serving the greater good” is beside the point.

There are millions, if not billions, of people all over the world who volunteer in their communities—at the local food bank or soup kitchen, the homeless shelter, the highway cleanups, in churches/ synagogues/mosques—they do the enormously important work of showing their children how to give back. Our viewpoint is the same: it is not fair that the world is so unevenly cruel and there is something each person can do about it, even if it is a couple hours each week or month. I cannot imagine approaching life in any other way, but I would bet the same is true for most other people living on this planet. Perhaps the greatest difference is that I got bitten by the travel bug harder than most and tend to gravitate towards living in places with warmer climates

Which brings me back to the Millbrook community. Millbrook promotes a full, balanced life. Everyone has a role to play, and every moment of the day can be considered service. Service to oneself, service to the community, service to the country, service to the world. Non Sibi Sed Cunctis. I have found that in life, just as at Millbrook, there is no one way to approach service. Living a life of service does not have to mean you have to quit your job or give up all worldly goods and move to another country; nor does it have to mean donating massive amounts of money. Living a life of service depends on how you view yourself in your particular place in the world. Every job can be considered to be a service in some respect; it’s all about approaching the world with an open mind and an open heart.

Major General Eric Crabtree, Class of 1970 U.S. Air Force, Defense Threat Reduction Agency & USSTRATCIN Center for Combating WMD As I have thought about my time at Millbrook and the influences of the school environment, it occurs to me that the total school environment and process aligns with the core values of the Air Force and service to the nation. Our (the U.S. Air Force’s) stated core values are Integrity, Service Before Self and Excellence in All We Do. We tell our young Airmen that integrity means doing the right thing, even when no one else is around. I can think of getting up early on cold, snowy mornings at Millbrook

because it was my day to check the bird banding traps and slogging through the snow with a flashlight to remove the birds and put them in the banding facility before breakfast. That kind of dedication has been required numerous times in locations around the globe over the last 36+ years, and the integrity and fortitude to keep going when it was not pleasant, or particularly fun, came from Millbrook lessons.

The lessons of community service through the chores like shoveling snow and waiting tables in the dining hall became a staple of life in a larger community.

Contributing to the common good was a profound lesson and is certainly the most valuable of the non-academic lessons Millbrook teaches. In the course of my Air Force career the grounding principle has always been service to the nation, and often the larger world community. The motto of the threat reduction agency I currently manage is “Making the World Safer” and we dedicate ourselves to that theme every day.

The educational excellence engendered by the Millbrook experience goes almost without saying. The quality of schooling I received there has enabled and encouraged me to be academically inquisitive and to engage my peers and co-workers in the debate necessary to prosecute a job as important as national defense in a safe and sane manner at all times. The personal excellence that was expected in action and thought at Millbrook laid a firm foundation for my career management and the choices I made were often based in those pillars.

In summary, I feel I could not have had a better set of guidelines and mentors in the formative secondary school years of my life than those provided at Millbrook.

The successes I have enjoyed are directly attributable to what I learned there and the core principles set forth by Mr. Pulling and the school’s founders and supporters as they envisioned creating future leaders for our country.

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Leading Example by

An educator or educational administrator for 34 years, Drew Casertano has devoted his professional career to serving students and their families. But Drew’s dedication and service ethic has stretched well beyond the boundaries of the schools he has served to positively impact other non-profit organizations, both nationally and internationally.

T

hose who know him very well know how much of his own time he sets aside to serve in roles where he is needed, where his expertise contributes directly to important initiatives.

But even those who see him daily—at school, throughout campus, in his office, at school functions, greeting students and prospective families, attending countless meetings, running the school, and managing both the program and the lifeblood of Millbrook—might not be cognizant of the amount of time he devotes to worthy causes outside of his Millbrook realm. After all, how could he possibly have time? Somehow, he makes it all happen, and he does so with a grace and efficiency that belie the efforts he expends.

Some local friends and parents at Millbrook might know of Drew’s service on the board of trustees at Dutchess Day School for 9 years. Additionally, Drew served on the board of the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) for 15 years, becoming treasurer in 2001 and then taking on the important and visible role of president for NYSAIS in 2005. Fewer might know that Drew participates in at least one Midnight Run or Bright Nights Run every year with the student-led Outreach

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group, driving students to locations throughout New York City or Poughkeepsie and working with them to distribute food and clothing to those in need.

Many, however, are aware of Drew’s leadership and continued involvement in Millbrook’s service-based Intersession, LAX for Life, which brings Millbrook students together with the poorest children in Guatemala City through the organization Safe Passage.

Safe Passage’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty through education for the approximately 600 children they serve. The parents of these children work in the dump in Guatemala City.

They scavenge and recycle materials from the dump to provide for their families. Safe Passage offers education, hygiene, nutrition, affection and some stability for these children and their families, and Millbrook students lead a fun weeklong program in the spring, teaching the game of lacrosse to both boys and girls.

“Through lacrosse, we want to help the children have fun, find an enjoyable distraction from the hardships in their lives, learn lessons of sportsmanship and team play, and develop greater self respect and confidence.”

continued next page

Leading by Example

Millbrook’s LAX for Life Intersession dates back to 2006.

While playing on an “old man’s” lacrosse team, Drew heard about Safe Passage from a teammate, Bob Stewart, who had traveled to Guatemala and suggested that the founder of Safe Passage wanted to start an ongoing lacrosse program for the children. Drew consulted with Liz Duhoski, the girls varsity lacrosse coach, and together they made the decision to take a group of 18 Millbrook students to Guatemala during Intersession. Having never been to Guatemala or Safe Passage, making this initial trip was a risk, a risk that Drew was willing to take knowing that he had a friend in Millbrook alumnus and Guatemalan native, Ernesto Viteri, class of 1973 and one of eight Viteris who have attended Millbrook. Knowing Ernesto was there and could help their group, as needed, made the decision to go that much easier. The V and VI form students who had volunteered to go worked with Liz and Drew to gather donations, and this first Millbrook LAX for Life group brought down thousands and thousands of dollars in lacrosse equipment—sticks, goals, and everything else that was needed to start a program and outfit the players and coaches.

paths to a big space that might be called a park, although it was just dirt. There was no grass. [The children] played in the street, otherwise. We were probably two streets over from the dump and the place where they paint the dump trucks yellow. So paint was sort of wafting in our direction. Someone threw a can of tear gas on the field while we were practicing. We moved out of the field for a bit, and then moved back. Then we walked back through the neighborhoods, with kids with lacrosse goals over their backs.”

In the spring of 2006, Safe Passage was only seven-years-old and had evolved dramatically from a little program on the first floor of a run-down church adjacent to the dump to a brand new building, which was heaven on earth for these children who live in hovels with no running water, no electricity, and dirt floors. Hanley Denning, the founder of Safe Passage, saw possibilities everywhere.

“They don’t see a lot of running water. Just to have a hose with running water coming out of it, was a remarkable experience for them. They couldn’t fully appreciate where they were, because they didn’t have TV. They didn’t have any context. There were wealthy Guatemalans who were in the stadium that day, who walked up to us and essentially said, “Who the hell are you?” We told them, and Hanley and others from Safe Passage were with us. They were incredulous.”

“That first year she would lead us from the building with all the kids in a parade through the hovels, through the streets, on dirt

During that week, two magical things happened. First, Liz, through her brother’s business connections, was able to arrange a visit to Guatemala’s national stadium. Millbrook students rode on buses alongside the 50 or more Guatemalan children from Safe Passage to play all day long on the field where the Guatemalan national soccer team plays. Until this day, these kids had never actually stood on a blade of real grass with the exception of the courtyard at the school that Hanley built, and here—IN THE NATIONAL STADIUM—they had a field day all day! They played lacrosse, ran around, and even sprayed each other with water.

During the group’s last night in Guatemala that year, another magical moment happened. Ernesto Viteri, his wife and their family hosted a dinner for all of the Millbrook students, Drew and Liz, plus all the Safe Passage volunteers at a restaurant overlooking Guatemala City. In such dramatic contrast to the squalor in which they had been operating, it was a night that everyone in attendance will remember forever.

• I n 2006, everyone helped carry lacrosse equipment through the “barrio” and back again to Safe Passage.

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Hanley Denning was tragically killed by a runaway bus in January of 2007, and the organization at that point was in its ninth year. It went into complete turmoil, yet a group from Millbrook continued to travel to Guatemala, patiently waiting and assisting in whatever way was needed. The very beginning of a board of directors stabilized the organization and decided they wanted to continue with lacrosse—the program has continued to evolve since. By 2009, Drew was asked to join the board, and he has become a key contributor to the growth of Safe Passage.

Currently, he serves on the executive committee, the strategic planning committee, and the board development and governance committee, and he is the chair of the development committee.

Safe Passage is now a registered 501 3C Non-for-Profit, jointly registered/headquarters in Antigua, Guatemala and in Yarmouth, Maine.

Leading by Example

Due to the work of founder Hanley Denning and board members like Drew, Safe Passage has changed dramatically since 1999. The facilities have evolved from the first floor of a church to the first floor of an old warehouse, to a safe, well maintained building (with 8 classrooms, a dining area, library, and computer center), which was built while Hanley was alive. Since Hanley’s passing, the Guardería, an early childhood center where the little ones go, has also been built.

Now serving 550 children, the scope of the program has evolved to include educational support from pre-natal through high school in two shifts, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

Children who participate are guaranteed to get a balanced meal, plus educational remediation and reinforcement or enrichment. They also get their only physical education through Safe Passage’s program.

As the chair of Safe Passage’s development committee, Drew has been instrumental in the shift from being a charity to becoming a development organization, helping provide people in need with the skills they need to improve the quality of their own lives. Over the next two years Drew and other board members are hopeful that Safe Passage will become a school recognized by the Guatemalan government. This evolution will necessitate tougher standards for participation, attendance, and parental involvement and a new, larger facility will likely be built.

While the facilities and educational program at Safe Passage continue to expand , so does the sport of lacrosse in Guatemala City and throughout the country. Drew’s friend Bob Stewart was among the first to introduce Guatemalans to lacrosse during the summer of 2005. Millbrook was really a part of the beginning, as well, having traveled to Guatemala bringing the first large collection of lacrosse equipment the following spring and returning every year since. While all of this has been happening through Safe Passage, there has been a parallel and somewhat coordinated movement to create Maya Lacrosse and other regional teams within Guatemala in order to build a competitive program.

Safe Passage, Maya Lacrosse, and other developing teams now bring some 200+ participants to the Guatemala Festival de Lacrosse, which is becoming an annual tournament for teams

• A t the Guatemalan National Stadium in 2006. Onlookers could not believe these children - the poorest of the poor - had access to play there all day!

from across the country. Guatemala is also thinking of joining the Federation of International Lacrosse.

During Millbrook’s sixth annual trip to Guatemala during the March spring break, twelve students and Drew and Liz once again undertook their primary responsibility to teach lacrosse to some boys and girls of Safe Passage, many who have come to know Millbrook well through our previous trips. The students planned every detail, even down to making flight and hotel reservations, gathering and packing donations and equipment, and writing daily practice plans. The goal continues to be to give the Guatemalan children the opportunity to play and laugh and learn, and while this is an experience that is designed to serve others, it is clear that the experience changes the life of any Millbrook student who takes part.

Drew Casertano, Millbrook’s headmaster for 22 years, has and will continue to lead by example, helping students serve and succeed by creating opportunities and allowing students to learn through real responsibility.

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service to support l ocal communities

{outreach} noun | ’out,rēCH | an organization’s involvement with or activity in the community, esp. in the context of social welfare

E

dward Pulling introduced to Millbrook students the notion of service to the broader community from the school’s beginning in 1931, and that value has been ingrained and carried through

the last 81 years with little or no change. In 2000 the Outreach community service was formally titled and students were given charge to continue developing connections with those in need in neighboring communities. Students, in fact, led the charge to build an Outreach program that would truly make a difference. Barbara Gatski, now in her 12th year as the faculty leader of Outreach, has been inspired by student members like Nick Pandolfi ’04, Kinley McCracken ’04, Ashley Casale ’06, and Craig Arnoff ’08, who took on causes near and far and established regular and ongoing Outreach programs, programs which continue under the leadership of current students today.

Barbara has worked with Robin Herow and Cam Hardy as faculty facilitators for Outreach. This year they lead 7 students who have been focused on supporting two primary organizations, Bright Nights and Midnight Runs, while fundraising for many other worthy causes throughout the year. Millbrook’s involvement with

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the Midnight Run organization in New York City was spearheaded by Kinley McCracken, who had participated in Midnight Runs with her church group.

Our contributions to the Bright Nights Runs in Poughkeepsie were completely organic, the brainchild of Craig Arnoff, who lived locally in Hyde Park, New York

and wanted to establish a program similar to the Midnight Runs, but for the needy and homeless in Poughkeepsie. Millbrook continues to participate in Bright Nights Runs along with other church groups and local organizations.

Throughout the year, the Outreach group collects clothing, toiletries, blankets, and other donations, sorts the clothing by gender and size, and prepares everything for delivery to those in need. On the day of a run, the kitchen staff in the dining hall and faculty make and donate hot protein-rich meals including soup and sandwiches plus fruit, water, and other beverages.

At least 15 students, and sometimes whole athletic teams, load all donations and food into a Millbrook bus, and then climb in themselves. Headmaster Drew Casertano often drives the bus on the local Bright Nights Run, and the group unloads at a designated parking lot in Poughkeepsie. They are met by people in need of food and/or clothing, some who might even be well-dressed but have recently lost a job or are facing a difficult

financial situation. Students help people sort through clothing, they play with children, and they listen to the stories that many are willing to share.

Between Bright Nights Runs and Midnight Runs, Millbrook students and faculty deliver clothing, blankets, and food to those in need five times per year. Along the way, the Outreach group fundraises to support not only the runs, but also other worthy service programs like Astor Home for Children in Rhinebeck, Grace Smith House in Poughkeepsie, the annual Intersession trip to New Orleans, book and toy drives for the Food of Life Pantry in Amenia, and other other food organizations like OXFAM.

The Outreach community service offers both a pragmatic hands-on experience and the opportunity to brainstorm new ideas, as student-generated proposals are truly what make this community service run. After graduation, students really carry the experience with them, becoming ambassadors for Outreach in their college communities and beyond.

Heather Neuberger ’13 is in her second year of community service with Outreach and has been involved in all of the runs and other fundraising activities: “The Bright Night Runs can be really sad, but really meaningful. They help me to know how fortunate I really am. The people we meet on the runs are always so appreciative, and I’ve been impressed by

the fact that they like being able to talk to us. They’re not just there to grab the food and clothes and run. They really like to have conversations with us.”

Vickie Zou ’12 chose Outreach as her community service because she really wanted to serve the local community: “The Outreach group actually goes out and helps people. We can see the results of our efforts right away. That’s what is so great about Outreach. Recycling is good, of course—you’re helping the environment, but you don’t see the immediate results.”

Making connections, planning details, doing service, and seeing the outcome. It’s truly an education of the mind and the heart.

•O utreach members sort and fold clothes before a Bright Nights run. From left to right: Ellie Hellmers ‘13, Robin Herow, Barbara Gatski, and Heather Neuberger ‘13.

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Alumni and Development Office News Bob Anthony ’65, who has served with distinction as Millbrook School’s director of development and alumni affairs since 1974, will “wear” a new hat during the next phase of his professional career.

He will have the newly created title of Assistant to the Headmaster for External Relations. In this role, Bob will continue his fund raising efforts, focusing on capital giving. Building on the great success that he has accomplished with the trustees and our alumni and development team, he will continue to work closely with these groups and Headmaster Drew Casertano to achieve Millbrook’s goals for the next stage of its progress. These include doubling the school’s endowment and major capital improvements, starting with a complete renovation to the Barn as a student center and construction of a new dormitory for girls and a new dining hall.

This is an exciting change for Bob and an equally exciting opportunity for Millbrook to build on his strong record of success in development while addressing the school’s major development priorities.

Bob will, of course, remain well connected to alumni of all ages, as our very own Mr. Millbrook. Bob and his wife, Ann, are the parents of two Millbrook graduates: Arthur ’07 and Mimi ’08. Their daughter, Sarah, just graduated on May 27th.

Nancy has known Headmaster Drew Casertano for over twenty years, and during that time she has excelled in many leadership positions – as a board member at Berkshire Taconic, the Freedom Institute, and the Boys Club of New York, as board chair at Purnell and Dutchess Day School, and so much more. Nancy has been Millbrook’s major gifts officer since 2008, earning since then the trust and respect of her colleagues in the Alumni and Development Office.

After conducting a comprehensive search to find Bob’s successor, we share the exciting news that Millbrook’s current Major Gifts Officer Nancy Stahl has accepted the director of advancement position. After reviewing resumes from nearly twenty candidates and interviewing six of those people, it became fully evident that Nancy was the person for the job.

Nancy will officially move to full-time and her new role on July 1, 2012. Her skills and relationships with her colleagues and with our constituencies, starting with our trustees and neighbors, will make for a seamless transition and continued success with our development initiatives.

Please join us in congratulating Bob and Nancy!

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Al umnAe /I

Class Notes Class of ’40 Day Lee is living in New Mexico and is very proud of granddaughter Rebecca Lee, who is living in Washington D.C. earning her graduate degree in International Relations at Johns Hopkins.

Class of ’51 At the end of April 2011, Dan Lindley returned to Millbrook to lead Millbrook’s faculty in an in-service focused on classroom teaching by discussing such topics such as, “The Four Stages of a Teaching Life, from Mastering the Craft to Renewal of the Spirit.” Dan is a published author and teacher of teachers, and the faculty was especially appreciative of his time and insight. The Millbrook library has several of Dan’s books about the journey of a teacher, including This Rough Magic and On Life’s Journey: Always Becoming.

Class of ’57

Charles Evans, Jr. is presently writing a novel about a terrorist attack on the Chesapeake Bay. If it never gets published, that’s okay with him.

He’s simply enjoying the journey of writing.

Huson Gregory reports, “Mimi and I are busy with volunteer work on Cape Cod and travel to see our children and grandchildren in California and Australia. Best wishes to all.”

Class of ’59 Tom Lovejoy is the proud recipient of the first Joao Pedro Cardoso Medal of the State of Sao Paulo. Brazil awarded the state’s most prestigious environmental honor to Tom and three of his treasured friends and colleagues (including current Millbrook parent Dr. Russell Mittermeier) in a ceremony on October 6th. All were recognized for their distinguished contributions to environmental education, conservation, and restoration.

After his 46th year at South Kent School, in June of 2011, Paul Abbott and wife Terese were awarded the MacLean Award for Distinguished Service. Also awarded that day, for the very first time, to a postgraduate student, who, in his one year at South Kent most came to embody the principles of the school, was the Paul and Terese Abbott Cup, named in their honor. Working in alumni relations and fund raising, Paul knows nearly 80% of the living alumni from South Kent. He has no plans to stop – wife Terese does not want him home yet. His oldest grandson, Dillon Greenberg, graduated from Hartwick College in May of 2011.

Steve Twining and wife Marie-France wrote in December with highlights of their busy year. After a relaxing visit to St. John’s last February, Steve and Marie-France celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with a gathering at their home, where they were serenaded by Mariachis. They visited friends in Toronto in August and enjoyed the museums, particularly the outstanding collection of Henry Moore’s sculptures. Steve continues to participate in cardio rehab three afternoons a week at Cedars Sinai and walks two miles a day around Holmby Park on alternative days. They both send best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2012.

Class of ’58

Class of ’61

David Alexander has been happily married since 1966 and lives in New York City. His

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daughter is married, and he has two wonderful grandchildren – all live close by in Avon, CT.

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Paul Solomon and wife Kathy are the proud grandparents of Ella Morley Solomon, born

November 9, 2010 weighing 8 lbs., 8 oz. Her Millbrook interview and campus tour has already been scheduled for the fall of 2023.

Class of ’62 David Kaufholz is retired after teaching math for 32 years. According to David, he is now cultivating weeds in his flower garden in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Class of ’65 Charles Ingersoll has been with The Haverford Trust Company now for 26 years.

Class of ’66 Rick Delano is a social marketing practitioner working with both public and private organizations to promote social initiatives. He co-founded LifeCourse Associates, which helps its clients understand how generations form unique and predictable personalities as youth that define attitudes and behaviors at each stage of life. His special interest is the Millennial generation, children born since 1981. Rick has served on the expert panel for a White House anti-drug media campaign and also serves on the board of the Safe America Foundation. All of this builds on over twenty-five years of experience in the publishing industry.

Chris Hart is the Associate Producer of the acclaimed musical HAIR, which played at the Hirschfeld Theatre from March of 2009 through June of 2010 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2009. His production of this musical revival played a limited engagement at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music January 3 – 8, 2012.

Peter Hazzard is the proud grandfather of 7, including twins Tyler Wall Levine and Aubrey Anne Levine, who were born to his daughter, Laura, on August 11, 2010. Laura and her husband Capt. Geoffrey Levine, USAF and their 4‑year‑old daughter, Madden, are stationed in San Pedro, CA. Peter remains at Lawrence Academy in Groton, MA (in his 28th year

AlumnAe/I

Class Notes there) and is still composing and conducting.

His latest project was a commission from the Callanwolde Concert Band in Atlanta, GA. Performed in September of 2011, it was in celebration of the symphonic wind ensemble’s 40th anniversary season.

Class of ’67 Nicholas Roosevelt is proud of his business, Roosevelt & Sons, which is going strong with its new professional development workshop/ retreat, “Change Management from the Inside Out,” designed for managers and their teams.

Nick has also just published a new book of poems and photographs, “Juggling Stars.” He and his family continue to ski their hearts out!

Michael Wayne, Jim Laubenstein, and Chip Grover had an informal class reunion in Texas in the summer of 2010.

Class of ’69 Whit Stillman has directed his first feature film in fourteen years. Damsels in Distress is about “beautiful girls who set out to revolutionize life at a grungy East Coast university” and try “to help severely depressed students with a program of good scents and musical dance numbers.” The

New York Times wrote a feature article on Whit, prior to the release of the film in April.

Early reviews are excellent, but you have to get to the theater to see Damsels in Distress for yourself!

Class of ’72 Alexander Podmaniczky is in his tenth year at Marist College in Poughkeepsie where he is responsible for in‑house printing, buying outsourced printing and doing much of the second level layout and design work for the college. He lives with wife Korky, less than 10 minutes from Millbrook School. Korky is the Marketing Director for sporting artist Peter Corbin.

Daughter Sarah ’04 graduated from George Washington University School of Law in the spring of 2011.

Dorothy (Quart) Winkler wrote to let us know that she will do her best to attend the 2012 Alumni Reunion Weekend for the class of 1972!

Class of ’73 In January 2011 Lee Klein, an attorney, former City Court judge, and current City of Poughkeepsie councilman, was re-elected

chairman of the City of Poughkeepsie Common Council. In this role, Lee runs council meetings and oversees debates and public comments on the most pressing city issues.

Allen Low is still flying B747’s, now for Delta Air Lines. He flies mostly trans-Pacific flights. He and his wife, Berta, live in San Francisco and just celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary.

Class of ’76 Jim Sailer was remembered fondly at a dedication in his honor during Alumni Weekend 2011. Jim died unexpectedly on February 23, 2010. The younger brother of Ted ’75 and father of Logan ’05, Jim was a loyal and enthusiastic Millbrook graduate and parent. The newest Trevor Zoo exhibit, the Raptor Exhibit, was dedicated in Jim’s honor on June 12, 2011. The plaque reads, “The James E. Sailer Aviary, in memory of Jim Sailer ’76 who loved all things wild, especially raptors. The Birds of Prey Aviary is dedicated to Jim who, as a student, was devoted to improving the Trevor Zoo.”

Class of ’77 Stuart Denton came to Millbrook because of the Trevor Zoo, and he continues to work

Class of ’63 Class of ’50

Class of ’61

Mike Eggar with former classmate Bill Steinwedell.

Carl Schmidlapp and Mason Rose visited together in Patagonia, Arizona during Easter 2010.

Larry Schmidlapp and Michael Dunlaevy with Bob Anthony ’65 at their 50th reunion from elementary school in May of 2010.

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Class Notes major fundraiser, leading the charge on the restoration of the zoo’s carousel and the lemur forest.

Former faculty member Gail Carter Demaine on January 12, 2012. Gail and husband David were Millbrook faculty members from 1982 to 1987. David taught Latin and was chair of the Foreign Language Department, and Gail taught English. They moved to Northfield Mount Hermon, where they taught for 24 years until recently retiring to be closer to their grandchildren.

Gail served as an English teacher, coach, and dorm head, and eventually as a campus dean and mentor to numerous other dorm heads. In 1995, Gail was awarded the Parents Council Faculty Chair in recognition of her work in residential life at NMH. Our thoughts and prayers are with David.

Donald Dedrick, grandfather of Marilyn Dedrick ’13, on February 24, 2012.

Barbara Donaldson, wife of Coleman DuPont Donaldson ’39, on Sunday, March 6, 2011. She is survived by her daughter Beirne Donaldson, son Coleman Donaldson Jr., son Evan Donaldson, son Alexander Donaldson, son William Donaldson, and eight grandchildren. Barbara was a tireless volunteer for the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities and an active and generous supporter of The Nature Conservancy.

Elisha Dyer, Jr., parent of Diana Dyer Knoblauch ’86, on October 17, 2011.

A. Whitney Ellsworth, father of Eliza Cowen ’10, on June 18, 2011 at his home in Salisbury, CT at the age of 75. He helped get The New York Review of Books up and running as its first publisher, a position he held for nearly 25 years, Mr. Ellsworth also served in the mid-1970s as chairman of Amnesty International USA, securing the organization’s future by setting up a directmail fund-raising operation. After retiring as publisher of The New York Review of Books in December of 1986, Mr. Ellsworth became the managing partner of the Lakeville Journal Company.

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Sheila Gosling, grandmother of Stratton Hatfield ’04, in the summer of 2011.

grandmother of Katherine M. Stellato ’04, on April 25, 2010.

Friend and consultant Bill Griffin on March 22, 2011. Bill and wife Linda have consulted with Millbrook School for over 20 years, working with Headmaster Casertano, Millbrook trustee’s, and the Alumni & Development Office to define strategies and move Millbrook forward. Bill himself was a graduate of an independent school, Wilbraham and Monson, in Massachusetts. Linda and his daughter Ashley remain in our thoughts and prayers.

Stuart Oelbaum, father of Adam Oelbaum ’81 and Laurie Oelbaum Sommer ’83, on May 23, 2010.

Francis Hatch, grandparent of Serena Whitridge ’06 and Morgan Whitridge ’11, on April 8, 2010.

Mr. Tom Havard, father to Dean of Faculty Ms. Katherine Havard and grandparent of Jonah Feitelson ’11 and Emma Feitelson ’13, on December 1, 2011. He loved drawing everyone around him to one adventure after another. He loved teasing his kids and his grandkids, and he loved being married to his wife, Betty, and sharing their adventures together. Eighty-three years were not enough to exhaust his enthusiasm for life, or the abiding love of those who survive him.

Anne Kilhenny, grandmother of Adriana Fracchia ’10, on November 25, 2010.

Edward J. Laux, grandfather of Edward Laux ’11, on September 19, 2010.

Douglas B. Leeds, father of Victoria Leeds ’07, on May 9, 2011. Doug served in many capacities on the board of the American Theatre Wing during his 21-year tenure, including President from 2004 to 2008. He was an expert in marketing and advertising, and his dedication to theatre and the Wing was unmatched, particularly his unbridled joy at the annual Tony Awards.

John B. Machado, father of Elizabeth (Machado) Hofstetter ’77 and Ann Machado ’78, on December 31, 2010.

Marion O’Connell, mother of former faculty member Maureen Stellato and

Bevin Patterson, wife of The Honorable Robert P. Patterson, Jr. ’41, on April 28, 2011.

Margaret “Midge” Quick, mother of Anne ’01 and Daniel Quick ’97, on August 23, 2010.

H. Ward Reighley, grandparent of Allison ’08, Elizabeth ’04, and Jennifer ’03 Cavanaugh, on March 21, 2011.

John Ronis and his wife Valija Ronis, grandparents of Lindsey Ronis ’06, on February 10, 2012 and February 24, 2012 respectively.

William J. Ryan II, parent of Jeffrey Ryan ’82 and grandfather of Meg Ryan ’12, on February 14, 2011.

Leslie Roosevelt, wife of Tweed Roosevelt ’60, on March 23, 2011 at the age of 64 while swimming in Anguilla; they lived on Martha’s Vineyard. Family and friends who loved Leslie say she was outgoing, funny, smart and irrepressibly upbeat, and Tweed offered this additionally: “She knew how to help me become a much better person.

She civilized me. She was marvelous.” Our thoughts and prayers are with Tweed and his family.

Michael Rothenberg, husband of Zerline Goodman ’80, on February 23, 2012 in Brooklyn, NY. Michael is survived by Zerline; their children, Brice, Garon and Zaya Rothenberg; his mother, Eleanor; and his brothers, David and Seth.

John K. Sands, former husband of Patricia Pulling Sands, on November 19, 2011.

Herbert Shultz, father of Herbert Shultz ’63 and grandfather of Charles Shultz ’93, on March 5, 2012 at his home in Kingston, NY. Lee Stewart, husband of faculty member Karen Stewart, on July 1, 2011.

Mrs. Eleanor H. Stickney, mother to Herrick Stickney ’68, on April 8, 2011.

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Class Notes Class of ’36

Class of ’42

C. Parker Wood passed away October 24, 2010 in St. Petersburg, FL. He was a World War II veteran, having served in Burma and China, and an insurance salesman who was drawn to community service in Tampa after moving there with his family in 1959. A memorial service was held at Canterbury Towers, the non-profit life care facility he helped found on Bayshore Boulevard in 1976 and on whose board he proudly served.

In addition to his work with Canterbury, Parker and his late wife, Edie, were instrumental in starting the Berkeley Preparatory School a year after moving to Tampa from Manlius, NY. He also served on the vestry of St. Mary’ s Episcopal Church in Tampa and the boards of the Hillsborough County Association for Retarded Children and the MacDonald Training Center in Tampa. He is survived by his three daughters, Sally Wood Evans, Phoebe Wood, and Wendy Parker-Wood, a grandson, and a great-granddaughter.

James “Jake” Delano, father of James “Jeff ” Delano ’68 and Richard “Rick” Delano ’66, and grandfather of William “Bill” Delano ’00, passed away on March 25, 2010 at age 85. He lived for the last 40 years of his life on the San Francisco peninsula during and following a successful career in the electronics industry that first attracted him to the west coast. Having navigated the English Channel at the young age of 12, he maintained a life-long love of sailing that he pursued on San Francisco Bay and both oceans. He was a graduate of Princeton University and served in the US Navy during WWII as an aviation cadet. In addition to sons Rick and Jeff, he is survived by sons Ted, Geody, and Bill. He is also survived by two bay area stepchildren, Brad Van Vechten and Vicki Johnston, from a second marriage to Dagmar “Bobbie” Delano. He is also survived by seven grandchildren and will be remembered for an ever-sharp mind, for being able to run technological circles around his grandchildren, and his willingness to help many in his community.

Class of ’40 Burnham Carter, Jr. passed away on Monday, Aug. 29, 2011 having enjoyed a very happy and active life for 87 years.

Following Millbrook, Burnham went on to Princeton, graduated in 1943, and served in the Navy during World War II. After marrying his wife, Sue, in 1945, Burnham received his M.A. from Colgate University and then his doctorate of philosophy from Stanford. He was a college professor for many years, and after retiring in 1996, he and his wife lived in Dedham, MA until her death in 1999 when Burnham moved to Old Lyme, CT. From 1968 to 2007 he was a director of Berkshire Farm and Services for Youth, a school for boys in trouble in Canaan, N.Y., which was founded by his great-grandparents, Catharine and Frederick Gordon Burnham. He is survived by his sister, Alison, three children ( Jeffery ’64, Elizabeth, and Jane), eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Walter “Knollie” Knollenberg went on to Yale University and graduated with a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering.

After completing Midshipmen’s School in New York, NY and Naval Training School at Bowdoin College, he served as an LTJG until his honorable discharge from the U.S Naval Reserve. He was a graduate of Harvard Business School in 1950 and lived in Old Lyme, CT and later in Killingworth, CT before retiring to Cape Cod, MA. He was married to Pauline (Elaine Mutschler), and they had three children (Peter Knollenberg, Mary Lee Fleischmann, and Heidi Manice), nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Walter passed away on December 16, 2009, in Cape Cod, at the age of 84.

Class of ’43 Sealand Whitney Landon III (known to friends as Whit) was accepted at Princeton

University, but immediately after graduating from Millbrook, he went directly into the Army. After losing a leg in the Battle of the Bulge, Whit started at Princeton the following fall. After majoring in engineering and architecture, Whit met his wife, Joan Johnson, and they settled in Vermont, where Whit worked as a cartographer. Whit and Joan also spent five years as innkeepers in Grafton, before retiring and traveling the U.S. Whit and Joan were married for 57 years and had two children and four grandchildren. He died at his home on January 23, 2011 at the age of 85.

Class of ’45 Walter “Pat” Huber passed away on November 12, 2011. After graduation from Millbrook School, Pat served for two years in the U.S. Navy as an electronics instructor. He attended Princeton University, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in electrical engineering. He was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Pat and his wife, Penny, married while he was attending Princeton and had two sons, Walter G. Huber Jr., and John Whitney Huber. In 1992, Pat retired from a successful career with Illinois Tool Works where he had been the general manager of its cutting tool division. An avid boater since boyhood, Pat was happiest when messing around with boats ... on the Inland Water Route, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, or the canals in England. He will best be remembered for his sense of humor, positive outlook on life, devotion to his family and his commitment to his community.

Former Millbrook football captain Alexander “Pete” Peabody, Jr. had been living in Fairfield, Connecticut for the past 15 years. He passed away on December 13, 2010. After Millbrook, Pete graduated from Williams College and served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He enjoyed a long career in advertising working for Young & Rubicam, first in New York, then as creative director and manager in Y & R’s Frankfurt office and as regional director of Young & Rubicam’s

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Class Notes Asian offices. Pete retired to Hillsdale, New York where he cheered for his favorite baseball team, the Cincinnati Reds, drew cartoons, and tended to his beautiful property.

William “Bill” McLean, uncle of Robert McLean II ’72, passed away on August 27, 2011, at age 83. A graduate of Princeton University, he was the last of his family to run the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, which his grandfather bought in 1895.

Starting in 1950, Bill worked in almost every department, serving as editor and publisher from 1975 to 1980. He was also head of Independent Publications Inc., in Bryn Mawr, which operates a number of small newspapers. He was chairman of the board until 2010. Bill was president in 1964 of what is now the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, and served several years as a trustee of its foundation. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; two sons, William L. IV and Warden; three daughters, Lisa and Sandra McLean and H. Brooke Katzenbach; and five grandchildren. Another daughter, Laura, died in 1965.

Class of ’47 Thomas D. Wright, Sr. passed away on July 21, 2011 in his home surrounded by family and friends. He was predeceased by his brother, Richard Wright ’49. Son Tom wrote in his note to Millbrook, “My father really enjoyed his time at Millbrook. Many happy lifelong memories.” After Millbrook, Tom graduated from Princeton University, where he earned a B.S. in engineering. He was a veteran of the Korean War, serving his country on the USS Laffey as a Gunnery Officer. Tom’s favorite pursuits included aviation and horseback riding. Tom was a lifelong enthusiast of fox hunting and co-founded the Triangle Hunt in Bahama, N.C. and was its Master of Fox Hounds from 1961-1980, followed by MFH of the Oakley Hunt in Bedfordshire, England from 1980-1982. He is survived by his daughter, Lucy Ormrod and son, Thomas D. Wright, Jr. four grandchildren, two sisters and many adored nieces and nephews.

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The entire Millbrook community mourns the loss of Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff, known fondly to his friends as “Connie,” who passed away on December 26, 2011 at the age of 81 following a courageous battle against esophageal cancer. Connie was a prominent New York environmental attorney and former senior government official who was deeply involved in numerous civic and charitable organizations. An esteemed Millbrook School board member from 1971 to 1989 and an honorary trustee since, Connie provided Millbrook with invaluable guidance, and he will always be remembered for his generosity and leadership. He will be deeply missed. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his wife Anne, his daughter Elizabeth, his sons Andrew and Simon ’76, and to the entire Sidamon-Eristoff family.

Class of ’48 David Hemphill passed away on June 25, 2011 of bone cancer.

Louis Roess passed away on October 10, 2008. He was married to his loving wife Sonya, was the beloved father of Patricia, Clifford, Matthew, Susan, Laurie, and David, grandfather of Angela, Crystal, Samantha, William and George, and great-grandfather of Jaydn and Robert. Living in East Aurora, NY, he was retired from sales and engineering.

Class of ’52 Michael Degener was a friend to many and a loyal and supportive Millbrook graduate.

After graduation from Millbrook, he attended Williams College and received an MBA from New York University in 1972. He began his career designing special computer programs for large systems before starting his own consulting firm. One of his more public achievements was designing the computerized public information boards and scoreboards used at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Fluent in French, he traveled extensively throughout his life when he was not at home in Sharon, CT restoring an old farmhouse and feeding both the wildlife outside his house and his many Siamese cats.

Class of ’53 Michael M. Smith passed away on November 21, 2010 after a battle with

prostate cancer. Founder of Larimi Communications, which was later sold to Billboard Publications, Michael also founded the National Media Conference featuring such motivational speakers as Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Walters, Ralph Nader and countless others. Along with his beloved wife of 27 years, photographer Marion Duckworth Smith, they lovingly restored the Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead, a1654 farmhouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Homestead was open for tours through local historical societies and for local school children. He is also survived by a daughter, Laurel K. Vouvray of Austin, TX and a step-daughter, Leslie Granger of San Jose, CA. George Van Dusen III passed away on February 7, 2012. George went on to graduate from Dartmouth College in 1957, and after spending time in the National Guard, he pursued a career in life and health insurance, founding Diversified Brokerage Services, Inc. in 1971. George was an industry icon and innovator, and his early adventures in technology were ground breaking and laid the framework for many of the platforms and processes the insurance industry uses today. In 2008, George was the recipient of the Mooers Award, which recognizes those individuals who have demonstrated a lifetime of service to the life insurance business, the wholesale brokerage community, and to one’s fellow man and to society, in general. In 2011, he was the recipient of the G. Bennett Serrill award for

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Class Notes lifetime achievement presented annually by the Minnesota NAIFA (National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors) chapter. Over the years George was active in many outside organizations, both in his community and nationally, including the Minneapolis Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Masonic Orders, the Zuhrah Shrine Temple, and a local settlement house, Pillsbury-Waite Neighborhood Services.

He is survived by wife, Diane, two children, Chip and Tori, four grandchildren, and his brother, William.

Class of ’55 Lanny Ray passed away peacefully on February 2, 2012, surrounded by his three children and companion of ten years, Sata Hessler. Lanny relocated to Tucson, AZ in 1994 to return to a childhood home, pursue his passion of vigorous bicycling, and enjoy retirement after a lifetime career in the restaurant business. He enjoyed fine art, good food and lots of jazz, and was known to play a mean hand of Texas Hold’em.

Lanny was very much loved, appreciated and respected and will be fondly remembered and missed by many.

Class of ’58 David F. Stein passed away peacefully at home on September 5, 2011. David, brother of Robert J. Stein ’63, was the devoted husband of Ellen Cohen for 38 years and the loving father of their children Jeremy (Robin), Katharine (Michael) and Nicholas (Kathryn) and four grandchildren.

David graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School. He had a 40-year career as an investment banker in New York City where he was a Partner at Kuhn Loeb and a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers. Throughout his life David devoted himself to many causes, serving on the boards of Montefiore Hospital, The Children’s Aid Society, Blythdale Children’s Hospital and the Riverdale Country School.

He will be remembered by his family and his

many friends and associates as a loving, kind man of intelligence and integrity.

Anthony “Tony” Jones passed away on June 18, 2010 in New York City. An enthusiastic and tireless advocate for the arts, Tony served on the board of directors for the Henry Street Settlement in NYC for 38 years. He is survived by his former wife Magda, his children Adrian and Caroline, and two grandchildren.

Class of ’66 David L. Frothingham passed away peacefully on April 16, 2010 at home with his family by his side after a three-year battle with cancer. A graduate of Middlebury College, David spent his life as a gourmand, lover of fine wines, avid cyclist, and antiques enthusiast. After his retirement from Vermont Country Store he worked at Stratton’s Sun Bowl Base Lodge as a guest services agent, where he touched the hearts of many guests, friends, and co-workers. He is survived by his wife, Pamela Frothingham; his mother, Margaret Morgan of Princeton; two children, David Frothingham III of Waterbury, VT and Gillian Frothingham of Denver, CO; and four siblings, William, Caroline, Ellen, and Pieter.

Robert G. Oneglia passed away on January 11, 2012 after a short illness. He was the brother of Francis G. Oneglia ’70 and cousin of Raymond R. Oneglia ’66. After attending Kenyon College in Ohio, Bob graduated from Union College in New York with a degree in psychology, and in 1970 he went to work for his family’s business, O&G Industries in Connecticut. Bob was also a member of the Connecticut National Guard from 1971-1977. In 1991, Bob founded the Earth Products within O&G’s masonry division. He made the products accessible to architectural, commercial and residential customers. Bob also expanded masonry operations in Waterbury and Bridgeport in 1990 and 1991. The Masonry Division of O&G is the largest supplier in Connecticut of masonry products, services and solutions,

with showrooms, stores, fabrication and distribution centers and stone-yards located across the state.

Class of ’68 Walter G. Huber, Jr. passed away on January 31, 2011. He was a resident of Alanson, MI. His father, Walter “Pat” Huber ’45 passed away on November 12, 2011.

Class of ’74 Stew Schantz passed away on June 11, 2010 in Pittsfield, MA. After graduating from Vassar College, Stew began his long career in radio. A well-known and loved voice in the Hudson Valley, he worked at local radio stations in Poughkeepsie and Beacon including WPDH and WSPK through 1998.

After moving to Utica and then Albany, he settled in Pittsfield, MA, where he became the operations manager and an on-air personality for oldies station WUPE. He is survived by his mother, Priscilla, his sister Siobhan (Schantz) Archard ’77, and his two nephews.

Class of ’76 Robert Patterson III passed away on January 12, 2012. He was a graduate of Hartwick College and the NYU School of Social Research, and he also studied for a postgraduate degree in Gestalt Psychotherapy. He worked as a social worker in Manhattan where he had a clinical psychotherapy practice until he was forced to stop as a result of a neurological illness, which he faced with much dignity.

He is survived by his loving wife Cristina C. Patterson (adjunct professor at CUNY, NYU and The New School University) his father and siblings Anne P. Finn, Margaret, Paul, and Katherine.

Class of ’79 Mark Lowsley-Williams passed away suddenly on March 4, 2011 at the age of 50.

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